This story takes place after the season 2 finale of The Vampire Diaries.

"You have reached Stefan's phone. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Mumbling to himself, Damon tossed his cell phone onto his bed. He had already left Stefan several messages. But apparently his dear brother was too busy to be bothered.

What had Stefan been thinking, agreeing to run off with Klaus? Better yet, what had he been thinking leaving her behind? Did he not understand that his being gone was tearing her apart?

Of course he knows, you idiot. But he did it for you. To save you.

That annoying inner voice wouldn't shut up. He'd managed to keep the damn thing under wraps until he'd met her. Now every time he was around her or thinking about her, the stupid thing popped back into his mind. He hated it.

Hearing Stefan's bedroom door open, Damon stared hard at his own closed door, his heart clenching in his chest. Elena.

You're the reason she cried herself to sleep last night. Not only has she lost her boyfriend because of you, you had to go and get all honest about your feelings with her.

"Give me a break," Damon said irritably, "I thought I was dying. She needed to know how I feel."

Yeah right. You were the one who needed her to know. Even though you knew it would tear her up inside you were the one who needed to say the words. She would have been just fine never having heard them.

"Damon?" Elena's voice was muffled by the thick wooden door. "Are you awake?"

A heartbeat passed as Damon considered ignoring her. His mind told him that that would be the best thing to do, but his heart had him racing to the door and yanking it open.

"Elena." His ice blue eyes met her warm, chocolate gaze. He felt that familiar kick in his gut as he looked into those dark mesmerizing eyes that always captivated him, centering him in a way that nothing and no one else ever could. Not even Katherine. "Good morning."

"Have you heard from Stefan?" Although her voice was steady, the echo of her tears she'd cried most of the night weighed heavily in the air between them.

"No." Turning away from her, he sauntered back to his desk where his glass of scotch awaited. He picked it up with a shaking hand and tossed back the liquid fire. "I left him numerous messages, which he has ignored."

Her perfectly arched, dark brows furrowing in concern, Elena asked, "Should you be drinking? I mean, shouldn't you give yourself more time to recover from the wolf bite?"

Filling the glass with more bourbon, he glanced over his shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine." He hated to admit it, but the look of concern on her face comforted him.

Elena was beside him in exactly twelve light footsteps. He counted each one. Her hand reached out to grasp his around the glass. "Then why is your hand shaking?"

As soon as he felt the warmth of her skin against his, a zip of awareness raced through Damon. Aching to pull her against him, to feel the softness of those luscious lips against his once more, Damon's gaze fell on her lips. All he had to do was lean down and kiss them.

Go ahead. She's not going through enough emotional turmoil already.

Lifting his eyes to meet hers, Damon saw the worry and fatigue in her eyes. The voice was right. She was suffering enough already. He didn't need to make things worse.

Too late for that.

"I'm just a little weak. It will pass." His eyes stared into hers, willing her to make the next move.

The seconds ticked by as they simply stared at one another. He watched as a storm of emotions swirled within the deep depths of Elena's brown eyes as she tried to decide how to handle the situation that they had created.

No. He had created this situation. He never should have professed his love for her. Never should have let the words leave his lips. It had happened once before, but he'd been able to erase it from her memory.

Not this time. This time they were being forced to face it. Even though he'd known he'd loved Elena from pretty much the first second he'd laid eyes on her, Damon had never once thought that she might actually feel the same way about him. She'd made it clear that it was Stefan that she loved. Stefan that she wanted. Stefan that she would choose. Always.

And now Stefan was gone. And Elena had kissed him. Granted, they both had thought he was dying at the time, but it had happened. He'd never thought it would. He didn't deserve someone like her. He wasn't good enough for someone like her.

"I like you just the way you are." Elena's heartfelt words echoed in his mind, his heart.

Seeing a flash of regret in her eyes as she gazed at her hand covering his, Damon decided to give her a way out. "Of course, a little bit of fresh blood would help me out greatly," he said. To seal the deal he added his signature lopsided smile as he waggled his dark eyebrows suggestively.

"You know that is not going to happen, Damon." Elena snatched her hand away and turned to leave the room. "I'm going home. I have to check on Jeremy."

Closing his eyes at the sound of his bedroom door clicking closed behind her, Damon's hand tightened around the glass of bourbon, making it explode. Opening his eyes, he gazed down at the mixture of blood, bourbon and glass that now covered his hand, as well as the floor.

That was exactly how he felt on the inside.

Putting the car into park, Elena let her head fall back against the headrest as she tried to gather the strength to go inside the house. She was thoroughly and utterly exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally.

Damon had almost died. Stefan had made some pact with Klaus to save him. And now Stefan was gone. He'd left her behind. He'd chosen Damon over her. The brother he'd claimed to hate. The brother he'd promised to protect her from.

Damon had almost died.

"Oh God," Elena whispered.

So many times she'd wished Damon gone, and then it had almost happened. And what had she done when she'd found out that Damon was dying from a werewolf bite? She'd rushed to his bedside to comfort him.

She told herself it was because she believed that no one deserved to die alone. But deep down in the hidden recess of her heart, she knew there was more to it than that. There always had been. She had always felt drawn to Damon. Even though she was in love with Stefan, she had some kind of connection with his brother. And she hated it.

Damon had almost died.

The thought of her world without him in it made it almost impossible for Elena to breathe. Tears pooled in her eyes as she tried to imagine what could have happened if Katherine hadn't shown up with the cure. If Stefan hadn't sacrificed himself to Klaus.

A knock on the window beside made her jump. She turned to find scowling Jeremy staring at her.

"Elena, are you okay?"

Nodding, Elena quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and opened the car door. Scooping her into his arms, Jeremy hugged her tightly.

"Jeremy, I'm okay." Elena pulled back to smile at her brother. "I'm just really tired."

"Well come inside then." Holding her protectively in the crook of his arm, Jeremy steered her into the house. "You can tell Bonnie and me what happened last night."

"Bonnie's here?"

A faint blush bloomed up Jeremy's neck. "Yeah. She didn't want me to be alone last night, so she stayed with me."

Thankful that her best friend had thought to look out for her younger brother, Elena smiled. "Good."

"Elena!" Bonnie rushed to meet them at the door. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Wait, Bonnie." Jeremy scolded. "Let her sit down first."

"Right. I'll go get you some tea."

As Bonnie disappeared into the kitchen, Elena settled into the plush couch. She'd just gotten comfortable when Bonnie reappeared with a cup of steaming tea. Handing it to Elena, she looked at her warily. "Damon?"

"He's alive." Elena cautiously sipped her tea.

Jeremy's eyes widened. "How?"

So Elena told them all about how Katherine had showed up at the last second with a vial of Klaus's blood to cure Damon. Then she told them that Stefan was gone. What she didn't tell them about was the very personal, heartfelt conversation she and Damon had shared.

"Wait. Stefan agreed to go off gallivanting with Klaus to save Damon?" Jeremy shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe he would leave you like that! And for who? Damon?"

While she agreed with Jeremy, Elena found herself defending Damon. Again. "He is his brother, Jeremy. I would do the same thing for you."

"That's completely different, and you know it!"

During their conversation, Bonnie remained unusually quiet. Elena had been prepared for Bonnie to react the way Jeremy was doing. Instead, she merely watched Elena intently.

"I can't believe this." Running a hand through his hair, Jeremy laughed nervously. "When is Stefan coming back?"

Well wasn't that the question of the day? Elena's throat tightened. "I don't know Jeremy."

"Well, what did he say?"

"I haven't spoken with him since he told me about Damon and the werewolf bite."

"What?"

"Look. I'm exhausted. I'm going to go lie down." Standing up, Elena forced a smile. "I'll be in my room."

As she made her way up the stairs, Elena tried to ignore the urgent whispering behind her in the family room. She went into her room, snatched her diary from its hiding place, and settled into her bed.

Dear Diary,

I wish I had had you with me last night. So much has happened since the last time we spoke. Everything is such a mess that I don't even know where to begin. Stefan is gone. Apparently he made some kind of a deal with Klaus to save Damon's life. He didn't even say goodbye. He just left, and I haven't heard anything from him. I had to find out about him leaving from Katherine of all people! I hope he's okay.

So now I'm alone. Well, not completely alone. Damon is still here…Damon…oh Diary, he almost died! As in gone forever! I can't breathe thinking about him not being in my life. It hurts so. And then remembering what it was like, watching him fade away in that bed… And then he told me that he loves me! And it was strange because when he said them, the words felt so familiar, so comforting, like he'd said them before. And then, oh please help me Diary, but we kissed! I know! It shouldn't have happened! But it did. And now he's still alive. And Stefan is gone. And I don't know what to do…

A soft knock on her door had Elena shoving her diary under her pillow. With a knowing smile on her face, Bonnie walked into the room.

"Elena, are you really okay?" Bonnie looked at her sadly.

"I'm fine." Forcing a smile, Elena silently said No I'm not fine! My boyfriend is gone and I kissed his brother! Would you be okay?

Reaching out to take Elena's hand in hers, Bonnie's eyes searched Elena's. "I know you, Elena. You're not okay. And it's perfectly understandable that you would be upset about Stefan choosing Damon over you."

Inhaling sharply, Elena stared at her best friend as the painful truth of Bonnie's words washed over her.