a/n: sorry for the delay. I had no idea what I wanted the party to be like and when I finished it, I realized I had to rework my outline. Once I get that figured out, I should be back to posting somewhat regularly again. Enjoy :)

TEN

Elena had left Caroline and Stefan alone downstairs to decorate. She had mumbled something about not feeling well and headed up to her room, but she was pretty sure that neither of them noticed. Caroline had already corrected at her a few times for hanging things up the wrong way. Not to mention that her and Stefan had been too busy talking about all things baby to even notice that Elena wasn't in the right frame of mind. It irked her that Caroline and Stefan were more excited about the baby than she was. Then again, if the circumstances had been different...

Elena sighed heavily and leaned back against the wall. She was sitting at the bench by her window, staring outside. Since she left Damon's, she had been unable to focus. She was truly surprised that she made it home. Although, not as surprised as she was to have found the strength to be able to pull herself away from his kiss. Elena closed her eyes as she felt the ghost of his lips against hers. No matter how many times she had tried to clear her mind or distract herself, she always ended up reliving their kiss.

"Elena?" Stefan's voice called softly.

Elena's head whirled around to the direction of the door and she gave him a small smile, but she couldn't hide the pain in her eyes. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" he asked, coming to take a seat on the other end of the bench. He pulled her feet into his lap while he waited for her answer.

"Yeah," she said, knowing that he would be able to tell that was a lie.

"Is something wrong with the baby?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Baby's fine," she assured him.

"Then what is it, Elena?" he asked, getting to his feet. "You've been acting strange since before the wedding. I need you to tell me what's going on with you. Talk to me."

"I can't," Elena said softly. "Not yet."

Stefan sensed that she was on the verge of shutting him out and he decided not to press any further. "But you will talk to me, right? Promise?"

"Promise," she replied.

He sighed. Next time, he was definitely sending Caroline up to talk to her. If Elena was going to open up to anyone, it would be her. "I need to run to the store for a few things. Need anything?"

"No thank you."

He nodded and started moving towards the door. "Caroline will still be here though. She's still decorating."

"Thanks," Elena said and turned her attention back to the window as Stefan left.

"Did she say anything?" Caroline asked as Stefan came back down to the living room.

"No. She said she can't tell me just yet. I don't even know what that's supposed to mean."

"Told you you should have sent me up there."

"I know."

"Then again she's been shutting me out too."

"Maybe it's something to do with the hormones?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. I know mood swings are a big part of it, but I don't think that's what it is. I will talk to her, okay? Don't worry too much," she said, patting Stefan on the shoulder. "Whatever it is, she'll come around. She always does."

Stefan nodded and smiled at her before heading out to his car. The fact was, he was afraid of what Elena was keeping to herself. Whatever it was, it was big and if it had her this depressed, he knew it didn't bode well for himself.

Elena took her time getting ready. When she came down, Caroline had just put the finishing touches on the decor. Elena looked around and frowned. "I thought this party was to announce that I'm pregnant."

"It is, but if I did the decor in baby things, people would guess right off the bat," she explained. "Which ruins the surprise."

Elena thought about that and nodded. "Makes sense."

"Are you feeling better?" she asked. "Sorry I snapped at you earlier."

"It's okay," Elena answered and smiled at her friend. "And yes, I am feeling better."

"Good, because the caterer is on the way and I still need to get ready."

"I can deal with the caterer," Elena offered, knowing that that was what Caroline was going to ask next anyway.

"Would you?"

Elena shook her head and smiled. "Go get ready. I'll make sure everything is put away to your standards."

"Thanks!" Caroline said before grabbing her bag that was in front of the door. With that, she headed upstairs to get ready.

The moment she heard the guest bathroom door close, the doorbell rang. She opened it to Tyler who was on his cell. As he ended the conversation, he peered around Elena's shoulders and came in. "So, is this a promotion party?" he asked.

Elena smirked. Of course that's what everyone was going to think. "You'll just have to wait and see," she said, grinning wider at his pout.

"That's so not fair."

"Yeah, well. Life's not fair," she said, trying to keep her smile on her face.

"Says the woman who has it all," he countered and then shook his head. "Sorry," he mumbled and looked around again. "Is Caroline here?"

Elena smirked again. "She's upstairs getting ready."

He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, something he did when he was nervous. "H-has she said anything about me?"

"Maybe."

He narrowed his eyes at Elena. "Please?"

She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "You know I'm not allowed to tell you anything."

"Just this once?"

"You'll find out soon," she said, repeating herself from earlier as she heard a truck stopping near the house.

"What is it with you guys and mystery lately? I don't like it," he grumbled.

"Well, like it or not, I need help setting up."

While the two of them helped the caterer's set up in the dining room and kitchen, Caroline came down to resume her duties as "boss." By the time everything was in it's place, Stefan returned. "Place looks great."

"I thought I told everyone to be here at six?" Caroline said looking at the time before Elena.

"They'll be here," she assured them.

"They're cutting it a little close," she mumbled and glanced at Tyler who was talking to Stefan, trying to get him to tell him if he got promoted without him knowing.

"He asked if you said anything about him."

"And what did you tell him?"

"That he'd find out soon. Speaking of, I think we could probably arrange that double date sometime this week."

"Really?"

"Sure," Elena said. "I just have to mention it to Stefan and we'll work something out."

"You think Tyler would actually do it?"

"He will," Elena said and turned her head to look out the window. As usual, everyone arrived at the same time. "See, told you they'd be here," she said.

Jeremy and Anna were the first ones in followed by Jenna, Alaric, Grayson, and Miranda. "John called. He said he and Isobel would be running late," Miranda explained to Caroline as she hugged Elena.

"Did they say why?" Elena asked.

Grayson shook his head. "Just that they were on the other side of town and lost track of time," he answered, smirking.

"Sorry we missed your homecoming," Miranda added.

"It's okay. How was your trip?"

"Amazing. I can't get over the spa there. It's the best," she said and smiled as Stefan approached them.

"Can I borrow Elena for a moment?" he asked.

He pulled her into the dining room and dropped his smile. "Have you heard from Damon yet?"

Elena shook her head. All day she had had that sinking feeling that he wasn't going to show. Her stomach had been twisted up in knots wondering if he had left like he had planned or if he had stayed. "I'll call him," she said and slid out the front door before Stefan could protest.

The moment she stepped onto the driveway, John and Isobel got out of their car. "So I guess we're not actually late," Isobel said and smiled. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm waiting on one last person. I wanted to make sure they're still coming."

John and Isobel both looked at the cars around the house. "Who's missing?" John asked.

"You'll find out soon enough. Just go inside and I'll be in soon," Elena said and watched as they went into the house. With a deep breath, Elena pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Damon's number. Half of her had been hoping he wouldn't show up because she didn't know how to deal with him after the previous day while the other half never wanted him to leave her sight again. "Come on, pick up," she mumbled only to be greeted by his voicemail.

She let out a slow breath and waited a minute before calling him again. "Damn it," she hissed and turned to look back into the house.

"What are you doing out here?"

Elena jumped and whirled around to see him walking towards her. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"I asked first," he said with a grin.

She placed her hand over her racing heart and took a deep breath. "You're not supposed to scare the pregnant lady."

His grin disappeared and he took a step froward. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. I was out here, calling you."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't know if you were coming or not," she answered, her voice low.

He nodded and looked towards her house. He could see the other guests through the window. "You convinced me to stay," he said, looking at her.

Elena looked down at the ground as she felt her cheeks flush with heat. "We can't talk about that. Not now."

"But we will?" he asked, taking another step forward, putting himself dangerously close to her.

She looked up, her eyes full of fright and desire, and nodded slowly. "We will," she promised and he took a step back, giving her room to breathe.

"So should we go in?"

Elena nodded and then started to move, only to stop after a step. "Actually, I should probably give you the short version on my family first."

"That's comforting."

She smiled lightly. "They can be intimidating in the sense that they're all close. It might feel like you're suffocating at first, but you get used to it." She paused to smile. "At least that's what Stefan told me it was like." She met his gaze again and cleared her throat. "The couple who raised me are actually my aunt and uncle. My brother's father is my biological father and Isobel is my biological mother. Long story short, they were young and couldn't do it so Grayson and Miranda took me in. Jenna is Miranda's sister, Alaric is her husband. Jeremy is my cousin although we were raised as siblings. Caroline is my best friend and Tyler is Stefan's best friend. Does that make sense?"

Damon blinked a few times and ran a hand through his hair. "It will eventually."

"Good, let's go before they send out a search party," she said and started moving again.

"When are you going to tell them?" Damon asked.

"We're going to tell them about you immediately so, be prepared. As for the baby, probably after dinner," she said and shrugged. "We haven't really planned that out yet."

Elena opened the door and walked inside. Damon took a deep breath and followed her. Just like in all the movies, everyone seemed to stop talking when they noticed his presence. All eyes were on him and it made him very anxious. He stared back at all of them, trying to guess who was who, but came up short.

Stefan appeared by his side and looked at everyone. "Guys, I'd like to introduce you to someone. Everyone, this is Damon Salvatore, my older brother." Elena looked around to see their reactions. She saw jaws dropping, eyes popping, and every other small gesture of surprise. "Damon, this is everyone," he said and started pointing to people and saying their name.

Jeremy was the first to step forward and shake Damon's hand. "Don't be shy, man. Come on," he said and pulled Damon over to the "guy" corner. Damon sought Elena's gaze and she gave him a reassuring smile, one that faded the instant he turned around. She excused herself to the bathroom, but Caroline was right on her heels.

"Oh my god, he has a brother!" she squealed. "And he is serious eye candy. Is he seeing anyone?"

Elena paused, her stomach doing flips. That question disturbed her on so many levels because she knew Caroline. Elena swallowed thickly; she was jealous. "Not that I know of."

"Well if he is, that is one lucky lady," she said and licked her lips to Elena's horror. "Anyway, were you serious about this week? I think Saturday would be perfect."

Elena shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around Caroline's words. A bit of relief went through her as she realized her friend was intent on pursuing Tyler. "Yes, I was serious. I'll talk to Stefan," she said and opened the bathroom door. "Now shoo, I have to pee."

"You better tell them soon, because I'm about to go crazy keeping this to myself," Caroline warned with a smile before she took off down the hall to join the others again.

Elena took a few moments to pull herself together and brace herself for what was to come. When she was done, she headed back into the main room and announced that they would be serving dinner shortly.

By the end of dinner, Stefan clanked his knife lightly against his glass and rose to his feet. Elena stood up beside him and waited for the talking to die down. When he had everyone's attention, he looped an arm around Elena's waist and smiled. "Alright, we have another announcement for you."

"I knew it," Tyler mumbled, earning a chuckle from Stefan.

Elena shook her head glanced around at the others. She and Stefan had decided earlier that she would be the one to break the news since he had introduced Damon. A part of her wondered if having him here for this was such a good idea. She hadn't realized it before then, but she couldn't imagine what he was going through, watching them announce her pregnancy, but having to stay quite about it the entire time.

Elena swallowed hard, realizing everyone was looking at her and she pulled herself together. She had long since forgotten the speech she had planned out, deciding to go with the alternative method; blurting it out. "I'm pregnant."

Gasps went around the table before it turned to stunned silence. After a few seconds, everyone was on their feet, moving around the table to hug and congratulate the couple.

For the rest of the night, Elena had found herself, whether it was intentional or not, on the opposite side of the room as Damon. She didn't trust herself to be around him with other people around, but that didn't stop them both from shooting longing looks at one another when they thought no one else was looking.

The problem was that someone was looking.

Isobel pulled her into a tight hug and stepped back to cup her face. "Wow. I can't believe you're having a baby."

"Me neither," she answered.

Isobel linked their fingers and gave a slight tug. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Elena nodded and followed her outside. Once they were walking, Isobel let go of her hand, but stayed silent. "What are we doing out here?"

"I want to talk to you. Away from the others."

Elena took a deep breath; this wasn't going to end well. "About?"

"Stefan's brother."

Elena stopped moving and turned to face the older woman. "What about him?" she asked, her voice guarded.

"You tell me."

Elena narrowed her eyes.

"I saw the looks the two of you have been exchanging all night. Those aren't the looks between friends, those are the looks between lovers."

Elena bit her lip, but said nothing. There was nothing to say because Isobel was right. Her eyes closed as she felt tears gathering and in the next instant, Isobel's arms were around her.

"Whatever it is, I want you to talk to me, okay? I'm not going to make you do it tonight, but soon."

Elena nodded against her shoulder. She needed someone to talk to and as much as she wanted that someone to be Caroline, she knew it wasn't a good idea. Especially not when she and Stefan were close too. "Okay." Isobel held her for a bit longer, her hand stroking Elena's back until the tears had gone away. Only then did they head back inside.