Thank you for all the wonderful reviews last chapter, I'm so glad you all take the time to let me know your thoughts. Here's a new chappie for you! Thank you LaylaReyne for taking the time to beta.

Someone like you

Chapter 20

'Everybody Hurts '

"What's wrong?"

A small smile spread across her lips upon finding her man curled in a ball on the bed, buried beneath the sheets. Slowly, she reached for the corner of the sheet and held it up so she could crawl underneath it, finding his warm body in the middle of the bed. She slid down and turned on her side, throwing the covers back over her head before she draped her arm over his waist and snuggled up to his back, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"Are we playing Cowboys and Indians?" She chuckled against the skin of his neck. "Or even better, is this our invisibility cloak so the other muggles can't find us?"

"The what?"

"The muggles!" She squeezed his waist against her, shaking her head. "Harry Potter?"

"Isn't that for kids?"

"I was a kid when the first book came out." She laid her head back against his shoulder. "I grew up with it, it's in my genes."

"Despite what you might think, you still have the same genes as when you were born."

"You need more fantasy in your life, Salvatore." She placed a kiss behind his ear, inhaling his scent. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to get my magic spell book?"

"I lost a patient today."

It was the last thing she expected to hear, but she knew doctors lost patients. Her father had been just a GP in a small town and even he had lost a patient now and then. She should have expected it, yet she never imagined that it'd put him in a state like this. She always thought of him as the ruthless doctor that dominated every OR, but now it turned out he was just like any other doctor who also lost people. Somehow, finding him that vulnerable warmed her heart, knowing that while he kept up the cool and collected mask in front of other people, he shared his fears with her, his insecurities and his doubts, and it made her realize how much he really loved her.

"She wasn't supposed to die." He shook his head into the pillow, staring in front of him. "It was a routine operation. She was barely twenty years old, and I let her die."

"You didn't do it on purpose." She hugged him tighter, wanting to squeeze the thought out of his mind. "These things happen, you can't save them all."

"I tried to save her." He whispered into the dark. "I tried everything, but she just gave up."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Tell that to her parents." He turned to lie on his back and snorted. "They're suing me."

"They're hurt and they need someone to blame." She cupped his cheek and rubbed her thumb over it. "If she would have survived, then they would have thanked you a million times."

"No, they wouldn't." He rolled his eyes, pressing his lips together doubtfully. "When I save someone, they thank God. When someone dies on my table, they blame me."

She sighed as he gave a little defeated shrug and placed a kiss on her cheek, making her nuzzle her face against his bicep. They lay there in silence for a few minutes, listening to each other's breathing, hearing the other one's heartbeat, and then she moved up so she could unbutton his shirt and expose his bare chest to her. There was nothing sexual or erotic about the act as she started rubbing circles up and down his stomach. Her touch brought him comfort, the tension leaving his body as she lay down beside him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder.

"Marry me."

"What?"

Suddenly, she was holding herself up on her arm, her eyes staring into his while he just lay there smiling at her as if the words he'd just spoken didn't change her whole world. They were words she never expected to hear out of his mouth, He had told her too many times that he didn't believe in marriage for her to ever think someday he'd be ready and willing to marry her; and until now, she'd thought she didn't need his ring around her finger, that his arms around her body were enough. As long as he was hers, it was enough.

"What happened to 'marriage is for people that are scared to be alone'?" She stuttered, taking a deep breath. "You don't want to get married, Damon. You've told me so a thousand times."

"And it is. I'm scared to be without you." He took her hand in his, his eyes more honest than she'd ever seen them. "That girl that died on my table today still had so many things to experience in life, and I don't want to die tomorrow and not have done those things with you."

"Damon…"

"This is for life, Elena." He squeezed her hand between his and held her gaze, blue locked on brown. "I want to marry you, I want to be your husband, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you."

It was picture perfect in her head - his name behind hers, his name carved in the band around her finger, his claim on her. Her eyes filled with tears while his smile got wider, seeing the acceptance in her eyes. She was going to marry him and he knew it, because she was meant to marry him the second she met him. She was carrying the wrong Salvatore's name, because there was no doubt she was supposed to be his wife since the day she'd been born. Fate had put her on this earth to spend her life next to him - it was the only explanation for why they were connected like this, why they shared a love as strong as this one - because the universe had always wanted them to be.

"Okay." She nodded, a smile growing on her face. "Yes, I'll marry you."

His lips slammed into hers, his body pushing her back against the mattress. She giggled against his mouth as his lips started ravishing hers, his tongue slipping inside to meet hers. She placed her hands on his cheeks, feeling the scruff beneath her palms, reveling in his touch as his hands wandered down her sides, slipping under her shirt. They were perfection, there was no other explanation for feeling the way they did, for connecting the way they had. She was his, he was hers, and it was as simple as multiplying one with one.

"How are you feeling?" He panted, his blue eyes boring into hers. "Is that flu gone?"

"I feel fine." She pecked his lips, pulling his waist into hers. "It was a twenty-four hour thing."

"Okay."

"Make love to me, Damon."

His movements became slower, his lips touching hers lightly, just pecking, his touches less feverish as he placed his palms against the bare skin of her stomach and slowly let them slide upwards, pushing her shirt up. He lowered his face to her belly button and started leaving kisses wherever a new piece of her skin was unveiled to him. She rested her head in the pillow and tangled her fingers in his black locks, loose enough so he could move, tight enough so she could pull on his hair every time he dipped his tongue into her belly button. It seemed to take forever until he came back up again, his lips touching hers, his blue eyes boring into her brown ones, love radiating out from them.

"Hello,wifey."

"Hello, hubby." She smiled, tugging him down so their noses were touching. "My handsome future husband."

"I'm pretty sure I'm not that handsome after my thirty-hour shift."

"You're always handsome." She whispered against his chin, nibbling on it. "Even with those bags under your gorgeous blue eyes."

"You're a shitty liar, Gilbert."

"Okay then." She rolled her eyes at him and sniggered. "You look like shit."

"You look like shit."

"This morning your mother tried to convince me that you turned into a whole different man, but you're still the same asshole you were five years ago."

"I try to keep up appearances."

Damon shrugged slightly as he sat down next to Grayson and watched him staring into the distance, the morning sun warming them as they silently sat in the swing-set on the porch. Grayson sniffed and it reminded him of the inner turmoil this man was going through. He'd lost the one he had vowed to spend his life with, and it seemed as if that loss was making him slowly lose himself too. This man used to be nothing but vibrant, a smile practically glued to his face, but now he was only a broken version of the father Elena had once known, the grandfather Liam had once played with, and the best friend he'd once left behind. Apparently, if you lost your significant other, it made you want to crawl in a hole too; he'd never realized to what extent people entwined their lives, even though he'd been on the verge of doing the same with Elena, and it had never occurred to him that loving someone meant dying with them too.

"I'm sure you're glad to have your mom here." Grayson gave him a sideway glance. "She really brightens up the place."

"I hope you don't mind." He shook his head, laughing quietly. "She kinda just barged in here without any advance notice."

"It's good to have her here." Grayson nodded, pressing his lips together. "She's quite the personality."

"Yeah, she sure is."

"Elena never had that kind of relationship with her mother." Grayson stared in front of him. "I think Miranda wanted to, but Elena never really let her get that close."

"I know I caused a lot of problems between them." He looked down in his lap. "I'm sorry that they could never straighten things out."

"It wasn't your fault." Grayson turned to meet his eyes, shaking his head. "They were never close. They were mother and daughter much like Stefan and Liam - they never had that connection that bound them."

"Are you telling me Miranda wasn't Elena's biological mother?"

"NO, NO!" Grayson held his hands up. "Miranda was Elena's mother. God, just imagine if Elena had to deal with that too."

"I think she's dealing pretty well."

"Thanks to you." Grayson gave him a lopsided smile. "It's good that you're back, especially for Liam. He doesn't know how to deal with this. They're going to need you more than ever Damon, so if you planned on running, you're already too late. They're counting on you."

"I'm not going to run." His gaze burned into Grayson's. "I came back here to be Liam's dad, to be Elena's husband, and to spend my life with them."

"I know."

It brought a little smile to his lips as he thought back on his handful of memories with Liam; he could have had so many more with his son, yet he chose not to. It was the same with Elena. If they hadn't been so damn stubborn, there would have been so many more memories, maybe even memories with more babies. Maybe he'd have eventually been able to give her all that she wanted, but with that same thought, he knew that wasn't true. He was too damaged five years ago to be a father, too damaged by his own father to become responsible for his own child. No matter how hard he'd have tried, in the end he would have failed if the demons from his past became stronger than the love for his child and wife.

"When Miranda told me she was pregnant with Elena," Grayson shook his head, laughing in an amused way. "I was so terrified I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

"The second I figured out Elena was pregnant, I was so mad." Damon pressed his lips together, sighing. "But I couldn't blame her. She took her birth control religiously, but she got the flu and it affected her birth control, and I was stupid not to think about it."

"I was a lot like you, Damon." Grayson's eyes snapped back to his. "I thought being a father wasn't something I wanted either. But the first time I took Elena in my arms, everything fell into place."

"I know, I think Elena had to get pregnant before I realized I needed do something about my issues." He took a deep breath, blowing it back out. "I went into therapy without telling her, because I couldn't take that baby from her. She thinks I would have forced her into an abortion, but I don't think I'd have been able to do it. I knew how much she wanted to be a mom."

"You two have a lot to talk about, Damon."

"As if I don't know." He rolled his eyes, reclining against the backrest. "We're going to talk tonight, so if you don't see me tomorrow, it was nice knowing you."

"You two will be fine."

A door was suddenly slammed opened and shut, making them both jump up from the swing, as Elena stomped out of the front door and onto the porch, her eyes red and puffy from crying, a dried path of tears on her cheeks, a fresh set of tears streaming out of her eyes. Her brown eyes locked onto his blue ones and the rage behind them was almost enough to make him drop onto his knees. With her fists clenched by her side, her body rigid, her teeth clattering, he'd never seen her more broken or more determined. And there was only one reason that could have gotten her like this, the too understanding woman who was now ready to pack his bags before he had even gotten a word out… she knew.

"You knew."

"Elena…."

"No!" She held her hand up, shaking her head. "Don't you dare try to talk your way out of this. There's nothing you can say to make this alright."

And he wanted to crawl on his hands and knees and beg her to never let him leave again, don't force a father away from his son, don't remove yourself from the person you're supposed to be with. He was ready to grovel,to fall at her feet so she'd let him stay, because he couldn't go back to the lonely years without her and his son. It nearly killed him, it was the reason why he'd come back, why he'd never moved on, because there was no moving on from her - she was it, everything and nothing at the same time.

"You knew we had a baby." She looked at him in disgust, her eyes filled with so much disbelief. "You knew I had your baby and you never came back for us."

"I came back now." He put a step forward, holding his arms out to her. "I'm here now, and I'm ready for this."

"After five years, you're finally ready for this?" She huffed, letting out a humorless laugh. "You ignored the fact that you had a son for five years, but all of a sudden you're here to be his father? Why now Damon? Why didn't you come sooner? Why didn't you come the second you figured it out? How did you even figure it out? Did you come back for me? Did you come back and find me barefoot and pregnant so you left again?"

"No, Elena. Listen to me." He grabbed her by the shoulders, but she pulled away from him. "I did what was best for him. I had to fix myself first before I could be a good father to him. And you knew just as well as I did. That's why you didn't come back, you knew I couldn't do it."

"How long have you known, Damon?" She gritted her teeth together. "How long have you known we had a son?"

"I knew even before you realized it." He let his arms fall next to his sides, his eyes filled with guilt. "I figured out you were pregnant when you were painting that damn wall and you asked me to make you a sandwich with pickles and barbecue sauce."

"Get out of my house."

She seemed calmer than she'd ever been before, her body still shaking, her eyes still red, but she'd stopped crying. She looked pulled together, but he could see the turmoil on the inside, ready to fall apart when he turned his back on her, to break apart into the million of pieces she had glued together over the past five years. He knew how it felt; he'd lived through it. She'd left him and he'd shattered into pieces that may have been glued back together over time, but the scars would never fully heal until he had her back by his side forever. She would fall apart again like she had when she'd come back from Chicago, she'd take Liam with her into her suffering, and she'd break those carefully glued pieces all over again.

"What are you going to do Elena?" He grabbed her arm as she tried to turn back to the door. "Separate us for another five years so we can be miserable again? Maybe I can come back in five years and we'llgive this another go? But what will you use then to keep us apart? I know that I hurt you the first time and I wanted to kill myself for that, but I couldn't because I had a son to get back to. I had to get better for him and I had to make things right with you,but to do that I needed time to pull myself together. You're scared of getting hurt again and I get it, but pushing me away is only going to hurt all of us more."

"Don't try to turn this on me." She whispered, her voice hoarse. "You've been here for months. You could have told me months ago but you kept it a secret. You were wrong."

"I made mistakes but so did you." He squeezed her arm to get her attention. "You never told me about him, you left me with nothing. You had my son while I had a damn green wall."

"You painted it!"

"You painted it!"

He buried his hands in his hair as he stepped inside the apartment and found his perfectly white wall now covered with a green layer, his fiancé standing in front of it with a proud smile. He closed his eyes, counted to five and opened them again, only to be met with Elena standing in front of him, covered in paint, a wide smile on her face and a green wall behind her.

"Do you like it?"

"Are you serious?" He arched his eyebrow, his mouth falling open. "You painted my wall!"

"You agreed to it."

"Honey, that was after round four, when my brain was good and fried."

"And now your wall is green." She giggled one of her dirty giggles. "Get used to it."

He sighed and locked his eyes onto Elena's, looking over her white shirt covered with green paint, her jean shorts, her tanned legs covered with paint and slippers that probably used to be black. Then he looked back up and found that bright wide smile on her face, warming his heart. She took a step towards him and nuzzled her face into his chest, hugging him tight so the paint on her clothes was now on his too. He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her scent, surrendering.

"If any of my other walls turn up green," he grumbled against her crown. "Then you're going to live with my mother and I'll visit when I'm horny."

"Lauren's a better cook than you anyway." She chuckled, locking her eyes with his. "She'd probably have me as fat as a pig in a week."

"That woman has never heard of small portions." He took a deep breath, pecking Elena's lips. "I'm hungry, do you want something?"

"A sandwich with barbecue sauce and pickles."

"Seriously?" He pulled his nose up, his eyebrows knitting together. "Who the hell eats that?"

"I got the idea a couple of days ago, you should try it."

He pulled his face back in place and closed his mouth, staring into the brown eyes that were staring right back at him. It seemed like a wall fell down on his head as the realization slowly sunk into his mind; strange food combinations, missed period, heavy breasts. To double-check his thoughts, he brought his hand to her chest and rubbed his thumb over her nipple through her shirt, watching her jump up at his touch. And he wanted to scream, his breathing getting heavier, his lips parting slightly, and his eyes widening as she stood there innocently, waiting for him to go make her a sandwich. Then his gaze dropped to her stomach and before he realized it, he brought his hands to her sides, his thumbs pointing to her belly button, his child growing just a few inches beneath his touch.

"Are you okay?" Elena cupped his cheek. "Do you want me to make the sandwiches?"

"I'm fine." He smiled tightly, trying not to squeeze her sides. "Just mourning my wall."

"How was your day?" She rubbed up and down his arms, smiling softly. "Did you save that woman from that accident?"

"Yes, I did."

"Yes, I did."He threw his arms up in the air, losing his temper. "Because every time I looked at it, I could see you walking out the door all over again and I wanted that feeling to go away. I'm not a masochist like you. I didn't want to feel that pain all the damn time, I wanted it to go away."

"While I tried to hold onto you, you erased me from your life." She spoke through clenched teeth. "But you could, because you were not the one that had to raise your child, that had to look at him every day and see the person that broke your heart."

"Do you regret having him, Elena?" He took a step in her direction, towering over her. "Would you have rather had Stefan's babies?"

"No!"

Her outburst startled them both, her breathing growing heavier as she stared into his eyes, lost in that ocean of blue, the same ocean her son carried. Some days it still seemed surreal that she had his child, but then other days it made complete sense, because she was never supposed to carry anyone else's baby. Once she would have given everything to have children with him, but the day she found out about her pregnancy, sorrow had filled her since she knew she could only have his child without him. But nonetheless, it was his child she wanted to bear, as her dream was still the same - blue-eyed-son, black-jet hair, like father like son. He became her reason for living like his father had once been,her perfect little boy was the reason she kept on breathing. She never thought such a young creature could carry such a great responsibility, and yet it seemed that the day he was born, her son had figured out he had to make up for someone's absence, and he did it. He made her feel complete again, he gave her a sense of purpose, and he let her love him with everything she had, like his father had done before.

"I wanted him more than anything." Tears rolled over her cheeks, her eyes puffy. "In some way he was the worst thing that ever happened to me, since he kept me from going back to you, but I wanted that baby. I know I said I didn't need children if I had you, but when I had him, I realized how untrue that was."

"I know. It's why I let you walk out the door." He shrugged, wetting his lips. "You said I'd have forced you to have an abortion, but I wouldn't have been able to, Elena. You wanted that baby more than you wanted me and I knew it, so I couldn't take that from you. If I'd have told you to have an abortion, you'd have told me to fuck off and you would have chosen our baby and I get it, because you always wanted it and after everything you gave up for me, I couldn't take away the one thing you really wanted."

"Damon…"

"Damon!"

Lauren appeared in the doorway, her eyes filled with hysteria, her mouth hanging open, and her gaze falling onto Damon's, who suddenly seemed alarmed by the shiver in his mother's voice. And as Elena looked at the older woman, for some reason she knew what the reason for her panic was, because a mother only looks that way when her son's in danger, or when her son's son is. Her thoughts were confirmed when, in the next instant, she heard an agonizing scream echo through the house, making her mother-heart shatter into pieces.

"Liam ..."

"Elena's pregnant."

Next to him, Alaric spit out his drink and started coughing uncontrollably, causing him to bang his head on the bar and leave it there as his world continued spinning. His best friend's eyes slowly found his, starting to recover from the shock, and as his friend's locked onto his, he knew he was in deep shit. He'd always told everyone he'd never be a dad, that he'd rather kill himself than bring a piece of himself into this world. He swore he'd never get married, and yet he'd been unable to keep the words from slipping out when he'd looked into Elena's brown doe eyes. So here he was, his fiancée pregnant at home, his child growing in her belly, and he was becoming everything he never said he would be.

"First you propose to her, which nearly gave me a heart attack, but you can always get out of a marriage." Alaric shook his head, still dazed by the news. "But you can't walk away from a kid that easily. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to be a dad." He placed his chin on the bar and stared in front of him at the shelves of whisky. "I can't ask her to have an abortion. She'd rather shoot me than give up that baby."

"You're screwed." Alaric lifted a glass in his direction and then slung it back. "How did you even get yourself into this mess? I thought you were going down the sterile-road."

"I was planning on it, but she asked me not to." He pulled his nose up, pressing his forehead against the wood. "And now I'm in for diapers, late night feedings, crying, drooling, spitting, pooping, baby-vomit, and worst of all, a pregnant over-emotional fiancée."

"Look at the bright side." Alaric gave him a toothy smile. "The state won't get your inheritance, you'll get a tax deduction, you'll have an excuse to act like a kid again and watch Disney movies, your mom will love you more than she already does, and the best thing of all, Elena's libido will go through the roof."

"Unless she turns into one of those women that doesn't let you touch her because she's scared your penis will poke her kid's eyes out." He snarled, huffing. "And besides, even if she does turn into a sex-machine, it's only to make up for the sex I won't be having after the kid's born."

"True."

"I'm screwed."

"You are."

The images started rushing through his mind. Elena's pregnant belly pressing into his side as she lays curled up to him, her breasts bouncing up and down as she rides him once the missionary position becomes too difficult. Elena squeezing his hand as she screams and pushes, the doctor sitting between her legs and waiting for his child to be born. The baby sucking on Elena's nipple as she sits in the bed next to him, his fingers occasionally rubbing over his daughter's head as she feeds from her mother. His little girl's cries waking him up in the middle of the night, her mouth and eyes wide open as he takes her out of her crib and rocks her back to sleep. The living room floor clattered with toys that belong in the dollhouse in the corner, his princess' eyes lightening up as she sits in her feeding chair and watches him come through the door. All those fantasies warm his heart, but then he sees his daughter lying on the ground, throwing a tantrum and he doesn't know what to do to stop it. She turns into a teenager and she doesn't want to talk to him anymore, and he doesn't know what to say so she'll let him hug her again. His twenty-something daughter moves across the country because she can't stand to be near him, since he wasn't the father he was supposed to be and she blames him for it.

"What if my kid doesn't like me?" He whispered, breaking the loaded silence. "What if my daughter or son hates me like I hate Giuseppe?"

"You need to deal with those issues before your kid arrives." Alaric nodded, making him look up. "I'm serious, Damon. You can't raise your kid if you always think you're doing the wrong thing."

"Do you think I need therapy?"

"Possibly." Alaric cocked his head to the side. "Couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, me neither."

"You're going to be okay, buddy."

"You're going to be okay, buddy."

Elena's head jerked up and she stopped stroking her son's hair when the doctor came back into the room. Although her boy was still breathing and moving, the moment Lauren had walked out the door, her heart had almost stopped beating. And for the first time, she'd seen Damon almost lose it as well when they'd found her father and Liam on the bottom of the stairs, Liam's arm bent in a way that wasn't normal. He'd rushed to his son's side, but it seemed that even when you're a doctor, you can't stay calm and collected if it's your child that's suffering. Instead, her father had been the voice of reason, picking Liam up, bringing him to the car, and pushing Damon into the passenger seat so she could sit in the back with their son.

"It's a clean break." The doctor put the X-rays up on a light box. "So you'll have to wear a cast for a couple of weeks, but then you'll be fine."

"Do I get to pick a color?"

"Yes." The doctor turned around and smiled. "Don't you want to know how long you have to wear it?"

"No." Liam shook his head, pouting his lips. "It's just that bright colors don't really do it for me."

"Seems like you're a smart kid."

"I got that from Daddy." Liam sat up straighter, holding his arm to his chest. "He's a doctor too."

"Really?" The doctor sat down in front of him, exchanging a look with Elena. "What kind of doctor is he?"

"He makes people's hearts better."

"What's your dad's name?"

"Damon Salvatore."

"I didn't know Damon had a son."

Elena felt a shiver run down her spine as the doctor's eyes shifted back to hers, giving her that accusing look she was used to whenever Damon Salvatore was brought up. People had seen them together too many times, she'd disappeared for too long to not raise suspicions, they'd done the math, and they knew she'd come back pregnant. Yet they acted as if they were innocent, they pretended to be clueless, but that didn't stop them from giving her the death glare whenever she walked through town. Liam's physical resemblance to Damon was their confirmation, and she didn't know whether to take comfort or offense in it.

"You knew." Elena whispered, staring back into the doctor's eyes. "Everyone knew."

"Let me rephrase that," he nodded solemnly. "I didn't know it was official."

"Do you know my daddy?" Liam's eyes lit up. "He's famous because he's the best heart doctor in the world."

"Seems like Damon has a fan." The doctor chuckled, making Elena smile too. "Yes, I know your father, and he's a really good surgeon."

"I'm going to be a doctor too when I grow up."

"Then maybe someday I'll work with you." The doctor patted Liam's shoulder. "The nurse will apply a cast to your arm and then you can go home."

The doctor pulled the curtain open and closed it behind him on his way out, making Elena sigh in relief as Liam looked up at her with his big blue eyes, still glittering after the talk he'd had with his doctor. For some reason, telling stories about Damon made him happy, the happiest kid on the planet. It made her realize how much Damon had already gotten under his skin, how much he'd taken his place as a father in Liam's life; and no matter how hard she'd try to undo it, there was no way back anymore. They were father and son now, what had once been her dream had turned into her worst nightmare.

"Mommy." Liam snapped her out of her thoughts. "Can Daddy come in now?"

"I don't know." She stroked his hair back, smiling softly. "I don't think they want too many people in the ER. We don't want to be in their way."

"Daddy isn't that big."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." She sighed and stood up from her chair. "Stay here."

She placed a kiss on top of his head after he nodded dutifully and pulled the curtain back. She felt the rest of the room buzzing around her, children screaming, parents trying to hush them, adults crying out in pain, and their spouses trying to calm them down. Never before had she been in a room that contained so much love and pain at the same time. Her son was suffering too, and she seemed to realize even more how much she loved him. She'd seen the same look in Damon's eyes when they'd found Liam at the bottom of the stairs he'd fallen from, realizing that life was so valuable and could be taken away in a millisecond.

"Damon?" She walked into the waiting room, stopping him mid-pace. "He's asking for you."

"How is he?" He walked towards her, eyes wide. "Did he see a doctor yet?"

"His arm's broken." She started walking back towards Liam's bed. "But it's a clean break, he'll have to wear a cast for a couple of weeks but it's going to be fine."

"Thank God."

His attention seemed to be on nothing else but getting to his son right then, and she could feel the vibes from his body, complete stress from having to wait hours for news. She walked in front of him, showing him the way to Liam but she felt the frustration roll off him, like she wasn't fast enough, like he wouldn't get to his son fast enough, and for some reason it made her smile slightly.

"Daddy!" Liam stretched his neck once he caught sight of them. "Daddy!"

She moved out of the way as Damon walked past her and rushed towards Liam, placing a kiss on his forehead like she'd done minutes before. He sat down next to Liam and gently examined his broken arm, apparently content with the clean break diagnosis. It made Elena's heart swell at first, then it broke into pieces; because there was nothing more beautiful than a father and a son sitting next to each other and having a conversation about the most random thing, but there was nothing uglier than knowing today would be the last day they shared these moments.

"My arm's hurting."

"I know." Damon squeezed his good arm, smiling reassuringly. "Once you're in the cast, they'll give you something for the pain and you'll be fine."

"Your phone is ringing." Liam watched Damon as he pulled the phone out of his pocket. "You're not supposed to use your phone in a hospital, Damon."

"My mom has been calling me every five minutes to ask how you're doing." Damon rolled his eyes, sighing as he picked up the phone. "Hi mom, he's fine."

Elena watched him roll his eyes for the umpteenth time as Lauren's voice blasted through the phone, the worry clearly audible in her tone. For a second time that day, it hit her again that Lauren had gained a family member, another soul to worry about, to love and protect. She'd never thought anyone would be able to top her mother, but then she'd forgotten about Lauren who loved Damon with everything she had, who'd love Liam with that same passion if she just let her.

"Can I talk to her?" Liam suddenlyabruptly pulled on Damon's sleeve. "I want to ask something."

"Mom, Liam has to ask you something."

"Laury?" Liam spoke into the phone, almost shyly. "Can you make me cookies with chocolate?"

"Of course I can." The happiness behind his question echoed in Lauren's voice. "I'll get right on it."

"Thank you."

"Laury?" Damon put the phone back into his pocket and eyed Liam suspiciously. "Where did that come from?"

"Her name is Lauren and she's my grandmother, but I don't want to call her Granny." He pouted slightly. "So I call her Laury."

"That's very smart." Elena smiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I'm sure she'll love it when you call her Laury."

Damon's eyes locked onto hers and for the first time in a really long while she got that sense of family again, a grandmother waiting for her grandson to return home, a grandfather sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, a father sitting next to his son on the hospital bed, and a mother watching her family. And for the first time she fully appreciated the resemblance in their appearances, like father like son. She'd never known how powerful it would be to see the man you love reflected in your son nor realized that it would overwhelm her like this.

"When can we go home?" Liam made Damon's eyes snap back to his. "I want to go home and eat cookies."

"I'll see where that nurse is at."

"Elenaaaaaaaaa."

"Hi boozy." She rolled over in the bed, yawning. "Glad to see you finally made it home."

A small smile spread across her lips as she watched him stumble around the room, trying to remove his clothes. She chuckled as he fell back on the bed and kicked his pants off, his shirt already lying on the ground. Clumsily, he shoved himself up the mattress and draped his arms over her waist, snuggling his face into the crook of her neck. She pulled her nose up at the smell of alcohol and laughed again as he started licking her shoulder, making her squirm.

"Stop it!"

"I can't help it." He nibbled on her collarbone. "I love you."

"Is this how you tell women that you love them?" She fisted his hair and pulled him away from her skin. "That's how you managed to stay single for all those years."

"I show them by giving them babies." He whispered in the dark, making her freeze. "I can have babies with you, Elena."

"Shh." She shook her head and placed a kiss against his crown, her voice hoarse. "Don't say things you don't mean."

"Maybe I mean it."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and ignored the way her heart started beating faster, hoping for things that would never be. She'd left that dream behind to live the one with him, and the closest she could get to that dream was being loved by her husband, being consumed by him, and children weren't in the cards for them; she knew that, she knew what she signed up for. That didn't mean that in the back of her mind she didn't still have hope, even though her rational side knew it would stay merely that, but she couldn't help but feel her irrational side gain confidence by his words..

"I have something for you." She changed the subject, wanting to erase it from her mind. "After you bought me a ring, I couldn't let you walk around as a single man."

"You bought me a ring?" He arched his eyebrow at her, smiling. "Really?"

"Here." She grabbed his hand and slipped the silver band onto his finger. "Now you're engaged too."

"We can really have babies, Elena." He whispered again, searching for her eyes. "I think I can do it."

"No you can't, you're just feeling invincible because you're drunk." She shook her head, turning back on her side. "You can't and it's okay, I've accepted it. I love you either way."

Knowing there was nothing he could say that would change her mind, he surrendered and laid down on his pillow, draping his arm over her waist, placing his chin against the back of her head, feeling her breathing even out as she fell asleep again. Without him even realizing it, he started tracing circles around her belly button, feeling her flat stomach, knowing it would start expanding in just a matter of weeks, and it made his heart warm. She'd soon have his child in her arms and he couldn't wait until she knew, until he'd convinced her that , she would live her dream. He'd make it come true, he'd let her have it, and he wouldn't hurt that child by making it go away.

"It's okay. Daddy's here."

"It's okay. Daddy's here."

He pried Liam's clawing fists from his shirt and placed him down on the bed as Elena held the covers back. Once Liam let go, he tucked his son in and sat down next to him, watching Elena give him one last glance before she disappeared out of the room, leaving him to stroke Liam's hair as his eyes fluttered shut. He didn't deserve this, he knew that. He'd seen the accusing look in Elena's eyes; because he'd known for five years, and he hadn't bothered to come back, she had every right to blame him and yet he didn't want to be blamed. He wanted to be accepted, he wanted to take his place in this family and be a father.

"What's your plan, superman?"

"Don't sneak up on me like that." He took a deep breath, relaxing again. "What do you mean, mom?"

"Are you going to let her kick you out and make your life miserable again?" Lauren crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorpost. "Or are you actually going to stay and fight?"

"She wants me out. She hasn't told me yet but I can see it in her eyes." He turned his head over his shoulder, blue on blue. "I can't force her to let me stay."

"Let me tell you one thing," Lauren stepped forward, pointing a finger at him. "If you dare go back to Chicago and leave your son behind, then I'll be the one making your life a livinghell. You've spent the last five years of your life trying to prove you're nothing like Giuseppe. Here's your shot, take it."

"I wasn't in his life for five years." He spoke through clenched teeth, eyes wide. "So how does that make me any better than Giuseppe?"

"Vermont."

"What does Vermont have to do with any of this?"

"When he got a ruptured appendix, you flew to Vermont." Lauren pointed her eyes at Liam who was peacefully asleep. "You got a ruptured appendix too when you were seven, do you remember?"

"It was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced." He rolled his eyes, looking back at his son. "Of course I remember."

"I thought I was going to lose you, and when a parent is desperate, we do desperate things." She whispered, her eyes filling up. "I called Giuseppe, thinking he'd share my grief at the possibility of losing a son. You'd think, as your father, he'd care. But he didn't come, he didn't sit next to your bed for three nights, and that's what makes you different."

"It doesn't change anything."

"Maybe the fact that you called Grayson every week to check in on them does." Lauren gave him a knowing look. "Yes, I know. For the past five years, you've done everything to stay a part of their lives. You kept going to therapy hoping that someday you'd have your son back, and when that day came you wanted to be ready to be his father. You're ready Damon. Don't let her take that chance away from you."

"I don't know what to do."

"How about getting your ass out of that bed and go talk to her?" Lauren smiled smugly, arching her eyebrow at him. "And don't let her out of the room until she agrees to let you stay."

"Sometimes you scare the shit out of me." He got up from the bed and walked towards her, leaving a kiss on her cheek. "But I love you."

"I love you too, my boy."

He walked out of the room and crossed the hallway, passing by Grayson's room, finding the old man softly snoring. The door of the guest bedroom stood ajar, and when he pushed it open, he found Elena sitting on the edge of the bed, her back towards him, gazing off into the distance. And in that moment he knew he couldn't go. They loved each other too much to let one another go, and no matter how stubborn they both were, there would be one thing they'd always agree on - they belonged together. When they'd been apart, it had nearly killed them both, and now they were standing on the verge of being separated again and this time it wasn't a marriage or an unforeseen fact between them. They were standing in the way of their own happiness.

"You can kick me out," he leaned against the wall, looking at her back. "But I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." She whispered, looking at her lap. "I've thought about throwing you out all day,but then I saw you at the hospital with Liam and I realized I couldn't separate you two, so we have to figure this out and you have to tell me the truth about everything that has happened the past five years."

"Okay, let's start five years ago." He approached the bed and sat on the other side, watching the back of her head. "Five years ago, Grayson stood on my doorstep in the middle of the night and told me my son had been born. He gave me the birth certificate and asked me to sign it, because you told him you didn't want Liam to be Stefan's."

"That doesn't explain why he slept on your chest."

"I came back. I told Grayson that I wouldn't sign the certificate before I'd seen my son, so we took the first flight back here." He wetted his lips, taking a deep breath. "He wasn't the only one that slept in my arms that night Elena."

Her head jerked around, her lips parted, her eyes spread open as she looked at him in disbelief, her brown gaze watering up. He'd never known how much she'd wanted him there, how she'd screamed for him while she gave birth to their son, how she'd pretended to have him there to get through the pain. Only now, it turned out he'd been there, he'd held their son, he'd held her, he'd been with them, and the worst part of all- he'd left them again.

"I came into your room and you were exhausted from the delivery, so I laid down beside you and you curled up to my side like you had always done." He watched her turn her head away from him again. "Do you know what it does to a man to hold the mother of his child? It connects you in a way you never thought possible."

"And still you left again."

"Not forever." He saw her gaze widen again, her head spinning. "During a ski-trip to Vermont when Liam was three, he got a ruptured appendix and had an operation. At night, you were forced to leave his side by that fat nurse with her creepy eye on the left side. But being a heart surgeon has certain benefits, so I sat next to him for three night until he was released again."

"How did you know?" Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. "How did you know he had to go through surgery?"

"Grayson called me." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I kept in touch with him after you left, to check-up on you and Liam. He told me everything, except about your miscarriage."

"It wasn't any of your business."

"That's probably what he thought too."

"Why did you come back now?" She fixed her gaze back on the wall in front of her. "If you've known for five years, why now?"

"When I figured out you were pregnant, I went into therapy to deal with…my issues." He dragged the words out. "My therapist was the one who told me I was ready to come look for you and Liam."

"Do you regret having him?" She whispered, looking back at her hands in her lap. "Do you wish I'd had an abortion?"

"No." He placed his hand on her arm. "You had to become pregnant before I realized I wanted you to be. You had to have Liam before I realized I wanted to be a father. I couldn't push you into an abortion, because it would have ruined the both of us."

"You had no problem doing it with Katherine."

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