AN: This came to me after watching the heartbreaking episode that was the season 5 finale. I'm an angst-whore but man, that was a lot to take in – even for me. I know it was painful, but I'm hoping this brings the smallest sliver of hope to those who read it. It won't be as long as my other fics but it'll be anywhere from 2-5 chapters.

I'm certain, now more than ever that DE are endgame because really, how much does this couple have to go through before they finally get their happy ending? Bonnie's Grams said that she was going to take care of her, and when she took Damon's hand and they were met with that white light...I just know we haven't seen the last of them.

I know the beginning is a little bit slower (first chapters usually are), but just keep reading until the POV change…I promise the pace picks up…especially considering who comes in to the story. ;) Also, the song "All I've Ever Needed" by Paul McDonald. Listen while reading, if you wish. The lyrics are perfect and it's where I got the title for this story.

P.S.

Gigantic, huge, thanks to my wonderful beta (Valérie) and pre-reader (Mara) for making this readable.

Ric has carefully watched the Gilberts for the better part of four months. Jeremy doesn't even bother pretending like he's okay with what's happened, or that he's anywhere close to moving on. Ric doesn't blame the kid. Jeremy's lost the love of his life – twice. He hates that he can't do anything to help, because the phrase "it's all gonna be okay" is a lie, and he couldn't make it sound believable even if he wanted to. Ric's never been that great of a liar (an evader, sure), but he knows that it's going to take a hell of a lot more than a few months to close the lid on his charge's relationship.

So now he's watching Jeremy sketch away on a drawing pad, as he's been doing ever since the collapse of the Other Side, and he knows that it's Jeremy's way of escaping reality. He knows Jeremy can pretend his heart isn't being torn apart from the inside out as long as he keeps his eyes trained on that paper. "You want dinner?" Jeremy gives a short shake of his head. Back to the drawing pad it is, and that's that. Can't make the kid eat if he isn't hungry, but… "I'll take that." Ric snatches the drawing pad from his hands. There's a spark of emotion in Jeremy's eyes that's been nonexistent for what's felt like forever.

"Give it back!" he shouts angrily, making angry swipes to grab at it. "Dammit, Ric!"

"What?" Ric yells back. He's at the end of his rope. He's fed up, can't take watching these two suffer anymore, and he doesn't even know where the hell to begin with Elena. That girl is an entirely different stack of cards that needs careful handling because one wrong move and he knows she's going to crumble. "You need to do something! You and Elena both need –"

"Don't! Okay? Just don't. And I am doing something, alright? It's called drawing!"

"It's called distracting! All you've been doing is distracting yourself, Jeremy. This isn't healthy." He rubs his face with his hand and throws the sketch pad on the table. "Look, I get it."

A scoff in response and then, "The hell you do."

"I get it," Ric repeats, his voice a snarl, and Jeremy's jaw snaps shut. "You think I was perfectly fine after Jenna died? I did the exact same thing you're doing. The only difference is that my distraction involved a hell of a lot more alcohol, so…kudos to you for staying straight-edge."

"You're right…God and I'm sorry, it's just that I watched Bonnie disappear right before my eyes; there one second and then literally gone the next. It really sucks, you know? And drawing got me through Mom and Dad's death too, so….I figured, it may not be the healthiest thing, but it's normal for me."

"I didn't know," Ric says, sliding the pad across the table until it's in front of Jeremy again, and he watches him tentatively take it back. "About it being a coping tool for you back then too."

"Yeah, well, now you do."

"Now I do." Ric scratches his hair and then looks up to the ceiling, thinking about his other charge who's upstairs and probably acting like everything's okay when he knows damn well that she isn't.

Tears are streaming down her face, because the second Ric says her name in his outburst, she knows her attempts at convincing everyone that she's been moving on have failed. She's tried to be as upbeat as possible after the first month of losing, not just her best friend, but also the love of her life. Everybody's been nodding and smiling, and she thought she'd been convincing.

It seems like her attempts have been futile, after all.

She still has nightmares of the night her life changed forever, the night Damon broke the one promise he'd vowed to always keep. The nightmares have her waking up screaming, sweat pouring down her heaving chest, and hot tears rolling down her face at the memory of losing him so unexpectedly, when he should have crossed back over with her.

She asked him not to go through with the suicide mission of blowing up Mystic Falls, had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going to go terribly wrong, but because he insisted on going through with it, so did she. She wasn't about to let him go through that alone, not when her own happiness was at stake should something go awry…and it did. And in the moment that Bonnie appeared before her, she knew they weren't alone and that Damon had come to say goodbye. She might not have been able to hear his words, but that didn't mean she hadn't felt everything, from the gentle brush of her cheek, to the careful caress of her wrist. And when he finally left her, she'd felt that too.

The funeral was even worse. She vaguely remembers Ric holding her while she bawled her eyes out over his grave, unable to utter a word. She couldn't make herself tell Damon goodbye. Saying the words would mean she'd accepted that he was never coming back to her. And her throat simply refused to voice the words her subconscious didn't want her to say.

She's determined now more than ever to look for Damon, and to find him. He isn't really gone. She knows this on some basic level. She can't really say how she knows, but whatever she felt right when he disappeared from Earth… It has changed recently, and there's a part of her that can feel him again. She always knew he was in the room before she even saw him, and when he died, that solid presence disappeared. Now, however, she can feel something again –slightly different than before – not as strong, but it's there nonetheless, and she's hell-bent on bringing him back all the way.

She's walking over to her closet when she hears someone knocking, and she grits her teeth, whirling around after quickly wiping her tears, only to see Ric leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. She greets him with a smile that she hopes isn't too forced.

"What's up, Ric?"

Ric shrugs and eyes her carefully before asking if she's okay. "You never came down for dinner."

Now it's her turn to shrug, but she never loses her smile. "Wasn't hungry…I was thinking of calling it an early night."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She swallows. "Tired."

"Tired?"

"Yeah." Her face falls for a split second, knowing that he's trying to read her, trying to figure out if he can trust whether or not she's okay when they both know she isn't. "So if you don't mind…I'm going to bed now."

"Okay...did you know Jer's been drawing a lot?"

It's clear to her that Ric's trying to keep her talking, trying to keep her from going into a spiral that she's admittedly trying her damnedest to avoid. "I know. Let him, it's keeping him grounded."

"And what's keeping you grounded?" he asks, his brow ticking upward and damn, she really should have been prepared for that, but she hasn't been herself since that night.

"I'm fine," she tells him firmly. She notes the hitch in her tone that shoots through her voice before she can stop it. "Just tired, remember?"

"Sure," he nods, still staring at her warily and she knows he doesn't believe her. But he's never been one to push, and she's grateful for everything he's done for her and Jeremy these last few months. Ric gives her one last look before leaving, and she blurs over, shutting the door, and then walks back to her closet. Taking a deep breath she turns the handle and pulls the door open to reveal an array of notes, clues, spells she can get a witch to cast, and leads that might bring her to him.

Because he isn't gone. She knows this, deep in her gut, and that feeling can't be wrong. She heads over to the bed and sits down, picking up her favorite picture, the one they took the first day of the summer where they'd spent the majority of that day in his bed.

"I won't give up," she whispers, running her thumb in circles over the glass. She sets the picture frame down and reaches under the mattress, pulling out a fully packed suitcase. She hasn't lived in this temp home for long (Ric's compelled the owner to take a long vacation until he and the Gilbert clan can figure out their next move considering they're still not able to go back to Mystic Falls), and she can't sit on her thumbs any longer. She needs to do something.

She needs to find him.

"I know you promised to come back to me, but I'm going to find you, Damon. I'm bringing you home."

With that, Elena picks up her suitcase and blurs out of the house before her guardian or brother can stop her. The only thought that's running through her mind is that her heart isn't going to be hurting for much longer.

He's waiting.

For what, he isn't sure, but it's taking a helluva long time for something that shouldn't take more than a few minutes. He doesn't get the point of makeup. It covers the real person underneath and tricks poor bastards into thinking the woman staring back at them is actually decent looking. Holly's been stuck on this idiot since they first locked eyes. She's been gaga for Dumbass the last two weeks, and now that he's made a move, she's taking her sweet time prettying herself up for someone who only cares about what's underneath her skirt anyway.

But it isn't to say that she isn't a looker, because she is. He just doesn't see her that way, and hasn't for as long as he can remember.

Girl is like the annoying little sister he's never had.

"I'm gonna leave your ass behind if you don't get a move on, Sanders!"

"Hang on a second!"

And then he's turning around, and there she is, dressed in a skirt that's mid-thigh (dammit) with a frilly, low-cut top (double-dammit), and he's smiling a forced grin at her. "Well, look at you. Don't you clean up nice?"

She gives him a quick spin that has her skirt twirling and flashing her smooth mocha skin. "You think he'll like?"

"If he has eyes, he'll like." He holds his hand out to her and succeeds in swallowing the word 'unfortunately'. "Now let's get a move on. Dum Dum is gonna wonder if you're ditching him already."

"Don't call him that, Cooper." She rips out of his hold and smacks him. Blazing green eyes meet his and he glares at her. She's got a mean punch for such a little thing.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You always do this!" Holly growls, glaring at him. "Every single time. Seriously, what is your problem?"

He goes to answer, only to realize that he's got nothing to say. He really doesn't have a good reason to explain why he constantly gives all of her boy toys shit. But it isn't like she doesn't do the same, because she does. Whenever he snaps and asks what her problem is, she isn't able to give a reason either. He's always found that strange as hell, but whatever.

"You deserve better," he shrugs with a smirk. "Someone who isn't a moron and cares more about you than he does about the type of gel he's going to put in his hair in the morning." Flashing his blue eyes at her, he adds, "So sue me for caring."

"I know you care." Holly's face softens and she touches his arm. "But tonight is supposed to be fun, remember? David's bringing Allison." She winks and he rolls his eyes. "Oh, come on! We're heading over to that town where they had that gas leak in the spring? Remember the explosion on the news?"

"Mystic Falls?" he grimaces. "That place is nothing but ashes by now and you wanna go there…why?"

"Because it's exciting."

"Oh, because it's exciting."

"And," she adds, as if giving him another reason will suddenly make him change his mind, "Something is telling me to go there."

"Really?" he scoffs. "'Cause something's telling me to run in the opposite direction."

"Oh, come on, Coop. It's been months since the accident. Besides, they're starting to rebuild and people are moving back. It's not like it's a ghost town, and we're not moving there…why are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid." He narrows his eyes at her. Blue locks with green as he says, "Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes, Hol, I'm not afraid."

"Are too." She relaxes and gives him a mega-watt smile (if he didn't already see her like a sister, he'd definitely be into her). "Come on, don't be all doom and gloom alright? Lighten up."

"I'm a fatalist," he grumbles. As soon as the words leave his mouth, his brows knit together. A strange sense of déjà vu washes over him but he shakes it off. He sighs heavily, raking a hand through his jet black hair, and rubs his neck. "Fine, judgy, whatever. Your turn to make the plans tonight anyway."

Mystic Falls might not be a ghost town, but the place gives him the heeby jeebies. And not that he would ever tell Holly, but he's woken up in the middle of the night multiple times, sweating his ass off and feeling like he's run a freaking marathon. He's had nightmares about that fucking town, and he's had them for as long as he can remember, nightmares of a faceless girl that means more to him than anything he could have ever imagined, and of being forced to leave her behind. Whenever he wakes from one of those dreams, his heart is sore and his eyes burn furiously. He has absolutely no desire to go visit the reason for his lack of sleep. But Holly Sanders is stubborn on her worst days, and impossible to dissuade on her best.

Grudgingly, he slips on his leather jacket, and follows his friend out to the car.

Mystic Falls is about to have four new visitors, and Cooper Jackson can't help but think his life is about to change forever.

AN: Alright so there are a lot of theories floating around on what exactly has happened to Bonnie and Damon, and this is mine. I think that when the show returns come fall, they'll have complete amnesia and won't remember a damn thing about who they are, and I think they'll be human too…I think Grams' plan for Bonnie was to insure that she'd go back as a human, lacking any and all magic so as to avoid the hell she'd endured once she found out she was a witch. As for Damon, because he took Bonnie's hand when they found peace, I think all of his supernaturality (is that a word I don't even know) was stripped too.

Ugh. I don't think I'll ever get over this finale (or be able to stop listening to "Wings" because it's so freaking beautiful). Anyway, if you're interested in reading more about my theory, liked what you've read, or if you even just want to share your feelings on the finale, please take a moment or two and leave them in a review. Let's sob and mourn over our loss together. *eternal cries* ~Kate