"Grandpa!" Ted cheered as he stormed down the stairs and into the wide open arms of his grandfather. His eyes beamed with joy as he latched on and Giuseppe span him around. For an elderly man, Damon's father had a surprising amount of energy left in him and the fire of an eighteen year old. It's where Damon got it from.

"If it isn't my favourite grandchild," Giuseppe laughed as he placed Ted back on the ground.

"I'm your only grandchild," Ted's childish laughter filled the living room.

Giuseppe finally took his eyes off his grandson and opened his welcome arms to Elena, his 'makeshift daughter'. He was a warm man. A lot like her father in many ways. She understood why they were friends from the moment she first met the eldest Salvatore.

"Hi Pep," she smiled and settled into his hug. Like Damon, he was very broad and tall. Probably most intimidating in his hayday. "It's so nice of you to visit, but you didn't have to come all this way, y'know."

"I missed my family," he shrugged. "And I want to make sure you get a fair deal with the house sale. Plus, it gives me a reason to check in on the Boarding House, not that I think you'll be struggling with it of course."

"Thank you. We appreciate it, honestly," she said, gesturing to the kitchen for them to sit down and catch-up. "No Lily?"

"Afraid not, it's just too much for her these days. Her knees aren't what they once were and, well, you know. Memories."

"Oh I know," she sighed. "They don't fade away, no matter how long it's been."

"Well the offer still stands, Elena. There are great schools back at home in Sebring, you'll be close to us and we will help you anyway we can," he said.

He sat down at the kitchen table and Ted climbed up on the seat next to him. The Salvatores had offered to take her in many times and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted. Florida did sound good and it was far away from Mystic Falls, but something always held her back. She hadn't quite placed her finger on it.

"I see this town hasn't learnt from its past mistakes," he grumbled. "I ran into Tobias Fell as I stopped for fuel. He had the nerve to tell me how he thought about Damon most days and how it was a shame to lose such a 'capable' man. It'll be a fine day when that man is placed behind bars, alongside the rest of his family."

Elena turned to the coffee machine as he rambled on about the awful family that turned both his and Elena's world upside down. While Lily would always stay quiet about such things, Giuseppe was never afraid to speak his mind. He didn't like to sit back and watch injustice happen before his eyes, but like any good lawyer, he knew when he was beaten and chose his battles carefully.

"If only people knew what that family was responsible for," he muttered. "Anyway. Teddy boy, how is school?"

"It's great! I'm learning Italian so I can be a proper Salvatore," he cheered.

"Meraviglioso. Dobbiamo andare a trovarti e mostrarti da dove vieni," Giuseppe smiled. "Questo mi rende così felice."

"Mi chiamo Ted."

"Well we all have to start somewhere," his grandfather smiled. "And where is Matt?"

"He's gone to have a life of his own," Elena answered and brought across two mugs of coffee. "And that's what we're going to do too, huh, Teddy?"

"Beach house!" Ted replied. "We're going to live at the beach one day."

"So I've heard. Ah and before I forget," Giuseppe said as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet. "Nanny Lily sent you this for your collection."

He opened up his wallet and pulled out a stamp with a picture of a car on it. Ted had started collecting them a long time ago and sticking them into a big book. He didn't know much behind them or understood what they could be worth one day, but he saw it on a film once and decided to collect them himself. Giuseppe and Lily happily obliged and found him every different type of stamp they could possibly find.

"Whose that?" Ted asked and pointed to a picture in Giuseppe's wallet. "Who is Uncle Stefan with?"

"That was his girlfriend, Valerie."

"Girlfriend?" Ted's nose cringed. "Yuk."

"Stefan said that when he was your age," Giuseppe smiled. "But then he got older and thought girls were the best, especially Valerie."

"Not me," Ted said firmly. "I'm going to get my sticky book for my new sticky."

He climbed down from the table and ran off to his bedroom.

"You know, Valerie's parents have started a foundation, helping parents who have lost their children to gang violence. Lily is helping there as much as she can but it's too much for her to handle at times," he explained. "They've mentioned bringing it to Mystic Falls but I don't think this town is ready to accept its history."

"That's because it's not history for Mystic Falls. The Fells are still running everything and everyone is too scared to do–"

"This town isn't run on fear, my dear. It's run on money. Tobias Fell pumps a lot of money into the council and they look past all his discretions. Sadly, that means that Valerie, Stefan, Tyler, Hayley and Damon are just…"

"Collateral damage. Y'know, kids are calling Ted a snitch because of Damon," Elena sighed. "He keeps asking why and I don't know what to tell him. I know the time is coming to explain why his father isn't here anymore, but what do I tell him? He's asking what happened to Stefan. How do I explain any of this to him?"

Giuseppe reached across the table and held her cold little hands in his. He squeezed them comfortably and gently caressed her skin.

"I don't think it matters how it's told to him, dear. It just matters who tells him. Maybe it's best to learn about Stefan and Valerie first," Giuseppe suggested. "It might help him understand his father a bit better."

Elena smiled as best as she could as her eyes dropped to the little photo of a beautiful blonde in her father-in-law's wallet. While she'd never had the pleasure of meeting Valerie, she felt a strong bond with her. They'd experienced so much of the same life and the same intense love for a Salvatore that nearly killed her and tore the life away from Valerie. They were one in the same.

"You know, I'm proud of my boys for a lot of reasons but I'm most proud of them for how they died. I miss them every day, Elena. But Stefan and Damon both died because they had the capacity to love someone so intensely and there isn't a more beautiful way to die."

10 years earlier

"This was not the sort of night I had planned for us," Damon grumbled as he slumped over another bourbon at the bar. It was kinda funny, she thought, how annoyed he was that their 'date' hadn't quite gone to plan. While she was slightly disappointed that everyone had joined them on their night out in Chicago, she was still having more fun than she had in a long time.

"Y'know this is all your fault, right?" She laughed. "Klaus and Caroline tell each other everything. Be smarter, Salvatore."

He rolled his eyes and handed her a beer. Tyler, Klaus and Elijah were playing pool while Caroline had disappeared to the ladies room and Bonnie and Enzo were dancing by the jukebox. It was an old country bar, small, but it had that vibe. Everyone seemed so happy and carefree, so she could understand why her dad would visit every Thursday to play cards.

"There's a picture in your kitchen of you here, isn't there?" She asked and sat down on the stool next to him. "With Stefan."

"Stefan loved this place. He was a sucker for country music and played cards with dad. He was underage but dad is good at talking his way around things," he scoffed.

"So that's where you get it from."

"Stefan met his girlfriend here actually," Damon smiled as he remembered. "Valerie. He was whipped instantly. If she told him to jump off a cliff, he'd have happily catapulted himself off."

"Did you like her?"

"My parents loved her. She was good for him. I think she was a little on the boring side if you ask me but she made him happy," he shrugged. "He loved her. I guess he loved her too much."

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter. C'mon, you wanna go dance?"

"Damon Salvatore dances?" She laughed as he dropped his glass and dragged her across the dance floor to where their friends were.

Enzo and Bonnie had quickly bonded. It was funny for Elena to see how quickly her best friend had forgotten Jeremy after so many years of a weird sort of obsession with him. A man in leather can do that to you, she remembered Caroline telling her.

While the girls danced together, swaying their hips and letting their hair down, the guys played poker, drank and played around like kids. She couldn't help but smile. She'd have never thought about Damon, Klaus, Tyler and the boys acting so childishly while out drinking. Wrongly, she thought they'd be fighting, causing damage and breaking the law but she couldn't have been further from the truth. Everything people thought about them was wrong.

"Klaus has asked me to move in with him," Caroline shouted over the music. "And I said yes!"

"What?" Elena rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Care. You know your parents will never allow that!"

"Screw 'em," her friend laughed. "Klaus is my future. They don't have to like it but they do have to agree with it."

"Caroline–"

"Elena," she cut her off with a drunken giggle. "I'm moving in with him. Just be happy for me."

She knew that Caroline was drunk and would probably be thinking straight in the morning when the Cosmopolitans were out of her system. There was no way Sheriff Forbes would let her daughter, a minor, move in with an older man and a Mikaelson at that. She could see a lot of heartbreak coming her best friend's way, but she didn't want to be the one to burst her bubble, at least not tonight.

"What's going on with you and Damon the asshole?"

"He isn't an asshole, Caroline. He's just… damaged."

"Oh god," she cringed. "Please don't tell me you're going to fix him."

"I don't think anyone could fix him, but maybe that's not a problem! We're all a bit broken, right?" Elena shrugged. "He understands me, Caroline."

"He's fucked in the head, Elena!" Caroline yelled over the music as it got louder.

"He's grieving!"

"You don't know what happened to Stefan, Elena. It's not something he'll ever get over. Klaus told me. He's gorgeous, I know, but he's a goner. You'll end up heartbroken, babe, because that man is never going to want anything more than a fuck."

Elena glanced over her shoulder to where Damon was once standing, but they'd all disappeared. Caroline gave her a sympathetic smile and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek. Damon had never really explained what had happened to Stefan. All she knew was it started with a gun and ended with a bullet in his chest according to Kai. Whatever it was, it was enough to drive his parents out of town forever.

"What happened to him?" She asked.

"I shouldn't know," Caroline said. "If Damon knew Klaus had told me, it'd end their friendship."

"Please, Care."

"Stefan owed someone money, Elena, and Valerie got killed as collateral," Caroline explained. "I don't know the whole story but Valerie was killed because Stefan couldn't pay them back. He lost it and wanted revenge but ended up seeing the same fate as her."

"Oh, wow."

"Damon was there, Elena. He saw his younger brother get shot. It fucked him up. Don't go there, okay? He will never, NEVER, be able to be anything more than a mess and he'll drag you down with him."

Caroline squeezed her arm gently and reassuringly, but it did nothing but make her heart sink deeper. She couldn't comprehend the pain and grief he had been carrying around with him for so long and she couldn't blame him. She couldn't judge him for tiptoeing on the edge of good and bad when he'd lost and witnessed so much darkness. It didn't excuse some of his actions and choices but she understood him more now.

The voice in her head told her to keep trying and be his friend, be the one to support him and help find the light on the other side, but a part of her soul knew that it was a lost cause from the start. There was no way their story could possibly have a happy ending. They were doomed no matter what they did. Caroline was right, she'd end up heartbroken if she let it continue.

She pulled out her phone from her purse and booked an Uber to take her home. She had to make a smart decision, something she'd seemingly forgotten how to do since meeting the dark haired man who'd inhabited all of her dreams.

She looked around the bar to say goodbye to Caroline and Bonnie, but things had quickly taken a turn. The boys were huddled around a bloodied nosed Tyler, yelling and bawling. Tyler was quiet with a slash to his head and blood pouring from his nostrils. Damon and Klaus were nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes darted around the room but he wasn't there. Concerned, she slipped out the backdoor and into an alley, She acted on autopilot, needing to know that he was okay and not at risk.

"If I see you near him again, you'll be fucking dead. Am I clear?" She heard his voice break through the silence. She snuck her head around the wall and saw him and Klaus standing in front of two men, both a bit too far away for her to recognise them. "I mean it Logan. Leave Tyler alone."

"This hasn't got anything to do with you, Salvatore. Stay out of it."

"You mess with one of my boys, it's definitely got something to do with me. He might be scared of you, but I'm not. So if you want something, you come to me."

Logan laughed.

"Tyler has something that belongs to us. We want it back and we will get it back, Damon. No matter what it takes," he threatened. "So you better tell Tyler to return what he stole or it won't just be a bloody nose he gets."

She watched Damon throw his head back laughing as if he didn't see any truth in Logan's threat. But she knew, like most people knew, a threat from a Fell was not something to take lightly. They weren't nice people and you weren't to get on the wrong side of them. If Tyler had stolen from them, his fate was most likely sealed.

"Klaus," Damon spoke calmly. "How about you escort Logan's buddy back to their car while I finish up our conversation."

"Mate–"

"Logan will be right behind you."

When Klaus was out of earshot, Damon almost flew to Logan and forcefully shoved him up the wall.

"What does he owe you? I'll pay it off if it means you leave him alone."

"Oh Salvatore," Logan chortled. "Even you couldn't afford the amount of coke he's stolen from my seller."

"Tyler doesn't do drugs, Fell. You've got the wrong bloke."

"My seller–"

"Kai Parker you mean," Damon cut him off. "We all know Kai does your dirty work. Kai is the least reliable person on the fucking planet. Go fuck him off and do us all a favour."

Logan shook himself out of Damon's grip and pushed him backwards.

"He's got until my father is back from London to get the package back to me or the money it's worth plus a little extra on the side. Make sure he knows that. If I don't have it, he won't have his pretty girlfriend and then if I still don't get it, you won't have him. Am I clear?" Logan mocked.

Elena watched as Damon's fist flew through air and knocked Logan to the floor. He was on top of him in seconds throwing punch after punch. Her heart pounded as she watched them fight, knowing none of his boys were around to help him, not that he seemed to need it. She knew though, from Damon himself, that the Fells were known to play dirty. They weren't satisfied with just fists but hid knives and guns on their person whenever they could.

So when Logan got on top of Damon, her entire being flooded with sheer panic. All it would take, she thought, was for Logan to pull a knife out and Damon would be gone forever. She heard Logan's fist meet Damon's cheek and ribs repeatedly. In two minds what to do, she reached a loose brick from the floor and gripped it tightly.

Without a first or second thought, just running on pure adrenaline, she ran across to Logan just as reached into shoe to pull out a small, almost invisible, blade. With all the strength she could muster, she smacked the brick against his skull, knocking him out cold and flat off Damon's bloodied body.

"'Lena?" Damon choked as he pushed Logan's body off him. "What the fuck?"

"I…I…I…," she stuttered. "I hit him with a brick. I hit him."

"No shit," Damon said as he pulled her away from Logan and kicked the knife away from them both.

"Is he dead?" She panicked. "I didn't think. I thought… I was trying to help. Damon."

He reached down and pressed his fingers against his neck.

"No he's alive. He'll be fine aside from a fucking bad head," he scoffed. "We need to get out of here."

"I… Damon… I…"

"Hey. Hey," he whispered as he cupped her face in his red hands. "It's okay. Look at me, it's okay. We just need to get out of here before any of his mates find us with him. He didn't see you, okay?"

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the hotel. I'll text Klaus on the way. I need to get you away from this before anyone comes looking for him."

The drive back to the hotel was filled with a painful tension. He'd been drinking but that drive was the least of her concerns. She'd nearly killed someone. She'd nearly taken a life without a thought just to protect someone she barely even knew.

At the hotel, he reached for hand and led her down the hallways. He'd been silent the entire drive with only the odd look whenever he could take his eyes from the road. She could feel the heat radiate from his body. She watched his knuckles turn white as he gripped the steering wheel and she wanted nothing more than for him to hold her, touch her. She had all this build up energy and adrenaline pumping through her veins that only he could help.

"That was my door," she muttered as he pulled her past it until he reached his own.

"There's no fucking way you're staying in there tonight," he breathed.

"Then where am I staying?" She whispered. "Damon."

He gently pressed her back against his hotel room door with his eyes burning holes through her soul. She could hear his heavy breaths as his finger slowly trailed from her plump bottom lip, her chin, down her throat and between her breasts. Her own breath caught at the back of her throat as she felt the skin at the tip of his finger graze the supple skin of her navel. His eyes still never tore away from her own. His tongue skimmed his lips as he slowly unbuckled her tight denim shorts. The tension enveloping them was palpable and while she ached for him to go faster with her, the agonising pace he was going at was painstakingly beautiful.

Combing his hands through her hair, he pulled her head back in forceful motion, compelling her to look up at him and giving him full access to her throat. He held her head in place with her hair tightly gripped in his fist as his lips dipped down to nibble at the soft skin below her ear and above her collarbone.

A slight moan escaped her as he tugged on her hair harder, desperately trying to get as close to her as possible. His other hand, placed on the small of her back, lifted her hips to meet his. She reached beside him to twist the door handle, wanting, needing, nothing more than to take it further into his room. He stumbled back in with her still wrapped in his arms and kicked the door shut behind them.

They pulled away from each other to catch a breath or two. She reached up and very gently brushed some blood from his brow before bringing her thumb down to look at the smear of fresh red on her skin. Her lips twitched up to a mischievous grin as the night flashed before her eyes once more.

She wiped his blood across her top and watched as a fire began to roar in his eyes. He was just as turned on as her, an overwhelming feeling she'd never felt before. It was as if the hotel was burning down around them but they were just absorbing every ounce of the fire's energy instead of fearing it.

The silence was so profusely loud that she could barely even hear their breaths, let alone their racing hearts.

He reached out and wrapped his hand around her throat, pulling her towards him until their lips crashed against each other. Fire, adrenaline, fireworks, electricity, none of the normal words fit for how she felt as his lips moulded around hers and his hands slipped below her shorts and over her hips. Alive. For the first time in a very long time, she felt alive and yet stuck in a dream all at once.

His grip around her throat tightened and loosened as their kiss deepened into something more erotic than their ones previous. With a new found sense of confidence, she pulled them backwards without parting their feverish kisses. She felt his tongue glide against hers and teeth carefully dent down into soft skin, tugging on her lip.

They stumbled into his bathroom together, knocking the door shut on their way. His hand slapped around the tiles until he turned on the shower.

She heard him curse as he slipped her top over her head. He finally tore himself away from her lips and painted her entire body with burning kisses. She gripped his head tightly as he took her into his mouth, purring with pride as he did. She wasn't a virgin but he made her feel like one. All her doubts and insecurities all but dissipated into thin air as she heard him growl with pleasure as he tasted her. Surely it wasn't like this with everyone.

She tore his head away from her and pulled his head back as he had done with her earlier. Stepping out of his grip, she stepped back to stand under the steaming hot water and let it cascade over her. Her stomach clenched as his eyes trailed over her, intensely watching every little water droplet fall from her. For a second, she truly thought that he would devour her if she let him.

He shoved her back against the cold tiles with a devilish smirk and pinned both her wrists high above her head.

"What you did tonight was fucking stupid, Elena," he almost growled.

"Then why are you smiling?" She whispered back.

One hand coasted down her arms while the other pinned hers back still until it landed back on her throat. He held her tightly and forced her eyes to look at him.

"You're fucking crazy," he breathed down her ear before his lips collided with hers once more. He was forceful but she couldn't care less. She'd never felt so alive. Her heart had never raced so fast and she didn't know it was possible to breathe so deeply.

She let her eyes drift shut and let herself truly fall into his touch. He hooked one of her legs around his waist and slightly pushed into her, gauging just how far she wanted to take things. There wasn't any other answer for that than however far he was willing to take her, she was prepared to go.

"Good answer," he smirked as if he could read her thoughts.

Without a second to respond, he pushed her deeper into the tiles. Both of them, in perfect sync, gasped at the strongest connection either of them had ever felt. He didn't have to say it, she could see it in his eyes.

She gripped his wet hair, tearing it from his head as he thrust repeatedly matching her rhythm. The power behind his thrusts and kisses was more than enough to drive her entire being crazy. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him, there was no doubt in her mind.

"You're fucking crazy, 'Lena," he breathily repeated. "Crazy."

She dropped her head against his shoulder and bit down into him. The walls were thin and his boys didn't need to know just how wild he was driving her. He laughed as her sharp little pearls tore into his skin, clearly loving this darker side to her. She was climbing to her own peak quickly as his hips drove into her.

"Not yet," he hissed and pulled away from her before turning her around. She placed her hands against the shower glass and dropped her head back onto his shoulder as he pushed back. His hand slipped down between her and the glass, drawing little circles, driving her insane.

As she hit her peak, so did he. She felt his heart thumping against her back as they both desperately tried to catch their breath. He pressed careless kisses around her head and cheeks to her lips as they both came down from their simultaneous highs. He stayed connected to her, neither of them wanting the moment to end.

"'Lena," he whispered against her skin, "don't ever put yourself in danger for me again. It's not worth the risk."

"What if I think it is?"

He let his lips lazily graze against her as his free hand turned the shower off. He reached for the towel and wrapped it around her and helped her step out of the shower.

She caught a glance of herself in the mirror and blushed. Her lipstick was smudged from his frenzied kissing and her hair was tangled from his tugging and pulling. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest in a much more sweet and romantic way than their previous activities in the motel shower.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "Was… that… okay?"

"I guess I see why your name is written all over the girl's toilet walls now," she giggled.

His thumb floated sweetly across the bruise on the side of her face. She clasped his hand in hers, silently telling him that it was okay. She wasn't in pain or scared anymore.

As she caught his gaze in the mirror, everything suddenly changed. His ocean blue eyes suddenly changed to a murky puddle. His arms stiffened and his smile disappeared from sight. He took a couple of steps back and picked up her clothes from the floor to hand them to her.

"You should go, Elena. Caroline will be wondering where you are. You'll be safe," he said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"What?" She frowned. "I was just joking–"

"Put your clothes on and leave," he said bluntly. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Is this a joke?"

"Am I laughing? You need to leave, Elena. Now."

She snapped her clothes from his hands and snorted.

"Fuck you, Damon. Seriously. Fuck you," she tried to laugh. "You know you have plenty of women queuing up to be fucked by you in the shower or anywhere you're willing to get your dick wet, but you played the long game to get someone who you could have just left be, huh? You're an ass."

She shoved past him, dropping the towel behind her and pulling on her bloody shirt and shorts.

"Elena!" He shouted after her.

"Leave me alone, Damon. I'm done playing these games. Thanks for the sex. I'm sure it will be the highlight of your next fucking party. Don't worry about the ride tomorrow, I'll catch the bus."

He slammed the door shut as she tried to open it and spun her around.

"What?" She asked. "What?! Make your mind up, Damon. You tell me to leave and now you're going to hold me hostage?"

"You know that wasn't just a game for me, 'Lena. Don't fucking cheapen it," he scoffed.

"I cheapened what we just did? I think that was you when you asked me to leave not even five minutes after you finished."

Her blood boiled. She had known Damon was a risk and there was always going to be a chance that his words were just poison but part of her truly thought he had meant the things he said and that the meaning behind his actions were genuine.

"Jesus. Look at yourself in the mirror, Elena!" He snapped and swiped his arms across the dresser, sending a lamp and a glass flying towards the wall. "You've got a bruise from Connor who was pissed off that you were with me and now I've got you involved with the Fells of all people."

"That's what this is about? Damon, why are you so upset that I protected you? You've protected me multiple times now, so why are you so surprised that I would return the favour?"

"Because you'll end up like Valerie!" He screamed. "You'll be dead if you carry on with me and I'll be in the lake with Stefan."

"Damon–"

"Just get out, Elena. Please. Just leave. I can't- this- I can't be your friend, Elena."

"Damon. Please."

"Goodbye, Elena."