ICU

5

Lightening

Her eyes were closed as they proceeded to free fall from the seventh level of the hospital, though she could feel the cool rush of wind whipping her cheeks with velosity of the descent – uncomfortable, but so much better now that Damon held her in his arms. The atomosphere had been smothering in the ward, with eyes watching her every move, but out here the air was fresh and bitterly cold. There would not have been a sound when he landed, at last, on the ground outside the entrance of the building if the broken glass hadn't crunched beneath his feet; his body seemed to adapt to impact on the ground seemlessly and his knees did not buckle one bit even with her extra weight. The moment that her feet touched the floor he his hands ran all over her body, reassuring himself that this she was not just a vague spirit and was solid as the ground he stood on.

"Wrap your legs around my waist, darling." he whispered in her ear.

"Is it over?" Bonnie asked, her eyelids scruched together as if it made any difference. She managed to manouvre herself around him like he had told her

Her limp body felt so light in his arms that he could barely feel her weight at all. It should have been impossible, even if you knew the world as it really was, for her to look so weak after only an hour, at the most, of being ill. His blood should have healed her completely but there was still something wrong with her, he could tell. She ought to at least be awake thanks to his blood, and yet not one flicker of conscious thought could be sensed from her mind. He used the Power to probe her thoughts but he saw was the blank darkness of the dead. No matter what, he would stand by the decision he had made, no matter what happened now. "We better get out of here, someone in that ward has probably called 911 already..."

Already, he could hear a police car's sirens in the distance, coming closer with each second that he stood here clutching the girl. He had to take her somewhere safe, but not back to the mansion, where Stefan and Elena would be waiting. He did not need to hear anything that they said in relation to his latest stunt – he knew what they would say. They would ask him why, why take her from the hospital where she could be taken care of properly, and he was unsure if he would be able to take such questions without becoming violent. He would probably kill Elena, maybe not accidentally, and then he and his brother would be back to hating each other, which would inconvenience him. "I'll get us out of here, have no fear, princess." He kissed her forehead before manouvering her so she clutched his back instead of his front. She fit sso snugly against him that it seemed as if their bodies had been designed for just this purpose. He could not move as fast with her additional weight as he might have if he were running alone but he was still faster than a human eye could follow.

Bonnie felt her stomach clench painfully despite his assurance and she moaned. Even if Damon was confident they could overcome whatever came their way, which he seemed to be, she was afraid for both their lives.

"Do you trust me not to let go?" Damon asked against her ear-lobe, bringing her back from the pit of black thoughts she had been drowning in.

The words came out before she thought, "Yes, of course I do..." Her only warning as to what he meant was his sharp intake of breath a moment before. Her enhanced mind processed the rush of images as they flew past; one window, another, another another, another, and then they flew past the broken one that still had shards of glass in the corners – all that was remaining. The rest was scattered hapshazardly on the tarmac pavement below. She did not feel guilty about the vandalism, she did not have time to, because Damon landed gracefully on the roof top and let go of her. She fell onto her knees and felt the rough ground graze them.

"Put your hands on your head." a gruff voice demanded from the hospital exit and there was the distinctive click of a shot-gun reloading. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Damon's smile fall and his hands come to rest on the top of his dark head. The gruff voice belonged to a man dressed in a navy blue uniform, a gun in a holster at his side. As far as Bonnie could tell, he was as human as they came, but she would not bet her life on it. Even the strongest of vampires could sheild his or her power level from others. For all he knew, this man could be vampire too. "You better come with me, sonny." he said in a marginley lighter tone.

Damon jumped down from the raised edge of the rooftop and tried to make sure Bonnie was hidden from the old man's view. The concealment was only part due to the danger of her being caught too; Bonnie wasn't tough like Elena, but neither was she as hard-hearted as Elena. He would not allow her to whitness what he was going to do to this man who stumbled apon them while just doing his job as security – some things could not be forgiven. "You haven't seen my friend and I, have you?" he asked the man.

He scrunched his eyes, confused, but replied clearly, "But I have... I do..."

"You don't see us."

"But..."

Damon rushed the man, quicker than lightening, and snapped the man's back in two. The body crumpled to the floor and Damon kicked it as if it were a piece of rubbish. He had no regrets about killing this one; he had obviously been immune to the Powers and there for a reliability. He had to protect his own interests first.

"Damon..." Bonnie's horrified whimper came clearly to him.

"C'mon," he said, gathering her up in his arms, "It's time to get you home."

"Damon..." she said again.

"Yes..." he thought she would call him a monster.

"Let's get out of here."

He smiled as a rumble sounded overhead.

The End