Chapter Seventeen

three years later

There were screams. Screeching of metal. Sirens. Flashes of light. It felt warm, but Elena wasn't sure. She heard gasping next to her. And then it stopped. Silence. Elena couldn't move. She wasn't sure if she was dead or not. There was no pain, but maybe she was just numb. It felt like she was suffocating in her own mind. Eventually, blackness overtook her.

—

Elena awoke to steady beeping. At first, she thought it was her alarm. Unfortunately, she was not lucky enough to be waking up for college. She slowly opened her eyes and took in the scene. She was in the hospital. Her parents were there. Her brother was there. She heard voices outside the room, but couldn't differentiate them.

"Oh, god, Elena...oh my god," Miranda cries, making her way over to her. "How did this happen? Oh, god…"

Something felt wrong. Actually, everything felt wrong. She hurt everywhere. Well, her face didn't hurt that much, but everything else did. And then she remembered the events of the previous night.

"Elena? You doing okay over there?" Megan questions her as she drives.

"Uh, well, you're driving a tad too fast, Meg," Elena replies while holding tightly onto the seat. "You might wanna slow down a little bit."

"No, we can't slow down. We'll be late for his party. And honestly, we are not people who would look good showing up fashionably late."

"Megan, seriously, you're going too fast. We're practically going twenty miles over the speed limit!"

"Relax, 'Lena, I'll get us there. It'll be fine," Megan assures her.

"No, no, you need to slow down. You're going to cause an accident!"

"There are hardly any cars on this road anyways, Elena. You need to chill out."

"How the hell can I chill out?! Oh my god, stop the car! Stop the car, Megan! We're being tailed by a police officer now!"

"Ugh, seriously? Police be damned," Megan mutters but harshly presses on the brakes. The car squeals to a stop. Elena and Megan take deep breaths but they're suddenly thrusted forward. The police car following them hadn't slowed down and was going the same speed that they were. It had effectively rammed into the back of their car, which sent it flying.

"Shit!"

They were stuck upside-down in the destroyed vehicle. Everything hurt but then it stopped. Elena heard gasping come from the driver's seat, which eventually stopped. The sound of an ambulance worked its way through Elena's brain, but she couldn't react. Everything felt wrong. Unconsciousness then fell upon Elena.

"No! No, no, no…" Elena cries as she lays in the hospital bed. "W-what happened to her? Is she dead? Why does everything hurt so much?!"

"Elena Gilbert, twenty-four years old. Diagnosed with multiple fractures, and she's externally hemorrhaging from the open wounds on her stomach. Elena also has a slight concussion," Dr. Laughlin explains.

Elena can see her parents sobbing by the door and her brother stares at her with an unidentifiable expression. The accident keeps replaying over and over in her head. In slow motion, she can see the car flip upside-down with her and Megan in it. Flashes of blood and bones appear in Elena's mind and she starts hyperventilating.

"Oh, god, make it stop! Make it stop! I can't...I can't breathe! Just make it stop!" Elena weeps hysterically. Dr. Laughlin ushers a nurse to inject Elena with a sedative, which calms down her sobbing a bit.

"Elena may also be experiencing a case of PTSD," She tells them.

That only causes Miranda and Grayson to cry harder while Jeremy stares at the floor, unmoving.

"Where is she? Is she dead? What happened to Megan?" Elena asks quietly while sobs continue to rack her body.

"I'm terribly sorry for your loss. It looks like Megan King has passed away due to cardiac arrest. One of her ribs looks like it had punctured her lung, which increased pressure on her heart. We sadly lost her at the scene."

Elena's lip quivers as she continuously shakes her head back and forth. "This can't be happening...this can't be happening…"

"I'm so sorry, dear," Dr. Laughlin consoles. "Alright, we're going to have to schedule a surgery to have your stomach wounds stitched up. How does your head feel?"

"Hurts…" Elena mutters quietly. "It just feels like a headache."

"Okay, I'm going to give you an acetaminophen, which is a pain reliever. It'll help with your headache," she assures Elena.

"I know," Elena mumbles, "I'm in medical school."

"Well, we'll get you all fixed up and back to school in no time."

"Thank you, Dr. Laughlin," Grayson tells her.

"Please, call me Jo. I'm going to go look at your x-rays, Elena, and I'll be right back." Jo exits the room and then a bunch of other people file in.

"Oh my god, Elena! Are you okay? Wait, of course you're not okay! I'm stupid, forget that I asked that," Caroline rambles as she approaches Elena.

"We came with your parents and Jeremy as soon as we heard about the accident," Stefan admits, looking a little teary-eyed.

"The police said that there was one fatality in the crash," Bonnie sniffs, "We were all so worried."

Elena stiffly nods and offers a small smile. "Thank you all for coming. Shouldn't you guys in college though?"

"You're more important," Matt tells her with a chuckle. "We all want you to feel better."

"Heh, that's reassuring, knowing you don't wish death upon me," Elena teases. She looks over and sees Jeremy staring emptily over at her. "Jer…? You okay?"

"My sister was just in a car accident. Of course I'm not okay," Jeremy sighs sadly. "I didn't know what to do or think. Hell, I didn't even know if you were going to make it. They said you kept slipping in and out of consciousness, but that none of your injuries were fatal."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure I'll be scarred for life. Literally and possible figuratively, 'cause of the PTSD. But I can make it through this, Jer, with everyone's help…"

"Alright, people, excuse me...doctor coming through," Jo sings lightheartedly. "Okay, if Miranda and Grayson could come over here please? I'd like you to see Elena's x-rays."

When they make their way over, Jo points to Elena's humerus. "If you can see Elena's humerus right there, there's a midshaft fracture. That won't require surgery, only a coaptation splint, followed by a brace." She points to the tibia. "Your tibia has a slight fracture as well, which can fixed with a cast and brace. And lastly, it looks like your ankle is sprained, but we can just put an elastic bandage on it and you'll be as good as new before you know it."

"Oh...alright. I'm surprised that's all, considering the car was flipped on its top completely," Elena muses.

"Well, you're a very lucky lady, Elena. And for your mild case of PTSD, I recommend visiting a psychiatrist, just to be safe."

"Yup," Elena replies, popping the p. She notices someone else enter the room and grins. "Hey, Liam."

"Elena, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. I know you and Megan were on your way over…"

"It's not your fault," Elena rolls her eyes. "I can only blame cars for the accident. Oh, Jo, did you hear what happened to the officer that rammed us?"

"They got away with minor injuries. Speaking of, did you want to talk about if you wanted to bring him to court?" Jo questions gently.

Elena shakes her head. "That should really be up to Megan's parents. They're the ones who lost their daughter. And I'm pretty sure I'm still under my parents' health insurance...right?"

Both Miranda and Grayson nod.

"Yeah, I am. So I guess you could let the officer know," Elena smiles grimly. Jo nods and hurries out of the room. "Everyone here remembers Liam, right?" Elena looks around the hospital room at everyone.

Caroline inches forward and sizes Liam up, slightly more relaxed when she steps back. "Oh, yeah, I remember you. I just have to ask, what are you to Elena?"

Elena's eyes widen, "Caroline, what're you doing?"

Caroline just holds up a hand and looks Liam dead in the eyes. "What are your intentions with Elena, mister?"

"Umm, I mean, we're friends," Liam stammers.

"Just friends?"

"Uh, best friends?"

"Best friends? Nah, she has too many of those already. You're not her boyfriend, are you?" Caroline presses, narrowing her eyes at him. Elena mentally facepalms as Liam turns into a flustered idiot.

"N-no. We've known each other through college and became friends, but that's all."

"Alright, Care, that's enough. You're scaring the poor guy," Stefan coaxes Caroline. She nods and takes a step back into Stefan's arms.

"Sorry, just taking precautionary measures," she assures him with a cheery smile.

"Riiight," Liam suspiciously looks at her before shaking his head. "Did the hospital say when you're getting out of here, 'Lena?"

"Umm, no, but probably not for a while. I've gotta get surgery to get my wounds stitched closed," Elena answers with a shrug. She then turns to Stefan and raises an eyebrow. "So, Stef, tell me. Did you, you know, pop it yet?"

"Erm, 'Lena," Stefan nervously looks at Caroline before giving a slight shake of his head. Elena sighs and nods.

"Right, okay. Is it going to happen soon at least?"

"Maybe when you're feeling better. Wouldn't want you to miss any big planning due to your injuries."

Caroline looks from Stefan to Elena and back to Stefan. "Pop what? What planning? What're you guys talking about? Do you have a disgusting back pimple or something that you need to get checked out at the doctors, Stefan?"

Stefan's face turns red and he glances at Elena who gives a subtle nod. "Mhm," Stefan mutters quietly.

"Aw, Stefan, no need to be embarrassed. We've been dating for five years, I can deal with you having some nasty bacne," Caroline smiles.

Everyone in the room snickers at how flushed Stefan's face looks. He mouths 'this is your fault' to Elena who responds with a wink.

Jo re-enters once more and looks at Elena. "Okay, I think that we should clear the room so that Elena can get some rest. You all can come back tomorrow, though she'll be undergoing surgery for her stomach." Everyone nods and begins exiting the room, bidding their farewells and best wishes towards Elena. She plops her head back on the pillow and closes her eyes.