Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).

I'd like to thank everyone for their lovely reviews. They mean the world to me.

The song Damon and Elena had chosen to dance to was one where they felt the lyrics aptly described them. If they were to have chosen a song which meant something to them, they would have chosen Close to You by Calvin Harris as that was the song playing when they danced together at the Whitmore college frat party, just before they got together. But, they decided it wasn't exactly something to slow dance to, instead they opted for an old song which had been released only three years after Damon broke out of the Augustine's. Ben E King's Stand By Me.

At the time it was released, the song would have plagued Damon had he have had his humanity on, but due to leaving Enzo behind to die, or so he thought, he'd turned his emotions off. Only now, with his wife at his side, could he truly appreciate the song, which they both felt was perfectly apt for their first dance as man and wife.

When Damon pulled Elena close to him as the music started up, even though they were dancing in front of an audience, this was the first time they'd had a private moment together. As they gracefully moved around the dance floor, they became caught up in their own little world, as everyone disappeared into thin air, and nothing else mattered, as long as they'd got each other. This time, unlike their first public dance, they were free to show their feelings for one another. Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's neck and pulled him in so their foreheads were touching.

Elena wished they weren't in the middle of their wedding. Instead she wanted them to be alone, tearing off each other's clothes, and she suspected Damon felt the same way too. However they would have to wait until later that night after the party, where they would spend their first night together back at the house for one last time before they left to go on their honeymoon, a destination Damon had been very cagey about. They weren't due to fly until the next afternoon, so they had plenty of time to make the most of saying goodbye to the people they loved before they disappeared to Houston, Texas.

Damon had told Stefan they were moving north west, but he'd lied. He couldn't have Stefan knowing anything about his and Elena's future life together because it could put them both in danger should anyone find out who Damon was and what his blood would carry once he'd taken the cure. In all likelihood, he'd be a target for vampire wannabe humans, which would kill him if they took it. Therefore he'd already gotten fake id's and also ensured Elena got a place at the med school. The other perk to Houston was if they did have a problem, they had Original vampires to fall back on as the flight was less than two hours to New Orleans. This wouldn't have been an option a few years ago, but Caroline had Klaus wrapped around her little finger. Not only that, but Stefan was also on good terms with the Original hybrid. The Mikaelson's were already aware of Elena now being human and Damon's impending human life. They'd offered to keep them safe in return for Damon allowing Rebekah to have the cure once he no longer wanted to live.

If he had to be honest, Damon didn't particularly care what happened to the cure once he'd gone. If someone would have asked him a year ago, he'd have wanted to let Stefan have it. But Stefan was now flirting with the possibility of being in a relationship with Caroline, which meant Stefan's need for the cure at this time had become redundant. His brother had made it his mission to look after the future generations of Salvatore's, making it clear he intended to be sticking around for a long time to come. Damon suspected once Rebekah was done with the cure, Stefan might take it and join them in the afterlife in about two hundred years time.

Tonight however, was about spending what little time they had left with their loved ones before starting out their new life as plain old humans, Damon and Elena Thompson. Damon had opted to take the cure once they reached their honeymoon. He told Elena he had a plan of how he wanted to take it, which would be revealed in due course.

They continued to dance slowly to the music, their lips finally finding one another, kissing as if it were to be their last time. Even though the music stopped, Damon and Elena hadn't noticed. They continued to kiss until they heard clapping and laughing, only then did they break away from one another. Then Jeremy broke them up and decided to dance with his sister, much to the consternation of Damon.

Bonnie grabbed hold of Damon for the next dance. Out of all of the people he'd never thought he'd be friends with, Bonnie Bennett was top of the list, yet here she was, one of the people closest to him. Damon knew his and Elena's disappearance would be especially hard on Bonnie at first, as two out of three of her best friends were leaving. However a plan had been devised for Bonnie to live in Texas. Ric had gotten a new job in Dallas, meaning he and Jo, were moving there after Christmas. When he started teaching there, Bonnie would continue studying the Occult with Ric as her Professor, and she was going to be his employed as his TA. Caroline knew where they were moving to, but she'd asked Klaus to compel her to not tell or be able to even give a hint to Stefan as to their whereabouts until Damon or Elena were on their deathbed, because if it were Elena to go first, Damon would simply tell Rebekah to take the cure to allow him to say goodbye to his brother and be with Elena. For the time being though, Bonnie was going to she move to Dallas first and would have to stay there alone. Fortunately it was only an hour's flight or a four hour drive between Dallas and Houston, meaning they'd all still be able to keep in touch and see each other regularly. In some respects Bonnie was excited by the move, yet she couldn't discuss it at the party, just in case anyone overheard, especially Stefan. So chitchat had to be a little less open. Subject matters filtered out so there was no way Stefan would be able to trace Damon. This was going to be reflected in the entire night's conversations.

"Nice vows." Bonnie smiled as they dance. "How long did that take you to write?" she asked, expecting him to say days, considering what she'd been told about the problems Damon had had with Sheriff Forbes eulogy.

"Elena and I wrote part of it together." Damon started.

"Yeah, I could tell." Bonnie nodded.

"But the rest took about ten minutes." Damon smirked. "It wasn't hard to find the write words to tell her how much I love her and want to spend every day of the rest of my life with her, and if I can make it happen, I want us to leave this world together." he smiled.

"Like a suicide pact?" Bonnie frowned.

"No!" Damon snorted. "Merely, if anything happens to Elena before me, the green light will be given for the next recipient of the cure to take it." he explained.

"Stefan?" Bonnie asked as Damon shook his head.

"I made a deal with Klaus." Damon explained. "We get protection in return, Rebekah gets the cure. It's a future Christmas gift." he shrugged.

"Smart, getting protection from the Original's." Bonnie pursed her lips. "Does Stefan know?" she asked.

"Err, no." Damon grimaced. "If he wants it, he can take it from her when she's ready to go. "I'm going to ask if he could be first on the list of recipients when she dies." he told her. "I can't see Klaus or Elijah wanting to take it. Or god forbid Kol." he dramatically shivered.

"Well Damon, you need to talk to him." Bonnie insisted. "You need to put things right before you leave." she said.

"Yeah yeah." Damon rolled his eyes. "Anyway, enough about me. How come you're here with Enzo?" he frowned.

"Well, Enzo thought that although she might not want to watch it now, at some point in the future Lily might want to see her son's wedding." Bonnie told him. "And as she'll never see you again, this might be all she has left to remember you. Stefan wants them to reconcile, and that could happen once you're gone." she sighed.

"Well, Stefan always was a mommies boy." Damon screwed his face up in disgust. "I doubt mommy dearest will ever want to see it, because I'm clearly not her real family, but who knows. She might mellow with desiccation." he smiled evilly.

"Damon!" Bonnie chided him. "When you leave, she's all Stefan will have left. Of course he's going to fight for her." she said. "And I bet if there were grandchildren running around, she'd want to be involved."

"No way. Not a chance in hell!" Damon sneered.

"Does she know you're even leaving?" Bonnie asked.

"She doesn't care. Now Bonbon, can we stop stop talking about Lily and not ruin a perfectly good excuse to get drunk?" Damon raised an eyebrow, as they stopped dancing and made their way to the bar, leaving Elena still on the dance floor, this time in the arms of Matt.

"Well, who'd have thought it eh?" Matt smiled. "You'd be the first one to tie the knot."

"And who'd have thought you'd have been the first one to graduate to their chosen career." Elena smiled. "I'm proud of you Deputy Matt Donovan."

"Yeah well, someone needs to look after the town." he told her.

"But all of your friends are moving away." Elena frowned. "Won't you feel alone?" she asked.

"I've kinda felt that way a while." Matt told her. "I don't want to be involved with the supernatural, but it seems I'm the only one left to fight the fight." he sighed. "But now you're human, you're moving away, with the last vampire on earth I'd have expected to volunteer to take the cure. Are you sure he's not been compelled by a pissed off Original?" he raised an eyebrow in a joking manner.

"He wants a family and children." Elena explained. "This is his one chance to totally wipe the slate clean, become human. Nobody need ever see him as the big bad evil vampire. Instead they'll meet the great guy I know he is." she smiled.

"I'll have take your word on that." Matt narrowed his eyes and nodded, a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth, clearly not believing her assessment of Damon. "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself, wherever you are." he said.

"Of course." Elena smiled sadly as they continued to dance.

At the bar Damon had gotten him and Bonnie a large bourbon each. Interestingly, Bonnie had made her way back to talk to Enzo while he decided to have a little chat with Caroline. Although she wasn't his favorite person in the world, she was Liz's daughter and Stefan's future girlfriend. Leading Damon to feel he had some kind of responsibility towards her. But there was something he needed to talk to her about first.

"Blondie, would you like to dance?" Damon asked politely.

"I'd much rather have my newly painted fingernails pulled out, if you don't mind." Caroline smiled at him through gritted teeth.

Damon sighed. "Look Caroline, it's important." he insisted, holding his hand out to her.

Caroline eyed him suspiciously. She sighed in resignation and took it. Whatever Damon had to say, Caroline suspected it really must be urgent. "So what is so important, that it can't wait or be sent in an email?" she asked as they began to move to the music.

Damon took a deep breath. "First of all, I'd like to apologize." he said.

"For what?" Caroline snapped. "There is a very long list of bad things to have happened in Mystic Falls, with your name at the top as the cause."

"For the way I treat you." Damon told her as Caroline's jaw dropped in surprise. "When I first came back to Mystic Falls, I'd had my humanity switched off for fifty one years. With a break of a couple of weeks in 1994." he told her. "When I flipped the switch back on, I channeled all of my emotions into making Stefan's life a misery until I could get Katherine out of the tomb." he explained. "Getting at Elena was initially part of that, and you were my ticket to getting to know her. After all of those years without my humanity, at first I wasn't much better with it back on." he explained.

"So what changed?" Caroline frowned.

"I met Elena and got to know her. She was the one who found my humanity and brought it out in me." Damon told her. "So, I'm sorry for the way I treat you. You didn't deserve that." he lowered his eyes.

"I'm not going to say that I'm just going to forgive you as easy as that." Caroline said. "But it's a start. So thank you for your apology. And now that I know what it's like to flip the switch, I can sorta understand how that could happen. It doesn't make it right, but when I look at how it makes you feel afterwards, and I only had mine off for a short period of time, I kinda get that you were more screwed up than usual at the time." she added.

"I can't change the past." Damon sighed. "It is one of my biggest regrets." he frowned. "But I wish I could."

"Thank you." Caroline smiled. "Is there anything else?" she asked.

"Yes." Damon nodded, now came the easy part. "Take care of Stefan for me." he asked of her. "I know you guys aren't going there yet, but it's just a matter of time. Ever since you turned, you both have had a connection, and I saw it a long time ago. Even before I got with Elena, I had an inkling something would happen between you and Stefan one day." he said. "And when it happens, you'll be the love of his life."

"Why?" Caroline frowned.

"Because Stefan hates being a vampire, except when he's with you." Damon explained. "He can be himself with you. He feels able to control his urges around you. And you are the first woman who he knew was a vampire, who captured his heart enough for him to fall for her. His love for Elena wasn't enough to withstand her being a vampire. But with you, it's not even a consideration." he smiled. "I never thought he could knowingly fall for a vampire, but you're something special to him. And I know with you, he'll be in good hands."

"I will." Caroline nodded. "I know this goes without saying, but you be good to Elena. She deserves someone decent, but unfortunately she got you." she said, which raised a small smile to Damon's lips. "However, I'm not an idiot. Together, you compliment each other, bring out the best of one another. So just promise me, you'll take good care of her. Otherwise I'll come and beat the shit out of you and you won't have vampire strength and speed to help you." she smirked.

"Don't worry Blondie." Damon sighed. "If I let anything happen to Elena, I'll be the one to call you and ask you to beat the shit out of me." he smiled.

"Good!" Caroline stated as she turned to leave, but Damon wouldn't let her go. "What?" she asked.

"Just promise me one more thing." Damon pleaded.

"Uh..." Caroline rolled her eyes. "Fine, what?" she asked.

"If you and Stefan ever, you know, get married. You will send me a video if it?" he asked almost sheepishly.

"Aren't you jumping the gun a little? We're not even dating yet." Caroline frowned.

"No, but you will. And if I know my brother, he'll want to do the right thing by you." Damon told her. "So will you do that for me?" he asked.

"Okay, but don't expect it anytime soon." Caroline insisted, pointing her finger at Damon. "Can I go now, I need a drink." she said

"Fine." Damon smiled as he glanced over to Elena, who was now dancing with Ric. As much as he wanted her in his arms, they were saying goodbye to their friends. This was as much of a leaving party as it was a wedding, so he couldn't just interrupt, although he could technically listen, but he knew that would be rude. Elena would have to stop dancing soon, her feet would be getting sore. So he grabbed another drink from the bar and watched his wife dance with his best friend.

"So do you know where he's taking me?" Elena asked Ric. Damon had been keeping the honeymoon destination top secret. He'd just told her she'd need loose clothing and beachwear as they were going somewhere hot.

"I do." Ric simply said.

"And where is it?" Elena asked.

"Let's just say it's a good job Damon is loaded, even without the Salvatore fortune." he told her. "And it's hot."

"And that's all you're going to tell me?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah." Ric nodded. "Damon promised to send me a picture of your surprise when you find out. I'm not ruining that for anything." he said.

"I hope he's not spent too much." Elena sighed.

"He has spent too much." Ric told her. "But this isn't just a honeymoon is it? He's chosen the one place in the world where he'd like to see the sun rise without his daylight ring for the first time in almost a hundred and fifty years. I think he wants it to be special." he shrugged.

"I guess." Elena sighed. "So, when do you start your new job in Dallas?" she asked.

"After Christmas." Ric told her. "Jo will go on mat leave, and apply for jobs there." he said. "I don't want my kids brought up around the supernatural."

"But won't they be witches themselves?" Elena frowned.

"That's why we're moving." Ric explained. "We don't want them to be part of the Gemini coven. It puts them and Jo at risk if Kai ever manages to escape from the Prison world." he said.

"But Kai is the leader of the Gemini coven. Doesn't he have to authorize that?" Elena frowned.

"Jo's father is leader in his absence." Ric told her. "He's given the green light for Jo to leave the coven, meaning the children will not be part of the coven either. If they want to join, then that will be their choice when they are older." he said. "But we can't risk Kai not listening to reason. For now Bonnie has put a cloaking spell on Jo and the twins. They'll all have individual ones when the babies are born. Bonnie will need to be there at the birth." he told her. "Which is one of the reasons she's moving to Dallas first."

"Wow, you've really thought this thing out haven't you?" Elena asked.

"Like Damon, I'm leaving the supernatural behind, and I'm being thorough about it." Ric said. " Just like you and Damon, I can't have anyone knowing where we are." he looked downcast.

"It won't be forever Ric." Elena smiled.

"It won't be for long at all." Damon's voice came from behind Elena as she turned to see her husband with a smile on his face. "I did that thing you asked me to." he whispered. "You and Jo are good to go." he grinned giving the thumbs up.

"What's this all about?" Elena frowned.

"Ric and Jo are changing their identities too." Damon explained. "I've managed to get hold of the documents and compelled the hospitals in Dallas to hire Jo under her new name if she applied." he shrugged.

"But Jo's not going to like that." Elena frowned. "She won't be getting the job on merit."

"Ah well, I wanted to make sure she would." Damon nodded smugly. "I gave them Jo's resume and asked them if they would give Jo a job if she applied. Those who said yes were compelled to take her with her knew name if she applied. Then I compelled them to forget I'd ever asked about Jo." Elena frowned at him suspiciously. "All I did was remove the barrier her fake ID would give her. And, Donovan made himself useful for once and managed to use his new found position get hold of the details of a very dubious hacker who I compelled to hack into all of the relevant systems to verify Jo's new identity, and to forget about it after."

"Doe she know about any of this?" Elena frowned.

"Most of it." Ric admitted. "Although keep the job application part to yourself. I don't want her to think we're making it easier for her." he nodded.

"Fine." Elena sighed sounding unconvinced.

"Ric, do you mind if I have a dance with my wife?" Damon asked. "I'm kinda missing her protecting me from all of these unwanted women pawing at me." he sighed dramatically.

"Which women?" Ric asked. "The Desperate Housewives of Mystic Falls, because they sure as hell would have to be desperate to look at you." he smirked as Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Are you saying I'm desperate Ric?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"No." Ric shook his head and laughed. "For you, Damon would walk to the ends of the earth and move heaven and hell. For any other woman he'd just have screw them and leave them."

"Correction, I would rock their world and leave them." Damon smiled smugly. "Admittedly, it would ruin their lives as no man could ever live up to the expectations these women would have of how a man must..." he stopped as Elena slapped him on the arm.

"Damon!" she chided him.

"But..." Damon continued, ignoring Elena's protest as he took her hand and pulled her towards him. "This woman rocks my world as much as I rock hers. So no other woman on this planet stands a chance of distracting me." he grinned at Elena. "Scram Ric, I want to smooch with my wife." he said, his eyes never leaving Elena's.

"You two are disgusting." Ric sighed, shaking his head as he walked off.

"I know." Damon said seductively to Elena as he put his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck, allowing them to slowly dance together.

Not long after, Ric and Jo left, as Jo was getting tired, promising they'd be there the next day to say goodbye. Eventually Damon and Elena decided it was time for them to call it a night. Damon had warned her they would have a very long day tomorrow and as much as he wanted to make love to her until the sun rose, it wasn't really an option because of their long journey ahead.

As they left the party, rice was thrown over them while they climbed into Damon's Camaro. Elena could practically see his insides screaming at all of the rice getting inside the car, but he kept quiet and smiled, before driving them back to the Salvatore boarding House.

The next day, Damon and Elena hosted the goodbye breakfast. Everyone was treated to Damon's now famous blueberry pancakes. The guests included Stefan, Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Ric and Jo. It was an emotional few hours because even though goodbyes some were only temporary, others were permanent. The biggest one of all was Stefan and Damon parting company for the last time after almost a hundred and sixty seven years. No longer was Damon to make Stefan's life a misery by being around him, instead it would be Damon's absence which would cause the most emotional upheaval for the younger Salvatore. Therefore after they'd finished the pancakes, Damon took Stefan to the library where they sat and began to drink the most expensive bottle of bourbon in the house.

"Well brother, it's the last time I'll be able to do this." Damon said staring into the contents of his glass. "Soon, it'll only take me a couple of glasses of this stuff to get me buzzed instead of a couple of bottles." he laughed.

"It's the last time we'll be drinking together." Stefan sighed. "Are you really sure you want to go through with this?" he asked. "It's not too late to put a stop to it."

"I've made up my mind brother." Damon smiled. "It's time to hang up the fangs, do some real work for once, and bring in some baby Salvatore's into the world." he nodded.

"You sure you're cut out to be a father?" Stefan asked.

"I'll be the best dad in the world, just to spite our own father." Damon grinned mischievously.

"If that is a motivation for you, I know you'll achieve it." Stefan smiled. "You always relished challenging father, it was when you were at your best. Doing well by your kids is one step in the right direction to piss him off."

"Too right." Damon laughed for a moment, before his face turned serious. "Look Stefan, there's something we need to talk about." he said. "And I wanted to wait until today before we discussed it."

Stefan frowned. "Go on."

"It's about me taking the cure, and what happens to it after I'm gone." Damon said.

"What do you mean what happens to it?" Stefan asked.

"Klaus Mikaelson offered me a deal." Damon told him. "Mikaelson family protection in exchange for Rebekah getting the cure when I choose to die." he said.

"Oh." Stefan simply said.

"I would have given you first choice brother, but as much as you think you want to be human now, you've got a girl who you are clearly falling for, who happens to be a vampire. I figured you wouldn't exactly be in a rush to take it." Damon told him. "I have requested you get first choice when Rebekah wants to go, although they haven't gotten back to me about that yet." he frowned.

"You're right." Stefan smiled. "For the first time, I'll have someone by my side to help me enjoy being a vampire without hurting anyone." he said.

"Well, by the time you two have sorted yourselves out and actually done something about how you feel for each other, I figured I'd be long dead by then." Damon said sarcastically.

"Very funny Damon." Stefan said, rolling his eyes.

"Wow, we've gone through most of this bottle of bourbon already." Damon commented sadly as he held the bottle up. "We haven't got long left brother." he said, handing a book over to Stefan which had been on the table next to Damon.

"What's this?" Stefan frowned.

"Damon's book of life." he smiled. "It's full of useful hints and tips from yours truly, ranging from dating to the perfect method of ripping out a human heart, to making the perfect pancake." he grinned. "If you ever get stuck in a situation and think 'What would Damon do?', well it's all here." he said, patting the book. "I can't be there in person to guide you, but I can at least let you know how to deal with things." he nodded.

"Wow, that's...um..." Stefan frowned, lost for words.

"Thoughtful, inspired, caring..." Damon started.

"Impressive." Stefan interrupted as he flicked through the book. "You've managed to write out at least fifty pages." he said.

"Sixty eight actually." Damon said proudly. "It was the only thing I could think to do." he sighed and closed his eyes sadly and pinched his nose. "I'm sorry I'm leaving you brother. I wish it didn't have to end this way." he said.

"Don't worry, I've got Caroline, I'll be okay." Stefan smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Damon stood up and held his hand out to Stefan and pulled him out of his chair. They took one look at each other and began to hug each other tightly, not wanting to let go as they knew when they did, this time it would be forever. Tears silently spilled from the eyes of both Salvatore brothers, because finally after years of hatred they were finally reconciled, only to be parted one final time, but this was for love. It was Damon's hope they would one day find peace and eventually, once again find one another along the way. But until that day came they would never see each other, all they would have left were memories.

There was a knock at the door and the brothers looked up to see Elena walking in. Damon and Stefan pulled apart and smiled at her. A woman with the same face as Elena's had driven them apart. Elena had brought them back together, but ultimately she would break them apart. But as sad as Stefan was, he knew he was losing a brother, but would eventually gain a new family as Damon's other parting gift to him. For Stefan, the world suddenly seemed a little brighter than it had done just a moment ago.

"Damon, it's time to go. The car is here." Elena told him.

"Car?" Stefan frowned.

"Oh yeah, one more thing." Damon grinned, taking something out of his pocket. "I need you to take real good care of this for me." he said placing his car keys in Stefan's hands. "As much as I love her, she's a little bit too conspicuous and would be a bitch to try and fit a child seat in there." he sighed. "So she's all yours brother. Just please take real good care of her." he said sadly.

"I will Damon." Stefan smiled as they followed Elena out of the library and to the yard, where outside was waiting a rental car.

They all hugged, kissed and said goodbye for about ten minutes before Damon and Elena climbed inside, with Damon at the wheel as Elena hadn't got a clue as to where they were heading. She just knew the car was loaded with luggage, some of it Damon had bought and not even shown her. As soon as the car doors were closed, Damon leaned over and kissed Elena on the lips.

"Buckle up Mrs Salvatore, the rest of our lives are gonna be one hell of a ride." he smiled as they put their seatbelts on and waved to everyone before Damon started up the engine and set off, leaving the view of the boarding house to disappear from the rear view mirror forever.

If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.

Mandzipop