Story Title: "Letters From the Sky"

Rating: M (for language and possible future smut, we'll see)

Pairings: Damon/Elena, Stefan/Caroline, Bonnie/Jeremy. (friendships) Stefan/Damon, Bonnie/Damon, Elena/Alaric/Jeremy, Matt/Caroline, Stefan/Elena, Damon/Alaric, Elena/Bonnie/Caroline

Description: It's a few months after the other side collapsed in on itself. Refusing to accept the possibility that Damon and Bonnie have disappeared from the world entirely, Elena secretly searches for answers. Stefan finds his sanity deteriorating in a way he didn't expect. Jeremy has closed himself off from everyone. Alaric and Caroline, while dealing with their own grief, struggle to keep everyone together. Meanwhile, Damon and Bonnie attempt to make sense of where they've ended up and hang on to the possibility of returning home.

A/N: Okay, so this is the first multi-chapter fic I am writing for TVD. I want to thank my lovely friend, Florencia7, for reading through this and giving me her thoughts and corrections. You are a star! Also, the title of this is taken from a Civil Twilight song by the same name. Everyone should listen to it, it is really beautiful and fits the story well.

Chapter 1: Promises You Can't Keep

Bonnie joyfully watched as the little girl toddle over the soft grass, her wobbly legs struggling to keep herself up. She could feel the sharp rise and fall of Jeremy's chest as he chuckled at the sight of their daughter.

"Come on, Sheels. You can do it." He encouraged and reached out to grab her tiny hand. Sheila smiled brightly at him before looking down so she could concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. When she got a few steps closer to them, she tripped one final time into her father's arm

Jeremy pulled her into his lap, and Bonnie sat up, laughing. When he started tickling the little girl, the sound of giggles surrounded them, and Bonnie took the moment to let happy warmth of the moment fill her smile.

Jeremy looked to his wife and noticed the serene expression on her face. "What?" He asked with a grin.

"Nothing." Bonnie placed a hand on Sheila's head and stroked back a few soft curls. "I just can't believe she's ours. I know that sounds weird." She shakes her head. From Jeremy's perspective, they've had her for just over a year. But to Bonnie, she has only known this life since this morning.

"No, no. I get it. It still amazes me too sometimes."

Bonnie moved her hand from her daughter's hair and raised it to Jeremy's face, so she could cup his cheek before bringing him down for a kiss. When their lips separated, their foreheads remained against each other and Bonnie let out a small sigh.

Instead of lingering in the romance, however, the two had been interrupted by a little boy suddenly colliding with Jeremy's back in some sort of ambush. "Hi, Uncle Jer!" The boy exclaimed with a rush of enthusiasm.

"Hey, Darius." He managed to breathe out as the boy squeezed his arms tightly around Jeremy's neck.

"Darius!" They heard the voice of a woman call out and Bonnie turned around to see who it was. Her eyes grew in astonishment, for she couldn't believe what she saw. "I would appreciate it very much if you didn't strangle your uncle to death."

About ten yards away was Elena kneeling in front of another boy, fixing the collar of his shirt, and Damon who was standing next to them with an amused look on his face.

So, apparently Bonnie wasn't the only one who ended up with a kid in this life and the sight of them completely threw her for a loop. She could always see this type of life with Jeremy for herself. But the image of Damon and Elena being so blissfully, domestically human, was definitely strange.

Darius listened to his mother and released his hold on Jeremy. He moved around them and plopped down on the grass. "Hi, Aunt Bonnie." He greeted as he pushed back his dark bangs from his forhead.

"Hey there." Bonnie focused her attention back on the boy in front of them. "How are you?"

"Great! I love Founders Day!"

"Says the kid who begged his parents to take him home after only an hour last year." Jeremy reminded.

"I had a stomach ache!"

"Because you let Damon sneak you that extra cotton candy when your mother wasn't looking."

"You talking shit about me?" Damon said as he, Elena, and their younger son approached.

"Damon!" Elena gave him a light smack on the shoulder. "Stop swearing around the kids!"

"Who the hell cares? It's just a word. Shawn, say 'shit'."

"Shit!"

Elena turned toward Damon and gave him a pressing stare. He responded with his usual smirk as he exercised his charm on her, but instead of letting herself be effected by it she turned back to the boy. "Don't listen to anything your father says."

Damon merely chuckled at the statement. "Alright, I am going to the concession stand so I can get myself some much-needed alcohol. You want anything?" He asked his wife.

"No, I'm good." She replied with a grumble, still a little ticked off.

He kissed her forehead, hoping to diminish a bit of her anger. "Remember, you love me."

"Not right now I don't." she responded, trying to remain resistant, but the smile that threatened to tug at her lips proved that her determination was crumbling.

Satisfied, Damon started walking off in the other direction, but not without shooting look at Bonnie that she recognized as a signal for her to follow him.

"I'm gonna go grab myself a lemonade." Bonnie made to get up, but Jeremy stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I can get it for you."

"No, you don't have to." She brightened with gratitude, but prevented him from passing Sheila to her lap. "I can get it. You stay and catch up with your sister."

"Alright." Jeremy eased back. "Do you mind getting me one too?"

"Sure. I'll be back soon."

"So, I am assuming that look you gave me was to indicate that you're you?" Bonnie asked as she reached Damon in the concession line.

"Yeah, we need to come up with a secret pass phrase or something. The last world I tried to talk to you in, our conversation did not go over well." He crossed his arms and relaxed a little, noticeably relieved that she was the same Bonnie he'd passed over with. "Any ideas yet on what the hell all of this is?"

They've had this conversation a hundred times. Every day they appeared in another world. Sometimes it was set in the future, sometimes they were thrown back in to the past. Sometimes it seemed identical to the world they remembered, sometimes it was incredibly different. Neither of them could possibly know if they were actually living these lives, or if it was all playing out in their heads and all of their unanswered questions were quickly driving them insane.

Bonnie paused for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. "No, but I still believe that my Grams did something."

"And in all of the dimensions we've been forced into, you haven't ever been in one where you could -I don't know- ask her?"

Bonnie crossed her arms and scoffed. "I don't have any more control over where we end up than you do, Damon. I will talk to her about it the first chance I get."

"Well, one thing's for certain is that I haven't found 'peace' because the last few places I've been to haven't been all that pleasant." His face grows dark and pained and that immediately strikes concern in Bonnie.

"What kinds of places?"

"Oh you know. Pending apocalypse, giant lizard thing taking over Tokyo, a world without bourbon. Nothing I couldn't handle, but still not my definition of 'peace'." He was deflecting as usual and it made her wonder what kind of horrors he had been put through. Sure, hers had a few that felt like a new level of hell, but most of the time she was lucky enough to enter worlds as nice as this one. Then again, she hasn't spent the last 150 years as a vampire, encountering God knows what.

"We'll find out what's going on. But in the meantime, maybe we should just enjoy today. It seems like we've stepped into a good one this time."

"I have no idea what this-Elena was thinking when she decided to have kids with me. I'm not exactly model father material. And what's with you reproducing with Jeremy Gilbert? There is a 50/50 chance that daughter of yours is gonna grow up to be a dumb ass."

"And there is going to be a 50/50 chance that your kids are going to grow up to be sadistic serial killers. And you have two, so…."

"Like I said, I don't know what Elena was thinking." He shrugged and was about to change the subject when something caught his eye. "Well, would you look at that? Looks like we're not the only idiots."

Bonnie faced the direction he's looking and saw the couple in question. "Is that Stefan and Caroline?" Nearing the spot where they left Jeremy, Elena, and the kids, was Stefan with his arm around a very pregnant Caroline.

"There must be something in the water." Damon snarks easily.

"It's called being happy, Damon. Maybe you should embrace it."

"I know what happiness is." He doesn't elaborate and Bonnie doesn't need him to. She knows exactly what he means, and right now no fake realities could stop him from wanting to go back to it. No matter how much easier this life might be, she couldn't help but feel the same way he did.

"I'm going to find us a way out of this." She stated as a fact, not a hope.

"If I have learned anything it's don't make promises you can't keep."

"Okay, you sure this is the place you want to stop?" Alaric questioned from the driver's seat, hand on the ignition, ready to turn off the car.

Elena twisted a strand of hair around her finger, an incessant habit she had kept up since they left. She looked out the window at the motel they were parked in front of and sighed. It wasn't anything to write home about, not that any motels were, but it was cheap and as long as it had a few beds and a shower it would do them just fine.

"Yes, this is good. Are you alright with it?" She turned to look at him and took note of the unsure expression on his face.

"I'm the type of guy who can live anywhere. But, wouldn't it be better to stay in the city? We might be a little less conspicuous with a larger population."

Elena flashed back to the time when she had a similar conversation with Damon; back when they were in New York and she had her emotions switched off after Jeremy's death. He claimed they were there to have a good time, even if she suspected he had an ulterior motive. Now she was the one with a secret agenda.

She shook her head and attempted to put that memory back in the 'do not touch' box stored away in her mind.

"Normally, yes, but I think that it's probably best that we stick to quieter towns for now. Less people, less energy, less temptation. It's just easier when you are still getting used to being a vampire." She reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Elena turned her body so she could see Jeremy pretending to be asleep in the back seat. "What about you, Jer?" She asked, but Jeremy still wouldn't open his eyes. "Are you alright with this place?"

"Whatever." He mumbled, completely void of emotion. He finally sat up and opened the car before adding "It's not like we'll be here for very long anyway."

He was still annoyed with her, but how could he not be? On top of all the grief that persisted to overtake him, he had been draged them from one end of the country to another, making it seem like every travelling decision she made was spur of the moment. Neither Jeremy nor Alaric voiced any outright arguments of where they were headed, no matter how many times she asked, but she still felt guilty that she had taken complete control over everything. Maybe she should tell them what this was really about; what she was determined to accomplish, but she knew she couldn't. Not until she had something, anything, to go off of and provide them with a little hope. For three long months Elena still had nothing.

Elena directed her focus back toward Alaric. "It's been a long day, so why don't you two check us in and get settled while I go find us something to eat?"

Alaric didn't answer right away, just stared at her with an inquisitive look, wondering what she was up to this time. He knew that something was going on, but Elena held her ground and refused to give him any indication that he was right. Eventually he simply nodded and handed her the car keys. "Okay, just call us if you run into any trouble."

"I will, but I am sure that I will just be in and out. You'll hardly know I'm gone."

It wasn't very late in the evening, the sun was still casting rays of gold light as it descended below the horizon line, but Shawn and Darius managed to tucker themselves out by that time and were sleeping heavily in the back seat of the car. Elena smiled lovingly at the sight.

"You take Darius, I'll take Shawn." She said tactfully, like this was a common occurrence.

Damon nodded and climbed out of the car before moving to the door of the back seat. When he unbuckled Darius' seatbelt, he laughed when he saw a red line printed on the child's face. He looked almost exactly like Damon when he was that age. Same eyes, same mouth, same unruly dark hair. The only thing he inherited from his mother was her tanned olive skin.

He hoisted the boy up into his arms and shut the door with his hip so he could follow Elena inside the house. She held the younger of their two sons close to her chest, his arms gripping her shoulders and his face nestled contently in the corner of her neck. When Elena unlocked the front door and led them into the entry way, she switched on the light to reveal their quiet home had remained untouched since they'd been gone.

When they got the kids to their bedroom, both were in charge of changing the boy they brought in into their pajamas. Shawn woke up a bit and tiredly helped Elena get his clothes off and on, but the moment he laid down in his bed, he was out again. Darius on the other hand, didn't stir once in his slumber as Damon attempted to change him. It concerned Damon for a moment, but once he saw the steady in and out of his breathing, his fears washed away.

After the kids were settled for the night and Elena gave them both a kiss, the two of them made their way to their own room to ready themselves for bed.

"Today was fun, wasn't it?" Elena said as she pulled a tank top over her head and brushed her hair to the side.

"Mmhmm." Was the only response Damon gave, his head facing down as he pretended to struggle with his shoes.

Elena went over and helped him untie the knots in the laces. Once they were off, she stood up straight and tried to meet his eyes, but when he continued to look elsewhere, she leaned up for a kiss. Damon hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give into this illusion of happiness. But as her lips persisted to receive a response, and he could taste the familiarity of his own Elena within her mouth, Damon couldn't help press in to it, just a little. When they parted, he could feel the desperate longing that remained in his body with every new dimension he was forced into tear at him 10 times more painfully.

"What's wrong?" Elena looked at him with her big brown eyes widening.

He finally looked at her and saw the concern that was brought out in the features of her face. Sighing, he knew that he had to say something. Even if she wasn't real, he knew that he couldn't lead her to believe that she had done anything wrong. It was all him.

"Everything here is just too easy." He started and backed away slightly. "What would you say if you heard there was another world out there? One that was difficult to survive and one horrible thing came after another, threatening to…" He paused, not exactly sure how to put it. "…demolish our existence?"

It was evident that this did not sooth her worries at all and only fueled them further. "Where is this coming from?"

"It's nothing." He brushed off. He couldn't expect her to understand what he was getting at. "You don't have to worry about it. I guess I'm just in a mood."

"Hey, look at me." She prompted when he looked back at the floor, but Elena immediately placed her hand on his chin and guided his attention back toward her. "We'd survive it."

"We always survive."

"Who ever said life was always easy for us? There are always things getting in the way, trying to take us out, but we get past them. In the end it's you and me and the life we've built. It's just who we are." She caressed his face tentatively, but his face still tensed.

"What if it wasn't you and me? What if something happened and it was just you? Would you be okay?"

"Damon, now you are really starting to scare me. Did something happen?"

"No, no." He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed smalls circles into her skin with his thumbs in an effort to calm her. "This is all hypothetical. I just worry about what would happen to you." He needs to hear it coming from her mouth. Even though whatever experiences both versions of the girl he loves must have been incredibly different, he needs some bit of hope that the Elena back home will be alright, even if he never make it back to her.

"I don't like thinking about that. I mean, I would have to keep it together for the kids…. But…. Well… we're supposed to have forever right? I don't think I could ever let go of that."

A/N: Okay, so I am not 100% happy with how this chapter turned out, but this is the first time I was able to sit down and actually write out one of my TVD fanfic ideas that wasn't a prompt. I actually like the story line I've mapped out and hopefully the chapters will get better as the story pics up. And after some encouragement from my lovely Beta, I've realized that this might all me in my head. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this and please review.

~Andrea