This story begins after Season 3, Episode 22 - The Departed...or, more precisely, after Lying to Herself chapter 45...

Elena's eyes were drawn to Damon as soon as he entered the room. He was obviously upset, but his expression changed to relief when his eyes found hers. He hesitated a few feet away from her, his eyes moving to Stefan briefly, then returning to Elena.

As her eyes remained fixed on Damon, his expression was changing. He was starting to look concerned. Then he looked at Stefan again.

"Rick's dead," Damon said flatly.

"How did you…?" Stefan started, before Damon interrupted again.

"Rick's dead." He said, looking back to Elena as he asked. "But you're not. What did they do to you?"

Elena couldn't answer, and she couldn't look away. Damon started walking towards her again, but stopped when Stefan grabbed his arm.

"She's transitioning," Stefan said.

Damon shook off Stefan's grasp, but kept his eyes on Elena. "She did this to you – the blood-snatching bit…"

"Meredith saved Elena," Stefan interrupted. He was getting a little upset that Elena and Damon were ignoring him.

Damon's expression was changing again, and his voice was really soft as he asked her, "Are you OK?"

Elena wasn't sure if she should nod, shake her head or just shrug, so she didn't anything. She barely managed a whisper in reply, "I'm starting to remember…some things."

"Remember?" Stefan asked, turning to her. "Remember what?"

Elena wasn't sure what expression was on her face as her eyes held Damon's. Really, she wasn't sure what message she wanted to send him. Her mind was still processing her memories, as well as the fact that she was becoming a vampire. She had barely heard Stefan's question, she was barely aware that he was in the room with her.

"Elena!" Stefan said sharply, which broke her out of her trance. "What are you remembering?"

She shook her head, but still didn't look at Stefan. "Nothing." Then she looked back at Damon and asked, "You killed Alaric? How? You were supposed to be getting rid of Klaus."

"Rick took care of that," Damon said, glancing around her, looking around her for the usual bag she had hooked up to her, draining the blood out of her.

"Then he didn't create your bloodline," Elena said, closing her eyes. Now that she had broken eye contact with Damon, she was become aware of the sounds around her again.

"It appears he lied," Damon said. "How unexpected."

"He wasn't lying," a voice came from the doorway. Elena's eyes opened to see Elijah standing there, and Damon moving to stand in front of him, blocking his entrance.

Elijah sounded a little annoyed as he told Damon, "Just move, you can't keep me from her."

Damon smirked. "Don't be so sure - I just took out the uber-vampire hunter, from which your sister ran like a scared little girl."

"I admit I am surprised you live," Elijah said, "but don't think it means you can stop me. I'd hate to take away one of Elena's choices before she's made her final decision."

"Don't let that stop you," Damon retorted. "She's made her decis…"

"Damon!" Elena yelled, interrupting him. "Just...let him in."

Elena quickly glanced at Stefan, only to see that he was staring at her. She couldn't decide if she was glad or not that she hadn't been able to tell Stefan of her decision before she died, but she didn't want Damon mentioning what she said when she called him. The returning memories of him were starting to make her doubt her decision.

By the time Elijah reached her, Damon was standing behind her head. Stefan was on the side of the bed opposite of where Elijah had stopped.

"You're another one I am surprised to see alive," Elijah told Elena.

"Rebekah did this," Elena said, meeting his eyes.

"She turned you? I was only told that she left you to drown."

"No," Elena said, shaking her head slightly. "I mean she caused my death. I don't know how I got the vampire blood in me."

"So you can leave her alone now," Damon said. "You can't use her blood anymore, not that your bastard brother is around to try to get it."

Elijah looked briefly at Damon, but his eyes returned to Elena's before Damon had finished speaking.

"I am truly sorry for everything that has happened to you."

"You say that a lot," Damon responded when Elena didn't.

Elena and Elijah both ignored him. "Are you going through with the transition?" the Original asked the doppelganger.

Elena shrugged. She hadn't had the time to give it any thought at all – she awoke, Damon was there. That was all.

"I…don't know," she managed to say to Elijah.

"Rebekah is going to Kol now," Elijah said. "She knows I don't agree with what she did to you."

"She told me you were going to run," Stefan interjected.

"Things changed when she told me what she did to Elena," Elijah countered. Then looking at Elena, he added, "But she and Kol will be back for you."

"What?" Elena asked, sounding surprised. "Even now? What would they want with me?"

"The doppelganger blood isn't only used to make hybrids. With the help of a powerful witch, there are rumors of …so much more that it can do."

"But I'm not human anymore," Elena argued. "I thought I had to be human for the blood to be any good. Even Klaus thought that."

"You're not human," Elijah agreed. "But somewhere between Katerina and you there may be doppelganger blood that remains human. Once they know what has happened to you, Rebekah and Kol will come to you to get you to lead them to it."

"Lead them how?" Stefan asked. He had remained in place, across the bed from Elijah, though Damon had moved to stand very close to her, closer to Elijah.

"Elena will know her mother, her grandmother. They have the blood, they can be found. The bloodline can be traced to any living relatives. There may even be another doppelganger among them."

"Her mother is dead," Stefan said.

Elijah just looked at Elena. "Is there any possibility that this can be done?"

Elena slowly nodded, recalling that Isobel had told her that her parents were alive, that they visited her marker in the cemetery.

"Then we must find them first," Elijah said.

"We?" Damon asked. "Elena may not want to deal with Originals just now."

"Elena may not have a choice." Elijah looked at Damon as he said this, but turned back to Elena. "For now, complete the change. But if you decide not to, consider giving the information I need to get started before you let yourself die. If you don't, my brother and sister will seek it from any remaining family you have."

He turned to leave and had walked a few steps before turning back to Damon. "I'm sure that Elena's transition to vampire saved her, but I don't understand what saved you. Niklaus is dead, you should be dead as well. Unless," he added, turning back to Elena, "he used your blood to work a spell to keep him alive. Did you give him any."

"He took some," she whispered.

"If he is still alive in one form or another, what I have said applies even more. Help me find the doppelganger bloodline before he does."

Elena watched the Original go through the door as Damon began speaking.

"You're not going to trust him aga…"

"Stefan," Elena interrupted, "would you make sure he's really leaving?"

Stefan looked between her and Damon before finally saying, "Sure."

As soon as he was out of the room, Damon was saying, "Elena…"

"You compelled me!" she said sharply, turning to him.

His face changed as he processed what she said. Then he said "You knew how I felt. Every time I told you, you just told me about Stefan."

"That's not…true." Elena stuttered, closing her eyes and trying to remember a time when she hadn't. As she thought, she realized how bad she was feeling just then. Maybe it was the fear Elijah had created in her when he said her family was still in danger, maybe it was the transition. She just knew she was tired. Tired and her throat was starting to burn. Was it her need for blood?

She let her defenses down, let her exhaustion show as she opened her eyes and looked at Damon again. "That wasn't the only time. You compelled me when I first met you. Do you know how different things could have been?"

She let herself lay back down on the bed and let her eyes close.

"Could they have been different?" Damon asked softly, concerned that she had to face her transition in addition to the stress that Elijah had brought to her.

Damon heard Stefan's return, but was in his way before he entered the room. "She needs to rest," Damon whispered to his brother before letting him pass.

Stefan entered the room, but turned back to Damon immediately. "You know this is her choice, right? Whether to let herself become a vampire or not."

Damon didn't answer him – he just stared. All he could do was shake his head. "After all of this, would you still let her choose to die?" he asked as he turned to walk away.

He would give her a little space, some time alone with the brother she had chosen. But he would stay close as she changed, as close as she would let him.