Surprise, Eva. This is for you.

"Everyone ready?" Damon shouts so he can be heard over the roar of the plane engine. He gets a little miffed when he sees his brother and Will having words. Although he can't hear them over the all of the racket, he can see by Stefan's facial expression that he's angry about something. Laughing when he sees Will give Stefan the finger, Damon shakes his head. Will is a character but is damn good at what he does. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he watches intently as the hatch of the plane opens, revealing acre upon acre of fire crowning above the spruce trees. Orange and yellow fingers of flame reach high into the air, black smoke curls up from a miles wide wall of fire that rages out of control, consuming everything in its path. Hundred foot high flames whip back and forth, the wind stirring them in a frenzied symphony. Air rushes into the plane, laced with the acrid thick smell of smoke. The roar of the flames is deafening and rendering them nearly unable to communicate with each. When the plane hits a pocket of turbulence, Damon and his men grab onto anything they can to keep themselves from slamming against each other or onto the floor of the cargo plane. Nausea erupts from the pit of his belly and flows through his body. With his chest tightly constrained by his jump harness, he struggles to take a deep breath. Using every ounce of strength he possesses, Damon struggles to his feet. Fighting against the strong winds, he grabs the overhead cable and pulls himself to the door. His men are going to jump into the fire but being their chief, it's his duty to go first. Despite the distance of the fire, Damon can still feel the heat on his face.

Even though the air is thick and the atmosphere hazy, Damon still marvels at the panorama of the Alaskan Range. Beyond the hills, thrusting up out of the earth, is a line of jagged black peaks, blue glaciers, and massive snowfields. "Get ready," he yells, getting into position to make the jump. Swallowing thickly, Damon again summons all of his strength to propel himself out of the plane. As he's free floating in mid air, he counts down the seconds till he pulls the rip cord of his parachute. The beauty of the earth and sky, the blues and greens blur together almost like one of those splatter paintings from a carnival. When his body pitches sideways, he starts to plummet towards the earth at greater than ninety miles per hour, the trees, the grass and the fire all coming closer. With his count finally reaching ten, his fingers curl around the ripcord. When he gives it a tug, his body lurches forward. Tilting his head back, Damon watches as his parachute comes to life, billowing in the smoke darkened sky. Reaching for the steering toggles, he maneuvers them to guide himself safely to the drop point. The smoke column rises high overhead, casting an ominous shadow far over the land. Damon pulls down on one of the toggles and moments later, he lands in a heap on the hard ground. Once he frees himself of his parachute, he looks into the sky, breathing easier when he sees his crew wafting down to earth, landing not far from him.

As soon as he discards his parachute, he looks towards the horizon, awed as always by the power of mother nature. Lightning streaks down from the top of the smoke column, striking the ground near the fire. Thunder cracks and trails off in a rumble. Turning, he sees sunlight streaming down through breaks in the smoke. Once everyone is ready, they take their gear and start to head for the fire. With Elena on one side of him and his brother and the others trailing behind, they head straight into danger. As smokejumpers, their primary mission is fire suppression. With the speed, range, and capacity of their fixed-wing aircraft, smokejumpers are capable of quickly delivering as few as two or as many as twenty firefighters, with equipment and supplies, directly to the fire in a single trip.

As primary firefighters, smokejumpers travel to fire by parachute, helicopter, vehicles, by foot, or whatever mode of transportation is most efficient. Smokejumpers are a versatile national resource and are commonly used in small teams. Their high level of training, experience, and qualifications enable smokejumpers to provide leadership on fire assignments and fire teams. They are also called upon to provide rescue and first-aid services on fires and other emergencies in rugged and remote locations.

Above all, smokejumpers are professional firefighters. Many have over ten seasons of fire experience and some have over twenty. Many have advanced degrees in fire management, ecology, forestry, engineering, sociology, biology, and various other sciences. Smokejumpers are a varied group coming from diverse backgrounds. Seasonal employees include teachers, students, ski industry professionals, construction workers, trades technicians, missionaries, security personnel, artists, National Guard, doctors and even lawyers.

Spotters are an important member of the smoke jumping team. Their spotter, Mikael Mikaelson has had years of experience. Because the other smokejumpers rely on the spotters' well-honed ability to gauge the fire and coordinate a safe and successful landing, it's imperative that they know what they're doing. During training, smokejumpers run through many instructive settings, so they're prepared for different scenarios, like how the wind typically acts in a canyon or on the ridge of a mountain and how they need to adjust their jumps accordingly. The expertise of the spotter is still paramount, and he or she also helps gather direct visual data and manages communication efforts vital for triumphing over a wildfire.

Once they get word from Mikael, Damon yells above the roar of the fire and flames. "Let's start creating a firebreak." Nodding, they start to fell trees and clear brush to try to stop the wildfire from spreading. Pointing to Elena, Brady, Slater, Kol, Will and his brother, Stefan, he tells them to start digging trenches. Picking up a crosscut saw, he starts to cut down trees himself. When the wind shifts, placing the smoke and flames directly in their path, Damon orders them to gather their gear and retreat. When he gets word from Mikael, they head for a different spot to make ther stand. Reaching it, Damon makes sure to count heads, assuring himself that all of his crew members are safe. A burst of adrenaline pumps through his veins when he can't find Stefan or Will. Running so hard that his lungs hurt, he pulls up when he sees them shoving each other. Before he can make a move an ear splitting crack fills the air. Looking up, fear grips him making his heart slam chaotically against his chest. Without wasting a second, he runs, flailing his arms to try to get their attention. Even though he knows he's too far away, Damon still pushes himself, reaching Stefan just as the sixty foot tree crashes to the ground, crushing Will beneath its branches.

Using his microphone, he calls for an air ambulance. Although grateful that his brother is alive, he's so angry at him for disobeying his direct order to retreat. Fighting every instinct in him to lambaste Stefan, Damon points towards where the rest of his men and women are working the fire line. In danger himself because of the wind shift, Damon stays with Will till he hears the chopper. With the help of the EMT's, they get Will out. Trying to maintain some semblance of calm, Damon's gut is twisting painfully because he's certain it will literally take a miracle for Will to survive. The fire is moving closer so he takes off to join his crew again. After a lot of hard work, they finally have the fire contained. When they rendezvous with other firefighters, transportation is waiting to take them back to Fort Wainwright, their home base.

Once they debrief and get showered and changed, Damon slips away to have a word with Ric. "Have you heard anything about Will?" he asks, plopping down into the chair.

"He's been airlifted to Anchorage. He's in an induced coma, has several broken bones but his head CT looks clear. And although his spinal cord is intact, it is bruised so he may have some paralysis. What the hell happened up there, Damon?"

"I think we need to bench Stefan for awhile. He claims that Will made some sexist remark about Elena and he went off on him. You know Will as well as I do, it's more than likely he was teasing but Stefan has no sense of humor," Damon adds, shaking his head.

"Send him in on your way out. I'll tell him."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"We're going to the Irish Bar for a drink. Do you want to join us?"

"Maybe I'll stop by when I finish up here. Send Stef in." Nodding, Damon gets up and walks out of the office. As he passes through their station, he happens to hear Elena's voice lambasting his brother. Snickering, he can't help but edge in closer to hear a little of what she's saying to him.

"You may have gotten Will killed with your petty jealousy. What the fuck is the matter with you?" she snaps. Although she's trying to keep her voice down, Damon can tell that she's pissed beyond words.

"What the fuck is the matter with you? He was making remarks about your looks. What would you have me do?" Stefan yells, sounding like an imbecile.

"I know what you don't do, you don't risk your life and that of your coworker over something as asinine as a comment about my looks. Grow the hell up, Stefan," she snaps, ripping him a new one. Jumping back against the wall, he manages to stay concealed when she grabs her bag and stalks out of the station. That girl has fire, Damon thinks to himself. Angry at Stefan himself, he barges in to find his brother sitting on the locker room bench, head in his hands.

"You do know that you deserved that, right?" Damon asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Stay out of it, Damon. It's none of your fucking business."

"It is when it gets one of my crew seriously injured. You're benched, Stefan," he says matter of factly before turning on his heels to leave the room. Before he even gets a few feet out of the door, he hears boots stomping against the linoleum floor. Just as he reaches the from door, he feels a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"What the hell Damon? You tell me I'm benched and then you just walk out, where do you get off?"

"I'm your superior, Stefan and perhaps this wasn't the career choice for you? You too much of a hot head and unless and until you learn to control your temper, you're benched."

"You have no right," Stefan snaps, launching at him. Within seconds the two Salvatore brothers are rolling on the floor, Stefan getting a good punch in before Ric and his nephew Tyler Lockwood pull them apart.

"Explain," Ric demands, restraining Stefan.

"I told him that he was benched and he attacked me. Tell him Ric."

"Stefan, go wait in my office."

"Of course you'd side with him, Ric," he sneers. After leveling Damon with one last scathing glare, he stalks off, disappearing into the open door of Ric's office. Rolling his eyes, Damon brushes the dust off of his clothes. After having a few words with Ric, he walks outside, jumps in his car and heads to the pub.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Irish Bar and Saloon, Damon pockets his keys then walks inside. If Will was in the hospital here in Fairbanks, that's where he'd be with all the rest of his guys but since he's not, Damon needs a drink. Walking up to the bar, he plops himself down on one of the stool, signaling for Callie to give him a mug of tap beer. When she slides it in front of him, he gives her wink and takes a deep pull from the glass, setting the mug down when someone brushes against him to sit down. "Brady," he says aloud when he sees who it is. "What's your excuse?" Damon asks, chugging another swallow.

"Tough day, boss. What's your excuse?" Brady asks, raising his brows before taking a swallow of his own drink.

"My brother is an idiot. I had to bench him."

"You got that right," he mumbles, ordering another round for the two of them. When their eyes meet, Damon nods, polishing off his first mug. Setting it down, he picks up the other. About to put the cold glass to his lips, he hears the voice that haunts his dreams. Spinning around, his breath catches in his throat when he sees the beauty that is Elena. She's simply stunning in a pair of skinny jeans, flats and a white v neck tee shirt. She has a necklace hanging just below her bosom and a leather jacket. Feeling a shiver between his legs, he drops his eyes to his groin and tries to discreetly rearrange himself. When she happens to look at the bar, their eyes meet and Damon waves her over to join him and Brady. Bobbing her head up and down, she starts to walk his way, pausing when someone grabs her arm. About to jump to his feet to come to her rescue, she puts the low life in his place, twisting his arm behind his back. Chuckling, Damon raises his glass to her when she glances over at him. Rolling her eyes, she gives the guy a shove and sidles up to the bar, taking the stool beside Damon.

"Hey Elena," he drawls, signaling Callie to give her a drink.

"Have you heard anything about Will?" she asks, nodding her thanks to Callie when the girl hands her a frosty mug. Picking it up, she takes a swallow, savoring the sharp taste as it goes down.

"Ric said that they sent him to Anchorage and that he's in an induced coma."

"It shouldn't have happened, Damon. I know he's your brother but he's a pain in my ass sometimes. He had no reason for acting like a jealous oaf."

"Yeah, well, I won't argue with you about that," he agrees, turning his head to look at her. Blowing out a puff of air, she puts the drink to her mouth again, emptying the mug. After another round, she gets up to put some coins in the jukebox. Damon watches her backside intently as she sways along to her choice of music. Feeling another shiver of lust run up his spine, he turns around coming face to face with a grinning Brady. "Not a word, Brady," Damon cautions, lifting his glass to his mouth. Although he'd love to take Elena for a spin in a nice comfortable bed, against a wall and even in the shower, a part of him feels guilty for even daydreaming about it. She's his brother's girlfriend. And as much as he wants her, she deserves better than the likes of him, he never sleeps with the same girl twice, often leaving as soon as they drift off to sleep. When he happens to glance at the clock, he knows that he should get going home. He has to fly to the Missoula, Montana smoke jumping base to train some newbies. He'll been gone for three months. Maybe by the time he gets back, she'll be out of his system. Spinning on his stool again, he smirks when she raises her glass to him. Who the hell is he kidding? The specter of Elena is going to stay with him for a very long time.

This is something that Eva and I have been toying with. Let me know if you want more.

Much love and huge thanks to be writing partner and dear friend and sister from another mother, Eva.

Thank you Cassie for the cover image.

I do hope you'll like this story. Lots more to come.

Chapter title: 'Here Without You' by 3 Doors Down

I updated 'I Can't Escape Myself' yesterday. St Helens is still in progress too.

Please click the review button.

I just finished a fifteen hour shift so I'm going to bed now. Be safe and have a fabulous day.