I woke up in the same place that I fell but when I looked over Damon was gone. I didn't understand where he could be unless my father took him again.
"Elena, you're back." Caroline said rushing in and kneeling beside me. The man whose neck I'd broken was still lying there and I was glad he was dead.
"Damon?" I asked her sitting up.
"You weren't answering your phone so I got worried. I tracked you here and you were down and Damon was bleeding and I knew you'd want me to get him out of here. So I took him to the hospital." She told me.
"Did you give him your blood?" I asked her. I didn't know what I wanted her to say. I hated the idea of my best friend giving my boyfriend her blood, but at the same time I would rather anything than him being dead.
"No, his wound didn't look life threatening. I just rushed him to the hospital and called his parents. I just really hope that I wasn't wrong." She told me.
"Where is my father?" I demanded.
"He was gone by the time I got here. I don't know where he would have gone, but he for sure knows that you're not going to stay dead." She told me and I was angrier than I'd ever been. I was angry enough that killing my father seemed like the only way to get through this. If I lost Damon I would kill every single person that my dad knew with the exception of my mom and brother.
"I need to see Damon." I said standing up. Caroline nodded and pulled me up from the floor. "How is Tyler?"
"He's fine. I left when I got worried about you. They're not after me, they're only after you. I should have known that and never left you. Tyler was always perfectly safe." She told me.
"I wish I'd never met Damon." I said closing my eyes.
"No you don't." She said soothingly.
"Yes I do. If I hadn't his life would still be normal. He wouldn't have just gotten shot trying to be the hero. I told him not to be the hero." I cried.
"Just go see him. I feel good about him living. He's not going to die on you. He'll live for you." She comforted me and I tried to nod.
At the hospital I found Damon's parents and Stefan in the waiting room.
"Any word?" I asked when I rushed over to them. Lily wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight.
"What happened?" She asked tearfully.
"I got there and my father had him somehow tied to a chair. But he got himself free and charged my dad. One of his partners stepped out of the shadows and pulled a gun. I attacked him and killed him but he was able to pull the trigger. I never thought. I should have taken the gun, not killed him. I was about to get to Damon and give him my blood to save him but someone must have broken my neck. When I woke up he was gone." I told her.
"Caroline got him and brought him to the hospital and called us." She told me and I nodded.
"She told me that when I woke up. Can I see him?" I asked hopefully.
"He's still in surgery. He lost a lot of blood." Giuseppe said and tears filled my eyes again.
"Is he going to be alright?" I asked and Giuseppe shrugged his shoulders and the tears spilled down my cheek.
"I'm sorry Elena. He lost a lot of blood and he was in critical condition." He told me. Caroline stepped closer to me and put her hand on my back. I turned around and hugged her.
"I'm sorry Elena. I know I should have healed him." She said and I shook my head and hugged her harder.
"This isn't your fault Care. You got him here." I told her.
"What are you going to do now?" She asked and I raised my head and put a determined mask on my face.
"I'm going to find my father and kill everyone working with him on the way." I told her. Caroline nodded and released me.
"I'm coming with you." She declared and I knew she would. I knew Caroline and there is no way she'd let me go through this alone.
"Call me if anything changes." I turned and said to Lily and Giuseppe.
"Where are you going?" Giuseppe asked having not heard my conversation with Caroline. I didn't want them to hear what I was planning.
"I'm going to get retribution for Damon. I'm going to have a few words with my father." I said before leaving the hospital.
I drove to the house and saw that it was swarming with armed men.
"Divide and conquer?" Caroline asked and I nodded. I may not have had a lot of experience killing people but I was running on emotion. I was an unhinged vampire right now so I intended on letting my instincts take over. We got out of the car and attacked before the men could shoot at us. We both knew better than to bite any of them due to the vervain. We were careful to try not to kill them all. We disarmed them and Caroline tied them to the porch while I walked up the stairs and kicked in the door. Caroline followed behind me and we found my dad, mom and Jeremy in the family room.
"You guys need to get out of here. I need to have a few words with him." I said. My vampire side was on the surface and I could see the fear in my mom and Jeremy's face.
"Don't hurt your dad, he's a good man." My mom pleaded.
"Would a good man have an eighteen your old man shot?" I demanded.
"He had it coming. He was fraternizing with the enemy." My dad shot in.
"You had to know this was coming. If Damon dies, you die. You hear me?" I demanded.
"You guys need to leave." Caroline ordered.
"No. We are not leaving you alone with my husband." My mom said.
"Alright then." Caroline decided, grabbing my mom's upper arm and motioning for Jeremy to walk. Jeremy was terrified and I knew he didn't want to be there. The only person I felt bad for at all was Jeremy. He was innocent in all of this.
"Are you going to kill him?" Jeremy asked and I shook my head. I didn't intend on killing him as long as nothing happened to Damon. Caroline escorted them outside and I heard their car start up. She came back in and sat down waiting for instruction from me.
"So what are we going to do to him?" Caroline asked.
"We're taking him to where he had Damon. He's going to stay there with us until the vervain is out of his system. Then we're going to compel him to leave town forever and never come back." I told her.
"It'll never work. They will come for me." He said.
"Oh you mean the twelve men you had outside guarding the house? Where do you think they were when we broke in?" I asked humourlessly.
"I figured they went on patrol. You disposed of them?" He asked.
"Well unlike you, I don't kill everyone in my path who disagrees with me. They're simply tied up and unarmed. Completely useless to you. Caroline searched them for all weapons." I told him with a shrug. It was easy not to care about anything when my demon was on the surface.
"You're never going to get away with this." He hissed as I pulled him up and pushed him outside and into the backseat of the car. I sat in the back with him as Caroline drove us back to the Lockwood ruins.
Once I had my father tied to a chair in a knot that even the most experienced escape artist couldn't get out of, I sat down in front of him and tried compelling him. When his eyes didn't dilate I knew he was completely full of vervain.
"So now we can make this go fast and I can bleed the vervain out of you, or we'll sit and wait until it's gone. Should only take a few days." I said immediately knowing I would go with option two. I couldn't stand the idea of hurting my dad even now when he's done so much to hurt me. A few hours later I got the call I was waiting for and I asked Caroline to stay with my dad so I could rush to the hospital. Caroline hugged me as I left and I made it to the hospital in record time. When I got there his parents were in his hospital room and I wasn't sure if I should go in.
"Come on in." Lily said when she saw me standing there. I smiled and rushed over to the bed and hugged him as best I could.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you." I whispered.
"It's okay, because we're both still here. What happened with your dad?" He asked concerned.
"You don't have to worry about it. Just know that I'm taking care of it." I promised.
"Don't do anything you'll regret. I don't want you to change." He pleaded and I shook my head.
"I'm not going to kill him. But I do have to get rid of him." I told him.
"What are you going to do?" He asked again.
"I'm keeping him hostage until the vervain is out of his system. Then I'll compel him to leave Mystic Falls forever." I told him and he smiled.
"I knew you'd find a blood free way to get rid of them. What happened to the guy who shot me?" He asked and I looked away.
"I killed him. I know you probably don't approve but I really don't know what else I could have done." I whispered.
"It's okay, I would have done the same thing." He promised.
I stayed with Damon for the next three days, never leaving the hospital. I got periodic updates from Caroline as she tested his blood daily for traces of vervain. On the third day she called and said that he's vervain free.
"I have to go, I'll be back later." I told him giving him a kiss.
"Okay." He said as I got up to leave. Damon was getting released after I took care of my dad. I didn't want him out of the hospital until everything was taken care of. It only took a quick dose of compulsion to get exactly what I wanted in this case. When I got back to the ruins I went down and found Caroline and my dad.
"Vervain free?" I asked and she nodded.
"Yep." She affirmed and I nodded and took her chair in front of him.
"You are going to leave town and never come back. You're going to forget I exist, you're going to think I died the night of the vampire attack. None of this ever happened." I compelled him. When I was done I untied him and sent him on his way. I had already compelled my mom and Jeremy to forget about everything including me as well. Everything was taken care of and I was finally safe.