Disclaimer:

I don't own the characters of The Vampire Diaries however the character Maya Dwight is mine! :)

Author's Note:

Background information, there was a brief point in season three when Damon mysteriously disappeared for a while and when he returned he was a bit off. That caused him to act overly protective of Elena during the Michelson Ball, which ultimately ended the way it did. This story continues on from All My Children. ENJOY!

Prologue:

Everything became hazy, the crying voices, the beeping of the machines strapped to her, everything. She closed her eyes as she strained for breath. She heard someone call her name, far in the distance. She couldn't hold on anymore, she wanted to let go so badly. All the suffering would be done…if she just let go. She breathed her last painful breath till suddenly she wasn't lying in the hospital bed anymore. There was no more pain and she was light as a feather. She was free. That feeling was peaceful and glorious. She was happy. No more of anything…but then everything was gone. She was pulled back down hard till she blacked out.

She awoke to cold, chilling air. She got up shivering. It was dark everywhere as she took a couple of steps. The concrete floor was painful to her bare feet. She walked around confused. What happened, where was she? Suddenly someone came towards her. He had an evil smile on his face.

"Hello there." He said.

She backed away but with a flash he was in front of her. He grabbed her and to her horror his eyes darkened and fangs came out and he ripped her throat. She squirmed underneath but was weak. There returned the pain. A simple street sign than caught her eye. Mystic Falls.

Damon walked around tiredly on the dark, empty streets of Mystic Falls. It was one chaotic day but Elena was safe, and now, hopefully, Klaus backed off of all of them in return for saving him and his family. He saw a bench under a lamp post and sat down. He told Stefan he was going for a drink, but honestly, he wasn't in the mood. Suddenly, somewhere in the distance he saw a tall man biting the neck of a very frail girl dressed in a thin white hospital gown. The man, he now realized was one of Klaus's hybrids, just continued to drink, and the girl stood limb. She had long black hair and pail white skin, probably from all the blood being drained out of her. Damon let out a breath of disgust. His hybrids weren't allowed in town, but technically this hybrid wasn't really. He was two steps exactly at the border line of the town. Damon really did hate hybrids, but he had no intention of getting involved in this as he remembered himself lying on his death bed not long ago, Stefan being the one who saved him because of the were wolf bite. The hybrid pulled away from the girl and Damon's eyes widened with horror as he saw her face. Fury ran through him and he immediately ran towards the hybrid. Within seconds he was next to it and with a flash Damon stuck his hand in the hybrid's chest and pulled its heart out. Tossing it aside like discarded garbage he turned to the girl who now lay on the ground unconscious, blood pooling around her. Maya.

Hope you enjoyed it and please review!

-BBS