Damon paced in the kitchen. It was true. A watched pot never boiled. Especially a watched pot containing the hot chocolate he was preparing for Elena. Elena liked hot chocolate, and she'd had a long day. Maybe he could even sneak a little Bailey's into the cocoa. Claire seldom woke up to nurse in the middle of the night any longer. Tonight definitely needed Bailey's.
Of course, he'd planned on the night needing something different. He couldn't believe she hadn't noticed. She was more tired than he'd thought.
Focus on the cocoa, Salvatore. He wasn't going to stare at the flowers again.
"If you glare at them any harder, I'm going to think you're trying to compel them." Elena rounded the corner, adjusting the collar of her blouse. Her hair was a tangled mess on her shoulder. She'd forgotten to pull it back, and Claire had recently discovered how much fun it was to play with Elena's hair.
He agreed.
"Seriously, Damon, what did the poor bouquet do to you?"
"Nothing." He forced himself to look away from the blooms, finding something far more pleasant to stare at, causing a flush to come to Elena's cheeks. Maybe he didn't need the Bailey's after all.
Elena walked over to them and fingered one of the blossoms. The pink in the lily perfectly accented the color in her cheeks. Her eyes met his for an instant, and her blush deepened further. She flashed an embarrassed grin, looking like a toddler with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "I still can't figure out how I caught them."
Damon knew how she caught them. Bonnie did too. So did Caroline. They both threatened Caroline with the worst witch-induced headache in the world if she breathed a word to Elena.
"It was just odd, wasn't it?" Finally, she was thinking clearly enough to put two and two together. She chewed the side of her lip, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes flashed between his face and the bouquet he'd carefully placed in the center of the table.
"What do you mean?" Damon stirred the pot without looking back at her. "Doesn't the bride typically throw the bouquet at a wedding? I remember yours practically resulted in a brawl. Liz had to threaten to arrest someone, didn't she?"
"That's just it." Elena nodded in agreement, her face showing even more confusion. "I was just standing there, next to Caroline. Everyone else was jumping up and down and screaming. I thought Lucy was going to take that little girl out. I'm surprised there wasn't blood. How did I end up with the bouquet? I wasn't even trying."
Damon turned the heat under the pot down low before he came to stand at her side. The golden light from the flickering candles danced across the wall. "Your friend's a witch."
"She spelled the bouquet." Elena cocked her head to one side as she stared at the flowers. "But why?"
He brushed the hair back from her face and cupped her cheek in his hand. God, this shouldn't be this hard. He was Damon Salvatore. The Damon Salvatore. He didn't get nervous.
Not until now. An unfamiliar sensation gripped his chest. He couldn't talk. Clearing his throat, he prayed he wasn't going to sound like an insecure middle schooler. He reached out and took her hands in his. "Because I asked her to do it." His voice cracked from emotion. "And she agreed."
Elena's eyes widened to doe-eyed perfection. She stared at the bouquet like it might come to life at any minute.
"You've been pretty preoccupied tonight." He reached out and took the flowers off the table. He gently picked through the assorted blooms. "We debated whether or not you'd find it before I was ready."
"We?" Now Elena looked almost frightened.
"Bonnie. And Caroline. And me." He'd found what he was searching for. Damon fought back a laugh at the irony. He'd found what he was searching for ten years ago.
Gently, he untied the bow separating the single, perfect wine-colored rose from rest of the flowers. He dropped onto one knee before Elena fully understood what he was doing.
"Oh God." She figured it out.
"Elena." He choked out her name. This was not how he'd planned it. He'd been rehearsing this moment for hours...days…years, if he were being honest with himself. So why was he having so much trouble remembering what he wanted to say? He shook his head, drawing an amused grin from her. "I love you." He held up the ring. A solitaire that had even passed the Caroline Forbes test. "I always have. And I always will. I can't promise life with me will be simple. Or easy. But…" His words trailed off. "Will you?"
Oh God. This was really happening. Damon was proposing. She was going to kill Caroline Forbes. All the thoughts tangled together, stifling any attempt at a reply.
Her eyes locked with Damon's. He looked like a child begging for a puppy…multipled by a thousand. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to marry her. He wanted to marry her.
Damon Salvatore. Bachelor. Considered himself a gift to womankind. Was on one knee in front of her.
And she was lost for words. She wanted to be eloquent. She wanted to have a beautiful response fitting of a best-selling novelist. She wanted…
She wanted to marry him.
Elena looked into his eyes. Her fingers fumbled for the ring, tied delicately on the stem of the rose. And simply said, "yes."
Damon stared at the ceiling as he lay awake. For a few hours, he'd forgotten his conversation with Lucy. He'd been distracted by something far more important. And then he was distracted by their very private celebration. But now he couldn't sleep.
In just the past few weeks of sharing Elena's bed, he'd already become accustomed to her using his chest as a pillow like she was now. With his free hand, he idly toyed with the new ring on her finger.
What did Lucy mean?
What spell would interest him?
And a different solution than she'd given Stefan – not that he wouldn't be interested in that help too.
He slid his hand away from her ring and down to Elena's stomach.
Someday.
No, Lucy specifically said a different spell. He shifted his position and looked at the bedside clock. Time seemed to be passing remarkably slowly tonight.
"What is it? Is Claire crying?" Elena's words slurred as he'd unintentionally awakened her.
"Sorry." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Nothing's wrong. You can go back to sleep." He pulled the blanket over her bare shoulder and laced his fingers with hers. Closing his eyes, he tried yet again to fall asleep.
Elena took a seat at the coffee shop, strangely excited. Yes, she was about to kill Caroline Forbes, but this was something different than being annoyed at her friend for keeping something as big as this from her…she looked down at her hand.
And this was really big. She wiggled her fingers, watching the ring reflect tiny rainbows around the room. While the diamond was almost larger than she'd like, it was still tasteful and refined and perfect for her.
Just like Damon.
How had she gotten here? For a minute, she let herself remember. Remember facing off with him in the high school parking lot. Remember the first time he held her in his arms at the Miss Mystic Falls reception. Remember all the times he'd been there for her…all the times he'd showed her just how much he loved her.
And she knew just how right this was – despite the odd looks she was getting from the patrons in the coffee shop. She was happy. For the first time in a very long time, she was happy.
She opened her notebook, picked up a pen, and began to write.
A story about a woman who wasn't exactly a woman. A woman and two brothers. Two brothers who hated each other – because one of them loved her too much and one not nearly enough. But neither of them truly loved her. Not really.
They were both waiting on someone else. Someone who they both truly loved.
"Are you really ready?" Caroline's voice surprised Elena. She hadn't heard the blonde vampire approaching. "To tell a story about that?"
"Don't distract me right now." Elena glanced up at Caroline.
"Sorry." Caroline flinched. "You're in the writer-zone."
"No." Elena shook her head. "Don't distract me from being mad at you."
Caroline ducked her head, putting on her most apologetic expression. "Bonnie and Damon are scary when they work together." She flashed a grin. "And aren't you glad he surprised you?"
Yes. Elena had to admit she would have been disappointed to have Damon's surprise spoiled. "I guess so."
"So, are you ready to get started?" Caroline dropped into the empty chair across from Elena and spread a copy of every bridal magazine they had at the Mystic Fall's 7-11 on the table.
"I'm pretty sure we're thinking simple." Elena's stomach churned at the thought of a big wedding.
"Oh no." Caroline had never looked more determined. "You had a simple wedding with Stefan. It took months before people stopped thinking he'd just gotten you pregnant."
"Caroline!" Elena's voice was sharper than she'd intended.
"It's true. How many people get married when they're 19?" Caroline didn't wait for an answer. "Anyway, Damon's the acting mayor now. Y'all are going to have something fitting for the most important person in Mystic Falls."
Damon stared at his computer screen reading the last of his e-mail. While he was more than ready for Carol Lockwood to come back, he was also amused by the number of business leaders asking him to run against her in the upcoming mayoral election. He knew he couldn't mask his aging much longer, though, and he and Elena would need to be moving on. She'd accepted that part of Stefan's life. As much as he hated to pull her away from Jenna's family, relocating and starting a new life was just part of the territory when living among non-vampires.
He'd almost convinced himself Lucy had decided not to come when he heard a knock at the door.
"Mr. Salvatore?" Gwen cracked the door. "You have someone here to see you."
He closed the lid of his laptop. "Who is it?" He spoke more sharply than he'd intended, but the last thing he needed was to get tied up with someone unexpected. If the head of the Chamber of Commerce stopped by, he'd be talking for hours - not what he wanted if Lucy did decide to drop by.
Gwen turned around and spoke to whoever was standing in the outer office before peeking back into his office. "Lucy Bennett?"
"I've actually been expecting her." He pulled a handful of papers from his laptop bag to give the appearance they had a reason for meeting. "Please, show her in."
Gwen stepped out of the doorway just as Lucy crossed the threshold.
Damon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of him. "Let's not beat around the bush. Yesterday you told me you had something I'd be interested in. I know whatever it is, there's something you want too."
"You're more like Katherine than your brother. I like that." Lucy laughed. "You're right. I do want something. Two things, actually." She leaned over the desk. "I told you Bonnie was worried about Elena. She still is. Neither of us want your kind of life for her."
"You don't want me to marry her?"
"I didn't say that." Lucy frowned. "I said I don't want her to have your kind of life. Elena should never become a vampire."
"I don't plan on turning her." The thought of losing her someday gave him an ache in his chest, but he couldn't even think about making her live this life. She'd been very blunt - letting him know she didn't want to change.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "And you vampires never do. But just wait. I've spent my life surrounded by your kind. I've seen this happen before. You're in love with her, and one day, you'll start to realize she's getting older. You're not. Suddenly, it isn't such an easy decision anymore. You're going to want to keep her with you, and that's not fair to her or her daughter. She has the right to a life not spent hiding in the shadows."
He began to wonder if Lucy could read minds. How did she know what he'd just been thinking about before she came in? "What are you asking?" Damon looked at her with his most piercing expression.
"I'm getting to that." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small glass vial. "When I was researching Stefan's options, I came across this." She placed the vial on the table. "The Bennett witches have been around for a very long time. Longer than you realize. The first of our line was saved by a vampire. I don't know the whole story. The how and why has long since been lost in history, but our debt to the vampires has remained. We've been forced to be linked with your kind for centuries, and I want it to end. Our family is tired of being pulled into your troubles. Because of our obligation, we haven't had the luxury of refusing. A fact Katherine was very much aware of...I'm surprised she didn't pass that knowledge onto you. I'm the eldest Bennett witch now, and I can speak for all of my clan. I want you to release my family from their debt."
"That seems like quite a big request." Damon shifted in his seat as he stared at the vial. "And if I do what you ask, you'll give me that?" He pointed to the container. "What could be worth releasing your family?"
"Oh, I think this is." Lucy picked up the vial and placed it in Damon's hand. It seemed to pulse as it radiated warmth that leaked through the decorative glass. "You're now holding the key to regaining your humanity."