Chapter 13 - Mission begins, Evil is felt

Elena confused, "How are we going to get back to the house? We only brought one car?" Damon arrogantly states, "Are you forgetting I'm a powerful witch/warlock... A magical person now... Hold on Ms. Gilbert, we are going to ride the wind." Damon grabs a hold of Elena, says a few words in ancient Greek, raises his hand and they disappear in a vortex of wind.

A few moments later, they are on the ground in front of the boarding house. Elena's eyes are tightly closed, Damon looks down at her, "Open your eyes, scaredy-cat, we are home." Elena opens her eyes, the look changes from concern to amazement, "How did we get here so fast? Damon, what happened? Woww. You really did that." Damon sounding quite arrogant, "Pretty cool, I think I impressed you, now that you are bonded with Stefan, we can channel each other's power from anywhere. That means I can bring you with me without exhausting all my magical energy. With Stefan and Caroline at the Temple, it's like I'm directly hooked up to a battery." He takes her hand and leads them to the front door.

They walk into the house and find Enzo and Bonnie getting hot and heavy on the couch. Damon laughed "Just passing through to the kitchen, starting dinner, not going to be back in this room for at least an hour or so." Damon and Elena giggle as they walk through and hear Bonnie talking through Enzo's kisses "I could use a little food, food is good for passion. We haven't eaten in quite a while. Ok, maybe in 20 more minutes."

In the kitchen, Damon is getting items out of the refrigerator, knife and cut boards ready. Elena sitting an island stool, "Stefan was telling me about how you can feel evil now. What did he mean by that?" Damon ponders the answer for a moment, "Feel is a strong word. Our magic is about balance, because of the elements powering us when something is out of balance, we can sense it stronger, than when it is in balance. I think the concept is when evil is stronger or getting stronger, that is when we know there is something we have to find and fight, to put it back in balance."

Elena sitting at the table watching Damon prepping the family meal, "The brother bond, can you sense if Stefan and Caroline are ok or where they are?" Damon answers, "Not really, I can just sense they are not in pain or in danger. It would be weird if I could feel what they were feeling. Think about it, I wouldn't want them to be able to feel what we felt all the time. Seriously, do you really want Stefan to feel all my feelings for you when I'm having them?" Elena blushed "ok, you have a point, I didn't think of those moments… What are we having for dinner?" Damon seductively, "Why don't you come help me? I will teach you a few things too." Elena "I like sitting here watching, the only thing missing is a glass of wine. Speaking of which, why can't I have alcohol yet?" Damon "Mostly, because Stefan and I weren't sure what would happen with the ritual side effects and your human tolerance factors. We didn't want to take any risks would affect the blocking rituals from working completely. I guess there isn't really a reason now. Honestly, I'd rather you not until we get you to a human doctor, for a full check-up. Your human body has been a vampire and in a magical coma then back to being human, I'd like you to see if there are any hidden human issues before we start adding things we know aren't good for the human body. If you haven't noticed, I've been off the hourly bourbon. I figure, if we are human, we should be the best human possible, which includes the best human fuel." Elena "No booze, geez, if I would have known, I might have decided against taking the cure." She laughed as she walks over to him "Where do I help?" Damon "Come here, let me show you how to stir my sauce." Elena almost falls over laughing, "I'm never ever going to stir your sauce in a pot in a kitchen. EVER. Mr Salvatore. SO don't get any kinky ideas." Looking back at her was her favorite classic Damon sexy eyes with just the right amount of arched brow to make her melt, "Why Ms Gilbert, you have a filthy mind, I was talking about the Ziti sauce. What sauce were you talking about EXACTLY? And can I show you .. dot .. dot … dot."

An hour later, smells coming from the kitchen are too distracting for Bonnie and Enzo, they finally give up on their passionate foreplay, and open the kitchen door. "Damon, you made Salvatore Ziti, didn't you? Oh man, I haven't had this since 1994." Stefan and Caroline walk "When?" Damon "Gemini Prison world" Stefan "Ohh, smells good." Elena "Everyone sit, tables set. Bread is almost out of the oven." Damon "Careful everyone, Elena made the garlic bread, first time, you never know how it will taste" Elena throws the oven mitt at Damon "Be nice, Mr. Salvatore, or you will be sleeping on the couch tonight." Stefan and Enzo made noises, Caroline and Bonnie give them elbows to the side. Elena pulls a blood bag from the refrigerator, and two glasses from the cabinet fills both glasses with blood, hands one glass to Bonnie and the other to Caroline. Bonnie adds a few drops of her blood to the glass, and then hands it to Enzo, she can see how much he hates that she has to hurt herself for him to survive.

Elena notices the exchange, "Bonnie, I've been thinking about the Bennett Blood problem. I did a little research on the medical school website. I was thinking of frozen platelets. Most of our human tissues are actually alive because of the platelets, not the actual red stuff. Platelets freeze easier, longer, and better than blood does. I was thinking, if we took some of your blood and had the platelets removed, froze them, then added the frozen platelet to Enzo's blood, see if that would work." Bonnie appreciates the distraction, "We should look into that, I know this bothers Enzo, but it really doesn't bother me." Enzo contradicts her, "Love, it's just that, I don't like you being a pincushion, twice a day every day. If truth be told, you blood taste amazing. I hate seeing that one moment of ouch that goes across your face. If there was a way to get rid of that, I could live with this." Elena confidently states, "Enzo, soon, I'll be back in medical school and we will come up with a solution. Can you hold on for that long?" Enzo concedes, "I'm not ever giving up, I've got Bonnie back in my arms. Perish the thought of giving up." The oven dings on Enzo decree of fact, everyone gets a good chuckle and that begins dinner.

After dinner, the ladies were lounging in the Grand room in front of the fireplace. The men had kicked them out of the kitchen because their laughter was distracting the cleanup efforts. Bonnie amused "We are going to have to remember that trick, I don't mind getting out of dish duty." Caroline puts the topper onto the decanter of vodka, grabs her glass, "I feel so guilty, Ric has the girls at the Armory. I'm a woman of complete luxury. I should be worried about something, I just can't get my head into it right now." Elena gazing into the fire, "I've always loved when our life is like this. It is a bit of déjà vu. I said those words moments before Silas walked through the front door. At the moment, I'm not sure whether to be worried or amused, since all that power plus more is in the other room washing dishes." The women look at one another, each of them remembering the personal journey that the Silas dramas lead them down.

Elena didn't want to think about losing Jeremy and her humanity, Damon, ect, so she changes the subject, "Care, when do you expect Ric and the twins to come home?" Caroline very happy to end the memories trail she was on, "Oh, he text just after we finished dinner, they should be walking through the door anytime. He mentioned he found something in the new cave. He wasn't sure that it was related to the Brothers' magic. At the moment anything he finds interesting he is sharing." Bonnie sits up, "I agree, any time I find something in a grimoire, Damon and Stefan also study it." Bonnie pauses wondering whether or not to share more, not wanting to concern or scare her friends. Elena continues "This upcoming evil, fight or whatever this new destiny is, it just doesn't feel like a war or overwhelming. I'm not sure how to explain it, we have been through so much already. All the battles that we faced, some we won, some we didn't, some I'm not sure what exactly happened. This is different, I feel like it is something that is a new way of life that we can live through and still live. Not just survive, yes, we have to plan, be smart, take precautions and train. We are together, bonded, all of us are as we should be and protecting each other. I must sound like a crazy person, all I can say is I'm not scared, I'm quite confident. I remember when Matt decided to join the Police Academy, the way he talked about it. When I asked him about all the risks, he was confident about being able to live with the risks and protect himself with training and armor."

Caroline added "And us, I told him that whether he liked it or not I was going to be around to protect him. He wasn't happy." In her best Sheriff Matthew Donovan voice "Caroline, I will be a Deputy Sheriff, trained and armed with the best weapons available, I will not need a vampire to protect me, it is my job to protect the community from your kind." Caroline huffed, "God, he can be such a dumb ass sometimes.. MEN!"

Ric walks in the door with the twins "Did I hear my name?" Elena and Bonnie break out in laughter. The twins run to their mother, Caroline opens her arms, "Girls, how was your day?" Lizzie starts talking "We got to play in the dirt with Daddy. Josie found a secret magic cave for daddy. He was so excited he almost pissed his pants." Caroline shocked at her choice of words, "Lizzie! Honey, who uses that word piss around you?" Lizzie answers "Uncle D says that all the time when he is talking to the air." Caroline trying to keep calm, "Honey, sometimes Uncle Damon uses words that aren't for little girls, they aren't even for adults. Daddy is going to remind Uncle D that his Nieces remember EVERY word that comes out of his mouth. And that he should be appropriate about his vocabulary choices." Ric heads out of the room as fast as he can, Caroline is about to question Josie, he would rather not be around.

Ric finds the guys just hanging out in the kitchen, "So are you hiding out, male bonding or is this a strategic planning session?" Enzo answers "The correct answer would be all of the above, we were cleaning from dinner, we finished I heard Elena talking about the Silas drama, Stefan didn't want to join that conversation, so we got the Bourbon out, then you arrived. We decided staying in here was the best option." Stefan took a swig, "Take a look at us, we are being intimidated by 3 women, our women, who love us. Seriously, Caroline isn't upset with me, she is upset with Damon. I have nothing to be concerned about. Damon, Elena isn't upset with you. She is thinking about me and the Silas drama. Bonnie isn't worried about Enzo, she has Brother magic on her mind."

Damon looks at his brother with the most exasperating smirk, "Seriously, you can't really think it is that easy. You have been alive for 167 years, and you still don't understand women. If we go out there, here is how it is going to go down; you and Caroline will go your bedroom, for the next few hours, all you are going to hear is how your brother can't respect or understand that your stepdaughters should not be hear words that are for children of a tender age of 4. YOUR brother – mind you she will put emphases on that, every chance she gets." Enzo and Ric nod their heads in agreement. Damon continues, "And you, my brother will be put between a rock and the cliff, because you will have to agree with her, because if you don't, you will be agreeing with me, that I was in the right, even if you say "I'm not going to get involved."

Enzo takes over, "Yep, Bonnie and Elena will bring it up as well. Damon has it just as bad, even if he says he is sorry and he will watch what he says in the future. Elena is going to bring up Silas. She wants to talk about the future and what this future evil or fight or war could be, of which, NONE of us know or understand. There is nothing that Damon can say that will give her an idea on how to put an identification mark on it so she can file it away as 'check' done I understand what I need to do to prepare, plan and move on with our lives."

Ric decides it is his turn, "Bonnie is the witch, she is the one that is supposed to have all the answers, she always has. She is the one that everyone has counted on to save the day. She is lost, this is so far above her magic to understand and power, she feels powerless. Enzo being a vampire can't understand anything she is going through the minute he opens his mouth to even provide a word of comfort can set her off. See Stefan, right now, your Women are providing a very delicate balance of support and comfort to each other, introducing any sort of Testosterone is a BIG huge no no. All it will accomplish is, well all of you will be sleeping on the couches downstairs." Ric, Enzo and Damon clink their bourbon glasses and nod their heads in agreement.

Back in the Grand Room, Bonnie laughs after Caroline is finished venting, "Damon will just be Damon. You have to give him some credit for constancy." The women go silent for a moment, they sit watching the twins play with their dolls. Caroline breaks the silence, "I remember us playing like this." Elena agrees "Me too, remember, Tina, Bonnie you gave Tina a haircut." Bonnie laughs "I remember, your Mom was so upset, she just got you that doll."

Josie was listening "Auntie BeeBee, why didn't you just make Tina hair longer with your magic?" Bonnie thought that was the sweetest thing she had heard in a very long time. She opened her arms, and Josie came to her, "Well, I wasn't born as special as you were my little witch sister. My powers didn't wake up into I was older, much older then you are right now." Josie's eyes opened wide, "Really, you didn't have them when you were born. Mommy said Lizzie and I had our powers in her tummy." Bonnie agreed "Yes, you did and nope, I did not. I didn't get my powers until I was in High School. Mommy, Auntie E and I were almost adults when mine woke up." The twins just stared at Auntie BeeBee with amazement, they simply couldn't comprehend her not being a witch. Caroline watched her daughters with a smile on her face, she knew no matter what they had a magical mentor to protect them and guide them, someone they could always look up to.

The guys moved the male bonding outside to the back patio. Stefan flamed the firepits and Damon warmed the evening breeze, there were advantages to being witches, they were going to enjoy it. Ric was the last one out, "It seems like it is going to be one of these nights." He raises two bourbon bottles. All the men raise their glasses in the air.

Enzo leans over his chair arm to push Damon's arm, "Ok my friend, out with it. You have been pondering some thoughts for the last 10 minutes. Both Stefan and Ric have said a few remarks that warranted a classic Damon sarcastic one-liners and you didn't pounce. So spill." Damon took a drink, "I've been thinking about what Elena said. She has a point. Things have changed, we have a new life now. There is a 'calling, new destiny, we are going to be fighting, battling. There are questions that I have no answers for. I'm not a vampire anymore. I can't just pick her up and speed her out of the way. I can't put my body in front of her and take a speeding arrow to protect her human body. All the instincts that I've developed in the past 150 years of fighting danger as a vampire are now a complete danger to Elena, myself and everyone else. My instincts are deadly. I'm an old dog and I need new tricks."

Ric is in the middle of a swallow, he coughs in mid-laugh, "I never ever thought I'd live to hear the day Damon Salvatore would question his instincts, his actions. Woww." Damon sarcasm "Dude, you've died a few times." Everyone laughs. Stefan recovering, "Brother you have a point. I've been struggling with this myself." Ric amused, "Geez, guys, human here. I was alive for a long time. Damon, I only died when you killed me because I trusted you as my friend, dick, and you killed me. Actual enemies never killed me. Sheriff Donovan, again human, again, only died because of friends, enemies never killed him. If I can prove a point here, I trained Elena, she took on Ripper Stefan and if it weren't for Rebecca, Elena won. I trained Jeremy, who took on Kol and won. I took on a lot of vampires and won. SO my point is... Training… Training .. Training.. You aren't defenceless. Elena, Bonnie and Caroline aren't defenceless, neither are you. Damon, you were going to be human with Elena before, what did you plan to keep you two safe from supernaturals then? "

Damon ponders, "Back then it was easy, Bonnie was going to put a magic blocking charm on our wedding rings. She and I had it all worked out. She had already put a barrier on the building I bought. If we were found, our rings would keep us personally undetectable, so we could move freely. We'd keep moving. I bought a dozen more locations to have on standby and our future years, for family use, ageing, etc."

Stefan impressed, "Woww, you really did have everything planned out. I knew you were serious. I just didn't know how thoroughly you had prepared." Damon looked at Stefan, "Stef, really, I did anything to protecting Elena since day one. You really think that I was going to leave anything to chance, with Klaus still at large, who knows who from my past. Too many unknowns, I had to protect us from every supernatural being. Even if it meant not being able to see you without Bonnie's help."

Stefan agrees, "Brother, still impressed. Back to your immediate worry. Elena, I know you don't and won't. So I'm only saying this out loud for reference sake. Don't underestimate her. She can take care of herself. Tell her what the concerns are, she will train alongside us. Honestly, she will train harder, we will look like senior citizens compared to her."

Ric laughs "You are old Goats compared to her. She is strong, both mind and body. She is stronger than all of us. Awake or Asleep, she is the one that kept us together, she saved each and every one of us. We don't underestimate Elena Gilbert ..ever…" Enzo agrees, "She gets my vote."

Stefan takes the lead, "So it is agreed, we start training, defensive and offensive physical training, all of us. I want Caroline included. I know she is a vampire, she has the twins to protect too. Ric, what do you think about including the twins in this ?"

Ric thinks, "I think that they should be exposed, they should learn the difference between a weapon and a toy. They should watch, practice with their magic when they can. So yes, let's include them. Getting Caroline to agree, that is going to be another issue."

Damon remarks, "Let me work on my sister in law, she isn't as upset with me as she is pretending to be. She watches me let the girls siphon my magic in the yard and play all the time. She doesn't say a word. She actually smiles at the window. When I look towards the window, she pretends to not notice, so she doesn't have to protest."

Ric smiles, "I love your confidence my friend. I don't agree with it. I do like that you have it."

Enzo announces, "Caroline just took the girls up to bed. Bonnie told Elena she is heading upstairs and Elena said she was going to wait for Damon to come inside, if she fell asleep he would make sure she got upstairs. Gentlemen, I think we have our cue, the coast is clear for re-entry. I, hereby call this Male Bonding Meeting to a close. Good night." Enzo gets up and heads to the back door.

Ric grabs the empty bottle, "Definitely not like the old days, we would have gone through 4 or more of these, barely finished one. Being human is going to lower the booze budget. We can talk about a training schedule tomorrow. Good night Buddy." He slaps Damon's shoulder on the way towards the door.

It's just Damon and Stefan left. Stefan takes the bottle of Bourbon, he opens it, "We aren't that pathetic as humans." He pours a healthy shot into each of their glasses. He clinks Damon's glass, they both take a swig. Damon starts talking, "I never wanted her to ever have to fight again as a human. That is what I wanted for us, for her. Peace, she could be a doctor. After all that drama we caused her, all the loss in her young life. I wanted the rest of her life to be peaceful, happy and she would not have to fight anymore. That was what the charms were for, what the barrier spells, the back locations. No more fighting, no more fear of loss. One of the thoughts when I saw you holding Katherine in the tunnel was 'how am I going to tell Elena that Stefan is gone?' Another loss that she would have to feel, she doesn't deserve more loss in her life." Damon pauses to take another swig of bourbon, "Now we are destiny to spend the rest of our lives as the Element Brother Witches bringing all magical communities back together or whatever balance means. Stef, you and I both know what evil feels like, how selfish it is, how good it feels in the moment and how you don't think of the bigger picture. Evil can't be reasoned with, it has to be destroyed, that means a fight. You and I will have to wage war with something, someone, Elena and Caroline will be brought into it somehow."

Stefan gulps the rest of his drink and pours another, "I know, I was listening to Demetrius when he was talking about you and I passing the test of endurance and earning our place in this destiny. Damon, you and I, we didn't earn this by ourselves. We earned it because of Elena to start with, she saved me, she changed you. Caroline changed me, Caroline saved you. Face it without them, we don't have a destiny. That has to mean they are up for this challenge, it is their destiny too." Damon stares at his brother, "Little brother, when the hell did you get so smart?" Stefan sarcastically "I was about 125 years old. You were in Paris at the time." Damon responds "Dick" They clink glasses and enjoy another mouthful of the amber liquid while looking up at the stars.

A few moments later, Damon ends the silence, "Ok, we end up fighting, our magic will work some of the time. Physical combat will be involved, we have human strength now. We need more than that to survive, let alone win, we need weapons, we need to know how to use them and be good at it. Once upon a time, I was quite good with a blade, back in my soldier days. Father was so sure I was going to be an officer, all that sword training. Never did use any of it, while I was actually in the confederacy. Although, I kept up my skills until the late 30's when I left Paris. It came in handy during a couple of duels. Stories for another time. The point being, I don't think it would take much for me to get back in shape. Sword fighting and blade throwing would be helpful in one on one combat. Which will make a difference if we can cast a spell to dampen magic as a whole."

Stefan added "Don't laugh again, I know you thought it was hilarious when I went through my Cowboy phase, I am really good as a sharpshooter. I'm as a fast draw, especially with a six-shooter. In archery, I think that between Ric, you and I, we can train everyone expertly. Ric has explosives. That really just leaves hand to hand combat, which you and Ric can cover well." Stefan looks at Damon, this conversation is supposed to make him feel better, more confident, he realizes that it isn't working. Stefan tries another technique, "Ok, brother, what do you think that Elena needs to learn to protect herself?"

That question snapped Damon out of his train of thought, it was specific, it isn't a general worry, a 'what if', it was an actual controllable action item that he could make happen. Damon turns to his brother, "You know little brother, you are pretty great to have around on occasion. We need to figure out how to have an early detection warning for her, Bonnie, oh hell all us humans. Emily spells Jonathan Gilberts watch/device thing. Why couldn't we do something like that but for any supernatural being? Stef, Bonnie, you and I, we could figure it out, we are halfway there with Emily's grimoire telling us how for vampires. We just need to add witches, sirens, devils, and anything else we can figure out."

Stefan agreed with little bit of comical airs to it, "It would be nice if we could make it a magical app that sends a text alert to everyone." Stefan pauses for a minute, "I wonder if we could enchant our cell phones, that would make things quite a bit easier. No one would suspect and it would alert everyone if there was danger and who was in danger."

Damon ponders "I really like that idea if we could figure some way to do that for cell phone. We could also protect the twins, they could go to preschool and playdates, sleepovers, they could grow up like normal kids." Damon stands up and stretches he takes a long look around the property, "This place we've called home for over 100 years, every vampire that we've called friend or enemy knows where the Salvatore Board House in Mystic Falls is located. Any one of them can walk straight up to the front door. We have to figure out a way of putting some sort of barrier on the property line. Some way of making it safe for the twins to play, for us to sit outside and have a drink without being on constant guard, we have a reason to protect everyone inside and outside now." He stretches again, "I'm going to turn in, my human stamina isn't holding up to the bourbon." Stefan nods, "I hate to agree with you, I'm ready to climb in next to Caroline." He stands and heads inside with his brother.

Inside, Stefan puts his hand on his brother's shoulder silently, as he walks by toward the staircase. Damon mouths 'Good night', Stefan nods in return. The silent exchange is for the benefit of a sleeping Elena, who is cuddled up on the couch in front of the crackling ambers filled fireplace. Damon walks over to the couch, leans down, sides his arms under her body, "Time for bed, up you go." He lifts her bridal style into his arms. Elena doesn't open her eyes, "I'm so tired, did you enjoy your guy time?" Damon whispers, "Sshh, We had a wonderful time. No reason for you to wake up. This time I get to take care of you completely. Sshh, go back to sleep." Elena moans low in her throat, leans into his shoulder. Damon takes a deep breath, he feels their bond, she is resting, did she have to moan, and she knows what that does to him, to his groin. He keeps climbing stairs. Goddess, help him, his woman was going to be the death of him, he didn't have THAT much self-control. Geezz, he had been the selfish vampire Damon Salvatore just months before. Elena shifted a bit in his arms, she tightened her hold around his neck, he felt the warmth of her breath on the most sensitive artery of his neck. He reaches for the bedroom doorknob, the door opens, within his sight is their big bed, he steps into the room and shuts the door gently with his foot.

The door makes a slight noise when shutting, just enough to wake Elena, as he lays her onto the bed, "Sshh, we are upstairs. All is fine." Damon says to her. Elena reaches for him, "You were out there a long time, is everything ok?" Damon leans down to kiss her lips, "Yes, Stef and I were just chatting, nothing exciting." Elena starts to sit up, "I'm so tired, today was busy, long and exhausting. I can't get over how exhausted I am. I am going to muster enough energy to get pajamas on and climb under these blankets in just a moment." Damon gives her a charming yet devilish grin, she knows he is up to something, she beats him to the words, "What are you thinking?" Damon replies, "I might have a deal for you. What if I do all the work for you tonight, I will undress you and put YOUR (putting the stress on the word YOUR) pajamas on tonight." Elena rolls a little towards him, "AND…" His eyes stare at her with sparkling passion, "In the morning, you take off my pajamas." Elena laughs and blushes, while thinking, Geez will this man ever stop doing this to me, I truly hope not. Her response was easy, she shut eyes, put her arms over her head for easier access, "You have yourself a deal, Mr. Salvatore."

Damon rolls over and feels cold sheets, not the warm body of Elena that he longs for. Still half asleep, he hears the shower running, he opens his eyes, rolls back over and looks at the clock, it is 6:30 am. He thinks 'What is she doing up so early? He remembers their deal from last night, wait for her to get out of the shower or join her, he smiles and says out loud "Who am I kidding?" kicks off the blankets, on the way to the bathroom, he drops his pajama pants to the floor. He sees the pajama top on the countertop, it was their routine ever since Elena went shopping for her new wardrobe. She had picked up some pajama's for him, figuring with all the people who were now living at the Salvatore house, pajama's would be a good idea, and Damon didn't own a pair. He wasn't a fan of wearing the shirt at all, he wasn't and that was that. She agreed, she actually likes the big comfy feel of the men's pajama shirt. After that she bought a few more pairs, took the shirt for her side of the closet and put the bottoms on his side. Damon felt a bit of male pride seeing her wear his shirt every night, not to mention it was extra roomy when he wanted to feel any of her body, for any reason. Back to the task at hand, Damon lingered for a moment on the outline he could see through the steamed glass window of the shower.

He watched her use the sea sponge to spread the suds all over her skin. His desire got the best of him, walked into the shower, straight to her, and took her head in his hands, kissed her mouth, opening his mouth over hers, letting her know what he wanted, she spread her lips, his tongue swept in, dueling with hers. Elena's arm wrapped around his neck, her fingers entwined his hair, her leg slide up his outer thigh and rested on his hip. Damon's hand grabbed her buttocks and lifted her off the ground, moving her against the cool granite wall, pressing her body against it with his. He let go of her mouth and lowered his to her throat, and even lower to her breast, taking one nipple at a time into his mouth, teasing and suckling until they were erect with needs of their own. Elena moaned with passion, her hips moved against him. "Damon!" He knew exactly what he was doing to her, he had no intention of stopping yet, there was more to taste, more to feed on. His hands move down to between her thighs, he inserted one finger into her moist heat, her legs went weak. Damon's teeth showed through his male prideful smile, she knew he got when he took her to the edge and held her there, not letting her go over, and not letting her calm down. It a little bit of the devilish Damon that still peeked through, she had no desire to complain, instead, she believed that two could play that game.

Without warning, Elena sank to her knees, Damon, unable to stop her, Elena had him, his hardness in her mouth, her hands on his hips and movements that gave Damon no other choice but to brace himself with his hands on the granite wall. Elena taking over this seduction was not what Damon had in mind, he was having a very hard time putting two thoughts together at the moment. Her sweet mouth was assaulting his manhood, and he couldn't be enjoying it more. Her hands moved to replace her mouth for a moment, he was ready and she knew it. "So you wanted to play, Sir. Be careful what you wish for, you may end up with more than you can handle." Damon took a deep breath, he reached down and lifted Elena by her shoulders, kissed her, turned her around to face the wall. He spread her legs, kissed her neck and entered her "I can handle you, as you can handle me, my love, my equal. Now come to me, because you are getting me now, right now" as he breathes heavily into her neck and thrusts into with all of his strength. She leans into her with her pulses, over and over as they wash over both of them. His arms are wrapped tightly around her waist. Elena's breath still uneven, "Don't let me go, I'm not sure my legs are working yet" Damon holding her tightly, "I'll never let you go, you have nothing to fear."

He slowly turns her around, to see her eyes, still holding her tight, they move until the water flows over them. Elena "That feels almost as good" Elena grabs her sea sponge, starts rubbing Damon with it, he turns around, he enjoys her using it on his back. And more essential showering tasks continue, about 10 minutes later, Elena is washed, conditioned from head to toe as is Damon. They are quite proud, no more hanky panky, or at least not to much continued. Damon questions as he hands her a towel and turns off the water, "What got you up and at them this morning so early?" Elena exiting the shower, "I was going to head over to Whitmore and see about registering for classes. I took a look, there is time for me to get started this semester. It is time for me to start living my life again." Damon getting a towel for himself and trying very hard to keep his voice casual, "Yes, I agree. Speaking of living life, what's next and college. Do you want to go back to college as Ms. Elena Gilbert or Mrs. Elena Salvatore?"

Elena stops brushing her hair and stares at him, "Did you just ask me to marry you?" Damon standing behind her at the mirror, "That did not sound like a proposal at all, especially not any type of marriage proposal that Damon Salvatore would make." He paused and gave her the most insulted look he could come up with, before continuing, "That was simply a question of what you would prefer to sign as your legal name as. Trust me Elena, when I propose marriage to you, you are not going to wonder if you are being proposed to."

Elena staring at him, "I don't understand, if you not asking me to marry you then why do you want to know if I want to be Mrs. Elena Salvatore or not, when I start school."

Damon smirking back at her, "Elena, it is very simple, I have been on this earth for almost 180 years, I have never proposed matrimony to anyone before, I have to admit I'm very much looking forward to this. I want you to look forward to it as much. I don't want it to be ill-timed. If you would like to finish medical school before we get married, I want to support you while you do. I will propose after you graduate. However, if you would like to be married before you go to medical school, then obviously, I will start my preparations sooner rather than later." Damon turns Elena to face him, he takes her by the shoulders, with a very clear and determined tone, "In case there are any doubts, Mzz Gilbert, we have already pledged ourselves to each other, on multiple occasions, before you went to college, when you took the cure when I decided to take the cure, do I need to go on. The proposal is a formality that will end with you putting on a ring and me getting an official 'Yes'. The agreement has already happened." He turns walks to the dresser, picks out a t-shirts and boxers.

Elena blinks and follows him with her eyes, she has to smirk, that is her vampire Damon, his sassy attitude, still pompous with a dash of insecurity all masking his need for old fashion romantic traditions. She walks to him and puts her arms around his neck, her towel falls down, "Officially, I want to be Mrs. Elena Gilbert Salvatore as soon as humanly possible, Does that answer any questions you might have Mr. Damon Salvatore?" Damon's hands roam her backside, "Yes, ma'am." He lowers his mouth on to hers, the clothes he just picked fall back into the drawer and she is in his arms heading back to the bed. Elena speaks a bit louder than she knows she has too, "Caroline, I'm not going to be ready for another hour or so. Damon is hmmm working on something important… Oh Godd… Damon!" Elena stops speaking words and starts moaning.

Downstairs, breakfast has started Bonnie and Enzo are at the helm. Damon walks in and Enzo puts his hand up for a high 5, Damon slaps it. Bonnie knows something is going on, "What did my non-vamp ears miss." Damon grins, he isn't going to give anything away, this is Elena's story to tell her BFF, "Nothing you will not find about as soon as Elena comes downstairs. In the meantime, I need coffee and I have a million things to do." Damon grabs two coffee cups fills them and fixes them appropriately. He starts walking toward the door as Elena walks into the kitchen. He hands her a cup, kisses her on the mouth and walks out.

Elena puts her cup to her nose, then takes a sip, "Good morning, smells delicious." Bonnie confused, "What did you do to Damon this morning?" Elena spits out a little of her coffee back into the cup "Excuse me?" as she looks at Enzo, he shrugs his shoulders as he flips a pancake. Bonnie starts explaining, "You heard me, Damon came in saying he got a million things to do, slaps Enzo a high 5 and tells me you're going to spill the beans. So spill".

Elena takes another sip of coffee, joins her at the table, and she starts to re-tell the morning's event, "Damon asked me if I wanted to start college as Elena Gilbert or Elena Salvatore?" Bonnie stood up excited, "He proposed!" Elena explained, "NO .. NO.. He made sure to specify he has not and did not propose matrimony.. his words not mine."

Bonnie sat down, "Wait, I'm confused, he wanted to know if you want your name to be Gilbert or Salvatore when you go back to college, how is that not a proposal, how exactly does he think your name is going to change?" Elena looked at her and shrugged her shoulders, "Damon logic! Come on Bonnie, you have been around it long enough. When that man has a plan, the logic goes out the window. In his logic, knowing what I want my name to be gives him an idea of when I want to be proposed to. He is going to come up with some sort of plan. Knowing his romantic cockamamie brain, who knows what he will come up with?" Bonnie frustrated, "Well, what was your answer" Elena answers quickly, "Elena Gilbert Salvatore as soon as humanly possible." Bonnie laughs out loud "That just drove him nuts, bat shit crazy nuts."

Elena sounding quite proud of herself "I thought so myself. To change the subject, Caroline and I were heading to Whitmore College, then I wanted to do a bit of shopping today, would you like to join us." Caroline and Stefan walk in, Caroline "Join us where?" Bonnie answered, "Whitmore & shopping, Elena asked if I wanted to join us two. I would love too. I need some more shirts, Enzo hasn't got this new strength under control yet, when he feeds, and we, well, my shirt doesn't survive." Enzo shocked that Bonnie is sharing their intimate details publicly, "LOVE, our romantic events, well, they can stay in our bedroom." Caroline rolls her eyes at Enzo "I get it, Stefan needs more too, I'm doing the same thing, it's like the fabric is paper-thin, he could use some more boxers as well. I destroyed 3 pairs last week. Vamping and loving equal strength on steroids." Stefan and Enzo look at each other, Stefan sympathetically, "Get used to it, they share EVERYTHING. I've already been through this. There is nothing like walking up to the front door and hearing your last sexual encounter as the main topic of discussion, in complete detail, and I mean complete detail being discussed between the 3 of them. They have been sharing every detail of their lives since they were in diapers. I don't know of any topic that is off-limits. My advice, get used to it, they are not going to change. Damon and I learned early on not to do anything that the other 2 ladies can't know. Trust me when I say. They will know things before we do. We are the odd 3 men out." Stefan looks up and all the ladies are looking at him with a disgusted look. He laughs out loud.

Ric walks in with the twins in tow, "Zio, we are hungry." Stefan picks up Josie, "That is a good thing, Uncle Enzo has been making pancakes and see the sausage is all ready for you. All you need to decide is what you would like to drink and go sit at the table. Ok?" Josie nods her head, "Lizzie, Zio and Uncle E have all the breaky ready for us, we have sit at the table. Zio, what was the other thing we have to do?" Stefan reminds her "What do you want to drink with your breakfast, milk or Uncle D's juice smoothie?" Josie smiles "Oh, yeah, Lizzie, what do you want to drink?" Josie looks around and doesn't see Lizzie anywhere, she turns back to Stefan, "Zio, Where did Lizzie go?" Enzo answered, "She headed out the door. I bet she is going to get Damon." Stefan nods, "Josie, let's get you some breakfast, go get your seat and I will bring you a plate. Would you like maple syrup or strawberries on top?" Josie runs over to the table climbs up on the chair next to Bonnie, "Strawberries on my pancakes and can I have milk, please, Zio" Stefan gets her plate together, and brings it over to her, "I going to go find Liz."

Stefan walks into the library to hear Lizzie talking to Damon, she is facing the window that is looking out on the East lawn and toward the quarry range, "Uncle D, it's there, the big black dog, I can see it. It has red eyes. It is out there by the big pointy trees." Damon looking out the window standing behind her, "Ok baby, I'm looking, I'm looking right at the pointy trees. The big ones right in front there. Now you see a big dog with red eyes. In front of the pointy trees, right?" Lizzie nods her head "Yep, right there" pointing her finger. Damon hears Stefan, he turns his head. He waves his head toward the window, urging Stefan to join them. Using the brother bond, he sends Stefan the feeling of confusion. Damon picks up Lizzie, "Tell Zio what you are looking at Lizzie?" Lizzie points "There is a big black doggie with red eyes, he is sitting right there in front of the pointy trees." Stefan looks and doesn't see anything, he stares and blinks and looks again, for just a moment he remembers his vampire capabilities. Stefan says to Damon, "Why don't you and Lizzie go get some breakfast, while Caroline and I go see if we can find the doggie, maybe it is he is lost, we can find his owners." Lizzie turns in Damon's arms, "Uncle D, I don't want the doggie to come into the house. He scares me, he isn't a nice doggie." Damon holds her tight, "Honey, why do you think the doggie isn't a nice doggie?" Lizzie looks at him in his eyes, "Auntie BeeBee says if we see people that have this color all around them (pointing to the dark magenta pink on her shirt), we should stay away from them. We should find one of our family and stay around them right away. Daddy says we have to always listen to Auntie BeeBee cause she is a witch like us. Me and Josie listen to you and Zio cause you are witches too." Damon nods his head in agreement, "I'm hungry what about you, I think I heard that Uncle Enzo made pancakes, and I bet he made Strawberries to go with them, those are your favorites." Lizzie wiggles out of his arms to the floor and runs toward the kitchen.

Damon tells Stefan, "I didn't see anything that Lizzie was talking about. I did manipulate the wind and sway the trees a bit, Stef, there was resistance. Something was there. She could see it. She saw the dark magenta aura. You know what that means." Stefan answers while looking out the windows "Do not trust in any way!" Both of the brothers pause for a moment. Stefan turns to Damon, "It is starting." Damon looks at his brother, "Yepp" popping the 'p'.