Chapter 6

15 hours later

"Elena?"

"Hmm?"

"I need you to let me go."

"No. Stefan, Katherine and Elijah are back. Everyone is downstairs. Bonnie is writing her own spell to induce the transformation."

"It's too risky."

"It's not. We have Ric's bag of weapons. We have the wolvesbane. All we have to do is get him down and cut him and get some of his blood."

"Elena, please."

"No. Just a few more hours. Bonnie thinks this will work."

"And if doesn't?"

"You've always been there when I needed you. At the Miss Mystic Falls pagent, rescuing me after I crashed my car, taking me to Georiga for a time out, making me laugh and smile at the decade dance when I was scared out of my mind. And that is only half of it. You always knew what I needed, even when I didn't. I'm not going to give that up. so you stay with me dammit."

"Being a human, it meant nothing to me, I killed and I didnt care, you changed it all. I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No! You dont! I need you to stop saying that."

"I do, Elena. It's okay. Because if I had chosen differently I wouldn't have met you. I'm so sorry. I've done so many things to hurt you."

"It's okay. I forgive you." I tell him just in case because I would never forgive myself if I didn't give him what he needed.

'Elena, can I have a minute with my brother?"

"Sure."

"Elena..."

"I'll be in the hallway. Stefan wants to talk to you." I kiss his hand and let go before walking past Stefan and giving him a sueeze on his arm and the best smile I can muster up at the moment.

X*X

Stefan's p.o.v

"Stefan?"

"I told you I'd find something."

"Always the hero."

"I could say the same for you. It's time for you to get that hero hairdo." I laugh as he gives me a half smile and opens his eyes slightly.

"Don't do this."

"I'm not going to let you die."

"I'm sorry I made your existence hell."

"Your my older brother, it's what your suppose to do."

"I took it to the extreme, don't you think?"

"Maybe. You can make it up to me by not doing anything stupid till we try Bonnie's spell."

"Your life would be so much easier with out me." My brother had never sounded so defeated and so weak. Damon being weak was something that I never thought would happen. He was always the strong one, even when we were human.

"That maybe true but it would be boring. I know I was partly responsible for you turning and if you hate me for it, that's fine, but I need you."

"I need you too...brother." We have our fights. We have more issues than I can count. We haven't had anything close to a real relationship between brothers but this was something. He called me his brother without malice, without motive. There was never a former or latter like Elijah said. I loved Elena but Damon was and would forever be my brother. If I lost her to him, I would deal with it. I would not be selfish with Damon again.

"Elena loves you, you know?"

"She loves you more, Stefan."

"I don't know about that brother."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

X*X

I sit down on the floor, my back against the wall. I close my eyes and pretend that this is all a nightmare. But it wasn't. There was something going on with Stefan and Katherine and I would have to face that now that they were back. Damon was going to die if this didn't work. I was going to lose him. Just when I realzied he was mine to lose.

"It's okay to love them both. I did."

"You bitch!" My voice seethes as I get up off the floor and she walks closer. "You never loved him. You used him."

"A part of me loved him but he was never enough for me."

"It was always Stefan, huh?" I felt so much disgust for Katherine and for myself. I did the same thing. Stefan always had our undying love. Not that he didn't deserve it, Stefan was good but why did it have to hurt Damon in the process?

"Always. Don't go all miss innocent on me. You love them both, just like I did. There is nothing wrong with it. Just don't make my mistake. Choose. If you don't they will both hate you."

"Like they hate you?"

"Don't fool yourself either. Stefan does not hate me and Damon just...dislikes me." Katherine was always so confident. Like she believed everything she was saying, or knew it was true. The sad part was that she was right, maybe it was okay to love them both. Because it was so easy to love them both.

"I love Stefan, I always will but it will always be Damon I choose." I tell her honestly. No more denying it. It was going to come out, one way or another. But I won't say the actual words with out saying them to Damon first.

"I know that. A blind person would see that." She smirks twriling her hair.

"Your loving this aren't you?"

"I have to say...yes."

"Of course. Now you have a better chance with Stefan."

"Oh, Elena, are you really so nieve? Damon never hid his love for me, he strived on it and I lost all of it when he found out I betrayed him. Stefan loved me and tried to repress it because he didn't want to become what Damon had, it had nothing to do with not loving me. The Salvatore brothers are cursed with falling in love with the Petrova dopplegangers. This time the two brothers are each in love with one doppleganger. Not both, not anymore. You know it as well as I do, Stefan couldn't kill me when he had the chance, neither could Damon but when Klaus staked me and threw you off of him, each brother made their choice. You know it just as well as I do."

"And does Stefan know that you gave me the dagger to kill Klaus?"

"No." She deadpans.

"He will." I bluff. She didn't deserve Stefan, but if she could make him happy then why should I take it away. Because with or without Damon here I still loved him and I couldn't be with Stefan knowing I'd be wishing it was Damon. Stefan was good enough, but he wasn't Damon. And I needed Damon.

"Your not going to tell him." Damn she was good.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. You know Stefan could be happy with me and as straight laced as you almost are, you still wouldn't stay with Stefan. You will always want Damon. We are quite alike. For me, always, Stefan. For you, now, always Damon." She says as if she can read my mind and I wonder for a second if she can.

"I won't say anything."

"For what it's worth, thanks."

"I need you to promise that you will help make sure no one gets hurt trying to get Tyler's blood."

"Relax Elena, this isn't a covert operation. It's simple. He takes the wolvesbane, during transformation we shoot him and get the blood."

"And if he bites Caroline or Stefan?"

"He will be too out of it and if he does at least we'll have the cure. We have your witch who can knock him out with her freaky mind tricks if the wolf gets out of control."

"Okay. This will work then."

"Yes and you can have your Damon back."

"Thank you Katherine." I tell her as she walks into Damon's room to get Stefan and I follow.

"It's time. Elena will stay with Damon. We have to meet everyone at the Lockwood property."

"Everyone's going?" I ask wondering why they all had to be there.

"Jenna wants to be with Ric and same with Jer and Bonnie. Caroline wants to stay with Tyler." Stefan tells me. I walk over to the bed and sit becide Damon who looks up and me and then to Katherine.

"Why are you helping me?" He asks her and I'd like to know the answer to that too. Her face contorts and it shows a little remorse but it's gone in a flash and she's composed again. Maybe she had a little humanity left in her, she had to for Stefan to...love her.

"I owe you this. I killed you once, so if I can help keep you alive now, I will." She says. It's sincere and not Katherine like. Stefan looks over to her and smiles. Yes, he loved her, I was sure of it now. And it was okay. It woud be our secret about the dagger. Damon nods at her and closes his eyes again. He rests his head on my lap and I wipe his face off with a wet cloth. Stefan looked at me knowingly and turned to leave with Katherine. I layed down next to Damon and for the first time in, I can't even remember I pray. I pray that it works. I fall asleep, exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster that is my life.

The next thing I know Damon is being pulled out of my arms and it startles me. It's Stefan with a jar...with blood. He was pouring some of it into a half out of it Damon. He chokes at first and I'm afraid that he's going to vomit it up but it stays down. Stefan and I lock eyes and I move to pull Damon's sleve up, the bite was going away. And before we know it it's gone, as if were never even there. It worked. I throw my arms around Stefan. He did it. I pull away and he looks at me and smiles. We look over to Damon who is no longer sweating, no longer delerious and we both smile at him. I throw myself onto him. Not caring that he's still weak. I needed to feel him hold me. And he doesn't dissapoint. His arms come around me and it's something we've never done. It's always been one sided. Not this time.

"Your okay. I knew you would be." I smile at him, placing my hand on his face. I see his beautiful blue eyes and they have life in them again. Finally.

"I'm going to need some blood. Fast."

"Want me to get it?" Stefan asks.

"No, I'll come down."

"That's good. Everyone I'm sure wants to see you."

"Never thought I'd hear that." He says getting off the bed. "I look at him a smile still on my face and notice his face doesn't show all the relief it should. Why? He was going to live.

"I'll give you guys a minute." Stefan says moving to leave.

"Damon..." I don't know where to start. I'm trying to process that everyone is okay and it worked out good for once.

"It's okay, Elena. You don't have to say anything. You thought I was going to die. You just woke up, your feelings were all over the place. I was here. I get it." He was really saying this. Did he honesty believe I had so much pity for him to blatently lie?

"No!"

"No?"

"No. Do you think I was saying it because you were dying?"

"Weren't you?"

"God, you are pigheaded. Sometimes I don't even know why I try so hard, you do a great job at skrewing things up and I don't get why anymore, I thought that maybe... You know what just go see everyone. This was not suppose to be go damn gloomy right now. Everyone is happy. I was so happy. You are alive. I wanted you alive, along with everyone else. Everyone was okay and the threat is gone. But talking to you right now is futile. You and your masochistic nature skrewed it up. Go get some blood Damon, you need it, your still weak. Thank everyone for saving you." I push the tears away and I try to cover up the hurt look as I push past him and walk out of the room and stop outside the door when I hear him start to say something.

"You saved me, Elena." Is all I hear him say. I close my eyes and smile again. He was still the same Damon, afraid of his feelings, trying not to get hurt again. He was my Damon. I walk back in and take his hand, to my suprise he lets me. They close tightly around each other for the first time, we hold hands like any normal coupal would. Except that we aren't. Yet.

"We don't have to talk about anything now. Not another word. Let's just get you some blood, have a drink and be happy your alive. The rest will come later."

"Okay." Is all he says and we walk out of his room together. Something I wasn't sure we would do not even a hour ago.