A/N Thank you for the wonderful response about last chapter: OMG 16 reviews! I was sooo happy, please keep them coming I want to reach 20 reviews on a chapter so bad.

Thanks so much Courtney (Cdaye8184) for Beta-ing this ;) Check out her stories-they are awesome ;D

The following day after the accident, Elena was woken up by Damon's hands gently stroking her hair. She had to admit, the gesture confused her for a moment, and Damon seemed completely out of it as he ran his fingers through her silky hair. The way he was acting felt like he was doing it instinctively, naturally. Like a husband does with his wife when they wake up together, or like a loving boyfriend does with his girlfriend. She was neither. She was supposed to be entertainment, food…But he was being so tender, gentle and sweet.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her, genuinely concerned about her. She could see his worried face and the guilt in his eyes. Perhaps that was why he was being so nice, she thought... because he feels guilty and he feels obligated to be concerned. That had to be it, right? That had to be the only reason...

"Much better," She replied anyway.

"I'm glad," He finished awkwardly. He did not know what to say. Damon had done lots of bad things in his life but there were a few things that he had sworn he'd never do, three things actually: Hurt children, beat women, and sleep with, or better, rape, an unwilling woman. Those things kept his humanity alive, and although he was not pleased with that fact, he didn't let that issue stop him from not doing those three things. It was strange, because he didn't have a problem ripping hearts and throats out…But those three things simply annoyed him. He couldn't stand the fact that the latter almost happened to Elena. How dare they touch something that belonged to him? But they got what they deserved, although Damon felt he almost let them off too easily. But for Elena's sake he had to make it quick; so he could return to protect her. His fists unknowingly turned white with anger.

He couldn't avoid her any longer. He cleared his throat, and turned to watch her however he finds that she was staring at him. She blushed when she realized she had been caught and Damon smiled, a genuine smile, at the sight of her blushing. She looked too cute.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday," Damon mumbled, his eyes focusing on the floor. "I never thought they'd stoop so low."

She nodded her head, not knowing what she should say. After a few minutes of silence, however, she said, "Thank you…For saving me. I don't know what could've happened if you didn't make it in time. And thank you for, ehm, you know…Cleaning me up."

"You're welcome," He said solemnly. "I'm just really glad you're okay, Elena. Honestly." Which he truly was. And at that particular moment, something told her to believe him, to believe that he wasn't just doing it out of guilt or out of pity. That he was doing it because he cared about her and that warmed her heart immensely. She was beginning to not hate this man/vampire because more of his man side was beginning to show than the latter-Elena liked that.

She smiled at him, and he held her gaze for a few moments. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I actually want to stay in bed," Elena said, "I'm feeling a bit tired, and some wounds haven't been properly healed yet."

"I can still bring you something up here if you like." He offered.

"Okay then, thank you, Damon."

"Elena?" He asked as he stood in the door way. "I can help you get rid of the last bit of pain if you want. I can heal you completely."

"You can?" Elena whispered.

"Yeah," He replied. "A vampire's blood heals wounds, small and large. "It would only take a drop." He said. "... If you want."

Elena felt a little uneasy about doing that just yet so she simply thanked him. "Thanks for the offer, Damon but I don't think I'm ready to do anything like that, you know? I should be fine very soon, I promise." She smiled at him and he nodded his head in understanding, knowing exactly why she didn't want to do that. She was still afraid of him, even if she didn't say it. He wished she wouldn't be. He cleared his throat. "Okay then. Let me know if you change your mind."

He went downstairs and laid out a tray for Elena. He made her a cup of coffee and cooked two eggs, a few pieces of bacon and a few slices of toast. He didn't know what gotten into him, suddenly feeling so damn protective and guilty about what happened to that girl. But somehow, Elena was making him see her as a person, not a meal or entertainment. He found himself not wanting to cause her harm.

He gave her the tray and slipped in next to her, joining her by eating some of the food. He loved cooking, and since he could eat, he didn't mind.

"You made this?" Her eyes widened in astonishment.

"Yes. I love cooking. My last's name Salvatore...It's Italian, you know." He gave her a smug smile.

"It's good," She said with her mouth full of egg and she was now preparing to dig into the bacon.

"So, what are you reading?" He asked her, trying to make a conversation.

"It's call of the wild, by Jack London," Elena said, "It's great so far."

"This is my favourite book," Damon announced, "I like the story. I was around when it was written."

"You read?" She asked, in surprise.

"Elena, when you live for over a hundred years, you have to have a hobby, otherwise you'll be bored to death."

"Right…of course." She answered lowly, almost awkwardly.

She continued to eat in silence, and he realized that what he said affected her in some way or other. It was probably because she was trying to forget what he was and he reminded her out of the blue.

He heard his phone vibrate and left the room without warning. He saw Stefan's name as the caller's ID. "Stefan."

"Damon, where the hell are you? What did you do with the girl?" His brother's demanding voice come across the phone. Typical Stefan, always jumping to conclusions.

"She's…around," Damon replied, without really replying at all.

"Cut the crap, Damon, you know that you can end up in prison for this, right?"

"I believe that's my problem, Stefan, not yours." Damon hissed.

"I want the girl, Damon." Stefan demanded.

"So this is about Elena now?" Damon assumed, beginning to feel slightly uneasy but he wouldn't dare show it in his voice.

"Of course it is! She's the doppelganger, Damon, we can get Katherine back!"

"We'll find another way. Who can guarantee that Klaus will give us Katherine back?" Did he even want Katherine back any more? That was the thought that ran through his head while Stefan continued to talk. What was the point? But of course he did... he thought.

"If we hand him the doppelganger-"

"Find another way Stefan."

He hung up on his brother. He knew what his brother wanted-He was planning something with Klaus for sure, and something told him it wasn't just about Katherine. The desire for power always was Stefan's greatest weakness. And when he got it, well he couldn't control it. He never could and knowing that, was one of the only perks of being that brood's brother. No, he would not give Elena to either of them-They'd turn her into a rag doll, play with her and then kill her painfully. No-only he could touch Elena…not that he was going to, but Elena was his. She belonged to him; they had no right to take her away.

Then, another word Stefan said clicked in his mind. Prison. Of course, vampires had laws.

The first three were about humans not learning about vampires being sold and not touching a vampire's pet before they were sold. Usually, vampires liked to mark their newly bought humans themselves, so the 'sellers' had no right to touch the human being sold.

And then, there was the third one: No vampire could have an emotional or physical bond. In other words, they couldn't fall in love, pity or try to save the human which is meant to be sold.

These laws, if broken, could lead either to execution or prison. And prison was totally different in the vampire world. It wouldn't be easy to get out. Hell, it'd be nearly impossible. There was no blood was given and vampires experienced torture involving sunlight and vervain and only God knew how many years they spent there. Not to mention what happens to the humans that were supposed to be sold-They would often end up being owned by Klaus, and Klaus didn't do a good job in keeping a human alive.

Things changed.

Elena couldn't help but notice. Things between them changed, Damon was being so gentle with her that sometimes she seemed to forget that that man-no, vampire-was keeping here there against her will. He talked to her more often, and took an interest in her. He asked her about her favourite movies and books, and then he had bought them all for her. To be completely honest with herself, they seemed like young teenagers that 'liked' one another trying to get the other's attention, it was silly but Elena liked it.

He asked her about her likes and dislikes in clothing and then bought her a cute, polka-dotted pyjama after she told him that she always wanted one. She wasn't feeling so alone lately, in fact he rarely left her alone anymore. He never locked her up in her bedroom when he did not want to deal with her, instead, he'd let her have the house and get out of there himself when he wanted to deal with his feelings.

Damon also noticed Elena's change. She seemed less afraid of him, she didn't tremble in fear anymore when he raised his voice at her. She didn't close her eyes, expecting blows (not that he'd ever hit her) when he inched closer to her when they were arguing. It didn't mean that she was okay with his nature, obviously because she was still scared when she saw him drinking blood from a blood bag a few days before.

What troubled him greatly were the girl's nightmares. She had been having nightmares ever since he brought her there. At times, she woke up crying at night, and sometimes he heard her whimpering almost like she was in pain. The worse part of it was that these nightmares were occurring more frequently, and she was waking up screaming almost every night. In days, she was walking around like a living dead-Dark circles appeared under her eyes, signaling that she was tired and needed rest. He wanted to help her, he hated seeing her like that but he didn't know how.

One day, he decided to confront her.

"Elena, I am worried about your lack of sleep," He told her one morning when he found her laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. "You know you need to rest."

He reachedout to push her hair that was damp with sweat and clung to her face. It was the barest touch of his fingertips, but she jumped back like she had been scalded. "Don't touch me." She hissed at him.

"Elena, what's the matter with you?" He was surprised by her sudden change of behaviour.

"Nothing's wrong with me. I just don't want you to touch me." She rolled off the bed, stumbling and almost falling in the process. He caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Do you mind telling me what's going on?"

"Oh, he wants to know what's going on, now," Elena said mockingly. "Let me tell you what's going on, Damon. I am having nightmares about you. It's always you-It's either you giving me to someone-yeah, I think his name's Klaus, or hurting me, or feeding on me…Then I see this Klaus person locking me up and finally killing me. And you know how, Damon? He burns me alive. Literally."

He winced at her tone not ready to say anything because he was stunned, and she backed away from him. "See? Now you know."

"I'd never do that to you, Elena." He whispered, feeling hurt.

"Oh, really? Something tells me that you'll change your mind sooner or later." She spat back, hurting him even more.

"And why do you think that?" He asked her.

"I'm not thinking, I just know it," Elena snapped. "Look, forget it. Leave me alone."

"Elena, you still need to rest."

"What I need, Damon, is fresh air," Elena continued, "And to see my family. Which are two impossible things right now."

He sighed and stood up, putting his hands on her shoulders, gently turning her around to face him. She tried to shrug him off but he didn't let her. Once again, he was taking the choice away from her. "You want fresh air? I am not stopping you. The door's unlocked." He stepped away from her. "If I wanted you to stay in here, I would've compelled you to. Besides, I already took you out twice. You can go in the garden if you like."

She looked at him and then grabbed her book and fled downstairs, eager to get out of the house. The scent of the furniture was making her dizzy.

There was a bench next to an area of red roses. To her surprise, the garden was well kept, and there was a strong smell of flowers. The sun was shining, and Elena, dressed in her little polka-dotted nightdress, the one that Damon bought her recently, felt the urge to sunbathe and just forget everything.

But instead, she sat on the bench, her book open in her lap, and stared. She stared at the trees, at the little bird trying so desperately to fly and at the mountains nearby. However, they seemed so far away…

She felt the bench crack a little and she realized that Damon was sitting next to her. Staring at the mountains, too.

"It's not easy being a vampire, you know," Damon started, his voice showing her that he was sincere. "It's not easy to see the people you love die out on you, and you can't do anything to stop it. This," He pointed at the mountains, and then to the surroundings. "I was here when that huge tree was just a plant. The mountains were different, somehow, back in my day. The roads, the people…Everything was different. Peaceful and serene. People were poor and they had nothing, but they were happier than the people that have everything in this generation. I'm not saying that evil didn't exist, but the world was somehow…more innocent."

Elena, who was desperately trying to ignore him, unknowingly turned her head towards his direction, urging him to continue with her eyes.

"I was born on the 15th of January, 1841. My beloved mother, Elizabeth-Ann Salvatore, was so proud of me. She took great care of me, and made it clear that she wanted to be the one to raise me, not some slave. My father disapproved at first, being rich meant having the ability to have slaves, and slaves had to do most of the work. But understanding her plight, he let her take care of me, doing everything herself: Feeding me, bathing me, sewing clothes for me, playing with me…She did everything and I was a true mommy's boy. I loved spending time with her, she was my idol-my angel. My father was proud of me, too. He wasn't gentle with me, but he was not abusive like many fathers were during those days. The trouble with him started when I was eighteen years old."

He paused for a minute. "Stefan was twelve years old and I was eighteen when my mother died. She caught the plague, and I didn't have the chance to say goodbye properly. People with the plague were taken away immediately. It was a miracle that we weren't diagnosed, too. After her death, my father turned to a complete different person. He spent nights and days outside, and I started to take care of my brother myself. I basically became his father-figure. I tried to be a good brother. I tried to do everything she did with me but she made it look so easy. Stefan needed his mother but I did the best I could. Five months after my mom's death, my father went on a trip, a business trip. We were all alone with the slaves."

Elena looked at him, now deeply interested in his story.

"Time passed. Exactly three months later, I took Stefan out to play with a girl who lived nearby. The girl was poor, and we weren't supposed to even talk to them. In that era, poor people didn't mix with rich people, and black and white people couldn't be in the same building at the same time, even if the black people were rich. But I was in love with Ruth, you see. Ruth had a younger sister, and while my brother played with her, I'd spent hours talking to Ruth. I was in love with her, I even wanted to marry her. I was willing to run away with her if I had to…I knew that my father wouldn't approve and I didn't want to leave Stefan, he was really all I had."

"Later on that night, I returned home and saw my father's carriage in our backyard. He had just arrived, and I was hoping that he had changed. That the business trip away from home healed his wounds just for a bit. I remember I put the half-asleep Stefan in his room and went to greet my father. Instead, I find him beating a slave senselessly.

"Oh my God," Elena whimpered, "Why?"

"That's not all," Damon continued, "She was pregnant. Apparently, she was too tired to handle the work. She dropped a glass of wine on my father by mistake. I had never seen him violent to anyone before, and to me, a man beating a woman is not a man. And worse, she was pregnant. Eight months pregnant, to be exact, because she had told Giuseppe she was pregnant before he left. He didn't take it lightly, but he didn't hurt her. But there he was, beating her up because of a tiny mistake. I went between them two without second thoughts, and grabbed the belt he was beating her with from his hands and threw it across the room as I yelled offences at him. When he saw that, he lunged at me, and I ended up with a few blows myself though he was nothing compared to me. I took the slave, Joanne, and helped her and cleaned her up myself. She was black and blue everywhere."

Elena couldn't help but have her heart warm up a little at the thought of Damon sticking out for a pregnant girl in front of his father.

"I remember she thanked me and hugged me so much that it was sad. I helped her throughout the last month of the pregnancy, and imagined myself doing the same thing with Ruth. But then, I noticed that things were changing between my father and I. He was strict, and he started to favour Stefan. I was no longer considered his son, and we often had fights due to the fact that I had to serve during the Civil war.

When I returned from war, I was determined to run away from that town. I wrote a letter to my father telling him that I was going to marry Ruth. Only when I came back, I found that Ruth was married to a noble man. It took me years to find out that my father had paid the man to marry Ruth…So that I won't spoil the Salvatore name. Things were different back then, the parents decided whom their children should marry. And Ruth was no different. It hurt a lot. I felt like I truly loved her and thinking back... I know I did" He whispered, having to relive the memories of his past were not good feelings but Elena needed to know.

"I'm sorry," Elena said sincerely, gazing at him with compassion in her eyes. "Your father wasn't right."

He sighed. "I know. But it's all in the past now, Elena. Memories…they are such a painful thing to bear. So to me, memories are dead…lost. I embrace my future, and nothing else." He shrugged. "But, enough about me. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"You're not completely human," He stated, searching for her face. "Are you?"

"I…of course I am." She stuttered, taken back by his question.

"Elena, I'm vampire," He said, "I sensed something special about you the moment I saw you. At first I thought-" He cut himself off, almost mentioning Katherine's name. "That it was because of your grief and mourning. But I realized that there is something else. I can sense it."

Elena sighed, closing her eyes. She gulped soundly. "Ever since the accident," She licked her dry lips nervously. "I discovered new…strange things about me."

"Strange as in…?"

"Telepathy." She said quickly and nervously. "I figured that I can communicate with people using my mind. And I have another…gift. Telekinesis."

"So what, you move objects with your mind?" Damon asked, intrigued, confused and amazed all at the same time.

"I never went any far than pushing my door open. I don't really know. I was too busy mourning my parents and having nightmares to bother to practice." Elena shrugged.

"And it just happened all of a sudden?"

"Yes. I woke up in the hospital, hearing at least ten minds at once."

"Have you tried to see where they came from?" Damon asked.

"No. Like I said, I was too busy mourning." Elena answered.

"What about here? Have you tried it here?"

"I did. But nothing worked here. It's like, something's blocking me out."

"You can't read my mind, then." He stated.

"No." She confirmed.

"Move objects?"

"Nothing." She shook her head.

"Strange," Damon commented. "Maybe they were given as precaution."

"What are you talking about? Precaution?" She asked, confused.

"You never know," Damon shrugged.

She sighed, and he stared at the nearest tree, his face worried. Somehow, this was scaring him. She was alive because he saved her from the drowning car. What if he had affected her in some mystical, supernatural way? What if those things could hurt her? She was the doppelganger after all.

But no, he wasn't going to let Stefan take her. And sure as hell not Klaus. Not as long as he's alive.

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