AN: This was originally going to only be 900 words, but I kept writing, and it's almost at 3k! I hope you guys enjoy, and it isn't done yet, so check back! Thanks to those of you who reviewed so soon, and for those of you who did it out of the blue!

He was losing consciousness

Damon focused hard, keeping his eyes open and trying to stay conscious. From what he could tell, the situation was going to end very badly unless something happened soon. Elijah stood slowly, shaking out his limbs and laughing.

"You're a fool, Klaus." He said. He looked at Nathaniel's body, grinning. "It was fairly easy to compel your driver...phones are so convenient for originals like us." There was immense irony here; Klaus was his maker, afterall. He turned towards Jonas. "And you. Switching them back? Really?" He walked to Damon, giving him a firm kick in the ribs. "Pity they're so weak though; a month ago this one might have actually made this interesting."

Damon held in a groan; the kick hurt immensely, and he was sure that his ribs were shattered and not healing. He felt his consciousness swoon again, and he cringed. He saw Elijah walk towards Elena, and he snarled, grabbing his heel and yanking him backwards. Elijah simply smiled and kicked him in the other side, the sound of breaking bones reverberating through the room.

"But you" he said, approaching Elena. He knelt down, winding his fingers into her hair. "You are by far the most irritating—" he yanked her up, and Damon flinched as he heard Elena yelp "—useless human that I've ever come across." He spat. Damon closed his eyes firmly to try and ignore his pain. He sat up slowly, looking at Klaus. Why wasn't he doing anything? He was stronger than Elijah, and definitely stronger than his little pet guard...how could he just stand there? As he looked closer, he realized that Klaus was staring James down, waiting for his eyes to lock. Damon held his chest as tight as he could, looking across the room.

"What's that?" he asked, motioning towards Klaus. The guard turned his head for a fraction of a second, his eyes locking with the originals. He turned back to Elijah, watching as he tipped Elena's head to the side. She was struggling to free herself, eyes wide.

"The curse!" she said. "You can't break the curse if you kill me!"

Elijah laughed. "Do you think I give a damn about the curse?" he asked. "No. You've been more than enough trouble, having you dead is enough to make me happy!" His fangs elongated from his jaw, when he heard a noise and turned his head. James had let Daphne go, and the guard was plunging his own hand into his chest! Damon didn't bother watching as he ripped it out; he felt something stiff in his jacket, and he pulled it out. The blade that Stefan had given him! Damon had handed it back to Stefan to hide on the train, and he'd forgotten about it! He smirked against the pain of his ribs. Elijah looked at the dying James in fury before pulling Elena up off her feet, his fangs fully out.

Stefan opened his eyes, groggily. He saw the scene before him, Elena in Elijah's grip, Klaus turning to retrieve her. He couldn't let it happen. Elijah was going to pardon Katherine if he lived; There was no way that Stefan was going to risk his death. He pulled the ash-covered blade out of Nathaniel's body and charged. Klaus didn't see it coming. Stefan plunged the knife as hard as he could, and he stood back, watching the Original swerve.

Daphne screamed as she saw Klaus careen to the ground, and she ran to his greying side, hugging his chest and heaving. Stefan sat back, shocked. He heard Elijah laugh behind him.

"Well done, Stefan. It seems you've turned human after all."

He was still alive.

Jonas knelt beside Daphne quickly, grabbing her hand and relaying an image to her. She looked up and locked eyes with her father, realizing that her shock was for nothing. She wrapped her hands around the hilt of the Dagger in Klaus' chest, and she yanked it out, watching as the grey started to slowly sink from his skin.

They turned towards the scene behind them, and Daphne raised her hands, about to try to protect Elena. Jonas pushed her hands down, shaking his head.

"There's a spell; you'll die." He whispered under his breath. Elijah had made him cast it long ago, and he lacked the items needed to un-seal it. If a witch tried to harm him or his objectives, they'd die.

The amount of fury that Damon felt towards his brother couldn't be explained. He only regretted that he wouldn't live to watch him die. Stabbing Elijah would kill him, and he accepted it. He looked at Elena, struggling against the pain, and he felt at peace. If this was his only purpose in his unusually long life, it was a good one. Elena would live and grow old, experience the world, and she'd be free of the madness that his brother had pulled her into; and Damon could stop hurting.

He pulled together all the strength he could, standing slowly behind Elijah and closing his eyes against the pain. Elena saw him out of the corner of her eye, and time froze.

"DAMON, NO!"

Damon took one look into Elena's eyes and knew that it would be worth it. She'd live.

He plunged the blade into Elijah, and blacked out.

24 hours later

Damon awoke slowly, opening his eyes and letting them focus. He was staring at a wood ceiling. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he knew one thing for sure; he was alive. He looked around the room slowly, realizing that he was in the A-Frame portion of a lodge of some sort. Funny; he had no idea where he was. He realized that he was warm on one side, and he realized that Elena was curled up beside him, asleep. He was confused. How was he alive? The last thing he remembered was blacking out in the house in London. He watched as Elena slowly woke up, her eyes widening as she realized that he was awake.

"Damon!" She exclaimed, snuggling up to him and smiling.

"What happened?" he asked. He was hungry as hell, and he had the familiar headache of the switch.

Elena's smile shrunk, as though she had to tell him something he wouldn't like. "Well, you're alive."

"and...?" he asked, disturbed by the look on her face.

"And you turned human." he said.

"What?" he said calmly, He didn't want to register the information.

"You're...human." She said. Damon took a moment to think about it, shocked and holding in his rage. Elena spoke before he got to release it. "but you're alive, and Klaus said that he'll give you the coice between staying human and becoming a vampire again."

"How did this happen?" he asked, relieved.

"When you stabbed Elijah, you were only half vampire, so your vampire half died, and the human part of you survived." She said. Damon smiled.

"You're right; at least I'm alive." He said. He started at Elena for a moment, taking in the beauty of her face through his own eyes. He'd done it a hundred times before, but only in stolen glances...never this close, and allowed. He traced the shape of her cheekbone, her cheek, her lips. She was alive, and she was still with him.

"There's something I want to do; something that we should have done a long time ago" he said, tracing her lower lip with his thumb. Elena looked at him, eyes dancing, and she pushed his hand away, stretching up to place her lips on his, gingerly at first, then teasingly, then passionately.

Damon couldn't believe that so much emotion could be put into a kiss, but this wasn't just any kiss; it was one that he'd been waiting for far too long. Elena slid her body onto his, opening her mouth enough to let her tongue touch his. She pulled away for a moment, looking into his silver-blue eyes.

"I love you." She said.

Damon smiled; she was so beautiful. "How can you be so sure so soon?" he asked teasingly.

"I've known forever; I just didn't want to admit it." She said.

"Why not?" He asked. She planted a quick kiss on his chin.

"Because..." she rolled off of him and onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. "...you're dangerous, passionate, and a little bit crazy." She said.

"I'm not so dangerous anymore." He added, referring to his sudden humanity.

"No" she said "But you will be."

"What do you mean by that?"

She smiled. "You'll be a vampire again." She said

"Only if you want me to." He said.

"I do." She meant it.

"Why?"

Elena rolled over, looking him in the eye. "Because that's who you are, and I want you as you are, human or immortal, a killer or not. I love you; all of you."

Damon's face took on a serious look, and he held hers in his hands, propped up on one elbow. What she'd just given him was the greatest thing anyone ever had; acceptance. "I love you so much, Elena." He said. "I have for months, and I will forever." She smiled, knowing it was true.

"Damon, there's something else." She said. He looked at her, expectant. "Klaus strongly recommended that I turn, to make myself unusable to break the curse." She said. "And I want you to turn me."

"What?" he said. "Elena, no."

"Why not, Damon!" she said. She didn't want the same lecture and fear that Stefan had always provided her with.

Damon smiled sheepishly. "You want me to bite you to complete my transformation, right?" he asked. Elena nodded. "I want to turn you on my own, with my own blood." He said.

"Oh..." Elena wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't expected him to be so accepting.

He caught her surprise and smiled. "Klaus is right. Besides, I want to be with you forever, and if it's selfish of me to want you to change, I'll hold off. You want to change, though. I don't have the right to deny you that."

Elena smiled. "You really are amazing, Damon."

He smiled, eyebrow raised. "I'll admit, I try."

She kissed him softly, smiling. "You do a perfect job."

The Next Day

Damon stood before Klaus, waiting for his confirmation.

"You'll turn me back?" he said.

Klaus smiled. "Once you've been a vampire, there's nothing quite the same. After even a century going back to being human can be immensely depressing and pointless. Besides, I need people with as much spirit as you." He said.

"And Stefan?" he asked. His brother was in the basement of the lodge, not in the original's good books.

"He'll stay human."

"How can you be sure?" he asked. Klaus chuckled. It was odd, hearing someone question him.

"Because only an original can turn you now. I'm sure he can try to be turned, but he'll be sorely disappointed."

"Oh?"

"He'll turn back to human each time he's killed with vampire blood in his system. He won't die, but he will age. It's his punishment." He said. "Now, are you ready?" he asked.

Damon smirked. "You have no idea how ready." He would definitely miss eating, though. He'd had the dinner and breakfast of a king, and the change of tastes was definitely nice. Elena smiled, sitting on a large pine and leather sofa behind them, next to Daphne, whom she'd come to like a lot. She knew that Damon needed to be a vampire, it was such an integral part of who he was. Besides, she couldn't picture him as an old man.

Klaus' fangs shot out from his jaw, and he bit gingerly into his wrist, offering it to Damon. Elena watched as Damon drank, gently holding the original's wrist to his mouth. The taste was so different from when he was a vampire; it was bitter and coppery. He knew that this had more to do with his relationship with Klaus than anything (If Elena had been a vampire and giving him blood, it would have been delicious), but he still didn't like it. Klaus pulled his wrist away from Damon, placing his hands on either side of his head and looking him in the eye. Elena looked away.

"Ready?"

"Defini—"

Klaus snapped Damon's head to the side, sending him down to the ground in a heap. Elena shuddered, then looked at Daphne.

"What about when he has to kill someone?" she asked, wide-eyed. She knew that she'd said that She accepted Damon as a killer, she just didn't think it would be so soon.

Daphne rubbed her back. "Klaus is...creative." She said. A tall man dragged a younger man in chains into the room, kicking his feet out from under him.

"Who is he?" Elena asked.

"A murderer." She said. "A century ago, Klaus made a pact to kill only those who were deserving of death." She said proudly. Elena stopped herself from examining it. She knew that she was far too compassionate to accept it if she gave it hard thought, and she let it go; something she'd have to learn to do when living with Damon.

Daphne felt her worry and looked at her. "It gets easier." She said.

"To accept killing?" she asked.

"No, to accept justice. This man killed three children in the London area. I won't give you the details, but I'm more than glad that he'll be dying today." She said. "Humanity is an ugly thing." Elena nodded.

"You'll understand after a few hundred years" Klaus said, cutting into the conversation. "When you've been alive as long as I have, you start to understand that there are larger shades of grey than the average human can imagine."

Damon started to shift, and he slowly sat up, cracking his neck. "Jesus, couldn't have gone any easier, could you?" he looked at Klaus. The vampire simply shook his head and smiled.

"I brought you something. Eat up." He said, motioning to the man. Damon tilted his head.

"You just keep a stock of humans around here?" he said, eyebrows pulling into a quizzical Damon expression.

"He's a murderer; children, specifically. I'm sure the people of London won't miss him at all." Damon shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the man's cries for forgiveness.

"Do you mind?" Damon asked, pushing the man's flailing body to the ground. "It's really hard to make a clean bite with you thrashing around." This caused the man to flail harder, and Damon rolled his eyes. If he wasn't about to kill someone, Elena might have actually laughed.

Damon plunged, tearing into the man's flesh as hard as he could with his human teeth. Blood spurted down his face and chest as he felt the man struggle under his hold. His new fangs stretched from his jaw, and the blood started to taste dizzyingly good. It took several long, twitching minutes for Damon to drain the man, and he finally let go of the man's neck, sitting up and wiping the blood from his lips...not that it did much; he was covered.

"How do you feel?" Klaus asked.

Damon stretched, tilting his head. "I feel like I never switched."

"Good"

"No, I literally feel like I never switched." Damon said.

Klaus smiled. "Consider it my gift to you."

"What?"

"By using my blood, you went back to your previous power, instead of starting over again. Like I said, my gift to you." Klaus leaned against his desk, smiling at the not-so-new vampire.

Damon could have burst, he was so happy. First, he wanted to go home.