Okay, the finale consumed me. There is a one-shot I want to desperately write from Elena's perspective, as well. Along with snap-shots of what could be.

Warning: Spoilers for the finale of season three ahead. Tread at your own risk.

Please enjoy.

I, Sapphire Midnight, hold no claim to Vampire Diaries.

Truth of Heart

The moment Damon felt Alaric's strength leave him as his body jolted, shifting and sinking toward the ground, he knew something was very wrong. A sharp stabbing panic made Damon freeze before he was shifting and wrapping his arms around his once best friend's chest, denial and vulnerability in his expression.

Alaric. Elena. Linked.

No.

"No..." Pale blue eyes widened as the realization hit. Shaking his head of dark hair, Damon fully supported Alaric's weight, though it was Elena he so desperately wanted to be holding.

If Ric was dying, that meant...

"No, no, no! Ric!"

Aloud, the elder Salvatore brother may have been shouting his agonized cry of his old buddy's name, but his soul was crying out for the life of his true love.

Elena.

A wet gasp escaped Ric's colorless lips as his shocked eyes met the teary gaze of the man holding him. Damon's expression was thunderstruck, which was swiftly being overtaken by agonized pain. Purple-gray veins of death swept over Alaric's weak and immobile form, and still Damon was shaking with the realization of what this must mean for the one girl he has sworn to protect. The one person who enabled Damon to be selfless. To be the better person.

The one who made his existence worthwhile.

"You are notdead! You are not dead..." Came his strangled cry.

It was as the light left Ric's gaze that a shutter proverbially closed over Damon's mind. He no longer saw the gray-death his old friend was in. Only one need consumed him.

The need to see Elena.

Damon didn't bother getting back in the car. He wasn't about to worry about speed limits and the possibility of getting pulled over now. All he needed was Elena. To see her for himself. To cry at her deathbed or whatever it was humans did when they felt what he was now feeling. She wouldn't be dead until he saw it with his own eyes. He couldn't afford to believe it when he wanted nothing more than to keep her alive and protected for the rest of her human life.

She was his obsession. Nothing else mattered but her safety.

That's what he wanted them all to believe, anyway. That he wouldn't care if she hated him, so long as she was safe. It was all a lie, though. She wasn't just his obsession. She was his love. She gave him something to believe in time and again, no matter which obstacles were thrown their way.

Whether she realized it or not.

Remembered it or not.

"Elena..."

He ran all the way to Mystic Falls. Trees moved by in a blur. He pushed his vampire strength to new levels without actively realizing what he was doing. All he was consciously aware of was the fact that he was nearing Mystic Falls, and would be there soon.

Soon would never be soon enough.

"Elena..." He choked on the words, tears blinding his vision. He never hesitated or stopped in his rush to reach her side. He blinked through his blurred vision, growing angry and pushing himself to almost dangerous limits. When lights came into view he gasped his relief, wide blue eyes darting around as panic once again seized his heart. Now that he finally arrived, where exactly was he supposed to search?

He practically flew to Elena's house, noting the lack of any presence inside. After making a cursory scan of the area he cursed, zoning in on the hospital as he remembered where Jeremy took Elena when she had fainted after finding she had a mild concussion.

He was inside the hospital in seconds, only vaguely remembering to tone his speed down so he would appear human. Looking out over the crowd a light scowl caused his lip to curl as humans constantly got in his way.

He needed to get to Elena. He had to find Elena.

Now.

"Where is she?"

He scanned the area looking for Stefan. Jeremy. Anyone to lead him to Elena.

He found the psycho-doctor instead.

"No. Damon, wait!"

He kept walking. Nothing she had to say could keep him from seeking Elena out. From going to her side. Then Dr. Fell was grabbing his coat, the tone of her voice finally getting through the haze of his cotton-filled mind.

"You need to know: when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier today her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't aconcussion, it was a cerebral hemorrhage. Bleeding on the brain."

Expression crumpling in confusion—disgusted that he was allowing himself to be stalled when Elena was dead.

"What are you saying?" Shifting anxiously, Damon allowed himself to actually listen to her words.

"I was so worried that I didn't want to tell him but I-" She cut herself off, then continued. "I helped her. She needed my help." Her frantic words, coupled with the anxiety in her gaze. Shaking his head in confusion, Damon was left putting the pieces together on his own.

Hesitating, "You what?"

She helped her. The way she helped her other patients.

Cheating, she called it. For when a human wouldn't have gotten well again on his or her own.

With vampire blood.

Shaking his head in disbelief coupled with a strange surging of hope, Damon pushed past Dr. Fell, tuning out her following cries in an attempt to explain.

Elena. Dead.

Vampire.

It broke him, knowing now what she would have to go through. What if she didn't want it? What if she refused the transition? It would haunt him if she was unaware, only to later live an existence of danger—a life that would no longer be termed 'normal' in any sense of the word.

At the same time, Damon was completely, unjustifiably happy. Relieved. Buoyed. Elena may be dead, but she wasn't gone. A harsh sound left his lips, heaving up from his chest. A sound much like a relieved sob. He coughed. Pushed the tight feeling in his chest away as he followed his innate sense of direction and trusted it to lead him to her.

Even if that meant it also might lead him to Stefan.

He found Elena finally, laying supine on a metal table. A vacant chair sat nearby, and Damon briefly wondered where Stefan had gone. He doubted his brother would be gone for long, in these circumstances. Rushing to Elena's side, picking up her cool hand and bringing it to rest against his cheek, Damon felt his eyes once again fill with tears. This wasn't right. It wasn't what he wanted. He wanted Elena to live the life of her choice. He wanted her to be happy with her decisions. This was never supposed to-

Hearing a sound down the hallway, Damon inhaled a deep and shuddering breath of air and slowly placed Elena's hand back onto the table with the utmost care. Backing away slowly, ready to concede defeat in the face of his brother just as long as Elena opened her eyes and chose to live, he was snapped out of his thoughts as her eyes shot open, lungs and heart beginning to pump once more as she inhaled deep, gasping breaths of air.

Everything within Damon stilled.

"Elena..."

Uncertainty consumed him. How would she take the transition? The news that she died, and came back as a vampire? Self preservation left him as her dark gaze darted in his direction, however, and he found himself taking a step toward her. She could hate him, right? So long as she was alive. So long as she chose to exist, that was all that mattered to him. She could hate him for eternity so long as she promised him she would never die.

He took another step toward her, but her next words caused all the air to whoosh out of his lungs and his feet to plant themselves unmoving on the floor.

"You compelled me."

She was still struggling to breathe. The look in her eyes wasn't quite friendly, and Damon scowled and shifted a little under the power of the emotions swirling in her gaze. He crossed his arms, defensive. Here he was, happy to find out she wasn't dead dead, and she has to ruin the moment with her disbelief and the accusation clearly in her tone and written all over her face.

"Twice."

Oops?

"Yeah, well..."

Trying to write it off, Damon shifted again, scoffing lightly. The corner of his lips edged up in a bit of awkward uncertainty. Suddenly the expression froze on his face, and he watched Elena slowly attempt sit up as a wary feeling settled in his gut. Unable to watch Elena struggle on her own, Damon quickly closed the distance between them and braced her with both hands as he helped her, their gazes locking at the intimacy their sudden closeness provided.

"Elena."

She frowned, a confused wrinkle forming between her brows. Damon held his breath as she scrutinized him. He didn't know if he wanted her to find whatever it was she was looking for.

Slowly, Elena began shaking her head.

"You compelled me." She seemed stuck on that small bit of information. Then suddenly she was hitting him, eyes furious and blazing. "What is wrong with you, Damon?"

Angry tears were now streaming down her face, and Damon was at a loss for words. He didn't bother defending himself, but after a moment his hands were capturing hers and he was looking worriedly down at her.

"Elena. I'm sorry. I never would have wanted this to happen to you. You've been through enough. I know you want a normal life and-"

A rather loud snort coming from Elena's vicinity caused Damon to abruptly cut himself off. Now he was looking down at her in confusion, eyes searching her face.

"Elena?"

"Youcompelled me, Damon. You compelled me after the first time we met. I met you before I met Stefan. Didn't you think I deserved to keep that memory? Then you compelled me to forget when you told me you loved me. How could you do that? How could you... just..."

"Elena..." Damon framed her face in both on his larger hands, his eyes earnest as he sought out hers. "I did it for you Elena. So you could make your own decisions. So I didn't..." His voice broke, his expression hurt and apologetic and vulnerable. A side Elena rarely saw from him. "I understand if you-"

"I know what I want, Damon."

Her words were soft, and Damon was left grasping for her meaning. The anger seemingly vanished. He didn't know what happened between one moment and the next, but he was exceedingly grateful she wasn't yelling at him or blaming anything on him any more. Not after he just found out she might be dead, then realized she was transitioning. She could yell at him all she wanted, so long as he was in this very room with her, listening to her voice and seeing the fire in her gaze.

"...What?"

Taking a calming breath of air, Elena met Damon's gaze straight on. There wasn't an ounce of indecision in the depths of her eyes, and Damon marveled at it.

"I know what I want. Finally. I know what I want, Damon. I don't know if it's because of your compulsion—because I knew I was dying and suddenly everything became clear—or if it's because I feel everything so strongly right now, but I finally figured it out."

Staring, electric blue eyes wide in his pale face, Damon found he couldn't utter a single word.

"I want you, Damon. I want this. Forever."

"Elena-" Tone hoarse and sounding rather choked, Damon almost couldn't believe his ears.

"I don't want to just live in the moment. I want to choose my future. I want to choose who I share it with. I don't want to give into insecurities and doubt anymore, Damon."

The hands cupping each side of Elena's face began to tremble, and Elena lightly turned her face into his touch as she smiled.

"You aren't... always selfish, Damon. You're selfless." Pain clouded her eyes, and her own hand rose to gently hold the side of his face in return. Damon, stunned, could only stare. "You're always putting your brother before you. You give me more space and chances than I ever realized."

"Elena-"

"Shh." Moving her hand to lay two fingers gently against his lips, Damon inhaled a shaky breath before giving into his urge and placing a burning kiss along the pads of her fingertips. Elena smiled, and Damon grew dizzy with the sudden change of events. "Let me finish."

A mute nod was her answer.

"You're the best thing to happen to me, Damon. You strengthen me. Challenge me. Force me to acknowledge certain situations and grow. When I sat in the car, about to die, it all became so clear."

Her voice was choking up. A glassy sheen came to her eyes.

"I knew what I wanted—what I needed. I needed to save Matt. I couldn't have anyone else dying. I wanted to live. I knew about the vampire blood, Damon. Meredith told me. We didn't want to worry anyone about how close I had come to dying. There was too much at stake."

Brows lowering in a growing scowl, Damon growled deeply against Elena's fingers, but again she was shaking her head to silence him.

"I wanted this, Damon. I chose this. I want an eternity with you." Her words were whispered. Soft.

Mind-numbingly shocked, Damon could only stare as his lips parted open in surprise.

Smiling again, Elena leaned closer to the man who loved her. The man she loved. The man who wouldn't have listened to her when she insisted he save Matt from drowning before saving her.

The man who was both selfish, and selfless, when it came to loving her.

"I love you, Damon. Always will."

"But... Stefan-"

Again Elena silenced him.

"Just you, Damon. I only love you."

Lips crashing down on hers, no other words needed to be spoken. Elena's hands threaded through his hair as Damon pulled her into his arms, grabbing one leg and wrapping it firmly around his waist. When their lips finally parted Damon softly trailed his lips and nose along Elena's cheek, trailing to her ear.

"I'm not letting you go, Elena. Not to Stefan, not to anyone."

A light, happy, fulfilled laugh met his ears, and Damon thought it was the sweetest sound he ever had the honor of being able to hear.

"I won't share you, either, Damon. Can you handle that?"

A slow and sexy, gleeful smirk was her answer.

"Oh, I can handle it, Elena." His hands ran over her sides to settle firmly on her hips, where he squeezed enticingly. His lips lightly brushed over hers before he was smirking once more, taking her lower lip between his teeth before slowly and languidly releasing the reddened flesh. "The question, Elena, is can you?"

Her own playful smirk came in answer to his question, and Elena lightly trailed a line of kisses along the side of Damon's face as her hands roamed his broad back.

"Of course I can, Damon. After all, I know what I want, and I always get what I want." She leaned back, allowing for a consuming kiss before Damon's lips trailed heated, open-mouthed kisses along the side of her neck and down to her collar bone. She gasped, back arching as she pressed herself into his touch.

"After all," She managed to get out between gasps, "You made sure of that."

A dark chuckle was his response, and Damon kissed his way back up to her lips.

"Come on. We need to get you a little something to drink."

Elena raised an eyebrow as Damon's hand slipped into hers and he gently pulled her to her feet.

"Afterward, we have a lot of time to make up for." He waggled his brows at her and tossed her a look that made her insides heat up and her legs to tremble.

"What's the rush, Damon?" She teased, even as she followed his lead without putting up any kind of a fight. "We have all eternity."

"Elena." He tossed her a bland look, as though she should know better. "Even an eternity with you is not long enough."

A deep warmth settled in Elena's chest, and she knew without a moment's hesitation that this was it. This was right. At long last.

"I'll never stop loving you, Damon." The words were whispered. Heartfelt.

Damon paused at the door, turning to glance at her from over his shoulder.

"I'm holding you to that E-le-na."

…

Fin~

…

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