a/n: :( I can't believe the season finale is tonight...it's going to a long summer. Hopefully the cliffhanger I'm sure they're going to leave us with won't be as bad as the last one :)

TWENTY-FIVE

Everything felt surreal. She couldn't hear or see anything; all she could do was feel. She was stuck in a void of nothing but darkness. She wasn't floating, but she wasn't touching solid ground either. Every so often she would feel a pull towards...something. She couldn't tell what, but it made everything spin. She didn't even know how long she had been there, but she had a nagging feeling that she had somewhere to be and that she was running late.

As she thought that, she felt that pull again. This time, she could see a bit of light and it hurt. "Come back to me. I need you." The words floated around her, making her essence tingle.

She clung to those words, trying to follow them and the light. As she began her journey, she felt that pull, even more intense than the last time. It sucked the air out of her and made the darkness blend with the light in a dizzying effect. Without a sense of time, the effects seem to last forever, slowly tapering off and letting things return to normal.

"Please, wake up." That voice called to her again and she felt another tug, bringing her closer to the light. The tingling sensation was back and intense to the point of pain. "Wake up. I love you. Elena, I love you so much."

At the mention of her name, she felt one last strong tug and the light vanished. In the next instant her essence collided into her body and she woke, gasping for air. Her head hurt from her sensitivity to the light. Her lungs were on fire from lack of oxygen. The worst part was the swirling sensation of being brought back to life so forcefully. Everything came rushing back to her at once as her body adjusted to being alive again.

"Elena?" she heard and felt someone touch her.

She swatted their hand away and groaned, leaning forward to rest her head between her knees. "Don't touch," she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and willing herself not to throw up.

When everything started to settle down, she eased herself into a normal sitting position and let her eyes rest on Damon. He was staring at her intently, waiting for her to lash out at him at any given moment. She did a quick look around the room and then sought his gaze again. "You're not a vampire," he said quietly.

"How?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

His jaw locked and he reached forward to take her hands. He knew he had to tell her, but she had just come back. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes and he brought her to him. She clung to him as tight as she could and her tears wet his shirt. "I'll tell you everything, but not right now," he said, stroking her back lightly.

Instead of demanding information, she nodded and stayed right where she was. Damon rocked her gently back and forth, relief flooding his emotions as he held her back. He had been so mortified to see her lifeless body on the ground at Klaus's feet. It was a sight he never wanted to see again, but it was engraved in his memories. When he had gotten her to the house where Alaric and Jeremy had been left behind, he had cleaned up the blood from her throat and used his own to heal her wounds. After telling the other two men about Jenna's fate, they had left him alone with Elena to be there for her when she woke. It wasn't until Stefan and Bonnie returned with even more bad news that they took care of John's body.

"Take me home," she mumbled against his neck.

Damon was more than happy to oblige. He picked her up bridal style, her arms still wound around her neck, and carried her through the woods to the boarding house. It would have been easier in his car, but he didn't want to let go of her. Not now, not ever. It wasn't until they were in his room, lying side-by-side in his bed, that she moved enough so that she could see him. "Jenna-"

"I know," he answered, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. Tears were spilling down her cheeks as she shook her head.

"I don't understand. I did everything he asked," she whispered, her voice broken.

Damon pulled her to him again. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and continued to cry softly. "There's more. You're not going to like it," he warned.

"Tell me," she breathed.

"John was the one that saved your life. He combined his life with yours and when you died, his brought you back." He paused and pulled her closer. "He's gone, Elena."

Elena said nothing, but clung to him more.

"And Klaus is still out there. The curse was broken. Elijah was supposed to kill him, but the bastard betrayed us and helped Klaus escape. But for now, it's over."

"It's not over," Elena breathed. "It'll never be over."

Damon placed a kiss on the top of her head and took a deep breath. He didn't say anything to that because he didn't know what to say. It was true; somewhat. As long as the doppelganger was alive, Elena would never be safe. Instead, they lay there silently. Elena's sobs slowed to a stop and before long her breathing was steady and deep indicating that she had fallen asleep. Damon felt all the stress he had been under the past twenty-four hours beginning to dissolve and joined her a few minutes later.

Elena stood in her room, staring at the photos that framed her mirror. In the past year she had lost almost all of her family members. Even those she didn't know existed before. As her eyes rested on a photo of Jenna, tears clouded her vision and she turned away. She blinked, clearing her vision, and saw Jeremy lounging in her doorway. A lump welled up in throat as she thought of everything Damon had told her before she left.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered for the millionth time. "Because of me, your family..."

"Hey, they were your family too," he said, stepping into the room. "And I still love you," he added before pulling her in for a hug.

Elena knew he was mad at her on some level. All that mattered was that he didn't blame her for most of it. "I love you too," she whispered and tightened her hold on him.

When he pulled back, he reached into his jacket and handed her a folded piece of paper and John's ring. "He wanted me to give these to you."

Elena took them slowly, not sure how she felt about that. "Thanks."

"I'll be downstairs. We still have some time before we have to leave," he said and left her alone.

Elena moved to the window seat and sat with her back against the wall. With the ring resting on her index finger, she unfolded the letter and took a deep breath before she began to read. "Elena, I am genuinely sorry for all the pain I have caused you. I never wanted that for my daughter. I should have been more involved in your life. The fact that you're reading this instead of listening to me say it means that the spell worked. It was the only thing I could do to show you how important you are to me. I have always done what I thought was in your best interest. I want you to be happy. I want you to live your life exactly how you want and not to let anything stop you. I love you, Elena. I always have. -John."

Elena folded the letter back up and slid the ring onto her finger. She turned to look out the window and wiped away a few tears while she let John's words sink in. Lost in thought, she jumped when she heard someone clear their throat and turned to see Damon standing in her doorway.

"There are some things we have to talk about," he said.

"I know," she answered, setting the letter on the bench next to her before getting to her feet. They both knew that there would never be a good time to talk about these things so now would have to do.

"I'm sorry about Jenna. I was so focused on ruining Klaus's plans that I never thought-"

Elena gave another small smile at that and shook her head. "If it hadn't been Jenna, it would have been Caroline and I would be just as sad as I am now. Either way, I lost some important to me and that is not your fault."

"But-"

"You were trying to buy us more time and I appreciate that," she said, moving towards him. She stopped and took his hands in hers, looking up so that their eyes could lock. "And I understand why you tried to turn me. I'm not mad at you for that."

"But..."

"But everything happened so fast and I just need some time to breathe. When I thought I was going to wake up a vampire, I thought about all the things I was going to give up. I'm only seventeen, Damon. I have so much to experience yet."

"What are you saying?" he asked carefully, bracing himself.

"I don't know," she said, her voice soft. "I know we've had this talk before, about kids and marriage, but I don't know if that's something I'm entirely read to rule out. I never really thought about it before, but when I thought it wasn't an option, I found myself missing it." She paused as she saw his jaw lock. "Look, I'm not saying that's what I want, it's just something I have to seriously consider. Like I said, I'm only seventeen. I have many years ahead of me to plan out my life. I still have to think about college and all of that stuff too."

Damon squeezed her hands and let them go so that he could cup her face. "I want you to experience life, Elena. I want you to be happy, more than anything." He smiled and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "The only thing tying me to Mystic Falls is you and if you decide to leave, I'll have no problem coming with you."

Elena thought about that and then remembered something he had said to her. "Do you remember the day we made it official?"

"Yes."

"You said that when all of this was over we could spend some time away from Mystic Falls," she said, placing her hands on his waist. "Did you mean it?"

He nodded. "I think some time away from here would be a great idea." He tilted his head and searched her eyes. "Does that mean we're not over?"

"We just stared," she replied, seeing his eyes light up with hope. "I want us to work, Damon, I do. I love you too much to just walk away, but I have some growing up to do." She knew that it had taken a lot to admit that they loved each other and if she left him now, she would be no better than Katherine. The difference between her and the elder vampire was that she had no intention of leaving him.

"Just promise me that you won't shut me out. I'll give you space if and when you need it, but I'm not going to leave you alone all together Elena. I want to be there for you always."

"And you will be," she assured him. "I love you," she added.

"I love you too," he replied and leaned down to capture her lips with his. The kiss was brief, but passionate. He could taste her grief and she could sense that there was something he wasn't telling her. When she pulled back, she searched his eyes and saw that he was hiding something. "We should go," he said, stepping away from her.

"Okay," she said and slowly began heading downstairs.

Damon stood in her room, watching her walk away. He knew it was wrong, to get her to agree to stay together when he knew their time would be limited, but he wanted as much time with her as he could get. He had already decided that she would never know of the wolf bite that was wreaking havoc with his system. The last thing he wanted was for her to worry about him. She had already lost so much and he didn't want to cause her anymore pain.

It was bad enough that Stefan had saw the wound earlier. He had walked into the parlor while Damon was inspecting it. He had to tell Stefan the whole story and made him promise not to tell anyone, especially Elena. As he left to come here, he had seen the pain and sadness in Stefan's eyes and it haunted him.

"Are you coming?" Elena's voice tore him from his thoughts and he looked up to see her at the top of the stairs, staring at him with a curious expression. He nodded and followed her, driving her and Jeremy to the graveyard.