I decided to do a time jump of about 7 weeks. So basically it's about their date. Since Elena just gave delivery to baby Sarah, I decided to have their first date about 7 seven weeks later so that they have a green signal to do Lemons. And you may be asking what's wrong with having the first date without any smut afterwards. It's because the smut whore in me won't allow me to wait anymore.

7 weeks later

Tomorrow is the big day. Damon suggested that they should first allow the atmosphere around each other to calm down. He wanted to loosen up a bit around people like Vicki, Matt and other acquaintance Elena made upon reaching Mystic Falls. He even made arrangements regarding Sarah, which satisfied Elena and him. Sarah would stay Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on Elena's and Sunday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the boarding house. Elena also tends to have sleepovers every time Sarah comes. She sleeps with him, as his room is right in the opposite. But they haven't slept together. Even though both of them were very tempted to do it, Damon wanted her to recover properly and then do it after there first date when both of them were ready. But that didn't stop them from cuddling and making out.

Right now they were in Elena's room. Damon was playing with his seven week old. She was making gurgling sounds as Damon softly rubbed her tummy. She always had a toothless grin present whenever she saw her father. And she felt even more comfort when she felt the warmth of both her mother and father together.

Elena was simply watching them now. It's what she always finds herself doing more often. The sight never fails to swell her heart with love for the man in front of her and the piece of heaven in his arms. She can't imagine her life without Damon now. The entire plan she had now seemed to make a permanent goodbye.

She turned her gaze to her ceiling clock. It was 7pm, which meant they should be going to the boarding house. She stood up from the bed and softly approached them. She put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "We should go now." Damon nodded his head and took Sarah in his arms.

He looked at her and placed a quick kiss on her lips before proceeding to pick up the bags. Elena was still getting used to all the little things he was doing to her. So there she was, standing with a goofy smile.

Damon gently laid sleeping Sarah down to her crib. Sometimes Damon wonders how can he save this tiny fragile bundle of joy. She's so small, delicate and innocent. One day the inevitable will happen. She'll grow up and will start seeing the world beyond her family. She'll notice the cruelty of this world and fate. And she will have to fight on her own. As she lay there peacefully, Damon stroked her chubby pink cheeks with his index finger.

Elena came from behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Both of them stared at Sarah. "She's so precious." She whispered.

"I couldn't agree more." Damon said. He was still in deep thoughts.

"What're you thinking?"

"About time." He said. "How fast it goes. How she'll grow up in a blink of an eye. And how I won't be able to protect her any longer. She'll have to protect herself, and I'm afraid she won't be able to take the cruelty of this world."

"Hm… that's how life works. But she'll always be our baby girl no matter how old she gets. And she's your daughter. There's no way she won't be strong enough to handle the world." She said.

Damon clutched her hands and brought her in front of him. Elena looked up to his aquamarine eyes and saw the warmth of love in them. Held their hands together and told her, "She's our daughter, that's why she'll be strong."

Elena gave him a heart-warming smile and nodded her head. Damon leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips, then her nose and lastly her forehead. Elena smiled even wider and hugged him. "We'll have to try for her."

Although it was muffled, Damon understood what she was trying to say. They needed to fix everything between them. They need to give their hundred percent to this relationship. They need to hold on together. They needed to do this for her.

The day finally arrived. Excitement and nervousness were holding hands, as the flowed through the blood. It was their first appropriate date. Hopefully this one would go good. This was their first big step towards the rekindling of their relationship.

Elena stood in front of the mirror soothing her dress. She wore a knee-length cold-shouldered merlot colored ruched dress featured with, round neckline, sheath silhouette and long sleeves. She also had a golden belt highlighting her small waist and golden stilettos. It completely complimented her hair, which she decided to leave open and slid over one shoulder.

Just then there was a knock in her door indicating the arrival of him. They were basically living in the same house so there wasn't the classic he's picking up at eight with flower things. So instead they decided to go hand in hand together to his car and drive off. She went to the door and opened it with a huge smile plastered on her face.

Damon's eyes popped out of his socket at the sight of her. The dress she wore displaying all the delicious curves of her body, even though it was covering them perfectly. And the way her hair was draped to one side to expose the smooth skin of her neck. He couldn't stop the word coming out of his mouth, "Wow…"

Elena heard it and a blush made it's way to her cheeks. She was doing a victory dance inside at the thought that he liked it. "You don't look so bad yourself." She said in all honesty. He wore a branded black suit jacket, which was unbuttoned, over a white crisp shirt. He left the first two buttons open to give a glimpse of the hard muscle that lay underneath. He gave the sexy smirk before pulling her by the waist to give a soft loving kiss before intertwining their hands and make their way.

Damon suddenly stops the car in the middle of the woods. Elena is confused because it certainly didn't look like an appropriate place for a date. Damon sensed her disarray and clutched her hand. "Do you trust me?" he asked looking into her eyes. Elena nods and smiles lightly.

They walk up the middle of the forest and suddenly Damon stops. "Elena I want to you to listen carefully." He says and Elena frowns a bit before concentrating. Surely soon she could hear sounds of water as it thundered down the high cliff. It was the infamous Mystic Falls. The falls divided the town in two so there was bridge built at least a mile away. She was here before with her father when they used to go walking into the woods. Now she realized why Damon stopped in the middle of woods. There was no other way to the falls than walking through the secret pathway in the wood. And a lot of people didn't even know there was a way to it and also about the huge green field the woods surrounded which bloomed with wild flowers and bushes.

"The falls." she whispered and looked up to him. Damon gave her a charming smile before pulling her to his destination. He worked all day decorating the place and capturing the perfect scenery and setting. He wanted his work to pay off. When he heard the small gasp, he knew it did.

Elena was enraptured by what the man beside her did. There was a wooden platform built in a place that gave the view of both the falls on one side and the field on the other. Over the platform there was a small table for two, which was surrounded with white lanterns. What took the cake was the enormous tree shadowing the table. The reason why it looked so spectacular was because the tree was cover with white party lights and the white lanterns.

She was so taken aback that she didn't realize that Damon was taking her towards the table until he pulled the chair and motioned her to sit down. Damon went to the other side of and sat down opposite to her and stared at her as she memorized his work. "It's so beautiful." She said softly before meeting his eyes.

"I'm glad you like it." He said it calmly but the butterflies were already there and it was trying to jump out with joy.

"I used to love the falls. It held many memories."

That intrigued Damon. "Such as." He asked. Her eyes grew a little sad and he scolded himself, but then she continued.

"My dad and I used to come here when I was young. We ventured around the wood in the weekends. Mom would stay home and cook for us while me and dad spent time here until dinner. I was always daddy's little princess and wanted to go wherever he went. He used to say that after days of stress, the falls soothed him." She said and her brown orbs twinkled with the surrounding lights.

"Yeah I love the falls too." He decided to change the subject before it got sad.

"Yeah I've noticed that you are kind to attracted to falls and lakes." She stated but still looked at him questioningly to confirm it.

"You're right. I do love a good scenery of water bodies." He saw that her eyes were waiting for more explanation. "They're just so calm and peaceful… It reminds me of everything life should be. Just like all the creatures born in this universe, the water is also born with the help of ice cap melting and rain. Then they just flow without any tension, insecurities and stress and grow bigger and bigger until they turn into the mystery of ocean. On the other hand there are lakes. They are so still and peaceful even during storm and even when the sun absorbs it's water. They inspire me, give me the peace of my mind when life gets a little out of hand." He chuckled at himself.

Elena was mesmerized by his philosophy and was having thousands of butterflies flying around. This man and his thoughts about the world enchanted her. It turned her on. "That's some beautiful philosophy." She said and found his blue orbs.

"I think we should start eating." He said as he pulled out the perfectly foiled dinner out of a basket she didn't notice was lying beside him.

After finishing dinner she told him, "This setting is really beautiful. I'm not surprised though. I always knew you were creative."

"Oh really what else did you think of me?" he asked raising one eyebrow.

"A lot of things. Intellectual, Charismatic, Passionate, Seductive… Dominating…"

The way she drew out the last two words, he immediately got hard. He wanted nothing more than to drag her out of here, straight to his room. But he had one more thing to do when the reach home.

When they reached the house Elena expected him to kiss her then maybe take her to his bed if things escalated, which is quite common between them. But instead he leads her somewhere she never came in the Boarding house. The moment they came in front of a double door he turned around to face her.

"Did you really think I won't end the date with a bang?" he asked.

"No I'll never doubt that, but I thought that was supposed to be on your bedroom." She said mischievously even though she was curious to see what he was about to do.

"Don't tempt me." He growled as if he was having serious hard time. Pun included. Without further ado he pushed open the door. The first thing Elena spotted was a classic piano on the middle. Then she noticed bookshelves covering the whole room and a small sitting place.

Damon took her hand led her to the piano. Elena still had her smile present but was somewhat confused. Damon left her to lean against it as he went to sit on the tool.

The last thing Elena knew that he did not play music after the accident. But he was now going to play for her. That thought alone made her have goose bumps. But when he started to play the starting notes she was completely lost and when he opened his mouth…

(Verse 1)

Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday.

Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so sad to think that she doesn't see what I see
But every time she ask me do I look okay?
I say

(Chorus)

When I see your face,
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are

(Verse 2)

Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday

Oh, you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for, then just stay the same
So don't even bother asking if you look okay
You know I'll say

(Chorus)

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are

(Post-Chorus)

The way you are
The way you are
Girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are

(Chorus)

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are

And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are.
Yeah

When he played he closed his eyes and got lost in the music. But occasionally he opened his eyes to see her staring at him with so much passion. When he finally finished the song he met her watery eyes. They held so much love and adoration that he couldn't resist the three letters from coming. "I love you, Elena."

She gives him the most beautiful smile through her tears and cups his face before crashing her lips on his. He grabbed the back of her head with one and the other on her waist to support her while he kissed her with all the desperation he collected over the months.

Thank god I got this chapter out. It was hard to write, but it's definitely worth it. And yes the lemons would be on the next chapter, which I'll probably update on December. So you have to wait for like 3 weeks. *Yeah I know I'm evil*

The song Damon sang to her is 'Just The Way You Are' by Bruno Mars.

The tittle is after the same song.