Author's Note:

Dear reader's, thank you so much for last week's reviews, favs and follows, you brighten my days :)

Thank you shoppe69 for sticking with me and this story :)
Please enjoy chapter 18 and let me know what you think!

Yours Giuna

Chapter 18

Before Elena could collapse to the ground Damon was right behind her, protectively wrapping his arms around her trembling body, but she didn't seem to register him. Her uncontrollable sobs continued, and she wasn't able to stand upright anymore. "Elena!" Damon screamed at her, trying to get her out of her trance. What the fuck was happening here? He had known that it would be hard for her, but hell, he hadn't expected this! Something went completely and entirely wrong. Unfortunately he had no idea what it was. He thought that she had worked this through, why was she reacting like this? Suddenly he felt her starting to fight against his tight embrace. With all her strength she struggled in his arms and began to scream, but he wouldn't let go of her!

"Don't you dare do that again, Elena! We've already been there!" Damon yelled at her and turned her around, forcing her to face him. Rudely, he pushed her towards the exterior wall, leaned his full weight against her hips and grabbed her cheeks, locking eyes with her. After a minute, she stopped fighting and sobbing, but instead she appeared empty while tears were silently running down her face.

"You're stronger than your memories, Elena, please! Focus on me! Fuck, Elena you're not alone!" he adjured her and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs; his face full of panic. He stared at Elena's brown eyes which looked so far away it scared the shit out of him Not until he shook her shoulders, Elena blinked a couple of times, and finally saw what was right in front of her.

"Damon?" Elena murmured and frowned as if she hadn't expected him there.

"Yes, it's me!" Damon sighed with relief and loosened his grip around her shoulders. Instantly, Elena leaned against his chest, feeling completely exhausted when Damon wrapped his arms around her again.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed ashamed and hid her face on Damon's neck.

"Don't be, it's okay. Just relax," Damon whispered against her forehead, giving in to the urge to feel her closer by lifting her up bridal style. Grateful for the proximity and the comfort he was offering, Elena closed her eyes. This shouldn't have happened, she thought. On the bridge she had sworn to herself that she would never cry over her past again! But then she had sworn too that she would never come back to Waterville.

She noticed that Damon sat down and opened her eyes, seeing that they were on the stairs of the porch.

"What happened? Why did you decide to go alone?" Damon asked softly after a couple of minutes in silence.

"I don't know. At first, coming back here felt so surreal, but when I saw all the familiar places I associate with my parents, and… this house… It stands for the suffering and the loss like nothing else, and… I kinda snapped," she paused and took a deep breath, "Not to mention the events of the past few days. We almost lost each other! When Greta cast the spell I could literally feel that she and Klaus were ripping our connection apart. It was atrocious and it hurt so badly, but then there was something warm within me that felt like a tiny spark. It helped me to hold on to you, and suddenly belonged to our connection and made it even stronger. So strong that the spell failed. That was our baby, Damon! The baby we not even had time to talk about. And last but not least the fact that my parents had lied to me my entire life! I just wasn't able to cope with all those emotions, and somehow it felt easier to face the task on my own… I was stupid. You're right, I'm not alone anymore and I'm not the same person who escaped this place. All the shit that happened made me forget about it," she stated and sounded more like her current self.

Instead of answering, Damon pressed her against himself, and smiled at her before he placed a gentle kiss onto her lips.

"I'm so sorry for what happened, and that I wasn't able to prevent it. But in between all this mess, please be sure about one thing: You being pregnant with my child is the most wonderful thing that could have occurred to me. Okay, I have to admit that your pregnancy hits me completely unprepared and hell yes, it scares me to death because I haven't thought about kids for the last 150 years. And still… I'm the happiest vampire in the world. I will find a way to protect our family, but God forbid, I'm not going to promise this to you, because somehow my promises all seem to fail," Damon smirked but turned his mouth into a smile when he saw happiness flickering over Elena's face and kissed her smiling mouth.

"I'm glad to hear that. And to be honest, I'm scared too," she whispered, feeling relieved that it was okay to say it out loud. "I always wanted to be a mother and I'm so grateful that you, against all odds, will be the father of this baby," she paused, touching her belly slightly, "But there simply is no greater responsibility than to raise a child. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for that," she admitted, slowly raising her head to meet Damon's gaze.

"You know what? I think this fear is something entirely normal. And I'm sure that almost every couple feels this way. You'll see we'll grow into being parents. Besides, I'm a very wise and old man, you can totally count on me! I'm going to be a great help!" Damon said dead-serious and stared into Elena's dumbfounded face. He didn't fail his intention because he just needed to count to three until she got the giggles. Elena literally exploded with laughter, and the heartily sound filled the air around them. Damon smiled brightly while he watched her letting it all out, knowing that this was her way to cope with all the emotions and the confusion inside her. Even if it was at his charge. After a couple of minutes, Elena calmed down and whisked the tears off her cheeks.

"Damon Salvatore, I love you!" she declared, returning the bright smile which still was showing on Damon's face.

"I love you too, Elena. Be sure, together we'll make it. You'll see!" Damon told her convinced, and nodded while he threaded his fingers through her hair.

"Do you want to go inside now?" he questioned carefully, rooming her face with his eyes.

"Yes, we should go," she confirmed and climbed off Damon's lap. Looking over her shoulder towards the car, she could see Caroline's puzzled face and sighed. "You should tell her, Stefan. It might take some time until we're back," she said in a normal voice and waited for Stefan to let her know that he had understood her. When he nodded, Elena smiled in return and grabbed for Damon's outstretched hand.

"Do you have a key?" Damon requested while they climbed up the stairs to the entrance door.

"No, I don't…"

"Huh, lucky you for having a vampire boyfriend!" Damon reached for the door handle, turned it and with a loud crack the lock was broken. Casually, he pushed the door open. Hesitantly, Elena tilted her head to the side to get a better view of the floor. Slowly, she moved forward and passed the threshold, never letting go of Damon's hand, but suddenly he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked confused and turned around.

"I can't enter until you invite me inside," Damon informed her.

"Oh, okay. Please come inside, Damon!"

"Thank you!" he said and passed the threshold, feeling Elena's grasp tightening around his hand. Stepping to her side, he watched her drinking in their surroundings. Everything seemed pretty normal and unexpectedly tidy, only the thick layer of dust showed that nobody lived in this house. Slowly, Elena moved forward and pulled Damon with her. She felt totally uncomfortable and was happy that Damon was at her side. In the middle of the living room Elena stopped abruptly when her eyes fell on the open door which led to the basement. She swallowed heavily, but with some deep breaths she managed to pull herself together.

"Are you okay?" Damon whispered in a concerned voice and pulled her closer.

"No, not really," she admitted silently and shook her head.

"I can imagine. Look, Elena, let's just search for a hint or whatever your parents might have left for you, and then we'll leave this place for good, okay?" Damon questioned and felt Elena nodding in response.

"Do you have any idea where your parents would have hidden something important? I don't know maybe a safe or a stash only you would know about?" He demanded and turned around so he could see her face. He grabbed both her shoulders and lowered his head, locking eyes with her.

"I'm not sure. I don't know about a safe and I can't imagine a stash good enough to keep a secret hidden unlocked," she thought aloud and stared back into Damon's eyes, noticing that it was much easier to think straight with him right in front of her. "Huh…, maybe… Oh my God! I've got an idea. Come with me!" Elena blurted out, turned around and ran towards the stairs.

Jumping them up, there was suddenly an incredible excitement within her. What if she was right and she would really find a message from her parents?

Reaching her parents' bedroom, they came to a halt, and Elena gave Damon a look which searched for some reassurance, so Damon nodded encouragingly.

"What do you have in mind?" he interrogated while Elena slowly opened the door.

"See for yourself," she answered mysteriously and moved inside towards a spot on the floor, kneeling down. Without taking heed of her parent's still untouched bed, or her mother's antique vanity, beside which Elena had set uncountable times watching her doing her hair and make-up, she concentrated on the deck board she ran her hand over.

Damon observed her every move, realizing that she tried to find a way of pulling it out. Instantly, he knelt right next to her, and was about to rip it out when Elena pushed against the board and it moved out of its place.

"That's a damn great stash!" Damon commented and helped Elena putting the deck board aside.

"Indeed! When I was a little girl, my mother showed it to me with the words "Just in case we need to hide a secret!" Elena remembered while her right hand felt for something underneath the wood.

"Sounds promising," Damon said and glanced impatiently over Elena's shoulder.

"Oh my God. Here is something!" she informed him anxiously, and closed her fingers around something that felt like paper. She retracted her shivering hand and stared down to her hand. She had found an envelope Elena swallowed hard. Turning the envelope around, she found her name on it; written in her mother's hand.

Damon saw Elena's body stiffening, and could only imagine how she must feel

"Hey, Elena," he whispered and rubbed his hands softly over her tight, "You don't have to read it right now. If it's too much for you to cope with at the moment, we can leave. Let's find a motel where you can rest a little, and afterwards there will still be enough time to read the letter," he suggested and smiled gently at her. She really had been through a lot the past few days, and even though he actually knew nothing about pregnant women, he knew at least that they were more sensitive than usual. And all the recent fuss couldn't be healthy for both of them, Elena and the baby. He noticed with a single glimpse at her eyes that she was about to downplay her state of emotions, but Damon was faster. "Think about the baby," Damon stated, knowing that he wasn't playing fair, but he didn't care. He needed her out of this house; it hadn't felt right from the very beginning.

Elena sighed and looked puzzled, just as if she had forgotten that she was pregnant. "You're right, Damon. Let's get outta here. I really could use a break," she admitted and stood up. Now, she allowed herself to let her eyes wander through her parents' bedroom and sighed once more. What was she supposed to do with this place? She asked herself, but had no answer yet. During the time with Mason she had never thought about it because he had stolen the house away from her, and after her escape she had never thought of coming back.

Silently, Damon and Elena left the room and climbed down the stairs. Reaching the threshold, they exited the house without looking back.

Later that night, Elena entered the bathroom of their motel room while Damon arranged something to eat for her. Washing her hands, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and thought about Caroline who had been deeply stirred by what she had learned about Elena's past. She had expected Caroline to be full of pity for her, but she had been wrong. Instead, Caroline had told her that she admired her for finding the strength to move on, and to be able to trust again. Her reaction had surprised her by any account, not the least because it had made her feeling better. If not a little bit proud of herself. With a slight smile on her face, Elena got undressed quickly, and shifted herself so she could watch her body from the side. She knew it was ridiculously to think that the pregnancy was already visible, but she simply couldn't resist. Gently, she touched her belly and caressed it as if she would caress her baby. She needed to see a gynecologist soon, she thought. It was one thing to get the news from a witch, but an entirely different to see it on the ultrasonogram. She still was confused about it. Although she knew it, she couldn't quite believe it. Somehow being pregnant felt completely surreal. Earlier, during all the fuss she had almost forgotten about it! That wasn't right and it wasn't fair. She needed to see and to hear the heartbeat, and above all she needed time to wrap her mind around it. Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes and took advantage of the peaceful moment to relax. Intentionally, she deferred reading her mother's letter which had caused her a lump in her throat ever since she had found it. She was curious about it, yes, but she was also afraid of what it might reveal. So she preferred staying in the state of blissful ignorance for a little longer.

Resting her hip against the sink, she listened to her inner voice, trying to find her balance again. But instead of hearing anything, she felt a warm body right behind her. Distracted, she instantly turned around and opened her eyes, but Damon wouldn't have that, "No, no, keep your eyes shut. Relax!" he purred in a deep voice, pulling Elena's body against his bare chest. Thankfully, she rested her forehead against his neck. Ever so slowly, his hands slid down her arms and came to a halt right above her hands. He concentrated on finding the baby's heart beat, but all he could hear was Elena's fast pounding one. It was too soon, he thought, but nonetheless felt a wave of panic flooding his body. What if something had happened during the last days? They should visit a gynecologist! But first he needed to stop freaking out. That was probably the least she could use. No, he wanted to be there for his girl. He took a deep breath to join Elena in the attempt to relax, but hesitated when her extraordinary scent hit his nose. Something was different about it! She smelled just as sweet and intoxicating as always, yet changed. As if a new ingredient had been added. Breathing her in one more time, he closed his eyes with relish, intuitively knowing what had changed her unique perfume. He could smell the pregnancy hormone in her blood! That must be it! He was sure that she hadn't smelled like that before. That could only mean that she hadn't been pregnant for much longer than a couple of days. For him that was all he needed to know for now. If something was wrong with the baby, he wouldn't have smelled the hormone. Relieved, he pressed his chest tighter against Elena's petite form, making her almost invisible with his frame protectively wrapped around her. Instinctively, Elena leaned further against him, feeling perfectly at ease.

She tilted her head back, and opened her beautiful brown eyes, "Kiss me, Damon," she pleaded, shyly smiling, and before she could even take a breath his lips were on hers. Taken by surprise at his urgency, she smiled against his mouth, happy for being home again. She welcomed his need, though, feeling the exact same way. They hadn't kissed for what felt like an eternity, and having his silken tongue inside her mouth was like a revelation. The sensual feeling of their tongues passionately caressing one another send an all too familiar tingle straight between her legs, filling her with the urge for more. Almost hastily, she pulled her hands away from under his hands just to lay hers on top of his, resolutely shoving them upwards.

"Please, touch me, Damon. I missed your touch so much," she breathed against his lips, instantly receiving his body's reaction to her plea against her belly.

"Did you? Huh?" Damon purred teasingly and grinned, "How much did you miss me?"

"Very much!" She played along, pushing his hands to the curve of her breasts, "So much that I'm longing for your touch!"

"What touch exactly?" he dug deeper, nibbling on her earlobe.

"This touch…," she said huskily and guided his left hand over her left breast, "and this touch," she added and moved his right hand down her sensitive belly straight between her legs, squeezing Damon's hand above her slit to receive the fraction she needed so badly.

"Mhm, I understand," Damon breathed into her ear, dipping his index finger into her hot wetness. He gently massaged her clit with tiny circles while he rounded her nipples with the fingertips of his left hand. Relishing the sparkling feeling which spread through her whole body, she moaned uninhibitedly, finding his lips again.

When Damon started to tease her nipples, Elena trembled in his arms, arching her center against his hand to push his finger back to her entrance. All too willingly he obliged her and entered her smooth core. At first slowly, then faster and faster he moved his index finger back and forth, feeling her juice soaking his hand more and more.

Erratically panting, Elena kissed Damon wildly, letting him feel how close she already was, and moved her arms around his backside, repeatedly stroking over his upper legs and all the way up to his ass. The moment he added his middle finger, she felt her inner walls constricting heavily. She wasn't able to stand the stimulation for one more second. Hit by her orgasm, she moaned loudly, barely able to stand straight.

Noticing her unsteadiness, Damon supported her by lifting her up bridal style and smirked at her mischievously.

"You okay?" he asked smugly and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I am. I just love it when you're holding me like that," she grinned at him with her eyes shining like crazy.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he admonished her, and shook his head while he crossed the bathroom and put Elena on a tiled jut under the window. At first furrowing her brows in confusion, her expression lit up when she saw Damon undoing his jeans, rapidly standing in front of her in all his naked glory. Biting her bottom lip, she couldn't keep her eyes from extensively examining the full length of his delicious cock.

"Do you like what you see?" he questioned and drove his right hand along his erection, causing Elena's jaw to drop open and her eyes to widen at the same time. The smirk on Damon's face grew when Elena nodded silently. He closed the small distance between them, spread her legs and stepped nearer, guiding his cock against her soaked core. He observed her staring down at his hard member while her hands precautionally searched for a possibility to steady herself. Damon enjoyed the way her heart picked up its beat the second he stretched her entrance and vanished inside her warmth. Gasping heavily, she threw her head back, arched her hip and wrapped her legs around Damon's waist for him to invade her further. He grabbed her hips firmly and pushed into her. With his eyes closed, he shut out the rest of the world. There was just him and Elena and the awesome feeling of being as one.

Elena remained with her head tilted back, and therewith completely exposed to Damon, only sensing his hardness moving within her softness again and again. When Damon started to groan, though, she encircled him with her arms, following the need to be as close to him as possible and rested her forehead against his neck. The change in angle forced her eyes shut when Damon's hard dick hit that extra sensitive spot within her. Having her wrapped around his body like that, his protective instinct kicked in. Suddenly she felt more vulnerable as ever before and the urge to shield her from the world was overwhelming. He covered her back with his arms, pressing her further against him. Although it restricted his mobility, the force of his thrusts remained the same. Pounding into her, but at the same time showing her that she was safe with him, multiplied the sensation of being buried deep inside her. When his thick cock swelled even bigger, stretching her to the limit, she knew it was all over for her. Even if she had wanted to fight the orgasm to prolong the moment, she wouldn't have been successful. They screamed out at the same time, experiencing the sweet explosion when they came together.

A couple of minutes later, Damon and Elena lay in the tub. While she sat between his legs with her back against his taut torso and her cheek against his chest, he rested his head against his palm. Pretty exhausted they didn't talk, but enjoyed the moment they could just be.

There were so many things ahead of them which swirled inside her minds, but neither Elena nor Damon wanted to talk about them yet. They couldn't be sure if Klaus was really following them, or if he planned on attacking them right after Elena would have given birth. Would they be doomed to spend the rest of all time running from Klaus, or would he finally find another blood-slave to link with? And what about Stefan and Caroline? Would Klaus come after them too? Taking vengeance because they had helped Elena to escape? Not to forget the letter of her mother Elena would have to read and to cope with whatever it might reveal. No, they didn't want to face reality yet, fortunately they didn't have to.

At first silently, but quicker than he was used to, Elena's blood began its seductive call for him, fogging him in, making him completely submissive. At the same time, Damon's hunger hit Elena totally unprepared, but instinctively she turned around to face him, splashing half of the water out of the tub. She locked eyes with him, finding the expected fire flaring inside his blue pools.

"What's happening? It's not our usual time!" She panted erratically, feeling Damon's hot breath against her face which intensified the strong pull towards him even more.

"I… don't… know," he breathed, fighting for control but wasn't able to keep his face from changing into his true nature. "I just know, that I can't wait… any longer," he warned her before he lashed into her. His elongated teeth ripped her skin open and sank deep into her throat. When her blood flooded into his mouth he couldn't believe that it tasted even better than before. It was sweeter, thicker and kind of more nutritious. Only after a couple of gulps he felt stronger than ever.

"Ahhh," Elena whimpered when she felt the mixture of pleasure and pain at Damon's rough assault, but sensed that the satisfying feeling of giving him what he needed so badly became rampant. She just noticed then that she lay on her back and that Damon was hovering above her, pressing her neck securely against his mouth. Somehow, being at his mercy together with the thrills of ecstasy she received from him feeding on her aroused her once again. Without thinking, she threw her arms around his back and dug her fingers deep into his flesh, pulling him down between her parted legs.

Already rock-hard, Damon slid into her, franticly groaning due to all the different kinds of pleasure he was feeling. Joining his sounds of lust, Elena moaned ecstatically while Damon pounded into her, filling her to the hilt. They hadn't enough space in the small tub, and this wasn't romantic at all, but hell it felt wild and indecent, Elena thought before she arched her hip, meeting Damon thrust for thrust.

As abruptly as the call of Elena's blood had overcome him, as suddenly it vanished, and he let easily go of her neck, instantly closing the puncture points. Still moving in and out of her, he turned his head to face Elena, finding her eyes full of desire. Losing himself in her sparkling brown depths, he kept his pace and let the waves of lust flooding him while he guided her to her own release.