Title: Love's Fool

Summary: Elena made her choice and Damon kept up his end of the deal. He left Mystic Falls more than a year ago and he hasn't looked back since. Now the Original stake has gone missing and suddenly they need him again. But Damon has no intention of playing their whipping boy anymore and this time he has a powerful ally on his side.

Spoilers: Everything through the S3 finale.

Pairings: Delena.

Disclaimer: If I owned Vampire Diaries there would be a lot less of Damon getting left to die heartbroken and alone. As it is, I can only hope to vent my frustration by punishing those characters responsible.

Note: Don't kill me for how this chapter ended. If I didn't end it where I did, it might have never ended at all. It was turning into this massive monster that had a life of its own. I can tell you that I had already written another 700 words or so that are now the beginning of the next chapter so hopefully it won't take me as long to get it written and posted up this time. As always, I'd love to hear what you guys think. Your reviews really keep me going.

Chapter Thirteen

If someone had told Damon a month ago he'd be racing around Mystic Falls after Elena again he'd have laughed and told them he preferred curls these days. He had really and truly believed he was over this shit. Sure, he knew he still loved her. He couldn't control that. He still had dreams about her sometimes, nightmares mostly that involved violent crashes and dark water and the light fading from her beautiful human eyes, but Damon truly thought he'd learned his lesson where Elena Gilbert was concerned. The girl was made for Stefan. She was all goodness and sweetness and light just like baby brother was so damned determined to pretend to be.

Honestly, Damon didn't even want Stefan's Elena. He didn't want that perfect Disney damsel. He wanted the warrior princess he'd trained. He wanted the fire and passion and fight that seemed to disappear right about the same time as Stefan started sporting his broody brow again. As far as Damon was concerned, Saint Stefan and Angelic Elena were welcome to each other. He preferred to keep living in the real world like the big bad monster he was.

The only problem with that theory was that Elena wasn't looking nearly as angelic these days. As Damon dove to the left and around the shade currently chasing Miss Gilbert, he tried to reconcile the Elena he'd left behind more than a year before with the fierce, if often erratic, vampire he'd found in her place. He'd been back a day and she'd already attacked two people, dumped Stefan, shown some serious jealous tendencies, and owned up to killing at least one human. Who was this girl?

"Damon?" she called behind her.

"Keep going!" He ordered. They'd just rounded a corner and turned onto Liz's street. "Don't stop until you're on the porch."

"Just making sure you're with me."

Damon rolled his eyes. "No, I decided to drop by the Grill and grab a drink."

She sped up the front steps and barely stopped herself before running into the door. She turned to face him as he stopped beside her. "I meant, once upon a time, it would have been just like you to send me running and stay behind to fight them off yourself."

Damon smirked. "Yes, but I liked you then."

Elena took a step toward him and into his personal space. She glared up at him. "You still like me."

He lifted one brow. "Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."

She opened her mouth to growl a reply but thought better of it. She sighed and shook her head stepping back to give him space. Then she looked toward the front yard and the shades. They were hovering just outside the salt line. She frowned. "They didn't try to cross the line." Her eyes narrowed and he could see the veins crawling beneath her skin. She sniffed the air and cocked her head to the side as she studied them.

It was hot as fuck. Watching her, feeling his skin tingle in awareness of another predator in close proximity, Damon felt himself begin to harden in his pants against his will. All that silky chestnut hair, sharp feral eyes, and clenched teeth, she was fucking gorgeous. The way her head was cocked to the side left her neck exposed and Damon's eyes trailed down to the tempting sight. Unwarranted, his mind flashed back to his dream that morning and his groin tightened even further.

Elena cut her eyes to his. "Why didn't they try to cross the line?"

Damon jerked his gaze back up. He frowned and shrugged angry at himself for backsliding. "How the fuck should I know? Do I look like Judgey to you?"

Elena ignored his verbal jabs. "The one this morning paused at the line but then he dove over it to try to get to us. You don't think it's possible for them to get smarter, do you?"

Damon wanted to snap at her…badly. Instead he bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood. Elena immediately frowned and sniffed the air. Her eyes filled with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"I smell blood." She leaned toward him and sniffed again.

He wanted to pin her to the house and offer her a taste. Maybe she could kiss it and make it all better. He ground his teeth together and groaned as he turned away from her and toward the front door. He was so fucking domesticated. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Liz's keys. Ignoring the obvious car key on the ring, he started trying the others in the lock. "Let's get inside the damn house."

Two keys later they were in. The house phone had just stopped ringing when the door swung open. There was a moment of silence and then it started ringing again. Elena stepped around him and walked toward it. "That's probably for us."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Ya think?"

She picked up the receiver and placed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Is Damon with you? Are you both okay?" he heard his brother's voice through the line.

Sighing, Elena held the phone out to him. "I'm going to check in Care's room. I'm starving and she usually keeps a few bags in her mini-fridge."

The image of Blondie stocking bagged blood in a mini-fridge in her room made Damon smile. He took the phone and put it to his ear. "Sup, Steffy?"

"You two are okay?"

"We're just dandy," Damon drawled. "By the way, how many humans have you let Elena kill in the last year?"

"I didn't let Elena do anything, Damon," Stefan growled. "The transition hasn't been easy for her. She slipped a few times in the beginning and once about eight months ago. If you'd been here, maybe you would know that."

Damon rolled his eyes. Like Stefan hadn't wanted to throw a party the moment he left town. His brother was so full of shit. Still, this wasn't getting them anywhere. He could argue all day that he would have watched her better; that he wouldn't have let Elena carry the guilt of ending a human life, but who really knew? Elena had made her choice. Stefan was who she wanted and Stefan was who she got. Besides, shit happens. The past couldn't be changed and Elena seemed to be dealing at least somewhat okay. She hadn't fallen apart at the sight of the shade and that was something.

"Why are you calling me on Liz's house phone?" Damon changed the subject. "I have my cell phone."

"I didn't want to distract you if you were still running from the shades," Stefan said. "I knew if you answered this line you'd be safe inside the house."

"Hmm…" Damon pursed his lips, "that actually makes sense. I'm impressed."

"Believe it or not, I'm not a complete idiot," Stefan said.

Damon smiled and opened his mouth, but Stefan cut him off. "Save it, Damon. What happened with the shades?"

His brother knew him too well. Damon walked over to a window and pulled the curtain to the side. He stared down Tanner's inky black eyes. "Oh, they're fine. They're playing in Liz's front yard even as we speak."

"So you're trapped?" Stefan asked. "They didn't try to cross the salt?"

"You don't sound surprised," Damon said.

"Let's just say we've got a few uninvited visitors at the boarding house."

More shades? "Oh fabulous," Damon drawled, "anyone I know? Because I think Coach Tanner's mad at me for not supporting your dreams of playing college football."

Stefan ignored that. "Bonnie's still working on the potion but for the time being we're stuck, and…we have another problem."

Damon dropped the curtain back down and ran his free hand through his hair. "Spit it out, Steffy."

"One of the ingredients is pretty rare and we don't have it here," Stefan said. "Bonnie knows where we can get it, but…"

"But Judgey is stuck in the house with you," Damon finished. "We need someone on the outside to gather the supplies."

"Preferably someone not human," Stefan agreed.

Damon thought about it; then shrugged. "Call the Original Bitch. You do have her on speed dial, right?"

Stefan ignored the dig. "Rebekah might work, but what if the shades attack her when she gets to the boarding house?"

Damon smirked. "Yay?"

"Damon…"

"The only thing that can kill the bitch is currently missing, Stefan," Damon reminded him. "And somehow I don't think she's number one on Original Mama's hit list."

"You think Esther's after Klaus," Stefan reasoned.

"I think she'll get around to Bex eventually," Damon said, "but Rebekah still pales in comparison to her big brother Satan."

"I'll call Rebekah," Stefan finally agreed. "You and Elena hang tight. Bonnie's checking on other ways to dispel the shades."

"I feel so much better knowing we're all relying on Judgey to save the day," Damon's voice dripped sarcasm. "Call me when you know anything." He turned off the phone and placed it back in its charger. Spinning to face the hallway leading to Blondie's room, he lifted a brow at Elena standing there watching him with a blood bag in her hands. She held it out in offering to him and he sped over to grab it. "So, do you want me to do the stupid human thing and pretend you didn't hear the whole conversation or are we good?"

"We're stuck here?" Elena said.

"Looks like."

The stubborn brunette crossed her arms over her chest and a smile curved her lips. "Then I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to have a little talk."

Damon's mouth fell open. "Oh hell no!" He sped away and into the living room. He grabbed the remote off the end table and turned on the television. Plopping down on the couch, he plastered a fake smile on his face. "I'm sure there's some mindless bullshit on here somewhere we can watch."

"Damon…"

"Did you hear they cancelled Secret Circle, by the way?" He talked over her. "How stupid was that? I mean, that Faye girl was hot."

"We need to talk."

"And it was getting some of the best ratings on the network. Who doesn't want to watch a show about hot young witches and their wacky magical hijinks?" He paused as something occurred to him and he shuddered dramatically. "I just imagined a reality show devoted entirely to Judgey. I may have nightmares."

"I'll be sure to pitch her the idea," Elena smirked. She moved to sit down beside him. "By the way, Stefan and I broke up last night."

Damon made a pained face. "Oh god, spare me. I'm sure you two crazy kids can work things out." He edged as far away from her on the couch as he could manage and tried to focus on the television screen.

"We can't work it out this time, Damon. It's over. Both of us know it and accept it. We love each other, but we're not in love with each other anymore. We're just too different now. We can't go back."

"Real love takes work," Damon said even as his eyes widened that he'd managed to force the words out. "Whatever your problems are, you can work through them."

"We can't work through this," Elena forced.

"What?" Damon asked desperately. "Stefan's denial? He's always had problems facing reality, Elena. He had an imaginary friend until he was twelve. Kick him in the ass enough times and he'll pull his head out of the sand."

Elena rolled her eyes. "It isn't just about Stefan's denial, Damon."

"You will get through your depression, Elena. Vampire emotions are overwhelming and you had a lot of crap pent up inside you that you hadn't dealt with. It makes perfect sense that you'd go a little crazy when you got turned." He turned to face her and his eyes were completely serious. "You're one of the strongest people I have ever met. Your core has always been made of pure steel. You'll get it under control."

She smiled at him and her eyes glazed with tears. "It isn't just about my depression either, Damon. I'm dealing with that. I'm actually doing a lot better."

"Then what?" Damon demanded. "What could epic love possibly not be able to handle?"

Elena took a deep breath and held his piercing gaze. "I don't think either one of us can get past the fact that I'm in love with his brother."

Damon's whole world froze. He shook his head in disbelief. "You did not just say that."

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