Surprise ;)

I wandered through the huge forest alone, my feet crunching on the leaves. The sun was high in the sky, its rays casting mysterious shadows on the forest floor around me. It was midday. I heard a soft crunch, and I turned on my heel, only to see a blur of color flash by me. I growled under my breath and heard a deep chuckle in my ear. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and my love pressed a kiss to my neck.

"Kol." I laughed, turning my head to plant a kiss on his mouth.

"Hey kitten." he whispered, and disappeared.

I groaned in protest and started to walk forward again. I was getting older, and finally catching up to Kol's ripe age of 20. Today was my 19th birthday. Time was flying for the both of us, and I could tell he was getting worried. Worried that I'd age and die on him, leaving him alone. Stefan and Damon had finally found the right people for them, and I was extremely happy because of that. They deserved someone who didn't unintentionally toy with their feelings, and the girls they'd found didn't. Kol and I, well, we had 'ran off' and a year ago and we were living happily about twenty minutes outside of Mystic Falls, in this beautiful house in the middle of the woods. That was my current destination – our home. Our home with the dark wooden floors and the big open rooms. Our home, with the big king size bed and the balcony overlooking the green forest.

I continued to walk, lost in thought, towards our home. I was so deep in thought, I didn't hear the sound of a twig snapping behind me. Milliseconds later, arms were wrapped around my waist, and my surroundings blurred, jarring me out of my stupor.

I struggled briefly, before hearing a familiar laugh in my ear. I appeared in front of my home, and my 'assistant' was thrown against a tree.

"Kol!" I yelped, running towards him. "It's just Caroline! Geez!" I tugged gently on his shirt sleeve and he turned away, his nostrils flared.

"Sorry." He apologized, engulfing my small body in a hug.

"Hi Care!" I called over Kol's shoulder, and she smiled, as perky as ever.

"I thought it was Nik." he explained stepping back. "She smells just like him."

A crimson blush spread across her pale cheeks and she beamed at me. Klaus and Caroline had finally gotten together last year. They'd been dating for a while, but she wanted to take it slow with him. Her poor heart had been broken by Tyler when he cheated on her with Hailey, a werewolf girl he had met a while back. Klaus gladly scooped up her broken heart and they'd been fixing each other slowly. His humanity, and her trust in others.

"Aw, Care!" I smiled and engulfed her in a bear hug, and she hugged me back. "Sorry. I couldn't miss my best friend's birthday!" I invited Care in and we walked into our house and sat down in the living room. "So, how's the married life?" she wiggled her eyebrows at us, and I shook my head.

"Stop being sexual, love." another voice came from the front-door, and Caroline's face lit up. "Nik!" she grinned and ran to him, giving him a hug and kissing him daintily on the cheek. He grinned his infamous wolfish grin and looked at me. "Care to invite me in, love?"

Kol shook his head and we went to the backdeck. Klaus appeared and smiled. "Don't worry, Elena. I am no longer in need of your blood."

I narrowed my eyes but Caroline nodded in agreement. "He's changed, 'Lena."

I smiled uncertainly and peered at him. He seemed different. Kinder. Smoother around the edges, even.

For some odd reason unknown to me, I felt as if I could... trust him now.

We talked until the sun went down, and then they left, leaving us in peace. We were settled in our big bed, me against his hard chest, when he suddenly spoke.

"Don't leave me." he whispered into my hair, his arms tightening slightly around my body.

I blinked in confusion, but knew what he meant. "Kol..." I trailed off. He knew how I felt about vampirism. I didn't want that for me. I wanted to stay human, but a part of me wanted to stay with Kol, too. I was torn, and it was so frustrating.

"I know." he sighed and moved my body so he could stare into my eyes. "I love you Elena. I don't want you to grow old and leave me behind. And I know you don't want to leave me behind either. Think about Caroline, Stefan, and Damon! Think about me." he whispered the last part, brushing his lips against mine.

My mind whirled, processing his words. I'd worked the scenarios out in my head so many times. Kol leaving me, leaving me to be a miserable amplified emotionless killer, or even a depressed vampire. I didn't want that. Another scenario I'd come up with was me... happy. But I couldn't seem to processes that being a possibility. I'd had so much struggle in my life, and it was so hard for me to picture being truly happy, like I was now. I kept expecting something to pop out at me and ruin my perfect life, but nothing had happened.

"C-can I think about it?" I asked. I had asked him before, and he simply nodded.

"Of course." he laid us down in the bed, keeping me in his arms.

The next few weeks were spent doing the usual, exploring, me going to college online, and pondering the big 'what if' in my life.

What if I do decide to become a vampire? Would I experience the crazy blood lust? Or would I be able to control it?

One evening, a few months later, I drove into town to visit Jeremy, who was now living with Matt.

"Hey Jer," I said, walking into the house. I had called ahead and told Matt that I'd be visiting while he was at work. He informed Jeremy of my upcoming arrival and told me it was fine if I just walked in.

"Elena!" He exclaimed, a bright smile spreading across his face. "What's up?"

I smiled and met him in a hug. I squeezed him tight and smiled up at him. "Can we talk for a bit?" I asked, glancing at the television, which was on. He nodded once and sat down on Matt's couch, motioning me to sit down next to him. He shut off the television and motioned for me to go on.

I took a deep breath, running my fingers through my long brown hair. "Kol wants me to turn."

His eyes narrowed, and he was speechless only for a moment. "Into a vampire? Are-are you even considering it?" He seemed stuck in disbelief that I would want to turn into an immortal being. "'Lena, you've always said you never wanted that life. You said you wanted to grow old, have kids, and die like normal. You wanted a normal life! What happened?" the last sentence was added quietly, to try to tone down the exclamation in his voice.

I chewed on my lip, grabbing one of his hands. "Kol happened." I whispered, and his eyes glowed. They seemed to soften and swell with his love for me.

"You love him, don't you?" was his only reply.

I found myself nodding without a second thought. "He's different from Damon and Stefan. I bring out the best in him – the human side. He brings out the old me, the happy me. He-he makes me forget about my troubles." I imagined my eyes were sparkling at the mention of him.

"I won't hate you if you choose that life, Elena." he told me, squeezing my hand and pulling me into his arms. "I just want you to be happy. Live – or die – with no regrets. Do what makes you happy."

I smiled into his chest and hugged him back, just happy to be in his company. I missed my little brother – one brother who wasn't so little anymore. He did have a point, and his words struck home. After all I've been through, I did deserve to be happy – now, if that made me selfish, for wanting to be happy, then so be it.

We talked a bit more, until the sun sank lower into the sky, and finally disappeared. I had made my decision. I told Jeremy good-bye, and few tears were shed. I reminded him this wasn't goodbye, he could visit as often as he liked, and that Kol wouldn't bite. He simply laughed, and hugged me again, wishing me the best of luck with whatever choice I decided on making.

I drove home in silence, the trees blurring by in deep green streaks, the moon and my headlights lighting the black tar road. My mind continued to whirl, and I knew the best thing to do would be to jump with both feet forward, and not give into my doubts and uncertainties.

I deserve happiness.

I arrived at our home and climbed into bed with my love, and instantly fell asleep. He was kind enough to not ask questions of where I was, or what my choice was. He kept my request, and he hadn't pried to know my decisions for the past three months.

"Kol." I said one night as we snuggled on the couch in our living room. "When's your birthday? You've never told me."

Iron Man 3 blared loudly in the background, and I watched the people fight as he pondered my question.

"October 5th." he said after a while. It was almost like he had to think about it, and that bothered me.

"Kol," I turned to look at his face. "Did you forget your birthday?"

He didn't meet my eyes at first, but then looked at me seriously. "I usually don't celebrate it. I'm usually alone for it." he swallowed, gauging my reaction.

I frowned and kissed his lips sweetly. Today was October 1st. "Happy early birthday." I smiled up at him, and a grim smile formed on his face. "What?" I asked.

"Henrik died on my birthday." a tear trickled down his face and I quickly wiped it away.

"Hey," I whispered, hugging him tightly. "It's not your fault, Klaus was the one who took him to watch the werewolves, right?"

He shook his head and looked up at me, guilt riding in his eyes. "I told him that he was too afraid to watch them. I teased him. He begged Klaus to take him."

"It's okay, you didn't force him to go. I'm sure he forgave you, he was your brother after all." I whispered. "He wouldn't want this guilt on you, I'm sure."

He nodded his head and sighed, wiping another tear in shame.

"Kol." I whispered so quietly I almost didn't hear my own voice. "I've made my decision."