Disclaimer: TVD belongs to whoever receives the royalties and that sure as hell isn't me. I just pretend while I'm writing.

Summary: It starts as the taste of him hits her tongue and before all is said and done, tears and blood have been spilled and lives have been lost... but most importantly none of them will ever be the same.

Elena's journey to realization that she's in love with the other brother. AU from the moment Damon forces his blood on Elena. Prequel to Unsuccessfully Saying Goodbye, but can stand alone.

AN: Finally my crazy home invading relatives have gone back to wherever they came from... don't get me wrong I love the rowdy bunch, but I really hate surprises with a vengeance.

It's the middle of the night and I ended up writing this rather gloomy chapter after having a... umm... not so good birthday. I ended up running errands for someone else who had procrastinated so greatly that I ended up having to step in to get it done AFTER the last minute had already passed. My birthday dinner might as well not have happened since no one actually ate together on account of the procrastinator still having shit that needed to be done yesterday and everyone ended up having to pitch in.

SO, here I am going to attempt to edit this bastard one more time before I post it and have to start breakfast.

oOo

Unwillingly Succumbing to Truth

oOo

esophageal encore

oOo

The water is pounding down on her mercilessly as she lets the sobs wrack her body and overtake her wholly. The distressed girl shakes and screams and breaks down completely as the rushing spray of the shower covers and sweeps away all evidence. This is the last time she'll cry; there will not be time or room for that sort of weakness if she intends to pull this off.

Sniffling one last time she scrubs the final remnants of her death and breakdown away before she shuts off the water and steps out. She's done with this part and it's time to move on.

With an air of stubborn confidence reminiscent of her centuries older twin, she steps into the slightly dusty spare room she for some reason decided to use to wash away the last traces of her sacrifice and let out whatever tears she had left... it's right across from his.

The hardened teenager swiftly dresses in her borrowed clothes that she found in one of the many closets in one of the many rooms; a dark blue oversized t-shirt she fully intends to deny knowing who it belongs to and a pair of silky black shorts with a skilfully stitched monogram on the right back pant leg... unfortunately she wont be able to plead ignorance on that one, BUT she can and will argue that they're comfy and pretty if anyone dares to ask.

"Jeremy step away from him. You don't know what he is." Oddly enough it's Caroline's mothers voice floating towards her from Damon's room.

"Go away, he's sick!" She hears her brother hiss angrily in response right before there's a loud bang and the sounds of a scuffle.

She doesn't think, she just reacts by leaping for the door and stopping dead in her tracks at the horrific sight before her.

Damon has Liz' throat in a vice grip, his upper lip curls into a snarl as his fangs unsheathe and dark veins protrude under his eyes as they vigorously pump blood into his whites. He's soaked in perspiration and the wound on his arm has spread and now reaches from his wrist all the way up to his neck and is working it's way slowly down towards his peck. He's exhausted and furious... and about an inch from tearing Liz' throat out.

Jeremy stands to the side clutching at his chest while coughing; speckling ruby droplets over the crisp white sheets that have fallen to the floor. Thick crimson liquid seeps in between the fingers clutching desperately at his chest and a large stain is quickly forming on his shirt. Her baby brother is dying right in front of her very eyes.

Like a Fury she gives a cry filled with anger and grief as she tears through the room, throwing herself underneath her brother's falling form in an attempt to cushion his fall. Easing him down to the floor she shrieks the only name that comes to mind, the only person crazy enough to fix this. "Damon!"

He tosses Liz like a rag doll towards the other end of the room where she crashes into an armchair with a loud thud. Panting heavily from exertion he crouches down next to the siblings as he rips carelessly into his wrist before pressing it to the younger Gilbert's lips. Jeremy coughs and seems to be choking on the tainted blood. It isn't working.

With what little strength he has left, Jeremy pushes the helping hand away from him. "Sna... snap-p." He half chokes out coughing up blood on the two others as he does so. Oh God...

Damon looks dazed and only quirks a brow in question as he slumps down and sits on the floor next to the crimson splattered mess.

After seeing it once she never thought she'd be asking to see it again; praying that he'd do it again. "Snap his neck." She orders shakily feeling like her head is about to implode. "Snap his fucking neck!" She roars when the raven haired boy only stares at her wide eyed while her sweet little brother quickly fades in her arms.

"What?" He rasps in disbelief while trying to focus his fever hazed eyes on her.

Thrusting Jer's ring clad hand in the dazed vampires face she forces herself to speak calmly despite the suffocating panic rising in her throat. "Kill him Damon. Save him."

He furrows his dark brow as he sways where he sits next to her. "Elena?" He asks hesitantly clearly thinking that his dementia's already set in.

Raising her slender wrist on again to his ear she waits as he listens until Jeremy gurgles defeatedly. Both their heads turn to look at the almost dead boy. Damon grips Jeremy's chin with unsteady fingers before giving a quick flick of his wrist causing the sound of snapping bone to resound and echo in the large room.

A heavy sigh of relief escapes her parted lips and Damon sags tiredly before he settles his head next to her baby brothers on her lap. She never thought she'd be this thankful for him having this particular skill set, but right now she is very thankful for Damon's murderous ways.

"Thank you." She whispers, pushing the hair off his sweat soaked forehead while they wait for her precious little brother to come back to life. Her heart thumps loudly in her ears and she feels him coursing through her veins; calming her; loving her.

"You're insane." Caroline's mother hisses as she scrambles to her feet.

How dare she! "... and you're an idiot." She replies venomously training a steely gaze, the vampire in her lap would be proud of, at the shocked woman. "They are still the same people they always were misses Forbes... just with a different diet." She says calmly as she absent-mindedly pulls both of her boys closer in an instinctive attempt to shield them from the crazy woman.

Liz shoots her an incredulous look. "They're monsters." She shrieks indignantly.

She scoffs and rolls her big brown eyes at the idiot in front of her. "You're the monster. You killed my little brother." Saying the words out loud makes her want to vomit and then pummel the woman to death... she does NOT have the excuse of bloodlust or feelings times a hundred to back her actions up. She's scum.

"Elena?" The sound of her fathers voice allows her to break and she sniffles once before letting out a choked sob she'd moments ago promised herself she was done with.

She's crying hysterically, but somehow eventually manages to reign it in enough to be able to speak. "Oh daddy. Liz shot Jer and Damon had to snap his neck before it was too late." She says knowing her father will understand what that means.

Damon's eyes flutter open to reveal his glazed over, but still perfectly powder blue eyes. "S'alright... 'Lena, s'alright. He'll wake up." He slurs reaching up to cup the side of her face. She nuzzles the hand he's offering taking all the comfort she can get.

Her father races over to her and frantically checks her brothers body until he sees the ring securely sitting on Jeremy's finger. "You did good; both of you." He says before giving his baby girl a kiss on the crown of her head and sending an appreciative nod towards the vampire quickly fading into unconsciousness.

"John, you knew about this?" Liz accuses as her father stretches to his full height and glares fiercely. How did she never notice before now how much she is like him?

He ignores her question completely in favour of asking his own. "Did you see the ring before you shot my nephew?" He says stepping closer and, damn, she's tankful that he's stepping up and in and taking care of them like he should. "Doesn't matter." He continues. "It only works if the death is caused by the supernatural and you Liz are NOT."

Tsking and shaking his head disappointedly he closes in on her. He's quite frightening when he wants to be. "Killing innocent teenagers is quite the offence. I wonder for how long they'd lock you up." John stops tilting his head menacingly to the side. "Liz... Liz... Liz... you should thank Damon for saving your ass."

As if on cue Jeremy coughs and rolls his head to the side to spit out what blood was left in his throat and mouth. "Fuck, that hurt." He groans and rubs his chest vigorously where there was a gaping bullet wound mere seconds ago. "Aww man. This was one of my favourite shirts." He whines clearly having recovered fully.

She can't help but chuckle at how ridiculously calm he's about the whole thing. "How's your neck?" She ask when he finally rolls back and looks up at her.

Smirking charmingly up at her with twinkling twin pools of dark chocolate he answers. "Eh... it's fine. Damon's really quick so I didn't really feel a thing." He sits up then and wipes the blood from his face with the sleeve of his already ruined shirt.

"You're all insane." Liz says again letting her eyes dart from one Gilbert to the next as she attempts to inch her way towards the door.

Her brother rolls his eyes and scoffs as he rises smoothly to his feet and steps in her escape path cutting her off. "You're the one who shot me, remember? I'd say you're the insane one lady." Then he snorts derisively and crosses his arms over his chest. "Besides, coming here alone was a stupid ass move if I ever heard of one."

She snickers at her brother as she settles Damon's head carefully in a more comfortable spot on her lap, wiping the beads of perspiration from his brow with the back of her hand. His lips bare the faintest trace of a smile and it warms her heart.

John saunters across the room and snatches up the gun sheriff Forbes had earlier used on the revived boy. "I'll put her in the cellar until we decide what to do with her." He says training the gun on a dejected Liz and motioning for her to start walking.

As soon as they're out of the room she pulls her attention back to the beautiful boy resting on her lap. He's sickly pale and his eyes flutter under his lids frantically as his breath comes out in short forceful puffs of air. Even on the brink of death he still does her bidding... doing more for her than should ever be asked of him, yet he does it without getting anything out of it not even the slightest ounce of gratitude. She'll have to change that.

She glances up at her brother who is watching them with a knowing smirk and clear amusement glittering in his eyes. "Help me get him more comfortable." She says deciding she's not quite ready to know what that knowing smirk of his means.

He nods and his smirk falters and fades as his eyes shift and shine with grief. She isn't stupid; she knows very well that her little brother looks up to the raven haired vampire. Something changed between them after the first time his neck was snapped. It was as if the two formed an unbreakable bond that she never could quite figure out. Well, granted, she's been quite oblivious to a lot of things up until now.

She's quite surprised when Jeremy scoops up Damon into his arms with next to no effort. He walks slowly with the undead boy in his arms and places him gingerly on the oversized bed before he lets out a small breath of relief.

"Don't worry sis. We'll find a way." He says turning to look at her asking silently for as much reassurance as he's giving.

She can't help but smile with a mischievous quirk to her mouth. "I have a plan and I'm going to need your help to convince Bonnie to go through with it." She's more than a little pleased to see the smirk he'd been sporting earlier slide fluidly over his lips.

"I'm listening." He says as he starts to clean up the mess of blood and bedlinens having been spilled on the floor while she starts straightening up the overturned furniture as she tells him her plan. "I'm in." He informs before she disappear downstairs to fetch some blood for their sickling and let her brother shower and change into something not so bloody.

Once she's made her way down to the icebox in the cellar she can't escape the conversation between her father and Caroline's mother. She isn't hiding or eavesdropping per say... she just happens to be where they can't see her, but she can hear them.

"Liz she's still your little baby girl; she's still the adorable daughter you gave birth to." Says her father exasperatedly.

"You're wrong. She's a monster... you of all people know what they're like." Liz spits back with so much venom, that it makes her stomach churn disagreeably.

"You're right, I do know what their like and Caroline is still that sweet little girl who is best friends with my daughter." He sounds so tired and disappointed by her and she wants to rush over and hug him to her. She doesn't though not wanting to disrupt her fathers attempts to convince Liz that Caroline is who she's always been.

"Your daughter? Elena's your daughter." She says as if she's merely looking for confirmation on information she already knows.

He scoffs and she's sure his bright blue eyes are rolling derisively. "What could possibly have given it away... when she called me daddy or her uncanny resemblance to her mother?"

"She does look like Isobel. I don't know how I didn't see it before" Liz says and she'd forgotten all about the fact that they'd all been in high school together... well almost, but they had all know each other really well at one point. The mention of her name leaves a stinging pain in her chest and the gruesome memories of her death sends an unpleasant shiver down her spine.

"We're veering off topic." He says sternly pausing briefly before continuing. "You can't hate Caroline for being exactly the same as she's always been. She's your daughter so start acting like you're her mother. Believe me it's worth everything..." He says and she can hear him start down the hall so she snatches a few blood bags and races back up the stairs and into the kitchen as quietly as she can manage.

Her dad's pretty damn awesome. She's kind of proud of him right now.

oOo

He's watching his big sister fuss over the vampire who once killed him - scratch that - who's killed him twice... the most recent per his own request. She's dabbing his skin gingerly with a wetted towel while she whispers reassurances to the unconscious killer. Finally she seems to be realizing what he's known since the first time he saw the two of them interact... and well, him having read her diary might also be why he figured it out before she did.

She's a putts. He loves her to death, but she's an emotional idiot at times.

"Jer could you get me a fresh bowl?" She asks never letting her eyes stray from the raven haired vamp.

He saunters over and snatches the bowl of cold water from her hands that she's been using to wet the cloth in. "Sure thing sis." He replies and makes his way into the adjoining bathroom. Man, this place is fancy as hell, he'll never get over it.

While he waits for the bowl to fill up he's drawn to a large... thing... filled with soaps. It smells all sorts of delicious. He knows it's stupid, but he pockets one of the nicest smelling ones. It's large and pink-ish and it smells sort of like Caroline... like peaches and cream... and a flower of some sort.

"What's taking so long?" His sister asks impatiently from the other room.

He rolls his eyes at her knowing she can't see him do so and shouts back. "Almost done." Turning off the faucet he wonders how long it'll take for her to acknowledge her feelings; their feelings for each other.

"Thanks." She says when he comes back and places the bowl on the bedside table.

The brown eyed boy smirks slyly over his sister shoulder at the blue eyed boy currently being helped to sip from a steaming cup of blood. The two of them are such idiots. How is it possible that the guy can't see what he means to her? She nuked a cup of freaking HUMAN BLOOD for him which she is currently HANDFEEDING him. She's fucking doting on him like a... a... crap, he's not sure, but his sister looks about ready to offer herself up to him on a silver platter if it could possibly help... hell, she's about to do just that PLUS she's convinced her arch nemesis and is about to attempt to convince two people that hate him to do the same. It's like he's half blind or something. He should get him one of those white sticks and sunglasses for his birthday.

The vampire narrows his crystalline eyes at him as she tips the cup down and carefully wipes the blood staining his lips. Idiots. "Did you steal my soaps?" The sickling asks suspiciously.

"Oh, no. He's delirious." He says biting back a chuckle and winking at the undead boy on the bed as his sister frantically forces his eyelids further apart to check his eyes... to his utter irritation.

Damon weakly bats her hands away and glares over her shoulder. "I'm fine, but baby Gilbert stole my soap." He grumbles, but lets her push him back onto the soft pillows.

She sighs exasperatedly as she swipes over his sweat glistening chest with the cool towel. "You're not fine, but you will be. You just have to hang in there for a bit." She cups the side of his face affectionately and he has to suppress the sarcastic aww as the weakened vampire nuzzles into her palm and lets out a content sigh... OK, so maybe the sarcastic aww wouldn't actually be sarcastic at all, they're kind of cute together... maybe he wants to gag just a little bit. She's his sister after all and that is his brotherly duty.

"S'alright 'Lena... it's time. I've lived for long enough." He mumbles as his eyes drift shut. Fuck, so their interactions aren't funny any more; it's tragic and he kind of wants to cry now, which is so not OK. This isn't right, they haven't had their time together yet.

"It's not time yet." He bites out and the undead and almost permanently dead boys eyes snap open. "Don't you dare let go just yet." He can feel the tears burning behind his lids as his chest clenches painfully at the thought of his dear friend and mentor... and yet to be discovered love of his wonderful sisters life... of him not existing any more. As twisted as it is, his twice killer is in all honesty the best friend he's ever had and he considers him to be family. Their family is a small one and he just can't bare to lose any other member of it.

He sees the confusion flit through the others eyes at the demand and his sisters sniffing. Why is it so hard for him to understand that they care about him?... that they love him?... because they really, truly and honestly do.

Hell. She still hasn't asked about her boyfriend even though he's been MIA since she got back from her errands. It's funny and although he likes Stefan and all, he just doesn't like what his sister's like with him. She tends to act deceitfully and broody and all martyr-y... and to be honest kind of boring... besides, he isn't family like Damon is... he never cooks... or cleans... or hangs out playing video games... or takes the time to talk and give girl advice... or lets him help... or tries to make things right after an argument. He doesn't actually argue with anyone other than his sister or Damon... or comes over just to hang with anyone other than his sister... no, he just isn't family... like Damon is.

Also he desperately wants his sister back; the one he barely ever sees any more and the one he's sure Damon must have gotten glimpses of... the fun one that partied and taught him how to sneak out of the house undetected... and burned popcorn for them on movie night and was a kick ass cheerleader... and beat up all the other kids when they didn't want to let him play with them because he was younger... and covered up his first hangover and gave him his first sketchbook... the one who let him hold her wrist throughout the night when he'd woken up from a nightmare just so that he'd know she was alive, even though he was far too old to be freaked out by a nightmare... and convinced her friends to let him join their slumber party when he had his very first real crush on one of her friends; damn, the smell of her shiny blonde locks always had butterflies erupting inside him... it still does. It's weird how similar tastes in girls him and Tyler have... and Damon. It's sort of creepy actually.

He watches as the murderous bloodsucker wipes away the tears from his sisters cheeks with the pads of his thumbs impossibly gently as if he's afraid she'll break. His bro's right, she will break if they don't manage to fix this... the thing is, so will he.

oOo

AN: There it is. I don't know about you, but to me Jeremy's mind is filled with incomplete thoughts and endless run on sentences that are often soaked in a tub of sarcasm... not to mention that I for some reason imagine him having sticky fingers. Please feed my muse with some reviews...