Fic: Georgia Revival [Vampire Diaries | PG | Elena/Damon, Elena/Stefan | 1/7]
I started this story ages ago for a big bang, but didn't finished it on time - better late than never? I'm posting all the parts over the next two weeks - but I hope to add a chapter to A Vampire's Policy too
Title Georgia Revival
Author: jinxed_wood
Characters/Pairings: Damon /Elena, Stefan/Elena, ensemble.
Rating: PG
Category: Drama
Spoilers: Yup - better hope you're up to date!
Show/Bookverse: Show
Summary:Damon's visit to Bree takes a turn he never imagines...
PART ONE
Why hadn’t he seen it coming?
Damon wiped the steam from the sink window and looked at his reflection coolly. The long, hot shower had removed the gasoline from his hair and his skin, and Elena had somehow tracked down a twenty four hour laundrette, but but his heightened sense of smell could still pick up the fumes clinging to him.
His eyes darkened at the vivid recollection of his humiliation. Nobody did that to him, and got away with it - nobody. He was going to reach into her chest and rip out her heart. How dare the bitch betray him like that. He'd trusted her.
He shrugged on his jeans, still warm from the dryer, and stalked out of the bathroom. Elena was sitting crosslegged on the drab covers of the motel's double bed.
“Are you okay?” she asked, eyeing him dubiously.
“Peachy. Never been better,” he said shortly as he headed for the door. “Catch some sleep. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning.”
“Where are you going, Damon?” she asked promptly, ignoring his words as she leapt to her feet. “You're not going after him, are you?”
“Now why would I do that?” he drawled. “I mean all he did was attack and kidnap you, and then pour gasoline all over me.”
“You did kill his girlfriend,” she pointed out, in a maddening reasonable tone of voice. “And he did let us go - remember?”
“I remember,”Damon said. Elena Gilbert, going toe to toe with a pissed off vampire in order to save his skin. It was not a sight he'd soon forget.
“So don't go,” she said, hands on hips as she scowled at him. She really had no sense of fear... he may have to fix that.
“I'm not going to find him,” he said, “I left my jacket at Bree's place, and I forgot to pay our tab before we left.”
“Oh, right.” He saw the tension leech out of her shoulders, but then she hadn't put two and two together yet, and he wasn't about to fill in the blanks for her. His triumph was short lived, however, as she picked up her jacket. “Lets go,” she said.
“What makes you think you're welcome to tag along?” he asked, exasperated. “Maybe I want to give Bree a proper goodbye.”
Her cheeks went pink, but her lips fell into a thin line of determination. “I'll wait in the car,” she said sweetly. “It shouldn't take long.”
“Ouch,” he said. “Consider my ego duly punctured.”
“I should be so lucky,” she said, gesturing at the door. “After you.”
“Fine,” he said, “But just you'll know, I 've already met my quota of damsel rescuing for the decade. If you get abducted again, it's on your head!”
“Oh yeah, you're a knight in shining armour,” Elena said.
“Bite me.”
~~~*~~*~~*~~~
Bree was still in the bar, clearing up, when he entered through the back door. Oliver had obviously not thought to give her a heads up. Deliberately, he scuffed his foot, smirking as her head bobbed up.
We were just leaving. I wanted to say goodbye,” he said, as she slowly turned.
“Good to see you again, Damon,” she said, but she couldn't quite hide the shake in her voice.
“No kiss,” he taunted, as he drank her fear in, tasting it.
I'm full of Vervain. I put it in everything I drink,” she said hurriedly
”And you're you telling me this, why?” he asked, drawing it out.
“Lexi was my friend. How could you?” Bree said lowly, as she stepped back. Did she really think she had a chance of getting away from him? He blurred as she moved, blocking off her exit.
“The tomb can be opened.” she said, panicking as she caught the expression on his face.
“You're lying!” he spat.
She edged backwards. “Emily's grimoire. Her spell book. If you know how she closed the tomb, the reversal process will be in her book. You can open the tomb.”
“And where is this book?” Damon asked.
“Uh...um...”
Damon could practically hear her mind searching in vain for the right words, as he closed in on her. “You have no idea,” he said.
“I'm telling you the truth,” she said hoarsely.
“And I believe you. My dear sweet Bree, that's why I'm almost sorry.” He reached out, stroking the curve of her face; watching the fear leap wildly in her eyes.
“Damon?”
He froze at the sound of Elena's voice. “I asked you to stay in the car,” he said evenly, looking over his shoulder.
Elena snorted. “No, you ordered me to stay in the car, and then strutted off, expecting me to obey. Rather stupid, when you think about it.”
“Yeah, it was,” Bree said softly.
Hearing something in her voice, Damon looked back at her, just as her hand slammed in his chest, He saw the glint of a silver chain entwined in her fingers, and agony burst through his chest as he flew through the air.
He hit the wall, the brickwork slamming into his back, and pain roared through him. He fell unconscious.
~~~*~*~*~~~
“Damon. Damon?” A hand shook his shoulder, and his head exploded with pain.
“Remove your hand, or I'll remove it from you,” he said - or at least he tried. The words melded together and became slurred as they left his mouth. He tasted his own blood and frowned, puzzled. It tasted wrong, metallic...but strangely familiar.
“Damon? Please, wake up, you're beginning to scare me.” It was Elena's voice, but it sounded curiously dulled. Where were the little hitches of breath he usually heard between her words, and her scent...where was her scent?”
“Oh, God, you're hot...and your wounds, they're not healing....”
“Bree,” he said, his mouth felt swollen, and it hurt like a bitch. He opened his eyes, and Elena's face swam into view, surrounded by a halo of the morning sun - how long had he been out?
“Yeah, I saw that part,” she said, “Whatever she did, she threw you clean across the room with it.”
Damon squinted at her. Her face was now in focus, but details was missing. He took her hand and pulled her close, wincing as his body protested. “Something's off. My ribs are cracked and they're not mending. I'm covered in my own blood, and I can't....can't smell it. I can't smell you. Your scent is gone.”
Elena's nose wrinkled. “Okay, that definitely goes under the category of TMI,” she said uncomfortably.
“You don't get it,” Damon said hoarsely. “I should be starving right now. My hunger should be screaming at me. I should be ripping out your neck and feeding...”
Elena gave him a half exasperated, half fearful look. “I've already saved your life today,” she said. “Don't make me regret it this soon.”
Damon rolled his eyes, and then moaned as pain fired through every nerve of his body. “Shit. Whatever she did, it did a real number on me. Help me up.”
“I knew this trip was a bad idea,” she said. “There's no such thing as leaving your troubles behind. They just follow you around.”
“You're beginning to sound like a fucking fortune cookie,” Damon snapped, as pain shot down one leg.
“And you're beginning to sound like a grumpy old fart,” Elena shot back. “So far, in the last twenty four hours, I've been run off the road by a vampire and kidnapped by a second one, I really don't need to be bitched at by a third...” her voice trailed off as he leaned on her shoulder and hauled himself to his feet.
“Cat got you tongue?” he snarked.
“Damon, I think there's something seriously wrong with you,” she said quietly, as she guided him to a chair. “Your cuts haven't even begun to close over, and your skin is too warm.” She grasped at his wrist and he tried to shake her off. It didn't work, so he scowled at her instead, to cover his panic. What was wrong with him?
“Damon,” she said softly, after going stock still. “Your heart is going crazy.”
“Don't be stupid,” Daomnn said sharply. “My heart beats like clockwork. All vampires do. Keeps the blood pumping.
“Could it be because you've been injured...?”
“No,” he muttered, “It doesn't work like that - not for vampires.”
“Not for Vampires,” she echoed, before grabbing his hand. On any other given day, he'd have ripped her head off before her sticky little fingers had even touched the ring. But, for some strange reason, he just wasn't fast enough at the moment. Bree had hit him good and hard.
With a sharp tug, she pulled the ring off , and Damon just stared blankly at her, as he tried to process what was happening. He was sitting in the broad daylight without his ring on, and he wasn't turning to ash...
A cold chill ran through him, and he went to that place inside, the place he always went when he was hungry, or angry, or just plain bored.
Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Not any time soon, I think,” Elena said, looking amused.
Damon narrowed his eyes at her. “This is not funny, Elena.”
“I think that depends on your point of view,” she said gleefully. “Stefan is going to go nuts.”
“Elena,” Damon said lowly. “I'm going to go nuts in a second, if you don't go and find me some painkillers.”
“You're going to need a lot more than painkillers,” Elena said.
“Well, they'll have to do, since I don't exactly carry health insurance,” Damon said.
Elena's face sobered. “Oh my God, this is real...you're-.”
“Do not say it!” Damon half barked, half coughed. “And it won't be for long, if I can help it. I was never really that fond of my life the first time around.”
“Don't say that,” Elena said quietly. “Don't ever say that. That is not an option, do you hear?”
Damon frowned at her, for a moment puzzled. Then, it hit him. “Relax, Elena, I'm not thinking of topping myself,” he said. “I've got very attached to my life over the last century. Old age, however, does not hold many attractions for me. I like being a Vampire.”
“So that's it?” Elena asked. “You're not even going to give it a try? Stefan would--”
“I'm not Stefan,” Damon cut in. “So let's not go there.” He tried to sit up, and bit back a scream of pain. “Do you know how to wrap ribs?” he asked shortly.
Elena bit her lip. “Can you talk me through it?” she eventually asked.
“I guess I'm going to have to, aren't I?” Damon said, with a sigh.
Elena pulled her hair back and knotted it. “I'll find the first aid box. Don't go anywhere while I'm gone.”
Damon let out a snort. “I don't think that's going to be an issue.”
~~~*~*~*~~~
His first meal as a human consisted of two codeine Elena had found in the first aid box and glass of water. The chalky after taste was less than appetising, and he almost gagged on the horsepills, but the pain eased. Whatever Bree kept in her first aid box, it sure the hell wasn't the over the counter stuff.
His stomach growled, and Damon looked down at it quizzically. Elena laughed.
“We'd better lay off the food until after we bandage your ribs,” she said.
“Afraid I'll barf it up on your shoes?” Damon asked wryly.
“Pretty much, yeah,” Elena admitted, eyeing his t-shirt as she produced a pair of scissors. “You have two options - lift your arms, or let me cut you out of it.”
Damon eyed the scissors. “Seems to me you've already made up your mind - have you got a license for that thing?”
“Smart ass,” she muttered, as she cut into the fabric.
“I'll have you know this t-shirt is Armani.”
“If this t-shirt is Armani, I'll eat my...” her voice stuttered to a halt as she eyed his ribs. He glanced down, they were already a mottled mess of bruising, but at least there was no bone poking though.
“Oh, Damon, I think you should see a doctor,” Elena said softly.
“No doctors, ” Damon said. “Neither of us know how freaky the blood work of a 140 year old Vampire turned human is.”
“Better freaky than dead.”
“Elena, just patch me up and get me to Stefan. He'll do the rest.”
Elena gave him a glare.“Don't you dare even think about it” she said.
Damon sighed, but his ribs protested. “Don't dare what?” he wheezed.
“You know what!” She unrolled the bandage with an angry tug, and Damon eyed her warily. He was seeing Elena in a whole new light, now he was human. Force to be reckoned with, didn't even seem to cover the bases.
“Whatever you say, Elena,” he said eventually.
“Say, it Damon. Promise me you won't get yourself turned until you've least tried being human,” she demanded.
“Is there at least a time scale on this promise?”
“Damon!”
“I promise,” he said, lying through his teeth.
Her eyes narrowed, but the sharp nod she gave him, told him she believed him.
~~~*~*~*~~~
The codeine began to wear off about two hours into their trip home, and there had been nothing to replace it in the first aid box. Elena had stopped at a gas station and bought a packet of Tylenol, but Damon had popped three in one go and they still barely made a dent in the pain. What he wouldn't give for some morphine, or a good old fashioned opium pipe.
He caught Elena looking at him through the rear view mirror, a worried expression on her face.
“Relax, Elena,” he said. “I'm not going to pop my clogs before we get there.”
Her answer was to put her foot on the pedal. Guess she still hadn't made up her mind about whether he had suicidal tendencies or not. Which meant she'd probably watch him like a hawk over the next few days. He grimaced, and eyed Elena as the speedometer suddenly notched up another ten miles. They were now doing close to ninety - and she called him a road hog.
He felt his eyes close, despite the pain, and wondered if he was falling unconscious or just falling asleep.
Apparently, Elena was wondering the same thing, because he felt the engine rev yet again just before he passed out..
~~~*~*~*~~~
The first thing he was aware of, when he came to, was that the car had come to a halt. The second thing he was aware of was Elena's voice.
“It's not what you think, Stefan.”
“Elena, I know you like to see the good in everyone, but Damon is manipulating you. I'm not going to let you get hurt in another one of his little games.”
“Stefan, no, you don't understand,” Elena began, but it was too late. The back door was wrenched open, and Stefan had reached into the car and pulled Damon out. He dangled in the air as Stefan glared at him.
“Stefan, no, please, you've got to listen to me,” Elena pleaded, as she stumbled out of the driver's seat.
Stefan ignored her. “You think I don't know what you're doing, Damon?” he demanded. “It's always the same game with you.”
Damon gave out a strangled laugh. “Oh, I can pretty much guarantee that the last couple of days was a game changer,” he snorted.
“Why you little-”
“Stefan, no”
Damon felt himself fly through the air, passing through the open door of the lodge, and he hit the hall floor with a bang, skidding into the wall. His ribs burned with pain, his breath was agonisingly shallow, and he could feel his sight darken around the edges as he lifted his head Stefan make a silhouette against the door.
“Enough,” Stefan said, “I've had enough. Time to make you-” He came to a standstill, his face blanking with puzzlement as he hands pushed against the empty space that filled the door jamb.
Damon laughed, wincing with pain as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. “Oh, this is priceless,” he gasped. “You're not fucking invited in.”
He passed out.
PART TWO
Title Georgia Revival
Author: jinxed_wood
Characters/Pairings: Damon /Elena, Stefan/Elena, ensemble.
Rating: PG
Category: Drama
Spoilers: Yup - better hope you're up to date!
Show/Bookverse: Show
Summary:Damon's visit to Bree takes a turn he never imagines...
PART ONE
Why hadn’t he seen it coming?
Damon wiped the steam from the sink window and looked at his reflection coolly. The long, hot shower had removed the gasoline from his hair and his skin, and Elena had somehow tracked down a twenty four hour laundrette, but but his heightened sense of smell could still pick up the fumes clinging to him.
His eyes darkened at the vivid recollection of his humiliation. Nobody did that to him, and got away with it - nobody. He was going to reach into her chest and rip out her heart. How dare the bitch betray him like that. He'd trusted her.
He shrugged on his jeans, still warm from the dryer, and stalked out of the bathroom. Elena was sitting crosslegged on the drab covers of the motel's double bed.
“Are you okay?” she asked, eyeing him dubiously.
“Peachy. Never been better,” he said shortly as he headed for the door. “Catch some sleep. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning.”
“Where are you going, Damon?” she asked promptly, ignoring his words as she leapt to her feet. “You're not going after him, are you?”
“Now why would I do that?” he drawled. “I mean all he did was attack and kidnap you, and then pour gasoline all over me.”
“You did kill his girlfriend,” she pointed out, in a maddening reasonable tone of voice. “And he did let us go - remember?”
“I remember,”Damon said. Elena Gilbert, going toe to toe with a pissed off vampire in order to save his skin. It was not a sight he'd soon forget.
“So don't go,” she said, hands on hips as she scowled at him. She really had no sense of fear... he may have to fix that.
“I'm not going to find him,” he said, “I left my jacket at Bree's place, and I forgot to pay our tab before we left.”
“Oh, right.” He saw the tension leech out of her shoulders, but then she hadn't put two and two together yet, and he wasn't about to fill in the blanks for her. His triumph was short lived, however, as she picked up her jacket. “Lets go,” she said.
“What makes you think you're welcome to tag along?” he asked, exasperated. “Maybe I want to give Bree a proper goodbye.”
Her cheeks went pink, but her lips fell into a thin line of determination. “I'll wait in the car,” she said sweetly. “It shouldn't take long.”
“Ouch,” he said. “Consider my ego duly punctured.”
“I should be so lucky,” she said, gesturing at the door. “After you.”
“Fine,” he said, “But just you'll know, I 've already met my quota of damsel rescuing for the decade. If you get abducted again, it's on your head!”
“Oh yeah, you're a knight in shining armour,” Elena said.
“Bite me.”
~~~*~~*~~*~~~
Bree was still in the bar, clearing up, when he entered through the back door. Oliver had obviously not thought to give her a heads up. Deliberately, he scuffed his foot, smirking as her head bobbed up.
We were just leaving. I wanted to say goodbye,” he said, as she slowly turned.
“Good to see you again, Damon,” she said, but she couldn't quite hide the shake in her voice.
“No kiss,” he taunted, as he drank her fear in, tasting it.
I'm full of Vervain. I put it in everything I drink,” she said hurriedly
”And you're you telling me this, why?” he asked, drawing it out.
“Lexi was my friend. How could you?” Bree said lowly, as she stepped back. Did she really think she had a chance of getting away from him? He blurred as she moved, blocking off her exit.
“The tomb can be opened.” she said, panicking as she caught the expression on his face.
“You're lying!” he spat.
She edged backwards. “Emily's grimoire. Her spell book. If you know how she closed the tomb, the reversal process will be in her book. You can open the tomb.”
“And where is this book?” Damon asked.
“Uh...um...”
Damon could practically hear her mind searching in vain for the right words, as he closed in on her. “You have no idea,” he said.
“I'm telling you the truth,” she said hoarsely.
“And I believe you. My dear sweet Bree, that's why I'm almost sorry.” He reached out, stroking the curve of her face; watching the fear leap wildly in her eyes.
“Damon?”
He froze at the sound of Elena's voice. “I asked you to stay in the car,” he said evenly, looking over his shoulder.
Elena snorted. “No, you ordered me to stay in the car, and then strutted off, expecting me to obey. Rather stupid, when you think about it.”
“Yeah, it was,” Bree said softly.
Hearing something in her voice, Damon looked back at her, just as her hand slammed in his chest, He saw the glint of a silver chain entwined in her fingers, and agony burst through his chest as he flew through the air.
He hit the wall, the brickwork slamming into his back, and pain roared through him. He fell unconscious.
~~~*~*~*~~~
“Damon. Damon?” A hand shook his shoulder, and his head exploded with pain.
“Remove your hand, or I'll remove it from you,” he said - or at least he tried. The words melded together and became slurred as they left his mouth. He tasted his own blood and frowned, puzzled. It tasted wrong, metallic...but strangely familiar.
“Damon? Please, wake up, you're beginning to scare me.” It was Elena's voice, but it sounded curiously dulled. Where were the little hitches of breath he usually heard between her words, and her scent...where was her scent?”
“Oh, God, you're hot...and your wounds, they're not healing....”
“Bree,” he said, his mouth felt swollen, and it hurt like a bitch. He opened his eyes, and Elena's face swam into view, surrounded by a halo of the morning sun - how long had he been out?
“Yeah, I saw that part,” she said, “Whatever she did, she threw you clean across the room with it.”
Damon squinted at her. Her face was now in focus, but details was missing. He took her hand and pulled her close, wincing as his body protested. “Something's off. My ribs are cracked and they're not mending. I'm covered in my own blood, and I can't....can't smell it. I can't smell you. Your scent is gone.”
Elena's nose wrinkled. “Okay, that definitely goes under the category of TMI,” she said uncomfortably.
“You don't get it,” Damon said hoarsely. “I should be starving right now. My hunger should be screaming at me. I should be ripping out your neck and feeding...”
Elena gave him a half exasperated, half fearful look. “I've already saved your life today,” she said. “Don't make me regret it this soon.”
Damon rolled his eyes, and then moaned as pain fired through every nerve of his body. “Shit. Whatever she did, it did a real number on me. Help me up.”
“I knew this trip was a bad idea,” she said. “There's no such thing as leaving your troubles behind. They just follow you around.”
“You're beginning to sound like a fucking fortune cookie,” Damon snapped, as pain shot down one leg.
“And you're beginning to sound like a grumpy old fart,” Elena shot back. “So far, in the last twenty four hours, I've been run off the road by a vampire and kidnapped by a second one, I really don't need to be bitched at by a third...” her voice trailed off as he leaned on her shoulder and hauled himself to his feet.
“Cat got you tongue?” he snarked.
“Damon, I think there's something seriously wrong with you,” she said quietly, as she guided him to a chair. “Your cuts haven't even begun to close over, and your skin is too warm.” She grasped at his wrist and he tried to shake her off. It didn't work, so he scowled at her instead, to cover his panic. What was wrong with him?
“Damon,” she said softly, after going stock still. “Your heart is going crazy.”
“Don't be stupid,” Daomnn said sharply. “My heart beats like clockwork. All vampires do. Keeps the blood pumping.
“Could it be because you've been injured...?”
“No,” he muttered, “It doesn't work like that - not for vampires.”
“Not for Vampires,” she echoed, before grabbing his hand. On any other given day, he'd have ripped her head off before her sticky little fingers had even touched the ring. But, for some strange reason, he just wasn't fast enough at the moment. Bree had hit him good and hard.
With a sharp tug, she pulled the ring off , and Damon just stared blankly at her, as he tried to process what was happening. He was sitting in the broad daylight without his ring on, and he wasn't turning to ash...
A cold chill ran through him, and he went to that place inside, the place he always went when he was hungry, or angry, or just plain bored.
Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Not any time soon, I think,” Elena said, looking amused.
Damon narrowed his eyes at her. “This is not funny, Elena.”
“I think that depends on your point of view,” she said gleefully. “Stefan is going to go nuts.”
“Elena,” Damon said lowly. “I'm going to go nuts in a second, if you don't go and find me some painkillers.”
“You're going to need a lot more than painkillers,” Elena said.
“Well, they'll have to do, since I don't exactly carry health insurance,” Damon said.
Elena's face sobered. “Oh my God, this is real...you're-.”
“Do not say it!” Damon half barked, half coughed. “And it won't be for long, if I can help it. I was never really that fond of my life the first time around.”
“Don't say that,” Elena said quietly. “Don't ever say that. That is not an option, do you hear?”
Damon frowned at her, for a moment puzzled. Then, it hit him. “Relax, Elena, I'm not thinking of topping myself,” he said. “I've got very attached to my life over the last century. Old age, however, does not hold many attractions for me. I like being a Vampire.”
“So that's it?” Elena asked. “You're not even going to give it a try? Stefan would--”
“I'm not Stefan,” Damon cut in. “So let's not go there.” He tried to sit up, and bit back a scream of pain. “Do you know how to wrap ribs?” he asked shortly.
Elena bit her lip. “Can you talk me through it?” she eventually asked.
“I guess I'm going to have to, aren't I?” Damon said, with a sigh.
Elena pulled her hair back and knotted it. “I'll find the first aid box. Don't go anywhere while I'm gone.”
Damon let out a snort. “I don't think that's going to be an issue.”
~~~*~*~*~~~
His first meal as a human consisted of two codeine Elena had found in the first aid box and glass of water. The chalky after taste was less than appetising, and he almost gagged on the horsepills, but the pain eased. Whatever Bree kept in her first aid box, it sure the hell wasn't the over the counter stuff.
His stomach growled, and Damon looked down at it quizzically. Elena laughed.
“We'd better lay off the food until after we bandage your ribs,” she said.
“Afraid I'll barf it up on your shoes?” Damon asked wryly.
“Pretty much, yeah,” Elena admitted, eyeing his t-shirt as she produced a pair of scissors. “You have two options - lift your arms, or let me cut you out of it.”
Damon eyed the scissors. “Seems to me you've already made up your mind - have you got a license for that thing?”
“Smart ass,” she muttered, as she cut into the fabric.
“I'll have you know this t-shirt is Armani.”
“If this t-shirt is Armani, I'll eat my...” her voice stuttered to a halt as she eyed his ribs. He glanced down, they were already a mottled mess of bruising, but at least there was no bone poking though.
“Oh, Damon, I think you should see a doctor,” Elena said softly.
“No doctors, ” Damon said. “Neither of us know how freaky the blood work of a 140 year old Vampire turned human is.”
“Better freaky than dead.”
“Elena, just patch me up and get me to Stefan. He'll do the rest.”
Elena gave him a glare.“Don't you dare even think about it” she said.
Damon sighed, but his ribs protested. “Don't dare what?” he wheezed.
“You know what!” She unrolled the bandage with an angry tug, and Damon eyed her warily. He was seeing Elena in a whole new light, now he was human. Force to be reckoned with, didn't even seem to cover the bases.
“Whatever you say, Elena,” he said eventually.
“Say, it Damon. Promise me you won't get yourself turned until you've least tried being human,” she demanded.
“Is there at least a time scale on this promise?”
“Damon!”
“I promise,” he said, lying through his teeth.
Her eyes narrowed, but the sharp nod she gave him, told him she believed him.
~~~*~*~*~~~
The codeine began to wear off about two hours into their trip home, and there had been nothing to replace it in the first aid box. Elena had stopped at a gas station and bought a packet of Tylenol, but Damon had popped three in one go and they still barely made a dent in the pain. What he wouldn't give for some morphine, or a good old fashioned opium pipe.
He caught Elena looking at him through the rear view mirror, a worried expression on her face.
“Relax, Elena,” he said. “I'm not going to pop my clogs before we get there.”
Her answer was to put her foot on the pedal. Guess she still hadn't made up her mind about whether he had suicidal tendencies or not. Which meant she'd probably watch him like a hawk over the next few days. He grimaced, and eyed Elena as the speedometer suddenly notched up another ten miles. They were now doing close to ninety - and she called him a road hog.
He felt his eyes close, despite the pain, and wondered if he was falling unconscious or just falling asleep.
Apparently, Elena was wondering the same thing, because he felt the engine rev yet again just before he passed out..
~~~*~*~*~~~
The first thing he was aware of, when he came to, was that the car had come to a halt. The second thing he was aware of was Elena's voice.
“It's not what you think, Stefan.”
“Elena, I know you like to see the good in everyone, but Damon is manipulating you. I'm not going to let you get hurt in another one of his little games.”
“Stefan, no, you don't understand,” Elena began, but it was too late. The back door was wrenched open, and Stefan had reached into the car and pulled Damon out. He dangled in the air as Stefan glared at him.
“Stefan, no, please, you've got to listen to me,” Elena pleaded, as she stumbled out of the driver's seat.
Stefan ignored her. “You think I don't know what you're doing, Damon?” he demanded. “It's always the same game with you.”
Damon gave out a strangled laugh. “Oh, I can pretty much guarantee that the last couple of days was a game changer,” he snorted.
“Why you little-”
“Stefan, no”
Damon felt himself fly through the air, passing through the open door of the lodge, and he hit the hall floor with a bang, skidding into the wall. His ribs burned with pain, his breath was agonisingly shallow, and he could feel his sight darken around the edges as he lifted his head Stefan make a silhouette against the door.
“Enough,” Stefan said, “I've had enough. Time to make you-” He came to a standstill, his face blanking with puzzlement as he hands pushed against the empty space that filled the door jamb.
Damon laughed, wincing with pain as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. “Oh, this is priceless,” he gasped. “You're not fucking invited in.”
He passed out.
PART TWO