Author's note: I've had a few questions about why Elena didn't tell Damon that Elijah had been invited into her house. At this point, Elena is still on something of a self-sacrificial kick. She would rather die at Elijah (or Klaus' hands) instead of knowing Damon fought and died for her.

Also, since I worried more than a few readers, my grandmother is still in the hospital. She's scheduled to have surgery tomorrow. My son's health issues are ongoing, and we're continuing to do some diagnostic tests.

Rating: T (yes, I lowered the rating) - some mild adult content, language, violence

From here, we've finished the events of "By the Light of the Moon." We're crossing into "The Descent" as I would have like to have had it written - but I admit, this is a very unlikely scenario. I still had fun with it, and I hope you do as well.

And in keeping with all good TVD episodes, I have a musical cue in this chapter. (After all, it's the last part of this "episode.") If you have it available, you might want to find "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy. I'll let you know when to play it.

I still don't own TVD. Yes, it would be totally cool if I did.

Elena woke up in a blur. Had the events from last night really happened? She'd been sitting in her windowseat, thinking back to her agreement with Elijah. Something about the exchange bothered her as she thought about what he'd said. When he met her in her bedroom, she was so overcome by his offer...the thought that her family and friends would be safe...she didn't pay attention to the words. He never told her what would happen to her.

What had she agreed to?

The night was dark, much darker than she expected from a night just past full moon. The darkness outside reflected the intensity of her mood.

Then he was there.

The window acted as a mirror, and she saw his ghost of a smile. She stood, spun around, and found herself in his arms. Any questions of how Elijah had gotten him out or what she'd agreed to were long forgotten.

He was really here. She felt the hardness of his muscles beneath his shirt. Her lips crashed to his and their bodies entwined on her bed. As he reached to switch off the light, she thought she saw a hint of darkening around his eyes.

But that had been a dream, hadn't it? The burning mix of pleasure and pain at her throat...that wasn't real. All her memories of the night were foggy and distorted from that point on. His lips caressed her neck, but something more was there.

Now, in the morning's light, Elena pushed herself up on her elbows. She blinked in confusion as she struggled to make sense of the evening's events. She was reminded of when she had the flu two years ago. But somehow, she didn't think this was the flu. She hesitantly reached up and ran a finger over her neck.

She winced in pain as she found two tiny pinpricks.

It hadn't been a nightmare.

Grabbing her robe out of the closet, she turned and hurried to the bathroom - stumbling as she crossed the threshold and slamming into the doorframe.

"Elena?" Jenna pushed the bedroom door open. "Are you okay?" Jenna's eyes were wide as she stared at her niece. "You're white as a sheet."

Elena realized she couldn't talk her way out of this one. "I'm not feeling too well this morning. I think I might be coming down with something."

Jenna pressed her hand to Elena's forehead. "You don't feel hot. Or at least I don't think you do." She narrowed her lips into a thin line. "Maybe you should stay home today."

The room swayed under Elena's feet and she tightened her grip on the door. "I think that might be a good idea."

"I'll call the school." She stepped back and took a closer look at Elena. "I can't stay home. I have a meeting with my advisor today. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Jenna. Don't worry about me. I'll take my shower and go back to bed." Elena backed into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

"How'd you get out?" Damon leaned into Stefan's room.

"I'm still not sure." Stefan ran a towel through his wet hair. "Elijah said he made a deal with Elena."

"A deal?" Damon sped to his brother's side. "What kind of a deal?"

"I don't know. He said Elena would explain it."

"And did she?"

Stefan frowned. "I haven't asked her yet."

Damon narrowed his eyes and stared intently at his brother. "Have you seen her?"

"I went to her house, but we got distracted."

"You got distracted..." He stood, mere inches from Stefan's face. "Had you fed first?"

Stefan looked at the ground.

"Stefan!" Damon gripped his brother by the neck and slammed him to the wall. "You hadn't eaten in days. You were too stubborn to take the blood I brought you. Is Elena alright?"

"She's fine. It wasn't like last time. I would never hurt her."

"That's what you said about Emma." Something about Stefan's expression left Damon less than certain. "Of all the careless..." He released his grip from Stefan's neck and spun to leave the room. Stefan's phone buzzed, and Damon stopped and picked it up. "Ric?" With a questioning look, he tossed the phone to his brother.

"Yeah. Thanks." Stefan turned so that his back was to Damon. "It would probably be easier with you there. I'll be ready."

"Ready for what?" Damon leaned against the door jam.

"We're going to talk to John. We think he can help us find Isobel."

A crash and a scream echoed from downstairs. "Rose?" Damon hesitated, not finished with his conversation with his brother. "This conversation isn't over."

Elena knocked at the door, but no one answered. Hearing voices from within, she pushed the door open.

"How bad is it?"

Damon's answer was muddled, and Elena couldn't make it out.

"Don't lie to me, Damon." Rose's voice was sharp. Elena stepped into the living room. Rose sat perched on the edge of the couch, cradling her head in her hands. Damon gently lowered the shoulder strap of Rose's blouse back in place.

Damon cleared his throat as he fought for words. "I'm going to find out how to fix this." He turned to pick up a glass filled with a deep red liquid and seemed surprised to find Elena in the room. That was a first...he must have been totally distracted. "Here, you need to keep your strength up." He forced a smile and looked in Elena's direction. "Don't you have school?"

"Not today." Elena adjusted her scarf as she nodded toward the kitchen. "Is she going to be alright?" Her eyes were wide with fear. "Her back looks so much worse."

"I don't know." Damon admitted. He clenched the glass he held in his hand so tightly that Elena was afraid it was about to shatter. His voice lowered an octave. "I need to find Jules."

"Ok." Elena sighed. "You go find Jules and figure out how to help Rose. I'll stay with her."

"I'm not sure."

"Really, Damon, I'll be fine with her. She's my friend too. I want you to find out how to help her."

Damon turned to leave but stopped himself. "One more thing." He reached out and took hold of her arm. "How did you get Stefan out?"

Elena's face fell. "He's been here."

"Yep, but he was a little fuzzy on the details. You made a deal with Elijah?"

Elena pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I did what I had to do, Damon. I wasn't going to leave him in there if there was a way to get him out." Elena looked in Rose's direction. "She's getting weaker. You need to go."

"We'll talk about this later." He grabbed his leather jacket from the back of the chair and pulled it on.

"I'm sure we will." Elena's jaw clenched as she was once again reminded that she wasn't exactly certain of the details of her agreement with Elijah. She knew Damon was going to be less-than-thrilled with that news.

"So, why are we here again?" Alaric parked his SUV in front of a row of townhouses. He unbuckled his seatbelt as he turned to look at Stefan.

"I need to find Isobel."

"And you think John's going to help you?" Alaric looked doubtfully at Stefan.

Stefan shook his head. "No. I think John's going to help you."

Alaric nodded. Now the pieces were falling into place. Stefan needed a buffer when dealing with Elena's father, so he brought the somewhat-stepfather along. Of course, that made sense. Well, it made as much sense as most of the rest of his time since he'd arrived in Mystic Falls. "Well, no time like the present." He slid out of the vehicle and locket it behind them. "Are you sure he's home?"

"I think so. I had Jeremy call him for me." Stefan strode purposefully up the sidewalk. He saw a hint of movement behind the wooden blinds. He tilted his head to the side. "He's probably guessed we're not Jeremy by now."

The door flew open as the pair approached the front steps. "What do you want?" Jonathan Gilbert frowned at Stefan.

"We need to talk with you." Alaric answered, trying to diffuse the palpable tension between the men. "Can we come inside?"

"Jeremy called me. Is he with you?" Jonathan stepped back and let Alaric walk in. Stefan stood hesitating in the doorway.

"Jeremy's at school."

"So you asked him to call me." Jonathan glared in Stefan's direction. "Why exactly are you here? I seem to remember you telling me Elena didn't want me in her life."

"She doesn't, but we need your help. We're trying to locate Isobel."

"And why do you think I'd help you?"

Alaric had enough of the back and forth between Stefan and Jonathan that was basically getting them no where. "Because Elena's life is in danger."

"From who?" Jonathan visibly paled. He hadn't been expecting this news.

"The Originals." Stefan's voice was low and dangerous.

"Come in." Jonathan stepped back and motioned for Stefan to enter the house. "That can't be true. We worked too hard to hide her."

"You knew?" Stefan couldn't hide his surprise.

"Of course we knew or at least we knew it was possible." Jonathan led the other men into his living room. "That's why we placed her with my brother and Miranda." He dropped into a chair. "It killed Isobel to give Elena up. We were too young, of course, we hadn't planned it. Her mother died when she was just a baby, or at least that's the story. Isobel was never totally sure. Her dad had told her about the family secret. Isobel always said she didn't want to have kids. The family curse had to die with her. I'd read the original Jonathan Gilbert's journals. He knew more than she did. If her family said a baby was coming that could break the sun and moon curse - we didn't want to take a chance with ours."

"Giving her to Grayson and Miranda was the logical choice. He had a ring. He could protect her. Protecting the town from vampires was part of being a Gilbert." Jonathan bit his lip and ran his hand over his forehead. "But giving Elena up did something to Isobel. She was never the same." He stood and walked to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle full of an amber liquid. He poured out three glasses and offered one to the other two men in the room before picking up his own and downing it in a single gulp. "She disappeared just a day or so after Elena was born. She never totally lost track of Elena. I saw her a few times - watching Elena from a distance."

"Did she know who Elena was?" Alaric was serious. This was a side of his wife he'd never known. She hadn't wanted children because of the possibility of bringing the next Petrova doppleganger to life.

"Not at first. We just knew she had dark eyes and dark hair. But there was one day...I saw Isobel in the stands at one of Mystic Falls' football games. Elena was standing in front." Jonathan's face took on the proud grin of a father. Suddenly, Stefan saw Jonathan in a different light as he realized the lengths he'd gone to in order to protect his daughter. "Isobel turned and looked at me, and I could tell she was terrified. The next day, she brought me a picture of Katerina Petrova. We couldn't deny it. We'd brought the doppleganger into existence. Our child was doomed." Jonathan shook his head. "The next time I saw Isobel, she'd turned. She said it was the only way to protect Elena."

"That's why we need to find her." Alaric's voice was laden with emotion. His wife had sacrificed her humanity to save her daughter.

"The Originals know about Elena now." Stefan leaned forward and turned his untouched drink in his hand. "Katherine said Isobel would know how to protect her."

"Rose...Rose, please, I'm Elena." Elena sprinted through the house trying to figure out how everything went so wrong so very quickly. One minute she'd been in the hall returning Damon's text message, assuring him that Rose was doing fine, she was asleep in her bedroom...and then next she was running away from the vampire who suddenly had an infinite burst of strength. Now, Rose only seemed to recognize Elena as a source of food.

Elena spun around a corner and tripped over the broken pieces of her cell phone. Rose hadn't been pleased when Elena tried to call Damon. Stefan had once told her that the chase was as enjoyable as the actual feed for many vampires. Rose definitely fit that description. Elena had long-since lost track of how long she'd been running. If she hadn't know the layout of the boarding house this well, she would have died long ago. She'd given up making a break for the door. Rose had already blocked her path each time she'd reached one.

Right now, they were playing cat and mouse. Rose was simply waiting for Elena to get too tired to run any more. Which, honestly, wasn't going to be much longer.

Elena darted into Stefan's room and slammed the door shut. Throwing all her strength into it, she knocked the dresser over and barricaded the door.

"Nice try." Rose's distorted voice came from behind her. Her eyes were wild, and blood from Damon's emptied stash of blood bags dripped off her chin and covered her clothing. Caroline was a neat eater compared to Rose.

Damn it! She'd forgotten about the door to the bathroom. All this worry about being killed by Klaus... Her hands shook as she looked her death in the eye. "Rose, please." She bolted over Stefan's bed, but just as she reached the door to the balcony, she felt Rose's hand grip her from behind. Her head slammed against the floor. Just as everything faded away into blackness, she felt an agonizing pain tearing at her throat.

"Has the dementia set in?"

Jules' words echoed through his head as he sped through the country roads leading to the boarding house.

"It's been what...two days? She doesn't have much longer now. You left her alone? Good luck with that."

Damon didn't even remember what he'd said in reply - if he did reply. He'd simply thrown cash down on the bar and ran to his car as he punched Elena's number into his phone. Of course...voice mail.

He threw his car into park and leapt out of the driver's side door. He sped to the front of the boardinghouse and crashed through the front doors. One glance back and forth confirmed his worst fears. Everywhere he looked, furniture was overturned. Elena was putting up a fight.

A wave of nausea hit him at the implication of the metallic smell of blood that wafted in his direction. "Rose! Elena?" He'd never have dreamed the vampire he'd had to carry up the stairs to her bedroom earlier that evening could turn into a danger. He flew down the stairs, following the unmistakable scent, but was only met with a pool of blood on the floor of the basement.

"Where are you?" He sped back up the stairs and stood - searching, listening.

And then he heard it...the sound he'd feared most. He followed the sound of a vampire feeding up the stairs where he was greeted by an even more pungent smell of blood. He stopped outside Stefan's door and pulled the trim off the doorframe. He shoved against the door - blocked. He realized what Elena had attempted to do, but she'd only succeeded in trapping herself in Stefan's room.

Quietly, he circled through the bathroom and stepped into his brother's room. At the sight before him, he allowed his nature to take over as he sped through the room and rammed the make-shift stake through Rose's back as she crouched over Elena's still form.

"No." Damon thrust Rose's body away from Elena. "Oh no." Her once-lilac shirt was now bright crimson. He brushed her hair off her neck and studied the wound...not really a bite, more a gaping hole in her neck. Elena moaned in pain as he ran his finger too close to the savagely torn flesh. How was she even still breathing?

He didn't care.

The important thing was that she was.

He tore into his wrist and held his arm to her lips. "Come on, swallow. Please, Elena. I can't lose you." He pinched her nose shut. After a few seconds of gurgling, she finally swallowed a mouthful of his blood. "That's my girl." He slid one arm under her legs while cradling her to his chest with the other. He needed to get her out of here. When she woke up, he didn't want the evidence of Rose's attack to be he first thing she saw.

Damon carefully carried her down the stairs and laid her on the couch. Her skin was so pale - almost transparent. Even with his blood to help, he realized she was going into shock. He pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and tucked it around her. He reached for the poker and stoked the fire to its full height.

Only then did the full implication of what almost happened hit him. He knelt at Elena's side as he stroked her cheek. He sat next to her with only the sound of the clock and Elena's ragged breathing to keep him company.

"Rose, don't." Elena hoarsely protested. Her eyes fluttered open in terror as she noticed who was at her side. "Damon?"

"Shh... You're okay."

Elena tried to sit up, but quickly decide that really wasn't the best idea. "What about Rose?"

"She can't hurt you anymore."

Elena narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Does that mean..."

"She's gone." Damon held tightly to Elena's hand.

Elena looked around the room and realized they were alone. "You killed her?"

Damon nodded - his eyes never leaving hers. His voice cracked. "I'm so sorry. I never thought she could hurt you. If I'd been just a minute longer."

Elena held a finger to his lips. "But you weren't."

Damon realized Elena was still shaking. He helped her sit up and pulled her next to him, tucking her under his arm.

"But she was important to you."

"Not as important as you are." He reached out with his free hand and took her left hand in his. "I couldn't lose you."

"Damon, I..." Elena struggled to stay awake as she reached for her necklace.

"Don't talk now. You've been through a lot tonight. Just go to sleep. I won't let you go." He was rewarded by a gentle squeeze from her hand before she relaxed and fell almost instantly to sleep.

(Cue music here - "Almost Lover" (remix edit) by A Fine Frenzy)

Stefan slowly walked up the steps - not sure what to make of Damon's interesting parking job. He stopped at the doorway and glanced in the window. A roaring fire blazed in the hearth. Rose must still be chilled.

Stefan stopped.

The chestnut-brown hair that spilled over the back of Damon's arms wasn't Rose.

Elena was leaning against Damon's chest. A sick feeling filled the pit of his stomach. All this time, he'd been waiting for this. He'd seen the looks between them. It had finally happened.

Katherine had told him as much. Damon wouldn't be able to resist Elena while Stefan was safely tucked away.

His argument with Damon that morning suddenly made sense. His brother had slammed him against the wall not just in fear that he'd hurt Elena. Damon had been afraid Stefan had hurt the woman he loved.

He wouldn't disturb them. He should be angry, but wasn't. Ever since Damon returned to town, he'd been waiting for this moment. Maybe it was better this way.

He still felt the shame from that morning when he realized what he'd done. Elena hadn't been sleeping soundly against his arm. She'd been unconscious. He'd made a mistake...one all too familiar...and it could so easily have cost her life.

He slowly stepped away from the door. Jonathan had an idea where Isobel might be. He might as well start there.

For now, he was sure that Damon would protect Elena.

Well, that was a fun ride. I'll admit that I may have gotten a little OOC with Stefan in this last chapter, but I have a theory that he's his own worst enemy. We've seen the uncertainty throughout both seasons - his conversations with Damon, his questions to Caroline. If Stefan and Elena truly break up - and Elena turns to Damon - I think it will be a result of Stefan's behavior about Damon and Elena's "relationship."

I hope you've enjoyed this story. I believe "Echoes" (the sequel to Bittersweet) will probably actually post before the SE story I'd planned. You can probably expect to see it at the end of February.

I have to admit that I had some difficulty with the "reply" function after this most recent chapter. If I didn't respond to your review, I have to apologize. I ALWAYS respond to reviews, but I realized not all of my responses were sent.

Thanks a million for staying with me. As always, reviews make an author's heart go pitter-patter.