CHAPTER 9

Stefan couldn't sleep. Every time he tried to relax and close his eyes he noticed something else in Damon's body slow or change. He could actually hear him starting to fail. Damon had fallen asleep with ease, holding Stefan to him around his waist. There had to be a way out of this. Zack had obviously stayed well away from the cellar area in general the entire time they were here. Stefan was actually glad. He had no idea what Zack would think of the debauchery occurring in this room. He would probably have been horrified to catch them at it. What would other people say? If they emerged from this and wanted to be together like they had been, would they be outcast? Amongst humans, they could probably get by – as long as they left Mystic Falls where everyone knew they were related. The world these days was a changed place though and no one might suspect that they were anything more than partners who had taken each other's name. It was unreal to even be thinking these thoughts. Stefan let out a puff of air as he contemplated it all in all its craziness.

Damon struggled for a breath suddenly and Stefan turned to him alarmed, laying his hand on his chest. He had to do something and it had to be now. Then it occurred to him. At full strength vampires could normally use some mind control techniques to reach humans they had compelled or fed from regularly and Caroline had done so with Damon for a while now. If Damon was strong enough to call on her, maybe he could get her to let them out. Stefan rose quickly, trying not to disturb Damon too much and went to the barred window on the door. He stuck his head as far through the bars as he could and took a deep breath. His senses were dulled now but he could detect the faintest hint of heat from the stonework. It must be day time. That meant that Zack would be working, and the house would be unoccupied. He turned back to look at Damon chewing his lip. Damon was so poorly that in order for him to stand a chance at calling on Caroline he would need a lot of blood – more than Stefan could give without being drained. He gulped and his stomach growled at him as though it was arguing fiercely with this idea. There was no other way though.

He sat back down beside Damon still chewing his lip. He knew there was no other option but yet there was small fear voicing itself that maybe Damon would just run afterwards and leave him. He had thought that he had proved himself to him, shown him how much he wanted them to stay together, but Damon was changeable, stubborn and damaged. Could Stefan trust that he wouldn't abandon him? He hated to question Damon's integrity but he would be a fool not to at least consider these questions. He bit into his wrist and placed it over Damon's mouth. Damon opened his mouth automatically and sucked but he was still unconscious. Stefan concentrated on turning off the switch as much as he could, for fear that he would forget to share his concerns with him if he was in heat again. Damon's mouth pulled urgently and Stefan bit into his lip painfully trying to keep the switch off. Damon's eyes opened blearily and he held Stefan's arm, squeezing him. Stefan gasped from some of the wave touching him but stayed focussed. He fed him until he started to feel like he couldn't stay upright anymore then he pulled his wrist away. Damon licked his lips and gyrated against him.

"Damon, listen I have an idea." He said slowly, feeling tired and Damon finally realised how much he had taken, sitting up and holding Stefan upright. "Caroline…call for her. She'll let us out." Stefan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm too weak." Damon said gently, stroking the side of Stefan's face and Stefan bit his lip, fighting the urge to lie down and sleep.

"Take all of my blood. You can do it. It's the only way."

"Shut up Stefan." Damon shook his head exasperated and Stefan clutched the back of Damon's neck to force him to look into his eyes.

"I trust you. Get us out of here."

"No!" Damon argued.

"I won't lose you Damon! Don't you dare leave me again." Stefan bit out as Damon grimaced in torment. Stefan lay his hand over Damon's thigh, pointing out to him that the bite mark from earlier underneath his clothes, had bled through his jeans now. Damon's body was no longer healing. This would be the end for both of them if he didn't do this. Damon squeezed his eyes closed in comprehension.

"I'm yours now. Drink all of me." He encouraged and he could see the veins come to the surface of Damon's skin. He smiled, happy that at least Damon's body would push him into it if his conscience wouldn't. Stefan leaned in and kissed him, holding the back of his head for support as he felt his limbs start to shut down. Damon kissed him back with fervour and gently pushed him onto his back, climbing on top of him.

"I'm sorry brother." Damon whispered and Stefan frowned, unsure of what he was apologising for, but he didn't have time to ask as Damon bit into his neck and drank quickly. Being drained slowly was painful and Damon wanted to do this as quickly as he could to make it easier on him. Stefan closed his eyes and relaxed into the wave. It felt a little weaker now as he began to lose consciousness, but he was comforted by the strength increasing in Damon's arms as he held him close. A tear slipped out of his eye as he felt the waves dissipate into something else, something hotter. He tensed a little as it approached him. It was like being under a sun-bed as the heat increased to the point where he was very uncomfortable and wriggling as much as he could. He let out a breath as the heat began to scorch him, burning his insides as he struggled to breathe. He couldn't open his eyes anymore, couldn't feel Damon against him as he felt as though he was drowning in fire. Inside his head he was screaming, desperate for some reprieve from the torture. After a few more minutes of the unbearable pain he felt darkness cloud his mind and he fell into hit head first.

Damon lay him down gently as he wiped his mouth. He remembered what Stefan must be feeling right now but he couldn't think on it. He had to get underway to get them out. He stood up, testing his legs as his body vibrated. His thigh was still bleeding and he huffed as he touched it. There wasn't much time. Stefan's blood was too concentrated now, there was no life force left in either of them. He approached the barred window and leaned his head against it concentrating on envisioning her.

Caroline help me. He called out to her mind as he gripped the bars for support. Normally doing something like this would be a piece of cake, but right now it was a challenge for him to simply visualise her. All he could think about was the pain that was burning through Stefan right now. Everything was Stefan. He shook his head trying to focus and called on her again. After a minute he felt her connect with him. Thank god she was such an airhead, her head vacant of anything of real importance. She had always been an easy lay and a doddle to manipulate. He smiled to himself. He wondered what it would be like to try this out on Elena – but then he hadn't really been able to get near enough to her thanks to Stefan's little necklace. He grew tense, thinking about her. What the hell was going to happen? He turned and looked at Stefan's body and sighed. Did he really want this? Incest wasn't a pretty word. He could see how much Stefan wanted him. Stefan could never hide from feelings and emotion. It made him more susceptible to attack though and Damon couldn't allow that for himself. It was too risky. He bit his lip. Could he stay? Once the blood wore off would he want to stay? There was a chance that all of this had been the result of contamination. Their blood wasn't supposed to be recycled over and over without any life-giving properties. Perhaps when they were all fed and healed again they would want to beat the hell out of each other, or worse kill each other in hatred in disgust for what had happened.

Damon shook his head and leaned back against the wall. He wasn't good at love. He craved it so badly but he had wanted Katherine back for that reason. If there was still a chance he could get her back, shouldn't he? It made a lot more sense to do that than to continue to copulate with his own brother. Elena was good for Stefan, he could kind of see that now. Footsteps came from upstairs, moving across the floor methodically. It was her. He prepared himself, putting on his best smoulder and cleared his throat ready to hypnotise. She came down the stairs painfully slowly as he waited patiently, blocking her view of Stefan.

"Caroline…" He purred, looking through the bars and she stopped in front of him looking confused and scared.

"How did I get here?" She asked meekly.

"I need your help. Let me out of here." He fluttered his long eyelashes at her and she blushed. She was so easy it was ridiculous.

"Why are you in there?" Her voice was shaky. He smiled at her and leaned closer until she looked towards his lips.

"I need you, please unlock the door." He purred, all of his strength holding him back from grabbing her through the bars and forcing her. She reached down, a little nervously and pulled the bolt aside as Damon leaned against it, cracking it open a fraction. She looked up at him in fear as his expression changed to one of hunger and she tried to close the door again quickly. He was still strong enough to hurl his body against it and force it open wider as she screamed.

"Close it!" He heard Zack scream from upstairs as he came running down to help her, but Damon was too fast and forced the door open enough to grab Zack and break his neck before even thinking twice. Caroline ran for her life and he darted after her, all other thoughts lost in a miriad of hunger. He stumbled, falling against the wall a few times but managed to grab her ankle as she ran up to the lounge. She kicked him off and he fell face first with the effort of climbing the steps. He roared and threw his body up the remaining stairs, hot on her tail. She ran for the front door and he lunged for her, sliding along the carpet momentarily before hitting the blinding sunlight. He screamed and propelled himself backwards as the sun burned his face and hand. He crouched down on the floor breathing rapidly, trying to think and plan. He was so hungry, he had to feed. Stefan had taken his ring. He growled and beat his fist against the floor. Damn Stefan! Stefan…

He had to go to him. Should he go to him? He sat breathing for a while as he considered it. He had killed Zack and Stefan wouldn't like that. His stomach clenched painfully, all of Stefan's blood was expiring now. He got up from the floor and moved to the lounge looking for a clock. It was a few more hours until sun down and they had no blood in the house. He pulled at his hair considering his options. They had no phone here, he couldn't even call for a pizza or something and eat the driver. Stefan had taken his cell phone. He headed for the stairs and entered Stefan's bedroom slowly, already feeling tiredness seeping into his joints. Stefan's room smelled like him and for a minute it stopped him in his tracks. Stefan. He felt something stir in his chest and he grumbled, trying to shake it off. Now was no time for sentiment. He began to search around the room but found nothing. Stefan had left his bed a mess the morning he had entered the cellar. Damon looked at it, his fingers itching to touch the linen, smell Stefan's scent. He groaned as he felt his internal struggle start up again. He wanted him, but he didn't want him all at the same time. It felt like he was being pulled like a rope in two directions – one towards Katherine and one towards Stefan. He gave in and sat down on Stefan's bed, running his hands over the sheets. What would it be like to take Stefan in this bed? To lie on a comfortable mattress while making love and be able to feed enough to be strong again. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Stefan was trusting him not to leave, but he wasn't sure. He lay back for the sheer comfort of it, enjoying the bliss of having anything other than stone beneath his back, when he felt something poke into him. He sat up and pulled it from beneath him. It was Stefan's phone. He sighed in relief and smirked as he saw all of the messages from Elena flash up on the screen. Elena was better for Stefan than he was. If he really did feel for him, it would be better to leave him here with her and not corrupt him any further. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened to make them consent and become addicted to each other's bodies but he knew that had it been natural, it would have happened long before now. That meant that this was weird and icky and fucked up and he didn't want that for Stefan. Stefan had a shot at something normal and real – just like he had always wanted and he shouldn't deprive him of that chance. Stefan would never accept the way he wanted to live anyway so there was no point in this romance that Stefan had built up in his head.

He dialled for a pizza and lay back in the bed waiting. One human wasn't going to be enough. He dialled a few more delivery places and ordered more humans for dinner and laughed to himself as he waited. Should he leave one for Stefan? No, Stefan wouldn't want human blood – self righteous idiot. He felt a sharp pang in his chest and he chastised himself for thinking of Stefan so nastily. What the hell had Stefan done to him? He huffed and rolled over into the pillow and was instantly greeted with Stefan's smell there. He closed his eyes grumpy at the fact that he wanted to hold it to his nose. Damn Stefan! The doorbell interrupted his thoughts and he ambled down to answer it. It hadn't occurred to him what he must look like so when he answered the door he was greeted with a look of shock and concern as the girl reached out for him to hold him upright. He took that as his cue to tear half of her neck open and drink until she fell to the floor. Human blood tasted so strange now. He actually felt a little nauseous. He held his stomach in confusion as his head spun. He pulled the girl inside and dropped her in a heap idly. He couldn't care less actually as he pushed her head away from him with his foot. He sat down still feeling unwell until he the door went again. Two had arrived at the same time and were eying each other up speculatively. He grinned at them and they both looked at him alarmed. He hadn't bothered to wipe his mouth of blood and they shouted as he grabbed them both and hit their heads together. Two concussions are better than one, he chuckled as he drained them both one after the other. Maybe he was drinking too quickly, but he felt a roll in his stomach again and he had to sit down and breathe it out.

He began to sweat and lay his head back against the wall as he concentrated on breathing. Before he could stop himself he vomited. He shook from the force of it and groaned. What the hell? It must be too much for his stomach to take. He had only fed on Stefan for days and his stomach must be confused. He dragged himself to the bathroom quickly and washed himself down, removing his jeans. He wrapped a towel around his hips and headed back out, feeling a little better but still nauseous. He could feel some strength beginning to reach his limbs as the blood revitalised him but he knew he needed more.

The sun finally went down and he ventured out in search of more blood. He hadn't woken Stefan yet. He didn't think more of his blood was a good idea and he knew Stefan would be angry if he tried to feed him something human. He had grabbed the bodies and Zack and thrown them into a deep grave he had dug in the woods, sweating from the exertion. He still didn't feel right and it was really starting to make him annoyed and angry. His body should be back to normal by now so why wasn't it? As he drank from a hiker he took it slowly, actually leaving the guy alive because he couldn't be bothered thinking about burying him too. A deer pranced out of his way as he walked and he lunged for it, his speed and agility returning. He broke its neck and threw it over his shoulder. Stefan would need a larger animal to drain. As he approached the boarding house he began to question what he was going to do again. When Stefan woke up, he would want to cling to him again. Could he deal with that? Now that he had drank some human blood his mind had cleared a little and he started to feel anxious about what they had done.

He descended the stairs to the cellar and opened the door wide. Stefan looked dead as a doorknob. He sighed and approached his body. The room was pungent to say the least. It smelled of sex and blood and it made Damon whoozy again as his stomach lurched. He lifted Stefan and carried him out of there. There was no way he was going to take the chance that the door would somehow lock them in again as he rushed out in a blur and lay Stefan on his bed. He had taken some time draining the deer into a barrel so that Stefan wouldn't have to suck the blood out. He had a large glass filled with the elixir already as he slid under Stefan's body and held him upright against his elbow and whispered to him.

"Stefan, I need you to drink up." He tilted the glass to Stefan's lips but Stefan's body lay lifeless. That was strange. Vampire instincts normally ensured that his feeding movements should continue if there was a chance of survival but Stefan's mouth didn't move. Damon opened his mouth and ran his fingers under his teeth. His fangs hadn't descended either. Damon huffed in frustration and poured some blood into his mouth. He swallowed but then lay still again.

"Damn bunny diet Stefan!" Damon huffed and poured some more into his mouth. After a whole glass, Stefan opened his eyes weakly and stared up at him. Damon suppressed a smile and gave him a squeeze of reassurance.

"We are free brother. I got us out." He assured and Stefan frowned suddenly as though he was in pain.

"Stefan?" He asked concerned, touching Stefan's cheek as he sat up and vomited on himself. Damon gasped as Stefan tried to breathe. He rubbed his back.

"Don't worry it'll pass, I've been sick too."

"Damon…" Stefan croaked and grabbed his arm as he vomited again.

"Jesus!" Damon lifted him into the bathroom and turned on the shower as Stefan leaned over the sink, holding the counter as he stared at his reflection and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know." Damon said as he helped Stefan strip and step into the shower. Stefan looked hellish and weak but at least he was conscious. "You need to drink slow, give your body some time."

Damon moved to retrieve another glass of blood for him but Stefan grabbed his arm. He turned back to him quizzically and Stefan pulled him towards the shower.

"I can't stand." Stefan explained sheepishly and Damon sighed, stepping into the shower fully clothed as Stefan watched him confused.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you stand." Damon replied, holding his torso upright and Stefan sighed closing his eyes. Damon shook his head at him and Stefan leaned into him. Damon reflexively took a step back and Stefan looked at him pained.

"You don't want me anymore do you?" Stefan choked. Damon bit his tongue, still undecided about how to handle this.

"You should have just left me down there." He whispered.