Chapter 9

The sound of the birds chirping and the rustling of the trees surrounded them and slowly woke Elena from her slumber. As her eyes started to slowly flutter open she found it odd that her pillow wasn't much of a pillow. Bringing a hand up to rub her eyes she set her hand down on the naked chest she had been sleeping on. After a moment of wondering she remembered the night before and how her and Damon had to sleep in the woods. Softly lifting her head, where her hair was draped over his chest she looked up at him. Lifting her head she then felt Damon start to stir beneath her and then as his eyes slowly opened. As his eyes adjusted to the light Damon looked down at Elena as she still lay on his chest and smiled. "Morning" he told her with a smile as his hand moved up the smooth skin of her back.

Elena found herself smiling as she thought about the night before. She still wasn't sure how it happened but when their lips finally met it was like nothing she had ever experienced. She couldn't get enough and from what she could tell either could Damon. Now here they lay still covered in only their undergarments they weren't experiencing the awkward morning after that would usually follow a steaming hot make out session like that. Her fingers gently moved across Damon's chest as she lay her head back down on his chest. "So is this the morning after part where you kick me out?" Elena asked in a teasing voice knowing Damon's usual sleeping buddies were kicked out as soon as possible.

Damon let out a chuckle, and his fingers combed through her hair as she still laid her head on his chest. Their legs were still tangled under the blankets and it seemed so crazy how well they fit together. "I really should" Damon said softly in his husky morning voice, "But with a twisted ankle I'll give you a few more minutes" he teased. "Yet I must say you are a bad influence on me," he told her and after that Elena lifted her head and gave him a curious look as to why. "Before you I had a reputation that any girl I slept with I had sex with. You are a bad influence on me," he told her.

Elena couldn't help but laugh as she slowly leaded forward and pressed her lips against his. Sure enough just like the night before the kiss sent an unbelievable feeling through her body. Damon immediately responded to the kiss and his tongue slipped into her mouth to find hers. Letting out a moan Elena's body moved so that she was lying fully on top of Damon as her fingers moved from his chest to his neck and then through his jet-black hair.

Slowly rolling them on to their sides, the blanket fell away but neither of them seem to notice or care. Damon's one hand moved up and down her body while his other arm was wrapped around her and keeping her close. They only broke from the kiss to change position of their heads and Elena's nose moved from one side of his to the other as her hands cupped his face. They both knew they needed to get up and get going because the others would surely be worried and they still needed to find the town but figure a few more minutes of this wouldn't hurt.

"Okay I'm really starting to worry" Jenna said as she paced back and forth in the kitchen biting her nails. Alaric was doing his best to calm his best friend down but she wouldn't listen to him. Her niece, whom she was given the trust of her sister and brother in-law when they died to protect and take care of was now missing. "They should be back by now" she called out after pushing Ric's arms away from her. She didn't need him to try and calm her down; she needed to find her niece and Damon.

"Maybe they just camped out not wanting to get lost in the dark," Stefan suggested but deep down he too was very worried about his brother and Elena.

"But why did Bonnie and Kol make it back and not them?" Caroline asked as she pointed over towards Bonnie and Kol sitting on the sofa together as they too looked very worried. In fact they all looked worried, all except Rebekah who just looked pissed off that they were all just standing around instead of trying find their way out of this mess. "What if they were eaten by a mountain lion or a bear? God what if there an axe murdering out there and we are next!" Caroline said in horror.

Stefan immediately nudged Caroline to get her to stop helping and making things worse because Jenna was already a wrack and she didn't need Caroline's dark imagination adding to her stress. Jenna's pacing was just getting worse as her eyes seemed to be shifting back and forth thinking of all the possibilities of what could of happen to them out there. Thanks to Caroline she was now having flash backs to old Criminal Minds episodes.

"Okay Jenna I'm sure it's not that bad," Alaric told her calmly as he forced her to stop pacing and have a seat at the kitchen table. He glared at Caroline for a moment before turning his focus back to Jenna and wrapping his arms on her while she broke into tears. "We will going out and find them," he explained as he knelt down in front of her as she sat on the chair. As she made eye contact with him, Alaric did what he could to calm her down and wipe away her tears. "Bonnie and Kol know where they broke off with Elena and Damon so we can retrace their steps and who knows we could run into them on their way back.

"Yeah, plus seeing as we didn't see the town there is a good chance they did and are working on getting us all a ride there" Bonnie informed her.

"Well Bonnie knows the way," Kol said with a chuckle as his arm was resting on the back of the couch where him and Bonnie were sitting. Bonnie let out a giggle as she turned to look at Kol, as he shrugged his shoulders not afraid to admit it. As Kol and Bonnie seemed to be smiting with each other it didn't go unnoticed by Caroline.

"Okay, so its set we'll go look for them" Alaric told her and got Jenna to nod in agreement. Giving her a quick smile he then got up and turned to look at the others. Caroline and Stefan were standing at the other end of the table, Kol and Bonnie were on the sofa and Rebekah was the only one not so worried as she got a water bottle out of the cooler. Biting his bottom lip Alaric walked over to Stefan and Caroline and gently pulled Caroline off to the side. "I want you to stay here with Jenna, but try to keep your thoughts to yourself and not feed her already panicked imagination." Caroline just nodded her head knowing it was best to leave her big mouth shut for a while. "Alright everyone else lets go" Alaric called out.

"Do I really have to? I'm not exactly dressed for the hiking stuff," Rebekah told them.

"Yeah fine you stay here," Alaric told her as he rolled his eyes and got ready to head out with the others. "We go out for three hours and then we come back and regroup." As everybody nodded and headed out, a nervous wrack Jenna stood at the window watching them leave as she was biting her nails hoping that everyone would come back safe and sound.

"I think we're going the wrong way," Elena chirped up as Damon was carrying her hopefully heading towards the town. Once the two had forced themselves to get a move on it and find the town in an hour or so. They knew the others would be worried so it was best they find the town as soon as possible so that they could meet back up with them. Luckily after a night of their wet clothes lying around the fire they were dry and ready for the hike ahead.

The two found a big change in their relationship after what had happened the other night and oddly enough things weren't awkward. They changed in silence into their clothes but shared a few glances and smirks in between. Once they were all set Damon pulled the backpack onto his back then moved to pick up an injured Elena.

As great and hot as there morning seemed to have started out, they wouldn't be Damon and Elena if they continued to get along. With Damon carrying her around he pretty much called the shots on which way to go and that didn't really sit well with Elena. "I really think we should have turned the other way," Elena repeated when Damon seemed to just ignore her.

"I know what I'm doing" Damon finally told her as he rolled his eyes at her. He held her in his arms with one arm around her back and the other under her legs while her arms were hanging on around his neck.

"We have been walking this way for about an hour, we should try another way" she tried again.

"How about this when you can walk you can pick the way and then never get out of here" he told her with a smirk as he came to halt and motioned Elena to look at her twisted ankle that made it clear she wasn't getting her way today.

"And what makes you think I would get lost, for all you know my way could of lead us to the town" Elena asked while Damon was carefully stepping over a log still heading in the direction he was sure was the right way.

"Because I said it is" he told her with a smirk that just made Elena roll her eyes at his cocky know it all tone. This was the Damon she grew up with, the one that had to be right and everyone else was just idiots according to him for going against him. It always got on her nerves and right now she didn't have a choice but to go along with him unless she was planning to hop on one foot.

"You seriously have an annoying need to be right," Elena told him.

"It's not a need, its usually the case" he responded in a cocky voice, "It would save you a lot of time and not to mention save my ears for having to listen to your insane amount of whining when I give you the I told you so talk."

"You can be such an ass!" Elena snapped.

"Hey don't yell at your chauffer!" he snapped back as he came to a halt as if he was planning to drop her and leave her to try and manage on her own.

"Chauffer? Please you're a dictator, my way or the highway kind of guy. A chauffer would be taking me the way I want to go" Elena told him as she was now getting pretty pissed off at him.

"Suit yourself, but as you head back that way, I'm going to the town just over there" Damon stated as he nodded his head towards the road they had come across and building in the distance. "Still want to go you're way sweetheart?" he said in a snarky, haha I'm right tone knowing it would drive her nuts.

"Shut up, I'm not your sweetheart" Elena said as she refused to look at him because she already knew she was in for a lot of gloating from him as they continued down the road towards the little town they had been looking for.

As they arrived into the little town the two of them looked around, as it seemed to be a one street town and not much else. The village had a bit of a western feel to it as the type of architect that the buildings had, with wood frames and the second floor having long balconies with white posts and railings. It actually looked like a place you could fill an old western movie with a number of local shops on the lower levels. The streets were empty with just a few cars parked on the side of the road.

"This is kinda creepy" Elena said in a bit of a whisper as her head rested on Damon's shoulder as he continued on walked.

"No kidding," he replied as he figured that being the weekend pretty much everything was closed so everything seem deserted and abandoned. As they got to about the middle of the village they saw a sign that said INN.

"Oh thank god! Warm beds" she said happily as Damon made his way over to the old rustic Inn. While Damon was holding Elena, she reached forward to open the green wooden door to the Inn that had a big window on the top half but a red-checkered curtain covering so they couldn't see inside until Elena opened the door. As the door opened a bell above them alerted the staff that someone was entering the building. Much to their surprise when they walked in it wasn't your typical Inn with a front desk. Instead the two wondered into a bar. "Please tell me this Inn wasn't renovated into a bar," Damon mumbled quietly as he stepped further into the bar.

Their was an older gentleman sitting in the far corner of the bar reading a paper and he looked up at the two newcomers with a look of distaste. It seemed that he wasn't fond of tourist much like the lady who was behind the counter of the bar. "Can I help you?" she asked sounding a bit annoyed that the Damon had walked in carrying Elena and hadn't said or done anything.

"I'm looking for the hotel" Damon asked as he moved to set Elena down in an nearby chair then he moved towards the lady in her mid-forties who seemed both exhausted and miserable.

"Your looking at it" She told him.

"Where is the front desk?" he asked her since it seemed she wasn't just going to point it out for him.

Rolling her eyes the lady reached under the counter and pulled out a binder and slammed it down on the counter. As she gave Damon a look she opened it up and then pointed to the binder. "This would be the front desk," she told him as if it should have been obvious from the start.

"Yeah I totally got that when I came in" Damon scoffed at her, as they seemed to stare each other down.

"What do you need?" she asked him with a sigh.

"First where the hell are we?" Damon asked her and the lady gave him a look of confusion. She then looked over at Elena as she was massaging her foot and wincing in a bit of pain.

"What happened to her?" she asked as she nodded to Elena.

Damon wasn't really in the mood to stand here and small talk to her so rolled his eyes and gave her an annoyed look. "She twisted her ankle, she is gonna live but I need to know what this freak town is called."

"Chesterfield, population 400 and if your looking for the tourist sights you saw them all on your way in here" she replied just as nasty as he did. "Now do you need a room or not?"

"Yeah I need three or four" Damon said as he reached into his wallet and pulled out some cash.

"Well which one is it three or four?"

"I'll take four" Damon snapped back.

"We only have three"

"THEN I WILL TAKE THREE!" Damon shot back at her.

Elena was sitting there at the table watching the interaction between the two and figure it was only a matter of time before one of them lunged at the other. While she was forced to just sit there and wait she glanced around the bar/hotel as the gentleman in the corner didn't seem to like all the noise and was letting out annoyed grunts.

"They aren't ready yet, my daughter will need to clean them. VICKIE!" she told him and then screamed out her daughter name. Within seconds a young possibly 19-year-old girl came bouncing out wearing a matching annoyed look on her face. "You gotta clean rooms 1 through 3" she told her.

"Fine after my smoke" she replied and then as she was about to leave her eyes settled on Damon and it was obviously she liked what she saw. "Well hi there" she said with a smile as she started to twist her hair.

"VICKIE!" her mother, yelled and then the girl rolled her eyes and then disappeared down the narrow hallway in the back. As the lady behind the counter moved to put the front desk registration book away back under the counter, she was chewing on her gum loudly.

Damon could tell that she wasn't really in the mood to deal with them but he still needed to get back to the others and he really didn't want to walk especially since it would mean Elena would be left alone for who knew how long here. "Listen our car broke down a little ways down the road, is there anyway I can rent a car?"

"Nope, its Saturday, everything is closed until Monday sweetheart" She told him without even looking up at him and in a tone as if he should of known that.

With a sigh and frustration, Damon waltzed over to stand by Elena for a moment and he looked as if he was regretting this already. "I honestly think it might be safer to sleep outside again," he mumbled to her as he took a seat at the table with her.

"We have to get back to the others," Elena told him.

Damon gave a nod as he pulled out his map and was looking for Chesterfield. With his index finger moving across the map, Elena watched closely and found herself sneaking a few glances at Damon. Her eyes watched his finger move across the map and then she slowly looked up at his lips as he was mumbling something to himself as he focused on the map. Those lips had her in a trance as she thought back to the night before and even to this mornings make out session. To this point she had no idea what had come over them to make them so hungry for the other but one thing Elena knew for sure; she wanted more.

She was broken out of her trance when the front door of the Inn opened a young guy with blonde hair walked in carrying a package. When he saw Elena sitting at a table his eyes immediately turned to hers and Elena figured it was because he didn't recognize her. Being a town of about 400 people, it wasn't had to believe that everyone knew practically everyone. He seemed about her age and as he gave her a smile he moved towards the counter of the bar and plopped the package down.

The very "charming" lady behind the counter came over to him and took the package from him. "Okay thanks Matt, I need you to go help your sister clean up the rooms for these people," she told him as he must be her son.

Matt turned back to look at the two and while Damon was busy ready the map Elena gave Matt a smile as he waved to her. Licking his lips he walked over to the two and introduced himself. "It's not everyday we get visitors in Chesterfield, I'm Matt Donovan" he told them and held out his hand.

"Hi I'm Elena" she replied back and then to turned to Damon who seemed to be ignoring them both. "And this is Damon, he's not a people person" Elena said with an apologetic tone.

"Unless he knows how I can rent a car around this freak of a town he is no use to me," Damon answered without even looking up at the guy.

Elena rolled her eyes and apologized again for Damon. "Sorry he must of left his manners somewhere else" she said and then kicked him under the table in the shin. He winced in pain and gave Elena and death stare before looking back down at his map.

"I've got a truck, where did you need to go?" Matt asked as he pointed to the pickup truck sitting just outside.

This got Damon's attention and he looked up from the map and at the truck and then over at Matt. Suddenly his whole attitude changed and he smiled at Matt. "Hi I'm Damon" he said and held out his hand to shake the pretty boy's hand,

"Where could the be? How can there be no sign of them," Jenna yelled as she was freaking out on the now returned search party that couldn't find them. She was in tears and her imagination was going into over drive. "What if they are hurt out there and they have no way to call out for help!"

"Jenna we haven't given up" Alaric told her.

"There could have been an animal attack, they could be so lost in the woods that they can't find their way out, we shouldn't of let them go out there! What kind of guardian am I to let her go out there into the unknown?" She cried as she paced the floor. Her breathing was heavy and fast and it got to the point that as she was crying and she was struggling to breath.

Alaric was quick to grab Jenna and drag her to the couch. Sitting her down he had her bowing her head to focus on her breathing as he rubbed her back. "We will find them," he promised her. Jenna was able to control her breathing a little more but she couldn't stop the tears of panic so Alaric just sat next to his best friend on the couch and held her close while doing his best to tell her they would find them.

Watching Jenna fall apart was really getting to Stefan and he needed to get himself away from her so that she wouldn't see him losing it as well. He needed to stay strong in front of her because if they all freaked out they wouldn't be able keep Jenna calm. Stepping away from the group Stefan moved towards the small hallway that led to the bedroom and lead against the wall as his tears started to fall. His brother and girlfriend were missing and they had no idea where to start looking for them now.

Caroline had taken notice of Stefan's disappearing act and was quick to come up and see if he was okay. "Stefan?" she said softly to him as he had his back to her while he leaned his forehead against the wall.

"This can't be happening, yesterday can't be the last time I talked to them," Stefan said with tears in his eyes as he turned to look at Caroline. "If I had known I would of… I would of never…" he tried to say but it was too hard. "Damon is the only family I have left and Elena… Oh god Elena" he started to say before it was too much and he broke down.

Caroline was quick to rush to his side, as she wasn't about to lose hoped that they were both all right. "Hey" she said to him as she cupped his face and tried to get him to look at her. "Look at me, Stefan look at me!" she demanded and finally got him to look up at her. "We will find them. We will." As their eyes met a teary eyed Stefan nodded his head unsure if he believed her or just desperately wanted to.

Standing in the corner Bonnie was holding back tears as she too was thinking the worse could of happen to Elena and Damon. She kept fidgeting with her hands because of the nerves and Kol wrapped his arms around her trying to let her know it would be okay because he knew that if he tried to say it he would break down. His best friend was out there somewhere.

Suddenly between all the tension in the room and faces of worry, the front door to the cabin swung open with a creak and Damon stepped inside in a hurry. As the sight of his standing there they were all speechless and shocked that he just walked right in during everyone's freak out. He stood in the doorway looking at them and all their terrified face and knew they had spent this whole time freak out about him and Elena's whereabouts. Jenna was the first to react as she flew off the couch and wrapped her arms tightly around Damon in a sudden hug that caught Damon off guard. "OH THANK GOD! THANK GOD!" she cried, as she didn't seem to be able hold Damon tight enough. Damon was shock by this because in all the years he had known Jenna they had only share a hug at his father's funeral. He gently brought his arm up to pat her on the back as if to say everything was okay. Unfortunately before he could say anything Jenna was looking around for Elena and when she noticed that her niece wasn't walking in the door behind him she went into protective mama bear mode. She gripped Damon around the neck with both hands and slammed him against the wall of the cabin so hard that the whole wall seemed to shake. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BABY!" she growled at him.

"JENNA, JENNA" both Alaric and Stefan yelled as they tried to pull her off him but oddly enough she seemed a lot stronger then them at this point in time.

"Jenna calm down!" Damon said as he gasped for breath and brought his hands up to try and pry her hands off from around his neck.

"WHERE IS SHE?" She yelled at him again as she only got more aggressive. "WHERE IS ELENA?"

"Elena's fine!" Damon blurted out, as his face was turning red now. "We found the town she is at the hotel!" he said quickly.

"She's' okay, Elena is okay!" Jenna said with a relief smile but didn't loosen her tight grip on Damon's neck with her two hands.

"YES, YES, SHE IS! Can I start breathing again?" he begged, as he was now at the point of almost turning blue.

Realizing she hadn't released him yet Jenna pulled her hands away from around Damon's neck and placed them crossed over her heart as she said I prayer of thanks while staring up at the ceiling.

Damon brought his hand up to his neck to massage it while he continued to stare at the freakishly strong Jenna. "God no wonder you were on Mystic Falls High's wrestling team" he told her as he leaned forward to catch his breath.

"Where the hell were you guys?" Stefan asked knowing everyone wanted to know the answer to that question.

"Elena twisted or sprained her ankle so I had to carry her, we were moving a lot slower because of it so we had to stop and sleep in the woods so we didn't get off course. We found the town this morning and after finding the hotel we booked rooms and one of the staff members offered to come and pick you guys up."

"She hurt her ankle?" Jenna asked.

"She's fine, right now she's back at the hotel being looked after. I'm sure they have even made her lunch by now" Damon lied not wanting to be put in a headlock by Jenna the Hulk.

As everyone was taking this new bit of information in Matt who had driven Damon up stepped into the room with a smile. "You guys ready to get out of here?" Matt asked them as he came strolling into the cabin ready to help them load up the tuck.

"Its about time someone said that!" Rebekah called out as she ran to the door. "You can carry me suit case can't you? She asked the handsome blond boy who just gave a smile and a nod in response. "Good!" Rebekah said with a smile before she skipped off to get her seat in the vehicle while everyone else grabbed their stuff in a hurry so they could get the yell out of there.