A/N: Okay, Sorry for the wait again but unfortunately I had to focus on my exams, which are now finished. So, here it is. I'm hoping to finish around chapter 20/21. Anyway, this chapter is all in one time line but you at last get Damon and Future Elena's talk. Anyway, I'll leave the babble and let you read it yourselves.

So, on with the next chapter...

Chapter 18

"I guess." Damon was suddenly a little hesitant and tense.

"Please, sit here." Elena patted the place on the couch beside her. Damon did as instructed. "I can tell you're nervous around me. Please relax. I'm the same girl you know. Well, almost, with a few extra years on her I suppose. And a few more loses." She lamented. She quickly masked the sad look on her face as she looked back up at Damon. The look on his face told her he'd caught it and was curious. "Later," She answered his silent question. "I suppose you expect me to start talking about the great life I've had wit Stefan?" She raised an eyebrow. Damon didn't respond. "I can't tell you that I don't love him. Or that I'm not happy with him. Because truthfully I am. I've had a," she paused as though looking for the right word. "pleasurable, life. It was the life I always thought I wanted." She paused. "Or the one I knew I didn't." She gave a small humourless laugh. That got Damon's full attention. "Understand. I don't regret a single decision I made since I picked Stefan, well, regarding relationships anyway, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about the choice I made."

"Then why didn't you change it later? Or now?" Damon found himself asking. She smiled as though it was a question she had been expecting for some time.

"You mean leave Stefan and pick you?" She asked rhetorically. "You know, when I made my choice I always said it would be the last time. No going back. But I guess I didn't know just how true that statement was. I think perhaps at the back of my mind, buried so deep even I didn't know, that I always thought I'd be able to change my mind. That you'd be there if I wanted to."

"But I wasn't?" Damon posed it as a question though it was more of a statement. He found it strange to take about his future as though it had already happened but here in this time it had.

"No. It wasn't really your fault I suppose. You didn't really choose to leave. If anyone was to blame it would have to be me. And I'm not just taking all the blame when I shouldn't this time." She added giving him a pointed look, as though she knew what he was thinking. He figured she probably did. It was after all a known fact that Elena liked to blame herself. "I made a choice that put you in the situation you were in. And I also made the choice to let you go once we got you out of it. I agreed with Stefan, like always; heaven forbid we have an argument, and I let you go, out into the world. Your emotions switched off. Last I heard you still had them switched off. Every so often we get word about where you are. Once or twice Stefan chased after you to try and find you in more recent years, but you're always long gone when he arrives." She sighed and shifted her gaze to the window through which she knew she would be able to see Stefan's car arrive when he got back with Bonnie and Caroline. "I could leave Stefan I suppose. But what would I be leaving him for?" She turned back to Damon. "It would break him to lose me that way. And I wouldn't be able to give him a good enough reason why. For his brother who I may not live to see again? Least not with his humanity anyway. I would waste my life pining for one I could never have, and lamenting one I left. Like I said I do love Stefan, it might not be the same love or Passion I may have shared with you, had I ever had the chance, but it is love." She sounded resolute in her decision. "Besides, look at me. I'm nearly 40, at least my body is. It's too late for anything else. I could never be anything but human for Stefan. But a human life would never be enough with you." Damon moved so he was facing her better. He carefully studied her face.

It was true that she looked older, she wasn't quite the same girl he knew was in just the other room, no doubt listening in, but there was the same spark in her eyes, the same smile on her lips, the same long dark hair.

"You're still beautiful to me. I wouldn't care." He assured her.

"I know that."She smiled, nodding sadly. "But I would." She glanced at the window again then at the clock. "They should be back any minute." She said perhaps more to herself than to Damon, or so it seemed. "Elena? You can come back in." She shouted. She didn't miss Damon's smirk.

"You wouldn't need to shout. She was listening in." He elaborated.

"How do you know?" Past Elena fired back as she walked back in.

"I know you, Elena." Elena watched as her past self and Damon bickered between themselves, she couldn't help feeling nostalgic for that time. After a few more moments she decided to break it up.

"So, I guess we have time for a bit more of the story then before the others get back and you are both mobbed and interrogated by Caroline when she arrives." At that they both settled and turned their attention back to her. "As you can imagine after I told them Damon was quite upset, not that you could blame him, but he handled it well. Perhaps because he was used to it, maybe even expecting it, though I like to think it was neither of those things because that means I really put him through too much. Needless to say, he left me and Stefan to have some time together. I was well aware that I might have died the next day so once again we were having our day together in case. That's why Damon was alone that night..."

5 Years into the Future-Stefan and Elena Future

Elena and Stefan had decided to spend the night elsewhere leaving Damon essentially alone in the boarding house. It was nearing midnight and after an emotional Good bye for Caroline and Tyler they had both set off, Caroline riding with him till he was out of range. Bonnie had nipped out but was due back anytime. That was when Damon heard someone approaching the house. Under the assumption that it was Bonnie, Damon continued to empty and refill his glass with bourbon while he sat staring into the fire. He heard the Door bang open. That didn't seem like something Bonnie would do. Before he even had chance to turn the fire went out and his glass shattered, the contents spilling everywhere. Damon jumped to his feet and spun to face the intruder. It was none other than the witch from earlier. As Damon started to charge towards her she instantly bought him to his knees.

Bonnie pulled up at the boarding house. They were all meeting up and staying at the boarding house that night to plan for the following night. Stefan and Elena may have been spending a last day together but the others planned to try and avoid it being just that. So, Bonnie had gone home to fetch her things for the night whilst Caroline went with Tyler and they would meet up there after. She had just got the call from Caroline begging her to hold off on lifting the spell for just another few minutes, they were nearly safe. As she reached the door to the boarding house, Caroline still on the phone, she noticed something not right. The door was wide open, she could sense the magic.

"Caroline, I've gotta go."

"Wait! Just don't drop it yet." Caroline begged. Bonnie reached the door way to find the witch crippling Damon, Bonnie could immediately tell she was strong.

"Caroline I have to! She's got Damon." Bonnie sounded somewhat panicked.

"Wait, please." Caroline was desperate. Bonnie dropped the phone, focussing her remaining strength on counteracting the witch's magic, hoping Damon would be able to break through enough to be able to do the rest. The combination of that and still holding the spell on Tyler proved too much, she felt herself growing weak. The witch turned and with one hand threw her across the yard. Bonnie heard Caroline shout that they were across as she flew through the air and everything went black.

Caroline heard the noise on the other end and immediately registered the seriousness of the situation but she couldn't quite make out what was happening. As soon as Tyler crossed the border Caroline shouted that they were clear, hoping that she wasn't too late. The silence on the other end of the line told her that she was. She turned to look at Tyler, from the look on her face he knew it too. He slammed on the brakes.

"Go." He told her as the car screeched to a halt in the middle of the deserted road. Caroline nodded opening the car door. She turned back to him tears in the eyes.

"This can't be forever."

"It won't be." He whispered back. "You have to go." His voice equally full of sorrow. She gave him one last hard, desperate kiss the she was gone. Tyler took a moment to gather himself before leaning across to close the door and restarting the engine, continuing his drive alone with a heavy heart.

By the time Caroline arrived back at the boarding house there was no sight of anyone. She scanned the yard for a sign. The front door was still open. Upon closer inspection she saw Bonnie, almost obscured and in her initial state of panic invisible. Listening closely the could hear Bonnie's breathing. Caroline rushed over. As far as she could tell aside from being knocked unconscious Bonnie was fine. She picked her up and carried her into the boarding house and lay her gently on one of the sofas. She already knew Damon was gone, she could see the signs of the struggle. There was no doubt about it. The witch had taken him. Caroline paced a few times debating whether or not to call Stefan and Elena. It wasn't like before now. Now it wasn't just Elena's life and while Caroline didn't exactly like Damon she wasn't about to let him die.

"She did eventually call us. Stefan was at first upset that she had interrupted but when she explained what happened to Damon he immediately started packing up to get home. I think we both forgot what our night was supposed to be about." She chuckled slightly but it held little humour even now so many years later. "Stefan was so torn, though he will never admit it, he knew they had been trying to save me but at the same time the idea of not immediately going after his brother seemed impossible to him. In the end it didn't matter. They all did everything they could but Klaus' spell worked. Any attempts to prevent it were stopped by the threat that they had Damon. And naturally, without Damon to spearhead, and if needs be go alone with, the rescue effort no one went against it." She sighed. "I can't help but think if the roles were reversed, if it was Damon in trouble and me held hostage, what would Stefan have done differently…" She shook her head to clear the thoughts. "I don't hold that against him." She sounded sincere.

"They're here." Elena commented. Future Elena turned her head to look out the window just in time to see them pull up on the drive. They all watched as Caroline stepped out of the car followed by Bonnie, who looked most uncomfortable, and a decidedly unhappy Stefan. Within seconds Caroline burst into the living room.

"Damon? Elena? It's true…" She whispered to herself.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed it. So, we are getting close to the end now. Only 2 or 3 chapters left. Anyway, on to the guest reviews.

To Lucie.S, Thank you for the review. I'm so sorry for the wait but as I said I had my first year exams and if I don't pass all of them I get kicked out, even though they don't really count so that had to come first. So, now we have a bit more of an idea about what happened. As for the Caroline and Klaus thing, that was mentioned before. In Stefan and Elena's timeline Caroline stayed with Klaus for 10 years so Klaus wouldn't collect more blood from Elena while they were together, it was a sort of trade. In the Damon and Elena future it was for 5 years to stop Klaus from killing Elena in anger for what she had done. (turned into a vampire) You have finally seen the Damon and Future Elena conversation, looks like we'll have to wait for the letter. So, hope you enjoyed it. To LexiaMitchell, Thank you for the review, sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoyed it. To Haley, Thank you for the review. I'm hoping that's a good wow, hope you enjoyed it. To Guest, Yes I know, but it's a pay off. She's alive in Stefan and Elena's future but not in Damon and Elena's future. So who's alive in Damon and Elena's future but not in Stefan and Elena's future? So, we've had the talk what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the wait.

Okay, so, let me know what you think, I hope you enjoyed it and see you in the next chapter. (*smiles*)