This [final] chapter didn't take too long to draft, but when I went over it, some parts seemed to require a lot of reworking, hence why it took so long to finish.
While it may be sad for some, joyous for others, this is the last chapter of this fic. I may follow it up one day, but for now, I really do need that break I was hoping for 5 chapters ago ;)
Of course my confidence is zero, especially with what I started in the last chapter. Hopefully it's just me being me.
She was so close to making it through the plan without a hitch. Katherine was for all intensive purposes defanged and Jenna and Alaric were safe. Unfortunately, something no one had considered of Emily's spell were the effects of becoming human, should the individual simply be obscene to their core. Elena's eyes slowly turned towards the blade Katherine held firmly in her chest. When she looked back up, her failing body choked up a thick wad of blood onto Katherine's smiling face.
Elena fell back onto Alaric who tried his best to cushion her fall. He laid her convulsing body flat on the patio just as Bonnie finally made it around the corner of the door. At the sight of blood on her friend, Bonnie screamed, "STEFAN!"
In an instant, Stefan was on the patio. As he observed Elena's fading form, his face changed and without a second thought, he snapped Katherine's neck, so violently that he had nearly ripped her head clean from her shoulders. As he pushed Katherine's limp body through the doorway, Damon and Jeremy finally came out onto the patio, and in near unison spoke, "Elena…"
Stefan knelt at her side as she continued to choke up blood, while a weakened Bonnie, Jenna and Anna finally made it onto to the deck. Immediately, their hands covered their mouths at the sight of her. Elena's face and blouse were soaked with blood, and her lungs desperately and rapidly tried to pump oxygen into her system.
Through the various cries and hollow pleas of Elena's family and friends, Stefan gently tended to her and spoke, "Elena?"
With the amount of blood on her, every one of them knew she didn't have long. No ambulance would ever make it to her in time, and even if one had, there would be little that could be done to help her. Finally, Jeremy would be the one to say what was on everyone's mind, "Turn her!" Stefan immediately shot him a glare, to which he barked in reply, "If she dies now she's really dead!"
1 minute
As Stefan observed her gasping lips, he knew she could barely breathe let alone give him an answer. He turned to Bonnie and Jenna, the expression on his face clearly in search of their permission. Bonnie knew that her friend was going to die right now; either by her wounds, or by becoming a vampire. If she succumbed to her wounds, Elena would be gone, but if she were a vampire, she could go on with her life, almost as though nothing had ever happened. While she wasn't thrilled with her decision, her choice was clear as she nodded. Jenna unfortunately was far too broken to offer any sort of insight, and they were running out of time.
Stefan bit his wrist and forced the wound to Elena's panting lips. While Stefan's blood funneled its way into her system, she choked and tried to push him away as she struggled to speak, "Stefan, I-"
"Don't talk," Stefan begged as he placed his wrist over her mouth once again. "You have to drink, Elena."
"I love you, Stefan," Elena weakly replied before her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing ceased.
Jenna was in hysterics when she finally regained a hint of control. Tears poured down her cheeks and she managed to break a word from her lips, "No…"
While nearly everyone wore a look of great concern, Damon looked decidedly more relaxed as he spoke, "Wait." Everyone's eyes immediately turned to him; his vigil on Elena's still form was completely focused as he shouted in his thoughts, almost as though to will her to life, "Wake up!"
2 minutes
Anna took Jeremy's hand into hers as his head bowed slightly. Just as they had all but given up hope, Elena's eyes shattered open and she again choked up blood. There was a collective gasp from the group as she regained consciousness. Immediately Stefan reached down to the blade which was still lodged in her chest and pulled it free. A light spray of blood splashed onto his face as Elena yelped in pain.
Stefan placed a hand on Elena's face, bringing her eyes to meet his as he asked, "Are you alright?"
Elena's head shook back and forth as she replied, her voice much clearer than it had been just a few seconds ago, "What's going on, Stefan?"
Through the din of silence, Damon slowly approached them and knelt beside her. Stefan and Elena watched as Damon picked up the blade that had taken her life and ran it across the palm of his hand.
"What are you-"
Damon interrupted her, "You need to drink human blood for the transformation to take."
Elena's eyes turned to Stefan and he offered her a nod. With dozens of questions on her mind, her actions calmed as she asked the most basic, "Am I…" She knew she might say it some day, she just hadn't expected it to be so soon, "…dead?"
Again Stefan nodded and replied, "You have until sunrise to feed on human blood, or-"
"Or what?" Elena interrupted.
"Or you'll be the other kind of dead," Damon replied.
Elena turned back to Damon and he lowered his hand to her lips. Still too weak to move, he positioned his hand above her lips and squeezed the wound. He cringed in pain as his blood flowed, and after she drank but a few drops, Elena's eyes briefly filled with blood; she was a vampire.
Damon withdrew his hand and slowly, Elena pushed herself upright. As her eyes met Bonnie's, the witch asked, "Are you alright?"
Knowing she had changed, turned into one of the creatures Bonnie hated so greatly, tears formed in Elena's eyes as she spoke, "I'm so sorry, Bonnie."
All it took were those four little words. Bonnie knew Elena would never become some murderous monster; she would simply be her friend as she had always been. The witch smiled slightly in an effort to offer her friend comfort and replied, "I'll take you anyway I can get you, Elena."
Just as Elena offered her friend a smile in return, Damon lifted her hand from the deck. He slipped his ring onto her finger and offered, "I won't be needing this anymore."
Damon's trademark grin passed over his lips and with a slight smile of her own, Elena asked, "Are you alright?"
"What good is it going to do me now that-"
Elena interrupted him, "I meant are you okay?"
Much to Stefan's dismay, Damon grinned flirtatiously at Elena, "I might not be a vampire, but I've always been a jerk; I'll get by,"
Elena gave him a hug as she whispered into his ear, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it; ever," Damon replied, not entirely minding their embrace.
As she pulled away from him, Jeremy approached her and asked, "Are you okay?"
Elena didn't know what to say to her brother. Their relationship was finally on the mend, and now, everything was different again. As she had with Bonnie, she offered her brother the same apology, "I'm sorry, Jer."
"Sorry for what?" Jeremy asked softly.
"I know this is…" Elena searched for the right words as Jeremy too knelt in front of her.
"It's alright, sis," Jeremy replied. He turned back to Anna as he continued with a smile, "I'm good right where I am." As he turned back to Elena, his smile flattened somewhat as he finished his thought, "But maybe before I'm thirty."
Anna chuckled slightly as Brother and sister shared a hug; finally, the wounds of their relationship were forgotten. As they pulled away from one another, Damon broke the ice the only way he knew how, "So Stefan…" His brother turned to him and he continued, "…we need to get rid of Katherine's body and we should probably do a better job than you did with Vicki."
Immediately Jeremy's expression flattened and he pushed Damon off balance as he quietly barked, "Dick."
Anna and Jeremy retreated back into the house and while Damon and Stefan spoke about disposing of Katherine's corpse, Elena's eyes locked with Jenna. Before she could say anything to her aunt -anything that might offer some sense to what she had just witnessed- Alaric got to his feet and made way over to her. He walked her into the house, carefully around Katherine's mangled corpse, though her eyes stayed with Elena until she had crossed the threshold. Elena stood from the deck and before following her aunt and Alaric, spoke with her friend, "Bonnie are you sure-"
"Either way, Elena; you died tonight. This is just the kind of death that lets me keep my best friend," Bonnie interrupted with a smile.
They shared a hug and Elena replied, "Thank you."
"Don't worry about it," Bonnie replied. As they pulled apart, Bonnie wrapped up their evening, "I'm going home." Just as it looked as though Elena may ask why, Bonnie finished her thought, "You've got a lot of damage control to do with your aunt." Elena nodded and as she walked off, Bonnie turned and called out, "Elena?" She turned back to her friend and Bonnie finished her thought, "Don't compel her to forget."
Elena smiled slightly as she replied, "I wouldn't even know how."
Bonnie smiled and headed off to her house while Elena stepped to the door. Unfortunately, as she came to the front door, her situation hit her like a ton of bricks; she wasn't welcome.
She couldn't help but laugh slightly as she felt around the threshold. She pressed her hands to it in amazement and called out, "Jenna?" She and Alaric turned to Elena and she continued, "You have to invite me in."
"What?" Jenna asked.
"Vampires…" There it was, the one word that only stood to further upset her, "…can't come in unless you invite them," Alaric explained.
As she struggled to process what was happening, Jonathan's death crept into her mind and immediately she felt guilt like she'd never known. As it hit her, she spoke her thoughts aloud, "That's how she got in." Her tears flowed once again as she spoke, "She came to the door the other night, I saw…" She put another piece together, "…it wasn't you kissing Damon; it was her." Elena nodded and Jenna broke down further, "It's my fault. I told her to come in the house. Because of me Jon-"
"You couldn't have known," Elena interrupted from the doorway.
"Why didn't anyone tell me any of this?" Jenna asked.
"Would you have believed any of it?" Elena asked. Stefan and Damon entered the house and nonchalantly picked up Katherine's mangled body. Jenna simply watched as they carried Katherine's corpse through to the backdoor without a word.
"This is a dream. This has to be a dream," Jenna quietly reassured herself. "That girl broke my neck…" Elena's eyes widened in horror of what had happened to her aunt, and Jenna continued to ramble, "…and here I am, alive and well." She turned to Alaric, again reaffirming, "This is a dream. I'm at your place, I was drinking and I must've passed out. Nothing happened, I'm just asleep."
As Alaric attempted to tend to her, Elena called from the front door, "Jenna-"
"She's in shock, Elena," Alaric interrupted.
Elena struggled to maintain her calm as she addressed her aunt, "Jenna, I don't even have words for how sorry I am that you got involved in this. None of us ever told you because we never wanted you in danger."
"I'm supposed to be the one keeping you out of danger, Elena," Jenna replied.
Elena spoke with a soft but confident tone, "I know, but you know the stories just as well as I do. As long as we live in this place, we're going to be surrounded by things like this." Jenna's face still told of just how broken she was, but the slight shake she was suffering seemed to fade away. Finally, Elena asked, "Can I please come in?"
"How can I trust you, Elena?" Jenna asked a she observed her blood soaked niece. "An hour ago, a…" she caught herself and slowed down as she spoke, "…a vampire that looked just like you…" She paused as she struggled with the memories of what happened, "What she did to us, to me…"
Elena saw how difficult this would be and offered the only thing she knew might help, "Do you remember my 5th birthday?" Jenna's trembling slowed as Elena continued, "I ran into…" she pointed to the road just in front of their home, "…that street just when a car was coming." Jenna raised a hand to her lips as Elena spoke, "My parents were inside arguing because you were late, but when I ran out in front of that car, you were right on time." A few stray tears ran down Elena's cheeks as she finished her thought, "I'm different, Jenna; but I'm still me."
Jenna's tears overtook her. Even in the state she was in, she knew there was only one other person who knew that story. She pulled away from Alaric and stepped to the door, gaining composure with every step she took. Within inches of the door, she swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke to her niece, "Come in."
Elena's eyes followed her hands as they reached to where the threshold had been, only to find it gone. As her hands slipped across, she quietly commented in amazement, "Cool." Her eyes met Jenna's and finally she reached her arms around her aunt. They shared a tight hug and again Elena offered her an apology, "I'm so sorry."
Jenna's eyes closed. She was angry, furious, broken, in shock, hell; there weren't enough words to describe all of the emotions she felt. Still, as she held Elena, her absolution came without a second thought as she replied, "From here on out, no more secrets…" She pulled away from her and finished her thought, "…okay?"
"Deal," Elena replied.
Stefan came back through the rear door with Damon just behind him. At the sight of Jenna and Elena so close together, and Elena in the house, Stefan knew things would eventually get back to normal. He walked over to them, and to his astonishment, Jenna greeted him as best she could, "So you too?"
Stefan also was quick to offer an apology, "I'm sorry we never told you. This isn't the easiest thing to explain."
Alaric stepped alongside Jenna as she wiped her tears and replied, "I get it." Jenna took a deep breath, working so hard to keep herself calm, "So what now? Am I obsolete as your guardian?"
It would be days before all of the consequences of Elena's transformation sank in for everyone. However, without missing a beat, Elena replied with a light grin, "I've got some adjusting to do, but other than what I need to do, nothing needs to change between us."
Jenna wore her relief on her face and just as a calm had filled the Gilbert home, Damon came in and called to his brother, "Can you please do your kissing thing so we can get rid of Katherine's body?"
The following day, Elena, her family and her friends stood in the middle of a lush cemetery. A priest spoke a few last words as the few friends and family members Jonathan had, watched on as he rejoined the earth. As the coffin disappeared from view, Elena's tears poured down her cheeks. She wished she could have known him, could have changed his ways. Hope as she did, she knew Anna was right. He'd never accept Stefan, Damon, Anna, and now; not even his own daughter.
The crowd dispersed shortly after the brief ceremony, leaving Elena's family and friends last at the grave.
"You okay?" Stefan asked as he placed a kiss on Elena's forehead.
"Yeah," she replied with a smile. "I know it would have been for nothing, but I just wish he could have known you…" she caught herself, "…known us for what we are; not just what he was taught to believe."
"It's the way he was raised, Elena," Damon replied with a hint of compassion.
Alaric placed a hand on Jenna's shoulder and she quickly placed her hand atop his. All things considered, Jenna Sommers was acclimating to the revelations of the past few days rather well. As her fingers found Alaric's ring, she turned to him and asked, "So that ring is what kept me alive?"
"That's right," Alaric replied.
"Has it ever saved your life?" Jenna asked.
Alaric looked to Damon and replied, "Once."
As the group proceeded to the street, Jenna asked, "Where did you get it?"
Alaric swallowed the lump in his throat as he replied, "My wife, Isobel…" As Alaric spoke, Elena stopped in her tracks bringing Stefan to stop just beside her, "…she gave it to me."
As they continued, Stefan and Elena remained motionless and Stefan asked, "What's wrong?"
A single question resonated in her mind, so loudly she was surprised Stefan couldn't here her. Katherine had taunted her, asked her if she wanted to know why she looked just like her. Elena didn't want to know; she needed to. She pushed the thought aside knowing full well how Stefan would react and replied, "Nothing; just getting used to being able to hear everything."
Stefan smiled and leaned to give her a kiss. As he pulled away he replied, "You'll get used to it."
As Anna and Jeremy walked, Anna rested her head on Jeremy's shoulder and asked, "How're you doing?"
Jeremy sighed loudly as he replied, "My sister's a vampire, her boyfriend's a vampire, my girlfriend's a vampire-"
Anna pulled away from him and interrupted with a smile, "Seems like you and Damon are the odd ones out. There's a terrifying thought; you and Damon have something in common."
Jeremy smiled slightly as he replied, "Anna, you know-"
"Relax, Jer," Anna interrupted. "I'm still not going anywhere."
As they walked Jeremy asked, "So with Jon and Katherine gone, any idea what we might expect next?"
Anna again leaned her head on Jeremy's shoulder as she replied, "With any luck, a few of days of peace and quiet."
"Maybe not too quiet," Jeremy replied with a subtle grin.
As the group came out onto the street, Damon observed Elena saying her goodbyes to Bonnie from the back of the pack. He watched on as discreetly as possible, yet when they parted ways, his eyes followed Bonnie. As he caught up with the group, he turned to head off towards Bonnie's home, immediately garnering a concerned reaction from Stefan, "Damon?"
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later," Damon replied.
A few moments after Bonnie had entered her home, Damon stood at the front door. He felt ridiculous to the point of rolling his eyes, as he raised his hand just in front of his mouth to check his breath. "What am I doing?" He quietly muttered before knocking at the door.
The door swung open revealing a caught-off-guard Bonnie, "Damon. What are you doing here?"
Again he felt a bit silly; one might equate his jitters to those associated with asking someone out. His eyes avoided hers for a few seconds before he finally overpowered the ridiculous feelings, and replied every bit as directly as the Damon of old, "Would you like to have dinner with me?"
Bonnie's eyes widened and she flinched back a bit, "What?"
"Dinner," Damon replied simply. "Would you like to have it with me?"
"Why?" Bonnie asked with an inquisitive stare.
"Because I'm human now and I need to eat," Damon replied with a smile.
"Damon-"
He quickly interrupted her, "I'm not asking to share a bed with you…" Immediately Bonnie's expression flattened a bit as it so often had when dealing with Damon Salvatore's sarcastic charm, "…I'm just asking you to dinner."
"Why?" Bonnie asked again, looking decidedly less amused.
Damon swallowed his pride and spoke his thoughts, "Because yesterday, you woke me up from a one-hundred and fifty year nightmare." Again Bonnie's expression changed, she could immediately feel his sincerity. "I've got two lifetimes worth of things to make up for."
"Why me?"
"You made me human again, Bonnie. If there's anyone on this planet I should be thanking more, point them out," Damon replied. She'd only be lying to herself if she said his charms weren't completely irresistible. She smiled slightly, which brought Damon to return the gesture. There were no further words exchanged as she reached to the table beside the door to retrieve her purse.
She stepped out onto the porch and locked the door behind her. As she turned back to him, Damon offered her his arm. She looked at him as though he were crazy and immediately he defended his action, "Hey, when I come from, this was required when a man escorted a lady."
She rolled her eyes as she replied, "Oh what the hell." She slipped her arm into his and off they went.
As night fell on Mystic Falls, Jeremy and Anna lay beside each other in Jeremy's bed, their fingers intertwined as the simply stared at the ceiling. Anna turned slightly to Jeremy. As she turned back she asked, "What're you thinking?"
Jeremy smiled and turned to her, "You. How great you are. How good we are together."
"It could be this way forever, Jer," Anna replied.
Jeremy twisted towards her and her to him as they shared a delicate kiss. They pulled away from one another and Jeremy's fingers delicately ran along the side of her face as he replied, "And someday it will be, Anna."
Again they found each other's lips, savoring every moment of each other as though it were their last.
In Elena's room, Stefan and Elena stood, saying their goodbyes. He couldn't have been more proud of how well Elena was adjusting. She took on Stefan's diet of animal blood and with Damon being human once again; he would more than likely keep himself out of their feeding regimens.
They pulled away after a series of delicate kisses and Stefan asked, "Are you sure you're going to be alright by yourself tonight?"
Elena nodded confidently, "I'll manage."
"If you need anything, call me."
"I'll be alright, Stefan," Elena reaffirmed with a smile. "Don't worry."
Stefan replied with his last kiss for the night and walked to her bedroom door looking a bit upset. He wasn't overly thrilled with Elena being a vampire, though he had thought about it on several occasions. He too believed their relationship was special because they were different. Now that she was the same as him, he was a worried that the magic that made them what they were might be gone. However, before he could even open the door, a blur in Elena's shape intercepted him. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his as though she'd never see him again.
If Stefan Salvatore had breath, when Elena Gilbert pulled away from him, it would have been gone. At a loss for words, Elena simply smiled as she bid him farewell, "Goodnight, Stefan."
"Goodnight, Elena," Stefan replied, still in awe of that kiss.
As Stefan walked onto the street in front of Elena's home, her eyes followed him from her room. Watching him until she knew he was gone. She closed and locked her windows before throwing her jacket back on. She quickly descended the stairs and picked Jenna's keys from the table in the hall. From the living room, Jenna asked, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Elena looked to the keys she held and quietly replied, "I need to know, Jenna."
Jenna swallowed her fear and replied, her concern lacing her tone, "Please, be careful."
Elena nodded and headed out the door.
She drove for hours before finally reaching her destination; a small home in the middle of a long stretch of road. She quietly ascended the staircase and without a shred of fear knocked at the door. She could hear the home's inhabitant clear as day as they approached the door and as the door swung open; Elena greeted the woman before her, "Hello Isobel."
And that, is that :) If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it :)
I know that where I've chosen to leave this fic is most unkind and I'm sorry about that, it was just too good a place to end it ;)
I really enjoyed working on this story, and I'm very glad so many of you enjoyed it :) I sort of had no choice but to turn the focus from Anna/Jeremy to everyone, but I'm sort of glad I did. I got to play with all of the [main] characters this way, and even got to touch on the beginnings of a Damon/Bonnie pairing. I apologize for not delving into what happened with Caroline, Matt and Tyler during the finale, but with everything I did with the group that features throughout this fic, there was no way I could touch on those events too. Simply too much for my small brain to handle I'm afraid :(
Again, a very big thank you to my reviewers for your kind words and confidence :) Without all of you, I never would have finished, so again; thank you :)
Till next time,
-jm