Author's Note:

Thanks to all of you who took the time to review and to push fav and follow. I'm happy to have you all :)

Thank you shoppe69 for your eagle eyes ;)

Have some fun with chapter 19! If you find the time, please let me know what you think :)

xoxo Giuna

Chapter 19

Damon woke up the second Elena climbed out of the motel bed they had slept in for a couple of hours.

"What are you doing?" he murmured, still a little dazed with sleep.

"I can't sleep anymore. My thoughts won't stop circling around the letter. I guess I can't defer reading it any longer," she admitted and grabbed her jacket which she had hung over a chair, fumbling the letter out of the pocket. Smoothing down the crinkled paper, she let her fingers stroke over her name her mother had written God knows when. She climbed back into bed and rested her back against the headboard. With shaking hands, she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

"Do you want to be alone while you read it?" Damon asked considerately, alternately staring at her trembling hands and her pained expression.

"No, please, stay," she pleaded urgently and glimpsed at him, before she unfolded the paper and started reading.

Dear Elena,

when you read this letter your father and I are probably dead, and for that I'm so, so sorry. There are things we kept from you because we wanted you to experience a carefree childhood and youth. I'm unbelievably sad that I won't get the chance to tell you the truth personally, and I really hope that you'll find the letter before you learn about it otherwise.

What I'm going to write will not only change everything you ever believed in, but it will also significantly change your future. What ever thought might cross your mind first, please believe me, Elena, it sounds much scarier than it actually is.

You're not only an ordinary human, Elena, you are just like me, a special gifted kind of woman called socia. Socia is the latin word for partner in life. You'll ask yourself for whom you should be a partner in life and why. Well, one day you'll be a socia for a vampire. I know that's a lot to take in, but trust me, everything is going to be fine, Elena! Maybe you think I've lost my mind, but it is the truth. Not all vampires are bad, and especially not when they are connected with a socia. You already know one… your father. Elena, I would give everything to be there for you right now, and to hug you while you cope with this information. I'm so sorry that I can't!

There are a lot of things you need to know, and I will start at the beginning. The first vampires which appeared on earth were created by a witch. Usually, witches are servants of nature and when they do magic they do it to keep its balance. Creating vampires was against this balance because they were a threat to humans. As a consequence nature produced something to protect humans from vampires in addition to their weaknesses like burning in the sun, getting corroded by a flower called vervain and dying through a wooden stake in the heart.

Nature created us! For almost 1000 years the gene, which makes us a socia, has been transmitted down the female lineage if the begetter had been a vampire. That means, although there are female vampires, there will never be male socias. You must know that normally vampires can't procreate. It is only possible with our kind, and to save our population nature arranged it that only the sperm with female genetic make-up can invade the human ovum.

When a vampire feeds on a woman who has the socia gene, it will be triggered and by giving her some of his blood in return the connection is sealed. That means that from this moment on the vampire can only feed on this woman; any other blood is incompatible to the vampire's system. The blood of his socia will taste better than anything ever before and it will strengthen him in every respect.

The system of a socia will always reproduce the exact amount of blood the vampire takes from her on top of her own blood amount. It is mandatory that the vampire is there to drink this blood. Because, and that is the worse part, the blood production doesn't stop. Even if it sounds weird you can compare it with breastfeeding. The mother produces as much milk as the baby needs due to the amount it usually drinks and the feeding rhythm. Just because the baby isn't hungry to its normal feeding time doesn't mean that the body of the woman is able to just stop producing milk right away because it takes some time for the body to react on the change in rhythm and quantity. For a mother this will only result in a milk-soaked bra, but in or special case it would cause death. Our veins would break at some point and we would drown in the blood which of course would mean that the vampire wouldn't have a blood source anymore. The vampire wouldn't die, though, but he would mummify, which can be compared to being buried alive. This is the worst case scenario.

When the rhythm is persistent nothing will happen. Only when the socia is pregnant the rhythm will change. In that case the vampire needs to feed on her more often due to the naturally increased blood amount during a pregnancy.

It's safe to say that the longer the connection exists the better the interaction gets. He will start to notice when its time to feed with all his senses because the blood, which is meant for him, will call for him. And on the other hand the socia will feel an irresistible pull to the vampire. Don't be afraid of it, Elena. Letting your vampire feed on you will be one of the most intense sensations you will ever experience, because that is the reason of your existence. That's your destiny.

The gene can't be triggered before your 18th birthday, and although it is your choice to decide when you're ready to connect with a vampire, it is important that you do it one day so our kind will continue to exist.

No vampire on this earth is able to recognize you as a socia, but you on the other hand can identify a vampire. A short touch will be enough and your body will signalize it to you. That means that, unless a vampire feeds accidentally on you, you can decide with whom you want this connection with. But be careful, Elena, one single kiss from a vampire can be enough to invalidate your own will. Please, never underestimate the power of the gene. It can easily take control of your actions! When you get linked to a vampire something else happens to your body. As I wrote before, socia means partner in life and this refers to the lifetime of the vampire which usually means for eternity. Therefore, from the moment the gene is activated, your body won't get any older. That implies that you can't get ill, but it doesn't mean that you can't get hurt in an accident! You really have to be careful, and so has your vampire. Your existences are linked together in a matter of life and death! Keep that always in mind!

Your father and I are together for 250 years now, but that was only possible because we kept our secret from almost everybody. You need to understand that you are a very rare and a very valuable supernatural being. When the knowledge of our existence spread there had downright been a hunt on us, and many socias died together with their vampires. The offenders had been clueless about this kind of connection; otherwise they had known that it is impossible for a vampire to feed on an already linked socia. For them the blood is as incompatible as any human blood is for a linked vampire. The problem is when a socia gets bitten or even when she cuts her finger, the bleeding won't stop. She can only be healed with the blood of her vampire. This has something to do with the increased blood amount in our bodies and the correlation between socia and vampire. This is very important, Elena, especially when you'll give birth one day. Your vampire has to be around to heal you otherwise you won't survive the delivery!

A short time later in history, the circle of the Martin witches invented a spell to unlink and re-link socias from one vampire to another. Only when the socia is already pregnant the original connection can't be destroyed.

Needless to say that those witches had been forced to abuse the spell to steal socias from their vampires. From this moment on the couples were on a run and those who survived still are. I can't imagine something worse than knowing that your beloved partner is captured in a stadium between live and death while you're forced to spend eternity as a slave to the vampire you hate the most. I'm sure that this is the reason why the original name socia had been replaced by the disparagingly name blood-slave.

Your father and I had been very lucky to get to know a witch whose circle had attempted to stop the Martin witches from inventing the spell, and deeply regretted their failure and the outcome. She was willing to help and cast a spell that made us invisible to any other supernatural being including witches. All witches apart from the witches of her own bloodline. This kind of protection might not be perfect because potential offenders can still use their other senses to find us, but it gives us a useful advantage.

The name of the witch was Emily Bennett and she promised to be there for us whenever we would need help again. But it was only after your birth that we needed her once more, and although she was long gone she had kept her promise by devolving it to another witch of her bloodline and so on. Therefore we met Sheila Bennett who not only extended the invisible spell over your body but also cast a charm which let our outer appearance age again, so you wouldn't get suspicious before your 18th birthday. You will find her in a small town named MysticFalls in Virginia. Please, Elena, be careful. If your father and I are really dead, the invisibility spell isn't active anymore, because it was bound to the blood connection between your father and me of which you were also a part. There is no need to panic, though. As I wrote before, a vampire won't be able to see what you are, besides nowadays, with the socias as rare as ever, the knowledge of our existence has almost faded. Still, I'm not sure if a witch couldn't manage to identify you. Elena, promise me to find Sheila Bennett as soon as you have chosen your vampire. The last thing I want for you is to be a blood-slave. What I want for you is to experience the beauty of being a socia.

I love you so much, Elena, and only the thought that we can't be with you anymore breaks my heart. As much as I hope that you find this letter, all the more I hope it won't be necessary and I can tell you all this by myself one day.

Mom

Elena let the letter fall into her lap, staring ahead of her with an empty expression in her eyes while tears streamed down her cheeks.

Without saying a word, Damon pulled her against his chest into a firm embrace, helping her coping with what she had just learned. Within seconds she began to weep bitterly, desperately trying to wrap her mind around her mother's words.

"Shsh, Elena, you'll be fine, everything is going to be fine," Damon attempted to comfort her, although he knew that the only thing that would heal her eventually was time.

"It's going to be a girl," Elena sobbed, verbalizing the first clear thought which popped up in her mind.

"What? How do you know?" Damon asked stunned, but with a hint of joy in his voice.

"Here, read for yourself," she offered and put the letter in his hands.

"Okay," he answered simply and started to read. While Damon's eyes darted over the lines, Elena closed her eyes, still having a hard time to handle the emotions within her. Why couldn't her parents be here? Reading the words made her miss them as if she had lost them all over again. Wrapping her arms around her belly, she cuddled against Damon, snuggling against his neck.

Eventually, Damon finished reading, folded the letter and put it on the night stand.

"Wow, everything makes more sense now," he commented and panted. "I like the thought of you being my socia much more than you being my blood-slave. This term fits our connection so much better!" Damon stated, feeling Elena nodding against his chest.

"Are you okay, Elena? It's a lot to take in…," he whispered against her head and caressed her back gently, noticing the way she had rolled herself into a small ball in his arms.

"I don't know, I think so. We already knew most of it…," she breathed faintly but more calm, trying to focus on the new information and not on her emotions.

"I would like to talk to you about it Elena, or is it too soon for you?" he questioned, having some things on his mind he needed to know.

"No, we can talk about it. Maybe that will help to realize what all this means," she breathed. "What do you want to know?"

"I just asked myself something. As your mother wrote, your parents had been together for 250 years. All this time nothing had happened to them. Certainly because they were protected by the spell, but surely because they took good care of each other too. I don't understand how they could die in a simple car accident," Damon said full of doubts.

"Maybe, because it wasn't that simple. It happened a couple of days before my 18th birthday. They were on their way back home. My dad was driving. The weather was horrible. It was blustery like the days before, and when they passed a forest area a tree fell on the road. Obviously it happened out of a sudden so even my vampire father wasn't able to stop the car or to get them out of it in time. Instead he crashed against the tree. Its branches broke the front window and one staked my father through the chest. At least that's what the police officers who found my parents told me. The car exploded during the accident so it wasn't possible to ascertain the exact cause of death. I guess my mom burned to death, while my father died due to the branch through his heart…," Elena stopped and swallowed heavily. Maybe it had been fate, she thought.

Damon stared at her in shock, not able to find the right words. He had never thought that something ordinary like a car accident could kill a vampire, but this story showed even to him, how fast life could be over.

"Your mother was right, you know? We really have to take good care of each other, especially with our baby on the way. I would never want to lose the chance of seeing her growing up. I might not have made myself clear enough, Elena, but I am so happy that we will be parents. During my long life that had always been the one thing I longed for the most. Even though I had buried the thought deep down inside my mind," he revealed, laying one hand protectively over her belly.

"That's good to hear," she smiled brightly, but her facial expression didn't remain happy for long. "She is going to be like me. What if we won't be able to protect her? If Klaus can't have me, maybe he will come for her one day. What if he kidnaps her? He could easily hold her hostage and trigger the gene when she turns 18! I don't want her to go through something like my own past, Damon!" she panicked with her breath unsteady and sat up.

"Shsh, Elena, calm down," Damon hushed her again and grabbed her hands firmly. "Nothing like that will happen! We'll go back to Mystic Falls as soon as possible and we will find this witch. She will cast the spell and that will give us a huge advantage. You'll see Klaus won't find us!" Damon told her and nodded, locking eyes with Elena.

"But what if Greta will find out about the spell and a way to undo it? Or worse, what if Klaus is still in Mystic Falls waiting for us so Sheila Bennett won't be able to cast the spell at all?" Elena pointed out while her heartbeat became erratic.

"I don't think that Klaus is still in Mystic Falls. Greta said it herself, he wants her back, and therefore he is probably searching for her. We just need to hurry. And when the spell is working, we will find us a safe place to stay. Maybe Ric can help us with that, so we won't leave any traces. As soon as we are settled we will create new identities and that should prevent Klaus from finding us. It's going to work, Elena. We will make this work!" Damon explained insistently and rubbed her arms reassuringly.

"Okay," Elena breathed and nodded slightly. "But what about Stefan and Caroline? Don't you think Klaus is coming after them? Out of revenge or to find out about our whereabouts," Elena considered with her face full of concern.

"Most likely…," Damon confirmed. "We're going to talk to them about it. I'm sure there will be a solution for that problem too."

"When the spell is cast Stefan won't be able to see you anymore, you know that, right?" Elena demanded and felt even sadder.

Damon tried to keep himself from smirking, but managed it only for so long, "Too sad that it's not the other way around!"

"Tsk, Damon!" Elena rolled her eyes, but grinned slightly.

"No, seriously. I get that, but we still could talk so I guess its okay for him, although he'll miss my outstandingly beautiful face of course."

"Of course," she teased and shook her head at her childish boyfriend, but again, after a couple of seconds she drifted away.

"What else is bothering you?" Damon asked softly, seeing Elena's face full of pain.

"It's just… I can't believe that they had been together for so long; that they had been so old. I never suspected anything, not that my father had been a vampire nor that he did feed on my mom day by day. I must have been blind!" she sneered at herself, clenching her teeth frantically.

"No you weren't blind. They just knew what they had to do to prevent you from finding out what they were. For example: I'm sure your father owned some jewelry similar to my daylight ring to be able to walk in the sun…," Damon elucidated calmly.

"You're right!" Elena said surprised and took Damon's hand to examine his special ring. "He always wore a leather bracelet with a blue gem!"

"See? It's called Lapislazuli and the exact gem a witch need to cast the daylight spell," Damon informed Elena while she traced her finger over his ring; a slight smile on her face.

"I just wish that I had found out when they had still been alive. I'm really not sure if they made the right choice by not telling me the truth. To grow up witnessing a relationship like theirs, and knowing that someday something similar would happen to me, doesn't seem scary at all. It would have reassured me of what I am and the task that comes along with it," she explained and drew a deep breath.

"I'm sure that they didn't make it an easy decision. I don't know, maybe they thought it would be hard for a child to keep the secret and I'm sure their fear for losing you had been immense…," Damon tried to put himself in her parents shoes.

"I'm sure that was the way they were thinking. It sounds a lot like them," she grinned a little bit. "You know what I don't understand as well? If they had been together for 250 years, why don't I have any sisters?"

"I don't know, honey. I'm sorry. I can only guess that they waited until they thought it would be safe for her daughter to find a vampire, and not to be forced into this connection. I'm sure 250 years ago the hunt on your kind was much more intense than today."

"Yeah, maybe that was their reason…," Elena murmured and sighed. She was glad that she had read the letter, and although she wasn't sure if she would let her own daughter in the dark about her destiny, she could understand her parents. She had been so angry when she had heard the truth from Greta, but now her anger was gone and therefore she was very relieved.

"What are we going to do now?" Elena asked, after a while sliding through her most beautiful memories concerning her parents.

"I think we should go to Stefan and Caroline and fill them in on the news. Then we're going back to Mystic Falls," Damon suggested.

"Good," Elena answered, but it sounded as if she didn't like the plan. While she climbed out of the bed, she stopped in the motion. "Damon?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really afraid of going back…," she whispered and hung her head.

"I know…, and I can't promise that nothing will happen, but we need to see this witch. And like I said, I'm sure Klaus is searching for Greta right now. This is going to be the best chance we will get," he tried to convince her.

"You're probably right. I'll get ready."

After Damon and Elena had informed Stefan and Caroline about the news, the four got into the Camaro and headed back to Mystic Falls.

While Damon talked to Alaric on the phone and Stefan and Caroline whispered about Stefan's successful feeding on Caroline with Damon's help, Elena stared at her phone. She searched for Sheila Bennett on the internet, but even after an hour she hadn't found an address or a phone number. Nervously she stared at Damon who was just telling Alaric about the spell which would protect them, if… yeah if, she would find Sheila Bennett. It was enough to drive one mad! Why the hell couldn't she find the witch in Mystic Falls? Sighing heavily a thought crossed her mind. What if Sheila Bennett had moved? If that was really the case, how were they supposed to find her? Elena felt an all too familiar lump building in her throat. They were screwed! They hadn't enough time for a research in Mystic Falls, besides asking questions would draw way too much attention.

Helplessly she looked at Damon who reasoned with Alaric about a safe home for them. When her eyes darted back on her screen, flipping through the searching results, they fell on another name. Bonnie Bennett.

"Damon?" Elena interrupted him excitedly and wiggled with her phone. "I might have found something!"

"Ric? I'll call you back! Elena found something about the witch. Laters!" he told his friend and hung up. "What is it, babe?" Damon asked and sounded just as excited as Elena.

"Actually, I couldn't find anything about Sheila Bennett, but look: here is an entry about the Mystic Falls high school. A Bonnie Bennett graduated there a year ago. Maybe she is related to Sheila Bennett and can help us find her," Elena mused getting back some of her hope.

"I knew it!" Caroline suddenly yelled from the backseat, causing Damon and Elena to turn their heads in sync. "What?"

"I knew I've heard the name of the witch before. Bennett as in Bonnie Bennett. I'm sorry I didn't recognize it immediately, but Bonnie Bennett was a year below me," Caroline said apologetically and sighed.

"Do you know where she lives?" Damon asked hopefully, turning his head to face the street.

"No, unfortunately I don't. But I still have the number of the school in my phone. One sec!" she told them, fumbled for her phone, searched through her contacts and dialed before she reached her cell to Elena who stared pretty puzzled at her friend.

"Mystic Falls high school, you're speaking with Jennifer Brown." A nice voice said.

"Hi, this is… Miranda Summers. I'm looking for a friend of mine, Bonnie Bennett. We lost sight of each other and I thought you might know if she still lives in Mystic Falls. I'm passing through shortly, and I want to take the chance to visit her. She must have changed her phone number because I can't reach her. Could you please tell me her address?"

"Um, Miss Summers, I can't give away personal data!" Mrs. Brown told her and sounded suddenly pretty strict. Shit!

"Please, Mrs. Brown, I'm sure Bonnie would be very happy to see me again, and I would rather spend some time with her than asking me through half the town to find her. Please?" Elena begged sweetly and squinted her eyes shut, waiting for Mrs. Brown's answer.

"Fine, Miss Summers, the address is 2136 Conyers Street, Mystic Falls. You don't have this information from me, okay? I hope Miss Bennett and you will have a great reunion."

"Thank you so much Mrs. Brown!" Elena said happily and grinned all over her face.

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

"I got the address!" Elena rejoiced. While tipping the address into her phone she suddenly stopped and took a deep breath.

"Everything okay?" Damon wanted to know and glimpsed at her in concern. She had turned pale in the blink of an eye.

"No, Damon, I'm feeling queasy. Please, stop the car!" She pleaded and even before the Camaro came to a full halt, Elena jumped out of the car and started to vomit. Morning sickness at noon?! Wonderful!