Richmond, March, 1862

Charlotte sat beside the bed that Damon was currently laid in. Her hands were holding onto a piece of paper alongside a pen as she wrote the words on the page. Damon had his eyes closed and his good hand held onto his bad arm, feeling the bandage that held it in place. She said nothing as she allowed Damon to try to rest, but he had been very talkative ever since he woke up.

After complaining about the pain in his bone, he had taken to eating the meal that had been prepared by the nurses before sipping on his water. The camp was full of wounded men and Damon wondered how much longer it was going to go on for. How many more innocent people needed to die before everyone saw the madness of this war?

Charlotte had been running around the camp during the day, helping wherever she could. Damon had watched her from the distance, noticing how she would often wipe her forehead with the back of her hand or tuck her hair behind her ear from where it had fallen out.

She had been doing everything in her power to help and Damon felt some form of pride inside of him. He loved the fact that she was so determined to help. He loved how she wanted to do everything within her power to help.

"When I go back then I will try and get leave," Damon suddenly informed Charlotte and she put the pen down onto the edge of Damon's bed, draping the paper on top of it. "If I can get leave then I will see if I can get you to come with me."

"I doubt that would happen," Charlotte informed him, moving to check that the bandage on his arm was well set as she adjusted the white apron covering her blue gown. "We are too busy here to let anyone go."

"I am certain you can take some time away," Damon informed her. "We are all entitled to it."

"Perhaps," Charlotte remained noncommittal. "But I need to…well…stay here for a while. I would love to spend time with you away from this, but at the minute I feel useful and I cannot abandon people here…men who are so young and who are dying."

Charlotte had expected Damon to be disappointed, but instead he was seemingly happy. He was smiling softly as she looked to him, a puzzled expression on her face before she felt him take hold of her by the hand, his fingers lacing inside of hers and holding gently onto her limbs before he kissed the back of her hand.

"You are not angry?"

"Angry with my doting fiancée for wanting to help the injured?" Damon asked of her. "I could never be angry, Charlotte. While I confess I am disappointed, angry is not something I feel towards you."

Charlotte let out a small smile at hearing that and moved to kiss him quickly on the forehead, the motion tender and hasty in order for no one to notice. Saying nothing, Charlotte sat back down in her chair, letting Damon keep hold of her fingers before motioning to the pen and paper with his chin.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing to my parents," Charlotte informed him. "And I also wrote to Stefan too. I told him what had happened, but I told him that you were safe."

"Thank you," Damon informed her.

"Well, I thought that someone deserved to know. Besides, I know how your brother feels, Damon. Stefan worries about you, just as we all do when you are on the battlefield."

Damon scoffed. "Hence why I do my best to avoid the battlefield," he responded. "Rounding up deserters keeps me away from the danger, but no doubt I will be back on the front line soon enough…fighting for something I do not believe in."

Charlotte looked around, grateful the beds were empty next to them. "You should not speak like that," Charlotte whispered. "I know how you feel, but speaking against the Confederacy is dangerous."

"I do not care."

"I do," Charlotte responded. "The last thing I want is for you to be in trouble."

"Always thinking about me," Damon whispered and that confident smirk on his face rose. "I love that."

"Well I love you," Charlotte said, slapping him softly on the chest as he chuckled. "So just keep your thoughts to yourself. Besides, I do not doubt you will get sent home for a while. A broken bone can take six weeks to heal and you are useless without a functioning arm."

Damon nodded and closed his eyes before hearing Charlotte pick up her pen and paper. He didn't particularly want to go home, but he knew he would be sent back to heal. He would rather stay in the hospital, but he knew that he was taking up a valuable bed space that they would eventually need.

"Charlotte," Damon muttered her name.

"Hmm?" she asked, still writing on her paper while Damon spoke.

"Did Stefan respond to your letter?"

"No," Charlotte spoke. "I only sent it yesterday however. I doubt he will have received it yet. Why do you ask?"

"Because I worry about him," Damon mumbled. "You know how Stefan is. He…well…I know that father prefers him. Father cares for him, but I still worry that he could change."

Charlotte shook her head. "Your brother will be fine. Besides, I have my parents looking out for him whenever he goes into town. I have no doubt that he will be well. Believe me, I know how you worry for him."

"Just as I worry for you," Damon whispered, peeling his eyes open and looking over to Charlotte as she chuckled at hearing him, but managed to bend down and caress his cheek, failing to care if anyone was looking at them as she let her lips press against his.

"Get some rest," she whispered against his lips, her breath hitting him before she pulled back and settled down in her chair again, going back to her writing as Damon did his best to fall to sleep.

Mystical Falls, December, 1862

Looking around the town, Charlotte could hardly believe that nothing had changed. Everything looked the same. From the wooden buildings to the town square; nothing had changed. Charlotte had climbed down from the wagon, her possessions following her as she placed her hands into her grey coat and looked for any sign of her parents.

As the wagon pulled away, she saw them emerge from the dust covered cloud, their faces beaming with joy at the sight of their daughter. But they were not alone. Charlotte didn't think it was possible for her smile to grow any wider as she saw him stood there. Damon had somehow managed to work his way out of the encampment, gaining leave.

"Darling!"

Marianna's cries caused Charlotte to smile, her mouth stretching into a massive grin as she rushed forwards, forgetting about her trunk. Her arms wrapped around her mother's neck as she buried her face into her neck, holding her tightly. Marianna shrieked with joy, unable to believe that she had not seen her daughter since she left in the New Year.

"I have missed you so much," Charlotte declared, pulling back from her mother to embrace her father quickly, holding him for a moment before kissing him on the cheek.

"And we have missed you," Boris told her. "Every letter you have sent has been a joy to receive. We cannot begin to tell you how proud we are of you."

"Thank you, father," Charlotte said as Boris moved to sweep her hair behind her ear.

She allowed her parents to stand behind her, letting her look to Damon who had kept his distance from her until then. Marianna smiled as the man in the soldiers uniform walked up to her daughter and bent down to her height, pulling her into his arms and holding her closely as her arms found his neck, her fingers tangling into the dark curls at the back of his head.

"I did not know you would be coming home," Charlotte whispered into his ear as he pulled back and looked to her, making sure she was well.

"I managed to get leave the other day," he informed her. "I need to return straight after Christmas Day, however."

"That only gives us four days," Charlotte whispered and Damon moved to lift her chin up, his fingers holding gently to it.

"Then we had better make the most of that time," he spoke.

"Rumour has it that the war is nowhere near finished. I am supposed to be heading to a camp near Atlanta when I return."

Charlotte and Damon had found themselves sneaking into the town hall as it was empty and a space where they could be alone. Damon had returned home to see his father and brother, but had soon rushed out again, grabbing Charlotte from her house and dragging her to the space.

The town hall was nothing but wooden floors and chairs pushed to the side. It was dark, save for the lamp that Damon had brought with him and placed on a chair. He was sat on the floor, a blanket underneath him as Charlotte sat besides him, leaning her head on his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly.

"Atlanta?" Charlotte echoed. "Damon, that is quite the distance."

"I know," Damon mumbled, his lips touching her hair on the top of her head. "It does mean I might not see you for a while, but I will write whenever I can."

"I know," Charlotte promised him, moving to pick up his hand inside of hers, holding it tightly while he watched her for a few moments, his eyes roaming over her face as he finally looked her in the eye. "Although I had heard some of the nurses in the camp…well…you know I hate gossip."

Damon chuckled at that as Charlotte moved to stare at him with an accusatory glance, kneeling on the floor beside him as he dropped his arms from her.

"Charlotte, you hate being the centre of gossip, but you love listening to it."

"That is not true," she protested and Damon arched a brow in her direction.

"Truly?"

"Well…maybe not," she mumbled. "Regardless, I heard one of the girls speaking about Manderley from Mystic Falls. You know him?"

"I know him," Damon confirmed.

"Then you should know that what they were doing in the hotel acting as a store was not medical procedure," Charlotte said, her eyebrow arching suggestively as Damon let his mouth gape at hearing her, hating himself for indulging in her gossip.

"As in Thomas Manderley?" Damon said and Charlotte nodded. "I thought that he was going to be courting Miss Lewisham when he returned from the war?"

"He still might," Charlotte shrugged. "But Rosalie, who is the nurse, has been sent to a different location and away from him. Let us just say her actions were frowned upon, but the problem is I keep hearing so many rumours that there might be no nurses left!"

"I sincerely doubt it," Damon said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Because I know there will be one left."

"Unless some handsome soldier comes and sweeps me off my feet," Charlotte teased and Damon moved closer to her, bending down to brush his lips against the corner of her mouth, moving closer to her after a moment.

"I think he already has," Damon whispered.

Charlotte did her best not to snort as Damon finally kissed her, his lips pressing over hers as Charlotte manoeuvred herself closer to him, her front pressing against his as she let herself move precariously over his lap, one leg either side of him. Damon continuously kissed her, his lips roaming over hers as his hands ran down her back, tangling in her hair at its ends.

"I should go home," Charlotte said when they broke apart for breath.

"No," Damon murmured. "You need to stay here."

"You are so very needy," Charlotte laughed and Damon felt her hands move to push into his hair as he took that opportunity to kiss her again, distracting her from wanting to leave.

"Damon," Charlotte protested, knowing what he was going to do as he moved to kiss her neck and she laughed lightly as her hands went to his shoulders. "Damon, I need to go. We can meet again tomorrow."

"Can we?" Damon wondered. "And where would you like to meet?"

"The field," Charlotte whispered, pecking him once more.

"It is winter, Charlotte."

"I do not care," she said. "If you are to be shipped off to Atlanta then I want to go somewhere that matters…somewhere we can go back to…"

"As you wish," Damon said. "Always, as you wish."

A/N: So the next chapter will be a time jump as we near the arrival of Katherine in another two chapters! Do let me know what you think!