a/n:today is the one week mark for a new episode. I pray that they won't put us on a hiatus, but seen as how the finale is supposed to be in May sometime and we're already at episode 15…I can't say it's looking to hopeful. The last episode left us in kind of an odd place where almost anything could happen next. Elena's a bit estranged from her friends, Damon isn't sure where he stands with her, his brother or anyone really. Stefan is battling his addictions and trying to save himself. The final scene left everything a little up in the air, so I took advantage of that Happy Reading.

Damon dried his hands, his eyes settling on his ring. How much longer could he keep doing this? How much longer could he go on hurting everyone and getting away with it. His looked up, meeting his own eyes in the mirror. He'd just turned one of her best friend's mothers into a vampire…to save her life of course, but she wouldn't see it like that. No, she would kick and scream and tell him that there could have been a better way. Short of killing either of them, there hadn't been and he'd done the best he could in the time they'd had to think. But, he knew she wouldn't see it that way. He could hear Stefan coming down the hall and forced the thoughts of tonight out of his head as he slipped his ring back on. "Is she safe?"

"Elijah kept his word. Rebekah let her go."

"Good, all's right in the world again." He grabbed his glass, ready to leave the room. He just wanted to go to bed and drink himself asleep.

Tomorrow Elena's judgmental eyes would be focused on him, and he wasn't sure he could handle dealing with that on no sleep. "I lost that coin toss Damon." Stefan said, stopping him before he could go. "Should have been me that turned Abby, so why'd you do it?"

Damon knew there wasn't just one reason that would satisfy his baby brother. Stefan was on and off the wagon, he hadn't really wanted to push him anymore. Elena expected the worst of him, and clearly the best of Stefan so there was no need to burst her bubble. The hard parts always fell to Damon, the hard decisions were always left to him to make. Why should tonight have been any different? "I'm not blind. I see what's been going on around here. You're hanging by a thread Stefan, barely over your last Ripper binge. And all you want is to be the old Stefan again."

Stefan shook his head, his lips in a tight line. "No, that part of me is gone for good."

"Oh yeah? How long has it been since you've had a drop of human blood?"

"How'd you know?"

"Spend 146 years with someone, you kinda start to pick up on their tells." He smirked, lifting the glass to his lips. He already knew the answer, knew what it would mean and he needed a bit more alcohol in his system to hear it. "Answer the question; how long has it been since you're last drink?"

Stefan thought of lying, but if Damon had figured out he wasn't drinking then there was no point in hiding from him. "Since the night I threatened to drive Elena off the Wickery Bridge."

There was a determined flash in Damon's eyes but if Stefan noticed he didn't say anything. "See, you have enough to feel guilty about. Why add to the list?" he needed to be alone, he needed some time and space to adjust to the fact that his baby brother was slowly turning the tables once again, back to where they belonged. Elena would hate him for turning Abby, she would be so proud that Stefan had stopped drinking and all would be the same as it was before the werewolf bite. "By the way, you're welcome."

Stefan watched Damon turn, knowing that his brother was in pain. "You know, you're not fooling anyone either. You still love her Damon."

The expression on his face when he turned back was almost unreadable, but the pain was clear in his eyes. That kind of emotion was impossible to mask. "I do, and I thought I could win you from her fair and square." He paused for a moment, as if the next words were going to hurt. "She didn't want me." He gave a little shrug, tried to smirk. "It's for the best. I'm better at being the bad guy anyway." He tilted his glass in Stefan's direction, knowing that this time he wouldn't be stopped.

With his mind on the tempting bottle of fifty year old whiskey in his secret cabinet, he crossed the hall and went straight into his bedroom, his fingers already working the buttons of his shirt open. He thought about going out, getting a nice warm body to sleep with, drink from, pretend was Elena. However, when he spotted the very girl he'd wanted to avoid sitting on his bed, he stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe he'd been so lost in his own thoughts that he'd missed hearing her heartbeat across the hall, or her scent in the air before he'd opened the door. Now however, he found that both hit him at full force. He gripped the glass tighter in his hand, draining it with one gulp.

Stalking over to the stash he kept in his room, he pulled out the bottle he'd been craving and undid the top. "I'm not in the mood to listen to your accusations right now." He said coldly, hoping that she would just leave so he could be alone.

He had no idea what had just happened to her twenty minutes before, and how she'd come straight to here to be with him. On the way over, Elena had thought she was coming here to yell at him for turning Abby but she'd figured out during the drive exactly why he'd done it and the simple, bittersweet knowledge of his devotion to her cracked her heart a little more. She knew that she'd broken his heart at the Ball when she dismissed his feelings, but right now she needed him. If he was as angry at her as Bonnie was, then maybe she shouldn't be here either. Slowly, she pushed herself from the bed, brushing away at her tears angrily. "Alright." She nodded, hating how coated in tears her voice sounded.

Damon had taught her to be strong, and she hated being weak in front of him more than anything else. The tears he hadn't noticed before finally caught his attention and he turned around slowly to face her, seeing what a beautiful mess she was. Her eyes shone with disappointment and heartache, which he had a feeling wasn't for him. "What's wrong?"

She stepped back as he came forward, her hand out between them like a shield. "Don't." She tried to smile, her insides churning, her heart breaking. She felt like screaming, like collapsing into a puddle of tears, but that was for later when she got home. "Coming here was a mistake, I'm sorry."

She had turned toward the door, but he was already in front of her, cradling her face. His touch felt so good, she found herself closing her eyes and leaning into him for a moment. "What's happened?"

"Bonnie doesn't want me." She broke down, clinging to his mostly open shirt. He could feel her tears on his chest, not entirely sure what to do with her, but hold her close. "I went to check on her, and Caroline wouldn't even let me in the door."

Damon sighed, prepared himself for the accusations and the anger that was coming….but it never did. She just kept crying. Was it possible that she wasn't mad at him for what happened tonight? That she'd really come here just because she needed him? It was foolish thoughts like that which had started all the trouble in the first place, still though…it meant something to him that she'd come here instead of Stefan's room. She shook in his arms as she sobbed, and while he loved the strong, independent Elena it felt nice to take care of her for once. The moment wouldn't last much longer, soon she would realize which brother was holding her and she would made an escape. She was always trying to escape him. "I'm sorry about what I did tonight."

She looked up at him and he couldn't help brushing her hair out of her eyes. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. How was it possible that she could still look beautiful at a time like this? She held him tighter, trying to comfort him as best she could. "I understand why you did it. You'll always choose me right?"

He thought about the first time he'd said those words to her, in this room. He thought about forcing his blood into her system in an attempt to keep her alive, keep her here with him. "I've done so many terrible things, but it's been to keep you safe."

"I know." She nodded, the faintest smile curving her lips, even as more tears fell. "There is no doubt in my mind that Rebekah would have killed me."

He cringed a little at the mention of the Original he'd recently shared a bed with. "I'm sorry about that too. At least, I'm sorry you found out the way you did."

"You have the right to sleep with whoever you want. Besides, I kind of deserved it after what I said to you at the Ball."

"I don't want to talk about that."

She noticed the hardness coming over his eyes and nodded. "Me either."

"What do you want to talk about then?" the unmistakable cockiness to his tone caught her attention and she couldn't help smiling.

"I don't really want to talk at all." She swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes darting to his oversized bed. "I know this isn't exactly fair of me to ask you, but do you think I could stay here tonight? I really don't want to go back to that big empty house."

"Where's Ric?"

Elena shrugged, doing her best to keep her eyes focused on Damon- not that it really helped her think clearly. "I think he's staying the night with Meredith."

Damon grumbled something, but Elena didn't hear it. "I'll go set up one of the bedrooms for you."

He tried to move away, but she wrapped her fingers around his arm. "I meant, stay here…with you."

His eyes searched her face slowly, and he briefly wondered if there were cameras hidden in the room to capture his hopeful expression. She couldn't actually be cruel enough to play this kind of trick on him. "Elena, just a few minutes ago you were crying over your friends. I don't think this is the best time for us to be sharing a bed."

"We've slept together before." She said, unknowingly squeezing his muscles beneath her hand. He felt so strong, so safe and she just wanted to curl up inside that feeling and get some much needed sleep.

"That was different." He shook his head, wondering how he could say this without her feeling the sting of rejection twice in one night. "Look, we're both…fragile right now. If we went to bed together, I couldn't promise that I would be able to control myself."

"Who said anything about controlling yourself."

Come a little closer, baby

I feel like layin' you down

On a bed sweet surrender

Where we can work it all out

There ain't nothin' that love can't fix

Girl, it's right here at our fingertips

So come a little closer baby,

I feel like layin' you down

Damon didn't have to the time to respond after she said that, because she was already back in his arms, her chest pressed to his and her fingers in his hair. "Elena." Her name had meant to be spoken as a warning, but it came out as a groan and he pulled her closer.

"Shhh." She whispered, soothing him as they lead each other over to the bed. Neither was taking more control than the other. It was like a perfectly executed dance of give and take. It hadn't been rehearsed, but it had been thought of and planned between the two of them for a while now. "We can talk tomorrow, but right now I need you to just come here and love me."

Come a little closer, baby

I feel like lettin' go

Of everything that stands between us

And the love we used to know

I wanna touch you like a cleansing rain

Let it wash all the hurt away

So come a little closer baby

I feel like lettin' go

He had no idea how to say no to those words, so he crawled onto the bed with her, their bodies fusing together as soon as he'd removed her shirt. She made quick work of the final two buttons of his, bare skin locked against bare skin. His hands smoothed up her back, over her shoulders, down over her breasts. He cupped them gently, kissed each inch of her neck and chest before finding her lips again and devouring her. Elena could taste the bourbon on his lips, wondering if it was his kisses or the aftertaste of alcohol that was making her feel this drunk. Her mind swam, screaming at her to do things she'd never imagined trying, to ask for things she'd never imagined saying. His fangs scraped across her bottom lip as they kissed and he quickly lapped the short taste of blood away. Before he could apologize, she'd pushed him onto his back, and he was much to lost in the wonderfully tempting taste of her to stop whatever she was planning next.

She pressed her lips to his throat, then down over his chest and slid herself further down his body to kiss down his ribs than back up. Each kiss they gave to each other washed a bit of the pain away, erased the hurt they'd caused each other. She didn't stop, didn't want to stop but he had more ideas about worshipping her body and soon she was under his control, under his body and not quite sure how she'd gotten there. "I don't know if I hate that, or love it." she gasped, breathless.

He laughed, licking along her collarbone as if she was covered in whipped cream. "You're delicious."

"My skin, or my blood?"

"Both." He smirked and made his way down her stomach until he reached the button of her jeans. She shivered at the look in his eyes as she tugged them down her legs, along with her panties. She gasped, not quite ready to be that exposed so quickly. She was used to slow undressing, but everything with them had been slow and if his body ached for hers anywhere near as badly as hers did for him, she understood his lack of patience.

She wanted to feel more of his skin against hers and so reached between them and began to unbutton his jeans. He growled when she brushed against his hardness, louder when she didn't pull back like he'd expected her too. Instead she teased him further, making it all the more difficult for him to concentrate on being gentle with her. "What is it?"

"You make me want to let go, to completely lose it. I can't have that with you. I don't want to be that way with you."

If there's still a chance

Then take my hand

And we'll steal away

Off into the night

'till we make things right

The suns gonna rise on a better day

"Damon, if I wanted human…if I wanted gentle I wouldn't be in this room right now, naked with you. I would be down the hall with Stefan, or in a completely different house. Or I would just be at home waiting for someone normal to come into my life. For a long time now, it's been all about you and me."

"I can't even stand the thought of someone else having you. Of touching you and kissing you the way I do."

"I don't think that's even possible." She smiled, arching into his hand when he brushed it down her side. His fingers gripped around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Don't move." He whispered, a fleeting kiss on her lips before he was off the bed and removing his jeans. She knew this was it, that they were crossing a line she'd worked so hard to draw. Nothing had ever felt more right to her, and when their naked bodies tangled together, she sighed in complete contentment. Tomorrow, everything would be different. They would have to face the consequences of tonight, and she would have to make her explanations…but right now, in the moment there was nothing in the world for her but Damon and this bed. "Ready?"

Her body begged him in ways that her words couldn't and he smirked when Elena's hands came up to fist in his hair. She pulled him closer, his lips fusing to her neck and staying there. He knew he was leaving a dark brand on her neck, the thought only making him kiss harder. She was his now, and everyone was going to know it. "Yes."

Come a little closer baby

I feel like strippin' it down

Back to the basics of you and me

And what makes the world go round

Every inch of you against my skin

I wanna be stronger than we've ever been

So come a little closer baby

I feel like strippin' it down

Elena held her breath as he slipped a hand between them, his fingers testing her wetness, her tightness. She was ready for him, had been ready. She shivered when he pulled away, his touch brushing against her clit. The momentary pleasure made her cry out and he kissed her, muffling her cries. There was no doubt in his mind that Stefan had heard them and figured out what was going on a while ago, but there was no reason to torture poor baby brother with the choice she'd made. He could feel every inch of her against him, just the basics of man and woman and the love that was holding them together. He'd loved many women and he'd slept with quite a few more, but until this moment he wasn't sure he'd ever truly made love to a women he'd been in love with. "Come here." He whispered, moving her down from pillows on the bed so her neck was flat.

He watched her face as he joined their bodies, watched the not so fleeting pleasure flash across her face over and over again as he inched into her. She gasped, her nails digging into his thighs as she held on. "Don't stop."

"I won't." he promised, bending to press a kiss to her shoulder before he slid the rest of the way inside her.

They moaned together, and he forgot to keep her quiet. The tightness he'd expected was nothing compared to having the real Elena around him, under him. He nearly shivered at the sensation of her insides gripping him possessively, the muscles constricting, holding him when he tried to pull out. His thrusts went a little faster and harder than he'd intended, but she didn't care. Her head was thrown back, the long lines of her neck displayed for him like a beacon. The hickey caught his eye and he knew she wanted him to bite her, mostly because she was begging him too. "Please."

"Not yet." He said gently, hooking his fingers behind her knees and pushing them up slightly.

Come a little bit closer baby

Just a little bit closer baby

Come a little bit closer baby

I feel like layin' you down

Elena cried out, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. He saw her draw blood from the wound he'd accidently made earlier and leaned down to kiss her, tasting the sweet salty liquid that was her life source. She tasted so incredible, he knew it wouldn't be hard to drain her of every last drop, but this was the woman he loved. The woman he cherished, and he intended to spend the rest of his life proving that to her. She had one arm thrown above her head, and he slid his hand up to tangle their fingers together, surprising him when she squeezed his hand in hers. The moment, every moment was startlingly intimate and he felt himself begin losing control. Not over his humanity, but his release. He prided himself on lasting until the woman came but Bex had done little to slate his lust last night and now being with Elena had brought it back full force.

"Come Elena." He demanded, taking her free hand and placing it between them. She wanted to cum just as badly as he did, so she took his suggestion and began playing with herself.

He wanted to sit back and watch, but her eyes were trained on his, holding him in place over her. She looked so beautiful, all flushed and pleasured. He moved faster inside her, biting the inside of his lip to distract him from just how wonderful it felt to be inside her, to belong to her, to be one with her. "Now." She gasped, letting her head drop to the side.

He could feel her fingers working wildly between them, felt her insides clench around him violently as she came. He sunk his fangs into the brand, leaving her with an entirely new mark. The world would know that she was his, and since they'd known for a while he was hers, the thought pleased him. She locked her ankles behind his back, thrusting up with him as best she could, her arms going around his neck when he released her hand to hold her close to his body. He let go then, let go of all the anger, and the hurt and the pain as he came with her. There was nothing between them, and nothing stopping them from being together. Let this town, the world throw whatever big, bad, dark thing they had at them. This time, it was his love that would win.

a/n: not my best work, but I'm still pretty happy with it. For those of you that may not have noticed…this is my 99th upload…which means that the next story is going to be my 100th. I want to do something really incredible for you guys and for myself. I've been uploading like crazy lately, so I think I'm gonna take a few days and really think about my next post.

As far as I know, I have filled all of the requests that were posted to me. My list is not empty. I feel accomplished, but a little sad. The requesting box is now open so if you have anything for me, let me know. I f you have requested something and it hasn't been filled yet, please remind me. I try to keep track of everything in my notebook but the occasional email does get lost in translation.

That's it for me until next week. I hope you enjoyed this and I can't wait to see what you all think about this fic and what you believe the rest of the season has in store of us Delena fans!