It was a week before Elena's twenty-fifth birthday. Caroline and I had planned a huge party to celebrate the night before the actual day. It was also going to serve as our farewell to Mystic Falls. Our eternal youthfulness hadn't escaped notice, so it was time to move on.

In the weeks leading up to the party, Elena and I were busy packing what we wanted to take with us and prepping the house to be closed up for an extended time. We had been the only two in residence for a while. Stefan still used the boarding house as his home base, but he had spent much of the past five years traveling. He still hadn't met 'the one,' but Elena and I hoped that he would.

Jeremy had graduated from high school, a cause for great celebration. I'm still not sure that Elena didn't compel a passing grade or twenty for him. However it happened, he did it. Not only did he graduate, but he was accepted at Rhode Island School of Design. The kid and his talent flourished there. After graduation from RISD, he found his dream job, illustrating graphic novels. He and the writer he was working with became great friends and got an apartment together in New York City. He finally had the normal life he always wanted. I know how much you wanted that for him, Ric. I wish you had been around to see it.

Stefan and Jeremy were due in town a few days before the party, but Elena and I were trying to get as much done as we could before they arrived. They'd each have to go through their own stuff to see if there was anything they wanted to take, but we wanted to be free to spend as much time as possible with our brothers before we left for Europe.

Yep, Elena and I were headed to Europe. We planned to travel as much or as little as we wanted. If we found a place where we wanted to settle down for a while, we would. If we didn't, maybe we'd try looking on another continent. We had no concrete plans, had no need for them, as long as we were together.

That day, the day that the world tilted on in axis, I spent the morning in the library. Choosing which books to take was always difficult for me. I had too many favorites that I would read over and over again. Just when I thought I had narrowed the list to a manageable one, I would think of another two or three that just had to go with us. I'd have to start the process all over again. I heard Elena in our bedroom, on the phone with Caroline, and decided to grab Gone with the Wind from the nightstand while I was thinking about it. It was one book that I always took with me. I didn't want to risk leaving it behind.

Elena acknowledged my entrance with a smile and a quick peck on my cheek. As she turned her attention back to her phone call, she rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust. That was enough to catch my interest, so I unashamedly listened in.

"Elena, I promise I will be there a few days before the party, but I need to go to New Orleans first. I've delegated all important tasks to my assistants. I'm heading to the airport in ten minutes. I'll be in Mystic Falls in four days, five tops."

After the girls graduated from Whitmore, Caroline headed to New York City. Her high school dreams of broadcast journalism long forgotten, she opened her own party planning business. Her clients booked her services at least a year in advance. A Caroline Forbes party was the 'thing' among the New York City society and celebs. When she wasn't in New York or visiting us in Mystic Falls, she could be found in New Orleans. For reasons that still escape comprehension, Klaus had only to call and she would drop everything to see him. No one in our cobbled-together family approved of the time Caroline spent with Klaus, but we couldn't crush her happiness. She was always there for the rest of us. Hell, she had even come around on the subject of me and Elena. We owed it to her to support her choices, even if they were idiotic.

"Caroline, I know you will be here in time for the party. I just don't know why, this one time, you can't put your friends ahead of him. At this rate, you'll get here at the same time as Stefan and Jeremy. I want to spend some girl time with just you and Bonnie. I don't think it's going to happen now."

"Elena, I'm sorry. You know I am. Klaus needs me. He wouldn't tell me what's wrong, but I could tell he was really upset."

"Or maybe, Caroline, he's just using your tender heart to get exactly what he wants."

"Elena, I don't have time for this. I will see you in a few days. Tell Damon I said 'hi.'"

Elena looked at me, shocked. "She hung up on me. Caroline Forbes hung up on me!"

I tried not to laugh as I walked toward her. "Look, it's Caroline. It's not the first time. Won't be the last. On the bright side, now you can pay attention to me."

Just as I scooped her up in my arms, preparing to toss her onto the bed, I heard a knock on the front door. Before I could tell her to just ignore it, she squirmed out of my arms and dashed downstairs. I listened, wondering who had bothered knocking instead of walking right in, like all of our friends tend to do.

The scream that I heard from Elena still haunts my nightmares. I was down the stairs in a blur, ready to kill whomever had caused my girl to scream like that.

I stopped in the foyer to determine where the threat was coming from. There I saw sunlight streaming in the open front door, almost creating a halo effect around Elena, where she was kneeling on the hardwood floor. She looked so beautiful with that light all around her, Ric, so beautiful. My heart clenched with fear when I realized she was hugging herself, rocking back and forth, crying hysterically. On the floor, just in front of her, was an open box. I sped over to her, wrapped my arms around her, trying to get her to calm down enough to tell me what was wrong. She couldn't. I'm not sure she knew I was even there.

Man, you didn't see her when Jeremy died on the island. Well, maybe you did on the Other Side, but you weren't with us. This was so much worse. So much.

I looked over my shoulder in the box and immediately wished I hadn't. I thought I was going to puke. Don't remember the last time that happened. What I saw had me yanking my phone from my back pocket and dialing one number over and over again. Every time it went to voice mail. Another look in the box and I had to shut down my denial. I had to help Elena.

Last time I saw Elena like this, I told her to shut off her emotions. This time, I sat with her, wrapped around her as much as I could possibly be, begging her to keep them on, to stay with me. I barely got her back last time. I knew I would lose her for good if she shut them off now.

Eventually, she cried herself out and fell asleep in my arms. I carried her up to our room and tucked her into bed. Only when I knew that she hadn't woken up during the move did I focus on what needed to be done. Phone in my hand, I dialed Bonnie's number as I walked back down the stairs to take a closer look at the contents of the box. Elena would need Bonnie when she woke up. I needed to find out who was responsible and make them pay.

The call with Bonnie over, I couldn't delay what I knew I needed to do. Even though I had begged Elena not to flip her switch, I was so tempted to flip mine. I walked to where the box still sat on the foyer floor and picked it up. I hadn't made a mistake earlier. In the box was a human heart. Sitting on top of the heart was Jeremy's Gilbert ring.

A/N - Here is one of those exceptions to canon. Matt was never given the Gilbert ring to keep. Once Jeremy came back from the Other Side, the ring went back to him.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please feed LMM (Little Miss Muse) by leaving a review in the little box below. Thanks again! ~ craftyjhawk