I went back upstairs to stay with Elena until Bonnie showed up, pacing while I waited. I knew Bonnie would be a wreck, even though it had been years since she and Jeremy had been a 'thing.' But, I needed her there because Elena would need her there. Elena slept fitfully, tossing and turning. A few times, she said Jeremy's name, crushing me each time.

I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Jeremy was gone. None of it made sense. Someone obviously was trying to send a message to me and Elena, but it got lost in translation. I couldn't think of anyone who would be coming after us. Like I said before, it had been so calm. As far as I knew, we hadn't pissed anyone off in years. The sound of the front door opening interrupted my internal monologue. After making sure that Elena was still sleeping, I headed downstairs at human speed, wanting to delay facing Bonnie for as long as possible. It had been less than an hour since I spoke to her, not nearly enough time for her to get her grief under control. Once again, I was grateful that Bonnie had returned to Mystic Falls after college to teach at the high school. She followed in your footsteps, Ric, and became a history teacher. The students adored Bonnie, but knew not to get on her bad side. She would give them one of 'those' looks, you know, the one she would give to me, without the accompanying pain, and they would be all over themselves trying to get back into her good graces.

When I reached the bottom step, I could see that Bonnie was barely holding it together. I just stepped toward her, holding my arms out. After a moment's hesitation, she threw herself at me and sobbed into my shirt. I did the only thing I could do – let her cry. Shocking, isn't it, Ric? Somewhere along the way, Bonnie and I had actually become friends. We could thank Elena for that. She always had a way of bringing people together, even if it was against their will, right? Look at you and me, man. Who would have thought we could ever be friends? God, I miss her. I miss them all.

Enough of that. I told Bonnie everything I knew, which was a big fat nothing. I asked her to go sit with Elena while I started making phone calls. Stefan and Caroline were at the top of the list. I dreaded both of those calls. Once again, I was wishing that I could flip the switch. It would have been so much easier that way.

Stefan answered on the first ring, almost like he was expecting bad news. Maybe he was just surprised to see my name on his caller ID. He must have heard it in my voice, because as soon as I said his name he started questioning me, asking first about Elena and then moving down the list of our family and friends. When he got to Jeremy, I just blurted it out, didn't even try to soften the blow. I just had to get it out. Stefan was so silent. I wondered if the call had dropped. After a minute or two, he finally gathered himself enough to speak, saying he would head home as soon as he could get a flight out of Atlanta. I have to admit to feeling a little relieved when I knew my brother would be there soon.

My call to Caroline went straight to voice mail. I growled in frustration, thinking she was ignoring calls because she was with Klaus. I calmed down enough to leave a message to call me, that it was urgent, that Elena needed her. If nothing else, I knew that would get her attention.

I had a mental list of calls to make, feelers to put out, to try to get a handle on what was going on. Before I lost myself in those calls, I went up to check on Elena, hoping that she was still sleeping. I stopped short at our bedroom door, crushed by the sight before me. Elena had woken up while I was on the phone. She and Bonnie sat on our bed, arms wrapped around each other, sobbing their hearts out. I'm surprised that Bonnie could breathe with the death grip my girl had on her. All I wanted to do was make it better. I couldn't bring Jeremy back, but I could sure as hell find the person who did this and do the same to them. With determination stiffening my spine, I slipped away without saying a word to the girls.

After more than one hundred fifty years as a vampire, I've made my fair share of contacts among the 'community.' You never know when you might need information, like now. So, I started at the top of the list with the oldest vamps I know. Each call was a dead end. No one had heard a thing about Elena or me being targeted, but they would ask around and get back to me. I ended the last call and restrained myself from throwing my phone through the closest wall, sliding it into my pocket instead.

For the first time in hours, I paid attention to my surroundings. It was fully dark out, probably less than twelve hours since the knock on the door, though it felt like days. I made a pass through the kitchen, warming up some blood in mugs for Elena and me before going to relive Bonnie. She had been on Elena duty for far too long and probably needed some time alone with her grief. She gave me a hug before she headed out, saying she would call Matt, Tyler and a few friends from college that she and Elena had kept in touch with. We agreed to hold off on calling Jeremy's roommate. The guy had no clue about Jeremy's supernatural history. How would we explain Jeremy's death to him? It was definitely a problem for another day.

Elena was curled up in a ball on the bed, eyes staring blankly into space. I gently moved her to a sitting position, forcing the mug into her hands, gently tipping it toward her mouth until she had finally emptied it. Taking the mug from her I set in on the nightstand before helping her slide under the covers of our bed. I drained my mug, stripped and slid into bed next to her before she could realize that I had even moved.

Neither of us spoke, as we lay there. She had wrapped herself around me as tight as she could, as if she was afraid of losing me, too. She was so cold, even under our down comforter she shivered. I know we aren't warm creatures, but she had never felt that cold to me. I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, her back, any part of her that I could reach. She had long since run out of tears, but kept sniffling, letting out shuddering breaths, as if she were trying to get herself back under control.

I held her, playing with a lock of her hair as she finally slept, secure in my arms. Twenty-four hours earlier we had been planning her birthday party. I thought of the gift I had planned for her. Hidden away in a drawer, under silk boxers that she would rather I not wear (that's right, my girl likes me to go commando), was a small, blue velvet box. I'm not a packrat like Stefan, but there are some things from my past that are important to me. The contents of that box being one of them. As I thought about the funeral we would have to plan for Jeremy, I wondered if there would ever be a right time to give it to her or if I had missed my chance.

Elena slept on and eventually I did, too. My last coherent thought before surrendering to slumber was to wonder why Stefan hadn't made it home yet.

A/N - Exception to canon #2 - Bonnie never died and was never the anchor for the Other Side. With her grandmother's help, she was able to find another way to bring Jeremy back.

Thanks for continuing to read this story. I haven't finished writing it, but at this time I think it will be somewhere around 12 chapters.

Please, please, please let me know what you thought by leaving a review in the little box below. Reviews feed the muse! ~ craftyjhawk