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Elena's POV

My entire existence is in a euphoric state of satisfaction. I hadn't realized how ravenous I was for his affections. My head rests on his chest directly underneath his chin. It is about 3 in the morning and still dark. I can't sleep, which is quite alright. I don't want to miss a second of this moment. I feel Damon's breath quicken a little, but enough to tell he is conscious. He rubs my bare back with a firm, but gentle touch.

"Huh?" Damon utters in the dark.

"What?"

"I've wanted to do that for a really long time."

I smile and realize that I had too.

"You know what?" he asks, "you made loving you a real bitch. I used to give you my all just to be shut down, but I apparently didn't get the hint." I laugh realizing how much I regret being so stubborn.

"I'm sorry for not ever giving you a chance." My voice suddenly turns serious and genuine. "You deserved one."

"I know."

We lie there, clinging to each other until the sun starts to peak through the drapes.

"We should probably get going." I nod my head in response and get up to go take a shower while he packs up our stuff.

Once we put our suitcases in our trunks, we stand in front of each other on the sidewalk in between our cars.

"I'm going to take I-72 west and then head north on US-61, so I guess this is where we separate," Damon confirms.

"Yeah, I guess so."

We stand there briefly before hugging each other. A couple minutes pass before we let go. As he turns to get into his car, he pauses and glances back my way. "Oh, how I have missed you."

"Right back at you," I say while waving one last time. He smiles and climbs into the driver's seat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I get into my car and head for Galesburg. The drive took about 2 hours and 30 minutes. When I passed the city line I stop at the police office to find the location of the murder victim's house and any loved ones. In no mood to deal with interrogative cops, I just compel them to give me the information and move on to the Johansson household.

It is a decent sized house with overgrown grass and weeds creeping through the cracks of the driveway and sidewalk. I peer into the windows, but the house is dead.

"Excuse me?" a woman yells from across the street.

I spin around faster than I should have, but the woman doesn't seem to notice.

"Yes?" I say in the politest voice I can manage.

"Nobody lives there."

"I know. I was just investigating."

"Are you a police officer?"

I walk over to the woman. She is a short, middle-aged woman with graying hair who smells of moth balls.

"No, I am a vampire, a friend of two other vampires, who wants to know what vampire killed the vampire that used to live in that house. Now go home and forget that we had this conversation."

Without batting an eye, she shrugs her shoulders and turns to leave. I watch as the woman crosses her lawn, but realize that I might be able to use her help.

"Wait!"

"Can I help you?"

"I hope so."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It turns out the woman was useful. She told me that Daniel Johansson lived in the house across the street alone, except he often had young women join him for various nights of the week. He didn't talk to many people on the block, except a woman named Laura. Laura moved back to Chattanooga about a week before Daniel was murdered. 2 weeks after Daniel was found dead, Laura was killed.

I searched Daniel's house and found a couple blood bags in the fridge and a few records of the man dating back to 1789.

I call Stefan and Damon to update them on the results of Galesburg. Stefan didn't find anything in Clarksville, except evidence of an old drunk vampire with no friends. Damon had just made it to Knoxville and had just gotten into the house of the victim.

"I think the woman, Laura knew that something or somebody was coming. She moved right before Daniel got murdered and was killed herself soon after."

"Ok, so you think we should go talk to anybody that might have known Laura?"

"I think it's our best bet."

"Have you talked to Stefan?"

"Yes, he just finished up in Clarksville and is heading to Chattanooga."

"I'm going to finish up here, just to make sure we don't miss anything and since Des Moines is not too far from Knoxville anyway Then I want to personally talk to anybody that might have known Laura."

"Ok."

"Thanks…bye."

I could hear a twinge of sadness in his voice. I guess when the hunt for his family's killer is over, he will have to face divorce. Divorce happens every day to normal human beings, but something tells me that it is much harder emotionally than any supernatural encounter we've experienced. And I feel guilty. If I hadn't come to town, he would have been able to protect his family from whatever attacked them. Damon's little suburban lifestyle would have stayed intact; taking Rose to dance lessons, teaching Ash baseball, having family dinners every night, and checking the closet for monsters. I also know that Damon had never been the soft, compassionate type. He was always rough, sarcastic, but devoted. He also had more love to give than anybody I knew, if you were lucky enough to receive it. Besides feeling guilty over Damon's marriage falling through, how long would it last anyways? How long could Damon exist in his cushy Martha Stewart Living/Better Homes & Gardens lifestyle?

It didn't matter now anyways. The world he built for himself in Nashville, Tennessee was over. Welcome back to the real world, Damon.