A/N: I'm sorry! There was a lot of pressure to get this one right! Also, I just resigned from my job for a new job and I've been busy tying up lose ends!

But, here it is.

Standing in her childhood bedroom, Elena stared into the full length mirror as Bonnie finished braiding her hair for her. The low fishtail braid draped over her right shoulder and while it was formal enough to satisfy Caroline, it was still casual enough that Elena didn't smell like hairspray or have a million bobby pins stick her in the head.

Caroline was busy in the backyard bossing around Matt, Tyler, and Enzo. They'd been charged with helping to set up the small amount of chairs and ensure that everything else was accounted for and in its place. Bonnie and Elena could hear her through the bedroom window telling Matt to place the flowers in exactly the right place.

Bonnie took a step back and eyed Elena's hair. With a nod of approval, she grabbed her mimosa from the nearby dresser and took a huge chug of it. She handed Elena her own untouched drink, which she nervously held in her hand as she continued to look in the mirror.

"You're freaking out a little, aren't you?" Bonnie asked her.

Elena nodded. "This is a big deal, Bonnie. And I never do things this impulsive."

"Well we're all here to support you and Damon. Personally, I think you're crazy if you don't go ahead and marry him. He's hot. He loves you. He loves Addie. Did I mention that he's crazy hot?" Bonnie smiled at her.

Elena look toward her friend and laughed.

"Seriously though, if you're unsure that you want to marry him, then I'd support that too. Whatever makes you happy, Elena," Bonnie told her.

All doubts were washed out of her mind when the bedroom door cracked open and Damon poked his head in. His blue eyes lit up when he saw her and he gave her a smirk that made her blush and glance down at her feet. As he cautiously stepped inside the room, Bonnie turned to notice him and she quickly began jabbing at him with her hands to get him back out into the hallway.

"Shoo! You're not supposed to see her yet!" she yelled out to him. Her efforts were in vain as she barely budged him from where he was standing, eyes focused on his future wife, mesmerized by how beautiful she looked.

"It's okay, Bonnie," Elena laughed. "I mean, I wouldn't call this a traditional wedding day or anything. He can stay. Actually, would you go check on Addie for me? Make sure Caroline isn't using her as child labor out there?"

Bonnie huffed as she strode towards the exit, her heels clicking against the hardwood floors. "Fine, but all this bad luck is on you guys."

The door clicked close behind her and the two of them were left alone in relative silence. The air crackled with anticipation, excitement, and nervousness all at the same time. Damon Salvatore in a suit was a fantasy that she rarely got to see and she wanted to savor every last drop of him as he stood a few feet away from her, but Elena's fingertips were burning to touch him. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't take it anymore.

Setting down her drink on the dresser, she took a small step towards him. He took several larger steps towards her and their bodies crashed into each other in a frenzy. All too soon, she was reaching for the belt buckle of his pants as he trailed wet kisses up and down her neck. He picked her up and set her gently on top of the dresser so that she could wrap her legs around his waist and then she felt his hands slide over the fabric of her cream dress to the hem on her thighs. Suddenly, he was hiking it up around her waist so that his fingers could touch her between her legs.

They'd yet to speak to each other, but each knew what the other one needed in that moment. They needed each other. They needed to be together, to know that they were in this for the long haul. As Damon pushed her underwear aside, he dove two fingers into her and curled them upwards the way he knew she loved. Elena moaned and threw her head back, but she was desperate for more. She needed to really feel him.

She reached between them to finish pulling his pants down when they were interrupted by a banging sound coming from the closed bedroom door. The banging was followed by a familiar voice.

"Can you at least wait until we get you guys hitched?" Caroline yelled. "You're like a couple of hormonal teenagers!"

Damon cracked a smirk and looked towards the door, his hair a mess from the way Elena had been sliding her fingers through it. "This coming from the girl who got knocked up just from my brother looking at her!"

"If you mess up her makeup, dress, or hair, I'll unleash my pregnant lady hormones all over you!" Caroline yelled back. She hit her fist a couple more times on the door for emphasis. "I don't care who you beat up for a living. You haven't faced my wrath yet!"

Elena let out a laugh and quickly covered her mouth with her hand so that Caroline wouldn't hear her, but that wasn't exactly helpful.

"I hear you giggling, Elena Marie Gilbert! Ten minutes until show time. You got that? Fix yourselves and get down here!" With that, the sound of Caroline's heels got fainter as she made her way back down the hallway so she could disappear downstairs to order some more people around. It was, after all, her specialty.

Damon took a couple steps back and offered a hand to Elena so that she could easily hop down from the dresser. She walked over to the mirror and started to readjust her dress and hair as he righted his suit pants and belt buckle. When they were all put together, he stepped behind her and laced an arm around her waist then rested his chin on top of her head.

"You look stunning, if it isn't obvious," he told her as they stared into the mirror together.

Elena smiled. The dress she'd settled on hugged her curves tightly, the way Damon preferred. The hem stopped mid-thigh, but it maintained a little modesty and warmth with the long sleeves that covered her arms. The entire dressed had a lace overlay. It was modern, but classic. Beautiful, but uncomplicated. Both sensual and demure. It embodied every part of their relationship.

"You're even more handsome in a suit that I remember," she replied. "Are you nervous?"

"Not really," he shrugged, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones in their mirrored reflection. "I had a minor heart palpitation earlier when I thought I lost your ring, but we found it and then Ric filled me full of bourbon to keep me calm. What about you? How's those nerves, beautiful?"

"A lot better now that you're here," Elena confessed. "I think I'm just nervous about getting married, period. It's a big step. It's a lot easier knowing that I'm marrying you though."

"You're right. It's a huge step," he responded cautiously.

"But I'm sure about it," she clarified. She turned to face him and looked up into his eyes as she let her arms drape over his shoulder. She gently played with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I love you, Damon Antonio Salvatore, in a way that I've never loved anyone."

He smirked at her and that smirk made her wish they had more time before they had to be presentable in front of people. As good as he looked in his suit, she knew what he looked like without it and she was already fantasizing about drooling over his naked body later on tonight.

A soft knock came from the other side of the door and while Damon braced himself to be on the receiving end of another Caroline lecture, Elena laughed and welcome the guest in.

The door swung open and Miranda walked in with Addie clutching at her hand. Addie's flower girl dress was cream, the same color as Elena's, with a pink sash around her waist. Bonnie had curled her usually unruly hair into little ringlets. Her pink dress shoes made a sound as she walked across the floor.

"Are we getting married or what?" Addie asked, smiling up at the both of them.

"She's getting anxious," Miranda winked. "And she's not the only one."

Smiling, Elena held out her arms and Addie let go of her grandmother's hand to go running into them. The force of it made Elena wobble on her heels, but she recovered. When she stood up and balanced Addie on her hip, the two of them looked over at Damon.

"Well ladies, I'm ready if you are," he said, pushing his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. He waited for the two of them to walk in front of him to head downstairs.

Elena took one step, then turned and held out her free hand to Damon. "Well let's get the whole family down there," she told him.

Perfectly content, he took her offered hand and walked down the large staircase with the three generations of Gilbert women with him.

Thank goodness for the plentiful heat lamps surrounding everyone. It kept the December chill from being unbearable. Still, it was a relatively short ceremony. Without an official wedding party, the only processional was Addie throwing her flower petals down the short aisle between the chairs in the backyard.

After that, Grayson walked down with his arm linked with Elena's. She was beaming, the light from the sunset shining through her hair as she walked slowly towards Damon. Even more sure with each footstep, she kept her eyes focused on him. In a few short minutes, he would be her husband and she had no more doubts or worries about it.

He was floored. It didn't matter that he'd seen her minutes earlier. Hell, it didn't matter that he'd touched her inappropriately not that long ago. The sight of her walking towards him dressed in white had his stomach doing all kinds of gymnastics. Elena Gilbert was about to become his partner, his wife, the mother of his children. She seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace towards him and it took pretty much all of his control not to just run over and scoop her up into his arms then and there.

Finally, when he thought his feet couldn't be still for even a second longer, she reached where he was standing with the minister. Thank God they'd been able to find one on such short notice. Damon was paying him a handsome fee to be here. It just went to show that money talks, even to the highly religious. And while Elena's parents had really wanted them to married by a minister, she really wanted a secular ceremony so they settled on a compromise.

The minister cleared his throat as Damon looked into Elena's soft eyes.

"Family and friends, we're here to join this man and this woman together in marriage. Damon and Elena, your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united as one in your hearts. This is also a spiritual commitment. The spiritual aspect of marriage must be embraced openly, seriously, and completely for your marriage to endure," the minister began.

"A successful marriage is made up of two people, each putting the other before themselves and giving to that person 100% first, last, and always. However, as Elena and Damon's journey unfolds there will be opportunities and challenges that will strain them. They may move back and forth between the seasons of their love, sometimes strong as the autumn harvest time, and sometimes tender, tentative, and fragile as the springtime shoots that brave the frost. In those times they will need the support and caring of all of you who have come to celebrate this joyous union. So in the joining of this family, I ask all of you to take a vow in their presence and in the presence of each other. Do you pledge to honor and support their marriage? And will you always be there for them and embrace them with the love of family and the joy of sharing your lives with them? If so, please respond with 'we will'."

"We will," everyone responded. Even Giuseppe, much to Damon's surprise. Elena could have sworn that the moment had Damon a little teary eyed, but of course he would never admit to it.

After that, Grayson silently placed Elena's hand into Damon's to offer his blessing and then he took his seat next to Miranda and Addie. Next was their declaration of intent, which was simple and by the book. Rather than writing their own vows, they wrote them and recited them together.

Joining hands and looking into each other's eyes, they repeated the words after the minister. "It is with joy that I take you to be my partner in all things. To share with you all that is to come. To give and receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond. I promise to be loyal, to cherish you with my whole being, and to see you always through the eyes of love. I entrust myself to your heart today and for all the days to come."

Once they slipped on their rings, Damon pulled another small velvet box from the pocket of his pants and fiddled with it in his hands. He looked at the minister, who nodded; then cleared his throat and looked back to Elena. "So, uh, I know this part is a surprise, but I wrote a little something for Addie."

Elena smiled as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Then the sniffling from Caroline intensified as well. And then Bonnie started in on it too. And pretty soon Miranda joined them. Damon hadn't even said anything yet and already everyone was crying.

Dabbing at her eyes with the back of her hand, Elena turned toward where Addie was sitting. "Little munchkin, you want to come up here?"

Addie slid off of Grayson's lap and skipped up to where Damon and Elena were standing. She looked up at the both of them. "Are we married yet?" she asked.

"Almost," Elena told her. "Almost."

Damon knelt down in front of Addie and opened the box to reveal a beautiful white gold necklace with a heart trinket dangling from it. It was opulent and probably far too nice for a three year old to wear, but he wanted the best for both of his girls.

"Addie, I wasn't there when you said your first word or took your first steps, but I promise you that I will never miss another first. I promise to always be fair and honest with you, to support you in every way I can, to protect you, and to cherish each and every moment I spend with you. Most of all, I promise to love you unconditionally. Thank you for sharing your mom with me. Today as I marry your mom, I marry you too. Will you wear this necklace for me as a reminder of all those promises?"

Uncomfortable for the first time in her life with all the attention she was getting, she shyly nodded her head to Damon and threw her arms around his neck for a hug. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and refused to let go. Elena crouched down next to them and wrapped her arms around them both, trying her best not to just start bawling out of sheer happiness.

The minister took this opportunity to address the seated guests. "Today, you all are witnesses not only to the joining of Damon and Elena, but the beginning of their family. May the promises made here today carry through for years to come. And so, with the power vested in me by the church and the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Damon, you may kiss your bride."

With Addie still unwilling to let go of Damon, he stood up and held her against his chest with his left arm. He pulled Elena into him with his right and planted a kiss on her lips, their first kiss as a married couple. It all felt so right. So with Addie balanced on his left side and Elena holding onto his right, the three of them journeyed back down the aisle and into Elena's childhood home.

They were alone for all of two minutes before everyone else came bursting in with their congratulations. But it was the best damn two minutes of Damon's life.

Everyone sat crowded around the long dining room table in the Gilbert's formal dining area, the one they reserved for holidays and special occasions, while they dined on the catered food that Caroline insisted they order.

"To force Miranda to cook a meal for that many people on the day her only daughter gets married would be cruel," she'd told Elena. And Elena had to agree.

Damon, Elena, and Addie all crowded around the head of the table together, eating and bumping elbows with each other, but they couldn't stop laughing and smiling as they did so. The mashed potatoes, green beans, and pot roast tasted divine. The wine and champagne flowed freely as everyone ate and celebrated. For Addie and Caroline, they were drinking sweet tea instead.

Grayson stood from his seat and tapped on his wine glass with his wedding ring to get the attention of everyone else. He took a deep breath and looked over lovingly at Elena. She returned the look and grinned widely at him.

"My baby girl got married today," Grayson began, clearing his throat. "So I figured I should probably make a speech or something."

Everyone chuckled.

"Elena, you've been the apple of my eye for over two decades. You and I have been through so much together. For a while there, we just had each other and it's hard for me to come to terms with the fact that you aren't that little brown eyed girl in pigtails swinging around on a tire swing in the backyard anymore. In fact, you're a mother. And now, you're a wife. Know that as long as I'm breathing and far after that, I will be there for you. You may not be that little girl anymore, but you'll always be my girl. I guess now I've just got to share you," Grayson spoke.

Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, Elena blew her father a kiss. "I love you, dad," she silently mouthed to him.

Grayson turned his gaze on Damon, his expression more somber and serious. "Damon, if you break her heart, I'll kill you."

The entire table erupted in a fit of giggles. Grayson Gilbert wasn't the type of man to threaten anyone, but Damon nodded his head, laughed, and raised his glass in the air.

"If I break her heart, I'll show up on your doorstep and hand the knife to you myself," he promised Grayson.

The two men shared a look of solidarity, one that said they both cared so deeply about Elena that they would do anything for her and before everyone sipped from their glasses, they nodded at each other in understanding.

Giuseppe stood from his seat next and Damon braced himself for whatever kind of insults his father might try to sneak into a speech. After all, they didn't have the greatest track record. Their relationship had become less strained over the months since he'd rescued Elena, but it was far from perfect. Hell, it wasn't even normal.

Luckily, Giuseppe kept his speech short. "Today Damon, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of the man you've become. Elena, I think I speak for myself and Stefan when I say that we welcome you to our family with open arms. Thank you for falling in love with my son."

For the remainder of the meal, everyone else took turns making their speeches. Alaric, Enzo, and Stefan managed to thoroughly embarrass Damon on three separate occasions with their tales of how wild he'd been before Elena. Caroline and Bonnie made their speech together, gushing mostly about the magic of true love and destiny. Jeremy tore his attention away from his phone long enough to mumble something about how happy he was to finally have a brother. Rose clinked her glasses with both Damon and Elena, wishing them well. Even Matt and Tyler voiced their congratulations.

After dessert, Damon and Elena kissed goodnight to Addie before Caroline and Bonnie went upstairs to tuck her into bed. She was staying the night with her grandparents so that the newlyweds could have a night alone. Although to be honest, they were so exhausted that Elena predicted her eyes would close the moment her head hit the pillow when they got home.

She sipped her newly refreshed glass of champagne as she bid Matt and Tyler goodnight. Tyler had a date later that night so he kissed Elena on the cheek before rushing out to his truck and hitting the road. Matt had been itching to get out of there for a while now, but she wasn't letting him slip away that easily.

"I'll walk you to your car," she offered, setting down her glass.

"Oh, you don't have to," he waved her off. "It's freezing outside."

Elena retrieved Damon's discarded suit jacket from the couch in the living room and draped it around her shoulders, drowning in the size it. "I've got a jacket," she smiled.

They walked out the front door and down to where his truck sat parked at the end of the driveway in silence, the warm of their breathing making clouds in front of them from the cold air. Matt put his hand on the door handle of his truck and started to pull it open, but Elena caught his attention by grabbing at his arm with her left hand.

"Thank you for coming," she smiled kindly. "It means a lot to me that you were here."

Matt glanced down at the large cluster of diamonds adorning the ring finger that rested on his bicep and sighed. "You're welcome. It's your wedding and you're one of my best friends. I wouldn't miss it."

"Then why did it feel like you weren't happy to be in there?" She hooked her thumb over her shoulder and gestured to the house behind them, the windows and roof adorned with Christmas lights that were twinkling in the darkness.

"Elena, why wasn't I the one?" Matt asked, a pained expression in his eyes.

"Matt," she pleaded. "It's nothing you did wrong, I swear. Do you believe me?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

But it didn't feel like he did.

"Are we going to be okay?" Elena asked.

"Of course," he answered, and this time he smiled at her. "Who else will keep you in line at work when you're dozing off underneath a vintage Chevy Bel Air?"

Elena punched him in the arm, laughing. "That was one time and Addie had kept me up all night!"

"Sure, use whatever excuse makes you feel better," he joked.

"Elena?" a voice called out from the front porch and she immediately recognized it as Damon's. She'd know the sound of her name coming from those lips anywhere. "It's freezing out here. You okay?"

She turned her head and called back to him. "Be in soon, husband!"

"That's my cue to get out of here," Matt said, pulling open his truck door. "See you at work, boss."

He hopped into the truck, cranked up the engine, and backed out without giving her a chance to say anything else. She turned back on her heels and headed inside the house to warm herself up.

The heat hit her immediately when she stepped in and she snatched up her champagne glass from where she'd left it on the coffee table to finish the rest of its bubbly contents.

"Careful, Mrs. Salvatore," Damon crooned into her ear as he snaked his arms around her from behind. "I've got plans for you later."

"Oh, you do?" she mumbled, leaning back against his chest.

"Mmhm. We just have to figure out a way to make a break for it before Blondie finds us."

"Didn't you two get that out of your systems before the ceremony?" Caroline interrupted, her hands planted on her hips and her left foot jutted out as she tapped her toes.

"And there she is," Damon grumbled, pulling away from his bride. He was ready to get her home and rip that dress off of her, but he knew she'd want to stay and be sociable for at least a little while longer. After all, it was their wedding day.

"Ric and Enzo are forcing my fiancé into doing shots in the kitchen," Caroline told Damon. "Can you get that under control?"

"Sure," Damon smirked mischievously and sauntered away into the kitchen.

"You know he's just going to join them, right?" Elena arched an eyebrow in her blonde friend's direction.

"Oh no!" Caroline responded, rushing into the kitchen after him.

Elena shook her head and followed behind her. They walked in to see shot glasses lining the island in the kitchen, all filled with her father's favorite bourbon.

"Just in time!" Bonnie cheered when she saw Elena walk through the doorway. She slid a shot glass in Elena's direction. There was literally one for each person there, her parents included.

"Caroline, yours has apple juice in it," Miranda said, sitting a shot glass down in front of her. "I've been pregnant before. Trust me. It's more about the experience."

"Are we really about to take shots with our parents?" Elena murmured into Damon's ear.

He looked at her with a cheeky grin, raised his glass between his two fingers in the air, and nodded. "To marriage!" he shouted, knocking the liquor back.

Everyone else followed suit.

The newlyweds were a mess of limbs, tongues, and lips as Damon locked the front door of their house behind them. They were both sloppy drunk after the champagne and shots and their heads would surely pay the price tomorrow. But tonight, it was their wedding night and the entire limo ride home, he'd been running his fingers delicately along the inside of her right thigh.

Elena clawed at his suit jacket, pulling it off of his shoulders and tossing it onto the floor of the foyer as she kicked her heels off of her feet. Damon responded by sliding his hands to the backs of her thighs, picking her up and winding her legs around his waist. She clung tightly to him, nipping and sucking on his neck, as he walked them through the house and into their bedroom.

When he set her down onto her feet next to the bed, he walked behind her and gently undid the back zipper of her dress. Elena shimmied out of it and it fell to the floor, pooled around her ankles. He licked his lips as he circled back around her slowly. She was perfect, all soft curves and olive skin and goosebumps. And she was all his.

Not feeling the need to hide herself from her husband, Elena stood proudly, grinning playfully at him. She reached for the buttons on his dress shirt and undid them one by one, exposing his sculpted chest and abs along the way. The fantasizing over his body earlier hadn't really done him justice. She ran her hands up and down his taut skin, savoring the moment.

His chest rose and fell as he tried to control himself. The need to have her was endless and it was as hard for him to control himself now as it had ever been. When he could take it anymore, he grabbed at her wrists to still her wandering hands. "You're killing me here," he groaned.

"Then let's not put it off anymore," she smiled, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. She wiggled her way out of her nude thong and then she was completely naked standing in front of him.

Damon's eyes roamed up and down her as he unbuckled his pants and pushed them to the floor with his black boxers.

They fell into the bed together, lips and bodies connecting. The coolness of the winter air was long forgotten as their skin was warmed by the other's touch. Normally, Damon would take his time with her, shower her with kisses, and make sure she came at least once before he even thought about being inside of her, but tonight he was anxious and needy. When he reached down with a hand between her legs, the wetness on his fingers told her that she was too.

He settled himself between her legs, making sure she had her head resting on a pillow and with an adoring kiss on her collarbone, he drove himself inside of her. Elena gasped at the feeling. With Damon, sex was always good. This time though, it was different. She knew it was because of the vows they'd taken earlier. They were bound together for life and it showed in the tender way he made love to her.

The sensation of his slow and deliberate thrusts were amplified only by the way his mouth nipped at the skin along her neck and jawbone. Elena brought her hands around him and dug her fingernails into his back to keep herself grounded.

"Damon, I love you," she whispered.

He turned his head to catch her lips in a kiss, thrusting a little harder a few times while they're lips were connected. When they broke apart, Elena was teetering on the edge of orgasm already.

"I love you too. You and only you," he told her before ghosting another kiss over her closed eyelids. He reached between them and rubbed circles on her clit. "Come for me, baby."

It didn't take much to tip her over and Elena came, shuddering and yelling out his name from beneath him. "Oh, fuck!" she screamed as she felt the tiny pulses running through her entire body.

Try as he might to hold off, Damon was at her mercy as she writhed underneath him and called his name. He couldn't help himself as he looked down at her. He came right along with her.

Tangled in the bed sheets and each other, Elena rested her head on Damon's chest as he gently stroked her hair. The lamp on the nightstand basked them in a warm glow of light and other than sounds of their slow and steady breathing, the house was serene.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him, her eyelids closing as she fully relaxed into his warmth.

He smoothed a stray wave of hair away from her face and breathed in deeply. "Are you even real?" he grinned.

"Are you?" she asked back. She craned her neck so that she could look at him. "This is too perfect to be real."

"Looks awfully real to me." Damon held up his left hand into the air, inspecting his wedding ring. "We fucking did it, Mrs. Salvatore."

Elena examined her own ring, a simple rose gold band with three modest diamonds on it. She didn't want anything flashy. It wasn't her style. "I guess it actually is real."

"Well, now that we've establish that," he began, his tone shifting to a little more serious. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"You can ask me anything."

He brought her hand up and delicately kissed her knuckles. "I'm going to need a real honeymoon when this is all over. After Christmas and the trip to Charlotte and my fight in Vegas. After all of that, I need to get away with my wife for a little while."

Elena opened her mouth to protest, but he shushed her with a finger placed over her lips before she could get any words out.

"And before you say it, Caroline and Stefan have agreed to watch Addie for a week. It'll be good practice for them."

"Deal," she relented with a sigh.

"Oh like being locked away on some tropical island together with nothing to do but drink, fuck, and go swimming is going to be such torture," he laughed.

Elena nodded with a smile. "You're right. We need that. Hell, I need that."

"One more favor," Damon added.

"Does it involve more sex? Because, yes," she giggled.

His expression turned a little more somber. "I don't want to push my luck here and if you say no then I'll try not to bring it up again, but I want to come with you to Charlotte next month."

Elena thought about it for a moment. She'd been trying to avoid any more drama by leaving Damon behind and bringing Jeremy instead. She still thought that probably would have been the safest choice. The image of the two of them on the sidewalk outside that gallery in Charlotte was seared into her mind and if anything like that broke out in front of Addie, she'd blame herself.

Even still, part of her wanted Damon to go with them. She eyed the ring on her finger. He was her family now. He was Addie's family now. As great of baby brother as Jeremy was, the emotional support of having Damon there was incomparable. No doubt it would be difficult for Elena and Addie and if Damon wanted to be there for the two of them, she didn't want to deny him that.

"I'll behave," Damon promised after a few moments of silence.

"I think I'd like it if you came with us."

"Really?" He sounded shocked, like he knew she was going to shoot him down the moment he asked.

She nodded. "Really."

"Thank you, Elena. That means a lot to me." He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"It means a lot to me that you want to be there for us," Elena replied contently.

"I promised, didn't I?"

"I suppose you did."

A/N: The next update will be...I have no idea. I start my new job on January 30 so we'll see what my schedule will be like in terms of making time to write. Have faith that I WILL finish this and All I Wanted eventually! Promise!