Dear Damon,

Well hopefully school is going well as we head into November and that you are finding time to relax in the midst of studying for exams and stuff. I for one would like to be in your shoe right now since our 18 month old really likes to test the rules. She's got herself a bit on an attitude especially since she has been sick with the flu as you know but now has a cold that is keeping both of us up. She also takes off running whenever she sees me grab a Kleenex so she is a very insightful little troublemaker.

Just as you got a preview on the weekend of her reaction to the word "No" she still isn't fond of it and the temper tantrums are becoming a lot more frequent. Although the daycare says she is such an angel for them I am wondering if they are maybe mixing up our drama queen with someone else.

Aunt Jenna recently got her a toy phone and its funny because she knows exactly what it is and every time she presses the buttons she tells us she is talking to you. It's so adorable, I took a video and sent it to you to show you because she can't wait to see you this weekend again.

We love you and talk soon!

Elena and Claire

Lying on her back with her eyes closed, Elena enjoyed the feeling of Damon's lips sucking on her neck just as the sun was starting to rise. She let out a moan and let her hands run up and down his back. God it felt to good.

"What do we have here?" Damon asked with a smile as he pulled away from her naked body and rolled off to get something from beside the bed. She immediately felt the loss of warmth that his body was providing her and look over at him wondering what he was doing. She watched as he reached down to the floor and picked up some whipped cream and wore a smirk on his face.

As he crawled back over to her his lips captured hers for a moment while Elena still lay on her back. He pulled away and let his fingers walk along her smooth skin and causing Elena to gasp as his fingers went lower and lower. Watching him closely she saw him shake the whipped cream and then drop a dollop of whipped cream on top of her bellybutton. She let out a gasp at the sudden coolness of it but the gasp soon turned into a moan as Damon's tongue came down to retrieve the sweet whipped cream. He then made a trail of dollops up her stomach and chest and licking them up before reaching her neck again and trailing kisses along her jaw line until he reached her lips. As their lips met, Elena's finger ran through his hair bringing him closer while his hand slowly made their way up the side of her body.

Rolling them over Elena was now on top straddling his hips with a smile as she placed his arms up over his head. With their hands clasped together above Damon's head Elena leaned down for a kiss. The kiss was hot and passionate as Elena's body was screaming for his to join hers or at least until the sound of a screaming baby woke Elena from her hot dream.

When Elena's eyes shot open they looked around her dark bedroom and saw she was alone in bed, she realized it had all been a dream. Letting out a groan she could hear Claire crying in the nursery and she cursed wishing she could go back to the dream. That dream was the most action she had gotten in weeks and it was driving her insane.

Hearing how Claire's cries didn't seem to be settling Elena let out a tired groan and pushed off the covers. Checking her clock she saw it was only 4am, "Claire what are you doing?" she said under her breath as she got up to check on her daughter.

With Claire being in daycare all week she was constantly around sick kids and catching everything they had. Just over a week ago she had the flu and bad cough so she was up pretty much up every night and all night. Now just as she was getting over the flu she now had a bad cold.

When Elena entered her nursery, the little girl was standing up in her crib. She had a runny nose and was rubbing her eyes as she cried. "Aw what's the matter?" Elena asked her softly as she picked her daughter up and felt her forehead. "Oh you're a little warm," Elena added as she wiped Claire's nose and cuddled the little girl close.

When Elena tried to put Claire back into her crib she started crying louder and louder as she clung to her mommy. With a sigh Elena picked Claire back up and walked her to the rocking chair. Draping a blanket over Claire's back, Elena sat down and had Claire snuggled against her chest as she slowly rocked her hoping she would fall back asleep. Yet Elena sat their rocking Claire and watching as the time went by and Claire didn't fall asleep.

5 am rolled around and Claire started to fuss and squirm on Elena's lap. With a yawn Elena got up and carried Claire out of the nursery and headed down stairs to the kitchen. Claire whimpered in Elena's arms as she was carried around the kitchen while Elena warmed up her bottle. "You're okay baby" Elena told her softly as she got the bottle out of the microwave and tested it on her wrist. Moving over to the couch Elena got comfortable and repositioned Claire so that she could give her the bottle.

Feeling Claire's forehead again she felt that she was still warm. Elena let out a sigh as she looked at the clock knowing that Claire was probably not going to go back to sleep. With her still having a bit of a fever Elena knew she would have to take her to the doctors and get her medicine, which meant she would not be going to school today. Letting out a sigh and a yawn she was so exhausted between taking care of Claire who was also sick and trying to keep up with her studies in school. Sleep had become a bit of a luxury for Elena lately since Claire was usually up before 5am lately and was waking up in the middle of the night due to her cough or cold.

Elena was really starting to see how exhausting it was having to go to school, and take care of Claire on her own. Mornings were always hectic with getting ready for school and Claire ready for daycare and a few times Elena was late for class even with first period spare. After school she had to try and do her homework in between feeding Claire dinner and getting her ready for bed that usually was a struggle lately since Claire was sick. Elena had already missed a couple days of school or had to leave early because Claire was sick so her time to study and do homework tended to happen while Damon was home. That meant that Elena and Damon had very little alone time and how her sex life was pretty much non-existent except in her fantasy dreams.

About 10 am Elena pulled up to the doctor's office after being able to borrow the car from Jenna. As she parked the car her phone started to ring and as she looked at the caller id it read "Caroline." Biting her bottom lip, Elena put the phone to her ear as she stepped out of the driver's seat then opening the backseat door where Claire was strapped in.

"Hey Caroline," she said with a sigh. "Yeah Claire isn't feeling well, I'm taking her to see Dr. Bennett now" she responded while unstrapping Claire and lifting her up and putting her on her hip. "No, it's just a bad cold and she has a bit of a fever" she told Caroline as she shut the door to the car and made her way to the front door of the doctors office. "Would you be able to get my homework for today since I don't think I'll be in at all" She asked her with a pleading voice. "Yeah, thanks Caroline" Elena answered before hanging up and making her way to the front desk.

The receptionist was just getting off the phone when Elena walked up holding Claire on her hip whom had a soother in her mouth. "Hi I have an appointment with Dr. Bennett for Claire Salvatore," Elena told her as the receptionist started looking at the daily schedule.

"Elena!" came Dr. Bennett's voice from behind her and when Elena turned around she saw Dr. Bennett standing there in her white lab coat.

"Dr. Bennett" Elena said with a smile as she crossed the waiting room and over to where Dr. Bennett was standing.

Dr. Bennett smiled at the two and then noticed pretty much right away that Claire didn't seem to be quite her happy self. "And how is the little lady feeling?" she asked as she looked at Claire.

Claire not being a fan of the doctors had her head resting on Elena's shoulder but looking away from the doctor in hopes that she couldn't see her anymore.

"Still not a fan of me huh" Dr. Bennett said with a chuckle. "Come on I'll take you in" she told her and then led Elena into the examining room.

With Claire sitting on the table Elena was standing behind her and holding Claire under the arms while Dr. Bennett started her examination. "How are her sleeping patterns?"

"Not good, she's up about three time a night and stays up after 4 or 5 am" Elena informed her.

"Is she eating?"

"Ah not her normal, but she is still drinking milk and water" Elena explained.

"Well that's good" Dr. Bennett said as she felt Claire's forehead and then took her temperature. "A bit of a high fever" she added and then with a small light checked her throat and then with her stethoscope checked her breathing.

Once Dr. Bennett finished her examination she stepped back to write in Claire's file while Elena picked up her daughter and snuggled the girl close to her chest, as she was getting fussy. "Well there isn't much we can do other then wait it out but I can give her a prescription that will make her a little more comfortable and sleep better, and you" Dr. Bennett told her with a smile.

Elena smiled as she nodded her head, "Thank you" she said knowing that she looked exhausted with dark circles under her eyes.

"Things a little stressful for you?" Dr. Bennett asked seeing how tired and stressed Elena looked as she tried to sooth her fussy little girl.

"I'm a teenage mother and for the most part doing it all on my own" Elena told her as she looked down at her sick little girl. "I'm still trying to figure out how to time manage school and being there for Claire."

Dr. Bennett nodded and then walked over to the counter and opened up one to the drawers. "I'm sure I gave you one of these information pamphlets before but here is another one," she told Elena as she handed it to her. "It's a group meeting for teen parents, they share their stories struggles and everybody helps each other through everybody's experiences. While the parents talk their kids get to play and interact with other kids. I know you weren't really interested before but maybe they can help you find a way to deal with being on your own since Damon is off at college during the week. It would be worth a try and you will get to meet parents who know what you are going through."

Elena took the pamphlet and nodded her head not sure if it was something she was interested in doing. Dr. Bennett reached out and touched Claire's cheek as she looked back at Elena. "At least think about it," she told her.

"I will" Elena told her as she stuffed the pamphlet in her pocket and got Claire's coat on and got her ready to go. Saying goodbye to Dr. Bennett, Elena left the doctors office with a prescription for Claire in hopes that it would make her a little more comfortable at night. Once Claire was strapped into her car seat after a bit of a struggle and crying since she didn't like the car seat, Elena slipped into the driver and sat back with a sigh. After a moment Elena reach into her pocket and pulled out the pamphlet and checked when meetings were and wondering if she should go or not.

Damon had gone down to the pub with Sage after the lunch rush to do their homework while Rose was working her afternoon shift in Bree's pub. It wasn't unusual for the pub to clear out around 2pm so the three pretty much had the place to themselves. Rose was busy cleaning the glasses and preparing for the night shift and Damon and Sage pretty much took up the whole bar counter with their books.

"Alright we have been at this for an hour I need a break" Sage said with a huff as she dropped her pencil on her notebook and closed up her textbook.

"I'm all for that" Damon said as he too shut his books. "How about a round of whisky!" he added with a smirk.

Rose rolled her eyes at his cocky smile, "Nice try" she told him and then poured him a glass of water and slid it down the bar.

Damon gave her a pout and then in defeat took a sip of the water. "You know if you weren't so intimidated by masculinity, that would work" Damon mumbled.

Rose giggled and shook her head at the cocky dark hair smooth talker as she walked over and leaned over the counter so she was face to face with Damon. "Masculinity doesn't intimidate me but I think someone isn't use to not getting what he wants when he flashes that smile" Rose told him with a pouted lip.

"It's a curse you don't miss until it's gone," Damon told her with a sigh.

"Poor baby" Rose said as she lifted his chin up.

Damon backed away from her and shook his head while the two girls giggled at his frustration that his charm didn't work on them. Sage leaned over and gave Damon a hug, "Don't worry it's not you it's me" she told him.

"Actually it is me" Damon replied.

"Well either way we can go have some fun and study later" Sage told him.

"Well considering you have the night shift here tonight you better study your butt off" Rose told her as she came over to set the clean glasses under the counter.

Sage looked at Rose with a confused look and a raised eyebrow, "What are you talking about I don't work tonight?" Sage told her.

Rose eyed her girlfriend with narrowed eyes and shook her head slowly at Sage, "Yes, you agreed to take the night part of my shift because I have a class," she reminded her.

"But I have a test tomorrow morning!" Sage panicked.

"You said you would take it!" Rose snapped back.

"Crap!" Sage cursed under her breath as she pulled out her phone and saw that she had indeed agreed to take Rose's shift. "What about Hayley?"

"She's got a bit of a dog problem," Rose told her.

"Dog problem?" Sage questioned.

"Her dog has obedience issues, which is true because it bit me once" Rose told her.

"Greta?"

"Has school" Rose told her with a sigh as she tapped her fingers on the bar counter.

"So there is no one," Sage complained with a pout.

"Except you" Rose clarified.

Sage bit her bottom lip and started looking around the empty pub and then her eyes fell on Damon and it was like a light bulb lit up. "Damon!" Sage said with a smile as she slipped into the seat next to him and was giving him a big smile.

Damon looked up from his book knowing just what Sage was about to ask. "I've never bartended" he told her.

"Don't worry it's not hard and besides it's a Wednesday night, so it shouldn't be busy anyway" Sage told him as she batted her eyed pleading to him. "Come on I'll teach you!" Sage told him as she hopped off the bar stool and pulled Damon along with her to behind the bar.

"What about Bree the boss?" Rose asked but Sage was already fully invested in teaching Damon how to be a bartender.

"She'll be fine, she loves me!" Sage replied with a smile and Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Well this should be interesting" Rose said as she took a seat on the other side of the bar and watched as Sage was teaching Damon the ropes.

"Ignore her you will be awesome!" Sage told him. "You have the body built, the eyes, smile and even though I don't want to jump your bones I'm sure many girls fantasize about you" Sage told him.

"Come one you can't say there isn't a little part of you that isn't interested?" Damon teased and then his eyes looked between Rose and Sage who both shared a similar "No thank you" look. "Not even a little?"

"Haha sorry honey I know this is probably new for you but you aren't our type" Rose laughed.

"Now Elena on the other hand…" Sage teased as she took Damon's phone and found a picture of Elena.

"Oh let me see!" Rose chirped holding out her hand to get a better look at the infamous Elena she had heard so much about. "Oh yes Damon you should have her come visit" Rose told him as she checked out the picture of Elena.

"Yeah I not sure how I feel about that" Damon said as she snapped his phone away from the girls not liking them ogling over his girlfriend.

"Oh I think he's jealous!" Rose teased.

"I'm not jealous" Damon told them as he shook his head.

"What ever you say honey" Rose laughed.

"Okay R.J. he needs to concentrate now!" Sage said as she pulled out a tin cup as she scolded her girlfriend. "Now I'm gonna teach you a few ticks that will help you make some tips" Sage told him and then held the tin cup in the pal of her hand. "Here is the palm spin," she told him as she gave him a demonstration with the tin cup spinning in the palm of her hand.

"Seems simple enough" Damon told her as he tried himself.

"And hey if you screw up and drop the cup just give the girls a smile and they will forgive you" Rose told him.

"I'm glad you have so much faith in me Rosebud," Damon teased as he did the palm spin with the tin cup no problem. With a smirk he looked at Rose and she just rolled her eyes at him.

"Plus a little flirting never hurts, you do know how to flirt right?" she asked as she took the cup from his hand to show him the trick again.

Sage laughed and shook her head as she wrapped her arm around Damon's neck, "Trust me he has an 18 month old daughter at the age of 19 so I think he has no problems in that department."

For the next couple hours Damon got lessons from Sage and Rose on how to bartend. Learning a few flair tricks, juggling, flipping bottles and a few moves for pouring including how to pour three shots at once. He managed to catch most of them and when he didn't the girls told him to just flash his smile and all would be forgiven. With the music in the pub going the three had some fun behind the bar and helping Damon to find his rhythm so he could play the part of bartender.

Walking in the front door Jeremy and Jenna would think they were entering a torture chamber as Claire's screams could be heard from like down the block. Closing the door behind them Jenna looked around the house until she found Claire lying face down on the floor kicking her legs. Her little face was red but there wasn't a single tear in her blue eyes.

"Oh dear what happen in here?" Jenna asked while taking in the sight of the upset little girl while Elena was sitting on the couch reading her textbook.

"I wouldn't let her throw her bottle so I took it away" Elena said without looking up from her textbook. Elena didn't even flinch or look up when Claire got up from her spot on the floor and stumbled over to the couch in front of her mom screaming at the top of her lungs because she couldn't get what she wanted.

"I wonder who she gets her stubbornness from?" Jeremy teased as he dropped his school bag and then made his way to the kitchen.

Claire's screaming started to soften as she had her face pressed against Elena's lap and would every so often look up at her mom's face to see if she was looking back at her. When she wasn't getting any attention during her tantrum Claire dropped to the floor by her mom's feet and sat there whimpering while holding her plush toy ladybug.

"It's so tough being an 18 month old" Jenna stated with a sigh while she made her way to the kitchen to get started on dinner for everyone.

Biting her bottom lip Elena looked down at Claire since she had been pretty quiet for a while and the little terror was now adorably sleeping as she cuddled with her plush ladybug. With a smile Elena slowly and quietly set her textbook down and then got up from her seat and snuck into the kitchen where Jenna was starting to make dinner and Jeremy was sitting at the kitchen table with his video game.

"She asleep?" Jenna asked.

Elena gave a nodded while rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. "It was only a matter of time since she slept about three hours last night and didn't have a nap earlier this afternoon" Elena told her while she slipped onto the barstool. "And after all the energy she put into that temper tantrum I think exhaustion finally caught up with her, thank god!"

"Looks like she is getting a jump start on the terrible twos," Jenna teased while she chopped up some vegetables but she could see just how exhausted and stressed out Elena was. "Hey, why don't you go take a nap and I can watch her" she offered.

Elena gave a slight smile liking the idea but had to shake her head. "Turns out I have a math test tomorrow I need to study for" she told her aunt as she slowly got up from her seat.

"You can't keep burning it at both ends Elena you will collapse" Jenna said as she set down her knife on the counter and closed the gap between her and Elena.

"Too bad the deadbeat dad isn't around" Jeremy snipped without looking up from his game.

Hearing this Elena started fuming, "Jeremy SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Elena screamed at her brother making Jeremy jump by her sudden loud angry voice.

"Elena" Jenna tried to ease her but as exhausted as Elena was she had had enough of Jeremy comments about Damon not being around. In fact she was tired with everyone who seemed to think she was making wrong decisions either in school or with Claire. Her friends didn't seem to like the fact she had to blow off spending time them and sometime the judgmental looks from the other kids at school.

"YOU HAVE NO CLUE JEREMY!" Elena yelled at her brother. "DAMON WOULD DO ANYTHING TO BE ABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL HERE BUT INSTEAD HE USED HIS TRUST FUND MONEY TO GET YOUR UNGRATEFUL ASS HELP!" she snapped. After the words left her mouth she immediately regretted them because she had promised Damon she wouldn't tell Jeremy the truth about how they paid for his rehab and bailing him out of jail.

"What did you say?" Jeremy asked as he dropped his video game and stared at his sister in shock.

Elena stammered for a moment because she knew it was too late to take any of it back and she look over a Jenna who remained quiet.

"Just back off Damon" Elena answered and then stormed out of the room leaving Jenna to fill Jeremy in on what Damon had done for him.

About thirty minutes later there was a soft knock on Elena's bedroom door and Jenna slowly opened it and peaked her head into to see Elena sitting at her computer desk taking notes and studying for her test. When she heard the door open she looked over at her aunt and then let out a frustrated sigh. "I know I shouldn't have lost it on him like that" Elena said having an idea what Jenna was thinking.

"Don't worry I talked to him" Jenna said as she stepped into the room. "Claire is awake," she told her.

"I figured as much" Elena said with a sigh as she closed her books and got up.

Jenna stepped in front of Elena and held her hand out to stop her from leaving the room. "Don't worry about her, Jeremy is entertaining her," she told her. "I think you and I should talk" Jenna added as she motioned for Elena to take a seat on the bed. She had dark circles under her eyes and it looked like the poor girl would collapse at any time.

"Elena you know I'm here for you when ever you need me," Jenna told her as she wrapped her arm around the tired teenager. "Look I'm not going to pretend I understand what it is you are going through but you are not alone in this," she told her niece.

Elena nodded her head as she rested her head on Jenna's shoulder. "I just feel like when I'm at school I'm missing out being with Claire and when I have to do homework she cries because I can't play with her, then when I'm spending time with her I feel like my grades are slipping" Elena told her honestly. "I'm so tired that I feel like I'm useless to everyone."

"It will get better, you just need to learn to better time manage and maybe talk to someone who has or is going through what you are so you know your not the only one" Jenna told her.

Hearing that Elena let out a sigh and got up from her embrace with Jenna and walked over to her desk and picked up the pamphlet that Dr. Bennett had given her earlier. Holding the pamphlet she looked back at Jenna and then handed it to her.

"What's this?" Jenna asked.

"Dr. Bennett gave it to me when I took Claire to the doctors today" Elena started as she handed the pamphlet to Jenna and sat back down beside her. "It's for teen parents, you get to talk to others and learn their struggles how they handled them and at the same time the kids get to interact with each other."

"You should go" Jenna told her.

Elena shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "I don't know," she answered.

"Elena they would know better then anyone what you are going through especially since you're are in a way a single mom." Jenna told her.

"I'm not a single mom," Elena snapped back.

"I didn't mean it like that" Jenna retracted, "I mean that during the week for the most part other then a little help from us you are taking care of Claire on your own. You're juggling school and taking care of Claire and if you plan on getting a part-time just to raise money for college they would be the people to talk to" Jenna explain.

Elena nodded her head as she looked down at her lap thinking over everything Jenna had told her.

"At least give it a try, go to one meeting and see how it goes," Jenna suggested to her and Elena looked up at Jenna and gave a nod.

Rose sat in her class lecture taking notes and watching the clock until she could finally leave the boring class that really taught her nothing new other then what she could of learned in the textbook. Finally the professor dismissed the class, Rose' packed up her stuff just as her cell phone started to vibrate. "Hello, Bree?" Rose said into the phone when she saw the caller ID.

"GET DOWN TO THE BAR NOW!" she snapped before ending the call.

Not having anytime to respond Rose felt a little nervous as she wondered what the hell could of happened. Pulling her bag over her shoulder Rose quickly hurried out of the classroom as she pressed Sage's number on speed dial. "Sage get you ass to the bar now! Something is up" she told her and then quickened her pace.

Running up the sidewalk Rose saw Sage crossing the street and both had a very worried look on their faces. "What the hell is going on?" Sage asked her as she started throwing out questions at Rose about what could have happened. "I told Damon to call me if he had any problems but he never called."

"Well this is all your fault if Bree is pissed" Rose snapped.

"You are going to sell me out, we were both teaching him earlier today!" Sage told her as the two rounded the corner and made their way to the pub entrance that was oddly packed with people. Both girls pushed their way through the crowed pub until they found Bree not far from the door.

When she saw the two girls she gave them both a smirk as they made their way over to her.

"What happened?" Rose asked ready for the hammer to be brought down on them.

Bree looked at the girls for a second and then her eyes turned to Damon behind the bar counter as he flipped bottles and flashed his smile and joked with the customers. It also didn't go unnoticed that majority of the people hovering around the bar were women who all seemed to be drooling over the new hunky bartender. "I don't know where you girls found him but never has my bar been this busy on a Wednesday night" Bree told them.

Behind the bar Damon tossed bottles up in the air and then poured a number of glasses at once before sliding them down the bar counter to the customers. He seemed to be having a lot of fun as well as he interacted with the customers while pouring their drinks and obviously the attention and ogling girls didn't hurt either.

"It was all my idea" Sage told her proudly and Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Either way I love him already" Bree told the girls before she walked off.

"It was all my idea" Rose imitated and Sage couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey if you were going to have me take all the blame honey then I'm taking all the glory," She said with a smirk.

The two girls made their way through the crowd and sat at the bar while Damon flipped and poured bottles as he flashed his famous smirk. He slid a glass down the counter to an eager woman who couldn't help but lick her lips as her eyes wondered up and down that hot bartender.

When Damon turned he saw Sage and Rose taking their seats at the bar with smiles on their face. Walking over to them he leaned over the counter in front of them and smiled. "ID please" he asked them and both girls rolled their eyes.

"Don't worry we will just have a water" Sage told him as Damon gave them a smile.

With a chuckle Damon swiftly reached for some glasses and filled them with water before handing them over to the girls. Rose accepted the water and raised it to cheer with Sage, "Look at us we created a talented bartender" she told her. "And Damon you will be happy to know our boss Bree loves you!"

"Hey this gig isn't so bad, and the tips are great!" Damon told them. "I've got about $50 in tips already" he added with a smirk.

"$50 on a Wednesday night! Only crap" Sage said with her eyes open wide since that wasn't a normal Wednesday. "God you must be quite the flirt" Sage said.

"It's a gift what can I say" he told them with a smirk. "Now scram so I can get some actual paying customers" he told them and they both couldn't help but giggle as they got up only to have two other girls ready to take their seats at the bar.

Gathered in a circle with a number of other young parents Elena sat in her seat pulling at her sleeves and her head down nervously waiting for the meeting to begin. In the middle of the circle of chairs the toddles were playing or sitting on their parents lap. In the beginning Claire clung to Elena with a death grip but soon she slowly made her way over to play with some of the toys by her mom's seat.

Looking around there were five other people sitting in the circle, four other women and one guy and just like Elena they all seemed pretty tired. While they all sat there a woman about thirty came into the room and smiled at the group. "Hi everyone I'm Paige Fell and as you all know everyone here shares a similar situations. We are all young parents. I myself am a single mother and was only 17 when my son was born. He is now sixteen years old and after the experience I went through I wanted to help other young teenage parents with the troubles. And that's what I'm here for" she told them as she looked at the group. "So lets go around and share our stories."

Paige looked around at the room and her eyes landed on the woman with dark skin and curly hair so she could begin. "Hi I'm Amiee Bradley I got pregnant when I was 17 and my daughter Mya is now three years old. When my parents found out I was pregnant they kicked me out and I've never heard from the guy again." Amiee told the group as she looked over at the dark curly haired little girl who was playing with a toy car. "Over the years I would lie awake and cry not sure how we were going to manage to get by. I work three jobs to put food on the table and pay rent and there are times I wonder if what I am doing is the right thing" she said with a sigh, "and then I see her smile and I am happy that I get to see your grow up into a smart little girl. She is my world."

Next to her was a young Latina girl about Elena's age who was holding her two-year-old daughter on her lap that she slowly rocked her back and forth while she fell asleep. "Hi my name is Caitlin and this is my daughter Camille. I was fifteen when I got pregnant and now my daughter just turned two a couple weeks ago. I was a wild child who acted out because I came from a broken home. My mother is an alcoholic and for most of my childhood I have had to take care of her. I was careless because I wanted attention and ended up pregnant. I honestly don't know who her father is but I don't think he would be around anyway. I've had to drop out of school so I can work and hopefully move out of my mother's trailer park so that I can give Camille the life she deserves. It's been tiring and at times I have no idea if what I am doing is doing more damage then good for her."

Elena found her heart breaking for theses people already and she hadn't heard everyone's story yet. Up next was the sole guy in the group who was looking down at his daughter asleep in his car seat beside him. "My name is Derek" he started to say as he scratched his blonde hair. "This is my daughter Katie, she is fifteen months old and since the time she was two months old it's just been the two of us. My girlfriend and I were young and careless. We both came from good homes but we rebelled against our parents. At sixteen being responsible for another human being isn't for everyone and my girlfriend couldn't handle it. In the end she left us to go back home to her parents because she didn't believe she was the mothering type. Since Katie was born I've cleaned up my act I dropped out of high school to work but I take a few night courses so I can one day give my little girl everything since she doesn't have a mother."

Next up was a Spanish girl with long dark greasy hair who looked very skinning and had dark circles under her eyes a lot worse then anyone else in the group. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and it didn't take a genius to figure out this girl had a drug problem. "My name is Kimberley I'm 19 and I have a six month old son Ricky. He is all I have left in this world but even before he was born my life has been a mess. I am an addict and I can't get through a day with out alcohol or something to numb the pain. I've tried Rehab but I tend to relapse fairly quickly. I love my son so much and I don't know what I would do without him and I'm trying to get better because child services is threatening to take him away from me. I want to get help, I need help for me and my son."

As Elena sat their and listened to everyone's story Claire came back over to her mom and climbed on to her lap and snuggled up with her mom just as the girl beside Elena was starting. "Hi I'm Vanessa, I'm twenty now but my boyfriend and I got pregnant in our senior year of high school. We both had to drop out and get jobs to support ourselves. We got married when I was about five months pregnant and rising a one year old has been hard on both of us and now it seems that our relationship with each other is suffering. I love my husband but we spend so much time fighting about money I'm not sure if we are going to make it."

Hearing their stories Elena found herself snuggling Claire closer on her lap as she started to see that many of these people were having a lot harder times then she was. In many cases they were alone in raising their son or daughter but Elena had a lot of support. Sure Damon was away for a three to four days a week but she had Jenna and her friends there to help her out while many of these women and Derek didn't have anyone. As hard as things were for her right now she was so thankful to have Damon and everyone in her life willing to be there for her and Claire when they needed them.

As the week came to an end Damon was thrilled to be able to head home to see his girls. The beginning of his week was filled with tests and essays but on Wednesday he was able to make quite a bit of money bartending at Bree's pub and Bree was eager to get Damon to work again. Even with Damon being away for the weekend Bree was willing to have him take on some shifts during the week. Yet that was a conversation that would have to wait until next week as he planed to spend the whole weekend with his little family.

"Zooom Zooom Zooom!" Damon said as he held Claire up in the air and was running her around the Salvatore living room like she was a plane. He would raise her up and down, twirl in circles as the little girl giggled in delight. "Mayday, mayday in coming for a crash landing!" Damon said as he raced over to the couch with Claire in the air. "Mayday, mayday!" he repeated and then Damon fell backwards onto the couch and Claire giggling away as she landed on his stomach. Claire had a huge smile on her face as her little fists scrunched up his black shirt on his chest. "Okay give daddy a kiss," Damon said to her softly and then with a smiley Claire leaned forward and gave her daddy a quick kiss.

"Daddy loves you ladybug," Damon told her as he lifted her up high enough so that he could blow on her tummy and get a huge giggle from her.

As the two were playing on the couch together and Damon talked lovingly to their daughter, Elena walked in and was leaning against the doorframe and watched the interaction between the two. After a moment and then checking her watch Elena felt bad that she would have to break up the father-daughter moment. "Alright its time for a certain little girl's bedtime" Elena said as she came over to sit on the couch next to Damon lying on the couch and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"Just a few more minutes" Damon pouted.

Elena smiled at Damon as he snuggled with their daughter. "You can play more tomorrow but tonight after a week of her being sick she is finally back to herself." Elena told them.

Damon gave a sigh and then sat up on the couch and gave his 18-month-old daughter a kiss while he stood up. "I just feel like I never get enough time with her" Damon told Elena as she two started to head up the stairs and into Claire's nursery.

"Don't worry you two can play all day tomorrow" Elena told him as she wrapped her arm around Damon's back as they made their way into the nursery. "But tonight I believe it is my turn for some playtime" she whispered in Damon's ear seductively and really getting his attention.

Luckily Claire seemed to be in the cooperating mood tonight and pretty much went right to sleep as Damon and Elena left the nursery. As soon as the nursery door was softly closed Elena turned to Damon and jumped on him right there. After weeks of not being able to get some much needed alone time her fantasy dreams had really gotten the best of her.

Her arms were around his neck as their lips collided in a desperate and passionate kiss. It didn't take long for Damon to respond as he hands roamed over her curvy body and then lifted her up in his arms not daring to break the hot kiss. Moans could be heard coming from both of them as the Damon did his best not to stumble while he held her in his arms and tried to walk down the hall towards his bedroom. As he carried her over the threshold Elena's hands ran through Damon's hair so that it was all standing up.

Shutting the door with his foot, Damon quickly moved them to the bed before finally setting Elena down on her own two feet. As they broke from their long and passionate kiss Elena's hand slowly trailed down from his hair to his neck, over his chest before ripping the shirt off him and throwing it to the ground.

Leaning back in for another kiss, Elena removed her zipped up sweater and let fall to the ground to join Damon's black shirt that was definitely missing some buttons now. Turning them around so the back of Damon's legs hit the bed, Elena took advantage of this and pushed him back so he fell onto the bed but never taking his eyes off her. With a smirk of her own Elena removed her t-shirt so all she was wearing was her black lace bra and took her sweet time to climb on top of him before capturing his lips again.

As their tongues danced, Elena's hands slowly moved down his torso and over his six pack abs. With Elena straddling his waist Damon's hand roamed up and down her jean covered thighs and buttocks and pulling her closer and closer to him as he could. Starting to work on the button on her jeans, Damon rolled them over so that he was now hovering over Elena and not breaking the kiss for a second.

Things were getting hotter by the second and it was just a matter of time before the rest of their clothes would be discarded. Unfortunately the ringing of the telephone started to dampen the mood.

"Ignore it" Elena pleaded a she kissed his neck and shoulder.

"I was planning on it" Damon told her with a chuckle as he sucked on the soft skin on her neck. They resumed kissing and trying to ignore the phone until he realized it was the home intercom meaning someone was at the front door. Letting out a grunt Damon reluctantly pulled away from Elena to reach over to the bedside table to get the phone.

"Are you serious?" Elena complained as she lay under Damon.

Picking up the phone Damon was not amused at all, "Make it quick. What you do want?" Damon snapped into the phone as he waited to find out who was waiting at the front door.

There was a moment of silence on the other end and Damon let out a grunt. "HELLO!" Damon snapped again.

"Hi… Damon it's me Jeremy… I ah need to talk to you" Jeremy said into the intercom

This was a surprise to Damon as he held the phone to his chest and looked down at Elena with a puzzled look on his face. "It's your brother…at the front door" Damon told her wondering if she had any idea what this was about.

Looking up at Damon with a guilty look she lick her lips just as Damon was rolling off her and still starring at Elena waiting to see what she knew about what Jeremy was doing here. "What's going on?" he asked her.

Elena sat up on the bed and pushed back her hair, she bit her bottom lip because she knew exactly why Jeremy was here. "Yeah I think I think I know why" she told him guiltily. "I may of let it slip that you paid for his rehab."

Damon bowed his head knowing that this information would of come out eventually but he had hoped he would have a little more time. Putting the phone back to his ear he heard Jeremy's pleads. "Please Damon I just want to talk" he told him.

"Yeah I'll be right down" Damon told him and then reached over to hang up the phone. "And here I thought we wouldn't get interrupted if we stayed at my place instead of yours" Damon said as he rolled off the bed and moved across the room to get a fresh black shirt out of his dresser drawer. "I'll be back" Damon told her and then left the room and a half naked Elena letting out a deep sigh as she fell back on the bed in frustration. She was definitely going to kick Jeremy's ass later.

Doing up the button on his jeans and flattening his messy make out hair he made his way down the stairs. Peaking his head into the main room he saw that it was empty which would make this conversation a little easier. Reaching the door Damon swung it opened and looked anything but thrilled as Jeremy stood on the other side with his hands in his pockets. "Jeremy" he said with a smirk trying to be polite. "What brings you here at… 9:30?" Damon asked as he looked at his watch as he leaned against the doorframe standing in front of Jeremy.

"I was hoping we could talk" he told him and after a beat Damon stepped aside and let Jeremy walk into the house. The two remained silent as they made their way to the main room and took a seat on the couch in front of the fireplace. Pulling his hands out of his pocket Jeremy started to pull on the end of his sleeves as looked down at his shoes and then up at Damon as he sat next to him.

"I um I heard about what you did" Jeremy started to say.

Damon shook his head and bowed his head, "You weren't suppose to find out, Elena shouldn't have told you."

"It's not her fault I was being a jerk and I think with all the stress and exhaustion she snapped" Jeremy said in defense of his sister.

"I know she told me, I was just hoping this conversations could of come at a much better time," Damon explained.

"I've been a jerk, blaming you for leaving my sister when really I was the reason you have to go away."

"No I went away to school because I know what it's like when you feel like no one is there for you. You needed help and I was able to help. You got to get better and then come home to your Aunt and sister. I didn't want you feeling guilty about me having to go away for school while you are recovering. I didn't mind being the bad guy as long as you were getting the help you need. You and your sister have lost a lot in the last few years I didn't want you to lose each other."

Jeremy bit his bottom lip and nodded his head, "You surprise me Damon" Jeremy told him.

"What can I say we have a complicated relationship?" Damon told him with a smirk and Jeremy gave a chuckle.

Ever since Damon had gotten his sister pregnant he hated the guy and had made it no secret to Damon how he felt but even with that Damon went ahead and helped him out to make sure he could get better. Maybe from this point on their relationship would take a turn for the best.

Damon walked Jeremy to the door both with their hand in their pockets and heads down. This was definitely the first real conversation the two had had that didn't involve snarky comments or yelling. As Jeremy stepped out of the house he looked back at Damon still having no idea how to thank the guy who he had been a real jerk to. "I want to pay you back" Jeremy told him honestly.

"Just stay out of trouble," Damon told him as he reached out and lightly punched Jeremy's arm. "So we're good now?"

Jeremy licked his lips and nodded his head as he stepped closer to Damon and wrapped his arms around him. Damon was taken back at first but soon wrapped his arms around the 15 year old in a somewhat brotherly hug and patted him on the back. "We're good" he told the younger boy as they broke from the hug and Jeremy started to make his way to the cab he had called to come pick him up. Waving him off Damon slowly shut the door behind him and leaned against it and let out a shaky breath.

"So" came Elena's voice as Damon looked up the stairs to see Elena standing there wearing nothing but his black shirt that only had two buttons now. "I'm getting really tired of sharing you tonight" Elena told him with a smile.

Damon gave her a smile as he tossed his phone across the room and then pulled the home phone off the hook so that nobody else would interrupt them as he raced up the stairs with a smirk and chasing a giggling Elena back to his room and closing the door behind them

Let me know what you think!