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).

Caroline composed herself before she got out of the car. She had been back from Richmond only one day before Matt had started to call her. When she'd asked what was wrong, he'd been very cagey, simply telling her it was urgent and that she needed to go to Tyler's place. Obviously she'd driven straight there in the hope of news about Tyler, but as she got out of the car, she wondered why he'd contacted Matt and not her. Determined to find out, she walked up to the open door, but when she tried to get in she couldn't, as if she wasn't invited in.

"Matt?" Caroline called out in confusion.

Matt came to answer the door from down the hall. "Care." he smiled wistfully.

"Matt, why can't I get inside?" Caroline frowned.

Matt glanced down at a piece of paper he was holding in his hands, before looking back up at Caroline. "Come in." he said as Caroline cautiously walked through the door.

"Matt, what's going on?" Caroline asked.

"Tyler sent me this package in the mail." Matt told her as he held the paper towards her. "This is for you." he said as Caroline took it in her hands and began to read the letter.

Dear Care,

I miss you more than I can put into words, but I know as long as Klaus is alive, I can't come home. He won't stop trying to kill me, and you won't stop trying to protect me. Which means the only way to make sure you're safe is for me to go and never come back. I left Matt the deed to the house. It will protect you in ways I can't anymore. I will always love you.

Tyler

Caroline flipped the letter over only to find there was nothing written on the back. "He's not coming home." Caroline said sadly as tears began to well up in her eyes and she started to cry. Matt suddenly she felt Matt's arms around her, trying to be of some comfort, but it wasn't enough. They were the wrong arms, because in some respects, hugging Matt felt awkward. Maybe she should go talk to Stefan, because of late she'd been closer to him than anyone else.

Caroline took a deep breath and lifted her head and smiled sadly. "I think...I think I ought to leave." she stammered, trying not to burst into tears once more.

"You okay Care?" Matt frowned.

"No." Caroline swallowed. "But I will be." she said. "Thank you Matt." she added. With that, she turned around and headed back to her car and in search of Stefan.

It had been forty eight hours since Ric had told them they could all return to Mystic Falls. Damon and Elena had been back a day before Ric could finally join them at the Salvatore boarding house. He'd initially only wanted to discuss the private matter with Elena, but he'd eventually allowed Damon to listen in, however Jeremy was not allowed to be party to any part of the conversation. Telling Elena her adoptive mother killed herself and her adoptive father just so Elena could have a special baby was not something Ric was looking forward to explaining, and the presence of Damon could either make matters better or worse. What Ric had insisted upon was Bonnie draining some of the baby's magic before he talked to them, just so Elena didn't blow the house up with anger.

Damon had stayed the previous night at the Gilbert's while they'd waited upon Ric returning from Portland via Whitmore College. However they realized Ric could only get into the Gilbert with an invite from Jeremy, meaning they had to swap locations as Ric didn't want Jeremy knowing whatever he was about to tell them. They'd only been away from Mystic Falls for a couple of weeks, yet it seemed like a lifetime considering how much had happened. Yet, out of everything that had happened, Elena feltthe most nervous about this conversation with Ric. She had a gut feeling he was going to tell her something she didn't want to hear, which had gotten her all fidgety and was why she was pacing the room. Fortunately it turned out the theory of draining the baby's magic loosened their connection as Damon was able to touch her and soothe her. That was until the knock came at the door and Ric walked in with his luggage.

"Come in." Damon grinned holding up a glass of whiskey for Ric who took it, who emptied the glass in one gulp. "Blood bag?" he asked as Ric nodded.

"I think we ought to discuss this somewhere a little more private." Ric told Elena while Damon went to the basement to collect a blood bag. "But first I'll go unpack. You and Damon meet me in the library in a few minutes." he said, and with that he vamp-sped upstairs, leaving Elena alone in the parlor waiting for Damon to retrieve some blood bags.

"Where is he?" Damon asked when he returned with a hand full of blood bags.

"He's gone upstairs to unpack." Elena told him. "He said to meet him in the library." she added standing up and making her way through the doors to the slightly more secluded area of the library.

Damon lit a fire and they waited for their friend to come and deliver whatever horrifying news he was about to tell them, something so bad he didn't even want Damon to hear. Just as the fire got going Ric came into the room and sat down in the chair while Damon sat next to Elena on the couch. Damon had poured them all a generous glass of blood and another glass of whiskey for himself and Ric, just to give him something to do.

"Come on Ric, we're not getting old here." Damon sighed as Ric fidgeted around uncomfortably trying to find the right words.

"Look Damon, I'm fine you being here for Elena, but I need you to butt out and for once in your life try not to be a dick." Ric snapped. "This is unpleasant stuff and I wish I didn't have to tell Elena, but she ought to know. But don't worry, I need to talk to you and Stefan too, I've got some information you might find...interesting." he shrugged. "Text him to be here when we've done." he told Damon. "Then you'll be able to talk as much as you want, just don't punch me with what I'm about to tell you. In both cases I am only the messenger."

"Fine." Damon rolled his eyes. "I'll be quiet." he said as he took Elena's hand in his and leaned back on the couch, waiting for Ric to drop whatever bombshell it was which he clearly didn't want to to tell Elena.

Ric took a deep breath. "So Elena, I really wish I wasn't the one to tell you this, but it looks like it's fallen onto my shoulders." he said sadly. "It's about your mom." he told her.

"Isobel?" Elena asked, remembering Ric telling them Isobel had been in touch with the coven, who had suggested Damon to be the one to turn her.

"Not Isobel." Ric said softly. "Miranda." he said.

"Mom." Elena frowned. "What does she have to do with all of this? She's dead." she shook her head.

"In 1858, the Gemini Coven found out about Stefan and Damon, and that their mother had died." Ric told them. "They fit the prophesy to perfection, even more so when it was discovered there was a vampire in the area." he continued.

"But Katherine didn't arrive until 1864." Damon frowned.

"I'll talk to you about that later, when Stefan arrives." Ric told him. "The Gemini Coven suspected Damon and Stefan would turn, and once they did, they just needed to wait for the right doppelganger, not Katherine." he looked at Damon pointedly. "For that they needed someone to wait for the next Petrova doppelganger to be born. That person needed to be in Mystic Falls as they knew that would be her birthplace." he told her.

"How did they know where I'd be born?" Elena asked.

"Because that is where Stefan was born." Ric explained. "According to the prophesy, he doppelganger's are born in the same place. So they sent one of their less powerful witches to keep an eye out for you. His name was Mark Sommers." he said, waiting for the penny to drop.

"Sommers as in my mom and aunt Jenna?" Elena frowned as Ric nodded. "Did she know about any of this?" she asked, panic rising in her voice.

"That was one of the reasons she was so desperate to keep you." Ric explained. "She knew who you were and keeping you close meant she only had to wait until Stefan and Damon to turn up. However she had a slight problem, your dad."

"Why was my dad a problem?" Elena frowned.

"Your dad being a vampire hunter was originally the perfect husband material for your mom." Ric told her. "That way she'd have information on Stefan and Damon. When they arrived in the mid-nineties, Miranda was able to keep a track of them. She never told your dad they were vampires." he said. "Your mom tried to turn your father's opinion around, to be more tolerant of the possibility that some vampires might not be all bad, but Mikael ruined that when he tried to kill you as a baby. That combined with the massacre here at the boarding house..." he started.

"What massacre?" Elena asked.

"The one which prompted the town to re-start the Founders Council." Damon grimaced.

"Wait you know about this?" Elena asked Damon.

"Um... I was the cause of it." Damon replied sheepishly. "My humanity had been off for a long time, so I came home to ask Stefan to help me switch it back on, Stefan refused to help and I went on a killing spree." he quickly added.

"Why was your humanity off?" Elena asked.

"I'll tell you one day." Damon said evasively. "Let's just concentrate on what Ric has to say." he added as Elena turned her attention back to Ric.

"So no matter what your mom did, your dad wouldn't change his attitude towards vampires." Ric said. "When he found out you were the doppelganger, and what that meant, he became intensely protective over you. Although he only knew about the Sun and Moon curse, not the Silas one." he told her.

"So why didn't mom tell him?" Elena asked.

"She wasn't allowed to." Ric explained. "Only the Sommers heir was allowed to know about the prophesy after they turned eighteen. Your mom only told Jenna minor stuff, but she couldn't tell her about you. As you can imagine when Stefan and Damon arrived, this was a problem. You needed to fall in love with Damon, and your father would never let you even close to either of the Salvatore's." he told her, before going silent and lowering his eyes.

"And?" Elena asked.

"You have to understand Elena, your mom's priorities were the prophesy, you and Jeremy." Ric explained. "She knew once Stefan and Damon arrived you'd be safe, and so would Jeremy. She thought Jeremy would get the Gilbert ring and that Stefan and Damon would do everything to protect you until the time came for you to turn." he said.

"Spill it Ric." Damon said gravely. "What are you not telling us?"

Ric closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The night your parents died, your mom got a call while she was in the car from the Gemini Coven to tell her Stefan and Damon were in Mystic Falls and that you had met Damon." he said quietly. "She knew exactly where Stefan was as they'd done a locator spell. She was also aware Stefan would be drawn to you because of your doppelganger blood. So no matter what happened, you'd survive. She just had to take your dad out of the equation." Ric stopped. "I'm sorry Elena." he frowned sadly.

"Are you saying my mom had something to do with the accident?" Elena asked, her eyes wide open as tears threatened to fall.

"Your mom had a little bit of magic as she was the Sommers heir." Ric started.

"So is Little Gilbert a witch?" Damon interrupted.

"He's not a Sommers heir as Elena had already met the both of you. The magic ended with Miranda, although there wasn't much there in the first place." Ric explained. "She used her powers to steer the car off the bridge." he said sadly.

"But what about the Gilbert ring?" Elena asked. "Why didn't that save him?

"John had it at the time as he was officially hunting vampires, but more likely working with Isobel." Ric said. "I had John's ring and your dad gave him his. So he wasn't wearing it the night of the accident." he sighed. "I'm sorry Elena. Your mom knew you, Stefan and Damon were the ones from the prophesy. It meant Silas and the Travelers needed to be destroyed, or all of our lives were at risk, including Jeremy's. She made the sacrifice for the both of you." he said, stressing the word both to try and appease some of Elena's justifiably anticipated guilt, which came with tears, as Damon wrapped his arms around Elena's shoulders as she began to cry into the crook of his neck.

"Damn it Ric." Couldn't you have kept this to yourself?" he asked. "Did Elena need to know this?"

"A coven member will always put the destruction of Silas first." Ric told him. "That is how dedicated they are. You need to trust them in everything, no matter if it goes against every bone in your body. They know more about the prophesy than anyone else, including the Bennett witches and Qetsiyah herself. If we do what they say, Silas and the Travelers will be destroyed, and we can all live happily ever after." he said.

"How can I when I know mom and dad died so that I could fall in love?" Elena sobbed.

"Look Elena, your dad wouldn't change his views, no matter what." Ric told her. "Your mom couldn't tell him why he needed to be more tolerant of vampires, even to the extent of letting you become one to fulfill the prophesy. It wasn't about you falling in love, it was about destroying Silas. That is why they died, you were just caught up in the middle of it all." he tried to assure her. "Maybe if your dad had been able to tone down his hatred, things might have been different. Your mom thought she could change him, but then she found out some things about him. Some of his work and she knew it was a pointless endeavor." he told her.

"What work?" Elena frowned.

"He performed medical research on vampires." Ric told her.

"What?" Elena asked, stunned by the revelation.

"You are fucking kidding me!" Damon snapped.

"I think Miranda knew that would be your response." Ric chuckled. "There's something else, she left you both a letter each." he said handing them both an envelope. "It was always intended for you to only open when the time was right. That's why you needed to know." he frowned turning to Damon. "I was going to give you yours later when I talk with you and Stefan. But maybe now is more appropriate." he said.

Damon and Elena took the envelopes, but didn't open them. This was something they need to do in private, when they didn't have to face anyone else apart from each other.

"Is it okay if Elena sits in on the talk?" Damon asked. "I don't need her to hold my hand or anything, but if it's as emotional as this, well, I need her to understand without me having to repeat what you say." he said. "That's if you want to stay." Damon looked at Elena hopefully.

"Of course I do." Elena smiled at him lovingly.

"As long as Stefan is okay with it, it's up to you." Ric agreed.

"He will be." Damon smiled. "Am I okay to tell him we're ready for him?" he asked looking at Ric and Elena.

"I'm ready." Ric nodded.

"I'll be fine by the time he gets here." Elena sighed. "Where is he?" she asked.

"Blondie had an emergency. So I'm guessing Stefan is painting her toenails as we speak." Damon told them as he text Stefan to tell him they were ready for him.

"They're getting a little close aren't they?" Ric raised an eyebrow.

"Not close enough." Damon grinned. "Let's just say I'd sleep a lot easier at night if he and Blondie got a lot closer. If you get my meaning." he smirked as his phone beeped, signaling an incoming text, which Damon quickly read. "And he will be here in ten minutes." he added.

Caroline was sat in her living room when she heard the knock on the door from Stefan. She answered it and they headed straight to her bedroom to allow them some privacy, should Liz return. Not that Caroline wasn't going to confide in her mom, but she needed Stefan first.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked, his voice full of concern as he noticed Caroline's red rimmed eyes from crying.

Unable to answer, she simply held out the letter Tyler had sent and let Stefan read it for himself. When he finished, he folded the letter and gave it back to her.

"What do you think?" Caroline hiccuped.

"I can sort of understand Tyler right now." Stefan frowned. "But Katherine aside, Klaus doesn't hold grudges forever. Lots of people have plotted to kill him over the centuries, he's frequently forgiven them." he assured her. "Klaus won't chase him forever. He's just trying to scare him."

"Tyler unsired his hybrids so Klaus could slaughter them." Caroline explained.

"Didn't Hayley play a significant role in that?" Stefan asked. "If I'm right, she was the one who got Tyler involved after he'd unsired himself." he said. "Klaus has forgiven her. It's just a matter of time before he cools down about Tyler." Stefan assured her.

"But how can I tell him?" Caroline asked.

"I honestly don't know." Stefan sighed as he put a soothing hand on Caroline's back. "But whenever you need to talk, I'll be here your you." he smiled as tears ran down Caroline's face.

"Do I wait, or move on?" she asked.

"Only you know the answer to that Caroline." Stefan replied. "Right now, my advice is mourn the split and see what happens. Things can change very quickly round here. For all we know he might be back by graduation." he smiled hopefully.

"I doubt it." Caroline sighed.

"Look, he's trying to do the right thing by you." Stefan assured her. "I think he's not asking you to stop loving him. He's asking you to live your life. If that means letting someone else in, I don't think he'll hate you for it. He'll probably feel glad he doesn't have to worry about your safety any more." he added as his phoned beeped, letting him know he had a text.

"Thank you." Caroline smiled as she placed her hand on top of Stefan's. "You're the best friend I have right now." she said. "Are you going to get that?" she asked as Stefan read his text from Damon and frowned.

"Ric wants to talk to Damon and I about something he found out in Portland." he frowned.

"Some of the stuff he wouldn't tell us over the phone?" Caroline asked as Stefan nodded.

"I think so." he said.

"Then you need to go." Caroline smiled. "I'll be okay. It's obviously something important. And if you need me, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks Caroline." Stefan smiled back as he text Damon to tell him he'd be home in ten minutes. "I'll be back as soon as we're done." he said.

"Take your time. And say hi to Ric for me." she said as Stefan headed for the door.

"I will." Stefan replied. And with that he left.

Stefan arrived back at the boarding house exactly ten minutes later as promised. He walked into the library as he knew that was where Damon, Elena and Ric were. Although he had no idea what the conversation was about, he wasn't expecting this to be good news, not if Ric didn't want to tell them in front of others. In fact, he wasn't entirely comfortable with Elena herself being there, but as she would become his sister-in-law soon enough, she was practically a Salvatore, and he knew she might be a calming influence on Damon should the news be really terrible, which was why he'd reluctantly agreed to Damon's request.

He looked around the room to see Ric sat in the chair nearest to the door, while Damon had his arms wrapped tightly around a very upset looking Elena, who had the a blanket around her shoulders. It almost reminded of him of the one time, back when he was a ripper, when he'd walked in on Damon comforting Elena after he'd attacked her at school while Klaus had been trying to find a way to turn his hybrids. For some reason Elena had always had this way of bringing out a soft side in Damon, which nobody else could.

Stefan poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat in the chair opposite Ric and looked around.

"So?" Stefan asked.

"I need you both to prepared to be shocked by what I'm about to tell you." Ric said, with a hint of trepidation in his voice.

"Ric, I think after what you just told Elena, you've hit your annual quota for shocking revelations. Nothing could possibly surprise me now." Damon told him.

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that." Ric sighed.

"Just spit it out." Damon said, his voice tightening with nervous anticipation. He didn't like the sound of this. Whatever it was, it was clearly something he didn't want to tell Damon and Stefan, but as their friend he felt it was his duty to be the one to break the bad news.

"Fine." Ric sighed. "This goes back to 1858, when the Gemini coven someone to keep an eye out for the doppelganger." he said.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned something about there being another vampire around." Damon frowned, remembering Ric telling him and Elena there was another vampire in the area who they thought might be the one who would eventually turn them.

"What's this all about?" Stefan asked.

"Short version, the Gemini coven knew we were the brothers in the prophesy after mom died because there wouldn't be anymore kids." Damon explained. "The coven sent a witch to wait for Elena and discovered a vampire." he said as Ric nodded.

"Who was the vampire?" Elena asked, her voice quiet, but curious.

Ric looked around the room, knowing he was about to shake the world of the Salvatore brothers.

"Her name was Lily Salvatore." he said.

The room went silent. Nobody even breathed, the only sound came from the crackling of the fire. Stefan dug his fingers into the arms of the chair he was sat in, while Damon looked at Ric stony faced, Elena drawing soothing circles on his hands to prevent him from throwing something. Stefan was the first to break the silence.

"Impossible." he said softly. "She would have come back..." his voice trailed off as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not buying it." Damon growled. "How can she be a vampire." he said through gritted teeth.

"Your mother died from consumption, but she had vampire blood in her system." Ric explained.

"Wouldn't vampire blood have cured her?" Elena frowned.

"Vampire blood doesn't cure illnesses, it heals injuries." Damon explained.

"It's true." Stefan whispered. "I saw her after she died, but I thought it was a dream and she was an angel." he said.

"I remember that brother." Damon frowned. "She never came to see me." he looked downcast as Elena wrapped her arms around him and placed his hand on her stomach, which seemed to soothe him.

"Maybe you were asleep." Stefan suggested.

"Or maybe your mother realized it was a mistake going to see you." Ric told them.

"Why would it be a mistake?" Stefan asked.

"Let's just say, you and your mother share a similar affliction when it comes to craving blood." Ric explained. "You're lucky she didn't kill you."

"She's a ripper?" Stefan asked as he and Damon exchanged looks of horror.

Ric nodded. "Not only that, but she ended up getting herself mixed up with the wrong crowd." he told them. "They went on murder spree's around Europe. When they came back to America, let's just say there was nobody left on the ship alive."

"And how do the Gemini Coven know all of this?" Stefan asked.

"They didn't want Lily anywhere near you two. She was a liability and could cause problems with the prophesy." Ric explained. "So they took her and her 'people' out of the equation." he said.

"They killed them?" Elena asked.

Ric shook his head. "Remember the time portal?" he asked Stefan who nodded.

"The time travel safety deposit box?" Damon raised an eyebrow as Stefan and Ric both nodded. "They put them in there?" he asked, his face full of horror.

"The Gemini Coven call it a Prison World." Ric explained. "It was their cover story should anyone discover the existence of it. It's true purpose is to hide a version of all of the required elements to destroy Silas." he explained.

"And they put mom in there?" Stefan asked, sounding disgusted. "Like they did with that siphon kid of theirs?"

"His name was Malachai Parker. He murdered four of his younger siblings, attempted to murder two of his other siblings and maimed his twin sister." Ric explained.

"Well he sounds...nice." Damon grimaced. "I guess that's as good a reason as any to imprison him in a supernatural holding cell." he shrugged.

"They had no choice." Ric told him. "He was a siphon. A witch born without his own magic." he said.

"Yeah Bonnie told us about the whole abomination of nature stuff." Damon said nonchalantly. "What does this have to do with our mother?" he asked.

"She fell into a crowd of siphoners." Ric explained. "She turned them."

"Great, so they couldn't suck powers from people." Damon smiled. "A win win, if you ask me. Good on mom." he grinned.

"On the contrary Damon." Ric shook his head. "When a witch becomes a vampire they lose their magic. A siphon never had any to lose. They retain the ability to siphon magic, and when they become a vampire, they have a permanent source in vampirism itself." he told them. "These people tend to be unstable as they are usually cast out by their covens. If they thought they could gain a little bit of extra magic by helping Silas and the Travelers, they would. From the information the Gemini Coven had, this was exactly where they were heading."

"They were going to the join the Travelers?" Stefan frowned as Ric nodded.

"The Gemini Coven had no choice but to stop them." Ric said.

"Have they got you brainwashed Ric?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

Ric shook his head. "Joshua showed me a lot of the stuff." he told him. "But certain items were missing. They gave Sheila Bennett a grimoire to see if a Bennett witch would be able to perform a variation of some of the required spells for the pregnancy. But Sheila died, and when Shane too over the job, he told them the grimoire wasn't there. So they assumed it had been stolen. That's one of the reasons why I'm taking up the role of Professor of Occult Studies. I can go through his office and see what he's got. Especially as he was closely linked to Silas." he explained.

"So why do I have to go there?" Elena asked.

"Because I have to be close to you." Ric explained.

"Um Ric...You and I, we're not moving in together you know." Damon said jokingly.

"Ass!" Ric laughed.

"Well I don't mind starting college." Stefan shrugged. "I'll help protect you." he told Elena.

"And who's going to look after Jeremy?" Elena asked.

"What about Matt?" Stefan suggested. "Tyler Lockwood just left him the deed to his house. No vampires can get in apart from Caroline. It's the safest place for him."

"Good call brother." Damon smiled. "I'd do it myself, but I've got other responsibilities brewing." he sighed.

"About that, you said something about a cloaking spell for my pregnancy." Elena turned to Ric. "Did you find it?" she asked.

Ric smiled. "That's why I went straight to Whitmore before coming back to Mystic Falls." he told her. "I figured you'd want to have access to it as soon as possible. You don't want your graduation gown to get a little tight do you?" he grinned.

"Thank you Ric." Elena jumped up and hugged Ric. "It means a lot." she said as Damon's face fell.

"You just need a couple of pieces of jewelry for Bonnie to spell." Ric explained. "Day wear, evening wear." he said.

"I'll get it." Damon said wearily as he got up and headed upstairs.

"Damon!" Elena called out after him. She'd noticed the look of disappointment on his face when she'd thanked Ric for the cloaking spell, and realized he must have thought she was embarrassed about her being pregnant. A fact which couldn't be further from the truth. She did however have two concerns. The first being the obvious one which was making sure the Travelers didn't know how far along she was. The other was the fact she was only eighteen. Her peers at college would look down on her if they knew she were pregnant, and Elena wanted as normal a college experience as she could, all things considering. However, this part she hadn't talked over with Damon, and now it looked like she was going to have to have the conversation with him, so she followed him to their room.

"What's the matter Elena, don't you think I'll pick the right pieces?" Damon asked, not turning to look at her as he went through the box in his closet.

"Damon, look at me!" Elena demanded.

"I'm busy." Damon replied.

"For fuck's sake, Damon turn around!" Elena cried, deciding swearing was the only way she could grab his attention, which worked. When he turned around, his eyes were red. He was clearly trying to hold back the tears of hurt. Elena's heart sank, knowing she was the cause. She cupped his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "You know, in a perfect world, I'd be desperate to show my baby bump off to the entire world." she smiled sadly. "But there are people chasing us, and they can't even be allowed to guess how far along I am." she assured him.

"Is that the only reason?" Damon asked suspiciously. But Elena couldn't lie to Damon, honesty was one of the foundations of their relationship.

"No." Elena admitted. "When I start college, I need to blend in." she explained. "That's not going to happen if everyone thinks I'm pregnant." she said.

"I know." Damon frowned. "I just..." he sighed.

"You're feeling great about becoming a daddy, yet you're not being allowed to have the full experience?" she suggested as Damon nodded sadly.

"Unless the prophesy allows us to have more kids, this is my one chance at being able to experience pregnancy, and I'm not going to get that." Elena lowered her eyes before resting her forehead against Damon's. "But this isn't about us, it's about this little one in here." she said, pressing their hands on her stomach. "Anyway, I'll take the necklace off at home and I will look like a whale when our family and friends are around." she agreed.

"Does that mean you'll live with me instead of on campus?" Damon asked hopefully.

"Do I have a choice?" Elena smirked.

"Yes!" Damon exclaimed as he did a fist pump before kissing her chastely on the lips. "Will these do?" he asked as he pulled out a gold necklace with a heart shaped locket, and a pair of diamond earrings.

"They're perfect." Elena smiled.

"Good, lets get them spelled." Damon took Elena's hand in his and lead them back to the library.

To be clear, I checked the drowning scene thoroughly and Grayson was not wearing the Gilbert ring.

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