Chapter 2

Punishment

"What do you mean, punish you?" Elena looked at him in confusion.

"Exactly what I said, punish me. When someone does something bad, they get punished right? Unfortunately jail is out for me, cause sooner or later they'd notice I wasn't aging."

Elena stared at him blankly, shocked that he was actually suggesting this. "Punish you... how?"

"However you think best. I assure you I will submit to it, and don't worry about being too harsh. I can take it."

"You're willing to let me punish you... so that I'll forgive you for what you did to Jeremy."

He never once moved his eyes away from hers. His voice was steady. "Yes."

"You want me in your life that much."

"Yes."

"You've done a lot of very wrong things Damon, not just what you did to Jeremy."

"I know."

She fell silent as she looked at the floor and thought about all of this. She remembered how Damon had flung himself in front of her to take an arrow meant for her. An arrow that probably would have killed her. Did he really deserve a chance? Damon waited patiently as she sorted it out in her mind. At last she looked back at him again.

"I'll agree to this on one condition."

"Name it."

"That I get to punish you every single time you do something wrong."

Damon looked a bit alarmed. "Hey wait a minute..."

"What? Did you think this would be a one time deal? Like you said, when someone does something bad they get punished right?" Damon looked pained at having his own words thrown back at him. "You need to learn there are consequences for your actions. That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

He sighed. "All right. I'll take it."

"Good. Now how were you punished when you were a kid?

He blinked at her. "What? Why?

"Just answer the question."

He sighed. "Extra chores when it was something minor."

"And for something major?"

For the first time his eyes dropped. "Taken to the barn and strapped."

"Strapped?"

"Have my butt beat with a belt."

Elena looked appalled. "That's horrible!"

"Not back then. That was the normal punishment when you screwed up. I have to say it was very effective. I rarely did the same thing wrong twice. It was the same for Stefan."

Elena hated the thought of Stefan getting that kind of treatment. She chewed on her lower lip. But Damon...

She thought of all the things she could do to Damon for punishment. Ground him to his home? Make him write lines? Do chores? Do community service? She almost laughed at those thoughts. Damon would find that weak, and it wouldn't teach him anything. She sighed thinking about what he'd just said.

I have to say that it was very effective. I rarely did the same thing wrong twice...

She felt like a monster for even considering it, but then she thought of Jeremy, laying on the floor with a broken neck and how she'd felt when she thought he was lost forever. She thought about Bonnie, and Caroline, and everyone else she cared about who Damon had hurt or might possibly hurt in the future because of a moment of anger.

She knew what she had to do.

"Is Stefan home?"

"No, he's out hunting. He probably won't be back for awhile."

"Lets go to your place."

Sometimes you had to be brutal to get the point across.

Once at the Salvatore's place, after making sure that Stefan wasn't home, she turned to Damon. "Give me your belt."

Damon frowned slightly. "Why?"

"Your punishment starts now. Don't ask questions, just do it." Still frowning he took off his belt and handed it to her. She hefted it in her hand. It was a good firm weight. It should do nicely. "How exactly did your father punish you?"

Damon stared at her and swallowed hard, and she saw that he'd already figured out what she planned to do, but amazingly enough he didn't object. "He made me take off my pants and underwear and bend over a hay bale and let me have it until he decided I'd had enough."

She nodded. "Well I really don't want to see your naked rear, but I don't think you'll feel as much through those jeans, so we'll compromise. Jeans down, undies stay up."

Damon bit his lower lip and slowly undid his pants and pulled them down. She saw that he wore boxers, not briefs. Black ones to be exact. "Do you want them all the way off?" His voice was subdued. At this moment he looked all the world like a scolded little boy about to receive his comeuppance.

"No keep them on. It'll keep you from kicking or whatever. Bend over the kitchen table." Damon hobbled into the kitchen and did as he was told.

Elena watched him for a moment. She could hardly believe he was being so submissive to her, even though he'd told her he would be. She hesitated then pulled both ends of the belt into her hand. She laid the folded part on Damon's backside and saw him tense.

"Why am I doing this Damon? Why am I punishing you?"

"Because I killed your brother."

"No. Try again."

"Because I've been a danger to people."

"No."

Damon felt confused. What exactly did she want to hear? "Because I've been doing things that are wrong?"

"No Damon, I'm doing this because you asked me to. You asked me to help redeem you, and I'm going to do my best to do just that, and from what you said, I know this way will probably be the most effective punishment to keep you from doing such terrible things again."

Damon swallowed hard at her words, but before he could really react to them he felt the first blow land on rear with a loud crack! He jumped, having not expected it yet.

Elena knew how strong vampires were. She was going to have to use all her strength to make an impression, and she was going to do just that. She kept on going, hard and fast.

"This isn't just punishment for my brother. This is punishment for every wrong thing you've ever done in your life since you became a vampire. This is for doing all the awful things you've done since you came here. This is for killing Jeremy, torturing Caroline, biting Bonnie, and making your brother miserable!"

Damon grit his teeth, wincing and flinching at each blow. Everything Elena was saying was right, and he knew it. He hadn't just done horrible things, he was a horrible person. A particularly hard blow landed on his upper thighs then as Elena misjudged the strike and he yelped. "I'm sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't fix everything Damon! If Jeremy hadn't been wearing that ring, he'd still be dead, and no sorry would ever fix that!" Seeing his reaction she hit his thighs on purpose.

"Ow! I know! I know I screwed up!" Damon's vision grew blurry.

"You're a murderer Damon! You kill people! You hurt and torture people!"

"Ouch! Elena please!"

"Please? Please show you mercy? The same mercy you gave all your victims?"

A particularly vicious blow came across his thighs at that, and he whimpered, biting his lower lip to keep from howling. Not just from the physical pain, but from the guilt that he could feel starting to crush him.

"You killed Jeremy because you wanted to hurt me, because I'd hurt you. There is no excuse for that! You don't take your problems out on other people, ever! Do you understand me?"

"Yes! Yes I understand! Owww!"

"If you ever kill someone again, I swear I'll let Bonnie make your head explode. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes!" Damon felt his eyesoverflow and his breath hitched. His shoulders started to shake.

Elena stopped when she heard the first sniffle. She watched Damon fold his arms on the table and bury his face in them. Hesitantly, she moved over to him. She heard a choked sob and realized that he was crying.

Damon couldn't believe it when he felt her slowly and gently start to stroke the hair on the back of his head. Why was she still here? Why hadn't she left in anger and disgust?

She'd never thought that someone like Damon was even able to cry. She rubbed his back and kept stroking his hair as he sobbed quietly. After awhile, when he seemed to be calming down, she gently put her hands on the sides of his head and lifted it up so she could see his face. Tears were falling down his cheeks and his breath was hitching, his eyes full of true remorse.

Elena felt her heart start to soften, and kissed Damon chastely on the forehead. "I forgive you Damon." He looked at her in confusion, and then rising hope. "Please don't ever do something like this again."

He shook his head. "Never. I won't."

She helped him stand up straight, and watched as he pulled his jeans back up with a wince and a slight hiss before he zipped and buttoned them up. She gave him back his belt and he gave it a slightly evil look but put it back on.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." There was a catch in his voice and he looked embarrassed. He quickly wiped the tears away but his eyes were still wet.

"It's okay to cry Damon, I know that hurt." She tried to reach for him but he pulled away and averted his eyes. He didn't want her to hug him for fear that he'd start sobbing again, and he'd been humiliated enough tonight.

"Wasn't what you did so much as what you said."

"I'm sorry..."

He shook his head. "Don't be, you were right, and I needed to hear it." He looked so vulnerable that Elena couldn't help feeling somewhat bad. "You won't give up on me right?"

"As long as you don't kill someone again, and I mean anyone, unless I say it's okay."

"Not even Katherine?"

"Except for Katherine. Kill her all you want."

He couldn't help smirking at that. "It's a deal."

To Be Continued...