A/N: Not my best chapter. This makes chapter ten, and the half way mark I was dying to reach. Thanks for all the lovely reviews and for all those who have been reading. Don't be discouraged at our lovers fighting. Damon goes back to his old self, Elena seems torn, but keep them in mind. There will be a DE passionate moment to make the waiting for 'the choice' worth it. As things get rougher, it's the do or die decision time. (Aiming for 25ish chapters) SE will play out, Stefan and Elena will try to make it work. Matt will become a hero and help Elena more than she expected. The town has issues. Who are the eyes? What of April and Connor? Elena will come into herself. The cast has a few things to do. Tyler will become himself soon. Rebekah to… Damon has to find himself in a place where he is able to be open because he is done trying. Everyone to finish what they started. Things I have wanted to see will come into play as well. Jeremy should be more bad ass and hunter like protecting his sister too. Elena standing on her own, Damon being seen for what he really is, Stefan realizing … :P

S4: TVD: Elena dies

Ch. 10

Elena moved towards the house just as Caroline came out and slammed the door. Huh, I didn't know we were meeting up, she thought. Shoving her hands into her pockets, her head tilted.

"Elena!" Caroline screeched and ran at her. The blond was fast, upon her within seconds thumping them to the ground.

A crow cawed and fluttered around causing the girls to pause. Elena looked at the crow with drawn eye brows and Caroline did the same to her. "You're not burning."

That got Elena's attention.

In double time, Elena crab walked backwards from under Caroline. "Wha…?"

Wings flopped and Damon's voice sliced through the air as the girls looked for any sign of Lapis.

"The ears, ladies." Damon made a sly face and headed towards the doorsteps. He lost the grin when Stefan opened the door.

"What happened?" He spoke with a groggy voice.

Damon's lip twitched and he wondered, how the fuck did he manage to sleep after all this? His eyes veered over to her face. His heart sliced with pain, and his face grew cold. The time for that was over. He'd decided along the way to let Elena have what she so desired. Nothing but Stefan. He was beyond trying to be someone else. He fully intended to help Elena transition and learn, but that was where it would end. It's not like it got him anything. And personally, Damon was trying and failing. Tired of the looks and assumptions after all this time. He was a blatant asshole, he did what he liked when he liked and how he liked.

There was no world where it was always conflicted.

"We need to talk," Stefan's voice sounded softly to his brother.

"of course we do." Damon rolled his eyes and stepped up as the girls looked at Elena's earrings. He'd put them on her while she'd slept in the basement the first night. At least I plan ahead, he thought. Her eyes came up to meet his, her shoulders relaxed some. Just as she was about to say something her turned away following Stefan inside the cabin.

Stefan was leaning against the far window when Damon closed the door. "You find out what was bothering her?"

Damon simply shrugged. "That's for you to dot-dot-dot this time brother."

Stefan uncrossed his arms turning to face a bitter brother. "Is that how this is going to be?"

"Not like anyone listens to me. Your precious lover is here for you to comfort and guide. I need to go back to town and figure out what is up." Damon turned to leave, irate at even hearing Stefan's voice.

"So you put in earrings….?" Stefan seemed confused by this.

"Yeah," He said turning swiftly. "Unlike some people I think ahead. Had them made a while ago. Slipped them on before another crisis started."

"Damon, don't go backwards because of this-" Stefan started but was cut off.

"YOU!" Damon seethed at him with a pointed finger. "You did this. AGAIN. Well now you have her forever, lucky you. Sixty years or so is not looking so bright for a reunion. Have fun teaching, bunny eating, ripping…I'm sure she'll forgive you. She always does. Me, I'm going back to the way I used to be. I'm never so blessed. Hell no one even noticed. Even Denver was a rouse. I see you didn't expect any better either."

Stefan's rage built and he sputtered, "Damon, you weren't there the day Elena looked me in the eye and told me she absolutely never wanted this." He pressed on Damon the last time she had to face this choice, condemning Damon's actions again in the process.

"Then you shouldn't have let her die." Damon lashed back eyes growing cold with hate. Am I always going to get blamed when it wasn't even my fault? He thinks I take, but that is all he does.

Stefan moved in Damon's space, "I never meant for her to die."

"And now the world has one more quarter back." Damon advanced also, ducked his head a few inches to emphasize his point. "Bravo, brother." Damon stepped back with an evil grin on his face. "Couldn't pull a seat belt? Couldn't grab them both?" He laughed in Stefan's face. "You always get what you want, don't you?"

Both girls stood right outside the door on the stairs when Damon slammed open the door. Caroline shrunk a degree when he narrowed his eyes at her, and Elena's widened. Oh no, she thought panicked. This was old Damon. Oh no…no, no. She reached for him and he flinched away from her. He was…leaving.

"Your choice awaits you. Brilliant move, by the way but glad you figured it out. You can stay here since you prize his opinions more. Just remember what they got you."

Elena's eyes filled with tears at his words, her mouth agape with his hurtful audacity. He smiled at her as he walked down the stairs. Moments later he simply disappeared into the woods.

Caroline blinked a few times herself from shock. She went to reach for Elena who pulled away once more. "He's right." She said softly. "No one noticed it. And when they didn't…he hid it." And now," Her voice cracked the same way it had when she'd told Stefan she'd never wanted to be this thing. "Now he's gone."

"Elena," Caroline started. "Be reasonable. He killed-"

"You don't know the things he's done since." Elena was crying and her eyes met Stefan's across the space separating them.

Everyone knew Damon must have said or did something, a compulsion Elena remembered. No one asked because they knew Damon loved her. They had an idea for what he'd say to her. Stefan looked away. Caroline kept silent.

Elena passed by Caroline, and hurried into one of the bedrooms and closed the door. After a few minutes, she relaxed when no one came to bother her. When hair invaded her face, she twirled the pieces of hair and curled them around her ear. She felt the earrings. A brilliant idea that had benefited her once more as he always seemed to think ahead. How wrong she'd been about Damon.

He was far from perfect, but the few things he'd done for her were all selfless. He'd met her and wished her well. He wished her happiness. And now that was all lost. He was gone. She'd made her choice. Some place deep inside, she wondered if it had been the wrong one.

About three hours later, a knock sounded softy on her door. "Elena?" was Stefan's broken voice.

"Come in," she said standing at the window.

He entered the room, and let the door remain ajar. "You OK? Want to talk?" Stefan entered and sat on the bed. She turned to face him and sat next to him.

There was so much to say, and Elena wondered if Stefan wanted to know what they'd shared. She opted for the choice aspect. "I chose you, but I lost him. He's gone back to his old ways."

Stefan looked around at anything he could. "Yeah, it seems so."

"I tried calling you before the crash." When he made no move to speak, she went on. "I picked you." And I will try to make this work. "I was horrible when I called him. I left him alone…I was coming back…" She began to tear up once more. Her long fingers pinched her nose. "This is my fault."

"Elena, Damon is angry-"

"Stefan he is more than angry. You don't know…"

When she trailed off he knew it was whatever Damon had kept from her. "What is it?"

"He tried more than we knew." Stefan looked confused, curious even.

"You love him." It was a statement of course.

"You knew that." She bowed her head.

"Where do we go from here?" Stefan seemed forlorn, aghast even that history repeated itself.

"We try. We move forward and we survive." Elena only hoped Damon would survive long enough for her to say that which she longed to say to him. Forever was a very long time, a time she thought she once knew. Now…it all seemed so different. Like a blind fold was lifted, a curtain moved aside.

Elena sat there with Stefan who placed an arm around her. "Are we trying together or do you want to stay alone?"

"We owe it to ourselves to see if…even if it's not the same…if we can survive."

He nodded at her, guilt still evident on his face. Part of him wondered if she even wanted to be here, or if this was just some lingering sense of responsibility she felt. Part of his chest ached with that which he'd lost. His beautiful human Elena was now something she never wanted to be.

He'd already noticed the changes. Her passions were evident-especially for Damon. Yet she stayed proving she still believed in them. It was his fault. Everyone's fault. She'd died for Matt. Why I didn't I even tried to undo her belt, he wondered inwardly. I'll look for anyway to put her back the way she wanted to be.

From the bushes eyes watched as rage filled their red depths….