Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).

I have been overwhelmed by the overall response to this story, it has really been a pleasant surprise.

This is the final chapter. It is much shorter than the others as it is just to wrap things up. It's more of an epilogue. There's more of an explanation regarding why I chose this ending at the end.

Elena was suddenly back in her own shower in her own bathroom which she shared with Jeremy. She looked around but Damon wasn't there. Elena wondered how long she'd been in the shower, when she looked down and saw her fingers were beginning to prune from the amount of time she'd been stood there. Not only that but she hot water had run cold. Shivering, she turned the shower off, grabbed her towel and got out. Elena wiped the steam away from the bathroom mirror and looked carefully at herself in the mirror as she recalled the wording of Damon's compulsion.

"Son of a bitch!" she swore to herself in a low voice. "What a devious compulsion. Just wait until I next see him alone." she said angrily.

Elena didn't get to see Damon until later that night. In the meantime, she and Stefan had been kidnapped, along with Rebekah, by Pastor Young. They'd been taken to his ranch and imprisoned in the barn which had vervain filtered through the air vents. Elena had only just managed to feed in time to complete the transition. It had taken the combined efforts of Stefan, and a surprising piece of assistance from Rebekah, to kill a guard and for her to have a taste of his blood. Bonnie hadn't managed to find a way to save her, which had led to the inevitable decision, although Elena suspected Bonnie had tried, but failed.

Once Stefan had killed the guard, they were able to start to make their escape, and fortunately there was a commotion outside, which with Elena's new vampire hearing, she could tell was being created by Damon. This was clearly a diversion tactic, which worked. However, Damon had brought Matt with him, and Damon was in a dangerous mood, which meant Matt was in a precarious situation. His next actions and words confirmed her suspicions.

Elena saw Damon in the distance walking over to Matt who was crawling around on the floor in pain, and coughing before Damon kicked him hard in the ribs.

"Go ahead and kill me." Matt sneered. "You can't possibly hate me more than I hate myself." he said, lowering his voice in a way Matt always did when he was angry with himself.

"Oh, yes I can." Damon growled as Elena saw him put his foot on Matt's throat and what looked like him pressing down. "It should have been you." Damon scowled, with a rage in his eyes Elena had rarely seen.

Elena wasn't going to let Matt die after her becoming a vampire to save him, it would make her sacrifice worthless, even though Damon didn't see it that way. Plus Elena loved Matt, even though it was only in a platonic fashion. There was a reason she'd wanted him to survive in the first place, and there was no way she was going to let him die at the hands of Damon. She knew only she could stop Damon from killing her childhood friend.

Anger course through her veins and she could feel the veins around her eyes tickle, her fangs pushing through; but that was the least of her worries, she had to save Matt. Elena ran at Damon with such speed she surprised herself, and pushed Damon with all of her might, knocking him off of Matt and straddled his hips, pinning him to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Elena growled at a surprised looking Damon; which allowed Matt to scuttle off and away from their fight.

Once Elena was happy Matt was far enough away from them and Damon had calmed down a little, she got off, realizing the awkwardness of their position, considering their secret past. Elena stood up and held her hand out to Damon who ignored her help and got to his feet by himself. Once up, they started to walk away from the house and towards Damon's car.

"You were gonna kill him." Elena stated through gritted teeth.

"Yep." Damon admitted. "Guy just won't die." he said sarcastically.

Elena turned and faced Damon. "It was my choice to save him." she insisted, anger radiating from her. "Why aren't you seeing that?" she cried.

"It's a little hard to keep track of all your choices lately, Elena." Damon sneered and began to walk away.

Elena knew they couldn't leave their conversation at that point. She'd promised herself she would confront him as soon as she saw him about the compulsion, and as there was nobody around, this was as good a time as any for her to talk to him.

"I remember everything." she called out as Damon stopped dead in his tracks. "One of the highlights of my transition: remembering everything that you compelled me to forget." Elena snapped, still angry with Damon for not only trying to kill Matt, but compelling her. She wanted to hear what he had to say for himself so she could start to forgive him.

As soon as he heard her revelation, he walked back over to her, clearly waiting for what she had to say about the incidents.

"Like how you and I met first." Elena said softly. "You were a stranger that told me you wanted me to get everything I wanted from life. Damon, why didn't you tell me?" she shook her head sadly.

"Would it have made a difference?" Damon asked as Elena said nothing, not wanting to admit she had lied to him by saying it was because she'd met Stefan first. In truth she couldn't tell him how she felt, because she didn't know herself. "I didn't think so." Damon scowled and looked away from her.

"You asked me to make a choice, Damon. So I did." Elena told him defiantly. "If you're gonna be mad, then take it out on me. Not on Stefan or Matt or anyone else. Me!" she insisted.

"Are we done here?" Damon asked as if he wanted to be as far away from Elena as possible, and knowing what one of those times he'd compelled her entailed, she wasn't entirely surprised, however it needed getting out in the open.

"If it had been you at the bridge last night and not Stefan and I begged you to save Matt...?" Elena asked, although she already knew the answer. Other than potentially Stefan, Damon would never put anyone's life above hers.

"I would have saved you! In a heartbeat, no question." Damon said instantly.

"That's what I thought." Elena nodded, as she did her best to stop the tears of anger from flowing. "And then Matt would be dead, because you couldn't let go. Matt would be dead!" she shouted.

"But you wouldn't be!" Damon frowned. "And you would have gotten to grow up and had the life that you wanted; the life that you deserved. And I know that I didn't use to get that but I do now and I wanted that for you, Elena, and I would have gladly have given it to you and let Matt die; because I am that selfish." he said softly, however his face changed and so did the tone of his voice. "But you knew that already. The first night we met is not all that you remember." he said sarcastically.

"You mean when we came back from Chicago?" Elena asked. "Or the night you told me you loved me?"

"Was Chicago selfish?" Damon frowned. "Is that how you see it?" he asked.

"You mean compelling me to forget what happened unless I was in love with you?" Elena growled in a low voice, as she didn't want Stefan or Rebekah to hear this conversation. "What exactly were you trying to achieve Damon? Were you waiting for the moment I started to act nervous around you because I was having erotic dreams about you?" she asked.

Damon lowered his eyes and nodded. "I guess deep down I knew you would never choose me." Damon sighed. "I knew you didn't love me because you never said anything about the dreams. I guess I'm just angry you lied about the part when you told me things might have been different if you'd met me first, instead of just telling me the truth. Because I knew the truth." he looked away from her. "How do you think I felt knowing what I did?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I lied to you Damon." Elena said softly. "But regarding how I felt about you, well that is where you are wrong." Elena shook her head. "You should have been a little more careful with the wording of your compulsions in future. Let me remind you of exactly what you said when you compelled me, word for word considering it is still so fresh in my mind." she said sarcastically as she glared at him.

"When I have finished telling you this, you will forget I compelled you. When we get in the car, you will go straight to sleep and forget everything that happened tonight. You will only remember Stefan breaking up with you, telling me to drive you home and then falling asleep. However the memory can come back to you as a dream, but this will only happen if you fall in love with me. Repeat after me." Elena raised an eyebrow. "Which I did." she said. "But you added an extra compulsion Damon. You said; 'You will forget having sex with me.' " she folded her arms. "And you stressed the word me. So even though I remembered in my dreams what happened at the motel. Your face was a blur because you told me to forget having sex with you. I didn't know who I was having sex with in my dreams, you were just some mystery man, who I assumed was Stefan." she shrugged. "Remember, I had to experience that entire compulsion this morning while I was in the shower. All I can say is it was a good job I was alone, because I felt everything." she frowned.

"I hope you enjoyed it." Damon smirked. "If I remember right, you did the first time around." he said as Elena glared at him angrily.

"It appears my first lesson of compulsion is to be very careful how I word what I tell people, because otherwise it could come back to haunt me." she said sarcastically while looking back over to the barn where Stefan was emerging with Matt. Elena lowered her voice. "And for all of our sake's, I don't think this is topic of conversation should ever be discussed again." And with that Elena stormed off, leaving a stunned looking Damon in her wake. However once he regained his composure he chased after.

"So this changes nothing?" Damon asked. "Even though you know why I compelled you and why you remembered, it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference?" he said in a low voice. "Are you sorry it happened?" he whispered.

"I made my choice Damon. And like I said, no matter what my feelings for you are, or were, I still love Stefan." she said defiantly. "So it makes no difference how I feel about it now!"

"You asked me to compel you to forget, remember?" Damon scowled. "So don't blame all of this on me." he pointing to himself. "You had your own part to play in all of this. And you clearly had the dreams. How long has that been happening?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" Elena raised an eyebrow, not daring to tell him it had been almost every night since Chicago. It would only make matters worse.

"To me yes!" Damon snapped.

"Why?" Elena asked. "You'll just beat yourself up over it. Regret what you did. Like you always do Damon. You'll want to hurt someone, or something, like Matt, when you only have yourself to blame. Because no matter what my feelings are for you, that is what you always do." she folded her arms, hoping the conversation was over.

"Are you still in love with Stefan?" Damon asked, who had different ideas.

"What do you think?" Elena replied.

"I think your choices have been a little questionable lately." Damon whispered as he stood close to her. "I also think your emotions are heightened right now. Everything is a little overwhelming and you are angry with me. And I get that." he said. "I'm not saying you're going to change your mind, I know you probably won't because you're too stubborn." he continued with a hint of sadness in his voice. "But vampires have heightened emotions and needs. Just bear that in mind if you decide to break my brother's heart. Don't get his hopes up too high until you're absolutely sure you made the right choice."

And with that Damon headed back to his car, got in and slammed the door, leaving Elena standing alone and confused, even though, deep down she knew he was right. She was going to have to see how things played out until she got her emotions in check, and in the meantime she needed to be careful what she said. But for now, she was going to have to fix things with Damon, though she'd need to calm down first.

A few hours later, just before sunrise, she and Stefan were sat on top of the roof of the boarding house. Stefan was trying to put a positive spin on her becoming a vampire, despite her never wanting it. She appreciated the gesture, so she decided to join in.

"But I'll get to live." Elena smiled as she put her arm on Stefan's shoulder. "I'll be a sister and a friend and I'll be with you. Forever..." she started when suddenly Damon's words ran through her mind, warning her not to get Stefan's hopes up about the future of their relationship. Therefore Elena decided to add a caveat to her speech. "If I want." she said, knowing there was a strong possibility she wouldn't.

Now that the compulsion was lifted, Elena expected the dreams to disappear. Instead they were there almost every night. But this time they were more vivid because she knew who the man in the shower was. As every day progressed, she became more and more desperate to feel his hands on her once more. Just to be in his arms would be enough. Every time there had been an opportunity for them to be physically close, she took it. Her relationship with Stefan was gradually deteriorating. They hadn't even managed to have sex since she'd turned. Every time they tried something went wrong. Elena decided this was probably a good thing as there was a possibility she may have ended up calling out Damon's name instead of Stefan's.

Elena's hints eventually clued Stefan into realizing Elena's true feelings. Less than three weeks after becoming a vampire she and Stefan broke up. Stefan initiated the split, and made it clear he knew about her feelings for Damon. The split spelled a mixture of relief and sadness in Elena. Relief in the fact she could be with the man she truly loved, and had been in love with for a very long time, but sadness that the epic love she and Stefan had shared wasn't meant to be. Stefan was the one to help her come to terms with her parents deaths, to learn how to live again. Damon would be the one to make her feel alive.

Two days after breaking up with Stefan, Elena was in the parlor of the boarding house, dancing with Damon in front of the fire. Their time had come, unlike their trip to Chicago, they were ready for one another. Although the timing was once again almost immediately after Stefan and Elena breaking up, this time was for her and Damon to start their future together. This was the first day of the rest of their lives together, which could last for all eternity, and even then, eternity still wasn't long enough in Elena's opinion. This was what went through Elena's mind as they rested their heads together while swaying to the crackling sound of the fire. Elena was finally home and in the arms of the man she loved, and she was never going to let him go.

I chose to wrap the story up like this as my intention was to only tinker with background information, yet let the rest of the story play out as it already is. For those who wanted a happy ending, I never intended to change their ending as Delena eventually got a happy ending. I just wanted to add an extra element to their love story.

Thank you to those of you who have left reviews, which have so far all been wonderful. They are always appreciated and I love you for it.

If you like this story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.

Mandzipop.