This is definitly one of my favorites chapters, I really hope you all enjoy it as much as I did and I want to know what you think of it

. Thank you so much for still reading and thanks to Lorena for being an amazing beta.

Love,

Sam.

P.S Did you watch TVD last friday? Wasn't it awsome! I'm still on shock because of that episode.

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering. When they were ten he asked her to marry him. Their love was a secret they told no one. He promised her he would never love another girl as long as he lived. 'What if I die' She asked. 'Even then', he said"

-Nicole Krauss-

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Elena cried for what felt like hours after the door shut behind her. Then she stripped out of her clothes and took a long hot shower, her tears mixed with the water as everything she was feeling went away into the drain. Afterwards she put on her sleeping clothes and crawled under the safeness and warmness of the covers but sleep refused to come. The room seemed too big and too lonely for her, she gripped the covers more tightly as she tried to close the enormous gap that had opened in her chest after her fight with Damon.

Now that she looked back she could see that it hadn't been fair to say those things to him, she was in pain and no one could deny that but he was in pain too, and it wasn't fair of her to lash out at him for something that wasn't his fault. But the thing was if she couldn't blame Damon then who could she blame? Her parents were miles away so there was no use in it and she had spent too much time blaming herself already.

She tossed and turned in bed a few minutes more before a knock on the door made her remain still. "Elena? Are you awake?" The soft murmur of Damon's voice came from the other side of the door and she released the breath she didn't know she was holding "I know you're awake" He continued "I want to apologize"

Elena sighed and removed the covers off herself before taking a robe and heading to the door, when she opened it she found a red eyed Damon staring back at her; his hair was disheveled and he was wearing dark pajama pants and a white t-shirt "I'm sorry" They both said at the same time.

In less than a heartbeat Damon was inside the room and was surrounding her with his strong arms, Elena relaxed in his embrace and gripped him as tightly as he was doing with her. "I never meant to yell at you"

"No, Damon it's my fault. I shouldn't have said those things" She whispered against his chest. Her hands fisted his shirt at his back. "I'm so sorry"

Damon breathed in her scent, that faint smell of cinnamon and apples that she always seemed to carry around. He had hated fighting with her today and even though a part of him still remained hurt because of her words he couldn't stand the idea of going to sleep with things like that between them.

"I'm so sorry" She repeated

"Elena… was it true?" His soft voice echoed in the silence of the room "What you said about trying to kill yourself?" He told her as he broke apart from their embrace, the door had shut behind them and only the light of the moon filtering through the blinds was illuminating them. He hadn't been able to get her words out of his head, they were eating him up inside

"I was foolish" She buried her head in his chest once again and breathed in his scent, reminding herself that he was indeed here with her "I shouldn't have said it like that, like I was blaming you. It wasn't your fault. I made those decisions"

"Hey, hey" He gripped her chin between his fingers and forced her eyes to meet his "It wasn't your fault either" He hated to think of the pain she must have felt, leading her to take that awful choice. Damon promised in that moment that he would never allow her to feel that way again.

Elena nodded but didn't say a word "I guess we still have a lot of things to work on" He said softly "But this wasn't a mistake darling" He stroked her cheek lovingly "We could never be a mistake"

"I know" She nodded "But I feel so scared sometimes. You scare me Damon" Goosebumps rose in her skin at the admission; Damon had always been the one person with whom she could truly show all of her insecurities and fears.

"I'm going to keep you safe Elena" He pressed their foreheads together, their breaths mingling with each other "This time I will keep my word"

"Oh Damon" She said in a half sob as he wrapped her in his arms once again "I shouldn't have said that to you. It wasn't your fault, none of it was your fault" She gripped his t shirt at the waist. "How are we going to fix all of this" Her voice was laced with despair as she clung to him with all of her strength.

"With time and patience and a lot of love doll" He reassured her "I think our love can beat anything"

"I wish I could be as positive as you Damon" She told him

"Don't worry, I can be positive for both of us" A small smile appeared on his lips. Truth be told Damon had been everything but positive in the last ten years but after finding her again and holding her in his arms there was nothing that could stop him or nothing that could make him stop hoping and believing. "We'll work it out Elena"

"We still have so much to fix between us" She whispered against his chest

"We can start tomorrow, for tonight just let me sleep with you darling" He whispered next to her ear and Elena's whole body came alive at his words "Just sleep, I promise. I want to hold you one more time" His voice echoed in the silence of the room and Elena knew in that moment that there was no going back, Damon was inside her heart again and there was no way he was going away.

She nodded silently against his chest before he took her hand and lead her onto the bed. He lay down against the pillows and drew her to rest in the crook of his neck, her head fitting there as if they were created for this exact purpose; his arms locked around her and they went to sleep surrounded by their love, the way they should have been doing for the last ten years.

The next morning Elena woke up to find the bed empty and cold, and for a minute she wondered if perhaps she had dreamt the whole thing up and Damon never really showed up in her bedroom last night. But just when the panic was about to start consuming her the door burst open and he walked inside carrying two bags filled with food from the diner next to the hotel.

They ate in a very comfortable silence, years had gone by and they had been a part of all that time but in a matter of hours they had settled back into old habits and the normalcy of being with each other.

While Damon went to check them out and load their things into the car Elena took a shower and got dressed into a very simple green polo style dress with a white belt around the waist. She was wearing white sneakers and had her hair in a low ponytail with a bit of volume on top. Once she was satisfied with her appearance she exited the room and headed to the parking lot to find Damon. She stood still and more than a bit awestruck when she saw him leaning against his car. He was wearing dark pants and a dark dress shirt today, his hair was perfectly styled and he was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses; a cigar was trapped indolently between his lips and for a minute she thought he looked a lot like Johnny Cash.

There was no doubt that he was one handsome man Elena thought as she watched him. He was oblivious of her and was drawing small drags from his cigar, he seemed concentrated and a small frown graced his face; he seemed to be thinking too hard about something.

Elena took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure before heading towards him once again "Are you ready?" She asked once she was close enough for him to hear her.

The minute he heard her voice his face turned to her and the biggest of smiles appeared on his face, his mouth slightly tilted to the side and even though she couldn't see his eyes she was sure they were sparkling, like they did every time he truly smiled.

"All ready" he told her before putting out his cigar and moving to the passenger side to open the door for her.

In no time they were touring the streets of Annapolis, Elena had never thought of that little town too much but she found that she quite liked it; the people were nice and there were some very interesting things to see.

She had brought her R2000 camera and had snapped thousands of pictures, knowing Caroline and Lizzie would ask for them when she returned, she even snapped a few of Damon and her together. She loved the colonial houses but her favorite thing about the small town was definitely the Summer Garden Theater, she loved the concept of a theater under the stars and promised herself to go back in the future to see a show. Her heart warmed as she looked at Damon and wondered if there was a chance he would return with her one day.

They walked along the river and Damon told her that it reminded him a lot of Wilmington where he was currently living, he eventually held her hand and she automatically leaned her head against his shoulder. Elena felt like she was living in a dream and with each passing second she grew more and more scared of waking up.

"You know we could have made this entire trip in a day right?" She asked once they were back on the road, they had spent the entire morning in Annapolis and dusk was now starting to settle in.

"We could have, but it wouldn't have been half as fun" He gave her his trade mark smirk and she felt excitement rise in her like she was a school girl again.

'Girl from the North Country', a very popular Bob Dylan song started to sound on the radio, it was the version with Johnny Cash and Elena couldn't help but turn up the volume and sing along to the lyrics. It was a very sad song and it always left her feeling a little blue but she loved the emotion in every word and how the singers could deliver it with so much passion.

"You like them?" Damon asked in a voice thick with emotion

"Yes" She whispered, the soft notes of the song were the only thing that could be heard in the car "Cash more than Dylan"

Damon nodded and his hands gripped the steering wheel tighter "I remember you loved 'I walk the line' "

"Yes" She told him "I continued to follow him ever since"

Damon took a deep breath; the emotion the song brought them was heavy in the air and the ghost of the life that could have been but was taken away hung between them. All those nights and days lost, all those little things he still didn't know about her.

"For how long have you been a professional dancer?" He asked

"Almost seven years" She answered "When I first came to New York I worked as a waitress and took dancing lessons. I went to a million auditions before I landed something fairly important"

"You're very good" He told her. After that first time when he saw the play with Caroline he had returned every night to the theater, he didn't just wait for her outside, he went inside to see her dance. He always loved to see her dance "You were always an amazing dancer"

The memory of days where she used to dance for him in his room was like a shadow surrounding them in the small car "And why did you decide you didn't want to be the star anymore?"

"I'm a very different person from the girl who wanted to be a star" Elena fidgeted with her hands on her lap "I didn't want the spotlight anymore, I just wanted the chance to do what I loved" She took a deep breath and stole a glance at him "I was a wreck back then Damon, it didn't appear that way but I was even more broken than what I am today" He moved a hand off the steering wheel and stilled her moving hands in her lap

"You're not broken Elena" He gripped her hand tightly "Maybe a little chipped but we're going to work on that"

She nodded in response as a small smile played on her lips, it amazed her how after so many years Damon could still make her think everything was possible with just a few words, how he could make her feel so safe and protected after everything that happened.

Damon didn't release her hand after that, they continued talking about things they liked and things they had missed out on the last ten years. He learned that she now loved cooking and baking and she learned that he built with his own hands the house where he now lived. She told him she hadn't spoken with her parents ever since she left Mystic Falls in spite of her father's incessant efforts and he told her he and Stefan had seen his father again a few years ago, he said it had been the biggest disappointment of his life.

The minutes trickled by like water on a dike, the sun set without them even realizing it and dark heavy clouds started to cover the sky.

"I don't think we'll be able to find a hotel or motel before it starts raining" She told him as the first droplets of water started to hit the roof of the car.

"There must be some place close" He reassured her "We'll just keep driving"

"All right"

They had been driving for a few more minutes when the rain started to fully pour down on them, it was even stronger than it had been the day before.

"I guess we should have left the town earlier, God knows when we'll-" Whatever Elena had been about to say was interrupted when the radio started playing 'Doris Day Dream a little dream'. Elena remained still, not even daring to breathe as the first chords of the song carried on; she wondered if he even remembered it.

Like another blast from the past a scene came to her; she and Damon buck naked dancing together to this song in his room, she remembered every single time they danced, she remembered it all too well. It's amazing how much a human being can store, how many feelings and smells and sensations.

"Look, it's just perfect" Damon's voice brought her back from the trip to memory lane only to find him parking the car in front of a small white church.

"That's a church Damon"

"I know"

"And it's closed"

"I have no intentions of going inside" He smirked at her before turning up the volume of the radio to the max and throwing open his door.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked as she watched him climb out into the soaking rain "You're going to get sick"

He was drenched instantly but he had the brightest smile on his face, he went around the car and opened her door as well "Will you dance with me, Miss Gilbert?" He hunched forward and offered her his hand

Her heart soared at his question because he had indeed remembered it "I can't believe you are going to make me do this" She muttered under her breath but it was futile to hide the big grin on her lips. Elena Gilbert felt truly happy for the first time in so long.

As Doris Day's voice continued sounding in the lonely highway they danced around the parking lot, she clung to him as they swayed with the rain pouring down on them. She didn't care about the cold, or the fact that her hair was sticking to her face, nor that her sneakers squeaked with water every time she moved. She only cared that she was in his arms once again after all this time.

"This is what I have missed the most" He whispered against her ear as his hold on her became stronger and he moved his lips to kiss the corner of her mouth. "I have missed you doll"

"I have missed you too" She told him before he took her lips in the most wonderful kiss she had experienced. Fireworks came alive inside her closed eyelids as they kissed for the very first time in ten years. Their mouths remembered each other instantly and fuzzed with passion as the heat between them grew more and more.

They kissed for what felt like hours, rediscovering each nook and crane they thought was forgotten, and relishing in being with each other again. She gripped his wet hair in her hands and he moved her backwards and pressed her to the side of the car, the song being long over.

Their mouths were red and swollen from their kisses but they didn't care, they could kiss for all eternity and it wouldn't be enough "I've- I…" Damon pressed their foreheads together and gripped her hips in his hands; Elena closed her eyes once again in pleasure and started undoing the buttons of his shirt.

"Darling…" He forced her to open her eyes and searched for any trace of doubt there but found none. He opened the door of the car and moved her to the back seat "Are you sure about this?" He asked before nuzzling her nose with his own.

"Yes, yes I am Damon"

They lost their clothes slowly; the rain kept pouring down outside but their bodies no longer felt cold, they were shivering from very different reasons now. He admired the differences in her body; the fullness that wasn't there before, the wideness of her hips and marveled at the fact that her skin was still the softest thing he had ever touched. She had the body of a woman now and he had never seen something more beautiful. He dragged his lips all over her skin, a single tear leaving his eye when he kissed her belly, reminding him of a time when he should have been with her but couldn't.

"Damon" Elena whispered and brought his face back to hers, she felt fascinated with the muscles ripping under her hands, with the body of a man that was so different from the boy she used to know. But he still had that wolf tattoo on his back and that birthmark on his abdomen, he was her Damon and he was finally with her again. "We need…" He kissed her neck and her eyes rolled up at the sensation "Protection Damon"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and reached briefly into the front seat, after he was ready he moved himself to rest between her legs and paused, his eyes looked at her "I'll ask one more time-"

"I'm sure" She lifted herself up to kiss him as he entered her excruciatingly slow. The air was sucked out of his chest at the feeling of her surrounding him again, it was like time had stood still and nothing else existed but the two of them in the back seat. "Damon…" Elena panted "Move" She dug her nails into his hips to urge him when she realized he didn't plan to move anytime soon.

It had been way too long for Elena but even though she felt a bit of discomfort she could do nothing more than urge him on because something was growing inside her and he was the only one who could quench her thirst. She had forgotten how wonderful it felt to have him inside her.

Elena couldn't concentrate on anything but the movement of their bodies, of his hand touching her between their bodies and his mouth worshiping her everywhere he could reach, she didn't even know if the rain had stopped, nothing existed except Damon moving inside her.

"Oh darling, darling" Damon babbled against her neck as he trusted inside her frantically, he was losing focus of everything around him, there was nothing else for him than the body of the woman he loved in his arms "I love you, I love you so much doll"

Elena threw her head back and her legs clamped around him as his words threw her over the edge, her nails raked down his back and he growled deeply in his chest before releasing himself inside her.

She gripped him even more tightly as the aftershocks of her orgasm went through her, his mouth found hers and they kissed again, their tongues caressing each other sensually.

"I love you Damon" She whispered against his mouth and he couldn't help the way his eyes watered at hearing her words, because he had waited so damn long to hear them again.

"I love you too" He rasped out before dropping his forehead onto hers.

They remained locked together for a long time afterwards, the rain diminishing with each passing second, no one but them in the dark highway and no sound but their mouths meeting each other from time to time.

"I think we should get going" She told him

"You're probably right" He started to put on his wet clothes "I'll get us some dry clothes from the trunk"

Elena nodded and let out a laugh when she sat up "What's so funny?" Damon asked her with a raised eyebrow, a smirk on his face when she couldn't stop laughing.

"We just had sex in front of a church" She told him between giggles, Damon looked at the front and remembered where they had parked, he drew her into his embrace and pressed a kiss onto her forehead "My mother would die if she could see me now" The thought gave her some satisfaction and she could tell that it did the same for him from the way he chuckled.

"Take me home Damon"

His eyes found hers and the happiness she saw in them made her feel warm inside. There was no doubting anymore, no hiding it or trying to pretend it wasn't true. Damon was and always had been the only home she ever had.

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