'We have it in our power to begin the world again' Thomas Paine
I can't believe my eyes when I see Matt Donovan standing in front of me. Why in the world is he back here? I think to myself.
"Excuse me," I say to him so I can run to our car and pull it up front for Elena. The handicapped parking spots were all taken by the time Elena and I arrived this evening. When he steps aside to let me pass, I recognize the instant he sees Elena. His mouth drops then he reaches behind him to grab onto the hand of a woman that I didn't even notice till just now. I watch as he pulls the woman alongside of him before slowly walking to where Elena is waiting for me.
After pulling the car up, I walk back inside the Grill to get Elena. When I see the way Matt is looking at her, almost flaunting the woman beside him, anger propels me forward.
I push past him and the woman bending down to kiss Elena when I reach her. "Are you ready to go sweetheart?" I ask.
She reaches up to itch her nose with her left hand, no doubt showing off her engagement ring. I can't but chuckle a little bit. I wanted something unique so I bought her a blue diamond solitaire. It is quite beautiful.
Matt's eyes widen when he sees her ring. "You're engaged?" he asks in shock, almost as if he can't believe that someone could love Elena in that way.
Elena nods, smiling up at me before taking my hand in hers. "Yes, I am. Damon and I are blissfully happy together. Now if you'll excuse us, we're going home for the night," she says, not giving him a chance to reply.
I get behind her and push her outside to our car. Without warning, we hear his voice asking us to wait up. "Elena, can we talk sometime?" he requests.
"There's nothing for us to talk about Matt," she says firmly.
"Elena, please?"
"No Matt. You left me when I needed you the most. And you know what? I'm glad you did because if you hadn't, Damon wouldn't be in my life. Now if you don't mind, we're going home."
He stares at her for a long moment before retreating back into the bar with his shoulders slumped.
"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" I whisper before peppering her face with wispy kisses. I can't help but notice how she's beaming when I lift her up and set her gently in the car.
After jumping in the driver's seat, we head for home. "He was the last person I was expecting to see tonight," I begin.
"Me too but this is his home too. I never really had any expectations of not seeing him again. It was inevitable that at some point our paths would cross," she says honestly.
"Thank you for what you said to him. I'm surprised the buttons on my shirt didn't pop. I just felt like my chest would burst with happiness when you said those words," I say, taking her hand in mine. I give a gentle squeeze before bringing it to my lips to drop a kiss on it.
Today we are meeting with a carpenter to retrofit the boarding house for Elena's needs. We decided rather than build our own home, we would live here because Elena has special needs and may need help with the baby or something, anything else that may come up. This way we have my parents around for backup should the need arise.
While I was hospitalized, Stefan helped my dad build ramps so that part of the renovation is already done. We're going to take a few walls out to both expand our living quarters and have room for a nursery.
"Damon, Elena, come on in," Mason says, gesturing for us to come into his office. Mason followed much the same path I did. He also left Mystic Falls for a few years sewing the wild oats as it were. Something called him home just as it did me. He married Dana and had three kids in short order. Stand up guy that he is, he still volunteered for the bachelor auction with Dana's permission of course. She has certainly tamed the wild beast as it were.
After exchanging greetings, Mason goes right into his plans for the house. "I take it, the doorways are wide enough to accommodate Elena's wheelchair?" he asks.
When I nod, he continues. "I would suggest changing the locks to key pads. That way you can give the combination to those people you entrust it with. If something were to happen with the door locked, if it was a key lock, they'd have to break in," he says.
"I never thought of that Mas. That's really smart thinking," I say, acknowledging his suggestion.
"There are motorized sliding glass doors for your patio. That way Elena could go out into the fresh air if she liked without needing someone to pull the doors open. I also did a little digging. I know this isn't home renovation per se', but foam mattresses are really good to help prevent bedsores. I also read that transfers are easier for the person if the bed is level with the cushion on the wheelchair so said person is able to just slide themselves over. I bet that you have a lot of upper arm strength, Elena. I'd lay odds you could take Damon arm wrestling," he jokes.
"Additionally the toilets should be at a level for her to slide herself over after removing the arm rest on that side of her wheelchair."
"Mas, I'm really impressed by the research you've put into this. Thank you."
"No worries, Damon." he says smiling before continuing his presentation.
"We might also want to renovate your shower so it's wide enough to hold a shower chair. That way Elena, you could be just wheeled into the shower, clean up and then go back to your wheelchair."
"I like that idea. Usually Damon helps me into and out of the bathtub. I really like the idea of having a little more independence," Elena says, blushing.
"Elevators are expensive so I thought we could reinstall Elena's at the boarding house rather than purchasing a new one. Jenna won't need it since you won't be living there anymore."
Both of us are really excited about Mason's proposals. He also mentioned things like having the dining room table at wheelchair height as well a computer desk that she could wheel right up to among other things.
"Miss Gilbert, Mr. Salvatore, the Dr. will see you now. If you'll follow me," the nurse says, motioning for us to follow. Once we're settled in his office, she takes Elena's blood pressure and her health history. "After the Dr. sees you, we'll take you down the hall. We have scale with a lift on it so we can get your weight. Dr. Mikaelson will be in shortly," she informs as before walking out the door.
In short order, Elijah walks in wearing his white jacket with his stethoscope draped around his neck. "Damon, Elena, it's good to see you," he says. After he takes a moment to read the nurse's notes, he turns his attention to us. "As you know, Elena's paralysis presents special needs. I am going to be speaking to a physician I know in New York who has experience with these types of high risk pregnancies. I want you two to have faith in me that Elena can have a healthy and happy pregnancy," he tells us earnestly.
"Elena, you're going to have to take prenatal vitamins of course. I want you to drink a lot of water. We'll have to watch you closely for urinary tract infections. Because the level of your spinal cord injury is in the lumbar region, you should be able to feel labor. Circumstances will dictate if you'll need a cesarean section. Just because you're paralyzed doesn't automatically mean you'll have to have a surgical birth. It just depends on how well you and the baby tolerate labor. Do you have any questions right now?" he asks.
I take Elena's hand in mine. "We really appreciate the effort you're taking to ensure Elena stays healthy during her pregnancy. This isn't something we planned, Eli. However, we were both over the moon when we saw the two blue lines. Will Elena need to be seen more frequently than other women?" I ask, turning my eyes to Elena then back to him.
"I'll be able to tell you more after I've spoken to my friend. You're about ten weeks pregnant according to my calculations. Why don't we take a look at that baby? Damon, can you lift her onto the exam table? I'm going to get the sonogram machine."
The nurse walks in immediately after and hands us a gown.
Elena puts the gown on then I lift her into my arms, placing her gently on the exam table. Once she's lying safely on the table, I straighten and position her legs, then reach up and adjust her pillow before pulling her jeans down her legs. Just as I'm about to press a kiss to her lips, Elijah walks back in pushing the sonogram machine in front of him.
"Elena, I'm going to squirt the Doppler gel on your lower abdomen. Then we'll see if we can see your baby," he says smiling. He squirts a good amount on her belly before picking up the transducer and running it across tummy. Soon we hear a whooshing sound. "That is the sound of your baby's heart beating. See this blip right here?" he says pointing to an area on the screen. "That's your baby's heartbeat."
Elena has tears glistening in her eyes. I can feel mine watering up as well. "That's our baby, Damon," she says in wonder.
"It's much to early to learn the sex. That will have to wait till the second trimester if that's something you're interested in," he informs us.
I look in Elena's eyes for a moment. When she nods, I turn to Elijah. "Maybe we'll change our minds by then, but right now, we want the surprise."
"I'll print off a picture for you two to show off. Why don't you help Elena dress? I'll come back in a few minutes with a prescription for some prenatal vitamins and some pamphlets," he says while washing his hands.
After leaving Elijah's office, Elena insisted we stop by Ric and Jenna's to show them the picture. They are so happy for us as are my parents when we show it off to them.
I help Elena get ready for bed before jumping in beside her. "It was a productive day but I'm exhausted. How about you?" I ask as I gently caress her tummy.
"I'm tired but not too tired to snuggle in your arms," she says with a wink.
Raising my eyebrows, I roll her onto her back and gently lay on top of her, taking care not to put too much weight on her belly. I pull her nightgown over her head then begin pressing kisses over every inch of exposed skin. I tease her nipples with my tongue, first one then the other. In no time at all, she's writhing as best she can beneath me. I sit back and gently pull her legs apart. I lean up and press a smoldering kiss to her lips before gently entering her. The feeling of her body surrounding me is exquisite. It's like having a mink glove gently caress me from inside of her.
Because I want to make love to my girl tonight, my movements are slow and purposeful. I pull one of her legs up over my hip so I can surge deeper. I'll never get over the sheer, unmatched bliss of being connected to her in this way, the feeling is almost ethereal. I can't help but smile when I see her staring at me while biting her lip. My little minx knows full well what the lip biting does to me. I thrust up a few more times before my strokes become chaotic and disjointed. Elena grabs onto my forearms, squeezing tightly, her head falls back and her mouth drops open. It's then that I feel her begin to tremble as chill bumps erupt on her skin. Barely hanging onto the precipice myself, when I feel her trembles amplifying in intensity, she pulls me right over the edge along with her.
When we're both breathing normally again, I pull her close and cocoon her in my arms. In no time at all her breathing evens out and her eyes fall closed. I press a kiss to her crown then let sleep pull me under right along with her.
I didn't find out before hand what any of my four kids were. I wanted the surprise. Thank you Eva. Thanks to all of you and to those of you who review anonymously that I can't reply to, know that they're very much appreciated. I did update 'Pieces of Eight' and 'Nothing Else Matters' yesterday. I'm hard at work on 'Shatter Me'... It'll start posting when it's completely written. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Thank you again for all of your support. We'll see you next time...