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The one you lost…

Elena liked mornings about as much as vampires liked sunlight: not very much. Even though she wasn't plagued with more dreams after falling back asleep, her late night escapade was leaving her feeling tired, drained and grumpy. The prospect of meeting Stefan's family in the next few hours hanging over her head was not much help either. Neither did the two flight delays due to bad weather in Richmond, Virginia- where they happened to be landing. She wriggled her butt around in the hard airport seat in vain hopes of finding a more comfortable position. No such luck.

She sighed.

Stefan laughed and quickly tried to cover it with a cough. She turned and glared at him, and he cleared his throat, trying not to smile. He held up his hands like she was pointing a gun at his chest. "I'm sorry," he said, not looking very sorry at all, "but you're just too..."

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Too what?" she asked, her tone accusing.

He didn't answer. Just continued to hold up his hands, his smile growing into a grin. She decided two could play at that game. She turned in her seat, her back facing him and put on a pouty face. If he wasn't going to answer her, she wasn't going to talk to him. Sure, it was childish, but she didn't really feel like herself right now.

"Aww, are you ignoring me?" Stefan asked, sounding amused.

She didn't answer.

"Elena," he said, in a sing-song voice. When she didn't answer, he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her over her seat and into his lap. She let out a surprised noise and bit down on her lip to keep from smiling.

"If you keep ignoring me, I'm going to leave you all alone with my family," he warned.

She contemplated her options. Ignore him, feel victorious for a few minutes and suffer through his family all alone, or lose and have him for the next week and a half. It wasn't a hard decision. "Fine," she said, turning to face him. By the victorious smile on his face, it was obvious he knew this was going to happen. "You win."

He nodded and pecked her quickly on the lips. His face grew more serious- his usual expression. The joking was really unlike him; he was the more broody, serious type. He always told her she was the only one that brought out the more fun side of him. Imagine that. "I swear my families going to love you," he said seriously. "You don't need to worry about them."

Her stomach did a nervous little flip flop. "It's just-" It was hard for her to keep what she was feeling from him; she almost always found herself pouring out her feelings to him. "-I've never had to do this before," she explained. "The whole 'meet the family.'"

He nodded understandingly. "I know." And he did know, but she still felt the need to explain to him. "The only serious boyfriend I've ever had, I knew him my entire life. His mom used to baby sit me. It wasn't like I was just some strange girl her son started dating. I've never had to prove myself worthy of dating someone."

His face became more serious than before. "I promise, Elena," he said, "you won't have to. They will love you."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not. I'm saying it because it's true. You are the most kind, smart, caring, beautiful and frustrating woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. They'll see that."

Half way through, she was blushing. She gave him the smallest of smiles and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She curled up her legs and wriggled herself around in his lap until she was in a comfortable position.. "Tell me about them," she said.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything," she said. "What they're like, their personalities, everything."

"I guess I'll start with Rose. She's the simplest out of all three of them," he said. "She is one of the sweetest, caring people you'll ever meet. She hates it when people are fighting and that' how she became the peacekeeper in the house. Whenever we were arguing, she would swoop in and fix things, at least for a few hours. She has this way about her that makes people want to be around her."

Elena snuggled deeper into his chest and smiled. "She sounds great."

"Oh, she is," Stefan said. "She's also very, very smart and knows what she wants. That's why my dad isn't freaking out about her getting married so young."

"Nineteen is pretty young to get married," she said, frowning. "She's sure she loves this boy enough to marry him?"

Stefan chuckled. "She and Trevor have been together forever. By the time they were five, we knew they would get married someday. They just… work."

"Do you like him?" she asked.

He made a noise that could have been taken as a yes or no. "As much as I can knowing what he does to my little sister when no one's around," he grumbled.

She laughed. It felt like the first genuine laugh she'd laughed in the last week. "What about your dad? What's he like?"

"He's… a good father," he said. "He has his faults, but overall, he is a good father."

Elena craned her neck, looking up at him. "It sounds like you're trying to convince both of us."

He sighed and ran a hand over his eyes. "Father is… he's…"

"Complicated?" she volunteered.

"Complicated. That works." He sighed. "After my mom died when I was eight, he threw himself into his work. More so than before. There would be times when I went almost two days without seeing him."

Elena felt a familiar pang in her heart- the one she always felt when Stefan talked about his mother. Years and years later she still could see how much it hurt Stefan to talk about her. It just proved that no matter how much time passed, no matter how much you think the wound had healed, all it took was one little poke to make it hurt all over again.

"And even before she died, he wasn't the toss the football in the backyard kind of father. I think when she died, a little piece of him died too," he explained. "Now, I understand why he more or less checked out of his role as a father, but back then I didn't. As time went on, it got better, but he was never the same. He took care of us, made sure we had everything we needed and wanted, but he wasn't one hundred percent there."

"It must have been rough growing up like that," she said.

He shrugged. "Sometimes, but we turned out mostly okay."

She smiled. "Mostly? Are you not telling me something?"

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. "And that brings us to Damon."

Ah, how she would never forget the shock she had felt when he'd said his brother's name was Damon. Back then, it had been something very close to a slap in the face. Now, it was just an almost funny coincidence. "You don't talk about him that much," she commented.

"If my father is complicated, my big brother is impossible."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah. Damon is… Damon. I'm not sure how else to explain it. He's hard headed, stubborn, egotistical and very, very free spirited. He doesn't like being told what to do, which is why he and Father never got along. Damon had no interest in taking over the law firm, and Father had no tolerance for that. Damon was the eldest son; therefore, it was his responsibility to take it over."

"Did they ever get along?" Elena asked curiously.

"Yes and no," he said. "They butted heads when Mother was still alive, but it wasn't nearly like what it was after she died. They couldn't be in the same room without arguing about something after. For years and years, they did nothing but fight, and when Damon turned eighteen, he was gone."

"Gone? Just gone?"

"Yes. I had no idea where he was. He called and texted, but he never told me where he was. I think he didn't want Father to find out."

"What about now?" She couldn't imagine going so long without talking to Jeremy or Aunt Jenna.

"He lives somewhere out in Arizona I think," Stefan said. "We talk every once in awhile, but it's all very basic. As far as I know, he hasn't been home since Rose got into a car accident about two years back and broke her leg. He's always been very close with Rose, and he jumped on the first flight he could when he found out she was hurt."

"Why do you think he's so close with Rose?"

"Rose is very, very much like our mother. Damon was always so close to our mother."

"I'm sure everything will work itself out," she said because what else was she suppose to say?

"I hope so."

"Flight 106 to Richmond, Virginia. Now boarding at Gate 7." The loud intercom jolted Elena out of their little bubble and forced her back into reality. She was about to finally meet these people.

"Ready?" Stefan asked.

"Ready."

"God Damon, if you go any faster, we're going to get a ticket."

Damon Salvatore glanced at his best friend Alaric Saltzman, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Damon's blue '67 Chevrolet Camaro with a pissed off expression. They were currently driving down the highway going fifty-five miles an hour, even thought the speed limit was sixty-five. Just to be an ass, Damon dropped the speed down to fifty and Alaric shot him a dirty look.

"I think you're taking this whole not wanting to go home thing to a bit of an extreme," Alaric said.

Damon rolled his eyes and brought the speed up to seventy. "Happy?" he asked.

"Now we'll be in Mystic Falls by sun down."

"Stop with the bitching," Damon said. "If anyone has the right to bitch, it's me. I'm being forced to come home for the next two weeks."

This time, Alaric rolled his eyes. "No one is forcing you to come home. You're choosing to."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Damon asked. "Miss my baby sister's wedding?"

"No, but I'm still missing the part where I have to come," Alaric said.

"Because it's summer, you're not teaching and you're obligated as my friend to do it," Damon explained. "Annnd how could you pass up the opportunity to go back home for two whole weeks?"

The sarcasm in Damon's voice was so blatantly obvious, Alaric couldn't help but laugh. "Whoooo, Mystic Falls. Can't wait."

Oh, Damon could wait. He could really, really wait.

"Stefan coming?" Alaric asked.

"Yep," Damon said. "And he's bringing his girlfriend. Elena."

"Elena? Really?"

"Yep," Damon said. Oh, how he would never get over the irony of that. "From what I've heard, she's really something."

"I'll just bet," he said.

For the next few hours, they drove in silence. Damon was caught up in the past, thinking about beaches and a girl with dark brown hair and pretty brown doe eyes. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly turned his attention back to something else. He was not going down that road again. Instead, he directed his thoughts to the upcoming horrors. His nineteen year old sister was getting married and he was going to see his father after almost two years. Funny, how they had never seen eye to eye on anything, and the one thing Damon thought they would agree on, his father was all too happy about. Shouldn't a father be a little hesitant to let his nineteen year old daughter get married? Yes, it was Rose's decision in the end and she never did anything just to do it, and yes, they had known Trevor since he was in diapers and he was a good guy, but in the end, they were very, very young. How did they know what they would want in five years? Hell, he was twenty three and he still had no idea what he wanted.

His mood grew darker and darker as they passed through Virginia, the place where he used to call his home. He hadn't felt that way about it in many, many years. He wasn't even in Mystic Falls yet and it already felt strange. He'd left this place behind him a long time ago. Going back was just….

He'd been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he was surprised to see the welcoming sign for Mystic Falls.

He glanced over at Alaric, who was snoring, and hit him in the shoulder. He jumped up, made an interesting sound and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What the- oh."

"Yeah," Damon said.

Home sweet, home, he thought.

Elena gaped at the large white house. No, not house. Mansion. It was definitely a mansion. Four large white pillars sat on the front porch, two on each side of the large red door. The same dark red colored the shudders framing the elegant windows, which dotted the front of the mansion, like drops of blood on a white brick wall. She looked up at the chandelier like light hanging from the awning over the pillars.

She felt like she had stepped back in time, where girls dressed in corsets and walked through garden mazes- which, apparently they had in there mile of land they called the "backyard."

"Wow," she breathed. The word was so inadequate.

"It's been in our family for centuries," Stefan explained, gazing up at his home.

"I can't believe you grew up here," she said. "It must have been amazing."

"We certainly never ran out of places to play hide and seek."

Something in his voice made her glance over at him, but before she could say anything, the door opened and a figure blurred out and attacked Stefan.

Elena smiled as she watched who she assumed was Rose squeeze Stefan and jump up and down. Stefan laughed and squeezed the girl back before pushing her back to take a look at her. "Rosie, you look so old."

Rose stuck out her tongue at him before turning to Elena. Aside from the tan, olive skin, Stefan and Rose looked nothing alike. She had long, caramel brown hair that fell in ringlets down her back and almond shaped blue eyes. She was gorgeous.

"You must be Elena," Rose said. She walked over and gave Elena a big hug, before pulling back with a large smile on her face. "It's so nice to finally meet you," Rose said. She shot Stefan, who was looking insanely amused, a dirty look. "Stefan's been hiding you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Elena said, smiling. Stefan was right: there was something about Rose. She'd barely known the girl for a minute, and she could already tell.

"Of course I've been hiding her," Stefan said. "If you haven't realized this, you're a bit much to deal with."

Rose playfully smacked his shoulder, the smile never leaving her face. "Come inside," she said. "Father and Trevor are inside."

If the outside was gorgeous, the inside was breathtaking. It was obvious the house was older, but not because it looked run down. Just the opposite. Antique painting hung from the red walls, Persian rugs led down the hall ways and statues of everything imaginable sat in corners and on glass tables. A large, crystal chandelier hung above the door, casting diamond shaped light on the hallway. And that was just what she saw at first. Off to the right, she could see a parlor room and to the left, a room that must have been a library. She could just see a peak, but that single peak held hundreds of books.

"It's…" she was at a loss for words.

"It's home," Stefan said. Again, there was something in his voice that made her glance over at him. He was looking around, but not with the awed expression she knew was on her face. His expression was… tired, like being back in his childhood home exhausted him.

"Stefan?"

Elena glanced up. A man with broad shoulders, thinning golden brown hair and an air of sophistication to him was standing in the doorway of the library room. Beside him was a younger man with shoulder length brown hair and pretty green eyes.

"Father," Stefan said, smiling. He went to the older man and hugged him briefly, before moving on to who she assumed was Trevor. They shook hands and laughed, before doing the "guy hug" as Elena referred to it as.

"You better be nice to each other," Rose warned.

Trevor rolled is eyes, though his expression was warm and loving. Elena had no doubt in her mind they were madly in love with each other. You could tell just by the way they looked at each other: like if given the choice, they would never, ever look away. "Wouldn't dream of doing anything else," Trevor said.

She watched them interact with curiosity before they all turned to her.

"Ahh, Elena," Mr. Salvatore said. She suddenly felt like a little kid. Stefan's dad was… intimidating. "I've heard so much about you."

Elena glanced at Stefan with a shy smile. "Hopefully nothing bad."

Mr. Salvatore laughed. It was a strong, confident sound. "Of course not." He gave her a warm smile, breaking the tension and a warm, fatherly hug. It was nice, and made her rethink her previous comment about him being intimidating.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Salvatore."

"Please, call me Giuseppe," he said.

Elena smiled. "Alright."

"And this is my amazing fiancée, Trevor," Rose said. Trevor gave Elena a small and nod. She did the same. "Trevor, this is Stefan's girlfriend, Elena."

After a few more exchanged comments and polite conversation, Stefan asked, "Is Damon here yet?"

"Not yet," Giuseppe said, sighing. "He should be here soon."

Twenty minutes later, after Stefan and Elena' things had been brought into Stefan's old room, where they would be staying, they were all sitting outside at a large picnic table, chatting before dinner. Giuseppe had informed the cooks (the cooks!) to hold off for a bit longer. "Of course, Damon would be late," Giuseppe said, causing a sigh from Rose and Stefan. "But we'll wait on him anyway."

As Giuseppe explained the history of the house and the Salvatore family, Elena listened with genuine interest (she'd always been a history nerd) until she heard a door being opened and shut.

"And he finally arrives," Giuseppe announced, sounding slightly annoyed.

Elena looked up, curious to meet Stefan's older brother. She stifled a gasp. Standing not fifteen in front of her was Damon. Her Damon from that summer. The first boy to ever make her heart skip a beat, and the first boy to crush it into dust.

Ahh yes, cliffhangers. I know. Evil things.

The Salvatore mansion in this story is the one from 1864, not the boarding house.

Here's a picture:

www (dot) google (dot) com/imgres?q=vampire+diaries+salvatore+house&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1R2ADRA_enUS432&tbm=isch&tbnid=6_HQCTW1cCF_bM:&imgrefurl=/%3Fp%3D73&docid=piYwoO_WH7Fn4M&w=399&h=270&ei=1RGBTqzZAoG-tgei1ZidDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=350&vpy=389&dur=772&hovh=185&hovw=273&tx=169&ty=91&page=2&tbnh=127&tbnw=171&start=32&ndsp=33&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:32&biw=1600&bih=719

^^^^ replace (dot) with .

Things to ponder:

-Damon, Alaric and Stefan's attitude toward being home

-How Elena and Damon knew about one another, but not that it was the person they shared a past with.

-How will they act toward each other now that they know?

-What exactly did Damon do to hurt Elena so badly?

Review!