Author's note: And we have the epilogue!

It took me a little while to figure out how to bring them back – and interestingly enough – it was Timey Wimey that gave me the idea. So, I guess slight spoilers for a future plot-point in TW for anyone who's been reading this story. :D Though precisely how any of this is a spoiler won't be evident for quite a while.

See! Stories feed other stories! Now no one can be mad at me for having a billion WIPs? Right? Right!? :D Anyway, on with the show!

Ancient Thrace, approximately 2,000 years ago

Elena and Damon arrived in a whirlwind of light, in the middle of what looked like a mercifully empty field surrounded by mysterious ruins – ones that pulsated with a potent, though mysterious energy. They saw a shepherd desperately chasing a member of its escaped flock seconds after the swirling light particles that were a telltale sign of Traveler temporal displacement dissipate, struggling to get their bearings. He looked very young – perhaps in his early teens. The boy continued to chase the wayward sheep, yelling at it to please come back, while the two witches stared at him in wonder.

Damon grabbed Elena's hand, desperate to make sure that she was actually there – and didn't just dematerialize like the light that hitherto surrounded them on their momentary journey. He heard her breathing hard and turned to find her wide, doe-brown eyes trained on him in amazement.

"We're here," she whispered, stating the obvious.

Damon only nodded, his cerulean eyes observing, gathering the visual information of the space about them, when he felt her arms around his middle, tight, trembling, oozing with relief.

Elena pressed her face into his shoulder, fighting to make her breath even, not entirely sure what to say. They were displaced in both time and space – nearly two thousand years into the past. From what they knew, they were the first in the history of all Traveler witches anything like this.

"Wow," Damon murmured, burying his face into her hair, then an unlikely thought occurred to him. "Why was I able to understand him? That kid chasing the sheep?"

"Likely a side-effect of having an Air supplement," she shakily explained. "Air is the element of communication, so the magic would enable us to freely communicate. It's been long theorized that all Traveler witches have this ability to some extent, since this is the crux of our magic, but anyone with a surplus of Air energy even more so."

Damon raised both eyebrows in amazement, then stepped back, to smirk at her wryly. "Well, you did promise me adventure," he winked, taking her hand, and pressing it to his lips. "So where's this ancient citrus?"

Elena laughed, still blushing every time he did that. Perhaps she always would, she understood. "We have to make our way over to Aetna – that's where Olysses' ship is based. Emily told me that when she communed through the flames with her ancestor, Qetsiyah, he came back from a Travel because his citrus supply went missing and the ship's Water Healer had to run out on an emergency, and he didn't want the crew to develop scurvy."

"Is that the guy your ancestor left this Silas guy for?" Damon asked, still exploring the space.

"I don't think Amara and Silas were ever actually together," Elena replied, narrowing her eyebrows in consternation. "I think they were on the verge, and this pushed her in an entirely different direction. So, our goal!" she brightened, squeezing Damon's hand to meet his eyes jubilantly, "is to make sure Olysses is forced to return as he did in our past."

Damon looked down at himself, and then to Elena, smirking. "I think we may need to change. What that kid was wearing looks wildly different from our choice of attire," he explained to Elena's agreeing nod.

Later that afternoon, clothing was reported missing from the clotheslines of several prominent Thracian households. No one was reported actually seen at the scene of the crime – it was as though great gusts of wind just swept the articles away – though, curiously, only specific articles of clothing, without touching anything else on said line.

They were able to find lodging relatively quickly, despite not actually having any of the local currency. While touring the ancient city, now finally dressed like locals, Elena took every opportunity she had to make physical contact with a friendly stranger – either through extending her hand for a gentlemanly kiss or taking the hand of her fellow ladies in a show of sisterhood – to gather intelligence. They had to learn to blend in, and they had to do it quickly – the laws and strict hierarchies of ancient worlds had a tendency to be considerably more severe than those they were used to.

They learned that Magic, in the formal sense, was accepted and celebrated here, and the local witches would gather at magical temples to conduct their ceremonies and rituals. Although they knew that Katherine and Aurelia had famously solved the mystery of Traveler magic, that was then lost to the ages, it was curious to be in the world that was very much in the midst of trying to discover what they both already knew.

Olysses was on a Travel trying to discover this secret, convinced that it had to do with traveling in the literal sense, to magical hotspots all over the world; while Silas attempted to do so why meditating at a magical temple, suggesting that the secret was more personal and mental.

It turned out that they were both right and wrong – Traveler magic referenced the ability to wander through and explore time and space, where they would be able to find ways to acclimate to the local environment using the powers of elemental manipulation with which they were bestowed.

Elena had successfully used empathic hypnosis on a human innkeeper for the time being, while she and Damon formulated a plan to instill Amara's Act of Serendipity into the permanent flow of time.

Elena sat on the bed in their room, while Damon paced about, the movement helping him think.

Ultimately, they decided that they would set off the following day. It was imperative that they stay hidden – no one on Olysses' ship could suspect anything other than coincidence for the sharp turn of events.

Stealing the citrus should be easy enough – just create a distraction and then employ the use of Air magic to whisk it all away.

But how to lure the Water Healer away?

After a few hours of planning, fire and water scrying, and taking their minds off their dilemma with a quick look about the town, they came up with a plan.

They learned the identity of the healer – a young witch by the name of Antigone, who tended to her aging father in a small village near Ithaca. She had little family left aside from him and three rambunctious cousins, whose raison d'être seemed to be to cause as much mischief as possible, thus potentially increasing her father's aging process that much more.

It took a few hours, but they finally neared the village, hoping to spot the three errant boys, giving their uncle a massive heap of trouble on a near-hourly basis.

It was a wild aspect of Water magic, but one related to telepathy, so Elena resolved to cast an illusion on one of the three to make them appear ill, and to have it dissipate within a week's time. That is approximately how long, Elena and Damon reasoned, it would take Antigone to come home, and thus their machinations would likely remain a secret.

Having been a troublesome youth himself, Damon knew that they would find the allure of dancing fire immediately attractive, following its every turn and twirl and dance through the field.

He set about creating the flames, watching them gather to and fro in a magnificent display. As the three could not resist nearing the dancing flames in the field's center, spinning in wheels and balls and flying through the air like giant streaks of blue and orange and yellow light, Elena neared, casting an illusion spell on all three – making their skin appear to have developed pox-like symptoms. The three screamed and ran for home, followed by the two witches. As soon as their uncle frightfully ran to catch them, the illusion spell was cast on him, as well, and the task was complete.

Antigone would undoubtedly sense her uncle's anxiety through her dreams, and the carrier spelled carrier pigeon gifted to him by his daughter would complete the goal if the dreams failed.

Laughing breathlessly, Elena and Damon quickly fled the scene, chartering a ship to take them to Aetna, so that they could complete the second part of their temporal task.

"I almost felt sorry for them," Elena snickered, trying to catch her breath, since the two wouldn't slow down until they were safely ensconced on the ship.

"He'll be fine," Damon dismissed with a wave of his hand. "You said the illusion spell will clear up within a few days, anyway. They'll probably blame it on 'bad wind' or something. Isn't this what people did back then?"

"How weird is it that 'back then' is actually now?" Elena grinned, settling on the deck to lean against the railing. She sighed with the first bit of contentment since they journeyed to the past. "I love the sea."

"I'd check your Water qualifications if you didn't," he raised an eyebrow meaningfully. Fire Witches lacked any ability to do Water magic whatsoever – since they were opposing elements – and the opposite was also true. This left them uniquely vulnerable when detached from their innate element. Having a Twin Flame bond to someone represented by an opposing element offered some degree of protection, being surrounded by water on all sides still made him a bit uncomfortable and out of sorts.

Elena leaned over the railing, easing some of the seawater to come slip into her hands, soaring from the sea up to the waiting witch above. She let it soothe her, heal her frayed nerves.

The sea always had a calming effect on her.

"I'm sure you're happy that we're volcano-bound," she smirked knowingly, observing his oddly tense features.

"You have no idea," he concurred.

"I wish we had some candles," she lamented. "We could at least light them and leave them in our cabin. You'd be able to draw Fire energy from them for comfort."

Damon just shrugged nonchalantly. "We'll have to remember for next time," which elicited a mischievous smirk in Elena – yes, they certainly would have to remember for next time, indeed.

By the time they reached Aetna, Damon was a flurry of emotion, and practically leapt from the ship to soar straight into the volcano, barely taking the time to glance around and make sure there were no prying eyes. Elena's widened, though given the altogether accepted – and even revered – status of Traveler witches at this time, his behavior hadn't warranted the kind of risk it would have in their home time.

It didn't take long to find Olysses' ship. Antigone had already departed for home by the time they arrived – frantic and panicking that her entire family may have caught some mysterious illness.

They watched the entire exchange from afar, cloaked telepathically by Elena. Although Olysses was upset, he comforted his shipmate, and wished her well, worried for her family's safety.

"He kind of reminds me of you," Elena observed, her eyebrows knit together in consternation. "Though I'm not entirely sure why."

Damon didn't react, but when he saw Olysses use Air magic to lift himself above the ship to gather some volcanic rock, his eyes widened in wonder. "That's incredible! I want to learn to do that."

"I think I can help with the wind-based flying he does – since we both have an Air supplement, like him, but not the Fire-based, for obvious reasons."

"You mean like this?" Damon grinned roguishly, blue flames erupting beneath feet, his hands, propelling him upward like a veritable phoenix.

Elena's eyes widened in delight as she rose to join him using her supplemental magic to propel her as well, joining hands with him to spin through the air. "When did you learn this?"

"E-le-na," Damon sang with a playful roll of his eyes. "I'm a Fire Witch. How exactly do you think I entered and exited volcanoes?"

She smiled, taking the opportunity to place a searing kiss on her lover's lips, basking in the warmth of the flames that he didn't allow to burn her. When in his embrace, they felt soothing – but they wouldn't scorch, wouldn't destroy – they just allowed her to feel alive straight to her very soul.

Whisking away the citrus was a matter of clever use of Air magic when the ship's occupants were otherwise occupied – and so, having completed their mission – they watched Olysses sadly depart for home in Thrace, completely unaware of the serendipitous change of fortune that awaited him there.

"Well, that's that," Elena announced needlessly, when they made it back to their inn. "The Act of Serendipity is sealed. Our world is safe."

"So, now what?" Damon asked, itching for some activity. He couldn't stand to be cooped up.

"We could go explore!" Elena suggested cheerfully. "Any place in particular you'd like to go?"

"I've always wanted to see the volcanoes of Japan," Damon reasoned, assuming that magic schools were placed all along the Ring of Fire for excitable and knowledge-hungry Fire witches, with the occasional Earth Witch also visiting to explore the seismic activity. "You'd probably get a kick out of the hot springs, too."

"I would," Elena admitted, biting her lip.

And so, they did – for the next year, they traveled from place to place, hypnotizing their way from ship to ship to explore the ancient world. While Damon was utterly fascinated by all the new discoveries, Elena was becoming increasingly restless, growing frustrated at being treated like an object at nearly every locale to which they'd abscond.

"Are you okay?" he asked her one evening, when he found her sulking into her wine at the base of Mount Ida. When she didn't immediately respond, completely lost in her own thoughts, he placed his hands around hers, prompting her to look into his concerned cerulean eyes.

"I don't like the way they treat me here – anywhere. It's all the same," she pouted.

"I know," he soothed, moving to gather her into his arms.

"No, you don't" she argued. "They're actually a lot better when you're around, out of respect for you, mind you – not for me," she sneered. "Just last night, I had two 'noblemen' try to coerce me into becoming their concubine by threatening to have me executed for not paying them proper respect," she spat the word like it was the biggest insult she could think of.

"What!?" Damon asked horrified with rage. "Who?"

She placed a calming hand on his forearm. "Hey, I took care of it," she soothed. "I'm a witch, remember? They were no match for me. I'm just so tired," she sighed. "I wonder if this is how Emily felt when she followed me to Virginia, though I imagine that was probably even worse."

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, placing his arms around her. He knew Elena loved to be held; usually, within minutes, any distress she felt would melt at least a fraction into his embrace.

"Actually," she narrowed her eyebrows in thought, an idea occurring to her. "Maybe you can."

"I'll do anything you need me to," he consoled, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

"If the law demands that I be treated like property, then maybe we can live outside of it," Elena suddenly suggested, filling with excitement.

Damon laughed, finding the idea charmingly absurd. "You want to become an outlaw? Yeah, why not? I can stand to rob a few banks."

Elena bit her lip, anticipating his reaction. "An outlaw of the sea?"

"Pirates?" he raised an eyebrow dubiously, hardly able to control his laughter. "Seriously?"

Elena grinned cheekily, with her lips ever widening in proportion to her degree of mischief. "Remember when I told you I'd want something in exchange for having to wear a corset?"

Damon gaped, his eyes widening in alarm. "Yeah, I thought you'd meant a dangerous trip somewhere, or conquer magical nature in some never-before-done way – not being a pirate!"

"Well, why not? Doesn't pirating sound fun to you? What else are we going to do in this ancient world? Our Air Magic supplements will only get allow us to go so far as far as communication goes, and there are too many witches around for me to use empathic hypnosis effectively to get us some titles. Plus, being a commoner woman during this period is downright awful."

"So, you want to go into being outlaws?" he smirked with profound amusement. "We're doing this?"

"Exactly!" she beamed, finally feeling like this dream would become a reality.

"One small problem. I'm a Fire Witch – and you want me to be surrounded entirely by water."

"We'll keep some candles lit at all times in our cabin, and we'll visit volcanoes frequently! Please?" she pleaded, her doe-eyes growing large in a way that he had never been able to resist.

And so, Elena and Damon had taken to purchasing a ship with some money they'd stolen – arguing that a pirate ship could not be procured by conventional means – and set about recruiting a hardy crew of witches, adventurers, and all kind of exciting vagabonds.

Years later

Elena stepped onto the deck; her olive skin radiantly Sun-kissed in the afternoon's heady glow., dark eyes sweeping over the expanse of the Aegean Sea. An overcoat of red silk hung over her lithe form, light and breezy in the warm, Aegean climate. She closed her eyes, reaching her senses, feelings into the air, the water – feeling the molecules around her tremble, form, dissipate and recreate, transform.

She was a Water Healer, and yet the water healed her, down to her very soul.

Familiar, strong arms wrapped her from behind, their owner placing a kiss into her hair before resting his chin on her head.

Piracy had given Elena some reprieve from the blatant misogyny she faced on a regular basis in the ancient Aegean, since the assembled crew were a roving gang of misfits who had become more like a family. They still would not accept her as co-captain, she lamented, so officially, the title had to go entirely to Damon. Unofficially, they made all decisions as a crew, with the two of them making the final say.

They opted to stay in the surrounding area when Olysses and Amara visited to keep an eye on them, and make sure that Elena's ancestor was not in any danger before she had the chance to procreate – thus allowing Elena to eventually be born.

Since the two had recently departed on another Travel to study naturally occurring magical phenomena in an attempt to learn the secret both Damon and Elena already knew, they were free to explore as they would.

"There's a ship headed to Sparta," Damon told her. "It's carrying spoils of war. Part of its cargo consists of humans," he added in distaste, recalling a familiar argument he had with his father.

Elena turned around in his arms, facing him with a reassuring smile. "Then we have our next target," she supplied, leaning in to kiss him.

They left the shore for the open sea within the hour, raising black sails to signify a quarantined ship, and thus keeping other vessels at bay for fear of contracting whichever disease they feared was on board.

Black sails were precisely that which allowed them to travel so freely.

As they reached their target vessel, they hardly waited for any warning. By now, the crew had developed a strategy, since so many of them were witches. Damon and Alyssa, an Air Witch they encountered near the Arctic while exploring glaciers, would begin the first round of attacks, while Elena and Aristophanes would follow behind. Aristophanes, being an Earth Witch, would then be brought to the base of the ship by Elena's Air supplement, providing protection for the rest by manipulating the wooden planks to act as shields. Elena would hover behind, healing those who needed it. The rest of the crew – the humans – would board as soon as ship was near enough, while the witches provided the bulk of the assault.

It took them some time to develop this strategy, though it seldom failed once fully active.

Once their raid was complete, they'd usually sail to some nearby harbor to celebrate and spend the night in a seaside tavern, the evening filled with drinks and dancing.

It had been like this for years. The crew of the Temporal Enchantress would attack commercial, merchant, and war vessels they found deserved to be taken down, then split the riches among themselves and those they encountered that were in desperate need.

It was a life both thrilling and fulfilling, though as the years passed, both Damon and Elena found that they missed their friends.

And while a life of piracy fulfilled their craving for passion, and adventure, and even a little requisite danger, both their hearts longed to someday return home.

It was after a raid near Xi'an that they both felt peculiar – a sensation neither had experienced in nearly seven years. The air about them began to swirl.

"What's in this wine?" Damon asked dubiously, grinning to avoid a swat from his wife at his forthcoming words. "Did someone let Elena make it again?"

"No! Never again," gasped Alejandro, one of the ship's human crew, who joined them after they saved him during a bar fight with a surprisingly spry aging merchant.

Elena narrowed her eyes, trying to shake off the curious effects. "That happened once!" she argued petulantly. "And obviously no one died. Get over it!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, though it did nothing to stop the curious feeling overcoming her, her eyes widening when she thought she saw her arm becoming transparent.

It was happening. Again.

It was happening!

"Damon," she gasped. "Damon, I think –"

"I know," he replied, his own eyes widening in recognition of the familiar feeling. They were getting pulled back home.

They both looked around frantically. Why couldn't they have more time to prepare? It was happening so soon.

"We love you – all of you," Elena cried, feeling herself being pulled away, while taking Damon's hand, unable to keep the tears from her eyes. They barely even had a few minutes to say goodbye to the crew that had become their family.

"What?" Alejandro gasped, a teenager – he was practically a child when he encountered them both.

Alyssa ran onto the deck from below, followed by Aristophanes, their resident Earth Witch, their eyes widening in shock, in anguish. How could it all happen so quickly? They had planned to take some time to unwind – visit some taverns, spend a few days on the beach.

They were all supposed to bond – to be together – as a family.

And now two of them were disappearing into a strangely glowing vortex to be gone, forever.

"We knew this day was coming," Damon said. "Thank you, for everything."

Encantica - 1873

The lights around them dissipated as their forms – still wearing their archaic seafaring clothing – reappeared in the ceremonial chamber of Encantica, the secret island known only to witches off the coast of Nova Scotia.

The very first thing that Elena and Damon noticed upon reforming in their home was the stunning lack of extra-universal energy. For the first time in thousands of years, in addition to the time that they'd been gone, the island was in complete peace.

The desiccating Silases and the vengeful Qetsiyahs of the parallel universes could no longer let their energy invade to change the very foundation of this one.

The Act of Serendipity had been sealed; the flow of time had been stemmed. Amara's action was now just accepted, canon reality.

Elena and Damon both looked around the room frantically, still holding hands, their breaths quickening with realization that they were home – finally home.

"You're here!" They both heard an emotional voice booming toward them, as the tearful face of Emily raced ahead, squeezing them both in her arms. "It worked! It finally worked!" she sobbed with relief, joy, an overwhelming array at emotions finally gathering release after having worked to return her friends for so long.

But now, years later, Emily finally brought them home.

To her surprise, they looked well – really healthy, vibrant – quite happy, actually. The Sun had clearly gifted them its healthy glow with tanned skin and bright eyes. While their clothing was certainly archaic, it didn't look like the traditional faire Emily had read about of Ancient Greece. She drew her eyebrows together in consternation, studying them. "What were you…?" she trailed off, unsure how to phrase her question.

"We were pirates!" Elena beamed excitedly.

Emily's eyebrows flew to the top of her head. "A Fire Witch in the middle of the sea?"

"That's what I said!" Damon exclaimed, concurring.

"And yet," Elena purred, grinning impossibly wide to draw him closer for a kiss by the lapels of his – by 1860s standards – very old-fashioned coat. "We made it work. With a lot of volcano visits, and other heated activities."

Emily cleared her throat, more chidingly annoyed than embarrassed. "We should go let everyone know. And," she blushed, taking a hand of each in hers. "There's someone I want you to meet. The newest member of the family."

In the seven years that Damon and Elena had been displaced in time, the island's witches hardly seemed to age – as did they. Magic had the fortunate effect of slowing the biological clock. As they exited the chamber, to gasps and hollers and cheers of their fellow witches, they were greeted by now a very adult-looking Morgana Bennett, holding a child in her arms.

The little girl stirred aware, as though knowing that this instant would be momentous for the rest of her existence. She studied the approaching strangers with her observant, vivid, green eyes.

"Morgana! Little baby Morgana!" Elena dashed ahead, grabbing Emily's eldest daughter in a fierce embrace.

"And who's this?"

"I'd like you to meet the newest member of the Bennett family. Her name's Bonnie."

"Bonnie, these are your uncle Damon and aunt Elena. Your aunt Elena was born out of time, like you, to meet her Twin Flame," Morgana soothed, cooing at the joyful toddler in her arms.

"Hi, Bonnie," Elena greeted in a hushed whisper, her voice full of wonder as she reached for the girl, only to have her finger trapped in little Bonnie's surprisingly strong grip. "She's so strong!" Elena laughed to Morgana, who only grinned agreeably, gazing adoringly at her daughter.

"Alarmingly so," Morgana whispered in wonder. "I've never seen a witch develop powers so quickly. Little Bonnie Bennett here is bound to grow up to become an absolute legend."

Elena sat by the divination pond, though her countenance was decidedly morose, pensive – a far cry from the cheerfulness of the last few days upon their return to the nineteenth century. The now intimately familiar gait of her fiery husband approached. She sensed his presence in every way, after having spent so much time together, under so many different circumstances. The telepathic aspect of her Water magic felt his signature, reveling in its closeness, its feeling, the warmth and comfort and love projected by its ethereal embrace; her physical senses were attuned to the measured steps he took – the bold walk often accompanied by those who were children of Fire; something altogether strange and incorporeal just knew – it knew he was there – and she had no idea how.

It somehow just always knew. Perhaps it was magic. Perhaps it was love. Perhaps it was her the Flame calling for and recognizing and embracing its Twin.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked, taking a seat next to her, and gathering her in his arms to place a kiss into her hair.

"They're all gone," she muttered numbly. "I know it's silly – they've been dead for centuries at this point – almost multiple millennia – but they were right here yesterday. And I know we've been trying to get back, but just –"

"I know," he interrupted soothingly when she began to trail off, her voice caught in tears. "I miss them, too."

"It was all so sudden. After years, we only had minutes to say goodbye – and it was such an ordinary day. The seas were calm – no storms on the horizon. Just heading to port to refill our citrus supply. Jacques had finally gotten the courage to ask that merchant girl out on a date," she whispered, albeit emotion wasn't present in her voice. Or perhaps it was – and it was just too much.

"I'd like to think it went well – that all their lives turned out happy," he reassured her, pressing a kiss to her temple, though the realistic side of him knew very well that being a seafaring outlaw was hardly the safest profession, and now that the crew had lost its two most powerful witches, they had better come up with a survival strategy – and fast – because their little pirate Robin Hood project assembled a slew of enemies over the years.

But he wanted Elena to think that everything went okay – because perhaps it did. When they were pirates, they did everything they could to stay under the radar, so finding any evidence of the Temporal Enchantress or its crew in history books was a slim hope.

"Aristophanes taught me how to make wine," Elena laughed through her tears. "Maybe I could revive an ancient recipe."

Damon immediately – involuntarily – grimaced. Alcohol production, like all potions based on plants, was chiefly in the Earth Magic domain, and Elena lacked any skill in Earth-based magic, whatsoever. He was a Fire Witch with an Air supplement, and even he had a better handle. Any wine made by Elena would probably be rendered so poisonous that her expertise as a healer would be immediately called to rectify any damage she, herself, had made.

Her unique vulnerability to Earth-based magic led to them meeting Aristophanes, the former High Priest who left his coven due to a difference of opinion regarding tithes, who argued tha the magic temples were there to serve the people and not the other way around, who shared a name with the famed comedic poet. They needed an Earth Witch aboard to help protect her – since the Water Healer's health dictated that of the rest of the crew. Once their healer was gone, so would they all be.

At least that was the argument Damon had made. They both knew – they all knew – that his real concerns were a lot less pragmatic and a lot more personal, romantic, aching about the safety of his Twin Flame.

But they all pretended to follow the practical knowledge, regardless.

"I think you should definitely make some, Elena," he grinned wryly, taking her index finger between his own index and thumb, moving it about playfully like a maestro. "It'll give you a chance to practice that healing of yours – because I don't think the results would be amended by any other means."

She smiled despite herself, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe I should just make it for you and your smart mouth."

Damon widened his eyes, mock-scandalized. "Elena, are you suggesting that you would create the most potent and vile poison that the world has ever seen just to shut me up?" Then he leaned in, winking flirtatiously. "I can think of better ways," and kissed her, and within minutes, any maudlin moods were forgotten as the two were immediately swept by the passion of their twinned flames.

"So, how did you bring us back, anyway?" Damon asked Emily a few days later by the divining pool that greeted them, still unused to the space having absolutely no negative energy seeping from parallel worlds.

It had never felt so serene. So utterly peaceful. The space there was absolutely divine.

"While you two were missing, the island's Travelers decided to delve into the magic's history – its roots," Emily explained, taking a moment to enjoy the calming waters of the pool's kiss on her flowing hand. "They found some artifacts. We don't quite know what they do yet, but the second they were activated, we were able to find you and pull you back. There's a lot … more … to learn about them, though," she frowned, her voice far away. "Something ancient, something – mysterious –"

Before Emily could complete her thought, Morgana, now in her early twenties, ran into the chamber, followed by a laughing Elena.

"I can't believe how big you've gotten, mommy!" Elena giggled, pulling the girl who was barely in her teens before her journey into the past with Damon into her arms.

Morgana stuck out her tongue, the mischief maker easily coming back out when reunited with her older partner in prankish crime of yesteryear. "Just be glad you were gone for the diaper stage. You would have been changing all of them!"

"Eighteen seventy-three," Elena sighed. "I can't believe it."

"Believe it!" Morgana replied jubilantly, dragging her mother out of the room to help her assess Bonnie's rapidly evolving accidental magic. It was the youngest they'd ever seen anyone display that kind of strength – even in their family.

"Stef contacted me in my dreams yesterday," Damon confessed, watching Morgana argue with Emily affectionately. "It turns out that about a year after we left, he finally decided to take up the offer and visited the island. He ended up taking a trip to California to study Earth magic. He met an Air Witch there, and now Mystic Falls gets a whole lot windier whenever the two of them have a fight," he grinned, prompting Elena to giggle at the notion.

"Beautiful gardens even when touched by a very localized tornado," Elena grinned.

"Exactly," Damon smirked. "I think between the four of us, we have all the elements covered. Maybe next time we visit, we can convince the locals that the End Times have come," he grinned wickedly, causing Elena to erupt in giggles.

Left alone in the room, Elena quickly crossed the expanse of the chamber to wrap her arms around her husband, placing a kiss on his lips. "I can't believe little Morgana Bennett had a baby before I did," she laughed, pulling away.

"Jealous?" Damon asked, knowing Elena always wanted a family, but they refrained from starting one in case they were pulled back, and were forced to leave any children behind.

"I would be, I think," she breathed, "if we didn't have such an extended life span. But I think we have time," she concluded. "It's been seven years, but we barely aged the equivalent of one. I think that when we do, though," she grinned cheekily, "we should have two – so they could keep each other busy while we –" she didn't finish her thought, instead choosing to show Damon precisely how they would be otherwise occupied with a lingering kiss.

Damon laughed, glancing around at the ruins. "I can definitely wait. Until then," he grinned wickedly, his mind teeming with possibilities, "another adventure?"

Elena smiled beatifically, as veritable beams of happiness poured forth from within her, around her, surrounding her and into him. "I'll go anywhere with you. What were you thinking?"

"Seems like these pieces of ancient rock hold the key to bringing us back. And we have all of time and space to explore – and there's no one in this world, or any other, that I'd rather do it with," he grinned, pulling her into another kiss.

With the future – with all of time and space – wide open to their hearts' content, Damon and Elena danced out of the ceremonial chamber into the most magical island in this world or any other, now finally free of extra-universal entanglement, allowing their hearts to soar with happiness and love.

So, I probably made it really clear at this point that I like writing Elena and Damon as witches more than anything else – so having said that, here's a little spoiler for any post-series story I write: they're witches in this story because there's no Travelers curse and there are no doppelgängers. By the end of the series, the Travelers curse is broken, and there are no more doppelgängers. So, the conditions have been met. You'll see witch Elena and witch Damon again. :D

Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with pirates! (Any Our Flag Means Death fans here?) So, of course, I would look for an opportunity to let Damon and Elena do some pirating. It turns out, that when you've a healthy supply of magic, pirating becomes a slightly less dangerous profession (:D to OFMD) and a lot more fun. I might write the odd one-shot here or there detailing all those years they were seemingly ageless pirate witches in the ancient world.

The ruins with the pulsating energy that Damon and Elena see when they first get to ancient Thrace are actually really important. They're like little checkpoints. I kind of want to explore them in another story, so I'll have to see where. Maybe I'll write a little companion story about their time as magical pirates in Thrace, or maybe Traveler magic post-curse will somehow make its way over to Timey Wimey, or maybe whenever I actually get around to finally writing Witchy-Woo Travelogues, but the goal is to explore them eventually. They were left by the original Traveler witches before the secret of their magic is lost, and they're spots to which they can travel through time and space. Any votes on which story should explore them? :D

I vaguely remember reading once that black sails were for quarantined ship, and ancient pirates used this, but now I can't find this anywhere. So, for the sake of the story, we'll say yes. :D That's what happened in this universe. :D

The annoying aristocrats mentioned by Elena were inspired by European medieval knights, whose concept of "chivalry" only extended to the upper classes. They treated commoners horrifically - especially women. Silas' attitude from the first two chapters is inspired by them, too.

A friend on AO3 wisely suggested that chapter 7 needed some amendments, so I added Damon's perspective, too. Go check it out! :D

Omg omg omg, I can't let go of Fire Witch Damon and Water Witch Elena yet, so I guess this isn't the last you'll see of them, for sure. :D I absolutely love world-building, so I had such a blast writing this story. :D

Thank you very, very much to anyone who's been here from the very beginning, and who found their way here later on, and to anyone who's yet to read this story. You're all amazing. Hugs to friends I've made here - Kriz3, scarlett2112, Florencia7, of course my ever-delightful Ixilight, who never fails to make me laugh, and all of you lovely individuals. :D

Wobalo has a fantastic new story called A True Best Friend that imagines what Mystic Falls would be like if Lexi whisked Stefan away, leaving Damon as the lone Salvatore in town. It's an AU of S1, with delightful and charming results!

Comments are so very, very appreciated. Please fill the space with your thoughts, and feelings, and love. :D