Brave (Damon Salvatore x OC)

Miss Mystic Falls

In the parking lot of the high school Stefan is parking his car. Elena and Ember see him, and Elena joins him while Ember heads inside.

"Nice car." She teases.

"Thought it was a waste to leave it in the garage." He shrugs and she smiles and leans forward for a kiss.

"I didn't know you were coming back today." She admits.

"You know, I woke up this morning and I was feeling great and I figured it was time for me to get back into things." He tells her.

"Does that mean you're okay now, with all the cravings?" She asks.

He nods. "Yeah, I mean the worst part is over so... now all I want to do is just spend as much time with you as possible."

She smiles happily. "I'm okay with that."

"Hey, thank you for helping me get through the rough patch." He says softly.

"You're welcome." They pause and look each other when the bell rings. "We're gonna be late."

"Okay, uh, you know what? I'll catch up with you, I'm gonna grab my stuff. I'll be right behind you." He assures her.

"Okay." She nods and heads in. As she leaves he goes to the trunk and opens it. There are dozens of blood bags from Mystic Falls Hospital. He grabs his backpack and closes the trunk.

.........................

At Founders Hall Damon, John and Sheriff Forbes are having a meeting.

"There was a disturbance at the hospital blood bank last night." Liz tells them. "Some of the supply was compromised."

"Compromised? You mean stolen?" Damon asks looking confused since he knows it wasn't him.

"We almost missed it. The inventory records were altered but when the night manager was questioned he had no recollection of changing them." Liz shares.

"Meaning that the vampire who stole the blood used mind control to hide the theft." John says.

Damon glares at John. "I know what it means."

"We wouldn't have noticed had John not alerted us to recent discrepancies in other hospital blood banks in the county." Liz admits.

"How lucky for us, we have John." He looks at John who smirks.

"We're stepping up security at the hospital, giving the guard vervain to prevent this from happening again." Liz reports.

"Sheriff, may I offer a suggestion?" John asks. "Why don't Damon and I put our heads together? We can track down whoever is doing this."

Liz nods. "Truthfully I can use the extra hands. Is that something you would be willing to do?" She looks at Damon.

"Well, of course, I mean, if it'll help." He agrees since he has been backed into a corner.

"I think we could make a good team, don't you think Damon?" John glances at him.

"John, whatever I can do to help keep this town safe; even if it means spending time with you." He looks at John and smiles and John smiles back.

..........................

In Alaric's History Class he begins the lesson. "Okay, this week we're gonna set outside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founders' Day. Apparently the community leaders feels it's more important than World War II, but hey what do I know?"

Ember chuckles. The door opens and Bonnie comes rushing in the room.

"Sorry I'm late." She mumbles.