Damon hit the ground hard. Katherine had thrown him. She was still strong. It took him a while to get up. His neck had broken in the fall, and his forehead and nose had been crushed. He got up slowly, wincing in pain. Luckily no one had been around to see his fall. Then he let out a growl. Elena was still up there with her. He turned around, and took on his crow form. But a rush of air, and Elena was lying on her back. He heard the bones crack and shatter. He landed, and human form again, held Elena. He looked up at Katherine, fury in his eyes. And then she was gone. Damon looked down at Elena. Her beautiful face. The light faded from her eyes slowly. Damon picked her up in his arms, holding the back of her head softly. He knew his brother would be furious. He had seen his brother's reaction the last time Elena had lost her human life. Damon leapt to the balcony, and walked to the bed, laying her down softly on top of it. Damon sat next to her, pushing her hair out of her eyes. That was the time Stefan picked to arrive home. He took in the ruined bedroom, his eyes filled with horror. Then his eyes went to Elena. And fury filled his eyes. He advanced towards Damon.
"Did you do this?" He asked. "why are you even here? Its our wedding night!" Damon remembered clearly the last time he had seen Stefan's anger reach this peak. He flinched at the Power that was coming from Stefan. He stood to face his brother face on.
"Stefan. Have you already forgotten that you have exchanged blood with her?" he asked wearily. Stefan lowered his eyes, but his fists were clenched. "And no, I did not kill her." He told his little brother. "Why would I? I was at the wedding too remember. I gave her away!" Damon watched Stefan watching Elena. He could feel it on the street when her life force had turned off. But now they could both feel her wild new Power awakening
"Who did this then?" Stefan asked savagely. Damon sighed. He didn't want to see the pain on his brothers pain.
"It seems that Katherine came back when lady Elena did."
It hurt. Stefan had expected to come home to find Elena peacefully slipping away. He did not expect to find the apartment in a mess, and his brother looking down at her broken body. He struggled to accept what Damon had said about Katherine. He didn't understand that. He sat next to Elena, stroking her face sadly. Damon sat on the couch, lounging lazily. Damon had told him everything. He hated himself. He hadn't been there for her.
"And what would you have done Stefan? She threw me out the window. What could you have done?" Stefan didn't want to think about it.
"She thinks that I was here, because it was my wedding with Elena." Damon had told him. "I didn't let her believe otherwise. If I had, she may have been waiting for you." Stefan's fury at Damon the day he had pulled Elena from the river had been nothing to this. All the times he had felt hate for his brother. Now he shook with Fury. He wanted to tear Katherine apart. He wanted to do something.
"Who are we going to use this time?" Damon asked. Stefan looked up in confusion. Damon saw it and sighed. "She's going to wake up needing human blood." he explained. "Who is our lucky donor this time?"
"We all are." came a voice, causing the brothers to turn to the door. Standing there, were Bonnie, Caroline, Meredith, Matt and Alaric. All of them looking tired. Stefan stood. "How did you…." his eyes met Bonnie's and he knew.
"Bad dreams." she muttered. She moved into the room, towards Elena. "I even know who it was." she whispered, a tear sliding down her check. They all sat in silence remembering the price they had all paid, the last time Katherine had announced her presence. Elena had paid the biggest price of them all. Stefan nodded.
"She's going to sleep for awhile, go to sleep guys, I'll call you when she needs you." The room was sombre. The humans left, Meredith taking Alaric to her room, Bonnie and Caroline taking the other room, and Matt taking the couch. He knew they wouldn't get any sleep though. He looked at Damon
Send them to sleep. He told his brother, they'll need it.
Damon focused, and Stefan felt the surge of Power. He felt their minds shut down, and cruise into the Power enforced sleep. And now all they could do was wait.
Elena's mind was aware. She was floating, no, she was falling. Then she realised that that had already happened. And it all hit her hard. The cold hard reality of it was like a slap in the face. She had died. And right now, she was aware of someone beside her. She could taste his fury. Another presence lounged on the other side of the room, his thoughts also full of anger. She struggled to remember the events of the day. She had fallen. She remembered that much, and couldn't understand why she was aware now. She reached further for the memories. She had been wearing a dress. It had been someone's wedding. But try as she might, she couldn't remember whose wedding. She saw herself arm in arm with….Damon! She focused on that memory. Images of Damon throughout the day went through her mind. She saw herself dancing with him.
"Did I marry Damon?" came a thought. She and Damon had the same flame inside. She knew that. She stopped the image, and tried to remember who else had been there. She saw faces. Familiar faces. A blonde head. Curly red hair. Sandy hair. Dark hair. Auburn hair. And then she saw Stefan's face. His green eyes happy. Confusion spread throughout her. Had he accepted this marriage? Her mind went back to Damon. Looking down at her, his black eyes burning into hers. And she remembered the dream. She had danced with him in a dream, wearing exactly what she had been wearing at her wedding. She groaned as she opened her eyes, to find that it was Stefan stroking her face. She reached up and grabbed his fingers. Tears shone in his eyes as he pulled away from her. Damon approached her slowly. She stared into his eyes and smiled. Damon's expression darkened.
"Elena, do you remember what happened? After the wedding?" she looked around the room.
"Katherine was here!" she remembered. "Katherine pushed you off the balcony! And then she pushed me. But…." Elena struggled to remember something. Something important. She couldn't grasp it, and leaned back again, shaking her head tiredly. Stefan looked at her with love in her eyes. "Bonnie and the other's are here." he told her. "They're all asleep. But they came to help you Elena." something about those green eyes stirred something in her. But she kept her eyes on Damon. And then she remembered. She remembered his teeth at her throat. She remembered drinking from his throat. She closed her eyes.
"I died." she said at last.
"Oh, you've remembered have you?" came Damon's ironic comment. She heard him move towards her. She opened her eyes and looked at Stefan. His eyes were full of protectiveness towards her.
"Stefan, why are you here?" she asked at last. Stefan's face went blank. Then realisation hit him. He turned to look at his brother.
"I'll wake the others" he said, and walked out, leaving her and Damon alone at last. He wasn't coming any closer to her though.
"I'm not going to bite you Damon." she said, and he hid a smile at that. But he still stayed where he was. So she moved toward him swiftly.
"What else do you remember Elena?" he asked. She saw he was still dressed from the wedding. Looking down, she saw she was too.
"I remember dancing with you." she told him. "I remember you trying to protect me from Katherine."
"You also think it was me you married." He said dully. She frowned. Hadn't she?
"It was yours and Stefan's wedding today Elena." She paled.
"NO! I….we…" but she was confused again. Images flashed through her mind. Stefan. Dancing with him. Holding his hand. And again she saw Katherine, and the white mist.
"NO!" she yelled. She turned around. Damon held her steady. Stefan bought the humans in. she knew what she had to do, and didn't want to. But she also knew she didn't have a choice. She turned away from Damon, but refused to look up. It was Matt that approached her first. She clenched her fist, shaking her head. Stefan was beside her, guiding her. "Elena, you'll die without it." Damon said. Matt was face to face with her. At last she looked up and met his determined gaze.