A/N: I was going to post this, like, two weeks ago but I've been busy. My husband and I were really sick and I'm still helping out with my grandma and her knee replacement so I don't have a whole lot of time to write. I also wanted to say, I noticed that people are adding this story to their alerts, but for the last chapter, I only got 2 reviews. If you are reading, or adding to your alerts or favorites, please please please leave me a review. I want to hear both the good & the bad.

Damon sat in the coffee shop across the street from Caroline's shop, staring out the window. From where he was sitting, he could see her shop perfectly, even though he wasn't sure what to do now.

He needed to know her. Caroline Forbes was an independent, successful, intriguing woman. As much as Damon had avoided women who wanted serious relationships in the past, he couldn't help his attraction to her. He wanted to know more about her. While he had told Stefan that he didn't want to date her, Damon wasn't so sure that was true. He wanted to know what made her tick. He had been over at her shop for ten minutes, pacing back and forth in front of the front door, but he lost his nerve and went across the street instead. He thought that maybe if he could compose his thoughts and figure out what he wanted to do next, then things would be better.

The problem was, he didn't know what to do next. With Rose and Andie, it had been easy. If he wanted to tell the truth, he would say that he didn't love them. Hell, half the time he didn't even like them. He was just tired of everybody bugging him to move on. It had been almost three years since Katherine when Stefan tried to set Damon up with Rose, and he just went along with it because it was just a means to an end. Rose had been a distraction; something to take his mind off of Katherine. It didn't help, though, and he had a hard time opening up to anyone since Katherine. Rose eventually got tired of Damon being so guarded and left. The story was the same with Andie – while it was actually Elena's aunt Jenna who had set them up, Damon still went along with it, and Andie ended up leaving because Damon was so guarded. It seemed like that was the story of his life. So, instead of trying another relationship, he just played the field. He couldn't open up to anyone, that much was obvious. It had only been a year and a half since things ended with Andie, but Damon just couldn't move on.

He hadn't wanted to get to know a girl in almost five years, but yet, Caroline was special. He could say it over and over again; he couldn't put his finger on what it was about her, but there was definitely something there. She was independent, and fierce. She definitely had a fire to her. He sighed heavily, taking a drink of coffee, and that's when he felt the tap on his shoulder.

"You're Damon Salvatore, yes?" The woman asked him. He could do nothing but nod.

"I'm Esther Mikaelson. Caroline's mother."

"Yeah," he answered, "she told me about you. Well, kinda."

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked, and Damon shrugged. Esther took that as a yes and took a sat across from him.

"So, Damon, Caroline told me what happened at the founder's party, and about driving her home. That was real sweet of you, and I want to thank you."

"I did. Caroline is a good friend of my brother and his friends, and besides that, everything that Carol was saying was bullshit."

"I'm having my children over for dinner tonight. Why don't you join us?"

"I don't want to impose, Esther. I mean, it's a family thing, and…"

"Nonsense," Esther replied. "We'd love to have you. We're having dinner at six o'clock and I won't take no for an answer. I want to get to know you, Damon."

"Well, I guess if you're not taking no for an answer, then I have no choice," Damon replied. He took down Esther's address and directions to her house before saying, "I've got to go home and change my clothes –"

"Nonsense," Esther replied, looking at him. "You look fine."

Damon shrugged, "Okay. I'll see you at six."

-x-

"I can't believe you, Mother! You invited Damon Salvatore to dinner? Seriously?"

"Niklaus, please don't yell at me. I'm doing this for Caroline." Esther was in her kitchen, working on dinner. She had lasagna in the oven and was working on an apple pie – that was Caroline's favorite. Klaus stood behind her, watching her.

"Do you not realize how bad of a decision this is? You know Damon's reputation, and –"

"Niklaus, not to excuse what he did, but it's just a reputation. You need to concentrate on the man, not the reputation. For all you know, that reputation could be untrue."

"I don't trust him, Mother. He is going to chew her up and spit her out, just like what Tyler Lockwood did to her."

"Caroline may have made a mistake by getting involved with Tyler, but she learned from it, right? What's Caroline always telling you?"

Klaus rolled his eyes, "She doesn't regret anything she's gone through. It's made her a stronger person, the person she is right now."

"That's right. She's always saying that every little thing she's ever gone through, good or bad, has shaped her into the person she is right now. Caroline is a very strong person. She can go at the world alone. But that is not what I want for her. I love Caroline like she's my own daughter, you know that. She's been in our lives for almost eight years, and I want what's best for her. I think that having Damon over for dinner, and getting to know him, will help Caroline."

"Do you realize that when Caroline left the Salvatores' house this morning, she was sneaking out? She didn't want Damon to find her there."

"Don't look at me like that, Niklaus. I'm doing this for Caroline. Now, did you get ahold of everybody?"

"Yes. They're all coming here for dinner. Everybody but Rebekah."

"I know she wouldn't be able to attend; she's in Europe somewhere with that new guy she's been seeing. I get postcards and emails from her from time to time." Esther watched Klaus for a moment, saying, "There's also something I want you to know. I will not tolerate you, or any one of your brothers, making Damon uncomfortable. You have been Caroline's protector for a long time, I get that. But she doesn't need that right now. You need to let her make her own decisions."

"Right," Klaus said sarcastically. "And you talking Damon into coming to dinner here is Caroline making her own choices?"

Esther shrugged, "My house. I get to make the rules."

-x-

"I was invited to have dinner with a friend tonight, but I started to think that maybe I should stay home and work," Damon said into the phone. He was talking to Matt, who managed The Grill for him. Part of him wanted to work tonight, while the other part wanted an excuse so he didn't have to go to dinner with Caroline. He was nervous; more nervous than he should have been. Not only was he having dinner with Caroline, but he was meeting her family. The old Damon Salvatore would've run away from that so fast, but, for some reason, he wasn't going to.

"No way, Damon. I've got this."

"Who is that on the phone?" Damon heard Elena in the background. When Matt told her that Damon was having dinner with a friend, Damon heard her squeal and then she started chattering like a nervous puppy, "Who's it with? Where are you going? Is it a date?" Finally, Matt put the phone down onto the table and put it on speakerphone.

"Where are you going?" Matt asked him.

"I told you. I was invited to have dinner with a friend."

"Who?" Damon heard Elena ask, and he groaned.

"Look, Elena, I just called because I needed to know whether or not I was needed at The Grill. Now, not that it's any of your business, because it's not, but I'm just having dinner with a friend."

"You know me, Damon. I'm practically the little sister you never wanted. You should know me well enough by now to know that I'm going to pester you until you spill."

"You might as well tell her," Matt piped up. "She's not going to leave you alone until you do."

"I don't care, Elena. Pester me as much as you want. I'm not telling. Maybe, that's maybe, if the dinner goes well, I'll tell you later."

There was a moment of silence before Matt said, "Don't worry about The Grill. Go have dinner; I'll take care of everything, Boss."

Damon hung up and drove to Esther's house. When he got there, he saw that it was a beautiful house. She lived near the woods, and the backyard was huge. She had to have at least five or six acres of land. Damon cut the engine and got out of the car, going onto the front porch, getting ready to ring the doorbell, but he just couldn't do it. He paced back and forth on the porch until he heard the door open. He looked over and saw Caroline.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Your mother invited me for dinner. You didn't know?"

Caroline groaned and rolled her eyes, "No, she didn't tell me. It doesn't surprise me, though. When I told her about the founder's party fiasco, she wanted to know more about you." Caroline watched Damon carefully, "My mom can be…well, she can be a little overzealous. She wants me to get new friends. I know this; everybody in the family knows it. I'm sorry if she embarrassed you earlier."

"Not a problem," Damon answered, coming closer to Caroline. "I like her."

"Really?" she asked. He was getting awful close.

"Yeah," Damon said, slipping behind Caroline and going through the door. Caroline let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. She followed Damon inside and introduced him to her brothers.

"That's Finn, Kol, Elijah and Klaus," she said, pointing out each one.

"Hey, Elijah, your mom wants –" a voice came from around the corner, and Damon almost didn't believe his eyes when he saw her. It was Rose. Rose, as in his ex-girlfriend Rose. As she spotted him, she stopped.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" she asked. Everybody's glances went from Rose to Damon.

"Esther invited me. What are you doing here?"

"Elijah and I have been together for a couple of years. It's good to see you."

Breaking the silence, Elijah said, "Rosemarie, how do you know Damon?"

She snapped back to reality, "Um, I know his brother. We hung out a few times when I lived in Mystic Falls."

It wasn't long after that that Esther had called to her sons, telling them she was ready to serve dinner. She even made Damon and Caroline sit next to each other.

"Tell me more about yourself, Damon," Esther said after serving dinner.

"I, uh…honestly, there's not much to tell."

"Nonsense," Esther replied. "There's got to be something about you. You seem like a very interesting person."

Damon shrugged and figured if he focused on Esther, the death stares he was getting from Klaus and Kol would go away. He should've known better, as Caroline had told him that her brothers were overprotective of her. He filled Esther in on growing up in Mystic Falls, although he was born in Italy; he also told her that he had spent a great deal of time in that country after high school when he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. He told her about buying The Mystic Grill and running it, also mentioning Carol Lockwood trying to put a ban on it.

"That Carol Lockwood is such a bitch," Klaus said through gritted teeth, ignoring the look he was getting from his mother. "She thinks she's better than everybody else."

"Except for her son," Damon added. "She may be the mayor because her husband died, but at least we have a good sheriff."

"Is it still Mason?" Caroline asked.

Damon nodded, "Yeah, Mason Lockwood."

Klaus looked at Damon quizzically, "You trust the safety of your town to a Lockwood?"

Damon shrugged, "If you met him, you'd like him. He's what we call the anti-Lockwood. He hates Carol, and isn't a very big fan of Tyler, either. He's actually locked Tyler up quite a few times, for public disturbances and drunkenness, that kind of thing." Damon glanced at Caroline, wondering if she was going to be uncomfortable at him mentioning her ex. She didn't look phased.

-x-

Damon sighed, standing on the porch of the Mikaelson house, and lit a cigarette. Now, normally he didn't smoke, but every once in a when he felt he needed it, he would. It was normally when he was pissed off, or frustrated, or really stressed. This time, though, it was because he wasn't sure what the hell to do, or even think.

"I thought you quit," a voice came from behind him. He let out a breath of air, it was just Rose.

"I did. But every once in a while I need it." He turned to look at her, "You lied to your family in there."

Rose shrugged, "Not thoroughly. I just didn't tell them the whole truth. Besides that, Elijah knows about you, and he doesn't care. He's like that; he won't say anything because we trust each other. However, I know Kol and Klaus. They wouldn't be able to let it go. And besides that, what would Caroline think? Would she want to get involved with a man who is exes with her sister-in-law?"

Damon looked at her quizzically.

"I can still read you like a book, Damon. Don't even try to deny it, either. You have a thing for Caroline."

Damon sighed and flicked his cigarette butt off the porch, "I don't know what I want. I don't know what I think. I want to know her. She's different from the other girls I've met."

"So, you're finally over Katherine."

Damon was silent for a moment, and Rose said, "Sorry. I…just…I know that Katherine was…you know what, never mind."

"I'm sorry, Rose," Damon said after a moment. "I'm sorry that I was so focused on Katherine that I fucked us up. I'm sorry that I couldn't move on."

Rose smiled, "I'm over it. I got over it a long time ago. But where it pertains to Caroline, Damon, I think you should be honest with her. I mean, tell her how you feel."

"I don't know what I feel."

"Tell her that. Be honest with her. And, for God's sake, don't hide things from her. That's how you lost me."

-x-

After Damon's talk with Rose, Damon was a little worried when he was approached by Klaus and Kol.

"I'm not going to threaten you, Damon," Klaus said to Damon. "I just want you to know that Caroline and I are close, and if you do anything to hurt her, I'll know. I want you to remember that."

Damon nodded, "Message received."

"He's not going to threaten you because he's scared of Mother and Caroline," Kol said from behind Klaus, and Damon looked at Klaus quizzically.

"That's not true," Klaus said, but after a moment he shrugged, "Okay, maybe it's a little true. You've never seen Caroline when she's angry. Anyway, Damon, I want you to know that Caroline and I are close, and everybody in the family is frustrated because after she broke up with Tyler, she quit trying. We want her to get back out there, even if it is with you." Klaus turned around and started to walk away.

"I figured you wouldn't trust a guy like me," Damon called after him. Klaus turned around and looked at him.

"I don't," Klaus said before turning back around and walking away.