A/N: Thank you all for your kind reviews. Elena and Damon are finally arriving in Istanbul and problems are sure to ensue! The next couple of chapters are going to be a little short so I'm uploading them two at a time for the next two updates! Enjoy!

7. An Old Friend

I woke up after some time with Elena struggling in my arms. Startled, I looked down to see her eyes still closed and her mouth moving as she whispered my brother's name. My heart dropped until I heard her next words.

"Stefan, stop," she whimpered.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she continued to struggle muttering the same words over and over.

"Elena," I whispered, shaking her shoulder gently to wake her. "Elena, wake up."

At those words, her eyes tore open and a scream emitted from her lips.

"Damon!"

Once my name escaped her mouth, she was fully awake. The flight attendant came hurrying down the aisle toward us and nosey passengers turned in their seats.

"Is everything ok here?" the flight attendant asked.

Elena was busy wiping tears out of her eyes, so I answered for her.

"Everything's fine. She was just dreaming," I flashed the woman a kind smile trying to convince her to leave us alone.

I turned to Elena, who still looked disoriented. I took my thumb and wiped at a stray tear that was falling down her face.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I uh, I don't know. I must have had a bad dream."

Despite her attempt to sound unfazed, fear from her dream remained in her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it," I offered.

"No," she firmly said, as she pulled away from me, opting to lean on the window now that she was awake. "I'm fine."

"If you say so," I replied as I leaned back in my seat, already missing the warmth of her body against me.

…

After a long flight, we descended into Istanbul as the early morning sun was rising in the east. The domed roofs of the ancient mosques combined with the modern skyscrapers in perfect contract.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Elena said from her position reading against the window where she had continued to sit for the rest of the flight. She had seemed to recover from the panic she had woke in and watched the skyline draw closer.

Once we were back on the ground, we fought the crowd of the airport as we picked up our luggage and made it back through security again. While we waited in line to show our passports, or more accurately compel people into thinking we had passports, Elena started to get antsy, asking questions about my plan of action.

"Damon, how are we going to know what to do now that we are here? We know that Katherine came this far, but how do we know where in Bulgaria she is headed?

I had expected this question much earlier than now, so I wasn't surprised it was being asked, but I would have much rather avoided it all together.

"I have my sources," I said, trying to sound final so she wouldn't continue prying. Knowing Elena as I did, however, I knew that it wouldn't work.

"Sources? Like, you know someone here?"

"You could say that," I responded. "An old friend. I called as soon as I realized where Katherine was headed. My friend agreed to meet her plane when it arrived and find out where she was headed. Hopefully she was able to do it without Katherine realizing it."

"She?"

I smiled at the hint of what I wanted to pretend was jealousy in her voice.

"Yes, she."

"Oh," Elena replied nonchalantly. "How long have you been friends?"

At that question my stomach turned ever so slightly with unease and instead of answering her question, I issued her a warning.

"Listen Elena, don't bring too much attention to yourself when we are around her and keep quiet. It's best I handle talking to her."

Elena looked confused, so I tried to explain.

"She's the kind of friend I would have had before I came to Mystic Falls. She's going to find it odd that I'm traveling with someone we would have considered a meal the last time I saw her."

"Who is she?" Elena asked.

"Her name is Claire."

….