I had been back home for nearly half a month – 17 days to be exact. Christmas was in a little over a week and I was excited about spending it with my family. It had been years since that was possible. I had spent most of my time back hanging out with Jenna and Jeremy. Occasionally I would watch TV or read, but mostly I did anything that would keep my mind off of things.

My hair gently lifted from my shoulders and then fell back down as I moved forward and back on our front porch swing. For it to be the middle of December, it was oddly warm. Not warm enough to not be bundled up in a long-sleeve t-shirt, thick pea-coat jacket, and blanket from inside, but warm enough that my nose and ears wouldn't become frost-bitten by sitting outside. I stared down at my iPod as my finger slid over the smooth surface of the rotating wheel, searching for a song to listen to.

Just as I thought I saw a song I would be interested in, Jenna walked out on the porch carrying the house phone.

"Hey, Elena, you have a call, honey," she said with a smile.

I furrowed my brow as I thought about who could be on the other end. No one was supposed to know I was here.

I attentively took the phone and brought it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Elena Gilbert speaking?" I was surprised to hear a female voice answer me. I had almost expected it to be… I shook my head slightly as if it would force me to refocus on the person that was on the phone.

"It is."

"Miss Gilbert, this is Samantha Gibbons. I am the owner of Listal Apartments."

"Oh," was my only response. Amongst all the chaos, I had completely forgotten to deal with matters involving my apartment.

"Yes ma'am, we just wanted to make sure that you were okay. A week ago our maintenance workers had to enter apartments in your building to manually shut off water valves for some plumbing work. I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not and I hate to be the one to tell you, but it seems your apartment has been broken into. There doesn't appear to have been obvious theft – items such as your television and entertainment equipment are still there – but everything has been destroyed. We tried contacting you through the cell phone number on file here, but it went to voicemail every time. We were then afraid something may have happened to you so we called the emergency number listed here which I believe is your aunts."

I knew I couldn't give her the real reason as to what happened to my apartment and I really didn't have the funds to pay for damages – especially since I was jobless – so I decided to fake surprise. "Really?" I gasped. "Everything's destroyed? This is the first time I've heard about this. After my classes let out this semester, I came home for the holidays."

"I'm very sorry, Miss Gilbert," she replied. "Would you like for us to file a police report?"

Although I knew there was no way they'd figure out who did it, I told her that I would appreciate it. "Is there anything else I need to take care of, Mrs. Gibbons? I probably won't be home for quite a while."

She was silent for a few moments before answering. "Miss Gilbert, because of the damages to the apartment, we're required to deem the apartment unlivable until repaired. We need you to remove whatever belongings you wish to keep out of the apartment by this weekend. Now, we know you signed a contract stating you would rent the apartment until July of next year, but should you choose to not take out a contract with another apartment here, we will not charge you a penalty fee for cancelling your rent agreement before your year is up."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I was thankful that I wouldn't have to keep paying for the apartment if I was actually going to be here in Mystic Falls and not in the apartment, but I really hadn't thought past today. Did I have plans to go back there? Would I be going to school in the spring? Would I need to book another apartment there?

Very quickly I decided that I wouldn't go back. I felt safe here in Mystic Falls. It was where I had been raised and when I thought about growing old here, it felt right. "Thank you, Mrs. Gibbons for giving me that option. I think I will pick up my things and just move out altogether. I'm thinking about moving back home anyway."

"Well, if you ever come back in the future, you know where to find us," she laughed. I laughed with her but not because she was funny but because the idea of going back to those apartments was preposterous. They were, for lack of a better word, crappy in every way. The outside of the apartments alone made it look like drug addicts inhabited the entire place. The heating and cooling systems never worked properly and I was blessed if I got a lukewarm shower. "When you gather your things, just stop by the front office to sign some final paperwork and turn in your keys. It was wonderful having you as a tenant, Miss Gilbert."

I rolled my eyes. This woman had no idea who I was. She was just the businesswoman who dealt with the finances. If the apartment hadn't needed repairs, she probably would have just left the whole thing alone, even if she thought something bad had happened to me. As long as she got her rent check at the end of every month. "Thank you, Mrs. Gibbons. I'll have everything taken care of in the next day or two." We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. I sat it next to me and sighed.

"So, sounds like you're heading back?"

I jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around to look behind me. "Jeremy, don't sneak up on people," I scolded, taking deep breaths to calm my heart.

He laughed and jumped up on the porch, sitting beside me on the swing. His legs were much longer than mine and he pushed against the ground, sending the swing way back and leaving my legs dangling below me. Very quickly he released the tension and we flew forward. I couldn't help but laugh. Instantly I was reminded of my dad pushing me on our swing in the back yard the night Mom didn't want me going outside because it was almost bedtime.

"You're going to break the swing doing that, Jer," I said, trying to hide my amusement as the swing started to slow.

He shrugged and looked back at me. "So, you're going back?" he asked again.

I shook my head. "No. Well, I mean I am, but probably not in the way you're thinking. I'm going there then coming back…to stay."

He smiled and dragged his feet across the concrete to stop the swing. "So you're moving back here?"

"Well…yeah," I nodded, smiling at the thought. I was moving back home. I was going to be with my family. "I just have to go back to my apartment, which was apparently broken into, and get whatever items weren't destroyed."

"Wait," he frowned. "Your apartment was broken into? Why didn't you tell me?"

I picked up the phone. "I was just told myself."

He narrowed his eyes. "You don't seem too upset," he said suspiciously.

I shrugged. "Material things, Jeremy. I'm with you guys now and that's what really matters."

I could tell he wasn't entirely convinced and we sat in silence for several minutes before he spoke up. "Elena, what happened to you?" he asked softly.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a light smile, hoping desperately that he'd drop it.

"I mean before you came back home. Something happened to you out there, didn't it? You don't even have to say yes or no because I know it did. I saw you that night you came home. You looked awful, no offense. I mean…you kind of looked like you were dying." I watched his eyes soften as he talked. He was really saddened by the thought of me not being okay.

I gave him another smile and a hug. "Jeremy, I'm okay."

He hugged me back before releasing me. "I know you are now," he responded. "But you weren't."

I looked down at the ground to avoid his eyes. I didn't want Jeremy to know what happened before I came home. I didn't want him or anyone else getting involved with that situation. It was better just left alone. That's what I was trying my hardest to do.

"Was it a guy?" he asked quietly.

My eyes shot back to his. "No," I snapped.

He narrowed his eyes. I had answered too quickly. He knew I was lying. "It was," he said, nodding slightly to himself. "Did he hurt you, Elena?"

I could see the anger starting to rise in his eyes. "What? No, of course not, Jer. Just leave it alone."

He stood up and started walking away from me, then quickly turned back around. "Elena, I don't know if I can just leave it alone. I keep seeing your face the night you came home in my head," he paced as his frustration built. "Your eyes were all sunken in and you were so pale. I have this... I don't know, feeling that something bad happened to you and whatever it was is coming back."

I shook my head. No one knew where I was. "No, Jer, nothing's gonna' hap–"

"Elena, you can keep saying everything's fine," he interrupted me. "But it's not. And now that I know it was some guy…" he walked over to me and dropped down on his knees in front of me. "Elena, will he try to find you?"

I furrowed my brow and shook my head slowly. Would they try to find me? After he had told me to leave and I had it out with…the other him, I hadn't heard a word from either since. I just assumed that was the end of it. Was I foolish in thinking I could get off that easily?

"You think he might, don't you?" Jeremy asked me.

"I…" I searched for an answer, "I really don't know, Jeremy."

He stood back up. "Elena, I swear I'll kill him if he shows up. I'm not going to let him hurt you again."

I sighed. I didn't want Jeremy to be angry over this. There was no point in him even worrying about it because, one, I really didn't think either Salvatore brother would be showing up any time soon and, two, even if they did, Jeremy couldn't fight them.

"Jeremy, nothing's going to happen." I sat the house phone down on the swing and stood up, walking over to him. "Really, listen to me. Whatever happened to me before I came here is in the past. Don't you see how much better I am already?" It was true and he had to notice it. I looked healthy again and for the most part, I was happy. "I've moved on. I don't want to bring up all the stuff from back then because it's just not worth it."

"Would you take him back?" he asked suddenly.

I took a step back. "What? What kind of question is that?"

"Would you? If he showed up right now."

"No, Jeremy, I wouldn't," I answered; surprised he would even worry about that.

He stared at me for a few moments before sighing. "Okay. Fine. If you say everything's okay, then I believe you."

I smiled and went back to pick up the phone. "Good. Now let's go see what Jenna's cooking," I laughed, turning to go back in the house.

He stopped me before I could enter. "One more thing. Can I go with you to get your stuff?"

"You don't have to do that Jeremy. By the way she was talking, there's not a whole lot left for me to get. I'm sure I can handle it."

He sighed. "Elena, please. I'm not concerned about your stuff. I'm concerned about you going back to that place alone. If I don't go with you, I'm just going to sit back here and worry the entire time about my big sister."

I worried my lower lip with my teeth as I thought about his request. Finally, I gave up and nodded. "Fine, you can go with me. We're just running to the apartment, getting the stuff, then coming back. Okay?"

He smiled and answered with "Okay" before entering the house himself.

It was times like these I was most thankful for Jeremy. He always had my back and was always looking out for me. Even though he was younger than me, he was my protector in a way. They always say blood is thicker than water.

We arrived at the Listal apartments just as the sun was starting to set the next day. I walked up to the door and noticed that the lock was still broken from where…he had kicked it in. Of course the complex wouldn't even replace it to protect what was left of my belongings.

I pushed it open and it squeaked as it moved. Cautiously, I stepped inside and reached for the light switch. I flicked it to the on position once. Then twice. Then again. No light. Of course the complex wouldn't replace the broken light bulbs.

I turned to Jeremy. "Do you have a flashlight?" We had brought Jeremy's truck just in case there was anything large I could salvage.

"Yeah, hold on a minute." He ran back to his truck and rummaged through a toolbox for a moment before coming back with a large, heavy-duty, yellow flashlight. He clicked it on and a powerful, white beam of light spilled into the room. Jeremy moved it over the debris and I heard him inhale deeply.

"Elena, what the hell happened here?"

I bit my lower lip and looked around. I was sure the place looked much more ruined and creepy because the flashlight was the only source of illumination, creating dark shadows as it reflected off of things, but even I had to admit the place was kind of scary by itself due to the wreckage.

"They said it was broken into," I answered mechanically.

I saw him glance over at me before shaking his head. "So what is it we can take away from here?"

We started in the back bedroom where things were less destroyed than in the living room. I was able to take out a good portion of my clothes, jewelry, and shoes. The bed was left untouched, but it was uncomfortable anyway so I told Jeremy to leave it. We took out one side table that had belonged to my grandmother. It was scratched and a little dinged up, but Jeremy said he could probably fix it. I dug through shattered glass to get all of the pictures of my parents out of their frames and put them in the side table to be taken out. When we finished getting a few other small odds and ends out of that room, we moved to the living room.

By that time the sun outside was completely gone and Jeremy had to turn on the headlights of his truck and shine them straight through the windows and door to light up the living room. We sifted through the mess for an hour before deciding nothing in that room could be saved. I told Jeremy not to bother with the bathroom or kitchen; there was nothing in either room I preferred to keep.

Overall, the entire rescue mission of my personal items took two and a half hours. Because my arrival time was set to be so late, my landlord left the papers I needed to sign right inside the living room with a note indicating to slip them through the slot in the front office door after signing the marked x's.

I sat in the truck with Jeremy as I signed everything. I looked over at him. "Okay, I just need to take these to the office and then we're ready to go," I smiled.

He nodded and started the truck as I jumped out. I walked around the corner of the building to where the central office was located. I slid the papers through the slot and smiled to myself. This was it. I could finally move back to Mystic Falls and not have to worry about anything back here. My apartment was taken care of and I had my stuff loaded in the truck. Things were looking up.

I turned around and my heart nearly exploded as I ran into him.

"Hello, Elena," he said with his arrogant smirk plastered on his face.

My breathing was so uneven that I could even take a moment to answer him. I rested my hand over my heart and tried to calm down.

He laughed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I just stared wide-eyed at him for a few more moments before shaking my head and stepping around him. This was not happening. I was moving on. I was moving away. My brother was waiting for me in the truck and we were leaving.

I had only made it a few steps before he was in front of me again.

I glared up at him. "What do you want, Damon?" I spat.

His smirk faded and he furrowed his brow. "To talk to you."

"How did you know I was here?"

"I check every day to see if you're back," he answered honestly. "Today I saw the truck and the door open, so I figured it had to be you. I waited until you walked out to make sure."

I looked down at the ground and shook my head. "I'm sorry, Damon, but I don't have time to talk to you." I stepped forward to walk around him again but he lightly grabbed my shoulder to stop me.

"Please, just listen to me for a moment."

"No, Damon," I said firmly and tried to shake off his hand.

"Elena, I will follow you back to Mystic Falls if you don't listen to me here."

My eyes shot up to him and I gasped. "What?" How did he know I had been in Mystic Falls?

His eyes softened for a moment. "Elena, I've known where you've been since you left. I just figured you needed some space; some time to collect yourself. That's why I haven't tried contacting you. I know everything we went through with Katherine was difficult for you to process. I knew you needed some time to get better." His eyes roamed over me quickly. "And you do, by the way…look better, I mean. I could see how things were starting to get to you around the end there. You didn't look healthy."

I cringed as his words brought everything back. I had been trying desperately to forget about everything that happened here. Now it was all in my face again and I couldn't ignore it. "Where is Katherine, Damon?"

He looked away from me. "She got away."

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, anger building inside of me. "What?"

He sighed. "She got away," he repeated. "Katherine's strong, Elena. We shouldn't have expected that cell to hold her forever."

I looked back up at him. "So you don't know where she is?" I asked through clenched teeth, my stomach starting to twist into a knot.

He shook his head and instantly my body reacted as I threw all of my weight into slapping him across the face.

His head didn't even turn and I knew the slap didn't hurt him, but it felt good to get that out.

As soon as my anger was released with that hit, the weight of the situation came crashing down on me and I doubled over, tears pouring over my lower lashes. Damon wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, keeping me standing.

"You were supposed to protect me!" I yelled. "This is why we went through all of this, right? You kept me locked up to protect me from her, to catch her, and then she just gets away? How could you let that happen, Damon?" My words were coming out through broken sobs and I would be surprised if he could actually understand what I was saying. "We're all in danger now, Damon! My Aunt Jenna and Jeremy and…"

"Shhh, shhh, Elena," he cooed as he ran his hand through my hair repeatedly, my cheek pressed against his chest. "No one is in danger. We don't think Katherine is after you anymore."

I pushed away from him. "Why do you say that?"

"Because she told us the reason she was here was to get us back. She only did all of that stuff to you to get you to go away, and you did. She's not after you anymore."

I shook my head. "You don't know that, Damon." I said, frantically wiping at my tears. My chest was throbbing with a painful ache. "She could come back for me and all of the people I care about. You were supposed to be protecting me. Right?"

He looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"I don't accept."

He lifted his eyes back to mine. "Elena, the reason I came here was not to scare you and let you know about Katherine. I came here to tell you that I still love you."

My breath caught in my throat and I unconsciously took a step back.

"I never wanted you to leave," he continued, "but I knew you needed to. I've just been waiting for you to come back."

"I'm not staying, Damon," I said slowly. "I'm moving back home."

A pained expression crossed his face briefly. "I'll follow you, then," he replied softly. "Mystic Falls is my home, too."

My brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Remember…I told you that night at Le Feu de Nuit. Stefan and I are from Mystic Falls. And ironically enough, your ancestors are some of the original vampire hunters."

Had he told me all of this that night? It seemed like so long ago, barely a wispy memory. The only real thing I remember about that night was how we had been together for the first time.

I shook my head. "I don't remember you saying that."

"Well, I did," he nodded. "And if that's where you want to be, I'll go back, too."

"You can't, Damon," I sighed, running a hand over my face and through my hair. "What about everything you have here? What about your night clubs and the businesses you run?"

"I already sold them all," he said matter-of-factly.

"What?" This was all starting to become overwhelming. I had been out of the loop for so long that this was all too much information in too short a time.

"The day Katherine ruined your place, I sold it all. I knew right then that I would spend the rest of however long it took protecting you. The only thing I kept was my car. Those businesses were just hobbies anyway. When you live forever, you end up doing things just to take up time."

I stared at him incredulously. How had I not known this? He had given up his entire life for me. "What about Stefan? And his art business?"

Damon's lips pressed into a hard line for a moment. "Apparently he did the same. Got rid of it all. I mean, in all honesty his job wasn't difficult. Do you know how old we are? Stefan was so good at appraising the art because he was around when it was made. He never really did the job for money, he's just always been a sentimental sap who was into art."

Damon belittling Stefan's job didn't alleviate the guilt I felt for either man. Both of them had given up things, no matter how small of things, for me. They had wanted to dedicate their time to protecting me.

And how had I repaid Stefan for that? I cheated on him with his brother and then eventually chose his brother over him.

And how had I repaid Damon? By running away from him.

Had I even said "thank you" to either of them?

The thoughts brought more tears to my eyes. "Where is Stefan now, Damon?" I was almost afraid to ask.

His eyes fell to the ground and he sighed again. "Searching for Katherine."

It felt like my heart was being squeezed in my chest. "Why?" I asked barely above a whisper.

"Because he's afraid she'll go after you again."

I felt my knees shake. Stefan was still trying to protect me. Even after everything I had done to him and everything he said to me, he was still trying to take care of me. "I have to go," I tried to say, but the air rushed out of my lungs and I barely mouthed the words.

Damon grabbed my shoulders and made me look him in the eyes. "Please, Elena," he begged. "Don't walk away from me."

My head was starting to pound and I suddenly felt liquid running above my upper lip. I watched Damon's eyes glance toward the spot and momentarily his vampire features appeared on his face before he forced them away. I knew my nose was bleeding. "I want to go home," I whispered.

Before I could say anything else, Damon pressed his lips forcefully against mine. Instantly, I melted against him and kissed back. He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me tight. "Elena, please," he mumbled against my lips, his breath escaping him roughly. "Please, don't walk away. I love you." He pulled back for just a moment to look into my eyes. "I love you so much, Elena," he whispered, returning his mouth to mine.

I suddenly had no idea what was going on. My heart was beating loud enough for my own ears to hear it and I was feeling weak all over. All of the heat in my body pooled around my lips and the only will I had was to keep kissing him.

I had missed him.

"Hey, you!"

Jeremy's voice echoed between the buildings and we both spun to look at him. He had a hollow aluminum bat in his hand and fury in his eyes.

"Get away from my sister, you fucker!" he yelled.

I was surprised to hear Jeremy talk like that. He had never cursed around me before. I pulled myself away from the thought and stepped forward. "Jeremy, no," I said firmly. "Put down the bat." If Jeremy attempted to get into a fight with Damon, things could end up very, very badly.

He looked at me. "Elena, is this him?"

I remained silent and Jeremy looked back at Damon.

"Listen to me very closely, you asshole," Jeremy started slowly. "Either leave Elena alone, or I will kill you. Do you understand me?"

Damon looked between Jeremy and me before a smile spread across his face and he laughed. "Seriously, Elena?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. Jeremy was just trying to protect me, no need to mock him.

I looked back at Jeremy and saw the muscles in his arms flex. Before I could tell him everything was okay, he swung the bat and connected with Damon's head.

Damon remained completely still as the bat bent around his head. Jeremy dropped the bat and stared down at it, his eyes wide. "What the hell?" he whispered to himself.

I watched as something clicked in Damon's eyes and all of the softness disappear. "That was a mistake," Damon said coldly before hitting Jeremy square in the chest and sending him flying back.

I screamed Jeremy's name as he hit the wall, pieces of brick crumbling around him. He landed on the ground with a bone-crunching thud.

I ran over to him, tears already escaping my eyes. I fell to the ground and pulled him to my chest, bending down to try to hear his heartbeat. Relief washed through me when I finally heard the sound and saw his shallow breathing. "Jeremy, are you okay?" I asked through my tears. His eyes remained closed; he was unconscious.

I looked back to Damon. "Why would you do that?" I screamed.

He stared at me for a moment before I saw the transformation again and the softness returned. "Elena…" he looked down at Jeremy. "I'm so…I'm sorry."

"Give me your cell phone," I said, trying to gain my composure and take control of the situation to help Jeremy. He did as I said and I called for an ambulance. When we disconnected, I threw the phone back at Damon.

"I can run him to the hospital, Elena," Damon said softly. "It'll be quicker than the ambulance."

I looked up at him. "I hate you, Damon," I said flatly, beginning to feel my body turning numb. "I just want you to leave."

His brow pulled together. "Elena…I really am sorry."

"It doesn't matter," I replied, shaking my head. "I need to protect my family now and having you around doesn't enable me to do that."

I could hear the sirens in the background.

"You need to leave," I said with finality.

He stared at me for several more seconds and I almost broke as I saw a single tear slide down his cheek.

Just as the flashing red lights rounded the corner, Damon disappeared.

Authors Note: Darn that Damon. :|

Lol.

Review and let me know what you think of this chapter.

Aaand if you noticed all the "going back there"s without naming where "there" actually was, that was done entirely on purpose. I have no idea where they are. I have no idea where her school is. I just know it's a days drive from Mystic Falls. :) When I started the story, where she was really didn't matter much to me or to the story. They end up in Mystic Falls anyway.

Review and let me know what you think of the new developments.

See you next chapter. :D