Chapter 20

Alaric held Jade in his arms the comforter wrapped around them warding off the chill of the room from their bare skin. Jade examined the ring she wore. "So this little thing contains all my magic?"

"Yes, and I stress again, do not take it off..." Alaric began

"Ya, ya cause if I do it will kill me slowly, and painfully. I got it. Don't take off the gorgeous ring that the guy I just slept with gave me." Alaric chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"No one can know, not even Damon. Bonnie, Jo and myself are the only ones who know about this, and even that is to many." Alaric leaned down and kissed Jade's head.

Jade suddenly stopped looking at the ring and turned herself to face Alaric. "Hey, isn't this like a wedding ring or something?" Alaric blushed a little and looked from Jade to the ring. Reaching a hand down he took her ringed hand in his own and brushed a finger against the ring.

"It's an Irish wedding ring. On this finger, with the heart pointed at you, it means your heart is taken." Alaric then dropped Jade's hand down gently in her lap and kissed her.

Once they pulled away Jade looked at him and smiled. "How romantic." Jade then moved out of Alaric's grasp and moved to straddle him. "I've missed you." Spoke Jade as she brought her lips down to his.

A few minutes passed and just as things were starting to progress again a knock sounded on the door. Jade and Alaric stopped what they were doing and looked at each other with shocked faces. "Jade, are you up." Came Damon's voice from the other side of the door. Turning quickly Jade looked at the alarm clock at the side of the bed and saw that it read ten in the morning.

"Just a minute Damon, I am not decent." Jade then turned back to Alaric and gave him a quick kiss before waving her hand at him, making him disappear. Alaric appeared in his apartment, alone, and without any clothes.

Jade who was now rushing out of bed saw Alaric's clothes scattered around the room and waved her hands through the air, the clothes disappearing and reappearing in the air above Alaric's head. After a second of hanging in mid air the clothes fell, pelting Alaric in the head as he was still trying to understand what was happening.

"Wow, I could really get use to this." Jade smiled to herself as she took a moment to bask in the power of having control over her powers.

"Jade?" Damon questioned from the door.

"Hold on one more second." Jade quickly pulled on a pair of sweats and a sports bra. Rushing towards the door she pulled it open quickly and allowed Damon in.

"I see your feeling better, working out already. You should probably eat something before you start working up a sweat." Jade blushed as she thought back to why she was really sweating.

"I am actually feeling really good Damon, it is nice to be back." Rushing forward Jade wrapped her arms around Damon and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, you can loosen up on the grip a little. I'm not going anywhere." Damon pushed Jade off of himself so he could examine her, that is when he noticed the ring.

"Where did you get that?" Damon questioned as he pulled her hand up so he could examine it.

"I found it, while I was on the other side. I thought it was pretty." Jade spoke trying to sound as if she did not know what it was.

"While you're wearing it wrong." He then dropped her hand and moved to sit down on her bed. He patted the spot next to him indicating that he wanted her to sit with him. Damon had been trying all night to work out how he was going to tell Jade that he believed that she should strip herself of her powers.

"You have that, I am in trouble face." Whispered Jade as she sat down next to Damon. "I know what this is about Damon, and I have already decided, Bonnie and I are meeting tonight to strip me of my powers."

Damon turned to look at her, his face revealing that he did not believe her. Jade reached out and took Damon's hands in hers.

"Jade, we can find another way." Damon spoke maneuvering his hands so he could take Jade's in his own.

"Damon, please just trust me. I will be okay, everything is going to be okay now. I just need you to trust me on this." Jade smiled then got up off the bed and pulled her hands free.

"Now, if you will excuse me I would love to have a shower and try and get back to a normal life." Jade started grabbing her things for the shower and then stopped. Turning back to Damon Jade scrunched up her face. "Umm...when exactly in this normal life, is it right now?"

"We are exactly, two weeks till Christmas." Damon spoke standing and heading for the door.

"My classes!" Jade gasped realizing she missed finals.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Wanna pass with honors?" Jade chucked the item she was holding towards Damon and groaned. He shut the door behind him as he left, leaving Jade alone.

Jade proceeded to grab the remainder of her shower items, then vanished from the room. When she reappeared she was in Alaric's living room.

"Don't you knock." Alaric laughed from behind Jade. Swinging around Jade found Alaric with nothing but a towel around his hips.

"I did not want to use the showers at the college, I was hoping I could use yours. That is if you did not use up all the hot water." Jade spoke this with a laugh, and walked towards him.

Alaric with vampire speed, met Jade half way and lifted her up onto his hips. Wrapping her legs around him Jade gasped in surprise. "I don't think you are quite dirty enough yet for a shower." Jade chuckled as Alaric carried her towards his bed room. Once in the bedroom Jade dropped her shower basket unceremoniously on the floor, before she was flung onto the bed.

Jo was sitting in her apartment having a glass of wine and reading a book when her phone rang. Reaching over she answered it. "Hello?"

"Josette, your brother, he's free." Then the line went dead. Jo recognized that voice though. That was her fathers voice.