"So what's on the agenda today?" Damon asked from the en-suite bathroom where he was dutifully brushing his teeth while Elena got out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body.

"I was thinking we head to the mall and do the essential back to school shopping. School starts in a couple weeks and I don't want to miss out on the good stuff. I want to do it before the crazy back to school shoppers come out." Elena told him.

"That's a good idea, and it'll give Aurora a chance to spend some money. She used to love going shopping." Damon agreed.

"I just had an idea. We have to speak really softly so she doesn't overhear us." Elena said.

"Text it to me." He suggested. She walked into the bedroom and picked up her phone note on her phone and just brought it to him.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"It was a better idea than texting it to me." He noted.

"Not that. My idea." Elena urged him.

"Also quite brilliant. My wife is both beautiful and brilliant. I am a lucky man." Damon said leaving the bedroom to get dressed for the day.

"And don't you forget it." She teased as she walked into the walk-in closet to pick some clothes. She pulled some simple lingerie out of the chest and slipped it on before grabbing a pair of jeans and a t shirt.

"You have no idea how much I love you in jeans." Damon groaned when she came out to stand by him where he was buttoning a shirt.

"Probably about the same as I love you in button up shirts." She mused as she pulled him in for a kiss.

"Not likely." He whispered against her lips.

"Let's get downstairs before we can't." Elena laughed as she opened the bedroom door and walked out.

When they got into the kitchen Aurora was glaring at them with a cup of coffee in front of her. Aiden was sitting on her left side with an almost identical look on his face.

"Last night was inappropriate and unnecessary." Aurora muttered.

"You were supposed to be sleeping with music on." Damon reminded her.

"I was but moms scream at the end radiated through the entire house. I could hear it clear as day over my music." Aurora told them.

"I promise next time we'll be more quiet." Elena told her.

"Or better yet you don't do it when we're home." Aurora suggested.

"You're always home. Vampires are not meant to be celibate." Damon pointed out.

"I happen to be perfectly happy being celibate." Aurora told him.

"That's because you're my daughter. You're not allowed to have sex." Damon reminded her.

"As long as you two know you were being inappropriate, then I'll drop the subject. So when are we going shopping?" She

asked excitedly.

"Soon, whenever you two are ready." Damon told her.

"I'll be ready in like five minutes." Aurora enthused as she flashed up to her room.

"I will take a little longer than that." Aiden mumbled as he walked to the stairs at human speed.

"Take your time. We're not in any rush." Elena told him as he walked up the stairs. While Aurora was upstairs Damon stepped outside to make the call that Elena had suggested he make. When he was done he came back inside and gave Elena the thumbs up with a wide grin on his face.

"So what exactly is that thing you have planned?" Aurora asked curiously as they drove to the mall.

"You'll find out shortly." Damon said grinning at his annoyed looking daughter in the backseat.

"I want to know now." She whined.

"You'll find out when we get to the mall." He said as they drove.

"Fine." She muttered as she waited impatiently to for the mall to appear. When they finally got there they got out and walked to the mall doors. When they got inside Aurora squealed happily, seeing Lilah standing there waiting for them. She rushed over and threw her arms around her friend, forgetting for a split second she was a vampire. Lilah hugged her back tightly.

"I am so happy." Aurora enthused as she hugged her friend.

"Your dad called my mom and asked if I wanted to meet you guys here so we could spend some time together." Lilah told her.

"Thank you." Aurora said grinning at her parents.

"No problem. Now do you think you're well enough to go off on your own?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, I am in complete control of myself. I feel human." She told them.

"Then you two can go shopping on your own. If you start feeling out of control or anything call us immediately. You fed this morning so you should be fine." Damon said.

"I will. I feel fine dad.." She promised.

"Good. Aiden you can wander too if you want." Damon said.

"You really think I have any intention of walking around the mall with my mom and dad. How uncool do you think I am?" He asked shaking his head as he rushed off in the opposite direction.

"I guess it's just me and you." Elena said.

"I am having no issues with that. Anything you need to look at?" He asked.

"I have been intending on going to look at new lingerie." She said.

"I'm cool with that. Let's go." He said leading her down the mall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you're really fine?" Lilah asked as they wandered through a clothing store looking at jeans.

"I feel perfect today. It's strange for me to say since the last couple months have been horrible for me. But I feel fine. I feel

like my old self, just with a slightly different diet." Aurora promised.

"I'm so happy. We'll get to rule the school together." Lilah laughed.

"Yes we will." Aurora agreed as they walked.

"So have you talked to Landon? He called me a couple times this summer looking for you. Said you weren't answering your phone." Lilah asked.

"I talked to him last night. He was having dinner at the Grill and the same time my family and I were." Aurora told her.

"Are you two going to get back together?" She asked hopefully.

"I can't do that to him. My life is completely different now. I may feel like I used to but I'm not the same. I'm a vampire now and I don't know how to even start having a relationship with someone. You've known about vampires since we were little, Landon was compelled to forget everything he knew about vampires. I can't ruin his life like that." Aurora explained.

"It's sad though. I want you two to get back together." Lilah mentioned.

"I know, and I would love to. I just have to not be selfish with him. He deserves to be with someone he can actually have a future with. He can't have that with me." Aurora told her shrugging.

"You're trying to be strong about it all aren't you? Even though you want to be with him too." Lilah asked knowing it was true.

"I have to be. I just have to say no to him. I have to be the strong one out of the two of us." Aurora said firmly.

"Look at your mom and dad. Your dad wasn't human when he met and fell in love with your mom, but you're still here." Lilah pointed out.

"I know that, but my mom was human. In order to have a baby your body has to be able to change. Mine can't." Aurora explained.

"But you and Landon can still have a relationship. You may not ever have a family but you would have each other." Lilah reminded her.

"I know that. But he wants his own children some day. I can't and won't take that away from him." Aurora insisted as they kept walking. They went into store after store looking for clothes.

"I'm getting a bit hungry. We should hit the food court." Lilah suggested as they lugged around bags of clothes.

"Me too." Aurora agreed.

"Should we find your mom and dad?" Lilah asked concerned.

"Sorry, I meant for human food. I forgot that I should tack that on. I felt human with you, so I kinda forgot all about the blood aspect of my life." Aurora explained.

"It's okay. Let's go eat. I will have something healthy and live vicariously through whatever yummy thing you get." Lilah declared.

"You don't have to eat healthy. It's not a bad thing to have a cheat day." Aurora informed her friend.

"Yeah but I need to be a certain size for prom. You would have been fine even if you weren't a vampire. I've always been a little on the chubby side." Lilah spoke annoyed.

"You're beautiful." Aurora stated as they got to the food court.

"You have to say that you're my best friend." Lilah muttered.

"Doesn't mean it's not true." Aurora said as she went to stand in line at Taco Bell. She saw Aiden in line at Taco Bell too.

"How's it going Ror?" Aiden asked knowing she would know what he was talking about.

"I'm perfectly fine. Thanks for asking." She replied.

"So I ran into mom and dad outside the lingerie store. I'm thinking louder music might be needed tonight."Aiden said to her.

"Thanks for the warning." Aurora said thankfully.

"No problem. We have to look out for one another, especially when it pertains to your parents disgusting sex life." He said wrinkling his nose.

"That we do." Aurora agreed as the line slowly moved up. When Aiden got his food he waved and met up with his friends who were sitting at a table on the other side of the food court.

When Lilah and Aurora finally sat down they started eating immediately.

"I love being able to eat whatever I want and not have to worry about calories and the such." She said as she ate her meal.

"I am so envious of you." Lilah murmured as she ate slowly.

"Don't be. I have to drink blood and I've murdered in cold blood." Aurora told her, her face darkening as she went back to

that place mentally.

"You don't have to talk about that." Lilah insisted.

"I know, it's just I want you to know that you're perfect the way you are. You don't have to and you shouldn't want to become like me. It's not an easy life." Aurora told her.

"You're making it look so easy though." Lilah murmured.

"It's not. I'm so happy I wasn't around you a couple of weeks ago. I would have killed you without even thinking about it. But then I would have killed myself." Aurora shook her head. She didn't want to think about what could have happened if

she had stayed. in Mystic Falls when her emotions were off.

"What happened to make you come home?" Lilah asked.

"I was in Atlanta thoroughly enjoying my life as much as I could with no feelings. I couldn't feel anything at all. I was just numb all the time. Numb and hungry for every drop of blood I could get my hands on. I was with an ex-girlfriend of my dads, Katherine. She essentially saved my life, she kept me out of trouble but at the same time let me do whatever I wanted. We were in a club and there was no one in the club that struck my fancy. No one that smelled good enough to eat. So I left the club and walked down the back alley knowing there were often many different kinds of prey down there. I smelled the most delicious blood I had ever smelled and kept walking finding this woman leaning against the wall talking on her cell phone. She was a waitress from the restaurant that was beside the club, one of those all-night diners. I attacked her and killed her in cold blood but then I heard a sound behind me. It was a little girl crying and asking for her mommy. Her mom was the girl I just killed and I just lost it completely. I broke down and Katherine came to find me. She took me home and I've been slowly improving since that moment when my emotions turned themselves back on. The grief I felt was stifling, I was nearly drowning in it. I felt horrible for everyone I killed during that time and now I feel like because of that I won't hurt anyone else." Aurora recalled. Her eyes were filled with pain and she hated going back there, but it was essential. Lilah needed to know what she went through so she could understand.

"I'm sorry you went through that." Lilah apologized. It hurt her to see her best friend in so much pain.

"I'm fine now. I only think of that time when I absolutely have to. It helps remind me who I'm not." Aurora explained.

"I just it didn't happen to you at all." She whispered.

"I know, are you ready to walk some more?" She asked needing to stop the conversation.

"Sure. Where do you want to go now?" Lilah asked.

"Let's just walk." Aurora shrugged.

While the girls were walking they ran into Landon who was walking with his mom and dad.

"Aurora, it's great to see you again so soon." He grinned happily as he leaned in to hug her again. She hugged him back awkwardly and pulled away when it was polite to do so.

"It's good to see you too Landon."She said smiling softly.

"So what brings you here today?" He asked.

"I'm back to school shopping. My mom and dad brought us. They're here somewhere." She said.

"Me too. Better do it early before there is nothing left." He said grinning.

"Exactly." She nodded.

"Oh I should introduce you. Mom, dad this is Aurora Salvatore. I dated her for a while. Aurora this is my mom and dad." He said introducing the two.

"And I'm Lilah, Aurora's best friend." Lilah interjected.

"Oh right, hey Lilah." Landon said grinning at her too.

"But we should probably get going. Lots to shop for." Aurora said smiling softly at them.

"I could maybe come with you guys. It could be fun for the three of us to hang out together again." He prompted.

"Sorry, we're almost done here today. Just a couple more places to go then we have to find my mom and dad." Aurora demurred.

"Are you sure? We haven't spent any time together at all this summer. Are you still upset that I didn't come to the party with you?" He asked worried.

"It has nothing to do with the party. There is just some things going on in my life that make me unable to spend time with you." She told him trying to tell him the truth but at the same time wanting to keep him in the dark.

"What kind of things? It sounds like you're mad at me." He asked.

"Look, I was in an accident on the night of the party. Google it, you'll figure out really quick what happened." Aurora said harshly. He was starting to upset her and she knew that wasn't wise. Intense emotions were not a good thing when you were a new vampire.

"Alright then. I'll look." He said holding up his hands in surrender.

"Alright. I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just going through a lot." Aurora said.

"It's okay. An accident is never something good. Were you hurt?" He asked concerned.

"Just read the article." Aurora murmured. Lilah took her arm and squeezed it reassuringly.

"We have to go." Lilah said.

"Alright I'll let you guys go." Landon said before turning back to his parents who had stayed out of the conversation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later when they got home, Damon went into the kitchen to start dinner.

"Did you guys get everything you need?" He asked.

"Yeah, I got everything I would need for school this year and some clothes." Aurora answered.

"Did you have fun with Lilah?" He asked.

"Yes, it was great to see you and spend time with her one on one." Aurora answered happily.

"That's good. Did you have any problems?" He asked concerned.

"Not really. The only issue I ever did have was when Landon showed up and insisted that he hang out with us. I told him that he couldn't, that I had things going on. Eventually he agreed to leave us alone after I told him to Google my Wickery bridge accident. I just need him to know what happened so that he'll know why he needs to leave me alone." She said

shaking her head.

"So what do you guys want for dinner?" Damon asked.

"Whatever you make is awesome. I had Taco Bell for lunch." She said smiling again.

"So steamed peas and liver it is." He teased.

"Oh hell no." Aurora shook her head and Damon laughed.

"I'll think of something great. Don't you worry about that." He promised.

"So what are the chances we're going to need to listen to really really loud music tonight?" Aurora asked idly.

"What makes you ask that?" Elena asked curiously.

"Aiden saw you and dad come out of the lingerie store." Aurora told them staring between the two of them.

"It's quite likely. You have to remember, we went from having sex at least every other day to not having sex at all for the time you were gone. It's going to take some time to get back to normal." Damon reminded her.

"Yuck." Aurora said shaking her head.

"But before all of that we are sitting down and watching a movie as a family. Rock, paper scissors decides who gets to pick the movie." Elena declared.

"Hey you guys are actually picking a contest that doesn't necessarily favour the vampires." Aiden cheered.

"It's not going to change anything you're still going to lose." Damon told him.

"No I'm not. I'm finally going to be able to watch Saw with everyone." He said with a twisted grin on his face.

"You have to win first." Elena reminded him.

"No problem. I happen to be a God at rock, paper, scissors." He said cockily.

"How can you possibly be a God at something that takes no talent whatsoever?" Aurora asked shaking her head.

Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think as always. Reviews really motivate me to keep writing.