AN: Yes! I made it! I updated before school starts. Well, tomorrow is the first day so I thought I should take some time, come here and give you this before the fuss. I don't have much to say about this one, the chappie talks for itself. Just thank you for all the reviews and the other alerts in my inbox, it really makes me happy. Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a few words for musie!

She took a plane to somewhere out in space

To start a life and maybe change the world

See I never meant for you to have to crawl

No I never meant to let you go at all

"Damon! Damon, wake up!" The faint voice of his brother echoed into his head as a wave of cold, freezing water was splashed over his head. He wanted to open his eyes, to tell Stefan that he was awake, so he would stop splashing and shaking him, but his eyelids were too heavy against his eyes, that he just couldn't control them.

"I-awake-idiot!" That was all that he managed to say before starting to cough hoarsely, as he tried to recover his voice and all of his brain functions. It seemed a little hard as his head was so heavy and his body hurt like hell, like a thousand bulls had run him over. Damon heard Stefan's sigh of relief and finally his brother loosened the grip on his shoulders, and sat down beside him, as he struggled to straighten his body. With the help of his brother, he sat, much or less straight against the couch in the living room.

"I was just about to call the doctor. I think you had alcohol poisoning. How much have you had to drink, Damon?" Stefan's worried voice made him react and he looked at his brother, to see his dark circles and the worry written all over his face. Even his hair looked bad, it wasn't fixed with gel, like it usually was, Damon noticed. What the hell happened?

"Damon!" Stefan raised his voice. "How much have you had to drink? And what the hell happened that made you do this?"

Right. Elena happened. Elena confessing she was pregnant. Elena confessing she had an abortion. Elena packing her things. Throwing Elena out of his apartment. All those memories from the other night came rushing back to him as he struggled to push them away. He never wanted to feel what he felt last night. He wanted to be numb, to be dead, to never feel again, not even the sun on his skin. All things that made him feel something, bothered him right now. So what better thing to use against the pain than booze? It numbed him and made him so oblivious to pain, that he might just consume it not only on a daily basis, but on an every hour basis.

He still couldn't believe what was going on in his life. In a matter of a few months, he saved a girl from being attacked by a drunk man, he met the same girl at the same bar and found out she was his sister-in-law's best friend. She was beautiful, too beautiful and perfect for him, and that only made him want her more. They were friends, best friends, he could say. They could spend a night together and talk about anything and everyone, without feeling odd about it. They were meant to be, as friends and maybe more than that.

But as he got to know her more, he was drawn to her like Icarus to the sun, and so he did everything in his power to make her agree on his proposal of sleeping with him without feelings getting in the way of their game, thinking that everything he felt about her was purely lust and that he would get over it as soon as he had her in his bed. And truth be told, he didn't like when something like this happened to him, because that happened with Katherine as well, and, well, things with them ended too badly because he had fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her.

So he thought that with Elena everything was different, that he would have his way with her and that was going to be it. But no, she had to be sweet to him, she had to act like he was the only man in the world, she had to be beautiful and nice and compassionate and intelligent, she had to get under his skin, just so she could come up with this, now, when he realized that he had fallen in love again, this time beyond measures. He was so whipped, that he wanted to propose to her the minute he realized what he truly felt for her.

Therefore, when he came home last night and saw the pregnancy test, he wanted to hug himself with joy, because he was going to be a father. Damon Salvatore, a father! This was something he never believed would happen, because it was the second time around, and he wasn't designed to be a parent. He just wasn't, or so he thought until Elena made him change his mind and question everything that was going on in his life. So he stood there, in the kitchen, with the test smiling at him in his hand, staring at it and thinking and thinking and over-thinking it. Could he do this? Was he capable of having a family with Elena, the woman of his life? Could he kill the demons in his head and actually be a good father?

He wanted to think he could, because he felt capable of doing anything as long as Elena was by his side, holding his hand tightly and never letting it go. And he wanted to think that they could be the parents of a beautiful child, who would grow up to be a beautiful person, like she was. Yes, he was able to do it, as long as Elena was his companion. He couldn't see himself having a baby with someone else. That was why he and Katherine never fit together; they couldn't do things together, except for sex, they just weren't compatible at other things, and much less at being parents together. So yes, giving up on his baby with the ruthless bitch was the best thing to do.

He stood up when the door opened and she walked into the kitchen, ready to pull her into a hug and kiss her, after asking her about the pregnancy test. And suddenly, he felt the ground slipping from under his feet after hearing that she had given up on their baby, that his baby was no longer growing inside of her womb. His reason clouded the moment she told him everything; that she couldn't be the mother of his child, that they couldn't do this together, that he had murdered his baby before so he couldn't blame her for doing it. Hell, he didn't even know about it, how could she say that to him? And that was the last straw, before he grabbed her suitcase and threw her outside of his house.

The last time he had seen the woman who owned his heart, he told her to go to hell, to get out of his life and to go find someone else to screw with, and not only metaphorically. He didn't want, or need to see her again, because with every second passing and looking at her, he felt more disgusted by the fact that his innocent, smart, compassionate and beautiful Elena was now the reason they couldn't have a family of their own. She turned into a much worse version of himself, and he just couldn't forget her for it, not after she learned the truth from his own mouth. No, that was something beyond repairing, and it was too late to fix. So he still thought that the best thing he did was to kick her out.

"I don't know." He managed to say, this time making himself heard by Stefan.

"You don't know how much you had to drink or what happened?" Stefan raised an eyebrow. Oh, what the hell, was his brother such an idiot, or was he just playing him like a puppeteer?

"Don't be an idiot. I don't know how much I had to drink. I guess I emptied the bar, but who the hell cares?" Damon shrugged indifferently.

"You're insane."

"Eh, I can buy the same amount multiplied by ten, or a thousand, if I want. I'm not going to be a dad anymore, so there's no money to be spent on baby clothes and other useless things babies need, so if you're worried about the booze, I can just go to the liquor store and get a few more bottles." Damon spoke, trying to sound as casual as ever, but truth be told, every time he thought or said the word baby, an invisible hand made its way inside his chest and squeezed a little more at his already wounded heart.

"What are you talking about? What baby?" Stefan's eyes opened wide and there it was again, the heart breaking truth, that he was going to have to tell his baby bro.

"Not a big deal, actually." Damon shrugged nonchalantly, trying to ignore the subject. He wasn't in the mood to talk about it now. Or ever for that matter.

"You're talking about being a dad and say it's not a big deal? What the hell, Damon? I think I have the right to know after I've been awake all night, trying to wake you up from your deadly condition." Stefan raised his voice and Damon just rolled his eyes, like every single time he wanted to avoid talking about something.

"One day, Elena was pregnant, the other, she wasn't anymore."

"Huh?"

"Stefan, are you dumb, or what? I just drank liters of bourbon, and you don't understand what I'm telling you. Elena was pregnant with my baby. She had an abortion. End of the story." Damon shook his head, like it wasn't a big deal or anything, when in fact, it was breaking him inside, and slowly on the outside too.

"What?" Stefan asked and he seemed shocked at the news.

"Elena had an abortion! I didn't know about the baby until last night, when I found out that she didn't want to have it, Stefan. Is this enough for you, or do you want to know more now? I know that I tell you everything and stuff, but this is just not something I want to talk about, honestly." He said and he tried to keep a cool face, but it was getting harder, as his brother tried to persuade him into telling him everything.

"So where's Elena now?"

"How the hell should I know? She left. Well, I kicked her out, but it's the same. She was only worsening things; staying here, packing her bags while saying it's not a big deal. I thought that I should spare both of us of a bad time and get her out of my life once and for all. So that's what I did."

"So you just kicked her out? What about proposing to her, Damon? Are you seriously going to pull this thing again? Because I know Elena's not like Katherine and this time you can't just give up on happiness. I see how happy she makes you, and it's nothing compared to Katherine, Damon." Stefan insisted and he had already heard enough. He wanted Elena out of his life for good, and that was it. And if that meant making Stefan hate her, he was going to make him hate her.

"No, she's worse than Katherine. She likes to be nice to people, to make them believe she's like a freaking angel who can help them through anything, who likes to dig her way into their hearts, and when the moment comes, she stabs them in the back. Katherine has never been like that. She's just mean, truly and sincerely mean. At least she wasn't faking goodness. So forget about me proposing to Elena. I didn't even mention it, okay?" Damon mumbled as he tried to get on his feet, without Stefan's help. As long as he kept telling himself that Elena was worse than Katherine, that she was like a virus who needed to be exterminated from his life, his love for her would die; slowly, then all at once.

"And I don't want to hear her name around me anymore." He said, trying to convince himself that he really didn't want anything to do with her anymore. But, he was failing miserably as his thoughts wandered to her and he wondered if she was okay, if she had somewhere to go, if she was doing better than him, if she regretted her choice.

Damon straightened himself and feeling his legs numb from the position he's been in all night, he walked over to the front door and opened it, as if he was expecting to find a sleeping Elena there. Instead, when he stepped on the welcome mat, he felt something underneath it and stooping to turn it upside down, he picked up the two objects that Elena left for him before leaving.

He walked over to his bedroom, not even bothering to take one more look at his brother, who was watching him like a hawk, probably afraid that he might go into a coma from all that drinking. Honestly, he thought that a coma would be way better than this, what he was feeling now. So he sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the piece of paper, tied together with the key to his apartment. It was the remaining thing that made her staying with him real, and now it didn't belong to her anymore. Damon turned around and opened the little drawer on the nightstand, putting the letter and the key inside, next to the black velvet box which contained the ring that was supposed to sit on her finger by now. Unfortunately, it was never going to end up there.

With his remaining strength, he stood up and returned to his brother, who was trying to clean up the broken glasses from the floor and to wipe away the bourbon and other things he shattered last night. And not even a damn he gave about them.

"Stefan, go home."

"No, I'm not leaving you alone to drink away your misery again." His brother shook his head and Damon threw him an annoyed glance.

"For the love of god, you're not my father. Go home and leave me alone!" He raised his voice, and he knew that what he was doing was wrong, because his brother wasn't guilty of anything, he just wanted to help him, but right now, he didn't need any help. At least not the one from a human being. He only needed the help that some booze could guarantee him.

"Fine, but don't drink anymore. I'll be calling you." Stefan said and Damon didn't know when or if his brother said something else, because by the time his attention wandered back to him, Stefan walked out the door and he was alone again with his thoughts. Not that he had many, and the ones he had, were full of Elena and his dead unborn baby.

Without bothering, or wanting for that matter to take a shower to get rid of the alcohol smell, Damon walked back into the bedroom and opened the door to the walk-in closet, entering the room and coming back a few minutes later with two new bottles of bourbon. Seriously, having bourbon in all rooms was the best choice he made in his entire life.

He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the cap to one bottle, taking a big gulp of it as he tried to stop the tears from falling from his long black lashes and onto his beautifully sculptured cheeks.

"Damon, please! Don't do this to us. Don't destroy whatever beautiful thing we had. Open the damn door, Damon! What are you doing? Please tell me you're fine in there, please open the door. I just want one last look at you and then I'll be gone forever, I swear you'll never have to see me again. Just open the damn door, I'm begging you!"

"I didn't want this to happen to us. But this, having a baby, was too much and knowing you wouldn't want it made my decision easier. I don't regret it, Damon, like you don't regret giving up on your baby with Katherine. So you have to understand that it was my choice to make! Now open the door and let me see you, please!"

Like it hadn't been enough, he had to listen to her cries at the door for hours. Freaking hours that she didn't stop sobbing and mourning like Mother Theresa, when it was all her fault. Everything was her damn fault, and he would be damned if he would take any of the blame. No, this time he wasn't making it easier on her, this time she would have to suck it up, because he wasn't taking her crap.

More than three fucking hours that he had listened to her pleas, while he was shattering everything around him, trying to ignore her and when she finally stopped, he felt a heartbreaking silence take over him, and that was the moment that he passed out, never wanting to get up again, because honestly, what reason had he to face the world again, if he didn't have what he needed by his side?

Even more determined than earlier, he took another big gulp of the bourbon, and another, and another, until he took the last one. His hand traveled on the big bed to find the other bottle and after what seemed hours for his pained soul in need of an anesthesic, he found it and began the swallowing process again, until he could no longer feel the bottle in his hand. That was when he heard it shatter against the wooden floor in the bedroom.

"He's better now, but you have to be careful with him. Don't let him drink again, at least not for a while. From what I've understand, this thing happened the other day as well, but it wasn't as serious as it is now. Your brother was on the verge of dying because of the amount of alcohol he has consumed. I suggest you keep an eye on him."

Voices, mumbles, his body shaking, whispers, that was all he could hear now. With more effort than usual, Damon struggled to open his eyes and when he finally did, he was blinded by the perfectly white walls around him and the hospital gown he was wearing. How the hell did he end up here, of all places? Because, he would much rather be in a bar, savoring a good bourbon while trying to wipe away the remains of Elena off him.

The wheels started to turn in his head and he tried to raise one hand to run it through his hair, but just when he was about to, he stopped midair, and stared at the IV pumping some liquids into his body. He straightened his back as best as he could and then closed his eyes as he saw Stefan entering the room after talking to the doctor, or so he thought. He really didn't need his brother's lectures again.

"Mature, Damon, really mature." Stefan mumbled and Damon could almost roll his eyes even with them closed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He mumbled, annoyed as he took a look at his brother and was thrown back by what he saw. Stefan was wearing the same clothes as the last time he had seen him, he was unshaven, and his hair wasn't arranged a bit. And this was all because of him. And what he had was because of Elena. So everything led back to her. She was guilty of all that happened. When was the last time he had seen his brother, anyway?

"I'm talking about the fact that you're an idiot, that's what I'm talking about. How can you be so stupid to drink your brains out because of a woman?" Maybe he was right, Damon knew that, but saying that Elena was only a woman was wrong, as much as he would've liked to debate that. She was the woman who should've had his baby and the woman whom, even if he didn't want to, he loved and wanted to marry. So no, she wasn't just any woman. She was the woman who made his life a living hell.

"When was the last time you had a bath?" Damon said, trying to change the subject of discussion.

"Three days ago. Before I came to your apartment." Stefan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and again Damon couldn't help but notice the black and deep circles covering Stefan's eyes.

"Three days? I've been passed out for three days?" Damon asked, his voice showing how shocked he was. How much had he had to drink, anyway?

"Passed out? You practically died. You were in some kind of a coma. They couldn't wake you up. Damon, don't you ever do this to me again. Look, I'm not your father, nor I want to be a buzzkill, but I don't want to go nuts because of you."

"I'm at the hospital." He suddenly realized. "No, no, no! The press, Stefan. Nobody can find out about this." Damon hurried to say and his brother nodded his head, making him believe than he knew what was he talking about.

"Father took care of that." Stefan replied as he paced through the room, making him dizzier than he was already.

"Father knows? What the hell, Stefan?"

"How the hell do you think I could've kept this away from him, Damon? He calls me everyday. He checks on both of us. Do you really think he's an idiot?" Stefan snapped and as if right on cue, his father entered the room, wearing his usual face, just that now, Damon noticed it was a little bit angrier.

"If I'm not mistaken, you were talking about me, young man?" He stepped closer to the bed and with his hand, motioned to Stefan to get out and of course he did, without commenting. Damon rolled his eyes at how much influence Giuseppe had on his younger brother and how happy he was that he couldn't do it with him too.

"Damon, have you lost your mind completely? I don't believe I've raised you to be a slumdog who gets drunk and passes out, only to be brought to the hospital and have his stomach pumped and who knows what else!" Giuseppe used his firm tone. If his father really thought that it had an effect on him after all that happened between them, he was very wrong.

"Oh, spare me the lecture, father." Damon said, calling him out.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, Damon Salvatore. I may not have been the perfect father, and I may have made a lot of mistakes, but I am your father, I raised you and you owe me respect. So you're going to listen to what I've got to say to you." Giuseppe shouted, annoyed at the lack of interest Damon had in talking to him.

"Don't mistake the respect I have for you being my boss, to the one I have for you being my father. Because about the latter, I don't give a damn! You were never a father to me and you never tried to be one. And the only times you acted like one, were the times when you bragged about me at those parties with your associates. So cut the crap, father!" Damon hissed through gritted teeth, trying to get the discussion done with.

"Well, too bad that you're stuck with me. Listen, I don't care what you do, but you are going to be back at the office next week and you're going to take over the projects you've neglected."

"I am done listening to you, dad. I am not going to go back at the office when you say so. I will be back when I want to be."

"I knew from the beginning that that girl wasn't good for you. It's because of her that you're acting like this. I don't know how you manage to get them. It's like everybody takes the good and leaves you with the bad." Giuseppe shook his head, disappointed at his son's choices in women.

"What did you say?" Damon asked, his brows raising.

"Collecting garbage from the street and bringing it into the good world, Damon? Really? I saw you at the wedding with that girl, Elena. I tried to talk some sense into her, make her understand that she's way out of your league, but of course that trash is trash and doesn't speak nor understand."

"Shut the fuck up! Elena may not be the perfect woman, but she's definitely not trash." Damon said and though he knew she didn't deserve to be defended by him, his father was overreacting and an ass.

"Well, you're probably going to find another one soon." His father shrugged indifferently.

"She wasn't any woman, Dad. She was carrying my child. But it's gone, and so is she. So you can relax and sleep at night, because God forbid I fall in love with someone whose family is not as rich as you and wipes their asses with money instead of toilet paper! Now get the hell out of my room and leave me be. I've had enough of you for a lifetime!" Damon raised his voice and he didn't care that the whole hospital could hear him.

And as soon as the words were out, he relived the last few days again,remembering what he had and what he lost in such a short time. He allowed his eyes to close and tried to get his rest, when a knock on the door made him interrupt his nap. His sister-in-law entered the room and he was happy to see her, after all that happened. He wasn't her biggest fan, but right now, he was just truly happy to see her. But he did not for once suspect that he was going to hear what he heard from her.

"Elena's gone."

AN: It seems like nothing is ever easy for Damon *sigh* And I'm guilty for it, I take full responsibility.

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