A/N: I actually cried over this. I cried, and I am unhappy with the fact that my beloved Salvatore is dead. So I've come up with my own explanation/solution. We'll see where this goes.
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.
Chapter One: The Worst
She barges into the crypt, her long hair mussed and a frantic gleam in her doe eyes. Her gaze falls on the extinguished candles and the heart in her chest accelerates. "Bonnie! We need to find them. We need to start the spell again." Her voice is fraught with desperation as she pleads with the witch.
"We can't! That was our one shot," Bonnie answers, shaking her head.
"Yeah, but Damon is on the other side…we have to…"
"Elena," the witch says her name softly, reaching out to take her hand. Elena lifts her eyes to Bonnie's, tears forming in her eyes. The Bennett girl swallows past the lump in her throat, her heart heavier than lead in that one moment. "It's too late," she murmurs. She knows he's there. She can feel him there with them, but the pain in her chest at the sheer idea of that is debilitating. She fights the urge to cry, balling her fists and steadying herself. At first, she doesn't comprehend how she can be so sorrowful over him of all people. Then it hits her. She doesn't hate him, not anymore. She does not hate him because she can see how good he is—he was for Elena, and how good she is for him. He has saved both of their lives more times than she dares count, and she figures she won't ever stop owing him for that. She wants to think this is why it breaks her in this moment. "He's here. You can say goodbye," she says as a final remark and leaves the crypt.
Elena falls back against the wall of the crypt as the sobs wrack her frame. Tears spill down her cheeks and she entangles her fingers in her hair, lowering her head to her knees as she lets loose and just cries. Her whole world has shattered in quite literally the blink of an eye, and part of her wants to blame him. He lied. He left her. He broke his promise.
"You lied to me," she grates out past the tears, her breath coming in hiccups from the force of her tears. Damon reaches out and strokes her hair, letting his thumb caress the curve of her cheekbone. She opens her eyes in that moment, watching as a lock of her hair moves seemingly of its own accord and she knows he is there.
"Even if I wanted to apologize, you couldn't hear me," he says softly, "so I won't."
"Please don't leave me," Elena sobs, pouring ever ounce of what remained of her heart into that plea. I will never leave you again, his words echo in her mind. Her heart breaks along with the promise, and right now, she isn't so sure she can go on. Not without him.
"I don't have a choice, baby," he says in response. "You are, by far, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my 173 years on this Earth. I get to die knowing I was loved not just by anyone, but you, Elena Gilbert. It's the epitome of a fulfilled life. It's never gonna get any better than this. I peeked." He brushes the tears from her face. "I love you, Elena."
"Please," she begs of him if he can hear her, "Please…come back to me." For a moment, she thinks she feels his lips brushing a kiss on her cheek, but she gives no serious thought to it.
Meanwhile, on the Other Side, Bonnie stands and faces the destructive light ripping and tearing at the fabric of existence before her eyes. Her grandmother stands beside her, and she turns to her with a small question, "Grams, I know you've done so much. Thank you for that, but please, if I could just ask you for one more favor?"
"He preserved the Bennett witch line. He protected my ancestors, and he protected me."
"He also severed it, Bonnie; you've left that out. You know why I can't do this. It will set nature out of balance," the older witch answers.
"Nature is already out of balance with the resurrection spell," Bonnie counters. She thinks for a minute, grasping at straws for a possible way to reset the balance. An answer presents itself, but when the thought of it unfolds, she can see already it will cause just as much pain. "A trade, then. One Salvatore for another. Besides, Stefan already died when the Travelers ripped his heart out. Damon wasn't meant to die."
"My hands are tied, Bonnie. I can do no more. The witches won't agree. You may yet have the strength while this place still remains." She mumbles a quiet 'thank-you' to her grandmother and closes her eyes, drawing on what remains of the raw power in her to form the spell on her lips. She can almost feel the tendrils of magic flowing from her and rooting deep into the ancient ground beneath her feet. He was ready to die, a still small voice whispers in her head space. It is always a life for a life, and he is ready to die. Nature will be in balance again. She repeats these words as a mantra while she waits for the spell to make its connection to him, the last living Salvatore.
The witch's spirit is, in essence, right outside the crypt where the doppelganger mourns. The latter is curled into a ball, rocking back and forth as sobs wrack her frame and not even the gentle touch of her history teacher-turned-vampire-hunter could calm her grief. It's when the wind picks up outside that he senses something is wrong.
"Elena, the wind. The wind's picking up," Alaric comments, rising slowly from his position by her side. He stands and steps toward the crypt's open door, looking out into the wind-ravaged woods. Gale force winds rip through the trees and gust in his face, forcing him to squint against the sheer force. Lightning cracks across the night sky, filling it with blinding light. He watches the insane weather for a few more minutes before turning back inside. He leans his back against the wall opposite Elena and sinks down to the floor. "That usually means witchy whoowhoo, according to Da—according to previous experience," he remarks, catching himself.
"There was nothing she could do. She told me that, Ric. It's not her, and it's probably just the Other Side falling apart," Elena says dejectedly. Alaric shifts again and crawls over to sit beside her. He somewhat awkwardly wraps an arm around her and pats her back.
"I don't think it's fair either, to be honest," the hunter says. "Sick twist of fate that I'm here instead of him. Elena, you know what I told him last time I saw him? Not just now, but when Bonnie dropped the veil?"
"What?" It comes out muffled under a sniffle, but he hears the question.
"I said, 'Get the girl'. Do you really think he'd let go of you that easy?"
"He didn't get the girl, Ric. The girl lost him, and he did let go of me," she sniffles, wiping furiously at the tears. She runs a hand through her smooth tresses, pulling away from Ric to pace back and forth. "He let go when he didn't come back. He broke his promise." Her voice cracks at the last statement and she dissolves into another fit of sobbing. "That's the worst, Ric. He broke it, and he broke me, but I love him. I can't stop."
He gestures for her to come back and sit beside him.
She doesn't fight it.
She crashes into him and closes her eyes, her shaking shoulders and the tears rolling silently down her pretty face the only sign of her sadness.
A/N: Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Tell me. More to come.