Damon pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping his arms securely around her torso. Elena locked her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck.

"Thanks for picking me up." She murmured into his neck.

Damon, utterly surprising her, kissed her hair sweetly. "Anytime."

He pulled away lightly and cupped her face with one hand. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll survive." She shrugged slightly, too exhausted to put more effort into it. "Somehow I always do."

Damon's eyes saddened as he gazed at the girl in front of him. He tucked the hair falling in front of her face behind her ear gently. He froze, turning her face ever so slightly. "It's still bleeding Lay." He said quietly.

"It's fine." She brushed it off. "I just want to go to sleep."

He sighed and opened his car door and gestured for her to step inside. "Don't go to sleep 'til you get checked out, kay?"

She scowled at him. "I know."

He cracked a smile at her. "You're cranky when you're tired."

Elena lifted up her hand and held her thumb and forefinger a fraction apart. "I'm this close to punching you in the face."

Damon roared with laughter and shut her car door, still chuckling as he circled around to the driver's side. Just as he was about to slide in a voice shouted out to him.

"Damon!" Damon recognized him as the man who helped Elena. He whirled around suspiciously.

"Who are- holy shit." He stared at the man in front of him. The guy hadn't aged a day but he'd gone away on business five years ago and it hadn't quite clicked in his mind. "Ric?" Ric laughed his usual full-bellied laughed as he embraced Damon roughly. "Bloody hell, you couldn't have picked up a phone and called could you?"

Ric smirked. "What part of undercover don't you get?"

Damon shook his head. "I wasn't even twenty one when you left, Giuseppe told me you had to 'work abroad'" he shook his head disbelievingly.

"Can you blame him? That was when you wanted nothing to do with the Vagrants and everything to do with girls."

Damon laughed. "That's true. You've missed out on a lot the past couple weeks."

"Damon." Ric's face grew somber. "Why do you think I'm back?"

"Let me get this straight." Elena said, smiling. "You know Ric? And by complete coincidence he found me on the side of the road and picked me up? Oh and you haven't seen him for five years because he was working undercover and now he's back because of all the messed up shit that's been going on recently?" Elena couldn't help but laugh.

Damon shook his head. "You're part of all the 'messed up shit that's been going on recently' 'Lay."

She shrugged. "What's your point?"

"No point. Now shut up before the doctor comes back to sew your head back together."

"Don't sugar coat it then." She said, glaring at him.

He winked at her and sat down beside her. "Come on, it only hurts for a second when they put the anesthetic in."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that. I've had stitches way more times that I should have. That's not the point."

"You make no sense-," he said, prodding her face gently just as the doctor walked back in.

Twenty minutes and a recovery from a numb hand later, Damon finally drove out of the doctor's office.

"Why are you driving a car?" she murmured sleepily. He glanced over at her, all curled up in his passenger seat using his leather jacket as a blanket.

"I like this car." He answered quietly.

"Me too. But you like bikes."

"I was preparing for the worst." He told her, refusing to look at her. "If you were hurt you wouldn't have been able to hang on to the back of my bike."

She shrugged and nuzzled down into his jacket. "This smells like you." She muttered sleepily. "It smells nice."

Damon chuckled. "Can you stay awake just a little bit longer?"

She scowled and sat up slowly in the seat. "You're gonna kill me."

"We're two minutes away from the clubhouse. Two minutes." He told her exasperated. He'd planned on taking her to the apartment Gray had bought for her but the lure of the clubhouse only a few minutes drive away was all too tempting. Not at her exactly, just at having to keep her awake to answer the questions that would be waiting. He pulled slowly into the dusty yard, passing effortlessly through the high metal gates and parked, slowly climbing out. He finally felt his sleepless night hit him.

Elena slid wearily out of the car and stomped over to the main door. He smiled after her, locking the car and following behind her. They walked into Giuseppe's office with Damon's arm around Elena.

"Dad?" Damon yelled, leaving Elena to crash out of the sofa as he checked the other rooms. He couldn't be bothered calling him, and as the exhaustion that had been threatening finally took root and forced him to collapse beside Elena and finally sleep peacefully.

"I told him not to do this. What does he do? Exactly what I told him not to." Giuseppe said in an amused tone, rousing Damon and Elena from the sofa.

Damon opened his eyes and nodded at his father. "Hey Dad. I'll make up an excuse when I'm actually awake." He glanced at Grayson, cringing at the stony look in his eyes. That was when he noticed Elena's head resting in his lap, separated only by one of the pillows. He grinned lightly at his father and shook her shoulder gently.

"Lay. Get your butt up."

"I really don't like you." She grumbled incoherently against a pillow.

"Wakey wakey." He said, tickling her sides. She squealed and shot upright, laughing uncontrollably. He smiled slightly and stood up, stretching his arms above his head.

"Damon." Grayson said, greeting him warmly, as if he hadn't been glaring at him not thirty seconds earlier. He hadn't heard his daughter laugh like that since she was eight years old and it had warmed his heart. He could cope with Damon – just.

"Gray." Damon greeted, bewildered, hauling Elena up with him. "Don't go back to sleep or you'll never sleep tonight."

"I would. I'm shattered." She insisted.

"S'pose." He mumbled; his words distorted by a yawn. "You wanna tell them about the lovely fun filled night you had or shall I?"

"I told even know what happened." She pointed out before turning to address her father and Giuseppe. "Damon can't navigate traffic." She scowled. "So I got back here before him. Something hit my head and I blacked out, next thing I know I'm an hour out of town in the middle of nowhere on one of those back roads heading east out of Phoenix."

"Someone hit you while you were in Vagrant grounds?" Giuseppe asked sharply, half standing up. Grayson was studying the scene intently.

She nodded. "Third garage." Damon added for good measure. "Vengefuls?" He scowled at his father. "And do you care to explain why you never told me Ric was undercover?"

"How the hell do you know that?" Giuseppe exclaimed shocked.

"Ric was the one who found her curled up on the side of the road at seven in the morning."

"Jesus." Grayson cursed. "Anything could have happened to you."

"Way to be optimistic Dad." She said, going to stand next to him in the archway joining that room with the one next door. He gave her a fierce one-armed hug.

"You aren't optimistic either, kid. I know that cause we happen to be pretty alike."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She waved him off. "I'm okay, so that's all that mattered." The three men exchanged looks with each other. She frowned, glancing at Damon who was pointedly refusing to meet her gaze. "You're keeping something from me." She accused.

Nobody said anything.

She pushed herself off the ledge she'd been sitting on and stalked out of the room, for once, hoping no one would follow her.

Six hours earlier…

"Dad!" Damon yelled through the empty house. "Giuseppe!"

"What?" Giuseppe appeared from behind a door. "Did you find her?"

"No!" he ran his hands through his hair. "I've looked fucking everywhere!"

"Damon." Giuseppe said quietly. He placed a calming hand on his son's shoulder. "Damon, what did you overhear? At the Warehouse?"

He shook his head and burying his face in his hands. "He'll kill her. Slater wanted Grayson dead for compensation for what happened to Rose. Trevor wants Elena dead so he knows what it's like to lose family. It wasn't Slater's baby you know; it was Trevor's. Gray killed Trevor's kid, now Trevor wants to kill his. Not to mention every Vengeful is out for her and Grayson's blood, Dad."

Giuseppe blanched, stunned speechless. "They won't kill her."

"Have you been listening to a word I've said?" he snapped.

"Damon!" Giuseppe shouted. "You've been a Vagrant, a real Vagrant actually fighting in this goddamned war for literally five years, I've been doing this since I was old enough to understand! If I say they won't kill her, they won't kill her!"

"Why won't they?" Damon roared at his father. "What makes you think they'll keep her alive?"

"Because that's what they do, Damon!" He yelled straight back. "Why kill her straight off the bat? Where's the fun in that? Where are the mind games? Where's the revenge?"

Damon glared at his father. "And what if they're tired? What if they're sick of the games? It's been over twenty years since Grayson killed Rose, it's been nearly ten since he killed Slater; what if the Vagrants just want her dead?"

"They want Grayson dead!" Giuseppe shouted. "Use your brain, boy! They'll lose her to lure Grayson out and kill them both. They'll bloody use her against you too!"

Damon stopped dead in the pacing he hadn't been aware he was doing. "How many Vengefuls has Gray killed, Dad?" Damon asked in a low voice.

"Enough for every one of them to want to kill him." Giuseppe said flatly. "Now get this into your head right now. You were both at the Warehouse tonight – I've heard a dozen rumors about the two of you in the last hour alone. Michael is cunning. He'll use her to get to you."

Damon stayed silent.

"No denying it?" Giuseppe said skeptically. "Normally this is where you do your womanizer speech."

"I like her. She's different. So sue me."

"You can say that again." Giuseppe muttered. "Different my arse. She's Grayson reincarnated." Damon rolled his eyes. "You better be taking this seriously."

"Like a heart attack, Dad."

Giuseppe lobbed a pillow at his son's head. "You're lucky I wasn't near something sharp. If it seems like a trick, it probably is. You're good at this Damon, just use your brains for once."

Damon nodded and looked his father in the eyes. "If they want to kill Grayson, they'll want to kill you too." He added quietly.

Giuseppe chuckled. "They've wanted to kill me since I became president. Hell, they've wanted to kill me since I was born. Your grandfather pissed off the Vengefuls too you know."

"I can imagine." Damon snorted.

"At the end of the day, they want us all dead, but for years it's been Grayson and now they have something to use against him."

"So, chief Vagrant, master of the Vengeful plots, where shall I go?"

"Anyone else would be dead right now." Giuseppe said dryly. "Anyone else." Damon winked slyly. "Check the back roads leading west out of here on the way to Vegas. Maybe they'll be based there."

Damon nodded once as he retreated out of his father's office.

Elena stomped into the courtyard and into the garage.

"Someone's pissed you off." Klaus grinned as he looked up from his bike to see her storming in.

"No, really?" Elena said sarcastically.

"Metal note: Elena gets pissy when she's angry." Klaus said, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Sorry." She muttered, pulling on her riding jacket. She wheeled her bike from its space in the line-up, slipping on her gloves and helmet as she did so.

"Elena." Klaus called out to her. "You can't really be going out by yourself." He said incredulously.

"Yep." She said cheerfully, popping the 'p'. "Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Elena." He repeated, walking towards her. "You're gonna get yourself killed."

"Klaus." She echoed mockingly. "I just need to get away. Five minutes." She told him, smiling slightly.

He sighed and glared at her. "I can't let you go off by yourself. The place is crawling with Vengefuls."

Elena's eyes darkened. "I've been avoiding the Vengefuls longer than everyone here realizes. They were always in L.A too."

Klaus gaped at her. "You can't leave."

Elena chuckled and put on foot on the ground, getting ready to kick-start her bike. "I'll be fine." She told him, before her foot kicked hard off the dusty ground and before Klaus could comprehend what was happening she was gone, accelerating out of the courtyard.

In less than a minute, Damon had run outside and was glaring at Klaus. "Did you seriously just let Elena leave? You moron. You complete and utter idiot."

"Damon. Shut up!" Klaus yelled. "You know what she just told me? She just told me she's been avoiding Vengefuls longer than we realize. She said they were in L.A the whole time."

Damon fell silent and stared at his friend. "So she knew."

"And she knows you're hiding something."

"But so was she."

"God Damon, it's not a game of 'she started it, he started it'!" Klaus yelled at him. "Tell her the fucking truth and she'll tell you why she hid things from you."

Damon scowled and grabbed his helmet form the rack behind him. He swung his leg over his bike and pulled on this jacket.

"Do you even know where she is?"

"Nope." He said flatly, as he started the engine and drove out of the Vagrants grounds.

"You're in trouble." He growled as he slid into the seat next to her when he finally found her, sitting alone at some desolate bar he never even knew existed. It had been sheer luck when he'd spotted her bike, glinting blue in the setting sun.

"Hi Damon." She said cheerily, emptying the last drops of her drink into her mouth.

"Nice one Elena. Running off into a city where a lot of people want you dead." He said wearily, leaning his crossed arms on the bar top.

"I thought there more Vengefuls were in Vegas." She pointed out casually, ordering herself another drink.

"And in L.A if your little outburst to Klaus is anything to go by." He said, looking at her intently. "Don't serve her anymore." He ordered the bartender, who shrugged, and went about his business, wiping down some glasses. "Seriously Lay, what's going on with you? Vengefuls in L.A? And you never thought that might be relevant?"

Elena shrugged and leant over the bar, effectively capturing the attention of every male within the room as her t-shirt rode up displaying inches of her tanned back and the way her shorts showcased her long legs. She grabbed a beer from the other side of the bar and opened it against the bar top, sitting back in her stool and crossing her legs coyly. "Never came up."

"I'm serious." He bit out, seizing her drink from her.

"Hey!" she protested, scowling. "Why do that?"

"Because I can't be bothered putting up with you if you're gonna get drunk." He said shortly. "We're leaving."

"I'm fine thanks." She said dismissively, taking her bottle back and taking a long drink. "You go."

"Yeah, cause I'm going to leave you here." He said derisively.

"Why not?" she snapped frustrated. "I can take care of myself." She hissed, her eyes were like metal orbs, completely impenetrable and glinting gently in the dim lighting.

"Nobody said you couldn't," he pointed out, taking away her drink gently this time. "And please quit with the raging alcoholism, I don't feel like humoring the drunk tonight."

"Fine," she agreed grudgingly, setting her drink down behind the bar again. "What were you hiding from me?"

Damon dropped his gaze and ran his hands through his hair, showing the signs of wear that he was too young to show. "They want you dead."

"So? We knew that." She pointed out, as casual as she could, considering. She reached out her hand and cupped his cheek with one hand, turning his face towards him. "We knew that."

"They want you dead Elena. This isn't just speculation. It's not some crazy assumption of what we think they want. They want you dead and they won't rest until you're gone." He told her, pulling away from her hand and leaning his forehead against his crossed arms.

Elena took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sorry I left you know."

He turned his face so his ear leant against his arm and he smirked at her. "So now you're sorry, huh?" he chuckled, straightening up and rolling his shoulders back. "You ready to leave?" She nodded, standing up. "How did you even find this place?" he laughed, staring around at the empty bar.

Elena snorted glancing around. It was a sad place. It was probably the most desolate bar in the whole of Phoenix. "I have no idea." She shook her head and pushed his back gently, shunting him out of the door. "Move it, Salvatore."

Damon stumbled slightly, caught off-guard by her sudden energy. He turned around, staring at her in disbelief. "Did you just push me?" he asked in a low voice.

Elena struggled to keep a straight face, hooting with laughter as she doubled over, unable to catch her breath. Damon couldn't help but smile along with her as her laughter resounded from surface to surface, creating an echo loud enough for the world to hear. He darted towards her, and with the impulse he was so thankful he had, grabbed her suddenly around the waist and lifted her against him, smiling into her lips as she wound her arms firmly around his neck, bringing his lips to meet hers. He kissed her fiercely, gripping her body tightly as he pushed them back against the stonewall of the derelict bar. Her legs were draped around his hips, locking him against her. Her roaming hands raked through his hair, teasing with the soft hairs at the nape of his neck.

When he finally pulled away, she cracked a small smile. "You have got to stop doing that."

He raised an eyebrow, kissing a trail from her neck up to her ear. "Why would I do that?"

"'Cause the Vengefuls want me dead, and you're gonna make their job easier if you give me a heart attack." She pointed out, dropping her legs to the floor, setting her shorter than Damon again and ending the connection between his lips and her neck. He pouted and ran his fingers through the end of her hair, letting the strands fall from his fingertips. His fingers danced along her arms, creating goose bumps as they trailed down to meet her hands. He tugged on their joined hands and led them over to their bikes.

He pointed at her menacingly. "You're going to go straight into the clubhouse." He ordered. "You attract danger like the plague."

Elena rolled her eyes, looking at him reassuringly. "I'm going to go straight into the clubhouse." She mimicked jokingly. "I don't really want to end up in the desert again tonight contrary to popular belief."

"Oh ha-ha. You're hilarious." Damon said dryly.

"I know. It's a talent." She smirked, winking slyly at him. Damon wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him in one fluid motion.

"Quit it!" she yelled teasingly, laughing loudly. "I mean it!" she told him, ignoring his shameless looks. "Nope." She resisted his transfixing eyes, pushing his face away from her lips. Damon grabbed her face and kissed her anyway, ignoring her squeals. "You're incorrigible." She grumbled, her arms hanging innocently around his shoulders.

"And I'm proud of that." He told her, brushing her hair out of her face. "I mean it. Clubhouse."

"Yes sir!" she said earnestly.

"How can you be so incredibly irritating?" he asked as he pulled his helmet on. "It's really something."

"I spend all my time around people like you." She retorted, flinging a leg over her bike. "Bet I beat you."

"Whatever." He replied, slamming his visor shut and riding off into the night.

"Told you so." Elena trilled smugly as he wandered into the clubhouse a few minutes after her.

Damon flipped her off and leant against the wall. "You wanna see the place Gray got for you? You can get your stuff then I'll drive you over."

"You mean I actually have somewhere to sleep other than sofas, your bed and the endless Phoenix wastelands?" she said, clapping her hands excitedly as she followed him over to the private garage that housed his and Giuseppe's cars. He gritted his teeth, doing his best to ignore the stirring feeling that had begun in his stomach as her words took root.

"You never know, I might dump you on some abandoned road on the way there." He said good-humoredly as he keyed in the code to the lock and unlocked the blue 67' Chevy he'd originally driven to pick her up.

"You try sleeping out in the desert all night and see how you like it." She countered fleetingly, stepping into the garage and climbing into the car furthest away from the one Damon had already unlocked.

"You were unconscious! It can't have been difficult." he said loudly, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration as he stomped over to the black car Elena had decided to sit in and slid inside to join her. "You're the most awkward person." He pointed out irrelevantly.

"Only cause you can't drive through traffic fast enough." Elena replied, smirking, ignoring his last comment. "I could easily blame you for all of that."

Damon glanced at her, vaguely troubled. "Do you?"

"What?" she said completely taken aback. While she'd been lightheartedly playing with him, she should have guessed that Damon felt at least partly liable for what had happened to her while he hadn't been there.

"Do you blame me?" he asked again, his carefree tone gone.

"No." she shrugged. "Never blamed you for a second." She paused for a moment, glancing at him. "I'm not your responsibility."

"You should blame me." He whispered, starting the car and pulling out of the garage. "It was my fault."

"Yes, you made the guy come in and knock me unconscious then abandon me in the middle of the night on a deserted road." She said acidly.

He rolled his eyes and began driving along the interstate leading towards his childhood home. "You're really something." He said, shaking his head as he turned into the winding driveway leading up to his old home.

"Something." She repeated teasingly. "Quite the compliment that."

"You're just fussy." He told her, stepping out of the car and looking at his house. "That's weird," he noted as he circled around to Elena's side of the car and closed the door for her after she had clambered out. "There shouldn't be anyone in." he gestured to the lights shining out from the windows at the front. "Dad's at the clubhouse and Stefan was supposed to be checking out some school out of state…" he trailed off, edging up to his front door and unlocking it slowly, letting it swing open. "Stay here," he whispered urgently to Elena. "And stay down." He pushed her shoulder gently, moving her into a crouching position that was well hidden behind a leafy shrub. She nodded once, scooting backwards and moving further into the shade.

Damon edged into the house, straining to hear any signs of life. Hushed voices came from the lounge, faltering only gently as he slid past the open door. His heart pounded in his chest and a slick bead of sweat dripped down his skin as he crept into his father's study. Moving silently towards the safe he knew lay under the desk; he panicked slightly as his heartbeat grew louder. He swore whoever was inside his house would be able to hear him. He strained against the bad lighting to make out the dial on the steel lockbox that had been located here for as long as he could remember. With tense hands he reached out, manipulating the dial this way and that, starting as the echoing click sounded throughout the silent house. He eased the door open, slowly sliding the handgun that lay there from it's resting place. Loading it noiselessly, he stood up. The journey back outside was apprehensive. Damon's ears were constantly straining to catch snippets of the intruders conversation. The odd words reaching his ears were enough to make him want to charge in there, blazing fury and shoot them dead and cold to the ground.

"The Vagrants have gone soft." He heard one snide voice clearly in his right ear. Clenching his fists he moved quickly onwards, soundlessly retracing his steps. Damon breathed in the cool night air and crouched down beside Elena quickly, pressing his back against the wall.

She swore silently under her breath. "You scared the shit out of me." She paused, staring at the deadly weapon in Damon's hands. "Why do you have that?"

Damon sighed, leaning his head against the rough wall, the dark strokes setting his face in shadow. "I need you to come with me. I need you to stay right behind me, and if I say to run, you run okay?"

Elena nodded mutely, her eyes transfixed on the cold metal in Damon's hands. "What the hell is going on?"

"There's people inside." Damon hissed hurriedly. He gestured vaguely for them to stay quiet. Biting his tongue, he glanced edgeways, peering through the crack in the door and looking at the shadows cast on the hallway and listening to the loud sound of raucous laughter, freezing as one distinct melody ran through the room. While the words they had been speaking hadn't been enough to truly feed the fury growing inside him, the heart-wrenching sense of betrayal now slicing through him had. He shot up immediately, gun pointing to the ground and was moving silently into the house.

"Damon?" Elena asked sounding slightly unnerved as she shadowed him. He motioned to her to stay back and she watched in horror as he slid to the left, face set in a grim line. He took a deep breath, allowing himself only a few seconds to gain composure before darting to the right, disappearing through a door.

The chatter stopped abruptly, Damon's slick voice ringing out like the peal of a bell. "Hello brother."

Okay, quick note. I know I have a load of unfinished fics up at the moment, and my main problem with those it that I didn't write a story outline in the beginning (My English teacher always yells at me for it) and I was just writing as it came to which is why updates are always so incredibly stunted. Being me, I wrote outlines for three new stories and have a load of other ideas semi written up which is so dumb it's unreal. I could have written outlines for unfinished stories to sort those out but no, gotta write whole new fics. My main point is to let you know, that yeah Im an idiot, but I'm an idiot who apologises for the long waits between updates.

Oh, and it's also to warn you I might get bored of the current stories and upload about 5 new ones... Oops.