Holy crap guys, this is the last chapter! I'm a little sad about it to be honest, but I'm also excited to get to hit complete on this fanfiction today. Thank you to everyone who has commented, bookmarked, and left kudos. Your support has meant the world to me, and I am forever grateful to all of you.

Take me now, the world's such a crazy place

When the walls come down, you'll know I'm here to stay

There's nothing I would change, knowing that together everything that's in our way

We're better than alright

Walking between the raindrops, riding the aftershock beside you

Off into the sunset, living like there's nothing left to lose

Chasing after gold mines, crossing the fine lines we knew

Hold on and take a breath, I'll be here every step

Walking between the raindrops with you

-Between the Raindrops, Lifehouse ft. Natasha Bedingfield

Damon and Elena had been together for a decade. After the proposal, there had been a huge engagement party to celebrate their pending nuptials. Damon had tried to argue that it was unnecessary, still becoming uncomfortable anytime a fuss was being made about him, but Grayson and Miranda had insisted on it, so he agreed to it for Elena. It was hardly something worth fighting over anyways.

Almost the entirety of Mystic Falls had been invited. Damon still hated people and crowds, so his anxiety had been bad that day, but he had dealt with it because she was worth whatever misery he might be made to suffer through. It had also given him a chance to check in with his brother and see how he was doing.

During the engagement party, there had been drinks and dancing. They had been away from Mystic Falls for so long that everyone seemed to have forgotten how sensational a dancer Damon was. They were quickly reminded when he escorted his fiancée to the dance floor, slow dancing with her for several songs. The crowd had circled around to watch as they twirled around together. It was the only time Damon ever seemed not to mind being a spectacle.

Not long after their engagement party, they had attended Stefan and Caroline's wedding. Damon had been his best man, while Caroline chose to have Elena and Bonnie both be her Maids of Honor. She couldn't choose between them, which they both understood. Elena expected that she may one day have to make a similar decision.

Caroline had looked stunning in her dress, and everyone had told her so. The wedding had been perfect, and it was obvious that they were happy. That was all their friends ever wanted for them, and they were glad that they had made it through that rough patch. Caroline had already moved into Salvatore mansion, figuring that there was no point in having to move her things twice.

She was the anchor for the local news station and had been since she had left Whitmore. Stefan, on the other hand, had chosen to become a specialist in restoring old cars, much to his brother's delight. He was always sending Damon photos of old vehicles that he had worked on. Damon was as proud of his little brother as he could be.

Caroline was currently pregnant with their first child, a little girl who they had decided to name Elizabeth after her mother. Her friends and family were excited about the baby, the first to be born among the young group. Stefan was looking forward to being a father, and he had promised himself that he would do better for his children than his father had ever done for them. His brother, on the other hand, was nervous.

Bonnie easily settled into a role as an occult studies teacher at Mystic Falls High School. She had been there since she came back to Mystic Falls and had been granted tenure after several years working for the school system. Jeremy had asked her to marry him months after Damon had asked Elena, and the couple had received everyone's blessing.

Speaking of Jeremy, he was now on his way to becoming a Doctor of Psychology, which had been inspired by Damon. When Damon had come to stay with them, Jeremy had immediately found himself interested in how the events surrounding his life had shaped his personality and his behaviors. This had prompted him to pursue a psychology degree because he wanted to be able to help and counsel others that were in similar situations. He wanted to be able to help people who had been through severe trauma, and he was planning on working especially with former slaves.

Elena knew that it was their intention to have kids as well, but they were waiting for Jeremy to finish his degree. Bonnie was going to have to take some time off work when she did get pregnant, and he wanted to be able to provide for her while she was out. Elena was looking forward to being an aunt to both Caroline and Bonnie's kids. She knew Damon was less excited, but that's because he didn't feel that he was very good with children. As a matter of fact, he claimed to have a mean streak when it came to them.

As for Damon and Elena, they had gotten married two years after he proposed. There were still doubts for them both, concerns that it might not be the right step, but they had overcome that together. They had decided that committing to each other was not much of a step for them to take forward because they had already taken it. Thinking back, she remembered one of the playful arguments they'd had about it.

888

"Are you still sure you want to get married?" Damon had asked her.

"I'm pretty certain, but we need to get you a wedding band."

"I thought I already had one," he replied, giving her the sexy eyes.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Is that not what this is?" he said, indicating his collar. "I mean, it doesn't get much better than collaring your man."

888

Even now, that conversation made her laugh. She remembered how he had taken the idea of the collar like a champ. She had been so nervous to ask him about it that she had been carrying it around for days. She hadn't wanted to break his trust, but she had been afraid that that was exactly what she was going to do. He had proven her wrong, and to this day, she was grateful for his rather nonchalant attitude about it. He still wore it with pride.

Their wedding had been amazing. They had planned it for an entire year with quite a bit of help from Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline, Miranda, and Grayson. They had all been giddy about the idea of them getting married, and there was a lot of buzz around it, just as there had been with Stefan and Caroline's wedding. Whenever a local couple got married, it was considered big news in Mystic Falls.

Their wedding was held at the Founder's Hall. Elena had picked a strapless A-line wedding dress with a beaded corset top. The skirt had a design that peeked out between the fabric on one side. She'd had her hair done so that it was partially pulled back, with curls cascading down her shoulder on her left side. She had also chosen to wear flats instead of heels, not wanting to be sore after hours on her feet.

When she had made her entrance, she made eye contact with Damon, who looked awestruck. He had always thought she was beautiful, but nothing could compare to this day. She smiled as she made the march towards him, eyes on him the entire time. That day had been one of the best of her life, and from then on, she was glad that she had made the decision to go forward with marrying him.

After the ceremony had ended, they went and took photos, which Elena had stashed away in a photo album. The reception had been Damon's favorite part, but that was because he once again got to do his favorite activity with her: dance. They performed their first dance to Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse and Natasha Bedingfield. He had insisted that it fit their relationship perfectly. She knew he had also been excited about the cake. He had been very, very enthusiastic when they had done cake tasting, more than willing to try anything that was put in front of him. She remembered how he had asked her later why they would ruin good cake with things like jams and jellies.

The one thing Damon had argued with her over when they got married was her taking his last name. She wanted to be Elena Salvatore, but he had told her that because of his status, he didn't think that was possible. Ironic that she wanted to follow a tradition that came from when women had once been thought of as property, he thought, especially considering that being property was his reality. It was an argument he had fought hard on, but hadn't been able to win, so Elena Gilbert had found a way to become Elena Salvatore.

Elena finished up medical school and together, they moved back to Mystic Falls, where she opened a small medical practice. Her parents couldn't have been prouder of her if they tried. She had worked hard throughout medical school and shown through dedication that she was appreciative of their assistance with the costs. As with any other big event, her graduation was cause for the Gilbert family to celebrate.

Damon and Elena bought a large house with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. While they weren't sure if they wanted kids of their own, this meant that they'd have plenty of room for guests when they came to stay. One of the rooms was a dedicated library for Damon, while two were set up as guest bedrooms. She knew Damon was fond of the house and she was pleased that they had been able to purchase it.

The day they moved in, there had been a surprise waiting for him. Elena felt that he needed a companion of some sort, and she remembered him saying that he really liked cats. She had gone and picked out a small female cat for him. Elena had kept her in the carrier while they moved the furniture in, and she had slept, even through all the commotion. Finally, when they were finished, she brought the carrier out.

"Damon?"

"Yeah?"

"I have something for you," she said, holding up the carrier. He looked at it, then at her, then at it again. She set it down on the sofa in the living room and opened the door. Out strutted a small black cat with tired orange eyes. Her face was short and wide, and her ears were a little too big for her head.

"What's her name?" Damon asked.

"She doesn't have one yet."

He looked at the cat thoughtfully, wanting to come up with the perfect name for her.

"How about Mischief?"

Boy did that fit because she ended up being the type to always get into trouble. Elena thought of her and Damon as two peas in a pod.

Damon never ceased to amaze her. She knew that he was up to something when he started disappearing a couple nights a week. She wasn't sure what to think, and her brain had automatically gone to the worst-case possibility: that he was cheating on her. She had done her best to set that thought aside. Anyone was capable of cheating, but she could never picture him sinking that low, at least not without telling her he was unhappy.

She had tried to ask him about it, but he didn't really say much, just that he had something he had to do, something he needed to finish. She had no clue what that meant, but when it became obvious that he wasn't going to share with her, she did her best to forget about it. It still irked her because she'd never kept a secret from him, but she decided to trust him until he gave her a reason not to.

It was months later when she got an invite to an award ceremony that she found out what he had been up to. Damon had been attending night classes in order to receive his GED. Last she knew, he hadn't been interested, and she wondered what it was that had changed his mind about it. Knowing how hard he must have worked to achieve this; she felt her chest swell with pride.

He was coming back from picking up groceries when she had seen the invite, and she heard him struggling with the bags up the driveway. Elena rushed to the door, opening it to let him in. He entered and hurried to the kitchen, dropping everything there. She came in behind him, putting her arms around his waist, her front against his back.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were getting your diploma?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"What possessed you to do that?"

"Well, I was thinking about going to school for business and opening up a bar," Damon said, a little nervous about how she was going to react.

"Oh! That's a great idea!"

"I'm concerned though. Do you think that anyone would allow a slave to own a bar?"

"I would assume with my permission that it wouldn't be a problem," Elena replied. "I'll look into it for you. So, you would be doing college courses?"

"Yes. I was thinking I would enroll online though, that way I don't have to be away. I believe I need your permission for that as well."

"I think so."

Damon was in a four-year program for business. Elena was proud of him for deciding to take charge like that. She had always thought that he would be content being a homemaker. He had said that it had nothing to do with him being unhappy, but when she had once asked him what he would have done with his life if he had a choice, it had really affected him.

She supported him, signing on any piece of paperwork she had to so that he could make this dream come true. Technically, because he was still considered property, he couldn't own property, so everything had to be in Elena's name, but she made sure that he knew that even though it was, this belonged to him. This was something he wanted to do; she was just the one with the means to help him achieve it.

Damon still had two years to go, but he wanted to get the bar up and running, so Elena had helped him obtain one. She acquired the liquor licenses he would need, and together, they wrote up a business plan. She knew Damon had really thought this through because his plan was thorough. It wasn't fail-safe, there was no such thing, but it was solid.

They continued to rut like bunnies, enjoying belonging to each other. It did calm down just a little after they had two pregnancy scares. Elena would be more than happy to have Damon's children, but he was reluctant to consider offspring of any kind. Just like with Stefan and Caroline's baby, he was afraid that his nasty streak might win out and the child could get seriously hurt. Elena had argued that he was being ridiculous, but also told him that there was no pressure for him to consider children. She could live with or without them.

The first pregnancy scare was the one that really rocked him. When she had told him she might be pregnant, for a short time before finding out it wasn't true, his demeanor had completely changed. His face was suddenly darker, always stormy, his moods constantly changing. He had started talking to her less and shutting her out, even avoiding her. His consumption of bourbon went up by a bottle a week when he had barely drunk a quarter of one before. It had affected him in a way she didn't know was possible.

One night, when he'd been drinking, she decided to see if she could try to coax information out of him while he was drunk. She had sat down next to him on the couch, taking the bottle and putting it on the table. He refused to look at her, which hurt a lot. She had tried everything to catch his eyes, but he had made sure that he avoided eye contact completely. Finally, she had put a hand to his face and turned it towards her.

"Tell me what's wrong, Damon?"

"A slave as a father," he said, shaking his head. "They should sterilize us so things like that don't happen."

"That can't be all of it," Elena had replied, knowing that it had to be deeper than that.

"'Lena," he slurred, "I'm not a good person. I meant it when I told you that. Can you imagine me as a father?"

"I imagine you loving the kid so much, you would burst," she had replied. "I imagine you teaching them about respect and dignity for others."

"And how do you explain my lack of ability to even own a car? My status as a slave? This?" He said as he grabbed the collar. "Those are all things a child is going to question eventually."

She had wanted to tell him that she had been working towards something special for him that night, but with his condition, she didn't feel that the timing was right. Instead, she kept the piece of paper to herself, deciding that now was not the time or the place to tell him that she had managed to obtain his freedom. Right now, he needed comfort.

She had pulled him close then, promising him that if it was true, then they would handle the situation as it came. She was relieved when she found out that she wasn't, and she had immediately told Damon the good news. She could hear the relief in his voice, and she was glad that they weren't going to have to try to figure out a mess like that.

The second scare had been easier, though not at first. When she missed her period, she remembered what it was like when she had told him the first time that she had thought that she might be pregnant. Even though he had a right to know, she had hesitated to tell him, afraid that he would be just as upset as he had been the first time. Instead of going right to him, she had decided to talk to Caroline and Bonnie, who were able to give her the support and comfort she needed.

Finally, she had gotten up the courage to tell him. This time, they sat on the couch in silence for a while. Every now and again it looked like Damon was going to say something, but he could never quite get up the nerve to spit out whatever it was. At least it was already going better than the last one had, she had thought to herself as she watched him struggle with it. Finally, he said something, though she could barely hear him.

"I might be a father," he whispered, looking up at her. She could tell that he had very mixed feelings about that possibility, and she was hoping that he might be more willing to share than he had been last time.

She took his hand and started rubbing it, nodding at his words.

"We might be parents," she said softly.

"What if I'm not good at it?"

She remembered him having said something similar during the first scare.

"You're good at everything you do, Damon," she replied, doing her best to comfort him.

Both had turned out to be false, and she knew that Damon was relieved. They decided to be more careful in the future, not wanting to have any more mishaps. He had promised to start using protection while she got an IUD inserted. One day, they might be ready for children, but for now, they were happy with the way things were.

It only took twenty-four hours for her to heal up, but she had told Damon that the hormones didn't take effect for a week. She remembered how he had groaned at that, thinking that he would have to wait a week for sex before she reminded him that they could simply use protection. His demeanor had shifted from disappointment to excitement almost immediately. They waited a few extra hours for good measure before being intimate.

Elena pulled out the locking shackles that she had bought when she had gotten him the collar. She liked seeing him sprawling across the bed with his hands above his head, unable to do anything about his situation. It gave her a certain sense of arousal. Damon was now laid out on the bed and waiting for her, wondering what she had in mind for tonight.

She locked his wrists into the shackles and attached the loops to the leash, securing him to the bed. He looked down at her, lust filling his eyes, and watched as she took off his pants. He did his best to assist her, feeling like a fish flopping around on the bed. It wasn't that she was inexperienced, more that sometimes she just liked to make things difficult to help build the anticipation.

"What about foreplay?" he had asked, wanting to make sure that she was ready.

"We're not having sex," she replied as she took in the view.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm punishing you for ignoring me," she said with a wicked grin. He felt his penis twitch at the word. It had taken on a new meaning in the ten years that they had been together. Punishment wasn't painful the way it had been with other owners. It was a way to deny pleasure without hurting him, and if he was being perfectly honest, he loved being denied when she felt he was bad. He loved it when she took control over his body like this. She kissed down and then back up his abdomen, tasting his skin. Her mouth came up to his neck, and she nibbled at it, then bit him, sucking and leaving a mark.

She wrapped her hand around his penis, and it traveled up and down his shaft a few times, his erection fully hardening. She took her hand away and grinned at him, loving the compromised position that he was in. He wanted so badly to be inside of her, to feel her walls around him. She could tell that he was fantasizing about her riding him right now like she had done so many times before. However, she wasn't going to give into him. She wasn't mad at him anymore, but she was still upset that he had made her feel like she was all alone when she had found out for the first time that she might be pregnant.

"Now that we've established that, I'm having Caroline and Bonnie over. We're getting takeout. I'll make sure to leave you some in the refrigerator."

He nodded, knowing that she would leave him like this while the others were here. This was how she punished him. She tied him up, got him as hard as she possibly could, and then left him like that, wishing for any kind of contact against his member. He didn't mind in the least. This was her way of telling him that what he had done had hurt her, and he could accept that. He would take whatever she was willing to throw at him, knowing that she would never do anything that would hurt him and should he need her to untie him, she was within earshot.

Damon could hear the girls out in the living room. He knew that Elena would want him to be quiet. The last thing she wanted was for Bonnie or Caroline to go and inspect the bedroom and find him naked. She did this to him when they had company because she liked the danger of the idea, which he could understand. The possibility of being caught was part of the fun.

"Where's Damon?" Bonnie asked as she looked around the house.

"School's been really kicking his butt lately. He's already asleep."

"Too bad. We were looking forward to visiting him," Caroline replied. "Oooo."

"Baby kicked?"

"Yes. Do you want to feel?"

Elena put her hand on Caroline's stomach, and she could feel him kicking her insides. She thought to herself that that had to be painful and wondered what it felt like to have a living, breathing being growing inside of someone. The thought faded as she remembered Damon's reaction to the idea of children. If he didn't want them, she would be content not to have them, but if she was going to have children, she wouldn't want anyone's but his.

They were there for a couple hours, talking, eating, and it sounded like they were watching something. It was probably another one of their cheesy vampire shows. He still had no idea why girls were so obsessed with vampires, although he had been trying to get it out of them for years. He had to say, his least favorite part of punishment was boredom. He had been staring at the ceiling for most of the night, listening in on anything he might be able to hear, grateful that they were providing at least some entertainment for him.

Damon heard them leaving, and he wanted to call out and tell them to have a good night, just to piss Elena off, but he didn't feel like having her leave him like this for at least another hour. The door opened and closed, and he heard his wife's footsteps coming towards him. She opened the door and flipped on the bedroom light, causing him to squint.

"Mistress," he said flirtatiously.

"You look far too happy," Elena replied.

"I am happy. This certainly beats being whipped," came his common retort.

"I'm going to undo your shackles and I expect you to go and take a cold shower. There will be no pleasuring yourself."

He pouted.

"Not even a little?"

"No!"

"Sheesh, okay, fine."

Elena unfastened the leash, letting Damon's arms free. He put them down slowly; they were sore from being up in the air for a couple hours. She crawled up him, making sure that she brushed against his erection as she did. Then she grabbed the key and unlocked the handcuffs and collar, removing them.

He took his time, trying to get his erection to go down. It took longer than he was expecting, and by the time it had finally gone away, he was shivering. Elena came to check on him, worried at the amount of time he'd been in the bathroom, and saw his body shaking. She grabbed a towel from the rack and put it around him, leading him back to their bed so that he could warm up and getting his nude body situated under the blankets. She pulled him close to her, and he smiled.

"Oh my, have you become delirious?"

"No, I just really like being close to you."

She put a hand on his face and realized he was still ice cold. She frowned.

"What if you get sick because of me?"

"Well, it was well worth it. I love you; I'll see you on the Other Side," he said dramatically, then laughed, causing her to give him a little push.

"You know that's not what I meant," she rolled her eyes.

"Elena, you didn't mean any harm, so don't worry about it."

He snuggled up to her, placing an arm around her. She shivered and he went to pull it away, but she stopped him. He looked down at her, quirking an eyebrow.

"Damon, I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it 'Lena?"

"I was able to obtain your freedom."

He stared at her for several minutes, unable to believe what he had just heard. He hadn't been free in eighteen years, though he had been as close to it as he could come. She pulled out the piece of paper that stated that he was a free person. He just had to sign it, and he would take ownership over himself. Somehow, she had managed to achieve what seemed impossible.

"What does that mean for us?" he whispered as thoughts of her no longer wanting him came creeping in, insecurities that he thought he had long forgotten.

"It means that you're my husband and I'm your wife," she replied, placing the collar back around his neck and locking it. The minute he felt it, the fear and doubt that had crossed his mind was washed away.

He pulled her close as his temperature climbed, and he was grateful for his body's ridiculous recovery speed. He had always been a quick healer when people gave him the chance to heal. They fell asleep holding each other.

He didn't have nightmares anymore. He hadn't had a nightmare in years. Every now and then, Katherine would enter his dreams, but they always ended with her dead or in prison. One could hardly call that a nightmare. His trauma responses had improved tenfold. He no longer recoiled when people hugged him, he didn't wait for people to strike him for speaking his mind, considering it insubordination.

Damon spent the next day thinking about his life. Next month, he would open the bar. He was still working on a name for the place, but he had a couple good ideas. In a couple more months, his brother would welcome their second child. Soon, Bonnie would be considered his sister-in-law and Jeremy would have his doctorate. In two years, he would complete his business degree. Things were seriously looking up for Damon Salvatore.

He had fought to become more than a slave most of his life, and suddenly he no longer was one. Elena had made it possible for him to become the person he had always wanted to be. Without her guiding hand, he never would have had the courage to go back and get his GED or apply for college. He certainly would have never thought of opening his own business. She gave him the ability to reach for what he wanted, and for that, he was grateful.

Damon was happy with the way his life had turned out. He had a loving wife who treated him like he was someone to be prized and treasured. Elena made him feel important, like he mattered. She listened to his thoughts and opinions, always taking them into consideration. He knew she might eventually want children, and perhaps one day, when they were both truly ready and they'd had a chance to talk about their hopes and fears, there would be room for a child in the house. For now, everything was perfect exactly as it was.

Well, that's officially the end. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I hope you have enjoyed reading about Damon's journey as much as I enjoyed writing it. Writing this story was truly a pleasure, and you wouldn't believe how fast it all came together. Five days of writing, followed by months and months of editing. Thank you to all who stuck with it to the very end. With that, I bid you adieu!