AN: Hellooo, guys :) I'm so sorry I couldn't update before. But with the Holidays I've been really busy, plus I had a slight writer's block. So you please tell me if you liked the chappie, okay? Please review and let me know your thoughts. I really really love reading all of them!
Oh, and what did you think about the kiss? Can we all say FINALLY? Haha. It's two days now that I keep rewatching that scene. I can't describe how perfect it was.
Anyway...enjoy the new chapter! And sorry again for updating so late!
As Caroline invited the upset woman to come in, she almost panicked. She really did seem upset and they weren't even close. She didn't know what to do. Ever since she had been with Stefan, they rarely hang out with his relatives and they were anyway too many to even remember.
"Lydia, right?" She asked hesitantly. "Is there anything I can do for you? Is everything okay?" She asked a little bit more nervous.
The woman smiled weakly and wrapped her arms around herself. Her eyes were red-shot and it seemed like she'd been crying.
"Can I talk to Stefan?" She asked in a trembling voice.
Did anything happen to Giuseppe or something? Caroline frowned. It had to probably be something really important if she had to talk with Stefan about it at this hour of the night.
"Sure. He's still at work though. I'm going to call him, alright? Can I bring you something in the meantime?" She offered.
"No thank you. I just need to talk with Stefan if you don't mind." She replied with a firm nod.
"Sure thing." Caroline said, walking into the other room to call Stefan.
By now she was used to Stefan coming home late from work. It had never been like that, he liked his job but he wasn't a maniac. But ever since the Damon thing happened he was out most of the time and sometimes he smelled like alcohol when he got back home.
"Care? Hey I'm sorry it's so late. I'm coming back in a while. Is everything okay?" Stefan said as he picked up.
"I'm fine. But your aunt Lydia is here, she wants to talk to you." She said.
He was silent for a long moment. "Stefan?"
"I...did she say what is it about?" He asked in a somehow nervous voice.
"Not really. She seems upset though…Stefan, what's happening?" Caroline asked in a questioning tone.
Something was wrong. Stefan seemed more defeated than surprised and it wasn't a good thing. She was still angry at him for hiding the truth about Damon, especially to Elena, but if there were more secrets then she would be really mad.
"It's a long story, Caroline." He sighed sadly. "Anyway I'm coming back. Tell her to wait so we'll talk."
"Okay." She sighed and hung up.
She went back to the other room and noticed that Lydia was still frozen in her seat, a blank expression on her face. She truly seemed hopeless and Caroline felt for her even though she didn't know what was happening.
"I'm going to make some tea. Do you want some?" She asked hesitantly. "Stefan is going to be here in a while by the way."
Lydia's head immediatly snapped up looking at Caroline.
"Thank you dear. I would appreciate that." She said smiling sadly.
Caroline eyed her one last time before heading into the kitchen.
"Damon? Come here sleepyhead. Dinner's almost ready. I'm not so sure how good it is though." Elena called from the kitchen, giggling lightly.
How much did they sleep? Or did he sleep? He remembered Elena waking him up to ask him what he wanted but that was it.
After their love-making they had both fallen asleep and woken up that it was already pretty late. As he thought about their hours of passion he already wanted to go for round two and screw the dinner and everything else. Making love to Elena had been the most powerful experience of his life and he now loved her even more, if possible.
He groaned softly and got up anyway. He searched for a pair of pants to put on and saw that they were on a chair. He lazily reached for them but the move made Elena's bag fall on the ground. Great.
He quickly pulled the pants on and then kneeled to gather Elena's stuff. He noticed how little things she packed and dediced that he would have taken her shopping tomorrow. He smirked when he took her black lacy bra in his hands. As he gathered all her stuff, he then noticed a grey thick card with something written on it. It was a business card but on the back of it there was written something else. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw what there was written on it. The line said 'call me' with a winky face and a cell number wrote under it. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Did someone try to hit on his Elena? Damon felt the immediate urge to rip the card in tiny little pieces but decided to keep it together and ask Elena some explanation. She had just made love to him, for god's sake. She travelled all the way to New York just to be with him. She couldn't have flirted with another man, even taking his number. But on the other hand...was it fair to keep her from making new acquaintances? It had to happen, sooner or later. She would find some selfless, good, caring guy to be with and what if this person could be it for her?
He put all her stuff in her bag and then made his way to the kitchen. His expression was thoughtful as he kept thinking about the inevitable.
"There he is." Elena said with a wide smile.
She was filling two glasses with some soda and had two french toasts in her hand. She shot him an apologetic look for the lack of inspiration on what to cook but it really wasn't her fault. He almost always ordered in anyway.
She placed the plates on the counter and then walked over to him smiling sweetly. She was wearing one of his shirts and it looked flawless on her. Her smooth and long legs were perfectly in sight and all he wanted to do was throw her on that counter and have her over and over again.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed a kiss on his bare and warm chest. Her olive skin was glowing and he found himself caressing her face softly. She leaned into his touch and then looked up at him.
Her eyes became fearful and her body stiffened.
"Damon are you okay? Do you need anything?" She asked quickly when she saw him being so absent and a little pale.
Her hands were clentched tightly on his arms.
He wanted to ignore the fact, and just smile and tell her that everything was okay, but the words left his mouth without even thinking.
"Who is Josh Morgan?" He said.
Her grip loosened a little and she looked at him with surprise. How the hell did he find out about it? She then remembered that she had forgotten to get rid of that card and Damon probably saw it.
She sighed quietly. "It's just someone I met on the flight. He wanted to show me the city and he gave me his card. That's it." She said shrugging quietly.
He'd actually hit on her too, but what was the point of getting into that? This conversation was pointless anyway.
"How did you find it anyway?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
Did he search through her stuff or what?
"Your bag fell on the ground and when I gathered your stuff I found it." He said quietly, looking down. His eyes met hers as he spoke again. "I'm not blaiming you Lena..if you like him..I mean..I don't want to be selfish with you." He said hesitantly, not quite finding the words.
She looked at him in disbelief, snorting annoyed.
"You did not just say that." She said, shaking her head in annoyance.
"Said what? That sooner or later you would have to move on anyway? That it was just the reason why I left you and wanted you to move on from me? That I don't want you to spend the rest of your life mourning over me? Becuase we can deny it all we want Elena, but I'm freaking dying and you need to get over it!" He yelled harshly and she flinched.
His words left his mouth without even thinking and it hit her hard. She opened her mouth to say something but it was like she couldn't talk. His eyes filled up with remorse as he scanned her face.
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. But it doesn't make it any less true, Elena. I know you're still mad at me for that letter but I still think it was for the best." He admitted quietly.
Her eyes filled up with tears as she slowly closed the distance and grasped his hands in hers.
"I know Damon. I'm still angry at you but...I can understand. You were scared and I know how you think dealing with your problems alone is better. But it's not. You have me. You will always have me and believe me or not I'm going to love you forever. No one else will ever take your place in my heart." She said firmly, placing his hand on her drumming heart.
He smiled sadly, softly caressing her cheek. "You say this now. But in a few years you're going to be happy and that's all I want for you. Happiness." He said.
She shook her head furiously, kissing him passionately.
"No." She repeated firmly. "No if it is not with you." She said looking up at him with her teary doe eyes. "Honestly Damon I don't know how to exist in a world where you don't." She said, her eyes looking at him with desperation.
She buried her face in his chest as it muffled her crying. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against his body for a long time.
They stayed like that for minutes as she calmed down.
"So…should we eat these toasts of yours or not?" He asked in an amused tone, rubbing her back soothingly.
Her body shook against his but this time in laughter.
"Don't mock me or my cooking skills. I will improve." She said hitting him playfully.
"Making a toast is not cooking." He scoffed.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever. You know what I meant." She said.
"Okay, okay…" He said rolling his eyes amused.
They ate quietly for some minutes as they talked about everything and nothing at all.
The tension had somehow diminished but they both knew that it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"What do you want to do? Do you want to go for a walk, or something?" He asked quietly as he softly caressed her hair.
"Nope." She said popping the 'p', slowly adjusting herself in his lap. "I want to have a hot, hot, bath with you." She whispered in his ear, smiling mischeviously.
He growled as he gripped her hips, his arousal immediatly evident.
"Mmmh…I'm in." He murmured as he nuzzled her neck with his nose.
He got up and headed for the bathroom. Elena playfully slapped his ass and he shook his head in amusement.
She would have loved to see the city, but not tonight. She wanted to be closer to him as much as possible. Every moment was precious.
She sighed and thought about their moments of passion before. She bluntly lied to him telling him that she was on the pill, when the truth was that she would do anything to keep a part of him forever. Damon was the love of her life. He was the air she breathed and even though life decided to be cruel with them, having his child would always remind her who she really belonged to. If it was going to happen..that was going to be the best thing ever happened to her.
She headed for the bathroom and her jaw almost dropped when she saw Damon in all his glory, filling the bath. The light was soft and relaxing and near the bathub there was champagne and different kind of fruit.
She unconsciously licked her lips, making the shirt she was wearing fall on the ground. She slowly approached him, her chestnut hair wild and her doe eyes glowing. His eyes were filled with lust as he took her in, his hardness making her all more excited.
She quickly walked towards him, her lips colliding with his in need. She put her arms around his neck pulling him closer as his hardness brushed intimately over her thigh. She moaned when he cupped her ass and slammed her against the wall.
Their lips separated as they breathed heavily. She was in a pool of wetness and she needed him right now. She wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, making him understand what she really wanted.
"You're insatiable, Miss Gilbert." He said huskily, nibbling at her ear.
As he started to rub her clit and teasing her with one finger she saw stars. Her eyes got wide and she moaned loudly.
"Need you. Now." She managed to say, scratching his shoulders.
He took his lenght into his hand, filling her in. Her scream was muffled as he kissed her passionately. Her nails scratched his shoulders even harder as her walls adjusted to him.
This time it wasn't sweet and slow, it was rough and desperate. He thrusted inside of her fastly and hard, his face in the crook of her neck.
"Lena." He growled as they were both reaching their climax.
"Damon. Oh my god!" She cried out as pleasure took her in.
They both moaned as they came together. He rested his forehead against hers as they breathed together. She closed her eyes as he lovingly kissed every inch of her face, making her shiver.
"I love you." He whispered in her ear.
"I love you too." She said kissing his cheek.
He then picked her up bridal style, pulling her into the hot water as he stepped behind her.
"Mmmh." She purred softly.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" He said as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer.
Her arms rested on his as she closed her hands against his, her head on his shoulder.
She just nodded numbly as he kissed the top of her head.
"I wish we could stay like this forever." She said quietly.
"Me too." He said.
They stayed in silence for long minutes as Elena rested her head on his shoulder and he stroked her hair soothingly, occasionally kissing and nibbling at her shoulder making her shiver against him.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked in between kisses.
Her brown eyes opened at his question, turning to look at him deeply in the eyes. His ocean blue eyes were looking at her with such love and devotion that it was being hard not to melt. She smiled softly and stroked his black hair.
"About Mystic Falls. Do you ever want to go back?" She aked, her question and her look more serious than ever.
"I want to go wherever you want to, Elena. You know I would follow you anywhere." He nodded.
"That's not what I asked." She shook her head. "I'm asking you if you ever want to go back. If you…feel to."
He stared at her thoughtfully, his eyes boring into hers.
"Yes." He said firmly. "I want to go back to Jamie, and Stefan. I've already hurt them too much and I want them to forgive me for leaving them behind...just like I did with you." He said, his expression guilty as he gulped nervously.
Elena nodded softly, an understanding smile crossing her face.
"Okay. It's your call, Damon. We'll go whenever you're ready. I love you. So much." She said, softly kissing his lips.
He held her close to his body, his face buried into the crook of her neck.
"Thank you." He murmured.
"For what?" She asked, pulling back to look at him in the eyes.
"For being you." He said. His blue eyes shimmering.
Other minutes passed as they stayed in each other's embrace, their bodies colliding into one.
As they got out of the bathub Damon immediatly wrapped one large fluffy bathrobe around Elena's tiny body. He wrapped a towel around his hips and guided Elena to bed.
She immediatly got under the covers pulling him to her, his body spooning hers from behind holding her tightly.
"Damon?" She asked after a few minutes, her voice shy.
"Yeah?"
"When we..you know..earlier.." She started saying.
"Elena?" He asked raising an eyebrow, his voice amused.
"You told me you didn't have any protection. Does that mean you didn't..I mean in these months..?" She asked unsure.
She heard him chuckling and turned too look at him worried. When he saw the expression on her face he stopped, his face turning serious as he gently stroked her hair from her forehead.
"No, I didn't." He said as if it was the most obvious and important thing he ever said.
Of course he didn't. Of course he couldn't. His body and his soul couldn't belong to anyone else even if he had a hundred years to live.
A playful smirk crossed her face as she entangled her legs with his.
"Good. Because otherwise I would have killed them. And you." She mumbled sleepily.
He chuckled softly as he slowly kissed every side of her face until her breath finally slowed down as she fell in a deep sleep.
When he was going to turn off the nightstand light his phone started ringing. He rolled his eyes and quickly replied to it.
"Yeah?" He said, his tone annoyed.
"Hey man. It's me. What are you doing?" Mason asked.
There was loud music and squealing in the background.
"Uhm, nothing in particular…why?" He said as he watched Elena's sleeping form.
"You totally have to come here. C'mon it's been weeks since I last saw you and you're always depressed. Loosing it up and hopefully getting laid it would only do good don't you think." He said in a mischevious tone.
Mason could be an immature ass most of the times but he was after all a good friend. He didn't want to lie about Elena, he was proud to have a girl like her by his side. If she agreed, he would have gladly introduced them.
"Look, I actually need to talk to you..just not today. Is it okay for you tomorrow?" He whispered.
Elena mumbled in her sleep as she turned around to cling against his body, her leg throwed over his waist and her face buried in his chest.
He chuckled lovingly.
"Damon? Why are you whispering and chuckling? Are you…okay, man?" Mason asked sounding confused.
"I'm okay. I'm more than okay. I'll call you tomorrow alright?"
"Fine." Mason sighed. "But call so we can set things up." He said as he hung up.
He put his phone on the nightstand and turned off the light. He held Elena close to his body, inhaling her fresh and familiar scent.
He then thought about Mystic Falls. Jamie, Stefan…and that ungrateful asshole of his father. He wanted and needed to come back. He couldn't run until it was too late, and he knew that with Elena by his side he could face everything. And truth be told he missed Mystic Falls. He'd always thought that heading out of that town would be the best thing but it wasn't. He knew it would have made Elena happy too. And if that made her happy, it made him happy.
He then remembered to turn off his phone, not wanting to be disturbed in such a peaceful moment. Maybe he would have turned it on tomorrow to hear Mason. He still wasn't sure. For now he would just focus on the love of his life sleeping in his arms.
Caroline heard the front door opening and immediatly rushed to it. Stefan's face was tired and he had dark circles under his eyes, his whole body seeming defeated. She took off his coat and gave him a cheeky smile softly caressing his face.
He was working too much, he was buring his sadness and grieving into work and it wasn't healthy.
"Is she still here? What happened?" He asked.
"I don't know. She only wants to talk to you. She seems upset, Stefan. I think something serious happened." She said.
"I'll deal with it." He nodded calmly. "You go to bed." He pratically demanded.
Caroline gave him a suspicious nod as she went into their room.
"Lydia." Stefan acknoweledged, slowly sitting on the couch next to her. "What happened?" His eyes were serious and worried.
"Stefan. Thanks god you're here." She said throwing herself at him.
He stiffened at first but he then hugged her back, both confused and surprised at the gesture. They had never been to close but Lydia and his uncle Zach were actually the only decent ones of his family.
She wiped a few tears away and only then he noticed how tired and sad her face looked.
"Zach's dead." She said all of a sudden.
Stefan's eyes snapped open as he looked at the upset woman next to him. When did that happen? Why didn't he know anything about it until now?
"What? How? When did it happen?" He asked shaking his head in disbelief.
"A few hours ago. They tried to save him but it was too late. I came back home and I found him on the floor unconscious. I called 911 and they brought him to the hospital." She started explaining, her voice filled with any emotion. She then bored her eyes right into his ones. "It was heart attack. Zach never had heart issues and only a few months ago he did a check up with Dr. Hunt. He said that he was perfectly fine and sent him home. But at the hospital they told me that he was having heart problems for all his life, Stefan. That he was dying for a long time. Then why no one told us about it? We didn't know anything. We were told he was fine." She said. She started crying as she buried her face in her hands.
Before he could process what Lydia actually said and start feeling sad about his uncle's death, Stefan's mind only thought about one thing. Damon. Didn't he and Zach had the check up in the same day and at the same hour? What if..what if for some reasons the results had been mixed up? What if they were all wrong all along?
"I think I know what happened." He suddenly said, his eyes boring into Lydia's.
When she saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes her face grew confused.
"Did Zach tell you that Damon had made a check up too, that day?" He asked.
Her eyes immediatly filled up with remorse. "Oh, right..your brother..I'm sorry about him Stefan. Now I can understand what you're going through. I'm so sorry I've been so careless." She said touching his arm.
He shook his head fiercely. "No. I think he's fine Lydia. I think that for an unforgivable and huge mistake, maybe Dr. Hunt's results about Damon and Zach were confused. We need to call him. We need to call Dr. Hunt and ask about those tests. I promise you Lydia that he won't get away with it. We will sue him and there will be consequences, you have my word that you'll have my help. But right now I need to know if my brother is okay." He said, standing up with another kind of emotion surrounding him.
"Thank you Stefan. You're a great man and if it turns out that Damon is actually fine…I'll be happy for all of you. Zach would be too." She nodded smiling a little.
He smiled in understanding walking away.
Just then though Lydia's voice called him again.
"Wait." She said serious and thoughtful.
He turned around to look at her, worrying all over again when he saw her face.
"Is Damon..is he taking any drugs? For the pain?" She asked, her eyes slightly wide.
"Yes. Yes I think Dr. Hunt gave them to him. To ease the pain and all, you know…"
She shook her head, walking to him and gripping his shoulders.
"You have to make him stop taking them. If he really is okay and nothing is wrong with him, those drugs are only going to destroy his organs and his whole organism. Such tough and powerful medicines shouldn't be taken if not needed." She said firmly. "I know that because my mother suffered of heart problems too, and when the doctor prescribed those kind of drugs to her he made it clear that they had to be taken in small doses, and only when the pain is unbereable. If Damon is using them without actually being sick…it will only make him become."
Stefan's eyes widended in fear. What if Damon was taking them on a daily basis? What if he thought that he had to take them even if he didn't have pain? Anything could happen. Maybe he was even taking them in desperation.
He brought his hands to his ruffled hair as panic started to take form in his body. He had to call Damon and he had to do it now.