Once again I must thank Tash, because she encourages me to publish what I write and helps me when I'm stuck. Without her, this story would not be the same.
Rachel xx

Elena felt herself shiver and realized the sun was starting to go down. She had completely lost track of time, again. She couldn't explain how this kept happening when she was with Damon, but she definitely didn't mind.

They had spent their whole afternoon together in the town square just talking and hanging out. Damon was interested in what had happened to some of the other residents of Mystic Falls since he'd left, so Elena filled him in. She told him how Alaric had left town after Stefan's funeral, but came back to visit every now and then, much to Jenna's delight. And she told him how Bonnie had left to go to college in the city where Elena had been shopping. Bonnie always made an effort to email Elena at least twice a week since the funeral, claiming to want to hear all the latest gossip in the town. But Elena knew she was just trying to check up on her without seeming too obvious. She didn't mind though, she missed her best friend. It was hard for Elena to not be close to Bonnie anymore, and Caroline was so busy with baby preparations that they hardly had time to hang out together.
For a little while in the afternoon Elena lay on the soft grass and tried to find pictures in the clouds. She had to stop that game when Damon decided to join in and kept finding inappropriate things in the innocent sky. As funny as she thought it was, she didn't think it would do any good to encourage him.

A chilly wind blew past and Damon now noticed Elena was getting cold. He offered to walk her home as he, of all people, knew how unsafe Mystic Falls could be.

When they reached the house and walked through Elena's front door they were greeted by the smell of burnt cooking. Elena rushed into the kitchen to find Jenna sitting at the table with her head in her hands and Jeremy running a large pot under hot water.

"What happened?" Elena panted. Jenna looked up from the table, incredibly embarrassed.

"I was just trying to cook something nice for you guys. It was a new recipe and everything… I don't know what happened, but something went wrong." She said. Jeremy mouthed the words "Really wrong!" and laughed silently before turning back to the smoking pot.

"That was so nice of you, Jenna. We can just order pizza for dinner, don't worry." Elena said as she walked over and started rubbing Jenna's back.

"Yeah, and I'll pay, as long as you don't mind me staying for dinner?" Damon asked. Jenna looked as though she might cry of happiness. Her hair was sticking out at awkward angles and she was covered in mysterious stains, obviously from her attempted dinner.

"Oh thank you, Damon." She said gratefully. "I'd love for you to stay, that would be wonderful. I don't think that I could handle another attempt at cooking tonight." She added rather sheepishly. Elena walked over to the phone and ordered a couple of pizzas. She figured that Damon wouldn't be eating; he'd make up some lame excuse to please Jeremy and Jenna. Jeremy decided he would go with Damon down to the pizza shop, leaving Jenna and Elena alone.

Elena made a start on cleaning up the kitchen while she had the chance. She tipped out the burnt contents of the pot into the rubbish bin, and then took it over to the sink. She reached down into one of the cupboards and pulled out a scrubbing brush, then began trying to scrape the burnt food of the bottom of the pot. Jenna hovered helplessly behind her.

"Elena, I'm so sorry. I'm such a sad excuse for a caregiver." She said. Elena laughed and turned to look at her.

"You do fine. Next time just don't try to impress the company." Elena giggled. Jenna laughed and began setting the table.

"Speaking of company, what's going on with you and Damon?" Jenna asked, doing her best to keep the tone casual, despite the topic of conversation. Elena stopped scrubbing and braced herself on the sides of the sink.

"I…" She started, but no words came. Jenna abandoned the cutlery and walked over to hug Elena, holding her tightly. She pulled Elena back slightly so she could look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. Stefan would want you to be happy, you know. He wouldn't want you to stay grieving forever." She explained. There was a true honesty in her eyes and Elena couldn't help but look away.

"I know." She confirmed. Elena wanted to end this conversation well before Damon got anywhere near the house, she knew how sensitive his hearing was and this was not something she wanted overheard. Jenna seemed to assess the situation, hugging Elena one last time and then turning back to setting the table. Elena went back to scrubbing the pot, with a little more force than before.