A/N hello lovelies :)
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Chapter 25
Elijah and Damon head out into the woods after Elena.
They find her curled up on the ground sobbing.
"Elena, this isn't your fault" says Damon sitting down next to her.
"It is though, everything wrong in this town, every one who has been hurt it's because of me. Even my parents, if I'd just done things differently none of this would've happened" cries Elena.
Elijah goes to hold her but she pushes him away.
"What do you mean?" asks Elijah.
"When my parents went of Wickery bridge, they'd come to get me from a party, I'd blown of family night and I'd had a fight with Matt, and the roads were slippery, my dad told Stefan to save me first, if I hadn't gone to that damn party they'd be alive, and if I'd died then so many others wouldn't have, Caroline wouldn't be a vampire or lost her dad, Bonnie wouldn't have lost her Grams, Jeremy would be here and he'd be normal and safe and adjusted, Matt wouldn't have been used as bait, Stefan wouldn't have gone through a ripper phase again, Lexi wouldn't be dead because she wouldn't have been here, you and Stefan wouldn't have suffered over Katherine because she'd never have been here, John wouldn't have died, neither would Jenna, even Isobel wouldn't be dead possibly, and Ric wouldn't be stuck here, he'd be gone and free having solved his mysteries, and he wouldn't be killing people, he wouldn't have even died, its all me, my fault, because I'm the doppelganger, or because I am a stupid idiot" sobs Elena.
Damon thinks back to the night he'd met Elena, really met her, if he'd have known where her life was going to go, he'd never have left her that night.
"Elena none of that is your fault, none of it, it is everyone but yours" says Elijah.
"If I didn't exist then none of it would've happened" repeats Elena.
"Elena, your parents died in a twist of fate, a tragic accident, it wasn't your fault, and Jenna and John and Isobel definitely weren't, if anything those deaths lay at the hands of my family" soothes Elijah.
"And with Ric, Elena I've killed him twice already, I killed him the first time, if I hadn't we'd never have known and it would be two less times, and Bonnie's grandma was me as well, I made them open the tomb, not you, and Katherine came back for Stefan, I antagonised her, which made her turn Caroline, and Isobel would never have been a vampire if I hadn't turned her and Ric wouldn't have come here in the first place" adds Damon.
"But you wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for me" she argues.
"Yes I would've, I came back to free Katherine from the tomb, meeting you was a bonus Elena, a very big one, but if I'd never come back, if I'd realised she'd never loved me then she might not have returned either, and in turn the originals might not have ever come here because Rose may never have found you" says Damon gently taking her hand.
"And if I had just not upset my brother all those years ago then I wouldn't have wanted him dead, Elena all of these things were set in motion long before you were born, it is a horrible coincidence but these things just seem to happen to you, but they are not because of you, no one who meets you would ever regret it" promises Elijah taking her other hand.
She looks up at them, two men, so different, both in love with her, but despite her love for Damon it was Elijah who held her heart.
"I'm a curse" she whispers.
"No, you are not a curse Elena, no one who knows you thinks that, please Elena, for once let the blame sit elsewhere, you are not a curse, you are the strongest, most amazing woman I have ever met" says Damon.
"It is true Elena, I have known all your ancestors and not one compares to you in anyway, they were curses, you are a blessing" smiles Elijah.
Their words sink in slowly, maybe it wasn't all her fault.
"Please Elena, come back with us, that house I filled with people who love you" says Damon.
"Bonnie, Caroline, Rebekah, even my brothers do, including Niklaus, and you have us Elena" says Elijah.
"I will never leave you again" promises Damon.
"Always and forever" agrees Elijah.
"Your family wouldn't want you to suffer like this, they did what they did because they loved you and they wanted you to live, do not squander that by doing so in self loathing trust me Elena, hating yourself is never a good thing" says Damon.
With that she allows them to guide her back to the house.
Elijah held her while they walked, her head leaning on his shoulder, her other hand holding tightly to Damon's as if they were her only anchors to keep from spiralling down.
They walk inside and Rebekah appears.
Wordlessly she just pulls Elena into a tight hug, "I'm so sorry Elena" she whispers.
"I know" she replies tiredly.
"Caroline is resting, Nik is with her, and Bonnie and Kol are looking for ways to help Alaric, Sage is putting out feelers with her contacts and Finn is helping" says Rebekah.
"Thank you" says Elijah.
"Anything for family and that is what you are to me Elena, the sister I always wanted, despite our rough start" assures Rebekah.
Elena lets out a small smile.
There's another knock on the door and Elijah opens it to find Stefan and Matt stood there.
"We heard, and since you weren't at home I called Rebekah and she said you were here" explains Matt as he walks in and hugs Elena; she wraps her arms around him letting herself take comfort in the familiarity.
Pulling back he walks over and takes Rebekah's hand, their first date having gone so well that they'd officially become a couple.
She then turns to Stefan.
"I'm sorry Elena, I really am, I like Alaric, and we are going to find a way to help him, even if it means working with the originals" promises Stefan.
"Thank you, I know how hard this is for you" says Elena squeezing his hand.
She lets out a yawn and leans into Elijah her eyes feeling heavy.
"Come on, you need to rest, today has been quite a day, we can deal with this in the morning" says Elijah.
She just nods numbly as he sweeps her into his arms and carries her upstairs.
"I'll get her something" says Rebekah as he lays her on his bed.
"Thank you, truly sister" he smiles.
"She's family Elijah, always and forever" replies Rebekah as she leaves and then returns a few moments later hands Elena a set of pyjamas who disappears wordlessly into the bathroom.
"Keep her close tonight, she'll need it" says Rebekah before walking out and shutting the door.
Elijah changes, pulling on his pyjama bottoms as Elena walks out.
They slide into bed and he wraps his arms protectively around her and she curls into him and allows her exhaustion to overtake her.
As he feels and hears her breathing even out he lets himself fall asleep to the soothing rhythm of it all and resolves to find a way to save her guardian.
A/N: So what did we think? Let me know, also Clean Break has been updated :)