A/N: My muse has been a fickle beast lately, but I finally managed to finish. I love your comments and reviews many of which have helped reshape my thinking on chapters and story direction. So keep the comments coming. Happy reading!

Chapter 25

Damon sat in his office, drumming his fingers on his desk, as he exchanged texts with the crew of painters that were set to redo the walls of the guest bedroom in order to turn the room into a nursery. He verifying that they would be done in time to have the muralist do her work in the afternoon. The plan was to have the paining done while Elena was gone for the day so she would be surprised when she got home. It was just the first part of the surprise he had planned for the day. Just as he set his phone down, the door opened and his brother strode into his office. Stefan plopped down in a chair across the desk a disgruntled look on his face.

"All packed up?" Damon asked. In order to decorate the nursery, he had to kick Stefan to the curb since he had been occupying the guest bedroom. Stefan wasn't happy, but a girlfriend, a baby, a frequent blonde visitor, and a little brother were too much for one household. Someone had to go and Stefan was that someone. Fortunately Damon still had the financial district apartment and Stefan was moving there so he wouldn't have to return to living with their dad. Damon thought it was a great set-up, but Stefan had been unusually grumpy the last few days.

"Yes" Stefan replied flippantly. "Why is it so urgent I be out now? The baby isn't due for 8 more weeks."

"Need to get the nursery done, jackass. Unless you want to sleep in the crib, I suggest you shut it and be grateful I'm not making you move back in with Dad." Damon leaned back in his chair continuing to strum his fingers across his desk ignoring his brother's petulant behavior.

"Why do you look so nervous?" Stefan asked suddenly, his eyes fixated on Damon's drumming fingers.

Damon sighed debating if he should reveal his plans. He didn't need Stefan's mood dampening his current euphoric feelings for what he had planned for later. He especially didn't need one of Stefan's lectures on Elena if he heard what he had planned. These were the times when he missed the other half of team badass who was currently changing diapers. Realizing he needed to confide in someone, his brother would have to fill in for confidant. Damon opened up his desk drawer. Pulling out a small box he tossed it to his brother who caught it easily. Stefan looked at the box covered in blue velvet with a confused expression. Opening it up, his jaw dropped in shock.

"Seriously. An engagement ring? Damon Salvatore wants to get married?!" Stefan exclaimed. If he was a cartoon character his eyes would be popping out in surprise.

Damon just smirked as his brother's reaction. He knew he would take some ribbing, more like lots of ribbing, but never had he been more sure of anything in his life. Elena was the ONE. The one he would sacrifice everything to keep, the one that was the air he breathed, the one that made him happy to face the day knowing he would face it with her. Any nerves he felt were due to trying to keep the proposal a surprise not over actually asking the question. He planned to propose in the completed nursery. That room will be a place of joy to be filled with happy memories as they raise their daughter. He wanted their first memory in that room to be promising their lives to one another.

"This is your one free shot, get all of the jests out of your system now. It happens after today, I'll remind you why I'm the older brother." Damon shot Stefan a mock glare.

Stefan looked closer at the ring and the smile fell from his face. Damon braced himself, hoping Stefan wouldn't have a meltdown. He knew his brother would recognize the ring with the square sapphire surrounded by small diamonds. The antique ring was significant to the Salvatore family, a fact that wouldn't be lost on Stefan.

"Is this...Mom's?" Stefan asked quietly, his eyes still on the ring.

"Yes. It's Mom's engagement ring." Damon let out a sad breath. Their mother wore the ring proudly despite it not being the conventional humongous diamond all the other socialites wore. She left it in a safe deposit box. She left it for one of to use when we got married. When I was in there, I also found the anniversary band Dad gave her. It would make a great engagement ring. You know...when the time is right that is." Damon gave his brother a soft smile when Stefan finally lifted his eyes.

Stefan opened and closed his mouth a few times and Damon coughed to suppress his laughter at the obviously flustered Stefan. Blondie my annoy him, but she made Stefan happy. For that alone he would suffer whenever she became his sister-in-law. As he watched the myriad of emotions flash across Stefan's face, Damon contemplated the ring. It was the ring his Great-Grandfather used to propose and it had passed from Salvatore son to Salvatore son ever since.

"You know I never even contemplated giving that ring to Katherine. When I proposed to her, it was entirely in the heat of the moment after she told me she was pregnant. Of course, she wanted to go ring shopping for the biggest ring we could find. In the back of my mind I think I knew she would never appreciate Mom's ring and would just focus on the fact that it was small and that the main stone wasn't a diamond. That should have told me everything I needed to know about Katherine right there, but I was too dumb and blind to see the real her." Damon had contemplated his proposal to Katherine many times and as painful as that time had been, he sometime wondered if had to happen in order to get to this point in his life.

Stefan placed the open ring box on the desk facing Damon. Elena valued family and knowing the ring had once been worn by his mother he knew she would love it. Damon hoped the sentimental nature of the ring would help express how much she meant to him. Not since his mother had he loved someone so much nor felt that love returned.

"Mom, um, Mom's ring is still in the safe deposit box?" Stefan hesitantly asked.

"It's there whenever you need it brother." Damon smirked at Stefan sensing there may be another proposal in the works for the Salvatore brothers.

"Elena's very lucky." Stefan grinned at Damon and he returned it liking how his life was falling into place.

Damon heard his phone ringing and saw it was Elena. "Sex God at your disposal, how can I help you?" Damon wiggled his eyebrows at Stefan who was pretending to silently throw up effectively ending their brotherly bonding moment.

"Someone is in a good mood," Elena said laughing.

"What can I saw, I love pregnancy hormones." Damon said as he turned his chair so his back was to Stefan giving him of hint of privacy. Damon let his mind drift to their activities from that morning. Elena practically attacked him in the shower, not that he minded, but his eight o'clock meeting sure seemed to mind when he was late.

"Da-mon" Elena whined. "I had a real reason to call, and it wasn't to discuss our sex life. Dr. Fell called. She needs to reschedule our 7 month check-up."

Damon opened the calendar on his laptop and saw their appointment was originally scheduled for the day after tomorrow. "When does she want to see us?"

"Today. At 2." Elena said hesitantly.

"Shit! I have that meeting from one to four that I can't reschedule." Damon looked at his watch and saw it was nearly eleven then he furiously started flipping through dates on his calendar to see if there was any way to reschedule the meeting. He hadn't missed a doctor's appointment yet and didn't want to start now.

"You've rearranged meeting after meeting for me, Damon. It's a routine check-up. Fifteen, twenty minutes tops. No point in changing your entire day for that. There are still more appointments. Missing one is no big deal." Damon could hear the sincerity in her voice, but he still hated the idea of missing a single visit. He promised to stay by Elena's side and felt like he was shirking his duty as a father by not being there despite Elena's protests that he didn't have to go to all of them.

"But I want to be there." Damon said quietly.

"I know, but Dr. Fell had to reschedule a surgery and this is the only time she can fit us in," Elena explained.

Damon was on thin ice at work. The number of clients he was bringing in had dropped, due to the face that he no longer had alternative means to entice clients. His days of blurring the line between business and pleasure were long gone. Plus he wasn't working the kind of hours he used to since he wanted to be around more for Elena. Disappearing to Mystic Falls for a month probably didn't help his case either. Logically he knew he should take the meeting, but his fatherly instinct told him to go with Elena.

"You're staying for your meeting and I'm going to the appointment and we'll meet up for dinner." Elena had the 'don't miss with me' tone and Damon decided to acquiesce. Raging pregnancy hormones had taught him to pick his battles and with what he planned for later he didn't want Elena n a bad mood.

"Can you at least take Blondie?" Damon asked.

"Caroline won't be in New York until this weekend. Oh, and I'm supposed to remind you that she plans to cash in her bet very soon." Elena chuckled lightly. Stupid slap bet, Damon groaned.

"Well, that explains why emo boy is extra broody today." Damon turned his chair around to again face his brother. Stefan tended to get cranky the times that Caroline was back in Mystic Falls and the scowl Stefan was currently sporting was proof of that.

"I'll text you when I'm done," Elena said softly.

"Fine," Damon sighed. "Make sure you take Maddox. No going out alone." Damon reminded Elena before hanging up. The restraining order against Katherine was in place but he didn't want to take any chances.

Elena let the nurse take her blood pressure and get her prepped for Dr. Fell and luckily she didn't have to wait long before the doctor came into the exam room. Her face broke into a wide grin at seeing Elena and she quickly scanned the room.

"No Damon today?" Dr. Fell asked as she placed Elena's chart onto the counter.

"No, he wasn't expecting a change in the appointment and had a meeting he couldn't reschedule." Elena felt bad Damon couldn't be there. He so desperately wanted to prove he wasn't going anywhere, by being as involved as possible. Elena told him he didn't have to go to all the appointments but he insisted. He had even attended more than Alaric had with Jenna. Missing one appointment wasn't a big deal to Elena despite what Damon thought.

"Sorry to make to him miss, but I appreciate you making this change." Dr. fell measured Elena's swelling belly and listened to the baby's heart beat. She then sat and flipped through Elena's chart a serious look on her face. Her normally chatty demeanor was now completely somber. Elena started to grow concerned.

"Let's take a look at the baby, shall we?" Dr. Fell sent a message on her phone and looked up at Elena with a guarded smile.

"You're doing an ultrasound? I thought today was just a routine visit. Should I call Damon?" Elena voice grew higher and the words tumbled out faster as she spoke. Elena imagined her face reflected her panic as Dr. Fell reached out and squeezed her hand.

Dr. Fell smiled and helped Elena lay back as the ultrasound technician walked into the room. "I just want to take a peek. Make sure everything is on track."

Elena could only nod her head and pulled up her maternity shirt taking slow deep breathes. The cold gel on her stomach made her jump slightly and the technician gave her an apologetic smile as she started the test. Silence filled the room as the images flashed across the screen.

"Freeze there." Elena's eye jerked to the screen at Dr. Fell's words. "Move lower. Freeze the image."

Moving from the monitor to Dr. Fell's face and back, she could ascertain nothing and as she laid on the table she mentally kicked herself for insisting Damon take his meeting. To Elena, what was only a couple of minutes seemed like hours as she watched them study the images. She shifted her gaze to the ceiling and resorted to counting ceiling tiles to keep a modicum of calm. When she hit forty-three tiles she heard Dr. Fell's voice directed at her.

"Elena, I need you to look at the screen for me." Dr. Fell's gentle voice wafted to her ears. Elena slowly turned her head to see the image on the screen.

"Is she okay?" Elena asked trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"She's fine. I know the ultrasound through you for a loop, but we've heard the echo before when listening to the heartbeat and I heard it again today. I also noticed the last couple of months that you have been measuring larger than normal for this stage of your pregnancy. The shadow on the last ultrasound gave some suspicions and today's ultrasound confirmed it." Dr. Fell asked the technician to move the wand and what previously was a clear picture of the baby's' head was replaced by another head. She turned a bewildered look on her face to see Dr. Fell's face split into the biggest grin she had seen on her.

"Congratulations, Elena. It's twins. Two very healthy babies waiting for their delivery day." Elena just stared at the screen in shock trying to comprehend the words she was hearing. Tears started down her face. She knew this pregnancy was her one shot at motherhood and the fact that it was going to be twins was truly a blessing.

"Twins," Elena whispered. She turned back to look at Dr. Fell who had been more than a doctor these past months, but someone who had become a friend, confident, and part time psychologist. "Thank you."

"Do you want to know the gender of the munchkin that has been playing hide and seek on us for months?" The technician joked and Elena could only nod as she was still trying to process the fact she was going to be the mother of two.

"Looks like baby number two is a ...boy." One of each. Elena was over the moon. She had always wanted to one of each and after the accident she didn't think that would ever be possible.

"So the twins were the good news. Now for the bad." Dr. Fell sighed. "You're blood pressure is a bit high and the placenta previa still hasn't resolved. We need to move to full bed rest and schedule a c-section. Blood loss is risk for a natural delivery so the c-section is the safest route." Dr. Fell went on to discuss that bed rest could be done at home, since she knew Damon would keep an eye on her. They discussed scheduled the c-section for six weeks later and scheduled the next appointment.

Elena left the office flanked by Maddox and another body guard texting Damon as she went that they had things to talk about when he got home. As she was loaded into the SUV, she had never felt so happy. She desperately wanted to tell someone her news, but she wanted Damon to be the first to know. She noticed a text from Damon from earlier saying he had a surprise for her later. Little did he know that he was the one that be getting a surprise. She couldn't wait to see the expression on his face when he found out they would be having both a boy and a girl.

As the SUV traveled the busy streets, Elena looked out the window enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. She felt like she was finally living her life. After her parents death, she held so much of herself from others and denied herself happiness. Damon had changed all of that. He brought her back to life. She missed her parents every day, but she knew she they were smiling on her and would have loved Damon and these babies.

Maddox led Elena into the apartment and said good-bye to her as he typed out a text as she closed the door. Most likely he was letting Damon know he had delivered her home. Elena dropped her clutch and phone on the table next to the door. She moved through their home into the bedroom and stopped when she saw the packed back on the bed. Damon had periodically surprised her with weekend getaways and she guessed that this must be the surprise he had texted her about earlier. She was touched he continuously tried to surprise her and hoped he wouldn't be disappointment they couldn't go since she was on bed rest. She turned around to sit on the bed with a smile on her face as she rubbed her stomach. Looking up her smile faded as she saw a tall thin blonde woman standing across the room from her, a gun trained on Elena's stomach.

The woman before her was wearing a set of coveralls and had long blonde hair that hung straight down. A baseball hat was pulled low over her eyes pushing her hair further forward. Elena looked to the door calculating if she could to the door before the woman would be on her. The blonde must have noticed her gaze as she moved to stand between Elena and the door.

"Move to the door, slowly and don't make a sound or your baby's life ends before it even begins." The blonde's voice was low and throaty. Pushing herself off the bed awkwardly she scrambled to get to the door to comply with the her demands.

"Did Katherine hire you? There's still time to do the right thing. Leave now and no one has to know you were here." The only response Elena received was a push in the back. Elena managed to maintain her balance and stayed on her feet.

As they reached the front door, the woman stepped closer her hand on the door. Elena could feel her breathe on her neck, but Elena refused to quake in fear. She need to stay calm and look for an opportunity to get away or contact Damon.

"Make a sound and I'll good on my threat," the blonde hissed. Opening the door the two stepped into the hallway and instead of going left to the elevator, Elena was forced to turn right to the back of the building. Down a couple of flights of stairs they came upon a loading elevator and took it down to the loading dock and an awaiting car with blacked out windows.

Damon flicked through his texts messages on his phone and saw one from Elena.

Out of the doctor. Everything fine. Need to talk.

Damon typed out a response that he was on his way home and responded to a couple of other texts in the back of his cab that was crawling through rush hour traffic. Seeing numerous missed calls from Alaric and Stefan. Damon wondered what was so urgent. He decided to take advantage of the few extra minutes he would be in the cab to call them back. Once he was home his sole focus would be on Elena and proposing. He was so close to home he could see his building down the street. As he waited for Alaric to pick up, Damon also noticed the mob of reporters and cameras gathered around the entrance. Damon's brow dropped in confusion as he saw the scene that was spilling onto the street.

"Don't go home." Alaric ordered as soon as he answered. Damon chuckled at the abrupt tone.

"Well hello to you to. I'm half a block from there and I can see all the reporters. Did my neighbor have another midnight tryst with a rock star?" Damon wasn't the only tenant in his building that had a history of high profile affairs. There was a socialite that lived below him that had a fetish for rock stars.

"That mob is there for you. Come to our place. Now! I'll explain everything when you get here." Alaric's tone was clipped and full of panic.

"I have to get Elena. She's left the doctor's a couple of hours ago and she is probably inside oblivious to what is going on." Damon needed to call Maddox and make arrangement to get her out of the building safely and avoid the mob scene out front so they both could get to Jenna and Alaric's apartment.

"She's not there. Just get here now." Alaric hung up. Damon gave the new address to the cab driver as he adeptly maneuvered through traffic to get them going in the opposite direction.

Ten minutes later Damon was running up the steps to the fourth floor apartment. He had been trying Elena's cell phone but had been getting only her voicemail. In between his calling attempts he had numerous calls coming in from unknown numbers which he ignored. As he reached the landing in front of the apartment he saw Alaric was standing in the open door way. He strode inside and saw a frazzled looking Jenna pacing the floor holding a sleeping Miranda while Stefan sat on the couch his head in his hands.

"Where's Elena?" Damon asked as he scanned the room not seeing her. The phone started buzzing in his pocket and he growled when he saw it wasn't Elena but yet another unknown caller.

"There probably reporters." Stefan said motioning with his head at Damon's phone.

"Somebody man up and tell me what the hell is going on and where my very pregnancy girlfriend is, right now!" Damon demanded.

A look was exchanged between Stefan and Alaric that wasn't missed by Damon. His body stiffened as Alaric approached him his face looking ashen and tight with worry. Alaric gripped Damon's shoulder and he let himself be led to a chair and pushed down. Dread and fear numbed his body and seemed to no longer obey his commands. The lack of words and the distraught looks all indicated one thing. Something happened to Elena.

"A story broke in the press. Everyone knows about Katherine being pregnant and about the baby being yours. And" Stefan paused seeming to gather his thoughts.

"And?" Damon asked impatiently. So far nothing Stefan said was a total shock. He knew Katherine would eventually run to the media. He even had his publicist prepare a statement for when the story broke. He just needed to call her and his side would be released to the media in minutes. None of this helped explain why Elena wasn't here them.

"And some are running the story that you're not the father of Elena's baby." Jenna said quickly.

Damon waived a hand dismissively not even wanting to dignify Jenna's statement with a response. These were more media games by Katherine and he refused to believe any of planted lies. "I don't fucking care what stories the media has picked up. I just want Elena and you are freaking me out by not telling me where she is."

"I went home Damon to pick up a few things I left at your place. Most of her stuff was gone. And...I found this." Stefan reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter and handed it to Damon.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Damon scoffed. He had received texts from Maddox earlier that he had safely delivered Elena home. He was also watching the front of the building and would have notified Damon is Elena tried to leave the building, which she had done a time or two before he convinced her the necessity of bodyguards. Damon roughly grabbing the letter from Stefan's hand and yanking it open he started to read.

Dear Damon,

By the time you read this, I will be gone. I thought I could be with you. I thought I could love you. I was wrong. You're life is too fast paced, to high pressure and not an environment where I want to raise a child. The fact that you fathered a child with my sister shortly before doing so with me is proof enough that you live a life of which I want no part. I always wanted to be a mom and you gave that to me, but I want nothing else from you. The baby was all I needed and now that I have it, I no longer want you in my life. The baby will be well cared for and I won't expect any support from you. Please don't seek me out. Live your life, support your child with Katherine and leave me to live my own life. Good-bye.

Elena

After reading the letter, he immediately looked at Alaric. "This has Katherine written all over it. Call the police."

Damon yanked out his phone and dialed the PI he had on retainer. "Pull Elena's phone records, track her credit card, and tag her passport. She's gone and not by choice. I need you to find her. And I need to know where Katherine is and need you to step up the surveillance on her. Anything, I mean anything suspicious turns up you call me. Night or day I don't care." Damon cocked his arm to throw his phone across the room, but stopped himself managing to reign in his anger and fear. He noticed no one had moved he pulled his phone back out to call the police himself when Jenna placed a hand on his arm.

"She-she texted me and said she was leaving Damon. Jeremy too. Said she would text when she was settled. She didn't say where she was going." Jenna pointed to her phone that sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "The police won't help."

"I was with her this morning, trust me that was not a woman preparing to leave me. She texted me earlier and said we had to talk. Who does when they are about to run? Katherine had something to do with this. She knew all about Katherine being pregnant. It was her idea for me to fight for custody and she even set up the meeting with the lawyer for me. Elena. Did. Not. Leave. Me." Damon voice was terse and thick. His hands were shaking and he pushed himself from chair and stalked to the door.

Stefan raced after him grabbing him by the arm. He shrugged him off and glared at his younger brother. The rage inside of him knew no bounds and it was all aimed at one woman. Katherine Pierce. She had fucked up his life for the last time.

"You can't go after her Damon. We don't have any proof forcibly kidnapped her. If we can prove Katherine violated the restraining order then the police can get be involved." Stefan seemed to be pleading with his brother with his eyes. The logical part of Damon's brain knew Stefan was right, but the caveman side of his brain just wanted to destroy anything or anyone that harmed what was his.

If he couldn't go after Katherine directly, he would go after the next best thing. Her mother Isobel.

Elena was pushed into an appointment that she didn't recognize. Her assailant had been driving around the city and despite living in New York for almost a year, her horrible sense of direction quickly had her disoriented and she had no clue where she had been taken. Other than a brief stop, to hand a package out the window to a waiting car, the entire ride was spent in silence. Attempts at staying calm were not working and Elena's breathes were coming in short pants as she feared for unborn child. Damon was probably frantic by now, but she hadn't been able to find a means to contact him. She had no idea who had her or why.

The blonde had a hold of her arm dragging her through the apartment to a bedroom. The door was slammed shut and Elena was pushed onto a king sized bed covered in a gray comforter. Looking around, she saw the room was painted a deep purple with cherry hard wood floors. A door next to the bed was slightly ajar and looked to be a bathroom. It was a luxury apartment and Elena was even more confused on what was happening to her.

"Please, you can still be let me go." Elena pleaded as the blonde circled the room, gun trained on Elena's stomach, checking the window.

Seeing that it was secure, the blonde turned to face Elena again. The entire time Elena stared at the woman with a hint of recognition, but Elena couldn't place her. The blonde shimmied out of the coveralls she had been wearing revealing a black corset and red skinny jeans showing off the woman's svelte figure. She pulled the hat away then reached up and the grasped the bangs that fell across her eyes. Pull away what Elena now realized to be a wig, long curly brunette hair cascaded down across her shoulders. Elena's eyes opened in shock at the person standing before her. She was dumbfounded how someone could be so devious and concoct such a web of lies. Elena's hands immediately wrapped around her stomach protectively who she now knew was in extreme danger.

"Hello little sister."

A/N: Yeah twins. What do you think of Katherine's ultimate deception? Please review!