Hello again! Wow you guys really almost got me to 100 reviews! You are all so amazing, I wish I could give each of you your own Damon. Thanks to you I was able to pop this chapter out pretty quick even while filling out program applications for Radiology programs. You are amazing and here is chapter 13!

July 2006

"Caroline," Elena whined. They had been shopping for three hours and it was 101 degrees outside. She was hot, she was sweaty, and she was tired.

"Come on, Elena," Caroline begged, "We still haven't gotten you a dress for tonight."

She had no clue what she was doing tonight. All she knew is when she woke up there were a dozen red roses outside her door with a card that read "6pm. Wear a Dress". She knew they were from Damon. No one else would send those and only put two sentences on it.

Caroline came over first thing in the morning and Bonnie blabbed about the card and what it said. After that Caroline insisted they go out and find a dress for Elena to wear. It wasn't that Elena wasn't excited. She was. But she hated shopping.

"I have plenty of dresses I could wear at home," Elena complained.

"That is a load of bull and you know it," Caroline sipped her champagne and narrowed her eyes at her as Elena spun in the hundredth dress she had tried on that day. "And holy crap that dress looks stunning on you."

She examined the cream dress in the mirrors. It really did fit her well. The cream complimented her skin tone and it wasn't too short, the hem fell mid-thigh. There were complimenting beaded sequins all over it. Needless to say, she was in love.

"You think?" Elena asked, turning to see the dress from all angles. Caroline got a knowing smile on her face, Elena wasn't leaving without that dress.

"Absolutely," Caroline smiled widely.

"But I don't have any shoes that go with it," Elena mumbled, her face falling a little.

"Actually," Caroline said, looking guilty.

"What did you do?" Elena asked, turning to face her.

"Ok well don't get mad," Caroline held her hands up in mock surrender.

Elena glared at her and waited for her to continue.

"Well I saw this dress here last week and I knew you'd love it. And today I found a pair of shoes that would go perfectly with it," Caroline explained while rifling through her shopping bags.

She pulled out a shoe box and handed it to Elena. She eyed it skeptically before opening it. There sat a pair of the most gorgeous shoes she'd seen. They were Jimmy Choo's and they were satin nude with rhinestones scattered around the fabric.

"Caroline!" Elena squeaked. They were amazing.

"Happy Birthday, Elena," Caroline smiled at her.

Six o'clock sharp the doorbell rang. Elena sighed and gave her outfit one last once-over. Her heart picked up and her hands suddenly felt sweaty.

She grabbed her clutch and hurried to the door. Not wanting to wait any longer to see him, she practically ripped open the door.

There he stood, looking every bit of a model in his fitted black suit, white shirt, and black tie. His hair was perfectly out of place that was just asking for her to run her fingers through it.

He stared back at her with a look of awe on his face. His eyes darkened with lust as he took in her mile-long legs. Her hair was curled and hung softly around her shoulders. The look in his eyes made her heart flutter.

"Happy birthday," he finally broke the silence with a smirk that made her knees go weak. He held his arm to her and she took it with a smile and let him lead her down the elevator and to the limo that sat in front of her building.

Their dinner was perfect. He took her to the restaurant where they were supposed to have their first date. They laughed and talked over their wine and delicious meals.

"What are we doing here?" Elena asked as they got out of the limo onto the sidewalk in front of his building.

"Extending the evening," he said with a shrug, but a devilish smirk followed soon after and she felt her blood ignite.

He held her hand the whole ride to his floor and he pulled her along the hallway. He swiftly unlocked his door and gestured for her to enter.

The whole loft was pitch black.

"Sorry, I'll get the lights," Damon's voice came from behind her.

The moment the lights came on a chorus of "Surprise" echoed through the whole loft. There stood about fifty of her closest friends all dressed up. The whole entry way and living room were decorated with "Happy Birthday" signs and balloons.

She fielded hugs and birthday wishes for the next few hours, always sneaking glances at Damon and sharing soft brushes against him as she moved around the room. He was hanging back and letting her enjoy her night with her friends.

She was on the couch nursing her aching feet while Damon escorted the last of the guests out the door. He made his way back to the couch and placed her feet in his lap.

"Thank you for tonight, Damon," she said quietly as he started rubbing her feet.

"You are very welcome," he smiled at her. She finally let herself close the space between him and press her lips against his. She'd waited all day to be alone with him and she was reveling in the feeling of being alone with him.

When she pulled away he groaned and placed his hand behind her head to pull her back to his eager lips. That was all she needed to ignite the fire between them. She pressed herself into him and crawled into his lap. She ran her hands through his raven locks that had been asking for her attention all night.

His hands freely roamed up and down her sides and back, occasionally tangling themselves in her hair. She loved how he made her feel. He made her feel special, cherished, and loved.

She detangled herself from him, which was a feat since he made it very difficult.

She wordlessly took his hand in her own and let him to his bedroom to properly thank him for an amazing birthday.

Present Day

She couldn't believe she had up and come to New York City with Caroline. Her work had been amazing giving her time off at the last minute. It was a good thing because she didn't have much time to waste.

"Stefan?" Caroline called when they entered the loft they shared. Caroline had refused when Elena tried booking a hotel, insisting that there was no way Elena would stay anywhere but with them.

"Hey, Care," Stefan said, walking into the entryway to greet his wife, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Elena standing there too.

"Caroline?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of Elena as if she'd disappear the moment he did.

"Stefan, don't be rude," Caroline chastised.

"Hey, Stefan," Elena said quietly, not sure how to gauge his reaction.

"What are you doing here?" He asked suspiciously.

"What do you think she's doing here?" Caroline interrupted with an eye roll, "She's getting Damon back."

"But Damon's getting married," Stefan said as he turned to his wife, "He's getting married on Saturday."

"Well he's not married yet and I think he's making the biggest mistake of his life," Caroline said with an air of finality to it before she left them alone to take her 'post-plane shower'.

Elena and Stefan stood there for several awkward moments. The tension between them was palpable.

"He's getting married, Elena," Stefan finally broke the silence. His eyes were cold and it startled her because the way she remembered Stefan was warm, bright, and full of love. She knew what she did to deserve his hatred. She hurt his brother and he'd side with his brother 'till kingdom come.

"You know I didn't want to leave," Elena said quietly, trying to make Stefan understand.

"I get that, Elena, I do," he sighed and ran a stressed hand through his hair, "But it doesn't change the fact that you did and it doesn't change what happened after you were gone."

"I know, believe me, I know," she was finding it harder and harder to control her voice.

"You should've come to us. We would've helped you. Damon would've never let Giuseppe get away with it. He would've fought for you. Hell, he did fight for you and finally when he decided to move on with his life, this," he said signaling between them, "happens."

"He doesn't love her like he loves- loved," she amended, "me."

"Loved," he nearly spat the word out, "He loved you. It's in the past, Elena. You had a thing, but he's getting married. Let him live his life."

"You don't get it, Stefan. He'll never love her like he loved me. He'll never be happy with her and you know it. I can see it all over your face. You can't let him take the easy way out just because you're afraid he'll get hurt again. He's a grown man," she snapped at him.

Stefan's silence told her everything she needed to know. He confirmed every move she had made up to this point. He looked up and her hesitantly and she saw all the fear he held for his brother. She knew he was doing what he did out of love. She understood their bond, she even cherished their bond. But today, Stefan was wrong and he knew it.

"I can't guarantee he'll take you back, he's pretty set to go through with the wedding," Stefan said quietly, his voice taking on a whole new tone.

"That was before I decided to fight," Elena said with conviction.

Stefan just gave a small nod before his eyes dropped to the ground. She could almost feel his hesitation and his sadness.

"What was she like?" He asked after a few long moments. His eyes glanced up to hers and she saw them brimming with tears. Her eyes instantly filled with her own tears when she realized what he was asking.

"She was perfect," she said, her voice shaking from the emotions running through her.

"I always wanted a niece," his voice was shaking too and a small tear escaped from his eye. It was in that moment that she saw her best friend again. He was the same man she knew so many years ago. He was loyal, he was protective, and he was still as tender-hearted as the day she met him.

"I know."

She looked up at him with a watery smile.

"I would always imagine the look on your face when you got to see her for the first time. You would've loved her. She looked just like Damon with her fuzzy black hair," she said, her tears falling freely down her face.

"Damon would've been the best father," he said, another tear rolling down his cheek, "He would've loved her so much."

"I know. That was the part that always hurt the most," she almost whispered. The weight of the moment was making it hard to breathe.

"I'm so sorry you had to face that alone, Elena," his voice broke and her tears finally had free reign down her cheeks.

"Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't left if she would've survived," she admitted quietly. It was the first time she every voiced that thought out loud and she was surprised how hard it hit her.

"Elena," Stefan said and closed the space between them to wrap her in a hug, "You can't think like that, please don't ever think like that."

"It was so long ago, but it still hurts so much, Stefan. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her, who she'd become and the life she'd never get to live," she cried into his shoulder.

He ran a soothing hand over her hair and she realized how much she hurt him when she left. He was her best friend. He got her through her last year of undergrad. He was there for her for her whole relationship with Damon. He was the reason she even had a relationship with Damon.

"I'm so sorry I left," she whispered into his tear-stained shoulder.

"Me too," he whispered back, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," she smiled as she pulled away, finally having a handle on her emotions.

For the first time since she left Mystic Falls, she finally felt like maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out alright.

I really loved how the present day scene went with Stefan and Elena, it really shows how strong their bond is.

I was pretty bummed out this week because it was brought to my attention that my story You and I was plagiarized (thanks to candy3424 for letting me know). Like the girl stole DIRECT lines from my story. Anyway, I've been a little down about that. I worked hard on that story and it's the first one I finished. It's close to my heart and I feel like it was just taken from me.

Anyway, you guys really are such amazing readers, I appreciate all of you so much. I want to get to know you guys better so you can follow me on twitter rachellebelle08 and tumblr .com/ If you follow me, send me a message or what ever to let me know that you read my story and I'll follow you back! I'd really like to get to know you guys cause you really are that awesome.

This A/N is getting really long, but one last thing! I have pictures of Elena's birthday dress and shoes here:

Shoes: .com/s/jimmy-choo-salt-platform-pump/3222045?origin=category&resultback=1873

Dress: .com/s/pisarro-nights-short-sequin-sheath-dress/3251962?origin=category&resultback=2513

Once again thanks for reading and reviews are love!