Okay, notes again:

Dorchadas: Glad you enjoyed it! I'm loving writing it!

Autumn: What more background do you want to know about?

Opticon217: great! Thanks for reading!

0Oflam3s0o: Glad you're liking it!

Sj61: You're going to find out next chapter more about what happened that night. Thanks for pointing it out though- I wasn't sure what I was going to write next chapter but now I know!

Also thanks for any author alerts, story alerts and favourite stories! Muchly appreciated!

As she watched the sky darken around her from her seat next to the window, she let out a content sigh. Her high school years were now officially a thing of the past, meaning she could finally move back home to Dallas and be with her family again for the first time in years. It had actually been hard saying goodbye to Eric and Pam back in Shreveport, but she had been waiting to return for years and the day after graduation, she had booked her flight. Now, here she was in the plane, looking out at the skyline of Dallas as they began to descend. As soon as the plane touched the ground and ground to a halt, she was up and out of her seat instantly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she eagerly waited for the door to be opened.

Thankfully, it was a private hire plane, so she didn't have to wait long for the door to be opened, allowing her to leave. She stepped out and closed her eyes before she took a deep breath, a wide smile appearing on her face at the familiar air. She opened her dark blue eyes again and saw two familiar figures waiting for her near a black car. She let out a small, excited squeal and flew towards them, throwing her arms around the tall, Spanish woman who eagerly returned the embrace.

"Isabel!"

Isabel wrapped her arms tightly around the teenager, unable to keep the happiness from her face.

"Oh Lydiana, we've missed you so much"

"Lydia"

Isabel raised a questioning eyebrow and Lydiana stepped back.

"Sorry, I've gone by the name Lydia for years now. It's strange hearing someone call me by my full name these days. Even Eric calls me Lydia."

Isael nodded in understanding, and Lydia looked round to the man standing next to the Spanish woman.

"Good to see you, Hugo."

"You too Lydia. Nice to have you back."

"It's great to be back" she responded with a wide smile.

The drive back to the nest didn't take long, and the closer they got, the more nervous Lydia felt, firstly because she hadn't been back for so long, secondly because she was still afraid of seeing Stan again, and finally, the most important thing of all; Godric. When he first sent her to Shreveport three weeks after her mother's death and Stan's attack on her, Godric wrote to or phoned Lydia at least once a week, but after a while, all communication with him stopped. Every time she tried to phone, she would be cut off, and her emails and letters were left unanswered. Godric came to visit Eric three times during the years she was gone, but she only found out about his visits days after he had departed once again. When she questioned Eric over it, he simply told her that Godric was trying to protect her and though she accepted it, she was far from happy about doing so. The last time she had seen Godric had been on her thirteenth birthday, 5 years earlier, and the last time she had spoken to him had been a month after that. Her heart almost ached to see him, but she was also reluctant to see him, worried that he may not accept her or even care about her enough anymore to want her back in his life.

Lydia shook her head to banish her melancholic thoughts from her head. She knew full well that Godric still cared about her, after all, it had been him that had asked Eric to tell her she was welcome home the second that she graduated from high school, and he bought her the most wonderful gifts she owned every birthday and Christmas, so there was no doubt that he didn't care for her. She just couldn't help but feel worried about how he would take her appearance now, after all she was five years older than she had been the last time she saw him; her body had filled out nicely, and she had grown much taller. Her hair fell to her mid back in gentle light red waves, and her eyes had become a deep blue, as dark as the midnight sky, a complete contrast to Godric's pale, almost pearlescent blue eyes. She was also very slim, but with an athletic build thanks to the years of cheerleading and gymnastics she had behind her. All in all, she was no longer a child, but had flourished into a strong and determined woman, and she was worried that Godric wouldn't see her that way. She knew years ago that her heart had only and would only ever belong to him, but now all she had to do was show him that, something she knew would be an enormous task that wasn't altogether plausible, or even accomplishable. Still, she was determined to try in the hope that maybe he would return her feelings.

Climbing out of the car, Lydia looked up to see Stan at the front door to the nest, his eyes lighting up as he viewed her, appreciating her curves and long, tanned legs that were enhanced by the fitting shorts she wore. She scowled at him and slammed the door of the car slightly harder than she normally would, which bought his attention northward and to her face. She glared at him and he gave her a smirk before slinking back off into the nest, like a snake. Lydia sighed dramatically.

"Always good to be back" she mumbled.

She heard Isabel chuckle softly next to her, and a cool arm slid around her shoulders, making her relax for the first time all evening.

"At least you are much older and wiser now. Stan will have to be careful around you."

"Shouldn't you be saying that i have to be careful around him?"

Isabel smiled warmly.

"Normally, yes. However, I am fully aware that you worked in Eric's bar while you were away, and I am also fully aware that he taught you a few tricks about how to handle vampires like Stan, so now, I think it is more appropriate for him to be afraid of you rather than the other way."

When she finished speaking, Lydia couldn't hold it in any longer and exploded into laughter, clutching at her stomach as she bent over.

"Oh my god, I missed you so much"

Isabel just smiled as she helped Hugo carry Lydia's bags into the house. Lydia waited for a few seconds to compose herself before walking over to the nest doors. She walked into the hallway and was immediately greeted by various guests, both human and vampire alike, all of them welcoming her home. She smiled at them all out of politeness, but the whole time, her keen eyes were scanning the room for one person in particular. Isabel noticed and nudged her.

"He's in his room" she said, inclining her head towards the direction.

Lydia felt her heart skip a bit now that she knew where he was. She softly made her way up into the corridor leading to the bedrooms. Most doors were shut with the exception of her own room and two others. She moved past her room and stopped at the door next to it. She didn't bother knocking, just ran into the room, and when she saw Godric, she wasted no time running towards him and wrapping her arms round him. Instinctively, he pulled her closer to him and inhaled her familiar scent, noting that she smelt even more wonderful than she had as a child. When she let go of him and stepped back, she suddenly realised that he was clad in nothing but a towel wrapped round his waist, and he was still wet, clearly having just stepped out of the shower. Lydia looked at him, observing his tattoos, and suddenly blushed as she realised what he was wearing, or more, the lack of what he was wearing. She looked down at the floor and mumbled an apology, still blushing but also trying to contain her embarrassed grin at the same time.

Godric ran into the bathroom and dressed at vampire speed, before returning back to his room and viewing Lydia properly. He took in her long red hair, along with the way her body curved. He noticed that she wore a pair of shorts that left nothing to the imagination, along with a well fitted vest top in white, that not only showed her soft tan off perfectly, but also made her hair stand out even better.

Lydia hadn't noticed his return back into the room and continued walking around, looking at the very few possessions he owned that were scattered around the room. She stopped and picked up an older photograph of her and Godric, taken back when she was nine years old. She was sitting on his shoulders, the pair of them with large smiles on their faces. Lydia placed the photo back on the stand with a sad smile on her face. She turned to look back at the bathroom, and yelped as she bumped straight into Godric. Godric gently grasped her arms to prevent her from falling and she gave him a nod of thanks.

"Still clumsy I see?"

"Not normally. Then again, you vampires can make even the most graceful human a bumbling fool"

Godric chuckled, and Lydia couldn't help but let out her own soft chuckle. Lydia glanced at him over her shoulder with a soft smile, and if he had any breath in his body, it would have left him at that moment. His eyes widened, which wasn't missed by Lydia's sharp eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"You look so much like Elena, so beautiful."

He was surprised again when she span round to look at him with a glare on her face.

"Don't talk about her!" she shouted.

She paused to take a small breath and calm herself down. She unclenched her fists when she realised that she had balled them into fists.

"Sorry, just, please. I don't want to remember it. I'm sick of having nightmares of my dad beating mom up, and then of mom being killed. It hurts too much to think about it anymore."

Godric gave her an understanding nod before moving to the door and opening it to let her through. She walked out into the main room and watched as Godric sat down on his usual chair and the members of the nest all flocked towards him, like moths drawn to a flame. She couldn't help but giggle at how things never changed, and smirked when Godric gave her a questioning glance. She moved to the other end of the room, greeting all her old friends, and as she turned to head back to Godric and Isabel who had now joined him, she let out a small gush of air as she slammed into something solid.

"Well, hello there. What's a beautiful thing like you doing back here? I missed you."

Lydia felt her heart beat faster and her blood ran cold. She glared up at the person, and noticed out of the corner of her eyes that Godric was watching her closely, half standing, half sitting; Isabel behind him, ready to attack if needed. Lydia nodded to let them know she could handle it and saw with satisfaction that Godric sat back down and Isabel relaxed slightly, but both of them still ready to attack if needed. She turned her gaze back to the vampire in front of her, and when she spoke, she kept her voice low, but spoke through her teeth.

"Stan. If you think for one minute that you're going to get another bite out of me again, then think twice. I'm not a defenceless child anymore. I know how to kill you and believe me, if you come near me again then we are going to have serious issues that I promise will involve a stake and a lotta pain for you, so d'you mind letting me go cowboy?"

She moved to pass him and he reached out, grabbing her arm tightly. Godric once again rose, but Lydia just held her free hand out, signalling for him to stay. She said nothing, just turned her eyes up to stare directly at Stan. After a few seconds, Stan's smirk faded, and a few seconds after that, he reluctantly released her and she turned and walked back to Godric without looking back. Godric moved over so that she could sit next to him and he immediately placed his hands on her own, stilling them. She looked at them in surprise, not having even noticed that they were shaking with the adrenaline.

"Well done" Godric whispered in her ear.

She felt a shiver go up her back at the smoothness of his voice, and found herself unable to hold back a smile as she continued to watch everyone go about their nightly business. She was home.