"Hey brother" I answer my phone on the second ring "How's Hawaii and married life treating you?"
"It's amazing Damon, it's so beautiful here, and Caroline has been amazing, you were right about everything"
"Gross, steffie I don't need to know all the gory details baby bro"
"That's not what I meant and you know it" he chuckles
"I'm glad you're having a good time, Elena and I miss you guys already"
"It's only been a week, but we'll be home soon" he pauses "Speaking of which isn't tonight your big dinner with dad"
"Yes" I groan "what the fuck was I thinking, I should have waited till you guys were back so we could all be there, dad loves you and Caroline; you guys would have been the perfect buffer"
"It's going to be fine Damon" he chides "Elena is sweet and she's carrying his grandchild; that counts for something"
"If he were literally anyone else I would agree with you, it's just… you know firsthand how much he loved Andie and how excited he was for Sarah's arrival, I just don't want him to compare Elena and our baby to them, all it's going to do is resurface all the fears and insecurities that I've worked so hard to put to rest and she doesn't deserve that"
"You know I loved Andie too right? And that I was also excited to meet Sarah and become an uncle, but an unthinkable tragedy happened and it changed the course of all of our lives, but you've overcome it and I'm proud of you and if dad has any sense at all he'll be proud of you too"
"I'm sorry Stefan, of course I know you loved them both too" Stefan has been so strong since the accident that I sometimes forget how much he lost that night too.
"And yet here I am just as excited to meet this new baby and to become an Uncle, and you know I love Elena too, and I couldn't be happier that you guys found each other, so try and give dad some credit please, and if he still reacts poorly then at least you know that you tried and that your side of the street is clean"
"Ok" I sigh "Maybe you're right"
"I'm always right" he adds smugly
"Ugh, you sound like Caroline; you've been trapped on that island far too long"
"Watch it, that's my wife" he teases
"Ah, I remember that stage" I laugh
"What Stage?"
"The stage where you'll use 'my wife' every time the opportunity presents itself"
"What can I say, I'm happy" I can practically hear his smile on the other end of the phone
"I'm glad Stefan, I really am"
"Thanks brother"
"You know if you guys catch a plane within the next few hours you could be here just in time for appetizers…" I offer with a smirk
"Goodbye Damon" he cuts me off and hangs up the phone, and I can't help but let out a small laugh, ruffling Stefan's feathers usually puts a smile on my face.
I pause the TV when I hear the front door open and see Elena hanging her coat in the closet by the door
"Hey" she smiles at me "You're home early "
"It was a slow day at the office, and I wanted to have some down time here before we enter the gates of hell"
"Will you please stop saying things like that" she laughs
"OK, but you can't say I didn't warn you" I shrug
"Oh no, you definitely have, over and over again" she rolls her eyes, and turns towards our bedroom, I follow her and lean on the door frame to watch her shuffle through her closest
"What should I wear?" She asks "Is this like a formal dinner?"
"Well if I know Dad, he will have pulled out the fancy china; he likes to intimidate people with his money"
She doesn't respond, instead she simply shoots me an annoyed look
"Ok, Ok" I hold my hands up in surrender before folding them again "I'll stop. How about that red dress I love" I suggest
"That's too sexy, for a 'meet the parents' dress"
"At least then we'll know something good will be coming out of this night" I wiggle my eyebrows at her suggestively
"How about this black one?" she holds it up, completely ignoring my suggestive behavior from moments ago "it has a high waist, and it's black so it will help hide this little bump that has started to pop out"
I'm sure in reality it happened gradually within the last four months but I swear it seems like one morning we woke up and she suddenly had this little protruding bump sticking out, and it's absolutely adorable.
I take a few more steps forward so that I can place my hand on her pump " The black is perfect, You're gorgeous in anything 'Lena" I lean down a press a kiss on the top of her head
"Well thank you, but I just want to make sure that our little jelly bean here doesn't give anything away before we have a chance to tell him ourselves"
"Yeah that's probably wise" I laugh
"Ok, I'm going to go change and fix my hair and makeup, will you please get ready" she asks
"Yeah, I think I'm gonna need a cocktail first"
"Don't you dare Damon" she grabs my wrist
"I'm kidding 'Lena, if you can't have alcohol to get through the night then neither will I" I sigh
"Thank you" she smiles "And will you wear that blue tie that I love, it really makes your eyes shine"
"Anything for you" I press another kiss to her head before turning to the closet to gather my clothes
An hour later Elena and I are standing outside of the front door to my father's penthouse
"Ready?" she questions
"I just need a minute"
I hate coming here, I know most people like returning to their childhood homes, because they're full of nostalgia, old toys, photo albums, and fond memories; but for me the only memories here are memories of a little boy who lost his mother far too young, and a father who shut himself off to the world after the loss of his wife.
"Lena, I just want you to know that regardless of how tonight goes, I love you, and I love our baby, and nothing in the world could change that " I practically whisper
"I love you too" she leans up and presses a kiss to my lips
"OK, here goes nothing" I say with a knock to the door
"Hello, Mr. Salvatore" a maid greets us "your father is waiting for you in the living room, can I take your coats for you?" I slip Elena's off her shoulder, then do the same to mine and hand them to the maid
"Thank you" I smile and grab Elena's hand in mine "pre-dinner drinks" I explain and lead her further into the house
"Damon" my father greets us in the foyer "and Elena, thank you for coming"
"Thank you for inviting us" Elena responds sweetly "Your home is amazing"
"Well thank you, I've always liked it" he turns and we follow him
"Wow, this is your living room?" Elena gapes as she takes in the old wood furnishings, grand fireplace and the paintings hung on the walls
"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste" I shrug
"Yes Damon, we all know how much you dislike this place, it's like a broken record" he stands and walks over to his drink cart "How about some drinks, whiskey neat Damon?"
"No thank you" I decline, thinking about Elena's earlier plea, it's probably best to be on guard tonight anyways
"Well perhaps things do change" he chuckles "and how about you Elena, is there anything I can get you?"
"Water would be great"
My father silently pours a glass of sparkling water for Elena and two fingers of scotch for himself before handing it to her and taking a seat in his leather wingback chair as Elena and I make ourselves comfortable on the loveseat next to him
"So have you two heard from Stefan and Caroline lately?" he asks
"I spoke to him this afternoon" I nod "they seem to be enjoying Hawaii"
"It was such a lovely wedding and Caroline is such a lovely girl, a wonderful addition to the family, don't you agree Damon?"
"Yes, everything was lovely" I answer with an edge of sarcasm
"Well Caroline had been planning that day since we were seven, so I expected nothing less" Elena adds
"Oh, so you and Caroline go back a ways?" he questions
"Yeah, we were born and raised in the same town, we became fast friends in Kindergarten" she smiles at the distant memory
"And what town was this?" he asks and I tense, I can just picture him on the phone with his investigator as soon as we leave, diving into the water of Elena Gilberts life, I know she doesn't have anything to hide, but it's unsettling just the same.
"Mystic falls Virginia" she smiles "it's a very small town, not very many people have heard of it"
"How quaint, and you parents, are they still there?"
I feel Elena tense for a moment, but before I can jump in she continues
"No sir, they both passed away several years ago"
"I'm sorry to hear that" my father says, and I can tell by the tone of his voice that he's actually genuine, I know that if there is one thing that my father can relate with it's the pain of losing a loved one.
"It's ok, like I said it was a while ago" she smiles sadly
"And what is it that brought you to New York?" He asks
"School" she nods "And now I guess work" she laughs nervously
"What do you do?"
"I'm a journalist"
"Anything I may have read?" he continues
"Ok, what is this… twenty-" I pause when I notice a book through the glass table top of my dad's coffee table, Elena must follow my line of sight cause I feel her tense slightly beside me, I try my best to get it together "Uh, questions" I add as my lame attempt to finish my previous sentence.
"Oh, I'm sorry Damon; I should have put that away before you guys came" he says nonchalantly
"Yeah you probably should have" I add flatly and look at Elena who is still focused on at the book with a picture on the back and the name 'Andie Salvatore'" written above it
"It's just that Andie's parents sent me a copy of it the other day, it's out officially now, you know; and I've been reading a bit of it each night"
I didn't know it was out; I had signed all the rights and royalties from Andie's work over to her parents after the accident. I knew of course that her book tour was cancelled and the release date postponed because of what had happened, but I wasn't sure about the fate of the book until right now.
"You don't say" I frown, he didn't leave this book out on accident he's trying to hurt me, make me feel guilty for moving on, it's not going to work, I'm not playing his games.
"She's beautiful" Elena whispers from beside me
I simply nod silently, not wanting to accidently hurt Elena's feelings
"She was" my dad agrees
The maid walks in, picking the perfect moment to interrupt our awkward moment "Dinner is ready Mr. Salvatore"
"Yes, thank you Greta, shall we?" he offers
I grab Elena's hand again and lead her to the table and we take our seats
"Greta made a delicious Salmon dish for us tonight, Oh Elena, I should have checked with Damon, I hope you're not a vegetarian or anything are you?" he asks as if what just happened in the living room never even happened
"No I'm not Mr. Salvatore" she answers, still as sweet as ever
"Giuseppe, please" he corrects
Part of my is begging to confront him about what he did, fuming over the fact that he would try to make Elena uncomfortable, but another part of me warns me that further confrontation would also make her feel uncomfortable, and I just need to do what we came her to do so that we can go home.
"Salmon sounds great Giuseppe" she smiles as Greta brings out a plate for each of us and places them on the table
"So Damon" he says after taking a bite "how are things going at the firm?"
"Good" I nod
"I still can't believe he went to work for a competing firm, can you Elena?"
"Well I know that sometimes working with family can be difficult" she answers, and I'm slightly shocked at her honesty
"That is true" my dad chuckles "You know my father started the firm that I now operate, I suppose someday Damon will come to his senses and come learn the trade"
"Yeah, I'm right here" I wave, not liking that he's talking about me as if I'm not in the room "and you know I am still a lawyer, right? I'm pretty sure I know the trade, regardless of what firm I'm with"
"There's a lot more money in it for you, you know?" He adds
"I do just fine, but thank you and I really don't want to talk about work and money tonight"
"Oh?" he shrugs "Is there something specific you wanted to talk about?"
"Well yeah, I mean I wanted you to meet Elena" I offer
"And I have, a couple times now actually"
"You know what I meant; I wanted you guys to meet officially, not just in passing"
"As your girlfriend you mean?" he offers
"Yeah, I mean she's important to me dad and actually we do have something we need to tell you" I glance over at Elena who is eyeing me nervously
"Oh?" he questions, unfazed which sets my radar off but for some reason I decide to continue
"Yeah" I place my hand on top of hers under the table before continuing "So I know this will probably seem like it's out of left field and we didn't exactly plan for this, but Elena and I are having a baby" I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding
"In about five months or so if my calculations are correct" he says without showing any emotion, and I'm stunned, I glance over at Elena who looks just as confused as me
"How did you… was it Stefan?" I ask
"Oh Damon I learned a long time ago that you and your brother are like a locked vault, you should know by now that if I want to know anything about you or your brother that I have to keep tabs on you myself"
"You son of bitch" I feel my anger start to flare, Elena starts to rub her thumb across my hand in an attempt to calm me "you hired a PI to follow me?" he'd done it to me before back in college, so I shouldn't be that shocked but I am, of all the things I had expected, I didn't see the evening taking this turn
"You just disappeared after the accident Damon, what did you expect me to do?" he rationalizes
"Oh I don't know, maybe understand the fact that I had just lost my wife and daughter and give me some fucking time to grieve" I shake my head "how long dad?"
"There's time and then there is what you did, you quit your job, stopped answering your phone, I was worried about you"
"God, why can't you ever just be a normal parent" I rage "so the night of the wedding rehearsal when I introduced you to Elena, you already knew we were seeing each other… for fucks sake you already knew she was pregnant, why did you even bother lecturing me about it all?" he starts to answer me, but my anger is boiling so I keep going "and just now, asking Elena where she's from and about her parents did you already know all of that too? I suppose bringing them up was just another way for you to be cruel..."
"Damon…" he says
"And the Oscar for best actor goes to Giuseppe Salvatore ladies and Gentleman" I huff "Which PI did you have on me? Paluso, I assume?" knowing that he has always been my father's go to guy whenever he wanted to know what was going on with Stefan and I
"I didn't know where you were from, or about your parents, that was all just me getting to know you" he ignores my question and instead addresses Elena directly "I had only just begun following up on you when I found out Damon, and I needed to know how serious you two were in order to figure out where to go from here and how to best deal with this situation"
"Deal with this situation… are you delusional, this has nothing to do with you… this is my life and Elena's life, and the only reason we're even here right now is because Elena thought you deserved an opportunity to be a part of our child's life because she's a sweet person who cares about everyone regardless of whether or not they deserve it, and how do you repay her… by throwing Andie in her face and having us followed " I yell "but you know what, I'm starting to think I don't think I want you to have a damn thing to do with our kid"
"Damon" she tries to calm me
"Regardless of why you came here, the facts remain the same, Elena is pregnant and the two of you need to get married" he states, ignoring the rest of my argument, I'm starting to feel like we're having two completely different conversations
"I'm sorry, did you miss the fact that I'm almost twenty-nine years old and that we're both adults, you don't get to tell us what to do"
"What will people think?" - I start to answer him but he doesn't let me "I know Damon, I know you said 'fuck them' but that's not good enough for me, whether or not you want to accept it, this family has a reputation to uphold, and so help me god you will not tarnish it, I don't care how hell bent you are on trying"
'We're not doing this" I shake my head "I'm not some kid you can just boss around dad, I'm a grown man - I'm about to be a father myself"
"Some grown man you are, you can't even stop yourself from knocking up the first woman you met after your wife died"
"We're leaving" I grit through my clenched teeth
I quickly reach for Elena's hand and lead her from the table, I grab our coats from the closet I know the maid stored them in and rush us out the front door and to the Elevators
"I can't believe he had us followed, I knew this night was going to be bad, I should have seen it coming but even after all these years I underestimate him time and time again" I press the down button again, as if pushing it multiple times will make the elevator arrive faster
"Damon" she reaches up and cups my face once we're safely tucked away in the elevator "I'm so sorry that he did this to you"
"It's nothing new, really, I just… I know I said over and over again that this night wasn't going to go well, but I guess deep down, I was hoping that I was wrong, that for just once in my life he would surprise me, and be happy for me…I mean for christ's sake is that really so hard for him… I'm going to be dad, shouldn't that mean something more to him, than 'what will my friends think?'" I pause, trying to collect my thoughts "and leaving that book out like that… I'm so sorry Elena, he can do or say whatever he wants to me, but when he comes after you…"I shake my head, trying to shake away some of my fury
"You don't need to apologize, I can handle it, besides, I would be lying if I said I hadn't ever wondered what she looked like, I am human after all" she smiles "and you're absolutely right, all of those things should mean something, but who knows what is going on in his head or why he does the things he does, yes it was awful, but in some weird way do you think he actually does these things because he cares about you?" we step out of the elevator and into the lobby before I answer her
"I don't know Elena, and I gave up a long time ago on trying to figure out the inner workings of his twisted mind, what I do know is that I don't ever what to be the kind of father that he is"
"Well we both may not know how to be parents but at least you know where not to start, that's something" she smiles
"You're right" I smile at her sadly and lead her out of the building to hail a cab, while waiting for our driver I let my mind slip back to my last night with Andie and how she said something similar to me just moments before the accident, it had calmed me then and seemed to still calm me now, a tiny gift from her I think to myself. I almost share the memory out loud to Elena, but decide that I want those final moments with her to be just mine, and not something I share.
"And about what my dad said" I break the silence between us in the car
"Damon, there's no need to-"
"I just don't want you to think that I find the idea of marrying you appalling or anything, I want you to know that his suggestion wasn't what upset me the most tonight, I mean obviously I was upset that he was trying to control us and tell us what to do, but the idea of marrying you isn't what set me off"
"Well, thank you; but really you don't need to elaborate, I love you, I know you love me, and we both love our little jellybean, that's all that matters to me right now. We'll know when the time is right, and I definitely don't think that time is after a screaming match with your father"
"God, how did I get so lucky" I stare at her in awe
"I don't think luck had anything to do with it, I think the universe just knew we were both missing a piece of our puzzle" she smiles and runs her thumb along my cheek
"I love you Elena Gilbert" I whisper and lean in to press a kiss to her lips
My father may have been cold and closed off most of my life, but thanks to the people most important to me there is no shortage of love in my life, in this moment, in this cab, despite the nights events all I can feel is love.
END A/N: Holy Cow, ladies and gentleman… welcome to my longest chapter yet! This one just kind of got away from me, I honestly probably could have kept going but I knew I was going to need to end it at some point. I hope you guy liked it , I feel like I had built up this family dinner up so much that I was just hoping that it would live up to any expectations out there. I didn't want Giuseppe to be outright verbally mean, I wanted him to have cruel intentions, and I hope that my thoughts translated well into the story. Let me know what you guys thought. Thanks for reading! I will try my best to have the next chapter up by Wednesday of next as well; I hope you all have a good rest of the week and a great weekend. Happy Reading!