AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed at all during this story, I'm glad you liked my story. This is officially the last chapter of this story and I'm glad with how it ended. Don't worry though, there will be an epilogue posted on Monday!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries; they both belong to their respective owners and creators.

Hope you enjoy the last chapter and remember to review!

Ch.24 – In My Remains

Separate, sifting through the wreckage
I can't concentrate, searching for a message
In the fear and pain, broken down and waiting
For the chance to feel alive

Now in my remains
Are promises that never came
Set the silence free
To wash away the worst of me

In My Remains – Linkin Park

Damon Salvatore POV

Alaric, Jenna, Elena and Stefan all head back upstairs to give me privacy with Bella when she wakes up. Elena was reluctant to leave but eventually Stefan convinced her to give me some time with Bella first.

Gently I bring a hand up to Bella's face and brush away some of her hair that has fallen into her hair. I continue to just touch her face gently, loving the feel of her smooth skin against mine. My thumb accidently brushes against the side of her lips which sends a buzz of electricity travels through my body. Why didn't I ever tell Bella my real feelings for her? Maybe if I had, we wouldn't be in this position.

I almost jump out of my skin when Bella takes in a shallow breath. "Bella?" I ask as she sits up on my lap and starts panting.

"Damon?" She asks breathlessly, her eyes darting around wildly. Her wide, panic filled eyes land on me and I quietly shush her. I bring one hand up to her back and rub soft circles, holding her close to me.

"You're alright Bella, you're safe now." I murmur in her ear as I hug her impossibly tighter to me. The strong continuous thumping of her heart is now the only thing that holds me together. I never realized how lost I felt without the steady sound of her heartbeat. The mere sound relaxes the tension in my body that has accumulated since I saw her collapse last night.

Bella coughs and asks, her voice hoarse from lack of use, "What happened? Is Elena alright?"

My blood boils, the anger at her for doing something foolish, spills over. I glare down at her and whisper harshly, "You shouldn't have tricked me like that."

She glares back, not backing down. "If I had told you, you would never have allowed me anywhere near Bonnie or the sacrifice."

"And for good reason, look what you did to yourself. You killed yourself Bella, or has that fact not sunk in yet?" I ask incredulously, barely holding back the urge to shake her.

"I knew exactly what I was doing, Damon. I was protecting Elena and I knew that I was going to come back." She says stubbornly but I can see the tiny fissure of fear that she can't cover. Bella didn't know for sure that she would come back, but she hoped.

"No, you didn't. Tell me, how long did you plan to use Jeremy's ring?" I ask, knowing the answer already.

Bella looks down in guilt, "Since you asked Elijah if Elena could use it the morning before the sacrifice."

"And how long did you know you were going to be used in the spell?"

"Since the night before, but I was planning on using the elixir to come back to life. I always planned on coming back, Damon." Bella says, trying to make me understand but I don't think I ever will.

"Why did you change your mind from using the elixir to using a Gilbert ring?" I ask.

Bella bites her bottom lip for a moment, "When you asked if Elena could use a Gilbert ring the morning before the sacrifice, I realized that I could because I'm human. I had already laid out my plan but was going to use the elixir, when I thought of using a Gilbert ring I knew that it had more of a chance of working for me than an old elixir."

"How'd you get Jeremy's ring away from him?" I ask, curiously. She couldn't have taken it while he was conscious because he would've remembered but she couldn't even knock him unconscious since he's much stronger and bigger.

"Jeremy had walked in on Bonnie finishing the spell on me and was going to go and tell you or Elena but instead Bonnie knocked him out. I went and caught him and slipped the ring of his finger then."

I nod slowly; inside I'm proud at her usefulness but mad that she would risk her life. I stare at her, silently telling her to answer my questions truthfully. "Why didn't you tell anyone your full plan? I know Bonnie knew some of it, but why not all?"

Bella turns her head and looks at the fire place for a few moments before saying quietly. "If I told someone my plan and the ring still didn't work, I would've crushed their hopes. I didn't want to give false hope."

"Yes, but if someone knew and the ring still worked then we wouldn't have been so crushed you're your death because we knew there was a chance you were coming back." I argue back.

Bella is stubborn and doesn't listen to my arguments, "But if I didn't come back, it would've hurt even more. Face it Damon, I've thought this all through and you can't change my mind. Besides, what's done is done."

I'm silent for a few moments, a nagging thought buzzing loudly in my head. "You could've told me," I say softly.

Bella rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest, "No I couldn't because you would've tried talking me out of it."

We are both silent, thinking over what the other said. "Why didn't you answer your phone?" I ask.

"I didn't want you specifically to watch me die," Bella blurts out and then her eyes widen. I smirk, I guess she didn't want to release that tad bit of information.

"Why me?"

Bella takes in a deep breath and holds it for a moment before letting it go. "Ever since I first met you on my first trip to Mystic Falls, I liked you – more than a close friend should've. I ignored it mostly but my feelings never disappeared, not even while I was dating Edward. Then when I moved here and was around you constantly, my feelings grew and I didn't want you to be hurt by watching me die. "

I tilt my head in confusion while inside I am smiling in happiness, "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

Bella flushes red and mumbles, "Everything was so hectic around here that I could barely admit it to myself let alone you. You would never feel the same way about me though."

I sigh and shake my head, lifting a hand to caress her cheek. "Bella, I already feel the same about you. Why do you think I was so against you being in the sacrifice but was ready to let Bonnie risk her life. Or when I locked you in that janitor's closet in the high school during the 60's dance? It was because I cared about you more than anyone in my life and I didn't want you to get hurt. I kissed you after the 60's dance didn't I? Why didn't you think I liked you then?"

Bella shrugs but from the spark in her eyes I can tell that she is happy about my revelation. I continue, "I've had deep feeling about you since you listened to my story with an open mind and never judged me like others would. I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd need a vampire as a boyfriend and then after the whole Cullen disaster I didn't want you to think that I just wanted you because you were easy. You were never easy, you are stubborn, a smart ass and can highly infuriating at times but that's what I admire about you."

Bella smiles at me and I can't help but smile back. "Now that this whole adventure is over, do you like we can go out on dates?"

I smirk, "Bella, isn't the man supposed to ask that?"

She blushes again, nods but I speak again before she can speak. "Bella, will you go out with me on a normal date to the Grill for supper?"

Bella smiles back, "On two conditions, one, no one is allowed to attempt to kill you and two, if this doesn't work out we will stay friends."

I roll my eyes, knowing that there is no way I'll let her go now that I have her and nod.

"Damon?" Bella asks softly.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come to my house when you were drunk after Dr. Martin was killed?" She asks.

I think back to that day and remember all the fidgety nerves I had but they weren't for me, they were for Bella. I didn't want her to die and have to come back as a vampire; she didn't even know if that was what she wanted anymore. Then when everything was finally over I just was going to have a celebration drink that turned into two and then three.

"I had more than a few drinks in celebration and then in my drunken haze decided I wanted to see that you were safe with my own two eyes."

Bella bites her lip and looks at the ground in guilt. I raise an eyebrow and tilt my head slightly, what is she hiding? "Bella?"

She glances up at me for a split second before looking away. After a moment Bella sighs, "That night when Dr. Martin was wrecking the Grill he knocked Bonnie unconscious and I had Matt take her out and not come back in. It was only me and Caroline left and Caroline tried to bite Dr. Martin but he flung her off of him. I grabbed a piece of broken glass to stab him with but he flung me into a beam before leaving. I was almost knocked unconscious but Caroline fed me her blood to heal me before taking me home."

There's this ball of hot rage building in my chest as Bella tells me more and more. Why didn't she tell me about her injury before? Why didn't I think she could've been hurt? I should've gone there and taken her away as soon as I found out that Jonas was going to go after Elena.

Bella reaches up and touches my cheek, "Hey, it's okay. I'm perfectly fine and Dr. Martin can't hurt me anymore. So let's just let it go and forget about it, okay?"

Slowly I nod, knowing she's right.

"Why did you say that I was so hard to keep safe that night when you came over?" Bella asks, curiously.

I knew that I would have to explain this someday; Bella doesn't let things that don't make sense go easily. "I said that because it was true," Bella gasps and looks hurt but I continue on. "I didn't finish the rest of my thoughts out loud though. You may be hard to keep safe but it is worth it because you are so selfless that you want to save everyone and that I really care about you. I couldn't let you die because you were worth more to me and I couldn't bare to never see your eyes light up again."

Bella smiles softly at me, "Thanks for telling me that."

Elena, Alaric, Stefan, and Jenna all start coming down the stairs just as the front door opens and three other sets of footsteps walk towards the living room. I sigh and reluctantly move Bella from my lap to the spot on the couch beside me. Bella looks up at me, confused and slightly hurt, probably thinking that I'm already pushing her away. I smile reassuringly and say quietly to her, "The gang is all heading to us now so get ready for lots of tears, anger and hugs."

Her eyes widen but before she can say anything Elena comes tearing into the room and grabs Bella in a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Elena says before pulling back and bopping Bella on the back of the head. Elena shakes her pointer finger at Bella and says sternly, "You won't ever do anything like that for anyone ever again or you will see a side to me that you will wish you've never seen."

Bella looks at her wide-eyed and quickly nods her head and says yes. John, Bonnie and Jeremy also walk into the room and Bella is passed around the room for hugs and stern warnings. Once everyone has had the chance to really see that Bella is alive and human, she is back standing near my side.

Bella's eyes light up in realization and she grabs the Gilbert ring off the middle finger on her right hand. "Jeremy here's your ring back. Thanks for letting me borrow it." She smiles and hands it to Jeremy who smiles but rolls his eyes.

"I'm glad you had a use for it," he says and slips it back on his finger. Jeremy looks back at me, "When did you even grab it? I can't remember it even being gone."

Bella blushes, "When you first found out what Bonnie and I planned to do and she knocked you unconscious I took the ring from your finger. I was always planning on grabbing it at some point but that time was the best."

Bella takes a breath and looks at everyone for a few seconds. She sees what I see, the relief in the relaxed shoulders, and the tired eyes. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you guys what I was planning, I just didn't want you to get your hopes up if it failed. I know now that I won't do anything like that again. If I ever have a radical plan, I will tell you all and not go behind your backs. I promise."

Everyone nods gratefully and a chorus of, "Thanks yous," are heard.

I lean over and whisper in Bella's ear, "I'll keep you to it."

Bella nods and a large yawn escapes her mouth which causes her famous blush to rise to the surface.

"Well, Bella you should get some sleep and we'll talk more later." Elena says.

Bella nods, "Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I'll see you all later." Bella waves to everyone and then heads upstairs. I say my own goodbyes and follow after her, hopefully no one will need us for a few hours.

Bella starts to head towards one of the guest rooms but I grab her hand and pull her into my bedroom with me.

"Damon, I can sleep in another room, it's no big deal." Bella says and rolls her eyes at me.

I raise an eyebrow at her, "You're sleeping in here with me and that's final." I doubt she would want to sleep in jeans and a dirty T-shirt so I go and grab a black shirt of mine and some sweats that she can change into. I hand them to Bella and she quickly goes to my bathroom to change into them.

Bella walks back out and my eyes almost pop out of my head. I never realized how hot it is to see someone I really care about in my clothes. I shake those thoughts away before they turn down a dark path and take off my shoes before climbing into bed.

Bella curls up on her side of the bed facing away from me but I'm not having any of that. I turn her around and pull her into my body so that he head is resting on my chest. Bella is stiff for a moment before relaxing and letting out a small sigh.

I gently kiss the top of her head and whisper, "Go to sleep Bella, I'm so happy you're here."

AN: Thanks for reading this final chapter so tell me what you thought of it in a review! I'll send a preview of the epilogue to whoever that reviews.