Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).

The story has been merged with Breaking the Curse - Bloodlines.

The following chapters from Breaking the Curse - Bloodlines are:

1 - 36

2 - 37

3 - 38

4 - 39

Elena opened the refrigerator door to make a search to see if she could find any ice cream when she heard a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it." Damon called out as Elena heard him put the blood bags down on the table and open the front door. "OWWW!" she suddenly heard Damon call out, followed by a thud and a clatter of something being broken. Elena rushed into the parlor to see Damon sprawled on the floor looking up at his assailant. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his jaw.

"For getting Elena pregnant, and for being a dick!" Ric replied before looking up at Elena, who was staring at him in shock. "Hello Elena." he grinned.

"Ric?" Elena looked at her former guardian and history teacher with a mixture of joy, trepidation and fear. "Are you Ric or Evil Alaric?" she asked frowning, her hands feeling around for anything she could use as a weapon to slow him down should the answer not be the one she was looking for.

"I'm still a vampire." Ric complained. "But I don't want to rid the world of vampires." he smiled. "Although getting rid of this one here..." Ric pointed to Damon who was getting up from the floor. "...might make the world a better place."

"Don't hurt him!" Elena rushed over and stood protectively in front of Damon and folded her arms.

"Um...Elena..." Damon frowned, tapping her on the shoulder as Ric burst into hysterical laughter, prompting Elena to look at him confused and turn to Damon who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh man..." Ric complained. "I need a drink." he sighed.

"And he's back." Damon grinned. "Good to see you again buddy." he said patting Ric on the shoulder as he wandered over to the wet bar to pour his friend a drink, whilst Elena backed away and sat on the opposite couch, scrunching up her nose as Ric frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Elena pulled a face of disgust.

"The smell of alcohol makes her feel sick." Damon sighed as he poured one glass and handed it to Ric before walking over to the and sitting down next to Elena, notably without a drink.

"Hahaha..." Ric laughed. "Sucks to be you buddy." he said draining his glass. "Although I could do with something a little..."

"Bloodier?" Damon asked as Ric nodded. "Well you're in luck, we were just about to fix Elena a little...snack." he said as Damon grimaced at what he remembered they were going to make. "I'll get some more blood bags." Damon announced getting up and placing a chaste kiss on Elena's forehead before heading towards the basement.

"So...Damon huh?" Ric asked as Elena nodded back shyly, suddenly realizing that she was only wearing Damon's boxer briefs and his t-shirt, whilst Damon was shirtless, practically shouting to the rafters what they'd both been doing. "How did that happen?" Ric asked. "I thought you were going back to Stefan." he frowned.

"I was." Elena sighed. "But Rebekah ran Matt and me off Wickery Bridge and I became a vampire." Elena shrugged. "How did you know I was pregnant?" she asked.

"I bumped into Meredith on my way here and compelled her to tell me if she knew where you were." Ric shrugged. "She let it slip you were expecting Damon's baby." he frowned. "So going over to the dark side made you fall in love with Damon?" Ric asked confused.

Elena shook her head. "No. I was already in love with him." she told him.

"Then why did you pick Stefan?" Ric asked.

"Because I was cursed to fall in love with Stefan." Elena narrowed her eyes suspiciously, suddenly wondering if she was indeed talking to Ric and not Silas in disguise. "How do I know you're not Silas?" she suddenly asked, putting her hand protectively over her stomach, when she suddenly felt a wave of calm and comfort wash over her.

"Who's Silas?" Ric frowned.

"What's the last thing you remember Ric?" Damon asked as he walked into the parlor with a hand full of blood bags and stood beside Elena, without offering Ric one.

"I remember staking Klaus, then we were fighting and then next thing I know I was a ghost talking to Jeremy." Ric explained. "I also remember you sat by my grave complaining about Japanese lanterns and not getting the girl." he said as Elena looked at Damon.

"The memorial?" Elena asked as Damon nodded.

"How are we supposed to know you're not Silas?" Damon repeated Elena's question.

"Who the hell is this Silas guy?" Ric asked confused.

"I think we need to call Bonnie." Elena said to Damon, ignoring Ric's question.

Damon stared intently at Ric. "If you're Ric, you've got no need to worry." he smirked as he turned back to Elena. "You call her. If this is Ric, then we might as well call the whole Scooby gang and give out the announcements." he said. "Ask her to get some ice-cream, I'll call Stefan." he smiled as they got their phones out whilst Ric sat back on the sofa with his arms folded, waiting for Bonnie.

Half an hour later later, Bonnie and Stefan walked through the door to be greeted by the sight of Damon, who was now wearing a t-shirt and a fully dressed Elena sat on one couch, facing a very pissed off looking Ric on the opposite couch. As soon as Elena saw the tub of ice-cream in Bonnie's hands, she nearly screamed through the roof.

"Ice-cream." she cried out, jumping up and snatching the tub out a perplexed Bonnie's hands and taking it into the kitchen, with one of the blood bags Damon had gotten from the basement.

"Cravings." Damon explained as Bonnie nodded, before she gingerly headed towards Ric and placed a hand on his arm.

Closing her eyes, Bonnie concentrated for a moment while Ric looked on in confusion. After about about a minute Bonnie opened her eyes. "It's definitely Ric." she said, letting go of Ric's arm.

"Why did it take so long?" Ric asked. "Usually you just touch people and can tell it's them."

"Because Silas is a witch." Bonnie explained. "And although he's immortal, he was able to keep some abilities through channeling some magic. The witches of his coven gave him this ability through a form of blood magic." she said. "He can't cast spells, but he can get inside people's heads and deceive them into believing what he wants. But he's restricted with what he can do. He can hold form and voice and personality, but he can't hold a person's death for long."

"What do you mean hold a person's death?" Damon asked confused.

"When someone becomes a vampire, I can feel their death." Bonnie explained. "He can try for a few seconds, enough to fool me if I brushed passed him. But I concentrated on it for too long, Silas couldn't fool me for that length of time." she smiled up at Ric. "Welcome back." she said. "I guess that answers the question about the resurrection and whether our immortal is a good guy or not." she said to Damon and Stefan.

Suddenly Elena emerged from the kitchen with a bowl and spoon in her hands, looking extremely pleased with herself. "Thanks Bonnie, your a lifesaver." she said, flopping down on the couch next to Damon and tucking into the ice-cream blood mixture. "Mmm...this is so good." she said dreamily as Damon looked at the contents of her dish with disgust.

"Not a fan of chocolate ice-cream?" Bonnie smirked at Damon.

"Actually, I love chocolate ice-cream." Damon replied. "But just not with...O negative." he grimaced as Elena nodded happily whilst the faces in the rest of the room dropped, expressing varying degrees of disgust.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Ric asked, looking around the room for anyone to answer. "I died in a storage unit, went to the other side. Then suddenly I'm awake again and laying next to my own grave, so I make my way here and find that Elena is not only a vampire but pregnant with Damon's kid." he frowned. "What and how long did I miss?"

"It's April." Stefan replied. "Klaus is alive and has moved to New Orleans. The hybrids are practically extinct, except for Tyler, who is god knows where on the run from Klaus, who isn't actually chasing him." he frowned. "Carol Lockwood is dead. Anything else?" he asked.

"Sabrina got brainwashed by a crazy two thousand year old immortal witch called Silas and his minion." Damon added grinning at Bonnie who glared back at him. "Silas is running around somewhere trying to find a very human Katherine who is under the protection of Elijah."

"So why am I here?" Ric asked.

"To kill Silas." Bonnie replied nonchalantly.

"And how do I do that?" Ric frowned as he stared at the blank faces surrounding him.

"Apparently this baby is supposed to help." Bonnie offered.

"Okay..." Ric replied, confused.

"Speaking of which." Elena interrupted, deciding to change the subject. "I say we call Jeremy and tell him the good news then get Caroline and Matt to let them." she said.

"Good idea." Damon nodded. "I'll call Liz." he offered.

"Why Liz?" Ric asked.

"We need a cover story." Damon explained. "You've been gone and confirmed dead for five months Ric. We need an alibi for you being back in town. Otherwise questions will be asked when you decide to go to the Grill for a drink And I don't think mysterious twin brother is going to cut it." he said whilst Elena called Jeremy to ask him to come round to the boarding house.

"Fine." Ric sighed. "You call Liz, while I'm going to have some of that blood you were going to offer me." he said glaring at Damon who threw a blood bag over to him.

"I'll call Caroline." Stefan offered.

"And I'll ask Matt." Bonnie said as they all called in the gang to come over to the boarding house for the news.

After they'd finished, Elena ushered Bonnie into the kitchen. "Liz says she's on it." Damon called out to Ric as he followed the girls. Damon and Elena had wanted to discuss the baby with Bonnie and with it being such a sensitive subject, they wanted a little privacy. When Stefan and Ric realized what they were up to, Stefan put some music on to drown out the conversation in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked, although she had suspicions they were already aware that this baby was something a little different.

"When Damon and I put our hands on my stomach like this..." Elena explained as she lifted her t-shirt and touched her stomach, her face lit up with joy, and Damon followed suit, his own reaction was the same. "It's like a feeling of..." Elena tried to explain.

"...Euphoria." Damon grinned as he pulled Elena in close to him. "And protectiveness." he added staring into Elena's eyes.

"Ahem." Bonnie dramatically coughed. "I'm right here." she said as Damon and Elena turned to her and moved their hands away from her stomach.

"Bonnie, can you put your hand on my stomach see if the same happens to you?" Elena asked as Bonnie nodded profusely. As soon as she'd suspected something wasn't right with the baby, she'd wanted to get close enough to find out exactly how powerful the child was going to be so they would know what they were dealing with.

As Bonnie placed her hand on the Elena's stomach, her eyes widened with shock.

"What vibes are you getting?" Damon asked curiously.

"Not the same as what you felt." Bonnie frowned as she removed her hand, whilst Damon and Elena eyed her with suspicion. "It wasn't a bad thing." Bonnie assured them smiling. "It was just..." she stopped, trying to find the words to describe how she'd felt.

"Go on." Elena nodded, eager to find out what reaction Bonnie was having.

"It felt...powerful." Bonnie frowned.

"So why do you look like someone just set fire to your broomstick?" Damon asked as Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"This baby...fetus is three weeks old at the most." Bonnie explained. "I think it's already channeling the power from the bloodlines." she said. "It's already strong enough to change your emotions at will without conscious thought. Although it isn't able to affect me...yet, it might be able to soon." Bonnie hesitated. "Although, thinking about it, I suspect it might also be able to affect Stefan because it is channeling his bloodline too."

"And?" Damon asked. "What's wrong with that? We'll have a witch for a baby." he shrugged.

"If this fetus grows at the normal human rate of nine months." Bonnie began. "How powerful do you think this baby is going to be when it's born?" she frowned. "Do you think you can handle a newborn baby, who is potentially the most powerful witch to ever live?" she asked as Damon and Elena looked at each other with worried faces.

"What makes you think that the baby will be as powerful as that?" Damon asked Bonnie.

"If the prophesy is to be taken at face value, then the baby is already drawing it's powers from the ancient Travelers." Bonnie explained. "Starting with your bloodlines and the magic that was placed in the bloodlines to create the curse." she said. "Once it has done with the bloodlines, I suspect it will start sucking the power from what is left of the current Travelers, although from what Stefan told me, Matt and Rebekah said they were no longer very powerful because most of their magic was already channeled into the bloodlines." Bonnie went on. "After that, it will begin to weaken Silas. And the only way I can think it will do that is..."

"Suck his powers dry." Damon interrupted looking stony faced as Bonnie nodded.

"But babies can't control their magic." Bonnie warned them as Damon and Elena looked at each other in horror before Damon turned back to Bonnie.

"So what you're telling us, is that when this baby is born and for instance wants feeding or it's diaper changing, if it doesn't get what it wants, it could perhaps blow up a car, like possibly my car?" Damon asked, panic showing in his eyes as Bonnie nodded, trying not to laugh at Damon's protectiveness over his beloved car.

"Yep." Bonnie replied. "That's exactly what I'm saying." she said, the urge to make him squirm was too good a chance to miss. "So we're going to have to figure out how to control this thing before it controls us." she warned.

Elena, Damon and Bonnie returned to the parlor from the kitchen to wait for Jeremy to arrive. In the meantime they wanted to know exactly what would happen when Stefan touched Elena's stomach. They explained to Stefan and Ric what the discussion in the kitchen had entailed and asked for the conversation to not go any further, not even to Jeremy, Caroline or Matt. It was on a strictly need to know basis and as Ric was the immortal in the prophesy, he was already involved and there was a good chance he would need to know about how potentially magical this baby could be. The last thing to do was to let Stefan touch Elena's stomach to find out what whether his bloodline was being channeled and what emotional reaction he would have.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" Stefan asked nervously. He felt a little uncomfortable putting his hand on his ex-girlfriend's naked stomach, especially when his feelings for her hadn't fully disappeared. To make matters worse, the thought of his hand on her naked flesh made his manhood twitch with desire.

"We need to know what it does." Elena insisted as Stefan tentatively put his hand on her flat stomach. What happened next was nothing like he'd expected. He felt a sudden happiness and protectiveness over whatever was inside her stomach, yet at the same time he suddenly felt overwhelmingly happy for his brother and Elena, whilst a weight also disappeared from his shoulders and everything seemed to look clearer. "What the hell was that?" he asked as he removed his hand before looking at Elena, then to Damon and finally to Bonnie.

"What did you feel?" Bonnie asked, furrowing her brow thoughtfully.

"Joy, protective and happiness for you guys." Stefan frowned as he looked to Damon and Elena. "And...like a weight was lifted from my shoulders, but I don't know what it was." he said looking puzzled.

"How do you feel about Elena?" Bonnie asked narrowing her eyes as Stefan realized what the sensation had been.

"I feel nothing." he told Bonnie smiling. "Well, of course I care, she's Damon's girlfriend and she's going to be the mother of his child." Stefan continued as he turned to Elena. "I mean, we're friends and all, but nothing else. I can't even remember what it felt like to be in love with you, I can't even imagine it. Urgh!" he said pulling a face and shuddering. "Sorry Elena, but it feels more like you're my sister." he apologized as Damon exchanged looks with Bonnie and Elena.

"Well, looks like the curse is finally broken." Damon smiled as the front door opened and Jeremy walked in without knocking, only to come to a sudden halt when he saw Ric.

"Hey Jeremy." Ric said as Jeremy ignored him and looked furtively around the room.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked, looking everywhere but where Ric was standing.

"Hello, Jeremy." Ric waved and then frowned, before realizing that Jeremy must have thought he was a ghost, which prompted a smile to form on his face as a practical joke entered his head. "Tell Damon and Elena that I'm here." Ric told Jeremy, who turned to Ric.

"Why?" Jeremy asked as everyone else in the room realized what Ric was doing and decided to play along with it.

"Why what?" Elena asked Jeremy innocently.

"Um...um...nothing." Jeremy stammered as the others were struggling to not laugh.

"You tell Damon that he's a shitty friend and I'll punch him if he doesn't get me another bottle of whiskey." Ric told Jeremy as everyone else began to struggle to hold back their laughter.

"Okay, what's going on?" Jeremy asked, eyeing everyone up suspiciously.

"Oh come on Elena." Ric sighed. "Put your brother out of his misery."

"I'm pregnant." Elena grinned as Jeremy looked at her confused.

"Is this some kind of practical joke?" Jeremy huffed. "Because it's not funny."

"Actually, you know what is funny?" Damon asked. "You've been allocated baby sick duty. The part where it pukes up all over you." he grinned.

"How do you know about all of this shit?" Stefan asked Damon frowning.

"You forget Stefan, I'm a lot older than you, I remember seeing you being fed as a baby then you'd throw it all back up." Damon smirked at Stefan before turning back to Jeremy. "Don't worry, Stefan has shitty diapers to deal with." he told him as he began to laugh.

"Stop teasing." Ric scolded Damon as Jeremy frowned as he saw Damon look directly at where Ric was standing.

"You're one to talk." Damon pouted.

"Hang on..." Jeremy interrupted them. "Can you see Ric?" he asked wide eyed.

"Yep." Damon nodded. "And I very much felt him punch me after he found out that your sister was pregnant." he added glaring at Ric.

"Wait, so this is not a joke?" Jeremy frowned.

"Nope!" Damon replied popping his P.

"Elena?" Jeremy asked as she shook her head in response.

"Uh...uh...how?" Jeremy asked confused as the rest of the room exchanged furtive looks.

"Did anyone ever tell you about the birds and the bees?" Damon asked sarcastically.

"Look I know how babies are made." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "But vampires can't have kids right?"

"It's related to the prophesy." Bonnie quickly interjected before Damon had chance to give a somewhat inappropriate reply. "Damon and Elena are the soulmates in the prophesy. The elixir worked on them so that when they...well...you know..." Bonnie shrugged.

"And nobody knew this would happen?" Jeremy asked as Damon, Elena and Bonnie all shook there heads. "How do you feel about all of this?" Jeremy turned to Elena.

"I feel good." Elena nodded. "I get to have a family and be with Damon forever." she smiled as Damon took her hand in his.

"As long as you're happy." Jeremy smiled as he rushed up to Elena and hugged her tightly. Right at that moment the front door opened and Matt and Caroline walked in and headed straight into the parlor as Damon got out his phone to check a text he'd just recieved.

"Liz wants to meet me and Ric at the Grill." Damon quietly told Elena. "You okay for me to go?" he asked gently as Elena nodded.

"Pussy-whipped!" Jeremy coughed under his voice as a few snickers of laughter ran around the room, causing Damon to look up at him murderously.

"What's going on?" Matt asked.

"Long story, read the E-book." Damon told him. "Short version, Ric's back, Elena's pregnant and you Quarterback." Damon explained turning to Matt. "...are on keep Rebekah Mikaelson occupied and away from Elena duty." he grinned.

"What? How?" Matt asked, confused.

"She likes you. Flatter her, flirt with her, fuck her. Whatever you wanna do. But just keep her away from Elena." Damon told him. "Don't worry about it, enjoy the ride." he said as he he saw Matt's worried face. "You're single purpose in life right now is to have some hot Original vampire sex, not kill puppies, so don't look so fucking miserable." he added shaking his head before grinning. "Ask Stefan, he'll give you some tips."

"Damon!" Elena glared at Damon and slapped him on the arm as he turned back to face her.

"Probably best we get going before I say anything so dumb that I'll regret it later." Damon winced as Elena nodded at him. "I promise I won't be gone long, but I'll probably be drinking, is that okay?" he asked, offering up his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Sure, just make sure you freshen up when you get back." Elena sighed as Damon smiled and kissed her.

"Ric, Grill!" Damon smirked as he grabbed his jacket and car keys before he and Ric left to meet Liz at the Grill.

"Uh...what just happened there?" Caroline asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Um...Elena's pregnant." Stefan replied awkwardly.

"I got that part." Caroline said. "But seriously, vampires can't have kids." she frowned. "I don't get it."

"The elixir was so the soulmates could have a baby. And Elena is now pregnant with Damon's kid." Bonnie explained.

"But we can't tell anyone." Elena added. "It's related to the Silas prophesy, so we don't know what else could happen do we Bonnie." Elena looked intently at Bonnie.

"No." Bonnie agreed. "So as much as I hate to agree with Damon, he has a point." she said. "We need to keep Rebekah away from Elena, and Matt..." Bonnie turned to Matt and smiled sadly. "She's got a thing for you, so you need to...distract her." she shrugged.

"And what's Mr Salztman doing back?" Matt frowned. "I thought he was dead."

"He's the immortal we brought back after the prom." Bonnie explained.

"Better than Kol Mikaelson I guess." Caroline shrugged before turning to look at Elena. "But oh my god...Elena...you're going to have a baby." she squealed with excitement, rushing over to hug Elena. "That is so amazing, although it's a pity it's Damon's. But we can have a baby shower and..."

"Caroline." Stefan interrupted. "Nobody is allowed to know until Silas and the Travelers have been dealt with." he told her.

"So...does that mean no baby shower?" Caroline's face fell.

"We'll see closer to the time." Elena smiled to appease her friend. "But you can't tell anyone, not Tyler or Klaus, not even your mom." she said. "It isn't safe."

"I don't know where Tyler is." Caroline's face and shoulders dropped. "And why would I tell Klaus?" she frowned. "But no offense Elena, you can't keep it hidden forever." she told her.

"I know." Elena sighed sadly. "But we only found out today, we need to come up with a plan before we tell anyone else." she shrugged.

Damon and Ric walked into the Grill and headed towards the bar to wait for Liz who was due to meet them in the next few minutes. Sheriff Forbes had agreed to come up with a fake witness protection scheme where Ric had been placed on, which for safety it was claimed he was dead. As Ric walked through the Grill, many pairs of suspicious eyes followed him, surprised at the sudden appearance of the dead history teacher.

"Two bourbon's. Neat." Damon told the bartender as they sat down in their usual spot whilst the bartender poured out two glasses. "In fact, leave the bottle." Damon instructed as the bartender who did exactly that before wandering off.

"So, you looking forward to being a father?" Ric asked as Damon's eyes darted all over, checking nobody had heard as he put his fingers to his lips.

"You don't know who's listening." Damon said under his voice frowning. "Anyone who knows me will ask questions that can't be answered yet." he added as Ric nodded whilst tapping his finger on the bar at the same time. "What's up Ric?" Damon asked.

Ric looked around furtively before dropping his head and speaking in a quiet voice. "I haven't fed since November. I've had two blood bags. All of these heartbeats are driving me insane." he complained.

"Well pick someone." Damon shrugged.

"I don't want to kill anyone." Ric insisted.

"I'm getting a strong sense of deja vu here." Damon sighed, drinking his bourbon down in one and refilling the glass. "What about snatch, eat, erase?" Damon asked.

"Nobody showed me how to do it." Ric sighed.

"Well Ric, you weren't really the type for letting someone show you the ropes were you?" Damon snickered as he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around he saw Liz with a file in her hands. "Liz, thanks for meeting us here." he grinned.

"I brought over the paperwork that you'll need." Liz told Ric. "All of your ID documents and accounts have been reinstated." she explained to him handing over a manila envelope. "Your passport and drivers license are in here." she told him. "Luckily we hadn't destroyed them down at the station." she said.

"Thanks Liz." Ric grinned.

"I also contacted the school Principle." Liz told him. "You can have your old job back it you want." she said.

"Wow, I don't know what to say." Ric replied, stunned at being able to resume his old life.

"He'll be there when school starts again." Damon offered. "Won't you Ric?" he said turning to Ric and giving him a pointed look.

"Sure." Ric agreed smiling.

"Well it's nice to have you back." Liz smiled. "Even if the circumstances are less than ideal." she sighed.

"How are you going to convince the counsel that I'm not a vampire?" Ric asked as Damon suddenly realized he hadn't told Ric about Pastor Young blowing up the farm.

"Liz and I are the town counsel." Damon frowned.

"You haven't told him?" Liz asked.

"He knows some of what's happened since he disappeared." Damon told her. "I just haven't gotten around to telling him everything yet." he shrugged.

"Well I need to get going, I'll let you fill him in." Liz told them. "Some of us have work to do." she said as she left the bar and Ric opened the envelope to reveal his ID documents. Pulling out his wallet, he placed the items in there and put it back in his pocket.

"Back to feeding." Ric started. "Do you want to do me the honors of teaching me snatch, eat, erase?" he asked. "Not that I want to feed from humans, I intend to stick to blood bags. But just in case I have no other options." he said quietly.

"Okay." Damon told him. "So you pick your meal." he explained waving his hands in the air and looking around the bar, when suddenly he froze.

"What's wrong?" Ric asked as he looked around seeing nothing unusual.

"Five o clock, woman in blue coat." Damon whispered bending his head down as Ric looked around and saw a redheaded woman wearing a blue coat.

"So?" Ric frowned. "Jealous ex?" he smirked as Damon shook his head.

"That's Ruby." Damon whispered to Ric. "She's the witch I went to visit in New York a few of weeks ago." he explained. "If she's here, she's come to see me, and it has to be about Silas." he whispered.

"I think she's spotted you." Ric frowned as Damon looked around to see Ruby walking over towards them.

"Ruby." Damon grimaced. "What an unexpected surprise. How did you find me?" he asked.

"I'm a witch." Ruby sighed. "Locator spell." she rolled her eyes as if she were stating the obvious. "Is there anywhere we can go a little more private?" she asked.

"There's an empty booth over there?" Ric offered, pointing to the closest empty booth to them as Damon picked up the bottle of bourbon whilst they piled out and sat down, Ric and Damon on one side of the booth, Ruby on the other.

"Whatever you do, don't let her touch you." Damon muttered under his breath so only Ric could hear him with his vampire hearing. "If she finds out what you are, she'll know that the prophesy has been triggered. And I don't want her to know just yet." he told him as Ric kept as far away from Ruby as he could.

"Do you even need me here?" Ric asked Ruby who nodded. "You're with him, that means you'll probably end involved one way or another." she said as they all got comfortable and Damon topped up his and Ric's drinks without offering Ruby anything.

"Right, spill." Damon sighed. "Why have you come all the way from New York to Mystic Falls to see me?" he asked.

"Word on the street is that the Originals have settled back in New Orleans." she told them.

"Tell us something we don't know." Damon frowned.

"Last week Damaris Strickland's dead body was found with an address in her purse which belongs to the Original family." Ruby told them.

"And?" Damon asked confused.

"Damaris used to be part of a coven of witches called the Travelers." Ruby said as Damon's face fell.

"Fuck!" Damon exclaimed.

"Original vampires asking about Silas business." Ruby shook her head. "The Travelers have gone underground." she told them. "If I know about Damaris and the Originals, well then you can bet you're bottom dollar that the Travelers know about her too." she said. "The Original family have been living in Mystic Falls for a while now, everyone knows this." Ruby said. "It's only a matter of time before the Travelers head towards Mystic Falls and begin to look for the doppelgangers. So if I were you and should you know who the doppelgangers are, I'd suggest you get them out of town pretty quickly." she said.

"Can't they just do a locator spell and find them?" Damon asked worriedly. "I thought the Travelers put some type of protection spell on them." he said. "Surely they would know where they are."

"Four people created the bloodlines." Ruby explained. "The Travelers have access to the creators blood. They don't need to know where the doppelgangers and Silas heir are."

"I thought they had no magic left." Damon frowned.

"They have a little." Ruby told them. "Enough to do the spell." she said. "If they channel each other, they have a fair amount, not as much as a normal coven, but they can still produce powerful spells. So whatever you do, don't underestimate them." she warned.

"How can we know to trust you?" Damon asked.

"I'm risking my life being here." Ruby said. "Here's my number should you need it." she held out a piece of paper to Damon who took it and put it in his wallet. "The Travelers will either be looking for Silas or the doppelgangers. If they find out the prophesy has been triggered, they will lift the protection spell and they will try to kill them and the 'One'." she told them as Ric and Damon exchanged looks of horror.

"Good day to you both, and good luck." Ruby smiled them as she got up and left the bar.

"Looks like you won't be going back to school yet Ric." Damon told his friend as he patted him on the shoulder. "We'll have to give those feeding lessons a miss for the time being and make sure we're stocked up on blood bags." he said standing up.

"We?" Ric asked.

"You're coming with us?" Damon told him.

"Where?" Ric asked.

"Who the fuck knows." Damon frowned. "But you heard her, we need to move and fast." he said getting out his phone to call Elena who picked it up almost immediately. "I need you to pack." he told her. "We're leaving town today." he said.

Thank you all for your kind reviews. They are always appreciated.

Please like, follow review. It helps motivate me to get the chapters out quicker.

Mandzipop.