Hello there!

I know it's been a while but it seems like my muse for this story has been taking a nap lately, I honestly don't know when I'll update again so I hope you enjoy this little thing I pieced together for you.

I want to remember you that I don't use a beta for this story so I apologize for any mistakes you can find.

Love,

Sam

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

-William Goldman-

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Elena was in the window seat with a book opened in her lap and her head resting against the glass window, a starry night looked back at her as her mind wandered to thoughts of him. It was strange, being in this place, but nothing less than beautiful.

One second she was in a hospital bed holding Damon's hand and the next one her body had transformed to her twenty three year old version and his hand was no longer holding hers, instead she was back in her childhood home being held by her family again. She had been happy, her heart bursting with joy at seeing everyone she lost along the way once again.

With time she learned that this was where everyone who found peace was at, she saw Stefan and Lexi, Jo and Alaric, Enzo, Liz and even Tyler and Vicky. Here there was no pain or suffering, there were no evil monsters trying to hunt them or terrible diseases lurking in the corner. There was only light and peace.

Elena had no idea how long she had been here, it could have been days or months, time was an odd thing in this place. The only thing she knew was that no matter how happy she was she still missed him with every bone in her body, it was the first time they were apart since she woke up from her supernatural coma and there were moments when the loss was too much to bear. She missed her children too, and her grandchildren, she missed Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy as well.

A hand stroked her cheek and made her step away from her thoughts, her eyes lifted and she found the smiling face of her mother staring down at her "He'll be here my darling" It still surprised her to hear her soft voice after so long "You just have to wait a bit longer"

Elena let her mother caress her cheek "I know, I just wish it was time already" A part of her wondered if she was being selfish wanting Damon to be here with her instead of back home with their children but deep down she knew this would be what he wanted too.

Damon and Elena were one and the same; they always knew that once one of them was gone the other wouldn't be able to survive long.

"They're all waiting for us" Miranda gestured to the dining room where she knew her family was. They even had invited Jo, Alaric and Liz to dinner.

"Stefan is not here yet"

"I'm sure he won't take long" Miranda said with a wink before walking away and leaving Elena in her spot next to window.

She sighed and closed the book in her lap 'Gone with the wind' she still remembered how absurd it had seemed to her when she found the book in Damon's bedroom all those years ago. It had been one of his favorites and once they got married they had read it at least once a year, together.

Who would have told her that the man she met at that lonely road once upon a time would end up being her true soul mate. 'You want a love that consumes you' he had said and his worlds couldn't be more true, that was exactly what she needed and he had been the one to give it to her.

He was the big bad vampire who ended up having the biggest heart of anyone she ever met, the loving husband who had cried when their first child was born, the doting father who gave everything for their children, the big brother who never got over the loss of his own blood.

He was the man she loved and the man she was waiting.

With a sigh she stood up and placed the book in the seat, her feet were moving towards the kitchen when a knock on the door made her stand still. She didn't know how but she knew it was him, something in her heart was telling her the other piece of her was waiting right in the other side of the door.

The entry seemed to be so far away as her legs moved as fast as they could, her heart beating a mile a minute as each step took her closer to her husband, she knew it was him.

She yanked open the door and there he was. With a dark shirt and a hopeful look in his blue eyes, it was a shock to her seeing him so young after spending her entire life with him; there were no more gray hairs and wrinkles around the eyes.

"Damon…" She breathed out, her eyes filled with tears and a lump in her throat as her eyes raked the length of him.

Without wasting any time he swooped her in his embrace and twirled her around by the open door, in front of Stefan, Lexie and everyone who had exited the dining room to see the reunion between the two lovers. "My Elena…" He whispered against her hair as her arms clung to him tightly.

The images of her sick body in that hospital bed were still fresh in his mind, it had been mere days since she passed away but for him it felt like years, without her he felt incomplete and only now that she was in his arms he felt fully happy again.

"Promise me this is forever" He whispered as he placed her down on the floor and stared into the brown doe eyes he had missed so much.

Her lips widened in a smile as a memory that seemed to belong to another lifetime came to her, rain pouring on top of them as he looked at her with the biggest smile on his face and stars in his eyes, she had known in that moment that their love was eternal.

"I promise you"

His smiled matched hers as the realization that this time they would indeed have forever hit them, they would never have to be without the other again and there was no better feeling in the world knowing that nothing was going to break them apart anymore.

"Kiss me Damon"

"As you wish" He answered and leaned down to press their lips together, still oblivious to everyone around them. They were alone, in their own little world where nothing else existed but their love and the immense joy at being reunited again.

Once they were able to pull away Damon greeted with a smile to his best friend Ric; with tears in his eyes he hugged Liz Forbes, one of whom he had missed the most; and with an equally emotional response he received an enthusiastic hug from the lovely Aunt Jenna.

His heart was racing a mile a minute when he was introduced to Miranda and Grayson Gilbert, he was afraid they could think he wasn't enough to Elena but they were as warm and welcoming as everyone else had been, because where they were the only thing that mattered was love and the people you loved.

They all got together at the dining table, celebrating the arrival of their new member. Elena's heart was overwhelmed with joy as she casted her eyes around the table and saw everyone she loved in there with her, she missed her children of course, and she thought briefly she was being a bit selfish but she knew that they would be okay without them, they had each other.

But she would never be okay without Damon; she needed him like once she needed air. And as she lifted her face and stared at his blue eyes from where he was sitting next to her she knew that this was where they were supposed to be. The big bad vampire with a heart of gold and the lonely doppelganger looking for passion were finally going to spend eternity together because nothing can stop true love and there was never a truest love that the one they shared.

Once upon a time he had promised her forever and now he was delivering it to her.