Huge thanks to my beta and amazing friend Throughmysoul44. Thank you for your help!

Please note that there will be some time-changes in this chapter. Please read the author's note below as I have an important message for you.

Thank you for your support.


Damon kissed Elena's lips gently, watching as a smile formed on her face. She looked incredibly young and innocent, and Damon couldn't bring himself to look at her after all he had done. Yet at the same time, he knew that he couldn't inform her about the Guardian nature. Even though he didn't plan to hurt her, not anymore, he didn't want to be the one to introduce her to the Guardian nature. It was still dangerous.

"Good morning, sweetie," He said as she pushed her face harder in the pillow, clearly wanting to be nuzzled and caressed. She peeped at him like a small child as he moved closer to her to kiss her.

"Peek-a-boo…" He said as he suddenly climbed on top of her, pinning her arms down gently when she moved to touch him. Lust was written all over her face, and Damon just hoped that it was due to her need for him and not because of their sexual Guardian-Vampire bond. He kissed her mouth a bit roughly and then began to place butterfly kisses on her face.

He was so confused, even as he kissed her. He was having those moments again-He remembered some weeks after he met her in the club. At first, he'd go there every weekend to see her perform, to watch her dance for him. To watch the way her hips twirled around, the lust in her eyes as she locked her chocolate orbs with his-But then, when he realised that he had gotten too close to her, he panicked. And since then, it had always been this constant battle:To hurt her, to break her and to rid the vampires of another soulless Guardian. Even more so, he wanted to avenge his wife and daughter. Yet through it all, he didn't want to hurt Elena, no matter how much he wanted to. She wasn't even a Guardian and she had been abused way too much in her seventeen years of life. Now, having her in his arms proved that this was real. She was in his arms; willing and longing. She belonged to him, she depended on him…For the first time in a long time, he felt needed. He hadn't felt needed, not since Kimberly and Katherine had died.

They had to start a new life, yet he also knew that without the payment, he'd be dead. He was almost certain that even if he were to drink Elena's blood, it wouldn't be strong enough to keep him alive. The blood they gave him was pure Guardian blood.

"Do you feel like moving, 'Lena?"

"What?" She asked, surprised by his change of subject as he stopped kissing her.

"I don't know, we could go live somewhere else. Somewhere new," He smiled at her.

"You want to run," She stated.

"No. I just want to keep you safe, now that you've decided that you want to stay."

Elena swallowed thickly. She was still uncertain of what kept pulling her to Damon, but whatever it was, she couldn't fight it.

"If you think it's for the best."

"New Orleans," He said after a while. "I own a house in New Orleans. We can start fresh…Forget this stupid town and start new. You said you wanted to get to know me, then let's start from moving. We'll get out of this town as soon as possible…including everything we've been through."

"It won't be easy to forget," Elena said bitterly. "But I'll try."


Within a few weeks, Elena, Damon and Emily left for New Orleans, and Elena prayed that for once, they could start a fresh page, this time for real. She wanted to leave everything behind: Mason, the abuse and rape, the exotic dancing, the prostitution…everything she had been through.

The house Damon brought them to was beautiful. Just like his other house in Mystic Falls, it was large and luxurious, and decorated with the finest art. They also had a swimming pool and a little garden that Damon then gave Elena as a gift for "starting over". He had told her that now that they were living in a new town, they could get to know each other and settle down. He had asked her again whether or not she wanted to be free of him, but Elena had refused, stating that despite their circumstances and the boulders in their path, she wanted to get to know him. Damon had agreed to tell her more about himself, but he never once mentioned anything about her nature, Wes, or his past.

Soon, their house turned more…human. A variety of pasta packets, cans, and sauces were now placed neatly in the cupboards, as well as new dinner plates and cleaning materials. Damon stocked the few Guardian blood bags he had in a fridge in the basement as well as regular human blood, as Elena picked a room for herself and Damon, and another one for Emily.

For the first few weeks, things were a bit awkward. Damon wasn't used to living like this, especially having Emily around 24/7. The fact that he also needed Elena badly made him feel disgusted at times, and so he would sometimes go out to drink in the busy New Orleans nightclubs, leaving Elena alone with Emily. He thought that it was for the best. He didn't want to use Elena even though she too clearly needed him, sexually that is.

They were predator and prey, the hunter and the hunted, different, yet the predator could never exist without its prey. Even so, the predator also found himself lost in his prey, his little lamb, wanting to protect her instead of hurt her, and the lamb in return had run right into the lion's possessive paws, accepting the affection she was receiving from the lion with very little to no fear. The lamb soon started to need the lion as much as the lion had needed the lamb to survive.

Damon looked at Elena who was busy reading a recipe from a recipe book, then gave Damon a shy smile when she caught him looking at her. She then turned her attention to the mixing bowl as she started to prepare the food with care as Emily played with her dolls on the table.

Maybe things could get better, he thought. Hell, even though they had been there for just about three months, Elena already seemed a lot better. The colour on her cheeks had returned, her beautiful brown hair was incredibly long, bouncing just like she was; her wounds and bruises had mostly healed and vanished and she even smiled. Their activities in the bedroom had changed as well, at times being based on something else rather than lust, something that Damon couldn't quite put his finger on. He just hoped that Wes would leave them alone.

Yet at times he was scared. Wes had told him that he was going to have Elena under his care for a year. What if, when the year passed, they would take her away from him, even though his 'mission' wasn't completed? They had told him that they had 'run into a complication' and they were even asking if Elena had any siblings. Even though he had lied countless of times, he had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that somehow, even little Emily was going to end up dragged into this mess. On the other hand, he knew that as long as he was there, he was going to protect them. They were in New Orleans, away from their past and nobody knew who they were. They were safe.


As months flew by, things between Damon and Elena started to change in a positive way. Damon was not only gentler but also calmer, even with Emily.

"Look what I got you," He smirked as he entered the kitchen where Elena was playing with Emily on the tablet Damon had bought her little sister.

"What?" She smiled as she reached out to stand in front of him, "You seem happy."

"I am," Damon smiled back as he took out a beautiful, knee length dress from the bag he had been carrying. "It's made for you, 'Lena. Try it on."

"Are you serious? This must've cost you a fortune!" Elena exclaimed as she saw the silky red dress that was trimmed with beautiful Swarovski crystals.

"Try it on," He insisted, "We're going for dinner tonight. I know a babysitter who could stay with Emily for us until we get back."

"Oh, I don't know, Damon," Elena sighed in wonder, "The dress is too expensive."

"Please? For me?" He gave her a charming smile and Elena found herself unable to say no. He had got her under his spell.

Elena disappeared into the bathroom as Emily showed Damon the game she was playing.

"Look, Damon," Emily said excitedly, "I can dress my Barbie in pink!"

"That's nice," Damon commented as he watched Emily play.

Just then, Elena emerged from the bathroom with a small smile on her face, and also a little blush. "Can you please zip it for me?"

She turned her back toward him, her own hands positioning it so that the fabric hugged her breasts. His hands carefully pressed forward until they could tug on the zipper of the fabric. His fingers trembled slightly, grazing the olive flesh of her back. He slid the little tab upward in a slow, sensual motion, his eyes watching as the fabric emcompassed her frame the farther he tugged. When the zipper had reached its destination, he sighed with a smile. His lips were so close to her that she could feel his warm breaths radiate against her.

His fingertips tickled her flesh before his lips planted themselves right between her shoulder blades for a long moment. Elena let out a surprised gasp before chuckling lightly. He grabbed her shoulders gently to turn her around to reveal her beauty to him.

"What do you think?" She whispered shyly, still radiating from his lips against her body.

"You look amazing, Elena," Damon said sincerely. "It's made for you."

"Thank you for buying this for me."

"You're welcome," Damon smiled as he stroked her hair softly. "So, how about dinner tonight? You haven't said 'yes' yet."

Elena chuckled. "Okay. Dinner it is, then."


Elena was busy curling her hair when Damon entered the room. She smiled at him through the mirror as she continued to tug at her curls. She was already dressed, matching the dress with a pair of high heels. Her lips had a simple sweep of lipstick and her eyelashes were plumped with a dash of mascara.

"You look far too good in that dress…" He whispered seductively beside her ear.

"Don't forget who chose it…" She whispered right back, leaning against him. Soon, his hands were stroking her neck and then he made his way downward to her breasts, cupping them gently, earning a moan from Elena.

"I think I'm going to regret my decision of taking you out for dinner…"

"And why is that?" She asked, focusing on his hands gently massaging her breasts through the thin fabric, her nipples hardening at the contact.

"Because I would rather enjoy you all night in bed…"

"Damon, stop," Elena giggled, "If you keep touching me, you're truly going to have to cancel the reservation."

"Hmm, don't tempt me," He sighed.

"You seem to forget that I need to eat," Elena teased him. "And I happen to be starving. But we will definitely be able to…enjoy each other later tonight."

Damon groaned, knowing that she had said that deliberately to keep him turned on all night. He reluctantly followed her anyway as they waited for the nanny. After a few moments, she arrived and after Elena gave her their mobile number, they got in the car.

After a few minutes of driving, the car stopped in front of a very luxurious restaurant. Elena looked at Damon questionably as he opened the door for her and helped her out. They were greeted by a host who lead them to an elegant dining table and handed them two menus.

Damon ordered a variety of appetizers, starting from mushrooms filled with mozzarella, stuffed tomatoes and olives and incredible, mouthwatering salads. The waiter filled their glasses with the finest wine, and then they were served a plate of delicious penne with fresh cream and chicken pieces.

Afterwards, they ordered a steak which tasted divine, and the atmosphere was pleasant. There were some people dancing and after they had their chocolate cake, Damon asked Elena for a dance. She happily granted his wish as they walked to the dance floor and started to sway softly with the music.

"This is incredible," Elena said, her head on Damon's shoulder.

"It is," He agreed.

"The food was great, Damon. Thank you."

"You're welcome," He said as they continued to dance incredibly slowly and romantically.


By the time they went home, Damon seemed to be dead-tired, which was a bit strange because usually Elena was the one complaining of exhaustion. Yet again, Damon sometimes appeared to be thirstier and more tired than usual, so when he told her that he was going to go to bed she immediately joined him.

Only as soon as Damon was certain that Elena was asleep, he took out his phone, staring at the text that had been haunting him ever since Elena had gone to the ladies' room back at the restaurant.

Either you bring her to us tomorrow at midnight, or we are going to kill little Emily.


A/N: As I said before, the story is going to be long. It will be a journey to finding one's self, and since now, Elena helped Damon start to see her as a person. We have learnt a bit about the Guardians and Damon's past, however Next Chapter will be the Conclusion for the story you know. After that, the story will take a slightly different turn, so it's safe to say that the story is divided into parts.

Part 1 was about Elena's pain and suffering, starting from dancing, to prostitution...However it was this that brought her to Damon. Damon's demons still haunt him as he still blames himself for Katherine and Kimberly's deaths, however he longs to start a new life. Again, this chapter took away any chances of happiness as he is forced to make another decision.

After next chapter, I'm going to start with Part 2. I'm not going to spoil anything, but please stay tuned. I wanted to ask my fellow readers: DO YOU PREFER READING PART 2 AS PART OF THIS STORY OR DO YOU PREFER READING PART 2 AS A SEQUEL? AS A NEW STORY?

Please, state your opinion in your review.

Thank You.