A.N.: You didn't think I was slowing down, did you?! I've had half-term holiday! I should've been studying! Ha!

I think if I had to give Giulijah a musical theme, I'd be torn between the "Marry Me" Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, "Welcome to Jurassic Park" from Jurassic Park, "The Last of the Starks" from Game of Thrones (also including in the GoT umbrella, "I am Hers, She is Mine", "The Tower", "Truth", "Home" "Breaker of Chains" and "Blood of the Dragon" which are exquisite and exceptional masterpieces). Also, "Serenade for Strings In C Major, Op. 48" by Tchaikovsky, "E più ti penso" by Andrea Bocelli and Ariana Grande, "Let's Hurt Tonight" by OneRepublic, "Dynasty" by Miia, "Loved Me Back to Life" by Sia, "Stay" performed by Thirty Seconds to Mars, "Parachute" and "Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton, maybe a little Ariana "Dangerous Woman" and many others! So, not so much a theme but a playlist!


Resurgam

28

Prodigal Returns


"I enjoyed last night," someone rumbled against her ear, and Giulia shivered as Elijah bent to place a lingering kiss on her cheek, before skirting around the table to take the vacant seat opposite her.

She beamed, as he settled his things on the little table already laden with her laptop, papers and notebook. "So did I…especially as I won."

"Oh, you won?" Elijah grinned, sitting relaxed in his chair.

"Yes."

"I seem to recall things turning in my favour," he said airily.

"I don't remember that."

"No?"

"Fairly certain I had you…right where I wanted you," Giulia said, lifting her gaze to his, and Elijah grinned, biting his lip as he glanced at her mouth.

"Oh dear, did we reach an impasse?" he asked suggestively, and Giulia raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Do you have something for me?" she asked.

"Whatever you'd like."

She smirked. "Noted."

"Oh, you were referring to the syllabus?" Elijah asked flirtatiously, lifting a stack of paperback books he had rested on the little table. "Well…inspired by a certain person…and perusal of current events on the hot topic of #metoo and Time's Up movements, I have decided on the overarching theme for the first semester's course of study."

"Do tell," Giulia smiled.

"Feminism, and the exceptional female," Elijah said, his eye-contact intense. Giulia smiled, her cheeks warming with delight.

"Intriguing," she said softly. "Your choices?"

"Far too many; I'll need help whittling down," Elijah grimaced regretfully.

"Keep your bibliography handy; you may inspire the next great feminist leader," Giulia said, and Elijah grinned.

"One can only hope."

"You do realise you're going to be teaching millennials; you're plunging headfirst into the territory of social-media trolls," Giulia warned him, handing him the small card menu for his perusal.

"Oh, gossip and viciousness have been pervasive throughout history, if it's not Twitter it was a plaque draped around the victim's neck proclaiming their shame to all," Elijah said airily, waving a hand negligently.

"Well, I hope you'll start with Much Ado About Nothing. One of the most significant themes is the devastating effects slut-shaming has on young girls' mental health," Giulia said, and Elijah grinned as he set down the menu to open a little notebook he had brought with him, showing the very first title in a long list. She beamed. "Wonderful."

"I recalled you named Zita after one of the great heroines of the play," he said, and Giulia nodded.

"I have a recording of the production, if you want to show it during class. It was The Globe Theatre's 'Summer of Love' season; Much Ado was set during the Mexican Revolution - it was…vibrant," Giulia smiled warmly. "There's no point doing Shakespeare if you don't show it; it was never intended to be read," Giulia sighed, shaking her head. Watching Shakespeare performed brought the plays to life.

"I agree entirely," Elijah said, picking up the menu again. "I am determined to sample everything on Ashlyn's menu; she has yet to disappoint. Would you like another?"

"May I have one of Ash's iced milk and honey lattes?" Giulia smiled. "And something to nibble on, please."

"Anything off the menu, too?"

"Elijah." He smirked, walking backwards toward the counter to keep her in his sight, blatantly checking her out. Giulia did the same, grinning as she consumed the sight of him - especially the way his jeans hugged his ass when he turned to order. There was a lightness in him, as if shedding his suits had shed the weight of the world from his shoulders. Playfulness. The tension she remembered, the introspection, seemed to have drifted away - he was happy.

He had his family back.

A tall glass was set in front of her, filled with ice cubes and a milky coffee, and she startled, stifling a squeak of surprise, and sighed as Elijah captured her lips in a searing, lingering kiss. She sat up straighter, leaning in to him, and he tenderly nibbled her lower lip before nuzzling her nose, his eyes dark and warm as he drew away. It was a long time since she had surprised with a kiss like that.

"I could get used to that," she sighed, flushing. She may have swooned, just a little bit.

"That is my hope," Elijah murmured in her ear.

"Sir, you are trouble."

Elijah pulled a face, smirking, and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek. "Admittedly, Doctor Salvatore." Giulia chuckled softly to herself as Elijah reclaimed his seat; she sipped her fresh iced milk and honey latte.

"So, who else?" she prompted, using her pen to indicate Elijah's notebook.

"Frankenstein," Elijah said, and Giulia grimaced; he cut her off before she could object, "I know - it can be dull, if handled poorly."

"As long as you make it about the metaphor rather than the actual plot, you'll be fine," Giulia said. "Mention her mother, too - perspective."

"When you took classes in Virginia you attended an entire series of lectures studying exceptional women, didn't you?" Elijah asked, and Giulia nodded thoughtfully. That was a long time ago, when they had been together, cohabiting at her lake-house and torturing each other with exquisite sexual torment in the hopes that they would break the other into giving in.

"I did."

"Do you still have the papers you wrote?" Elijah asked.

"Of course!" Giulia scoffed, and Elijah smirked; he should know better. "I'll email them to you. You might also want to add in a little aside about Little Women, it's gaining a lot more media attention due to the anniversary, more productions on the big-screen and television are being released. You could add some colour by drawing on the Founding daughters of Mystic Falls - they were Alcott's contemporaries."

"I was considering creating a corner in my classroom devoted to feminist writings, to encourage the students to peruse," Elijah mused, and Giulia perked up in her chair, eyes wide with delight, gasping softly. "I thought you'd like that." He watched her, and chuckled.

"What?" Giulia asked, flushing delicately.

Warmly, Elijah said, "You're smiling."

Giulia smiled back, and admitted, "I miss school."

"Why don't you return?"

"One day, I will," Giulia vowed. "I need to pace myself!"

Elijah chuckled, but his face drew into a frown as his phone started to ring. Drawing it out of his pocket, he flicked his gaze over the screen.

"Pardon me," he said, ever the polite gentleman, "this is the school. It's likely about the paperwork for Gyda and Rebekah's enrolment."

"And you're the emergency contact, Dad," Giulia teased.

"That is going to take some getting used to. I've not lived with Gyda as father and daughter in centuries. Do you think she'll tolerate me ground her?"

"I wouldn't worry about that so much as chaperoning the school dances," Giulia smirked, and Elijah chuckled softly, accepting the call, and he wandered outside in consideration for the other café patrons, who showed no such concerns.

There was a lusty sigh, and a sheet of dark hair rippled as someone took Elijah's seat with a flounce, a very heavy book with a glossy jacket dropping with a bang on top of Elijah's notebook. Isobel clasped her hands on top of Giulia's pioneering psychology text, her fresh manicure glinting, giving Giulia a benign smile as she said, "It would appear we share much more in common than I originally thought."

"Hello, Isobel. I hope you appreciated the references," Giulia said, smirking lightly, getting a tiny - not very tiny - thrill that someone had read her book - voluntarily. "Even used excerpts from some of your texts in my lectures; required reading."

"Your academic records until you were seventeen never indicated you had such potential," Isobel said, her eyelashes lowered as she carefully opened the front-over, delicately turning the pages.

"The plight of the child-genius in a public high-school," Giulia said, rolling her eyes in amusement. "My father prioritised nurturing the person I'd become over academic bling I could accumulate."

Isobel gazed at her, and nodded slightly, "He knows what's important."

"He did…" Giulia agreed, and Isobel stilled at her careful intonation. "How are you? How are you settling in?"

"The suite is gorgeous, the weekly blood-bag delivery is incredibly convenient, and I have a delicious new neighbour," Isobel purred.

"Yuck."

"Well, we all need friends to play with."

"Again…bigger yuck." Giulia crinkled her nose, and Isobel chuckled richly.

"Relax, it was just drinks," she said airily. "Your bourbon is delectable, by the way."

"Ah, well, glad you approve," Giulia said, smiling, and gave Isobel a quick once-over. "You look like you're settling in well. A little spree in Richmond?"

"Ten years desiccating, I figured my wardrobe could use a refresh," Isobel said, tossing her freshly trimmed hair over one shoulder, revealing her outfit, the light glittering off a diamond tennis-bracelet clasped around her wrist.

"Diamonds never go out of style," Giulia smirked. Isobel grinned, shrugging unapologetically.

"I couldn't resist… I wanted to pick something out for Elena," she said, her voice turning thoughtful. "I know she wears a charm-bracelet that belonged to Miranda…"

"That's very thoughtful…" Giulia said gently, because it was. Isobel had noticed. "How are things going?"

"Well, I took Elena out for a walk with Grayson the other day, just around to the park. We sipped coffees and she listened while I talked. Apologised…" Isobel said, and Giulia nodded, just listening: Isobel had few friends, and, as with the Originals, it was important to encourage her to forge connections. Giulia was her first contact - and Isobel was right, they did have a lot in common: Giulia had used some of Isobel's work as the foundations for her own research. "It's strange… The Elena I remember never would've let me within an inch of Grayson…but look at this." She pulled out the brand-new phone Giulia had helped set her up with, and brought up a video. At a local park, Isobel sat in a swing, with four-month-old Grayson in her lap. They were just gently swinging, but Grayson was writhing and cooing, giggling in the sunshine.

"Grayson's smiling," Giulia beamed, filled with wonder at the tiny creature, the same way she had been entranced with Zita. When she wasn't being completely terrified by her.

"Yeah…he's one content little boy…" Isobel smiled fondly, retrieving her phone and gazing at the screen. Her face was not that of a vampire who had abandoned her emotions. The smile faded, and she tucked her phone away into her brand-new purse. She seemed to hesitate about something, before she said, "She left him with me, Giulia."

Giulia went still, lowering her glass, watching Isobel carefully. "How long for?"

"All afternoon."

"Did she say why?"

"She didn't need to," Isobel said, sighing, and Giulia would dare to say she sounded annoyed. "The whole time I was talking to her, she was on her phone sending texts to Stefan Salvatore, not that he acknowledged them, from what I could see. Apparently she's worried about a new friend of his."

Giulia sighed, rolling her eyes as she sipped her iced latte. "Rebekah."

"Oh, dear," said Elijah, wandering back to their table. Isobel glanced up from her seat - Elijah's seat - and Elijah said a polite, "Please," indicating she remain where she was, drawing another chair to the table rather than kick her out of it. "What has my sister been up to now?"

"Isobel, this is Elijah," Giulia said politely. "Elijah, Professor Isobel Flemming."

"A pleasure," Elijah smiled, shaking Isobel's hand.

"Very nice to meet you," Isobel dimpled. She sighed, glancing between them, perhaps taken aback that Rebekah's brother - another Original - sat before her, sharing a coffee with Giulia. "Rebekah's not done anything that I can tell, other than be in proximity to Stefan as he zooms around town in his Porsche. According to Elena, him driving the Porsche is a psychological tell that he's back on human blood."

"She's not wrong about the Porsche, or about the blood," Giulia sighed, remembering the last time Stefan had sped around town in his favourite car. "I don't see that it's any of her business now what Stefan does, especially as he's spent the last decade learning to control his bloodlust."

"He has?" Elijah raised his eyebrows, looking mildly interested.

"He's had to look after Klaus; he couldn't afford to maintain his Ripper habit," Giulia informed him, wondering… But if Stefan stayed at the Klaushaus with Rebekah, Elijah wouldn't necessarily know Stefan's dining habits. "There were only so many times I'd answer the call to come clean up the mess he left behind."

"So why is she -?"

"Because Stefan made her feel safe and special," Giulia answered Isobel, with a sigh. "She's…stuck; her time with him was the best of her life, for all the macabre and the violence, the pain. It was exciting and she felt crucial. We're incapable of walking away… And almost everything else pales in comparison." She exchanged a look with Isobel: They both knew it was the truth. They both knew how it felt, to be mesmerised, entranced…intoxicated by the supernatural, drawn to it - stuck, magnetised.

"I just don't understand why she's like this about him," Isobel said, shaking her head.

"Those messes I cleaned up, the ones Klaus and Stefan created…she found them," Giulia told Isobel. "She was tracking them; eventually, Ric and Jenna and Jeremy decided that…the only way to protect Elena from herself was to compel her to stop."

"To stop loving Stefan?" Isobel's eyes widened, and Elijah glanced quickly between them, as Giulia shook her head.

"No - no, we never took that away from her, though it may have been kinder to everyone if we had, looking back…" She sighed. "Damon compelled her to accept that Stefan had to leave town; and that part of him doing so was to keep her safe so she could have the wonderful life she'd always wanted… Now, his return combined with her postpartum…"

"How bad was she, after Stefan left?" Isobel asked quietly. "How much danger was she putting herself in?" Giulia sighed, settling back against her chair. She and Caroline had been enjoying their road-trip that summer, in the immediate aftermath of the sacrifice ritual, and Stefan's departure: Damon had kept Giulia informed, and kept tabs personally on Elena, with Ric's help. She and Caroline had returned home just in time, before Giulia went north to New York for the start of her freshman year, to pull Elena out of the most harrowing scrape of the summer.

"One memorable evening we ended up in a mountain-range full of werewolves on a full-moon with a couple of vervain hand-grenades, a rifle with some wooden bullets, and a coil of rope…there was…nibbling involved," Giulia said, with a faint grimace. "A smidgeon of dismembering. She was unharmed. But…that made the decision; she hadn't just put herself in danger, she had endangered others, too."

"Single-minded to the point of recklessness," Isobel murmured, half to herself. She sighed heavily, catching Giulia's eye ruefully. "She's more like me than I'd hoped…"

"If you're really curious, talk to Damon - I left for New York after that summer, but he stayed for a little while, saw…the worst of it," Giulia told her.

"You're encouraging me to spend quality time with Damon."

"God, no." Isobel laughed, rising from her chair.

"It was very nice to meet you, Elijah," she said, smiling beautifully. She nodded. "Giulia." Giulia waved, and turned around in her chair as the bell tinkled over the front-door.

"Isobel!" she called, and Isobel glanced over her shoulder. Giulia lifted up her text. "Your book!"

"You're going to sign it for me, with a heartfelt message," Isobel smirked.

Giulia grinned. "You want naughty or nice?"

"Surprise me," Isobel smiled, and Giulia laughed as Isobel wandered off into the sunshine, adjusting her sunglasses.

"Has Damon found a new playmate already?" Elijah asked.

"He sired her."

"I thought Isobel Flemming was Elena's…ah…that's awkward," Elijah said softly, realisation dawning, and Giulia nodded.

"Also Ric's ex-wife…ish," Giulia said, frowning. "She 'died'."

"That's too funny and too tragic to even be made up."

"Yes."

"What's this about Rebekah?" Elijah asked, setting his phone down on the table and picking up his coffee.

"I don't know, something about Stefan zooming around in his Porsche," Giulia said, rolling her eyes.

"Ah. That may have something to do with the fact Rebekah has coaxed him into enrolling in school again," Elijah said thoughtfully.

"How - never mind; I don't need specifics on how she's coerced him to do that - again, really?" Giulia raised her eyebrows.

"Mm. Something about helping her reintegrate. She can only learn so much from John Hughes movies," Elijah said, his lips twitching. He wouldn't say that in front of Cara, who had a shrine to Mr Hughes in her bedroom. "They've been driving around town for supplies all day. Rebekah had a marathon shopping spree in Richmond over the weekend, Julia Roberts would be proud of her sashaying around with her boutique bags and superior attitude."

"So Stefan's going back to school, too…" Giulia said thoughtfully, eyeing Elijah. "Be prepared for sass-mouthin' from that one, especially considering he's on human blood. And keep an eye on the cheerleaders - in a non-pervy way."

"I'll endeavour to do my best," Elijah scoffed.

"Who are you thinking for poets?" Giulia asked, drawing them back to the reason they had met at Ashlyn's café, to discuss Elijah's new role.

"Angelou, obviously. Sappho. Phillis Wheatley… Mary Oliver and Dickinson, I suppose," he sighed, as if disgruntled at having to include the latter two. "Rupi Kaur. Beyoncé."

"Be- Beyoncé?!" Giulia laughed, surprised.

"Are not songs poems?" Elijah challenged. "'Lemonade' was ground-breaking; I am sorry to have missed it."

"You know what, you can tell you're friends with Cara, even if you haven't seen her in a while. I got us all tickets to Bey's 'Lemonade' tour, Cara was…very grateful…" Giulia said, her lips twitching, and Elijah grinned, chuckling: he knew Cara too well, could imagine her gratitude. "You're such a feminist, I love it! And you're bringing in female black poets, too, which…given the racial breakdown of your classes, that's going to be…quite novel, very topical. I do happen to know another exquisite feminist poet…someone very close to both our hearts."

Elijah's smile was slow, breathless, his eyes sparkling. "You wouldn't dare suggest…?"

"Do it, just to see her squirm!" Giulia grinned. Veronica, Cara's sister and Giulia's great-aunt many generations removed - they harkened back to 1490s Florence, marrying into noble families prevalent in the Papal Court - had been a prolific writer, code-creator and poetess in her time. "I have the originals, and her portrait has been restored."

"Has it?" Elijah asked, smiling fondly.

"I'm still bitter Cara defaced hers and destroyed it; I would've liked the matched set," Giulia said, pursing her lips.

"The portrait used to hang in your father's study - where does she live now?" Elijah asked curiously.

"In my study," Giulia smiled. "Behind tempered glass to protect it after the effort and expense of restoring her."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, considering. "Alright…there was one sonnet in particular that would engage students' interest."

"Wait - not that one?" Giulia said, her eyes illuminating with coy glee. She had read all of Veronica's poems. One in particular was practically an appendix to the Kama Sutra.

"Oh, not that one, that wouldn't be appropriate at all," Elijah grinned.

"But it would engage their interest! It's all about sex," Giulia said, grinning warmly, her eyes drifting to Elijah's lips. "You know your classes are gonna give you flack about being a man teaching feminist literature, don't you."

"Of course. And then I shall educate them…" Elijah shrugged. "Any suggestions, more recent literature that I have missed, to go into our feminist library?"

"Off the top of my head; The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, that's a great fiction book for teenagers, and… The Power - again, fiction, but it's a brilliant read. More accessible, less…controversial than The Handmaid's Tale," Giulia said thoughtfully. "The Scandalous Lady W is a biography. I'll go through my library for you."

"You - will lend out your books?" Elijah stared at her.

"I have a child. Nothing is sacred anymore," Giulia laughed. "Not even my books. You could spend a week on children's storybooks for girls. It would make an interesting topic of discussion, the representation of young girls in illustrated fiction intended for young girls. How many classes will you have?"

"Five. One class in each grade, and a senior Advanced Placement class," Elijah said, consulting his notebook.

"Lots of room to play," Giulia said thoughtfully.

"I'm not quite sure how to start the freshman class off…"

"Disney," Giulia said simply.

Elijah raised his eyebrows. "Disney?"

"I presented a couple of lectures on the psychology of fairytales and the portrayal of feminist Disney characters, when I was pursuing my PhD. I started off the seminar after the lecture with a vote; students had to discuss and work together to put certain Disney characters in order of least to most feminist. Megara, Merida, Mulan, Moana - the four Ms - Vanellope von Schweetz and Judy Hopps, they topped the list; there was some argument over Belle - I had to address the misconception that Belle suffered Stockholm Syndrome by contrasting her relationship with the Beast to Quasimodo and Count Rollo, and Rapunzel and Mother Gothel from Tangled," Giulia said, sniffing delicately. "It was interesting that the ones deemed 'most feminist' were also fan favourites; and interesting the qualities they felt made the characters 'feminist'. Then we discussed why certain characters ended up where they did, and that led into the topic of what a feminist actually is - some of my twenty-something-year-old students were…blurry on the concept. And from there… Sorry, I'm running away with myself…"

Because Elijah was just gazing at her, a tiny smile on his lips, his eyes twinkling. "It's not that… I knew you'd lectured on feminism when I was considering my topics."

Giulia blinked. "How?"

Elijah laughed to himself softly. "I Googled you, Dr Salvatore. Your lectures are available online."

"I know," Giulia rolled her eyes, secretly pleased he had put in the effort. "Everything's online nowadays… What did you think?" She glanced up at him, and Elijah smiled warmly, settling back in his chair as the waitress brought over their treats.

"You were in your element. Enthusiastic, joyous, articulate, impassioned, engaging… It was no wonder you always had a lecture-theatre full of students," he said warmly. "That, and not many university lecturers look like you."

"Says the feminist," Giulia scoffed. Elijah shrugged, his smile taunting.

"Use what you've got to get them where you want, isn't that right?" he asked teasingly, and Giulia smirked.

"Absolutely." Her phone started to buzz, vibrating against her notebook, Caroline's sunny smile glowing from the illuminated high-definition screen. She gazed at the screen, and some of her humour faded. She deliberated so long that the call dropped. Elijah watched her carefully, his expression turning sombre.

"I'm not mad at Caroline," she assured him quietly, reading his expression. After all, it wasn't even a day since her argument with Caroline, and all that it had provoked last night, culminating in that…kiss. She gazed at Elijah, at his lips, and swallowed. "It's…the whole situation - it's…beyond me. Besides, that was about me being late to meet her. Or she's found out Damon's back in town and is about to rip me a new one for not forewarning her."

"You're late to meet Caroline?" Elijah said, eyes widening. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I wanted to see you," Giulia admitted, raising her gaze to his. He held her eye, and a soft warmth seemed to radiate from his face, his body-language relaxed, open. "And I'm not late, I'm supposed to be heading over…" She checked her watch, and sighed, "Now."

But she didn't rush to leave the café. She stayed, and she chatted with Elijah as he finished his pastry, sipping her coffee.

She had barely stepped into the sunshine, Elijah behind her, the humidity enveloping her like a blanket, when a bright-red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe squealed to a stop mere feet from her, parked at an angle to the sidewalk as Stefan abandoned it, clambering out to cut her off.

"What fresh hell is this?" she sighed.

"Giulia… I need a grown-up," Stefan declared, thrusting some paperwork at her.

"What?"

"Yeah, you're my aunt, now," Stefan said, indicating the paperwork with a flourish. "I need you to sign these for school."

"Oh, god…it's finally happened," Giulia blinked, staring at the paperwork in her hands. The role of every Salvatore before her - the adults who masqueraded as extended family to Stefan and Damon as they did whatever they wished during sojourns in Mystic Falls. "The charade… I thought I'd be exempt! Why don't you just ask Damon?"

"Damon? What could he do?" Stefan asked, pulling a face.

"Well, he's -" Giulia began, catching sight of glossy midnight-hair, a leather jacket and a smirk, and finished on a sigh, "back."

"Spoiler alert!" someone cooed luxuriously, and Stefan straightened up - for the first time, his entire face lighting up with joy at the sound of Damon's sardonic voice behind him.

"Damon!" Stefan exclaimed, grinning.

"Hello, brother," Damon purred, grinning. The two brothers embraced like - like brothers, arms clapped around each other, hugging tightly. Damon glanced around, grinned, and gripped Giulia by her top, dragging her in despite the iced coffee in her hand. "C'mere, you." She grimaced and groaned as she tried to writhe away from the boa constrictor grip the two brothers locked her into. "Look at this, look how happy she is to see us!" To aggravate her further as she grimaced, Damon landed a wet kiss on her cheek. "All the family back together again."

"Ugh," Giulia grimaced, as Elijah laughed in the background. Damon smirked, letting go, and checked Elijah out.

"Elijah, good to see you again. Nice shades," he smirked. "You're looking all kinds of GQ."

"I appreciate the flattery, Damon," Elijah purred, "though not enough to forget the cock-blocking." Giulia choked on her iced latte as Damon gasped in mock horror, holding his hands over Giulia's ears as she laughed loudly in surprise. Elijah's lips twitched, and he rested against a streetlight, arms folded over his chest so casually.

"He said a naughty word in front of the baby," he mock-whispered to Stefan. He swaggered away from her, smirking. "You know, I gotta say, Elijah…this…this summertime, sunglass-wearing, sass-mouthed, flirty, jeans-clad Elijah… I'm not saying I'd trade off the Savile Row forever, but - I dig it!"

"Well, thank you, Damon," Elijah said magnanimously, smiling. Even with his sunglasses shielding most of his expression, his lips were twitching with irony, and Giulia could feel the crinkles at the corners of his eyes betraying his amusement.

"Would you like to drive off into the sunset together in the Porsche?" Stefan asked considerately, raising his eyebrows at Damon, the keys in his palm. The two men gave the Porsche identical considering looks, half-pouting. Giulia laughed as Stefan's mouth opened, horrified at the idea of being carjacked by his brother and nemesis. "What has happened to my brother?"

Damon sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I was - Lexi'd. I've - I've changed."

"Uh-huh. How'd you slip the leash?" Stefan asked, deadpan.

"I am delighted to announce that I have officially graduated from the Vampire Nightingale Rehabilitation Programme. I'm in touch with my emotions, my psychological trauma, my intense feelings of self-loathing and my blinding anger issues, my unhealthy co-dependence with my deranged sociopathic blood-junkie brother… I'm…healed," Damon said, his voice oozing with irony.

"You look the same to me, Damon," Stefan said baldly. "Pretty sure that's the same jacket you were wearing the last time I saw you, too."

Holding his hand over his heart, Damon slung his other arm around Stefan's shoulders, telling him, "It's - it's what's inside that's changed, I've…been doing some soul-searching, some…yoga, and I - " He snatched the keys from Stefan's open palm, "Got the keys! Yes! Thirty years, I've been after these babies!"

"Damon, gimme back my car-keys!" Stefan cried, as Damon danced out of reach, grinning giddily, tongue between his teeth, his eyes sparkling. He snatched the paperwork from Giulia's hand, still smirking indulgently.

"Now, what is this? Enrolling in high-school? Oh, Stef, I'm so proud! You know, a proper education is the most important thing you can have," he said, lips twitching. "I suppose you'll need a legal guardian, someone to chaperone the Decade Dances and cheer you on under the Friday night lights as you score the winning touchdown and get the girl…" His tone was so mocking, Giulia couldn't help her lips twitching, memories washing over her. She had forgotten how funny he could be, how irreverent.

"Do you think they'd notice if I slipped away?" she whispered to Elijah, pressing up against him with her hands clasped on his shoulder; he rested a hand on her waist, stroking his thumb against her skin beneath the hem of her top.

"Not you, but I don't think I can risk it," Elijah said, nodding at Damon with a smirk.

"True," Giulia said, watching the two brothers.

It struck her, then. She had noticed when Stefan first reappeared. When she had been seventeen, of course, Stefan had looked how he had looked - a teenager, like her. A handsome one, a brooding and tortured and insufferable one, but a teenager. Damon, in his early twenties when he had turned, had matured out of that youthfulness Stefan would always have in his face, his slender, toned body. Damon was tall, lean like a predator, lightly muscled and moved with a uniquely Damon way, all straight shoulders and swagger.

They both looked much younger than Giulia now was.

Stefan looked seventeen. Damon's hair had grown out, shining, a really handsome cut, and he had a tan; he looked like he had just graduated from college.

Elijah noticed, and asked her, "What's that smile?"

Giulia said softly, struck by the thought, "They look young."

" - and of course, you understand the full weight on your shoulders, you are a Founding Son, you represent the entire Salvatore family, we expect you to uphold the honour and prestige of the family," Damon continued with mock pomposity, and Stefan held up the bird. "Oh, that is it, young man, you are grounded!" He held the keys out of Stefan's reach in a game of keep-away.

"Giulia, tell him to give me back my car-keys, and can you please sign the enrolment paperwork?" Stefan implored, already frustrated.

"What's wrong with me?" Damon asked indignantly. "I am your big-brother. And you'll need a responsible adult."

"Yeah, that's why I asked Giulia," Stefan said, deadpan, "she's actually like a grown-up now."

"Most of the time," Giulia interjected quietly. Elijah chuckled softly.

"I can't even believe you would pick Giulia over your own brother!" Damon gasped.

"You got a pen?" Stefan asked, and Giulia pulled one out of her purse. "See: Grown-up. Do you have a pen handy?" He gave Damon a look.

"Alright, let me see what this crap is that I'm signing," Giulia sighed, taking the paperwork back from Damon, quickly scanning it. She folded over the last page, pressed the paper to the blistering metal of the Porsche's roof.

"Don't lean on my car to sign it!" Stefan squawked indignantly, shoving her away.

"Wow," Giulia said, raising her eyebrows and peering over the top of her sunglasses at Stefan as he checked there were no nicks in the paint-job. "BTW, Damon is right - you do represent the family. We have a reputation. So, no more of those skinny-jeans."

"What's wrong with my jeans?" Stefan asked indignantly.

"Uh, nothing, they're just tighter than mine," Giulia sniffed. "You're a vampire, my darling, not James Charles."

Damon snickered. "Solid burn."

"Okay, fine, I'll adopt the Salvatore uniform of weathered leather jacket, dark-wash jeans, biker-boots and a smouldering expression," Stefan declared sardonically.

"That's all we're asking," Damon said tenderly, patting Stefan's shoulder as if he finally understood.

"Anything else?" Stefan rolled his eyes so hard, he might have seen brain-matter.

"I'll think of some things," Giulia promised, smirking. "Oh…have you met your new English teacher?" She grinned, and Elijah smiled indulgently. Damon and Stefan exchanged a look.

"Elijah?" Damon asked.

"Act up in my class, and you'll find my detentions to be very…creative," Elijah promised Stefan.

"Now that's worth going back to high-school," Giulia purred, grinning, and Elijah smirked. Her phone started to ring, and she grimaced guiltily. "Ugh, this is Caroline again, I'm officially late - talk about creative punishments."

"Car-bear?" Damon perked up, grinning. "I'm come with you."

"What?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want you to miss her reaction when she sees me again for the first time in ten years!" Damon cackled. "Get your camera-phone ready."

"Why are you back, by the way?" Stefan asked, making Giulia raise her eyebrows at him. He was asking why Damon was back - when his ten-year sentence had officially been served!

"Are you kidding? It's nearly rush week!" Damon grinned lecherously. "The pickin's are lush! Where's Enzo?"

"He's at work," Giulia told him: Damon seemed to shudder in horror.

"What? Okay, I'm gonna break him of that bad habit!" he declared. "Do you know the hard work I had to put into turning him into a Ric's replacement as my drinking-buddy?"

"Oh, speaking of, Kol is in town, too," Giulia told him, and Damon stilled. "You might wanna think up some compliments for him, keep him sweet."

"Compliments, why would Kol get compliments?" Damon asked, perplexed.

Giulia's lips parted, and she grinned in delight, waiting for the ball to drop. "Well, um…the redhead…?"

Damon's expression closed off, and he sniffed, "That is not sporting, Giulia."

Giulia laughed, as Elijah leaned in, murmuring, "Do I need to phone Kol?"

"You'll enjoy him squirming more in person," Giulia told him, grinning.

"Kol, squirming? Wonders never cease," Elijah clicked his tongue. He eyed Giulia. "Not even a hint?"

"I'll betray no secrets," she scoffed. "Besides, it'll be funnier coming from them."

"Okay, let's - come on, it was not that bad, okay, there is nothing I am ashamed of - we put the python back where it belonged, eventually - let's face it, you've caught me doing way worse," Damon exclaimed, and Giulia snickered.

"True," she agreed, as Stefan and Elijah both frowned, trying to flesh out the details involving Kol, Damon, a python and a redhead using only their imagination.

"Oh, that reminds me, I should probably call Ric, give him a head's up I'm back; I want him emotionally prepared for our reunion after we left things…" Damon was close to biting his knuckle in worry; Giulia snickered. The way he was with Alaric, their epic bromance… Things had changed when J.D. was born.

Elijah caught Giulia before she could wander along the street to her car. "Can we talk later?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yes."

"Okay, quit swooning! I need to go ruin Caroline's afternoon!" Damon called from the driver's seat of the Porsche, Stefan hanging through the window trying to snatch the keys from the ignition, Damon shoving at his head to push him back out, all while cringing and chiding Stefan for his choice in music, the stereo blasting obnoxiously.

Giulia sighed, watching them. "We'll definitely talk later." Elijah laughed softly under his breath, watching too.

"Damon, get - out - of - my - car!" Stefan shouted. "Giulia! Make him behave!"

"Oh, that I had such divine power," Giulia purred, and Elijah laughed again. "Damon. If you want to come and annoy Caroline, you have to ride with me." She stroked Elijah's cheek with her finger in a gentle sign of affection, in lieu of a kiss, and wandered off, aware that he was watching the sashay of her hips, her ass, as she walked away. There was no harm in enjoying it…was there?

Reluctantly, Damon surrendered the Porsche. He gaped in horror at Giulia's ride: the flatbed was full, ready for her to make the rounds around town and deliver things to various worksites.

"A truck?" he exclaimed in horror. "Who are you, Matt Donovan?" They climbed into the cab, Giulia cranked the ignition and rolled the windows down while she waited for the air-conditioning to kick in, checking the road and indicating before pulling out of her parking-space. Damon's jaw dropped as her stereo started playing. "Beyoncé, really?"

"House-rules, Damon. Driver picks the music; shotgun shuts his cakehole," Giulia reminded him. "And don't pretend 'Partition' isn't your stripper song."

"Uh, excuse me, it's Ariana Grande 'Side to Side', thank you very much," Damon corrected her. "On the bike. Thong and all."

Giulia laughed, cringing in disgust. "Oh, I did not need that visual." She drove off, and glanced over at him, caught off-guard by how much younger he seemed than she remembered. She liked her hair this long, though. "So…you didn't feel like mentioning you were coming back to town?"

"Stef's free from Klaus," Damon shrugged, glancing at her and adjusting a spare pair of sunglasses from her glove compartment over his eyes. "Where else would I be?"

She glanced over at Damon; he looked sincere as he gazed back at her. He hadn't been serious about Lexi, at all: But there was no denying that just that one sentence spoke volumes about how much Damon had changed.

"Well…the Originals came out of the coffin; Mason just kicked Hayley out; Elena's on another downward spiral," Giulia said, simplifying everything. "What else has happened? You already know Isobel's free…"

"Yeah. Don't know which of us was more surprised," Damon said. "How's Ric?"

"Your boyfriend is fine," Giulia assured him, smiling indulgently.

"What about Rose?"

"You didn't see her at the Boarding House? She usually takes a walk around the gardens at dawn," Giulia said, glancing at Damon.

"Must've missed her," Damon shrugged. "I'll catch up with her later. How's the spa?"

"It's decadent," Giulia groaned luxuriously.

"Downward spiral, huh?" Damon sighed, relaxing into his seat, glancing at her.

"Uh-huh."

"What else?"

"Bonnie's imminent. Oh…Abby Bennett's back in town."

"What." Damon sat up straighter, eyes intense as he whipped off the sunglasses to glare at her. "She's here?"

"Yep. Told Bonnie some bullshit about wanting to reconnect."

"No way, not happening," Damon declared fiercely, and Giulia glanced at him.

"Why so vehement, Damon?" she asked.

"Look, you know Joshua was one of my all-time favourites, right?" Damon asked, and Giulia rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses, nodding.

"I'd heard that rumour."

"After what she did to him -"

"Do you know what she did to him?"

"Well, no, but that's the point," Damon grumbled. "I don't know. We were partying in New York with some friends and he gets all squirrelly, disappears. Last I heard from him was from a pay-phone in the middle of nowhere…"

"Would those friends of yours be Gyda and Liam?"

"Yeah…hey, how'd you know that?"

Giulia laughed softly. "They're Originals, Damon."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, Liam is a half-brother to Elijah…Gyda's his daughter -"

"Excuse me?!" Damon exclaimed, stunned. He gaped, and then gasped, relaxing in his seat. "Huh. Suddenly so over my regret that I never slept with Gyda." Giulia choked on a surprised laugh, shaking her head; she shouldn't be surprised.

"Anyway, they're in town, too," Giulia said.

"They're in town…and Abby Bennett's in town," Damon said, narrowing his eyes, "for the first time twenty-five years?"

"Well-remembered," Giulia muttered; of course, he had kept tabs on the Bennett family, due to an old blood-debt.

"Sounds like things are getting interesting around here again," Damon said, grinning, and Giulia couldn't help her lips twitching in response, as she parked up outside a house covered in workmen, a perky blonde ponytail glittering in the sunlight.

"Just don't antagonise her, please," Giulia requested, though Damon was already halfway out of the truck, and it fell on deaf ears.

"Car-bear! You look ravishing!"

"Damon? Oh, for goodness' sake, you're back?! Now?! Really?! Really! What did we do to deserve this?!"


A.N.: I had fun with this one! I might've had too much sugar - there's a lot of smiling in this chapter.