A/N: I have excuses for why this is so late, but I'm not going to bore you all. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this one. The response to last chapter was amazing. A thousand thank you's to everyone, especially you loyal reviewers. It really does make a difference. Sadly, we are coming to a close with this chapter. This story was about Elena's transition, and I think we've reached the end of that part of her journey. Damon's too. Again, you guys are great. Hope you enjoy!

The drive back was horrible. He wouldn't say a word to her, wouldn't even look at her, and when they got back to the boarding house, he disappeared. She waited for him until the sun was completely gone, and when she couldn't pace anymore, she called Jeremy.

They talked for a long time, clearing the air between them, each filling the other in on what was going on in their lives. Bonnie was back, but she was acting strangely. Caroline was still missing, but Tyler had shown up, saying he knew where she was and that she was okay. Matt and Meredith had been at the house for the last few days, helping out and keeping him company.

At one point, a loud noise interrupted them and she heard Jeremy curse, pulling the phone away and covering it so she could only make out muffled yelling.

"Sorry, Elena," he said when he came back, sounding irritated. "What where you saying?"

"What's going on, Jer?" she asked, her entire body on high alert at the idea of him being in danger.

"Nothing," he muttered. "It's just Meredith and Damon. I don't know what they're doing in the kitchen."

Elena's entire body went tense. She heard the plastic on the phone crack and she quickly loosened her grip. "Damon's at the house?" she asked as calmly as she could.

There was a long, silent pause. "Yeah. You okay? You sound kinda funny."

She forced herself to take an unnecessary breath, already looking around the house for her jacket. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's he doing there?"

She could almost hear him shrug. "How should I know? Meredith brought him here from the Grill. I'm pretty sure he's drunk off his ass. You should probably have Stefan come and pick him up. I really don't want him spending the night, if you know what I mean."

Elena stopped again, a tidal wave of grief, rage, jealousy, and fear washing over her. "Got it, Jer. I gotta go."

"Elena—" her brother said, worry plain in his voice.

"I love you. I'll talk to you soon." She hit the end button and shoved the phone in her pocket as she headed for the basement, tucking away her roller coaster ride of emotions for later.

She could pick up the faint trace of stale blood in the air before she even made it to the bottom of the stairs. She felt a faint tingle under her eyes before she forced it down, determined to keep herself under control if she was even going to entertain the idea she was about to carry out.

She made her way to the freezer, pulling open the lid and grabbing two blood bags gingerly. She paused as she started to close the door and quickly grabbed another, figuring safer was better. If she was going after Damon in her own house, she refused to even be tempted by her brother, and the more blood in her system the better.

She slid to the floor against the opposite wall, breathing through the raging hunger that was pulsating just under her surface. She forced herself to hold the blood bag in front of her as she slowly popped off one of the tubes. The smell overwhelmed her and she closed her eyes, gasping in concentration as she struggled not to bury her face in the bag and drain it.

She sat there for many long minutes before she felt comfortable enough to bring it up and take a long draw on the tube. She moaned, her knees coming up to her chest as she curled around it, instantly vamping out, but she pulled it away, another gasp escaping her. She waited until her fangs disappeared again before she let herself have another sip, vamping out all over again.

She continued that way until the entire bag was gone. The second took almost half the time, and by the time she got to the third, she was almost comfortable taking a break between drinks, though she still couldn't stop the veins from crawling under her eyes or her fangs popping out every time the heady liquid hit her tongue.

Feeling infinitely better about herself and her hopeful ability to somewhat control her bloodlust, she ran upstairs and grabbed her jacket, heading out the door and towards her house.

The run calmed her even more, and by the time she found herself on her porch, she was confident she was doing the right thing. She had to talk to Damon after what had happened, and if he was choosing to avoid her, she was going to take that choice away.

She steeled herself, concentrating solely on her desire to remain in control, and knocked on the door. She heard someone laugh, and a faint clutter from the opposite side of the house, followed by an exasperated noise and Jeremy's voice from the top of the stairs yelling, "Just come in."

Elena froze as horror descended over her. Who the hell in Mystic Falls just blindly invited someone inside the house, especially a Gilbert? Her one safety net was suddenly gone, but before she could sort out what she was going to do now, the door swung open, and Meredith stood before her, the doctor's wide smile slipping from her face.

Elena had her pinned to the floor six feet inside the door before she could even think about her hard won control. She stared down at her, the smell of hot, pumping human blood calling to her like a siren song. She moved forward, her eyes meeting Meredith's wide, terrified ones and she stopped, a shudder going through her as a semblance of reason returned to her. She frowned slightly, starting to move away when something bowled into her, driving her back till she found herself pinned to the floor.

Damon glared down at her, his eyes blazing. "Get Jeremy and get out of here, Meredith," he growled.

Elena struggled in his gasp and to her surprise managed to switch their positions, throwing herself back towards the door and away from the humans. "I'm so sorry. You two stay, I'll go," she gasped, turning to run, only to have Damon crash into her again, his arms wrapping around her from behind in a crushing grip.

The smell of leather, smoke, and bourbon, lots of bourbon, momentarily overwhelmed the smell of blood and she closed her eyes briefly before managing to break free again, turning to face him this time.

"Stop it, Damon! I'm not going to attack anyone again!"

"Could have fooled me," he snapped, straightening slowly. His footing wavered slightly as he glared at her.

"You're drunk."

"And you're ruining it," he sneered, grabbing her arm and pulling her along with him. "Christ, can't you leave me alone for one fucking night."

"Why? So you could hang out with Meredith?" she snapped, her jealousy flaring.

"Actually, yes," he said darkly, his grip tightening painfully. "The psycho doctor's not half bad." He glanced at her, his expression malicious. "You should probably thank her some time for your lack of deadness."

Elena ripped her arm away from him, any semblance of control gone as she lunged for him. All she could feel was anger and betrayal as she drove him to the ground, her hands and teeth trying to rip him apart. They rolled in the grass, and she heard the snap of a bone before she was pinned hard to the ground again, Damon above her with an expression of concern, pain, and anger on his face.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" he asked warily, the bitterness and snark gone from his voice.

She felt her emotions shift again, and tears formed a lump in her throat. "You just left!" she yelled. "I had no idea where you were or if something had happened! Excuse me for caring!"

As soon as she said the words, she knew she'd made a mistake. His face hardened into a look of such hatred and self-loathing she flinched away from it. He shook his head. "Fuck this," he muttered, immediately letting her go and standing.

She was instantly on her feet as panic flooded her system. "Damon, don't. Please—"

"No," he said curtly. "I can't. Not tonight." And then he was gone.

She let out a choked gasp, staring out into the darkness. She'd messed it up again. Every time she tried to fix what was between them, it seemed to blow up in her face, and every time he left she felt a piece of her break. She imagined feeling like this for over a hundred and fifty years and nearly sobbed. It was too horrible to imagine. She wasn't as strong as him. She wouldn't be able to do it.

She knew exactly what would make the hurt go away. She didn't want to flip the switch, but there was something else that would drive all other thoughts and feelings from her mind. She finally understood all the rash, seemingly mindless decisions she'd seen Damon make in the past. For the first time since she'd turned, she actually wanted to hunt, to feed. It was as if her body knew she was in pain and was driving her to fix it. It wouldn't solve the problem forever, but she knew she could lose herself, if only for a little bit.

She heard someone call her name from the house, and her fists clenched as she stopped herself from turning and pouncing on them. She couldn't stay out here. She was falling apart, little by little, and if she was anywhere near people when she finally lost it, she'd end up killing someone, she knew it.

She ran to the boarding house, barely remembering the journey. She nearly ripped the hinges off the door when she burst through and stopped in the entryway of the big, empty house, met with silence. She held back a choked sob and fell to her knees and screamed, her hands twisted in her hair as despair washed over her.

"Could you yell louder? My ears aren't bleeding yet," Damon yelled, coming around the corner with a decanter in hand.

She looked up through the ugly mess of her tears. "You're here?" she asked brokenly.

His hard exterior flickered briefly at the sight of her before he rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, it seems I still live here."

She slowly got to her feet, wiping away the tears on her cheeks and eyes, and moved toward him, but he kept the distance. She stopped, just allowing herself to feel a measure of relief at finding him not vanished again. "Please don't leave like that again."

He snorted and walked away, taking a huge swig of the amber liquid. "Get over yourself, Elena. I know I have."

She closed her eyes against his words for a moment, trying to get herself back together. "Is that true?"

He glanced back at her. "Is what true?"

"Are you really over me?"

He made a sound of disbelief. "You really want to know? What happened to 'Don't. Don't go there, Damon'?" he asked in a mockingly high imitation.

"Damon," she said in a pleading voice, "we need to talk about what happened."

"Didn't need to talk about it last time you had your tongue down my throat," he said harshly, bringing the bottle up and taking another long drink.

She flinched at the words. "I know."

He blew out a long breath of air. "I really don't get it, Elena. You've gotten exactly what you wanted. Always. The vampire thing was a bust, but you had a choice in that too. Why the hell are you so doom and gloom? You're going to live forever! With your self proclaimed 'soul mate.' Cheer the fuck up. "

"How do you not get it?" she burst out. "I'm all alone here, Damon!" She looked around, throwing her hands up in desperation. "Eternity alone was never supposed to be part of the deal. Do you see anyone else here? I feel like I'm losing the people I love, one by one!"

"Don't worry. Stefan—"

"I'm talking about you!" she screamed, so exasperated that her body was singing with the need for release, to do something, whether it was run, or fight, or kill, or fuck, she didn't know, and again she understood how simple it was to just snap, to bury herself in hunger and blood and not care about the rest of it.

She looked up at Damon, feeling like she was about to fall over the edge. "How can you not get it? I love you! And it's driving me insane!"

Damon froze, his hand with the decanter halfway to his lips falling to his side and staring at her with what would have been an amusing look of confusion if she hadn't felt like her barely put together world was falling down around her.

She drew in a shuddering breath, realizing what she had just said, and felt like a dam had just burst inside her. "Every time you run out on me I feel like my heart's getting ripped out of my chest," she said, moving slowly towards him. "And maybe I deserve it. I've done horrible things to you—things I'm not proud of, that you should probably hate me for—but I can't keep doing this, Damon. I don't want to live without you. Not anymore."

He stood silent, his brows furrowed, his lashes blinking rapidly. He brought the bottle up and finished the contents before carefully setting it back on the drink cart.

"Say something, please," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He met her gaze unwavering. "What if it's not enough?" he asked, equally as soft. "What if it's too little, too late?"

She felt the by now familiar stab of pain in her chest and wondered if she'd make it if he walked away again. "Then I'd try to find out what was enough. And I'd wait, as long as it took."

His brow furrowed even more, and he shook his head. "You don't know what the waiting would do to you, Elena. You might come out the other side and not recognize yourself."

"You'd recognize me," she said with a sad smile.

Some of the frost thawed from his eyes. "Don't do this to yourself, Elena." He looked away, his voice dropping to an almost inaudible level. "Don't do this to me."

A little sigh escaped her. "This isn't a choice, Damon. It's an inevitability."

He looked back at her, and she could almost see his mask crumbling, one layer at a time. "Do you mean it?" he asked, his voice rough and raw with suppressed emotion.

She just nodded. "I never understood before. I do now." Her shaking hands balled into fists. "Please tell me it's not too late, that I haven't driven you away for good."

He was suddenly in front of her, his hand hovering hesitantly near her face before he let his fingertips slide along her cheek to her neck, barely touching her as if he was afraid she'd break or disappear. "You're a vampire now. You know that's not possible." His other hand came up, mirroring the first. "You know you can still walk away from this. Turn around and go and we'll pretend it never happened." His fingers slipped into her hair and tightened almost painfully. "But if you stay, that's it. I'm selfish, Elena. I don't think I'd be strong enough to let you go again."

She nodded, every inch of her body aware of how close he was. She laid a light hand on his chest, shivering slightly from the contact. "I'm not going anywhere, Damon. Ever. I love you too damn much."

His lips crushed hers with bruising strength, his body moving the fraction of an inch between them to press along the length of hers. She moaned into the kiss, an explosion of joy bursting inside of her as she clutched at him, feeling more alive than she ever had, living or undead.

She broke away, unable to suppress the laugh that bubbled up inside of her. He froze, looking at her with a mixture of confusion and awe, his grip on her unconsciously tightening. "What is it?"

"I'm happy," she said simply, "for the first time in so long." She leaned up and kissed him softly, lingeringly. "Maybe, with you, I'll actually be able to find some good in all this."

She actually felt him relax under her hands, the tension bleeding out of him, and a small smirk appeared on his face. "Trust me, you haven't even scratched the surface."

His lips captured hers once more and this time she felt the need, the desperation, in them. He moved into her, moving them back, his hands running down her sides, over her ass and back up, one on the small of her back, crushing her body to his and the other gliding over her breast before cupping the nape of her neck and stealing her unneeded breath with a kiss so demanding she completely melted into him, feeling her back hit the hard surface of the nearest wall.

She clutched at him, unable to get enough, to get close enough. The warm, maddening tingle under her eyes started abruptly and she jerked back, unable to stop it. Damon made a frustrated noise as she pulled away, looking down at her with eyes blazing with need as his hands came up and cradled her face, forcing her to look at him.

"You are so damn beautiful," he nearly growled, his thumbs brushing the twisting veins under her eyes.

She drew in a shuddering breath, blinking her blood red eyes as she tried to relax. "I can't control it," she said, her own voice breathy.

"You will," he said, leaning in and kissing along her jaw, down her throat, lingering on the so slow pulse point on her neck. "But right now, it really doesn't matter."

"Damon…" she breathed, arching into him.

"For once, just let yourself go, Elena." He gave a little playful nip with blunt teeth against her skin and pulled back to meet her eyes again. "I promise I won't break."

Something wild and free uncoiled inside of her and she smiled a smile that had never passed her lips before. She moved, reversing their positions in a heartbeat, and pulled him down into another searing kiss, feeling the smile on his own lips. His hands slipped under the hem of her shirt onto skin and she hissed, pressing against him harder. He ripped the shirt over her head, his hands everywhere, as if he could never get enough of her. They brushed her aching breast and she moaned, her own hands fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. Her bra was suddenly gone and when his mouth closed on one of her hardened nipples she groaned, her knees trembling as her hands fisted in his hair.

She suddenly found herself slammed against the cold wall and a low growl escaped her. She practically pounced on him, her legs wrapping around his waist as she pushed his open shirt over his shoulders, her lips finding his cool skin as she fought the urge to sink her fangs into his flesh.

They stumbled away from the wall, slowly making their way towards the stairs, a jumble of hands and lips and bare skin. Before she knew it, she was being thrown on his huge bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress as he stalked towards her, crawling up after her. She pulled him down to her, his weight settling on top of her.

"Tell me this is real," he said, kissing a hot path up her stomach, between her breasts to her throat.

"God, I hope so," she breathed, her hands fumbling with his belt buckle.

He grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head. "Tell me," he murmured against her skin, settling himself firmly between her legs so she was acutely aware of just how aroused he was.

Her hips bucked against him, wanting more but unable to break his hold. "Please, Damon…"

He chuckled against her, his free hand skimming down her body to play with the waistband of her jeans. "You have no idea how much I want you."

A little moan escaped her. "Why keep waiting then?" The button on her jeans popped open and she heard the hiss of the zipper. His finger slipped inside the band of her panties and she arched against him, almost crazy with need. "God, it's real, okay? This is the most real I've ever felt."

He released her wrists, his hand slipping lower between her folds, causing her to gasp. His mouth moved against her and she felt the scrap of sharp teeth against the sensitive skin of her throat just as his fingers slipped inside her.

She writhed underneath him, almost combusting on the spot, and before she knew what she was doing she sank her fangs into his throat, drawing in a hot mouthful of blood that tasted like nothing she had ever experienced before. He groaned, his fingers curling inside her as his other hand fisted in her hair, holding her tight to him.

"Fuck, Elena," he swore, his cock pressing heavily against her leg. She made a little noise and pulled back gasping. Before she even had a moment to gain any bearings Damon had them both naked, poised at her entrance, his eyes fixed on hers.

"God, I love you," she said, her voice breathy, running her fingers along his cheek.

He leaned forward, slowly sinking into her, making her whimper as he buried himself completely inside her, his own breath coming in gasps in her ear. "I've waited so long to hear you say that," he whispered, his lips caressing the skin under her ear, his tongue leaving a hot trail as he moved down her throat.

Elena bucked her hips, wanting nothing more than for him to move. She raked her nails up his back, feeling the hardened muscles shift and tense under the smooth skin. "Damon, I—"

His mouth closed on her breast just as he thrust forward and any coherent thought she had was gone. She moaned as he drove into her again, the slow swirl of his tongue on her sensitive peak driving her mad. She moved with him on the next one and she heard the low groan in his throat as his hand replaced his mouth and he captured her lips, picking up the pace. She cried out into his mouth as he thrust harder, hitting that one spot over and over until her body was strung so tight she was begging to break. His mouth moved to her throat again and she felt the scrap of teeth a second before they broke her skin.

Her world imploded. Her body quaked under him as every muscle in her body went tight and limp at the same time. She screamed as her release rolled through her, clutching at him as she tried to ride out the most overwhelming sensation she'd ever felt. She felt him take another long draw of blood and another wave of pleasure rolled through her until she felt completely boneless and shattered.

He pulled away from her with a gasp, the small wound closing almost immediately, and she moved, flipping them over so she was straddling him, his cock still buried inside her. She rolled her hips, and he gasped again till she caught his lips in another searing kiss, tasting herself on his tongue as it lazily slid along hers. She sat up and smiled as she started to move over him, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise as he guided her rhythm and gazed up at her with hooded eyes. She made a little noise, and he suddenly sat up, thrusting up into her, one hand on the small of her back for leverage and the other slipping between their slick bodies, his thumb finding her clit.

In seconds she was falling again, her head tipping back as she cried out, and his thrusts turned sporadic and needy till he shuddered underneath her, his own cry of pleasure mingling with hers as he crushed her against him. They finally stilled and fell back on the bed, collapsing in each other's arms, breath coming in gasps.

"Holy shit," Elena gasped, turning her head to look at him, utterly unable to move any other part of her body.

Damon laughed. "I've reduced you to swearing. I'll take that as a win."

"I'll give it to you. Ten gold stars."

His expression turned into a playful pout, but she could still see the new spark in his eyes. "Only ten?"

"What else then, if ten gold stars aren't enough?"

He pulled her impossibly closer. "Just you. Always you." She saw the old flash of vulnerability, and her heart clenched. "You know I love you."

She kissed his chest. "I do now." She reached up slowly and brushed a loose strand of hair from his forehead. "You got me through this, Damon. You. Your love and your loyalty. It's my turn to be there for you."

"You don't owe me anything, Elena." She saw the spark in his eyes flicker, and a chill swept through her.

She sat up, looking down at him. "That's not what I meant." He just looked at her, his hand coming up and lightly brushing her cheek. "I'm serious Damon," she said, reaching up and staying his caress. "I know this is just the beginning. I know we're still going to fight and not get along sometimes, but I want all of it. I have so much to prove to you still, but you have to believe that this is it for me."

He sat up abruptly, his intense gaze capturing hers. "Elena, shut up." He kissed her hard, and she made a small noise of contentment, leaning into him until he pulled back. "Trust me, you don't need to prove anything to me." His eyes roamed over his face with a slight look of awe and fierce possessiveness. "You're just going to have to give me some time to get used to the idea that you're actually mine."

She smiled, knowing that things had finally turned for the better. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."

The End. Thanks again for reading!