Hello everyone :)

A new chapter and a long one too, posted less than a month after the last one… That hasn't happen in a long time, right?

I am feeling a lot better and with heading to school tomorrow I worked really hard to get this posted before then, knowing that if I wouldn't, this story would probably be updated really, really late because of many exams I will have to take and school work I will be trying to catch up with before them… So here you go, with all of the amazing support you are showing by writing reviews or favoriting and following this story I present to you the meeting with Damon!

I am really excited for this one and would love to hear your thoughts, so don't be shy and tell them to me in the reviews :)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream

P.S: There are many time, place and POV jumps in this chapter and I used different types of lines to make sure you don't get confused.

This line … means we are at the same place as we were before but are reading through different POV as before, or that we are still accompanying the same person but there was a time jump in between their story telling.

A full line _ means that we jumped to the POV of a person who is elsewhere than the person we were reading trough before, but what he or she is doing is happening at the same time, parallel with what is happening to the person we were accompanying before. Or are reading the same persons POV than before but he is in another place and there was a time jump from what we were reading before and what we are reading now.

The parts of the story that are written like this are flashbacks.


Chapter 18

The moon was bright and the night clear, causing the sandy road that lied beneath the wheel of the car they were driving in to look like it was glowing, the strong car lights revealing the shapes of the threes and undergrowth more than fifteen metres ahead of them.

It was one of the crucial parts of the plan – the creepy, bumpy forest road. The only place where there wasn't even a slightest chance of running into one of the many vampire check points that they would stumble on at the section that led to the highway. It was safer for them, yes, but the effect she saw the lengthy path had on them in the reflection of the rear-view window was more than visible.

Luka's eyes were fixed on the road, his face completely blank, the only thing giving him away his grip on the steering wheel that was causing his knuckles to whiten. While Ethan and Alaric, who was currently staring trough the darkened window only occasionally, exchanged a few glances, Kyle's face was full of worries, causing her mind to jump to the conversation they had at the house the other evening.

"We will take the macadam through the forest there." Ethan's voice filled the living room once again once all of the questions about the vampires call died down, causing Jeremy on her right to visibly tense.

"I want to come."

"He said me and Jenna, Jeremy, remember only the two of us, no weapons. These were his demands. We can't risk it. Not when your sisters life is on the line."

"No one's life is at risk." Jonas's interrupted him calmly. "He said he was calling as the girl's representative. Not her kidnapper. He trusts us, now we have to trust him."

Someone across the room puffed. Bill. "It's easy for you to say with all of the witchcraft mumbo jumbo that you believe in, especially when you won't even be there and they are the ones that are going to get killed. This is a vampire we are dealing with!"

"He is right, Ethan." Ky jumped right in, his voice worried audibly. "Just take something with you. A stake in your jacket, vervain, anything. Or let us come with you."

"You know we can't do that."

"Why not?" Lynn challenged him this time. "He never said about preventing anyone to drive you there, did he? Just take three of us with you with a few bottles of vervain. It's not even a weapon, really, more self-defence thing. You know, for protection."

"Yeah. And then what? When they leave to meet him, what will these guards do if they will need help? Call 911?" Bill locked his eyes with Ethan again. "If you take vervain, you need to have it near you, along with at least two man and a freaking arsenal."

"Look, we don't know this guy," Luka tried to reason them. "We don't know where his boundaries are and we certainly don't want to cross them. If Jenna and Ethan have stakes or more people with them, he will know."

"How about a crossbow in a car and a vervain spray in your pocket just in case," Alaric joined all of their ideas. "The guards would wait in the car. If anything happens they would hear and came to the meeting place to help you."

Ethan nodded. "That will do. Now: Ky, Alaric you will come along. And for the others… Lynn, could you prepare the vervain sparys? Make sure the concentration is right, OK? Jonas help her, will you? Luka…"He threw him his car keys. "You will drive. And Jeremy… I am sure you are better at planning the path than I am."

"Hey." A hand that one of her fellow passengers placed on her shoulder brought her back to life. Ethan. "Are you OK?"

"I am fine." To her surprise her voice was steady. Yes, she was afraid before but they had to do this. Her palms slipped into her jacket pocket, searching it for a moment before she was able to feel the small, cold glass flask, gripping it tightly in a fist.

"Now here comes the fun part," Alaric's voice cut through the morning silence of the living room. "You grip the grenade tightly, with your right hand, you pull the ring out…" He moved the device as he spoke, stopping after each step, making sure she was able to comprehend everything, "… and throw it instantly. This is very important, OK? The explosive the flask contains isn't strong enough to kill you, but if you stay in less than two meter radius from it when it activates, it could seriously injure you."

Her heartbeat increased with every word that left his mouth. She will never be able to do this. They have been doing this for more than an hour, introducing her to every single one of the weapons that they will take with them to the meeting. Everything from vervain spray and grenade in one that she will carry in her pocket, to stakes, guns with wooden bullets and crossbows that will be hidden in a car. Yes, maybe they would stand a chance if something went wrong, the group has been training for years, learning how to use these weapons, inventing them even. But her? She didn't have a clue about this stuff. It the vampire decided to attack them, she will be dead in les that a second. "I understand."

"Now tell me," Ethan turned to face her again. "What is the advantage vervain grenades have against a vampire?"

"Surprise. You have to be quick and throw it at him when he is not expecting it to happen."

"You are right. As for tonight, when will we use these?"

"We won't. Not if he doesn't attack first."

"And your job tonight?"

"Is to validate that my niece is OK," she began, her mind placing the words she was about to speak on her tongue almost robotically, due to the number of times they have already done this. "And to obtain myself from mentioning any names or tactical information."

"Good." The oldest man rubbed his hands, before clapping them together and leaving the couch he has been sitting on. "Then we are done here."

She blinked, tugging herself into the reality again, just as Luka took the last left turn, leaving her with just enough time to scream, before the car went to a sudden halt no more than a centimetre from a raspy, old looking roadblock.

….

Alaric growled as his back after being thrown forward, firmly hit the car sit, hearing Ethan's sigh beside him as well as Ky's irritated yell.

"What the hell, man!? You said you know how to drive this thing."

"Well, I do, if there is somewhere I can drive it to." Luka turned around and answered from the veil, before turning the car of and stepping out of it, urging them to follow. "We have arrived. And I think we have a problem."

The first thing Alaric noticed when he set his feet on the muddy, with grass ranked meadow was fog. It was thick, much thicker than it seemed from the car, its moisture wetting his hair while his eyes were trying to accustom to the wetness, revealing the sight before him more and more with their every blink and filling his body with worry and fear.

The road block in front of him was rusty and old looking, yet it seems to still serve its purpose well, seated in a holding pole heavily, the lifted weight on its other side not even a few feet away from a small rundown cottage; a small porous piece of fabric fastened onto the arch which was once probably standing on the top of houses roof but was, due to its state, now almost completely sunken into its inwardness.

His eyes meet Ethan's. He didn't expect this either- it looked like the vampire knew how to play with them. If this place really was what it reminded him of, they didn't have a chance of hearing their leader's screams for help if something went wrong, yet alone come at the right time. They didn't even know how large this whole place was and how many hiding spots it had. Their plan was useless.

"It looks like… a camp." Kyle stated behind him, causing the man to flinch.

"More like an old resort." Ethan corrected him, his eyes already completely focused on Jonas's son who was slowly running his hand over the block, his fingers a few centimetres above its surface, his back turned towards them. "What is it, Luka?"

"I…I don't know." His reply was shaky. "There is a different energy, on the other side of this sluice. A strong one."

"Like a spell?"

"Could be, but not a bad one. It seems like it's protecting me … It… It feels like family."

"So… What are we going to do?" Ky turned to Ethan again. "You are supposed to meet in less than fifteen minutes."

The old man locked his gaze with Alaric again, the wordless question in his eyes answered with the teachers reassuring nod. He knew what his job was.

"We will stick to the plan."


Without even a flash light they were staggering through the fog, their eyes full of fear and caution as they winced at every twig crunch, wind howl, or every other sound strong enough for their ears to catch, creating quite an amusing scene from where he was, hidden in the dark of one of the many almost completely battered wooden sheds that bordered the main clearing which once served as a gathering place, at every glance surprising him with another hidden memory he thought was long forgotten. Not all of them were happy, yet every time he returned to the present and scanned his surroundings again a smile found its way back to his face. He needed to be mature, he knew, this was supposed to be about Elena after all, but situation like this one came once in a lifetime, so why not take it? They couldn't see him anyway. He laughed again. They looked like cute lost puppies.

He stood up and came to them as they reached the clearing, scanning the man who was standing next to Elena's aunt and was now in reach of his fangs in detail.

He took the first turn to greet them. "I am glad you could make it; it looks like my path directions were clear enough after all. I am Damon", he eyed the man again. "I believe we haven't officially met yet?"

The man nodded. "I am Ethan, and you already know Elena's aunt Jenna."

The strawberry blonde looked even more pale than the first time they talked. "Of course." He bowed his head in her direction a bit.

"What about the people in the car? Care to tell me their names too?" Something flickered in man's eyes; probably worry before he succeeded in hiding it again.

"They are only here for our protection. You don't have to worry about them, thought, they won't do anything, not even cross the sluice. It's just us here, like you demanded."

"Well, as long as they really stay there that's fine with me. I would have brought my own backup too, if I had one."

"Fair enough… You said you have proof that the girl is OK?"

He reached in his jacket pocket and brought out his telephone, pressing the only number on its menu before stepping a stride closer to the pair and handing the device to the woman. "She will be on line in a second."


"We have to go inside! We need to help them!" Kylan's voice kept disturbing Alaric's attempts to be able to catch any sound they agreed on using as an emergency.

"We can't."

"Why not? Because he said so!?"

"Exactly."

"What if he gets himself killed?"

"He won't." He turned to meet Ky's desperate figure. With Ethan being like a second father to him understanding where he was coming from completely. But this was the job he gave them, the job he trusted them with. And yes, both group members that were there with him had done jobs before, but never like this. Never something this big. Unlike the first four, they have never been in a situation where they had to worry about someone that much, not knowing what was happening to that person, not knowing if he is alive. But they needed to learn. They had to. Trust was all they had, but it was worthless if you gave it too quickly. "If the vampire would want him dead, we would see him by now."


Her palm shook as she held the telephone against her ear, the rings echoing through it for what seemed like a lifetime before someone finally picked up and she was greeted by the caution voice of her niece.

"Hello?"

"Elena? Oh my God, Elena, are you OK?"

"Jenna?" the voice on the other side of the line whispered, almost in fear that this was kind of a wicked prank.

"Yes, it's me. Are you all right? How are you feeling?"

"I am fine…" She could hear her smile trough the tears that were, by the sounds she was hearing, obviously running down her cheeks. "More that fine now, actually. Ho…How is Jeremy? How is he doing?"

"He will be better now, a lot better. He misses you like crazy, thought."

"Well tell him I love him and that I will see him soon OK?"

"I will…" The vampire motioned her to hand him his device back. "Listen, I have to go now. But I.. I will see you shortly."

A single tear ran down her face as she pressed the end call button.

….

"You have got it, so tell me now." Damon jumped right into asking one of the most important questions of the night. "After she comes with you, what happens?"

"Right now we just want her to come so we know that she is OK and reunite her with her family. After some time and after we talk to her, thought, she will be presented with options on what to do next. It will be her choice and everything we propose after it will stem out of that choice," the man replied.

"But what will the choices presented to her be? You have to have a bigger motive behind all of this."

"We do. And so do you." He decided not to push it, knowing that the only way the man was going to tell him his reasons for wanting to save Elena would be if he told him his. "We will talk to Elena about it when we meet her."

"And when do you want that to be?"

"As soon as possible."

"In three days than, same place, same time… And bring vervain." Ethan's eyes shined with curiosity.

"Why? Why not tomorrow?" Jenna's almost panicked voice asked. Great, now they think he is hurting her.

"She said she was fine, and she is. But Elena has been through a lot lately, and she needs time to recover before she will be able to choose her next step responsibly. After being in the CRS for almost two months, coming out was quite a shock for her. She needs time and peace. I don't want to rush her into anything when she is not ready." It was truth; the girl has been acting different lately. Avoiding conversation even with Gabe and rejecting food while the bags under her eyes got bigger every day, one of the best signs to confirm that she was lacking sleep. And now he was only left with three days to fix her.


Damon's hair was damp as he walked through the familiar doorstep, tiny water drops from the drizzle outside running down his leather jacket. He took it off, throwing it on the wooden, ancient looking coat hanger he once bought, before he let his ears focus on the only thing that he knew will keep him sane after the exhausting night like this one. Her heartbeat emerging from the living room was strong. Quick, but steady, reminding him on his mission as well as causing his own heart to shrink at something he knew was coming, but only hit him now. They will never let him come with them. Humans. After they will get Elena he will never see her again. Was it enough? Will his task be finished then? He didn't know. But it didn't feel right yet. He still had so much to make up for. Will she be safe? Will she miss him? Did she know? He didn't think so. But if he only had three days left with her he will make the best of them as well as prepare her for what was coming. She needed to know. She deserved to. But not today.

Before he knew his legs carried him through the hallway, his pace quickening when he focused enough to hear not only Gabe's whispers, but Elena's uneven breaths. Was she just really shocked or crying, he couldn't tell until he found himself standing under the doorframe of the room they were in, not even slightly prepared for what happened next. For only a moment he was able to see Gabe holding the girl's hand, clearly in an attempt to somehow comfort her as tears run down her face, before she become aware of his presence, their gazes only connecting for a second and then suddenly she was running, with her messily braided hair and eyes full of pain, diving into his arms for a hug, the words of gratitude erupting from her without a pause.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Her small frame was shaking around him, her palms grabbing onto the back of his shirt for support, causing him to pull her even closer to him, one hand on the top of her back, the other gently stroking her head, the only thing he was able to catch before lowering his lips to her ear the fact that Gabe has left the room.

"Shhh." He tried to stop the rush of her words, slowly stepping backwards until they reached the couch, bringing her to his chest in their already standard position he knew she was comfortable with. "What's wrong?"

Sure, he expected her to be happy about being able to talk to her aunt, choosing to surprise her with it, but crying this hard was never on his list of her possible reactions. There had to be something else.

He could feel a sob ran through her, but she swallowed it, struggled to pull herself back together, her voice wheezy. "I am just so happy they are OK."

"That's not it. You know it's not it." He continued to caress her hair for a few seconds, before softly lifting her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes, a motion she has avoided doing not just since today, but for more than two days after she went outside to find herself a reading place. Apparently she run into Gabe there, whom Damon has since then been begging to ran through the conversation they had over and over, trying to think what caused the girl's change in behaviour, only to come up with nothing. "You can tell me. Just tell me whatever it is and we will make it all better. It will all go away, all you have to do is tell me. It's the most important part of overcoming anything, you know, talking about it. It's the only way I can help you."

"Well you shouldn't, then." She sounded almost angry now, pushing herself away from him as she rebuilt her walls back up quickly.

He felt like someone would just hit his head with a hammer, the sudden realisation causing his eyes to widen as he mentally slapped himself before voicing his next statement. The social withdrawal, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, mood swings… It was so obvious. He should have realised it sooner.

"You feel guilty." He watched her wings freeze in mid flap, standing in front of him now, the only thing that still offered her comfort her hand in his, as his words stopped her before she was able to pull away from him completely. "The accident…. You feel like it's your fault."

….

She could feel his eyes on her, studying her reaction, causing her to bow her head in shame and fear and before she could stop it another sob shook through her. It felt like… relief. Like a part of her wanted him to know.

In an instant she was in his arms again, her tears soaking the shirt she hid her face into. Out loud the words sounded so pathetic, so weak, so stupid… And then his voice found her ear again, whispering, calming her, telling her it is OK until she was able to make out her surroundings again, meeting his gaze.

"Hey," he offered her a small smile his lips finding her forehead again before he continued. "I was right wasn't I?"

She let herself nod, slowly, hesitantly, the pain in her chest increasing as if reminding her she shouldn't be telling him this, that she didn't deserve his help, that she didn't deserve to get better, but the urge to fight was stronger.

She heard him sigh, probably in relief that she wasn't denying his statement before the circle around her tightened, bringing her closer to him again, reminding her of a few days ago when she laid in just the same position. She missed this.

….

"We will get you through this, I promise, and I know it's hard but in order to do so we need to be able to talk about what you are experiencing right now, OK?" He looked back down, noticing her suddenly fearful eyes. "I know something is telling you not to do this, but you have to. You have to fight it. You trust me, right?"

His fear of rejection was so strong that he wasn't even sure if he wanted to hear her answer, yet when she took his hand in hers and laid them over his slowly beating heart he knew what it was going to be.

"I do."


Dear sondrex76:

Thank you so much for your reviews, they make me smile every time I see them. :) I really love how since you read it, (btw all of it in one day is kind of amazing, I am glad I was able to get you hooked, ;)) you write something every time I update a new chapter to keep me inspired, express your enthusiasm and a wish to read more which ALWAYS brightens my day. I wish this chapter as well as my response to your reviews couses yours to become even better than it already is too. As for your thanks for me writing this story… Anytime! I mean it; it's one of my favourite things to do. :)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream


Dear DamonPercyRBae:

OMG, thank you so much! This is without a doubt one of sweetest review I have gotten so far :) I am glad you like the story and hope this chapter exceeds your expectations or at least meet them. As for Delena: the moments they had in the last episode we so cute! As for the promo for the next one, so good…The kiss! They will get back together for sure now but as much as I like this whole "falling in love again" idea, I hope Elena gets her memories back at one point. (They were far to amazing for her to just forget them forever.) Well I guess we will see. God the waiting for this mid-season break to be over almost killed me.

Thank you for your support again, you are amazing, never forget that! If you ever decide to make a profile here, either to write stories or just to be able to follow them don't hesitate to PM me if you want to. I feel like we could be friends. Oh, and given what you said about your love for Damon and Elena in the review… Their relationship is still evolving in this story. Right now they don't know, what is it, how would they call it. A friendship? Something Elena needed to feel safe? Or just a part of the job Damon thinks he has to do to be forgiven? Whatever it is it's growing. Slowly, of course, but with every chapter that I write and if you like to watch that happening at least half as much as much as I do, you will certainly like the next one ;)

Love,

AGirlThatDaresToDream