A/N: Thanks for sticking with me to the end! Lots of love.

~Emily

Epilogue

Elena stood in the deep shadow of the oak tree, gazing at the scene across the street with an aching heart. Jenna sat on her porch, yelling teasing comments to her husband, Ric, and their small daughter playing on the lawn. They looked so happy, Elena would have given almost anything to be a part of it.

Even while a part of her longed for her family and her old life, she knew that if she had that, she would have given up the best thing that had ever happened to her—Damon.

It had been almost five years since she'd left with Damon. They'd had their share of bumps along the way, and she still wanted to kill him most of the time, but she was irrevocably in love with him. After the revelation she'd had at the graveyard, her feelings had only grown stronger. The more she learned about him, the more she knew she could never let him go.

They had left Mystic Falls and never considered coming back until they'd gotten a cryptic message from Bonnie mentioning the spell still on them and a possible way to break it. They'd fought for days about what to do. Over the years, they'd gotten used to the odd way the spell affected them. Elena's random control over him had had some good side effects but was mostly just a contention point. But even though they had every reason in the world to stay away, a part of Elena still missed her hometown, and eventually they had agreed to come back briefly to see what could be done and for Elena to do what she was doing now—seeing her family.

Damon had slipped out earlier that morning to check up on a few things, and Elena had decided to take the time to look in on Jenna and Ric. Seeing them so happy and feeling the dull ache in her heart, she almost wished she hadn't.

She turned away, a sad smile on her face, deep in thought and almost didn't hear the sharp intake of breath or the hammer being cocked on the gun. Almost.

She froze and her eyes shot up, horrified to find a Mystic Falls deputy she didn't recognize standing in front of her, gun out and pointed straight at her chest. Her heart nearly beat out of her ribcage as she fell back a step.

"Don't move!" the deputy yelled, the gun shaking slightly.

Elena flinched and glanced back at the house. Please, please don't let them hear, she thought desperately. "I'm not going to do anything," she said as calmly as possible, turning back to the deputy.

"Hands up!" he demanded, taking one hand off the gun to talk into the radio at his shoulder. "I have a V-5 over on east Bank street, near the Saltzman house," he said quickly, getting a crackly response.

Elena paled, raising her hands. "I'm not a vampire," she said, taking a step forward.

"I said don't move!" he yelled, both hands back on the gun.

She could feel her heartbeat in her ears, all her concentration on the man in front of her. What would they do to her when they arrested her? Would they charge her? Just lock her up? What would Jenna do when she found out she wasn't dead? Elena didn't want to find out. She looked around frantically, wishing she knew where Damon was.

"Please, what have I done? I'm not a vampire, I'm just a girl," she said again, taking another hesitant step forward.

She didn't hear the shot, only felt the intense pressure on her chest, knocking her to the ground. For a moment, confusion was the only thing she felt, and then the pain hit her. She tried to gasp, but blood choked her, and she couldn't get her arms to work properly. She couldn't breath, couldn't speak, could only wish she could see Damon one more time before everything went black.

She awoke with a gasp, sitting up, clutching her chest. Hands on her shoulders steadied her, and she looked up, focusing on the concerned face in front of her. "Bonnie?" she asked in confusion, looking around, trying to get her bearings.

"Elena," she said in relief. "I didn't think you'd ever wake up."

She looked around, horrified to see the stainless steel drawers lining the wall and florescent lights shining down on her. "Are we at the morgue?" she asked in a small voice, pulling her knees up to her still bloody chest on the cold metal slab she was on.

Bonnie nodded. "They brought you in a few hours ago. Elena… you—you died."

She shuddered slightly. "I—I know. Where's Damon?"

Bonnie let go of her and stepped back slightly. "You died, Elena," she said pointedly. "The spell…"

Elena paled and slipped to her feet, wobbling slightly on her unsteady legs. "No," she breathed. "Where is he, Bonnie? Please, tell me he's alright," she demanded, barely keeping it together.

Tears were forming in Bonnie's eyes as she looked at her friend. "He's at my house. I was telling him about how I thought we could break the spell…" She shook her head. "I had to… Elena, it was bad…"

Her breath was coming in gasps, and she forced herself to calm down. "We need to go."

Bonnie led her through the cold halls and out a nondescript side door to where her car was parked, and they were speeding down the road moments later.

"Did Jenna find out what happened?" she asked, staring straight ahead. Every nerve in her body felt like it had been exposed with a cheese grater. Sounds were too loud, light was too bright, even smells made her twitch, especially one in particular. She glanced over at Bonnie, her eyes sliding over the exposed skin of her neck, and she jerked her gaze back out the window, trying to calm her rising panic.

"No, I don't think so. The police were trying to keep it really quiet."

Elena shuddered and wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "I should have never come back here. Damon told me it was stupid, but I said it would be fine…"

"Elena…"

"No. This is all my fault."

Bonnie shook her head, looking back at the road. "It's going to be okay."

Elena bit her lip, shaking her head. "Not if he's…" She broke off, drawing in a shuddering gasp. "We talked about me turning, you know," she said abruptly. Bonnie shot her a quick glance. "We were planning on doing it, when we thought the time was right. But we always wondered about that damn spell." She made a small noise, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I can't do this without him, Bonnie."

Her friend looked at her again. "I know."

They finally pulled up to the house, and Elena all but bolted from the car, blinking rapidly in the bright sunlight, wincing slightly. She stopped at the front door, waiting for Bonnie who was there a moment later to unlock it. She entered the house, looking around frantically. "Where is he, Bonnie?" she asked, rounding on the witch.

Bonnie hesitated a moment. "He's in the basement." Elena turned, but she grabbed her arm, stopping her. "He's not safe, Elena. Something… snapped when you died. I don't know how to explain it, but he lost it."

Elena pulled away from her, shaking her head. "I don't care, Bonnie." She turned away and headed for the door that led down the rough wooden stairs to the dark, half finished cellar.

She couldn't find the light switch so she stopped at the bottom of the steps in the pool of light from the open door and heard a scrapping sound across the room. "Damon," she called softly, stepping hesitantly into the darkness.

Something slammed into her, driving her into the cement floor. She tried to move, and suddenly the weight was thrown off of her, Bonnie muttering under her breath as she came down the steps behind her, flicking the light switch on the wall.

Elena gasped, scrambling to her feet and feeling like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Damon sat huddled across the dank space from her, his knees pulled up and his hands clutching his head. "Bonnie, stop," she whispered through numb lips. A low moan escaped from Damon's balled form and she spun on the witch. "I said stop!" she screamed, fists clenched.

Bonnie looked away from the vampire and Elena spun, seeing his entire body go limp. She was by his side a second later, her hands fluttering over him.

"Elena—"

"You have to help him!" she begged in desperation. "Please, Bonnie. There has to be something you can do!"

The tears Bonnie had been holding at bay during the drive were slipping down her cheeks. "I—I tried, Elena! I tried to lift the spell after… It didn't work. Nothing worked. I'm so, so sorry."

Elena looked away, unable to take any more. "Just go, Bonnie. Please?" she begged, not sparing her friend a glance. "I just… Let me take care of him."

"You don't understand! Whatever humanity he had is gone. He could kill you!"

"I'm already dead!" she yelled back, glaring at her as heat flared through her body. "You don't understand, Bonnie! If he's really gone, then I don't care. I'm already dead. Either he'll kill me, or I won't complete the transition. It won't much matter at that point."

Bonnie looked at her with an expression torn between sympathy, horror, and love. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more, Elena. Just… just be careful, okay? I'll be right upstairs if you need me."

Elena nodded, and she heard Bonnie's reluctant footsteps going back up the steps and the door closing above them.

"Damon," she called, barely above a whisper. Her fingers lightly stroked his cheek, and his eyelids fluttered slightly. "I need you to be okay," she said, her voice heavy with unshed tears.

His eyes finally flickered open, and she drew in a sharp breath, hope surging through her. She leaned closer and finally met his gaze, her blood running cold.

There was nothing she recognized in the blue orbs staring back at her, just a feral, empty fury, and before she could move he had her pinned to the floor, his fingers digging painfully into the skin of her arms.

"Damon, I'm so sorry." She didn't try to fight back or stop him, she knew it was useless anyway. Lola had been telling the truth all those years ago, and Katherine would finally have her vengeance. This was how it would end, for both of them.

His empty eyes gazed down at her for a long, drawn out moment, the veins slowly twisting around them until they were blood red, and then he struck. A gasp escaped her when his fangs sank into her, and he started the slow, steady draw. She whimpered slightly, her hands fisting in his hair, her eyes tight shut against the pain until her arms fell limp at her side and everything she knew slipped away.

She woke to darkness, confusion flooding her mind. She tried to sit up, but her body felt like lead, and she fell back with a groan as pain lanced through her from her toes to her eyes.

"Elena!"

She froze, her heart almost stopping. "Damon?" she asked in a raspy voice. She felt hands grab her, and then she was being cradled in his lap, his hands shaking as they held her.

"I thought I'd killed you." His voice was rough with barely contained emotion.

"Damon…" She swallowed, her throat dry. "I already died. I'm in transition."

He nodded against her. "I know. I tried to give you blood, and it didn't work."

She tried to move to see him, but pain shot through her again and she gasped, settling back against him. "You don't have a lot of time," he said softly.

She nodded slowly. "You're all right now? Whatever the spell did to you is over?"

"I think it was your blood that brought me back, but yeah, I feel fine now."

She sighed. "Good."

"Elena," he said hesitantly, pain lacing his words. "I know we talked about this, but… I'll understand if you don't want to turn."

She smiled slightly. "The only reason I wouldn't want this, Damon, was if I couldn't be with you."

"Don't do this for me, Elena. If you do, eventually the only thing you'll feel for me is resentment. If you decide to transition, it should be because you want to."

Elena hesitated only a moment. "I want this. I'm a selfish person, Damon. I want you forever."

She felt his body relax against her. "Good. I don't know if I would have been able to sit back and watch you die, and having you hate me for all eternity would have been pretty shitty."

"I wouldn't have hated you forever," she muttered as he picked her up.

"Maybe."

The left the cellar to find Bonnie standing at the end of the hall, her blood shot eyes wide. "You broke it?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"If that's what you want to call it," Damon said, his grip on Elena tightening slightly before he set her gently on her feet, one arm still around her to hold her up. He reached into his pocket, and tossed something at Bonnie who fumbled to catch it in her surprise. "We're going to get some blood. I expect you know what to do with that?" he asked, his voice low.

Bonnie held up the ring he had thrown to her, wiping her eyes and examining it slightly before nodding.

Elena looked up at him. "You've just been caring that around?"

He shrugged and swept her up again, heading out of the house. The sun was setting, the house and trees sending long shadows over the lawn. He sat her on the porch, his hands lingering briefly before he pulled away and disappeared to his car parked down the street.

Elena drew in a deep breath, trying to soak in these last moments. She didn't regret them, and with a start, realized she didn't regret much of anything. She looked back at everything that had gotten her to this moment and felt herself satisfied with the roll she had played. Sure, she wished some things had turned out differently, but the past was done, and she found that she could live with it.

Damon appeared at the bottom of the porch, gazing up at her, a blood bag in his hands. As she watched him approach, a slow smile crept over her face, her heart finally free from the burdens she'd been carrying around for the past five years.

He sat down next to her, his normally turbulent gaze holding the only emotion she needed to see.

She didn't hesitate when she reached for the bag.

The End