I'm baaaack! I took a few liberties here! I know little to nothing about the Army…and what I do know I learned from good ol' Google. So….we'll be getting more in depth with Damon's background in future chapters, I just wanted to get a baseline for his story, show you what he's sorta been up to these past few years….This is nothing like Near to You but I hope you guys like it anyway! Without further ado….

Damon

I hope most of you will never know

What it's like to let a love go

Leaving everything at home

Everything you've ever known

"Far From Home" -Hinder

Nine. Nine long years he'd served his country. Nine years that felt like nine hundred. In those nine years he'd been shot, stabbed, dropped out of helicopters, thrown himself out of moving vehicles, drug himself through the desert, survived days without water and food, disarmed bombs, watched good men die, been on countless rescue missions, been a prisoner of war and tortured, and killed more people than he cared to remember. He'd been pinned with medals he didn't want, medals he didn't think he deserved but the Army handed them over and he took them graciously. He packed them in a box and shipped them home.

Home. That place he hadn't been in three years. For good reason too. His parents had been killed three years ago. Car accident. Tragic. Especially since they'd been in the car with her parents. Her parents had died too. He'd gone home for the funerals. Done his due diligence as a brother and a son and a friend and then he'd caught the first flight the hell out of there. And he hadn't been back since.

The Army had recruited him right out of high school. College hadn't been calling his name. He'd had no desire to do anything else. He'd had no ambitions; no interest in pursuing sports or a career or playing professional anything or other. And he certainly didn't care to watch his little brother sail off into the sunset with the girl they both loved. So when the Army came calling, he signed right up. His father couldn't have cared one way or another what he did. He never really paid attention to anything Damon did. Stefan had always been the golden child. His mother though had cried and carried on for days as he packed his bags for Basic training.

He'd thrown his luggage into the trunk of his prized Camaro, hugged his little brother, kissed his mother's forehead, purposely ignored his father and given Elena one of the biggest bear hugs that she always pretended to hate and get embarrassed about. She blushed and Damon chucked her chin. "Take care of him, sweetheart." He whispered as he nodded in Stefan's direction. "He needs all the help he can get."

"You'll be back in six weeks." Stefan said with a smirk. "Stop acting like this is goodbye."

Damon had grinned and slid his aviator sunglasses down over his eyes. "Who says it isn't?" Damon glanced over at Jeremy, Elena's older brother and his best friend who stood off to the side. "I'll see you soon, Jer?" Jeremy nodded, sticking out his hand for a quick handshake.

"After Basic." He confirmed. Jeremy had already been through Basic. And was going to be stationed at the same post after Damon completed Basic training. It was another reason Damon had agreed to sign up. He and Jeremy had been thick as thieves ever since the Gilberts had moved to Mystic Falls ten years ago. Elena smiled sadly at him and Damon was glad his sunglasses were already in place.

"Will you write?" She asked softly.

"Only to you, little Gilbert." He said, quirking his mouth in a small semblance of a smile. Before he said anything else, like confessing his undying love in front of God and his brother and her brother he jumped over the door and into his car and revved it up. "Later, losers." He laughed and took off down the road.

He bonded immediately at Basic with a pansy named Alaric. Especially when Alaric revealed his penchant for Bourbon and his connection with a hot little female officer who kept a bottle in her office drawer and just so happened to leave said drawer open on Friday's when they both had cleaning duty. They'd been best friends ever since.

After serving two year long tours in Iraq, one with Jeremy the three self declared Amigos decided to take the Rangers assessment. Grueling, debasing and intense weren't even words that could begin to describe it but Damon, Ric and Jeremy were troopers and were each selected to join. Life became extreme from there, the three were thrown into mission after mission after mission with little to no home life and that was just fine for Damon. His mother would call him from time to time and she would attempt to catch him up but that was the extent of his contact with Mystic Falls.

His letters to Elena had fizzled out shortly after Basic. He never received any return letters, so he just stopped writing her soon thereafter. He figured Stefan had something to do with that. Though the four of them had always been really good friends, Stefan and Elena were closer in age than he and Elena were and therefore not as close as he would have liked them to be. So Damon had hung out with Jeremy and that was just fine. Jer would occasionally fill him in, share little tidbits on how she was doing and Damon would smile and nod and pretend like it didn't hurt to hear that she and his little brother were still madly in love. But life was a bitch and then you died.

About a week after his 21st birthday, it shocked the shit out of him when he was approached by his commanding officer and pulled into an office. He'd immediately figured Ric had pulled some kind of prank on him and tried to think of some things he could do to return the favor. He saluted the two men in the office. "Sergeant Salvatore. Please be seated. We're very impressed with your file." Damon kept his face impassive. "We're in need of soldiers like you, Sergeant." Damon glanced at his Captain, then back at the man speaking. "Delta Force needs soldiers like you, Salvatore." Damon coughed and his Captain laughed and reached over to hit him on the back. "Think about it. Selection and assessment starts in two weeks." He moved to stand and Damon immediately stood, saluted, and then reached down to shake his hand. "And before you ask, yes. Saltzman is being recruited too." Damon coughed again and moved swiftly before the Captain could hit him again.

"Thank you for the opportunity, sir."

"We look forward to hearing from you, Salvatore."

Damon and Ric met in the Barracks and before they both could open their mouths it was decided and they celebrated with a shot of Bourbon. If they had thought Ranger training was intense, Delta Force was absolutely insane. The next six years was filled with secret missions and counter terrorism and globetrotting. It was thrilling, exhausting and horrifying and both Damon and Ric were burnt out.

When Alaric had gotten the phone call that his father had passed, he'd immediately given his resignation to their captain, ending his final stint. He only had a month left on his ten year contract anyway, and with the death in the family and the medals pinned to his chest the Army graciously released him early. He'd gone home to take over the family's private security business in Richmond, Virginia. Within a week, Ric had reached out to Damon, pleading with him to join him. He'd offered him a partnership; a forty-five percent share in the company. Damon hadn't even wavered. He'd gone to see his Captain as soon as he'd gotten off of the phone.

"Not you too, Salvatore." Redden had growled as soon as Damon had knocked.

"Captain," Damon had begun.

"This isn't the life for you boys. And the money is in private security, I know that. But dammit, you two are the best I've fucking got." Redden groaned, running his hand over his face.

"I…" Damon interjected.

"And don't try and tell me this has nothing to do with that woman."

Damon frowned, "Captain," He tried again.

"Quit insulting my intelligence, Lieutenant."

"Captain."

"If you Captain me one more time, Salvatore I'm going to carve my name into that pretty face of yours so everybody knows you're my bitch. Understand me boy?"Redden pointed his finger at Damon's forehead. Damon grinned.

"Yes, sir." Redden nodded, sighed obviously relieved.

"Hand me your papers, Salvatore. Jesus, I can't believe you're doing this shit to me." Damon handed over his resignation. "Now get the hell out of my office before I decide to carve my name into your face anyway." Damon turned to leave. "Make sure you say hi to your woman for me." Damon's mouth turned up in a smile.

"Yes, sir." He opened the door. "Captain, sir." And shut the door behind him. He heard the whack as the stapler hit the door and laughed all the way back to the Barracks. He wasn't sure what he was more excited about: getting out, getting into the private security business or seeing Elena again. He figured he would determine that on the way home. Home. For the first time in a long time, Damon thought to himself, damn that sounded good.

Elena

I bet ya never thought

That it would never turn out like this

Mama's little girl

Daddy's little princess

But somewhere in your fairy tale

Everything went wrong

Now the sun don't shine

The words don't rhyme

You're out of time

"Take It Like a Woman" -

It hadn't been my day. Or week. Or month, really. Hell, come to think of it, it really hadn't been my year. I glanced in the mirror and brushed my bangs lightly, wincing when a stray hair pulled on the gash. I had closed it up with butterfly sutures the best I could, but it still hurt like a mother. I tenderly covered it up; making sure the sutures weren't visible through my fine straight brown hair. I needed a new haircut. But something like that wasn't just a spur of the moment thing. It had to be preapproved. An appointment made. A style picked out. It was too much work.

Thankful for the cold weather I tugged my long sleeves down to hide the bruises along my wrists. Hitching my purse back up on my shoulder I winced again. I hoped the Tylenol would kick in soon, my whole body ached. I hadn't hurt this much in a long time. This time had been bad.

Exiting the women's bathroom, I headed towards our table. We ate out once a week as a group. The girls in the office would go to the Grill every Friday for lunch. It was a ritual. Even he couldn't put a stop to that. It would be more obvious if I didn't go. We sat at a six top but there were only four of us girls. I slid onto my seat gingerly and smiled when the waitress handed me my plate. The girls were chattering on about the new Chris Hemsworth movie and how dreamy he was. I wouldn't know anything about it. The last movie I had seen in theaters had been some chick flick he had taken me to see two years ago. Those dates had long since gone away. I had seen pictures of this 'dreamboat' they were gushing about though and he was definitely drool worthy. I laughed along with them as Caroline snickered about how she'd like to lick his abs. I almost spit out my sandwich.

I heard him before I saw him. He had one of those voices that you could hear clear across the room. One I would know anywhere. One I'd heard in my dreams. Taking a sip of my water just to have something to do with my hands, I looked up and spotted him. Damon Salvatore. My heart immediately skipped a beat to see how well he'd aged. It had just been three years since the last time I had seen him, but dear God his looks had only improved. How did he do that? His shoulders were broader, his biceps bigger, his hips leaner. The Army had treated him well. He was more handsome than I remembered. And considering he'd been the object of a lot of my schoolgirl fantasies that was saying a lot. The years had been more than kind to him. He smiled and shook hands and I was so glad to see that he still had that heartbreaking smile. He turned to walk away and before I could look down, look away we made eye contact. I gasped and closed my eyes, immediately wishing myself invisible.

"Elena?" He laughed. Shit. Didn't work. Everyone at my table stopped talking and turned towards the gorgeous male specimen that was Damon Salvatore. He approached us, braced his hands on the table, and leaned towards me. A lock of his black hair fell over his forehead and my fingers itched to reach out and touch it. His blue eyes twinkled, yes twinkled at me and I fought the urge to bite my lip. The smile that spread across his face had me squeezing my glass of water to keep from fanning my face with my hand. The man was sizzling. And he knew it. The girls were tittering and primping, running their hands through their hair, their tongues over their teeth, and adjusting their positions to best present their assets. I just plain froze as the terror sunk in. I couldn't talk to him. He'd find out. Shit. I had to get rid of him. "Elena Gilbert! I'll be damned. It's been forever, sweetheart." He reached for my hand, yanked me up out of my chair for a hug. I gasped as the pain radiated up my arm. The light in his eyes immediately dimmed and he frowned. "What happened? Did I hurt you?" He asked. He loosened his grip immediately, held me at arm's length. I could tell he wanted a hug, but he was unsure of my earlier reaction.

"It's nothing." I whispered hurriedly. I crossed my arms over my chest, protecting my wrists from further unintentional harm. The girls at the table had slowly begun to pick up their jaws up off the table. "How are you?" I asked, cursing myself immediately. I shouldn't have initiated small talk. He'd stay and chat now. I couldn't be seen with him.

He eyed me like he was onto me, but went along with it. "I'm good. I'm home now, been back for about a month. Running a private security firm out of Richmond with a friend from the army. I've been meaning to stop by, come and see you." He paused, and with a softer tone and a grin reserved just for me whispered, "I've missed you." He eyed me up and down, with that analyzing eye that always made me blush. He had that way about him. "You look good, Gilbert. Too thin, but good." I looked back at the girls. They were still watching us with wonder. They had never seen me speak to a guy before, no one but him. Others were starting to pay attention too. Shit. I had to hurry him out of here. People would see, would talk. And tell him.

"That's great. It was good to see you." I managed, my tongue too tied to respond appropriately. Damon always managed to tie me up in knots. I knew I was too thin. My portions were always controlled at home. Stress had lessened my appetite anyway though. I hadn't eaten a full meal in years.

He arched an eyebrow at me, the corner of his mouth quirked in a smile. His arms crossed his chest. "Elena Gilbert, if I didn't know you better I'd think you were trying to get rid of me." There was hurt clear in his tone, hidden underneath his handsome exterior. I forced a laugh and shook off his concern.

"Of course not. Just have to get back to the office." He looked at the ladies sitting at the table, noticed the strange looks they were giving me and looked back at me. His arched eyebrow arched even higher. He frowned, his face morphing into concern as he brushed his thumb across an older scar on my forehead. I pulled away immediately.

"When did this happen?" He murmured. I shook my head at him. And instantly his frown disappeared.

He smiled his most charming smile, pointed it in the direction of my coworkers. "Excuse us, ladies." Placing his hand gently at my elbow, he propelled me towards the bar where our conversation wouldn't be easily overheard. "What the hell is going on? You have thirty seconds." He stated. He spread his legs, rooting himself to the floor and crossing his arms. I knew that pose. Had seen it many times when Stefan and I were young and stupid and always in trouble. It wasn't good then. And it sure as hell wasn't good now.

"Nothing, Damon." I forced another laugh. "I just…."

"Elena, I've known you since you were four. You're not shy, you're not mean and you're definitely not rude." He pointed at my forehead. "And you're not clumsy. Unless the past nine years have changed you that much." I gulped. Couldn't make eye contact. I had to get away from him. He was making me nervous. I didn't know how to handle this. No one ever asked questions. If he found out I'd been talking to another guy…..I lifted my hand to run my fingers through my hair, a nervous tick I'd never been able to drop and my sleeve lifted to reveal the bruises around my wrists. His beautiful blue eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Jesus fuck." He whispered in horror.

My heart stopped. "It was an accident." I stuttered, trying to cover the lie before anything or anybody else heard. I tugged down the sleeve to cover it back up again. I held my arm down in front of me.

Damon gaped for a full minute before he exploded. "Bull fucking shit. It's an accident there are finger shaped bruises on your wrist? Is Stefan….? I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him! Does Jeremy know about this? Because the Jeremy I know would have killed any son of a bitch who put his hands on you. And Stefan? My God, Elena! Why the fuck didn't you call me? Jesus Christ!" He ran his hands through his hair, something I had rarely ever seen him do. Something he only did when he was upset. I had actually only seen him do it twice, once when his grandfather died, the other at his parent's funeral. And now. The implications of that floored me. And scared the shit out of me too.

"It's nothing, Damon." I pleaded, suddenly confused by his tirade. He didn't know? Stefan didn't tell him? "Trust me." I gripped his hands, held them in mine.

"It's not nothing, Elena!" He practically yelled. I was beginning to panic. He had to keep his voice down! "What's going on, baby girl? Hell, Jeremy's still overseas! You have thirty seconds before I escort you out of here to Stefan's place and demand a full explanation. Shit, he's lucky if I don't beat the shit out of him first and ask questions later!"

No! He wasn't listening. I had to get out of here. Stall him! "I can't tell you now." I looked around. "Can I meet you later?" He immediately eyed me suspiciously. But he calmed, sensed my flight instinct.

"Elena. Elena." He whispered. Thank God, he was starting to get the simmer down, keep quiet part. He slid his hand over my cheek, cupped my face. For a second I melted into the touch, leaned into his hand. I closed my eyes. It had been so long, and God, I had missed him. I pulled away abruptly. I couldn't! God, what was I thinking! "Elena, I can help you. It doesn't matter what's going on or what you think he's capable of. Let me help you. I can help you. Let me." He pulled me into a gentle hug and I used all the strength I had to push him away. It wasn't much.

"Please!" I hissed. "He'll find out." I pleaded. He finally let me go as he grit his teeth.

"You think I'm scared of Stefan?" He spit his brother's name out like it was distasteful. It was easier right now to let him believe the lie. The truth would take too long to explain. And I couldn't be seen speaking to him any longer than I already had. At the look on my face, he finally relented. "Fine. Where? When?"

"Um, tomorrow? The park at Fifth and Third. You know it?" He nodded.

"I'll be there." He responded immediately. "What time?"

"Six thirty."

"Six thirty." He repeated. "You promise you'll be there. Give me your number. And don't try telling me it hasn't changed. I've already tried calling you since I've been back stateside."

"You can't call me Damon." I told him, my eyes wide with terror. "Or Stefan."

"I won't. Not unless you don't show. It's insurance." He said with a stiff nod. "Your number, Elena." He insisted. I sighed heavily and hissed my number at him, then rushed back to my coworkers. I didn't turn around but I could feel his eyes on my back the entire time. I ignored the tittering of the girls. I couldn't focus on anything they said anyways. I couldn't finish my lunch. What was I going to do? Damon Salvatore was back in town. And he knew. Or he knew half of it. Something I'd worked so hard to hide. And within seconds Damon had known. I couldn't even begin to imagine the fallout. As our waitress brought out the check, I handed her a twenty dollar bill, my hand shaking to cover my tab she smiled at me. I forced another smile and noticed a familiar head bob past her on his way out the door. My heart stopped. Tyler Lockwood. Oh, God. Tyler would tell. News of Damon's return and of his chat with me would be common knowledge within the hour. And there'd be hell to pay.

So? Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Predictions? You guys interested? I'd love to know! Also, I really want to do Elena's portion in first person….but I don't feel like I would do Damon justice in first person. Is it weird to do him in third and her in first? I do have the next chapter written and the next few after that mapped out….and have a pretty good idea where I'm taking this but….if you guys aren't big fans I won't take it any further…..so it's up to y'all! Shall I go on? You know I heart your feedback. That little review button at the bottom there? It's calling your name! ;) Don't leave it… or me hanging! Pretty please? ~Jules