I stood in front of the Salvatore house, nervously rubbing my hands together as I waited for Stefan to answer the door. I almost turned and left thinking that he didn't want to talk but then the door opened and the chance was gone.

Stefan stepped back to let me in before closing the door behind me. It reminded me of when he had returned a few months earlier and I had come up to the house to meet him. Everything felt different now. Back then we had been in love and saw a strong future for us, but now we were just trying to tape over the cracks in our relationship. That is if we still had one.

We stood awkwardly in the living room for a moment as I quickly looked him up and down. Damon had been right about Stefan looking better. He seemed calmer and less wild than he had a few nights ago but he also seemed paler if thats possible for a vampire. At least it seemed that he had stopped feeding.

'I owe you an apology,' Stefan began 'I wasn't myself when I said those things'. I looked down at the floor unable to look at him. It was a relief to hear but the words had still hurt.

'When I walked in and heard what you said to Damon... and the way you were looking at each other ...' Stefan shook his head as if trying to banish the memory. I opened my mouth to speak but Stefan beat me to it. 'You were seeing him Elena,' his voice was full of pain. 'You were imagining my brother even when you were with me.'

I looked up at him in despair 'You know that was the blood Stefan, I was trying so hard to fight it I just ended up making it worse.' He started pacing the room. 'That's the thing Elena, healing someone with our blood has never done that before. So was it the blood? Or was it how you really felt?'

I just stared at him in shock. It must have been the blood, that's the only thing that could have caused it. Stefan continued to pace the room so I stepped forward and pulled him around until he was facing me.

'What matters now is you and me. That's why I came here Stefan. Forget about everything else. Can you see a future with me?'. I watched him closely as he absorbed my words. He put his hands on my face and rested his head against mine.

'I love you Elena and all I want is for us to be together.' he said. 'Then that's what we need to work at. If you can get back to yourself then we can work at it. Okay?' I asked him. Stefan didn't reply but pulled me in for a tight hug. I relaxed against him as relief flooded through my body. 'We can do it Stefan,' I told him, but a niggling voice inside wondered if we would ever get back to how we had been.

The next day I woke early and arranged to meet Stefan and Damon at their house. We had to get this sorted before it started any more trouble. When I arrived the two of them were in the living room waiting for me. The instant I entered I immediately felt the hostility in the room and was glad I had arranged this.

They were both stood on opposite sides of the room completely ignoring each other yet the tension was obvious. At my arrival both heads snapped towards me. I took a seat on the couch in the middle of the room. Neutral territory. I dared not go to either brother knowing it would cause trouble with the other. I could already feel a headache coming on.

'You both need to make up,' I said bluntly, no time to waste on chit chat. Stefan glowered at his brother who smirked back in return. I felt like bashing their heads together.

'We need to get this sorted now,' I said though it had no effect what so ever. I sighed, this was going to be hard work. I stood up to get their attention. 'Damon, come here,' I said pointing to the floor infront of me. Damon obliged and swaggered to where I was pointing.

'Stefan, here,' I said pointing next to Damon. At first I thought he would refuse but he reluctantly walked over and stood beside his brother. I looked at both of them in turn and hoped that this would work. 'Now shake hands,' I said 'I'm not asking you to kiss and make up, I just want you to put this behind you'. I wasn't stupid enough to think that they could put everything in the past and move on but they had to at least make an attempt.

Stefan and Damon regarded each other warily but neither moved a muscle. I caught Stefans eye and silently pleaded with him to do as I had said and after a moment he raised a hand. 'Are we good?' he asked. After a moment Damon clasped his brothers hand. 'We're good.' I smiled, glad that they had taken their first step.

I sat back down on the couch, my mind already whirring with plans of what to do next. Stefan had already agreed that he needed to stop drinking so much blood and the only way I could see that happening is if we controlled it.

'Damon will keep an eye on how much you're drinking.' I told Stefan. I hated putting him under supervision but I knew that if I didn't he would be tempted and there would be no one to stop him.

Damon sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder, 'I won't let him out of my sight,' Damon said as Stefan watched him stone faced. I was uncomfortably aware of Damon's arm around me and knew that the fragile peace wouldn't last long if he overstepped the boundary.

I slid out of Damon's grip and stood next to Stefan. 'I couldn't think of any other way,' I apologised knowing how much Stefan would like being with his brother every second of the day. 'If it gets me better than I can overlook the inconveniance,' he directed at Damon who didn't lose his cocky grin for a second

'I'd better go, I'm meeting Bonnie and Caroline,' I said before giving Stefan a quick kiss on the cheek. I almost ran to the door to get away from the atmosphere. At least they were making some progress.

An afternoon with my two best friends was a blessed change from the dramas of life. Even if only for a few hours I could have some fun and not have to worry about anything.

After dinner I was in my room when I got a text from Damon saying that Stefan had been very well behaved and that he had only drank what he needed to. I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want him to get out of control again. I was happy that he was trying so hard, at this rate it wouldn't be long before he was back to normal.

A few weeks later it seemed that Stefan was firmly back on track. I was overjoyed that he had managed to fight his cravings and he knew it. There had been a few close calls where the hunger had almost been too strong but Stefan managed to pull himself back with a little help from his brother.

Soon Damon didn't have to supervise him and everything was back to normal. At first I didn't think that they had enjoyed the time they had to spent together as Damon took every oppurtunity to moan and make withering comments about the company, but never once did he leave his brothers side.

It not only worked to keep Stefan from indulging in blood, but helped to mend their relationship. They had put their differences aside and had become stronger than ever. It also made my life easier as I wasn't constantly trying to keep the peace and divert fights.

I was so caught up in these happy thought that I jumped slightly when Damon clicked his fingers in front of my face. 'Hello, is anyone home?' he said teasingly.

I was sprawled on the couch at my house, my legs resting in Damon's lap. Now that him and Stefan had made up, we had become close friends and I was able to hang out with him more and not worry about what Stefan's reaction would be.

'Sorry, I was just thinking about how well everything is going,' I said happily. Damon grabbed a crisp from the bowl that was balanced precariously on my leg.

'Why are you eating the crisps?' I asked, frowning at him. 'Just because I don't need to eat doesn't mean I can't enjoy the taste,' he replied, popping the crisp into his mouth and crunched it loudly.

I smiled at his antics. 'Leave me some,' I joked. My phone let out a shrill ring, I really needed a knew ringtone. I wriggled to get it out of my back jean pocket, Damon thankfully catching the bowl before we both got covered in crisps.

'Hello?' I said, without checking the caller ID, smiling apologetically at Damon who helped himself to some more crisps.

'Hey, it's me,' Stefan said, 'do you not have this number?' I readjusted my phone to my other ear. 'Yeah I just didn't check the ID,' I explained.

'I just picked my car up from the garage and wanted to see if I could come around to yours for the day.'

I nudged Damon with my foot and gave him a warning glare to stop eating my crisps, which he blatantly ignored. 'Yep, sure. I'm here with Damon at the minute,' I said as I tried to wrestle the bowl out of his grip without success. I eventually gave up and Damon chuckled softly at his victory. 'He's eating all my crisps,' I told Stefan as his brother watched me, a smug expression on his face. I turned my head away from Damon in mock anger.

'Okay' he laughed 'I'll be there in 10 minutes'.

I put my phone back in my jean pocket and looked back at Damon in disbelief. I couldn't quite believe it but he had finished off the entire bowl of crisps. It was not a small bowl. 'Good luck with those calories,' I said.

Damon smiled sweetly at me. 'I was helping you out. I'd rather have the calories than you,' he said in a serious tone. I narrowed my eyes at him. 'What exactly are you trying to say?' I asked suspuciously. He shrugged carelessly. 'Maybe you should stay off the crisps,' he said lightly.

I raised my eyebrows at him, we both knew that I was not overweight in the slightest. 'Naughty vampire,' I scolded him, playfully throwing a pillow at him which he caught an inch from his head. He threw it back lightning quick and it collided with my face.

'No fair, I don't have your vampire reflexes,' I told Damon, pouting at the disadvantage.

'Nor my charm, wit or good looks' he replied smugly.

'You are so dead.'

'I know' he replied with a smirk before I threw the pillow back at him.

A few minutes later Stefan walked through the front door and narrowly avoided getting hit in the face by a fast moving pillow. I giggled from my hiding place behind the couch at the shocked expression on Stefan's face before I launched my last pillow at Damon who had stepped out when his brother had walked in.

It hit him square in the chest and fell to the floor. I punched the air in celebration of my win. Damon looked down at the pillow like he hadn't even noticed it. 'Ow,' he said teasingly, holding his chest in pretend pain. I stuck my tongue out at him in return.

'Is this the nursery?' Stefan asked, amusment glittering in his eyes as he took in my slightly ruffled hair from the pillow fight. 'Nope,' Damon replied, giving me a friendly push 'just helping Elena work off some calories'. I smacked him lightly on the shoulder before pulling Stefan towards me for a kiss.

I pulled away and laughed as Damon pulled faces and turned away. I pushed Stefan down onto the couch before hopping onto his lap. Damon took a seat in the armchair opposite.

'How's the car?' I asked, running a hand over Stefan's gelled hair. 'Good as new,' he replied. His car meant the world to him so if it was working well and Stefan was happy then I was happy.

'That's great,' I said to show that I cared. Stefan squeezed my arm lightly to tell me that he understood.

'Pile of junk,' Damon said almost in disgust. 'The sooner you get rid of it the better'.

I glared at him and put my hand over Stefans ears. 'Shhh' I whispered 'He'll get upset'. Stefan laughed and Damon rolled his eyes.

Stefans phone buzzed so he shifted me over on his lap slightly to get to it.

As soon as he looked at the screen a frown formed on his face. 'What is it?' I asked curious. Instead of answering me he looked at Damon.

'That was Dean,' he said throwing the phone at Damon who caught it mid air. When he looked at the screen he wore the same expression Stefan did. 'Quin is coming,' he said ominously.

'What's going on? Who's Quin?' I asked impatiantly, wanting to know what was happening. Stefan looked at me, his face serious. 'He's bad news and he's heading straight for Mystic Falls'.
===

A short while later I had managed to draw some more information from the two brothers. It hadn't been an easy job. They were both very reluctant to tell me anything but I kept pushing them until they finally gave me some answers.

Dean, an old friend of theirs, had texted Stefan to warn him of Quin's movements. They had told me that Quin was not a nice man and that if he was coming to Mystic Falls he was wanting to stir up trouble. Damon and Stefan had once been powerful figures in the vampire world and Quin had always liked being powerful and in charge. In short he didn't get on well with the brothers.

Even after being told all of this information I still felt that they were holding something back but looking at their faces I knew that weren't going to tell me any more.

We had been sat in silence for a few minutes, each of us caught up in our own thoughts. A sudden knock on the door shattered the heavy silence.

Damon turned his head slightly to hear who was at the door. 'It's for you,' he told me, settling back into his thoughful silence.

It must be Caroline and Bonnie, I thought as I heaved myself up from the couch. I was right about that but as I opened the door I was slightly suprised to see Matt with them. I just stared at them for a moment.

'Uh...hi..' I said finally. They all smiled at me, oblivious to the horrific timing.

'We haven't seen you in ages,' Caroline said, shaking her head in disapproval. 'We thought if you were going to be antisocial we would all come and see you,' she informed me, not bothering to hide the pointed jab at my lack of contact.

I had been so caught up in my troubles that I had hardly given my best friends a second thought. It must have been at least a week since I had last spoken to any of them. I smiled at them apologetically, feeling slightly guilty. Bonnie and Caroline breezed in past me, their chatter stopping as they got to the living room.

I shut the door behind Matt. 'I see you already have company,' Caroline said tightly. I slipped past them further into the room. Damon and Stefan stood up as we entered.

Caroline and Bonnie smiled warmly at Stefan but didn't even glance at Damon. 'We're going to head home,' Stefan said, giving me a quick kiss on the lips before saying goodbye to everyone else. Whilst they were preoccupied talking to Stefan, Damon walked casually over before pulling me gently to the other side of the room so that no one would hear.

'I'll text you if there are any updates,' he whispered in my ear. I turned my head slightly towards him.

'You'd better,' I warned, not wanting to be left out of the loop.

He smiled slightly at the order. 'Yes Maam' he teased before his face became more serious. 'We don't know when Quin will arrive so you have to be careful. We'll probably know before he gets here but I still want you to be careful,' he said.

'Don't worry about me' I replied, smiling slightly at the concern in Damon's voice.

He frowned and opened his mouth to argue but I quickly shushed him as Matt approached. 'Hey,' he said, watching Damon carefully. 'You okay Elena?' he asked, seeing how we were stood so close.

'She's perfectly fine,' Damon said, putting an arm around my shoulders. 'We were just having a nice chat'. He smiled when he saw Matt tense in anger. I tried to shrug his arm off but it he wouldn't budge. Unable to move, I didn't want to start any trouble so I smiled reassuringly at Matt and tried to look relaxed.

Stefan, having heard the conversation, escaped from Caroline's endless talking to rescue me from the situation. I shot him a desperate look as he approached. 'Come on Damon, lets leave them to it,' Stefan told his brother, noting how his arm was locked around my shoulder.

Damon smiled warmly at Stefan before releasing me. 'Of course,' he said obligingly. 'See you later' said in a husky voice, winking flirtatiously. Stefan and I knew that he was just stirring up trouble but Matt blew his chest up protectively and gave Damon a vicious glare.

Damon blew me a kiss and smiled smugly at Matt's reaction. Stefan pulled him away before he could cause any more trouble.

'Bye Stefan,' Bonnie and Caroline called as he left. I shook my head at their obvious dismissal of Damon. It seemed they had picked a favourite brother.

I was slightly angry at Damon for being so childish. He had obviously loved winding Matt up and I knew I would have to talk to him about it later. Matt was happy to see them leave but made no attempt to leave my side.

Caroline and Bonnie took seats so I went and sat with them, Matt following at my heels. 'So, what's been happening with you?' they asked. I thought for a moment. I didn't want to tell them about Quin just yet,no need to panic them. Instead I diverted the attention to Caroline who was more than willing to take the lead.

I tried to relax as I listened to my friends but knowing that Quin was on the way kept my thoughts drifting. I was constantly checking my phone for Damon's text but none came. By the time my friends left I couldn't even sit down but started pacing anxiously.

I couldn't stand the waiting. The sooner this mysterious Quin arrived the better. It turned out I didn't have much longer to wait after all.

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