Author's note: I don't own TVD - just borrowing the characters for a bit. I'll give them back by the time hiatus is over...oh, who am I kidding? I'll be working on a different story by then.

This chapter took an unexpected turn. I hadn't anticipated all this backstory, but Damon just started talking and I had to write it down. Hope y'all enjoy it!

Thanks for all your support. Reviews make an author's day.

Elena sat in the far corner of the porch swing. The cool evening breeze washed over her arms, and she fought back a shiver. She wasn't ready to go back inside where she was forced to wrestle with the visions and images her mind kept pulling to the forefront of her thoughts. How was Stefan faring in the tomb? What was he doing with Katherine? Why wouldn't he let her come see him?

Damon seemed to feel her unease. "Tired?"

"No, just thinking." She lightly pushed off from the porch. The swing listedevery so slightly back and forth as she struggled to find a new topic of conversation to avoid going back in the house. "Is it odd for you to be back?"

"On your porch?"

Elena laughed softly. "No...here. In Mystic Falls. I mean, I know why Stefan stayed." She frowned. "Or at least I think I do, but I don't know why you stayed. I don't get the feeling you've ever stayed in one place for too long. It can't be easy for you to be here. The town has to be full of memories."

Of course it was hard for him to be here, but not for the reasons Elena was thinking. Here, on the porch, he was close enough to Elena to hear the gentle whisper of her heartbeat in her chest. The soft scent of her shampoo perfumed the air around her. Being in Mystic Falls was a cakewalk compared to sitting this close to Elena - knowing she'd never truly be his...and that he was the one who'd made that choice.

"Damon? Did I say something wrong?" Elena had shifted forward in her seat and was staring at him in concern.

"No. It's fine." He brushed off her comment. "Yes, there are a lot of memories here." His eyes fixed on the steps of her porch where he'd poured his heart out to her...only to discover he'd been deceived by Katherine yet again. He studied Elena as she sat next to him. She reached up and massaged her neck - a habit he'd begun to associate with when she felt almost overwhelming stress.

She'd asked about his past - a topic generally closed and locked both to himself and others. Hell, he didn't even discuss their youth with Stefan.

But Elena was different. What was one more sacrifice for her?

Slowly, he began...his speech reverting back to that of an earlier time. "Sitting out here on your swing, if I close my eyes I can imagine I'm back with Sarah Ann. Her family wasn't one of the founding families. They'd moved here when she was 10. I'd instantly been taken with her. She was quiet and shy, not really my type. But she was new and a challenge. Her hair was as bright as spun gold. I couldn't resist. On the first day she was at school, I tugged one of her braids. She screamed and Miss Pritchett descended on me. I earned myself 10 lashes with the ruler, but I didn't mind. She knew who I was, and she never forgot." He gave a satisfied smirk.

"It was years before we were really together. Father spoke with her father, Dr. Gray. Both families were important to the town. We were considered a good match. In 1859, I'd only just begun to truly court her. Her aunt was frightening beyond words. Whatever rules she put in place, I was certain to follow. She finally consented to let me come sit on the porch with Sarah - the front curtain was always pulled open so there'd be no hint of impropriety. As if I'd even think of doing something improper with her..."

Elena tried to stifle a laugh, but only succeeded in making a barely-concealed choking sound.

"You scoff?" He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in her direction. "I was the perfect Southern gentleman in those days." He shook his head and continued the story - pleased to see that Elena had settled back on the swing and had relaxed the stiff set of her shoulders.

"What happened to her?"

"It was a different time back then. Mystic Falls had been so isolated - without even a train station, we seldom saw the epidemics that struck the rest of the country; but that winter, we weren't so lucky. Diphtheria hit the town when I was 19, and she was 17. Her father was quickly overwhelmed, and she was the logical choice to act as his nurse since her mother had passed away several years earlier." Damon took a breath. He hadn't discussed this with anyone in years, and he really wasn't sure why he'd decided this was the best way to pass the time tonight with Elena. Now that he'd started the story, he couldn't really stop telling her what happened.

"I didn't see her for days. When I finally did, it was because Stefan had fallen ill. Father wouldn't let me see him - that was the first time I'd ever seen him truly afraid. He brought Stefan downstairs into his room, it was easier to keep him away from the rest of us living in the house. Sarah Ann brought what medicine the town had left...which wasn't much. That afternoon when she came out of his room, I've never seen her look that tired or that afraid. She wouldn't answer me when I asked her how he was. She just shook her head and ran out of the house. But she couldn't keep it a secret any longer. I'd been waiting outside Father's room. I knew how sick Stefan was. Before that, I'd snuck around the side of the house. With the window cracked to let in fresh air, I'd been able to hear him as he struggled to breathe. Sometimes he'd cough so hard only to completely stop breathing, and I thought he'd died. Father never left his side. I sat outside the window all night long in that frigid air. I counted every breath he took. No one noticed my absence. By the next morning, it was clear that the worst was over. He was going to be alright, obviously, but it took months for him to get his strength back. I think that's why Father paid the conscription agent a few years later. He'd already come too close to losing Stefan once. He didn't want to do it again. Me, on the other hand..." Damon shrugged and shook his head. "That always struck me as funny - Stefan was the one who believed in the ideals of the fight, and I was the one who went to war."

"What about Sarah Ann?" Elena probed, only half-wanting to hear the answer. Somehow she knew this story didn't have a happy ending.

Damon hesitated and cleared his throat. "I'd known Sarah was tired. I'd seen that in the shadows beneath her eyes, but I wasn't prepared for what happened. I hadn't really been worried about her at all. She was almost my age - we didn't die from diphtheria. But she did get sick. She fell ill that very night. She'd been working too hard - trying to do too much. She was gone by the next morning." He stopped and looked down at his hand.

At some point during the retelling of the story, Elena had taken his hand in hers. Tears pooled in her eyes. Her warmth spread into him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It was a long time ago, Elena." Damon cleared his throat. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Frowning, he reluctantly released her hand and dug into his pocket. Ric? He stood and walked to the far side of the porch, careful to keep his eyes on Elena. He didn't put it past her to use his momentary distraction to her benefit. "I'll meet you at my house in a few minutes."

"Something wrong?"

Damon forced a smile. He'd already shaken his melancholy and was attempting to be his normal self, so Elena decided to play along. "No. Ric just ran into someone new at the Grill. Miss Gilbert." He extended his elbow in her direction. "May I escort you back to your house?" Feeling slightly confused, Elena stood and laced her hand into the crook of his arm. He guided her to the door and opened it for her. He waited for her to walk inside. "Have a good night, Elena."

"Good night, Damon. Thank you...for being honest with me."

"Always."

She smiled hesitantly. She hadn't realized exactly what she'd done when she'd brought up the past. Stepping to the front window, she watched as Damon crossed the yard and stepped into his car.

Dropping into the driver's seat, Damon thudded his head against the headrest. He'd never planned on telling that much of the story. Somehow Elena always was able to get him to tell more than he intended to. It was worth it. He could still feel a shadow of the warmth of her fingers wrapped around his.

But now he had something else to worry about. Someone was looking for Mason, that couldn't be good. Alaric's words tumbled through his mind as he raced through the town.

Why would a woman drop into town and and be searching for Mason tonight? The full moon hung high overhead as he pulled into the driveway, Alaric's white SUV was already parked in a driveway.

"Where have you been?" Alaric leaned against his car and yelled to Damon.

"Elena-duty."

"What?"

"Your almost step-daughter has developed some mildly suicidal tendencies." Damon frowned. "Someone has to stay with her. It was my shift."

"Do I really want to know?"

"Probably not...I'm going to tell you anyway. Elena wants to make a deal with Klaus."

"That's the original vampire you were telling me about?"

"That would be the one. She thinks that by turning herself in, she'll be protecting everyone else." Damon poured two glasses of bourbon and handed one to his friend. He was sure they'd both be needing a buzz before the night was over.

Alaric exhaled slowly. Yet one more thing he had to work to keep Jenna from learning. He downed the bourbon in a single gulp and poured himself a refill. "So, when's my shift?"

Damon's words were interrupted by a thudding at the door.

"Were you expecting anyone?"

"No." Damon's voice took on a steely-edge as he reached for the wooden stake he'd begun to keep next to the door. He motioned for Alaric to move out of sight when he cracked the door.

"Damon." Rose's spoke in a hoarse whisper as she tumbled in the door - a rapidly spreading red stain on her shoulder. "Werewolf."

Stefan stretched out on the cot and tried to get comfortable...again. His thirst was so intense every pore in his body ached. Ever since he'd taken on his immortal form, he'd been immune to feeling the cold - until tonight. He fought against the shivers that threatened to overwhelm him as he fought the nightmares and twisted dreams he knew sleep would bring.

"When did you feed last?" Katherine sat on her cot with her legs extended in front of her. "Before your ever-so-valiant attempt to retrieve the moonstone, I'm sure. Elena couldn't be bothered to give you a little sip to help ensure your success?"

"Stop it." He rolled on his side to face the stone wall.

"But I'm not tired."

"If you so desperately want to talk, why don't you tell me why you really came back?"

Katherine rolled her eyes as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She reached out and tugged his shoulder to roll him back to face her. "Stefan." Her voice took on the tone of a mother speaking to a very young child. "We've been over this. I came back for you. I don't understand why you don't believe me."

"Why should I? When did you ever tell me the truth?"

"Point taken." She nodded her head. "But I only lied about the unimportant things. I really did love you." She circled him and knelt in front of him. "And you loved me." She backed away. "Oh, don't get worked up again. I know you've moved on...I can see how well that worked out for you." She chuckled. "You really should admit to yourself, though, that you did feel something for me." She stared at the stiff set of his shoulders. "Why else would you have stayed here when you saw her? You saw in her a chance to fall in love with me all over again."

"She's nothing like you."

Katherine's lips turned into a grin. "But you didn't know that when you first met her. Admit it, Stefan. Confession's good for the soul. When you pulled her out of the water, your heart raced. You thought you'd found me."

She waited for Stefan's answer, but it didn't come.

"You're still not convinced." She slid down the wall onto the damp earth. "Here's the deal. You want to know why I came back? You want me to prove that I care about you? Maybe this will convince you."

"Really, it's all Damon's fault." She shook her head. "If that lovesick puppy hadn't convinced Emily to save me, none of this would have had to happen. Once he opened that tomb, and the others got out, word began to spread that I wasn't in the tomb. I knew Klaus would hear about it and come looking. And when he investigated, he'd find her. I already knew who she was. I'd figured out that much when Isobel told me her daughter looked just like me. I'd always kept track of my family line - much safer that way. I knew it was only a matter of time. I was surprised, though to discover when the next doppleganger finally arrived to find you standing at her side." She stretched one leg out in front of her and hugged her other knee. "I couldn't have that."

Her chocolate brown eyes locked with his and for an instant, Stefan forgot he was talking with Katherine. She continued. "When Klaus finds out about Elena, he will take her...no matter who's standing in his way. He. Will. Kill. You." Her voice became heavy with emotion. "And I can't let that happen because I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."

For an instant, she was the girl he'd fallen in love with all those years ago. She stroked his cheek, and he didn't pull away. "Admit it, Stefan. Be honest with yourself for once. Be honest with me. In 1864..."

He choked out an answer - barely realizing he was speaking aloud. "It was real."

I know this is a short chapter for me, but it was unusually "heavy." It was a little different than I'd planned, but sometimes I have to go with what my characters want to say. The next sections are equally intense, and I decided to break this into two parts. I'll try to have the next chapter up on Thursday to make up for the brevity of this one.

As always, reviews make the fingers type faster. Thanks a million!