No Distance Too Far
DG32173
Sarah: based loosely on a fanfic by another author that was never completed. I'm sorry, but I can't remember the author name or even the fanfic name. Be aware, this is gonna be a seriously heart-wrenching fanfic, especially the first chapter. But it will inevitably get better, especially at the end. Anyways, without further ado, here's the pre-story info and then the story.
CREDIT
Credit goes to my skilled and talented beta, crzykittyfangirl, for her willingness to help me with my stories around her busy schedule. Thanks so much.
DISCLAIMER
I don't even own the idea for this fanfic as I borrowed it from an unfinished fanfic in the archives. I don't own Vampire Diaries, Mystic Falls, or the cast of the show. If I do own it, I will claim it before the chapter it appears in. If a reviewer or my beta inspires it, I will put a credit section like the above before the chapter it appears in and give credit for the scene or concept to the person who inspired me. Anything you recognize is likely owned by someone with a much bigger bank account than mine. There is your disclaimer for this fanfic; you won't be getting another one.
WARNINGS
CHARACTER DEATH IN FIRST CHAPTER! If you read the summary, you should know this and know who dies. Don't worry; he won't stay dead for too damn long. Also, alternating viewpoints between various cast members, including Ghost Damon as he tags along with Elena on her quest to resurrect him. Rated M for mature content, including my usual sexy times. First chapter starts with Katherine for a change of pace.
SUMMARY
What if Katherine was just a few seconds too late to save Damon from death by werewolf bite in the Season 2 finale? Just how far will Elena be willing to go to get him back? Is there such a thing as going too far in the name of love? This is based loosely on an unfinished fanfic in the TVD archives that I've decided to put my own twist on and finish. Damon/Elena
Chapter 1
Death Breaks Her
As I rush into the boarding house, an agonized, feminine scream in a voice nearly identical to my own fills the air with just one word: "Damon!" With a sinking heart, I vamp up the stairs and into Damon's bedroom to see Elena shaking him, telling him to wake up, that he better not die on her. But with my senses, I can tell I am just seconds too late in bringing the cure for a werewolf bite. Damon's dead. I see the tears streaming down her cheeks and I know that she instinctively knows the truth, though she's trying her damnedest to deny the possibility.
I feel tears fill my eyes and flood over. Though Damon hadn't won my heart the way he won my descendant's, he was still special to me. I couldn't pay him back for giving me the vervain that helped me defy Klaus tonight. There has to be something I can do to pay him back!
"No," I whisper. Elena flinches but doesn't turn to me, sprawling over his body and sobbing her grief out. When her friends arrive, it doesn't take them long to realize what had happened. They try to pry his body from Elena but she puts up a fight like a hellcat. "Let her have her time!" I finally snap at them. "She needs to grieve, too!"
Finally, they relent and slowly, one-by-one, leave us with the body. It's when the last one leaves, that I remember a certain witch in New Orleans who may be able to help, or at least point us in the right direction to get the help we will need. I stay silent, though, as Elena sobs brokenly into Damon's chest. I'll let her cry herself out before I tell her there may be a way to bring him back. I owe him a life-debt and I always pay my debts.
Finally, as the sun slowly starts to rise on the eastern horizon, she has cried herself out. She takes the time to slip off his daylight ring and put it on a chain around her neck. Good. She doesn't know it yet, but we'll need it when we bring him back.
She turns and startles to see I'm still here. "He's dead. He can't be helped now. Why are you still here?" she asks brokenly.
"There may be a way to bring him back, if you'll come with me," I tell her softly. "There's a witch in New Orleans who may be able to help, or at least point us to someone who can."
Her face is so much like my own, I can easily read the hope lighting in her eyes. I knew by how broken his death had made her, she'd be willing to do anything to get him back, even meddle with necromancy.
"What do I need to do?" she asks.
"Trust me enough to come with me and bring his ring," I reply.
Damon on the Other Side
"Kitten, come on, think about this," I protest when I see Elena's seriously considering Katherine's offer, though I know she can't hear me. "That's Katherine! She's obviously playing some sort of game. You can't trust her!"
"I'll do it, so long as you make a blood oath that you'll help me figure out how to bring him back," Elena says.
I groan, deciding I'm going to have to stick with them to make sure Elena stays safe. I don't yet know what I can do to protect her now that I'm dead, but I'll figure something out.
"I, Katherine Pierce, born Katerina Petrova, give my blood oath to Elena Gilbert, my descendant, to help her find a way to bring one Damon Salvatore back from the dead," Katherine vows. I can feel her Power swirling around us, binding her to her blood oath. At least this way she'll keep her word. It doesn't mean she won't leave Elena stranded once they find out how to bring me back.
Elena turns and places one more kiss on my body's lips before following Katherine out of the boarding house and climbing behind the wheel of my car while Katherine shrugs and gets in the passenger seat. I phase through the side of the car so I can sit in the back. It's smart of Elena not to let Katherine drive my car. Hell, I'm not happy Elena's driving it but there's nothing I can do about it right now.
When I realized I had died in Elena's arms, her immediate reaction upon realizing I was dead told me in no uncertain terms exactly how she feels about me. I now know for damn sure the feelings she's been hiding from everyone, probably even from herself as well. She's in love with me. I know damn well she would not have reacted so damn badly if I had just been her best friend. She wouldn't be considering meddling with the dark art of necromancy to get me back if she wasn't head-over-heels in love with me.
This can't possibly end well. That's all I'm saying. There is always a price when messing with magic. The more forbidden the magic, the higher the price. And from what I understand from the witches I won the trust of over the years, necromancy is the most forbidden and darkest of all the magical arts. Knowing Elena, she'll pay it no matter what it is. Elena's always been willing to pay way too high a price to rescue me should I need it. I don't want her regretting this choice she is making.
I have to find some way to communicate with her, get her to look for nearly any other option. But even as stubborn as I am, she's more stubborn when she puts her mind to it. I then remember that dead witches are still able to let their powers be felt by the living, or even the undead. Maybe a dead vampire who had the power of dream manipulation can still do that. I'll try that when she finally goes to sleep. She can't be too far from crashing, having been awake for nearly twenty-four hours now. She might last a few more hours but she will need to sleep soon.
My thoughts are proven true when, after a break for Elena to have lunch, she tells Katherine to take over because she needs sleep. I am pissed about that but I can't do anything about it.
Elena climbs into the passenger seat while Katherine gets behind the wheel. As soon as I'm sure Elena is asleep, I attempt to delve into her dreams and take control so I can talk to her. Surprisingly, it works.
Elena's standing with her back to me in the heart of a stormy meadow. "Dammit, Elena, you had to let Katherine drive my car, didn't you?" I demand angrily.
She whirls around, her eyes wide and her hand on her heart. "Damon? But you're dead. This has to be a dream," she breathes.
"Just because I'm dead doesn't mean my powers left me. In case you've forgotten, I could manipulate dreams when I was a vampire," I retort. "I wanted to try and see if that power followed me into death since dead witches could still use their powers to an extent. What the hell are you thinking? Meddling with necromancy? Don't you know that all magic has a price and the darker and more forbidden the magic, the higher the price? Necromancy is the darkest and most forbidden of all magic, so the cost of playing with it is pretty damn high!"
Tears flood her eyes and spill down her cheeks. "I can't live without you, Damon. I can't! It's either find a way to bring you back or kill myself and I'm leaving that until all other options are exhausted. But it's not off the table! You know damn well I mean it, too!"
"Shit!" I curse, raking a hand through my hair. "Elena, do you honestly think I'd want you to do that, after everything I went through to try to keep Klaus from sacrificing you in the first place? Do you know how painful it was to watch you die at his hands, even knowing you'd have a chance of coming back still human?"
"I wish I hadn't!" she cries out, her voice filled with heart-wrenching grief. "I wish your blood had turned me that night! That way I'd have at least something from you left to me besides your ring! I didn't realize how much I needed you until you were gone! Dammit, Damon, you're dead and I love you more than life itself!"
"Just don't go selling your soul just to get me back, Elena," I warn. "Your soul is what I love most about you."
"Damon, you're my world. I refuse to live if I can't have you in my life," she says. "I'm going to bring you back and then we can be together once I track down Stefan and break up with him officially. Your death made me decide to break up with him because I can't continue to live a lie, not when I finally was forced to face the truth."
I sense her body start waking up and say one last thing before I lose my grip on her dreams. "Just don't be reckless in bringing me back, Elena. I couldn't bear to be brought back just to lose you," I say before relinquishing my hold on her mind.
Sarah: And there's Chapter One. I know I didn't show Elena's perspective in this chapter, but it will be shown in future chapters. What did y'all think? Was it any good? Should I continue or stop while I'm ahead?