It had been taken awhile, but the group had slowly adjusted to the changes in their lives. The first couple months were the hardest, but after the third one, things were almost back to normal.

Matt had found a witch who could help them break the anti-magic barrier over Mystic Falls. It took the entire coven she had with her do to the spell. For once, it actually worked, unlike their first couple attempts. Everyone immediately moved back to Mystic Falls after that.

One day, Elena and Stefan were sitting in the living room, in front of the fire place. "It's weird being here without him, isn't it?" Elena said.

"It is." Stefan admitted. "It won't get any easier."

"Hey, we're still taking this one day at a time." Elena pointed out. "One day, it won't hurt so much. Besides, I still believe he's out there somewhere, fighting his way back."

"So do I." Stefan said, taking her hand.

A few days later, Elena was helping Caroline with shopping in town. She was trying to help her find the perfect outfit for her mystery date. Caroline had kept quiet about who her date was with. Elena didn't want to ask because she wanted to respect her friend's privacy.

"Well, I'm sure he'll like you no matter what you wear."

"Thanks, Elena. But I'm still thinking the green dress would look better." Caroline said.

"Yeah, but you always look so pretty in white." Elena said. Then Caroline gasped. Elena followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at. A familiar figure was walking in the town square, headed straight towards them.

"Bonnie? Is that really you?" Caroline asked. Bonnie stopped just in front of them, smiling.

"It feels so good to be back here."

"Bonnie!" Caroline immediately dropped her bags and hugged her. Elena joined her.

"I really missed you guys." Bonnie said.

"We missed you, too!" Caroline told her. She started crying.

"Hey, take it easy, Care. You don't want to ruin your make-up before your date with Stefan, do you?" Bonnie said. Elena looked surprised. Caroline glared at Bonnie. "Oops."

"That's what you were so afraid to tell me?" Elena asked her blonde friend.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with it, considering you two have gone out before…"

"Caroline, Stefan and I are just really good friends." Elena told her. "And I think he really likes you. You should go for it."

"Thank you." Caroline said. Bonnie handed her back her shopping bags. "Well, I should go home and get ready." She left then.

"How did you get back here?" Elena asked.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Bonnie said.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. And I know someone who's looking forward to see you again." Elena said. She pulled out her phone and called Jeremy. "Hey, where are you?"

"I'm with the guys at the Grill, why?"

"Look out the window." Elena said. Minutes later, she saw her brother run outside the Grill. Matt and Tyler stepped out as well, surprised by Bonnie's appearance.

"Bonnie!"

"Jeremy!" They ran into each others arms. "Thank you so much for not giving up on me."

"I wouldn't do that, and I told you, I'm never letting you go again." Jeremy pointed out. Bonnie smiled, tears coming to her eyes. They kissed.

Elena smiled, watching the scene in front of her.

She returned to the Salvatore house a few hours later. She found Stefan sitting in the living room. "Hey. How was shopping?"

"It was great." Elena said. "We got an unexpected gift." Stefan turned to her, confused. "I'll explain later. So, where are you taking Caroline for your date?"

"You heard about that?"

"I'm okay with it." Elena told him. "You guys deserve to be happy."

"Well, I was thinking of taking her to the top of the hill just outside of town."

"She'll love that." Elena told him.

"Good luck tonight." Enzo told him, entering the room. He had been staying at the Boarding House with them. Everyone was surprisingly okay with it, though occasionally Elena could hear him arguing with Alaric.

"He won't need luck." A familiar voice said. Elena felt a chill run down her spine. She turned around. There, standing in the doorway, stood the familiar dark-haired blue-eyed vampire she'd fallen in love with.

"Damon." Stefan said, looking surprised.

"Hi, brother." He stepped into the room. He looked unusually nervous. The two of them looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, Stefan put his hand on Damon's shoulder, as though to reassure himself that his brother was really here.

They looked at each other, then he put his arms around his brother. Damon returned his brother's embrace. Stefan didn't need to speak, he already understood. "I know. I missed you, too, Stef." They pulled away after a few minutes. Elena could see Stefan's eyes were full of tears.

"Welcome home." Stefan told him.

"You should probably get ready." Damon said. "You're date will be here soon."

"He's right, mate. It's almost seven." Enzo informed him.

"Thank you for what you did back there." Stefan said. "You saved all of us."

"I'd do anything to save you, brother. Don't you ever forget that." Damon told him. Stefan left the room then. That's when Alaric came in.

"Damon?"

"Ric!" They hugged each other. "I hope the others haven't been driving you too crazy."

"Well, like with some other changes, I've had to adjust." Alaric told him. "But the others have helped me get used to them."

"Yeah, trust me, I know what you've been through." Damon said. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

"I know. But it's been a long day. How about we meet at the Grill tomorrow?" Damon nodded in acknowledgement. Alaric left the room.

"Long time no see." Enzo said.

"Hey, Enzo." Suddenly, Enzo speed toward him and punched him.

"That's for Maggie." Enzo told him. Damon got up quickly. "Now we're even."

"Just admit it, Enzo. You missed him, too, didn't you?" Elena said.

"You have a very strong girl there, Damon. Never do anything like that again. She needs you more than you think." Enzo told him.

"Thanks. I know we've had our differences, but I'm glad you're part of our group." Damon said.

"Enough, man. There's someone else you need to be with right now." Enzo walked out, leaving him alone with Elena.

"I just knew you'd come back." Elena said. "I saw Bonnie today, too."

"Remind me to thank her." Damon said. Elena wrapped her arms around him.

"I never gave up on you, never stopped hoping that you'd come back." Elena told him.

"Thank you for not giving up. I don't know how I would've found my way back if you had." Damon said.

"I really missed you all those months."

"I missed all of you. I never told you this, but I had started to think of Jeremy as a brother."

Elena smiled. "I'm just so relieved to see that you're okay."

"Yeah, though it might take a while for things to get back to normal."

"Hey, we made it through this." Elena pointed out. "We're both alive, we survived the Other Side's destruction."

"That's cause we're awesome."

"Now there's the Damon Salvatore I'm in love with."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She rolled her eyes.

"I love you, Damon. I love you so much, the first few months without you were really hard."

"Hey." He put his hands on her face so she was looking at him. "I swear, you will never, ever, lose me again." She smiled. She got on her toes and kissed him gently.

"I missed the way that felt." She told him.

"So did I."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Elena." Damon said. He leaned forward to kiss her again. The kiss started out soft, but slowly became more passionate.

Hours later, they were lying down in bed together. Elena was leaning against Damon's chest. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah. I really missed being here." She had avoided Damon's room for months, aside from one time where she'd gone in to borrow one of his books to read.

"I can't remember a time where I'd been so glad to be alive."

"Yeah, we're all glad you're both okay." Elena said.

"Yeah, I've never been happier to see Bonnie in my life." Damon admitted. He put his hand on her arm. "Surprising you guys was her idea."

"I'm sure the others will be happy to see you, too." Elena said.

"I have no doubt that Blondie's already telling Stefan about your encounter with our witch friend." Damon said.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Elena said. "With you back, though, things might just get back to normal around here."

"As normal as it gets when you live with vampires." Damon pointed out, smiling.

"You know what I mean." Elena said, laughing. Damon brushed a strand of hair out of her face. He looked at her, feeling relieved that he'd found his way back to her. "What is it?"

"It's just really good to hear you laugh. I missed the sound of your voice." Damon told her.

"No matter what happens this time, we are never doing anything that stupid again." Elena said.

"No kidding, the worst part about that whole experience was leaving you, even if it was only a few months." Damon said.

"I'm sure Bonnie feels the same way." Elena said. "I know Jeremy missed her just as much as I missed you."

"I should thank you. If either any of you had given up, we might have never made it back here."

"I'd never, ever give up on you." Elena pointed out. "I love you too much to let go."

"I am never leaving your side again, Elena Gilbert. You can count on that." Damon said.

"I'm holding you to it this time." She told him. They kissed passionately.

This time, they were going to stay together forever, no matter what else they had to face. This was their new beginning.