This is a continuation of the last scene of Season 4, Episode 8 – We'll Always Have Bourbon Street

"Does this feel wrong?" Elena tried to read Damon's eyes as she gently put her hand against his face. She looked intently into his eyes, knew she could see what he was thinking, that he agreed with her. But it didn't last. His expression became even more pained when he spoke.

"I can never be sure…"

"I'm sure, Damon," Elena interrupted, dropping her hand from his face, "and you are too. You know this would never have happened if I didn't already have feelings for you."

He pulled his other hand away from her. She let him.

He didn't step back, he held her eyes as he said, "It might be the sire bond. You could be doing all of this because you know I want it."

"Screw the sire bond!" she challenged. "You do what I want – you always have. From going into a house full of tomb vampires to help me save Stefan, to saving me from humiliation when you danced with me. You went to save Caroline the time she was taken by werewolves when I asked you to, you…" She stopped, closed her eyes and shook her head.

He waited until she opened her eyes to say, "I'll never know if you really love me."

"Can anyone ever really know?" she asked in frustration, turning around, putting her back to him.

She was still facing away when she heard him softly respond, "Maybe not."

Elena took in a quick breath and turned to face him again. "I know. Though you tried to compel it away once, everything you said, everything you did told me that you love me." She closed her eyes and shook her head again. "Everything you say, everything you do. I know you love me, Damon; and I know I love you. It's enough - I don't need anymore. I don't want anymore."

His reply was barely above a whisper, "I need to be sure."

"So you would hurt me, Damon?" she asked in a small voice. "I can't remember the last time that I didn't feel safe with you, the last time that I was afraid of what you would do to me. I've always known that whatever you did to anyone else, whatever you said, I was safe with you, that you would never hurt me. But Damon, this would hurt me."

He was still near, but his eyes were averted. They returned to hers when she paused, then Elena continued, "You would take away my choice, my chance to love you?"

"I don't want it any more than you, Elena. I'm not sure I could stay…"

"You really do want to kill me!" she interrupted. She closed her eyes and shook her head again to regain control of herself. "I could see this if you didn't feel the same way about me as I feel about you. If that were true, then fine. Tell me to forget you and send me away. But you do feel the same way about me as I feel about you. This would hurt you every bit as much as it hurt me; more I think. I couldn't stand it when I found out about it. And I would find out. Jeremy always found out when you compelled him."

He had averted his eyes again, so she paused again. When his ice blue eyes returned to meet her eyes, she spoke again - knowing that her voice sounded a little desperate as she said, "There has to be a way, Damon. You could tell Stefan and Caroline that you did it, and..."

"I would slip up, Elena. I would want something totally outrageous, you would give it to me, and they would find out."

"Fine," she spat back. "I don't care about them. Just, don't do this to me. Please."

She realized her eyes were closed again. She opened them tentatively as Damon spoke. "You have no choice now, Elena, and neither do I."


I hate it when I see something coming, but ignore it. I hate it when the preferred choice for Elena is all noble and does the (supposedly) right thing despite her standing in front of him and begging him not to. It's not really a new idea, so maybe they will surprise. Maybe this will be one of those chapters of this story (and there are quite a few of them) that doesn't really fit in with the TV story as it progresses.

I hope that turns out to be true. They're good at showing Damon as shallow and selfish. Surely they can do it one more time…

(Still, just in case, there will be an alternative ending to this scene in The Hope and the Need, though I doubt I'll be able to post it for a day or two…)