Author's note: So this story is a bit of a gift from me to you, since I was proposed to last week. I'm getting married, everyone! Therefore, this story is all about marriage, with a bit of angst in it, of course. Don't worry, I'm too giddy to have it end any less than happy ;-) It's a bit of 'The Vow' meets 'Sweet Home Alabama.' Have a good one, everyone!

Take me back to the start

"Will you marry me?"

Now, those were words Elena Gilbert never thought she would ever hear again. She'd been there and done that, and yet, the man sitting next to her in the car wanted to take the plunge with her. Liam Fuller was a Los Angeles businessman, who had laid eyes on her four years ago when she had been broken and alone in a city, which she had been trying to make her new home. He had charmed his way into her life and due to his influence, she was doing a lot better. After tonight, they were engaged to be married. He was perfect for her. The City of Angels itself had been kind; she had been given a book deal when her work was noticed and right now, it seemed as though some movie director wanted to make a film of it. It was a dream come true and yet, it all seemed very surreal. She had been very lucky and her life was back on track.

"We're home, sweetheart," Liam broke her out of her revere.

Home… Elena looked up at their Venice Beach apartment and briefly wondered what the notion of 'home' meant to her nowadays. Some building that held your stuff in it? A place made out of stone with tables, chairs and window sills? For her, home should be where you didn't feel alone. She had that right now. In her head, she felt like she had everything done just right. She had built a home for her and for Liam. And yet, in her heart, home was something different. She had been 'home' once, but it was taken from her all too soon. It had disappeared and turned to dust.

"Are you all right? You seem a bit quiet," Liam questioned once they had stepped inside their apartment.

Elena threw her keys on the table and sighed. She didn't know what it was as she should be over the moon right now. She had been proposed to! Why was she thinking back on the past? The past was the past; it couldn't be altered, so it should be left alone. For some reason, she couldn't leave it alone tonight. Was it because she had accepted a marriage proposal? Was she thinking back on her previous, failed marriage, hoping to do it just right this time?

"I feel off," Elena threw out there, as she plopped down on the couch.

Liam came to sit next to her and put his hand on her back.

"Are you having second thoughts?" he asked. "Was the proposal too soon?"

"I just… I don't know. I don't think that that's it. I've been wanting to marry you for some time now. It's… it seems like the past is haunting me a bit tonight. Something is gnawing at the base of my scull."

Liam seemed to contemplate this.

"Okay, well, that's honest. Are you thinking back on your failed marriage? Cause it's not going to be like that this time. I'm not him, Elena. I can promise you one thing; when the going gets tough, I won't walk away from you. Whatever happens in our marriage, I'll try to work through our issues with you and never let you go."

Elena swallowed something.

"Look, I know something happened in that marriage that is hard for you to talk about, but I will be patient. I will listen when you want me to listen. I will do whatever is in my power to keep you safe and protect you."

Tears burned in Elena's eyes and she leaned forward to hug Liam.

"This is exactly why I want to marry you. I don't have to worry with you and I know you will make me happy. I'm lucky to have you."

Liam leaned back and took her hand to kiss it gently. "No, Elena. I'm lucky to have you. Now, let's try and get some sleep. It's been quite the day and we've got a lot of people to inform about our impending marriage. I can't wait to begin the rest of my life with you."

Elena didn't sleep that night. There was still that feeling that refused to leave her alone. The face of her ex-husband swam in front of her eyes; his eyes hard and ice cold. Oh, how they had been different once…

"Watch it, asshole!" Elena yelled as the man on the motorcycle breezed by her, completely missing the fact that she was on a pedestrian crossing and that he should have stopped for her. She went tumbling towards the ground as she lost her balance in his whirlwind. Her knees and hands scraped the concrete.

Cranky, and with a shake of her head, she picked herself up again and quickly crossed the street. She was on her way to work and she was running late. Her column for the 'Mystic Falls Chronicle' was due today and Carol Lockwood was not one for cutting slacks. She needed this job… it was her life. Writing was everything to her.

From the corner of her eye she spotted the motorcycle, which had almost run her over, coming back. It stopped right next to her and its' rider turned off the engine. Then, he took off his helmet…

To say that the man riding the bike was drop dead gorgeous was an understatement. He had the most crystal blue eyes she had ever seen and his hair was as black as the night. Elena stood at loss for words as she felt like a giddy teenager. Wow. That was all that her brain could muster at this point. And then he smiled…

"I'm sorry, Miss. I spotted you too late. Are you all right?"

Right, she should be angry with him. Angry face, Elena. Angry face!

"I would be if you had taken some driving lessons in the past," she told him.

His gorgeous face dropped for a second, before the charming smile firmly planted itself back on his face.

"Ouch! All right, I deserved that. Again, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention where I was going. How about I make it up to you?"

Elena frowned at him.

"How?"

"Well, how about you give me your phone number so I can call you later tonight. We can go over your damages while I take you out to dinner."

"Wait. First, you almost run me over and then you try to pick me up? Not a chance. I don't even know who you are!"

The man grinned and took her hand in his.

"Well, I'm Damon Salvatore and I really, really want to get this right for you."

Elena eyed him doubtfully. Finally, Damon held up his hands in surrender.

"All right, I'll do it differently then. How about I give you my phone number so you can call me to inform me about your damages. We don't have to go out to dinner. Just coffee then. Think about it."

Elena bit her lip to stifle a smile. He was a bit slick, but cute about it.

"Or call me simply to inform me of your damages," Damon finally offered, a bit stumped that she wasn't taking his bait.

"All right, give me your phone number and I'll call you.. Maybe."

"Do you have a pen and paper?"

Elena reached into her briefcase and handed the requested items to him. He quickly scribbled down a number and gave it back to her.

"I do hope you take me up on my offer. I was careless with you and there must be something that I can do. I mean, your knees are bleeding."

Looking down at her scraped knees, Elena groaned. Right, she was going to show up to work looking like this!

Damon was ready to put his helmet back on when he stopped to look at her one last time: "Wait, I still don't know you name."

"Elena," she offered without thinking.

He smiled that heart stopping smile again and at that moment they both knew… he had her…. and she had him…..

"You're getting married?! That's so great! Congratulations!" Caroline Forbes squealed once Elena broke the news to her. They hugged. "Liam is something special, Elena. You need to hold onto that."

"I know," Elena mumbled.

"So what's wrong?" Caroline asked as she let go of her best friend. "You sound a bit off for someone who is getting married."

"I wish I knew. Ever since that night that Liam proposed to me.. something's wrong. I can feel it. I just don't know what. Liam fears that it's him, but I know it's not. It's something else."

Caroline leaned back in her seat and frowned. "I don't understand."

"You and me both, Care. I've been wanting to marry that guy for weeks now. Now, it has finally happened and my body feels like it's twisting inside out. Well that, and the fact that I can't stop thinking about the past."

"Aha!" Caroline bolted upright. "So you're worried about this marriage working when the other one didn't?"

Elena bit her lip. "That's exactly what Liam thought this was. But it's not. I can feel that it's not."

"I don't mean to sound rude, Elena, but you're talking in riddles."

"I know. I wish I had all the answers, but I don't."

Caroline jumped out of her seat and pulled Elena up on her feet. "It's just some case of cold feet. Your other marriage came crashing down around you and now you're afraid to commit to anyone else. It's completely natural, don't worry about it! Look, I don't know what happened between you and this Damon Salvatore, but you need to let him go. Otherwise, you'll never be happy."

"It's been four years. It's about time to get on with it, right?"

"Right. Let it go, Elena. Everything will be all right. You're exactly where you are supposed to be."

Her phone rang at the end of that last sentence with a number that was unrecognizable. Elena thought about letting it ring, since it was no one familiar. However, something inside of her told her to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Elena?"

"Yeah, who is this?"

"You're a tough one to track down. I finally got your number through your publisher and they weren't so keen on giving it out to me. It's Giuseppe Salvatore."

Elena's heart stopped at those words. That was Damon's father…

"Giuseppe? What….?"

"Damon's been in an accident. I know it's been four years and you're probably wondering why I'm calling you to inform you of this. It's…. complicated. He crashed his bike out on route 49 and went into a coma a week ago. It was pretty bad but he seemed to recover quite quickly when he finally woke up. That was until it became apparent that he's missing a big chunk of his life. His memory is wonky. From what we were able to figure out due to his memories, he seems to be thinking that we're back to five or six years ago."

Elena still didn't get it. She felt bad for Damon, but she was out of his life. She couldn't help him.

"Giuseppe…," she started.

"In his mind, he's still your husband, Elena. That's why I'm calling you. He's desperate to get to you and he's even punched his uncle trying to tell him that you're not here. I've tried everything, but in my opinion, it's best if the two of you met up so that he can remember. You're the trigger here, Elena. If he sees you, maybe he'll realize how the marriage… ended."

Elena felt her body start to shake. Her heart beat about a mile a minute as she clutched the phone to her ear. Meet up with Damon again? It would destroy both of them.

"I can't, Giuseppe. I just… I can't."

"I understand that, but Damon is adamant. If you don't come here, he'll probably come to you. He'll turn over every leaf to find you, he's that hell bent."

Elena let out a sigh and silently nodded.

"All right. But I just can't help feeling that once I get there, he'll be ruined for a second time. I don't want to see that happen again, Giuseppe. It took forever to glue my heart together and there's still a hole in it somewhere. I'm sure he feels the same once he remembers."

She suddenly realized something and her stomach dropped.

"When did the accident happen, Giuseppe?" she asked with dread.

"Uhm, last Friday. Why?"

A tear slid down Elena's cheek. She had felt it… the accident… it had happened on the night Liam had proposed to her. That's why she had felt off that night and this past week…. Deep down she had known something had happened to her ex-husband. The connection was still there.

"Listen, I'll come over there to talk to him, but I'm not going to stay until he remembers it. I can't handle that. It will just be this one talk to explain to him how we're not married anymore. I don't want to stick around to see it dawn in his eyes. I'll be there the day after tomorrow."

With those words, she hung up.

"What was that?" Caroline asked her.

Elena stared down at her phone.

"The past. It has come back to bite me in the ass…."