A few weeks later and we were in Hazel Cottage, Damon and I had the bedroom on the second floor mainly because Damon valued time away from humans, Stefan and Elena had the largest bedroom at the front and Bonnie was given the room at the back.

The second smallest bedroom was turned into a library and my prized T. rex Stan was relegated to the family room, next to the kitchen.

Matt came over a couple of weeks later, he didn't have much stuff but what little he had and couldn't bring with him arrived a couple of weeks after that having been shipped. Damon and I had given the others some space that day to say hello and for him to get settled, he hadn't seen Bonnie in a few months but they talked everyday on the phone which was sweet.

It was clear from the start that Matt and Damon didn't exactly see eye to eye, but one day I had just come from upstairs when I overheard Matt and Stefan talking in the study. Not wishing to eavesdrop I went into the kitchen to grab a snack before I went back upstairs to finish giving Damon a hand with typing up some notes relating to a recent job, but when I got to the door on the way back they had come out and were standing in the hall.

"I don't know Stefan, I mean can the leopard really change his spots? From what you told me they've always had a volatile relationship and if Lizzie gets her heart broken again it'll be her own fault, I mean what's so different about this time?" Stefan sensed I was standing right behind Matt and at least had the guts to look guilty.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm not going to get my heart broken this time thank you very much and if you want to talk about someone behind their backs, then I suggest you do it somewhere where they can't hear you," I snapped back.

Matt looked guilty and shocked for a moment and then set his jaw in a grim determination, "then I'll say it to your face. I don't think he can change, I don't like the guy and I don't trust him. I think he's stringing everyone along until it suits him to dump everyone, Damon only looks out for number one." Stefan stood there with his mouth agape and my temper erupted and spilt out.

"How dare you!"

"Lizzie," pleaded Stefan, but I carried on regardless.

"I've lived with him for two years, I know him better than you do and granted, he's been a complete arse in the past, but all that's changed now and so has Damon. You have no right to come in here and tell me who I should or shouldn't see!"

"So why don't you tell me what's so different about this time then?"

"Because we can't live without each other," Matt wasn't giving up that easily even with Stefan trying to placate him. "Says the man who goes out and bites pretty girls for fun, I may have only known you for a couple of weeks but I don't want you to get hurt Lizzie. You don't deserve him," Stefan had gone very still and quiet but it didn't really register.

"I don't have to justify my relationship to you and I don't believe you because I know what I say is right" I stormed off upstairs and found Damon waiting for me on the landing, I opened my mouth but he put his finger on my lips and pulled me close.

"Shh! Just calm down, you're shaking. Ignore him, his opinion doesn't matter," I'd forgotten that he always found it funny when I got so angry I shook.

"Lizzie? Are you okay?" Came Stefans' voice.

Damon increased his grip on me a little more so I couldn't go anywhere and replied "what do you think?"

"Matt's as entitled to his opinion as anyone else, we know you've changed but he can't see it yet. I'm not justifying the way he voiced it, but Lizzie needs to learn not take everything to heart."

I prodded Damon gently in the ribs and he let me go so I could face Stefan, "so how would you feel if he was slagging Elena off? You'd defend her as much as I've defended Damon." I argued, but Stefan looked at me through narrowed eyes and replied with another question, "what's the matter Lizzie? It's not like you to be so defensive and you're usually the first person to call him an arse, Something's up, isn't it?"

"Have you ever thought that we just might like to get on with our relationship without people telling us what feelings we should and should not have for each other?" Damon had that smile on his face that meant he was as upset about this as I was, Stefan had his eyes closed and was pinching the bridge of his nose again. "You're right, I'm sorry Lizzie. I should've realised, it's not fair on you two and it won't happen again. Just make sure you don't prove me wrong Damon, that's all."

Matt came to apologise to me later that day and then to my surprise sought out Damon to apologise and offer the hand of friendship, Damon accepted the apology but told Matt he still had a long way to go before he was even to be considered as any sort of a friend.

Shortly after that incident Damon started disappearing for hours and sometimes days on end, he wouldn't tell anyone where he went and it drove me mad. Around the same time the tabloids and gossip magazines picked up that we were all living together and I was back with Damon, there was a photographer parked outside the gate.

Stefan wasn't very happy about it, nor was Damon, but one morning it was bitterly cold and so I took him out a hot tea and had a little chat with him. He was a nice enough bloke who wanted a picture of Damon and I holding hands so when Damon came back from his disappearing act I told him and he refused point blank, Matt sided with Damon saying that I shouldn't encourage the gossip mags, but then Elena came in to the kitchen to get her washing out of the machine and heard our discussion. "I think that it would be a great idea, in fact I think you should have a word with them about doing your own weekly column or something," Damon stared at the ceiling and Matt just looked surprised.

"That is actually a brilliant idea Elena! Well done that girl,"

"Yes, well done Elena, I'm sure my brother will be very pleased about someone else writing about our personal lives." I shot Damon a big grin and went upstairs to pitch an idea to Stefan who was holed up in the library working on the website, I got as far as the study door when he said without turning round "when you bounce around like that it usually means you're about to ask me something that could have far reaching consequences."

I snorted in a very unladylike fashion, went in and perched on the edge of the desk earning a scowl, "you should set up a website Stefan, that way you can keep the fans informed and announce anything important before the gossip columns. So I followed your advice and look where it got me- told to spend more time with my own wife and less with the computer!"

"I didn't know you'd turn into a geek!" I protested, "anyway. There's nothing wrong with being a geek and playing about with websites, yours is a fantastic site," I reassured him.

"Don't listen to her brother, she's only saying that so she can steal more of your books and pester me with questions," I turned and gave my boyfriend a slap on the back of the hand. It was a girly slap with only the fingers glancing off, but it was enough to really sting and I was very satisfied with the "ow!" that came from him. "You're going to regret doing that, mark my words," he said darkly.

" Oooh! I'm so scared," I grinned.

"Pack it in! The pair of you! I really can't cope with your screaming Lizzie, it goes right through me," he shook his head but he couldn't hide the grin on his face.

"Actually, I came to suggest blogging. I thought that you could add a blog to the site and each week or month a different person gets to write the blog, so you could write about how the investigation side of things is going, Damon could write about his fan letters which would be good. Put a stop to all those OMG! We could get together and then Elena and I would so be BFFs and you and could turn me so like, we'd be together forever!"

Damon chuckled, his eyes stared intensely at me, "jealous."

"No, they're welcome to you,"

"Lizzie! Don't wind him up, Damon, don't retaliate please!" I had just about held in the flirtatious scream as I was suddenly being held in Damons' arms and he was gently but firmly tipping my head back to expose my throat, of course I was so frightened I was giggling like mad.

"I'll consider it but I'm making no promises, now just please go away and leave me in peace," then suddenly the peace was shattered when Bonnie's voice called from downstairs.

"Lizzie! Stefan!" Damon's head jerked up at the urgency in her voice as did Stefans' and for the time all play fighting was forgotten, Damon looked at Stefan and then said "Centaur," which was enough for me to rush down the stairs just as Matt came running up. "There's a man at the door says he knows you, he's hurt pretty badly but Bonnie and Elena let him in they called him Helios or something," I think the colour must have drained out of my face because Damon wrapped me in his arms and jumped down to the entrance hall. It took me a couple of seconds for me to get my legs back as I hate heights. Then I ran into the living room where Helios was sitting in human form, I had never seen anyone with stab wounds, let alone someone with so many stab, slash and arrow wounds as he had and that was without the hoof marks over his entire body as though he'd been trampled on by a herd of horses- or Centaurs.

"Oh my god! Helios! What happened to you?" he smiled weakly as Elena tried to apply pressure on wounds that were open and bleeding heavily.

"Mavro," that one word made me shiver and I heard Damon draw a sharp intake of breath behind me.

"He's trying to take over the herd?" I asked as Helios struggled just to breathe.

He nodded and whispered "we need help. Mavro wants to go through the door,"

"Of course, don't worry about that. What about Sagittarius?"

"In danger. We must go now," he opened his hand to reveal a small piece of papyrus with ancient Greek writing on it, a spell I guessed.

I looked up at Damon who nodded and Stefan gently moved Elena out of the way so I could take over applying the pressure. "Wait a minute, you're going to help Lizzie's husband! Why?" Stefan looked up at Matt and said to him "Ex-husband. We're going to help him because he needs our help and because he's still Lizzie's friend. I need you to stay here Matt and look after the girls, don't open the door to anyone and try to stay upstairs until we get back." Matt nodded and went to hold Bonnie's hand but she ran over to Stefan, "I'm coming with you, you're going to need a witch" but I shook my head.

"No, we don't a witch Bonnie, it's too dangerous but thank you anyway."

Elena looked at me appalled, "if it's too dangerous then why are you going?"

"She's not," said Damon from besides me. "Listen to your own advice, it's too dangerous,"

"How will you know who's friend and who's foe? I need to see for myself Damon, I lived with them for three months, they're my friends and I'm going."