A LAST WISH BEFORE DYING

Summary: 'The Departed' 3x22. Damon is about to die, about to be killed by the shadow of his best friend Alaric, when he thinks about what would have happened if he had never compelled Elena to forget their first meeting and if it had been him and not Stefan to save her on Whickery Bridge. But he especially thinks about what would have happened if he had already known that Katherine was never in the tomb when he had first met Elena. If he had been different when he had first met her, maybe Elena would have never fallen for Stefan in the first place. He tries to imagine what could have been like, almost wishing for things to be different even if he knows that it's just a pipe dream. That wish, however, is enough to change everything for him. Seasons Rewrite with Delena from the beginning.

Like you can read from the summary, this will be a series rewrite with Damon and Elena as a couple from the beginning. Stefan will still be in the story though, only not with Elena as his girlfriend. Damon's spirit - or whatever you want to call it - went back in time but he doesn't have any memories of the future. However, what he felt for Elena at the end of Season 3 stayed with him, so Damon is pretty much in love with Elena even if he doesn't remember why and he doesn't understand what he's feeling at the moment. So the Damon in this story will be like he was in season3, not the Damon of the first part of season1. And when he and Elena will end up together, he will be the happy version of himself like he was in the first few episodes of season5.

This story will follow the episodes as close as possible even if - obviously - there will be no Stelena in the story. But the major events of the episodes will still happen.

Prologue

November 2010

Damon realized that there was no way out this time. He was about to die, about to get killed by his best friend turned evil Original Vampire. He wasn't strong enough to win, he knew that. In different circumstances he wouldn't have cared much. Not that he wanted to die or anything but he wasn't afraid of it. He would have died a million times just to make sure that Elena was alive and safe. Dying like this though, it wasn't exactly like he had imagined it. He was completely alone, away from Mystic Falls and the people he cared about, once again rejected by Elena, even in the face of death and the one who was about to kill him had once been his best friend. He couldn't have left this world in a more pathetic or sad way.

He knew that he had given up but he couldn't help it. He was so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of always been the second choice, of always being seen as less than his sainted brother. Maybe it was better like this, nobody would miss him.

He couldn't stop thinking about what Elena had said to him to lessen the blow of her rejection. 'Maybe if you and I had met first'. If only she knew that they had in fact met first. Not that he thought for a minute that this would have made a difference. When he had first come to Mystic Falls, he had been full of anger and hate towards his brother and the world in general, with his switch half on, and obsessed with freeing a woman that had never been imprisoned in the first place and that had never loved him but that had been too in love with his brother.

How he wished things had been different. He wondered what would have happened if, when he had first met Elena, he had already found out about Katherine. If he hadn't spent the last 150 years in love with a woman that wanted to have nothing to do with him. If he had never compelled Elena to forget their first meeting. If he had been the one who had saved her the night her parents had died instead of Stefan.

Would he have a chance then? Or Elena would have still fallen in love with his brother.

Alaric hovered above him, ready to stake him and Damon allowed himself to rethink about his first meeting with Elena. Elena's smiling, flirty face was the last thing he saw before been plunged into darkness.

May 2009

Elena walked away from the party in the woods and reached the side of the street, talking on the phone with her best friend Bonnie while waiting for her parents to come pick her up.

"I know Bonnie, you're right! You and my mom both are. I just can't bring myself to tell him...at least not tonight! I'll call you later."

She had a fight with her boyfriend Matt about their future together because every time Elena thought about the future, she couldn't seem to imagine Matt as a part of it, at least not as the person she was supposed to spend her life with. Elena wanted Matt in her life but lately she had realized that she saw Matt more as a friend than as a boyfriend. She had realized - in short - that she wasn't in love with him.

She had even talked to her mother about it and her mother had told her that she needed to let him go, that it wasn't fair to continue stringing him along if she didn't feel for him what Matt felt for her. Elena knew that her mother was right of course, she was just afraid of losing him. But Miranda had said that it wasn't about losing him, it was about letting him free.

She had just hanged up when she found herself face to face with a very attractive man with dark hair and blue eyes. "Katherine!" The man said to her, looking at her in anger, almost hate. "What are you doing here?"

Elena looked at him, astonished and a little afraid, before checking behind her if he was maybe talking to someone else.

"No, No – um – I – I'm Elena" Elena answered hesitantly back at him when she realized that he was in fact talking to her.

The man looked at her surprised now, his brow furrowed a little in confusion "Oh, you – you just look…" He stopped talking for a second, shook his head and then continued, his tone a little more relaxed, now smiling at her slightly "I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon". He said, coming closer to her.

Elena smiled back at him a little but she was still cautious "Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere".

Damon smirked at that "You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself".

Elena smiled amused before answering with a shrug of her shoulders "It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here".

Damon looked at her without saying anything and for a few seconds there was silence between them.

Then Elena started to talk again, explaining why she was there in the first place "Got into a fight with my boyfriend".

Damon looked curious at her "About what? May I ask" He said, rising his arms in a sign of surrender.

Elena shrugged casually "Life, future, he's got it all mapped out".

Damon looked at her intently before asking "And you don't want it?"

Elena smiled ironically at him "I don't know what I want"

Damon shook his head a little, skeptical "Well, that's not true. You want what everybody wants".

Elena was amused now "What, mysterious stranger who has all the answers?"

Damon laughed a little at her cheek before answering "Hm, well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things".

Elena smiled at him, enjoying the conversation with him now. "So, Damon, tell me. What is it that I want?"

Damon came closer towards her before replying, his tone serious and intent, almost piercing her with his eyes "You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, and adventure, and even a little danger".

Elena looked at him surprised, affected deeply by his words before shaking herself out of it and asking him "So, what do you want?"

Damon hesitated a little at her question and in that moment, her parents pulled up, honking their horn to warn her that they had arrived.

"It's my parents" Elena said in explanation, looking behind her. When she turned around again, she found Damon a breath away from her face. Elena looked at him transfixed while he talked to her "What I want is for you to get everything you're looking for" He said with a gentle smile. "I hope we'll see each other again. Goodnight, Elena". Elena blinked and when she opened her eyes, Damon was gone.

Damon had hidden himself from view, standing behind one of the trees in the forest, watching Elena climb into her parents' car. He was still in shock over her impossible alikeness with Katherine. They were completely identical except for their hair. Katherine's hair had always been curly while Elena's were perfectly straight. For the rest they could have passed for twins.

When he had first seen her, he had really thought she was Katherine and had been prepared to show her exactly how much anger and resentment he harbored towards her. But then he had realized that her heart had sped up when she had seen him and had not stayed at the steady and slow rhythm of a vampire. This girl was human.

The hair was not the only difference between Katherine and Elena however. While Katherine's eyes had always been cold and distant, Elena's were warm. She was pure and innocent in contrast to Katherine's closed off and manipulative behavior.

He couldn't help but being curious about her, though her appearance should serve as an admonition to stay away from her.

He left as soon as he saw the car disappear from his line of vision and made his way through the woods, hoping to stumble into a camper to compel himself dinner.

About twenty minutes later, no human in sight, he heard it. Tires screeching, a car had just hit the river below Whickery Bridge. For a second he stayed immobile, wondering to himself if he should bother at all to see what was going on but then he started to run, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He couldn't be sure that it was her inside that car of course, but something told him that it was. He didn't know why he felt so worried all of a sudden. It wasn't like he knew her well or anything. He had just met her. And yet, he couldn't bear the idea of her dying.

He arrived at the sight of the accident a few seconds later and he didn't lose any time in getting rid of his leather jacket and jumping over the bridge. The water was cold but it didn't bother him, one of the perks of being a vampire. He noticed the car immediately, completely submerged in water. He swam closer to it and looked inside, immediately seeing the unconscious form of Elena in the back seat. The man in the driver seat, probably her father, was still awake while the woman next to him was unconscious. The man gesticulated towards his daughter, clearly telling him to save her, but Damon didn't need to be told since he had every intention of getting her out of the car as soon as possible. He opened the car door and snapped the belt still around Elena before taking her into his arms. He swam with her in his arms until they reached the surface before bringing her to shore.

Elena was still unconscious so he immediately used CPR on her to get her to wake up. Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to regain consciousness, spluttering water all over the sand she was laying on.

She opened her eyes slowly, struggling to focus on his form before whispering "Damon?" while looking at him questioningly. A second later she seemed to realize what was going on and said, her tone distressed "My parents!".

Damon shook his head, hugging her tightly to himself to give her comfort "I'm sorry Elena". He hadn't even tried to go back to them, knowing that too much time had passed since he had gotten Elena out of the water for her parents to still be alive.

"No, no, no" She kept repeating, squeezing his shirt in her hands. Damon tried to calm her down, caressing her hair and letting her cry. A few seconds later he felt her sagging against him, obviously having lost consciousness again.

He called the ambulance - fortunately having left his phone in the pocket of his jacket - and waited for it to arrive. He took one last look at Elena's unconscious form before leaving. He had a lot of things to think about.