A/N: It's not perfect but here it is. I hope it meets your standards. I wanted to thank you guys again for reading and sticking with me from the beginning. Enjoy!
Epilogue 2: Alternate Ending – Part II
Elena picked up and put down her phone half a dozen times before finally going through with it. She wasn't sure he would answer, and as she listened to the phone ring for the fifth time, she began to lose all hope. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she heard the hesitant, "Hello?"
"Hey, Stefan. It's Elena." No shit, 'Lena! He knows that.
"Is everything okay?" Stefan couldn't mask the edge of hopefulness in his voice. Not from Elena. He probably answered at the slight chance that Elena might be calling to tell him she'd changed her mind. Elena hated to burst his bubble, but it had to be done.
"No, Stefan. Not really. I have some news and I need your help."
The idea to call Stefan had been Caroline's. She'd suggested it after finding Elena in hysterics a few nights after the now infamous field trip to Richmond. "This simply is not acceptable, Elena. It's not good for the baby."
Caroline was up to date on the facts. The doctor's bomb drop, Damon's initial reaction, and his actions immediately following the news. The group had driven home in silence, and Damon had proceeded to drop Elena off first, but not at the boarding house where she'd been living with him for weeks. No, he had dropped her off at the Gilbert house, which in and of itself was telling. He then proceeded to tell her he needed to get Matt and Meredith home. He managed to look her in the eye and say, "I'll talk to you later," yet she'd heard nothing since.
Elena had called and called, but Damon just sent her calls to voicemail, and he left every text message unanswered. He wouldn't respond to any one, not even Ric. And what was worse, no one knew where he was.
The gang took turns checking all his usual haunts, from the boarding house to The Grill to the cemetery. After a reluctant call from Elena, Sheriff Forbes even searched for reports of unusual animal attacks throughout the US. Ric followed-up on those for her, but they came to nothing.
So calling Stefan was a last resort, but a necessary one.
Stefan came home without even having to be asked. When he saw Elena, she watched tears form in his eyes, and at first Elena wasn't sure if they were tears of hurt or anger or what really, but then he stepped toward her and placed a hand on her belly as he looked down in awe. Then, meeting her eyes as a tear streamed down his cheek, he said, "I never thought I'd get to be an Uncle."
Elena cried then, too – not that she hadn't been crying enough as of late – and they hugged. She felt happier than she'd felt in days when Stefan whispered in her ear, "Congratulations, 'Lena. You'll be a great mom."
Even with Stefan's help, the search for Damon was fruitless.
"If his goal is to disappear, it would be easy for him to do. He's a vampire. Vampires don't need money, clothes, papers, anything. We can compel our way into oblivion. If Damon doesn't want to be found, we won't find him," Stefan told her gently one night after a long day of searching.
With everything she'd been through in her short life, Elena was learning to be strong. She held in the tears this time and tried to harden her heart. She had a little life to think of now, after all.
"But Elena," Stefan continued.
She looked over at him as rain began to pelt the windshield of his car.
"I think he'll come around eventually."
Elena had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep the tears from falling this time. She nodded and turned back to the window, watching the rain drizzle down.
Elena continued to go to check-ups with Bonnie and Caroline in tow, and she continued to take her pre-natal vitamins – do half-vampire babies even need vitamins? She went shopping for baby clothes and made a baby registry. She tried to continue on with her life as normal.
Elena found a beautiful Pottery Barn crib and fell in love. After looking it over, Stefan said he should be able to make it for her without any trouble; she accepted without even having to think about it, but then Caroline asked, "Where are you going to put it?"
Elena didn't answer. She supposed that she would have to convert Jenna's old room into a nursery. Or maybe she should move into the master suite and make her own room the nursery. She wondered what Jeremy would think and if he'd be mad about an infant waking him up at all hours of the night.
As if sensing her hesitation, Stefan said, "Pick a room upstairs."
Shocked, Elena looked at him questioningly.
"When he comes back, Elena, he's going to want you here. It's the right thing to do."
And in her heart, Elena knew he was right. Plus, it would be her way of showing Damon that she never lost faith in him – in them.
She moved back in that night, intending never to leave again.
The struggle was real,Elena thought while putting together furniture with instructions that might as well have been written in Chinese for all she could make of them. Elena wiped at the sweat on her brow as she continued to fumble with two cumbersome pieces of wood that didn't seem to align no matter how hard she tired. "Where are all the vampires when I need them?" she asked allowed.
"You called," a familiar voice said from the doorway and Elena dropped the particle board in shock.
"Damon!"
"You know," Damon began as he sauntered into the room and picked up the dropped piece of the dresser Elena had been working on, inspecting it as he turned it over in his hands, "my kid can afford to have real furniture. Not this cheap, fake shit you ordered from Ikea." He tossed the wood back on the pile and grabbed Elena's hand. "Come on, we'll go shopping."
"Damon, wait," Elena tugged her hand back but when he didn't let go, she dug her heals in until Damon stopped and released her. It was either that or allow Elena to go sprawling on the floor.
"Where have you been?" Elena asked sternly.
He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "Around," is all he said.
"Damon – "
"Elena," Damon mimicked. "Come on, 'Lena. Let's not do this. I'm here now, okay?"
Furry rose in Elena's eyes. "Nu-uh, Damon. You don't get to get out of this that easily. I'm glad your back, but do you know how sick with worry we all were."
"I see that. You called Stefan? I saw his car outside."
Elena just glared in response.
"Okay. Okay. I give. But you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
Damon let out a long-suffering sigh. "Can we at least go downstairs and let me get a drink before we have this conversation?"
Elena relented and they made their way down the stairs. She was just starting to show, and she could feel Damon's eyes on her stomach as they walked.
In the living room, Elena made her way toward the fireplace, finding comfort in it's warming glow. Damon went straight for the drink table and poured a full glass of bourbon.
"Well?" she asked, eyebrows arched.
He took a deep sip and stared at her over the rim of his glass. "I went to Manhattan."
She narrowed her eyes at him, confused. "Why Manhattan?"
"Easy. It's the city of a million people. I didn't want to be found. At first, I drank my way from one end of the island to the other and back again."
Elena's eyebrows rose in knowing way, "Of course you did." This was exactly what she had suspected.
"Let me finish. I said 'at first,'" Damon said indignantly.
"Okay, so what'd you do next?"
"This is the part you might not believe."
"I'm waiting, Damon."
He cleared his throat. "Well, I was drinking at this bar one night and got to talking to this woman. Turns out, she had just landed a gig as a nanny to some high society type. The mother, her employer, had just had the baby and would be headed home from the hospital the following day. This chick – Rita was her name – was supposed to meet them at their Park avenue apartment. She explained that the mom was some hot-shot attorney and the dad some real-estate tycoon. Rita would be expected to basically raise this baby."
"What's the point in this story?"
"I'm getting to it. Be patient," Damon poured another splash of bourbon into his glass. ". I felt meeting Rita was a sign or something. I compelled her to let me come along."
Elena's eyes scrunched in confusion. "Wait. You went with her to her nannying gig?"
Damon nodded.
"And that's where you've been all this time?"
He nodded again.
"I don't get it."
"Don't you see, Elena? When I first got the news, I didn't believe it. It couldn't be real. I'm a vampire and vampires can't procreate. Then, sometime during my drunken haze, I realized that it didn't matter. I wanted to be there for you regardless of who the kid belonged to. I'd told you as much already."
It was Elena's turn to nod now. "Go on."
"But I don't know how to be a father."
"I call bullshit, Damon." Elena knew he had it in him. She'd seen it in the special visions he'd given only to her, not to mention in every caring thing he'd ever done for her. He'd be a fierce protector of their child, to be sure, but he'd be gentle when he needed to be.
"I freaked, Elena. I needed to know that I could do it. So I went with Rita, compelled the hell out of that family and I spent my weeks rocking little Chloe. I'd wake up with her, feed her, take her for walks in Central Park. I even changed diapers, Elena. Rita was getting paid and I was doing her job. I needed to know that I could really be a good father."
Elena tried to take it all in. On one hand, she could appreciate what Damon had done. She was elated to know that he wasn't drunk out of his mind the whole time or worse, killing innocent sorority girls all over the 48 contiguous states. Still, she was angry. He couldn't just keep leaving every time he got scared. He couldn't keep going on benders when things were a little harry. She needed him to step up.
Before she could say any of that, Damon stopped her. He strode to her side and took her cheeks in both hands. "I fucked up, Elena. God knows, I fucked up. And we both know it probably won't be the last time. But I came back. I will always come back. I love you, Elena. I love you, and I want this to work. Please forgive me."
Elena couldn't hold the tears back any more. She's spent weeks being strong and pretending to be fine. She was so good at pretending, but Damon always seemed to know how to bring her walls down. "But you left," she sobbed.
"I'm here now," he said, and he held her fast in his arms.
The gang was slow to forgive Damon for what he'd put them all through, Stefan slowest of all. But this was nothing new, and honestly, he didn't care what any of them thought as long as Elena forgave him. He knew he still had a ways to go to make it up to her, but he had a plan. He helped Caroline pull the nursery together. He rubbed Elena's feet when they were tired. He made delicious and nutritious meals for her. He went to every check-up and ultrasound. He even ran out for ice cream at odd hours of the night with only minimal complaint any time Elena had a craving. He also planned to impress her with his extensive baby knowledge and wake up with the baby every night if he had to. He'd always been a man of action, proving his love to Elena not through words but through deeds. Why would he change that now?
And besides, it was working. He could feel Elena softening toward him as each day passed. A few weeks in and they were making love again. A few more weeks went by, and Elena let Damon take her to Manhattan to meet Rita and baby Chloe. Elena's eyes lit up with she saw the baby respond to Damon. The baby cooed and swatted at his face, clearly recognizing him. It was a perfect day.
The baby arrived early. Elena had gone into labor at 32 weeks, and Damon had rushed Elena to the hospital, calling Meredith on the way. None of them knew what to expect from this baby, and they needed Meredith there in case anything odd came up.
The OB administed a drug called terbutaline, which slowed Elena's contractions enough to help the baby gestate a few more days, but in the end, their little girl still arrived like a freight train at top speed. My kid, indeed.
Damon proudly held Elena's hand through it all. She was a champ. Before that day, he thought he couldn't love her more. It wasn't possible. He'd already seen her survive hell and pain and loss. He'd already seen her bravery, resilience, and compassion. What more was there to love? Well, he'd been wrong. Watching Elena endure labor and come out the other side a mother made his heart swell to a size he didn't know he was capable of. Then the nurse placed a crying, red faced baby in his arms and said, "Meet your Daddy, baby girl," and Damon thought his heart might just explode.
They named her Miranda Rose – Elena's idea, and who was Damon to argue – but decided to call her Mira. The birth had gone normally and as far as they could tell the baby, other than a few abnormal blood cells, seemed completely human. She nursed and thrived quickly, and both Elena and her daughter were released from the hospital within the week.
They brought little Mira home to a hastily finished nursery. Stefan had installed the crib and Caroline had finished hanging the curtains. The furniture Damon had ordered had been hand delivered already assembled, but Elena had yet to see it in the room. And Bonnie had helped Caroline decorate with books and stuffed animals and the cutest trinkets. It was a room fit for a princess.
Elena cried tears of happiness and Damon glowed with pride, but both parents were soon to discover that little Mira would hardly use her fancy bedroom.
Often, when Mira was awake, she needed Elena. The baby was nursing and only her mother would do, but at night, Damon was the first to get to her. Thanks to his super hearing, they didn't need a baby monitor. Damon could speed to Mira's room, pick her up, and sooth her before the crying even woke Elena. He would grab a bag of milk from the freezer, warm it, and feed the baby. Usually, she would fall back to sleep in his arms, but when he'd go to lay her back in her crib, she would fuss. Most days, Elena would wake to find the two asleep in the arm chair in the living room, Mira cuddled on her daddy's chest.
Vampires as dads? Elena highly recommended it. She was getting normal amounts of sleep, and all Damon needed to be rejuvenated in the morning was a bag of blood. He could go with very little shut-eye and be fine. If Elena found herself needing a diaper or a bottle or a paci, Damon could super speed around the house to fetch whatever she needed. Despite all this, watching him with his daughter you could easily forget he wasn't human. He was ever so gentle with Mira.
One day, Elena walked in on him playing with the baby during Mira's daily tummy time; however, Mira hated tummy time, which probably explained why she was happily kicking on her back when Elena walked in. He was saying, "Whatcha got in your hand there, sweetie? Want to give it to Daddy?"
He seemed not to notice Elena at first, but then he said, "Want to help me out here, Mommy? I don't want to hurt her and she just won't let go of this thing."
Elena walked over and crouched next to her beautiful daughter with her mop of raven hair and doe brown eyes. Sure enough, Mira had her fist curled tightly around something that Elena couldn't make out.
She reached over and stroked Mira's little hand before gently prying her fingers free of the object. "She's strong," Elena noted, smiling at Damon, before looking down at the object she now held in her hand. Elena gasped. It was a diamond ring.
When she turned back toward Damon, he was already on one knee at her side, a solitary tear streaming down his cheek.
Before he could even say a word, Elena was throwing herself into his arms. "Yes!" she exclaimed through her thickening throat and the tears that were already forming in her own eyes. "Yes," she repeated more calmly.
"I love you, Elena."
"I love you, too, Damon."
And then they both laughed because Mira started to cry as if she knew she was being left out. Damon lifted her into his arms as Elena put the ring on her finger. "What do you think, Mira? You like the ring I picked out for Mommy?"
The baby cooed and Elena kissed the baby's cheek.
As she luxuriated in the embrace of her new family, Elena thought about how her life had definitely not been easy, and who could really say what the future might hold. Still, she knew that right now she was happy, and she intended to live her life to the fullest every day. Besides, she thought as she smiled down at Mira, now I have a wedding to plan.
Fin – Again
A/N: And there we go. Visions of You is all done! I can hardly believe it. Now I need your help on deciding what to work on next. I'm still working on Moving On, my crackship featuring Klaus and Elena. I do intend to keep working on this one. It's an AU/AH set in Manhattan. I'd love your opinions on it. But I've got some other ideas and I want to start on one of those as well. So please vote. Do you want a Caroline/Kol crackshiip (I don't know why I'm obsessed with these two, but I am) 1) that's an AU/AH enemies to lovers where they try out for American Idol, 2) where Kol and Rebekah basically raise Caroline (AU), 3) that's another AU/AH in which Caroline and Kol become step-siblings, or 4)another Delena in which compelling hijinks bring the two together in unexpected ways. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Thanks, guys!