It was the dead of the night, and Damon was sitting in what had been his father's study. He was at the desk, sitting exactly where the monster had. He focused on Elena standing by his side with her hand resting on his shoulder. She calmed him and focused his attention.

Rosa had found answers. The servants had been eager to talk.

As for Giuseppe, the whole town knew he shot his own son, who sympathized with Vampires. While they understood his anger, they disapproved of his actions. After all, what founding family member kills their heir?

Still, he was a prominent member of the community, and they let his sins slide. They wouldn't prosecute someone of his standing. Stefan had objected strongly.

The brothers hadn't gotten along, and Stefan had hated that his brother was close to Katherine, but she ended up being a vampire. He quickly realized that Damon had accepted her, and he believed that was the only reason she chose Damon over him.

Stephen hated what his father had done, and two days later, when Guiseppe bragged over the fact that Damon did him a favor so Stefan could be heir, Stefan snapped. Before he realized what he was doing in his rage, he had choked his father to death in his own study.

Word was, he never got over the trauma of killing his father. The town did. They were wary of Stefan and his temper now, but Guiseppe wasn't well-liked. Especially after killing his own son. They ignored the fact that patricide was just as bad.

Still, Stefan moved against his father further after the killing. He discovered files outlining a nine-year-old bastard son, and he immediately moved to legitimize him. Sabastian was younger than Stefan, and his mother, a disgraced maid, had died. He was grateful to go from poverty to one of the founding families. He did everything he could to protect his half-brother out of intense gratitude during his life. Especially the one who killed the man that forced himself on his mother and then fired her when she became pregnant.

Once he moved in, Stefan changed his location. While his home was technically the Salvatore Mansion, that wasn't where he resided. He lived on "booze and cunt," Rosa quipped when she told them what she found out. Damon had remarked that Stefan was always heading towards a drinking problem.

She then continued the story. He had taken up residence in the local whore house. They kept him supplied with liquor and whores, and James promptly paid the bills they sent. He had tried to talk Stefan out of it, but failed every time, and he didn't have it in him to say no to the brother that had given him everything.

Damon listened stone-faced and a bit self-flagellating as he heard how his brother had lived. Elena had told him about his alternate life, and it sounded like he hadn't been much better than what his brother became.

Stefan had the run of the whore house in a way. He would pick the woman who he'd fuck that day, and they belonged to him. He moved from woman to woman and would drink and rut. Then there were the nights when he would have two or more women at a time. Ultimately, he died of syphilis before the alcohol could kill him.

Damon grimaced when Rosa was finished with what she had learned. Snidely, she said, "he did have a lot of fun in his life."

Damon replied, "that's one way to look at it."

Elena had run her fingers through his hair. She knew that comforted him. She quietly worried that she wouldn't be able to make life better for everyone she wanted to in her past. She had failed so badly with Stefan.

Damon had a sixth sense when it came to her, and that pulled him out of his own head. He looked at her and said, "she isn't wrong. He had a lot of sex, and he only killed one person. That has to be better."

"Is that what you would really want? Whores who were paid to let you fuck them? I know you wouldn't. That was you, and you were faithful to me when we were together. You're faithful to me now. It had to be so empty."

Rosa shrugged, "I get why it bothers you, but what can you do? Go back in time again? I've heard the stories and remember them about Stefan from you. You did make lives better; he's not a ripper. So many will live. I think what you have to learn from this is that sometimes a better decision can still hurt."

"But-"

"No!" Rosa said, cutting her off. "You gave him his life back. You knew he wanted to be a human and hated that he turned. You gave him everything, and he squandered it. That's on him! You saved him, and fuck that little shit for squandering that gift and making you sad."

Damon smiled at Rosa. "You have no idea how much I like you."

She smiled and scoffed, "I'm awesome. Of course, I do."

They had dinner that night in a private dining room. Damon was entertained watching the waiter trip over himself to serve the girls. Especially since he knew the waiter was highly racist and would have recoiled at serving Rosa. Racism disgusted him, and it made the dinner taste even better due to the entertainment. He found it fascinating that the waiter, unable to see skin color, was highly attracted to Rosa –that he hadn't compelled.

He didn't understand how people could let color stand in the way of love. The man was the loser for it. As horrible as racism was, he recognized it narrowed the life of the racist. Not that he felt bad for them. It didn't help that he thought Rosa was amazing and anyone who won her heart would be a fortunate man. He pitied the people who would lose out on her over hate. He thought the racist's most significant punishment was losing out on knowing who they looked down on.

Rosa had rolled her eyes at Damon when the waiter left the room. "You would drain him dry if I asked you."

"Happily."

She sighed, "the south has been… challenging."

Elena looked at her with sad eyes, "we could leave…"

"No, absolutely not! Everyone looks down on me here. Those not compelled," she said, looking significantly at Damon. "It is how I can get answers. I'm among the lowest classes, and people feel free to open up to me. I'm helping."

Damon looked over at Rosa and said, "you are invaluable to us. Let those ignorant idiots think what they want. You are worth more than ten of them put together."

She rolled her eyes at Damon and said, "no shit! I know my worth. Others don't define me."

"That's my god-daughter!" He said, praising her.

Now they were sitting in the office in the Salvatore mansion, waiting for Rosa to bring James to them.