Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created by L.J. Smith, as portrayed in the TV series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. The plot is based on the novel The Cardoss Luck (1974) by Janet Louise Roberts. All rights to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE

~ X ~

"Is Uncle Damon sick?" David asked as Elena sat down on the edge of his bed with the story he had selected for tonight's reading.

"Can you keep a secret, David?" Elena said quietly, just in case someone was listening at the door.

The boy nodded eagerly, and Elena leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Your Uncle Damon is only pretending to be sick."

The boy's blue eyes widened. "Why?" he whispered back.

"It's a surprise," Elena said.

"A good surprise?"

"It could be."

"Miss Elena?"

"Yes, my darling?"

"You won't ever leave me, will you?"

"Oh, sweetie," she squeezed his little hand. "I promise, no matter what happens, I will always be in your life."

"Good," he said and lay back against the pillows, closing his eyes.

Elena began reading and after a few minutes, she could hear he was sleeping soundly. She put down the book and kissed his forehead before returning to her room.

It was the night of the party. The servants had been hard at work all week and the previously unused ballroom had been polished to perfection. Elena was eagerly awaiting Damon's return, growing more and more anxious by the second.

When the first guests started arriving, she and David greeted them, offering Damon's apologies for not being well enough to join them just yet.

The house was filled with music and laughter and the Atlanta guests blended relatively well with the locals. Emily took David upstairs when it was time for bed and – just this once – read him his story instead of Elena.

Elena herself was busy making sure that everyone was having a nice time, which included making sure they didn't run out of food or drinks, and breaking up a few too intimate scenes.

She caught Stefan and Katherine in the sitting room and asked them to please return to the party or to their own rooms. Katherine muttered something under her breath as she swept past Elena, but Elena held her head high.

The second incident of the evening was much more disturbing. Checking the library, she found an inebriated man fondling one of the local girls. She recognized the brunette as Vicki Donovan, and the poor girl was in tears.

"Tyler Lockwood! You should be ashamed of yourself!" she reprimanded him and took the girl back to her brother, Matthew, the town carpenter, with her sincerest apologies for her guest's lewd behavior.

"You seem determined to put an end to everyone else's fun, Niece," John came up to her as she was walking down one of the hallways. "Meanwhile, your husband is nowhere to be seen. Is he enjoying himself in his bedroom, perhaps?"

"Damon is still not well. If he were here, you would be banished from this house for your lewd remarks."

"Oh, I will leave soon enough… once you've accepted this marriage is a lie and put the poor man out of his misery."

"So you can have control of my fortune again, you mean? You might as well pack your bags right now, Uncle. I am not leaving my husband."

"You always were a stubborn little bitch," John hissed.

"You cannot bully me, Uncle. Not anymore. There might have been a time when I feared you, but those days have passed. You cannot control me and you cannot intimidate me."

"Is that so?" he said, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes as he stepped closer.

Elena instinctively took a few steps back, backing into the paneled wall in the darkened hallway.

"What is going on here?" a stern voice boomed.

Elena let out a sigh of relief as John stepped back.

"Mr. Lockwood. I was just discussing a pressing matter with my niece. If you'll excuse me," he inclined his head and left them.

"Are you all right? You look pale," Mason said, walking up to Elena.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Mason."

"Could I have a word with you in private?"

"Does it have to be right this instance? The party is still going on, and…"

"I'm afraid so. I'm leaving."

"Leaving? But you just got back?"

"Please," Mason opened the door to the library and gestured for her to go inside.

Elena inclined her head and walked in, taking a seat on the sofa.

"There's nothing for me here. But I am asking you one last time… come with me."

"Mason… we've had this conversation before, and I believe I made myself quite clear. I am not leaving my husband."

"He's toying with you, don't you see?"

"No. He's not."

"I saw Miss Starr enter his bedroom last night."

"You lie," Elena said simply.

"And Miss Forbes the night before that."

"Stop it, Mason. You are making a fool of yourself," Elena said and got up off the couch, walking over to the window.

"What will it take for you to see the truth, Elena? He doesn't deserve you."

"I know you are lying."

"Why are you so blind to his faults?"

"He's not even home!" Elena covered her mouth as the words came out of their own volition.

Mason's face fell. "What?"

"Damon's not upstairs in his room, because he went to Atlanta on private business. He didn't want our guests to worry, so we decided to say he had fallen ill."

"Oh…"

"But thank you, Mason, for opening my eyes. I see now you are willing to lie to achieve your purposes. What I fool I was to think you an honorable man."

"Yet that was not what you wanted, was it? You chose a man with a questionable reputation, one that would betray you and bully you."

"I wanted someone to treat me like an equal – not a possession."

"Then you chose the wrong man."

"You don't know anything about Damon. You claim to be his friend, yet you shamelessly pursue his wife, constantly disparaging him."

"You are correct," Mason said, stepping closer, "I am shamelessly pursuing you."

"I wish it to stop."

"I'm afraid I cannot grant you that wish," Mason said, stepping even closer, effectively trapping her between one of the bookcases and his muscular, lithe frame.

"Mason, please do not do this."

"I just want one taste," he said, his eyes fixed on her parted lips.

"Don't," Elena whimpered, pushing at his shoulders, but he was so much stronger and didn't move an inch. Instead, he cradled her face, holding her in place as he claimed her lips. Elena was pushing at him when the door to the library opened and he let go to look over there. Elena felt a chill run down her spine as she saw Damon's expression.

"No," she shook her head. "Damon, I didn't…"

He didn't say a word, just turned around and walked away.

John remained in the doorway, a smug look on his face. "I smell a divorce coming on…"

Elena pushed past Mason and slapped John across the face. "Get out!" she hissed.

"Very well," he said. "My work here is done. Thank you, Mason. You succeeded where Stefan did not. You've been a real help. I'll be sure to recommend you to all my business associates."

Elena blinked and looked back at Mason. "You set me up."

"No! I mean… yes, but I meant every word, Elena. I want you to be mine."

"Get out! Both of you," she growled and left them.

She hurried up the stairs to find Damon in her room, throwing her things into a suitcase.

"What are you doing?"

"I want you out of this house, Elena."

"Damon, no! Please… just let me explain."

"What's there to explain, Elena? I saw you with Mason!"

"You saw what he wanted you to see," she pleaded with him. "He set me up."

"What were you doing alone with him in the first place?"

"He said he had something he needed to say in private."

"And you fell for that? I really thought you were smarter than that."

"It was stupid of me, yes. But I made it clear I wasn't going to leave you."

"Is that why you were kissing?"

"He kissed me – not the other way around."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? He was pursuing you in Atlanta. You said yourself you didn't want to marry for love. That's why you chose me, wasn't it? Because who could possibly love Damon Salvatore?" he spat out, throwing the suitcase across the room.

"I do!"

"What?" Damon blinked.

"I love you! I don't know when it happened, but I fell in love with you. I don't want to leave. I don't want to ever leave."

"Do you truly mean that?" he breathed.

"Yes."

That was all the confirmation he needed to crash his lips against hers, pouring all of his pent-up passion into her welcoming embrace.

"God, how I have missed you," he mumbled against her skin as he shifted his attention to the slim column of her neck.

"Damon… as much as I would like to continue this… we have guests."

"Let them entertain themselves," he mumbled as his hands fumbled with the laces in her corset. "I wish we lived in a time where there were no corsets or hoop skirts… you are far too inaccessible," he muttered.

"Damon…" she covered his hands with her own and stilled their movement. "Later…"

She almost laughed at his expression – he reminded her of David when she told him he had to wait until after dinner to have his cake. "How did it go in Atlanta?"

Sighing, he stepped away from her. "I found the law office, and the will. I also found the adoption papers."

"Were you able to verify the signatures?"

"Funny thing that… it seems there is not a single person in Atlanta capable of comparing two documents."

"So we have nothing to prove Stefan is not the rightful heir?"

"No."

"What about the lawyer who authenticated the will?"

"Mason's father… it seems he has vanished."

"Vanished? He is still alive?"

"There is a possibility…"

"Mason would know…" Elena said to herself.

"I will beat it out of him," Damon said, anger flaring up.

"That is not the way to get the answers you need, my love," she said, appeasing him with her hands on his chest. "He is indebted to us now."

"How so?"

"He admitted to trying to sabotage our marriage to benefit John."

"What?"

"I threw them both out."

"You did?"

"Of course I did. Unfortunately, this means we will have to find Mason and bring him back. He may still be waiting for his things, though…"

"I shall find him."

"No," Elena objected, recognizing the dangerous glimmer in Damon's eyes. "Let me."

"Elena…"

"Will you trust me?"

Damon nodded.

"Good. Now, please go downstairs and entertain our guests. They will be thrilled to see you in good health."

"Very well. But as soon as they leave, I fully intend to show you in what good health I am," he said with a mischievous smirk.

Elena blushed and shook her head. "You, my love, are positively sinful."

"Indeed I am," he whispered in her ear. "As I will be sure to demonstrate."