It had started to snow again outside, rather hard.

Elena frowned from inside the car.

"How are we supposed to get back from here?"

"Well, if you had stayed at the house, I could have just run, but you just had to come…"

She could tell from his tone and grin that he was joking, but she couldn't help feeling guilty.

"What are we going to do?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I could still run; I'd just have to carry you."

She blushed.

"Oh…"

He grinned.

"Is that a problem for you? Because, if it is, we could just walk back in the snow for hours, and hours, and hours-"

"Alright, alright; I get it. You can… carry me."

He grinned.

"Perfect."

The next thing she knew, he was pulling her out of the car, into his arms, and running back to town at a startling pace.

She gasped and clung tightly to his neck, her eyes wide.

A few moments later, they were standing on the front step of the house.

"Now, wasn't that the better choice?" Damon asked, grinning at her expression.

She took a deep breath, attempting to slow her pounding heart.

He grinned and sat her on her feet.

When he did, she stumbled and he caught her, their faces inches from each other.

Elena stood, her eyes wide, paralyzed with shock.

She knew he wanted more than anything to kiss her, and was surprised when he bit his lip, standing straight again and opening the door.

She walked in and headed for the living room again, sitting back down on the couch.

"Are you going to say something?" he asked, leaning against the frame of the entrance.

She looked up at him. Snow was glistening in his black hair, and he looked a bit worried.

"I'm hungry." Were the first words that stumbled out of her mouth.

Both were silent for a few minuets, before Damon chuckled.

"Well, why don't you come into the kitchen and look for something?"

Elena frowned.

"Won't the people who live here wonder where their food went?"

Damon shrugged.

"Bryce will take care of them."

Elena sighed, standing up and following him into the kitchen with its island in the middle and shiny oak cabinets.

"What can I get for you?" Damon asked as if showing her into his own kitchen.

"Um… anything is fine."

"Well, we have," Damon opened the fridge and grimaced. "Tofu. Great. A bunch of vegetarians. Bryce failed to mention that."

"They must have more than just tofu." Elena said.

Damon shrugged.

"It depends on what you like. There's certainly no meat in here."

Elena walked over to the fridge beside him and looked in.

"We could see if you're as good at making soup as you are at making chili."

He grinned, tossing several packs of vegetables on the island.

"Elena, when you've been alive for over 150 years, cooking becomes one of your strong points."

Elena raised an eyebrow.

"And why would that be? It's not like you have to eat."

"Well, did you ever think maybe I like to? We also can't have kids." He grinned. "But, we do love to try…"

Elena smacked his arm, rolling her eyes.

"Just make the soup, lover boy."

"My pleasure." He said, taking a knife out and chopping carrots.

Elena walked back into the living room and flopped back down on the couch, looking around the room.

Her eyes fell on a remote sitting on the black leather couch beside her, so she picked it up and turned on the TV.

It was a large HD TV, and it was set on a sports channel. She flicked to the guide and started scrolling through TV shows.

She giggled when she came across "Dracula", and decided to turn it on.

The last time she had seen "Dracula" had been a few years before she had met Stefan and Damon. Which, of course, meant Dracula was the most realistic vampire she had ever seen.

Now, it was laughable.

An hour later, Damon entered the darkening living room, handing her a bowl of soup and flopping down beside her.

She inhaled the scent and beamed, digging in.

Damon grinned.

"Well? Is it up to your standards?"

She grinned, swallowing her first bite.

"Well, it's not as good as I hoped it would be…" she said, grinning and glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

Damon scoffed, gently smacking her arm.

"Oh, ha ha ha…" he glanced at the TV and raised an eyebrow.

"Dracula? Really, Elena?" he asked, shaking his head.

"It's funny." She said, grinning.

He raised an eyebrow at the hideous man that was the Count.

"Funny? I thought most people found it gruesome…"

Elena shook her head.

"Well, they don't know any real vampires, do they?"

Damon considered this, and then shrugged.

"True enough."

The pair sat and watched the movie while Elena ate. A while later, there was a rather gory scene with a lot of blood, and Elena heard Damon wincing.

She looked up.

"What's wrong…?"

Her question was answered when she looked at his face, though.

His eyes were bloodshot with veins surrounding them, and his teeth were protruding from beneath his top lip.

"I can't control it…" he complained, grimacing.

Elena's eyes widened.

"It's because you haven't fed in over a day! Damon, you need to feed-"

"I can't, Elena!"

His face scrunched up as he forced his fangs back in and snatched the remote, turning off the TV.

"Neither of us can leave this house again until we leave for good! If Elizabeth catches us, she'll kill us!"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Don't be stupid, Damon-"

Damon grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"You don't know Elizabeth like I do. She will do anything to keep herself and Bryce safe. Anything."

He looked away and sighed.

"Even if it means killing perfectly innocent people."

Elena frowned, glancing around. As they watched the movie, the room had gotten completely dark, and street lamps were on outside. Snow swirled around outside behind the curtains, now a full blown storm.

Elena, biting her lip, pulled her hair over to one side of her neck, exposing her throat.

"You need to drink, Damon."

His eyes widened.

"Elena, don't be an idiot-"

"I'm not being an idiot, Damon! You fed me," she blushed. "Now it's my turn to feed you."

Damon frowned.

"Elena, I can't."

"Yes, you can."

She brought her hand up and stroked the veins beneath his eye with her thumb.

"You were the one who said you needed to protect me. And you can't do that if you're thirsty."

Damon twisted his lip in conflict, stroking her neck in a gentle caress with his knuckles.

"I can't hurt you, Elena."

"It won't hurt as much if I don't fight you." She said, but he could tell she was afraid.

He stroked her neck again, and brought his lips down to her throat. He felt his fangs extend, and Elena's pulse increased when she felt the cool, sharp tips near her neck.

She pretended she wasn't afraid, but it was human instinct. Whenever a predator threatens them, their pulse quickens. It's what creates the thrill of a chase for vampires.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting the sting of his fangs sinking into her flesh.

But it didn't come.

Instead, he placed a soft, feather-light kiss where his lips were.

Elena let out a shaky sigh, her eyelids relaxing from their tight stance.

Damon pulled away, his eyes sad.

"I won't hurt you, Elena. I could never do that to you, ever again."

She opened her eyes, sighing.

"But, you need blood."

He shook his head.

"Not badly enough that I would drink yours."

She gave him a small smile and lied down in his arms, shutting her eyes in the darkness.

He ran his fingers through her hair, sighing and glancing at the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree.

"Elena?" Damon asked, and looked down to find her asleep in his arms, her eyelids fluttering in a dream.

He smiled and stroked her cheek gently, relishing in the feeling of her in his arms. He had a feeling that, once Stefan got his emotions back, he wouldn't get to experience it very often.

He felt his heart breaking at the idea of any intimacy he had reached with Elena being gone with the snap of Stefan's fingers. Why was it that the things Damon wanted most, Stefan always got? He had never really had a fair chance with Katherine; she had fallen in love with Stefan before Damon even met her.

He had certainly had no chance with Elena, either. Stefan always managed to get there first. And, once Stefan got a girl, or anyone, in his clutches, he was never going to loosen his grip. Especially not if Damon was around.

He stroked Elena's hair again, sighing heavily.

He loved her so much more than he had ever cared for Katherine; he would give his life up for Elena in an instant.

But… would she do the same for him?

He shifted her gently so as not to wake her, and picking her up in his arms, carrying her up to the master bedroom and pulling back the blankets on the bed, gently laying her down and tucking them around her.

He then walked over to the other side of the bed and lied beside her, watching over her as she slept.

No one was going to hurt her.

Especially not Klaus.

Absolutely not his brother.