"Are you sure you have to leave?" Elena whined seeing Damon pack weapons and a change of clothes into a black duffel bag.
"Yes. There is a vampire problem in Richmond and apparently their cops are too inept to handle it on their own. So Liz and I are going to rectify the situation." Damon said zipping up the bag.
"You know I worry about you when you go on these trips." she said banding her arms around his neck.
"You don't have to worry. I'm going there, killing the vamp and coming home. I'll be back early tomorrow." he said.
"What if it's not that easy? What if the vampire is older than you?" she asked fearfully.
"Even if he is, I'll have Liz nearby armed with vervain and wooden bullets. If I need it, she can neutralize him until I can kill him." he assured his worried wife.
"I still don't like this." Elena said biting her fingernails.
"It'll be easy. It always is. I'm just trying to end it before the vampire comes here thus targeting our kids." he said.
"I know you're right." she sighed.
"And you know I always survive. They can't kill me, I'm Damon Salvatore. Bad ass, vamp, father, husband and all around sexy beast extraordinaire." he said cockily.
"I know. Be careful. Don't do anything risky." she said.
"I won't. I promise. Now I just hope that the Richmond P.D realize that I work alone. I do not want any or their ineptness ruining my work." he said.
"You'll have to talk to them about that." she said walking him to the front door.
"Don't worry. The Richmond P.D will know all about my demands. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." he said kissing her before opening the door.
"Be careful." she called as he walked out the door. He smiled back and she shut the door when he was gone.
"Hey Aurora, is your family participating in the bake sale tomorrow?" Sarah, a girl in her class asked.
"Um I don't know." Aurora admitted.
"I doubt it. Your family never participates. I somehow don't even think your family can cook considering they're not human." she snickered.
"My dad happens to be an incredible cook. He's Italian." she said.
"And that means something?" Sarah snickered again.
"It kinda does. Italians are notorious for their cooking ability. And look I am not in the mood to deal with you badmouthing my family. My mom and dad give more to this school and this town more than your family ever will. So just shut up and leave me alone." Aurora warned her.
"Fine. But I would love to see your parents bake something for the sale. It would be nice to have help from another family." Sarah said much more agreeable now that Aurora fought back.
"I will ask my mom. My dad is going to Richmond for the night." she said.
When school was finished Aurora met Aiden at the car and they drove home. Whenever they could they saved gas and went together. It just made more sense.
"Mom?" Aurora called when they walked in the front door.
"Yeah?" Elena answered coming out of the living room with her book in hand.
"How do you feel about a little challenge?" Aurora asked.
"What kind of challenge?" Elena asked wearily.
"Sarah, a girl I go to school with thinks that we should be a part of the bake sale. And she was rude about it at first. Any chance you can get past your usual lack of baking ability and make something for the sale even if it is just chocolate chip cookies?" Aurora asked hopefully.
"If I really wanted to I could bake. I learned to cook didn't I?" she asked.
"Yeah, but dad has tried time and time again to teach you to bake, and he's failed each time. I'm not expecting any miracles, but if you could whip something together it would be great." Aurora said.
"I will whip something incredible together. Just you wait and see." Elena said grabbing a cook book from the cupboard and flipping through until she found something.
"So what are you making?" Aurora asked concerned.
"Brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Worst case scenario we'll have Rice Krispy squares. Those I know how to make." Elena said.
"Good. At least you have a plan. I'm going to do my homework." Aurora said rushing upstairs. Determined, Elena pulled out all the ingredients and started putting the baking together.
A few hours later Aiden walked through the front door after his shift at the Grill.
"Oooh, did dad come home early? It smells so good in here?" Aiden asked.
"No this was all me. Pretty good huh?" she asked.
"They smell good, but are they edible?" Aiden asked cautiously.
"Yes they are. I already had one." Elena said.
"But mom you are a vampire. I'm sure bad brownies and chocolate chip cookies aren't going to kill you." Aiden said.
"Aurora had one too. She's still alive." Elena stated annoyed.
"Fine. You win. When does dad come home?" Aiden asked.
"Tomorrow." Elena said.
"Okay, so remember to play nice Damon." Liz said as they pulled into the parking lot of the Richmond police department.
"Play nice? I always play nice." Damon remarked getting out of the car.
"Try to keep the sarcasm and general jackass-ness that you usually use to a minimum. Mystic Falls is used to it, Richmond is not." Liz insisted.
"Fine. For you, I will try. But if someone pisses me off, don't expect me to play nice. I hate arrogant cops, at least I have your cops mostly trained. These ones haven't worked with me before." Damon stated as they walked through the main doors into the lobby.
"Can I help you?" the man at the front desk asked.
"Yes, we're here to see Sheriff Wainwright." Liz said.
"And you are?" the man asked picking up his phone.
"I am Liz Forbes, sheriff of Mystic Falls, and this is Damon Salvatore." she said introducing the two of them.
"You can go on up. The sheriff is waiting for you." the man said pointing to the elevator. Damon and Liz made their way to the elevator and stepped inside next to an obviously new recruit.
"Hello?" the young man said nervously.
"Hi. I'm sheriff Forbes, from Mystic Falls" Liz said introducing herself.
"Hi. I'm officer Mike Walsh." he said extending his hand nervously.
"It's nice to meet you?" she said while Damon ignored the kid thinking he wasn't worth his while.
"Are you guys here for the vampire issue?" he asked softly, hoping he wasn't over stepping his mark.
"Yes we are. Are you on that case?" Liz asked curiously,, looking for any information she could get before going in to meet the Sheriff.
"Yes. I'm scared to death. My sister was killed by the creature." Mike said lowering his gaze.
"I'm sorry." Liz said meaning it.
"I take offence to the term creature." Damon interjected.
"Are you one of them?" Mike asked terrified.
"I sure am." he said gleefully, he loved seeing the terror in peoples faces. It was an urge he never lost but rarely ever acted on.
"Why are you here? Are you going to kill me?" he asked swallowing thickly.
"No, Damon is not going to kill you. He's a good guy. He's here to kill the vampire. He makes it his personal mission to make sure that his family is safe from vampire threats." Liz assured the terrified officer as the elevator stopped.
"Don't worry Mike, I won't be needing you on this little excursion. I work alone." Damon said firmly.
"Ha, I dare you to tell that to Captain Weiss. He is in charge of this case. He's an arrogant prick." Mike said laughing.
"So am I. And I am willing to bet that I am much better at being an arrogant prick than he will ever be." Damon said as they walked down the hallway.
"I swear Weiss has a PhD in it. And apparently he knows everything to know about vampire killing. More than anyone on the planet." Mike said.
"He hasn't met me." Damon said as Liz knocked on the office.
"I'll see you guys later. I'm not needed in this meeting." Mike said turning to walk to his desk. Damon nodded, there was something he kinda liked about the kid, he wasn't sure what it was.
"Come on in." Sheriff Wainwright said.
"Thank you." Liz said as Damon followed her in.
"Do you need any refreshments or anything?" the sheriff asked.
"Just get to the vampire. Tell me who I need to kill so I can go do it. Then I can go home to my wife." Damon shot in.
"You will be assisting my Captain here, on hunting the creature, Mr Salvatore. You will be under his jurisdiction." Wainwright said.
"I work alone." Damon stated slowly.
"You will take orders from me." Captain Weiss said smirking.
"Oh I will, will I?" Damon asked his eyes widening.
"Yes you will. Do you know how many vampires I have killed?" Weiss asked.
"I am intrigued. How many?" Damon asked pulling off the smirk so much better than he had.
"Well technically none. But I have dismembered so many vampire training dummies, during my vampire hunting training." he said smugly.
"You're joking. I have killed hundreds. Thousands maybe. I can kill them anyway I want. My speciality is tearing their hearts straight out of their chests." Damon said smirking wider than before.
"Uh huh. Well it doesn't matter. You're following my lead when we hunt him." he said trying to stay strong.
"Alright. I'll play you for it. If you can take me down, then I'll follow your lead. If you can't, then you follow mine." Damon said offering Weiss his hand.
"Fine. I'm confident in my ability to kick your ass Salvatore, you smug son of a bitch. Let's go to the training room." he said opening the door.
"We'll come with you." Liz said knowing all about Damon's temper at times. Sheriff Wainwright seemingly agreed because he got out of his chair and followed then down the hall to the big training room.
"Alright. Take me down. However you think you can." Damon said standing with his back to the cop. Damon was surprised when Weiss ran and attacked him, trying to tackle him to the ground.
"Are you serious? You're trying to wrestle me to the ground?" he asked laughing.
"What other way is there to do it?" Weiss demanded. After pushing and wrenching without any prevail for a few minutes he landed a hard punch to the side of Damon's head.
"Ow. You broke my jaw. Ass." Damon said pushing his jaw back into place and waiting for it to heal itself.
"Weiss just give up now. He knows more than you do." Wainwright stated. Weiss nodded his head and stood before Damon.
"How would you have done it, if you were me and I was you?" he asked.
" First of all, I am not you. Thank God. But I would have vervained you first then shoved a stake through your heart. Wooden bullets are nifty little tools too. I hate those fucking things, they're a bitch to get out" Damon said without hesitance.
"I see. I don't have vervain or a stake or wooden bullets" Weiss said.
"When we hunt him you will have vervain, a stake and a gun filled with wooden bullets. Do not try to kill him unless you can and I am there. This guy needs to die, or else he could come to Mystic Falls and I can't have that." Damon said.
"Why so eager to kill your own kind?" Weiss demanded.
"Because I have a wife and kids at home who I have to protect. My wife can take care of herself, she's a vampire. But my kids are completely human and being my kids leaves them in several dangerous positions. I've made a lot of enemies in my past." Damon admitted.
"I can see why. You're an asshole." Weiss said.
"The only one who gets away with calling me names is my wife." Damon warned him.
After Damon trained Weiss on everything he needed to know, they went out hunting for the vamp.
"Do you have any idea where he hides?" Damon asked.
"He hides in the woods. We've had officers tracking him for over a week now. They radio his location before he kills them." Weiss explained.
"I see. Now do not do anything stupid. I am under strict orders to be careful. If I get hurt you will have a very angry female vampire on your hands. And I have trained her well." Damon warned him.
"So I'll take the east flank of the woods, Damon you'll take the centre and Sheriff Forbes you'll take the west?" Weiss asked.
"Yes. And all these other useless officers can comb the areas in between us. Walk in a straight line and we'll comb the entire forest." Damon explained. Everyone nodded and made sure they had their vervain and guns filled with wooden bullets.
"Just do not shoot me. I swear to God. Also drink a bit of the vervain. It tastes like shit but it will poison the vamp if you get bitten." Damon explained.
"You drink vervain?" Weiss asked, confused after finding out the stuff was toxic to vampires.
"Everyday. To protect myself from being compelled by vampires older than me. The vervain will also keep vampires out of your head." Damon explained as he watched everyone take a swig. When everyone was ready they all began walking. Damon kept his ears focused on sounds not coming from any of the cops. It didn't take him long to detect the rustling of leaves from above him. Just before the vampire jumped down to take him out, Damon deftly stepped aside causing the vampire to fall straight to the ground.
"You were easier to find than I expected." Damon said standing on his chest.
"Let me go vampire. Let me go." the young vampire demanded.
"Are you the one terrorizing Richmond?" Damon demanded.
"Yes. I don't know what else to do. I am a vampire and I drink blood. These cops keep hunting me. I fight to preserve my life." the vampire said.
"You know I hate you right? You caused me to have to spend tonight away from my wife." he said stepping harder into the vampires chest.
"I'm sorry. I was coming through and then these cops attacked me because they seen me biting a girl. I wasn't going to kill her, just taking some blood so I could get by. They shot me over and over with normal bullets so I got angry. I killed one officer but then more attacked and I killed more out of self-defence. Please don't kill me. I just live on my own, by day-to-day. I just want to get out of Virginia." he begged.
"I really want to kill someone." Damon said practically stomping his foot, annoyed.
"Are you going to kill me?" he asked.
"No. My wife hates it when I kill people who are technically innocent. But I will remember you and if I see you around this area again, I will kill you without hesitation next time." Damon warned him as he lifted his foot off his chest.
"Thank you. Don't worry. I plan on going to LA, where I can follow my dream of being in movies." he said.
"Well good luck with that." Damon said pulling his phone out and messaging both Weiss and Liz, who radioed to the other guys.
"You found the vampire? Where is he?" Weiss demanded.
"I said I found him, not that I killed him. I let him go." he said.
"You what!?" Weiss shrieked.
"I let him go. What did it sound like I said? He was suffering an injustice. Your men shot at him first because he was drinking from a woman that he was not going to kill. The first officer he killed was out of self-defence and so were the ones after that. He is on his way to LA to live his dream of being in movies." Damon explained.
"You idiot!" Weiss screamed.
"Good choice Damon. You're learning some tolerance." Liz said slapping his shoulder.
"It's all Elena. She is the patron saint of all things good and pure. It's rubbing off on me." he muttered to Liz while ignoring Weiss.
The next day Elena packed up the baking and drove over to the school where the bake sale was being held.
"I'll sit with you for a while, but I want to go get some extra help in math. This trig crap is baffling me completely." Aurora said when Elena took a table and sat down.
"It's okay. Focus on your grades sweetheart. Where is your brother?" Elena asked.
"He's staying at home to play video games today. He hasn't had a Saturday off from the Grill in a long time. He doesn't want to leave the house, and I can't blame him." Aurora explained.
"Neither can I. He's greatly improved. So hardworking and smart. I'm proud of my son." Elena said smiling. She grinned when her first customer appeared.
"Since you have this under control, I'll take your advice and go get some help on math now." Aurora said picking up her backpack and walking away.
After threatening to kill Weiss three times yesterday, Damon was finally back in Mystic Falls. He dropped Liz off at the police department before driving home, and not seeing Elena's car in the driveway.
"Where's your mom?" he asked when he seen Aiden lounging across the couch with a video game controller in hand.
"Something about a bake sale at school." he said without any interest at all.
"Good God, she didn't bake did she?" he asked horrified at the possibility.
"She did and it kinda turned out." Aiden said.
"I'll believe that when I see it. I guess I'm going to see my hot wife at the school. Bye." he said dropping his bag on the floor and getting back into his car. When he pulled up at the school he walked onto the field and walked past all the tables until he found Elena selling a brownie to a middle-aged guy who was flirting with her. He smirked and shook his head, there was no way in hell he was jealous of that guy. He walked over to the table and took the vacant seat next to her.
"Hey baby." he said kissing her cheek.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" she asked once she got the money from the guy plus a tip and the guys phone number which she immediately trashed.
"Aiden said you baked, I am here to make sure that no one dies from your baking ability, or lack thereof." he said.
"Shut up Salvatore. I baked all of this, and I fed it to the kids. They're still very much alive." Elena said offended.
"What made you decide to join a bake sale anyway? Were you that bored when I was gone?" he asked.
"I was bored. But I did it because the kids didn't think I could. I proved them wrong. Here taste this." she said picking up a brownie and guiding it to his lips. He took a bite out of it and chewed thoughtfully for a minute.
"It's not bad. Not as good as I would make of course, but not terrible." he allowed.
"What about when you consider that it was my first time baking them?" she asked.
"I would give you a B+ for effort. Although as a teacher my decisions can be swayed..." he said trailing off.
"What do I have to do to get an A+?" she asked raising her eyebrows.
"Do you still have that schoolgirl costume?" he asked.
"Yes..." she asked wearily.
"Hmm, I guess we're role-playing naughty schoolgirl tonight. That is how you will receive an A+ Miss Gilbert." he said smirking lewdly.