A/N: First, THANK YOU for the reviews! I read every single one and truly appreciate them. Jairem, my faithful reader and friend, I can't thank you enough! Thank you, Ratty1975, Elasywe, ils72, mayfire21, and to the guest reviewers. Also, thank you for the follows and faves. I'm grateful for every one!

O.K.: Who's ready for LEMONS? Yep, finally, we get around to some lemon meringue pie! I hope you agree with me that it comes at the right time. Things are about to start getting really, really interesting around Kate's place. Enjoy! And please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own or operate "The Vampire Diaries" or "The Boys of Colony Theta."

Chapter 6: One Time, One Night

You never could tell what the weather on Thanksgiving Day would be like, but this year, it was mild and sunny. When Damon and Kate woke up, they could hear whooping and yelling outside. The boys were throwing a football and Damon went outside to join them. He was obviously enjoying himself and Kate watched through the patio door, thinking he would have been an awesome father. Well, if they stayed together, maybe they could adopt, she thought, knowing the Andrasta vaccine had rendered him sterile.

Laine watched, too. "I'm glad he went out there with them. Now they can run off some of that energy and be ready for bed when we get home. Why don't you go out there with them, Maggie? I'll bet Damon would let you have the football." Normally, her daughter was entirely too prissy to do something like play football with her gamey brothers, but Damon's presence changed things.

The little girl's face lit up. "I'll go put my sneakers on," she said, and in a few minutes, returned, light-up sneakers in place, and she ran outside.

"She's got a massive crush on him," Kate chuckled.

"Oh yeah. When I took her to my room so she could take a nap, she told me she was going to marry him. I told her she would have to discuss that with you. She said you could both marry him."

Kate laughed harder. "You've raised a polyandrist. That's not legal yet, is it?"

Laine laughed, too. "Not yet. But who knows what might happen by the time she's 18? Well, the way Phillip spoils her, she thinks all males were put here to do her bidding. She has no reason to think otherwise."

"She's charmed the heck out of Damon, that's for sure."

"How did you two really meet? Mama said you've been kind of cagey about it."

"Cagey how? We ran into each other over at the shopping center where TJ Maxx is. We just hit it off," Kate answered with a shrug.

"And he just moved in with you. That's never been your style, Katherine Grace. You've always kept them at arm's length. Well, except for Tyler. But you never let him move in."

"Damon's different."

"I'll give you that, for sure. There's something about him - kind of like he doesn't belong in this universe, or something."

Kate gave her sister a sidelong glance. "He doesn't. He's from the future, actually. Yes, Laney, there is such a thing as time travel."

Laine rolled her eyes. "You've been waiting all week to throw that one at me, I know. Some things never change. You're still telling stories like you did when you were ten, and had a whole tale built around the cat being an alien envoy. Poor Chester. All he ever asked out of life was to eat and sleep and you made him into an alien spy."

"I never hurt Chester. Ever. I loved him, even if he did go behind the TV to contact the mothership." Kate knew what the reaction would be to the truth about Damon, but she couldn't help it if her pragmatic sister had never had a fanciful thought in her life. Maggie was such an imaginative little fairy sprite, and she obviously got it from her aunt. "Look at Maggie out there. She's having a blast. I don't think I've seen her that dirty since she was two." Maggie had the football and was running full out, screaming her head off. She finally managed to throw the ball to Damon, who ran it in past the imaginary goal line. Phillip was the referee and raised his hands in the "touchdown" signal. Maggie was jumping up and down and yelling insults at her brothers. They were panting and shoving each other, blaming the other for not being able to catch their sister.

"I'm never going to get all the tangles out of her hair," Laine said. She went to the door. "O.K. That was the end of the fourth quarter, guys. Come on in for supper," she called.

The crew trooped inside and Kate laughed at Damon. His hair was a mess and his cheeks were flaming red from the exercise. He was always pink-cheeked anyway, but the chilly air and running had him red as a beet.

"Aunt Kate, me and Damon BEAT Will and Reed! We beat their tails for them!" Maggie exclaimed as soon as she hit the door.

"Mag, you have to be a good winner as well as good loser," her mother said.

"C'mon Laine. Let her enjoy it a little," Kate said. "She's never beat either one of them in anything physical. They're always outrunning her."

Laine chuckled. "I guess you're right about that.

So far, Damon had not found too many foods he didn't like, and holiday meals were no exception. He ate turkey and dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, squash casserole, green bean casserole, homemade rolls and for dessert, pecan pie. There were other dishes he just didn't have room for, but since Kate said they would be taking some things home, he would sample them later.

They all assembled in front of the television to watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," and Damon was as charmed as the kids were by the cartoon. He loved the simple story and the characters were funny. The idea of males and females playing together as children was so unfamiliar to him, but he loved the way the story unfolded.

Laine and her family left after the cartoon ended, and Damon got a smacking kiss from Maggie that left his cheek wet. With Kate's sister and family gone, Damon sat on the sofa with her and they watched another holiday show.

"You headed to any of the Black Friday sales?" Winnie asked.

"No!" Kate exclaimed. "Not even! If I need anything, I'll get the online prices. I'm not fighting that mob."

"What do you want for Christmas, Damon?" Winnie turned to him.

"Oh, I don't know. I haven't thought about it much," which was the truth. He never dreamed he would get any gifts.

"Well, think of something, because my wife lives to do Christmas shopping," Con said.

"That's the truth," Kate agreed. "But we'll worry about that later."

Con went to the kitchen to prowl for more dessert, and Winnie turned to the couple. "I know you're spending the night here, and while I'd prefer you slept in separate rooms, if you don't, please respect my house?"

Damon was confused, but Kate seemed to understand what her mother was saying. "Mama, we're not at that point, yet. Don't worry."

Winnie raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're not? Really?"

"Really," Kate answered. "We're taking it slow."

"All right. Guess I'll have to take your word for it," she said.

"I'm telling you the truth, Mama."

Winnie nodded. "O.K. I believe you."

It finally dawned on Damon what they were discussing, and he pinkened, which was absurd, he thought, since constant, varied sex had been part of his life for four years. But now, everything was different. The entire culture was different. Damon heard a lot on the news and from other people about the prevalence of sexually explicit content on television, but what he saw was absolutely tame compared to what would be on TV in 400 years. Full frontal male nudity was common in 2454, and advertisements for every form of sexual item were rampant. But in 2015, models had to keep their genitals covered, and from what he saw on the shopping channels at home, even sex toys were only advertised after midnight. He wondered what Winnie would say if she knew her daughter was living with a former male prostitute.

Almost as if she could read his mind, Kate took Damon's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Kate's bed at her parents' home was only a double, so she and Damon were sleeping much closer together. He didn't mind. When he was snuggled up to her, he felt safe and loved.

Being a mom, Winnie had to glance into Kate's room the next morning. Apparently, she was telling the truth. Both she and Damon were clothed, the bed wasn't particularly rumpled, and they were both sound asleep. Damon was holding Kate close, but it was all strictly G-rated. She closed the door silently and went to make a cup of coffee.

"I think Katie's getting ready to take the plunge," Con said as he read the paper.

"I think you're right. Well, she never has done anything like Laine did it. She and Phillip dated for three years and then were engaged for two, and everything about that wedding ran like clockwork. So I'm expecting Katie and Damon to run off and get married," Winnie answered.

"Better than planning a big wedding, as far as I'm concerned," said Con. "Laine had her blowout and you got to be part of that, so you've done the whole mother of the bride thing once."

"Why do you have to make sense?" Winnie groused as she smiled at her husband.

Con chuckled. "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. I'll put a star on the calendar."

"Oh, hush. You know, she's given me the runaround every time I've asked her about how she and Damon met. All she'll tell me is they met at a shopping center."

Con looked over his glasses at his wife. "What's so weird about that? People have met in stranger places."

"I know, but I wonder if it was something like he was homeless and she just picked him up. It's just like her to do something like that, if she took a wild hair to do it. Katie's kind of notional."

"She gets that from my dad. He was kind of that way. But I doubt it was anything like that. Sometimes, things just happen," Con reassured Winnie.

She snorted. "Maybe so, but my maternal intuition doesn't agree with you."

Con shook his head and grinned. "Winnie, babe, you're a mama and you always will be. Those two seem as happy as they can be. As long as he's good to her, I don't care how they met. But he's working, and Kate says he works hard and everybody likes him, he's taking some college courses online… Really, honey, does it matter how they met, as long as it's working for them?" Con reached across the table and took her hand.

"I guess not, but I still wonder."

"Go ahead and wonder all you want to. Just don't go sticking your maternal nose where it doesn't belong, O.K.?"

"All right. I learned my lesson with Laine. Give advice when asked, but don't offer too much."

"There you go," Con said with a nod and a twinkle in his eye.

When Damon woke up, Kate was still in his arms and he thought this was surely what Heaven must be like. He kissed her hair and her cheek and stroked the skin on her arm. She was so soft and felt so right in his arms - as if he had always been meant to hold her.

"Are you trying to wake me up?" Kate murmured.

"Mmmm. Not really. Just appreciating how good you feel."

Kate smiled, her eyes still closed. "You feel pretty good, too." He was working out at a small gym near Kate's home, and with normal testosterone levels, was putting on some muscle. He didn't look like a bodybuilder, by any means, but he was starting to get a defined six-pack and biceps. She turned over and kissed his chin. This morning, he was also sporting a five o'clock shadow, and it was her considered opinion that Damon Salvatore had to be one of the most luscious-looking men in the state. He had been a little fanatical about staying clean shaven, but when he found out Kate didn't mind the stubble, he relaxed his standards a little. On mornings like this, Kate had a terrible time keeping her hands to herself. So she contented herself with burying her face in his shoulder and inhaling the citrus-spice fragrance of his bodywash and shampoo.

Damon held her softly and hoped for the day when he could show Kate what a fully trained Consort could do. But just now, he was a world and 400 years away from his slavery. There were no tracking chips, no collars and no one taking his body in any way they wanted it. He was free. He wished he could tell other males in this time to cherish their freedom, because it could be easily taken from them. Some boys simply couldn't cope with the difference between the outside world and the lies they were told in the breeding colony. One young Consort had been in the Maison for about a year. His handler found him in the education room. He had made a noose from his own shirts and had hanged himself. While the suicide had shocked the Maison to its very foundations, many of the Consorts - Damon included - harbored a secret, grim admiration for the young man. A dead Consort was worthless, and he had given the Maison Service - and the UGC - the ultimate insult, and on his own terms. Of course, the rest of the Consorts were immediately signed up for counseling sessions to make sure there wouldn't be a repeat performance.

"We're going to have to get up eventually," Kate said.

"I know. Delaying the inevitable, I guess." Damon stretched and kissed her cheek softly. She gave him a kiss in return and Damon threw the quilt back. "Can't lie here all day," he said, and got up.

They spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies as Winnie and Con got to know Damon better. On their way back home, Damon asked, "How do you think it went?"

"I'd say pretty well. I think Mama and Daddy liked you, and I know Laine did. And of course, Maggie has decided you're the most wonderful thing on two feet, so you're doing all right."

Damon chuckled. "It's nice to know someone thinks I'm wonderful," he said.

Kate gave him a sidelong look. "Someone has thought you were wonderful for a good long while," she answered. His reply was to take her hand.

"Sure, he's got faults," Kate said to one of her co-workers, Julie Black, who taught science and math. "He's smidgen vain about some things. I mean, look at him! He's a little conceited, and kind of a clothes horse. He loves to read Esquire and GQ - for the fashion articles," she chuckled. They were at lunch, and the cafeteria noise obscured their conversation.

"Give him a manicure and he'd be a real metrosexual," Julie said. Like Kate's other friends, she was under the impression Damon grew up off the grid.

Kate grinned at that. "I know it. I'm just glad those magazines haven't made him decide he needs to find a gorgeous, buff, blonde gym rat chick. He's happy with short little roly-poly me. I still can't believe it."

"He wasn't contaminated with all the media hype as a teenager, so he's not had the brainwashing that only thin is good."

"I guess you're right," Kate agreed.

"But really, it's not like you're huge or anything," Julie reassured her friend. "You're just not a skinny minnie, that's all. You have some curves and a little meat on your bones. Nothing wrong with that. Oh - how is he liking the martial arts classes?"

"We're both liking them." They were taking Japanese jujitsu classes. "He's a natural. He loves the kicks and rolls. You know, we wear a black gi in class, and that gi is absolutely stunningly hot on him."

"I'll bet. Just like a Caucasian Bruce Lee, huh?" she teased.

Kate nodded slowly. "You could say that. In class last week, we were sparring, and he ended up paired with our instructor. Joy is really good, but she wanted him to show her some fire, and he was kind of holding back. So she started trash talking and got him irritated, and he let loose with a roundhouse kick that was absolutely classic. Knocked her flat. He was shocked, but she was tickled. Didn't hurt her, of course. She's a black belt and knows how to fall. She was so proud of him, though." Kate knew, naturally, something Joy said had triggered a response from his former life, and he lashed out in a way he had been unable to before. He would have been arrested and beaten for the infraction in 2454, but in 2015, it was a fair hit in a sparring match, and his instructor was thrilled, if a little sore. Kate's thoughts about the classes were correct. He was gaining self-confidence, and if someone from that other life ever came calling, Damon would be much better able to defend himself. But it was also a fun way to stay fit, as well as spend time together.

"How do you keep your hands off him?" Julie shook her head.

"It's not easy, believe me! I just want to make sure it's right before we take this to the next level. Maybe for his birthday. I don't know."

Damon, for his part, was positive it was right between him and Kate, and he wanted her very much. As a Consort, sex was a daily activity for him, and even though it was wonderful to take a break, and certainly not being forced to do it, he was starting to miss it. Of course, he was also a healthy man with now-normalized testosterone levels, so he was really starting to feel the itch. Kate offered to get a bed for the room she used as an office, but he was more than happy to sleep in her bed, even if holding her, but not having sex was becoming difficult.

Damon loved coming home and cooking, since his shift ended at three, and he was generally home before she was. As he told her once before, he felt he could give so little to her in return for her taking him in, but he could cook. Now, if she would just allow him to make love to her, his life would be perfect.

One afternoon, she came in late. "I really appreciate you having supper ready, sweetheart," she said to him as they ate. "I had three parent-teacher conferences, and the last one did not go well at all."

"I'm sorry. What happened?" He still didn't understand all the ins and outs of the 2015 education system.

"Garth's parents want me to pass him, regardless, is what it boils down to. They don't want to admit he needs extra help, but they don't want him to get bad grades, either. I think he has a learning disability and needs to be assessed for that." Kate sighed and shook her head.

"What's a learning disability?" Damon asked.

"Well, it's something that a child has that keeps him or her from learning easily. I think Garth is dyslexic, which means he sees letters and numbers backward, for instance. It's a messed up pathway from the eyes to the brain. But therapy can help. Only problem is, Garth's parents don't want to see there's a problem to start with, so I can't get him evaluated, to get the therapy he needs. So frustrating."

Damon nodded in understanding and patted her hand. "I'm sorry. I know it has to be difficult, knowing how to help someone, but being unable to do it."

"It's awful, Damon. A kid shouldn't be held back like this, just because his parents won't admit he might have a problem." She finished her meal and said, "Think I'm going to lie down for a while. I'm worn out. I am SO glad it's Friday!"

He nodded. "I'll just get the kitchen straightened up a little."

Kate kissed his cheek. "You're a godsend, Damon. Really." He smiled in acknowledgement.

Damon's heart was warmed by Kate's dedication to her students. Aside from doing her very best for them in class, she had students who didn't have much money, and she arranged to get warm clothing and shoes to them. There was that reckless streak - which is how he came to be in her life, after all - but most of the time was a steady influence. He loved her and admired her.

She had been lying down about half an hour, when she felt Damon's hands on her back. "What are you doing?" she murmured.

"Just trying to relax you, that's all," he answered, still massaging her back in long, upward strokes, just as he was taught. The only light in the room came in from the hallway, but Damon could see well enough to touch her.

"Mmmm. Well, it's working," she replied. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He continued stroking her back, bringing his hands gradually down to her bottom and legs, and she shifted a little on the bed. Damon had been around Kate long enough, and had served enough women to know she was becoming more aroused with every pass of his hands. Her breathing had changed, and she was moving around more. He took a risk and slipped his hands underneath her top. She moaned a little at the feel of his beautiful, long-fingered hands on her skin.

How much he hoped tonight was when she allowed him to make love to her. Just in case, he shed his shirt quickly, along with his jeans. He wanted to feel her body along his, but he kept up the pretense of giving her a massage. He bent down and murmured in her ear. "Turn over?"

"Sure," she said and lay on her back, her eyes closed. Perfect, Damon thought. He rubbed her shoulders and then her legs again. He would save the rest for when he could touch her skin. He put a knee between her legs and kissed her softly. She responded to his kiss and reached to put her arms around him, but opened her eyes when she felt bare skin under her hands. "What are you doing, Damon?" she asked, a little alarmed.

"Ssshhh," he said, burying his face in her neck. "Kate, love, don't think. Just feel. Just feel," he soothed her with his words. He was glad he had been reading so many men's magazines, as well as looking up their websites. They were chock full of advice and tips for men who wanted to learn how to make love to their women. Seduction was something he had to learn, since he might have to wheedle Kate into allowing him to love her. Still, it was miles ahead of being tied to a riding bench while a female used him like a throwaway toy.

When Damon whispered in her ear, Kate could feel her body respond. Maybe this was the right time. He initiated this; she didn't. So obviously, he wanted it. But she had to say it, "Damon, sweetheart, you don't have to do this. Not if you don't really want to."

His lips ghosted over her face and he replied in the voice that had deepened to a light baritone, "I want to. You don't know how much I want to. I need you, Kate. Because I've never loved or been loved, that I know of, I can't say for sure that I'm in love with you, but I think I am. Can you love me, Kate, knowing what I've been?" His tone was wistful, hopeful. She couldn't say no.

She sighed. "I've been in love with you, Damon. I don't know how for long. But I know my day isn't complete until I hear your voice and see your face. If you want this, then I want it, too. I don't care what you had to do to survive. It's not who you are." She put her hands in his hair and brought his mouth to hers in a searing kiss.

Damon sighed into her mouth and thanked whatever deities were watching for this moment. He slowly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it off her shoulders. Then, he buried his face in the delicious valley between her breasts and kissed the skin peeking out of her bra. He slipped his hands behind her back and unclasped her bra, then drew it from her body. He put his hands on her breasts, soft and warm. Damon brought his mouth to a nipple and softly suckled it, then nibbled and licked it. Kate was making quiet mewling noises as his mouth worked its magic on her body.

"So good," she sighed. "Don't stop, please."

He smiled as he took the opposite nipple in his mouth and gave it the same treatment. He knew he was ready any time she was, but this was their first time, and he wanted it to be something special. He slipped his thumbs in the elastic of her shorts and slid them down her hips. She lifted her hips to help him and then brought her hands to his waist and started removing his briefs, and he helped her by taking them off himself.

Gently, he slipped his fingers into her panties and found she was definitely wet and ready for him. He slipped her underwear off and whispered in her ear, "I think you want this as much as I do."

"I do, Damon. And for a long time now."

Her words had the desired effect of flaming his desire further, but he continued stroking her until she was shaking underneath his hands. Finally, he slid his length into her body, without guiding himself, just as he had been trained to do. Kate moaned at the invasion, but she still arched into his body, nudging his hips with hers, letting him know she approved of his activities.

Damon moved and thrust his hips in the way designed to give her maximum pleasure. He intended she should have her pleasure first, but now, he could take his whenever he wanted. There would be no asking permission to orgasm here. They were lovers. When Kate finally spasmed into her bliss, he followed her shortly after and they lay in each other's arms, with Damon kissing Kate's forehead and face.

"You sneak," she teased him as she snuggled to his body. "Giving me a massage just so you could get in my pants. You sly, blue-eyed devil."

"It worked, didn't it?" His voice was a pleased rumble in his chest. Kate didn't know about the increased testosterone levels, but she knew Damon's deeper voice made her toes curl.

"You're damn skippy it worked," she answered and kissed him. She nuzzled his neck and said, "Would it make you feel cheap if I told you that whatever they taught you to do in that place, you excel at it?"

He smiled against her skin. "No. This is one time I'm glad I have those skills. I want to please you in every way I can." He gave her a lingering kiss. "No regrets in the morning?"

She shook her head. "None. I love you, Damon. I don't regret a thing."

He held her close and put his cheek against her hair. "I love you too, Kate. So very much." He had never said those words to anyone before.

Somehow, Kate understood the significance of his admission, and she felt completely humbled to hear it.

The night was a revelation for both Kate and Damon. Kate wasn't that experienced, and Damon delighted in enjoying her body as much as she enjoyed his.

Sometime toward the morning, after both had fallen into an exhausted sleep, Kate woke up and went to the bathroom. When she came back, Damon had turned on his back, and was in the exact spot for the first rays of sunrise to slant through the curtains on to his skin, turning it to porcelain gold in the light. His face was peaceful and Kate sat gingerly on the bed, watching him sleep. There in the early morning light, he looked as if some Impressionist had been at work, painting his skin in gold and pink. His jet hair was tousled and fell across his forehead and Kate wanted to touch it, but didn't want to wake him. One hand rested on his stomach and Kate looked at his long, elegant fingers. He should learn piano, she thought. He had the hands for it. He was taking guitar lessons, and since he worked in a factory where the instruments were manufactured, he was able to get a good discount on one of the instruments that wasn't deemed suitable for sale, but was still a nice guitar.

She didn't know how long she sat there, just gazing at Damon, but finally, seeming to feel her watching him, he stirred and his beautiful eyes opened. He gave her a sleepy half smile and reached for her hand. "What are you doing up?" he murmured.

"Had to get up, and then I came back to bed," she answered.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"I was watching you sleep. I couldn't not look at you," she admitted.

Damon brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. He turned to face her and tugged her gently down beside him. He put his hand to her face. "I've never been so happy," he said softly. "In fact, I might never have been truly happy ever, until you found me, Kate. I never knew how much I wanted to be loved. I guess you don't miss what you've never had, so I didn't know what love felt like." He slipped his arm around her. "But now that I do, I don't know how I lived without it - without freedom and without you." One positive aspect of his world was that males expressed their emotions freely.

Kate snuggled close to him, eyes moist. She stroked his hair. "Damon Salvatore, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Ever. I don't know what I did before you. I don't remember. I must have walked around in a fog." She lifted her face for his kiss again and he obliged and gave her one of his smiles that rivaled the sunrise coming in through the window. Nothing had ever felt this good, she thought, as sleep claimed them both again.

Reviews, anyone? How about it? :)