Hey everyone!

I am finally here with the last 3 chapters of Love Lessons. It has been a long time coming and for that I apologise. My computer died back in January/February time and since I've found a new job and relocated so my writing and the purchase of a new laptop had to be put on the back burner. I really hope these chapters are worth the wait, they were a lot of fun to write. A little cheesy, but we like a good bit of cheese every now and then right!?

So on we go with Chapter 34. Chapter 35 should be up tomorrow-ish. Enjoy DE fans!

Oh and how ah-mazing was the Season Finale?

ELENA'S POV

Elena didn't visit Damon the next day as she said she would. Nor did she visit the day after. Or Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was out of the question.

As much as she objected, Uncle John felt it was best they kept her visits to a very minimum to avoid any suspicion. It tore her up inside knowing Damon was alone - all day, every day. He had no friends and no family who cared enough to visit him. He almost lost his life and was fighting to fully recover and she wanted nothing more than to set up camp in that room and stay with him for as long as he was in that place.

Not wanting to fight her Uncle after his leniency to allow her to be with Damon after everything that had happened, Elena bit her tongue and carried on working through each day until she could see Damon again. She avoided watching the local news, reading the papers and talking to anyone other than Jenna, Jeremy and Bonnie and Caroline.

Elena owed Bonnie so much. She visited Christmas Eve with Caroline as she recovered from a badly sprained ankle and some cuts and bruises after the fire ordeal at the school. Elena cooked, Caroline baked and they did nothing but watch fluffy Christmas movies for the entire day. It was such a huge relief to spend quality time with her friends. But her thoughts were never far from Damon. Ever.

The day after Christmas Elena was about to set out on a long walk through the snow-covered woods to clear her head when Uncle John came wandering through the door. As soon as she looked into his eyes she knew why he was here.

It was visiting day at last.

"He is making progress. It's slow, but we are getting there," explained Doctor Fell as she led Elena and John through the hallway towards Damon's room. A few Christmas decorations sadly hung from the ceiling. It was more like a painful reminder of the Christmas that these patients had missed. It reminded Elena how Damon would have spent this Christmas Day alone. Nothing but the occasional nurse popping in to check his condition, tweak a few drops and leave again.

Elena just hoped and prayed that they were in for a much happier New Year.

"Please just call for my attention should you need anything, but I'll be back in shortly" finalized Doctor Fell before leaving them with a reassured smile.

Once she was out of sight, John whispered to Elena "I'll go grab myself a coffee. I'll be back in half an hour."

Elena secretly wanted to protest at the poor amount of time that John had offered. She wanted hours. The day. Every day. However half an hour was better than nothing at all. She thanked her Uncle who left without another word.

She couldn't open that door quick enough.

And in a way that surprised her, she was smiling with pure joy as she laid her eyes on Damon's sleeping form. She expected to feel sad, upset, wracked with grief. But she hadn't seen him in so long. She was just so happy to see him again.

"Hey you," she whispered, walking over to his vegetated body to smooth back his ruffled dark hair to place a warm kiss on his cool forehead. "I've missed you so much" she said, almost cradling his head in her arms as tears seeped from her closed eyes.

After several moments of bliss, the familiar drone of the machine next to him, and the clinical sound of air being pumped into his lungs made her fall back to earth with a painful thud. She blinked open her tearful eyes to see his bandaged chest slowly rising up and down in time with the ventilator. She cursed that machine for being needed, yet thanked it at the same time. His lungs and wind pipe were fried, he would never have been able to cope on his own after the fire.

Rubbing away her tears, Elena knew she needed to stop dwelling and start being a good visitor. She didn't have much time and she wanted to make the best of it.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been to visit, Damon" she began as though he were able to talk back. She slipped into the cool leather padded chair beside his bed. "Uncle John didn't want anyone to become suspicious... I couldn't disagree with him after everything. There's... there's so much I need to tell you" she said, feeling herself begin to crumble as she stared at Damon's lifeless form before her. How could she not dwell? She missed him and she wanted him to talk to her more than ever.

Rising from her seat, she leaned over his body, glancing down at everything that kept him pieced together and back to those eyes that remained closed. He was in there. Somewhere. She needed him back.

"Damon please... please wake up. There is so much I need to tell you. If you can hear me I want you to know that there's no need to be afraid anymore. You're safe. You're safe to wake up Damon."

Through her blurred vision she watched his face... studied every single angle as hard as she could. She was willing for change. Willing for a sign that he was listening, that he was coming back and he'd do it while she was here. All she wanted was for him to wake up. To open his eyes.

"I'm holding your left hand Damon," she said, slipping her fingers between his, gripping them gently. "Can you feel that?" She brought his arm carefully to her chest. Resting his hand against the steady rhythm of her heart. "I'm here Damon. I am always here"

Footsteps outside the room disrupted their moment. Elena jumped with fright as she hurriedly placed Damon's arm back into place and wiped her tears. For a second she feared she may have blown their cover.

She stared at the door for a few more moments, listening closely to a muffled conversation on the other side. They gradually began to wander away from the door until Elena could hear nothing but distant footfall. She breathed out with relief. She needed to keep composed and to keep the tears at bay.

With a sad smile she turned to look back down at Damon.

And he was awake.

A sharp gasp escaped Elena's lips and she felt as though she were going to faint. She stared at him with disbelief, into his hazy blue eyes that looked so very tired and lost.

"Damon..!?" She noticed his eyes spark to life at the sound of his name. She stroked her fingers through his raven hair and watched his eyes flicker at the gentle touch, relishing in the feel of her finger tips to his skin.

"You're awake," she said, almost as if to convince herself that he really was. "You're awake!" she repeated, bursting into a smile as she felt his head ever so slightly rest against her palm that continued to stroke through his hair.

"I'll be right back Damon, I need to tell someone" she pressed a soft kiss on his forehead and quickly dashed out of the room only to bump into Doctor Fell herself.

"He's awake! His eyes, he, he opened them! He's awake!"

Doctor Fell had to place her hands on Elena's arms to calm her down, she was almost going hysterical with happiness. Without another word Doctor Fell entered the room and sure enough, her handsome patient had roused from his deep slumber.

Elena stood silently by the door as she watched Doctor Fell examine Damon, she was speaking to him but Elena couldn't fully pay attention to what she was doing. She was far too focused on Damon. Watching his eyes slowly open and close, fearing he would drift back into nothingness once more.

"Well Mr Salvatore, this is the most responsive you have been to date" stated Doctor Fell with a satisfied smile as she pressed a button on the wall above Damon's bed that pinged into a bright green light. Elena frowned,

"You mean... he's been awake before?"

"He has," explained the young Doctor, "as I explained earlier... he's making progress."

Elena felt painfully guilty knowing he had woken before and she wasn't there with him. He would have been alone. What if he were frightened? In pain? Anxious as to where he was? Could he remember what had happened? As much as she tried, she couldn't help the tears that began to fall. She felt like the worst person in the world because she couldn't always be there to help him through this. To show that he wasn't abandoned, that he wasn't in trouble. He would walk from this as a free man.

Elena began to approach the bed the moment a small team of Doctors entered the room.

"Miss Gilbert I'm afraid I must ask you to leave while we examine your teacher further" explained Doctor Fell.

Elena tried to glance over the gathering bodies to see Damon's face once more but she couldn't see over their broad shoulders. She was panicking now.

"What's happening? Is he alright? Is he in pain?"

Doctor Fell escorted the poor girl from the room away from the hustle and bustle.

"This is the most responsive Mr Salvatore has been, which is a great improvement. He has woken before, but I wasnt quite satisfied enough to move on to the next step, which would be to remove the endotracheal tube to see if he can breathe by himself. The Doctor's are assessing the possibility of removing the tube as we speak."

"Will he be in pain?"

"He will be in some discomfort with his injuries, but we have made him as comfortable as possible."

Elena slowly nodded. Trying to soak in all the information she had just heard. A fresh tear rolled down her cheek.

"Sorry," she muttered. Realizing her attempts at composure had all but failed. "He's just... he means a lot. He's helped me through a very tough time and..." she realized she was waffling and probably digging herself a large hole. Thankfully Doctor Fell nodded in understanding.

"We're giving your teacher the best possible care Miss Gilbert."

"Can I... can I go back in to say goodbye?"

"I'm sorry Miss Gilbert, but we need to leave the Doctors to their work now."

Elena nodded in understanding as her Uncle breezed down the hallway with a look of confusion. Doctor Fell ran through the same information with him as she did with Elena. Through the slit in the blinds of Damon's room, Elena tried to see what they were doing. It was a blur of shadowy figures working around his body. Elena desperately wanted to be with him. What if he was so out of it when he opened his eyes that he didn't realize she were there? That maybe it was a cruel dream? A cold feeling wrapped around her body. She wanted to be in that room so badly.

"... it's probably best that we deny any further visitation for today." finished Doctor Fell to John who listened to her words intently.

Once more Elena was desperate to protest. If she were his partner she could probably stay for as long as she wanted. Their secretive relationship tore her up further.

"Elena..." came John's voice from above. She had all but zoned out as she stared to the window. Only looking away as one of the Doctor's inside closed the blind completely.

"Lets go home, Sweetheart."

DAMON'S POV

If a couple of busted ribs were painful... this... whatever this was... was unbearable for Damon.

Everything seemed to be a struggle but he didn't know why. Flashbacks to the school dance, the blade at his throat, Isobel striking the match in her hand... flames. So many of them. Everywhere. The feeling of being engulfed in heat. The heat on his tongue, through his nose, the sheer sting in his eyes. Just heat and nothing else. It still felt that way. On his body. His chest. One side of his body feeling the burn of it. The pain in his lungs with each and every breath, the discomfort of something permanently lodged in his throat from the mask that obscured his view of everything around him but the lights above his head.

It scared him.

Images of Elena danced in his mind. He felt as though he had seen her, but he wasn't sure. She was holding his hand. He recalled the feeling of her gorgeous long hair tickling his skin. She was talking and the word 'always' came to mind, but he couldn't remember any other words. It was the feel of something on his hand in particular. Like a tapping. Or a beat. That roused him to find bright lights screaming down at him. Everything else seems like a blur of brightness. His name was spoken and he tried to focus clearly. It was so hard. He was so sure it was her face he saw but he couldn't be certain.

The fact he hadn't seen her since, made him feel quite certain that it was a dream. That it wasn't real.

A groan of discomfort rumbled from his chest. A dim wave of pain followed. Something told him it should be worse, but thankfully it stopped. He flickered open his eyes that throbbed, trying to make sense of what was happening around him. Voices spoke but he couldn't retain anything. He was so drowsy. He wanted to sleep but he was too frightened to sleep.

Frightened... now that was a word he hadn't paired with himself since his mother died.

Everything was becoming more uncomfortable now. The pain came back again with another intake of breath. He attempted to look to his left which seemed easier. No one was there. He could shuffle his left hand around a little, but it felt heavy. Another intake of breath... it was definitely getting worse. It was hurting and it was hurting bad.

Just breathe Salvatore he told himself. Closing his eyes and trying to focus on the simple task of breathing through the pain until someone came to take it away.

His heart skipped a beat the moment he felt tears fall from his closed eyes.

If he could move, he'd have brushed the sneaky little fuckers away and would hope he'd forget that he actually shed a tear. The watery trail tickled his skin. He could feel it.

He also felt the soft pad of a thumb brush it away.

And there she was.

Instinct told him to say her name. Her sweet name that rolled of his lips but a fireball of pain erupted through his throat and travelled to the core of his lungs as he tried. She was talking and brushing back his unruly hair. Through the haze that blurred his sight he saw her look across the room. He took that moment to study how truly beautiful she looked, and hoped that this was real.

"Damon.." she whispered, smiling down at him like a little ray of sunshine. Damn she was so beautiful. She was worth getting through this.

But it was getting increasingly difficult.

Instead he tried to focus on her speaking.

"... you hear me, Damon?... my hand..." he felt her hand take his left. "... Doctor mentioned that you... out of it, even though you're awake. Can you... me?... Squeeze..."

Damon squeezed her hand. He could hear her. Just about.

The pain burst again and he squeezed her hand but didn't know how hard. That was a bad one. Something was wearing off, it has never been this bad.

Please get a nurse, Elena.

"... you alright?"

She was standing above him, her sudden movement causing several of her to dance in his vision. Over the bulky plastic that covered his mouth he could see she was still holding his hand and... was that bandages covering his chest?

As he looked up to Elena, he saw her expression change to that of worry. Indeed he did have bandages wound around his torso. He could include his arm in that too. And the awful sensation of a tube tunnelling it's way down his throat to feed an oxygen supply to his singed lungs. The extent of what had happened was more serious than he thought, despite the fact he had intense flashbacks of running through towering flames to escape. He thought he'd come off better. Was he burned all over? Third degree? Was he recognisable? The thoughts were coming thick and fast and as much as loved having his beautiful angel looking down on him, he wanted to drift back into darkness.

"I'll get the doctor," Elena said with urgency.

Damon quickly found her hand with his left, stopping her from leaving.

She looked confused as she stepped back closer, staring down at him intently. Her beauty stunned him to no end. Despite the fear pounding through his system, he felt a calmness as he began to remember...

"Was is it Damon? I'm here for you... I'm always here."

Damon looked from her face to her hand with his. Everything suddenly coming back.

He moved their linked hands to her chest. Resting them just below the swell of her breast until the steady beat of her heart could be felt.

It was real.

Hope this was worth the wait! I really, really do!

Finishing touches to Chapter 35 shall commence tonight! Anna x