So this story is completely out of the ordinary for me. It will probably be my only Vampire Diaries fic. I just loved the Damon/Ric bromance too much and that last scene with Damon talking to Ric's grave while Ric watched was too amazing to not write about. This isn't a romance but the very best bromance I've ever seen. I hope you like it. To my regular readers I promise I'm working on my fics. I actually wrote this a few weeks ago and forgot to post it until I saw Damon ordering a drink for Ric the other night on TVD. Enjoy!

I own nothing (If I did Ric would still be drinking with Damon wayyy too often.)

Alaric sighed sadly as he listened to Damon`s words. He couldn`t help but agree with him about the fact that their group was full of children; though Stefan was the only one without an excuse given his true age. He smiled when Damon quoted what his response might have been had he still been alive.

"You owe me big."Damon told him, wiping at the stray tears with the back of his hand.

"I miss you too buddy." Alaric told him as Damon walked away.

He listened as Damon walked out of the graveyard. He heard an uncharacteristic sob escape before Damon began ripping trees from their roots in a rage. He considered following after his friend but there was nothing that he could do for him and he didn't think he could handle witnessing any more of his pain. Damon's pain was a horrible thing to behold.

Silence fell around him once more as Damon calmed down and drove away. Alaric sat there in the quiet before making his decision. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he was sitting on Jeremy's bed. He was getting better at being a ghost. He looked up as Jeremy walked into his room, jumping back in surprise when he noticed his visitor.

"Hey Jer."

Jeremy regarded him warily as he closed the door behind him. He smelled faintly of smoke as he walked towards the bed.

"Hey Ric. We uh just finished uh –" Jeremy rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"I know." Alaric replied, saving him from elaborating.

Jeremy's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"You were there? I didn't see you though."

Alaric shook his head.

"Damon told me."

"But I thought only I could see you!" Jeremy accused, reminding Ric that Damon was right about how young they all were.

"You are," Alaric shrugged. "You all have your way of saying goodbye. Damon has his. He comes to the graveyard sometimes."

Jeremy seemed to be considering his words and Alaric could tell that things hadn't improved between the boy and Damon.

"What are you doing here Alaric? It's not that I'm not happy to see you but the timing is a little weird." Jeremy trailed off.

Ric stood up and wandered around the room, fingering a picture of himself and Jenna.

"I'm worried about him." Ric answered, turning back to face the boy who was so much like a son to him.

He wasn't pleased when Jeremy snorted and crossed his arms.

"Why? He's Damon. I don't know if you missed it but Elena's a damn Vampire now. Bonnie is in the middle of a breakdown. There's some psycho going around trying to kill everyone I know and everything is just as screwed up as always. Who cares about Damon?" Jeremy yelled petulantly.

Ric shot him a sympathetic smile before answering him.

"I do. Elena has the support of everyone. Both Stefan and Damon would die for her. Bonnie was messing around in shit that she shouldn't have been touching. The guy with the 'ink' at the Grille is the hunter by the way." Alaric told him.

"Hmmph." Jeremy responded as he sat on his bed. "Why are you worried about Damon?"

"Because he's alone."

"He has Elena and-"

"No he's in love with Elena and she chose his brother. Stefan will continue to hate him as long as Elena is torn between the two of them. You hate him, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Matt all hate him Jer." He raised a hand to stop Jeremy from interrupting him. "I'm not saying that he hasn't given all of you reason to hate him. But a lot of you hate him for things he's done for you. He spends so much time doing the nasty things that need to be done to keep you all alive and you all resent him for it. He lashes out sometimes but so do you. Hell, you all crucify him for his mistakes and then champion Stefan who's spent the better part of the last 100 years ripping people apart and enjoying it Jer." Alaric took a breath. "He's alone. I was his only friend and I understood him. You know he refuses to let anyone sit on his left side anymore? It was my place and he can't deal with me dying. He held me as I died Jer; twice."

"What are you doing here then?" Jeremy asked, although he had a feeling that the boy already knew.

"I needed you to talk to him for me. The way you did with Rose."

"Rose really loved him." Jeremy told him as if putting off answering the request.

"Rose is the only other person who understood who Damon is and didn't hate him for it." Alaric answered quietly. "He's my best friend Jer and he's not okay."

"You want me to call him over here?" Jeremy asked with a sigh.

"Not yet. I need you to call Elena over first."

"Why?" Jeremy asked in confusion.

"Because Damon's my unfinished business Jer. I won't have a chance after."

Jeremy looked like he wanted to refuse allowing him to leave. Alaric felt sadness for the younger boy, but he could no longer be his parent. There was nothing that he could do by sticking around. He would only hold Jeremy back at this point. He waited for a few moments before sighing in relief when Jeremy pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Elena. The two of them stared at each other in silence as they waited for her arrival.

"No offense Ric but I really hate having to talk for ghosts. Especially to Damon." Jeremy admitted.

"I know. You don't have to talk for me this time Kiddo. I've picked up a few tricks and I can do it without you having to speak for me."

"How?" Jeremy asked, jumping to his feet.

"It's a simple blood trick." Alaric told him simply before turning to face the door as they heard Elena run through the house and up to their room.

"Jer? What's going on? What's wrong?" Elena asked in a panic as Stefan came barrelling in behind her.

Alaric did his best to not feel irritation at the younger Salvatore's presence. He'd seen him hit Damon earlier as he lay on the sidewalk riddled with wooden bullets. Dick move.

Jeremy glanced over at him before addressing Elena.

"Ric's here. He wants to talk to you 'lena. Just you though." Jeremy's voice took a hard edge as he glared at Stefan.

Elena glanced at Stefan and he sighed before leaving the house at vamp speed.

"How do we do this Ric?"

"I need you mix a drop each of your blood together. Then I add one of mine. Elena drinks it and you go downstairs." Ric instructed him quickly.

Jeremy shrugged before turning to Elena.

"You're not going to vamp out if I prick my finger are you? We need to mix a drop of my blood with yours and Ric's."

Elena shook her head and sliced her thumb on her fang. One drop of her blood landed on her open palm before her cut healed. Jeremy regarded her for a moment before reaching his finger towards her mouth. Her eyes widened and she clenched her jaw shut, using her fingernail to cut his thumb open. She pinched his finger, causing his blood to mix with hers before dropping his hand and standing back.

"Ric?"

Alaric stepped forward and stood in front of Elena. He could feel Jeremy's eyes on him as he closed his eyes and imagined he'd cut his thumb. He gasped at the pain of it and squeezed a drop onto Elena's palm. Jeremy was staring at him as they both sucked on their cut thumbs.

"What now?" Elena asked.

"You drink it and I leave." Jeremy told her.

Elena looked at the blood for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and licking her palm. Alaric noted proudly that her eyes didn't vein out. Her control was getting better. She looked up from her hand as Jeremy left the room and jumped back in surprise.

"Ric!" She exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

"Hey Kiddo."

"Oh Ric! I've missed you so much! I'm a vampire now and everything kind of sucks and-"

"I know. I'm sorry about the way that things have worked out." Alaric responded before she could work herself into a rant.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" Elena asked after regarding him for a moment, her expression guarded.

"You asked me to be a parent. I didn't always do a good job especially during that last week or so." He smiled wryly. "But I have one last chance so I'm going to take it."

"Ohhhkayy." Elena said before sitting on the bed.

"I've been around. It's a ghost thing. I know that things are hard for you Elena but that's not why I'm here." Ric looked away for a moment, thinking over his words. "You need to choose Elena."

Elena stared at him before she clenched her jaw angrily.

"I did choose."

"Yes, you did. But you seem to be wavering in your opinion. You left Damon to die alone, I was about to stake him when you died." Elena's eyes widened in surprise but he continued before she could interrupt. "You told him you chose Stefan. But you drank from him and you've spent the last week lying to Stefan."

"This isn't any of your business." Elena spat petulantly.

"He's my best friend Elena. And he's completely alone and you're making it worse."

"He's not alone! He has me and Stefan and-"

"No!" Ric roared and Elena recoiled. "He had me. Stefan hates him and you want him to be someone he's not. The rest of the group hates him. He's alone Elena. Completely and totally alone."

"But-"

"You need to let him go. He's only here because he feels like he needs to take care of everybody. He's taking care of all of you, no matter how much you hate him. You chose Stefan so let him go."

"Go where?" Elena asked brokenly.

"That's none of your business. This isn't his home anymore. It can't be. All that's here for him is heartbreak and death. Let him go."

"But I need him, he-" Elena pleaded.

"Do you choose him?"

"No, but-" she reasoned.

"Then let him go."

Tears were streaming down her face as she glared at him.

"I love you. But everyone loves you Elena. He needs someone to believe in him, someone to defend him and being dead isn't going to stop me from doing that for him." Alaric brushed a tear from her cheek. "Rose loved him and I love him for the person that he is. No wishing he was different or better or more like his fucking brother." Elena recoiled once more at the implication of his words. "I have to believe that there's someone out there who can love him the same way. Whether friend or lover, there has to be someone who can just love him."

Elena's tears continued to flow but he could see by the regret shining in her eyes that she agreed finally. He pulled her into his arms, and if she was surprised by how solid he was she didn't comment. He hugged her for what could have been an hour before kissing her forehead and pulling away.

"Take care of yourself Elena." He told her with finality.

The fresh wave of tears indicated that she knew she'd never see him again.

"I love you too Ric." She whispered before walking out of the room.

He could hear Jeremy downstairs saying goodbye to Elena before calling Damon over. Ric sat on the bed, trying to prepare himself as Damon came rushing in and Jeremy explained everything. He heard Jeremy give Damon his blood before Damon headed up the stairs. His steps were slow as if he was afraid that it was a trick. Ric watched as his friend walked slowly and suspiciously into the bedroom. His eyes were searching around even as Ric dropped his own blood in the mix. Damon waited for a few moments, peeking over his shoulder before closing his eyes and licking his hand. Ric almost laughed when Damon's eyes remained closed. But the action in itself broke his heart a little bit more.

"Damon."

Damon's eyes popped open in shock, finding Ric in front of him. Damon's mouth opened for a moment but no words came out. Ric waited patiently until Damon threw himself at him for a hug. He chuckled against his friend's shoulder and Damon hugged him fiercely. Damon stepped back and stared at him.

"How is this possible. You're dead."

Despite the accusation, Ric flinched at the hope in his friend's voice.

"Bit of witchery I picked up while ghosting around." Ric told him with a shrug.

Damon flashed a smirk in return.

"What do you do while ghosting around?" Damon asked offhandedly, trying to gain some control over his emotions.

"Follow you mostly. Thanks for saving my seat." Ric replied honestly, watching as something broke behind Damon's eyes.

"Nothing better to do than follow little old me?" Damon breathed out without the amusement that he'd intended.

"Nothing I'd rather do."

Damon's eyes watered and he glanced away from Ric.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because someone needed to." Alaric told him.

"I'm fine."

"Do you know what the definition of fine is Damon?" Ric asked wryly. "Fucked up, insecure, neurotic and emotional."

Damon chuckled and moved his gaze back to Ric's.

"I define fine most days."

Ric snorted. Damon's smile disappeared and he sat on Jeremy's bed.

"Why are you here Ric? Shouldn't you move on or something?"

"I had some things to do first." Ric scuffed his shoe on the carpet. "It's time to go Damon."

Damon's eyes widened in confusion.

"Go where?"

"Anywhere. Mystic Falls isn't your home anymore. So go find it." Ric replied.

"But, Elena just became a vampire and there's some new asshat going around shooting at us and-"

"I told Jeremy who the hunter is. I also know that Klaus is currently stalking him through the forest. My money is on the Original." His voice softened. "Elena made her choice. She's strong and she's surrounded by people who love her. She needs to let you go. She had no right to come to you and lie to Stefan. She may be eighteen forever but she needs to grow the hell up. She is never going to love you Damon."

"Harsh." Damon puffed out before reaching into his jacket for his flask.

Ric's lips twitched as he watched his friend drain the thing.

"Elena has this idea for who you should be. She's wrong. You're always going to be the bad guy here Damon. Not because you are the bad guy but because you don't fit a mold. You need to leave and find new people; less judgmental people. Start over."

Damon shook his head.

"Those people don't exist."

"They do. I care about you, Rose loved you and-"

"And you both died!" Damon yelled furiously, jumping from the bed.

"Which is why you need to find new people." Ric smiled at him. "I was thinking we could start in Europe. I was a history teacher and I didn't get to travel before I died."

Damon stared at him.

"You're coming with me?"

"I have nothing else to do, nowhere else to be." Ric shrugged. "I'll be there until you don't need me anymore."

He could tell by the look on Damon's face that he didn't believe that day would ever come.

But it did.

Seventeen years later at a bar in Brazil Damon met a woman named Beth. She was blond with wide green eyes and a wicked sense of humour. She was twenty five when Damon turned her and Alaric stayed with them for the first few years of her new life. She wasn't uncomfortable with the fact that Damon's only friend was a ghost. He was there when they settled down in Italy and created a family. A friend of Beth's was turned first and they met a lovely witch named Samantha quickly after.

Thirty-two years after they left Mystic Falls Ric was given a choice by Samantha. She offered to revive him through a magical loophole that she had found after years of research. He spent days considering it and weighing the pros and cons.

"You don't have to." Damon told him one night. "You gave up 'walking into the light' for me. You don't have to do it again."

Ric looked at his friend carefully and knew that the day had finally come. Damon would be okay without him. Ric could declare his business finished and head off into an eternity unknown. He could do it now. Or-

"Or you could become a nice vamp this time around and spend forever partying with me." Damon continued with a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

The choice was an easy one.

Let me know what you thought? Please and Thanks?!