Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. A big shout-out to CosmicAdventurer who is a huge support and an amazing sounding board. I'm very excited to see their current fics develop.

If you like this story, my one-shot "Bree and the Broken Vampire" is a fluffy exploration of Damon and Bree's history and my take on his humanity.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Pulling up at school the following Monday, Elena felt optimistic. Sure, she hadn't actually had a conversation with Damon but at least they weren't trying to kill each other anymore.

He'd checked in each night briefly, not seeing her in person but leaving her a gift in her bedroom. The first had been an old vinyl of AC/DC, accompanied by a suitable record player. The second was the first edition of 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. Both seemed to match Damon so beautifully.

She knew they'd find their way back to friendship, that eventually she would be ready to love him the way he wanted. It scared the crap out of her, that she knew it would happen one day, but it didn't have to be today. Hopefully he continued to understand that.

She's given Jeremy a lift and they'd sat in comfortable silence on the ride. This weekend, more than ever, she had been glad that Damon had chosen to share the secret for her. If Anna had told Jeremy about her involvement with vampires before Elena could be honest with him, that would have done almost irreparable damage to their relationship. Elena loved her brother, she wouldn't have wanted to hurt him like that- but she had been doing so for Stefan's sake. Damon didn't ask that of her.

Surprisingly, as they pulled up Anna herself was waiting for them. She was almost jumping up and down, waving a piece of paper at the car. The car had barely stopped when Jeremy rushed out, swinging her around in a hug, Elena hadn't seen him like this with a girl before, with Vicki he was always tortured and brooding as the girl couldn't or wouldn't choose between Jeremy and Tyler Lockwood, Vicki had been too old for him anyway, but then; how old was Anna?

She reminded herself to ask at an appropriate time, gathering her bags and locking the car.

"Hey, 'Lena, great news! Anna and her Mom are going to stay in town." Jeremy's grin was from ear to ear, and whilst she was delighted to see it, she was apprehensive about more vampires in Mystic Falls.

"Don't worry," Anna added, clearly noting her expression. "We won't harm anyone, Plus we're here as part of Damon's plan,"

Damon's plan? She nodded, feigning understanding but quite frankly she had no clue what they were talking about,

She was sick of secrets.

x-x-x-x

That evening, Damon was raiding the wine cellar looking for the perfect bottle. Sure, he could give Elena time. He could also shower her in gifts so she didn't forget what she felt. That included treating her family right, so tonight he was searching for a bottle ideal for Jenna.

Hearing a car pull up, he sped to the door to answer it. To his surprise, Jenna and Alaric were arriving, a bottle of the good stuff in Alaric's hand and a bag of take-out in Jenna's. Had he planned a party when he was wasted and forgotten?

Unfortunately, he was pretty sure he remembered every excruciatingly embarrassing detail of that particular binge drinking episode.

The scene got more peculiar when Bonnie pulled up with Elena and Jeremy. What on earth?

As he was processing the scene, he heard Bree's voice from her room. "We're having a family meeting Damon, greet everyone politely, will you?"

The bitch had set him up! A family meeting? His only family left was Stefan and he hoped he wouldn't see him here. The Gilberts were their own family unit, and he guessed Alaric was becoming part of that. He wasn't sure how he, Bonnie or Bree fit into that. He certainly didn't expect Anna and Pearl to appear on his drive as well, but they did.

He let them in, stuttering a greeting to each person in term. Elena went bright red as he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, he wasn't sure if it was the contact or because he suspected she was primarily to blame for this intrusion.

As Jenna handed out the food, everyone took their seats. Bree had descended downstairs and brought glasses out as well as some softer drinks- and some blood for the vampiric elements of the family.

He almost laughed, the scene was so preposterous.

He didn't think he'd ever seen this many people who knew him gather in one room- acquaintances obviously but not people who genuinely knew what and who he was.

How perturbing.

Elena was the first to speak, "Thank you all for coming. I've gathered us all to ensure we're all on the same page about the safety of this town. Some of us seem to be plotting behind the scenes, and I'm sick of secrets. We all care about at least one other person here, so let's be on the same team for once."

She looked pointedly at Damon, he just shrugged and sipped his blood. He'd be damned if he was showing his cards to everyone in this damn room- whether Elena counted them as family or not.

However, it seemed he was the only one who felt that way. He watched as Pearl reached into a rather sophisticated looking handbag and pulled out an antique device. How the hell did a woman who'd been in a tomb for the best part of 150 years suddenly become the height of elegant fashion?

"This is the device John GIlbert wants. Damon is trying to get hold of it to ascertain how much of a danger it is to us." She looked over at Damon, mischief swirling in her eyes. This was a power play, ensuring Damon's threat to be their second biggest problem in Mystic Falls was effectively eliminated. Dammit, Elena had allowed that to happen.

The girl needed to stop getting involved in grown-up plans.

Bree reached for the device, settled on the coffee table, her hand pulling back as she touched it.

"That's no device or invention, there's magic radiating from that." She gestured to Bonnie to have a closer look. The younger witch knelt down next to the device, carefully observing it before she gingerly touched it. She didn't recoil the way Bree had, and the two witches smiled knowingly at each other.

Bonnie spoke first, "This was spelled by Emily Bennett. It looks similar to something in her grimoire, but a part seems to be missing."

Bree added a warning, "It's dangerous magic, and protected against interference by anyone from another bloodline. Bonnie, what does the grimoire say?"

"I'll check when I get home, she spoke a lot about the GIlbert inventions- I think they were all her spells." The younger witch had just confirmed a suspicion Damon had held about the pocket watch. Perhaps this meeting could be useful.

Jeremy was the next to speak up. "Jonathon GIlbert mentioned inventions in his journal, but didn't speak about them in detail. John said there were more journals though."

Jenna shook her head, "Not at the house. I've had every box in the attic and all the cupboards out and sorted."

The room grew quiet as everyone took a bite to eat and a drink, mulling over the news.

Elena was the next to speak up. "What about the clinic? That is why John is back, isn't it? Maybe he didn't want us to find them."

Jeremy nodded, "There's a room in the basement we were never allowed to even go near. They could be there."

"Or in the patient file room, that was always locked and secured." Jenna added.

For the entire discussion, Damon had been pacing behind the sofa pondering the gathering in his parlour. Seriously, what the hell? He really couldn't get his head around so many people in his house.

"Fine, I'll search the clinic. Elena, I might need you to invite me in," He commanded. If anyone was going to be in charge here, it would be him, he decided.

Elena nodded, but Jeremy spoke up. "Anna and I would like to come too. I've read the Gilbert journal and I want to find the others too."

"Nope." He popped the p, he didn't want to be a dick to the kid, he kind of liked him, but he worked alone.

His eyes met Elena's, imploring her to agree with him. He didn't want this family adventure, he just wanted to get the device and spend the rest of the night with her.

Instead, Elena nodded in agreement with Jeremy. "We will all go tomorrow, straight after school."

Fucking fantastic.

x-x-x-x

Damon clearly hadn't been happy with the impromptu gathering, as Elena suspected he would not be. She's realised though that the secrets could only be used against them.

How close had Anna come to hurting her or Bonnie? They could just have all agreed to work together from the start, perhaps with more time to plan and discuss they could have prevented Bonnie's grams exhausting herself from the fire? It was worth pissing Damon off if it prevented anyone else getting hurt, plus she figured that sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.

At least she hadn't invited John; even she had boundaries to whom she could consider family. No hateful, secretive uncles allowed- especially if he was her biological father as Damon believed. She shuddered to herself at the thought.

As the others left, Elena had lingered behind. She wasn't sure why she was nervous, it was only Damon- she'd spend a significant amount of time alone with him before, They'd even had a road trip to Georgia,

However, they hadn't had a full conversation since the argument, and she wasn't sure they were both ready for one. Maybe she should just go?

She stood from the sofa, unsure on her feet whether to step towards him or the door. Looking down at the floor instead, she addressed him, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Damon."

She didn't move to the door immediately, hoping he would pause his sulking to respond to her. For the last twenty minutes he had been stretched out on an armchair facing the fireplace. He'd dropped in the odd sarcastic comment, and waved a farewell to the rest of the participants but he hadn't really engaged in any of the conversations over food.

As she hoped, Damon beckoned her over. Taking a few steps forward, she was whisked off her feet and onto his lap.

"You played a dangerous game tonight, GIlbert. What if Pearl hadn't brought the device, you'd have ruined my Machiavellian scheming."

Elena couldn't help but smile at him, he was obviously trying to measure his response, hold back for her. Sitting on his lap, she was the perfect height to start fiddling with his hair, brushing it back from his face and placing a kiss on his forehead.

"I saw the way Anna looked at Jeremy today. I knew they'd want to stay." He tilted his head to one side, acquiescing that she might have had a good insight. She knew he wouldn't put that into words, though. "Plus, you need to know I'm not the only person in Mystic Falls who gives a crap. I called it Family Night for a reason."

Damon cocked an eyebrow, looking at her quizzically. "Everyone here tonight, Damon, was happy to have you be a part of their lives. I thought you needed the reminder."

"I'm here for you, and you alone, 'Lena" He said solemnly, the truth in his eyes terrified her.

"Maybe," she shrugged slightly, trying to brush of the seriousness of his feelings, "but you should know there's a dozen reasons to be here. Not just one."

After placing another chaste kiss on his forehead, she rose from his lap. "GIve me a ride home?" She asked.

x-x-x-x

It was now under a week to the founder's parade. The finale of the parade was a float carrying all the members of the founder's court. Caroline would be at the top, of course, with her partner.

Tonight, she had to pick the costumes up from Mrs Lockwood and distribute them. The unspoken question of who would be Elena's partner needed addressing, Caroline could have cursed her friend for messing up the schedule. She knew it had been Damon's surprise and not Elena's fault, but it messed everything up. Caroline did not want to have that conversation with Mrs Lockwood either, who would probably be offended Tyler was left out.

Did it make her a bad friend if she wanted Elena and Damon not to work out, just to make her life easier?

Knocking on the door or the Lockwood house, she didn't hear a response. They lived in what was basically a mansion, so no wonder they couldn't hear the door. Mrs Lockwood had told her a dozen times to 'Just let yourself in, dear', but she'd never actually had to do it.

Taking a deep breath and holding it tightly, she turned the handle and stepped inside. Releasing the breath with relief that nobody appeared to shout at her, she asked "Mrs Lockwood? It's Caroline Forbes, I've come for the outfits."

There was no response.

Checking her watch, and the text she had received, Caroline knew she was definitely supposed to be here. Cautiously, she stepped forward through the hall, looking through the open doorways that she could see.

A loud shout and a bang sounded from off in the opposite direction of the house causing her to startle.

"You're a fucking pathetic waste of space!".

The hateful comment was followed by further banging and then heavy footsteps coming down the hall.

Trying to desperately back-up and out of the front door, she met Tyler's gaze before she could escape. Tears were brimming in his eyes, and a large red mark was sprouting on his cheekbone,

He grabbed her arm, hard enough that it almost hurt, and pulled her through a side room and out of the side door.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Caroline?" He whispered, as soon as they were out of the house.

"P..p…picking up costumes." She stumbled over the words, tears in her own eyes as she looked over Tyler. It was obvious those vindictive words had been directed at him, and Caroline's heart was shattering just looking at him.

Tyler sighed. "My mom must have forgotten, she's out of town on a shopping trip. Come on, "

He beckoned her to follow him and they were soon at a small summer house.

He led her inside, and she was pleasantly surprised to find a comfy, well decorated, summer room rather than the cobweb-filled, splinter-awarding interior she was expecting.

"Look, " Tyler began, "Could you forget what you saw tonight?"

Caroline sat down, and beckoned Tyler to do so. Good manners be damned, he hadn't asked her to sit and this was technically his home still. However, she wasn't going to let this one drop.

She shook her head at him, "No, Tyler, I won't forget. Or forgive."

Tyler visibly whitened at her statement, and she could see his eyes trying to calculate the next move, panicking at the possible outcomes. She reached out to his injured check, touching it as gently as she was able.

"I won't tell anyone, but please let me help." She knew this was a compromise, if she told her Sheriff mom, surely something would happen. However, that something could well be worse for Tyler than what he was already enduring.

At her softness, his exterior shell collapsed. It was almost as if in slow motion, he shed his macho outer skin and became a vulnerable young man. His shoulder slouched and the tears that had been threatening to fall from his eyes ran down his cheeks. He fell backwards in the loveseat,

"Thank you, Care."

She didn't even think about it, she just rested her head on his shoulder and curled up into him as he cried. Her hand reached over and found his, holding his fingers tight against his chest.

"I've got you, Tyler."

x-x-x-x

He waited for her on the sidewalk by the clinic. He was dreading this, he hadn't really wanted anyone with him but he knew it would be important to her that she was there, she'd spoken about what Grayson Gilbert meant to her when she'd discussed potentially becoming a doctor. He's already tested it last night, and he definitely didn't need an invite, but he'd play along anyway.

Jeremy and Anna were more of an annoyance, especially if they continued making the sickeningly sweet comments and gestures they had last night. Young love made him want to vomit.

Plus, Anna was at least twice his age. She should know better.

The three arrived after a short wait, Jeremy and Anna arriving hand-in-hand and Elena greeting him with an all too brief hug.

"Come in Damon, Anna." Jeremy said, after unlocking the rear door to the building. Anna exchanged a knowing look with him, but he just winked. Let the kid believe he was needed.

Elena suggested that Anna and Jeremy search the ground floor up to the attic. They were suspicious about the basement, but it didn't mean the journals were there. It had been a doctor's office so there were plenty of locked cupboards in every room that the hidden journals could have been stored in.

Elena and Danone would check out the basement. He was glad she'd split them up. Anna's vampiric hearing would mean they'd have little privacy, but less company was always his preferred option.

Walking down the stairs, he could see Elena's tension rise as her shoulders tightened. He heard her breath quicken. He pulled a torch out of his pocket and shone it on the ground in front of her, hoping to alleviate her unease.

"Thanks," she whispered, "but it's not that. I always got the creeps down here."

He resisted the temptation to scare her and call her a scaredy cat, she genuinely looked terrified.

Instead, he sped ahead of her and checked each corner of the room.

"It's clear, I'm the only scary thing in here." He quipped, flashing his fangs for good measure.

Surprisingly, she laughed and he could not help but giggle with her. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her middle.

"You'll always be safe with me, Gilbert. Now, where might these journals be?"

She looked around, and pointed to the far side of the room.

"There used to be shelves of storage there, with a gap. Sometimes Dad would squeeze through the gap and be gone ages, I imagine they're somewhere back there."

Damon looked over at the area. The only shelves there were almost empty, some textbooks and files left on the metal. There was a gap between the floor to ceiling shelving units on the far side, and as he approached it, he could see the metal on one of the shelves had been dented, almost twisted. This last set of shelves before the gap were skewed, as if pushed outwards from the wall.

There were no other signs of damage in the basement, or on the ground floor. What had happened here?

"Admittedly, I haven't been down here since I was 8." She added. That meant there was a wider window for the damage, but it triggered Damon's instincts. Something of interest was here.

Inspecting the shelves, he let his finger run over every inch. Finding a wobble, he pulled with his vampiric strength.

The shelves moved, as did the door behind them.

"Ever been through there?" He asked Elena, pointing at the ajar door that had appeared in front of them, hidden behind the shelving but accessible if you squeezed. It was perfectly blended with the drywall when closed, appearing to them only as it opened.

Elena shook her head, her eyes wide as saucers. He reached for her hand and squeezed.

"Anna," he said, keeping his voice calm and low, "I think we've found the spot." Waiting for the rest of their party to arrive behind him, he led Elena through the door and into the room beyond.

What he saw paralysed him.

In the centre of the room was a table, the kind used for a post-mortem.. Around the edge were cupboards, microscopes, various machines, all covered with a thick layer of dust. A row of filing cabinets sat beyond that, at the back of the room. As his eyes wandered to the corner of the room, he could hear his own heart trying to beat out of his chest.

"Ow, Damon!" Elena was shouting at him, trying to grab her hand back from him. He must have held too tight. He let go, eyes still fixed on the back corner of the room.

The cage there was strong, the emblem above the lock familiar, too familiar.

x-x-x-x