You guys! Thank you SO much for the amazing response to this story so far. I am so excited that you liked it and are eager for more. I hope you enjoy this installment too!

Disclaimer: Still don't own anyone!

XOXO

Stephan was waiting at her house when they pulled into the driveway at 5:30 in the morning. Jeremy was still asleep in the backseat, though Elena had no idea how he could get any actual rest with his music playing that loudly in his ears. She had been awake for about half an hour, sitting quietly in the dark with Damon, not talking, just being. Her hand was still on his arm because she needed… or maybe just wanted that connection with him. Now and then she'd run her thumb along the textured fabric of his shirt, tracing patterns, and he would look over at her. Still no talking, just piercing blue eyes on hers.

The sight of Stephan brought the tranquility of the last leg of the trip to a crashing halt as Damon eased his arm out from under her hand.

"You know its love when you stake out someone's house in the middle of the night." He muttered as he put the car in par.

She sighed, not knowing what she was supposed to say to that. She briefly considered pointing out that he often staked out her house and frequently stalked her if he thought she was in danger. But that didn't seem like the best choice, and he was already out of the car and pulling luggage out of the trunk anyway.

She reached back and shook Jeremy. "Hey, wake up." She told him as she tugged the headphones out of his ears. "We're home."

Jeremy grunted at her, but sat up and tiredly began gathering his things and easing out of the car. When Elena turned back around to let herself out of the car, she found her door already open and Stephan standing there, holding his hand out to help her down."

"Hi…" She took his hand and moved out into the night air. "How long have you been waiting here?"

"Not long." He ran his hand over the back of his neck with just a touch of awkward tension. "I figured you'd be home soon, though." His eyes darted to the gash at her eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She spoke quickly, trying not to ask herself why she leaned subtly away from his concerned touch. "Damon got the worst of it. Kol really went after him." She couldn't explain her need to bring Damon's name into the conversation, but she saw that Stephan recognized it as more than just a casual mention of a friend. His expression immediately became more guarded.

"Here," Damon suddenly materialized at her side, her overnight bag and Jeremy's luggage in his hands. "Help a guy out, will you?" He dropped her overnight bag into her outstretched hand, his gaze briefly connecting with hers, letting her read nothing from him. "Steph," Damon nodded at his brother, "Glad to see you're still alive… ish. And suddenly such an early riser."

"Early bird gets the worm…" Stephan tilted an eyebrow, his stony gaze holding Damon's. Elena began to feel distinctly uncomfortable as the two brothers stared each other down.

Finally Damon turned to her, an easy smile on his face. "I believe my brother just called you a worm, Elena. Poor manners if you ask me… but no one did, I guess."

"It's a figure of speech, Damon." Stephan rolled his eyes. "I wasn't calling Elena anything."

"Of course not." Damon smirked and held out the two suitcases in his hand. "Well, since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful. Some of us have been driving all night and want to go home.

Elena bit her lip as Damon pushed the suitcases at Stephan and headed toward the car to close the trunk. Making a snap decision, she gave Stephan a pleading look. "Stephan, can you and Jeremy put those suitcases up in his room? I'll be right in."

Stephan's eyes flickered to Damon. "Sure." He took a step back from her and lingered before turning toward the house. Jeremy followed, looking over his shoulder at her. She gave him a reassuring smile before rounding the front of the car just in time to stop Damon from getting back into the drivers' seat.

"Wait…" She took his hand in hers, stopping him in his tracks. "You're angry with me again."

His eyes, his voice, his hand unresponsive in hers all cut her deeply. "No, I'm not." He sighed and eased his hand from hers. "We're home, now, Elena. I get it. Being away, alone together for hours, dark moonlit hotel rooms… things happen. But the reality is that at home… there's always Stephan. Waiting right at your doorstep."

"I didn't ask him to be here, Damon." She had to make him believe her. "I didn't know he was coming."

"I know." He tilted his head, his eyes scanning her face. "But he's inside waiting for you, Elena. Right where you want him to be."

She shook her head. "That's not fair, Damon. You're just shutting me out to keep me from shutting you out. But I'm not shutting you out. Come in. Stay. Sleep here tonight."

A faint smile touched his lips. "Yeah, that sounds like a great sleepover. You, me, and Stephan. That is way too kinky for Mystic Falls, Elena."

She ignored his attempt at deflecting with humor. It wasn't going to work tonight… not this time. "I'm going to tell him, Damon. You know that, right? I'm going to tell him everything."

That took him by surprise. "Everything?"

She nodded. "Yes. And not the version that would have been easier for me to deal with. I'm going to tell him the real version – that I wanted you, that I started it all."

He stared at her, blowing out a long breath as he took her in. "And when he asks you what that means?"

"I'll be honest. I'll tell him that I'm not sure and that I'm trying to figure it all out. I'll ask him for time, too. Just like I asked from you."

"Hmm…" He leaned his hip against the car, sliding one hand into his back pocket. "Well, you surprised me, Elena. Have to give you credit. That's a lot more than I was expecting."

She gave him a small smile, ignoring the slight jab because she knew it came out of insecurity. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm honestly not trying to play some sort of game here. I'm not trying to toy with you or string you both along or… anything else that Katherine did to both of you. I want to be as fair to both of you as I can be, and I know it's hard, and I know I'm asking a lot. But you just have to trust me – I don't mean to do this. I just…"

Her voice broke and she looked down at the driveway before she continued. "I just don't know what's happening anymore, Damon. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I knew what I wanted and what I was committed to. I thought I knew what was right. And now I don't and I feel all of these things at once, and I'm sorry because it's hurting two people I care about more than anything and I…" She shook her head, "I'm sorry."

She swiped angrily at the tears forming in her eyes, but didn't resist when he reached out to pull her into his arms. She leaned against his solid chest and breathed him in, trying to slow down her heart beat.

He tightened his hold on her. "It doesn't have to be this hard, Elena."

"How do I make it easier?"

He eased her back so he could see her face, and she looked up into his familiar gaze. "Quit thinking so much about what's right. There is no right here. You don't have to be with Stephan just because you said you always would be. People in relationships promise each other a lot of things, and they still break up. That's how things work. Just because you promised Stephan you would love him no matter what doesn't mean that you're not allowed to fall out of love with him."

She blinked, trying to understand. "I don't know how to believe that. Part of me wants to, but…" She shook her head, dropping it back on his chest. "How can I?"

He sighed into her hair. "Did Stephan promise you he'd never hurt you?"

"Yes…"

"Did he keep that promise?"

"That's not…"

"Did he keep the promise, Elena? Yes or no?"

"No." She whispered the admission into his shirt.

"Did he promise he'd never leave you? That he'd always protect you?"

"Yes."

"Did he keep those promises?"

She shook her head. "No."

"No." Damon repeated, cupping the back of her head in his hand. "He didn't. He meant to… he meant every word he said to you and nothing changes that. But life happens, and promises get broken. Is he a bad person because everything got turned upside down and life hit a boulder in a stream and split off in a thousand different directions?"

"No." She looked up at him, her heart constricting in her chest. "He's not."

Damon ran the back of his fingers across her cheek, his eyes searching hers. "Right. And neither are you, Elena. No matter what happens between us… you have to stop beating yourself up for letting your feelings for Stephan change. He left you, he went on a nationwide killing spree, he attacked you, drank from you, insulted you… betrayed you. No one, not even Stephan, expects you to act like that doesn't change how you feel about him."

She couldn't deny the logic in his reasoning and she felt a little bit of the weight resting on her chest ease. "You're right." She told him, swiping at her eyes. "Things have changed."

"Of course I'm right." He gave her a small, sad smile. "There's no right choice here, Elena. You just have to figure out what you feel and act on it. The fact is, Stephan and I both love you. No matter what, someone is going to get hurt. You can't figure out a way to not hurt one of us. So quit thinking about that, figure out what you want, and take it. I mean it. Even if it's not me you want. Just… decide. Even if its not me you want. I want it to be me, but more than that I want it to be what you really want."

The utter selflessness of his words took her breath away and a deep shame settled over her. "Damon… that night at the ball. I never really apologized for that."

"For snapping my neck or telling me that the way I felt about you irritated you?"

"Both." She took his harsh words in stride, considering she probably deserved them. "I never meant you to think that you loving me was the problem. I was just trying to show you that you were letting how you felt affect you too much. Because no matter how much you love me, we're still in the middle of a bit of a vampire crisis and we have to deal with that."

"I'm aware of that, Elena. That doesn't mean I'm going to let you go off by yourself with the mother of all evil and have a conversation over doppelganger blood cocktails. I'm not going to apologize for that…"

"Fine." She held up her hand in a truce, not wanting to let a new fight interrupt her apology for their last big fight. "I agree that had I talked to you, we probably could have come up with a situation that would have worked for both of us. I shouldn't have cut you out of the loop. We were both wrong that night. But when I said what I said… I didn't mean that your love itself was a problem. You have to know that. I just meant that you were only seeing your own feelings and not the bigger picture. I'm sorry… it should never have come out like that and I should have made it right a long time ago."

He tilted his head, cocking an eyebrow. "Apology accepted. My turn now, right? I'm sorry I lashed out at you by sleeping with Rebekah."

Elena dropped her gaze. "Right… that."

"Hey," He lifted her chin. "I am sorry. But I have to ask you… how was I supposed to know you would care, Elena? Why do you even care? You're not sure what you want from me…"

"I know." She pulled away from his touch. "I don't know why it hurt so much, but it did." She looked up at him, knowing her vulnerability was showing all over her face. "I hate the thought of you with her…"

His gaze was intense on hers. "Why?"

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Because… the way you kiss is so different from everything else you do."

"What do you mean?"

"You're so…" She bit her lip, looking up shyly. "I don't know how to explain it. It's like you reach down in your soul or something and pull out all this feeling and ache and passion and… you just expose yourself and… it's like you consume the other person." She crossed her arms over her chest, hugging the heart she'd just spilled everywhere back in. "I hate the thought of other people experiencing that with you, I guess."

"Hmm…" He smiled the first genuine smile she'd seen on him in a while. "Elena, that's not how I kiss. That's how I kiss you. Only you."

The honesty of his answer hit her deep inside and she took a step back from the intensity of what that meant. "Damon…"

"I don't think you get it." Damon cut her off, shifting toward her. "I know you loved Stephan. You guys had something real or whatever. But I just don't think you get what real, all-consuming, passionate love is, Elena. I'm sorry, but I don't." His eyes blazed blue as he hovered over her. "When you really love someone, every interaction with them is more intense. Every fight, every kiss, every glance, every single word… everything. Its intense and its real and it consumes you. Nothing ends it except learning that it was never what you thought it was."

He sighed and took a step back. "So think about that when you're making your decision, Elena. Do you want something that's all-consuming and alive and growing? Or do you want something that's sweet and easy and steady…? Did kissing Stephan ever feel like he was consuming you, owning you, pouring himself into you?"

She looked at the ground. "You know I can't answer that."

"No!" He shouted at her, his hand slamming into the car, startling her. "Enough, Elena. You can't just keep putting off the answers to these questions forever. Just answer me. Be honest… it doesn't mean this is your choice. Just tell me. Did kissing Stephan ever feel like you just described the way I kiss you?"

"I don't…"

Damon grabbed her, pulling her to him, his hands carefully gentle but rough all the same. "I swear, Elena, if you tell me you don't know, I may lose it."

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and tried to hold them back. She wanted to answer him, but the answer terrified her, made her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

He pushed her against the car, boxing her in with his arms. "Look me in the eye, Elena. Tell me you feel the same things when you kiss him that I make you feel. Tell me that he brings out the passion in you that I felt in that motel hallway. Make me believe you."

"No…" She whispered, tears streaming down her cheek. "No, Damon. Okay? No, it's not the same. It's gentle and sweet and loving… but no. It's not the same."

He eased back immediately, the intensity in his face fading. "Good. That's one answer, Elena. Now you just have to figure out the others."

"How?"

"Try a little honesty…" He touched her cheek as he moved away from her. "But for now you'd better try it inside your house. Stephan is waiting…"

She shook her head. "Don't go. Come in with me."

He shook his head. "Nothing about that would work out well. For anyone."

"I don't want you to go…"

He looked at her for a long moment. "You know… normally that would make me stay. But I'm going to go. There's only so much patience in the world, Elena. If you miss me when I'm not around… maybe you should think about what that means."

Defeated, she nodded. "Okay… that's fair." She moved toward him and took his face in her hands, her eyes dropping to his lips. "I'm not going to kiss you again until I have answers because its not fair to you. But just so you know, I'm thinking about it…"

His eyes grew dark and he settled his hands on her hips, drawing her in. "Good." He murmured, his voice low and sensual. "Think about it long… and hard… and deep…"

She closed her eyes and stifled the sound that wanted to escape her lips. "Don't make this harder, Damon."

"You could make it so easy…" He breathed, nudging his nose against her cheek. "Remember that, Elena." He kissed her cheek. "Goodnight."

She reached after him when he moved away, but he was already getting in the car, his eyes trained on hers. When he pulled away, she felt an emptiness somewhere inside that she tried to hide by hugging her arms to her chest. But it didn't help the ache, and all she wanted was him back.

Which meant… she'd better go talk to Stephan. Because she had a lot of confessing to do. And somewhere along the way, maybe she would find the courage to admit that she was so in love with Damon that she could hardly breathe.

XOXO

I hope you're still enjoying... and that you'll leave me a note to say hi and let me know what you think. It means a lot!