Nothing much to say this time, except the usual thanks and gratitude for all the reviews/alerts ;o) Enjoy !

Both of them were busy studying for their finals on the following week, especially as Ric was coming for the weekend and they would be rather occupied with him and his girlfriend.

There was not much talking during that week, except for the mundane stuff and usual banter, but there were definitely looks, and touching. Lots of 'accidental' touching, like a furtive brushing of the hand, but some willing too, like cuddling in front of the TV or Caroline sitting on his lap on the subway ride home after school. They definitely enjoyed this dance around each other, wondering and anticipating when the other would make the first move. It made Caroline feel happy and alive, and she didn't realize it but she was actually glowing, her shiny blue eyes more vibrant than ever.

Damon had the hardest time resisting her, but he knew now exactly when and how he would act on it, and it was really worth waiting a few more weeks.

He couldn't help smiling when thinking about it. Stefan would have a field day knowing about it – it was typically the kind of romantic gesture reserved for his baby bro, and definitely not expected from Damon.

Thoughts of Stefan sobered him up a bit. There was still no sign of him, and for all Damon knew Klaus and him might have left already. He was seriously starting to wonder if he would ever see his brother again, and it seriously tampered his good mood. He was happy to see Alaric, as it would without a doubt distract him from his lustful thoughts about Barbie and the depressing ones about Stefan.

Ric and Amy arrived on the Friday evening, with the surprise Ric had told Damon about : a three months old baby girl.

Caroline and Damon were stunned for a minute when they saw her, which made Ric laugh.

"Let me introduce you to the first woman who rendered Damon Salvatore speechless," he said, not even trying to hide his proud, fatherly grin.

"Well I certainly didn't expect it," Damon admitted. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Amy had some trouble with her pregnancy from the start so we didn't want to jinx it by telling people, and then we decided it would be more fun to keep the news as a surprise. And seeing your faces was totally worth it by the way."

They all laughed and Ric introduced Amy, a pretty woman with dark blonde hair and warm hazelnut eyes. She looked feminine and soft and kind, the perfect woman for Ric after everything he had been through.

"What's her name?" Caroline asked, admiring the baby.

Ric and Amy looked at each other before he said, "Jenna."

That got them another shocked look, and Amy said, "Before you ask, yes, I was completely ok with it."

"That's really nice," Caroline said, before asking, "Does Elena know?"

"No, you guys are the first to know. We are going to Mystic Falls for Christmas so I'll see her and Jeremy then."

In the meantime they had moved to the living room and Damon had poured everyone drinks. Caroline was quick to ask for holding the baby and spend most of the evening cooing over her.

A bit after eleven Ric and Amy went back to their hotel after making plans to meet the following morning.

They spent the Saturday showing the city to Ric and Amy, stopping in the afternoon to allow baby Jenna to take a nap without being carted around. Caroline had mainly been the one taking care of her, and Amy told her at some point, "You're a natural."

Caroline smiled. "I love babies," she said, before a shadow passed over her face.

Amy put her hand on her arm. "I'm sorry. I forgot about you and Damon being..."

"You know?" Caroline asked, shocked.

Amy nodded. "Ric told me early on. He said that secrets had ruined his relationship with Jenna and that they had wasted precious time before she died. I didn't believe him at first, then I freaked out, but I loved him, so..."

"Do you know how she died?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"Yes, he told me that too."

She didn't seemed particularly troubled by it so Caroline smiled.

"Wow, you're like the most understanding girlfriend on the planet." A thought occurred to her and she frowned. "You guys aren't married yet, right?"

"I certainly hope not," Damon intervened. "I wouldn't forgive you if you got married without asking for my blessing first."

Ric smiled. "Of course not. The wedding is planned for next July, and I'll need a best man, so you better start looking for a tux."

"Not a problem," Damon said with a smile, obviously happy at his friend's request.

"Where will you get married?" Caroline asked.

"Boston," Amy answered. "All my family's there."

They had dinner nearby Ric and Amy's hotel, then the girls decided to give some time alone to the guys to catch up.

They walked back to the hotel where Caroline asked the reception clerk to call her a cab.

"Will you be ok going back by yourself?" Damon asked, obviously not liking the idea very much.

"Damon..." she told him in a warning tone that made him smile apologetically.

"I know, sorry," but he knew that deep inside a part of her loved that protective side of him...even if most of the time he was bordering on the over-protective. He kissed her on the cheek under Ric's very curious look.

The cab arrived and Caroline left, then Amy went back to the room with Jenna.

Damon and Ric headed to the bar and ordered some drinks.

"To Amy making an honest man out of you, and to Jenna – both of them," Damon toasted.

"It's good to see you again," Ric just answered, raising his glass. "So tell me all about Damon Salvatore having his first college experience."

While Damon was talking, Ric noticed that he had never seen his friend so relaxed and careless. He also noticed that Caroline's name was mentioned an awful lot, and the softness in Damon's eyes when he talked about her.

Ric talked a bit about his life at Harvard, before finally asking, "So, you and Caroline? When did that happen?"

Damon acted surprised. "What do you mean? We're just friends."

Ric smirked. "Damon, there's a gorgeous woman sitting two feet from us who's been making googly eyes at you for the past 30 minutes and you didn't even look at her once."

"What woman?" Damon asked, visibly clueless, and Ric started to laugh, his suspicions confirmed.

"I'm your best friend, you're not supposed to be lying to my face," he told Damon good-naturedly.

Damon gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm not lying. There's nothing going on between Caroline and me...yet."

"But there will be?"

"We'll see," Damon answered with a non committed smile.

"Alright, you don't want to jinx it, I get that. But if you want my opinion, don't wait too long. You wouldn't want to see another guy snatch her from right under your nose."

Oh no he wouldn't. His Blondie was a gem, and he couldn't believe it had taken him all this time to realize it.

"I won't let that happen," he said confidently, tapping Ric's shoulder. They ordered another drink and Ric asked him about Stefan.

"Apparently he's been here for a few weeks, and Caroline and I have been searching for him, but I don't think he wants to be found," he finished, his tone sad and resigned.

Ric offered some sympathetic words and even his help, but Damon refused. His friend had succeeded in building a life away from the supernatural world, and he would never take that away from him.

The Sunday morning was devoted to some more sightseeing and some shopping. Caroline was holding Jenna, and the little girl seemed quite taken with her.

A bit after lunch it was time for Ric and Amy to head back to Massachusetts, and they said their goodbyes, promising to not wait another year before seeing each other, and Damon and Caroline would come to Boston for the wedding in July anyway.

As the December weather was rather unkind that day, they decided to stay in the apartment and study for their exams the following week. Then Damon prepared dinner and they ate while watching the News.

Damon had noticed that Caroline was unusually quiet since Ric and Amy's departure. Of course she had been concentrated on her book, but her usual sunny disposition had vanished.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Sure, everything's fine," she answered with a smile that clearly didn't come from the heart. Something was bothering her, but if she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't push her.

But when she told him shortly after dinner that she was going to bed, he grew concerned. She kissed him distractedly on the cheek before going to her room. He tried to focus on the movie that had just started on TV, but after 5 minutes he stood up and went to her room. He knocked softly before opening the door.

She was sitting on her bed, looking into space. He cleared his throat and she raised her eyes to him.

"Listen, Care, there's obviously something going on, and it's not my intention to intrude, but you can talk to me, you know. I..."

Her bursting into tears interrupted him. Shit.

He kneeled in front of her and took her face into his hands. "Come on sweetheart, tell me what's going on. I hate to see you like this. Please."

She nodded, but deep sobs were still racking her and she tried to calm down. He searched his mind for any reason that could have provoke such a flood of tears, something that had happened recently, and it suddenly occurred to him, considering whom she had spent the whole weekend with.

"Is it because of the baby?" he asked softly.

She nodded again, this time with some relief at him figuring it out so quickly.

"I know it's ridiculous," she said in a broken voice, "because I'm only 18, or 17 or whatever, and I would never think of having a baby right now. But I wish I still had at least the possibility to have one someday."

She wiped her cheeks and he took her in his arms, depositing her on the bed and laying down beside her, pressing her strongly against him. What could he possible said to that?

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her hair.

She nestled her head in the crook of his neck, calming down, listening to his voice whispering sweet nothings. He let her go after a few minutes and kissed her forehead.

"Get some sleep."

She held him back, giving him a pleading look which he knew he couldn't resist anyway.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked softly.

"Of course. Give me a few minutes and I'll be back."

He went to put his sweatpants on before joining her in her bed, spooning her with his arm across her midsection. It was definitely earlier than his usual bedtime but if she needed him, he didn't care.

"Thank you," she murmured, putting her hand over the one resting on her belly.

"You know there are other means to have a baby. There's adoption, for once. If you still want this in a few years, you'll have the time to consider your options."

She sighed. "Maybe. I'll have to think about it. I'm not sure I would want to inflict this life on an unsuspecting child. But yes, I have all the time in the world to think about it, actually."

His hand caressed her belly and hip in a soothing gesture. "For what it's worth, I think you'll be a great mom," he whispered against her neck. "Let me know when you want a baby and I'll go steal one from the clinic for you."

She giggled at that and he smiled.

"That's actually horrible, but thank you nonetheless."

With a sigh she settled comfortably against his chest. "Good night Damon."

"Good night Care," he replied, waiting for her breathing to relax before allowing himself to fall asleep.

That's when he knew, with a sudden, vivid clarity, that Caroline Forbes belonged forever in his heart.

The next ten days, they concentrated mostly on their exams, helping each other rehearse.

"Geez, how do you remember all those numbers?" she asked Damon one night. "Just looking at them is giving me a migraine."

He smirked. "It's a talent. You draw, I calculate. To each his own."

To make her laugh he proceeded to copy one of her sketches, but the 'model' ended up having sticks for its arms and legs and a ball for its head. He drew a triangle as a dress on which he colored little pink hearts, before signing it.

"There. A Salvatore Original for Spring 2013. This should get me an internship at Dior, right?"

She laughed out loud. "Listen, sweetie, I really don't want to hurt your feelings,but...better stick with the numbers. Forget Dior."

He pouted before getting serious again and back to their books.

To celebrate the end of the exams and the beginning of the holidays Damon took her to a nice restaurant where they had a great time. Caroline was still amazed at how much they had in common and how they could talk about everything. He even had opened a bit about his childhood and told her a few memories that he had about his mom. It was so obvious that he had suffer from a lack of real caring and affection all his life, except with Stefan. But even that had been torn from him when Stefan had forced him to turn.

He deserved to be loved so much, and Caroline vowed to make sure that he would be – and that he knew it.

It was New Year's Eve, and they had decided to spend it on Time Square. Bryan was there, with Nathan and Monica, and Caroline's friend Magda with her new boyfriend.

They were watching the concert when Damon groaned. "Really? Justin Bieber? Wasn't he there already last year?"

Caroline smiled. "Hey, I happen to like some of his songs. Don't criticize the Biebster."

He gave her an horrified look. "I'm sorry Caroline, but if this is really how you feel...I don't think we can live together anymore."

"Ok, no problem. I'll check with Bryan if I can crash at his place," she replied with a mischievous grin and started to walk away but he quickly caught her and brought her back in the circle of his arms.

"You're not going anywhere," he declared against her hair. "I'm willing to overlook this music faux pas for this time."

She looked at him with a teasing smile. "Does this mean I can't listen to my Hanna Montana soundtrack when you're there?"

"No Miley Cyrus. No Taylor Swift. Selena Gomez is fine, but just because she's hot," he added with a smirk.

"But you know she's dating Justin, right?"

He gave her a blank look. "Justin who?"

"Bieber!" she exclaimed, pointing to the young artist hopping on the stage, singing about needing somebody to love. "Don't you read US Weekly?"

Now he was looking at the stage with a disgusted look. "Really? She's banging him? Ugh. Never mind, then."

She laughed, putting her arms around his waist and they stayed like this until the final countdown.

When they reached midnight and everybody started to cheer, he looked at her, taking her face in is hands.

"I never thought that this awful year would end so wonderfully, and it's all thanks to you. Happy New Year, Blondie."

Her eyes got a little misty at his words and she gave him her patented bright smile.

"The pleasure was all mine. Happy New Year, Damon."

And he kissed her.

At first she thought it was just a 'tradition' kiss, but when his mouth became more insistent and his tongue sought entrance, she understood that it was much more meaningful than that. She parted her lips to give him access and just had the time to release a blissful sigh before the fireworks started.

Not the ones decorating the New York'skyline, but the ones happening right now in her brain.

He let her go after a few minutes and they looked at each other with the same look of awe on their faces.

"I've been wanting to do this for weeks," he confessed softly.

"Then why didn't you?"

"I wanted to wait for the perfect moment," he answered with a lopsided grin and she melted right there.

Someone behind them cleared their throat and they turned around.

Blue eyes met familiar green ones paired with a grin.

"Do I get a kiss too?"

Tadaaa ! (yeah, like none of you saw THAT coming ;o) Anyway, if our dear Stefan is back, that means the super evil yet incredibly sexy mister K is not far behind ;o) Are you guys ready for some drama ?