I don't own the vampire diaries and I don't own the characters.
This takes place after the events in my fanfic Soulmates always find a way.
The POV's will be from Damon and Elena.
Enjoy.
Feedback is appreciated.
Thank you for your feedback on Damon's chapter. This will be Elena's POV all the way. We are nearing the end of their story. After this there will be only 2 chapters left. Enjoy and review, please.
Chapter 22- One last time
Elena's POV
Damon's plea of 'don't give up' and 'please fight baby' echoed through my mind constantly. I wanted so much to open my eyes and tell him that I'd fight and that I'd always fight but I couldn't. Part of me didn't want to, I was tired. I had fought so much in my life that I felt exhausted now. I had lived a good life, a life that most people would only live in their dreams. I had found the one person who could make my heart race and knew me better than anyone. I had a family who would do anything for me and I had best friends who would take bullets and daggers and stakes if it meant that they could save my life. My life was what I'd always dreamed it would be, happy. Yesterday I had completed my all time number one dream and married the man that I love, I became Mrs. Damon Salvatore. I was a Salvatore and I was his. What else was there for me to do now? With that last thought I blinked my eyes open and I instantly knew where I was.
I was in a meadow but there was a line in front of me. I knew no one else would be able to see it, the line was metaphorical. I could stay on this side and have people continually fight for me or I could step over line knowing that my life had been filled with happiness others only dreamt of and I could pass. I could pass over to the other side and watch Damon be a wonderful father to our children. I would watch Jeremy and Bonnie work through their problems and become a family just the two of them. My parents would be sad but they'd move on and so would Jenna and Ric. My best friends would mourn but then they'd find they also had that happiness that I myself had. I was almost there. My foot was hovered over the other side when one voice snapped through everything.
"What the hell do you think you're trying to pull?!"
My step faltered and I felt myself being pulled backwards. "Stefan let me go! I'm ready!" I didn't expect to see him here and I didn't want him to hold me back. I was ready...I could stay on the other side. It was my time. As if he could read my thoughts he shook his head and stood in front of me blocking me from walking to the line again.
"It is not your fucking TIME Elena."
"It is. I feel it Stefan. THIS is what I'm supposed to be...dead. I can't cheat death, not again."
I could admit I could cheat it once, even twice maybe. When I cheated it a third time after some miracle had made Stefan stop the car before he drove it off the bridge...I didn't deserve to cheat it then. Magic and some higher power had been on our side a few more times as I continued to cheat death. I tried my luck again and I became a vampire. Everything went downhill from there, I was kidnapped and hurt but I was given a second chance. Now that chance was over, I had more happiness and love with that chance and I didn't want it to end. But I knew it had to, at some point everyone dies, every human dies and I had to be ready.
"I know you feel it Elena. You may be ready to give up but who says your family and friends are? Huh?"
I shake my head in denial. They would give up, they had to. Yet I did feel something, how did Stefan know? I felt a pounding over my heart that wouldn't stop. It was only getting harder and faster. What the hell was it? I could hear voices but it was like trying to listen through walls, too muffled. I step back away from Stefan and the voices became more clear...I decided to experiment. The farther away from the line the more I could hear the voices. Finally one broke through.
"Dammit! Elena! FUCKING FIGHT!"
I froze when I heard who it belonged to, Klaus. He had gone from years ago threatening me to now screaming at me to fight. The banging over my heart became more frantic, like the person was scared but also determined. I listened more carefully and heard more voices join Klaus.
"I've lost her." I could barely hear the whispered voice but it made me shatter into pieces. I fell to the floor of the meadow and gripped the grass between my hands. NO, that's what I wanted to scream to the voice but I couldn't form the simple word. Damon sounded so heartbroken and defeated, the sudden realization came to me that if I didn't wake up and come back to him he wouldn't be the happy person I thought he'd be...he'd die too.
"KEEP HIM THE FUCK OUT! HE WON'T BE ABLE TO HELP! SHE NEEDS MY FUCKING BLOOD!"
I heard Klaus shout out and I reached forward and felt a hand grab mine. I saw Stefan in front of me on his knees.
"FIGHT ELENA!"
Stefan and I locked eyes and I saw his determination. Even if I gave up he'd fight for me.
"COME ON! YOU'VE FAUGHT DEATH SO MANY TIMES DO IT ONE FUCKING MORE!"
Klaus's voice still echoed in the meadow. I shook my head and walked away from the screaming. I needed to pass that line. I couldn't fight anymore. I was too tired. Too weak. Too human. I heard a growl come from behind me and before I knew it I was being thrown across the field of grass.
"NO!" Stefan's voice drowned out Klaus's as I stood to face him. I knew I'd have to get past him. "You won't be able to fight me off Elena. I won't let you die. Not fucking now."
I made a run for it. I knew how Stefan was. I knew I'd have to be fast and catch him by surprise. I was repeatedly thrown backwards and he stood there smiling triumphantly at me. This is exactly what I wanted, him to think he was winning. His guard would come down and it'd be easy to cross the line without a fight. I make my last go for the other side and suddenly I find myself on my back with Stefan hovering over me pushing his body against mine.
"You aren't that clever Elena. You may be tired of fighting but I'm not, Damon's not, your best friends aren't and you're family isn't. You won't die, not now. I'll make sure of that." Before I can open my mouth to say anything his lips find mine and his hands rest themselves over my heart. What the hell is he doing? I push against his chest but it's useless. "You. Won't. Die." His lips speak the words and I feel his breath enter my mouth. It's now clear what he's doing.
He's not kissing me, he's breathing into my mouth. He was forcing my mouth to stay open with his tongue while he breathed every breath into my mouth. His hands that were on my heart were now pounding into my chest. CPR. He was doing his own version of CPR. He withdrew his mouth and I saw the broad smile on his lips. Those eyes, his green eyes were lighting up and it they were practically screaming the words 'I told you so'. I felt myself slipping away from the meadow, he leaned down once more and whispered in my ear.
"I'll always fight for you Elena. I do love you sweetie. Go back and make my brother happy."
My eyes closed and open as if I was just blinking. I heard a victorious hiss and saw Klaus straddling me. His wrist was on my mouth and I drank the blood without having to be asked. His hands stilled on my chest and I heard the 'beeeeeeeeeeep' that signaled my heart had stopped. Dammit that blackness came back. I was surprised that I could still hear, Bonnie had come in and he had moved off of me. I felt Bonnie's hands go over my heart and she murmured some words. I knew transitions took hours, I was going to be out for hours before the blood healed me, but in a matter of minutes my eyes were open and Bonnie was smiling at me.
"It worked. I sped it up...now you need to feed."
Her voice stopped and I looked at the door when I heard the loud voices.
"Damon. Just come with me." Klaus.
"She's fucking GONE! I saw her! She died!"
My heart broke again. I had almost left him. He sounded so broken, I knew what he needed. He needed me. Those words that I so wanted to scream to him in the meadow finally came to me. I was able to take a deep breath and tell him I'd fight for him and that I love him.
"Damon. I love you. I'll always come back."
I sit up and say the words towards the open doorway as loud as I can. I know he heard them because I heard his feet stumble and I saw him grip the door frame. Damon. He looked so broken but he looked like the sun had just risen again in the middle of the night. I don't think he knew he was crying. He runs over to me and starts touching me as if I'll disappear soon, like I'm a dream. His lips come crashing down on mine and his tongue skims over my bottom lip and I quickly grant him access to my mouth. Our teeth hit repeatedly and our tongues are locked in a death match that neither will end up winning. Neither of us want to. I growl as I feel my eyes change and my fangs elongate. Damn this vampire hunger. I know what triggered this, the kiss. He had tasted so good, his tongue, his scent, so close and so tempting. I push him away just as he pulls back and I try to not focus on the vein throbbing on his neck.
Don't feed on Damon.
Don't feed on Damon.
You can't feed on him.
You love him.
You're married to him.
Don't feed on DAMON.
I keep repeating the words like a mantra in my head while he speaks. "My beautiful wife. You came back. You came back."
That damn vein was making it hard to concentrate. I just nodded my head and kept my jaw locked. He leaned towards me again but I shook my head and pushed him away. His eyes were hurt but then they were understanding.
"I can't Damon. I can't."
I push him away from the bed and turn my head away from him. I grant myself a few deep breaths before I turn to look at him again. He sits on my bed and strokes my cheek. His warmth, I don't think he knows this but his scent is almost too much. I can practically taste how his blood would taste and I want to melt. It would be better than any drink I've ever drank and it would be better than what I remember he tasted like when he was a vampire. Suddenly his lips are on my neck and moving kisses up to my jaw. That electricity is still there. My eyes flutter with desire and hunger. His lips find mine and he looks me directly in the eyes.
"Feed on me Lena. You won't hurt me."
I shake my head. I know I'd have no control. Nothing would be able to stop me. It scares me. I could hurt him.
"Lena. You. Won't. Hurt. Me."
Looking into his eyes. I want so much to believe him. "How do you know Damon?"
He smiles his boyish loving smile. "You'll see the fireworks and you'll stop. I trust you. I love you. But most of all, I know YOU love ME. Which is why you'll know when to stop." He pulls me up and places my mouth on his neck.
After what felt like a lifetime I start gently kissing his neck. He lays down so he's laying next to me and I smile against his neck. My baby, so trusting and so loving. I find the right spot to bite but not kill, my fangs graze his skin and I feel him shiver. It's not an 'I'm scared.' shiver, it's almost like an 'I'm turned on' shiver. I pull back and arch an eyebrow at him.
He shrugs his shoulders. "What can I say? You're the sexy vampiress and I can't wait for you to feed on me. It's a very personal, sexual thing Mrs. Salvatore."
I roll my eyes and go back to kissing his neck. This time when my fangs meet his skin they pierce it. His blood meets my tongue and I suck deeply. The fireworks start right after the first swallow. It's so overwhelming at first, seeing all the love that Damon has for me. The joy and happiness when he saw I was alive. I wasn't surprised to see those images or feel those feelings. I knew now how he knew I'd know when to stop. I feel the overwhelming need to keep him safe. It's like he's not just any human, he's MY human and I'd die before I'd kill him myself. I pull back and look in his eyes. They're shining and I know he knows what I feel. The protectiveness, it makes sense now. I knew that I never had to feed off Damon to feel this way, I felt like this even before I fed on him. It's why I was afraid to feed on him. It was also why he protected me so much when I was human, he's felt this intense need to protect before.
He nods his head. "Yes. That's what I felt when you were human and I was the vampire. It's your turn now baby. Protect me and then one day, maybe you can turn me. There's no rush."
I nodded my head. I knew in that moment he was right. Our roles had reversed and it was okay. We were safe. We had each other and we had our babies. The danger was gone and everything would be alright. I disagreed on one point though, I didn't want to turn him. I didn't want this life for him, he deserved to be human and I would do whatever I had to do to keep him from becoming like me.
Now that I was a vampire I loved him more than I thought I ever could. I came back to him. I didn't lose him, he didn't lose me. But he'd stay human...no matter what.
