A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I would also like to add that an amazing story, Separate Beds by Cher Sue, has been nominated in the Energize WIP Awards. If you love her story, please vote for her!

I need to know if you guys want this to go any longer; right now I'm planning on ending this at 15 chapters. If you want it to go on longer or if you like the 15 chapter idea, please leave a review. Pretty please R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries nor any of the characters associated with the show. I can only hope and dream that I can own Damon. *Dreamy sigh*

Two Weeks Later…

Elena curled her toes, bottom lip bit between her teeth debating whether she should step into the car or not. Her thoughts shattered when a hand rested on her shoulder. Her entire body tensed, hearing the small breaths from behind.

"What's got you glued to the ground?" The female voice asked, sliding her hand off of Elena's shoulder.

The crows resting on the wires above crowed, immediately catching Damon's attention as he rested his elbow against the roof of the car, staring up at the raven-feathered fowls. Elena kept her eyes locked to his face only twenty feet away, rummaging her mind for an answer to Katherine's question.

"I, ugh," She shut her eyes, thinking for a moment, "I don't know." Elena sighed, opening her eyes, "I'm going to miss this."

Katherine tilted her head, walking in front of her to rest on the side of the car, "This?"

Their gazes met before Elena glanced towards Damon who was finally seated in the driver's seat, twisted around to make faces at the now-giggling Drake.

She brought her voice down to a murmur that only Katherine could register, "I don't know if I can go back with- with him. What if he snaps again? I can't take kind of risk with Drake being around. I forgave him in my head, but I haven't fully forgiven him in my heart."

Katherine pushed off of the car, her eyes like stone, "That's what a marriage is, you take chances, stick by each other's sides no matter what. You learn to fully forgive over time." The words soaked into the crevices of Elena's mind, carving into the surfaces to be fully understood. She slowly nodded while watching the conflicting emotions on Katherine's face as she hesitantly stepped forward, debating her next move. The seconds ticked by, Elena's eyes dropping down to her feet before snapping back up in surprise to the speedy movements of Katherine quickly and awkwardly wrapping her arms around her doppelganger before stepping back.

She cleared her throat, avoiding all means of eye contact, "You take care, Elena."

Elena smiled, realizing for the first time that Katherine was a changed woman, altered by her love for another. The smile tugging at her lips as she twisted around to watch Katherine enter her home was that of genuine happiness for her once-bitter doppelganger whom she had grown to know as an almost long-lost comforting mother. She untwisted her hands from their scrunched position in front of her, her eyes locked onto Damon, glancing into the rearview mirror to the giggling Drake, returning the chuckles.

She had to take a chance for the sake of her son, that much she knew. But returning the house she shared with the very man whom she had been fearful of seemed preposterous. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she cleared all emotions from her face, a trick she had gradually learned, and opened the passenger-side door.

Damon leaned to the side, trying to see her face as she stood there, the door still open, "Getting in?" He asked, eyes pleading.

Elena bit her bottom lip before glancing between her son and her husband. She could run away.

And leave Drake in the hands of him? Ha, never.

Her eyes fluttered shut before slipping into the passenger's seat, allowing Damon to take her hand in his as he drove off, honking the car horn to Katherine, watching them from the second floor window.

Katherine crossed her arms over chest, "He's a fucking moron." She rolled her eyes before heading off to get ready for work.

There was a part of her that wanted to open the car door and jump out, the other half screaming at her that she couldn't leave her son with Damon who was most likely teetering on the edge of snapping again. Her head was rested against the window as she stared out into deep abyss of the dark forest. The sunlight didn't seem to put a dent in the obscurity of the eerie forest. Her emotions were running wild, she didn't have a clue which emotion she was actually feeling.

Deep down there was a faint happiness, a strange feeling at a time like this. Her eyes darted to the back of the car where her son was sleeping soundly.

Damon saw her sudden jerky movements, "Are you alright?"

Directing her gaze back to the road, she numbly nodded, "I'm fine."

The frown curled Damon's lips downwards as he continued driving on, closer to reaching home.

Home. The word tasted sickly sweet on his tongue. Ever since Elena left, taking Drake with her, the large house felt sinisterly empty, taunting him about not having his family. He had tried his hardest to avoid stepping foot in the house, the memories too much for him to handle.

"I missed you." He blurted out, oblivious to Elena's shoulders tensing at his words.

She looked towards his face, still facing the road, "Really?"

Damon cleared his throat, not thinking that she had heard him, "You have no idea. It was torturous." Her shoulders dropped, wanting so desperately for him to say those two words, the two words that would finally make her heart absolve him.

Her eyes softened before resting her head back on the window, trying her hardest to think things through. The future of their family rested solely in her hands. Walk away or embrace the risky life with Damon.

The shadow that the house cast upon the two was dark and not in the least bit welcoming. Elena glanced down to Drake who was safely rested upon her hip, wiggling in excitement. Damon walked back from bringing their luggage into the home, hands pushed into the pockets of his jeans. He halted any further steps, watching as she glanced warily up to the house, her bottom lip quivering slightly. His eyes hardened, remembering the ordeals she had faced.

Cursing himself beneath his breath, he walked up behind her, hesitantly wrapping his around her shoulder, not wanting to startle her. She snapped her eyes to his, her brown ones brimming with tears.

He could feel that she was looking into his soul, trying to figure out if he was actually a changed man. But it seemed that she was still unsure as she slowly stepped away, walking up the path into their house. Damon stood there, pondering as to how he could win her trust as well as complete love back. It was one thing when she felt safe back in Lexington, surrounded by Katherine and Stefan, but when she was alone with the man who had driven her away to that town, Elena was an emotional mess, not knowing if she could live on like this anymore.

After settling Drake in, Elena made her way back downstairs, hearing the clinking sounds of pots and pans from the kitchen. She didn't even bother a glance towards the room, rather continuing on with her path to the living room.

Her eyes bore holes into the very couch that, just a while ago, she had been sleeping on.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" She asked, hands on her hips as he walked into the home at one in the morning.

He stumbled up the staircase, the same, grim frown plastered to his lips. Elena was following him with each step until they reached the edge of the bed where he flopped onto the mattress.

His body took up nearly the entire bed, so, with a giant huff, she asked, "You don't expect me to sleep on the couch, do you?"

The only response was the steady snore that emitted from his lips. Her entire face dropped at the sound. How could he expect his pregnant wife to sleep on the hard couch?

Elena's eyes began to burn as she slowly descended down the stairs, her feet barely grazing the wood of the steps. Once she reached the foot of the couch, her eyes darted towards the top of the staircase, hoping that he would be standing there, a wicked grin plastered to his face as he announced that it was all a big joke. And that she could relax into the large, comfortable mattress upstairs.

But that never happened.

She bit back the tears, sitting down on one of the other leather couches, just to rest her already sore ankles. This pregnancy was a lot tougher than when she was carrying around Drake; the non-stop weird cravings, throbbing backaches as well as headaches. It was a long rollercoaster ride that Elena seemed to be tossed around inside the cart.

Damon leaned against the counter, trying to see where Elena was. He immediately caught sight of her huffing as she tried to sit up from lying on the couch. Not wanting her to hurt herself, he sped into the parlor, resting his hand on her back to help her sit up. Elena glanced up, smiling in appreciation. Damon swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared down to her swollen stomach. Seeing his face, she reached out for his hands and hastily placed them on the spot she knew that their baby girl would kick. Sure enough, Damon's eyes widened as he felt the powerful kick of his unborn daughter. Before Elena could savor the moment, he pulled away, not looking into her eyes.

His lips parted to uncharacteristically mumble out, "I gotta get started on dinner." Elena blinked a few times, staring off towards the wall as Damon walked back to the kitchen, turning on the faucet full-force so he could momentarily block out the sound of the three beating hearts. He needed to think for at least a minute without the alluring of the pumping of blood through each of their veins getting to him. He needed to tell her, no more waiting.

Elena gratefully slipped into bed, nestling her head against the pillow. She had requested that Damon sleep on the couch just for the night, partly being because she wanted him to know what it felt like to sleep on the hard surface and also because she would feel more comfortable this way, having spent nearly a month at Katherine's home, sleeping alone. As soon as she flicked the lights off, the darkness engulfing the room, she missed the feeling of having his arms wrapped around her, the feeling of being safe. Her heartbeat picked up for some strange reason she did not have knowledge of. She rested her hand on her stomach, trying to fall asleep, but finding that she couldn't.

Down below, an equally-sleepless Damon tossed and turned, attempting to tune out the quickening heartbeat from above. The couch was, to say the least, uncomfortable. He felt as if he was sleeping on a plank of wood. Sighing, he sat up, gazing out into the darkness of the room before glancing up toward the ceiling as if he could see her, knowing that she too was having trouble falling asleep.

He jumped to his feet before saying, "To hell with it."

It wasn't until she felt the sudden shift of weight on the bed that Elena realized there was someone in the room. Before she could turn around, a head was rested on the crook of her neck, their hand snaking around to rest on top of hers. As soon as she inhaled his scent, Elena knew who it was.

The words she were about to say would have to wait a minute longer, as Damon began to whisper into her ear, sending shivers down her spine, "I'm sorry."

The wait was over.

A/N: Did you like, love, or dislike? Tell me in your review!