It was the biggest storm Mystic Falls had seen in the last few years. Elena had just come to the boarding house to learn that all the vampires escaped from the tomb and Pearl wanted Damon to help her take control over the town.
"I can't believe you made a deal with her, Damon."
"Like I had a choice."
Elena looked at him and she then realized it. How could she be so stupid not to figure it out earlier?
"Pearl's the one who did that to your eyes, isn't she?"
Damon looked at Elena and saw that the anger in her eyes was now removed by genuine concern. The two of them would've continued staring in each other's eyes, if Stefan's confused sounding question didn't interrupt them.
"Am I missing something?"
Damon sighed. He forgot to mention to his brother that Pearl… reminded him that she was stronger and that if he decided to fight against her it was going to hurt. Least he had told Stefan that Elena had come over. He hoped he could've handled the situation himself, but now he knew that he needed help.
Elena felt guilty now about not telling Stefan everything, because she knew how it looked like: like she was sneaking around with Damon. Like she was beginning to become Katherine. And she couldn't do it. Not to them, not to herself. Elena knew it was wrong to keep secrets from Stefan, even if nothing happened between her and Damon. She knew that she hadn't done anything wrong when she went to the boarding house and helped Damon. But still something inside her told her to keep it between her and Damon. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to share the moments she had with him with anyone. But that resulted the current confused and pained expression on the face of the man she loved.
"Yesterday when I left from school, I came over here to talk to Damon about something, and when I found him, his eyes were hurt badly. I helped him until they began healing and I asked him about Isobel. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Stefan looked first at Elena, than at Damon, but he just mumbled that it was ok and asked Damon about what exactly happened.
"She came here and told me that all the vampires escaped and some were staying with her and Annabel at some house and were getting used to the life now. She told me to stop helping the council and I asked her what she's up to, and she said she want to rebuild what it was 1864. I told her it's ridiculous and she had to accept it's 2010 now. She realized I didn't want to help her, and she told me she'd help me get Katherine back."
Elena listened carefully to every word he had said. And when he mentioned Katherine, she suddenly got angry and she decided it was time to tell him some things he needed to hear.
"Oh, and because of that you are gonna help a bunch of crazy vampires to take over Mystic Falls? Cause Damon gets what he wants, no matter who he hurts in the way…"
Damon listened to her angry accusations, and that reminded him that after all, she still saw him as a monster.
"Elena…"
"Do not dare to interrupt me! How could you agree on this for her? She played around with you and Stefan. She turned you against each other. She then left you believing she was dead and never bothered to look for you. And still, you are ready to sacrifice a whole town for her…"
Her angry words were interrupted by Damon's yell.
"I told Pearl that I don't want anything to do with Katherine."
At that moment both Stefan and Elena looked at him in shock. He knew he surprised them. If he had to be honest, he had surprised himself too. Katherine Pierce was the point of his whole existence. And yet, when he had the chance to get her back, he refused. He knew he still loved her, he knew a part of him was ready to forgive her even. But the bigger part of him wanted to finally be free of her hold. And beside, he wouldn't risk Elena's life. Never.
Elena stared at Damon with pure shock. He, Damon, said he didn't want Katherine back… Elena looked into his eyes and saw that he was confused and he didn't know himself if that was true. But she saw protectiveness and now she knew a reason why he had declined Pearl's offer – he didn't want to put her at risk.
"Damon, I…"
"Save it. It's not important. The point is, the old bitch could be very… persuasive, if she wants to. She's older, a lot older, and that means stronger than me and Stefan together."
Elena looked at Damon, then at Stefan, and when she saw that they both looked worried, she began to panic.
"So, what are we going to do?"
Stefan hugged her and said:
"Damon and I will handle it, don't worry."
"But I wanna help. I can distract them…"
"You are not going anywhere near those vampires, Elena."
The last sentence came from Damon. Elena looked at him, the looked back at Stefan.
"What are you trying to say, that I'm gonna just here and do nothing while you are trying to deal with centuries old angry vampires?!"
"That's right, cause then you will be safe." Stefan told her.
"And what about you?"
Damon observed the scene between the lovebirds. He knew Elena's question was just about Stefan, and this was the way it was supposed to be, right? But Damon couldn't help but wish she included him in that 'you'. It was that simple.
"Don't worry. He has me on his side."
Elena rolled her eyes. How he could be sarcastic in moment like that was a mystery to her, but he was after all Damon Salvatore – the one and only.
"I meant both of you. You have no idea how many vampires are in there, and they are older than you…"
Damon couldn't help but smile. Her confession that she worried about him too, and the sweet expression of her face when she was worried… It all caused Damon to light the most sincere smile in months.
"Elena, we'll be fine. Now, get into that little car of yours and go home before the weather got even worse if that's possible. We'll call you if something else comes up."
Elena sighed, because she knew that there was no point in arguing with the brothers. She turned to Stefan and hugged him, resting her head on his chest for a while.
"Well, excuse me, lovebirds, but I need to eat something better than a bunny – we have vampires to kill.."
With those words, he left. Elena shook her head slightly laughing.
"Some things never change, tight?"
"If you are talking about Damon being annoying, it hasn't changed in 145 years."
Elena laughed. True, Damon could be the most annoying creature on the face of Earth if he wanted to. But he could also be funny, caring and nice. She was still mad at him on some level, but right now, she was mostly worried about him and Stefan.
"He's right, I should probably go – the storm is getting worse every minute. Call me when you leave to go there."
Stefan nodded and paced a quick peek on her lips, and then Elena left. As she drove, she allowed herself to let out all the fear. Fear of those vampires walking around Mystic Falls, fear that something might happen to Jenna, or Jeremy, or Caroline, or Matt… Fear that Stefan and Damon were facing something beyond their strength and she might lose them. Tears started running down her cheeks. Before she knew it, she was already in front of her house. She parked the car, wiped the tears and sighed. It was going to be ok. At least she hoped so.
*-*-*
Elena had just gone downstairs when she heard a knock on the door. She opened and there was Damon. He didn't wait for her to invite him in – so typically him.
"Why aren't you picking your phone?"
"I was upstairs and it seems I have forgotten it down here."
She then checked her cell – 6 missed calls from Damon.
"Is Stefan here?"
"No, why?"
"He left to find something to eat a couple of hours ago and hasn't returned, so I assumed he stopped by."
"No, he hasn't. Let me call him."
Elena dialed Stefan's number, but it want straight to his voicemail."
"Where might he be?"
"You ain't gonna like what I'm thinking."
Elena looked at Damon and what she saw on his face freaked her out: worry, fear even.
"Damon, what do you mean?"
He sighed. He didn't want to worry her sick for no reason, after all, he couldn't be sure… But somehow, he knew he was right, even though he wished he wasn't.
"Look outside: rainstorm, so then no sun. Which means a vampire can get out without a problem, even if they don't have a ring. Frederick, the guy from last night, he was obviously pissed at Stefan and me and then Stefan killed Beth-Anne. If last night was some random thing, which I highly doubt, now he wants revenge. And it wouldn't be hard for him to get to Stefan, since my brother is on that stupid animal diet…"
Every word Damon said terrified Elena. This couldn't be true… No, Damon was joking… But then why he looked so worried…
"Are you really saying they kidnapped him?"
"It seems so. And I can't be sure why. It can be Frederick wanting revenge, it can be Pearl trying to make me help her… I don't know. But what I'm positive about is that he's in big trouble."
Elena was barely holding the tears. She couldn't take it, she had to do something.
"I have to find him, I…"
Damon closed his eyes. Wasn't it enough that his brother was caught by some psychopathic much older vampires, but now Elena was going insane, probably planning on some suicidal attempt to help him?...
"You are not going anywhere. You are going to stay here and I'll call you as soon as I know something."
"No! How can you expect me to just sit here and wait? I can't do this, Damon.. I'll go, with our without your help."
Damon looked at the determined look in her eyes and he knew that Elena was not going to give up. Just like he wouldn't even the places were reversed.
"You will stay in the car, lock the doors and hold a stake in your hand. You will wait for me, no initiatives, understand?"
Elena looked at Damon. She knew he understood she didn't like that, but she knew that he was not going to let her come otherwise. After all, he wanted to protect her and Stefan.
"Yeah, just let's go."
She grabbed her jacket and they went to the car. When Damon started the engine, he said very quietly, just loud enough for her to barely hear:
"I'm gonna save him, no matter what it takes. I promise"
*-*-*
It was still pouring, but Damon didn't care. He was finally by Pearl's house, and he was knocking at the door, getting angrier and angrier with every second passing.
"Pearl! Open the door! I swear to God, I'll rip your head off!"
Finally, the door opened, but it wasn't Pearl who opened it. It was that Frederick guy.
"Pearl isn't here"
Damon wanted so bad to finish what he had started the night before – kick his ass and then drive a stake right into his heart, but now he needed information.
"Where is my brother?'
Frederick called someone, and then two of the other vampires from the tomb came into view, dragging Stefan, who seemed to be in pain. When Damon met his brother's gaze, full of pleading, he was ready to kill.
"You're dead!"
He tried to get into the house, but he couldn't. Then Frederick called a woman around 50 with bite marks all over her and Damon saw him compel her to not let him in. Damon was totally freaking out. Frederick began talking about the tomb but Damon didn't hear any of it. He tried to focus on Stefan. Just then, he heard Frederick say it.
"I thought your brother might want a taste of it before I kill him."
And then one of the vampires that were holding Stefan stabbed him in the stomach. Damon's anger reached it's critical point, and yet he couldn't do anything about it. When they closed the door, Damon hit first thing in front of his eyes and smashed it in aches. What was he supposed to do? He had to help Stefan, he had to find a way… Suddenly, he remembered that Elena was waiting for him in the car. He had to go to her, he had to make sure she was safe, he wouldn't be able to take it of they did something to her too. So he headed back. When he approached, he saw Elena running to him under a big umbrella. God, how was he going to tell her…?
"What happened?"
"They've got him, and I can't get it, cause the owner is compelled to never let me in."
Elena could hear the pain in his voice, she could see despair in his eyes. He was hurting because he couldn't help Stefan… Whom as she deep down knew he loved. Seeing Damon so vulnerable affected Elena, but she had no time for that, she had to find Stefan.
"I can get it."
With that she tried to walk in the direction of the house, but Damon's strong arms stopped her.
"no."
"I'm going in there."
"You are not."
He was not going to let her go in there under any circumstances. He couldn't risk them hurting her too. She was the only thing that was keeping him hold on. Cause no matter what he had said or did, Stefan was his brother and he loved him. So , yeah, he was going insane. And the thought of Elena being in danger made it unbearable. He couldn't let anything happen to her… And he had to save Stefan. No matter what.
"Why? What has he done to them?"
"They blame us for getting trapped in the tomb and they want revenge. They want to torture him and then kill him when he prefers the stake in the heart than the torture to continue… And then they'll do the same with me."
Elena trembled. She didn't want to know how Damon knew all this, but she knew they couldn't let those vampires make their plan come true.
"We've gotta stop them."
"I know."
"We have to do something, we can't let them hurt him…"
"Elena…"
He gently put his hands on the two sides of her face. Their eyes locked, and they both could read the other one as an open book. Elena was almost crying, asking him with her eyes how this could happen, and seeing into his eyes that he was asking himself the same question.
"I know. But I don't know how to get in there."
"I just want to get him out of there and make sure you are both safe and they are not after you…"
Elena saw his expression and she knew that Damon needed Stefan to be ok even more than she did. His arms were still cupping her face, and she then did something even she didn't expect. She leaned closer, and rested her head on his chest, wrapped her arms around him, needing to feel him close to her. It was the second time she hugged Damon, but this time he hugged her back tightly. A few tears escaped her eyes and melted down with the rain. Suddenly, she lifted her head, looked at Damon, and whispered.
"I have an idea, but it's gonna be hard, probably won't work, but we have to try."
Damon looked at Elena, and he felt it again. Hope. Feeling only she could give him. Even in moments like this.
*-*-*
[note – the scenes with Alaric do happen pretty much like in the show]
*-*-*
Elena was still waiting in the car, going insane. Stefan was trapped in a house full of sick vampires who wanted to hurt him and Damon went in there, planning to take all of them on his own. And she was supposed to just wait… She couldn't. She grabbed that full of vervain thing Alaric gave her and ran to the house. She quietly went inside, and everything seemed ok, until that vampire started walking to her. She was scared, really scared, but she had no choice…As he was approaching, he suddenly fell on the ground. Damon had driven a stake into his carotid and the vampire was literally draining out of blood. Damon then looked at her, and even in the dark, she could see he was angry with her.
"Are you insane?!"
"I couldn't just sit there and wait not knowing if you and Stefan are ok. I just couldn't…"
Damon was literally freaking out. Not only he was planning to fight over 10 older vampires by himself (that was going ok for now though), but his brother was locked somewhere tortured in a way Damon didn't want to imagine, but now Elena was there. If something happened to her… No, it wouldn't. But they had to get out of there asap.
"Come on, let's find him. Stay right behind me and don't make any noise."
Elena nodded and they started walking around. Soon, Damon sensed Stefan's smell from one of the rooms. They quickly went in there. Elena ran to Stefan, who immediately said she shouldn't be there. Damon told him she was supposed to be in the car and turned to the vampire how was tied to a chair. He was ready to kill him, but Stefan stopped him. Always so annoyingly caring. But that was who he was. Damon went to free him, but Stefan warned him about the vervain on the ropes. Damon groaned in anger, knowing how much this was torturing Stefan. Elena freed him. After they freed the other vampire on Stefan's insist, they got out of the room, Elena helping Stefan as he walked. The two od them had to get out of there quickly, Damon knew it.
"Can you get him in the car?"
"Yeah."
"ok, go."
"What about you?"
"You get out of here, I'll take care of them."
Elena looked at him, knowing that if it wasn't for him, Stefan would probably be dead soon. And more than that, Damon was going to try to distract the vampires in order for them to get out safe. He was risking his life for them. Elena wanted to tell him to leave with them, but she knew him and she knew he wouldn't do it. So she just took his hand in hers and whispered tenderly.
"Just be careful, please."
Damon slightly smiled at her.
"I will. Now go."
*-*-*
Elena was in the living room of the boarding house while Stefan was taking a shower and changing. She couldn't believe everything that happened in the last few hours, and she worried. She knew it was the right thing to let Stefan drink her blood – otherwise he'd died. But the way he was after that… He scared her more than anything in her life before. He wasn't the loving and sweet guy she knew. He looked like a wild animal, craving for blood and totally out of control. And his eyes… Sure, she has seen them change before, but it was different this time. She knew that things changed and they wouldn't just go back to normal.
She was still deep in her thoughts when she heard the front door open. She ran into the hallway and saw Damon. Instinctively, she ran to him and embraced him and he hugged her back. They stayed holding each other for a few seconds and they pulled away the same time. Damon looked at her and asked her in weaker than usual voice:
"Where's Stefan?"
"He's upstairs changing."
"are you both alright?'
Elena nodded, not sure she would be able to say everything was ok out loud. She looked at Damon, who looked pale and exhausted and… in pain. Just then she noticed the blood on his shirt.
"You are bleeding…"
"It's no big deal."
"what happened?"
"One of the bastards staked me, and apparently a small piece of wood is still in the wound. That's why it hasn't healed yet. But it's gonna be ok. At least they got it just like they deserved it…"
Elena looked at him and knew that he… took care of them. Usually, she'd be disgusted with the tone he talked about how he killed them, but now, it was different. They hurt him, they hurt Stefan. She would've staked them herself if she had the chance to. Right now, it didn't matter. What was important was that she had to take care of Damon.
"Take off your shirt."
He gave her a questioning surprised look.
"I'll take out the wood and clean the wound so it heals faster."
Damon slightly smiled for a second, glad she cared for him. But he didn't need her help with that.
"Elena, I can take care of myse…"
"I said take off your shirt."
He rolled his eyes in a typical Damon way and took of his black T-shirt. Elena looked at the wound. It was obviously deep and it was still bleeding, and she spotted the piece of wood in it. Fortunatelly, it was more in the exterior part, so she was going to be able to take it off without problem. She ran into the kitchen and came back with a wet towel. She gently pulled out the wooden piece, trying not to cause him pain, and then pressed the towel on the wound to stop the bleeding. The wound began healing immediately and after less than a minute, it was like it has never been there. She smiled at him.
"Some of the advantages of being a vampire."
Damon smirked a little.
"One of the many."
Elena looked at him, considering what exactly to say."
"Thank you. If it wasn't for you…"
"He's my brother, Elena."
They smiled a little at each other again, and she asked:
"So, apart from this wound, are you ok?"
"Yeah. 8 of them are killed, Pearl said she'll take care of the other 4 left. The only problem is Frederick. But I want him for my self... I swear, I will…"
"Don't worry about him, Stefan killed him."
Damon looked at Elena surprised. Stefan was barely making it when he was saw him. How could he kill a a older vampire in perfect shape when he was in the condition Damon last saw him? That was when he noticed the bite mark on Elena's wrist. When she noticed he was looking at it, she turned around, but he took her other hand.
"Elena… What happened?"
She sighed. Maybe if she let it out it was going to become easier… And she couldn't imagine sharing it with no one other than Damon.
"We were by the car when Frederick attacked us. He staked Stefan near the heart, and I stabbed him in the back. He passed out. But Stefan… He was dying… The only way I could save him was to give him some of my blood. He refused at first, but I talked him into doing it…"
Damon knew there was more to that, he knew something happened that was bugging Elena and he needed to know what it was.
"What happened next?"
"When Frederick woke up, Stefan attacked him. He staked him again, and again, no matter that he was already dead. I tried to tell him it was finally over, and then he turned around and… he looked like he was about to attack me. But he didn't and it's all fine now."
She was far from fine and he could see it in her eyes, he could hear it in her voice, he could even sense it.
"Elena, you did nothing wrong. If you hadn't done it, you'd both be dead right now. But you have to know Stefan will have a hard time now. He made his choice over a century ago and he spend decades fighting what his nature was telling him to do: drink human blood. It's not just for the strength it gives us. For a vampire, human blood is like… I can't explain it. It appeals to us, draws us. And Stefan managed to ignore and fight this for a really long time, but now he had a taste of it again. More than that, he tasted your blood. And even just from it's smell I can tell you that it's the best blood he could've tasted, anyone could've tasted. Only it's smell can drive any vampire crazy. And now, all those years he spent depriving himself from human blood are making it even sweeter and more intoxicating. His control is put on the line. If it was hard for him, now it's gonna be painful to resist human blood…"
Elena listened very carefully to Damon, and even though he was talking about blood, she didn't feel disgusted with him. Only with herself for putting Stefan through all of this struggling.
"I am the one who cause this…"
"Elena, you have done nothing wrong. You saved both your lives as I told you, and probably mine too for that matter. I didn't tell you all this to make you feel guilty. Itold you cause I want you to be prepared that he will be different, cause simply he'll be dealing with a lot more."
Elena closed her eyes. She knew Damon was right, and he was doing everything he could to make her feel better. But still, she couldn't help but feel guilty. If only she could help him… But she couldn't.
"I'll try to help him, I promise."
She opened her eyes and looked at Damon. She smiled and he smiled back. And Elena knew that no matter what he had done or how he tried to make himself look, Damon was a good man, and he kept proving it her every single day more and more. Just then, Stefan came into the room. Damon took that as the hint for him to go, cause he knew that he and Elena had a lot to talk about.
"I'll go take a shower."
As he walked past Stefan, the younger Salvatore looked at him with a a grateful look.
"Thank you."
Damon smirked.
"The only one who has the right to torture you, my brother, is me and only me."
Elena let a small laugh. She couldn't believe she could joke around after a day like this, but after all, he was Damon Salvatore – the one and only. He then lest and Elena knew it was time for her to talk with Stefan. She had no idea where things were going from there, but she knew that behind the cocky attitude and sarcastic remarks, Damon was going to be there for them both. Why was she so sure? Cause she knew the real him.