A/N: Hey, so this is set right after the episode "Miss Mystic Falls" that ends with Damon and Elena sitting outside Stefan's cell. Its kinda a continuation of the episode the way it would have gone if the cameras kept rolling and the producers were Delena fans lol! I had this idea because Stefan made me soo mad in this episode, and I vented through this story! =) Just a one shot, and Warning: Any Stefan lovers, you probably wont like this very much-I had fun incorporating some Stefan bashing into this. =) But for my fellow die-hard Damon fans, trust me you will love it!

Disclaimer: The only bit of Vampire Diaries that I own is the Damon that lives only in my dreams… =[

"So, how badly did he hurt you?" Damon's voice broke the empty silence that had filled the Salvatore basement for the past hours. We were still sitting there with Stefan's motionless body on the opposite side of the barred door, Damon was still in his now ruined tux; Until now neither of us had said anything. There had been nothing to say, really. But somehow Damon had picked up on just how much the aching in my shoulders was starting to bother me.

"I'm fine," I lied. I didn't want to admit to myself, let alone Damon, that Stefan, my Stefan, had physically hurt me when he had practically threw me against his wall. It would only give people, such as his brother, reason to try to convince me that we would be better off if I would just stay away from him and I could not do that. I would not do that. I loved him, and I was going to be there to help him through this, not to run away and complain about what he had done when he hadn't been himself.

"Elena."

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't lie to him, I couldn't keep things from him. Not now. Not after all that he had done for me today. He had let his guard down around me today, and for the first time I could see who Damon Salvatore actually was. He wasn't the monster everyone accused him of being, he was simply misunderstood. He had built a wall around himself to protect him from his emotions, but when his brother was in harm, he tore down that wall in order to save him. And then at the pageant, when we were dancing, there was something undeniable between the two of us that clicked into place then. I could trust him. I wouldn't have thought that would be possible even yesterday, but I could. He would never hurt me despite what Stefan or Bonnie said. If anything they had hurt me more than Damon ever had, so I sighed and turned my head to face his piercing blue eyes.

"My shoulders are a little sore…" I admitted

"Elena he wont wake up for hours more. And you are hurt, I'm still in what is left of my suit," he gestured at the dirty mess that he was wearing, "Why don't you let me take you upstairs. I can fix up your shoulders and change into something less disgusting, then we can come back down here. He wont know were gone, I promise."

"But what if he wakes up before we get back? I can't stand the thought of him coming to in here by himself Damon…"

"I can hear if he makes the slightest movement. If he stirs at all we can be down here long before he is actually conscious again." He stood up gracefully and pointlessly attempted to brush the dirt off of the back of his pants.

"Trust me?" His voice was its usual flirty self, but his eyes met mine again as he reached a hand out to help me up and I was taken aback, as I usually was when I stared too long into those beautiful ice blue eyes, but it wasn't the beauty that startled me this time. It was the pure emotion emitting from him. He was worried about me, he was still dealing with all the tomb vamps and their issues, he had just locked his baby brother up in a cell in their basement, and all this was being piled on top of his already too full plate of problems.

"Always." I whispered as I reach up and took his hand. It felt so right, my hand in his, almost as right as it felt dancing with him earlier today, but I wouldn't let myself think about that now.

With a sigh that I hoped was convincing enough to let him think I was annoyed by his request, I let him pull me upwards. He was so careful but it still sent stabbing pains through my back and arms.

He looked at me with disapproval, as if he was upset that I had kept this pain hidden from him for so long. He then released my hand and placed it under my elbow to steady me, as if I were something incredibly breakable of extreme value, as we walked up the stairs.

I expected us to stop once we reached the living room, but instead Damon led me past it, and began walking up the next flight of stairs toward the floor where his and Stefan's bedrooms were,

"Damon, what are w…" I began to ask, but he cut me off.

"You said you trusted me. You said you would let me help you, that's what I'm doing." He said as he turned to his bedroom door and opened it for me. He held it open, allowing me to walk in first like a perfect gentleman.

His room was a lot like Stefan's in layout, but without all the clutter. I supposed this was because, unlike Stefan, he didn't consider this to be his actual home. It was just one of his many temporary residencies he stayed at whenever he felt like dropping by.

While I was looking at the room, he had taken off his ruined tux jacket and tie and thrown them in a pile on the floor. The sound of him kicking off his shoes pulled me from my train of thought and I turned around as he spoke to me, standing there barefoot in a white button down shirt and black slacks.

"Let me see, Elena. What did he do to you?" I could tell by the tenseness of his voice that he was fighting for control. The fact that Stefan had hurt me was infuriating him, but he was trying to stay calm for. My sake.

"It's really not that bad Damon, honestly. Probably just a few bruises," but as I was talking I began unbuttoning my top so that I was wearing only the thin black tank top that was underneath I knew that was a lie. My shoulders were probably covered in cuts and I could tell they were swollen. I met his eyes, silently giving him permission to check for himself.

His bare feet silently walked across the hardwood floor and he slowly brought one hand up and rested it on the top of my shoulder to steady both of us as he gently brushed the tips of his fingers across my bare shoulders.

I wasn't expecting the flash of pain that came with his gentle touch and I immediately flinched away from him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he whispered, as he quickly dropped his hands and began backing away from me, as if he was terrified of hurting me again.

"I'm alright, I just wasn't expecting it to be this sore. I guess I hadn't realized how much it hurts…" I turned around to face him; He wouldn't meet my gaze, so I stared at him until he lifted his head and looked at me.

"Lie down," he said as he glanced at the bed. "I'll be right back."

After a moments hesitation, I decided that it couldn't hurt, so I slowly laid myself down on his soft bed on my stomach. I turned my head so that my face was buried in his pillow, enveloping myself in his heavenly scent. I could almost make out the sounds of the shower coming from the bathroom next door, but I was to busy relishing the scent of him to pay much attention.

After a few minutes though, I realized what I was doing. How could I have forgotten about Stefan? If it hadn't been for the vervain necklace around my neck I would have thought that Damon had compelled me to be thinking about him and not my boyfriend, but those thoughts hadn't came from Damon, they had been all me.

Before I could put to much thought into where those thoughts had been coming from though, I heard the sound of running water come to a stop and a few moments later, Damon opened the door. He had changed into his usual black jeans and dark tee-shirt, but his boots were missing. Instead he still was barefoot, not even wearing socks and his hair was still dripping wet. In his hands, looking very out of place against his dark clothing and demeanor, was a bright white first aid kit.

"Damon, why would there be a first aid kit in a house owned and occupied by two vampires?" I asked laughing.

"I honestly didn't know we even had anything like this here. I guess Zack had it under the sink in the bathroom and neither of us bothered to move it. I just found it," He was smiling, not his usual cocky, self centered smirk, but a real smile. Wow, I loved his smile…

While I was still thinking about his beautiful smile, Damon had moved across the room and had set down beside me on the corner of the bed. He carefully laid the first aid kit across his knees and opened it. I completely trusted Damon, but some of the items in that box brought back some pretty scary memories of me waking up alone in the hospital after my parents accident. I didn't really want to relive those moments, but before I could become to scared about it Damon noticed my anxiety and gently reach over and took my hand.

With his hand around mine again, I suddenly felt calm. I knew he would protect me at all costs. He would never do anything to hurt me, so I silently gave him permission to begin through a single glance from my eyes to his.

"Just relax, sweetheart," he whispered.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as he gave my hand a soft squeeze before he let go and began cleaning my shoulder.

"I shouldn't have let you do that," he said to no one in particular. "I knew it was too dangerous, I knew you would get hurt…" He kept mumbling as the stinging in my shoulder got worse. I began focusing on the sound of his voice to get me through the pain rather than the actual words.

Finally the pain began to subside, as he applied bandages across the backs of both of my shoulder blades. One of his hands slowly slipped from my shoulders to the middle of my back and began gently rubbing small, soothing, circles there.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but eventually all the events of the day caught up with me and I began to feel sleepy. I tried to fight it, I needed to go back downstairs with Stefan. But honestly, I didn't want to see Stefan. He was the reason I was here, hurt, with Damon of all people taking care of me.

"Go to sleep honey, I'll be right here." His voice was soft, melodically soothing me further into unconsciousness. He had set the first aid case down on the floor and he still had one hand gently rubbing my back. With the other hand he reach down to the foot of the bed and pulled the soft white duvet up over me.

As I snuggled into its comfort, he began to sit down again in the corner of the bed beside me. I grabbed his free hand and gently pulled. I knew I probably shouldn't be doing this, but I wanted him sleeping beside me tonight. For one night I wanted to not have to deal with Stefan's drama, I just wanted to feel safe and cared about, which I now realized, were two things Stefan could never bring me that his brother could.

With a slight smile, Damon gently slipped under the covers beside me. I carefully turned on my side, only causing a little pain from my injured shoulders, and let him slip his arm around my waist. My head fit perfectly on his shoulder and I curled up against him, content to spend the night with the man who I knew would always be there for me when I needed him. I had picked the wrong Salvatore, that was for sure, Stefan had hurt me and Damon had been there to pick up the pieces and take care of me.

I knew that I needed to end my relationship with Stefan, and as soon as he was better and in control of himself I would, but for now, I would just have to be content in Damon's arms still only as his friend, but that status would change soon.

"You are supposed to be sleeping, Elena," Damon whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. Wow, if his voice is enough to make me feel like that I wonder what kissing him would be like…

And as if he could read my mind, his lips found their way to mine, silently in the dark. It was a sweet kiss, full of tenderness and love-two things that I never knew Damon had until tonight.

Before I knew what happened, the kiss ended. Everything went dark and I had the sensation of falling. At first I was confused and upset that the kiss had ended so abruptly, but then I realized what had happened-I had actually passed out from his kiss! Smiling I didn't fight myself back out of the darkness, I just let myself go on to sleep, imagining the feeling of his lips on mine for the rest of the night.

Not once did a single thought of Stefan cross my mind and ruin my night in Damon's arms. Those strong, protecting, loving, arms where I would spend the rest of my life.

So? What did you think? Was I too hard on Stefan? Did you like it? Please leave me a review and let me know, they are always soo appreciated! =)