A/N: I'm completely amazed by all the reviews for this story *_* Thank you so much for your support! :]:]:]

Beta: arabian – Thank you so much! *hugs*

Disclaimer: TVD belongs to L.J. Smith & CW.

Chapter 10

If she was not in love with him already, she would have fallen in love with him because of the way he looked at her when she had made her confession. It seemed like a shadow was suddenly lifted from his face. She had never seen anyone's face brighten like that. She had never seen anyone look so genuinely, deeply, absolutely happy, and the emotion emanated onto her, making her heart soar. There was not a trace of anything else. It was not a blend of surprise, relief, gratitude or anything else. It was just happiness in his eyes. Happiness that was not an abstract notion. It was the way she felt right now. It was as visible as him, as tangible as his arms around her, it had the scent of the night wind, and the taste of his lips.

She said "I love you" again – it was all she could hear in her head; he whispered them back into her ear, and she lost her breath, lost all of her grim memories and fell into sound of his voice, kissed the words off his lips when he repeated them – over and over again. She could hardly differentiate between the words and the kisses, she was drowning in both, holding on to both, throwing caution to the wind and letting them consume her. The word came back to her like a forgotten dream and she realized she had never really known what it meant until now, until this, until him.

When the mist dispersed into the night air, they ran away from the dark, and back into the house.

Damon locked the door with one hand, his other arm wrapped around Elena as they continued kissing, moving across the room, tripping over the shopping bags and small, colorful rugs on the floor.

"Would you like to dance, Elena?" Damon asked with exaggerated formality, sliding the hairband off her hair and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Near touch?" she asked in mock-seriousness, gracefully lifting one of her hands, and then the other, but Damon grabbed her hands, kissed them, and then closed her in an embrace.

"No, just the opposite."

They laughed, and sat down on the floor to sift through the CDs they had bought.

"What's your favorite decade?" Elena asked, glancing up at him, her back pressed against his chest.

"Whatever decade it is tonight," Damon replied, trailing kisses across her cheek.

"Not helpful," Elena protested, stifling a smile.

"We can dance to silent songs."

"What's that?"

He propped her chin and kissed her.

"You could've mentioned that before I've wasted a minute and a half looking through these," Elena muttered without opening her eyes, dropping all the CDs she had been holding in her hands to the floor, and returning the kiss with feverish intensity.

She knew it wouldn't last forever – this carefree sense of joy that made her shiver at his every word, every touch. But perhaps it would last long enough to make her believe that if he loved her and she loved him nothing bad could happen. They were immune to all evil because they were in love. That's what he believed, she was sure. He was the first advocate of happily ever after. "I will always choose you." "I will never leave you again." No probability theory was good enough. There was only certainty and eternity and "because I love you" that served as the default answer to any question. She didn't know if that was the simpler world, or the more complicated world, but it was where she belonged now.

Damon rolled them over, and they accidentally hit the small table, causing a vase with roses come tumbling down on them.

"If we ruin the entire house the only decent solution will be buying it," Elena said, laughing under her breath as she was brushing the drops of water off her face.

When she opened her eyes she found Damon staring down at her searchingly as if she had just given him a riddle to solve. She pushed the flowers off his head and shoulders and looked at him.

"I wouldn't choose this particular moment to stop kissing me if I were you," she said seriously, eyes sparkling with laughter.

He grimaced more than smiled, ran the tips of his fingers across her cheek and brushed his lips against hers so lightly and slowly she couldn't catch her breath when he drew back.

"You look sad," she whispered with a hint of dismay in her voice, reaching out to caress his face. "Don't look sad, Damon," she said ardently, half-speaking to herself, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

"Look who's talking," he said kissing the tears off her face.

She shook her head. "This is ridiculous."

"You've just signed up for this, Elena," he said with a small smirk that caused relief to wash over her even if she still felt like bursting into tears from the sheer blissfulness of how close he was, how his voice ghosted over her skin when he spoke.

"I forgot," she said, struck by the thought, rejuvenated by his smile, determined to make the tears go away. She vaguely recalled poems reiterating moments like that, moments that were so beautiful they hurt. But this was not a poem. This was real. They had been adrift on the sea of tragedies, but this was an island, and they weren't going to drown.

She scurried to her feet, glancing around the room, Damon following the suit.

"Where are you going?" There was such sincere hint of fear in his voice that she swirled around and moved in a flash back into his arms.

"I want to change into a dress. I want to dance. You can choose a song in the meantime."

"Elena-" He slid his fingers into her hair.

"It's OK," she said firmly, holding onto his shoulders. "We aren't doing anything wrong. This isn't too good to be true. It is what it is," she spoke in a rushed whisper, smiling and frowning, and realized that she was talking more to herself than to him. "It's not a dream we're going to wake up from. This is real. I don't want to feel guilty because I love you. I want to be happy. I want you to be happy."

There was a glimpse of premonition somewhere in her words, she thought. But she couldn't quite place it so she pushed it away. She was wrong before. Or rather he was wrong that she was wrong. It was the safest harbor, this tempest. The safest feeling of all. He kissed the tip of her nose and it was a fairy tale. He kissed her forehead and all evil was conquered. He kissed her cheek and nothing bad would ever happen. He kissed her mouth – and they were human, and she would always choose him, and he would never leave her, and no one would ever die.

"Did you try calling Elena?" Caroline asked brusquely, ignoring Jeremy's question whether she had seen Bonnie lately. She wasn't sure how she could answer that question anyway. Glancing around the Gilberts' kitchen Caroline traveled back in time. They were eight years old, she burnt the cookies, and Elena ate seven to prove they tasted fine.

"Did you?" Jeremy retorted. He double-checked the clock to make sure it was really 4 am.

"Jeremy!" Caroline exclaimed in a scolding voice that came out as desperate more than scolding anyway. "I'm asking if you tried to call her."

"My battery's dead."

Caroline widened her eyes at him. "Your battery is dead? Your sister is dead! And you didn't even try calling her? You should call her right now!"

"Why?"

Caroline stared at him. Jeremy seemed as upset as she was and it made no sense. She thought that maybe it would've made more sense if she'd gotten some sleep instead of pacing around her backyard for three hours.

"Because you worry about her? Because I ask you to? I was also going to ask you to go with us, but I'm under the impression you might have other plans," Caroline added sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think the time for organizing rescue missions was when Elena didn't want to complete the transition. Not now." Jeremy said, squinting. "Besides, don't you think she'll get back when she wants to get back?"

Caroline drew a sharp breath. "Do you think I'm doing this because I want to? Guess what. I don't. Klaus gave us a week to make that stupid spell work which kind of requires us to contact Elena before we run out of time so she at least knows what's going on-" She checked herself before she blurted out something about Bonnie acting strange. "Besides, aren't you at the very least worried about Damon?"

Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "Is he sick?"

Caroline was fuming. "Next time you die make sure not to leave your brain on the other side," she said, and stormed off.

"Caroline, wait." Jeremy caught up with her when she was about to leave the house.

She turned away from the door, and looked at him questioningly.

"It's been just a couple of days," Jeremy said in a low voice. "She's been through hell over and over again. I'd have called her if it was just to ask how she was. But if I called her I'd either have to lie to her or tell her about Klaus and everything would start all over." He looked away with a grimace.

"I know, Jeremy," Caroline threw her hands in the air. "Do you really think I don't feel the same way? But what can we do? We can wait two more days to tell her, but this won't make Klaus disappear off the face of the earth."

"She won't do it anyway. You know that, right?" Jeremy said, looking Caroline straight in the eye. She held his gaze. "She won't agree to be turned back into a human if it means someone's death."

"Well, we're yet to work out the details," Caroline said with fake decisiveness, biting her lip. "Obviously." She wondered what Bonnie's plan was. She clearly had a plan and Caroline half-hoped that she was working on a spell that could turn Elena back into a human without sacrificing anyone. Or maybe a spell that could turn Klaus into something squashable. Or both. One could dream. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about that. Stefan and I. That's what road trips are for. Brainstorming and all," she said, trying to sound at least a little bit optimistic.

"You couldn't even convince her not to die," Jeremy scoffed. "Now you think you can convince her to kill someone?"

"How do you-" Caroline started automatically, but trailed off noticing a glimpse of confusion in Jeremy's eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Caroline, what is it?" Jeremy looked at her searchingly.

Caroline sighed in exasperation. "That spell... It's not only that someone has to die. She'd actually have to kill someone herself," she explained hardly above a whisper. "I didn't think you knew."

"I didn't," Jeremy said, shaking his head in annoyance and disbelief. "That's even better, then," he said sarcastically. "You want to convince her to literally kill someone with her own hands."

"No! No, Jeremy," Caroline huffed in irritation. "Of course not! But that's not the point. The point is to tell her what's going on and bring her home. Only then will we actually be able to start discussing that at all."

"How do you even know where she is?" Jeremy asked grimly, trying not to think about what he had just heard.

"Bonnie located her," Caroline shrugged.

"You've seen Bonnie?" Jeremy's eyes focused on her again.

"Jeremy, we're late," Caroline said, turning to the door and opening it. "Stefan's waiting in the car. If you're not going with us, we'll talk when we get back."

Jeremy seemed to ponder something for a second. "OK. Wait. I'll try to call her," he said resignedly, pulling the phone out of his pocket. "To warn her about the visitation."

Caroline smiled. "Not so very dead, after all," she said, glancing at the phone before looking back at Jeremy.

"Yeah, just like you," Jeremy said, and smiled a little when she smacked him on the shoulder.

It was a red, strapless dress that she had added to the pile on the counter exchanging a conspiratorial smile with the store assistant when Damon hadn't been looking.

Elena tilted her head to the side, regarding herself in the mirror critically. She then smiled amused by how serious the expression on her face was.

Having found a pair of earrings in one of the smaller shopping bags, she started putting them on, but her hands were shaking so much she couldn't do it. She laughed soundlessly at herself, giving up on the earrings, and fast-running out of the bedroom.

Back in the living room, she was stopped short by the dim lights, and the sight of all the furniture pushed against the walls, so the middle of the room was all empty except for rose petals scattered on the floor.

"Sei bellissima, Elena."

She heard the words in her head, and smiled at Damon who was standing across the room from her. He turned on the CD with Italian songs, sauntered toward her, and extended his hand to her.

Elena placed her hand in his, slid her feet out of her shoes, and stepped on the rose petals. Damon squinted and then kicked off his shoes as well. He gathered her into his arms and they danced in silence for a while, just looking at each other.

At some point there came a song for which Damon proposed they would kiss every time the word "solare" was used and to Elena's amusement it turned out the lyrics pretty much depended on that one word. There was also one energetic song that sent them swirling around the room, but the rest of the songs were calm and quiet. She buried her face in his chest, he rested his cheek on top of her head, and for a long time they didn't speak at all.

The dimly lit room was full of shadows, and after some time they started talking about ghosts. He asked about her parents and she pieced together memories like Christmas ornaments, surprised by how much she remembered. She asked about his mother and he searched for the images and words for a long time before she heard the story. She asked about her- about Isobel and he painted a picture prettier than what she inevitably remembered. She suspected he did it solely for her sake, but somehow she didn't mind. When she closed her eyes she could almost imagine the world in which she would like for her to be her mother. They talked, in torn sentences, about Alaric, and then fell silent again, until Elena recognized the same song she had heard three times already, realizing they must have been dancing for over four hours now.

"What is this one about?" she asked quietly, the Italian lyrics floating softly in the air around them.

"It's about a night at sea," Damon answered in a matching tone, and then leaned down and whispered into her ear. "And the morning after."

They stopped with the slow, dancing steps, and only music went on like before. They looked at each other and a moment later their lips met in a fiery kiss. The rose petals felt like hot coals under her feet. He slid his open palms up and down her back, pressing her so close to him she couldn't catch her breath even when his mouth left hers for a second to trail open-mouthed kisses along her neck.

The sound of the phone ringing caught them so off guard as if it belonged to another world. For a moment they just listened to it, as if they didn't know what to do with it. At last, out of his pocket Damon produced his phone, and Elena watched his face to guess the name of the caller.

"Rose found Mary," Damon said, and she blinked in confusion. "She lives in Kansas," he added with mock solemnity, showing her the name that appeared on the screen.

Elena bit back a smile, looking between the phone and his face. Damon waved the phone from side to side, and after another moment of hesitation Elena exhaled heavily, and took the phone from Damon's hand.

"Jeremy."

"Elena!" Jeremy sounded so surprised it made Elena smile. "How are you?" Jeremy asked, smiling to himself and blinking quickly.

"I'm OK," Elena answered, drawing a breath. "It's good to hear you. I'm sorry I didn't call-"

"No, it's alright. I'm just really happy that... that you're OK."

"I know."

They both fell silent for a second and then laughed at the same time.

"When are you coming home?" Jeremy asked in a voice as cheerful as he could muster. Caroline slightly shook her head, silently signaling to him that the question wouldn't do.

"I... I don't know, Jeremy," Elena said, suddenly realizing she didn't feel like coming back at all. "I'm not... ready to see everyone yet. I hope you understand," she said tentatively.

Damon took a few steps back, tilting his head to the side, and watching her stand barefooted on the rose petals in the middle of the improvised dance floor. Her hair was falling over her shoulders and she kept tucking it behind her ear in a nervous gesture. He let his gaze travel slowly from her toes to the top of her head, memorizing every detail, engraving the image in his heart. This was real.

"Yeah," Jeremy replied uncertainly. "Sure, Elena." He said firmly after the briefest moment of consideration, something in the tone of her voice striking him as very strange but in an amazingly good way. She sounded like her old self. A very old self. Before the Wickery Bridge had turned their lives upside down. At the same time she sounded like a new person. She sounded simultaneously like someone who had defeated all the demons and survived, and someone to whom nothing bad had ever happened. "Just... do what you feel is right. Do what you want."

Caroline gave Jeremy an incredulous look, and then marched up to him and unceremoniously snatched the phone out of his hand.

"Elena, it's me. We have lots of problems here and we need you."

Jeremy glared at Caroline in disbelief but she promptly ignored him, turning her back to him.

"Caroline," Elena straightened up, smiling at the tone of her voice but also fearing it a little. "What's wrong?"

"Everything is wrong, Elena. I haven't even seen you since you became my BVFF. I miss you. Everyone misses you. Klaus is back," Caroline proceeded undeterred, ignoring Jeremy's attempts to stop her from flooding Elena with all the revelations. "He wants us to find a spell that Bonnie's already found, but-"

"Wait, Caroline, what do you mean Klaus?" Elena cut it, meeting Damon's gaze when she looked up. He walked back toward her, eyebrows furrowed. "He's... dead. I mean, Bonnie put a desiccation spell on him, didn't she?" Elena said with slight impatience, glancing at Damon who was looking at her with a deepening frown on his face.

"It's a long story, Elena," Caroline said with a sigh, propping her hand on her hip. "You better get back home as soon as you can. And actually, you don't even need to do that yourself," she added, trying to make it sound like a proper surprise. "Because we're coming right up."

Elena stiffened, Caroline's words falling over her like icy cold rain. "It's not necessary. We'll drive back, but I don't have a daylight ring," Elena said, grasping at any straws her mind could come up with. "We can't travel during the day. We need to wait until the dusk, and it will be a several hours drive-" she rambled on not even knowing if what she was saying made sense. She felt as if someone was pulling a flying carpet from under her, and in a moment she would start skyrocketing down a hundred miles per second.

"I already have a daylight ring for you," Caroline announced happily, her mood already improved by hearing Elena's voice and knowing that she was fine. "I'll bring it to you. We'll drive all the way to you, tuck you into my car, and take you home. OK?"

"OK," Elena whispered back automatically. "But there is no need," she added hastily, feeling like she suddenly had to fight for minutes and seconds that were being ripped away from her. "Caroline. I mean it. We'll drive back to Mystic Falls on our own."

"No, Elena, it will be better that way. Trust me."

"Caroline-"

When she ended the call, Elena stood motionlessly, looking down at the phone in silence. She wasn't sure how she had even managed to talk in a more or less usual way. It was a call from another planet. The words she had heard made so little sense. She almost didn't understand why she had to do anything right now apart from being where she was.

"How did he get out," Damon muttered with a slightly irritated frown, his eyes wandering around the room as he was analyzing the news.

Elena's eyes darted to him. At least he seemed to understand what was going on. Or perhaps he didn't understand at all. "We have to go back," she said pointedly, as if he didn't get that that was the important part.

He looked at her, and then tugged her toward him. "I'm not going to snap because I'm upset that we have to go back," he said with a small smirk, taking the phone from Elena's hand and putting it away.

She snorted mirthlessly. "Maybe I am."

"Elena," he closed her in an embrace, and propped her chin with his hand. "The more scared you're of going back the more you should go back," he said with a grimace of seriousness.

"I'm not scared," she protested, looking him straight in the eye. "And I don't like how you say going back as if it meant something more than it does." She was saying all of that with utmost certainty, yet the phone call somehow flooded her mind with shreds of memories that made her suddenly acutely aware of the fact that three days ago she had insisted on going back in every sense of the word, and that was most likely what everyone else believed and remembered. "Damon."

He cupped her face in his hands and smiled. "I love you."

She smiled back, thinking he always made the words sound so meaningful no matter how many times he said them.

"I love you," she returned immediately and he kissed her, doubting he would ever get used to hearing it from her.

"I have something for you," he said enigmatically, holding her gaze. A moment later a small box appeared in the palm of his hand in front of her. "I got it in case you wouldn't like whatever ring Bonnie would spell as a daylight ring for you," he amended, pushing the lid open.

She did not know if the room started spinning around because she blinked so fast or she blinked so fast because the room started spinning around.

The ring was beautiful, white gold with a heart-shaped diamond surrounded by tiny rubies.

"What is that?" she asked, staring at the ring completely befuddled.

"Do you... like it or do you not?" he gave her a question of his own, studying her face with solemn intensity. She wasn't able to form a coherent answer. Damon sighed. "Time's up," he said, snapping the box closed.

"Wait," she gasped, grasping his hand with the ring without thinking and his smirk returned with double-force. She rolled her eyes, snorting under her breath. "No, really," she said, keeping her hands over his. "What is it, Damon?"

He looked as if he'd rather leave the question unanswered. "It can be a daylight ring," he said at last, a smile flickering across his face, even if his eyes remained focused on her, dark and bright at the same time.

"What else can it be?" she asked, trying to sound lighthearted but as she was feeling decidedly lightheaded she couldn't really control her voice that trembled and faltered.

Wordlessly, keeping his eyes fixed on her, he took the ring out of the box, and taking her hand in his, slid the ring onto her finger.

"You're not serious," she whispered, her lips barely moving. She didn't know how she was so certain what was happening but she was.

"I'm dead serious, Elena. Pun intended."

"You're drunk."

"That bottle of bourbon is still on a kitchen counter, untouched."

"You're insane."

"I'm in love. With you."

They both froze at the sound of somebody knocking on the door.

"It can't be Caroline and Jeremy already," Elena muttered, glancing right and left as if she wasn't entirely convinced that it wasn't possible.

They exchanged questioning looks but the knocking continued, so Damon soundlessly moved toward the window with Elena following close behind.

"Who is it?" she whispered when he peered outside from behind the curtain.

When Damon drew back he looked nonplussed if a little surprised. "It's Tyler Lockwood," he said with a shrug.