Update!
I'm pretty happy with this chapter, even though it is a bit of a filler.
Hopefully you guys will enjoy!
Elena had just finished her article by the time that Chris walked through the door.
"How was school?" she asked, not bothering to look up as she emailed the file to her editor.
"Boring, as usual," he told her, shrugging off his pack and tossing it into the empty chair, "Is Damon still here?"
"Yeah, he's in the bathroom. Showering, and getting dressed. Speaking of which, you should go change too," She sighed, closing her computer, "We're going to your grandparents for dinner."
"Salvatore's or Gilbert's?" he asked.
"Ha," she stood, "As if I'd actually let your father be in the same room with mine."
"Because Grandpa hates him," Chris nodded.
"Eh, hate's a strong word," she insisted, "But I don't expect that getting them together anytime soon will be good for any of us."
"No kidding," he agreed, just as Damon stepped out of the bathroom.
Elena couldn't help but widen her eyes as her mouth went a little dry.
Damon was a vision, wet and shirtless, his jeans still unbuttoned, a towel thrown over his shoulder.
Her eyes took on a mind of their own as they drifted down his naked torso.
Oh the years had been good to that man.
Sculpted muscles, defined pecs, toned abs, v'd down hipbones…he was sex all wrapped up in a pretty package.
Seriously. His body was basically a giant arrow pointing right to his-
"Chris, you're home," he stated, cutting her thoughts away from his body, and back to their son, as he answered.
"Yeah…Mom said we were going to Grandma's for dinner?"
Damon nodded, "She called earlier. You cool with that?"
"Sure," Chris agreed, "Grandma Val cooks better than anyone I know."
"I second that," he chuckled, "Well, the shower's open if you need it. I hope you don't mind, but I used some of your body wash."
"Oh, that's fine," Chris assured him.
Damon nodded, finally looking over at Elena.
"You about ready?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I just finished the column, so I'm good."
"Did you need to change?" he asked, and she did her best not to imagine stripping down in front of him.
"No, actually, I think I'm good," she took a breath.
He smirked a little, "Okay, just making sure. Though I was hoping we could leave by four. Mom texted me; said that Stefan and Caroline were going to be there as well."
That was exactly the distraction she needed, "Caroline. Right…okay, good."
"Alright then," Damon stated.
She bit her lip, "Yep."
Chris tried not to laugh aloud at his parent's behavior.
God, they couldn't be more obvious if they tried.
His mother was practically drooling on herself, and Damon wasn't being shy with his wandering eye either.
It really shouldn't be so comical to watch, but under different circumstances, he'd put money on how long it would take them to jump each other if he were to leave the room.
Not that he really wanted to find out.
"So, we're gonna be leaving soon?"
They both snapped out of their staring contest and looked at him.
"Uh, yeah," Elena recovered first, "Sounds good."
He nodded, "Okay, good."
An hour later, they were pulling into the Salvatore's driveway.
Damon had to admit, this felt good.
Like he could pretend that this was a regular night with his family, enjoying dinner at his parents.
Stefan's car was in front of theirs as they got out and made their way to the house.
He felt a smile lift his lips.
Tonight was going to be good. He could feel it.
Valentina greeted them, after Chris rang the doorbell.
"I was worried you wouldn't make it!" She smiled, giving Chris a hug, then leaning forward to kiss Elena's cheek.
"And miss your cooking?" Damon teased, "No way."
She ushered them inside, "Well, we'll eat in about an hour, but Stefan and the others are in the living room."
Damon gave her a nod, and let his hand fall easily onto Elena's lower back, as Chris lead the way into the giant room.
"Elena!" a certain blond squealed, making her way over, "I was hoping you'd be here! Elijah sent me an email about the G.L.D files, and I completely forgot to get them organized! But I know you have a copy on your computer, so could you maybe send them to me tomorrow? I'd owe you, like, forever, and it really is important! I mean, if I don't get these finished, he's gonna grill my ass, and you know how I hate deadlines anyway, and if this all-"
"Caroline!" Elena chuckled, "It's okay, I have them, and yes, of course, I'll send them when I get home."
"Thanks," she grinned, and finally seemed to notice Damon standing behind her.
He was a little amused. Caroline hadn't changed at all.
"Well, if it isn't the prodigal son," she teased.
He smirked, "Honey, I've been called worse."
She smiled, "Now that I believe."
He gave a nod to Stefan, across the room, before looking down at her, "So I hear you finally took the Salvatore name."
"Finally," she allowed.
His brother made his way over then, "It certainly took long enough. The engagement was a year long."
Caroline whirled around to face him, "Well excuse me for wanting the beautiful wedding that we had. Things like that take time! Lots of planning, and stress, and time!"
He smiled at her, "But it was everything you wanted."
Blondie giggled a little, "That it was."
Stefan shook his head, lifting his arm, "Brother."
Damon leaned forward, the two embracing, "Glad you got to come."
Stefan nodded, "Oh, and the kids…"
For the first time, Damon was aware of the two dirty blond heads sitting across the room, on the couch in front of the television.
"Ah, right," he noted.
Stefan turned toward them, "Hey, Lex, Nick, come here for a second."
At the sound of their names, the two looked over, and then did as their father said.
Damon exhaled.
Stefan was a father now.
He was a father.
Seriously, when had they all went and grown up?
The two came over, and Damon saw that they were still pretty young.
The boy may have been ten, eleven at most, and the girl couldn't be older than eight.
"Damon," Stefan addressed him, "This is Nicolai and Alexia. Nick, Lexi, this is your uncle, Damon."
He smiled at them, saying hello, and the little girl smiled shyly.
The boy however, grew excited.
"Are you the one who comes on the radio?!"
Damon chuckled, "I am."
"Mom says you're really famous!" he continued, "Are you?"
"I'd like to think so," he answered, going with it.
Nicolai scrunched his nose a little, "I thought Daddy said you lived far far away?"
"I did," Damon answered, amused at how this boy resembled his little brother with bright green eyes, "But I came back home, to Mystic Falls."
"How come?" Nick pressed, and Caroline stepped in.
"Okay, sweetie, enough with the twenty questions. Take your sister, and go watch TV."
He crossed his arms, "But that's a baby show."
To Damon's surprise, Chris stepped up, "Hey, it's cool man. We can go sit on the couch with Lex, and I'll show you this new game on my phone."
Clearly tempted, Nick nodded, "Okay yeah! What kind of game?"
Chris winked at the group before sliding past them, leading his cousins back to the entertainment corner.
Damon smiled a little, which Stefan noticed.
"He's a damn good kid, Damon."
Damon met his brother's gaze, then looked down at Elena, "So I'm learning."
She blushed a little, and he sighed.
"Well," he addressed Stefan, "I'm sure these two are wanting to talk, so what do you say we go raid Dad's liqueur?"
Stefan chuckled, kissing Caroline's head, "Sounds good…Elena."
She smiled at him and Damon looked at her, "Have fun….Blondie."
Caroline rolled her eyes, but grinned, "Good to have you home, Damon."
Elena probably should have slowed down on the wine.
But the moment Damon and Stefan had left, Caroline had pounced, demanding a play by play of everything that had happened since Damon being back in town.
Once all the good parts were brought to light, analyzed, and categorized by the blond in question, Elena's headache had come back.
Not that she wasn't having a good time, but she was hoping the wine would help dull it some, which luckily, it had.
Now she was sitting on the couch, across from Stefan, who was holding Lexi in his lap as he flipped through a photo album with her.
Caroline had left to help Val set up the table, and Giuseppe had made his way down and was now talking with his grandsons about something or another.
However, the majority of Elena's attention was across the room.
Damon was fingering the binds of the books along the shelf, seeming to be re-familiarizing himself.
A glass of amber liquid claimed his free hand, and he looked pretty relaxed.
Once or twice he'd even glanced over at her, smirking when he found that she was already staring.
But she couldn't help it…not really.
"So I take it things are working out?" Stefan inquired, and she jumped a little, looking over at him.
"What? Oh…yeah. Yeah, things are good, I guess."
He chuckled, "Elena, you haven't taken your eyes off him the entire time we've been sitting here. I'd say that's a little more than an 'I guess'."
She sighed, "It's more like an 'I don't know'."
"Meaning?" he pressed.
"Meaning that I'm not sure what's going to happen."
He gave her a look, "But you know what you want to happen."
She narrowed her eyes, "Okay, just because we've been friends forever and you can read me like a book, doesn't necessarily mean that you should, you know?"
He chuckled, "Ah, come on. If I don't give you hell about it, who will?"
She smirked, "Your wife."
He considered that, "You are probably right…and speaking of which."
He motioned off into the distance and she turned.
Valentina and Caroline walked into the living room.
"Okay, food's done, and the table's set. Let's go eat!"
Nobody could object to that, and everyone made their way into the dining room.
Damon couldn't keep the smile off of his face.
Dinner had been amazing, as usual, and not only had he gotten to enjoy time with Elena and Chris, but he also got to reminisce about what life use to be like.
He grew up in this house, with Stefan.
And now everyone was back, and for once, things seemed to be making sense again.
Valentina had outdone herself, once again, having made an entire four course meal, including desert.
Once everyone was certain another bite couldn't be had, more wine was brought out.
And of course, Val had brought grape juice for the kids, though Chris insistently passed on both.
The conversation had been fun, relaxed, jokes even being made about how it had been a while since this many Salvatore's had been under the same roof in Mystic Falls.
It was good to catch up with his brother again, and seeing Elena and his son enjoying themselves was the icing on the cake.
Finally Valentina stood, "Damon, come with me for a moment, please?"
Curious, he nodded, excusing himself from the table.
His mother led him down the hall, into the family's library.
"I have something for you," she told him, "I found it a while back, and never got around to sending it to you…but I remembered it the other day, and was thinking it may of use to you."
His eyebrows furrowed, as she reached onto the nearby shelf and grabbed a binder.
"I'm sure you remember this."
He reached out, taking it from her, and exhaled, opening it.
Memories from the past spilled out at him in the words written down there.
His old song book.
Everything he'd ever written in high school, collected in front of him.
"I forgot I had this," he stated quietly.
Val smiled, "You never use to be without it. I read through some. They're actually quite good. Better than the stuff you've put out lately."
He shot her a look and she chuckled, "No offense."
Shrugging, he looked back down, absorbing the words there, and flipped through the pages.
Stopping on one in particular, he smiled.
One boy, one girl, two hearts beating wildly
To put it mildly it was love at first sight
He smiled, she smiled, and they knew right away
This was the day they'd waited for all their lives
And for a moment the whole world revolved
Around one boy and one girl.
"This was about Elena?" his mother inquired, and he nodded softly.
He remembered sitting down and writing these words.
It was summer, on the banks of the falls.
The grass was green, the water was cool, and they had all the time in the world.
It was one of those rare infinite moments of true happiness, as he stared at her, stretched out on their picnic blanket, eating the occasional strawberry as she thumbed through her book.
He remembered feeling the certainty that this was his forever.
This girl, this moment, and nothing else existed.
Inspired, he'd grabbed the binder, which he carried everywhere back then, and began to write.
The lyrics had come easily, and he'd worked out the melody a few days after.
Then that night they'd all camped out at the lake, he'd played it for her.
He sighed as he thought of those times, with the whole gang together like that, and Elena at his side.
He never dreamed it would come to an end.
"She still loves you, you know?" Valentina spoke, cutting into Damon's thoughts.
He blinked at her words, "Elena?"
His mother nodded, "I'm sure of it."
He swallowed, meeting her gaze, so like his own, "How can you be?"
She smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek, "Oh, baby…mothers know these things. And I've watched her over the years. She's dated, but her heart was never in it. Her attention is caught the second your name is brought up, and Chris told me once that he caught her listening to your music, alone in her room. Besides…feelings like the two of you had…those don't just go away."
Damon closed the binder, dropping his gaze, "I shouldn't have left her."
"You're right," Val nodded, "You shouldn't have. But don't work yourself up about that. You need to concentrate on what you're going to do to win her back."
His eyes shot to hers, "What makes you think that-"
"Damon, please," she smirked, "Don't insult me. Anyone with eyes can see that you are still head over heels for her."
He raised a brow, amused, "Are you seriously playing matchmaker right now?"
"I call it like I see it," she grinned, "And I see plenty. Elena's scared, but she loves you, she always has. And you are clearly smitten with her, and Chris…so why torture yourself? If you want to be with her, be with her."
He sighed, "It's not that simple, Mom."
"Sure it is," she pressed, "It is always that simple. You should be with the person you love, with your family. They need you, Damon. We all do."
He smiled a little, "I'm not going anywhere."
"You had better not," Val insisted, "We just got you back."
He nodded, then deciding, since she'd opened the conversation, "You know, I would have been back sooner if someone had actually told me about Christian."
Val sighed, "Damon, I apologized for that."
"I know," he countered, "But still. Someone should have said something. I understand Elena's hesitance to include me, but I had the right to know. And even though you were respecting her wishes, you should have known me better than that."
She nodded, "I did…I do. I know you well enough to know that you would have come home, and done exactly what you've done now…the right thing. But Elena wasn't ready for that, and neither was Christian. I honestly believe that things have a way of working themselves out, which clearly they have. And I am sorry that you had to miss so much, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but you're here now, and that's what you have to focus on. Making up for lost time."
Damon shook his head, "Elena doesn't want to make up Mom. At least, not anytime soon."
"And you're okay with that?" she asked, a little disbelieving.
"Of course not," he sighed, "I…I want her, Mom. I want a family with her, and Chris too, of course, but Elena…I've never been able to shake her."
Valentina gave him a compassionate look, "You always were all or nothing."
"Like it helps me now," he sighed.
She reached up, taking his face in her hands, "Damon, don't give up on this. You know what you want, so go for it. You love her, and there's no use in being miserable."
He shook his head, pulling her hands into his own, "I told her I'd give her time. She wants us to focus on Chris right now, and she's right. It's selfish of me to worry about our relationship until I work out the one I have with my son."
His mother pursed her lips, "Can I give you some advice?"
He smiled, "Like you've ever needed my permission."
She grinned, "True."
"So…" he pressed.
She sighed, "Well, everything you said may be true. But personally, I think you're fooling yourselves. You've done plenty of waiting, Damon. Fifteen years, and Elena's been doing this alone for too long. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be concerned about patching up things with Christian, because you definitely should. But don't use him as an excuse."
Damon's brows pulled together, "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said," she insisted, "And you can't let Elena pull that either. She's scared Damon, but she can't hide behind Chris just so she won't have to own up to what she feels. It's way too easy to do, so don't let her."
"How?" he pressed, "I can't just change her mind about us."
A knowing smirk crossed Valentina's lips, "Somehow, I'll think you'll find a way."
He chuckled, "I'm open for suggestions."
"Just be your charming self, baby. Everything else will work itself out."
He nodded, "I hope you're right."
So lots of Damon/Mommy bonding lol.
Do you guys think that Val is right?
Is Elena hiding behind Christian, so she doesn't have to face her feelings?
Should they really be fighting the obvious attraction between them, or should they just give in?
Let me know what you think, and leave a review please!