A/N: Our epilogue is here! And I believe it is the longest chapter to date.

To be completely honest, I've had this mostly written for a few days now but I was so sad about TPL coming to an end that I was kind of in denial. I can't keep it from you guys any longer though because that would be selfish.

Here you go, dear readers. Thank you for everything.

"Motherfucker," Damon gritted out under his breath as he examined his busted knuckles. It had been almost a week and they were still sore. It made playing the guitar incredibly difficult, which was highly unfortunate because the show had to go on. This was Madison Square Garden for crying out loud. The Ravens had made it to the big leagues. You didn't sell out MSG unless you were one of the greats.

The crowd screamed at an impossibly loud decibel, so loud that Damon could hear them clearly from his dressing room backstage. He bent and straightened his fingers slowly, trying to loosen up the joints in his damaged hand. He was distracted from his motions when a pregnant Caroline threw open his dressing room door.

"Do you ever knock? What if I had been indecent?" Damon feigned a shocked expression.

"Have you seen Stefan? He isn't in his dressing room and his son is kicking me in the kidneys so I need to yell at him about it." She motioned to her large stomach and Damon could see her belly jump a little. His new little nephew was an active kid already.

"You have a future soccer player on your hands there, Blondie."

"Whatever, as long as he isn't a boxer. Apparently the Salvatore men aren't exactly the best fighters," she teased, motioning to his hand.

"Oh don't tease him," Elena chimed in as she emerged from behind Caroline. She held the hand of a toddler, no more than two years old with curly brown hair and the bluest eyes.

"Auntie Caroline!" the little girl exclaimed, running and clinging to her leg.

Caroline bent down the best that she could and tucked a stray curl behind the little girl's ear. "My beautiful little Amelia! Are you ready to watch your dad and all of your uncles be silly onstage?"

"Yeah. Mommy says Daddy is still hurt so we came to look at his boo-boo."

Elena planted a tender kiss on Damon's lips then carefully picked up his hand. "It's still swollen. Have you been icing it between rehearsals today?"

"Yes, mom."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I mean, Nurse Salvatore." He smirked at her and to the outsider it might appear that that smirk was because he'd made a lame joke, but it was really because he was picturing what Elena would look like in a sexy nurse's uniform.

"Brother," Stefan interrupted. "We're on in thirty. Ric and Enzo are already waiting in the wings. Bonnie and Jeremy went to go find soft pretzels. Jo and mom are already in the family section with some girl named Maggie that Enzo swears is his soulmate. We'll see how long this one lasts."

"Just who I was hoping to see!" Caroline exclaimed. "You'll never guess what your son is doing to me now!"

Stefan pretended that he was going to run away from her, but he knew how cruel it'd be to make his pregnant wife run and catch him. And trust, she would run and catch him. Instead, he let her drag him by the arm out of Damon's dressing room. Thirty minutes was enough time for her to needlessly yell at him and for him to squeeze in a quick make-up sex session before they went on stage. Her pregnancy hormones had her going from angry to horny quicker than Enzo went through girlfriends, which was pretty damn quick these days.

"Is Auntie Caroline going to kill Uncle Stefan?" Amelia asked as she climbed into her father's lap.

"Only if she nags him to death," Damon replied, messing up the little girl's hair with his hand.

Elena crossed her arms and shot daggers at him. "It took me half an hour to get that bow in her hair. She fought me the whole time."

"That's because you hate bows, right? You love rock and roll instead?" Damon looked at Amelia and she nodded enthusiastically.

"She's allowed to like both!" Elena chastised, but Amelia was very clearly a Daddy's girl through and through. "We don't want her to become too rock and roll. Am I right?"

Damon looked down at his hand. "Yeah. I guess you have to wait a few more years before you can become a real badass, kiddo."

"Language!" Elena yelled, but the damage had been done.

"Badass!" Amelia exclaimed. She hopped off of Damon's lap and started dancing around the room singing the word over and over again.

Elena smiled. "Well at least we won't ever have to doubt that she's your child."

"Who else's would she be?" He raised an eyebrow at her teasingly.

She ghosted a kiss across his lips. "I mean, whoever it is, he probably wouldn't bust up his knuckles by punching a tree because his kid wasn't getting enough playtime in her soccer game. Especially when he knew he was playing a sold out show in Madison Square Garden in a couple of days."

"So he's not a helicopter dad?" Damon played along, whispering back to her. He glanced over to Amelia, who had started to busy herself with the coloring book and crayons he always kept for her in his dressing room.

"Nope. He's cool as a cucumber during little girl's soccer matches."

"Oh he's sounds awfully boring," Damon remarked, pulling Elena into his lap.

She yelped a little in response, but luckily Amelia's attention was still dutifully focused on her coloring book. "You're right. I'll take badass helicopter dad over him any day."

"Oh you would, would you?" He slinked his arms around her neck and pulled her closer.

"Ew! Gross!" Amelia chimed in. "You guys are going that thing that Uncle Ric and Aunt Jo always do, aren't you?"

"What? Kiss?" He laughed.

"Yeah, with your tongues. What about germies?" Amelia's face scrunched up in disgust.

Elena burst out laughing, scooted herself off of Damon's lap, and walked over to Amelia. She held out her hand and the little girl placed hers inside of it. "Daddy has to go play a big show now. Tell him good luck."

Amelia's bright eyes landed on her father's. "Do good, Daddy!"

"Thank you, kiddo."

"I love you," Elena said as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you too. Hey, wait." He pulled her back to him and leaned in to whisper in her ear so that Amelia couldn't hear him. "Can you pretend to be Nurse Salvatore again tonight?"

She playfully slapped his arm, ignoring his inappropriate comment. "Get out there and break a leg, Rockstar. We'll be in the family section with your mom, Caroline, Jo, and Enzo's newest soulmate."

All too soon the concert was almost over. Damon's hand was throbbing, but he certainly didn't show it. The one thing he still hated about being sober was that he couldn't even drink to ease the pain. The best he could do was pop a couple of Advil and sit there hoping it would put a dent into the ache. Life may not have been nearly as wild as it once was, but he'd gained so much once he'd finally stopped running that it didn't matter what he'd given up for it. It wasn't even a competition.

Stefan, ever the showman, addressed the crowd right before The Ravens launched into their last song of the night. It was the same one they always played last, their first big hit from so many years ago.

"We just really want to thank everyone for making it out here tonight. I know we say this every show, but it's because of our fans that we're even here right now. Guys like us don't get to play in places like this, but you make it possible. Now we've played this song across the world for a lot of people during our time as a band, but it's memorable each time that we do it. Tonight it's memorable because it's the first time my son will get to hear me sing it. He's not quite born yet and he's already been to his first concert!"

The crowd cheered as Damon began to play the familiar guitar notes and suddenly his hand wasn't bothering him anymore. He was in his element. The two loves of his life were out there in that crowd watching him live out his dream and there was no better feeling in the world than that, except for maybe the feeling he got when he peered up from his coffee mug at the breakfast table each morning and looked into Elena's eyes.

Caroline clutched her stomach and swayed along to the music, smiling from ear to ear. Amelia bounced up and down next to her mother, singing all of the words as loud as she possibly could. Jo and Anne stood there together, never once taking their eyes off of the stage. Jeremy and Bonnie nuzzled up close to each other. With the exception of this Maggie chick, Elena was amongst her family. She was so fortunate to have these people in her life.

Bonnie blew out a harsh breath as she marched into the office on Monday morning. Her hair was not cooperating with her this morning and she was running twenty minutes behind. Her assistant awaited her with a cup of coffee, knowing that the warm liquid would make her considerably more tolerable during their morning meeting.

"Mrs. Salvatore is already in the conference room, Ms. Bennett." Her assistant, April, smiled at her.

"Thank you, April. Please don't call me Ms. Bennett. It makes me feel old." Bonnie laughed. "And this isn't that kind of design firm. Bonnie will do just fine, thank you."

"Absolutely, Bonnie. After this meeting, your boyfriend asked that I block off the rest of your day. He wouldn't tell me why, just that he wanted to surprise you."

"Well that's odd." Jeremy had become successful in his own right, finding that he had a pension and a passion for carpentry. What was once just a small hobby turned into a small business and now his furniture appeared in houses around the country. His first piece, a beautiful farmhouse table, still sat in the dining room of their home. But Mondays were always his busiest days and he hadn't mentioned anything this morning about the two of them having plans later.

Bonnie took a sip from her coffee cup and breezed into the conference room. Elena was sitting at the conference table with one of their corporate clients, a design plan spread out on the table in front of them, and she was explaining exactly how they'd plan to enhance his hotel chain.

"The marigold curtains will really brighten up the rooms and make them feel much larger. We feel confident that with the combination of bright colors and fresh flowers, your guests will have a really pleasant stay. Isn't that right, Bonnie?" Elena turned to her, basically just asking for a nod of agreement.

"That's right. By incorporating colors instead of just a harsh white for everything, you'll be setting yourself apart from other hotels and you'll avoid that sterile, hospital feel that so many people dislike." Bonnie took another sip of her coffee. It was working miracles already.

The man leaned back in his chair. "Well you two don't have to convince me any further. I trust you and your team to make sure we look presentable by our grand opening in Memphis."

"Nothing to worry about," Elena smiled.

She really was in her element right now. She and Bonnie had become business partners a few years ago, changing the name of their firm to Bon-Lena Design. Though they were still located in Roanoke, they were fortunate enough to have clients from all over the world. It gave them the chance to travel a lot, but they still appreciated that they had a home to come back to.

It had been difficult when she first found out she was pregnant. Amelia was unplanned, albeit an absolute blessing, but she had to work out her travel schedule with Damon's to make sure at least one parent was always home with her. In the event that they both had to leave, Anne always enthusiastically stepped in to take care of her only grandchild. But they also had to be sure to reserve time for themselves, which was difficult when juggling two careers and a kid. Still, they made it work because there wasn't anything in this world that could keep them apart.

"Well I think that went well, don't you?" Bonnie said as soon as the door to the conference room clicked shut behind their client. "Thanks for covering things. I couldn't seem to get my life together this morning."

"No problem." Elena shrugged. "Amelia had me up at five-thirty this morning with an earache so I was more than on time to work."

"Oh no! Poor Amelia! Do you need to get out of her? I can watch over things for the day!"

"Oh no way. Damon was more than happy to be on Daddy duty today. He has it handled. Besides, I think you have the day off after this. Jer said he was picking you up at ten?"

"Your brother seems to have communicated everything with everyone but me," Bonnie quipped.

"He's good for that." Elena's tone was casual, but she was screaming in excitement for Bonnie on the inside. Jeremy was surprising her today and they were all in it. Amelia's ear was fine. In fact, Elena had been up so early because she'd taken her to Anne's for the day so Damon could be free to start putting the plan into motion.

"I guess I'll go make sure my hair is behaving itself and then I'll head on out?" Bonnie said, but it was moreso like a confused question. She knew her best friend. Something was definitely up.

"Have a great day!" Elena called out to her as she left the conference room. She pulled out her cell phone and typed out a group text.

It's go time. I repeat, GO TIME. – E

She scurried out of the conference room and quickly ushered everyone into the lobby of their office space. "Shhhh, guys she's in her office. She'll be out here any minute."

When Bonnie walked into the lobby, she was fishing for something out of her purse. She didn't look up or even notice that it was filled with her friends. She definitely didn't notice any of the banners hanging up. She collided harshly into Jeremy's chest and finally raised her gaze.

"Jer? Everybody? What the what?"

Jeremy slowly got down on one knee and Bonnie's hands flew to her face as it finally clicked what was happening.

"Bonnie Bennett, you've bewitched me. Can we finally get married?" Jeremy asked as he presented her with a ring.

Bonnie's eyes prickled with happy tears as she nodded her head, pulled Jeremy up off the ground, and launched herself at him for a huge kiss.

"Happy surprise engagement party!" Caroline yelled.

"Does this mean I have to wear another tie?" Damon whispered in Elena's ear, but the joke went unnoticed because she was so consumed with happiness that Bonnie was officially going to be her new sister in law.

Damon threw a jar of peanut butter into the cart as Amelia bounced in her seat. He loved a lot of things about domestic life, but the tedium of Wednesday evening grocery shopping wasn't one of them.

"You'll never guess who I just ran into two aisles over," Elena said as she walked up to the cart and dropped some granola bars in it.

"Who?"

"Amelia's soccer coach. Apparently you scared some of the moms pretty badly at the last game. You're one more tree punch away from being banned from the soccer field." She laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement.

"Damon Salvatore?" A young woman came running up to him. "I kept telling my friend that was you, but she didn't believe me! She said rockstars don't do their own grocery shopping. Sarah! Sarah, it's him!"

Her friend came up to him as well and she was blushing quite hard. It wasn't an unusual interaction for Damon. He got recognized all the time, although less so when they were home in Roanoke. Still, it happened fairly often. It came with the musician territory and he always made it a point to say hello to his fans.

"Well it's me in the flesh," he replied. "How are you?"

"We're great," one of them answered, seemingly not knowing how to act.

"Would you guys like me to sign something? Maybe we can take a picture if you want?" Damon knew that's probably all they wanted from him, which was fine, but a lot of people didn't know of a polite way to ask that when they saw him so he always tried to offer.

"We have a couple more friends on the next aisle over and they'll kill us if we don't introduce you. Do you think you could come meet them?"

Damon looked back at Elena for permission. He didn't want to just walk off and leave them alone in the middle of the grocery store.

Elena took hold of the grocery cart and pecked a kiss on Amelia's cheek, smiling at how starstruck the two girls were. "Oh, I've got this covered. Go ahead. We'll be in the cereal aisle when you're done."

As she finished watching him round the corner with the two fans, she turned her attention back to her daughter. "Every Wednesday," she mused and began pushing the cart. "Now kiddo, what kind of cereal do we want this week?"

She was just about to stand on her toes and reach for the box of Cheerios on the top shelf when a voice she hadn't heard in years startled her and caused her to stumble backwards. She knew who it was immediately.

"Elena?"

Elena turned to face the source of the voice. Roanoke wasn't a small town, but it exactly a huge place either; and yet she'd managed to go many years without running into him.

"Matty?" Her tone was laced with shock. She wasn't sure what to say to him, exactly. That's when she noticed the baby carrier in his cart and heard the familiar cooing of a newborn. "Are you a dad now?"

Matt looked down at the baby proudly. "Yeah, I am. And you're a mom?"

Elena gazed lovingly at Amelia, tucking a curl behind her ear. "I am."

"That's really great, Elena. That's so great. I always knew that you'd be a fantastic mom." There was a beat of silence as Matt stared at Amelia. "She has his eyes."

Elena looked at the ground briefly. Despite the fact that Matt had clearly moved on, there was still a little hurt laced into his voice and it tore her to hear it. "She has his energy too," she awkwardly chuckled in an attempt to turn the situation into something a little less tense.

Matt looked away a little dejectedly.

"How old is your little one?" Elena tried to steer the subject away from Damon.

At the mention of his own child, his face lit up. "Luna is about six months old. She's the best baby, so calm and easy to please. We're just grabbing some diapers and groceries while her mom takes a well-deserved nap at home."

It'd been a long time since Elena had seen that smile, and it made her heart swell for him. She noticed the accessory on his left ring finger and she knew that he'd been able to find someone. It was a nice moment of closure on that part of her life and she knew that running into him had really been a blessing.

"Well I should definitely let you get back to that," she smiled.

"Yeah." Luna started to get a little fussy so Matt picked up her pacifier and placed it into her mouth. "Listen Elena, it was really good to see you. I mean that."

"You too, Matty."

She watched him walk past her and disappear around the end of the aisle. Sighing to herself, she turned her attention back to Amelia.

"Mommy who was that?" her ever-curious daughter asked.

"An old friend," Elena explained.

"Not a friend now?"

"No, not anymore." Elena finally tossed the Cheerios into the cart and tried to change the subject before Amelia could ask any more questions. "Who wants some of the good cereal? Don't tell Daddy we're buying it!"

The distraction worked and Amelia clapped her hands in excitement. "Fruity Pebbles!"

"That's just straight sugar," Damon lectured as he walked down the aisle to the two of them. "No nutritional value at all."

"Buzzkill," Elena taunted as she put the box on top of the rest of the groceries.

Damon grabbed Elena by her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. "You won't be saying that later," he whispered into her ear and she blushed.

"Ewww!" Amelia interrupted, as she always did.

The two of them let go of each other, laughing at their daughter, and went about the rest of their grocery shopping.

As Friday evening rolled around and a very long workweek drew to a close, Elena sat on the floor of Amelia's bedroom and struggled to get a bow in her hair.

"I hate bows!" Amelia whined as she wriggled around on her mother's lap.

"Grandma will love it if you wear it, sweetheart." Elena tried to reason with the toddler.

"Fine," she huffed.

"Are my ladies ready to go?" Damon leaned against the doorframe in his black jeans and black t-shirt. His tattooed arms were crossed in front of his chest, showing off his freshest ink. The name Amelia was scrawled out on his forearm in Elena's handwriting. He'd taken the script from a note she'd written him before she left for a business trip and instructed the tattoo artist that he wanted that exactly.

"Daddy! I love rock and roll! See?" Amelia jumped out of Elena's lap and pulled the bow out of her hair in defiance. Damon chuckled. Yep, she was 100% Salvatore.

Elena gave up on the bow, simply taking Amelia by the hand and leading her to the front door. Damon followed behind them. They securely fastened Amelia into her car seat and then climbed into the black Audi Q5.

"Promise you'll be nice to Caroline?" Elena began. "She could seriously go into labor at any minute."

Damon gripped the steering wheel as he navigated the streets of Roanoke. "No promises."

"Damon," Elena goaded.

"Fine. I'll be nice to Blondie. But you owe me," he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"I intend to settle such debts once we get back home," she smiled knowingly.

"I can't wait."

They pulled up in Anne's driveway, which was already lined with cars. Apparently they were the last to arrive. Damon unbuckled Amelia from her car seat, picked her up, and then set her onto the grass.

Once the little girl's feet touched the ground of her grandmother's front yard, she ran to the front door. She knocked a couple of times with her tiny fingers, but of course the knock couldn't be heard over all of the voices inside the house.

Damon and Elena came up behind her, one of them simply grabbing the handle and pushing the door open.

"We're here!" Amelia yelled as she ran through the house to find Anne.

She found her grandmother in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. Anne bent down to place a kiss on Amelia's cheek.

"Have you gotten bigger since I last saw you?" she asked before turning to Elena. "Lena, I think she's gotten bigger. She keeps on growing."

Elena laughed. "You saw her less than a week ago."

"And she was smaller," Anne added.

"She probably was," Damon planted a kiss on his mother's cheek then took a deep breath through his nose. "Smells good, mom."

"Thank you! It'll be ready in about ten more minutes. Amelia, will you stay in here and help me?"

Amelia nodded her head enthusiastically as Anne pulled up a stepstool for her granddaughter.

Anne turned to Damon and Elena. "Everyone else is in the living room. You should join them."

After one last round of hugs, they made their way into the living room to find the rest of the group.

Caroline had her swollen feet propped up on the coffee table as she sat on the couch. Elena had been there and the water retention from pregnancy wasn't fun.

"Dandelion tea always helped me." Elena sat down beside her friend, who looked exhausted.

"I'm getting so uncomfortable. I don't think I've slept at all the past two nights," Caroline answered her.

"Is my nephew ready to make an appearance yet?" Damon interrupted.

"God, I hope so," Stefan said as he stood next to the couch and rested a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Still haven't decided on a name yet?" Bonnie asked them as she alternated her gaze from her shiny engagement ring to her new official fiancé.

"Lorenzo is actually a really nice name," Enzo threw out. The new theoretical love of his life was noticeably absent, but that wasn't surprising. They never lasted long with him and he'd resigned himself to being the eternal bachelor. It wasn't a bad gig, really. With everyone coupling up and popping out kids, it was up to him to maintain at least some sense of debauchery.

"No way. They're going with Ric Jr!" Alaric piped in, his fingers laced with Jo's. They'd been married for a few months now and were just starting to think about trying for kids of their own, but hadn't told anyone yet.

"Middle name could be Damon. I think that goes well together," Damon teased and Elena playfully smacked his arm.

"There is no way in hell that I'm naming my son after any of you losers!" Caroline screamed with her hand resting protectively on my stomach. She actually sounded angry. Those pregnancy hormones were some serious shit.

As the room fell silent, no one was sure what to say and they all just kind of looked at each other awkwardly. That was, until Caroline started laughing uncontrollably.

"You guys should have seen how scared you looked! Don't want to upset the pregnant lady!" she mocked them.

"You're not pissed?" Alaric asked her.

Caroline's laughter quieted down. "If you guys thought I was taking you serious when you suggested I name the life that is growing inside of me after one of you, then you're dumber than I thought you were."

Anne peered into the living room with Amelia at her side. "Dinner's ready everyone."

"I helped!" Amelia bellowed.

"Did you?" Bonnie asked as she ran to the little girl and picked her up. "You look so adorable."

"Mommy tried to make me wear a bow."

"You don't like bows?" Bonnie asked her.

"I like rock and roll!" she answered while looking proudly at Damon.

"I see you've taught her well." Jeremy patted Damon on the back.

"Let's go, Stevie Nicks." Elena rolled her eyes and reached for her daughter.

Once everyone was seated at the dining room table with full plates of food in front of them, they started quizzing Bonnie about wedding plans.

"It's only been a few days. We don't have anything planned yet," Bonnie blushingly replied.

"Don't think I forgot about my bachelorette party! I am so going to get you back!" Caroline pointed a finger at Bonnie as she chided her.

"Fully looking forward to it," Bonnie answered as she took a bite of her food.

Elena noticed that Caroline's eyes were suddenly screwed shut and her hand was gripping the edge of the table so hard that her knuckles were turning white. She nudged Damon to get his attention.

"Care. Care, are you okay?" Stefan said as he lovingly rubbed her back. "Did he kick you?"

Caroline let out a breath and relaxed her body. "I don't think that was a kick. I think that was a contraction."

"Lorenzo Ric Jr Damon Salvatore is ready to come out!" Alaric cheered.

"Zip it, Ric." Caroline glared at him.

Stefan sprung into action. He'd read the books. He knew exactly what to do. He gingerly helped Caroline stand and ushered her away from the table. "Let me help you into the living room."

"Enzo, go grab my phone from my coat pocket so we can start timing the contractions. Damon, run home for me and grab the hospital bag. Lena, get a cool washcloth for her forehead. Bonnie and Jeremy, call Caroline's mom and let her know to be ready for a grandson soon. Ric and Jo, you're on Amelia sitting duty." Stefan was barking out orders as he settled Caroline back onto the living room couch.

"Auntie Caroline is having a baby!" Amelia jumped up and down.

"She sure is, kiddo." Jo held out her hand for Amelia to take. "Can you come with Uncle Ric and I? We want you to show us your dollhouse upstairs."

Amelia held Jo's hand and led them to the staircase.

"Thank you," Elena mouthed to her as she rushed past them with a wet washcloth in her hands. She handed the cloth to Anne, who was sitting at Caroline's side.

Once the cloth touched Caroline's forehead, another contraction hit her and she screamed with this one. Her grip tightened on Stefan's hand and Elena could see his brows crease a little in pain. It was a little amusing. Stefan looked down at his phone to time everything.

After the pain eased, Caroline looked straight to Stefan. "How long was that one?"

"About five minutes apart and lasted 30 seconds," he answered.

"Honey, I think we need to take you to the hospital," Anne calmly pleaded.

Caroline shook her head. "They'll just send me home. I'm not ready yet. They have to be at least four minutes apart."

Elena had been sent home twice when she was in labor and Caroline was determined to not go to the hospital until she was ready to be admitted.

"Your mom is on her way," Bonnie said as she walked into the living room. She turned to Stefan. "How's she doing?"

"Her contractions are about five minutes apart right now," he answered.

"I'm right here. You can just ask me," Caroline snapped before another contraction set in.

"They're getting closer," Elena pointed out.

"Okay. Hospital bag is here." Damon came in carrying a big black duffel bag covered in patches from all of the cities they'd been to on tour. "Are we ready to go? Why is everyone just sitting here?"

"She won't leave until they're four minutes apart," Elena replied.

"It's part of my birth plan!" Caroline yelled to him as another contraction came on.

"Screw the damn birth plan. Stefan, get her in the car." Damon said as he threw Stefan's car keys at him. "We're having a baby."

Stefan looked at his brother and started to protest before Caroline let out another scream.

"How far apart was that one?" she asked him.

"Four minutes," he lied. It was still around four and a half but if he didn't tell her that to get her in the car, she'd surely crush his hand before they got to the hospital. Caroline was not the kind of girl to deviate from a well thought out birth plan, but Stefan needed to get her there now.

"Don't worry, Blondie. They give you the good drugs when you're there. Just ask Lena." Damon smiled at her as she walked past him to the front door.

"You're going to annoy her during this entire labor, aren't you?" Elena asked him.

"What are brother-in-laws for if not to annoy?"

Elena rolled her eyes and turned her attention away from him. "Anne, would you like to ride with us?"

"Yes, please."

Everyone piled into their cars and headed to the hospital. Thankfully, Jo and Alaric agreed to stay behind with Amelia for the time being. They were planning to rotate babysitting shifts with Bonnie and Jeremy.

As they sat in the waiting room of labor and delivery seven hours later, Damon could hear Caroline screaming. "She's probably scaring all of the other pregnant ladies," he remarked.

"Damon," Elena warned.

Stefan and Anne were in the delivery room with Caroline. It seemed like she'd been pushing for almost an hour now. Jeremy's head rest on Bonnie's shoulder as he slept and Bonnie's head rested on top of his. They'd tried to stay awake and alert for as long as they could, but failed miserably around hour five.

"I guess now would be a bad time to kind of admit I want another kid," Damon whispered to Elena.

She smiled. "Well, you're in luck. I was going to tell you tonight, but I took a test this morning."

"Really?" Damon's blue eyes lit up. They hadn't been actively trying to have another kid, but they weren't exactly taking precautions against it. Still, the news astounded him. "Amelia's going to have a baby brother?"

"Or sister," Elena added.

"Oh God, three women. I'll really be outnumbered if that happens. I'll have to bring over Stefan and Ric Jr just to keep things even," he joked.

"As if you've ever complained about having too many women in your life," she teased.

"Yeah, okay. But how cool would it be to have another rocker in the family? If it's a boy, I can teach him how to play guitar."

"Pretty sure Amelia Salvatore will be the next Joan Jett. You made sure of that."

"Yeah," Damon smiled smugly. "Well either way, boy or girl, rockstar or not, we're having another baby."

She nodded her head and glanced down at her still flat stomach. "Indeed we are."

"Fuck do I love you Lena," he declared. Damon told Elena he loved her every day, but he could never say it enough. She was his soulmate, his partner in all things, the mother of his children, and the most incredible woman he'd ever met in his life.

Elena chuckled at his statement because Damon always cursed whenever he wanted to emphasize a point. It was one of the things she'd come to love about him. Truth be told, she loved everything about him. She even loved the flaws, though there were few these days. "I love you too, Damon Salvatore. And don't you fucking forget it."

FIN.