Hello there! So before you start reading, you should all know that this is a story about Damon and Elena. And while I know this first chapter is all about Defan, it is all leading up to Delena. My original plan was to introduce Elena at the end of the chapter, but I need a new chapter for Delena's meeting because it's going to be a deal in this story. Especially with where Damon is at in that point of his life. You guys just have to be patient with me before we get to our favorite couple A lot of this is loosely based off of a film I just recently watched called "Charlie St. Cloud." I encourage you all to watch it, if you haven't already. It is a very emotional movie, and it inspired me to write this. I'm not very experienced at fanfiction, so I have to ask you guys to work with me. I hope I can pick up a few tips and improve my writing as I work on this story. Anyway, here's "Timshel." I hope you enjoy it!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. IF I DID DAMON AND ELENA WOULD BE IN THEIR TRIBECA LOFT!

But you are not alone in this

And you are not alone in this

As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand

Hold your hand

Green rolling hills, the hot summer sunshine beating down on his pale face, the sound of his little brother chasing after him. Ask Damon Salvatore his idea of an ideal way to spend your Sunday afternoon, and this is how he would answer. It was a tradition that the two brother's had started when they were both much younger. Damon called it "a much needed escape." The field spread across two acres and there was not a single house in sight. It was their own personal playground, one that they used even as they got older. This was their favorite place in the entire state of Virginia.

People always say that your brother's are your best friends. People come and go, but brothers stick around. Even when it gets tough. For Damon and Stefan, that statement rings true. They had been through everything together, and even though they fought constantly in their young age; they had each other's backs at the end of the day. When Damon was seven years old, Stefan came into his life. He remembered anticipating his birth when his mother was pregnant with him. The day he found out that he was going to have a younger sibling, he vowed fiercely to protect him or her.

Things in the Salvatore house were not always easy. After Stefan was born, their father fled and he hasn't been seen since. It was their mother, Lily, who raised both of them. The three of them did everything together, they were as close as any family could be. But when Stefan was twelve and Damon was sixteen, Lily passed. It was a long and winding road, one filled with a tremendous amount of pain and struggle. The brothers watched as their beloved mother died. Stefan took it hard, he was convinced that everyone he loved would eventually leave him. It was Damon who promised him that "they would always stick together, because that's what brothers do." They were tossed around foster homes for two years until Damon turned eighteen. He became Stefan's guardian and deferred college to take care of his brother. While Stefan was in High School, Damon worked three different jobs so he could save money for Stefan to go to college. And that's what brought them here, to their own personal playground.

"Hey baby bro, pass me a beer." Damon yelled, gesturing to the cooler that Stefan was carrying. Their tradition had changed as they got older. Instead of bringing soda to their secret spot, they now brought beer.

Stefan scoffed at his brother before throwing him one of the ice cold cans. "You allowed to drink now that you're a pro athlete?"

Now that Stefan was headed off to college, Damon had finally decided to chase his own dreams. From a young age, Damon loved baseball. It was the one true passion he had in life. In High School, he was the star player of the team. He broke more records than you could count. A lot of Division One colleges even offered him a chance to play at their school, but Damon had to turn them down so he could look after Stefan. He never regretted turning down baseball. It would have killed him to see his brother grow up in a foster home while he was off chasing his own dreams. Everything worked out in the end anyways. Tomorrow, Damon would try out for the Bluefield Blue Jays; a Minor League Baseball team based out of Virginia.

With a laugh, the older Salvatore pulled out his pitching glove and tossed it to Stefan. "Technically, I haven't made the team yet. But you and I both now that I will." His cocky smirk spread across his lips as he cracked open his beer, finishing it in record timing. "Now pitch me the damn ball."

Stefan did as he was asked, pitching the ball at him and watching as it flew into the air. This was them at their best. Just the two of them and an open field, nothing could beat this. Despite everything, Stefan couldn't help but feel a pit in his stomach. They had been together their entire lives. They faced everything together, and now Stefan was leaving. He had gotten into Cornell University, a prestigious university in New York. Virginia and New York were six hours apart, so Stefan wouldn't be able to see each other until Thanksgiving. It would be the longest amount of time they would spend apart from each other. Stefan let out a loud sigh, looking down at the ground as he tried to hold back his emotions. Damon didn't even know why he tried, he could read his brother like a book.

"Stef, talk to me." Damon rested his hands on his younger brother's shoulders. He knew why he was sad because Damon felt the same way about his brother leaving.

Stefan tried his best to ignore his brother. He didn't want to spend their last day talking about his feelings. All he wanted to do was get drunk with his brother and play a couple of rounds of baseball. But this was something Damon would never let go. "You realize I leave tomorrow, right?" His voice cracked at the question. "Tomorrow I leave for college. I leave this town. I leave my friends. I leave you, Damon. What's supposed to happen now?"

It was a stupid question, really. Stefan and Damon both knew what would happen next. Damon worked too damn hard for Stefan to even think twice about not going to college. "You go to college. You meet new friends. New girls." Damon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. College was going to be everything his brother wished for, Damon knew that. "Just because you're going to college, doesn't mean I won't be here. We're brothers, remember? We stick together no matter what."

That's all it took for Stefan's nerves to ease. They had been through so much already that there wasn't anything that could tear them apart now. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." A smile spread across the younger brother's face before he pitched his brother the ball. He hit yet another ball far across the field. The home-run was followed up by a sarcastic comment and a soft punch to Stefan's rib cage. He wouldn't have it any other way.

The rest of the night was spent swapping stories and drinking more beers than they could count. They stayed that way for hours, soaking in each other's company. The two lay there staring up at the stars in silence. They both knew what was coming, but neither of them said anything. They had lost everything in their young lives already, everything but each other. Tomorrow, Stefan left this life for a new one without his brother, but for right now; he was the same little kid that Damon always looked out for. In this moment, they were together. Just like brothers should be. It was enough for them both.

Before they knew it, the morning was there. Their small apartment was full of boxes that Stefan was taking with him to college. Damon paced around the apartment, double checking that Stefan had everything. He was like a concerned dad. "Damon, I have everything. Can we please just go?" Despite having to leave behind everything he knew, Stefan couldn't wait to get to college now. He had worked his entire life to make it to such an amazing school. Cornell was always his dream school because that's where their mother graduated from.

They squeezed everything they could into Damon's small Camaro. Everytime Stefan would bang one of the boxes against the car, Damon would flinch nervously. The thing was old as hell, but Damon loved it. He once claimed that it was the only baby he'd ever have. "Alright baby bro, you ready for your future?"

This was it, Stefan thought. This was his future. Stefan nodded enthusiastically, he was ready. The car ride was silent, but Stefan's thoughts were racing. He was aware of the sacrifice his brother made to get him here, and he tried to show how thankful he was every single day. Without him, he wouldn't have even made it through High School. This could have easily been Damon on his way to college; instead, he gave everything up so Stefan could get his dream. "You nervous." Stefan asked. "About the tryout." His tryout was this Friday, and he knew it was on the forefront of Damon's mind.

"Nah." He answered nonchalantly with a shrug. Typical Damon. He was never one for showing emotions, except when it came to Stefan. He acted like he could handle anything and that nothing scared him. Something Stefan knew wasn't true. Damon got scared all the time, he could just hide it better than others. Sometimes Stefan wished he possessed the same quality. He always wore his heart on his sleeve. He was ruled by his emotions, something that has held him back in the past. "Nothing I can't handle."

Damon was right. If he could handle losing his father and his mother, and giving up his dreams to take care of his kid brother; he could handle a simple tryout. Plus. He was a phenomenal ball player. He would have made it to the pros, no doubt. Some people used to say he was the best player Mystic Falls has ever seen. They were right. When he was little, Stefan used to watch Damon's games in amazement. He would tell his mom, "I wanna be just like Damon when I'm older." Stefan loved the sport too, but he was never blessed with the talent that his brother was. Watching and playing with Damon definitely made him a better player, but he would never reach the potential that Damon had. Academics was more of Stefan's thing, anyways. It's probably because Damon pushed him so damn hard in school. Even though the eldest Salvatore slacked off for much of High School, he always nagged Stefan to get good grades. "You're the one who's going to get really rich and get us the hell out of this beat up town," he used to say. Its part of the reason Damon was his hero. He never let Stefan fail.

"Hey Damon…" He trailed off. "I just, uh, I want you to know that…" CRASH!

The impact was unbelievable, unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life. Damon was listening intently to his brother before he lost control of the car. The truck was huge and it threw them right off the road, the car flipping at least twice. Damon struggled hard, he did everything he could to pull the seatbelt off. He glanced over at Stefan and he was unconscious, a huge gash on his forehead. "Stefan…" He breathed, struggling to stay awake. Stay awake, Damon. Be strong. His entire life, Damon was strong. He was strong when his father left. He was strong when his mother left. He was strong when he had to take care of Stefan. Throughout everything, he was strong. But right now, he was weak. He fought and fought to keep his eyes awake. To stay awake for Stefan. To help his brother. He fought, and he failed. Darkness consumed him. The last thing he saw was his baby brother, blood gushing down his head. He didn't move a muscle. He looked lifeless.

Damon didn't know how much time went by, but he was awake now. It couldn't have been long because no one had arrived to help them. For a minute, he had forgot about what happened. It all came rushing back to him in waves. The crash, the impact, struggling to stay awake, his brother unconscious. Energy rushed through Damon. It was a newfound strength. He had to help his brother. He had to get him out of there. It felt like hours, but it was only a couple of minutes before Damon pulled his seat belt off. The smoke from the car blurred his vision, and he felt like he couldn't stop coughing. It felt like he couldn't make it to the other side of the car fast enough. Eventually, he made it to Stefan and pulled him out of the totaled car. Bye bye Camaro, Damon thought. "Hey, Stef. It's okay buddy. I'm here now." Damon knew his brother couldn't hear him right now, but he said it any way. He pulled him out of the car, both of them rolling over to the grass. With a deep breath, Damon hovered over his lifeless body.

"Okay, come on Stef. Wake up." He shook Stefan with everything he had. He shook, and he shook, and he shook. He show him so hard that he dislocated his shoulder. He just wouldn't wake up. Why wasn't he waking up? "Dammit, Stefan come on." Damon screamed at him, he pounded his hand into the grass. "You do not get to this. You do not get to leave me." His voice cracked as he held his brother in his arms, Damon's head now resting on his chest. Damon Salvatore wasn't a believer in miracles, he knew what was happening here. He knew his brother was dead the moment he pulled him out of the car, but he just didn't want to believe it. "No! No!" He was sobbing violently now, the tears blurred his vision as he shook back in forth. This was only the second time Damon had cried since his mother died. Ever since that day, he thought the worst of the pain he would experience in life was past him. Sitting here now and holding his dead brother in his arms proved that he was wrong. This was an unbearable pain. This was a pain that Damon would never get over.

The sound of an ambulance came from the distance and people started to gather around Damon and Stefan. They were gasping and crying, asking Damon if they were okay. Damon couldn't hear them. It felt like something else took over his body as he watched the paramedics cover his brother's body.

Damon was the one who promised Stefan that he would never leave him. He said that they were brother's and that brother's stick together, through it all.

He was always the strong one. Through everything he was strong. Standing there amidst all the chaos, Damon knew that he would never be strong again. Not after this.

That afternoon, Stefan Salvatore lost his life. The thing no one knows is that Damon lost his too.

One more thing, the title is based off of one of my favorite Mumford and Sons song. I think it really suits the theme of this story, which is moving on after losing everything. Here's the link if you want to listen to it: watch?v=q_5t2sTaYlw

I know everyone says this, but I appreciate reviews. Especially feedback on this story. If you think I'm doing something wrong, tell me. And suggestions are welcomed, too. I want to know what you guys think before I go on with this. Hate it? Love it? Tell me