All she could remember was fear. The water surged around her, and all she could think was that she didn't even get to tell Stefan. Then she saw him, and all fear washed away. He had ripped off the door,

and she urged him to save Matt. Stefan shook his head, incapable of thinking that thought. Elena silently pleaded with him, and he knew if he let her live, but didn't save Matt, he'd lose her forever.

"Dammit, Caroline, drive faster!", Stefan yelled, and Bonnie put a gentle hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"I'm trying! I don't know how to drive a standard!", she said.

They pulled up to Wickery Bridge and could see where the truck had gone over.

Stefan was out of the car before it even stopped. Bonnie and Caroline barely saw him as he blurred into the water.

Stefan emerged several minutes later with Matt.

"Where's Elena?", Bonnie asked.

"She wouldn't let me take her first!", Stefan yelled. He placed Matt slowly on the ground and Bonnie laid her head to his chest.

"Is he alive?", Stefan asked.

Bonnie nodded. Stefan stood and ran to Elena as fast as he could.

Stefan hurried back down, and the sight before him broke his heart. He grabbed Elena and carried her up, fearing the worst.

He laid her gently on the pavement, while Bonnie, Caroline, and a freshly revived Matt looked on.

"Elena. No. Please. Elena." Matt said. He shook her, with no response.

"Elena. No! God, no, please don't leave me. Please. Oh, God, please...please please please...", Stefan begged.

He looked to Bonnie.

"Bonnie, please...", he begged. Bonnie shook her head slowly.

"Bonnie, PLEASE! There has to be a way. There has to be!"

"I don't know how!", she cried out, and Stefan hung his head. Bonnie placed a hand on his arm, her eyes filling with tears. He nodded, and she leaned down and began CPR. Stefan watched, unable to stop

the tears. Caroline leaned on Matt, sobbing, and Matt was crying too. He reached out for Caroline's hand.

"DAMMIT! ELENA, COME ON!", Bonnie screamed. She was hitting Elena violently now, anything to get her heart started again.

Stefan looked up, and Damon was there, cradling Ric in his arms. Finally getting confirmation, he pushed Bonnie out of the way and scooped up Elena. He could hear Matt's heart beating, but when he placed

his head on Elena's chest, he heard nothing.

"NO! NO! Elena!", Stefan cried out, and he cradled her in his arms and sobbed. He rocked her back and forth, begging and pleading to himself.

"Stefan...she's gone.", Damon said gently, and he grabbed Stefan. Stefan shook him off and growled, and his eyes vamped. Then his face was back to normal again, and he was crying, holding her. Bonnie,

Caroline, and Matt all clung to each other, sobbing, and Damon was crying, wishing there was some way to help his little brother...and himself.

Just then, the ambulance showed up, and the paramedics ran out to them. Stefan watched as they carried Elena to the ambulance, and when he got up to follow Bonnie stopped him. He growled again.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!", he screamed. Bonnie looked to Damon, who nodded. Stefan followed Meredith into the ambulance. Immediately, they began trying to revive her.

She could see them. Her parents. They were smiling at her.

"Mom. Dad." And then someone else, too.

"Jenna. Ric." Ric was there, and that meant-

"Stefan. Oh, God." Ric placed a consoling hand on her arm.

"Get an IV in her, now!", Meredith screamed. She threw blankets onto Elena, and looked at Stefan, who looked like he was ready to stake himself.

"Close those blinds, now!", she ordered, and the orderly did so. Stefan sighed. All he could do now was wait.

The door opened, and Stefan woke up. He'd been sleeping, dreaming, of Elena.

"Dr. Fell?", he asked.

"We did everything we could, but it was too late. Stefan...", she began, but he cut her off.

"She's...she's...", he cried, and he fell to his knees.

"I'm so sorry.", she said, and she walked away. Stefan got up and opened the door. Elena was no where to be found.

"Where is she?", he asked.

"We took her down to the morgue. I...I didn't want people to see her, people that she knew." Stefan nodded, his eyes filling with fresh tears. He walked down to the morgue, all the while thinking that the

only woman in his life he had truly loved was taken from him. Then he saw her.

They had dried her off, it seemed, because there she was looking perfect, her hair framed around her face.

"Oh, God.", he cried, and he sobbed. He scooped her up in his arms and cried until it seemed he had no more tears left to fall. Then he laid her down gently, and arranged her hair around her face. He had

hoped that now the tears would stop, but they still came. He stood over her, watching her.

Damon came into the hospital.

"Where is she!", he spat out, grabbing Meredith by the arm.

"No, Damon-", she began.

"WHERE IS SHE?", he demanded again.

"Wait! You need to know, when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't a concussion, it was a cerebral hemorrhage, bleeding in the brain."

"What are you saying?", he demanded.

"He was so worried. I didn't wanna tell him, but I-I helped her. She needed my help.", Meredith said.

Damon caught on pretty fast, and he could barely get the words out.

"You what?"

"Elena, it's time to go.", her dad said.

"Go? What do you mean?", she cried out.

"It's not your time yet, Elena.", Ric said.

"But-but..." Then everything went black.

Stefan leaned down and kissed Elena, pained that she couldn't reciprocate. It took so much effort to leave her, but he knew he had to, and so, he stood. Just then, Damon stormed in.

"Stefan, there's something you need to know."

"Not now.", he snapped, and raised up his hand.

"No, Stefan-", Damon began, but then Elena gasped for air. Stefan's eyes widened, and if he'd had a beating heart, that would have stopped it.

"How...how...", he began.

"Ask her.", Damon snapped, and he nodded his head toward Meredith.

"I helped her.", she began. Then she noticed Elena looking at her, and she felt guilty.

"You did what?", she snapped.

"You were bleeding in your brain, Elena. I didn't want you to die, so I...I gave you some of the blood."

"You made me a VAMPIRE!", she cried out. She began to sob. Stefan embraced her, holding her gently.

"Shhh. It's okay. It's going to be okay.", he said, soothing her.

"You need to leave. Now." Damon ordered Meredith. She made no move to leave, and so he escorted her out.

"Oh, God, Elena. Thank God.", Damon said when he returned.

"Thank God? Thank God for what? For making me a monster?", she spat out. Damon recoiled as if she'd slapped him.

"Wow. Okay, no, thank God you're alive, but if that's how you want to think of it, then yeah, thank God for that too.", he snapped.

"GET OUT!", she screamed.

"No!", he yelled back.

"Damon...please.", Stefan pleaded. Damon scowled.

"Fine. Maybe you can talk some sense into her.", he snapped, and he stormed out. Stefan looked back to Elena, and she was staring at the ceiling. Stefan turned to go.

"Stay. Please?", she begged. He stopped and turned around. She was crying now, and he held her.

"Shh. Please, Elena."

"How long?", she asked.

"What?", he asked, confused.

"How long until-"

The pieces all clicked in together.

"I don't know. An hour, maybe."

"Stefan, I...I don't want this! I've never wanted this!", she cried out, and she clung even tighter to him. He sighed, knowing what her choice was going to be.

"What do I do? Tell me what to do, Stefan!", she sobbed.

"I can't make that choice for you.", he said gently, and he stroked her hair.

Jeremy came storming in then.

"Elena!", Jeremy cried out. He was confused. Ric was dead, so Elena should be, too...which meant...

"What? Which one of you did it? Which one!", he demanded, ripping Stefan away from his sister and grabbing pieces of his shirt.

"Jer, please.", Elena begged.

"WHICH ONE!", he screamed.

"It was Meredith.", Stefan said, sighing.

"What? Are you joking me?", he asked. Stefan shook his head.

"So, now what?", Jeremy asked.

"I don't know. She has a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"I can...I can complete the transformation and drink more blood, or...I can die."

Jeremy's face went white.

"Do it, Elena, please.", he begged.

"Jer-"

"Elena, you have to! I'm all alone now! Ric's gone, Jenna's gone, Anna's gone...even Bonnie's left me."

"It's not that simple." Stefan said. He sighed and sat down.

"As much as I'd love for Elena to make that choice...it's not an easy one to make. If it hadn't been forced on me, it isn't one I would have chosen.", Stefan said.

Just then, Damon re-entered, and Stefan stood to go talk to him. They left the room, but Elena and Jeremy could see them behind the glass.

"You know I'll always be with you, Jer, even if-"

"Don't talk like that. Not yet.", he said, and he began to cry.

"I love you.", she whispered, and he hugged her fiercely. Then, she coughed, and her body went weak.

"STEFAN!", Jeremy cried out, and there was a crash. Stefan ran back in the room and ran to Elena. Meredith and Damon followed.

"If we're going to do this, it has to be now.", Meredith cried out, and she slipped a pillow under Elena's head.

"It's too soon. It's too soon!", Stefan cried.

"Hey...shhh. Stefan.", she said, and she cradled his face in her hand.

"It was you."

"What?", he asked softly.

"It was you. I picked...you.", she said. His eyes filled with tears, and he sobbed.

"Please. Oh God, please."

"No way. No WAY is this happening again!", Damon said. He grabbed a scalpel and sliced Meredith's hand open.

"DAMON, STOP!", Stefan roared. He and Jeremy grabbed Damon's wrists. Jeremy he shook off easily, but he couldn't shake Stefan's grip.

"We're going to lose her forever, Stefan. Either I do this now, or she dies.", he said. Stefan grabbed his other arm.

"I can't live with knowing it wasn't her choice.", he said.

"Yeah, well...I can.", Damon snapped, and he pushed Stefan away. He flew across the room and his head hit the edge of the other bed. Jeremy ran to grab Damon again, and Damon shoved him, too. He

grabbed Meredith and shoved her hand into Elena's mouth. She gasped and her eyes snapped open, and she began shaking her head. Damon placed a hand behind her head, holding her there. Her eyes

closed slightly, and she began to drink.

"Damon, NO!", Stefan cried out. He was up now, planning to stop Damon, but it was too late.

He watched in helpless amazement as Elena's hair grew brighter, and her cuts healed. Damon threw Meredith away, and he cupped Elena's face in his hands.

"I can live with you hating me for the rest of eternity.", he said, and he sighed, not sure if that was true.

"But I can't live without you.", he said, and then he stood and left.

Elena was sobbing, and Stefan stood slowly. He ran to her and embraced her.

"He...he...", she sobbed.

"I know. I know, baby, I'm so sorry.", Stefan said, sobbing now. They held each other, and Meredith nodded slowly to Jeremy. They stood and left.

"What am I supposed to do now?", Elena asked, staring up at Stefan.

"I'm going to help you. The same way I helped Caroline.", he said.

"Stefan, I'm scared.", she said, and her voice broke. He brushed his fingers through her hair.

"I know. I'm scared, too. Part of me wants to be angry at Damon, for making this decision against your will. But another part, the part I'm scared about, wants to run out that door and thank him."

Elena tried to smile, to be happy that at least she had Stefan...but all she could think about was that now she was a vampire.

"Stefan...oh God...I'm vampire." She began crying again, and he embraced her, stroking her hair and trying to relax her.

"Aww. Isn't that cute.", Rebekah said, and Stefan was across the room in seconds. He had her by the throat.

"Stefan, don't!", Elena cried out.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your heart from your chest!", he growled.

"Stefan. Come on, please. Be reasonable."

Stefan growled and threw Rebekah across the room.

"You killed her! And now?"

"Well, she looks pretty alive to me.", Rebekah sneered. Elena looked down at her feet.

"You'll be happy to know, dear Stefan, that her new transformation changes everything. My brothers and I will leave her alone. She's no good to us anyway." Rebekah turned around and sauntered out.

Stefan stared after her, seething.

"Stefan.", Elena said, and he turned to see her behind him. He embraced her, knowing all too well what she was feeling.

After several hours, Elena had finally fallen asleep. Stefan decided to update everyone. When he walked out to the waiting room, everyone was there. Caroline, Bonnie, Damon, Jeremy, and a fresher-looking

Matt.

"Uh...she's asleep. You guys can go in, though. I'm sure she'd love to see everyone.", he said.

Bonnie and Caroline walked in, and Stefan went and stood beside Damon.

"You know she'll never forgive you for this, right?", he asked. Damon nodded slowly, and when he turned to look at Stefan, there were tears in his eyes.

"She's alive though, brother...and now you can have her forever.", he scoffed.

"We won't know if she's even going to want that.", Stefan said, sighing. Rebekah was right about one thing. Everything was changed now. Maybe, after everything she'd been through, Elena would decide to

leave all of them.

Bonnie and Caroline sat watching Elena sleep. Jeremy had joined them, too, and he brushed a stray hair from her face. Her eyes opened.

"Hey.", she said, smiling.

"How are you holding up?", Caroline asked.

"Groggy. Hungry." Jeremy held out a granola bar, and she grimaced. Realizing his error, he blushed.

"Right. Sorry."

"It gets better. I know that doesn't sound promising, but I promise you we'll get through this." Elena nodded, her eyes filling with tears. Bonnie hung her head and then stood up.

"I'm sorry.", she said, and she ran out.

"Uh...I'm going to go see if she's okay.", Jeremy said. He followed after Bonnie.

Caroline grabbed Elena's hand.

"What am I supposed to do now, Car? I never wanted this. I wanted babies, and a family, and all of that. And now-"

"I know. I know.", Caroline said, and she held Elena as she cried.

Damon watched from the open door, and his heart ached more than it ever had before. Elena noticed him standing there, and she turned away from him. Caroline turned to see, and she smiled apologetically

at him. She came to stand beside him.

"Give it time.", she said.

"She hates me. I thought I could live with that, but-", he said, and he walked away. Stefan walked up then.

"How is she?", he asked.

"Bitter. Depressed.", Caroline said.

"Yeah. And what about you? How are you holding up?", he asked, rubbing her shoulder gently.

"Uh...I went back there, just to see...but he was gone. I guess his mom went back and got rid of...the rest of him." Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away from Stefan.

"I'm sorry, Caroline.", he said, and he hugged her. She clung to him, thanking God that the entire day didn't end in tragedy. Elena got Stefan back, after all, and he was normal again, and Elena and Matt were

still alive.

Bonnie watched Caroline hugging Stefan, and wanted so badly to tell her. She couldn't bring herself to. Jeremy must have noticed, because he turned her face to his.

"What's wrong, Bon?", he asked.

"Uh...nothing. It's just been a long day. And, Elena's a vampire now.", she said.

"Yeah. I am still not sure I've processed that.", he said.

"You know what this means, right? She can't come home, at least not yet.", she said. Jeremy sighed.

"I know."

Bonnie dried her eyes, and she couldn't help feeling happy that he was there. Things may have been complicated with them, but she did love him, still.

Damon stood in front of his fireplace. He held a glass of scotch and was thinking about the events of the night before. His mind was wandering to his conversation with Elena earlier.

Maybe if I'd met you first, she'd said. Well, now that she was a vampire, all the times he'd ever compelled her would come back to her.

And I bet she'll still choose Stefan, he thought. Suddenly angry, he threw his glass, and it hit the mantle and shattered. Since that did nothing to soothe his rage, he then grabbed a chair and threw that, and

scattered all the objects on the end table onto the floor. His eyes fell on a picture of Elena and Stefan, obviously one that Stefan had left lying around. He threw that too, and then he took off his ring. It

dropped to the floor with a clang. He'd tried this once, and Stefan had stopped him...but Stefan was at the hospital with Elena, so now it was just him and the sun. He stood in front of the curtains and

debated, noticing that the sun hadn't risen quite yet...so he sat on the table and waited.

Stefan had just left the hospital. The sun was rising, and Elena was being released later. He wanted to go grab some things and wait for her. When he pulled up to the house, the first thing he noticed was

that it was so quiet. He looked at the large picture window and noticed the curtains were open wide. That's odd, he thought. He saw Damon sleeping in the chair, most likely drunk. He shook his head and ran

up to his room quickly. He planned on taking a shower and then heading back to the hospital. The water felt nice on his back, and he regretted leaving. He turned off the water and dressed. As he went

downstairs, he noticed the brightness in the living room. He stepped on something, and finally noticed all the glass and wood scattered all over the floor. He looked down with a sigh, making sure he hadn't

broken another glass, and leaned down to get a better look at what it was he'd stepped on.

It was Damon's ring. He turned to see his brother smoldering.

"DAMON!", he yelled. He grabbed Damon and brought him into the shade.

"Stop it, Stefan. Let me go!", he cried out, and he tried to get away.

"No! What the hell are you thinking!", Stefan yelled.

"I turned her! I made her make that decision, and now she'll spend an eternity hating my guts!", Damon yelled. Stefan stepped back for a second. Then he grabbed his brother's shirt and pulled him into a

hug. At first, Damon fought him, but then his grief gave in, and he began to cry. For the first time since he'd found out about Elena, he really let go. He sank to the floor and pulled Stefan with him. Stefan held

his older brother, letting him cry.