Timeless Love
Chapter 1
Present day Damon Salvatore: 71 years old.
Damon Salvatore wasn't a huge fan of fairy tale romances. To him they were neither intriguing or realistic. No his favorite romances were the realistic ones. The ones you could look back on and smile about in times of trouble when the world seemed like a cruel place. His favorite one to go back to was his own especially in times like these when he was staring at the nursing home getting ready to visit his wife Elena Gilbert.
If it had been up to him she wouldn't have been in here, but since their children had moved on with their lives and Elena's condition had worsened her doctors had committed her to this home. He wished it could have been different, but that was the thing about life. Sometimes it was unfair and you just had to roll with the punches. Which is exactly what he was doing here in the first place.
Sighing, Damon gathered up every bit of courage he had and walked into the nursing home. The receptionist that he had grown fond up looked up and smiled at him as she did every day for the past ten years.
"Good morning Mr. Salvatore. Are you here to see Mrs. Salvatore?"
"That I am, Danny. How is she doing today?"
Danielle frowned slightly giving him a look of sympathy that he had seen a thousand times before.
"I'm really sorry Mr. Salvatore, I'm afraid she's having one of her bad days today."
"Thank you for the warning Danielle. I hope your day treats you well."
"You too Mr. Salvatore."
Ever since Elena had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's her days had been divided into two categories, there was her good days when she would be in the present moment and she would be more aware of her surroundings including Damon and she would ask how their three children were doing and Damon would tell her stories of them and what had been going on in their lives lately. And than there were her bad days like today where she wouldn't remember a thing or be stuck in the past, in a moment that had passed decades ago. Sometimes she wouldn't even recognize him. Those were the days that were the hardest to get through, but when he had married Elena he had promised her for better or worse and he wasn't about to break that promise because things were hard. She was his wife and just because she couldn't remember sometimes didn't mean that he didn't remember. And if he remembered he couldn't abandon the woman he had loved for all these years. It wouldn;t have been fair to either of them.
When Damon finally reached the room that Elena was in he stopped at the door waiting for a second to drink her in before seeing just how bad of a day she was having. It was times like this where Damon reviewed what he was fighting for or rather who. She looked as beautiful as the day they had first met, but instead of her dark brown hair it had aged to a nice silver gray. It was still very thick like in her teen years and she had developed wrinkles and crow's feet over her face, but the brown eyes he had fallen in love with were still there. That was her. That was his wife Elena and he would remember her from anywhere.
Her gaze was intensely focused on the TV watching an old Disney movies from the look of it as he sat down beside her. She turned her head for the briefest moment regarding him with a confused gaze before turning back to it.
Damon frowned slightly as his gaze focused to the TV. It was obvious that she didn't remember him today from the look she had given him, but it didn';t mean he still couldn't spend time with her.
"Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Damon."
She turned to him with a half smile on her face.
"I'm Elena. "
"What a coincidence."
"Why is that?"
"Elena was my wife's name as well."
"Small world I guess." she said smiling. The smile that he had memorized a thousand times before.
"So what are you watching?"
"Some movie that makes foolish girls believe in fairy tales."
"Do you not believe in fairy tales?"
"I believe in realistic parts of life. For me the real ,love stories are the best ones."
"I couldn't agree with you more on that one."
She smiled bigger for him. "What's your favorite love story?"
"I would have to say mine and my wife's is my favorite."
"Really. Care to share some of that story? No one really visits me here and I would love some form of entertainment that's not garbage."
"Sounds fair to me, so where would you like to start?"
"From the begging."
Damon looked over across the way at the girl writing in her diary. Her brown hair blew in the wind as she wrote ferociously in her journal. H wondered what was troubling her?
"Hello! Earth to Damon!"
Damon pulled his gaze away from the girl and turned his attention to his best friend and brother Stefan Salvatore.
"What?" he asked wondering what Stefan had just said.
"Did you not hear a word I just said?"
"Nope. I tend to block your voice out Stefan."
Stefan rolled his eyes sighing.
"I asked if you wanted to go to Caroline Forbes's party tonight. She invited me and I really don't want to go alone."
"Sounds good to me brother." he said turning his attention back to the girl, but before he could get another glance the bell rang.
The bell startled the girl out of her writing as something slipped from he journal as she shut her book shoving it in her backpack and walking away without even noticing.
Damon said goodbye to Stefan before heading to the table where the girl had sat as something silver caught his eye. He knelled down picking up the silver circular necklace with a few embellished details and a circular ruby. He had no idea what attachment the girl had to this necklace, but all he knew was that he had to give it back to her. Shoving the necklace into his pocket he walked away from the quad in search for the girl in the necklace.
It had taken him a few tries but finally he had found the girl. She was now in her science class as Damon knocked on the door disrupting the class. The teacher pulled the door open as Damon stepped into the classroom going towards the girl. She had a sad look on her face as she looked at him confused.
Now that Damon was looking at her up close he had to admit that she was a really pretty girl with her long brown hair and her doe eyed brown eyes. But this was no time to be distracted as he pulled the necklace out of his pocket and held it out for her.
"I believe this is yours. I saw you drop it out in the quad."
"My necklace. Thank you." she said as she took it back. A look of relief crossing her face.
"May I?" he asked pointing to the necklace.
She seemed reluctant at first but handed it back to her as he went behind her putting her necklace on her.
"Just so you don't lose it again. I would hate for you to lose it for real."
"Thank you." she said her voice barely a whisper.
"You're welcome." he said as he looked at the rather impatient teacher waiting for him to leave her class.
"I guess I'll see you around." he said waving goodbye to her and the class as he left the room.
Damon hadn't seen the girl from the classroom until later that day. He slammed his locker ready to leave with Stefan for the day and than there she was beside his locker giving him an intense look that he had never really gotten before.
"Hey, I'm sorry if I startled you. I just really wanted to thank you again for finding my necklace. It's really important to me and I was devastated when I lost it because it belonged to my mother."
"Well I'm glad I can get it back to you. I wouldn 't know what I would have done if I had lost the ring my mother gave me." he said pointing to the lupris ring his mother had given him as a younger boy that had a D for Damon on it. It was the last thing his mother had given him before he passed.
"I'm glad someone gets it." she said smiling. "I'm Elena Gilbert. By the way."
"Damon Salvatore." he said shaking her hand and giving it a kiss.
Elena giggled before someone called her name from afar.
"Well I guess I'd better go. Thank you for everything Damon and I hope we cross paths again."
"I do too."
Elena smiled walking away from him as a feeling of satisfaction consumed him. He didn't know what would happen between him and Elena Gilbert, but he couldn't wait to find out.