Reconstruct

If I Die Before I Wake (1)

Requester: AnosDT95 on Fanfiction . net

Prompt/Request: What if instead of sacrificing Jenna Klaus made Elena choose between Jenna and Damon. Elena chooses Damon. So he gets sacrificed and Jenna is still around as a vampire.

The ring of fire was hot, burning and Elena shut her eyes against the heat of it. As terrified as she was, she was also oddly calm. She was here to protect her family and friends. By willingly walking into the fire, they'd all be okay. Jeremy. Jenna. Bonnie. Caroline. Stefan. Damon. Alaric. Tears filled her eyes.

She'd made this deal being fully ready to die for each of them, knowing they'd hate her for it. The more she thought about everything, the more the tears threatened to spill. She was making peace with her choice, but Damon just had to force his blood down her throat. Now, her choice didn't even matter. She wanted to die on her own terms, and Damon just threw her choice away when he decided she should become a vampire instead of dying. He thought she was selfish for making the choice she made, but she thought he was worse for the one he made in return.

Her lip quivered slightly when Klaus approached her. "You know Elena, I was all set for the ritual tonight, to finally be free of my curse." he flexed his hands angrily, "But then Damon Salvatore just had to interfere." he scowled, "And now I'm forced to change my plans." He gave her a look that she swore was pity. "And now, instead of my vampire, I have to use a backup, and you're going to help me decide which one gets to be the lucky vampire." He smiled thinly at her and she knew this choice was going to hurt.

He gestured to someone and suddenly the fire didn't seem as hot. She watched it quickly go down around them until it was almost embers in the burn grass. She looked wildly around, trying to find the vampires he supposedly wanted her to choose between. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw a familiar head of honey blond hair sprawled out on the grass nearby. "No." she shuddered and those tears that had filled her eyes earlier immediately poured down her cheeks as she rushed forward quickly, crawling and tripping over her hands and feet in her hurry to get to her. "Aunt Jenna." she cried

She found herself crying harder as Jenna suddenly shot up gasping, hands desperately grasping at her throat. "Jenna!" she threw her arms around her tightly. Her Aunt's arms wrapped back around her, reciprocating her hug immediately and without hesitation. "Elena?" her voice wavered in fear. "Elena you're alright." she cried right back, and Elena felt like throwing up at the utter relief in her Aunt's voice.

"You're going to be okay, Aunt Jenna. We're going to be okay." she promised through the tears, her Aunt leaning back to get a good look at her niece as she brushed Elena's hair away from her eyes.

"Touching, really." she heard Klaus's voice mocking, "And this is vampire option number one." Elena felt her lips wobble, she had known it before he said it aloud. A groan met her ears and her eyes followed the sound. A few feet away, unnoticed in her haste to get to her Aunt, lay Damon Salvatore. As mad as she was at him for all this, for being the reason they took and turned Jenna, for forcing her to drink vampire blood, for ignoring her express wishes, she didn't want this for him either. "Damon." she breathed his name and he squinted at her as he sat up, still disoriented from having his neck snapped, probably, "Elena?"

"And here we have vampire option number two." Klaus announced, drawing her wide doe eyes back to him. She felt frozen and managed to swallow thickly in an effort to quell the queasiness building up in her. She had to choose who would die, choose between her Aunt Jenna and Damon Salvatore. "You have one minute to make your choice." Klaus leveled a look at her, "Tik Tok." he taunted, his voice flat.

Damon growled at him, fangs protruding. He rushed at the Original only to fall to his knees next to Elena and Jenna, hands grasping his head as Klaus's witch gave him an aneurysm.

"Thirty seconds." He reminded her.

"Please." she sobbed softly, this was not a choice she wanted to make. "Please."

"Fifteen seconds, if you don't choose they'll both be dead," he replied in a low voice, and continued his countdown. "Ten... Nine... Eight..." She squeezed her eyes shut, as though that would make it all go away. She couldn't take Stefan's brother from him. Her bottom lip wobbled, but she also couldn't take Aunt Jenna away from Jeremy either. "Three... Two..."

Her eyes flew open and at the last second, she spoke. "Damon." Her eyes met his and she saw the betrayed look on his face, but she couldn't bring herself to care as much as she had only moments before. She made her choice. Now she was going to live with it. "Please do not kill my Aunt, she's all Jeremy has left." she felt like she had to explain her choice, and she sniffled as Klaus smirked before wiping her tear away.

"As the lady insists." he almost purred. Waving someone over, her confused Aunt Jenna was seized and lifted to her feet by the arms, ripping her away from her niece. "Elena!" she cried out, reaching for her desperately. Klaus looked in her eyes and smiled, "This is her choice Aunt Jenna." he told her, "And she wants you to live for that precious little brother of hers, your nephew Jeremy. Be a good little Aunt and let the vampires take you home to go check on him." he instructs. "Say goodbye to your niece." It was eerie, watching her Aunt immediately stop thrashing as Klaus compelled her, her voice was almost monotone as she repeated key phrases.

"I need to check on Jeremy. Goodbye Elena. I love you." Without a fight, the vampires pull her away from the clearing and Elena almost breathes a sigh of relief. Her Aunt would be okay, somehow. "I love you too Aunt Jenna." she whispered after her Aunt was out of sight, wondering if her new vampire hearing could even pick up on it.

Calmly she turned her eyes back on Klaus and Damon, both of whom wore very different expressions. Damon was still lit up in disbelieving anger and Klaus simply looked amused. "Well then." his grin was almost feral, "Let the ritual begin." he laughed and gestured for his witch to start. Her eyes met Damon's, "I'm sorry Damon." was all she told him before she forced herself to look away. She didn't want to see his disappointment with her even through the flames that separated them once the ritual began.

In moments she heard the sounds of hearts being torn out, flesh ripping and tearing, and bodies dropping. She tried not to wince at each grotesque sound and simply stood as she felt the air around her shift, looking Klaus dead in the eyes as he approached her with his fangs out. With a breath she tilted her head to the side, assuming that was where he was going to bite her. Blood already dripped down his face and hands and his eyes almost glowed yellow as he stood in front of her. She tried not to wonder whose blood it was on him. Was it Damon's or the werewolf's? She really didn't care to know as she felt it on her skin, his hands much gentler than she anticipated. "Thank you, love. Your cooperation is appreciated. This won't hurt a bit." she felt the compulsions settle and nodded, blindly repeating, "This won't hurt a bit."

And he was right. It didn't hurt. She felt her heart slow down, her breathing felt labored somehow, but it still didn't hurt. Her sight began to blur and she turned her eyes to the sky above them, littered with such beautiful twinkling stars. If this was going to be the last thing she ever saw, she was going to enjoy it. The blackness invading the edges of her sight continued to rapidly spread before she knew nothing more but blackness.