A/N The Vampire Diaries Settings and Characters all belong to LJ Smith and the CW. Any original characters and this story are copyright © 2011-2018 to Hopelessromanticgurl, all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.


That next morning Elena woke up and rolled over in bed to snuggle Stefan but the spot was empty. She sat up and noticed a small note.

Went for a quick hunt.

Hopefully, I'm back before you wake up.

Just in case I'm not Alaric is back.

Klaus let him go, so Alaric is safe again.

He is here spending time with Jenna.

Lexi is still here to keep an eye on you.

I love you.

~Stefan.

Elena sighed but nodded. "You're late." she mumbled.

"Actually I believe I'm right on time." a voice said.

She jumped and noticed Damon. "What do you want Damon? I'm not in the mood."

"I just want to talk," he said. He slowly walked toward her.

"About what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Damon said sarcastically. "The weather, the sports game last night, or maybe the fact that you're gong to die just so a freak can become a hybrid."

Elena sighed. "I need you to understand why I'm doing this."

"Why? It clearly doesn't matter what I think." Damon growled.

"I'll be fine, Damon. I'll drink the elixir, Bonnie and Lexi will kill Klaus and then all of this will finally be over."

"If it works…"

"It will work."

"You think it will work. You want it to work. Why am I the only one who's convinced it won't? There has to be another way."

"There isn't," Elena said.

"And you're going to die, Elena!" Damon cried out.

"And then I'll come back to life," Elena said.

"That is not a risk I'm willing to take." Damon glared as he reached her.

"But I am," Elena said softly. "It's my life, Damon. My choice."

"I can't lose you." He whispered so softly Elena almost didn't hear.

"You won't." Elena said. "Now if you'll please excuse me I'd like to take a shower and check on Jenna."

She headed to the door but jumped when Damon beat her there blocking her way.

"There is another way," Damon said suddenly.

"What are you..." she didn't get to finish because he let his eyes grow red and his fangs show then bit into his own wrist.

"Damon no!" Elena cried quickly knowing what he was about to do.

He didn't listen and shoved his wrist into her mouth, holding her head preventing her from pulling away.

She tried to cry out; she tried to scream but it was muffled. She could feel his blood dripping down her throat. Tears filled her eyes as she struggled to get away.

Suddenly a flash was seen, and Damon was thrown to the floor.

"What did you do!" a voice cried out.

Elena fell to the floor coughing and gaging, panting hard. It took her a second to realize it was Lexi who had saved her.

"I saved her life." Damon said. "You're so bent on dying, at least this way I know you'll come back."

"As a vampire! She'll come back a vampire!" Lexi cried.

"It's better than nothing else!" Damon argued.

"How could you, of all people, take that choice away from her?" Lexi asked. "You know what that is like!"

They heard a deep groan and slight whimper and they turned to look at Elena who had some extra blood dripping down her mouth.

"Go ahead; wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it." Damon said.

Lexi growled. "Get out of here before I physically make you."

Suddenly Rose, Jenna, and Alaric came running inside. "What's going on?"

"Damon just forced Elena to drink his blood," Lexi said as she knelt down by Elena to comfort her.

"Oh no, Damon why?" Rose sighed.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Jenna asked.

"When you die with vampire blood in your system you come back to life as a vampire." Alaric explained with a sigh. "Damon just made sure Elena would come back to life after dying, but now she'll be a vampire."

"Rose, can you take Damon and everyone else out of here please," Lexi said.

Rose nodded and did as she asked. Damon growled but left the room.

"It's ok, you're safe now." Lexi said. "I'm sorry, Elena. I'm so sorry! I thought you were sleeping so I took a quick shower. When I got out I heard your muffling screams so I came as soon as I could."

It was then Elena noticed she was in nothing but a towel. Elena blushed softly. "Thanks." She said. "You can go get dressed. I'm fine."

"Elena…"

"I'm fine, Lexi. Get dressed. I'm going to be a vampire now. There is nothing anyone can say or do to fix it so…just go."

Lexi sighed. She would never open up to her. She knew that. Stefan was the only one able to get her to open up. So she nodded and left the room. Once she was alone Elena curled up on her bed and cried.


Stefan arrived home a few minutes later. Before he could go to his room Lexi stopped him. "We need to talk."

"That's never a good way to start a conversation. What's going on?" Stefan asked.

"Please don't hate me, Stefan. I am so sorry. It's all my fault." Lexi sighed.

"Whoa, slow down, what?"

Lexi sighed. "I was taking a shower. When I went in Elena was still sleeping. When I came out…when I came out, Damon was forcing Elena to drink his blood."

"What? But why would he…" Stefan stopped when it hit him. "She'll come back to life as a vampire."

Lexi nodded. "You and I both know she never wanted this, Stefan. It's why she never spoke about it, or brought it up, or even asked about it."

"Damon knew that too. Why would he, of all people, take that choice away from her? After what I did to him forcing him to change?"

"I don't know."

"He's dead. I'm done with him tormenting Elena." Stefan went to walk away, but Lexi grabbed his arm. "Stop."

"Lexi, let me go."

"Before you go beat your brother to a pulp, just stop and listen."

Stefan sighed and listened for something, and that's when he heard it. Elena's harsh cries were coming from upstairs.

"I found out Alaric had told Damon the sacrifice was happening tonight. Damon must have panicked. You were out, I was in the shower so I wouldn't hear her wake up or them talking. Alaric and Jenna were human and wouldn't hear it unless Elena were to scream. He waited for just the right time and made his move."

Stefan sighed. "What am I going to do, Lexi?"

"She needs to say it, Stefan. She needs to admit it to herself and to you that she never wanted this life. She never wanted to be a vampire. Take her out for the day. Do what you can to try and get her to talk about it. Don't push though. If you push too much she'll shut down for good. At the same time teach her about what she's going to expect, let her know what's going to happen. Try and prepare her the best you can. That's all we can do."

"OK, and Lexi…it's not your fault. I could never hate you."

Lexi smiled softly.

Stefan was gone in a flash.


He went into his bedroom and was surprised by the door being locked. He knocked. His heart broke when he heard her heart race and her breathing pick up. Did she think he was Damon? He knocked once more. "Elena, Baby, it's me. It's Stefan."

"Did Lexi tell you?" she asked softly.

Stefan knew had he been human he would never have heard her. "Yes, Baby, Lexi told me everything. Please let me in."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes. I think Damon left the house. Jenna went home with Alaric for a few hours."

It was quiet for a second until Stefan heard movement and the sound of a door unlocking. The door opened and Stefan went inside. He closed and locked the door behind him. He knew it was really useless to do so, Damon was strong enough to break it down and hear everything she said despite of the door being locked and closed. But he didn't tell Elena. If she felt safer with the door locked and closed then he'd keep it that way.

He went over to the bed and sat down in front of her. She refused to make eye contact wth him.

"Hey," he said softly. "Elena."

"How could he do that to me? Why?" her eyes were filled with tears just waiting to fall. She still refused to look at him.

"Hey." He said gently. When she finally looked at him, he continued. "We've never talked about this. What this all means."

"It doesn't matter." She said looking away again.

"Of course it matters. Hey…." He waited for her to look at him once more and then he continued. "It matters." She didn't respond and he knew if she was ever going to open up they had to get out of the house. "I want you to go somewhere with me."

"Stefan, I can't." she said.

"No, no, it's not far, ok? It's just for the day. I promise."

Elena sighed softly but nodded. Together they left the house.


"Where are we?" Elena asked.

They had been walking for a while now. Elena's legs were starting to burn.

"It's a surprise. Just a little bit longer." Stefan said.

"I'm not a vampire yet, you know. My legs still get tired."

"Ready to talk about how you're feeling about all this?" he asked. He knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but it was worth a try."

"So that's your plan?" She said in a teasing voice. "Torture my legs until I spill."

Stefan laughed and turned to look at her. "If I was going to torture your legs we would have stayed home. I would have pinned you down and tickled your legs until you spoke. But no, that's not my plan. Now why don't you answer my first question instead of changing the subject."

Elena blushed, then sighed. "Uh... this morning I was wondering if I would live or die, and now... I'm going to be a vampire. I... I don't really know how I'm feeling." It was a big fat lie and they both knew it.

Suddenly Stefan stopped. Elena looked where he was looking. She gasped at the sight of a beautiful waterfall.

"This is beautiful." She gasped.

Stefan looked to her with a sigh. "I think you do know how you feel. I just want you to know that it's ok to tell me." He was trying to hint that he already knew the truth and it wouldn't hurt his feelings if she told him but she didn't take it. If anything she shut down more.

"I can't. Stefan, I just... I can't talk about it."

"Well, if you don't want to, that's your choice. Today's about you. But... It's a long way to the top. You never know what might come up. Let's go." He said and started to walk again

"We're climbing all the way up to the top?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Stefan smiled.

"Well, can't you do one of your super power vampire jumpy things?"

He chuckled at the name for his vampire powered jump. "No, it's your last day as a human. Why cheat now?" He put his hand out for her to take.

She smiled softly and took his head. Then she spoke. "I knew it, you are trying to torture my legs until I spill."

He laughed. He couldn't help but reach down and squeeze her knee.

She squealed and pulled her leg away. "Don't!"

He just laughed and took her hand as they made their way up the waterfall.


After walking a few more miles, Stefan was surprised, yet proud when Elena started to speak about it.

"I guess Bonnie will have to make me a daylight ring."

"Yeah, piece of cake." He said.

"And I'll never be able to watch "Bambi" again." She said softly.

"I definitely wouldn't recommend that." He chuckled softly making her smile.

"What's the best part about being a vampire?"

"Ahh. You feel like you could do anything. Be anyone. Beautiful things are more beautiful. Everything's heightened, you know, just a little bit more intensely, love more powerfully."

"And the worst?" she asked nervously.

"You know the worst." He told her. He didn't want to talk about the worst parts. She was scared enough and knowing this would only add to it.

"Aside from the blood." She said.

He stopped and turned to look at her. If she really wanted to know he owed it her to be honest. "Anger becomes rage. When you're sad, you're in despair. Grief. Loss. It can cripple you. That's why so many of us turn our emotions off. It just becomes... Too overwhelming. You know, for a while, for me, the good just wasn't worth the bad

"How long before you learned to handle both?"

"Well, I'm still trying. Every day." She didn't respond or show any signs she had even heard him. He could almost see her walls going back up. "What else?" he asked trying to keep her from shutting down again.

"Let's just keep going. We're not even halfway to the top." She started to walk away.

Stefan sighed but started walking with her. 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.


"We made it!" Elena cheered as Stefan helped to pull her to the top of the waterfall.

"That's nothing, I've climbed Mt. Everest." He teased.

"Nobody likes a bragger, Stefan." She giggled softly. She looked out and noticed the sun set. "Oh, wow."

"Yeah." The sun was setting and it was almost time for them to get home. Elena had yet to open up to him. He had to try to get her open up again. "Hey, you can say it." He told her.

"Say what?" she asked not looking at him.

"The thing you've been wanting to say, but... Been afraid of how it'll make me feel."

"There's nothing I can say, Stefan. It's not going to change anything." She said.

"Might make you feel better." But she still wasn't talking so he continued. "Look, I know this isn't the first time you've thought about it. Drinking vampire blood to survive. I mean, I know I've thought about it a hundred times."

"Before all this with Klaus, did you think about it then?" she asked.

"Of course I did." He took her hands in his and looked her in the eyes. "Elena... If it were my choice, I'd want to be with you forever."

"Why have you never brought it up?" she asked her voice cracking. He knew he was close to breaking down her walls.

"I knew if it was an option, you would have. It would be selfish for me to ask you."

"Didn't stop Damon." She said.

"He shouldn't have done what he did." Again Elena didn't speak so he did. "He did it because he loves you."

Elena actually looked shocked. "But he did this to me, Stefan, which means he doesn't really know what love is. And to be honest, I don't know if I do. I'm 17 years old. How am I supposed to know any of this yet? I know that I love you, Stefan. I know that. But my future? Our lives together? Those were things I was supposed to deal with as they came along. I was supposed to grow up…."

She started to cry softly and Stefan knew her wall was down and this was the moment of truth. She was finally going to say it.

"…Decide if I want to have kids and start a family. Grow old. I was supposed to have a lifetime of those choices, and... now? That's all gone!"

Even then she refused to say the words. She refused to tell him the truth.

"Elena, say it, please." He said.

Her final wall broke. She cried. "I don't want to be a vampire, Stefan. I never wanted to be one."

"I know." Stefan nodded."It's ok."

He pulled her into his arms and held her close as she cried. Her body trembled as she cried hard. He just held her and did what he could to soothe her. There was nothing he could say to stop her from becoming a vampire. But he knew without a doubt he and Lexi would be right by her side helping her every step of the way.


They arrived home just in time for Elena to leave with Klaus. Stefan wanted to cling to her for dear life but Elena said he loved her one last time and kissed him one last time and then she was gone.

Stefan knew no matter what happen by the time he saw her again in the morning she wasn't going to be the same girl she was.

Lexi came outside a few minutes later. "Hey, you ok?" she asked.

He just shook his head. "Elena Gilbert is dying tonight even if Damon doesn't want to admit it. She'll never be the same after this."

Lexi sighed. "We will help her get through this, Stefan. I promise. Hey, if I helped you when you were at your lowest I can help Elena. Plus with you by her side she can get through anything."

"Yeah, but her emotions could destroy her, the memories of what's going to happen tonight."

"We will help her, Stefan. I promise. I promised I could help you and I did. So please trust me when I say I can help her."

Stefan sighed but nodded.

Suddenly Lexi's call rang. "It's Alaric. He's out with Damon getting ready for our part in tonight." She answered it. "Hello…whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, what?" Lexi's eyes went wide. She looked to Stefan. "Are you sure? … Ok, yeah we're on our way." She hung up.

"We were wrong Katherine isn't the vampire Klaus wants to use. He had grabbed Caroline and Tyler's mom was hurt so he came to see her at the hospital. She had them both ready but Damon saved them so now Klaus got his revenge. He went after Jenna. I don't know all the details but she is now a vampire. "

Stefan gasped. "We have to get over there."

"Let's go."

Lexi's phone ran once more. She sighed and answered it. "Bonnie what's going on? This is not a good time….what? Are you sure? … Ok, great, yeah, tell him to do it as soon as possible. Jenna was caught and turned. She's the vampire Klaus is planning to kill."

Lexi hung up and took off running. Stefan was right behind her. "What did Bonnie say?" he asked.

"Jones and Luca are back. They changed their minds and want to help us. So they along with Bonnie will be able to kill him."

"Can we trust them? They betrayed us once." Stefan asked.

"Right now, we don't have much of a choice. They will get there before we can."

With that Lexi took off running even faster. Stefan was right behind her.


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