AN: Final Chapter! Thank-you all so much for reading, and for continuing to follow this story! I had a lot of trouble with it, but overall I'm impressed with how it turned out! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and helped me along as I wrote, and I hope that the story lived up to what you imagined it would be! I'm going to continue working on my other story Drink Carefully again, so feel free to check it out!

Thanks for everything,

Naishu

2 Months Later

Damon looked at Elena who was sitting on the dock. They'd gone to her family's lake house, and they'd spent the majority of her summer there, in love, making love, and enjoying the second chance at life they both had. The sun glinted off her dark hair, and her eyes danced with the reflection of the water as she turned to him, smiling. Today was the day.

"It's the last day of my summer" She said, her voice heavy with implication. Damon smiled in response.

"I know." He said. Elena had decided when they returned home that she wanted to spend her last summer as a human. They'd taken easily a thousand pictures, and Elena had managed to con him into scrapbooking them with her, much to his dismay. They'd taken breaks from the lake house to walk in the nearby town, enjoying the day. Damon was still amazed that he was allowed to watch her in more than stolen glances, and she was more beautiful than he'd ever realized, inside and out.

"Can we do it here?" she asked, still seated on the weathered wood.

"Here?" he asked. "Right now?" Elena smiled and nodded. "Why?"

"Today is perfect, and I want to start the rest of my life on a perfect day, with you. Every time I feel the sun, I'll remember this perfect day and be happy." She said. Damon smiled and pushed a stray hair behind her ear as he slid to the ground next to her. He couldn't argue, today was beautiful indeed. The sun was reflecting off the water of the lake, and there was a humid warmth in the air that was only found at the end of summer. A warm wind was licking the surface of the water, and it was just barely touching Elena's hair. Cat tail cotton floated lazily on the wind, giving a surreal haze to the August afternoon.

"Okay." He nodded. He placed his hands on her shoulders, slowly turning her to look back out towards the lake. He pulled her back until she was leaning against his bare chest, reclined and looking at the beautiful scene before them. He pulled a smaller lapis lazuli ring from his pinky, sliding it onto her ring finger. "Take this." He said. With all the sunlight, she'd need it. She took a moment to look at the ring; it was a very feminine version of his own, and she could see the miniature replica of his own stone. Bonnie had blessed it months before, and she'd felt a certain anxious anticipation each time she looked at it.

"You're sure?" he asked.

She tilted her head up to look at him. "I'm sure."

Damon ran a hand lightly through her hair, and brought it to his mouth, his fangs stretching out of his jaw. He bit his wrist thoroughly, wanting to give Elena enough blood. He lowered it to her mouth, the dark droplets staining her white summer dress.

"Sorry" he said. She gave a small, fake pout before pressing the gash to her mouth, drinking slowly. The feeling was indescribable; Elena's mouth was intoxicating as she drank. Elena herself was in a dizzying high already, Damon's blood tasting downright euphoric due to the nature of their relationship. Elena groaned lightly in frustration as Damon pulled his wrist away, watching it heal. Elena tipped her head to the side to wait for Damon's fangs, but instead he tipped her chin up, planting a final kiss on her human lips.

"I love you." He said, looking down at her bloodstained chin.

"I love you too" she said, smiling. She tipped her head to the side again, and Damon lowered his mouth. He licked her neck gently at first, using his tongue to arouse he area. He didn't want her transformation to hurt, and he knew exactly what to do. He let his fangs lightly graze her skin, sending a shiver of anticipation through her. Between the warm wind, the hot sun, and the cool feeling of Damon's skin, Elena was perfectly comfortable. He pressed his fangs slowly into her neck, and her body tingled from her neck to her toes, slowly. Damon almost smiled as she let out a soft moan, but he was too focused on making the bite perfect to lose the connection. He suddenly bit down hard, starting to lap at her blood as it filled his mouth!

Elena was in ecstasy as he started drinking, deeper and deeper. Her body was humming, and she could feel waves of perfect pleasure roll through her as he drank. Her eyes lazily looked out across the glinting surface of the water, but she wasn't seeing it. She was immersed in flashes of color, hot and cold, and the peculiar sound of Damon draining her. She felt her consciousness slowly start to fade, and she smiled as the blackness took over.

Damon felt her lose consciousness, and he drank deeper. He could feel her slipping away, and even though he knew she'd be awake again in a few moments, he felt a tear well at the corner of his eye. Part of him wanted to stop and heal her; to tell her that it was ok to grow old, but he knew that she'd made her choice, and she'd had more than enough time to change her mind. He pushed down his feelings of guilt and worry, and took one last sip as he heard her heart stop beating. She was gone.

He pulled his fangs out, licking the last hint of crimson from the bite mark, and he lay her slowly down on the dock, being careful not to let her hit the wood. She was at peace; serene, and smiling. He'd made the right choice to keep going. Damon pulled out his phone from the pocket of his jeans, tapping in a quick text to the people in the next house over.

They'd talked about who she would have to kill a lot over the summer, and it had been the only thing to stop her from wanting to change immediately. He looked up, hearing the young man that she'd chosen approach, accompanied by a familiar blonde vampire. Matt. Caroline had told Matt what she was at the beginning of the summer, and although he'd been angry and blame-filled in the beginning, he'd realized that Caroline was different; she cared. They'd had the devastating news that summer as well of a brain tumour that was found in Matt's head, and Caroline had suggested a change after her blood didn't heal the mass. They'd spent the last month talking about it, and Matt had decided that it was worth it. Elena had agreed, wanting to save his life.

"Damon." Matt said, nodding. Caroline smiled, and there was worry in her eyes as she looked at Elena's body, which looked as though it was sleeping on the dock.

"She's been out for a few minutes; she'll be waking up in a few." He said, motioning to Matt. He could see the ring that Bonnie had made already around the blonde's middle finger, and he motioned him over.

"Caroline, does he have blood?" he asked. Caroline shook her head, No.

"We were waiting until as soon as possible." She said.

"Well, now is it." Damon said, looking at Matt. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I think." Damon nodded, and Caroline knelt beside Matt, biting her wrist and offering it to him.

"Here." She said, watching as he started to drink. Damon could tell that their relationship had taken a more serious turn by the way that Matt drank, and he shook his head. It was cute, and somehow poetic. He watched Caroline pull her wrist away and lean in to kiss Matt, running her fingers through his hair.

"I love you!"

"I love you too."

Damon looked away from the scene as Elena coughed. "Morning gorgeous." He said.

"My head feels like it was smashed against a wall!" she groaned, sitting up and pressing a hand to her forehead. She looked at Caro and Matt. "When did you guys get here?" She asked.

"Damon told us when you were changing, and we rented the cottage next door...he didn't want to take a chance that you wouldn't feed in time." Caroline said.

"What about Matt?" Elena asked. Caroline caught the implication. Who would he kill?

"We've picked someone." She said. Elena left it at that. She looked over at Matt. "Ready?" she asked.

"To die?" Elena nodded.

"Well, all things considered, I'm glad it's you killing me. At least I know you want to see me alive again!" he joked, and Elena smiled.

"Sorry Matt, this is probably going to hurt" She said.

"Don't you have fangs?" She shook her head, and he looked at he sideways.

"No, not yet. They'll show up half way through."

"Ah." He sighed. "We might as well do this now." He said. "I'm feeling a migraine come on again." The tumour had been giving him ridiculous headaches, and he didn't want to feel another one. Elena nodded, kneeling next to him and tilting his head. She looked at Damon.

"Like this?"

He nodded, and she bit. Matt cursed under his breath, but he didn't have long to feel the pain as Elena felt her vampiric instincts rapidly develop. Within a matter of minutes, Matt was dead. Damon motioned to Caroline to take Matt to whomever he'd feed from; he knew Elena wouldn't want to see what she'd done to her friend. Caroline picked the football player up easily, flashing back to her car and driving off. Just like that, they were alone again.

Elena fell back as Matt was drained, and she closed her eyes. She felt the last of her senses develop, and it was amazing! She could hear the water hitting the shore across the lake! The sun felt like an electric current along her skin, and the air was so sweet! She sat up quickly, not aware of her sudden strength, and she flung herself over, rolling on the wood easily. Damon stopped her before she fell into the water laughing.

"Fun, isn't it?" he asked. Elena looked up at him, and for the first time she was seeing him! She could see the full beauty of his face; the blue of his eyes, the sheen of his hair, the ripple of the muscles in his chest as he stood. She shook her head, clearing it, and she looked back up at him. She nodded.

Damon sat back down behind her, and he held her close as she looked across the water with new eyes, the scenery having completely changed to her in minutes. "Is it always this beautiful?" She asked.

Damon wanted to shake his head, but he didn't. Instead he placed a finger to her lips. "Right now it is. Remember this" he said. "It's just the beginning"

"Of what?" she asked, ignoring his finger.

"Eternity."