Happy Valentine's day my lovelies!

I hope you all have an amazing day and enjoy it with your loved ones, it's important to let people know we care about them, not only today but everyday and I care so much about all of you. Thank you so much for still be reading this and taking a moment to let me know how you feel about the story. I really hope you like this chapter (sorry if it's a short one). As always I want to thank Lorena for being the best beta a girl could ask for.

Love, today and always

Sam

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried.

In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains.
So when you come back and make me happy
I'll forgive you dear, I'll take all the blame.

You are my sunshine.

.

.

Damon Salvatore sipped on his cup of black coffee as he hung up the phone, he let the hot liquid warm his insides as he leaned back on the chair and stared at the city extending below him outside the window.

His mind was troubled and he wasn't able to find a solution to the problem arising in front of him. No matter how much he had wanted to delay the inevitable it was time for him to go back to North Carolina, he had a business to run and he could no longer do it from afar. Only now it wasn't only Stefan that he would be leaving behind, it was also her; he would have to leave his Elena once again.

"Why do you look so gloomy?" Stefan asked as he approached the living room, he dropped his briefcase and took off his coat before joining his brother on the opposite chair.

"It's time I go back home" Damon answered simply

Stefan nodded as he rubbed his hand across one of his cheeks "Yes, I was wondering how much longer you were going to put that off"

"I can't leave"

"You have to leave Damon"

Damon sighed and placed his cup of coffee on the small table next to him "I just found her Stefan, I can't just leave"

"I know brother, I know how much you love her and I know how much she still loves you" Damon's heart skipped a beat at his brother's words "But your lives are very different now and I don't know how you'll manage to make them work together"

"I'll find a way" Damon told him stubbornly

Stefan smiled slightly while looking at his brother "Trust me, I don't have a doubt that you'll achieve whatever you have in mind"

Damon leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes "I need to ask you for a favor brother"

"Anything Damon" The younger Salvatore answered without the slightest hint of hesitation. If there was something that hadn't changed over the years, it was the loyalty and the love the two brothers shared for each other.

"I need you to help me find my daughter" Damon's words echoed in the silence of the living room as the noise from the city could be heard at the distance.

"Whoa, what?" Stefan sat straighter in his chair and looked at his brother deeply "What are you saying Damon?"

"I've been making some phone calls, Stef, Caroline told me the name of the place they were sent to and with a little bit more time-"

"Damon you know Elena signed a paper, she can't try to contact the girl… at least until she's eighteen I guess"

"She signed it but I didn't"

"Oh Damon"

"Nothing can stop me from trying to find my daughter" He told his brother with complete resolution. Since the moment Elena told him the story about what happened with their child he had set everything in motion, he had made a million phone calls and was positive that he would find her sooner rather than later.

"And what would you do if you find her?" Stefan asked "She must be with another family. You could change that girl's world Damon"

"I know, I know" He sighed "Truth be told I don't know what I'm going to do once I find her but I do know that I have to find her"

"Okay, okay"

"Look, I've bribed my way into this" He stood up and went to his room to retrieve a black leather notebook. "They gave me information about eight different children who could all be mine"

"Okay let's see"

"In four different states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Colorado" Damon sighed and handed the notebook to Stefan "I need you to help me narrow it down. Caroline knows about this"

"She does?" Stefan asked with a raised brow

"I asked her not to tell anyone, I don't want Elena to know in case we don't find anything"

"Of course, that's for the best"

"So, will you help me?"

"You think I could say no?" Stefan asked with a smirk that made them look so alike. The truth was that no matter what Stefan was always going to be there for his brother.

A little time afterwards when Stefan was sound asleep in the bedroom next to his, Damon lay awake looking at the celling and wondering if he would succeed in what he had planned, would he find their daughter? Would Elena agree to what he was going to ask?

Over the years Damon had turned into a bitter man, angry because of the things that he lost in life, sad because of what it could have been. That had soured him inside but somehow since he saw her again he was finding the softness inside him once again, she was bringing him back to life and this time he wasn't going to let anything take the sun out of his life.

The cold air of New York hit her the minute she walked out of the door; she wrapped her coat more tightly around herself as she walked across the street, the sound of her pilgrim pumps on the pavement mixing with the city noises.

The figure she was walking to had his hands buried in his long coat and was giving her a small smile, his cheeks were rosy and his hair was styled in a very James Dean way, she couldn't deny that he was still the most handsome man she had ever seen.

"Hello" She said once she reached him

"Hi" He answered back and offered her his arm, she took it without thinking twice and they started walking down the street to the small cafe they had visited the first time he showed up here, almost like it was the most natural thing in the world for them. "I wanted to be here yesterday"

"I know" She answered "Stefan told me"

"I have to go back to North Carolina" Damon said in a whisper and Elena almost stopped walking at his words, she knew this was coming. After all he had a life back there but she just didn't expect for it to be so soon. "I'm taking the car so I'll probably have to get out of here the day after tomorrow"

"The day after tomorrow…" Elena's whisper trailed off as he opened the door for the café and they walked inside. The smell and warmness of the place was an instant comfort for her, contrasting from the chilliness that had found a way into her body.

In so many ways Damon was to Elena a storm, he had waltzed back into her life out of the blue, creating havoc and destroying everything she ever believed to be true, only to disappear just as quickly as he had arrived.

"I guess that we both knew this was going to happen" Elena murmured as they sat in a booth in the back, as far away from the people's bustle that they could get.

They both ordered hot chocolate instead of coffee this time and Damon asked for a slice of apple pie for him and cherry pie for her. Elena smiled at the gesture and started folding the napkin that was sitting on the table out of nervousness.

"I don't want to go Elena" He whispered with emotion while she continued playing with the napkin "But I have to" Her movements stopped and she took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm so angry at you Damon" She told him, her voice wavering as her eyes moved up and found his across the table "You came back to mess with my life"

"No I didn't, that's the last thing I ever wanted"

"Well that's what you did" She spat. Elena knew how unfair she was being but the truth was that she didn't want him to go and she had no idea how to react to that.

"Come with me"

"What?"

"Come with me Elena"

"Are you insane?" She almost shrieked and then rolled her eyes when she saw the amusement in his eyes, of all the things she expected Damon to tell her this was definitely the last one.

"Your last performance for the show is tomorrow, take a break and come with me to North Carolina. Come see the life I've built for myself, for us" There was such a certainty and confidence in his eyes that Elena felt tempted to tell him yes on the spot. After all, wasn't that what they had planned all of those years ago, running away together?

"I can't" She answered instead

The waitress interrupted them when she arrived with their order, when Elena took the first bite of cherry pie she couldn't help but close her eyes at the deliciousness that it was. She would never admit it but she hadn't eaten a piece of cherry pie ever since he left.

He smiled at her obvious likeness of the dessert and took a piece of his own before sipping his hot chocolate "Why not?" He asked after a moment.

"Why not what?"

"Why won't you come with me?" He asked as he looked at her intently.

"I can't believe you're asking me that" She told him in disbelief "Let's see, up until a few days ago I hated you to death" She raised one finger to count "And then there's the fact that I don't know you, not really" She raised another finger "And finally, well I just can't throw caution into the wind and jump in your Camaro to North Carolina"

"Well let's see" He leaned forward and raised one finger to count "If I understood correctly you no longer hate me so that's not an impediment anymore" He raised another finger "You know me, you know you do, and anyway this could be a chance to re-discover us" He raised a third finger "And finally, I drive a Mercury now, and I'm not asking you to drop everything and follow me, I'm just saying you seem to need a little vacation and you should come with me because, why not?"

"You drive a mercury?" She asked in surprise

"Yes I do" He nodded before taking another bite of his pie.

"What happened with the Camaro?"

"It's in storage"

"Why?"

"Too many memories"

His words were like a punch to her guts. In a way she understood why he had done it, after all she too had done her best to bury him and cast him out of her life but she couldn't help but feel sad that he had chosen to hide something that meant so much to them back then.

"You wanted to erase me?"

Damon shook his head "That's not what-"

"Unbelievable" She huffed

"Doll come on" Damon smiled in spite of himself. Elena had always been a sweet girl and he could count on his two hands how many fights they had had over their time together; however, right now he was seeing another part of her, the hellcat she could be and he loved every second of it.

"Stop smiling like that! No Damon I won't go on a stupid road trip with you" Elena angrily cut another piece of pie and put it in her mouth, she chewed so furiously that Damon feared she was going to chip a tooth.

"Why not?"

"I already listed you all my reasons"

"Those reasons are crap, tell me a good one"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath "Because it could break us" She whispered "It could break me"

"Elena everything that could ever go wrong with us already did, aren't we broken right now?"

"I don't-"

"Give us a chance"

"I shouldn't"

"You should"

Elena stared at him and couldn't find any more words to refute his offer. He was looking at her so deeply with those baby blues that always made her weak in the knees. There was a huge part of her that wanted to say yes, to jump in his car and drive away as they should have done all of those years ago.

She wanted to run away with him and everything else be damned.

But there was also the other part of her, the cautious one. The one who still held on tightly to those sad lonely nights in Stella Marie, that part told her it was a huge mistake to even consider going away with him because what good could come out of it? They had tried it once and they had failed miserably.

Maybe Damon and her were just not meant to be

"Come with me Elena" He whispered once more as he reached across the table and took her hands in his, she closed her eyes in pain as she let the feel of his hands on her travel all over her body. "Let's run away together"

Was it worth it? Was the pain of reopening old wounds worth the feeling of this man's hands on her body, for his words and the feeling of being unstoppable?

Elena stood at the end of a crossroad, with two parts of herself fighting the other for the right decision. She knew what she was supposed to do but she just wasn't sure it was the right choice.

The question now was would she be brave enough to do what she wanted?

So, what Elena should do?