Chapter 14 – A New Life Worth Living
Elena looking out the car window, "I can't believe how much campus has changed." Bonnie answers, "Damon did a little bit of that himself after the whole Augustine adventure. Remember? It was under construction before the Ric & Jo's wedding." Caroline shakes her shoulders "Ahh, the good ole times. On to happier topics, Elena you got all the classes you wanted and what a schedule. One day on campus and the rest online courses. Damon is going to love that." Bonnie excited, "Dr. Elena Gilbert – Salvatore or Dr. Elena Salvatore? Have you decided?" Elena laughed, "Geez, Bon, let me get through Pre-Med." Caroline interrupts, "Enough about school, it's shopping time." As she parks the car.
Exiting the shop with bags hanging from their arms, the three ladies have covered every topic from skincare to lingerie. They have laughed and even cried, not one had thought that they would have this ability to just spend the day together shopping and being after Kai had done his dastardly deed. But here they were, just like freshmen in high school, cruising the mall after school.
"Hello there Ladies, looks like you three, are up to no good. I might have to take you in for suspicious activity" Sheriff Matt Donovan says. All three of the ladies turnaround. Elena is the first one to throw her arms around him "Matt, I mean Sheriff." both Bonnie and Caroline give him a hug. Matt continues, "I wish I had more time, I'm on my way to the courthouse. Leave something in the stores for everyone else, guys." Hugging and kissing the foreheads each of the ladies goodbye, off he goes into his patrol car. Caroline comments, "He really looks good. Do you think he is dating anyone?" Bonnie rolls her eyes. "I don't know, but if anyone can find out, it is you." Elena laughs "I'm getting a bit parched, ice tea anyone, maybe a snack, Care, do you need something redder?" Caroline smirks, "Elena, you are worse than Stefan, I'm fine, believe it or not, a vamp can go longer than 6 hours without a sip." Elena still worrying, "Yes, I remember, but you also have been going through a lot lately, and you have started to desiccate a few times lately, so excuse us for caring, CARE." Bonnie defusing the duelling worry warts, "Let's try the new café on the other side of the square, by the old park, I'd like to see what they have done to the old building" Elena and Caroline agree.
After grabbing a table outside, and being served their drinks, Elena enjoying the beautiful day, "Look at the old park, what a shame. Remember when we used to play here, how fun it was. It is just so neglected. Even the flowers, the beautiful flowers are gone. Too bad Damon wasn't with us, just a wave of his hand." Elena mimics what Damon would do. "And all the flowers would be in bloom again" Bonnie and Caroline gasp as they watch all the flowers come back to life. Elena's mouth opens wide, her hand falls to the top of the table. Bonnie and Caroline look at Elena, Caroline gasps, "Did you do that?" Elena confused, "No, I can't do magic, Bonnie you did that, how did you do that?" Bonnie denies, "I didn't do that, I swear." Elena looks at Caroline "Don't look at me, I'm a vampire"
Elena waves her hand again, more flowers bloom "Oh my god, the dark magic is back." Bonnie grabs Elena's arm, closes her eyes. Everyone is looking at Bonnie. Bonnie smiles, she opens her eyes and looks up and Elena, Elena's phone starts ringing, Bonnie says, "it's Damon wondering what's going on, tell him your fine.. Answer it" Elena answers the phone "Hello, Damon, I'm fine." Damon concerned, "Elena, Are you ok? Where are you? Are you hurt? What is going on? I felt you are distressed" Elena looking at Bonnie mouth 'you are fine, trust me' "Damon, everything is fine, I am fine, I'm perfectly ok, I'm not hurting, no one is hurting me, I got upset about the old park, it is a mess. I'm fine, Caroline and Bonnie are with me, have been the whole time." Damon demands, "Let me talk to Bonnie." Elena hands the phone to Bonnie, Damon worrying, "Bonnie, what is going on, Elena was feeling fear, why Bonnie, what is going on?" Bonnie trying to calm him down, "She wasn't feeling fear, she was upset about the park, she was talking about when we were kids and falling out of the tree. Damon, trust me, she is perfectly fine, she is sitting here enjoying ice tea with her powerful witch and vampire girlfriends that will not let anyone hurt her. Go back to your task list. We got this covered. By the way, when are you going to be back at the house today?" Damon still anxious, "I can head back now or by 7 o'clock." Bonnie calming her voice," We will see you for dinner, Goodbye Damon" she hangs up the phone.
Elena demands, "Tell me, what did you see, Bonnie, why can I make the flowers grow." Bonnie smiles "Elena, relax, first, there is no dark magic at all. This is all magic that you and Damon created. Think about it Elena, Damon is human now, a male.. a human male witch... You are living with... LOVING with a human male witch... You are human.. a human female… a human female doppelganger. What is doppelganger blood to a witch?" Caroline's hands go to her mouth, "A conduit for magic and magical energy power" Bonnie shakes her head 'yes' Caroline jumps up and down "oh my god.. oh my god" Elena is still confused "I don't understand, I'm channelling Damon's magic through my blood, but his magic isn't blood magic it's nature and lovveee…"
Elena's hand drops to her stomach "I'm pregnant, our baby, I'm channelling our baby's magic. That is how I'm able to make the flowers grow." Elena stares at Caroline and Bonnie "Damon is going to faint, freak, panic... Oh my god, I'm pregnant. How did this happen... I mean I know how this happened, but how did this happen. He is, I mean he was a vampire. Oh my god, we didn't even think about worrying about thinking about protection. We never did as vampires, we never thought about it, since vampires can't procreate, then I was human, but he was a vampire, so again, nothing to think about. We just were so used to not thinking about it, we forgot to think about it. We never thought about it, and he's been using all these herbs and oils to benefit my human functions. I bet that helped make me even more fertile. I'm pregnant. Damon Salvatore and I are pregnant. Bonnie are you sure.. Really really sure?" Bonnie nods, "I sensed another good presence in you that was part you and part Damon, that can only mean one thing. Let's make sure, let's go by the drug store and buy a test to make sure. Then you can make an appointment with the doctor after you and Damon talk."
Elena pauses for a moment, "Do I have to tell Damon, he is going to panic, he going to freak." Caroline disagrees, "He is going to be so happy, once he is done panicking and freaking. You know Damon, his first reaction is never the real one, it is his way of doing the wrong thing first to make sure that what he really wants to do it the right thing." Bonnie and Elena laugh, "That is Damon, described perfectly."
At the house, the 3rd positive test result, Elena shows Bonnie and Caroline. Caroline gleefully proclaims, "3 different test brands and 3 positive results, I think that we can agree that you are pregnant." Elena relents, "Ok, I have to tell Damon. We are going to re-enforcements, we better call Stefan and Ric, make sure they are here for this. Bourbon, we are going to need Bourbon, lots and lots of Bourbon." Caroline takes charge, "I'm on it. You rest, you are going to need it."
Damon drives into the garage, his thoughts replay the day. The task list was finished, he was feeling very accomplished. His plan was coming together. His mind went back to the moment he felt Elena, he knows there was something more going on. He believes Bonnie that Elena was safe, that was the important part of the message. He could feel her now, inside the house, safe and happy. He couldn't shake that there was something else going on.
Everyone is gathered in the living room when Damon walks in the door. Damon is worried, things look mighty suspicious. He looks around the room, he sees Ric standing by the fireplace holding a large glass of bourbon in his hand, Bonnie and Enzo are sitting on the couch, looking at him with amusement in their eyes, Caroline looks up and smiles, and his brother, Stefan is actually gloating, his attention turns to Elena, she almost looks scared, such mixed reactions from everyone in the room he doesn't know how to formulate an expectation.
Damon exasperated, "Something is really going on. Who is going to be the first to start talking?" Ric walks over, and hands him the glass of bourbon, "You really should drink this first, trust me when I say you are going to thank me," Damon takes the Bourbon, brings it to his mouth, stops, pulls it away from his mouth before the liquid touches his lips "Elena, you said you were ok today. I felt you were better. Even right now, I don't feel any danger, from anyone. So what the hell is going on. Everyone is looking at me like I'm going to turn into a frog or rip someone throat out, or I don't know turn into stone" Enzo grins, "I'll start taking the bets, anyone want to get in on it?" Bonnie slaps Enzo, "Not yet." Caroline smiles "Enzo, we are here for support. So shut up" Elena stands up and walks toward Damon.
Elena quietly, "Damon, I know you're confused right now. Believe me when I tell you that I'm confused with you. I'm also, very happy. You are will be happy too, once you get used to the idea. Please take a drink like Ric suggested." Damon takes a long draw from the glass, it had been a long time since he had partaken, he took a second to enjoy, and admitted he missed the smooth feeling as the bourbon slid down his throat. Elena took a deep breath, "Something exciting happen today, the girls and I went out for Iced Tea at the new café by the old park. We went outside, right next to the old park, I was upset at how neglected the park was. We started talking about the times we played there as kids. I'm mentioned that it would've been nice if you were there with us. You could've waved your hand like this."
She waved her hand in a wide arch and all the potted plants in the room that she brought in bloomed and grew.
"and the flowers would have been brought back to life." Elena paused and watched Damon look around as the pots continued to change, "As you can see, I magically brought back to life all the flowers at the old park. What you sense today and was me being worried, I thought that dark magic had taken hold again, and somehow I was channelling it. Just before you called Bonnie took hold and read me. She realized very quickly it wasn't dark magic, it was good, very good magic. You called, she told me to tell you that everything was ok. So I did."
Damon stuttering, "How... what.. then .. you... Bon... Lena.." Ric took pity on his friend, and handed him a full glass of Bourbon, "Here have another belt." Damon put his empty one down and took the full glass from Ric's hand. He took a swig, and looked at Elena who started to speak again, "After I got off the phone with you, Bonnie told me what she saw." Elena stopped and took a deep breath. She walked over the table and picked up 3 plastic sticks.
Elena turns and goes over to Damon, "After a few minutes of being shocked, we went the Drug Store and got these." Elena brought out her 3 positive pregnancy tests and held them out for Damon to see. Damon looks at the sticks and it doesn't register what they are. Damon looks around, "Ok, what are these? Pens?"
Stefan doubles over in laughter, "Oh my god, Damon, you have to get out in the world more. 172 years old and he has never seen a pregnancy test before." Damon looks down in Elena's hand, each of the sticks has a panel that clearly identifies something. He looks at the double lines, the word pregnant, and the plus sign.
Damon's face has gone pale, all the blood has drained from it, the glass falls from his hand, Stefan moves behind his brother immediately. Elena is still looking at the test sticks, "Bonnie thinks, I could make the flowers grow because with my doppelganger blood I can channel the baby's magic, your magic, Damon, your Earth element. Damon... Damon." Damon was in Stefan's arms. Stefan completely amused, "He's ok, he is in a bit of shook right now, Ric come give me a hand, let's get him to the chair."
Bonnie turns to her, "Elena, let him feel the baby." Elena gets down on her knees and puts Damon's hand on her stomach, Damon's head turned to her "A baby?" Elena shakes her head, "All 3 brands confirm it, and a powerful blood witch, the uncle witch and vampire hearing." Damon takes her into his arms "A baby, Elena, How? when? How?" Elena smiles, "How is? The old fashion way. I'll get the books and diagrams out to explain in private, when? well, not sure, we have to see a doctor to find out how old this little guy is?" Damon sits up and yells, "OH MY GOD... A BABY." Elena gets up, she extends her arm, "BOURBON!" and another glass of bourbon is put in her hand. She puts the glass in front of Damon's eyes, "Damon, you need this, drink." Damon takes the glass and empties it in one gulp, he puts the glass up in the air, and Stefan fills it again. Damon gulps again and repeats.
The next morning, Damon is standing by the bed watching Elena sleep. He has been up for hours, he barely slept last night, he kept touching her, when he did, he could feel the baby. He had to leave her rest, wasn't she resting for two now. He knew so little about babies and pregnant mothers, he had so much to learn. Elena, marriage, school, so much to do and now a baby, he was terrified. Quietly, he left the bedroom, so not to disturb Elena's sleep.
He swung the kitchen door open, Stefan was at the coffee pot, he looked up, grabbed another cup "I was wondering how long it would take you to come down" Damon answered, "Am I that predictable" Stefan handed him a filled cup, "Yep" Damon took it and started confessing to his brother, "Stefan, I can't tell what is going on right now. I've got emotions coming out of everywhere. To be honest, if I were a vampire right now, I'm so overwhelmed, I would have flipped my switch." Stefan smirked, "You wouldn't be in this situation if you were a vampire" Damon grinned, "Touche, brother. The love of my life is lying in a bed upstairs pregnant with my child. How is that a sentence that was ever supposed to come out of my mouth? I was the evil selfish Damon Salvatore. Who never got the girl. Stefan, now my life is everything I never knew I always wanted. Now, what do I do?"
Stefan answers honestly, "Sounds like a pretty easy decision to me brother, you live the life you never knew you always wanted to live. You marry your girl, you be a great dad." Damon hates when Stefan makes it easy, "Is it really that easy? Marry the girl, be happy, raise a family, love and be loved in return." Stefan answers, "Sometimes brother it is that easy, home is where the heart is, that is on all the greeting cards"
Caroline walks into the kitchen, "Good morning, How's Elena this morning?" Damon takes a drink of coffee, "She is still sleeping, I didn't want to wake her up. Care, I don't know anything about pregnant mothers or babies, I need to learn and fast." Caroline amused with Daddy focused Damon, "No problem, I still have books from when I was pregnant with the girls, you can start with those. I've highlighted and written notes in the margins from the Lamaze classes."
Damon takes a breather from conversation while he thinks about how to start the next topic. He knows Stefan will understand, "I got to marry Elena, and now. I know that we are in 2019, but I'm still at 1864 kinda guy. You understand!" Stefan nods his head in agreement, Caroline looks at both of them confused "What does that mean, 1864 kinda guy?" Stefan gives her a hug "Good morning, wife. It's ok, Damon has this under control. Where are those books, I can get them"
A week goes by and the house is buzzing, the library has turned into Damon's office, people are coming in and out all day long. Stefan is rarely home, he spends most of his time at the temple and cottage. Caroline has been helping him with coordinating the construction. Elena started Whitmore, this week, going back and forth for orientation and first day took a lot out of her. Elena is determined to start school pregnant or not. Damon doesn't agree, he is wisely choosing not to argue the point at the moment since she is able to do magic as well as he can, the last argument ended up with two large pine tree colliding in midair. Stefan laughed so hard, fired blasted out of the chimney tops. Elena and her hormones aren't backing down from any of Damon's demands, leaving Damon to question what the hell to do, and Stefan to watch his brother go through torture, and loved every minute of it.
Damon confides in his brother, "Stefan, this isn't funny. Elena is pregnant with your niece or nephew, and all you can do is sit there and laugh your god damn head off. If you keep this up, you're going to blow the damn chimneys apart. This isn't funny. She needs to understand, she should be resting, not taking chemical biology classes." Stefan showing no support at all, "Last time you tried to prove that a germ could get at her, she put a barrier spell around her that backfired on you. You had lice for 2 days. I'm just saying, Elena can take care of her and the baby, she is proving it every day. And you are just mad because she doesn't need you to be a knight in rusty armor. My brother, your woman is your partner, get over it, and enjoy it." Damon isn't backing completely down, "Stefan, I get it, it still leaves the marriage issue. I've got almost all the plans in place. She better not argue this one, I will not accept no for an answer, she is going to marry me, damn it. This is my child too, he or she has been alive long enough without married parents. Period."
Bonnie walks into the room, just as Damon starts his marriage rant, "What! Damon. What did you just say? Seriously?" Damon not in the mood to be challenged, "Don't start with me, Bonnie. Elena and I were getting married before the baby is born, and damn it, we are getting married. She already said as soon as humanly possible. Well, I decided humanly wasn't so important. She isn't acting so "humanly" so I don't have to either. Bonnie this is my child too, She or he deserves to live with married parents. That is the way I feel, he or she is loved and damn it, married with both parent, married legally.. with papers... Period... It's my baby too... She gets to take him or her everywhere with her.. Damn it ...Married..legally with papers.. that is it.." Damon storms out of the room.
Bonnie and Stefan laugh out loud, Bonnie "He is a real mess, this is so much fun. How are you holding it together?" Stefan completely amused, "I'm not, I swear, I'm going to blow the chimney off the house any day. I can barely control it." Bonnie laughing, "Does Elena know what she is doing to Damon?" Stefan only mildly chuckling, "Yes and No, she wants to go to school, and doesn't think that being pregnant should stop her, especially now that she can do magic. She is taking as many biology classes as possible because of being able to do barrier spells, the protection from her and the baby now versus later when she isn't pregnant an extra level of protection, then just rubber gloves." Bonnie is impressed with Elena's plan, "That's smart thinking." Stefan agrees, "I thought it was too. Damon, not so much. He would rather her not take any chemical or biology classes period. You can imagine how happy she was to hear that." Bonnie intrigued, "What did she say?" Stefan starts to laugh at the memory, "She threw a pine tree at him. It was awesome." Bonnie trying not to laugh, "Oh my god, that is my girl, she doesn't put up from anyone, doesn't he remember anything from her as a human. She never listened to him or you for that matter." Stefan remembering, "I know, I've been trying to tell him. He just starts babbling and storming out of the room."
"Good evening everyone" Damon walks into the kitchen, dinner is in full motion. He walks over to Elena, kisses her on the forehead, and takes his empty chair next to her. She knows he is up to something, he is to calm, deliberate, to relaxed. Damon reaches for some of the food items, places portions on his plate. The conversation resumes around him, Stefan smiles, Elena catches the smile, yes, he is something is up. Elena "Stefan, how's the plantation building coming?" Stefan "It is really coming along, the contractors are almost done with laying the foundation. The plans that you and Caroline helped with are wonderful, they made a huge difference, we were able to incorporate some of the pre-existing ruins." Damon is smiling and eating at the same time. Enzo notices Bonnie isn't eating "Love, this is the second meal today that hasn't sat well with you. Are you feeling ok?" Bonnie "Not sure, I might have a bit of a bug, or maybe I'm just tired. I don't exactly feel sick, eating isn't exactly working well for me today." Damon perked up "Can I make you something? I can get you some botanicals, fix you right up Bon Bon." Bonnie "Damon, that would be great, if I am coming down with something, I don't want Elena and the baby to get it." Elena, "I think the baby and I are covered very well. Damon has been force-feeding us all sorts of healthy botanicals." Damon "Elena, being a bit dramatic... Force feeding" Elena "Ok, maybe not force feeding, but enough to feed a horse" Caroline laughed.
Damon brought over some of the botanicals that he made for Elena, Bonnie smelled them, she immediately got up and ran to the kitchen sink, and threw up. Damon followed her over, he put his hands on her shoulders, and he took them off fast, then put them back on. Bonnie turned on the water, took a few swallows to rinse her mouth out, then a few more to drink. She turned to Damon. She looks up into his eyes, knowing that she was the only one that could see his eyes, he opened them big and arched his brows, she knew that he now knew too. She blinked an unspoken language that he knew not to say anything, they would talk later. Damon "Ok, well, let's try this, now that we know you are coming down with something." He mixed a few herbs together with some water, strained it, and handed it to Bonnie. She slowly drank it, and immediately felt the nausea fall away. Bonnie "Thanks Damon, I feel much better, maybe I should try to eat a little bit." Damon suggested, "Try some orange veggies, stay away from red ones." Damon winks, "Stefan, maybe it might be a good idea for you to energize Enzo's drink tonight, no sense in adding to Bon Bon ickie feeling." Bonnie disagreed, "I'm fine, I can bleed, that isn't a problem." Enzo more concerned, "Love, this is why we are all living together, to support and help each other. Not to mention, I can go without too. Stefan's blood works almost as well as yours. I'm just a bit weaker, that's all. We already know this." Stefan grabs the knife, makes a small cut on his hand and lets his blood drip into Enzo's glass of blood. Enzo is appreciative, "Thanks mate, I owe you one." Stefan answers back, "I'm still in the red column. Bottoms up" Bonnie reminds, "Enzo, it is our turn to clean up from dinner, do you mind? I am going to go for a walk with Damon, let him give me a magical re-charge" Enzo agrees reluctantly, "Mate, keep her warm, she's been cold the last week or so at night." Damon nods, puts his arm around Bonnie and leads her out the front door.
Once outside, they are silent until they are a safe distance so vamp hearing isn't an issue. Damon with a bit of sarcasm in his voice, "So you're pregnant too?" Bonnie hits him in the chest, "Yes! Don't ask! It's Enzo's." Giving Damon an evil eye, Bonnie continues, "The only thing I can figure is. It has to be nature's magic and my human blood. The only thing vampire about him is his bones. Everything else was created with human blood, human doppelganger and your nature's magic. Since the bones don't mix with the blood, he is able to procreate." Bonnie leans away from Damon, "What did you see when you touched me?" Damon puts his hands on Bonnie's shoulders, he closes his eyes, the winds circle around them, "I sensed you and Enzo, and another magical presence, a Bennett Blood presence. A female witch, I sense power, strong power, just like you, like Sheila, your Grandmother, and Emily, goodness. She is strong, she is stubborn, her heart is warm and open. She is a leader." Bonnie still very concerned, "You don't feel anything dark, or vampire?" Damon still holding her, "You are worried? Bonnie, you know this, vampires aren't born, they are turned. Your baby isn't a vampire. Here to put your mind to rest, we can combine our magic and you can see what I see."
Damon sits down on a rock with Bonnie on his lap and takes off one of his shoes, he takes a sharp rock and cuts his palm, then he cuts Bonnie's palm, he closes his cut palm over Bonnie's cut palm. Damon takes her, "Ok, Bon Bon, breath with me, just a little bit at a time, use your blood magic to get into mine, once you are in follow my lead, I'll take you there." Bonnie feels her blood mix with Damon's, her magical energy is so different from Damon's she finds it quickly, she follows him through his arms and back into her and to her baby, a Bennett Blood witch, she can feel it, with Enzo's strength and love, there something else there, familiar, powerful, there is a hint of doppelganger blood.
Bonnie blinks and she is out of Damon's magic. She opens her eyes the tears are flowing down her cheek, he puts his arms around her, she doesn't have the strength, for the first time in their friendship Damon knows that she is completely vulnerable, she needs his protection and his strength. He puts his hand on her head and buries it in his chest, laying his cheek on the top of her head, "Bon, no one can hear you, let it all out, I have you. It's just you and me, the two BFFs from 1994." He closes his arms around her making sure she feels all his warmth and strength as the tears continue to flow. Bonnie confesses, "We did so much to get Enzo back to me, so many consequences, so many balances, I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop, Damon. When I realized I was pregnant. I thought this was the other shoe. I was creating the worst evil possible, somehow, through me, my love, my need to have Enzo back, my selfishness. How can I be this happy? Have everything, have Enzo and a family."
Damon holding her tighter, "Bonnie Bennett, this is life saying we took so much from you, now you get to have a life back. Although, I did feel doppelganger blood, if she looks like Elena, We may have a problem." Bonnie hits Damon in the arm. Damon grins, "I'm living with two hormonal pregnant witches." Bonnie snarky right back, "Being a vampire is looking pretty good about now!"
Damon laughs "Not even close." Bonnie tone gets serious again, "Damon, I'm not ready for everyone to know. I haven't wrapped my head around it yet. I need a few days. Can you put a cloaking spell on the baby? I don't want Caroline or Enzo to be able to hear her." Damon leans back, "Bon, she is perfect, she is good, you are fine. This is the best news. Elena is going 'Twinsie Preggie' when she finds out. And Caroline is going to start a tutoring session calendar. Of course, I'm her Godfather, I'm calling dibs now. I don't care what Stefan says about his blood being involved." Damon looks into her eyes, "Bonnie, these are the living parts of life we have to celebrate. This is a good thing, a very very good thing." Bonnie can't look him in the eyes anymore, she has lost so much, the idea of losing this baby, if everyone knows about her, "I just can't, not yet. Please, Damon." Damon knows there is something more going on in her mind, he is going to agree, for now, this isn't over, his BFF is going to be as happy as he is, "Ok Bonster, we play it your way for now. You are going to tell me the real reason for this and soon. My friend, in there, is going to be a father, trust me when I say, he is going to make one hell of a great Dad." Bonnie nods in agreement.
Damon sets Bonnie on the rock, he stands up and stretches. Bonnie laughs, always the drama king. Damon raises his hands to the sky, and the winds create a vortex around them, he calls forth specific blooms and leaves from trees that enter the vortex, it creates an amazing aroma. A few moments later, the vortex dies down and a small amount of paste appears in Damon's palm. Damon asks "Bon hold out your arms." He takes a fingerprint of the paste and puts it on each of her wrists. Damon then asks "Bon, hold up your shirt, so I can put some on the baby." She does as he asks. Damon takes his four finger tips and places them on top of her navel. He then puts both his hands over the prints he made on her wrists and conjures the winds once more. Bonnie shivers and the wind dies immediately. Damon wraps his arm around her, "It's done, she is cloaked. No one can hear or sense her but me. Not even the twins can get to her. She is safe from all." Bonnie lays her head on his chest, "Thank you, I promise when I'm ready to talk, you are the only person who will understand. I know that you've been where I am. I just can't put it into words yet. Soon, very soon. I promise." Bonnie shivers again as they walk back to the house, this time she knows it isn't Damon's spell, it is something evil coming, something evil watching them. Their destiny, the fight, it is coming.
It's been a productive month for Team Salvatore. The temple cottage is built, Caroline has been working on the furnishing and decorating. Elena's education was going well, on Damon's insistence, someone accompanied her to Whitmore once a week, the 2-hour drive was a wonderful time to and from end up being quality time with one of her loved ones, she truly cherished it. With Stefan in construction mode, he put a roof on the indoor atrium and helped Elena turn it into a personal medical study lab, complete with microscopes and incubators.
Stefan also started construction on the main house, with Damon and Elena starting a family, a nursery was needed. He felt that the twins and any future children needed a playroom that was safe inside the house walls, so he designed a North wing that included 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and an indoor playground, pool and social area for the adults to watch the next generation. The social area could double as a ritual altar if needed.
Stefan and Damon have daily Wiccan training session with Demetrius. Speaking of training sessions, Ric was quite surprised how fast Caroline to sword fighting, she was a natural. She was duelling with Damon within days, after 2 weeks, she was able to handle 2 challengers. Damon was right about his skills with blades, by the 3rd week, he was back to expert level, his human strength was increasing, he actually liked working out and sweating. He really liked Elena's reaction to it, although, the pregnancy hormones may have something to do with it. Elena has become quite the marksman with a bow and arrow, as expected her previous training with Ric resurfaced easily, Damon has been completely against her practicing hand to hand, Elena, of course, ignores his complaining, insisting that she will protect their child as every parent should, then knocks him on the ground with a solid punch to the gut. Damon is overprotective with Bonnie as well, claiming that she needs to practice with her magic, bonding blood magic with nature's magic. No one has caught on to his goal, everyone thinks that his general bad mood is related to Elena not cooperating with his 1800's mindset of what an expectant mother should and shouldn't do. Matt joins in the training as often as he can, often going against Enzo and Stefan at the same time. Damon has been teaching the twins how to sneak up and siphon Stefan's magic when he is pulling from his elements that are far away. Lizzie was able to extinguish a fireball out of his hand, she was so excited that she jumped up and down, scaring Caroline so that she lost concentration and Damon stabbed her during a fighting practice. Caroline was upset for 3 days because he ruined one of her favorite shirts.
Enzo and Stefan had started sparring together most evenings, Stefan would create a magical barrier spell around him. This gave him the upper hand if Enzo got a lucky punch in, the vampire strength would not kill him. The sparring sessions created a bond between these two men. Stefan asked Enzo questions about Lily, questions he couldn't ask when Damon was around. Enzo could talk about Augustine memories without Bonnie feeling the pain in his voice. They both could talk about being controlled by Sybil and Cade, without judgment or pity. When the memories got too much, the talking stopped, and the sparring started. The physical releasing of all the anger from the lack of control, from everything they could have lost, from what they did lose. They could take it out physically with each other without fear of actually hurting the other. It was true purging of the demons that were inside their old souls, it was healing, and each of the men understood. When the physical exhaustion finally took over, they would sit and talk about how much they almost lost, how grateful they were for the people who fought for them. The two men pour a measure of bourbon, raise their glass in a toast to their new life, the new destiny, the women that they would die for, and then they wish each other good night. Each time a different demon was killed, the bond became stronger, these two once enemies, then frien'emies, were becoming not just friends but Brothers.
Upstairs in their room, Stefan is sitting at his desk looking over the designs changes for the North Wing, Caroline is coming out of the closet with an arm full of dresses. Caroline completely frustrated, "Did Damon say when this wedding is happening? I know he is up to something, Elena knows to. Did you see her face at dinner? She is so suspicious. She is studying every move Damon is making. Why are you laughing?" Stefan grinning, "Frankly, because for the first time in almost 160 years, I get to watch my brother sweat, squirm, and completely lose it. The best part is he knows he can't do anything about it, she holds all the cards. My brother has met his match in Elena Gilbert and she is completely torturing him."
Stefan has a hardy laugh, "It is good torture, which I find equally as amusing compared to the type of torture he is used to giving out. He has no idea how to fight it, scheme or protect from it. He is so screwed." Stefan leans back in his chair and lets out a roar of laughter, "Now that she is pregnant with his child in the 21st century. She is everything she wants to do. And nothing he wants her to do, because well it is unrealistic, old fashion and mostly stupid. She has the magic to back up her words and wishes. Let's just say the last 150 years of my life just became well worth it. So yes, I'm so happy for Damon and Elena, I'm also enjoying every second of my big brother's discomfort."
Caroline thought about it for a minute, then she smiled "Ok, you're right, Elena is giving him fits and he does deserve it. It is fun watching him not being able to get mad at her because of being pregnant. He truly doesn't know what to do, protect her from something she is doing by yelling at her, or getting her upset by yelling at her. He can't win at all. Watching him realize that he has no options, yesterday, I thought his brain was going to explode when she was sword fighting with Ric." Stefan laughs "I missed that one, I would have paid serious money to see it." Caroline grins, "Next time I will video chat it. What about this one?"
Caroline picks up one of the dresses, then throws it with all of them on to the bed, "How am I suppose to pick out a dress for my best friend's surprise wedding without asking my best friend? Only Damon would put me in this situation. Of course, Elena knows that Damon is acting weird, she knows I'm acting weird too. She isn't stupid, she knows something is up. Stefan, stop laughing this is serious. I have no idea what to wear, I'm going to be the co-matron of honor in my BFF's surprise wedding, I have to pick something. All those years when we were kids, all we did was talk about my wedding. She never talked about what she wanted, I'm a horrible friend."
She picks up a dress from the pile, looks at it. Stefan walks over to her, puts his arms around her waist, and snuggles her neck, whispers in her ear "You know Elena, better than most people in this house, you know what she cares about?" Caroline thought about what he was saying "She cares about, 'The people' that is who she loves" Stefan nods, "Yep, isn't she going to care about what you are wearing, or is she going to care that you are standing right next to her?" Caroline twist in his arms, "I know, I still want it perfect for her." Stefan holds her tight, "It will be because everyone she loves will be there. That is what is perfect to her, it always has been."
Damon comes barging into the room. "Ok, it's ready. Stef, I've got everything set up, I hope this works, did you finish getting all the words ready from Demetrius?" Stefan tries to calm him down, "Yes, I've got the entire incantation. He has our entire bloodline on standby, we will be able to channel them for maybe 5 minutes at the most, so it has to be fast. Is Bonnie ordained?" Damon stares at Stefan with a DUH look, Yes, she did it online last week." Caroline turns around, "What are you guys talking about?" Damon flashes the classic Damon eyes, "Get ready Care Bear, Elena's getting married tonight."
