It looked like a beautiful day in London. The sunshine poured through the huge windows. Damon woke up to feel Alyssa hands pawing at him. His body was aching and he swatted Alyssa away irritably.

"You're shivering, baby," she said.

Damon sat bolt upright. He was a vampire, he didn't shiver. He didn't ache either. Alyssa looked up at him, doe eyed as usual. The blood pulsing through her arteries was overwhelmingly loud.

"You have to leave," he told her.

"Oh charming," she chuckled.

He headed into the bathroom. He had to get away from her.

"What's wrong with you? You not feeling well or something?" she called.

Damon splashed refreshingly cold water on his face hoping it would making him feel more himself. When he didn't answer, Alyssa started knocking incessantly. Each little noise drilled into his skull. Damon threw the door open, almost taking it off its hinges.

"I said leave!" he snarled.

Alyssa's face turned to pure contempt, "I thought you were different. I didn't think you'd be the type to sleep with me the drop me like a hot brick."

Damon didn't have time for her. He covered his ears with his hands like a child frightened of a loud noise.

"Get out. Now. You were a plaything and nothing more."

He was definitely shaking now, no question about it. Alyssa had exploded in a fit of rage-filled tears. Her hand connected with his face with a stinging impact. With that, she slammed the door in a chorus of curses and swear-words.

Grabbing the basin to hold himself upright he looked at the dark shadows under his eyes. His face glistened with sweat. Finally his knees gave out and his stomach regurgitated everything he'd eaten in the last twenty-four hours. He landed on the flood with a painful splat. Getting up again was a challenge he wasn't ready to face yet. So there he stayed, on his tiled bathroom floor, surrounded by his own vomit.

As Damon lay suffering, his phone started to buzz. From miles away, across the ocean, Elena dialled for the umpteenth time. She hadn't wanted to inform Damon that Stefan was dying from a mystery illness in a text message. She let the wind ruffle her hair and let out a sigh of frustration. Stefan had gotten rapidly sick in the early hours. If she didn't know better she'd have thought he'd tangled with a werewolf. However, there wasn't a scratch on him. Not for the first time, she found herself resenting the elder Salvatore. If he hadn't have left, Stefan would most likely be fine now.

Elena heard shuffling behind her. She turned to see Stefan joining her on the porch.

"You should be inside," she said rushing to steady him.

"I needed fresh air, Elena."

Stefan looked deathly, even for a vampire. His eyes were accompanied by great black rings and he could barely support his own weight. She eased him down onto the porch steps and sat beside him. That was when Matt's truck came roaring down the road and skidded to a halt outside the Gilbert house. Elena rushed to Matt swiftly as a gazelle, while Stefan hauled himself to his feet.

"Matt, you're covered in mud. Did you sleep in the woods all night!?" Stefan joked.

"Stefan, I think I know why you're getting sick. Or at least I know how." Matt's face was a picture of seriousness as he told them how he'd followed a mysterious man into the woods. If the strange coven knew he was there they never showed a sign of it. He'd sat in the cold and the wet while they performed their, no doubt, nefarious spell.

"They had bottles and bottles of your blood and some other body fluid from someone else. The rest of the spell was in Latin so I don't actually know what was being said. It can't be good though right?"

Elena felt a cold kick of panic strike her. She aas about to reply but Stefan finally lost the battle to remain upright. The vampire crumpled, landing on the floor with a thud.

Caroline sounded as sunny as always when she answered the call. Elena was simultaneously disappointed and relieved. Relieved that her best friend was fit and well. Disappointed because whatever was happening to Stefan, he was enduring alone. The thought had crossed her mind that, once again, the vampires of Mystic Falls were being targeted but either they'd missed Caroline or it was just Stefan being targeted.

Stefan muttered something in his fitful sleep. Between her and Matt they had taken him back to his own house. His own room. His own bed.

"What can I do to help?" Caroline asked down the phone.

"Work with Bonnie. She's trying to find the person Matt followed last night."

"I'll call her right now. Elena?"

She wiped a tear from her eye."Yeah."

"Have you contacted Damon?"

Elena told her how Stefan's brother had gone off the grid in a time of crisis. She was about to go on a rant about Damon's selfishness when Caroline stopped her.

"Not to stick up for Damon here because I'd never do that. I mean, eww, its Damon," Caroline babbled. "But what if the same thing's happening to him? Think about it Elena. Matt said the spell was done on the ground of Stefan's childhood home. Damon grew up there too, right? Now all of a sudden no one can reach him?!"

Elena sank down onto Stefan's bed and grabbed his hand.

"Oh my God, Caroline you're right. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself."

"You're all strung out with worry. Don't beat yourself up."

Then Elena had a disturbing thought. Damon was in London. Whoever was trying to hurt the brothers had a vast reach. Elena put the phone down and suddenly realised the beauty of living in ignorance. It was so much easier being angry at Damon, now he was just someone else to worry about.

Alyssa pressed her head against Damon's door. The whole day had passed and was slowly turning to late night.

"Damon, open the door." She tapped again, "I hate the way we left things this morning."

This was the moment she wished she'd convinced Damon to give her a key to his place. She thumped her fist against the door in frustration.

"Damon, I'm worried. Please, just let me know you're okay."

Damon felt like he had an abdomen full of needles that were trying to escape. He hadn't managed to get very far out of the bathroom much to his dismay. He was both hungry and sick at the same time. Alyssa's voice reached his ears. He needed help but she wasn't the one to give it. Ignoring her he went to his phone and saw Elena's text messages. Alyssa was still incessantly banging on the door, chattering away. The messages alarmed him. Something was wrong with Stefan too. His head started to spin with the exertion of standing up. After hitting the send button it all got too much and he fell. His head struck the coffee table and a lamp clattered to the floor. Alyssa went crazy with worry behind the closed door. All was not lost, however. A text was winging its way across the Atlantic.

"I'm sick 2. Nd help. D"