Thanks to dizzy lizzie for the lovely Reviews. So glad you like my Story. Still, this is the last chapter. But I actually already started working on a new fic about those two. So you`ll be sure to hear from me again.

Ric opened his eyes with a groan and wondered for a moment, where he was. Then it all came rushing back to him and he looked around in alarm, surprised to find himself in the passenger seat of his own car. Damon was lounging in the drivers seat and somehow the sight of him helped Ric to calm down a little. But it also puzzled him. "Damon? What happened? What are you doing here?" he asked. The vampire snorted. "I saved your stupid ass, that`s what happened."

When Ric just continued to look at him he elaborated: "I saw your little struggle with the evil vampire chick. Since you were obviously losing I decided to step in. She`s dead, don`t worry." Alaric took a moment to process this information. "So, I didn`t die?" the teacher asked cautiously. "You were only unconscious." Well, that was good news. "Thanks." Ric mumbled, chancing another glance at Damon. The vampire looked pissed for some reason.

"What the hell was up with you? You should`ve been able to kill her yourself." he pointed out and Ric had to agree with him. Under normal circumstances he would have killed her. "I was… drunk. And stupid. Not paying attention." he muttered, averting his eyes again. His hand touched the bitemark on his neck, only to find that there was no wound. For the first time he realized that he should be hurting all over. But he wasn`t. Which could only mean one thing.

"You healed me." He looked at Damon in surprise, but the vampire only shrugged. "Didn`t want you bitching at me, because I let you bleed all over your car." he muttered. Ric had no idea how to reply. Damon had not only saved his life, but had also healed him and, he suddenly noticed, had driven him home. He wasn´t sure what it meant, but he knew it had to mean something. And at least the vampire was talking to him again.

"Damon, I`m really sorry for.. everything really." he started. Damon´s eyes widened and for a second he looked almost panicked. He quickly schooled his features again and shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. I really got to go now." Ric tried to grab his arm, but he was too slow. The vampire was gone in the blink of an eye. Sighing in defeat the teacher slumped against the seat and closed his eyes. He sat there for a few more minutes, before he finally got out of the car and went into the building. At least it had been a start, he reasoned.

Upon entering his apartment he was met by his brother. He`d completely forgotten about Nate and only realized his mistake when the older one looked at him with wide eyes and gasped: "Shit, Ric! What happened?" He was still wearing his torn clothes and probably looked like he`d been in quite a brawl. "Had a little fight. Nothing serious, don`t worry." He tried to shrug it off, but of course Nate wanted to know details.

"This… guy was waiting for me when I left school. I had an argument with him a few weeks ago. He… he was drunk and picking a fight. Caught me by surprise when he punched me and knocked my head into a tree." Ric lied, trying to stay close to the truth. He knew that there must be some blood on his clothes and hoped his brother wouldn`t check him for wounds, which weren`t there thanks to the vampire blood in his system.

"He knocked your head into a tree? Shit, are you okay? We should get you to the hospital. You could have a concussion." Typically Nate, always pragmatic. "I`ve already been to the hospital. I`m alright. Looks worse than it is." Ric insisted, hoping his brother would believe the lie. He did, but it brought on further questions. "You`re not actually telling me you drove in that condition? You could have a head injury. And I can smell the alcohol in your breath."

Oh yeah, he`d completely forgotten about that. He felt strangely sober now and wondered if he had to thank Damon´s blood for that, too. "Damon drove me. He came by, saw me getting my ass kicked and helped. He also drove me home." Which was pretty much the truth. Before Nathan could open his mouth to voice more questions, Ric told him he was going to bed. "I`m tired, I have a headache and I`ve got to work in a few hours. So can we please end the interrogation for now?"

The older one hesitated, but finally nodded, admitting defeat. "But we`ll talk about this tomorrow, okay?" he insisted. Ric nodded and went to bed. For the first time this week he slept through the night and woke up feeling okay.

Of course Nathan hadn`t forgotten his questions overnight and started interrogating Ric again, as soon as he had sat down for breakfast. "Who was that guy? Why did he attack you? Did you call the police? Why was Damon there? Did you talk?" were only a few of the questions he bombarded his younger brother with. Ric told him again that the guy was just some idiot he`d had an argument with some time ago, no he hadn`t called the police, but Damon had informed the sheriff (probably not really a lie). He had no idea why Damon had been there and no, they hadn`t really talked, since Damon had blocked his attempts.

He sighed in relief when it was finally time to leave for work. His relief was short-lived however, when he realized upon arriving at school that he hadn`t prepared anything for today`s lessons. He managed to improvise quite well, though. Of course his first two classes weren`t pleased about the pop quiz, but at least he remembered which classes had already taken the quiz. Then he started third period by making the kids read the same paragraph they had already talked about on monday, as Caroline gleefully pointed out to him. He gave the blonde a dark look and made them read three more paragraphs.

Once again Elena lingered after class. That girl was just too kind hearted for her own good. "You seemed distracted again." she noticed, when Ric finally turned to face her. "It`s been a bit hectic, lately. There were some vampires causing trouble and with my brother here I had to be extra careful. I don`t want him to know about that stuff. Also there`s still the problem with Jenna and… it´s just a bit much." he replied, conscious of Stefan hovering in the doorway, probably listening to their every word.

"But I think we got all the evil vamps taken care of now, so things will get better hopefully." He gave her a rueful smile and decided an apology was in order. "Elena, I`m really sorry for snapping at you the other day. It wasn`t fair to take my frustrations out on you." Elena smiled at his words. "Don`t worry about it. I know you didn`t mean it." Yes, way too kind-hearted. He thanked the girl for her understanding and she left with her vampire boyfriend in tow.

The rest of the school day passed rather uneventful and Ric was surprised to find Nate strolling into his classroom, after the last of his students had left. "I wanted to see where you work." he explained, looking around with interest. "You mean you wanted to make sure I don´t end up drinking and getting my ass kicked again." Ric suspected. His brother didn`t answer, but Nate`s sheepish look told him all he needed to know. Dropping the subject they agreed on an early dinner at the Grill, where Nathan surprised his brother once more.

"I`m flying home tomorrow night." Ric looked at him in surprise. "I miss Maggie and the boys." Nate admitted. "I called her last night and we talked things through. We`ll give it another shot, try to find a compromise." Ric smiled. "I`m glad to hear that. You were always the perfect couple in my eyes." he let the older one know. Nate chuckled. "Thanks. I`ll expect you to call me and give me a complete report about how things played out for you. And no backing down again, okay?" he ordered. "No backing down. Promise."

When they were just about to leave, Jenna strolled into the Grill. Hesitating only a second, Ric asked his brother to wait up and went over. He had been secretly hoping for a chance like this, knowing he really needed to talk to her. He owed her that much. "Jenna, can I talk to you for a second?" She gave Ric a doubtful look, but then nodded. They went to a quiet corner and sat down. Jenna was looking at him expectantly and it was making him nervous. But he had to go through with this. "You told me I had to make a decision. And you were right."

When he finally rejoined Nate, who was waiting outside, he felt a little better. His brother looked at him expectantly. "She told me to go to hell. Rather loudly." Ric grimaced. So much for his theory that she wouldn`t make a scene in a public place like the Grill. But at least he could compliment himself on the fact that he`d been completely honest this time. "Ouch!" Nate commented with a grin.

Ric rolled his eyes and drove them back to his apartment, where he tried calling Damon. Just like the five other times he had tried today, he reached only the mailbox and didn`t bother to leave a message. The teacher wrote his lesson plans for the next day, vowing to himself never to neglect those again. They spent the evening watching TV and went to bed early.

Friday proved not much different. The students and also some of the teachers were gossiping about Alaric`s fight with Jenna at the Grill and he found quite a few questioning looks directed his way. But no-one asked him openly about it, so Ric decided to ignore them. Damon had obviously gone into hiding again and was still ignoring his calls. On his way home Ric stopped at the florist spontaneously. The sales girl looked happy to see him and offered to pick something for him again, but this time he knew exactly what he wanted.

"A dozen of those dark red roses." The girl complied wordlessly, but she frowned when she caught a look at the card. A very smart woman told me not so long ago that guys only send flowers when they fucked up. So please take these as proof that I really fucked up. he`d written on the card. Ric handed over the money and left the shop with a grin.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. The two brothers talked and laughed and of course Nathan couldn`t resist giving the younger one some more tips on how to win Damon back. They made dinner together and about an hour later Ric drove his brother to the airport. "Good luck. And don`t forget to call me or I might just show up again." the older one threatened when they parted at the gate. Ric laughed and assured his brother he was always welcome.

When he returned home the apartment seemed way too quiet. He tidied up, tried to pass some time by reading a book before finally giving up and just going to bed.

He slept in the next day and was woken around noon, when Nate called to let him know he made it home safely and had patched things up with Maggie. They talked for a few minutes, before hanging up. Ric took his time showering and getting dressed and finally decided he needed to buy groceries. Shopping was annoying as always and he was glad when he arrived back at his apartment.

By late afternoon he sat down to start grading papers when suddenly the door burst open. "You sent me flowers." Damon stated, stopping in the middle of the room and looking at him like he`d lost his mind. Ric got up. "Did you like them? I thought you might appreciate the color." Slowly he walked closer to the vampire. "You know, red like blood. Like passion." the teacher continued. Damon arched an eyebrow, but didn`t say anything. He seemed speechless for once. "I broke up with Jenna." Ric told him.

At this the vampire turned away. "Good for you." His voice sounded way too neutral. "Don`t you want to know why?" Damon shrugged and leaned against the wall. "Enlighten me." Ric walked over and stopped only when he was mere inches away. "I broke up with her, because I realized I didn`t want to be with her. I don´t want her. I want you." He saw something flicker in the vampire`s eyes. Damon stared at him, obviously not believing he was serious.

Suddenly nervous Ric started babbling. "I know I fucked up. I`ve been an idiot. Dating Jenna, dating you. And I know we were never officially dating and all. But I want to. If you give me another chance..." He didn`t get any further, because suddenly there were lips on his and he was kissing back almost automatically, only breaking away when the need for air got too great. "Just shut up. Idiot." Damon whispered, before he smashed his lips against Alaric`s once more and they stumbled their way to the bedroom without breaking apart.

"So, Maggie´s now the official girls' volleyball coach over at the youth center. She`s doing a really great job and she loves it." Nate told Alaric on the phone. After a few discussions he and his wife had agreed that she wouldn`t go back to working, but she would help out at the local youth center. They could use every helping hand there and Maggie had a purpose, while still enough free time to take care of her two sons.

"I`m really glad to hear that." Ric said sincerely, sitting down on the couch in the boarding house living room. "And what about you? Everything alright with Damon?" Nathan inquired and Ric couldn´t help but grin. "Everything`s great." And it was. He and Damon had been dating for a little over a month now and aside from a few minor incidents it went surprisingly well. Of course they fought every now and then. But making up was always good, so that was okay.

Damon was slowly opening up to him and had even talked about his mother a few days ago. Ric got the impression that her death still pained him. "She left me. Just like everyone else always leaves me." the vampire had mumbled against his neck, drunk from a mixture of alcohol and Ric`s blood. Ric had hugged him close and promised he would never leave him.

Of course their coming-out had caused quite a stir. Mystic Falls was a small town after all. Most of the parents had reacted surprisingly well. There were only a few letters sent to school from parents who didn`t want a fag teaching their children. The principal had sent letters back, stating that Mr. Saltzman was a very capable teacher and his private life did in no way affect his work. Ric was glad the principal, Mr. Hunt, liked him. The fact that he had a gay son probably helped as well.

Carol Lockwood proved one of the biggest surprises. She supported them from day one and she happily agreed when Ric decided to join the founder´s council. With the mayor on their side no-one really dared to give them a hard time and the few idiots who did anyway ... well, let´s just say Damon took care of them. Most of Ric`s students were really cool about it all and the Scooby gang (as Damon liked to call Elena and her friends) adjusted pretty fast as well. Especially when it turned out that Damon was a whole lot nicer now that he was officially dating Ric. Of course Ric had to endure dark glares from a lot of females, but that was a small price.

"Want to elaborate on that?" Nathan asked, startling him out of musings. Ric opened his mouth to reply, but a second later the phone was snatched from the teacher´s hand. "Sorry Nate, but Ric is busy right now. He`ll call you back later... Much later." Damon hung up and threw the phone over his shoulder. "Not nice." Ric commented. The vampire just shrugged and joined him on the couch. "It`s Friday night. Which means Stefan is out with Elena and we have the whole house to ourselves." he murmured.

Alaric grinned. "Whatever shall we do with that much freedom?" Damon crawled onto his lap. "Oh, I think we can come up with something." Still grinning Ric pulled the vampire down for a kiss. It may have taken him a while to make a decision, to choose between two worlds, but he knew he had made the right choice. Just like he knew he would never regret his decision.

Maybe his failed marriage had been good for something. It had brought him and Damon together in the end. And as Damon´s lips left his to trail kisses over his jaw, down to his neck he wondered absently if he should send Isobel a thank-you-card, should she ever decide to show up again.