Monday, November 22, 2009
DAMON POV

Damon rolled to his left and continued over the edge of the sofa, waking up as he hit the floor with a loud thump. Shit! He groaned, his elbow sore from the free falling. He stretched, grumbling in protest, his body aching.

"What the heck are you doing on the floor?"

Damon looked up at what he for a second thought was a hallucination but as the boy bent down to eye him suspiciously, he realized it wasn't a dream. Memories hit him like a freight train and he gritted his teeth. Right. He's got a kid now. Great. Fucking great. It was way too early for him to deal with the remnants of yesterday and the shocker of finding out he was now responsible for a human being. Hell, Damon had even managed to screw up caring for Stefan's goldfish - you guessed it; it died. From being starved or fed to death he couldn't exactly remember; how was he supposed to handle a kid?

"Good morning to you too." He groaned as he managed to heave himself up onto the sofa.

"When's the last time you shaved?" Liam grimaced at him. "You look like a homeless person."

"Fuck off." Damon pulled a hand across his face and as soon as he'd said it he regretted it, glancing over at Liam. The kid seemed rather unimpressed with Damon's vocabulary and shrugged his shoulders, completely ignoring him.

He shook his head, eyed his nephew as he sat down on the floor, positioning himself right in front of the TV. Damon blinked as Liam zapped between the channels. Jesus. He flinched at the sound and flickering light that bothered him as the screen changed in front of their eyes. His head hurt and the annoying sound of Liam chewing something irritably crunchy had him going slightly furious in seconds.

"What are you eating? I didn't feed you."

"I– I can fe–" Liam chewed, glancing over his shoulder. "I can feed myself."

"Fine but what are you eating?" Damon asked once again, annoyed.

"Coco Pops."

"Where the hell did you get Coco Pops?"

"Your boss brought them." Liam shrugged, shoving another mouthful of sugary cereals into his mouth. "He's in the kitchen."

Damon tensed up at that revelation and quickly got to his feet, grabbing the remote from Liam, flipping through the channels until finding cartoons. Liam glared up at him as he clearly didn't appreciate being interrupted while in the midst of the zapping adventure he'd been on.

"I hate cartoons."

"Perfect, now be a good boy and behave."

Damon didn't hand him back the remote and stumbled out into the kitchen, surprised to find Ric at the kitchen island, eating a bowl of Coco Pops. He seemed to enjoy himself to the point where it just felt weary and rather unsettling. After a minute or two, he looked up at Damon, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Boss?"

"Come on." Ric chuckled. "I couldn't help myself."

"I thought you were my dad."

"Yeah," Ric cleared his throat. "How'd that go yesterday?"

"Bad." Damon muttered and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"How's your parents?"

"In denial, I suppose. They erased everything when Katherine left. Dad doesn't give a fuck and mom's too afraid to care. Stefan's hyper, as per usual. I'm surprised he's not here yet."

"Sorry, buddy." Ric offered and scratched the back of his head.

"Yes, well, it is what it is. By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need some backup."

"Backup?"

"Yes."

"So you started out by feeding my kid sugar, nice one." Damon grimaced as he read the label on the box. Sure, he wasn't an expert but sugar wasn't to play with and kids usually turned into monsters after consuming too much of it. Liam would hardly be an exception from that rule.

"Hey, those were meant for me but he was very persuasive, so, I shared."

"Great." Damon muttered. "Liam! Come and say hi to your old uncle Ric!"

Wednesday, November 24, 2009
DAMON POV

Two days had passed since he'd brought Liam home and his entire life had been turned upside down. Everything was such a mess, he was in deep shit and had freaked out, wanted to confide in Elena, wanted to tell her that 'this is what I can offer you right now'. What a catch; young dude with a ten year old wants to pursue you, stay with him and he'll make you miserable in a short period of time before it has even started between the two of you.

Damon wanted to grimace at his own thoughts. She's was young, could easily be Liam's older sister and the thought creeped him out on so many levels. How do you tell the girl you're seriously crushing on, that you've just become a dad and wants to date her no matter what? Yes, he'd admitted it to himself yesterday; he's crushing on her, badly.

He followed her car with an intense gaze as she drove up the hill and coming to a stop. He blinked a couple of times, the wind causing his already ruffled hair to look similar to a fucking birds nest. He walked over to her, greeting her with a strained and rather forced smile.

"Hi." Damon said as she got out of the car.

Shit, she looked as perfect as ever, her hair curled around her face, her jeans hugging her beautiful curves in all the right places. The green knitted sweater way too big for her petite frame as she made her way over to him.

She glanced over her shoulder as if to make sure that they were actually alone and without hesitation; she ran into his arms, molding into his embrace, inhaling his spicy scent, reveling in the safety of his closeness. Without as much as a second thought, she looked up, pressed her lips against his, threw her arms around his neck and searched his tongue and he met her in unison.

Okay, she floored him, took him completely by surprise; this wasn't what he'd planned when he'd texted her the address to the mountain summerhouse. He'd wanted to give them time and privacy to sort things out and the mountains felt like home.

He'd also felt so desperate to talk to her, let her know about Liam, lay it all on the table and say; this is me - all sorts of fucked up and with baggage but if you want me, you can have me. Her mouth felt so perfectly soft pressed against his, their desperation for one another like electricity sizzling in the air around them. His hands roamed her back and hips as she pushed herself into his embrace, causing his heart to beat wildly inside his chest.

"I've missed you." She breathed as he pulled away from her.

"Yeah." He nodded, still panting slightly from the kiss. "I've missed you too."

Fuck, yes, he'd missed her. So damn much. Seriously, it almost hurt him physically just by thinking of their short amount of time apart from one another.

"You didn't answer my texts." She whispered.

"I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to." He'd been on the verge of calling her every second passing by last night but he'd stopped himself. Didn't really want to pull her in or involve her in something she probably didn't want to deal with.

"I thought I scared you away or something." She breathed, biting her lower lip. "I was afraid that you'd changed your mind."

"No." He said vehemently. "No, I didn't change my mind. Look, I'm sorry for my behavior in the hall with Ric and–"

"It's okay." She reassured, resting a hand on his chest. "I get it, we can't blow our cover, right?"

"I–" He started, scratched the back of his head, steering her towards the front porch of the house. "That's not what I meant."

"Okay?" She said warily, questioning.

"You deserve better."

She pulled back, let her hand fall from his chest as she looked up at him, searching his eyes for confirmation to his sudden change of heart.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," He motioned at the space between them. "Maybe we should put this on hold."

He could see her face change as his words hit her like a tidal wave, tears welling up in her beautiful brown eyes. Her demeanour changing, her entire appearance differing from the lust filled anticipation she'd shown when hugging him tightly, just seconds ago.

"You had to invite me to your family's cabin and then dump my ass?"

"What?"

"That's what you're doing, right?" She pulled her hands through her hair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Dumping me, here, in the middle of nowhere so that I can lash out on you without people noticing?"

"NO."

"Then what do you mean? Why are we even here?"

"Because I have to tell you the truth and I don't know how or if–"

"Just tell me!" She shrieked, turning to stomp down the porch and heading towards her car.

"I have a ten year old kid!" He bursted out without thinking about the delivery of such news.

Elena stopped dead in her tracks and he closed his eyes. Shit! He gritted his teeth. He wanted to bang his head against the front door; he could have handled the situation a lot smoother but he'd fucked up, as expected.

"What?" She turned to look at him.

"He's not mine." Damon shook his head, confusing himself as well as Elena. "I mean, he's mine but he's not mine, you know? Not really."

"For a lawyer you're very confusing." She crossed her arms once again, eyeing him suspiciously.

He'd managed to convince her to listen, he'd managed to get her inside. They were currently occupying one of the black couches in the living room. She sipped on a cup of tea he'd made for her earlier and they'd talked for what had felt like hours. Elena barely remembered Katherine but she'd listened to him, asking him questions when she didn't understand. Damon lost track of how many times she'd tried to reassure him that everything would be fine.

"Are you scared?" She asked quietly once they'd been sitting in silence for a while.

"I'm scared shitless." He confirmed, pulled a hand across his face and leaned back against the couch.

"It'll be fine. You'll figure it out."

"I don't know about that. I'm knee deep in shit and I don't know what to do. My parents don't give a shit. I just..." Damon shook his head, sighed heavily. " I should be thinking about what school I want him to go to. I should be contemplating if I have to babyproof my apartment? How much sugar is he allowed to eat, can he brush his own teeth, what's his favorite food? What about insurance? I can't raise a kid, I can barely take care of myself."

"That's not true. Damon, it'll be fine." She tried to assure.

Elena placed her cup on the black cherry side table and put her hand on his bicep. Electricity coursed through him, spreading throughout his veins and entire body as she stroked her fingers up and down his arm. He wanted her so bad, his palms itching with the need to touch her.

"Amidst all of those things," He continued as if not hearing a word she'd just said. "I want you. I want you so badly that I can barely think straight, so bad that I can barely breathe."

"I want you too."

"But–"

"You can have me." Elena said, bold and flushed, her cheeks crimson. "You can have me any way you like."

Fuck. This was what he'd been afraid of. She looked so gorgeous, sitting there, leaning against him, touching his arm, snuggling closer to him, drawn to him like a freaking magnet.

He wanted to seek comfort in her so badly, wanted to sink into her body, find strength in her, rely on her but had to constantly remind himself not to. He still felt as if things were moving too fast. He hadn't cared that much about the age gap between them earlier, he'd actually been on the verge of accepting it but now, with Liam thrown into the mix; talk about double sandwich - and not the nice kind. It was all so fucked up and he didn't know what to do.

"I want you." He said. "But not like this, not here. Not now."

"And now I'm embarrassed." She squeaked, her voice tiny and nervous. She blushed red as a tomato, pulled away from him and started fidgeting with her hands, biting her lower lip.

"No." He said, grabbing her hands. "Don't read too much into it. I want you, okay. Badly, believe me, but I want it to be more than this place can offer us. I want to be with you in my bed. Taking my sweet time with you, exploring your body. Waking up with you."

Wow, he sounded like a chick. Thankfully, Ric wasn't there to hear him as he tried to make Elena swoon. However, it was all true. When they finally reached the point of melting together, he wanted to be able to do it properly, taste her, ravish every inch of her skin without so much as a single doubt in his mind. But, as of right now, he felt torn, worried and stressed - not a good combination for mind blowing sex with Elena.

Thursday, November 25, 2009
ELENA POV

Things were moving fast, a lot faster than she felt okay with but she wanted Damon; wanted him so much that nothing would get to stand in her way, so… She'd agreed to meet Liam. Damon had felt it necessary to introduce them as soon as possible, wanting to show Elena exactly what she signed up for if they actually decided to go along with their feelings and everything in between.

She was thankful for his sincere honesty but it scared her in a way she couldn't explain. Her parents had no idea what was going on, Caroline had no idea either and even though Elena knew she could talk to her friend if she wanted to - she felt lonely. Alone, frightened and slightly exhilarated at the same time. It was weird.

She was so nervous that her hands trembled as she entered the apartment and Damon pulled her close, placing a kiss on her lips before she'd had the chance to react to his mouth.

She breathed, looking up at him as he closed the door. "I want a do-over."

"Really?" He smirked at her.

It didn't really matter that she'd seen him yesterday, she wanted to grope him, wrap her legs around his waist and have him carrying her to his bedroom. The last time she'd been there, his lips had been pressed firmly against hers as they'd groped each other, dry humping one another. Wow. She shook her head, trying to set the dirty thoughts aside as Damon led her to through the kitchen, continuing to the living room area. She stopped as she noticed the tiny human.

The dark haired boy paused the game and turned around to face them as he noticed he was no longer alone in the living room.

"Liam, this is Elena. She's a friend of mine."

"Friend? HA! Yeah, right. You mean with benefits? I know all about that."

Elena blushed crimson and Damon narrowed his eyes as the young boy snickered at his own words, amused at the blushing color on his uncle's face before returning to his game. Flabbergasted, Damon basically ushered Elena back into the kitchen, pulling a hand across his face, trying to smooth over the situation by silence.

"And you're sure he's not yours?" Elena mimicked quietly, biting her lower lip, trying to hide the smile wanting to take over.

"Positive." Damon said quickly. "My sister is the one who screwed up."

"Screwed up?" She questioned, her arms crossed as she looked over her shoulder, eyeing the boy on the couch. "How can you say that? He's beautiful."

Damon rolled his eyes and put an arm around her waist, pulling her back towards him so that her back pressed firmly against his chest. He nuzzled the crook of her neck, her soft and sweet scent filling his nostrils, causing warmth to spread through his entire body.

"You know," She said, thoughtfully. "He could easily pass as yours. He's a copy of you, Damon. Dark hair, crystal blue eyes and the sassiness… "

"I have no idea what I'm doing." He admitted, hugging her tightly from behind.

"You'll learn along the way."

"Are you sure about this?" He mumbled. "I know that you didn't sign up for... this."

"As long as he doesn't call me mom or aunt I think we'll be fine."

"I'm serious." Damon said and turned her in his arms, facing her, his brow furrowed. "I have to think about Liam, do what's best for him."

"I get that." She nodded fiercely.

"Okay." He whispered.

"I'm just nervous." Elena admitted, her voice shaky as she inhaled deeply.

"So am I."

"We'll be fine."

And at that moment, Elena believed her own words; truly believed that everything would fix itself as long as they pursued one another, however, life wasn't as easy as she wanted it to be. She had no idea what awaited them and fear, sorrow, mistakes and uncertainty would grace their way. She could only hope that they would be able to stand strong as the wave slammed down on top of them - because it undoubtedly would.

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