a/n: I know this one is super short, but no matter how many times I rewrote it, this seemed like enough. I thought the episode was perfect as is. I didn't want to switch Damon and Stefan's roles because of how I wrote the last chapter, so this is what resulted. As far as the rest of the episode is concerned (from where the chapter ends), it goes exactly like the show execpt without all the Stelena mushiness (they did go on the hike though). I'll decide whether or not Elena had the "I don't really want to be a vampire" talk with Stefan or not later on.

okay, so is anyone else thinking this or just me: if Klaus drains Elena dry, there won't be ANY blood left in her system...human OR vampire which means she will NOT turn...right? Just a thought.

TWENTY-FOUR

Damon moved to lie on his back and closed his eyes. He had spent the night lying on his side, staring at the empty side of the bed where Elena should have been. Instead, she was in one of the guests rooms. He hated the distance between them and more than once he had been ready to do whatever it took to have her back by his side, but he knew she wouldn't change her mind. He wasn't willing to change his either. He was not going to let her sacrifice herself for everyone else.

Even now he could hear Stefan, Elena, and Elijah downstairs talking about a magical elixir that would bring her back. That got him out of bed and in the parlor in a matter of seconds. His gaze immediately sought Elena's and he could tell that she wanted his opinion even though she knew she wasn't going to like it.

"Are you all delusional here?"

"Damon-" Stefan started.

"You're putting your hopes into this elixir given to you by the man that you killed," he said, looking straight at Elena.

"It will bring me back to life," she said, getting to her feet. "I thought that was what you wanted? A way for all of us to come out alive after this. Well, there it is."

"You don't know that it will work."

"You don't know that it won't," Elena countered.

"What about John's ring?"

Elijah shook his head. "The doppleganger is a supernatural entity. The chances of it working are very slim." He looked at Damon and then at Elena, smirking at the way they were staring each other down. "The night of the full moon, the witch will channel the moon while the sacrifices are made. One vampire and one werewolf representing either side of Klaus. Then he will drink from the doppleganger until the point of her death." Slowly, the three of them looked at Elijah and he held up the bottle with the potion in it. "And this will bring her back. I am sure of it."

Before anyone had a chance to reply, they heard a loud crashing noise followed by Alaric's voice. "Jenna, put that down!"

They raced to the hallway to see her pointing a crossbow at him. "They said that you're Klaus," she said, her hands trembling.

"I was. He let me go. He's in his own body now."

"Prove it," Jenna demanded.

Alaric glanced around the room and gave a slight nod. "The first time we were together, Jeremy came in right as I was-"

"It's him," Jenna interrupted and lowered the crossbow.

Elena and everyone else looked down for a moment, waiting for the awkward moment to pass.

"He sent me here to deliver a message," Alaric said.

"What is it?" Damon asked.

"The sacrifice. It's happening tonight."

There was another bout of silence as everyone absorbed his words. "I think you should tell us everything," Stefan said and led the way to the parlor.

Elena watched as Damon walked the opposite way, up to his room, and slammed the door. She glanced back at the parlor and then began walking upstairs. They needed to talk and she didn't care who was listening. She entered his room without knocking and from the look on his face, she could tell he hadn't heard her following him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"We need to talk."

He shook his head. "Everything that needed to be said already was."

"That's not true."

"You said you were willing to die and I said I wasn't going to let you. What more could there be?"

"Elijah swears by that elixir. It will bring me back, Damon."

"You think it will, Elena. That's not the same thing as knowing."

Elena inhaled deeply and took a step forward, her head held high. "I get that you're angry with me, but you have to understand that I'm doing it to protect everyone. Jenna, Jeremy, Matt, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Alaric, Stefan, and you," she said, stepping closer with every name that left her lips. "Especially you," she whispered and took his hands in hers. "I know how bad it would be if I died and I don't like that you would have to suffer, but this is my problem. None of you would have been in this mess if it weren't for me."

Damon's eyes filled with emotions; pain, hate, fury, rage, and love. It made Elena's heart break to see him like this. He moved his hands so that their fingers were linked and he brought their joined hands to his lips. He brushed his lips over her knuckles and then shook his head. "I do understand, but I don't think you understand my reasons."

"I-"

He shook his head to interrupt her and went on to explain. "I've been alive for many lifetimes, Elena. I've seen and done things that you haven't even thought about yet. I've lived. But my life never had any meaning until you came along. Without you, my life will never mean anything again. If you thought I was bad over losing Katherine, you have no idea how much worse I'll be without you."

Tears gathered in both their eyes as they stared at each other. She wanted to tell him that he and Stefan were the only ones on her list of loved ones that had truly lived, but she couldn't find the will to speak. Instead, she pried her fingers from his and placed them on either side of his face. She met his gaze and watched his eyes follow the tear that spilled down her cheek. Slowly, she closed the gap between them and brought his face down to hers. Just like their last kiss, this one also felt like a goodbye. Their mouths moved as one, fusing together passionately. Damon placed an arm around her waist and drew her closer, the other hand reaching up to sink into her hair, cradling the back of her head.

Damon was the one to break the kiss. He did it abruptly, causing their cheeks to scrape one another. They were both silent as they caught their breath. Damon placed a sweet kiss on her forehead and Elena stepped back enough to look him in the eye again.

"I have to do this," she whispered. "I hope that someday you'll understand."

He gave a brief nod and watched her slowly back away to the door. When her hand was on the knob, Damon spoke again, making her pause. "And I hope you will understand my actions someday."

Elena turned around to ask him what he meant by that only to feel the air around her stir from his quick movement. He pressed himself against her and the door, trapping her in case she tried to run. His lips descended on hers harshly, letting his desperation take over. If this was going to be their last time together, whether it was because she died or ended up hating him, he was going to make it memorable for the both of them.

He reached down to undo her jeans as fast as he could. He pushed them down far enough so that when he gripped her thighs to haul her up, she could easily leave them on the floor. He ripped her underwear, letting the shredded pieces fall to the ground. Elena wrapped her legs around his waist and wound her arms around his neck, letting her fingers dive into his hair as he freed himself. In a matter of seconds he was buried deep inside her body, earning low moan from both of them.

Damon thrust harder and deeper with each stroke, pushing them both to the brink fairly quickly. Their mouths never separated except to give Elena a moment to breathe. As her walls started clutching at him more spastically, he knew she was about to come. He increased his pace just enough that they both reached their climax at the same time. Damon's mouth detached from hers so that he could sink his fangs into his wrist. He put it to her mouth, knowing she was lost in oblivion and wouldn't notice before his fangs sank into her neck, sending her higher.

As they came down, Damon kissed her again, this time tasting their blood and tears mixing together. They both redressed awkwardly after Damon moved back. It wasn't until Elena reached up to wipe her tears that she discovered the blood on her lips. She looked at him with horror in her eyes as she realized what he had meant before initiating their encounter.

"Elena-"

She interrupted him with a harsh slap across the face. "How dare you!" she hissed and turned to open the door.

"Now I know you'll come back," he said, but he had seen the fury in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt guilty.

Before she had the chance to reply, Stefan came racing up the stairs. He took one look at Elena and seeing the blood on her lips, charged at Damon. They may have been together, but Elena definitely did not deserve the decision to turn being forced upon her. That, and he was still angry about their fight the previous night.

Elena moved out of their way, too stunned to even yell at them to stop. Jenna and Alaric stopped short in the doorway as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. It wasn't until Damon picked up a sharp piece of wood that Elena snapped out of her daze. "Damon, no!" she yelled, but it was already too late. The stake was lodged into Stefan's stomach and he collapsed to the ground.

Damon sat on his haunches, watching Elena place his brother's head in her lap. She turned to look at him, her face streaked with tears, blood staining her lips and it hit him. He had made her hate him all over again. Without a word, he took off to the parlor, leaving Alaric and Jenna to help Elena. He stopped and raked a hand through his hair, wishing he could take it all back.

"I see we won't be needing this anymore," Elijah said from behind him, returning the bottle of elixir to the box it had come from.

He looked at Elijah, his eyes going wide.

"She's going to hate you for this," he stated to which Damon could only nod.

"I'll just have to find a way to fix it."

Elijah gave him a cynical look and then smirked a little. "The chances of that are even smaller than that of the elixir working now."

Damon narrowed his eyes and all about growled. "We'll see," he added. Not wanting to be there anymore, he took off to try and fix the disaster he had created.