I decided to post this sooner than I planned because of the massive wave of reviews ya'll gave!

Thank you so much! Made my day.

Though, tomorrow, I'm leaving home for the holiday, so not sure how often I'll be updating, but I'll try.

Thanks for understanding :)

Now, as for the reviews ya'll left, I know cheating was a HUGE concern lol.(SPOILER?) I'll just put ya'll at ease and say that Elena stays well in character. Damon is the love of her life, her best friend. She doesn't actually want to lose him, so, even drunk, cheating isn't something she'd do. Liam, Megan, Lexi, and even Stefan, are just friends that she's made outside of her past, and through this chapter of her life. So no worries.

Anyway, enjoy! :)

It took another half hour, but Damon finally managed, through Stefan, to find out Elena's whereabouts.

Apparently there had been a bit of a rager on campus, and his brother had bumped into Elena there.

"She was fine when I saw her," Stefan promised, "Just dancing with some friends, a little tipsy though. I thought it was weird that you weren't there; figured I'd call."

Damon thanked him, and hung up, before grabbing his car keys.

"You need me to come?" Caroline offered.

Damon shook his head, "Whatever's going on with Elena, it has to do with the baby. That's when all this started, so this has to be between us."

Caroline nodded, "Good luck."

Lord knew he'd need it.

He hurried out to his car, shaking his head.

What was Elena thinking?

Getting drunk at a college party was one thing, but lying to him about it?

Why? What was the point?

The uneasy feeling stayed with him until he pulled onto campus.

With it being Friday night, the place was littered with students, and Damon had to push through a huddle or two to find Whitmore Hall.

It was at the west end of the campus, closer to the dorms than the classrooms, so it didn't surprise him that the music was thundering.

There was a steady stream of people coming in and out the front doors, most of which were wasted.

He sighed, moving through them to get inside.

He thought it would difficult to see, once inside the dark room, with its flashing lights.

He was right.

He thought Elena would be nearly impossible to find.

He was wrong.

What. The. Hell?

His fiancee was up on a table, dancing wildly to the beat, jacket gone, shoes abandoned, and hair falling freely around her face.

She'd caught the attention of half the male population, all of which were crowded around the tables, practically drooling as she moved for them.

One was even on the table with her, grinding a little too close for Damon's liking.

Fuck this.

He shoved his way through the crowd, until he was close enough to reach her.

"Elena!" he called over the noise.

She didn't hear him.

With a huff, he jumped forward, grabbing her arm.

"Hey!" she yelled, but stopped when she saw him.

However, the other guys didn't.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, jumping down and shoving Damon's chest.

The small crowd parted, as if expecting there to be a fight.

Damon was almost willing to give them one, as he turned to the guy, who took a step back once his eyes landed on Damon's face.

"Back off," he growled, "I'm here for her."

"She's not going anywhere with you," the guy said again, regaining composure.

Damon's eyes flashed as he prepared to bulldoze this kid.

"Damon!" Elena was beside him now, a grip on his arm, "Stop!"

The guy looked between them, "Elena do you know-"

"This is my finance," she explained to him, over the music, "Sorry Liam, I'll catch up with you later, sorry."

The guy nodded, and Elena was dragging Damon away then, back towards the door.

Once they were outside, she rounded on him, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Me?" Damon spat, "What am I doing? I don't know, Elena, why don't you tell me! What the hell is up with you? What was that?"

She rolled her eyes, "You shouldn't be here."

"No, this is exactly where I should be," he argued, "And it's where we'll stay until you tell me what the hell is happening with you."

"I came to a party, big deal!" She yelled.

"And lied about it!" his exclamation was loud enough that a few passerbyers glanced over.

He grit his teeth, but Elena wasn't concerned about being overheard.

"Oh boo hoo, so I didn't give you every detail of my day!" she crossed her arms, "Did you ever think that maybe it was because I didn't want you to find me?!"

"Why?" Damon demanded, "Why won't you talk to me? Damn it, angel, we don't do this. We don't keep secrets from each other. You need to tell me what's wrong!"

"I want to go home," she hissed, stumbling past him.

Damon grabbed her arm, "You're hammered, Elena. You aren't going anywhere without me, and I'm not taking you anywhere, until you tell me what's wrong with you!"

"Fuck you," she spat, pulling herself free, "I'll find another ride."

"The hell you will," he blocked her path, "Lying to me, yelling at Caroline, getting wasted and dancing on table tops with frat boys...this isn't you, Angel."

That lit a fire under her skin, and she whirled on him, "Why...huh? Because I'm not doing exactly as I'm supposed to? Because I'm not hiding in school or work?"

Her face was red, from alcohol or anger, he couldn't say, "I'm doing whatever I want, for once, instead of being afraid of the future, and nobody can handle it because you all prefer the fragile little girl! Well, I'm sick of her and all of her baggage."

She stormed off then, and it took Damon a minute to recover.

Whatever this was, it was deep, and she was hurting.

He chased after her, more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this.

He didn't have to go far.

As drunk as Elena was, she'd ducked behind one of the buildings to stop herself from puking.

He found her squatting, breathing fast, her face in her hands.

"Elena?"

"Just go away," she begged, her voice broken.

He crouched down next to her, and noticed that tears were pouring down her face.

She hadn't cried since she'd been home from the hospital, after the miscarriage.

"Angel, please," he reached for her, "You can let me in."

Elena was tense, but her eyes lifted to meet his.

The second their gazes connected, she broke.

With a scream of agony, she fell into his arms, sobbing.

Damon held her, as he fell back against the wall of the building, sitting on the grass.

She trembled against him, but he let her cry until she got it all out.

"I'm sorry," she began mumbling, over and over, "I'm so sorry, baby, I'm sorry."

"Shh," Damon rocked her, "It's okay angel."

She sat up, wiping her face, but didn't pull away from him.

Thank god.

"No, no it's not okay," she muttered, "It's really not."

"Then what's wrong?" he prodded gently, brushing her hair back.

She gaze fell, another shiver trembling through her.

"Is it about the baby?" he guessed, "Because it's like you said, nothing we did could have prevented-"

"I lied," she choked.

Damon paused, "You lied?"

Elena cleared her throat, "About what the doctor said. It's true, that sometimes losses just happen, and there's usually no explanation, but...in my case, there was."

Damon blinked, mind turning, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Fresh tears ran down her cheek, "I didn't want you to know...I was so scared. So much changed, and...it was me Damon, it's my body."

She fell silent, but Damon choked back his questions, knowing she'd continue.

"The doctor," she seemed dazed, "...he was talking about scar tissue preventing...that there were defects due to blunt force trauma..."

Her voice shook through the words, but Damon realized what she was getting at, "Oh, angel."

She laughed without humor, "He asked if I'd ever suffered an injury to my abdomen."

Damon flinched, "That's what Grayson meant...about John?"

Elena nodded, "He read the report, and figured it out. He feels guilty."

Damon shook his head, "Elena, baby, you could have told me. I wouldn't have blamed you."

She met his stare, "Don't you get what this means? I can't have children, Damon! That's what he told me. That more pregnancies would most likely end in miscarriage, and probably put my life at risk too...how could I tell you that?"

Damon didn't have the words for an answer.

Instead, he just pulled Elena tighter into his arms, and held her head to his chest.

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

Damon kissed the top of her head, "It's not your fault, angel. It is not your fault."

She shook her head, "But we can't...I can't have your babies...and you said you wanted a family, and I can't-"

"I want you," Damon said forcefully, lifting her head to look in her doe eyes, "It's always been you, Angel. This sucks, it does, but I would rather have you without children, than have an enormous family with anyone else. You have to know that."

She shrugged hiding her face in his neck.

Damon put the rest together, "You thought I'd leave you, didn't you? If you told me...that's why you've been avoiding me."

Slowly, Elena nodded, "I couldn't hold our baby. I couldn't keep it safe. I was afraid you'd hate me...That if you found out I can't carry, you wouldn't want to marry me anymore. I couldn't lose you, too."

Damon squeezed her, "You're never losing me, understand? Never. And I'll tell you that as many times as you need to hear it to believe it."

Elena's body relaxed, and he kissed her head again, "I'm right here, angel. I'm not going anywhere. Don't you worry, okay? We're going to survive this. We always survive."

She nodded, and he held her, there in the shadow of a school building, on the damp grass, both of their hearts breaking a little at what they'd never have, but even still…

He wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

Elena woke with a pounding headache.

She was afraid to know what time it was, seeing as the sun was shinning brightly through the window shades.

With a yawn, she rolled over, and landed against Damon's body.

His eyes were still closed in sleep, but his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her against him.

Despite the drumming in her skull, the rest of her felt extreme relief.

Last night was blurry in parts, but she remembered that they'd talked, that she'd finally told him what she'd been dreading all week, and that he had held her. They'd cried.

It had felt so good to cry.

Then Damon had driven them home, with her glued to his side the entire way, and she vaguely remembered going to bed afterwards.

Just Damon's voice in her ear, telling her it would be okay...

She looked up at his face, in awe.

He was still here, in her bed, in her arms, and he wasn't leaving.

Despite the fact that she couldn't give him the one thing he'd spent his life craving, whether he knew it or not...and family.

Guilt swayed her, but Damon's words echoed in her mind, "It's not your fault, angel. It's not your fault."

It wasn't.

She wasn't the one who'd broken her body when she was just nine years old.

But she did have to live with it.

And so did Damon.

"You're awake."

Speaking of which...

His eyes had cracked open, and he was looking down at her.

Elena nodded, "So are you."

"Barely," he yawned, "What time is it?"

"A quarter past I'm never leaving this bed," she groaned.

Damon chuckled, "A little hungover?"

She nodded, "My head hurts."

"I can make us food," he offered, "Won't hurt to get something on your stomach."

She shook her head, tightening her grip on him, "No...just stay here."

Damon relaxed back into the blanket, closing his arms around her, "Better?"

She nodded, "Much."

He leaned down, kissing her, "And us? Are we...better?"

Elena looked up at him, "We're okay, Damon. I promise."

"Good," he breathed, "I don't want to lose you either."

She kissed his chest, "I'm sorry it took so long for me to talk to you."

"I understand," Damon insisted, "But I didn't like it. And I really hope you know that you can trust me. I love you, Angel. I'm not running out on you."

"I know," she promised, "I was being stupid. I guess I just thought that if I didn't confront the issue, it would go away. But everyone kept reminding me that it was there, and it was real, and I just wanted to get away...I never meant to hurt you."

Damon let his fingers trail down her arm, "You being hurt is what hurt me," he said, "I hated it."

"I'll get better," she sighed, "It'll just take time for me to accept that I'm never going to be able to...it just hurts...and I have to be sad for a little while."

Damon nodded, "I understand. I feel it too. I'm right here with you, Elena. Always."

She snuggled into him, and the conversation drifted off.

"You remember when you first came to SC?" Damon asked, a while later.

Elena smiled softly, "Which part?"

"We were in the cafeteria...the first time we talked."

She nodded, "I remember."

"You asked me a question that day," he said.

Again, she nodded, "I asked if you believed in angels."

He smiled, "I told you I didn't."

"Because of your past," she recalled, "You didn't think there was anything out there helping us."

Damon kissed her, "I believed that, for the longest time. I was so filled with anger and hate...it consumed me. Until I met you."

He held her gaze, "I couldn't have imagined what you'd mean to me, but you were the first person I'd ever trusted. You were kind, and good, and you cared about me."

He took a steady breath, "I still don't know if I believe or not...in angels, in a higher power, or whatever you want to call it, but...I believe in you. You're my angel, Elena, my religion, my life. You save me, every day. You're the good that I need to balance the darkness in my heart, and whatever happens in the future, you have to know, undoubtedly, that I want you. That I need you. My life isn't complete unless you're in it, so don't ever be afraid of me leaving you. Nothing could ever change the way I feel, angel. I love you, and I will keep loving you until I take my last breath on this earth."

Elena had tears in her eyes again, but for an entirely different reason now.

She wanted to scream her love for him, but she couldn't top that.

She didn't even want to try.

Instead, she whispered, "Thank you." And the words held every emotion she needed.

Damon leaned down, capturing her lips.

She fell into his embrace, letting him have control.

It wasn't a sexual moment...more intimate, and she was grateful for it.

Damon held her in that firm, yet gentle way of his, and she molded against him, so that they were one being, completely entangled.

Forever.

She wasn't sure how long they laid there, kissing and holding each other, but a ringing phone broke the trance.

Elena groaned, and reached over to the night stand.

It was Damon's phone, Alaric calling.

She answered as Damon kissed across her neck, nipping playfully, "Hey, Ric."

"Elena, hey, is Damon around?"

She looked at her lover, but he was a little-

"He's preoccupied," she answered, and Damon chuckled quietly against her skin.

"Oh," Alaric sighed, "Well, have him call me when he gets a minute, would you? It's really important."

His tone sobered her some, "Sure...what's wrong?"

"His, uh, his birth mother is here at the office," Alaric's voice was hard, "She's asking to speak with him."

Woo.

What dI'd you think of the chapter?

How do ya'll think they will react?

Review please :)