Disclaimer: I don't own the book or television series The Vampire Diaries. All I own is my imagination.

A/N: The show has one more episode left until the Season Two finale, which will leave me plenty of room and opportunity to write about it during the summer hiatus. My life at this moment, unfortunately, doesn't allow me as much time to write as I would like, but I still find these rare slots of time in which pieces like these come to be. *Obviously I changed a few details, which you will discover while reading, but I did it all in order to make it more Delena friendly. Writing is my passion, so I'm thankful to my fellow fanfiction and television show junkies who are still with me and make watching a TV-show so much more than just that. :)

Villain

All of a sudden Damon was right in front of her, blocking Elena's only way out of the room. His eyes had changed, darkened and the look they carried was wild, almost crazed. His face scared her; he looked like the vampire who had forced his blood down her throat not too long ago, although it already seemed like a different lifetime. He had changed, but drastic times called for drastic behavior, in Damon's case it meant falling back into old habits. The veins beneath his bloodshot eyes stood out horribly against his pale skin and tainted his usually perfect exterior. It made him ugly, his outside reflective of the sick things that tortured his mind.

What Elena didn't know was that he was still torn. If she had caught the slightest glimpse of doubt, she wouldn't have been as scared as she was. Her heart was pounding against her chest, trying to escape the way she wished she could. She looked at him the way she would look at a stranger with malicious intent. And why wouldn't she; he was trying to do her harm, hurt her in the moment, all to extend her life for lifetimes to come. But that wasn't what Elena wanted. The way she begged him not to, was what got through to him eventually.

Really it were seconds, seconds in which Elena saw her old life slip away, a distant memory in comparison to the endless life she would be forced to live. One second he had her upper arm clasped in his iron hold and the next, he released her. Damon released her with such force that she stumbled backwards a few steps before dropping down onto the wooden floor. She was the beauty on which the beast had mercy. She was the beauty who thawed a heart thought frozen solid.

Elena caught her breath and he sensed her relief. There was anger as well. Before he could say a word, a force hit him from behind and he flew across the room, slamming into the wall. Without thinking twice, Damon broke the leg off the table and whirled around, intent on pushing the wooden stake through his brother's stomach. He sensed something was wrong when the flesh parted too quickly, like a knife slipping through butter. But before he could cut too deep to do unimaginable damage, he stopped and pulled back the wood, blood staining the end.

He held onto it as he watched the scene in front of him unfold in slow-motion, a sensation he could faintly remember from his human days. It was an indication of an unthinkable deed, or something right gone completely wrong. Elena's eyes widened with shock and what must have been close to unbearable pain for a human as she clutched her stomach. Damon could only stand there. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was supposed to still be on the floor, although really he should have known that she would put herself in between him and his brother. Wasn't it always the girl who came in between two brothers?

Elena hadn't made a sound during it all, but now she moaned and made sounds that were the beginnings of words, but she never managed to string them into a full exclamation. Stefan growled in anger, wanting nothing more but to go at Damon. But he couldn't leave Elena's side; he was the only thing keeping her upright. "Elena," he said her name and catching her eyes with his own. "Everything's going to be alright," he reassured her, gently moving one of her hands so he could take a closer look at her injury. "The wound's not that deep, but some of the wood splintered," he calmly explained, knowing that it would take the panic out of her behavior. He threw Damon a look that could kill.

Elena managed a small nod and Stefan was quick to return his attention to her. His smile was warm and reassuring as he tried to disguise the concern he had. "I'm going to take you to the hospital," he told her.

"It would save us all time and effort if you would just feed her some of your blood," came a voice from behind them.

Damon was at Elijah throat within a split second. He had to redeem himself, but also recognized a distasteful remark when he heard one. He braced the tip of the wooden stake against Elijah's chest. Elijah's eyes glimmered humorously. "You need me," he simply reminded all of them. "Also, you will be unable to kill me since Elena was kind enough to give me the dagger."

"Oh, I remember," Damon said. "I was thinking more along the lines of torture."

Stefan tightened his hold on Elena. "I don't care what you two decide to do to each other. My only concern is Elena, and I'm taking her to the hospital. No blood," he directed his final remark at Elijah.

Elijah nodded. "An understandable choice. Why don't you let me take her? I'm older, thus I will be faster than either of you," he told them before either one of the Salvatore brothers could argue with him.

Stefan exchanged a brief look with Elijah before nodding. "Damon," he said his brother's name.

Damon shook his head, but dropped his weapon and backed away.

Elijah took the few paces over to where Stefan and Elena were standing. Damon kept a close eye on him as he took a careful hold of Elena. The next second, he was gone.

Stefan and Damon stood facing one another. Both were livid at the other's choices.

"What were you thinking, Damon? I thought we had already gone through this phase in your personality."

"I'm the only one thinking straight, Stefan. Turning Elena is the only way to ensure her surviving her own sacrifice."

"We have Elijah's elixir."

Damon scoffed at Stefan's words and lifted both arms midair for dramatic effect. "Yeah, let's put our trust in some unknown and weirdly colored elixir that has been sitting on the shelf for who knows how many ages. "Again, I figured turning her would be the safest bet."

"Elena doesn't want to be turned, Damon. And who are we to take away her choice to live her life?"

Damon dropped his arms, the lines of his face rigid as he looked at his brother. "Uhm, we get veto rights when the longevity of Elena's life is limited to one day. And how does she even know what she wants really; she's hardly lived."

"Exactly my point," Stefan told him.

"So we're putting our money on the elixir then?" Damon nodded. "Fine, but when it doesn't work, don't think I'm staying around to watch you mourn for centuries to come. I've already been there and done that," he finished, the smile on his face unnatural and bitter as he realized he wasn't going to get his way.

"Don't pretend like you don't care just as much about her, if not more."

"Fine, so we'll go through the emo-phase together. Whatever. And I can't believe you're trusting Elijah."

"Elena chose to trust Elijah," Stefan continued his attempt at reasoning with Damon.

"Well… we've just established that she's young and naïve and—"

"I have to trust him," Stefan cut his brother's sentence short. "If anything happens to her tonight…"

Damon raised a hand to stop him. "I get it, you'd kill yourself if you could." Damon rolled his eyes. "No need to throw yourself onto a stake. We'll just have to make sure that nothing happens to her."

Stefan nodded in agreement. "Just don't screw up again, not when her life is at stake." His gaze was heavy as it landed on Damon, only adding to the guilt that Damon couldn't put himself to turn off. "I was taking a drastic measure, I admit. But you need me tonight." He pointed at his brother.

Stefan nodded.

A temporary silence wedged its way in between the two of them, one that was broken after Damon had fixed himself a drink and downed half of it.

"You know Elijah has a crush on your girlfriend right? Which turns the triangle into a square…" He took another sip from his glass before going on, "It's getting a little crowded, don't you think?"

"Elijah's protective of her because—"

"Because why exactly, brother?" Damon shrugged. "It's not like he should care whether she lives or dies, am I right?" He finished his drink, setting the glass on the fireplace before turning and facing Stefan again. "If you ask me, he's being a little clingy, projecting his need for closure onto Elena. And how convenient, right, since she just happens to look exactly like Katherine, who he had a secret thing for in the past but could never act on because his brother had dibs. Did I leave anything out?"

"If Elijah's guilty of being nostalgic for the past, aren't we as well?" Stefan countered.

Damon snorted. "Talk for yourself, brother." He made a face. "Anyway… I think we should focus on our strategy for tonight instead of talking so openly about our feelings. It makes me feel less of a vampire, you know, like that one vampire all the other vampires make fun of in the cemetery. I'm way cooler than that."

Stefan shook his head at Damon. "I'm going out, hunting…"

"Getting your strength up for the coming battle, good call."

"Just stay put?" Stefan asked of Damon. "And leave Elena alone when she gets back. I'll be as quick as I can." He threw Damon a meaningful look before leaving the room.

For once Damon did stay put, not because he didn't have a plan to orchestrate, but because he wanted to be sure that he was here when Elena got back. He would respect her wishes, before he would do irreparable damage and not interfere any more. Tonight would play out the way it would play out, with a few not so minor alterations. Elena would not die tonight, he wouldn't let that happen, nor would Stefan or Bonnie or everyone else who was involved. She was too loved and coming night she would have both the dark prince and the white knight fighting on the same side. Damon spent his time wisely and made a few calls, making sure that everyone who was fighting on Elena's side tonight would know the score.

He was upstairs in his bedroom, looking out towards the nearby woods, aware that the sun was slowly fading the trees' colors and blurring their lines as it was going on. It would be time soon and everyone would be gathering in and around the house.

When he heard the front door open, relief lifted the weight of his heart for a momentary minute. But it sank back down again once he realized that Klaus would be here within the next couple of hours, politely asking for Elena to come with him only to slaughter her. Even Damon's cruelty had a limit and gave in to his more humane side every so often. He had to; otherwise he wouldn't be able to feel such things as regret, guilt, and love. He heard soft footsteps start up the steps, followed by the closing of the door and heavier footsteps going after her. Damon rolled his eyes at Elijah's unnecessary chivalry.

Still, he stayed put and waited as Elijah escorted Elena into Stefan's bedroom.

"I can take it from here," Elena told Elijah as she detangled herself from his grasp and put back the distance between them that she was comfortable with. "But thanks for taking me to the hospital and helping me up the stairs. I appreciate it," she thanked him, knowing from experience that caution and gratitude would go a long way with vampires.

Elijah nodded. "You should rest; you'll need all of your energy for tonight."

Damon shook his head and gritted his teeth while remaining in place.

Elena took the remark for what it was and nodded, both of her arms on either side of her body. She wasn't going to show weakness, even though her stomach still stung.

"I'll help you change, if you want," Elijah offered taking a step towards her. His words sounded polite enough, but every time he came within touching distance of her, something in his expression changed. The seriousness got less sharp and it almost looked like he was smiling.

Elena declines in a humble manner. "That's okay. I don't have a lot of time left anyway, so I think I'll just crash on the bed like this."

Elijah nodded, but didn't move. He just stood there looking at her with one of those inaccessible looks of his. Elena took another step back just as he reached out to touch her. She froze and watched as Elijah gingerly touched a strand of her hair before pushing it to the side. She didn't understand the sudden need, but Damon did. It made him leave his bedroom and enter the hallway. "You remind me so much of Katherine," Elijah began. "When she was still human… and pure." He dropped his hand and slipped it into his pocket. "I hope your experiences with my kind won't change that."

And with that, he left the room.

Damon was waiting for him in the hallway.

"Damon," Elijah acknowledged with a single nod. "Nice to know Stefan left behind his least reliable watchdog."

"I bite too," was Damon's reply.

Elijah chuckled whilst shaking his head. "The thing with dogs that bite is that they usually get put down. Oh, and Elena's fine, for now anyway."

"Yeah, thanks. I hope you didn't stretch your humanity thin by taking her to the hospital."

"Humanity," Elijah repeated. "What makes you think I suffer from that condition?" He smirked. "I'm only using her in order to kill my brother."

"You're forgetting I wrote the book on denial."

Elijah took his hands from his pockets only to fold and unfold them again, his palms facing upwards. "She means nothing to me."

"Whatever you say, Nosferatu." Damon's lips twitched amusingly at his own remark. "But if you are sticking with that story, you might want to stop touching her hair and offering her your help changing. That kind of gives the wrong impression."

Elijah's eyes slightly narrowed, but only briefly. He re-pocketed his hands. "I'm too old for your juvenile antics, Damon. And it's not in your best interest to pick a fight with me. You need me," he stated simply, meeting Damon's gaze once more before walking off.

Damon went to stand in the doorway of Stefan's bedroom. He just looked at her.

Elena now saw on the large bed, her hands braced against the edge of the mattress. She looked up at Damon as well and for a minute or so the two just stared at one another in silence.

"I'm guessing the trip to the hospital went as planned," Damon light-heartedly broke the silence, or at least he tried to.

"It wasn't exactly planned," Elena instantly pulled the both of them back into the bleak reality.

"No, it wasn't."

Another silence was the result and Elena shook her head. "Get out, Damon. I don't have much time left and I'd like to—"

"You're not dying tonight," were his piercing words.

The look on her face changed and fear streaked her features, blending together with all the other things she was feeling like a palette of watercolors.

Damon took an instant step back and raised a hand, shaking his own head this time. "Elena, I'm not… I'm sorry for…" He waved his hand in her general direction. "It was a last resort and I—"

"It's not your choice to make. My life is mine to live and to… put at risk for the people I love whenever I choose to." Elena patted her own chest for emphasis. "And we have the elixir."

Damon rolled his eyes, causing Elena to get up, her index finger pointing at him. "Don't," she said. "Don't diminish my only chance at surviving tonight. Not when I have looked into other options and I am doing this for Stefan. For you."

Damon took a step forward. "My brother and I didn't ask this of you!" His voice thundered through the room, but he found his composure again quickly. He rested the back of his hand against his mouth and watched as she sat back down on the bed.

He dropped his hand and looked at her. "Elena, you would've never been in this situation if it weren't for Stefan. If it weren't for me. And I have to admit that it has been mostly me who has been at fault. I've been making more Stefan-like choices, better choices, but it hasn't mattered. I still turn off the button just as easily. That," he paused to wave his hand toward her again, "proved my point."

Elena shook her head, looking past him as she asked, "Where is Stefan?"

Damon was disappointed in her reaction, but not sure what he had expected instead. "He'll be back soon," he answered. "He went to feed." He went to stand in the door opening again. "We are both going to fight for you, as are your brother and Bonnie, and whoever else decides to join our crusade along the way. More people always show up than were invited… Anyway, as I was saying, we are going to fight for you and that is our choice, and you have no choice but to respect that," he concluded in a sing-song manner.

Elena nodded. "I can't fight you on that. I've finally come to terms that there are some battles that can't be won, and it's scary and sad, but—"

"Hey, no," Damon interrupted, his paces quick and determined as he made his way over to her. He stood over her, looking down at her while she looked to him for comfort and for anything else that would get her through this night. "You're not go—"

Elena didn't hear the rest.

Damon's words were overpowered by a shrill blast. Glass shattered and came flying toward them. Damon had her up and against his chest, his arms protectively shading her as the shards of glass started to rain down on them.

Elena's scream remained stuck in her throat. She knew it was time. Time to say goodbye without knowing for certain if she would see the people she loved again. Despite there being a slight chance of her making it through alive, she was still scared beyond belief.

She looked at Damon. "It's time for me to go."

He shook his head and held on to her, refusing to let her go.

"Damon," she said his name softly. "You have to let me go. I don't want more people getting hurt than is necessary. Please," she pleaded with him, their eyes locked.

He was touching her face now. He pulled her into him one more time, placing a kiss on the top of her head before giving in. "Okay." He nodded. "But we're coming for you, I'm coming for you."

"Okay," Elena soundlessly told him as he released her. He caught the tears in her eyes, the tears she wiped away before she left the room.

Please review? My favorite thing about writing this piece, besides the Delena parts, was me being able to explore Elijah's relationship/feelings toward Elena. I put my own spin on it, but I thought that the Elijah/Elena relationship offered a great opportunity for fanfic writers. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read through this and please be so kind as to leave behind a review? I really appreciate them and I am very interested in, what you guys thought about my story of course, but also what your take is on the Elijah/Elena relationship and on the latest ep. :)