A/N: Again, thank you so much for your comments. And also for all the alerts! They all seriously want me to finish my chapters sooner :)

All feedback is welcome, and I'm enjoying your thoughts on what might be the reason for the human compulsion...

We are getting closer to the answer now.

Song of the week: Adele - Rolling in the deep!

Minutes after dropping Elena off outside her house, Rose got a call from Slater. He had found something out, that he didn't want to talk about over the phone, so he'd asked her to come over as soon as she could.

She'd decided not to call Damon. She wanted to know what Slater knew before letting Damon in on anything. It might turn out a dead end anyway.

As she got there, Alice, Slater's human girlfriend, greeted her with a cup of warmed up blood and a million questions about Damon, having nearly had a heart attack when he'd come to rescue Elena from the vampires sent to take her to Klaus.

Rose knew that she shouldn't tell them about herself and Damon, but there were something in Alice's questions she didn't like and Rose just really wanted Alice put in her place. Kind of a silent statement to shut up and leave him alone.

It was common knowledge that all Alice wanted from Slater was to be turned. Rose knew that Slater would never give in to Alice's pleas for eternal life, but he liked having her around, since he'd ''never met a human as brainy as him before'' and he enjoyed her company.

'I've only bumped into one rumor of a human compelling a vampire while searching', Slater mused. 'It's not even pure compulsion, it's called linking. It's triggered by endorphins within the human and vampire.'

Rose felt a bit taken aback by this.

'So what you mean is; it's an emotional bond between a human and vampire?'

Slater got a sly expression on his face before answering.

'Yep. It's all about love, baby. It's when a vampire and human fall in love. But it's not just any love, it's a love that creates a link between them. And get this. It doesn't happen to any human or any vampire. It's between a doppelganger and her protector.'

Slater was getting all exited now.

'A doppelganger is created, right? But she needs to be protected until she serves her purpose. Well, that means she needs protection from other harm. There are vampires created equally to protect said doppelganger. When the doppelganger's job is done, well, so is the vampire's. Cool, huh?'

'And vampires are natural predators. So, the only way to keep a vampire from killing a human doppelganger is for the vampire to fall in love.' Alice chimed in. 'It's so nifty.'

Rose was quite for a while.

'If I get this straight, this means that Damon is Elena's protector, and when Klaus has sacrificed her, Damon will be taken care of as well.' Rose really didn't like the sound of that. If she would give Damon up for Elena, it would be for them staying together, not for them to die.

The revelation that Damon and Elena shared an emotional link due to her being a doppelganger had made Rose forget that Slater didn't know the real reason she was asking all of her questions. When she looked at him, his mouth had dropped open and he was staring at her with an empty gaze.

'Rose. Are you telling me that Elena has linked with Damon Salvatore? I thought you were hooking up with him?' It was Alice, her eyes shiny of excitement. She sat down next to Slater who still seemed stunned by the information.

'Does this mean that the rumors about linking are actually true? – That is so cool.' Alice started laughing out loud, which seemed to startle Slater back to life.

His eyes met Rose's.

'What is their bond like? Is it palpable? What do they do? Can they feel each other's emotions? Do they know when the other is in trouble?' Slater looked feverish all of a sudden. 'There are so many questions I have for them. You need to bring them here. Let me study them for a while. Do they know about it at all? Have you told them?'

Rose shook her head. 'I'm not going to either. I'm not going to drive them into the arms of each other. Damon is not ready for that kind of responsibility. And Elena, well, she doesn't care for him enough.'

Rose looked down on her hands. They were shaking slightly.

'It might be best if they never find out. What good would it do them anyway? The reason for linking died out with Katherine. Elena is with Stefan now; he'll be able to protect her perfectly fine.'

Slater looked at Rose with a questioning smile.

'Don't you get it, Rose? Damon was turned for protection, by Katherine, and it wasn't for love. He turned Elena's birth mother; he has her blood in his veins. That means he has Elena's blood in him as well. It might sound cheesy, but in a way it's his destiny.' Slater shrugged his shoulders.

Alice giggled and poked his side.

'Yea, Slater, that sounded a bit cheesy, alright.' She mimicked him in a funny voice. 'It's his destiny. Nice one.'

'You!' Elena exclaimed. 'Do you know what you've done? –You compelled me in my sleep. You took advantage of me. You used me and now you say that you didn't mean it?'

'No, Elena, I didn't compel you. That's what I've been trying to tell you. I had no control over myself, of what happened.' There was desperation in his voice. And his blue eyes shone brighter than ever. Elena turned away with a frown of disgust. But it was mingled with a blush.

She didn't know what horrified her more. What Damon had put her through, or the feeling of excitement at the thought of where his mouth had been? She could feel him inch closer to her, but she kept her back turned to him, not wanting him to see her cheeks stained red.

'I'm sorry, Elena.' He was so close to her she could feel his breath in her hair. The sweet scent of him filled her senses fully and she was reminded of the night in question, of his voice whispering her name. His cool hands stroking her skin, his mouth... that wicked mouth of his doing things to her, she never thought possible.

There was a slight breeze and he was standing in front of her, heart on his sleeves and guilt in his eyes.

How could she hate him when all she wanted to do was make him kiss her? She wanted him so badly it was physically hurting her. And it scared her because she had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted him. But the longing was mixed with pure fear. She should hate him; she should be disgusted by him.

Elena could feel the heat from her core pressing against her jeans. Her body was aching for Damon's touch, and her underwear felt damp of anticipation. And at the same time, she had to force herself not to slap him across the face and scream at him to leave her alone. She loathed him for making her feel like this. She was supposed to love his brother, not want him. Not Damon.

Damon could hear Elena's pulse racing. Her breath was uneven and her pupils fully dilated. He tried desperately to assess the situation. If he hadn't known better he'd say she was exited. But the circumstances should say otherwise; she should be furious beyond comprehension.

He let his eyes slide up and down her body and was taken aback seeing her nipples straining against her dark blue cardigan. She tried to cover herself by crossing her arms over her chest.

Confused he met her eyes again, seeing nothing but lust streaming out of them. He took a step backwards, nearly backing into the window seat. This was a reaction he never would have expected from her. Not in a million years.

He knew the female race well; he knew how their bodies worked, but Elena, she was sending out all the wrong signals for someone who should be fuming with anger over the mess he had made of things.

Elena could see Damon's bewilderment and tried to compose herself, but she knew that her body was betraying her, and she cursed under her breath.

'You need to leave', she mumbled through gritted teeth. 'I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. You. Need. To leave.' Her words were short of an echo of Damon's own words when he'd smelled Elena's blood after Vicki was killed at the Halloween party a year earlier.

She stared him straight in the eye while talking. He saw her pulse throbbing against her throat and he could hear her heart pounding even stronger in her chest. He was strangely turned on by the mere sight of her. Slightly disheveled hair, blushing cheeks and eyes like bottomless pools of desire. She turned her eyes away from him, letting her hair fall like a curtain in front of her face.

He decided to comply with her request and slowly walked towards the door. Just as he passed her though, he paused for just a sliver of a second to breathe her in. He could feel his whole body aching to touch her as he sensed her craving for him to do so. And he closed his eyes to remember how sweet she'd tasted and how perfect she'd felt in his arms.

'Damon', she warned.

'Elena', he purred.

Their eyes met for a short moment before he slid past her, their arms grazing, and he knew.

She wasn't capable of hating him forever.

Remember; reviews are always welcome - good or bad!

Vic xxx