Chapter 8 ~ Complications

Stefan was downstairs pacing around waiting to confront his brother. What was he thinking? Has he lost his mind?
Damon walked down the stairs and into the livingroom. He could tell by the look on Stefan's face he was angry but also disappointed.
Damon wasn't sure he was in the mood for this right now, so he walked past him and into the kitchen to grab a beer.
Stefan followed him into the kitchen.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Damon?" he yelled.
Damon turned to look at his brother, giving him an evil look. "What do you mean?"
"Are you seriously going to play stupid, brother?" He paused for a sec than added, "Because it doesn't suit you."
Damon looked at his brother shrewdly but didnt answer. Instead he took a drink from his beer.
"Are you going to answer me, Damon?" Stefan continued on.
"Why don't you just tell me what's up your ass now, Stefan?" Damon yelled in retaliation, "Cause I'm getting sick of your attitude as of late."
With that Damon threw his bottle of beer against the wall behind Stefan, where it shattered into tiny shards.
Stefan just stared at his brother as if he hadn't just seen him smash the bottle against the kitchen wall.
"What were you thinking by sharing blood with Vella?"
Damon narrowed his eyes at Stefan, then began to walk past his brother towards the livingroom.
As he walked past, Stefan grabbed Damon by the shoulder.
Damon slapped his brother's hand away and continued to walk into the livingroom.
Stefan followed right behind him. "Damon, I'm not going to let this go."
Damon turned around to face his brother, he had already been angry but now he was seething. "What I do is none of your business! When the hell are you going to learn that?"
"I'm afraid that isn't true, Damon," Stefan stated calmly.
"Well enlighten me then, BROTHER!"
"Did you even think of the consequences, Damon?" Stefan asked, "No, of course not, you never do. When will you ever learn?"
Damon walked closer to Stefan with a raised fist. "I'm not explaining myself to you, or anyone for that matter. All that matters to me right now is, Vella."
"Damon, if those vampires had killed her, she would be a vampire right now," Stefan said. "Did you even think of that?"
Damon unclenched his fist and put his hand down beside him.
"I know, Stefan. You don't have to remind me," Damon replied in a defeated voice.
Stefan had never heard his brother back down so easily. What was going on between him and Vella, he wondered.
Damon couldn't think straight with all the conflicting emotions he was feeling. He was angry, not only at the vampires, but at himself as well.
Damon had failed Vella when she really needed him the most and he hated himself for it.
Stefan placed his hand on Damon's shoulder in a supportive gesture. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had never seen his brother act like this before.
Damon shrugged his brother's hand off his shoulder, turned and sat down on the couch and Stefan sat beside him.
As calmly as he could, Damon explained to his brother all that he knew, leaving out a few of the more personal details.
Stefan listened intently to his brother's story, wondering what the vampires could possibly want. But he figured, since Vella's mother was a witch, that it must be some magical artifact they were after. If that was it, Stefan couldn't allow them to find what they were looking for.
Damon was silently grateful for his brother's presence. He wasn't sure what would have happened if he hadn't had Stefan to turn to, but he would never admit that to his brother.
After he was done discussing things with Stefan, Damon went upstairs to sit at Vella's bedside.
Damon sat beside Vella, almost unmoving until she began to stir a few hours later.




Vella opened her eyes a little, trying to see where she was. She was in pain and couldn't quite remember anything. When her eyes finally focused, she was greeted by Damon's worried face.
As Vella tried to roll over to her side, she winced in pain.
"Don't move, Vella," Damon whispered.
Vella was in too much pain to argue. She suddenly began to remember her last moments before she had passed out, which caused her to start breathing a little too heavily with panic.
Damon cupped one side of her face gently with his hand and whispered, "Don't worry, you're safe here."
Vella wasn't quite sure where 'here' was, but she knew she could trust him, so she did as he asked.
Damon made sure she would be okay for a minute and left to go downstairs to find his brother.
Stefan was is in the livingroom, now joined by his girlfriend, Elena.
Damon walked by them, into the kitchen to grab Vella a glass of water.
Elena followed Damon into the kitchen. She wanted to find out if he was okay, but he wasn't really in the mood to talk.
Damon excused himself and headed back up up to his bedroom.
He thought Vella was asleep again, but she opened her eyes when he walked in the room.
Damon put the glass of water on the table beside the bed and asked her if she wanted some. Vella was thirsty, so Damon helped sit her up carefully and handed her the glass.
Vella took the glass ardently, she felt like she was dying of thirst. She drank down the whole glass, but her thirst wasn't quenched, so she asked Damon for more.
Damon was unwilling to leave her side again, so he yelled downstairs for his brother, hoping he wouldn't mind bringing up a glass of water.
It was Elena who brought the water to Damon.
Damon gave Elena a smile of thanks and turned his attention back to Vella.
Elena figured he wasn't going to tell her anything, so she left to give them some privacy.
Vella drank down the second glass of water. She felt better after finishing this glass.
Vella's head was swimming though, with all kinds of memories. Some were about what happened the night before and some were from her past. She was trying to sort them all out, but it felt like a floodgate had been opened and she couldn't close it.
Damon tried comforting Vella, but he wasn't sure how. Instead, he just sat by her waiting until she needed help.
Vella began crying inconsolably, which worried Damon. She didn't really seem to be herself, she seemed panicked, so Damon did the only thing he thought would help her relax, he compelled her.
Vella relaxed enough that she began to doze off, which helped Damon relax as well. He had hated compelling her, but he would ask her for her forgiveness later when she was back to normal.
Damon gently crawled into the bed beside Vella, and closed his eyes. He was listening to the rhythm of her heartbeat, when he himself dozed off.


Damon was awoken a short while later by his brother, Stefan.
Stefan told his brother the police were at the door looking for him and he needed to come downstairs and talk to them.
Damon got up and made sure Vella was okay, before he went down the stairs.
The town sheriff was waiting downstairs for Damon. He had dealt with her in the past and figured he would be able to get rid of her easily enough.
The sheriff was concerned about Vella. The police had found her house broken into, trashed and with no sign of Vella. She had been told by witnesses that the last person she had been seen with was Damon.
Damon told Sheriff Forbes, that he had come to visit Vella and found her house trashed, so he had went in search of her and brought her to the boarding house to make sure she would be safe.
Sheriff Forbes didn't totally believe Damon's story, but she never had a reason to mistrust him in the past. Since Damon said she was sleeping from her ordeal, she told him she would come back to talk to Vella the next day when she was feeling better.
After the sheriff had left, Damon began to pace a few steps back and forth thinking. He suspected something big was going on and the Founder's Council probably knew what that might be and he needed to know what that was.
Stefan was not pleased by the appearance of the sheriff either. He knew this must involve the town and that could get dicey for him and his brother. They weren't suspected of being vampires, at least not yet, but it wouldn't be that difficult to figure it out.
After Damon was done pacing, he went back up to his room to lay with Vella and promptly fell asleep once again.




It was late in the afternoon when Damon was awakened by Vella thrashing around in the bed. She was actually still asleep, so he tried talking to her in gentle whispers to calm her down, but it didn't work. Damon figured the only way was to wake her up.
Damon called her name a few times and the thrashing subsided.
Vella's eyes then opened. She was disoriented at first, but when she saw Damon's worried face and heard his soothing voice, she was suddenly aware.
Vella sighed and then wrapped her arms tightly around Damon. Tears started to flow slowly at first, then much more quickly.
Damon held her as hard as he could without hurting her. He wanted her pain to stop but nothing he said seemed to help.
Damon eventually asked her if he could compel her to help, but she said no.
It took Vella a few more minutes to calm down enough so she could talk.
Vella told Damon she was hungry and thirsty, so he went down to make her food. Elena was still there, so he asked for her help since he wasn't sure what she would need to eat.
Elena was silently amused. Damon never usually admitted not knowing everything.
Elena made some chicken noodle soup for Vella and brought it up to Damon's room.
When Elena walked in, she was surprised to see Damon and Vella holding each other. She put the tray with the soup, some crackers, an apple and some milk on the table beside the bed and excused herself.
Damon thanked Elena for her help.
Elena just gave him a nod and left to be with Stefan.
Vella ate and drank and began to feel much better, which pleased Damon. He had been so sick with worry he hadn't even eaten in almost two days. He knew that he needed to real soon.
When Vella was finished eating, she asked Damon to show her to the washroom so she could clean herself up.
Damon helped her out of bed carefully, stopping to let her catch her balance.
Vella winced at the pain from her waist. It wasn't as bad as it should be, she thought. How was that possible?
Damon helped Vella down the hallway and into the washroom. She asked if he could run her a bath, she felt dirty.
Damon ran her water, helped her out of her clothes and then lifted her into the tub. He yelled down to Elena, asking her to bring some clothes up for Vella.
Vella checked out the wounds on her side. They seemed to be healing rather quickly, which had her stumped. She was a nurse and had never seen anything like it.
Vella questioned Damon about this, but he tried to change the subject.
"Damon, please," Vella pleaded with him. "What's going on?"
Damon didn't want her to worry, so he explained how his blood was helping to heal her quicker than she normally would.
Vella was relieved to hear that she wasn't a vampire, she had been worried she had died, but now she felt silly for thinking that.
Elena had brought some clothes up for Vella. She had gone out earlier with Damon's credit card and bought some things for her.
"I had Elena get you some clothes because the police were at your house and they wouldn't let us in."
Vella was very grateful to both Damon and Elena. She knew she couldn't go home again, at least not without Damon.
After Vella was clean and freshly dressed, she wanted to go outside for some fresh air.
Damon didn't want to do this since it was dark, but he had promised her, so he took her out for a few minutes.
Vella was quiet as they walked. All she could do was run the memories of her past through her head. The vampire attack had triggered old memories of the night her parents were killed, only they weren't the same memories she had remembered for the last 8 years.
Vella decided against discussing this with Damon, until she was feeling up to talking. She had to come to terms with being lied to for years by people whom she had trusted.
Damon took the time to tell her about the sheriff, which he noticed seemed to upset Vella. He was suddenly aware she was keeping something from him. His first instincts were to compel her so he could know what it was here and now, but he didn't want to be that kind of person with Vella. He figured she would tell him eventually, when she was ready.
Damon took Vella back inside the house. He asked his brother Stefan, if he would look after her while he was gone.
Stefan reluctantly agreed. He knew why he had to go out and wouldn't have denied him.
Vella didn't want him to leave, but she knew he needed to feed. He had told her it had been two days, which worried her. So she agreed to stay with Stefan and Elena and behave herself.
Damon chuckled silently when she said she would behave herself. It wasn't long ago he muttered those exact words to Vella in her own house.


While Damon was out hunting for food, he also hunted for the vampires. He knew they couldn't be too far, but they seemed to be adept at hiding.
He didn't search for them very long, not wanting to leave Vella alone.
While Damon was hunting, he found two young women out alone. It took all of his self control not to kill the both of them and totally drain them of blood.
Instead he took what he needed without hurting them and neither would remember a thing.


When Damon arrived home, he found his brother, Elena and Vella playing cards together. They seemed to be having a good time, which helped Damon relax, if only a little.
Damon watched them play for awhile, not wanting to play himself. When it was getting too late, Damon convinced Vella to go up to bed. She would need her rest for her visit with the sheriff the next day.
"Are you going to sleep in the bed with me tonight?" Vella asked Damon when they got to his room.
Damon gave her one of his coy smiles and said, "Only if you want me to."
Vella gave him a smile back and told him it was the only way she was going to bed, so he relented.
Damon and Vella fell asleep holding each other tightly.

Chapter 7 ~ Dangerous Distraction

Vella woke up a few hours later. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and with whom.
As Vella wiggled around a bit to get more comfortable, she woke up Damon.
They both looked in each other's eyes for a moment and then Damon carefully kissed Vella on the forehead.
Vella could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, she knew she was blushing but couldn't stop. She hoped deep down that Damon couldn't see her blush in the dark, but she knew he could. After all, he was a creature of the night.
Damon was just as surprised by the kiss on the forehead as Vella was. He wasn't quite sure what possessed him to do it. He had never really felt what he was feeling right now with anyone before, even Katherine. He could feel the defenses he spent many lifetimes building up, beginning to come down and he was more than a little frightened.
When the two of them would later reflect on what happened, neither would remember who began kissing who or if it was both of them at the same time.
What began as gentle kissing, soon became very passionate. Damon carried Vella upstairs into her room and gently laid her on the bed. What began as kissing ended with them naked in the bed together.
After what seemed like hours later, Vella was laying in Damon's arms feeling euphoric but confused. She was trying to make sense of what had just happened. It was nothing she had ever expected would happen between them.
Damon held Vella, while absent mindedly stroking her hair. He was also trying to make sense of what he had just done. It wasn't like he hadn't ever slept with someone before, but since he had been with Katherine, it had only been for his amusement or some sick, twisted, sadistic way to control someone. This, however, was like nothing he had ever felt towards anyone before.
The sun was barely beginning to come up through the curtains before either of them spoke.
"Damon? " Vella asked in a whisper.
Damon lifted Vella's head gently by her chin, so he could look into her eyes. "Yes, Vella?"
Vella suddenly felt her stomach doing flip flops. She opened her mouth and hoped something would come out.
"Are we still being honest with each other?" she asked him.
"Of course," Damon answered without hesitation. "Why?"
"What is this? Us? Is there an....us?"
Damon wasn't surprised by the question, but he wasn't quite sure of the answer himself.
"I'm not sure what to say, Vella. I have never felt like this for anyone before. I'm not even sure what this feeling is," he said with a furrowed brow.
Vella was glad he was at least being truthful, even if she was a little upset by his answer. But at the same time, she thought it might be for the best. She had to keep reminding herself he was a vampire, no matter how sexy he was.
With that thought, her hand automatically went to the necklace around her neck, which she didn't even realize she had on. At least she knew she wasn't being influenced to feel what she was feeling.
"How would you know, Damon?" Vella asked.
Damon knew the answer to this question but he wanted to think of a way to carefully word it.
"There is a way, but I don't think I'm willing to go that far, Vella," he said with a worrisome look on his face.
Vella almost felt like she had been slapped in the face. Tears began to form in her eyes even though she tried hard to hold them.
Why am I so emotional lately? This is not like me at all.
Damon gave her an apologetic smile and wiped at her eyes gently. "Vella, I don't want to hurt you. I hope you can see that."
"I'm sorry, Damon, but I don't understand."
Damon didn't want to tell her. He knew it wasn't right, but he couldn't lie to her, keep this from her or most of all, hurt her, he just couldn't hurt her. But could he resist the temptation?
"The only way is to share blood," Damon said.
Vella looked at him in surprise, she wasn't sure she had heard him right.
Damon went on to explain,"If we share blood, I will feel closer to you. And you will feel closer to me."
Vella looked at him incredulousy as if she didn't believe him.
"I will be honest with you, Vella." Damon started. "I haven't done that in a very long time, I mean for this reason, and never thought I would ever again..."
Vella felt a mix of sadness and pity at his admission, but she would never admit it. Before she realized what she was saying, she told Damon she wanted to do it, if he was willing.
Damon looked deep inside himself to see if he could go through with it. But after much reflection, he couldn't say no, he wanted to be with her in the most intimate way he knew. All he worried about was hurting Vella, or worse, killing her.


Vella looked a little frightened. She wasn't quite sure what to expect, but she knew Damon wouldn't hurt her purposely, he promised her.
Damon laid next to her on the bed and looked deep into her eyes. He wanted to make sure she wanted this.
Damon told Vella she needed to take her necklace off, which she hastily took off and threw onto her nightstand.
"Look at me, Vella," Damon pleaded with her. "You must be totally sure this is what you want. If I bite you and you resist it will be very painful"
Vella felt a jolt of fear course through her body at this news.
"I'm afraid though, Vella. Afraid to hurt you, to take too much blood from you, I am a little hungry" Damon admitted to her.
"Look into my eyes, Damon. Look for the truth. I trust you, fully and completely."
Damon looked into her eyes. He could see she had a fear but it was a fear of the unknown, she wasn't afraid of him at all. This made him relax a little.
Damon leaned in to kiss her neck and she shuddered a little, but she was still relaxed. As he pierced her neck with his fangs he felt her whole body shudder, but she didn't fight him off. He stopped for a minute and bit his own wrist, until the blood was flowing enough. Damon offered his wrist up to Vella's mouth, which she took without hesitation and he went back to suckling on her neck.
Vella was feeling something more than she could ever have imagined. She felt so close to Damon right now. It was like he had dropped all of his defenses and let her in. Like they were joined mind, body and soul. It was almost more euphoric for Vella, than the night they had just spent together. She think she knew exactly how he really felt towards her, but was it strong enough. Strangely enough, it also seemed to be stirring memories from her past that she didn't even know existed or wanted to remember, but she wanted to forget those right now and focus only on Damon and herself, so she pushed everything else out of her mind.
Damon couldn't believe how delicious Vella tasted, like nothing he had ever tasted before, almost heavenly. He could feel Vella breaking through his defenses but he didn't care anymore, his mind was free like it never had been before. He knew he loved her and trusted her, that was the best feeling of all. He had never truly had that with anyone, ever.
Damon had to stop himself from wanting more. If he wasn't careful he could take too much blood and kill her. And even more worrisome, was he imagined she had enough of his blood inside her that she would change into a vampire, if she died. He swore he wouldn't let that happen.
When Damon pulled away from Vella's neck, all that was visible was what looked like two tiny little pin pricks. He was happy he hadn't been too forceful and left a bruise, he wasn't really used to being too gentle.
Afterwards, Damon and Vella laid in each other's arms for awhile just enjoying each other's company, until Vella's phone rang.
It was the hospital, wondering if she was feeling well enough to come in for her shift that afternoon.
"I have to go in Damon, I missed the past two days as it is," Vella told him after she hung up the phone.
Damon didn't want to let her out of his sight. He was sure the vampire, or maybe even vampires would still be close by.
After much discussion, Damon agreed, albeit reluctantly, to let her go. He didn't want to control her life, but he wasn't about to let her go that easy. He intended on keeping a close eye on her. Vella was much more stubborn than he had previously thought.




Vella got home that night at 8:15, an hour earlier than usual. She had been feeling faint, so she asked to go home early. She hoped Damon wouldn't be irritated at her for not calling him and letting him know, she just wanted a bit of time to herself to reflect on all that had happened recently. There was so much she still couldn't comprehend.
Vella called for a pizza, had a quick bath and decided to relax with a glass of wine while watching TV.
It was about 15 minutes into her show when the pizza arrived.
Vella got up from the couch to answer the door.
She opened the door a crack and told the driver to come in a second while she got the money.
As Vella turned to grab her purse, she was thrown part way across her livingroom, hitting the couch and falling on the ground. Before she knew what was happening, she was being snatched up forcefully from the ground by her shoulder and arm.
When Vella finally opened her eyes, she saw it was a vampire, the same one who had killed her parents eight years ago.
Fear had struck Vella. She knew she wouldn't be able to be compelled because she was wearing her pendant, but she hadn't been drinking her daily dose of vervain. All she could do was hope that Damon would make it to her house on time.
"What do you want with me?" Vella asked as bravely as she could.
"We want something of your mother's. Its ours and we want it," the male vampire replied.
Vella turned her head when she saw movement to her side. It was the female vampire, the one who had been with the male vampire when he killed her parents and the one who had hurt her sister.
"What could my mother have had that you want?"
The male vampire, which she soon realized was named Gabriel, tightened his grip on her shoulder, digging his nails in and drawing blood.
Vella winced in pain, but didn't scream.
"We will know what it is when we find it."
The female vampire, who was named, Lilith, was busy tearing apart the house searching for what they had came for.
It only took about ten minutes for Lilith to turn the entire house upside down, ten very painful minutes for Vella, but she hadn't found what she was looking for.
Frustrated, she walked over to Vella and slapped her hard across the face. "Where is all of your mother's stuff?"
Vella was dazed by the slap, her shoulder was aching and she was feeling faint again.
"I don't have everything of hers, I got rid of some and the rest was taken by member's of the Founder's Council."
The two vampires shot each other knowing glances.
Vella hoped they would leave her alone now that they knew she obviously didn't have what they wanted, but they weren't going to give up that easily.
Lilith grabbed Vella by the hair, pulling her head back, exposing her neck.
"I want you to take that pendant off, or I will have to do this the hard way."
By 'hard way', Vella imagined she meant biting her, which she wasn't going to allow to happen. So she agreed to take the necklace off.
Gabriel grabbed both of Vella's arms and pulled them behind her, while Lilith grabbed the hair on the left side of her head, so she could stare into Vella's eyes.
Lilith was searching for the truth in Vella's eyes, but when she found the truth she was livid.
"This witch doesn't know anything useful that I can see, Gabriel. But she does know where her mom's stuff is, it's in a storage place somewhere nearby."
Vella wasn't quite sure what they wanted, but she was positive that she didn't want them to find it, whatever it was. She wasn't sure why or how she knew this, but she did.
Suddenly, Gabriel let go of her arms and began to dig his fingernails into the soft flesh on either side of Vella's waist, piercing the skin.
Vella cried out in agony. The pain was so excruciating she nearly passed out.
Lilith once again pulled on Vella's hair and looked into her eyes, hoping to find out more information. Eventually, Vella couldn't fight Lilith's compulsion anymore and told her what she wanted to know.
Gabriel was about to bite her neck when Lilith stopped him.
"Don't, not yet. We may need her still," Lilith ordered.
It was the last thing Vella would remember. She was in so much agony, she finally succumbed to unconciousness, her last thought was of Damon.




Damon had went home ealier that day and slept. He hadn't slept much while he was with Vella and he was exhausted, both physically and mentally.
He assumed Vella would be safe while she was at work. Most vampires wouldn't do anything in broad daylight around alot of people, especially if they knew this town. And that was only if they could go out in the sun any way.
Damon slept until it began to get dark and then went in search of someone to feed from.
He had had enough blood from Vella to get him through the day, but he needed to stay strong if he wanted to fend off this vampire who was after Vella.
After Damon fed, he went home to talk to his brother. He wanted Stefan to know what was going on, or at least as much as he knew.
Stefan was very worried by this new information. He didn't want Elena getting caught up in whatever was going on with Damon and his friend.
Stefan wasn't completely heartless though. He was also worried for Vella. She obviously was into something way over her head and had no idea what was going on. And resorting to help from Damon, Stefan figured she must really be desperate.
Damon made Stefan promise to keep his eyes and ears out for the vampire, but there was no need for him to ask because he would any way. Not for his brother, or even Vella, but for Elena and the town.



Damon left the boarding house a little later than he had planned that night. He had lost track of time talking with Stefan.
He drove quickly, determined not to be too late. He was worried, which was soon replaced by anger and blind rage. If he caught that vampire who was after Vella, he was going to rip him into little pieces.
As Damon got closer to Vella's house, he began to feel uneasy. He could sense another vampire, or was it vampires?
When Damon arrived at her house, he noticed the front door was slightly ajar, which he knew was unlike her.
Damon didn't even think, he couldn't, he just reacted.
Damon flew into the house just in time to see Gabriel and Lilith trying to leave with Vella.
He barely had time to yell, "Get away from her." Before Lilith let go of Vella's arm and dove at Damon.
Damon was too quick for her though and she ended up running past him.
Gabriel took a hold of Vella and threw her across the room, the opposite way of the front door.
Damon caught Vella before she could hit the floor. He placed her gently on the couch and ran after the vampires, but they had already escaped into the night. His blind rage changed quickly into concern for Vella.
Damon knew Vella would never be safe here again. The only way they could have gotten in to her house was by being invited by her.
The only thing Damon could think of doing was taking her back to the boarding house, she would be safe there for the time being.
Damon looked Vella over to make sure she wasn't hurt too badly. She was bleeding but it didn't seem to be too bad. So he proceeded in wrapping her tightly in a blanket and taking her to his car.
Damon placed Vella gently in the passenger side and buckled her up. Her breathing was quiet but laboured, which had Damon worried. He wished he knew how to help her.
Damon drove as fast as he could to the boarding house. For once he actually hoped his brother was home.
Stefan was waiting for his brother when Damon arrived. He had sensed Damon needed his help.
Damon ran out of the car after he stopped, picked up Vella from the passenger side and carried her into the house while Stefan followed from behind.
"What happened, Damon?" Stefan questioned.
"She was attacked by two vampires, a male and a female," Damon replied as he gently placed Vella on the couch in the livingroom.
Stefan bent over to listen to Vella's breathing. It seemed to be getting stronger by the minute.
Stefan asked his brother to remove the blankets around Vella so he could examine her.
Damon carefully untangled the blankets surrounding Vella. He could see the blood staining the blankets which made his rage return. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes for a moment trying to calm himself down.
Stefan examined the wounds on Vella's waist. They didn't seem to be too deep, which he was relieved to see. But Stefan did find something odd, her wounds seem to be healing somewhat quickly for someone who wasn't a vampire.
Stefan told Damon to take her upstairs to his room and then asked him to come back down once she was settled so they could talk.
Damon carried Vella upstairs to his room and placed her gently on the bed. He covered her with his blankets and then kissed her on the forehead. Damon could tell Vella was going to be okay, so he preceded to go back downstairs to talk with his brother.

Chapter 6 ~ Truth and Secrets

When Vella awoke the next morning, she was surprised to find Damon in her bed. She tried to recall what had happened the night before, but the last thing she remembered was slow dancing with Damon. A million different possibilities ran through her mind, each worst than the last. As Vella rolled over to face Damon, she realized she was still dressed, which she was relieved about.
Damon felt her movement and opened his eyes immediately. He hadn't really been sleeping soundly, he had been too worried about Vella for that.
"Well good morning, sunshine," Damon said with a relieved smile.
"Good morning, Damon," Vella mumbled.
She was feeling a mix of light-headedness and weakness and almost passed out when she spoke.
Damon was worried when he spoke. "Vella, just lay in bed and don't move around."
Vella opened her mouth to speak, but Damon put his finger on her lips and said, "Shh."
She wasn't sure what was going on, but she complied with his wishes. She was too tired to fight. With that thought she fell back asleep.

Damon frowned even though he was relieved to know she was okay, at least for the moment. He hadn't really slept at all during the night with all the questions running through his head. What exactly has she gotten herself into? he wondered.
Damon went downstairs and put on a pot of coffee, he was going to need it and if Vella were to wake up again, she would need it too.
It wasn't more than a few minutes later when he heard a rapping at the front door, it was Stefan.
Since Damon couldn't invite his brother in, he had to go outside to talk to him.
Stefan didn't have much to report. He lost the vampire and never found him, even though he searched all night.
Damon was disappointed in this information, but not completely surprised. His brother was not as fast as he was and when a vampire wanted to hide, he could make himself almost impossible to find.
Stefan began to ask Damon questions about Vella, but Damon wasn't in the mood to answer any of them. He wanted to go back into the house to be with her when she woke up. He didn't want her to hurt herself if she woke up alone.
"I promise to tell you what I know as soon as I know it," then Damon added. "Or at least, what you need to know."
And with that, Damon thanked his brother for his help and bid him goodbye.


It was much later in the day when Vella finally woke up again. Damon had to help her to sit up in the bed. He propped her up in the bed and made her promise not to move even an inch.
Vella didn't argue at this, she felt too sick and out of sorts to disagree with him.
When Damon got back to her room, he had brought a tray covered with food and drinks. He wasn't quite sure what she would need since it had been a long time since he needed food and drink to survive.
The tray had plain toast, crackers, some fruit. a cup of coffee and a glass of water, which he set next to her on the nightstand.
Vella was so grateful for the help, but she really didn't want anything. She accepted the glass of water with a smile.
For a long while, Damon and Vella just sat in the bed not saying anything. It was Vella who spoke first.
"What happened last night, Damon?" she asked quietly.
"What is the last thing you remember, Vella?"
"I, uh, um," she stammered. "The last thing I remember is dancing with you."
Damon wasn't sure what to tell her. He didn't want to upset her right now, she needed to fully recover first.
"I promise to tell you when you are feeling better," he said after much thought. "For now, I want you to make me a promise. Promise me you will rest as much as you can and not argue with me?"
Vella reluctantly agreed to that promise, but only because she felt too tired to argue with Damon.
For the rest of the day and night, Damon watched over Vella and made sure she kept her promise. But he found she did little more than sleep.
It was early the next morning before Vella was actually able to get out of bed, with Damon's help. All she felt like doing was having a shower. Damon's response was the only way he would let her shower was to have one with her. That didn't go over well with Vella at all, so she decided to ask him to run her a bath instead. Damon wanted to stay in the room to make sure she would be okay, but he had a feeling she could handle a bath, so he waited outside for her.
After Vella had bathed and gotten dressed, Damon helped her down into the kitchen. He made her a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and fruit.
Vella ate as much as she could stomach because she was famished. She wasn't feeling one hundred percent quite yet, but she was feeling much better. She was quite shocked at how well Damon had been taking care of her. She really wondered why he was doing this. Did he really care? Or was he feeling guilty for not being able to protect her?
A few hours later, Stefan stopped by to see how Vella was. She invited him in, but he didn't stay long. He was just happy to know Vella was okay and that his brother had been behaving himself.


By the time the sun began to set that day, Vella was feeling more like herself. It was time to plead with Damon to tell her about Friday night.
Damon gave Vella a serious look. He made her promise to tell him what was going on with her, if he told her about Friday night.
Vella had to think about it, but she reluctantly agreed. She knew he needed to know and now was the time.
Damon told her everything that had happened during the party and what happened after they left. He was surprised by Vella's nonchalant attitude at the mention of a vampire attacking her.
After Damon was done explaining, he sat back and waited for Vella to talk.
Vella got up off the couch and started pacing. She then sat back down on the couch but only on the edge of it.
Damon slid closer to her, put both of his hands on either of her shoulders and looked straight into Vella's eyes to help calm her down.
Vella fought against it, but soon gave up. All he wanted to do was help her calm down. She would rather feel calm than jumping out of her skin.
Vella leaned back on the couch and looked at Damon with a resigned look. She wasn't quite sure where to start.
"I already told you I needed help. And now that I can trust you, I will tell you why and how," she started. "But first, I want to tell you what my plan for you was...in the beginning."
At this last statement, Damon, smirked a little.
Vella started to shake a little again, but Damon rested his hand on her knee and it calmed her down.
"There were two possible outcomes, Damon. Either I would be able to convince you to help me or...."
"Or what?" Damon prompted her.
"Or, I was going to convince you to change me into a vampire."
Damon was startled by her admission. "Are you serious?"
"Completely serious, Damon."
Vella eyes told him she wasn't lying. But why would she want this kind of life when she knew what it was about?
"It's a very long story." she looked down and closed her eyes, trying to keep away the tears.
Damon grabbed her hand and squeezed, hoping that the support would help.
"While this all started about 125 years ago, my part in it started about eight years ago, when I was 17"
Damon found the 125 years ago part very curious and worrisome at the same time. He remembered only too well what being a vampire in that time was like.
All the pain Vella had been holding back for years suddenly came to the surface and she couldn't control the tears.
Damon put his arms around her and pulled Vella close to him.
Vella's cries soon became gentle sobbing and she was able to go on.
"I had a fight with my parent's that evening. I was 17, nothing unusual. But I was angry so I took off for awhile," Vella said choking back some tears and sobs.
"I came back later that night, it was around 11 p.m. The front door was wide open, which was unusual for my parents, especially at 11 p.m."
Vella took a few deep breathes, and wiped her eyes before going on again.
"I was scared, so I went to the livingroom window and looked in. There was a man and a woman who were arguing with my parents. I didn't know that they were vampires at that time, but they were."
Vella started to hyperventilate a little, but Damon calmed her down by stroking her hair and whispering, "It's ok."
Eventually she was able to go on.
"I couldn't hear what they were fighting about, but they were really angry. My mother must have said or done something they didn't like because the male vampire attacked my father, he was dead before he hit the ground. I was so paralysed by fear, I couldn't even move or scream."
Tears were now coming down Vella's cheeks like a river, but the sobs had slowed down.
"My little sister must have heard the noise because she came out of her room. The next part is kind of a blur, but the female vampire grabbed my sister and the male attacked my mother. And the last thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."
Vella was relieved to finally be able to tell someone about her grisly past. She stayed in Damon's arms for a little while, enjoying the comfort.
Damon still had questions. He was hoping she had the answers to them.
"Do you know why the vampires attacked your family?"
Vella thought for a minute, but she wasn't entirely sure. "All i can tell you is that my mom was a witch, but not just any witch."
Damon wondered what she meant by that.
"She wanted to train me, teach me to be a witch since I was about 12, but I never had any interest in it, now I wish I had," Vella said regretfully.
"My mom was always meeting with various people in the town, like the mayor and the town sheriff. Many of them were descendants of the town founders. I never really heard what they discussed but it had something to do with vampires and something about 125 years ago."
"But what did the vampires want with her, Vella?" Damon asked bluntly.
"I wish I knew," she answered sadly. "All I know is what I've been told by the Founder's Council."
"Then what does this have to do with you?" Damon wondered.
"I don't know," she replied. "But a few months ago I got a letter in the mail. Let me show it to you."
Vella walked to the little desk by the front door where she kept her mail, pulled out a creased envelope and handed it to Damon.
Damon opened up the letter. It read, "We are coming to do to you what we did to your family unless we get what we want. Just give us your mom's stuff, that's all we want. If you don't cooperate you will end up dead.....or worse than dead." Dead had been underlined in blood.
Suddenly, Damon realized how much trouble Vella was in and why she would go to such lengths to get his help. He was so angry right now he didn't know what to do with himself. His anger was quickly replaced by an overwhelming feeling to protect Vella. Even when Damon was at his most violent and evil, he had never decimated a family, especially in front of children. These were the worst kind of vampire.
Vella was emotionally drained. She hadn't talked about her past in a very long time. In fact, she never really thought about it anymore either, not until she had received that letter.
She sat back down on the couch, letting the tears drop down her face, wondering what she was going to do.
Damon came over, sat beside her, grabbed her hand and made her look into his eye's.
"I will swear this to you now Vella," he said in a forbidding voice. "I will help you in any way I can, except for one."
"And what is that?"
"I won't turn you into a vampire. I care about you enough that I wouldn't condemn you to this kind of life," he answered with a tone of finality.
Vella took that as her cue to relax. She cuddled up with Damon and was soon fast asleep.

Chapter 5 ~ The Party

Damon had realized when he got home that he had no clean clothes. He had been too preoccupied the past week to do any and it was obvious his brother hadn't thought to check his hamper, which annoyed him. Stefan was a little bit of a neat freak and Damon definitely was not.
On occassion, Damon had even found Stefan folding the clothes Damon had left in the basket in his room. But not as much lately.
He figured he had better do his laundry so he had something decent to wear for the party tonight.
Damon had just finished drying his laundry when Stefan walked in the door.
"Damon!" yelled Stefan.
It sounded like Stefan was pretty angry, so Damon went down to see what he wanted. He just hoped this wasn't another inquisition.
As soon as Damon came into Stefan's line of sight, he began to question Damon.
"Where were you last night and what were you doing?"
"Why?" demanded Damon. "Because of the newspaper article?"
"Yes, that's exactly why, brother." Stefan emphasized the word brother.
"I didn't do that. I told you about the vampire I sensed last night, that must of been who killed those people. I told you you could trust me."
Damon was seething. How dare his brother accuse him of not just one, but two murders on the same night. He hadn't done anything like that in a very long time.
"And how do I know that this wasn't just a cover up?" inquired Stefan.
Damon grabbed a hold of his brother by his shoulder and looked into his eyes with a menacing look.
"I'm going to tell you this once and only once. I did not hurt anyone last night. I spent the night over at a friend's house."
Stefan pushed his brother's arm away from him but just stood and stared at him pondering whether Damon was telling the truth. He wanted to believe it, he really did.
"Would you like to meet my friend yourself, Stefan?" Damon asked, his eyes glinting with venom. "She will tell you where I was."
"No, Damon. It will take more than that to persuade me. I know you can just compel some stranger into giving you an alibi."
Damon was so angry now he could see red, but he had made a promise to Elena a long time ago that he wouldn't hurt his brother.
He took a couple steps back before speaking. "Not that it's any of your business brother, but she always wears a vervain pendant around her neck, so I really highly doubt that it would be that easy for me to compel her."
Stefan was so taken aback by this knowledge he was rendered speechless.
Damon watched his brother ponder that revelation for a minute before he spoke again.
"If you really must know brother, I am going to a party with her tonight," Damon said while glaring at his brother. "You can follow me if you must, just don't spoil her good time, or I might not be so forgiving."
With that, Damon turned his back to his brother and walked up the stairs with his laundry into his room.




Vella arrived home from running her errands in the late afternoon. She had run all across town searching for the prefect dress for the party, which she now had in her possession. Now that she was home she began to get nervous. Why did I ask Damon to accompany me, she thought to herself.
Instead of dwelling on her thoughts, she ran around getting ready for the party. After getting dressed and putting her make up on, Vella had to check her hair. She had went to the hair salon to get an updo for the party. Her usual long, straight hair was now up in a mass of curls, bobby pins and hair spray. She went to her jewellery box to look for some different earrings and a dressy watch. She absent mindedly ran her hands around the pendant around her neck.
This doesn't exactly go with this dress, Vella thought.
She took the pendant off and laid it on her nightstand. After all, she had a bodyguard tonight.
Vella killed time until 8 p.m. She had expected that Damon would show up on time or even earlier but he didn't.
Each minute that ticked by with no sign of Damon just made Vella feel more nervous.
Finally at 8:23 he showed up at the door apologizing profusely for being late.
"It's okay, Damon. I just thought you might have changed your mind, " Vella said.
Damon gave her a playful smile. "I couldn't miss out on going to a party with such a beautiful woman."
Vella blushed a little and turned away. She wasn't sure inviting him to the party was such a great idea, but she was committed now.
She decided not to ask about the reason for his tardiness. That could wait until later.
Damon offered to drive her to the party instead of taking separate cars. She planned on drinking and didn't want to drive so she took him up on his offer.
The closer they got to the party, the more nervous she got. She was trying not to fidget in her seat, but she couldn't help herself.
Vella wasn't exactly sure what was bothering her more, going with Damon and hoping he behaved or worrying that someone, or something would be there. She didn't care how terrified she was because she was bound and determined to enjoy this party, knowing that it would probably be the last one she would ever attend. She had to admit to herself however, that Damon cleaned up very nicely. In fact, he looked down right sexy. At this thought, Vella blushed a little.
Damon turned his head towards her a little when she blushed as if he could read her thoughts, but she knew he couldn't.
It was actually the rush of blood to her face that Damon could sense. He wasn't hungry. He had made sure to eat since he would be around a lot of people. He assumed she was blushing about him. Damon knew he looked good tonight, but he had to admit Vella looked very, very good. He loved that her hair was up so he could see her neck. He could see the very fine veins that were underneath the skin of Vella's neck. He could hear the blood rushing and she smelled intoxicating.
Suddenly, he began to feel his teeth and his face change.
He did his best to relax quickly and was glad Vella hadn't noticed what had happened
Dammit, Damon. You need to stop thinking like that, he chastised himself.
Damon and Vella managed to arrive at the party all in one piece.
Vella was even amazed at how much of a gentleman he was being.
They entered the party and Vella was immediately bombarded by her friends. All the ladies seemed to be smitten with her date and Damon didn't seem to mind that a bit. But before she could get swept away from him, he whispered in her ear. "I will be keeping my eyes on you Vella, so have fun. And yes, I will behave as long as you are safe."
Vella smiled at Damon and went off with her friends.


Vella was having a great time. She danced to all the fast songs with her friends and Damon. She was drinking more than she had planned though.
Damon tried having a good time, but he sensed trouble. With all the people around it was hard to say whether it was a vampire or not. He never once took his eye's off of Vella no matter where she went, until she went to the washroom, but he did follow her to make sure she would be safe.
When Vella's favorite slow song of all time came on, she made Damon dance with her. She was surprised at how well he danced and how good it felt being in his arms.
Damon enjoyed dancing with Vella, a little too much. Being so close to her neck was making him thirsty. If he hadn't already eaten he might have had a harder time controlling his impulses.
After their dance was over, Damon made her promise not to go anywhere, he needed to step outside for a minute.
He needed to get some fresh air, but away from anyone else. He found a quiet place in the back of the building.
Damon wasn't there long when he got a really bad feeling.
"Damon," yelled someone from behind him.
He turned around to find his brother standing across the parking lot.
"Stefan, I need to go back in and find my friend," Damon said as he rushed back in to the dance.
When Damon went back into the building, he couldn't find Vella anywhere. On a hunch, he went out the front of the building and found her, but she wasn't alone.
Damon immediately knew it was the vampire he had been sensing.
The vampire was staring in Vella's eyes.
Damon didn't even pause long enough to think. He ran as fast as he could over to Vella. He was going to make that vampire pay. But instead of fighting with Damon, he dropped Vella and ran off.
Damon caught Vella before she hit the ground, she seemed to be dazed.
He patted her face with his hand. "Vella, wake up, please" he pleaded with her.
Stefan came around the corner to see what the commotion was. he had sensed another vampire as well. He was a little suspicious when he saw Damon holding Vella.
"Did you see that vampire?" Damon asked Stefan.
"No, but I felt him," he replied while scanning the area. "Is she okay?
Damon wanted to say yes, but he wasn't sure. He hadn't noticed she wasn't wearing her necklace tonight, this could be bad.
Vella was drunk and under this vampire's influence. If Damon believed in a God he would have prayed for her.
"I have to get her home, Stefan."
"I'm going to come with you."
Damon was too panicked to disagree with him.
The brothers gently carried Vella, to Damon's car and headed towards Vella's house.
On the way there, Stefan asked what was going on, but Damon had to admit he had no idea.
When they arrived at her house, Stefan helped Damon only to the front step, since he hadn't been invited in, then left in search of the rogue vampire's whereabouts. He promised to check in with his brother as soon as he found out something.
Damon carried Vella and placed her gently in her bed. He thought she looked uncomfortable with all the pins in her hair, so he proceeded to take them all out. When he was done, he pulled the blankets over her and laid on top of the covers on the other side of her.
Damon kept watch over her all night.

Chapter 4 ~ Trust

As Damon arrived home after his visit with Vella, he was greeted by his brother, Stefan's questioning looks.
He was really starting to get annoyed by this habit of his.
Damon decided to play it cool and just go to his room and pretend his brother didn't exist, he had wished that many times in his long lifetime so it wouldn't be a stretch.
Damon began walking up the stairs to his room when his brother called out his name.
Damon paused on the stairs, turned around and gave Stefan the evil eye, daring him to question him about his whereabouts again.
"I just wanted to apologize to you," said Stefan, "for my attitude the past two days."
Damon raised his eyebrow a bit at this statement.
"Are you saying you trust me now, little brother?"
Stefan squinted at his brother, "I don't know if I would go that far, but I haven't heard about any unexplained attacks lately so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt."
Damon rolled his eyes, mumbled something to his brother under his breath and continued up the stairs to his room.
He decided he was going to have a nap, he wanted to be more alert when he went out later tonight.






When Damon awoke from his nap, the sun was just beginning to set.
He slowly got out of his bed and got dressed in some clean clothes and headed down the stairs into the kitchen.
He went to the fridge, grabbed a cold beer, making a mental note to pick more up soon and went into the livingroom to relax on the couch.
His brother, Stefan walked in the house a few minutes later, followed by his girlfriend, Elena.
They both greeted Damon and walked down the long corridor to the library in the rear of the old boarding house.
Damon assumed they were doing homework. He didn't feel like company right now any way.
He finished his beer and headed out the back door of the house. He wasn't sure what he was doing but he felt like going for a walk.
Damon walked through a path in the trees that had been there for as long as he could remember. It led to an old well that hasn't been used in years. But before he got there he sensed he wasn't alone.
Damon could suddenly feel the presence of another vampire and they were close, but before he could move they were gone again.
He ran as quick as he could all over the forest searching for this vampire, but he never found them.
Damon decided it would be best to head home and let Stefan know.
As soon as he told his brother, he decided it was time to head over to Vella's house.
He knew she wouldn't be home for another hour, but he wanted to watch over her house. Just in case, he told himself.
As Damon approached her house, he sensed the same vampire again, but by the time he parked his car and got out to look for it it was gone.
He walked over to sit in the tree he had used only two days ago to watch Vella from, it made a good vantage point.
As Damon sat watching Vella's house, he had a strange thought. Why hadn't I asked her where she works?
He felt uneasy just sitting in the tree not knowing where she was, though he wasn't sure why he felt that way.
Didn't she say she needed my help? Maybe this was why she knew so much about vampires. Maybe a vampire was after her, but why?
Damon started to smile at what he thought next. I'm more dangerous than any vampire Vella could know.
Before he finished his thought, he saw Vella pull her car into her driveway.
He stayed in the tree until she was in her house with the door closed. This way he knew she was safe. No vampire could get into her house without being invited in first.
Damon climbed down the tree, walked across the street and stood in front of her front door.
He was about to knock when he decided to just walk in.
Vella turned her head and smiled at Damon as he walked in the door. She wasn't surprised to see him walk in, which surprised Damon.
"So what would you like to do tonight?" she asked him. "Do you want to go out and do something fun?"
Damon was about to say yes, but he remembered what he had sensed tonight and thought better of it.
"Nah, I would rather stay in, just the two of us," he said as he gave her one of his mischievous smiles.
"That's fine with me. But I'm not going to stay up too late tonight. I hope that's okay with you?"
"Do you have to work early again?" Damon asked her.
"No, I have tomorrow and Saturday off. But a friend from work is having a party tomorrow night and I need to rest up," she paused then asked, "Would you like to come with me, Damon?"
Damon didn't think going to a big party was a great idea, but he couldn't let her go alone. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want anything to happen to her.
Geez, Damon, you're getting soft in your old age, he thought to himself.
"Sure, just let me know when and I'll be here."
Damon and Vella began to make small talk, while she made herself a snack. It seemed that both of them were beginning to be comfortable around each other. They talked about Vella's job, she was a nurse at the hospital. They talked about Damon and some of the interesting things he had seen over the years.
When Vella was done eating her snack of a bowl of cereal and a banana, they went in the livingroom, sat beside each other on the couch and turned on the tv. They weren't really watching, but the noise filled in some of the uncomfortable silences at times.
Damon had to admit to himself he really enjoyed Vella's company.
It wasn't long before Vella began dozing off, so Damon picked her up and carried her up to her room, gently put her in her bed and covered her up.
As he was about to leave he heard her whisper, "Thank you."
Instead of going home, Damon decided to stay at her house. He could go home in the morning and go to sleep.
He found some blankets and a pillow in the linen closet in the upstairs hallway and brought them down into the livingroom and threw them on the couch. Damon didn't plan on sleeping but he was feeling a bit sleepy, or was it hungry maybe?
He got comfortable on the couch, flipped the channel on the tv to a bad movie and fell asleep almost instantly.








Vella woke up the next morning with the sun shining in her eyes. She had forgotten to close the curtains the night before.
It took her a minute until she realized what must have happened. She practically jumped right out of her bed, then looked around.
Vella was still wearing the clothes she was in last night, so Damon must have put her in her bed. At least that's what she figured.
She hurriedly found an old pair of sweat pants and a sweat shirt to change in to and then went to the washroom to brush her teeth and hair and wash her face.
Maybe I can trust him, Vella thought.
As Vella walked down the stairs and the livingroom came in to sight, she got a shock. There was Damon, fast asleep on her couch.
She had to snicker when she saw he was wrapped in her pink comforter.
Vella was going to wake him up, but instead figured she would just go through her morning routine and let him sleep, she didn't know if he was grumpy in the morning.
She went out on her front step, picked up the newspaper and brought it into the kichen. She then made a pot of coffee and some toast, which she ate while reading the newspaper.
A story on the front page almost made her spit out the mouthful of coffee she had just taken.
The headline read, Two campers attacked by a wild animal.
Vella quickly scanned the article to see if her hunch was right.
She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. It has to be a vampire, she thought.
Vella didn't think it was Damon, he was obviously here last night when it happened, but she almost wished it was him, then she wouldn't be so petrified.
She was so lost in thought she didnt notice when Damon walked into the kitchen. It had startled her so much she dropped her coffee cup on the floor, where it broke into a few pieces.
Vella covered her face with both her hands and was breathing quick, shallow breaths.
"I'm so sorry, Vella," Damon said apologetically. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."
"You didn't startle me, Damon. I'm just not awake yet," she lied.
Damon stared at her shrewdly, he knew she was hiding something.
"I thought we had come a long way last night, Vella," said Damon. "I thought you trusted me...at least a little."
Vella looked at him and opened her mouth and then quickly shut it again. She didn't want to lie to him but she didn't want to tell him the whole truth either.
"You startled me, but it wasn't you I was scared of. It was a story in the newspaper I was reading."
Vella got up from her chair and grabbed her little vacuum cleaner she kept in a tall cupboard in her kitchen. She was happy she had already finished drinking her coffee or it would have been a bigger mess to clean up.
After cleaning up the broken shards of her cup, Vella grabbed another cup of coffee and sat down at the table with Damon. He had got himself a coffee as well. Her stomach was still doing flip flops, so she didn't finish eating her toast. Instead she turned the newspaper to the comics. She needed a laugh right about now.
Damon was sitting sipping his coffee and studying Vella's face. He had read the front page of the paper while she was cleaning up the broken cup, so he knew why she was rattled. He just wished she would tell him what was going on, but he didn't want to push her.
Vella looked up from the newspaper towards Damon and smiled.
"Thank you, by the way. For putting me into my bed last night." She added, "And behaving yourself."
Damon looked at her with a smile and winked. "A promise is a promise."
Vella started snickering. He sure could be cute when he wanted to be. She needed to be more careful.
"I will be back in a few minutes, Damon. I need to have a bath and get some better clothes on."
With that she left the kitchen without giving Damon a chance to respond.
After having a bath, getting dressed and putting some make up on, she came downstairs to find Damon washing her dishes.
Oh this is just too much, she thought.
"You know Damon, if you keep doing nice things for me, I might get used to it," she said sarcastically and laughed.
Damon turned and laughed a mocking laugh, "Ha, ha, ha."
"Thank you, Damon."
"I was just bored, don't get used to it."
Vella stuck out her tongue playfully, pretending to be offended and said' "Fine!"
All Damon could do was smile at her. He hadn't known anyone who was so comfortable being with him in a very long time and he was enjoying it.
She seemed to be melting the layer of ice Damon had on his cold, dead heart.
After Damon, finished the dishes, Vella put them away where they belonged and they both went into the livingroom and sat on the couch.
They sat there for a minute just looking into each other's eyes.
It was Damon, who spoke first.
"When are you going to tell me what it is you need my help with?"
"I told you I needed to know if I could trust you first," she answered.
"Do you trust me?" he asked her.
Vella pondered this for a moment before speaking. "I think I actually do, and I can prove it to you."
Damon looked bewildered. He wondered what she had in mind that could convince him.
He watched as she reached into her shirt, pulled out her necklace with the vervain pendant, took it off and laid it gently on the side table beside her.
Damon didn't know what to do. Was this a test?
"I trust you enough to take off my necklace in your presence," was all Vella said.
Damon moved closer to her without taking his eyes off of hers. He looked deep into them and looked for any sign of distrust but didn't find any. Instead, he felt something inside him stirring, something he hadn't felt for awhile.
Vella reached out and touched her hand to the side of his face. She never once took her eyes off of his. She wasn't even afraid of him, even though she knew she should be terrified.
Damon reached out with both of his hands and touched either side of her face, while never taking his eyes off of hers.
"You are the first person in a long time to trust me like this," Damon declared.
"I don't know why, Damon, but I feel that I can trust you."
Damon wasn't sure why she trusted him either, but most of all, he couldn't understand why he didn't want to hurt her. Instead he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her.
He was thirsty, he knew he could compel her right now if he wanted to. He even noticed that she had not taken her dose of vervain in her coffee this morning. He could definitely take her right here and now and she couldn't do anything to stop him. But he wouldn't, or was that, couldn't?
Damon and Vella dropped their hands at about the same time, which made them laugh nervously.
Vella was shaking so much on the inside, but she knew it wasn't from fear this time.
"I will make the promise this time, Damon," she said. "I will tell you everything very soon. But first, I want to have a good time at this party tonight."
It might be my last, she thought.
They both sat on the couch not knowing what to say.
As was Vella's habit, she checked her watch. She had had plans today to buy a new dress for tonight and it was getting late.
She explained about having to go shopping, which Damon, definitely did not want to do with her.
Damon got up from the couch, grabbed her necklace and put it back around her neck.
He winked and said, "Don't forget this. It's a crazy world."
Vella gave Damon a thank you smile and said, "I will be ready at 8 tonight."
With that, Damon bid her goodbye and walked out of her house. He didn't go far though, until he saw her car drive safely away.
With all the thoughts running through his head he had forgotten how thirsty he was.
Damon decided he had better find something to eat before the party tonight.
With that thought, he left in search of someone to quench his thirst before going home.