Damon yawns as he walks into the kitchen the next morning to find Stefan in his boxers with a cup of coffee. He eyes Stefan's attire disapprovingly and pulls a mug out of the cupboard for himself.

After filling it and taking a long swallow, he turns to Stefan. "I know you've had the place to yourself for a while now but with Nadia here, I think we need to set some ground rules."

"Ground rules?"

"If it was you and me, I wouldn't give a damn but with Nadia here... I don't care if you're wearing pajama bottoms but you're standing here in your underwear, Stefan."

"Fine. What else?"

"No cursing. And when she's with you..."

"Time out." Stefan refills his cup. "What do you mean, when she's with me?"

"If I have to leave her with you, you're going to have to make her your priority and pay attention. Anything you're unsure of, just call or text."

"Fine. But you better not abuse the privilege."

"I've got to run over to register Nadia and I need to get caught up at work so I was wondering if you could watch her for a few hours today?"

"I'm busy, Damon. You can't just spring this on me and expect me to take over immediately."

"Well, can you at least pick up some groceries while you're out? Cereal, milk, hot dogs, things kids like."

"How am I supposed to know what kids like?" Stefan protests.

"Fine!" Damon throws up his arms in frustration. "I'll do it," he snaps and storms out of the kitchen to shower and get ready for the day.

Damon parks the car in the rear of his business. He takes her hand as she exits the vehicle.

"Come on, Nadia, we don't want to be late. Watch your step," he remarks, pointing to the step as he opens the door.

"Bonnie, look who's here!"

"Hi, Nadia," Bonnie says, smiling as she approaches them.

"You remember my friend Bonnie, right?" Damon comments as he pulls out a chair for Nadia to sit down.

"Of course, she does," Bonnie winks at the little girl.

"It's good to see you," Damon remarks and hugs his friend.

"Can you please fix Nadia something to eat? I need to run over to the hardware store to get some paint for her room. I won't be gone long because I need to take her to the school to get her registered and everything."

"Of course."

"I owe you big not only for this but for taking over the place while I was in Virginia Beach."

"And, I intend to collect. Enzo wants to go to Hawaii in January."

"You got it," Damon agrees. "I won't be gone long," he calls over his shoulder as he hurries away.

Elena walks down the street to the Bad Habits Bar and Bistro to grab some food for her and Caroline. They've been working hard painting and decorating her store. Books are scheduled to arrive this week. It'll take time to put them all in their proper sections. The furniture for the coffee nook and the children's area is also due to be delivered in the next few days.

Entering Bad Habits, she walks up to the counter. "Excuse me," she states to get the woman's attention.

Bonnie glances at Nadia who's eating some toast and jelly before turning to Elena. "Hi, can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I could order some carryout?"

"Absolutely." Bonnie smiles at her. "What can I get you?"

"Two cheeseburgers, fries, a couple of sodas, and maybe 2 of those yummy-looking pastries. I'm Bonnie, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Elena Gilbert. I'm opening up the bookstore down the block."

"It's great to meet you. I've always thought this town could use a bookstore."

"My friend, Caroline suggested a coffee nook. I don't suppose you know any distributors for coffee blends and equipment."

"Yes. We get our coffee from the Mikaelson Brothers in Richmond. Hang on, I think I might have one of their cards." Bonnie steps away from the counter to turn in Elena's order and search for the card.

Elena steps aside to let another customer step up to the counter, inadvertently bumping into someone else. Before anything else, she sees his blue eyes and feels a hot jolt, as if her heart has been attached to jumper cables.

"The convenience store, right?" Damon remarks with a panty-dropping smile. "You saved Joe the gorilla."

"That was me," Elena admits although her insides feel like a million butterflies are flapping their wings inside of her belly. "I'm just waiting for takeout."

Damon gestures to a table. He glances at Nadia whose nose is in a book. "Have a seat."

Elena casts a glance at their surroundings. "I wouldn't want to interrupt."

The man stares at her with a disarming glint of amusement in his eyes. "You're not and I'm Damon. I own this place with my friend, Bonnie."

"I'm Elena and I'm opening the bookstore on the next block."

"It meant a lot to Nadia that you saved her Joe. She would have been beside herself if we had left him behind." His gaze locks on hers. "Why did you pick Mystic Falls to open a bookstore?"

"I worked at a Barnes and Noble all through high school and college. I had a little upheaval in my personal life and I thought the time was right to follow up on my dream to start a business. I wanted to try something different. Something fun. I chose Mystic Falls because when I was little, my parents would bring my brother and me here to camp out by the falls. I've always liked this town so...My friend Caroline came along to get me started..."

"Here's your order." Bonnie appears and hands her the carryout bag. "The card's inside."

"It was nice meeting you both," Elena tells them with a smile before walking out of Bad Habits.

Damon watches as Elena passes the window and disappears. He snaps out of his musings when he feels a tug on his shirt and looks down to see a pair of big brown eyes staring at him.

"We need to get to school." Damon remarks as he walks over to pick up her backpack. "Later, Bonnie."

"Bye, Nadia," Bonnie calls out as they step through the door.

Once Nadia is buckled in, Damon slides behind the wheel. Just as he's about to start the car, his cell phone rings.

"Hi. I'm just about to head to the school..." Damon nods as he listens to her. "I'm sorry but I need to run... Yes, I'll talk to you later."

"That was Andie," he tells Nadia as he drops the phone in the counsel.

"We're here to see Mrs. Bennett," Damon announces at the school office.

"She's expecting you, go right in."

"Thank you," Damon nods and enters Sheila's office with Nadia.

"You must be Nadia? I'm Principal Bennett. "Let's take her to her class and then we can talk," Sheila suggests.

"Let's do it," Damon agrees and they follow her out of the office and down the hall to classroom 15.

Sheila knocks and enters with Nadia while Damon waits outside the room. "Miss Fell, children, this is Nadia Salvatore. She's your new classmate."

"Hello, Nadia." Honoria smiles at the child. "Why don't you have a seat at that desk? I'll be right back. No talking," she instructs the children and follows Sheila out of the room.

"Is there anything I should know?" Miss Fell asks.

"Nadia is a smart little girl. She hasn't spoken since her Mom was killed. The doctor believes she'll talk again when she's ready."

"She'll be just fine. Don't you worry," Miss Fell assures Damon and returns to her room.

"I hope so," Damon utters silently as he accompanies Sheila back to the office.

Thanks everyone so much. I know this was a shorter chapter, but I'll try to update again later this week. I've been working on something :D

Chapter title: Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

Have a wonderful day and thank you again. You're all the best.