Elena woke up to a world of pain.

She could barely think past the heavy pounding in her head, the way her stomach was incessantly turning, or how every bone and muscle in her body seemed to ache with a dull sharpness that made her gasp.

Managing to open her eyes, she saw that the sun was shining brilliantly through the window, and she looked at her clock. 2:00 pm. Had she really slept that long?

Hot, she yanked the covers off of her and swiped at the sweat on her forehead. A moment later, a freezing gust of wind seemed to penetrate her body and she pulled the covers back on, only to push them back off again.

What was wrong with her? She needed water, and some aspirin, too. Yes, aspirin would fix this...

Suddenly, her stomach rose up in her throat and she jumped up and ran to the bathroom, shoving the door open despite the light coming from underneath telling her that it was occupied.

"Elena, get out!" Jeremy exclaimed, covering up his bare chest. Elena pushed past him and threw up her insides in the toilet. She felt Jeremy's concern as he pulled her hair back from her face.

After what seemed like hours, she rested her head on the cool porcelain and wrapped her arms around herself, freezing. Sleep, that's what she wanted.

Jeremy hovered around her while she tried to make herself stand. Again, muscle pains seized her body and she groaned. The last thing she thought before she blacked out was that she really just wanted some water.

Minutes or hours later, Elena came to. She heard her name being spoken, so she kept her eyes shut and feigned sleep.

"-just ran into the bathroom and started puking, and then she fainted. Maybe she has the stomach flu...?"

"Maybe." She heard another voice say, sounding doubtful. And despite how awful she felt, her insides fluttered nervously.

"Should I call Meredith?" Jeremy asked. Elena panicked at that name, and her heart picked up. She heard Damon pause, and she knew he knew that she was awake.

"No." He replied, and she loved him. "Not yet. Go get her some water, Jer." Damon demanded, and something in his voice made Jeremy comply, because his footsteps headed to the door a moment later.

"Jeremy." He called, and paused. "Thanks for calling me back here." Elena knew he wasn't just talking about today.

Jeremy didn't reply and she heard him shuffle downstairs.

"I know you're awake." Damon said, and she felt his finger trail down her cheek, leaving a path of heat in its wake.

Elena let her eyes flutter open, and she immediately met his clear, blue ones. She had missed those eyes; no one else she had ever met had eyes like him, where the lightness of them contrasted the darkness brewing underneath. She had dreamt of those eyes, in one way or another, every night that he had been gone.

"Damon." She croaked out, grasping at his hand. "I feel awful... What's wrong with me?"

Damon sighed and turned to look at the door, as if checking that Jeremy was still downstairs. Satisfied that no one was there, he turned back to her.

"Are you having hot and cold flashes? Muscle pains?" He asked, all business. Elena widened her eyes at his guesses, which were right on.

"Yes, how did you-"

"You're going through withdrawals, Elena."

She blinked, sounding the word out in her head. Withdrawals seemed like such a foreign concept, something she never thought she would have to go through. Weren't withdrawals for junkies, or crack heads? She had never done crack, and she blanched at the idea of sticking a needle in her arm.

As if sending her confusion, Damon spoke up. "You've been taking those pills consistently for over a year, Elena. Of course you're going to have withdrawal symptoms."

"Symptoms? Damon, these aren't just symptoms. I feel like death." She groaned, and pushed the covers off of her when heat seized her.

Damon sighed and put his cool hand on her forehead, wiping off the sweat with tenderness. She shut her eyes, feeling a little better.

Jeremy walked into the room, a tall glass of water with ice clutched in his hand. His eyes moved from Damon and Elena's hands, which were intertwined on the bed to Damon's other hand caressing her face. He wordlessly handed the water to Elena and backed out of the room.

Once she had drunk almost the whole glass, she set it down on her nightstand and looked at him. She took a deep breath.

"Damon-"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say." She protested.

"Yes, I do. You want me to hand you back your orange bottle of obliviousness and turn a blind eye. And my answer is no."

"Damon, you don't understand." She started, struggling to sit up as if she was climbing a mountain.

"Of course I do." He replied, and reached out to pile her pillows behind her so that she could rest back comfortably. "The opiate dens in the thirties were amazing."

She glared at him, and pulled her hand away from his to cross her arms.

"Fine, maybe I'll just go back to Meredith then, and tell her I accidentally spilt my prescription down the sink."

Damon smirked coolly and mimicked her movements and crossed his arms. "You do that. I'll go to Mer, who, by the way, seems to have become my new drinking buddy, and tell her exactly how innocent little Elena Gilbert got addicted to drugs."

Elena flinched, "You wouldn't."

"You know I would." He replied without pausing. It was true, she knew he would. Damon had always been ruthless when it came to her well-being.

Elena stared at him defiantly for a beat longer, then blinked and sunk down into her bed. Tears clouded her eyes, because she knew he was right, for Damon was always right. This wasn't supposed to be her life.

"Elena." Damon started, and brushed a lock of hair away from her face "You're going to be fine. The pills will leave your system in a few days, and then you'll feel normal. I promise."

"Sometimes I don't like feeling normal." She replied without thinking. And it was true, wasn't it? She didn't like feeling normal, and that's why she had turned to the pills in the first place.

Damon didn't reply and instead just held her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles soothingly. Elena closed her eyes, suddenly tired again.

"Don't leave." She murmured as sleep covered her like a blanket. Damon replied that he wouldn't, and Elena fell asleep thinking that she hadn't had a single thought of Stefan for days.

As if being doused by a bucket of freezing water, Elena shot up in bed and searched for her comforter desperately. Muscle pains seized her and she cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks. Arms grabbed her and she fell against a solid chest, writhing with discomfort.

"Mom?" She croaked out, delirious.

Hands rubbed her shoulders and her beloved duvet was suddenly wrapped around her. "Shhh." A deep voice murmured. "It's me, Elena."

"I don't feel good." She breathed, clutching at the warm body next to her.

"I know." Damon whispered. A hand covered her forehead and she leaned into it. "Your fever has sky rocketed," he said, his voice dripping with concern.

Elena scrabbled at her skin with her nails, desperately trying to distract herself from the pain that radiated throughout her bones. Hands seized her own and held them down. "Stop it, Elena. You're hurting yourself."

Elena moaned and sobbed. Never had she felt anything like this.

Damon held her tightly to himself, anchoring her body to his own. She turned and buried her face in his neck. "Mom..." She cried.

A moment later she heard an odd sound, and then something warm and gushing was pressed to her lips.

"Drink, Elena."

She obeyed without hesitating, thinking of the times when she was sick and her mother would spoon that cherry flavored syrup in her mouth. But whatever this was didn't taste like artificial cherries, and it was hot and thick as it slid down her throat.

At each swallow, Elena's pains dulled down. His hand pulled away, and she protested weakly.

"That's enough." He said. Damon. Not her mother, but Damon.

Feeling better than she had in a long time, Elena sunk down into his arms and turned her face into his shirt, breathing in.

"Go to sleep." He whispered, and she did, feeling a little bit whole, more whole than she could remember feeling in awhile.

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the huge delay, but I had MAJOR writer's block when it came to this chapter. I kept writing and then rewriting it, and it never felt good enough. But finally, here it is, thanks to my lovely beta siberia21: You're awesome!

Thanks to everybody who's still reading this story, and please, let me know what you think! :)