a/n: omg you guys, I'm soooo sorry about the delay! No matter how much I wanted to write, I just couldn't do more than like half a page at a time. The good news is that I ended up getting more than I thought and I'll be splitting the finale into two chapters. This chapter is canon with the show, the next one will be me for the most of it.

on a sidenote, I probably won't be doing more than finishing the stories that I have going now, but once things settle down and this horrible writer's block is done, I'll be sure to start the stories that I've been promising forever. Hopefully this was worth the wait! And I will try my hardest to get the next chapter up by the end of next week :)

TWENTY-SIX

Since Damon had told him about being bitten, Stefan had been out wandering through the woods. His intention had been to eat, but he couldn't summon up enough concentration to track anything properly. He had lost track of time, becoming aware of it only because the sunlight had broken through the trees from above. After a few hours of walking in the daylight, he knew it was time to face his brother and the fear he had of losing him. Their relationship was rocky at best and he had always wanted Damon out of his life, but now that Damon's death would be permanent, Stefan wanted nothing more than to reverse it.

He raked a hand through his hair as he thought about Elena. If he was going to take this hard, she was going to take it harder. He knew Damon wouldn't tell her until the last possible moment, if at all and Stefan wanted her to have as much time with him as possible. With that thought in mind, he turned towards the boarding house to check on Damon before going to seek out Elena.

The moment Stefan opened the front door, the scent of burning flesh filled his nose. Panic washed over him as he realized what was happening. He followed the scent to the parlor to see Damon standing in the sunlight without his ring. He wasted no time in tackling his brother to the ground and out of harm's way.

Damon groaned and rolled onto his back. He took a deep breath and looked at Stefan who was hovering over him. "What the hell were you thinking?" Stefan asked, his voice filled with hurt and anger.

"Do I really have to dignify that with an answer?" Damon replied as Stefan shoved his ring back onto his middle finger.

Stefan swore as he got to his feet. He stared at Damon for a moment as he decided what to do. Once he had made up his mind, he leaned forward and picked Damon up, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "No, I guess you don't."

"Stefan, put me down," Damon demanded.

"I will," he replied as he carried Damon to the basement. He stopped long enough to set Damon down in one of the cells.

"Oh come on," Damon whined as Stefan moved outside to shut the door and lock him in.

"I'm doing this for your own good. I can't risk anymore suicide attempts."

"Then why don't you just stay at home and sit by my deathbed?"

"Because I'm going to find a cure."

Damon let out a curt laugh that was immediately followed by coughing. "We've been through this, Stefan. There is no cure."

Stefan was silent for a moment before he shook his head. "I'll find one. I promise," he said, giving Damon his best look of determination. Not waiting for a response, Stefan turned and headed upstairs. Before leaving to find Elena, Stefan dug his phone from his pocket and dialed Alaric's number. If he was going to leave Damon in the basement, he didn't want to leave him alone.

"What do you want?" Alaric answered, his words slowed and slurred.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

Alaric gave a bitter laugh. "My girlfriend just died twice in the same day and I didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to her. How do you think I'm holding up?"

Stefan closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't have time for subtlety and decided to get straight to the point. "I also called to tell you that Damon needs you."

"Damon can go to hell."

"He's dying, Ric."

"What?" Alaric's voice had changed from hate to concern in seconds flat.

"Tyler bit him when he was trying to free them."

"But that was..." he started, his voice trailing off. "Oh."

"He's locked in the basement, but he needs someone. I don't want him to be alone, but I have to go and look for a cure."

Rather than tell Stefan it was a lost cause, Alaric cleared his throat. "Alright, I'm on my way."

"Thank you."

"Good luck," he added before hanging up. With that, Stefan returned the phone to his pocket and left the boarding house.

Bonnie opened her door and went completely still at the sight of Stefan. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice tired and worn out, matching the weary look on her face.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

Bonnie took a deep breath and stepped onto the patio. "What is it now?"

"I need a cure for a werewolf bite."

Again, her eyes went wide as she studied him. "You don't-"

"It's not for me," he said quietly.

Her lips pressed into a thin line and she shook her head once. "I'm sorry Stefan, I can't do it. I don't care how much good he's done lately, it still doesn't make up for the fact that he killed my grandmother."

"Bonnie, I'm asking you to do this for Elena. In a year she lost all four of her parents and her guardian. Do you really think that she'll be able to get over it if Damon dies too?" He watched as she cast her eyes to the ground. "Please, Bonnie," he said in a soft voice.

After a long bout of silence, Bonnie finally answered. "What do you want me to do?"

Stefan let out a sigh of relief. "Maybe one of the spirits knows something. They've been around for a long time and I believe they would tell you."

"What if-"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Stefan said sternly, not wanting to think about what would happen if he couldn't find a cure.

Once they were in Stefan's car, Bonnie turned to look at him. "Just so we're clear, this is the last time I do anything for Damon even if it's for Elena."

Stefan nodded, but said nothing. Their drive to the abandoned mansion was a silent one. The moment he parked, Bonnie bolted from the car and started walking inside. Stefan stood just outside the entrance and peered around. Bonnie stopped and looked back at him. "I know I don't have to be invited, but Damon mentioned they threw him out once."

She shrugged, "That's because Damon is evil and they know it. They don't mind you," she said before turning and walking up the stairs to the room she had performed the rituals in.

Stefan took a deep breath and stepped inside so that he could follow her. Relief washed over him when nothing happened. He stood just inside the room as he watched Bonnie stand inside the chalk drawn circle. She let her head fall back and her eyes close as she started muttering something in that ancient language. Stefan looked around as he heard voices whispering in that same language. It was strange that the voices of the spirits could be tangible. He could feel the words wrapping around his skin like the wind.

And in the next instant, everything stopped. Bonnie looked at him with a sadness in her eyes. "What did they say?" he asked.

"Klaus. Find him, find the cure."

After taking Bonnie home, Stefan texted Caroline asking if she knew where Elena was. She replied saying they were in the town center getting ready to watch Gone With The Wind. She also asked why he didn't just text Elena. He explained that he didn't want to alarm her, which in turn alarmed Caroline, but she agreed to not say anything. Stefan parked as far away from the square as he could and sped his way through the crowd until he found Elena. She was with Jeremy and Caroline on a blanket with a cooler and snacks.

"Hey. I didn't know you were coming," Elena said, looking around. He knew she was looking for Damon, but said nothing as she met his gaze.

"I just came to see you. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He heard Elena's heart skip a beat as she sucked in a shaky breath. He knew she could sense that there was trouble and simply nodded, letting him help her to her feet. "Be right back," she mumbled and followed Stefan to a quiet spot out of human earshot. "This is about Damon isn't it?" Stefan nodded and Elena shook her head before running her hand through her hair. "I knew something was off about him and he hasn't been answering my calls or messages." She paused and stopped moving to look at him. The tears in her eyes made his gut wrench. "And I think it's safe to assume you're not here with good news," she muttered.

Stefan shook his head. "I wish it were good news," he said lightly. "I really do."

"What is it?" she asked, trying her best to hold back tears.

"The night of the ritual, he was trying to lead Caroline, Tyler, and Matt to safety, but Tyler had already started the change and..." his voice trailed off as he saw the tears flow down her cheeks. He noticed the way her skin had turned a shade lighter and the fact that she swayed on her feet.

Elena felt sick to her stomach. She could feel her strength slipping at the idea of losing Damon and it was hard to stand. "Tyler bit him." It wasn't a question.

Stefan nodded. "Yes."

Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That makes today the third day." She brought her hands to her face and wiped away tears as she opened her eyes to look at him again. "Oh God, I can't lose him," she breathed and Stefan brought her to him.

"I know. I can't lose him either," he returned and tightened his hold. "I'm going to do everything I can to find a cure."

"Stefan-"

"I can't make any promises; I won't make any promises." He pulled back and held Elena by her biceps so that he could look her in the eye. "He made me promise not to tell you, but you need to know, Elena. You need to spend as much time with him as you can."

She nodded and Stefan moved her hands up to her face to wipe the remaining tears from her face. "How are you going to find a cure? We looked for Rose, but we didn't find anything."

Stefan gave a sorrow filled smile and Elena shook her head. "He's my brother, Elena. He is the only family I have left. I owe it to him to do whatever it takes to cure him. I'm the one that made him turn."

"Yes, but-" she started, realizing what he meant.

"Elena, I've already made up my mind," he said, letting go of her.

As he started to walk away, Elena grabbed him and moved in front of him. "But going to Klaus might get you killed and I am not okay with losing both of you. I almost went through that once."

"I know that."

"Stefan-"

"I want you to be happy, Elena. I want Damon to be happy. He was with Katherine first and I knew that. I lied before and I'm sorry. I took everything from him including his life because I was jealous of him. For the first time in my life, he had what I wanted and I didn't like it. So yes, I'm going to Klaus. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't, thinking about the what-ifs. I don't know what I would do without him and I am not ready to find out. Not when I was so close to getting my brother back."

Before Elena could say anything, she felt a small breeze on her face and Stefan was gone from her sight.

Alaric walked into the boarding house slowly. Stefan had told him Damon was locked up, but with the way things were going around town, he figured it didn't hurt to be a little cautious. He made his way down to the basement and the moment he opened the door, he could hear Damon calling out for both Katherine and Elena. He remembered being told that Rose had been having hallucinations and confused Elena for Katherine too and it made him very glad that Damon was secured and Elena was nowhere to be seen. Instead of going to see Damon first, he made a pit stop at the fridge where the Salvatore's kept their blood and poured Damon a glass. When he reached the cell, he put it between two bars and looked at Damon.

"I brought you something to eat."

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked, his voice raspy.

"Stefan called me."

"And you actually came?" Damon stared up at him with narrowed eyes. "Let me guess, you came for revenge because I'm an easy target and all."

Alaric shook his head. "No, I came because despite my genuine dislike for you, you're a good friend. Believe it or not, I am your only friend."

"Friends do not get their friend's girlfriends killed."

"They also don't kill their friend's wives, but I already let that one slide," Alaric fired back, causing Damon to smirk.

Slowly, his smirk diminished and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I really am sorry about Jenna. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, Damon. I'm not mad at you. You were trying to save two of Elena's best friends and no one would have thought for a second that Klaus would do that to Jenna. I'm mad at him, not you."

"It's just because I'm dying isn't it?"

Alaric smiled and gave a half shrug. "I guess you'll never know."

"Where's Elena?" Damon asked after a long silent pause.

"She'll be here," Alaric answered, not knowing exactly when she would show up. "Just don't talk, okay? Conserve your energy."

"For what?"

"Just do it," Alaric demanded as he sunk to the ground. He was tired of talking. He wanted to be there for Damon, but he didn't know how. For now, all he could do was sit there and lend some moral support until Elena came.

Elena paced back and forth in Sheriff Forbes's office. She was still fuming about how unfair her friend's mother was being. Liz knew she was involved with Damon and yet she had forced her to come down to the police station so she could "take care" of Damon. The worst part was that Damon had gotten away. An officer had opened the door to his cell and he ran. Elena knew he was looking for her and part of her felt guilty for taking so long to go see him. The truth was she couldn't face him. She knew the next time she saw him would be the last and it killed her that she hadn't realized something was wrong with him the first time.

Elena stopped to sigh in frustration. Just as the anger of the situation began to reach it's peak, she saw her escape. Without even hesitating, she picked up the chair and bashed it into the window. The glass shattered immediately, raining sharp sparkling pieces all over the office as well as the ground on the outside of the building. Elena climbed out easily enough and made her way towards the showing of Gone With The Wind which was now almost half over. She couldn't explain it, but she just knew that Damon was close by.

Elena continued to walk through the crowd. She stopped at the edge and scanned it again just in case she had missed something. She jumped as a hand went over her mouth and an arm looped around her waist, pulling her off to the side. She was pushed back in the wall of building out of view from anyone else and looked up to see Damon. Her heart nearly broke in two as she threw her arms around him, not caring that he looked like death warmed over.

"I'm so sorry. I should have come to see you earlier."

"Katherine?" he mumbled and Elena pulled away in surprise.

"No, Damon, it's me, Elena," she said softly. She remembered Rose had gone through hallucinations and had also mistaken her for her vampiric twin, but it seemed worse with Damon. "Katherine's not here."

Damon's eyes were full of confusion as he pressed forward, pushing Elena against the rough brick wall. His gaze dropped from hers and down to her neck where it lingered and he licked his lips. Before Elena could grasp the reality of the situation, Damon had leaned in and pressed his lips to her throat.

"Damon, no," she pleaded, already too late as she felt the sting of fangs pierce her skin.

He drank slow and deep. Elena could feel each pull as blood left her body. Her heart hammered against her chest as she fought the urge to struggle, knowing it would probably lead to a worst case scenario. Her breath came in short, ragged waves and her fingers dug into his shoulder blades.

"Damon, stop. You're hurting me," she whispered around the lump in her throat.

It wasn't until her grip loosened on his shoulders that Damon snapped back to reality. He could taste the human quality in the blood and he pulled away. He stared in horror at the sight of the blood on Elena's neck that trickled out of the puncture marks he had left. "Elena?"

She moved forward to catch him as he swayed on his feet. She remembered Rose feeling sick after feeding too. "Let's get you home," she said, supporting him the best she could.

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she whispered and paused, trying to figure out how to get to the boarding house where both of their cars were.

Just as Elena was about to give up, Caroline came around the corner and went to Damon's other side, helping Elena support him even more. "Come on Damon, let's get you home," she said and began moving towards her car.