I sat on the perfectly made up bed, my rehab-assigned clothes sitting in my lap. I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to be feeling at the moment. This morning, I was proclaimed innocent. It was absolutely one of the happiest few minutes of my life. For a flash of time, I was free. Then I was ruled to return here. I didn't understand it and I definitely didn't agree with it. The way I saw it, I'd done my time here. I was ready to go home.

A quiet knock sounded against the door and I looked up.

"I just wanted to stop by and see how you were settling in," Bonnie smiled softly.

I shrugged.

Her smile lowered. "I know the situation is not ideal, Elena, but it could have been worse."

"Did Damon say when he was stopping by?" I asked quietly, looking back down at the clothes.

"He did, but I declined the visitation."

My brow furrowed. "Why?"

Bonnie sighed, folded her arms across her chest, and walked over to the chair in my room. Sitting down, I watched as she mulled over her words, choosing the best way to answer. "Elena, I don't have to tell you how much you've been through. You already know. And you have already proven to so many people that you are a survivor and a fighter. I have no doubt that you will overcome any obstacles that come to pass. However, with that being said, in the most recent past, any time anything traumatic occurred, Damon was there nearly immediately to pick you back up. Now, by no means am I saying that that's a bad thing. It is always beneficial to have someone that cares for and supports you. The thing you need to learn, Elena, is how to deal with these things on your own. For years now, you leaned on the drugs. They helped you cope. When Damon came into the picture, you leaned on him, to a certain extent. You need time to figure out the best way for you to process tragedy without help from anyone or anything."

"There's no more tragedy for me to process," I argued. "I'm perfectly fine with what happened to Stefan. He got what he deserved."

"Maybe today you think that and maybe tomorrow you'll feel the same way. But sometime, and probably sooner than you'd like to admit, the fact that you actually killed someone… again… is going to become an issue. And when it does, I'll be here with you teaching you how to cope on your own." She reached forward and patted my knee. "After you change clothes, I thought you'd might like to relax for a bit. You can do that wherever you'd like as long as it's on the grounds. I'll see you tomorrow morning for our meeting."

She waited for me to respond and when I didn't, she finally sighed and left.

Dressed in my white tank top and white, flowy capris, I made my way down the stairs. I'd decided to go sit on the swing outside and get a bit of fresh air.

Opening the front doors, I heard my name being called behind me and I turned to find Caroline running toward me.

A genuine smile turned my lips. "Caroline!"

Caroline ran up and abruptly wrapped me in a hug. "Elena! I've missed you! I'm so glad you're back!"

"I missed you, too," I replied, not feeling quite the same way about the last sentiment.

"Where are you going?" she asked, backing away from me.

"To the swing. Want to join?"

Her eyes travelled outside warily and I knew she was thinking about the last time we were out there together.

"No one's coming this time, Caroline," I laughed. "It's all over."

She looked back to me, thought for a moment longer, then nodded. "Okay. Sure."

Together, we walked down the lawn toward the swing. "So, how have you been?" I asked her.

"Perfect," she beamed.

I eyed her suspiciously. "Perfect? Does this have anything to do with the boy you were telling me about last time?"

"Possibly," she answered coyly.

I reached over and poked her in the side. "Come on! Spill!"

She giggled and stepped away from me. "Okay, okay! His name…" she paused dramatically and stopped walking, looking up toward the sky, "…is Kol." A deep, exaggerated exhale left her, almost as if his name was heaven.

I laughed and sat in the swing, folding my legs up to my chest. "Kol?"

She nodded quickly and began pacing in front of me. "He's 19 and he's from here and he's an ecstasy addict."

"Those are things you've already told me," I reminded her. "What else?"

"What else? What else is that he's perfect," she cried, drawing out the word 'perfect'. "He's so kind to me and so gentlemanly and so gorgeous!"

"So, I guess you like him?" I teased.

She looked at me with a dead-serious expression. "No, Elena. I love him."

My eyes grew. "Love him?"

"Absolutely, one-hundred percent, over-the-moon-and-stick-a-fork-in-me-in-love."

I laughed loudly at her combination of clichés.

She held her hands up to her chest and sighed. "I never thought I'd find anyone, Elena. Especially not with being the way I am. But I didn't even have to go looking for him. He came to me." She sighed and dropped to sit beside me theatrically.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Care," I grinned.

"And you know what?" she continued, looking over at me. "He doesn't even care that I'm a you-know-what."

"You told him?" I gasped, surprised that she would drop all of her craziness on someone she's falling in love with.

She nodded. "I figured he deserved to know the truth from the get-go. But he's not frightened of me. If anything, he thinks it makes me sexier," she smirked.

I smiled, but wondered briefly about the sanity of this Kol person. "You've told Bonnie of your new romance?"

"Of course. And I know he's talked to her about me as well. She told me having a relationship with someone who's not a vampire would be healthy for me. As long as I don't feed on him," she nodded once to herself.

"Good rule," I agreed and suppressed a laugh.

"So, how have you been?" she asked. "I heard about the trial this morning. Congratulations."

"Thank you. I don't know, I've been good. I feel good, which is why I don't understand why they made me come back here."

"Is it okay for me to tell you what I think?" she asked slowly.

I looked to her and nodded. "Of course. You're my friend, Caroline, you can tell me what you're thinking."

She smiled gently and took a deep breath. "I don't think you're really the best person to assess what you're feeling. I kind of think you get your feelings confused."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well," she looked to the ground, "I know I'm not exactly the most observant person, but you've left here and come back a lot. More than most patients. And I can guess that all the times you left, you felt good. But obviously that wasn't the case if you were brought back just days after for whatever reason."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off.

"Look, I'm not trying to say anything bad about you. And I'm not saying anyone else can know you better than you know yourself. I'm just saying… maybe you should trust them, Elena. And if not 'them' as in the overall staff of the facility, then maybe you should trust Bonnie. She's actually not that bad to talk to."

I watched as Caroline eyed the ground warily, bracing herself for the well-known wrath of Elena. My heart sank slightly as I realized just how much I pushed people away with the idea that I know better. My immediate reaction to defend myself melted away and I smiled, understanding that Caroline wasn't judging me. She wasn't putting me down and wasn't making me feel like less of a person. She was just trying to help.

"Okay," I answered softly and she looked up. "I'll try to trust them."

I wasn't expecting the gripping hug that bombarded me, causing my breath to rush from my lungs.

"Thank you!" Caroline screamed in my ear and I winced.

"Can't… breath," I gasped and Caroline quickly released me.

"Oh, god, sorry," she apologized with a huge smile still on her lips.

"First thing's first," Bonnie started as she stood from behind her desk in her office. "You have a phone call."

"I do?" I asked, closing the door behind me. I had arrived on time in Bonnie's office for our session this morning. I was prepared to put down my walls and try my best to do just as Caroline had asked.

She held out the receiver toward me as I came over and took it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, baby," Damons' voice came through.

My heart jumped in my chest and I clutched the phone tightly. "Damon?"

"How are you, love?"

"I miss you."

"I can assure you I miss you more," he laughed.

"Where are you?"

"Home. I'll be leaving in a few minutes to check on your house, then I'll be on my way to work."

"You're checking on my house?"

"I do every day," he responded and my heart melted. I'd never had someone care for me like he did. Even when he's not with me, he's still taking time out of his day to check on my things without me ever having mentioned it.

"Thank you," I said and my voice cracked slightly, tears suddenly pooling along my waterline.

"Shhh, baby," I heard him soothe. "Don't cry."

He didn't even need to be with me to know how I was reacting. "I just really miss you."

"I know, sweetheart. You put in the work that you need to do there and we'll be together soon enough."

"I will. I promise," and as I said the words, I knew they were true. I would do whatever I needed to do to be with him again. Bonnie held up her wrist and pointed to her watch. "Baby, I've got to go," I said quietly, a sharp pang of sadness in my chest.

"I love you, Elena," he said with enough strength to ensure the words would last me until we spoke again.

"I can assure I love you more," I joked and I heard him laugh on the other end. "Bye, Damon."

"Bye, love."

And with that, I handed the receiver back to Bonnie for her to hang up.

"So," I looked up at Bonnie, conviction finally in my heart to hear her out. "I trust you. Teach me the right way to deal with this."


A/N: :)

See you next chapter.