AN: I haven't written any fan fiction in a long time, but this story really wanted to be written. Feel free to comment on anything: plot, grammar, syntax, etc. I'm pretty open to reviews. No flames, obviously.
The water isn't even done dripping off her before he's in the room. She's not awake yet, and to him this all feels like a dream. She was just here. She was just here.
She was just telling him the truth, just admitting that she loved him most. Just admitting that there was only one little impediment between them, and they could get rid of it if given all the facts. But that was when he was supposed to die and she wasn't. Back when the centuries-old vampire was going to die and the teenage girl was going to live. The way it was supposed to be.
Amazing how just a little water can change that. Just enough water to fill two lungs. Seeing her laid out on the coroner's table doesn't make it feel like she'll come back, like she's seconds away from waking up and beginning the transition. It makes it feel like he's lost her. And maybe he has.
Maybe she won't transition. Won't become a monster. Won't be with him. Won't be a vampire. Won't live.
He's breathing erratically now, and just a second later, so is she. She's gasping and clutching at her throat and grabbing him with an unsteady hand and a tenuous grasp. And he's holding her too. And he's holding her to him.
"Elena…" Her name comes out like a curse, a prayer, and a desperate reminder of love. She's shivering in his arms, and while her body is no longer human and preciously fragile, she's still alive in some form. Vampire's cravings and all.
"Damon." Her fingers are digging into the leather jacket, holding him like he's the still point of the turning world, and he can do nothing but push his cheek to her head and thank whatever will listen that she is breathing again.
He doesn't notice the tears at first. She's still dripping water from the accident, and the tears almost blend in with the water. But he can smell the slight salt in the air, and he can feel her chest heaving again with sobs. He pulls back, grabs her face with both hands, and forces her to look up.
"Hey, hey, hey. Shh." He's got her attention but not her eye contact. "Elena, look at me. Look at me, okay? We need to get you out of here. Everything else after that."
She nods and pulls herself together, even if only temporarily. And that's all he's asking for at the moment.
The vampire speed is all new to her, and to save a bit of transition, he picks her up and whisks her out of the hospital and into an awaiting car. The car is speeding off before she's even opened her eyes, and he knows she prefers it that way – without effort, explanation, or Stefan following behind.
They make it to the boarding house, upstairs, and into his bed without saying another word. While he's imagined her here before, this isn't the time for anything more than tired eyes and a kiss good night. If he could even say those words considering all that's happened…
She's in dry clothes again, some of her things that migrated their way into the guest room a while back. After Stefan left. Before he returned. Those blurred moments of what they thought were the worst. A foolish hope, he thinks.
She cuddles up next to him in bed, her beneath the sheets and him on top of them. This is just comfort right now. While she processes. While she thinks. While she decides. And he's silent, waiting for all hell to break loose over them. Because whether it's Klaus or Stefan or her emotions or his unrelenting love, something will happen. It always has, and it always will.
But it's none of those things first. It's her memory. Just as they've laid down, put the lights out, and nestled into the closest thing to safety, she remembers. And suddenly, everything changes in an instant.
"I met you first, didn't I?" Her words are quiet, but they change the whole tone of the moment. She doesn't sound mad or shocked or happy or content. She's stating a fact but giving him the chance to lie. To tell her it's a false memory. To not break this moment of peace, even if it's to tell the truth.
But he doesn't. She needs to know now.
"You did." He gives her nothing but the facts. He doesn't want to color her opinion on this, doesn't want to remind her of what she said on the phone just an hour ago. She decided to be with Stefan, and even if it was under false pretenses, he won't blame her if she honors that.
He'll be devastated. Again.
But he won't blame her.
She looks up at him in the darkness, another question on her lips. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"There wasn't time, Elena. We were both going to die, and you were already driving to him. And even though I asked, it wasn't just about me and him. You were going back to everyone, and I wasn't there."
"And then I died instead."
"And I wasn't there." His voice breaks a little bit, and the darkness magnifies the sound. He would have saved her. He would always have chosen her, and even if she would have been angry, she would have been alive. That made all the difference, and Stefan was too busy letting her play the martyr to notice it.
"Damon, it's not about that. Not now," she says, and he just wants her to say something else. He wants to hear her plan now, her decision. Even though she might not have made it yet, it's tearing him apart not to know if she'll be here tomorrow or not.
"No, Elena. You have a different choice now. Forget me. Forget Stefan. What about you? Are you going to transition?"
She doesn't even hesitate. Not even for an instant. "Of course." The answer takes even her by surprise. She didn't expect it to flow so easily. But this isn't the sacrifice all over again, back when she was willing to give herself up or when she cried over a choice being taken away from her. Yes, she wanted to be human, to grow up. But the fool's road would be an easy surrender and a form of suicide. She's just not willing to be that person any more.
Perhaps one of the reasons why is lying in bed with her.
The silence settles again, but it comes a little easier this time. Tomorrow she'll drink blood, and he can't guarantee what will happen after that. If she'll want nothing but blood, he'll help her control it the way Stefan never could. If she wants to try the bunny and deer diet, he'll help her find a way to force it down. He'll show her how to compel and breathe through the cravings. How to hear and walk. He'll get the little witch to make her a daylight ring, and he'll help Elena throw out all the vervain jewelry in her room.
He'll see her through the transition and Stefan's despair. He'll see her through everything.
"Maybe if I'd met you first…"
It's amazing what a little water can do. It can destroy a life, build a new person, destroy one relationship, revive another, and finally make him feel like things might be different. Not necessarily better or worse yet. Just different.
But the feel of her hand in the darkness and the calm of this moment, it gives him a little more hope than he's ever had before. And her kiss in the darkness makes him feel like there's another chance for salvation.
And just as they drift off, it begins to rain. Just a little more water to send them to sleep.