A/N: I'm thinking about starting a Vampire Diaries drinking game. Take a shot every time Damon shoots himself in the foot. Hello alcohol poisoning! Goodbye liver! Also, I promise, there is a point to this story. Sort of.
Thanks for taking the time to check it out, and please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, and I am using the characters without permission. Made for fun, not for profit!
Time passes strangely on the other side. Days and weeks passed, and I remained as I was: dying and in pain. But then the world faded away, and my eyes opened up, and I had only been gone for a moment.
I awoke with a start in Stefan's bed, alone. I could hear muffled voices from the other side of the door, and could even catch the odd word, like 'died', 'lived', 'blood', 'gone', 'Damon' and 'Elena'. I tried to trace back my memories; I remembered being bled, I remembered being rescued, and I remembered Damon being killed. My jaw clenched, and I leapt from the bed.
The world spun as soon as I stood up. After a moment though, the room righted itself, and I strode to the door, throwing it open and causing Bonnie to scream and jump back.
"Elena?"
"Bonnie?"
We grabbed each other, hugging and crying. I had been convinced that Klaus' destruction would have killed her, and yet, here she was. She too had thought that I would die, and yet I had survived. Against all odds, we were here.
After a long moment, we released each other, Stefan looking on with amusement. I looked at him, but I couldn't meet his eyes.
"How am I -?" I asked his shoulder.
"I gave you some of my blood. You were out for a few hours, but it looks like you're fine now." He smiled proudly, and I attempted a pleasant smile in return, but the look in his eyes told me that he saw right through it. We would have to talk.
"And everyone else?" I asked, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I swayed on the spot. Stefan's hand darted out and gripped my arm tightly. I flinched.
Bonnie's eyes jumped from myself, to Stefan, and then back to me again. "Why don't we go downstairs and talk."
She led the way, and I followed, Stefan a step behind me, his presence reassuring me that I wouldn't fall. Despite my anger and disappointment towards him, and my rising panic at the thought of Damon's fate, I appreciated the safety that he offered. Once we reached the ground level, I leaned back against him, and he guided me into the living room with his arm around my waist.
Upon entering the room, I registered Jeremy's presence. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders, knowing that my brother was alive. Next, I saw Caroline rushing towards me, inane chatter spilling from her lips. I didn't hear a word she was saying, as glad as I was that everyone here was alive and well. It was a miracle.
Once I was settled, everyone calmed down a little, and the atmosphere in the room felt grim. Bonnie's eyes drifted to the ceiling, and I wondered who was up there, and whether they were alive too.
"So, what did I miss? What happened?"
Caroline was the one who answered. She began at a part that I already knew: Elijah had taken me in the form of a gift to try and buy back Klaus' trust. The best case scenario was that Klaus would fall for it, and Elijah could betray him. At the worst, Klaus wouldn't trust his former comrade, and take both of us prisoner instead of only me. The fact that Klaus had gone for the second option was only a small inconvenience; once the rest of the group caught up to us, Elijah was able to strike relatively easily, keeping an eye out for Bonnie as she used her borrowed powers to destroy Klaus. Elijah had survived, and disappeared immediately after Klaus had been defeated. Bonnie had been extraordinarily weakened, but survived. Upon her return to the boarding house, Caroline had force fed her a number of energy drinks, which seemed an oddly simple solution to Bonnie's exhaustion. Although now she was feeling the after effects, and looked like she might drop at any second.
Once Elijah and I were gone, the Salvatore's, Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy had mounted up. Bonnie had done a locator spell on me, and they followed us, waiting at a safe distance until the full moon was at its peak. Jeremy set a fire around the house that we were in, effectively killing the guards outside, and keeping everyone inside trapped.
They had burst in much as I remembered; Bonnie going for Klaus with Elijah watching her back, the others leaping into the fray. Stefan had broken off from the group and gotten me out. Jeremy shot the freshly-transformed Tyler with tranquilizers until he could be safely transported out. Caroline had rushed over to Damon once he had been disembowelled. He had survived, but barely. He now owed his life to Caroline, who knew that I would never forgive her if she let Damon bleed out on the floor. He was upstairs in his bedroom, too tired and injured to move.
Jeremy had fought hard, but had eventually been killed. He was only safe because the vampire who had ended him simply moved on, leaving the dead body alone. I felt a pang of sadness imagining Jeremy waking up, alone in a dark, half-demolished house, and making his way back to his friends, not knowing who was alive and dead.
Alaric was alive, but only barely. He was in one of the guest rooms, exhausted inside and out, half-dead from the Original's blood still remaining in his system. Time would tell whether he would transition or not; it was tricky business.
Once the story had been told, I absorbed the news that everyone on our side, against all odds, had survived. It was unbelievable, and if I hadn't seen it for myself, I would have discounted the tale entirely. But it was all true.
When everyone had been debriefed, Jeremy, Caroline and Bonnie left, leaving Stefan and I alone. Still not ready to talk to him properly, we went upstairs to check on Tyler, Alaric, and finally Damon.
He was paler than I'd ever seen him. His lips were chapped and dry, his sheets still covered in blood, but his hands were twitching as he slept, and the feeling of joy that stole over me at the sight of movement surprised me. I shuffled to his bed and sat down next to him, taking one of his hands in my own. His eyes opened, and his head turned toward me.
I smiled at him, and at Stefan, who was still leaning against the doorframe. Then I lay back against the pillows, and drifted off to sleep.
