"Stefan, don't worry," she soothed, "it's only for one night. I'll be back safely in your arms tomorrow."

Ugh, hearing her coos and sweet talk was enough to make Damon sick. He was taking Elena hunting; Loverboy would be fine without his precious little schmoogly-pie for the next eighteen hours.

"Elena, you know I trust you completely." Saint bunny-hunter was truly living up to his name. "You chose me, and I don't care about Denver or anything else that happened while I was away. I love you, and you know nothing you do could change that."

Damon heard Stefan lean in for a smooch. Dear God, do they have to kiss so loudly? Though he was half a boarding house away, to Damon's deeply annoyed ears it sounded as though Stefan was trying to suck every ounce of saliva out of Elena's mouth. Heh, she can't be enjoying that, Damon smirked to himself. It was no surprise when he heard Elena end the embrace only moments later.

"Then why are you so worried?" She asked.

"Elena, you're only a six-week-old vampire. I know you've taken well to the blood bags and you're doing much better at controlling your emotions. I'm so proud of you for that. It's just… I can't forgive myself for forcing you into this life…"

Damn straight, Damon fumed. If not for you, little bro, my beautiful Elena would still be a warm, living, breathing eighteen year old. It's not that vampirism had ruined Elena, if anything Damon only thought it made her more beautiful. But like Stefan, he had never wished this life on the innocent, caring girl who had once dreamed of growing old surrounded by family and friends. But rather than deal with the rage and sadness that followed that train of thought, Damon turned his hearing back to the sickly sweet couple several rooms away.

"If something goes wrong with hunting… if you got hurt, or if you killed someone and couldn't forgive yourself…" Stefan was on the verge of tears and couldn't go on.

Damon sighed internally. Oh give me a fucking break.

"Stefan, look at me." Damon could hear Elena bring her hand to Stefan's face, stroking his cheek softly. If only she would touch his face like that… "I'll be perfectly safe," Elena continued. "Damon won't let anything happen to me. We've gone over this a million times. I need to practice tasting fresh human blood so I'm more in control of my urges. I've got to do it for Jeremy, for Matt, for everyone. I miss them, and I can't be around them again until I'm stronger than my craving for blood."

Damn, the girl's got resilience. You have to give her that. Damon thought over the last six weeks of Elena's life, or rather death, sure they were the worst in her existence. She had accepted her fate with more courage than he had thought possible in a girl her age. Sure she was used to vampires, werewolves, witches and Originals, but becoming Mystic Falls' latest supernatural being had been a difficult blow for Elena. She had decided to complete the transition almost immediately, refusing to leave Jeremy short yet another loved one. Since then, it had been week after week of Damon fighting every bit of rage he felt for his brother and the utter despair that stemmed from Elena's choice. He had overlooked all of these feelings so that he could help her gain control of her senses, her emotions, her all-consuming craving for blood. She had readily faced each new challenge, constantly telling herself that she would return to a normal life with her loved ones once she gained control of herself. It was this spark of courage and selflessness in Elena that let him forgive her just enough to help ease her into the creature she would be for the rest of eternity.

Yet even as he helped Elena, a dark force was steadily building in Damon's heart. Even stronger than the anger he felt for his brother was the anger that he felt towards himself, and in part Elena. No matter how many times he saw Stefan take her hand, heard their painfully loud smooches and sickly sweet whispers, Damon continued to hold on to the hope that Elena's new life would mean a new perspective on her feelings for the Salvatore brothers. He hoped she would be his. He knew this would never happen - she had made it perfectly fucking clear. But even so, he couldn't let it go, couldn't stop loving her, and couldn't force himself out of her life. He knew he was already whipped, but she was really taking ball and chain to a whole new level.

Damon's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door. "Are you ready to go?"

Turning around, he plastered a cocky smirk on his face. "Looks like someone's eager to ride with me all night." Elena rolled her eyes in response as Damon brushed past her and made his way to the car.

As he sped them out of Mystic Falls, Damon felt Elena begin to relax next to him in the car. His enhanced hearing assured he could hear the tiny sigh Elena let slip. "What's up, Buttercup?" he asked her, wiggling his eyebrows with a look that would have once made her beating heart race. "You seem a little down."

She pretended to ignore the look, but couldn't hide the tiniest of smirks that crossed her face. "It's nothing."

"Everything all right with Steffy-poo?" He mentally kicked himself for asking that question. He didn't need to hear how their love was even more perfect with her heightened emotions coming into play.

A moment of silence passed. Damon assumed she was just ignoring the question when Elena stopped gazing out the window and said quietly, "I don't know."

What? Not everything is perfect in La-la Land? Damon felt the familiar tingle of hope crawling up his spine, or perhaps down his pants, when he stopped the car and cut the engine. He refused to let himself go there, refused to let himself pretend Elena would change her mind.

Elena looked troubled, glancing around at the empty highway they had stopped on. "Why'd we stop?"

"It's dinner time," Damon smirked.

Elena followed him out of the car and continued to seem perplexed by their surroundings. "I thought we'd be going to a nightclub, or a bar, or something," she mumbled.

So she wants to get drunk with me, huh? Damon laughed at her. "You think I would take a six-week-old vampire who can't even handle being around her friends to some little club filled with pounding heartbeats?"

She pouted her big doe eyes at him, hoping he would change his mind.

"Besides, you're still underage," he winked as he began walking towards the woods a bit off the freeway.

Left with no choice but to follow him, Elena used her vampire speed to reach his side instantly. "Okay, so where are we going?"

"In here," he said. Damon stopped walking and looked at her intently. "Tell me what you smell."

She closed her eyes for a moment and Damon began admiring her soft face with its long, heavy lashes, creamy skin, perfect, full lips….

"Trees, mostly" Elena said and interrupted his thoughts. "Lots of soil, a few deer, and also…" She opened her eyes and Damon watched them darken as veins sprouted beneath the surface "Blood."

"Good," Damon encouraged. "Now, take a few deep breaths." He put his hands on her shoulders to help steady her as she slowly filled her lungs with unnecessary air. To a young vampire like her, this was still a very calming feeling. She looked at him once more with the same eyes she'd had as a human and he explained the plan. "There are two campers about a mile and a half that way," he gestured behind her, forcing himself to tear his hand from her shoulder. "They are the only two out here, so there's no one who will come running if something goes wrong." Elena's eyes widened in horror at the suggestion in his words. Shit. That freaked her out. Let's try another approach…

Damon stepped closer and replaced his hand firmly on her shoulder. She glanced at his hand, eyes wide with fear and a hint of excitement. "Elena," he said in a soothing voice, "Nothing will go wrong tonight. I'm here with you, and I will stop you from killing those people if that's what you still want me to do." She nodded at him slowly as her eyes began to brim with tears. She looked so grateful and he hadn't even done anything yet. He freed himself from the gravity of her large, brown eyes and took a step back. "You're ready, you can do this."

She nodded, wiped her face, and turned in the direction he had motioned. "Let's go."

Damon followed Elena, letting her use the scent of blood and burning wood to guide her through the woods and toward the lone tent pitched in a small clearing. Their unnatural speed meant they slipped through the woods without a sound and they could take the campers completely by surprise.

Elena stopped just short of the clearing and turned to Damon, looking fearful. "I don't know how to do this," she whispered low enough that only he could hear her.

She's got to be the only newborn vampire in history to be afraid of hunting fresh blood rather than frothing at the mouth with anticipation, Damon mused to himself. He gave her a gentle smile. "I can compel them to stay put and keep quiet. I can even make them enjoy it." He couldn't resist wiggling his eyebrows again with the last line.

Elena let out a weak chuckle and nodded.

Damon squeezed her shoulder, wishing he could ease some of her nerves. "Just follow my lead." He grabbed Elena's hand and heard her tiny gasp at his touch. He smiled to himself as they entered the clearing hand in hand. "Hey, anybody around?" he called, though he could clearly hear the campers' heavy footsteps and beating hearts on the opposite site of the tent.

At Damon's words, a man and a woman emerged from the other side of the tent where they had been sitting near their camp fire. "Hey," Damon said calmly. "We're camped about half a mile that way, but our flashlight died out. And someone," he poked Elena in the ribs for emphasis, "is a little skiddish out here all alone in the dark. Do you guys have a spare we could borrow?"

"Sure," the man chuckled and moved into the tent to dig one out. As he did so, Damon rushed in front of the woman and held her chin in his hand. "You will stay quiet, you will not be afraid, you will enjoy this, and when we are done, you will forget this ever happened." Once finished, he glanced back at Elena to gauge her reaction. She was standing a few feet back, arms hugged around her waist and rocking back and forth slightly on her toes. Her eyes contained an equal mix of timidity and excitement as she gazed cautiously at her first live meal. In seconds, the man emerged from the tent and Damon repeated the same process, ensuring their little snack would remain a secret.

Damon walked back to Elena, who grabbed his hand nervously. "Damon, I don't know if I can do this…" Her voice trembled slightly and Damon wanted nothing more than to take her fear away.

He positioned himself behind her and lowered his lips to her ear. "Of course you can do this," he whispered. "Right now, every nerve in your body is dying to taste that blood, begging to find out what it feels like coming directly from the source. You want to feel it hot in your mouth, sliding down your throat." He didn't have to continue as Elena was already rushing for the woman. Damon watched Elena's fangs sink into the woman's wrist and saw euphoria wash over her face as she got her first taste of fresh blood. He counted to three, then swooped in to separate Elena from the woman before she could completely drain her.

As he expected, Elena released a vicious snarl and fought his attempts to pull her away. With a final tug, he got Elena off the woman and pinned against a tree at the edge of the clearing.

"No!" Elena screamed, veins bulging beneath her all-black eyes.

"Simmer down," Damon smirked, confident in his hold on the young, thrashing vampire.

"If you loved me, you'd let me go back for the rest," she snarled.

Didn't expect her to play that card. Well, two can play that game. "Since I love you, I'm keeping you from something you'll always regret."

Elena's eyes had reverted to their chocolate brown, but her rage was still fresh. "How can you say you love me, Damon? You're too much of a coward to even tell me unless you can make me forget."

Ouch. With all of Elena's struggles over the last six weeks, she had yet to mention her new found memories, and Damon was secretly hoping she never would. He knew her anger was simply a part of being new to the vampire game and a sign that her emotions were not yet under control. Even so, her words prodded the fire of rage smoldering in his chest. "You think I don't love you?" He brought his face close to hers, all the better for her to see the anguish flaming in his icy blue stare. "Have you been completely blind? Haven't you seen that everything I've done has been to protect you? If it had been up to me, you would still be alive, still be the normal eighteen year old girl you wanted to be!" He tightened his grip on her shoulders, then turned his head away, about to let her go.

Just before he released his grip, he was struck by a realization. She doesn't know what love is because she hasn't felt it since she died. "You know what? No." Damon turned back to face Elena, emotion still blazing in his stare. He planted his lips forcefully on hers, urging her to feel the passion in his touch. Elena's body slowly stilled as their lips connected, and to Damon's surprise, she locked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His kiss became slower, softer; a caress of her lips rather than the fiery assault of a moment before. She was matching his every motion, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth and grazing it gently with her own. Damon realized that with her new and improved senses, Elena finally understood that a kiss was not just a simple contact of skin, but a mode through which she could feel his love enter her every pore.

Damon pulled away gently, afraid of overwhelming Elena. He watched her open her bright, round eyes, searching them for a response.

"Damon," she breathed. In that one word she carried wonder, desire, guilt.

He let his hands drop back to his sides. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken advantage-"

"No," she cut him off with a finger on his lips that drew his gaze back to her face once more. "I want this." He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off again. "I'm sure."

She looked so resolute that Damon could only nod his head. "Well then," he said, backing away from her slightly. "Time to get rid of our audience." He turned back to the campers who had been standing impassively in front of their tent. "We're done here. Go back to toasting your marshmallows." He turned back to Elena, a wicked glint in his eye. "Come on." He grabbed her hand, tugging her back towards the car. "We've got all night."

A/N: Sorry that was so long! I just felt that I needed to set up so many pieces of this to get the ball rolling. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it because I sure had fun writing it. :) This is my very first fiction, so please let me know what you think. The next chapter is shaping up to be a very physical one between Elena and Damon, so hang on a bit longer if that's what you're waiting for! ;)