A/N : Well. I guess this has been long overdue. What triggered this? The freaking series finale. :'( Still not over it though. I still am in complete denial about it all. So here's to an attempt to make my world a little bright again...

~~ ELENA'S POV ~~~
 "Yes, Jeremy, I got this. I'm on my way to the meeting. I just have to get these rambunctious kids strapped in their car-seats".

"Are you sure, Elena? I mean, I do understand..."

"It's going to be fine, Jer", I answered. "Liam, sweetie, where is your sister?", I asked as the four year-old boy sleepily dragged his little feet towards my mommy van.

Liam rubbed his still sleepy eyes and hugged my legs as tight as he could. "She's asking for Damon", he groggily responded. "Told her he's not coming".

"What? Who? Damon? What's happening, Elena?"

It has only been a few hours since Damon and I dropped the kids off to school, but it seems like eternity for my little girl. She was beyond upset when she found out that Damon was not me when I picked her up.

We spent the whole morning at the diner talking about our lives. Well, after we had a little blast from the past in the diner's little comfort room – not that there was any sex involved, just a heavy make-out session. I know it was probably a huge mistake, but it felt right and I just had to give in. Things escalated quickly, I must admit. If not for that pesky little screeching cat, who knows where we would've ended up?

After that though, he never let go of my hand for the rest of the morning. We were the only ones in the diner yet he gripped my hand like there was no tomorrow. It was like he was making up for lost time just by having my hand in his. It kind of got embarrassing though, as the sweet middle-aged owner kept on eyeing us with adoration in her eyes. I felt like a teenager again – giddy and full of hormones.

We talked for what seemed like the whole 24 hours, even though it was just for about 2. I learned that Damon moved to New York immediately after he left Mystic Falls. He stayed in the streets of Manhattan and trained under such strict conditions. After the 14th month of being stuck in the four walls of his grey-colored office, he was then sent out to various places for business meetings and official company gatherings.

I told him about my pregnancy and how it went. He listened intently and squeezed my hand even harder if I get to an important milestone – like the day that Liam first heard the word "sex" from a movie his Uncle Tyler was watching and how he proudly used the word in his "my word for the day" turn in class. Boy did I have a wonderful time at the Principal's office! Or that day when Lily was upset with her Auntie Caroline because she caught the latter allowing Tyler to "spank" her in the kitchen. Damon laughed at these stories and said that he would probably have applauded Liam for a job exceptionally done.

And of course, I couldn't help but to share to him the first time the twins asked where their dad was. I never bad-mouthed Damon to the kids, not even once. I simply told them that their father is currently searching the world to find the best Princess dress for Lily and the best mini-car for Liam. They were probably the lamest excuses in the world but it was enough to satisfy Lily and Liam's questions.

It was at that moment that Damon loosened his grip on me as his eyes began to water. I knew how much he always wanted a great relationship with his children; we've talked about it a thousand of times back in the past. It was his utmost priority in life to be really involved in his children's lives and not be too immersed in office duties like his father was. He made it his goal to be everything his father wasn't to him – a supportive, loving, and "always there" kind of dad.

Damon's gaze was off elsewhere and I could already feel his sadness in the way that his eyes stared unto the vast empty land across the dingy diner that we were currently in. I stayed muted and let himself be for a minute or two. I then took both of his hands into mine and gave them a fair squeeze. He shifted his beautiful melancholic blue eyes to mine and I gave him a reassuring closed-lip smile and said, "You are not your father, Damon. I know and I'm more than certain that you'll do great with Lily and Liam".

He smiled his unusual, very rare unsure smile. Damon Salvatore was never the one for uncertainty. He was a person made up of insurmountable amount of confidence in his veins. But at that very moment, he looked like a deer in the headlights. "You think so?".

"I know so".

And then his phone rang with secretary calling him to be back in the hotel for an emergency conference. So, we took off and he drove me back to my house, all the while having my hands in his. We never talked on the way home; we were just sitting in comfortable silence as we let our minds wander on their own. The talk we just had was the first of many, we still haven't touched the "Katherine" subject in depth. For some reason, Damon keeps on dodging questions about her.

When we pulled in my driveway, he immediately opened my side of the car, waited for me to unload myself and when I did, pecked me on the lips and smirked like he usually does when he's thinking about us. He then made his way back to the driver's seat without even mumbling a word, and sped off my drive way.

"Elena Marie Gilbert!" the demanding voice on the other end of the line brought me back to the present. "You tell me right now, why is Liam referring to Damon as his dad? Do they know?!".

"It's a long story, Jeremy. I have to call you again next time, I need to go now. Bye", I hang the phone up. I was about to strap Liam in his car-seat when I noticed him eyeing someone behind my back. "Is there a monster behind my back, Liam?" I jokingly asked him.

"A dashingly handsome monster, I must add", sprung a very masculine voice behind me.

I turned my back to whoever was behind me and I was not surprised that it was non-other than the blue eyed creature that had me in his reigns the whole morning. "Damon, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the meeting already?" I asked the older Salvatore as I proceeded to strap the younger one in his seat when Damon took him away from my arms.

"Hey, little chap! Did you miss me?" he deliberately ignored my question and kissed Liam's cheek. However, I could definitely see Liam's hesitation written across his sweet little face – the way his eyebrows scrunched into an x-shape, the way his lips suddenly became tight-lipped, and the way his eyes sought mine with such uncertainty.

"And you, Gilbert", he directed at me after a few seconds of unsuccessfully waiting for Liam to respond to him. "- should be in that school as well", he continued and with no second thoughts, pecked me on the lips. "Good afternoon, beautiful. Sorry I had to rush out on you earlier, duty called", he wrapped his arms around me.

Shocked, I jolted out of his touch. I was nowhere near ready for him to be acting all too touchy in front of my kids. Fooling around with each other is one thing, letting my kids witness it is an entirely different story. I should remind myself that there is a big elephant named Katherine that needed to be tackled before I let myself let really loose around Damon. I don't want my kids to get their hopes up only to have it broken down again – they are too young and fragile for that.

"Something wrong?" Damon softly whispered into my ears, all while Liam was sucking his thumb with his eyes full of questioning stare.

Flashing a fake smile, I answered, "Uhm, no, not really", then I pinched Liam's little cheeks. "I just need to get Lily down before we will be late".

"Oh, where's the little princess?" , Damon asked.

"Apparently, YOUR little princess doesn't want to come down because you were not around to pick her up earlier", I eyed Damon with playfulness in my eyes. "I think it'd be better if you are the one who'll get her. All she ever says is Damon this, Damon that, Damon blah. I think she doesn't even need me anymore", I ranted jokingly.

Damon let out a soft giggle when Liam innocently interjected, "Don't worry mommy, I still need you now and forever, even when I become a grandpa too". The little boy reached his arms towards me, wanting my arms to hold his tiny little frame I took him from his father's arms and firmly enveloped him in my embrace. Hearing those words coming directly from my son's mouth meant so much to me. God knows how much I love Lily and Liam and I'd do everything in my prowess to keep them safe and happy. My life revolves around them and I cannot imagine my life without them in it. Of course, I know that one day, they'll leave my nest and venture life on their own sailboats, so I'd make the most of the time while they are still young. But to hear Liam say he needed me until forever? That was pure bliss.

"Thank you, baby. Mommy will need you forever and always too", I said as I kissed the side of my son's head. "I love you, Liam".

I can feel Damon's hand rubbing my back so I looked at him and saw that he wanted to say something but prevented himself to do so. "Would you mind getting Lily for me?", I asked him. He nodded and gave Liam a kiss on his head.

45 minutes later, we arrived in Mystic Falls Institute for Education, which used to be just Mystic Falls High back in my youth, but it grew exponentially since the new era of stockholders took over – Damon and Jeremy included. We're in for the meeting since the first one got cancelled due to the failure of some representatives to arrive – which I'm thankful for since I wasn't totally in the right frame of mind. Well, my mind isn't exactly in a pristine state right now, but it was way worse days ago.

"Would you like to drop these two off in the daycare with me, or you want to go ahead to the conference room?" I asked Damon as I began to gather my things and was about to unbuckle my seatbelt when I hear a little chuckle coming from the man in the driver's seat. "What?"

He just shook his head, took my left hand and kissed it as if it's the most natural thing in the world. "We'll go together", he simply stated.

"Mommy, will you be back soon?", Lily asked me as Damon and I are were about to leave the play area. "Will daddy be with you when you get back?", she continued.

"Yes, baby girl. Daddy and I have a meeting to attend to, grown-up stuff and it's boring", I smiled at her. "You and Liam behave, okay? We'll be back as soon as we're finished", I kissed her head. "Have fun, princess", I encouraged as Lily ran towards the indoor slide.

I disengaged from my crouch and stood beside Damon, who was smiling at something. I followed his line of vision and landed my sights on my little boy who's currently busy talking and smiling at a young auburn-haired little girl about his age. "Damon Joseph Salvatore, looks like the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree", I teased him.

He guffawed and diverted his attention to me, "Look who's talking. You're not exactly innocent, Elena Marie Gilbert. You broke, let's see, Matt Donovan? Tyler Lockwood? That Fell guy I can't exactly remember the name." And for that he earned a soft slap on his arm.

"Shut up. I was not as bad as you were with your string of girls parading around Mystic Falls. Besides, I had clean breaks with those guys and you.. Well, your girls weren't exactly thrilled to see me within a 1-meter radius near the great Damon Salvatore, weren't they?".

"Oh boohoo! It's not my fault those girls can't get enough of me, besides, I told each and every one of them that Damon Salvatore was not made for relationships", he snickered. Damon's eyes sought Liam again. "Don't worry, Lainey. If Liam is anything like me, girls might be falling at his footsteps but he'll know once he found that girl, there's no way in freaking hell will he look for another. You only get one love, and once he'll find it, there's no turning back", then he shifted his gaze down but his side smile was pretty much evident from my point of view.

I didn't want to put so much hope in what Damon just said, but I couldn't help how my heart reacted to his words. As much as I wanted to keep myself from gloating and assuming things, somehow, I knew deep in my veins that I happened to be that girl in Damon's life. Things just didn't pan perfectly for us, but I knew. Yet again, sometimes love ain't just enough.

I moved closer to where he was standing and I touched the part of his arm that I happened to assault earlier, "I hope so, Damon. I hope so." Those words bore double meaning – I hope that Liam will indeed grow up like his father, and hope that Damon hasn't turned his back on me.

~~ DAMON'S POV ~~

Elena and I then started to make our way towards the conference room. We were about to enter the small room when Elena stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong?", I asked with concern.

She didn't answer and backtracked 7 steps away. "Uhm. Rebekah?", she answered. "Rebekah's going to be there Damon, that also means half, if not all of the people there already knows about Lily and Liam, which also means that words might have been already relayed to Katherine.. And.. What if.. What if Katherine's here?", I stopped her by chastely kissing her forehead. She heaved a sigh and held my hand in hers. "Damon, I'm scared."

"Hey, hey, look at me, Elena", I lifted her chin up so to that her eyes directly met mine. "Katherine's not there, I called my secretary earlier to monitor who made their way to Mystic Falls. And even if she is, she will never harm you nor the kids without going through me first", I reassured her. She nodded her head in response as she hugged me tightly.

"I take your word for that, Damon. I don't need protecting, but the kids do", she said.

"I promise", I squeezed her a little bit tighter. "Although there is one tiny surprise inside there that you want to see".

She let go of my embrace as her eyebrows scrunched up, "What do you mean?".

"See for yourself", I answered as I swung the door open.

And right as I opened the door, Jeremy Gilbert was already sitting on the far right end of the table, eyes filled with shock the moment is gaze landed on his older sister accompanied by yours truly.

"Finally!", an exasperated Rebekah Mikaelson greeted us. "What's the hold up, love birds? Can't keep your paws off of each other?", I just rolled my eyes at her for response.

"Jeremy?", Elena asked. "I thought you aren't going to be here, well, not until your wife gives birth", she continued as she made her way all throughout the room, not minding whoever is inside the premises except for her brother.

Jeremy shifted his gaze from me to her. "Uhm, April sent me out for just one day while she and her girlfriends have a 2 day baby shower", he answered casually but his eyes were laced with questions.

"Oh for heaven's sake, can you two continue your reunion later? People like me have more important things to do than to be stuck in this little town. The sooner we can get this over with, the better", Rebekah interrupted.

Elena seated right next to Jeremy, and everyone else found their respective chairs. Unfortunately, the only vacant seat was the one directly facing Jeremy, with Rebekah next to it. Great, just great.

It was about quarter past 3pm when the meeting took a break, Elena texted me that she'll visit the kids quickly to let Bonnie take them since the daycare closes at 3:30 pm. I wanted to come, but then, I didn't want to see Bonnie and her judgy little figure just yet, plus Jeremy's eyes are following me and I wasn't in the mood to stir drama. I stood and went into the men's room to spray water on my face, and sure enough, little Gilbert trailed behind me.

"Hi, little Gilbert", I greeted him with fake enthusiasm. It was not entirely "fake", but more of "I don't want drama" tone.

"Damon", he curtly responded.

"Alright, alright", I surrendered. "You got me surrounded, ask ahead".

"Do you know... about Lily and Liam?"

"Yep", I simply answered. "I know and they know as well".

"How about Elena?", he prodded.

"What about Elena?", I smirked.

"Never mind", he rolled his eyes and was about to head out the door when I spoke.

"Listen up, little Gilbert, I will only say this to you once because it's cheesy and I don't do cheesy stuff. Well, not unless if it's for Elena and the kids", I attempted to lessen the serious tension in the space. "I will give my life for your sister and our kids, Jeremy. Things are complicated, yes, but I will always be theirs. Always".

Jeremy met my eyes in the mirror and nodded at me, then he opened the door and went back into the conference room.

The rest of the meeting went by for another one hour and a half. Apparently, the school needed to relocate and build a new campus since the area on which it currently occupies is beginning to show signs of hazards. The conference was mainly just for information and approval, in short, it was humdrum. The meeting finally adjourned, and I was about to text Elena that I should probably leave her to go with Jeremy, you know, have a sibling bonding or whatever, when she stood by me, hands in her pocket and eyeing at me.

"Uhm", I started as I searched for Jeremy's whereabouts. "I was about to text you to tell you I'd go ahead".

She scrunched up her cute face in question, "What for?"

"Well, I figured you and Jeremy need some alone time to reconnect or whatever".

Elena just flashed me her smile, probably pleased with my apparent concern. "Jeremy actually needs a ride home, and may I remind you that we took my car?", she let out a single giggle.

"I could just text my secretary to fetch me here".

"Oh come on, Damon. Jeremy won't bite! I mean, he probably will play 20 questions with you in the car..."

"Oh, he already had", I gestured at Elena to step out of the conference area. We found ourselves standing near the lockers 2 meters away from the door that we exited.

"He did?!", she replied with annoyance evident in her tone. She was about to head out to where Jeremy is when I held her arm.

"Now, now warrior princess, no need to get your sword up just yet. He didn't shove me down the ground or anything. It was just a man to man brief little chitchat", I smiled at her. "That is why you and your brother need to talk without me. So, as much as I want to be your threesome, I'd rather step out of the sibling banter. I've had enough of that my whole life", I rolled my eyes.

Elena just looked at me with a look filled both with concern and annoyance, but then her little smile made its appearance. "Oh, okay. But you still need to come home with me though, your tiny little princess was not happy with me when I came back to them without you. Plus, I told her Bonnie was picking them up, and that aggravated her more. She's pretty pissed and I'm not in the mood to argue with her".

I smirked as I put a part of Elena's misplaced bangs behind her hair. "My princess is pissed?", I asked with a hint of amusement.

Her face finally lit up and she tiptoed and gave me a peck on the lips. "Apparently so, this princess is pissed as well. But not as pissed as the tiny one".

"Well, I think I know exactly how to unpiss the two", I planted a soft kiss on her perfectly shaped lips in return.

A/N : I have something planned for this story, and I'm quite excited to see it into fruition. I have all the time in the world now as I don't have any lessons to plan or papers to check since it's summer vacation.

Plus, I'm on the 2nd episode of season 3 of TVD (yes, I rewatched it), and god knows how much inspiration you can get from those "pre-Delena" period. :)

Anyway, lemme know if you guys are still up to see this story in motion! :)

Love,

Sophia-Emmeline 3