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Damon's POV

I find nothing of use in Knoxville or Des Moines and then make it down to Chattanooga all within about 32 hours. I meet up with Stefan and Elena at around 9pm at a bar downtown. We sit on three barstools downing alcohol like its water. Tomorrow we will go and talk to friends or acquaintances of Laura, but since the sun is already down, we decide to call it a day.

The bar is loud and alive with tipsy college students and old men drowning their sorrows in beer. The sound of billiard balls colliding with other pool balls and beer bottles clanking against the counter fills the room along with old rock music in the background.

"You know, the three of us have never had a drink together" Stefan says.

"Here's to a first," I say while holding my bourbon up in the air.

We walk back to the motel that we checked into earlier and each go to our own rooms to get some rest. I shower and get dressed before I climb into bed, but hear a knock on the door. I open the door and see Stefan standing there.

I step aside so he can come in. I get both of us a blood bag so we can start sobering up before tomorrow. We both sit on the bed in silence. He glances over at me and then I meet his gaze.

"I know we have had our fallouts, but-" Stefan cuts out.

"I know, but lets skip the bromance stuff," I smirk.

I put my hand on his shoulder to let him know that I am taking him seriously although my everyday language includes sarcasm.

"You know," I say, "I kind of miss the everyday drama of you rescuing me, me saving your ass, then bonding at the end of the day."

"I miss that too, when we always had each other's back even when we pissed each other off."

"I still got your back."

Stefan smiles, but it quickly fades. "Elena has always loved you. Even when we were together, she had that dangerous and adventurous edge. She wished that a life with me could be enough, but she is wild. She thirsts for a wayward life, just like you."

I stare at the floor, digesting his words.

"Elena's human self would have been perfectly happy with a small town life with you, but as a vampire her whole world flipped upside down." I pause thinking about my own words. "You are the better man."

"Just not the better vampire."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing. I just wanted you to listen and know that it's ok. I'm ok."

Xxxxxxx

The next day we all head to Lauren's apartment and find quite the collection on books that a human would think were just mythological. Luckily the cops didn't search her apartment that hard because I find her phone underneath her mattress and then look through the messages. She had only three people that she was texting at the time. One was a woman named Carol Mienks, with whom she was simply talking about where to take her car to get fixed. Another was a man named Rick Peters, who she kept referring to as 'baby' and telling him all the dirty things that she was going to do to him. The last one was a man named Jay Thompson and it was important. They talked about how relocation could only be temporary because he would look for them. Then she said she was coming over and that was where the texting ended.

"Hey, take a look at this." Stefan and Elena come into the kitchen and I have them read the text.

"I think we all know that we need to find this Jay Thompson."

"Ok, you guys look around the house and try and find more information on this Jay Thompson and I'll go out to see if I can find where this Jay guy lives. I'll call you when I have something to report" Stefan says before he heads out to find this mystery man.

After turning the house upside down and inside out, we find out that Jay is Laura's brother and that Laura changed her last name from Thompson to Carlton about 50 years ago.

After scouring the house, we sit on the couch in the living room. I pull out my phone to see if I have any messages, but just as I guessed, none. Elena apparently notices because she intertwines her fingers with mine, holding my hand. It feels nice, not as unnatural as I thought, pretty perfect actually. I suddenly feel my heart pick up the pace and my mind flashes back to the motel room in Colorado when the simple touch of my hand grabbing onto hers made her anxious and breathe heavily.

"I talked to Stefan and he said he is ok."

"Oh," she says without elaborating.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Absolutely."

"Is this real, I mean you and I? Could we be real?"

"It is as real as the feelings that have been looming over my life ever since I let you leave, so yes, it is very real."

We just hold hands for a little while and then head back to the motel. After about an hour, Stefan calls. He found Jay.