A.N.: I'm so thrilled this story is getting so many reviews - thank you, everyone! MiaEther, I'm on a roll right now writing but I will respond to your reviews, I promise!


Resurgam

29

First Day Jitters & Friday Night Lights


"Hey, there he is!" Mason grinned, and Spencer's face broke into a big smile as he darted toward his father. Agitated and reluctant as he had been, when Giulia had said to Spencer that it was time to go home, he had folded his clothes neatly into his backpack, and accepted it uncomplainingly. The smile had to have a great deal to do with Mason climbing own off a ladder, from where he had been securing a basketball-hoop over the garage door. Mason caught his son with a big hug that lifted him off the floor.

"Sweet basketball hoop," Giulia smiled, sauntering after Spencer, Zita holding her hand and sucking her thumb. Mason smiled easily, giving his son a proud look before setting him down on the driveway, so he could give Giulia a warm, gentle hug. "Hi."

"Hey, kiddo," he said warmly, giving a gentle squeeze. "Thanks."

She squeezed back, sighing. "I'd do anything for you two, you know that."

"Thanks," Mason repeated, releasing her. He rumpled Zita's curls, before squatting down to give her a big hug. "Hi, Zita. You ready for a burger?"

"Yes, please?" Zita beamed, her tiny white teeth flashing in the sunlight, eyes sparkling. Her nose and cheeks were sun-pinked, and Giulia had had to slather her and Spencer with more sunscreen before heading over; they'd spent the day out on the lake in a little rowboat Giulia had reclaimed from the Boarding House garage, the rowboat her dad had built with his brother when they were teenagers.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Mason said, grinning easily, and Zita scampered over to Spencer, who had clamped a brand-new basketball under his cast as he tried to fold up the ladder and move it out of range. Giulia slung a brand-new Captain America backpack off her shoulder, handing it over to Mason with a second, older backpack full of Spencer's clothes. Mason sighed, taking both. "Thanks. I really appreciate you doing the back-to-school shop."

"Hey, no problem," Giulia smiled, as Mason tucked the bags under the picnic-table set at an angle at the foot of the porch steps. "It was valuable experience."

"You got him a haircut, too?" Mason asked, scrutinising his son's appearance.

"That was Carol," Giulia assured him, and he chuckled. "School pictures. She's the one who took him shopping for some new clothes." Mason nodded to himself, turning to open an icebox full of chilled beers. He offered Giulia one; she twisted the cap off, and sipped, watching Mason go and collapse the ladder so the children could play.

She grimaced as the bouncing basketball hit Zita in the face - not hard, but enough to stun her. Her tiny face showed shock - before it crumpled, tears spilling down her cheeks. Before Giulia could rise from the picnic-bench, Spencer had abandoned his chase of the ball to clasp Zita's face in his hands and give her a big kiss. Her tiny face creased into a grin, and her curls bounced as she chased after Spencer.

"Are you ready to dunk? What do you think, Zita?" Mason called, and scooped Zita up into his arms, handing her the basketball. He lifted her up, and Giulia chuckled softly to herself, watching the tiny little tongue dart between pearly teeth in concentration as Zita frowned intently at the hoop, chucking the ball. She beamed as it went through the hoop with a gentle swish, the tears on her cheeks already forgotten. Mason let her down, and she continued to chase after and play with Spencer, patient, darling Spencer who never seemed to get annoyed, never said an unkind word. Zita adored him as her part-time brother.

Mason joined her at the picnic-bench, and she observed, "My child is a shameless flirt."

"Yeah," Mason said thoughtfully, his eyes twinkling. "I don't know where she gets that from."

"Enzo, definitely!" Giulia sniffed, sipping her beer as Mason laughed richly.

"Heard Damon's back," Mason said, and Giulia shot him a glance.

"Liz already put out the alert?" she guessed, and Mason chuckled, shaking his head.

"I think she's happy to see him, actually," Mason said thoughtfully, watching their children playing with the basketball - Spencer teaching Zita how to bounce and catch the ball, ignoring his cast. Giulia smiled, watching them, but also reflecting on the unique friendship that had grown between Damon and Liz Forbes. Mason sighed. "Liz was talking about Zita's first day of preschool. Are you ready?"

"Not in the slightest," Giulia admitted grimly, watching her baby scamper about. Mason laughed, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Any advice?

"Yeah, turn and leave before you can notice she hasn't even looked back," Mason laughed, and Giulia raised her eyebrows. "Because you know she won't. And that's good. She's a confident, conscientious little kid, she'll be fine." Mason smiled easily, watching Zita giggle and flirt and play with Spencer. "The last thing you want is to make a scene about it - it's a good thing. You don't want them to dread going in… You don't want to spend every day peeling her off your leg to physically hand her over at the door."

"Spencer never did that?!" Giulia exclaimed, glancing at Spencer.

"No, but - there were a couple kids in his class who screamed bloody murder and threw a fit every morning because they didn't want to go in," Mason said, rolling his eyes. "Spooked some of the other kids."

"What happened?"

Mason paused, and chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. He looked Giulia in the eye, and there was a sadness and sorrow in his blue eyes when he said, "Spencer made friends with them. He'd wait, and every morning when they showed up, he'd hold their hands, and they'd walk in together…" There was pain in his eyes, and he fiddled with his beer bottle as he watched his son - his eyes kept going to the Iron Man cast. "This remarkable kid…and I let him get hurt."

Giulia sighed softly. Mason had been on shift when Spencer was hurt: He had entrusted Spencer's safety to Hayley, and that was what upset Mason the most. The betrayal of trust. "You made sure he won't get hurt again."

Mason sighed, nodding dully, but his shoulders were curved in, and he looked glum. Finally, he glanced over at Giulia, and said, "Heard about your little altercation with Hayley."

Giulia blinked, her jaw dropping. "How?!"

"One of my buddies at the Department, his wife was there with her girlfriends for a birthday," Mason said, and Giulia nodded in understanding. This was a small town; and it was the favourite cocktail-bar by miles. Mason smirked slightly. "Said your date was hot."

"Oh, he is," Giulia agreed wholeheartedly. Mason chuckled softly.

"Where are you going with that?

"I have no idea," Giulia confessed honestly. She glanced at Mason. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Mm-hmm. How's the good doctor, 'Merry', was it?" Giulia teased, and Mason sipped his beer to avoid eye-contact.

"God, nothing gets past you, huh?"

"Very rarely," Giulia smirked. She sighed, thinking of Meredith. "She's a good friend, a very good person."

"Yeah. I like seeing her. Highlight of my day if I have to escort someone to the E.R.," Mason admitted. With what he did, with what he sometimes had to deal with, had to see… "She's just…calm, you know? I can talk to her. I mean, that wasn't fair on her to be on the receiving end of that, but -"

"We all need someone to be able to talk to," Giulia said, thankful every day for Enzo and Caroline - even when Caroline upset and infuriated her with her interfering. Caroline had heart.

"I just…she saw the X-ray," Mason said, and there was a distinct flavour of embarrassment as he said, "She knows I let that happen to my son."

"You did not," Giulia said sternly.

"I stayed with her, all these years, because I thought it was best for him," Mason admitted hollowly, watching his son play - as if his arm wasn't bound in a cast, as if he hadn't been reluctant to come back home when Giulia said it was time. "I let her hurt him. And worse, I didn't even realise she was training him to lie about it. Until you told me. Some cop, huh."

"We're all blind to the people we love," Giulia said quietly.

Mason made his famous filthy burgers: Gooey melted cheese, bacon covering the whole patty, fried onions, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, lashings of his secret spicy black-pepper mayo. Beergaritas for the grown-ups; fresh pineapple whip for the kids for dessert - making Mason Zita's new favourite person in the entire world.

"Where'd you learn how to make this?" Giulia asked, as Zita consumed her dessert with indecent enthusiasm.

Mason grinned. "Zara."

"Ah. She is the queen of the blender," Giulia acknowledged, and Mason chuckled richly. "It was a bad day when she dropped the jar and smashed it. You think pre-schooler meltdowns are bad?!"

"You hear from them recently?"

"A couple of days ago, actually; Noah starts preschool as well," Giulia said, but her smile was sad. When she was abandoned by her boyfriend, and discovered she was pregnant - at the same time Giulia knew she was pregnant with Zita - Zara, because of the many complicated factors in her life - her lack of preparedness at the prospect of becoming a mother; her boyfriend's disappearance; her financial status and commitment to buying Giulia out of the house they had renovated; building up her newly-opened boutique as a business… Zara had made the decision to give up her son for adoption. She was very lucky: Noah's adoptive parents Mark and Evelyn were gorgeous - Mark…was very like Mason in a lot of ways, easy-going, charismatic and fun, but with a backbone, hard-working and kind. And Evelyn. She was a sunflower of a person, so vibrant, so joyful, so kind and wonderful. And they had wanted to maintain contact with Zara, wanted her as part of Noah's life: Zara had spent the first days of Noah's life with Mark and Evelyn, Noah's new mom wanting Zara to be remain part of his life - and so they could look after Zara. That was the kind of people Mark and Evelyn were. The felt it was important for Zara to be able to share Noah's milestones - circumstances had dictated that Zara give up her child; and Mark and Evelyn were the luckiest couple in the world to have been chosen to be Noah's parents - and they knew it. They never forgot the incredible privilege it was to be Noah's parents.

And Zara never forgot that she was privileged to have access to Noah. It was a treat to babysit him on his parents' date-nights, to be invited to family events where he was always stoked to see her. She was Noah's godmother, and legal guardian, if anything were to happen to Mark and Evelyn: Zara would decide what was best for their son. Because they already knew she had made that harrowing decision once already, to give him the best life.

All this meant that Zara was going to be over at Mark and Evelyn's house in the morning on Noah's first day of preschool - to not only take pictures of Noah with his mom and dad but have a picture taken with Noah, as his godmother and favourite babysitter. If Tyler didn't have to be at school himself, to prepare for an influx of chaotic, underprivileged teenagers in all their beautiful dysfunction, he would be there, too. He wasn't Noah's father, but he had supported Zara all through her pregnancy, stayed right by her side as she delivered Noah, and hugged her as the hospital staff took Noah away to his new mother, and she had cried.

Tyler wasn't Noah's father, but he had given Zara the support of a partner - even if they weren't together, they were a team.

They were a family.

And Noah was as close as Tyler was ever going to get to having children: He had made that decision years ago, that he was never going to be a father. So, he enjoyed spending time with his cousin Spencer, and he adored doing activities and fun things with Noah whenever his parents had date-night and they were privileged to have Noah for a sleepover. But Spencer was the closest thing Carol Lockwood was ever going to get to grandchildren: And she knew it, and treated Spencer accordingly. He was her de facto grandson and she had stepped in to enjoy the privilege of back-to-school shopping and haircuts with Spencer, giving Giulia brief respite to get some work done as she fielded calls from Mystic Falls High School about Stefan's transcripts and helped Elijah plan his syllabus via FaceTime, arguing with vendors about invoices, doing battle with the town council for permits they were withholding for builds that were already behind schedule due to asbestos removal and snake infestations.

It had been a hectic week.

And next week… Zita's first day of preschool.

Giulia wasn't ready.


Her curls glossy and shining, her smile as sunny as the yellow linen dress she wore, Zita vibrated with giddy energy, her pink pineapple-print backpack enormous on her, containing nothing but her lunchbox, and as Giulia knelt before her, she took her daughter's face in her hands and gave her a tender kiss, her heart breaking. Preschool!

Just yesterday Giulia was carrying her into the lake-house for the first time, wrapped in her swaddling, a tiny, delicate, warm little bundle of joy and love.

The gate opened, and there was a surge of children down the toy-strewn path to the colourful door-display, ready to play.

Zita led the charge.

Giulia gaped. Beside her, Enzo chuckled softly, watching Zita already chatting with a little girl with fun beads in her braids.

"She didn't even look back! Didn't even look back!" Giulia gasped, devastated, gaping after her daughter as the world seemed to crumble around her, leaving only that short path to a vibrant door that took Zita out of sight. She gulped, blinking rapidly, still stunned. "Thirty-three hours, I haemorrhaged, she came elbow-first, she can't even look back and wave!" she spluttered, gasping, indignant and devastated, her shoulders drooping, feeling about an inch tall, insignificant. She gasped softly, wounded, "She doesn't love me!"

Enzo chuckled richly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, squeezing reassuringly, "Come on, love. Save the meltdown for her wedding." Giulia's breath hitched. Wedding?! It was too soon! It was all too soon - she shouldn't be here, shouldn't be giving up her child…

"My baby, she didn't even…look back," she whimpered, emotion overriding sense, and Enzo's smirk twitched as her eyes burned, devastated as she murmured, "She's a grown up little person now… She doesn't need me anymore." Her lip trembled.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Mason had warned her: "Turn and leave before you can notice she hasn't even looked back."

"Of course she does…she'll always need her mum," Enzo said warmly, kissing Giulia's head affectionately. He chuckled, and squeezed, and Giulia pouted and sniffed, choked with emotion. She was abandoning her child… "Look…"

He pointed. At one of the high, tinted windows, a tiny little curly head just managed to peek over the windowsill. No-one else would have been able to discern her features, but Giulia sniffed, and laughed, as tiny pearls glinted in the sun, and a tiny hand waved enthusiastically. She waved back, blowing kisses.

Her daughter loved her!

"There…" Enzo smiled indulgently. He sighed heavily, squeezing her shoulders. "Now…let's go and sob in a darkened room for a little while."

"Agreed," Giulia sniffled, laughing, not moving from her spot at the fence.

"Am I going to have to carry you away?" Enzo asked, his lips twitching.

"Yes."

"You can't loiter at the gate all day; they'll call the Deputies," Enzo smirked, squeezing her shoulders, and gently guided her away from the gate. Settling in the car, Enzo had taken the keys, and told her, gently, "You did alright, Giulia."

"She's at school, Enzo."

"You love school," Enzo reminded her, still smirking.

"I loved me at school; not my baby! They took her away from me. She's gonna love some new random person! She's gonna have new friends, they're gonna have playdates and sleepovers and I'm never gonna see her again!"

"Time to get you a coffee," Enzo said lightly, pulling up in front of Ashlyn's downtown. Caroline had a table claimed for them; they had agreed to meet and get some work done over pastries and Ashlyn's superior coffee blends. She glanced up, smiling brightly; then grimaced after one look at Giulia.

"Are you okay?" she asked sympathetically, reaching out to rub Giulia's arm.

"I - I don't know what to do with myself," Giulia said, sinking into a chair weakly as Enzo sauntered to the counter to order for them. "I am…bereft. I have no purpose."

"Oh, well, don't worry about that," Caroline chuckled, "I've got you covered."

"Good, that's good - get yourself back out there, get on with your life," Enzo said, reappearing, as Giulia hid behind the paperwork Caroline handed her, pretending to read it, her eyes burning.

"I don't understand, you leave Zita with me and Mom all the time, you've never been like this," Caroline smiled.

"It's different!" Giulia blurted, lip trembling.

"She's spiralling," Enzo smirked, reaching over to pat Giulia's bare knee. "It's gorgeous!" Giulia sniffled, and Caroline reached over to give her a hug, chuckling softly.

"It's okay…" Caroline reassured her, and made sure she was so busy all day Giulia couldn't even spare a moment to think about Zita, having fun without her.

She had left Zita at school with her curls shining, her dress neat: Hours later, Zita's curls were mussed, standing at odd angles, shimmering with glitter, a sticker tangled in one of the curls at the base of her neck. Her dress was rumpled and stained by grass and juice, there was pen on her arms and under her nose, a Band-Aid on her knee, grass-stains on her shin, and her smile was delighted, exhilarated, as she ran down the path and flung herself at Giulia, who hugged her daughter fiercely.

"You look like you had a good day," she laughed, rolling her eyes at the state she had found her daughter in - Zita looked as if she had fully embraced her time at preschool. Or else there had been a small-scale war going on inside. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I've got two boyfriends!" Zita declared enthusiastically, and Enzo burst out laughing behind her. Giulia smiled warmly, gently kissing her.

"That's my girl," she cooed warmly, and Zita beamed. Giulia claimed her daughter's hand, and they walked to the car: A single prompt had Zita telling them everything that happened throughout her day, the minutiae of preschool life. She told them all about her new boyfriends, with whom she had shared snacks and played with a soccer-ball.

The only disappointment was there being no musical instruments.

Enzo glanced at Giulia, who made conciliatory noises to Zita, buckled into her booster-seat.

It was Giulia's opinion, and she very much followed the model her father had created for her, that she did not wish Zita's entire life to be consumed by music. She did not want people pushing Zita to hone her skills as a prodigy - to sap the joy of her playing. Music was going to be one part of Zita's life: The part she enjoyed the most, perhaps, but only one part, and a treat, to be able to come home and climb onto the piano-stool and just start playing - which was exactly what Zita did as soon as they got home. They listened to her play vibrantly as they prepared a simple pasta supper.

Zita's eyes kept drooping at the dinner-table, absolutely exhausted: She was in danger of falling asleep in her favourite meal, pici verde with paprika meatballs - they had prepared it especially. She didn't even get to enjoy one of the homemade mango popsicles tucked in the freezer! A yellow popsicle? Zita's idea of heaven. Giulia coaxed Zita to stay awake long enough to give her a quick wash, removing the grass-stains and pen and juice, and tucked her in to bed - it was the first night in a very long time that Zita fell fast asleep before Giulia could even open the storybook to read to her.

Spencer was gone; and her daughter was fast-asleep.

It was just her and Enzo, now. He was waiting on the deck for her with a mango popsicle apiece, and Giulia accepted hers, curling up beside him, sucking ruminatively as they enjoyed the last of the sunshine.

"Summer's officially over," Giulia realised. The last summer of her daughter's childhood. She was at school, now. She was growing up. Everything would be different.

"And what a summer it was," Enzo sighed, smiling at her. "All the pieces now in play…it'll be interesting to see what happens next. I wonder who will make the first move…"

"Well," Giulia sighed, resting her head back and luxuriating in the warmth caressing her face, "it won't be me." Enzo chuckled softly to himself, as Giulia's phone started to go crazy with messages, notifications - she smiled at the photographs of Noah, gazing shyly at the camera in a dinosaur t-shirt and New Orleans Saints baseball-cap, texting rapidly with Zara about the emotional sucker-punch that was their kids' first day of preschool. Her steady stream of texts was interrupted by a phone-call: She saw the caller I.D. and smiled, connecting the call.

"How was your first day, Mr Mikaelson?" she asked warmly.

"Well, there were no tears," Elijah said optimistically. "How was Zita's first day of preschool?"

"Uh… Well, there weren't ugly-tears," she grimaced, and Elijah's soft laugh rumbled down the line. "But I am handling my emotional trauma with popsicles and wine - tell me all about your day." They had worked hard, in a very limited amount of time, to piece together the syllabuses for Elijah's five classes: He'd had to provide them to Ric before the start of the semester, just in case any changes had to be made.

Elijah told her all about his day, reflecting on how his lessons went - it was the first day, so most of the class-time had been devoted to him introducing himself, getting to know his students, and starting to remind them what they had learned three months ago.

"-and thank you, by the way, for our brief lesson in harnessing the awesome power of the SMARTboard," Elijah said, and Giulia smirked. Elijah had been given his classroom, his class rosters, approval for his syllabuses, and realised that the days of chalkboards, overhead-projectors and even white-erase boards were long gone: the high-school had undergone a brief, jarring upgrade, drawing it kicking and screaming into the Twenty-First Century - thanks to a generous donation. It was now a 'smart' school: Everything was accessible online, students could submit assignments through a portal, and grades were updated in real-time, the Administration maintained a Facebook presence and harnessed the power of social media to disseminate crucial updates and promote the school.

Ric hated it. He was old-school.

Elijah had learned to adapt: He had called Giulia for some tutoring, rather than take up the time of his new colleagues who were equally strained to prepare for the influx of students fresh from summer vacation. Giulia had taught with 'Smart' technology, and had devoted an afternoon to helping Elijah get accustomed to creating interactive presentations; they had created the book-corner, too, which Giulia was very proud of - she had arrived at the school laden with books, her name written into each overleaf, with an annotated list of titles to move on to if the reader had enjoyed the text. The library corner was the focal point of Elijah's classroom as soon as students walked through the door. He kept his desk pressed to the wall, removing the boundary between him and the students, making him accessible. And each student was given a 'contract': Students would promise to do their very best work and maintain a respectful classroom, and Elijah in turn promised to do his best by them to give them an excellent educational experience in his classroom. It set the standards for his expectations in his classroom - and treated his students like young-adults.

After one day, he had already decided that he hated the 'row' layout of the desks, and had stayed to rearrange them into a more informal semi-circle configuration that invited students to engage with him in discussions, but also with each other… It was…gratifying, to listen to Elijah talk about his class, reflecting on his day, " - I already know the little jerks' names."

"They're always the first names you learn," Giulia replied, from experience, smiling. "How was Stefan?"

"Oh, he was fine; I understand he is a lover of literature," Elijah said, and Giulia thought she heard something in his tone.

"Please tell me he didn't show you up?"

"No, he was actually one of the most enthusiastic students in the class," Elijah said. "It might do the class some good, to see a boy like Stefan engaged in his learning, unabashed about his love for reading."

"You mean it's cool that the hot new kid reads? What is the world coming to?" Giulia sighed, and Elijah chuckled.

"Just a little heads-up; he's tried out for the football team."

"Again?" Giulia sighed. "What position this time?"

"I believe Coach Anderson was waxing lyrical about the Timberwolves' chances with Stefan Salvatore as their new fullback," Elijah said, and it made Giulia's lips twitch to hear Elijah talk American-football.

"He just does not know how to stay under the radar," Giulia sighed, shaking her head. Stefan had had a very short-lived career on the Timberwolves' varsity team a decade ago.

"Speaking of, Rebekah has joined cheerleading squad," Elijah said, and Giulia laughed, hearing the shudder in his words. "She is pushing for the full high-school experience. I believe a little too much Cheer may have contributed to this foolishness…"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt for her to make friends," Giulia said softly, and Elijah made a thoughtful noise.

"You'll be interested to know they've updated the uniforms," he seemed to purr, and Giulia grinned to herself. She had been a somewhat-reluctant cheerleader, thanks to Caroline. "Although I did so enjoy the old ones."

"I remember," Giulia grinned, and said brightly, "Oh, you've just reminded me, we need to watch the Six Nations rugby tournament in February."

"I look forward to it," Elijah smiled: He loved rugby. February, though…that seemed a long way away. Next year… Would they all still be in town, then? Anything could happen. "Rebekah has already bullied me into attending the first scrimmage of the season with Gyda this Friday."

"How do those words taste, coming out of your mouth?" Giulia teased, laughing. She could practically feel him shuddering.

"Like vinegar," Elijah sighed.

"Well, I suppose, as my nephew is now the starting fullback, I should probably make an appearance on Friday-night in support," Giulia grumbled, crinkling her nose in distaste, and Elijah chuckled.

"I will likely drag Willem with me, if we must endure Rebekah's halftime cheer-routine; he is obsessed with the sport," Elijah said disapprovingly. He didn't see the point of the padding: Giulia was in agreement, preferring the tempered brutality and thrill of rugby. Those men looked like athletes, cauliflower-ears and all. It was the thighs she adored…

"Why don't we just make an evening of it?" Giulia suggested. "I'll bring Enzo and Zita; I'm sure Finn and Lagertha would enjoy the game. Kol can slip us his hip-flask."

"Now there is an inspired idea," Elijah rumbled happily.

"I'll invite Caroline, too; she could use a night out," Giulia said thoughtfully, reflecting that it would be yet another Friday-night without Jesse for her best-friend. "She likes to tear apart the cheer routines. It soothes her."

"I will forewarn Rebekah of the incredibly high standards that must be met to gain Caroline's approval," Elijah chuckled. She smiled softly, resting her head back.

"This is strange," she said softly.

"Talking about Rebekah becoming a cheerleader - I could not agree more," Elijah said, and Giulia laughed.

"No, just…talking about…our childrenSchool," she said thoughtfully. "It's just strange, that's all."

"I always imagined you would be ruling the criminal underworld of New York," Elijah admitted.

"Oh, I got bored of that pretty quickly," Giulia admitted: She had acted out when she lived in New York for her first year of college - gaining her first two bachelor's degrees in a single academic year, History and Architecture - she had moved on to Central Saint Martins to pursue the postgraduate course in Architecture the next year, applying to read her PhD in History, and started her Psychology degree around the time she was finishing her thesis for her History PhD. She got bored easily, and Caroline had noticed.

Elijah just laughed softly. "I've heard. Chocolat sends his love. Also, he has asked me to tell you that he is sending a wardrobe refresh for the autumn and winter."

"Bless him," Giulia smiled warmly.

"He sent me some of his haute couture sketches for the season," Elijah said thoughtfully, "and the ones annotated for you specifically - although he has mentioned you've not had occasion to wear couture recently."

"Other than the vintage festival this summer, I think the last time I wore one of Chocolat's creations was…at a gala hosted by Marcel in the Quarter," Giulia admitted thoughtfully, reflecting. She adored Chocolat's creativity and ingenuity with design and fabrics - he understood her body, and she hadn't looked elsewhere for an evening-gown for a decade because of him. Even his cocktail-dresses were exquisite: She never wore the same one twice to a Founders' function, but kept every single one - Chocolat's designs were timeless, and meant to last. In a few years, she would re-wear them again. Like the Royal Family, she understood the importance of investing in timeless wardrobe pieces.

"There is talk of a Homecoming Dance," Elijah said, his voice filled with dread, and Giulia laughed softly. "I thought…to surprise Rebekah and Gyda with a dress each."

"You're always so thoughtful," Giulia murmured softly, sadly, her smile devastated. She missed him… She did, she would never deny that. She missed Elijah. And she had been missing him for a while. There was a brief silence.

"I must create an opportunity for you to wear one of Chocolat's gowns," Elijah said thoughtfully. "How long has it been since we danced?"

Giulia beamed, flushing delicately. She loved dancing with Elijah. Sparring with him felt like dancing; dancing felt like…

They spoke every day on the phone, after school, Elijah reflecting on his lessons: Giulia listened, and missed being in an academic environment. She did miss school, learning. But it was just nice…to listen to Elijah talking about teaching - about his life. He had taken the summer, and decided what he was going to do next - he had committed to it, and listening to him, Giulia knew he was fully committed to teaching. He had taught before, and knew the fundamentals: But he brought his own unique perspective to lessons, his natural charisma, engaging and calm, respectful and only a tiny bit sardonic, humorous, warm and charming, encouraging.

It was wonderful to listen to him come to life as he talked about his lessons, his students, his enthusiasm warming as the week went on, and he started to find his footing with his new classes, teaching for the first time in decades. He grew more enthusiastic; Zita more exhausted, as the week went by, her normal routine thrown off, adapting to preschool.


By the time Friday night came around, Zita was tucked in Giulia's lap in the stands, sucking her thumb and relaxed in spite of the cheers and the music and the chatter around them, as Enzo and Kol chatted excitedly with Willem, and Rose and Finn carried over trays of chilli-cheese nachos and Redvines for them to snack on, talking quietly between themselves, Rose's smile sparkling in the dying sunshine, and as soon as they reached the bleachers, they sat, heads tucked together, quietly speaking Latin as Rose explained the rules of the game while the two teams warmed up on the field. Elijah sat beside Giulia, an empty space on his other side where Gyda had disappeared, saying something about adding to her collection of high-school paraphernalia - Mystic Falls High was the last in a long line of schools she had attended over the course of the Twentieth Century - she had missed the last thirty years, daggered in a coffin by Klaus.

"I can't believe you dragged me out here tonight," Caroline grumbled. She was not yet at the point where she had to move out of town; to start the repetitive game of masquerading as a high-school student just to blend in. To Caroline, to Giulia, they were simply returning to their old high-school to watch the game. And Caroline was grumpy.

"Come on, you've been binging Ru Paul for a fortnight, you can start 'reading' the cheerleading squad, don't tell me you're not dying to," Giulia said: Caroline had to explain the resurgence of Nineties fashion to Gyda, as she despaired over the new uniforms and Nineties-inspired hair 'dos.

"Okay, fine…" Caroline sighed, and stilled as music started playing, the cheerleaders performing their first routine as the two teams clustered around their coaches. Destiny's Child. 'Lose My Breath' started playing. "Wait. They're - they're using our song."

"I don't think we had exclusive rights to it, Car," Giulia said reasonably, watching the cheerleaders - Rebekah was at the end of the line, looking toned and perky, her shimmering blonde hair drawn into a neat braid down her back, her limbs tanned, looking delectably trim in her new uniform. Rebekah could move - Giulia and Caroline watched in thinly-veiled horror as the squad danced. It wasn't that they were a bad squad, untalented - it was just that…they maybe had watched a few too many Nicki Minaj videos. "Terrible choreography."

"At least ours had class!"

"I overheard Rebekah talking to the other girls about the music," Kol mentioned, glancing over at them with a grin. "They're saying it's 'retro'." Giulia and Caroline froze, turning slowly, predatorily, to glare at him.

"What?!" Caroline yelped indignantly.

Giulia's lips popped open, as Elijah kept his lips carefully pressed together, eyes determinedly watching Rebekah tumble, refusing not to laugh. Giulia spluttered, "Are we - old?!"

"I - I - I'm not okay!" Caroline declared, flustered. Old.

"You're not old," Elijah said gently, reaching to pat Giulia's knee affectionately.

"Thank you, Elijah, that means a lot…coming from Father Time," Giulia said, and Kol snorted into his bourbon blue-raspberry slushie. "'Retro', my aching butt!"

"Beyoncé is eternal," Caroline said, deeply offended - as much by their insult to their first-generation Destiny's Child/Beyoncé love as the blatantly suggestive choreography. "If they start twerking, that is it, I am going out there and I am handling this atrocity. This is not our legacy!"

"That's the spirit," Giulia smiled, still nettled at the comment about the 'retro' status of their favourite cheer playlists. "See, I knew this would cheer you up."

Someone bounded down the bleachers, clattering down the sun-warmed metal steps, and Gyda appeared, her smile radiant, her eyebrows perfectly groomed, rocking a stained rose lip, dark jeans and one of her own vintage concert-tees with the sleeves long since ripped off, embroidered and patched and threadbare - well-loved. A Timberwolves cap was perched on her pixie-cut, but she snatched it off her head and shoved it over Willem's shining blonde hair; he readjusted it, grinning, already going in to deepen the curve of the bill.

"Look what I got us!" Gyda cried enthusiastically, unfolding a hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the MFHS insignia and howling wolf motif. One was black, with gold embroidery - it was smaller; she tossed it onto the empty bleacher beside Elijah, and unfolded the second hooded sweatshirt. "I got this one for you."

Elijah blinked, and shrank away from his daughter, eyeing the sweatshirt as if it was a torture-device. "Absolutely not."

Gyda pounced, grinning mischievously. "Quit squirming!" she said, as Elijah play-fought her off. She glanced at Willem and Finn, both watching on in amusement. "Hold him."

Grinning, Elijah's brothers pinned him into place so Gyda could shove the sweatshirt over his head, concealing his expensive black t-shirt.

"Cease this vile torment, daughter!" Elijah hissed, from inside the sweatshirt; Gyda tugged, freeing his head.

"Always so dramatic!" she smirked, as Elijah crinkled his nose but set about righting his arms in the sleeves. Giulia laughed, watching him making a show of his disgruntlement - but he enjoyed being teased by his daughter, roughhousing with his favourite brothers. And the oxblood-red colour of the sweatshirt looked fine against his tanned skin and dark hair and eyes.

Giulia smirked, "Let it never be said that blood-red is not your colour."

"It is soft," Elijah admitted begrudgingly, peering inside the sweatshirt to examine the lining.

You're so cute," Giulia smiled adoringly at him. "You wanna try on Liam's new cap?"

"You go too far," Elijah said warningly, and Giulia laughed richly as he readjusted his sunglasses, pulling up the sleeves of his new sweatshirt to his elbows, revealing the tanned, toned forearms that made her nibble her lip thoughtfully, his Viking armband glinting at his wrist, bright against his rich tan.

"Well, well, gang's all here," cooed a voice, and Giulia glanced up to smile as Damon sauntered down the steps, in a way only he could. "Where's my baby-bro?"

"Flirting with the cheerleaders," Elijah said, with a deadpan expression as he watched a cluster of boys in the Timberwolves' oxblood, black and gold uniforms hover around Rebekah, with her shimmering braid and long, long legs.

"Ah, memories," Damon sighed, settling onto the bleachers beside Caroline. "It seems like just yesterday I was tearing the old coach to shreds." He gave a gusty sigh, as if reminiscing.

"Eleven years, Damon," Giulia said pointedly. "Eleven years."

"Has it been that long?" Damon clicked his tongue.

"Thankfully, Stef has no sticking-power and never made it through the first month on the team then, so he's got that going for him this time," Giulia said, and Damon scoffed. How Elena hadn't been held back to repeat her junior year at high-school was beyond them; she had spent more time out of school than in it. "I don't think he was even in the team photo."

"He wasn't; he skipped that day," Caroline recalled.

"Shocker."

Zita fidgeted in her lap, sitting up straighter, and stared at Damon. She pulled her thumb out of her mouth with a wet pop and said a cheerful, almost curious, "Hello."

Damon turned, and started, his mouth dropping open in mingled horror and surprise. He stared at Giulia's daughter: He hadn't met her yet.

"Um, what is that?" he asked, pointing delicately at Zita.

"This is a Zita. I made her," Giulia said proudly, giving Zita's curls a fond stroke. "Zita, this is Damon."

"He looks like you," Zita observed, crinkling her nose thoughtfully as she glanced up at Giulia.

"He does… Damon is my…nephew?" Giulia asked, glancing at Damon with a bemused frown. "Cousin?"

"Distant relative, let's leave it at that," Damon said evasively, still staring at Zita as if he had seen a ghost.

"He's family," Giulia told Zita.

"Like Uncle Enzo?"

"Like Uncle Enzo."

Zita settled in Giulia's lap, staring curiously at Damon. "Where've you been?"

Damon blinked, his lips parting, and he looked briefly bemused. There was something so subtly accusatory in Zita's expression, as if she didn't understand why family wouldn't be at home, with her and Enzo and Spencer and Giulia.

"Oh, I've been all over the place, honey, travelling the world," Damon told her.

"I have a globe," Zita said excitedly, perking up.

"You can ask Damon for geography facts," Giulia said, kissing her head as she watched the two teams take the field. For a few minutes, Zita did quiz Damon, and they all learned a few hints about where Damon had actually been the last decade: Then the announcer started speaking, and they had to watch the marching band perform briefly, and the Chosen One from the school choir came out to sing 'Amazing Grace' - just like every other high-school football game in every other town, and every state, across the country.

The high-school experience Rebekah wanted would likely be the same in Mystic Falls as anywhere else on the continent. Gyda and Stefan could both attest to that.

"I'm getting disturbing déjà vu, here…" Damon admitted, watching Zita shrewdly. "Dark curls, mesmerising eyes… And you. Gianna's ghost will never cease haunting me! She was always a favourite."

"I thought you said Joshua was your favourite Salvatore."

"Gianna was only a Salvatore by marriage, not by blood. If I'm counting spouses, Gianna would be high up on that list, maybe even tied with Dorothea, maybe even above her - I don't know, it'd depend on the day you'd asked me, how maudlin I'm feeling, how much bourbon I've had to drink," Damon said glibly. "Speaking of, I'm parched - what does a guy have to do around here to get a finger of bourbon?"

"Offer Kol a favour," Giulia said, with a lecherous grin. Lips parted to ask, Damon leaned around them.

"No," Kol said, without even looking at him.

"Giulia, he won't share."

"Still miffed about the python, perhaps?" Giulia quipped.

"Kol, share," Elijah said, giving his cousin a look, and the vampire relented, his lips stained blue from his slushie. A hip-flask was passed along the row.

"Speaking of bourbon lushes - I'm surprised Sheila's not here tonight with Bonnie and P," Caroline said, glancing around.

"Bonnie's about ready to burst, there's no way she's leaving the house," Giulia said, watching the ball in play.

"But someone did…" Damon said ominously, his tone dark, and Giulia followed his gaze across the bleachers, to a dark-skinned woman with long, natural curls and a hawkish expression. Giulia had only ever seen her in photographs. Abby Bennett.

"Why's she here?" Caroline asked a little breathlessly.

"It's Friday-night in a small town, Caroline," Damon rolled his eyes. "She's exactly where she knows everyone else in town will be, all gathered in one place."

"Damon, don't…" Giulia warned, as he started to rise, that intent, murderous gleam in his eyes. He wasn't the only one glaring: Willem and Gyda had both clocked Abby in the crowd, sharing a meaningful look. They had been partying with Damon in New York around the time Joshua Salvatore, their mutual friend, had disappeared. Giulia followed Abby's gaze: She kept glancing between Stefan, playing on the field, and Rebekah, chanting with the other cheerleaders. "Look at her, watching them."

"Oh, hey - look, Matt's here!" Caroline blurted, and Giulia craned her neck to follow Caroline's gaze.

"Oh…oh…" Giulia raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise. "Elena."

"She's here?!" Caroline asked, and angled her head for a better view. "Wow."

"Yeah, wow," Giulia agreed. There was Matt, and Elena, and beside them… "Look, Isobel's got Grayson." The black-haired beauty felt their gazes on her; her smile glittered in the dying sunlight, and she climbed off the bleachers, to walk around and slip down to say hello to them.

"Hi," she beamed, holding Grayson against her front.

"You look like you're holding a Fabergé egg - or an IED," Giulia said, and Isobel chuckled.

"Well, I just don't want to trip or slip over and send him flying down these metal bleachers! There's tonnes of sharp edges," she said plaintively. "And all these people."

"Hi, Grayson!" Zita cooed, wriggling in Giulia's lap to climb down, eager to cuddle the baby.

"You wanna give him a kiss?" Isobel asked, gently lowering Grayson so Zita could go up on her tiptoes, holding Isobel's wrists for balance, to tenderly kiss Grayson's lips. It was probably very wet; he was blowing bubbles with his saliva.

"What about a kiss for me, Grandma?" Damon cooed, giving Isobel a flirty wave.

"You're one to talk, Damon - isn't Giulia your granddaughter, several generations removed?" Caroline said, nudging Damon.

"The cheekbones give it away," Damon admitted.

"So you got her out of the house, huh?" Giulia said, glancing back at Elena and Matt, who waved, smiling beneath his baseball cap and sunglasses, looking relaxed and a lot happier than the last time Giulia had seen him. "Good job."

"If we get through the night without one of us crying, then, you can congratulate me," Isobel said drily, and she lifted Grayson back into her arms. "Say bye, Grayson." She waved at them all, climbing back up the bleachers.

Damon watched Isobel go, looking simultaneously mesmerised and horrified. "Isobel with a baby? One she's not even snacking on?! That is just weird."


A.N.: Hold on to your butts, people.