Helloooo!

I was glad to see the response you had from the last chapter, I'm so glad you like it and that you are enjoying the story. Thanks to all for reading my story and taking the time to review and as always of course thanks to Lorena for being my beta on this.

I wish you all a great week.

Love,

Sam

"He was still so familiar after all these years, his mouth perfect on mine, hungry and gentle at the same time, and I'd missed him, missed this, could not believe that somehow we'd let this get away, this desperate, wonderful feeling that being with Nick was –forgive the melodrama- my destiny. The only man I'd ever really and truly loved. My firsts love, my one and only. I knew it now, and the truth was, I'd known it always"

-Kristan Higgings-

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Elena craned her neck as she undid the bun holding her hair together; she passed her fingers through her long locks before sitting down and putting her feet into her black Mary Jane's, she fastened the straps and sighed heavily before slumping back and resting her head on the wall.

Today's rehearsal had been brutal and it had a lot to do with the fact that her mind was not in the dance but miles away in a small town in Virginia ten years ago. It had been two days since she saw Damon and he had made no other appearance, she was both glad and disappointed that he had yet to show up and she definitely didn't want to dwell on the fact that she was craving to see him once again.

Having Damon Salvatore in front of her after so many years had woken up something inside her that had been asleep for a long time, it made her feel alive once again but it also brought back so much of the pain she had tried so hard to hide. It had left her head in a bloody mess and she had no idea how to regain her control.

"Elena are you okay?" Liam's voice brought her back from her head, she raised her face and watched him as he regarded her with worried eyes

"Yes, I'm fine" She answered with a small smile

"You don't seem okay" He took a seat on the bench next to her, Elena was grateful for Liam, he was a kind friend but right now she really didn't feel like talking about this with someone who didn't know about her past. "You were distracted the entire rehearsal; does it have something to do with the guy from the other night"

Elena winced mentally, she had hoped he wouldn't bring the subject up but then again she didn't have luck on her side "Liam I really don't want to talk about it"

"He was important to you, right?" He whispered and Elena noticed the small hint of resignation and dejection in his words

"He was"

He is Elena said mentally, because the truth was that no matter how long it had happened Damon was still the great love of her life, she knew it deep in her bones and that was why it hurt so much to have him here once again. Because she loved him deeply in spite of what he did to her.

"I'm sorry" Liam said and Elena looked at him with a confused look "For whatever it was that happened" He said with a smile that offered her understanding "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here"

"Thank you so much Liam" Elena placed her hand on top of his and smiled warmly at him.

They said their goodbyes as Elena finished putting her things in her bag, once she was done she put on her long trench coat and slugged the bag over her shoulder. The warm afternoon air hit her when she opened the door of the theater and she inhaled deeply while closing her eyes. When her eyes finally opened she met a sight she hadn't been expecting.

Damon Salvatore was leaning against the wall of the theater across the street and it was like she was transported into 1959 when she used to walk out of her dance school to find him waiting for her outside of his car, except now he was wearing plaid gray pants instead of jeans and he had on a button down dark blue shirt instead of his letter jacket, and his hair was styled in a more polished way. He was no longer the boy she met back then but at the same time he still was, she could see it in his eyes.

His smile turned up into his classic smirk and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest because of the familiarity of the action. Elena wanted to run, she meant to move but for some reason her body was not responding to her brain's commands because she stood there, rooted on the pavement as he moved from across the street and walked towards her, the limp was still present on his every step and she almost wept at the familiar sight.

"Hello doll" He whispered once he was in front of her, she breathed in his scent and closed her eyes in pain and wonder, because even though he was dressed differently he still smelled the same way he had ten years ago, he was still her Damon "Can we talk?" He asked softly

Her eyes snapped back open and everything came crashing down once again, all the pain and heartache, all the nights she cried herself to sleep. But above all, the day she gave up her baby. This wasn't 1959 anymore, a long time had passed since then and she was not the same dreamy girl she once was.

"No, I'm sorry Damon but you must leave me alone" She told him before turning around and starting to walk in the direction of the subway. She heard him curse and started following her.

"Elena please, I just need you to hear me out"

"There is nothing to say anymore Damon"

"Of course there is damn it" He snapped and she stopped walking "There is plenty to talk about Elena" He moved until he was in front of her "I just need you to hear me out, please"

"Damon please, the last thing I want to do right now is talk to you"

He flinched visibly at her words but didn't back down, he had waited ten years for this opportunity and he wasn't going to waste it "Ten years Elena, after ten years don't you think the least both of us deserve is a chance to explain things"

"Damon I don't think this is a good idea"

"Just hear me out, if after you hear what I have to say you still don't want to see me I'll go and never come back"

Elena bit her lip as his words affected her more than they should because the prospect of never seeing him again was too hard to bear "Damon…"

"Please"

She sighed as she moved her fingers over her temple "Fine" She said with defeat in her voice. The last thing she wanted was to sit down and hear whatever he had to say because she was afraid that what he said could change everything. That it could absolve him from the past and even when a part of her wanted nothing more than to hear him say he loved her and everything had been a misunderstanding there was another part of her that wanted to hate him and blame him for what happened. Because if she couldn't blame him then the only person left to blame would be her and she had done too much of that already.

"We can go to the coffee shop that's right around the corner" He murmured

Elena nodded and they started walking towards it. He didn't know it but that was the place where she had sat down to eat apple pie and imagine she was with him back in 1959. Now she would have a fresh memory of him in that place, one to remind her of him when he was gone.

They walked in silence while Damon continued to steal glances every now and then, he was trying to memorize every single thing about her. He was storing everything so that later he could think about her and take notice of what changes she had suffered over the years. He realized that she was no longer the Elena Gilbert he had met all those years ago and now he wanted to know this new Elena, because there was no doubt that he was going to love her all the same.

They entered the quiet place which was relatively empty at this hour of the afternoon and sat in a little booth in the back, facing each other. They both ordered a cup of coffee and Damon ordered a slice of apple pie for himself, Elena smiled slightly as her eyes watered.

"Are you okay?" He asked sounding concerned

"Still your favorite" She murmured

Understanding appeared on his face and he smiled sadly at her "Always" She looked down and he sighed loudly "How are you?"

"What do you mean?" She asked confused "I'm fine, as you can see"

"Got your dream job, right?"

"Yes, it's everything I always dreamed of"

"Well, if I recall you wanted to be a star" He smirked

"Yeah and I also wanted a house with a big porch" She spat bitterly and regretted her words immediately when she saw the hurt expression on his face, she resented Damon a lot but even then the last thing she wanted in the world was to hurt him "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"It's okay, I deserve it" He answered sadly "But I take it you're not really okay?"

"Not in the slightest" She responded in defeat.

The waitress interrupted them when she arrived with their order, placing the coffees in front of each of them and the plate with the slice of pie on the center of the table. Damon ordered another fork and Elena felt her heart squeezing at the familiarity of it all.

"I know it's also one of your favorites" He handed her the fork the waitress had placed on the table "Even though your absolute favorite is cherry"

She nodded before taking the fork, she cut into a piece of the pie and brought it to her mouth, it tasted like love and good times and the fist around her heart gripped her more tightly.

"So…" Damon whispered while looking at her. His heart squeezed with sadness while he watched her guarded expression, there was something so jaded about her now. Elena had always been a breath of fresh air for him, the sunshine in the darkness that was his life and he hated himself for dragging her into that dark place and leaving her there.

"So?" She raised an eye brow "You wanted to talk, so talk"

Damon nodded solemnly before taking a sip of his coffee "I had every intention of picking you up that day Elena" His blue eyes looked at her with sadness and she closed hers in pain, she didn't want to see whatever she could find in those blue pools "I packed and picked up the money and I was heading towards you when it happened" Damon sighed "Can you please open your eyes and look at me?"

Elena wanted to shake her head like a petulant child but decided against it, she slowly peered her eyes open and found him staring at her deeply "Officers had been following us, I didn't realize because I was daydreaming about us, about our wedding and our life together"

Elena choked up a sob as she raised her hands to her chest and pressed them there "They knew about us and even though there was no evidence the complaint had been made and I was on parole for the theft I did when I was younger"

"Oh my God"

"They took me and Stefan to California, they wouldn't let me call you or even release Stefan so he could talk with you. When I did call your mother didn't let me speak with you and when my brother was released he went to find you… but you were nowhere to be found"

Elena felt her throat clogging, something was pressing down on her and she felt like it was impossible for her to breathe "They said they offered you money" She whispered as her hands tried to raise her coffee cup but failed because they were shaking so much.

"Do you honestly think I would have taken money?" When she didn't answer he stretched his hand and placed his fingers under her chin "Look at me doll, you know how much I love you, you know that I wanted a life with you, how could I possibly take money if it meant leaving you?"

Elena closed her eyes as tears gathered, he moved his hand and she tilted her head so he was cupping her cheek, his hands rough and calloused. Damon had the hands of a hardworking man and she always loved that about him. It was such a comfort to have those same hands caressing her right now. "I didn't know what to believe"

"It's all true baby. You can ask Stefan, hell you can even talk to the guy who was my parole officer back then" He traced her lips with his thumb "You were my life Elena and they ripped you away from me" Her eyes opened, surprised at the hatred in his words "I searched for you, everywhere. When I found out you were here I came and I searched for you in every corner of New York but you were nowhere to be found"

Her brown doe eyes looked at him and he wanted to weep at the sadness and pain hidden in there "I had this fantasy… where you showed up in your blue Camaro and stole me away from the Godforsaken life I was living. I waited but you never showed up" She whispered sadly

He closed his eyes in pain and dropped his hand from her face "I wish I could take back the time Elena; I would have been more careful. I would have done things differently"

Elena looked at him and a wave of sadness washed over her at seeing the bags under his eyes, the stubble in his jaw, the wisps of grey hair at his temples and the scattered wrinkles that showed that time had gone by. He had matured, he was no longer a boy and she hated that all those changes happened when she wasn't there, she resented that time between them and she resented her parents for doing this to them.

But what could she do now? Go back to Mystic Falls and put a bullet through her mother's skull? There you go you evil witch, you ruined my life. No, that would do no good to anyone.

"Doll?" He spoke softly, as if fearing she would bolt off the table at any minute "I need to know" She braced herself for the question, she had seen it in his eyes since the night they met again, he wanted to know "Elena, what happened to our baby?" She knew it was coming but the minute the words were out of his mouth she felt the air being sucked out of her body, she looked down, unable to meet his eyes and started folding the napkin on the table over and over again. "Elena?"

"They took me away" She said softly "To a…what is that they call them?" She closed her eyes as a sardonic laugh left her lips "House for unwed mothers, that's what people call it" She opened her eyes and found him staring at her with the saddest eyes she had ever seen "I was there for my pregnancy, that's where I met Caroline" The barest hint of a smile appeared on her lips "And that's where I- " Her breathing got shallow as she tried to spit the words out, her throat was clogging once more and she felt a surge of panic so big she thought she was dying "That's where I-" Her eyes filled with tears and she saw through blurry eyes as he walked out of his seat and moved to her side of the booth "That's where I gave her up" A sob broke out of her throat and his arms were around her in a heartbeat, she relished in the safeness she felt at being surrounded by him. To feel him next to her as he should have been so many years ago.

"I'm so sorry" He whispered in a loving voice as he held her, rocking her back and forth as he stroked her hair, people around them were giving him worried curious looks but he didn't focus on them, he only cared about the girl in his arms.

"I let them take her away" She wailed against his chest. Elena had cried over the loss of her child for so many nights but this was the first time that doing it seemed liberating. "She was so beautiful and perfect Damon and I- I was a coward" She was heaving and Damon was doing everything in his power to calm her down, comfort her but how could he do that right when he wanted to break down and sob right alongside her.

"It's okay doll"

"No it's not okay, I should have been strong" He gripped her even more tightly as she fisted his shirt in her hands "I should have fought harder"

Damon had no idea what to say to her, his own heart breaking with the knowledge that he had a daughter, a daughter who was somewhere out there and not with them right now. He was mad as a dog thinking about the people who did this to them, the people who kept him apart from the love of his life and his child. There were so many emotions swirling inside him now that he had no idea what to process, and he had no idea how to make her feel better. He didn't even want to think about all of the bad times she must have suffered through in that place only to have their daughter ripped away from her arms. He hated them, he hated them all.

"I hate myself" She said "I hate myself everyday"

"No, no don't say that" He took her chin between his fingers and lifted her face, her tear stained eyes staring at him with so much pain in them "You did what you could, you were alone and everyone was against you. You did what you thought was best"

"She has your eyes" She said in a broken whisper and her words were like a shot to his heart "She looked so much like you, she was so precious"

"She is so precious" He whispered hoarsely, he didn't want her to talk about their daughter in the past tense. In that moment Damon made the promise that he was going to find their daughter come hell or high water, he was going to bring back the life into Elena's eyes and was not going to let anything rip them apart again, not even her.

"Do you hate me?" She asked in a small voice

"Do you hate me?" He answered back

She took a deep breath, aftershocks of her sobbing still racking her body but he was holding her and caressing her hair with his hands and that helped her keep herself in control "I did, sometimes. I wanted to… the nights I spent in that place… I was so scared" He pressed her more tightly against his body "I hated you then"

His heart squeezed at her words but he understood "And what about now?"

"I don't know how I feel now" She answered honestly. The last few days had been such a rollercoaster of emotions and she didn't have the slightest idea of what to do with everything she was feeling.

"I'm not going anywhere Elena"

"Damon-"

"No" He cut her off and when she broke apart from his arms he let her "You might not want me here but I won't go. I love you, you're the only girl I've ever loved" She closed her eyes at his words, a part of her heart relished in them but the other was terrified of what they meant "And I won't give up without fighting, not this time"

"I don't know if that's a good-"

"So darling you can fight me all you want, you can hate me and curse at me and tell me to go but I won't do it" He moved closer and cupped her face with his hands "Because I know you still love me, I can see it in your eyes. So I'm going to find a way to make you happy again even if it's the last thing I do on this earth"

She looked at him speechless, her mind was in a war with her heart and she had no idea who was winning, the only thing she knew was that Damon Salvatore was back in her life once again and he had brought so much pain and joy with him.

There were no more words between them, Damon paid the bill and even though she told him it wasn't necessary he went with her all the way to her home. They were in complete silence the entire time but she had never felt more comfortable in her life. In those moments, with him walking beside her she could almost fool herself into thinking nothing had changed, that they were still those same kids who loved each other deeply, she could almost believe it.

He walked her to the door of her apartment and promised to be there the next day and the next because there was no way she was going to get rid of him now.

Once Elena entered her apartment she broke down into tears right there in the foyer, the weird thing was that for the first time she had no idea if her tears were from joy or pain, or maybe even both.

Damon Salvatore was back and he had made her breathe again.