Chapter Eleven- Smash

It had taken me much longer than usual to walk the few miles to find a house, but slowly but surely I got there. I felt awful compelling the sweet old woman who had answered the door, but times were dire and I desperately needed her help. I made a mental note of her location so I could have her vehicle returned to her once we had safely gotten out of here, and with her car keys and few pints of her billy goats blood in hand, I got into her pick up and began the journey back to Damon.

I had almost driven past the shack it was so obscured. I hadn't realised last night how hidden behind overgrown shrubbery it was, but I was also possibly borderline delirious after the accident so it made sense I wasn't completely aware of my surroundings. I pulled the vehicle up as close as I could get it and hurried back inside to Damon to give him a drink. He would be disgusted by the animal blood I had on offer for breakfast, but my morals wouldn't allow me to compel the kind women to give me her own, and the goat was all I had to work with. At this stage it was better than nothing. I was desperately needing even just a sip for myself but he was more injured than I was, and I knew he needed the whole amount of limited blood I had on offer. The second we passed a blood bank or a farm that I could get more from I would fulfil my own needs, but for now, he was the priority. His eyes lit up a little when he saw me coming towards him carrying a jug, smelling the warm blood I had with his name written on it.

"Sorry, it took me longer to find a house than I thought" I told him, offering the jug to him. He extended his right hand to grasp the handle but nearly dropped it when the weight deemed too heavy for his weak grip. I dropped down so I was at the same level as him and held the jug up firmly to his lips, motioning for him to tilt his head back and drink. Without hesitation, he eagerly let the warm liquid slip down his throat, before coughing wildly as it hit the back of his pallet.

"Animal?" He choked, screwing up his blood soaked face

"It was all I could find. Just drink" I cooed, watching as he followed my direction and tilted his head again. He drank most of it, and I noticed a slight change in the deathly pale colour of his skin before and stopped and looked at me

"Now you" He croaked

"I'm fine. You need it all, come on.." I cooed again, pushing it back to his lips. He greedily finished the jug before falling back against the wood paling. I gave him a few moments to let it start to nourish him slightly before placing the jug back down and grabbing his arms to lift him up. We needed to get out of her, we had overstayed our welcome as it was and there was no doubt that Caroline and Stefan were frantically worried about us. How was I even going to explain this one. I hadn't even told Damon about his car, but I would save that conversation for when he was feeling better. I struggled to hold his limp weight on my broken body but managed to get him securely inside the pick-up before getting into the driver's seat. Morally, I had felt awful about taking the vehicle, but we needed a way out and my purse and phone were back in the wreck. Come to think of it, we may have the local police searching for us by this point if they found the IDs. I'd have to get to a phone quick and get Stefan to help me sort out the mess. With the choked roar of the engine we were on our way, and I couldn't quite believe just how we had managed to get out of that one alive. One thing was for sure, whenever Damon and I were together; we were a magnet for danger.

X X X

We had been on the road for a little over two hours before I started feeling completely drained. I was weak and starving, and Damon had been passed out in the passenger seat ever since we had gotten on the interstate. I couldn't make it all the way back to Virginia like this, I couldn't even make it the hundred miles or so it would take us to reach Bree, so I made a decision, one that didn't sit quite right with me, to stop in at the next town and compel my way a blood bag and a bed. I pulled in to the Danny's Highway Motel just off the interstate and apprehensively compelled the Front Office Clerk for a suite. Damon was much weaker than I and he couldn't drive, and this seemed like the best plan to ensure we'd be back in Mystic Falls by nightfall. I climbed back into the drivers seat of the pick up and drove around to Block D where the room was, and after putting the vehicle in park, lightly shook Damon awake to let him know what was going on.

"Where are we?" He asked sleepily, opening his eyes and yawning

"Somewhere in Georgia. I couldn't keep driving like this. I need to rest, and more importantly, I need to eat"

"Animal blood didn't do it for you huh?"

"I didn't have any" I told him as I removed the keys from the ignition. I could feel him staring at me intensely and turned my head to face him. He was waiting for an explanation "I'm fine I'm just…weak and hungry"

"Why didn't you have any?"

"There wasn't much and you were in worse shape than I was" I offered with a shrug "Come on, I'll get you inside." He was walking much better he was when I had gotten him into the truck but he was still struggling, and at this point, so did I. I didn't know if I had the capacity to compel anyone else today but I was in dire need of blood: human blood, and I knew I needed to get it soon if I was going to have the energy to get us back. I got Damon into the room and left him on the bed before going back downstairs to the truck. The Front Office Clerk had told me the town hospital was only a few blocks away, and thankfully, it was small enough that I didn't have to go far before being able to 'persuade' a nurse for five or so bags of O negative. Once I was safely back in the pick-up, I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into one and revitalise my severely weak and dehydrated body, but drinking blood in the car park of a hospital was a sure fired way to draw unwanted attention, so I controlled my hunger until I pulled back outside Block B a few moments later. I moved as quickly as I could with the precious cargo until I was safely inside the room. The look of desperation was written all over my face as I slammed the door and Damon sat up from the bed.

"Jesus Elena.." He commented, taking in my appearance "Did you get it?"

"Yes" I breathed deeply, throwing the stash on the bed and hungrily grabbing the closest one within reach. I ripped open the top and poured the merlot coloured liquid down my throat, feeling instant relief as it began coursing through my veins. Damon mimicked me, moaning lightly at the taste of our live source, and just as quickly as I had drunk the first, I finished my second. It would take a few hours until I was back to normal, but at least I felt like I could breathe again. I closed my eyes, letting the vitalising sensation of blood take over me, before sitting down and picking up the phone in the room. I dialled the number for Caroline's cell, thanking the lord that she had had the same number since high school.

"Hello?" She answered frantically

"Caroline. It's Elena"

"Elena!" She screeched, before I could hear the sound of tears rolling down her cheek "Oh thank god! Stefan has been on the phone with the county Sheriffs office in some hick town in Alabama! Apparently Damon's car was found completely wrecked on the side of the road but you guys were nowhere to be found! Stefan told them it had been stolen that night to call off the dogs. Oh my god Elena, where are you? What happened? Are you alright?"

"It's a long story. We're safe now. We're at a hotel just inside the border of Georgia. I need to rest for a little while then we'll be home and we'll fill you in"

"Elena!" She protested

"Please Care just…I'll be home in a few hours and I'll tell you everything. I need to go"

"Elena!' She protested again

"I love you, I'll see you soon" I told before hanging up. I didn't have the strength to go into the events of last night, she would want to know every single detail and I just didn't have it in me right now. It was selfish to hang up without explaining, but I had to do it. Damon gave me an all knowing look from across the room and it was only then that I had noticed he had cleaned himself up while I was gone. I was still a complete and utter wreck. I stood up before making my way into the bathroom to take a shower. I was covered from head to toe in blood. My blood, Damon's blood, and the remanence of the O negative I had just drank which was dripping down my chin. Not to mention the soot and dirt and god knows what else all over my body. Here I was thinking the meeting with Elijah would be the dangerous part of the evening, I never could have imagined the events that unfolded after he left. I stripped my clothes off and stepped inside the small shower, letting the warm water wash away the evidence of the night before. There were only two answers to my question: either Elijah had betrayed us, or Katherine was having us followed. No matter which way I thought about it, I always landed back on the latter. She was trailing us, or at least having a pack of her compelled minions trailing us, and whether or not she knew it was Elijah, she knew our meeting had to do with her, and she gave the order to have us taken out. Why else would humans have wooden bullets? Why else would they be shooting them at two vampires? It was the only explanation, and by god if it didn't scare the living hell out of me. We had been Katherine free for many months now, and that was because we weren't searching for her. But last night, the first time in months we had poked the bear, someone had tried to kill us, and that was not a coincidence. I'd lost count of how many times it was now that I had nearly died, and scarily, it didn't shock me anymore. What had shocked me was how close Damon had come last night. If that bullet had been even half an inch to the right, I'd be carting a rotting vampire corpse back to Mystic Falls right now, and that didn't sit well with me at all. Was all of this worth it? It seemed like if we left her alone, she left us alone, so was teaming up with Klaus and Elijah really worth the risk? I had hoped the steaming shower would help clear my mind but it only made me more confused, and even though I was feeling better, I still needed rest before the drive ahead.

I didn't much like the thought of putting my dirty clothes back on after getting cleaned up, and thank fully there was a bath robe hanging in the shower. I draped it over my wet skin and took a look in the mirror at the absolute mess that was staring back at me. Hopefully in a few hours the blood would have healed up all evidence of the car accident, and until then I didn't particularly want to look at my reflection. I opened the door of the bathroom and walked back into the room to see a shaken looking Damon sitting on the edge of the bed. He was as white as a ghost with his hand resting on his chin, and panic automatically coursed through my stomach at the sight of him.

"What's wrong?" I asked in shock, rushing over to sit on the second double bed that was opposite him. It seemed like it took him a little longer than usual to register the fact that I was there; that or he was just ignoring me; but something seemed so off about him. "Seriously Damon you're freaking me out"

"Why didn't you have any blood?" He asked suddenly, his eyes ripping back into focus and staring at me straight in the face

"Huh?"

"At the farm. You didn't have any blood. Why?" Hadn't we already been over this?

"I told you earlier. There wasn't much there"

"So.."

"So, you were weak. I waited" He didn't seem satisfied with my answer, it was the opposite; it actually seemed like it angered him a little "It's really not a big deal Damon"

"You needed it just as much as I did. Why didn't you have any?"

"Seriously? I told you why?"

"Yes but you're not answering my question properly"

"I didn't have any blood because you were weak and were in far worse shape than I was so I…I just gave it to you…that's a perfectly fine answer"

"No it's not. I don't understand. A vampire's most basic instinct is to feed. A vampires most powerful urge is to feed. Why did you give me the blood.."

"Because you needed it!" I screeched in frustration. What about this wasn't he getting? He was weaker, he had more wounds, he had more to heal; it wasn't rocket science

"I saw your face as you came through the door before Elena. You were painfully starving. I haven't seen a vampire that weak from hunger in a long time.."

"So what?"

"So why did you give it all to me"

"Because..I don't know….I'd rather just deal with the hunger than to watch you in pain" We were going round and round in circles, but something about what I had just said seemed to effect him. He rose to his feet and began pacing back and forth across the caramel shagged carpet and muttering inaudible words to himself. He was really beginning to frighten me.

"It just doesn't make sense…I just…..why….I just…." He sounded like a crazy person, and I didn't know what on earth to do. He stopped in his place for a moment, turning his head back to where I was sitting on the bed and staring down into me with the flames of a thousand fires "And you saved me…when we were being attacked…you threw me in the car…I remember…and you drove….you crashed….they must have been coming after us…the must have been coming and what….did you carry me?" His voice was bellowing with anger and although it was a recanting of the events of last night, it sounded like he was accusing me of something. Like he was accusing me of saving him, like it was such a horrible thing.

"You were knocked out" I managed to answer. My words set him off again and he started pacing again "Damon…what is the matter with you?"

"You carried me? You were hurt yourself? And you carried me. You could have just left me there….why didn't you leave me there?"

"Why on earth would I leave you there?" I questioned in disarray

"I wouldn't blame you…..after everything I've done to you….you should have left me there….if it were me…"

"Well it wasn't you. It was me. And no matter how much of an ass you have been….I could never leave you in the backseat of a burning car"

"Why!" He screamed, throwing his hands up in the air

"Because I love you too much. And even when you're at your darkest moment….I will still be there for you….always" His eyes began to well and he dropped down to his knees. His hands moved up to the nape of his neck and as he wrapped his hands around his exposed skin, he began rocking back and forth.

"Oh my god….oh my god…fuck…..oh my god" My instincts took over and I flew off the bed, my feet carrying me over to him in a mere instant. His eyes were closed but he was continuing to rock himself to and fro while murmuring obscenities. I didn't understand what was happening or what he was going through but every part of me needed to comfort him in that moment.

"Damon please….what's happening….talk to me?" I begged, placing my left hand on his moving shoulder. He opened his eyes as soon as my skin connected with the fabric of his shirt and he stared at me for a few seconds before I saw his eyes change. A flutter of flickers appeared before they turned as light as I had ever seen them before his pupils were surrounded by the flurry of teardrops that started falling down his cheek

"Elena" He whispered before his eyes grew wide like a deer caught in the headlights "Oh my god….Elena….what have I done?" He started rocking frantically again, causing my hand to slip off his shoulder "Everything…everything I've done…..all those people…..what have I done…."

"Please. Talk to me!" I pleaded again before the sudden realisation of what was happening smacked me dead in the face.

"And you! Everything I've said…everything I've done…Elena…..oh my god….I'm so sorry….I'm so sorry" He was like a bucking bull, thrashing his torso in an out of control rhythm which I felt powerless to stop "I'm so sorry…..I'm so sorry…" The tears were really falling now, his face was flooded in them. "I'm so sorry….I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay" I cooed, unable to think of anything else to say. I knew to a certain degree what it felt like, to face everything you had been running from, but I hadn't flipped my switch like him. I couldn't comprehend the overpowering flush of emotions he was experiencing right now, and I didn't know how to begin helping him through it.

"It's not okay…..god Elena…..it hurts…..it hurts so much….make it stop…..please" He was breaking my heart. Seeing him in this much pain was tearing my insides apart "Please make it stop….god…..please….it hurts…..turn it off…..make it stop…I need to turn it off" I knew his emotions were searing into his soul, I knew he was being ripped to shreds, but he couldn't go back now, he couldn't flip it back. I wouldn't let him. I fell down to my knees so I was level with him and took his face to my cheeks

"I know it hurts baby…I know it does….but you've got to stay with me…look at me" I brought his face close to mine "You've got to push past it, you can do this Damon…I'm right here with you"

"It hurts…it hurts" He gasped, struggling to breath. I couldn't comprehend just how much 6 months of emotions, all swirling through your body at the same time, felt like. The anger, the guilt, the sorrow; all of it, a vortexing kaleidoscope of feelings smashing through every barrier he had erected simultaneously.

"Stay with me Damon….it's going to be alright…I promise you it's going to be alright" I pulled his face towards mine and placed a reassuring kiss on his tear stained lips. He was so close, closer than he realised, he just needed to push through the pain. I let go of his face and held it in place a few inches from mine, staring deep down into his eyes and willing him to go on. They had changed. No longer were they the eyes of a soulless monster, they were bright and alive.

"I can't….it hurts too much…I can't…" I held his eyes in mine and forced him not to look away

"Look at me….stay here…stay right here with me…..do you feel that? Do you feel what we have? Hold onto it Damon….I know you're feeling the pain….I know you're feeling all of it, but feel us instead. Feel how much I love you" I took his hand into mine and pulled it tightly to my chest over my heart "Stay here" There was a battle going on in his eyes, but suddenly, as I held his hand firmly on my chest, it seemed as if the war was over.

"How can you say that? After all that I've done. After how much I've hurt you…..how can you sit here and still love me…."

"I don't have a choice. It seems to be an always and forever type deal"

"You can't possibly….not after everything…especially how much your life has changed for the worse since meeting me.." I gripped his hand tighter to let him know I meant every word I was about to say

"I love you" as soon as the words left my lips he tore his hand away from my chest and pulled me up so we were both standing on our feet before wrapping his arms around me waist and pulling me firmly into him. There was no confusion in his eyes now, no internal conflict; all that was staring back at me was lust. His lips crashed into mine, and for the first time since he had been back in Mystic Falls; they felt familiar. I opened my mouth to give him better access, but our fury for one another wouldn't allow us the type of contact we needed at this angle. Almost reading my mind, he lifted my body up from his grip around my waist and carried me the few steps to the bed I had been sitting on only moments before and threw me down roughly. I huffed lightly at the displeasing break of contact between us, but he lowered himself onto me in an instant and re-joined his mouth to mine. His hand moved from his side up the side of my bath robe before yanking it open in the middle of my body and revealing my flushed skin. The palm of his hand slid up past my navel and took my breast into the centre, causing a rough moan to erupt from my dry throat. My body was overly eager, I hadn't had sex since that day in Damon's office before my entire life had changed after all, but it wasn't just my months long dry spell that was sending me into overdrive, it was something totally different. I had never been touched like this, not as a vampire at least, and I could feel every single fibre of it. I could feel the small groove of his fingerprints as his digits circled and pulled expertly at my erect nipples. I could feel each tiny bump in his lower and bottom lip as our mouth continued their erotic dance. I could feel every hair on his face brush wildly against my chin. And I could feel one of many orgasms brimming in my already wet sex. He hasn't even inside me yet, but if this is what sex as a vampire was like, I didn't know how on earth I was ever going to stop.

Damon tore his mouth away from my already chapped lips and moved his way down to my sweet spot: the nape of my neck. He went to work on the side just below my ear lobe that he knew drove me insane, and with every wet kiss and every dangerously hard bite, I was threatening to blow. I was growing edgy, enjoying every quip his mouth and hands were giving me but needing all of him at the same time. I had waited for this moment for so long, I had dreamed of it, and as much as I wanted to relish in it, as much as I wanted to savour every kiss and every touch, I need him inside me. I needed every last inch of him.

"Damon" I moaned in exasperation "I need you…..i need you so bad right now"

"Not yet baby" He answered between licks, sliding his tongue down the collar of my neck and continuing until my right nipple was between his teeth. He bit down hard before spinning his tongue swiftly in a glorious circle. My hips reacted by raising my torso towards the ceiling, and with one slip of his digits inside my dripping wet folds, then came plummeting back down onto the bed. I couldn't control the garish moans that the mixture of his fingers and his tongue were eliciting from my throat, and as his thumb moved from the outside of my walls and onto my clit, I knew I was about to unfold underneath him. He could feel my contractions starting to pulse and his cock grew cement hard from inside his jeans at the occurrence. I felt him move his free hand down to the prison of fabric between us, and without breaking contact with me, he expertly freed himself from them. I was too far gone, somewhere between pent up sexual frustration and my inevitable release, and with one last flick of my nipple with his wet tongue, I came completely undone. My orgasm began reaching new heights as he plunged his huge cock deep inside my already contracting walls, and I felt his body shake with bated anticipation as I continued convulsing around him. It was like nothing I had ever imagined existed. Every part of me was filled with an electric sensation of extraordinary pleasure, even in places I didn't know were inside of me. It was a type of euphoria that in my dizziest daydreams I couldn't describe, and the high was so unattainable that I didn't want to ever return to the ground. Damon lifted my torso up, completely unaware of the heights I was reaching, and drove himself deeper and deeper inside of me. I wanted him like this, I wanted him deep inside of me like this for the rest of eternity, and as I began to float back down into the reality of the room, my second little death swept in from my groin and hoisted me back up. It felt like my sex was going to blast us off from the bed, and as I began cumming with a forceful vitality that I couldn't capture, he fell apart inside of me. His hands gripped me so tight it felt like my skin was seconds from tearing away, but in that moment, I couldn't care. In that moment, we were a single entity, and all the pain and angst from our lives seemed to melt away.

He collapsed onto me, dropping his entire dead weight onto my own limp form, and our panted breaths filled the room as we both attempted to recover from the magic that had just occurred. After a few minutes, I heard the flutter of his eyes opening, and I mustered what little strength I had left in my body to do the same. There they were, the eyes that I had been longing to see for the longest of time. The eyes that had haunted my dreams for the past 6 months' worth of lonely nights. And finally, they were staring back at me.

"What….in the hell….was that?" I asked in wonderment. And I really did want to know….