Her feet were staggering, barely holding her up as the horrible memories of Katherine flooded her brain. She knew how cold and heartless the woman was, but she didn't need a firsthand reminder of everything she had done over 500 years. Elena stumbled to the end of the woods, rubbing her temples as she struggled to fight the spell. Her eyes immediately fell on Damon. They had barely spoken since the break up and she missed him; desperately. She smiled a little as his name fell from her lips and she ran toward him. Her arms went around his neck, her lips smashing against him, neither of them noticing the flash of green between their lips.
The pressure in her head lessened and her senses returned to normal as she pulled away from him. "Katherine," she whispered. "She was doing a spell to take my body."
Damon stared at her in awe and shock as his hands ran through her hair. "What?" he asked. "She's dead."
Elena shook her head. "She's not," she cried, tears of frustration sliding down her cheeks. Damon would have no reason to believe her, and she was going to slip away right in front of him. "She's been in my body this whole time Damon. She's almost done with the spell. You have to believe me."
He had a very sad look on his face as he gazed down at her. "Of course I believe you Elena. That's why you haven't been answering," he said in understanding. "Come on. Let's finish this."
Elena slid her hand into his, smiling a little at Stefan as he joined them. "Hey Stefan," she said softly. As tense as things were between the three of them, she knew Stefan wanted her to be happy, wanted his brother to happy. And she did want to flaunt her relationship with Damon in front of him.
"I heard," he said nodding at Damon.
"Her witch is not as powerful," Elena said, unconsciously moving closer to Damon. Being apart from him hurt her heart; she missed him so much. Just being close to him was easing the ache in her chest. "I don't think her spell worked. It was almost done before I got here. But once I got to Damon… it stopped."
Damon squeezed her hand tightly as the three of them headed back into the woods. They knew the way back to the church very well, none of them having fond memories of the place. As they got closer, the smell of burning flesh assaulted their sensitive nose as well as the sound of arguing. Damon entered first, always one for jumping into danger, leaning in amusement against the walls as he watched the witch and Nadia argue. Elena joined him, settling just behind his shoulder. "Having fun?" he asked.
"You!" the witch accused. "What did you do?!"
Damon took a menacing step toward the injured women. "You should know better than to mess with magic," he said, shaking his head.
"You killed her!" Nadia cried, tears in her eyes. "It was supposed to work!"
"It almost did," Elena said angrily. "She isn't worth it. And she doesn't deserve my life." She moved around Damon to stare at the charred corpse of the woman that killed many people she loved, especially her brother. "And the will to fight for someone is admiral. To fight for someone that you love. And that's why the spell failed."
"I don't understand," she whispered.
Elena wrapped an arm around Damon's waist as his arm came protectively around her shoulders. "Not even magic could keep me away from Damon," she said softly. "Especially black magic." She turned to go towards the door then paused. In a flash she flew back towards Katherine's body, smashing the skull into dust. "And you will never get another chance to bring her back." For a moment she was shocked at her own actions. Katherine was gone, for real this time. She was never going to bring her family harm again, never take anyone that she loved.
Damon had the biggest smile on his face, proud to see her stand up for herself and take action when her life was in danger. "Can I kill them?" he asked.
Elena stared down at the remains for a long minute. She could feel the power coming off Damon, the anger simmering beneath the surface. They had almost been separated forever, and to cover up his fear of losing her, he always lashed out. "They get one free bee," she said lifting her gaze to meet her ancestor. "One. Come after me and my family again and we'll paint the town red with your blood." And she walked out of the tomb, her blood thundering in her ears. She glanced up as the brothers joined her and she gave Damon a shaky smile. "She's really gone this time."
"Ready to go home?" Damon asked with a tilt of his head.
"More then," she said nodding. She couldn't wait to sleep alongside of him, kiss him, touch him, and feel his blood pumping beneath her fingers. She may kick his ass for breaking up with her, but she had a feeling that was going to come later. Her skin was already buzzing being this close to him, and it was only intensifying with each passing minute.
"I'm going to find Caroline," Stefan said before disappearing into the woods.
Elena slid her hand into Damon's the two of them making the short trip to the boarding house. There were few words, neither of them sure what to say. But Elena had a lot she wanted to say to him. She didn't know where to start though. Were they getting back together? Were things going to go back to the way they were supposed to be with them? She had no idea what Damon wanted.
Once on the front porch of their house, she gently paused before letting him go inside. "Damon," she whispered, but the rest of what she wanted to say wouldn't come past the lump in her throat. She wanted to say something; needed to say something.
"Let me go first," he said gently interrupting her. "I was an idiot Elena and I'm so sorry for hurting you. I shouldn't have run from you; from us." He sighed and took a step away from her. "I don't deserve you. And just because I do good things for you doesn't make me a good person. I'm not sorry about anything I've done in my life Elena. I'm never going to be. And I can never promise that I won't kill people. Even for you. But I do try."
"I know," she whispered, folding her arms over her chest. But she leaned casually against the pillar, not wanting to push him away or brush him off. "I was never mad Damon. I know you have a past."
"I want to better for you Elena. I want you to be happy and safe," he said with a tender voice. "And some things that I've done in my past have the potential to hurt you without my control. I don't want that for you."
Elena chewed on her lip, forcing her tears not to fall. But she carefully closed the distance between them. "Damon, I know that I've given you more than enough reasons to doubt my love for you," she said sadly. "I've hurt you a lot in the last five years. It's new for me too, these feelings. Especially since becoming a vampire. And I won't always do it right Damon. I'm learning as we go. But I am trying too." She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "We deserve a chance. And if it takes us the rest of eternity to figure it out, I don't care as long as I'm with you. The past is in the past, and I will never hold it against you." She wiped her nose. "I promise."
His head tilted as he wiped away a stray tear that slid down her cheek. "You deserve better than this Elena," he said.
She shook her head. "That's because you put me on this… angelic pedestal," she said somewhat sadly. "I'm not a saint Damon. I don't deserve to have the most amazing man to love me unconditionally, to protect me, to save me and stand by me. I'm not perfect Damon and I'm always going to make mistakes, even if you don't notice." She tilted her cheek into his hand, kissing the inside of his wrist. "I love you Damon, with everything I have. More than I've ever loved anyone. And it hurts when we are apart. I hate it. I wanted to respect your choice to leave, but I can't." She shook her head as her throat tightened almost past the point of speaking. "I don't want to lose you. You make me feel alive and… complete."
He stared at her for a long minute before pulling her against her. His arms closed over her frame as he pressed a kiss to her hair. "I love you too Elena," he said, resting his chin on her head. "You make me feel all those things too and more."
"Don't leave me anymore," she grumbled but her voice was lighter. The tension cracked between them as she lifted her face to meet his gaze. His eyes were sparkling blue color, so full of life. She loved seeing him this happy, loved knowing that she was the one that made him happy.
His forehead dropped to hers. "I won't," he said, cradling her cheek. "I'm yours for eternity." His lips gently pressed against hers; well he wanted it to be gentle.
But for Elena, two weeks away from Damon, she couldn't help herself. Her hands wound themselves into his hair, her teeth nipping at his lips until his tongue tangled with hers. The faint taste of blood filled her mouth, their passion for each other blocking out the force of their kiss. She found herself seated on the banister, her legs wrapped around his waist. "Damon," she mewled as her head fell back, his lips moving down her neck, nipping and suckling everywhere he could reach.