She's Only Happy in the Sun
Title: She's Only Happy in the Sun (title borrowed from song of same name by Ben Harper)
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries (television show, not books)
Characters: Damon Salvatore, Rose, Bonnie Bennett, Stefan Salvatore, Elena Gilbert, and the rest of the gang
Pairings: Damon/Rose, Stefan/Elena, hints of Bonnie/Jeremy and Caroline/Tyler
Rating: Back to the "nothin' you wouldn't see on TVD" rating again
Spoilers: Potentially all aired episodes *AND* for the extended promo of "The Descent"
Summary: See "The Descent" extended promo. The focus, however, is on Damon and Rose, so don't expect to see everything from the promo in this story.
Disclaimer: Yep...I don't even own a share of CW stock.
A/N: I'm really nervous about this chapter guys...
Also, chapter 1, Expect the Unexpected, is here, chapter 2, Is She Gonna Die, Stefan? is chillin' here, chapter 3, Friends Indeed, has made a home for itself here, chapter 4, Walking the Plank, is making a nuisance of itself over here, chapter 5, Downward Slope and a Hint of Hope lies over yonder, chapter 6, Costs, is thisaway, and chapter 7, What Goes Around Comes Around, is existing thereabouts.
Chapter 8: Foolproof
“Damon?” Rose inquires of the shadow pausing to lounge in the doorway as it enters her room.
Damon pushes off the doorjamb and steps into the lamplight. “You’re lucid now? That’s conveniently infrequent.”
Rose chuckles painfully, her breath catching on the sound. She doesn’t even try to sit up, the knowledge of her inevitable demise heavy on her shoulders. The recognition of death is as natural to her as it is to Damon, and neither is tempted to ignore the fact that it weighs the air around them as well as all their bones.
“The witch is working on a potion to cure you.” His next words are awkward on his tongue and they stumble past his teeth. “You’ll be well by morning.”
The she-vamp lifts an eyebrow, feeling her age to his youth. Then, suddenly shy-she swears her years mean something just a moment ago-she looks away from his face and spreads a hand on top of the comforter beside her. “Would you…?”
Knowing unending loneliness and recognizing the deepest need to be touched (how many women has he seen it in?), Damon comes around the other side of the bed and slides in, allowing her to slip under his arm against his chest.
She falls asleep and Damon listens to the sounds of the others preparing for the spell, feeling the sun start to sink beyond the curtains.
~V~
“Why are you trying so hard to save me?” she asks when she is woken up by his departure from the bed. “I know the Bennett witch didn’t just hand over the cure.”
Eyes more intense than Trevor’s ever were, even as they faced her in terror, Damon replies from the doorway with his shoulders stiff. “You’re my friend.”
She sits in the silence of his words for the length of a vampire’s heartbeat.
“If” (not when, she wants to give him hope, she wants hope, even though she doesn’t have faith, even though she thinks when) “it doesn’t work, will you let me die in the sun?”
He becomes completely still, catching the air in the room and stilling it with him. “I’ll open the curtains at dawn.”
~V~
Bonnie begins the spell exactly at nightfall, chanting witch-words with her hands flexed over the liquid in the bowl on the tabletop she’s standing behind in the living room. Jeremy’s hands are steady on her waist, as Stefan’s are on Elena’s shoulders. Caroline has run out on wolf-duty (still thinking that Damon doesn’t know what exactly that means) and so Damon is uncoupled in the shadows of the far corner of the room, listening to Rose’s renewed whimpers drop like pins on the floor above them.
Bonnie’s cheeks begin to flush and Jeremy’s fingertips grow white as his strength becomes all she has. A second before the nosebleed Damon can smell coming, Bonnie’s voice ceases as Jeremy catches her weight and helps her to sit. Damon comes forward, shocking the pair at the quickness of his motion. His thanks is left on the space the bowl had occupied a moment before.
Elena’s hand closes over Stefan’s as Damon cautiously steps into his room.