PROLOGUE

When Elena awoke from her coma-like state, it was like waking up from a long dreamless sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and panicked briefly when she was met with complete darkness. It took a minute for her to get her bearings, but then the memories started flooding in. She remembered all the goodbyes from her friends, and she remembered the fact that her life was tied to Bonnie's. She knew that waking up meant that Bonnie was dead, and as happy as she was to be awake, she was equally sad that it meant her best friend had died. She took a moment to grieve for Bonnie, then finally pushed the top of the coffin up.

She wasn't sure what she should have expected, but disappointment flooded her when she saw that she was alone in the Salvatore crypt. There was nobody there to welcome her, no notes, no flowers, no coming home party. She rationalized that her awakening had been precipitated by Bonnie's death, and everyone was probably mourning at her bedside. With that in mind, Elena slowly lifted herself out of the coffin, allowing her muscles to wake up after so much sleep. She wondered exactly how long she had been in the coma. There was nothing in or around the crypt to give her any indication of what year it was. Instinctively, she reached for the cell phone that was still tucked into the pocket of her jeans. But she laughed at herself when tried to turn it on and the battery was dead.

Duh, Elena, she thought.

She ventured out of the crypt and was happy to see that it was light outside so she didn't have to navigate in the dark. She was also happy to see that the woods hadn't changed, and she knew exactly how to get back to the main part of town. A thirty-minute trek led her to downtown Mystic Falls, and once she was on the sidewalk, she stopped. Her eyes widened at how different but the same her hometown looked. It still had that quaint feel to it, but it was almost as if everything had been torn down and rebuilt to look old. The cars parked on the sides of the street looked more sleek and futuristic. There were moving sidewalks where people glided past shops and stores without walking.

Elena's eyes widened as she took in everything around her. She got onto one of the moving sidewalks and let it take her down the familiar Main Street. She tried to spot a newspaper stand or something else that could orient her to the time, but they were all gone. She thought about asking someone but she didn't want to sound crazy. Thankfully, she spotted an electronic billboard hanging in the middle of the square. The date scrolled by almost immediately.

May 14, 2033.

Twenty years. She had been asleep for twenty years, to the day. One part of her was happy that she hadn't missed more time, and the other part of her was sad. Had Bonnie really only lived twenty years? She was thinking about that so much that she missed the chance to step off the sidewalk and she tripped. She ran right into a body and immediately apologized.

"I'm so sorry," she started, but then she stopped when the person held her up and her eyes locked with a pair of heartbreakingly familiar blue eyes. Tears sprang up and her voice quivered when she said, "Matt?"

Matt Donovan, clad in a police officer's uniform, stared back at her, looking just as shocked as she felt. He was still handsome but she was momentarily stunned by how much he had aged, even though she knew twenty years had passed. His blonde hair was still short but there were some flecks of gray sprinkled throughout. The laugh and frown lines on his face had started to wrinkle and he had a goatee, which gave him the rugged look of a man in his forties.

His forties. Good Lord.

His muscular body still had a nice shape, but she could tell that his middle was turning a little doughy. Her eyes caught the silver band on his left ring finger, and it hit her like a train that he was married. She had missed so much.

"Elena?" he asked.

The two of them embraced, arms wrapped tightly around each other, as Elena couldn't help crying.

"Oh my God, I thought I would never see you again," she said.

"Me either," he said, pulling away to make sure it was her. He smiled and shook his head. "How is this possible?"

"Well, my life was tied to Bonnie's, so I assume that she passed away." Matt gave her a crazy look and her heart lifted. "She...didn't?"

"I just talked to Bonnie about three minutes ago. So unless something outrageous happened in that time, no she didn't die."

Relief washed over her, but so did confusion.

"Then how am I here?"

"I don't know, but I'm glad you are," Matt said, pulling her into another hug. She returned his hard hug and they pulled themselves out of the way of other passersby.

"Where is everyone?" she asked. "Are they all still here? Caroline? Stefan? Bonnie? Damon?"

Matt hesitated in his response but nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah, I mean for the most part. Caroline and Stefan travel a lot but they always come back home. Bonnie's here. Damon's here."

Elena's mouth was nearly bursting at the seams with the wideness of her smile.

"I want to see them," she said. "Bonnie and Damon. I need to see them."

He got that look on his face that hadn't changed in twenty years. The telltale crumpling of his forehead and mouth told her that he had bad news, but he didn't know how to break it to her.

"Matt?" she asked quietly. "Are they okay? You said Bonnie's still alive, right? Is Damon okay?"

"They're okay," he said. "It's just..." He shook his head. "I don't think any of us expected to see you again."

"Okay," she said tentatively. "What are you trying to say?"

He sighed. "I'm trying to say that people have moved on. Damon, he...he's with someone."

It took a moment for that reality to set in, and when it did, hurt and disappointment seeped into every pore of Elena's body. She knew, rationally, that Damon would probably move on. She had told him to be happy without her. But somehow, she had this part of her that believed he would wait for her, no matter how long it took. He'd waited for Katherine like a lost dog, but in twenty years, he'd moved on from her. She wanted to be upset, but she knew it wasn't fair. He had the right to be happy.

"I want to see him," she said weakly. "And Bonnie. And everyone else. Even if they've forgotten me."

"Nobody forgot you," Matt promised, giving her a reassuring arm rub. "I just don't want you to be shocked when you see for yourself."

Elena nodded and wiped some tears. "Can you take me to him?"

"Yeah. I'll give you a ride."

Matt led her to a sleek black police car that looked more like a luxury vehicle than a patrol unit. Matt opened the door for her and she slid inside. The leather seat felt like a reclining chair and the inside was so technologically advanced that Elena had no idea what all the little blue buttons and screens were for. Matt got into the driver's side and began the familiar ride to the boarding house. Elena's heart was beating out of her chest, anxious to see Damon and even more anxious to see that he was with someone else.

"So you're married," she said, wanting to get her mind off Damon.

Matt smiled and nodded. "Yep. Seventeen years."

"Oh my God," she said with a smile. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Sarah Salvatore, actually." He laughed to himself. "I guess I just can't get away from that crazy ass family."

"Do you guys have kids?"

"Three."

Elena couldn't help but laugh. Her sweet first love, Matt Donovan, was grown and married. With kids. It was unreal.

They talked about his children, all sons, on the way to the boarding house. Sarah was an art professor at Whitmore and they were living a comfortably, happy life. They both got quiet as they pulled up to the Salvatore mansion, which Elena was relieved to see looked exactly the same, at least on the outside.

"You want me to go inside with you?" Matt asked.

"No, I'll be okay. Thanks for dropping me off."

"If you need me, let me know."

Elena promised that she would, then she got out of the car and took a moment to gather herself before walking to the front door. She opened it, not surprised that Damon and Stefan still didn't lock the door. She cautiously stepped inside and saw that the inside of the house looked quite different. The traditional decor had been replaced by modern furnishings that made the place feel more like a home and less like a museum. Elena wondered into the living room, where a huge flat-screen TV was hanging over the fireplace and video game paraphernalia was scattered about. Some picture frames caught Elena's eye, but before she could inspect the pictures, she heard a familiar voice coming from the kitchen.

Bonnie.

A grin overtook her and she nearly ran to the kitchen. She was about to announce her presence, but she stopped when she saw the scene before her. Bonnie was there, looking like she hadn't aged a day over 30 even though she was 41 years old. The short hair that Elena remembered had grown into long hair, currently gathered into a bun on top of Bonnie's head. Although she looked young and vibrant, she had obviously matured. Her body was curvier. She wore glasses and a skirt suit that made her look like a grown professional.

But it wasn't Bonnie that stopped Elena in her tracks. It was the young girl sitting across the table from Bonnie. The girl that looked like a carbon copy of Bonnie Bennett, save that she was a little lighter and her hair was a thick mane of springy curls. But the girl had the same off-center mouth, the same straight nose, and the same fiery determination in her eyes as she asked Bonnie why she couldn't date a boy from her class. Elena hid behind a wall so she could hear the conversation without being seen.

"Because," Bonnie said calmly, "you're fourteen years old and you're not old enough to date. We've talked about this, Raven."

"But he's really nice and smart! He's in the chess club and he's going to be the class president."

"It's not that I don't think he's nice, sweetie. It's that you're too young to get involved with boys right now. You need to be focused on school and getting good grades. Boys will come later. I promise."

"Ugh, Mom! You're so unfair!"

Elena had already connected the dots that the girl was Bonnie's daughter, but to hear the word "mom" come out of her mouth made the whole situation real. And unbelievable. And amazing. And Elena's immediate thought was, "who's the father?"

"I know you think I'm being unfair," Bonnie said, never raising her voice, "but I'm sorry, dating is out of the question."

"You dated before you were sixteen!" Raven told her.

"You're right, I did. And you know why? My mom ran away before I could even know her, my father was always out of town, and my grandmother, as wonderful as she was and as much as I loved her, was usually drunk. I had nobody supervising me. Fortunately or unfortunately, you have two active, present parents who love you and we're not going to let you get into some romance drama while you're still in middle school. End of discussion."

"Mom," Raven groaned. "Everyone else in my class has a boyfriend. I'm the only loser who doesn't. You don't know what that's like."

"Oh, honey, yes I do," Bonnie said, reaching over the table to touch her daughter's face. "Almost the entire time I was growing up, I was the only one of my friends who didn't have a boyfriend. I know exactly what that feels like, and I promise you, your time will come. You'll meet someone wonderful when you're old enough to understand what love really means, and you'll look back on this conversation and laugh."

Raven groaned and sighed, but appeared to relent.

"Fine," she said. "I'll just be the only boyfriend-less girl in the whole school. Everyone will probably think I'm a lesbian."

Bonnie smiled and went to the kitchen.

"There's nothing wrong with being a lesbian," she said. "Your father would probably prefer that, actually. He thinks all teenage boys are evil and..."

"Only after one thing," they said at the same time, which made both of them laugh.

"Go do your homework," Bonnie said. "And then we'll work on your magic and talk more about boys."

Raven sighed again, but followed her mom's instructions. She blurred out of the room at lightning speed, and Elena's mouth fell open. Raven was obviously a vampire, but Bonnie had said they would work on her magic. She was a witchpire? But that would mean her dad was a vampire. Or Bonnie herself had become a witchpire. Elena was still trying to figure out what it all meant when Damon strolled into the kitchen from the other side of the house. He looked exactly the same as he had the day she went into the coma. Her heart stopped and she ached to run to him, throw her arms around him and spend the next several days making up for lost time.

"Hey," he said with a small smile in Bonnie's direction.

She turned from pouring some juice into a glass, and she smiled, too.

"Hey, yourself."

"Where are the kids?" he asked.

"Cooper is probably up in his room. Raven just went to do her homework. We were having a little discussion about why she can't date right now."

"Because those shitty little boys are only after one thing," Damon said immediately.

Bonnie laughed and nodded. "Yeah, she knows how you feel about it."

Damon nodded and began to stalk his way towards Bonnie.

"So, we're alone, then?" he asked.

She took a slow sip of her juice, then licked her lips in a way that Elena could only describe as seductive.

"For now," she said.

"Mm hm. Then I suppose we should make the most of it."

"What did you have in mind?"

He crowded Bonnie's personal space, put her glass on the marble countertop, and then picked her up and placed her on the counter as well. He settled into between her legs and Bonnie shoved her fingers into his hair.

"I personally always wanted three kids. Maybe we could start working on the next one."

Elena blinked several times as the reality of the situation settled in on her. The truth of it was staring her in the face, but she couldn't make the connection in her mind. Her brain wouldn't let her accept what she already knew was true. But then Damon made her accept it, when he attacked Bonnie's mouth with his, and Bonnie responded in kind. They made out noisily on the kitchen counter, like a new couple and not like two people who had been together at least long enough to produce two children.

Questions spun around Elena's head. How had all of this happened? How had Bonnie and Damon been able to have children? How long had they been together? She didn't know whether to cry or scream when Damon's hand slid up Bonnie's skirt. She nearly ran out of the house, until a boy appeared out of thin air, hunched over the kitchen counter, playing a handheld video game.

"Gross," he said in a bored tone. His appearance made Bonnie yelp and she bit Damon's tongue, who also yelped and turned around with an annoyed expression. "You two should get a room."

"Damn it, Cooper!" Damon said. "What have I told you about cloaking yourself and sneaking around like that?"

"Uh, not to do it?" Cooper asked with a devious smile.

"Get out of here. Go do your homework."

"Already done."

"Then go find something else to do while I mack on your mother, please," Damon said through gritted teeth.

Cooper, who looked like the perfect, devastatingly handsome teenaged combination of Bonnie and Damon, shrugged just like Damon always did.

"Whatever." He smiled at Bonnie and said, "hey, mom."

"Hi, sweetie," she said with a motherly smile.

"Good luck, Dad," he said with a wink. "Try to keep it down this time."

He strolled out of the kitchen and Damon turned to Bonnie and said, "if I didn't love him, I'd kill him."

"Now you know how I feel about you most of the time."

Damon harumphed and resumed his place in between her legs. "Now where were we?"

They went right back to tonguing each other down and Elena was torn between leaving them to their devices and announcing her presence. She had to know what was going on, how it happened, what to do. So, unsure of exactly how to interrupt the moment, she stepped into the kitchen.

"Maybe you two should get a room," she said, hoping that her voice sounded light and joke-y.

The two of them immediately broke apart and they had identical expressions of shock on their faces.

"Elena?" Bonnie asked, her mouth nearly touching the floor. "What...how...?"

"It's good to see you, too, Bon."

Bonnie pushed herself off the counter and ran to Elena. Even with all the weirdness and uncertainty of the situation, the two girls embraced and cried like it had been twenty years. When Bonnie pulled away, she grabbed Elena's face and shook her head.

"How are you here?" she asked.

"I don't know," Elena answered through tears. "But I am. And so are you. And I have a feeling we have some catching up to do."

It only seemed to dawn on Bonnie at that moment that they had to talk about Damon, and both of them turned to look at him. He hadn't moved from his spot and he wore a confused, pained expression. Elena knew him well enough to know that he had no idea how to greet her or what to say, and she felt the same.

"Yeah, I think we do," Bonnie said.

The next few hours, Bonnie did everything she could to get Elena settled in and comfortable. She made up a room for her, found some clothes that might fit, and talked to her about everything except Damon while she made dinner. Elena sat down with the family and was introduced to Raven and Cooper, who were delightful and polite and happy to meet their Aunt Elena that Bonnie talked about so much. Damon said nothing but he did offer her some small smiles a few times. Her heart warmed, then crashed into her stomach every time he looked at Bonnie with such love in his eyes.

As night fell and everyone got ready for bed, Bonnie went with Elena to her room for the night. The two girls sat on the bed and Elena waited patiently for Bonnie to gather her thoughts.

"I know I've been avoiding the pink elephant in the room all day," she said with an apologetic smile. "Honestly, I'm just not sure what to say."

"I'm not mad," Elena told her. "I can't even say I'm surprised."

"You're not?"

"Bonnie, I saw that you and Damon had something between you way before I left. He was different after he got back from the prison world. You were different. You two talked to each other about things that he could never talk about with me. I kind of thought you might find your way to each other. I just didn't think I would be alive to see it."

Bonnie nodded slowly. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Just a few," she said, and they both smiled.

"Hold on," Bonnie said.

She disappeared for a few minutes, then returned with a large box full of little leather-bound books. Bonnie looked through them and then pulled one out that Elena recognized.

"The journal," Elena said.

"I wrote it all down," Bonnie told her. "Everything had happened while you were gone. Everything about Stefan and Caroline and Mystic Falls and..." She nodded her head a few times and waved her hand like she didn't want to say it.

"How you and Damon fell in love," Elena concluded, trying to fight off the hurt.

"Yeah. I think if you read it from the beginning, you'll understand. And I know you told us both to be happy and move on, but I would understand if you were mad at me. Or hurt. Or betrayed."

"I'm not any of those things," Elena promised. "I mean, yeah I'm surprised but at the same time, I'm not. I want to be mad, but how can I be? You're supposed to live your life. I'm glad that you're happy and you have a beautiful family. I think maybe I just need some time to get used to it."

Bonnie handed her the first journal. "Read these."

Elena opened her arms for a hug, just so Bonnie was absolutely sure that she wasn't mad at her, and after the embrace, Bonnie left her in the room alone and closed the door. Elena looked at the journal in her hands and took a deep breath before she opened to the first page.

June 1, 2013

Dear Elena...