Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries – but, the Vampire Diaries could totally own me if it wanted to. Especially, one Damon Salvatore. ;)

Timeline: Picks up just after 'As I Lay Dying' leaves off – Assume possible spoilers for anything before that. Um, also assume some questionable language – because that is how Damon and I roll.

A/N: So, thank you all so much for the Damon/Liz love! Even to you, Miral – my own dear, sweet, lovely and most loquacious sister…Thank You as well to Broken Memories and JoJo. So, this chapter is a little on the light-hearted side, but I hope you guys like it.

Also: Sorry this update was a bit delayed. Work-stuff.

Also: I am going to try to pick up the pace a bit, and more plot is coming, promise. And Klaus, Stefan and I are already working on Chapter 11.

Burning Down Atlanta.

Chapter 10: Chasing Shadows.

Setting: Jeremy's Den of Delusions.

Bonnie paused outside of Jeremy's closed bedroom door and called out his name softly. Getting no response from inside, she hesitated briefly. The truth was that she hadn't seen him since their short Skype chat last night, and after a restless and uneasy night of otherworldly warnings and censure – she was irrationally afraid of what she might find when she opened the door. Quickly, she chastised herself, tried to laugh at herself and forced herself to smile. She opened the door to her boyfriend's room and went inside.

What she found was Jeremy, lying down on his bed fully clothed, his muscular arms behind his head, listening to music, probably half-asleep. He looked peaceful. Bonnie's forced smile dropped away and was replaced with a sly, crooked grin. What had she expected to find, after all? Jeremy dead? Jeremy all crazed and talking to himself, gnawing his own arm off? She walked over to his bed and leaned over him, gently pulling his headphones away from one ear, so he would hear her when she said, "Hey, you."

Jeremy stirred, opening his bleary eyes, "Bonnie, hey," he said with barely any inflection and without moving.

Worry lines returned to crease Bonnie's face, her mouth pursed; until Jeremy, eyes closed and playing possum, suddenly reached his arms up and around her waist and brought her crashing onto the bed next to him. She settled, laughing, into position, her head resting on one of his outstretched arms, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. With his other hand he yanked his headphones off and tossed them lazily onto the floor next to his bed, smiling.

Bonnie nudged him with an elbow lightly, "Jeremy," she said around a smile, "you scared me!"

"Good," he scoffed, "That's what you get when you sneak up on people."

Bonnie rolled her eyes gently, and turned onto her stomach to face him, propping herself up on her elbows. She brought a hand to his chest. "How are you?"

The fingers of his left hand met her hand and he laced their fingers together affectionately, "Good. I feel good."

Bonnie looked down at their interwoven hands, "So, good? ...Nothing strange or…" she tried to think of the best way to put it delicately, "…off?"

Jeremy looked at her, "Uhh…like what?"

Bonnie played with his hand, and tilted her head, but didn't meet his eyes, "I don't know…like, off?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

Bonnie sighed and decided to come clean; "It's probably nothing, but…"

"But?"

"When I…when we brought you back – the witches…they warned me…they said that there would be 'consequences.'

"Consequences," Jeremy repeated.

Bonnie smiled and met his gaze; "But, you're good, right? I mean, they kind of scared me – but, I think that might have been the point. To teach me a lesson about abusing their power, I mean." And boy did it work.

Jeremy answered absently; "Good – Yeah, I'm good."

"Well…Good!" Bonnie leaned forward and kissed him, feeling relieved.

"So, I guess Elena filled you in on everything?" Bonnie was nuzzled into Jeremy's side, as he stroked her hair. Jeremy looked pensive, but Bonnie couldn't see his face.

"What? ...Oh, yeah…Yeah," he said again with more animation, "What are we going to do? Elena said that you were going to try a locator spell?"

"Yeah," she agreed, her voice a little flat; "key word there being 'try.'"

"Bonnie, if you don't feel up to it…"

Bonnie cut him off, "No. It isn't that."

"Well, what is it?"

"I just don't know if it's going to work, Jeremy. Stefan's a vampire – the rules aren't the same."

Jeremy smiled, "There are rules?"

Bonnie threw him an affectionate side-long glance, one brow raised in mock affront, "Yes, Jeremy – there are rules." And, I have already broken enough of them lately… She raised herself up, "Anyway, I should start setting up for the spell – Damon should be here anytime now."

Jeremy brought himself into a sitting position, "I'll help. I'm just gonna grab a sweatshirt…" He went over to his bureau.

Bonnie waited for him by his desk, idly leafing through a sketchpad she found there. She focused in on one particular drawing. She held it up, "Is this the witch burning ground?"

Jeremy looked up, "Oh yeah. The dead witch manor house – you like it?"

Confused, Bonnie hesitated; "Yeah, I mean – it's good – but, what made you draw that?"

Jeremy shrugged as he put one arm and then another into a beige, pullover sweatshirt, "Dunno. Just felt like it, I guess. Come on, I think I heard the door."

Bonnie looked at the sketch again before placing the pad down on the desk where she had found it. She felt an inexplicable uneasiness about it, which she couldn't quite shake as she followed him out of the bedroom and into the hallway.

Setting: Meanwhile…Back Downstairs at Alaric's 'Save the Children Foundation'

Elena was answering the door as Bonnie and Jeremy descended the stairs. She had expected it to be Damon, and was a little surprised when she saw Alaric standing there with a shopping bag; "Ric?"

Ric smiled, "I hope I'm not too early for the party?"

"No, no – Damon isn't here yet. Come in." She held the door open for him.

"Riiic," Jeremy greeted loudly from the stairs, "How's it going?"

"Hey, Jer. Bonnie;" Ric turned and nodded in greeting. "Actually Jeremy, I could use a little help out here…"

Elena followed his eyes to his car – and more shopping bags. "Ric - what is all this?"

Jeremy had come to greet his history teacher at the door, with Bonnie just behind him, "Hi Mr. Saltzman," she said.

"You can call me Ric, Bonnie – we aren't in class," he responded as he clapped Jeremy on the back, "And you – get out there and help me with these groceries."

Jeremy's eyes lit up, "Food? You brought food? Alright!" He grinned and was out the door.

"Ric," Elena began, "You didn't have to do this…"

"I know, but I did. So, here…" He handed her the bag he was holding, "You take this into the kitchen, and I'll go help Jeremy with the rest."

Bonnie smiled and exchanged a bemused glance with Elena, motioning for her to just accept it and take the food into the kitchen, "You need it."

Still surprised, Elena spluttered, "Ric, I…"

"When I was here this morning, I could see that you didn't have anything – please just…"

Jeremy called from outside, "Ric, you brought beer? You rock, man!"

Ric jumped a little, turning to go outside; "Uh, that's my bag, Jeremy…"

Alaric and Elena busied themselves in the kitchen, putting away the groceries while Bonnie and Jeremy set up for the locator spell in the living room. Not knowing where an Original might go, Bonnie had packed every map that she could find in her house, plus whatever maps Jeremy and Elena had. They had finally settled on a large map of the United States to start with, figuring that they could always go global if this turned up nothing. They cleared a place on the floor and spread it open.

Caroline showed up; and soon thereafter Damon. Before long, the entire Gilbert living room was awash in candlelight.

Everyone was assembled, everyone was tense.

Damon leaned in close to Bonnie and indicating the candles, murmured in her ear: "Is this all really necessary?"

Bonnie set her mouth in a taught line, her expression haughty, but refused to look at Damon; "You want to find your brother, don't you?"

Damon backed off, still skeptical; "Fine."

Jeremy, standing on Bonnie's other side asked if she was ready.

Bonnie nodded, and Damon clapped his hands together; "Okay. Let's do this thing."

Bonnie, Jeremy, Damon and Elena crowded around the map, with Alaric and Caroline just behind them, watching.

"Damon," Bonnie began, "Did you bring something that belongs to Stefan?"

"Oh, right," Damon went over to the coffee table to retrieve the item and tossed it to Bonnie.

"A Book?" she asked.

"No," Damon sneered, "Not just a book – it's Stefan's diary."

"Damon!" Elena chastised, "You couldn't find anything else?"

Damon looked at Elena, "You try finding anything in that pigsty – how do I know what's important to him or not – he keeps everything."

Elena was about to say something else, but Bonnie cut her off, "Actually, Elena – this is perfect. You can't get much more personal than a diary."

Damon rolled his eyes; "Yeah, well let's hope it makes a better magical talisman than it does reading material…"

"Damon!"

"Elena."

"Uh, guys," Alaric interrupted, "Can we get on with the actual spell?"

"Seriously," Caroline chimed in.

Damon spun around on Caroline; "You don't talk – I am still trying to process the fact that you invited a rabid dog to the Grill with us tomorrow."

"Oh, get over it, Damon," Caroline sulked defiantly.

"Guys, really," Ric tried again.

Bonnie just exchanged an impatient look with Jeremy.

"Enough," Elena shouted looking around the room; "Can we just let Bonnie do the spell to find Stefan? You remember Stefan?"

Damon shot Caroline one last glare, before Alaric nudged him gently away and he rejoined the group at the map, composing himself.

"Here," Bonnie said, handing Damon a knife, "Just cut your hand and let the blood drip onto the map, while I chant." Wordlessly, Damon took the knife from her and sliced open his left palm, holding his closed fist over the map.

"I think it's working," Jeremy informed the group, as the blood swirled around erratically, and Caroline strained to get a better look while Bonnie chanted in an obscure Latin-y sounding language.

"Why is it always Latin?" Damon wondered aloud, before Elena shushed him.

"It's heading south," She observed.

"They're still in Virginia?" Ric was incredulous.

"Did it stop?" Caroline wanted to know.

"Everyone shut up," Damon warned. "There it's slowing down – where is that?"

Jeremy broke from the group, "I'll grab Jenna's laptop. Someone read me the exact location and I'll 'Bing' it."

Everyone but Bonnie and Caroline turned to look at Jeremy, confused.

"Bing?" Alaric asked.

"No one uses Bing, Jer," Elena followed up.

"Don't you read the news, Jeremy? Even Bing uses Google," Damon snarked.

Caroline came to Jeremy's defense; "Oh, don't listen to them, Jeremy, I use Bing."

Damon rolled his eyes. She would use Bing.

Bonnie jumped in, absolutely bewildered; "Uh, guys? It's still moving. Can we focus, please?"

All eyes fell back to the bloody map. "That's here – that's Mystic Falls," Elena exclaimed, excited, "They're still here."

"That doesn't make any sense," Damon swore.

Alaric found a map of Virginia, in order to pinpoint a more precise location, and they repeated the exercise.

"It found me? What do you mean it found me?" Damon demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry, Damon – I thought maybe…."

"I don't care if you're sorry - I'm not the one that's lost, Bonnie," Damon informed her with dark condescension.

Bonnie tried to level a nasty look at him, even while attempting to comfort Elena; "I told you it might not work."

"So… now what?" Alaric put himself between Damon and Bonnie, as Jeremy and Caroline came to escort a disappointed Elena into the kitchen.

"Now," Bonnie declared without acknowledging Alaric, "You need a new plan."

Setting: Elena's Bedroom of Tortured and Tenuous Entanglements.

Elena sat alone in front of her vanity taking stock of the day. Caroline and Damon had gone home after the failed locator spell fiasco; Caroline to see her mother and Damon to blow off some steam. Alaric had stayed and made dinner for herself, Jeremy and Bonnie – who was spending the night in the next room. Ric had stayed also. Elena thought that he was trying to look out for them, and she was grateful. She had offered him Jenna's bedroom – but, he had declined, preferring to sleep on the couch in the living room.

She finished brushing her long hair, tied it back in a pony tail and stood to get into bed, "Damon!" She started slightly when saw him in her doorway, quietly watching her, one hand still on the door that he had pushed open, the other hidden behind the wall, "I thought you left."

"I did," he said simply.

Elena wondered how long he had been standing there in silence and the thought did not strike her as being nearly as creepy and disturbing as it used to – and that was mildly disturbing in and of itself. That combined with the sudden awareness of how little she was wearing combined to send her blood rushing into her cheeks.

"Cute PJ's," he observed from his station hovering between her bedroom and the hallway.

Elena startled again at the familiarity of those words, some echo or memory or shadow niggling at her mind, threatening to surface, threatening to expose her somehow…and she felt herself blush again, a darker shade of red, "I…What…" she started to speak, without knowing what she was going to say.

"Relax," Damon smiled only a mildly predatory smile – misinterpreting her incoherence and her obvious discomfort, "I came to check on you – and to bring you this." He brought his heretofore hidden hand into view to reveal a steaming cup of tea.

"You came up to my bedroom…to bring me tea?"

"Ooh," he smirked, batting his eyes at her flirtatiously, "It sounds so dirty when you say it like that."

Elena balked.

"It's vervain tea. You need to drink it," he said seriously, handing her the cup, "We all need to be ingesting vervain…We have no idea where Klaus is, or when we might run into him."

Elena nodded and took the cup, "Jeremy…"

"Bonnie is bringing his tea up to him."

Elena sat down on the edge of her bed, and sipped at the tea.

Damon threw himself down on the bed next to her and shoved a pillow under his head; "So, you like me, huh?"

"Damon," Elena answered, annoyed but smiling in spite of herself; "you made me spill the tea…"

"There's more downstairs….So, really Elena – do you like me, or do you like: like me like me?"

Elena just rolled her eyes in amused irritation at the 'eye-thing' he was sending her way – but, really she felt affection and relief. So, much relief… that he was still around to amuse and irritate her, and look at her inappropriately. She just smirked, "So, you and Bonnie made tea together?"

"Please – that witch couldn't find water in a storm…or a kettle," he sneered, sitting up.

Elena frowned, "You're not still mad at her, are you – Bonnie did her best."

"Yeah," he agreed oozing sarcasm and disdain, "too bad for us that her best sucks."

"Hey – we'll find another way."

Damon stood; "Spare me the platitudes, Elena." He turned to face her, eyes flashing, "Are you even paying attention? I don't have any idea where Klaus is – I don't know how to find Stefan…we are screwed."

Elena set her cup on her nightstand and stood, "Am I paying attention? My entire family is dead, Damon - except for Jeremy – who had to be brought back, my boyfriend is gone and with Klaus; who killed me, Caroline and Tyler were almost sacrificed, Bonnie almost sacrificed herself, and you almost died trying to keep it from happening. Did I miss anything, Damon?"

"Elena, I…"

"Bonnie will find something…we'll find something…"

"I hope you're right."

"I am. And until then, we just have to trust that Stefan can take care of himself. If Klaus wanted to kill him, he could have."

Damon started to say something derisive and unkind about Stefan's ability to 'take care of himself,' but he stopped himself, and nodding he turned to go. Remembering something, he turned back to Elena and pulled a cell phone out of his jacket pocket, "I almost forgot. I found your phone in my room. Here."

She thanked him as she stared down at the phone in her hand, "Damon?"

"Hm?"

"Katherine compelled you – when you were human, right?"

Damon looked thoroughly confused by this line of questioning; "Where the hell is this coming from?"

"I was just…I wanted to know what it felt like, after you turned, when you started to remember."

Damon stared at her, "No," he answered flatly, "I knew everything."

"She must have compelled you about something…" Elena insisted.

Damon turned away from her, uncomfortable, his eyes in 1864; "If she did – it wasn't about anything important… nothing that I would still remember now." He looked at Elena sharply, his pale blue gaze almost accusing; "And why are you suddenly so curious?"

Somehow the question seemed loaded with meaning to Elena - not just a question but also anger at her for forcing this issue, anger at Katherine's betrayal, anger at his own stupidity, and a rebuke to her for not being curious about it before, for not being more curious about him before. They would be here all night if Elena was going to peel away the various layers of meaning and emotion behind the way he was looking at her now.

Abruptly it occurred to Elena that all her freaky déjà vu moments had been around Damon. All at once her lips parted, her brow creased and her answering brown eyes darkened with suspicion and disbelief. "You," She choked in a low voice, "You compelled me." It was a statement and it was a question.

Damon's face did the equivalent of an emotional 180 – his anger gone, replaced by shock; "Elena…"

Not hearing an immediate denial, Elena considered her suspicions were confirmed; "I'm remembering something that you did…"

Damon shook his head; "That's not possible."

"What did you do? Why would you make me forget?" Unconsciously, Elena reached for the vervain necklace that she no longer possessed, her hands instead tracing her bare neck.

Finally, convinced that this was actually happening, Damon brought his hands up in supplication and tried to approach her, to calm her; "Not did - said. It was just something that I said, Elena – I promise." No other supernatural tripwires, my ass.

Elena shook her head and tried to back away to avoid Damon's touch, as he grabbed her arms with his hands, "I promise," he said again.

She stilled, "Well," she asked, "What did you say that was so terrible that you had to compel it away?"

Damon dropped her arms, tilted his head back and closed his eyes, resigned; "I…told you that I loved you."

"Oh," Elena was confused.

Damon opened his eyes again and looked at her, smirking again; "Well, it's kind of anti-climactic now."

A/N 2: Sorry – but, I *really* did not want to drag that out - and after the deathbed confession - it is kind of anti-climactic. Lol.

Also: That bit about Bing using Google - totally true. Google it. Haha.

Also, Broken Memories: Damon is *never* besides the point. Ever. ;)