A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, I truly appreciate it. Your words mean much :)

Two days later.

It was nearly dawn and Elena could feel her hunger ebbing to the surface. But she disregarded it with a proverbial swat of the hand. The man that she had fed on had nourished her this long. It filled her with a sense of revulsion because she had enjoyed her kill. She enjoyed the taste of the man's thick blood filling her mouth and strengthening her like an elixir. She tasted the terror in him and it was almost…exciting. But she didn't want to be a killer. She didn't want to lose all of herself when she became a vampire. She wasn't trying to martyr herself like Damon said. No. She just didn't want to hurt people. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one. And that hurt worst of all. What if that man had a daughter waiting at home? Elena shuddered and sighed. She was lying in her bed at the Salvatore Boarding House. Well, it wasn't truly her bed just as much as this wasn't in her room. After she left the basement she found an uninhabited room on the far corner of the 2nd floor. It was lovely if sparsely furnished. Her bed was large—much larger than she had need for. It was a four poster king sized bed. The frame was massive and made of a dark wood, American Black Walnut. It had ornate carvings in each poster depicting the Greek God of sleep—Hypnos and his brother, the Greek God of Death—Thanatos, embraced in their lair—and the outside of it surrounded by a flora and fauna. Elena slowly lifted her arm and brought her fingertips to the wood and lazily traced the figures over and over.

"I bought it in Greece."

Elena jumped, startled.

Damon always found a way of coming upon her undetected. Elena feigned as if she knew he was there. She turned slowly to him and propped her pillows underneath her head.

"You were in Greece," she asked.

"Mmmhmm," he crossed his hands, watching her, and said nothing more.

She could get lost in his stare. His eyes were hypnotic cerulean jewels that entranced her like a child to sweets. She didn't know how long she gazed at him but she knew it had been for an abnormally long moment.

Damon smirked.

"It'll be morning soon," she said, almost like a question.

"Right."

"I can't go out in the sunlight…"

"No." He sighed, seemingly uninterested.

"When can I?"

"When can you what?"

"Go outside in the day."

"You can go whenever you please. I'm not stopping you. Just know that you'll turn into some delicious beef jerky when you do." He raised his brows in mock surprise.

"Damon!"

"What?"

"Well…you get to go out in the day…why can't I?"

"Because I have a ring, Elena. Quit acting stupid. You already know this."

"Well, I just thought that maybe you had one for me."

Damon smiled and walked towards her. He touched the side of her face and tucked her hair behind her ear. Suddenly, he plopped down on the bed beside her and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her temple and looked down at her.

"I don't have a ring for you," he said finally.

"So…what? I get to be a stuck inside while you get to prance out in the sunlight?"

"Don't get feisty. I said I don't have a ring for you. That doesn't mean there is a ring for you."

Elena said nothing as she waited for him to continue.

"All we have to do," he purred, "is get the ring from my darling baby brother."

Elena looked away.

Damon watched her like a hungry lion, waiting to find a weak antelope in the herd.

"We," she said softly, "don't even know where he is. He might not ever come back."

"Don't be naïve. I've always known where he was. He'll be back. Sooner than you think."

If Elena's heart could hammer in her chest, it would have at that moment.

Stefan…

Her eyes softened as his image, an image she tried to forget, flickered and then burned brightly in her mind. Her smile was hadn't quite met her lips when…

Damon grabbed Elena's chin painfully and yanked her face up to his. His eyes searched hers for a moment and he wrenched his hands away from her face and threw her off his lap.

"Damon," Elena called, startled.

He walked towards the door and turned suddenly.

"Don't you ever forget the words you said before you were turned."

And with that, he stalked from the room.

Elena rushed to the door and called after Damon but he was gone. The sun was already rising and Elena was resigned to spending another day alone in the Salvatore Boarding House. She longed for her friends—for Bonnie, for Caroline, for Matt. She longed for her family—Jenna and Jeremy. Elena ran her hands over her face. Her hunger was beginning to rise within her again and she forced the feeling down as best she could. So far her best defense was sleep. So she crawled back into bed and pulled the covers to her chin. She turned and looked at her bed post again. Her fingers traced over the image of Thanatos again and again until the darkness of sleep took hold and pulled her under.

She dreamt of Damon. She dreamt of his lips tracing invisible patterns all over her body. She dreamt of his fangs dragging across her skin. She dreamt of blood. She dreamt of it blooming like a flower out of a soft neck. She dreamt of drinking it like a never ending silky ribbon of wine…

"You can let her go now, Elena." His voice was soft. "There's nothing left."

Elena's eyes snapped open. In her arms was warmth. Her teeth were sunk deep into a neck…an innocent neck. She sheathed her fangs instantly and she pushed the body, with ease, away from her. Her hand flew to her blood stained mouth as she looked down at the dead woman at her feet. She was thin and pale—almost grey now, with all blood drained from her body. Elena let out an ear piercing scream as Damon stood motionless near the doorway. They were in the foyer of the house. Blood was splattered across the floor in fantastic smears and mist. She rushed to the woman and stupidly pulled her in sitting position. The woman's head lolled crazily against her shoulder. Elena moved her ear to the woman's heart, as if she didn't already know…

Damon grabbed Elena by her arm and pulled her swiftly from the body.

"Goddamnit, Elena! Stop it. She's gone."

Elena was crying now and she pushed Damon, though he did not move.

"Why did you bring her?" She screamed, pushing him again in vain.

Damon grabbed her wrists and brought her close to his face.

"Control yourself. I didn't have anything to do with this."

"Don't--"

"Stop. Now." He demanded.

Elena sniffled noisily.

"I came home and I found you already on her. But you were out of it…like…dreaming. You couldn't have gone out to get her. It's still light out. She must have wandered in. Her car is in the drive. Do you remember what happened?"

Elena sighed and thought hard but nothing was coming to her. She shook her head slowly.

"I didn't think it would be like this..." She whispered.

"Like what?"

Elena looked up at him.

"Look around, Damon. Have you done this so long that you forgot what it was like to have remorse?"

"No. I just don't care." He sighed and ran his hands over his face.

"She didn't deserve…" She trailed off.

"You knew the price, Elena." He said finally.

"What?"

He raised his hands to either side of her head and leaned forward to look her at eye level.

"What did you think would happen? That I would break into blood banks for you to spare you frail psyche? You know what I am. You've always known. I was never going to spare you. I won't."

She tried to turn away but his grip was firm.

"No. Listen to me. How quickly you forget why you came to me."

Elena stared.

"You can't fool me, Elena. I know."

Elena jerked away violently, freeing herself from him. She slid on the blood as she began to run towards the door. She threw it open, the sun hitting her with all its brightness and she screamed. It burned more viciously than she anticipated. But before she could retreat like a coward or before she could run forward and reach the porch like a warrior, Damon covered her with his body and pulled her back into the house. He slammed the door with such force that the wood snapped down the middle.

Elena was crying in pain—physical and mental. She sobbed openly as Damon stood, watching her.

Damon's mind twisted in many different ways. Anger. Fear. Jealousy. And…

Damon's hand slowly slid to Elena's back and he crushed her softly in his embrace.

"Shhh," he kissed the top of her head. Her singed hair was beginning to repair itself back to its shiny luster.

"Honey," he whispered, "I knew you had cancer."