This chapter is the first to introduce Damon. It's set the morning after the previous chapter whilst Maggie and her brother are out getting their rations. I managed to write this today because I have a lot of free time on my hands at the moment.

Chapter 2- Shopping

29th January 1940

The air raid siren sounded again at 5am, telling us that the planes had gone and that it was safe to leave our shelter. Tommy woke slowly, his eyes flickering open. He gave a soft groan and rubbed his eyes before curling closer to me.

"Morning, Tom." I mumbled against his hair.

He took a few moments before answering. "Morning." His voice was muffled and it sounded as though he were still half-asleep.

I carefully uncurled my arms from around him and stood up. "Let's get going." I told him. "Before all of the supplies are gone. I remember Mrs Thompson saying they'd have new supplies in Monday. The queue will be massive if we don't hurry."

Mrs Thompson was the wife of the owner of the green grocer's. She was a short, stocky woman but she had a fondness for me and my brother. She would always tell us when the next shipment of supplies were due to arrive so that we could have first pick. Sometimes, if we didn't get there until late, she would lay some vegetables and stuff aside for us.

Tommy didn't seem keen on moving. He just lay there and gave me a very stubborn look.

"I'll buy you a bun from the Stone Oven." I tempted.

That got his attention and he instantly sat up. I knew that would have encouraged him. The bakery just around the corner from Thompson's made amazing current buns. They were especially nice with jam so perhaps I'd ask Mrs Thompson if she had any in.

"Come on then." I said as I pushed away the corrugated steel panel and walked outside into the early morning sunlight.

The sun made it far easier to see the damage done to our house and the surrounding ones. A few hundred metres down the street, a house had been completely destroyed by a bomb.

Tommy climbed out of the dugout and followed my gaze. "That was Eddie's house." He said softly. "I hope his family got out alright."

Eddie was one of Tommy's best friends, or he had been before he's been evacuated.

"I'm sure he did." I reassured him. "How's the cabbages and parsnips doing?"

The small piece of earth that we grew vegetables on looked undamaged at first glance but I wanted to get Tommy's mind off the bombings and checking the crops seemed the best way at the moment.

Tommy wandered over to them and crouched to study the plants. "I think they're alright!" he called. "None of the shrapnel reached them!"

I smiled softly. "That's good." I replied. "Think they'll be done soon?"

"Another few days, I think." Tommy replied. "The cabbages almost look ready and the parsnip leaves are getting tall."

Nodding, I held out a hand. "Let's go to town and go buy us something to eat then."

Hopping over to me, he took my outstretched hand and I guided us in the direction of the main part of the city. We lived on the suburbs so it was quite a walk but public transport wasn't really readily available, especially with petrol rationings.

Even running last night had taken me a while. I'd been visiting a family friend when the air raid had started. He'd tried to stop me coming back for Tommy but I'd ran off before he could force me into one of the public shelters.

On the walk to the main city, I tried to ignore the rubble and the debris from the neighboring buildings. It showed me how lucky we had been last night to have only a couple of windows blown out.

"Maggie?" Tommy asked after we'd been walking for a little while.

"Hmm?" I looked down at him.

"Could you tell me a story?" Tommy replied. "Like you used to?"

I thought for a moment. "Okay. What do you want it to be about?"

Tommy shrugged. "That's up to you." He replied. "Just make it good."

I laughed softly. "Alright, Mr Fussy." I ran through ideas in my head before locking on the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

"Once upon a time, there lived a boy called Jack. He lived with his mother out in the country..."

The story carried us all the way to the main city where we set towards the greengrocer's.

"The end." I finished as we reached the doors.

"Think we can buy some magic beans?" Tommy asked. "Maybe I can ask Mrs Thompson."

I smirked as he hopped through the doors and over to the counter. "Mrs Thompson, Mrs Thompson!" he called to the woman busy rifling through a box of potatoes.

She looked up at him and gave him a smile. "What is it Tommy, sweetheart?" she asked, standing up with a grunt of effort.

"Do you have any magic beans?" Tommy asked. "Like the ones Jack got?"

Mrs Thompson moved her eyes up to me with a knowing smirk before looking back at Tommy. "I'm afraid I'm all out, sweetie." she replied. "I don't know if I'll be getting any in for a long time."

Tommy pouted and lapsed into silence.

Mrs Thompson, seeing his upset, gave him a little nudge. "Mr Thompson made something for you. It's a present so you won't forget us when you go off to the country." From behind the counter, she produced a small wooden plane.

Tommy's eyes widened and he took it from her. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "This is great!"

"What do you say?" I asked him.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Tommy repeated excitedly.

"I'm glad you like it." Mrs Thompson said, smiling at him. "I'm sure Richard will be happy you like it too." Richard was Mr Thompson's first name.

Tommy ran around the room, holding the plane high as he made sound effects. I stepped up to the counter and mouthed a 'thank you' to Mrs Thompson.

"I have this for you, too." Mrs Thompson said as she passed me a leather-bound book. "Best wishes for your trip."

Opening the front page, I was astonished to discover it was one of the original copies of 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it in a box of Richard's father's stuff. I'm sure he won't miss it. I'm selling off all of his old books anyway." She pointed towards a few open boxes near the door, labeled with prices.

"Thank you so much." I leaned over the counter to give her an awkward hug.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." was her reply. "Now what would you like today?"

As I ordered, another person entered the shop. I didn't really pay attention to him until he walked up to the counter next to me and placed a couple of books on the surface. "How much?" he asked and I was astonished to realize that he was American. What was he doing here? Why would someone from America come all the way to London.

Mrs Thompson gave him a price and he passed the money to her before exiting.

That was the first time I saw Damon Salvatore but little did I know that it wasn't the last.