Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! The next part probably won't be up for a week but summer is almost here! Lots of time to write.

Thistle & Weeds- Mumford and Sons

Chapter Two

Spare me your judgments and spare me your dreams
Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams
I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind
Alone in the wind and the rain you left me
It's getting dark darling, too dark to see
And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems

Elena flinched when Matt grabbed onto her hand. How was she suppose to break Matt's heart again. But he would eventually start dating Caroline and they seemed to be happy together. Then again she didn't know that for sure, don't people believe that one small shift or change could mess up everything. She gave Jenna a look and hoped she understood what she was trying to convey. Jenna nodded and pulled a confused Jeremy out of the room, claiming that she needed coffee.

Matt smiled at her, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was in a come for three months," she shrugged and pulled her hand away to make it seem like she adjusting the covers.

"Not very funny," he replied sternly. "We were all really worried about you."

She took a sip of water and smiled brightly, "Too soon to joke about it I guess? Seriously you don't need to worry about me…at least not anymore."

"Elena, you just came out of a coma of course I'm going to worry about you," he argued softly. "Now will you tell me what's on your mind? I've known you for a long time I can tell when thoughts are spinning around in your head. I want to help."

Alright Matt where do I start, at the part where I'm basically from the future or the last thing I remember is being attacked by my boyfriend's crazy ex-girlfriend who is a vampire and to top it all off she looks exactly like me. Or I could go even further back and tell you about my boyfriend's quasi-evil brother who is kind of a good friend now turned my mother. Oh surprise! I'm adopted and my father tried to kill said boyfriend and good friend, did I mention anything about my Uncle John being my real father? And then there was that time where good friend turned your sister Vicki into a vampire and staked her when she tried to kill me and my brother.

"Elena?" Matt gently shook my arm. "Where'd you go?"

She blinked, "Sorry Matt but I think we need to break up."

"What?"

"We need to break up," she repeated. She didn't want to hurt him again but she knew that human boys will never be enough for her. Vampire boys had ruined her for life.

"Why?" he asked and ran a hand through his short hair.

She sighed inaudibly, "I don't have time right now. My parents are dead! I've been in a coma for three mothers. School starts soon and my lithe brother started doing drugs with your sister."

Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Elena took a deep breath and asked, "You knew about Jeremy all along?"

"All along? I caught him with Vicki a few weeks after the accident. He said it was his first time and he needed to blow off steam or whatever. I told him you wouldn't want him involved with that shit," Matt reasoned. Did he know before and didn't tell her? He didn't know how embarrassing it was to find out her brother's bad habit from Caroline, the town gossip.

"But you didn't tell me," she furrowed her brow. This was all getting to be too much. What did she do to deserve this? She wasn't sure if she believed in Karma but maybe it was coming to bite her in the ass for lying to everyone she cares about and she didn't want to kill that vampire at the decade dance but it was purely self defense. Nobody wants to plunge pencils into someone's body. The walls of her hospital room started to feel like they were closing in on her. Remember stay calm and take deep breaths, she told herself. She closed her eyes tightly and relished in the darkness it brought. When she reopened her eyes the room was back to normal.

"How was I suppose to tell you, you've been dead to the world for three months," Matt added. He stared at Elena's limp body. "I'm sorry this is too much for you and no offense but you look awful. We can just talk about this later."

Elena shook her head, "No…I've made up my mind. I need to break up and focus on my family."

Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown
I know you have felt much more love than you've shown
And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest

Jenna chose that exact moment to walk in. She smiled thinly at Matt, "Matt, I hate to kick you out but the nurse is going to be in soon to take Elena for some tests."

He nodded dejectedly and gave Elena an awkward pat on the shoulder, "I'll see you soon."

"What was that all about?" Jenna asked curiously when Elena let out a sigh of relief.

"I broke up with Matt and he had a hard time accepting it. There's too much going on and I don't want to have to worry about keeping him happy and being a couple. And we never really had any chemistry to begin with, our relationship was just there," she explained and suppressed another yawn. She was already exhausted. "Where's Jeremy?"

"He skipped lunch so he's grabbing something from the Grille but he said he would be back soon. I made him walk though," Jenna rolled her eyes. "He missed curfew for the second night in a row. Anyways, I can see you yawning young lady why don't you take a nap and I'll wake you up when its time for your tests." She gave her shoulder a squeeze and took a seat on the recliner chair across the room. Elena turned to her side and shut her eyes.

Elena ran through the foggy cemetery. Her slim frame was only covered in a pair of black pajamas, the same clothing that she was wearing in the hospital. The frozen dirt collided with her bare feet every time they pounded against the ground. She looked behind her again and saw nothing. She stopped suddenly and clutched her chest in pain. Her legs collapsed underneath her and she fell next to a tombstone. This part of the area tugged at her memory. She looked at the tombstone next to her.

Elena Gilbert

August 10, 1992 – May 14, 2010

Loving daughter, sister, friend, and vampire.

Elena gasped and stumbled backwards; she ignored the pain and ran. She spotted the Mystic Falls Cemetery entrance in the distance. She saw a dark figure out of the corner of her eye. She knew him.

"Damon!" she cried. He turned and looked at her, he stood completely still. "Thank god, I'm freaking the shit out."

"What's going on?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Elena stared at his blank face, "I don't know, that's what I wanted to ask you. Are you ok? You look lost."

"I'm not lost, are you?" he asked in the same dull voice. His crystal blue eyes wandered across the empty graveyard.

She tugged on Damon's arm, "What? Seriously Damon, you aren't helping here. My grave is over there." She weakly pointed in the direction she came. "It says I'm dead and that I'm a v-…It has to be Katherine, she's got to be messing with my head somehow but I'm wearing my necklace. The vervain should protect me."

Damon glanced at her neck and raised his eyebrow, "Who's this Katherine person? And what necklace? I don't see you wearing one."

"Stop playing games with me. You know exactly who Katherine is and the necklace your brother gave me," she fiddled with the top button of her pajamas and reached for her necklace. Her cold fingers touched her bare chest. "My necklace is gone!"

He stared at her blankly, "I told you I didn't see you wearing one. And I don't have a brother. At least not anymore, he died years ago."

Tears streamed down her face, "I'm going crazy."

Damon walked towards the gate. She moved after him when his body fell backwards. Elena threw her body next to his and watched the blood stain his crisp, white shirt. A color she's barely ever seen on him. He hissed in pain as he touched the foreign object protruding from his heart.

"A stake," Elena whispered. She didn't know what to do but instinct told her to her to pull it out. She gripped the piece of wood.

Damon gripped on to her hand, "Don't… it's too late. Please don't leave me."

Elena sobbed as Damon's eyes flickered shut. She screamed, holding on to his limp body, "Damon! Open your eyes. Damon."

Elena flew forward in her hospital bed, gasping for air. She mumbled Damon's name under her breath. Jenna stood next to her bed, her face twisted in concern, "Elena! You're alright, just a bad dream."

Elena fell back onto to her bed, "It was so real. I'm sorry I must have freaked you out."

"I'm fine as long as you're okay," she rubbed circles on her back. "Who's Damon? You yelled his name several times."

She scrunched her nose in thought, "I'm not sure but he was in nightmare." She hated lying to her but how was she going to explain him.

"Miss Gilbert," a round, Asian women entered the room. "I'm Nurse Philips; I'm going to take you to get some tests done. Nothing painful, we want to see what your brain has to say."

Elena nodded and Jenna helped the nurse move her to the wheelchair. Jenna made comfortable small talk with the nurse; she could tell that they knew each other pretty well. They made it to the room that held the MRI machine in minutes. Elena soaked up every detail of the trip. She only woke up six hours ago and she was crawling the walls.

"Miss Gilbert, I'm going to place you on the table and I'll press a button that moves you into the machine. You'll have to take off your necklace for the test," Nurse Philips clarified. She interpreted Elena's sudden mood change as nerves once she told her to take off the necklace. "Don't be nervous, if you lay still it won't take long and we can hear you so all you have to do is say something."

Jenna held out her hand, "I'll keep it safe. I know how important it is."

Elena grimaced and unhooked the necklace slowly. She hadn't willingly taken the necklace off since Georgia. She dropped it in Jenna's awaiting hand and took a few deep breaths. Elena settled on to the table. She focused on the top of the tunnel like machine and mentally counted the seconds that passed. She lost track once she hit a thousand seconds. Soon after the nurse announced that she was finished.

"Everything looks ok but I'm sure Dr. Warren is going to want to take a look. I'll page him and have him stop by your room," she wheeled Elena back to her room and helped her back in bed. "Are you hungry?"

Elena blushed when her stomach growled loudly, "Please."

Jenna placed the necklace back around her niece's neck, "Where did you get this necklace anyways?"

"An old friend gave it to me," she replied fingering the round object. It technically was the truth Stefan was a friend and he's old. "How are you adjusting to being the guardian of two teenagers?"

"Much better, you young lady were giving me wrinkles," she pointed to her forehead. "It was hard at first but I think I'm going to be a kick ass- I mean kick butt quasi-parent."

"I think you will be too," she reassured her aunt. The nurse came back in with two cups of pudding because she wasn't allowed to have solid foods yet. Elena ate in silence until Dr. Warren showed up with a smile on his face. "Good news! Your scans didn't show any abnormalities."

"When can I go home?" Elena inquired. She needed to get out of this place and find Stefan or Damon.

He referred to her chart, "You are scheduled for physical therapy tomorrow morning. We need to get your legs moving again because extensive comas can make your legs forget how to walk. We'll see where you are tomorrow and then I can make a decision."

"Thank you Doctor," Jenna shook his hand. She bustled around the room some more, making sure Elena's pillows were fluffed and if she had enough water. Jeremy wandered in with a milkshake from the Grill and a hardcover, leather book. "I figured you might want this to write in."

"How did you know where it was?" Elena asked accusingly but accepting the milkshake and diary.

"You are such a cliché; it was hidden under your mattress." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry I didn't read it, I probably would have died from boredom if I did."

"Of course you didn't," Elena shook her head and slurped on her milkshake. It was her favorite, strawberry and banana. "Thanks Jeremy, you're a pretty great brother, you know."

Jeremy blushed but looked noticeably pleased, "It's not like I brought peace to the world, sis. I think maybe they should check your brain again, I think you hit it harder than they thought."

"Jerk," she stuck her tongue out. Elena fiddled with the blanket on her lap, "But seriously, I love you both and thanks for not giving up on me." She pulled Jeremy and Jenna into a hug.

Jeremy spoke first, "All right, I'm getting out of her before you start crying like a baby again."

Elena slugged his arm, "Good night, Jeremy,"

"I'm going to ask the nurses for more pillows," Jenna moved to the door.

"Aunt Jenna," she called out. "I hope you aren't planning on sleeping here tonight."

Jenna pouted, "But you just woke up."

"And I'm fine," Elena continued. She wanted so badly to be alone with her thoughts. She held her hands up. "No arguing, go home and go to sleep in an actual bed. I'll call you if I need anything plus there are nurses who are paid to take care of me."

"But," Jenna protested. Elena gave her a severe look and crossed her arms. "Agh, I thought I was the only one allowed to give orders. This parenting thing is a pain in the ass. You're lucky I'm too tired to argue, missy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Elena waved her off. "I love you Auntie J."

Jenna groaned and opened the door, "You know how much I hate being called that….Since you just came out of it I'll let it slide, only this time. I still remember all your ticklish spots. But hey, I love you too kid…Sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite."

More like the vampires Elena thought drily. She reached for the diary and pen that Jeremy brought to her.

Dear Diary,

I don't know what to believe any more. Am I under a spell? Did Katherine do this to me? Did I actually get hurt when I blacked out and I'm lying in a hospital bed in the right year? I find myself asking that one question. Was it real? Could it have all been a figment of my imagination? Stefan and Damon…vampires, Bonnie being a witch, and my real mother a vampire too. Jeremy hating me because I wanted to protect him. But how could a single person make all of it up. It had to be real. She felt it all. Those sensations that made me feel alive; I have to drive away the doubt that was making me question my sanity.

How do I get back? If I made it out of the accident alive that must mean Stefan saved me. This means he's either in Mystic Falls or will be soon. We met on the first day of school, which is nine days away. Hopefully I'll be out of the hospital soon enough. I keep reminding myself that I don't belong here anymore. This isn't my life and as strange as it sounds it's not the life I want.

I can't stop thinking about that dream. Did it mean something deeper? Was my head trying to tell me something important? If it was I'm afraid of the reality but I'm determined to find the truth. I hope it's the truth I want to hear…I miss Stefan and I would give anything to hear his voice or see Damon's smirk. I have an idea diary.

-Elena

She opened the drawer in the beside table and slipped her diary in it. The object she was looking for was across the room. Of course with her shitty luck it would be. She ignored the large button next to the bed, she could do this. Elena swung her legs to the side of the bed and hesitantly placed her bare feet on the chilly floor. She walked across the room with ease.

"What the hell," she muttered to herself. She moved her legs around some more. "This should not be easy." Well the doctors were going to have a field day with this miraculous recovery tomorrow.

But plant your hope with good seeds
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds
Rain down, rain down on me
Look over your hills and be still
The sky above us shoots to kill
Rain down, rain down on me

She picked up the receiver and froze. She couldn't remember Stefan's number, she memorized it days after he gave it to her. All she knew was the area code. She collapsed in the chair next to the phone and buried her head in her hands. She tried to think back to all those times she called him. She couldn't even picture herself punching in the numbers. Why was Damon's number imprinted into her brain? They talked a lot while Stefan was locked up in the basement suffering from human blood withdraw. He would see her suggestive texts that would end with her blushing all the way to her roots and her replying with his name in all caps or telling him to behave or else she would block his number. Seconds after that threat, Damon would make some sarcastic remark about Elena not knowing him at all, "Behaving was his middle name." She picked up the phone again and quickly dialed his number before she could change her mind. She racked her brain for something clever to say or anything that would manage to sound believable if he answered his phone. The sound of the ringing phone magnified to the point where Elena could have sworn it was echoing off the walls of her room. Seven rings later, someone picked up the phone.

"Damon's phone," a woman greeted. Elena could tell that she just finished having a good time with Damon, her voice said it all. Elena ignored her heart tightening in her chest.

Elena wasn't prepared for this or any of this her heart took over seconds before she dialed his number. She replied timidly, "Can I talk to Damon, please."

The mystery woman giggled, "I'm sorry he's in the shower and I've got to go join him...I can give him a message later."

Elena heard rustling in the background and a door closing. Damon's voice stood out clearly. Her hear speed up when she heard a familiar voice. She grasped the phone tighter to her ear. "What are you doing on my phone? I thought I told you not to touch anything."

"I'm sorry baby but the caller id said the hospital and I thought maybe it was important," her voice trembled slightly. "Damon! Stop it!" Elena cringed when she heard the woman's neck snap in the background, a sound that Elena has gotten fairly used to. Great he vamped out and killed the annoying but innocent woman. She needed to remember this wasn't her Damon. Her Damon? She smacked her head, he wasn't hers. More rustling noise and Damon's voice flooded through the phone, "Excuse me for that obnoxious disturbance...People they just don't how to mind their own damn business."

Elena's jaw dropped, she had definitely put away the idea of the Damon with no redeeming qualities. Before Elena registered what she was saying it was too late. "Damon Salvatore! I cannot believe you killed that woman. You can't kill people because you feel like it. You could have compelled her or let it be. Why must I continue to tell you that humans aren't your play things." Elena clamped her mouth shut; it was eerily silent on both sides of the line.

But I will hold on
I will hold on hope

"Who is this?" Damon asked in a dangerously low voice. Elena kept her hand over her mouth. "I know your there, I can hear you breathing."

Damn vampire hearing. Elena tensed, she wouldn't be bullied, "I know you but you don't know me."

"That would be why I'm asking, now who the hell are you?" he repeated.

"I'm from Mystic Falls," Elena whispered and quickly hung up the phone. If he wasn't planning on coming to Mystic Falls he will be now. Elena crawled back into her cold bed. Stupid Elena. She jumped when somebody knocked on the door. Did Damon find her? It was likely but it would be hard to find which room she's in. She checked her necklace to make sure the vervain was still it in. Worse comes to worse she could shove it at Damon somehow. The idea sounded better in her head.

I begged you to hear me, there's more than flesh and bones
Let the dead bury the dead, they will come out in droves
But take the spade from my hands and fill in the holes you've made

The door creaked open and her best friend appeared in the door way. "Hey girly, how are you feeling? Sorry, I wasn't here sooner Grams is having me clean out her attic," Bonnie smiled apologetically. A light bulb went off in Elena's head and she filed it away for later. Bonnie gave Elena a tight hug and Elena winced, "Ah sorry! I've missed you so much. I've been dodging Caroline's calls as much as possible. She's a good friend but she doesn't measure up to you."

She smiled at her, "I've missed you too. So catch me up, what's been going on in Mystic Falls? And what have you been doing all summer?"

Bonnie dragged a chair next to her bed, "Everything's pretty much the same here…My summer has been pretty uneventful, I stopped by here everyday. Caroline dragged me to a few of Duke from Duke's parties which ended in me carrying her drunken ass home and lying to the Sherriff. Grams is getting old so she's trying to cram in as much time as possible with me. I'm almost positive that the woman is crazy."

Elena shrugged, "It beats being stuck in a hospital room for the entire summer. On the bright side nobody else can refuse to write their essay about what they did over the summer because they spent most of it in a coma."

"How are you really doing? With your parents being gone," Bonnie inquired gently.

"I'm okay," Elena said. She had almost a year to deal with it. A flicker of doubt flashed in Bonnie's eyes. "Really. It's like I knew when I woke up and all this time I've been asleep my mind knew something was missing and it was dealing during my coma. Does that make sense?" She hated not being able to spill her guts to Bonnie but this Bonnie wasn't ready to hear what she had to say.

Bonnie frowned, "Not really but I think I know what you mean…You would tell me if something was wrong, you know you can talk to me whenever you need me."

Elena nodded, tears pooling in her dark eyes. Bonnie knew something was different but she dropped the matter. Elena pulled her into another hug, "I know."

But plant your hope with good seeds
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds
Rain down, rain down on me


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