Hey :) I'm back, thanks a lot to everyone reading this, I'm really happy with the response this story is getting, you guys are the best, seriously.

Hope you enjoy this one, I'm really anxious to know what you think of it, so please leave me a review.

At the begining of the story I really had no idea of where I was going to take it, but now things are slowly shaping into my head lol I really hope you like the direction of it.

As always thank you to my awsome beta Amy (xxxMrsSalvatorexxx) for heping me out with this.

The song I used for this chapter was FIX YOU by ColdPlay (A masterpiece and one of my favorites songs of all times)

Hope you guys have an amazing week

Love,

Sam


And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

.

Minutes. It took them less than ten minutes to arrive at the hospital but for Damon it felt like hours. 'Rebekah and Stefan had an accident, its bad' those were the only words Caroline had told them before they rushed outside and started driving towards the hospital. He could feel his body starting to shake as droplets of sweat started to appear on his forehead. He was more awake than ever, the previous stupor of the alcohol had completely left his body.

"Are you all right?" Elena asked him in a soft voice the minute he stepped outside the car. He should be rushing inside the hospital, he should go and make sure that his brother was all right but for the life of him he just couldn't move. "Damon." He could hear Elena's voice but suddenly his vision got blurry, he couldn't see her.

"I… I can't." He muttered while he felt his chest constrict, the air wasn't enough; there was not enough air for him to breathe.

"Damon!" Elena shouted a little more loudly and he felt her tiny hand pressing against his cheek. "He's going to be okay." Her voice was soothing but that didn't stop him from worrying. He hated this; he hated not being in control of his own body, it had been nearly three years since the last episode... and now it was back.

"I can't breathe." He choked out and pressed his eyes shut before Elena took his shaking hands and squeezed them tightly.

"Damon listen to me, this is just a panic attack." Her right hand stroked his hair softly. "We've been through this before baby you just need to relax." The sound of her voice and the touch of her skin seemed to calm him a bit but he still couldn't stop shaking. "Calm down, just breathe Damon, remember?" he opened his eyes and stared into her big brown orbs. "In and out Damon, come on, everything will be fine, he's going to be okay."

"Yes." Was the only word he seemed to be able to form. "Yes." After a few more minutes of her soft touches and the sound of her sweet words the fear left his body, he was able to breathe again and it didn't feel like the world was closing in on him anymore.

"Are you all right?" Elena asked in a worried voice.

"I'm fine now." He murmured softly. "Thank you." He whispered before stroking her cheek softly. "We should go inside."

They walked as fast as their legs could carry them, they spotted Caroline first, her cheeks were covered in tears and her eyes were red and swollen, she was pacing the hall anxiously while Bonnie was sitting with her face between her hands, sobbing softly. They were the only ones there since the guys had gone on a fishing trip, Rebekah had been feeling sick so Stefan bailed on them, and stayed home to take care of her.

"What happened?" Elena asked the minute they reached their friends.

"Drunk driver, they didn't see him…they…" Caroline threw herself into Elena's arms and started crying freely.

"Bonnie what happened?" Damon asked while getting closer to the brunette girl. "Bonnie!" he shouted when she didn't respond to him.

"He's fine," she said in a strangled whisper. "A broken arm and a few bruises... but… she's dead." Bonnie said before starting to sob once again.

Damon felt the air leave his lungs again, his world started spinning until he felt Elena's hand grasping his tightly while Caroline was still attached to the other side of her. He was conscious of Elena's sobs and her hand gripping his but nothing else seemed real to him, this wasn't supposed to happen, they were getting married, Stefan told him that, this didn't make any sense.

"Dead?" he asked in a mere whisper.

"Yes, dead Damon!" Caroline shouted at him while releasing Elena. "So please care! Care Damon!" her words were coming out between sobs and he could see her body shaking from the force of it. "I know that we're supposed to hate each other after all that has happened but she used to be your friend, so please just care Damon."

"I care all right, I care!" he cried while the tears started to appear in his eyes. "Of course I do." The next thing he was aware of was Elena clinging to him, her perfume soaking his senses so he hugged her back and held her tightly against his body, her tears soaking his shirt and his were dripping into her hair.

"What is he doing here?!" after a few minutes he heard the voice of his little brother and looked up to see him. There were a few bruises on his face and a big cut on his forehead, his arm was in a sling but that was it, he was fine, his brother was fine.

"Stefan I-"

"Get out! I want you out!" he shouted while tears streamed down his face.

"Stefan, he just wants to help." Caroline said in a soft voice.

"I don't care." The youngest Salvatore brother took a few steps to stand in front of Damon who had already released Elena by now. "Don't pretend that it actually matters to you, that you actually care about her death."

"Stefan please-"

"Don't say another word!" he spat close to his face. "You never cared for her, or me or them, you only care about yourself Damon."

"You know what, I think you need to relax." Damon said in a soft voice.

"What I need is for you to leave."

"Okay, if that's what you want, I'll leave." He spoke quietly before turning around and walking towards the elevator. The last thing he wanted was to cause more pain to Stefan; he knew that this was going to be really hard for him.

"Damon wait!" he heard Elena's voice calling him and he turned around to see her walking towards him. "You just have to wait for him to come around, he's confused and-"

"Shh..." He pressed a finger against her lips. "It's okay Elena, I get it." The elevator doors opened and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before disappearing behind them.

.

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I...

.

She couldn't remember feeling this heartbroken, this lonely. Her body felt cold despite the clothes she had on, her feet felt glued to the floor, her body heavy, she couldn't move. There was not a single tear on her face, she couldn't cry. Her family needed her complete, Jeremy needed her strong.

As Elena watched the coffins slowly go down to the ground she realized that there was no pain that could ever compare to this one, losing someone you love. No one should ever go through something like this; the pain was just too much.

Her eyes lifted for a few moments and were fixated on her little brother, Jeremy was in a far corner, he was holding Jenna who just couldn't stop crying, he was trying to be strong, he was the man of the house now. He was trying to hide his pain but he was broken inside, he was just a kid after all, he wasn't meant to be the strong one.

Her eyes danced across the graveyard in dizziness and she saw Caroline clinging to Matt while the tears softly streamed down her face, Caroline's mom was always working and her dad didn't live here, so most of the time she was more a part of Elena's family than hers, tonight she lost someone she loved too.

Stefan and Rebekah were holding each other next to Caroline and Matt, this day was hard on everyone, Grayson and Miranda were people everyone loved and watching them go like this was beyond painful. Elena's eyes met briefly with Rebekah's and she could see the compassion and the understanding in the blonde's eyes, Rebekah had grown to be a sister to Elena too, so she also knew how hard this was for her.

Bonnie was next to her holding tightly to the hand of her grams, she was scared, Bonnie never knew her mother, she left when she was a little girl but Elena knew that right know she was wondering what would be of her if her grandmother died, she knew that everyone here was wondering the exact same thing, what would they do without their loved ones?

Elena felt cold, numb, and empty, she wanted nothing more than to go running and never come back, never feel this pain again. Those thoughts were wandering around her mind when she felt it, a warm hand slipping into hers, holding her tightly. She didn't even need to look up to know who the hand belonged to. "Everything is going to be okay Lena." His soothing voice warmed her insides. "I promise you." She lifted her eyes and stared into his blue gaze.

"Are you sure?" she said in a strained whisper, she looked even smaller than she was, she was just a kid, a kid who lost her parents too soon.

"Of course." He let go of her hand and embraced her instead, her body completely clinging to his. "I'm going to take care of you." He murmured against her ear. "I'll always take care of you." He pressed soft kisses against her forehead while tears rolled down her cheeks, she couldn't hold it in anymore. He was here with her, he would protect her. So it was safe to break down now, he was here and nothing bad was going to happen.

Elena opened her eyes and let them adjust to the light slowly, her head was throbbing and she could feel fresh tears in her eyes. She had been dreaming about her parents death, it had been so real, she used to have them when she was a little girl, dreams that seemed so real that when she woke up she didn't know what to believe.

And then she remembered. Rebekah was dead; she was dead, just like her parents. Elena slowly sat up and pressed her back into the arm of the couch, she was in Bonnie and Caroline's apartment, they came here after the funeral and she just fell asleep on the couch, she was so emotionally drained that she felt like she could sleep forever.

"You're awake." She heard Bonnie's voice and turned her head to see her walking towards her with a cup in her hand. "Here." She handed her the cup with hot tea inside. "It helps me calm down."

"Thanks." Elena whispered softly and took her legs to her chest so Bonnie could sit next to her. "Where's everyone?"

"Matt went home with April and Caroline went food shopping with Jeremy and Tyler." Bonnie closed her eyes briefly as if forcing the tears to disappear. "No one wants to be alone right now."

"I know, I've got that feeling." Elena murmured before sipping her tea. "Where's Stefan?"

"We don't know, he disappeared after the funeral and we don't know-" Bonnie let out a sob and Elena immediately placed her hand on top of her friend's. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"I know, I know." Elena answered while letting her own tears spill from her eyes. "It shouldn't be this way."

"We don't know where Damon is either." Bonnie said in a soft voice. She had noticed, Elena and Damon arrived together at the hospital, that wasn't a coincidence and even though she didn't like the person Damon had become, this tragedy linked them all together somehow again.

"This is hard on everyone." Elena murmured. Damon had been at the funeral but he didn't talk to anyone, she knew that he didn't want to disturb Stefan after what happened in the hospital, she had wanted to talk with him, comfort him, have him comforting her but he disappeared the minute it was over, he was gone once again. "I think I need to take a shower." Elena said under her breath, Bonnie only nodded. Everything was so surreal, they didn't know what to say, how to act, and nothing felt real.

Elena got up and locked herself in the bathroom, once the water started hitting the floor she let the sobs take over her body, she was grieving, for Rebekah, for her parents, for Damon, for all of this, because it wasn't supposed to be like this.

.

Lights will guide you home.
And ignite your bones.
And I will try to fix you

.

"I must say that I wasn't expecting to find you here." Damon said in a mocking voice when he entered the parlor. Stefan was next to the drinking cart in their childhood house. "I actually thought you would be lying on your bathroom floor." He teased him making a remark about his taste for Grey's Anatomy.

"Go fuck yourself Damon." Stefan muttered under his breath while taking a long sip from the bottle of scotch in his hands.

"Why would I do that? When there are so many eager women to do it." Stefan snorted at his brother's comment and threw him a nasty look.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I was checking on you." He stated simply. When Caroline had called him and told him that Stefan was missing he had gone mad, his brother was in a bad shape and he didn't even want to think about what he could possibly do in the state he was in.

"Well I'm fine, you can go now."

"You are hurting my feelings brother." Damon said in a dramatic manner before sitting on the couch.

"I'm serious Damon, GO!" Stefan's eyes were blazing with fury and pain.

"I can't do that brother." He murmured, Stefan rolled his eyes and drank from his bottle once again.

"What do you care? You don't care about any of us anymore." Stefan reproached him.

"You know that's not true Stefan." Damon said in a hard voice. "You know I cared about her and… I knew she was going to make you happy." His voice cracked at the end of the sentence and Stefan felt emotion choke in his throat.

"Whatever." He whispered and once again drank from his bottle. Damon felt exasperated with him, so this was what Ric had to put up with every weekend while dealing with him?

"You know that's not going to do you any good." Damon said pointing to the bottle he was currently holding as if it was the last lifejacket on the titanic.

"That doesn't stop you." The youngest Salvatore brother said sardonically.

"Yeah but I'm a dick, you're not."

"Maybe I am too."

"No you're not. You don't need that Stefan, you have a lot of people worrying for you out there." Damon's voice was soft and soothing and it reminded Stefan of when they were little kids, when he always got in trouble and Damon always got him out of it.

"You know those same people worry for you too." Stefan's hazel eyes met Damon's blue ones across the room. "You just push them away."

"And you wanna do that?" Damon asked with a frown. "You want to be me? Want to be our father?"

"You're not our father Damon." Stefan said in a soft voice.

"I'm more like him than you think Stef." Damon answered absently. "But that's not my point, you've got to let them take care of you, you can't isolate yourself."

"I don't know what to do, how to act, I don't know anything anymore." Stefan said in a low voice, his gaze was lost and his hand slowly placed the bottle back on the cart "I just feel stuck, like everything else is spinning around me and I just can't move" The younger brother said with despair on his voice

"I know this is hard Stefan but you'll get through this." Damon got up from the couch and started walking towards his brother.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this Damon." Stefan's troubled eyes looked deeply at his brother. "We were going to get married and live a happy long life together, have three or four children, grow old together and play with our grandchildren on our porch, this wasn't supposed to happen." Stefan broke down in tears unable to hold it in for one more minute.

"I know Stefan, none of this should have happened."

"I miss her." Stefan cried grasping Damon's shirt in his hand. "I miss her so much Damon, it's like I can't breathe" Damon took him in a strong embrace and let him cry against him. His tears soaked his neck and his hand grasped him tightly. He needed to let it all out, to grieve for the loss of the love of his life "I can't breathe without her"

Stefan needed him right now and he was a jerk most of the time but he could never abandon his baby brother, he was right, things weren't supposed to be like this. In that moment Damon realized that he couldn't let Elena in again, right now he was worried about how she was dealing with all of this, and more than anything he was worried she may die, it was a stupid thought but he realized that life was so fragile, he was scared, scared of everything around him.

He hated to feel this way, this vulnerable, out of control. He swore he would never feel this way again, he was letting Elena in once again and that was a big mistake but he was going to fix it, he had to put distance, space or a wall between him and everyone else again, he couldn't feel that way again, he just couldn't.