A/N - So this is the longest chapter yet. This fic is so much fun to write and I have quite a few things planed. I think this might be my personal favorite chapter so far. Review to let me know what you think!


"Caroline?" Bonnie said from her doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I've noticed you seemed a little distracted lately and I wanted to see if I could cheer you up." She smiled and held up the basket she was holding. "I brought cookies."

Bonnie smiled, but Caroline could tell she was just doing it out of courtesy. "Come on in."

Caroline walked into the house, plopping down on the sofa in the living room. She pulled out two cookies and handed her friend one. Bonnie took it and took a bite, nodding to tell Caroline that it was good.

"Okay look." Caroline said, not being a fan of silences. "What is going on with you? You need to tell me. I'm your friend."

Bonnie shook her head. "I can't Caroline. I'm sorry, it's just, I'm trying to work some family stuff out. You know? I can't really say anything else."

Caroline's shoulders drooped. "Okay fine. But at least let me cheer you up with cookies and a movie."

This time Bonnie's smile was real. "Sounds like fun."


It had been too long since Damon had gotten a good long break. Ever since his encounter with the Sheriff, he had not gotten a moment's peace, between working at the mechanics shop and making himself scarce when his brother brought Elena over.

However, he had managed to find some of the plant that the sheriff had been telling him about, vervain, and he was planning on using that to his advantage. He grabbed a handful and headed out to the Grill, ready to figure out what was up in his town.

He immediately spotted the Sheriff, sitting at a table all by herself, waiting to someone to call her with an emergency. He headed over and sat down across from her.

"Damon?"

"Hi Sheriff. So I looked around for that plant you were telling me about and I found some."

The sheriff looked interested. "Awesome. Can I buy some from you?"

"Not until you tell me exactly what you know." This was it. He was either going to find out this town's secret or she wasn't going to get any vervain.

She shook her head. "What do you mean. What I know about what?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Look. We both know that you know a lot more about that attack on the Gilbert kid then you are letting on and I'm willing to bet that you need vervain a lot more than you let on. Either tell me exactly what is happening, or you won't get any vervain."

She crossed her arms. "Are you trying to blackmail me?" she asked.

Damon pulled back. "No. I just want to know what you know."

She thought about his offer before looking back at him. "I'm sorry Damon. I can't tell you anything. And trust me, you don't really want to know anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said checking her watch, "I have somewhere I have to be." She stood up. Damon narrowed his eyes, watching her leave.

He had thought she would cave. But he wasn't ready to give up just yet.

The moment she was out the door he stood up and followed her out, jumping in his car and pulling out behind her police vehicle. He stayed back far enough, with enough people between them, that she didn't seem to notice that he was tailing her.

She pulled up to the Lockwood's manson and Damon continued to the next street, pulling over and parking far enough away so that no one would see his car from the house. He got out and looked around before running across the lawn and standing outside the window, which happened to be open.

"Mayor Lockwood, I think we may have a problem." he heard her saying.

"What's wrong?" said another voice. The mayor Damon assumed. So whatever they were hiding, the mayor was in on it as well.

"Damon Salvatore is refusing to give us any vervain." the sheriff again. "He wanted to trade it for information about what we were doing. He is asking too many questions, getting to close."

The mayor took a deep breath. "Do you think he knows about vampires?" Vampires? Damon was caught off guard by such a strange concept, but it made sense. Vampires would explain the strange attack on the Gilbert boy where he was almost drained of all his blood.

The sheriff must have shook her head because the mayor was the one who talked next. "Well, we need that vervain. You are going to have to convince him to hand it over, or we will all be susceptible to compulsion and be easy prey. We need to keep ourselves and those we care about safe."

"Trust me, mayor, I know. I worry about Caroline all the time." She took a deep breath. "I will try again, but it won't be easy. Damon doesn't seem the type to take no for an answer."


Stefan was sitting in his room writing in his journal while the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the evening sky. The doorbell rang. His brother had left for the Grill a little while earlier, so there was no one else home to get the door. He got up and set his journal facing down to keep the page he was at.

When he pulled the door open he broke into a wide smile. "Elena."

"Hi Stefan. I'm sorry for dropping by without warning like this, I just," she shrugged, "missed you."

He laughed. "It's fine. I wasn't really doing anything anyway. Just writing in my journal. Come on in."

Her face lit up and she stepped through into the living room. She turned back to face him as he walked toward her. "So what, exactly were you writing in that journal of yours?"

"Oh, I don't know. It couldn't have been about a certain beautiful girl I know."

"You were writing about me?" She asked, surprised. He nodded. "So, what did you write about me?"

"Just how annoying and needy you are."

"Hey!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "That's not very nice." They were both smiling and laughing. Finally their laughter died down and Stefan couldn't help but stare. She really was beautiful.

"What are you staring at?" Elena asked, a little shy.

"You." He said, not giving any more of an explanation. She stepped closer and put her hands on his chest. He brushed her hair behind her ear, even though none had fallen out. He lost himself in her warm brown eyes, leaning in even closer to her. He held her face in his hand but hesitated, remembering the last time they had almost kissed. "Is this okay?" he asked, not wanting to overstep his boundaries.

She nodded and whispered, "Yes." And then she reached up and kissed him. It was soft and gentle. For the first time Stefan wholeheartedly knew something about himself. He was in love with Elena Pierce. He kissed her back and knew it was right. He reached around her, pulling her closer to himself, kissing her with the whole of his being. He didn't know how long they kissed. It felt like forever and the space between a second at the same time, but he knew he didn't want it to end.

Eventually they pulled apart. "That was . . ." Elena started to say.

"Amazing." Stefan finished for her.

Buzz. Buzz.

They both groaned and Stefan pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing the answer button. Elena stepped back and sat down on the couch.

Stefan put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" he said.

"Stefan, brother. I need you to do something for me." said the voice at the other end of the line.

Stefan sighed. "What do you need Damon?"

"There is this plant called vervain in the basement. It has little tiny purple flowers on it. I need you to go grab a piece and hide the rest of it. Somewhere no one would look for it."

"Why? What is it?" Stefan had done quite a few weird things for his brother before, but this was one of the strangest.

"I can't really tell, but, please, just do it?"

Stefan was taken a little aback by his brother using the word please, so he decided not to push it. "Okay fine." he said before hanging up the phone and turning back to Elena.

Before he could explain to her what his brother had said, there was a knock on the door and a familiar voice called, "Stefan? It's Elena. Are you in there?"