Disclaimer: Hey guys! I still do not own The Vampire Diaries. Sigh. Someone gift it to me for my birthday coming up? :D

This chapter is actually dedicated to all who have been here for me, whether it is from chapter one or who just started reading it. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

Everyone is rooted to the spot, staring at the events unfurling on the screens. The first plane was a shock but the second? How could two planes end up hitting buildings?

No way that's an accident. Oh God, that's why Stefan needs to talk to his superiors!

I gasp. This is not going to end well I think…

I break out of the trance I've been in since seeing what happened in New York and step away, heading to Carol's office.

I look around as I go and there are still people on the phone and computers, calling and emailing desperately to find out what is going on and whether people they know are hurt.

I step into Carol's office and she turns around, her usual calm composure fraying at the edges.

"Elena!" She exclaims.

"Hi, what's going on? I arrive and shortly after, I see planes crashing into buildings?"

"Yes, it was a planned attack. It's believed to be a terrorist threat." My eyes widen.

Guessing it was intentional is one thing, to have it confirmed is another thing entirely. Why would someone do this? It must have been completely unexpected, otherwise Stefan would have said something, wouldn't he?

"Elena, I would normally ask you to go there but I'm not going to as I know you already have stuff to do here. Can I ask you to man your phone today and try to get as much information as you can?" She pauses briefly before continuing, "I'm not asking you to use your… source to gather information. Just, could you help us get organised around here? As horrible as this is, it will be front page news."

I nod in response. "I'll stay by the phone and take notes of whatever information comes in. Not all will be valid though."

"I know, but whatever we can get will be good. And there are those with family and friends over there. Hell, I sent Jerry there a few days ago. He's fine, I called him and he says he's heading there now to get more news and to help out but he could have been hurt and it would have been my responsibility." Her voice gets louder towards the end and now I'm glad I shut the door after coming in.

I walk over to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Carol. We'll sort through all of this mess, it'll all—" I trail off.

I can't say it'll all be fine, I have no idea if it will be. Who knows how long it will take to recover from this?

Summer runs in and exclaims, "Another plane just crashed into the pentagon!"

Carol looks even more shocked and I shake my head in disbelief.

What the hell is going on?

I tell myself I'll ask Stefan later what's happening.

Summer heads out quickly and goes back to her desk. I turn from the door to Carol and repeat, "Calm down. We'll get everything dealt with."

Carol looks at me and nods slowly before seeming to try to get back to her usual calm and cool exterior. She manages it quite successfully. It's moments like this where I see where her nickname comes from. She's a tough one.

"Thank you, Elena. You can go now, let me know what information you receive." She goes to sit down at her desk after I agree and picks up the phone.

I go to my desk and sit down. Shortly after, the phone rings and I pick up.

"Elena Gilbert."

"Elena." My eyes widen. It's Damon.

"Hi. How are you?"

"I'm good." He replies. There's silence for a few seconds before he speaks again, "I'm in New York."

"What? Are you okay?" I ask worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was… I was supposed to be in one of the towers today. "

I'm shocked. Damon could have… He could be—

"Elena?" He asks.

"Yeah, hi, sorry. I just can't believe… Where are you now?"

"I'm a few blocks away from the buildings. It's really dusty here and there's smoke everywhere. I can't really see much. I just called in case you wanted to know what was going on here. I thought it could come in handy, with your job and all. Oh shit!"

I startle. "What? What is it?"

"The South Tower's collapsing." My hand comes up to my mouth.

"Oh my God."

Great Elena. That's been said plenty today, move on. Jeez, that voice is a bitch.

"Elena? You still there?" After a short time, his voice comes on over the line again.

"Where are you calling from? Like, what phone are you using, Damon?"

"I have a cell phone. The reception is pretty shit, with all the calls being made. I tried to reach you earlier but couldn't get through."

"Oh. Right. I, uh, I'm glad you're okay."I hear him sigh.

"I'm glad, too. Close call and all. Where's Stefan? I'd have thought he would be at your side."

"He's calling his superiors."

Damon snorts.

"Of course he is."

I frown. What does that mean?

"Of course he is, Damon, he is a Marine after all. This'll probably affect him in the long run, he could be sent off. There's talk of this being a terrorist attack?" I query, in case he has heard anything from his end.

"Well, this was no damn accident, that's for sure. Two planes? In both World Trade Centers? No way." He echoes what I said earlier.

"And the Pentagon."

"What about the Pentagon?" He sounds confused.

Does he not know? Surely he does.

"A plane hit the pentagon as well."

"Wow. I did not know that." He sounds as shocked as I was when I found out.

"How do you not know? You're probably surrounded by tv's and people listening to the news."

"I haven't really been paying attention to anything. Still in shock or whatever. And then I called you."

Which reminds me…

"Damon, how did you get my number?" I wonder, a frown on my face. I don't remember giving it to him.

"It's been programmed onto my phone. In case I had to talk about your article or whatever."

That makes sense.

"Oh, right. Hey, so what's going on there?" I ask, remembering this was supposed to be an informative phone call.

"Well, the tower just collapsed and there's so many people everywhere. There's a lot of dust around as well and people seem to just be running everywhere. They're still trying to evacuate people but now, there's too much debris around and since it's so hard to see…" He gets quieter towards the end.

There'll be so many lives lost. I can hear what he's saying without him having to come out and actually voice the words.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Hearing that someone I knew could have been one of the victims just makes me shudder.

He hears my intake of breath "Lena? Are you alright?"

I'm suddenly on the verge of tears and am trying desperately to compose myself.

"Elena? You okay?" He asks again, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just, Damon, what is going on?" My head drops and I lean into my palm, looking down.

"I don't know Elena. I don't know. But it'll be okay. Take notes, it'll distract you. You need to focus on something so write."

He seems to know me so well.

"Okay, start off with when you arrived, what you saw and what happened after."

I pick up a pen and a notepad and get ready to take down what he says. After a minute, he starts telling me what he saw.

"Well, I got to the buildings and," He stops, then starts up again, "I got to the buildings and as I was outside, the first plane just came out of nowhere and flew into the top of the North Tower."

I continue taking notes as he speaks and explains how after the first plane crashed, he started heading away from the buildings and from a few blocks away, after getting out of the way and helping a few others get out of the way of the debris that started falling, saw the second plane hit the South Tower. Since then, he's stayed away and tried to contact me between trying to help people who couldn't move quickly.

"You've been helping people?"

"Yes. There are old people with canes and children who can't find their parents. I need to help. It's absolutely disorganised here, obviously."

"I understand. That's sweet of you. You could get further away but you choose to help. That's very noble."

"I can't stay too close though, this dust will kill me if I stay too close. I'm far enough that it's not too strong, I was lucky to be able to get far enough away for it not to affect me too badly."

"Thank you for calling, Damon. Would you," I hesitate.

"Yes, Elena?"

"Would you mind staying on the phone?" I ask, still a little shaken after the whole situation has finally sunk in.

He responds immediately. "Of course."

"Thank you, Damon." I sigh, grateful.

"No problem, Elena. I'll stay on as long as the reception holds."

A/N: I am so sorry for the wait but I had two essays to hand in so I've been spending time writing that. Also, RL has been kicking my butt lately. BUT FINALLY, here is the chapter! Sorry if it seems really short. It was hard to try to capture the emotions of everyone during these events and imagine what was happening.

Let me know what you all thought and what you think will happen next. Every single review is appreciated and cherished. I like getting feedback as it helps me with my writing! Any feedback is good. Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed! I am so grateful for all of you! Teasers for reviewers ;)

See you next time! And I'll try and make it a quicker update this time as essays aren't due for a while. I still have work but I will put that aside when possible!