"So," Elena said with a grin, "You took me out, to show me the local bar?" She laughed, amused, but the truth was, she was happy just to be out in the open. She and Damon were standing in the street, looking up at the sign on the old brick building. It read, Mystic Grill, and Elena almost laughed again at the terrible pun.

Damon pretended to be offended, faking a wounded expression and shaking his head, "Oh, Elena, how you underestimate me," He smiled, "Don't worry. This is just our first stop. We have a big day ahead of us." He gestured to the Mystic Grill. "Elena, sweetheart, this is not just a bar. This is a fine dining establishment, and not only does it serve one mean hamburger, but the whiskey is exquisite." He grinned widely, looking very amused with himself.

"I have never tried whiskey." Elena said uncertainly, remembering that her father had enjoyed a glass of whiskey in the evenings. He had told Elena that it was not the woman's place to drink whiskey. The occasional glass of wine, or perhaps a flute of champagne at a special event, was for a lady, but no more. "And what's a hamburger?"

Damon led her into the Mystic Grill. The inside was nice; warm and rustic and comfortable. They were shown to a table for two, and Damon helped her to her seat, tucking it in for her. "Well, I'll have to enrich your life," He grinned and showed her a menu. "And as long as you've been keeping yourself… well fed," She could interpret what he meant by that. "You should be fine with human food. I recommend the burger."

Elena smiled, nodded, and placed the menu down on the table. Damon grinned, and called over the waitress.

Damon hadn't been kidding when he said that they had a big day ahead of them. Elena was sure that she had seen ever little thing Mystic Falls had to offer, and from what she had seen, it was a nice little town. The locals were kind and friendly; the buildings had character and charm; Damon was a wonderful guide, too. Elena often felt a head rush when she looked at a certain building or an old gate; a rush of memory. She mentioned this to Damon, who said it was only natural, considering she had lived there once, even if only for a small amount of time.

Elena couldn't actually remember living there, and when she asked Damon what year it had been, she had felt herself jump from surprise when he answered; 1864. Her curiosity was ravenous, and she had no will to maintain it.

"Why did I leave? No, no, why did I come here?" She asked Damon eagerly as they walked through the streets of Mystic Falls. "Did I have family? Who were my friends? Did the locals like me? Did I have an admirer? Did I ever court anyone?" Damon laughed at the endless stream of questions. "What about animals? Did I have any pets?" Elena grinned, hanging onto one of Damon's arms.

Damon faked irritation, "Hey, hey, hey," He said with a voice like silk, "One question at a time!" He said.

Pouting, Elena nodded, and asked her first question. "Why did I come to Mystic Falls? Did my family bring me here?" She couldn't remember her family very well, and only saw them in brief fragments of her former life; her father drinking whiskey by the fire; her mother working on needlecraft and embroidery projects; going for strolls along the sandy beaches of her childhood home; her father promising to pay for her piano tuitions; her mother combing her hair and talking about long-off engagements and weddings. The little she remembered of her parents was not from Mystic Falls, though, and from what she remembered of her mother and father, she doubted that they would have sent her to a strange, new town all by herself. Her mother and father would have chaperoned her.

"Your mother and father died in a carriage accident. It was quite the tragedy. My father invited you to come and live with us, because he had been friends with your father when they were young." Damon's voice was sad and haunted. He pushed his dark hair away from his eyes. "You had nowhere to go, and at the time, it was improper for a young woman to live alone."

Elena nodded, feeling almost mournful for parents she could only partly remember. She was eager to take back her good mood, so she continued with her questions. "Pets? Did I have pets?"

Damon brightened, "I don't know about pets, but you did like horse riding. If I remember correctly, you learnt to ride a horse when you were ten years old, and you were sad when you came to live with us, because we didn't have a stable or a horse, and you had to give up riding."

Elena smiled, "I might like to try horse riding one day." She said. Damon bit back an innuendo and reminded himself to be gentlemanly and charming. She looked quickly at Damon, "Did I have any friends?"

Damon thought for a moment, "Well, if I remember rightly, we were good friends. And you got on quite well with my brother, Stefan, too, though I don't think you spent very much time together." Elena wobbled on her feet and her vision was reduced to darkness for a fraction of a second, and she could see- in her minds eye- Stefan Salvatore, dressed sharply and wearing a kind, sincere smile. Damon hadn't noticed her lapse in posture. "Before you left, you seemed to really hit it off with Katherine, too, which I distinctly remember thinking was odd, because you hadn't liked her very much at all before that."

Elena thought of the Katherine who had rescued her from the tomb, and, again, she blacked out for a second and saw the same Katherine, except she was wearing a rich red gown, and she was smiling with the elegance of a lady in eighteen-sixty-four.

Elena blinked away the vision.

"As for courting, I think we once considered something of a romantic relationship… I'll admit, I had quite a crush on you." Damon smirked, and Elena blushed and giggled giddily. "I don't know if you had anything going on with anyone before your parents' accident, though." He seemed genuinely thoughtful.

"Why did we put a stop to our romantic relationship?" Elena asked, her smile considerably smaller now.

Damon shrugged, as if it was a mystery to him too, "The truth is, I don't know. I liked you, and you liked me, but… the timing was off." He sighed, "I think Katherine talked you out of accepting my request, and then I made a mistake with Katherine… and then you were gone." He looked at her, startled for a moment, "Where did you go, anyway?" He asked.

Elena flailed for an answer, "I don't know." She replied uncertainly. "I was in a tomb for a long time, just there. I couldn't get out. I don't know if that happened after Mystic Falls, though, or if it happened some time after I'd been here. I still don't remember much. Things keep coming back to me, though, so hopefully soon I'll remember everything." She shrugged.

Damon nodded understandingly, though his eyebrows were still low and unsure. "How long were you in the tomb?" He asked.

Elena frowned. She hadn't been out long, but she hated to think about the time she spent there. She wished she could forget that, just like she had forgotten pretty much everything else, but her time in the tomb seemed to be the only thing she really remembered with any degree of clarity. "I don't know," She said sadly. "I kept blacking out and then regaining consciousness. It was horrible. I spent a really long time just there, and I was starving, too. For blood, you know?" Damon nodded. "At one point, a man came to the tomb. He kept calling me Katherine, and he was going to kill me. I suppose I made him believe that I was Elena, and he took this stone, and he promised he would come back and get me out of there."

Damon smiled, "So he came back and saved you?"

"No," Elena said, scowling. "I never saw him again."

Damon looked down at her, surprised. "What was his name?"

Elena thought about that for a moment. She couldn't remember his name, and then suddenly it hit her. She remembered the face of the man who had lied to her. She remembered him introducing himself. "Klaus Mikaelson." Elena said hastily. "His name was Klaus Mikaelson, and he was with his brother, Elijah." Elena felt a little proud of herself, for remembering the names. "I really don't remember much else, though." She said.

Damon shook his head, "I'm sorry, Elena. I wish I had of known where you were. I would have been your knight in shining armour." He smirked, and Elena laughed. "So, who was it that rescued you?"

Elena smiled, "Katherine Pierce." Damon stiffened beside Elena, but she didn't notice. "It was only a week or so ago. I'm living in her house, and she has this human girl- Caroline- who lets me drink he blood. I think Caroline made a deal or something, with Katherine." Elena shrugged.

"Katherine?" Damon mused.

Elena smiled, "You know what's strange?" She asked, not waiting for a reply. "She didn't invite you over? Considering we all used to be friends in eighteen-sixty-four, I would have thought she would."

Damon was pale- even for a vampire. "Katherine and I didn't actually part in the most amicable of ways," Damon admitted, "Actually, she faked her death. I knew she was alive, though. I even trailed her- right to this town!"

Elena smiled up at Damon, "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you, though. She is so kind. I actually feel like I remember her. I'm sure that I didn't like her, but I cant remember why. I like her now, though. She saved me, and she has been helping me a lot lately." She nodded to herself. "I'm sure when I remember the reason for the bad blood between Katherine and I, it won't matter."

Damon didn't say anything.

"I mean, what could she have done that could be so bad?" Elena laughed gently. "I mean, I am a vampire and I spent God-knows-how-many-years in a tomb! I think I can forgive Katherine for just about anything, since she saved me, and all!" She laughed again.

Damon nodded, "Uh-huh," He mumbled distractedly.