Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-TVD-TVD-TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD-TVD_TVD_T VD_TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-

Richard Lockwood was in no mood for incompetence. He stared at the P.I. he had hired to dig up dirt on Damon Salvatore and swore. The pitiful excuse for an investigator was cowering under the glare of the powerful man. Richard toyed with the gun he held in his hand before slipping it onto the desk with a loud clunk.

"You have been failing me," he said quietly. "I hate failure nearly as much as I hate interlopers."

"Mr. Lockwood...he's clean. I'm sorry!" the man cowered. "Please I'll do anything!"

"Good," he replied. "Elijah's confidence in you seems lacking so your second chance will be all the more...necessary. We wouldn't want those services Elijah employs to happen to you, would we?"

"It won't happen again Mr. Lockwood...sir!" the man replied. "What would you have me do?"

"The game has gone on far too long and I'm tired of trying to deal with Damon in a civilized fashion," Richard explained.

"What would you like me to do?" the man asked.

"We hit him where it hurts," Richard replied. "I think I have the perfect plan to derail his perfect little world..."

-TVD-TVD-TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_T VD_TVD_TVD_TVD_

Damon glanced around the hospital waiting room with tired eyes. It had been nearly thirteen hours since they'd arrived and he was getting ready to fall asleep in the uncomfortable chairs. On his left, Christopher lay sprawled against him, snoring softly. On his right, lay Elena, snuggled up to him asleep. His arms were full of them and he felt content.

Elena shifted gently against him and he grabbed the jacket she had draped over her. She had been the stability Maggie had needed when she first went into the hospital. His father had admitted to not being in the hospital room during the birth of either Damon or Stefan and was at a loss how to comfort his wife. In the interim Elena had stepped in to coach her through it. Damon had spent a great deal of time wishing Elena had not been alone when she had given birth.

"You look exhausted," Liz said as she slid onto the couch across from them. Damon glanced at her tiredly as he adjusted the jacket over Elena. She made a contented sound as he snuggled her close. Liz smiled pleasantly at the three of them, considering how different the little family had become.

"It's been a long day," Damon replied. "Maggie's doing well."

"That's good," Liz replied. "And the baby?"

"Gabrielle Elena Salvatore is doing amazingly well," Damon replied.

"Elena?" Liz asked him. "For..."

"Yep," he replied. "Maggie thought it was fitting for the woman who's been her best friend all these months, reunited the family, and coached her through labor. I'm supporting it."

Liz lapsed into silence as she glanced at Elena and Christopher. Damon gestured for her to hand him the file folder she was clutching. She nodded quickly as if re-thinking bothering him at the hospital.

"Liz whatever it is, just pass it over," Damon commanded. "Might as well get this out of the way. Richard again?"

"It's not good Damon," Liz replied. "I think he's found something this time."

"What is it?" he asked as he took the file folder, allowing Christopher to slide into his lap. "He's requesting a dismissal of the Salvatores from the Council? How is that even possible?"

"Apparently there is something in the original bylaws about residency. A member of the family must reside in Mystic Falls at all times in order to remain seated at Council. There was a glaring absence of Salvatores in the past fifteen years or so."

"Do you think it would work for him?" Damon asked, brow furrowed.

"We've never done it," Liz replied. "So there is no precedent but it is in black and white in the bylaws. The vote is scheduled in a week and you are unable to vote."

"That would lead to a tie if Elena votes," Damon replied. "Tiebreakers?"

"You know who gets the final vote in the event of a tie," Liz replied. "We need to start digging. Maybe you can find some relative here that could come forward?"

"No Salvatores here," he replied. "Everyone died out ages ago except Dad and me."

"What about Stefan?" she asked hesitantly. Damon stiffened perceptibly under her gaze.

"He's never been back," Damon replied. "He'll be of no help."

"I'll keep digging," Liz replied. "Tell Maggie, congrats."

"Yeah," Damon replied as he considered these new developments.

-TVD-TVD_TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-tVD-tVD_TVD-T VD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD_

Elena knew something was going on with Damon but he wouldn't talk about it. Day after day he stayed out late and often came home disgruntled. He was still loving and attentive but there was clearly something wrong. He had blown off dinners with little more than a muttered apology at night when he finally crawled into bed. She had let it go just as he had let her confusion over the pregnancy test go but it was beginning to really bother her.

The day had been incredibly strange as she wandered throughout the local campus. People had been looking at her and she felt like they were leering. She blew it off since there was no reason for them to be doing so but there was something malevolent in the air. With shaky hands she dialed Damon's number, hoping he would answer.

When the call went straight to voicemail she swore, switching the phone off in anger. That was the third call he'd ignored in the past three days and she was quickly losing patience. She sighed quietly and headed for her next class, pulling her notebook from her back to glance down at the paper she'd written over the past week.

"Hey hot stuff," a college boy yelled. She ignored him as she was prone to do. She was used to some occasional catcalls from the uniform she sometimes wore as a waitress at the Grille. "Hey, where you going?"

"Excuse me," she said tersely as the boy stepped in front of her.

"Oh come on!" he said as he reached around her to cup her ass. She slid forward in surprise, frozen when he patted her in a degrading fashion. "Why don't you come home with me and my friends?"

She gasped when three other guys surrounded her. She pushed herself away from the one and glanced around, pleased they weren't secluded. She put herself squarely in the middle to avoid being pushed into a nearby alley.

"Come on honey," the friend stated. "You've got nothing to lose now."

"Get away from me!" she screeched. With a great shove she ran away from the group, putting herself as close to her classroom as possible. She paused when a few girls looked at her and snickered before glancing at the bulletin board. Elena frowned and waited as the girls moved towards the classroom before moving towards the board herself.

With shaky hands she turned her phone on and called the one number she knew would be answered no matter the circumstances. It rang twice before the call was answered.

"Hey Elena," the voice greeted.

"Can you come get me?" she whispered.

"Where are you?"

"The college," she replied. "Can you hurry?"

"I'll be right there."

-TVD-TVD_TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD_TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-T VD-TVD-TVD-TVD_TVD-

Damon swore at the lack of support he was seeing from the other members of the Council. One by one they were siding with Richard over the silly rule in the bylaws. The only staunch supporters of Damon were Liz and Elena and they were not enough. He clicked his email closed and spun to stare out the window. He cursed softly as he lifted his phone and noticed the missed call from Elena.

He knew he was going to have to talk to her about everything but where did he begin? If he lost his place on the Council then he would be ineffectual at shaping Mystic Falls away from Lockwood's tyranny. He would lose the opportunity to get Lockwood removed from office and he would lose his chance of getting Elena to resume her rightful place in the community.

He sighed softly as he considered the way his actions were affecting her. She had become more and more distant each time he screwed up. She had waited up for him a few times but after them she went to bed. She didn't ask him what was wrong anymore and she didn't try to get deeper involved in his problems because he wasn't ready.

He snatched the phone up; pleasantly surprised to see it was Elena.

"Hey Elena?" he greeted.

"Damon? It's Jeremy..." Jeremy greeted. "I think you need to come to my apartment...Elena won't stop crying."

"What? What happened?" Damon asked as he grabbed his keys and wallet, before racing down the stairs.

"I don't know," Jeremy replied. "She called and asked me to come and get her. She met me at the curb and just started bawling. She won't talk to me."

Damon hung up and raced out to his car, squealing out of the driveway as he headed towards Jeremy's apartment. For a moment he was afraid as he wondered what could cause Elena to cry uncontrollably. She so rarely showed that level of emotion unless it involved Christopher. Oh God...Christopher!

Before he could process the possibilities, he was rushing into the small apartment. There was something wrong and he immediately sought out Elena. She was huddled on the couch, crying into a blanket as Jeremy tried to comfort her. Damon sat on the couch and tugged her into his arms until she was settled against him tightly, the blanket wrapped tightly around her.

"Shh..." he soothed. "What's wrong? Is it Christopher?"

"No..." she moaned. "Oh God...! Jeremy go get Christopher. He'll...please!"

"Sure, sure," Jeremy replied. "I'll be...right back." Damon watched the man make a quick exit from the crying female. Coward...

"What happened Elena? Did Richard...?" Damon asked.

She shook her head quickly in the negative. She pressed her face against his neck and he rubbed her back in comforting circles. He glanced around at her things strewn over the couch and table, noticing a piece of paper sticking out of her bag. He grabbed it, glancing down at it, before swearing. On it there was a picture of Elena in her shower at the old apartment. Below there was a link proclaiming more of the same. Underneath that...her cell phone number.

"What the hell is this?!" he roared.

"They're all over the college campus Damon!" she cried. "Everyone was staring at me and laughing. The guys were..."

"Did they touch you?" Damon asked deadly quiet.

"One...but I got away," she admitted sadly. "Damon what am I going to do?"

"I don't know," Damon whispered. "I don't know."

-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-T VD_TVD_TVD_TVD-TVD-

Christopher knew something was different. He was used to being invisible except when Mason decided to pick on him but today was different. Some of the boys in the class were talking to him and asking to come over sometime. The girls seemed oblivious to the change but he noticed the teachers were looking at him strangely.

He ate lunch with Andie as usual but even she seemed oddly quiet. She kept glancing over at Mason's table and then frowning. She finally turned back to Christopher and shrugged. He smiled encouragingly at her before opening the binder with their project in it. It was nearly completed and he couldn't help but be pleased by the project. Andie and him were becoming such good friends and at the same time he was getting a family. It was perfect.

"So you're still hanging with a loser, Andie?" a voice asked. Andie looked up at the boy standing there while Christopher glared at him.

"Leave us alone Mason," she bit out. "Go back to your sheep!"

"So Christy, why didn't you ever tell us your mom was a babe?" he asked.

"Go away Mason!" Christopher muttered. "Leave my mom alone."

"The guys at the high school wanted me to ask if she would be willing to take more pictures."

"What are you talking about?" Christopher asked, clearly bored by Mason's antics.

"This," Mason said with a snicker. He thrust a piece of paper at Christopher and Christopher glanced down at it before slamming his hand down on top of it.

"Where did you get this?" Christopher whispered. "Where did you get it!"

"It's all over town," Mason smirked. "Everyone is passing it around."

"Where did you get this!" Christopher roared, launching himself at Mason. He heard Andie shriek before he felt the satisfied crunch of Mason's body hitting the ground. Immediately they were surrounded by other kids as Christopher punched Mason. "Where?!"

"Ow!" Mason cried. "Stop it!"

"That's my mom!" Christopher yelled. He clawed at the boy as a teacher drug him off the crying kid. "Let me go! He deserves it!"

"Come on Christopher," the teacher commanded. "To the Principal's office. Cindy take Mason to the nurse and call his parents."

"Let me go!" Christopher shrieked. "He had a picture of my mom!"

-TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD-TVD-T VD-TVD-TVD_TVD_TVD_

Jeremy was used to people looking at him. He was used to the stares and rumors after he'd started using. It didn't hurt his sister had been an unwed, teenage mother. Between the two of them everyone talked. While it had been a few years since he'd dealt with the whispers, he recognized the signs as he walked into the school. Teachers on hall duty went quiet as he approached and kids openly stared as they hurried to their classes.

"Can I help you?" the woman in the office asked him. She looked new and a little too overly-friendly for Jeremy's taste.

"I'm here to pick up Christopher Gilbert," he said. "I'm on his approved list."

"Oh Mr. Gilbert," she said hesitantly, "the Principal was hoping his mother would come in. He's been trying to reach her."

"What happened?" Jeremy asked, wondering if their lives could get any more complicated. "Is he okay?"

"He got into a fight with Mason Lockwood," she replied. "He broke Mason's nose."

"What?" Jeremy asked, surprised by this turn of events. "Did he fall on him or something?"

"I cannot answer that Mr. Gilbert," she replied. "You can go in now."

"Okay..." Jeremy said as he headed towards one of the most familiar places to him in the school. The door was open and he grimaced at old Mr. Williams. The man had suspended Jeremy more times than he could remember but the old coot had some understanding of the kids he watched over.

"Mr. Williams," Jeremy greeted. "I'm sorry Elena couldn't be here."

"I understand Mr. Gilbert," he replied. "That poor girl should stay home and let this all die down."

"Yeah..."Jeremy responded, confused. "So um...what's going on?"

"Well your nephew attacked Mason Lockwood in front of witnesses," Mr. Williams began. "He managed to break Mason's nose. Now we have a zero tolerance for this sort of violence."

"Well why is Mason still here then?" Jeremy asked. "After all he's beaten Christopher twice in school yet always he gets nothing but a slap on the wrist."

"There are never any witnesses," Mr. Williams replied.

"Yes because Christopher broke his own arm," Jeremy replied sarcastically. "You cannot expel Christopher."

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do Mr. Gilbert," Mr. Williams bit out. "On the other hand, I have no intention of expelling Christopher. I merely mentioned the policy."

"So what is being done?" Jeremy asked.

"Two days out of school suspension and a meeting with the counselor," Mr. Williams explained. "Now Christopher why don't you go wait outside while I talk to your uncle?"

"Sure," Christopher said despondently. Once the door shut, Mr. Williams met Jeremy's gaze.

"I remember your sister and she has spent a great deal of time of time here over the years," he said sadly. "I am very sorry how she is being dragged through the mud again. Please tell her we will not permit the pictures to be passed around in this school or any other school in the district. It is pornographic and not welcome here. If we hear anything about the perpetrators, we will inform the sheriff."

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy asked. "What about Elena?"

"You don't know?" he asked. "I'm sorry."

Jeremy reached out and took the paper from the man and glanced down. He froze at the picture of his sister, the number, the link and he crumpled the paper tightly in his fist. He glanced up at the man in front of him and realized why Christopher had attacked Mason. He realized why his sister had been crying her eyes out. He realized Richard Lockwood had some explaining to do.

-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD_TVD-TVD_TVD_TVD-TVD_TVD_TVD_TVD-T VD_TVD_TVD_TVD-TVD_

So...yeah.

Thanks for reading!