The last article of clothing was placed in the suitcase as she stared at it with heavy emotion though she fought back tears as she looked around the bedroom that she had grown up in. This had been her home, so many memories in this house. Good and bad, she sucked in a deep breath as she stared back at the suitcase. She had to do this, not only for herself but for Jeremy.

"taking a vacation"?.. his voice made her breath deep once more before she slowly turned to face him. It still amazed her that after everything she had been through. After everything she had lost that he could still stir something in her even if she didn't want to admit it..

"something like that" she forced a weak smile as he looked around the room and he inhaled deep as he walked past her..She swallowed the lump in her throat.."I have to do this Damon" she said quietly as he walked over to the window and looked out, not facing her..

"its for the best, I know" he said quietly as he stared out the window.."I've never been to Denver, amazing huh since I've been around for over a hundred and fifty years" he slowly turned and faced her now..

"I hear its cold and boring" she said as she fidgeted with her hands.."its gonna be good you know, for me, for Jeremy, we can start over"

"starting over is something I am use to" he said as he walked over to her dresser and picked up a picture of her and Stefan from her dresser.

"its not your fault Damon, you know that right?" she swallowed the lump in her throat as he held onto the picture. "This was his choice"

Damon held onto the picture for another moment and then placed it back down.."yeah well it was his loss" he slowly turned and faced her.. The look on his face was absolutely heart breaking and it took everything in her not to go over and comfort him in some sort of way but she knew that wouldn't solve anything. He had lost his brother forever. Stefan was no longer the man either of them knew. That Stefan was gone and had been gone for awhile.."Your gonna be OK" Damon nodded his head slowly..

"and so are you" she forced a weak smile.."i think I got everything" she finally added as she closed her suitcase. The feeling of his hand coming onto her arm made her freeze some..

"You know I am only a call away" he said quietly as she slowly turned and faced him. His green eyes staring into hers..

"well maybe if your in town sometime" her voice trailed as she looked at him and his hand slowly moved off of her arm and he smiled now. That kind of smile that melted any girls heart.

"You take care of yourself Elena" he said as he turned from her and headed to the door..

"Damon wait" she called out as he stopped at the door and closed his eyes.."try to stay out of trouble OK"

He slowly turned and faced her, emotion all over his face..."what would be the fun in that" he said with a soft smile.."goodbye Elena"

"goodbye Damon" she smiled some as she watched him leave, her heart slowly breaking into pieces..

Ten years Later...

"Can I open them yet, you know I hate surprises Bryan" Elena said as she kept her eyes closed and she heard the car turn off..

"in a minute, your so impatient" Bryan laughed some.."Just give me a minute" , the car door opened and closed. She inhaled slowly as her door opened.."were almost there" he said as he took her hand and lead her out of the car..

"where? Come on Bry" she said with a laugh as she stepped onto the concrete..He was quiet for a moment and she fidgeted some.."Can I open them now?"

"You really have no idea how beautiful you are, do you Elena" he said quietly as he touched her face.."You can open them now"

Her eyes opened as he stood in front of her, the smell of salt water filled her nostrils and the sight of sand was just a few feet away..She looked around with wide eyes at the beauty in front of her..It was the beach but not just any beach, it was the beach, the spot where she had first met him, she looked slowly back at him but he was now kneeling on one knee. Her heart began to race..

"Elena" he swallowed hard as he looked up at her, a small black box in his hand..

"bry what are you" she said even though she was fairly sure she knew what was happening now..

"I met you here, I remember it like it was yesterday. Your even more beautiful now" he said with his hands slightly shaking.."i knew at that moment that I found the one, my other half"... Elena felt her throat get dry and her heart raced faster as she stared at him.."I love you Elena and I will love you forever if you let me, would you do me the incredible honor of being my wife, Elena will you marry me?"

"Oh my god" she said as she shook slightly now too as she stared at him..

"an answer would be good" he swallowed hard as he looked up at her..

"yes" she nodded her head quickly.."yes, yes I will marry you" she said as tears began to fall down her cheeks and then they were hugging tight. Slowly he pulled back and looked at her. Tears in his eyes as well..

"well lets try it on for size" he said as he opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring as she gasped..

"its beautiful" she said nearly breathless as he took her hand into his..

"Not as beautiful as you" he smiled as he slid it onto her finger..

#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~

The woods surrounding her were dark and thick as she ran and ran. She was nearly breathless not to mention freezing as she dodged trees but then she heard her name being called out as she stopped and spun around..

"hello? Whose there?" she said as her voice shook..The sound of leaves crunching behind her made her spin around once more and then she screamed out as she saw red eyes..

"Elena...Elena wake up" she felt her body being shook as she let out a loud gasp and sat straight up as Bryan stared at her with concern.."hey its OK"

She breathed heavy once more as she looked through the barely lit room.."I'm sorry it was just a dream" she finally said as she tried to control her breathing..

"Let me get you a drink" he said as he got out of the bed and she sat there. Her mind on that dream but not just that, the face in the dream, it was him, it was Damon..

She had been living in New York city now for almost three years. She had moved there after a job opportunity as a journalist. She hadn't thought about him or Mystic Falls in years. She had forced herself not to. At first it seemed impossible and the grief she had felt had been overwhelming but in time she had let it go, all of it, including him. She never spoke of it to anyone, not even to Jeremy who had seemed to move on himself and he was now in his senior year of college. He was going to be graphic designer. He had a life now and so did she. Things were normal, and normal was good.. Life was good..

But now she was thinking of that place again, why? She had left that life behind, she needed to, it was the only way to actually have something normal but things were never normal..

"here, its Camomile" Bryan said as he came around the bed and towards her as he handed her the cup and she gratefully took it and sipped.."wanna talk about it?" he asked as he sat down next to her..

"It was just a silly dream, I cant even remember it" she lied as she shook her head and sipped more on the tea..

"you would tell me if something was wrong, right?" he asked as he looked at her..

"of course" she forced a smile.."I'm fine, really"

He took her hand into his and ran his finger over the ring as she looked down at it.."forever Elena"

"forever" she smiled softly at him..

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

"Please please please tell me that you will go out with me tonight Elena" her friend Kayla said with some what of a whine in her voice as Elena looked up from her computer..

"i have this article to finish Kay" Elena said with a shake of her head..

"But you just got engaged, we need to celebrate, a girls night" Kayla said with a wide smile..

"I would love to Kay but I really need to" Elena began..

Kayla cut her off.."come on Elena soon you will be so wrapped up in planning the wedding" she whined..

Elena swallowed hard at the idea of planning a wedding. It would be any girls dream come true but she couldn't focus on it and it had nothing to do with the article she was writing.. She had been thinking nonstop about her dream, about him and after all of these years..Part of her was wanting to call her old friend Bonnie and see what the dream meant but when she had left Mystic Falls she had left everything, her friends included. She had to, it was the only way to really break free..

"I promise it will be fun" Kayla said as she snapped Elena from her thoughts.."your my best friend" she said quietly..

Elena breathed in deep, she hated guilt and Kayla was right. They were best friends, they had been for years, ever since Elena had moved to New York..

"Pretty please" Kayla said once more..

"OK. OK..but I cant be out too late" Elena finally said as Kayla hugged her tight.."cant...breath" she laughed some as Kayla pulled back..

"This is going to be a night to remember Elena, I promise you"

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~

Elena fixed her hair in the mirror. She really wasn't one for going out. Her idea of a nice night was eating popcorn and watching flicks on the tv..

"Your gonna have fun babe, you need this" Bryan said as he came up behind her and pulled her back to his strong chest..

"I hate going out" Elena said softly..

"Yeah well you have been seeming stressed lately, you deserve to have fun Elena" he said softly as she slowly spun and faced him..

"You know you can come" she said with a smile..

"Oh no, this is a girls night plus I have midterm papers to grade" he smiled.."Your gonna have a great time" he kissed her softly and then pulled back.."Not that I enjoy the thought of you being out without me" he smiled softly..

"i don't even know where we are going, I hate surprises" she said with a sigh..

Bryan rolled his eyes at her.."it'll be fine plus someone has to keep an eye out on Kay"he grinned..

"don't remind me" Elena shook her head.."do I look OK?"

Bryan stepped back as he held onto her hands and he looked her up and down..."maybe you shouldn't go out after all, the guys are going to be drooling all over you"

"drooling" she laughed.."yeah I don't think so, I'm almost thirty" she rolled her eyes..

"and you don't look a day over twenty four" he smirked..

"yeah well you have to say that" she smiled as she pulled him close..

"what can I say I have a smoking hot fiancee" he grinned wide and then pulled her even closer as his lips met hers..

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#

New York City at night was somewhat magical. The streets were lit up and the sidewalks were filled with the night owls out and about. It was definitely a bustling city and something she never really thought she would get use to but surprisingly she did. This was her home, she had finally made it a home..

"How much further Kay, my feet are killing me" Elena said as they walked up the crowded street, right about now all she wanted was a drink, a strong one..

"didn't you ever hear that patience is a virtue or something like that" Kayla laughed..

"yeah well these boots really aren't made for walking" Elena laughed some as Kayla stopped in front of an Irish pub and Elena looked up and frowned.."a pub?"

"it was either that or a club but I cant stand the music" Kayla grinned.."come on lets show this city what its missing" she said as she laughed and grabbed Elena's hand as they headed inside the overly crowded bar..

Kayla had the ability to light up any room she went into. She was a free spirit and at times she reminded Elena of a hippy especially when she wore her long skirts and tunic tops. She had short shockingly blonde hair that she wore in a pixie cut, something most girls couldn't pull off but for Kay it was all her..

"two fireballs" Kay said as they got to the bar..

"fireballs?" Elena laughed..

"i told you that were gonna have fun tonight and what better way to start it off" Kayla grinned as the bartender placed two shot glasses on the counter and Kayla grabbed them, handing one to Elena.."Bottoms up" she said as they both took down the shots and immediately they began coughing because of the harsh alcohol.."One more!" Kayla laughed..

"Oh lord your going to be prying me off the ground" Elena laughed as she finally began to loosen up some..

A few drinks later the girls sat at a cozy table in the loud bar.."so have you picked a maid of honor yet?" Kayla grinned..

"I actually haven't given it much thought, you know with work and all" Elena said as she sipped her beer..

"Your getting married, how can you not think of it" Kayla laughed.."You know not that I am trying to ask for the position but" she smirked..

"Of course its going to be you Kay" Elena said with a smile as Kayla grinned wide..

"Yay, this is going to be awesome Elena!" Kayla said with excitement.."this calls for another shot" she said as she began to get up and she stumbled some..

"yeah I don't think so" Elena stood on wobbly legs as she grabbed her friends arm..

Kayla rolled her eyes.."this is our night"

"yeah but" Elena began...

Kayla cut her off.."No buts, you promised to have fun and that's exactly what were going to do"

"the bartender is going to prying us both off the floors, you know that right?" Elena shook her head..

"yeah well good thing he is hot" Kayla smirked and then walked back to the bar as Elena stood there and sighed.. She eyed the bathroom and began walking towards it. The alcohol she had drank was definitely doing its work as she stumbled some to the bathroom, nearly knocking someone over as she walked..

"Sorry" she said as she looked up and then her eyes got wide as she looked into green ones..

"Hello Elena" Damon said with a smile..

"Damon" she said in shock..