Chapter II

Damon Salvatore stood in his office, gazing through his window. The space was beautifully decorated, as minimally as it could be, with an industrial essence that Elena used to despise. "It's too impersonal", she said to him a long time ago, "there is nothing that screams Damon in here. It's cold.."

"Maybe that's what I was going for", Damon answered amused, "or there is a chance that I'm just cold".

"You are not cold ", Elena responded spontaneously, giving him her warmest smile with a conviction that surprised Damon and a hint of flirtation that he couldn't quite translate.

"How can you know? You met me literally last week."

Damon examined this girl that seemed to get him better than people he had known his entire life. Her smile was warm, caring, nurturing as if she had sensed Damon's deep rooted insecurities. He returned the smile as his eyes captured hers, setting the foundation for their unique connection that would torment them both in the following years.

Damon couldn't afford getting sucked in that black hole again. His life seemed to finally work out after years and years of self-loathing and self-destructing. He quickly dismissed the uninvited thoughts by emerging himself into work. That was the right thing to do he kept telling himself.

Alaric Saltzman, Damon's best friend and lawyer, entered his office, holding an envelope. Alaric was uncharacteracteristicly nervous, the urgency visible in his movements.

"Sign this", Alaric ordered as he handed him over a stuck of documents.

"Goodmorning to you too, sunshine", Damon exclaimed mocking his friend's current behaviour. Alaric shot him a disapproving glance and shoved a pen into Damon's grasp.

"Let's leave the pleasantries for another time, your ass is on the line now. You might need to rush the wedding", Alaric anounced. "We have less time than I thought".

"Chill, Ric, I'm sure you'll figure out whatever got you freaking out like a little girl", Damon encouraged Ric in his own unconventional way. "What happened?"

"Hi uncle Damon", juvenile voices sounded across the office, effectively ending the conversation. Damon's niece and nephew barged in and headed straight towards their uncle.

Gray along with his sister Lily adored Damon and the feelings were mutual. Damon would always try to make time in his schedule to play with the kids. His parents had always been busy people and there had been plently instances that he felt neglected and alone growing up. Therefore, he swore that he would do anything in his power to ensure that his kids or his brother's kids would feel loved at all times.

"How are my little buddies today?", Damon addressed to the kids as he hugged them tightly.

"Surely better than their uncle", Ric added, "Damon, this is important and we need to figure this out right now".

"Uncle Damon is fine", Lily butted in to support him, her feisty and dynamic personality already showing despite her five years of life.

The girl seemed to have picked up Elena's compassion and loyalty. Her tendency to stick up for the weak had already got? her in trouble qat school. The fact that she had Elena's big brown eyes made the similarities glaring. A mini Elena in every possible way. Except for her raven hair, a Salvatore trait, passed down by her grandmother.

"Alright buzzkill, just let me have a few minutes with the kids and I'm all yours after"

"Uncle Damon, look at my new train. Daddy got me this for my birthday!", Grayson exclaimed barely able to hold his excitement.

"It's very nice, Grey"

Alaric stormed out of the office, upset with his friend's recklessness. Damon was a very charismatic individual with several qualities that made him irreplaceable as a working partner. His calmness had turned out to be a double edged sword though, as Damon was capable of functioning in stressful situations but not sensitive enough to know when it's time to run as fast as you can. And despite his friend's musings, Alaric knew that that time would come sooner than later.

Alaric sat in a chair in the waiting room, taking advantage of his friend's need for family time to investigate. He took a peak around the offices, examining the firm's employees for any further evidence. This case had turned him into a paranoid psycho, suspicious even of his own shadow.

His espionage was rather unfruitful as the only person he had visual access to was Damon's personal assistant, Caroline Forbes. Caroline's attempts to fix her lipstic, despite the stellar result, weren't actually noteworthy. She hadn't communicated with anyone, no messages, nothing worth his time.

Elena's children left Damon's office as abruptly as they came in and it was Alaric's cue to continue the conversation they had left unfinished.

"Caroline meets with Klaus", Alaric whispered, aware that they couldn't trust anyone in the building. "Regularly."

Damon was speechless, surprised and devastated by the revelation. Caroline had been his personal assistant and one of his best friends for years. She was standing beside him as he struggled to successfully handle the family business when he took over, so the thought of her sabotaging him was disturbing.

"Are you sure, Alaric?" Damon begged. Alaric could tell that he was shaken by the use of his whole name instead of Ric.

"I wouldn't tell you if I wasn't. The worst part is that they now know everything about you. This makes it so much easier to go through with their plan."

"We need to find who Caroline's accomplish is and quickly", Damon commanded, "there is surely someone helping her".

At the same time another talk was taking place in the howl.

"Here I need you to put this envelope back in Damon's office", the man pleaded.

"Can't you do it yourself?" , Caroline exclaimed exasperated, annoyed at the man's request.

"Please, Car, one last time, what are best friends for?"

"Alright, it's the last time I'm going behind my boss's back, Stefan", Caroline caved in, agreeing to help Stefan once again.

"Thanks, and technically I'm your boss too", Stefan stated and winked at Caroline.

"Did Stefan "Brooding" Salvatore just wink?" Caroline jested, "Must be my lucky day".

Hope you liked it! :) Next on the family meeting that Elena gets to meet Rose.