Author's note: Oh boy, it didn't take me as long as I thought it would but still… Yeah, I'm still emotional over the new episode so – I hope you'll like the chapter. It's probably going to be both sad and reassuring to read it in the light of the TV show events. Maybe

And of course, thanks a lot for support, and reviews, and everything. You guys are great! BTW, if and when I add lyrics to the fics, it means that certain scenes were inspired by the songs I mentioned, just so you know!

And one more warning – if you're under 18, you're reading it at your own risk! ;) But you kinda asked for it!


Chapter 13

~ Come feed the rain

'Cause I'm thirsty for your love

Dancing underneath the skies of lust

Poets of the Fall "Carnival Of Rust" ~

It was that very step that threw him over the edge and off the cliff. There was no way back, and all Alaric could hope for was to be caught by the waves instead of crashing on the rocks. But he couldn't keep letting it happen, he couldn't watch her go away over and over again. He couldn't keep screwing up the best thing he had in life by being such a thick-headed moron. He just couldn't.

It took her by surprise – for, like, two seconds, but before Jenna knew, she was kissing him back, her heartbeat going crazy and her stomach fluttering. He tasted like brandy and need, which reflected so well her own Thank God. She felt his hands run through her hair framing her face, and then down her arms and around her body, being probably the only thing that kept her from melting or something, as he pressed her to his chest while she wrapped her arms around his waist underneath his jacket and closed her fists around his cotton shirt. It was like a relief, like Finally. Like I am going to seriously hurt you if you stop any time soon.

"Jenna—"

"I hoped you'd do that," she muttered against his mouth, and smiled because he was smiling, too. It'd been a while and she missed him terribly, missed him so bad that it hurt almost physically. And she was so damn tired of it. She needed it, she needed him.

"Yeah?" Alaric breathed out.

"Yeah."

Jenna completely missed the moment when her jacket somehow ended up lying on the floor – was probably too busy trying to get rid of his. And then she gasped softly when his hand slipped underneath the hem of her shirt and all but scalded her skin, making her blood run boiling hot in her veins. Making her feel like every nerve ending in her body sparkled to life, which practically turned her into an overwrought live wire within split second. It had definitely been too long.

She let him pull her shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor at their feet, too. Lifted her face up to look at him and saw Ric's eyes glinting in the pale light coming from the living room, his pupils so big that his eyes seemed to be almost black, and they were pulling her in, deeper, and deeper, and deeper, until there was nothing else left.

He pushed her hair out of her face and slanted in to catch her lips with his again, and deepened the kiss while Jenna fiddled with the buttons of his shirt with her slightly trembling fingers. God, she never hated any piece of clothing more than she hated this particular one right now. And these buttons… She rolled it over his shoulders and struggled a little with the cuffs until Alaric helped her get rid of the damned thing at last. Pressed her lips to his neck and smiled against his hot skin to the sound of a sharp intake of his breath when her fingers roamed down his chest, and his stomach, and around his waist, her own breath far from being deep and even as well. Felt him tense and her heart fluttered, delighted by the way he was responding to her touch.

Ric kissed his way down from her temple and across her cheek until his finally found her mouth again, stealing and muting soft moan that escaped her, his heart pounding so hard that he could barely hear anything past the rush of blood in his ears and Jenna's heartbeat against his chest. He could feel her pulse as well as if it was synced with his own. Which was a little insane – but a very good kind of insane.

Jenna didn't understand how exactly they ended up in the bedroom – did they even move? If they did, it totally went past her. But then it became obvious when Ric pulled back and lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.

Her hands fell lightly on his shoulders and she pressed her knee into the mattress near his hip when he caught her by the belt loop of her jeans and pulled her close, his eyes locked on hers, as he reached to cup her face with his hand. She was smiling. God, she was smiling, and that smile and the warmth radiating from it was taking his breath away, driving him crazy. She leaned into to touch kissing his palm, his wrist. Alaric buried his fingers in her hair drawing her in, and then brushed his lips against the sensitive spot at the curve of her neck, and then her collarbone, her shoulder, peppering his way with light kisses. He inhaled the scent of her hair, of her skin, of Jenna. Missing her was a huge understatement that apparently was nowhere close to describing what he was actually feeling.

She pressed her hands into his chest forcing him back, and then straddled his hips and bent down to catch his mouth again, her heart pounding heavily against her ribs and her head spinning. Her hair tickled his chest, and absently Jenna noted that Ric reached out to stroke it, loop it around her ear. Breathless, she craned her neck to plant a few small kisses on his chest before Alaric pushed himself up again, his arm hooked around her waist as he held her close against his body. She found his lips again, stealing his breath, and raked her lean fingers through his hair.

It wasn't enough. It was never enough. She was frightened – frightened like never before, and she needed him. She needed to stop thinking about the drama she was living with. And more than anything, she needed him to take it all away from her in the only way she could imagine now and make her feel safe again. Make her feel alive. She needed him to want her, now, always. And for just this time, she needed to be the one.

Soft laughter vibrated through Jenna's body at the low appreciative sound that formed in the back of Alaric's throat. And then her breath hitched when his hand traveled up her back and undid the clasp of her bra. He eased the straps over her shoulders and let it slip carelessly to the floor.

"Ric," she whispered almost soundlessly.

"Sh-h."

He silenced her with another kiss before gathering her in his arms and rolling them over to put Jenna on her back. She gasped against his mouth when her skin touched the much cooler bedspread but he only deepened the touch, making her forget about everything else but the two of them. His hands found hers and he pressed them into the bed above her head, entwining their fingers and holding tight. He freed one of them then, hovering over her, and traced his fingertips down her cheek watching her watch him back with those beautiful blue eyes of hers that turned opaque. He ran his thumb along her lower lip before dipping down for another long, searing kiss.

Jenna let out a small whimper of protest when his lips left hers and his fingers slipped out of her grasp, but then sighed with acceptance when he pressed his mouth to the spot between her breasts and kissed his way down her stomach, slowly as if he wanted to explore every inch of her body, which was oh so good with her.

Alaric was surprised to note faint lingering marks of the bruises on her ribs and arms she still had after the car crash. He ran his hands gently down her sides caressing tender spots before making the same route up with his mouth until he captured her lips again.

She wrapped her arms around his neck holding onto Ric – clinging, really – and arching her back to press herself against his body burning slowly from the inside. The taste of him, the touch of his hands, his breath on her skin – it was too much, and not enough, and yet it was so good and felt so right. Like being lost and then finding her way back home again, as cliché as it sounded. And the heat of his body, the strength radiating from him, tight muscles rolling beneath her fingers – it was all that mattered. He was all that mattered. Like a lifeline to hold on to, like something that was keeping her together and in one piece.

Jenna felt his hand travel down her side and around her back and underneath the waistband of her jeans, and let out a soft sound of encouragement. His touch was somewhat rough against her soft smooth skin, and it sent a wave of shivers down her entire body. She felt his palm rest on her stomach making her catch her breath, and then his fingers reached for the button of her jeans. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't… anything – and wasn't really up to either. She inhaled sharply as if bracing herself and let her mind go blank.

~ Yeah feed the rain

'Cause without your love my life

Ain't nothing but this carnival of rust

Poets of the Fall "Carnival Of Rust" ~


"I didn't plan it," Alaric told her in a low voice. "Just so you know," and maybe with more seriousness than he was feeling, knowing she'd hear theatrical solemnity in it. Couldn't help it.

He was half-sitting propped against the wooden headboard of his bed, holding Jenna against his body, her back pressed to his chest. His arm was hooked around her in that proprietorial way that bore a clear message Mine while his fingers ran lazily along the exposed skin of her arm, from the wrist to the rolled up sleeve of his light-blue button-up shirt she was wearing and back.

"Really?" Jenna asked with fake disbelief, and added thoughtfully, "Because it definitely felt prepared and well-rehearsed."

Ric let out a short laugh, and then pressed his lips to the top of her head. "God, I missed you," he mumbled into her hair eliciting goose-bumps all over her body.

Jenna smiled to herself. "I missed wearing your stuff," she informed him nonchalantly, her lips spreading even wider.

He made a noise that she interpreted as a mixture of snort and chuckle. "Oh yeah?"

"Uh-huh." She arched her head back to give him a long considering look, brows drawn together and eyes narrowed as she studied his face. Alaric bent down and brushed his lips against hers making her smile again. "Well, maybe a couple of other things, too." She admitted if a little reluctantly burying her face into his neck and tickling his skin with her breath and fluttering eyelashes, and then groaned in a defeated voice a moment later, "And now you better take me home."

"No," he stroked her hair. "No way."

"I'm serious, Ric. I have class in the morning."

"Okay, I'll give you a ride."

"I need my books – which are at home."

"We'll stop by," he agreed easily.

"And my car is still at the school parking lot," she reminded him.

"Fine. I'll take you home first to get your books, and then we'll drive to school so that you could pick up your car," he told her. "My point is – in the morning. You're not going anywhere any time soon." Which sounded like he had already made up his mind.

On a soft sigh, Jenna relaxed into him marveling in mellow slumber, not at all up to fighting against something like this. It was just too good. Their breaths synced and her chest was rising and falling in time with his. It felt like floating through the clouds, and she thought distractedly that she could probably stay like this forever. Without thinking, just… just being. She reached for his hand and laced their fingers, feeling him toy absently with her hair. Yeah, she could definitely spend the rest of her life like that.

The room was lit only with a small reading-lamp on the bedside table. It cast a pool of pale yellowish light around them yet plunging the corners into deep shadows, smoothing the edges, blurring the shapes, softening everything. And it was quiet. So quiet she could sense his heartbeat, steady, close. The car passed by the house outside, the stream of headlights flashed through the curtains and brushed along the wall, and then everything was silent again. Still.

"You don't have to babysit me, you know?" She told him. As much as I'd love you to. Looked up again.

"Babysit?" Ric's brows arched. "Is that what they call it now? Last time I checked it had some other name but—" he trailed of when Jenna snorted, obviously attempting to hide the giggle. Ran his hand up and down her arm. "Would you, um—would you like to have something to drink?"

"That would be nice."

"Okay then." She almost regretted her answer when he stirred behind her, breaking her utter and complete contentment. "Let me take care of it."

"Oh, I'll go with you." She waited for him to pull on his jeans, and then followed him to the kitchen. "Ric," called after him. He turned. "I missed you, too." And felt warm all over at the sight of a smile that lit up his face.

And okay, that's a nice view, Jenna admitted to herself as she watched him go through the cupboards, admiring his back, and his broad shoulders, and hard muscles rolling beneath the skin, and his narrow denim-clad hips. Not bad at all. It made her stomach flutter, and her lips curved into a satisfied half-smile on the will of their own. And, oh, it was good to know so well what these arms felt when they are around her body.

"So, I've got wine, scotch, beer…" Ric turned to her after examining the contents of the fridge, and she hoped she managed to wipe that high-school crush expression off of her face before he noticed.

She shook her head. "Uh… just water."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Ric, listen… about John—" Jenna started – blurted – surprising both him and herself and knowing that she probably did the only thing that could have ruined the moment. And yeah, maybe the timing wasn't good – now that she, if fact, was feeling so damn good at last, but then again it was never perfect for something like that. And they really needed to get it over with.

He paused for the barest of moments, but it was long enough for her to notice it and wince and kick herself mentally. But when he turned to her again, his smile was soft and easy enough for the tight feeling in her stomach to loosen a little.

"I don't care, Jenna. Neither about him, nor about whatever happened between the two of you," Alaric told her.

"Well, I figured," she gave him a pointed once-over and then looked meaningfully down herself, her brows quirked up. "But just to make things straight…" Hell, she wished she could avoid it but it was one of these issues that you had to deal with in order to move on. And it was right, perhaps. With the exception that right wasn't always the best. And it sure as hell never was easy. But— "I came for a visit one summer, two years after I left. It was the first time I returned to Mystic Falls since the whole Logan story. But I missed my family and, well, I grew up and cooled down. Or at least I thought so. John was hanging around as well, visiting Gray or… I don't know. I didn't care. He had always been an arrogant jerk, always running around with some secrets and we never got along so I tried to ignore him as best I could most of time.

"So, one night I went to the bar to see some old friends, have a couple of beers. Have fun." Her lips curved into a small sad smile. "Logan was there, flirting with some blonde little thing." She paused and then breathed out slowly. "I had spent two years trying to get over him and all the crap I had to go through when we were together. And just when I started to believe that it was finally working – boom! – there it was all over again.

"Not just about him," she added, "not personally. More about the fact that he didn't seem to merely care. Like nothing happened. Like… he never cared. So… I couldn't leave it like that, of course." Now there was sarcasm but Jenna didn't try to mask it. "Mature grown-up that I was, I needed to show off and prove that I didn't care either. Rub it in his face, you know? But more than anything," her voice dropped a little, "I needed to do something so wrong, and stupid, and disturbing that I'd be too busy despising myself to even remember about the very existence of Logan Fell." She looked up at Alaric for the first time and offered him a half-hearted shrug when she failed to read his expression, her heart thudding somewhere in her stomach. "Which kind of worked, I guess. John was a jerk but he also was Gilbert, which automatically made him a member of that unofficial privileged club, and it was cool. It was like a slap in the face for Logan." Held his gaze. "But that was it, Ric. Nothing but a very big mindless mistake."

And it would be nice if you said something now, before I started freaking out, Jenna thought after a while listening to the buzz of the fridge and ticking of the clock on the wall.

Alaric took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. His insides twisted but he tried not to think about it. Damn it, she might have as well hit him with the baseball bat, and yet it would hardly feel any worse than that.

Oh boy, he was such a jerk! His overwhelming feeling of guilt mixed with deep self-disappointment and settled heavily in his chest. If only he could turn the time back… He should have known better, shouldn't he? He should have known it from the start. It was Jenna, for heaven's sake! He knew her! But no, he preferred to be blind, stupid and narrow-minded idiot instead. And he hurt her. For nothing. After all her support and the time that she gave him to deal with his issues, all he could do was screw it all up. Yeah, buddy, great work!

But… he took a deep breath knowing he was on dangerous ground now. He could either save them or destroy them completely. Yet, if they were spilling the beans, maybe it should work both ways so that they could sort it out somehow and… well, see where it would take them. It felt more like diving into the ice-cold water than like starting a conversation.

"Did you know that John and Isobel were dating?"

Jenna snapped her head up, not sure she heard or understood him correctly. "What?" She blinked. "John? The John? Your wife Isobel?"

"Well, before we got married," Alaric added. "Before we even met, I guess. I found out just recently. By accident."

"No, I—" feel like someone had just punched me. "I had no idea. Speak of narrow world," she breathed out rubbing her forehead, as if it could sooth her restless mind. No, it didn't work. Not that she was expecting it to.

Okay, now her head was spinning. John and Isobel… Felt like the craziest thing she'd ever heard. Maybe she'd need some time to wrap her mind around it. Like, a century or two.

Oh, God, Jenna raked her fingers through her tangled hair as it slowly started sinking in. At least his reaction was more understandable now. It wasn't just about her and another guy. They weren't high-school kids after all, each had a baggage of relationships in the past neither could hold against the other one, which seemed to be okay with both of them. It was about her and John, the very same man his wife was seeing at some period of time. The very same man Jenna happened to have something with, too. Even if it was nothing.

Well, apparently it wasn't nothing to Ric, she told herself bitterly. And… what was he thinking about it, anyway? Was it just a weird coincidence to him? Or a pattern? She couldn't tell, and knew he probably couldn't either if his expression was any indication. But whatever it was, it was twisted. A bit too twisted maybe.

And it was a little too messed up for comfort as well. The whole situation. Like a snowball that was rolling down the hill and growing bigger with each passing moment preparing to hit someone real hard once it reached the bottom and bury them under its mass. And right now she was only seeing Ric and herself standing there and watching it getting closer.

Which made her feel somewhat lost again. On the one hand, it was a relief to know that she was finally seeing the situation through his eyes and could understand him better because his initial reaction was confusing, to say the least. But on the other, she felt stuck. It was out of control. She couldn't go back and undo the past or change anything about it, and that was something that was going to hover in the shadows forever. Okay, not for her maybe. To be honest, she couldn't care less about John and whoever he was involved with over the years. In fact, she didn't mind forgetting about him altogether. He might have as well gone right to hell, and she wouldn't have so much as turned to wave goodbye.

Alaric's take on the whole situation though… Truth was – he cared. That was the difference between them, and that was the problem. Be damned her memory that offered so helpfully the words he had said to Isobel when she happened so conveniently to eavesdrop on them. I loved you, Isobel. I'd do anything for you. Yeah, she was probably doomed to be haunted by the sound of it forever, Jenna thought sourly. Ric took it personally, she guessed, her and John. Well, they couldn't have known, could they? None of them could have seen it coming. She surely didn't remember doing it on purpose to screw up the most important relationship of her life in the future.

And, damn it, if it wasn't for the car accident and the death of her sister and Grayson, she would have never moved back to Mystic Falls in the first place. Not in the nearest twenty years, that she knew for sure. They could have never met – the thought made Jenna swallow uneasily but she fought to keep thinking past it. He could have not made any connection between Isobel and Mystic Falls, could have not moved here either – and in that case none of them would care, ever. And who on earth could say why it was happening at all?

Jenna turned around and made those two steps that separated her from the counter just for the sake of doing something. She felt herself a prisoner now. A prisoner of the situation that she couldn't' change and couldn't do anything about except for trying to find her way between the rocks without sinking. It would also be nice to keep her face while doing it, too. And wasn't her entire life about keeping face anyway?

Okay, she'd deal with her personal drama later. With yet another one, she added darkly in her mind. Right now they were kind of in the middle of something that was probably called "figuring out where they were standing". Shaky ground, thin ice, whatever. It was just too weird.

Jenna bit her lower lip. She'd work it out, one way or another. She just had a bit too much on her mind right now. Too much information to deal with at once. One step at a time, she reminded herself. Slow, cautious, thought-through. Okay then, she took a breath, bracing herself. Just in case he'd want to get out and give it some more thinking, even after they… oh, well.

She turned. Stay cool. "Look—" we can take a step back and take some more time if you want. But he was standing right there, their bodies practically touching – she was probably too lost in thought to notice him approach – and he was watching her with his warm eyes, and the words died on her tongue before Jenna remembered how to speak.

Ric's lips curved into a smile at the sight of confusion on her face. Doubt, wariness – he could see it all. The very same feelings that were coursing through him as well, perhaps. And yes, he had at least a thousand of reasons to keep pushing her away every time something wasn't perfectly smooth between them. Reasons like being hurt or having his life being stomped over once again. It was a reflex, he realized. Something he used to protect himself. It was easy, and convenient. And he'd be even a bigger jerk if he kept doing it to her.

Not to mention that it was pretty stupid to keep hiding in the shell from what was going on between them, he added. And he'd sure as hell spent too much time rejecting her and his own feelings out of some stupid fear for it to be anything but pathetic. To hell with safety, he was tired of it. And her somewhat cautious expression was adorable, reminding him momentarily of what had drawn him to her in the first place. She was genuine. She cared.

"Hey," Ric reached out to brush a strand of hair off of her forehead.

And then he was kissing her, deep, and slow, and like they had all the time in the world. And he was holding her so tight that Jenna was sure she wouldn't be able to draw in a single breath even if she could. But it felt great, and it definitely was enough to make all of her self-doubts disappear, telling her everything that she needed to know. Leave alone the fact that it saved her a long speech that she was half-prepared to give, or receive. Whatever. Instead she draped her arms around his neck and let him make her head spin.

The high-pitched shrill of Alaric's cell phone made him groan in protest as he pulled away unwillingly. "Crap," he muttered breathlessly. It was tempting to ignore it altogether and get back to something a lot more interesting. Yet, the moment was broken already, and it didn't go past him that Jenna tensed a little, so he might have as well tried and found out who'd been so nice to bother him. Not that he didn't know, but… "I've got to take this," he sighed when his phone started the second round and reached for it, his other arm still holding her against his body. "Yes?"

"Update," Damon singsonged into his ear. "They identified the bodies. These two were reported missing last week. Some campers that found no better place to go," he chuckled somewhat mischievously. "And look how it ended."

"Well, at least we know who they are," Alaric noted.

Holding back her own disappointed sigh, Jenna let her arms fall from his neck and wrapped him around his waist instead. She kissed his bare shoulder and then looked up. "Who is it?" Her voice barely a whisper.

"Damon," he mouthed soundlessly and ran his hand up and down her back.

"So this town should have a warning sign some—" Damon cut off. "Hey, what was that?"

"Jenna."

There was a brief pause on the line. "Oh… Ooooh!" Alaric closed his eyes and counted to five in his mind. He could practically see Damon's lips form into a crooked I-know-it-all grin. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Do you think I'd be answering if you were?" Alaric smirked, and Jenna snorted too, catching the general direction of the conversation, which Ric was sure was loud enough for Damon to hear.

"Now that would be kinky," he drawled. "Besides, you didn't pick up the first time—"

"Damon. Focus."

"Kinda hard now," Damon scoffed, obviously pondering pros and cons of going on with his mockery. "Anyway. They didn't find much. It was, apparently, more of a dining place than actual lair. The Sheriff is now on her way to the office to deal with that horrible amount of paperwork I don't want to even imagine. And a couple of her guys are still crouching along the passage hoping to find something. She told them to check every inch of it and I guess they took it literary."

"Well, they better."

"Liz was all up for cementing the whole place but looks like it has some historical value, being the original construction and having something to do with the church and Civil War, blah, blah, blah…" Damon huffed with frustration. "She's going to talk to the Historical and Heritage Societies about it. But for now they plan to put the bars and keep checking it on daily basis."

"That's—that's better than nothing," Alaric breathed out feeling the headache forming behind his eyes. The reality appeared to be as cruel and unappealing as it was when he chose to forget about it for a while a couple of hours ago. And now it was throwing right in his face again.

"It is nothing, Ric," Damon grumbled, annoyed. "We cross three names out of the list of missing people but we're not a step closer."

Okay, he had a point there, and Ric sighed subtly when it sunk in. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on Jenna. They weren't any closer than before, not a little, and it seriously bothered him on more than once level. She was in danger, and it was killing him, but he could do nothing – and it was killing him even more.

"Yeah," he mumbled, not as eager to agree as to fill the silence. "Thanks for calling, Damon."

"Anytime. You like middle of the night calls, I'll put you on my list just for the hell of it."

"Don't you dare—"

"Oh, you'd like it," he assured Alaric. "You never told me how you found this place, by the way. And don't tell me it happened by chance. Even I didn't know there was some tunnel. There was no way you'd just…."

"It's a long story."

"I'm not in a hurry."

"You never are," Ric scoffed.

"Oh, and you have a pretty girl out there."

"Yeah, thanks for remembering it."

There was a heavy exasperated sigh on the other end of the line. "Fine, but you owe me this. Have a good night, Ric," Damon said somewhat cheerfully, and then added in a whoosh of breath, "And it would make one of us."

"Good night, Damon."

"What is it?" Jenna asked as soon as he hung up. Tried to keep her voice level, even mildly curious, but the worry slipped anyway. There wasn't much to pick up from Ric's part of the conversation and her mind was just too hazy to try and eavesdrop on what Damon was saying. Yet, night calls never promised anything good, and that knot in her stomach was a bit too tight for comfort.

Alaric put the phone away and sighed. "Nothing," he shook his head and filled her in briefly.

It didn't help much but at least she was in the loop.

When he finished, she nodded slowly. "There was someone else, Ric," she murmured. "When I was there, there was someone else, I'm sure." Squeezed her eyes tight fighting to see the images that lurked in the back of her mind hiding in the shadows, but every time she was close enough, they slipped away. "Damn, I wish I could remember!" Jenna grunted with frustration. It was better that way though. Annoyance felt more comfortable than panic. She still hated it but it was a little less disturbing. "It's like black spot in my mind and I can't see anything past it. But… there should have been someone, right?"

Yeah, and there probably was. "Don't think about it now," Ric kissed the top of her head. They had enough of this for one night. "Come on, let's go back to bed."

And, boy, it sounded good, she had to admit. "But we—we don't have to sleep, right?" Jenna asked lifting her head up again and feeling her lips stretch into a contemplative grin. Her gaze lingered meaningfully on his lips, and she knew it didn't go past him. Couldn't have.

Alaric looked down, one brow cocked, then reached to loop her hair around her ears holding her face up, his eyes narrowed with mock suspicion. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, I don't know." She rose on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth first before brushing her lips against his. "But I guess we can think something out."


She was cute and bubbly, and utterly boring, but Damon decided that he liked having her around as a background noise. Some college student visiting her parents in Mystic Falls and bored as hell. He was feeling for her, kinda. As long as it was okay to just sit in the bar, sip his bourbon, smile and nod occasionally as though he was actually following the conversation. Namely, as long as she didn't want him to actually participate in it, whatever it was about. To be completely honest, he lost track of it an hour ago, about two minutes after it started. He knew that she didn't care either – a couple of martinis did their job and now she was grateful to simply have a couple of ears, even if they weren't really listening.

He turned to study her thoughtfully. Long dark hair, delicious mole in the corner of full mouth, deep chocolate eyes clouded slightly by alcohol. For a moment or two he contemplated finally having fresh meal instead of his usual pre-packed O-negative from the blood bank warmed in the microwave. Weird as it was, Damon couldn't help thinking of it as a frozen dinner compared to exquisite cuisine offered by a five-star restaurant. Be damned Elena Gilbert and her little voice buzzing in his head and telling him that it was so damn wrong to have a healthy diet. He was vampire, for heaven's sake, not some serial killer! He needed blood to live, not because he liked killing! Not that he didn't like it, but…

And speak of the devil… Damon snorted humorlessly under his breath when he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. He could damn well feel her walk into the Grill and it was… it was freaking annoying! As if he was attuning to her every bloody time she was around. Not only was it not cool, it was pretty much pitiful.

Deliberately, he turned away and stared at the wall stacked with the bottles on the other side of the counter. His babbling companion didn't seem to merely notice lack of interest on his side, so he just carried on with the plan – even though her appearance made him lose his appetite. But Elena didn't even look his way – yeah, he could feel it, too. Instead, she headed straight to her blonde Miss Mystic friend and her busboy boyfriend hanging out at the pool table, and Damon didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

It irked him for at least a hundred of reasons that she didn't so much as notice him when he had no problem with it, ha-ha. But if she did, and if she came up to say hi, he'd probably offer her a couple of snarky comments, bundle of joy that he was, and make things even worse because he probably loved Elena just as much as he hated her for the way she was making him feel. He didn't know what to do with it, and it sucked.

No-win situation.

"So, what do you think?" He heard all of a sudden when his mind jumped back to here and now.

Damon turned, a part of him surprised to find the girl still sitting on the next stool. He totally forgot about her and now he couldn't help but wince at the fact that she wasn't just… gone, or something.

Well, whatever she was talking about, he wasn't interested, not even close. Besides, she started to annoy him. So, he gave her a fleeting smile, and then caught her eyes and pulled her mind into the bubble of compulsion where he was the center of her entire universe, and she was happy with it, or at least content enough.

"Why don't you go home now?" Damon said in a low soothing voice leaning a bit closer and waited for the offer to sink in and settle in her head.

The girl hesitated briefly as if his offer was in conflict with what she had on her mind before, but then her body relaxed, her smile widened and became a little goofy.

"Okay!"

She slid off the stool forgetting about her half-finished drink on the counter and strolled to the exit if a little unsteadily leaving Damon alone and finally at peace with his own restless thoughts. Having her around was a little too tiring in any case.

"What the hell did you tell her?" Alaric asked walking up to the vampire, his eyes following the girl that maneuvered her way through the crowd before he turned to Damon again.

"Whatever it was, she should be grateful I didn't tell her to do everyone a favor and go and drown herself," Damon grumbled around another sip of his drink.

"You're losing your grip," Ric chuckled.

"I'm losing my bloody reputation. And self-respect."

"Well, I'd say you're holding on pretty well," Alaric noted, observing sulky vampire.

Damon scolded him not buying humorless tone. "What are you doing here anyway, Ric? Don't you have papers to grade? Or football players to coach? Or, I don't know, something else that makes your life so damn exciting."

The comment made Ric smirk. "I'm meeting Jenna for dinner here."

The vampire's lips twitched. "So," he drawled lazily, "you're good again?".

Better than good. "Yeah, I guess so." He shrugged. "What are you doing here? I mean wallowing is great but…" it's getting old, he wanted to add but decided not to.

"Listening," Damon replied mildly finishing his drink and ordered another one with a wave of his hand. "You never know what you can pick from the conversations in the bar," he added with the expression of a man who knew what he was talking about.

His eyes flickered meaningfully toward his drink when it arrived and then back to Alaric in silent question but Ric only shook his head.

"Has there been any news?" He asked in a low voice.

"I wouldn't call it news but—"

"What?"

"These campers, the girl was stabbed."

Alaric frowned. "Why didn't you—"

"They didn't examine them properly in that cave last night," Damon explained. "So they didn't notice. But the sure did it later. Drained of blood – yes, but she also had a butcher's knife wound in her stomach."

"Which means—?"

"How the hell would I know?" Damon rolled his eyes. "You asked about the news, that's all I've got."

"Here you are," Jenna appeared beside them and slipped her arm around Ric's waist cutting them both off.

"Hey," he turned, his voice and smile warming and softening by the second, and bent down to kiss her.

"Damon," she turned to the vampire.

"Jenna," he saluted at her with his glass, his lips forming into a poor imitation of a crooked smile.

"What are you guys up to?" She shifted her eyes from one to another, her voice light.

"Nothing," Alaric shrugged matter-of-factly. "I just came to say hello." He turned to Damon. "Would you like—" to join us?

"Oh, get out of my sight," Damon waved them off, huffing, before Ric had chance to finish, but rather good-naturedly for a change.

"What's wrong with him?" Jenna asked as they were making their way to one of the free tables and threw a quick curious look at Damon's leather jacketed back over her shoulder.

"Bad day, I guess," Ric responded if a little distractedly, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. "How was yours?"

"I was late," she looked meaningfully at him before lowering herself down on the chair that he held for her.

Alaric's brows quirked up as he took his own seat. "And they what, put you in detention?" Which did sound a little amusing, if only because he knew that back in the day she was the rebellious detention type.

She regarded him over the laminated menu in her hands, then put it down and slanted forward propping her forearms on the table. "Three words," her voice dropped conspiratorially. "You. Shower. Trouble. We're not doing it again." Paused and added, breaking into a smile, "On busy mornings." And felt deep satisfaction at the sight of the grin that spread across his face.

Alaric snickered softly, replaying certain details in his mind. He locked his eyes on hers then and held her gaze, studying her features. It didn't take much to notice the circles under her eyes and her overall tiredness, even though Jenna obviously fought to ignore it. Explicable, he knew it. But it didn't mean he was okay with it.

"How are you?" He asked when they placed their orders – iced tea and two burgers.

"Fine," she sagged against the back of her chair and raked her fingers through her hair. "I guess."

"They didn't actually put you in detention, did they?"

She laughed. "No, but they were close." Paused. "So, what were you and Damon talking about?"

And then her eyebrows shot up quizzically referring to his own uncertainty and edginess, which weren't easy to hide. His chances of wiggling out of answering were slim to none.

"The girl that they found last night in that tunnel… she was stabbed."

Jenna's eyes grew wide. "Oh God," she breathed out soundlessly.

"Yeah, I know," Ric shook his head. "Doesn't make much sense, and it's… unexpected," he admitted. "Different."

Maybe she fought, he thought. Maybe she tried to run away, or something. Maybe it was just an accident and it wasn't meant to happen. Or maybe she tried to defend herself and was forced to hurt herself instead. It was still tragic though, and he definitely could understand the willingness of the authorities to keep it open to avoid unnecessary speculations. They couldn't have kept feeding everyone the animal attack crap when a stab was involved. And to be honest, it was, in fact, easier to sell the accidental injure than animal attack story anyway.

"No, it's… it's not that." Jenna took the menu again, if only to do something with her hands, and started fiddling with it in her fingers.

He didn't like her voice. "What is it?" Alaric asked warily.

She hesitated, as if searching for the words. Dropped her gaze down to avoid his scrutiny, put the menu away and let her finger trace absently the curves and cracks in the wooden surface of the table. "On one of the nights when I woke up from this thing, you know, when I walk in my sleep, I was downstairs, in the kitchen, with the knife in my hand."

Chill trickled down his spine. "When?"

"A couple of weeks ago," Jenna heaved a sigh and stared sightlessly before herself.

Ric relaxed a little. "Look, they didn't find any knife there."

"I could have taken it with me," she pointed out.

"You didn't have any knife when you showed up at my place, I would've noticed it."

"What if I threw it away?" There was such desperation and helplessness to her voice that his heart fell.

"Jenna, stop it." Okay, he didn't sound much better, searching for words but finding none. "Are any of your knives missing?" He asked trying to keep it light because it was obvious that she was a step away from seriously freaking out.

"Well, not that I'm aware of but—"

"Good. Your mother's silver set would never forgive you," he informed her.

"It's not a joke, Ric," she told him with reproach although he was relieved to notice that she put an effort into keeping her face straight, the corners of her mouth did tag up a little. She paused when their drinks arrived. "I have no control of it when I black out. What if I…"

"You didn't," he cut her off firmly. "Someone is screwing with your mind." And the anger that was ringing in his voice that very moment referred to the fact that he couldn't put his hand on whoever was doing it. "Please, don't let them do it. Just—just don't."

Ric reached out to take her hand and linked their fingers. And then his grip flexed when his gaze shifter over her shoulder and his face hardened.

Curious, Jenna looked back just in time to see John waving at someone in the depth of the bar. Thankfully, he either didn't notice them, or preferred to ignore them because he disappeared in the crowd without so much as a look in their direction.

"Behave," she warned Ric turning back, his murderous expression making her anxiety disappear. Well, almost.

"I hate him," he muttered darkly, obviously trying to knock John down with the power of his mind, and then let out a frustrated sigh.

"Well, join the club," Jenna scoffed. "But murder is still illegal as far as I'm concerned."

"I don't want him anywhere near you," he added stubbornly, even though his voice dropped a little as his thumb stroked the back of her hand.

"So, you're a jealous type after all," she smiled propping her chin on her hand and watching him slide into embarrassment, pleased by the fact that he didn't object. "Give me some time to figure out how I feel about it."

"I just don't like having him around." He did sound a little defensive this time.

"Please, tell me you're not going to do something stupid," Jenna shook her head.

"Well, not that you've mentioned it—" he started.

"Ric."

He chuckled. "Hey, I have an idea. Let's do something… distracting." He let go of her hand when their food was placed on the table. "We could rent some videos, or… Let's go somewhere, get out of town. I could take a couple of days off, or we could do it on the weekend." God knew they both could use a break. "Just you and me. What'd you say?"

Oh, now that sounded good! Just the two of them and no one else, and maybe – maybe – she'd finally be able to take her mind off of all that crap at least for a little while, Jenna thought. She needed it so damn much. Just to lose herself in him and forget about the rest of the world.

"That—that sounds great," she smiled

Good, he thought. Maybe it was running away from the problems instead of solving them. But to hell with connotations. It hurt him to see her like that, fighting so hard to keep herself together, always on the verge, bouncing between understandable fear and her usual easiness she worked hard on maintaining. Besides, that shower thing in the morning was nice, he certainly didn't mind having more of it. They definitely could use some time alone.

Ric reach out to touch her hair, tuck it behind her ear. "Okay."

And then… then something weird happened. Something wrong. He didn't knew what or why but one moment he was planning to sneak Jenna away and have her all for himself for a while since they barely had any time for themselves without some drama stomping in with the grace of drunken elephant into it, and the next – his skin was crawling with inexplicable anxiety and that bad kind of anticipation that never meant anything good. Had it sounded less lame, he'd say he was feeling the trouble coming.

"Ric?" Jenna called, sensing change in him.

Alaric looked around the bar scanning the crowd, trying to see if something was out of place, his eyes narrowed slightly. Nothing seemed to be out of order at first sight. People were chatting, eating, drinking and playing pool, the sound of the balls scattering around the tables and hitting each other was often followed by some comments of criticism or approval and laughter. But it was only then that Alaric noticed that Damon was gone, his stool by the bar counter empty.

He frowned. He would have noticed, right? If Damon decided to leave the bar, he would have walked past them. So where the hell did he go?

"Ric, what is it?" Jenna's fingers brushed along his hand as she looked around too, shifting a little closer to him.

Nothing, he wanted to say, but then he spotted a familiar black leather jacket as its owner moved subtly towards the back door near the kitchen, and the word died on his tongue. A little too subtly, Ric noted with growing suspicion. Okay, what was he up to now?

"Give me a second," he muttered distractedly, getting up.

"What's going on?" Jenna frowned, her voice confused.

"I'll be right back," Alaric offered her a small reassuring smile. "Just wait here, okay? I'll be back in a minute."

Back door, he repeated in his mind strolling towards it between the tables. Why the hell would Damon sneak out of the back door?

"Trouble?" The familiar voice set Jenna's teeth on edge. She didn't notice him sneak up on her and it was irritating.

"Not until you showed up." She shot back, glaring daggers at John.

"Just asking," he shrugged, his gaze followed the direction in which Alaric disappeared half a minute ago.

"Get lost, John," she offered fighting to hold growing frustration at bay and pretended being overly interested in menu again, intentionally keeping her eyes on bright colorful pages.

"You're making a nice team, with his vampire wife running around and wanting him back."

"Are you sure you want to talk to me when I have a fork in my hand?" Jenna wondered in a nonchalant voice that was dangerously calm.

"We didn't finish our conversation before," John pressed on.

"Maybe," Jenna looked up again. "But we surely said enough."


That cocktail was probably too much. Just like the other two before it. But she didn't notice how it happened, really. If she could just only find the cab now—

But the world was spinning a little making it hard to concentrate on one thought for more than a few seconds, which was kind of funny but also a little… distracting. She reached out to try and maintain her balance in the carousel of a situation and leaned against the rough brick wall.

"Hey, you okay there?" She heard from behind and started to turn.


When Alaric swung the door open and all but burst out and into the narrow alley that ran between the Grill and the antique shop which basically stood on the parallel street, he saw Damon crouch beside a light-haired girl that was sitting on the pavement with her back leaned against the brick wall. She was pressing a mass of a silk scarf to the side of her neck and staring at Damon with wide unblinking eyes while he stared back at her, his hand lying on her shoulder. Ric saw his lips moving, or so it seemed to him in a very dim light coming from the bare bulb hanging above the door, but it was impossible to hear a word from where he was standing.

"What's going on? What happened?" He approached them in brisk pace, his breath puffing out in small clouds and the sound of his footsteps echoing in the still air.

Damon lifted his head up. "I thought I heard something," he grimaced and then pushed himself up to his feel as the girl continued to watch him with glassy eyes, although Ric failed to guess if it was compulsion or something else. Like alcohol, assuming where they were. "Spooked her."

Alaric's ears perked. "Her?"

"It was a woman," Damon winced again. "Must've heard me coming because she was prepared to flee. And she did it fast, I barely got a glimpse of her." He looked down the alley with obvious annoyance. Turned to Ric then. "Tall, dark hair."

Alaric froze as chill ran down his spine, his frown deepened. "You think it was Isobel?"

"I don't think anything, I'm just telling you what I saw."

Ric swallowed trying not to go into the whole Didn't you know from the start thing, his gaze darted down. "How is she?"

Damon gave the girl a long speculative look. "She'll be fine, a little dizzy from the blood loss and severely hung-over in the morning. And maybe it'd teach her to stay away from places like that in the future."

Alaric looked up and down the alley, too. "But… why? I mean it's a weird place and…" he trailed off.

"Well. Maybe because of these chicken burgers or live music," Damon shrugged and nodded towards the door that led to the Grill. "Or because you and your girlfriend are so conveniently hanging out here tonight."

In struck Ric. "Jenna," he breathed out. Is fine, he told himself, probably browsing through the selection of desserts on the menu in a very crowded and very safe bar waiting for him. He pushed his worry and panic away because it was rapidly turning into paranoia. Not that it was completely uncalled-for, small evil voice inside of his head reminded him but he brushed it off as well. She was only a couple of walls and few feet away whereas someone else nearly got eaten not ten minutes ago. He looked over his shoulder and then back at Damon. "What now?"

The vampire studied the girl once again. "I'm going to call Liz, and she," he poked down, "might need some ER help with the bleeding but I'm going to make it the Sheriff's problem."

"You sure she's going to be alright?" Ric asked once again, a bit skeptical. The scarf, once light-yellow, was soaked with blood now.

"Yeah," Damon fished his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans, scrolled down the phone book and hit the dial button. "And you better get out of here if you don't want to be a part of the rescue party. And… if I were you, I'd probably pay a social visit to your ex. Just saying."

"Yeah, I—I better go," he echoed distractedly, ignoring the last part of Damon's comment. "I'll take Jenna home and call you later."

On the last partying look, Alaric pulled the door open and slipped back into the staff corridor, momentarily washed over by the smell of fries, coffee and grilling burgers. He wasn't supposed to be here – none who wasn't a staff member was – but it was evening rush hour, so no one paid any attention. Everyone was too busy with the orders. He snaked between the hurrying waitresses and then stopped short, terrified, the moment he stepped into the common area.

The table where he left Jenna a few minutes ago was empty.

To be continued…


Thanks for reading! There's not much left, so… reviews and comments are always appreciated! I love them :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!