N: Finally the chapter you've all been waiting for is here. I hope it surprises you; enjoy!

Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this so fast.

Party crasher

When he got back to his room, Damon felt like could barely breath. He had been this close to kissing her again. She just looked so adorable helping him and she had some sort of…grace, that was missing before. He looked at the clock and immediately decided that there was no way he had time for another cold shower. As he opened the sock drawer he picked up two different kinds, put them on and just then realized one was black and the other one was gray. And that wouldn't have been a problem, but they had different shapes as well. One was simple and the other one had two thick straps on each side. Cursing under his breath, he went looking for matching socks. It took him another ten minutes to finish getting dressed and he thanked heavens his wife didn't comment on it. It looked like she had developed some sort of diplomacy after the accident. He decided to just be grateful for it and not question it.

"You two look like a bride and a groom on top of the wedding cake," Giuseppe said cheerfully when Damon and Elena arrived in the living room.

"Thanks, Dad," Damon answered.

"She doesn't exactly look like a bride in that black dress, dear," his mother commented and for the first time in a while Damon did not appreciate his mother's opened critics regarding his wife. Damon knew his parents were not blind. They could see how much pain Katherine had caused Damon over the years and both his parents were trying to be protective over both their children while giving them space to make their own decisions. Of course sometimes his mother's Italian blood would make her push it a notch.

A few seconds later Anna came running down the stairs. She stopped in front of Damon and he bent over to pick up his daughter. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and buried her face in his hair. He kissed her on both her cheeks as he put her down and told her they'll be back before she'd wake up.

To Damon's surprise, Katherine immediately crouched down beside him. "Give mommy a big hug," she murmured and without any hesitation, the child hugged her mother tight. "We'll come kiss you when we get home. You be a good girl for Grandma and Grandpa, okay?"

The little girl nodded before kissing Katherine. Damon expected her to pull away; instead she hugged the child even closer, kissing her nose and cheeks.

Damon was puzzled. He didn't know where it all came from, but it scared him. When she would finally decide she had enough of this game, she would stop and she would hurt Anna all over again. He won't let that happen, he won't let her do it all over again. He had been fooled way too many times for him to fall for it again. He had to be careful.

"You look good Katherine," Antonella said softly and Damon smiled at his mother. "You two be careful and drive safe," she added right before they got out of the house.

Once in the car, Elena turned towards Damon, "your father was right, you look great," she said smiling.

"Thanks, you too," he answered. And he meant it. God how he meant it. She looked beautiful. It might have been the dress or the new attitude. She was more…calm and collected, but she still had that fire that would spark in bright red and orange every time they would have an argument. He liked that about her, the way she would challenge him and take him by surprise. He loved the passion that was reading in her brown eyes. But right now, right now he just lusted for her. He turned to look at her and she flashed him one of those rare, bright, honest smiles. She seemed to be more beautiful with every passing day. It was like; even since she recovered from that accident she got a certain glow, something unique and mesmerizing that hadn't been there before. Damon didn't have a name for it yet, but it was driving him crazy. A few years ago, he would've said 'the hell with this party' and made love to her right there and then, but now he knew her. He knew Katherine way to well to fall for it again. 'Full me once, shame on you, full me twice…' Damon thought.

***Lucky 13***

Elena didn't even notice the man at the pay-phone as she came out of the lady's room. She was ready to get back to the party, back by Damon's side. The party started off pretty formal and quite boring, but as soon as the band started playing and people started to mingle, it turned around. Everybody seemed to be eager to meet Damon and support him. Elena loved the way he would make time for everyone. He was kind, warm and polite to everyone no matter rich or poor, black or white. He made no difference between people and she admired that about him.

People had been kind to her too, complimenting her on her dress and earrings. Telling her how they admired her courage and determination. They sympathized with her and what she went through after the accident, telling Damon he was lucky to have found such a strong woman to have by his side.

"You bitch," she heard a man behind her. "You think you can just ignore me all night and get away with it? Do you have any idea how much trouble it was to get my hands on a ticket?" he talked slow and firm in her ear. Elena got chills running down her spine. She had no idea who the man was or what she wanted, but she felt the need to run away from him. Except, she couldn't, because he was holding her.

"Let me go!" she yelled, but soon his hand was covering her mouth and she couldn't get the sounds out. He was strong, she tried to fight, to push him away, but he was a lot stronger than she was.

"I can believe you. You looked right through me, like you didn't know me. How dare you?"

"Please, I have to get back –"

"Hold still, I just want to take a good look at your knew face," he said as he placed his hand under her chin, forcing her head up. "I like the hair, but I still think curly is more your style," he stroked her hair, tucking it behind her ears. By now Elena realized that the man not only had known Katherine, but he might've known her intimately as well, judging by the boldness of his moves, words and touches. She only prayed this guy wouldn't notice something anybody else missed. "You actually look better. Younger. I'm curious if you feel any different, if you know what I mean?" he asked and that was the last drop for Elena. She somehow found the strength to push him away against the wall. She slapped him as hard as she could.

"You stay away from me!" she shouted. She wanted to go on and tell him she had changed and she doesn't want to see his face as long as she lives, but two women that Elena recognized from the party were walking towards them

"Don't you think you're get away with this," he whispered and in a second he was gone.

"Are you ok?" one of the women asked. She didn't realize she was shaking until she looked down at her hand. She was cold and her head was pounding; she felt like she might faint any moment. She returned to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face. It helped, just not enough.

When she got back, she immediately spotted Damon aside the room. She thanked God for the miracle that he was alone and walked over. She grabbed Damon's hand and squeezed it hard. From reflex, Damon turned around and wrapped his arms around her. No words were necessary for the time being, he just held her. The sound of her fanatic heart beat was so hard, Damon could feel it against his chest and it alarmed him. His wife seemed scared and his wife was never scared.

"Katherine, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"God, Damon, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she murmured as they slowly broke apart. Elena didn't find the courage to look him in the eyes. Not yet. Knowing what his wife had done to him made her scared, mad and overwhelmed her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked.

She couldn't, so she lied. She seemed to do that a lot lately and the fact that now it would come kind of naturally to her scared her. "I guess I was not ready to face the crowd. There are so many people, I just –"

"You seemed fine a few minutes ago."

"I was, I guess I over did it. I started to feel trapped and I couldn't breathe…"

"Shhh, it's ok," he said grabbing her hand. "We'll go, the party's ending anyway."

"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin your night."

"I'm sure."

The car ride home was silent. Elena would just glance at Damon from time to time from pure need of comfort. She wished she could comfort him, she wished they could comfort each other, but for now, she was glad he was there, close to her. She felt safe. When they got home, they walked directly into Anna's room to kiss her good-night as promised. She mumbled something, but didn't wake up. They cover the girl's tiny body with the blacked and got out.

As soon as the Elena closed the door, Damon turned towards her. "We'll be attending a few formal functions on the trip, you better pack this dress," he said and Elena's eyes lit up.

"You mean, you're taking me with you?"

"Only if you're up to it," he said and Elena answered that she was ready. "Elijah thinks it's a great idea. You were lovely tonight, everybody was charmed," he went on.

"What do you think, Damon?"

"I want you to come."

"Then I will."

"Good, Elijah will give you the itinerary so you'll know what else to pack. He will probably be here tomorrow morning. Good night Kat."

"Good night," she answered softly. She went back to her room, took a quick shower and slipped into bed, but even though she was exhausted, the sleep couldn't seem to come, so she got out of bed and made her way towards the kitchen.

N: Don't forget to leave me a review.