The beach house Damon rented, along the Outer Banks, had a beautiful view of the ocean that could be seen from the floor to ceiling windows lining the back of the house. It was spring and the air was a comfortable 70 degrees. Elena stirred awake from her nap bleary-eyed. The warm breeze that wafted through the open glass door, combined with the sound of the crashing waves, had lulled her to sleep on the living room couch. She rolled over, stretching her arms out in front of her. Elena eased herself to a sitting position, tossing the throw blanket that covered her to the side. As she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes, she was perplexed to find that she was alone. Damon had been next to her talking about something when she must have nodded off. Now he was nowhere to be found. Her eyes scanned the room, before catching a glimpse of him sitting outside on the deck. When she opened the screen to join him, she noticed he was jotting things down on a note pad. He had never understood Stefan's need to chronicle his whole existence in journals. Seeing him now doing the same thing was amusing to her. So she couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease Damon about it. She quipped, "Wow, fatherhood is showing a whole new side of you." Damon looked at her confused. Elena pointed at the notebook in his hand. "Committing your deepest thoughts to paper?"

Damon shot her a glare. "Hardly. You're getting me confused with my brother." He dropped his feet to the ground with a thud from where they'd been resting along the balcony railing.

For some reason, her comment seemed to irritate more than amuse him. She wasn't sure which part it was though, comparing him to Stefan or suggesting he was changing. She suspected it was a bit of both. She hadn't meant anything by it, but comparing him to Stefan had always been a sore spot with him. To him, it was further proof that he wasn't good enough to be loved just the way he was. He loved his brother but that didn't mean he appreciated people trying to turn him into Stefan. There was a desperate sound of regret in her voice. "Sorry, I didn't me…" His silence and lack of eye contact told her she quickly needed to change the subject. She took a few steps closer to peer over his shoulder. "So what are you doing?" She folded her arms over her chest, hugging herself.

He glanced up at her. "Planning ahead. We need a safe place for the birth. The one I have in mind is going to need some modifications."

Elena looked at him confused. "Wait, what happened to the hospital?"

Damon didn't even have to respond for Elena to realize how ridiculous she sounded. When he looked back up at her, it was written all over his face. "Right, too dangerous. I don't know what I was thinking." Elena rolled her eyes, hardly believing she even had to ask that question. This whole pregnancy Damon's primary mission was to keep them safe. He certainly wasn't going to slack off when it came time for the main event. She tossed her hands up relenting, before making herself comfortable in the lounge chair next to Damon's. Sitting on the edge of the chair, she asked, "So where did you have in mind?"

"The old Salvatore estate."

Elena's eyebrows furrowed. She cocked her head to the side. "I don't understand. Stefan took me there once to show me the property. There's nothing there."

"That's why it's perfect." He gave her a beguiling smile. "At first, all anyone sees are overgrown trees and some rotting wood. Most of the main house and the servants' quarters burned near the end of the Civil War. Except," he paused turning his diagram so Elena could see, "the wine cellar. That's fully intact." Quite pleased with his covert location, he wiggled his eyebrows, donning a crooked smirk.

His hopefulness completely mystified her. Incredulously, she asked, "Wine cellar? You want me to have our baby in a wine cellar, where it's cold and damp and musty?" She shook her head in disbelief. He'd come up with some strange ideas in the past to thwart their enemies, but this one she definitely never expected. His paranoia is clouding his judgment.

"Hence the list of supplies." He waved the notebook in his hand in the air like a fan. Referring back to the notebook, he randomly read off some of the items. "We'll fix it up, make it comfortable. We're going to need some lighting, heaters, a delivery table, blankets, sheets and towels, water, etc… and of course whatever medical supplies Meredith might need. Oh and I'm going to have to replace the door and put a secure lock on it." He could see she wasn't sold on the idea. In fact, she appeared not just concerned but perturbed. "Look, I know it's not ideal, but it's remote enough to be inconspicuous. There's no way Klaus or anyone else would think to look for you there. From what Bonnie told us, he's getting very suspicious. We already have enough problems trying to keep the council from killing you. The baby needs to be born somewhere we can safely reach in time, someplace no one can get to him. I'm not giving anyone a chance to strike while you're in the middle of giving birth. Once he's born, we can move to more comfortable surroundings."

Elena firmly pressed her lips together. Judging by the conviction in his voice, it sounded like the decision had already been made. She shook her head. This was not how she imagined giving birth to her only child. She hated it when he'd made decisions without her consent. Of course she could argue about it with him, tell him they should look for something better, but what was the point? Once Damon made his mind up, it was difficult to change especially when it came to her safety. Besides, it wasn't like she had a better idea to offer. That was the problem, their options were limited. Klaus knew Mystic Falls as well as they did. And they needed to stay close by since they were relying on Meredith to deliver the baby. They had to find a place that was rarely frequented. The property where the wine cellar sat was still owned by the Salvatores. Since it was considered private property, Damon was right that the likelihood of being discovered was slim to none. Hell, she wasn't even sure Stefan knew the wine cellar had survived. Maybe Damon hadn't completely lost his mind after all. If his own brother hadn't considered there was anything left of the old estate then why would anyone else? And even if they did, they certainly wouldn't expect a birth to take place there. She couldn't believe she was going to actually agree to this. Apprehensively, she said, "Sounds like you've got it all worked out." Despite relenting, she couldn't quite bring herself to sound happy about it.

"I promise you Elena, it's going to be fine," he reassured her. "We'll make sure it's comfortable, ok? Come here." He reached for her hand, gently pulling her over to sit with him. Even at six months pregnant, she wasn't too heavy to sit on his lap. She curled up on him, draping her legs to one side. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she nuzzled her head under his chin. Damon kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be just fine," he repeated, giving her hair a stroke. It wasn't only to reassure her but himself as well. They watched the waves crashing along the shore, enjoying the peace and solitude of the moment while they had it.

Damon was returning from his trip to the grocery store. They'd only planned on staying at the beach house a few days before moving further down the coast. Nevertheless, they needed supplies to cover them in the meantime. Since he insisted on preparing all Elena's food anyway, and they were on their honeymoon, he decided he'd make something special for dinner. He shifted the bags he had in his hand to open the door, whistling happily as he entered. With his enhanced vampire hearing, he could hear rustling coming from the bedroom. Elena had planned on showering before he left. Naturally, he assumed the ruckus was her coming out of the shower. Not wanting to startle her, he made his presence known. "Elena, I'm back. I've got a surprise for you for dinner," he said in a sing song manner. He set the bags on the counter and began emptying them. As he turned to put the items in the fridge, he heard the sound of a thud coming from the bedroom like something heavy hit the floor. Curious, he stopped what he was doing and called to her. "Elena? You ok?" Again there was no response. Suddenly, the familiar scent of copper wafted through his nostrils. Tightness gripped his chest, and a rush of adrenaline ran through him. Before he could react, a man came walking down the hallway. Damon could see the man wiping blood from his hand with a rag. Immediately he thought the worst. He vamp sped to the man, grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him to the wall. He seethed, "Where's Elena? What did you do to her?"

The man's hands grabbed onto Damon's, in an attempt to free himself, as he gasped for air. His feet flailed in search of the ground, hoping to gain his footing and alleviate some of the pressure on his windpipe. Damon tightened his grip further when he saw the blood on the man's hands. He could barely contain his fury. He yelled, "Answer me!" The man's face was turning blue. All the stranger could get out were gurgling sounds.

A panicked voice called from behind him. "Damon! What are you doing?"

Damon's head whipped around to see Elena standing in the doorway. "Elena?" He exhaled hard. Relief washed over him when he saw she ok.

Anxiously, she urged, "Let him go before you kill him." She made her way across the room to where the men were standing.

Damon looked back at the man, still holding him firmly in place. "Not until he tells me what he's doing here?"

"That's the maintenance man. I called him."

"What?" Damon shot her a confused look. He looked back at the man, lessening his grip without completely letting go. The man gulped in as much air as he could manage.

Elena pulled at Damon's wrist to release his grip. He reluctantly let go of the man's throat. She explained. "I turned on the water to take a shower and the handle snapped off. I couldn't get the water to stop running so I called the emergency number for the property manager. He sent a repairman out right away."

"Well where were you then?" It didn't make sense to Damon why Elena would leave if a repairman was there.

Color returned to the man's face. He was coughing as he tried to catch his breath. The man's attempt to get away was thwarted when Damon, without taking his eyes from Elena, shoved him by the chest back against the wall. The man fought to free himself, but his strength was no match for Damon's. Damon held him firmly in place with seemingly little effort.

"I'd left my beach towel drying on the balcony. While I was waiting in the living room, I saw it blow off the railing. I just went down to get it," she explained, pointing to where she'd dropped the towel when she rushed over to Damon.

"Oh." Damon's face winced, frowning at his overreaction. He looked into the man's eyes. "Relax." The man stopped fighting and the tension in his body noticeably eased. "You're going to forget about this. All you remember is that you came here to fix the shower and then you left." Damon took his hands off of him. He lightly patted the man on the cheek with his palm. "Now go fix the shower." The man's eyes looked as if he were in a trance. He looked back and forth between Elena and Damon. Then without uttering a word, he returned to the master bedroom to fix the bathroom shower.

After the man left, Damon continued on like nothing happened. "So," he drew the word out for effect. He rubbed his hands together showing his excitement. "I have a surprise planned for dinner." He gave her one of his most charming smiles.

Flabbergasted, Elena said, "Damon what were you thinking? You could have killed him!"

He rolled his eyes. He'd anticipated this reaction. Sounding annoyed, he responded, "I wasn't going to kill him Elena." But under his breath, he muttered, "At least until he told me what I wanted to know."

That matter of fact attitude is what concerned her the most. She pleaded with him. "You can't go around hurting innocent people."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Have you forgotten there have been two attempts on your life already? And that was even before Klaus got suspicious."

She let out a heavy sigh. His over protectiveness had been an on-going issue from the beginning. "No, I haven't forgotten. But that doesn't make it ok to attack someone anytime they come near me."

Damon shot back sarcastically without hesitation. "I smelled blood Elena. I'm not going to waste time with pleasantries when there's a possibility someone could harm you. And I will gladly do it again and again and again if it means keeping you and the baby safe." His stare was deadly serious. It didn't matter to him if she approved or not. She could be pissed at him all she wanted. It wasn't going to change his behavior, not when it came to protecting those he loved most. She would just have to get over it.

Elena's lips firmed together trying to contain her anger. There was no arguing with him when he was like this. He was as stubborn as she was. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his protection. It was his propensity to react rashly, before getting all the facts, that she had a problem with. Her blood pressure was rising. This argument was making the baby anxious. She could feel him stirring rapidly under the stress. She needed to get away from Damon to calm herself down. Elena threw her hands in the air with a huff then she stormed towards the door.

Damon yelled after her. "Where are you going?"

"Down to the beach." She picked up her towel from the floor where she'd dropped it. Desperately, she scanned the room for her sunglasses. Flustered, she said, "I need to get away. I need to calm down." She took in a deep breath then exhaled to calm herself. Her eyes spotted her sunglasses on the foyer table. As she walked to grab them, Damon took a step towards her. She stopped him in his tracks. "Just…" She held her hand out in front of her, indicting he needed to stay there. She shook her head not knowing what else to say. Quickly, she turned and walked out the door, leaving Damon equally frustrated.

"Damn it!" He clenched his fists and teeth. He walked to the kitchen and leaned on the counter. Dropping his head, he tried to regain his composure. When he looked back up at all the food, he sighed. "So much for the nice dinner."

An hour later, the sun was beginning to set. Elena sat on the beach with her knees curled to her chest. Her arms held them as close to her as her stomach would allow. Watching the waves had calmed her anger and the baby's anxiety as well. A part of her didn't even know why she'd gotten so angry at him. She knew he was just trying to protect her in his very Damon way. Seeing others hurt because of her never sat well in her mind. Next to her, Damon plopped himself down on the sand. He sat with his legs stretched out in front of him, leaning back on his palms.

Gently, he asked, "You still mad at me?"

Her eyes flutter towards him, and she gave him a weak smile. "No. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about what happened."

He simply said, "I know." He let out a sigh. "But you know I'm not going to change."

This time it was her turn to accept the truth. "I know. I knew who you were when I married you."

Damon smiled crookedly at her. Her unconditional love continued to amaze him. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. When they parted, he asked, "Getting hungry? We can go up. I'll make you the dinner I'd planned."

"Um um, not just yet." She stood up and held out her hand for him to take. He looked up at her confused. "Walk with me down the beach. I want to enjoy the sunset." He took her hand and stood up.

As they walked to the shoreline, Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead, pulling her closer to him. Elena held onto him at his waist. The waves crashed over their feet as they walked down the shore. It was a rare thing to see Damon outside in shorts and no boots. She enjoyed seeing him so laid back. Of course she couldn't resist the devilish urge that came over her. Out of nowhere, Elena shoved Damon hard into the crashing waves. Completely caught off guard, he fell backwards into the water, landing flat on his butt. His head popped up immediately out of water, shaking the water away from his eyes. "Oh ho ho ho. That wasn't very nice." Elena giggled at the sight of a very drenched yet fully clothed Damon Salvatore. He looked adorable. He sat in the water pretending to be helpless. "Well, aren't you at least going to help me up?"

With a huge smile on her face, Elena held out her hand for him. The moment he grabbed it, he pulled her down into the water right on top of him. "Hey…" Before she could finish her protest, he pulled her in for a very wet kiss. They laughed between their kisses. The waves continued to wash over them yet Elena made no attempt to leave his embrace. He lovingly looked in her eyes. Taking in her beauty, he brushed a wet piece of hair from her cheek. The huge smile that had graced her face gradually faded away. With undeniable sincerity, she stared back in his entrancing blue eyes. She said, "I love you." Then she leaned down for another lingering kiss.