Alright!
Super long chapter, filled with LOTS of Gracie, and even some info into Elena's past ;)
Because I love you guys. lol
Enjoy!
The young teen felt the tears running down her cheek as she threw a bag over her shoulder.
Her father followed her down the hallway, "That's right! Just leave! Take off like your mother did!"
She didn't bother turning around as she came through the kitchen, "Mom left because she couldn't stand living with you and your bad habits!"
She kicked at an empty bottle, one of the many that littered the floor, to prove her point, and blew into the living room.
"Damn it, Elena! You aren't thinking this through. You can't make it out there on your own! For fuck's sake, you're seventeen years old!"
She wiped at her eyes angrily, "I've been on my own for years while you've been drowning yourself in whiskey!"
She had finally reached the door, and fumbled for the knob.
"If you leave...you aren't welcome back."
His threat was delivered in a rush of shaky anger, and she threw him a final look over her shoulder.
The man she'd lived with her whole life, who had always been a complete wreck, stood as he always had, burning forever into her mind.
Grimy shirt, bloodshot eyes, and reeking of alcohol.
"Fine by me."
And with that, she left and never looked back.
Elena woke up from her dream...or was it a memory?
She couldn't really tell, with the way they'd blurred together over the years.
Her father's face still haunted her sometimes, though she did her best to push her past out of her mind.
The guilt, the pain...
She took a breath to get her bearings.
She was in the guest room of the Salvatore's house, where she'd spent every night of this past week, and the sun shone in from the windows.
The air was growing hotter outside, which made the days longer, but she found that she was okay with it, and this bed was always a warm welcome at the end of the day.
The ranch work was getting easier, now that she was growing more familiar with it, and somehow come dinner time, she was always happy about the progress.
She felt useful, and really enjoyed the Salvatore family, be it Silas's jokes, Lily's cooking, or Damon's flirting.
It was easier than she'd first been expecting to fit in, and they'd all welcomed her wholeheartedly.
Something she appreciated more than they'd ever know.
Almost as much as she appreciated the chance to finally sleep in, with it being Saturday, and Lily thinking they deserved the break.
She shook her head, a little annoyed at the fact that an echo of her past had cut into her sleep.
But as she blinked, she realized that perhaps, that wasn't what woke her after all.
Something was on the edge of her bed.
Something small, with long brown hair and giant blue eyes.
It giggled.
"Uh, hi," Elena cleared her throat, taking a guess at who her unexpected visitor was, "Are you Gracie?"
The little girl smiled, and bounced across the mattress to her side.
Instead of answering, she reached up and took a strand of Elena's hair into her fingers.
"You're hair's like mine!" she giggled, using her free hand to grab a piece of her own brunette locks.
Elena smiled, as the haze of sleep began to wear off, "Yep. It looks like they're the same color, huh?"
The little girl nodded and smiled wide, before asking curiously, "How come did you know my name?"
"I'm a friend of your Aunt Caroline," she admitted, "I'm visiting this summer and she told me about you."
Gracie beamed at that, "Aunt Care here?"
Elena nodded, "In her room, I think. But she may be asleep."
A small pout crossed the girl's face and holy hell it was heartbreaking.
Elena straightened on the bed, "Would you like to go see if she is awake?"
Gracie nodded vigorously, but then paused, "But Daddy says I can't go no where with a stranger."
Elena smiled again, imagining Damon giving that exact advice to this adorable little girl.
"And he's absolutely right," she nodded, "But your daddy knows who I am, and so does your Aunt Caroline. My name's Elena."
Gracie smiled that earsplitting grin again, " 'Lena is a pretty name. I have a puppy named Sparkles, but she's at home."
Elena chuckled a little, just as words sounded from out in the hall.
"Gracelynn Beth, are you up here?"
Damon's voice was unmistakable, and Gracie shrieked, no doubt giving her location away, and grabbed the bundle of Elena's blankets.
"Shhh!" she demanded, throwing them over her head, "I hiding!"
A second later, Damon's head poked into the bedroom, and Elena blushed a little.
They'd settled into a flirty friendship since that night at Outlaws, but damn, the man always managed to look good without even trying, and this morning was no exception.
Smiling at her, he moved his gaze to the lump in her blanket.
He smirked, his simple black T-shirt crumpling as he lifted a hand to run through his hair, "Elena, you haven't seen Gracie anywhere, have you? She's a little thing, about yay high, and can't sit still to save her life."
Elena drawled her voice dramatically, playing along, "Nope, sorry. No little girls here. Especially not on the bed."
"Oh really?" he took a few steps forward, "Then whose feet is sticking out from under the blanket?"
There was a giggle, a movement, then Damon tackled the blanket, falling onto the mattress as he rolled so Gracie wouldn't be squished.
Elena slid over to avoid being caught in the tumble, and Gracelynn laughed as Damon wrapped her in the covers, effectively trapping her.
"Daaaaddy!" she squealed between laughs, her little feet kicking as she tried to get free.
Damon lifted the blanket so her head was revealed, her dark curls now a tumbled mess.
He grinned, using his fingers to brush it back out of her face.
"I found you," he gloated.
Gracie crossed her arms, "You didn't count high!"
"You didn't tell me we were playing hide and seek," he pointed out, "And weren't you supposed to stay downstairs until everyone woke up?"
She managed to look sheepish and dropped her gaze.
Elena reached over to Damon's arm, catching his attention; not wanting him to scold his daughter for her sake, "She was no bother. Really."
He shook his head, "You say that until she's jumping on your head at six in the morning."
Gracie moved fast, launching herself into Damon's arms and hugged his neck, "I'm sorry, Daddy."
As quick as it had come, the sternness left and his expression melted to one of complete adoration, "It's okay baby, but next time, you need to listen, and not interrupt people while they sleep."
Gracie pulled away from his chest, "But I want to see her hair up closer!"
Damon's brows pulled together and Elena chuckled, "She noticed that our hair was the same color."
Gracie was nodding as she spoke, "It's just like mine! But mines has curls."
The smile that crossed Damon's face now was almost sad, and Elena wondered what he was thinking, as he reached over and tugged lightly on one of Gracie's loose strands.
"You have pretty hair," he assured her, "Curls and all."
The little girl beamed, then looked back to Elena, "Are you gonna eat breakfast with us? Gramma made scrambled eggs!"
Elena brushed back her own hair with a smirk, "Scrambled eggs? How can anyone say no to that?"
"They're yummy!" Gracie promised, and reached for her hand, "Come on Miss 'Lena!"
Elena wasn't used to taking orders from a child, but with that adorable face and those large blue eyes, she wasn't about to disappoint the little girl.
"I'm coming."
Breakfast was an interesting ordeal, since she, Damon, Gracelynn, and Lily were the only ones there to eat.
Caroline and April were still asleep, and the twins had already left that morning with their father.
"They're at the salebarn," Lily told Damon as she joined them at the table, "Your dad was going to get you to go as well, but he knew you had Gracie today."
"He's looking at getting more cattle?" Damon inquired, "Can we afford that right now?"
Lily shrugged, scooping some eggs onto her plate, "He's just supposed to be looking, but we're going to have to do something to get afloat. Right now we're barely breaking even, and that seems to be the case no matter how much I rebudget and cut expenses."
Damon frowned, and Elena leaned forward.
"You know, if you want, I could take a look at your files," she offered, "I'm working towards a degree in business finance as well as general med...maybe I can help?"
Lily blinked at her, then nodded, "Well yes, I suppose it couldn't hurt. If you don't mind, that is. I don't want tie up your time with-"
"It's no trouble," Elena waved her off, "Really. I may not know much about ranching, but business...I can do that. Maybe we can find a way to increase your income while lowering expenses until you can turn a higher profit."
Lily nodded, "That would be wonderful, dear. Just let me know when you want to go through everything, and I'll show you what I have."
She smiled, "Well I'm free today. Unless Caroline made plans for us that I'm not yet aware of."
"Very possible," Damon smirked.
His mother shifted her attention to him, "What are you doing today?"
He motioned toward Gracie, who was chewing a mouthful of breakfast, "She wanted to go riding. Thought we might take a picnic with us and have lunch under that big oak with the tree house in it."
"We get to have a picnic?" Gracie asked excitedly.
Damon smiled at her softly, "Sure. What do you think about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with some chips and apples?"
"Yum!" Gracie moved to her knees in the chair and looked across the table, "Can 'Lena come with us too? Please, Daddy, pleeeease?"
Damon seemed surprised, "Well, that's up to her."
He glanced to Elena, "What do you say, darlin? Wanna come on a picnic with us?"
Elena fought back a blush, unsure if Damon would want her to tag along on his time with his daughter, but Gracie was begging with a pout and it tore at her heart.
"Um yeah...sure. That sounds great!" she smiled at the little girl across from her, who looked as if her entire day was made.
"Yay! 'Lena ride with us!" she cheered.
"Actually, Elena may have to ride with Daddy," Damon teased, "She still isn't use to being on horseback."
"I've gotten better!" Elena defended with a laugh, "At least I'm managing to stay in the saddle on my own now."
"Small improvements," Damon praised, "We'll see which horses are feeling up for the ride when we go out there."
"I ride Cleo?" Gracie asked.
Damon nodded, "If you want, princess. Or you can ride with Daddy and we'll let Miss Elena ride Cleo."
"'Lena can ride Cleo," Gracie nodded, "She's a nice horse."
"Speaking of the horses," Lily interjected, "Any luck with War?"
The conversation continued easily, drifting from one topic to the next, until eventually Caroline came downstairs, and April followed a while later.
Gracie was thrilled to see her Aunt Care, and was sure to tell her all about the picnic and ride planned for lunch.
Caroline rose her brow suggestively at Elena as Gracie rattled about it, but she just shook her head.
It's not as if this was some romantic lunch date.
She was just spending time with Damon and his little girl who was probably the cutest thing in this part of the country.
And, she was actually looking forward to it.
A few hours later Elena was still excited, as she followed Damon and Gracie into the barn to saddle up the horses.
"Grace can ride with me," Damon decided, "And you can take Cleopatra, since you've been on her before."
Elena nodded, "Okay, though I hope you're cowboy enough to know how to rope a horse, because if she takes off on me, I'm fully expecting you to come after us."
Damon grinned, "Don't worry, no smart cowboy would willingly let his horse run off. But I doubt it'll be an issue. Cleo's bomb proof. Trust me."
And strangely, she did.
There was something very down to Earth about the man, that it put her at ease.
"Which horse are we taking riding?" Gracie asked.
Damon motioned down the row of stalls, "What do you think about taking Copper?"
Gracie smiled, "I like Copper!"
"Great," Damon pointed down the way, "He's in stall number six now. Why don't you go put the halter on him and lead him out here."
"Okay," the little girl agreed easily, racing down the barn to do as her father suggested.
Elena's brows pulled together, "Is that safe? These horses could trample her."
Damon looked at her amusedly, "Gracelynn's been riding for as long as she's been walking, darlin. She'll be fine."
Elena bit her lip, and reminded herself that it wasn't her child, and that Damon wouldn't let his daughter get hurt.
"Alright then...what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to go get Cleo," he answered, "Caroline showed you how to halter, right?"
She nodded.
"Good. Then put the halter and lead rope on her, and bring her out next to Copper. Gracie will show you where to tie them at. I'll grab the tack and meet you there."
She nodded again, "Okay."
It was an interesting experience, watching Gracie with the horses.
Unlike Elena, she was completely at ease with the animals, and seemed certain of her control as they walked them over to what appeared to be a hitching post.
"-but Cleo's my favorite, favorite!" she was saying, "I rided her since I was little. She's a nice horse. But you gots to be sure not to spook them, because they'll get really scared and might try to run or buck or jump. But Cleo doesn't get scared easy. That's why Daddy lets me ride her all the time when I want. She was Gramma's horse, but now she's mine. I love her. But it's okay if you ride her today."
Elena smiled down at her, "She seems like a very good horse," she allowed, "You must take good care of her?"
Gracie nodded, "I feed her and pet her and make sure she has lots of water."
They reached the post, and Elena watched as Gracie tied the lead rope on Copper around the bar and looped it through itself.
"You gots to make sure it's not too very tight," she said seriously, "Just in case they horsy tries to pull up or falls, it comes loose and doesn't hurt them. But you don't want it super super loose, 'cause then the horse will get free easy and eat all of Gramma's grass and she'll get mad."
Elena copied the knot, actually heading the child's words, "Like that?"
Gracie nodded, with a smile, "Yep!"
A moment later, Damon walked over, his hands full with saddles and other tack.
Elena tried to ignore the way his muscles bulged under the weight of the load, but hey, she was only human, and her eyes had a mind of their own sometimes.
"I think that's everything," he said when he got close enough to sit it all down, "I'll show you how to saddle the horse and when everything's good we can head out. I left the picnic stuff on the porch though, so we'll have to stop by over there and grab it."
Elena nodded, "Alright."
The tacking up process was fast, and it didn't take long for Elena to get it down.
She still felt unsteady as she mounted Cleo and took the reins, but it was a lot better now than it had been the first time.
Damon helped Gracie up, then climbed on behind her, before looking to Elena, "You good?"
She nodded, tightening her grip on the two thin ropes, "I think so."
"Just remember to relax," he advised, "And stick close to me. Cleo is used to trail riding, so she should follow Copper's lead and you won't have to worry much about steering her.
Knowing this did comfort her some, and she did her best to relax her body into the saddle so she could enjoy the ride.
Damon was right.
As soon as he led Copper forward, Cleo came to attention, ready to follow.
Elena gave her a little nudge to let her know it was okay, and the horse walked forward easily.
They stopped by the porch, where Damon was able to reach down and grab the bag he'd packed all the food into, and tied it to the saddle, before motioning towards the pasture.
"We're going to cut over there. The spot is only about three quarters of a mile, and I'll keep a steady pace for you."
He didn't say this teasingly, but to make sure Elena understood that he was being sensitive to the fact that she was still new at this, and she appreciated it.
"Thank you," she called.
He winked at her, then pushed Copper forward.
An hour later, Elena was trying to remember what had felt so intimidating about the whole ordeal, and was drawing a blank.
The ride had been fun, once she'd gotten the hang of it, and the location they'd stopped at was gorgeous.
The giant tree provided enough shade that the warm sun wasn't uncomfortable, and Damon threw a blanket down on the grass beneath it, before they ate.
Since they were on top of a slight hill, they could almost see the house, and the sky seemed to stretch on forever.
It was peaceful.
Gracie kept them entertained while they downed the sandwiches, telling stories about one of her friends at preschool, her dog Sparkles, which Elena discovered was a stuffed animal, and even some involving different things she'd done with Damon over the years.
Then she proceeded to ask everything there was to ask about Elena's life.
"Where did you live before you lived with Aunt Care?"
Elena just smiled and did her best to answer honestly, "I lived in Brooklyn. That's in New York."
Gracie's eyes got wide.
"I went to New York before! But I was littler. Did you go to school there too?"
"I went to high school there. But I moved to go to school where your Aunt Caroline goes."
"And that's where you and her became bestest friends?"
Elena chuckled, "Yep. We met a couple years ago and have been friends ever since."
"How come she just now asked you to visit?" Gracie asked.
Elena leaned back on the blanket, "Well usually I stay at school and go to extra classes. But Caroline thought I was getting too smart."
Gracie giggled, "Too smart?! That's silly. Are you super smart? Can you count super high? What about pluses? Can you plus numbers? We learned pluses this year in kindergarten, and next year I'll be in first grade and we get to learn sub...sub...what is it, Daddy?"
Damon ran a hand over her hair, "Subtraction."
"Subtraction!" Gracie repeated, "I get to learn that next year. Can you do subtractions?"
Elena nodded, "Yep. I learned those in school too."
Gracie beamed and started to ask another question, but Damon cut her off, "Hey, sweetheart, why don't you go check out the tree house?"
It was a small little box up in the tree that Damon said his father had built for them when they were kids, and Gracelynn jumped up excited, "I can go all the way up high?"
"Sure," Damon smiled, "Just be careful not to slip while you climb."
She nodded vigorously and rushed over to the steps nailed into the trunk, "Watch me 'Lena! I go real high!"
"I'm watching," Elena promised, using a hand to shield her eyes from the peeking sun as she looked up at the little girl.
Gracie was a fast climber, and by the time she'd reached the top she seemed to forget that she had an audience.
Damon's chuckle brought Elena's attention back to ground level.
"Sorry about that," he told her, "Grace can really talk when she gets going."
Elena smiled, "It's not problem, really. She's adorable."
"Thanks," he glanced up to where his daughter was playing, "She's something else, for sure, but I love her more for it."
Elena watched his face fill with tenderness and felt a surge of sadness for him, "This situation must be hard on you...having to share her."
Damon flinched, and she wondered if he was going to close off again, as he usually did with the custody topic, but to her surprise, he sighed, "Yeah...it really does. Especially when all I want is to have her home. To have her here with me so I can be in her life every day, take her to school, tuck her into bed, and just have the chance to actually raise her."
His gaze moved back to hers, "It wasn't so hard, with Rose. We were friends before Gracie, and remained so after the birth. Rose loved Grace as much as I did, and Gracie loved her, so sharing her was easier then. We didn't worry about custody or child support or fighting over who got her when. We worked together and Gracie was happy...but Mary…"
He trailed off, as if uncertain he wanted to dive into the thoughts his mind had conjured about this woman, but it meant a lot to Elena that he'd been willing to share anything.
"She's just making this difficult," he finished, "And I wish like hell that she would just let Grace come home."
They fell silent, and Elena tried to think of something to say.
Something to comfort him, or at least to let him know that she understood the pain of wanting something that felt impossible.
But then he changed the subject.
"You know, she actually did have a good question though…"
Elena crooked her head, "What do you mean?"
"About why you just now came back with Caroline? You've guys have roomed for like, what? Three years now? Seems unlike my sister to put off inviting you back that long. Were your classes really that important?"
Elena opened her mouth to tell him no, of course not, but hesitated.
Her devotion to school was a whirlwind of crap that she wasn't sure she wanted to get into.
But on the other hand, he had just opened up to her, and fair's fair.
She sighed.
"No you're right, there were times that Caroline made the offer. I just kept turning her down."
Damon rose a brow, "Any particular reason?"
"It's not about being a nerd," she insisted, "The school stuff...it's about being successful. My parents weren't...good."
Elena bit her lip, "My dad was an alcoholic and my mom took off when I was young. I have a sister, but she's a lot younger than me. My mom just abandoned us, and my dad was too out of it most the time to even know we were there."
She pulled her knees up to her chest at the memories, "He couldn't hold a job, never really even tried to. Half the time I had to cover the rent on our apartment with my part time paycheck. The place was always trashy, and we lived in a crappy neighborhood…"
She swallowed, cutting out the grimy details, "So I graduated school early, and I left. I applied to as many colleges as I could, and got away. But I refuse to go back to that kind of life...I can't. So I push myself to do my absolute best. I'm going to med school, and I'm going to be a surgeon, and I'm never going to have to worry about ending up like that."
Damon considered her words.
"It makes sense then, that you'd double as a business major."
She nodded, "Financing is important to stay out of debt."
He laughed dryly, "Don't I know it….it was nice of you to offer to help my mother, by the way. To be honest, we could probably use it, but it's just to expensive to hire a professional right now."
"I figured that might be the case," she said, "But I really don't mind. Your family is amazing, Damon, and they've all been so great to me."
He smiled, "Yeah, they're good people. And I'm glad you finally decided to take a break from that success to come meet us."
She laughed, "Me too. This summer has been interesting to say the least, and I feel like it's barely started."
"You've got a few months left," he nodded, "Who knows what could happen between now and then."
His eyes had darkened, and Elena wasn't sure if she was reading the intent in them correctly, but then his gaze trailed down to her lips, and she thought that maybe she was.
God, he was so close, and she wanted to kiss those perfectly shaped lips.
He leaned forward slightly, as if though the same thought was on his mind, and she looked up into his eyes.
All that blue was captivating, and she swallowed.
He was so close now, and her lips parted slightly as she felt his breath flow across them.
"Daddy!"
Damon pulled away as fast as she did, and they both looked up to where Gracie was climbing down the tree, "I climbed so high! I was taller than the birds!"
Damon smiled, as if they hadn't almost just been caught about to make out, and pulled himself up from the ground, "You did? That's awesome."
Gracie jumped the rest of the way to the ground and rushed over to take his hand, "Can we go to the house so I can show 'Lena my Sparkles? He's in my room, and she can see my princess dress for my birthday!"
Elena blushed as Damon looked over at her, and gave a short nod, "We'll see, Grace. But first we have to get the horses back to the barn. Why don't you go untie Cleo and bring her over?"
Gracie nodded, "Okay!"
As she went to do that, Damon offered Elena a hand to help her up, "Her timing is impeccable," he joked.
Elena laughed a little, "Probably for the best, today, though."
Damon smirked, "Well, there's always tomorrow."
She didn't bother to ask what he meant, and soon Gracie was back with the horse, and Damon went to fetch Copper.
The ride back was a lot faster, and Elena easily agreed to go see Sparkles and Gracie's princess gown at Damon's house, once they'd untacked and washed down the horses.
She'd only seen Damon's house the night that they'd gone to Outlaws, and that had just been the outside, so she was a little surprised when Gracie pulled her through the front door, to find that it didn't feel like the typical bachelor pad she'd expected.
Sure, it was masculine, and very woodsy like, but it felt homey too.
Gracie led her through the living room and down the hall to the room at the end and opened the door.
The inside was a collage of princesses, girly colors, and ponies, which Grace showed her all of while Damon stood in the doorway with an amused expression.
"And this is my dress!" Gracie exclaimed, pulling a purple princess gown from the closet, "I get to wear it at my party!"
"It's very pretty," Elena smiled at her, feeling the sparkly fabric, "And I'm sure you'll look just like a princess with it on."
Gracie giggled, then put it back up where it belonged, before moving on to the next item that Elena just had to see.
It was fun, watching the little girl do her show and tell so excitedly, and Elena silently praised her energy and positivity.
You'd never know that she'd recently lost a parent, and maybe that was a blessing.
Kids were resilient, and Gracie seemed happy in her space at Damon's, and it was clear that she adored her father as much as he adored her.
Elena wondered at her grandmother, and why the woman was so hell bent on keeping Grace away from this.
Or maybe it was just that the woman didn't want to let go of her either.
She was an easy girl to fall in love with, as Elena was personally learning with each passing minute.
Damon watched his daughter rant to Elena about thing after thing from where they sat on her pony covered blankets.
Gracie had never been shy, and loved to talk, but the way she was opening up to Elena was the attitude she usually reserved for close family, not women she'd just met.
Not that she met random women very often, but still.
It warmed his heart to see her interacting with another female so easily, as the psychiatrist they'd had her see after Rose's death had warned that it may be difficult for her to do so.
And what was almost as amazing, was Elena herself.
Damon didn't know many women who could sit listening for as long as she had without sending out an SOS, but no, Elena actually seemed interested in everything Grace was telling her, and responded with the appropriate amounts of enthusiasm at every pause, even offering words of her own, whenever Gracie paused long enough for her to do so.
And in those moments, he noticed that Gracie's eyes trailed to Elena's hair.
It hadn't taken him long to realize his daughter's fascination with it.
The Salvatore's were either black haired, or blond.
Gracie was bound to notice eventually that her chocolate brunette didn't quite come from that gene pool.
No, she'd inherited her mother's coloring, and with Rose gone…
Damon sighed, his heart breaking a little.
He just wanted the best for his daughter.
He wanted Gracie to feel happy and loved, and surrounded by a family that was going to support her, no matter what.
He hated that she'd ever known sorry, and would kill before he watched her go through something like that again.
She was too innocent to know such a deep loss, and he'd vowed over and over to bring her home, and to give her the life she deserved.
Maybe by the end of summer, that dream would be a reality.
"Daddy, come play with us!" Gracie demanded, and he forced a smile on his lips.
"What do you want to play?"
"Princess!" she decided, and Elena laughed with amusement.
He smirked, "Let's do it."
There ya go!
I really liked this chapter, and that it showed a more friendly side to Delena as well as the attraction.
And of course Gracie is so fun to write! :)
Can't wait to see what ya'll think!