A/N: Well, this took a long time to update. This story is still being a bitch for me to update, but I figure I should take a cue from Nike and Just Do It. Just gonna get right into it. I own nada. Leave me love. Xoxo

I Remember You

Chapter Four: Everything That Used to Be

Previously on…I Remember You

Stumbling the whole way behind Stefan, Elena tried in vain to pull her arm from his grip. Unfortunately for her, Ripper Stefan was even stronger than Stefan when he was drinking animal blood. "Stefan, why? Why are you doing this? Please, just let me go," Elena sobbed, pleading with him to drop her arm. He was pulling her along so roughly she justknewthat there would be bruises tomorrow,if I live that long,she thought to herself. Just when she thought she was about to black out from the lack of blood flowing in her arm, and the immense pain she was in, she heard a voice she never thought she would hear in person again.

"Stefan, let her go. Now." Damon ran up to them with super human speed and it shocked Stefan just enough that he dropped not only Elena, but also his guard and in one swift move, Damon had grabbed Elena and snapped his brother's neck.

"Damon," Elena said breathlessly before passing out in a pair of arms she had only dreamed of being in once again.

…***…***…***

Damon swiftly walked up to the Lockwood Manor, but was shocked when he attempted to walk into the house and was met with a force field. What the hell, he thought; I've been invited in before. What gives? He was just getting ready to call for Tyler when he saw his least favorite person walk down the stairs, "Bonnie Bennett. If you aren't a sight for sore eyes," he chuckled, "Can you do me a favor and have the owner of this house invite me in, again?"

Bonnie scoffed at the Salvatore standing in front of her, "What the hell are you doing here, Damon?"

Damon rolled his eyes at the witches icy attitude, "Well clearly absence does not make the heart grow fonder, Bon-bon. Right now, I am here to bring Elena into the house and away from my psychotic Ripper brother. In the long term, I'm here to help get Jeremy and Alaric."

Bonnie crossed her arms and glared at Damon, "Please, like I really believe that you want to help get Jeremy and Ric back. How did you even know they were missing?"

Damon sighed in frustration, "I know for one because vampires talk, and when someone mentions the doppelganger, I tend to listen," he replied through clenched teeth, "and for two because Elena called me asking for help because her brother is missing, Bonnie. You know, that brother that you dated? The brother that is the only living family she has left," he snarled at Elena's best friend. "Now, are you going to get Tyler to let me in, or is this going to need to get ugly?"

Bonnie uncrossed her arms and looked at Damon with a blank expression, "Fine, let me get him. He can decide if he wants you in here. It is his house after all." Bonnie walked off and slammed the door in Damon's face.

Damon looked down at the girl, no, the woman, in his arms. In the two years he's been gone, Elena had changed considerably. Her hair was limp, she had deep bags from lack of sleep under her eyes, it seemed as if she had lost weight and even in her resting state, he could see the stress and worry etched into her face. Did I do that to her, Damon thought guiltily. He continued to stare at the love of his life, studying her features until he heard the door open again. He looked up and saw Tyler Lockwood glaring at him. "Lockwood," he said gruffly.

"Salvatore," Tyler bit out, crossing his arms, "Please, come in." He motioned for Damon to enter and stepped out of the way so he could walk in with Elena in his arms.

"Gee, thanks," Damon replied sarcastically, before looking at the prone form of the girl in his arms, "Where do you want her?"

"I'll take her," Tyler told Damon, not giving the older man a chance to respond before he gently grabbed Elena from him and placed her on the couch. After making sure Elena was settled, Tyler placed a blanket over her and kissed her forehead before leaving the living room and closing the door softly. "Now, what do you know?"

Damon watched the way Tyler looked at Elena and sighed hopelessly, "All I know is someone has Jeremy, and someone has Ric. I don't know if it's the same person, or different people. I believe that it's someone working closely with Klaus, trying to finally break the curse. I think it's the same person that has both Ric and Jeremy, but I was hoping that your little witch would be able to tell us that." Damon crossed his arms and looked at Tyler seriously for a moment, "I know that you saw me that night, Tyler. Thank you for not saying anything," Damon paused, choosing his next words carefully, "And, thank you for now, for taking care of her all this time. It makes me feel a little bit better knowing that she hasn't been alone this whole time." Before Tyler could reply, Damon walked back out of the house to go deal with his brother.

…***…***…***

When Stefan came to, he was locked in the cellar in the Boarding House, the house that to this day smelled like Elena Gilbert "Damon," Stefan shouted, pounding on the door, "Damon! Let me out! You can't keep me in here. I'm stronger than you are," he growled, "You know I'm stronger than you. I'll get out of here. I'll get her. I'll get her and you won't be able to save her. I'll make you watch as I rip her apart." Stefan listened for any sign of life in the Boarding House, and not hearing any; he huffed and roared in frustration before pacing back and forth across the floor.

…***…***…***

Elena woke up with a start alone in the Lockwood living room, "Tyler," she called quietly, "Tyler," she repeated a little bit louder, hoping he was still in the house. She ran her hands roughly through her hair, tugging on the roots, as she thought about the events that had transpired today. Stefan tried to kidnap me. Stefan is still Ripper Stefan. I called Damon to find Jer and Ric. Damon saved me from Stefan. Damon is here. Damon. Is. Here. Elena had so many thoughts running through her head, she could barely see straight. How did I get back here? What happened? Where is Damon? Where is Stefan? What the hell is going on, she continued to have racing thoughts, and stood up, pacing back and forth. "Okay Elena, think," she told herself, "You walked downstairs and opened it. When the door opened you saw Stefan. Stefan grabbed you and was dragging you into the woods. You felt like you were going to pass out. And then…" she trailed off, not remembering what happened next. Surely something else had to have happened. Stefan wouldn't have brought her back here if she passed out, and Tyler was with Matt trying to figure out how to keep Damon away once he arrived. Damon, Elena thought, He's the one who brought me back here. Once the realization that Damon was back in town sunk in, Elena began to have a panic attack. Sitting back on the couch to get off her shaking legs, she stared at the floor and watched as it spun in circles, "Damon is back," she muttered to herself in disbelief.

"Yes I am," Damon replied, a smirk evident in his voice.

Elena's back tensed as she heard Damon speak. She never thought she would bear his smooth lilt again, and now that she had she didn't know what to do. "Where's Tyler," she squeaked out, not turning towards where she assumed his voice was coming from, "I need to find Tyler." She looked up and was shocked to see that Damon was now standing right in front of her. She tried pushing him back, but he wouldn't budge. "Damon, move. I need to find Tyler or Matt. I can't deal with you right now," she yelled, pushing at his chest feebly again. "Seriously Damon, get out of my way. I said we needed your help to find Jer and Ric. By no means does that translate to me wanting to spend quality time with you. Now move!" She gave one last hard shove at Damon's chest before she heard a growl and felt two strong hands grip her wrists. "Let me go, Damon." She tried tugging away from him, but he just tightened his hold, "You're hurting me. Let me go," Elena cried, tears streaming down her face and fear in her eyes.

Before anymore damage could be done to Elena's already fragile psyche, Tyler stepped further into the room, pissed that Damon would dare hurt Elena. "I believe she told you to let go, Damon. Or are you turning into Stefan now," he asked Damon.

As soon as Damon realized the fear in Elena's eyes he dropped her wrists like he had been burned and backed away from her. "Elena, I'm sorry," he said softly, ashamed with himself.

"Whatever Damon," she scoffed, running to where Matt and Tyler were waiting as soon as she could. "Just leave. Tyler or Matt will call you when we know what our next move is." She rubbed her wrists and examined the damage. Between Damon and Stefan, she was going to look like she went ten rounds with a boxing champion. Sensing that Tyler was tense next to her as he looked at the purpling on her wrists, she turned to him and spoke gently, "Ty, can you get me some pain killers please?"

"I don't know Elena. I don't feel comfortable leaving you here with him," he said motioning to Damon.

"Its fine, I was just leaving. Have to deal with Stefan back at home," Damon said and was out of the house before anyone could reply.

Once the perceived threat was gone, Matt and Tyler saw Elena relax. She still felt like she was ready to drop, and turned to Matt, "Can you help me upstairs, please? I need to lie down and I don't think I can walk on my own. My whole body is still shaking," she mumbled, disgusted with herself for being so weak.

Matt nodded, "Yeah, 'Lena. You did so good. Ty and I are proud of you." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her out of the living room and up the stairs to Tyler's room. "Do you want me to stay until Tyler gets up here?"

Elena shook her head, "No. I just want to be alone right now, if that's okay?" She sniffled a little bit.

"Whatever you need," Matt told her, and he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He sighed, trying to release the tension from his body before walking downstairs. When he saw Tyler he shook his head in frustration, "Man, we need to find Jeremy and Alaric, soon. She is wrecked. I don't know if she can handle him being here. I don't want her to become a shell of herself again. We're just getting her back," he shook his head before walking towards the front door. "I'm gonna get out of here for a little bit, give her some time. She said she wants to be left alone, but you know that she'll want you," Matt shrugged, "She always wants you," he muttered to himself.

"You do know that I'm sorry about all that, right? How everything went down between the three of us," Tyler asked his oldest friend.

Matt just nodded before walking out of the house, wondering when he became the least important person in Elena's life.

...***…***…***

Upstairs, Tyler was rubbing Elena's back, trying to comfort her the best he could. "Shh, Elena. It's okay. He's gone. He's not coming back for a few days. You won't have to talk to him again. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."

Elena sniffled, "I hate him, Tyler," she wailed, "But at the same time I love him. I missed him so much, and when I heard his voice, it brought me right back to before he left. How cold and distant he was. The look in his eyes," she looked at Tyler with bloodshot eyes, "He looked just like he did before he left. I was right back there. And then he hurt me, not just mentally, but he physically hurt me. Why can't I get over him? I shouldn't still want to be with him." She wiped at the tears on her cheeks roughly, "I feel so stupid, crying over Damon Salvatore. As soon as we find Jeremy and Ric, I want him gone; I don't want to see him anymore after that. I don't even want to see him while you guys are looking for the two of them. Hell, for all I care he can be the one to go on the wild goose chase to save them himself and he can never return. I want nothing to do with him." She curled up in Tyler's lap and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes as he played with her hair.

"I promise, Elena. I won't let him hurt you ever again."

…***…***…***

A few hours later, Tyler heard a soft knock on his door, and groaned. "Yeah," he mumbled, hoping Elena wouldn't wake up.

"Tyler," Carol Lockwood said as she opened his door, "You know my rules," she sighed at the sight of Elena Gilbert curled up in her sons bed.

"Mom, please. Not right now," Tyler gently covered Elena as he stood up to address his mother. "She's staying here tonight."

Carol glared at her son, "Now what gives you the right to tell me who will be staying in my house, young man?"

Tyler gave Elena one last glance before ushering his mother out of the room, "Damon's back and Elena is a wreck. She's staying here, tonight. Damon wouldn't dare come here and try to talk to her."

Carol nodded at her son, "Okay. She can stay for as long as she needs to. I would prefer if she stayed in the guest room though."

Tyler gave his mother a withering look, "Mom, we're not kids anymore."

"That is precisely why I don't want you two staying in the same room. Don't forget that I know what happened Tyler Lockwood, and she can stay here as long as she wants as long as she stays in the guest room, seeing as she is a guest." Carol replied to her son, her voice getting louder and more irate as she spoke.

Elena had woken up when Tyler left the room, and she had been standing on the other side of the closed door, listening as he spoke with his mother. Hearing Tyler be berated for something that happened so long ago was her last straw, and she ripped open the door and glared at Carol Lockwood, finally standing up to the woman who hated her so much, "It's okay Carol. Don't worry about it. I'll just sleep in my car. Would that be suitable, or would you rather I slept at my house with no protection from someone who just did this to me," she asked, shoving her black and blue wrists in Carol Lockwood's face. "I'm sorry that one night changed what you think of me, but your son is my friend, and right now he is the only one I feel remotely safe with." Elena scoffed in disgust at the woman in front of her and pushed past her, storming down the stairs. Once she was safely on the other side of the door of the Lockwood Mansion, Elena slid down the side of the house where no one would see her. She pulled out her cell-phone and called Jeremy even though she knew the phone would go to voicemail. She just needed to hear her brother's voice. After a few moments, she heard the voice she needed to loud and clear, 'Hi, this is Jeremy. Sorry I missed your call. You know what to do.' Elena sat in that same position all night and into the early morning when Tyler walked outside to get the newspaper for Carol.

"Elena," he asked, taking in her appearance, "Have you been out here all night?"

Elena nodded and stood up slowly, "I just sat here calling Jer's phone. I just needed to hear his voice. I need him to be okay, Tyler. He can't leave me too. He's all I have left."

A/N: So, this is a short chapter. This story is still really hard for me to write, and I don't know why. I haven't been in the right frame of mind to write it, and I'm trying to not make it too heave on Tyler/Elena…please, let me know what you think. Xoxo