Author's Note: This is just a random scene I imagined, and so I thought I'd put it up here. Takes place after the season finale as it played out in the series, after they find Jeremy and John, and figure out it was Katherine.
Oh, and I don't own vampire diaries or it's characters :)
Elena sat on the floor against her bed with her hands buried in her long hair, elbows braced against her knees. Tears were sheeting from puffy eyes, dripping over her cheeks and chin uncontrollably. Small, gasping breaths were coming from her open mouth.
It was all her fault, everything. John, and Jeremy - all because of her. How much of her family was she doomed to lose? she thought miserably, a sob burning in her throat. Her parents, and then the shock of her vampire birth mother, and now she'd lost John. She hadn't even been able to talk to him about any of it.
Who knows if they could have been able to make it work? Maybe, once his truth had been revealed, they could have been able to connect in some way, instead of the rocky relationship they'd had as uncle and niece. He had been a jerk, but everyone had their flaws, right?
And where was Stefan? He should be here, with her. He'd been there when they'd taken Jeremu to the ambulance to have his stomach pumped, but then Damon had said that about Katherine, and he was gone again.
Both of them.
She hated herself for thinking that, but it was true. Damon had gone, too, in search of Katherine. There'd been an anger simmering in him as they'd planned it out, something more personal than anything Stefan could have felt. There had also been that flash of something in his eyes...
But they were all gone. Jenna had gone out to see Mr. Saltzman. Elena knew that Jenna blamed her for everything. The way she'd looked at her... the disappointment in her eyes before she'd left the hospital, that had been the last straw.
That's when she'd known it was her.
And now she was alone, in her house, in her bedroom, still trying to smother her and sobs. Who cared if she cried now? Noone was there to hear her? And yet she still gripped her hair by the roots, repressing the urge to tear it out in her anguish.
She snatched her phone from the ground beside her, scrolling through to Jenna's name. She'd ask her to come home, to talk about everything, something.
But, before she could even press call, she froze, staring at Jeremy's name in her contacts list. The guilt swarmed up in her again, suffocating her, and she couldn't do it.
She went to Stefan's number instead. The phone rang a dozen times, before it went to voicemail. His phone had to be off; otherwise he would have answered. She threw the useless cell onto the floor away from her, her grief and sadness turning to anger at the inanimate object. She glared at the small, inoffensive object with venom.
"Elena." It was not the voice she had been expecting, but it was somehow even more welcome because of that. She gasped slightly as she surged to her feet, stumbling over to Damon, who was standing beside her. She stood too closely in her desperation, forgetting she was supposed to be distancing their relationship.
"Damon. What happened? Where's Stefan?" Her questions tumbled out of her.
He reached out and took her shoulders gently in his hands, trying to calm her. "Calm down - you're going to pass out," he muttered with genuine concern, herding her over to the bed and sitting her down.
"Please, tell me," she begged. "Did you find Katherine? Is she still here?"
Anger clouded over his face at the name, and sparked in his eyes, but he visibly worked to compose himself. "We didn't find her, but there were signs of her around town; she'd been here for at least a week. Probably watching you, learning how to act like you..." His voice got quieter and quieter, and he seemed to be talking more to himself than her.
"Jeremy. What if she goes there next? Or after Jenna? God, no one's safe anymore. We don't even know who she's going after!" In comparison, her voice was climbing higher and higher in her panic.
With a whip of air, he was crouching in front of her, holding her face gently in his hands.
"Breathe," he said quietly and took his hands back slowly, almost in an ashamed way. He looked wary, and she remembered what she'd said to him, about keeping his distance and his flirting at bay. She smiled gratefully, and he relaxed. "Stefan's at Rick's now, checking up on them now. Besides our little teacher knows his way around vampires," he said grudgingly. "He can hold his own enough to get her out of there, if need be." He widened his eyes for emphasis on the last three words, pointing out that nothing had happened yet. "And she won't attack your brother at the hospital; it's too public. She might show up there to mess with us all, but nothing more than that."
"Are you sure? She got in the house - which I still don't understand!" she exclaimed, her face crumpling again. "I thought she needed an invitation!"
Damon made an annoyed sound in his throat and stood, running a hand through his dark hair.
"That would be your Aunt. Like I said, Katherine showed up here, preteneding to be you, and Jenna inconveniently provided her with an invitation into the house."
"Great," she said, slightly hysterically. Elena got up, too, beginning to pace around her bedroom. "So she can get in whenever she likes, now. She could -"
"Elena, Elena, Elena." He stopped her walking and spun her around to face him, taking her chin in his hands while her panicked gaze threatened to spin off him again. "Nothing is going to hurt you. Not Katherine, not anyone, okay? I promise." His gaze held hers for a long moment, until she felt herself start to relax in his grip. She nodded slightly, and he released her.
She didn't mean to, but her hands reached out and grasped his shirt, and she pulled herself to him, leaning her head against his chest while she breathed shallowly, still trying to calm herself down.
He froze beneath her, seeming as stunned by her action as she was, before settling. He stroked her hair with both hands once, leaving his arm around her neck while the other hand rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. She was still gripping his shirt between them, but she felt somewhat better as she stepped back from him.
He didn't say anything, just meeting her bemused and teary gaze until she looked down.
"Stefan'll be here soon," he said conversationally, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't know if you want to set some mood lighting or something in here." He looked around the bedroom. "Although, probably not the best time, come to think of it."
She smiled weakly. "I think i'm just going to get some sleep. I'm so tired these days." Without preamble, she sunk down onto the bed behind her, leaning back and curling up on her side immediately.
"I'll... stay nearby." He gave a little smile, brow furrowed, before he moved toward the window.
"Wait!" She reached out and grabbed his hand from where she lay, holding onto his fingers. "Will you stay? Please, Damon," she added when he seemed unsure.
He considered her cautiously, and then nodded. He moved to get the chair from her vanity, but she tightened her grip on his hand, causing him to look back down at her.
In answer to his questioning look, she shifted meaningfully over on the bed, moving to the other pillow and leaving room for him. Slowly and carefully, he placed himself down beside her, sitting up slightly and leaning against the headboard.
He didn't struggle as she kept possession of his hand, keeping their entwined fingers by her head as she drifted off into sleep. As her breathing began to become deep and levelled, Damon - careful not to disturb her - pulled the covers over her body with his free hand, tucking them around her gently.
Elena burrowed further into the blankets in her sleep, unconsciously clutching his hand tighter and pulling it towards her, and he leant down and pressed a feather soft kiss onto her forehead.
Her lips parted in a soft sigh, and she fell heavily into unconsciousness with a small smile on her face.