AN: This is my first time writing for this show so be gentle. So far this is a one-shot but I'm thinking about turning this into a collection of general one-shots. I've got a couple ideas in my head so who knows. This isn't beta'd so I apologize for the mistakes. This title is a working title so suggestions are welcome!

Summary: Elena finds a visitor in her house after Jenna and John's funeral.

Characters/Pairings: Elena. Alaric. Jenna/Alaric. Can be Elena/Alaric if you want.

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

After the funeral, everyone had gone their separate ways.

Jeremy had taken Bonnie's hand and led her away from the group while Caroline mentioned something about checking up on Tyler. Noticing a strange look on Damon's face, Stefan followed his brother further into the cemetery. Without a word, Alaric put his hands in his pockets and simply walked away. Only Elena remained behind with the dead.

Looking down at the fresh graves, Elena wiped the remaining tears from her cheek. She had never felt so defeated in her life. In the course of one year, she had lost four parents and one beloved guardian...and it was all because of her. Her parents, Miranda and Grayson, died because of her wild party antics while the rest died because of her link to a supernatural world that shouldn't exist. They had all died protecting her in some way and it made her feel extremely guilty.

Now, the only family she had left was Jeremy and she was terrified of losing him too. While his ring would be able to protect him from supernatural threats, it offered no protection against human ones. Her father's death proved that fact. Despite having such a powerful ring, Grayson Gilbert died in a simple drowning accident.

"It isn't fair" she thought while wiping away another fallen tear.

She looked back to where Stefan had gone and saw that he and Damon were having a tense conversation. Not wanting to get involved in whatever new drama was happening between the brothers, Elena turned and began the long walk home. She needed the time to clear her head.

xxxxx

Elena arrived at her house thirty minutes after leaving the cemetery. Stefan had sent a worried text message wondering where she had gone. She texted him back saying that she just needed a little time to herself. She was grateful when he respected her wish and backed off.

As she got closer to the front door of her house, the knot in her stomach started to tighten painfully. When Stefan brought her home the night before, she had collapsed into tears at the sight of Jenna's jacket still hanging on the coat rack. She couldn't even go near Jenna's room and was dreading the day she would have to set foot in it.

Elena entered the house and immediately took off her heels. Her eyes closed in satisfaction as she flexed her toes on the hallway carpet. She hadn't thought about how sore her feet would be when she started the journey home. Thoughts of warm baths were interrupted when she heard a noise.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard the creak of the wooden floorboards. Her breath caught in her lungs as she strained to make out the location of the sound. There was another creak of the floor and she determined that it was coming from the floor above. At the bottom of the stairs was her purse and she reached in to grab her vampire hunter's version of pepper spray. Checking the amount of vervain inside the canister, she also pulled out the stake Stefan insisted she kept with her at all times.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she slowly began to walk up the stairs. She briefly wondered whether to call Stefan but decided against it. The only vampires now allowed in her home where either friends or dead, and she highly doubted Elijah would show his face so soon after betraying them. She also reasoned that if it was a witch, they wouldn't bother sneaking around a powerless human like her. And seeing as the only werewolf she knew was currently occupied with their mutual vampire friend that left a human intruder.

The floorboards creaked again and Elena's heart sank when she realized it was coming from what used to be Jenna's room. Unexpected tears began to well in her eyes but she kept going.

"Who's there?" She couldn't tell whether it was fear or anguish that caused her voice to shake.

No one responded.

Before she lost her nerve, Elena quickly opened the door with her weapons raised.

"Whoa!" The figure sitting on the bed raised his hands in defense, "It's just me."

Elena's heart felt like it was going to bust out of her chest. The figure on the bed was only Alaric.

Her brow furrowed, "Alaric? What are you doing here?"

She saw that he was still in his funeral attire but that he had removed his tie. It had only been a short time since the funeral but Elena thought the sadness on his face seemed more prominent. The growing stubble also made his face appear more haggard, like he hadn't slept in days. In short, he looked fucking terrible.

"I had nowhere else to go. I thought everyone was heading back to the boarding house and Katherine is still stuck in my apartment. "

He then gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry to sneak into your house like a creep. I didn't think you or Jeremy would be back so soon."

Elena put the stake and spray canister down on the dresser. She then sat down next to him with a sigh. "You don't have to apologize Ric."

Alaric gave her a weak smile before looking back at the object in his hands. Elena looked and her heart seized when she saw Jenna's face staring back at her.

In his hands was a picture frame containing a picture of Alaric kissing Jenna on the cheek while she smiled for the camera. It looked like it was taken in the early morning hours while they were still in bed. Even though it was a fairly innocent snapshot of the two, the picture was so painfully intimate that Elena had to look away.

After a few moments of silence, Alaric turned to Elena. "What are you doing here?" He then let out a strangled laugh. "What am I talking about, it's your house."

"I wanted to be alone."

He nodded while looking back at the picture of him and Jenna, "I know the feeling."

Alaric then stood "I should probably leave you to it then."

Elena shook her head "You don't have to leave."

"I'm afraid I'm not good company right now Elena."

"I don't mind." Elena smiled weakly at him. Even though she had intended to spend the next couple hours alone, she really didn't mind having him around. Over the past couple months, he had become a unique mixture of father, brother and uncle to her. After the initial unease towards him in the beginning, he had become a comforting presence in her life. He brought love and happiness to Jenna's life and that had made Elena happy. She hated thinking that she and Jeremy were holding Jenna back from living her own life so seeing her happy made Elena feel less guilty.

With thoughts turned towards the loss of Jenna, Elena was suddenly afraid of losing someone else in her life.

"Alaric, I want you to have this." She removed John's ring from her thumb. It was too big for her other fingers but she wanted to have it on her while burying the man who had given it to her.

He adamantly shook his head "Elena, I can't accept this. John left it to you."

Elena wasn't deterred by his refusal, "It's my ring. I can do whatever I want with it."

She saw that he still wasn't going to take it so she reached out and grabbed his hand. She placed the ring in his palm and closed his fingers over it.

Alaric shook his head "I don't want it Elena."

"Rick-"

"Elena, I can't" he interrupted her, "when I look at this ring, all I see is how I failed Jenna."

He saw the confusion in her eyes. "John wanted this ring back so he used Jenna to blackmail me into giving it to him. He suggested that I was lying about Isobel's death and that I couldn't be trusted. I was worried about what else he was going to tell her so I gave him the ring."

Elena watched as his face seemed to age before her eyes. "I should have just told her the truth." She then watched as his eyes began to fill with some emotion and politely looked away as he took a moment.

When she sensed that he had composed himself, Elena faced him. "That might not have changed anything. If anything, she might have died sooner."

"She shouldn't have died at all" Alaric snapped. "I should have protected her."

Elena watched as he started to speak as if he was talking to himself. "I shouldn't have left her alone. I could have stopped her from leaving the boarding house."

Elena shook her head "Klaus would have just killed you for getting in the way. He wanted a vampire and didn't care who he killed to get it."

Alaric looked away from her. "It should have been me. Klaus had me. He should have just turned me and used me for the sacrifice. No one else would have gotten hurt."

Elena frowned, "You would have been hurt."

Alaric locked eyes with her, "But Jenna would still be alive. Don't tell me you wouldn't change that if you could."

Her silence was all the answer he needed.

Alaric sighed, "I think it's time I left Mystic Falls."

Elena shook her head, "You can't leave. You and Jeremy are the only family I have left."

"Elena, I'm not part of your family."

"You married my biological mother. Technically that makes you my stepfather."

"Elena" he started but she cut him off.

"And you loved Jenna. That's a good enough reason for me. Jeremy already has a ring so it would make me feel a lot better knowing this one was put to good use."

She clutched his hand tightly once more before letting go.

"Wear it for Jenna."

Alaric stared at the ring in his palm. After a few seconds, he nodded and slipped the ring onto his finger.

"I'm going to give it back to you."

Elena smiled "I'm only going to need it when I have children and that won't be for a long time."

Alaric smiled weakly. His own thoughts turned to children Jenna would never have. Children he had hoped would have been his as well.

Somehow sensing his troubled thoughts, Elena placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get through this. Together as a family."

Alaric squeezed her hand and nodded.

"As a family."

Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always appreciated!