Damon:

The next morning, I stir when the sun pokes through the slats in the blinds, landing squarely on my eyes. Raising my arm, I drape it across them to get a few more seconds of rest. When I feel a puff of air against my nipple, I look down, smiling when I see Elena still curled into my side. Imagine waking up like this every morning, I muse, smiling despite myself. Closing my eyes again, I carefully reposition, pulling her in even closer. It's then that I hear my cell phone alarming in my tee shirt pocket. Grimacing, I very carefully lift her arm from my waist and ever so gently get out of her bed. Since it was late by the time the Benadryl finally took effect, I just don't want to wake her up yet. Once I get off the bed with her unscathed, I tip toe out of her room and down the stairs before I answer it.

"Hello?"

"Damon, it's Brady, I'm on my way to the cabin. I just wanted to give you a head's up so I don't startle Elena."

"She's been having nightmares so I gave her something to help her sleep and I don't want to wake her up yet. I'll make some coffee and wait for you outside."

"Sounds good, buddy. I'll be there in about twenty - twenty five minutes."

"Okay, see you soon, Brady," I tell him then click off the phone. Once I slip a pair of jeans on, I realize that I left my tee shirt on the floor in Elena's room. Dropping my chin to my chest in agitation, I find a downstairs coat closet. As luck would have it, there are a couple of tee shirts hanging up. Maybe they're Ric's or perhaps even Kols. I hope they're Ric's because I don't want her to freak out if she sees me wearing something of his. Although I feel a little uneasy about it, I slide it off the hanger and slip it over my head. Sucking in a breath, I go to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, savoring the aroma as it brews. When it's done, I fill a big mug and quietly go outside to sit on the steps to wait for Brady. Picking up my phone, I call my grandpa to check in on dad.

"Hi Grandpa."

"We talked to Brady last night. Is everything okay, Damon?"

"For now, yes. Would you please pass on to Lena that Elena is emotional as you might suspect but she's okay. I'll look after her grandpa."

"Damon, don't rile her up, not after Kol."

"I won't I promise. I care about her. I wouldn't do anything to upset her, especially when she's reeling like this."

"I'm glad to hear that. Elena is a very strong girl but Lena told me that she and Kol have been best friends since they were around ten years old. So please just be her friend now."

"I will. God, I'm a horrible son. The reason I called was to check on dad. How's he doing?"

"He's awake and physically he's doing quite well. They may move him out of intensive care later today. Emotionally, he's worried about you and he has some anxiety due to the fact that someone had to die for him to get that heart. I did talk to Finn, he told me that those feelings are common. And we'll deal with that but his physical health is of primary importance right now. He misses you, Damon."

"Please tell him that I love him and that I'll see him as soon as I can. Brady is on his way so I'll give you a call again later, okay?"

"Sure, goodbye. And Damon, tell Elena that we love her too."

"I will papa. bye now," I tell him, clicking off the phone. I don't care what Brady says, I'm going to have to go to see my dad soon. I know that he knows that I love him but if something unforeseen were to happen and I wasn't there, I'd never forgive myself. Leaning back on my arms, I breathe in the fresh air before I pick up my phone again, this time calling Elijah.

"Hello?"

"Elijah, it's Damon. I don't know how to tell you how sorry I am."

"Thank you, Damon. Are you with Elena?"

"Yes. We were advised to make ourselves scarce for a few days. But I realized that we never okayed it with you."

"Elena called my mother yesterday. They spoke for quite awhile. She and Kol have always been really close. She's like family to us."

"I understand. We'll be back in a day or two, Elijah."

"We'll see you then. Tell Elena to call if you two need anything."

"I will. Listen, Brady should be here in a few minutes so I'll let you go. Please tell Esther that my thoughts are with her."

"I will. Goodbye, Damon."

"Goodbye," I tell him then click off my phone. Standing up, I go back into the house to get some more coffee. After using the bathroom, I refill my cup and go back outside to wait for Brady. By the time I'm finishing up my second cup, I see the dust kicking up on the gravel road that leads to the house. Knowing that it must be him, I go back inside, refill my cup and grab a second mug for him. I step back outside at the same time he pulls his car to a stop and turns off the engine.

"Damon," he says, walking towards me. As soon as he's seated beside me on the steps, I hand him the coffee mug.

"Good coffee," he remarks after taking a drink.

"Where's Elena?"

"I told you that I wasn't going to wake her."

"You're right. I forgot that quickly. It's really beautiful out here," he muses, taking another swallow from his cup.

"It is. Do you want me to wake Elena?"

"Not yet. Why don't we go for a walk? You can show me around the place."

"Sure, let me go inside and leave a note so she doesn't worry if she wakes up while we're gone."

"I'll wait out here," he says. After finishing off his coffee, he hands me his mug. I take both of them inside, write Elena a note and then go back outside. Seeing him standing at the end of the dock, I walk down there. My attention grabbed when I hear fish jumping.

"See those hills over there? Elena and I climbed them yesterday. I guess some of her neighbors have a horse farm so I may take her riding when she wakes up."

"That sounds like fun."

Moments later I hear her voice. It's smooth and sounds like golden sunshine. "Yes, it does sound like fun. I love horseback riding. Hello, Brady."

"Elena," he says. Clasping both of her upper arms, he pulls her in for a quick hug.

"So what do you know, Brady?"

"Should we go for a walk or do you want to go into the house to talk?" I query, my eyes focused on hers like a laser beam.

"Why don't we sit down right there?" She asks, using her arm to gesture at the lawn chairs that are sitting near the water's edge.

"We're not going to get bit up are we?" he asks, shuddering animatedly.

"No, we always spray, you know with West Nile Virus and all."

"Okay then," I say, pressing my palm against her lower back, leading her over to the chairs. There are three Adirondack chairs forming a semi circle around a fire pit. The craftsmanship is very nicely done. It's built with stones. Once we're sitting down, Brady takes a breath and is about to speak but Elena interrupts.

"Was there any evidence at the crime scene, Brady?"

"There was some broken glass and there were also skid marks which are from when they drove off. Did you happen to notice where the car was lurking before it came at you?"

"No, I didn't notice it until I heard the tires squeal. I was literally blinded by the light as it were and then he pushed me out of the way. The rest is a blur except for his bloodied face laying in my lap. I remember screaming for help. God, I wish we could turn back time," she says, sniffling, trying to pull her tears back in.

"Mayor Lockwood called me. He said that he expects me to put all my resources on this to find who is responsible for this atrocity, his words, not mine. I also know that he called Mikael and Esther, founding families and all of that."

"So Brady, we know that Amber worked for Richard and we know that she was pregnant. There's no way he could have a scandal like that, especially with an election coming up. From my research, I know that she died a few months before he was re-elected for his umpteenth term. The Lockwood men aren't exactly known for their fidelity to their wives. When I talked to my grandpa, he said that Richard's father had a number of mistresses too."

"Damon, do you really think that maybe Richard may have had something to do with Amber's death?"

"I certainly think it's not outside the realm of possibility, Elena," I say, staring into her beautiful eyes.

"I agree with Damon but before I can go to the Bradley's about exhuming Amber's body, I need some kind of evidence. I can ask around off the record but I'll need something to be able to go to Richard to officially reopen her case. Frankly, I think the Bradley murders are why you were targeted, Elena."

"I just hate to think what happened to him is because of me," she adds, dropping her eyes.

"Elena," I say softly, giving her forearm a reassuring squeeze.

"What do you think if Elena and I were to set up a meeting with Richard? We could question him about Amber, maybe make her the focus of an episode of our show?" I ask, lacing my fingers with hers.

"No, absolutely not. You two don't need to put a big red bulls eye on your backs."

"Brady, you can't really tell us that we can't talk to him," Elena adds, giving him a pointed look. "I don't care what it takes, I'm going to get some justice for Kol."

"You're right, I can't stop you but at least let's meet again before you talk to him. The three of us can go over your line of questioning. Would you at least agree to that?"

"Yes, Brady. And we also know from talking to his co-workers and parents that Ben never believed that Amber killed herself. And then there's the key. How are we ever going to find out what it's for. I mean it was sent to us for a reason."

"Thank you, Elena. And yes, that key is a conundrum. All we know right now is that it doesn't fit any of the safety deposit boxes at the Mystic Falls bank."

"Somehow.. we have to find the lock," I add, shaking my head in frustration.

"Yes, we do, Damon, but for now I'd like you two to stay put out here another day or two."

"Fine, we can stay here another night or two but I need to drive to Richmond to see my dad."

"Just bypass Mystic Falls when you drive over there."

"Fine," I agree, sharing a look with Elena.

"I have to get back to town. Keep in touch, okay?" he says. The three of us stand up and then Elena and I walk him to his car. Holding hands, we wave goodbye when he backs out of her driveway before turning around and driving away.


"I'm glad you decided to drive along to Richmond. I expect that your grandma will be there too."

"Yes, she's there and so is Jenna. Considering that your grandpa is your mom's dad, it's amazing that he is so close to your dad."

"Believe it or not, they haven't always been that way. When mom died, they both closed down for awhile. Dad buried himself in his work, Katherine was already out of the house by then so grandpa was my babysitter. They just didn't talk to each other for a long time. I don't know why. But I can remember they had a big row and after that everything was great. And in all honesty, I have no idea what it was even about. I really don't care because they're really tight now and have been for years.

"Well, if you want my two cents, I don't think it even matters anymore either. Who cares why at this point since they've obviously put it behind them."

"My feelings exactly, Elena."

"I miss him, Damon." Knowing that maybe she's ready to talk, I reach over and take her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Brady is my best friend and I know that I'd be as devastated as your are now if anything were to happen to him. I can't imagine what you're feeling but know that I'm here and I care."

"Thank you. We can't give up. We have to find a way to give the Bradley family and Kol the justice they deserve.

"You're right. We're not going to give up, we're just taking a tiny hiatus. We need to keep our powder dry till we're ready to fire."

Nodding, she places her other hand on top of our joined ones and pats it gently before pulling away. The rest of the drive passes in comfortable silence but I keep her hand clasped in mine nearly the whole drive, only letting go to take a drink from my water bottle. When I see the Richmond exit, I merge off of the highway. Before long, I'm pulling into the parking ramp at the hospital. Taking a breath, I get out of the car. As soon as she's out, I take her hand again and the two of us walk into the hospital building and go to find our families.

"Elena, sweetheart," her grandma says, standing up to embrace Elena before we even step over the threshold into dad's room. When she finally lets go, she gives me a hug too then takes Elena's hand and pulls her into the room. Grandpa gets up to let Elena have a seat. Offering me his hand, I grasp it and pull him into a hug as well. I notice dad's eyes open at the same time mine drift towards the bed. Our eyes lock so I pull away from papa to go to his bedside. I know his chest must hurt but I need to hug him although I'm very careful, giving him just a light squeeze.

"Damon, I've been worried about you," he says, palming my face with his hand.

"I'm sorry, dad. You don't have to worry, Elena is keeping me safe," I start to say, looking over my shoulder at her. Using my head, I gesture for her to come to the bedside. When she does, I take her hand in mine again, savoring the feeling of having her close. Giving it a squeeze, I silently urge her to say hello.

"Hi, Mr. Salvatore. I'm happy to see that you're doing well."

"Elena, I'm happy to see you. I'm very sorry about your friend. Your grandma told us about him. If there's anything we can do...?"

"Thank you so much but the best thing you can do is get well. Damon needs you."

"She's right, dad. I do. Elena and I are going to be at the lake house another day or so but then we're going back to Mystic Falls. We have to figure this out."

"Damon, do be careful. I need you too, son."

"Believe me dad, I'm a very cautious guy," I tell him, giving his forearm squeeze. Just as I'm about to stand up, I hear Katherine's voice.

"I'm so glad you're here, little brother. You need to tell dad to do what the doctors tell him. He's already insisting on going home."

"Katherine, you know it's not nice to tattle," he says, giving her a pointed look.

"Dad, you have to listen to Finn and Dr. Parker. Now is there anything you need before Elena and I leave? Is there something you're hungry for? Anything?"

"No, Damon. You take care of Elena and yourself. I love you son, please, please, be careful."

"We will," I reassure him and after giving him another hug, I pull Katherine aside while Elena, her grandma and papa chat with him a little bit.

"How is he really? His color looks so much better but he sounds kind of despondent in a way," I ask, my eyes towards him, smiling when I see that he seems to be enjoying himself with Papa, Elena and Lena.

"He's doing fabulous, Damon. Relax, okay? But what about you? Brady told us that they think Elena was the intended target. They could go after you too, Damon if Brady is correct in his assumption about what this is related to."

"Elena and I will be just fine. You need to worry about dad, not about me."

"Do you want to run down to the cafeteria with us to get something to eat before you go?" I hear Lena ask, turning her eyes from Elena to me.

"Grandma, we should get going."

"It's fine, Elena. Let's have some lunch and then we'll get a move on."

"Thank you," she mouths, smiling at me. After saying goodbye to dad and reassuring him that I'll call when we get back to the lake house, we all leave to let him get some rest. Taking Elena's hand in mine, we all pile into the elevator to go downstairs. I don't miss the smile that Papa and Lena share with me when they see our joined hands. After giving papa a knowing nod, I push the button, my mind also on our conjoined hands and how my heart always beats a little faster when I'm so close to her.


"I'm glad you asked me to go with you. Your dad and grandpa are great guys. Katherine seems pretty nice too," she mentions, veering left to take the exit to go back to the lake house.

"We're siblings so we had fights growing up. Plus she's ten years older than me so she didn't want to hang around with her little brother but somehow we're friends today."

"What are we going to do when we go back, Damon? I was thinking, maybe we could go to talk to the Bradley's. Just maybe they'd let us look through their rooms. Didn't his dad mention that he'd been staying at the house in the days before he disappeared? I don't know, it might be folly but what if we did find something, anything, a note, a picture, anything?"

"I think it's worth a try, Elena. I'm sure they'd let us."

"Should we tell Brady or just do it?"

"Elena, I think we should just do it. I do trust Brady with my life but what he doesn't know won't hurt him," I say, sitting back in the passenger seat since I let Elena drive home. My eyes are about to fall closed when she stops the car. When I get out, I nearly knocked over by a gust of wind. Looking at the sky, I see the dark clouds starting to move in. They're almost a bluish black color. I didn't know it was supposed to storm today."

"Me neither but then again, we really haven't watched in TV or listened to a weather forecast."

"True." Offering her hand, I pull her close and wrap an arm around her shoulder and start to walk towards the house. Just as we reach the steps, the first drops of rain begin to fall.


Elena:

As soon as we finished eating the delicious supper that Damon made, I tell him goodnight and go to my room. I'm just really tired tonight. Stripping off my clothes, I crawl into the bathtub and let the hot air relax my aching muscles. It's not really like I did anything really strenuous aside from getting thrown to the pavement that is, but I'm just so tired after everything. Running my fingers over my still fresh bruises, I can't but be reminded that he saved my life. I miss him so much, his wit, his incorrigible sense of humor, God, I miss everything about him.

Once I finish, I towel dry my hair, comb it out and put it in a braid. Taking long enough to brush my teeth and put my clothes in the hamper, I practically fall into bed. With the lights out, I see the lightening brighten up the room with each bolt that streaks across the sky. And although I don't like storms, I do like snuggling in my bed and watching the sky light up. The roaring thunder practically makes the house shake. That felt a little too close for comfort. When the wind starts whipping up and slamming hail stones against my window panes, I get scared. Damon must hear me whimpering because moments later, he comes into my room wearing only a v neck tee and a pair of boxers. He doesn't wait for permission, he simply crawls into the bed and pulls me into his strong muscular arms.

"Damon, thank you," I whisper, pressing a kiss to his chest and in the next second, I'm beneath him. Just as suddenly he captures my lips in a smoldering, knee weakening, panty dropping kiss. And although I enjoy and I do kiss him back, I'm not ready to have sex with him yet. We've only just barely started to become friends. It's when I feel his erection press against my belly that I stiffen a bit. He stops, latches onto my mouth one more time before rolling off of me.

"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want it, Damon, because I do but we're barely on speaking terms. I want to know you better before we take that step."

"I understand. I'm sorry if I was a little too forward," he whispers, encircling his bulky arms around me again.

"I remember one time when Kol and I were out on a story. It's near one of the national parks so we took some camping gear with us. It was a beautiful spot but that night, we had a storm much like this one," I start to say, pausing when a crack of thunder followed by a flash of lightening illuminate the room. His eyes are brimming with lust and desire making my own lady parts heat up and tingle. Taking a breath, I try my best to ignore that part of me so I can tell him about me and Kol.

"So you and Kol went camping? I bet that was fun. How did you ever get the tent erected?" he teases, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.

"I'm not exactly helpless in the great outdoors, Damon. Anyway, yes Kol and I went camping."

"Elena, you have to help me. I know nothing about camping or pitching tents or starting a fire."

"Calm down, Kol. It's not hard. I used to go camping with my grandpa all the time when little. You know, before he died. Let's get the tent up first, the sky looks pretty dark to the west," I tell him, pointing in that direction. Somehow between the two of us, we get the tent upright and secured. After that, we find some stones and some wood to build a fire. But then a park ranger comes along and demands, nicely of course, that we put the fire out as there is a fire danger right now. He informed us that it's supposed to storm and if lightening were to strike some of the dead trees, there could be a catastrophic forest fire. Agreeing, we quickly put out the fire and end up eating junk food for supper.

Deciding that this will be our one and only night in the woods, we figured that we could tough it out for the one night. By nightfall, we were both exhausted and that's when the wind started to howl and roar through the trees. We were each laying in a sleeping bag but since I was getting scared, we zipped the two of them together so we could snuggle.

"You're my best friend, Elena, always and forever."

"I feel the same way, Kol. Goodnight," I add, yawning widely. Leaning up, I give him a kiss on the cheek then turn onto my side and close my eyes.

"Goodnight, Elena," I vaguely hear him say as I'm on the precipice about to fall over the ledge from wake into sleep.

"And before you say anything, there's never been anything romantic between Kol and me. I could trust him with my life, he's the best friend anyone could ever ask for," I start to say, my voice stuttered as tears start to form in my eyes. He pulls me in even closer, kisses the crown of my head and caresses my back.

"You can cry, Elena. It's okay to cry. This is what love is about, it cuts to the core when you lose someone that you love so much," he says reassuringly.

Anyway, during the night, the storm starts to intensify, swaying the tent and before we know it, it collapses on top of us, waking us up in stark terror. Feeling petrified and frozen, I get myself so twisted up that I can't get find my way out. I'm quite literally in hysterics, my body shaking uncontrollably. Moments later, he pulls me out. It's in just the nick of time because the next second, a bolt of lightening strikes the remains of our tent. It erupts in flames right before our very eyes. Thanking all that is holy, we breathe a huge sigh of relief when the rain started pouring, literally coming down in sheets, enough to extinguish the flames. Once we make sure the fire was out, we nearly dive into our car and check into the first motel we find, vowing never to go camping again.

"We had so many laughs about that fiasco," I add, shaking my head at the memory of it.

"You'll always have those memories. No one can ever take them away from you. Treasure them and keep them safe and then when you want to remember, pull them out of that little locked box inside your heart and revel in them. That's what I do when I think about my mom sometimes," he adds, yawning widely.

"Goodnight, Damon," I whisper. Smiling when I feel his breathing even out signaling sleep. Smiling, I snuggle even closer into his chest. And I can't help but imagine what it would be like to always sleep and wake in his strong arms.

"Elena, sweetheart, I'm home," I hear him say, announcing that he's home from work. He comes directly into the kitchen, pulling me into a deep kiss, stepping back only when we hear a blood curdling scream.

"They're fighting again. Maybe they'll listen to daddy," I tell him, turning my attention back to the chicken I have frying on the stove top. He drops one more kiss to the side of my face but before he can take a step, we hear little footsteps coming closer.

"Daddy, you're home," they both scream, nearly knocking him over and me along with him when they each grab onto one of his legs.

"Hey guys, you have to be careful. We don't want to knock mommy over," he scolds gently.

"Daddy, Jared won't let me look at his Tonka truck."

"That's because he won't let me play with his mixer truck," Jensen retorts, sticking his tongue out at his brother.

"Okay then.. if you two don't learn to share, mommy and I are going to take the trucks away. Now run along, daddy will be up in a little bit but I need to give your momma a proper hello."

"Ewww, you're gonna kiss her aren't you?" Jared says, scrunching up his little face.

"I sure am," he confirms, giving me a wink.

"Let's get out of here, Jared," Jensen screams, taking his brother's hand, the two of them disappear down the hall.

"Now where were we, Mrs. Salvatore?" he asks, wrapping his arms around my burgeoning middle.

"Um," I tease when he pulls me into a sizzling kiss. With my belly flush against his, baby Salvatore gives us both a kick. Smiling widely, he drops to his knees. Pressing a kiss to my bump, he whispers I love you then rubs gently where he or she kicked. When we feel it again, we both laugh. Standing up, he pulls me close once more, cups my cheeks with his palms then latches onto my lips, thrusting his tongue inside. Before I know it, I feel his fingers right there and just as he starts to stroke, I hear a voice in my ear.

"Elena, sweetheart, wake up. You're dreaming."

"Wha.. what happened?"

"Nothing, you were just tossing and squirming. I thought maybe you were having a bad dream."

"No, it wasn't bad at all," I whisper, raising my eyes to meet his. With my heart pounding against my chest and hoping to return to that dream, I lay back down and curl into his side, my mind in complete chaos over the magnitude of that beautiful dream.


Thank you so much, Eva. I love and appreciate everything about you.

And a big thanks for all of the reviews. I appreciate them more than you know. They really mean a lot to me.

Chapter title: 'All I Have to do is Dream' by The Everly Brothers.

It's unusual for me to only have one story going. I do have another Christmas story completed but I'm saving it for the holiday season. I'm working on a couple of other projects but I don't have any idea when they'll be ready for posting.

Reviews are love and they do help to get the creative juices flowing.

Be Safe, have a fabulous weekend and thank you all again for your support.