Hey Everyone! Here's the next chap.. I hope everyone had a good weekend… RIP to those people who passed on 9/11...

Chapter 16: Another Nightmare

"Damnit!" Katherine cursed, backing away from the hospital door. She shouldn't have been so careless… Damn her love for Stefan. Well now that they knew that she was still around, she would have to be more careful. She wondered what was so special about this "Lexi" woman, and why they were all here. A smirk crossed her face, as a plan formed in her mind.

"Now we have to be even more aware… We can't let her turn Lexi too." Elena said, glancing back at her friend, who was still asleep. She turned back to face Stefan and Damon, who were standing next to her.

"We won't let that happen." Stefan reassured her. "We can get Caroline to look out for Katherine. We won't let her get to Alexis again." Elena nodded.

Alexis was staring up at the tree, seeing Stefan wiggling around. She could see his mouth moving, but no words were coming out. She jumped as her attacker appeared, towering over her. She jumped up, shoving him back. He grabbed ahold of her, pulling her shoulder out of its socket. She looked at him, tears in her eyes. She noticed that his face changed and his eyes were bloodshot, and veins popped out around them. She screamed, trying to get away from him.

He was about to attack her, when he was thrown off. Alexis dropped to the ground, looking at her savior… Damon stood over her.

"Pick on someone your own size!" He growled.

"No Damon don't!" She cried, she didn't want him hurt because of her. He looked at her, and winked.

Alexis looked at him, watching as her attacker and Damon circled each other. Her attacker lunged at him, Damon moving to the side, smirking. Damon had turned, not seeing as her attacker grabbed a long, pointed stick from the ground. All of a sudden he moved with lightning speed, stabbing Damon in the chest with the stick.

"Damon!" She cried out, getting up and running over to him. The attacker running off as Stefan, who had somehow gotten down, ran over to them.

Alexis cradled Damon in her arms, trying to staunch the bleeding, as he stared at her. She began crying, as he smiled.

"Guess I'm not as good as I thought." He mumbled, and his eyes closed.

"NO!" She screamed.

They all three turned to face Alexis, as she whimpered from her bed. Elena walked over to her, noticing that she was still asleep. She was about to turn away, when Alexis whimpered again.

"She's having another nightmare." Damon said, walking over to her bedside. "Her breathing is picking up." He nodded towards the heart monitor, noticing that it had sped up a little. Elena nodded, grabbing Alexis' hand.

"Lexi?" She asked, trying to wake her. "Lexi." She said, louder this time.

Alexis sat straight up, yelling "NO!" She cried out, the movement causing pain to shoot through her side. She quickly grasped her side, as Elena forced her slowly back down. She looked around the room, desperately looking for Damon. She spotted him, staring at her a look of almost, concern, in his eyes.

"Lexi, it's okay, you're safe." She said, watching as Alexis took deep breaths, closing her eyes, trying to calm down. She'd noticed that Alexis was looking for something, or someone. After a minute she stared at them. "You okay now?" She nodded. "You had another nightmare. What about this time? The crash?" Elena asked, trying to not look at Damon, as he turned away.

"No." Alexis replied, she blinked back the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I was reliving the attack…" She said, leaving out the part that Damon had died in her dream. "But it was different at the same time."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Elena asked. Alexis shook her head. She didn't want them to know she was dreaming about Damon… or the fact that she'd dreamt of him dying… "How are you feeling?" Elena asked, deciding to let it go, and change the subject. She could tell that Alexis was uncomfortable with it.

"My side hurts." She admitted, letting out a breath.

"Want me to get the doctor?" Elena asked. Alexis nodded. "Okay, I'll be right back." She said and went to get the doctor.

Stefan walked over to her, he'd been wanting to do this since the accident happened. He sat on the side of her bed, she turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry." He said. Alexis looked at him, confused.

"For what?"

"Not being able to help you." Alexis grabbed his hand.

"It's okay. You were slammed into a tree, it's not your fault." She smiled, a pained smile. Stefan smiled back, getting up, as Elena and Doctor Rhodes came in.

"I hear that your in some pain, is that correct Miss Langton?" He asked, Alexis nodded. "I need to check her wound, so if you all could wait outside for a few minutes please." He said. Elena nodded and the three of them went outside.

Once they were outside of Alexis' room, Elena turned to face Stefan and Damon.

"Did you notice that when she woke up, she looked around the room, as if she was searching for someone?" She asked, they nodded.

"Yeah, but for who?" Stefan asked. " Do you think she was searching for her attacker?" Elena shook her head.

"No. She seemed like she was worried about someone." Elena turned to face Damon. "She calmed down when she saw you."

"I swear I didn't do anything to her!" Damon replied, immediately defending himself.

"No, that's not what I meant." Elena said, shaking her head. "She said that she was reliving the attack, but that it was different somehow. I think she dreamt that something happened to you in the attack." Damon shrugged.

"So? What if she did? How is that relevant to our situation?" He asked.

"It's relevant, because it means she cares about you." Elena replied. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Great, Alexis likes me, our problems are solved." He said.

"Listen smartass, it also means that she trusts you, which is a hard thing for her to do."

"Well she should trust me, I did save her life… Twice now."

"Well it would've only been once if you wouldn't have endangered her in the first place." Elena snapped, and immediately she regretted it. She watched as Damon backed away from her, she could feel the anger radiating off of him. She noticed as Stefan stepped forward slightly, preparing to jump in, incase his brother lost control. "Damon, I-" Damon cut her off, holding his left hand up. He turned around, and Elena took a step back, she could see the hurt and anger on his face. He walked past them, heading down the hall. Stefan turned to face her.

"Elena-" He began, only to have her cut him off.

"I didn't mean to Stefan. I don't know why I said it… God, I feel so awful." Stefan was about to say something, when Doctor Rhodes came out of Alexis' room.

"How is she?" He asked, beating Elena to the punch. Doctor Rhodes sighed.

"Her shoulder is healing quite well, and her stab wound seems to be as well. She does have a fever from her infection, it was a little high, so I gave her a stronger antibiotic. Other than that, she seems to be doing well. I'm a little worried about the nightmares though, if she keeps having them, I'm going to suggest that she sees a therapist." Elena nodded, listening to him.

"I'll see if I can get her to talk to me." This time, Doctor Rhodes nodded.

"All right. I'll be back in a little while to check on her fever." He said and walked down the hall. Stefan turned to face Elena.

"I'm going to go see if I can find Damon." Elena nodded. "Call me if you need me." He said and headed out of the hospital.