The scene playing out in front of him is akin to a modern drama. The players in this mind freak of a game are the queen of The Jungle, detective one Alaric, detective two is himself. The three of them are sitting in a right-angled triangle, Elena being the vertex. They are all waiting, the tension is so thick that he can feel his heart beat... every single pound in his chest. Sweat slowly trickles down his back like condensation on a window pane, feeling it begin to bead on his forehead, he brushes it away with the back of his arm.

In his mind, he can almost hear the Jeopardy theme song ticking off each second. Damon knows the exact moment when everything goes to hell. Elena's eyes harden, she leans against the back of the chair and slides her hand under the table. Predictably within seconds, Enzo slips into the room.

"Enzo, would you be so kind as to call Elijah? It seems his presence is both necessary and appropriate."

Enzo just nods, not wasting time with a verbal response. Elena looks quite comfortable but Damon's not buying it. She's either livid, which is his prevailing thought, or doesn't know what to do. She's buying time. He's considering whether or not to say something when Ric takes the choice out of his hands, lobbing a question at her.

"Are we just gonna sit here and stare at each other?"

Elena looks at him with little interest. "Well, you are demanding I answer questions so I'm well within my rights to have counsel present. And besides that, everything runs like a finely oiled machine when Elijah is in the room."

"Would you rather we send you notification the next time? We're not a fucking audience, we have a job to do, a murder to solve, your brother's murder to be exact."

Oh no, Ric. Sarcasm won't work here.

Elena moves her head slightly to look at him, her eyes narrowing like an asp preparing to strike. "I thought that's what you wanted?" The feigned confusion...

"No, that's not it at all. We just want to have a civil conversation with you about Jeremy."

"Spare me the platitudes. I'm not an imbecile, Detective Saltzman, I know exactly what you want but I'm not discussing my brother until my attorney arrives. That way, let's say if I feel threatened, Mr. Mikaelson can offer his expertise. He's also very good at answering questions that I may not want to answer, especially the ones he believes are inappropriate. You may or may not get answers to all of them, that will be up to Elijah."

"This is insane, right?" Ric looks at Damon. "Do you realize, Miss Gilbert, that you're doing nothing to make us believe in your innocence...?"

"How dare you? I am an American citizen just like you two, I'm entitled to the presumption of innocence and don't you forget it."

Damon looks at Ric as if to say she knocked that one out of the park.

"Miss Gilbert...?"

"Excuses," Elena jumps in, interrupting what he was about to say. "I'm not a lawyer but it's not my job to prove my innocence, the burden of proof is on you, not me. But to answer that question, frankly I don't care what you think, I know the truth and that's what matters. I've told you repeatedly I don't want to talk about my relationship with my brother and you can't make me," she takes a breath to throw all the unpleasant feelings at the other detective when the door opens and Elijah, graceful as usual, breezes in.

"Gentlemen, Elena," he gives her a short comforting look and she feels so relieved that she'd give him a bear hug and probably end up sobbing on his chest. He's that reassuring.

Damon watches him darkly as he takes a seat next to Elena and pulls some documents out of his briefcase. Ric, however... still doesn't know what to expect. He personally hasn't ever crossed swords with the astute lawyer.

"Well?" the man looks up waiting for them to start talking.

"We're here to discuss the latest developments. We had reasons to question an ex-employee of The Jungle. She had a lot to say about what she witnessed occur between your client and our vic. We wanted to hear Miss Gilbert's side of the story," Damon finds his voice.

"Who was this employee might I ask?"

"The detectives tracked down a former employee from out of town, I suspect" Elena informs him, her steely glare meeting Damon's.

Elijah looks bored, his posture is relaxed and he's actually twiddling his thumbs... His eyes drift to Elena before zeroing on Damon, "So, one ex-employee, who may or may not have any credibility I might add, offers her opinion on the relationship my client had with her brother and then you come here loaded for bear to throw accusations at her? Seriously?" he almost has to laugh.

Elena zeroes in on Damon, "Might I ask who this apparently disgruntled employee is?"

"Anna Zhu," he admits, withering a bit under Elena's now frosty demeanor.

"Anna Zhu!" Elena nearly rolls her eyes but stops herself. "She was let go after Enzo caught her with drugs in her purse."

"Ah yes, Elena, I remember now. It was shortly after the Donovan girl died, they were friends. When she was found with illicit drugs, we didn't want it to happen to her too, it's not good for the club's reputation. Despite that, Elena offered to let her keep her job if she would go to treatment which she refused. It's altogether possible that she wasn't happy working here but when she refused an offer of help, she was terminated," Elijah explains, tenting his fingers as his gaze moves from Damon to Ric.

"I couldn't afford let another scandal tarnish my club's image," Elena joins the conversation.

"Still," Ric tries, "the relationships seems to be important for this case. If you..."

"There is nothing," Elena stresses, "I have nothing to say about him. You can come back with a warrant for my arrest or a subpoena, I don't care. I have my reasons and I have obligations none of which are your business. You can believe me or not but they have nothing to do with your case..," she shrugs and her eyes dare them to try.

That might just be the end of the meeting as Elena ceases to speak. Instead they listen to Elijah Mikaelson's prevarication for the rest of it.

"That man is a... a son of a bitch!" Ric curses when they leave the building.

Damon's silent, working through his own issues with this meeting. Elena never met his eyes when the debacle ended or when they were leaving. He can't exactly blame her after he pulled the rug out from under her. He's all but certain that he blew his chance with her, not that he can find fault with her for that either. This whole cluster-fuck of an afternoon is all on him.

"Can you believe her nerve? She just sits there, glaring at me, waiting patiently for her lawyer to make mincemeat out of us."

Damon chuckles darkly, "Yep, that's Miss Gilbert for you, she's no pushover and the queen of her court. You have to have nerves of steel to run a multi-million dollar business and she does it with aplomb."

Ric stops for a moment, reaching for Damon's arm, he stops him. "Sorry man, this plan went over like a lead balloon... What now?"

"Now we'll have to find more witnesses. Survivors from the older generation that may remember when it all started. Surely there are more ex-employees such as Anna and in a cut throat business like this, Elena must have enemies and let's not forget the lowlifes that Jeremy used to hang with. Somehow we'll have to find them, all of them."

Ric looks impressed. "Grandiose plans, how do you suggest we accomplish all of them?"

"Simple Ric, we go old school, track them down one by one," Damon shrugs.

"You look... determined," he guesses. You have to know this won't be easy?"

Damon turns his eyes to him. "Yeah, but first I'll have to tell my family that Elena probably won't be joining them for Stefan's Saturday ballgame."

Elena can't breathe. She used every ounce of strength she possesses so as not to fall to pieces while the detectives were trying to question her, catch her off guard but now she needs to dig even deeper to remain strong till Elijah and Enzo leave her office. She's standing by the window, watching the detectives get in their car and drive away. Oh how she wishes she could exactly tell him what she thinks of this low blow right in the face. With people present however, it's best to keep it to herself but if the opportunity presents itself... he will rue the day.

"Ehm, will you please stop your 'I'm cool with everything' facade?" Elijah appears right behind her looking in the direction of the receding car.

Elena swallows thickly but doesn't make a sound to confirm or deny his suspicion. "I'm alright. Thank you for coming."

"Well, I certainly must admit the detectives keep our lives interesting. It really is a rather fun game of hide and seek if you will. Thank you for calling me, it was quite obvious that they were pretty determined to get under your skin."

If she's not mistaken, Elijah grits his teeth, at least it sounds like it. He's angry, Elena realizes. She turns to him, her eyes questioning.

Elijah gives her a tight smile. "Elena, I don't like or appreciate detective Salvatore playing this cat and mouse game with you. He has no idea what he's doing or what we're capable of. Instead of doing his job properly, giving you the presumption of innocence, he's jumping to conclusions, not caring who may get hurt in the process."

Elena watches him curiously. "What's the matter, Elijah?

He smiles tersely at her and shakes his head. "Feeling protective I guess. It's been some time since you were in immediate danger. I care about you, Elena, your safety is a priority for me."

"You were right, I guess...," she sighs and turns back to the window. "Cats and mice can't be friends. For a brief moment I wanted to forget that simple fact of life."

"You know, if anyone can accomplish the impossible, it's you."

She gives him a smile.

True.

Inside her adrenaline is burning hot, pumping through her body like an out of control wildfire. She's going to give Damon Salvatore a taste of his own medicine.

After his no good, horrible, awful day, Damon goes straight for his bottle of Maker's Mark as soon as he walks into his house. Pulling out a big tumbler, he pours himself a double and throws it back, almost emptying the glass in one swallow. He pours himself another ambles into the living room and plops down on the couch. The thought of telling Stefan that Elena won't be at his game because of him makes his gut churn uncomfortably. He hates that Stefan will be disappointed, he knows the feeling all too well. The last thing he wants to do is make Stefan feel that way.

He takes one more swallow then pulls his phone out of his pocket to make the call. It rings once before someone picks up on the other end. "Dad?"

"Hello son."

"I just called to tell you that I'll be at Stefan's game on Saturday."

"Damon. That's great news. Your brother is going to be so happy to have you there. Not to mention your mother."

"I know. I don't want to disappoint him..." He takes a deep breath to get the rest off of his chest. "Also, I'm not sure Elena's coming. The case..."

"You sound a little off, do you wanna talk about it?"

"Maybe... but not over the phone, we'll talk Saturday if that's alright?" Damon asks, swallows what's left in his glass and collapses back against the sofa. Raking his hand through his hair in frustration, he sighs and listens to his father's comforting voice.

"Okay. And Damon?"

"Yes?"

"Don't worry. They both like Elena but they love you. They won't be disappointed. We'll see you on Saturday."

He certainly hopes they won't.

Damon wakes up to the sun beating down on his face. He shifts, burying his face in the pillow, not yet ready to get up. In just a few short minutes, his alarm clock starts blaring and after turning it off, he reluctantly drags himself out of bed. The first thing he does is close the blind, he's going to have to remember to get some of the light blocking ones. It's a sunny day so he's certain it's going to be really hot in a few hours.

It's early, he still has time to try to reach Elena but when he called her yesterday, several times actually, to his dismay, she never picked up. After several minutes of weighing the pros and cons, he finally picks up his phone and presses on the icon he chose for her, a beautiful white dove. This time it goes straight to her voicemail, Damon's lets the message play.

"Elena's phone. I'm not available right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

By listening this simple message no one would say how many different emotions, feelings, moods and shades this voice can hold. He sighs, puts the phone down to hop into the shower. Once he's dressed, he grabs his phone, stuffs it in his pocket and leaves for the ball game.

He arrives just in time to find a place to park close to the entrance. The Washoe Little League plays at the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex. It has an athletic field, several baseball fields, horseshoe pits, multi-purpose fields, soccer fields, volleyball courts, picnic areas and play grounds. After texting his dad to find out which baseball field, Damon jogs over, waving when he sees his little brother. The bleachers are already filling with people. When a lady walks by with her hands full of snacks, Damon excuses himself to let her pass then takes the stairs two at a time till he reaches his family.

"Damon!" Stefan squeals, running over to meet him.

"I'm glad you could make it son." Giuseppe pats the seat next to him. Damon nods and urges Stefan forward, dropping down on the bench beside his dad.

"Where's your team, Stef?"

"Stefan's captain hasn't arrived yet, he should be here shortly," Giuseppe informs him.

"We're gonna beat the other team good," Stefan adds, his voice full of excitement.

"I hope so, Stefan," Damon laughs, ruffling his mop of brown hair.

"Guess what Damon?"

"What?"

"Elena is gonna get me a Reno Aces baseball cap."

Damon immediately feels worse. "Stefan... um... Elena probably isn't..."

"She's here, Damon," Giuseppe interrupts whatever he's going to say. "She arrived shortly after we did."

He can't be sure but it almost looks like his dad's eyes are twinkling in mirth. What did he just say...?

"I'm sorry dad, did you just say Elena... is here?"

"I have to go!" Stefan interrupts their conversation and takes off down the stairs when he sees his coach gesturing for him to join the rest of the team.

As soon as Stefan is out of the way, Damon's eyes snap to his father's because he no longer needs confirmation. Walking up the stairs beside Jenna, with a sweet smile on her face is none other than the star of his every dream, Elena Gilbert.

"He's like a pro already, he's so serious...," Elena watches Stefan running around the bases through her binoculars. He's surprised but happily so to hear her making nice yet spot on comments. He suspects she's a fan since she promised Stefan a Reno Aces hat.

Damon has to admit she fits in perfectly with his family. She's able to talk with them, laugh with them, make them smile, she's a completely different Elena than the one he knows, the tough business woman that wrote her brother off without batting an eyelash.

Is it all an act?

She does look like she genuinely cares and he has no idea what would be in it for her if she is just pretending, however none of it holds for him because other than a polite 'hello detective', she hasn't even spared him so much as a glance. Luckily Jenna's sunny personality bridges over any tension that might show up among them.

As his parents proudly watch their younger son shine, he's left entertaining their guest which is proving to be impossible as Elena so far is refusing to speak to him. Oh, he did try, is trying, several times actually but she's giving him the cold shoulder. Instead she plucks some topic, the game, shopping, life in general, out of thin air to share with Jenna. This whole scene is surreal.

He tunes them out for the moment, taking in the changes the place has gone through since he was a kid. The playground wasn't here when he grew up, neither were the volleyball courts or the soccer field. Their were only a handful of baseball diamonds when he played little league. He smiles remembering his dad and Jenna watching him like they're watching Stefan today. When he catches Elena's contemplative look while chatting with his mom, his heart skips a beat as soon as he realizes what they're talking about.

"You know, kids keep you young. I don't want to think about Stefan getting older, although Damon turned out pretty well," Jenna shares in good humor, her smirk letting Elena know she's only half joking.

"You either have some fabulous night cream or very good genes, Jenna. I really hope I will look as good as you do when I have a son or daughter Damon's age."

Jenna laughs wholeheartedly. "Thank you, but Damon isn't actually my son, he became mine when I married Giuseppe. I was fresh out of college and head over heels in love with his father. Damon was twelve at the time. He was such a good boy though, quiet, polite, it wasn't hard at all to awaken my budding maternal instincts. All it took was one look into those great big sad eyes of his and I knew I'd fight hell itself to protect him," she pats Damon's arm affectionately.

Damon loves his mom and he'd like to return the gesture, but this feels wrong. This is something very personal for him and Elena... who is Elena to him? He would have loved to tell her one day but given their strange, tense relationship it's just not an option, not now anyway.

"Mom, you're going to put our guest to sleep with these boring old family secrets, let's focus on Stefan and his game for now."

Jenna seems a little confused but finally picks up on Damon disconcerting look. "Sorry," she turns to Elena, "I can never stop chatting, Giuseppe's not exactly chatty, I'm used doing most of the talking by myself."

"Oh no, I'm having a great time. It's the same with me. I don't have many opportunities to just chat with my girlfriends, they're as busy as I am. It's really rather refreshing to be able to visit and not have to worry about spilling too much," she gives Damon a pointed look before she once again focuses on Jenna.

What exactly is she up to?

"Look!" Giuseppe stands up to see across the field. "They won!"

Damon jumps to his feet, cheering louder than necessary but even the noise doesn't block out the feeling of Elena's eyes burning the back of his head.

You're all amazing people. Our heartfelt thanks extend to each of you. We finally have the end in sight, we're down to maybe 4 chapters left to write. This story will be 40 plus chapters. 'I Can't Escape Myself' had been my longest story.

Thank you, Eva and I hope you're enjoying your holiday. I love you dearly. She has such a beautiful way of looking at the world, I truly wish I had her gift. I'm as type A as you can possibly be but I think the same can be said about most nurses.

Chapter title: 'War Zone' by Framing Hanley.

I hope you all have a phenomenal day. Thank you all again, you're the best. We'll see you next time.