Blindly a still drowsy Elena reaches over to silence the blare of her alarm clock. She shifts, rolling onto her back and lays there for several minutes as she slowly opens her eyes. For some reason she didn't sleep well last night. Soft music or the sounds of the ocean crashing into the shore almost always help to calm her nerves but last night, nothing seemed to work. Instead, she laid awake staring at the ceiling unable to get him out of her head. The echoes of Damon's words, his soft touches, his close proximity but most of all it was the way her face still burned from where his lips touched her skin. When fatigue finally claimed her, it wasn't him that kept her mind busy. As always, the blood curdling images kept her from sleeping soundly. Not even his blazing mouth could best the specter of her brother. The hate won't stop even after his death.

Although she can't explain why, she doesn't feel tired this morning but she's sure it'll catch up with her by late afternoon, probably another migraine. And then it dawns on her that after Damon had left, her headache didn't exacerbate, instead it vanished. She shakes off the silly notion that he's some magical remedy. After finishing her morning routine, she grabs her things and just as she's about to step outside, she realizes how odd it was, unprecedented really that no one from her team called last night. Apparently she jinxed herself because before she takes another step, her phone starts ringing. She looks at the display and smiles when she sees it's Bekah.

"Hey," she answers the call with a smile.

"Hey girlfriend. What's shaking?"

"Same old, same old."

"Don't give me that, how's operation Salvatore going?"

Elena's unsure how to answer. "Well..., we're not at each other's throats if that's what you mean, he gave me a lift home yesterday afternoon."

"Do tell."

"There's nothing to tell. Kai had to take care of an incident at the club. Damon overheard and offered to give me a ride. We actually had a pleasant chat but I assure you that I'm not doing anything to trick him!" she makes it clear.

"Pfff," Rebekah puffs, "I know you wouldn't. But you have to admit that it would be fun!" Elena can imagine her smirking. "How pleasant?" her voice is dripping with curiosity.

Elena laughs. "I did invite him to have lunch with me. It was quite nice if you want to know the truth."

"What? Do I have to come there to pry it out from you? Why didn't you call me to spill the goods?"

"I would, Bekah, I swear. My head was beginning to throb so I went straight to bed after he disappeared."

"All right, I'll let you off the hook... this time. But I want details later."

Elena laughs. "Deal." She clicks off the phone, pockets it, slides into her vehicle and drives herself to the club.

It's his worst nightmare coming true. Yesterday he had a family, today she took it from him. He reminds himself she's not just some innocent little girl, she's a thief. She looks like an angel, everyone says she is one but they never notice her lingering stares, the gleam in her eyes when she gets something that's his. Even his friends like her, dropping what they're doing to spend time with her and play her stupid little girl games. She even stole his friends. Gritting his teeth, he makes himself a promise, she won't steal anything else...

After having a rather restless night, Damon arrives to work early. He's not all that surprised when he's the only one inside the office at this ungodly hour. He suspects however that Luka is somewhere in the building as his desktop is pristine, even the pad has been wiped clean. He flops into his chair and turns on his computer to look over the latest reports and any correspondence that's awaiting his perusal. When he stopped by yesterday, after visiting Elena's house, his mind was too busy, swirling with completely different thoughts having nothing to do with work. As a result he didn't get much of anything done. Realizing his effort was futile, he only stayed for an hour, give or take, trying and failing to get her out of his head.

Reluctantly he threw in the towel, locked up his office and climbed into his car. Because it was still early, rather than go home, he pulled onto the highway, driving towards the Mt. Rose Scenic Drive. Being outside, cruising along with the wind blowing through his hair and on his face has always been his escape, since he was old enough to drive anyway. The drive is a paved, twenty-five mile long scenic route between Reno and Lake Tahoe. It offers excellent views of Washoe Valley, Washoe Lake, the Lake Tahoe Basin and the high peaks of the Sierras. Beginning in Reno at the junction with Highway 395 at an elevation of 4500 feet, the drive climbs steadily through high-desert terrain that has seen significant development over the past decade, until reaching the edge of the Sierras. There are no foothills here. Instead, the mountains rise steeply and sharply up from the valley below. Once the Mt. Rose Highway reaches the mountains, the vegetation changes remarkably fast, with the desert quickly giving way to rocky and forested mountain slopes.

When the highway reaches the mountains, the route climbs steadily, with numerous twists and turns, as it makes its way up to the highest elevation point of the drive, at Mt. Rose Summit, which has an elevation of 8900 feet. Mt. Rose Summit isn't a summit at all, but is instead a pass located between the 10,776 foot Mt. Rose and the 9,648 foot Slide Peak. Once he reached that point, he pulled his car into the scenic lookout and got out to breathe in the fresh mountain air. He started walking the trail a little ways, all in an effort to clear his mind but no matter which way he turned, she's always there.

At one point when he bent down to pick a wildflower, he happened to notice his watch. Knowing that the sun will be setting soon, he went back to his car to drive home. Despite his best intentions and fatigue from the long drive, he had no luck at home either, hence the lack of sleep and his early arrival. Contemplating whether or not to make a pot of coffee, he decides against it knowing Luka's probably going to show up with a large cup of his favorite blend any moment now. His assumption turns out to be right when a few minutes later he enters the room balancing three cups of the best joe in town.

"Lifesaver," Damon utters with a welcoming smile.

Luka salutes him, still he's not his usual cheery self but Damon supposes it's because of the early hour. No sane person would be cheerful at this hour.

After taking a long satisfying pull from the glass Luka hands him, Damon leans back in his chair and nods at his protégé. "How did things go at the Jungle yesterday? Was Mr. Parker satisfied with your assistance?"

Luka makes a face and turns his head, allowing Damon to see the ugly bruise on the left side of his jaw. "Very much so. He couldn't stop laughing, seems I was the source of endless amusement."

Damon's eyes widen. "What the fuck? Did that bastard…?"

Luka snorts. "No, of course not. He's too wily to hit a cop. It was that creep they caught with the dirty money. Once the guy realized that the police were coming for him, he tried to kayo me and escape."

Damon examines the bruise along his jawline. "Uuh, does it hurt?"

"Nah, it's just… humiliating."

Damon laughs shortly but it's clear he feels for him. "Happens. Once in awhile you have to take one for the team, whatever form it takes and you can't do a thing about it. Take it with pride, you got hurt in the line of duty. He pats his back and sits by his computer again.

"Has it happened to you?"

"It did, I was a rookie then, same as you. That was the only time a crook got the drop on me."

"Good to know," Luka adds, taking a swallow from his own glass.

"Know what?" Ric mutters crossing the threshold at just the right moment. The both of them turn towards his voice.

Damon inclines his head. His friend looks… hungover, his clothes unchanged from yesterday, hair ruffled. "You look like something the cat dragged in," he remarks dryly.

"Huh?" Ric growls and falls into his chair. Without bothering to give Damon a response, he instead nods at Luka. "Thanks buddy." He gladly takes the cup from him and with utmost pleasure takes a long gulp.

The corner of Luka's mouth raises, while Damon grins openly. "Guys," the kid addresses them, "when you're ready, I have something to share."

Ric shushes him. "Ssshh, give me at least ten minutes and I'll be like new. Um, would you be so kind to bring the first test results from the laboratory? I wasn't able to make the detour."

"Don't give me that. It's on your way, right on the ground floor," Damon reminds him amusedly.

"I know, I know," Ric waves him off. "Just… do it, please?"

Luka gets up and winks, happily leaving this grumpy Ric to Damon.

"Miss Gilbert...," the guard at the door politely greets her, holding it open so she can pass.

"Ben, thank you. How are things this morning?"

"No worries, mam..."

"I'm glad to hear that. How are your wife and kids?"

"They're all fine." He stops talking when he spots his boss coming out of his office.

"Elena," Kol approaches her and Elena turns to him with a pleased smile.

"Kol, how did it go yesterday? You know, the guy with the funny money?"

Kol's face lights up with amusement. "Eh, it was good. It didn't take the police long to arrive. They escorted him out of here. I along with Kai and Brady have to go down to the station later to sign the complaint. Before the uniforms got here, that... the rookie from our local cops received a well aimed punch, it was hilarious."

"Kol!" she shakes her head not knowing if she should laugh or show her displeasure that it happened at her club. Damon probably won't be happy. Why should that matter to her at all? She's not happy with them here either. "Are they here already? Or..."

Kol shakes his head no. "Nope, apparently they're finished. However, they did leave one uniformed officer in the cellar. I watched them cart out all of their equipment yesterday. When they were done, the grumpy one returned the key. Hopefully they won't be back anytime soon, it's getting old," he rolls his eyes.

She should have known that. Yesterday Damon told her he'll see her tomorrow, it hadn't actually occurred to her that they weren't going to be here anymore. Maybe he forgot too... Guess he won't be showing up today.

Kol watches the emotions passing over her face. "Elena?"

"It's alright Kol, I just forgot that we would finally be rid of them. I'm sure you remember that I left early. I'm good and thank you for taking care of things yesterday. Join me for lunch later?"

Kol nods and returns to his office, looking back at her just before closing his door.

She won't think about him. She needs to keep herself, the people she loves and the club safe. None of that equals getting friendly with a cop and most certainly not him.

Curiously enough it takes Ric just the one coffee to wake up and be back to his usual self. "What?" he barks at his amused friend.

"Nothing," Damon chuckles, remembering how many times they've both been there, done that, each requiring special treatment, on more than one occasion. "A hot date?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, I do know you just a bit."

"And I know you, Salvatore! How was yours?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that."

"Give you what?"

"Don't play stupid, Damon, it's beneath you. I'm talking about you escorting miss 'I don't give a shit about my brother and maybe helped him leave this world' Gilbert home?"

Damon didn't expect this verbal attack from this harmless looking Ric but clearly he was wrong. "Look, it was just a lift. She was on her way home with Parker when they caught some low life trying to pass dirty money. Being the gentleman that I am, I offered to take her home. We don't always have to piss people off."

"Hmm... so now she's "people" and not the cold and ruthless, possibly murderous businesswoman...?"

"Ric stop, it's highly unlikely that she would physically be able..."

Ric waves him off. "Maybe not but we both know there are more ways than one to be involved in a murder. Besides, that's not what I'm asking. Do you really expect me to believe that you just... dropped her off and left?"

"I... ," Damon hesitates and Ric points at him with his index finger.

"Gotcha. So? Spill!"

"I'm being on the level here. Nothing happened. And why do I need to justify myself to you anyway?"

Ric smirks which winds Damon up even more. After finishing what's left of his coffee, he crumples the cup and tosses it in the trash. "If you must know all the gory details, she invited me for a non-alcoholic drink and I accepted. The 'date' lasted all of 20 minutes and then I said goodbye and went back to headquarters. Are you happy now?"

"So... if you hadn't had to come back here, you'd have stayed longer? Am I right?"

"Damn it, Ric, I don't appreciate the third degree, I didn't do anything wrong."

"I know, but you know as well as I do that this isn't your normal line of thinking. You have hated this woman or so I thought. Need I remind you that since the very beginning of this case, I'm talking five years ago now, you've been suspicious of her? For good reason I might add. And now suddenly this sudden attraction overrules everything? What if she is guilty, hm? Will you shackle her and put behind bars? Will you testify against her?"

"I will," Damon says firmly. "And you..."

Ric lifts his arms in surrender. "Sorry, I'm stopping now. It's just that my lack of a love life makes me live one vicariously through the two of you." He turns to Luka, who's just entering the room.

Luka stops on the spot. "You mean... Damon and Miss...?"

Damon rolls his eyes and Ric gives him a wink. "Uh huh, he accompanied her home yesterday..."

He raises an eyebrow, scrunches up a piece of paper and throws it at Ric.

"Sorry guys," Luka interrupts their jibing, "but what I need to share with you... it's about Miss Gilbert."

Both Damon and Ric turn to him a little shocked by this abrupt change in topics. Luka presents them with a tentative smile.

"I had a date last night... Bonnie wanted to make sure I was alright." His face slowly blooms a light shade of red under his colleagues' scrutiny. "Afterwards we decided to have dinner and she invited me to her place."

Damon and Ric share a look. "Ehm," Ric jokes, "I wasn't that serious about living my love life through you or you, we don't need details..."

"No!" Luka's reaction is comical but Damon's mood suddenly changes, a sober look forming on his face. Luka's worried, it's something serious.

"We... talked after dinner and I asked her about her boss and her relationship with her brother. At first, Bonnie didn't want to tell me anything. Said she hardly knew Jeremy, informing me that she's been working at The Jungle for about six years now. But then she admitted that they didn't like each other very much, she actually used the words hated each other.

Apparently he wanted to work with Elena but she didn't want him anywhere near her. If Bonnie is to be believed, he repeatedly threatened her and she had to have security remove him from the premises more than once. She witnessed a fight between Jeremy and Kai, she knows Enzo was worried about Elena every time Jeremy showed up. She'd also been friends with Vicky Donovan, Jeremy's girlfriend. It seems Vicky told her that Elena made sure that he would never get his hands on the family money and that he felt hopeless and even afraid."

Damon only now realizes he stopped breathing. It's nothing he didn't suspect but having a witness... one who can give testimony about the discord and hatred between the siblings and that Elena probably was trying to destroy her brother... Did it end with the murder? He focuses on calming his voice down. "Anything else?"

"She hinted that Vicky had a friend, someone named Anabelle. I know it's hearsay but according to her the two girls were thick as thieves and she also said that this Annabelle might know more about what was between Elena and Jeremy. She left 'The Jungle' right after Vicky's death. Maybe she knew something? Or was worried?"

Damon nods, his brain churning on all cylinders, his face fixed in concentration.

"For now, find out all you can about this Anabelle, driver's license, social, police record, run her to ground. I think we should check out all the employees who were either fired or left of their own accord in the months surrounding Jeremy's disappearance."

On the outside, he looks every bit the dedicated cop, on the inside however, he's torn. And fucking worried.

Elena sets her fork on the edge of her plate to take a swallow of her raspberry lemonade. Her mind is a million miles away but when she hears Kol's voice, she sets her glass down and gives him her full attention.

"Elijah's going to stop by later," he mentions casually and then takes another bite of his BBQ bacon cheeseburger.

"Yeah? What's up, something important?" Lately, no news is good news.

"I don't think so, he's just checking in I suspect."

It calms her nerves a little but not completely, Elijah would hardly confide in Kol, not before speaking to her, especially not if it was something serious.

"Why? Are you waiting for something? Are you worried?"

He's always been so attuned to her moods and feelings. "A bit," she admits. "The cops are gone but the case isn't. What if they...?"

"They won't," Kol interrupts her. "None of us will say a word, you know that. There's no evidence, there are no witnesses."

"Sometimes, being our parents' children is damn hard," she gives a sigh.

"Tell me about it," Kol chuckles darkly and raises his head when Caroline approaches them.

"I'm sorry but you're needed in your office, a problematic guest," she tells him.

Kol nods and turns to Elena to apologize but she waves him off. "Go, I'm done, I'll get back to my office just fine." She gives him a smile, watching his retreating form till he's gone. Picking up her glass again, she continues sipping it slowly while perusing the restaurant's patrons.

I won't let you ruin this for me, Jeremy. No fucking way.

Sipping her coffee, Elena looks out of the window. There's a good sized crowd as always on the sidewalk below. She smiles as she sees people pointing at the marquees and all the tall buildings. Reno isn't Vegas but it does have a good sized tourist business too, people that don't want to deal with the larger crowds that are a Vegas mainstay. Reno is a beautiful city surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sighing, she steps away, walking over to the sink to rinse out her mug.

Elijah left half an hour ago, as Kol had said there was nothing that required her immediate attention, just their usual business appointment. The air at the office is still a bit tense, which is probably her fault as Enzo's just waiting for a sign they're alright. She won't turn him away of course, he's one of her closest friends but today, she's just too tired to deal with it.

No matter how much she wants to deny it, she misses him. She knows it's irrational, she didn't want the cops here but he just... snuck up on her, got under her skin and she can't help but wonder if she wasn't simply imagining the sparks between them, was it really only yesterday that he was in her home?

She gets up and with a sigh starts collecting her things. There isn't anything or anyone to wait for, she's done enough for the day and detective Salvatore clearly has other, more interesting things to take care of, things more important than her.

"Come in, Enzo," she calls at his familiar light knock. Clearly she won't be able to sneak out of here unnoticed.

Enzo peeps into the room. "Going home? Sorry, just wanted to know if you needed a ride..."

"No, thank you," she pats his shoulder when passing him on her way out. "I drove today, I can get myself home."

"Alright...," Enzo is stunned and worried at the same time. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," she gives him a small smile to ease his worries. He can't know it's a completely different man weighing heavily on her mind.

"I thought I'd have to slay a dragon before I could get inside to save the princess," Damon's leaning against his car, eyeing her with that seductive leer of his. Whether coincidentally or on purpose, he happens to be parked right next to her vehicle.

Elena's eyes shoot to his, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of him. "I thought you were finished here?"

"For now, yes. But I still had some unfinished business to take care of."

"Do tell."

"Something about a promise to a lady that I'd pick her up." She comes to stand in front of him. 'Man, she's a vision'.

"Really?" Elena grins. "I don't remember any such promise. But I do remember, you said something about seeing me today."

"Uh huh, and far be it from me to disappoint a lady." He opens the door gesturing for her to get in. Elena hesitates just a second before sliding in. She's never felt so silly... Still she doesn't even bother to ask where they're going.

Huge thanks to all of you, you're the reason we continue to write Damon and Elena stories.

Huge thanks to you, Eva. You're always willing to take the leap with and help write these stories when I come up with ideas for these stories. When we finally finish this story, we're going to go full steam ahead into "Waiting for a Star to Fall"... I also have another o/s to be posted at some point and the 'November Rain' follow up.

Chapter title: 'Point of View' by D.A.D.

"Ripples of Fear" and "Sex and Candy" each have one chapter left.

I hope you all have a fantastic day and weekend.