Ok so I don't usually write fanfiction, usually when I get something stuck in my head I draw it but this is a little hard to express on a sketchpad... Bear with me It's rated M for later chapters there WILL be some Delena Smut in here :)

I desperately need to get this out of my system... so here goes...

"Who's the liar now?" Katherine glared at him with those ridiculously dark eyes, dark eyes that to Damon had only begun to resemble Elena's more and more. He found Katherine to be less and less the woman that he had fallen in love with in 1864, in fact he couldn't quite grasp what he'd seen in her. Not compared to Elena at least. "You hurt me today." She whined and he felt like celebrating.

"Tit for Tat" He quipped while reading the journal, and becoming more and more disinterested in this conversation.

"You were mean" She continued, and he wondered how she could honestly be surprised at that, she had provoked him after all. But then she moved in a very provocative way, the way she had before, a long time ago. The shirt falling over one side of her shoulder and revealing patches of skin Damon didn't want to be reminded of and her dark brown curls falling over her shoulders. "and very rough, and monstrous." The words drawled out of her as she began to position herself above him.

"You deserved it." Damon quipped before looking back down at the journal, he couldn't afford to be distracted, and most certainly not by Katherine.

"I like this Damon."

"Katherine," He had now let her crawl over him, moving her languid body over his, while he put his hands on each side of her face. "Katherine there are sixteen other bedrooms in this house." He let her move her face close to his, remembering for only a moment how she smelled of roses and the split moment that he'd been happy with her "Go find one." He grumbled louder and then shoved her off of him before returning absentmindedly to the journals. He allowed himself one last glance at her before she walked off, seemingly perturbed at not getting what she wanted. If that was all he could do to piss her off, then he would do it as much as he could. Keep Katherine from getting what she wants.

Bravo! He thought, how very heroic of himself to deprive himself of what used to be very good sex, for the sake of Elena and Saint Stefan. Two months ago he would have quite literally killed to have Katherine throwing herself at him in his bed. Now though, he couldn't look at her without thinking of Elena, and it bothered him that Elena had gotten so deep into his head. She was under his skin, and she wasn't even his. He tossed the journal aside, having lost interest in that too, he was about to have a glass of scotch and call it a night when he received a phone call, Stefan of course. He considered not picking up for a moment, but then he thought better of it, he was on semi-good terms with his little brother, he thought it would take very little effort to keep it that way. It was less exhausting than arguing with him all the time.

"What?" He picked up, and considered to himself that it better be something good, because he was in fact tired.

"Isobel showed up at Elena's house." His little brother knew him better than to call him out for his aggravated tone over the phone. He gave an exasperated sigh. He thought that he was trouble, hanging around Elena no one ever seemed to get a moment's rest. He wondered what the woman wanted now, she was almost as bad as Katherine, really. He had begun to wonder why in the world he had ever turned her. Honestly, it was probably out of boredom, or to piss of Stefan. Those had most usually been his reasons for everything he did back then.

"How much do you want to bet this has something to do with Jonathan?"

"I really don't care Damon, you made her, I need you to deal with this. Elena and Alaric are trying to talk to a very upset Jenna now so if you could just-"

"Chill out Stefan, I'm on it. She won't be making any more house calls."

"Damon, one more thing."

"What?"

Stefan sighed, getting on his older brother's nerves before he finally continued "Isobel was invited in."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Where is she now?"

"She left, I have a feeling she went to find Jonathan though."

"I'll find her." Damon hung up the phone and set down his empty glass before heading back out the door. He felt tired as it is, aggravated with Katherine, and witches, and even Elena at times, and hungry. He was starving for some blood, a bloodbag would have to do for now, he didn't have much time to hunt if he was looking for Isobel but really. After he dealt with his little offspring he would indulge, just a little.

Damon felt no satisfaction at the fact that he was right. That grubby Jonathan Gilbert was proving to be much more of a pest than he thought, not only was he still under some strangely misguided mission to protect Elena, in his own twisted way. He was reporting back to Isobel. The man is the very definition of a hypocrite; Damon thought to himself as he got back to his room and sank down into his very large and soft bed, he kicked off his shoes and disregarded the rest of his clothing before falling asleep with one arm over his eyes.

The stupid man thought that he and Stefan were bad for Elena; the idiot was doing more harm than good while he was here and he was definitely beginning to get in everyone's way. Damon couldn't comprehend why on the one hand he could be so hateful towards vampires and on the other hand be completely, head over heels in love with one of the most manipulative vampire bitches that ever walked the earth. Other than Katherine. Jonathan put Elena in more danger than was needed by calling Isobel, and there was no doubt in his mind that Elena would be safe as long as a Salvatore brother was around to keep an eye on her, there was not a thing, in this world or the next that could compel either of them to hurt her.

Damon would never lay a finger on her. He couldn't.

Like every night before Elena came floating before his eyes just before he fell asleep. The way she had looked at him at the top of those stairs, hopeful and happy to see him.

He let sleep capture him in that moment, forcing himself to forget how she had fallen into his little brother's arms instead of his in the end. He wasn't her prince charming, not even close, but he would protect her.

Damon woke up what must have been hours later. It was still dark, or it was dark again, he wasn't sure, there was a phone call again and he had a sudden urge to toss the damn gadget across the room without even considering who it might be. He cursed under his breath instead and checked the little screen that was flashing Elena's name and picture. He found himself frowning instead of feeling some sense of happiness, the dilemma to have her all to himself was constantly pressing in his head, and not just there, his whole body seemed to want her, and need her in a way that he'd never felt before. Not even with Katherine had he felt so desperate to be with someone, even if it only meant being her friend. He needed her presence around him, it gave him some sense of sanity, only to feel completely out of sorts and reckless after she had gone again.

"Hello Miss Gilbert." He drawled in what was considered his utmost charming voice.

"What? No!" Elena's voice rang out from the other end but Damon in his sleepy daze couldn't quite grasp what was going on.

"Elena, can you hear me? you called me by accident." He grumbled angrily into the little device.

"Stop it! No don't!" That sounded more urgent and Damon found himself sitting up in his bed.

"Elena, where are you?" His heart sank when he heard something smash. Elena's voice was coming out in between sobs then, and Damon reached for the other phone, the landline that they hardly ever used and dialed Bonnie's number first. Damon couldn't believe this was happening, where the hell was Saint Stefan when you needed him? "Please stop, I'm not Katherine! No, please!"

He could hear Elena's faint screams on the phone that he held at a distance from his ear while he got Bonnie on the phone.

"Something's happening to Elena, I need you to figure out where she is. Now Bonnie! She's in trouble." Bonnie swore under her breath, something highly inappropriate for a girl her age and then Damon heard her get to work.

"Damon? What's wrong with Elena?" Jeremy's voice appeared at the phone and Damon ignored why Jeremy would be with Bonnie at this time of night, instead he considered whether or not he should let Jeremy hear what he was listening in on but then decided it was better not to make the kid hysterical.

"She's in trouble, she called me but I don't know where she is." Damon kept it short before he heard Bonnie's chanting in the background and Jeremy answered again.

"She's at the Grill Damon. Are you sure she's in trouble? Couldn't it be Katherine messing with you again?" Damon took a deep breath and considered it for a moment but then didn't care. Even if it was Katherine and one of her games, he needed to make sure Elena was alright.

"It doesn't matter, I need to make sure."

"We'll meet you there." Bonnie was back on the phone and Damon sighed for a moment. There was no time to argue with them here. Elena's screams had been reduced to pleads and whimpers on his cellphone and he felt his chest tighten in fear that she was seriously hurt. He didn't bother responding to them, instead he grabbed his leather jacket and shoes and was out the door as fast as his feet could carry him. He was beyond worried now, he was terrified that Elena was hurt, every time something like this happened he felt like he had already lost her, until he saw her again and he could breathe again. It would be the same this time, he swore to himself, he would find her, and Stefan would have gotten there just before him to play the hero and he would be able to think straight again.

Damon reached the grill and everything was closed, for the first time that night he checked his watch as it read 5 A.M. and his breath began to hitch again. He hated this sense of hopelessness whenever Elena was in trouble. The air was cold tonight which bothered him, not because of the coldness, but because the cool temperature made it hard for any scent to linger long. If Elena had been here he couldn't smell her. He stood in the parking lot for a few moments listening for her with closed eyes as he considered where she might be. For a few seconds he thought that maybe it was one of Katherine's mind games but why had Bonnie's spell shown Elena to be here of all places. He took out his phone, suddenly having an idea as he dialled Elena's number and hit call.

If he hadn't been a vampire he wouldn't have heard the sound of Elena's phone buzzing as it rang, he sped to the place where her phone was lighting up every two seconds in the alley behind the Grill. He picked it up off the ground and hung up the call before listening very closely for any sign of Elena and then he saw her. She was lying on the ground, her long dark hair sprawled out over the cold, wet ground and she wasn't moving. Damon choked on his shock, his blue eyes darkening as he came closer and smelled the blood around her and knelt down to check her. Her eyes shot open very suddenly before she flinched out of his way and whimpered at the movement.

"Please don't-" She started, her voice was hoarse from screaming and there were marks all over her body. Her knuckles and knees had scrapes on them, her lip was cut and a bruise was already forming beneath her left eye. There were other bruises on her arms and shoulders.

"Elena, shhh, it's me, it's Damon." He whispered, holding back a hiss as he saw the bruises around her neck too. He wanted terribly to take her into his arms but he thought better of it, considering that she might be seriously hurt. Instead he took off his leather jacket and draped it over her bare shoulders, her normally olive skin looked extremely pale and her lips were beginning to turn a blueish colour.

"Damon?" She asked and he smiled at her reassuringly, brushing some hair out of her face and noticing there was blood on the back of her hair and that she was extremely cold. She cried then, heaving desperate sobs, that made Damon think she was going to hyperventilate if he didn't do something.

"Listen Elena, I'm going to pick you up, I need to get you to a hospital."

"Damon?" Damon heard Bonnie's cries from the Grill's parking lot, Elena simply looked at him with a dazed expression, her cold bruised skin was making him angry at no one in particular. She whimpered for only a moment when he picked her up, but once she was in his arms she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She had never looked thinner or more fragile and the sight of it infuriated him. Someone had done this to her.

"Holy Shit Elena!" Jeremy ran towards him when they sighted him and he looked like his eyes might bulge out of their sockets. Bonnie was frowning from Elena to Damon.

"Can you give her your blood?" Damon wished he could, but the truth was that he himself was depleted, he was starving and tired, and he didn't think his blood would help her more severe wounds it certainly wouldn't heal the bruises. Those would have to heal the human way. He cursed himself though for not eating properly tonight, of all the nights.

"She has broken bones and my blood won't help the bruises, only the wound on her head." Jeremy looked like he was going to be sick. "And I think she has hypothermia, I'm going to take her to the hospital, but do you have a blanket in the car?"

"We can take her." Bonnie offered while she tucked the fleece blanket around Elena, causing the girl to whimper again, Damon just shook his head.

"It'll be faster if I do it. Just meet me there." He didn't wait for her response. Instead he ran as fast as he could, and trying very hard not to jostle her as he did so. And where the hell was Saint Fucking Stefan in all of this?

Damon was stuck in the waiting room like every other ordinary human in the world while Elena was in surgery. Her injuries were clearly more severe than he had thought, the broken bones in her arm needed to be set, the head injury needed to be looked at, and apparently she'd been so severely beaten that she had internal bleeding. Damon was sitting across from Alaric and Jenna which was perhaps the most awkward thing in the world. Jeremy and Bonnie were cuddled together in the other seats, Bonnie asleep against Jeremy's arm. Caroline walked into the room, for only a second she looked at everyone angrily, she walked straight over to Damon placing her hands on her hips and frowning at him accusingly.

"Why the hell am I the last person to hear about this?" She demanded but Damon only shrugged, deciding to let it go. The truth was that she hadn't picked up her phone, as much as Damon teased her, he actually liked having Blondie around. She was actually useful in a crisis situation like this, usually becoming overbearing with planning things, and buying flowers and generally annoying the hell out of people. She huffed when he didn't respond and sat down next to him, to Damon's surprise placing her hand on his arm. "Do we know if she's ok yet?"

"The doctor hasn't updated us yet, she's still in surgery." Jenna croaked from where she was sitting and tightened her grip on Ric's hand. Whatever issues they'd had with Isobel showing up on her doorstep, had been resolved in the face of Elena's sudden accident.

"Where the hell is Stefan in all this? Has anyone called him?" Caroline burst out.

"We can't reach him." Jeremy said sounding angry now. "He should've been there."

"Jeremy it's not his fault." Alaric responded in the most calming voice he could muster under these circumstances.

"Like hell it isn't! If he had been there this wouldn't have happened. He knows the drill, we don't leave Elena completely alone EVER!" Damon didn't respond to it, Jeremy was completely right. It was exactly what he had been thinking ever since he'd gotten the phone call. "If Stefan had planned on going anywhere he should have told at least one of us, especially with fucking Isobel being in town and Katherine. I mean what the hell was he thinking?"

"Jeremy!" His aunt mustered up enough strength to reprimand him for swearing but she looked entirely shocked, before she turned to Alaric with very large questioning eyes. "Who's Katherine again?"

"Elena's doppelganger." he said absentmindedly and patted her hand and she stared down at the floor, lost in thought. Oh good, she's in on the family secret. Damon thought to himself and ran a hand through his hair. He was tired again, this time it was from worry and the fear that had gripped him so severely. He wanted to sleep, but Elena wouldn't let him, he needed to know that she was alright. Patience was never his strong suit, he was impulsive and dangerous. But right now he needed to be patient.

"Damon Salvatore?" There was a woman standing in front of them suddenly, she was wearing a grey suit, blue blouse and black shoes, her brown hair was cropped into her neck and she looked like she might be Latin. She had very pretty hazel, almond shaped looked around the waiting room at the people there before Damon spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Are you Mr. Damon Salvatore?"

"Yes."

"I'm detective Stabler, I understand you were the one who found Miss Gilbert and brought her in to the hospital."

"Yes." He eyed the woman suspiciously, it didn't take a psychic to know that she suspected him for being first on the scene. He'd know a few cops throughout the years.

"If you have a moment I'm going to have to ask you some questions." He shrugged thinking it best to go along, knowing full well that whoever did this would never be found by the police, he would make sure of that. He stood up and followed her to an empty corner in the waiting room where they sat down. Damon stretched his long legs out before him and leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, something he didn't usually do. He saw out the corner of his eye, Caroline eyeing them suspiciously and he had no doubt that she would be telling Jeremy and Bonnie everything he was saying to the Detective.

"So Mr. Salvatore-"

"Please call me Damon." Damon flashed her his brightest grin that only lasted a second casting his ice blue eyes on her before giving Caroline a warning look and turning back to the detective who looked surprised.

"Right Damon. You told your local sheriff-" she flipped through the pages of her little notepad. "Sheriff Forbes, that you found Miss Gilbert at a restaurant called the Grill?"

"That's right, she was in the alley behind the restaurant." He corrected her a little bit and sat up straighter. Calling the Sheriff hadn't been his idea but it turns out that when you show up at the hospital with a girl in your arms that was half beaten to death, the doctors take that very seriously.

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"We drove here with Elena, she was severely hurt and hypothermic we thought it was important to get her to a doctor as quickly as possible. At the time calling an ambulance seemed like a waste of time." Damon, Bonnie and Jeremy had discussed this story before they even spoke to Sheriff Forbes so he didn't have to worry about theirs being the same as his.

"And how did you know she was at the Grill?"

"I got a call from her, at first I thought it was a phantom call but then she started screaming."

"I'm sorry a phantom call?" Damon nearly laughed but stopped himself. He was a century old vampire who apparently knew more about the modern day lingo than a police detective.

"When someone calls you by accident." He stated simply.

"Do you know when you got this phone call?"

"I think it was about quarter to five." He shrugged, "when I got to the Grill I checked my watch, it was just past five a.m."

"Mr. Salvatore, how do you know the victim?" She placed her notepad carefully down on her lap and looked into Damon's ice-blue eyes.

"She's my brother's girlfriend, we're friends." He shrugged again, he knew he sounded casual and slightly disinterested. But he didn't need her to get the wrong ideas about all of this, he wasn't past compelling her if he really had to, but he was tired and he'd rather not.

"You two close?"

"We're friends. If she wasn't dating my brother, we'd still be friends. What else do you want to know?" It was a lie of course, if she wasn't with his brother he would- well he wasn't sure precisely what he would do. There was no point in thinking about it anyway.

"So you care about her?"

"Yes." There was no point in lying about that, he did care, and he didn't care whether or not the detective was reading between the lines or not. His tired mind was elsewhere right now. The detective leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and searching his eyes for something she wasn't going to find. Damon never let anyone find anything.

"Do you know where your brother is Mr. Salvatore?" This had Damon at a standstill, he didn't know where his brother was, but instead of letting it get to him in the way she was hoping it would he scoffed at her.

"My brother is the least likely person to do this."

"Mr. Salvatore, in cases like these the person responsible is-"

"Almost always someone the victim knows. Yeah I watch Law and Order too." He was being a smart-ass and he slightly enjoyed how it was beginning to frazzle this woman just in the slightest way. "Honestly detective, my brother has been head over heels in love with this girl since the day he met her. He's her prince charming, and she's the maiden in a tower." This time it was the detective who scoffed at him. "Yeah, you think I'm kidding? I'm not even exaggerating. They're so cute it's stupid."

He leaned back then and enjoyed how a little smile played on the detective's face, she really was a pretty woman, it was a pity she'd become a detective, with perfect skin and bone structure like that she could have been a model. "Is there anything else you need detective?" She pulled out a card from inside her suit-jacket and gave it to him.

"If there's anything else you remember Mr. Salvatore, please call me."

"Oh I will." he smiled and tucked her card away without looking at it. The woman walked away quietly and went over to where Jeremy and Bonnie were sitting, taking out her notepad again and calling out their names. Caroline appeared before him, her long legs neatly put away in skin-tight jeans, black heals and a loose black t-shirt. She sat down next to him again and crossed her legs before turning her powder-blue eyes on him.

"When was the last time you fed?" Caroline asked and Damon turned his cold eyes on her in a frown. He wasn't exactly sure how she knew that he was hungry but she was looking at him expectantly. "Here, I brought you this. It should tie you over for now." She reached into her purse, pulled out a thermos and handed it to him. He nearly drank the whole thing dry without thinking twice about it. He didn't care who was watching him, there was no way anyone could know that he was drinking blood and not coffee and that amused him slightly when he was done. "Come on, the doctor's here." The doctor pulled Jenna, Jeremy and Ric aside but Caroline and Damon carefully kept their ears pricked for their words.

"Before we go on, I'm obliged to tell you that because of how she was found and her torn clothes we had to perform a rape-kit on your niece, but so far we haven't seen any signs of sexual assault, which is a good thing. She did very well in surgery, we were able to set the bones in her arm and hand and stop the internal bleeding. The wound on her head wasn't very severe but she does have a mild concussion so with the concussion, the broken ribs and arm, and the medication she's going to be very drowsy for the next few days." Jenna clung to Ric and Jeremy looked green again. "The good news is that she should make a full recovery and once she's doing a bit better and her temperature is down you can take her home."

"Her temperature is down? I thought she was hypothermic wouldn't her temperature be low?"

"When hypothermia patients are recovering they sometimes have a fever for a few days afterwards. It's the body's attempt at balancing things out. She should be alright in the next few days, but we want to keep her here to monitor her breathing and heart-rate." Damon was no longer listening he was leaning his face heavily into his hands.

He was considering all of this, all of her wounds and how much pain she would be in, even during her recovery, the worst part wasn't even over and she would be in so much pain. Damon felt like fighting someone but the problem was he didn't know who to fight. And he didn't know what to do next either. He hadn't smelled anyone else around Elena, and he didn't hear anyone over the phone, so he had no idea who to blame for this. There was Stefan, and the question of where he was, but that didn't make much sense, and blaming Stefan for his absence got him nowhere. With Stefan gone it fell to Damon to find out who had done this and to punish them, and the only hope he really had of finding out was to find out if Elena remembered anything.

He felt a hand on his shoulder suddenly and when he looked up Caroline was still sitting next to him, she had a determined look, her eyebrows squished into a silly frown on her little face.

"Whoever did this, is so seriously dead." She stated seriously and Damon nearly laughed, for the first time really happy that Blondie had turned out to be such a graceful little vampire. He leaned back into his chair and Caroline leaned her head onto his shoulder, both of them continued to listen to the doctor while he explained Elena's treatment to Jenna.

"Do you know what they're saying?"

"Elena's going to be alright. She can go home in a few days but she's going to have a bit of a hard time." Caroline translated for Bonnie, the only thing the two girls really needed to know was that their friend would be alright. They were a strange little click, one witch, one vampire, and one doppleganger; only in Mystic Falls Damon thought to himself.

"So why is it you couldn't give her your blood?" Bonnie asked again and Damon gave her his most pissed off look possible, even Caroline shot daggers on her friend.

"Judgy" Damon muttered frustrated.

"Drop it Bonnie, Elena's ok that's all that matters." Caroline shot her friend a warning look and Damon watched as Ric sauntered back over to the tiny little support group.

"Jenna and Jer are going to see how Elena's doing but she's still asleep, so you guys can see her later. You guys should go home, get some rest." He shrugged scratching the back of his head and Damon gave him an amused look, the teacher knew full-well that Damon wasn't going to go anywhere.

A few moments later Jenna and Jeremy came back into the waiting room, Jenna looking distraught and paler than ever and going from Jeremy's arm to Ric's before bursting into tears.

"This can't happen again, it's like the accident all over again. I'm supposed to keep her safe, this can't happen again. She looks so awful, and so hurt and I-" Damon could hear what she was muttering in between her sobs even though she and Ric had retreated across the room.

"Babe you need to get some sleep. Elena is going to recover, but she's going to need you when she wakes up. You know she'll kick your ass if you're a blubbering mess when that happens." He managed to make a little joke and Damon turned his head as I-love-you's were exchanged. Jeremy had come to stand with the little group. Bonnie stood up and placed her hand in Jeremy's after giving him a good hug. He looked like he could use a good drink instead of a hug, slightly dazed and sick.

Jenna and Alaric after having their little moment finally came over to the group and stood there awkwardly, Jenna still looked like she would burst into tears again. He didn't know how Alaric was so good at this whole crisis situation thing, all Damon could think of doing was bashing the responsible party's head for all of this or going to see Elena, somehow he still felt under the delusion that if he saw her his world would be set right. He would at least be able to think straight.

"Ok so the doctor said that she definitely wasn't going to wake up in the next couple of hours, so you guys can-"

"We heard what the doctor said." Caroline piped up and smiled. "And Mr. Saltzman's right by the way, you should go home and get some sleep Jenna. At least for a few hours, we can handle it here, we'll stay with Elena in shifts."

"Oh- Uhm- Well I still don't think you guys should stay here without adults present I mean-" Caroline was on the verge of laughter, and the notion was slightly ridiculous but Jenna was new to the whole supernatural family thing, she didn't quite realize the task-force these people had become in front of her. Caroline and Damon being vampires and all, and the little witch, and then there was Jeremy, who was technically immortal as long as he kept that ring on.

"I'll stay." Damon spoke and everyone turned their heads to look at him, he realized that he hadn't really said much since they'd come in. "I most definitely qualify as an adult Jenna, and I assure you that we will call you the moment there is any change." He stood up then giving her the most reassuring look he could muster though he hadn't expected her to just hug him out of nowhere. Her proximity was a bit of a problem, she smelled like tears, and blood, and that was a bad combination for a vampire, it was a token to how vulnerable she was at the moment.

"Thank you Damon. For everything I don't know what would've happened if-" She broke off and nearly began sobbing again but Damon flashed her one of his two-second grins before handing her back over to Alaric who knew much better how to handle his weeping woman.

Damon was walking over to Elena's room now, it was his turn to watch over Elena after Caroline and Jeremy had spent three hours in there. Bonnie was supposed to stay with him and Damon had no idea why Caroline had decided the teams this way. Bonnie was wringing her hands nervously and frowning, her little pink lips were pursed in a pout as she looked immensely frustrated.

"Damon, before we go in." He turned to look at her as they stood before the door of room 164.

"What can I do for you my little witch?" She rolled her eyes and looked at him more seriously, if that was at all possible.

"Do you know anything about who did this?"

"No, do you?" Damon frowned, unsure of where this was headed.

"No, no. It's just- well where the hell is Stefan? Have you talked to him?" Damon shrugged it off, he refused to think of his brother as the cause for all this, there was just no way.

"I have no idea where Saint Stefan is." He said slightly aggravated at the question. "But he didn't do this."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, even when he was hopped up on human blood and he was tripping out, or whatever it is that he does, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her."

"What if he was compelled?" Damon considered her for a moment, she was right the originals were dangerous because of their ability to compel other vampires, but he had no idea if there was another one in town. And he didn't know if there was any way to find out.

"It's possible, but we're going to have to wait and see what happens, either way if you can find Stefan, you go right ahead, I'd love to hear his explanation for not being here." He knew he sounded vindictive but he didn't care, and his anger couldn't have shielded him from what he saw when they went into the room.

Elena was in a very deep sleep, Damon could feel it from her. Her skin was still pale white, the only colour left in her face was the pink of her lips, which still had a bit of a purple tint to it. There were several blankets covering her up to her chin and Damon could see the IV wires running under the thick blankets and the wires for the monitors as well. They would need to make sure that her heartbeat and breathing was completely normal before they let her go home. He knew there was risk of permanent damage to hypothermia victims, but the hypothermia wasn't the worst part of it, though it did contribute to the effect of her other wounds.

She had a very large bruise under her left eye, and her bottom lip was cut and swollen a bit on the same side. They had at least cleaned all the blood off her, she now smelled like hospital clothing and bedding and disinfectant. Damon didn't mind it but he missed how she usually smelled like Jasmine. The bruises on her neck were the worst, perhaps because they were the darkest of purple, red, and blue that he'd ever seen, or that he knew what they meant. Whoever had done this hadn't only tried to hurt her, but tried to kill her.

"Oh my god." Bonnie whispered as she pushed past Damon to stand at Elena's bedside. Damon stood there stupidly in the doorway, eyes wide and feeling exhaustion hit him all over again. This wasn't right at all, he was supposed to feel better at seeing her, at being able to know that she was going to be alright, but she wasn't, she looked more fragile than ever and he hated this. He hated the hopelessness he felt right now, he needed her to be alright, he needed her to open her dark eyes and look at him suspiciously and tell him to stop being such a jerk, or an ass, or both.

Damon and Bonnie sat in Elena's room in utter silence for at least an hour before Bonnie began to fall asleep and Damon gave up his chair to her so she could put up her legs and be less uncomfortable. He stood at Elena's bedside now and studied her wounds, mostly just the bruises on her face and neck and considered how anyone, human or demon alike could do this to her. She was heart-wrenchingly beautiful, from her plump rosebud lips to her dark eyes and her long eyelashes. He remembered the first time he'd watched her sleep and how immensely different this situation was, then she had been perfectly peaceful. She had looked like a doll, at the time he had thought she was a perfect replica of Katherine. But now that he knew her, how could someone even dare to try and break her, and this would break her.

He considered the wounds, this wasn't just a vampire attack, or even a werewolf, or spirit, this looked to him, like a stupid cowardly human. The sight of her like this made Damon wish, at least in part that she wouldn't remember any of it. It would be easier for her if she didn't. He thought for a moment about forcing her to remember and then compelling her to forget just so he could punish whoever did this but the thought passed as soon as it came. He had promised her never to compel her; he'd given her his word, and Damon Salvatore never went back on his word.

Damon stood next to her bed for a good long while, he couldn't remember how long precisely because he never bothered to look down at his watch but he watched as the colour was slowly beginning to return to her cheeks. Though now she looked a little flushed, when Damon put his hand to her -unharmed- cheek he realized that she was running a bit of a fever. He was about to push the button for the nurse when Elena became a bit restless. She turned her head very violently all of a sudden and let out a whimper, making the saddest little noises Damon had ever heard. His heart sank lower if that was possible and he pushed the blanket to the side so he could take her hand in his.

"Elena it's Damon, you're alright. You're safe." He murmured softly, in the hope that he not distress her too much but she turned more violently and her whimpers were turning into loud mumbles that made Bonnie wake up. She was on the other side of the bed very fast and put her hand on Elena's forehead whispering something quietly to herself, making Elena's eyes flutter open, tears spilling out of those dark pools. She slumped back into her pillows and looked around her confused. She caught sight of Damon who was still holding onto her right hand, which wasn't wrapped in a cast. Bonnie still had her hand on her forehead and was soothingly brushing away the hair from Elena's flushed face.

"Bonnie. Damon." She breathed as if reassuring herself that she did in fact recognize them.

"Yeah sweetie it's us. We're here, you're ok."

"Where am I?" She tried to move to sit up and winced at the pain "Why does it-? I was at the Grill with Stefan and we- we-" She didn't remember, Damon nearly sighed in relief but he and Bonnie exchanged glances with each other on how they should explain this to her without upsetting her too much. "Can you help me sit up please?" She sounded like she was pleading with them and Bonnie pushed the button that put her bed in a sitting position while Damon being the stronger one, helped her as gently as he could to sit up against the pillows that Bonnie propped up behind her. When he was done the two of them also sat down on the bed, each on one side of her legs. Elena swallowed and looked at them, determined as she always was, Damon was almost relieved at that familiar look on her face. "What happened?"

The two of them exchanged glances again but Elena took hold of his hand and squeezed it. "Damon, please. What happened, why am I here?" She begged him now, her voice was hoarse and thick, from screaming and nearly being strangled to death and her breathing was a bit labored, as if it took her a lot to bring the words out.

"You were attacked outside the Grill, you were seriously hurt Elena."

"Stefan? Where's Stefan?" She croaked and Bonnie took this one.

"We don't know Elena, but Caroline and Jeremy are on it. And I'll try a tracking spell on him too."

She cried, this was exactly what Damon had been trying to avoid for the past twelve hours, weeping women, but Elena was heartbroken, she was just broken. The tears came steadily and heavily as she began sobbing and wincing because it was hurting her ribs to cry like this.

"I don't know what happened." She heaved each word in between sobs, and desperate gasps for breath, Damon worried about her breathing for a moment before; "I'm sorry Damon I don't remember. I'm sorry." Her crying became more desperate and panicked and Damon felt as if she'd just squeezed his heart too tight. He was supposed to protect her, not the other way around.

"Shh, you don't have anything to be sorry for Elena. We'll find Stefan. Don't cry angel, you're alright, you're safe." She moved then and nearly threw herself into Damon's chest, she winced against the pain again but ignored it as she used her good hand to grip his shirt. Damon ignored the tears and the sobs and the I'm-sorry's and just held her, murmuring the things he meant the most into her ear while Bonnie got up to call Jenna.

"Don't be sorry, I'm here. I'm not letting you go. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe. Don't be sorry, just breathe. You'll be alright angel, I'm here."

He wasn't sure if even he believed that last one but, she would have to be. It wasn't fair that she had to go through this. She had lost her parents, who loved her and cared for her, he knew what that felt like, to lose a loving parent very suddenly, and she'd been hurt and dragged through the mud, only to be thrown down again, and get up again. She was a fighter, she had to be alright, she might have to fight harder this time but he would be right there to hold her if she needed him. Elena held onto him tightly with her good hand, and Damon held her wrapped in his arms as gingerly as he could, afraid of hurting her even more, but eventually while he still whispered solemn promises into her ear, and he cradled her until at some point her sobbing words and pleas began to fade away and she had become heavy and restful in Damon's arms again. Damon didn't dare move her for fear of waking her or hurting her, instead he revelled in the fact that she was peaceful in his arms, and that in the crook of her neck, she still smelled like Jasmine.

Ok so that's the end of Chapter 1, Chapter 2, 3, and 4 should follow shortly, I'm trying to keep this as short as possible, for myself and for you guys, I for ure don't want to make it longer than 6/7 chapters, but we'll see as we go along. :)

I will also post the list of songs that partially inspired me to write this, besides from the obvious Vampire Diaries music and TV-Show, there are indeed other things that played an influence :) Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please feel free to review this. I'm curious to see what you guys think.