Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries- they belong to L.J. Smith and Kevin Williamson at the CW. But they sure are fun to play with! To set up the story, I used some dialogue from 1x13, "Children of the Damned". You'll be able to recognize it. Enjoy!

"Well, what do you know?" Damon's voice rang through the trees, causing both Elena and Stefan to jump. "This is an interesting turn of events." The vampire stood at the edge of his father's grave, eyeing the two trespassers menacingly.

Stefan didn't flinch as he clutched the journal tightly. "I can't let you bring her back. I'm sorry."

"So am I," Damon replied steadily. Stefan raised his eyebrows. "For thinking for even a second that I can trust you."

"You are not capable of trust," said Stefan. "The fact that you're here means that you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself."

"Of course I was going to do it by myself. Because the only one I can count on is me!" For a moment, Elena thought she saw a hint of disappointment in Damon's eyes. Who are you disappointed in? Elena wondered for a moment. Your brother, or yourself? "You made sure of that many years ago, Stefan."

Then Damon looked at Elena. "But you… you had me fooled."

She tried, really she did, not to have sympathy for Damon. He'd done so much to Elena and her family and friends. But somehow, his words managed to cut her like a dagger. When their eyes met, Elena could see that she had wounded him first.

Before she could say a word, Damon had turned back to Stefan. "So what are you going to do now? Because if you try and destroy that, I'll rip her heart out."

Stefan met his brother's eyes without fear. "You won't kill her."

Damon raised his eyebrows, as if to say, Oh no? In a flash of movement, he had his arm clutched around Elena's throat. "I can do one better." He brought his free wrist to his mouth, and slit it open with his teeth. Elena squirmed as Damon forced the blood into her mouth, pressing his wrist against her lips. She felt sick inside, something about the taste and the texture wholly alien to her. "Give me the book Stefan," Damon ordered him. "Or I'm stabbing her neck, and you and I will have a vampire girlfriend."

"Let her go first," Stefan said, a hint of fear on his face. Elena tried to fight through Damon's grip, but he was far too strong.

"The book," his brother demanded, his eyes on the Grimoire.

Stefan shook his head. "I'm not going to give this to you until she is standing next to me."

"Problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give it back!" Damon replied through gritted teeth.

"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will," Stefan replied, his eyes meeting Damon's meaningfully as he set the book down.

There was a moment of tense silence. Elena could feel Damon's nose in her hair as he held her by the neck, and she sensed his hesitation. Maybe he doesn't want a vampire girlfriend just to screw around with Stefan, Elena realized, and maybe he wants Katherine back because he really loves her.

Elena felt his grip loosen, and Damon began to gently push her away, towards Stefan. She walked slowly towards Stefan's outreached arms- and before Damon could grab the Grimoire, Stefan kicked it in the fire.

"No!" Damon ran up to the fire and reached into the flames, pulling out what remained of the book. Elena watched as the third-degree burns on his hand healed instantly, but unfortunately the Grimoire hadn't survived. The pages were charred and unreadable, and the ink had melted.

Stefan looked at his brother with pitying eyes. "I'm sorry. But I had to do what I thought was right."

Damon rose to his feet, the remains of the Grimoire beneath his feet. "I believed in you, Stefan. And they say I'm the Salvatore brother you can't trust as far as you can throw?" He shook his head, laughing a little at his words; Elena thought he sounded like a madman. Stefan gripped her tightly and silently, only shaking his head at his brother's words. "You'll regret this, I promise you that."

Damon's gaze moved from Stefan's to Elena's, and she felt her stomach drop at the icy look in his eyes. Then, he was gone, the sudden breeze rippling through the trees the only indication he hadn't just disappeared.

Stefan smiled at the sleeping Elena, who had fallen asleep in her bed only moments before. He took a moment to savor the silence, the tranquility of the moment- it had been too long since Stefan had had the peace he craved.

He wasn't sure where Damon had gone, or if he was gone for good. But Stefan was happy to know that the tomb would never be opened, and Katherine and the other vampires could never escape. Besides that, he was glad to see his brother gone- he'd only caused trouble.

Yet there had been something in Damon's eyes tonight, when he had dropped the Grimoire into the fire. Stefan knew he had done the right thing. Nevertheless, the dream of getting Katherine back, which Damon had held onto for so many years, was dead. Stefan didn't want to imagine what his brother would do to fill that hole inside.

Elena's head had started to hurt as she had fallen asleep; Stefan decided to grab some aspirin and a glass of water for her when she woke up. He tip-toed out of her bedroom.

Moments later, Elena woke up when she felt someone sit down on the bed beside her. "Stefan?" shewhispered, still half-asleep.

"Shhhh," she heard him say. Elena could feel his fingers combing softly through her hair. A lazy smile curled upon her face.

Stefan's other arm curled around Elena's body, caressing her hip and leg. Every touch left a pleasant tingling on her skin, and she could feel his body slide around hers.

"Well, hello to you too," Elena murmured. She rolled over, fully prepared to give Stefan a big kiss- but her eyes widened when she saw that she had been snuggling with the wrong Salvatore.

Before she could say a word, Damon's hand was over her mouth. "Don't say a word," he commanded her. Elena's heart began to pound. She had placed her vervain necklace on the bedside table before lying down, and was now defenseless.

"Damon, you-" she whispered fiercely, but the subtle shift in his pupils kept her silent and docile. Even then, her dark brown eyes spoke volumes about what she thought about Damon.

The vampire's mouth formed a smug smile as he watched his power work over her. "I want you to drink from me," Damon ordered her.

Elena's face became blank, the fire dying from her eyes. She waited silently as Damon used his teeth to tear his wrist open and pressed it against Elena's mouth. Closing her eyes, she accepted his wrist against her lips, sucking deeply at the bleeding wound. A chill ran through her as she drank; she'd heard how vampire blood was like a drug, but it made her weak and sick when Damon had forced it upon her earlier.

Yet now, the more she drank, Elena could feel herself growing stronger, more powerful. She continued to suck at Damon's wrist, her teeth clamping down on the skin in order to draw more blood into her mouth.

Damon's facial expressions shifted, from bemusement to annoyance. "Enough," he said, quietly but forceful. "Elena-" He tried to tear his arm from her mouth, but she gripped it tightly with her hands, never stopping to open her eyes. "Elena!" Damon tore his arm away, looking at the bare wound before turning back to the girl in his brother's bed.

She released his arm, her mouth stained in his blood. Damon's attention quickly turned to the rivers of red running down Elena's chin, and he pondered licking them off (and more). Then, he thought better of it- Stefan was bound to return any second now.

"Go to sleep, Elena," Damon compelled her. Before she could realize what she had done, she was passed out cold on the bed.

Stefan walked into the bedroom. "Elena?" he called, his eyes falling upon the empty bed. His eyes widened when he saw the long streak of blood on Elena's pillow. Stefan hurried towards the open window, looking through the darkened trees and into the night.