The boarding house had not been lived in for over a hundred years when Damon Gilbert Salvatore II arrived to get it ready for sale. The grounds were in terrible disarray, the windows were covered up with boards, and all of the furniture was covered with white cloths.

The Donovan family had been keeping it from falling apart in all that time but the Salvatore's were finally ready to sell it. They had no intention of ever living in it again. Damon and his brother had just lost their father to a battle with cancer and needed to deal with cleaning up the estate and their family things. They two of them decided that Damon would take care of the Mystic Falls estate and Stefan would take care of the New York place. They had lost both of their parents now so it was just the two of them. Stefan took some time away from his medical practice, following in the family tradition and Damon took time away from his tenure at the University as a professor of History.

"You would not believe the state this place is in," said Damon over the phone.

"That bad," said Stefan.

"Mom and Dad should have taken care of this place years ago," said Damon.

"You have to wonder why Grandmother and Grandfather didn't do it first," said Stefan.

"I don't know that they wanted to come back to this place," said Damon, "It's a tomb to some ancient era. It's like a museum in here, I could write several books just on the family records in this place," said Damon.

"And that's exactly why you are cleaning that place up and why I am cleaning this one up," said Stefan, "Let me know if you find anything interesting. I would love to know more about how our grandparents lived."

"Yeah, sure thing," said Damon, "Talk to you later bro."

"You too," said Stefan hanging up.

Damon set about taking the dust cover aways from the furniture and putting them away. The house was gigantic. There were so many rooms and so much stuff to go through. Damon figured it would be best to explore the rooms to get an idea of how much work he was in for.

The main floor had the living room, dining room, kitchen, and libraries. There were at least for rooms of books, most of which were journals and ledgers. Damon pulled one off the shelf and opened it.

It was written by one of the Salvatore ancestors from the civil war area. The name at the bottom was a Giuseppe Salvatore. That name rang a bell to Damon, he was pretty sure that was the same name as his great grandfather. Passing names down was a common Salvatore practice. Damon got his name from his grandfather and Stefan got his from his great uncle.

Damon put the journal away and noted it for future research. He made his way up to the bedrooms. The first room he found was cluttered with all sorts of things from journals to books to guitars. Everything was left as though it had not been moved in over a century. Damon found a picture on one of the tables.

He recognized his grandmother, Elena but the man with her was definitely not his grandfather. He looked exactly like Stefan though. Damon had been told that he and his brother were the spitting images of the original Salvatore brothers but he had not seen it till now.

There was another picture of the two Salvatore brothers in what looked like civil war era costume. The picture certainly looked authentic but there was no way that it could be that old. It was all starting to bring up more questions.

The objects and journals in the room led Damon to believe that this room had once belonged to his great uncle Stefan.

The next room was completely different from his great uncles. This one was much larger, the king sized four post bed dominated the centre of the room. The bathroom was also impressive. The walk in shower was still of a modern design, as was the tub. There didn't appear to be any treasures in this room, no keepsakes.

Damon picked up a well worn copy of 'Gone with the Wind' from beside the bedside table. He had been told that his namesake was an avid reader and that this was one of his favorite books. Curious to know more about his grandfather, Damon went over to closet to look inside.

There were still cloths inside. They were a little old but still fashionable. Dark shirts, blue jeans, and motorcycle boots. They were all things that Damon himself wore. He looked at the tags, they were even his size. He pulled out a leather jackets and put it on. He went over to the mirror to look in it. He looked just like a picture he had of his grandfather. He put his hands in the pocket and felt something. He pulled out a ring.

From the moment he touched it, he felt something strange. There were flashes of images, feelings, and emotions that rushed through him. Blood, a beautiful woman with long brown hair, hunger, and the kind of pain you only get from a broken heart.

Damon wanted to drop the ring but he felt transfixed by it. He felt blood dripping out of his nose as another wave of images, voices, and feelings washed over him. He saw himself biting a woman, he heard his brother's voice yelling at him to stop, he felt euphoria as the woman's blood filled his mouth.

Then Damon passed out. He woke up to darkness all around him. He pulled himself off the floor and went to the bathroom to wash his face. When he reached for the soap, he saw that the ring was now on his finger. He didn't remember putting it on. He tried to pull it off but it would not budge. He tired soaping up his hands but still the ring would not move.

He looked into the mirror and saw strange red vains popping up under his eyes. He blinked and rubbed his face and they were gone.

Then he felt hungry. It was similar to the hunger he had felt in his visions. Something was very wrong but he had no idea what to do. There was only one person who might know and thank goodness, she lived in Mystic Falls.

Damon drove to his Aunt Caroline's place in town. He pounded on the door and prayed she was home.

The pretty blond woman answered the door, "Damon, what are you doing here?"

"Somethings happening to me," said Damon as he felt the veins in his eyes emerge again, "Help me, Aunt Caroline," he said clutching his face.

"Damon, look at me," Caroline ordered as she took his face. She could see the signs of a vampire transition taking place.

"Oh Damon, have you been turned?" She asked.

"What? No, I am full of vervain, I haven't seen anyone in days," said Damon, "I was cleaning up the old Salvatore place and I found this," he said showing her the ring on his hand, "And then I got all these strange visions and passed out."

"Get inside and let's talk this through," said Caroline dragging him inside. She sat him down on the couch, "Are you sure that you have not seen any vampires or drank any vampire blood?"

"Yes," said Damon but paused, "I did pass out after the visions and woke up with this on my hand, I can't take it off," he said showing her the ring again.

"That's your grandfather's daylight ring," she said.

"Daylight ring?" asked Damon, "How is that possible."

"Didn't your parents tell you?" asked Caroline.

"Tell me what?" asked Damon, he was feeling more and more scared that he might be turning into a vampire.

"Damn it Jeremy," she cursed his father's name, "They were supposed to tell you the story. Okay, the short of the long is, your grandfather, the one you were named for, was once a vampire for over a hundred and fifty years. He's actually the vampire whose blood turned me into a vampire."

Damon had known that his aunt Caroline had been a vampire for a long time now. Their family had been involved in vampire business for a long time but he had no idea where it had all started.

"Was great uncle Stefan one too?" asked Damon thinking of the photo of the two brothers.

She nodded her head, "Yes but like your grandfather, he became human again too. He died though, must too soon for my liking," she said sadly looking at her wedding ring.

"So then that explained the visions I saw when I touched the ring but that doesn't explain why I am feeling like I am turning into a vampire," said Damon.

"You're not turning into a vampire, Damon, I don't sense that you have died," she said looking him over, "Have you experienced visions like these before?"

"I have psychometry," he said, "I have had it all my life."

"Are you a warlock?" asked Caroline.

"I never trained but yeah, I have some magic. Stefan is much stronger than I am with regular magic but I have stronger psychic powers," replied Damon.

"God, what I wouldn't give to have Bonnie here now to help me," said Caroline.

"If wishes were fishes, aunt Caroline," said Damon.

"Okay, how long have you been awake, do you feel any cravings now?" asked Caroline.

"A few hours now, I feel very hungry but I don't know what for. I could honestly have burger except, I am a vegan," said Damon.

Caroline let out a laugh, "Definitely not exactly like your grandfather but there's no denying that you look exactly like him. From your hair to your eyes to your build and let's not forget your lady killer face, I bet you have no trouble getting women to come to bed with you."

Damon blushed as his aunt's words, "Now, now aunt Caroline, a gentleman never kisses and tells."

"And that's something your grandfather would have said," sighed Caroline, "Even that little eye thing you do, was his."

"What eye thing?" Damon said and gave his half smile.

"That thing," she said pointing to his face, "Let's get you something real to eat and you can tell me if you can hold it down."

Damon followed his vampire aunt into her little kitchen, "How come you never living in the Salvatore estate?"

"I did while I was raising my kids but after they moved out and on with their lives, it was just too big for me and there were too many memories there," she said sadly.

She gave him some crackers and cheese. He are the crackers and looked at the cheese.

"Now's not the time to be thinking about your ethical choices, Damon," said an annoyed Caroline.

"If I don't follow my morals, Aunt Caroline, what kind of a man would I be?" said Damon pushing the cheese away and going to get a cup of water from the tap.

"Already, you're a better man than Damon was as a vampire," said Caroline. "If you're actually turning into a vampire, you need to consider whether or not you want to keep living or let yourself die."

Damon paused with his back turned, "Do you think someone might have wanted be to turn?"

"You're the grandson of Damon and Elena, they had many enemies, most notably a family of Original vampires, I would not put it past them to do this to their grandchildren," said Caroline.

"How could they get into the house?" asked Damon turning to look at her, "I am the owner of the place and no one had been there other than me."

"Maybe you're not turning, maybe you're just getting some sort of weird vampire memory from the ring," suggested Caroline, "I don't want you to risk it either way."

"If I am turning, wouldn't I be a little more... driven." said Damon.

Caroline went to her fridge and pulled out a blood bag and poured it into Damon's glass and held it out.

"Do you feel the urge now?" asked Caroline.

Damon looked at the glass of blood. He could smell its iron sent. He felt something inside of him draw him closer to the glass. He felt the veins under his eyes start up again and pulled himself away from the glass.

"Get it away from me," he said backing away.

"Oh dear, I was afraid of this," said Caroline, "You're definitely in transition of some kind but it doesn't seem like a normal one. Do you mind if I call up a friend?"

Damon waved his hand in the air, "Sure, whatever."

"She's a witch I have known a long time," she said disappearing out of the room.

Damon looked at the blood bag on the counter and walked over to it. He got a vision of Caroline in her transition as she discovered she was a vampire. What she felt before she completed the transition was totally different from what he was feeling. His urge to drink was born more out of desire rather than need.

Caroline came back into the room and saw him holding the blood bag, "What are you doing?"

"I was just getting an idea of what you went through before you finished your transition," he said.

"Wait, you can still use your powers?" she said, "You should not be able to do that if you are transitioning to becoming a vampire."

Damon placed his hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes. He could see her with his grandfather in an intimate moment. He pulled his hand back, "Woh, he really did a number on you, didn't he?"

"Who did?" Asked Caroline.

"My grandfather," said Damon.

"You saw something?" she asked.

"Not anything I want to remember," he said with a smile, "You two were..." He paused, "Intimate."

Caroline blushed, "Oh god, you saw that?"

"Yup, looks like my magic still works just fine," he said with a smile.

"Are you sure it was coming from me or the ring?" She asked.

"Likely both since you were both involved," he said walking over to the glass of blood on the counter, "What do you think will happen if I drink this?"

"I don't know but right now, I don't want to find out," said Caroline taking the glass and dumping out the contents into the sink.

Damon felt that strange sense of longing as she dumped out the contents but not a desire to stop her.

A few hours later there was a knock at the door. Caroline let in a middle aged man with dark skin, "Damon, this is Toby, he's a warlock friend of mine."

Damon held out his hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Toby."

The man looked at his hand and took it. Instantly, Damon knew that this man was a powerful magic user.

"Pleasure is all mine," said Toby, "Caroline tells me you have a ring problem?"

Damon took a step back and held up his left hand, "Yeah, I can't get my grandfather's ring off of my hand."

Toby touched the ring with his finger tips and pulled his hand back quickly, "That's a vampire's daylight ring."

"Yes, it was my grandfather's from when he was a vampire," said Damon.

Tell me everything that's happened. Damon explained about his family, cleaning the house, and finding the ring. He told him about his visions and the vampire traits he was experiencing.

After a long consideration of Damon's story, Toby finally spoke, "I think, what you're experiencing is an echo of the the memories your grandfather had while he wore this ring. Daylight rings are unique to their owners. They only work for the the vampire they are made for. Even though your grandfather is no longer alive, his ring is still connected to his spirit. It's like part of the vampire is forever woven into the ring. Seeing as you are a blood relative to this vampire, you must hold a special bond to the ring. It is very likely that because you possess psychic abilities, you are able to manifest some of those vampiric traits. I would advise you to never give into the desire to drink blood, I have no idea what it will do to you."

"So how do I get the ring off?" asked Damon.

"It might come off in time," said Toby.

Damon let out a sigh and shook the man's hand, "Thank you for your help."

"You know Damon, if you ever want to expand your warlock skills, you can give me a call anytime," said Toby handing Damon his card.

"Let me get my family estate taken care of first and then I will let you know," said Damon taking the warlocks card.

Caroline showed the man out and then joined Damon on the couch, "Feeling any better?"

"I am just glad I am not actually turning into a vampire," said Damon with a sigh but then looked at his aunt and felt bad, "No offense."

"None taken," said Caroline, "Sometimes, I wish I could stop being one."

Damon gave her a hug and took his leave of her. By the time he had gotten back to the boarding house, he was very tired. He put his hand on the doorknob and got a flash of his grandfather Damon entering the home, over and over and over again. Damon had to pull his hand away and open the door with his hand covered but as soon as he was inside, he was bombarded with more visions, feelings, emotions, and sensations.

He felt someone grab his head and twist and then he fell unconscious on the floor.

Damon found himself looking into his own eyes, his own face. The face smiled at him, "Aren't you a good looking man."

Damon stepped back, "Are you?"

"Your grandfather," answered the man, "Yup."

"How is this possible?" asked Damon.

"You're dreaming," said his grandfather, "I used this opportune moment to help give you a little insight as to what's happening to you."

"Aren't you?" asked Damon.

"Dead, yes again, you're a quick one," said his grandfather.

"Should you be old or something?" asked Damon.

"I am the vampire version of your grandfather, I have been trapped in this ring since I decided in my infinite wisdom to join the love of my life as a human," replied his grandfather.

"You sounds like you almost regret that choice," said Damon.

"I do and I don't," replied the vampire, "I regret that now you are trapped fulfilling my vampire destiny and that you're not alone in it."

"What do you mean?" asked Damon.

"Stefan, your brother, he's about to find out the same thing as you," said his grandfather, "The only difference is, my brother didn't have the same kind of self control that I had as a vampire. Tell me, does your brother have addiction issues?"

"A little, he's been in and out of rehab for alcohol for years," said Damon, "He's not going to become a vampire is he?"

"You should call him when you wake up," said his grandfather, "But before you do, I need to warn you. The warlock you saw tonight, he's not a good man. He's going to tell some very bad people about you and they will come for you. They will want you to feed on human blood and they will want you to complete the transition. You are in transition, grandson, you are going to be a vampire eventually. There's no escaping your fate. Do everything you can to postpone the transition as long as you can. Humanity is a gift, grandson, there's no feeling like it in the world. I am sorry you are trapped into this fate because of me, if you had not been born with my blood, you would have escaped this but you are exactly like me, I would bet right down to your DNA. careful who you love, grandson, don't let your emotions get the best of you and try to put a lid on your anger. Your rage is your greatest weakness. If you drink blood, you will merge my spirit with yours and you will become me and I will become you. You will be a vampire with all of my memories as a vampire. I don't know what will happen to your memories in the process"

Damon woke up on the floor of the boarding house front room. He remembered the feeling of having his neck broken and felt around. It seemed to be fine. The memory of the dream he had came back to him and he reached for his phone.

"Stefan," Damon said before his brother could answer, "Have you found a ring?"

"Brother, I was just about to call you, I did find a ring, I think it was grandfather's," said Stefan.

"Does it have an "S" on it?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Stefan.

"That's your great uncle's ring, the original Stefan Salvatore," said Damon, "Please tell me you haven't put it on."

"No, I was about to call you because I have been getting some really strange feelings off of it, I did a spell to find out more and all I got was a super big warning not to use it," said Stefan.

"Thank goodness," breathed Damon, "I wish I had been able to do that, I somehow put on our grandfather's daylight ring and now I can't get it off. Turns out, it's trying to turn me into a vampire," said Damon, "I just had a vision where our grandfather visited me and told me that you should not put on Stefan's ring. If you do, you will be in the same situation as me."

"Why did you put on the ring?" asked Stefan, Damon could hear the panic in his voice.

"I didn't, I fell unconscious from a versions of visions I got from the ring when I touched it and then I woke up with it on my hand," said Damon.

"Do you think someone put it on you?" asked Stefan.

"Who would do that?" asked Damon.

"Our family had a lot of enemies, Damon, maybe one of those Originals?" Said Stefan.

"It doesn't matter now, it's done," said Damon.

"Have you turned yet?" asked Stefan.

"No, I only just figured out what is happening," said Damon, "I should never have come to this place."

"You're there now, brother, might as well make the best of it," said Stefan, "Do you want me to come there?"

"As much as I would like you to be here with me, brother, I think right now that it is safer that you not be near me. In the dream, our grandfather told me that I will not be able to escape becoming a vampire for long, I don't want you anywhere near me when that happens. Grandfather says that his spirit will merge with mine and it's possible, I won't remember who I am after."

"No, I won't let that happen to you, brother!" said Stefan, "I am coming right now."

"Promise me you will leave the ring behind," said Damon.

"I promise," said Stefan before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Damon put his phone away and went over to the liquor table and poured himself a drink. He downed it and took another one.