That was good. So good. Jeremy and I are finally finding a way to put our family back together. Next week, it'll be three years since my parents died. I want to have moved on by then. I want to be a new, better person. This is a great start. I'm glad Damon made me go inside. Stefan would've complied with my wishes and let me leave. Now off to the cemetery. It's time to stare into the past. I don't know if I'm ready to face my parents. All the plans I had for myself were destroyed. I'd done absolutely nothing since I saw them last. Will they be proud of me? Probably not.

"Are you ready?" Damon asks as we pull out of the driveway.

"As ready as I'll ever be. What about you?"

"Am I ready to meet your parents? Elena, this is a big step. I don't think I am."

I chuckle. Comedy is a wonderful defense mechanism for him. I completely forget my important questions when he grins and cracks a joke.

"Your parents are buried there too. I'm sure you haven't forgotten."

"I'm not seeing them. I'm there for you and your new 'spiritual journey' and whatnot."

I don't what to push him, but maybe looking back is exactly what he needs to do to find his way back to Stefan. I really want things to work for the two of them.

"You might as well pay your respects..."

"They wouldn't want me there in the first place. I'm sure Stefan goes every weekend. That's more than enough for them."

It makes me really sad to know that Damon thinks his parents didn't love him. They had to have. Buried deep beneath that rough exterior, he has an enormous heart. I just know it. The way he's supported me after knowing me for only a few days proves that there's much more compassion in him than anyone knows.

"There's no way your mother didn't love you. Don't think that."

He grimaces and turns backward. The car is parked now. I don't think he'll walk with me.

Great, Elena. You've upset him.

"I feel like I'm always apologizing to you lately but again, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help."

Damon nods his head and begins to say something. Then he stops. Bitterness flashes across his previously emotionless face.

"You don't know anything about my mother. She loved Stefan. I was a burden. It's the cycle of my life."

"That's impossible. Maybe she was frustrated with your behavior but I'm sure she loved you. Like I said, it's impossible not to."

"How so?" He asked with a contemplative expression.

"I don't know how to explain it, but I know you're just as compassionate and loving as your brother. You try and hide it, but I can see it. The way you helped me today with my brother makes that pretty clear. You practically just met me and you're already helping me better myself. Only someone with a big heart could do that. Either that or you're just trying to hang out with me to bother Stefan."

"Why are you so sure it's not the latter?"

"If you wanted to bother Stefan there's a lot more you could've done."

Like kiss me this morning while you were clasping my necklace.

Stop, Elena. Don't go there.

Why can't I forget that? There's something about him that gets me so excited. Once I saw him this morning, my whole perspective on the day changed. I saw mystery and adventure.

Crap, did he sense how suggestive that was? He's staring at me. His intense blue gaze is infiltrating my mind and I can't even remember what I was trying to say.

"You have some high expectations of me and my intentions."

He says as he walks closer to me.

He needs to stop. Right there. Any closer and I can't be held accountable for my actions. Here comes my own defense mechanism: word vomit.

"Damon, I think you're an honorable man. That might sound really cheesy, but I think you want the same things out of life that any person wants. Your life just didn't start out as well as others. We're similar, believe it or not. You just didn't come from the kind of family I did, and that screwed with you. I think you still ended up being a good man. I admire that because you basically raised yourself to be that way."

"I'm not a good man, Elena. You know how I've treated my brother these past few years."

"And he accidentally stole your girlfriend. It's all misunderstandings."

"If I was a good man I wouldn't be here with you right now."

So he felt it too: the tension. We're dancing very close to that line that I cannot cross.

"You're here because you're interested. You care. That's not a sin."

He continues staring at me. Though being here might not be sinful, I can't say the same for his thoughts.

"Come with me. I don't want to do this alone."

I raise my hand from my side, hoping he'll take it. He needs a friend and so do I right now.

Damon hesitantly places his hand in mine. We walk through the rows of burial sites.

This town might as well be called Orphanview. So many parents of my classmates are buried in this same cemetery. It's a depressing site. Too many lives ended much too soon.

As I gaze across this flatland of death, I find comfort and light in the center near a large willow. My parents rest there. Damon and I walk towards the willow slowly.

I take a seat on the side of the tree facing my parents' headstones.

Damon continues standing.

Slowly and uncertainly, I attempt to talk with my parents.

"Hi, Mom. Dad."

My eyes swell with tears. I can't do this. I haven't visited them in so long. They must hate me. I suddenly understand how Damon feels about visiting his parents. I hate his parents for not loving him enough. Think of all the things he could've done with his life had they given him enough care.

That thought brings me back to my own parents. Look at me now. Clearly they loved me and still do. Talking to them shouldn't be this difficult. I'm making it harder than it has to be.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been here. You know all of my issues already, I'm sure. I tried to deal with this. I really did. It was too hard. I'm sorry."

This is overwhelming. I stop to catch my breath and wipe a tear.

"I'm trying to fix things with Jeremy…I'm so sorry."

I stop again as tears flow down my face. I try to contain my sobs. This is too much for me to deal with right now. I'm going to have to leave or come back another day.

"Stop apologizing," Damon interrupts.

Damon's words hit me like a brick.

"What?"

"They're your parents. They know why you did what you did. They don't care. They loved you. I don't know how to explain it, I just know," he says half mocking my earlier words, half sincerely.

I sniffle and stifle my tears for a moment. I can continue. This isn't me. I'm strong enough to face this.

"I'm trying to change things for myself. I want to make you both proud. I want to make Jenna proud. I can't end up here one day without having done anything for myself. "

I look up at Damon as I wipe the last tear from my cheek. He nods his head, assuring me that I can finish this. Why is he being so kind? Stefan really needs to see this side of his brother.

"Well, I'm going to start visiting more. I owe you both that much."

Damon's facing the other direction. I wonder if he's as emotionally disturbed being here as I am.

"I'm sure you've both heard about Stefan. This is his brother, Damon. He's the reason I'm here today. He's helping me challenge myself."

Damon turns around and stands awkwardly still. I can see that he blushes a bit.

"He's a great friend and I'm very happy that he's come back to town. We're going to go see his parents now. I'll be back really soon… I love you."

His grin subsides when he realizes I'm going to make him see his parents.

"Look, I know you don't want to see them, but you should probably do it. Get your feelings out. Even if they're not positive, let them know how you feel. It's a great start."

Damon muses over my suggestion for a while. Surprisingly, he places his hand outward and waits for me to take hold. Without hesitation, I grip his hand tightly and we walk.

I know in this moment that he really trusts me and that means the world to me.

As we walk down a winding path all the way to the end of the cemetery, I see dozens of immense, gothic headstones come into view. This must be the Salvatore family plot: depressing, yet regal.

"Welcome to my future," Damon says bitterly.

"It's not so bad. So, what have you got to say?"

Anger flashes across his face, then a bit of sadness. I know this is hard for him, but I think he needs to deal with what he's feeling. Both Stefan and Damon need to get to the root of the problem and stop blaming each other.

I place my hand on his shoulder to reassure him that he can do this.

"Hi. Guess what, Dad? I have a friend. I bet you're shocked. Mom. No, Stefan's not here."

He pauses.

"I can't believe I'm talking to giant rocks right now."

"You're so sentimental, Damon."

"I'm not finished! Dad, thanks for getting me hooked on bourbon. It's gotten me through a lot of sleepless nights. It's also gotten me into a lot of trouble. I'm sure, heaven or hell, you've found out about Baltimore. I wish you guys would've cared more. Or maybe I wish Stefan hadn't been so damn perfect. Either way, thanks for nothing," he mutters the last line with a salute.

He shrugs my hand off his shoulder and starts walking back towards the car.

"Damon, wait. I'm sor…I think you did really well. It was clever? Didn't it help to talk about it a little?"

"Not really," he shouts back as he continues walking.

I run after him.

"Your dad seems like he was an asshole. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for saying I'm sorry again. And again. I still don't believe that your mother didn't love you, but either way, it doesn't matter. Believe it or not, people care about you now."

"Not only did my mother not love me, she didn't even like me. And really, who likes me now?"

"I do."

His face is expressionless, so I continue trying to soften him up.

"Stefan does, too. He'll deny it but I know he cares. He just doesn't want you to think he's weak. Isn't that all of our problems? The three of us, I mean. We're always trying to hide our weaknesses instead of just being honest and confronting what's going on. "

"That's insightful."

"You can't make things right with your parents. It's too late. But Stefan already cares about you. Fix that. You can have a family, Damon."

I think I've finally broken through to the core. Maybe he's ready to make his way back to his brother.

"I'll talk to him. I can't guarantee anything. We're gonna have to get rid of Katherine first, though. We can't move forward with her being here."

For the first time in a while, a grin is plastered from ear to ear across my formerly melancholic face. He's going to try.

"Look at that. We're all moving forward. Do you realize how much you've helped me just by coming to town?"

"And how did I do that?"

"The day you got here I was a mess. I'm pretty sure you saw me sobbing in the bathroom. I got really restless with how boring my life is. I was thinking about all I've given up and what I'm left with. It's not enough. I don't want to be the pathetic girl that never leaves her hometown and gives up her dreams for her boyfriend. I gave up so much. I want it back. I never take what I want but I'm doing it now."

I grab his hand once again to signify the sincerity of my words.

"Then you arrived and it brought adventure and mystery. Figuring all of this out has helped me get to know not only you and Stefan much better, but even myself. I fixed things with Jeremy because I saw what a hypocrite I was being. Not to mention, the sky was always gray until that day you showed up. The sun came out. Literally and figuratively. Is it weird that I noticed that?"

I chuckle and hope he doesn't find me finding symbolism in the clouds creepy.

"Believe it or not, coming back is the best thing you could've done for your brother. You've just opened a lot of locked doors lately. Not just for Stefan, but for me. So, thank you."

Damon puts his head down to disguise his grin, but I still see it. I see right through him. I think we really understand each other. That's what's bringing us together.