Damon was sitting reading the newspaper in his favourite chair. There was nothing terribly interesting going on in the world, or nothing the paper wanted to publish anyway. Damon took his reading glasses off as he heard someone approach. It was a strange thing to require glasses to read but Damon was getting used to it.
"You finally look like my older brother," Stefan sniggered as he walked up the porch steps. Damon's favourite chair was technically speaking just the porch swing.
"It was almost funny the first time," Damon sighed. "But I've looked like your other brother for a while now."
"This joke doesn't get hold," Stefan sniggered. "Unlike you."
"Why did I invite you over again?" Damon groaned.
"I have a limited time to tease you," Stefan replied. "I have to make the most of it."
"Usually you have help," Damon remarked. "Where is that annoying wife of yours?"
"Caroline is parking the car," Stefan explained. "And your wife?"
"Checking on dinner," Damon answered as he stood up and followed his brother into the house. "Company has arrived," he called to Elena as they entered the kitchen.
"Dinner isn't ready yet!" Elena called back. Damon looked over at his beautiful wife. Sure, she had grey in her hair but it wasn't very noticeable and he too had a slight salt and pepper to his hair. They matched; it made Damon smile.
"Did you remember to check the temperature?" Damon asked.
"Yes," Elena sighed. "For the hundredth time yes, how could I forget with you nagging me all the time."
Damon laughed. "Oh it's been known to happen."
"Over thirty years and you are still on my case!" Elena exclaimed as she took the ham out of the oven. "I forgot one time!" The one time Elena was referring to had been when Elena had tried to kill him with salmonella poisoning. She had served chicken without first checking the internal temperature with a thermometer. Damon had almost eaten pink chicken! Thirty years of nagging was a small price to pay.
"And you shall never live it down," Damon chuckled as he approached her from behind and put his arms around her. Elena had thankfully already set the ham down. She turned in his arms and kissed him. Damon moved his hands down her back and squeezed her bottom. She giggled and gave him a dirty look. Damon had a sudden sense of deja vu. That elderly couple, all those years ago, that he'd seen arguing over leftovers, just hours before he'd given up being a vampire and become a human. He'd seen exactly what he wanted in those two and now here he was living it.
"If you kiss me every time you nag me, I might forgive you," Elena said smiling at him.
"Is that so?" Damon smiled back. He kissed her again rather more passionately than one probably should with company, and sure enough Blondie showed up.
"Get a room," Caroline said as she walked into the house like she owned the place. Damon sometimes wished Elena hadn't told her to do that. The whole 'she's my best friend' thing hadn't really meant Damon wanted her around all the time.
"The kitchen is a room," Damon replied with a grin.
"A public space actually," Caroline huffed.
"You're just jealous," Damon told her but he let go of Elena and went to set the table while Caroline scoffed. Damon ignored whatever Blondie said next in favour of getting glasses down from the cupboard. The table was set and the ham cut when the guest of honour arrived.
"Jenna!" Elena called as she ran to embrace her daughter.
"Hey mom," Jenna said, allowing herself to be hugged. Damon joined his wife in suffocating his daughter and it was a Jenna sandwich. "I need to breathe guys."
"Sorry," Elena mumbled as she let go.
"How is University treating you?" Damon asked.
"Oh, like you don't know," Jenna laughed. "Seriously I don't have time for you to call me every Sunday."
"Don't pick up the phone then," Damon grinned. He knew Jenna was just teasing him. They all heard the oven timer go off and Damon excused himself to get the baked potatoes. He'd done basically all the cooking but when it had come close to dinner time, Elena had insisted on helping and banished him to the porch. She'd cut her hours at work a few months ago. She wasn't that close to retiring yet but even just this little reduction seemed to mean she wanted to learn more about domestic life.
Damon brought out the last of the food and everyone sat down. Jenna talked about her most recent classes and what she wanted to do when she graduated. Stefan talked about his experience in different careers and what he liked about each of them, trying to give his niece ideas. Caroline played the doting aunt and Elena exclaimed that her little girl was all grown up! Damon listened to the joyful sounds of his family and smiled.
"How's Dylan?" Caroline asked Jenna.
"He's great," Jenna said. "He asked me to move in with him actually."
"I haven't even met this man yet," Damon grumbled.
"Dad," Jenna said. "Don't you remember what happened to the first boy I brought home?"
"I didn't like his eyes," Damon said. "Too shifty."
"You scared the crap out of that poor boys," Elena laughed. "He ran from the house like you'd threatened to torture him."
"He had bad intentions," Damon defended himself.
"And you wonder why I haven't brought Dylan over," Jenna laughed.
"If he is ever even slightly not nice to you," Damon began but he was cut off.
"You will kill him with a chainsaw," Jenna sighed. "Yeah I know dad."
"Stefan will help too," Damon said, nudging his brother. "Right?"
"By help you mean do all the work, right?" Stefan said. "I mean you are getting a bit old for such things."
Damon hit Stefan over the head with his butter knife, knowing full well it wouldn't have hurt Stefan even if he'd used an actual knife. Stupid vampire healing powers.
"Boys," Elena scolded them. "Not at the table." She turned to Jenna. "I hope Dylan is at least a little more mature than your father."
"Oh don't worry mom," Jenna said. "He is."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Damon whined.
"Oh nothing," Jenna smiled.
"Yeah right," Damon muttered but the subject was soon changed.
Jenna's birthday cake was brought out and Damon was reminded, by the number of candles, of that day twenty-one years ago when he'd become a father. How had the years gone by so quickly? They all sang happy birthday in different keys, as is traditional in a not-musically inclined family, and Jenna blew out her candles.
Over dessert the topic turned to what Jenna planned to do with her friends and boyfriend when she returned to school. Damon and Elena had financed her flight home for the weekend, insisting they needed to see her on such a momentous occasion.
Laughter filled the air as stories were exchanged, and everyone caught up with everyone else's lives. There was one thing bothering Damon, however, so when people started branching off into smaller conversations he took the opportunity to have a private word with his daughter.
"You do know you can bring Dylan to visit if you want, right?" Damon asked her. "If he matters to you I want to get to know him."
"You promise not to kill him?" Jenna laughed.
"I promise," Damon smiled back. "I know he makes you happy and that is all I want."
"Thanks," Jenna said. "We'll visit soon."
"You didn't think I'd actually kill him, did you?" Damon asked sheepishly.
"Nah," Jenna said. "But you are kinda intimidating dad. I like to at least have give the guy a chance to get invested before you try and scare him off."
"If they scare so easily you can do better," Damon told her. Jenna laughed and their private moment ended with the addition of Stefan who engaged Jenna in talk of University graduation and internships.
Laughter, conversation and a familial warmth about the room carried them through the rest of the evening. By the time Stefan and Caroline went home, it was very late.
"Good night," Jenna told her parents once her aunt and uncle left.
"It's so great to have you home," Elena said, hugging her daughter.
"What your mother said," Damon added, getting a hug in as well before letting her go up the stairs.
"I'm so proud of her I can't see straight," Damon sighed, leaning against his wife's shoulders as he watched his daughter walk up the stairs. He'd told Jenna this many times before but tonight especially reminded him just how true it was.
"I know the feeling," Elena said smiling. Together the two of them walked hand in hand, upstairs and to their own bed.
Damon laid down next to his wife, feeling the warmth of her beside him. As she started to fall asleep her breathing became even. The slow repeated sound like a lullaby to Damon who'd fallen asleep to this melody every night for over thirty years.
Damon had meant every word he'd said to Elena when he told her he was taking the cure and though they still had many years left together, in this moment Damon could say with absolute certainty that he'd had one perfect life with Elena and it had been infinitely better than an immortal one without her.
The End!
If you enjoyed this I'd like to quickly mention that I have a website. writesalott DOT com -I publish original stories and update a writer's blog. Come say hi!
Thanks for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it. Time for me to get back to what I usually write which is Malec and the Mortal Instruments fanfics. This has been fun though. :D
Oh and Reviewer Sev77: I did originally plan for them to have a second child after Jenna, a boy, but once I wrote it I realized I didn't have any ideas for writing him and as it had been so hard for them to get pregnant the first time I thought it was a little forced to believe they'd get pregnant again, so I cut the unnamed child. Though you are probably right and that kid would get into ALOT of trouble. lol. ^_^
Also a big thank you to reviewers: Eleid, sajen freyberg, and Sey77 for their regular reviews. :D Other people reviewed as well but you three were the most consistent so THANKS! :D
And a big thank you to my Beta reader Sabiduria for all her great editing help!