Author's Note: This is my first fic. The first part of the story is the dialogue and scene from the episode Rose 2x08. Please read and review.

Disclaimer- I do not own The Vampire Diaries.


"Cute pjs."

Elena was startled by the sudden presence in her room. However, she was not surprised it was Damon sitting there in her bedroom.

"I'm tired Damon."

Damon was sitting on the bench by the window. He then got up flashing Elena's missing necklace.

"Brought you this."

The necklace dangling in front of her eyes shocked her. There was no way he had got it back, but yet there it was right in front of her.

"I thought that was gone."

He shook his head no, giving her his response.

"Thank you," she breathed, reaching for the necklace. But Damon pulled it back. "Please give it back."

"I just have to say something."

"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?"

He thought about this for a moment before continuing.

"Because what I am about to say is probably the most selfish thing I have ever said in my life."

"Damon don't go there."

"I just have to say it once, you just need to hear it," he paused, looking into her eyes, "I love you Elena. And it's because I love you that…I can't be selfish with you…and why you can't know this. I don't deserve you, but my brother does."

Damon looked at her a moment longer, then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Elena's forehead. His hand came up, brushing his fingers against her cheek and resting his hand there.

"God, I wish you didn't have to forget this," his eyes contracted as he stared into hers, compelling her to forget, "but you do."

A single tear slipped from his eye. And by the time Elena had blinked her necklace was back around her neck and Damon was gone. She reached down, grasping her necklace, wondering how it got there and what had just occurred.

Elena sat down on the edge of her bed, still holding the necklace. She was confused and there was a twinge of sadness in her heart that she could not explain.


"Damon!" Elena woke up startled and gasping for breath. The images of her dream came floating back to her. "A dream, it was only a dream," she told herself.

But this was unlike any dream she had had before. There was a vividness to this one, unlike the cloudy haze that normally surrounded her dreams. And in this one, she could remember every moment perfectly, like it was a movie. Elena remembered how gently Damon's lips came down and kissed her forehead, and how his fingers lightly brushed over her cheek before he rest his palm against it. She remembered the sweet, inviting scent that was Damon, encompassing her as he stepped in close to her. And she remembered, verbatim, the words that he had uttered to her, telling her how he felt. But most of all she remembered his piercing blue stare, filled with so much pain and the way his words were laced with anguish as he told her his feelings and then had to rip the memory away from her. Or at least he had thought he had taken the memory away. Then it hit her.

"It wasn't a dream!" Elena sat bolt upright in bed, recalling the events of the night before.

The memory left her confused. Why could she remember? Damon had compelled her. So why was this memory burned into her mind?

A feeling of sadness crept into her heart. Now she understood the lingering feeling from last night. Despite all of the hurt that Damon had caused her over the last few months, Elena felt sorry for him. His entire life, everyone had always picked Stefan over Damon. Their father had thought of Stefan as the one that would continue the family legacy, while Damon was the disgrace of the family. Katherine had toyed with both brothers, but admitted that she had never truly loved Damon because she was in love with Stefan. And even she, Elena, had chosen to be with Stefan and to push Damon away. And even when she pushed Damon away, he was there for her, always.

Last night when Damon had come to her, he had tried taking the memory away so that she could be happy with Stefan, even though she knew that it caused Damon pain to do so. Letting her and Stefan be happy together was probably one of the most selfless things Damon had ever done in his entire life.

Grief washed over Elena as she thought all this, and tears that had been pooling in her eyes spilled over as she gave into the sadness. Her body was wracked with sobs and she had to wrap her arms around herself to keep herself together.

"Elena?!" she heard Stefan's voice, filled with worry.

As she started to lift her head to look at him, his hands cupped her face bringing her eyes up to meet his. She saw that his face was wrought with distress.

"What's wrong?!"

"I…I'm fine, S…Stefan," Elena tried placating.

She felt his arms slip around her and his hard embrace. Elena let herself fall apart in that moment. She slumped against his chest and sobbed heavily. Stefan just sat there cradling and trying to reassure her.

After what seemed like hours, Elena finally succumbed to sleep, emotionally drained from the day.

When she finally woke from her rest, she saw that the sun had set and that a few lamps in her room had been turned on. She then felt the arms around her and remembered Stefan finding her that morning. The thought made her flush pink with embarrassment and she began to think about that morning.

"Elena?" Stefan's voice brought her back to the present.

"Hmm?" Knowing that her voice would betray her, she opted for the simple sound.

"Can we talk about what happened this morning?"

Elena knew that she could not tell Stefan the truth. She would only hurt him by telling him what had actually triggered her meltdown. Quickly she made up an excuse in her head to try to explain her behavior.

"Just everything from yesterday and the last couple of months hit me. Damon killing Jeremy, Katherine showing up, all of the death in this town, and then being kidnapped. I broke down." She knew that there was a slight edge to her voice that threatened to give her away as she told Stefan this, but she hoped that he would believe her.

"Hey, it is going to be okay," Stefan lifted her chin up so that he could look her in the eyes. "I will never let anyone take you again. And I would die before I let someone hurt you Elena."

The statement made Elena feel guilty. Stefan loved her. He loved her so much that he would risk his life to save hers. And she had spent the day crying over Damon. How could she be so selfish?

The thoughts running around her mind made her body tense. She felt like she was betraying Stefan. Tears began to form in her eyes once more.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right here," Stefan tightened his grip around her, trying to soothe her worry away.

"I'll be fine Stefan," Elena hesitated before she began her next statement. "I think I need to be alone right now. I just need some time to myself."

Elena felt Stefan go stiff for a moment before he slowly let go of her. It immediately made her feel guilty again. She hoped that he wouldn't be too hurt that she was pushing him away when he clearly thought she needed him.

"Sure Elena. Whatever you need," he whispered before he placed a quick kiss on her forehead and was gone.

The action brought back the memory of Damon. Her heart was filled with pain for him once more as she went through the previous night's events again. The more she thought about what had happened, the more she realized that she truly cared about Damon. But there was something more. She didn't just care about Damon. Elena realized in that moment that she had feelings for Damon and she was not sure how great her feelings were.

After a moment of thought, Elena knew what she had to do. She could never tell Damon the way she felt. She knew that she would only hurt both Stefan and Damon in the process. It didn't matter how much it hurt her, she would keep this secret. She would keep this secret because she was determined not to be Katherine. Elena could not come between the two brothers as Katherine had. This meant that Damon could not know that she remembered last night. She would be happy with Stefan and put everything else in the past. And maybe one day she would try and be friends with Damon again. One day when her feelings for him did not weigh heavy with guilt on her.

With that settled, Elena had more important things to worry about. She pushed the last thoughts of Stefan and Damon from her mind as she grabbed her phone off the nightstand. She quickly flipped through the contacts until she got to the one she wanted and dialed the number.

"Caroline. I need your help. Meet me at the tomb in 20 minutes. And don't tell Stefan."


Twenty minutes later, Elena pulled up in the woods near the tomb, with her headlights shining on Caroline. She grabbed the supplies she needed from the seat next to her and got out to meet Caroline.

"What the hell Elena?"

"Caroline…"

"You drag me out here in the middle of the night and tell me not to tell Stefan. All so you can talk to Katherine. Seriously?"

"It's important Caroline. Katherine is the only one who can tell me what I need to know about Klaus. And you have to promise not to tell Stefan. Keep him distracted. He won't be looking for me for another couple of hours, but after that I need you to keep him occupied."

"You know I suck at lying Elena. He will see right through me."

"You have to try Caroline. Promise me."

"Fine, but I can't promise that he will buy it."

"I know. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I need the tomb door open."

They took the stairs down into the tomb. When Caroline reached the door she hesitated and looked back at Elena. Elena nodded for her to continue and Caroline made easy work of the door. Caroline gave Elena one last look with worry filling her face.

"I'll be fine Caroline. As long as I stay on this side of the door, she cannot hurt me. And thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it."

"Not like I had much of a choice," Caroline smirked before running off into the night.

Elena then turned towards the tomb and called out, "Katherine!"


Author's Note: So there you go. That is the first chapter. I will try to post the next one as soon as I can. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think! Criticism helps too, so don't be shy. Thanks! :)