I don't own anything related to TVD. As always, reviews are appreciated and welcomed. Thanks for reading!

The day was overcast and humid and did nothing to brighten her mood after the argument she had with her father this morning. She had said things that had been on her mind for quite some time and although it was uncomfortable, she felt the need to make it known how unreasonable she thought he was being when it came to the care of his wife and her mother.

She catches him just as he's about to get in his car, which causes him to jump slightly and look at her with anger as he sips at the rim of his coffee cup, drops rolling down the side and soaking the webbing between his thumb and index finger.

"We need to talk." She tells him. Her arms crossed against her chest. She felt the need to protect herself, she was on the defense. She had tried to have this conversation with him before, actually, multiple times. However, it never ended with him changing his ways, it always ended in an argument and with him not talking to her for weeks.

"About what?"

"I think you know what."

"There's nothing to talk about." He tells her as he opens the car door and slides into the driver's seat. He tires to close the door but she grabs it and stops it from closing.

"There's a lot to talk about. You're just ignoring the problem. Don't forget who's counting on you, Dad. I understand this is hard for you, but it doesn't give you an excuse to just push all of it to the back burner and forget about it while everyone else is faced to deal with it. How do you think you make Mom feel? Do you not see the look in her eyes? The disappointment she feels in herself?"

"That's enough, Elena." He says as he raises his voice. He grabs the door and forcefully pulls it from her grasp, closing it and leaving her with a disgusted look on her face. He squeals out of the driveway in a hurry, leaving her fuming and upset.

It wasn't long after he had left that she had sent a text to Damon cancelling their date. He had tried calling her minutes later, but she didn't answer. After his third attempt she finally answered and snapped at him slightly, catching him off guard. Once she realized what she had done she started crying on the phone with him and his concern only grew. She was grateful for his persistence, because he was able to calm her down, although he still insisted on seeing her.

She was somewhat surprised when she saw his car pull into the driveway and as she peered through the front curtains she saw him go to his trunk and retrieve multiple plastic shopping bags from the back before walking towards the front door. He didn't even have to knock, she opened it immediately and as soon as he was inside he set the bags down and took her in his arms, holding her tightly for a good few minutes as she cried softly into his shoulder.

"You didn't have to come." She tells him. At that moment she was more touched and at a loss for words knowing he did actually care about her. It scared her slightly, how fast things were progressing, but she felt as if she'd known him her whole life.

"Elena, please. I care about you and I don't like hearing you upset. I can't just let it go." He tells her as she pulls away slightly and brushes the hair out of her face. He leans down and gives her a soft kiss before pulling away completely and picking the bags back up.

"Now, where's the kitchen?"

She leads him through the house, apologizing for its lack of cleanliness. The kitchen was the worst, the dishes were piled up in the sink and counters were cluttered with empty beer and whiskey bottles and boxes from finished food. He clears a spot on the counter and sets the bags down before turning to her and grabbing her hands.

"Go spend some time with your mom." He tells her. "I know you said she isn't feeling well today after her treatment, I'm sure you being there would help make her feel better."

"Damon, I can't just leave you here and expect you to take care of all this."

"Elena, I'm not asking you." He tells her with a serious look on his face. "I've learned over the years that sometimes people just want to do good things for you because it makes them feel better to help. Just let me help." She can't fight him, there was no point and she wasn't sure she even wanted to. He was offering to take a load off of her shoulders that had been weighing on her for days.

She shakes her head in disbelief of his generosity and simply leans up and kisses him. Lingering for a moment longer than their last, and as she pulls away she feels herself smile, which only causes him to smile.

"I'm going to get you to do more of that today." He tells her.

"You don't need to try very hard."

She walks away, heading up the stairs and leaving him to a terrible mess. She finds her mother lying in bed still, watching the morning show that was currently on television. She climbs into bed with her and her mother immediately starts talking.

"Is someone here?" Miranda asks as she turns down the volume on the television.

"Damon." Elena says. "He's making you some breakfast."

Miranda looked slightly stunned at her daughters answer. It was a hard thing to comprehend that someone would be willing to do such a thoughtful thing for them these days and it had been quite sometime since someone did something for them without them asking. Neither of them were used to taking help from others, they were both independent. However, her mother wasn't feeling well and Elena was still recovering from her surgery and it was all just too much right now for either of them to handle.

She and her mother watch the morning show in silence for a good twenty minutes before there is a soft knock on the door. Damon pushes it open slightly with his foot as he juggles a wooden tray with two plates of food and two glasses of orange juice.

"Sorry to interrupt." He says politely as he makes his way over to the bed confidently. Both women sit up as he nears and he sets the tray down on the end of the bed. He first serves her mother and sets the glass down on the end table before grabbing the other plate and bringing it over to Elena. She looks at it and knows she shouldn't be surprised.

"Damon, this looks really good."

"I'm good for something." He tells her with a wink.

"I'm sure you're good for a lot of things." Miranda says under her breath before taking a bite of food.

"Mother…" Elena says, somewhat embarrassed. Damon laughs and picks the wooden tray back up from the bed.

"Enjoy ladies." He says as she walks back out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"He's even more charming and handsome in person." Miranda comments.

"He's…he's just…Damon. I've never met anyone quite like him that I can even compare him too."

"That's a good thing, sweetie. It's a man like that who will sweep you off your feet before you even know it."

"I think that's already happening." She tells her seriously, somewhat under her breath.

Miranda turns to look at her daughter and smiles at her softly.

"Just remember to welcome everything with open arms." She tells her. "Don't be afraid of something different. It doesn't mean it's a bad thing, if anything, it means you are truly learning what it feels like to fall in love with someone."

"Woah…wait a second. I never said I'm in love with him."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I'm trying to tell you is that there is no time table for falling in love with someone. Some people don't have as strong of a connection and it takes a decent amount of time, for others it's something that happens quickly and it's beautiful, because you can see how pure it is. It's easy to see in people when you're looking for it."

"So are you saying I was never in love with Matt?"

"No, I believe you were in love with Matt. Unfortunately, your father thinks you still are and you're just denying it."

Elena rolls her eyes. It was true. Her father was so smitten with Matt that they still talked on a regular basis. Grayson had gone as far as to invite him over for a family barbeque earlier in the summer, which only created awkwardness, more so than ever before. Her father was like a second father to Matt, whose actual father walked out on him when he was a teenager. He and Matt had many things in common, and more recently, Elena was starting to see the bad things they shared.

"I just want to see you happy, sweetheart. More than anything I want you to get what you deserve, which is a nice man to take care of you and love you for who you are. Because you are so beautiful and I am so proud of the woman you've become. I have to say, you've been smiling a lot more in recent days than you have been in recent months. I can only come to the conclusion that the handsome young man in my kitchen has a lot to do with that."

Elena says nothing, she simply sits there staring at the television but not taking anything in as her thoughts wandered to him.

Over the next couple of hours she can hear the vacuum running multiple times and listens to him walking around downstairs. The noise stops after awhile and out of curiosity she sneaks out of the room once her mother is asleep and walks downstairs to find the entire first floor spotless, including the kitchen. However, he was nowhere in sight. She hears a noise from the backyard and finds his shirt laying on the kitchen table. As he walks to the back patio door and looks outside, she finds him hovering over the old lawnmower that her father hasn't been able to get started for over two weeks. She worried slightly about his fair skin in the sun, but out of her own selfishness, she didn't want to say anything in fear he'd put his shirt back on. She takes out her phone and snaps a quick picture of him, sending it to Bonnie and Caroline as she smiles from ear to ear.

I am drooling right now..

She watches him for a long while as he works on the mower and surprisingly, after much fiddling around, gets it running. She had started to notice he put a lot of effort in everything he did and cared about people in whom he didn't even know very well. At that moment she realized she couldn't let him slip away from her and she was going to take her mothers advice and be open to whatever happened between them. She would trust him until he gave her reason not too and while it was scary to think of, she knew she needed someone like him in her life. He was spontaneous and loving and all she felt when she was around him was warmth.

I wish I was there. – B

Why is he cutting your grass? – Car

Because, he's a nice guy. There are nice guys in the world you know. Plus he just made me and my mom breakfast and cleaned the kitchen and living room.

Happy for you! He's a keeper. – B

Caroline said nothing after that, leaving her wondering why her best friend wasn't being supportive about her prospective relationship. She knew things were slightly strained between her and Tyler lately, but it didn't mean she had to bring down others because of it. She wasn't going to feel bad about Damon, he may be a few years older than her, but who ever said that was a bad thing?