The days fly by quickly, it's been already two weeks since she told him about the decision she made. She does see Damon regularly but he's been a gentleman, respecting her boundaries, keeping his distance. She should be happy about it, she is, but sometimes, sometimes she can't help but wonder, what he thinks about her now? Is he over her? Is the new pretty nurse, the one she's seen him laughing with, his new friend? That... would be for the best, right? Isn't that what she wanted?

"Hey, Lena?" Kai finds her in the back of the fire department building.

She looks up and attempts to give him a smile. Considering his chuckle, she's not fooling him or anyone else for that matter.

"Move." He sits next to her and ruffles her hair. "Are you done fighting the fate yet?" He realizes his mistake as soon as he sees the cloud darkening her face. She's never told him about the accident that cost her parents lives but he's sure that's exactly what's at the forefront of her mind right now.

"Elena, that wasn't fate, it was a horrible accident..."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she wants to get up but he doesn't let her.

"Look, you don't have to be the strong one all the time. There are others, lots of us really, who'd gladly stand side by side with you. You know you can talk to us. Just think about it, okay?"

"I know Kai. Thank you. But I kind of do, you know?... Well, I'm going to check on..." How is she supposed to end this sentence?

"Hey wait up, I almost forgot why I walked back here. There's a woman at the front door. She's waiting for you."

"Someone we know?"

"Not sure, probably a patient. I don't remember her though."

It's not unusual for people to stop by the fire station to thank them or just to say hi. Sometimes people bring them treats like cookies, good coffee. For the people that work there, it's rewarding and wonderful to know their patients made it through their worst moments and now have the chance to continue their lives.

"Thanks Kai!" she heads back inside the building.


Elena crosses the hall, looking for a lady that Kai mentioned. There are several people that she doesn't know. Two women...

And then her heart almost stops.

The woman isn't facing her but there's something strangely familiar... She can feel her pulse pounding in her temples, her nerves are jumping all together and in different directions. She takes a breath to try to calm down her pounding heart and carefully approaches the one with strawberry blonde hair.

What if it's not her...?

"Jenna..." She doesn't recognize her own voice.

Her aunt turns to her on the spot, her eyes widen, immediately filling with tears at the site of her niece.

"Elena...," she reaches for her and takes her niece in her arms. "I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you."

There's so much to be said but neither of them is in any shape to work through their painful family history at the moment. Still, a few things need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

"Please forgive me, Elena. I know I should have kept in touch and I should have done everything I could to try to help patch things up between you and Jeremy... But he was still so angry, I was just relieved when he started to function again and…," Jenna trails off uncertain if she should finish. "And he was alright as long as you didn't come up in conversation…"

Elena winces and her aunt immediately squeezes her hand comfortingly. "I never blamed you, Elena, I just thought... I hoped it'd be better if you got away from it all. You know that, right?"

Elena's unsure if she did know but instead of disputing it, she just nods and takes comfort in her aunt's soothing embrace. She stays for another hour and they promise to meet up again very soon. When she sees Jenna off, waiting for her to disappear around the corner, she can't believe this wasn't a dream, a very good one.

She will have to ask Kai to pinch her.


Tyler raises his hands forming a cross with his index fingers when Elena kicks the waste basket in obvious frustration. "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Don't remind me." Elena frowns. She woke up late and as a consequence had to forego stopping at Starbucks for her morning Caramel Macchiato with an extra shot of expresso. That counts as a bad start in her book.

"Don't bite my head off."

"Sorry, Tyler, I'll get over it. However, if you value your existence, you won't mess with me for a few more hours, unless... you wish to die a very painful death."

"Ah, someone's been studying Harry Potter. Again," Tyler chuckles and musses up her hair.

"Why does everyone do that?" Elena complains but it's clear her mood is already improving. Tyler would love to adopt her uncanny ability to make everyone around her feel better even when she's out of sorts and in a dour mood.

"Well, if you must know, it's because you're cute when you're mad," he grins at her. "Couldn't resist."

She sticks her tongue at him which makes him laugh even harder. "I'm going to pick up a fresh bottle of water, want one?"

"Sure. Thanks."

She goes back inside, her head full of contradictions. Lately it's been happening to her often. Ever since she saw Jenna again, for the first time in years, she feels like she's on a roller-coaster. When frustration builds, she thinks she might explode. She wants to vent, let it out, but she doesn't want to say words that might be construed as hurtful or mean. That certainly isn't her intent, it's just so easy to let something slip in a fit of anger and then the damage is done. So many times she's wanted to un-say things, take them back, especially to her parents. It's been years since she felt so disconcerted not knowing what to do with herself. And, to be honest, she suspects it has a little to do with her aunt.

She saw Damon yesterday when she escorted a soon to be mother, who suffered second and third degree burns along with an obviously fractured wrist to the hospital. She was crying silently, repeating her worries about the baby. Dr. St. John was called in to assess the fracture. Dr. Griffiths, the woman's OBGYN, reassured her the baby's going to be okay, thankfully the woman will too. Elena felt relieved however her train of thought was turned on its head when she caught a glimpse of Damon working on another patient... Why can't she just...?

"Elena!" Kai's running towards her. "Get your gear, we're leaving! Where's Ty?"

"What's going on? How many and Tyler's over there," she waves her hand in that direction.

"All of us," he shouts over his shoulder without slowing down. "It's big. The mall, some armed idiot has hostages. They're calling everyone in, not just our station," He disappears out of her sight and Elena starts running too, jumping into the driver's seat of the ambulance. Turning on the siren, the garage door lifts and she steps on the gas, pulling in behind one of the fire engines. Everyone's on the move.

She sighs while trying to keep up with the chaos.

This isn't going to be a good day, she can feel it.

Today she'll probably see Damon sooner rather than later.


The scene around the mall area is unbelievable, everywhere she looks people are standing behind barricades, their faces heavy with apprehension. Elena's breath hitches as she looks around, taking in all the people, police cars, ambulances... The air is so brittle it could snap, and if it doesn't, she might. No one speaks, what's there to say? The suspended horror that they all feel and want to end seems to be lasting an eternity as every eye is focused on the building in front of them.

"Wow," Kai comes to stand next to her, followed by Tyler and Sophie Deveraux, their new team mate.

Unease blossoms from within her when she turns her head to face him. "Yes, wow is quite right," Elena can't help but agree. "Let's find out if we make ourselves useful."

"Just stay at a the safe distance, we've already heard shooting but don't know how many victims there are, if any," Sheriff Forbes tells Elena, then rushes to coordinate the SWAT team.

"It's a robbery gone bad," Elena informs them when she joins the others by the ambulances. "One person managed to get out of the jewelry store, apparently he tried to make a run for it but the perp shot him. It was a teenage boy, witnesses heard his mother crying just before the guy pulled the body... inside and locked it up," she swallows thickly.

"Oh no, this is a nightmare," Sophie looks shaken, Elena can quite relate. "How many hostages are there?"

"No one knows. Best guess has it at ten and maybe even up to twenty, given the people reported missing."

"How did you manage to pry all this information out of the sheriff?" Kai can't believe Sheriff Forbes would tell her so much.

"I've known her all my life. She and my mom were good friends and so were her daughter and I," Elena gives him a small smile. "Caroline and I had sleepovers regularly."

Kai shakes his head about to say something but before another sound leaves his mouth, screams fill the already heavy atmosphere. Looking around, they notice that several people are running towards the building. Elena doesn't think just reacts, quickly moving as close to the main entrance as the police will allow. The cops are clustering around what might be another body. The sheriff kneels next to them, then, much to Elena's surprise, gets up with a child in her arms.

"I need medical assistance here!" she shouts and Elena doesn't hesitate, running to meet them. Liz hands her the small girl and escorts her back to the throng of ambulances that are all waiting to assist people.

"He just opened the door and threw her out, we weren't able to see anyone but him. We still have no idea how many people are in there. The SWAT team's getting into position so hopefully we'll know more soon."

The girl looks about eight, maybe nine years old is shaking but she looks unharmed. She's in shock. Elena lays her on the gurney, trying to give her some reassurance.

"It's okay, you're going to be fine. What's your name? I'm Elena and this is Kai, we're here to take care of you."

The girl keeps shaking but her facial features are softer as her panic begins to recede. Sheriff Forbes is still there while Elena and Kai look her over, take her vitals and get her a bottle of water.

"We're good, Liz, she's going to be alright, you don't have to stay..."

Liz gives her a pointed look and Elena reluctantly follows, leaving the girl in Kai's capable hands.

"Elena, I need to try to get some information from her, how many people are in there, if they're hurt, anything she may know about the attacker?"

"I'm not sure Liz," Elena shakes her head skeptically. "She's so scared... If she tells us anything, I'll come for you, alright?"

The Sheriff hesitates but nods and hurries back to the building.

"Elena, meet Gia," Kai welcomes her back, Gia definitely looks less scared, seems Kai's attractive personality impacts even the younger generation. She has to smile.

"Hi Gia, we just need to make sure everything's alright with you, okay?" The little girl nods her consent and lets Elena take her blood pressure again, asking if she hurts anywhere.

"We're going to take you to the hospital now, okay?"

"No," Gia protests, "I want to wait for my mom. She's still in there!" she points at the building.

"I know, sweetie, but we would like a doctor to look over you just to be on the safe side... How many... people are in there?" Elena asks hesitantly, earning a side look from Kai. He gets what she's doing though.

"Did you get a good look, could you count them, Gia? Was it more than ten?" he tries.

Gia's brows furrow and it takes her a while to count them in her head, then nods. "I think fourteen..."

"Does the fourteen include the man with the gun?"

Gia shakes her head no vigorously. "No, there were two of them, they are fifteen and sixteen."

"There are two of them?"

"Yes. I think they're brothers," the girl adds.

"Why would you think that?" Kai wonders.

"They were fighting like brothers," Gia decides.

Elena smiles at her, although the situation is pretty scary. "Is anyone else hurt, Gia?"

"Yes...," her voice trails off, clearly she's distressed by the memory. "The salesman and the woman."

"Okay, Gia, we need to tell to Sheriff Forbes, so she can help the people inside," Elena gives her a reassuring smile and Gia nods.

"I'll go. You two stay here." Both girls watch as Kai quickly runs down the path to find the sheriff.

"Can she help the boy too?"

"What you mean?" Elena turns to look at her.

"The boy, the one who tried to run away. Those bad men hurt him and now he's lying on the floor bleeding."

The body... Elena realizes. "Gia, I don't think... I think they'll do what they can," she finishes not to scare Gia even more.

"I hope they help him. I was scared. He was making sounds but he was laying in a puddle of blood. That's when one of them grabbed me and pushed me behind the door."

It's unbelievable what the girl's saying, shocking really. Elena's mind is reeling, unable to comprehend or process the images the girl's words are conjuring up.

The boy was still bleeding. He may be alive.


"I don't know what we can do about that right now, Elena," Liz tells her after the girl passes on the information about the bleeding boy. "Thank you Gia for telling us though. Having an idea of the number of people inside helps me to coordinate rescue efforts so we can help get them home safely," she addresses the little girl, who refuses to part from Elena, clutching her hand. She seems to be much calmer, Elena just hopes they'll be able to reunite her with her mother safely soon.

"We have to try to get the injured people out. If he's still alive, seconds matter..." Elena knows Liz is right, they can't just rush in and put everyone in danger but standing here, knowing peoples' lives depend on how quickly they can get them to hospital is killing her. It's called trauma's *Golden Hour for a reason...

"Our hostage negotiator should be here any minute, hopefully she'll have some success with them," Liz nods, uncomfortable herself knowing there are people in desperate need of help inside the building. "You two take care of Gia, she shouldn't be here."

Elena shares looks with Kai. "I rather stay here if you need my help, Kai can take her back," Elena's quicker. Kai opens his mouth to protest but thinks better of it, they won't convince the sheriff if they argue among themselves.

Liz hesitates, then nods and hurries off to try to meet the woman when she sees her pull up in a squad car. Kai gives Elena a pointed look but doesn't say anything. He quietly suggests they should go back to the amulance so Elena can help the police, Gia reluctantly lets go of her hand and grabs for Kai's. Elena watches them leave and feels relieved that the girl seems to be alright.

It takes another half hour before Liz is back, puts down the gun and asks Elena to follow.

"He agreed to talk if we come in unarmed, a paramedic is an option, hopefully he'll let us take care of the injured for now. By the way, the two men are really brothers. The one at the door is Carlos Guerrera. He has no idea we know about his brother Benito's presence," Liz's talking to her quietly, maybe just to calm her nerves.

Despite the dire situation Elena smiles internally at Gia's keen eye. She's following the sheriff and Vanessa Monroe, her medical kit over her shoulder, half way to the entrance, then the policeman covering that spot stops her and Liz continues to move with Vanessa. The pulse is pounding in her ears and Elena has a feeling she might faint, bursts of adrenaline are keeping her senses sharp. The man next to her squeezes her arm comfortingly and for one moment she meets his eyes. They're kind. He nods and Elena only now can see the door is open and Liz is looking at her to come closer. She takes a few deep breaths and slowly starts walking.

"Mr. Guerrera agreed you can look at the injured, give them the first aid. We can't trasport them though," she informs Elena loudly in a professional voice, so the man hidden behind the door can hear.

"Stop right there," the man tells her when she's almost at the door, reaches out his hand and takes the bag from her. He briefly rummages through it before letting it fall to the ground. Then he takes a step back so Elena can walk through. Right behind the door is the boy's body. Without further hesitation Elena just sinks on her knees to examine the damage.

Oh God, he's still breathing.

It's shallow but it's there, his pulse is weak and thready. He's lying on his side and she can easily find the two bullet wounds on his back, blood seeping through his white shirt. The sight is bizarre, the red stains painting flowers on the white, flowing down forming bloody stems before pooling on the carpet beneath him. She does the best to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, she senses someone's watching her, the eerie sensation makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Dread creeps over her like an icy chill, numbing her brain. In this frozen state her mind offers only one thought. She's aware she shouldn't look, it's a natural inclination to want to. The feeling of being watched but gives her shivers causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin. Against her will her eyes raise and she meets the gaze of the other guy, Benito. For the longest second she can't see anything else than his wild, hateful, death stare.

It happens so fast she doesn't hear the sound. A powerful wave hits her middle and her body recoils violently sending her flying backwards next to the boy's now prone body. For some reason she gets this fixed idea, and she reaches with her hand to push the door wide open.

The following gunfire gets through to her only as a distant rumble.


Damon's day is going just right. Not too busy but the shift goes by swiftly, he's not been tempted to push the clock above the main door forward. Lately, he doesn't enjoy downtime, it only undermines his resolve to give Elena as much time as she needs to... come back. Oh, he does see her rather often, but the 'hey doc's are just not enough for him anymore. Because he thinks of her all the time.

He's just leaving the cafeteria when he gets paged by the ED. Hopefully it will be something simple, easy to fix and in a few hours he'll be on his way to the Grill to spend some needed time with Ric and their friend from good ole Kentucky. He looks around as he enters the ER but nothing seems out of order.

"Hey," he addresses Bonnie. "You paged?"

"Yes, ambulances on the way, we need to prepare, it's big."

"Alright... any specifics? A fire?"

"No, shooting at the mall, it's all over the news, they're all running with it... So far we have four civilians en route , two critical, an officer, one of the perps. Oh, and a paramedic."

Trepidation spreads through every cell in his body at breakneck speed. It's pushing against him like an invisible gale, attempting to reverse his steps. His gut is locked up tight, nothing getting in or out. Dread sets his face like rigor mortis, his teeth locked tight together. He wants to ask Bonnie if she knows more about their injuries, particularly the paramedic, but his throat is constricted, for some incomprehensible reason he has this insane thought...

He fights the urge to run and empty his stomach for twenty more seconds when all hell breaks loose.

"They're here, come on, come on!"

Everyone around him moves but Damon's already running.


Accidents and emergencies keep coming through the automatic sliding glass doors. Ambulances are lined up outside with paramedics wheeling patients in on gurneys. A child is screaming in the corridor adding to the commotion of the moment.

Damon's furiously trying to find Elena among the paramedics. He doesn't see her anywhere. As his unease grows, his chest begins to tighten and knot. It's that way with his mouth too. When he opens his lips, no sound moves past it. It's the fear of the unknown, not knowing where she is. With a heavy heart he helps the nurse triage patients. One by one they're being brought in through the double doors. He looks at them deciding quickly which can wait and which ones need immediate care. About to follow one of them into a trauma room, he looks around one more time, desperately seeking some kind of reassurance that she's somewhere safe.

"Dr. Salvatore!" Kai's voice suddenly reaches him over the cacophony of noise everyone's making. "Here, please hurry!"

Damon quickly threads his way through the crowd and his heart stops when he's standing above Elena's anguished body. "Get her into trauma room five." He turns to Bonnie who's right behind him. "I need labs, type and screen 4 units of O neg, radiology and RT here stat." She nods and starts calling the different departments through her Vocera device.

As soon as Elena's in the room, the nurse cuts open her top so they can see what they're dealing with. Her blood isn't gushing in a constant flow, but in time with the beating of Elena's heart. At first it comes thick and strong, flowing through Damon's gloved fingers as he examines the ripped flesh. He feels it moving over his hands, as her skin pales rapidly, her pulses growing slower and weaker.

"She's going into shock," Cassie the nurse shouts as she hangs a bag saline, running it wide open through the IV's in both antecubital veins.

"Get that blood here stat," Damon barks, his eyes focused intently on her injury.

"Damon…" his name escapes her lips like a prayer and he squeezes his lips not to let out a groan that's forming in his throat. She's conscious, the pain must be unbearable.

"Shhhh," he gives her a pointed look while telling Bonnie to give her a dose of Atropine and prepare for intubation. He can see by the glazed look in her eyes that she's not in full possession of her faculties but he can tell she perceives his presence. Adrenaline floods his system like an intravenous drip... He's on alert for any subtle changes into her condition. Even though he's terrified, his professionalism is the predominant emotion, knowing he has to keep his wits about him if she's going to have any chance to survive.

"What did you give her en route?" Damon turns to Kai.

"We didn't give her anything for pain, her pressure's too low plus she kept fainting and then coming out of it for a few seconds before dropping off again. We gave her 1000cc saline bolus and got here as fast as we could."

Elena feels like in a dream, one that she can't escape. She hears voices, but they all blend into the background. She should probably feel pain and she does, it throbs in her gut, warm and deep but it's dulled as well as her ability to be aware of her body.

Damon's here… She knows that for sure.

She needs to tell him, this gnawing feeling in the back of her mind, the dark place weighing down on her like a heavy blanket, it feels like…

Death…

Dropping his eyes, he can see her struggling to form a word. "Elena don't try to talk, focus on my voice, focus on my face…"

Damon's urging penetrates the fog surrounding her. It surrounds her like a cocoon, her every day familiar sights lay mysterious, looming out at her in their whitened haze like images from some half forgotten dream. She must tell him now, while she still can. With her free arm, she grabs at his, "I…I...feel… death…," she manages to get out, although she's not sure he can hear her above the chatter.

He must have heard, because his response comes almost immediately. "Oh no, silly girl… Not on my watch."

She's staring at his face, so focused on saving her life while it's slowly leaving her body. She wishes she could see his eyes, not just the shadow of his long eyelashes.

Not a bad way to go. It's more than she deserves.

She wishes she would have told him yes, to sharing the breakfast. In these, her last moments, she would love to have that souvenir to comfort herself with. She can feel his hands on her skin but it's like a distant memory, just echoes of reality vibrating through her faltering body. She tries valiantly to capture the feeling and turn it into something tangible but there's no strength left in her to do so. Fatigue covers her senses like a thick, woolen blanket and her eyes start to close. In the final moment he looks straight into them and she wants to give him a smile.

It's okay... I'm ready.

Then the darkness swallows her whole.


"We need to get her to OR stat," Damon barks and everyone in the room prepares to transport her. Dan, the respiratory therapist, grabs an ambu bag to breathe for her, Bonnie sets the defibrillator at her side so they can monitor her heart during the ride. Cassie and Lexi take hold of the IV poles to push along. They just start to push her through the double doors to get her to a surgery suite when Stefan latches onto Damon's arm, pulling him aside.

"Damon, what are you doing?" It takes a moment for him to realize that the annoying tone really belongs to his brother. Not a good time. They have long history of conversations that Stefan has tried his patience but this time, Elena's case, he's completely out of line.

"I'm trying to save her life, what the hell do you think I'm doing?"

"You can't do surgery on her," Stefan attempts to persuade him with his calm, reasonable tone but it only annoys Damon that much more.

"Oh really? And who else is available to do it? You? You don't even work here. Shush...," he waves him off like a vexing fly and starts walking along with his team to get her into surgery before it's too late. The mere thought of it is like an ice-cold hand squeezing his heart, what if he's not good enough...

"You can't operate on her, you're too personally involved," Stefan once again steps in his way. Seeing the stormy, almost lethal expression on his brother's face makes him back up.

"I'm warning you, Stefan, I have no time for this. Elena and I are not in a relationship, romantic or otherwise. Unless you can point to someone more capable of doing the surgery right here and now, step aside or I'll plant my size thirteen shoe right up your ass and you won't walk for the next week. Now get out of my way."

Fortunately for Stefan, Bonnie approaches them right at the moment. "We're ready, doctor."

Damon doesn't look back while he hurries through the double doors to scrub in and try to save her life.


It's been a grueling five hours, with a heavy heart Damon leaves the post anesthesia care unit after insuring that she's stable for now. There's nothing else he can do to assure Elena's full recovery. He's done everything humanly possible to give her a fighting chance... Now it's up to her. If he could, he wouldn't leave her side until he knows she's safely on the road to recovery but he'll be back. He needs to change and get back to the ED. Once his shift ends, he'll go to the ICU to check on her. Hold on, Elena, they still have too much to experience, together.

Stefan's nowhere in sight, wise decision, although it looks a lot like cowardice. Shaking his head, the first thing he does is pour himself a hot cup of coffee. Just as he's about to take a swallow, he turns when he hears his name.

"Hey Damon," Lexi approaches him. He eyes her suspiciously. "When you're free, after you change," her eyes nod to the blood on his scrubs, her blood. "Can you run over to the surgical waiting room to talk to the family?"

"Whose family?" he's not sure who she's talking about.

"Your patient, Elena Gilbert."

Knowing her family dynamics, he's still uncertain as to whether she's correct but he nods anyway and goes to make himself presentable.


Fifteen minutes later he enters the waiting area and can't believe his eyes when it really is Elena's family, at least her brother and probably her aunt, visibly startled. A bit further behind, he can see Kai and a few other guys from her fire station, all wearing troubled faces. Damon can't help but think he should be informing them, her real family first.

So he does just that. They did bring her to the hospital, kept her alive long enough for him to get her into surgery.

He walks past the Gilberts, going directly to her co-workers and adresses Kai. "Hey."

Several anxious pairs of eyes meet his, Kai jumps to his feet. "Hey doc, how is she?"

"It'll be touch and go for the next few hours. The bullet tore through her belly lacerating her liver and spleen. She lost a lot of blood, we had to transfuse her with several units. There's always the possibility of infection so we'll monitor her labs closely. She's in PACU right now, from there she'll be transferred to an ICU bed. She's not out of the woods yet but she has a chance."

"Thank you," Kai looks relieved, Damon would love to share his confidence, frankly, he's terrified, anything can go wrong at this point. He didn't like the resignation in Elena's tone... He only hopes she has enough faith in herself to hold onto something and fight for it."

"Excuse me, doctor...," he didn't even notice Jeremy and the woman come up behind him. "Is she... is she going to be alright? I mean Elena Gilbert, I'm her aunt. And this is..." she turns to Jeremy. The woman is so shaken, Damon can tell it's genuine. Her brother looks rather upset as well.

"We've met," he nods. "I'm Doctor Salvatore, I can't really say for sure if she's going to survive. She just came through five hours of a very complex surgery. Right now, she's stable but whether she lives or dies, quite honestly, that's up to her."

He wants nothing more than just leave them standing there and hurry to check on her. She should be moved to intensive care soon. Stefan was partly right, he is involved, but at the same time, he's confident in his ability and that there was no one else who'd fight harder for Elena's life than he would and his judgement isn't clouded. He turns to leave but Jeremy stops him after a few steps.

"Can we see her, doctor?" his previous arrogance is nowhere in sight.

"Not now and I can't promise you when that could be... Once she's in the unit, they'll have to get her settled and assess her. The nurses up there call the shots."

"I know what you're thinking, that we have no right to be here and demand anything but I have to tell her... She has to know how sorry I am. Last week Jenna went to see her. Unbeknownst to my aunt, I was readying myself to do the same thing, seek her out but..."

So, Elena got a visit from her aunt... How much else has changed for her in previous weeks that he doesn't know about?

"Hopefully, you'll have that opportunity, Mr. Gilbert."

He really wants to feel for them, but it's fucking difficult to see anything other than the two people who abandoned Elena when she needed them most.

And sometimes, life just doesn't offer second chances.


The first thing she becomes aware of is a rhythmic trill that reminds her of water dripping. Slowly coming out of her drug induced slumber, her senses pick up little things, like the prongs in her nose and the way her breaths match the beeping of the machines that surround her. Without her consent her mind wanders and tries to remember what happened. She lays there quietly, keeping her eyes closed, the room's too bright to open them.

There's so much light, and the constant mechanical like whirring makes her want to slump back into the darkness. Has she been asleep?

There was a guy with a gun...

She almost gasps at the sudden flood of memories that rushes turbulently into her mind. It's the strangest sensation cause it's happening inside, she somehow knows her limbs are frozen, she can't move a muscle. Or... can she?

"Welcome back...," his warm deep voice delivers a jolt to her system.

Now she really wants to roll over and bury her face in the pillow. What if it's just a dream?

She hears him sigh and feels his weight lift from somewhere close to her. Was he sitting on her bed? Is she... in a hospital bed?

"You can open your eyes now," he informs her while she can hear footsteps and the sound of blinds closing. She opens her eyes a crack and it doesn't hurt anymore. Focusing on his figure standing next to the window she's trying to make some sense of all this. A vast blanket of white hangs heavy in her mind. She thought she was...

"H... how…how am I...here...?"

"You were brought in style by a team of honorable escorts. We worked very hard to halt your heroic journey before it was too late."

"You're...not funny," she whispers, it's easier to talk this way.

"Oh, I am funny. And you know that." His tone is teasing, but she can hear the seriousness in his voice. He was worried... Little by little she becomes aware of the biting pain that throbs in her abdomen which brings more unwelcome memories.

"I felt...," her face contorts as she can clearly recall the heavy and cold sensation.

"Death...? Yeah, you told me so... But it was... just a feeling."

He doesn't understand, she's felt death for a very long time.

She looks aside and for some reason her eyes are filling with tears. She doesn't want him to see them.

Damon can see her lips quivering. He knows she wants space to deal with all of this on her own. He gets up and almost leaves when a thought crosses his mind... Does Elena always know what's good for her? He almost lost her, he doesn't want to ever let her out of his sight. And he'll be damned if he won't help her carry the burden.

Very carefully, he gathers her in his arms and lets her bury her face in his white coat.

It's the best sensation he's felt since forever.


"You've got visitors," Damon lets her know later in the afternoon on day number one, she thinks about it as such, she got another chance at life after all.

Not for the first time.

"More visitors? Who is it this time?" Talking is a little less difficult, she just said goodbye to a cadre of her co-workers, Kai being first in line to barge in as soon as Damon reluctantly opened her door to public. She felt... better with them there. They reminded her she does have a life, one that matters. Tyler informed her that the guy who shot her in cold blood, Benito Guerrera had been shot himself by one of the SWAT team members when he refused to drop his gun.

A sense of relief flows through her... On the flip side of the coin, she also feels bad for wishing death on anyone, but his cold murderous gaze will probably haunt her for a very long time if not forever. Still, her mind rests easier knowing she won't ever have to see him again. In addition to that, she was happy to hear the news that Gia was reunited with her mother, who luckily didn't have any serious injuries.

One thing she needed to know first was if the boy, she doesn't even know his name, survived. Damon didn't reveal anything that hasn't already been reported on the news. He's in critical but stable condition although his prognosis isn't exactly optimistic. He's on life support in the ICU. The problem isn't so much the GSW itself although that caused plenty of damage, it's the fact that he lost so much blood that he fell into a coma.

To ease Elena's mind, Damon talked to the boy's mother. She was very understanding, giving him permission to talk to the young paramedic who tried to save her son. For her bravery, she was the recipient of a gunshot wound herself. The woman also told him to tell her that she would stop by to see Elena when she's up to seeing visitors. Perhaps it's her?

"Someone very eager to see you, I hope you're not too tired."

"No, I think I had enough of rest last for the foreseeable future...," she tries to joke but for Damon, it's still just gratitude that she's breathing.

She will never know how close she was to meeting her maker.

He nods and quickly leaves the room, afraid she'll recognize all the emotions that are mirrored on his face.

Elena presses her palm to her chest and takes a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. For whatever reason, she can't shake the feeling that something weird is going to happen, or maybe it's just her imagination playing tricks with her, an overreaction to Damon's unusual mood.

When the door opens, she turns her head and... starts to shake uncontrollably. Standing in the doorway are her aunt and her brother.

Jeremy...

To everyone's surprise Jeremy Gilbert gives a sob and flings himself next to Elena's bed. With red eyes and a quivering chin, he clutches her hand and looks into her brown ones. He won't hide his shame from her. "I'm sorry," he croaks.

Elena wishes she could hug him and disappear in his comforting embrace, however her incision makes her grimace when she tries. Instead she settles for squeezing his hand back and tilting her head until he does the same and their foreheads touch.

No more words are needed.


Time flies, Damon goes to work everyday and even stops to spend time with her on his day off. A few times he's helped her into a wheelchair to take her outside and into the hospital gardens. They make small talk, laugh, he's even put a smile on her face but the opportunity to talk about things more significant just doesn't materialize. Before he knows it, Elena's released from the hospital. He's glad, of course, he couldn't be happier that she met and exceeded all expectations. Still he can't deny the melancholy he feels, it was nice being able to see her before starting his shift and the last thing before he'd go home after a brutal shift in the ED. He thinks they're growing closer, he senses that she feels it too but nothing was said or promised and suddenly he isn't sure if he didn't imagine it.

"Who are you thinking about? Elena perhaps?" his mom asks without interrupting her task, cutting the vegetables. Damon gets up and takes over, nodding for her to check the oven. He's taking his time to answer her question.

"Yeah, just... going through hospital stuff in my head. I had a difficult surgery yesterday."

She smiles knowingly, he isn't fooling her. "Have you seen her? Since she left I mean?"

"Nope, I... she needs time. I suppose she's getting reacquainted with her family? The guys she works with are most likely hovering, it's probably pretty overwhelming for her, being the hero and all..."

"Maybe you could give her a ca ll?" she suggests, her eyes raising to meet his.

"I could. I will... Soon," he decides. The truth is he's talked himself out of calling her several times already. He doesn't want to scare her off. And he kind of hoped she'd give him a ring. Mostly though, he wishes that she'd let him be there for her...

"What are you two talking about?" Stefan uncharacteristically shows interest where normally he would just wrinkle his nose and walk away. Damon's interest is piqued, he's quite sure he wants to find out what's going on with his brother and Elena. Not that there's anything to report on that front.

"Just... work stuff," he's not going to make it easy for Stef or let him off the hook anytime soon. He still hasn't quite forgiven him for getting in his way when Elena's life was literally hanging in the balance.

Stefan shakes his head, sensing his brother's anger and wisely decides to back off. His mother gives him a look.

"What? He pissed me off, questioning my integrity and professionalism."

She rolls her eyes but lets it go. "Alright Damon, take the plates and we can eat."

Damon follows her with a crooked smile on his lips but inside, he's worried that he may lose her all over again.


She says 'bye' to the boys at the station. While it's embarrassing to have them hover, call her a hero, make jokes about her, having them cheer over her cautious movements, guarding her abdomen, it also feels so good. Their concern is genuine and the pure joy they feel that she 'made it out of that shit storm alive," Kol's words, are heartfelt.

Kai brought her to the station to give everyone the opportunity to see she's alive, safe and on the mend. They all take their turns to have a few words with her, to lift her spirit and Elena lifting theirs. Now she's going to walk home to breathe in some fresh air, enjoy the freedom and a new found life, one worth living.

Since she was discharged from the hospital, she's been quite busy despite the fact that she's supposed to be convalescing and taking it easy. Not a day has passed that one of her work family hasn't stopped by to check on her, bring her a meal, a batch of cookies or just some good cheer. She's spent time with her family, both Jenna and Jeremy, her brother introduced her to Anna, his soon to be wife and their little daughter, Jess. She's the cutest girl Elena has ever seen. She reminds her of little Jeremy, big brown eyes and the dark shock of hair, incredibly funny and curious.

She still can't believe she isn't dreaming and that Jeremy truly let her into their lives.

Her eyes start to burn, perhaps a speck of dust blown in by the light breeze..., The tears never fall. She thinks she used them all in the months following her parents' death or she just lost the ability to shed them. She quickens her pace to shake off the gloom slowly creeping inside of her and soon she's entering her place, locking herself away from the world outside.

It feels weird, being back home. She never spends much time here, sometimes she just goes straight to bed and leaves early in the morning. She's never put down roots in this place, yet... she feels protective of her sanctuary, having gotten used to the solitude it offers. After years of living with her relatives, having someone to look out for her all the time, it felt good to re-learn to manage life on her own terms, with her memories and thoughts. And it was a relief to drop the fear of breaking down when no one's nearby.

She never brings anyone home. She doesn't want them reading too much into her from the way it looks, like she did when she spent the night at Damon's... It's a natural inclination to make assumptions based on appearances. It's her sanctuary, she needs to keep it free of the shadows that might haunt her. What if she missed them after they'd been there and could never return? What if that person left an imprint on her couch or carpet, moved her vase checking if her flowers were real or fake, touched her things and she kept seeing them there for years to come?

What is it that doesn't allow her to be happy, to let go of her worries and guilts? Why can't she embrace this new found sense of rightness? She should be ecstatic, content with the prospect of belonging somewhere... But how will she do it?

There is just one person that made her feel these things...

She thought not taking him home was going to keep him in a safe distance.

She was wrong.


Unable to sleep, she stares at the ceiling. There's something long forgotten that keeps nudging at the corners of her mind, preventing her from getting a good night's rest. It's dark and heavy, it faintly smells like wet leaves and withered flowers. It comes from the deepest, darkest place, the one where she buried all her regrets and sorrows. She doesn't try to run from it, this time she carefully tests its edges, then closes her eyes and lets it all flood to the surface.

Guilt...

Anger...

Frustration...

Fear...

Rejection...

Abandonment...

Pain...

The emotions attached to them are overwhelming and for a second she just wants to reach for a switch to turn it all off. But the next moment they're followed by...

Grief...

Forgiveness...

Gratitude...

And...

Love.

They are all there, not one has disappeared. The big wet drops tracing her cheeks are real. It's like opening the flood-gates.

And then she cries... For her parents in a way she never has before. She cries for the years lost with both her brother and her aunt. She cries for the dreams buried, her own life cheated. She cries for all the lost opportunities and for never letting anyone in.

She cried so much that Damon's still able to tell by the look in her eyes when she shows up at the hospital a couple of days later. But he won't ask, the shy smile and light in her eyes tell him whatever it was she's already dealt with it in her own way. She may tell him when she's ready.

It feels like a deja vu to see her here, in civilian clothes, waiting for his appearance after the nurse paged him to the visitors area, just like all the months ago.

"I have a proposition," she mirrors his words from the past when he slowly approaches her.

He's looking at her with a strange expression, she can't decipher what he's thinking. There is no verbal response or even a nod, however she continues as she seems to have his full attention. "I.. I'll pick you up when you're free and make you dinner… at my place? If you want to?" she adds somewhat uncertain.

For a moment, his eyes focus on someone or something over her shoulder. Once again he feels like he's in a dream, but this one, he believes is real. He doesn't want her to worry, so he quickly returns his attention to her, taking in the beauty and depth of his own feelings he only now became aware of.

"I'd like that…"

"Okay...," she seems happy, the corners of her mouth lifting as if she's surprised by his answer.

He can't get enough of looking at her, he's pretty sure he could spend the rest of his life doing just that.

She disappears through the double doors but despite the unreality of the dreamy situation he's not afraid that she won't be there later, waiting for him.


Damon is tired but adrenaline is pumping through his veins, making his heart pound in anticipation as he walks through the double doors when he finishes for the day. It's a little later than he had hoped but doctors rarely have a set schedule. He was counting the last hour when a kid was brought in after being hit by a car. The girl's in the pediatric intensive care unit but he's optimistic. Dr. Wes Maxfield is a gifted pediatric intensivist so he knows the girl will receive the best care. As soon as he's outside, he looks around, his heart plummets when he doesn't see her. Sitting down on the concrete bench, he's about to drop his head when he hears the sweetest voice.

"Rough shift?" Elena surmises judging by his slumped shoulders.

"No, just had a last minute surgery that couldn't wait. I'm glad you're here."

"I hate to impose but would you mind driving? I don't have a car," she confesses, looking unsure.

Of course, he doesn't mind, he'd drive her to the ends of the earth if she'll let him. Still he finds it a little odd. "How did you get here?" he asks stupidly.

"Well, doc, there is this thing called public transportation. Perhaps you've heard of it...?" she teases and Damon's heart leaps with joy. Her playful rejoinder reminds him how much he missed the easy banter between them. "Actually Kai dropped me off a while ago. I bided my time waiting for you across the street...," she nods to their café.

Damon swallows thickly at the significance of her choosing their spot. Smiling and not wanting this magic to end, he extends his hand just under her elbow, lightly leading her forward. "The car's this way." His touch gives her shivers. She knows that feeling so well.

When he parks his car in front of her house, it all feels a bit surreal. Is this really happening? Does he need to pinch himself? Is he really going to spend the evening in Elena's place? Not wanting reality to burst this beautiful bubble, he watches intently as she pulls her key out and gracefully crosses the threshold. He takes a breath and follows.

Damon's a little surprised to find that she lives in a tiny home. It looks to be about 500 square feet, still it fits her personality. Stepping inside, he looks around, to the right is a staircase leading to a loft bed. To the left is the kitchen, living room and bathroom one right after the next. As cute as the little place is, he frowns slightly when he notices the stark white walls. The windows have blinds enhanced by simple black polka dotted valances.

"It's not much but it's mine," she interrupts his musings. He nods and walks over to her bookshelf, looking at the medical books, a few novels and not much else. On the top there's a picture of her parents. He remembers Dr. Gilbert from when he was a little boy. One memory is still vivid in his mind, running away when his mother was supposed to take him for his vaccinations before he started kindergarten. There's one more of a young Elena and Jeremy and one he recognizes as Jenna.

Damon nods his thanks when she hands him a glass of ice tea. Taking a swallow, it dawns on him why the place feels unsettled, impersonal. Aside from the couple of family photos, there's a cactus plant but nothing he sees screams home. It's just a place for her to rest her head when she's not at the fire station. Elena notices his inspection but doesn't interrupt.

She can see that he's putting it together in his head. Just as she did at his place, he stands up to take a look out the window, her breath hitches when he touches the cactus, yanking his hand back when he pokes himself.

It's real, she needed at least some real in her life.

Damon realizes that they've been pretty silent since they entered her place. Feeling her stare, he raises his eyes to meet hers.

"I... make yourself at home while I finish dinner." Why is she so nervous? It's Damon... and she wants this. Without waiting for a reply, she quickly turns her attention back to the stove.

Wanting to be near her, he takes the couple steps into the kitchen. Behind is the refrigerator, washer slash dryer combo and what he suspects is a tiny pantry. He remembers thinking about what her place looked like and now... the familiarity of it is disturbing.

Her back's facing him, he hesitates for a second then closes the short distance between them and lays his hands on her shoulders. She freezes for a moment before slowly turning in his arms to look into his blue eyes. He feels he should say something, anything but the words get stuck in his throat at the sight.

She's so beautiful.

There's something different about her but he can't quite put his finger on it. Returning his searching gaze calmly, she gives him a small shy smile but is in no hurry to turn away from his scrutiny. Her heart is pounding as nervous energy pulsates through her but she's not scared or undecided.

She's ready to stop running.

"Aren't you hungry?" she tilts her head to the side. "I know you've never experienced my culinary skills but I promise you won't end up with ptomaine poisoning."

He laughs, just a little and gently kisses her forehead. "I missed you...," he admits.

She sighs contentedly and for a second lays her head on his shoulder. "I missed you too, Damon."

Nuzzling his face again her hair, he holds her for another moment to breathe her in before releasing her. She holds her ground, she doesn't want to move away from him.

"We need to talk... I know that. Let's have dinner first?"

"Of course."

He'd do cartwheels right now if there was enough room in this tiny little place. Anything to make her feel more at ease. Despite the specter of their inevitable and much needed conversation, they do enjoy dinner. Elena is indeed a good cook. She made poached salmon, bacon braised fresh string beans and a fresh tossed salad. She handed him the corkscrew and a bottle of Pinot Noir to accompany it. It's lighter red wine that's quite tasty.

In no hurry they push the dishes aside, then Elena tugs at his hand, leading him to the couch. No longer wanting to run away, she playfully pushes against his chest and he plops onto the fluffy pillows. Damon seems enchanted with this new version of his Elena and she feels encouraged enough to settle on his lap, her legs wrapping around his middle.

Damon takes her in, her lovely features, the newfound warmth that radiates from her, the resolve not to let her doubts and worries get in the way anymore. He feels so honored to be the one she decided to share herself with. Because he can sense what's building between them. Damn him if he's not going to help her in any way he can.

He gingerly brushes her face with the back of his hand. "What is it...? Whatever you need to say, I'm here to listen. And I promise we'll figure it out.. But we don't have to do this right now.. One thing at a time."

He's instantly rewarded with a small smile and the radiant gleam in her eyes tells him she has no more uncertainties. "I know, Damon... But I feel that certain things need to be said first. I know I didn't give you any reason, much less encouragement for you to hold on and stand by me in these past few months, but you did. I need you to know that I don't take that lightly. But first I want to thank you for saving my life."

Damon opens his mouth but the protest dies when she presses two fingers against his lips. "I know it's your job and that you always give a hundred and ten percent to your patients but... Kai told me how bad it really was and... just thank you."

Damn it Kai... of course he'd tell her that she was within a few millimeters of death. If the bullet had hit her abdominal aorta, she'd have bled out quickly and there's nothing he or anyone else could have done.

Damon would have preferred to keep that bit of information in his nightmares... Or better yet... vanished completely.

He squeezes her hands, then brings her a little closer, circling his strong arms around her. "Okay... And I thank you for coming back to me," he says simply, murmuring the words against the soft skin of her shoulder, not trusting himself to look at her.

"Since that day... I mean the one I told you that we couldn't be together, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about it, about you. About us. And somehow I knew that I'd never be the same if I didn't figure things out before you gave up on me. Then Jenna showed up and I was so happy. Maybe that was the spark I needed because I was so happy and the more I thought about it, the more I came to believe there might be hope for me to eventually get my life into some kind of order...Even with that recognition, I still wasn't as happy as I should have been if you know what I mean. Something was missing. You were missing and my first thought was, maybe that I won't be so damaged and if I work on it, maybe there would be a chance for us one day..."

Damon's heart constricts painfully. He would love her damaged, perfect, or somewhere in between but she's wrong, she was never damaged goods. She's so much stronger than she realizes. After so much tragedy at such a young age, she found the courage to pull herself out of the depths and start to build a life for herself. She did all of that without believing she would ever be part of a family again. And a very long time before she met him. She just didn't realize how brave and determined she was. He wants to tell her, to comfort her, help her get it off her chest but he knows she needs to stumble through the hard part on her own. His thumb's stroking her palm and he lifts it to his lips to kiss the base of hers. Her eyes light up for a second before she becomes serious again and continues.

"On that day... I was dying, all the way to the hospital, the pain wouldn't let me slip into a blissful repose. Honestly I thought that was where my story was going to end... I didn't think I had a chance... I was just trying to hold on, stay conscious until I got to the hospital... I didn't even know if you'd be there, I just...," she looks at him helplessly willing for him to understand.

He swallows thickly, tightening his hold on her. "Elena, I..."

"By some miracle, I was given another chance, you were my miracle... You gave me that and I realized that I didn't want to lose even one more day, I want to embrace life. I don't want to do it alone anymore, I want to be with you... I mean, I'm all in... if you still want me?"

Dumbfounded, he stares at her for several moments. "Could you just...," he takes a deep breath to rein in his own emotions, he doesn't want to feel like an awkward teenager, "repeat the part...?"

"Which one?" she asks, palming his cheek.

"You know."

Despite the seriousness of the moment, the corners of her mouth lift. She knows exactly what he wants to hear.

God he loves this woman.

"I am, Damon. I'm sorry if I didn't..."

Whatever she was going to say is interrupted by Damon's mouth on hers. She closers her eyes and breathes him in, all the while trying to keep up with the pace he sets. It's been way too long since she drank from his passion, felt his muscles ripple under fingers, tasted the uniquely Damon flavor as her mouth moves with his. She almost starts crying when she realizes how careful he's still being with her, how considerate he is of her condition. While his embrace is tight and solid, it's still gentle and caring.

"I love you so much...," she breathes out and it's his turn to almost lose it.

"And you have no idea how much I love you," he manages to get out.

The confession is not smooth or graceful but it couldn't be more genuine. He rests his forehead against hers as he tries to regain some semblance of control. He would like nothing more than to make love to her all night but it'll have to wait till she's in no danger of getting hurt. Her body isn't healed enough for the kind of workout he wants to give her.

"I should go...," he whispers although it's the last thing he wants to do.

"Do you have to?" she looks at him inquiringly.

"I don't want to," he admits. "But..."

"Then don't. I meant every word, Damon. I... I want you here. I know I can't offer you much at the moment, but..."

"Don't you even dare to say things like that." He shifts a little till he's on his back and carefully takes her with him. "You're offering me the world..."


"We have an MVA, multiple injuries including a traumatic arm amputation. They have the limb on ice, they're bringing it along. ETA five minutes," Bonnie informs Damon.

"Get Dr. Emily Bennett, she's the best vascular surgeon around. We'll need ortho too, page Dr. St. John." Damon hurries to the ambulance bay just they're pulling in. For a moment, he allows himself to give a thought to his lovely girl, is she going to be the one transporting the patient and... there she is. The back doors fly open and Elena jumps out, holding two IV bags as they hurry the first victim to the trauma room. Kai follows behind with the iced limb.

Damon barks out orders while using the laryngoscope to intubate the man. Elena informs him what they know about the patient's injuries while he finishes up, letting RT take over to hook the patient to a ventilator. Next he takes the central line kit that Lexi hands him and inserts a central venous catheter into his right internal jugular. Bonnie hangs two units of o neg blood with the rapid infuser. As soon as Dr. Bennett shows up, they work as a team to move the patient to the surgery department.

"I'll see you at home Mrs. Salvatore," Damon adds, winking at Elena over his shoulder as he hurries after his patient.

Elena smiles and walks alongside Kai back to their ambulance. "What are you thinking?" he asks, noticing the amused look on her face.

"I'm happy, Kai, deliriously so."


Several hours of surgery later, Damon can finally hop into the shower and change into his street clothes. He then hurries to the second floor day care. It's his favorite part of the day. Those three days a week when Elena's at work, he gets to be a full time daddy and have their 20 month old son to himself. The best situation of course is when he doesn't have to work but when they're both scheduled, he drops him off at the hospital day care. That way he can pop in to see him whenever he has a free moment.

He's such a happy child, always smiling, brimming with energy and mischief and his daddy is madly in love with him.

"He must have known you were on the way, Doctor Salvatore, he already put his toys away and started readying himself to leave," Ruby, the daycare worker greets him with a smile. Damon's watching his son toddle to him, half dressed and with his teddy bear under his arm. He's never without his Teddy.

Ten minutes later, he's securing the boy in his car seat, trying to pry his curious little fingers off of the belt and buckles.

"Thomas Grayson Salvatore! I know you're getting to be a big boy but I need make sure you're secured safely, okay? If you're not in your seat, the policeman could stop the car and put me in jail."

The little fella looks up at his daddy, his face very serious. "Me do!"

"Sure you will," Damon mutters. "I'll do it and you can check to see if daddy did it right, okay?"

Tom, as they usually call him, lets go and watches what daddy's doing intently. Damon's sure the next time he will lock the buckles all by himself.

Once he makes sure Tom is secure, he pushes the car door shut and slips behind the wheel. "Now, what are we going to do, Tommy boy? We can go home and have some soup, then you can have a nap or we can stop..."

"I want mommy. We go?"

Damon eyes him in the rear view mirror. "Mommy's still at work. She'll be home later." His big brown eyes and the pronounced pout are his undoing. Elena does the exact same thing. And it always works.

"We'll see mommy after while, trust me, little man, I want to see her too. So, we can stop at grandma's if you want? She'll certainly have something to satisfy your sweet tooth."

Tom kicks his little legs and the pout miraculously disappears. Damon takes that as a yes, that he's on board with daddy's plan. Arriving at the boarding house twenty minutes later, he looks in the mirror again to see his boy's already working on his seatbelt. Luckily it's still quite a puzzle for him which is a relief for both his parents.

"Okay little monkey, we're here," he puts him on the ground and before he has time to shut the car door, Tom is already running into his grandma's arms.

"I'm so glad you stopped by!" she picks her grandson up and embraces Damon for a moment. "Just in time to have a taste of apple pie. I tried a new recipe."

"We know the right time to come, isn't that so Tom?" he happily follows his mother into the house.

Since Elena came into his life, his relationship with his family has changed for the better. His mother very much enjoys being a grandma, Stefan hates the fact that Damon has beaten him at fatherhood and his dad... well...

"Ah, it's you," Giuseppe looks at him puzzled, he still can't quite grasp the fact that Damon doesn't give a shit about his opinions about him or his career. And now...

"Look Tommy, grandpa is here too..."

His son is very cooperative, jumping out of grandma's arms and running straight to Giuseppe. After throwing his little arms around the older man's neck, he plants a wet kiss on his cheek. Damon can hardly hide his amusement at his dad's obvious unease. Tommy on the other hand happily makes himself comfortable on his papa's lap and takes a big bite of his pie. Giuseppe raises an eyebrow but when he sees his wife's stare, he chuckles.

"A glass of milk, Tommy?" Lily asks.

"Of course, he needs to be a big strong guy, right, Tommy?" Giuseppe, to Damon's surprise, shakes off the mixed feelings and plays his role. What Elena didn't do for his family, their boy certainly did.

Unbelievable how everything worked out, Damon thinks a couple hours later when they're about to leave. Tommy's waving his hand wildly , screaming goodbye to his grandparents, while Damon's fighting the urge to cover his ears. He quickly backs out of the driveway and when the boarding house is out of sight, Tom finally calms down.

Where to next?

Elena won't be home for a few hours yet and Damon can just imagine their grumpy baby boy when his mama isn't there when they arrive. On impulse, he turns on the street that leads to the Gilbert house.

"Uncle 'Jermy!" Tommy squeals when he recognizes the house. Damon smiles and parks the car again.

"Hey pal," he greets his brother in law when Jeremy comes out of the house. They have become buddies over the last couple years. Damon appreciates the fact that Jeremy has never stopped trying to make up for his long absence in his sister's life since their reconciliation. Curiously enough, it helped him to patch things up with his own brother. Seeing the Gilbert siblings example, he and Stefan made an effort to be nicer to each other. Both being doctors, they still have their moments of disagreement but they try not to stay angry at each other for too long.

"Hey," Jeremy greets both the Salvatore boys with a wide smile. Seeing Tommy now hanging on Jer's arm, Damon thinks his son looks like a mini Gilbert, resembling both his mom and his uncle. He doesn't mind at all.

"We're on our way home, just thought we'd drop by to give you a dose of baby boy vibes," he grins. Jeremy and his wife already have two girls and Damon cannot resist teasing him.

"Don't boast too much," Jeremy laughs, "we're already working on it."

"You can put that in the not what I need to know file," Damon quirks an eyebrow at him.

They stay for an hour, the adults enjoying a lite beer, the little ones getting Kool Aide that Anna's girls love. When it's time to go, Damon reminds them of the family picnic they're planning for the next weekend. Tommy's yawning when Damon fastens him in his car seat. Hopefully they'll make it home before he falls asleep. Elena won't be happy is he messed up his sleep schedule.

Soon enough their house comes into view and Damon pulls into the driveway. They decided to buy one just a few months after they started dating. Rather than sell Elena's tiny home, they bought a small parcel of land near Dunham Lake. It was easy to have it moved and now they use it as a weekend cabin. His apartment was also too small for the two of them. When the news came that soon there'd be three in the family, they intensified their search and were lucky enough to find their own little piece of heaven.

It's a three story Victorian home sitting on a large corner lot. The house was built in 1890 and as Jenna described it, it's much like a dollhouse with trim and tilted roofs. It has ground and second floor decks, tall narrow windows, steeply pitched gables and decorative cornices. The upper floor has a tower with a conical roof and an elaborate dormer. It was love at first sight.

Because it needed work, they got it for a good price. Together with their friends and family's help, they made it into their home. Christmas was especially magical because they decorated the pine trees in the front yard as well as the house itself. It looked like it would be perfectly at home in a Norman Rockwell painting.

The big stone fireplace was one of the selling points. On the richly carved mantel stands an exquisite plate-glass clock. Keeping it company to right and left, are two dainty figures of a bride and groom in bone china. The remaining mantel space is filled with tiny figures in bisque, an elephant family, a zebra one, a cat and kittens a heart-shaped porcelain box, the top covered with forget-me-nots with holds a lock of Tommy's hair, a silver drinking-cup with his name engraved and an oval portrait of him, framed in richly chased gold, the inner rim set with seed pearls.

They found the exquisite frame at an antique shop in Charleston when Damon attended an emergency physicians conference. They love curling up on their comfortable old couch with a wood-fire blazing cheerily in the ample fireplace, spreading warmth and flashing red-orange reflections in the room. Thick logs crackle and pop as the bright flame slowly eats them away. Its glowing embers leap and twirl in a fiery dance, twinkling like stars in the hot swirling air before cascading down like gleeful firery fiends.

Damon has his man cave while Elena has a room for her scrapbooking. It's a hobby she picked up after Tommy was born so he can have a keepsake when he's quite grown up. Sometimes Jenna and Anna come over to help as they also made one for each of Jeremy's daughters. Kai, Kol and some of her other friends from the fire station are frequent guests in their home too.

When Damon pulls into the garage next to Elena's car, he looks over his shoulder at Tommy and sighs, he did indeed fall asleep. He gets out carefully, unbuckles the safety straps and carries him inside.

"Where did you two go? I was more than a bit surprised to beat you home..." Elena greets him with a smile that immediately vanishes when her eyes land on Tommy. Quirking an eyebrow, she lowers her voice. "Seems you guys had a busy afternoon."

Damon grins, he's simply delighted to see her. She isn't angry, he can tell by the playfulness in her eyes. Whispering he tells her about their day while carrying the sleeping boy to his room. Elena takes it from there and carefully changes his pull up, puts on his pajamas and tucks him under the covers. He's so beautiful, angelic even, she fights the urge to snuggle with him for a few minutes but doesn't want to wake him.

By the time she reaches their bedroom, Damon's already in the shower. She's tired this evening but not so much that she won't wait for him. After slipping into her nightgown, she stretches out on their king-sized sleigh bed and looks around. The room has two big windows with seats, a captain's window above and between them. She loves making herself comfortable with pillows and Tommy on her lap while she reads to him. In more solitary moments, she simply loves staring outside on rainy and snowy days.

The room has a floral wallpaper pattern and a carpet that closely matches the colors. They had a carpenter friend enlarge the bathroom as Damon wanted a whirlpool tub that was big enough for the two of them. Tommy's pictures are on the dresser as well as her parents. Just as her mind starts to drift, she hears him.

"You have no idea how much we missed you," Damon's warm deep voice disturbs her musings.

"And I missed you," she turns to him, inviting him to join her with a come hither motion of her index finger.

Damon doesn't hesitate and dives under the covers, quickly taking her into his arms. "Well our boy's sleeping, we should make sure we're not going to be missed for awhile...?" he murmurs seductively in her ear. He's rewarded with a radiant smile and next he feels her lips on his. First it's light touches and their hot mixed breaths, then the kisses get deeper and their breathing becomes more difficult.

"We should slow down..."

"Why?" Damon wonders, burying his mouth against her throat. Coming up for air, he quips huskily, "We have all night for a round and then another and another..."

"We should make sure he's sound asleep."

"Elena, we can never be sure if he'll stay asleep. He wakes up at the most impossible moments whether we've checked on him or not."

"True," she silently chuckles and catches his lips in another steamy kiss. As soon as his hand slips under her gown and settles on her breast...

"Mommy? Mommy?" Tommy's sleepy voice gets closer and they barely manage to put some space between their bodies when he storms into the room.

"Sweetie..." she reaches for him and pulls him onto the bed. His eyes are already drifting closed and his parents' eyes meet over his tiny form.

They grin.

What's one more night with their bundle of energy blocking their extracurricular activities? But they don't mind. They'll find time later.

For now, they snuggle together in bed, all three of them, and dream of how to make more days as special as this one.

The end.


*In emergency medicine, the golden hour refers to a time period lasting for one hour, or less, following traumatic injury being sustained by a casualty or medical emergency, during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical treatment will prevent death.


Massive thanks to all of you. You're the motivation that keeps us excited to write more.

Lots of love and thanks to you, Eva. You're always willing to take the leap and help write these stories with me.

The Guerrera brothers courtesy of "The Originals".

Chapter title: 'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi.

And Charlotte, we hope you enjoyed your birthday present.

Have a fantastic day and thank you again so very much. We'll see you next time for WTTJ 29.