'You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival' Winston Churchill

"Damon?" I whisper. His eyes have fallen closed again but I can still see them fluttering through his eyelids. Before long, he opens them just a slit. I push the nurse button to let Jeff know that he is starting to wake up.

Finally he's able to open his eyes. Although futile, he's struggling hard against the restraints that are binding his arms.

"Damon, it's Elena. Please calm down," I tell him as I grab a hold of one of his hands, lacing my fingers with his. "You were in an accident at the mill and you're in the hospital."

The fear in his eyes is tangible as he continues to struggle against his restraints. In no time his alarms start blaring as his heart rate skyrockets because of his agitation.

"Damon, look at me. Please relax. Your nurse will be here in just a moment. I'm afraid they'll have to sedate you again if you don't calm down," I implore him, squeezing his hand tighter.

Jeff hurries into the room. "Mr. Salvatore, calm down. I'm your nurse, Jeff. Calm down." A look of comprehension dawns on Damon's face then he starts to relax a little bit although he continues to hold on to my hand tightly.

"You were hurt in a logging accident. You had to have surgery for internal bleeding. You had a collapsed lung along with a femur and rib fractures. Your left leg is elevated because of your femur fracture. Do you need something for pain?" Jeff asks him.

Damon shakes his head no. I notice his grimaces. I think he's in pain but I also I think he's afraid of the narcotics sending him back into drug induced slumber.

"Damon," I say softly. "If you're hurting, please take something for pain. If you're afraid of being 'knocked out', don't be. I'll be here when you wake up. I'm going to call your mom and dad. They went home to get a little rest, okay?"

He nods his understanding before Jeff asks him again if he's hurting. This time he nods yes. Jeff says he'll get him something and then leaves the room momentarily. In a few minutes he comes back and explains to Damon that he's going to inject the narcotic into his IV line. Almost immediately Damon begins to doze off again. Relieved that he'd accept something for pain, I finally pick up my phone to call his parents.

"Hello?"

"Gracie, this is Elena. Damon woke up!"

"Thank Christ," she blurts out before yelling to Sep that they need to get back to the hospital.

"Jeff gave him some pain medicine so he's dozing again. He said he was going to give his Dr. a call."

"If he wakes up again before we get there, tell him we're on our way," she tells me hurriedly.

I take Damon's hand in mine, gently caressing it before bringing it to my lips to press a soft kiss to it then hold it against my cheek. When I raise my eyes back to him, he's staring at me.

"Damon? Jeff went to call your Dr. I hope since you're awake they'll be able to take that tube out of your throat. Then you'll be able to talk to me. I called you mom. They'll be back here soon. Your mom sounded so relieved. She's really been a rock Damon. You're lucky to have her."

Before long, he starts to struggle against the restraints all over again. Jeff comes back into the room when once again his alarms start sounding in a feverish pitch.

"Damon, look at me. Dr. Anderson will be here soon. Once he extubates you, we'll be able to take the restraints off okay. You need to calm down." Jeff tells him firmly yet softly.

At last he seems to understand that he needs to relax. When I feel him squeeze my hand, I raise my eyes and smile at him. "That's right Damon. Just relax," I tell him while petting his hand.

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"Not you again," I chuckle before dropping my head into my hands. Since waking up, I've been overwhelmed with Dr. visits, getting poked for blood work, Xrays, the whole nine yards. They finally pulled my chest tube out earlier this morning. What a relief it is to have that out.

"Yep! You've been assigned to me Damon. Aren't you excited?" Bonnie teases.

"NO!" I needle her, unable to keep the smile off my face.

"Brady will be joining us in a moment. I think we should have an extra pair of hands since it's your first time getting up. Let's get you sat up and the gait belt around your waist first."

"Yes mam," I reply with a mock salute.

As predicted, Brady joins us, bringing a walker along with him. "Damon, we don't want you to put any weight on your right leg until we get the okay from Dr. Robertson, your orthopedist.

We want you to use your good leg and your arms. Bonnie and I will be helping you. You might feel lightheaded because you've been in bed for several days. First we're just going to stand alright?"

"Okay you two, I'm ready." He and Bonnie then help me get to a standing posture.

"Whoa," I utter when I start to sway a bit.

"Are you dizzy?" Bonnie asks.

"That would be a yes," I utter, feeling like the room is spinning.

"Take a few deep breaths. We won't let you fall," Brady reassures me.

I close my eyes and take a few slow deep breathes, "Okay, I'm ready," I reply, grimacing.

"Slow and steady, let's take a couple of steps," Bonnie encourages.

With their help, I walk to the door. "Holy hell that hurts," I curse, scrunching my face up.

"Are you okay to stand a moment if I let go?" Bonnie asks.

"Yeah, unless Brady lets go too. Who knew a couple of steps would take so much effort?"

"You've been through a lot Damon. You've been in bed for several days so your muscles are weak. I know you're getting DVT prophylaxsis but the longer you linger in bed, the more likely you are to get a blood clot. That's the last thing you need. The long bones such as your femur are prone to developing clots. And no, I won't let go," Brady reassures me.

Bonnie lets me go to wheel the recliner over here so I can sit up for awhile. Once I'm in the chair, they elevate the leg rest for me and hand me my nurse call light.

"Alright Damon. You need to sit up for awhile so you can start getting your strength back. Bonnie and I will be back a little later to help you get back to bed okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks to both of you, really."

"Our pleasure," Bonnie says with a wink before walking out with Brady.

"Hi Damon," Elena says, wheeling herself into my room. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling better. They took me off IV pain medication. I'm taking pills now. We need to talk," I tell her focusing my eyes on her.

"I know. I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. I really am. I know there's no excuse but maybe if you try to look at it from my point of view, you'll understand. She showed me the newspaper with the two of you locked in what looked like a passionate kiss. You can't imagine how that hurt me," she explains emphatically.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I should've given you the opportunity to explain but it was just so painful in that moment, all I could think about was getting out of there. You know the bodies fight or flight response to stress? Well that was it."

I drop my head for a moment to get my emotions in check. "I understand Elena. I do. However, we need to trust each other. If we don't have that, we have no relationship. You have to have a little faith in me and in us if we're going to have a future."

"I do trust you and I want to be with you Damon. Matt..., he promised me for better or worse. The minute it got worse, he packed his bags. You had a reputation," she says turning away for a moment.

"I just couldn't understand why a guy like you would want to be with me. But after we went out a couple of times, I could see and feel, yes feel how much you really cared about me. I just needed time to wrap my head around the fact that you really wanted to be with me. That this wasn't some joke, a pity fuck or a one night stand for you," she tells me. I can't help but notice her handwringing.

When she turns to face me again, I can really see how desperately she needs to get this off of her chest.

"You truly wanted me. Then that woman came along and plunged a knife into my self esteem all over again. That woman couldn't help but gloat when she showed me not only the newspaper but also a bunch of snapshots of the two of you. It hurt Damon," she whispers then lowers her eyes for a moment.

After taking in a few deep breaths, she continues, "In all honesty, I was going to call you the next day to ask for an explanation but then you ended up here. I was so scared that I would lose you. It really brought into sharp focus how much I do love you and do want that future with you. You asked me that first time to let you love me. Please love me Damon?" she implores, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Come here." I tell her. When she leans close enough for my reach, I pull her into my arms as best I can since we're both in chairs. I pull back, cradle her cheeks and press a torrid kiss to her lips.

"I love you. I love you. I love you," I tell her with all the conviction I can muster as I continue to pepper her face with kisses.

It's been four months since my accident. Elena and I are stronger than ever now. We're talking about moving in together. My apartment in the boarding house needs some renovating first.

Because I got hurt, Stefan helped my dad build a ramp to my apartment door for Elena to use when she comes over. We're together more often than not now. I've never been happier.

Everyone is at the Grill tonight just for a get together. We haven't been out for awhile as I've been recuperating and unable to drink while on my pain medication. Elena has been incredibly supportive during my convalescence. She actually cracked the whip pretty hard too when I needed a push to do my leg exercises at home. I'm going back to work at the mill next week and couldn't be happier. Dad is putting me in the office for a couple of weeks. He's still nervous about letting me get back into the swing of things. I agreed for his as well as mom's peace of mind. My only condition is that he'll eventually, not months though, let me get back out into the great outdoors to do my job.

My gait is still a bit stiff and I can pretty much predict when the weather is going to change but other than that, my Dr. says my progress has been remarkable. I really do believe I'm lucky to be alive.

"Where were you?" Elena asks realizing my mind was elsewhere.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am to be alive and to have you in my life," I tell her before lifting a kiss from her lips.

"Brother," Stefan says as he and Meredith arrive and take a seat at our table.

"Who's all joining us tonight?" Meredith asks.

"Here comes Ric and Jenna. Our task masters, Brady and Bonnie are coming too," I reply. When I look up, I see my mom and dad walking towards our table.

Mom bends over to kiss me, then Elena on the cheek. Dad pulls the chair out for her before taking a seat himself. Before long everyone else arrives.

I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle loudly to get Rebekah's attention. "We need a round of drinks over here," I yell waving once Bec turns her attention to me.

She rolls her eyes then laughs at my antics. "I'll be right over and I expect a nice tip, Mr...," she yells back.

"Becca, when have I ever not taken care of you?"

"Well...," she breaks out in laughter.

"Careful Damon, Tyler is giving you the evil eye," Elena cautions, smiling.

"Tyler! Join us," I urge, waving him over to our table. Once Tyler pulls a chair up, Enzo and Caroline walk in hand in hand.

"Enzo," I yell, waving to get his attention. He smirks, wraps his arm around Caroline, points at me before whispering something in her ear. Only then do they move to join us at our table.

"You're going to need a bigger table. Let's push a couple together," Enzo says as we all start to stand and arrange the tables so there's room for all of us.

After Rebekah has served everyone a drink, I stand up and ask for everyone's attention.

"Elena and I have some news to share with you all," I start out.

"Do you want to do the honors sweetheart?" I whisper in her ear.

As her smile grows from ear to ear, she raises her voice to share our news. "Damon and I are getting married," she squeals showing off her diamond ring...

Elena is out with Bonnie and Caroline this afternoon. She needed a girl's day out. Caroline is home for a few days. She and Enzo have been seeing each other. She's considering moving back to Mystic Falls or close by so they aren't so far away from each other.

Tonight is a big night. I have a chicken roasting in the oven along with the trimmings. I'm about to take it out of the oven when I hear Elena's voice.

"I'm back Damon. What's all this?" she asks. I have the table set with china, drippy candles and wine stems. There's also a bouquet of wildflowers. Elena loves them.

"I just wanted to give you a special night," I answer, bending over to press a kiss to her lips.

"What's the occasion?"

"Just this," I tell her, pulling a little robin's egg blue box from my pocket before dropping to my knees. Her eyes are alight with happiness, her smile incandescent when she realizes what I'm about to ask her.

"Elena Josephine Gilbert, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

Tears begin to form in her eyes, her head is bobbing up before finally she can speak, "Yes, yes." I pull her into my arms and press a scorching kiss to her lush lips. We're both breathless when I pull back. "I love you so much," I whisper, cradling her face in my hands.

"That's not all," I add. "We're going to have a baby," I scream, pulling Elena to me, my happiness effervescent.

Everyone starts cheering and congratulating us. "To the happy couple," my dad says, raising his glass for a toast.

This night is wonderful. Each and everyone of our friends is so excited for us. The baby news was quite a surprise but a very welcome one nonetheless.

After saying our goodbyes to everyone, I get up to bring the car around front for Elena. When I pull the Grill door open, my jaw drops when I see who's standing right in front of me.

Good news all around. There are still a few chapters of their story left to tell. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Thank you to my dear friend Eva. I don't know if I'll be watching TVD next season without Elena. (I rather doubt it.) I do know that we'll always have fan fiction. I intend to keep writing DE as long as people will read. I will say that I've met so many wonderful people because of the DE fandom. Never have I had so many wonderful friends whom I've never actually met but know that you all mean so much to me. This is dedicated to all of you. I truly appreciate all the love and support you've given me through this fandom and as I transitioned to writing my own stories. I did update both 'Pieces of Eight' and 'Nothing Else Matters' yesterday. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Take care. I'll see you all next week. Carol