This chapter is a bit darker but I have tried to not go too deep into the situation. I'm just hoping to really translate how bad the situation was without giving you all the details. Sorry it's a bit shorter than other chapters but I didn't want to leave you hanging about what happened to Damon.

Elena stirred feeling somebody running their hands up and down her arm. She opened her eyes to see Damon looking at her and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.

"Damon. Are you ok? I'm sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep." Elena whispered into the darkness. Damon shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile. It wasn't his usual smile but it was still a relief to see any emotion coming off him.

"It's ok." They sat staring at each other for a long time just content to be with each other for the moment. Elena moved her hand up to run it through his hair and was happy he responded with a low purr.

"Do you want to talk about?" Elena asked

"No." Damon looked down and Elena hated loosing the eye contact with him. She was scared he was going to change back to the ghost she found just hours before. "But I think I have to tell you."

Elena moved her hand so it was in his and brought it up to her chest and placed it over her heart. "I love you." Damon nodded and looked at their interlaced hands. Damon took a deep breath and started telling Elena about his night.

Damon walked into the abandoned house over the threshold happy there wasn't a human living in the house. Getting into people's homes with owners was a real bitch. Walking through the house he didn't sense any humans had been around for a very long time. Looking through each room he didn't find anything strange and was starting to give up hope that this was the right house.

As he turned into the last room in the house he stopped in his tracks seeing his brother standing at the back of the room looking out the window. Even in complete darkness he still knew it was Stefan.

"You shouldn't of come brother," Stefan said into the night.

"I shouldn't do a lot of things brother, but that has never stopped me before."

"I don't want to be found."

"Well too late for that." Damon walked a few more steps into the room and stopped waiting for Stefan to turn around. "Look I know you are being all ripper these days but I was thinking maybe it was time to come back home and take a break from this lifestyle. Klaus obviously isn't around right now so let's just jump in the car and leave."

"Ah Damon, you should of just stayed away mate." Klaus suddenly appeared on the other side of the room and switched on the lights. Stefan turned around with a blank look on his face and looked at both Damon and Klaus before walking over and standing next to Klaus.

"Klaus. So good to see you," Damon said sarcastically trying to break the tension in the room.

"And you Damon. Actually I'm rather pleased you picked tonight of all nights to come and visit us. I have some visitors coming by soon and I would love you to stick around and...watch the show." Klaus snickered and turned to slap Stefan on the back.

"Well as much as I would love to stick around and watch whatever freak show you have planned I would rather take my brother back to Mystic Falls and start the detox program."

"'Sorry Damon but that's not going to happen. So why don't you scurry back to my girlfriend or should I say your girlfriend now and leave me be." Stefan said with no emotion.

Damon wanted to fly across the room and punch the lights out of Stefan but a sudden pang of guilt stopped him in his tracks. While he had been having the time of his life with Elena and finding true love with her Stefan had been roaming round the country with Klaus killing people. All for him.

Klaus laughed and the atmosphere in the whole room changed.

"Oh Damon is not going anywhere," Klaus said.

As if on cue the front door flew open and Damon heard the distinct sound of pounding human hearts; and there was many of them. Two vampires dragged a family of five into the room and threw them on the floor. The mother and father were tied up at the ankles and wrists and the three children were holding each other's hands too scared to leave their parents.

"This is a joke right?" Damon spat out. Klaus looked over at him and then at Stefan.

"Not at all mate. Why don't you stay and watch the beauty that is your brother. When he is in full ripper zone it's truly a beautiful site." Damon stared at Klaus in shock.

"Stefan you don't have to do this," Damon pleaded.

Stefan simply stared at his brother and after a minute shrugged his shoulders and walked to stand in front of his brother.

"I suggest you leave Damon," Stefan said harshly.

"Actually I have a better idea." Klaus quickly grabbed Damon around his face and started to compel him. "You are going to take a seat and watch this whole performance. You will not leave until I say you can."

Damon staggered back angry that he no longer had control over his body. He backed up until he hit the couch and sat down.

Over the next hour he watched as Stefan ripped the family apart and drained them dry. The most horrifying image was watching him attack the three children. He guessed they were aged 4, 8 and 10; two little boys and their big sister. No compulsion or quick death came to them. Instead Stefan played with them all and terrorised them to the point where death was the kindest option for them. By the end Stefan, Damon and Klaus were covered in blood and every wall in the room was splattered with what was left of the family. Damon couldn't believe what he had just witnessed and just stared at Stefan in horror. This was no longer his brother.

Damon had killed and hunted hundreds of people over his life time but he drew the line at children. In no way shape or form should a child be exposed to this and when they had lived so little of their lives it was truly evil to take them from this world so early.

Damon was brought back to the present when he felt Elena shaking in his arms. He hated that he had to tell Elena what he had witnessed and he had skipped over most of the truly horrific things he had seen. Elena stared at him in disbelief and started shaking her head as the tears started to flow down her face.

"I should never of told you," Damon whispered. Elena started shaking her head more forceful now and threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his neck. After a few minutes she started to relax and the crying subsided.

"I'm so sorry Damon," Elena spoke softly into his ear. Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to his body.

They stayed like that for hours until they drifted off to sleep again in each other's arms.

Elena woke up and instantly felt sad that Damon was no longer in her arms. She bottled upright and quickly scanned the room to find it empty.

"I'm here," Damon said leaning against the bathroom room door looking at her. Elena took a deep breath and nodded at him.

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked quietly.

Damon shrugged his shoulders and came over to sit on the bed in front of her.

"What about you?" Elena shrugged her shoulders right back at him.

They sat for a number of minutes in silence trying to figure out where to go from here. Elena didn't want to pry too much more in to the situation but she wasn't exactly sure where he was emotionally right now.

"Are you hungry?" Damon asked.

"I could eat," Elena responded.

"Come on, ill cook you breakfast. Well actually I think it's more like lunch now." He smiled at her and Elena sighed in relief. He was still in there somewhere and he just needed some time to deal with the situation. He held out his hand and Elena smiled up at him and intertwined her fingers with him and followed him down to the kitchen.

She sat on the bench and watched as he prepared them breakfast. He brought over a plate of food when he was done cooking and they sat in silence as they both ate. Elena stood up and cleared their plates and made her way over to the sink to clean them. As she was drying the last plate she felt Damon arms wrap around her body.

"I was thinking of getting away from here for awhile," Damon said into her neck.

"Where were you thinking?" Elena asked hesitantly. She was concerned that he didn't imply he wanted her to come with him.

"Not sure. Maybe just jump in the car and see where we end up."

"We?" Damon laughed at her response and kissed her cheek.

"Oh course silly. You're stuck with me now." Elena laughed at his words and nodded her head.

"When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as possible. Do you have any plans coming up?" Damon asked praying she said no.

"Ah if you haven't noticed Damon we have been spending nearly all our time together lately."

"Actually I have and I have really enjoyed it." Damon said while nipping at her neck.

"I know you want to leave today but would it be terrible if we left tomorrow. I just realised I haven't talked to Caroline or Bonnie in awhile. It would be good to catch up with them before we left. Knowing you I have a feeling we will be gone for awhile," Elena commented.

Damon stopped and huffed into her neck. "No that's fine. I should go by and see Alaric anyway. Need to update him...with the situation." Damon let go of her and started to walk away.

"Damon?"

"Yes?" Damon said without turning around.

"We will get through this." Damon nodded his head before disappearing out of the room leaving Elena worrying about him. She knew it wasn't going to be easy for him over the next few weeks and she knew the worst was yet to come.