Author's Note: Wow, hi guys. It's been about a month since I last updated but only because I've been busy (I had a summer job for a bit). Anyway, I'm back and in this chapter we get to officially meet Elowen and Josiah's aunt! Her fc is also Gina Rodriguez like Esmeralda (I decided to make them twins lmao) and I hope you guys like her! Onward!

"You're not gonna leave town still, are you?" Elowen asked quietly, playing with Stefan's hands. After they declared their love for one another, they moved to his room. They were laying in his bed, just enjoying each other's company.

"No," he answered, running his fingers through her hair with his free hand. "You were right. I can't keep letting Damon rule my life."

"Good." She looked up at him and he smiled at her, leaning down to peck her lips. That was the last thing she remembered before snuggling up to Stefan and falling asleep.

Elowen started to stir around, lifting her arms above her head to stretch. However, when her hands hit something hard that definitely was not Stefan, her eyes shot open. She sat up quickly upon realizing that she was no longer in Stefan's room, but Damon's car.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed, looking around her surroundings. For some reason, Elena was passed out in the backseat, but that wasn't her main concern right now.

"Mornin'" Damon casually greeted, glancing at her in the corner of his eye.

"Where are we?"

"Georgia," he replied nonchalantly.

Elowen felt her chest tighten at the mention of her home state. She immediately reacted. Unbuckling her seatbelt with one hand, her other grabbed onto the passenger's door and pried it open.

"Whoa!" Damon swerved and quickly pulled over before she could jump out of the vehicle. Elowen clambered out of the car and started walking back the way they came. Damon got out and followed her. "What's so bad about Georgia?"

"I can't go back there. I'm going home."

"You're gonna walk all the way back to Mystic Falls?"

"Yes, Damon!" She stopped and whirled around. Damon was taken off guard by her behavior and stopped a few feet away from her. "You don't understand. I can't go back. I refuse."

"What don't I understand?" Damon searched her face carefully, trying to find out what was scaring her so bad. "What's here that's so terrible?"

Elowen rubbed her arms, caving in on herself. She looked so small and helpless, not at all the witch he'd come to know. It finally sunk in.

"Who's here that's so terrible?" He reworded, watching as she closed her eyes and took a step back. He suddenly remembered how she acted when he'd attacked her back when he lured her to the boarding house. It was the one and only time she had seemed genuinely terrified, if only for a second. He didn't have time to ask anymore questions, because another voice spoke up from behind them.

"Damon? Elowen?" Elena had woken up, absolutely lost and confused. She was leaning up against the car, clutching her stomach. "Where are we? And- and- my car… I-" She shook her head as to clear it. "I hit someone."

Damon took one last look at Elowen as to tell her that this conversation wasn't done and walked over to Elena. "How are you feeling? Nothing's broken. I checked."

"But… my car. I hit someone!" She borderline screeched. "Who was he?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

"Where's my phone? And where are we?" Elena questioned.

"Georgia." Again, he was incredibly casual about this piece of information.

"What? We need to go back. Nobody knows where I am. This is kidnapping!"

"That's a bit melodramatic." Damon rolled his eyes. "Look, we're almost there. We're not turning back now."

"And where is 'there'?"

"A little place right outside of Atlanta," he answered.

"No."

Damon looked back at Elowen. She still looked bothered (well, worse than that), but now she was doing her best to stand her ground. It was one thing to even be in Georgia, but it was a whole other thing to be that close to her dad.

"I'm going to stay right here and find a way home myself." She stated defiantly. It was one thing to visit with her mom and brother, but it was different when it was just her.

"You're not serious," Damon deadpanned.

"Yes, I am."

Damon looked between Elena and Elowen and sighed. He walked back over to Elowen, lowering his voice so Elena wouldn't overhear. "What can I do to make this trip easier?"

"Why am I here, Damon?" She asked instead.

"Going to visit an old witch friend of mine," he told her honestly. "Figured you might be able to help."

"And Elena?"

Damon grimaced and glanced back at her. "She was a bit of a road bump. Got into a car accident."

"So instead of taking her home, or better yet, the hospital, you brought her with?"

"You'll have time to judge me later. Now answer the question."

Elowen stared up at Damon and sighed. She put her hand out expectantly. "Give me my phone. I promise I won't call for help, not exactly. But I will call for backup."

Damon took her phone out of his jacket pocket and was about to hand it over, but pulled back last second. "You swear?"

"Just give it."

He placed it in her hand and she got to work scrolling through her contacts. When she found the one she was looking for, she pressed call and put her phone to her ear. The person on the other line picked up after the third ring.

"Hey, Aunt Eliana! Listen, can you do me a favor?"

Stefan was frantic. He left Elowen alone for no more than five minutes so he could get something to eat and when he got back, she was gone. He tried calling her but it kept going straight to voicemail.

He climbed the steps to her house and banged on the door. In a few minutes, Esmeralda answered the door.

"Please tell me she's here."

Esmeralda's face went slack and he knew. She quickly ushered him in and shut the door. "Tell me everything. And be quick about it."

It took Stefan a second to collect his thoughts. "The last thing I remember was getting up for something to drink and when I got back, she was gone." He shook his head. A thought occurred to him and he looked up. "Damon. It has to be."

"But why would Damon take her?" Esmeralda shook her head. "Nevermind, I don't care. What I care about is getting my baby back."

She had run around the house, gathering all the necessary tools for a locator spell. When she had everything, she spread a map of southeast America on the dining table. She'd ordered Stefan to grab a necklace that belonged to Elowen from her room, which he held in the palm of his hand. Esmeralda took it and held it over the map. She began chanting the spell, both of them watching as the necklace started to move in circles as it tried to find its owners location. The circling started to get faster and faster until it landed on the map. She moved the necklace out of the way to see where it landed and she blanched.

"What? What's wrong?" Stefan asked expectantly.

Esmeralda looked up from the map. "I'm not too positive it was Damon who took her."

Damon pulled up to a small building, a sign reading "Bree's Bar," on top.

"You brought us to a bar?" Elena exclaimed. "Damon, neither of us are old enough. They're not gonna let us in."

"Sure they will," Damon responded, getting out of the car. Elowen was already out, looking around the parking lot. She spotted her aunt's car and made a beeline towards it. Sure enough, leaning on the hood was none other than Eliana. All the tension Elowen had been holding suddenly vanished at the sight of her and she quickly ran forward, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Oh my goodness, I've missed my little Elliebean!" Eliana returned the hug, lifting her niece slightly off the ground. "What are you doing here without Esme and Joey?" She asked when she pulled back, cupping Elowen's face. "They must be worried sick."

"You never told me your mom was a twin." Damon came up behind Elowen, slinging an arm around her shoulder. She immediately shrugged it off and leaned farther into Eliana's grip.

"I don't see why it was any of your business."

"So is this," Eliana looked Damon up and down, "the reason you're here alone?"

"Unfortunately," Elowen answered.

"Okay, seriously. What is the big detail that I'm missing here?"

Eliana started to lead Elowen away from Damon, heading for the door without a word. Damon threw his hands up and rolled his eyes.

"Fiiiine, don't tell me. Whatever."

All four of them piled through the door. Eliana kept her arms around Elowen, soothing her enough to prevent a potential anxiety attack. Elena awkwardly trailed behind them. Damon took the lead, standing in the front. The bartender looked up from wiping down the tables and spotted them.

"No. No, it can't be. Damon?" She hopped over the island table and came to stand in front of Damon. "My honeypie," she sighed. The mystery woman grabbed Damon's face and pulled him in for a kiss, taking Elowen and Elena by surprise.

"You didn't mention that this witchy friend of yours was an ex," Elowen piped up when her initial surprise wore off.

Eliana glanced down at her niece. "They both know? You and I have some catching up to do, missy."

"You have no idea."

After they were done making out, the bartender returned to her place behind the bar. She later introduced herself as Bree, the owner of the bar. Bree pulled out multiple shot glasses and filled each of them up.

"Listen up, everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life and ruined any and all chances of happiness!" She passed out the shot glasses to the patrons, sliding one each to Damon, Elena, Eliana and Elowen. Damon and Bree knocked back their glasses in one go. Eliana sighed and lifted her glass. She glanced at Elowen and shrugged, also shooting hers back. Damon snagged both Elena and Elowen's drinks, though neither of them minded. Bree came back over and refilled their glasses.

"So, how'd he rope you three in?"

Elowen snorted loudly. "I wasn't roped in. I was kidnapped."

"Yeaaahhhh, he's not my type. Trust me." Eliana shot her next glass. She leaned forward and dropped her voice into a mock whisper. "I'm sort of a lesbian and already taken. Her name's Syd."

"Syd?" Damon questioned with a tone suggesting that he was making fun of her name. Eliana scowled.

"It's short for Sydney, asswipe."

"You really picked em this time, didn't you?" Bree laughed. Damon grumbled and downed Elena's shot again. Bree set the bottle down and put her hands on her hips. "We both know you aren't here to say hi. What do you want?"

She was only a couple of miles away from Atlanta. Esmeralda was full on panicking on the inside, but was trying her best to stay calm on the outside, for Stefan's sake.

"You think Luis kidnapped her? How can you be so sure?"

"Look at the map, Stefan!"

He took a step backwards at her outburst, but watched her carefully. She ran her hands over her face and tangled her fingers in her hair.

"I can't see why Damon would drag her all the way out there. But Luis?" Esmeralda shook her head, the world around her spinning. She was having trouble breathing and she was starting to hyperventilate.

"Hey, look at me," Stefan grabbed onto her shoulders. "Breathe. Deep breath in through the nose," he breathed in with her. "Out through the mouth," he exhaled, watching as Esmeralda mimicked him. "Good. That's good. Keep going."

Stefan quietly comforted her until it seemed like she had come all the way down. Only then did he speak again. "Esmeralda, trust me. It wasn't Luis. It doesn't make sense. Damon wanted Elowen to open a tomb for him and he didn't get his way so he has a reason to hurt her. He's not answering my calls either and I haven't seen him since last night. It all fits."

"You're right," she sighed. Now that she was thinking logically again, there was no way Luis figured out where they lived, nonetheless where Stefan lived in order to take her. And why only swipe Elowen? "Where's my phone? I'm going to call my sister to check up on her. She's still in Atlanta and can help."

As if on cue, Esmeralda's phone went off. She quickly picked it up and answering it when she saw the caller ID.

"Elowen? Honey, are you okay?"

Stefan perked up at the sound of Elowen's name. He used his heightened hearing to listen into the call, coming to stand near Esmeralda.

"Bonnie's hurt," came Elowen's frenzied reply. She was speaking so fast, Esmeralda didn't have time to cut in. "She's at Fell's Church. She's unconscious and bleeding and someone needs to get to her!"

"Honey, breathe. Stefan's on it." Esmeralda gave him a look and Stefan nodded, taking off a second later. Elowen sighed in relief and ran her free hand over her face.

"Thank god," she breathed.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine, mom. I called aunt Eliana the second I realized where I was. I'm safe."

It was Esmeralda's turn to sigh in relief, her hand on her chest. "That's good. Look, I have to ask, just to be sure: who took you?"

"Damon," she replied. "Something about visiting an old witch friend of his and- Hang on…." she trailed off. "Oh my god. Mom, did you think…..?"

"I did." Esmeralda nodded despite Elowen not being there. "Can you blame me? I did a a locator spell and saw where you were and I just- I assumed the worst."

"Oh, mom… I'm so sorry. I would've called, but Damon had my phone and it took ages to get it back. I'm-" Elowen broke off, her voice breaking. "Being this close… completely terrifies me. I don't know what I'd do if Eliana weren't here."

It was quiet on the other line for a moment. And then...

Sniff.

Sniff.

"Mom? Are you crying?"

"No," Esmeralda lied, giving a watery laugh. "I'm cutting onions."

Elowen gave a small laugh back. "I'm going to be okay. I'm not sure if I'm telling that to you or to myself, but it's true and I'll be home before you know it. Promise."

"Okay. Stay safe, sweetie."

"I will. I love you."

"Love you, too."

"Bye, mom."

"Bye, honey."

Elowen hung up the phone and sniffled a bit herself. Listening to her mom cry triggered something in herself. She reached up and rubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. After making sure her phone was in her pocket, she turned to head back in the bar, only to find Damon directly behind her. She jumped back, the hood of his car hitting the back of her knees.

"Goddammit, Damon!" She exclaimed, trying to catch her breath. "Don't do that!"

"Are you alright?" He asked instead.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Suddenly pretend to care about me. I'm just another witch to you and that's it." She crossed her arms, refusing to meet his eyes because they showed that that wasn't the case. She was shutting out his attempts to be something other than a murderous vampire and they both knew it. After a beat of silence, Damon stepped out of her way. Without another word, she walked away, passing Elena on the way, who was probably going to fetch her phone back.

"Is everything alright? What did you see?" Eliana asked, concern in her eyes.

"My friend was hurt and I was calling to make sure she was okay." Elowen took her seat next to her aunt. "Mom said Stefan would take care of her."

"Stefan. Right. The new, vampire boyfriend. Your mother forgot to mention that last time we talked."

"Well, she already hates him enough as it is. Won't even let him call her by her first name."

Eliana laughed. "She should learn how to shut off her Drill Sergeant mode. She did the same with Tobias and Olivia, didn't she?"

"Unfortunately."

"Eh, give her some time." She bumped shoulders with her niece. "She'll warm up to him."

Bree came back with the food they had ordered before Elowen demanded Damon give her phone back and hightailed it outside. Speaking of Damon, he slid back into his seat next to Elowen and nodded towards the mini fridge full of beer. Bree got him one and handed it over.

"I'll have one, too," Elowen spoke, her words rushed. She wanted to say something before she changed her mind. Damon, knowing her 'I don't drink' rule knit his eyebrows together. Was being this close to Atlanta really that triggering for her?

Eliana placed a hand on her wrist, stopping her from taking a drink from bottle. "You alright?"

"What? I can't have a drink?"

Eliana slowly slid her hand away and allowed Elowen to gulp her beer. Her and Damon made eye contact and silently communicated with one another.

Something's wrong. Don't let her out of your sight.