_{Maybe minutes, maybe hours. She didn’t know how long her gaze had been drawn to the array of trees in thought. No Trevor. No Slater. No Katerina. The trudging footsteps throughout the Salvatore residence could be easily heard and just as easily identifiable— Elena Gilbert. However, Rose only cantered her head to acknowledge the doppelganger when she heard they entered the doorway. Her voice -with its timbre of precise annunciation- no longer echoed, but barely left her lips.} 

              _{“Damon and Stefan are out. They shouldn’t be long." Babysitting duty.}