Rose's Final Hour
(Damon and Elaina get Rose back to the house after she had gone on an accidental killing rage. She is still crying, but it simmering down. Damon puts her down on his bed and pulls the covers over her. Elaina is by the door.)
"I did not mean to do that. You have to believe me. I haven't killed anybody in over a century. I don't even know how…" Rose tried to collect herself.
"So what? You went on a little killing spree. Things happen. Believe me, ask Elaina home many times I've done that in just the short time she's known me. Just relax. Here, take a drink." Damon sits beside her with a glass of blood. Rose takes a sip and holds the glass to her forehead.
"I'm sorry Elaina. I did not mean to frighten you like that. I know that you are nothing like Katherine. The only thing that you two share is the looks. But I know that you two are nothing alike. Please forgive me, Elaina." She pleaded. Everyone could tell that she was worn down and needed to sleep.
"Rose, you did not frighten me. Its ok, there's no need to apologize." Elaina said, and just than Rose started to scream.
"AHHH, MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Elaina automatically went to her bedside. Rose's pain subsided for a moment. She started to breathe heavily as she took another sip of the blood. "Why are you so good to me Elaina? I have not seen kindness like yours in a long time." Rose closed her eyes, than glanced over at Elaina.
"Because she's a do-gooder! Were you not listening to me earlier? She always has to do what's good and what's right. Its kind of sickening, if you ask me." Damon said as he went over to get a cool, damp cloth.
"Well, I really do appreciate your kindness Elaina. I will always remember that about you." Roses eyes squinted and the unbearable pain started to take over. "Oh God, please make it STOP! DAMEN, DO SOMETHING PLEASE! AHHHHHH! NO, PLEASE NO!" Rose started screaming in agenizing pain. Damon came over and pushed Elaina out of his way.
"What should I do? Damon! What do you want me to do?" Elaina asked as she watched from the sidelines, helpless.
"Nothing. Just go home Elaina. It's only going to get worse, and you being here is not going to help any. Just go home, please!" Damon said as he tried to calm Rose down. He looked up at Elaina, and she knew that this was going to be the last time she was going to see Rose. She walked over to the bed and bent down to give Rose a hug.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you." Elaina whispered as tears came down her face. With that, Elaina fled the house.
(A few moments after Damon gets the pain to subside, before Rose falls asleep.)
"I am so sorry for all of the trouble I have cost you and your brother, Damon. I did not mean it. I was just so tired of running." Rose said as she tried to rest her worn out body.
"Do not worry about all of that now. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax. Try to get some sleep. We can talk about that all later," said Damon as he puts a cool washcloth on her forehead.
"Please, don't leave me here by myself. I don't trust myself after what just happened, and I don't think I'll be able to stop myself if it starts again!" Rose said in a bit of a panic.
"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. Believe me; all my plans for the day were ruined since yesterday. Now relax and go to sleep." Damon erged as Rose closed her eyes. And in one swift moment Rose was swept from reality into a dream. Rose was standing in a huge pasture filled with nothing but green luscious grass and trees. It was the middle of the day, and it was a gorgeous sunny day at that.
"Uh!" Rose gasped as she realized that the sun wasn't affecting her. She looked down and saw that she was wearing an old fashion floor length dress. It was the same dress that she had worn the day she was turned. The last day she was human. She touched her face and could fell her long wavy hair flowing down the side of her face and down past her shoulders. She knew that this had to be Damon's doing. She felt no more pain. She felt at ease.
As Rose started to walk further, she saw the horses that her family used to own. She walked over to the smallest one and put her head against the horses face. The small horse jumped with joy to see her. The other horses came over to welcome back their long lost friend. Rose looked up and saw Damon sitting on the grad farther down the hill. She walked away from the horses and started in his direction.
"So, you gave up your whole night to make this all for me? That doesn't sound like the Damon I know." Rose giggled as she sat beside him. She thought for a minute before continuing. "Wait, how did you know about this place? I don't remember talking to any of you guys about this place." Rose asked in more of a curious way than an offensive way.
"You mentioned something to Elaina about it. And as usual, I was eas dropping. Figures, right?" Damon said as he put his arm around her. "So, how do you like it?" He asked.
"I absolutely love it. And I will have to thank that girl someday. You know, she is the best parts of Katherine times ten. I really didn't mean to go after her like that today. I don't even know what got over me, I just…" But before she could finish, Damon cut her off.
"None of that now. She knows that you did not mean it. She always sees the good in people anyway. What do you want to do on this beautiful day?" He asked Rose as she laid in his lap.
"Well, first I just want to lay here with you for a while. Then we will go from there." Rose said. And at that they sat in silence for a while. She couldn't help but to feel a sense of comfort as she sat in this paradise with Damon. After about ten minutes of enjoying the sun on her skin, she came to a realization.
"I am not afraid anymore," she whispered into Damon's ear and stood up in front of him with a brand new attitude. "I do not have that fear in me that I have been carrying around for the past 500 hundred years. I have been running for all this time and it has taken me till not to realize that enough is enough."
"Good for you! See, I told you, there's nothing to fear. I will always protect you and do what's best for you. You are the only friend I have, Rose." Damon said as he stood to face her.
"You will get more friends… friends like me and Trevor. Do you think I will see him? And perhaps my mother and father? My baby sister?" Rose asked Damon as she spun in circles like she was dancing. Damon grabbed her and pulled her close.
"I think…I think you will see anyone you want to see. Anyone that your heart desires." Damon said with a pushed smile. Rose spun out of his arms and laughed.
"I am not afraid anymore. And you should not be afraid anymore either." Rose said as she continued to dance in circles.
"I'm not afraid of anything. What do you think I am afraid of?" Damon asked in a stern but stubborn tone.
"Oh please. Where to begin?" Rose giggled, and when she realized that Damon was serious, she started listing. "You're afraid that you will fall for Katherine again. You're afraid that you are falling for Elaina. You're afraid that people will find out that you actually have feelings!" She said in a sarcastic tone. Then she stopped moving and her smile dropped as she said the last part. "But your biggest fear is that people will find out that you miss being human." She glanced over her shoulder and gave a weak smile.
"How do you know that much about me, yet we have only known each other for a heartbeat of a second?" Damon asked in a half serious half sarcastic question. On the other side of this dream, Rose was still laying on Damon's lap on his bed. He knew that this dream would not last much longer, and with this fact tears started rushing down his face. "What do you want to do now?" He asked as he raps his arm around her.
"Umm, I want to race you. To the top of the hill. First one to reach the top of the hill wins. On the count of three." Rose said as she prepared herself for the race. She kicks off her sandals and held her dress. (Damon kisses Roses sleeping forehead. He pulls out a wooden stake that he had been hiding and places it on Roses chest. He could not believe what he was about to do, but could not let Rose continue suffering the way she was. He tries to keep himself as calm as possible.)
"You'll most likely lose, you know," he said as he playfully went up to her.
"One!" Rose said as she tried to get a head start. (Damon rests his lips on Roses forehead as he positions the stake where her heart is.) "Two!" Rose said as she scurried a few feet further. (Damon rests the tip of the stake against her shirt. He closes his eyes and starts to cry, and at the count of three he puts the stake through her heart.)
"I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so so sorry!" Damon whispers in her ear as he loses control and breaks down. He stays in the same position with Rose's corpse in his lap for the rest of the night.