Thank you SO much for the overwhelming response last chapter! It was lovely. I know I said I would try and post another chapter over the weekend, but I forgot I was going to Atlanta (to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was phenomenal!) so I apologize for being late. I'm leaving for a trip to D.C. Tuesday night, and I'll be gone until Sunday, so expect the next chapter after this sometime in the first half of next week. Sorry it'll be so long! It's going to be awful not having time to write (I'll be in an exhaustive conference series all week). Without further delay, here's chapter 10!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any part of the Vampire Diaries. If I did, it would just be an hour of shirtless Damon every Thursday night.

Chapter 10: Calm before the Storm

Elena woke from a pleasantly dreamless sleep, half hoping that Damon would still be there; of course, he wasn't. Her face fell slightly, but she wasn't surprised. She climbed out of the extremely comfortable, gargantuan bed and crept over to the window, peeking through the heavy curtain. She relaxed, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. There were pale gray clouds gathering in the morning sky, but that was hardly unusual as of late. Letting the curtain fall back, Elena walked toward the door and unlocked it, quietly descending the stairs. She turned to bound down the main staircase to find breakfast, but paused, hearing voices waft up from the kitchen, speaking in dark, business-like tones. Elena swiveled around, carefully tiptoeing across the lush Oriental rug to the bathroom to get dressed first. Curious, she hastily washed her face and threw her hair into a messy ponytail before tossing on some black jeans and a deep purple v neck sweater. She scampered down the stairs and peeked around the corner to see Damon deep in conversation with Alaric.

"Hello, Elena," Damon greeted her without looking up. Elena frowned and crossed her arms, sheepishly making her entrance.

"What's going on?" Elena raised an eyebrow at Damon.

"I was just informing Ric here of the company you and I had here last night." He turned his attention back to Alaric, his expression serious. "Anyways, the crazed old lunatic thinks Elena is Katherine – yes I know, it's getting to be pretty redundant, isn't it? – and he's out for revenge for her leaving him to go moldy in the tomb for the past 145 years. Don't get me wrong, I think it's what the little bitch deserves. But, we can't let him go through with it if he thinks Elena is the culprit. So basically, the plan is, we stake him." Damon clicked his tongue, making a stabbing motion with his fist, his eyes malevolent. Alaric rolled his eyes.

"This town's never going to catch a break, is it?" he sighed. "Wait. If the vampire's older than you, how are you planning on taking him down?"

Damon leaned his neck back, offended. "Ouch! Despite what you may think, I have my own strategies, and brilliant ones, I might add. And, of course, by some microscopic chance they don't work, we always have Ric the death-defying human to fall back on." Damon clapped him on the shoulder with a mocking grin. Alaric's shoulders slumped. "Fine. Let me go out to the car so I can leave you guys some stakes and vervain darts, in case he comes in the house. So you won't break in to my house and steal them like last time." Elena looked at her feet and Damon shrugged innocently, and Ric turned on his heel and trudged out to his car. Once he was gone, Elena reached into the cabinet and grabbed a cereal box, reaching into it and grabbing a handful to toss in her mouth.

"Eating like a man again," Damon sang under his breath. Elena shot him a death glare, but didn't react any further and continued to munch on her breakfast.

Ric popped his trunk, grabbing a few stakes and a handful of darts. Satisfied, he closed the trunk with his elbow and trekked back across the yard. He readjusted his grip on the weapons, and vervain dart slipped from his arms unnoticed, falling into the grass. As he opened the front door, he thought he saw a shadow flicker across the yard, but he turned and saw nothing. Shaking his head, he continued into the house and slammed the door behind him.

After the teacher left, Damon handed a dart and a stake to Elena.

"Just in case," he explained. She took them silently, keeping her eyes on Damon as he left the room. She followed him out to the parlor, where he was pouring himself a glass of scotch. He took a sip and settled into an old leather armchair. Elena crossed over to him, as if pulled by a magnetic force, and sat down on one of the armrests of his seat.

"Damon, do you remember that vampire? From 1864? Was he familiar at all?"

Damon was silent for a moment, thoughtfully tracing the rim of his glass with a finger before answering, "No. He must have been a servant for another household. I'd never seen him before until last night." Elena thought over this, her mind in the past. A question suddenly surfaced at the forefront of her thoughts, one she'd been meaning to ask for a while.

"Can I ask you something?"

Damon took another swig of scotch. "Just did."

"No, seriously."

"Shoot," he replied without glancing at her.

Elena paused for a moment before plowing ahead. "What happened to your father after all the whole vampire fiasco? Stefan would never talk about it." Her question hung in the air for several seconds before he answered.

"It's a very sore subject with him." Damon's eyes got a faraway look in them before he continued. "After we woke up, before completing the transition, Stefan and I had planned to die; the only reason to change had been taken away from us, or so we thought. Stefan went to talk to our father to try to reconcile our differences, or, at the very least, speak to him one last time. Father, being the vampire-phobe that he was, attacked Stefan, who defended himself reflexively. He was stronger than he realized, and father was bleeding pretty badly. Before he realized what he was doing, Stefan's primal instincts took over and he drained dear old dad. End of story." Damon threw back the remaining contents of his glass and got up to pour himself another.

"Oh my God," Elena choked out, putting two and two together. "That means that he…that he-"

"Turned first? Yep," Damon finished, popping the p. He sat back down, his elbow brushing her thigh.

"I never would've imagined." Elena shook her head in disbelief.

"What? That Stefan chose that life willingly? That he went first?" Damon snapped bitterly. "Well he did. You probably imagined that I gleefully forced this life on him. Let's get one thing straight, ok? It was the other way around." Elena's eyes widened in shock. As she processed this information, she faintly noticed that Damon's expression was hard and cold; yet she knew that just behind the surface was a tumultuous wave of regret, anger, and even sorrow. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gazed unflinchingly into his icy eyes.

"Damon! Tell me." She shook his shoulder lightly. He turned and looked deep into her eyes, resolve forming. He breathed deeply.

"Stefan came back a different person. He appeared to me in a state of wonder. He was fearless, powerful, and intoxicated with his new state of being. He tried to persuade me to feed, describing his heightened senses and strength. I refused; I wanted to die right then and there. He had brought a young girl with him as a gift; I was revolted. He bit her and then forced her on me; at that point I couldn't fight the thirst any longer. And here I am, 145 years later. It's been a hell of a ride." Elena sat motionless, shocked at what she was hearing. Yet somehow, she believed him. Damon never lied to her, why would he start now? She reached down and pried the scotch from his hands, taking a sip. It burned her throat as it slid down, and she scrunched her nose, handing the glass back to Damon, who finished it. Elena slid her hand deliberately down his shoulder and brought it to rest on his forearm, squeezing it lightly.

"Well, this may sound selfish, but I for one am glad you completed the transition." He looked at her like she had gone mad. Taken aback, he eyed her questioningly. "Because if you hadn't, I wouldn't have you here with me right now, and then where would I be?" Damon looked down, blinking rapidly. In his 145 years, no human had ever demonstrated that they wanted him there. Not sure of his own expression, he turned his gaze back to Elena, and they exchanged a deep stare. He unconsciously leaned into her, searching her eyes as he listened to her pulse race. He was close enough to feel her hot breath tickle his lips. Blinking slowly, Elena swallowed hard. "I better go get my jacket. It looks like rain and I need pockets to put the stakes in." She slowly backed away, her head swimming with his scent and her eyes filled with the sight of his lovely blue ones. She turned away and slowly walked up to her room, feeling slightly off balance.

Once she was gone, Damon got up to refill his drink in a slight daze. Replaying the last few minutes in his head, a sloppy grin spread across his face as he drank, his eyes closed. Savoring the taste, something suddenly nagged at the back of his mind; something was off. His eyes snapped open and he froze, the smile falling off his face. He could no longer hear Elena's heartbeat. Cursing, he tossed his glass aside and ran with superhuman speed up to her room. He flung open the door, his eyes flickering from corner to corner in search of movement. He was suddenly stricken by a cold wind, and saw with horror that one of the windows was open, the blue curtains fluttering in the breeze. Before he could move, he felt lightning hot pain searing between his shoulder blades like thousands of needles. His vision dimmed, and he crumpled forward, an image of Elena's sweet brown eyes dancing in his mind the nanosecond before everything faded to black.

Shoot! Sorry about the cliffhanger, I hope I can get in another chapter before I leave. And sorry this isn't longer, I just had to save the rest of everything for another chapter or it wouldn't flow right. Please don't be mad and still review! The overwhelming amount of reviews made me so happy last time. Reviews inspire me to keep going. And if you'll just hang in there, I promise there will be some incredibly epic major Delena action in the next 2 chapters, 3 at the most. It's all planned out already, and it's beautiful (well it is in my head at least). I've finally found a spot in the story where it feels natural. Hope this chapter worked for you, and don't forget: Feedback really is love.

- Annie