Summary: This is it – Stefan has been ordered to bring Elena to Klaus and in a last ditch effort to save her, Damon takes her and runs. Set post 3x06, but before Mason makes his appearance.

A/N: Hey, so this is my first Delena fic (those two belong together!); I'm still kind of new, so let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own TVD or any of its characters. If I did, Damon would have a steamy shower scene in every episode!

Chapter 1: Roadtrip With A Purpose

Damon was beyond pissed.

He'd trusted Katherine with one thing. One thing! Wake up Mikael, and she couldn't even do that! He replayed in his head the conversation he'd overheard this morning between Stefan and Klaus on the phone. Klaus had a safe house set up and wanted Stefan to bring Elena tonight. Damon knew if he didn't act fast, he'd never see her again.

Elena was still at school and Damon was frantically scrounging through her drawers, filling the suitcase with whatever his hands touched. While he packed, he tried Katherine once more, only to find it went straight to voicemail… again. Damon just rolled his eyes and zipped up the suitcase.

He replayed the plan Stefan had outlined with Rebekah and if he stuck to it, Stefan wouldn't come for Elena until after she'd gone to bed that night, which would mean nobody would be looking for her until the morning. He was more than a little surprised that he'd been able to eavesdrop at all.

Making his way to the car, Damon stared at his phone before calling the one person he knew he could count on in a crisis, even if that person hated him right now.

"Ric, just the vampire hunter I needed to talk to."

Elena sat scowling in the passenger seat of Stefan's car. She still couldn't believe he'd allowed Rebekah to steal her SUV, and she certainly didn't want to be here with this cold, emotionless imitation of the man she'd once loved.

"Pout all you want; it's not like I want to be here either," he taunted her.

"Why are you suddenly against me driving myself," she asked.

"I couldn't risk letting Klaus' valuable asset get in a car wreck now could I?"

Elena rolled her eyes and fumed in her seat, watching the trees and houses fly by. After eight hours with him at school she couldn't wait to be rid of him and found herself wishing he would drive just a little faster.

"We could at least talk; it is the polite thing to do," Stefan offered. Instead of responding with one of the many cutting remarks she'd come up with, Elena kept her mouth shut and turned up the volume on the radio.

"Fine," Stefan muttered, smirking at how sensitive humans could be.

Once they finally pulled up in front of her house, Elena had her door open before the car was even stopped. She yanked her backpack from the floorboard and slammed the door with as much force as she could muster.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you to the door," Stefan offered. In response, Elena just ignored him, throwing the front door open and shutting it forcefully behind her. She gritted her teeth to stop the tears from spilling and dropped her backpack at the foot of the stairs, making her way to the kitchen.

But before she'd taken two steps, strong arms grabbed her from behind; a hand covering her mouth and the other arm wrapping around her waist. Just as she started to struggle, the world around her blurred and she found her back against the wall and her eyes staring directly into Damon's ice blue ones. He moved his arm from her waist and raised a finger to his lips, silently instructing her to keep quiet, before slowly removing the hand from her mouth.

They remained that way, with his body pinned against hers until Damon heard Stefan's car pull away. He blurred to the window, making sure he was really gone, before turning back to face Elena.

"What's going on," she whispered, noticing Damon's murderous glare. Anything that had Damon this rattled was never good.

"Follow me," he instructed, brushing past her on his way to the back door.

"Wait," Elena called, grabbing his arm. "What's going on?"

"Trust me," was his only response. The smile he gave her was his typical snarky Damon smile, but his eyes held a vulnerability that begged for her trust. That one look stole all the words Elena had thought to utter and instead she only nodded.

She followed him outside and to her surprise, he'd parked his car directly behind her house so it wasn't visible from the street.

"Get in," he told her, while sliding into the driver's seat and starting the car.

"Damon..."

"For once, can we please just do this my way," he asked, leaning over to lock eyes with her through the passenger window. After half a second of thought, Elena climbed into the car and watched as her house and her street blurred into the distance.

"Alright Damon, you've got me in the car, now what's going on," Elena asked.

"Stefan's been ordered to bring you to Klaus; he'd planned on taking you tonight," he told her.

Elena felt as if she'd had the breath knocked out of her. This was it; Klaus would take her away and she'd never see her friends or her brother again… or Damon. At the last thought she stole at glance at his somber face beside her. She hadn't realized how much she needed him until he'd left that day with Katherine. Somehow, he'd become a vital part of her life; a part that she couldn't live without. She knew Caroline had been right, she'd known of her feelings for a long time, though she'd hid them well. And now after everything they'd been though together… how was she going to live without him?

"What do we do," she asked, her voice breaking from the tears that had started to fall.

"What we should have done in the first place. Run."

Elena searched his face for any sign that he was joking, but there was no humor to be found.

"We can't just run, what about Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline? We can't just leave them here!" She knew Klaus would kill everyone she loved for crossing him; Damon couldn't be serious.

"Relax, I called daddy Ric, he's on the job." As if on cue, Damon's phone rang in his pocket.

"Ah, Ric, how's your day."

"Did you get Elena," Alaric asked, anxiety coloring his tone.

"Oh, I got her," he exclaimed in a sultry voice, eyeing Elena seductively. She slapped his arm and fixed him with her best intimidating glare.

"We don't have time for this, Damon," Alaric growled into the phone.

"Yes, she's right here beside me and we're on our way out of town."

"Good, I'm going with Bonnie and Jeremy; we're heading back to Mikael. Maybe Bonnie will have better luck waking him than Katherine did."

"Well, good luck with that," Damon drawled. Elena shook his arm, begging him for news. He ignored her, but asked his next question for her benefit.

"What about vampire Barbie and the wolf-boy? Klaus is probably expecting him too."

"Caroline and Matt are going to try and persuade him to leave town with them, but if that doesn't work, she's prepared to vervain him."

"Sounds great," Damon threw in, sounding uninterested. "Listen, I'll call you later, but I don't think it's a good idea to tell you where we're going."

"Yeah, about that; I'm not so sure keeping our cells is the best idea. How long until Klaus decides to compel a cop to run a trace or something," Alaric explained. In all honesty, the thought had never occurred to Damon, but then again, cell phones hadn't exactly been "all the rage" when he was a kid.

"Good idea."

"I have a small cabin in the mountains of West Virginia, my uncle left it to me; why don't we meet there in a week. I can text you the location," Alaric suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Damon responded before ending the call.

"Well," Elena demanded.

"Alaric's tagging along with Jeremy and the witch to find Mikael; Matt, Caroline, and her pet hybrid are running off together."

"Bonnie and Jeremy are going after Mikael," Elena asked, incredulously.

"And Ric, weren't you listening? They'll be fine," he reassured her.

Elena rested her head against the back of the seat and attempted to calm her nerves. But after several deep breaths, she still wasn't any less nervous. Seeing her discomfort, Damon reached over and took her hand in his.

"Everything will be okay, Elena. I promise, I won't let anything hurt you." Elena turned to him and smiled at his sincere face. All the love he had for her was gazing back through his eyes and her stomach filled with butterflies. Damon had always caused a reaction in her, be it good or bad, but lately, every touch, every gesture was significant and seemed to light her skin on fire.

As he leaned in closer, her heart rate picked up, this time in anticipation instead of fear, and just as she was sure he was about to kiss her, his head whipped back to the road.

Apparently, due to a distraction named Elena, he'd accidently let the car wonder into the other lane. He swerved the car just in time to miss a head on collision, the blaring of horns questioning his sanity.

Damon kept his eyes glued to the road as the embarrassment and shock of what had almost happened made him want to kick himself. In his last hundred or so years of driving, he'd never once had an accident; and then Elena comes along…

Elena on the other hand was trying to hide her chuckle at Damon's discomfort. She watched as he gripped the steering wheel tighter and muttered near silent curses; honestly, she couldn't remember ever seeing him embarrassed before. The humor she found at his expense was making her feel lighter than she'd felt in a long time.

"You know, you could have at least let me pack some cloths," she insisted, taking his mind off the near accident and saving the steering wheel in the process.

"Got it covered, your suitcase is all loaded. I even selected the best panties for the trip," he smirked, recovering his flirty charm.

"Damon," Elena exclaimed, flushing a deep red.

"Would you rather be without them?"

Elena narrowed her eyes at him and went back to staring out the window.

"So where are we going exactly," she asked.

"Well, we have to be in West Virginia in a week, but I thought about Atlanta for the time being."

"Georgia again," Elena chuckled.

"What, we had fun in Georgia."

"We did." They shared a small smile at the memory and Damon took her hand again. Just then, his phone beeped; a message from Alaric with the address he needed.

"Here, right this address down."

Elena was about to protest due to the lack of writing utensils when Damon nodded in the direction of the back seat. As she turned, she saw he'd brought her purse along and began digging through it for a pen and paper, quickly jotting down the address.

"Can I see your phone," he asked, holding his hand out expectantly. Elena thought it suspicious, but dug her phone out of her back pocket and handed it over. Damon snatched his phone out of Elena's other hand and chucked them both out the open window.

"DAMON!"

"Ric thought it was a good idea if we didn't keep our phones. You know, CSI and all that." Elena let out a frustrated sigh and calmed herself before speaking to him.

"You could have at least asked first."

"Now where would the fun in that be," he joked.

Rebekah sat in the room she'd finally finished remodeling to her tastes, playing with the new cell phone she'd just acquired. In truth, the only thing about this current decade that had amazed her more than this tiny device was Stefan's computer. Anything you could every want to know, right at your fingertips. Incredible!

She jumped as her phone began ringing in her hand, a long number flashing on the screen.

"Now, let's see… green button…Uh, Hello?"

"We found her Miss, though she wasn't easy to find," came the male voice on the other end of the phone.

"Perfect! Tell her that I need to see her right away."

"She's already on her way ma'am."

"Good," she exclaimed before searching for the red button to end the call. She sat her phone to the side and allowed a longing look of nostalgia cross her face. Rebekah hadn't seen her old friend in centuries… but something had to be done.

Although she enjoyed the fact that Stefan was no longer pining after Elena, she hated the way he looked at her, the way he made fun of her, as if she were a silly school girl. At least before the compulsion she could see the real emotion in his eyes, and that was something she could work with.

Rebekah might have been ruthless and vengeful, but after a millennia of being a vampire, that little switch in her head had long since stopped working… the switch that made killing easier, and made missing her family just a bad memory. More than anything she missed her big brother, the caring one who would have done anything to protect her. Where had he gone?

This "Klaus" wasn't the Nik she used to love. But maybe if her friend could bring Stefan back, she could bring Nik back as well.

If she had any prayers left in her, this one would be loud enough to wake the dead.

After hours of driving, Damon pulled off the highway and into a small neighborhood in southern North Carolina.

"What are we doing," Elena asked, wondering if they were going to spend the night in one of these huge houses lining the street.

"It's called 'boosting,' wanna give it a try?"

Damon's smirk seemed full of both excitement and danger and Elena wasn't sure which scared her more.

"You mean stealing cars?"

"As much as I love my car, it's too recognizable to Stefan and Klaus. We'd have more luck driving something… inconspicuous."

The logic was working on her… but stealing a car? She sat lost in thought for a moment while the car slowly crept down the street. Finally she let out a long sigh.

"Alright, what do you need me to do?"

"Well, first we need to pick a car we like," Damon instructed, motioning to the cars along the sidewalk.

"Um, I guess it needs to be a car that blends in, right? What about that one?" Elena pointed to a beige sedan of some sort that just stated boring.

"Oh no, no, no! I will not be seen in that!" Damon's face was outraged and Elena fought the urge to bust out in laughter.

"Okay then, what do you suggest?"

"That one."

Elena followed his excited gaze to a black Mercedes with tinted windows. It was a sleek two-seater that screamed fast.

"Alright, now what?"

"Well, I guess you could go seduce the owner into letting us take his car?" Elena's jaw nearly hit the ground at the audacity of such a request and in response to her shocked face, Damon burst into a round of laughter.

"Aren't we just supposed to pick the lock or something?"

"Is that actually something you know how to do?"

"No… hey, I've never aspired to be a criminal, so why would I ever need to know that?" Damon's eyes danced with humor as he took in her uncomfortable exterior.

"It's a good thing I'm here then. Why don't we try something simpler, like… compulsion."

Elena was about to protest, but honestly, they were already stealing the car, did it matter if they used a little mind manipulation.

Damon pulled in behind the sexy car and proceeded to walk up to the front door, Elena at his heels. The knock was answered in a matter of seconds and the middle aged man before them wore a look of stark confusion as to why these two young adults would be at his doorstep.

"Hi, whoever you are… we need you to do us a little favor," Damon began. At first the man looked as if he was about to protest, but then he locked eyes with Damon and his face went slack.

"You're going to trade cars with us, and then you're gonna take a little joy ride up through Tennessee in your new Camaro."

After a few moments, the man seemed to come back to himself and a broad smile came across his face.

"Would you like me to help you transfer your bags over to the Mercedes," he offered.

"That would most helpful."

Elena gazed around nervously at the surrounding houses in the neighborhood, afraid someone would sense their deceitfulness and come after them, but the yards were deserted and her growling stomach let her know that it was past supper time.

There better be food somewhere in this road trip!

Stefan strolled casually up to Elena's house; an air of excitement in his step. He couldn't wait to kiss this godforsaken town goodbye. His bags were packed and all that was left was to snatch Elena and hit the road. He paused just outside the house to ensure there was no movement before leaping up to Elena's window and letting himself in.

If he'd still had a beating heart it would have stopped in that moment.

Elena wasn't there. Her room looked as if it had been ransacked and when he checked her closet he found it almost empty. He slammed the door, the force causing it to split in half, sending little shards of wood about the room. Stefan moved through the shared bathroom into Jeremy's room and found his bed just as empty. Extending his senses, he noted that there was a lack of breathing coming from Alaric's room down the hall. That could only mean one thing.

Damon!

Filled with rage, Stefan dialed Rebekah's number.

"She's gone," he growled as soon as he heard the phone connect.

"So is Tyler; I'm blaming the blond slut."

"We need to pursue Elena first; Klaus will have our heads if we return without her. Meet me at the boarding house."

Before she could respond he hung up, already halfway home, contemplating ways to kill his brother every step of the way.

After a quick supper from a greasy fast food joint, Elena had passed out in the passenger seat. Damon alternated between focusing on the empty road and watching her sleep. Seeing her angelic face safe and secure in the seat beside him made him feel warmer than he'd felt in months. He'd already vowed countless times over not to let anything happen to her, and as he felt her limp hand still held tightly in his, that resolve doubled.

Once inside the city limits, he searched for a decent looking hotel, not very concerned with luxury at the moment. As he pulled in, he was torn between waking Elena and just letting her sleep.

He opted for waking her and leaned over to trace his fingers down her face.

"Elena, wake up, we're here," he whispered, his face directly over hers. He didn't realize how close their heads were until she woke up and tilted her face, brushing their lips together.

Damon froze.

"Damon… what time is it," she asked, clearly not realizing what she'd just done.

"Just after midnight," he responded, a little breathless.

He opened her door for her and helped her out, not sure she could really walk straight in her current state of being half asleep. Damon watched her as she stretched, eyes roaming down all of her curves before he shoved his hands in his pockets, not trusting himself, and started walking in the direction of the front desk.

"A bed," Elena exclaimed as they stepped through the door to the room and she threw herself at the mattress. She wasn't at all surprised that Damon had accepted a room with only one bed.

"Doesn't take a lot to impress you; guess that's why you went for Stefan first," Damon jibbed, earning him an eye roll. Elena jumped off the bed and proceeded to turn on the lamps, giving the room a friendlier look.

"I'll go get the bags. Keep this locked until I get back," he ordered firmly before closing the door behind him. Elena immediately did as she was told and locked the deadbolt. She flipped on the TV, but before she'd even begun to scroll through the short list of channels, Damon's voice came through the door and she jumped up to let him in. The sight of Damon carrying two suitcases and her purse through the door, coupled with Elena's state of exhaustion, pushed her over the edge and she nearly doubled over with laughter.

"Something funny," Damon asked, shutting the door.

"I'd give you a tip if you weren't so rude," she joked.

"You've got your stuff, why don't you take the shower first; you need it." He smirked back at her shocked expression, but seemed pleased at how relaxed appeared.

"Fine; just hope I don't use all the hot water," she threw back, while digging through her suitcase for pajamas.

"In that case, we could always share the shower," he suggested, waggling his eyebrows at her. Elena only rolled her eyes, taking her bathroom essentials with her and locking the door behind her. Damon chuckled and removed his shirt and pants, getting comfortable on to the bed. He flipped through the various channels, finding nothing of interest and settling on some mindless sitcom. In truth, the thought of Elena in the shower was making it hard for him to concentrate on the TV.

Elena emerged moments later in PJ's and froze when she saw Damon stretched out on the bed in his boxers.

"Like what you see," he asked in a seductive voice and Elena had to blink to make sure she wasn't just dreaming.

"Uh, the, uh, shower's ready," she said, throwing a hand back towards the direction of the bathroom. Come on, Elena, she told herself, it's not like you haven't seen him in less.

Damon jumped off the bed and made his way towards her, making sure to brush her arm on the way to the shower. Elena shook her head and started towards the bed when she heard the shower start before the door closed.

"Aren't you going to shut the door?"

"I hate it when the bathroom gets all steamy, don't you? Besides, you might need to get in."

Was Elena imagining the double meaning in his words? She took a deep breath before crawling under the sheets and trying to focus her attention on anything other than Damon in the shower. She turned the lights off and found a comfortable position in the bed, but still couldn't get to sleep. The shower turned off and moments later she felt the bed move as Damon crawled in beside her.

He just watched her for a minute, facing away from him and then rolled over. They both drifted off to sleep; their feet unconsciously tangling together.

Elena woke first the next morning feeling more rested than she'd been in a very long time. She realized with a start that someone's arm was wrapped around her, clutching her hand, and that a firm body was pressed up against hers. Gazing around the room, she quickly remembered where she was… and that the body in question was Damon's! She was about to protest, but the security she felt while snuggled in his arms was not something she wanted to give up quite yet. As she shifted a little his arm tightened around her and she felt his face against her neck.

And then a horn blaring outside finally woke him. Damon took in his position of being wrapped around Elena and also noticed that she was awake.

"Sorry," he muttered, while disentangling himself. She rolled over to face him.

"Good morning," she mumbled.

"Morning."

Their eyes stayed locked as they laid there beside each other, unable to tear them apart. Suddenly, Elena realized that she'd forgotten to breath and her quick intake of breath broke the moment.

"Didn't the hotel sign say something about continental breakfast," Elena asked shakily.

"Uh, yeah. Why don't you get dressed and I'll go see what they have."

Damon quickly threw on his cloths and grabbed the ice bucket, fleeing the room before he acted on instinct and did something Elena would regret.

He made his way to the ice machine first and just as he opened the lid, he felt a presence behind him. Whirling around, he came face to face with a sight that made his stomach drop.

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here," Rebekah droned, a beatific smile lighting her face.

A/N: So, there it is. Can Damon and Elena escape Rebekah and will Bonnie be able to work with Mikael? Let me know good/bad/okay. I know there are a lot of roadtrip fics out there with these two, but I've just been dying for Damon to take her and run.