Chapter 14: November Rain

"'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain." –Guns n' Roses

Elena fell in step quietly behind the sound of Damon's heavy black leather boots as they crossed the threshold into the cold steel building that sat just on the edge of downtown Miami. She hooked her hand in the back of his jacket and tried to keep her hands from shaking as they moved through the darkened entrance that led into the main room of the seemingly abandoned warehouse. Bonnie and Caroline followed closely behind Elena and even though Elena knew that Bonnie had been furious with her only hours before, just as they walked into the main room, Elena felt Bonnie slip her small hand into hers and give her a reassuring squeeze. Elena squeezed her hand back and silently they both understood that no matter what happened inside that warehouse or outside after this was all said and done, they loved each other, no immortal vampire or foolish disagreement could ever change that.

Just as the four of them made their way into the main room of the building, Elena felt her shoe slide slightly on a thick liquid that covered the floor beneath her. She turned and looked at Bonnie in the darkness, but Bonnie just shrugged her shoulders as she tried to step around the substance. No matter where they stepped however, the thick liquid covered the floor and now the bottom of all of their shoes.

"It's blood, just keep walking. Keep walking and don't look down." Damon whispered as he continued to move forward. Elena felt her heart sink into her stomach and twist violently. She gripped Damon's jacket tighter and tried to focus on the fact that they were there to save Stefan, not the fact that she was walking over someone's blood, someone that Stefan had probably killed.

Just as they made it into what Elena imagined to be the center of the main warehouse, she saw a small light shining from the far left corner of the room. She tried to focus her eyes and slowly she began to make out a tall, thin man with golden blonde hair that stood leaning against the wall. He wasn't looking at them, but Elena was certain he knew they were there. The dull lamp lightening that shone over his alabaster skin and golden spun hair made him appear as if he were an angel from heaven there to save them from whatever monsters could possibly lie within the darkness that night. The only problem with this of course, was that the angelic man that stood before them was the actual monster in which they needed the most protection from.

"Well well well, looks like we've got company Stefan." The man said as he pushed himself from the wall and looked to the darkened corner to which Elena guessed Stefan stood. Damon froze where he stood and Elena ran into his back before she was able to stop herself. Damon's entire body became rigid and his arms tensed in preparation for any fight that he feared they might encounter.

"Klaus, we are just here for my brother. Give him to us and this doesn't have to get bloody." Damon said sternly as he twisted away from Elena's grasp.

"Stay here." He whispered to her, as he took a step forward. Elena reached out and grabbed Damon's hand desperately. He stopped for a moment and turned to look at her. Elena could barely make out his face, but his glacier blue eyes shone brightly in the moonlight that cascaded through one of the few small windows. He squeezed her hand gently and rubbed his thumb soothingly over her palm.

"Stay with Bonnie and Caroline, everything will be alright." He whispered again. Elena nodded and then against her heart's desire, she finally let go of his hand. Damon nodded and then moved closer toward Klaus, who surprisingly still stood across the room from them.

"You want me to give you your brother Damon? What a silly thing to ask a man who clearly did not take him from you. See, your brother found me. He found me and he is here with me of his own free will. If he would like to leave with you that is of his decision not mine. Now, that pretty little doppelganger that you have hiding in the shadows over there, well that might be a slightly different story." Klaus said with a sarcastic grin as he moved closer toward him. Damon continued moving forward. He walked casually and tried to make it appear as if he was not intimidated or afraid, but inside…well that was another story.

"My brother is here of his own free will huh? Well isn't that just romantic. You brainwashed him, compelled him and then released him and he just loved the abuse so much that he came running back. Where is the little battered housewife anyway, hiding behind you somewhere?" Damon asked sarcastically as he squinted and tried to find his brother's figure amidst the darkness.

"I'm right here Damon." Stefan's voice rang out from only a few feet behind Elena. Elena froze and looked quickly toward Bonnie. Bonnie gripped her hand, but it was too late. In an instant Elena felt Stefan's grip on her shoulders and before she knew it his arms were wrapped tightly around her.

"Stefan." Was all Elena managed to say as Stefan's creepily warm embrace surrounded her. Stefan pulled her tighter to him as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.

"You came to look for me." He said softly. Elena's mind spun, was he actually happy she was there? Had he left just to see if she would come after him? Was this all just a big game, or was this all just a big Klaus game?

"Of course I came looking for you. Why did you run Stefan?" Elena asked in a shaky voice as she watched Damon slowly turn half around to look at them. She watched as Damon kept Klaus in his eye line, but also judged the safety of his brother as he held the only thing of real worth in his life, tightly in his possibly psychotic arms.

"Yeah baby brother, why after a little bit of blood did you run all the way to Florida? That's a little extreme even for you don't you think?" Damon asked as he cocked his head to the side and raised his brow. Stefan smiled slightly as he ran his hands down Elena's arms and released her slightly from his tight grip.

"I had some unfinished business here Damon. See, when Klaus released me, he released me in exchange for me watching over Elena. I was to make sure that she was safe and that no harm came to her until he was done making his hybrids. Since she also happened to be my girlfriend it seemed like a pretty nice exchange, I got to be with her and keep her safe. Not a bad deal, don't you think?" He asked as he smiled at his brother. Elena felt her stomach churn again as Stefan's real reason for leaving washed over her. She looked back toward Damon and saw the glare of his eyes boring into Stefan.

"Not a bad deal, Stefan? You are keeping your girlfriend safe so she can remain a human blood bag, what the hell kind of safety is that? Did you lure us here Stefan? Did you try to get us to come here so that your girlfriend could make a fucking donation to your bastard boyfriend?" Damon questioned loudly as anger rose quickly inside of him. Stefan shrugged his shoulders.

"I needed to talk to Klaus, I needed a reprieve from my back on the wagon diet and I needed to get Elena here. If I lured her here then that kept Klaus out of Mystic Falls, I would say that was a pretty good plan on my part. This protected a lot of people Damon. Bringing her to Klaus was safer; giving Klaus what he wants is always safer. Making him come get it for himself, well we all remembered what happened the last time." Stefan said roughly as he stared at Damon. Damon gritted his teeth as he dropped his gaze to the ground.

"Yes, I remember what happened last time Stefan, but that still is not a good enough reason to once again put Elena's life in danger! Sacrificing the woman you love to Klaus is not the only solution to this fucking problem!" Damon yelled as he ran his fingers quickly through his jet black hair. Stefan rolled his eyes and let out a disgruntled sigh.

"Damon I'm not sacrificing anything. Klaus promised to keep her alive, hell he needs her alive. He also needs some of her blood; I don't see the big fucking deal." Stefan said quickly. Elena's body tensed as Stefan ran his fingers over her arms once again as he spoke. This was bad; she could feel this was bad.

"Look, if this will get us out of here and everyone can stay alive then go ahead, take whatever you want. I just want us all out of here…alive." Elena said as she tried to slowly pull herself out of Stefan's grasp. Damon stared at her and his eyes widened as he took in her words.

"No Elena! You are not becoming a human blood bag for these two psychopaths. Either Stefan comes home with us without you opening a vein or Stefan can just stay here with his boyfriend, because either way you are leaving this baron fucking wasteland with all the blood you came in with." Damon said sharply as he moved closer. Klaus stepped closer from where he had previously stood silently and took in a large breath before he spoke.

"Well this is fun; you boys fighting like children over things in which you have simply no control. Elena will gladly open a vein for me and then you will all skip off into the sunset until I need you again. Elena doesn't mind donating a little of that beautiful crimson elixir that pumps through those sumptuous veins of hers Damon; you of all people should know that." Klaus said coldly as a smirk twisted onto his lips. Both Elena and Damon froze, if they had thought this was going bad before, they had obviously thought wrong.

"What are you talking about Klaus?" Stefan asked confused as he moved further from Elena and closer toward where Klaus now stood. Klaus smiled and moved closer to them once again.

"Can you really not smell it Stefan? Has your love from this woman blinded you so much that you cannot see the infidelity that was so obvious to me from the moment they all walked into the room? Could you not see the way she held onto him for safety? Could you not hear the reassuring whispers of his promise of protection? Most of all can you not smell the wounds on her body or her blood on his breath?" Klaus asked curiously as he tilted his head to the side and stared at Stefan. Stefan looked between Elena and Damon. Elena dropped her head toward the ground, but Damon stayed frozen in place, ready for whatever was about to happen.

"Elena, what is going on?" Stefan asked and suddenly the cold, calculated man that had led them to this place was gone. The Stefan that she had met a year before was back and standing in front of her. Questions and hurt plagued his face as he looked at her, waiting for her tell him that what his self-appointed master had been saying was all a lie. Instead, Elena slowly lifted her head as tears quickly filled her eyes.

"Stefan….I…I didn't mean for this to happen." She said softly as she tried to put the words together in her mind that she needed to say to somehow explain how she felt while at the same time not break the heart of the man that she knew would quickly fly off the handle and do God knows what with this new information. Stefan shook his head and quickly moved closer to her.

"You have been sleeping with him. You have been sleeping with my brother." He whispered in a matter of fact tone and there was nothing about his words that held question anymore. The only thing left to his words was simply just the cold hard facts. Elena looked at Damon, but even though his eyes locked with hers he had nothing to give her. She knew that she was on her own here; he needed to hear the words she had to say just as much as his brother did; only he needed to hear them for a very different reason.

"Stefan, I love you, I really do. I just…" She stopped. She saw Damon's eyes turn to ice and saw Stefan's fists clench as they both waited for the next words she was about to say. Elena swallowed hard and finally put together what she had needed to say to both of them for a very long time.

"Stefan, I never lied when I told you I loved you. I have loved you for a very long time. When you came into my life a year ago, you were my world. You were my hero, you were my best friend and you were my heart. But something has happened and things have changed and even though I still love you very much…I also love Damon and I love him very much too." Elena said quietly as she quickly turned her glance to Damon. Damon's eyes had softened, but his face now carried a great sadness. He had waited for those words from her for a very long time, but she knew deep down hearing them after she had just said she also loved his brother, wasn't exactly how he had envisioned this all playing out.

Quickly, Elena was jolted from her thoughts when she heard a loud crack as she heard an object behind her break in two. She turned around and saw Stefan standing even closer to her and was now holding the long handle of a broom that he had just broken off in his hands. Old Stefan had officially left the building, crazy off the rails Stefan was now back and the look in his eyes terrified her.

"Oh here we fucking go again! Damon, are you hearing this? Did you just hear those fucking words again? Those fucking words that I am so tired of hearing! It's like fucking deja vu in here! What is it with you Petrova bitches and thinking that it is impossible to love just one of us?" Stefan screamed as he started to pace. Elena stepped back carefully toward Damon, but in an instant was pulled back to Stefan with enough force that she slammed into his hard muscular chest.

"No no sweetheart, you are not running off to him so he can protect you this time. Is this what happened while I was gone? Where you so grief stricken by my leaving that you had to climb on my brothers dick? Did it make you feel better Elena? Did fucking my brother fill that void in you that I left? Did sleeping with the man that you claimed only months ago to hate somehow make you feel safe and all warm and fuzzy inside?" He questioned in a sarcastic yell as he tightened his grip on her. Elena felt her body begin to tremble.

"Stefan, no…it…" Elena mumbled, but didn't know what to say. The truth of how her and Damon had come to be was too idiotic sounding for her to share with a room full of her friends, boyfriend and a hybrid psychopath, so she simply opted for saying nothing.

"Stefan, don't be ugly. Let her go. You and me can settle this on our own; this is about you and me after all." Damon said sternly as he moved closer to the two of them. Stefan laughed and released his grip on Elena as he began to slowly pace in front of her once again.

"About you and me? How could this possibly be about you and me? I mean Jesus Damon, I couldn't possibly be sick and fucking tired of the fact that every time I find a girl that I want to be with, you seem to find the same girl and want to stick your dick in her! Does it feel good Damon? Does it feel good putting your dick in just after me? Does that get you off in some sick and twisted way?" Stefan asked as his eyes widened. Elena looked down at the floor and felt her stomach twist violently once again. She looked off to the side and saw Bonnie and Caroline standing next to the wall silently. It was probably best they were silent, after all this whole mess had nothing really to do with them, it had everything to do with her and for that she truly hated herself.

"Stefan, I didn't do any of this on purpose. Why don't you and me just step outside and we can handle this man to man. You don't need Klaus here for protection do you?" Damon asked as he raised his brow. Elena heard Klaus laugh from behind them and in an instant come into view.

"No, he doesn't need me for protection Damon. I am here simply for the girl. I want my blood and then I want you all to get the hell out of here. As much as I love a good soap opera, your repetitive teenage drama is frankly beginning to bore me. I am a busy man you know, things to do." Klaus said with a fake smile as he stepped forward and grabbed Elena's arm. Damon stepped forward.

"No fucking way, let her go." He said sharply. Elena turned and looked at Damon.

"It's alright. If all he wants is my blood and that means we can go home, I will gladly give it to him. If I do this Stefan, will you come home?" Elena asked as she turned her attention back to the brother that was going crazy right before their eyes. Stefan let out an exacerbated sigh and smiled widely, but maniacally.

"Well of course Elena! You, me and Damon can go back to Mystic Falls, live in the Boarding House and live happily fucking ever after. Just the three of us, no rules, right Damon?" Stefan asked as he raised his brow. Damon felt rage rush through his veins as Katherine's words escaped his brother's lips. But, the rage hit him just a moment too late.

Elena felt the world slow around her, even though everything seemed to happen too fast for her to truly even grasp. Klaus pulled her body toward him, just as Stefan moved at in human speed toward Damon. Damon moved quickly and side stepped his brother, but Stefan only twisted around and came at him again, but this time with more force. The two men twisted and turned around each other for what seemed like a life time, but what in reality had only been a few seconds. Klaus held Elena to his chest as they watched the brother's move in a blur of motion that grew more intense with every passing moment. Caroline ran from the corner she had previously taken shelter in and tried to pull them apart, but before anyone could fully blink the blood curdling screams of a man filled the air and everyone seemed to hold their breath at the same time. The blur of motion slowed and Elena watched as her world came to screeching halt before her. She stared in front of her and watched as the man that had held her only an hour before, sank to his knees and gasped desperately for air. Elena looked down in the darkness and saw the handle of the broom that Stefan had held only seconds ago, covered in blood, sticking out of Damon's chest. Blood gushed down Damon's body and he fell back onto the ground with a loud groan. Elena twisted and quickly escaped Klaus' grasp. She ran toward Damon's body and dropped to her knees beside him.

"Damon, Damon look at me! Damon!" Elena screamed as she moved her hands to Damon's face and turned him toward her. Damon gasped and moaned as pain rocketed through his entire body, but he didn't speak. Caroline quickly dropped to her knees and ran her eyes over Damon trying to see if there was anything they could do to stop what was quickly becoming the end of their worst plan ever. Elena slowly turned her gaze and stared up at Stefan.

"I…I didn't mean…" He said as emotions flooded his previously cold and hardened face. The rage that had filled his eyes moments before was gone and now sorrow plagued his beautiful green eyes as he stared at his brother who lay bloodied at his feet. Tears welled up in Stefan's eyes, but he didn't move any closer. He slowly stepped back and began to shake his head and before Elena could stop him, scream at him, or pull the stake from Damon's chest and shove it into his, he was gone. She quickly looked to where Klaus had held her only moments before and only saw emptiness. In the distance she heard a door slam and that painfully loud noise along with the bloody piece of wood that now protruded from Damon's chest, was the only evidence left that they had ever even been there that night.

Elena turned her focus back to Damon. She looked at Caroline as she tried to focus through her tears that were now streaming down her face.

"Is he…can we do anything Care? Please tell me we can do something!" Elena demanded as she rubbed her hands over the bloodied front of Damon's shirt. Caroline nodded as she blinked tears from her own eyes and quickly wrapped her hands around the wooden handle that stuck out from Damon's chest.

"It must have missed his heart because he is still moving. If I can just get it out, he should be OK." She said quickly and she struggled slightly and then finally pulled the wood from Damon's chest. Damon moaned in pain, but his eyes remained closed. Elena looked between Caroline and Damon.

"He's gonna heal though right? He should be healing already shouldn't he? Caroline, what is taking so long?" Elena screamed frantically as she looked around her for any answers. Caroline put her hand on Elena's shoulder.

"Calm down Elena. He needs blood. This is a big injury, he just needs blood and he needs it fast." Caroline said as she watched Damon's pale face grow another shade whiter. Elena nodded and quickly pulled her sweater over her head. She knelt over Damon in her tank top and pushed her wrist in front of his face.

"Then he can have mine. Come on Damon, do what you told me to do. Drink." She said frantically as she pushed her wrist harder toward his mouth. Damon groaned, but didn't move.

"He's weak Elena. If you give him your blood he might take too much, this is dangerous we need to find…" She started, but Elena stopped her.

"Damnit Caroline! We do not have time to find a fucking blood bank. If he is too weak then you bite me. Bite my wrist and then we are shoving it in his mouth until he drinks on his own. He needs to drink and so help me God he is going to drink. I am not going to lose him just because he and Stefan were fighting over me. I am not worth him dying over, I have to fix this!" Elena screamed through her tears. Caroline stared at Elena in shock, it wasn't everyday Elena screamed and used curse words at the same time. Caroline nodded slowly and realized that arguing with Elena at this juncture was completely pointless. She licked her lips and slowly leaned down closer to Elena wrist. She pressed her perfect crimson lips to her soft delicate flesh and slowly opened her mouth. Elena sat impatiently as she watched Caroline's fangs extend through her gums and then quickly sink into her flesh.

"Mmmm…." Elena moaned as she gritted her teeth. It was such a strange sensation being bitten by Caroline. Her soft lips were comforting on her skin, but the sharpness of her teeth caused a pain in her arm that rocketed all the way up into her shoulder. She clenched her teeth harder until she felt Caroline slowly retract her teeth and the pain began to slightly subside.

"God, no wonder Damon likes you. You are freaking delicious." Caroline said sarcastically with a smile as she pulled back and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. Elena shook her head and rolled her eyes as she pushed Caroline's comment from her mind. She quickly pulled her now bleeding wrist back from her friend and quickly pressed it to Damon's lips.

"Drink Damon." Elena said softly as she pressed her wound to his mouth. Damon didn't move. He groaned as the crimson liquid slowly began to flow over his lips, but he didn't open his mouth. He was being stupid, stubborn and so incredibly Damon. Elena felt her blood rush faster in her veins as her fear for losing Damon mingled with her irritation of him and his stupid pride.

"God Damnit Damon! Quit being such an idiot! Drink! You need this, you will die without it. I can't lose you Damon." Elena pleaded as she pressed her wrist to Damon's mouth harder. He didn't move once again. Elena felt her tears rush faster down her face.

"Come on Damon, you don't want to be a martyr like your brother do you? Your family can only have one brooding vampire and that role is already taken. Be the self-entitled prick that I love and drink for Christ's sake." Elena begged sarcastically and slowly she saw a painful smile twist across Damon's lips. She smiled through her tears as she felt his lips slowly begin to part. It only took a second, but Elena finally felt what she had needed to feel for so long…something in her, healing something in him.

Damon feeding from Elena that night was far different from any of the other times that he had tasted her blood. At first as he fed, he drank slowly and with great caution. Slowly, however, as his strength built and his hunger grew, Elena felt Damon's hands raise and wrap tightly around her wrist. She moaned as she felt him suck harder at her wound and even though she knew that now was not the time for pleasure, the feeling of satisfying him as he was consumed by hunger made her body tingle and her core ache for his touch. The feeling of him feeding from her like this was far more intense than any orgasm she had ever felt, even at his hands. His lips wrapped tightly around her wound, his tongue slid slowly over the indentations that Caroline's teeth had left and his fingers dug into her skin in a passionate way that reminded Elena of how he held her as he pushed himself inside of her every time that they had made love. With every sweet moment that passed, Damon grew stronger and because of that he fed with far more intensity.

"Damon…" Elena moaned as she felt Damon's tongue gently caress the skin of her wrist. The warehouse was becoming darker around her and somehow bright white stars seemed to fill the air above them. She smiled at the beauty of the stars as she felt her body lower down to Damon's; she nuzzled her face in his shoulder as he groaned from the taste of her that washed over his lips. She smiled as she felt her eyes beginning to close.

"It feels so good to be with you like this. I feel like I am finally with you, like I'm always inside of you now." Elena mumbled, but she wasn't sure if the words had even truly ever left her lips. In the background of her mind she heard screaming. She saw a flash of blonde hair move over her and quickly she was pulled from Damon's grasp. She heard him moan at the loss of contact and felt herself nearly break down into tears as she felt herself being pulled further and further from his body. She opened her eyes and tried to focus on the beautiful face that stared down at her, but she longed for the comfort of the body she had just been pulled from.

"Elena! Elena! Elena, you need to listen to me. You need to…" Caroline's voice shouted, but Elena didn't hear the rest of what she had said. She slowly turned her head back toward the man that lay on the floor next to her and smiled as she saw his hand begin to move and his head eventually turn towards her. She didn't say anything at first; she just let herself get lost in the beautiful icy blue pools that had called to her since the day that Damon had stepped into their sleepy little town.

"I love you..." Elena moaned as she stared into his beautiful eyes.

Elena watched the blur of motion as Damon quickly pulled himself from the ground and watched as his eyes grew more frantic the closer to her he moved. She knew that he was somewhere near her now, but suddenly she couldn't see any of the beautiful faces that had surrounded her only moments before. She heard voices in her mind, but instead of listening to them, she simply let them lull her to sleep as she finally closed her eyes. She knew she should be fighting, she knew she should try to stay awake, but deep inside she also knew she had finally done the one thing that she had been meant to do ever since Damon had kissed her hand the year before when she had ran into him for the first time in the Salvatore Boarding House. She had given herself to him. She had truly given herself to him and asked for nothing in return. Her life had given him life and for all of the things that she had taken from him over the past year, it felt only right to give him this in return on that humid rainy night in Florida. She smiled to herself as she drifted off into the darkness and thought of the moment in Damon's room when he had told her that if she got scared all she had to do was hold onto his hand. Even though she knew she was probably dying on that cement floor surrounded by her friends that night, she felt the soothing feel of fingers wrapped around hers as she drifted to sleep. This moment alone made everything worthwhile because as she clutched the cool fingers that wrapped around hers she felt the gift that only he had ever been able to give her…the gift of being able to truly feel.

Please read and review! So are we mad? Are we happy? Do you hate me? Love me? LOL, don't worry I am not ending the story. I decided to draw out this one and postpone the sequel for a while. Plenty more chapters coming your way! I've got the writing bug again so should be lots of updates for the next couple of days. Please read and review and let me know how you like it. Click the button! NIKKI