Damon watched her from shadow of darkness.

Elena felt his presence and looked over her shoulder nervously, hoping he was giving her his courage. She knocked quickly and she tucked her hair behind her ears.

Jeremy opened the front door of their house. He stared at his sister, stunned, if for a moment. He then broke out into a relieved smiled and moved forward, hugging her.

"Elena. God. Where have you been?"

"Hey…"

Jeremy held her at arms length, and chided her.

"I thought I was never gonna see you again. Jenna's been out of her mind."

"Yeah…I know. Look, Jer--"

"It's cold, come inside. Hurry up."

Elena looked over her shoulder into the darkness once more before disappearing into the house. She looked around at everything that was so familiar. Yet it was no longer hers. This was no longer her home. She was suddenly filled with a great sadness. She sat on the couch and stared at her hands.

"Elena, my God" Jenna called as she bounded down the stairs.

Elena stood as Jenna came towards her, crushing her in a hug.

"What were you thinking? We've been worried sick!"

"I know. I'm sorry," she said.

"We need to stick together," Jenna pleaded. "We need each other in times like these. Please don't over do this again. You need us. And we need you. We can do this."

"The tumor is gone," Elena blurted out quickly. She silently cursed herself for lack of tact.

"What? Honey," Jenna took Elena's hand and sat down on the couch with her. "Gosh, you're so cold. Jeremy? Turn up the heater. Elena's skin feels like ice. What you are talking about?"

Elena retracted her hand and placed it in her lap.

"When I left. I went to a holistic healing retreat."

"A holi-what?" Jeremy interrupted.

"Holistic. Its like…y'know, alternative medicine."

Jenna and Jeremy looked at each other as if to say, 'She's lost it…'

"Well," Jenna said seriously, "lets get to a doctor as soon as we can to make sure everything is okay."

"No," Elena said forcefully cause Jenna to jump. "Sorry. Look…no more needles. No more hospitals. No more doctors. I can't take it anymore. Just…trust me. Do I look sick to you?"

"Actually, no," Jeremy confessed. "You look healthy…alert."

"I feel great. I've been…eating well," she gulped. "I just feel really good."

Elena turned to back to her Aunt.

"Lena…I don't know…I think we need to get a second opinion. I just don't want you to get your hopes up," Jenna said kindly.

"Jenna, I'm asking you to please trust me. I'll get them to send CAT scans if it makes you feel any better. Just please—no doctors."

Elena had been under specific instructions from Damon to stay away from doctors.

"What do you think is going to happen when they figure out you don't have a heartbeat? Say goodbye to your friends and family & say hello to science experiments."

Elena shuddered.

"Okay," said Jenna hesitatingly. "Look, its late, why don't we talk in the morning. Try and get some sleep?" She patted Elena's leg.

Elena stood.

"Um, that's another thing," she said. "…I'm not going to be staying here. For now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to be staying at the Salvatore house for a while…"

"Is Stefan back," Jeremy asked.

"No," Elena said quickly. "He isn't. I um…I've been seeing Damon…"

The silence was awkward.

"Oh Elena…I don't think that is such a good idea…" Jenna said. "And honey, you're my responsibility. Not Damon's. Or anyone elses."

"Your last good idea was wanting me to take chemo so my hair could fall out and I could suffer the last few months of my life. My last good idea was running away and getting better. Look how that turned out."

Jenna's mouth dropped open.

Elena regretted her words instantly and leaned forward to hug Jenna.

"Look, Aunt Jenna, I know you are looking out for me. And I love you for it. But with everything that's gone on…I just…I just need a little breathing room. You can understand that, right?"

Before Jenna could even agree, Elena stood. She hugged Jeremy and quickly walked out of the house as she muttered a goodbye.

"Ugh, it went terrible," Elena said.

She and Damon walked through the streets of Mystic Falls towards their home.

"Well, if you had stuck to my script…"

"If I stuck to your script, I would have sounded like a robot."

"Doubtful."

He grabbed her arm and guided her right. They cut through the woods.

"I don't know why we didn't drive," Elena muttered.

"Um, haven't you been whining about being a prisoner? I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't," He dead panned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she waved her hand. "Thank you very much."

He laughed—a genuine, easy laugh. Elena turned to look at him. And as if he realized he'd made a mistake, his face became a mask and they walked in silence for the remaining duration of the walk. She felt her breath catch when Damon slid his hand into hers. He said nothing but looked straight ahead. Elena wrapped her fingers around his and smiled softly.

When they reached the house, Damon walked inside and grabbed the mail sitting in the foyer. He scanned the envelopes and stopped on one. He looked up at Elena who was walking in the living room, in her own world.

"Go upstairs," he said suddenly.

Elena looked up.

"Hmmm?"

"Go take a bubble bath or whatever it is women do when they relax. I'll be up in a minute."

Elena smiled, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Ooookay…." She moved towards him and stood in front of him, her face upturned.

Damon stared at her.

"Yes?"

Elena's shoulders sagged suddenly and she turned on her heels and walked towards the stairs.

"Nothing," she muttered.

Damon caught her hand and pulled her to him. He bent her back dramatically and kissed her quickly on the mouth. He turned her around and patted her backside.

"Quit pouting. Upstairs. You. Now."

When Elena ascended the stairs, Damon walked into the living room and ripped open the letter. His eyes scanned it quickly, his expression revealing nothing. He re-read the last few sentences before walking towards a nearby candle. He lit the paper on fire and set it in a serving plate. He sat down, leaning back on the sofa, as he watched as the paper curled and turned into ashes.