Silent Secret

Disclaimer I don't own anything.

So, this is a kind of character study of Damon Salvatore with stuff I've made up in my head. Stefan/Elena are together because I figure its someplace in S2. It pained me a bit since I'm a major Delena fan but *shrugs* what are you gonna do.

This is a one shot but it’s pretty long, so I broke it in half.

It's not beta'd since my beta only reads Chuck fics so all mistakes are mine.

The rain pounded hard on the windows outside of Elena Gilbert's house, but the two occupants inside didn't seem to notice it. Snuggled together on the couch in front of a roaring fire, the two seemed to be in a world of their own. Stefan gave a relaxed sigh as he leaned his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes, extending his hearing to focus on the random sounds that were normal to a house. Hearing it groan slightly as the foundation settled, the ticks of the clocks throughout, and a slight drip from Jenna's bathroom sink that he made a mental note to fix for her before it drove his nuts hit his ears.

The most prominent sound though was a loud thumping that pounded in his ears and reverberated throughout his entire body, and that was the sound of Elena Gilberts heart as she laid her head on his lap and read silently. Stefan swallowed as his throat dried up and he squeezed his eyes shut as hard as possible trying to control himself. He would never hurt Elena; he loved her and would do anything to protect her but ignoring the fact that the constant need to rip through her throat and drink her blood until she's completely drained would be stupid and irresponsible.

Stefan opened his eyes a moment later as he felt Elena shift from her spot and scoot a few inches away from him. He looked at her confused but relaxed after seeing her small smile that graced her beautiful face.

"Hey." He said softly, reaching over the back of the couch to run his fingers through her silky brown hair. "What's wrong?" He asked her.

Elena closed the book she was reading, one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals that they had taken from the lake house cabin and looked over at him. Stefan swallowed again, his dry throat feeling as if it were rubbing against itself as he saw a faint blush rise to her cheeks.

"It's nothing, I just, I noticed you stopped breathing and you looked like you were in pain." She said quietly, turning her head to look at the fire. Stefan took the moment to grimace, berating himself for not hiding it better. Elena was far too observant for his liking at times.

"I'm fine Elena." He told her softly, and she turned to look back at him, her big brown eyes staring at him, making him feel as if she could see right through him into the darkest recesses of his soul.

Considering how much he'd learned the past year about the supernatural world and doppelgangers, he wouldn't really be surprised if she could.

"When was the last time you fed Stefan?" She asked concerned. "I know you've been concerned about me and spending more time with me, but you have to take care of yourself too."

Stefan could only nod his head in agreement. She was right about everything, as she typically was. With the threat of Klaus coming closer he was almost afraid to leave her alone. Not that there was much he could do against and Original, but he felt more secure knowing he was with her than leaving her without any protection. That had already ended badly more than once, and Stefan was determined to not allow it to happen again.

However, all his time spent with Elena, protecting her, being with her, he knew he had a tendency to not take care and hunt as much as he probably should considering how many humans he was surrounded by. His diet of animals made him weaker than his brother or any other vampire that fed on human blood regularly already. The animal blood didn't keep the hunger at bay as long and therefore he had to feed more to keep the bloodlust in check.

"I know, I'll go out tonight. I'll be fine for now." He told her with a placating smile, and lightly brushed the back of his finger against her cheek. It felt warm to the touch, and he felt the ache in his chest again. He quickly lowered his arm and moved to a chair on the other end of the couch opposite Elena and gave her a sheepish smile.

With a light laugh tinged with a look still with concern Elena sat back against the couch and re-opened the journal she was reading. Stefan watched her intently, loving the way she caressed the pages lovingly and carefully with each turn, the way her fingers would glide across them as if they could absorb the words. He watched her turn the page again, watched her as her eyes roamed back and forth reading the words written on the pages before her brow knitted in confusion and she reached into the book and picked up some kind of card.

"What is that?" Stefan asked curiously, ignoring his own warning and coming back to sit next to her as she turned it around and her eyes widened.

Stefan gasped as he looked over at the card in her hand. It was an old black and white photo that was encompassed in a stock card paper for protection like the one he had had of Katherine. He took it from her quickly, turning it over to read the neatly scrawled words from Jonathan Gilbert. It simply read: "Arietta, 1861."

Flipping it over again Stefan stared stunned at the photo. It was of a little girl, about age 5 which wasn't so special in itself. However, the remarkable thing that caused his dead heart to beat slightly faster was her appearance and her resemblance to his brother. Though the photo was aged in a sepia color now he could easily tell the little girl had long raven black hair and her eyes were a light color, though if they were blue or not, he couldn't tell. She had the same facial features as Damon right down to the soft bright smile that caused an ache in his heart from having not seen it since they were human.

"What is this?" He asked mostly to himself as he stared at the little girl. Elena turned back to the journal in her hand, using her fingers to go over the lines, scanning it for any and all information that they can get from it, knowing that there had to be a reason why her ancestor had a photo of a little girl who looked like her friend.

"Here, he wrote about it." Elena said, bringing the book closer to her face to read it better. "He had gone to Boston on a business trip." She explained before starting to read aloud. "It was a beautiful day today, which I was glad for. The rain had caused me to feel slightly down lately, and I needed a bit of sunlight before I began my journey back to Mystic Falls. I decided to take a walk that morning and enjoy the fresh air. For the first time since I've arrived children were playing in the surrounding streets, their gales of laughter lifting my heart and making wish I were home with my own children once again.

That was when I saw her. She was hard to miss with her black hair and stunning blue eyes. She was easily the most beautiful child in the bunch. However, it was the resemblance to my good friend Giuseppe's son that caused me to pause. How it was possible I did not know, but the little girl could be an almost exact carbon copy of young Mr. Salvatore. A woman came up to me, noticing my staring and inquired as to what I was doing, and I informed her of the child's resemblance. The woman, a teacher at a local prestigious boarding school where the child lived, was just as intrigued as I was. She informed me of the child's name and that she was an orphan and permitted me to pay for a photo to take back to Giuseppe. Arietta Aconi was her name."

Elena stopped reading and looked over at the photo that Stefan still stared at in his hand. His mind was reeling at the possibilities. He had no doubt that his brother held many secrets, most of which he may never discover, but Stefan didn't think he would hide something as important as this from him. However, the proof in his hands was undeniable. It could have been a random occurrence, but something inside of him argued against it.

The girl just looked too much like Damon, from the size and shape of her nose to the slight arch of her eyebrows. He could argue against the possibility all he wanted but unless his brother had a doppelganger of his own in a female version, the only explanation would be a genetic one.

Lowering the picture Stefan looked over into the journal re-reading what Elena had just read aloud to him, desperate for any other information, but none was to be found as it was the end of the journal, and the others were still at the lake house.

"Is Arietta, is she Damon's?" Elena asked him, and he shook his head.

"I don't know." He said simply.

Stefan bid goodnight to Elena not long after that. Between the hunger he was feeling and the confusion over the photo, his mind was no longer with her.

His first instinct was to rush to the boarding house and find Damon, show him the photo and demand answers from him. But even on a good day that would be a difficult task and Damon hadn't been in a mood lately with Katherine hanging around.

Stefan let out a wary sigh at that reminder. He didn't blame Damon for being in such a foul mood, the woman had played with him, toyed with his emotions and his brother had fallen hard only to have his heart broken. Not just broken, shattered, stepped on and tossed in the garbage. As if being told she never loved him wasn't enough for her, she had to tell him she was in love with Stefan, driving a further wedge between the brothers.

Instead of going home right away knowing it would be a struggle he decided to hunt, to feed. He hadn't in a while and Stefan could feel himself growing weaker. He stowed the photo that Elena had allowed him to take safely away in the car and he went out into the forest to feed the hunger that burned inside of him.

It was nearly sunrise when Stefan arrived at the boarding house, the hunger now under better control. He sat down tiredly on the couch in the parlor, debating if he wanted to even bother going to sleep or not. He had school in a few hours, and he didn't want to leave Elena unprotected, though he knew Caroline and Bonnie were there so she wouldn't be completely alone.

Instead, he sat there in the silence of the house, staring at the fireplace that had long grown cold as the embers died out, letting his mind wander over everything. The consideration of skipping school with Elena to go collect the other journals crossed his mind many times as well but each time Stefan dismissed it, knowing how important normal was right now for her.

"Well, look who finally decided to come home." Damon's voice broke through his thoughts. He looked away from the fire to stare at his brother, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. He was already dressed in his typical black shirt and jeans and the ever-present smirk upon his face. "Should I be worried and having the 'anti-drug/sex talk?'" He mocked.

It was seeing Damon that Stefan's tired mind cleared completely and remembered the photo that lay in the inside pocket of his jacket. He wanted to rip it out and shove it in Damon's face and demand answers, to find out the truth, though what truth he wanted to hear he wasn't sure.

On one hand he wanted to hear his brother deny it, that it was just a coincidence. That it was impossible for the little girl in the photo to be his or that he had anything to do with it at all. The other hand though, he would love for it to be true.

It had been a thought that had been in the back of his mind since he first saw the photo, not daring to allow it to come to the front and bounce around in his head. The idea that he could have family out there somewhere made him ache and yearn for something he hadn't had in a long time. He knew he had Sarah Nelson, his niece many times removed, but he had never felt a connection to that line of family. Stefan barely knew his half-brother; he felt no love for the man or his descendants. The only thing that kept him connected to them was that they were family by blood.

A child, though obviously passed away was something entirely different. The line would be through Damon, through his brother. The one he grew up with and worshiped when they were human, and even somewhat after they turned, though Stefan would never admit that even under duress. The prospect of having that family and knowing them warmed Stefan's heart in a way he hadn't felt in over a century and a half.

"Earth to Stefan." Damon said waiving his hand in front of Stefan's face. He blinked a few times and looked up at his brother who stood above him now, brow narrowed in some sort of wary concern. "What's up with you?" Damon asked him. Stefan just stared at his brother for a moment, gathering his thoughts, debating what to say. To blurt it out making accusations would be a major mistake that could force his brother to close up on the topic indefinitely.

"Who is Arietta?" Stefan asked him quietly despite just telling himself not to. He watched as Damon's brows narrowed further and he looked away as in thought for a second before looking back at Stefan.

"I have no idea, Stefan." He said standing up again. Stefan watched his brother walk away behind the couch and pour himself a drink, drinking it down in one gulp and refilling the glass but giving no other indication he was hiding anything.

Stefan stood up from his position on the couch and walked around towards his brother, pulling the photo from inside his coat, turning to show it to him as he stepped in front of Damon, watching him intently.

He met Damon's stare, not wavering until he looked from Stefan to the photo in confusion. The reaction from his brother was one he had never witnessed before. The annoyed curiosity that Damon had started with slowly melted into shock as he looked at the photo in Stefan's hand. It unnerved Stefan slightly to see Damon's wide eyes moisten very slightly with tears that he knew wouldn't fall as his brother clinched his jaw tightly.

It was all the confirmation he needed.

"Who is Arietta?" He asked again, softer than before, but Damon just shook his head, unable to answer, as he reached out hesitantly for the picture, unable to tear his eyes away from it. Stefan let him take it from him, lowering his hand, but not stepping away from his brother. He watched slightly awed as Damon slowly raised his other hand to gently move his fingers over it, as if he could wipe away some of the damage done by age.

Stefan didn't say anything, not wanting to break the reverie that seemed to encompass the room. Instead, he stood there unblinkingly, watching his brother as he drank up the image of the mystery child. He wasn't sure how long they stood like that but too soon the sound of Stefan's phone ringing broke the peace of the room brining everything back to the present. He closed his eyes and mentally cursed whoever it was that was calling and kicking himself for not putting his phone on silent.

Opening his eyes again to pull out his phone He noticed with dismay that the trance that Damon had been in a moment before had been broken. The photo now lay on the table and his brother was drinking another tumbler of bourbon like his life depended on it.

Glancing at his phone he took note that Elena had called, and he shut off his phone not wanting any further interruptions before giving his full attention back to Damon, waiting expectantly for him to say something. Damon said nothing, instead continuing to drink.

"Damon." Stefan started again, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Damon expectantly. The dark-haired man returned his brothers look with a quirked eyebrow as if not sure what Stefan was waiting for. It pissed Stefan off; his brother was closed off now and he still wanted answers.

"Stefan." He mocked, angering Stefan further, though if he was mad at Damon, himself or Elena at the moment he wasn't quite sure.

"Who is she?" He pressed and Damon shrugged his shoulders, quirking his lips into that ever-present smirk.

"Hell, if I know Stefan. But based off the name on the back I'm going to say it's your mystery girl 'Arietta'" he stated, starting to walk around Stefan.

Stefan however wouldn't let it go at that, needing answers, so he grabbed onto Damon's arm holding him there and narrowed his eyes at him. "Damon, seriously, is she-"

"If you're going to ask what I think you're going to ask."

"Yours?" Stefan finished.

"Stefan…"

"Is she your daughter Damon?" Stefan pressed.

He watched as Damon's features went from casual amusement to anger, darkening into the Damon most people saw, the one that they feared and rightfully so. Damon wretched his arm away from Stefan quickly and then pushed him across the room into the wall, his arm over his neck pressing hard. Though he had just fed, Stefan knew he was no match for Damon; he never was and never would be even if he was on human blood. Damon had consistently fed on humans since they turned making him infinitely more powerful than him.

However, unlike anyone or anything else Stefan wasn't afraid of him. He knew there was no way that Damon would hurt him in any serious way. If anything, Stefan was the one person, other than Elena that Damon would never harm. With that in mind he pressed on, desperately needing the answers he sought. Damon's reaction had given him enough of a confirmation but now he needed the words, the proof before he could really believe it.

"Damon, tell me." He wheezed out through his blocked passageways. "Who is she?"

Damon stared at him hard in the eyes, but Stefan didn't waiver, didn't back down. That would show weakness and right now he had to be strong if he wanted Damon to tell him anything.

Just as he felt he was going to pass out and his neck was going to break, Damon blinked a few times before finally releasing him. Stefan coughed a few times falling to the floor, feeling the bruises on his neck start to fade as he leaned against the wall. He felt Damon's gaze on him, and he looked up and met it, but instead of the hard angry look he had seen just moments before, it was replaced instead with a sad almost vulnerable gaze, one he hadn't seen in a very long time. "Let it go Stefan." Damon told him softly. It almost scared him.

"I need to know Damon, who is she?" He pressed, pushing himself up and away from the wall and moving towards Damon.

"It doesn't matter. It never mattered." The reply came sounding distant. A tear escaped unchecked down Damon's cheek, making Stefan's undead heart beat a little harder again at the sheer emotion that Damon was expressing. He watched Damon look down at the photo again, once again running his fingers over it as if he could touch the little girl in it.

Stefan swallowed, his mind racing on how to go about handling this side of Damon, it being new territory. "It does matter Damon." He told him earnestly. "She's a part of you. She's family."

"She's dead Stefan." Damon bit out angrily, His eyes back on Stefan and flashing with familiar anger.

"She could have had family. We could have family Damon. Your family, your descendants. That matters Damon." Stefan exclaimed, placing his hands on Damon's shoulders, squeezing them gently as he tried to convey what he felt and hoped that his brother would get it.

But Damon just shook his head and pushed Stefan away from him glaring. "Let it go." He bit out and before Stefan could reply, he heard the front door slam and Damon was gone.

Suddenly feeling more exhausted than before Stefan slumped to the floor, letting his head bump on the carpet and stared up at the ceiling. He had already known that getting answers from Damon would be difficult, so his reaction, while some of it was; most of it wasn't a surprise. Still, Damon's reaction to the inquiry and the photo peaked Stefan's curiosity more in a way that he knew he would never be satisfied until he got the full truth, with or without Damon's help.

Pushing another trunk out of the way, Stefan knelt on the floor in front of it and pushed the lid opened. As with the other three he had already gone through the trunk was full of papers and other keepsakes from the life of one Giuseppe Salvatore.

After taking an impromptu nap on the parlor floor, Stefan decided that he wasn't going to follow Damon's request and let it go. He wanted more information, he wanted to find the girls family. So, with that in mind and knowing Damon would be of no help, he decided to start searching by going through his father's things, and that is where he had spent the last four hours.

It baffled him how much stuff his family collected through the years, and he was guilty about the same thing. Sorting through the masses of documents, correspondence, reports and other items, Stefan made a mental note to consider calling in an appraiser to figure out what was valuable and what was junk, and finally start getting rid of things like Damon had requested almost forty years ago.

He was lost in his own thoughts digging through the trunks when he heard the door open in shut. He paused in his actions and held his breath, listening to hear if Damon had come home. To his relief he heard Elena shout his name and he let his body relax slightly.

Pulling out his phone, he sent her a text, knowing she wouldn't hear him from up in the attic, giving her directions on how to get there. Five minutes later her footsteps could be heard clomping up the attic stairs as she sneezed a couple times, obviously allergic to the dust.

"Hey you." She greeted walking further into the open room. Stefan gave her a smile and stood up to kiss her, suddenly really glad that she was there. Her presence always seemed to sooth his mind and body and right now he needed it. "Why weren't you in school today?" she asked him.

Stefan got back on the floor in front of the trunk indicating what he had been doing all day before diving back into the trunk. He felt Elena set her backpack down and sit next to him, grabbing an odd piece of paper randomly from the pile and reading it.

"So, what are we looking for?" Elena asked him, setting the paper back in the trunk and grabbing another one.

"I'm looking for anything that may have anything to do with Arietta." Stefan stated simply, not looking at her as he read through his stack.

"Damon confessed then? He's her father?" Elena asked surprised. Stefan nodded slightly.

"More or less, leaning towards less. He told me to let it go."

"But you're not going to, are you?" She asked knowingly.

"Of course not. She's my family too. So, I'm looking through fathers' stuff, seeing if he left some kind of paper trail." He explained.

"Why would your father have anything to do with this? It was Damon's mistake." Elena stated grabbing a stack. Stefan paused at that but decided not to comment on her use of 'mistake'.

"The photo is from 1861 and she looked to be around five years old. Which would put Damon at sixteen or seventeen, which means father would have to have been involved in some way." Stefan explained.

Next to him Elena gave a snort, and he looked over at her confused. She had a big knowing grin on her face as she cocked her head to the side rolling her eyes. "No offense but knowing Damon it was probably just some prostitute he knocked up." She stated crassly.

Stefan stiffened and narrowed his eyes at her. For the first time since he's known her, he was annoyed at Elena. "You do not get to speak about him that way Elena. You don't know Damon as a human." He bit out going back to his pile. He could sense Elena's slight distress at his tone, but he didn't really care at the moment.

Stefan would be the first in line to announce all of Damon's failures, first behind Damon himself. But what everyone understandably fails to realize is that his brother was an entirely different person when he was alive. He was someone he loved and looked up to. He was his older brother, the one who protected him from monsters and taught him how to fend for himself. Who helped him with lessons and read to him almost every day. There was no way in hell Stefan was going to let anyone shatter that person, those memories.

"I'm sorry Stefan; I didn't mean anything by it." Elena attempted to apologize. He looked over at her for a moment before leaning over and placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"I know, I'm sorry I snapped at you." He said. "I just, he wasn't like he is now." He said despondently, sighing heavily. With one more kiss to Elena he turned back to his stack, still determined to find something though he knew it was a long shot.

They worked in silence for a little bit, neither really sure what to say to the other. The situation was a weird one and Stefan felt too invested in its outcome to stop. He was well aware that there were more important things to worry about like Klaus, but he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the little girl.

"You never talk about it." Elena said, breaking the silence. He looked back to her confused. "When you were human. Aside from some points that involved Katherine, I have no idea what either of you were like back then."

"It was a long time ago." Stefan stated, not missing the irony of his words that echoed Damon's earlier.

"Yeah but, I'm still curious, I still want to know. I want to know all of you." She pleaded. "You said Damon was different, you just defended him by snapping at me. Obviously, his human version was important to you. Why don't you tell me?"

Stefan sighed again and set aside the stack of papers in his lap he had just finished and grabbed another big pile from the trunk. He could feel her eyes on him, willing him to give in and tell his tale. He resisted a bit, not wanting to delve into the past. He and Damon had been very close before Katherine, and he held those memories close to him. However, once again irony set in as he had earlier practically begged Damon to tell him his own past.

He licked his lips and handed her the stack he was reading, reaching in for another one for himself, indicating they would still be looking while he told her.

"Back when we were human," Stefan started. "We were both different. While we were blessed with fortune and education both Damon and I knew nothing really of the world and was therefore very ignorant, very innocent.

I looked up to Damon. Being seven years older than I, he was my role model; I wanted to be just like him." "That is so weird to hear, anyone wanting to be like Damon Salvatore." Elena commented.

"Well like I said, we were different." Stefan continued. "Our father was a very stern and very strict. More so with Damon than myself. I used to think it was because I was the baby, but I genuinely believe that my father truly hated him." "That's not possible. A parent doesn't hate their children." Elena protested earnestly. Stefan always wanted to believe that but there was too much evidence to the contrary. He had denied it while human, refusing to acknowledge what was plainly in front of him. Only years of contemplation had brought the truth to light, and it pained him that he hadn't done anything about it before when it mattered.

"You weren't there Elena. You didn't see the things that I did. There was genuine hate there. But no matter what father did to him Damon was always the better man. He was sweet and kind. If someone needed help or was in trouble, he would always do what he can for them. He was very involved in town activities and people liked him well enough." Stefan told her.

"I noticed that about him you know." Elena said off handedly. Stefan looked at her for a second, trying to figure out what she meant. Elena must have sensed his gaze because she looked up from the papers and smiled at him. "His involvement in the town. Ever since he showed up, he's been to every event and participated in all the charity functions, group projects whatever. He may grumble about it and make snarky remarks, but he's always there."

Stefan nodded, understanding what she meant now. "I think he took pride in his work for Mystic Falls, and despite what he says or does even now he's still working to make it a good place."

"Of course, he is, it's his home." Elena stated understanding.

Stefan turned back to his stack thinking on that. Since his return to Mystic Falls his brother had assimilated himself into just about everything involving the town, even going so far as to earning a place on the secret council. Stefan was concerned at first about Damon's motive to be so involved but after a while he stopped, as the town seemed to be much better with Damon so deeply involved.

"Well, regardless of anything he did Damon didn't have many if any friends. He stayed to himself mostly or watched out for me." He said distantly. "He was my best friend."

"Did you have many friends?" Elena asked, curiosity peaking in her voice. Stefan glanced at her again and giving a smirk as she leaned against a nearby box, obviously enthralled in his tale.

"I had a few. Being a founding family, we were limited on who we were permitted to socialize with so there obviously weren't that many. Back then kids didn't just go hang out at each other's houses and play and such, they stayed home and entertained themselves and had lessons. Sometimes I would get to play tag or some other game with some of the younger slaves my family had owned." He explained, bracing himself slightly for any backfire from his family having once owned them.

"Lessons? What kind of lessons?" She asked him.

"School basically. There was no community school in Mystic Falls until the later part of the century, so children were educated at home. Being from money both Damon and I had private tutors and were stuck in lessons for hours upon hours." He said sighing dramatically at the reminder causing Elena to laugh. "It wasn't all bad though. Some of my favorite memories were afternoons when we were finished, and Damon and I would sit under this gigantic tree near the edge of the property. He would spread a blanket out so we wouldn't get too dirty, and he would lean against the tree doing his own schoolwork while I was nearby reciting Latin verbs and spelling or just my reading, and he would help me with it while we snacked on apples and drank iced tea or lemonade."

Stefan couldn't help the smile on his face as he remembered those times. He had always felt closer to his brother in those times as it was just the two of them. No mother or father, guests or slaves around to overhear or interrupt. Stefan had felt free to ask his brother anything and talk openly about whatever he wanted, and Damon was always honest with him and never laughed or mocked him.

"I'm kind of surprised your father allowed you to be so close to Damon from what you said. If he hated him so and loved you, why would he let you be anywhere near him? And why would he pay for private tutors and such for Damon?" Elena asked him curiously.

Stefan thought about it for a moment, already knowing the answer. He had spent over a century and a half contemplating it. The only thing he could come up with, based off his father's journals is that he knew that Damon would be loyal to Stefan and that is why he permitted it. He's never admitted that part out loud and he wasn't about to do it now either. "The Salvatore's had a reputation to uphold, as you are well aware of being a Gilbert. Regardless of what happened inside the home, it was very important to my father that the outside looked picture perfect, and that included making sure your son's both had the best education money could buy."

"That's the second time you've alluded to something terrible that happened at home. What is it that your father did?" She interrupted again.

That was one thing Stefan didn't want to get into, but he knew there was no way around it once he agreed to tell her more about his and Damon's life. He was well aware of how Damon would react if he ever found out that Stefan gave such details even to Elena. It was something he knew that Damon had never really gotten over but had spent his undead life forgetting about it and putting it past him, though he could tell in the moments when Damon was unstable and truly sadistic that their father's 'lessons' would come out for all to see.

It always pained him to see Damon like that, which is why, against what everyone else tells him, why he always tries to do everything in his power to have Damon calm and sane because he didn't want Damon hurting either himself or others, and Damon had a lot of rage. How could he not when he spent his entire human life being beaten, punched, kicked, burnt, degraded and belittled.

The most prominent memory that still haunted Stefan even today was when he was nine years old, and his father had caught Damon teaching a couple of the slaves to read and write their names. He had dragged Damon to the back yard near the slave quarters where neither of them was ever permitted to go. Stefan had heard the commotion and had snuck out and followed them, but he wished he hadn't as he watched his father whip his brothers back until it was lined with blood and Damon's horrible screams of pain filled his ears.

Once Mable, his maid put him to bed that night, Stefan snuck out of his room and to Damon's to see for himself that he was alright. The sight of his brother laying on his bed, staring at the fire while one of the maids, Ida gently cleaned the wounds on Damon's back. He didn't know what to think or say to his brother, so he just sat next to his brother on his bed and ran his tiny fingers through Damon's black hair in a soothing manner. Damon had made him promise to never mention it, never think about it and it was a promise he was going to keep, even now.

"Let's just say, if he did what he did in today's society, he would probably be in prison for a very long time, and Damon and I would be in foster care." Stefan stated, turning away from her as his eyes moistened and tears threatened to fall. "Just leave it at that Elena."

He felt Elena place her hand on his back and run it soothingly in small circles. They sat in quiet for a while, with Stefan distracting himself with the letters and notes in front of him and Elena doing the same, keeping her hand on his back in a calming manner. The only sound filling the attic space was the sounds of papers being crinkled and moved. "Stefan…" Elena started hesitantly. Stefan looked back to her curiously. "I know you don't want to talk about this anymore but, if Damon was basically friendless and alone, how did Arietta come to be?"

"That, Elena, is why I'm here digging through all this dusty paperwork. I can't figure it out. I mean I was only ten, but I don't recall Damon mentioning or being around any females other than the slaves my family owned." He knew after the lashing he got Damon would not have gone back to them. He would be too afraid of the repercussions of doing so.

Silence once again descended between them, each lost in their own task. He kept his hearing trained to the front door for any sound of Damon coming back from wherever he had escaped too after their fight. Stefan wanted to go after him and find him, but this could be his only opportunity to go through all the junk in front of him. However, he was under no illusion that his brother would be royally pissed if or when he found out what Stefan was up to.

"Uh, Stefan…" Elena's voice broke through his own thoughts and he turned again to give her his attention. She was staring at a browned piece of paper with her mouth agape and eyes wide. Leaning over her shoulder to read it he felt his own jaw drop as he read the words on the aged paper.

"Damon was married?" He exclaimed.

"Damon, I need you to answer your phone and come home, like now." Stefan said into the phone and hung up again. He had been pacing back and forth in the parlor for the better part of an hour now, calling his brothers phone every ten minutes. So far that had been no reply from his brother and Stefan was feeling tense as the annoyance built up inside of him.

Elena currently sat on the sofa in front of the newly built fire staring back and forth between the photo that Damon had left and the marriage certificate.

To say he was stunned would be an understatement. He had no clue how his brother went about getting married and him not knowing about it. Obviously, it must have been an impulse marriage as the large old stamp across it annulling the marriage just over a year later declared.

"That's your tenth message Stefan. He'll get it and he'll call or come back." Elena said, finally putting the papers down looking up at Stefan.

Stefan threw a glance in her direction not stopping in his pacing as he looked back down at his phone. "He was married Elena." He said angrily.

"I know that, Stefan." She stated firmly. He stopped for a moment and threw an apologetic look at her.

"I'm sorry Elena, I'm not angry at you. I'm just…really frustrated." He stated through a clenched jaw.

"I know Stefan."

"It's just, he was married. As in, there was some woman in his life that he loved enough to commit to. Some women that I have no clue about." He ranted, not hearing her. "There was nobody around. Nobody! Trust me; I followed him around like a pathetic lost puppy dog. I knew everything about him, what he did, who he associated with which wasn't anybody."

"Stefan, you don't-"

"Why wouldn't he tell me Elena? I'm his brother. His only brother, his only family. I'm the only one who cared about him when we were humans."

"Well apparently not." Elena commented quietly and he stopped in his pacing. She gave him a soft look and he felt some of the frustration leave him.

"He was always home Elena. Unless there was some social obligation he was required to attend or something to do with the committees he was on, he was home with me. If he was married for over a year, where was she?" Finally, he sat down next to her on the couch, closing his eyes and resting his head against the back.

"Could it have been someone from one of the committees? Or they could have just been an excuse to get out of the house?" Elena offered helpfully.

"It couldn't be." He sighed out. "My father would have known if it was. Only the privileged members of the town were on any of them and as I'm sure you know they were little gossips. Something like that, involving a founding family member would not go unnoticed. Plus, father kept a close watch on everywhere we went."

"Again, apparently not." She replied sympathetically.

Elena moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing random kisses long his temple and jaw. He felt so comforted with her and was glad for her presence. Glad that he wasn't going through this alone like he had done with so many other things throughout his long life. It felt good to have someone to go through it with.

"This has been a really weird, stressful twenty-four hours for you Stefan. I know you want answers but you're going to have to calm down." Elena said running her fingers through his short hair. Stefan closed his eyes, loving the feeling of the gentle pull. "You know Damon, you go in hot, and he'll just fight you on it."

"I can't help it, Elena." He confessed softly.

"I know, but if you want to know you'll have to be the calm one." She advised.

Stefan could feel his entire body relaxing into her embrace and felt as though he could actually fall asleep right there. It was a tempting idea that really pulled at Stefan's mind and body. He had barely slept in so long and Elena's warm body next to him lulled him into a sense of security and peace and he closed his eyes, laying his head upon hers. Until the loud sound of the door opening and then slamming shut caused his eyes to fly open as he watched his brother stroll into the parlor, immediately going to where the bourbon was. He was glad that Elena had refilled the crystal bottle earlier as they were all going to be needing it.

"I'm here brother dear, and just for future reference, one voicemail is just as effective as eleven." He smirked.

"I only called ten."

"Actually, I counted twelve plus two texts." Elena cut in, pulling slightly away from Stefan. He watched Damon roll his eyes before coming around the couch and sitting on the one across from them.

"Alright brother, what is so important that you so desperately wanted me to come home?" Damon inquired as he took a long drink from the glass tumbler in his hand. Stefan felt Elena's hand on his leg, twitching her fingers slightly in a calming method, reminding him to keep his head. Taking a deep breath, Stefan reached over to Elena's other side and picked up the paper they had been reading over and over again for the past hour.

"Who is Claire Dalton?" He asked simply, not taking his eyes off of his brother.

He watched with his muscles tight, ready for whatever Damon would throw at him as Damon stared right back at him, not even flinching at the name.

"Who?" Damon asked, quirking one of his brows up and cocking his head to the side.

Irritation coursed through Stefan at Damon's blatant denial, and he stood up from his seat, ignoring Elena's hand as she tried to stop him.

"Don't play dumb with me Damon." He shouted shoving the marriage certificate directly in his face. "Even you aren't so callous as to marry some random girl you don't know. Or maybe you are since I obviously have no idea who she is."

"Was Stefan. She's dead." Damon glared grabbing the paper from Stefan's hand and tossing it on the couch bedside him. "I thought I told you to drop this."

"Yeah, you did, but I'm not Damon, you know why? Because you're my brother and this is important." Stefan exclaimed, but Damon just shook his head and stood up.

"This isn't important Stefan. None of this is important. It's ancient history. There's no point in dredging up old corpses." He shouted. "And you brought Elena into this? What are you going to do, spill all my secrets to the world?"

"Not the world Damon. Elena was the one who found the picture. It was in Jonathan Gilbert's journal." Stefan explained. Damon looked confused at this news and looked back and forth between Stefan and Elena obviously waiting for answers. "He saw the girl in Boston while on a business trip. One of her teachers allowed him to take a photo. He was going to show it to father."

Damon's eyes widened in fear confusing Stefan further. "Did he?" He asked tentatively. Stefan shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know. It was the end of the journal, and we haven't gone to get the next one." Elena explained behind him.

Damon nodded his head and sat back down on the couch behind him. Stefan eyed him warily, wondering what was going through his brothers' mind right now. All the anger seemed to seep out of Damon quickly and left him in a confused state as he stared into the fire.

Feeling as though he was in the clear and that Damon wasn't about to bolt out the door or lash out in a violent rage, he sat down himself again next to Elena, letting her take his hand in her own as they both watched the man across from them. Nothing was said for the longest time, leaving the trio in a comfortable silence, the only sounds surrounding them came from the crackling of the fire and random clicks from the many clocks that were scattered throughout the house.

The way his brother responded to this whole situation confounded Stefan. Damon was prone to not give answers or respond in riddles or violence. The whole situation seemed to have put Damon in a different state that left Stefan at a loss on the proper way to proceed. Every ounce of him was telling Stefan to pounce now, ask his questions, get his answers, but his mind new that regardless of Damon's temporary change, the chance of him retreating was still high, so he sat and waited for him to speak first.

"She was my best friend." Damon said so softly that even with his vampire hearing Stefan almost missed it. He looked up to gaze at his brother, but Damon seemed lost in his own mind, staring at the warm fire before him. "She cared about me. She gave me kindness."

"I don't remember any Daltons in Mystic Falls." Stefan said just as quietly, squeezing Elena's smaller hand in his. Damon licked his lips and sat back against the back of the sofa, taking a sip from the glass that was still in his hand finally allowing Stefan to relax a little.

"They weren't in Mystic Falls. They were a farming family just outside of town, just barely one step up from a slave according to father. I met her one day on one of my walks out in the woods. She loved the solace the trees offered her, so she frequently went out. We met many times for months and somehow I fell in love with her." Damon told them, being open and honest.

Stefan narrowed his brow at his brothers' story, trying to remember that time, but he couldn't pick out anything unusual or telling. "Why had you not brought her around to meet us?" Stefan asked, genuinely feeling hurt that Damon had hidden them from this girl. Damon rolled his eyes at him and quirked his brow a bit again.

"Stefan, you know how father was. He would never have approved of her. He may have hated me, but I was a Salvatore and Claire was far below my station." He explained.

"Sounds like a load of crap to me. Who cares about social standings?" Elena huffed next to him. Stefan squeezed her hand, conveying that she probably shouldn't interrupt Damon, and she gave him a small smile in understanding.

"It's not important now Elena but back then, it was very much so. As a founding family member, you should know that. Even now, though no one cares who you date you are looked to in this town to lead and be an example. It's your duty." Damon explained easily.

"You married her so obviously you didn't care Damon. You were married to her for over a year and yet everything at home went about as it always did." Stefan watched his brother warily as Damon continued to lazily stare into the burning flames.

"I did Stefan." He replied finally looking up to meet Stefan's gaze. "I was seventeen and she was sixteen. Her father gave us his blessing and we were married at a church near them. We were going to run away but her father was worried about how I would support her. I wasn't worried. Not much at least. I had my education, and my inheritance was to kick in on my 18th birthday."

"What inheritance?" Stefan asked confused. It had been one of the final blows after he turned that solidified his hate for his father when there had been so much love for so long. Reading his will and realizing that the man who had fathered both Stefan and his brother had in fact disinherited Damon, leaving everything to Stefan with strict instructions to not give Damon a single penny. It had broken his heart and though his brother had already left him because of his inability to control his bloodlust, Stefan had immediately corrected it, putting Damon's name on all the family accounts and drawing up new documents.

Though he wasn't sure if Damon was even aware of it.

"I know what you're thinking brother." Damon commented, breaking his thoughts. "I am well aware of fathers will. I knew long before that that he wasn't going to leave me anything, but so did grandmother."

"Grandmother?" Stefan repeated even more confused. Neither parent had ever spoken about their own parents as both sets had died just before or after he was born.

"Yes, Grandma Salvatore. When her husband died, of course father inherited everything from him, as was the custom but he had left explicit instructions on what would be Grandmothers, namely all the money that came from her own inheritance from when her parents died. She was the only remaining child so therefore she inherited their entire fortune."

"And she left that to you." Stefan finished. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. He didn't care about the money, that he had plenty of and always have but he supposed this is what Damon had felt his whole life but on a more grander scale.

"She did. All her money, all property, anything of value was left for me." Damon stood up then and Stefan tensed, getting ready to block him if he decided to go for the door, but Damon just walked around the couch and poured himself another drink. "Granted almost anything of value was stuck in a vault underground in Florence but the money would kick in when I was 18." He drank the entire glass and then proceeded to poured another. "Claire and I decided to wait until then before leaving. I didn't really want to, but it made sense. She didn't know about the money."

Stefan nodded at that as his mind replayed what they were talking about, a thought striking him, and his undead heart beat a little harder. "You were going to leave me?" Stefan asked sadly, not really wanting the answer. Damon's story made complete sense, but he didn't think he could bare his brother admitting that he would leave Stefan like that.

Damon gave him a pained yet sympathetic look as he walked back around to his place on the couch, nursing the bourbon. "Yes, I was Stefan."

"How could you do that?" Stefan said angrily, hurt at Damon's words.

"Because Stefan…" Damon started closing his eyes for a moment. Stefan didn't want him to do that, he wanted Damon to look him in the eyes and tell him why he would abandon his only brother. "I had no future in Mystic Falls."

"Damon-"

"It's true Stefan." Damon blurted out. "I knew long ago. Father purposely left me isolated. The only reason I was still around was for appearance’s sake and to help you. He always planned to leave everything to you, and he only wanted me around, because he knew I loved you, and I wouldn't let you fail. I was to be your safety net, your loyal assistant, the one person who you could trust to be honest and help you run the family business. That's all."

"But you still would have left me Damon." Stefan said softly, watching Damon's face crumble at the pain in his voice.

"It wasn't forever Stefan. I was just going to be gone a few years. I knew once I left, I wouldn't be permitted to contact you, at least until you were an adult." He said somberly, practically pleading for Stefan to understand. "I promise I would have come back for you."

Stefan let out a sigh and glanced next to him at Elena who had tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened to the brothers. He swallowed hard and nodded his head in understanding, believing Damon's words. He really didn't believe that Damon would leave and never come back. Their bond had been stronger than that. Even now, a hundred and fifty years later they had come back together, and they were stronger now than they had been since they turned.

"But you didn't leave." Stefan pressed, wanting to move on from the realization his brother would have. Damon nodded his head and looked back at the fire; eyes seemingly unseeing as he wove the tale.

"A few months after we married, father found out. He disapproved as we already know but he was even more malevolent than I ever thought possible." Damon said weakly. Stefan wasn't sure if he wanted to hear what came next, but he didn't stop his brother. "He found her father and paid him a vast amount to pack up his family and leave, taking Claire with him. He went so far as to get a contract that nobody from his family was to ever contact any of us again and would never mention the name Salvatore to anyone."

"Oh my god, how could he do that? How could her father do that?" Elena gasped. Damon gave a sardonic chuckle and smirked in Elena's direction, causing the pit in Stefan's stomach to drop.

"It gets worse. After he did that, he then approached me. It was the biggest fight we've ever had. I proclaimed that I loved her and that I was leaving. He countered with some bullshit lines of duty, responsibility blah blah. Nothing I didn't know he'd use and nothing I gave a crap about. But then he pulled out the big guns." Damon paused then, and the growing pit in Stefan's stomach grew larger, knowing whatever his brother would say would not be good at all. The silence stretched out between the three as Damon seemed to compose himself.

"He informed me, ever so kindly of course, that he knew where they were and if I ever went looking for her, he would kill her." Damon squeezed his eyes tightly closed for a second before opening them again. "I didn't heed his warning and four months later when my inheritance kicked in, I hired an investigator to look for her."

He stopped then and Stefan leaned forward, needing to hear the rest but he could tell by his brothers' posture that it was not good news, and he began to dread what actually happened.

"Did you find her?" Stefan pressed warily and Damon nodded his head.

"Yeah. Father took me out to their old farm one night. He led me into what was once her bedroom and there she was, splayed out upon the barren bed, as if sleeping. I wasn't sure what to think, I was just so happy to see her, and I ran to her immediately." He paused again, swallowing hard. "When I touched her skin, it was cold as ice, and it was then I noticed how pale she was and how lifeless. I stood up to confront father and he backhanded me so hard I lost a tooth, but I didn't care. I came after him, but he stopped me. He said that she had had a child. I was so stunned but I demanded that he tell me where it was."

Of course, he didn't. Instead, he informed me that Claire's death was a result of my search and if I didn't stop my search than the same would happen to the child. I didn't know if he was lying or not about it, but I couldn't risk it. So, I let it go. I forgot about it."

Stefan was stunned at what he heard and horrified. "So that's it? You just forgot about your daughter?" He stumbled out incredulous. Damon ran his hands over his face tiredly before meeting Stefan's unwavering gaze.

"I didn't even know I had a daughter Stefan. He wouldn't tell me the sex. But it was safer for her for me to not know about her. So, I forgot." He finished warily.

Nothing was said between the trio as Elena let go of Stefan's hand and moved over to Damon, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders in a fierce hug. Stefan's mind was reeling from all that he had learned, and he wasn't sure what to make of any of the information. He had known that it wasn't going to be pleasant since it involved Damon, even if it was human Damon, but to hear what their father had done to his own son made Stefan feel very ill indeed.

Swallowing again Stefan's mouth opened and closed several times but no words would come out. He watched the two people he cared about most across from him silently. Elena had somehow fully wrapped herself around Damon's frame and was sobbing quietly in his arms. He hated to see her cry, but his heart swelled slightly at knowing that she cared about Damon too. He knew Damon was in love with her and was well aware that there were some shared mutual feelings from Elena, but Stefan felt secure in his relationship with Elena, knowing that as much of a dick his brother was, he wouldn't want to break any happiness that Stefan had with her.

Damon stared stoically into the fire still. Stefan wished he knew what was running through his brother’s mind, but Damon had always been a closed book, and nothing emphasized that more than this whole thing with Arietta. It pained him greatly that he didn't know his brother as well as he thought he did. That as human's, Damon was the closest thing to a best friend but apparently, he didn't know what secrets he held. Perhaps if he knew the real pain of what his brother had gone through in his human life, he could have been there more for him in the after. He could have been more understanding, more patient. He could have helped Damon work out his demons so they wouldn't have manifested themselves in the horrific ways that they had through the years.

It was too late for all that now, Stefan knew. But that didn't mean he was going to give up. He hadn't given up on his brother before he discovered his deepest darkest secret and he most definitely was not going to give up on him now that he knew the story. If anything, Stefan was more determined to help him, to work out the problems, to discover what else he didn't know.

Idly, he wondered if Damon would consider going to therapy.

A very un-lady like sniffle from Elena that sounded like a snort broke the thick silent tension that had permeated around them. Soft chuckles sounded from him, reverberating around his chest as the others joined in until they were all laughing hysterically, falling to the floor from the sofas they were on, not quite sure what was so funny.

It had felt good to laugh. A good hearty fully body laugh. He hadn't done that in a very long time. Everything around them was always doom and gloom with one threat after another. It was starting to weigh heavily on him, he couldn't even imagine what Elena and the others was feeling.

Eventually the laughter stopped and the three of them were lying on the floor trying to catch their breaths. The silence descended around the room again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Eventually, though too soon in Stefan's mind, Elena sat up from her position, his brother and him following suit, pushing their backs against the sofas.

"Damon…" Elena started, startling Stefan slightly as her voice seemed to echo around the large silent room. Both Stefan and Damon gave her their attention. "I get why you forgot about her while you were alive, but…why didn't you go search for her after?" She asked.

Stefan held his breath not wanting to miss his brothers' answer and mentally kicking himself for not thinking along the same lines, though he was pretty sure on what the answer was. Regardless he waited the few minutes while Damon seemed to process the question to hear it from his own lips.

Finally, Damon sighed, looking between Elena and Stefan. "I was dead Elena." He stated as if that should be the end of it, but neither Elena nor Stefan accepted that as they waited patiently for him to elaborate further. "I was more in control than Stefan, but the bloodlust was too great. I had already given up any hope of knowing them and the last thing I wanted was to put them in danger."

"But weren't you curious Damon?" Stefan asked him sullenly. "If it was me, I wouldn't be able to stay away. Especially since it was taken away from me once I turned."

"Stefan…" Damon sighed out sounding very exhausted and every bit his 173 years. "Look, you forced me to tell you my sad pathetic tale and I did. Please, just leave it at that. Forget about it. It's over, in the past. If there is any family alive, they deserve to be left alone and away from the crappy world of vampires."

"What they deserve is to know their family history, and to know that there is family out there." Stefan argued. "We have so much Damon, and they deserve their share. They would have inherited all of this anyways."

Damon gave a snort of derision and shook his head before standing up. Stefan stared up at his brother knowing that the conversation was now coming to an end and debated if he should stop him from leaving. But the look on Damon's face, the exhaustive pain stopped him from doing anything else. He would let it go for now, but Stefan refused to let the matter drop entirely.

After a momentary staring contest Stefan watched the derisive eyes soften. "You don't have to worry about them Stefan." He said softly. "After I buried Claire, I spoke to father to give in to his demands. I requested that he at least allow me to set up a fund for the child, so they'd be taken care of."

That stunned Stefan. "And he allowed that?" Stefan asked incredulous. Damon nodded his head, biting his lower lip.

"I made a very convincing point that regardless how he felt about me and the child, it was still a Salvatore by blood and should be given the courtesy of that even if they didn't know it. Father was a bastard, but he had too much pride when it came to family blood." Damon smirked. "He kept me around for twenty-three years after all."

"Yeah." Stefan agreed slowly. "And then he shot and killed you."

With a final curt nod Damon turned from him and vamp sped out the door into the night and Stefan leaned his head back against the sofa, letting out a loud frustrated groan.

Damon had told him to let it go, but he couldn't and days later he found himself driving up to the Gilbert Lake house instead of being in school. Elena had wanted to go with him, but he had convinced her to go to class instead, citing that if only he was missing and Damon found out, he would most likely just think that his brother was out hunting or brooding. At least that's what he hoped for.

Both Elena and Stefan had spent their afternoons finishing going through Giuseppe's trunks while Damon went on benders at the Grill. He had roped Alaric in surprisingly easily, giving no information. His task was simple, keep Damon at the Grill as long as possible and then text them the second he leaves so he wouldn't discover Elena and him in the attic.

Unfortunately, they had found nothing else in regard to Damon, Claire, or Arietta. The thought of going through Damon's trunks had crossed his mind, but so did the thought on what Damon would do if Stefan violated his privacy like that. There was a line, and he didn't want to cross it, and in any case, he felt that Damon honestly told him everything that he knew, so it was unlikely there would be anything in them.

Pulling up the long drive to the lake house, Stefan used the key that Elena had given him that morning after he dropped her off at school and entered the empty home immediately going up the stairs to where the journals were kept.

Searching through the journals for the correct date, Stefan grabbed it and headed for his car, fully intending to drive back to Mystic Falls and read it with Elena like he promised but the curiosity was killing him. He had to know if Jonathan told Giuseppe.

Opening the journal Stefan skimmed the pages of Jonathan telling of his last remaining days in Boston and the ride home, eagerly looking for any passage of when the man spoke to his father. Finally, several pages in he found what he was looking for and hungrily ate up the words on the page.

"The council meeting was brief tonight, the same words of caution reverberating around the room. The deaths have increased, and we feared that the monsters have multiplied. However, what was on my mind had nothing to do with these mysterious creatures and more to do with the mysterious girl.

I walked with him outside down the street towards his manor when I brought up the girl. My friend was calm and collected and seemed unconcerned. I was about to pull out the photo I had placed in my breast pocket earlier this evening when he stopped up abruptly and turned to face me.

It was then that I learned the truth of the girl. My friend was angry as he expressed his disgust with his son on the abomination he had created. I attempted to placate him, remembering the good things her teacher had told me, but no words could come out, and I kept my mouth shut.

Those of us who count Giuseppe Salvatore as a friend are not blind to the man's true nature. We are all aware of how ruthless he truly is and could be and listening to him degrade his son had just emphasized the point for the Damon Salvatore my friend was describing was nothing like the one I knew. The boy is sweet and kind and very quiet. Smart and efficient and full of wonderful ideas to improve the town. If I had a daughter, I would gladly offer her hand to him but that was not the picture that Giuseppe painted.

It was during his rant that I decided against showing him the photo and against telling young Damon. Something deep inside me felt fear for the girl, that should Damon know of her existence something terrible may befall her. With a saddened heart I promised my friend to never speak a word of it and we parted ways."

"That's it?" Stefan said out loud to himself feeling annoyed at the lack of information. Though what he was hoping for, he had no idea.

Frustrated Stefan tossed the journal on the seat next to him and banged his head on the headrest of his seat. For the first time Stefan thought about possibly letting it go. It seemed like an impossible task to find where his father sent the girl and without his brother’s cooperation it felt like a huge struggle. Something inside him thought wouldn't allow him to quit, at least not yet. This was his last and only chance to have some connection with possibly living relatives and for some reason it felt inordinately important.

Finally squishing the negative thoughts from his mind, Stefan turned the key in of the car and began his long trek home.

"There you are, where have you been?" Elena's voice startled Stefan as he leaned against the headboard of her bed. He blinked up at her a few times before his mind started working again and he cleared his throat, picking up the journal he was currently reading.

"Sorry, Elena, I wanted to take a look at the previous journal." He told her, raising the book slightly in indication. He lowered his eyes a bit at the irritation that showed plainly over her face as she dropped her backpack onto the floor much harder than was strictly necessary.

"You said you were going to come back to school." She said angrily.

"I know."

"That we were going to do this together."

"I know I'm sorry."

"Stefan…" Elena started, crawling up on her bed and moving towards him. He closed his eyes as she ran her hand through his hair and down the side of his face before leaning in and giving him a gentle chaste kiss. "You don't have to do this alone Stefan. I want to help you, even if it's just to sit here and look pretty why you read barely legible missives."

Stefan felt a warm feeling at her words and felt bad that he had left her out of his trek up to the cabin. They could have used the day off from school and everything and enjoyed the day and maybe evening lounging in front of the fire, just the two of them. He didn't mean to push her away or take full lead of everything. It was second nature to him. If he needed information or needed to do something, he got up and went. Typically, he didn't have a partner in crime in such things.

"I know Elena, and I really do appreciate it and love that you support me in this. I'm just…not used to really having that kind of support and…to be honest I’m kind of worried about Damon." Stefan confessed honestly. Elena nodded her understanding, and she turned her body to lean against the headboard next to Stefan.

"I'm worried about him too Stefan, which is another reason why I want to help. The whole thing is just messed up. What your father did to Damon is hands down the most horrible thing I've ever heard, but you shouldn't have to handle this on your own, especially if you want to pursue it." She explained to him, reaching for his hand and entwining their fingers. Stefan was really grateful then for Elena's presence. It was true what he said, with anything involving Damon and his family he had been alone for over 145 years. He had Lexi of course but she despised Damon, not understanding why Stefan kept trying and wanted nothing to do with him. It was a fight and a struggle to get her to finally agree to go to New York in '77 to help him and he regretted it severely when she came back pissed off that Damon had tried to kill her.

She hadn't talked to Stefan for two years after that.

Regardless Stefan refused to give up on anything involving Damon. He was his brother after all, his only real family left and his once best friend in the entire world.

"Anyways, what are you looking for in this?" Elena asked taking the journal that had fallen on his lap and skimmed the page he was on.

"Jonathan didn't leave any new information in his next journal, other than his conversation with Giuseppe. He didn't show him the photo and seemed afraid for Arietta, so other than informing Giuseppe of seeing the girl he didn't give any further details." Stefan explained to her.

"That's why you are back to this one? It didn't have any other information either." She questioned curiously.

Stefan reached for the journal again and read through the previous sentence he had stopped on before answering. "Since Damon doesn't have any other details, and we found nothing in Giuseppe's things, I was hoping to figure out where in Boston Jonathan was on this trip." He spoke.

Elena looked at him confused for a moment. "Why would that matter?"

"Because he stated Arietta went to a nearby school. A prestigious one as he said, which means…"

"School records." Elena finished, eyes going wide. "Which means finding out where she lived outside of school and how it was paid for."

"Well, we know how it was paid for. Damon set up a trust." Stefan pointed out.

"Yeah, but someone has to control the money until she's of age, had to enroll her in school, make sure she had what she needed." She argued.

"That's true. But the first step is finding out where Jonathan was so we can get the school. Boston is well known for its private educational institutions so it's not like we can just throw a stone and catch it."

Elena giggled slightly at his comment and Stefan's heart felt lighter; reminding him of the laughing fit they had had the previous day at the boarding house. He loved to see her smile and hear her laugh and wished she would be able to do it more. For now, however he tossed the journal aside and leaned over to her placing a passionate kiss on her lips and wrapping his arms tightly around her.