Hello darlings! I'm pretty pleased with how this chapter turned out actually - I'll be able to squeeze another chapter out of it, (you'll see later) but it won't be a very long chapter etc but that's ok, right? I really hope you enjoy this one - I've spent the last few weeks listening to sad music and re-enacting the scenes in my head. I've looked quite a sight. So yes, do enjoy. See you down below!

I stood there in that broom cupboard for quite some time. Alone, no lights on, the laughter and music sounding far off in the distance when in fact only a few inches of dry wall separated us. It seemed like another world, all of those people having fun and enjoying themselves, when I was here with an ache in my heart and a lump in my throat.

All of a sudden, the room felt extremely claustrophobic – I felt as if the walls were closing in on me. I yanked the door open and pushed through the crowd blindly, desperate to get out of the massive ballroom. "Sorry, sorry." I muttered as I trod on peoples feet and brushed past their dresses. I finally reached the back exit and hurried out into the cool lobby of the building.

It was far less crowded here; in fact there was nobody at all, only the odd staff member scampering through with a platter of food. I paced back and forth, ripping off my mask. I had no way of getting out of the place for at least two hours – Caroline had instructed cars and taxis to come at about two o clock this morning but apparently most people didn't leave until six. Not that the drivers minded – they were invited in to join in the celebrations.

I sighed and sat down on the edge of a chaise lounge. This night had gone from spectacular to horrendous in the space of five minutes. Now I was stuck here in this stupid dress with my hair all done up and my makeup over the top and these damn heels and I had nowhere to go. Just a few hours ago, I had thought I was actually one of them, part of the family. But then Damon Salvatore so willingly reminded me that I was nothing more than a staff member.

A kind looking waitress bustled over with a tray, with a mug of hot chocolate and biscuits. "You looked like you could do with it." She smiled and I wanted to weep with graciousness. After having Damon look at me with such anger, such hatred and disgust, it was such a relief to know that not all of mankind hated me.

I focused on the creamy chocolate, trying earnestly not to burst into tears.

About ten minutes passed, and the lobby was completely empty again. I got up to gaze out over the twinkling city through one of the huge windows. Had you told me two months ago this is where I would be, I wouldn't have believed it. Now…I didn't know how I was going to adjust to Mystic Falls again. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, shutting my eyes, letting all of the memories of my time here flow back to me. Because, ultimately, that was all they were ever going to be to me. Never anything more, never anything that developed into another story.

"Elena?" I turned to see Caroline padding towards me determinedly in her bare feet, clutching her heels in one hand, a champagne glass which she took periodic sips from in the other. Her hair was messy and her mascara and eyeliner were streaked down her face but she smiled sadly at me. "What happened to you?" I asked hollowly as she sat down beside me. "I broke up with Stefan." She said, and her voice shook on his name. Horror coursed through me as I stared at her, shaking my head. "Care, why?" I asked quietly, nearly afraid to know the answer.

She shrugged. "Damon came and dragged us into this room and spewed all of this bull about you selling information to some random guy and Stefan got really angry and believed him and they both started ranting about you and I mean, it's so obvious that that's not what happened and I told them that and they both got angry at me and it was quite frankly, ridiculous. And I'm not having my boyfriend give out about my best friend, right? So I broke up with him. That's what girlfriends do, right?" She gave me a watery smile and I could do nothing but hug her tightly

"You didn't have to do that sweetheart." I sighed in her silky hair. She took a few shuddery breaths and looked up at me. "Can…can I stay with you for a little while?" She asked in a tiny voice. "I haven't got anywhere to go, since I've been living with him for years and my parents basically told me that if this whole relationship went wrong, it was my fault and not to run to them for help and…" Her voice cracked and I felt my heart break in two.

"There'll always be a place in my house for you Caroline." I said honestly. "Hey, maybe we could even rent a place together." She lit up at this suggestion and I was about to hug her again when we heard voices. Very familiar voices in fact.

"I really don't know about this." Tyler muttered to Katherine as they hurried across the lobby. They didn't notice us, partly because they were so into their conversation and partly because we were concealed by the couch. Katherine scowled at him. "Don't be stupid Tyler. She'll never work it out." "Yeah, well, you don't know Elena. Girl's too smart for her own good." Katherine rolled her eyes at him as they began to make their way up a staircase. "We'll talk properly upstairs, ok? Someone will hear us here."

They disappeared upstairs and I turned to Caroline to see that she had a devilish grin on her face. She put a finger to her lips, pulled her phone out of her bra and gracefully stood up to tiptoe across the lobby. I stared after her until she turned and mimed taking off her shoes until I did the same and gestured wildly for me to follow. I sighed. May as well add fat to the fire.

We padded in our bare feet after them, wincing whenever one of us caused the stair to creak. The hallway upstairs was dark but one of the doors was slightly open, letting out a sliver of light. We crept up to it and listened intently. I peered in through the tiny space.

Katherine was perched at a desk, tapping at a computer. Tyler was pacing. "I don't know Katherine. I mean, sure it was fun to mess around with them but this…we might get in trouble."
Katherine snorted, pausing to look up at him. "I'm Katherine Pierce." She drawled, rolling her eyes. "I don't get in trouble." She turned back to the computer and resumed typing. "Besides, I've been getting the price up on this deal since Matt offered it to me." Matt? Maybe I was being superstitious, but I couldn't help but feel that Katherine was talking about my old editor Matt. Caroline glanced at me and I saw her tap the record button on her phone.
"We're going to be anonymous tips though, right?" Tyler asked anxiously and Katherine glared at him. "The Daily Prophet is going to say that we're close friends of the family. What's wrong with you anyway?" She snapped and his reply caused both Caroline and I to clamp hands over our mouths to stop gasps escaping.
"Katherine, we hacked her computer! Both of their computers in fact! You can go to jail for that, don't you get it?" He raked a hand through his hair, clearly freaked out of the thought of prison. I could see why. Tyler had power because of his reputation, but the people in prison wouldn't care about his reputation. They'd just kick his ass. (I wasn't even ashamed of how this made me smile.)

Katherine glowered at him. "Be quiet!" She hissed. "My business is built on hacking people's computers, that's how I got where I am today. I've done it a million times before; I do it every other day. You think I'm going to mess up? Besides, I have a lot more to lose than you pretty boy. So button it."
Tyler huffed as Caroline hit a button and sat back grinning. "There. Tomorrow morning, the entire world will know Damon Salvatore's entire life story. Even if they did publish that stupid book, they wouldn't make a dime." She got up and stretched and even in his anxiety, I saw Tyler sneak a glance at her chest. I rolled my eyes but saw they were coming towards the door. "Let's go." Caroline mouthed and I nodded. I couldn't resist the temptation to freak them out however so I slowly reached out then slammed the door shut.

I heard Katherine squeal from inside but I didn't stop to listen to her other profanities as Caroline had grabbed my hand and was pulling me down the corridor into another room. We both stood quietly in the pitch black, holding our breaths as Katherine stormed down the corridor, with Tyler running after her, assuring her it had just been the wind. We waited for them to disappear completely before turning to each other, our expressions both stunned and thrilled.

"Did you catch it all?" I asked, afraid of the answer. Caroline pressed the play button and Katherine's confident voice came out clearly, every word clear. "I think we just uncovered a major hacking scheme." Caroline said wondrously. A devious grin spread across her face and she began to search through her phone contacts. (Of which there were hundreds.) "I don't think the lawyer will mind being woken up at this hour of the morning for this." She sang as she hit the green button and held the phone to her ear. "Hello? Conrad? I think we may have the biggest case of your life for you…"

In the space of five minutes, Caroline's lawyer had everything sorted out with the police. A quick check showed that all of Katherine's rival companies had been shut down due to information impossible for outsiders to know being leaked. It in fact turned out that they had been looking into her for a long time. When we promised that we had solid evidence, they told us they would come as soon as they could.

About an hour later, they arrived. Caroline and I made sure we had a good place in the lobby to watch. About six squad cars pulled up and they just pushed the door open and walked in. Caroline beamed at them and we gleefully offered to show them the way to Katherine. The three male officers seemed a bit stunned by our attire but the women took it in their stride, thanking us graciously. Caroline practically skipped into the ballroom and I was guessing she had never had so much fun in her life.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea when we walked in. I saw Damon and Stefan push to the front of them and Stefan groaned. A weird quiet fell over the room and Caroline cleared her throat. "Oh Katherine!" She sing songed. The crowd parted again, giving us a clear view of the once confident blonde, now looking terrified. She plastered a fake smile on her face when she saw everyone was staring at her and sauntered towards us. "What seems to be the problem Caroline?" She simpered, focusing on the police officers. The one who had thanked us stepped forward. "Katherine Pierce, you're under arrest for hacking multiple databases. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney…" She carried on through Katherine's rights, who's expression grew more and more fearful. It was when the woman made a move to put handcuffs on her that Katherine really snapped.

"No!" She screeched, pushing the guard away. "NO!" She spun around wildly, searching through the crowd. Her eyes narrowed on someone who was attempting to slink away. "Tyler!" She snarled and much to my joy, someone pushed him out to the front. Tyler shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot while Katherine pointed at him desperately. "It was him!" She cried, and I could see the woman physically hold back an eye roll. "M'am, we're arresting the both of you." This caused Tyler to practically spit at Katherine. "I told you this would happen, man! I told you!" He continued on babbling until finally the other guards had enough and came forward to literally force him into handcuffs. His rights were read to him as well and Caroline and I watched smugly as the two were led away.

We both felt that we were important enough to trot after them so we caught a glimpse of them being pushed into separate police cars. The woman turned to us. "Thanks a lot for your help tonight kids." She said and we both glowed. "Stay nearby, ok? We'll want to talk to you both in the morning." She stifled a yawn and Caroline instantly looked horrified. "You're tired? Oh my goodness, we didn't mean to get you out of bed!" The woman snorted. "It's fine sweetheart, I was already –" But Caroline had sped off. A few moments later, she reappeared, clutching a cardboard tray of coffees for all of the officers. She practically thrust them at the officer, who smiled gratefully. "Thanks pet. You two have a good night. I'm Officer Jones by the way." She gave us a final wave and sat into the car and they disappeared down the driveway.

We watched until the cars were out of sight completely. "We just got Katherine Pierce arrested." I realized aloud, the enormity of what had just happened hitting me. Caroline giggled then clamped her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry." She said, her voice muffled. "But…did you see her face? I'm guessing Katherine's never been treated like that before!" She giggled again and this set me off.

We ended up snorting with laughter, clutching each other for support so we didn't ruin our dresses. It was only when we heard someone clearing their throat that we realized basically the entire crowd of guests had gathered at the front of the house, staring at us. Some were trying in vain to get a glimpse down the driveway. Caroline composed herself and pulled herself up to full height. "Ladies and gentlemen, there's been a slight…complication. But it's been sorted out now; you're not going to get a look at anything so please go back inside and carry on the festivities." There was a bit of grumbling but when Caroline raised an eyebrow at them, they turned and shuffled back inside slowly, leaving only two people – Damon and Stefan.

We all tensed slightly and I couldn't help but think to a few nights ago, when I was curled up against Damon and Caroline was on Stefan's lap and we were all talking and laughing and drinking champagne. Now…it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to go near each other. Stefan couldn't take his eyes off Caroline, and she was looking determinedly at the ground so it looked like the talking was going to be left to Damon and I. Marvelous.

"Would you care to explain," He murmured, his voice velvety and smooth. "Why Katherine Pierce was just arrested at our ball?"
I bit my lip. "It's…well, it's all a bit complicated. Don't worry though; I'm sure your lawyer will explain it tomorrow." His piercing eyes bore into me but I stood my ground, gazing steadily back. "Maybe you could explain it now." He said softly, but I caught the threatening growl. Caroline did too, because she glanced up from the ground to glare at him. "Are you sure you want her to do that? She might sell any information she hears." Although this didn't really make any sense, Caroline was gaining confidence now, linking her arm with mine as she continued to glare at Damon. His jaw had tensed on the word sell but he continued to gaze at her coolly.

"We're going to find a hotel to stay in." She snapped, and Stefan's eyes made me want to push her into his arms and force them to kiss.
"You're…you're not staying?" He asked brokenly. "Or going back to the apartment?" The flame in her eyes died and she went back to looking at the dirt. I felt her give a tiny tug on my arm and I knew what she wanted. I began to walk down the driveway backwards, still facing them. "We'll…we'll see you soon." I said quietly, not actually sure if this would be true, before turning fully to begin the long journey to the gates where the taxis and chauffeurs had now arrived. Caroline hurried after me and this time, I was the one to grab her hand.

I was woken the next morning to the phone ringing. I groggily rolled out of bed and made a few swipes at the phone before actually landing on it. "Hello?" I mumbled sleepily. "Ms. Gilbert? This is Officer Jones speaking. We'd like to get you and Ms. Forbes down to the station to ask you a few questions about last night. Just details, stuff like that. How quickly can you be down here?" I yawned and glanced at the time. Oh my. It was past two o clock in the afternoon. No wonder I felt so awful. "Is an hour ok?" I offered, certain there was no way Caroline would be ready before then. "Perfect. See you soon Ms. Gilbert."

I stretched as I looked around the hotel room. By the time the taxi had got back into the city, Caroline and I were so exhausted that we didn't care where we ended up. It turned out to be a quiet, clean, sweet hotel, with rooms that smelt like fresh cotton. I went to rouse the sleeping blonde, and she groaned as I pulled back the covers. "Get up. I'm taking a quick shower then you can have the bathroom." She lifted her head and I saw makeup smudged all over her pillow. I realized guiltily that she had been crying during the night. "We've to go down to the station." I said, gently this time. She mumbled something and swung her legs out of bed. Satisfied, I went to figure out how to use the shower.

An hour later, (as promised) we arrived at the police station. I had been surprised when Caroline appeared with no makeup, tracksuit bottoms (worn beautifully of course) and her hair in a bun but I couldn't blame her. I was practically in the same thing. Officer Jones was waiting for us and she smiled kindly when we basically stumbled in. "We're just going to need you to tell us exactly what happened and let us listen to this recording." She explained as she led us deep into the seemingly endless building. "It won't take long."

She was wrong. It turned out; these things did take a long time. A very long time. We spent the next three days telling and retelling our story, explaining why we recorded what we had, why Damon and I fought, what exactly did I know about Katherine Pierce? And so on. We were exhausted but at least it kept our mind off two certain people.

However our minds could only be kept off them for so long. On our fourth day, we were met by the Salvatore's lawyer, Conrad Murray instead of the usual Officer Jones. He was the fiercest lawyer in America or at least it was rumored. He took no prisoners, had no mercy and had a reputation for making grown criminals cry. I wasn't completely positive if that was true, because the smiley man with overly whitened teeth that greeted us didn't look like he could hurt a fly.

"Caroline darling, so lovely to see you." He gushed, kissing her on the cheek. His eyes swiveled to me and he drank me in before clearly deciding that I was fairly likely to be innocent of any crimes and kissing me on the cheek too.

"So my sweethearts, today I'm going to have you doing something that may be a bit uncomfortable but we want to win this case, hm?" He purred as he led us through a series of halls. Caroline and I glanced at each other uneasily but we didn't have time to protest as he flung open a door and there they were.

Damon looked like his usual self, only a lot more tired and his eyes were emotionless, hollow. Stefan looked fine at first glance but on second, I realized how dreadful he looked. His eyes were sad, he had dark circles under them and he seemed to be constantly frowning. Caroline froze when she saw him. It looked like she wasn't going to say anything so I took it as my cue.
"What's going on?" I hissed slowly at Conrad who smiled fake sympathetically. "Darling, I know you're all in a little 'lovers tiff' but I really don't think we should put the entire case on the line because you're in a little row? Come on now pet, you sit here with Damon and Stefan, you get up and come with me and I'll bring you two to a different room so you can have a bit of privacy. Stefan stood up slowly and Conrad beamed at us before ushering a rather startled Caroline and Stefan out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

My breath caught slightly when I realized that we were completely and utterly alone together. Damon waited for me to speak but I didn't say anything, instead choosing to stare determinedly at the carpet. He sighed but when he spoke, it was the last thing I expected him to say.
"You are aware that this case will never get to court, aren't you?" His voice was its usual purr which wrapped around me like a hug after three days of not hearing it but I barely noticed that, since I was staring at him in horror. "Why not?" I asked in total disbelief. "All of the evidence is there – and we've been told over and over that –" "Please be sensible Ms. Gilbert. Katherine Pierce, actually being charged with a crime? Besides, even if she was, she'd rig the jury."
I slumped down in a chair, feeling totally dejected. All of our work, and I had thought that Katherine would finally have to pay for what she had done – but then this whole world wasn't fair, was it?

"What are you going to do next?" He asked softly, interrupting me from my thoughts, and I shrugged, smiling at him sadly. "Go back to Mystic Falls I guess. That's what I was going to do after the case was over anyway." This was true. I had agonized over my decision late into the night but I knew in my heart that New York wasn't where I was supposed to be. It struck me that I might be out of the place before the week was out. This was a bit of a shock. My eyes flicked to Damon and I realized that we were probably never going to see each other again when I left. Sure, I would see him on TV and he would see my name on newspaper articles (if I was lucky) but our circles, our lives…they were too different, too far apart to ever entwine again. And that was the right thing – people like me weren't meant to fall in love with people like him. Sure, in fairytales maybe, but the difference with real life was that other people got in the way.
"You…your job, if you want it…" He began but I shook my head. "I can't Damon." I replied quietly. "I can't be in this world anymore. This lifestyle, these people – I'm not cut out for it. I…I never really was." His gorgeous eyes were bearing straight into me but for once, I didn't really mind feeling completely exposed because I got to take in every single detail of him, making myself commit it to memory.

He reached over and very gently brushed a strand of hair out of my face, just like he had done a million times before, only back then it had been the cause of butterflies in my stomach, the start of something exciting. Now, we both knew that it was as good as a goodbye.

"We've had fun, hey?" I said softly and he laughed quietly. "You know, all of the craziness of the past few months…all of the disasters, all of the things that have happened to my business that could have literally caused its downfall…I don't regret any of it. It's ok Elena. Because if none of it had happened, I wouldn't have got to meet you."

He was right. Two days later, Officer Jones came in and told us dully that all charges had been dropped. "Every bit of information you told is extremely close by." She assured us. "If Ms. Pierce ever tries something like this again, you can bet your bottom dollar she'll be in a cell before you can say scandal. Thanks again for your help kids." And that was it. So I booked my flight back to Mystic Falls for the next day, along with a ticket for Caroline, who insisted that she wanted to come.

The night before we left, I went to grab a pizza from the shop nearby the hotel. There was no point in buying actual food because we would just have to leave it behind, plus Caroline was looking kind of down and I knew that ham and pineapple were her favorite. "I'll be back in fifteen, ok?" I promised as I gathered my bag and purse. She gave me a tiny smile and went back to staring into middle space. Sighing, I left the room and went downstairs and into the bustling street. The neon sign of the pizza place that we had grown to love flashed at me invitingly and I inhaled the smell of tomato and dough as I opened the glass door. "The usual please Carlo." I called to the smiley, chubby man who manned the desk. He beamed at me and called back to the kitchen. "One ham and pineapple and one pepperoni!" He turned to me, a grin on his face. "How are you, my piccolo?" (I had found out that this meant 'little one' in Italian. Or at least according to Google Translate.)

I sighed as I flopped down on the plastic, cracked couch opposite the counter. "We're leaving New York tomorrow." I told him and his face dropped. "My favorite customers!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. I smiled sadly at him but then froze, because someone walking past the glass window quickly caught my eye.

I stood up and watched as he made his way into our hotel building, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Carlo, how quickly can that pizza be ready?" I asked slowly and he was about to say something when a little bell pinged and two boxes of steaming pizza appeared. He grinned and handed them to me. "No charge." He insisted when I tried to pay him and I eventually had to shove a big tip on the counter, grab the boxes and run. "You're the best Carlo!" I called over my shoulder as I hurried out of the shop and into the street towards our hotel.

It took me about five minutes to actually get to our floor, because the lift was occupied (by whom, I wonder) and I didn't want to waste time waiting for it so I sprinted up the ten flights of stairs as fast as you could clutching two pizzas. When I reached our floor, I had to take a few moments to get my breathing back to normal because I was pretty sure death was imminent at the rate it was going at. When it finally calmed down, I tiptoed to our door and pressed my ear against it. They hadn't been built for privacy, so I was able to hear pretty much every word.

"Stefan, I'm not staying here. I can't. I'm not going to let her go back to Mystic Falls by herself." "Surely you could tell her and I could come with you?" Stefan was sounding desperate.
"Stefan, you know she wouldn't let either of us go then. It'll be fine. We'll be together again soon, I promise."

"Il mio amore, I want to be with you now, I don't want to lose you again." (I looked that up later too; it meant my love in Italian.) Caroline laughed softly. "I don't want to lose you either my darling, but I can't lose Elena. Especially when she has nobody right now." "Caroline –" "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices Stefan. This is mine." I had heard enough. I pulled away from the door, set the pizzas down gently outside the door and ran.

I hated myself. I hated all of the hurt I had caused, the relationships I had damaged and I hated myself for loving them all so much. Why could I have just stayed professional, detached like a normal person? Why did I always have to get in over my head? I ran down the stairs and out of the hotel, head and heart pounding. I was stupid, so stupid. I always ruined things, wherever I went. I had done this to Mum and Dad too, before they died. I had rowed with them, made things so difficult that they thought that it was each other's fault and began hating each other too. And if I hadn't called them from that damned party to come and pick me up, they'd still be here.

I kept running. I didn't know where to, I just knew that I had to be as far away from here as possible. I pushed through crowds, accidently stood on people but I didn't care for once. I ran and ran and ran, ignoring when I felt like my legs would collapse underneath me and when I wasn't really able to breathe anymore. I heard my phone ringing again and again but I didn't answer it. The car crash, their bodies, everything was replaying over and over in my head. I hadn't let myself think about it after it happened but now all of the details wouldn't stop rushing back to me. The way Dad had tried desperately to turn the car but couldn't, the way Mom told me they both loved me so much and the way they both covered my body with theirs when it happened. It was all my fault, it was all my fault, it was all my fault. Jeremy would have to become an adult on his own, Jenna would have to live without a sister, their friends would have to live with a constant ache in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Finally I had to stop, because I was sure I would faint if I didn't and that's the last thing I wanted on a busy street. I checked my phone and realised that I had been running for two hours. Wow. And then I saw I had thirty missed calls. Thirty. There were twelve from Stefan and Caroline, ten from Aunt Jenna – my heart twisted when I thought about how anxious she would be – and then there were eight from Damon. I stared at the phone as it lit up and began to ring again. It was him. My finger hovered hesitantly over the green button. I wasn't really sure if I wanted help. I certainly didn't deserve it. But I knew how worried he was – Damon didn't call people eight times for nothing. I shut my eyes and pressed the answer button.

"Where are you?"He asked urgently as soon as I put the phone to my ear. Hearing his voice made my throat swell and tears began dripping down my face. "I've messed everything up." I croaked, slumping against a wall. "Nothing's ever going to be right again." "Elena, what are you talking about –" "My parents, Damon!" I sobbed hysterically. "I killed them and now they're gone and I've messed up Stefan and Caroline's relationship and I've messed up us and –" "You haven't messed anything up Elena." He said softly. "Bad things have happened to you, but it does not make you a bad person. Stefan and Caroline are fine, just worried about you. As am I and all of the people who love you. Now where are you?"

He appeared five minutes later. I had slid down the wall gradually until I was basically crouched on the ground, clutching my knees. People walking by either gave me weird looks or just completely ignored me, thinking I was mad. Maybe I was. Two black shoes appeared in my line of vision and I looked up shakily to see Damon looking down at me, shaking his head sadly. "Come on." He said gently. When I didn't move, he sighed and crouched beside me. "You're the most selfless, sweetest person I've ever met." He said quietly, brushing a tear off my face with his thumb. "Don't forget that, ok?" I suddenly felt incredibly tired. "Can we go home?" I snuffled and he smiled gently and nodded, offering me his hand. I gingerly took it and he helped me up, leading me slowly to his car.

I curled up on the soft leather, leaning my forehead against the cool window. Damon slid in beside me and the driver pulled away smoothly.
I felt his eyes on me but I didn't want to look at him. I couldn't. "I've told the others that you're ok." He said softly and I glanced at him unwillingly. "Thanks." I croaked. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked gently. I didn't say anything. "You said something about your parents –" "I said I don't want to talk about it!" I snapped, and I realized my voice sounded hysterical. "Ok." He murmured soothingly and his voice was so warm that I felt compelled to drop the cold act and turn and lean against his muscular chest. He very gently wrapped an arm around me and rubbed his chin back and forth over my hair. "You're a wonderful woman, Ms. Gilbert." He said quietly and I snorted in spite of myself. "You are." He insisted. "You're a kind, intelligent, sweet, brave person." I realized that the car was coming to a stop and I squinted out of the window. "Why…why are we at the airport?" I asked slowly, sitting up. "I'm putting you on a private plane back to Mystic Falls." When I turned to look at him in confusion, he shrugged. "The best place for you is with your family Ms. Gilbert. The plane is leaving in five minutes and your Aunt will be waiting at the airport for you."

He smiled sadly at me and got out of the car, leaving me on my own for about five seconds to contemplate what was happening until he appeared to open my door. I got out slowly, feeling a bit like a baby giraffe testing its legs for the first time. The small plane was right in front of me, its stairs down and waiting. I turned to Damon, who was standing a bit away.

"I guess…well, this is goodbye then, isn't it Mr. Salvatore?" I said shakily and he smiled a weird, half smile. "I guess so Ms. Gilbert." I went to hold out my hand all formally and he rolled his eyes, took it, and yanked me in for a proper hug. "It's been amazing working with you Ms. Gilbert." He murmured in my ear and I had to bite my lip to stop the tears streaming down my face. "I'll call you if I ever need the CEO of a multi million dollar business to write an article on." I promised, my voice trembling and he grinned. "I'll take it as a personal offence if I see an article on a CEO of any other multi million dollar company. Now scram darling, your plane's about to leave." I lingered in his arms a second longer and he bent down to kiss my cheek, his icy skin pressing against mine. "Safe flight." He said hollowly as I began to back away from him.
"Thank you. For everything." I managed to choke out before stepping onto the little stairs and hurrying up the steps.

I allowed myself one last glance at him before I entered the plane fully and I was struck by how small he looked.I gave him a tiny wave and he smiled and waved back. "Goodbye Mr. Salvatore." I whispered to myself before the flight attendant ushered me into the depths of the plane.

Squee! What did you think? :D I hope you enjoyed it. It was actually a kind of difficult chapter to write, as there's loads of difficult to talk about subjects in this and I hope I did them justice! As always, rate, review, follow, favourite, do what you gotta do and I'll see you soon! (I will do another chapter, I promise this isn't the tragic end of our two lovers!)

Love you always my darlings,

xxx