Hey guys, thank you for the reviews and follows! It means a lot :) Here's chapter 8 as promised. Hope you like it. Let me know if you like the way it's heading and if I should continue with the story.

No warnings for this one. It's light... mostly ;)

Alaric's parents' converted lake house in Vinings was so enchanting that Elena longed to feel welcome there, but to do so she would have to earn his mother's affection first as Damon liked to repeatedly remind her. Any rapport of that nature however was likely to be difficult because apparently the break- up of Ric's previous relationship had made his mother more than usually crabby.

The house was two storeys of cedar and stone and glass. It almost looked like a mansion on a small rise above the lake. Stone steps led down to a dock. There was a slip where a boat would've been but it was empty now. A long wooden walk- away off the back deck led to a boathouse.

In spite of everything, Ric's parents were delighted to see Damon and it was obvious that he had worked his charm on them both. He seemed completely at ease around them. It probably had something to with the fact that they'd known him since he was in his diapers.

"No, I'll take carrots," Alaric declined his dad's pack of cigarettes.

"When did this happen?" His mother returned with a large tray. She was tall with long blond hair and brown eyes. She looked like she was in her late forties in her tweed skirt and sensible shoes.

"Well, Elena got me off them," He chuckled. "Kept shoving carrots in my face. They help."

"That's nice."

It wasn't really. It was more like living with a rabbit, but Elena kept the thought to herself and just smiled instead.

"She's been a good influence on him, Essie," Damon chimed in.

"That's nice." That was like her catchphrase. Something she said when she didn't have anything nice to say.

"So darling, your girlfriend couldn't come?"

"Jenna?" Ric asked ridiculously. "She's not my girlfriend, mom. We're just dating."

His father grunted, "I wouldn't hold my breath." He was a lean man with dark blond hair and beady eyes. He seemed hostile and calculative like his mind was crunching numbers as he puffed on his pipe, which Elena thought was rather selfish given the fact that Ric had only recently given up smoking.

"I don't know how you sleep at night, Al," His mother sighed.

A jaded look passed between Damon and Ric.

"How could you so easily drive her away?" She said.

"I didn't drive anyone away. She left of her own accord." His words sounded robotic and rehearsed.

"Because of what you did," She said exasperated. "And you did nothing to stop her!"

Stop who? Drive who away? What had he done? Elena wondered why Alaric had never mentioned about any of this until now.

"I don't know what kind of twisted story she told you," Ric shook his head, resigned. "Knowing her, she made it good."

"Don't talk like that," She reproached him. "Like it or not, she's a part of this family now and-"

"Not," Ric snapped.

"I don't doubt it," She muttered. "You could stay here. Take care of the business."

"We'd kill each other."

"Stay with Nik then. Work with him, perhaps?"

"I'd kill myself," Ric scoffed. "And where am I supposed to put Elena? Her welfare is largely dependent on my income which is pretty thin at the moment." As he had explained before, Elena would gain access to what Greyson had left for her when she turned eighteen, which was not for another two years.

"Even more reason to join the trade, don't you agree?" His father spoke up.

"I can manage," Ric didn't sound very convincing. "If I can turn out a good book-"

"We're back to that?"

"Book?" Elena asked before she could instil a brain- mouth filter. Her face heated under the four pairs of scrutinising eyes. Never again, Elena.

"Ric's a published author," Damon eyed her with amusement like he was actually enjoying this.

"Oh." Wow. Elena pretended to concentrate on her stewed fruit.

"I know the abortion was hard on both of you, but you could've stood up to her."

Elena almost choked on the chunks of pineapple. What?

"This should wait until later," Ric glanced over at Elena's horrified expression.

"It can't wait!"

Ric's father chewed his pipe, his eyes moving from one side of the table to the other, as though he were watching his wife and son play squash. Their voices were raising with every shot.

Damon flashed an encouraging smile at Elena. "You want to check out Ric's books?"

Elena nodded gratefully and excused herself.

"How could you back out so easily?"

"Whoever said it was easy! There's been enough hostility in the last year to last a lifetime. If she wanted to see him, I can't stop her."

"He's your brother!"

"Mom, please-" Elena couldn't hear the rest of it.

Damon had led her upstairs and then down a back hall. The 'guest room' turned out to be a series of three rooms each opening into the next. A sitting room with a television and glass racks aligned with rows and rows of books; a bedroom that was bigger than three of hers which opened up to a veranda overlooking the lake and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi and shower stall that was large enough to fit an entire lacrosse team.

"Abortion?" Elena asked as soon as she was sure no one could hear them.

"Whoa, Elena, at least try to be subtle," Damon teased.

"Spill it."

"Ric was engaged to this woman Meredith," Damon sauntered toward the books and picked out three. "He was smitten. They'd been together since college. Had the whole wedding planned out and everything. Here."

"What happened?" Elena asked impatiently as she took the books.

Damon looked thoughtful for a second before his devil- may- care facade slid in. "What happened was she was a bitch."

"How?"

"A week before the wedding, she told him that she was pregnant."

"And?" Damon could see that Elena was holding her breath.

"Ric was cool. Said he wanted to have kids and it didn't matter when because they were getting married anyway."

Elena breathed, relaxing a tad. That was a relief.

"But she confessed the next day that it wasn't his. Apparently she had slept with his brother," Damon said resentfully.

"The brother we're about to dine with?"

"No way. Nik is alright. Well, he's narcissistic and annoying, but he isn't a man- whore. Anyway, Ric was devastated but you know him. He was willing to give her a second chance if she was ready to never see his brother again. She wasn't. They had a nasty fight which ended in tears and heartbreak. Doesn't it always?"

"Aren't you a bundle of positivity?" Elena flipped through the pages of what looked like a mystery novel. "So where does the abortion fit in?"

"Well, that's where it gets tricky. Mike and Essie don't know the whole truth. Meredith was only with Ric for his money. Mike is in the wine trade and so is Nik. When Ric was in college, he thought he would go along with the family business but it just wasn't him. When he decided he wanted to be a writer, she started pushing him toward the business. She was all for it and when he refused, that was that. She started being whiny and they fought all the time. Nonetheless, Ric was in love with her so he tolerated it. What he didn't know was that she was hooking up with his little brother behind his back."

"What a bitch," Elena fumed.

"Later he found out that she had lied about the baby not being his so he would break the wedding off. When he figured it out, he was disgusted. Wanted nothing to do with her, but-"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE-" Ric's voice came loud enough, Damon and Elena started. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER- BEEN THROUGH-" They couldn't decipher half of what was being yelled.

"LIKE AN AUTOMATON- WONDER IF YOU- ANY FEELINGS AT ALL-" And something muffled they couldn't catch.

Elena ran for the stairs. She couldn't stand the partiality of the whole situation. Why was Ric the one being punished for what his brother had done?

"DROP IT, MOM."

"YOU CAN'T AFFORD-"

"I PROMISED-"

"Elena, don't," Damon caught up with her. "Let it go."

"I SIMPLY DON'T UNDERSTAND. YOU'VE NO PROBLEM LOOKING AFTER SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD, BUT YOU WALKED OUT ON YOUR OWN!"

Elena felt as if she'd been slapped.

"That's it. Enough." Ric's words were barely audible now, but Elena could hear the defeat in them.

She didn't care about what Damon had said or anything else for that matter. She had to be there for Ric. When she saw him leave the room, she followed as though pulled by an invisible string, for her only place in this family was by his side.

"Essie," She heard Damon from inside. "You're missing the point."

"What point?"

"Ric didn't know it was his kid," Damon sighed.

Elena expected Ric to drive over her toes and swerve down the driveway, but he spared her toes and allowed her to get in beside him. They drove for a long time without speaking apart from Ric cursing, "Damn, I have no carrots."

When the sun finally sank, Alaric decided to stop driving in circles and veered over toward the direction they'd come.

"Sorry about that," Ric peeked at Elena. "She was getting at me, not you."

Elena shook her head. She knew he was trying to make her feel better, but she had too many questions she was afraid she might ask if she spoke. What happened to his baby? Why hadn't he said anything? She wondered what it would've been like if he was married to Meredith now. Ugly. It would've been ugly for her.

"She was right," He paused as if in deep thought. "I did let Meredith stomp all over my family."

Elena didn't say anything. She stared ahead silently. The road was deserted and murky. The dark silhouettes of the trees framing the sides seemed to be stretching in for them. There was something about the trees at night that always scared her.

"Not a word in an hour? This must be a new Elena Gilbert record," Ric tried to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. "Mom was very fond of Greyson. Once she's over the shock of her sons switching fiancés, you get her talking about him. It'll give you common ground."

Elena smiled at that.

As they arrived at the lake- house, Elena saw a parked SUV and did a double- take. It was a Ford Explorer. A red one. The same car that- No, it couldn't be. It wasn't like he was the only one who owned an Explorer and besides, his had had a little oval sticker on it that said 13.1 and- Oh god, no.

"Oh look, Nik beat us," Ric rolled his eyes. "Hurry if you want turkey."

Elena vaguely registered his words as she stood paralysed, gaping at the back of the SUV. Oh god, the coincidence itself was crazy but if she was right and it was his, it meant that she had- No.

When she finally gathered enough guts to walk into the dining room, Damon was setting the table.

"Hey, are you alright?" He half- smiled. " You just took off and I was worried."

Just the sight of him eased some of her worry, but not by far. Before she could answer him, she heard the familiar accent. Pop goes the weasel. She was right. Nik was Klaus. The imposing man with curly blond hair lurched forward to greet her with a bone- crushing handshake.

"So, you're the lovely Elena. It's nice to finally meet-" He broke off mid- sentence and took her in. "Have we met before?"

"No, I don't think we have." Elena lied hoping he'd buy it. He had been too occupied with Caroline to have fully noticed her to begin with and people looked different under the club lights after all. Right?

"Elena, dear, give me a hand with dessert," Ric's mom called from the kitchen and it was ironic how much relief that brought her.

"Excuse me." Elena sidled up to the woman and offered to help.

"Run out to the pantry, would you, and get the fruit cake."

Phew.

Klaus turned out to be a nice man but he was also a self proclaimed expert on everything from publishing to music. The evening was tortuous except for the fact that Damon sat right next to her. She got to study him more which distracted her from Klaus and the thought of Kol.

"So you're writing a new thriller, Ric?" Klaus asked over dinner.

"I am, yes."

"Always thought I should write one myself. Set in the wine trade. I have some darned good ideas too."

Elena was looking at Klaus with such bewildered hilarity that Ric and Damon struggled to keep a straight face.

"Great titles," Damon said, glancing at Elena mischievously. "Killed by the Bottle."

"Jack the Sipper," Elena almost giggled.

"Strangled by the Vine," Damon snorted.

"Stop it," Alaric glared at them both.

Klaus went on. "A great way to make money."

"Ninety- nine per cent of writers never make any money," Elena retorted.

"You have to go about it the right way," Klaus explained. "Now, my pal Marcel Winer-"

"Wiener?" Damon muttered.

Ric kicked him under the table.

"- he has some experience of PR. He'd tell you how to target the right market."

"Thank you," Elena said. "But Ric already has an established market."

"With all due respect Elena, none of my pals have heard of him apart from me. He clearly needs some good marketing advice."

"And your "pals" clearly need to visit a bookshop more often," Elena snapped.

Ric winced. Klaus laughed too loudly as at the pettiness of a child. "Most of them are too tied up with work to be hanging around bookshops."

"Figures," Elena mumbled. He wasn't that nice.

After dessert, Elena made her excuses and went to the guest room. She picked one of Ric's books and settled in the warm double bed. Just when her mind started wandering off toward that night at the club, Damon walked in. "I'm supposed to take the couch, but I thought since we've already slept together and everything, why not?"

"Figuratively. Sure, what's that?"

"Klaus' old sleeping bag," Damon stood staring at her long legs.

"Ugh, poor you," Elena teased. "And here I am with this huge bed to myself."

"Don't rub it in," Damon threw the sleeping bag on the floor. "He's a complete stuck- up, isn't he?"

Ric knocked and put his head around the door. "Mind if I sleep here? I'm supposed to sleep in Nik's room and-"

"Get in here," Damon sighed. "Might as well slumber it." Cock- blocking was Ric's fine suit, wasn't it? May be it was a good thing he was here. Damon needed a buffer or he'd end up doing something they'd all regret.

"You were hilarious," Elena giggled. "I nearly cracked up when you asked him what a literary agent was."

Damon mimicked Klaus, "What you need, old boy, is someone with the right connections. Now my friend Willy- Shufflebottom- Clutterbuck-"

"Cluster- fuck?"

"Shush!" Ric scolded her as he turned off the light. They all laughed.

"God, what's with all the heaving and whining?" Elena asked after a while of trying to shut Ric's curses out.

"I'm too old to sleep on floors," Ric grumbled. "Just trying to settle."

"I'm not swapping," Elena curled up under the blankets.

"I'll bet."

"It's like sleeping in a condom," Damon grunted.

"Chuck my jacket, would you?" Ric asked.

"Why?"

"Because it would look really good with the sleeping bag. What do you think?"

"You're cold?"

"Freezing."

"If I get out of bed, I'll get cold."

Alaric swore and shuffled for his jacket. "I'm not doing this guardian business for nothing, you know? You can damn well look after me when I'm old."

"I didn't realize I had invited my Nana over for the sleepover," Damon groaned.

"Look, if you're so miserable, get into bed. I don't care."

"You might not, but-"

"I would," Damon cut him off. "Shut up and sleep."

Alaric's good intentions lasted only until the freezing dawn temperatures found him shivering and wide awake. When Elena woke the next morning, he was fast asleep in his sleeping bag in the bed beside her and someone was knocking at the door.

Elena leaned down and shook Damon awake. "Someone's at the door!"

Damon looked disoriented for a moment before he understood what she meant. Elena pushed and Damon pulled until Ric fell on the floor with an "Argh!"

Klaus poked in. "Just wanted to say bye, and it was really nice to meet you."

"You too," Elena smiled. "Last night was great."

"Got to go. Bye!"

As the door closed, Ric opened an eye. "Ouch."

First of all, Elena did what with Kol? What do you guys think happened there? Meredith is such a bitch, I know. Damon is struggling with the whole 'should I sleep with my bff's orphaned ward' thingy which should be pretty common but Ric trusts him so will he betray his friend for her? Alaric's parents- phew! Did you suspect Mike and Essie to be Michael and Esther? Let me know everything. The next chapter is pretty dark and intense. I'll update soon. Xoxo