Hugs and kisses to Lauren, the most amazing beta any author could ask for. I'm so grateful for each an everyone of you, every review, every reader, I love you all so much. I have to apologize for the time between updates, school got in the way - my teacher has twitter, I'll gladly direct you to him - Now, please enjoy the new chapter and I hope you leave your thoughts in a review.

Someone like you

Chapter 14

'Beat me till I'm numb'

"That looks comfortable."

Her eyes snapped up and locked with the older gray ones. She put her finger to her lips and silently shook her head as she averted her gaze back to the two sleeping figures beside her. With a small smile on her lips, she watched Liam's little body go up and down on his father's chest, his childish face resting in the crook of Damon's neck. Somewhere in the middle of the night he had pulled himself up so his father's chin was now resting on his crown, his arm draped lazily over the boy's small back.

"Can you give me my phone?" She whispered quietly, pointing at her purse. "It's in the small pocket on the right."

"Who are you going to call?"

"I'm not going to call anyone, Daddy." She rolled her eyes as Grayson shook his head at her. "These days you can take pictures with your phone."

She chuckled and looked back at Liam's face as her father went searching for the phone. Her son's arms were wrapped around Damon's chest, his face more peaceful and careless than she had ever seen it. Never before had she realized how much her little boy had craved the safe comfort a father could give him, never had she realized that keeping them apart would make a hole in her son's life.

"You're still as much in love with him as you were five years ago." Grayson handed her the phone and shook his head in amusement when he found her staring at Damon. "Aren't you?"

"Everything feels right when he's here." She ran her fingers through Damon's black hair. "It feels like I can finally breathe again."

"File for divorce, Elena." Grayson shook his head at her, his gray eyes filled with wisdom. "We both know that this can't go on."

"I can't go back to him." Her eyes switched between her father's and Damon's face. "I'm pretending that Chicago never happened but it did and I can't forgive him for it."

"I already told you, sweetie," Grayson smiled slightly as Liam grumbled in his sleep. "What he did was horrible, but it's not unforgivable."

"I have someone else to think about now," Her brown doe eyes focused on Liam's sleeping form. "It's not just me anymore; I have to make decisions for the both of us."

"I think Liam will be fine with Damon."

"But what if we don't work out?" Her voice pitched. "What if in a few months we figure out that we're not made for each other?"

"Then at least you tried." Grayson shrugged indifferently, his lips pressing into a hard line. "But if you don't even try, you'll always be wondering what if."

"And if we don't make it then Liam will be exchanged like some object between his mother and father." She shook her head. "I went back to Stefan because I wanted him to have a father at all times, not just during the holidays."

"Elena, I don't know if you realize it but Damon will be in your life forever." He pointed his chin at Liam. "Liam is not just going to give him up; he's too much like Damon for that."

"You think that he won't give him up because they're so much alike?"

"No. Because just like Damon he doesn't love people easily," Grayson swallowed back the lump in his throat. "But when he does, he never lets them go again."

"Damon let me go." She looked at the man beside her. "He let me go and never came after me."

"That he let you go, doesn't mean he didn't love you anymore." Grayson cocked his head to the side, boring his gray eyes into Elena's brown ones. "Did you ever ask him how many women there were after you left?"

"Probably more than I can count."

"I think you would be surprised to know the answer." Grayson scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You weren't the only one that got hurt."

"But he could go back to his old life while I had to carry the consequences." She smiled at Liam's cute face before looking up again. "And I can't say that I regret it but my life would have been so different if I hadn't gone with him."

"You would probably have a bunch of kids with Stefan by now."

"You're really not in a good mood today."

"Do you want me to say it Elena?" Grayson threw his hands up, his eyes going wide. "I'm team Damon, I've always been."

"I know and we've talked about it." She kept her voice down. "But I can't help it that Stefan doesn't like to drink whiskey until the middle of the night."

"It's not about that." Grayson rolled his eyes, sighing. "It's because even if he hurt you, he's still the one that can make you smile. The only thing a father wants, is to see his little girl smile."

She looked back down again, feeling Damon stir against her side. With a quick push on her phone, she snapped the picture of him and Liam, savoring the moment not only on her phone but in her heart. A smile came across her face as the blue eyes snapped open and focused on her, the same small smile on his face. With the arm that was draped around her, he pulled her closer, not aware of her father who stood only a few feet away from the bed.

"Why are you so far away?" A pout appeared on Damon's face as he looked up at her, his voice husky. "That's forbidden."

"I was hot."

"Not a surprise with two studs in your bed."

A chuckle escaped her as he pressed a kiss to Liam's forehead and studied his peaceful face. She couldn't help but to notice the stab that went through her heart. She should have seen them like this since the first night their son was born, she should have seen this on Liam's every birthday, his every big step in his young life. Instead, she had gone through those stages alone, trying to raise him with a father that would never understand her son's personality.

"Daddy?"

Her eyes snapped to her son's face as he snuggled his nose deeper into Damon's chest, trying to shield himself from the voices in the room. Her heart seemed to swell up as she heard the word daddy roll off Liam's tongue; it was something surreal, something she thought she would never get to hear.

"Good morning to you too." Damon stroked his hair and chuckled at the pout on his face. "How did you sleep?"

"Still sleepy."

"Was the mattress too soft?" Elena lay back down on her side. "Just like Stefan?"

"If he has complaints about the mattress," Damon's eyes snapped up to hers. "He can sleep on the ground next time."

"Can I stay here tonight too?" Liam's head shot up from Damon's chest, his blue eyes twinkling. "Pretty please?"

"Actually," Grayson's voice interrupted what Elena was going to answer. "He's going to need a place to stay tonight beca..."

"Good morning to you too, sneaky old guy." Damon's head snapped to the side, clearly surprised with her father's presence. "What were you saying before you magically appeared out of thin air?"

"I was saying that Liam has to stay somewhere tonight because Caroline got the flu." Grayson shook his head in amusement. "And I guess since Bonnie isn't an option to Liam, I'm the only one who is."

"No Auntie Bonnie." Liam shook his head frantically, his eyes wide open and staring at his mother. "She'll make me eat soup and vegetables without a dessert."

"How can she do that to you?" Damon asked in mock-horror.

"She's a witch." Liam snuggled into the crook of Damon's neck, ignoring his mother's laughter. "And other words, but I can't say them because then Mommy will get mad."

"You can tell me." Damon pointed to his ear and chuckled as he received a glare from Elena. "Just whisper them in my ear."

She watched them as Liam scooted higher up Damon's body so he could press his lips against Damon's ear. She would have argued if the sight hadn't broken her heart. This was everything she wanted, the two most important men in her life waking up next to her, sharing secrets that she would never be part of. And she would be okay with it because she could see the beauty of the father-son relationship they were developing, the talks that would follow once Liam got older, some subjects she would never get to hear of because it would be something between the two of them, Liam sharing conversations with his father that would be kept between the two of them. It was something she had taken away from him when she walked out the door in Chicago, not realizing that she was separating someone from his father.

"Come here you two." She tickled Liam's sides and pushed herself against Damon's body. "I feel left out."

"Ouch, Elena." Damon groaned into the room as Liam started squirming on top of him. "My back is killing me."

"You're getting old, Salvatore."

"Really?" He waggled his eyebrows at her, smirking devilish. "Just wait until you're fully healed again."

The truth that rested behind those words made her shiver. Her body started tingling as it remembered the nights it was loved by him, owned by him. Moans that turned into screams, whispers that became shaky breaths, lust that merged with need, love that rose above every other emotion.

"You shouldn't talk about fiki fiki when I'm here." Liam snapped them out of their stare. "It's not appropriate."

"Who taught you expensive words like that?" Damon shook his head at his son and let out an amused laugh. "What are we going to do with you?"

"Feed me."

"Now that's something I can agree with." Grayson picked Liam up and put him back down on the ground. "Auntie Caroline made me bring you clothes."

"Good because I'm starting to smell like Daddy." He stuck his tongue out at Damon and grabbed the clothes out of Grayson's hands. "And that's not good."

"You shouldn't talk." Damon pushed himself up on the mattress. "I smell like this because of you."

"Damon." Liam glared at him, stomping his foot. "Stop lying."

"Boys, boys." Grayson shook his head at them and placed a hand on Liam's shoulder. "Get dressed so we can have breakfast."

Elena chuckled as Liam's blue eyes shot daggers at Damon. Grayson pushed the little boy into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving her and Damon behind in a comfortable silence.

"He got that from you." Damon cocked his head to the side and smirked. "The stubbornness."

"You're stubborn too." She placed her head on her arm and watched him. "He's just like you."

"No." He turned on his side and mirrored her position. "That's your kind of stubborn."

She just bit her lip to hold her laughter back and stared at him as his blue eyes bored into her brown ones. A shiver ran down her spine as he extended his hand and placed it on her neck, slowly following the path of the silver necklace that hung around it. A sigh escaped her as he came to the swell of her breasts and slowly pulled the necklace from under her nightgown, twisting the silver ring between his fingers.

"I still remember the night I gave you this." A small smile rested on his lips as he stared at the ring. "We were so happy."

"I promised you that I would never take it off." She grabbed his hand and folded hers around it. "And I never did, not even for a second."

"You should have come back." His eyes darkened in agony, his voice shaking. "I know I don't have the right to say that after what I did but you should have come back to me."

"You should have come after me."

Her eyes filled up with tears as she remembered the times she heard the doorbell, sprinting to the hallway to open the door, expecting him to be behind it, to run back into his arms and let him take her home with him, back to the life they had created, back to the life she wanted to live. The memory still hurt, and she could still feel the anger that rose up deep inside of her as she found someone else behind the door, someone that couldn't make her feel whole, someone that couldn't love her the way she wanted to be loved, a person that didn't own her heart.

"I thought I didn't have the right to come after you and beg you to take me back." He stroked her cheek, using his thumb to caress her skin. "I hurt you, I didn't have the right to get you back."

"You did." She cupped his face in her hands, holding it tightly. "You had every right to get me back, I was yours."

"I can't believe I gave up on you." He kissed the inside of her palm, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, I should have come after you."

"It's okay." She scooted closer and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I knew you would come back."

"I knew you would come back."

She shook her head in amusement as she found him leaning against the door frame, his blue eyes watching her while she divided dessert over the small plates she had set out on the counter. He pushed himself upright and started walking towards her, a hunter approaching its prey. She rolled her eyes as he trapped her body between his and the counter, his arms resting next to her sides.

"Is it that obvious that I run into the kitchen every time you do?"

"Kinda." She kissed him briefly and turned back to the counter, feeling him pressed against her back. "But now I can actually use you."

"That sounds kinky." He smiled against the skin on her neck and scratched her earlobe with his teeth. "I'm all yours."

"Good." She took a piece of the cake out of her plate and turned around again, holding it up. "Taste this, everyone's scared I'll give them food poisoning."

"Including me."

"Taste it." She pushed a piece of cake into his mouth, watching him chew it with a frown on his face. "Do you like it?"

"It's okay." He swallowed the piece of cake and leaned forward for a kiss. "But I like the taste of you better."

"Just tell me you love it." She placed her hand on his mouth and pushed him back. "Otherwise no taste for you."

"You asked me for my opinion." He threw his hands up and rolled his eyes at her. "You can't just tell me what to say."

"I can and I will." She held her finger on his lips, glaring at him. "Now tell me you love it."

"Fine, I love it."

"Exactly why I lov..." She stared at him as she realized she was about to say, with a small smile she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why I like you so much."

He smiled softly, having heard enough to figure out what she was about to say, the hidden words between them, something they both knew but never acknowledge to one another. She was married and as long as she was married, she knew he wouldn't say anything that made her doubt her life or decisions. So instead he lowered his face to hers and let their lips collide, his arm wrapping around her shoulder, his hand caressing her thigh. She smiled into the kiss as she felt his lips vibrate against her own, the dimples she found so cute appearing on his face.

"I like you too." He mumbled against her mouth, pushing his lips against hers over and over again. "I like you more than myself, which is something that has never happened before."

"I'll use that against you." She tangled her fingers into his black hair. "Starting with letting you help me carry those desserts to the living room."

"You should be glad I have a thing for you, you know?" His blue eyes shimmered while he looked down at her, still holding her in his embrace. "If you were any other woman, I'd have you in my bed by now without having to tolerate the whole family."

"I wish I was in your bed now."

"Go home with me tonight." He left a trail of pecks from her ear to her neck, making her moan. "Let me have my way with you."

"I can't, Damon." She pulled his face to hers and stroked his cheek. "I'm staying in the guestroom with my husband tonight."

"Come up with something." He smiled at her, his eyes shimmering in expectation. "Lie to them and come with me, it's been too long since I had you next to me."

"I can't just go with you, Damon." She cupped his face in her hands, shaking her head. "I'm married."

His eyes darkened while she felt his body stiffen in her embrace, his arms dropping next to his sides. With a short nod and a hard laugh he moved his body away from hers, turning his back on her to cut the rest of the cake into pieces. Guilt settled down in her stomach as she watched him slice the cake into pieces with hard chops. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and walked up beside him, placing her hand on his arm.

"Damon."

"Don't." He shrugged her hand off and shook his head. "You're absolutely right, you're married and I'm just the man you call when you want to get away from your husband."

"That's not true and you know it." She looked at his face, trying to lock their eyes. "I love spending time with you but I'm married and that makes things more complicated."

"And it makes sure that everything has to be on your terms."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you expect me to drop everything for you when you call me." His head snapped to the side, his blue eyes locking with her brown ones. "Last week I had to reschedule an appointment with a patient because you wanted to see me. Yesterday, I had to sneak out of a meeting because you wanted to have lunch. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing those things but it would be nice if I got something back for it."

"Getting something back for it?" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't you enjoy yourself when you spend time with me?"

"It's not about the sex, Elena." He spoke through clenched teeth, his jaw hardening. "I'm saying it would be nice that you pick up your phone when I call you and not just ignore me. Or that you warn me when I'm going to spend a night on my own in a hotel room."

"So you can pick up a girl in a bar?" Her eyes went wide. "So you know that I won't catch you with someone else?"

"No." His blue eyes shot fire, his mouth forming a tight line. "So I don't spend my nights watching shopping channels while waiting for you to call me."

"You know what?" She chuckled humorless, turning to the counter. "If you want to get laid every night, fine by me, go ahead."

"It's not about the sex, Elena."

"Just make sure you don't catch any diseases." She spat at him, grabbing two plates from the counter. "Because then I'd have a lot of explaining to do to Stefan."

She turned on her heels, carrying the two plates to the living room. She blinked a few times to fight the tears that wanted to escape her eyes. The adrenaline was gone now, replaced by a feeling of jealousy, an ache, something she wanted to heal, not just with herself but with the one that was aching with her. Something that could only heal if she let herself heal it, if she gave them the chance to heal it.

"Stefan." She touched his shoulder and motioned her head to a quiet corner. "Can I talk to you?"

He nodded softly, standing up with a smile. She shivered as he put his hand on her waist to guide her to the spot she indicated, in the back of her mind she wondered why her skin wasn't burning under his touch like it did with the other man, why her heart wasn't beating faster now his hands were finally on her.

"Everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine." She waved him off. "It's about your dad, he's had too much to drink to drive himself home tonight, I think you should take him home after dessert."

"Sure." He rubbed her arms to soothe her. "Do you want me to pick you up after I dropped him off or are you coming with us?"

"I'm just going to stay here in the guestroom, you know a drunk me and a car don't go well together." She laughed awkwardly, shaking the nervous feeling off her. "And I think you should stay at your dad's, it's late and it's on the other side of town, it's safer that way."

"Okay." Stefan nodded and smiled, wrapping his arm around her. "Let's see if that dessert you made kills us."

She shook her head in amusement and wrapped her own arm around his waist while he guided her towards the table. She exchanged a look with Damon who was already seated there, his blue eyes turning away from her brown ones. The look made her insides hurt enough to let go of Stefan who eyed her strangely. She smiled and shrugged, the fact that she was having an affair didn't weigh on their marriage like she thought it would, instead they were happier now than they had ever been, because she was happy. There was a man who made her smile every hour of the day, made her gloat with self-confidence, his touch set her body at ease, her mind at peace. And when she went home at night to her husband, those feelings were still there, he got to see her happy, something that automatically made him happy too, that made their marriage a happy place.

"So Damon," Miranda spoke up again once everyone was seated at the table. "Why aren't you spending Christmas with your family?"

"Mom." Elena rolled her eyes, her voice filled with annoyance. "Instead of questioning our guest, you should go upstairs and rest."

"I don't think you should tell your mom what to do," Damon's hard eyes locked onto hers. "You always do what you want."

Suddenly you could cut the tension in the room with a knife, Damon's hard blue eyes boring into her brown ones, everyone at the table staring at them, wondering what was going on. She heard her own heartbeat, drumming into her ears, anger rising up from somewhere deep inside of her. The way he was looking at her, sent shivers through her spine, not the good kind, the kind that made you want to pull someone's head off.

"They still need me for the trial the next couple of days," Damon pointed his gaze at her mother, keeping a certain authority in his tone. "I'm going back to Chicago to spend New Year's Eve with my mother."

"What about your father?"

"My father isn't in the picture anymore." Damon looked back down at the table, laughing humorlessly. "Actually, I never even knew him. He walked out on my mother before I was born."

"And you never heard from him again?" Miranda sipped on her glass of wine. "I mean no man leaves his son behind without a reason."

"He did." Damon smiled tightly. "And he never gave a reason for it, not even my mother knows."

"Maybe Giuseppe knows." Elena stared daggers at Giuseppe, smiling smugly. "Don't you, Giuseppe?"

"I think you had too much wine, Elena." Giuseppe sat straighter in his seat, looking at Stefan. "I think you should take your wife home."

"I think you should tell your son what's going on, Giuseppe." She put the wine glass down on the table and looked back at Damon who was eying her strangely. "All of your sons."

"Elena, what's going on?" Grayson shook his head at her. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Tell him, Giuseppe." She clenched her teeth together, her eyes switching between the older man and Damon's. "Tell him why his father didn't want him."

"I wouldn't know what to tell him." Giuseppe swallowed back the lump in his throat, smiling slightly. "How should I know?"

"Elena." Damon's timid voice puller her attention to him, his blue eyes searching her face. "What's going on?"

"Tell him." Her voice was barely a whisper as she looked back at Giuseppe, seeing his fists clenched together on the table. "Tell him who you are."

"No."

Her head snapped back to Damon as the whisper reached her. His blue eyes were staring at Giuseppe, the older man's green eyes staring right back at him. She could see the wheels turning in his head, the understanding slowly sinking in, his mind tracing the same features in Giuseppe's face as in his, the same jawline, the same nose, the same cheekbones. She noticed him swallow once he fully understood what was going on, he finally found his father, the man that had abandoned him years ago, that knew who he was and still couldn't stand him. After years of searching, years filled with questions, years of hope, it was all years crushed by one moment.

"You're my father."

"Excuse me." Giuseppe wiped his mouth and threw the napkin on the table. "I need some fresh air."

She watched Damon as Giuseppe stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. Damon's eyes followed him, filled with shock, all his features more innocent and surprised than she had ever seen them. His lips were slightly parted, watching the man that had given him life walk away.

"Excuse me." Damon shook his head, getting himself out of the trance. "I just..."

He didn't finish his sentence but stood up and started walking the same way Giuseppe had just a few seconds before him. While her eyes followed him, they landed on the unmoving body beside her, the green eyes of her husband staring in the distance, blankly, his face showing no emotion.

"Stefan." She shook him slightly, stroking his hair. "Are you okay?"

"I have a brother." He whispered quietly, staring blankly into space. "I have a brother."

She was about to reply when suddenly heavy voices started screaming in the kitchen, plates being broken into shards. Her father got up and ran towards the door while she got up and placed a kiss on Stefan's temple before following the sound of the angry voices.

"What do you want me to say?" Giuseppe stood in the middle of the kitchen, yelling into Damon's face. "That I was glad to meet you at that wedding, that I couldn't believe I found you after thirty years?"

"Did you even look for me?" Damon's voice pitched, his blue eyes filled with so much pain that it made her heart squeeze together. "Did you even want to find me?"

"Of course not." Giuseppe spoke through clenched teeth. "I was young, I made a mistake, I never wanted you, I still don't want you."

"Then why is my name Salvatore?" Damon's eyes searched Giuseppe face. "Why do I carry your name?"

"Because my family taught me to take responsibility for my actions." Giuseppe crossed his arms over his chest. "But that doesn't mean I ever wanted you, it doesn't mean that I see you as my son."

"But I am your son." The blue eyes filled up with tears, making her own brown eyes tear up. "How could you not tell me?"

"Because I don't see you as my son." Giuseppe spat at Damon, his green eyes wide open. "You're nothing more than the biggest mistake of my life, you're trash, just like your mother, you'll never be enough to call yourself a Salvatore like me and Stefan."

"You really didn't want me."

"Who would want a son like you?"

Damon flinched back by the words, the words he had spoken himself so many times, now spoken by the person that could make them hurt the most. He always thought of himself as someone not worthy enough to love, to have a father who loves him. So when the words cut through him like a knife, his head hung low, his eyes defeated, his feet carrying him to the backdoor, leaving the man that had played such a big part in his life for thirty years without even being there.

She watched Damon close the backdoor behind him while she walked toward Giuseppe, standing straight in front of him, her eyes locked with his, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. She let out a hard laugh as he stared at her, not the angry stare like he had with Damon, but a stare filled with questions. Her eyes welled up with tears as she saw him smirk slightly, the gesture sending a heat of anger through her body as she thought what that smirk did to the man she shared so many secrets with, how much it hurt him to know how he really thought about him.

She didn't even think about it as she slightly pulled her arm back and launched forward, her hand touching the side of Giuseppe's face, his head snapping to the side, a red spot forming on the place where she had hit him. He turned his head back to her, his nostrils wide open, the green eyes burning with a fire she had never seen before, but knew from the blue-eyed-man that could make the same fire burn in his eyes.

"You're an idiot." She clenched her teeth together, laughing humorlessly. "You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?"

"He's more than you and Stefan ever will be."

"Elena." Giuseppe called her back as she tried to turn around. "If there was a fire, which of them would you save?"

"The one I love the most."

Giuseppe's eyes narrowed together as she exchanged a look with her father who had watched the whole spectacle silently from the side. She turned on her heels and found the backdoor, shielding herself against the cold winter air as she stepped through it and found the dark figure on the bench in the backyard.

"Damon."

"Don't." He shook his head and looked at the grass between his feet. "Don't pity the guy that knew all along his father didn't want him."

"Don't say things like that." She sat down next to him, rubbing her own arms against the cold. "He doesn't even know you."

"That means I have to be really screwed-up, right?" His blue eyes focused on her, his face drowning in agony. "If he already hates me before he knows me, what does that say about me?"

"It doesn't say anything about you." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "It says everything about him."

"All this time I thought that maybe he died after I was born," He shook his head and looked back down in the grass. "Thirty years I hoped that was the reason why I had no father."

"He doesn't hate you." She put her hand on his cheek and made him turn to her. "He hates himself for what he did to his wife."

"I said I became a surgeon because I want to find something to fix my mom." He whispered, his eyes focused on her face. "But a part of me wanted to become a surgeon so I could show my father that I made something out of myself, that I wasn't a loser but it turns out that I'm still trash."

"You are not trash." She eyed his broken body, the broken man in front of her, the agony that reflected in his eyes. "Come here."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into her chest, leaning her chin on top of his head, softly stroking his messy hair. The night closed around them as she heard Stefan's car pull off the driveway, the tires squealing. She looked up and saw the light of her parents' bedroom on, her mother's figure appearing in front of the window. She took a deep breath and held the man in her arm while he just stared into the yard, his fingers clawing her shirt, his breathing synchronized with hers.

"Let's get to the hotel." She placed a kiss on top of his crown. "You don't have to be alone tonight."

"Now I'm this mess you want to spend the night with me." He let out a hard laugh. "I should find my father more often."

"I already arranged it before you turned into this hot mess." She squeezed him in her embrace, inhaling his scent. "You were right, I take you for granted."

"You knew he was my father." His head snapped up, breaking their embrace. "How did you know?"

"I'm a paralegal, it's my job to know." She stroked his black hair, smiling slightly. "But it wasn't my place to tell."

"It's okay." He put a piece of hair back behind her ear, watching her face with those big blue eyes. "I understand."

"That's a relief." She sighed and pulled him up with her, taking his hand in hers. "I was scared you wouldn't forgive me."

"How could I not?"

"How could I not?" He smiled softly and shook his head slightly. "I was always supposed to come back for you."

"I'm glad you're finally here." She smiled at him, her eyes searching his face. "I don't know how much longer I'd be able to survive without you."

"You don't have to anymore." He scooted closer so she could feel his warm breath on her face. "I'm here."

"Exactly where I'm going to keep you."

"You two are so cheesy." Liam stood next to the bed, rolling his eyes at his parents. "Talking about cheese, I want it on a sandwich."

Damon rolled his eyes and turned on his back, arching his eyebrow at the little boy. Elena just chuckled as she watched Liam shift from one foot to the other, being the cute little monster he was, the smirk on his face reminding her exactly where he got the traits from.

xxx

"Liam." Damon stretched his neck to look over Elena's shoulder. "What do you want?"

"Cheese, sandwich, milk, banana."

"What?" Damon shrugged at Elena who eyed him suspiciously. "I breakfast-trained him."

"Seriously?"

"Do you know how long it takes him to just pick something out of the buffet?" He threw his arms up. "Besides, the first few days he begged me for coke, I thought you would approve."

"I do." She came closer and pecked his cheek, her eyes shimmering. "I think it's cute."

"I'm glad to see you're doing better." He draped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Did Mason say when you could go home?"

"No." She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed heavily. "I think it's going to take a couple more days, he said I need to be fully healthy."

"He's right." He placed a kiss on her temple, squeezing her waist. "Besides, in the hospital you have all these really hot doctors taking care of you, there's even one who keeps you warm at night."

"We need to talk about that," She tapped his nose, ignoring the pout on his face. "I need to ask you something."

"No, I will not wear flannel PJ's."

"I like you better without PJ's anyway." She shook her head in amusement, watching Liam and her father talk in a booth beside the window. "I want you to take Liam home."

"I can't take him to the hotel with me." He turned his head to Liam and smiled softly. "That room is not big enough for the two of us."

"You don't need to take him to the hotel." She stroked his cheek, smiling softly. "You can take him home, Stefan isn't there anyway."

"Where is he?"

"He's staying at the office, too much work." She shrugged indifferently. "And when he isn't there, he's here with me in the hospital."

"He really isn't close with Liam, is he?" Damon shook his head, biting his lip. "I mean, any other dad would take off of work to take care of his kid."

"It's not Stefan." Elena turned to him, her eyes searching for his. "Stefan loves him more than anything; it's Liam who doesn't let him in."

Damon's gaze traveled to the laughing boy a few feet away from him, the young blue eyes sparkling at something his grandfather had said. He felt Elena squeeze his fingers softly, giving him a knowing smile. He nodded and waited in line behind her, staring at her face, remembering everything that he lost five years ago.

"Can I help you?"

"Can I help you?" The older woman approached her, pushing the cart forward. "Did you forget your key?"

"No." She shook her head, looking around the empty hallway of the hotel. "I didn't forget my key."

"Did he lock you out?" The woman pointed to the door, knowing exactly whose it was. "Men and their humor sometimes."

"No, he didn't lock me out either." She chuckled softly, looking down at the red carpet. "I'm just here..."

"Why is a pretty girl like you standing here on her own at three in the morning?"

"Because she's kinda lost."

"Is she here to find her way?"

"She's here because she couldn't sleep." She looked up into the woman's hazel eyes. "I haven't talked to him in days, and he's leaving tomorrow, I just couldn't let him leave before seeing him."

After the accident on Christmas, she went back with him, held him during the night while he couldn't catch any sleep. The morning after had been quiet, filled with a silence neither of them wanted to break. She had gone back to her husband, reassuring the man she left behind that she would call, and she did, more than once, only to be ignored every time. It had been three days since, and she gave him time to process it on his own, knowing him well enough to not run after him and scream at him to talk to her. But when she crawled into bed next to Stefan that night, knowing that there was someone sleeping alone in a cold bed, who could use her comfort more, it made her heart ache. So she snuck out of the bed in the middle of the night and drove here, standing in front of the door until it would magically open.

"If you knock on that door, there's a pretty big chance you'll see him."

"He has to get up early in the morning." She shook her head and shrugged. "I don't want to wake him."

"Then why did you come here?"

"I don't know." She whispered, laughing silently. "It was silly of me."

"Wasn't it silly to leave your husband in the middle of the night?" The woman gave her a knowing look. "I think you know exactly why you came here."

"How do you know I'm married?"

"You're wearing a wedding ring." She cocked her head to the side and pointed it at Damon's room. "He doesn't."

"I..."

"Don't worry." The woman held her hand up. "I don't judge, after working here for thirty years I've witnessed more than one affair."

"And why don't you judge?"

"Because there are different reasons to have an affair." The woman leaned on her cart. "There are those who're searching for adventure, some are just missing something in their relationship, others are looking for attention, there are so many reasons and everyone has their own."

"But there's never a right reason to cheat on someone." She lifted her shoulders, biting her lip. "There's nothing that makes it okay."

"I think there's one reason that justifies it." The lady walked to Damon's door and pushed her key in the lock. "The reason why you're here."

"Why am I here?" She shook her head in confusion. "What's that reason?"

"Love."

She swallowed back the lump in her throat as the woman unlocked the door and quietly opened it so she could step it. She nodded silently and walked inside the dark room, using her phone as a pocket light. Slowly she put her purse down on the ground and removed her jacket and clothes, keeping only her panties on. With her heart beating frantically in her chest, she lifted the covers up and slowly moved under them, turning on her side behind Damon's body. He stirred as she draped her arm over his waist and pressed her chest against his back, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.

"Elena?"

"Shh..." She took his hand in hers and squeezed his fingers. "Go back to sleep."

"Why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to be here." She tightened her grip on him, snuggling into his body. "I just... I couldn't let you leave without seeing you."

"I'm sorry for dodging your calls." He stroked her hand with his thumb, moving in circles. "I needed some time after everything."

"I know." She whispered into his ear, kissing his cheek. "It's okay, I understand."

"He really doesn't want to know me." He shook his head, scoffing. "I tried calling him, I went by his house, I even emailed him, he doesn't want to talk to me."

"He doesn't know what he's missing out on."

"You just say that because I rock your world."

"It's been a while since you did that, Salvatore." She stroked his black hair back, shaking her head in amusement. "I don't think that's the reason."

"Oh no?" He turned around in her embrace, finding her body in the dark. "Then maybe I should remind you."

"That's not why I came here tonight." She wrapped herself in his embrace, placing her head against his chest. "I just want to be with you before you leave for two weeks."

"I'm going to talk to my mom about Giuseppe." He inhaled her scent and relaxed against her body. "I want to know everything."

"Damon, while we're on the subject of parents." She stroked his cheek, chewing on her bottom lip. "How did it go with my mom?"

"I can't tell you that, Elena." He rubbed her back, shaking his head. "That's confidential, she's my patient."

"But can you at least tell me if it was good or bad?"

"No, I'm sorry." He pecked her lips lightly. "I can't talk about it."

"Okay." She sighed defeated, falling back into his arms. "I'll just talk to my dad."

"You could just talk to your mom."

"We have a... strained relationship."

"I've noticed that." He chuckled softly, tugging her under his chin. "I just hope the relationship with my mother will still stand after the whole Giuseppe thing."

"It will." She placed a kiss on his chest. "You and your mother have the most amazing bond I've ever seen."

"I'm jealous of what you have with your dad, you know?" He hid his face in the crook of her neck. "Whole my life I've been pretending I was fine with not having a dad, but the truth is that I missed it."

"I'm pretty sure mine would adopt you if you asked him." She pulled his head up, kissing his lips. "He loves you."

"I satisfy his daughter." He chuckled against her lips. "God knows how you act when you're sexually frustrated."

"I suggest you keep me satisfied or you'll find out soon enough." She bit his bottom lip playfully, moaning into his touch. "You make his daughter happy, that's the main reason he likes you so much."

"I still think it's because I let him near the desserts."

"Don't get me started on that."

"Don't get me started on that." Grayson came walking next to the row. "No, Liam."

"Please." Liam walked behind him, holding his hands together like he was praying. "Please ask him."

"Ask who what?" Damon arched his eyebrow at him.

"He wants me to ask you if he can have an apple instead of a banana." Grayson rolled his eyes at Damon. "He swears you'll rip his head off if he changes his mind again."

"I won't rip your head off." Damon smirked at Liam, squeezing the boy's shoulder. "That's not my style, I'd just cut your heart out, they even gave me a degree for that."

"Really?" Liam came from behind Grayson's legs and stepped in front of Damon. "Now, I really want to be a heart doctor."

"You want to be a heart surgeon?" Damon picked him up from the ground, handing him the apple. "Why's that?"

"So I can fix Granny." Liam bit down in the apple, chewing fiercely. "And when I'm big, I'll be like you, only younger and smarter and I'll kick your ass."

"You know what?" Damon pinched his cheek and shook his head at him. "Study hard, get through med school and I'll teach you everything I know so you can kick everyone's ass."

"Really?" Liam's young blue eyes shimmered, a smile appearing on his face. "Do you pinky promise?"

"I pinky promise." Damon extended his pink to the boy. "But only if you pinky promise me that you"ll work for it."

"I promise." Liam shook his finger and wrapped his arms around Damon's neck. "You're the best daddy ever."

"Only because I have the best son."

Elena stared at the two of them, seeing them so comfortable with each other, like they had been doing this for years, like they had been together from birth. It was something that made her heart swell, the love that lingered there letting her know that it was exactly that sight it wanted to see, those words it wanted to hear, those persons it wanted to love.

"I think your mommy is getting tired." Damon rubbed Liam's back and lowered him to the ground. "Why don't you take her to our seat and tell her what happened in Grey's Anatomy last night?"

"Mommy," he grabbed Elena's hand and started dragging her to their seat. "Meredith was bad again."

"I still don't get why she lets him watch it." He shook his head at Grayson who stood still beside him. "Sometimes it's even too explicit for me."

"She knows how to handle him." Grayson laughed, patting his shoulder. "She knew how to handle you, I think she used those tactics to become the best mother she could for Liam."

"It's not fair to the kids out there," He smiled as Liam started waving at him, Elena chuckling at something he told her. "They should all have a mom like her."

"That's not what Mother Nature wanted." Grayson shook his head sadly, waving back at Liam and Elena. "She has accepted it though, Liam will always be her only child."

"What are you talking about?"

"She didn't tell you?" Grayson's eyes snapped up, looking at him questioningly. "About what happened two years ago?"

"What happened two years ago?"

"She had a miscarriage."

Please review!

Follow me on Twitter for spoilers & updates: PantiesDrop_