I wasn't planning to update so quickly, but you all were so excited about Damon and Molly and have been so sweet with your comments that I just had to! It's the holidays and I have a lot to be thankful for, so why not? :)

There is some good discussion about Damon and how he doesn't seem to have any clue that Molly is his. I think you'll see more in this update that he knows something but he isn't really thinking about it. He's got an awful lot going on in his head, and the idea that he might have a child? That's a really huge thing that he doesn't really have the mental space to consider, if that makes sense. He's got a few occupational fears to work through first. Once we get through Daytona though...

Some NASCAR vocab throughout this update - see the end for definitions!

Thank you so much for all of your reviews and favoriting! I love you all and hope you have the best Thanksgiving!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries.

"I think that's the last of it," Elena stated, placing a final dish in the kitchen cabinet.

"Another room down, a few more to go," Ginny replied cheerfully. Elena gave her a tight smile. She adored the woman, thought of her as a second mother. But, she had forgotten how stubborn Ginny could be when she set her mind to something. And that something at the moment was unpacking every single box and re-decorating every single square inch of Elena's childhood home.

She had to admit that if it weren't for Ginny, she and Molly would still largely be living out of boxes. Ginny being Ginny, she had taken the reins and had painters in the house within days, floating in and out of Elena's office with paint samples until she made decisions on colors for every room of the house. The palette of soft grays and blues she had chosen were coming together nicely and as a bonus, Molly couldn't stop talking about her newly painted pink room.

Despite the tremendous help Ginny had been, Elena was desperate to just be still. She had hit the ground running at Salvatore Racing, attending meetings, fielding media requests, planning for the upcoming season. When she wasn't at work, she was with Molly, trying to give her daughter her undivided attention as much as possible, especially before the NASCAR season started. When Molly went to bed, she took a couple of hours to catch up on chores or reply to emails. By the time her day was done, she was exhausted and fell right to sleep. She hadn't had time to sit down and think, reflect on the last few weeks. Seeing Damon again had stirred up all sorts of thoughts and feelings she had tried to keep buried over the years. She was certain there was more going on with him than what he let on. But, more importantly, she needed to figure out how and when to tell him about Molly.

"How about I make us a cup of hot tea?" Ginny proposed. "I think we've done enough work for one day." Elena smiled gratefully.

"That would be wonderful," she said, already sliding onto the stool at her kitchen island. She had put in a long day at the office, followed by spending some time with Molly at the park and had started making dinner when Ginny had shown, piping hot meal in tow.

"How was your first week at the office?" Ginny asked as she filled a kettle with water.

"It was good," Elena answered, trying to sound nonchalant. Then she shook her head and allowed herself to grin broadly. "No, that's a lie," she admitted. "It was great. I love being back here. I love getting to see Caroline and Stefan, you and Giuseppe. And everyone at Salvatore Racing is wonderful. The drivers, the crews, my co-workers… I owe Giuseppe a huge thank you for convincing me to come back. He's going to love finding out that he's right."

"He's tickled you're back here," Ginny said. She placed the kettle on the stove, turned on the eye, and sat down across from Elena. "He told me you put him and Damon in their place when they started arguing the other day. He said you reminded him of me, actually. I was proud." Elena chuckled.

"Damon was late, I had another meeting right after that one, and I had to pick Molly up from school. I didn't have time for the two of them to tear each other apart."

"That's my girl," Ginny said with an approving nod. "And how is working with Damon?" Elena knew that was really the question she wanted to know the answer to.

"I haven't really had a lot of interaction with him," she said truthfully. "He's been polite enough, I guess."

"Sounds suspicious," Ginny muttered. The corner of Elena's mouth twitched upward.

"He has had his moments," she clarified. "He was especially suave on my first day, showing up at my door and pouring it on."

"That sounds more like him," Ginny said with a nod. The tea kettle whistled and she stood to retrieve it from the stove. She poured two mugs of hot water, added a tea bag, and re-joined Elena at the island.

"Thank you," Elena said as Ginny slid one of the mugs to her. She picked up her teabag's string and dunked it a few times in the hot water. "I'm not totally buying this bad boy persona of Damon's" she ventured. She knew she was tiptoeing into dangerous territory, but she also knew Ginny was the best option for her to discuss Damon with. She would be honest.

"Oh?" Ginny asked curiously, reaching for a jar of honey.

"He made a comment about it being a long time since someone was on his side," Elena continued. Ginny scoffed.

"That's nonsense," she said. "He's got me, his father, his brother, Caroline. His team. He's got a whole army of people on his side. He just likes to think its him against the world." Elena took the honey once Ginny finished with it.

"He has had a rough few months," Elena mused. "Scandals, probation… Talladega."

"He has had a go of it," Ginny agreed. "Some of which he brought on himself. He managed to scare me to death, of course, when he crashed at Talladega." She paused to rub a hand across her chest as though pained by the memory. "It's amazing how much you can forget and forgive when your son is lying in a hospital bed, broken and unconscious."

"What sort of injuries did he have?" Elena asked. "I know there were a lot." Ginny sighed.

"Let's see. He broke several ribs. His left shoulder was shattered and the clavicle broken. Thankfully, the doctor was able to repair his shoulder, though he will likely need a shoulder replacement down the road. He had a severe concussion, some swelling of the brain, and one of his broken ribs punctured his lung. He broke his left leg and had a number of bumps and bruises. Some of them were still fading at Christmas. I shudder to think of what would have happened if his fire suit hadn't done its job. His roof flaps certainly failed. He would have been dead for sure if he hadn't had his HANS device."

Elena reached across the table and squeezed her hand as Ginny finished cataloging Damon's long of injuries. She knew Ginny, a mother above any other role she might have, had indexed every part of the car designed to keep Damon safe, and had analyzed whether those parts had done their job.

"He's incredibly lucky to still be here," she said. "Is he really ready to go back to racing? Talladega was only three months ago." Ginny sighed into her mug.

"The doctor cleared him a couple weeks ago," she said. "He said Damon healed nicely, although I know his shoulder still bothers him. But, whether he's ready to get back behind the wheel? That I don't know. That crash, Elena… I've seen my husband crash time and time again. I've seen both of my boys plow into concrete walls going 150 miles an hour, and walk away without a scratch. But to see my baby's car, flipping end-over-end down the straightaway, sheet metal flying every direction… And then what was left of it went up in flames as soon as it came to a stop..." She shook her head to banish away the memories.

"I've seen the replays," Elena said, her voice barely a whisper. "It was terrifying."

"There isn't a word out there that describes that day," Ginny said. "I kept waiting for his window net to drop. First responders got there within moments, but his window net didn't drop. I knew it was bad when that net didn't drop. That's the signal, you know. To drop your window net to let people know you're okay. They pulled him out and I knew they were going to tell me he was dead. How he survived… God was with him. That's the only way."

"He has to be nervous about climbing back in a car," Elena mused.

"I wouldn't know," Ginny said sadly. "He doesn't talk to me past small talk and pleasantries, when I even see him, that is. I have to go to the office if I want to run into him, because he's certainly not going to stop by the house for a friendly visit. He and Stefan practically ignore one another and God knows his he and his father can't be in the same room together without a full on fireworks display."

"I wasn't watching the race the day he crashed," Elena told her, her gaze on her mug of tea. "I would usually have the race on in the background, just to keep up with what was going on in NASCAR, even though the Marcos are in different series. But that day, I took Molly to a birthday party. I got home, turned on the news, and the lead story during sports was the 'Big One' at Talladega. There's always a 'Big One' at Talladega, so I wasn't surprised. But, then I saw Damon's car and all I could think of while they were saying he was hospitalized in critical condition was that he could die without ever knowing about Molly. And that led me to wondering how I would tell Molly that her father had died." Elena stopped and drew in a shaky breath. She remembered those days after Damon's accident, waiting for news, debating on whether she should go to him or not, calling Caroline for updates.

"I thought about that too," Ginny admitted. "Sitting with him, waiting for him to wake up, I thought a lot about you and that baby. She just looks so much like Damon. I wondered if she was God's way of making losing him a little bit easier." Without warning, tears sprang to Elena's eyes. She had wondered that same thing many times over the last few years.

"I almost told him the other day," she confessed. She blew on her tea to cool it and then took a sip. "I asked him to go for a walk around the grounds of headquarters, just to make sure he could work with me. He asked about Molly and then about Molly's father. I came so close to telling him, but it didn't feel right. I didn't want to show up out of the blue and drop the news that he has a daughter on him all in one fell swoop."

"Have you considered how you're going to tell him?" Ginny asked.

"Every day for the last three years," Elena replied. "And I'm nowhere closer to an answer."

"We will figure it all out," Ginny assured her. It was her turn to reach across the table and squeeze Elena's hand. "We will deal with it as it comes."

"That's been my motto for the better part of the last four years," Elena replied. Ginny finished her tea and stood.

"It's getting late and Giuseppe is incapable of packing his own suitcase. If he's going to be wearing socks and underwear while in Daytona for the practice sessions, I need to be going. I'm going to just slip upstairs and give Molly one more kiss before I leave. I won't wake her." Elena nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Thank you, for all your help."

"Of course," Ginny said. She paused as she passed Elena to kiss her on the top of her head. "Anything for my children."

Damon whistled to himself as he made his way towards the Salvatore Racing break room. He glanced at the time on his phone, making sure he still had enough time to get something to eat before he had to head to the airport to meet the Salvatore Racing jet. He rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt. Expecting the room to be empty, he was surprised to find a small, brown headed toddler, standing precariously on the edge of a chair she had dragged to the counter. Balancing on her very tiptoes, she was reaching for snacks she still couldn't quite reach.

"You supposed to be in here?" he asked. The child squeaked and turned towards his voice, looking guilty as she caught herself on the counter. He took a couple steps towards her. He had only seen her briefly, but he knew exactly who she was. "You're Molly, right?" The toddler eyed him suspiciously before she tentatively nodded. "Are you supposed to be in here?" he asked again. He didn't know a lot about kids, just that he could usually appease them by signing an autograph or posing for a picture. Somehow, he knew Molly wasn't going to fall for that sort of thing.

"I wanna snack," she answered shyly. "I hungry."

"Where's your mom?" Damon replied.

"Working."

"Did she tell you to come get a snack?" When Molly didn't reply, Damon knew she had given Elena the slip. He grinned, amused at the toddler's apparent rebellious streak. "Need some help?"

"I not reach," she told him, her fingers going to her mouth as she swished her dress back and forth with her other hand. Damon came to stand beside her and peered up at the cabinet well-stocked with snack options of a varying number of calories.

"What do you want?" he asked. Molly stared at him as though debating whether or not she should trust him. "Chips?" he prompted, scanning the options. "Popcorn? A granola bar? You probably can't have beef jerky. And your mom would be pissed if I gave you candy or cookies this early in the morning." Molly gasped.

"You say bad word!" Damon frowned.

"Did not."

"Did too," Molly nodded seriously. Damon rolled his eyes, realizing Molly deemed 'pissed' as a bad word. He figured that was Elena's doing.

"What kind of snack do you want?" he asked.

"Mama said not to talk to strangers," Molly replied.

"Too late for that," Damon replied. "You've been talking to me for the last five minutes. Besides, I'm not a stranger. You saw me the other day when Caroline dropped you off." Molly seemed to consider this for a moment before she shrugged.

"I want chips," she stated, apparently deciding Damon wasn't a stranger after all. Damon started to reach for a bag, but then reconsidered.

"How about a granola bar?" he bargained. "Your mom is kind of scary when she's mad. She won't want you to eat junk food this early in the morning."

"It's okay," Molly said sweetly. "She said I can has chips."

"Sure she did," Damon responded. The kid already had the sweet, cute thing down, but he knew Elena, or at least he did once upon a time. She probably fed Molly a well-rounded breakfast and had pre-packed healthy snacks for the day. "You eat breakfast?" he asked. Molly nodded. "What did you have?"

"Eggs, toast and milk."

"Did you eat it all?" Molly nodded again. "So, granola bar? Or…" he took another inventory of the snacks. "Pirate's Booty? Those are your only options. Take it or leave it, kid." He had no idea why he was still humoring her. It would have been far simpler to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to her mother. Yet, here he was.

"What's Pirate's Booty?" Molly asked. Damon reached into the cabinet and removed a bag.

"This," he showed her. Her eyes lit up in recognition.

"I like that stuff!" she exclaimed, reaching for the bag. He chuckled and opened the bag for her before searching for his own snack, the whole reason he had come to the break room in the first place. Then, he would return Molly to her mother. Or, at least, finding someone who would take her back to Elena as he still wasn't sure how to interact with her outside of a conference room. He reached for a bag of Pirate's Booty of his own.

"Molly!" he whirled around at the sound of Elena's voice. She rushed into the room at a near run "What are you eating?" she demanded. She snatched the bag from Molly and quickly turned it in her hands so she could see the label. Damon frowned.

"It's Pirate's Booty," he stated. "Calm down." Elena looked at him, realizing for the first time that he was in the room. "I mean, I guess it's not the healthiest option on earth, but it's one of the best options we've got. It's basically puffed air with a little cheese flavor." Elena sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she released a breath.

"Molly, you can't run off like that," she reprimanded the child. "And you certainly can't just help yourself to snacks. How did you even know where the kitchen was, anyway?"

"Aunt Care-Line showed me," Molly answered innocently.

"Of course she did," Elena said, not surprised at all. She passed the bag of Pirate's Booty back to Molly. "If I let you have this now, you have to promise to eat your lunch."

"Promise," Molly said with a nod. Elena let her take the bag and then lifted her out of the chair. She put her down and Molly wandered towards the table to take a seat, happily eating her snack. Elena turned to Damon.

"I'm sorry," she said with a shake of her head. "It's just… She's allergic to tree nuts. She usually wears a medical bracelet, but we lost it somewhere on the drive from California and her new one hasn't come yet. I always assume the worst if I see her eating something I haven't given her myself."

"No worries," Damon said, leaning against the counter. "I'm used to people jumping to conclusions when I'm around."

"I wasn't jumping to conclusions," Elena stated. "Molly goes into anaphylaxis shock when she has nuts. It has only happened once, when she was 18 months old. I don't ever want it to happen again."

"Understandable," Damon said. He tossed a piece of his Pirate's Booty into the air and caught it in his mouth. Molly giggled, making him grin. She really was a cute kid. "I'm allergic to nuts too. I get it."

"I remember," Elena said softly. She glanced over at Molly, wondering how Damon could be so blind to the truth. Her bright blue eyes twinkling in a very similar manner to the way Damon's once did, Molly tossed a piece of Pirate's Booty into the air and tried to catch it in her mouth. It bounced off her forehead.

"She should work on that," Damon told Elena seriously. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Molly, don't play with your food," she said. She bent over to pick up the discarded puff, giving Damon a generous glance at her backside. He quickly diverted his eyes as she straightened up. "You leave for Daytona soon, don't you?" Elena asked him as she tossed the puff into the trash.

"In a couple of hours, yeah." Damon looked at her curiously. "You going?" Elena shook her head.

"Not to the practice sessions," she said. "I'm trusting you and the rest of the team can stay out of trouble for two days of practice."

"It's a tall order," Damon said seriously. "Daytona Beach and all. But, I guess we can handle it. Daddy is going. He will make sure we stick to curfew. Lights out by nine."

"Don't be crass," Elena told him. "It doesn't suit you." Damon snorted in response.

"Mama?" Molly called out.

"Yes?"

"Can I has some water, please?" she asked sweetly.

"You may," Elena agreed. "There are bottles of water in the fridge. Get one of the small ones, okay?" Molly nodded and slid off her chair.

"Thank you," she said as she passed Elena and Damon.

"Polite kid," Damon commented, watching Molly skip past them on the way to the fridge.

"She's a great little girl," Elena agreed. "Full of herself, but I guess that's to be expected." Damon looked at Elena.

"Why's that?" he inquired. Elena shook her head, realizing what she said. She had been comparing Molly to Damon. It hit her then that Damon had been alone with her – their – daughter, that after almost three years, he had finally met her, even if he was unaware of the connection.

"That's just her," she said dismissively. She leaned against the counter, feeling weak with her delayed realization.

"Why is she hanging out at headquarters today?" Damon continued curiously. "Doesn't she have school or daycare or something?"

"She has a doctor's appointment later this morning," Elena answered. "I'm taking her to school after her appointment."

"Doesn't look sick," Damon mused. The child skipped up to them and handed Elena her bottle of water to open.

"She's not. With her allergies and everything, I just wanted to get her established at a new pediatrician." Damon nodded. He assumed that was the sort of thing a good parent would do. "You haven't actually met her, have you?" Elena asked. Her stomach flipped over with nerves at the idea of officially introducing Molly to Damon, but it was, at least, a first step.

"Guess not," Damon said, realizing it was true. They hadn't had an official introduction. He recognized her and after a few moments of hesitation on her part, Molly seemed to have decided that he was okay. Elena set the water bottle down on the counter and picked up Molly.

"Molly, I want you to meet someone," she started. "This is Damon. He's one of our race car drivers." Damon glanced at Elena. So he wasn't even a friend these days. "Damon, this is my daughter, Molly." He smiled at Molly and offered her his hand. I

"Hi, Molly," he said. "It's nice to officially meet you." Molly beamed, smitten with the idea she was being treated like a grown up. She placed her tiny hand in his big one.

"Hi," Molly replied. "I'm Molly." Damon chuckled. "Do you drive fast?"

"I do," Damon said with a nod. "How about you? Do you drive fast?" Molly shook her head.

"I not drive yet," she told him, making Damon grin at how serious she was. "I'm only two."

"No Power Wheels or bicycles?" Damon inquired. Molly shook her head no again. "That's sad. Your mom should do something about that." Elena rolled her eyes.

"I want a pony," Molly piped up. "Mama said no. But Aunt Care-Line says I can maybe has one for my birthday when I'm three."

"If Aunt Caroline shows up with a pony, we are never speaking to her again," Elena informed Molly. Damon laughed. "Why don't you go finish your snack? Then we'll head back to my office so I can do a few things before we go to the doctor."

"Okay," Molly agreed, wiggling to be put down. Elena placed her on the ground and she headed back to the table.

"If Caroline shows up at her birthday party with a pony, videotape it for me," Damon requested. "I remember your temper. Hell, I saw your temper on display the other day. You could just forgo any party entertainment you had planned. You laying into Caroline would be enough."

"Caroline likes to spoil her," Elena said. "Always has. I wouldn't be altogether surprised if she did show up with a pony. Stefan will be a widower if she does." Damon laughed and reached for another bag of Pirate's Booty.

"Every kid deserves a pony," he said seriously. Elena just shook her head and reached for a granola bar, figuring she may as well join in on the mid-morning snacking.

"Are you ready to get back on the track?" she asked. She had to forge some sort of relationship with Damon. Despite their past, she was going to have to give him at least some benefit of the doubt. She had to work with him. More importantly, he was Molly's father. It was ultimately up to him as to whether or not he would be a part of Molly's life, but she was going to try and at least be cordial.

"I'm going to start charging a dollar every time someone asks me that," Damon replied. "At the rate I'm going, I'll have enough to buy lunch by noon. And it's already after ten."

"Sorry for asking," Elena retorted. She took a bite from her granola bar. Damon sighed, realizing he had hurt her feelings, if just marginally.

"I'm not trying to be a smartass," he told her. "It's just… People keep asking. I'm a race car driver. That's what I do. I'm going back to work, not going on a picnic."

"You broke half the bones in your body," Elena reminded him. "You, getting back behind the wheel, is a story, whether you want it to be or not. But, unlike some, I was asking with the expectation of a truthful answer."

"There are 206 bones in the body," Damon responded. "I broke like, eight. That's nowhere near half."

"You are such a smartass," Elena informed him. Damon grinned.

"It's a practice session, Elena," he reminded her. "There is going to be a handful of cars on the track at any given time. It's a good chance for me to get back behind the wheel, get the feel of it again, work through any nerves, shake off the cobwebs. And as a bonus, Stefan gets to test his precious prototype."

"Well, have fun," Elena said. She knew without words that Damon was more nervous than he was letting on about driving again. His body language, the stiff shoulders, the set of his jaw, gave him away. "That's what this used to be about, right?" Damon looked at Elena for a moment. She used to tell him to "have fun" and then give him a kiss right before he slid through the window of his car and strapped in for the race ahead. It had been a while since someone had told him to just have fun. He had heard "win" often, but not "have fun."

"It still is fun," Damon said. "Somewhere deep down, where there aren't sponsors and probations." Elena gave him a small smile.

"Then maybe you should find that fun again," she suggested. Damon opened his mouth to respond when Molly interrupted.

"Mama! Watch dis!" Both Elena and Damon turned towards Molly. She gleefully threw a piece of Pirate's Booty into the air. Despite her bobbing and weaving, the puff hit her nose and fell to the floor. "Damn it!" Elena gasped. Damon snorted, his hand flying to his mouth to cover up his laugh.

"Molly! Where did you hear that?" Elena demanded.

"Um, Uncle Stef," Molly answered, realizing she was in trouble. "I think."

"Uncle Stefan, you think?" Elena repeated. Molly nodded.

"He say it," she said with certainty. Damon frowned, wondering why Molly was calling Stefan her uncle. He quickly dismissed the idea, however, as Elena and Caroline had been best friends, more like sisters, practically since birth. With Caroline married to Stefan, it made sense that Molly thought of his younger brother as an uncle as she obviously thought of Caroline as an aunt. He then wondered just how often Stefan had seen Elena over the years.

"Well, I don't care who says it. It's a bad word and you don't use it, do you understand?" Elena lectured.

"Yes, Mama," Molly said with a nod. "I sorry."

"Don't say it again," Elena told her.

"I won't," Molly promised.

"Okay," Elena agreed. She crossed the room and wrapped Molly into a hug. "I love you, baby girl."

"I wuv you too, Mama," Molly replied, hugging her back. From his spot at the counter, Damon felt his chest tighten. He didn't understand it, but the scene of mother and daughter embracing hit home. Maybe, he reasoned, it was because his own relationship with his parents was so strained. At least that's what a therapist would probably tell him before charging him $300 for a half hour session.

"Come on," Elena said when she pulled away. "Let's go back to my office." Elena collected Molly's trash and headed towards the trash can. Damon pushed off the counter, an idea forming.

"Hey, Molly?" he asked. Elena stopped at the sound of Damon addressing Molly.

"What?" Molly asked, spinning around on one foot so she was looking at him, her hair flying behind her, her dress swishing with her twirl. Her blue eyes struck him once more as he squatted down to her level, a few feet from her, and plucked a puff from his second bag of Pirate's Booty.

"Open up," he directed, taking aim for her mouth. She grinned as she realized what he was doing and opened her mouth wide. "One," Damon counted. "Two. Three." On three, he gently tossed the puff. It landed easily in her mouth. Molly's eyes widened in surprised before she quickly chewed, then burst into giggles.

"Again!" she squealed, jumping up and down in place. Damon laughed and reached for another puff. Elena remained rooted in place, watching the easy interaction between the pair.

"This is my last one," he told her. "You ready?" Molly nodded and opened her mouth wide again. Damon again counted to three and tossed the puff. Once more, Molly erupted into a fit of laughter. Elena bit her lip, fighting back a wave of guilt so strong her knees threatened to buckle. Damon had no idea he was bonding with his daughter, and it was her fault. "You're a pro," Damon told her. He held up his hand for Molly to hi-five which she did with enthusiasm.

Warning bells sounded in Elena's head. It was time for her to get as far away as possible before she started spilling her guts to Damon. She felt like she was walking a tight rope, so close to telling him, but so far at the same time. With the knowledge that he was less than 24 hours away from getting back behind the wheel of a race car for the first time since his accident, she couldn't confess all to him right now. He had enough on his mind.

"Tell Damon thank you," she instructed Molly, working hard to keep her voice normal.

"Thank you, Day-mun!" Molly said happily. To Elena's surprise and clearly to Damon's, Molly launched herself forward and wrapped her small arms around his neck in a hug. Damon awkwardly hugged her back.

"You're welcome," he told her. He let her go and stood.

"Thanks for humoring her," Elena told him with a polite smile. She took Molly's hand.

"She's kind of hard not to humor," Damon replied honestly. "She's got that whole tiny and cute thing going on." Elena nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, she is pretty cute," she agreed. "Have fun at Daytona."

"I'll try to," Damon said with a nod, the faintest of smiles on his lips. "Hey, Molly?"

"Yeah?" Molly asked, bouncing on her toes.

"Work on that toss of the puffs, okay? You'll be able to catch them on your own soon."

"I will!" Molly promised with a nod.

"Bye, Damon," Elena said. There was a softness in her voice that Damon didn't miss, but also didn't understand.

"Bye, Elena," he replied. "Bye, Molly." Molly waved goodbye over her shoulder as Elena led her out the door. "Oh, and Elena?" Elena turned and looked over her shoulder. "I'll try and stay out of trouble while I'm in Daytona."

"I'd appreciate it," Elena told him. With that, she disappeared, Molly in tow. Damon crossed the room to the fridge in search of a water before he left for the airport. Even as he tried to turn his attention towards Daytona practice where it needed to be, he couldn't quite shake the image of a little blue-eyed girl who lit up when she laughed.

I love writing Damon and Molly scenes. See? He's curious about Molly. He's got a few pieces, namely the eyes and her nut allergy. But, he isn't putting pieces together yet. He's got to drive a car at 200mph in less than 24 hours for the first time since his accident. Big stuff for our Damon.

NASCAR things:

Safety: NASCAR cars have a number of safety devices. The roof flaps are meant to reduce the chances that a car will go airborne. The HANS device is to, simply put, hold their heads in place to prevent head and neck injuries or death. They were made mandatory after a number of drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, died from head/neck injuries sustained in crashes.

Window nets: Their main purpose is to keep debris out of the cockpit as drivers use the window to get in and out of their car. But, when they crash, they are instructed to lower the window net to signal they are okay. If a net doesn't come down, it's viewed as a sign that the driver is seriously injured. Damon's net didn't come down.

Practice: Until this year, Daytona allowed drivers to come down a few weeks before the Daytona 500 for a two day practice session. They have done away with it - and pretty much practicing in general - for the upcoming 2015 season, but for this story's purpose, we're going to Daytona to practice.

I think that's it. Such a long note!

Now we know what happened to Damon at Talladega. The how of it all comes later. Next update - Damon goes to Daytona.

Please, let me know what you think!