A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading along and those of you who have left reviews. This chapter delves into more of Elena's past.

Chapter 3 - Angel in Heaven.

The chair on the porch of my childhood home swung back and forth beneath my legs while I was doing nothing in particular. Except for the memories circulating inside my head, they were fresh: like the time when I was ten and playing on the trampoline with my friend, Bonnie. With no nets and other safety gadgets they had nowadays, I'd bounced straight off landing on the ground with a thud. Six hours later after a trip to emergency, my arm was set in plaster.

Then there was the time Jeremy was stung by bees, their nest hidden inside the roof of our tree house. He'd been up there playing war-games with his water gun and must of upset the Queen bee, and they set upon him. I remember him running into the house with red welts all over his arms and a couple of stings to his face. He was lucky that he had no allergens to bees, although to this day my brother had never eaten honey.

Those were the times when I was young and had nothing to worry about. My mom, Miranda and Dad, Grayson brought us up with love and an appreciation for living in the moment.

But there came the time when I had to grow up.

Like my first prom: when Liam came to pick me up all nervous as hell. It was our first and only date together, we were far better suited as friends more than anything else. My final days of school before graduation, engulfed with sadness and excitement at the same time. One part of my life was closing and another just beginning.

There there was college and leaving home for the first time in my life. It had been an unknown: what to expect. I was there to study, get good marks and attend the occasional party. What I hadn't counted on was falling head over heels in love with Damon Salvatore.

I'd been lying on my bed in our dorm room flicking through some of my study notes. Concentration was out the window when I was far more interested in waiting for a freaking phone call. It'd been a few days, what the hell was he waiting for? And that was so unlike me, revolving my life around a guy. Burying my head in a book I tried absorbing the words and I did lose track of the time when my cell started ringing and had me jumping off the bed in haste. I finally had my answer when his name flashed up on the screen, turning me all giddy like. "Hello?" I answered on the fifth ring.

"So you promised you'd go out with me. It's time to collect. Are you free on Saturday afternoon? And don't tell me you need to check your diary and get back to me."

I smiled. He wanted this bad. "Damon I said yes and I meant it. What do you have planned?"

"I'll pick you up at 3pm then. Oh and I can't give away my secret."

He'd picked me up in his classic blue Chevy Camaro with a smile on his face the size of Texas. His gaze roamed over my appearance from top to bottom like he was savouring every detail. And he should because I'd spent hours perfecting my look: from my curled hair, my makeup and the ten different outfits I'd tried on, I decided on a lace skirt that fell just above my knees and a cream off the shoulder top highlighting my tan.

"Wow." He was staring at me again, mouth open in appreciation. "Why didn't we do this sooner? I mean Elena you are stunning."

Well he wasn't bad on the eyes either with his dark hair all tousled, a pair of well worn jeans moulding his crotch and a black shirt showcasing his muscled torso, he could easily be mistaken for one of those Calvin Klein models. "You are full of compliments aren't you?"

Walking me to his car he pulled the passenger door open. "I can be a gentleman you know."

"Thank you. So can you tell me where are we going?" I said, strapping my seatbelt in.

Wriggling his brows he started the engine. "I think you'll like it, wait and see."

It was still summer after all and he'd driven out to a small family vineyard about an hour from Whitmore, Tonti Estates. He knew the owner, a friend of his father's and we had the place to ourselves.

Treated to our very own wine tasting in the rolling hills and a shimmering lake reflecting against the suns rays was the perfect way to spend our afternoon.

Sipping on a fruity wine, while waiting for our meal, I said, "This is lovely. I'm impressed Damon."

Smirking, he clinked his glass against mine. "Wait until you taste the food."

And we ate a mouth-watering seafood entree of prawns and oysters, before a main meal of wagu beef with creamy mash and green beans, and a dessert of chocolate cake.

We'd moved to a two seat sofa afterwards, allowing me to stretch my legs and unwind after a fabulous meal. Slowly the sky changed color from clear blue to hues of purple and orange. "I've had the perfect day. You are full of surprises. I like it." Quite aware of his fingers lightly stroking across my bare shoulders, I stole a glance at him. His gaze held mine and flickered from my eyes, down to my lips and back again. I held my breath when his head inched closer.

"I'm glad you had a good time. I want to see you again." His hands captured my face and lightly pressed his lips against mine.

A million butterflies were running havoc with my senses when his mouth enticed me to open and surrender to his kiss. I obliged and parted my mouth wide.

Groaning, Damon ran his hands up and down the contours of my body. Lightly skimming over my hardened nipples and stopping at the valley between my thighs, he deepened the kiss causing the fire in us to burn and nearly throw all caution to the wind.

It was he who broke the kiss first. "Elena." He croaked out, trying to pull away.

I yanked him back down. "Mm don't talk. Don't stop."

Laughing he stared down at me in between a handful of kisses. "I didn't bring you here to get drunk with and have sex in the vineyards." He clasped a strand of my hair twirling it around his finger. "I want so much more than that."

My breath slowly retreated back to normal and for a second I was embarrassed about what transpired. My eyes darted behind us to the now darkened restaurant, which I hoped meant they'd been no one watching. I sat upright and untangled myself from his arms. "You're right. I don't know-"

He cut me off by pressing his finger to my lips. "We do know. See me again tomorrow? There is so much more I want to experience, with you."

I nodded, gaping at him in amazement. He wasn't interested in playing hard to get: he liked me and I liked him, so to hell with the rules, I wanted to see him too. "Sunday it is."

{~}

"Elena? Would you like a cup of tea?"

I smiled at Mom who was carrying her faded green tray and on it was her Chinese teapot, matching cups and a plate of my favorite biscuits-scotch fingers. "You're a star. Do you want to join me?"

She sat down beside me and poured our drinks carefully. "Here you go sweetie. What were you thinking about?"

Sipping the warm liquid I stared into the bottom of my cup: wishing the tea leaves would give me a clue on what my future held. But all I saw was a pile of mess. "A lot of things, memories mostly. I love this house and everything you and Dad have done for us."

Smiling wistfully, she said, "We love you both dearly and I'm happy to have my daughter back for however long. Have you spoken with Damon lately?"

My husband. The one I was currently separated from. "I haven't been in touch with him since the other day. I'm sure he's busy with Lucas."

"That poor kid. He's been through a lot. What I want to know is how are you doing?"

My world was falling apart and not for the first time. "It's hard Mom. He has a child with someone else."

"You're pushing him away."

"It's the right thing to do. I think about what happened to us in college and it never leaves my head. I can't stand it Mom."

"Sweet girl I know I was there. It changed your life forever. Are you sure you can't stay with your husband and help him bring Lucas up together?"

Of course I'd thought about it. Ever since Katherine had arrived in Mystic Falls with a child in tow who looked the splitting image of his father. But I knew maybe one day I'd start to resent him for being someone who wasn't mine and maybe he'd hate me for taking away his family. "I can't because it should of been our child. It hurts far too much."

"Oh darling. I'm so sorry."

Blindly wiping away my tears now coursing down my cheeks I turned and ran to my room. The painful memory flooded through my senses: my heart was beating and skipping one. I knew it was going to stop the air reaching my lungs, leaving me gasping and all light headed I might faint.

I awoke in the sterile recovery ward. A curtain surrounded me from everyone else. An oxygen tube was shoved up my nose and in my panic I ripped it out. Trying to roll to the side I felt a sharp sensation pulse through my pelvis. I shouted out with tears rolling down my cheeks and patted my stomach, alone and afraid.

"Elena? It's good to see you awake. The surgery went well. You lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. However, I'm sorry to tell you this but we couldn't preserve your fertility."

"Wh-I mean what happened?"

"There was a problem getting the placenta out when it abrupted. We needed to perform a hysterectomy. Do you understand what that means?"

At first his words didn't register in my hazy drug fucked mind. How could I not have children when only a few hours ago I was in fact pregnant? No I didn't understand it, not at all. "I lost my baby and now your telling me I'll never have another one?"

"I'm sorry Elena. These situations are a matter of life and death and you were our top priority. This is a card of a good counsellor I think you should see."

He handed me a card which I took and vowed I'd never use. What could they do for me? My baby had a heartbeat and was perfectly healthy, and now he was gone like he never existed. Dr. Fell left me to get some rest. As if. Every breath I breathed burned a hole through my chest, and the salty residue of the tears against my lips were a constant reminder of what I'd lost. I'd never come back from this. A part of me died that day and would never be reopened. There was no joy anymore, all I could see was a tunnel of constant darkness. The laughter had all but disappeared and had me asking the question, why me?

I don't know why I'd agreed to meet Caroline for lunch. First up, I had zero appetite and secondly I didn't want to listen to her lecturing me about my husband. I loved her dearly but sometimes she could be too much and she'd made it her mission to sort out my now defunct life.

She'd always been like that even in high school: the girl who liked to fix everything. Even when she herself was broken after a messy breakup with her ex, Tyler Lockwood. The guy she'd had plans to marry some day and have babies with. Turned out he was a complete douche, who was more into his football than her and had dumped him without fail.

So I'd received a text or rather a summons late last night, telling me to be at The Grill by midday. Just as I was about to reply with some vague reason why I couldn't make it- she'd got in first with her, Don't you dare say no or cancel on me Elena.

I arrived just as the town bell chimed on the hour. Caroline was sitting at one of the outdoor tables waving madly in my direction. Taking a deep breath, I put a smile on my face and headed her way. "Hey. Did you get here early to ensure I'd turn up?" I said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.

The blonde smiled smugly. "Oh you know me so well. I'm so glad to see you, it feels like its been ages. Sit down I've ordered drinks."

Squeezing into the chair opposite her, I glanced around at the other tables hoping his familiar face was nowhere to be seen. He frequented this place a lot on his lunch break, that's if he had time for one. I felt myself relax somewhat knowing he wasn't here. "I'm sorry about that. How's things? Are the kids well? I feel bad I haven't seen them lately."

Sweeping her locks into a messy bun on top of her head, she sighed. "I shouldn't complain. I love them I really do. But with twins nobody realizes how hard it can be."

I didn't answer. I had no idea how it felt to just have one. "I should visit, I'm the worst Aunty in the world."

The waitress returned with a bottle of French white wine and two chilled glasses. Caroline shooed her away and poured the drinks herself. "Enough about me. I want to know how you're doing. The truth Elena."

The liquid swirled around on my tongue: a mixture of fruity with a tinge of wood. Caroline had good taste and certainly knew her wines. "This is a nice drop. I'll have to remember the name."

Tapping her manicured nails against the table, she tutted, "Oh no you don't. You're deflecting the conversation. It can't be easy being apart from the one you love." Watching me closely, she took a sip of her drink.

God damn she was straight to the point today. "Care do we really need to do this now? Can't we enjoy lunch and talk about more pleasant things?"

Frowning, she said, "Your marriage is hanging on by a thread. This is Damon Salvatore we're talking about, you know the guy whose supposed to be the love of your life?"

I felt like I'd been sucker punched. Everyone thought I was doing the wrong thing. My parents, though they never said it aloud and my best friends. Bonnie was away in Europe but her daily emails and threatening to cancel her tours to come back to the States was a huge thing. "I saw him. He came to my school the other day."

"And?"

Was she feigning ignorance? Annoyed, I snapped, "Didn't you get a full version of our conversation from your husband?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "I'm here as your friend, not sister-in-law. All I know is that two people who are so right for each other are on the verge of divorce."

Gulping down the rest of my wine I thought about leaving. I knew she would do this. But then I thought fuck it, I was going to tell her. "You know what I wish? That my husband and I could have the family we always wanted. Instead he has a child with another woman and ours is somewhere in heaven. Do you know how much that torments me?"

Caroline's eyes softened. She knew what I'd been through and it wasn't pretty. "Is it worth letting him go? You did that once before and where did that get you?"

"I love him Caroline. I always will. But I can't do it, be a step mother to Lucas." I noticed Caroline's face had paled and her eyes were now fixed on something behind me. I froze thinking he was here.

Caroline nudged me, while whispering, "Oh my god. You won't believe who just walked past, Katherine."

I remained still, resisting the urge to spin around and gawk at her. It was only a matter of time before I'd bump into her again, after all Mystic Falls was a small town. "Is she alone?"

"I think so. What are you going to do? Say hello? Ask how Lucas is?"

No actually I was about to get up and leave before she saw me. I'd met her a couple of times and it'd been awkward as all fuck. Damon sitting in a room trying to act like this was a normal occurrence with his wife, the ex-fiancé and a little boy who deserved better. Grabbing my purse, I pushed back my chair desperate to escape. "I'm going. I don't want to see Katherine. I'll see you soon, I promise." Rushing towards the sidewalk and a few steps away from my car-I collided into a woman with wavy dark hair who was pushing a red stroller along the pavement. I started to apologise, but the words got stuck in my throat.

"Elena?"

And just like that I'd found myself face to face with the woman who was going to take my place.