I'm really sorry this wasn't up last night, but I've been quite sick lately. I hope you guys really enjoy this chapter because I've never been great at ending haha. I really appreciate you sticking with the story up until this point, and just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone.
Thanks a lot.
Rachel xx

Damon and Elena stood around and watched Jenna try to turn the couch into more of a bed. She seemed to not even notice they were still standing there; she was too focused on her task.

"Damon, I've just remembered there's something I wanted to give to you." Elena smiled. She led him up the stairs and into her room. Elena flicked on her lights and closed the curtains before walking over to her desk. Damon had taken a seat on the end of the bed, so she picked up her antique jewelry box and sat down next to him. She opened the fragile box and pulled out a large ring. It was Stefan's ring.

"Elena, how did you get this?" Damon asked with his eyes wide. He knew the founding families took the belongings of the vampires which weren't destroyed in the struggle, assuming they were vampire artifacts.

"I told the founding family members that the ring was a Salvatore heirloom and was very valuable. It wasn't really a lie, but they didn't want to give it me. They held onto it for a little while, trying to figure out what it did, but eventually they had to return it to me." She said, smiling brightly. Damon knew that it would have taken a lot of convincing to get this ring back and he was proud of Elena for trying so hard.

"Elena, you're amazing. I can't believe you managed to get it back, without being able to compel people. I can't imagine what kind of mischief you'd get up to if you did have that power!" He said, looking very impressed. She laughed and blushed a little bit; she wasn't used to being complemented for deceiving people.

"Damon, I want you to have the ring. It belonged to Stefan and it was the thing that seemed to unite you two, as vampires, and as brothers." Elena said. She held out the ring in both hands, pushing it towards Damon. She expected him to reach out and take it, but instead he put his hands around hers and closed them against the ring.

"No, Elena. You should keep it. I've already got mine, and you deserve to keep this one. Besides, one day you may wish you still had it…" He winked at her and let go of her hands. Elena looked at Damon and then down to the ring. She twirled it around a couple of times before placing in on the index finger of her right hand. The initial 'S' on the ring flashed in the light. She stared at the ring for some time, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days.

"Damon, can I ask you something?" Elena asked, finally looking up from the ring. Damon paused a moment, he thought he knew where this conversation was going and he needed time to prepare himself.

"Yes." He answered slowly.

"And you swear to tell the truth?" She questioned. She was never sure that Damon could talk about personal things without deflecting, lying or hiding behind humor.

"I swear." He echoed. Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them again and focused on Damon.

"What did you say to Stefan at the graveyard today?" She asked. Her curiosity had built up to boiling point, and she needed to know what was going on. Damon sighed heavily and met her gaze.

"I told him I kept my promise before, and I will keep my second promise from now on." He said. Elena frowned; it was not the type of answer she had been expecting.

"But… what does that mean?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. He reached out and took her hand.

"It means that when he made me promise to leave town, I left. And now I'm back, keeping my other promise." He said bluntly. Elena's face flashed through several emotions including confusion, concern, and anger.

"He made you promise to leave? Why would he do that? Damon, I don't understand…" Elena whispered. She always thought Stefan had so much patience with Damon, even though he had never managed to control him. Damon closed his eyes rubbed his forehead with his free hand, still holding Elena's hand in the other.

"I was in love with you, Elena. He asked me to leave because I was in love with you." He confessed. He opened his eyes and looked at her, she was obviously in shock.

"What? You weren't in love with me; you were always out with all those other girls. You couldn't have been in love with me." She blurted out. She let go of his hand and pulled away a little bit.

"Yes, I was. I wanted you so much, Elena. It killed me to watch him with you." He seemed to wince at the memories. "So I tried to distract myself with drinking, girls, and generally being reckless but nothing worked. I wanted to be here fighting for you, not watching him just take you. But I couldn't bear going through the pain of that again; I couldn't get into another love triangle. So I just left. I left you here with him, knowing you'd be happy."

"Oh, Damon… I-" She started, but he cut her off.

"He wanted to be with you, Elena. And because you wanted to be with him too there was no reason for me to stay. He didn't want me around to mess your relationship up, so I promised to leave town. I was miserable while I was gone, but I gave up on all the stupid behaviour because I knew that if there was ever a chance for me to be with you I would have to stop pushing you away with everything, all my 'bad boy' behaviour. That's why I came back here, Elena. I came back for you." He said, reaching out for her hand again. She held out her hand, and he took her hand and placed it on his chest, resting it there.

"But what if Stefan was still around? What if we were married?" She asked. She wasn't sure if he had factored that into his plan or not.

"It didn't matter what I was to you, I just needed to be near you again. I would take brother-in-law or friend if it was the only position I could get." He admitted. "And then I found out Stefan had been killed and I couldn't believe it. I hadn't just made one promise on the day I left, I had made two. He made me promise that if anything happened to him that I would protect you, forever. So I'm here now, Elena. I'll be whoever you need me to be, whether that means you love me back or not, but I will keep my promise and I will protect you." He vowed, his blue eyes piercing her brown eyes.

Elena suddenly leaned over and kissed him. The kiss was gentle at first, almost cautious, but it grew more passionate as years of their hidden emotions came flooding to the surface. Damon pulled her closer to his body and Elena knotted her hand in his hair, never wanting to let him go. She hadn't realized how much she had loved him until now. She had always loved Stefan and she always would, but she knew she was in love with Damon too. She didn't feel like she was betraying Stefan because she would never forget what she had with him, but now she was starting a new chapter of her life, and that was with Damon.

Elena felt something move next to her and she leapt off the bed, breaking away from the kiss. Damon turned around to face whatever had moved, his eyes turning dark and the veins darkening around his eyes too. He realized it was just Matrix on the bed and turned back to Elena. He took a deep breath and she watched his face return to normal. He slowly shook his head a couple of times, trying to regain focus.

"Elena, I'm really sorry… I guess I take this protector role too seriously." He apologized; standing very still in case he had scared her. Elena strode over and hugged him tightly, feeling his muscular arms wrapping securely around her.

"It's okay; I know you're just doing what you promised you would." She said, looking up at him. He gently kissed her forehead and embraced her again.

They could hear movement downstairs and figured that everyone would be getting ready for bed now. Sighing, Elena backed out of Damon's arms.

"Damon, I need you to promise me something." She demanded.

"Anything…" He said, frowning slightly. He would do anything she asked of him.

"Promise you'll never leave me again?" She said, bursting into a huge smile.

"I promise, Elena." Damon said. He grasped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately once more.