A/N: Sorry for the excruciatingly long wait and the short chapter. I wanted to get something to you guys sooner rather than later, but at this point it was later rather than way later. Anyway, we're nearing the finish line.

Chapter 14

Once back at Elena's home, Damon refused to leave her side, treating her with kid gloves. He tucked her in bed, had Bonnie fetch a hot tea, and he patted her face with a wet cloth.

"Damon, knock it off. I'm not sick. I'm just exhausted. Can we just sleep, please," Elena begged.

Damon was all for sleep. And maybe a blood bag or two. He was in the process of acquiescing when he heard a crash from downstairs. He and Elena both jumped up and ran, fearing the worst. Could it be Klaus? How did he escape?

When they rounded the corner into the kitchen, they found Bonnie on her hands and knees picking up pieces of a China tea cup that had shattered all across the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Watch your step, Elena."

"Bonnie, are you ok?"

"Yes, I feel so silly," she said, rising from the floor and depositing the largest chunks in the garbage. Elena grabbed the broom from the utility closet, and returned to find Damon sopping up the spilled tea using a hand towel and his foot. She almost laughed at the sight of big bad Damon doing something so domestic. It was endearing.

"Did something happen? I should be fixing you tea, Bonnie. After that spell, you're probably in worse shape than I am."

"No, Elena, I'm fine. Really. I was carrying the tea upstairs when something Elijah said to me earlier clicked, and I dropped the tray before I even realized what had happened."

"Elijah? Did he threaten you, Bonnie?" Elena felt cold fear grip her body. She just couldn't stand her friends being in danger because of her.

"No, no. He was very helpful."

At this comment, Damon snorted audibly, tossing the rag in the sink, and grabbing the broom from Elena's hands. She hadn't realized that she's just been standing there, watching Bonnie carefully.

"You might actually be interested in hearing this, Damon. It has to do with the spell Klaus had me put on you and Elena."

Damon froze mid-sweep. "You could have led with that, Bon Bon, or were you just enjoying watching me channel my inner Alice Brady."

"Who?" Bonnie and Elena both stared at him confusedly.

"You know. The housekeeper from The Brady Bunch. You people are so young."

"I don't think she was a Brady. Didn't she just work for them?" Elena pointed out, matter-of-factly.

Damon started to answer her, but Bonnie hushed him. "You guys! We're getting sidetracked."

Damon poured the contents of the dust bin into the trash can and began washing his hands. The girls waited impatiently. When he was finished, Damon turned and nonchalantly leaned against the kitchen cabinet. "Oh," he said, feigning surprise, "were you waiting on me?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she said, "I was telling Elijah about the spell Klaus had me put on the two of you. He seemed very interested. He wondered if the spell had ever been used on a vampire before. He said, 'I can't imagine the witches ever intended it to be so, considering the wording.'"

"Weird. What else did he say?" Elena asked.

"That was it. We had more important stuff to talk about at the time," Bonnie shrugged.

Damon's eyes narrowed. "We're obviously not seeing something, Bonnie. Help us out. Why would Elijah find the vampire tidbit interesting?"

"Well the wording of the spell doesn't actually say that for the spell to be broken the relationship has to be consummated. It says that the couple must give themselves to one another 'physically and emotionally.' And for a human, the only real way to do that is sex. But for a vampire…" Bonnie trailed off.

Damon stood up straight, lightbulbs going off in his head. "Of course. Why didn't you say so before?"

Elena subconsciously touched her neck. She was busy imagining what it had felt like in her vision to give herself over to Damon in the way Bonnie was suggesting. She could still feel phantom pinpricks of pleasure even now just from the thought.

Misconstruing her silence, Bonnie quickly said, "I think the other way would still work, Elena. You know, if you prefer. I'm not encouraging you to be Damon's lunch. I just wanted you to have all your options."

Elena smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Bonnie. I'll think about it. You should go home and get some rest. Damon can take you, right, Damon?"

Damon hesitated for a moment, but then he noticed her resolute glare and conceded on the spot. "Yea, sure. I'll be right back though, ok?" And then he came closed and kissed her cheek. The gesture was so simple, so chaste, yet it felt so right. In that moment, she could envision all the future simple pecks on the cheek, comforting hugs, early morning cuddles, and everything else that came with being a real couple. Elena found that she couldn't wait.

Damon and Bonnie hadn't been gone two minutes when Elena felt a presence. She was doing a last cursory clean-up of the tea mess while she waited for her new cup of tea to steep, and she briefly thought about breaking the mop handle over her knee in case she needed a stake. Then she dismissed the thought, knowing instinctively she wasn't strong enough and would just get herself killed. She had settled on running when she heard a familiar voice say, "Elena," and clear his throat.

She turned. "Stefan?"

"Hey. I'm sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to check in on you. Are you ok?"

"I will be. Thanks to you and Elijah." She smiled and she hoped he could tell how thankful she was.

"I would never let Klaus hurt you. Not if I could help it," he said as he walked closer to her. He seemed so earnest and so regretful, probably thinking about how he did hurt her while he was under Klaus's control.

"I know that, Stefan. Thank you." Elena moved back to the kitchen island and picked up her tea. She blew on the surface to cool it just to give her something to do.

"I thought Damon would be here," Stefan said. His voice was nonchalant but Elena didn't miss the way his voice broke slightly and how he couldn't look her in the eye.

"He was. He took Bonnie home. I think he's coming right back."

"Look, Elena, before he gets back I need to talk to you. This spell. The sex one. We never got to decide anything about transferring the spell to me before all this other stuff blew up in our faces. I just want you to know—"

"Stefan, there's another way. Bonnie found another way."

"She did? But she said—"

Elena proceeded to explain what Bonnie had just realized about the spell. "It's a Godsend really. Now I don't have to feel rushed or forced into doing something I'm not ready for."

Stefan nodded solemnly.

"You don't agree?" she asked, incredulous.

"No, no. Of course I agree. It's not that. It's just, if you choose to go that route, I don't think I can help you. Or at least," at this Stefan looked down at his hands in shame, "I don't think it would be a good idea for me to try."

Elena's eyes widened at the implication. Mostly, she felt guilty because it hadn't even occurred to her that Stefan would still want to take Damon's place. Elena had never really considered Stefan's offer, even before the terms had changed. But she also knew the guilt Stefan must be feeling at his inability to control his blood lust enough to help her the way she would need to be helped.

She sighed and patted the stool next to her. "Stefan," she said once he was sitting, "I really appreciate that you want to help me. Honestly, it means the world to me. But I would never ask you to do something that would put you in a situation where you may accidentally hurt someone. I know you would never be able to live with yourself if something happened. I don't want you to feel bad about that. Damon can do it. And I trust him completely. He won't hurt me, okay?"

Stefan let out a long-suffering breath. Finally, he nodded his ascent. "Ok," he breathed.

"But Stefan," Elena continued, "I need to tell you that my feelings for Damon have changed. I'm not sure when, really. It sorta snuck up on me." As she talked, she couldn't help but think of Damon and his unruly hair and his ascorbic wit and his crystal blue eyes. "I know that he's the person I'm meant to be with, Stefan, and I'm sorry if that hurts you. But you need to know."

Stefan's face crumbled at her confession. He sat silently for a minute just starring at his hands. Finally, he said, "Were you going to sleep with him if it had come to that?"

Elena sighed and looked away frustrated. Finally, in a small voice that maybe a human couldn't even hear, she said, "I'm in love with him, Stefan."

The pair continued sitting in silence after that, surrounded by tension so thick you wouldn't be able to swim your way through it.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Stefan stood up. He nodded his head toward the front door. "He's back."

Elena stood, too. She signed heavily and nodded, waiting to see what Stefan would do.

"I think I'm going to leave town for a while, Elena."

Unbidden, tears sprung to Elena's eyes. She knew all along that this was a possibility, one she couldn't even blame him for. Not really. But it still stung. Somewhere along the way she had fallen out of love with Stefan, but that didn't mean she didn't still care for him fiercely. She would gladly face Klaus, Katherine, or any other monster that threatened him. She'd risk her life for this man over and over if she had to because that's what he deserved. And she hated that she had hurt him. She hated herself that she couldn't love him. She'd probably still be pretending she did if it hadn't been for the spell, but that wasn't fair either. She had to let him go.

Elena pulled Stefan to her, giving him one last hug. He pulled away just as the front door opened. Elena let go and turned to see Damon walking in. She thought she heard, "Tell him bye for me," but when she turned back toward the voice and Stefan, there's no one there.