When she reached the City hall, Rachel rushed and waited patiently in front of the meeting room. When the door finally opened on Pastor Young he said:

"Rachel, is there a problem?"

Immediately, everyone gathered around the door to see what the problem was, especially her father.

They all knew she was aware of the supernatural and wondered if it was a problem they would have to 'deal' with.

"Are you okay Princess?" Damon asked as he rushed in human speed next to her.

"I need to speak with someone but I don't know who is qualified to help in this thing… it's nothing… supernatural…" She said, whispering the last word.

Immediately, a few of the council members left, leaving Rachel with her father, the mayor and his wife, Liz Forbes and Pastor Young. They all walked back in the room and they closed the door.

"What is it Rachel?" Carole asked her softly.

"Do you know Matt Donovan's living situation?" She asked the group of adults.

"No, not really, why?" Liz asked.

"His mother hasn't been back in over 6 months, his older sister just left town and he is alone to pay for the bills, rent and everything else with his part time job at the Grill… He doesn't know what to do because obviously it isn't enough to pay for everything… I don't know how long it has been going on but I just saw him and we talked… He ended up telling me… He doesn't know what to do… I suggested coming here to see what could be done but he had to work... I told him I'd tell him how it went later." Rachel said.

Damon was proud of his daughter.

The rest of the council was proud of Rachel and worried about the young quarterback.

"He can't drop out of school, he's the quarterback of the football team!" Richard Lockwood said.

"Yes, because that's the most important here!"' His wife replied as she rolled her eyes.

"The church has founds for families in need but he's a minor… What he needs is a family…" the pastor said.

"Or maybe he could be emancipated… I mean, he's been taking care of everything on his own for a while… He is ready to be emancipated…" Rachel suggested shyly.

"Maybe but it's not for the best… Too much responsibility on someone so young… It would be better to find someone willing to take him in… Someone wealthy enough that they don't mind taking care of him…" Past Young said.

"I would volunteer but it's hard enough with Caroline since her dad left… I don't think I could deal with it…" Liz said.

"April has a crush on him… I don't think having him move in would help with that…" The pastor said.

"We could take him in… He's Tyler's best friend and we sure have the room…" Richard suggested timidly.

"You're right… We have enough room and maybe it will be easiest for Tyler to have someone else his age around…" Carole replied.

"Do you think he'll agree?" Richard asked Rachel.

"I think so… But I don't know him that well… He's working at the Grill right now… We could go and ask him…" She replied shyly.

"Let's go, I'm inviting everyone for a drink!" Damon said proudly.

He had raised his daughter the right way, he could tell the others looked at him with envy.

They arrived at the grill and sat around a table. Matt came to get their orders and Rachel told him to take a small break and come speak with them. When he did, they explained to him what they wanted to do and he was touched. He argued a bit that he didn't want to be a worry to anyone but they all said it would be okay and that they wanted it.

After they discussed it, it was agreed that Matt would keep his job to be able to pay for his truck's needs and put money aside for college and that he would move in the Lockwood's house the next day.

Right before Damon left with his daughter, he heard Matt thanking her and telling her that if she needed anything, he'd be there for her, that he owed her. They were at the door, about to walk out when Tyler walked in. He had just been told the news by his parents and was apparently very happy about having his best friend moving in with them.

So, what do you think of this solution?

Next chapter we have some news from Shelby... Soon it's back to school time too!

Liked it? Hated it? Let me know!

Review please!

Lorelei Candice Black