AN: No amount of words can rightfully encompass how touched I am by the support this story has gotten. I thank each and every one of you who have favorited/followed/reviewed this story. I've loved each and every minute writing this story, and I hope you all have loved reading it just as well, and are satisfied with the conclusion.

Thank you all for your support, guys!

xoxo x 1000000000

Elizabeth

PS: Please check out my other TVD/DE stories Bitten: The Marked, it's sequels Bitten: The Hunted & Bitten: The Saved, Mirrors, The Other Side of Me, Star Crossed and Temptation. I'd REALLY appreciate it :)


CHAPTER 28:

December 2012

Elena stood in the living room of the place that she'd been calling home for the past three years. The walls were now a creamy white, and the furniture that had occupied the house was now a distant memory as Elena stared at the empty room.

Today, she was moving in with Damon, Today, she was letting go of the chapter that had been the last three years of her life.

It was hard to comprehend. Not four months ago, she had been single, living paycheck to paycheck, working as a waitress at a strip club. Now, she was engaged, and to her best friend.

Elena smiled to herself. How had the one person that she had never imagined having a future with a woman, be the one person who she was beginning a future with?

Fate had a crazy way of working.

"Reminiscing about the good ol' times?"

She didn't need to turn around to know that Damon was right behind her. It was as if her body had some radar or detector implanted when it came to Damon. She could be blindfolded in the dark of the night and still find him.

Elena smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her waist,,

"There's not much to reminisce about here," she recalled. Her time in Richmond had been very mechanical. She had developed a liking to her house, but she hadn't thought of it as "home".

Home is where the heart is.

"I can think of one thing," Damon breathed huskily in her ear, causing sparks of desire to ignite in her blood. Immediately, as if she were watching it in a flashback, she was reminded of the night that they had spent together after the Holiday party that Elijah threw.

"You know, when I pictured my future after high school, I didn't even comprehend the idea of marriage, let alone a family," Damon said, and Elena turned around, curiosity triggered.

"After high school, I'd been the type of guy to bed woman after woman. I didn't bother to know their names. I didn't care. I didn't want to care. I never thought of anything more than just a sexual partner in a woman because I never wanted anything more than that. Until you came back into my life,"

"Everything about you had me thinking. Thinking about what would've happened if you hadn't left town. What would've happened if I'd have just acted on my feelings for you back then."

"You have no idea how many things I regret with you, Elena," he said softly, and Elena closed her eyes.

"Damon, listen to me." Elena said firmly as she took his hand in her own.

"Nothing is your fault," she insisted. "I'm glad that my life has turned out this way. And despite the way that I'm sure you felt after I left town without telling you, I don't think that we would be here, standing here in my apartment, if I hadn't left."

Elena stared into the beautiful blue oceans that filled Damon's eyes, and in them, she saw agreement.

"I agree," he nodded as he spoke softly.

Suddenly, a thought came to Elena's mind. She had to assure him once and for all.

"Do you remember what you said to me at my parent's funeral?"

Damon immediately tensed, and Elena suspected that he was wary to discuss such a sore subject for her. When Damon made no sign to respond, Elena continued.

"You said, 'Elena, you're stronger than anyone I've ever known. You can survive the impossible',"

"I remember. I wrote that in your yearbook at the end of freshman year in high school," Damon said softly, and Elena nodded.

"When I was in the hospital the night that Ryan was born, I was so scared. I was all alone. I didn't have any family or friends in town at the time, except for Meredith, who was on call." Elena explained, and Damon blinked at her as he listened to her. "But, you know what, Damon? There might have not been anyone there with me physically, but there was oneperson who was there for me, even if they didn't even know it at the time,"

When Elena saw the disbelief in Damon's eyes, she nodded.

"You," she breathed, her eyes filling with tears. "You have no idea how much you helped me survive that night. Your words came to me, and they were the only thing that truly had kept me going,"

As she looked up at him, Damon swallowed, and Elena saw the skepticism in his eyes.

"Don't you see Damon? You did nothing except help me get through one of the hardest obstacles in my life." Elena confessed. "I may have left town, but the one person I wish I didn't have to leave, was you,"

"I had no idea," Damon breathed, and Elena smiled wistfully.

"Now, you do," she said.

"Guys," Damon's friend Alaric's voice came from out front. "The van's loaded. Are you ready?"

When Elena had mentioned during one night out with Ric and Jenna that she had been planning to sell her house, Alaric had offered to help with the move. He owned a moving company, she'd learned, and he was willing to do it all, free of charge.

"We'll be right out," Damon hollered.

"You ready to let the memories you've made from this place go?" Damon asked softly as Elena looked around the house one last time.

A few moments later, Elena turned to face him, smiling.

"I am. The memories that I've made in this house are no where near as important or as special as the ones I hope to make with you,"

Damon shook his head. "You don't need to hope, Elena," he said as he took her hand, which donned his engagement ring. "My life's mission is to make you happy,"

At that, Elena burst into tears of contentment. She threw her arms around Damon's neck and kissed him with every will in her body. The contact sent shutters of electricity lacing through her veins as she felt Damon pull her against him. When Elena moved to unbutton the top button on his shirt, Alaric's voice rang out again.
"I don't care if you two are having sex. If you're not out here in the next ten seconds, you're walking back to the house,"

At the anger in Alaric's voice, Damon pulled away and leaned his forehead against Elena's.

"We should go," he breathed. "Before Alaric has a hissy fit."

Elena nodded, smiling. "We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"


One week Later- Dec 13

"Elena, get down here!"

Elena gasped as she stood in front of the tall, elegant mirror in the bathroom at Damon's parent's house. The dress that flowed down her body to the floor beneath her was simply the most stunningly beautiful dress that she'd seen in her entire life. In fact, it was too stunningly beautiful to be real, Elena concluded. And Damon had been aching and begging to see her in it before the wedding...

Three Weeks Ago

"Come on, Elena," Damon whined, "Just one time,"

Elena shook her head as she stood up from the couch. "Haven't you heard? It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding."

Damon scoffed.

Was this all a joke to him?

"What's the worst that could happen?" he asked.

"We could get divorced, We could-"

"I'll stop you right there," Damon said as he stood up from the couch and walked until her was directly in front of her. "I wouldn't have even thought about asking you to marry me if I had thought for a second that it could end in divorce," he said cooly, though Elena knew that he wanted to reassure her.

"How do you know?" she asked softly.

"Because I love you too much to ever want to be separated from you again," he said as he caressed her cheek. "I've been there twice now." he said bitterly. "I don't want to have to endure a third."

"You're so confident in us," she assessed.

"I'm confident in anything if I believe in it," he told her, and Elena agreed

"I believe in us, too," she smiled.

"Elena!"

Caroline's harsh barks tore Elena from her memory, and she sighed as she made her way down the stairs.

"Oh, my god,"

Eight gasps filled the air, and Elena looked up at her bridesmaids, who wore long, silk burgundy gowns that were absolutely beautiful.

Caroline, Bonnie, Jenna, Lexi, Rebekah, Rose, Vanessa and Anna all stood, gaping at her in disbelief.

"What?" Elena panicked. "Does it look bad?"

Eight synchronized heads shook enthusiastically, and Elena blinked as Jenna, her maid of honor, stepped forward.

"Elena, you look absolutely beautiful," she said, her green eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "Damon will be left breathless when he sees you,"

At the mention of Damon, Elena felt her skin redden. Any mention of thought of her soon-to-be husband just made her stomach swarm with butterflies. Suddenly, Elena had a nagging thought. Did her stomach look big? Did it tarnish her image?

"My stomach, it doesn't-?" she wondered hesitantly.

"Elena, honey, you've always been so afraid of what people thought of you, what you thought of yourself. But please believe me when I say that there is nothing wrong with the way you look right now. I wouldn't change a hair on your head, and neither would Damon."

"Yeah, if anything, the dress compliments your stomach," Caroline said, coming forward. "You're beautiful, Elena,"

At those words, Elena smiled wistfully, tears of joy creeping up. Immediately, Caroline ran to hug her, followed by every one of Elena's friends.

"I love you guys," Elena giggled through her tears.

"We love you, too," Jenna said as she pulled away. "Now. We've got a wedding to attend to."


Damon couldn't wait to see how beautiful Elena looked in her dress. He'd been itching to see her in it since she'd shared the news that Caroline and Bonnie had dragged her to David's Bridal to pick out the perfect dress. Elena could be wearing a potato sack and he would still think she looked beautiful. As long as she was going to walk down that aisle and let him slide his ring on her finger.

Soon, the hymn of the Wedding March loomed through the air, and Damon watched the guests rise as the wooden chapel doors opened, revealing the bridesmaids and their partners.

First to walk down the velvet red carpet was Caroline, on her arm was Tyler Lockwood. Damon had remembered that all throughout high school, Tyler had always had something for Caroline. He'd made it pretty damn obvious during the football games, when Caroline would look at him. He'd even cost them a game because he was too infatuated with her. He was happy to see them together. Knowing that his and Elena's relationship had brought others together was a welcome feeling of joy.

Bonnie and Jeremy were shortly behind them, smiling from ear to ear. Elena had mentioned that Jeremy was into Bonnie, and he looked every bit of it as he and Bonnie strolled down the carpet.

A few people that Damon recognized as Elena's former co-workers made their way down the aisle with some guy. Then, when Jenna and Alaric entered, Damon straightened up. She was coming soon.

Damon watched as Jeremy stepped out of his place in the group and made his way to the front entrance. Before he knew it, Damon felt a strong grip at his shoulder. he glanced up to see Ric smiling at him, and when Ric mouthed "There she is," Damon turned his head to the entrance.

He could've died right then and there and be perfectly content. Elena was absolutely breathtaking. The whole city of Paris couldn't compare to her beauty. Hell, the whole universe couldn't compare to her beauty. Elena had one rare form of beauty, that was so underestimated and was almost unreal. How he'd managed to stay friends with her since he was eleven, and not act on the feelings that he was certain were buried somewhere deep inside his fear of commitment and love, he didn't know. He would never know, or understand, that justification.

When Elena's chocolate doe eyes met his, Damon felt as if he was staring up at the sun. Her beauty cast a warmth over him, and he felt as though he couldn't live without her. He needed her in order to live. As he continued to stare into her eyes, Damon felt himself melting. She was the perfection. She was the Mona Lisa. The Atlantic Ocean. The Moon. Her radiant light was too strong, and too good for him.

But, someway, somehow, she'd chosen him.

As Elena walked through the doors of the church hall, she didn't register that there was about a couple hundred guests staring at her, waiting for her to walk down the aisle and promise to love the man of her dreams forever. She didn't register her brother on her arm, or Meredith behind her, holding her dress. She only registered that beautiful man not fifteen feet before her. As they locked eyes, Elena felt her entire life become fulfilled. She was about to be able to stare into those eyes for the rest of her life. She was about to be able to wake up next to him in the morning, and to fall asleep next to him every night.

"Elena, you need to go,"

Jeremy's hushed whisper from behind startled Elena, and soon, she saw several confused face expressions cross those of her guests, and she slowly strode down the aisle.

With every second that Elena stepped closer to him, Damon felt as if he was closing the door on his old life, ready to open the door with Elena to their future together.

In what seemed like an eternity, Elena stood before him, and Jeremy handed Elena's hand to Damon.

"Take care of my sister," he said firmly, and before Jeremy had the chance to walk away, Damon could've sworn that he'd seen tears in his eyes. Damon turned to face the woman who was his reason for existing. Her eyes shown with absolute content.

Soon, the minister's voice echoed off of the walls as the piano died down.

"Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert in marriage. Through their time together, they have come to realize that their personal dreams, hopes, and goals are more attainable and more meaningful through the combined effort and mutual support provided in love, commitment, and family; and so they have decided to live together as husband and wife."

Damon hardly registered anything that he had said. All he could think about was Elena.

"True marriage begins well before the wedding day, and the efforts of marriage continue well beyond the ceremony's end. A brief moment in time and the stroke of the pen are all that is required to create the legal bond of marriage, but it takes a lifetime of love, commitment, and compromise to make marriage durable and everlasting. Today you declare your commitment to each other before family and friends, your yesterdays were the path to this moment, and your journey to a future of togetherness becomes a little clearer with each new day."

"Now, you may read your vows."

Damon cleared his throat.

"Elena," he said loudly. "We've known each other, trusted each other, and confided in each other for ten years. For four of those years, I had found myself wondering, "What if?" when it came to you. What if I had told you how I felt? What if you felt the same way? What if it was all in my head? But not anymore. Now, I know. I know that I was an idiot not to act on my feelings four years ago. I know that letting you go, was the worst mistake of my life, and I will not regret it for the reason that we found our way back to each other, and we are standing here today because of it. Before you, I didn't want marriage. I didn't want a family. When you came back into my life, I found myself going against my thoughts as I thought about what kind of future we could have. I knew that it would be a rough road, but I know that you're worth it. You're my best friend. You know me like no one else. You're stronger than anyone I've ever known. You can survive the impossible," Damon winked at Elena, and her cheeks immediately flamed. "You have compassion for people like no other, and you are willing to go to the ends of the earth to protect those you love. And saying that, I promise you this: I promise you endless strength that you can count on when you are weak. I'll be your music when you can't hear, your sunshine when you can't see, or your perfume when you can't smell. You'll never need to look further than me. I'll be your days and nights when you need them filled, your spark of life in the darkness, your hope when you're down and out."

I promise to love you, to cherish you, to laugh with you, to cry with you, and to smile with you as we make everlasting memories. You're loss is my loss. Your dreams are my dreams. Your happiness is my happiness, and I promise to give you everything that you want in life, and I promise to give you me, forever."

Elena nearly lost her breath as she took in Damon's words. Her eyes were now pools of tears as she cleared her throat.

"Damon," she smiled through her tears. "I can't ever imagine my life without you. You are my home. You've been my home for ten years. When I face a challenge in life, you are the reason that I triumph. Your love and support id my saving grace, and without it, I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't be standing in a church, pledging my heart and soul to anyone else but you. You're there when you're not. You've helped me in ways you don't know. You've been there for me when I didn't deserve you. You've been there for me to tell me if I'm going to mess up, and you're there to make sure I'm safe and secure. You are my everything, and I give you my promise to love you forever. I promise to follow you as you pursue your dreams and goals, and I promise to stand by you through thick and thin. We may be caught in a storm, but together, we will find shelter."

As Damon regarded her, Elena felt as if she was the luckiest girl in the entire universe. Elena was about to mouth something to him when the officiate's voice emerged. Suddenly, Damon turned, and Elena saw Caroline running toward them with a velvet pillow. On top of the pillow, she noticed their wedding bands.

"Wedding rings are made precious by our wearing them." The officiate recited as she and Damon took the other's ring in their hands. "Your rings say that even in your uniqueness you have chosen to be bound together. Let these rings also be a sign that love has substance as well as soul, a present as well as a past, and that, despite its occasional sorrows, love is a circle of happiness, wonder, and delight. May these rings remind you always of the vows you have taken here today."

Damon's voice recited crystal clear as he took Elena's hand in his. "I give you this ring, as I give to you all that I am, and accept from you, all that you are."

Elena felt Damon slide on the beautiful golden band, with a shimmering diamond stone encrypted. She would've been perfectly happy if he would've given her a Candy Ring. It didn't matter what was on the price tag. It mattered what was in the meaning of the ring.

"I give you this ring," Elena said as she took Damon's hand in hers and slid the ring on his finger. "as a symbol of my love for you, and as a symbol of our forever."

Elena watched as the Officiate grinned. "And now, by the power vested in me by the State of Virginia, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Damon didn't even breathe until his hands were cupped around Elena's face. He kissed her as if there was no tomorrow. He kissed her as if it was the last time.

But it wasn't.

They had a thousand more kisses to be hand.

Elena felt her stomach soaring up to the heavens as Damon's lips parted against her own. His touch left traces of flames in her blood, and she was going under. Vaguely, she had heard the eruption of applause from the guests. Damon broke away and leaned his head against her forehead.

"Hi," he smirked as he caressed her cheek.

"Hi," Elena giggled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen" the officiate announced, and Damon and Elena turned to the guests. "I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Damon and Elena Salvatore!"


Three Years Later

Elena lay peacefully in the plush green grass out back beside the pool. She traced the patterns of the clouds with her eyes, and smiled when she saw an object hidden among them. It reminded her of her childhood, of a time when she and Damon had laid outside and watched the clouds. At her side was her daughter, and Elena smiled contently as she caressed Miranda's head.

"Mommy, what are dose?" Miranda's small voice asked as she pointed up at the sky.

"Those are clouds," Elena said softly. "They're pretty, aren't they?"

"Not as pretty as Mommy."

Elena looked up to see Damon carrying Daniel, the beautiful and familiar smirk on his face.

"I don't know about that," Elena said, blushing.

"Elena, don't sell yourself short," Damon scolded gently.

"I'm not," Elena shook her head. "I just think that they're hard to compete with."

"Elena, heaven is not as beautiful as you," Damon said, and Elena shook her head.

"You're sweet," she smiled at him.

"What do you think?" Damon asked Miranda. "Is Mommy prettier than the clouds?"

Miranda nodded anxiously as she jumped up and down. "Mommy's pwettier than the sun!"

"See," Damon smirked. "Your own daughter disagrees with you,"

"Mommy!" Daniel cried delightfully, suddenly squealing to get out of Damon's grasp. Damon set down Daniel onto the soft ground, and Elena watched him waddle over to her. Suddenly, he took her by surprise as he jumped on top of her swollen stomach.

"Hey, sweetie," Elena smiled. She'd never been this happy in her life.

"Hey, easy with Mommy," Damon's calm yet authoritative voice said. "She's fragile right now,"

Elena rolled her eyes. Damon the over-protective husband.

"I'm fine, Damon," she said.

"You're five months pregnant, Elena," Damon shook his head. "You're fragile,"

Elena hadn't expected another baby so soon. She had been surprised, but delighted. She'd always wanted a big family.

"Are Caroline and Tyler still coming to the beach tomorrow?" Damon asked, and Elena nodded.

Not long after Elena and Damon had tied the knot, Caroline had announced her engagement to her high school sweetheart, Tyler Lockwood. They had gotten married within a few months, honeymooned in Miami, and Caroline was delighted to come back pregnant. She too had been expecting twins.

"And they're bringing Ethan and Sarah?" Damon asked.

"I hope so," Elena sighed. "It'll be hard to entertain these two without those little rugrats of Care's," She rubbed Daniel's head.

"Hey, should we get going to the fair?" Damon asked, and Elena perked up. It was the fourth of July, and the fair was in town. Elena and Damon had made arrangements to go with the kids, and Elena was excited herself. She loved rides.

"Yeah," She nodded as she moved to get up. Damon outstretched his hand for her, and Elena took it as she stood up.

"Thank you," she smiled.

"You're most welcome," Damon grinned.

Elena took her hand in his as they walked toward the pier.


AN: SOB! Once again, thank you to all of you for sticking with Delena until the very end.

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PS: Now that this story is wrapped up, feel free to check out my other TVD/DE fanfic stories Bitten: The Marked,it's sequels Bitten: The Hunted & Bitten: The Saved, Mirrors, The Other Side of Me, Star Crossed, Secrets & Lies and Temptation. I'd REALLY appreciate it :)

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