Okay I'm finally posting again, sorry it's a new story, but I got distracted and ch2 still isn't cooperating on ITAAP? Although I do have other parts of that story finished!

A HUGE THANK YOU to duchessofdisaster for being an awesome beta and ESPECIALLY for the following: Her Story: If I lay Here... is my inspiration and somewhat of a background for this story, PLEASE GO READ IT! IT'S FANTASTIC! (You probably won't need to persay, to follow along here, but it's so worth the read!)

This is only my second fanfic ever, please be gentle, if you don't like it please be kind & let me know why!

Rated M, language for now but other reasons later on ;)

Then He Found Me

Chapter 1

"I'm not going to do this anymore, Ric!" She shook her head when he reached for her. "No, don't."

"Morgan, come on...please?"

"No. I'm done fighting and I'm not going to fight over you with a vampire! I'm done with it, I have to be! He loves you! You love him! I know that, but me and you? We care about each other, but we're not in love with each other." Alaric looked like his heart had been torn from his chest."Ric, I heard you guys last night. I heard you tell him you're willing to turn... No, don't look at me like that, I AM HAPPY for you, okay? But I can't stay... I won't stay here."

Their eyes never left each other's. Alaric sank down onto the couch. "Where will you go?" So, so sad. He looked hurt. Confused. This shouldn't hurt, they'd been friends, a little more, for a few years, but he was Damon's, Morgan knew that going in. The fact that Damon was a vampire helped her to keep her distance. Morgan hadn't fallen in love with Alaric. He was just always a little more than a close friend and fantastic in bed.

"Where you told me to... if I ever had a reason to disappear for a while, but still wanted a friend or two." She sat next to him, took his hands in hers and offered her own sad smile.

"Louisiana?" His eyes looked hopeful now. Morgan nodded. Alaric took a deep breath, relaxing a bit now that he knew where she was going, then gently cradled her face in his hands and kissed her. A slow dance with only their lips and then just a little more.

Alaric knew he had to say good-bye. At least for now, they were letting each other go. He pulled back, "Morgan, I do love you. You're the best friend I've had in a long while, I..."

"Stop." she placed another gentle kiss on his lips, "You'll call me? When it's done?" he nodded, "But, Ric, until then, I don't want you or anyone else to come looking for me. Understand?"

"I'll call... him... after you leave, just so he'll be expecting you."

"I'm leaving tonight." Alaric's eyes closed. "Ric?"

"Okay."

He opened his eyes again. They stood up together and she wrapped her arms around him, just once last embrace, one last good-bye. She placed a kiss on his cheek as she pulled away. "Bye, Ric."

As Morgan started through the foyer, Damon came in the front door. "Hey there, Sassy! Umph!" Damon let out a grunt as Morgan pinned him to the wall, her forearm against his throat.

"I don't like you. I have never liked you. I'm leaving, but if you hurt Ric ever again, I will come back and I will kill you." He scowled and slumped a little as she let him go. "Fucking vampires," she muttered, and was gone.

Straightening up, Damon moved into the living room to find Alaric standing still, but leaning against the mantel. His face was hidden in his left arm; in his right hand he held his cell making what appeared to be an important, but casually feared phone call.

"Hey, Sam, it's Ric..." Damon had been approaching him slowly, but stopped short at the familiar name, a name he hated beyond reason, even now. "I'm fine, look... I need to ask you for a favor..."

As Morgan finished loading the car and slammed the trunk, she turned to her only other real friend. The only person she felt she needed to say good-bye to before leaving Mystic Falls. Caroline. Despite being a vampire, she was so human, so pushy, and so damn neurotic the she'd somehow, not only grown on Morgan, but made them inseparable for the better part of the last two years. Even with their closeness, Caroline almost always kept a physical distance, content to play the part of a human to keep Morgan as a friend, but this was good-bye and she didn't know for how long. So, she pulled Morgan into a fierce hug, although Morgan stiffened for a moment, she did return it.

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Caroline's big blue eyes were wet as tears ran down her cheeks, "and I wish I could go with you, really, I..."

"Care!" Morgan grabbed her hand and wiped at Caroline's cheeks, causing her to sniffle and let out a giggle and half smile. "I need time away, alone, and you need to stay here, for Tyler. Who else is going to watch over Alaric for me? Make sure Damon doesn't hurt him?" She was cupping Caroline's cheek as her tears finally stopped and she nodded, then continued, "You are the only vampire I have ever trusted." To herself, Morgan thought about how hard it was going to be and how much it would hurt if she wasn't able to trust Ric, after he turned. "We'll see each other again, I promise."

Caroline sniffed, took an unneeded deep breath and was momentarily shocked to find herself in another tight hug before Morgan pulled away completely. "Morgan?"

"Yeah?" She was on the driver's side of the car before she looked back at her friend.

"Do you think, since things are 'different' down there, that maybe someone will be able to, you know, help you finally?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Maybe. I'll call you. Bye, Care."

"Bye, Morgan." Caroline disappeared into the night, probably to wherever Tyler was lurking nearby (Tyler kept his distance from Morgan, seemed nervous or afraid around her). Morgan slipped into the driver's seat and took off.

As she merged onto I-66w heading for the almost three-hundred eighty mile stretch on I-80s, Morgan finally let her thoughts drift towards what Caroline had said. She was surprised Care had even brought it up, everyone was used to her little "bursts of power" as they referred to it. She was most definitely not a vampire, had no werewolf bloodlines in her family, but she was stronger and faster than a regular human and it was enough to save her life or fuck with Damon when she had a mind to. All it took was catching a supe – supernatural being, whatever – off guard, easily done, because as far as she and everyone else she knew could figure, Morgan was human.

She didn't look different, 5'4" average, yet slender frame, with a little more T&A then she thought necessary, her hair cut into short, choppy, chocolate straight tresses, bright green eyes with flecks of gold in them and a faint amber ring around the pupil. She didn't smell different and the one time Damon had been stupid enough to get his fangs into her – he got a busted nose and a broken neck for that one, with Alaric falling out of his chair in hysterics at the two of them – he had said she tasted human from what he could tell. Morgan vaguely recalled him being a little more 'giddy' when he'd come to, but they didn't think anything of it. She sighed, deciding to not think about it anymore for now. She had much too long a drive left to have the hours spent in speculation about herself.

Just before Morgan could turn the stereo up to blasting to sing her worries away, her phone rang. Quickly putting her ear piece in place, she answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Morgan."

"Ric, I asked you not to..."

"I know," he cut her off, "I'm just calling to tell you that I got a hold of Sam and he'll be on the look out for you in a couple days. He knows you're driving, even has a place for you to stay if you need it."

"Oh, well, that's... Thanks, Ric."

"It's nothing. You taking I-20 into Louisiana?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll email directions to Merlotte's from Monroe. Drive safe, Morgan."

"Bye, Ric, and thanks again, for everything."

"Welcome. Bye." he disconnected.

Morgan threw her earpiece into the passenger's seat, cranked up the stereo, and punched the gas. This was gonna be a very long drive.

With no hiccups thus far on her trip and the desire to just get gone, Morgan didn't stop until she hit Chattanooga, Tennessee around 6am the next morning. She wandered the city a bit, had breakfast, visited a few tourist attractions, then had lunch before finding and checking into a Quality Inn between Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls.

Morgan took a bath and flipped channels for a few hours before pulling out her laptop to check emails and such. She headed to bed around nine pm so she could get an early start the next morning.

After a dreamless and restful night's sleep, Morgan opened her eyes to the digital clock next to the bed and blinked a few times. It was five thirty in the morning. Wanting to cover as much ground as possible that day, rather than lazing in bed for another moment she stretched, got up and hopped in the shower. She dressed, repacked the few things she'd needed overnight and her laptop and left the room a little after six. A lengthy discussion with the front desk clerk, checking an online map and a few phone calls later, Morgan fueled up her car, then hit a Waffle House before getting back on I-24 around seven-thirty. She would not stop again, except for gas, until she reached Monroe, Louisiana. Then she'd sleep and follow Alaric's directions late the following morning.

Morgan found herself in Monroe around three in the afternoon. She stooped at an Applebee's to eat, and then instead of waiting, continued on I-20 to Ruston as per Alaric's instructions, making a right onto highway 167 and continuing until Old Winnfield Road then until she came upon Merlotte's itself. Morgan pulled in, parked the car, took a deep breath and sat. Time to start over...