Elena sat on the ground, her legs bunched up underneath her, as she glared up at Katherine.

"I don't know what you're playing at, Katherine. But let me go."

Katherine rolled her eyes and gave a big sigh as she pushed off the wall and moved toward Elena. "Calm down, no one's going to hurt you. Such a drama queen." She added on the last part under her breath.

Elena scoffed. "You and Stefan kidnapped me before making me call Damon and threaten him!"

"You're still alive, aren't you?"

Elena didn't reply, content to stay seated on the dirty ground while Stefan stood outside the tomb with his arms crossed stoically. After Stefan had forced her to call Damon, he and Katherine threw her in her SUV and drove her across town to the church where they were currently waiting. Elena wasn't sure why Stefan hadn't just compelled her to get in the car and sit in the tomb, instead of tying her wrists up-he'd obviously had no issue with compelling her to call his brother. Stefan's actions weren't adding up to Elena, nothing about him made sense.

"Yeah, and I don't get it. Why kidnap me if you're not going to do anything?"

"Stefan told you to back off. You didn't listen. When Damon went south to find him last week, it was a close call. He almost ran head first into Klaus."

"Why'd you go out looking for him? You're in as much danger as I am, if not more. Klaus hates you."

"I'm smarter."

Elena laughed. "Smarter than Klaus? All you've been telling us is how Klaus is smarter than literally everyone."

"I'm smarter than you." Katherine clarified. "You and Damon just run in with half-planned ideas, full of heart and heart gets you killed."

Stefan walked back into the tomb, a stony look on his face. "Stop, Katherine."

"Stefan," Elena began, straightening her back, "You are home, you're here. Just stay. Let's just go home, and we can figure everything out, okay?"

"You think it's that simple? Just go home, like everything is normal, go back to school? Like nothing's changed?"

"We can help you off the human blood, Stefan. We've done it before."

"I've killed people, Elena. A lot of people. Klaus will come looking for me eventually. I can't stay here and play high school with you. Everything's changed."

"My feelings for you haven't."

"That what you're telling yourself?" Stefan gave a harsh laugh.

"I love you, Stefan, and I think that together we can fix this."

"I'M A VAMPIRE!" Stefan roared and Elena flinched, scrambling back from him as well as she could with her hands tied behind her. "You can't just fix me!"

"Stefan, calm down." Katherine stepped forward, ready to intervene. She cared very little for Elena's life, but if Damon did come and there was a single scratch on Elena there was no doubt in her mind that Damon would rip her head off.

"You don't scare me." Elena lifted her chin, hoping her bravery would cover the fear she had exposed. "I'm not giving up, I can't give up."

"It's done, Elena. We're done. You decided that when you kissed my brother."

Elena backed down at Stefan's harsh words. Damn Katherine. Damn her for telling Stefan, she knew what that kiss had meant. Elena was not Katherine, she refused to be anything like Katherine. But it was too late. Stefan knew. He knew, and he hated her for it.

"I'm so sorry, Stefan. Just-just let me go. I'll tell Damon, I'll make sure he stops and I won't go looking for you, okay? I understand, I get it."

"I don't think you will though, that's the problem. And I can't have that. Katherine's right, I'm not going to hurt you but maybe this will make Damon think twice."

"Who knows how long it will be before Damon comes home. He's mad, he hates me right now, more than you do. He's not going to come out here." Elena bargained. She was bluffing, but she knew she wasn't far off. Damon may have left for a while, he may not come back for days and even if he did, she wasn't sure he'd be excited to rush off and save her. At best, Alaric and Jeremy would wonder where she was at when she didn't show up to school tomorrow, but it may take them 24 hours to put it all together and drive over to the boarding house, find Damon's phone and her voicemail, and get here. She was on her own.

Stefan gave a harsh laugh. "Oh, he'll come out here. My brother loves you more than anything. Hell, he loves you more than he ever loved her." He said, waving his hand toward the vampire.

Katherine scoffed at that. "Oh, please, Stefan. How long are you going to play this game? I ditched you both because of shit just like this. Let her go, she's not worth it." Katherine curled her lip in disdain as she looked down at Elena's body twisted on the ground, dirty and tired.

"Not until Damon gets here." Stefan insisted.

"Can you at least untie me?" Elena reasoned. She wasn't sure why they had her tied up. Getting out of here, away from 2 vampires, was just laughable.

"Are you going to run?" After Elena shook her head Stefan knelt to untie the ropes. "I'm sorry, Elena but I had to. Klaus can't know you're alive. I can't take any unnecessary risks."

"What the fuck, Stefan?" Elena jerked around, causing the knife Stefan had in his hands to cut her wrist but she paid no mind since her hands were now free and she jumped up at the sight of Damon stomping forward, his shoulders rigid and tense, with a deep scowl on his face.

"Good, you're here." Stefan straightened up behind Elena.

"Of course I'm fucking here, with a message like that." Damon scoffed as he stopped in front of Elena, grabbing her arm, and yanking her behind him.

"Damon, it's okay." Elena whispered. "They weren't going to hurt me."

Damon looked down at her, nostril flared. "Says the girl gushing blood from her wrist."

Elena gasped and looked down to see that Damon was right. Elena had blood rushing down her wrist, from where Stefan had nicked her. Elena's eyes flew to Stefan to see veins growing under his eyes as the bloodlust took over.

"I told Elena not to find me, Damon. I meant it. I'm not coming home, I don't want to come home. I hope I got your attention."

Damon gave a low growl deep in his throat. "I will tear your head off."

Elena wrapped her arm around his arm, "He won't hurt me Damon."

"He already did, Elena." Damon snarled, and Elena noticed he had his fangs extended and veins showing in his anger at Stefan.

"Quit with the histrionics, Salvatore. And get her out of here." Katherine warned as she held onto Stefan's arm, preventing him from rushing forward should he get the sudden urge to feast on his former girlfriend.

"Stop looking for me, Klaus cannot find her, and he will if you keep it up." Stefan hissed.

"Yeah, no problem. You can both go to hell for this." Damon snapped before he grabbed Elena and fast-traveled them out of the tomb, not stopping until they were outside the church.

Damon set Elena down while keeping a tight grip on her shoulders as she adjusted to the sudden movement.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." Elena moaned, holding her head, praying for the trees surrounding them to stop spinning for just five minutes. Damon watched her intently, anticipating the wild meltdown Elena was bound to have after the events of tonight.

"No, I mean are you okay?" Damon emphasized as he lifted his wrist to make a puncture for Elena to drink from and heal the gash on her wrist. She'd lost too much blood already and she needed to heal while Katherine could still hold Stefan back.

Elena shook her head at first, denying Damon's offer but after a shake of his wrist in her face she begrudgingly took his wrist and took two big swallows before choking and shoving him away, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. And just like that, she was good as new.

"Let's just go." Elena urged as she strode to her car and climbed in.

Damon took one last look at the church before he followed her.

They pulled into the long, winding driveway after a 5-minute drive of complete and utter silence. Elena sat still, emotionless. She knew Damon was holding his breath for her inevitable downfall, but she felt nothing. Maybe she was in shock, she didn't know.

Damon gave Elena one last piercing look before he stepped out of the car and, spurred by her lack of movement, went around to her side and opened the door for her to step out.

"Alaric is here." She said.

Damon nodded, it wasn't a question. "Yes, I told him I'd come back here after I got you." He opened the front door and led her inside.

"Elena,"

"Thank god!" Alaric and Jeremy's voices rang out at the sight of Elena. Jeremy's arms enveloped Elena in a hug as Alaric hovered nearby, anxious at Elena's state after her dealings with Stefan and Katherine.

"I'm fine, Jeremy, honestly." Elena gave a small smile to Alaric over her brother's shoulder.

"What the hell happened?" Alaric crossed his arms and Damon had to stifle a laugh at Alaric in full on Dad mode-something he did far too well for a fatherless, alcoholic widow to a vampire.

"It was a warning, that's all. Stefan told us, in no uncertain terms, to fuck off."

"Well, let's get her home. It's after midnight." Alaric moved to usher the Gilbert children toward the door, but Damon jumped into his path.

"Uh, no. You've already proved yourself incompetent when it comes to watching Little Miss Troublemaker here. She'll stay here tonight, where I can keep an eye on her."

Alaric scoffed. "Seriously? You think she's safer here?"

"He's got a point, Ric. You know he won't let her out of his sight." Jeremy conceded. Damon knew he liked Baby Gilbert for a reason.

Several minutes later, Damon had succeeded in ushering Alaric and Jeremy out the door with a promise that she would be in class first thing in the morning and he was in the process of maneuvering Elena upstairs so she could get some sleep.

"Thank you, Damon." Elena mumbled tiredly as she stumbled up the stairs.

"Don't mention it."

"No, really," Elena stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs, causing Damon to run right into her. "I was a jerk to you today and I deserved all those things you said to me. But you came back anyway." She looked up at him with those big brown eyes of hers, glistening with unshed tears. No. She could not start crying now. All she had to do was start the waterworks and Damon would move mountains if that's what she wanted.

"Well, I'm sorry for abandoning you. It was stupid and irresponsible, especially given how I just got back into town. You could have really been hurt tonight. I promise I'll never leave you again." Damon would do whatever was necessary to protect Elena, especially from his brother. Damon didn't plan for anyone to get their paws on Elena, but after tonight Stefan was at the very bottom of that list, right next to Klaus. He didn't know what game his little brother was playing, but it wasn't one they needed to be a part of.

Elena gave him a small smile before turning back around and walking down the hall to Stefan's room. Of course. Of course, she wouldn't believe tonight's events meant Stefan was gone, that he was past saving. She still believed in her boyfriend, hero hair and all. Damon didn't think she'd ever consider Stefan too far gone, even if he killed a damn puppy in front of her. While she had always held Damon on a high pedestal that he would inevitably fall off, Saint Stefan didn't even need a pedestal because he set the bar for what Elena decided was acceptable behavior for a vampire. Stefan fed on animals? Well then, every vampire should feed on animals. Stefan hid his vampire instincts? Well, so should everyone else. Hell, tonight proved it. Stefan kidnapped her, compelled her to lure Damon out, tied her up, and god knows what else and she still went to his bed, finding comfort in being surrounded by his things.

Damon sighed and took a seat outside his brother's bedroom door. Jeremy had been right, Damon wasn't going to leave Elena alone tonight. He wasn't going to force her to sleep in his room-that would just lead to another argument. He'd allow her to sleep wherever she felt most comfortable (as much as it pained him) but he would keep watch outside her door all night. What happened tonight was to never be repeated, not if he could help it.

Elena glanced around the room, trying to take in her surroundings and solve the mystery of where she was. There were boxes and crates everywhere, lining the huge, blank walls. Was she in a warehouse, maybe? It was sort of dark and very hot, so that was her best guess. She stood up and brushed dirt and debris off her legs.

How had she arrived here? The last thing she remembered was saying goodnight to Damon and walking into Stefan's room. She'd sleepily stripped off her clothes and found one of Stefan's t-shirts before peeling back the covers and crawling in bed. She thought she'd noticed Damon giving her an incredulous look as she shut the bedroom door, but it wasn't abnormal for her to sleep over and stay in Stefan's room. She had done it several times in the few weeks since Stefan had left, and she always slept in her boyfriend's room. Being surrounded by the familiar sights and smells that reminded her of him always helped her feel much less alone.

But this place was different. There was nothing safe or familiar about it. She walked around, trying to find a clue as to where this warehouse was located. Had Stefan come back? Was Katherine carrying out some sort of plot that involved taking her away from Mystic Falls? She knew she wasn't in Mystic Falls-there weren't any warehouses this large in the small town she grew up in. But maybe she was still in Virginia, maybe she wasn't far from home.

She turned the corner and gasped at what she found. Damon was lying bloodied and crumpled on the ground, face down. She rushed over to him and turned him over. He hadn't been staked, he was still alive. She gave a relieved sigh as she fell to her knees and surveyed the rest of the empty space before her.

Bodies littered the ground and there was blood everywhere. So much blood. They seemed dead, but Elena knew by now to make no assumptions. She picked up a nearby broom and broke it over her thigh, giving her a weapon in case she needed it as she slowly crept forward. As she methodically surveyed the bodies lying on the floor, she noticed a familiar head full of blonde hair.

"Caroline," she gasped, running forward. She was nearly at her friend's side when she heard a male voice yell her name. She looked up to see Stefan and a smile broke out on her face. Thank God Stefan was okay. Her smile fell at the look of sheer panic on his face.

"Stefan, what is it? What's wrong?" she stood up to move towards him, but he shook his head frantically and pointed in her direction.

"MOVE, ELENA, NOW!" He bellowed and she turned around in time to see Tyler stalking toward her. He looked different-angry, feral almost, and hungry. Elena raised her makeshift weapon and backed up. She didn't want to use it, didn't want to hurt Tyler. Was it a full moon, was that why he was acting oddly? But then he didn't look wolfish. No, it was something else. Something worse. He started to approach her at a faster pace so she broke out in a run, toward Stefan.

Stefan had his arms outreached, ready for her. She didn't know why he wasn't moving. He could move faster than her or Tyler, he could outrun them. Why wasn't he saving her? As she ran across the warehouse, jumping over bodies, she looked back to see how much of a lead she had on him. But in her effort to measure it, she tripped over a body and stumbled. She scrambled up, trying to get away but it was too late. Tyler had caught up with her. She faced him and held up her hands.

"Tyler, no, it's okay. It's me, Elena. We're friends." She tried reasoning but it was too late. Tyler approached her and drove her into a large wooden crate. She screamed as his mouth descended on her neck and he bit into her flesh.

"Elena, Elena, it's okay!" she heard Damon's voice call from the distance. Damon was unconscious though, how could he be-

Elena's eyes flew open and she flailed her arms and legs, trying to break free from whatever had a grip on her.

"No, no, let me go. Let me go, Tyler." She cried, thrashing wildly as she felt her arm encounter something hard.

"Elena, it's me. It's Damon. You're safe." Damon's voice called out urgently. Elena was in bed. Not in a warehouse. Damon was holding her, not Tyler. He was trying to calm her, not feed on her. She stopped her struggle, allowing Damon to fully gather her in his arms. "You're okay, shhh, it's okay, you're safe." He crooned, his breath hot in her ear.

"Damon," she gasped.

"You were having a nightmare, Elena." Damon sighed as he relaxed back against the headboard, his arms still wrapped around Elena.

"Yeah…" she breathed as she sat up and brushed her matted hair back, away from her face. She was drenched in sweat like she had been in the throes of the incredibly realistic nightmare for an hour, but she knew it had probably only been 30 seconds before Damon burst in to wake her.

"You said Stefan's name, and Caroline's…I was worried the idiot came back for round 2. Wanna tell me what happened?" Damon ran his fingers through the long strands of Elena's hair, trying to tame what had been tangled and mangled during her dream.

"I was somewhere strange…a warehouse, maybe? I don't know, it was hot and stuffy and there were boxes and crates everywhere. You were there, but you were unconscious. It looked like there had been a fight, there were bodies everywhere but I don't know if they were dead bodies, or vampires or something. I saw Caroline, but she was out like you were. And then Stefan was yelling my name, trying to warn me but I don't think he could move. It was Tyler, he was coming after me. I don't know what was wrong with him, he wasn't a wolf but he was crazy. And he chased me and I tripped and then he-he bit me."

"I'll kill that damn mutt." Damon muttered, his eyes dark and angry.

"He didn't actually hurt me, Damon. It was a dream." Elena sighed as she pushed Damon's arm off from around her middle.

"That's all it better be."

Damon had half a mind to call Vampire Blondie right now and make sure the werewolf was on his leash, but Caroline was a princess and would kill him for waking her up less than 2 hours before she had to be up for school. He continued to stroke Elena's hair as he listened to her pulse slowly calm down to its normal rate. He'd been nearly asleep when Elena had called out Stefan's name and for just a moment, he was terrified that his moment of weakness had allowed Stefan to return once again for Elena. Damon had burst into his brother's room to see Elena tangled in the sheets, her long mahogany hair a stark contrast against the white sheets as she writhed and shrieked. It took far too long for Damon to wake her from her dreams and calm her down, but he took pride in the fact that he could at all. It wasn't that long ago that she viewed him as the villain she needed protection from, and now he was doing the protecting.

"Well, if you're okay I'll just…" Damon started to move away so Elena could get a little more rest, but her fingers wrapped around his wrist, her eyes wide and frightened.

"Would you-do you mind…staying? Just until I go to sleep?" She could ask to stake him in that little voice and with those pitiful eyes and he'd hand her the stake. He gave a hesitant nod and settled back against the headboard as she wrapped her arm around his torso and laid her head on his stomach.

He'd tried so hard to maintain his distance since he came back to Mystic Falls, and for a while, he'd succeeded. Elena reminded him of his youth-she was so much like Katherine, while at the same time being better than Katherine in so many ways. It hadn't been his choice to fall for Elena, he was a fatalist after all. And what were the chances of running into two version of the same magnificently beautiful woman? No, this was his fate and regardless of if he lucked out with the girl this time or not (although, let's be honest when has Damon ever lucked out?), he was hers. So, he may as well enjoy these little moments that she allowed him because he knew the ending of this story. Stefan would come back, they would fix him, and that status quo would be reestablished. All would be right in the world, and Damon would be left in the dark once again.

"No, Elena, absolutely not!"

"We have to, Damon!"

"I hate to say it, but I kind of agree with Damon on this one."

Elena shot her brother a murderous look, to which he held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry sis. But he's right. Stefan was pretty clear. Either he's completely gone and it's too dangerous to get him back, or he was just trying to intimidate you to protect you. Either way, it's too dangerous."

Elena threw her arms up in frustration and stalked across the room, away from her friend and brother.

"Come on Elena, what did you expect?"

Elena looked over towards Jeremy, sitting on the couch and leaning toward the phone lying on the coffee table, Bonnie's voice echoing through the speakers.

"For someone to take my side, obviously." Elena snapped, arms crossed and defiant frown marring her face.

"Just give me some time, let me see if I can learn any spells that might help, if and when, we do find Stefan and bring him home. In the meantime, Damon can keep tabs on where Stefan and Klaus are at, so we're not on some wild goose chase when the time comes." Bonnie's calm voice reasoned.

Elena knew she wasn't going to win this battle. It was now mid-June, 3 weeks since Elena had last seen Stefan. Damon had made it his personal mission to move on and convince everyone else to do the same. He was still angry at Katherine and Stefan, and any mention of Stefan threw him in a foul mood that caused him to turn to blood or booze, sometimes both. But Elena had to give him credit, he never ran off again, not even for half a day. He was always within reach of Elena.

Meanwhile, Elena was still making it her mission in life to rescue Stefan from Klaus' evil clutches. She knew Stefan was just trying to protect her, but she wanted to protect him. And this particular idea? The one where she and Caroline headed south to Georgia where the latest string of attacks gave away her boyfriend's location and tried to bring Stefan home was vehemently turned down by Damon, Jeremy, and even Bonnie.

"Fine. I'll wait until the 23rd and see what you guys come up with." Elena conceded with a sigh. She'd be 18 then, no one could legally stop her then. And she wouldn't have to beg Damon to bankroll their little expedition, as she'd have access to her trust by then.

Damon gave her a wary look but backed down. "I'm glad that's settled then. Keep me informed." He said before hitting end on the phone.

Elena took a seat across from her brother and slumped forward, burying her face in her hands.

Damon sighed. He'd had enough of Elena's melodrama. He thought that what Elena had been through-which she refused to talk about-would have been the tipping point but it seemed to have the opposite effect. She was just that much more determined to find Stefan. He knew damn well what her very specific timeline of June 23rd was about-he wasn't a moron. But he didn't plan for her to get that far, so it was inconsequential to him.

"I'm going to the station to squeeze some more info out of Liz. I know it's hard, but do try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone." Damon gave Elena a pointed look before he walked out the door. It was time for him to work on his own plan.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I managed to find time to put this together between study sessions and wanted to post it before I go MIA for finals week. For those of you who are following Hunger, don't worry the new chapter will be up within the next week or two. I hit a bit of a roadblock and needed to take a quick break, but I'm working on it as we speak. I love you guys and thanks to everyone who reads and reviews every update, it's much appreciated!