I'm so sorry it's so late! I had no internet all of last week and no time to put it up yesterday, but better late than never. ;)

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, but the plot and any original characters are mine! No copyright infringement intended. It's just fun to play with the characters ;)

Chapter Six

Stefan watched fond as his brother and Jeremy ran around the park chasing JD and the little boy let out a squeal when he was finally caught and scooped into his father's arms.

"Finally caught you, little man." He put JD on his shoulders and Jeremy laughed.

"That was fun, Daddy!" JD giggled and Stefan held up the camera that Jen had slipped to him before he left, making him promise to take lots of pictures of Damon and JD. He snapped a picture of the 2 of them smiling widely.

'How long has it been since Damon was this happy?' He asked himself and his mind drifted to their human days when Jen was a permanent fixture in their lives. 'She really brought out the best in him.' He smiled again as Damon put JD back down.

Since Jen had moved in, he began to remember her more and more. They would have debates about literature, music and law. She would fight for her point so passionately, which was unorthodox for women back then. She also brought a woman's touch to the Salvatore home that Stefan missed while growing. She would spend time with their cook preparing meals, watching out for both Damon and himself, and sometimes she would even help him understand his brother's behavior. Back then, she became the sister and female figure that Stefan had always wanted and needed in his life. He could see why his brother had fallen in love with her once upon a time.

"Jeremy, will you push me on the swings?" JD took the teen's hand, getting Jeremy's attention.

"Sure, JD." Jeremy chuckled as the little boy began to drag him to the swings and Damon walked over to sit with his brother.

"He's a hyper little kid, huh?" Stefan asked with a laugh.

Damon nodded with a laugh of his own. "Definitely. He kinda reminds me of how you were. All you wanted to do all the time was play."

Stefan was shocked. He hadn't heard Damon talk of their human years, much less their childhood, positively in… well ever. "I was?"

"Yeah, it would drive dad and the nanny crazy." Damon smirked. "Dad used to think that it was because I was influencing you to be that way." He rolled his eyes.

"Well dad was too much of a dick to you sometimes." Stefan responded softly, surprising Damon.

A silence sat between them for a few minutes, and a middle-aged woman walked up to Damon. "Hi, I'm Rachel." She gave him a flirty smile. "I saw you playing with that little boy over there. He's your son, right?"

A crooked smile formed on Damon's face and Stefan fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, yes he is."

Rachel's smile widened. "It must be hard to be a single father." She said with obviously feigned sympathy and openly glancing at Damon's hand.

'Probably in search of a ring...' Stefan thought to himself with a light shake of his head.

Damon smiled and he heard her heartbeat accelerate. "Actually I'm not." He smirked. "I just brought him out for a boys' day out with my brother and a friend of ours so that she could have a break."

Disappointment covered her face, but she recovered by plastering a fake smile on her face. "That's so nice of you."

"I guess." He shrugged casually. "So where's your kid?"

She looked around awkwardly, but smiled as she pointed to a little boy that looked to be about 4 years old and another looked to be 10. "The oldest is Robbie, he's 10, and Charlie is 4." She explained proudly.

"Wow… and you're raising them by yourself?" Damon mocked admiration and she ate it up.

"Yes, well their dad ran off with some 20 year old bleach blonde 3 years ago." She rolled her eyes, and then looked back at Damon. "You don't seem like that type though."

Damon and Stefan looked at each other, shared a knowing look and smirked. "I'm not, plus Jen is a pretty hot 21 year old herself." He smiled charmingly and Rachel's face dropped as Stefan let out a laugh.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your boys' day." She smiled tensely before walking away.

The brothers looked at each other before they burst into fits of laughter. "Wow… mommy dearest was dying to get into your pants." Stefan said between laughs and they laughed more.

"Tell me about it…" Damon shook his head. "These middle-aged soccer moms are dying to get laid by hot young men like me, Stef." He smirked.

"Unbelievable…"Stefan rolled his eyes as his brother let out another laugh and he couldn't help but join him.

"Do you remember George Lockwood's cousin?" Damon asked once they had both calmed down.

"Yeah… Abigail? What about her?" He looked at him curiously.

"That woman just reminded me of her. She would throw herself at you constantly and you were super shy and awkward because of it. Do you remember?" Damon smirked.

Stefan looked down embarrassedly. "Yeah," he chuckled. "Jen encouraged me a lot to talk to her."

"She did." Damon nodded with a chuckle. "She gave you lots of advice. I remember the day of Honoria Fell's birthday ball and she was helping you fix your hair and your suit so that you could get Abigail's attention."

Stefan laughed. "Yeah, I remember… God, Abigail could not stay away from me. I did everything Jen said and it worked."

"She did give great advice, huh?" Damon mentioned pensively. "I've been remembering more little by little. I thought I'd lost some memories because if my anger after the transition, but the blanks are starting to disappear."

"Me too." Stefan nodded. "I remember the first day she showed up."

Damon's eyes widened. "You do?" This was a memory that he hadn't gotten back quite yet. "What was it like?"

Stefan looked at him with a very Damon-like smile. "You couldn't keep your eyes off of her. You were completely enamored from the moment she stepped out of the carriage."

Damon chuckled, turning his attention back to his son, who was laughing loudly as Jeremy pushed him.

*Flashback*

"Damon, Stefan, come downstairs." Giuseppe ordered as his sons' footsteps could be heard. "We will be receiving another guest. Ms. Katherine's servant has just informed us that the relatives that were on their way to pick up Ms. Katherine have suffered a terrible accident and died. Only their 17 year old daughter survived." Giuseppe explained as the 3 of them went to the porch to greet their new guest.

Damon watched the carriage pull up and stop in front of the Salvatore house. The driver jumped off and opened the door. Damon's eyes widened as he watched the girl step out. She had olive skin just a shade lighter than Katherine's, but her hair was a darker and richer chocolate brown. Her eyes were deep pools of brown that were filled with fear and confusion, but she was still so beautiful. H e figured that it must've been hard to lose your parents so suddenly. It made him remember how he felt when his mother died and he never wanted anyone to feel that way.

'I'm going to make this girl smile.' He thought with determination. 'She must lookbeautiful when she smiles…'His mind couldn't help but wonder.

She stepped out of the carriage with the driver's help and Emily guided her to them. "Master Salvatore, this is Ms. Jennifer Pierce, Ms. Katherine's cousin." Emily Bennett introduced.

"Thank you so much for taking me in like this, Master Salvatore." She her voice was sweet and timid as she bowed her head and curtsied.

"It's not a problem, dear girl." Giuseppe responded with a smile and a nod. "These are my sons: Stefan and Damon." He pointed to each accordingly.

Damon watched as she turned her attention to Stefan and his brother took her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Stefan quickly brushed his lips over her knuckles.

"You as well, Mister Salvatore." She nodded with a gentle smile. Damon couldn't tear his eyes away from her as she turned around to face him and he watched his brother smirk at him.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls, Ms. Pierce." Damon smiled charmingly as he took her hand in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He descended his lips to her hand, never once taking his crystalline eyes away from her pools of melted brown.

"You as well, Mister Salvatore." A blush painted her cheeks as a shy smile appeared on her face and she curtsied.

"Damon," He corrected with his lips against her hands so softly so that only she heard him.

"Jennifer." She responded just as softly as he returned to his full height.

*End Flashback*

"Damon?" His brother's voice brought him out of the flashback.

"Yeah?" Damon looked at Stefan confused, who was looking at him oddly.

"I've been calling your name for like five minutes. Are you ok?" Stefan looked at him skeptically. "Where were you?"

"Yeah," He nodded and chuckled. "I was in 1863, meeting Jen for the first time." He explained making Stefan smirk. "And you were right…. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

Stefan saw a faraway look in his brother's eyes. "I told you." He responded rather cockily.

"Whatever." Damon bumped his shoulder against Stefan's as JD came running over.

"Uncle Stef!" He called out and took his uncle's hand. "Come play Avengers with me! You can be Thor! Jeremy is gonna be the Hulk because he looks like Bruce and I'm gonna be Ironman!" He explained excitedly, tugging on Stefan's hand.

"Go on then, Thor." Damon teased, making Jeremy laugh and Stefan roll his eyes as JD dragged him to the playground.

Damon watched as his brother played Thor to JD's Ironman and Jeremy's Hulk. He shook his head with a laugh and noticed Jen's camera sitting on top of JD's bag. Jen must've given it to Stefan when he wasn't looking. He smiled a little. She'd been keen on getting as many pictures with JD as she could even if he didn't know it.

After a day full day with watching college basketball, playgrounds, enacting Avenger stories, fast food and running, JD was not the only one exhausted. Jen watched from the living room as Damon trotted into the house holding a sleeping JD in one arm and his bag in another with Stefan and Jeremy following behind.

"You guys look exhausted." She greeted with a chuckled as she walked over and pulled her son into her arms.

"Your kid is a hyper kid." Jeremy plopped onto the sofa and threw an arm over his eyes.

She laughed. "He's Damon's kid too." She reminded teasingly, making Stefan laugh.

"That's for sure." The younger Salvatore brother shook his head. "You should've seen him. When we were leaving the park, a woman's wallet falls out of her purse as she's pushing her kid's in a stroller. He runs over, picks it up and hands it to her. She thanks him and asks him if he knew he was cute, and do you know what he said?" Stefan asked as he and Jeremy started laughing at the end.

Jen simply shook her head. Before Stefan could stop laughing to tell her, Damon did instead. "He said and I quote: 'Yes, thank you. It's because I look like my daddy.' And then he pointed to me." He smirked proudly, making Jen laugh, and Stefan and Jeremy fall into another laughing fit.

"Wow… He has your modesty, Damon." Jen shook her head, still chuckling. "Jeremy, you should stay for dinner and the night if you'd like. You guys must be hungry. There's food in the oven for you and a banana cream pie in the fridge." She explained with a smile. "I'm gonna give JD a bath."

"I'll be up when it's time to put him to bed." Damon smiled at her before she walked out.

"Wow… I guess I'm staying for dinner." Jeremy patted his belly. "And the night because I'm tired as hell and I want to try Jen's banana cream pie." He grinned cheekily. "Damn, if she was willing, I would marry her." He joked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "As if she's gonna marry some kid, Baby Gilbert. Jen needs a man." He walked over and poured himself a glass of bourbon. Jeremy and Stefan both shared knowing look before Damon continued. "She needs someone to take care of her and be good around JD, but if you think that I'm gonna let some kid or some douchebag into her and JD's life you are sorely mistaken." He turned around and the 2 saw fire in his eyes. "She needs someone who will treat her like the kickass woman that she is. She needs someone who deserves her." He ended with conviction, taking a sip of his bourbon. Not that there was any man who deserved her in his mind.

Jeremy and Stefan smiled at each other again. "Someone like you?" His brother asked with a smirk and an arched eyebrow.

Damon nearly choked on his drink. "What the fuck are you talking about, Stefan?" His face also mirrored a WTF expression as the other 2 rolled their eyes.

"You loved her once…" Stefan reminded.

"And she still loves you." Jeremy added.

Damon shook his head, effectively keeping them from continuing. This was not a conversation he was ready for, much less with his brother and Baby Gilbert. "I am not having this conversation with the 2 of you." He glared. "Go eat dinner. I heard Jen take JD into his room so I have to go tuck my son in. Stef, show Baby Gilbert one of the guest rooms." He ordered and walked out.

He quickly made his way to JD's room and found Jen zipping up his footie pajamas. "Hey," He smiled at his barely conscious son, who simply waved tiredly.

Jen chuckled. "You should've seen him. He could barely. Keep his eyes open."

Damon chuckled as well as Jen lay JD in bed. "Good night, kiddo." Damon kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight, baby." Jen kissed JD's forehead as well and they both walked out. "Are you ok?" She asked once JD's bedroom door was closed.

"What do you mean?" He looked at her confused.

She arched an eyebrow. "Damon… I know you. I can practically see the frustration rolling off of you."

"It's nothing." He shrugged casually. He sure as hell couldn't tell her what Jeremy and Stefan were talking to him about.

"Damon." She repeated in that same tone. Her piercing gaze looking deeper into him than anyone had before.

He sighed heavily. He knew that he had to tell her something because he could clearly see that she wasn't just going to let it go. "Stefan and Jeremy just talking some bullshit and it's been a long day so my tolerance for bullshit is even lower than usual." He gave her a half hearted crooked smile.

She gave him a smile in return. "Well taking care of a toddler all day long can be pretty exhausting." She nudged him playfully. "When was the last time you fed?" She asked, not suspiciously but with concern.

"A while ago…" He answered as they descended.

"You should go out for a hunt or something. I saw that there are no more blood bags downstairs." She suggested as if she wasn't talkingabout human beings. She acted as if it didn't bother her. "You should probably pick some up while you're out too."

'Who is this girl?' Damon's mind couldn't help but question as a smile formed on his face. "You are something else."

"What do you mean?" She looked at him confused, making him chuckle.

"You act like I'm about to go eat steak, not people." He chuckled and she joined him.

"You're a vampire, Damon." She rolled her eyes. "I don't elude myself with this vampire situation. I know what you are and I accept it." She gave him a reassuring smile as they reached the bottom.

He couldn't help, but smile back. "Ok, I'm gonna go grab a drink and a few blood bags from a few different towns." He explained. "I'll be home late." And without noticing, he gave her a kiss on the cheek before zooming out the front door, leaving a blushing Jen surprised.

But Stefan and Jeremy did notice the kiss and they shared a smile.

Caroline was driving Jen to the bakery for her job interview and Caroline was chatting away about the bakery, but Jen was too busy thinking about the kiss on the cheek that Damon had given her. 'What did it even mean?... No!' She screamed at herself. 'It meant nothing. I can't let it get to me. Damon doesn't like me like that. He loves Elena. I'm just the mother of his son… that's it.' She sighed heavily.

"Jen?" Caroline asked, blue eyes filled with concern. "Are you ok? You're super quiet."

Jen nodded. "Just a little nervous. I really want this job actually. I love to cook."

Caroline smiled. She'd heard Jen's heart skip a beat, but she still wasn't close enough to the older girl to push the envelope… yet. "Of course you're gonna get it, Jen!" She assured, turning her attention back to the road. "You're a kickass baker."

"Thanks, Caroline." Jen was touched by the young blonde's friendliness. They barely knew each other and Caroline was so willing to help her. "You're a really good person, Caroline. In fact, I think you're my first friend here in Mystic Falls, other than Damon that is."

"And I'm waaay better than Damon." Caroline laughed as she parked in front of the bakery, which was named Sweets n Treats. "Here we are." She and Jen quickly got out of the car, and they walked in. "Layla!" Caroline called out loudly and luckily, the bakery was empty.

A small woman with graying hair, gentle eyes and a sweet smile walked out from the back. "Hello, Caroline dear." She walked from behind the counter and hugged the peppy blonde.

"Layla, this is my friend Jennifer. She is an incredible baker." Caroline reached into her bag, pulled out a small square Tupperware and opened it to reveal the banana cream pie that Jen had made the day before. "Try this." She picked up a plastic spoon off of the counter and handed it as well as the Tupperware to Layla.

"Caroline?!" Jen's eyes practically bulged out of her head. "When did you get that?"

"When you were getting dressed, duh." Caroline winked as Layla took a bite of the pie.

"Hmm…" Layla hummed and Jen's nervousness grew. "This is delicious, Jennifer." Layla smiled and finished the pie.

"Thank you, Ms. Fell, and please call me Jen." Jen blushed and smiled.

"I like Jennifer." Layla smiled, but her tone left no room for arguing. "Now that I've tasted your pie, which I highly enjoyed, tell me a about yourself." She pointed to a table and the 3 of them sat down.

"Well I'm 21 years old, I just moved here to Mystic Falls and I have the most adorable son in the world." Jen stated proudly. "I know that every mother says that, but JD really is the cutest little boy in the world." She pulled out her phone and began showing Layla pictures of JD.

"He really is a cute little boy." Layla smiled at the pictures of the smiling toddler. "What does JD stand for?"

"Jacob Damon." Jen answered with a smile, admiring the pictures as well. She would never get tired of seeing her son's smiling face.

"Is that his father?" Layla asked as they came across a picture of JD and Damon smiling happily into the camera. "They look so much alike."

Jen's smile widened if only a bit. "Yes, that's Damon."

"He's quite handsome." Layla smiled at Jen. "I've seen him before though."

Jen and Caroline both nodded. "Damon's from here." Caroline slipped in.

"After Damon and I met, had our relationship and got separated, we promised to find each other, but Damon suffered an accident and had amnesia." Jen looked away, feeling all the sorrow that she hid deep inside of her start coming to the surface. "He lost all of his memories of me…" She trailed off, not being able to continue.

"But he found you now, right dearie?" Layla put a comforting arm around her. "Amnesia's a bitch, but he's been remembered and he's been remembering, right?"

Jen laughed at the tone in the old woman's voice. "Yes, he has."

"Then that's all that matters, my dear." Layla chuckled. "You're hired, Jennifer dear. You can come in tomorrow at 8am and we close at 6pm. Have you figured out where your son will be while you work?" She looked at her with concern.

"Damon and I are going to the daycare after I leave here to make the arrangements for JD." She answered tucking a curl behind her ear. "But are you serious about me working here?" Jen asked hopefully, she couldn't believe that Layla was hiring her so easily.

"Yes, sweetie. You are the right person to work here with me." Layla assured with a nod. "And call me Layla."

"Thank you so much, Layla." Jen hugged her. "Thank you so much. This means a lot to me."

"It's my pleasure, sweetie." Layla returned the hug.

"Well we should get going. Damon and I have to meet with the people at the daycare."Jen stood up and Caroline followed in suit. "Thanks so much, Layla. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, dearie." Layla waved as the girls walked out.

When they made their way over to Caroline's car, Jen saw a young blonde girl that she vaguely recognized , but couldn't remember from where, leaning against the car. "Ugh…" Caroline groaned. "Not her."

"Who is she?" Jen looked at Caroline and then the blonde.

"That's Rebekah," Caroline rolled her eyes. "She's Klaus's annoying little sister."

And Jen's mind reminded her that Damon and Rebekah once had sex, and her heart dropped into her stomach. "Oh…" Was all she could say.

"I heard that, Caroline." Rebekah leaned off the car and stood in front of them. "Just because Nik is fond of you, doesn't mean that I am."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, Rebekah?"

"I wanted to meet Damon's baby mama." She turned to look at Jen with scrutinizing eyes. "Nik told me the story and I didn't think that he was actually serious. I feel bad for you, giving birth to Damon's spawn." She gave Jen a belittling look.

Jen smiled, as if Rebekah's attitude didn't bother her at all. "Would you like to see a picture of him?" She pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket and showed the picture of JD and Damon on her screensaver. "He looks just like his daddy." She stated proudly.

Rebekah looked at her surprised. Normally her attitude turned people off, especially humans. "Hm…" She looked at the little boy on the screen. He had his father's hair, smile and eyes, but his nose and ears were his mother's. "I had sex with Damon, you know." She pursed her lips, hoping to get a rise out of her like she did with the younger doppelganger.

Jen smirked and crossed her arms. "Who hasn't? Damon's been alive for 150 years. He's gotten a lot of ass." She understood Damon's lifestyle, but that didn't mean that knowing that he'd been with a lot of women didn't sting a little.

Caroline and Rebekah's jaws dropped and then they both started laughing. "Holy shit!" Rebekah threw her head back and laughed again. "I actually might like you, and I never thought I'd like someone from this damn Petrova line." She smirked at Jen.

"Wow… I don't think that I've ever heard a girl talk like that before." Caroline shook her head, still in giggles.

"Well if you'd met my friend Max when we were in high school, you'd understand why I do." Jen chuckled. "Well it's nice to meet you, Rebekah." Jen held out her hand. "I'm Jennifer Pierce, by the way, but you can call me Jen."

Rebekah shook it. "Rebekah Mikaelson." She gave a small smile. "I guess I'll see you around then."

"I guess so."Jen shrugged with a small smile of her own, and the Original zoomed away. "She seems nice when you get beyond the spiteful attitude." She smiled at Caroline, who looked at her like she was crazy. "Well come one, Caroline." She smiled and got in the car.

Jen had been working at Treats n Sweets for a week and she loved every moment of it. Layla was amazing to work with and she had already taught Jen so much. Jen had been arranging the cupcake display when she heard the bell on the door ding. She turned around to face the customer, smiling upon seeing who it was. "Well, I swear, Rebekah, you've become my most regular customer since I started working here." Jen smiled. She and the young-looking, because she really wasn't young, blonde had really been getting along since the day they'd met.

"Well, I'm bored." Rebekah whined. "Elijah's God-knows-where, Kol's out making up for the years of sex that he missed, and Nik is pining over Caroline, but she still dating the hybrid." She sighed heavily.

"So you came to visit me?" Jen asked amused. Sometimes it didn't seem like Rebekah was over 1000 years old. "And Caroline broke up with Tyler."

"Well, you don't bore me or annoy me." Rebekah shrugged casually as she tucked away the information about Caroline and Tyler's break-up to tell Nik later. "I actually like you." She admitted rather hesitantly. She never had been good at making friends.

"So does this mean that we're friends now?" Jen joked as she continued arranging the cupcakes.

Rebekah smiled. She figured that Jen would hate her just like everyone else in Stefan's gang because she was sure that they'd told her about all the things that she's done, but instead Jen surprised her by actually making her own opinion on Rebekah. "I guess we are." Rebekah smirked. "Now what's new around here?"

"Well thanks to Layla's encouragement for me to try new recipes, I've made a derby pie, white chocolate cheesecake, and blueberry cupcakes with white chocolate and butter cream frosting topped with a blueberry." She smiled as she pointed each one out.

"Hmmm…" Rebekah hummed as she admired all the sweets. "Thank God I'm a bloody vampire because it all looks good so I'll take one of each." She smiled. "What's derby pie?"

"It's chocolate and walnut." Jen answered as she pulled out a slice of the pie. "What about to drink?" She pulled out the cheesecake and cupcake.

"Do you have any of that honeydew tea?" Rebekah pulled out her wallet. "It was delicious."

"I'll get that for you." She quickly poured the tea into the cup for her friend. "$17.62," Jen gave her the total without using the register.

"It still amazes me how you do that." Rebekah shook her head and sat on the stool.

"Well I was, as Damon put it, the number one nerd in school." Jen chuckled. "Are you going to the opening of the Founder's Day celebration today?"

"I guess so." Rebekah shrugged as she took a bite of the pie and moaned. "Oh my God… this is amazing."

"Thanks." Jen laughed. "That's good I want you to meet JD."

"I forget that you have a kid and that it's Damon's." Rebekah continued to devour her pie. "Is he really a good dad?" She couldn't help but ask. Damon had a very volatile personality and that brought back memories of her own father, who was the opposite of a good father.

"He's amazing." Jen said without a second thought. "He's so good to JD. He's a wonderful father." She smiled wistfully.

"I guess I'll have to see it to believe it." Rebekah chuckled.

"You will, and I'm sure you'll be surprised." Jen nodded as she started cleaning up.

"Closing already?" Rebekah inquired in surprise. The bakery didn't usually close until 6 and it was only 5.

"Yeah," Jen answered. "With the opening of the celebration today, Layla wants to close early since she's part of a founding family. Since it was so busy here this morning, we made up for it."

"It was?" The bakery got a decent amount of business since it was located close to the highway so a lot of travelers that were just passing by came in.

"Yeah." Jen nodded. "With the celebration this weekend a lot of people had family and friends come in from out of town for some of the activities, like the fair tomorrow." She explained. "It was so full in here that I could hardly keep up." She closed the register, slipped off the apron, grabbed her purse then went to sit next to Rebekah. "I am exhausted." She took a piece from the cupcake that Rebekah was eating.

"Hey!" The blonde shoved her playfully, making Jen laugh and stand up.

"Don't you dare complain!" She poked Rebekah, who had already finished the pie and cheesecake, and then was polishing off the cupcake. "I saved that last cupcake for you because the rest sold like hotcakes." She childishly stuck out her tongue at her.

Rebekah stood up. "Well I know why." She licked her lips. "It was delicious and as my friend, you should have saved me one." She stated as they walked towards the door.

Jen laughed at her new friend's antics. "Yeah, yeah," She rolled her eyes. "Bye, Layla!" Jen yelled from door.

"Bye, dearie!" Layla yelled from the back, and the 2 girls walked out.

"Well, I'll see you later, Bekah." She hugged her, which surprised the original vampire.

Rebekah hugged her back with a small smile. "See you later, Jen."

The 2 went their separate ways, and Jen's drive back to the boarding house was rather quiet as she simply hummed to a song on the radio. In no time, she pulled into the driveway and when inside, anxious to see her son.

She opened the door and she heard little feet running in her direction. "Mommy!" JD hugged her legs.

Damon must've told him that she was home. 'Freaky vampire hearing.' She chuckled and picked JD up. "Hey, sweetie. How was your first day at your new school?"

"It was fun!" He grinned wildly. "I made new friends and finger-painted and played with blocks and played on the playground and sang ABC." He explained excitedly as Damon walked into the foyer.

"Slow down and breathe, buddy." He chuckled. "Mommy must be tired. She had a long day at work." Damon smiled at her, which made her heart rate pick up ever so slightly. "Welcome home. He's been dying for you to come home so that he could tell you about his day." He walked over to them and ruffled JD's hair, and then he suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" She eyed him curiously.

"JD, why don't you go upstairs and get the drawing that you made in school for Mommy to see?" Damon's voice was tense as Jen let JD down and he did as his father told.

"What's wrong, Damon?" She asked again.

"You smell like the vampire who was hunting you in Atlanta, Jen." He frowned. "He found you. He shouldn't have, but he did."

"What?" Her eyes widened with fear. "Why? How?"

Damon ran a hand through his hair. "You must be a special hunt for him. Jen, vampires feel stronger than humans do. When we want something badly, we do whatever we have to in order to get it and he wants you."

Jen's heart thudded in her chest as fear filled her. "But…Why? And what about JD?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "

"I don't know." He sighed heavily. "But don't worry, you and JD are safe. I'm gonna find him and end him. Murderous flames burned in Damon's blue eyes. "Why do you smell like Barbie Klaus too?" He gave her an odd look.

A smile broke out on Jen's face. "Barbie Klaus?" She asked with a giggle. "Rebekah comes by the bakery and we talk. We're friends."

He looked at incredulously. "Really?"

"Yeah." She laughed at the look on his face. "We get along quite well."

"Ooookaay… Just be careful." He continued to look at her oddly. "Did you see anyone weird or even someone that you did know at the bakery today?"

She sighed heavily. "Today was busy as hell with people coming in town visiting family with the beginning of the Founder's Day celebrations. I barely saw the faces of the people I served today."

"Ok…" He nodded. "Go get ready for the opening tonight. JD and I are ready, and try to stay close today, ok? I don't want anything to happen to you." He rubbed her arm softly. "Until we catch whoever this is, you and JD will be watched ok?"

She nodded. "Ok." Damon released her and an hour later Jen came down in dark wash jeans, a red chiffon blouse, and black ankle booties. Her hair was loose with the curls framing her face, and natural make-up.

"You look great." He smiled at her and she blushed, hanging JD's bag on the banister.

"Thanks." She came down to the last step as JD ran up to her.

"Look Mommy!" He held up a picture of 3 funnily drawn people. "It's me, you, and Daddy!"

She smiled proudly. "That's beautiful, sweetie." She took the picture from him. "Let's go put it on the fridge." She walked into the kitchen as they followed her. She placed the paper against the fridge and put a magnet on top of it. "There." She turned to look at JD. "Now everyone will get to enjoy your art."

"Yeah!" He agreed happily.

"Ok, let's get going." Damon took JD's hand and they walked back to the foyer. "I already got the picnic blanket and put it in the car for us."

"And I have JD's bag and the camera." She smiled, picking up JD's bag.

"You need to start being in the pictures with us, you know." Damon smirked, reaching into the bag and pulling out the camera as he picked JD up. "Now, say cheese."

"Cheese!" JD grinned widely as Jen and Damon smiled when he snapped the picture.

"Good, now let's go." Damon slipped the camera back into JD's bag, and in10 minutes they were at the square.

"Hey guys!" Caroline greeted as Jen, Damon and JD approached her as well as Stefan, Bonnie, Jeremy, Matt and Elena. The others echoed her greeting.

"Hey, everyone." "Hey." Jen and Damon said in unison.

"Hi." JD waved with a bright smile, making the grown-ups smile as well. Damon spread out their picnic blanket and the 3 of them took a seat.

"So how was your first week of work?" Caroline asked and she and Jen chatted excitedly as the others talked with JD.

Damon stood up and walked over to his brother. "I need to talk to you." He stated lowly, and he and Stefan walked away from their group, but he kept Jen and JD in his line of sight. "The vampire that was hunting Jen is back. He went to the bakery. I was able to smell him on her." Damon explained. "He's obsessed, Stefan. He wants her for some reason and considering he was able to find her all the way here again, he's not gonna give up so easily." His voice was tense and Stefan could see the anger in Damon's eyes. "I have to find him and end this son of a bitch before he gets his hands on Jen or JD."

Stefan sighed, feeling his brother's worry. In the short time that they'd entered his life, Jen and JD had become important to him. "We will find him, Damon. You don't have to do this alone."

Damon arched an eyebrow. "You wanna help?"

Stefan gave him a crooked smile. "They're family, Damon so hell yeah, I'm gonna help you."

A genuine smile broke out on Damon's face. "Thanks, Stef."

Stefan nodded and they returned to their friends, but only Caroline and Jen were left and they were talking as JD played with a train toy.

"Jen, I have no idea what to do. Mrs. Lockwood helped me to organize the Founder's day, but I have no ideas to make it amazing." Caroline sighed and Jen giggled at Caroline's dramatics as the Salvatore brothers sat down.

"It's just a party, Caroline." Damon rolled his eyes.

Caroline huffed. "You should want this party, Damon. You and Stefan were founders after all."

"I guess we're over it." Stefan chuckled and Damon nodded his agreement.

Jen giggled again. "Relax, Care. I'm sure you'll think of something." She patted Caroline's lap.

"Did you get to participate in a Founder's Ball, Jen?" Caroline asked hopefully.

"Yes," Jen smiled. "It was the first anniversary of Mystic Falls and the first Founder's ball."

"What was it like?" Caroline smiled and turned into curious gossip girl mode.

"Well…" Jen stopped as the memories flooded her. "The dresses were beautiful. Everything was so extravagant and luxurious." She smiled wistfully. "My date wasn't half bad either." She smirked at Damon, who smirked back.

"I think you're undervaluing your experience that night." His eyes met hers and she chuckled.

"Why is that?"

"Because if do recall correctly, he gave you a hell of a kiss at the end of the night and you said that it was the most amazing kiss you'd ever had." The cockiness was rolling off of him in waves.

Jen blushed and chuckled. That's because it was, especially since it was the first kiss that he ever gave me."

"Aw!" Caroline squealed. "You guys had your first kiss at the Founder's Ball? That's so cute!"

"And they were inseparable after that." Stefan added with a chuckle.

"Aw!" She squealed again. "Well I've just had a brilliant idea. We're doing the Founder's ball 1864 style!" Caroline clapped her hands. "I have to tell Mrs. Lockwood!" She jumped up and walked away.

"I'm gonna go get a soda." Stefan stood up. "You guys want something?" Both shook their heads and Stefan walked away.

Jen looked around and saw Rebekah talking to some high school girl. "Bekah!" She called out, getting the girl's attention.

Rebekah made her way through the crowd as Jen and Damon stood up. "Hey, Jen." She smiled and Jen smiled.

"Hey, Bekah." She picked up JD. "Bekah, this is JD. JD this is my friend Rebekah." She introduced and JD smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Rebekah." He held out his hand.

Rebekah couldn't help, but smile in return. "It's nice to meet you too, JD. You can just call me Rebekah."

"Okay, Rebekah." He hugged her and she hugged him back.

Her smiled disappeared when she saw Damon eying her. "Damon." She greeted coolly.

"Rebekah." He replied in the same tone. At that moment, Damon decided that as long as Barbie Klaus was good to Jen and JD, they wouldn't have a problem.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tyler Lockwood greeted form the stage, and everyone turned to watch. "I'd like to thank you all for coming to the opening of our Founder's Day celebration." Tyler spoke with confidence and surprising eloquence. "As a member of a founding family I'd like-" His voice was cut off by a loud gunshot and blood began seeping through his shirt.

And there it is! Thanks so much for the reviews and follows guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

YES! I am a Klaroline shipper! So you will see them happen here!

Thanks so much for reading!

-Major J.