Story: Elena's Baby
Chapter: Neglect
Disclaimer: *sigh* I still don't own any rights to The Vampire Diaries or its characters
"Caroline, please. My feet hurt so much and I'm tired, I don't want to shop anymore," Elena said.
However, as much as she complained Caroline still wandered around the mall and into stores to buy closet loads of shoes—not paying any attention to Elena. As they entered another shoe store, Elena tried to find a bench to sit on but she was out of luck.
"Caroline—"
"Jesus, Elena, what is it? You called me and asked me if I wanted to come to the mall with you. If you didn't want to shop 'til you dropped, why did you even call me?" Caroline screeched as she narrowed her eyes at Elena.
Elena pouted and clutched her three shopping bags tightly in her hands. She walked down the aisle of high heels and pulled out a pair of closed-toe nude pumps with a four inch heel; the exact shoe she had been searching for. Just as she was going to respond to Caroline, a woman and her daughter got up from a bench nearby and Elena couldn't help but walk over to it and sigh in relief as she sat on it.
"I'm tired Caroline. When I said I wanted to go shopping, I only wanted your opinion on a couple of outfits and now you've gone and bought yourself every item in the whole mall. I'm tired, my feet hurt and I'm hungry," Elena said with a frown.
Caroline huffed and stood staring at her friend in frustration before rolling her eyes. Elena struggled to get her feet into the heels but try and try again she couldn't fit them in. Elena threw the shoes into the box and put her head in her hands, it was just an awful day.
"Those are size 8 and a half, how do they not fit your feet?" Caroline inquired.
"I don't know, I bought an 8 and a half from the same company in a different colour just last week. I'm 24, my feet shouldn't be growing anymore," Elena sighed.
As Caroline took another look at Elena's feet her eyes narrowed at Elena's swollen toes. The arch of her foot wasn't as rainbow shaped as they used to be, essentially, Elena's feet looked like a heavily inflated water balloon.
"Your feet are swollen," Caroline pointed out. "Have you been walking or running a lot lately?"
"No more than usual. They're really sore and I can't find any shoes but these extremely worn out toms to wear."
As Elena was putting back the shoes on the rack, Caroline stared at Elena as a whole to try to figure the mystery out. Caroline's eyes popped wide open as her hand flew to her mouth—could it really be? Elena stared at Caroline and raised her brow as if to ask 'what?' and Caroline shook her head.
"Not here, come with me," Caroline spoke as she tugged on Elena's arm and pulled her towards the exit of the shoe shop.
As they sat on the rooftop patio of the restaurant eating their salads, Elena cleared her throat.
"What is it, Caroline?"
Caroline gulped, "Elena, don't take this the wrong way because if I'm wrong then I guess you may take offense to it but I just want you to know that I love you and I'm only asking because I mean who knows maybe I'll love them so much and spoil them and—" she rambled.
"—Caroline, Jesus, you're not making any sense. What are you talking about?" Elena asked impatiently.
"Are you pregnant?" Caroline asked in a hushed and rapid tone.
Elena blinked about a hundred times, taken aback from her question. Pregnant? Pregnant? Why would she even think something like that, she couldn't be pregnant. Damon had just come home and she had Ava at home and they were just starting to become a real family again. Elena rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair—there's no way I'm pregnant. But then she thought back on the past couple of months with Damon. They'd been intimate dozens of times and not once did they use contraceptives, even though she now knew it was possible for them to have children even though he's a vampire. Elena's eyes went extremely wide for a second before she brought herself back to Caroline.
"Holy shit," Elena started, "I don't know. Why would you even ask me something like that Caroline?"
Caroline rolled her eyes and huffed.
"Hmm, let's see. I don't know, maybe because you have an increase on your appetite? Or maybe it's because your feet are extremely swollen? No, wait, maybe it's because you're on an emotional overload lately and you've been exhausted to the max after doing simply nothing? Actually, I think what's selling it is the fact that you're experiencing the same symptoms that you had with Ava four years ago and you smell different," Caroline explained.
"What do you mean I smell different? Is it a bad smell?" Elena asked.
"No, but I noticed it right away. Hello, nurse in the maternity ward? I don't know if it's because of my heightened senses but pregnant women have a different smell about them. Some are worse than others—but you don't smell bad. You smell like a mist, but like a garden-like mist," Caroline said.
Elena nodded her head before speaking.
"What do I do now? Buy a pregnancy test? See my doctor? Do I do one or both with Damon or on my own?" Elena asked, lip quivering.
Caroline grabbed Elena's hand from the top of the table and linked their fingers together. As if this had calmed her down a little, Caroline's thumb caressed Elena's back hand carefully.
"Sweetie, I know that you're a little scared because you've only known how to do this on your own but let me tell you something, you're not alone now. Damon's there for you, no matter what. I'm here for you no matter what, and everyone else who loves you is here for you. Just like they were here for you when you had Ava. I think you should—" Caroline said but was interrupted by Bonnie's footsteps.
Bonnie walked up to the table and sighed as she grabbed a seat, apologizing profusely for being late for lunch. Caroline let go of Elena's hand and gave her a look to act natural before smiling at Bonnie. They had begun to talk about something meaningless while they ate and Elena finished the last of her salad and put her head in her hands as a minor head ache and nausea hit her.
"Elena, are you okay honey—" Bonnie said before jumping slightly as she touched Elena's arm.
Bonnie furrowed her brows in confusion before her eyes softened and the sides of her mouth curled up into a grin.
"Oh my god, Elena, congratulations!" Bonnie squealed.
"Wait, you can sense that she's pregnant too?" Caroline asked.
"Of course I can," Bonnie said rolling her eyes, "she's glowing and I can feel the baby's energy flowing out of her."
Elena brushed a happy tear from her eye and smiled. Caroline and Bonnie got up from their seats to hug Elena and they squealed girlishly about the new baby.
"I'm so excited I can't wait to spoil her! I'm going to buy her so many dresses and earrings, she's going to be my little princess. Well, aside from my other little princess, Ava," Caroline gushed.
Elena laughed and rolled her eyes.
"It could be a boy, you know," Elena said.
"Yeah, yeah, I bet you a pair of my best Jimmy Choos that it's a girl," said Caroline.
After gushing with the girls about the more-than-probable new baby, she was starting to warm up to the idea of having another Salvatore baby running around the house. Only this time, Daddy would be able to see all the milestones of said baby. Damon, she thought. She didn't know how he'd take the news of her having another baby. Not only Damon, but Ava. She was a big girl at heart and Elena knew Ava would be thrilled to have a little brother or a sister but the initial shock of not being the center of attention anymore might frighten her away.
Elena sighed and folded her hands in her lap, she didn't know what to do. Take a pregnancy test at home with Damon and share their love for the baby together? What if it went sour and he left to have a few drinks at the Grill? Did she even need a pregnancy test when she had all the supernatural proof that she needed? Should she just set up an appointment with Dr. Fell and tell Damon about the baby on her own, hoping he'll accompany her to the doctor's office?
She had no idea what she would do, she was screwed.
"Ava!" Damon called out.
It was lunch time and Elena was still at the mall with the girls which meant daddy-daughter day. It wasn't as bad as it would have sounded to him three months back—he would have been terrified to be alone with his daughter. All that responsibility? No way could he have handled it on his own or without Elena.
"Yes, Daddy?" Ava asked from upstairs.
Damon rolled his eyes at his daughter. If Elena had called her name she'd be down here in a flash but if Damon called her name then she'd ask before coming down.
"Come downstairs honey, I have a surprise for you!"
Just as he said the words, Ava had blurred down the stairs and stood in front of her father with a great big grin on her face. He smiled at her when he saw what she was wearing; a pair of Minnie Mouse leggings and a red long sleeve shirt with the whitest socks Damon had ever seen in his life.
"What is it, Daddy? What is it?" Ava squealed in anticipation.
Damon wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up high before carrying her into the kitchen and blowing a raspberry into her neck. She laughed and giggled before wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and blew a sloppy raspberry on his cheek, leaving him laughing and giggling as well.
"Okay princess, we're going to do some fun things today. First, we're going to make lunch together. After that we're going to clean up our mess so mommy doesn't think we're a bunch of pigs and then you can help me with something in the backyard. When all of that is done, we can play some hide and seek. Does that sound like a good plan?" said Damon.
Ava yawned and nodded, resting her head on Damon's shoulder.
"Oh c'mon, don't tell me you're tired! You slept 10 hours already," Damon said chuckled, rubbing his hand up and down her back soothingly as she huffed.
"Daddy, I didn't sleep nice today. I kept waking up at night time and my Tinkerbell night light broke," Ava pouted.
Damon half smiled sympathetically at Ava as he set her down on the island counter. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead and opened the pantry doors, looking around for ideas on what to make for lunch.
"Baby, what do you want to eat for lunch?" Damon asked.
"Can we make chicken noodle soup? My tummy doesn't feel good," Ava asked.
Damon furrowed his brows and walked over to Ava—taking a good look at her overall being. Her eyes were drooping and her skin was a little clammy. Her heart was beating slowly and she was hunched over on the counter. His heart was breaking as he watched his once happy and bubbly daughter turn into his sad and sick daughter. He brushed her raven black hair out of her face and pressed his lips to her forehead.
She was definitely sick, and running a fever. He couldn't believe he didn't notice it before.
"Daddy?"
Damon smiled softly at her and picked her up, wrapping her small body around his torso.
"Of course we can make chicken noodle soup, does mommy make that for you when you're sick?" He asked.
She nodded her head and then rested it back down on his shoulder. He carried her to the couch and laid her down, covering her in with the Dora the Explorer blanket and turning on the T.V. so she could watch some cartoons. She thanked him quietly and he went back into the kitchen to make her some soup.
He would have opted for the canned soup so she could eat quickly but then thought against it. His daughter deserved better than a stupid can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. Damon started getting ingredients from the fridge and pantry and before long he had chopped up different vegetables and cooked it in a broth on the stove. When he got the egg noodles from the pantry to the right, he put it in the soup and let it boil. He also added some type of hot sauce to the soup, knowing that his mother used to do the same for him when he was sick.
When it was done, he put it into a small bowl and let it cool off as he set the table for her. He peeked at Ava and he saw that she was intently watching cartoons so he blurred to the basement and walked through the red door. Damon opened the freezer door and pulled out a blood bag, blurring back to the kitchen and putting it into a coffee travel mug. When it was filled to the top, Damon sucked out the remains of the bag and tossed it into the garbage.
Damon sighed as he realized Ava's soup was still very hot so he grabbed a spoon and stirred it, blowing on the soup as he did so. It's funny, if you had asked him 10 years ago if he would ever do this for someone, Damon would have laughed in your face. Today he stands being that man, the one who blows his sick daughters soup to cool it down.
When it was cool, he put the bowl in the placemat and called Ava to the kitchen for lunch. She blurred to the table and sat on the chair, smiling up at Damon as she fed herself the soup.
"Thank you, Daddy," Ava said with a toothy grin.
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Damon said while smiling back.
Damon started washing the dishes and drying them when Ava appeared at his side carrying an empty bowl and sippy cup.
"I'm done, Daddy. Here are my dishes," Ava said while smiling brightly.
"Do you always help Mommy with the dishes when she does them?" Damon asked.
She nodded her head and he chuckled before grabbing the dirty dishes from her small hands. She walked upstairs and threw on her black winter coat, scarf, and her fluffy-on-the-inside winter boots. When she threw on her gloves, she walked down the stairs—meeting Damon in the kitchen. He eyed her suspiciously with an eyebrow raised.
"You said we were going to go to the backyard and you were going to have me help you with something. Momma said that when I'm sick that I should bundle up if I'm going to go outside. I'm ready, Daddy, I'm ready!" Ava said eagerly.
"If you're sick then we shouldn't go outside, baby. You should just stay inside and watch some T.V. and take it easy. If you'd like, I could watch some cartoons with you—maybe even a movie!" Damon said with mock excitement.
Truth is, he just wanted to go outside to show her the plans he had for the new garden but he didn't want to cause her to get worse. Elena would freak out if she got sick under his watch, not to mention kill him if she got worse because he took her out. Ava pouted and threw her arms together in a huff, she didn't like being treated like a child. She glared at Damon and he was taken aback.
"Daddy, you promised! Mommy says that if I'm warm I'll be okay, please?" She pleaded.
Damon shook his head.
"No, Ava. You're going to stay inside and play with your toys or something and that's final," Damon said sternly.
"But Daddy—"
"Enough, Ava!"
Ava's eyes blurred with tears as she glared at Damon, it broke his heart to see her so upset with him. She angrily ripped her jacket and scarf off and threw it on the floor before trudging up the stairs with loud stomps. Damon sighed and rubbed his eyes, what did I do now, he thought. He picked the jacket and the scarf and hung them on the rack. As he heard her sob in her room, his heart clenched. He didn't know what else to do so in spite of his racing heart, he tuned out her cries and took a sip of his comforting bourbon.
When he had felt bad enough, when the guilt had seeped its way through his veins, he put down the bourbon and walked towards the nearest staircase. He walked slowly up the stairs and tried to listen out for her heartbeat yet was a little startled that he couldn't hear it. He walked a little faster and when he reached her room door, he opened it with clear distress.
Ava wasn't in her room.
Damon ran his hands through his hair and looked around the room frantically.
"Ava!" he called out.
He blurred all around the house, checking in the smallest spaces he could find but he couldn't find her. He was so screwed.
Elena sighed as she walked down the family planning aisle at the local corner store. She shouldn't have been here of all places to buy a pregnancy test, the owners knew her—they knew everyone. One little slip up and her secret would come out. Not that she wasn't going to tell Damon, because she was, but she wanted him to find out from her.
As she walked up and down the aisle, she found herself become short of breath as she reached the same corner of the aisle that she reached when she bought her first ever pregnancy test, when she was pregnant with Ava. As Elena reached down, she sighed as she picked up the First Response Pregnancy Test Kit. She didn't think twice when she picked it up and walked towards the check-out.
When she put it down, Mrs. Kennedy looked at her with a great big smile. Her face, mostly the corners of her eyes, crinkled with wrinkles—defining her old age. Elena smiled shyly and pulled out her wallet. Had Mrs. Kennedy not known she was married, her smile would turn into a ridiculous look of disgust and judgement. She was a very religious woman.
"That'll be $37.89, Mrs. Salvatore," she said with a grin on her face.
Elena pulled out two twenties and placed them on the counter, graciously taking the bagged test in her hands.
"Keep the change, Mrs. Kennedy. Have a good day," Elena said.
"Thank you, dear. I hope you find all the answers you're looking for with that test, families are truly a blessing," Mrs. Kennedy replied.
With a curt, yet gracious, nod Elena walked out of the store and quickly shoved the convenience store bag into her purse. It was bad enough Mrs. Kennedy found out, she didn't want anyone else who was lurking around to find out too. When she got to her car, she threw open the door and sat in the driver's seat. She drove home in silence. What felt like an hour was only really 7 minutes but once she opened the garage; she couldn't help but feel relieved.
When she opens the garage door that leads to the laundry room, she hears Damon's frantic voice screaming out for Ava. She dropped all her things and called out for Damon in panic, no, no, not again!
Damon reached Elena and grabbed her arm.
"I don't know where she went. I yelled at her and she was so upset, she went upstairs to her room and I haven't seen her since. Elena—God, I don't know what to do! She's just—she's not—I don't know where to find her," Damon let out with a shaky breath, looking all around the room.
Elena's heart was beating so fast, she didn't even listen to Damon rambling. She ran with her four inch heels down the hall and to the nearest staircase. With every step she found herself struggling to keep her breath, great time to be pregnant, she thought sarcastically. When she reared the hallway to Ava's room, she threw the door open and ran towards her closet.
"Baby, she's not in there I checked," Damon tried to reason, but Elena wasn't having any of it.
When she opened Ava's walk in closet door, she ran to the furthest left corner and dropped to her knees. Elena opened the hidden trap door beneath the rug and there stood Ava sitting in a large cylindrical tube. Elena shut her eyes and took a deep breath of relief, her hand flying to her heart.
"Mommy?" Ava called out.
"Yeah, baby. It's me, what are you doing down there?" Elena asked, tears flooding her eyes.
"Hiding from Daddy, he's being mean to me," said Ava.
Ava let out a cough and that's when Elena realized she was sick. She could hear it through Ava's cracked and sore voice but it became apparent when she coughed and sniffled. Elena turned around to face Damon and she eyed him suspiciously.
"What happened" asked Elena.
Damon blew a frustrated breath out of her mouth.
"She's sick, Elena. She said she wanted to go outside and I said no because it could get worse. She got upset and started asking over and over again so I told her no again and she ran upstairs and now we're here," Damon explained.
Ava angrily climbed out of the tube and looked at him with a glare.
"You promised that we could go outside—you lied to me!" Ava squeaked.
"Ava!" Elena reprimanded.
Ava closed her mouth straight away and didn't say anything else. It wasn't out of fear of Elena, it was because she didn't want to disobey her mother. Elena smoothed Ava's hair on her head and looked at Damon with an annoyed look. Damon rolled his eyes because he knew he was right, Ava couldn't take no for an answer so he had to do something.
When nothing else was said, Damon eyed the little trap door with suspicion.
"What is that?" Damon asked.
"It's a rabbit hole. When we were watching Alice in Wonderland, we got the idea and let it stem from there. Here, come check it out," Elena insisted.
She pulled Ava into her arms and climbed down the ladder into the tube. Damon climbed down with her and eyed it with such amazement. It was a huge, glass, cylindrical tube with florescent pot lights at the bottom to enhance the space. Elena and Damon stared at each other before Ava spoke.
"Can I push the red button, Mommy?" Ava asked quietly.
When Elena nodded, Ava reached a little to the right and clicked the smallest red button Damon had ever seen. Before he could say anything, the tube shook and descended at the speed of 20 mph. Damon looked through the glass tube and his mouth dropped at what he saw in front of him.
The tube from the rabbit hole descended into what looked like an underground safe house, it was insane. Elena pressed the green button that appeared when they reached the underground floor and the glass door opened. Damon took the first step out and walked into the beautifully lit living room. Elena came out with Ava in her arms and walked over to the kitchen, placing Ava on the kitchen counter much like Damon did earlier.
She rummaged through the cupboards and found some children's cough medicine that she stored in the safe house. Call her an over-protective and paranoid mother but she really thinks of everything that has to do with Ava. Elena poured the medicine in the little see-through measuring cup and handed it to Ava. Ava brought it to her lips and took a sip, giving it back to Elena with a shaky hand.
Damon came over to the girls and looked Ava in the eyes. It was like staring at the mirror-image of himself, he couldn't help but feel bad that he had yelled at her.
"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to be mean to you," Ava said softly.
A tear escaped her eye and Damon brushed it away with the pad of this thumb. He kissed her forehead and hugged her small body to his.
"I love you, sweetheart. I'm sorry we didn't get to go outside, just next time don't question it okay. I don't want you to get even sicker than you are now," Damon reasoned.
Ava nodded and Damon released her. Elena looked at the two of them with a smile and her heart clenched. This is what a family really looked like, not some stepford family that never had its troubles. It's about recognizing your issues, apologizing about them, forgiving each other, and showing your love. No family is perfect, but they can damn well try their best to be a really good one.
Elena unconsciously put her hand on her belly, thinking about the possibility of their new baby. This action however, didn't go unnoticed by Damon. He didn't show it, but he was suspicious. Maybe this was Elena's way of telling him that she wanted more kids, maybe this was her way of saying that she wanted to expand their little family. Damon would be lying if he said it wasn't slightly appealing but he wasn't ready for it. He just had Ava, he didn't want any more kids at the moment.
When Elena looked around the room, it took Damon's mind elsewhere.
"What is this place, Elena?"
"It's a safe house, duh. I had it made a while ago, actually, before we moved in here to be exact. I had contractors make the different rooms and I had interior decorator come and design everything. It's about twenty-six feet underground so it's almost impossible to know someone is down here unless we give you that knowledge. Even with your vampire hearing, you'll never able to hear a heartbeat or even screaming down here," Elena explained.
"But what about the contractors and interior decorators? What if they're compelled and they give up the location and everything, what's the point of the safe house then?" Damon inquired.
"Kol compelled them to take their pay and forget they ever did this project. We haven't had any complaints so far," said Elena.
Damon looked around with an impressed expression on his face, and that was putting it mildly. He looked at the cozy kitchen and was stunned to find that it looked homey. If they ever needed to hide out and run away from it all, he knew that it wouldn't be so bad living down here. As he walked towards the living room, he found a narrow hallway to his right and followed it. Just like the basement in their house, there was a red door on the first left.
When he opened it he wasn't very surprised to see that it was a room containing a freezer with blood bags. However, this room had more than just one freezer. It had four—they were fully stocked.
As he closed the door, he noticed four more doors down the hall. One was a master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and a walk-in closet, go figure, and the other three were just two guest rooms and a bathroom. He turned around and saw Elena cradling a sick looking Ava in her arms with a worried expression on her face. Damon smiled sympathetically at her before offering to hold Ava—Elena accepted and handed her over.
"You really thought of everything, 'Lena. You don't give yourself enough credit, you know," Damon said smiling.
"C'mon, there's another exit here that I want to show you," she said.
She took him to the top of the stairs on the opposite hallway, through a glass door. When they walked for what Damon thought was an eternity, they reached the end of the cave that overlooked a forest just outside the Gilbert-Salvatore Mansion.
"Wow," Damon said with a stunned expression.
"I know, it's really cool," Elena agreed.
"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
"You didn't need to know about it and to be quite honest, I completely forgot about it until today. Ava only hides in the tube when she's upset or when she's trying to find the cleverest spot to play hide and go seek it. I guess you finding out was inevitable seeing as she may have dragged you along to play hide and go seek sooner or later," Elena said with a sly chuckle.
Damon laughed softly, careful not to wake Ava.
"Babe, don't you think that if someone finds this cave that they're going to eventually find the safe house?" Damon asked.
"Bonnie used expression—her dark magic," Elena clarified, "To bind a spell and put a barrier around this whole forest. That's why no one ever comes through here. Even animals are prohibited from entering this forest. That's why Stefan doesn't hunt here, but in the forest by his house. That, and it's more convenient for him."
"How do we get back to the house from here without anyone seeing us?"
"We use the same elevator we came down in. It'll shoot us through the rabbit hole and we'll end up back in Ava's closet," she said.
When Damon nodded they both trudged through the cave and walked down the stairs, entering the same hallway they came from and into the center of the cave. Elena grabbed his hand after turning off all the lights and turning on all the alarm systems. Again, call her paranoid but she didn't want anyone breaking into the safest place they have.
They entered the tube and pressed the green button to close the door and the red button right after to ascend up the rabbit hole. When it was done, Damon climbed up the ladder and out of the hole. His arms were stretched out so Elena could pass him Ava before she climbed up the stairs. After she did just that, she climbed right out and closed the trap door—covering it with the big butterfly carpet that was on it from the beginning. There were no signs that what they just experienced just happened, and Elena was very pleased with that fact.
Damon took off Ava's small boots and laid her down on her small bed. Her overly pale face had turned into a frown unconsciously when she couldn't feel Damon's warm touch anymore but it was alright when she laid on her bed because a sense of familiarity came over her. Elena covered her with her favourite blanket and tucked Ava's bear under her arm before placing a kiss on her forehead and brushing some of her hair out of her face.
Damon stretched his hand out for Elena's and she took it. They left Ava's room quietly and closed the door without making a peep. They walked down to the kitchen and Elena smiled to see that the kitchen was spotless.
"You're lucky you cleaned this place because if I came home to a dirty kitchen you would witness the steam coming out of my damn ears," Elena laughed.
She pulled him close and pressed her soft pink lips to his perfect mouth. He smiled through the kiss and ran his hands through her ridiculously straight, brown locks. She moaned at the immense pleasure she got just by him massaging her hair, it was extremely arousing. She never really got aroused this much by just a simple touch, damn hormones, she thought.
Elena deepened the kiss by running her tongue along his bottom lip, silently begging him for entrance. He granted her access and their tongues danced in a rhythmic motion. Her hands folded together as she rested her arms on his broad and muscular shoulders. His hands found their way down her body—never skipping the outline of her breasts—and made their way under her shirt to rest on the soft olive toned skin.
His hands on her stomach made her thoughts jumble together and she could no longer concentrate on their make out session, all her attention went towards her possibly pregnant stomach and unborn child. She reluctantly pulled her lips away from his and started panting, she didn't realize that she hadn't been breathing when they were kissing.
Damon chuckled and rested his forehead against Elena's, he could feel her heart jolting through her chest and was pleased to know that he had that effect on her. Little did he know that it wasn't just him that made her heart beat that fast, it was the anxiety over what she should tell Damon about the; you-know-what.
"Damon, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Elena said, gulping.
He eyed her suspiciously and withdrew his hands from under her shirt. She took her hands from around his neck and started wringing them with anxiety. She jumped up onto the island counter and sat herself down in front of Damon, her eyes matching the height of his.
"What do you think about having more kids?"
Damon didn't know what to say about this. He knew this conversation was going to come up sooner than later but he thought he'd tell her the truth about what he was thinking, better that than to lie to her because he knew that she would find out if he did lie. He cleared his throat and placed his hands on top of her thighs, giving them a gentle squeeze.
"Baby, you know I would love nothing more than to give you everything that you want. I know you want a big family because I know you, I know everything about you. But I just found out that I have a daughter, a very rambunctious one at that. I'm not ready for another just yet. Ava's all I need right now, aside from you. I'm not saying I never want them, because I'm sure I will in the near future, but just not yet," he explained.
Elena sighed a shaky breath and blinked back tears, not unbeknownst by Damon. He laid his palm on her cheek and she nuzzled it as he stroke it with the pad of his calloused thumb.
"Elena, I don't want to disappoint you. I know that we had Ava together as a miracle child but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to procreate again. I don't want to get your hopes up so for now let's just be happy with our one child and be done with this."
"But Damon, I want another baby. Ava wouldn't be the only one excited for it, I know you would too. You missed so much of Ava's life in the beginning so I know you're dying to see how the first four years of the next baby's life is going to be with you in it. You've got great paternal instinct, you know that. I don't see why you want to hold out on this so much," Elena defended.
Damon sighed and closed his eyes with frustration.
"It's not that easy, you know. With all that's been happening lately, you can't be surprised that I don't want a child right now. It's not the best time and you know it. We're still trying to get to the bottom of who's been terrorizing the town and I can't have you pregnant while all of this is going on. It's not safe and I don't want you lose you, or our baby for that matter. Like I said, when this is over with then we can talk about having a baby. I'm not going to change my mind about this, Elena," Damon said sternly.
She glared his way and jumped off the counter, brushing his shoulder on her way out of the kitchen. He rolled his eyes, thinking Elena was just being over dramatic.
She walked over to the entrance from the laundry room that she came in from and didn't even think twice about looking back, she just swung open the garage door and walked out. He blurred in front of her, his eyes blazing with thousands of questions. He grabbed her arms and held her in place when she tried to push past him once again.
"Listen, if you can't handle my answers then don't ask me those questions. You know I'm right about this so don't walk out on me just because I can't give you the response you want to hear," he said.
"I can do whatever the fuck I want, I'm a grown woman and I don't need you to hold me back. Remember when you would leave to clear your damn head? Well that's exactly what I'm going to do so if you'd let me go then I could—"
"No, god damnit, you're not going anywhere. I'm sorry okay, I wish it was different and I wish I could tell you what you want to hear but I can't and you know it. Please, baby, just get inside and sit down. Have some wine with me and watch a movie with me, just be with me please I'm begging you," Damon pleaded.
A tear escaped her doe brown eyes.
"No, I'm sorry. I've got to go, call me when Ava wakes up," Elena said.
This time, Damon didn't hold her back.
When Isobel opened her front door, she didn't expect to have a crying Elena fly into her arms. She held her daughter tightly to her and kissed her shoulder—the only place she could reach. Elena was sobbing hard and Isobel didn't have any idea what to do, she didn't know what to say but her motherly instinct immediately kicked in. She would rip anyone who hurt her daughter to shreds, knowing that's exactly what John would do as well.
"Mommy," Elena sobbed.
Isobel felt tears seep into her blouse but she couldn't care less about that, right now her daughter needed her mother's comfort. Isobel smoothed the hair on Elena's head, much like Elena does to Ava when she's having a bad day. She shushed Elena when her sobs became heaves and her muffled cries were crushing Isobel's heart. She'd never seen Elena like this before.
Isobel closed the front door and rushed her over to the couch in the living room, wrapping her arms around Elena until she cried it all out. When Elena calmed down, Isobel made them some tea and waited patiently for Elena to explain herself. When she did, Isobel didn't know what to say.
"Damon doesn't want to have a baby with me, mom," Elena said in a low voice—her voice hoarse from all the crying.
"Oh honey, of course he wants a baby with you. Granted, it may not be the best time I agree, but that doesn't mean he won't want one ever," Isobel tried to reason.
Elena closed her eyes as a tear slipped out.
"Mommy, you don't understand. I know it's not ideal right now, believe me if it was up to me to I would agree with him."
"What are you talking about—oh, oh," Isobel said in realization.
It didn't take a genius to find out what Elena had meant by that. Isobel placed her hand on Elena's cheek and her eyes were boring into Elena's.
"Carida, it's going to be okay. You and your baby are going to be just fine, do you hear me, just fine. You're going to be well-loved, by me, by Damon, by Ava, by everyone. Baby, you're crazy if you think that Damon wouldn't want a baby. He doesn't even know you're pregnant, you've caught him by surprise. Surely if the tables were turned you'd think the same."
"I know, but if I tell him I'm pregnant, he'll freak out at me. He'll hate me for it, mom. There's so much going on right now and we were just starting to become a family, there's no way he's going to handle this. What if he leaves us, I can't take that pain again Mom, not again," Elena cried.
"Shh, I know baby, I know. But Damon won't leave you, he loves you too much. It's not the best time but he loves you and he'll never leave you. Not on his own will, you know that. From the bottom of your heart, you know that," Isobel assured.
Elena nodded in understanding and brushed her tears from her eyes.
"Thank you, mom. I really needed that," Elena said with a sigh of relief.
"Please, what is a mother for?" Isobel chuckled.
Just then, Elijah walked through the front door, stunned to see Elena sitting on the couch.
"Oh Elena, how wonderful of you to stop by. If you could lend me a hand actually, I'd like you to come up to the attic with me so I could give you something," Elijah said with a warm smile.
It was a bit forward but he didn't know when the next time she was going to stop by was and he wanted to get it over with. She agreed and they walked up the, what seemed like millions of, steps and into the attic. It was neatly cleaned, nothing like what she expected an attic to look like. There wasn't much dust but there were tons of boxes.
Just then, her phone vibrated in the pocket.
Text Message
From: Damon
To: Elena
Wherever you are, be safe. I love you, you know that. I shouldn't have to send you a text to reassure you. Ava's still sleeping but please, come home.
Elena clicked the lock button on her iPhone and shoved it back into her pocket, she'd come home when she was ready, not when Damon wanted her home.
"This one's yours, Elena," Elijah said quietly.
Elena walked over to it and opened it, coughing as she did so. Ah, so there's the dust, Elena joked. She picked up the first thing she saw and smiled when she saw it. It was her original birth certificate, the one with her biological parents on it. She touched it softly with her fingertips and put it aside. She sat cross-legged in front of the box, just like she was a little kid rummaging through treasure.
She opened a jewelry box that was in there and it started playing music, the softest and most beautiful melody to ever meet her ears. She remembered this, she didn't know how or why, but she remembered it. She set it aside and plunged her way into the box, moving aside baby dresses and toys that Isobel must have gotten her when she was a baby—before she gave Elena to the more capable hands of Miranda and Grayson Gilbert.
Along with teddy bears, there was also a pair of Elena's booties from her baptism and her first pacifier. Just then, she saw a teddy bear that was linked to another. It was a twin-teddy collection. A girl in a pink dress and a boy in a blue suit sitting on a white pillow, holding a heart saying "mommy loves us equally." It was ironic and Elena chuckled, why was this in her box of stuff.
When Elena was closing up her box she realized that the box she had, along with all the others, had specific names on them. Some she recognized and some she didn't. Then, there was this one in the corner that didn't have a name on it.
"Who's that for?" Elena asked, but Elijah just shrugged.
"I don't know, your mother went through all of this and sorted them. I just came up to clear it out so we could renovate the attic, we want to model it into another bedroom," Elijah explained.
He didn't seem like he had an issue about Elena going through it so she walked over to said box and opened it carefully. As she went through it, she found that it was a box dedicated to a boy, or man perhaps, that Isobel knew. It had some things that Elena also had in her box, as well as the same twin-teddy collection she had. She didn't know what to think as she pulled out baseballs, miniature bats, and gloves signed by players. She was just about to package it back up when she saw a birth certificate at the bottom, just like Elena's had. However, this one was framed.
Elena's eyes flew open and her hands shook like crazy when she read the following details:
Certificate of Birth
This is to certify that
Ryan Gilbert
Weighing 5 lbs. and 8 oz. was born on the day of
June 22
To Isobel Flemming and John Gilbert
In the year of
1989
Elena clenched it in her hands and ran down the stairs, ignoring Elijah on her way down. When she reached the living room, she threw the framed certificate at Isobel's hands. Thank God for her vampire reflexes for if she didn't have them, Elena would have really broken the glass of the frame.
"I thought we were done with the secrets, Mother. What the fuck is that?" Elena asked angrily.
"Mind your damn tone with me, young lady," Isobel seethed.
No matter what happened, the one thing Isobel hated the most was disrespect. Disrespect in her own home, well, that was a different story entirely. She eyed the birth certificate and sighed, she would have to tell Elena about Ryan sooner or later.
"This is my son, my biological son," Isobel cleared her throat. "Your twin brother, Elena."
"I have a goddamn brother and you didn't tell me? Jesus, what else have you been hiding from me, Isobel!" Elena screamed.
"If you'd lower your voice I could tell you more about it," Isobel said before hushing her, "His name is Ryan Wells, I've been keeping up with him ever since the day he was born. We gave him to a wealthy family in Florida and they kept his first name—only changing the last name. He knows he's adopted, not the luxury you got, and he's happy from what I've seen. He's got a family, a wife and a son to be exact," she explained.
She grabbed her wallet and pulled out a photo of Ryan that she compelled the photographer to give her a copy of when they were doing family photo shoots in Florida.
"Here, it's yours if you want it, I have a whole set," Isobel offered sheepishly.
Elena took it and didn't even look back, she had nothing to say to Isobel at the moment. She left the house without as much as a peep and ran off to her car, driving to the only real place she can get answers and from someone who could talk to her without lying to her. Before she realized it, she was parked in front of the Salvatore Boarding house.
She unlocked the car and she ran inside the house, making as much noise as she could so Katherine would know that she was here. She wouldn't want to run into them while they were indecent. As she made her round about on the stairwell, Katherine looked at her from the top of the stairs. Katherine could hear Elena's heart beating ridiculously fast so she stopped her on the stairs.
"Elena, what the hell—what's wrong?" Katherine asked, grabbing Elena's tear stained face with her freshly manicured hands.
"Where do I start," Elena laughed incredulously, "Isobel is keeping secrets from me," Elena said with a whisper.
"What did she say to you? What did she lie about? Believe me, I can give out a real good verbal lashing if you need me to," Katherine said with a smirk on her face.
"Isobel had twins, Katherine. Not just me—twins! I have a brother in Florida, his name is Ryan Wells," Elena said frantically.
Elena held up a picture of Ryan and gave it to Katherine. She eyed the picture for a while before her eyes went wide like saucers, her mouth gaping ridiculously wide.
"Elena, oh my god—" Katherine started but Elena interrupted
"I know, how could Isobel do this to me? I mean for god's sake—"
"No, shut up and listen to me. Elena, I need to show you something," Katherine insisted.
She blurred off to God knows where and Elena rolled her eyes, staying in her spot because she knew that Katherine was going to come back in a flash anyway. She was right, but this time Katherine was holding up a hand-drawn portrait. An exact replica of the face of Ryan Wells.
"Elena, this is my twin brother—Nathaniel Petrova," Katherine gulped.
Elena froze at the information Katherine presented to her. It seems there's more than just one set of doppelgängers, which complicates everything.
Kol walked through the door and nodded at Damon, who just glared at him in response. Kol threw his hands up in defense, he really wasn't in the mood to get his head chewed off.
"Where's Elena and Ava?" Kol asked.
"Ava's in her room, she's sleeping. I think she's got a minor cold," Damon explained—purposely leaving Elena out of the discussion.
Kol frowned but Damon gestured for him to go upstairs to check on her if he wanted to. Just then, Kol smiled and ran towards the stairs in human speed, causing Damon to roll his eyes.
When it became apparent that Elena wasn't coming home any time soon, Damon kicked back a few shots of bourbon and read a book. He really couldn't understand why Elena was so upset with him about not wanting a baby at the moment. If anything, she should be the one who didn't want a baby right now. For heaven's sake, there was so much going on that it would be too intense for her to be pregnant right now. He couldn't risk danger for her, he wouldn't lose her.
As he sat on the recliner, he was her purse in his eye sight. He didn't know what to do, he knew she'd be furious if he rummaged through it, but something in his conscience told him to go through it. Maybe she forgot her phone in there and that was why she wasn't replying to his texts.
He picked it up and unzipped it, seeing a convenience store bag in it. Hmm, maybe she bought Ava some cough medicine and forgot it in her bag. When he opened it, his eyes froze on the tiny box in front of him. His thoughts slamming about in his brain and his heart clenching and unclenching. Now he realized why she was so upset with him.
Instead of taking responsibility for his actions and words, he blamed her entirely for not telling him. The last words he saw, before he threw down the box and flew out the door that is, were:
First Response Pregnancy Test Kit.
Okay, don't hate me *smiles shyly*. I gave you two cliff hangers this time, muahaha, I know how much you guys love my cliffys. Big thank you to all of you who reviewed my last chapter, and a small thank you to the silent readers who've read and stuck with me through the story. You guys totally thought right though, the "gruff man voice" talking to Wendy last chapter was indeed Giuseppe Salvatore.
However, as promised, I said I would give you guys a shout of if you guessed what the story advancers were. So, shout to:
DEstiny4TVDelena
YAZMIN V
sarahberah1121
For being extremely observant and figuring out that Elena may very well be pregnant. However, no one got the other two story advancers. Don't worry, they'll be more obvious in the next chapter or two, believe me! For now, you know the drill.
Okay for your name in my next shout out, I would like you to tell me who you think is working with Sage, what is going to happen between Damon and Elena now that he knows she 'thinks' she's pregnant, and what a new set of doppelgangers means for the Ligno Vitae!
Tell me what you disliked, what you liked, what could be improved, and what you think about the plot twists of there being more than one set of doppelgangers? What about Elena being pregnant again, how could that effect things? Drop me a review, my lovelies, I just want you to know that I love you all and am most grateful for your continued support and reviews!
Feedback is love, people