comfort zone ➳ the vampire diaries

chapter twenty three

maaaajor episode skip

---

Elena

I woke up on the couch, everyone but Matt being gone.

"Where is everyone?" I ask groggily.

"Tyler and Caroline got a call from their moms," He replies. I sigh. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Sophomore year," I admit, running a hand through my hair.

"That seems like forever ago.." Matt laughs lightly.

"It was." I say, but then something that bothered me from the moment I woke up came to mind. "I'm sorry that I strung you along. I should've figured out what I wanted and just been honest about it.. And now I'm making the same mistakes with Stefan and Damon," I pause.

"It's not right what I'm doing to them, either. I.." I sigh. "I need to let one of them go,"

"But which one?"

Just then, Stefan walks through the door. I get up and make my way over to him.

"Stefan,"

"Hey,"

--

I sit on the couch, Stefan and Matt in the kitchen cooking.

"I'm being over coddled." I complain. "I feel fine."

"You're on house arrest. You're supposed to be coddled," Stefan reminds me. I roll my eyes.

"Wouldn't it be smarter if we just got you the hell out of town?" Matt questions.

"And do what? Go on the run for the rest of my life? No thanks you," I stand up, annoyed due to all of the coddling. "And I'm not an invalid. I'm done with the couch."

With that, I leave the room to think.

"So you're just gonna let her call the shots?" I hear Matt ask.

"Just letting her make her own decisions," Stefan replies.

"Even if they're wrong?"

"Nothing wrong with free will, Matt. Trust me. You never understand til you lose it,"

I hear a knock at the door and I assume it's Caroline, so I open it. But who I see is definitely not Care.

"Stefan.."

Stefan walks over.

"Elijah."

"Hello again."

---

"All we need to do is take that stake from him. Once it's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us," Elijah explains to us.

"And you'll just run?" Stefan quizzes, sitting down beside me.

"We finally stopped him, Elijah," I sigh. "After everything he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back,"

"I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."

"Why should she trust you?" Matt chimes in. "All you've done is screw her over."

"And for that I am deeply ashamed. But know this; she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight. So Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."

"Not!" Damon says through a phone. "Hello, did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"

"Rebekah and Kol will honor the terms. If you return Klaus's body to us, Elena will come to no harm,"

I look to Stefan. "Do we have a deal?"

"No no no, NO! Did I mention.. NO?!" Damon shouts through the phone.

"It's up to you," Stefan says.

"Oh, come on!"

"Why do you want Klaus's body?" I ask Elijah, ignoring Damon.

"He is my brother. We remain together."

I sigh. "We have a deal."

-

Tatiana

I walked in the middle of the road leading out of Mystic Falls, feeling emptiness. I found myself near the Wickory Bridge, a whole chunk of the railing gone. The emptiness turned to worry, every single part of me telling me to look over that railing.

So I did.

I ran over to it, peering over the edge. Nothing.

But the feeling wouldn't go away. I pulled out my phone and as I did, I received a call. Stefan.

"Hello?"

"Tatiana, we have a problem,"

"What is it?" I say, looking over the edge again.

"Matt and Elena drove off Wickory Bridge about an hour ago. I saved Matt but Elena.."

"No.." I said, dropping to my knees.

"Dr. Fell fed her Damon's blood earlier today when she was in,"

The realization came over me and the words "Oh" were all that I could say.

"I'm.. I'm on my way."

--

We had taken Elena back to the house we still shared (even though I was almost never there) and she was still out.

"How long was I out in transition?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Probably less time than this," Damon said. Elena suddenly gasped for air, sitting up and looking around.

"What happened?"

Oh boy.

"You were in an accident," Stefan told her.

"Oh my god. Matt! Is he -"

"Alive?" Damon interrupted, all of our gazes averting in his direction. "Why don't you ask Stefan, the hero?"

"He's fine," Stefan told her. Elena sighed in relief.

"Thank you, I thought that I - How did you -"

"Save you? He didn't."

"When Jeremy brought you to the hospital, your injuries were worse than anyone knew. Meredith Fell made a choice.. She used Damon's blood to heal you,"

"And when Rebekah ran Matt's truck off the road, you had vampire blood in your system, Elena." Damon finished.

"Fucking Rebekah," I muttered.

"Oh my god," Elena started to panic. "Does that.. does that mean - am I dead?"

The three of us just exchanged glances, Elena looking to all of us for answers.

"No no no no! That wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Maybe it doesn't have to. I talked to Bonnie, she says she's stronger than ever, there might be something she can do to help you."