A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I had exams then life just seemed really busy and I honestly can't tell you how or why it took my this long to write the chapter, but it's written now, the penultimate chapter. I finished my other first story now and I just want to get this one done now, as I have two new stories already forming rapidly, a charmed and dirty dancing one (Am I the only one who wondered where in her life she is in the voiceover?), though I always intended a maximum of 20 chapters for this story so rest assured I'm not rushing it. Anyway, after such a wait I won't hold you much longer, due to the comments before I have put the Stefan and Elena future in italics, unless its a flashback which has a subtitle, so, let me know what you think, I hope you enjoy it and I'll see you at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters etc.

So on with the next chapter...

Chapter 19

"So I chose Damon, I knew that even though I'd be safe with Stefan, I'd never feel with him the way I had felt when I was with Damon before. So I knew I had to make that choice, even if it meant I may never see Stefan again, Bonnie didn't really like the decision too much, he was never a fan of Damon," No one missed Elena's use for the past tense when referring to Bonnie. "Caroline supported it though, while it may have taken her a while to come around but now she's definitely team Damon, I dread to think how she would have reacted if I had chose Stefan." Damon and Elena shared a look that made the others think they knew more about that than they were saying. "After I chose Damon I managed to persuade him to go away for the night with me."

"But only on the promise that the rest would keep trying." A look of regret passed Damon's face, as though he felt guilty about it. Elena instinctively rubbed his arm and lent her head against him.

"Stefan ended up alone in the boarding house when the witch attacked. Bonnie tried to stop it but she took him, by the time Caroline got back it was too late." Elena paused and looked down. She then removed Damon's empty tumbler from his hard and moved over to refill it before passing it back to him and resuming her position at his side. He didn't move and she knew he was dwelling in his guilt for being the reason his brother was taken. Even though they knew one of the brothers would be taken, Damon would never forgive the fact that it was Stefan that was taken and not him. Not that he would ever admit it. They both knew why it had to happen, they just didn't like it. Elena comforted herself knowing that Stefan worked out better than Damon had in the alternate timeline. Damon didn't see it that way. He took a sip of his bourbon and Elena took that as a cue to continue the story. "Caroline called us immediately when she got home. Of course we rushed back. Damon was torn between our focuses. He wanted to save me and his brother." Damon stayed silent, choosing not to acknowledge her last statement. "Ultimately, as you probably guessed, Klaus' plan worked, I became human."

"But we still needed Stefan…" Damon reminded them

Five Years into the Future-Damon and Elena Future

Though Elena was now human no one really had time to dwell on it. Bonnie was working hard on a spell to find Stefan and free him from Klaus. Klaus had always been fond of Stefan and wasn't as willing to let him go this time, not after how they had attempted to stop his ritual. After months of searching they had finally found his whereabouts. Elena had at first insisted she go along as well but after being reminded that she was human, then being asked by Bonnie to look after her daughter she agreed to stay home.

"A daughter?!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Wait, so that girl really is…?" Caroline trailed off, putting the pieces together.

"Yes, we'll get to that Blondie, can we carry on now?" Damon seemed annoyed at the interruption. He received nods from the three.

Five Years into the Future-Damon and Elena Future

"He's being kept here." Bonnie pointed to the map. Damon, Caroline and Jeremy look closely at where she is pointing. "From what I can gather Klaus' witch has put a powerful spell on him. I'll need to break it for him to even be able to turn him emotions on." She explained. This information they had found out on their recon mission the previous night.

"So the plan, is to kill the witch, reverse the curse on Tyler, and kidnap Stefan. Then when we have him locked up you can reverse the spell on him, and we work on bringing him back." Caroline summarised.

"Then Klaus kills us all in revenge." Damon tagged on the end.

"We'll deal with that later." Caroline assured him. "Between me and Elena's blood we can make a deal." Damon baulked at that. He didn't like the idea of using Elena's blood or hurting her in anyway, but he also knew it could be the only way to save his brother.

"And we aren't making this deal now because?" Jeremy piped up, equally unhappy about involving his sister in this.

"Because right now we have nothing. He won't make a deal. This way we have leverage." Caroline explained. Jeremy nodded, still not liking the idea.

"It's getting dark." Damon commented as he looked out the window of the small motel room they had rented.

"Time to go then." Bonnie said grimly.

The plan didn't exactly go as planned. Stefan wasn't in any way cooperative. And they witch wasn't the only one guarding him either. Again it all happened too fast and in slow motion all at once. The moment they were inside the warehouse a fight broke out. Damon against Stefan, and while Damon had the upper hand Stefan wasn't giving up, Jeremy and Caroline each fighting one of Stefan's vampire 'guards' while Bonnie took on the witch. It was at this moment Bonnie realised how this battle would play out. She refocused her energy into protecting herself rather than trying to attack the other witch. At the same time she began to cast the reversal spell for the curse on Tyler, knowing this was her only chance. She felt her noise begin to bleed from the effort.

Caroline finally managed to overcome and kill her opponent, in time to see the other witch about to overpower Bonnie. Caroline quickly snapped the witches neck. Bonnie collapsed to the floor, finishing her spell for Tyler, as she felt her protection spell break. She knew she was fading and fast. Logic told her to wait until she was strong enough but she knew in her heart she hadn't the time. She began to cast the spell to break Klaus' hold over Stefan. Her revision began to blur as black spots appeared, she heard a crack and recognised that Damon had managed to snap Stefan's neck. Before she completely lost her vision she saw Jeremy, about to be killed by the last vampire. With what was left of her strength and magic she bought the vampire to his knees.

Jeremy used to opportunity to drive the stake through its heart. As he stood up and brushed himself off he heard Caroline scream, he turned to see her cradling Bonnie, tears streaming down her face, repeating the same line over and over like a mantra.

"Wake up Bonnie, wake up." She whispered to her lifeless friend. Damon stood watching the scene, unsure what to do. He was never a particular fan of Bonnie but the sight of her lying motionless in Caroline's arms while the blond vampire cried filled him with Sorrow. He watched as Jeremy rushed over, kneeling down next to her and trying hopelessly to do CPR. Damon turned to look at his brother looking equally lifeless lying on the floor at his feet, his neck at a strange angle to his body and Damon felt slightly unsettled by the fact that he wasn't at all bother by the latter fact. And that it was a sight he had seen countless times before. He was the first one to come to his senses.

"We have to get out of here." He reminded them, breaking them out of their daze. "Klaus could be here any minute. We need to leave." He pressed as he grabbed Stefan's body and threw it over his shoulder. He then walked over and laid a hand on Caroline's shoulder. She looked up and seemed to sober up a bit though she still looked at him with such a lost expression he couldn't help the sympathy that washed over him. "We need to take her home." He nodded, his voice suddenly hard to keep strong. In that moment Caroline reminded him of Elena when she lost her family. "It's what she would want."

"He's right." Jeremy agreed as she carefully lifted Bonnie in his arms. Caroline remained sat on the floor until Damon offered her his head and pulled her up. Together they all left the warehouse. Their hearts heavy. The other bodies in there forgotten.

"So I died like that? I left my daughter?" Bonnie couldn't seem to believe it.

"I know it's hard, but there's something we need to ask." Elena spoke up, her voice more full of sorrow and sympathy than they had heard from her since they had arrived in this time. The playfulness had gone from both her and Damon's eyes and they suddenly looked wrong without it.

"You can't tell Your Damon or Elena about that part of the story." Damon explained. All three looked confused and a little upset at how insensitive the statement was. They were all reeling from the fact that their best friend would die, and leave behind a young daughter. Now they were being asked not to mention it?

"I know it sounds terrible." Elena assured them. "But if they found out. If I found out… You'd be making me choose whether Bonnie dies or not. I know it sounds insensitive. But I have to choose who dies if you tell her. Not who I want to spend the rest of my life with but who I want to die." Elena explained. Bonnie nodded numbly. She understood of course, what Elena had just said made perfect sense. Still, she was in shock, knowing that she had died. And left a daughter too.

"After that we locked Stefan up, it still took a few years but ultimately we got him to turn his emotions on, though he hasn't forgiven us yet, and we raised Bonnie's daughter." Damon finished the story.

"So that's it?" Stefan asked, "The whole story. How you two ended up together? And you want us to not tell our Elena the whole truth so she can unknowingly sentence bonnie to death?"

"It's not that simple." Damon spoke forcefully. "There's more to it."

"Elena?! Damon?!" Caroline squealed after she regained her senses. She sped towards them, pulling Elena into a hug, and even attempting an awkward one with Damon.

"Calm down Caroline. They aren't going anywhere just yet. Just because you can't squeeze them to death doesn't mean you should try." Future Elena reminded her.

"Elena!" Caroline shifted her attention to her own timeline best friend. "I'm sorry I haven't visited much." She apologised as she enveloped a human Elena in a slightly less bone crushing hug.

"It's okay Caroline, you were busy. I understand. Besides, I know you and Stefan… well, aren't so close anymore." Future Elena seemed to struggle for words. Damon and Elena exchanged a look, surprised to find that Stefan and Caroline were nolonger best friends.

"I'll get started. Stefan filled me in." Bonnie spoke quietly, not including herself in the greeting. Again Damon and Elena's heads snapped up to look at her. She kept her head down and went straight into the kitchen, not acknowledging any of them.

"She doesn't like the supernatural anymore." Stefan explained, noticing their confusion.

"You can't blame her." Caroline added.

Five Years in the Future-Stefan and Elena Future

After months of searching for Damon they were all set to rescue him. Elena had stayed home, unable to face what she had caused. And the others had insisted that, as she was human now, she needed to stay safe. Besides she was their best shot at helping Damon. As they walked into the Warehouse they were all immediately set upon. Damon had the upper hand on Stefan it seemed but Stefan refused to give up so easily. Both Jeremy and Caroline were fighting off the two other vampires, while Bonnie went head to head with the other witch. Bonnie was holding her own against the witch when she noticed Stefan's trouble. She switched to defensive as she began to simultaneously cast the reversal spell on Damon. As Bonnie began to feel light headed she started to fear that she wouldn't make it. Upon hearing Caroline kill her opponent she started to cast the spell to reverse the curse on Tyler. She knew if she didn't he would never be safe, even with the witch dead, though with the witch alive it wouldn't matter as she would recast it. She felt relief as she heard Caroline snap the witches neck, an echoing snap was the last thing she heard before she blacked out. Caroline rushed to Bonnie, she could heard a heartbeat. She turned to Stefan and Damon, expecting to see one of them 'dead.' Both were frozen. Caroline felt her heart stop. She turned to see the other vampire stood over Jeremy.

"No!" Caroline screamed. She quickly sped over and staked the vampire. Stefan turned to see Damon had vanished. He then walked over to where Caroline was crouched by Jeremy and fell to his knees. Jeremy's head was at a strange angle to him body and he had no pulse. Jeremy was dead.

"No, no. This can't be happening, not again." Stefan whispered disbelieving. "She won't come back from this. I mean, last time… and Damon was… and I can't… I'm not… She can't turn this off this time and he's not…" Stefan mumbled, unable to find the words. Caroline had tears streaming down her face but she knew she had to be strong.

"She's strong." Caroline sniffed, resting her hand on Stefan's shoulder. You're going to be strong too. You're going to stand by her, and you're going to support her, and this is going to be hard but she's going to make it through. Then you're going to find your brother and you're going to bring him back to her. Like it's supposed to be." Caroline assured him.

"Okay. We'll help Elena past this, then we'll bring Damon back for her." Stefan agreed nodding.

"Stefan failed to get Damon, he then backed out of his promise to find his brother, despite the fact we both know where he belonged." Caroline explained, obviously not happy with Elena's choice with Stefan. They hadn't told Elena about Jeremy's death, knowing that it would affect her choice unfairly.

"While I waited for them to get back I wrote." Elena nodded subtly to the letter her past self was in possession of. A letter Stefan knew nothing of.

Five years into the Future-Stefan and Elena Future

Elena sighed as she waited for them all to return. She knew she may have made a mistake. She also knew they may not get Damon back, and if they did he wouldn't be the same. So she got out her pen and paper.

Dear Damon,

I know it's probably been a while now. And know it's also probably too late. When I picked Stefan I knew it was the choice I had to stick to for the rest of my life. Though perhaps I thought the rest of my life was only a night. Perhaps I thought you'd still be there if I changed my mind, which is of course unforgivable. The truth is I chose Stefan because I was afraid. I knew he was safe. That he wouldn't hurt me. I knew you would have the power to destroy me. Although I knew you wouldn't. Not intentionally. I guess I thought I could perhaps keep you both. It was selfish and wrong. And now I lost you. The one I never wanted to lose. But that's my mistake to make. I know I will be able to have a good life with him. And I'm going to let go of any regrets now. But you have to know that I regret the choice I made when I chose him over you. I love you. Maybe if we had been together before, maybe then I wouldn't have been so scared. But now you know the truth. I'm sorry. I know it's not enough. But I had to let you know.

Love,

Elena.

She then folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope with Damon's name on. She then placed it carefully under one of the pillows on his bed and left the room. Taking one last peek before she closed the door.

"After Bonnie nearly died in the warehouse she refused to do magic again. She cut most of her ties with us and so we don't see much of her anymore. It took some arm twisting to get her here." Caroline explained. Still leaving out the part about Jeremy's death.

"So in the other future Jeremy dies?" Caroline asked trying to get it straight in her head.

"That's why we can't say anything. Because we'd be forcing her to choose who's live to save, Jeremy or Bonnie's, not who she loves." Stefan surmised his tone now understanding.

"I think I'm ready." The young witch from earlier interrupted as she walked back into the room. She turned to the others upon getting no response. "Mom?" Her voice shook.

So, I hope you enjoyed it, I won't talk too much as I have to be up in about 5 hours to go to Waddington to see the two Lancasters and the Vulcan together on the runway for probably the only time it ever happens. So, to my guest reviewer, thank you I'm glad you liked it and sorry the update wasn't sooner, hopefully the next one should be. So I hope you all enjoyed the penultimate chapter, let me know what you think, and for the last time, see you in the next chapter. (*smiles*)