Okay, this is the last chapter. I know, sorry. Anyways, this takes place one year in the future.

Damon's P.O.V

I stared out at the sunset. It had been a year. One slow, agonizing year but we had gotten through it. It was getting easier, but just barely. Elena could finally go a whole day without breaking down, well as long as I didn't say or do anything that reminded her of Stefan in anyway and she did see anything that reminded her of him.

Personally, since I had only broken down once this whole year, I'm sort of proud of myself. The one time had happened when I was about to kill this guy. I had gone three days without blood so I was really thirsty. I was going to make it painless, but well sadly, after killing Stefan, I seem to have gotten a conscience. It wouldn't let me kill again without thinking of Stefan. It had been too much and I had let him go. I hadn't gone back to Elena that night and she had been worried sick. I just didn't want her to see me cry. It was bad enough that I had cried in the first place, now she thought I was the most sensitive guy ever.

"You okay, Damon?" Elena asked. I looked over my shoulder to see her coming out of the woods, looking as beautiful as always. I gave her a crooked grin.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How was your hunt?" Elena had continued Stefan's diet in memory of him, though she mostly human blood. She said it was addicting and filling, which I knew all too well.

"Good," she answered. She sat down on the cliff by me and we watched as the sun bathed us with its last rays.

"It's been a year." She finally said, looking out to the almost completely set sun. It dipped under the horizon and then we were surrounded by night.

"Yes, it has." I said quietly, watching her reaction. I didn't want her to get upset, as she sometimes did when we talked about him.

"I miss him." She said quietly.

"Me too." I said carefully, still watching her. Right about now was when she lost it, usually.

She sighed and leaned back against my arm, which was around her shoulders. I wrapped my other arm around her and held her close to me. She smiled up at me and then she laid against me chest. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and I realized she was asleep. Figures, I thought, she must be exhausted. I shrugged out of my jacket and balled it up on the ground. Then I laid her head on it and laid back myself, my arms underneath my head. After awhile, sleep over came me as well.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- In Elena's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I was in some meadow in a flowing scarlet dress. Ah, this is where we fought Klaus. I thought. Suddenly a dark figure walked out of the forest towards me.

"Damon?" I said. The figure kept his head down but continued to come closer to me. He didn't answer. "Damon, is that you?"

"No, Elena. It's me." Then the figure stopped about ten feet from me and raised his head. I was met with two forest green eyes. I gasped.

"Stefan!"

"Yes, Elena."

"Stefan what are you doing here?" I asked, nervous. Last time I saw him he was crazy.

"It's alright Elena, I won't hurt you. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you and Damon. I'm so sorry, Elena." Suddenly Stefan's figure began to shake and I realized he was crying. Acting on pure instant I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him, offering him any comfort I could. He wrapped his arms around me and I tensed a little but he just held me to him and I calmed down. This was the old Stefan, he would never hurt me. "I'm so sorry, Elena, I'm so sorry." Stefan kept whispering over and over in my ear.

"It's alright, Stefan. I don't really know what got into you but I don't hold your last actions against you."

"But I hurt you, Elena, I'm so sorry. If Damon hadn't of stopped me, you would be dead."

"But Damon did stop you. Don't blame yourself."

Stefan was quiet but he continued to hold me. Suddenly he tensed and then let me go. I released my hold on him and he stepped away from me.

"I have to go now." He said. "Again, I'm so sorry Elena."

"It's okay Stefan. Don't beat yourself up about it."

He smiled a little but it was sad. "You know, I still love you, but I can see that Damon takes care of you. That's all I could wish for right now. I'm glad your happy Elena. Plus, Damon deserves to be happy too. It seems like forever since I've seen him truly smile." He thought for a moment. "Actually I don't think I ever got the pleasure of seeing that sight. But now I pretty much see everything."

"Oh Stefan." I said, tears almost spilling from my eyes. He really was the old Stefan, so self-sacrificing!

He smiled. "Bye Elena. Be safe."

"Bye Stefan." I said quietly. He suddenly blurred into the shadows, smiling like the old Stefan.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-End of Elena's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I woke up huddled in the dirt with Damon's jacket under my head. Damon was next to me, sleeping peacefully. It was about the only time that his walls wear really down. Even when I thought his walls were down, I was always proved wrong when I saw him sleep. He just kind of hides some stuff when he's awake, almost subconsciously. Right now though, what I saw on his face was unbelievable.

He was smiling. He hardly ever smiled, only rarely and that was only when I was the only one around. What was he dreaming?

Suddenly his dark eyes opened and he saw me. His smile turned to that of humor and he stared at me. Ask if asking me what I was staring at. I blushed.

"What are you doing awake?" He asked quietly, moving over and wrapping his arms around me. I put my head on his chest and he rolled so that he was on his back and I was lying on top of him.

"I had the most wonderful dream ever." I said. It had been nice to see Stefan again, to get some closure.

"Really? Don't people usually keep dreaming when they have a good dream and wake up when it's bad?"

"Stefan had to leave though. To go back to wherever he had come from."

"Ah, I should have figured."

"It was nice, we got some closure."

"That's good." He said. He nuzzled his face to my neck and I felt his lips on my throat. I smiled. He placed a kiss on my neck before I pulled away and pulled his lips to mine. He smiled in the middle of the kiss but he didn't pull away, which I was happy for.

"I love you, Damon." I sighed out, lying my head back on his chest. I didn't expect him to return the phrase, he never did. I didn't doubt that he loved me, he just never said it. It probably had something to do with Stefan but I never asked. I figured if he wanted to talk about it, he would. But then again, Damon wasn't the 'talk about my problems' kind of person. Oh well, I thought.

"I love you too, Elena." Damon said and he placed a feather-light kiss on the top of my head. I whipped my head up and looked him square in the eye. He smiled a little and I was positively speechless.

"What?" I finally got out. His smile got a little bigger and he pecked my lips.

"I said, 'I love you too, Elena.'" He said. He said he loved me. Oh. My. Gosh.

I was practically beaming at him. I kissed him forehead, his cheeks, his eyelids, which he closed his eyes for, his nose and finally his lips. He responded instantly and pressed me closer to him. When we broke apart, I wasn't the only one smiling hugely.

"You need to get back to sleep." He finally said, gaining just enough of his composure back to downgrade his smile some but not make it disappear completely.

"Alright." I agreed, knowing it would be impossible to fight him. Plus I was tired but I was also had a lot of pent up energy. He had said he loved me. He has never said that. I'm so happy!

I laid my head back on his chest and even though I thought it was unlikely, sleep soon caught up to me and I fell asleep on Damon's chest, smiling like a complete idiot.

Okay, this is the end of the chapter but this is what Damon was dreaming about.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Damon's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I was standing in the clearing that Klaus had been killed in. Only thing was, I wasn't alone.

Stefan was standing in front of me, smiling a little. "Hey Damon." He said.

"Hello Stefan." I said. He looked better, less crazy. Good, he was taking care of himself, wherever he was staying.

"It's been a year hasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes I believe it has." I said.

"Thank you again Damon."

"For what, killing you?"

"No, for taking care of Elena and for stopping me from killing her. I was out of my mind. If I had really killed her, I would have gone crazy with guilt and ended up killing myself anyway. So thank you."

I shrugged. "Yeah well, it's what brothers do I suppose. Keep each other from killing ex-girlfriends. Or fiancés."

"You don't have to put on the act Damon. I can see everything you and Elena do from Heaven. I even know what you're thinking...sometimes."

I gave him a crooked grin. "Really? What am I thinking now?" He rolled his eyes.

"I said sometimes." He paused for a second. "Damon?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You love Elena."

I froze. This was not something I wanted to get into with him. It might open old wounds.

He smiled at me. "You know, it means a lot if you voice it." He said.

"What?" I asked. He was confusing me.

"You should tell her that you love her." He said simply.

For the first time ever I was at a lost for words. Stefan was telling me to tell the woman he loved that I loved her. What does someone say to that?

"It's alright, Damon. She loves you, you love her. I know that. Just tell her." He winked at me. "Trust me, it will make her happy. It will make you happy too."

I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the smile that came over my face. It was a real smile. One very few people ever saw. Actually Elena was the only one.

Stefan smiled. "Is that a smile on Damon's face? I didn't think he knew that facial feature." He said teasingly. I rolled my eyes but I could wipe that stupid grin off my face. I guess I was just happy to see the normal Stefan again. "I'm happy to see you too Damon." Stefan said. Great, now he really is reading my mind. "Only sometimes." He corrected.

"That doesn't help your case you know. Answering a question that I thought. Honestly."

Suddenly he looked kind of sad. "You have to go don't you?" I asked, though I wasn't that sad. I missed him a lot this last year but I was glad to see that he was alright and that he was taking care of himself. Well, and that he was his old self again, that was good too.

"Yeah." He said. "Thanks again Damon, and remember what I said. Trust me."

"I will, Stefan. And I do." He smiled sadly.

"Thanks for that too."

"What this time?" I asked, faking exasperation.

"For believing in me. For believing that I could have changed."

"You could have." I said.

He shook his head slowly. "No I was too far gone. I see that now. I'm just glad you did what I asked. I really have to go now Damon."

"Alright, goodbye…little brother." I said, the usual malice behind those words long forgotten. Right now the only feelings I had for my brother was sadness and, well, love.

"Goodbye, big brother." Stefan said. And with that he disappeared into the darkness, smiling.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-End of Damon's Dream-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Alright, that's it folks! Hope you loved it! Please review! I'll try to come up with another Elena/Damon plot soon! I really hope I tied together any loose ends but if you have any questions just ask. Thanks so much for reading!