I know it has been a long time but I seriously lost motivation after some negative guest reviews. I'm totally okay with negative reviews if I can learn from them. This is my first attempt at writing fiction since high school 20 years ago and I'd love to improve. A negative review that I can respond to and gather more information from the person who left it helps me to grow as a writer. Most guest reviewers are wonderful people and have their own reasons for leaving reviews without a name, I still very much appreciate you as I do those who leave a name. You awesome people are in the majority and you are the reason I was able to get back into writing this. I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

When Damon saw the bright lights in the distance he was ecstatic. His intense boredom, fueled by state after state of the blandest scenery ever created, was coming to an end. He was, annoyingly, still in the desert and had many miles left to travel tomorrow, but tonight, tonight he could revel in the debauchery of Vegas.

He pulled his car into the driveway of Palms Casino and collected his bags in one hand before he strode over to the nervous looking kid standing nearby waiting to take his car. Damon stepped in close and pulled the trembling green eyes into his compulsion, "This vehicle is your priority. You will personally take care of it all night. It will be clean and have a full tank when I'm ready to leave at 9 in the morning." Without waiting for a response, Damon sauntered past the compelled valet and placed his palm on a non-descript brick in the wall of the casino. He stepped into the dense black that appeared as part of the wall slid to the side. As soon as his foot landed on the floor of the passage, the wall slid neatly back into place. If a human had found themselves in this space, they would have been surrounded by an oppressive darkness and absolute silence. Damon, however, was not human. It was still difficult for his enhanced senses to operate, although he could see the glow in the distance that indicated his personal lift and he could vaguely hear the chaos of casino operations occurring around him. He vamped to the end of the corridor and placed his hand on the cool stainless steel of his lift doors. They opened almost silently to reveal a luxurious elevator. It was modern styled, full of glass, stainless steel and black accents. Damon reclined on the large black leather couch as the doors slid closed and the lift began to ascend.

Several minutes later the lift stopped moving and the doors slid open. Damon stepped out into the bottom floor of his 2-storey Sky Villa at the very top of the casino. He walked straight to the refrigerator and emptied the contents of his cooler into it. Then, still carrying his bag he made his way into his downstairs bathroom to get ready for a huge, vampire style, night on the town.

Now that Elena was safe, and her pain had been dulled, Ric, Bonnie and Jeremy felt that they could now focus on the problem at hand. Elena had settled into her favorite armchair in the living room and was reacquainting herself with her diaries, and the knowledge they contained about the supernatural. At her request, the current team meeting was also taking place in the living room. This way she could ask questions about what she read and also contribute to the discussions.

"I wasn't here when all this shit took place. I was hanging out in my room in Denver when I got a phone call I thought was from Ric. Of course, now I know it was Damon removing my compulsion and telling me to come home. Still pissed at you guys about that by the way." Jeremy glared at his sister who conveniently seemed very engrossed in the current passage she was reading.

"And I only know what happened after Elena woke up." Bonnie sighed.

"No, that's not right. Weren't you with Elena before all this happened? The last I saw of her was when she was heading to see Caroline. She said she would contact you too…" Ric was having a hard time working out when the relevant timeline began.

"Yeah, that's right. She called me and met me at Caroline's. We spent ages there just sitting with Caroline and trying to be there for her. But then she got a call and had to go… I think maybe Stefan called her!" Bonnie realised.

"So, you're telling me Stefan called her, she left, and now she has no memories? Compulsion, right?" Jeremy said, his tone making the others aware of how obvious the answer was. He looked at the other two like they were crazy for considering anything else.

"That was my thought too, but why? He's never compelled her before." Bonnie replied. She was torn. As a witch her instincts were to never trust vampires, they were unpredictable and reactive, however Grams had trusted Stefan enough to invite him inside her house.

"That we know of. Besides, this Stefan is not the one we know. He's barely past his recent 'ripper' binge and add to that the humanity switch he had off. I'm not even sure its fully engaged at this point. I'm not willing to rule out that this Stefan would compel her." Ric was almost certain that the Stefan they had experienced lately would definitely do something like compel Elena, he just didn't think she was ready to hear something like that.

"Is there a way to find out?" Elena surprised everyone with her question, looking over the top of her diary intently at the group. "I mean, we could spend all evening guessing if you want to…"

"It's not that simple. Jeremy and I spent hours trying to find out if it's even possible. We couldn't find anything about testing for compulsion, but we did find a spell to see your memories." Bonnie was hesitant to bring it up. It was invasive, and she couldn't be certain that it was safe. "And let's just say Stefan compelled you… it doesn't help us. We can't undo the compulsion! And I just don't see why he would do it… how could erasing your memories, including those you have of him, benefit Stefan?"

Ric interrupted Bonnie's rant, "I'm very sure Damon was compelled though."

That got everyone's attention. "Why?" Elena asked.

"Why was he compelled? Or why am I sure?" Ric grinned. "We know there's only one vampire in town who could possibly compel him, so my guess is he pissed Klaus off somehow."

"Probably opened his mouth," Jeremy laughed.

"Quite possibly. But I am certain because it's the only thing that could explain his behavior. His only two words to me were phone and hieroglyphs. And he only said two words to Jeremy too." Ric glanced at the teen in question.

"Yeah, he said apples and home." Jeremy laughed again, "Weirdest phone call I've ever had, and around here that's a massive achievement!"

"Exactly. And then there was the deal with the map."

"The map?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, it was like he was trying to write on the map, but his brain wouldn't cooperate. All he managed to do was some squiggles on the west coast and around Atlanta." Ric looked confused, he couldn't figure out the relevance of either location. "I'm not sure what his compulsion was about but I trust the locations, even if they don't make sense, he was fighting the compulsion so strongly to show me, I could see how much pain it was causing him."

"So, Klaus compelled Damon, and maybe Stefan compelled Elena. But why?" Bonnie bit out in frustration, "It doesn't make sense!"

"Then I think we are back to looking in my head again." Elena demanded. And then the arguing began anew.

"If you want my help with this Stefan then I need to know what is actually going on here." Caroline wanted nothing more than to reunite two of her best friends. She truly believed they were destined for each other and more than that, they needed each other right now with everything going on.

"I've already told you what happened Caroline. Elena finally stood up to Damon, just like we've both wanted for so long. She told him that she wanted him out of her life. She said he needed to leave town because he refused to take no for an answer and she couldn't trust him to stay here. Then he got angry and he pushed her. She hit her head before I could get to her." Stefan sobbed out the last sentence and put his head in his hands, hoping that Caroline would believe him this time. He wondered why she was asking him again. Everyone knew how unpredictable Damon was, he would fly off the handle whenever he didn't get his own way. When there was no response from Caroline he was tempted to look up because he couldn't read her expression and there had been no change in her heart rate. He thought she'd at least be a little angry on Elena's behalf. He tried one last push, "It's all my fault! I couldn't get to her in time! I healed her, but she's still broken." This time Caroline did put a comforting hand on Stefan's arm and he smiled just a little at how easy she was to manipulate.

His smile quickly disappeared at her next statement, "Stefan, Damon wouldn't do that. Go on a killing spree? Absolutely! Drink the Grill out of alcohol? Sure! Kidnap Elena until she agreed to have a make out party in his back seat? Probably! You know I hate him, but even I know he would never hurt her." The hand on Stefan's arm squeezed gently and then pulled the arm away from his face. His anger at her response had allowed a few tears to leak out, diminishing some of Caroline's suspicions that Stefan knew what had really happened. "Stefan, look at me. I also know that you would never hurt Elena. So please trust me and tell me what happened."

"It was Klaus." He whispered.

"I knew it!" Caroline stood and began trip trapping back and forth on the wooden floor, "I knew he was distracting me from my questions earlier! That hybrid weasel! What did he do to her Stefan?"

"He didn't do anything to her! He was annoyed with Damon for undaggering Elijah. So, he… he compelled Damon to forget Elena and leave town. Elena tried to stop him leaving and he pushed her. Maybe he thought she was Katherine or maybe he didn't recognize her at all with the compulsion but…" Stefan sighed, "That's what happened. I'm sorry for keeping that part from you Caroline but I… I thought you might think less of me for not being able to stop Klaus compelling Damon, and I can only imagine what you think of me for not being able to stop Elena from being hurt." He dropped his head, seemingly in defeat.

Caroline dropped back into the seat next to Stefan and turned to him, "Stefan! Klaus is like a thousand years older than you and annoyingly there is no known way on this planet to kill him so why would you ever think I'd think less of you for not stopping him?"

"So, you'll help me then?" He lifted his eyes to Caroline, "I only want to see her, to apologize for my behavior, to explain myself to her."

"Of course, I'll help you. It's what I do best!"

Katherine finally knew where Damon was. It didn't explain why he hadn't called or why the hell he was in Vegas of all places. She'd never expected him to be on the other side of the country, but her spells don't lie. She'd been out on the streets casually meandering from phone box to phone box calling her contacts when one of the bright blue gems on her bracelet had begun to glow. She'd hung up the phone and stared at it, not quite ready to believe he'd fled Mystic Falls. Decades ago when Damon had become the silent owner of the casino, Katherine had applied a little pressure to his witch. When the witch had spelled Damon's entry doors to only work for him, they'd also added a spell to let Katherine know whenever the doors had been activated. She'd set that spell up for both boys in any place they'd ever owned. And now his Vegas stone was glowing.

Her contacts had confirmed the Original family presence in New Orleans, minus Klaus. She had to assume that he was still in Mystic Falls harassing the locals, without fear now that Mikael was dead. Although if that were the case Damon would never have left… not without Elena. Unless of course Elena sent him packing. Katherine smirked at the idea. She considered each option available to her; stay where she was – boring, head to Mystic Falls to check on Stefan and run the risk of Klaus getting his teeth into her again – stupid, or catch up with Damon and ask him about Stefan while enjoying his misery about Elena. Katherine started packing.

Damon was dressed to hunt. His black leather pants were so tight they appeared sprayed on, while his black silk shirt was unbuttoned half way. As he walked through the foyer heads turned and he could have easily selected his prey from anyone here, however, tonight he wanted to hunt on the strip.

He departed the building, immune to the crestfallen faces behind him, and sauntered down the sidewalk. Damon didn't know what he was looking for, but he was certain he would know it when he found it, he could feel a drive within him propelling him towards something specific.

"I just don't think it's safe! Who knows what the consequences could be? You of all people should understand about unintended consequences Jeremy!" Bonnie's voice rose as she and Jeremy argued. All of the pain from his affair with Anna resurfaced. Bonnie felt more than just betrayal, there was guilt because she was the cause of his ability to talk to ghosts on the Other Side.

"I get that okay, but if you hadn't done that spell, I'd be dead!" Jeremy paused his yelling and glanced at his sister's startled face. He tried to speak again more calmly, "Bonnie, the consequences have never been as bad as whatever we were working against. If I had a choice between being dead and being a ghost whisperer, you know I'd make this choice every time." Jeremy looked downcast and added in a whisper, "I'd just change the part where I hurt you."

Elena directed her attention back to the book in her hands to give the other two a little privacy. She was shocked by the knowledge that Jeremy could have died and that he could talk to ghosts… she wasn't certain how to respond to either piece of information. She considered skipping through her journal to find out about these changes in Jeremy, although he was here now and clearly not dead, so it wasn't exactly a matter of urgency.

Elena hadn't gotten as far through her journal as she might have liked. The 'discussions' in the room were a constant distraction, as were her own thoughts about what she had read. She turned to Ric, who was busily sorting through her photos and putting them into chronological order for her and asked, "Why do you think Stefan didn't tell me what he was?"

"Would you have believed him?" Ric posed the obvious question.

"Not at first, but if he loved me like it says in here, then why didn't he trust me enough to at least drop some hints, test the water, ease into it? From what I've read so far… I don't think he was ever going to tell me." Elena finished quietly.

"Maybe not. But that's a question for Stefan really. Vampires are… emotionally skewed… their emotions overwhelm them more than humans. I don't really understand it, having never been a vampire, but Damon has explained it and I've seen the aftermath often enough."

"Aftermath?" Elena asked.

"You'll read about it plenty in there," Ric pointed to her diary, "but basically from what I've been able to work out is that their entire bodies stop maturing when they are turned, including their brains. So, you've got adolescent brains amped up with magnified emotions inside near unbreakable bodies." Ric placed a pile of unsortable selfies back into Elena's puzzle box and began to write events and locations on the backs of the identifiable photos.

Elena looked at Ric with a raised eyebrow and pointed questioningly at the photos in the puzzle box. "Um?"

"I can't figure out a timeline from two idiots pulling stupid faces. That's everyday around this place." Ric continued to write, and Elena picked up the pile. As she flicked through she could see what Ric meant. These were obviously selfies taken on a phone and printed out. Occasionally she could see friends in the background, sometimes even a glaring Stefan, but usually the two idiots filled most of the shot. She smiled even through the dull pain in her chest, the happiness on both faces was there for anyone to clearly see. "Elena?"

She glanced up from her photos to see Ric looking at her pensively, "They are impulsive and deadly. Even the most in control vampires, like Damon, snap when they get hurt. And when they snap, humans die. Living this life, we've learned to accept it somehow. Honestly I don't know how." Ric returned to his writing and whispered, "We hate what they do, but we love them. Keep that in mind when you read Elena." Elena only heard the last part because she was listening so intently to his words and now she was apprehensive of what exactly she was going to read in her diary.

Damon guided his harem through the doors of his personal lift in the casino foyer. Once the doors closed, the party began. Immediately, two of the petite brunettes pushed him back onto the couch and climbed up on him. A third crawled along the back of the couch and ran her fingers through his hair, brushing her lips across the back of his neck. The others merely watched, seemingly waiting for their turn to attack the gorgeous man in front of them.

Damon allowed the girls to do as they pleased on the way up to his villa. He tried to enjoy himself, but something wasn't right. Every girl he selected had satisfied the drive in his body for the hunt, however none were meeting his other needs. It was a boost to his ample ego to know that no girl here was compelled, they all came with him willingly. As the lift continued to rise Damon realized that he found their attentions more annoying than arousing and he stood, letting the two girls fighting over his lap fall to the floor.

"What the fuck?" exclaimed the first girl as she picked herself up.

"You're a fucking dick!" shouted the second.

Damon ignored them and waited impatiently by the doors until they opened, revealing his villa. The two pissed off girls soon forgot their anger when they stepped out towards the cantilevered pool. Damon forced a smile at the girls, "The bar is there, help yourselves. I see you've already found the pool. Of course, there's only one rule in my pool… skinny dipping is mandatory." He raised his eyebrows and smirked at the giggles following his statement.

Damon ambled up the stairs to collect a bottle of bourbon for himself. He'd never keep the good stuff in the bar where any idiot could drink it. He took a large swig from the bottle and savored the burn as it made its way down his throat. He took another swig and walked back the way he had come. By the time he was once again poolside, all the girls had taken up his suggestion and were nakedly ducking and diving, splashing and giggling, a couple were even making out by the very edge of the pool that extended beyond the building and had a view overlooking Vegas.

Damon pressed some buttons on a panel in the wall and the overhead lights dimmed, the pool lit up from under the water and music pumped out from hidden speakers. He reclined in a chair beside the pool drinking his bourbon and watched as the girls enjoyed themselves. He ignored their calls for him to join them until eventually one girl ventured out of the pool. She strutted over to him, water dripping down her naked body, the cool air pebbling her nipples. She stopped in front of his chair and put a hand out for him to take, "Come join us." She pleaded.

"I'd rather just watch." He looked past her at the other girls still in the pool, most of whom were watching the exchange.

"Well, maybe I'll just join you instead then." She said playfully as she climbed onto his lap with her knees either side of his thighs. She undid the remaining buttons on his shirt and ran her fingers across his abs, gasping at their firmness. As distracted as she was, she never saw his features change. The sharp sting in her neck was unexpected and she let out a loud shriek at the invasion. The expressions on the other girl's faces turned from fear at the scream to jealousy as they watched their counterpart gyrating vigorously on Damon's lap.

Damon was frustrated at the way his evening was going. He intended to come here to feed and fuck his way through the night. However, his body was betraying him. Watching the beautiful girls frolicking naked in his pool had done nothing for him. It was only now, with his fangs buried deep into the girl's neck that he felt any arousal, and he knew it was blood lust that would fade when he finished feeding. His increasing level of frustration was driving him to drink deeper and deeper, enjoying every last drop that this girl had to offer. As he heard her heart begin to slow he tried to take one last long pull of blood but found that he couldn't. In fact, his body betrayed him once more by retracting his fangs out of the girl's neck.

He was furious. He threw the girl aside and stood, calling one of the other girls out of the pool. She walked to him, trembling from the cold and stood in front of him. She crossed her arms over her breasts, attempting to belatedly cover herself up, although only managing to push her breasts higher. Damon pulled the girl into his compulsion, noticing the familiarity of her brown eyes. "Don't move." She instantly froze. He pushed his vampire features back to the surface and dove into this girl's clavicle. She didn't move as he sucked on blood from her body, he made sure his fangs were pushed in as far as they could go. Still, at the point where her heart began to slow, his fangs retracted, and his features returned to his human façade. "Fuck!"

He picked up his almost empty bourbon bottle and hurled it at the balcony pillar where it shattered, showering the pool and the girls in glass. In his rage he considered leaving them as they were, however, his brain tightened at the thought of leaving a blood trail, and he knew it was something he just could not do. Instead he stormed to each and every girl, compelling them to leave, remembering nothing beyond skinny dipping in the pool. A frustrated and furious Damon then retired to his sleeping quarters with a fresh bottle of bourbon to sulk.

Stefan sat in the tree outside Elena's window waiting for everyone to fall asleep. He knew he could no longer get in, but he thought he might have a shot at getting Elena to come to him. He could hear the quiet murmurs coming from Jeremy's room where he and Bonnie were talking. He could hear the occasional clinking of a glass from the other end of the house which he assumed was Ric drinking himself to sleep again. Right now, though, he could see Elena. She was sitting up in bed with her diary and it looked like she was reading it. Maybe he wouldn't need so much help after all. If she read about how much she loved him and how evil Damon was then he would have her back in no time. Even so, he thought that his recent behavior had probably hindered his progress slightly and a little compulsion couldn't hurt.

While he waited for Elena to stop reading and fall asleep, he daydreamed about their future. It was the reason he was so willing to do things he would otherwise avoid. He imagined them raising a bunch of children, although he couldn't stand the idea of them belonging to someone else. Maybe a witch could help him give Elena the children that he couldn't right now. Then she could be happy and still stay with him. And when they had enough children he would turn her, and they would live together forever. Maybe some of their children would choose to turn as adults and as long as they reproduced first Klaus would have no reason to mind. He could imagine hundreds of years of happiness and family. If only she could remember him! He still didn't understand why the compulsion had taken more time than it should have, compulsion is very specific. Stefan remembered very clearly the day Elena met Damon. It was at the boarding house and he came home from hunting after school to find the pair talking in the living room. He'd been furious with Damon that day, but he'd known that there was nothing he could do about it, his brother was always stronger. Well now he finally had his revenge on Damon. Except somewhere something had gone wrong.

Elena's light finally turned out and he listened to her body, waiting for it to tell him that she was dreaming. He didn't have to wait long. The exhausting day had taken its toll on Elena and soon she was dreaming. She couldn't hear anything again, which made her sure it was another memory. She was in her room and the man she always saw was lying on her bed clutching her bear to his chest. She knew his name now but in here she couldn't quite find it. As she looked at him he pointed with the arm of the bear to a mess near the door. She knew that Stefan had created the mess, she didn't remember it happening but somewhere inside she knew he had done it. She looked back to Damon. Finally! Yes! That was his name, Damon! When she looked at him, he looked concerned. Then the whole mood of the dream shifted as she followed Damon around her room, putting things back after he picked them up. She could remember conflicting emotions, joyful annoyance at his antics, worry for Stefan and guilt for enjoying her time with the blue-eyed vampire in her bedroom. As if her guilt had called to him, she saw Stefan in the tree outside her window. He called her name, and she heard him. Elena was confused, she couldn't hear in her memories so, what was this? He called to her again and she moved towards the window, Damon forgotten for the moment as her dream evolved. She opened the window to better hear Stefan.

"Elena come here. I can't come in remember."

"How can I hear you?" Elena was surprised by her own voice. Her dreams were so silent that any noise was invasive.

"I don't know. I'm not sure how this works. But you know who I am, so you must remember me right?" Stefan's expression pleaded with her to remember.

"Not really." Elena furrowed her brows, "I know who you are. But I don't remember you."

Stefan frowned and looked over her shoulder at the confused look on his brother's face, "Well in that case I need you to do something for me okay?"

"What do you need Stefan?" Elena was wary of the vampire, but knew from the start of her memory that in this time he needed help, "How can I help you?"

"I need you to wake up and come to the window, okay?"

"How will that help?"

"Please believe me Elena. It's very important that you do this. Wake up and open the window."

As Elena roused from sleep she walked to the window and opened it, not even aware of her actions. In the back of her mind, the part that was still tied to the dream by a thread, she could swear she heard a deep voice yelling for her to stay in bed. As she turned to follow that voice she found herself trapped in the green eyes of the vampire at her window.

"You are not afraid of me. When you see me, you will not be scared of me. You won't remember that I was here. When you fall asleep again you won't have any more dreams tonight."

Elena became aware that she was standing at her window with it wide open. The chilly night air was causing the hair on her body to stand up. She sighed at her sleepwalking and closed the window, latching it before climbing back into bed.