Tyler, Caroline, Stefan, Matt, Bonnie, Damon, and Jeremy all watched as Katherine's soul left Elena Gilbert's body. Damon couldn't help but feel somewhat stiff as he watched the light leave her eyes. Even though he knew that Katherine was finally going to be gone for good and Elena would come back, unharmed. Now he even knew that because Katherine, was the one who had broken up with him, he knew that Elena would still feel the love she felt before. This was of course would be when she wakes up, but then the truth would come out eventually about Damon's ripper rage, and how he killed her stupid, petty friend from college. Then, at that moment, Katherine slumped down and finally laid down to rest. 'Good riddance' thought Damon as he picked her up and carried her upstairs to his bedroom. No one said anything, but starred in opposite directions, and finally, they each left the room. Except for Matt, for he stayed by Nadia's gray, wrinkled, vampire corpse on the couch. Matt was more remorseful of the death of Nadia than anyone but maybe Katherine. He knew her in a way none of them did, they did have sex after all. She had used him, and played him and compelled him, but he was only a normal human with normal feelings towards a girl he had slept with and had something personally in common with. They both had shitty mothers. Soon, Jeremy came into the living room to tell Matt it was time for them to bury the body, but Matt insisted on doing it himself. He felt she deserved better despite her hereditary instinct to use people. *** Upstairs in Damon's bedroom, waited Stefan and his brother quietly waiting for Elena to waken, but Damon was getting jittery and impatient. 'It shouldn't take this long,' he thought. "Why is she not waking up?," Damon demanded. "Well, when Gregor left Matt's body, it took him a while to wake up too," Stefan said in his annoyingly patient way, "Which gives us a little time to talk about what the hell you did." "Relax," Damon winked, "Thanks to Tyler's friendly donation, I'll be fine for a couple of hours." Stefan shrugged. "A few hours huh? And then what? What's the plan?" "Tell her what I did. Let the chips crash and burn where the may." "Optimistic," Stefan nodded. "Yeah, well, I don't want to be another Katherine Pierce. Katherine spent her whole life running from her problems, only to die here… all alone." After that it was silent. Damon could even overhear Caroline, and Tyler discussing Katherine dying, her sleeping with the devil. Damon smirked. At least he wasn't the only one with relationship problems. Damon tried to not pay attention to other peoples' problems, but he couldn't help but find that both of them were being annoying. Suddenly the silence was interrupted as a moan came from the still body on the bed, in which Damon stood up to immediately, as did Stefan. Elena's eyes flitted open as she glanced around the room trying to figure out where she was. Then her eyes found Damon's and she locked her eyes onto his as he smiled his inviting smile. "Hi," she sighed. "Are you, you?," Damon asked suspiciously. "Yeah," she muttered. "Yeah, it's me, I- I'm here." Elena tried to get up off of the bed, but stopped when she felt something in the inside pocket of her black leather jacket. She reached inside, and pulled out an empty vaccine needle, one that they use when you are getting shots at the doctor's. Elena stares at the needle curiously and glances at Damon to see his expression. His smile immediately turned into a frown of curiosity, and Elena realized that whatever this is, it can't be good. *** It was late so Stefan and Damon insisted on her getting some rest, and that they would figure it all out in the morning. Damon stayed with Elena until she fell asleep, and watched as her chest rose up and down in a steady pace indicating her breaths. He had missed this, missed her. He thought he should've known something was different, when Katherine had been in Elena's body, she'd been acting… weird. He never would've thought Katherine was capable of being a passenger inside Elena's body, but Katherine was clever. Maybe more clever than he was, if in fact he didn't know it was Katherine the whole time. The things Elena/Katherine had said during the break up made no sense, but Damon accepted it because he knew that what she said was all true. He didn't deserve her. She probably won't even feel the same way about him when he tells her he killed Aaron and fled with Enzo. Oh, what a mess he had made over such a stupid breakup. It was even more ridiculous now that he knew it was Katherine who had done and said it all. Damon's thoughts were interrupted as a firm hand gripped his shoulder. Damon turned, and with no surprise saw Stefan glancing down at him. 'Ugh, what did he want now?' Stefan nudged his head towards the door, and reluctantly Damon rose from the red velvet armchair he was sitting in. And walked straight to the door in front of Stefan, completely ignoring him, if he wanted to discuss more of Elena then fine, but he wasn't going to give that easily. They walked into the living room and Damon collapsed on the couch with a tired sigh and closed his eyes,"If you want to talk more about Elena, I'm gonna need some booze." "I wanted to talk about the needle that Elena had," Stefan stated quickly as he pulled the same needle out of his pocket and held it up, "I think I know what it is." "Oh yeah? And what's that?" "Well obviously, it's there because of Katherine, and certainly, knowing her, it was put there on purpose. She's clever, as we both know, and it seems about right that it contained a serum meant to affect Elena." "Hm," Damon muttered. Then his eyes flicked open with sudden comprehension, and he sat up straight in the sofa his hands gripping the edge. "What, what is it?" "I think I know what that bitch did." Damon said, not explaining. "Well, please don't be afraid to elaborate." "Stefan it's so obvious. Who do we know Katherine hates and envies? Elena. She must've known she was going to die, and probably counted on it. What do we know of, that she could also know about, that would destroy her, or infect her?," Damon exclaimed hastily. Stefan tried to think, and then a look of understanding appeared on his face, "Katherine injected herself with the same serum, Dr. Whitmore injected you with." *** Within a few hours, Elena had had enough sleep, and was ready to see the person she truly loved again. She quickly got out of bed and took a shower in Damon's bathroom, which was quite clean for a guy's bathroom. She didn't even use soap, she just needed an excuse to think without interruptions. How long had she been a host to Katherine? Days? Weeks? Months? What had gone on during that time? She hadn't seen anyone else the night before, but Stefan and Damon. They had refused to give her answers until the morning, but now it was morning. With that thought she turned the knob to 'off', and wrung out her hair. She poked her head out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack, and wrapped it around herself. She looked inside her jacket pocket, which was on the tile floor and turned it on. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Why hadn't someone come to wake her up? Elena put on her clothes she wore to bed (which seemed to be the only clothes with her) at vampire speed and ran down the stairs to find Stefan, Bonnie, and Damon all sitting in the red living room, talking to each other. She cleared her voice, and they all glanced up at her and Damon stood up. "Elena." Oh she had forgotten how much she missed him, the black ruffled mat that was his hair, and the blue-grey tinted eyes. The sight of him made her forget everything else, and everyone else in the room. She walked toward him with a quick pace, and pressed her body against him as she kissed him passionately. He hesitated, then kissed her with the same force, and then he pulled back and smiled sadly, "Why don't you sit down?" Damon grasped her hand and pulled her towards the other couch where they sat side by side. His hand would've sent chills down her back if she hadn't felt the tension in the room, "What's going on?" "Elena," Stefan said solemnly, "Katherine did something before she died, something we should've expected from her." Elena was silent. "Look, Elena, we aren't going to sugar coat it," Damon said as Stefan glared at him, "Before her soul left your body, she injected you with an infection." When she still said nothing, Damon said, "The same thing injected me with." "What?" she exclaimed. Bonnie, who until this moment was silent said," The same thing Jesse was infected with." "Oh my god." Elena said with realization and she stood up, "You need to get away from me, all of you! I don't want to hurt you." Damon rose and spoke first, "Elena, it's okay we'll figure this out. For now, Stefan and Caroline have agreed to donate some of their blood." He pulled her waist closer to his and she could feel the warmth of his minty breath on her face. He tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. They stayed like this for a few moments but Damon unexpectedly pulled away. "There's more." Elena looked up at him with a pained expression. "We'll leave you two alone to talk, we are going to go to Matt's place because need to catch them up on what's happening" Bonnie said as Stefan followed her out the door. Damon still had his hands on her slim waist, but moved them to hold both of her fragile hands in his. Even though she was a vampire now, he was still gentle with her, well, when he was in control, at least. Damon glanced down shamefully for a long while until he looked up at her with uncertainty. "You kind of broke up with me." This was unexpected and Elena giggled, "What are you talking about?" "Well, really it was Katherine, but at the time we didn't know about what was happening. I won't go into detail, but it was pretty heartbreaking to be honest," he glanced back down at their entwined hands, "Anyway, I lost myself, and I went off with Enzo." "Really Damon? You should really keep better company." she said jokingly. But Damon didn't laugh, which made Elena uncertain. He hesitated and looked her in the eyes and muttered, "I killed people, Elena. I killed- Aaron Whitmore." Elena pulled away, stunned. "What?" Damon didn't apologize but stood there looking guilty at what he had done. Elena couldn't be mad at him, though. Aaron did help her in her capture by Dr. Whitmore. Sure, it was upsetting, but she just got back. She would not let this ruin everything, she would get over it soon, and she probably wouldn't remember it in a couple of decades. Besides, who was she, to forgive Stefan for his ripper past but not Damon? "I- I forgive you Damon." "Huh?" "I shouldn't blame you for what you did, for what Katherine made you do. She is an evil conniving bitch, and I am not going to let her actions, or yours ruin what we have." "You… forgive me?" "Yes, Damon. I forgive you." Damon crashed into her and fit his slim lips against hers and shocked, Elena quickly moved her hands to his hair. He lifted her up and she moved her legs to straddle him. Their mouths were urgent as if, this was the last time they would ever be able to hold each other again. He pushed her against the wooden walls and she giggled as she took a breath. He let her go as she literally ripped off his black shirt he was wearing and she caressed his muscular back, and started kissing his neck with feverish pecks. He and her slammed into another wall as he began lifting her shirt with one graceful move. Their bodies were like magnets, wherever one moved the other followed or synchronized. Somewhere between all the kissing they had made their way to the couch, and they had loosened their kissing into swift pecks. Elena pulled Damon on top of her and he grazed his lips against her bare collarbones when suddenly he stopped and glanced up at the ceiling. "Damnit," he breathed. "What's wrong?," Elena asked with intense curiosity. "Stefan and the witch are back." *** Upstairs in Damon's bedroom, waited Stefan and his brother quietly waiting for Elena to waken, but Damon was getting jittery and impatient. 'It shouldn't take this long,' he thought. "Why is she not waking up?," Damon demanded. "Well, when Gregor left Matt's body, it took him a while to wake up too," Stefan said in his annoyingly patient way, "Which gives us a little time to talk about what the hell you did." "Relax," Damon winked, "Thanks to Tyler's friendly donation, I'll be fine for a couple of hours." Stefan shrugged. "A few hours huh? And then what? What's the plan?" "Tell her what I did. Let the chips crash and burn where the may." "Optimistic," Stefan nodded. "Yeah, well, I don't want to be another Katherine Pierce. Katherine spent her whole life running from her problems, only to die here… all alone." After that it was silent. Damon could even overhear Caroline, and Tyler discussing Katherine dying, her sleeping with the devil. Damon smirked. At least he wasn't the only one with relationship problems. Damon tried to not pay attention to other peoples' problems, but he couldn't help but find that both of them were being annoying. Suddenly the silence was interrupted as a moan came from the still body on the bed, in which Damon stood up to immediately, as did Stefan. Elena's eyes flitted open as she glanced around the room trying to figure out where she was. Then her eyes found Damon's and she locked her eyes onto his as he smiled his inviting smile. "Hi," she sighed. "Are you, you?," Damon asked suspiciously. "Yeah," she muttered. "Yeah, it's me, I- I'm here." Elena tried to get up off of the bed, but stopped when she felt something in the inside pocket of her black leather jacket. She reached inside, and pulled out an empty vaccine needle, one that they use when you are getting shots at the doctor's. Elena stares at the needle curiously and glances at Damon to see his expression. His smile immediately turned into a frown of curiosity, and Elena realized that whatever this is, it can't be good. *** It was late so Stefan and Damon insisted on her getting some rest, and that they would figure it all out in the morning. Damon stayed with Elena until she fell asleep, and watched as her chest rose up and down in a steady pace indicating her breaths. He had missed this, missed her. He thought he should've known something was different, when Katherine had been in Elena's body, she'd been acting… weird. He never would've thought Katherine was capable of being a passenger inside Elena's body, but Katherine was clever. Maybe more clever than he was, if in fact he didn't know it was Katherine the whole time. The things Elena/Katherinhad said during the break up made no sense, but Damon accepted it because he knew that what she said was all true. He didn't deserve her. She probably won't even feel the same way about him when he tells her he killed Aaron and fled with Enzo. Oh, what a mess he had made over such a stupid breakup. It was even more ridiculous now that he knew it was Katherine who had done and said it all. Damon's thoughts were interrupted as a firm hand gripped his shoulder. Damon turned, and with no surprise saw Stefan glancing down at him. 'Ugh, what did he want now?' Stefan nudged his head toward's the door, and reluctantly Damon rose from the red velvet armchair he was sitting in. And walked straight to the door in front of Stefan, completely ignoring him, if he wanted to discuss more of Elena then fine, but he wasn't going to give that easily. They walked into the living room and Damon collapsed on the couch with a tired sigh and closed his eyes,"If you want to talk more about Elena, I'm gonna need some booze." "I wanted to talk about the needle that Elena had," Stefan stated quickly as he pulled the same needle out of his pocket and held it up, "I think I know what it is." "Oh yeah? And what's that?" "Well obviously, it's there because of Katherine, and certainly, knowing her, it was put there on purpose. She's clever, as we both know, and it seems about right that it contained a serum meant to affect Elena." "Hm," Damon muttered. Then his eyes flicked open with sudden comprehension, and he sat up straight in the sofa his hands gripping the edge. "What, what is it?" "I think I know what that bitch did." Damon said, not explaining. "Well, please don't be afraid to elaborate." "Stefan it's so obvious. Who do we know Katherine hates and envies? Elena. She must've known she was going to die, and probably counted on it. What do we know of, that she could also know about, that would destroy her, or infect her?," Damon exclaimed hastily. Stefan tried to think, and then a look of understanding appeared on his face, "Katherine injected herself with the same serum, Dr. Whitmore injected you with." *** Within a few hours, Elena had had enough sleep, and was ready to see the person she truly loved again. She quickly got out of bed and took a shower in Damon's bathroom, which was quite clean for a guy's bathroom. She didn't even use soap, she just needed an excuse to think without interruptions. How long had she been a host to Katherine? Days? Weeks? Months? What had gone on during that time? She hadn't seen anyone else the night before, but Stefan and Damon. They had refused to give her answers until the morning, but now it was morning. With that thought she turned the knob to 'off', and wrung out her hair. She poked her head out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack, and wrapped it around herself. She looked inside her jacket pocket, which was on the tile floor and turned it on. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Why hadn't someone come to wake her up? Elena put on her clothes she wore to bed (which seemed to be the only clothes with her) at vampire speed and ran down the stairs to find Stefan, Bonnie, and Damon all sitting in the red living room, talking to each other. She cleared her voice, and they all glanced up at her and Damon stood up. "Elena." Oh she had forgotten how much she missed him, the black ruffled mat that was his hair, and the blue-grey tinted eyes. The sight of him made her forget everything else, and everyone else in the room. She walked toward him with a quick pace, and pressed her body against him as she kissed him passionately. He hesitated, then kissed her with the same force, and then he pulled back and smiled sadly, "Why don't you sit down?" Damon grasped her hand and pulled her towards the other couch where they sat side by side. His hand would've sent chills down her back if she hadn't felt the tension in the room, "What's going on?" "Elena," Stefan said solemnly, "Katherine did something before she died, something we should've expected from her." Elena was silent. "Look, Elena, we aren't going to sugar coat it," Damon said as Stefan glared at him, "Before her soul left your body, she injected you with an infection." When she still said nothing, Damon said, "The same thing injected me with." "What?" she exclaimed. Bonnie, who until this moment was silent said," The same thing Jesse was infected with." "Oh my god." Elena said with realization and she stood up, "You need to get away from me, all of you! I don't want to hurt you." Damon rose and spoke first, "Elena, it's okay we'll figure this out. For now, Stefan and Caroline have agreed to donate some of their blood." He pulled her waist closer to his and she could feel the warmth of his minty breath on her face. He tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. They stayed like this for a few moments but Damon unexpectedly pulled away. "There's more." Elena looked up at him with a pained expression. "We'll leave you two alone to talk, we are going to go to Matt's place because need to catch them up on what's happening" Bonnie said as Stefan followed her out the door. Damon still had his hands on her slim waist, but moved them to hold both of her fragile hands in his. Even though she was a vampire now, he was still gentle with her, well, when he was in control, at least. Damon glanced down shamefully for a long while until he looked up at her with uncertainty. "You kind of broke up with me." This was unexpected and Elena giggled, "What are you talking about?" "Well, really it was Katherine, but at the time we didn't know about what was happening. I won't go into detail, but it was pretty heartbreaking to be honest," he glanced back down at their entwined hands, "Anyway, I lost myself, and I went off with Enzo." "Really Damon? You should really keep better company." she said jokingly. But Damon didn't laugh, which made Elena uncertain. He hestitaed and looked her in the eyes and muttered, "I killed people, Elena. I killed- Aaron Whitmore." Elena pulled away, stunned. "What?" Damon didn't apologize but stood there looking guilty at what he had done. Elena couldn't be mad at him, though. Aaron did help her in her capture by Dr. Whitmore. Sure, it was upsetting, but she just got back. She would not let this ruin everything, she would get over it soon, and she probably wouldn't remember it in a couple of decades. Besides, who was she, to forgive Stefan for his ripper past but not Damon? "I- I forgive you Damon." "Huh?" "I shouldn't blame you for what you did, for what Katherine made you do. She is an evil conniving bitch, and I am not going to let her actions, or yours ruin what we have." "You… forgive me?" "Yes, Damon. I forgive you." Damon crashed into her and fit his slim lips against hers and shocked, Elena quickly moved her hands to his hair. He lifted her up and she moved her legs to straddle him. Their mouths were urgent as if, this was the last time they would ever be able to hold each other again. He pushed her against the wooden walls and she giggled as she took a breath. He let her go as she literally ripped off his black shirt he was wearing and she caressed his muscular back, and started kissing his neck with feverish pecks. He and her slammed into another wall as he began lifting her shirt with one graceful move. Their bodies were like magnets, wherever one moved the other followed or synchronized. Somewhere between all the kissing they had made their way to the couch, and they had loosened their kissing into swift pecks. Elena pulled Damon on top of her and he grazed his lips against her bare collarbones when suddenly he stopped and glanced up at the ceiling. "Damnit," he breathed. "What's wrong?," Elena asked with intense curiosity. "Stefan and the witch are back."