A/U: Stefan wasn't there the night Elena's parents drove off Wickery Bridge, but Damon was. This story follows what could have happened has Stefan not been there that night and how things may have progressed.

Elena laid her head against the window and watched as drops of rain trickled down. Her head felt fuzzy, like she was missing something important. Her mother was walking. She was saying how glad she was Elena had the sense to call for a ride since she'd been drinking, but disappointed she'd missed family night. Elena knew she should pay attention, but her mind was preoccupied. She'd felt conflicted during the party, fighting with Matt, unsure of what to do... but suddenly it didn't seem so hard. She loved Matt, she did, but she wanted more. She wanted a great love, a love that would consume her.

She was daydreaming about mysterious strangers when her father lost control of the wheel. Elena barely had time to realize they were careening off Wickery Bridge before they hit the river. Her body jerked against the seat belt as the water flooded in and her head slammed into the window. She gasped, but instead of air, only cool liquid death entered her mouth. Her mother was unconscious, the water around her tinged with red. Elena felt her eyes drifting closed, too woozy and hurt to even realize she was last thing Elena Gilbert remembered was a man with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

The beeping is what woke her. Her mind felt clouded, as though she was trying to wade through a thick fog and the beeping was her connection to the world.

"Elena" a voice whispered. She knew that voice, but she couldn't recollect how. It took all of her strength to lift her eyelids, but when she did she was rewarded. There was a man standing over her, an extremely handsome man. He seemed familiar somehow, but she could not place him.

"Where.." she croaked. Her throat felt like sandpaper, her voice a strained whisper. What...what had happened to her? She tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't cooperate, she found herself tired, so tired.

"Shhh..." whispered the man. "Don't try to talk. You need to rest. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I left." he said.

"Who..who are you?" She forced out. It seemed to sap all her energy. Elena's eyes closed and she was just drifting off when his response came.

"Just a mysterious stranger"

Elena woke up a day later in a hospital bed. Her aunt Jenna was there looking exhausted and the saddest Elena had ever seen her. Jeremy was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, sobbing, his knees to his chest with his arms locked around them. Somehow without words Elena knew her parents were dead, she could feel their loss in her chest, a hole where they used to be.

Elena remember bits and pieces of the night, her father losing control of the wheel and hitting the water. Everything was foggy after that, she couldn't remember anything more. According to the paramedics a man had called them, said he'd witnessed a crash. When they arrived he was coming out the water carrying her unconscious body and had even ridden with Elena in the ambulance

Jenna had tried to find out who he was, but none of the paramedics knew his name, couldn't even recall what he looked like "The paramedics said they were busy resuscitating you, barely noticed him he was so quiet. A nurse in the ER said he'd held your hand as they took you away, but he disappeared afterward. The only thing she recalled was that he had blue eyes."

"Saved by a mysterious stranger..." Elena said softly. It felt right, not knowing who he was. She owed him her life and it was a debt she would never be able to repay. That night after Jenna and Jeremy left, she'd sobbed her heart out. She cried until she had no more tears and fell asleep with a whispered thank you on her lips to the man who saved her life.