AN: Hope you guys are having a good weekend – I know I am, finally a little time off after a few very busy days this past week… though, technically, I have stuff I need to do for school… but everyone deserves a little break, right? And it's not like things are going to get any less busy this spring. I'm going to start working on my master's thesis as soon as I've found a subject, so I doubt I'll have trouble coming up with things to do to keep busy! But this writing is my way of relaxing and letting everything go, stepping into an alternate universe, if only for a little while, so I plan on keeping it up, no matter how hectic things get.

As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter – you guys rock! And SalvatoreLover17 – a little Bonnie in this chapter, and at least some news about Caroline and Matt – hope you like it! And lots of hugs for my amazing beta, sunshine2006578, for all her help with this story!

Disclaimer: The characters of The Vampire Diaries are the property of L.J. Smith and the people at The CW. I'm just borrowing.

Chapter six

Elena didn't have to worry about acting the part of the grieving sister for the memorial. The atmosphere at the house and in the entire town dampened her spirits the moment she and Damon arrived on Friday afternoon. Jenna walking around the house with red rimmed eyes didn't exactly make things better, either.

"Remind me that this isn't really real," Elena asked Damon in a pleading voice when she was getting ready for the service on Saturday morning. "I'm starting to think that I only imagined Jeremy's e-mail and that he and Anna really have disappeared and are lying dead in the mountains somewhere in New Mexico."

"It's not real," he told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He met her eyes in the mirror, trying to give her a comforting look. "Jeremy's fine, he's not really dead. Well, I guess, technically …" Elena elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

"Don't even talk about that." She shuddered. "I don't want to think about it like that."

"Sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood a little."

"It's actually good that I'm a little down," she replied. "I don't think I'll have to fake being sad at all."

"Then maybe we should leave before you suddenly perk up," he suggested. "You look great."

Elena spent the entire service with one arm around Jenna, trying to comfort her aunt. She was grateful that Alaric was sitting on Jenna's other side; she knew she wouldn't have been able to handle it on her own. Damon's hand that never let go of hers helped a lot, too.

After the service, people gathered at the house, everyone bringing something to eat. Elena was reminded so much of her parents' funeral that she had trouble keeping the tears at bay, adding to her façade. For the first time, she was glad that her parents weren't around; relieved that they never had to go through this.

After two hours of sympathetic people giving her their condolences and trying to dodge Caroline, who started crying as soon as she saw her, Elena needed some time to herself and snuck into the kitchen, which was empty. Or at least it was when she went in there.

"They mean well," Bonnie's voice came from the doorway and Elena turned to find her best friend giving her a supportive smile. She sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"I know. It's just a little much."

"I get that." Bonnie nodded. "Caroline wanted me to tell you that she and Matt are heading out, they have a long drive back to Boston."

Caroline and Matt had moved to Boston after graduation last summer; Caroline was studying fashion design at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Matt had gotten a football scholarship to Boston College where he was studying economics.

"I know, and I'm glad they came down."

Bonnie crossed the room and put an arm around Elena. "How're you holding up?" she asked. "Seriously?"

"I'm OK," Elena replied. She glanced at the open doorway before she continued. "I mean, none of this is real, you know."

"Maybe not, but I can see that you're still having a hard time." Bonnie scrutinized her. "Have you talked to him?"

She didn't say Jeremy's name, but Elena knew who she was talking about. She had told both Bonnie and Alaric about Jeremy's e-mail, though not the exact details: she wasn't sure if he wanted everyone to know where he was. "No. I sent him an e-mail back, but he hasn't replied yet."

"You know that I'm here if you need me, right?" Bonnie asked. "I mean, I know that he's not actually …" she glanced at the doorway as well, "… dead, but this is still a big adjustment for you."

"I guess," Elena agreed, shrugging.

"Just know that you can talk to me, anytime."

Elena was about to reply when Damon appeared in the doorway. "So this is where you two are hiding out, I was starting to think you'd made a run for it and left me hanging." He came over and leaned against the counter next to Elena, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Jenna's asking for you."

Elena nodded. "I should get back out there," she said, not sounding exactly thrilled.

"Want me to go with you?" he offered. "I can put on my most menacing expression, scare off everyone who gets near you. I bet I can clear out the whole house in less than fifteen minutes."

"No, that's OK," she told him with a smile. "You deserve a breather too."

"OK. Then I will be there in a minute."

She leaned in for a kiss before leaving the room, both Damon and Bonnie following her with their eyes.

"How is she really doing?" Bonnie asked quietly when she had disappeared from view. "She keeps insisting that this isn't real and that she's OK, but I'm not sure."

"I honestly don't know," Damon replied, frowning. "She was fine before we left Durham. She was even in a good mood after she got that e-mail from Jeremy the other day. I think it's the whole funeral atmosphere that's gotten her down. No wonder, this place would make even the Marx Brothers miserable."

Bonnie gave him a long look. "You do know that comments like that will make people wonder about you, right?" she noted. "Good thing I already know you're a hundred and fifty."

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed. "The Marx Brothers are a classic! Animal Crackers, Duck Soup …"

"Whatever," she interrupted him. "But I guess it's good if it's just the atmosphere bringing Elena down. Then she should be more or less OK when you leave tomorrow. But it must be hard for her not to be able to tell Jenna the truth."

"I think she's managed to convince herself that it's for the best," he said. "I mean, even Alaric told us that he didn't think Jenna would be able to handle the truth right now. Hopefully we'll be able to tell her someday."

Bonnie looked at him silently for a long moment, and they both knew what his words implied. "Someday … soon?" she then asked. Elena had said that there wasn't anything she wanted to talk about right now, but that could mean anything from next month to ten years from now.

He shook his head. "Again, I honestly don't know. We haven't talked about it; I only realized that she was even thinking about it the other week. And I don't want to push her; it has to be her choice. She hasn't said anything about it to you?"

"No. But I've sort of been assuming that it would happen sooner or later." She sighed. "I mean, do I want my best friend to become a vampire? Of course not. But she loves you, and she's happy with you. I've accepted that this is the next logical step, and I'm going to support her if – when – she decides to take it."

Damon looked at her in amazement. "Are you feeling alright, Sabrina?" he then asked, reaching out to touch her forehead. "Nope, you're not running a temperature, so it can't be fever induced hallucinations. Maybe it's just temporary insanity."

"Come on, cut it out," she told him. "People can surprise you."

"That they can," he agreed. "I'm gonna get back out there. Elena's bound to be needing a buffer about now."

"I'll be there in a moment."

"OK." He walked towards the doorway, but stopped halfway across the room. "There's something I wanted to ask you," he said, turning back to Bonnie.

"Shoot."

"Do you think you can make a ring like mine?" he asked, holding up the hand he was wearing his daylight ring on. "Jeremy's trying to get one, and I thought you might have the power to do the spell." It wasn't a way to flatter her into agreeing; he really did believe that she could do it.

She thought for a moment. "I think so. The spell's in Emily's grimoire, but I haven't looked at it too closely. Can I get back to you on Monday? I'll have had time to look at it by then and I should be able to tell if I can pull it off or not."

"Sounds good, Sabrina."

As soon as they left Mystic Falls on Sunday afternoon, Elena let out a long sigh. "I'm glad that's over," she said in a relieved voice. "I don't know if I could have taken any more of the sympathetic looks and compassionate comments."

"They are just trying to show their support," Damon pointed out in a sarcastic voice. "You could be a little more grateful."

She rolled her eyes. "And it's not just about Jeremy not actually being dead; I felt the same way when my parents died, too. I mean, I know that a lot of the people in town actually do feel bad, but some of them only showed up at the service and the house because they knew that's what they should be doing in a situation like that, even if they couldn't care less, and that's what I can't stand."

"I see what you mean," he agreed. "It's the same kind of thing that makes people slow down when they see a car accident: some sort of morbid curiosity and the need to see other people suffering. One of the benefits of vampires: at least they don't pretend."

"And it's been hard being around Jenna, too," she continued, ignoring his last comment. "Knowing that I could say something to make it at least a little better, but not being able to do it anyway."

"Are you having second thoughts about not telling her the truth?" Damon wondered. "It's not too late."

Elena sighed. "No. I mean, I've changed my mind and decided to tell her about a dozen times in the last few days, but deep down I know this is for the best, at least right now."

"She'll be OK, eventually," he tried to comfort her. "Human's get over stuff like this faster than you think, at least the initial grief."

She nodded, a little thoughtfully. "I know."

That didn't really make it any easier, though. Elena tried to call Jenna every day and could tell that her aunt was upset. She had even started thinking that she had a part in Jeremy's disappearance; if he hadn't thought that she'd be upset with him for dropping out of school, maybe they would have found out about the car being abandoned sooner and the police would have found them. Elena tried to reason with her when she brought that thought up, but she wasn't completely sure she got through to Jenna. She realized she would just have to let the grief and guilt take its course, there was nothing she could do to speed up the process except be there for her aunt.

The Friday after the memorial service, Elena only had a morning class, so it was a few minutes after noon when she entered the apartment. She stopped just inside the front door when she spotted two suitcases on the floor.

"I thought we weren't going back to Mystic Falls this weekend?" she called into the apartment. Alaric was taking Jenna to his parents' beach house for the weekend, thinking that some time away from the town would do her good.

Damon appeared in the hallway. "We're not," he replied and she frowned.

"Then what's with the suitcases?" she asked. "Is this your way of telling me that you're dumping me? Because not very tactful, just so you know."

"Yup, I'm done. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm moving on." His voice didn't in any way let on that he was kidding, but the scowl on his face did. "Don't joke about that."

"Sorry." She shrugged her jacket off and continued into the kitchen. "Seriously though, where are we going?"

"First, we're going to Charlottesville," he told her, following her into the room. "Then, later tonight, we're flying to Alaska."

The last word made her spin around to look at him. "We're going to Alaska?" A smile spread on her face as she spoke.

"Yep," he confirmed. "I know that you won't be able to completely relax until you've seen that Jeremy is really OK for yourself, and, to be perfectly honest, you've been a pain to live with these past couple of days. I'm only doing this so that I will finally get some peace of mind."

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't just insult me and focus on the fact that I'm going to see my brother. Thank you," she said, taking the few steps necessary to be able to wrap her arms around him.

"It was nothing," he replied, kissing the top of her head.

"Do they know that we're coming?" she asked, pulling back a little. She had suggested to her brother that maybe she and Damon could come and visit, but Jeremy hadn't even addressed that in the e-mail she had gotten a few days ago.

"Nope." Damon shook his head. "I figured the surprise tactic might be the best way to go this time. They won't be able to skip town if they don't know we're coming."

"OK." Elena nodded. "But you know where they live?"

"Barrow isn't exactly New York; blink and you'll miss it," he told her. "And I've been doing some digging, I think I have a pretty good idea where they're holed up."

"OK. Then let's go. I'm guessing you've packed everything I'll need?" She wanted to get on the road right away, even if that didn't mean they'd get there any sooner.

"Everything's ready," he confirmed.

"OK then. I need to get some lunch, but I can do that at the airport …" She trailed off. "Hang on. Did you say we were going to Charlottesville first?"

"Yep, and we're driving there. I booked a flight out of Dulles, even if that means we'll have a five hour drive home on Sunday."

"But why?" Elena asked. "I mean, not that I don't want to see Bonnie, but we can go there next weekend."

Damon gave her a slightly exasperated look. "I thought it would be rude to not bring a housewarming present," he hinted.

"And Bonnie can help with that because …" she cut herself off before she had finished the question, realizing what he meant. "Oh. You think she can do it?" She had forgotten to ask her friend about the spell.

"She does. And I'll take the ring for a test run before you give it to Jeremy, so it'll be fine."

"A test run?" she questioned. "You mean you're going to put it on to make sure it works?"

"That was the general idea, unless you have a better suggestion."

"No, bad idea," she immediately objected. "What if it doesn't work?"

He sighed. "Relax, I'm not gonna go stand outside and trade rings. I'm not suicidal. One ray of sunlight will be enough to tell if it works or not. I won't burn to a crisp."

"OK." She nodded, assured that he wouldn't put himself in harm's way.

They stopped to get some food to go, and then they headed north.

Bonnie was waiting for them when they got to her dorm room, Emily's grimoire open on her bed. "Hey, come on in," she said when she opened the door. "Nicki has an evening class, so we should have a few hours to ourselves."

"Thanks, Bonnie, for doing this," Elena said, squeezing her friend's hand. "I know you don't actually have to."

"Come on, Elena. It's Jeremy we're talking about. Of course I have to. And I want to."

"Still, thank you. I know Jeremy will be really grateful."

Bonnie nodded before turning to Damon. "OK, I have everything I need. Did you bring something for me to spell?"

Elena hadn't even thought about that but, apparently, Damon had, because he produced a silver ring with a dark stone in it, similar to his own, and gave it to Bonnie.

"OK. You need to be quiet," Bonnie instructed, gesturing to her roommate's bed. "Sit down over there."

Elena and Damon obediently sat on the second bed and watched as Bonnie performed the spell. Nothing spectacular happened; no candles blazing, no unnatural wind blowing through the room.

"OK, it's done," Bonnie announced after a minute or so.

"No offense, Sabrina," Damon started, getting up from the bed and drawing the curtains closed, leaving only a sliver of light, "but I think I'll try it out first, just to make sure. Don't want our latest friendly neighborhood vampire to turn into a pile of dust just because you think you're a better witch than you are."

"Go ahead." Bonnie gave Damon the ring and he took off his own, sliding the new one onto his finger instead. Then he passed his hand through the ray of sunlight still streaming into the room. Nothing happened. He did it again, keeping his hand in the sunlight for a little longer this time, with the same result.

"Good work," he then complimented Bonnie, taking the ring off and giving it to Elena before putting his own ring back on. "Works like a charm."

"I told you," Bonnie replied, sounding a little smug but not offended that he hadn't completely trusted her abilities.

"OK, we have time to get something to eat before we have to leave for the airport," Damon said. "Why don't I take you ladies out to dinner?"

Elena was more than a little nervous when the plane touched down on the landing-strip at the small airport in Barrow, Alaska. She'd had hours to prepare herself; including the time they had spent waiting at the airports in Seattle and Anchorage, they had been travelling for over twenty hours. It was now ten thirty in the morning, and it was still dark outside.

Against all odds, she had managed to get a few hours of sleep on the plane between Seattle and Anchorage and now, instead of feeling tired, she felt excited on the verge of hyper.

"OK, where are we going?" she asked as soon as they had gotten off the plane, looking around herself impatiently.

"First, I think we need a car," Damon concluded, eyeing her a little questioningly. "Unless you feel like walking, work off some of that surplus energy you seem to have built up during the flight."

"Then let's go get a car," she replied, ignoring his jibe.

Soon, though not soon enough in Elena's opinion, they were in a rental car leaving the airport.

"There's already snow on the ground," she exclaimed in amazement when they had been driving for a while. "It's barely November."

"I think it can snow pretty much all year around up here," he replied. "We are three hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle. We should probably be happy if we don't run into a polar bear in the street."

"I know, but still." She was silent for a moment. "Do you know where we're going?" Instead of driving towards town, Damon had turned away from the more populated areas and was now following the coastline, heading south-west as far as she could tell.

"It should be just up here …" he started, scanning the landscape. "Yep, there it is."

Elena couldn't see what he was referring to in the still dim light but, after a few more minutes, she could make out a small dot in the distance. The dot slowly grew until she could see that it was a rather large house. It stood a few hundred yards away from the road, and when they reached the graveled drive in front of it Damon parked behind a black car. Elena stayed still in her seat, looking up at the house. The curtains were drawn in all the windows, giving it an unwelcoming look.

"Are you going to just stay in the car?" Damon asked after a couple of minutes. "Because that would sort of defeat the entire purpose of our trip."

"I need to gather up some courage," she replied. "What if he doesn't want to see me?"

He could understand why she was worried, but didn't think she needed to be. "I'm sure the reason he didn't ask you to come up here is that he was worried you'd freak when you actually saw him," he told her.

She gave him a hopeful look. "You really think so?"

"Only one way to find out."

He got out of the car and went around to open her door and, after another moment of hesitation, she got out as well.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and half-pulling her up the few steps to the porch. Before she could change her mind, he knocked on the door. Though they would of course already know that someone was there.

It was Anna who opened and, when she saw that it was them, a wry smile appeared on her face. "I thought you two might show up sooner or later. I guess sooner it is." She stepped back to let them in.

Damon pulled Elena along into the house and Anna closed the door behind them. "Jeremy, you have a visitor," she said over her shoulder, not raising her voice. He would hear her.

It only took him a moment to appear in the doorway to what Elena guessed was the kitchen. When he saw her, his eyes widened. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding more surprised than angry.

"I wanted to see you, silly," she replied, taking a few steps closer. She wasn't sure what was OK when it came to physical proximity, but he surprised her, moving too fast for her to be able to see and pulling her into a hug before she could even react.

"I've missed you, sis," he mumbled, squeezing her a little too tightly. But she didn't care.

"I've missed you too, Jere."

They stayed like that for a moment, Elena reveling in the fact that it still felt the same, he still felt like her brother. There was something different about him, something she couldn't quite put her finger on … The way he moved was a little more graceful, it seemed like he had to try hard not to move too fast, like just a moment ago, and every movement seemed well-judged. But these were insignificant changes that she would get used to.

When Elena pulled out of the embrace, she was surprised to find both Anna and Damon right next to them, seemingly prepared to intervene if they needed to.

"I'm fine, guys, don't worry," Jeremy assured them, and she realized that they had been worried he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to bite her.

Anna answered the question Elena didn't ask. "He's been doing great with the people in town, but he hasn't been that close to a human before," she explained. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't ruin his perfect track record."

"Oh." Elena wasn't sure what to say to that.

"How about you and I go outside for a while?" Damon suggested, directing his words at Anna. "The whole family reunion emotional crap really isn't my thing."

Anna readily agreed and, moments later, Elena and Jeremy were alone in the house.

"Come on," Jeremy said, gesturing towards the room he had come from earlier. "We can't just stand around."

He led her into a large, country-style kitchen – the room was well-lit, compensating for the lack of sunlight – and sat down at a table. Elena claimed the seat across from him. "How are you?" she asked earnestly when they were both sitting down, reaching out to take his hand. It was crazy, she knew that – he was probably about a thousand times stronger than her now – but she still felt the need to protect him.

"I'm good, really," he replied with a quick smile. "I won't repeat everything I told you in the e-mail, but I am good. You don't have to worry about that."

"I don't," she told him, but then changed her mind. "OK, so maybe I do. It's so good to see you, now I can make sure that you really are OK."

He nodded, a tense expression appearing on his face. "How's Jenna?"

Elena looked down at the table. "Not so good. I think she blames herself."

"You can't let her think like that!" he exclaimed.

"It's not that easy!"

"I know, sorry I yelled at you," he quickly apologized. "Everything's a little intense right now, I overreact a lot."

"Let's not talk about Jenna," she suggested. They could discuss that later. "I brought you a present." She pulled the ring out of her pocket and put it down on the table between them. Curiously, Jeremy picked it up.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asked, voice awed, turning the ring over in his hand carefully, as if worried he might break it. And, she realized, he probably could.

"Yep. Damon got Bonnie to spell it for you," Elena confirmed. "Go ahead, try it on."

Slowly, Jeremy slipped the ring onto his right middle finger. "I don't feel any different," he said, glancing at one of the windows, which was covered by thick curtains, with a turn of the head so fast that Elena barely caught it.

"Damon made sure it worked, but maybe you should test it before you go outside," she advised.

Nodding, he got up from the table and went over to the window, standing to the side and opening a crack in the curtains carefully, suspiciously. Even after only a couple of weeks, he had learned to fear the sun. Experimentally, he held one hand in the weak daylight that now seeped into the room. When nothing happened, a smile spread on his face.

"Come on, let's go outside," he said, moving into the hallway so fast the only thing Elena saw was a blur.

She got up as well and followed him, surprised to find him waiting for her by the front door. He held out a hand to her and she took it. Then he opened the door and they stepped onto the porch together. A pale sun was shining down from the sky, and Jeremy blinked in the light.

"It's working!" Anna exclaimed, throwing herself into Jeremy's arms. He let go of Elena's hand to hug his girlfriend back.

Elena smiled at them before turning to meet Damon's eyes, a matching smile on his face as he watched her. She left her brother and Anna on the porch, going down the steps and over to where Damon was standing. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"He'll be fine," he mumbled in her ear, and she nodded.

Yes, he would be.

AN: So this is the end of this story – thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed, I'm so glad I've been able to share this with you guys! I hope you haven't gotten sick of me and 'my' characters yet and that you'll stay with me through the next sequel. I promise there will be more Delena goodness (that story will be longer than this one, so more room for some smut!) and lots of other fun stuff. Let me know if you're interested in that and I'll start posting the next story soon!