Damon found himself at the doorsteps of the boarding house, and looked around noting a lack of detail. Everything in the distance appeared inconsequential and blurred, except for the door right in front of him. He felt no need to ponder why, as this place filled him with a calm feeling of acceptance. The door opened and his brother was standing in the entrance.
"Damon." Stefan said, pleased by his brother's arrival.
"Hello, brother." Damon responded, feeling only joy that was devoid of any sadness.
Damon felt no sense of any passage of time while they embraced, only feelings of happiness without any thoughts of regret. He felt no more guilt for surviving at the cost of Stefan's life. He knew only relief; his little brother was not suffering, he was content in this peaceful place.
Damon didn't really notice how long they stood there, nor did he notice when they left the doorway and began walking, but he eventually found himself following Stefan into the kitchen. His friend Rose sat at the table casually next to Lily, cheerfully cooing at the tiny baby in Lily's arms while Lily fed the child a bottle.
"Damon, this is my son, Jacob." Stefan explained, with a friendly gesture towards the little one, as Lily looked up to Damon and smiled gently. She stood, handing Stefan the baby, and opened her arms to her eldest son.
Damon didn't ask any questions, he just knew that it was okay to greet his mother, and that somehow she had seen everything he'd been through since she had died, and that she had found peace too. They embraced; Damon closing his eyes while feeling nothing but love and forgiveness. Damon somehow knew that Guiseppe was not there.
"Where is father?" he asked, keeping his eyes shut and not wanting to let go of his mother.
"Your father remains lost." Lily explained calmly. "Only love and forgiveness allows a soul to come to rest in this place of peace. Those who remain overwhelmed by hatred and anger cannot be here."
When Damon opened his eyes again, Lexie was standing next to Stefan and nodded at him with a friendly smile and he knew he was forgiven. All the weight of guilt he had once felt for what had happened between them was lifted and Damon felt very happy.
Rose then approached him and kissed him on the cheek. Damon was thrilled to see that she was here, as he had wondered what had happened to her after the other side had fallen apart.
"I always knew you'd end up with Elena," she said with a grin and he grinned back, asking her "What are you doing here? Is any of this real or am I only dreaming?"
"We are all quite real, although 'here' isn't really anywhere. This place...this peace that surrounds us, it seems to take any form that we need it to." Rose responded, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "As for me being here, it just happens when we are thinking of those we loved. If they are here at peace already, it's a lot like how Jeremy is able to see ghosts... A little bit of a push and a pull between two souls who once cared for each other, and there we are together, in any place that we want to share each other's company. When a new arrival finds peace, we feel joy and know it is time to visit them. Here you are, and so here I am."
Damon nodded and looked back over at Stefan, who was lovingly rocking his son Jacob. "How is he a baby if he was never born, Stef? Did Valerie die and have a baby here?" Stefan chuckled and handed the baby back to Lily.
"I'm really not sure how it happens, but if you haven't noticed we all seem to be here in the form of young adults, except for Jacob. Valerie has not yet arrived, the last time I went to check on her she was enjoying her life as a heretic. When I died, I came here with Lexie and found Lily, and together we eventually found his tiny soul, still in infancy. He died before birth, pure and innocent, but had never matured into a person with any sense of self, and if we had not sought him out he would still be simply floating around by himself in peace. Ever since we found him, he has chosen to remain with us because he enjoys our company." Stefan shrugged, and Damon decided that it really didn't matter how it worked, because everything was, well, good.
Then Stefan grinned, and fist bumped Damon's shoulder with a laugh, inviting him to follow him. Damon did, and found himself outside in the driveway looking at his '69 Camaro, shiny and new. "Join me for a ride, brother?" Stefan didn't have to ask twice as Damon slid across the hood and happily settled into the drivers seat, turning the keys in the ignition and feeling great when he felt the engine rumble to life.
The brothers drove around together, reminiscing about all of their favorite memories and laughing the whole time. Their conversation was jovial without any angst or guilt, and timeless with no sense of beginning or end. This place of peace did not seem to have any sort of limitations on time or space, it just existed...however it was needed to exist.