A/N: The assumption for this story is that Elena and Damon are together and that they left Mystic Falls to create a life for themselves. What happened to them in Mystic Falls before they left is left largely to the reader's discretion as to where this history departs from the television series. What happened to them after leaving Mystic Falls will unfold as the story progresses.

Rose arrived at her office a little after 8 that morning. Her office was situated near Prospect Park in Brooklyn with an apartment above it. Even though she lived upstairs with no commute, Miriam had already arrived well in advance of her as usual. Miriam was a petite woman in her early forties. She had a pleasant moon shaped face and a small nose that refused to keep her glasses where they were supposed to belong, but always slid down to the very tip, no matter how often she pushed them up.

"Hi Miriam, how's Jack?" asked Rose.

"Oh, he's much better today, Dr. Rose, I dropped him off at school this morning. Thanks for asking. I have your tea ready; - you've got a full schedule today." Miriam paused before continuing, "Doctor, I really appreciate giving me yesterday afternoon off like that. I know it was an inconvenience."

"Not at all Miriam, there were just a few patients I had to see and my agency was able to re-schedule the rest. I enjoyed going home early yesterday. It led me to realize that I need to rethink my priorities and schedule personal time for myself. It shouldn't take Jack getting sick to cause me take the time off to rest and take care of myself." Rose noticed Miriam smile her agreement and reach for the appointment book. "So what do we have today?"

Miriam smiled. "Your first appointment is a new patient, she was referred to you by Andrea Varner. She should be very interesting, her problem is right up your alley."

Rose was surprised at Miriam's comment. She usually didn't comment on any of her patient's concerns. "What do you mean, 'right up my alley?' I've seen every kind of problem imaginable, what's different about this one?"

Miriam laughed. "I'm not going to say. Once you talk with her, you'll understand. She's a young girl, seventeen. Her mother's coming as well. I've talked with her mother; she's a bit overbearing. I think she's the sort that makes up her mind quickly, then stands by her opinion and don't bother her with the facts. I haven't talked with her daughter - her name is Samantha Cavendish. Mrs. Cavendish and Samantha will be here by 9. Mrs. Cavendish is a widow, pretty well set up by her late husband. Samantha is their only child. I've scheduled a full hour for them."

Rose was surprised. "An hour, my first session is usually half the time. I have to decide whether I'll accept her as a patient."

"Oh, you'll take this one, trust me."

Rose was beginning to get a little annoyed with her assistant. She didn't particularly like mysteries and was about to push harder for answers, but she realized that was exactly what Miriam wanted. Obviously Miriam had the inside scoop on something and there was nothing short of compulsion that would get it out of her. Since Miriam had started working for her they had developed a bond of trust and Rose wasn't about to violate that trust in order to pry some petty secret out of her.

Rose sighed. "I guess I'll wait until they get her and find out what this is all about then."

Miriam laughed. "That's right, you'll find out then. Oh – just to be clear, I had nothing to do with them coming here, as far as I know this is a coincidence, other than the fact that your reputation for getting results is beginning to attract a lot of patients with unusual problems."

Now Rose was really intrigued but decided she had given Miriam far too much satisfaction already. "Very well, call me when they get here and then send them both in. Of course, I'll need to talk to the girl alone. You'll have to sit with the mother."

"Of course."

"Well, until then, I have paperwork to complete and you have insurance claims to process."

Miriam wrinkled her nose. "Yuk, I hope you appreciate all that I do. I'm going to have to deal with Mr. Ingram today; he is such a prick. I don't understand why you won't track him down and compel him into being reasonable for a change. You sure you can't compel someone over the phone?"

"Miriam!" rebuked Rose in astonishment. "We don't talk about that, what's gotten in to you?"

"Oh come on, Doctor. There's no one else here. I think it's really cool, what you are and how you use it to help people. You don't know how hard it is, keeping it a secret."

"It shouldn't be hard at all, Miriam. I simply won't allow it," replied Rose archly.

"Yes, yes, I know. I don't mean that I CAN tell it, I mean it's hard because I want to tell it."

"And that's why I have you under compulsion so that you can't. If it's too hard Miriam, I can make you forget and find you another position." Rose didn't mean that as threatening as it sounded, but still, she couldn't afford to take chances.

Offended Miriam protested. "Well you don't have to get snarky about it. I'm just telling the truth, I'll be good from now on, I promise."

Rose smiled. "I know you will. So you know what the dwarfs say, right?"

"Yes, yes I know. Heigh-Ho Heigh-Ho it's off to work we go."

Rose laughed as she entered her office and closed the door behind her. Rose smiled to herself as she poured a cup of tea, sat down at her desk, and started her computer. However, instead of starting in on the mountain of paperwork that never ended, she stared off and began reminiscing.

It was ironic that she would have a mystery patient on today of all days. This was the anniversary of when she and Trevor had kidnapped Elena Gilbert. Poor Trevor, she hadn't given him a thought in months. It had been his idea that the doppelgänger could be the means of gaining release from being hounded by the Originals. He was right in a way, it got her out, but didn't work out so well for him. Rose thought about Elena, Damon, and Stefan and wondered how they made out.

Unlike her neglect of Trevor's memory, she thought of Damon often. His was one of those bittersweet memories a girl likes to cherish. One of those what-ifs that set a standard by which she measures all the other men she meets. It's strange how even at over 500 years old she thought of Damon as her first love. She had been with other men of course, but none took her heart like Damon did. She hoped he was happy.

In spite of the fact that she and Damon were not meant to be, Rose had never been happier. She supposed that Damon would always be special to her because he marked the beginning of when Rose was actually able to start building a life. For centuries, before she had become involved with Damon, she had been obsessed with running, surviving, and yes, killing. After she left Damon and Mystic Falls, she had been able to go to school and earn her license as a therapist. Yes, she cheated some, compelling clerks to back date the necessary paperwork and degrees, but she never cheated where it counted. All the courses and examinations she took that related directly to qualifying as a licensed therapist was all through her own efforts.

Now she had a thriving practice. Being able to compel certainly had its advantages when dealing with her patient's problems. She had experienced significant success with patients that other therapists had essentially given up on. Where others had resorted to medication to dull the symptoms Rose had been able to deal with the underlying problem. This was why she was developing a reputation for helping patients who were not able to get help anywhere else. The bonus was she had a steady stream of blood donors to feed from. She had a refrigerator in her office to keep a supply of blood samples she took from herself regularly. After she counseled a patient, she would compel and feed from them, then have them drink a small sample of her blood and the wound healed quickly. Rose would then turn them over to Miriam who would give them some food and juice until they recovered and then send them on their way. It was perfect.

Hiring Miriam made everything go better. When Rose realized she needed an assistant, she had vetted the candidates carefully, placing each under compulsion to ensure complete candor. Miriam proved to be perfect for the job. After working there for six months, Miriam had no doubts how much Rose helped her patients. So when Rose took the plunge and asked Miriam into her office to show how she fed from some of her patients Miriam's reaction wasn't negative at all, quite the opposite. Rose smiled as she remembered Miriam's reaction.

"I knew it! I knew there was something supernatural about you. This is great! Nothing extraordinary has ever happened to me before, now I get to work with a real vampire! Just wait until I tell Jack who his mother works for, he'll be thrilled."

Rose had to laugh out loud when she remembered having to dampen Miriam's enthusiasm and tell her it had to be a secret. Not only did it have to be a secret, but that Rose would be compelling her so that if she did try, she would not be able to speak the words, but would simply stand there babbling like a fool.

Thinking of Miriam sobered Rose as she realized that she really did have to get to work. Her mystery patient would be arriving soon and Rose didn't relish staying in the office late because she neglected things now. Rose immersed herself in the various reports, prescriptions, and sundry other paperwork required supporting a private practice and the time passed quickly. Rose was a little surprised to realize that it was 10 before the hour when Miriam announced that the Cavendish's were there.

"Very well, Miriam, have them come in."

Rose looked up from her computer when Mrs. Cavendish, Samantha, and Miriam entered her office. She immediately stood up from behind her desk, introduced herself, and gestured for them to take a seat in the chairs provided. Rose sat down in front of them while Miriam stood by, waiting for any further instructions.

Rose took a moment to appraise her visitors. Mrs. Cavendish was in her mid-forty's, which was about right for a woman with a teenage daughter. She was dressed stylishly but conservatively. Rose could tell from her clothes and jewelry, that she was basically a practical woman. There was nothing frivolous about the woman, she was attractive and did all she could to emphasize her good qualities. She had dark brunette hair, carefully groomed, that was beginning to show streaks of grey; but it obviously didn't concern her, because she did nothing to cover it up.

Samantha was an attractive girl, it was obvious that she enjoyed dressing as provocatively as her mother would allow. She had a good figure and wore tight clothes to accent the fact she had all the right curves in the right places. The way she walked also invited attention to her figure. She had brunette hair, like her mother's, and wore it very long, easily down to her waist. At the moment her expression of defiance marred an otherwise very pretty face.

Impatient with the moment of quiet Rose used to assess their appearance, Mrs. Cavendish spoke first. "Dr. Stanton, my name is Veranda Cavendish. My good friend Andrea speaks very highly of you. So much so, I believe she has lost any objectivity the poor woman might have ever possessed. Nevertheless, I believe Samantha's situation is so peculiar that I'm willing to take a chance with you. Tell me how much do you know about obsessions?"

Rose was a little taken aback by the bluntness of Mrs. Cavendish's question. Most patients were more interested in talking about their problems and were not interested in inquiring about Rose's knowledge on a very broad topic. Instead of wasting valuable time by embroiling herself in some abstract discussion, Rose attempted to divert Mrs. Cavendish. "How is Andrea? I understand she has started a new business?"

Mrs. Cavendish sniffed in disapproval. "Yes she has. Against everyone's advise, she's started a home remodeling business. I admit, it is surprisingly successful at the moment; I am sure it is merely beginners luck. She has no head for business, as I have told her many times."

Rose smiled to herself, and then replied, "Actually, Mrs. Cavendish, Andrea is a very intelligent woman. I'm sure she'll do fine." Andrea was one of Rose's more dramatic success stories. Verbally abused by her father, her husband regularly cheated on her and missed no opportunity to inform her what a failure she was. It seemed as though Andrea's life was filled with people who felt compelled to tell her all the things she couldn't do. If Rose had not been able to compel some self esteem into her, she was certain that Andrea would have at best been severely medicated, and at worst would have done serious harm to herself before the year was out.

"Well, time will certainly tell, but I'm not spending good money to talk about Andrea, I want to deal with Samantha's problem."

Rose observed Samantha's defiant reaction to this declaration. She folded her arms tightly across her chest and slumped back in the chair as though she could force herself to disappear by imposition of her will. Rose realized that the sooner she separated the two the better.

"Perhaps you could leave Samantha and I alone for awhile and we'll see what I can do."

"You haven't heard what her problem is, Dr. Stanton. How can you help unless I tell you that?"

"Very well, Mrs. Cavendish, enlighten me." Rose regretted the sarcastic tone, but she was about done with this woman. It would have to be a really serious problem to interest Rose enough to take them on. Besides, by observing Samantha, she didn't look as though she particularly needed any help.

"My daughter has this obsessive conviction that she was almost raped and then rescued by a couple of vampires who killed her assailant and made away with the body. Now she has taken on this absurd cause to prove that vampires exist and that they are really agents for good. At first I believed her story, about the attempted assault, but her story became progressively more unbelievable, and there is no evidence at all of a rape. The police have said so. It's all a made up story, but Samantha will not back down from any of it."