Somewhere in My Car*
"But in my mind we're somewhere in my car and it's raining hard on the streetlight glow…"*
Damon dangled the silver, antique necklace in front of his eyes, lost in thought as the music played.
"What is this?" Bonnie Bennett asked in disbelief as she entered the Salvatore kitchen. "Damon Salvatore listening to Country music?"
Damon laid the necklace back in its box on the table and switched the CD player off.
"When did you start listening to Country music?" Bonnie asked.
"I don't. "
Bonnie pushed the release button on the CD player and lifted the CD up to examine it. "Keith Urban? What do you call this?"
Damon snatched the CD from her and returned it to the player. "D7," he answered.
"D7? What is that?"
"The number that played on the jukebox the night I learned that my girlfriend had her memories of me compelled away, and was now with some other guy."
"Liam."
"Elena told you about him?"
"Actually, it was Caroline."
"Of course." Damon rolled his eyes.
Bonnie suddenly noticed the box on the table. "Is that Elena's necklace?"
"Yep; brought it back from 1994."
"So you are thinking of giving Elena the Cure?"
"Maybe."
"'Maybe' you are, or 'maybe' you're thinking about it?"
Damon ignored her question. Instead he asked, "What brings you by? Two visits in twenty-four hours, someone might think you have a thing for me." He smirked.
Bonnie smacked him playfully in the arm. "I don't have a 'thing' for you. I came to see Elena."
"Keep telling yourself that." He wiggled his eyebrows. "You just missed her. She went shopping for baby clothes."
"Baby clothes?! Did I miss something?"
"For Jo. Elena wants to throw her a baby shower."
"Jo and Alaric are having a baby?!"
"Yep."
"And now Elena wants one, too." Bonnie surmised.
"Bingo!"
"Have you told her yet? About the Cure?"
"I've been a little preoccupied, what with my mother coming back, and a humanity-free Stefan and Caroline terrorizing Whitmore College. The good news is, mommy dearest got Stefan to switch his back on. The bad news is, Caroline is still out there somewhere, and my mother may be bringing back some of her "friends."
"What?! How?
"I might have given Lily the ascendant." Damon hedged.
"Damon! You promised not to go back there!" Bonnie said, angrily.
"Well, technically, I didn't." It killed him that he'd let Bonnie down again. He tried to explain. "It was the only way I could get her to help me get Stefan back."
"But she's your mother. Wouldn't she want to help her son?"
"No. She doesn't care. I had to convince her to act as if she cared, for Stefan's sake."
Bonnie touched his forearm. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to be abandoned by your mother."
"Thanks, Bonnie." After a pause he asked, "You're not still mad are you?"
"Yes, I am. You broke your promise to me, again. I get it; even though you had a good reason, it doesn't make things all better. I'm going to go. Tell Elena I'll talk to her later."
"Bonnie-"
"Not now, Damon." Bonnie warned.
She left the kitchen and he heard the front door slam shut.
Damon poured himself a glass of bourbon. He'd hurt Bonnie again and he was very sorry about that. Somehow he'd make it up to her.
Although he and Bonnie had become friends, Elena would always be his first priority. Bonnie had interrupted his thoughts. He'd been thinking a lot about Elena and their relationship. They were finally starting to get to a good place again.
He switched the CD player back on.
He took a swig, then with his other hand, reached into the pocket of his black leather jacket and pulled out a slender, translucent vial filled with a red liquid. The Cure. He stared at it for a moment.
The familiar music started playing.
"I'm driving home tonight, catching all red lights That's alright 'cause I don't want to be alone, There's nobody waitin' there, cold and empty bed…."*
He wasn't particularly a fan of country music, but he'd played this one song on a loop during the time he and Elena were apart after his return from 1994. At the time, the words seemed especially fitting to the new reality he'd come back to. Elena had no memory of him. Correction. She had no good memory of him or their life together, and she was with some wannabe doctor.
He hadn't taken the news very well. However, instead of hurting some innocent human like he usually did, he chose instead to get drunk at the newly renovated Grill. He would have drunk himself into oblivion if he could.
Most of that night was a haze, but one thing stood out clearly in his memory. That was when he'd stumbled, literally, upon the newly installed jukebox. He'd scanned the playlist and was struck by one title, Somewhere In My Car. Out of curiosity he'd pushed the button-D7. He listened to the words and it felt as if the song had been written about his life at that moment.
"So I've been sleeping 'til noon in the same bedroom where I once held you and it's breaking my heart…."*
He finished off his bourbon, and poured another. He threw his head back and drained the glass in one big gulp. Then the words that had haunted him ever since that night played...
"But in my mind we're somewhere in my car And it's raining hard on the streetlight glow…"*
That was exactly the memory he held on to during all those awful repeating days when he was trapped in the 1994 prison world; his favorite memory from the best summer of his life, when he and Elena were happy- the night of the meteor shower.
Damon poured another drink. Elena had no memory of that summer or of that night. She had tried to recover her memories by going over the line into a magic free Mystic Falls- and nearly killed herself in the process.
She had started to remember that night, but when she'd asked him about it, he'd lied. He told her that after it rained it had gotten cold and muddy and she was miserable so he'd taken her home.
"But in my mind we're somewhere in my car And it's raining hard on the streetlight glow, You've got your lips on mine, it's gasoline on fire…"*
Despite all the craziness of his current situation with his mother, with Caroline and his brother, and with Bonnie, hearing those words swept him back to that summer night….
"Just wait, Damon." Elena said, staring up at the night sky.
"I don't think you're going to see anything, Elena; it's too cloudy."
Elena continued to scan the sky. "There! Look!" She pointed to a streak of light.
Damon looked up to where she was pointing. Another streak of light flashed. He glanced over at Elena. His breath caught as he watched her. She looked absolutely radiant in the pale moonlight. Something wet splashed onto his cheek. He looked up again as another drop hit his forehead. More drops followed, until suddenly they were deluged by rain.
"Maybe it's time to abandon ship." Damon suggested.
"No! No, just give it a second. It'll clear up," Elena said confidently, just as the unmistakable low rumble of thunder reverberated in the distance. Elena laughed.
He loved the sound of her laugh. For so long, Elena had rarely laughed. He stood there entranced, watching the huge smile on her face that made her eyes sparkle in delight. They were both drenched to the skin, but that didn't matter.
Elena returned his gaze, smiling at him. Thin rivulets of water trickled down her face.
She had never looked more beautiful. He reached for her hand and pulled it towards his heart, drawing her closer to him. Their eyes locked.
She came to him willingly, her eyes never leaving his. She lifted her face up towards him, her lips inviting.
He lowered his head and as his lips touched hers he marveled at the overwhelming feelings of happiness he felt. In his entire life he'd never felt happier. It didn't matter that their impromptu excursion to see the meteor shower was a washout. All that mattered was Elena, and seeing her smile.
They continued to kiss, oblivious to the hard, pelting rain, until Elena pulled away from him to catch her breath. She smiled reassuringly. Her eyes shone with love for him. "Promise me, this is forever."
He could hardly believe that she was saying the words he'd longed to hear. Forever. He'd never dared to believe that she could be his, let alone for forever. But here she was, in his arms, asking him for just that. Forever his. "I promise."
They stood gazing at each other for several seconds, before their lips found one another again. Despite the cold water, Damon felt the heat from Elena's kiss which fueled his own passion like gasoline on a fire.
This time he pulled away.
"Damon?" Elena protested.
Without a word, he pulled her towards his car. They stopped beside it to kiss again, before climbing inside.
"I'm sorry you didn't get to see much of the meteor shower." Damon said, pushing a dark, wet tendril of hair off her face.
"There will be others." Elena was staring at him. She bit her lip.
"Elena," he whispered, before he pulled her toward him and his lips came down on hers, igniting the flame inside once more.
Her lips still locked with his, Elena reached for the edge of his shirt and tugged upwards, sliding her hands across the hot skin of his abdomen.
He groaned. Without breaking the kiss, Damon tried to shrug off his jacket. He felt Elena's hands pushing it backwards off his shoulders in an effort to help him remove it. He'd finally gotten it off, when Elena started to raise his shirt up. They separated briefly, as she pulled it over his head.
She looked at him with admiration, before pulling his head towards her for a hungry kiss while she slid her fingers up and down his smooth, back.
He pushed her jacket down, pulling it off and tossing it into the backseat. He caressed her back and shoulders under her shirt while kissing her jaw and moving downwards to her neck. Elena tilted her head back to give him greater access. She moaned softly when he nibbled on the soft spot at the bottom of her neck. He claimed her lips again.
They continued their make out session for several minutes. Elena was sprawled across the gear shift and Damon's lap. She placed her hand against the driver's side window to steady herself. Finally, they separated. They were both breathing hard.
Elena giggled.
"What's so funny?"
She pointed to the window beside him. They had steamed up the windows and it had left Elena's hand print like in the movie Titanic.
"How about we continue this at home? We could take a nice hot bath….?" Damon suggested.
"But in my mind we're somewhere in my car And it's raining hard on the streetlight glow You got your lips on mine; it's gasoline on fire I never will forget, you grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head and your fingertips slide up and down my back breathin' hard, steamin' up the glass…."*
The chorus repeated. Damon shook off the memory. Forever. He'd promised Elena forever. He'd also promised that he couldn't be selfish with her. He knew from her reaction to Jo's pregnancy that she still longed for the life she'd lost. The life she deserved. A human life.
He set his glass down on the table; pulled out his cell phone. In his other hand he held the Cure up to the light. He reached her voicemail. "Elena, when you get home…I have something to tell you…."
*Written by JT Harding and Keith Urban
