Previously in "Angels in a Centerfold", Damon and Elena also christen the back room of his brother's and Rebekah's club, and Klaus expresses his love for Caroline by singing to her.

Author's Note: An unexpected guest or two will make their way into this chapter, so be on the lookout!

Chapter Ten

Club Salvatore – Two Months Later

Vicki Donovan Talbot walked into the club with the car seat in her hand. Once she was inside, she found a booth near the back for a little more privacy and sat down, putting the car seat next to her. She pulled back the blanket to find her son gurgling and grinning up at her. "Hi there, handsome," she said with a grin as she began to free him from the buckles in the seat and gently pulled him out so she could cradle him in the crook of her arm. She reached over and dug around in the side pockets until she found the bottle she'd been looking for, removing the cap and checking the nipple before pulling the toy her son had been playing with to rub the tip of the nipple against his small lips. He soon began to drink and she settled back against the seat, humming softly to him as she rocked him.

Shortly afterward, April walked in. She had told everyone that she wanted to meet there, so that was why she was here by herself. Looking toward the back, she saw a woman with a baby. She looked somewhat familiar, even though she didn't know her personally. Her curiosity getting the better of her, April cleared her throat and went over to the booth.

"He's cute."

The woman looked up at her. "Thank you. His name is Riley and he's the love of my life." She looked at the baby again. "Aren't you, sweetie?"

April looked at the baby and couldn't help but get a feeling of déjà vu, and started to think about her own son. Clearing her throat again, she said, "I'm April. What's your name?"

"Vicki. Vicki Donovan Talbot."

April's eyes went wide, remembering that Matt told her that he had a sister named Vicki and that he rarely saw her anymore. "Wait, you wouldn't happen to be related to a Matt Donovan, would you?"

Vicki nodded. "Yep, he's my brother. Why?"

"He's my boyfriend. And he told me about you when I met him. He said he rarely sees you anymore."

"Yeah, about that; my life has been kind of chaotic lately," Vicki said. "My husband and I are going through a rough patch at the moment, and I've got Riley here to take care of. Not to mention the fact that my mother is in rehab…again. So, you can bet that's been taking up a lot of my energy."

As she finished that, Vicki sighed. There wasn't a moment that her mother, Kelly Donovan, wasn't without a bottle of booze in her hand, and she had been in and out of rehab for years, always saying she'd never do it again. Of course, Vicki knew better because no sooner was that promise made than it was quickly broken again. Her son's soft cries cut into her thoughts about her dysfunctional family and she turned her attention to him, realizing he'd pushed away his bottle and Vicki knew he was ready to be burped.

"May I hold him?" April asked timidly, reaching her hands out for the baby. She wasn't going to forget about her little boy – who would be almost 5 now – but at least she could help with someone else's baby.

"Sure," Vicki replied as she gently moved Riley into the brunette's arms, smiling when she saw that this woman seemed to be a natural at it. "You were a mother, weren't you?"

April nodded sadly, looking up at Vicki and Vicki saw the tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. "Yes. But my little boy was taken from me shortly after he was born, because of my controlling father," she said in a choked reply.

Meanwhile…

Tyler arrived at the club that seemed to be the hot-spot for everyone in town, heading inside without checking his coat in the area just before the door that led inside. He glanced around and finally spotted April sitting with a baby in her arms and felt his hands clench into fists at the sight of her. Then he noticed another brunette smiling at her and his hands unclenched, realizing that the baby belonged to the other woman. Tyler kept himself hidden in the shadows as he approached the booth they were sitting in, and closing his hand over April's mouth to prevent her from screaming. "I need to give something back to you, and we're going to do this quickly, outside," he demanded in her ear.

April nodded then allowed the other woman to take her son back before letting Tyler lead her out of the club with his hand still over her mouth. Once they were in the alley, Tyler turned her around but kept his hand over her mouth so she still couldn't scream. Once he was positive she wouldn't try to cry out for help, he removed his hand. "What do you want, Tyler? I already told you that we couldn't be in a relationship," she said in a demanding tone.

Tyler nodded. "I know; I got your text. But, like I said, I have something to give back to you."

April raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

Tyler reached into her pocket and pulled out her panties. "You left these in my dorm room. Hayley found them and…let's just say she wasn't too happy about it."

April gasped. "Oh my God, I had no idea. I guess I must've been in such a rush to leave that I didn't realize I had gone commando."

Tyler gave her a half smile and then handed her the panties. April took them from him and placed them in her pocket. "I'm sorry I did that to you, April. I didn't mean to scare you." He sighed. "I guess I'd better go. Hayley and I have a date tonight and I don't want to keep her waiting."

April nodded. "Yeah, God forbid. Bye, Tyler."

She then quickly went back into the club. Tyler watched her leave and after a few minutes, he walked away.

Back Inside the Club…

April had just passed the bathroom when she felt an arm encircle her wrist and pull her inside and she gasped when she realized it was Caroline & Elena. "What are you doing, April?" Elena demanded.

"I wasn't doing anything, Elena," April hissed. Elena crossed her arms over her chest and gave her a stern look that said, Don't think you can fool me, April Whitney Young; I know all kinds of dirty secrets about you.

April glared pointedly back at Elena. "What was Tyler doing here anyway?" Caroline asked as she intervened into the conversation and stare-down.

"He was returning something I left behind at his dorm room," April responded before turning on her heel to walk out of the bathroom. "Excuse me, but I should go find my boyfriend."

She left the bathroom and Caroline turned to Elena. "Do you think she's telling the truth?" she asked the other brunette.

"I did see a little bit of the underwear peeking out of her pocket, so yeah, I do," Elena replied.

Stefan's Office – That Same Moment…

Stefan was looking through the ledger and was impressed at what he saw. The club seemed to be doing really well, which made him happy. Hearing a knock at the door, he said without looking up, "Come in, it's open."

The door opened and Damon walked in, a scared look on his face and an envelope in his hand. Stefan looked up from what he was doing and saw his brother standing there. "Damon, what are you doing here?" He noticed the envelope. "What's that in your hand?"

Damon felt his heart hammer as he replied, "I was going through my mail today and I discovered this. It was from the one man I thought was out of our lives forever." He saw the confused look on Stefan's face. "It was from Dad, Stefan."

"Dad?" Stefan said. "But, why would he suddenly be in contact with you?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Damon said. "The man walked out on us when you were two. I was so worried about Mom that I tried to convince him to stay. The bastard would hear none of it and backhands me, sending me flying across the living room and into one of the shelves, causing one of the decorative plates to fall. When it shattered, one of the pieces cut my neck, nearly severing my carotid artery. I came close to dying that night, Stefan, and Dad didn't even bat an eyelash. He just walked out." He sighed. "I still have the scar, an unfortunate souvenir from my attempt to reason with him."

Stefan blinked. "Does Elena know about it? Has she seen the scar?"

Damon shook his head. "No, I haven't told her. And if she hasn't seen the scar already, she's bound to see it eventually." He sighed. "How do I tell my girlfriend that my bastard of a father nearly killed me when I was eight? That's not exactly an easy conversation to have. I love her, Stefan, but I don't want her to think I'm keeping secrets from her."

"Then you should tell her the truth, Damon," Stefan advised as he closed the ledger before standing up to move around the desk.

"What should Damon tell the truth about?" Rebekah asked as she moved into the office.

"Nothing," Damon growled before leaving them alone.

"Stefan, what is going on?" his wife demanded, her eyes lowering onto the floor and noticing the envelope Damon had been holding on the floor and she knelt down to scoop it up, holding it for Stefan to look at. "Who is the letter from?"

"Our father," Stefan said simply as he took the envelope and put it in his back pocket. Out of sight, out of mind, his thoughts told him. "Why don't we go say hello to our guests?"

Though Rebekah was skeptical, she still nodded and allowed her husband to lead her out of the office, closing and locking the door behind them. Before they went out into the club, he pulled her close and kissed her softly but passionately then knelt to kiss the small mound of her belly.

Damon headed out into the club, sweating profusely and his heart hammering in his chest. He knew that Stefan was right, that he had to tell Elena the truth.

The question was, would she be able to handle it?

"There you are, Damon."

Damon looked over and saw Elena coming toward him. She kissed him hello, but noticed the sweat on his face. "Are you okay? You're sweating."

His eyes cast down when he felt the envelope being placed in his hand and he was about to thank his brother but stopped because he was already fading into the crowd that had gathered. "I, um, I got a letter from my father today," he started as an explanation. "He wants to reconcile with me."

Elena gazed up at him sympathetically. "And you're not sure if you're ready for it, are you?" she asked softly as she framed his face between her hands and made him look her in the eyes. Damon nodded, knowing she would understand about the situation.

"Yes. I was eight years old when he left, and I tried to stop him from leaving, but he backhanded me, sending me flying across the living room and into one of the shelves, causing one of the decorative plates to fall. When it shattered, one of the pieces cut my neck, nearly severing my carotid artery," he tells her as he looks down into her chocolate brown eyes. She nodded and moved until she had her arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly.

Inside the Booth…

"So, you and Zane are having problems?" Matt asked his sister as April held onto his hand, squeezing it and caressing it affectionately. She knew he wasn't happy that she'd sprung this surprise on him, but she needed to bring the two siblings closer together.

Vicki nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately; I love Zane, or at least, I did love Zane, but it just wasn't working." She looked down at the baby in her arms. "The only good thing is that Riley is too young to know what's going on, even though I feel bad that there's a possibility that he's going to grow up without a father."

Matt also looked at the baby. He hated the fact that his nephew was experiencing these things at so young an age. However, Vicki seemed to be a good mother, so he was in good hands.

Meanwhile…

As Elena was hugging Damon, she noticed the scar on his neck, right where the plate had cut it years ago. "Is that the scar?"

Damon pulled back and pulled down his shirt collar so that she could see it better. "Yeah, it is. I lost quite a bit of blood and if it weren't for a donor that was found at the last minute, there's a good chance that I would've died. They stitched me up and although it's healed, it's still visible."

"Who else knows about it?" Her fingers traced the scar in a soft, gentle manner as she waited silently for his answer.

"My mom, Stefan and Klaus," Damon said. "And now you know." He sighed. "I'm sorry I never told you, Elena. I love you so much and I never want to keep anything from you."

"Damon, its okay," Elena said. "You didn't have to tell me, but at the same time, I'm glad you did. And no matter what happens, you know I'm here for you." She kissed him softly. "I'd never think less of you, you know that. You mean everything to me."

Damon smiled and returned her kiss, pulling her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. He felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even though he still wasn't sure what to do about the situation because he still harbored a deep hatred for his father for walking out on his family. He silently vowed in that moment that he'd never do that to Elena because he loved her too much to hurt her the way his father hurt his mother.

Meanwhile…

Elijah waited patiently for Elena to return and Katherine noticed this right off. "Elijah, sweetie, are you okay?" she asked as she moved closer to kiss him softly. He nodded then finally let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when Elena finally appeared with Damon right behind her.

Once he waved them over, Elijah knelt down in front of Katherine and took her left hand in his trembling fingers. "Katherine Hannah Pierce, over the course of the past three years, you have put up with me and my extending family, and that takes a lot of guts, especially when I would like to be another member of my family to add you into the fold. Katherine, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife? Will you spend the rest of your days with me?" he asked with a shaky voice.

Katherine was tearing up by the time he finished with his unexpected proposal then tackled him onto the bench of the booth, smothering his face with kisses. "I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my days with you, Elijah Soren Mikaelson," she said between kisses. She held out her hand for him to slip the ring onto her finger and grinned when it was finally on. "It's beautiful, Elijah!"

Author's Note 2: I hoped you enjoyed seeing the appearance of Vicki in this chapter, because in a few chapters, you'll soon see the appearance of her estranged husband and why they're having problems.