A/N: So, this is the last chapter. I decided to end it here. So with this story being finished, I'm already working up ideas for a new story. From what it looks like, it's leaning towards being a Supernatural story, so if you guys watch Supernatural, I hope you read that story when I write it! Anyway, thank you guys so much, to all of you that read this story and I hope you enjoy this happy little ending that I made up here. I hope all you Delena shippers find a little bit of happiness in this story, and if you do, then I've done my job here. I love you guys so, SO much, and I want to thank you for all the 200+ reviews this story got, it really makes me smile when I see just how many people actually read this story. And so, after this story being in progress for 8 months (I was shocked too when I realized just how long this story has been going on!) I give you then ending of Shattered. Enjoy ;) xoxo, Avril
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Just Like The Movies
It was clear from the very beginning that Damon and Elena were not your normal couple. They weren't the kind you see in movies with fairytale endings. Most people thought that only couples like Damon and Elena could end in tragedy. And they could have, if things had gone over differently, Damon and Elena could have been another couple with a tragic ending. But it would have been a shame really if they ended like that. They wouldn't be here, right now, in their children's bedroom, watching them sleep peacefully, refusing to leave their sides because all of this was too good to be true to them as well. They couldn't believe that they were here, that they had a fairytale ending, or maybe more like a fairytale beginning? Since their story is long from being over. For once, the universe didn't end something so powerful and so strong in a train wreck. Damon and Elena did what no one, not even their own friends and family, thought they could do. And that was being in that moment. The moment where they were standing over their children's cribs for the first time, watching them sleep in their new bedroom. Or the moment when they brought Isobel and Grayson home for the first time; or maybe the moment where everyone came to visit the kids for the first time at the Salvatore house. But really, whatever moment they chose, it was a beautiful moment to them, because they knew that people like them, they weren't supposed to have this, which made it all that more special.
The first few nights were rough. Isobel had a set of lungs on her which caused a chain reaction most times, waking Grayson up, and eventually getting one of the sleep deprived parents out of their bed and down to their room to quiet them down. But yet, neither one of them wanted to admit that deep down, they loved those moments, because they were a normal, functioning couple in those moments. Not a human in love and engaged to a vampire that is taking care of their half vampire, half human children. They were just, normal. But those nights up late were nothing compared to the first night Damon and Elena went out since they were born.
Having Isobel and Caroline over there watching the kids, and Stefan there for added protection couldn't even keep Elena and Damon calm that night. But, they managed to convince Damon and Elena that everything was fine, they had it all under control, and they did, but to Damon and Elena, leaving Isobel and Grayson alone felt like they were making them open targets when in all actuality, they weren't. And the whole time they were out, trying to enjoy their night out, they couldn't help but think of the kids every five seconds. And when the night was done, the couldn't have gotten home any faster. Only to come home to Caroline quietly passed out on the couch in the living room with The Lady and the Tramp playing on the TV, and Isobel and Stefan quietly and gently getting Isobel and Grayson and putting them upstairs to bed. And for the first time that night, they genuinely smiled at each other, realizing how silly they had been acting the whole entire time.
Damon and Elena finally had all they wanted. Their friends and family alive and well and getting along, everyone at peace with each other, two little innocent babies, and each other. That was all that mattered. But, they weren't perfect. Damon and Elena were far from perfect. While they were happy most days, you can believe that there were days where they fought like cats and dogs, where they just wanted to rip each other's throats out.
Those days often began with some small fight, that escalated into a huge argument, which led to other things. Usually then, in the middle of the day, that was when Elena would take off, just storm out of the house and, what worried Damon the most, go out for a drive. He never knew where exactly she took off to in those tantrums, and never really chose to ask. But, Elena would always head over to her parents graves first. She'd sit there, and if no one was around, she'd ask them for advice on what to do, it just made her feel better, even if there never was an answer. And usually, after that, Elena might stop at the park on her way home, sit on the very same bench her and her Dad would sit on when they came there. Her Dad was always the one that seemed to know the right things to say. And almost always, on her way home, she'd go over to Isobel's house and tell her all about it, let it all out, and get a mother's point of few on the whole thing, which almost always made Elena realize just how silly she was being about the whole fight to begin with, and it would then, finally, lead to Elena going home and apologizing to Damon, which usually didn't take much, since Damon would feel guilty too, and all it would take was for Damon to look into those watery chocolate brown eyes and he'd break down and be putty in her hands. She was always his weakness and always would be.
Then the days where Damon would take off would be all the same too. Damon would storm off into the forest, possibly kill a bunny or two purely out of anger, but that was a rare occasion. He mostly would go out there because nature always calmed him down, even though no one would have guessed that about him, but even back in 1864, being outside always calmed him down. After calming down, Damon would usually head to the Mystic Grill, have a drink or too, and possibly, if Alaric was there, have a chat with him. And ever since him and Jeremy bonded, Damon made it a habit to go have a talk with Jeremy too on these days, he'd mention the fight, but him and Jeremy mostly just talked about everything else, Damon found Jeremy to be a nice distraction. Usually, almost always, on the way home, Damon would run into Stefan and tell him about the fight. Stefan wouldn't have much to say, but whatever little he'd say, it helped all the same. And the last unusual stop on Damon's way home, would be going to go see Caroline. She would tell him what he should really do, which was always go apologize to Elena, but it'd be different every time, she had a speech for just about every fight Damon and Elena ever had. And after that conversation, Damon would head right home and apologize to Elena. Though he'd never have to apologize for long, because Damon's ice blue eyes always got to Elena. He was her weakness and always would be.
But at the end of the day, there would always be one thing that Damon and Elena loved more than they loved one another, and that was little Isobel and Grayson. As the months went on, they each started getting their own little quirks. Isobel would only eat her vegetables if Damon fed them to her, and Grayson would only take his nap in the middle of the day if Elena was the one to tuck him in. And every time those little quirks happened, Damon and Elena smiled.
12 months had gone by. Today happened to be Isobel and Grayson's first birthday. Damon and Elena have been married for about five months now, completely settled into their routine now with each other and the kids. And today was they day they realized, they had made it a year as parents. So far they had gone one year with being somewhat normal parents to their to little bundles of joy. It was really hard to believe for either of them, but somehow, they made it, they reached a milestone, and it was one of the best feelings in the world.
Out of all the moments that had gone on throughout the day, one of Elena's favorites had been when the party was winding down and she was in the kitchen with the two people that had been there for her in the past year; Jenna and Isobel. It was more of a girl bonding moment, but to Elena, it almost felt like a mother/mother/daughter bonding moment.
"You sure Alaric's going to be okay?" Elena asked Jenna as she was putting away the dishes. "He looked pretty blistered out there."
"He'll be fine. He'll just end up sleeping in the car on the way home anyway." Jenna laughed. "He was warned though, he should have never gone into a drinking competition with Damon."
"I still can't believe they did that." Elena laughed.
"They needed something to keep themselves entertained, and that happened to be Alaric." Isobel said with a smile on her face as she walked into the room. "Jeremy's fine by the way, he's just passed out on the couch."
"And so the first drinking victim falls." Jenna said.
"You know, I really hope that Isobel and Grayson don't remember this birthday." Elena laughed "Her Dad and Uncle managed to get her other Uncle and Step-Grandpa really drunk."
"Step-Grandpa?" Jenna asked
"Well, you and Alaric are engaged, so he's gonna eventually be their Grandpa." Elena said
"Alaric can be called Grandpa, but I refuse to be called Grandma, that makes me sound really old." Jenna laughed "I prefer Nana."
"I'll stick to Grandma, it doesn't bother me." Isobel said and shrugged
"Good to know." Elena smiled and stopped putting away dishes to turn around and face Jenna and Isobel.
"What's wrong?" Jenna asked curiously
"Nothing." Elena said and smiled a little. "I just…wanted to thank you guys. For everything. I mean, without you both…who knows what would have happened. Me and Damon probably wouldn't even be together right now if it weren't for you two. You're both like mothers to me and…I just wanted to thank you guys for that."
"We care about you Elena, you don't have to thank us for that. We love you." Jenna said and smiled.
"I know but I just feel like I have to. You guys have done so much and you've both been there for me through everything. I wanted you guys to know that I love you." Elena smiled
Without saying a word, Isobel walked over to Elena and hugged her, followed shortly by Jenna walked over to them and joining the hug.
"Hate to break up the chick flick moment, but Grandpa Alaric is upstairs worshipping the porcelain god in case Nana Jenna was looking for him." Damon said with a smirk as he walked into the room.
Jenna rolled her eyes at Damon but smiled on her way out of the room to go up and check on Alaric. Isobel left shortly after to go check on Jeremy since she saw him sitting up in the living room now.
"Where's Isobel and Grayson?" Elena asked
"Upstairs, I put them to bed. I think watching their Uncle and Grandpa get wasted tired them out." Damon smiled.
"And Stefan and Caroline?" Elena asked
"Outside flirting with each other and cleaning up, you know, the usual." Damon said.
"I wish one of them would just ask each other out already and get it over with." Elena sighed.
"You're telling me. Every time I talk to Blondie lately, every other word out of her mouth is about Stefan." Damon said with a smirk and walked up to Elena, wrapped his arms around her waist, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Makes me glad that I have you." He added with a smile.
Elena smiled and leaned in and kissed Damon back, not caring if anyone happened to be watching at the moment.
And that was one of Elena's favorite moments of the night. Her friends and family acting like their usual crazy selves, and yet, out of the whole thing, there still managed to be some bonding to the whole thing. Sometimes, it made Elena think about what could possibly happen if things hadn't gone the way they had. What would have been different? Would her and Damon still be together? Or would they not even be speaking to each other? Sometimes it scared her to think of that, and Damon always seemed to be able to tell when she was, and he would gladly put all those terrible thoughts out of her mind and show her that she was silly to even think those thoughts.
Basically, Damon and Elena, they aren't your normal love story. They aren't Romeo and Juliet, and they're not Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater. They were just Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert, or more recently, Elena Salvatore. They had their own epic love story that didn't quiet fit the mold of other love stories. And when their kids would get older, and ask how they fell in love with each other, Elena already had the answer to that one.
"Dad was the guy I never thought I'd fall in love with. He was everything I hated. He was a jerk, he was always sarcastic, and he had an ego the size of the planet. But, after spending time with him, and seeing the real him. I fell in love with him. I never thought I would, but I did. And when I finally let myself fall in love with him, I fell deeply in love. It was when I fell in love with you daddy that I realized I wasn't just I love with him. He was my soul mate. And I can't imagine a second of my life without him."
Elena hoped that Damon's answer was somewhat the same, but whenever she asked, he would tell her to wait and see.
So, while Damon and Elena's love was never expected, when it happened, it was one of the best things to ever happen in the world, to both of them. And in the end, what was something that should have ended in tragedy like Romeo and Juliet and like the Titanic. It didn't end that way. Because Damon and Elena made choices that led them to something that people like them have never had before. And that was a fairytale ending. A fairytale ending that was just like the movies.
