AN: Disclaimer: I would be playing Elena if I owned this. Lucky, lucky girl.
Alaric's Point of View
It was about 9:30 when Damon woke up. Alaric was upstairs when he heard rustling coming from Damon's room. Expecting the worst, he went inside and quickly rushed to his side.
"Relax, Ric, I'm not going to throw up."
Alaric relaxed a little. "Well you can't blame me for expecting you to. That's all you did last night."
"I slept a little," Damon said mater-of-factly.
"Do you want to come downstairs?" Alaric asked. "I don't have super vampire smelling, and this room still reeks like vomit."
Damon wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, it smells awful in here. It's really not helping with my nausea."
Alaric nodded and helped Damon sit up. "Need me to carry you like I did before?" he asked, only half joking.
"No," Damon said instantly. "I've lost enough dignity."
It took a while just to get Damon out of bed and standing. Well… leaning. Alaric was supporting almost all of Damon's weight. "Getting down the stairs will be fun," he muttered.
Miraculously, they had made it downstairs. He set Damon gently down on the couch. He looked around; noticing Stefan and Elena weren't there. Did Stefan already leave?
"I'm going to miss you!" he heard Elena crying from the hall and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't left yet.
They stepped into the living room and Elena hugged Stefan.
"I'm not leaving for another few hours, Elena," he said gently, patting her on the back.
Elena wiped a tear that was running down her face. "It seems a lot sooner." They pulled apart and glanced at Alaric who was looking at them with sadness in his eyes.
Alaric cleared his throat, feeling awkward.
Stefan nodded sadly at him, giving him a look that read, 'it's okay'. Then Stefan saw Damon and rushed over to him.
"Damon!" he said kneeling by the couch. He brushed his brother's hair out of his face. "Looking a little pale," Stefan observed. "How do you feel?"
Damon smiled. "I think once in your life, you need to stop worrying about me, and start worrying about yourself. I'm not the one who is going to be slaved to Klaus for ten-wait twelve years."
"You're looking a little empty. Lose some pints?"
"Maybe a little," Damon said.
Stefan smiled. "What brought you down here?"
"My room smelled of blood that came out of me, and it was making me feel a little bit nauseous."
"So you're still not feeling well?" Stefan asked worriedly.
Damon sighed. "I'll be fine, Stefan."
Stefan looked back at Alaric and Elena. "Can we be alone for a while?"
Understanding that they would want some alone time, Alaric left the room with Elena right behind him.
Stefan's Point of View
Stefan kneeled beside the couch. "Now how do you really feel? You can tell me, Damon. I'm your brother. We're supposed to be looking after each other."
Damon sighed. "I can't fully heal without blood, but I can't keep blood down."
Stefan put his hand on Damon's shoulder, looking worried. "Well have you tried it from the vein?"
"Of course I haven't, Stefan? Who would I drink? Elena? No. She and I are already in an awkward position and then there's Alaric who I think has done enough for me."
"Damon, I'm your brother."
Damon gave Stefan a confused look before apparently understanding. "What? No, I'm not drinking from my own brother."
Stefan pulled up his sleeve. "We're out of options, Damon. And I have to leave in like two hours! We have to try this while we still can."
Damon shook his head. "I can't, Stefan. You've done enough on my behalf. Besides, if I can't keep it down it will just do more harm than good."
"We have to try, Damon!" Stefan yelled. "Because if you can, then your wounds will heal a lot faster and it will make you stronger."
Damon shook his head again. "Stefan this isn't an option. I'll just-"Stefan stopped listening. He bit into his own wrist, and shoved it into Damon's mouth. Damon's eyes grew wide with surprise, as he tried to break free, but Stefan was stronger than Damon at the time. After a few seconds, Stefan pulled away, not wanting to feed Damon too much at one time.
Stefan watched Damon, looking for signs of Damon about to get sick, but none came. Stefan's wrist had already begun to heal, so he was forced to bite it again, and put hit up to Damon's mouth. Damon was drinking more confidently, apparently not feeling ill.
After a while, Damon pulled away from Stefan.
"Are you feeling sick?" Stefan asked immediately.
Damon shook his head. "No, I just don't want to drain you."
"I'll be fine," Stefan reassured him. "After all, Klaus will probably have me drink human blood again."
Damon was quiet and Stefan saw him looking away, avoiding eye-contact.
"Hey," Stefan nudged Damon lightly. "I'll be fine."
"I think you and I have lied to each other enough, saying the same exact thing," Damon pointed out.
Stefan smiled and nodded. "I know. It's because you and I keep putting ourselves in situations that always makes the other one worry."
Damon smiled back at his brother. "I don't do it near enough as you do."
"Who was the one who almost didn't turn into a vampire in the first place?" Stefan asked, not being able to help bring it up. "I almost lost you that day."
Damon looked at Stefan. "Yeah, and you forced me to drink blood."
Stefan looked away. "I shouldn't have done that."
Damon grabbed Stefan's shoulder, and weakly turned his brother to look at him. "I would have done the same, Stefan. Really I would have. I know I have said I wouldn't, but I probably would have. You weren't even an adult. Just a seventeen-year-old who had no idea what to do. You needed someone, Stefan, and since our father was out of the question, you went to the next best thing. I don't blame you for me being a vampire. And honestly, I'm glad you did it. Because if you hadn't I wouldn't be here right now. You wanted to save me, and you did."
Stefan looked at Damon for a long time. It was silent for a moment, before Stefan kneeled down to Damon's level. And for the first time in a long time, the two brother's hugged.
That was for Child of the Night13 who had requested some Salvatore moments. Thanks! Hope you liked it! Thanks to Wicked R- and yes, Alaric is king. Haha. But then who is queen? Hmm… Thanks to some guest reviewers and to the one about the blood, you no know why Damon hasn't drunken from Alaric. The vampire has some morals! I'm doing the best I can with updating, I promise you guys that. I do-believe it or not-have a life. Wait…never mind I don't. I just keep forgetting to update! Sorry! Let's just hope that this is done before the world ends! Probably not. Guess you'll all have to live with the cliffhanger. ;)