Yay, got this wrote a lot faster than I expected!

Pretty happy with this chapter. It's eventful :)

Hope you guys enjoy!

Elena loved her boys, she really did, but after an entire afternoon of non-stop car talk between the two of them and Tyler Lockwood, she was glad to have the house to herself.

Damon had decided, a few hours after their "guy time", to take Chris and Tyler up to the Grill for burgers.

She'd kindly declined when he'd asked if she wanted to tag along, insisting that she needed to finish up some work on her column, which was easier done in a quiet home.

He'd nodded understandingly and promised to bring her home a latte from the coffee shop on the square.

Now, half an hour later, she was sitting crosslegged on the couch, her laptop open, trying to run a final grammar check over her piece before sending it in to Elijah.

The man had been so understanding lately, giving her as much time as he could before pushing her deadline, trying to adjust around the craziness that was her life.

She sighed.

Well at least this week's work was nice and wrapped.

One check off her list.

Now she only had to finish getting her letters in order for the following week, reschedule her long over do dentist check up, send off the design for the Thanksgiving flyers that Valentina had drawn up as soon as Halloween ended, get the oil changed on her car at some point that week, and still try to remember to pick up Chris's athletic equipment before the school's practice started for spring baseball.

She stretched, reminding herself to focus on one thing at a time.

Then a phone rang and she couldn't help but groan.

It never seemed to end.

She got up and followed the sound to the vanity by the door, surprised to find that it was Damon's phone making the noise.

He must have forgotten it.

She was tempted to let the voicemail pick it up, but quickly decided that it could be important and she was also just nosy and curious.

So she answered.

"Hello?"

"Um, Damon?" A gruff voice responded.

"No, he's not available at the moment, may I ask who's calling?"

A name hadn't shown on the ID screen, just the number.

"This is Alaric Saltzman, and I really need to speak to Damon."

Alaric?

She ran the name through her mental list, finally remembering when Damon had mentioned him.

Alaric, Damon's friend-slash-boss from the record label.

Oh.

"He should be back soon, I can have him call you then?"

Alaric sighed, "Alright, but please, make it as soon as possible, and be sure to let him know it's a pressing matter."

Pressing matter? That was never good.

"Of course," she swallowed, "As soon as he's home, I'll tell him."

She was caught off guard when the man on the other end chuckled before saying, "Home, huh?"

Her eyebrows pulled together, "Excuse me?"

Another chuckle, "Can I presume I'm finally speaking to Elena Gilbert?"

She blushed slightly, "If I can assume Damon's told you who I am."

Alaric cleared his throat, "He's spoken of you in the past, and he's mentioned your current...situation."

"You mean Christian," she clarified.

"Your son," he confirmed, "Which is actually why I was calling."

A maternal instinct flared at his words, "What does Christian have to do with anything?"

Alaric must have sensed her defensive mood, because his tone was serious when he answered.

"Not Christian exactly, but I was informed this morning that a reporter has caught wind of Damon's whereabouts and is making a special trip to Virginia in search of a story. I don't know about you, but Long Lost Son sounds like quite a headline to me. So for your family's sake, Damon should probably lay low. The guy they sent is like a pit bull on a pant leg. He won't back off until he finds something, and he always does. And since Damon's around you...Well, I thought you could use the heads up."

Elena felt a lump rise in her throat.

Reporters in Mystic Falls...She worked for a magazine, she knew how things worked.

"I appreciate it," she exhaled, "I'll be sure and tell Damon as soon as possible. Thank you, for calling."

"Of course," Alaric stated, "If I hear anything else, I'll be in touch."

"Alright," she agreed, "Thanks."

They got off the phone then and she took a breath.

Media scandals were never simple, and Damon had been in the spotlight before, but she didn't want to freak out prematurely.

This could turn out to be nothing, after all.

She reached for her cell and dialed Christian's number.

Tyler had to admit it, he was officially jealous of Chris.

Damon was awesome!

They had shot crap all afternoon, hanging out, working on Chris's car, Damon showing them the what's what on most of it, and now they were shooting pool, waiting on their dessert.

The grill wasn't usually packed, but it was still pretty crowded and it was taking a while for their after-meal order to show.

Not that any of them minded.

Damon was currently kicking his and Chris's ass, but maybe that shouldn't be surprising.

Though, he found that he was genuinely having a good time.

He had his games and toys at home, but his dad was usually too busy to hang out with him, let alone build him a car.

There was no point when the man could buy anything and everything, or so it seemed.

So today was actually a rare treat.

He wished his family was closer sometimes, but couldn't help but be happy for his friend. Chris had had a weird couple weeks, but at least something good had come of it.

Tyler watched as Damon shot another solid into the hole.

"Man, we suck," Chris complained, and Damon laughed.

"Try to remember that I've got a few years on you," he suggested, before excusing himself, "Keep trying. I'm gonna go check on our pie."

The boys nodded as he walked off.

"Experience or not," Chris started, "I don't think we should be losing this badly. It's sad really."

Tyler laughed, "Just a little. But we could be doing worse."

Chris nodded, lining up his shot, "So uh, you talked to Kol lately?"

The shot went straight and managed to get a striped ball in.

"Not really," he admitted. The guy actually kind of seemed sorry for pulling the stunt he did, but Tyler, and hell Jeremy too, considered April as one of their group, and no way could they just forget what Kol did. It was to wrong.

"He hasn't really tried to talk to any of us either," Tyler added, "I think he's embarrassed."

Chris "hmphed", but didn't comment any further.

Tyler was about to press the matter when a man walked up.

"Excuse me, boys, I was wondering if you could..." his voice trailed off a little as his eyes settled on Chris.

Then he cleared his throat, "Hem, yes, I was curious, was that Damon Salvatore over here, speaking with you a moment ago?"

Tyler looked at Chris, figuring it was his place to respond.

Christian eyed the man, who didn't seem familiar, which was odd, in this town.

"Yeah, it was," Chris answered, "What's it to you?"

He man, who's stiffly combed brown hair and air of entitlement reminded Tyler of his own father, just laughed, "I was merely curious. I've seen a few of his shows, and recently heard he was in town. Performed at the Fall Festival, didn't he?"

Chris's gaze flashed to Tyler's briefly before answering.

"Uh, yeah. There was a last minute cancellation and he stepped in."

"How charitable," the man clipped, "So he's staying in town then?"

"For a bit," Chris answered, "As far as I know."

"Well, I'm just passing through myself," the man commented, "But he's a hard face to miss...speaking of faces," his gaze became focused on Chris again, "Yours bears a striking resemblance to the man...any relation?"

Tyler was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with the situation, and had a feeling Chris was too.

He glanced over his shoulder...where was Damon?

Edward Garrison couldn't believe his luck.

He hadn't been in Mystic Falls for an entire day before fate placed Damon right in his path.

He'd gone to pick up dinner at the only place decent looking in the dot-on-the-map town, just to spot Salvatore playing pool with a couple of teenagers.

Naturally, he'd hung back until opportunity presented itself, and it wasn't long before Damon had walked off.

He figured it would be easier to question the kids for whatever knowledge they had, than to put Damon on the defense so soon before a story could be found.

But, ironically, Garrison was pretty sure the story had just found him.

The taller of the two boys, at a closer view, was Damon Salvatore's spitting image.

But as he inquired to the relation, the boy seemed annoyed, "So what if there is?"

Garrison held his poker face, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I just couldn't help but notice...And I've heard he has family around these parts."

The kid relaxed a little, and shrugged, "It's a small town. Everyone's related to somebody here."

He wondered if the boy was being coy on purpose.

He tried to think of a way to rephrase his question, but a sharp voice interrupted.

"Christian!"

Damon Salvatore stalked over, a pissed look on his face.

Damon couldn't believe it.

He couldn't fucking believe it.

Edward Garrison, the man who was singlehandedly trying to tank his career, was not only in Mystic Falls, but talking to Christian, none the less.

"You and Tyler need to go out to the car," he commanded, stepping between the boys and that fowl man.

Chris was clearly confused by the turn of events.

God, what had Garrison gotten out of him?

"Dad, we just-"

Damon winced, and deservedly so when Garrison's face lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"Dad, huh? Well well, Salvatore, have something to share with the class?" The guy smirked.

Damon cursed under his breath, glancing around to make sure they weren't extracting too much attention.

"Chris," he repeated calmly, "You and Tyler need to go to the car."

"What's wrong," Garrison's eyes trailed to Chris, and back to Damon, "I was just having a nice chat with your boy here. No need for anyone to get worked up."

Damon grit his teeth, squaring his shoulders, "Look, I've had enough of you and your attention hungry tabloid. We've been down this road before, Garrison. Now if you have questions for me, ask me, you snake. Leave my son out of this."

"Alright," Garrison smiled, "if you insist. I have a question for you...How old is your boy?"

Damon practically growled, "I told you, leave him out of this."

"Merely curious," Garrison defended, "Because if he's a teenager...And you're still quite young yourself...my, what a scandal. Come on, Damon, you didn't really think you could keep this quiet did you?"

"What do you want?" Damon demanded, "A pay off? Blackmail, what?"

"I just want my story," Garrison assured him.

"Well find it somewhere else," Damon told him.

"That almost sounded like a threat, Salvatore."

Damon huffed, and Garrison raised a hand, "Come on, Damon, if it's not me, it'll be someone else."

"Funny," Damon chided, "Because you're the only reporter in the biz that seems to have it out for me."

"Out for you?" The man chuckled, "Damon, please. It's just business. You see, my career has been a mostly back burner since our little incident back in July. And my boss is needing a story that's going to pop. You just happen to be what's hot in music right now, and lucky for me, can't seem to shake off all the drama you step in. So forgive me, but I plan on taking advantage."

Damon took a step closer to the man, "My life isn't yours to pick apart. Sorry, but my son is not your story."

Garrison shrugged, "Fine, I can negotiate topics."

"Meaning?" Damon pressed.

Garrison smirked, "Well, I'm assuming the boy has a mother. How is that reunion goi-"

Damon gripped the man's shirt with both hands, his temper flaring.

"Listen to me, you-"

"Ah ah ah," Garrison raised his hands, "Don't want a repeat of our little bar incident, do we Damon? Took months for you to shake that one off."

Damon's eyes narrowed, "It might be worth it."

"Temper, temper," Garrison spat, "But it doesn't matter. Don't you get it, Salvatore? The cat's out of the bag now. You can make whatever threats you want but it won't stop the fact that everyone is going to find out about that boy. And his mother, or whatever bitch you're trying hiding."

Damon didn't have time to respond, before a blunt force knocked Garrison out of his hold.

Christian moved fast for his size, and was on the guy, throwing another punch before Damon's mind caught up to the events unfolding.

"Don't you fucking call her that! You don't talk about my mom like that!" Chris yelled as he pulled back again, but Damon moved now, grabbing the boy.

If they didn't have eyes on them before, they did now.

Most of the Grill had stopped, everyone staring.

"Chris," Damon snapped, dragging the boy back, "Not here. Not here."

Garrison was picking himself up, his smug posture finally gone.

Damon was a little satisfied to see a trickle of blood coming down the man's nose, but still, forced himself to focus on Chris.

"Go to the car, okay. Now. I'll be right behind you."

He could tell the kid was still seeing red, but finally, he nodded, and turned, Tyler following him as they headed for the door.

Damon glanced around the room, then turned back to Garrison.

"We're not doing this here. You need to leave town. I'm not afraid to get legals involved either. And story or no story, you come near my son again, you'll get more than just a threat."

Satisfied, he walked past the man, ready to join Chris in the car, when Garrison grabbed his arm.

"I hope she's worth it, Salvatore. Whatever woman you're covering up...And that brat. I hope they both are."

Damon looked down at the man, pulling his arm away.

"And what would you know of worth, Garrison?"

He didn't wait to hear the man's response.

He had a family to take care of.

Like I said, lol, eventful!

Can't wait to see what you guys think!

And also, where you see this going. I love all suggestions! :)