“I’ll arrange a rota. For feeding Stefan, I mean. If you girls are
willing,” Elena added quickly, looking at Bonnie and Meredith. “He
doesn’t need much, just a little every hour until morning.”
Elena still seemed very shy of Matt. Matt was very shy of her. But
he stepped forward, empty hands held up to show that he was harmless.
“Is it a rule that it’s only girls? Because I’ve got blood, too, and I’m
healthy as a horse.”
Stefan quickly looked at him. “No rule about only girls. But you
don’t have to—”
“I want to help you.”
“Okay, then. Thank you, Matt.”
The proper response seemed to be “Thank you, Stefan,” but Matt
couldn’t think of anything until, “Thanks for taking care of Elena.”
Stefan smiled. “Thank Damon for that. He and the others all
helped me—and each other.”
“We Also Walk Dogs—at least Sage does,” Damon said slyly.
“Oh—that reminds me. I should use that de-parasiting trick on my
two friends. Saber! Talon! Heel!” He added a whistle that Matt could
never have imitated.
In any case, Matt was operating in a dream. A huge dog, almost as
big as a pony, seemingly, and a falcon came out of the darkness.
“Now,” the fit vampire said, and once again the soft light shone.
And then: “There. If you don’t mind; I prefer to sleep out-of-doors