Great to see people liking the "proposal" idea :D A lot of you wanted Damon or Giuseppe to hear Joyce being rude about them? Well... maybe this chapter ;)

To SpoiledAngel1721: You NEED to watch Titanic :) I love it :P Just a recommendation.

This chapter includes a bit of descriptive injuries, if you are squeamish just be cautious )

Disclaimer: Do not own The Vampire Diaries :0(

Through Thoughts Of My Own

Chapter 14 - Hurt and Love All at Once

"I'll fetch Madison" Elena smiled, racing ahead of Damon towards the stables into which she disappeared. Damon chuckled, running after her, watching her open Madison's pen and guide her out.

"You okay?" Damon asked. Elena nodded

"Of course" she smiled, going over to the wall to grab a saddle. When Elena turned around she noticed Damon hadn't moved. She moved towards him slowly and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love you", she whispered, kissing his lips delicately before strolling off towards Madison.

"Love you too", Damon smiled, watching Elena saddle up Madison. Everything was going to plan so far. She didn't seem to expect a thing.

Damon walked up behind Elena slowly, kissed her cheek and turned her around. Before Elena understood what was happening, she was pressed into Damon's chest as his large arms wrapped around her. Elena giggled, pulling away and resting her hand on Madison.

"So, don't you need to get yourself a horse?" she asked, eyebrows raised as she watched Damon smirk. He lent in slowly, plastering his lips to hers. Elena giggled into his kiss and pulled away, going around to the other side of Madison to attach the saddle properly.

"I shall be riding with you" Damon chuckled, grabbing Madison's brush and going through her mane carefully. Elena watched him cautiously. She smiled cheekily, stepping behind him and placing both hands on his shoulders.

"Damon", she sighed, "you know I'll end up falling off. There's not enough room on one horse for me, you and your massive ego"

Damon gasped, turning around abruptly but Elena had ducked under him and scurried behind Madison. She giggled loudly, alerting Damon of where she was. Damon chuckled and placed his hands on Madison as Madison suddenly stilled completely. Elena watched in awe as Damon pushed up from his hands and leaped over Madison, landing with his feet planted firmly in the ground. Elena screamed, turning on her heel. She quickly flung herself over and onto Madison, smiling back at Damon as Madison led her away.

Damon looked shocked, he raced after Madison, hot on her heel as Elena led her out to the fields. Elena screamed in delight as she felt the adrenalin rush through her and the air brush her. She turned back and saw Damon struggling to continue his run after her. She screamed with laughter, turning back to the way Madison was running. Her eyes widened at the sight of the lake closing in on them. She quickly attempted to slow Madison down but the horse had other ideas. Damon watched in fear, his eyes bugging from his head as he too realized that they were heading straight for the lake.

"ELENA!" he roared, his feet moving faster than he ever imagined they would. He was so close to Madison that he could touch her but he didn't want to scare her. Madison was racing across the heels towards the lake, obviously completely unaware that it was actually there. Elena screamed, clutching at the reins, pulling them and screaming at Madison to stop. Madison didn't.

Elena screamed louder as the lake neared; it looked so threatening, like the strong current was ready to swallow her whole. Elena's heart raced as Madison reached the lake. Madison bucked as her hoof scratched at the rocks that were around the lake. Damon sped up, reaching the lake just in time to see Elena get thrown over Madison. Elena couldn't hold in her tears as she saw the greedy current closing in on her. It was now so close she could reach out touch it, but she didn't need to, for within seconds she was submerged.

"Elena!" Damon shouted, looking at the water and waiting for her to burst back up. The current was very strong today. Damon watched for another second before tearing off his shirt and diving deep into the freezing waters of the lake. Damon gasped under the water, feeling as though a thousand knives were stabbing him all at once. It was so cold. He opened his eyes slowly, fighting back his screams as he searched under the water for Elena. When he burst back up for air, he realized the current had pushed him further down the lake as Madison was now across from him. Damon panicked, searching around for Elena. He felt the air leave his lungs when he noticed her laying across a large rock. The current assisted Damon in moving towards her, but as it threatened to sweep him away, his arm shot out and he clutched onto a large root. He looked over to Elena and felt a tear run down his cheek. She wasn't moving, there was blood over the right side of her face, obviously she had hit a rock on her fall, and her fingers were scratched and torn from where she must have attempted to hold onto something. Damon quickly used the root to swim across to her, wrapping his arms tightly around the rock. He planted his foot on a small rock beside him and pushed himself out of the water, grabbing onto Elena's hands and trying to pull her too. When he failed to do so, he jumped onto the grass, lying flat on his stomach and reaching out to her. Damon's fingers brushed hers, but he couldn't get a good grip. He struggled to reach Elena, watching as she began to slip as the current grew stronger, splashing against her forcefully. Damon gasped when his hand grabbed hers. He reached down and took her other hand, lifting her up onto the bank beside him. He panted loudly, regaining the breath he had lost at the sight if her. Damon pulled her further from the banks edge and looked over to Madison who was padding the ground nervously. Damon turned back to the girl he loved and cried at the sight of her, feeling her face and rubbing her arms to keep her warm. He quickly felt her pulse, and when he felt her heartbeat he looked up to the skies and thanked the heavens. It was weaken and fading.

"Elena. Please" Damon begged, watching Elena's chest rise and fall, but only every few minutes. Tears were now pouring down his cheeks as he watched her. He quickly pressed his lips to her and grabbed her nose, breathing a gush of arm into her lungs. He pulled away and began to press into her stomach. Damon's breathing was jagged as he attempted to save her. His breathing picked up as he looked at her, completely still. He repeated the action multiply times, checking her pulse and finding it there... but weak. Why wasn't she waking up?

"Come back to me, please baby. Come back to me" Damon whispered, hugging Elena to his chest. He tore off part of her dress and quickly pressed it to her head wound.

"Damon?" Someone asked. He quickly looked down and smiled, assuming it was Elena who spoke. He frowned, realizing it wasn't. His head shot up as he looked at the person who had spoken, who was now on their knees beside Elena's body.

"What did you do?" they demanding, their hand gliding over every inch of Elena's face. Damon watched them.

"She's alive. I tried mouth to mouth but she will not awaken. Help me. Please, I have to get her back to Veritas. She wont wake up" he cried. He turned to Bonnie, who was clutching at her sister with tear stains down her cheeks.

"My family were coming to see her" Bonnie frowned. Just as she said it, as if on queue, Caroline and Jeremy emerged from the bushes. Caroline gasped, throwing herself onto the floor by her sister, reaching out and taking her pulse.

"Oh my God! Elena!" Jeremy screamed, shoving Damon aside and grabbing his sister, shaking her. Damon watched as each Gilbert tried to revive their sister, and he felt his heat snap when Caroline pulled her finger away from her neck with tears glistening in her eyes.

"She's dead" Caroline managed to get out, before she collapsed onto her sister and screamed. That was when George entered the clearing.

He looked out onto his family, watching them clutch something, crying. "What's going on?" he demanded. Everyone's heads turned to him and then he saw it. Suddenly, every light in his world went out. He stared at his daughter, looking her over. She was soaked through to her skin. Her hair was wet and tangled, matted with bright crimson blood. Dried blood clung to the right side of her face, like a large plaster. Her lips were blue and her eyes were closed. Her dress was soaked, the fabric almost see through now. The skirt was torn and ripped and her fingers were much the same. George fell to his knees, eyes searching. When they landed on Damon, he just stared.

Damon looked worse than Elena. He was wet and cold, lips blue like his eyes. Tears were streaming heavily and his fingers were clutching the ground as he stared at nothing but Elena. His clothes were torn too, covered in mud and blood. His face was torn, he was in despair. His eyes were focused on her as George watched him reach into his pocket and grab something. Damon pulled out a small box and wrapped both hands around it, pressing it to his chest as he continued to watch Elena.

"What happened?" George choked. Damon looked up to him slowly, eyes wide and unseeing. Tears were blocking his vision but he didn't dare wipe them off.

"The horse was running towards the lake. It didn't see the water and when it did, it bucked and Elena flew off. I dove straight in after her." His voice was croaky. Damon lips trembled as more tears spilled from his eyes.

George crawled towards his daughter, looking at her ever perfect face. He looked over to Damon and noticed the longing in his eyes.

George had been completely unaware of just how much Damon loved his daughter. Even now, covered in mud and dirt, he looked at her as if she were a princess, as if she were the most beautiful creature to ever walk the planet. Damon's eyes were glued to her and George was well aware he wanted to just get close, cradle her, but his family were in the way.

"Bonnie", George breathed. Bonnie straightened up, her cries still piercing the air.

"Yes father?"

"Do it" George whispered hoarsely. Bonnie looked at her father shocked, as if he were out of his mind. George knew she was hesitating. "Do. IT" he demanded, moving back slightly as he watched Bonnie stumbled up to her sister.

Bonnie pressed her hands to her sisters chest and took in a big gulp of air. She hated doing this, her father knew that, but it was good that he had asked. When Bonnie first saw her sister, limp in Damon's arms she had frozen. Every thought that wasn't about Elena went out of her head. Bonnie turned to look at Damon.

"Cut your palm" she instructed. Damon stared at her confused. "Cut. Your. Palm", Bonnie demanded. Damon still looked shocked, but he placed down the ring in the small brown box, reached over and grabbed a small rock from the banks, guiding it across his skin, watching as a large bubble of blood formed. He stared at Bonnie shocked as he watched his blood rise from his hand and float towards her. Bonnie's brow was furrowed at she focused on watching the bubble of blood travel through the air. Damon looked down to his hand, terrified. It was completely healed.

Everyone watched in awe as Damon's blood reached Bonnie. Suddenly, Bonnie screamed out words that none of them understood and Damon looked around him noticing large bolts of lightning shooting from the sky. Madison bucked and ran towards the stables, Damon watched her run as fast as the wind. The floating ball of blood slowly landed on Elena's chest. The ball began to break, blood seeping out of the cracks. Damon and the Gilberts watched in horror as Elena's body soaked up the falling liquid like a sponge. Suddenly, her chest began to move and for a second, Damon could see stars. She was breathing!

"Oh my God" Damon panted, watching as Elena began to move. Bonnie silenced and leaned back, watching her sister.

Elena's eyes burst open.

"Damon?" she asked instantly. Every Gilbert turned and stared at Damon. Caroline looked slightly upset that Damon was the first thought in Elena's head, but watched in silence as Damon placed the box in his pocket and race over to her. The first thing he did was grab her face and take her lips with his own. Elena sighed, completely unaware of her family sitting and watching. Damon didn't care about them right now, the only thing he could see and feel right now was the girl he loved. Pulling back slowly, Damon relished in her. She was alive, and no Damon understood what it was like to even so much as think that he had lost her. He turned to Bonnie slowly, Elena hugging and clutching at his chest; he was still shirtless.

Bonnie sighed. "I'm different. But that's not something to discuss now. Are you well, sister?"

Only then did Elena notice that her family was there. She stared at each of her siblings before her eyes landed on her father. She screamed in delight and swung her arms around her father. Suddenly, she gasped, withdrawing and staring down at her hip in pain. Damon was by her side in seconds.

"Elena, love, what is it?" Damon begged, hugging her to him delicately. He felt as though she was so delicate right now that with one wrong move he could snap her in half.

"My. Side" Elena panted, looking down to her side that was now seeping blood. Damon stared at the wound shocked, knowing it hadn't been there moments ago.

"Come on, lets get home" Damon insisted, standing and hooking his arms beneath Elena's knees and back. He lifted her into his arms, carrying her back to Veritas carefully. Caroline found Madison hiding in the trees and, along with Bonnie, lead her back to the stables.

[...]

Elena's eyes fluttered open slowly. She quickly clamped them shut at the shockingly bright light her candle made. Damon chuckled, moving to her side and stroking her cheek, urging her to open her eyes. Elena did so, but squinted against the glare of the light.

"What happened?" she asked, as Damon wrapped his arms around her. She buried her head into the crook of his neck and inhaled the familiar scent he possessed.

"Madison bucked, you flew into a lake and hit you head", Damon briefed. Elena sighed, pulling back and gazing down at the bright red puddle stain on her dress. Damon frowned.

"You sisters refused to let me change you" he smirked.

"Why?" Elena asked, confused. Damon just chuckled.

"They are um- yeah... well" he choked, kissing her forehead sweetly. Elena smiled, realizing what he meant.

She reached up and planted a kiss on Damon's lips, pressing her plump, kissable pair onto his own. Damon chuckled, wrapping his arms arms around her and pulled her to him as Elena giggled into his lips and tried to pull away.

"Well, today didn't go to plan" she moaned once she had gotten free.

"It still could", he suggested, confusing Elena. "What do you mean?" she asked, pressing her palm to his cheek to cradle his face. Damon breathed in contentment at her touch.

"Well, I planned to do this somewhere special, like at this beautiful clearing I know of but then you had the accident, so..." he trailed off. Elena raised a brow.

"Explain?" she encouraged, laying back down into the comforts of Damon's bed. Only then did she notice she was in his room.

She turned her head and watched Damon as she shuffled and attempted to get something out of his pockets. Elena giggled, watching him do so. Damon looked up at her, pulling the small box from his tight pocket and holding it out to her. Elena sat up slowly and thought about what it may be. She reached out to touch it but before she made contact, Damon pulled it away.

"Ah, ah, ah" he chided, turning it to himself and opening it slowly, checking it was still there before clamping it shut. Elena watched his every move with caution and interest.

"Elena. We met only 4 months ago when you came to work for me and my family. We have been through so much together since then. We have overcome death, injuries, people talking behind our backs and even a jealous ex, but we have still come out on top. We have still defeated everything that has attempted to stop us being together", Elena began to tear up. "I know how much I love you and I know you know too. I would do anything to be with you, to hold you for all eternity, to have you in my arms for the rest of my life. And I can only do that knowing that you feel the same way. So, you answer to this hugely important question will tell me if you do. I love you Elena. You make me feel alive, like my whole past life was a lie and I have spent in with you this whole time. You make my heart skip a beat when I see you laugh. When you smile, I smile. When you cry, I cry. I love you and I hope you love me to or this whole big speech will have been for nothing. So, here goes".

Elena's eyes widened as Damon opened the small box and a glinting ring made itself know. It was a beautiful ring. Right in the center, was a large diamond and surrounding it, on each side, were two smaller sapphires The band was decorated and carved with floral, intricate patterns. It was oddly shaped but it was beautiful. Elena knew that Damon had spent time finding the perfect ring, put a lot of thought into it. Damon turned it around carefully, displaying an inscription.

I love you Elena x

Elena felt herself tear up. She looked up at Damon in shock, realizing what it was. Damon just smiled at her.

"Elena", he began and Elena felt herself choke on her breath, "will you do me the extraordinary honor of allowing me to make you my own, allowing me to take you hand in marriage, allowing me to be your husband for all eternity. Elena, will you marry me?"

Elena froze.

"Of course!" she screamed, flinging her arms around Damon and pressing her lips forcefully against his without a second thought. Damon smiled and kissed her back, two sets of lips rubbing against each other in a synchronized movement that made Elena's head spin. Suddenly, the room began to get very hot, and Elena pulled away, resting her head against Damon's as she regained her breath. Damon looked down at the ring in his hand and took it from the case, slowly taking Elena's hand in his own. Elena watched as Damon slid the ring onto her left ring finger.

It fit perfectly.

And that was good, because it would be staying there for a long time.

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A very, very long time.

Hope you liked. I wanted romance and action it this so... I hope I made it good.

The ring is on my profile. Please check it out :D

Just to let you know, I only plan to make Bonnie a witch and have no more supernatural, I dont want it to be overwhelming.

See you next chapter!

Reviews are love xox