Thank you very much for reading, following and reviewing. Your response to the story has made the extra work very much worth it.


A foreign but familiar presence roused Caroline from sleep as dawn approached. She was wary of waking Stefan so she whispered into the growing light, "Klaus… what are you doing in my room at 6 am?"

"Just checking in, seeing how things went with our friend downstairs."

"You know damn well how things went. Jitterbug down there may not have noticed you hanging around but I did. Now why are you really here?" her whispers still managed to convey her annoyance at her lack of sleep.

"Do you really intend to take him to see her today?" Klaus was sure to inflect as much concern as possible into his voice, it was an unfamiliar but useful tone.

"I'm worried about what he'll do if I don't, you saw him last night. He is barely hanging on."

"I'm worried about what he'll do if you do take him. You need to convince him to let you go alone first." Klaus thoroughly enjoyed watching Stefan teeter on the brink of losing control, even more so when he knew how close to falling over the edge Stefan was. Normally that would be the highest level of entertainment for Klaus, especially considering his role in the spiral into darkness. However, if Elena were to see Stefan it could seriously delay his current plans, no human girl is going to date the deranged monster sleeping downstairs.

Caroline turned in her bed to look at the hybrid who constantly infuriated and confused her. "Why do you even care? What's in it for you?"

Klaus allowed a hint of vulnerability to shine through, secure in the knowledge that it would disarm Caroline, "Can you imagine what it would do to him if he hurt her? My family have left me. My hybrids are only loyal through the sire bond. You and Stefan are all I have left."

A stab of empathy flashed through Caroline, knowing what it was to feel alone. "I'll see what I can do." She grinned, "but for that I'll need sleep, so get out!"


Elena was happy. She knew she was dreaming but that was okay. There was no pain in her dream. Only the beautiful man in the mirror placing a necklace on her as she held aside her hair. She couldn't hear in her dream, it was like someone had pressed the mute button. But that was okay too. She could tell from the smile on her face that she was happy, but a little lost. Then she linked her arm through his and there was nothing but sensation, the tingling, sparking electricity at the point where their skin made contact. If this was how it felt to touch him then Elena never wanted to stop touching him. She could barely focus on the corridors they walked along or the large ornate stairs that opened onto a sea of people, people she knew, it looked like everyone she knew was in this crowd!

Caroline was bouncing around as usual and then she became fuzzy and shimmery. Elena could just hear Jeremy's voice saying her name in the distance. She fought to stay in her dream, she tried to block him out, turning to the man on her arm and trying to hold onto him just a little longer. She knew how it would feel to wake up again, she didn't want to wake up and feel that pain all over again. As the man's features became more distorted Jeremy's voice became louder, "Elena, come on. Bonnie is here. Elena come on time to get up."

Elena sat up then doubled over in agony. She clutched at her chest and lashed out at Jeremy wherever he tried to touch her, "Don't touch me! I'll lose it if you do!"

"Lose what Elena? What is going on?" He crouched at the end of her bed, wanting to comfort her but not willing to risk getting any closer.

"It's gone! It hurts so so much!" Elena began to cry and to Jeremy it seemed like it was more about losing the memory than the physical pain. "It's gone… I can't feel him anymore." Elena drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her body.

Jeremy slowly backed away from the bed and stepped out into the hallway where both Bonnie and Ric stood with quizzical expressions. Jeremy raised an eyebrow at Ric, "I told you…"

"Yeah, okay, I get it." He held his hands up in surrender, "I'm heading back downstairs, I'm not so good with the crying teenage girl thing…" he said heading down the stairs.

Jeremy turned to Bonnie and said, "I've already had my turn. You heard her reaction… I think this is more of a 'girlfriend' thing… yeah… I'm out." And he followed Ric bounding down the stairs.

Bonnie sighed, "boys, seriously useless," under her breath and rolled her eyes before edging her way into Elena's doorway. She could see Elena sitting where Jeremy left her, knees up, arms wrapped around her legs and her head buried in her knees. Her long brunette hair cascaded around her creating a private cocoon to hold her pain away from everyone else. "Elena," Bonnie whispered into the room, afraid to startle her friend who was clearly already traumatized by her dreams.

Elena's head raised enough for Bonnie to see two red rimmed eyes with dark bags under them peeking out from the curtain of hair. When it became clear that no other response was forthcoming, Bonnie stepped into the room and sat beside Elena on the bed. "Elena, I don't know what's happening to you but I will do everything I can to help you, I'll find a way to make this right. I promise."

"How can you possibly fix what I don't even remember is wrong?" whispered Elena from her cocoon.

"Well, how about we start with a shower and then some breakfast. After that I'll tell you all about just how awesome I am at solving problems," Bonnie replied, giving her friend a smile of encouragement.

"Fine," grumbled Elena as she let Bonnie pull her up from the bed, "but I can't imagine anything you could tell me about you that I don't already know."

"We'll see Elena, we'll see."


Damon's awakening was far less gentle and infinitely more painful. His dream stopped so abruptly with the final image of the mystery girl turning to him in fear followed by the agonizing pain that came on so quickly he felt like he was under attack and his demon immediately emerged. Before Damon was even aware of what was happening, his demon was well in control of the situation flying out the door looking for prey. It wasn't until he was being blinded by the desert sun in the middle of a car park that Damon had any real awareness of what was happening. He flew back to his room, hoping no one had seen him, and dove straight into the fridge, draining the closest blood bag with a bite.

With his demon temporarily satisfied he was finally able to retract his fangs and return his bloodshot eyes to their default bright blue. Damon grabbed the last blood bag from the fridge and considered packing it into the cooler, "Fuck it," he said to no one in particular before draining that bag too. He carefully tidied up the room, packing his empties into his cooler and making a mental note to check for nearby blood banks. He had no idea why but he strongly felt that keeping a low profile and feeding under the radar was extremely important on this trip west.

He made a final check of the room and was gathering up his bag, jacket and keys when he noticed his reflection in the large modern mirror adjacent to the door. "Fuck!" He'd never been a messy feeder, he left that shit to his brother, but he figured it was to be expected after biting into a full blood bag. Damon aggressively pulled the blood-spattered charcoal shirt over his head, wiped it down his chest to remove the blood that had begun to seep through and threw the shirt next to his bag in frustration.

He rummaged through his bag, finally finding a black button up, threw it on and rubbed at his chest where the pain was located. He honestly didn't think the rubbing helped any but it didn't make it worse so he did it anyway. Damon picked up the offending shirt from the bed and was shoving it into an empty compartment in his bag when a lump of metal caught his attention. He pulled it from his bag and held it up, knowing he had never seen this necklace before, but feeling like it was precious anyway. He placed it into his jeans pocket, finished dressing, gathered up his belongings and headed out.

It wasn't until he was flying down the road that an image flashed through his mind, causing him to slam the brakes on or risk crashing his baby. Through the crippling pain he pulled out the necklace to be sure it was the same one. He didn't have to look closely, it was so unique he couldn't mistake it, what he didn't understand he how he could dream about placing this on the mystery girl when he'd never seen it, or her, before in his life. Of more concern was how the hell it found its way into his bag. As the tide of pain became a gentler wave of tightness, Damon reached across the car and threw the possessed necklace into his glove compartment, slamming it shut on the jewelry and the girl it triggered in his mind.

Centering his mind squarely on Katherine, Damon accelerated once more and continued his journey to find the woman he loves more than anything on this earth.


Elena walked down the stairs feeling very uneasy. The pain had dulled but she had a feeling that things were about to get… complicated. She didn't know what she was about to hear but everything had been building to this moment since she woke up yesterday. She could feel the tension increasing with each step she took and expected to find the three other occupants of the house sitting somewhere waiting for her awkwardly. Instead what she found was a group of people, comfortably eating together and enjoying each other's company. She had been so stuck in her own head she hadn't heard the banter and laughter until she saw the view. Ric was serving toast, eggs and hash browns to the teens seated at the table while Jeremy regaled the others with stories of his time in Denver.

Ric looked up as Elena entered the room and he handed her a fully laden plate with a smile. She returned his smile and sat at the table opposite Jeremy who passed her the jug of orange juice. Elena thought it was weird how normal this all seemed. She never could have picked a year and a half ago that this could possibly be a normal family breakfast for her. Elena began eating her breakfast and was pleased when Ric sat beside her and she didn't flinch, it felt like progress. Between mouthfuls of food she watched the people at the table and looked around the room, noting all the similarities and differences from her memories. It startled her when Ric leaned over and quietly asked, "How long you reckon?"

Elena blinked and turned her head to look at Ric, brows creased in confusion, "Umm…"

He tipped his head at her brother and best friend on the other side of the table, deep in conversation, bodies angled towards each other, food on the table forgotten.

"Oh. Right. They do seem quite… engrossed, don't they?" She replied.

"They are right here and can hear you, you know?" Jeremy interjected, giving both Ric and Elena a disapproving look. The two being scolded burst into laughter and even Bonnie had a hard time keeping a straight face, while Jeremy's face reddened, "yeah okay, fun's over, time to get down to business. Don't we have a meeting in 20 minutes Ric?" A fresh bout of laughter broke out at the seriousness of Jeremy's tone and this time Bonnie did join in. "Children! I've come home to a bunch of children!" Jeremy complained, throwing his hands in the air, as he stood to begin clearing the table.

"As much as I hate to say it, Mr Adult over there is right. He and I do have a meeting in 20 minutes so we need to clear the table. You girls can head to the living room if you like. I know you have things to discuss too." Ric's tone was calm but Elena could recognize the tension starting to creep into the group.


"What do you mean Caroline?" Stefan shouted, "Why are you trying to keep me from my girlfriend too?" His body was rigid with rage, this was exactly what Caroline was afraid of when Klaus made his suggestion. And from seeing this reaction she had to grudgingly admit that Klaus had a point.

"You know me Stefan, I would never try to keep you from Elena. You know that I think you two are forever." She spoke calmly, trying to soothe the enraged vampire with her voice.

"Then why would you say this? Why would you want to go without me?" He was pacing as he spoke and Caroline was very aware that he was a century and half older than her, if he wanted to do something then she was no match for him physically. She had to hope to get through to him logically. She sighed inwardly at attempting to use logic on a Salvatore, even Stefan, while he was in this state.

"Stefan, I need you to really hear what I'm trying to tell you. I want you to see Elena, I really do. But is this who you want her to see?" Caroline rotated Stefan's body so that he could see his reflection in the hall mirror. She wondered if he saw what she did. He was in full vampire mode; bloodshot eyes, prominent veins, fangs protruding, and his hair was at all angles from where he'd been gripping it tightly while pacing around the room. She doubted he was even aware he had vamped out, so agitated as he was.

She watched as Stefan took several ragged and stuttering deep breaths. After a few moments his fangs and veins had retreated leaving him looking slightly less deranged, but only slightly. Caroline couldn't imagine the repercussions of Elena seeing him like this. "Alright. I see your point. But if I feed first I'll be fine. Besides Klaus already compelled me not to want her blood."

"He did what?!" she snorted derisively, "of course he did. Protecting his assets at all costs." Caroline rolled her eyes and looked at Stefan in the mirror. "I think you feeding first is a great idea. But I'd still like to go in alone first. Listen… she knows me. I've been her friend forever Stefan. Even if she has lost a year and a half, she will remember me!" Caroline takes a breath before speaking again. "You told me she doesn't remember you, which means you are trying to start all over again. But the difference this time is that you have me to help. I can match make the two of you, we already know that it will work fantastically. Can you try this my way Stefan?" She takes his hand and turns him from the mirror to look directly at her.

"Alright. Your way." He was much calmer when he spoke this time and Caroline was very pleased with herself for thinking on her feet. Klaus was going to owe her big time when she caught up with him.

"Great! Let's get some breakfast."


The two girls were sitting cross legged on the couch facing each other. The silence was deafening. Just as Elena was about to say something, say anything at all, Bonnie questioned, "what do you remember about my family?"

This wasn't exactly the question Elena was expecting and it gave her pause, it felt like a test. "Umm… you live with your dad. Your mum left years ago. You spend a lot of time with your Grams." Elena realized her mistake and winced awkwardly, "or you did… before she died I guess. Sorry I know you told me that yesterday, I just forgot for a moment."

Bonnie put her hand on Elena's knee, "it's okay Elena, to me it was a while ago, to you it was yesterday. It's really okay." Bonnie smiled at Elena before continuing, "So, what do you remember about my Grams?"

"Well, I know she was a lecturer at Whitmore… and she did not act anything like a grandmother!" Elena giggled, "Remember how she used to always say you were a witch!"

"Yeah. I remember. The thing is though… she was right." Bonnie sat quietly waiting for a reaction. Unfortunately, Elena was too stunned to provide one. "I really am a witch Elena."

"Umm… what does that even mean?" she managed to ask.

Before Bonnie could reply the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" yelled Jeremy who came flying through the living room with a salt grinder that he dropped onto the coffee table before running for the door, "No feathers this time Bonnie! That shit was everywhere for months last time!" he called back as he opened the door to a middle-aged man in a charcoal suit carrying a brown leather briefcase. "Good morning. Mr Monty is it?" Jeremy asked putting his hand out for the man to shake. Bonnie noticed that Jeremy kept his hand inside the house so that the man would need to step forward in order to shake it. She was impressed and her face showed it.

"Okay, can you please stop ogling my brother and tell me what the hell you are talking about? And why did Jeremy give you a salt grinder?"

"Because he is a smart ass! Like anyone noticed the feathers last time! Everyone knows that the only one who does any cleaning around here is Damon!" She said loud enough for Jeremy to hear, and Ric also heard based on the chuckles coming from the kitchen. She turned back to Elena only to see her doubled over in pain clutching at her chest, doing her best to breathe through the pain. "Crap, Elena! I'm so sorry. I forgot that would happen. I have no idea why it is happening but I think it's the first thing we need to work on." Bonnie moved closer to Elena and rubbed her back hoping to provide some comfort while the pain ebbed away.

When Elena could catch her breath again, she pointed to the salt grinder, "So?" Without another word Bonnie moved towards the coffee table and ground out a pile of salt. "Weird, but whatever."

"Just watch…" Bonnie placed her hand over the pile and gently lifted it, drawing up tiny specks which began to float in the air. She rotated her hand and they spun with her, twirling into a salt tornado around the room. Elena looked on in wonder, she couldn't believe that this was even possible, yet here it was and everyone else in the house acted as if it were totally normal.

"Wow… so this is like, really real?" her eyes were still focused on the spinning flakes when the doorbell rang again.

The flakes dropped to the floor as Bonnie released them and called to the kitchen, "I'll get this one." She stood, patting Elena on the shoulder on the way past and opened the door to Caroline. "Hi."

"Hi Bonnie. I'd like to see Elena please." Her voice dripped with venom, but Bonnie knew enough not to be bullied by her friend.

"Caroline of course you can see her. But two things. He…" she pointed to Stefan leaning against Caroline's car, "stays out here. And you don't mention the 'V' word. She has no memory of it and we are only just going through the witchy stuff right now."

"No problem." With a fake smile she pushed past Bonnie and into the living room where Elena had begun to stand after hearing Caroline's voice. "Oh My God Elena! Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay! You are okay right?" she hugged Elena to her chest before drawing her back away.

"I'm fine Caroline. Well, except for missing 18 months of memories and for you almost crushing me with your hug but otherwise, yes I'm fine." Elena couldn't help but smile at the antics of her blonde friend. She may be missing a year and a half but Caroline was still exactly the same. Elena followed Caroline as she sat on the couch where Bonnie had just been.

"She's fine, well pretty much fine-ish Caroline," Bonnie said entering the room, "but we haven't figured out what has happened yet. So, don't overwhelm her too much." She smiled.

"I'm fine Bonnie, it would be weird if Caroline wasn't like this, then I'd worry," Elena laughed.

"In that case… I'm going to be very me and advocate for a boy; your boyfriend desperately wants to see you," Caroline slowed as she saw Elena withdraw into the cushions of the couch, "Look… he's just outside, he"

"He's outside?!" Elena shrank further into a ball, "please don't let him in, I don't know who is… he gets so angry when I don't know, please don't let him in!"

Bonnie sat between Caroline and Elena and cradled Elena to her chest, "I won't let him in, it's okay. I won't let him in," she repeated to Elena in a soothing tone, looking over her shoulder at Caroline with a look that could only be girlfriend code for 'see, I told you!'.

Caroline was shocked but nodded her head slowly. Elena was clearly terrified of Stefan, she was so glad she took Klaus' advice not to bring Stefan in, although she was quite sure Bonnie would have removed him herself if she needed to. She looked up as she heard Ric yelling and running for the door, "hold on a sec!" she watched curiously as he opened the door then stood aside before calling out to someone in the kitchen, "alright, go for it." Before she had a chance to react she was sucked straight out of the front door and landed roughly on the porch.

Stefan raised an eyebrow and with a look of amusement asked, "what the hell just happened to you?" he looked between Caroline, leaning back on her elbows and the still open front door. He could hear peals of laughter coming from Ric and Jeremy as they walked a man in a suit to the front door. The man clearly had no idea why there was laughter or why there was a blonde teenager laying on her back in the middle of the front porch. He hurried out the driveway and back into his shiny BMW, tearing out of the street at high speed. Stefan came to a realization and at vamp speed threw himself at the doorway. He bounced off with such impact that he landed on the porch, half on top of Caroline who was still dumbfounded and hadn't bothered to move.

"Oomph! Ow! You want to explain what the hell just happened?" she exclaimed, shoving Stefan roughly off of her.

With a growl he said, "they changed the locks." Caroline dropped her head to the porch with a thud. Perfect, she thought, just perfect. From where she lay she could hear Bonnie still trying to soothe Elena with the words, "he can't get in Elena, it's going to all be okay."