I took her hand and let out a dry chuckle.

"It's nice to meet you too, Clara."

"Please, have a seat and we'll get started."

Clara pulled up a chair for Damon and he shifted it over to sit next to me. I crossed my legs and played with my hands anxiously, silently begging for someone else to speak up. Damon read my mind and began to speak while resting his hand on my quivering leg.

"Um, Elena has had a very rough couple of months. The whole Tyler situation, the self harm that followed. Not to mention, the unexpected pregnancy that came along with it. I could go into depths with it but this is not my session, I am just here for some moral support. But of course, I'll explain things if they get too hard."

I took deep breaths in and out, inhaling as much oxygen as I could regardless of how lightheaded it made me. Clara spoke to both of us in a supportive, understanding tone.

"Thank you Damon. So Elena,"

She turns her attention to me.

"Why don't we start with what Damon first got in touch with me for? You seemed eager to blow off some steam in your emails and I think that would be a good starting point to help you open up about some more personal, destructive events later on."

She chose her words carefully, making sure not to step over any lines and analysed my reaction closely. I gave her a small, quick smile before nodding in agreement and began telling her about my self harm, vaguely mentioning key parts of the Tyler Situation.

"Sure."

I shuffled around in my seat, anxious to start.

"Well, um. I had been struggling with low self esteem since long before Tyler first entered my life. That all changed however, when he first gave me the attention that I craved. Damon was very aware of how low I thought of myself and helped me though some very tough challenges in my life. But going back to Tyler, I believed that all I needed was a love that made me feel good about myself, someone who spoilt me and loved me. I was in way over my head and was oblivious to the abuse that he constantly bombarded me with. It wasn't physical like hitting or, I mean he never laid a hand on me."

I felt the oncoming moisture of tears form at my water line and I fought to hold them back.

"It was subtle at first, he always used to ask who I was on the phone to, who I was going out with, when I was gonna be coming home. It wasn't just a ' Oh, so was that your mom?' kinda thing. He was never asking just to be curious, he was mean about it. His questions were very forceful and full of hate and jealousy. He was persistent too, always trying to get in my business, like he didn't trust me to be alone with anyone other than him. But it gradually got worse and other people were starting to notice too. Like, he set a curfew for when I was out with my friends, Damon included. Tyler knew how close i was to Damon and the history we shared, so when he prevented me from going out with any of my male friends, Damon was the first to notice and intervene."

I turned towards him and give him a smile that said 'thank you for helping through some of the worst moments of my life.' He nodded, returned it with a warm smile and reached out to rest his hand on my quivering.

"Tyler was forever trying to control me and he was furious towards Damon as well but mostly me for involving him. Bear in mind, I never actually told Damon, he just saw what Tyler was doing to me. I got dumped a week later and I was in agony for weeks afterwards. Now that I think about it, I never even got dumped, um Tyler was, I guess just done with my shit and decided to leave Mystic Falls with one of the towns 'ladies of the night.' I never thought about harming myself for this, mainly thanks to Damon's support through it all. He returned some months later on the night of my best friends birthday and. Yeah. You know the rest."

I finished and heard Damon let out a heavy sigh I didn't realise he was holding. My face was wet with tears I didn't feel fall down my face and my hands were shaking uncontrollably. Clara looked at me with a sympathetic look and congratulated me on telling her.

"Thank you very much for sharing that with me Elena, I can only imagine how hard that must've been and I am very proud of you for doing it so well. Damon, is there anything you would like to add?"

"Um yes, actually. After Caroline's party, she rang me asking if Elena was with me as she couldn't find her anywhere. After her experiences with Tyler, Elena had gotten into a habit of telling either Caroline, Bonnie or me where she was in case he did anything to her. Bonnie had already called Caroline and said that she saw Elena leave the party early but no one knew where she was headed. I panicked and went to see if she was at her flat. To my relief, she was home. But to my horror-"

He stopped mid sentence and took my hand in his own to squeeze it, mainly for his benefit.

"You were laying, unconscious, in a puddle of your own blood. A blade was in your hand and your clothes were stained red. I had no idea what to do so I called Caroline. She raced over and called an ambulance. But I left you with her and I was fuming because I knew that this was Tyler's doing. I made Caroline promise me that she wouldn't tell you it was me who found you and I left to go find Tyler. Unfortunately, he must've known that I would try something because he wasn't in town when I went to look."

My mouth fell open at Damon's confession and I remembered the night when I told him about what Tyler had done to me.

"Damon, you acted so surprised when I told you that I started cutting because of that. Now you're telling me that this whole time you knew? You knew what I did to myself and acted so oblivious when I told you? I don't know if I should be thankful that you found me when you did or so damn pissed that you lied to me."

Clara interrupted us to calm to building anger rising.

"Okay, why don't we take a step back and try to resolve this with minimal damage. Elena honey, why don't you start?"

I scoffed at him and crossed my legs, anger replacing anxiety.

"You found me- not Caroline- laying, unconscious, in a pool of my own blood. But instead of staying with me to make sure I was okay, you called Caroline, told her to wait with me while you fucked off to get revenge on someone without even knowing what they did. How fucking vain are you?"

I jumped up out of my chair and headed to the door before Damon leapt in front and stopped me. He held his hands out in front of his chest and placed them on my arms.

"Elena, please. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. If I could go back and change it I would've never left you with Caroline. Baby, please. Listen to me."

I lifted my head to reveal the tears slowly making their way down my red cheeks.

"But you cant. You can't go back and change a damn thing. You left me, Damon. When I was at my lowest, you left me."

He pulled me into a tight hug, trapping my hands to my side and refusing to let me go. I heard him sobbing quietly as he rested his chin on my head and snuggled his head into my hair. The sad sounds that escaped him filled me with guilt and I started crying with him. He released my arms and I draped them around him possessively. Through muffled sobs, he promised me something that I will remember forever.

"If you let me, I promise to hold, cherish, support and love you for the rest of your life. I will dedicate my existence to keeping you safe and I will never leave you again."

Damon finally released his death grip on me and did the unexpected which caught me completely by surprise. He got down on one knee, and pulled out the biggest diamond ring I have ever seen. My eyes grew wide and I slapped my hands over my mouth, unsure of what to make of the current situation.

"Elena Gilbert, I promise to love you always and forever, for the rest of your human life. Will you do me the incredible honour of becoming my wife?"

I stood in same position for a while before Damon's voice brought me back down to earth.

"Yes. Of course I will. Of course I'll marry you!"

A wave of adrenaline coursed through my veins, causing me to leap into his arms. I wrapped my hands around his neck and admired the gorgeous ring he placed delicately on my finger.

"It's beautiful, Damon."

I felt him smile against my neck before leaving soft kisses behind my ear. We got so caught up on the moment that we completely forgot about Clara sitting 10feet away from us.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt but, uh, would you like to continue today or carry on next week?"

Slowly, my feet touched the ground and I straightened myself up to return to our session.

"I apologise for that, Clara. As you can probably guess, that was one thing I was not expecting anytime soon."

A broad smile covered her face.

"Congratulations to you both. You seem destined for each other."

We both look over at each other instantaneously and nod our heads in agreement.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that."

The rest of the session went by quickly and smoothly. We covered my self harm, moving in with Damon and even the baby. Some of the details were left out for future sessions but it went really well. Damon endlessly expressed how proud he was of me for this major milestone. During the car ride home we talked even more. We talked about when I could move in with him and decided this weekend would be best. That way, it would give me 4 days to pack and two days to move everything. I would spend the next week unpacking and getting rid of everything I don't need. We talked about our engagement and when the wedding would be. Since we have a lot on our plate, we decided it would be best to keep that aside for the time being. We spoke about anything and everything. I really felt like that therapy session enabled me to open up more to Damon and, more importantly, myself. The rest of the car ride was spent reminiscing over old memories and singing along to forgotten songs.

To commemorate our engagement, Damon thought that it would be necessary to carry me through the door and did so without hesitation or permission from me. You can imagine my surprise when I got swooped up into his embrace as soon as I stepped out of the car.

"Ahh! Damon what're you doing?"

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I giggled hysterically and hid my blushing face in his shoulder.

"Aw, is someone getting shy?"

Suddenly, a familiar feeling in my lower abdomen emerged and made me squirm viciously. We both stopped dead in our tracks and stared at each other, eyes wider than a deers in the path of an oncoming train. I knew exactly what Damon was thinking, or so I thought.

"Was that the baby?"

I could help but laugh in his face. Loudly. The look on his face showed that my sudden reaction caught him by surprise and he stared at me, confused.

"No sweetie, it wasn't the baby."

He lowered me back down to the floor and we walked over to the kitchen hand in hand, only letting go when he grabbed me a glass of water. He placed it in front of me and I took it down to the table while Damon leant against the kitchen island. A look of worry crossed his face and he spoke in a serious tone.

"Elena, are you okay?"

"What? Oh god Damon I'm fine! In fact, I'm feeling a little too fine..." I made my best impression of Damon's signature smirk but he still didn't get my drift.

I sighed heavily and continued on.

"It's been over a month since I've had sex. And it's not like that was a very happy time either. Damon, I'm your fiancé now but it's been too long since you've fucked my brains out and I am so damn ready for you to claim me as your own once and for all."

My confession caught him by surprise and he stared at me, befuddled. A glint of lust and sexual attraction flashed in his eyes and a sexy smirk curled up in the corner of his mouth, slowly turning into an excited smile. He stalked towards me, his face expressions never wavering at all. I stood up, wary of what his next move was gonna be. Suddenly, he crashed his lips into mine and picked me up underneath my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his waist and tangled my hands in his tousled hair. Before I realised where we were, my back hit the bed with force.

God, I love his vampire abilities.

He broke the kiss and straddled my waist. In sexual frustration, I sat up to rip off his shirt but he grabbed my wrists and held them above my head after pushing me back down. I gasped at his actions and tried to resist his hold but to no avail, I stayed put. Damon slipped my hands together and held both with one of his. The other tore through the fabric of my shirt. I saw pure lust dance in his eyes before he lowered his head to plant delicate kisses on my neck, making me moan in ecstasy. He sucked at my skin and nibbled softly, leaving love bites in their place. His hands trailed down my arms, barely grazing the surface and making goosebumps rise at the contact. At a painfully slow pace, Damon carried his mouth down my neck and across my collarbone, never breaking contact at all. I slid my hands out of his weak grasp and returned them to his face. My hands moulded to the shape of his perfectly formed jawbone and I pulled his mouth up to mine. Our lips crashed and our tongued danced a rhythmic dance together, all the while filling the silent room with satisfied moans. He moved between our hot bodies to push my jeans down and I kicked them off with much enthusiasm, desperate for him to bury himself deep inside of aching core. I pulled away from him, instantly missing the contact, to analyse our current situation. I struggled to catch my breath but I could see Damon was also having difficulty calming down.

"I'm feeling a bit exposed, not gonna lie."

I looked myself up and down, clad in a matching set of lace panties and bra. Then I looked at Damon, the only article of clothing removed was his shoes. He pushed a rogue strand of hair out of my eyes before staring deep into them. While straddling my hips, he pulled his skin tight shirt above his head and watched my reaction.

"How's the view from down there?"

Instantaneously, my fingers made their way to his chiselled chest, paying close attention to every line and muscle I could touch. When they reached back down to the hem of his jeans, I traced the belt and immediately began working on the buckle. Tangling my fingers together, I grunted in frustration at my inability to complete such a simple task. Anger mixed with pregnancy hormones brought tears to my eyes and I dropped my hands to the side and flopped back down in the bed, sobbing.

"Hey hey, come on. Look I'll take it off for you."

I could hear his comforting voice but I couldn't see him through the tears that fogged up my vision. Suddenly, a weight lifted off of me and I heard the clink of a belt hitting the ground and a zipper being pulled down. The familiar sound of jeans being taken off distracted me from my doom and gloom moment and I glanced up at a now naked Damon. Gotta love commando.

An all too well-known smirk greeted me and pulled me out of my sad mood. I quickly sat up and ripped off my bra and panties, throwing them in no particular direction. I stood up to join him, stopping inches away from his face. I connected our hands and led him backwards towards the bed until he fell back with me crawling on top of him. Our lips crashed together once again and he ran his hands up and down my back and legs. His rock solid member pushing adamantly against my hot core, desperate to be inside. While running a hand through my hair, I straddled his waist and grabbed a tight hold onto him. A deep growl escaped his throat and he threw his head back on the bed sheets, tightening his hold on my thighs. I pushed myself up on my knees so I could position his cock grazing my opening.

In a quick swift movement, I impaled myself on him, loud moans echoing around the room escaped from us both simultaneously. I leaned down onto his chest and let him hold me. Slowly, I grinded on his cock, moving my hips in a circular motion. Damon occasionally thrusting up into me. His hands guided my hips up and down while I rolled on his pelvis, desperate to get us both off. Just when I thought Damon was going to climax, he flipped me over onto my back so he was laying on top of me. He wasted no time in thrusting into me hard and fast.

"Ugh...Damon.. ohh ugh. My.. god! Keep going... Ugh Damon FASTER! im almo- UGGHH"

I screamed out in orgasmic pleasure, quivering under the intensity of my first orgasm in months. Moments later I felt Damon cum inside of me, pumping his seed deep into me.

He held himself up with his hands beside my head and I could feel his hot breath as he buried his head into my neck, desperate to calm himself down. I kept my arms wrapped around his torso and my legs tangled around his waist. Occasionally, I shook and whimpered and to calm me down, Damon would kiss and suck at my neck, all the while he stayed inside me.

After we both calmed from our high he slowly released himself from me, something I could tell he didn't want to do anytime soon, and pulled me into his embrace. I whimpered from the loss of contact but he cuddled me into him to make up for it. Grabbing the bedsheets from around him, he wrapped them around me and let me lay back on his chest while he sat up against the headboard.

He played with my hands and hair, placing kisses on my head every so often.

"Thank you."

I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear and twisted his fingers in mine.

"For what?"

"For loving me. For letting me stick around. For everything Damon, not just today."

He chucked lightly before gently rubbing my stomach where my shirt rode up.

"It's sweet that you still have to thank me but I want you to know that it should be me thanking you. I don't know where or who I would be if I didn't have you to lighten up my life. I will dedicate the rest of my existence trying to make you smile or laugh whenever I can. I just want you to know that."

I smiled quickly and pulled my hand out of his to wipe the tears before they fell over the edge.

Damn pregnancy hormones.

To break down some of the tension I cracked a lighthearted joke.

"I gotta say, it took you long enough to propose. I had myself believing that I was gonna have to take the knee."

I heard him gasp then his chest heave quickly to indicate a gentle huff.

"Must I remind you, Gilbert, that you are a very tough girl to please when it comes to jewellery."

I scoffed in disagreement.

"Oh please! A candy ring would've sufficed. It's not the price or the look of the ring that matters, It's suppose to be a symbol of your love for me."

He took my hand to look at the huge diamond ring placed on my finger and inspected it closely.

"Not to make you anxious or anything but I should say that this is my grandmothers engagement ring, meaning that it is at least 250 years old, easy. But if you would much rather settle for a candy ring..."

I sat up abruptly at his brief history lesson and stared him directly in the eyes.

"Damon. You know that I would never let anything happen to this ring, I mean it's gorgeous."

He grabbed my shoulders and gently manoeuvred me so I was laying against his chest again.

"Baby, of course I know that. I was just playing."

I shrugged against him and cuddled up in his embrace.

"Did you think I'd say yes?"

I asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.

"Well I hoped you'd say yes. I don't know what I would've done if you said no."

I patted his hands and kissed them lovingly.

"I could never say no to you, Damon Salvatore."

He kissed the top of my head before nestling his into the crook of my neck.

Before long, we were fast asleep in a deep, much-needed slumber after engaging in long awaited, passionate love making.

SO SO sorry this this took a few weeks to get out. Had some serious writers block. I apologise to say that I will not be able to stick to my schedule although for 7 or 8 weeks it was working! So sorry again but I will update the story as often as I possibly can.