Thank you for all your reviews! xD Seriously, they made me write this chapter so much faster! Also, I can't believe I'm getting new reviewers...it's so exciting that people (who aren't my regular reviewers) are still reading this :D
I won't put 'The Day blah blah' anymore, even though it's still the same day, because the problem HAS ended! (yay)...But not the story ;)
I hope you all like this chapter, after everything that's happened.

Chapter Twenty Seven (Damon's POV):

Damon reflexively reeled back. His eyes started watering, What was that awful smell? When his eyes had cleared, he saw the decapitated body of what was once Mitsao in front of him.

Bye bye Mitsy... Damon expected to feel sorrow for the loss of his 'soul mate', but all he felt was disgust at having to touch her colourless body when he shoved her away from his brother's unconscious form with the hands that had snapped her head off.

"Little brother?"

Damn it! The stake had pierced his skin! How far, he couldn't tell, but he'd need to take it out quickly.

Grabbing the piece of wood, he made a mental note of apology, then firmly wrenched it out of him.

Stefan's eyes shot open with a strangled gasp and he convulsed with pain, ending up doubled over. Damon took his brother firmly by the shoulders and lightly pushed him so that he was lying flat on his back.

His eyes kept fluttering and wouldn't focus.

"Stefan? Stefan! Come on, look at me."

Remembering how Bonnie had snapped him out of his trance earlier, Damon didn't have time for second thoughts.

He slapped his brother, hard.

"OW!" Stefan's eyes finally focussed on him with slight anger.

"You can thank me later." He looked at Stefan's wound which wasn't healing. With dawning realisation, he looked back at Stefan.

His brother's skin had a sickly sheen to it, and when he went on his elbows to try looking at his chest, it took obvious effort. One look at himself and he fell back exhausted and pained.

Damon kept his eyes on his brother's. Slowly, Stefan seemed to realise that Damon wasn't moving and raised his eyes to his face.

Damon felt immense satisfaction to see that his little brother had the sense to look nervous, even though Damon wasn't the type of brother (he wasn't going to go over the shame that word should make him feel) he'd been over the past few days.

"Da -"

"When did you last feed?"

Stefan's eyes flickered from his face "Well, I haven't fed on a human since the...club." His eyes swept to Mitsao and back.

Since that stupid club where all this had started. Damon had a sneaking suspicion he was hiding something.

"Stefan, I'm going to ask my question again. You'd better answer it properly this time. When did you last feed?"

There. Stefan's very wide eyes confirmed it.

Trying to bury the anger - mostly directed to himself for neglect - inside, he let his fangs retract and he bit into his wrist. He was going to do something he'd only done once before.

Letting his brother drink his blood? It was...a necessity, yes. But he could let him drink Bonnie's blood, for example. Yet,he wanted to save Stefan with his blood. They were blood brothers after all...

"No, Damon I don't want -"

"Shut up. I don't care what you want." And he wasn't going to let his brother have a choice. Just like he hadn't had a choice.

He realised that he had sounded cruel. Gently lifting Stefan's head to his wrist, he amended himself "I don't care about what you want. I care about what you need." Did that make it better?

While Stefan didn't have the energy or strength to resist Damon's pushing hand and started drinking - which wasn't unpleasant since he was willingly giving - he finally found he had a moment to actually think.

Which he'd been trying to avoid at all cost.

Looking around the room, he saw Bonnie dragging the kitsune's body out the room.

"Don't forget the head!" he called and when she looked back at him a little nauseated, he grinned slightly. She startled him by giving him a tired smile back. Then she resumed to dragging the weight out.

Damon sighed and felt a tug at his wrist. Stefan had slowed down and was looking like an ultimate druggie. He had a dazed look in his eyes and lay back, licking his lips clean of blood.

Noting the healing of his wrist, Damon watched with satisfaction as Stefan's deadly wound also healed.

He looked up when Stefan's hands grabbed his arm. He realised his brother was gazing intently at him and trying to say something, but was too drowsy to be louder than a whisper.

Crouching closer to his head, Damon caught a couple of words before gently placing his left hand over his mouth.

"Ssh, just sleep. It's been a long day and you need the rest as my life-saving blood does its work."

Stefan looked like he was going to protest, then relented, nodding slightly and drifting to sleep.

Removing his hand, Damon sat contemplating for a second.

Then he did something that was even more surprising to him than when he gave his blood.

Gently wiping a few strands of hair from Stefan's face, he slowly put his head closer...and making sure the witch was nowhere to be seen, kissed his brother's forehead.

Searching with his Power, he entered Stefan's dreams and lay a thought that would never have much support if said in the real world, not after everything he'd done;

I love you, fratellino.

I hope I've characterised Damon well. It felt weird writing his POV again that's not being influenced by Mitsao. So I hope you can see the normal Damon reappearing :D

After reading the whole story so far for the first time in ages, I want to give a special thanks to The Fictionist for supporting me since the beginning! I was reading our earlier PM's and she really did nag me to write this, so everyone should thank her! ;D