Either Elena has a particularly comfortable couch or it's simply because he spent the night at her place, whatever the reason, he feels well rested, refreshed and a bit astounded that his body's not aching like he did twelve rounds with Brock Lesnar.

He feels himself start to become coherent. He's groggy, stuck somewhere between in the space between wake and sleep. Opening his eyes, he looks around. It must be fairly late, the sun's rays beaming through the window alert him to the fact that it's time for him to get up and leave before he overstays his welcome. He stretches his legs and shifts onto his back which causes a gentle collision with a soft warm body. He freezes. Did Sherlock stay with him all night? The blanket moves and to his absolute shock Elena stretches next to him, her sexy little ass brushing against his hand.

It does wicked things to him.

However the fact she fell asleep next to him and stayed there all night tops everything. Before he can decide what to do next, whether he should get up and make her breakfast or simply pretend to be asleep a little longer so he can further enjoy the feeling of her weight against his body, the kitten leaps onto his stomach. Luckily Sherlock is a flyweight and his broken ribs don't protest at all when the invader flops down on his ribcage and starts playing with him; how-many-times-can-I-pierce-your-skin-with-my-claws?

"Ouch," Damon whispers, the kitten's eyes following his every move like a hawk does a mouse. "If you think you can ruin my pretty face without punishment, you better think again, you little saboteur."

Elena shifts and he can feel the blanket moving with her silent laughter.

"And good morning to you," he says aloud, waiting with bated breath for her reaction. What if she freaks out and throws him out the door?

"I wouldn't say it's a good one... you snore!" she accuses.

"I snore? Nonsense." He shakes his head. "Not possible!"

To his great relief Elena just grins and jumps out of their makeshift bed. "It must be at least noon! You do realize that there are people who actually need to work, right? Not all of us have excuses like broken ribs and such..."

He knows exactly the moment the light goes on and she realizes what she's joking about. His accident. A failed murder attempt. Her face falls as she becomes aware of their reality. He's a tool of the law. A determined nemesis. And she's still a suspect.

She mumbles something about making breakfast and quickly leaves the room. In an unguarded moment Sherlock manages to sink his claws into his chin.

He probably deserved it.

Elena finds them still on the couch playing when she brings a tray in sometime later. His mouth waters at the smell of the pancakes and bacon. "It's not that late," she announces, "only a little after nine. If it's okay with you as soon as we're done eating, I'll take you home or to police headquarters and then I need to get to the office."

"I think the office, I have some work to do too."

Elena nods and stays silent for a moment before she adds, "You really want to be done with it..."

Damon stops eating not sure how to react, unsure how she feels about it. "I want the case closed, yes," he lets himself be heard when it's clear that she's not going to add anything else. "It's been too long. And even you can't start the healing process, not when it's still an unfinished book."

Elena nods, although it's clear to him that she carries a heavy burden in her heart. When she looks up, their eyes meet and Damon finds himself falling into their depths.

He could love her forever.

If only she'll give him the chance...

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ric asks, not for the first time.

"For the umpteenth time, YES, I know what I'm doing," Damon repeats without showing any interest, raking over the reports. Again.

"I don't get it. For five long years, you've tried every which way from Sunday to convince me of her guilt, repeatedly telling me either she killed him herself or conspired with someone to do it for her. And then you get run down by a bus and suddenly you're damn sure she'd had nothing to do with it. Frankly I think you landed on your head when you hit the pavement," he demonstrates by snapping his fingers. "Where did this 180 come from Damon? You may be convinced of her innocence but I'm not. And Luka here isn't either. You're thinking with your emotions not with your brain," he gives him a pointed look.

"Yeah?" he finally looks up, meeting Ric's pointed glare. "And what is it you have, Luka?" Damon turns his focus to the youngest member of the team.

"I...," Luka starts reluctantly, "nothing in particular, just a hunch. She's arrogant enough, there's no denying it, she had motive, means, opportunity and most importantly a group of people who will do anything she asks, no matter what that might be."

He's doing well, his young padawan. He's going to make a fine detective one day.

"And?" Damon tries to encourage him.

"Bonnie believes she's guilty."

"Did she say that?"

Luka shakes his head back and forth. "She didn't. But she insinuated it and I don't think she's lying."

Damon nods and shoves the files aside. "Okay."

"Okay?" Ric's eyebrow lifts questioningly.

"Okay," Damon confirms. "Then I'll just have to prove to both of you that she's not our killer."

Ric and Luka share a look, neither knowing what to make of his proclamation.

Elena's sitting on the soft carpet of her office, running her fingers playfully under her dress, a laugh escaping when Sherlock pounces on her hand. And although his baby teeth and tiny claws are sharp, she's having the best time with her new pet. She's spent much more time either keeping her eye on him, playing with him or simply just admiring how adorable he is than actual work. Work that needs to be done. Although she knows that no one will question her motives or be angry with her, she still feels guilty for not sucking it up and for letting yet another day pass without getting anything accomplished. That's not completely true, she did get a few things done while the adorable smoky black kitten was napping on the couch, that couch, she's certain that she'll never look at it the same way again.

Which reminds her of her last night's visitor.

The door cracks open, Enzo steps inside with a fresh pot of coffee and a sandwich, her favorite. She immediately feels grateful when she notices there's a small bowl of milk on the tray as well.

"Oh thank you, Enzo! Sherlock? Look what we got. Uncle Enzo always thinks of everything."

The kitten lifts his head and jumps off the couch, scampering over to his snack.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't bring myself to leave him home alone, I have to figure out how to make the house more safe, he's such a silly little guy... I don't want him to break anything or get into Gibby's old spot..."

Enzo gives her a crooked smile. "Nonsense, I'm glad you finally decided to get another cat. At least you know he's safe when he's here with us."

"It wasn't my decision... actually, it was Detective Salvatore's idea. He brought him over Sunday, his little brother's cat had kittens so he thought of me..."

Enzo looks at her sharply but Elena's looking at the cat and doesn't elaborate any further. "I didn't know you two were friends..."

"We aren't," Elena sighs, "you know we can't be. Not when we stand on opposite sides of the law."

"Right," he nods, but if there wasn't that little obstacle...

"Tell Bonnie to bring me the retyped documents to sign, please? I need to haul ass and get some stuff done."

"Yeah, I will..."

Something in his tone makes Elena look up at him. "Are you two alright?"

"We are," he says with more confidence than he actually feels. At Elena's pointed stare, he sighs. "We will be. I just need to remind her a uniform isn't everything." He doesn't wait for another inquisitive question and quickly leaves the room.

What the heck is he babbling about?

Damon's not sure what he's doing. No... that's not true, he hasn't a clue what he's doing here. Entering the club he experiences a certain sense of deja vu, when once again it's Kol coming to meet him.

"Detective..."

He's smiling. Damon finds it odd and scrutinizes the head of security with a searching look but is unable to pick up on anything unusual, nothing that would explain the reason behind his strange behavior. Maybe it's mockery?

"Mr. Mikaelson," he's not going to give him an opening and quickly turns towards the elevators. He should have known Kol wouldn't let him slip by that easily.

"Are you here for more questioning? Do I need to summon my brother...?"

"No, that won't be necessary. But since you're asking, I might run by your office a little later, we haven't had the opportunity to talk yet..."

"I have nothing to hide, detective. It would be my pleasure to sit down with you."

There is an open insolence in his attitude but Damon lets it slide, he's in no shape or mood to cross sabers with yet another Mikaelson. "The pleasure will be all mine, Kol." He leaves him standing in the hall and steps in the elevator.

He doesn't look back because he has a sneaking suspicion the guy's smirking at him.

A few moments later he walks out of the elevator and down the posh hallway till he reaches his destination. Raising his arm, he knocks firmly on the office door, entering when Enzo pulls it open, gesturing for him to come in with a sweep of his arm. There's not even the slightest hint of surprise on his face which tells Damon that Kol let the cat out of the bag. Before he can open his mouth, Elena's assistant takes the initiative.

"Hello, detective, she's inside, I'll notify her that you're here."

Damon nods, deciding playing fair is the right move and so waits patiently while Enzo steps in front of her door and lays his hand on the knob. Pausing, he looks over his shoulder. "Detective?" he addresses him once more. "I'd like to thank you for what you did for her. She wouldn't have accepted it from any of us but that cat is exactly what she needed."

Damon blinks before it dawns on him that he means Sherlock. He acknowledges Enzo with a slight nod and considers the man while waiting to speak with Elena. Those words coming from St. John's mouth were the last thing he expected to hear today.

"You can come in now," Enzo holds the door and then closes it behind him.

"... Elena?" in the last second he decides on the less formal greeting, after a night spent on her couch it's more than appropriate.

"Damon, please have a seat," she looks pleasantly surprised and Damon immediately feels guilty. Nothing would give him more pleasure than if he could be the one to make her happy. But once again he finds himself on her threshold on a work related matter. He takes the chair and has to smile at the sight of Sherlock trying to lick the last drops of milk from a saucer.

Back to the business, Salvatore.

"I was wondering, Elena... if perhaps we could strike a deal?"

There's simply no way to say it gently.

"What do you mean 'a deal'?" Elena immediately becomes wary, he can hear that in her voice. Damon hates himself for ruining the trust that's just very slowly started rebuilding itself.

"I mean, we do agree that the case needs to be solved.. right?" he doesn't wait for her acknowledgement because he's sure he's crashing what's left of her willingness to give him another chance with every word. "It does, Elena, we all need it. You need it too just as much, more really than anyone else." He's not sure why he's repeating himself, she's no fool, she knows how these things work.

"I'm aware you're still working on his case, you don't need to remind me." Now the hostility in her tone is even more evident.

"I know but that's not what I want you to take from this." He's aware he lacks patience, but if he wants to save the last remnants of understanding that seemed to be established between them lately, he needs to make her listen and more importantly understand. He musn't lose his nerve. Taking a breath to fortify himself, he pushes forward knowing he needs to do this. "I need you to trust that I don't want to hurt you. I want you to know that I'm not going to use whatever you may or may not tell me against you or your loved ones. I hope you know I believe in your innocence."

Elena's breath hitches, she can feel he's being genuine but every instinct is warning her to be careful, to run away from it. "Well, I will concede that I actually believe you, considering the fact that you wouldn't accept my confession. But you're still after us, Damon. I don't know what kind of deal we could make and I'm still not going to talk to you about my relationship with Jeremy. I can't. And I'm not going to spy on my friends for you."

Damon almost smiles. He would never ask her to do that. One thing she said catches his attention. "You can't or you won't?"

Elena pauses for just a second. "Does it matter? I just won't. It's out of question Detective Salvatore."

"Chill Elena, I'd never ask you to spy on your friends...," he can see she's getting agitated.

Strange... It's crazy how things work out sometimes... Not long ago he'd be thrilled to have her on edge and angry in hopes she'd let something slip. Now all he wants to do is take her in his arms and tell her everything's going to be okay, that he'll make it right.

"...Believe it or not, I don't even want you to tell me about your relationship with Jeremy, not unless you want to," he assures her. "I'd like you to confide in me when you feel comfortable enough to talk about it..."

"That's not going to hap..."

Damon silences her by taking her hand in his. "I know you don't believe it now but once this all is behind us, when you get out of this endless circle, it will be easier to talk about. What I need now is for you to stop fighting me. Fighting what we're trying to do. Let me do my job. And if I do find out something, promise me you won't try to sabotage it by telling lies."

Elena's chin's trembling and she can't make it stop. It makes her angry, he makes her angry. Despite how afraid and vulnerable she feels, the anger gives her strength to mask it. At least she hopes so. "I can't believe you have the nerve to make demands on me while at the same time you say you're going to keep digging and snooping. We had nothing..!"

"Damn it Elena you know that's not true. I know what you're going to say, that he had many guestionable buddies and acquaintances one of which could have killed him. It's a bullshit and you know it. Why would they hide him in that that crawl space that has a direct connection to your club and more importantly how, he was stuffed in a barrel to mummify. And why would the killer or killers come after me...?"

The silence that follows is deafening. Elena feels her body tremoring as she tries to stop the image of Damon being gone forever. She shudders at the shadowy image in her mind, the one responsible for his... departure. How could she live with that? She takes a breath to respond although she's still not sure what to say and if her voice will be strong enough, Damon seems to be opening his mouth as well when firm knock at the door interrupts. The both look up as it opens and it's Enzo's head poking through the crack.

"Excuse me, Elijah is here, can he...?"

Damon sighs mentally, this game has gone on for too long... He might as well give up and walk away when Elena unexpectedly barks at her assistant.

"Out! Get out Enzo and Elijah too. This is between Detective Salvatore and myself, I don't need either of you here."

Damon can't believe she just kicked Enzo's ass. His head disappears faster than Damon can even blink. Elena turns back to him, her chest heaving, her eyes stormy but the gleam in them tells him she's breaking inside. His heart squeezes painfully. This time he's unable to fight the pull. With several quick steps he shortens the distance between them and wraps his arms around her middle, almost lifting her as he brings her closer.

"I promise you, Elena, I'll make things right so you can put all this behind you," he's whispering rapidly in her ear.

"You don't know that...," Elena replies quietly, the fading anger replaced by fear.

"I do know that I won't stop until I figure it out. And I won't leave until you tell me yourself you want me out of your life for good."

"I have told you, but you're still here."

"Yeah, but that didn't count. You didn't know what you're giving up back then."

Elena chuckles and Damon feels relieved that she's coming back to herself and not telling him to get out... in that same sexy way she chased Enzo away. "You know you're rather sexy when you're angry ...," he can't resist sharing the thought.

To his disappointment she unwinds her arms and takes a step back but there's a spark in her eyes. "You do know you aren't going to distract me with such flattery, right?"

"It's the truth," he shrugs, watching her collected self take a seat behind her desk and he knows it's time to give her space. He can't push anymore today.

His eye catches a movement and it's Sherlock stretching on the couch. It's weird that he didn't wake up given their verbal jousting and raised voices.

For the kitten, they're just his favorite people doing what they do best.

Challenging each other.

No reason to worry.

*Brock Lesnar is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and former football player. He's currently signed to WWE Raw Brand. And like me, he's a native South Dakotan.

Eva and I want to thank you all so very much. You're all the best. Your friendships, kind words and reviews are very much loved and appreciated.

Chapter title: 'Here I Am' by Asking Alexandria.

I did post a pretty fluffy o/s last week. 'Fat Bottomed Girls'.

WTTJ is taking a one week hiatus. It'll be back the week after next. We have our Halloween story coming next week and perhaps some other surprises... ;)

Have a safe and wonderful day. Thanks for everything.