Hello my fellow TVD devotees! First off, thank you so much to all of you who reviewed, subscribed, or favorited. It really makes my day! I hope this chapter works for all of you. Secondly, we're just over a month away from Season 2 Premiere: The Return. I'm dying. I wish I could just fast forward to September 9th already! The wait is cruel and unusual punishment, I swear. I'm writing this chapter pretty late, so I'm apologizing in advance for any mistakes you come across. Here we go!

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own The Vampire Diaries. I'm merely a slave to an addiction.

Chapter 16: Make It Better

Previously:

Damon found the bathroom empty, the shower left running and abandoned. He sped down the stairs faster than a bolt of lightning, stopping only to grab a vervain dart and a couple of stakes. Stuffing them into his pockets, he shot out the door and was greeted by a darkening sky, clouds gathering more thickly by the second.

…Elena felt blood trickle from her head down the side of her face, but found herself unable to wipe it away. Stefan's eyes followed the droplet, and his eyes darkened as he reached up and wiped it away with his forefinger. He brought it up to his face, inhaling the scent before sucking the hot liquid from his finger. Her blood triggered something in him, and his eyes darkened even further as he lunged at Elena's delicate neck, ripping at the silky skin with his fangs.

…

Damon tore through the foliage at breakneck speed, heading for the abandoned tomb. Maybe Katherine was aiming for a terrifying setting, or wanted to lock Elena up. His chest tightened at the thought of Katherine touching Elena, and he pushed himself to go faster. As he ran, the image of Elena speaking to him so sweetly in her kitchen flashed across his eyes, and her voice rang in his ears: "I'm sorry. About Katherine…you lost her too." Damon clenched his fists. Now, because of Katherine, he was losing Elena. He'd be damned if he didn't stop Katherine and kill her while he was at it. His thoughts in another place, he nearly slammed into the cold stone wall of the tomb. Coming to an abrupt halt, he focused on his super-hearing, listening for a heartbeat. He heard none. Oh God, that means either she's not here or…Damon couldn't finish the thought. Jogging into the recently emptied crypt, he took a quick peek around and quickly discovered that no one was there. Turning around, he shot out and back into the woods, kicking up dust behind him. He sped into town, checking the alleyways and dark, unpopulated corners where creatures of the night could be lurking. In passing, he saw a man look up at the darkening sky, grimace, and reach back to pull the top over his convertible. Damon's mind snapped back to when Elena had persuaded him to put the top down on his vintage Chevy, and how she had delighted in the small gesture. "You're not the worst company in the world, you know," she had told him then, throwing his own words in his face in the best possible way. Damon closed his eyes, rubbing his face and sighing. Where were they? An old trick of his suddenly popping into mind, he changed directions and headed to the outer edge of town.

…

Damon kept an eye out for the houses that had foreclosure signs on the front doors, and headed toward the most expensive-looking one. As he neared the front door, he was able to detect a feeble and inconsistent but nevertheless beating human heart, and he bolted into the house as silently as he could manage. Absolutely no plan had formulated in his head for the first time in ages; his mind was too clouded with fear for Elena to concentrate on anything else. He would have to wing it. Honing in on the faint heartbeat, he crept his way over to what he assumed was a door to the basement; he guessed correctly. The dank underground room smelled of mold and rainwater, but Damon didn't notice. All he could smell was blood being spilt. Elena's blood. Summoning all the restraint he could muster, Damon calmly walked down the stairs. He knew he had to play it cool, or Elena would die before he could blink.

"Having a party without me, are you? Tsk tsk." Damon waggled a finger at the other two vampires, working to keep a disapproving yet bored expression across his features. The façade fell when his eyes reached Elena. She was hanging limply from Katherine's grasp, clad in only her underwear and drenched in her own blood. She had obviously passed out quite some time ago, and was alarmingly pale. Damon's stomach turned over, and he resisted the impulse to dry heave with great difficulty. He had to act fast.

"Damon Salvatore, is that really you?" Katherine turned to face him, her mouth smeared with blood and twisting up into a sinister smile. "My, my. I see you haven't changed a bit."

"What else did you expect?" Damon replied calmly, forcing himself to keep it light. Her smile widening, she dropped Elena carelessly to the concrete floor, her head making contact with a sickening thud. Damon's jaw flexed as he attempted to keep his animosity from reaching his eyes. Katherine sauntered over to him, swaying her hips and stopping inches from his broad chest.

"Aren't you happy to finally see me, Damon?" She whispered coyly, tracing a fingernail down the middle of his chest. "After all these years? I knew you were looking for me," she reminded him with a devilish grin. "Say you're happy to see me," she commanded in a breathy voice. Damon leaned forward, his eyes widening as they came into contact with hers. His lips parted slightly, and he raised his eyebrows, about to speak. Then, so fast the movement wasn't visible, he whipped out a stake from inside his jacket and jammed it into her chest. She sucked her breath in with surprise before her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed, her skin turning gray and veined.

"Pleased as punch," Damon informed her glibly, stepping over her corpse toward Elena, panic setting in. He was so focused on the girl lying across the room from him he never saw his brother fly at him from the side. He slammed into the concrete wall and was held there by a livid Stefan.

"HOW COULD YOU KILL HER? HOW? SHE CREATED US! AND WE LOVE HER! JUST BECAUSE SHE FINALLY CHOSE ME-"

Stefan broke off abruptly; Damon had stabbed him in the side with a vervain dart. As his brother began to lose consciousness, Damon's eyes were filled with pity, possibly even remorse, and sadness.

"She didn't love you, Stefan. Her humanity was entirely absent. She couldn't love anyone but herself." Damon spoke in a soft voice, completely devoid of mockery. His brother blinked at him twice before finally passing out, succumbing to the drug. Damon was at Elena's side in an instant, panic and fear exploding through his head.

"Elena. Elena honey, can you hear me?" Damon closed his fingers around her wrist, barely catching on to her sluggish ghost of a pulse. His hand trailed up her arm, feeling a splintered bone jutting awkwardly under her skin. Biting his lip, he pressed his palm against her cheek, brushing her soft skin and fighting back against the bloodlust that was struggling to control his thoughts. "Wake up, Elena. Please wake up. For me." She made no movement. Damon's skin was crawling. He scooped her up and laid her in his lap, supporting her head with his arm. Her limbs lolled around limply, a dead weight in his arms. "Come on Elena," Damon nearly begged, panic rising in his voice. He swiftly bit into his wrist and held it to her slightly parted lips, trying to force his blood down her throat. She made no movement to suck it down. Damon pressed his wrist down harder against her mouth, to no avail. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Elena, come back! You can't…you can't leave me now…" His voice faltered, catching against a lump in his throat. He felt a burning sensation in the back of his eyes, and he blinked rapidly, willing himself not to give in to the feeling. Nevertheless, he felt hot liquid brimming against his lower eyelids as he spoke to her one last time, cursing himself for waiting too late: "I love you, Elena."

He was so devastated, he nearly missed the motion. Elena's eyelids twitched, then fluttered halfway open. Her glassy eyes slowly roving around in search of his, she found her target and opened her mouth in an effort to speak.

"I know, Damon." He voice came out so faint, it would've been inaudible to a human ear. At the sound of her voice, Damon's undead heart felt as if it could leap madly from his chest. Breathing heavily, his eyes clouded with a myriad of emotions, he kissed her forehead, holding her as if she were glass. Elena mustered up her remaining strength to speak once again before lapsing back into unconsciousness. "I love you too."

Shaking his elation from his head, Damon tried to think clearly. He knew he didn't have much time, and she was too drained for his blood to do her any good. Taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her half-naked body to save her from embarrassment later, he hoisted her up into his arms with more care than he had ever taken with anyone. Without giving a second thought to the corpse and his brother lying on the floor, he got up and ran her into town, taking painstakingly careful measures to not jostle her in the slightest. As he neared the hospital, he slowed to a brisk, determined walk and strode into the ER, still clutching her against his chest. In his peripheral vision, he noticed a spiky blond head bobbing in conversation with someone in the lobby. It registered in the back of his mind that it was Sheriff Forbes, but he didn't acknowledge it until he heard the gasp that she gave upon seeing a mauled Elena in his arms. He didn't slow his walk, and she hustled to catch up with him.

"Damon! What happened? Please don't say it was another…" She trailed off. He avoided her gaze and kept walking; she took his silence as a confirmation.

"Another vampire?" She whispered, her voice laced with shock. "Oh, Elena!" The sheriff's hands trembled as they swung at her sides.

"I staked it," Damon informed her darkly. "But the damage has been done." He approached the desk, and the nurse's eyes widened in horror.

"We need immediate medical attention for this girl. There's been another animal attack." Damon's voice came out icy, and no compulsion was necessary as the short young nurse rushed off, returning almost immediately with more staff and a gurney. Damon lowered her gently onto the gurney, and the people in scrubs swiftly began hooking her up to various machines, racing her down the hallway. Damon followed, stepping in hurriedly to stay at her side. They eventually wheeled her into a room, transferring her to a hospital bed and hooking her to an IV. Damon was forced to remain in the doorway, feeling helpless as he watched. He turned his head away as they began a blood transfusion, not able to look. A few seconds later, a doctor approached him with a serious air.

"She's lost a great deal of blood, but we think we'll be able to stabilize her with another transfusion." The doctor fell silent at Damon's stricken expression, but recovered in good time. "Do you mind telling me what happened?"

Damon drew a deep breath. "I was going for a walk when I heard the scream. I ran in the direction it came from, and found her lying at the edge of the woods. Apparently she was attacked by an animal; a cougar or something of the sort. She was in pretty bad shape, and I was without my car, so I carried her in." Damon tilted his head, the lies rolling off his tongue with ease.

"The doctor inclined his head. "Sounds like you're a hero."

"Hardly." Damon muttered bitterly.

"Do you know the girl's name?" The doctor inquired hopefully.

"Elena. Elena Gilbert."

"Gilbert? Good heavens. Would she happen to be related to the late Grayson Gilbert?" The doctor grimaced at the name.

"His daughter." Damon didn't bother to mention that she was adopted.

The doctor slowly shook his head. "That's a shame. She's been through enough already. I knew Dr. Gilbert. We were friends in med school. I transferred to this hospital to take his place after he…after the accident." Damon nodded, not feeling the particular need to give a reply. The doctor clasped his hands together.

"Well, if you need anything at all, feel free to ask for me. Dr. Gregory." He gave a friendly nod and continued down the hall.

Damon grimaced. The entire hospital reeked of blood. If was going to stay with Elena, he needed to feed. Now. He turned down the corridor where he knew they stored blood donations and compelled the nurse monitoring the room. He drank his fill and quickly returned to Elena's room, which was now empty save the lone patient.

He stepped through the door and shut it behind him, then slowly walked to the bedside. Her hair fanned out around her head on the pillow, and her face, even in sleep, appeared worn and weary. Damon buried his head in his hands, letting the slow beep of the heart monitor fill his ears as he wondered why he had been so stupid and let her out of his sight for a single second. Sighing, he reached for her hand and raised it slightly, turning it palm up and pressing his lips to her soft skin. His head remained bent over her, and on impulse, he slowly and deliberately climbed into the hospital bed with her, kicking off his shoes and lying at her side. He rested his head against her shoulder and lightly splayed an arm over the blanket covering her midsection. Turning his head slightly, he whispered into her jaw.

"I'm so sorry." The words were foreign to him, and they should've felt strange in his mouth, but when directed at her, they felt like the only thing that could've been said. Brushing his lips under her ear, he spoke again.

"I'll make it better, Elena. I promise I'll make it better." She whimpered in her sleep, then sighed, and he curled as close to her as he felt was safe. He eventually fell into a restless sleep, never leaving her side.

…...

Oh my goodness. That got a little schmaltzy, I'm afraid. Terribly sorry about that, I had trouble turning my thoughts into words in this chapter. Hey, but at least Damon saved the day? Let me know your thoughts and please please review! Just say the word and I'll do my best to not get so sappy on you all next time, I swear. Thanks for taking the time to read! Feedback is love.