Holy shit, this story is getting loooong.

An eerie silence settled over the room. The last remnants of the fading sunlight dropped beneath the horizon, washing over the room like a storm cloud. Grayson's eyes burned with anger; fury bubbled over the motel pits of chocolate brown at he stared with a grim expression at the worn wooden flooring. His eyes never flickered to his life-long friend or his only daughter, they stared, cold and hard, at the floor. Still as a statue, Grayson slowed looked up and met Damon's ice blue eyes, silent questions pouring out of his gaze.

Giuseppe sat by Grayson's side, his eyes raging with emotions; the turmoil so overpowering even his son couldn't match his feelings. Damon could see how many thoughts were filling his father's head; his son's betrayal, the pain of knowing the grief his son had caused his best friend, the clinical shock that came with these things. He felt numb, untouchable in his own shell.

"Stefan shot you?" Giuseppe asked in a steady voice, as he became the first to meet Elena's gaze. His eyes barely flickered as Damon's hand slowly moved behind her, ghosting over her back.

"He was aiming for me." Damon added quietly without much reason.

"Stefan tried to shoot you?" Giuseppe choked out roughly, his eyes widening considerably. "Why?" he gasped, leaning his on his hands.

Damon sighed bitterly, leaning the back of his head against the wall and wrapping a hand around Elena's waist, his rough hands brushing over the sensitive skin of her hips. "He fell in love."

Grayson snorted in disdain. "He fell in love?" he replied mockingly, his eyes burning in the faded light. "He shot my daughter," he growled angrily. "You don't shoot people, or betray family, or turn on people because you fell in love."

"You would have torn the world apart for Miranda." Giuseppe pointed out, glaring pointedly at his friend. "All because you fell in love."

"Love is overrated." Grayson spat, pushing off the wall abruptly. "We're done here. Let's go."

Giuseppe glared at the man he had known so long, barely recognizing the shadow he had become over the past few weeks. "You go. Go have a drink and get some sleep." He ordered softly. He walked over to the other man and clapped him on the shoulder. "You can't keep this up forever, Gray. Just go." Grayson nodded, retreating from the apartment with subdued steps.

"He acts like I don't even exist." Elena muttered in Damon's ear, unable to stop the sadness creeping into her voice.

"He's stressed." Giuseppe told her. Elena flushed, looking away from the older man; she didn't think he'd hear her. "More than you know."

"Are you not going too?" Damon asked forcing his tone to remain pleasant.

Giuseppe stared at his son in disbelief. "You're going to tell me why my son tried to shoot my other son, but shot my goddaughter instead." He forced out through gritted teeth. Elena's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Giuseppe. He smiled good-naturedly at her. "I always wanted a daughter, I practically bullied Gray into it."

Elena chuckled warmly. Without meaning too, Giuseppe had set so much at rest within her. The man always sent a slight shiver of sureness through her. She never knew how to act of what to say; for once she wouldn't have that problems. She wrapped an arm around Damon's waist and rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"Start talking, Damon." He ordered in a strange tone; his eyes as guarded as his tongue.

"Remember Mason Lockwood?" Damon snapped bitterly. Giuseppe nodded curtly. "He's up in the big leagues now, married, power in the Vengefuls." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "Stefan fell in love with his wife."

From there the whole story came pouring out. Damon talked without interruption, eventually sitting down on the ground with Elena by his side. He avoided his father's gaze. He didn't want to see the pain he would surely try to hide, or the betrayal they both felt so deeply mirrored in his own.

"He betrayed his whole family," Giuseppe snarled; rage building roughly in his chest. "The club, his blood, for some girl? He lied straight to my face, for a girl?"

Damon didn't even defend his brother. He nodded mutely, his hands trembling in anger. Elena unwound his hand from his waist, gently twisting her fingers through his and pressing her lips to his arms. Not a kiss as such, just a movement of her lips, silent whispers against his skin. There were words spoken next, both by him and his father, but in the end, all of which they spoke came from the deepest parts of their hearts, a part painfully betrayed by a brother and by a son. Elena sat by him the whole time he and Giuseppe talked of little and large things, sometimes sleeping deeply or dozing gently on his shoulder or awake and gently tracing patterns on the back of his hand.

"Keep her close." Giuseppe told him as Elena dozed against his shoulder, still clutching his hand.

"She seems to get hurt when she's close." Damon muttered, looking down at her face.

"She'll hurt more if you walk away." He pointed out reasonably. "Answer me straight for once Damon."

"You didn't ask a question." He pointed out, smirking lightly.

Giuseppe scowled at his son, and shook his head incredulously. His expression became thoughtful as his calculating look washed warmly over his son. "Do you love her?"

Damon froze, the answer coming to his lips immediately. He pushed it down, forcing himself to meet Giuseppe's gaze and shrug lightly. Elena's head rolled off his shoulder, starting her awake. She blinked blearily and yawned, running a hand through her hair. Damon dropped a kiss to her temple and stood up walking his father to the door. Giuseppe's blue eyes met his son's with a knowing look. They flickered past him, resting on the brunette who was looking out of the window. "You didn't answer." Giuseppe pointed out casually as he stepped out into the hallway.

Damon shrugged and met his father's eyes unwaveringly. "I don't need to." Giuseppe bowed his head in admiration for Damon's uncanny talent at deflecting. "Bye, Dad." He said quietly as he shut the door softly.

Elena leant against her bedroom door, staring at Damon with a small suggestive smirk on her face. He turned around and looked at her, a slow grin creeping onto his features. He charged at her, bulldozing her backwards onto the bed as she squealed with laughter, her entire body shaking as he pinning her to the bed, resting his clasped hands on her exposed stomach. He pressed his lips there, grinning against her hot skin as goose bumps erupted all over his body.

"I do believe we were in the middle of something Miss Elena." He said in his southern drawl, his eyes glittering in the light of the moon. He pressed another kiss to her stomach, trailing achingly slowly towards her hipbones, gently dragging his tongue across one. She trembled beneath him, one of her legs wrapping slowly around his back so her foot rested against the dip in his spine.

He moved his mouth lower, his hands setting fire to her body as he slid them up the smooth skin of her calves and thighs to rest against her hips. His wandering hands slowly found the catch of her shorts, unbuttoning them and sliding them down her legs at a pace made for torture. Elena groaned in frustration, grabbing the lapels of his shirt and yanking him upwards to meet her lips, overturning them so she straddled his muscled stomach.

Damon's eyes burned as they raked shamelessly over her figure as she sat atop him. "You're so gorgeous." He growled lowly, capturing her lips furiously and twisting his hands in her long coffee colored locks.

Elena murmured in appreciation, placing burning kisses along his jawline. "You're not too bad yourself." She gasped out through her kisses. Her hands found the hem of his shirt, and she dropped quickly, her mouth leaving Damon's neck so quickly he groaned in irritation. He swallowed his sounds of displeasure as her mouth latched onto the few inches of centimeters of exposed muscles, working up his chest at a rapid pace, pushing his shirt off him as she went. He claimed her mouth again as he sat up, keeping her encaged in his lap in his arms, ripping her own shirt off without so much theatrics. He unsnapped her bra, tearing it away from her body and placing fevered kisses across her bared skin. Her hands threaded through his hair as she yanked him upwards, catching his lower lip between her teeth. He growled pushing her down onto the mattress so her head hung off the end of the bed. Elena gasped in shock as the world suddenly flipped upside down. Damon grasped her hips, pulling her gently towards him as her world righted. He worshipped her skin with heated kisses; his lips, his teeth and his tongue attacked her neck, her shoulders and her mouth. His finger slid inside of her slowly, pulling out again after only a second, teasing her helplessly. She bit back a moan as she turned her head into the sheets. Damon caught her mouth again, silencing her moans as he slid his digits back inside of her. Her back arched deliciously, pressing her chest to his and her arms wound around his neck and held him close to her.

Suddenly, wave after wave of desire crashed over her so fast she barely had time to prepare herself as her body was attacked by endless pleasure. She lay trembling beneath him as Damon laid lazy kisses along her collarbone. His hands brushed her sensitive button, making her gasp and arch against him. She took control, rolling them over and taking her hands to his jeans.

"You're wearing too many clothes." She murmured hotly against his ear, her breath tickling his neck as she slowly moved back to his lips. He groaned, his hands threading into her hair and holding her tightly to him as her hand slid inside of his jeans, catching him in her teasing grip. Pushing his jeans down his legs, her hand gently caressed the length of him, torturing him slowly as her mouth kissed his lips fiercely.

Damon swallowed roughly, the pure torture of her slow movement becoming too much. Turning them over and sliding into her with ease, her groaned at the contact, attacking her neck with burning kisses as he moved with her, her hips moving with his. Her nails dug into the hard muscles of his back raking across his skin leaving angry red marks across his flawless skin. He bit, sucked and kissed across her neck, leaving marks on her skin, marking her as his, and only his. She threw her head back against the pillow as he felt the familiar tightening around him. He bit back a yell as he came just after she did, kissing the skin around her ear as he whispering soft words to her. He collapsed heavily against her heaving chest.

Elena shifted uncomfortably beneath him, her body suddenly becoming tense. She pushed his shoulder roughly. He rolled off her without question, gazing at her with her eyes. She shook her head and kissed him languidly, gesturing towards the still tender gunshots marring her body.

"Shit 'Lena." He cursed, his hands brushing gently over the tender skin as a hot sting of fury surged through his body towards his brother. "I forgot." He added weakly, running a hand over her ribs in a soft comfort.

"So did I." she replied ruefully, moving over slightly to lean her head against his chest. He wound his arms around her and rested his cheek against her soft hair.

"Does it hurt?"

She snorted. Damon could feel her laughter radiating from her entire body through to his. "Yes." She said sniggering lightly. "But not because of you, you idiot."

"You're sure?" he asked gently, winding a single strand of her hair around one of his fingers. She nodded against him, letting her eyes drop close.

"Shut up and sleep." She said, one of her hands reaching up to rest against his neck, gently playing with the soft strands of hair that rested there.

"Charming." He scoffed, running his hands over her spine.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger there as he eyes dropped shut. Her steady heartbeat against his chest lulled him into a deep sleep, where he lay, with Elena in his arms and it finally, after everything, actually seemed like everything was finally getting better.

/

"Turn your phone off." Elena grumbled sleepily, nudging his chest gently. She sighed, hitting his chest sharply. Damon grunted, his face shooting up out of the pillow. "Go get your phone." She repeated, closing her eyes and dropping her face back into the soft pillows.

Damon pressed his face back into the pillow, using the arm still draped over her back to pull her close to him. "You get it."

Elena scowled and glanced at him. She sighed, his eyes seemed to be able to make her do anything, and got up wandering over to the sound of Damon's phone beneath the pile of clothes that had accumulated near the door. She crouched down, pulling Damon's dark shirt over her head before she picked up his cracked iPhone and answered the call from the unknown number.

"Hello?" she asked curiously as she stood up again, leaning against the wall as her eyes burned into Damon's shamefully hot back.

"Hi Elena." came a quiet voice through the line. "Is Damon there?" Her heart clenched in her chest as she matched the voice to a face in her mind.

Elena gritted her teeth as surges of emotion pounded over her. She stalked over to the bed and pushed Damon's shoulder roughly to roll him over. He rolled onto his back and stared at her blearily, wiping the sleep from his eyes. She dropped the phone onto his chest and swiftly walked away, moving towards the kitchen.

"Elena?" Damon called hoarsely after her, glancing between her and the phone in his hand. "Hello? Who is this?" he asked irritably from her bed as she wandered into the kitchen area, rummaging through the empty cupboards to try and remember where she put her pain pills. He didn't need some girl calling him up and causing problems, he had enough of those as it was.

Relief crashed over Elena as she spotted the little orange pot sitting on the worktop. She opened it quickly, finding little problems with the child safety cap. She had never understood those. Kids nowadays could figure out how to open these things quicker than most adults could. She shook out two into her hands and quickly swallowed them, sticking her head under the tap to swallow some water.

Damon's warm hand gently caressed her back through his shirt. "What did he want?" Elena asked softly, turned towards him and pushing herself up onto the counter. Her eyes were downcast, a blazing fire burning behind the molten chocolate.

"For us to meet him at the motel at some point today." He told her quietly, leaning against the kitchen island opposite her. "We don't have to go."

"I want to." Elena said surprisingly. She shrugged flippantly. "It's still really early, we can go later."

Damon scrutinized her carefully, searching her face for any signs of hesitation. He sighed and pushed himself off of the counter, moving closer to her and cupping her cheek with one hand and kissing the other softly. She blinked at the sweet gesture, her heart thumping in her chest as she watched him open cupboards and drawers, his hands drumming gently on the work surface. "You have no food."

"I also have no furniture." She said ruefully, looking around at the bare room. She liked seeing the worn floorboards, and the empty rooms; she almost didn't want to furnish it, but she'd already ordered stuff online and arranged with the landlord to let the deliverymen in and to unpack and put the stuff together if she wasn't here. "So I ordered some, much like you do with food."

"I could cook your breakfast." He said, his eyes sparkling. "But you have no food so you'll have to miss out."

Elena laughed, running her hands through her hair as she brought her legs up onto the surface and crossed them in a basket. "Go get some then."

Damon wandered over and stood in front of her, his hands bracing his weight against the counter. His eyes flicked from her eyes to her lips as he literally eye fucked her right there. She rolled her eyes and pushed off the counter brushing past him playfully. "Boring." He called after her, sticking his tongue out though he couldn't see her.

She whirled around, her eyes bright and playful as she slowly pulled up the hem of his shirt, teasing him as inch by inch of her tanned stomach until she finally pulled it over her head, leaving her in just a lacy black lingerie set. "You can make me breakfast." She shouted as she walked to the bathroom, turned on the shower and waited a few moments for it to begin to heat up.

Damon was in the bathroom in a flash, caging her against the sink and nibbling across her collarbone. She smirked at him, pushing him off her and stepping out of her underwear. Moving under the hot spray, she turned to look into his lustful gaze. She barely got a second to appreciate just how gorgeous he was before he pulled off his jeans and stepped into the shower.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind, relaxing under the hot spray. She gasped in surprise as she felt his hands move through her hair, massaging shampoo into her scalp. She bent her head backwards, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his mouth down to hers. He kissed her sweetly, making no effort to make things more heated as the shampoo drained away and he ran his hands through her hair, working out the knots and adding conditioner as he placed gentle kisses across her shoulder.

His hand slip between their slick bodies, flicking against her sensitive nub causing her to gasp and arch against him. "I knew you couldn't keep it PG for long."

"Mmm. No." he murmured, placing more fevered kisses across her neck as his other hand reached up to massage her breast.

He spun her round suddenly, pulling her flush against his body and claiming her mouth in a bruising kiss as his hands roamed freely over her body. His hands slid down her thighs, lifting her so she wrapped her legs around his waist. He caged her against the cold tiles, sliding into her without hesitation, groaning at the feeling of her tightness around him. He kissed her neck; biting, licking and sucking a path from her ear to the dip between her breasts. She threaded her fingers through his hands as she moved his hips against as him, crying out as he moved within her. Her arms tightened around his neck, pulling his lips to her mouth, kissing him fiercely as he pounded into her, the hard coldness off the tiles to her back and the warm heat of Damon at her front. She gasped and leant her head against the tiled walls as he built her higher and higher, keeping her just under the edge. He let his head fall into the crook between her neck and shoulder, muffling his groans of pleasure against her damp skin.

He reaches between them once more, his hand gently flicking her button and sending her hurtling over the edge, crying out his name in pleasure as her long nails raked over the skin of his back, running over the previously red marks of he previous night. He allowed himself to let go, following over the edge as his grip tightened around her waist, pulling her tighter against him as he groaned, cursing and kissing her neck feverishly.

They both recovered slowly. Elena was still resting in Damon's arms, her legs still locked around his waist as he held her close to him, making no attempt to move away from her and his head rested comfortably against her neck. He kissed the hollow of her throat gently, sending a jolt of electricity through Elena's body. She pulled his hair back to kiss his lips again, and run her hands through his hair.

"Should we go see your brother now?" She said, watching water drip temptingly down his neck. She dropped her legs from around his waist, leaning over to turn of the shower and leaving them warm within the steam filled shower.

He kissed her so tenderly she nearly sank to the floor right there and then. His hands brushed over her cheeks gently as he gazed at her sadly. "Yeah. We'll go see my brother."

It was a long time after they woke up that they finally made it to the motel Stefan was hiding out in. Their escapades in the shower hadn't been ended, they had simply moved to the bedroom. Twice. Much to Elena's dismay as her hair had been such a state she'd been forced to wash it again which of course let to another time. It was now past noon and they were sitting in Damon's Camaro in the hard-packed dirt car pack outside the hotel.

"I miss my bike. Why didn't you let me ride?" she grumbled, her arms folding across her chest in irritation.

"You were shot." Damon replied mildly, rummaging through his back seat to find something and slide it surreptitiously into his pocket. Elena tensed as she saw the dark metal object slide into his pocket. She got out the car quickly, shutting the door slightly harder than necessary, leaving Damon in the cab, staring bewilderedly after her. He got out, locking the car and walking around to her. "We can leave."

Elena's frown deepened. "No." she said slowly, meeting his eyes. "Just don't shoot him."

Damon rolling his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets and stalking over to the room Stefan had made his home. "No promises."

Elena sighed and followed him, her stomach clenching in knots, as the door Damon had just knocked open swung open, revealing the man she couldn't help but feel a sharp sting of loathing towards. He'd fired two bullets into her body and they fucking hurt. She took an involuntary step back, hitting Damon's chest suddenly as his strong hands gripped her shoulders soothingly.

"We can go." Damon reminded her quietly, staring straight into Stefan's hard eyes with burning fury.

"No." she said, her voice smooth and even as she scanned carelessly over Stefan. She caught sight of a young woman hiding behind his shadow, leaning tersely against a wall as she watched the scene unfolding in the doorway with curious eyes. She jutted her chin out defiantly, meeting the eyes of woman with a steady gaze. "No." she repeated, moving away from Damon's hands and touching his arm with fingers so soft her unforgiving tone cut through him like a knife through butter.. "I just might shoot him too."

A/N: IT'S BEEN SO LONG.

This chapter was like drawing blood from a stone, but since that phrase is entirely over used I'm going to say it was like drawing the motivation to go out and exercise on December 26th - yeah, I thought so.

I'm not happy with it; some parts I like, some parts I hate but the time taken to fix, change, rewrite and edit it was only going to make it marginally better so I gave it to ya as is.