AN: Chapter 25, who would've thought! And we still have a lot to go through so I hope you're going to stick with this story for as long as it will be. I know I'm not the quickest person to update, but I try to do it as often as possible so I can make you guys happy, like you make me when I find in my inbox alerts and reviews from you. It's really great and it's a writer's most precious gift that the readers could offer, so I must thank you for taking a minute to write your opinion in that box below and I really hope you're going to continue doing that. Please gratify me with your feedback further. Enjoy this chapter!

I've gotta find someway to fumble right through this new heartache

It's torn me apart

Oh, lovesick mistake, turn me away, turn me away

"Oh my god!" Elena whined for the fifth time that day as she leaned her head against the toilet and threw up all the food remaining in her stomach. She couldn't believe she got the flu. She hadn't been sick in a long time, and now, when she was about to go to the chalet with Damon, she got the freaking flu!

"I'm sorry, but I think we might have to postpone our outing." She said annoyed, as she made her way inside the bedroom, where Damon was sitting gloriously naked on the bed, under the sheets.

"It's okay, I just want to make sure you're okay." He said as he leaned closer to kiss her. Elena pulled away and frowned, leaving a surprised Damon behind.

"Don't kiss me, I feel gross. I should take a shower."

"Okay, I'll come with you." Damon offered, when she raised her hand to stop him from sitting up.

"I have the damn flu! What if it's contagious? We should stay away from each other until it goes away."

"You're kidding, right?" Damon asked, his eyes widening.

"Nope. I'm going to sleep in the other room for a few days."

"Elena..." Damon whined and she shook her head, feeling disgusting. She couldn't let him catch the flu from her. She should just isolate herself into a room and not go out until it went away.

"Have you spoken to Stefan?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Nope. Why?"

"Just asking. I'm going to call Caroline later. She's probably asleep now."

"When are they coming back, anyway? It's been a nightmare to work without Stefan." Damon complained.

"On Saturday." Elena shrugged apologetically.

"Oh, okay. I can do it three more days."

"I definitely need that shower now!" She announced as she bounced off the bed and headed into the bathroom.

As she got out of the shower, fifteen minutes later, Elena felt a new wave of nausea wash through her and luckily she got to the toilet right in time to spill the contents of her stomach before destroying Damon's favorite bathroom with vomit. She exited the bathroom and without addressing Damon with another word, because she felt like she didn't have enough air in her lungs to talk, she walked into the next room and crumbled on the bed, pulling the sheets over her head and drifting into a profound sleep.

She had no idea how many minutes, hours or days had passed when she heard her phone ringing next to her. She willed her eyes open and glanced at the clock on the nightstand; she had slept just an hour and thought, it felt like she has slept a week. Nonetheless, she was still tired like she had moved mountains. Glancing at the phone, she pressed the green button and cleared her throat.

"Caroline. I was about to call you." Elena greeted her friend as she sat up on her behind, trying not to fall asleep while talking to her friend.

"Elena! I wish my honeymoon would never end." Elena could hear Caroline's pout through the phone.

"Care, you can travel with Stefan as much as you want, whenever you want. As many honeymoons as you wish. Just come home soon, I miss you." She knew that what she had just said to her friend was selfish, but she needed her by her side. Caroline always knew how to cheer her up when she was sick.

"What's wrong, 'Lena?" The blonde asked, her worried tone noticed by Elena.

"I got the flu!" She whined and couldn't believe how pathetic she probably sounded.

"Oh, sweetie. Look, I have to hang up now, we're going to the beach. Take care of yourself and get better soon. I'll see you on Saturday!"

"You too, Care." That was a really short conversation, totally unlike Caroline. She might have to deal with the flu by herself and entertain herself these few days, but she only hoped she could stop throwing up even the air in her body, otherwise she would be left with nothing.

Elena stood up and wrapping her robe around her, she walked into the kitchen and from the upper counter took a tablet of Advil for her headache. She poured herself a glass of water and swallowed the pill. Making her way down the big hallway, she stopped at Damon's room and slowly cracked it open, peering at him through the crack.

"Are you going to come in or what?" His playful voice made her jump up on her heels and she slowly walked inside and sat on the edge of the bed, opposite to him.

"Sorry I bothered you." She smiled, ashamed.

"You never bother me, baby." He smiled and it was genuine and she would've jumped into his arms right then if it hadn't been for the annoying and utterly disgusting flu.

"Good. What are you doing?"

"Watching a movie." Her eyes wandered next to him and she noticed the remote in his hand and when she looked up, she saw the TV turned on. "Do you want to watch with me?"

"Sure." She said and awkwardly turned around a little bit so she could see the movie.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked and she frowned, not understanding his question.

"Watching the movie." Elena shrugged nonchalantly, trying to read him up, but failed miserably.

"Come here." He said and patted the place next to him with his hand. She shook her head when she understood what he meant.

"No. I'm too sick for that. I don't want you to catch the virus too."

"I'm not going to. Now come here." He raised an eyebrow and she knew it was useless to argue with him. Elena crawled to the other side of the bed and rested her head on his shoulder and was soon cocooned into his body and he was wrapped around her like silk. She loved this feeling and she even thought she felt better that way. She let out a big yawn as she tried to focus on the movie and not on him.

"Is the movie bothering you, or me?"

"Neither. I'm just tired. This freaking flu is knocking me out. I don't know if I can go to work these next few days." She complained and she knew she shouldn't take advantage of the fact that she was the girlfriend of the president, but she would go there and be useless and infect other people too. It was pointless.

"You're not even allowed to go. I'll turn off the TV and let you sleep if you want to."

"No, I want to watch the movie." She looked up at him and gave him a crooked smile, and after that, she faded away again, because she didn't heard him say anything else for a long time.

A strong smell of soup filled the room as Elena stirred nervously in her sleep, as she tried to bury her nose in the pillow so she wouldn't be sick again, but she couldn't help but open her eyes and look around, trying to see where the smell was coming from. It was beyond disgusting and she wanted it out of the room. Hell, she could not even stand her own smell and she smelled just fine after the bath she took.

"What the-?" She started as she saw Bonnie resting on the edge of her bed, holding a bowl of soup and smiling at her.

"I brought you some soup. It's your favorite." Bonnie beamed at her friend as she pushed the bowl under Elena's nose and held the spoon towards her. "Damon told me that you've got the flu, so I thought soup would cheer you up."

"Get it out of here, Bonnie." Elena turned her head away in disgust and Bonnie frowned, confused.

"Huh?"

"Get the damn soup away from here. Throw it away. It smells awful, I'm not eating that crap!" She snapped and Bonnie jumped from her place, looking at Elena almost shocked. "Where's Damon?" Elena asked as she pulled the sheets up on her body, covering herself, as if she was naked and felt bad about it. Something was definitely wrong with her. She was acting weird, and she knew it, but she just couldn't help it. Damn that flu and her sensitive stomach!

"Um, he's in the kitchen, cooking lasagna, I think. He said you needed to be pampered." Bonnie smiled and winked at Elena. She frowned and then Bonnie spoke again. "He's totally smitten."

"Yeah, sure." Elena rolled her eyes sarcastically and her eyes bugged out when she registered what Bonnie said. "Wait, what? Lasagna?" Oh no, that wasn't good. She could almost imagine the smell of the meat and other ingredients and her stomach churned violently in repulsion. She wasn't going to eat that, not for all the tea in China.

"Tell him to stop, please!" Elena pleaded with her friend and Bonnie narrowed her eyes, suspicious.

"Okay, something's definitely wrong with you, 'Lena. You don't want soup, you don't want lasagna..." Bonnie mumbled.

"I can't stand the smell of food, Bonnie. It makes me sick all over again! I feel like I'm going to throw up my whole body if I smell food one more time. So please, go tell him not to cook anything." Elena asked and Bonnie nodded shortly, before leaving the room and then, two minutes later, she was back and with Damon behind her.

He sat on the bed next to her and gently put his hand over hers in a soothing gesture. She welcomed his touch and was grateful that he stopped cooking. As much as she loved when he cooked, she also knew that if she put anything in her mouth, her body would wreak havoc on her a thousand times over.

"'Lena, you should see a doctor. You don't look so good." Damon announced as he threw her a stern look.

"I'm fine, Damon. My stomach just doesn't agree with any food right now. I've had the flu before. This is worse, but I'll be fine eventually. I hate doctors, I don't want to see one." She protested, trying to convince him that she didn't feel as bad as it seemed, though she did.

"Fine, but at least let me call Jenna." Damon raised an eyebrow and Elena knew she couldn't say no to this as well. He wouldn't stand for it. She nodded shortly and he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead as she let her body fall onto the soft mattress again, as her head drowned into the big pile of pillows she had around her.

"Have you talked to Caroline at all?" Bonnie asked, changing the subject from her flu to one more, say, interesting.

"Yes, just earlier, actually." Elena responded and Bonnie smiled curtly. "Hasn't she called you, too?"

"She did. She sounded very happy."

"She is very happy. It makes you happy, just hearing or seeing it." Elena approved of what Bonnie had just said.

"Your aunt is going to be here in half an hour. She wanted to bring a doctor along, but I told her not to." Damon announced as he hung up the phone and looked at his girlfriend. She gave him a sheepish smile, as she tried to fake that she wasn't feeling that bad. "So you refuse to let me cook, huh?"

"Don't take it the wrong way, you're an amazing cook and all, but it smelled...disgusting." Elena covered her face with her hand as she tried to hide herself from him, knowing he would be mad at her.

"Why, did you just insulted my lasagna, Elena?" He let out a shocked gasp, and not seeing his face, she couldn't tell if he was serious or faking it. She chose to believe the latter.

"No! I'm sorry, that came out all wrong. It smelled good, but not now. I mean, I'm sure it would've been delicious, but I wouldn't have eaten it now. I just-I-I-" She stuttered, not knowing how to explain it, without hurting his feeling. "Ugh, you get it. I can't digest anything. That's what the flu can do to you."

"Relax, Elena, I was just mocking you. I know the flu can be...disturbing. Chill." Damon let out an amused chuckle, or so it seemed to Elena.

"Relax? I'm actually relaxing now, and it doesn't work. That's what relaxing means, right? Staying in bed, sleeping your head off and doing nothing?" She pointed out as she glanced from Damon to Bonnie, and back.

"I guess." The two of them said in unison and Elena looked at them and wanted to tell them to get out and leave her alone, but she couldn't do it. So to be left alone, with her virus and her sucky mood, she let out a big fake yawn, that she hoped would be their cue to get out.

"Are you tired?" Damon asked and she nodded. "Maybe we should leave her to rest, Bonnie."

"Sure. I have some things to do at home anyway. I just wanted to see you and make sure that it's not something worse than the flu. You've had it before, you know it's going to go away." Her friend hugged her gently.

"I know, it's just worse than the last time. I'll get there eventually." Elena smiled weakly as she said her goodbye to Bonnie.

"Yell if you need anything." Damon announced and he softly pecked her lips, then made his way out of the room, leaving his bedroom to her disposal. She didn't intend to do much there, anyway. Just look at the ceiling and maybe sleep her mind off.

The next few days were the worse she had ever experienced. She was hoping that the flu would go away by Saturday, when her best friend returned from her honeymoon, so they could hang out and Caroline could tell her every single detail of her holiday, but no, it just got worse, because she was Elena Gilbert, and this could only happen to her.

For the second time consecutively that Saturday afternoon, she straightened herself and got up from the bed she was sharing with Damon, because he didn't want her to sleep alone, and made her way to the attached bathroom, spilling her stomach into the toilet bowl as she tried to hold on for dear life. Another wave of nausea hit her and just at the moment when she was about to throw up again, Damon appeared behind her and without hesitations, he put one hand on her forehead and with the other he held her hair into a makeshift ponytail as she couldn't hold it inside anymore.

Elena couldn't believe she was throwing up in front of him. That was even more awkward than the time when he jokingly told her that she could work at the circus because of her skills at singing. She had been utterly ashamed when he found her singing while taking a bubble bath and she didn't forget to mark the event as a memory that would always stay with her as one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. And this one topped the artistic one, being totally over the line. Now she couldn't keep any dirty secrets from him, after he had seen her throwing away the last drop she could out of her body.

He helped her get to her feet and she turned on the cold water, splashing some on her face and then, grabbing her toothbrush, she started to wash her teeth again and rinse throughly as she didn't want to feel that bitter taste in her mouth anymore.

"This is enough, Elena. I'm calling a doctor." Damon's decided voice made her turn around to give him the praying look. She hated doctors, why didn't he understand that? She hated being in a hospital and she hated being treated like she was ill, even if right now, she couldn't say she was totally sane.

"No, don't, please. Look, Caroline is coming home today. She'll come see me, and she'll tell me all about her honeymoon and she will be my distraction from this. And I'll feel better then. I promise." Although she was feeling awful, she lifted her right hand and wavered three fingers at him, the sign of the Scout's. He smiled and shook his head amused.

"You should go to work. You've stayed with me these last two days and I don't want you to pick a fight with your father because of me. He hates me enough already."

"I couldn't care less about my father right now, Elena. He can do the work himself. I'm not leaving you alone. And you shouldn't care what he thinks about you. I don't." Damon shrugged indifferently, but Elena couldn't reason with him.

"Well, I do. He made it crystal clear at the wedding that he doesn't want me around you." Elena remembered about the talk she had with Giuseppe at the wedding with a sour taste in her mouth.

"So you're the infamous Elena Gilbert." The fair-haired man approached her as she just let go of Damon's arm when he told her he wanted to dance with his sister-in-law, and she smiled at him, happy that he was finally getting along with Caroline.

"Mr. Salvatore, it's nice to meet you." She extended her hand to him and he looked down at it, scoffing indifferently. When he didn't shake hands with her, she pulled her hand back and at that moment, she knew that she wasn't liked by Giuseppe.

"I can't say the same. What is going on between my son and you?" Giuseppe asked as she continued to look at him, trying to decipher the man in front of her eyes, trying to figure out how he could be the father of such an amazing man, that Damon was. Unfortunately, she was clueless.

"I'm Damon's girlfriend." Elena admitted in a serious voice; not that she actually dared to be snarky to Giuseppe, but still. He scoffed, and she seriously thought that he was mocking her.

"Please, Damon has never had a girlfriend. Well, except Katherine, who was more than that." He said, probably trying to make her feel bad for calling herself Damon's girlfriend. Well, that was who she was and he had to believe her.

"I'm sorry if you are clueless about it, Mr. Salvatore. Me and Damon have been in a relationship for a few months now." Elena confessed in a low voice, not knowing what to expect next from Giuseppe.

"I don't know what you're trying to achieve by seducing my son, Ms. Gilbert, but I assure you that you will not be successful in taking advantage of our name." Damon's father said and she could only drop her jaw at the shock of hearing his words.

"What?" She gasped as she tried to actually digest his words, but she just couldn't. "What are you implying, sir?"

"That you're a gold digger. And like all the gold diggers out there, you must have a price. Name yours." Giuseppe requested and she needed all the will power she could gather not to slap him and make a scene there, in front of all the guests.

"Mr. Salvatore, you may be Damon's father, but I will not allow you to talk to me like that. I was well raised by my parents and I don't care what you think of me, but I am not Katherine." She emphasized the name of the cold hearted bitch, in hope that he would stop with his low blows.

"Of course you're not. She comes from a good family and she is actually the perfect woman for Damon. They'll get back together, someday soon." Giuseppe said, like he had calculated every move in his head. Maybe he did, and Elena wondered what Damon would think about it. This man was insane and she wasn't going to listen to his crap anymore.

"Oh, cut me some slack, Mr. Salvatore. I really don't care what you think about me. You're no better than me. Humiliating your son and telling him that he killed his own mother is a low blow, even for you. And trust me when I tell you that Damon is nothing like you think he is. You don't know him at all." Elena gritted through a clenched jaw, suddenly feeling brave. She wasn't going to let Giuseppe wipe the floor with her.

"This is not over, Ms. Gilbert. You're going to hear from me again." Mr. Salvatore said, before he took off, and she felt safe arms around her the next moment. When she turned around, she saw Damon grinning at her and she smiled back, relieved that he was back.

"What did my father want?"

"He told me that he hates my guts." Elena shrugged and she turned to face him, plastering a smile on her face and gently closing the space between their mouths.

"He told me that he hates my guts." Elena sighed, remembering Giuseppe's words like he had just uttered them to her.

"So what? It's not like he has a say on my life. I don't really care what he thinks, Elena, and neither should you." Damon said and for a moment she really believed him.

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right. I should've been named Mr. Righteous." He waggled his eyebrows and she couldn't help but giggle.

"That's adorable." He whispered as he pressed her body into the mattress and hovered above her, assaulting her mouth with his tongue, stroking hers and exploring every bit of her mouth like he was tasting it for the first time. Elena moaned into his mouth, and though she was so sick, she couldn't help but give in to him. She loved him too much to say no to him, and sincerely, she wanted him so badly.

"Elena!" Caroline squeaked as she barged into Damon's apartment, with three cartoon bags in her hands. Elena was sitting on the couch, bathed and wearing a plush colored robe; she chose it because she thought that the colors would make her feel better. At the sight of her best friend, Elena jumped from her place and into her friend's arms, grateful that she was finally back.

"You've lost weight, or what?" Caroline frowned at her and Elena shrugged.

"Possibly. I haven't been eating much because of the flu and I'm always throwing up what I eat anyway."

"Sweetie, I really hoped you would be better by now. But here, I bought you gifts." The blonde smiled as she handed Elena the bags and cheerfully made her open them right then. Elena looked inside the bags and pulled out the three dresses, the pair of jeans, the skirts and last but not least, the two sets of lingerie, containing a bra and a bikini.

"Caroline, you shouldn't have spent so much money on me!" Elena chastised her friend but she wasn't taking any of that, she noticed.

"Bullshit. You're my best friend, of course I'll buy you souvenirs." Caroline smirked amused and Elena tilted her head, frowning.

"What do you know about souvenirs, Care? Because I think a souvenir is actually a pen with my name on it written in god knows what language, or any other thing specific to the country you've been to."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. The best souvenirs are clothes, 'Lena. Why would you use a pen when you have technology around you?" Elena rolled her eyes as her friend explained to her how clothes should be the most important thing in the life of a woman.

After hearing Caroline talking about every detail of her honeymoon for the last two hours, Elena felt sick once again and she ran to the bathroom, emptying her stomach from the yogurt she ate earlier, after Damon managed to wore her out completely. Knowing Caroline was coming over, he decided to pay Alaric a visit so he eavesdrop as she ranted and raved about her honeymoon. And damn, he was right when he told her she would be her usual tiring self, but Elena missed her so much that she didn't care.

"Elena, have you been throwing up a lot?" Caroline asked after she came back from the bathroom and Elena felt like bursting into a sarcastic laughter.

"Literally all day long for the last three days. Why?" Elena asked and was suddenly curious why Caroline had asked.

"Wait here." The blonde pointed her finger to Elena while she went in the foyer. Yeah, like she had somewhere else to go. Elena rolled her eyes at the thought of playing hide and seek in the penthouse. What was Caroline doing anyway?

Two minutes later, the blonde returned holding a box in her hand that she put on the coffee table in front of them. Elena didn't bother to look to see what it was, but she looked at Caroline, who was a shade whiter than her usual self. What had happened to the perky Caroline from five minutes ago?

"Elena. You don't have the flu." Caroline said and Elena narrowed her eyes, not understanding what Caroline meant by that. Of course she had the flu. Elena's eyes glanced at the box on the table and she grabbed it, looking at it shocked; Pregnancy test. She almost laughed at the blonde when she saw the box.

"Seriously? I couldn't be pregnant, even if I wanted. Caroline, this is just a bad flu. I had it before. Anyway, why do you have that?" Elena pointed to the box. "Do you have to tell me something?" She raised her eyebrow at her friend.

"No. Every married woman should have a pregnancy test in her purse." Caroline winked at her and she smiled. "But don't change the subject, Elena Gilbert. We were talking about you here!" Caroline suddenly snapped.

"Care, I am not pregnant. Stop it. I am on the pill."

"Oh yeah? Then you just go and take the test. Prove me wrong." Her friend was sending death glares at her. Seriously, she wanted her to do that now, when she was feeling so bad?

"I am not taking any test, because it's just the freaking flu!" This time Elena was the one who snapped at her friend.

"Take the test, Elena!"

"Fine, if it makes you feel better, though I don't know why it would." Elena rolled her eyes and grabbing the box, she walked to the bathroom, the place that she spent most of her time.

She pulled down her panties and sat on the toilet bowl, looking down at the white object that looked like a pen but was actually a torture instrument for some people. With shaky hands, she took it out of the transparent wrapping and peed on it, feeling very weird doing so. She looked at the instructions on the back of the box; if she was pregnant, a smiley face would appear on it, and if she wasn't, a sad face would appear. And in her case, it would be the latter, because it was a ridiculous diagnosis. She was not pregnant.

Elena arranged her panties to their place and flushing the toilet, she returned to the living room and sat back on the couch, next to Caroline, who fidgeted with her fingers nervously. It was as if she was the one taking the test. Elena put the test on the table and smiled amused, because she was feeling like her normal self. She wasn't afraid, because Caroline wasn't right.

"So?" Caroline asked.

"I have to wait two minutes." Elena shrugged indifferently.

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Because I am not pregnant, Care, I told you." The two minutes passed, the blonde could finally ask her question.

"So, what does it say?" Elena grabbed the little object and looked at it, with a smug smile on her face; she was right, she wasn't pregnant.

AN: Tut, tut, tut. What is happening? Something smells fishy and Caroline doesn't like it at all!