I apologize for the delay in posting! I've been rather busy, traveling and accepting new jobs. :) But those of you who love Damon interacting with Ella should love this update. Confession? My roommate and I are total Disney movie geeks - we watch them on the regular and we're both well into our twenties.

Thank you all so much for your reviews and support. I read every single review and PM and appreciate all of them to pieces. Thank you so much for making this such an amazing experience! We have one more update and an epilogue left after this one. Is this really it?!

Things I Don't Own: Vampire Diaries

"So wait, this fairy is pissed off because she didn't get invited to a party?" Damon asked.

"Damon!" Elena hissed. Damon tried to look guilty for his slip of tongue, but he couldn't help but smirk at Elena's stern expression.

"She's not a fairy," Ella piped up. "She's the Mistress of All Evil."

"And the best she could do was come up with a pricking a finger on a spindle?" Damon asked. Elena snorted back a laugh. "I have a point, here."

"Just watch the movie," Elena told him, amused. "It's actually really good." Damon raised a skeptical eyebrow, but settled back against the cushions of Elena's couch. Ella, already in her pajamas after their dinner of homemade pizza, had tucked herself comfortably between them, her legs thrown over Damon's lap while her head rested against Elena. It wasn't the most exciting Friday night, but Damon couldn't think of anywhere else he would rather be.

The movie unfolded with the good fairies sneaking Aurora into the woods. He wasn't buying what Elena had said about it being a really good movie, but he was content to just be with her. He reached out and casually draped his arm across her shoulders. She looked over and smiled at him, letting him know his gesture was approved. He reciprocated by pulling her, and by proxy, Ella, just a little closer. On the screen, Prince Phillip had just met Princess Aurora in the woods.

"Imagine that," Damon mused. "A prince and a princess are the only people around for miles and miles and they manage to meet right smack in the middle of the woods with the help of some woodland creatures."

"You have no imagination," Elena told him.

"I'm just pointing out the obvious," Damon said. "No one else is around for miles while Rose Bush or whatever they're calling her is singing in the woods while she's picking berries and ta da, there's a prince." Elena rolled her eyes but smiled. "And not only do these two strangers meet in the woods, they happen to have been engaged since birth. Really, what are the odds?"

"Shh!" Ella hissed, holding her finger up to her lips and glaring at Damon. Elena snorted back another laugh.

"Sorry," Damon apologized to Ella, ticking her toes a bit. She giggled and squirmed before turning her attention back to the movie.

Despite Ella's hushing, Damon kept his commentary up where it was warranted, Elena scolding him but with a twinkle in her eye. When the movie was finished, Damon shook his head. "Who knew an arranged marriage could be so romantic?" Elena let out an actual laugh then which made him chuckle.

"Day-mun?" came Ella's voice. She was fighting sleep by now, doing her best to stay up with her aunt and Damon as long as she could.

"Yeah, munchkin?"

"Did you meet Aunt Laney in the woods?" she asked. Damon raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, not sure he heard her correctly.

"Did Damon meet me in the woods?" Elena repeated. Ella sat up from where she had been laying across their laps and looked at them both very seriously.

"Did you?" she asked Damon. "Did you meet Aunt Laney in the woods like Princess Aurora met Prince Phillip?"

"Not quite," Elena said with a shake of her head. "Although he did go running through the woods with me a few times."

"Yeah, because your aunt likes to run through the woods all by herself which is a really bad idea. Don't ever do that, okay, Ella?" Damon asked with a raised eyebrow in Elena's direction. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Ella agreed with a serious nod. "But if you not meet Aunt Laney in the woods, where did you meet her?" Damon smiled at Ella's innocence. He supposed in her three year old world, girls did meet their prince charmings in the middle of a heavily wooded area, if he remembered his Disney movies correctly. He was pretty sure that's how Snow White went down anyway.

"I met your Aunt Laney at a crowded party," he told Ella. His arm still around Elena, he pulled her even closer. "She was the most beautiful woman in the room."

"Yeah?" Ella asked. She leaned forward, ready to hear a real life love story.

"Absolutely," Damon confirmed. Next to him, Elena was smiling brightly, almost as eager as Ella to hear where Damon was going to go with this. He certainly wasn't going to tell her that they had met at his father's funeral and he had propositioned her to go into the coat closet with him.

"Aunt Laney, did you think Day-mun was handsome?" Ella asked innocently, turning her attention to Elena. Elena smiled at her niece and nodded.

"I did," she confirmed. "Handsome, but a bit rough around the edges."

"What's that mean?" Ella continued.

"It means Aunt Laney turned me down for a date," Damon told Ella. Elena chuckled next to him. "I came up to her, told her she was beautiful, invited her to spend time with me, and she turned me down. Can you believe that, Ella? Your aunt wasn't going to go out with me." Elena rolled her eyes again while Ella shook her head no.

"Aunt Laney, you should have gone on a date with Day-mun," she said with a very stern tone.

"That's my girl," Damon told Ella with an approving nod.

"Hey!" Elena exclaimed. "I did go out with Damon. If I hadn't, he wouldn't be sitting here right now, would he Ella?"

"Well, no," Ella mused. "But how did you go on a date with Day-mun if you said no?"

"He chased me," Elena answered. She reached for Ella and pulled her firmly into her lap. "You know how I like to go work at the coffee shop?" Ella nodded. "Well, I was sitting there working one day when this tall shadow fell over my table. It was Damon. He sat down with me for a while and then he left."

"She kicked me out," Damon supplied.

"I did not!"

"You did," Damon argued. "You were on a deadline, remember?"

"You got a phone call and left to argue with someone over a contract, remember?" Elena shot back.

"I landed that contract," Damon told her. "It was sports drink deal for Harper."

"Then what happened?" Ella piped up, interrupting their good-natured squabbling.

"I walked Aunt Laney home from The Grill," Damon answered. He reached out and tickled Ella's side, making her laugh. "She was going to walk home alone at night, and pretty girls should never walk home, or anywhere else, alone at night. Remember that too, okay?" Ella nodded in agreement, hanging on to his every word. "I walked Aunt Laney home and figured out she was not only beautiful, but smart and kind too. So, I asked her to dinner and she said yes."

"You did?" Ella asked, turning to Elena.

"I did," Elena confirmed. "Damon talked about books with me while he walked home and I decided I wanted to talk to him even more, so when he asked me to have dinner with him, I said yes."

"And the rest is history," Damon added. "Even though I make it hard sometimes, your Aunt Laney is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Aww!" Ella squealed, her hands clapping together. Elena snuggled Ella to her, but she was looking at Damon with a soft smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Even though Damon thinks he makes it hard sometimes, he's worth it," she told Ella. "He likes to pretend to be the bad guy, but he's not. And truth is, I don't always make things so easy either." Damon returned her smile, but didn't trust himself to speak. Elena gave him a nod to let her know she understood.

"Can we watch Cinderella now?" Ella asked. Elena shook her head.

"Not tonight," she said. "It's time for bed. But you can watch it in the morning, okay?" Just like she thought would happen, a temper tantrum ensued. Damon let Elena handle the screaming toddler after telling her goodnight. He busied himself with cleaning up the kitchen from their dinner, listening to the sounds of a disgruntled Ella and an ever patient Elena floating from down the hallway, gradually growing quieter until he no longer could hear them. He had just put the last dish in the dishwasher when Elena reappeared. "That child is incredibly stubborn."

"Wonder where she gets that from?" Damon mused without missing a bit. Elena punched his arm playfully.

"You didn't have to clean up," she told him. "But thank you for doing it." She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, making him grin. She was slowly starting to become more openly affectionate and he was rather enjoying it, taking it as a good sign as to how things were progressing between them.

"You're just glad you didn't have to clean up that mess," he teased, making her laugh.

"Do you have to go?" she asked. "Or can you stick around for a bit?"

"Well, I'm learning about these new things called weekends," Damon replied, leaning casually against her counter. "It's a really strange concept, but apparently, there are these two days every week where people don't necessarily have to work, myself included. So, yes, I can stick around. If you want me to, of course."

"I've heard about these weekend things," Elena replied seriously. "The way I understand it, once you leave work on Fridays, the weekend has officially started. And seeing as its Friday, I'd say that means your weekend has begun. Which means you are free to stick around. If you want to."

"And I would say sticking around would be a great start to my weekend," he confirmed. Elena smiled.

"It's beautiful out," she told him. "I mean, it's dark and overcast, but it's not too chilly and we are on a lake. Want to sit out on the porch for a bit?"

"Sure," Damon agreed. "But what about Ella?"

"What about her?" Elena countered.

"What if she wakes up? We'll be outside." Elena produced a baby monitor Damon hadn't noticed before.

"I learned my lesson the first time she stayed here," she told him. "She woke up in the middle of the night, slipped out of my bed, and had a field day in my pantry, eating all the junk food." Damon laughed.

"In that case, I'll lead the way." Elena gave him a nod and followed him through the house and out onto her front porch. Damon took a seat on the old wooden swing and while he expected Elena to sit beside him, he was surprised when she curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He was trying to take things slow, not overstep whatever boundaries Elena had in place, but he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"How was New York?" she asked. He could hear the note of curiosity in her voice.

"It was New York," he answered. "It was big and loud and busy. I missed my bed."

"Your bed?"

"My bed," Damon confirmed. "My bed, my house," he jostled Elena gently, "my girl."

"Your girl?" Elena repeated, feigning innocence. "Who's she?"

"You," Damon answered. "I may not be your guy at the moment, but you're my girl. You have been since the night I took you to Maya for our first date."

"You are my guy," Elena told him softly but with conviction. "I know we hit a rough patch, but you're still my guy." Damon hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head.

"It's good to hear you say that," he admitted. Elena picked up his hand and started playing with his fingers. He waited, knowing she was thinking over what she wanted to say.

"Damon?"

"Hmm?"

"How are things going?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"How are things going?" she repeated. "With Mystic Falls, the mill? Your life has done a total one eighty in the last couple of months. How are you doing?" Damon smiled to himself as he considered her question. She had always worried about him, tried to take care of him. Even after everything, she was still fretting over his well-being.

"It's been a whirlwind," he told her, opting for the full truth. "A lot of things changed really fast. But I made the right call. Coming back here, stepping back at the agency, taking on the mill, it's been good. I get to sleep, Elena. When I wake up in the mornings, there isn't a sense of urgency to check things off my to-do list. I can sit around in my kitchen, drinking coffee and reading the paper before I have to go to the office. I can take real, honest to goodness lunch breaks and I'm home in time for the evening news.

"But more than that, I have a foundation. I have you, Stefan. I'm even starting to count Rebekah as family. Just don't tell her I said that." Elena chuckled lightly. "It's weird for me, coming home to a house, knowing that I have people I can turn to, rely on. I haven't had that in so long. That's taking some getting used to. But it's good. It's really good."

"So you're happy here?" Elena asked. "I mean, so far?" Damon frowned.

"What are you trying to ask me?" he countered, realizing there was a question Elena wanted the answer to, but she wasn't willing to come out and ask it.

"Nothing," Elena said quickly. "I was just…"

"Elena." She sighed.

"It's silly," she said with a shake of her head. "Just… Never mind, okay? It's nothing."

"It's obviously something," Damon said patiently. "Whatever it is, just spit it out." Elena busied herself with spinning the monogrammed ring she always wore on her right ring finger around and around.

"It really is silly, Damon."

"Doesn't matter," he told her. "We have to talk, remember? That's the only way we're going to make this work. So whatever is going on in that pretty little head of yours, say it. Silly or not, we'll take it from there." Elena sighed.

"Fine," she relented. "I'm going to sound like an insecure school girl."

"You might," Damon agreed. "You might not. I'll be the judge of that. And if you do sound insecure, I'll do what I can to take those insecurities away." Elena's lips turned upward in the slightest of smiles.

"When you told me you were going to New York, it wasn't the fact that there was going to be distance between us that bothered me," she started. "It was more the idea that you'll go back there one of these days and realize what you gave up. I know better than anyone that Mystic Falls isn't New York. And then there's the fact that you gave up a job you love to live here and run a saw mill. You made all these changes and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I'm thrilled you're here, but I can't help but worry that you'll wake up one day and realize you made a huge mistake."

Damon didn't respond right away. He took his time, turning Elena's words over in his mind. Her fear was valid. Mystic Falls and New York weren't remotely similar. There were likely a thousand things he could do or get in New York that weren't a possibility in Mystic Falls. But Mystic Falls also held a number of priceless things to Damon. He couldn't guarantee anything, but he could reassure Elena that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"The taxi drivers in New York City are awful," he said. "Once you manage to flag a driver down, of course. They slam on their brakes, weave in and out of traffic like it's a real life game of Mario Kart. They make you lose your religion. Getting pizza delivered to my hotel was nice, but I paid a small mint for it. And the Starbucks I went to? Not a chance in hell they would know I have a usual like the baristas at Coffee on Main do.

"And then there's the fact that my little brother shows up at my place whenever he feels like it. He just lets himself in, doesn't knock, doesn't even call first. He has this posh little apartment in Charlottesville, so close to the hospital he can walk there, but at least once a week, I wake up and find him in my kitchen, eating my food and drinking my coffee and his soon-to-be wife is usually there too. I pretend like I mind, but I actually kind of like having him around. Don't tell him I said that, either." Elena let out another soft laugh.

"And, of course, there's this woman I'm crazy about. She's beautiful, smart, funny. She has the kindest heart and she would do anything for her family and friends. She also happens to be one hell of a nurse. I recovered from the flu nicely under her care. She's not all that great of a cook though."

"Hey!" Elena protested, elbowing Damon. He laughed.

"She served me soup out of a can," he said. "The good kind though, not the condensed kind." Elena rolled her eyes once more. "I'm a lot to put up with, but she manages it with grace. She's pretty amazing. And she lives here, in Mystic Falls, same place as my brother. It's this small town in the Virginia mountains that's actually really beautiful if you take the time to look at it. I don't have to worry about hailing a taxi because there aren't any. I can get two pizzas for the price of what I pay for one in New York, even if I do have to go pick them up, and the baristas at the only coffee shop in town know exactly how I like my coffee."

"You mean how you take your latte," Elena muttered. Damon chuckled again.

"My point is, Mystic Falls is my home. It's where I'm supposed to be. I'm here, Elena. With you. And I'm happy. My time in New York? It was great. But that chapter of my life has come to an end. It went far too long, to be honest. I understand your fears, but I'm here, Elena. I'll say that as many times as you need to her it before you start believing it."

"I know you're here," Elena said softly. "I'm so glad you're here, Damon." It wasn't so much the words she spoke as the rawness in her voice that told Damon everything Elena was trying to say but couldn't.

"I know you are," he confirmed.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Anything," Damon confirmed.

"Did I pressure you – in any way – to move back here?" Damon sighed, realizing what was going on.

"Listen to me for a minute, okay?" he asked.

"I'm listening."

"If I said you didn't play a part in why I moved back here, I would be lying. But the thing is, so did Stefan. So did the mill. And so did my dad, especially. I was unhappy. I had been for a really long time, since before I met you. It took meeting you and building a relationship with my brother to figure out what real happiness looked like. I made the decision to move back here because this is what I needed to be happy. But, I need you to tell me where this line of questioning is coming from." Elena sighed. She started playing with his hand again.

"I want us to work," she told Damon. "It hurt, so much, to walk away from you. The time we were apart was hard. I don't want to feel like that again. I don't want to lose you. Maybe I'm being insecure, but I don't want to be the reason you gave up all these things that were such a huge part of who you are. I wasn't always the most supportive, understanding person…" Damon snorted, drawing a piercing look from Elena.

"I'm sorry," Damon apologized. "It's just – you're the most patient, understanding, supportive person I have ever encountered. It's one of the many things I love about you. And I can assure you that no one wants us to work out more than I do."

"I'm acting crazy," Elena said with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to apologize for any part I played in our breakup, but I sound ridiculous instead.

"You don't sound ridiculous," Damon said. "And I don't blame you for anything that happened.

"I know you don't," Elena admitted. "But I still wanted to apologize."

"Apology accepted, then," Damon told her. She gave him a small smile.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Hey," he said gently, brushing her hair back from her face. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" Elena smiled at him genuinely this time. Despite the tears forming in her eyes, her smile was happy.

"I have an idea," she said. She reached out and rested a hand on his cheek. "It's at least half as much as I love you. And I love you so much, Damon. So much it scares me." Damon closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, letting her words wash over him. This was so much more than he expected from the night.

"God, it's good to hear that again," he said. He remembered something then. Gently, he started to extricate himself from Elena, just enough to reach into his pocket for something he had stashed there earlier, waiting for the right time to produce it. This was it. "I have something for you."

"You do?" Elena asked curiously. She hoped it involved his arms around her as suddenly, she didn't feel like she could get close enough.

"I do," Damon confirmed. "Remember when we were talking on the phone the other night and I said I would bring you the moon if you asked for it?" Elena nodded, remembering the conversation. Damon reached for her hand and placed something small and cold in it. "Well, there you go." Elena looked at him for just a moment before looking to her hand. A smile so big it hurt broke across her lips.

"Damon," she said with a shake of her head. He had given her the moon, a small crescent hanging from a keychain. "I… You…" She shook her head again. "I don't know what to say. Thank you. You are amazing." She moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close, feeling a newfound sense of easiness with her.

"Anything for you," he said, pulling away slightly, his arms still around her. "Which is why I wanted to give you this. As a reminder that I will do anything for you, for our relationship. You mean everything to me, Elena. You, our relationship, that's what comes first."

"I'm going to do my part too, Damon," Elena said. Her arms still around his neck, she played with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I'm not going to walk away again."

"I'm not going to let you," Damon told her. Elena studied him for a long moment, then placed a hand on his cheek.

"Kiss me," she ordered. Damon grinned. He didn't have to be told twice. He leaned in and kissed her gently, sweetly, on the lips. He pulled away just as Elena shook her head. "Kiss me, Damon," she said again. "Really kiss me." Damon looked her in the eye and saw nothing but desire. He nodded once.

"Come here," he said, gruffly. He slid a hand into the hair at the back of her head and sealed his lips over hers with one fluid motion. He kissed her deeply, pouring every ounce of passion, every ounce of longing, desire, and love he had into it. She responded in kind, kissing him back with a sense of urgency. Broken pieces of their relationship, mended in recent weeks, fused back into place.

It didn't take long for things to get heated. Damon silently asked her to part her lips and she did so with a content sigh. He sat back on the swing, pulling Elena with him. He kept his hands firmly on her hips, but his lips left hers to trail along her jawbone and down her neck. She sighed again, her own hands trailing down his chest. She placed a hand on his cheek and moved his face towards her so she could recapture his lips. Damon finally pulled away, knowing if he didn't stop now, he wouldn't be able to.

"God, I missed that," he said. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Elena replied, resting her forehead against his. "So much." Damon ran his hands up Elena's arms. She was still in his lap and he didn't plan to let her go.

"So, here's the thing," he started. "I only kiss my girlfriend like that."

"Your girlfriend?" Elena asked with a raised eyebrow. "She's going to be really upset to find out you just kissed me like that." Damon grinned.

"Somehow I don't think she will be," he said. He leaned forward and kissed her sweetly before settling back against the swing. "Be my girlfriend again," he said. "Let me introduce you to people as my better half. Let me post disgusting couple-y photos of us on Facebook and tell people how I have the best girlfriend in the entire world. Let me fall asleep at night, knowing you're mine, that you're my girlfriend."

"I'm yours," Elena told Damon without hesitation. "I am absolutely and completely yours."

"And I'm yours," Damon confirmed. "All yours."

And there you have it - they are, officially, back together. They've put the past behind them and are ready to move forward. And Ella is precious.

As I mentioned, there is one more update (Caroline's wedding, anyone?) and an epilogue and then we're done. I can hardly believe it. BUT! I've wrote about 35 pages of my next story and I'm loving it. It's very different from this one, but it's going to be fun to write. I'll post the first update sometime in the next couple weeks!

Let me know what you think!