Elena hardly slept. All that happened the night before way too much. Meeting Isobel and finding out she was so cold-hearted and... inhuman was hurtful. But there was one thing that couldn't get out of her head. One thing Isobel said that haunted Elena every second.
"Because he's in love with you…"

Elena didn't know why it affected her so much. After all, Isobel said it probably just to cause trouble between her, Stefan and Damon. But still… The words echoed in her head over and over again. And the look on Damon's face when she locked eyes with him while she was in Stefan's embrace haunted her every time she closed her eyes. So vulnerable, so fragile, so human… So desperate to be loved…
"Damn it!"

Why did she care so much? Why? She was with Stefan who she loved so much. Not long ago she hated Damon, she thought of him as a 'self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities'. Why she now couldn't stop thinking about him and the possibility that he felt something for her, that he loved her…
Elena was lying in bed, still deep in her thoughts about Damon when Jenna knocked on the door.

"Elena, get up! You have to get ready for the parade."

Elena looked herself in the mirror. She felt uncomfortable, but not just physically (that dress hurt). She looked at herself and she knew what Damon and Stefan would see when she appeared. Katherine. The woman they both loved. The women that broke both their hearts. The woman that cam between them. The woman that fell for them both.
Tears appeared in Elena's eyes. Not because she was afraid the Salvatore brothers saw her just like Katherine's replacement. She was afraid she was becoming Katherine. She was cause the same as the vampire did to Damon and Stefan 146 years ago. She would come between them, and they would hate each other for that. She didn't want this. But how could she stop it?

Elena slowly walked around, looking for Stefan. She suddenly saw him. He had his back turned on her, he was talking with Damon. The elder Salvatore saw her and whatever he was saying, he stopped and looked at her shocked. Stefan turned around again and looked at her, a bit shocked too. She smiled at them and bowed, like a lady from the 19th century would do. Damon's eyes never left hers. She started walking towards them, but then Damon turned around a left. Elena shivered, feeling guilty about reminding him of the woman that broke his heart. But she wouldn't show it. She walked to Stefan and he smiled at her.

"You look beautiful, milady."

"Thank you, sir. You don't look so bad yourself"

They kissed, and for a second Elena wondered if he kissed her or Katherine in that moment. But she didn't allow herself to think about that.

"I didn't expect to see Damon here; I never took him for the parade type of guy."

"Well, I didn't expect him here either. Speaking of Damon, I need to tell you something."

'Not any more bad news, please!' Elena thought.

"Damon thinks he knows who your biological father is."

Elena's heart skipped a beat.

"What? How does he know? Who is it?"

Stefan sighed.

"John Gilbert."
"What? John?"
"Damon found out he dated Isobel when they were teenagers and he brought her to your dad's office when she went in labor."
Elena was shaking.

"All my life, I never liked this man; I couldn't understand how he could be related to dad. I hope it's not true. God, I must sound like a horrible person."

"You don't. It's understandable."

"What should I do?"

"No need to rush – wait till you are ready."

"I don't know if I ever will be."

"Don't think about it now. Let's go find the others and take some pictures. I want a photo with the most beautiful girl here." Stefan said smiling at her.

He was always so sweet and tender, that was one of the reasons she loved him. Elena smiled back, but she was still trembling inside.

Elena saw Bonnie in the crowd and waved at her, smiling. At least she and her best friend were ok again. One good thing in all this drama. Suddenly, Damon appeared in front of Bonnie and waved at her playfully, smirking. Elena felt Stefan tense behind her. She knew he was worried after what Isobel said the night before, considering his and Damon's history. She felt guilty about his worries, that maybe she had given him reason to be jealous. But she couldn't help the fact that she cared for Damon and he became a big part of his life. Still, she knew that she had to show Stefan that he had nothing to worry about. So, she ignored Damon and started waving at the crowed, her look turning away from Damon.

Elena went in The Grill and she heard a familiar voice.

"I like you better like this. The period look didn't suit you."

She looked him in the eyes, not sure what that meant.

"Should I take this as an insult, Damon?"

"No, Elena, it was actually a compliment of the highest order."

They looked at each other and both smiled. Elena couldn't help but feel glad Damon took things this way – he liked her better like this, because she looked like herself, not like Katherine. And this was a reassurance she really needed. But she wouldn't say it out loud. Whatever was happening with Damon, she had to put an end to it, cause it was hurting Stefan, and this was something she wasn't going to do.

"Look, I know Stefan is worried about our friendship."

Damon smirked at her comment.

"Oh, he mentioned something to you too, I see."

Oh, God, this was worse than she thought!
"No, did he mention something to you?"

"Nothing worth repeating."

"Anyway, Damon, you should stop the flirting and the eye thing that you do."

"What eyes thing?" he asked, trying to sound innocent, but then he did it again.

She gave him a lecturing look, and he immediately stopped.

"Please, don't make me regret being your friend."

His face was now serious, and she could see in his eyes that this friendship meant to him a lot and he wouldn't risk loosing it. Elena then spotted Jeremy and she walked to him, still feeling Damon's eyes on her, making her shiver. She tried to talk to Jeremy and apologize, but he didn't listen. He was so angry and hurt he probably hated her.

"Go to hell, Elena."

With those last words he left. Elena followed him with her gaze, her eyes filling with tears. She then met Damon's eyes, and saw a genuine concern. She didn't say a word, she just looked at him and she knew he understood. After all, they had something. An understanding. Elena wondered if it wasn't more than that.

Elena was walking around with Stefan, enjoying Founder's day, laughing and holding hands with him. It all felt so normal, when she felt someone take her hand. She turned around and saw Damon. He took her small hand in his masculine hands and gently caressed it. She felt Stefan hold her other hand tighter, and she knew she had to do something about it.

"Uhm, Damon, what are you doing?"

"Saving your life."

"What do you mean?"
"Tomb vampires are here. Their target – the founding families."

Both Elena and Stefan looked shocked.

"Get her out of here. NOW!"

With those words he disappeared into the crowd.

Elena and Stefan had tried to find Jeremy, but the fireworks started. Stefan insisted that he took her somewhere safe. They were walking when he suddenly collapsed, groaning from pain. Elena felt so helpless; she didn't know what was happening or what she could do. She so wished Damon was there.

A deputy walked towards them, but Alaric got him to leave. They took Stefan in a safe place from the council. After a minute, he clamed down, it seemed the pain was finally gone.

"What happened, Stefan?"

"I don't know, there was this piercing pain, it was unbearable."

"It affected all vampires. The deputies injected them with vervain and took them into your family's old building." Alaric said.

"The Gilbert device." Stefan whispered.

"But Bonnie deactivated it."
"Maybe she didn't. Think about it – we asked her to deactivate a weapon against vampires."

"To protect you!"

"And Damon."
Realization hit Elena. Bonnie had lied. Which meant that…

"Where's Damon?" Stefan and Elena asked Alaric in the same time.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since before the fireworks."

Stefan and Elena exchanged a look and they started running to the old Gilbert building.

'Please, let him be ok!' was Elena could think. When they got near the building, Stefan heard fire. Elena was on the verge of tears already. They had to reach him in time.

They saw John, standing on their way, smirking.

"Where's Damon?" Elena asked him. Now more than ever she was disgusted with the thought that he might be her father. But she couldn't think about it. She had to focus on one thing – save Damon.

"It's over for them. This should have been done 145 years ago. You can go if you want to, Stefan. It would spare me the effort of killing you myself."

"Does it have another entrance?" Stefan asked Elena.

She gave him directions and he started running towards the back entrance. Elena went to follow him, but John stopped her.

"One more step and I'll tell the deputies that they missed a vampire."

"I'm asking you not to."

"This means nothing to me."

"It should, considering that you are my father."

John was shocked. He barely whispered:

"You know."

Elena looked at him disgusted.

"I wasn't sure before, but I am now. You better pray they are both ok."

He released her arm and she ran to the building. All that she could think about was how she hoped Stefan reached in time, and he and Damon both came out of this ok. She was already near the entrance when Bonnie caught her and told her not to go in.

"I have to help them, Bonnie. I… I can't lose them."

Bonnie looked at her, and said:

"I'm sorry I lied to you."

Then the witch held Elena's hand and started mumbling something. A spell obviously. Elena didn't know why, but she trusted Bonnie not to betray her again. Because now Bonnie saw how much Elena was willing to risk for the Salvatore brothers – her life.

Elena heard someone coming out of the building. She saw firstly Anna, who looked like hell. Then she saw Stefan, who was carrying Damon in his arms.

'Thank God!' was her first thought.

Then she saw the broken look on Stefan's face, and she looked at Damon's body in Stefan's arms.

"NO!"