AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while but I have had this horrible cold so I couldn't even look at a laptop screen! But I didn't forget you guys! I hope you enjoy and I love the ending of this one.

Chapter 14

The little town looked exactly the same as if she hadn't left months ago. Ivy had decided to miss the funeral for Pastor Young, as she didn't know him to mourn him

The vampire chose to drive to Florida to pack up her little bungalow. Forgetting just how long and boring the day between the two states was. She believed that now was the best time to make the move to Mystic Falls official. With her dad gone, she could move into his apartment and feel closer to him. There was no point in wasting money on the bungalow if she wasn't going to live there anymore

As she drove down her street, she took in everything. The Chinese place she used to get food for Noah and her when they were too lazy to cook. The grungy bar she used to work at across the street. The colourful graffiti that painted bare brick walls with life.

As she turned onto her driveway she began to feel glum. She was closing the chapter of herself and Noah. Apart from the engagement ring, this was the last page. She knew deep down in her heart that she needed closure if she was to move on.

Sat in her Mustang, glancing at her white painted wood panel bungalow with bay windows. It didn't occur to her, just how hard this was going to be. She took a deep breath before exiting the car, grabbing some boxes and entering the house.

The living room and kitchen was one massive open plan room. A wall to the right blocking anyone from seeing the bedroom and bathroom. The living room was the first room anyone entered. A TV mounted on the large wall to the right, opposite a grey inviting corner sofa asking to be sat on. A glass coffee table situated in the middle of the empty room between the sofa and TV. There was a large window behind one side of the sofa that looked out onto next doors house and part of the beach. Behind the other side of the sofa was a long counter of the kitchen which made its way around the kitchen in a u shape. Oak wood was used for the cupboards to compliment the light ocean toned decor. An island in the middle which Ivy used for preparing meals and learning specific drinks for the bar. The small appliances were teal to add a pop of colour to the room. There was a back door that led to the small garden and the beachfront. There were photos and knick-knacks placed around both the rooms. Her house was basically an album of nostalgia as each knick-knack had a memory attached.

The framed royal blue sea glass on the wall was from a date with Noah. They had decided to spend the day at the beach. Ivy believed she was a fish in a previous life because she loved being in or watching the ocean. They watched the sunset as if they were in some romantic comedy. As they got up to go back to their bungalow, Noah noticed the royal blue sea glass. He told her that he would have it made into a piece of jewellery so she could always remember their perfect day. Ivy surprised him by having it framed and put on the wall. Noah later surprised her by referencing the royal blue colour in her engagement ring.

Ivy's eyes drifted to a selfie of her mother and her during a hot summer. The two were completely drenched from head to toe after just having a water pistol fight. Ivy's curly hair was straight dark and plastered against her face. Her mother, Brooke, had strands of hair stuck to her face, unable to get them off as both hands were occupied. In the picture Ivy was laughing at Brooke as she tried to move the damp heavy hair from her face by blowing.

Ivy remembered that being one of the last summers she spent with her mother. Before she would stay with Alaric for the hot months

The vampire started to pack up the living room, just taking the photos and items that meant the most to her. She didn't mind leaving the furniture for the next tenant as it wasn't like she had anywhere to put it all. She placed pictures of her and Alaric, her and Noah and a couple of her with both her parents, into a cardboard box. Going into the kitchen, she packed most of her small appliances. She thought that the colour would help her dad's place look a little less dark and dreary.

Ivy had only been at the house for a couple of hours. Packed 7 boxes and finished the living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Time for the bedroom.

The bedroom she shared with Noah. A few months after Noah passed she was finally able to start sleeping in the room again. But packing it up meant she had to pay more attention to the details around the room.

Ivy slowly reached for the brass door knob, hesitant to open the door. She leant her forehead against the wooden door, closing her eyes. "Come on. It's just a room." she whispered to herself to psych herself up. She opened the door to her bedroom.

The room was square with a bay window that she would sit at in the mornings, watching people start their day. To her left was a king sized bed with a grey and blue designed duvet covering it with pillows to match. Either side of the bed was an oak nightstand with a small lamp on top and a vase full of fake flowers on Ivy's side. The wooden wardrobe in the corner looked just a messy as when she had left a few months ago. A door was to her right which led to the on-suite bathroom. Pictures of her and Noah's family were on the wall in photo frames. Her eyes scanned the room, landing on his side table by the bed.

She hadn't touched it since he died, leaving it exactly the way he did. A silver chain bracelet left unhooked, the keys to his dad's old motorbike and a dark brown leather strap watch laid on the table. She picked the three items up placing them in the box to take with her. She took a couple of his shirts and packed all of her clothes. She packed all the photos in the room, figuring out where to put them in Alaric's apartment in her head. Ivy worked her way through the room, knowing that if she took a break she would stop completely.

A few hours later, Ivy fell onto the couch in exhaustion after finishing the packing. She looked around to see almost a bare bungalow except the furniture. She had done it! Willing herself to pack up her car and start the drive back in the morning. As she was packing up, she saw an old face through the bar window across the road. Ivy locked her car, skipping across the road to the dingy bar. She opened the door, immediately feeling the air thicken, missing the feel and sight of the place. As she neared the bar, her eyes were focused on the two figures behind it.

Lou and Mitch Larkin, the owners of the bar.

They had been married for 30 years and Ivy looked up to them aspiring to be that in love one day. The couple were in their mid to late 60s still rocking the tattoos they got in their youth. When Ivy would have too much to drink, she would ask Lou the story of how they met

The story took place in the very bar they were standing in during the 1960s. Mitch's parents had owned the bar before the couple. He had just turned 21 a few years before, so he was finally able to learn the ropes behind the bar. One night he spotted Lou come in with a bunch of girlfriends. He saw her straight away, she looked like she had just stepped out of a magazine. She had ordered a cranberry and vodka which was an easy drink to make so that wasn't going to impress her. Whilst reaching for the vodka bottle he decided he was going to flip it behind his back and catch it.

He didn't.

The bottle fell to the floor, smashing into pieces. He got proper telling off from his father, who didn't understand why he would do such a stupid thing. Mitch was too distracted by the girl leaving, believing he would never see her again. The next night Lou came back to see the young bartender, bringing a bottle of vodka with her. They laughed about the silly incident and spent the rest of the night talking. Ivy loved to hear the story over and over again because it fuelled the hopeless romantic in her and normally got Mitch to perform some tricks.

Ivy reached the bar, glad that the two figures were facing the other way chatting about the inventory. She smiled watching them get wound up as they discussed the inventory list. She quietly slid onto a stool trying not to alert the two. Placing her hands on the bar, she spied the couple for a beat before piping up.

"Can I have a cranberry and vodka? No funny business Mitch." The vampire asked the two aging bartenders. The couple spun around when they heard the familiar voice. The young girl who left in a flash due to a family emergency had returned.

"Ivy, you're back! Good to see you, girl!" Lou exclaimed, beaming at the young woman. She gave Ivy a loving pat on the hand, leaning on the bar to talk to the young woman.

Brooke and Lou had become good friends when Brooke and Ivy first moved here 20 years ago. The mother and 5-year-old daughter were running down the street trying to find shelter from the rain. Brooke was trying to look for a restaurant where her and Ivy could have dinner. Lou had just finished opening the awning at the front of the bar when she spotted the two. The older woman saw the shivering child clinging to her mother for warmth. Lou waved the two over and invited them into her bar. Brooke was hesitant at first when she saw the place but she needed to get her little one out the rain.

The duo had spent a couple hours at the bar. Lou and Mitch fawning over the little one giving her colouring and making her laugh. Brooke felt herself relax watching the young couple talk with her daughter. After that evening, they made it a weekly dinner date to go to the bar and see the couple.

"Good to see you too Lou." Ivy beamed at the older woman.

"Everything alright with the family emergency?" Mitch questioned the vampire, as he picked up a glass to dry. Lou took a couple steps back to get Ivy her normal drink; a shot of whiskey. Ivy's eyes sadly fell to look at her hands on the wooden bar. Lou saw sorrowful look and decided to pour the girl a double shot.

"No… My … My dad passed away." Ivy stated strongly, trying not to cry at saying the sentence out loud. Lou slid the small glass towards Ivy, grabbing the young girl's hand as she did. Mitch placed the glass away, slinging the towel he was using over his shoulder. He crossed his arms over his chest, using them to lean on the bar.

"I'm sorry to hear that, squirt." Mitch offered his condolences using the nickname he gave her when they first met.

"Thanks Mitch. I'm moving back there to help out with some stuff." Ivy said sadly. She drank the shot Lou had poured her. Cringing at the strong taste as she swallowed the liquid.

"You're leaving chick?" Lou asked, putting Ivy's used glass away as she watched the young girl nod. "If you think that's best then you do it. You need to feel close to him and grieve the best way for you. But you better come visit us old folk some time." Ivy chuckled at the silver haired woman.

"Yeah. You can give me a break from her" that had earned Mitch a small nudge from his wife. Mitch kissed her rosy wrinkled cheek in forgiveness. Ivy envied the love the two in front of her shared. She could easily watch the couple all day as they joked and laugh with each other.

For that night, that's what she did. She spent as much time as she could with them until closing when she knew she would have to say goodbye.

Ivy had finally made her way back to Mystic Falls. Before driving home, she decided to pay a visit to her father. She grabbed a bottle of cheap bourbon from a petrol station to help talk to her dad. On arrival, she found out she wasn't the only one to have the thought.

"They're floating lanterns in the sky, can you believe that? A Japanese lantern is the symbol of letting go of the past. Well, here's a news flash: we're not Japanese!" Damon took a swig out of the bourbon bottle hanging loosely from his fingers.

Ivy was pleasantly surprised to find the vampire here, talking to her dad's gravestone. She has come here almost every night since he passed and had not seen anyone else. It warmed her heart to find that she wasn't the only one missing Alaric. Ivy knew it was wrong to spy on such a personal moment, but she wanted to give Damon the time he needed to talk to her father. The redhead was careful not step on any twigs, that would alert the Salvatore of her presence.

"Do you know what they are? Children. Like lighting a candle is going to make everything okay. Or even saying a prayer or pretending Elena is not going to end up just like the rest of us murderous vampires. Stupid, delusional, exasperating, little children. I know what you're going to say: "It makes them feel better, Damon." So what?" Ivy held in a giggle at Damon's impression of Alaric. She smiled at him, glad she wasn't the only one to guess her comebacks. "For how long? A minute, a day? What differences does it make?" Damon rose form the stone bench, walking towards the grave stone whilst continuing to speak to it. "Because in the end, when you lose somebody; every candle, every prayer is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing that you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody that you cared about used to be. And a rock with a birthday carved into it that I'm pretty sure is wrong." Damon sat on the tombstone. "So, thanks, friend. Thanks for leaving me here to babysit, because I should have been long gone by now. I didn't get the girl, remember? I'm just stuck here fighting with my brother and taking care of the kids. You owe me big." Damon finished the bottle of bourbon, placing it on the tombstone as he got up. "You can come out now Lil Saltzman." Damon shouted into the darkness.

Ivy thought that she was being silent. "You knew I was here?" Ivy asked the older vampire in embarrassment.

"Your vintage engine isn't on the quiet side." Damon was slurring and wobbling as Ivy approached. "If you want to sneak up on me, try a Prius." Ivy sat on the stone bench looking up at Damon.

"I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those." Damon nodded in agreement as he fell beside the woman on the bench. "So, do you come here often?" Ivy rolled her eyes when Damon faced her with his signature smirk.

"Why Lil' Saltzman are you hitting on me? Trying to take advantage of me in my fragile state." His voice dripped with sarcasm. Ivy opened the bottle of alcohol to take a quick swig.

"You know what I meant, Damon." She offered him the drink but he passed, already feeling the effects of his own bottle. Damon's eyes went to the gravestone on the ground, his smirk dropping into a frown.

"What do you want me to say? That I miss him? That I miss my only friend?" Damon got up from his seat, stumbling in front of Ivy. His arms out by his sides in frustration. Ivy glanced at the vampire with sadness, never having seen Damon look so fragile and lost. "I lost my friend, I didn't get the girl. So what do I have?" Ivy downed a large quantity of alcohol at Damon's confession. She knew a way to help him but that meant being honest with herself and her crush's older brother. Ivy stood from the bench, stepping over her father's grave to get to Damon. Placing both of her hands on the top of his arms to get his attention and stop him pacing.

"What do you have?! You have me, okay? My dad wouldn't want me to let you go around causing trouble. And you know what? You're not the only one upset at Elena picking Stefan." Ivy stared into his sky blue eyes, up close they really were beautiful.

"My brother? You like Stefan?" Damon pushed Ivy off of him in frustration. "Of course because it's Stefan! Every girl swoons over Stefan Salvatore." Well now Ivy felt bad. Her intention was to make him feel like he wasn't alone but that completely backfired. Damon took a few steps backwards to steady himself. Ivy went to grab him again but didn't expect him to grab her as he fell backwards.

The two vampires landed on the leaf covered floor with a thud. Ivy placed her hands on either side of Damon's head so she could look at him. His eyes were closed not in pain from the fall but pain from never being an option. Unconsciously, her hand stroked his pale cheek, as if a mother was comforting a child.

"What I meant was..." Ivy's voice was soft, making Damon open his eyes to look at her. "You have me, whether you like it or not." Her hand dropped back to the dirt floor, rolling off the very firm vampire. "You lost one Saltzman and you gained another."

The two of them were staring up at the star filled sky, lying in the dirt and golden leaves on the ground. Ivy felt Damon's hand slowly move to grab hers. They stayed in silence, revelling in the peacefulness of the moment.

"Well, you need to drink a lot more." Damon obviously felt uncomfortable in silence.

"I'm sure I'll being drinking more, the more I hang out with you."

"Yeah, you'll most likely need it." The two started to chuckle as they bantered back and forth, not bothering to get up from the ground. Both unaware that Alaric Saltzman was watching them from the other side.

Smiling at the woman his daughter had become and the vampire just looking for a friend.