Chapter 22 – TOO TIRED TO PRETEND

"Right. Who said you were not wanted?"

Elena was still fuzzy after that kiss. Millions thoughts were running through her head still, no words seemed to be getting out of her mouth. She stared at Damon, his blue eyes making it impossible for her to tear her gaze away from the man that could make her whole again, yet break her beyond repair.
"Wh-What was that Damon?"

"Honey, if I know well, this was a kiss and you need to rest, doctor's order", He replied with his infamous smirk.
Without giving Elena a chance to reply, Damon left the room, leaving an even more puzzled Elena. She tossed and turned, hearing the far chattering of Sophia downstairs and the laughs of William. How she longed to be near them, downstairs, with her family. Swiftly, she pushed away the covers and slowly got out of bed. Painfully, she struggled to reach the door, ignoring the severe pain in her broken leg. Reaching for the stairs, she started walking down, breathing heavily with the searing pain that had now reached all her body.
"Damon…" she tried to speak out but her voice turned out more like a murmur. The world around her was becoming blurring and Elena mustered all the energy she had, "Damon!"
The last thing she felt was strong arms wrapping around her and all went dark.

"You've got nothing to worry about Mr. Salvatore. Just make sure she rests and avoid making too much effort. She nearly lost her life in that accident. Your wife is going to need more than some sleeping hours to get back on her two feet."
Elena stirred a little and slowly, her eyes opened to see Damon talking to her doctor. The memory of her trying to walk down to her kids, the excruciating pain coursing through her body, the world going black on her, Damon's arms wrapping around her.

"Hey, you should seriously stop trying to sneak around Elena", she heard him say playfully, but his eyes showed clearly worry. Elena watched him sit down by her side, on the bed and she took in his disheveled hair, the deep dark rings under his eyes. She felt the bed shifts and realized Damon's face had come closer to hers. She felt his fingers caressing her cheeks and though she marveled in his touch, she knew she had to stop whatever he was up to.

"Stop…Stop Damon. I-I can't. We can't" she whispered.
She saw the change in his eyes, from worry, love to complete incomprehension.
"What do you mean we can't 'Lena? What's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong Damon? One minute we were screaming and fighting. And now, you're acting as if all was normal again. Why are you doing that?"

"I just want to make this work. We're married; I love you, you love me. You love me, right? Because if no, then that would be a problem. " Damon could not help but smirk at his last sentence; A smirk that did not last long when he saw Elena's expression. She was not going to let this go and he knew there would be nothing to save him from yet another of these talks he dreaded.

"You are willing to make this work now? Why Damon? Because I nearly died? Because you feel guilty?" Elena knew she was being unfair here by yelling at him while he had been so kind since their return from the hospital. But she could not stop it. She loved him, God she loved him so much that it scared the hell out of her. He had the power to make her and break her. But the words he had spoken that night would not leave her mind. They echoed in her head every single moment.
"Elena, please let's not do this right now okay? You need to rest. We'll talk tomorrow. Not right now." Damon said, hoping she would let go.
"DON'T DO THAT DAMON! Do not dismiss me like that! I need no rest! I want to talk and NOW! Look at me! Tell me Damon, what if I had not had that stupid accident that night?" Her question made Damon froze on the spot.
He knew she would do that at some point, he was just hoping that moment would not be soon.
Nearly losing her forever had made him realize how much he needed her. He did not care anymore about how hurt he had been for the past weeks, how awful life without her had been. All he could think of was that if she had died, he would have died too because Elena Gilbert Salvatore was his beginning and his end. Yes, he knew that if she had not been in that accident, they would probably still be fighting and he would still be angry with her.
She had hurt him but he knew his words had hurt her deeply too. Looking up in her doe eyes, Damon Salvatore knew that this time, it would be taking more than his infamous smirks and smooching kisses to make things right again. He would have to work hard to make Elena his again, forever this time.