She's so excited, this is going to be the best day. She's wearing the brand new dress that her mama had made specially for her. It's a pink cotton blend scoop neck style with lace and pretty flowers. To wear with it, she also has brand new white patent leather shoes and frilly white socks. Her mama does her hair, shaping her long strands into ringlets with the curling iron. When she has them just the way she wants them, she takes Elena's hand and leads her into the kitchen where she pulls a flower out of the refrigerator. It's a pretty red rose with a ribbon and the number 7 in gold foil on it...

Elena can't sit still, she keeps looking out the window for the first cars to arrive. There are many people coming including her best friend Mary, the Mikaelson family, Rebekah, her school buddy, Kol, Jeremy's friends Elijah and Niklaus, they might bring her some really wonderful things.

There's a big cake in the refrigerator, it's two big layers with pink icing, flowers and butterflies along with a 'Happy 7th Birthday Elena' on the top. Mama let her take a peak, she brushed her finger ever so slightly along the edge to get a taste of the yummy frosting. She just hopes her mama won't see it.

"Elena...!" She hears daddy's voice calling her. She quickly flushes the toilet, lowers the lid and then crawls up on it to look outside the window. She's been hiding in the bathroom because her belly feels funny. When she sees him looking around, she jumps down, washes her hands and runs outside to join - her - party.

After lunch and a piece of cake that was just as delicious as it looked, they play games. Everyone is being so nice to her, even her brother gave her a smile before he let her win the round of croquet. She's so happy, she almost feels like she grew a few inches today.

Boys will be boys and soon they disappear somewhere on the Gilbert's expansive property. Although a little disgruntled, Elena takes Mary and Bekah into the house to play with her Barbie dolls. She got a great big house, a new doll and lots of clothes for it.

Every now and then, Elena stands to look out through her window. Bekah joins her just in time to see the boys run back into sight. Tired of her dolls, the girls go back outside to play hide and seek. It's always exciting to play with the boys but they don't like to, they think they're too big to play a child's game. Elijah doesn't play at all, instead he keeps an eye on his brothers, Jeremy and a few others from his perch on the low wall surrounding the garden.

"Lets go to find the boys, we'll make them play hide and seek with us," Bekah's always been the most brave and outgoing among the three of them, maybe that's because she has so many brothers. Elena has a brother too but he's grumpy most of the time and she doesn't dare order him around. Truthfully, she tries to stay out of his way so he won't get angry with her.

"I would like to, but..." Elena's unsure how it'd go.

"No 'buts'! It's your birthday today! They will have to play with you... Elijah?" she screams. "Can we play too?"

Elijah turns around and nods. "I think so, they're like little boys today anyway."

Elena finally nods, the desire to play with the boys is stronger than the respect she usually adheres to when she's with Jer. The game gets underway and soon all the kids are running and hiding together. It's Jeremy's turn to look and he smirks at her as they prepare to start. "Hide well little sister. The birthday girl shouldn't be the first one to be found."

Elena feels the rush as he challenges her with his words and grinning face. She runs to the most distant part of the huge garden but suddenly she feels her feet slip on the wet rocks and she can't stop her fall anymore. Her hands try to grab on something, anything but it's just air in her reach and then her body's met with a cold smelly surface.

It's a shock to her system when she breaks through and is immediately submerged in dark, cold water.

-It's the pond- she realizes but it doesn't make sense to her as she never comes close, her mommy and daddy warned her repeatedly to stay away, it wasn't safe. She knows she should try to get above the surface but her legs and arms are caught by slimy tentacles of some water creatures, they're dragging her down, heavy on her limbs. She can't move, she has no will, she even forgot to close her eyes and watches how Jeremy, her brother comes close to the edge and looks down at her.

-Jeremy-... She tries to scream but water fills her mouth, forcing itself into her lungs.

He stands there. Watching her. Doing nothing.

He still is as she slowly loses consciousness.

Elena didn't sleep well last night. It was late when she got home, she came alone, having driven herself to work. She took a nice hot bubble bath adding some lavender scented Epsom salts to help her relax. Still it took her several hours before she drifted off to sleep, although it was to be expected after her yesterday's nap. But today is a new day and she's going to make the most of it.

First thing being...

She picks up her cell phone and dials the hotel.

"Grand Sierra Resort, this is Margie speaking, how can I help you?"

"Good Morning, Margie, can you please ring Miss Pierce, she's in room 27?"

"Of course, please hold on while I connect you."

That was one of the reasons, the main one really for her lack of sleep. Her imagination had been running wild and it's not like she could call him. That notion was simply not an option but she couldn't help but worry anyway. Is he home from the hospital yet? Did something go wrong? No matter how hard she tried to sleep, her mind just wouldn't turn itself off. She takes the time to make herself a cup of coffee, contemplating whether or not to call Giuseppe. He's a decent man but after a little back and forth with herself, she decides to call Katherine instead. She's certain that Damon's dad would pick up on her mood right away. However asking Katherine about his health would sound natural, at least, she hopes it will.

"Hello?" Katherine voice comes through the device.

"Katherine," Elena sighs in relief. As if her voice itself could assure her of Damon's safety.

"Elena," the other woman sounds pleased to hear from her, Elena can tell. "How are you doing? I hope everything's alright?"

"I am. But I heard about your brother... Is he...?" Elena throat tightens and she can't finish the question. Imagining that maybe someone she knows would...

"You did? It's awful what happened to him but yes, I think he's going to be alright. Damon's father called and told me what happened. Damon collided with a bus..."

"I know...," Elena can feel the dread herself. "Elijah told me," she adds quickly as she can sense Katherine's surprise.

"Ah, of course he would. But, Elena, it happened after he left my hotel... I could have lost him without ever getting the chance to really know him."

"You didn't," Elena interrupts her train of thought. "You said he's going to be alright?"

"Yes, they released him yesterday afternoon. He's supposed to rest and take it easy but Giuseppe said he can't see him lazing about at home when he has an important case to close."

"Giuseppe said closing are you sure?" Elena's breath hitches.

"Yes, he said something like that. It's... ah sorry, it's your brother's case."

"How do you...?"ยจ

"Elena, it's pretty clear there's something going on between the two of you. From what Elijah said, he's on your heels because of a cold murder case, your brother's."

"Yeah I know. But you're wrong, there's nothing going on between us. He made it pretty clear and ... he doesn't even trust me. And I don't trust him." Elena's amazed that she's telling Katherine all of this, somethings that she couldn't even admit to herself.

Katherine's silent for a minute, she really shouldn't get into this. "You really believe that... but you still cared enough to see if he's alright."

"Of course I care! It might have been my fault!"

"What...?"

"Never mind," Elena quickly sobers up realizing she's said too much already. "Listen, Katherine, I've got to go. Keep in touch?"

"Wait! Do you want to come with me? I mean maybe I'll go to see him?"

"Definitely not. I'm glad he isn't dead but... there's no doubt in my mind that he'll still be the same cocky bastard that I've always known him to be... Thanks for the offer but no thank you. Have a good day."

Elena tosses the phone away as if it bit her. She should have left it well enough alone. The sooner she stops asking for trouble, the better her mental state will be. And so will the club.

However, despite her best efforts, she's unable to block him out completely... What would it be like to have him on her side?

She can hear voices. Or is it a call from beyond the grave? Jeremy once told her about it, the world where we go when we die. It was quite scary, she had nightmares for days and doesn't want to think about it but right now, it's the only thing on her mind. Is that where she's going? A wave yanks her body aside and she sinks deeper even as she continues to claw for the surface. She can't open her eyes but she does feel a hand grab onto her arm and pull her up. Maybe Jeremy decided to come for her after all?

It's too late. She can feel she's slipping away as darkness closes in...

"Better?" Enzo looks up from behind his monitor and Elena smiles. He knows her too well and although she'll say she's fine, he knows better.

Their exchange doesn't escape Bonnie, she will never understand what hold Elena has over not just Enzo but all of them.

"I'll be in my office, you know who can and who cannot get through," Elena adds, nods to both of them and disappears inside.

"What was that?" Bonnie asks curiously.

"What was what?" Enzo's already staring at the monitor again.

Bonnie rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean. What happened last night that you're asking if she's better?"

"C'mon, Bon, you know..., stress, the cops. She needed a distraction so we cleaned up."

"Cleaned up? You mean she kept you here till the middle of the night? When she tells you to dive into the Hoover Dam, are you going to do that too?"

Enzo gives her a searching look. "Bonnie, you weren't there... what does it matter to you anyway?"

"Because I care about you, I'm concerned about all of his," she blurts out, sweeping her arm across the room. "She's not...," she stops herself when she sees the look on his face and starts again. "It's not... normal to have all these men around, fawning over her, watching her every move, jumping to obey her every order. Don't you see, Enzo, she's using you? And I'm not even sure what else she's capable of. I don't understand this...strange relationship you all have with her."

"I thought you were one of us too?" he slowly tears his eyes from her and focuses on the screen again. "It's complicated," he murmurs more to himself than Bonnie. "We've all been together for a long time now, long before you entered the picture."

"Of course," Bonnie can't help the sarcastic tone.

Rather than say anymore, Enzo keeps typing.

She feels the weight of someone's hand on hers. She tries to turn her palm up to latch onto the much larger one but all she manages is a tiny twitch. However, it still has an incredible effect...

"Elena!" It's her dad's voice. "Can you hear me, sweetheart, are you awake?" She opens her eyes just a crack and quickly snaps them shut again. Too bright.

"Ddaad?" she tries but she doesn't recognize the sound of her own voice. Her throat is burning but it doesn't matter because her daddy's so happy to hear it just like that.

"Elena! You're okay, honey... You're going to be just fine." Her mom sits next to her, she can feel the dip in the mattress. Before she's cognizant of anything else, she's hiding in her warm embrace. Miranda holds her very carefully so she won't crush her.

In the next hour she's examined by different doctors. They ask her many questions about what she remembers. She notices a few concerned glances between her parents and remembers running along the pond when she knew she wasn't supposed to. Are they angry with her?

"I'm sorry mommy, I wasn't careful..." she tries and is caught off guard when her mommy breaks down in tears.

"It's alright sweetie, everything's going to be alright."

It's all she gets on the first day.

She's allowed to come home on the next, it's strange that her body doesn't want to. She feels weak and tired and her legs refuse to move on their own. Daddy carries her to their car and mom sits in the back with her. Elena watches the passing landscape on the way. Every once in a while her dad gives her a look through the rear view mirror and her mom's hand doesn't stop stroking her arm.

When they arrive, Elena's heart skips a beat and for the first time, she smiles happily, it's like she never left her party. Was it really only yesterday? All of her friends are here greeting her enthusiastically. The Mikaelsons. She can see uncle Mikael smiles at her encouragingly. Aunt Esther too. Mary and Rebekah are jumping excitedly, Elena wastes no time in crawling over her mommy's lap to get to them.

"Are you alright?"

Elijah. He was the one carrying her after someone else pulled her out of the water. For some reason he looks ashamed. Why would that be?

She nods and a new emotion spreads through her tiny body. Gratitude.

Kol's dark mop of hair forces itself to the front, almost covering his eyes but she can see that he's looking at her. She knows he's glad to see that she's okay too. Nik looks somewhat lost, greeting her with a wave of his hand. Jeremy's pal, Enzo. Was he there yesterday? His ear to ear smile is infectious, although she has no idea why they're all smiling. And then she looks at the house watching as her brother steps outside.

Jeremy.

Her head spins and her knees become weak. Her heart starts pounding in her ears and she can't think of anything but his fixed stare. It lasts a few minutes or maybe it's mere seconds until she feels someone behind her supporting her elbow and she realizes it's Kai, who's not only their distant cousin, he's also one of Jeremy's friends?

She glances at him and realizes his silent presence makes her feel safe. She's not sure why she wouldn't be safe but the feeling's still there. He's glaring at Jeremy when he offers her a greeting. "Good to see you, Elena."

Immediately her mind transports her back to yesterday.

"Elena, wake up!"

She unconsciously touches her arm where Kai's fingers left black and blue marks when he pulled her out of the water.

She remembers how it took her more than a day to make sense of all the flashbacks and confusing feelings she was having and why all Jeremy's friends suddenly became hers. She remembers all too well why she stopped looking at Jeremy as her brother and never sought out his presence again. She'll never forget how her parents made sure she was never left alone with him again. Jeremy grew more and more reclusive and agitated, he hardly ever talked to her after that.

And then... she grew up.

Her parents' burden's become hers. Her friends and protectors have become her family. And Jeremy... It became her job to protect them.

A knock on the office door interrupts her train of thought. "Yeah?"

Enzo peeks inside with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry El, our favorite detectives are here, they insist on seeing you."

Elena turns her chair to face the door and takes a deep breath. "Show them in, thank you Enzo."

It's shocking to see his beaten face and stiff movements. He should be at home in bed and not stumbling around here.

"Miss Gilbert...," Detective Saltzman starts, but Elena refuses to allow him to set the pace.

"Detectives," she eyes Damon, "You're right on time... I bet you came to hear my confession."

Whatever it takes to protect her family...

Now you know why Jeremy and Elena didn't like each very much...

Huge thanks to all of you. You're all the best. We're so grateful for each and everyone of you.

Thank you Eva. Love you dearly.

Chapter title: 'All That I Bleed' by Savatage.

Many dear friends have DE stories in progress: They're all very talented writers. Florencia7 has posted many brilliant DE stories. Justinia Korax: The Things She Felt When He Was Gone' is outstanding.

Salvatoreboys4ever: Sandy Toes, Sunkissed Nose is an adorable peek into the post finale human lives of Damon and Elena. Mariah April May has returned. She has The Devil's Obsession, Marry Me Instead and her new one: Forget Me Not.

TheLittle MissVixen has Just Another Girl and What Might Have Been. I have been reading Sam's stories since I first found this website.

VitsAsh: Stumbling Upon. Starlight So: All Through the Night and Northern Star. Amazing Aisha: For Richer or Poor and Changing Fate. HisDelusionalLover has The Noble Path. Eos Blaze 0402 posted a couple of very bewitching DE one shots. Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea and Unsullied.

Linax24 is new her first story is: Home Is Where You Are. Another new writer is holdondelena: She has All These Years.

"The Night All Angels Cry" was updated yesterday. We have plans for a Halloween O/S to work on as soon as we finish WTTJ. We're almost there. We have our Christmas story chosen. And many other story ideas, some requested. It just takes time when we're an ocean and a huge time zone apart.

After this insanely long a/n. Have a safe and wonderful day and weekend. Thank you all, you're the best. Until next time...