"Well you called her right?" Stefan asks as I finish telling him about my disastrous date with Elena yesterday
"No"
"What, Damon…"
"What am I supposed to say Stefan, hey sorry you had to meet my jackass father-in-law last night and watch me punch him the middle of the restaurant like an upset teenager"
"First, he's you ex-father-in-law, second, Frank has always been an asshole…I'm surprised it took this long for you to hit him, and third, Elena has been nothing but supportive with everything you have thrown her way so far so why do you continue to doubt her…" he asks
"Exactly… at some point she's going to get fed up with all my baggage… she's too good for all this Stefan"
"You're right, she is…"
"Gee…thanks for the support brother" I roll my eyes
"Its' the truth" he shrugs "but for whatever reason she continues to stick it out and if I were you I would stop questioning her and just be thankful"
"I am" I nod "I just… I wanted to have a normal night out with my girlfriend… a night where all this other bullshit didn't exist"
"But it does Damon… it's never going to go away, it will get easier but it's never going to cease to exist"
"Damn it… when did you get so insightful?"
"It's about time you noticed… now call her" he teases
I walk down the hallway and into my old bedroom in Stefan's apartment for some privacy before pulling out my phone and clicking on Elena's name
"Hello" she answers
"Hey"
"What's up?" she asks
"I just wanted to apologize for last night, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I knew nothing good was going to come from talking with Frank, I should've just excused us and let us go about our night, but mostly I'm sorry for how I reacted after everything happened. I shouldn't have pushed you away like that"
"It's fine"
"No it isn't. You deserve better then that"
"Ok, well thank you" she answers, I'm taken back by the lack of emotion in her voice
"Are we ok?" I ask
"Yeah, we're fine"… there it is again, the word 'fine'
"Ok, well can I see you later?"
"Tonight just isn't a good night Damon" she declines
"Oh, ok… so maybe tomorrow?"
"I just have a lot of stuff I need to finish up for work, and then we have the bachelorette party this Friday and I still have a ton of stuff to plan for that, it's just a really busy week" she explains, taking the entire week off the table with her
"Ok then… I guess I'll see you sometime in the near future?"
"Yeah, of course"
"'Lena are you sure…"
"I'm sorry Damon but I've gotta run, I'll talk to you later" without waiting for my response she disconnects our call
I make my way back into the living room where Stefan is waiting
"So, how did it go?"
"Well, remember when I said she was eventually gonna get sick of my baggage…I think that time is already here" I continue to tell him all about our phone conversation
"You're overreacting"
"Oh come on… you know that's not true"
"Ok, I'll admit that it doesn't sounds like Elena, Maybe she really does just have a busy week… or maybe she's just a little spooked by what happened but I don't think that means that you guys are already over… it just means that you guys need to sit down and talk"
"Honestly Stefan, sometimes it feels like all we do is talk… not that it's a bad thing but sometimes it would be nice to just 'be'"
"Relationships are work… you know that"
"I know, I'm just tired Stefan… I was finally starting to be happy again, and now I'm faced with loosing it all again"
"You're getting way too ahead of yourself… talk to her"
"I hope you're right"
"Guys, I think I need to slow down" Stefan slurs
"Are you kidding me, this is your bachelor party, there is no slowing down tonight" I laugh and hand him another shot
"Oh god… If you kill me tonight Caroline is going to be so pissed at you"
"I can handle Blondie"
"You know she hates when you call her that" he warns
"Oh, believe me, I know" I smirk
"I wonder what they're doing tonight" Stefan asks
"Male strippers… duh" I tease
"Elena hired Strippers?!"
"Did I hear you guys talking about strippers?!" Alaric shouts as he stumbles towards us "What kind of world is this where the girls get strippers and we don't"
"The groom specifically requested a stripper free night, sorry gents" I smirk, truthfully I have no idea what Elena has planned for the girls tonight, I haven't heard from her since our awkward phone call almost a week ago, I tried calling her a couple times but after two unanswered voicemail's I decided that my dignity is one of the few things I have left and I would like it to stay that way
"Oh come on Stefan, you're getting married… you're going to have to look at the same pair boobs for the rest of your life and you're telling me you don't want to go to a strip club?" Alaric teases
"I just don't see the point in paying to stare at boobs… besides I love Caroline's boobs, having to look at them for the rest of my life doesn't seem like a punishment at all"
"Gross" I pretend to gag "Enough talk about blondie naked…"
"Oh come on Damon, Elena has some great boobs too, you're telling me…"
"Ok, that's enough" I interrupt one of Stefan's asshole friends "you guys sound like a bunch of high school girls at a sleep over"
"Oh touchy" Alaric teases "someone doesn't like when we talk about his girlfriends boobs"
"She's not my girlfriend" I shrug "I couldn't care less" I try to sound nonchalant but the truth is I want to punch them all for even looking at Elena
"Oh please Damon" the asshole from earlier adds
"Ok, I'm not doing this" I snap "It's almost two in the morning; I think it's time to get this bachelor home before he turns into a pumpkin"
"Seriously… you guys are tapping out already?" Alaric groans
"Damon's right, it's probably for the best, I don't feel so well" Stefan slurs
And that's my queue, without another word I help Stefan outside and hail a cab
"You know, I really think you're overreacting, Caroline said Elena has been acting really weird with her too, I stand by my previous advice to sit down and talk to her"
"It's not up to me Stefan, she won't answer my phone calls… how am I supposed to talk to someone who won't even acknowledge me, I'm not going to just show up at her house like a stalker, besides every time I've asked for space shes's respected me, she deserves the same "
I look over at him when he doesn't respond and notice him passed out in the seat next to me
"Always a sign of a good night" I mutter to myself
When the cab comes to a stop in front of Stefan's apartment I get out and walk over to his side and open the door
"Stefan" I shake him "I swear if you make me carry you all the way up to your apartment…" I shake him a little harder and his eyes finally open
"Where are we?"
"We're at your place" I help him out of the cab and into the building
When we finally reach his door I pull out my spare key and open the door, just as I'm placing him on the couch I hear Caroline's voice coming from the kitchen, I look back at Stefan who is already asleep again "Something is going on with you Elena"
Elena? she must be here too
"I know" she sighs
"Then why won't you talk to me?"
"I cant right now Care,I just... I really need to talk to Damon first" my ears perk up at the mention of my name
"Damon? I should have known that he would have something to do with it"
I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping but I've been getting radio silence from Elena lately and since now I know it has something to with me I can't help it
"Thanks for tonight Damon" Stefan mumbles, Dammit Stefan, you've always had the worst timing
"Stefan?" Caroline walks into the room "Oh, Damon…"
I look at a bright red Elena standing next to her
"What're you doing here?" she asks
"Just dropping off drunkie over here" I nod towards Stefan
"Ok, well" Caroline shuffles nervously over to Stefan "I'm gonna get him to bed, apparently you two have some talking to do…" she adds rather bitterly
"Apparently" I look at Elena pointedly
"Yeah" she nods awkwardly
"So, wanna walk with me outside" I offer
"Sure" she whispers
Once we're out in the hallway I turn to her "Ok, what the hell is going on?"
"It's complicated…"
"No it's not, I get that you're upset Elena … I know that our date night was a disaster, and I'm really sorry for that, I just… I know there is something going on and if you're not happy with this relationship anymore please tell me, don't just keep ignoring…"
"I'm pregnant" she blurts
"What?" I swallow thickly "How… weren't… I thought we were always safe?"
"I'm on the pill" she shrugs "I had a cold a few weeks ago and the doctor gave me some antibiotics and I guess sometimes they can lower its effectiveness... I'm late, and I've been sick all week so yesterday I went out and bought a test and it confirmed what I already knew"
"Oh my god…"
"You don't owe me anything Damon; I know this is the last thing that either of us wants right now"
"I'm not going to bail on you Elena…"
"Damon…" she looks at me skeptically
"We'll figure this out"
"What is there to figure out Damon… it wasn't that long ago that you were walking out on me after we slept together because you were still mourning your dead wife… we're in no place to be parents"
I flinch at her words
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean it like that…"
"No you're right" I interrupt "I've done some really shitty things these past few months, things I'm not exactly proud of, but I would never bail on you"
"I want to believe you Damon… I do, and I told you I would give you a chance to prove yourself to me… that's all this was supposed to be, just two people just trying to get to know each other…"
"What do you want from me Elena?"
"I want this to not be happening, I'm twenty-four years old Damon… this wasn't my plan" her eyes star to well up so I lower my voice
"I know, but things don't always go according to plan… I know that better than anyone. But this is happening Elena, and I will be there with you every step of the way, I'm twenty-eight and I have a good job, and a nice apartment… things could be worse" I offer "You're forgetting that kids were always a part of my picture, I've always wanted to be a dad"
"So I'm supposed to what… step into Andie's shoes… sleep in her bed, raise our child in a room that was never really meant for it" the tears in her eyes finally star to fall "You always say the right things, but what you're forgetting is that you were meant to have babies with your wife Damon…. Not me, not the twenty-four year old who used to pour your coffee"
"You're right… that was the plan … but like I just said things don't always go that way… I like you a lot Elena, and there isn't anyone else I would rather be in this situation with right now… I know that you're not Andie and I would never want you to be, you're Elena, you're the angel who use to poured me a cup of coffee, you've saved me more times than I can count so please… let me be there for you, let's do this together"
"I don't know how to be a mom" she whispers, and in that moments she doesn't sound like the girl who has been my rock so many times before, she sounds like a scared girl who just needs her own mom
"I don't know how to be a dad" I offer "but I do know that we'll figure it out together and that makes me feel a hell of a lot better"
"You mean it?"
"With all of my heart" I press a kiss to her forehead
"Thank you" she smiles softly
"I missed you this week"
"I know, I'm sorry I just didn't know how to tell you, and I knew once I saw you that you would see right through me, I didn't want to have to lie to you"
"'Lena" I smile sadly at her " you never need to hide anything from me"
"I know, and I guess if i'm being completely honest, part of it was denial. If I told you it would mean that I had accepted it and I just couldn't at first" she looks ashamed
"Hey" I reach out and lift her chin up with my finger and smile "I get it, we have a lot to talk about but What do you say we get out of here?"
"Sounds good to me" she smile
"Will you stay with me tonight?" I ask
"Of course" she smiles "and Damon… I missed you too"
A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! Soooo tell me, did you guys see this coming, and what are your thoughts? I can't promise that it will be smooth sailing from here but I do know that I will be wrapping this story up semi-soon, probably about five more chapters to go, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, leave a review and let me know. Thanks guys! Bernice