WARNING: LONG AND EMBARASSING AUTHOR'S NOTE TO COME

Happy TVD Friday everybody! *cries hysterically*

I just wanted to take a minute today to say thank you to everyone who has supported my writing, some of you have been with me since the beginning and some of you are new but you all mean the world to me.

Today marks the end of the only TV show I've watched religiously since the beginning, I was a fifteen year old girl when it started and thanks to it I realized I had some stories to tell and decided to start writing, this show also allowed me to meet some amazing people, like all of you, and gave me some amazing moments.

I hope that once this over we can all find a way to keep the fandom alive in this place like we kept Delena alive for the last two years, I would hate for it to stop being as active as it is right now.

So the end is here folks! I hope we can all enjoy it today.

Love you all.

Sam

Your heart got a story with mine

Your heart got me hurting at times
Your heart gave me new kind of highs
So what to do…Still falling for you

It took us a while
'Cause we were young and unsure
With love on the line
What if we both would need more
But all your flaws and scars are mine

-Ellie Goulding-

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Damon and Elena spent their first couple of days in North Carolina in complete bliss. He was up with the sun every day but refused to wake her up when she looked so peaceful snuggled up in bed; instead he prepared breakfast and stored it for her before going to check on the restaurant.

She arrived around ten and hanged around with him, his whole world brightened when she crossed the doors and his staff had already noticed. They couldn't stop giving him grief about how whipped he was and he didn't even care because the truth was that that girl had him wrapped around her little finger and there was no other place he wanted to be.

In the afternoons he would leave the restaurant and go with her to tour the town, they strolled in the lake shore and ate ice cream before he returned to the restaurant and she went back to the house to prepare dinner.

Everything was very domestic and Damon loved every minute of it, it was all very different from the way he had lived his life for the last few years, it was exactly the kind of life he had pictured for them back in the day when dreaming was still allowed. Damon was almost afraid to breathe in case it could shatter everything around him; he had never felt as happy and as scared at the same time.

"It smells delicious in here" He said with the biggest smile on his face as he crossed the threshold to their house. It was a Thursday night and her second week in his home.

"It always smells delicious when I'm in the kitchen" Her soft voice carried to him and he quickened his pace to the kitchen. He was momentarily stunned when he saw her working behind the counter with her pale pink dress and cream colored apron, her hair was in a ballerina bun with a few lose strands framing her face. She was a vision, and he felt like he was dreaming "Are you going to stand there all day or are you actually going to help?" She told him with a smirk, bringing him out of his day dream.

"You are beautiful" He told her breathlessly

Elena's smiled widened and she pointed at him with a wooden spoon "Compliments won't save you from kitchen duty mister"

"I wouldn't dream of it" He smirked and walked towards her "There's nothing else I would rather be doing" He took her in his arms and bended her as he placed a kiss on her lips

"You do know how to charm a girl Damon Salvatore" She told him breathlessly once he released her

"Only for you" He placed a kiss on her cheek before he started heading towards the living room "Don't think that I'm escaping" He shouted over his shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen. "I just want some music"

"I'll never let you escape" She answered, he smiled at himself and went to the huge radio he had placed in the corner of the living room, after moving it around he finally settled on a station he liked and went back to the kitchen.

They worked happily for the next few minutes, jabbing and joking with each other, having Elena there made everything better and Damon was unable to wipe the smile from his face. Over the years she had turned into a wonderful cook and Damon was always looking forward to her fancy dishes, he was sure there was nothing Elena Gilbert wasn't capable of doing.

A familiar tune started on the radio and Damon's lips formed a big smile as he moved closer to Elena "You're not going to escape from this one" Damon said and took her hand as "My girl" from the temptations carried on from the radio in the living room.

"I wouldn't dream of it" She answered with a smile as he dipped her and twirled her around the kitchen to the sound of the music.

"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day…With my girl" He sang to her as her hands laced themselves behind his neck and his settled on her waist as their energetic dance became rather slow.

"It feels like a dream" She told him, her voice quivering with emotion

"I know. But it's not" He kissed her deeply. Their hands found each other as dinner was forgotten and their hunger for each other grew. He carried her upstairs to the bedroom that they now shared and made love to her desperately, hands gripping, teeth biting, skin against skin. They couldn't get enough of each other, every kiss and every touch only seemed to ignite the fire inside them. They had spent too much time apart and wanted every minute wasted returned to them.

Later that night, after they returned to their dinner and had made love for another time, they lay on his big bed, the room in complete darkness except for the moonlight filtering through the lacy drapes, she finally asked something she had wanted to know ever since they reunited.

"What did you think when you thought about me back then?" Elena asked. They were both lying on their sides facing each other; Damon was tracing patterns across her naked shoulder but stopped when the question left her mouth. "It's all right Damon you can tell me" She said in a soft voice

"Honestly?" He looked at her and she nodded in response "My guess was that your parents had forced you to marry someone, probably that idiot Mason or maybe Matt, they always loved Matt. I always thought that you were raising our child with someone else"

"And yet I wasn't" She whispered and moved closer to him

Damon took a deep breath and asked something he had been dying to get out but hadn't because he was afraid of opening old scars for her "What was it like?" He said in a soft voice, his arm moved to her waist to move her body so half of it was resting on his.

"Lonely" She answered as she traced the faint hairs on his chest "I don't know what would have happened to me without Caroline" A small smile formed in her lips at remembering her friend "The things they said to us… they made us feel dirty. Shameful. Our children were nothing but a token of the disgrace we had brought into our family"

His arms tightened around her at hearing her words, there was nothing more Damon wanted than to erase all of the memories Elena had of that place. How he wished he could go back in time and save her from that cruel fate she had to endure.

"We had to work in one of the place's areas, Caroline and I were in laundry. The food was terrible, they never allowed us any sweet treats or stuff like that but my father used to send a box of donuts every month, undercover of course" A brief nostalgic smiled formed on her lips "We had to go to mass three times a week. There they would tell us more awful things… they were all very cruel and uncompassionate. They never told us anything about the pregnancy or what we should expect at the time of the delivery…only now I realize what barbaric that is"

"I'm sorry" He whispered, his voice echoing in the silence of the dark room.

"There was one nun, Sister Evelyn; she was the kindest soul in that awful place. I will always remember her sweetness and how good she was to me" Damon's hand stroked up and down her back, his touch comforting her, letting her know he was here and she was no longer in that cold and lonely place by herself. "I've never felt more alone than when I was in that place. I cried myself to sleep many nights… I-"She stopped talking and instead placed a soft kiss onto his chest

"You can tell me anything doll" He placed a hand under her chin and forced her to meet his stare when he realized there was something she didn't want to tell him.

"It's not fair to say these things to you because I know it wasn't your fault" She lowered her gaze and moved so her head was resting in the crook of his neck, her breath caressing his skin in the sweetest of ways

"Tell me darling"

"I wanted nothing more than for you to be there, every time I cried at night I wanted to be you the one who comforted me"

His heart squeezed at her words, even if it wasn't his fault there wasn't a day when Damon didn't blame himself for not being with her when she needed him the most, he hated that she had to endure that but most of all, he hated that she had to do it alone.

"When she was born I wanted for you to be there and be happy with me and when they took her away I wanted you there to tell me it was going to be okay" Her voice broke down and she buried her face against his neck.

"I'm here now darling" He whispered against her forehead.

Their child, how much Damon had wanted that baby. How much he had longed for the chance of holding her and watching her grow. He had pictured it all, Elena with a swollen belly dancing with him in front of the fireplace and afterwards singing sweet lullabies to their child.

That life he had dreamed of but that never came to be.

"I'm not letting you go this time"

"I know my love" She told him before placing a kiss onto his jaw "I know you won't ever leave me again" She stretched her hand to his and laced their fingers together.

"I love you doll" He kissed their joined hands

"I love you too" She whispered before closing her eyes and letting the steady beat of his heart lull her to sleep.

He was going to fix this Damon swore to himself. He was going to erase every bad memory Elena had and he was going to heal her pain, it didn't matter how hard the situation seemed at the moment, he was going to find their daughter and make everything right.

The blissful bubble they had been living in shattered the next day when Elena's former friend and now Damon's best friend arrived in town.

Elena had been shocked to see her standing on the porch in a grey jumper dress, a pair of Mary Jane's and glamorous curls on her hair. She barely resembled the girl she had known once upon a time, Bonnie looked at her as well, as if evaluating her. The surprise on her face had seemed even bigger than Elena's and even a hint of sadness had appeared in her eyes.

They stood on the entrance for more than a few awkward minutes, both of them not knowing what to say until Damon had appeared and greeted Bonnie with evident joy, the girl's eyes lit up when she saw him and when he hugged her she clung onto him more tightly than Elena would have liked. She hated that feeling in the pit of her stomach, jealousy. It had been so long since she had experienced it that it took her by surprise with its force.

Damon explained that they were on their way to the restaurant and that she should come with them so they could catch up, of course after he put her things in the guest bedroom where she would be staying. Damon seemed oblivious to the tension between the two women and Elena almost wanted to smile because of it, he was a very clever man but for some things Damon was completely clueless.

Damon and Bonnie excitedly chatted the whole way to the restaurant, making Elena's bad mood only grow with every passing minute. It was hitting her then that Bonnie knew Damon more than she knew him herself. She had been with him through some of the best moments of his life while she was away in New York; Bonnie had taken her place after being the first one to judge him back in the day.

When Damon excused himself to attend some matters with Lisa in the office Elena and Bonnie stayed in the table staring at each other without saying anything for a few seconds. What was there to say Elena thought as she picked her food.

"I'm sorry Elena" Bonnie's voice came in a soft whisper

"Excuse me?"

"For what happened back then" The other girl told her and Elena could see that true regret was in her eyes.

"It's all right Bonnie; it was a long time ago" Elena lied, the truth was that she had thought she had forgiven Bonnie but seeing her again had made old wounds surface. Bonnie had been her best friend since they were children only to be the first one to try to burst her dreams.

"I know but I still want to say I'm sorry" Her former best friend looked at her straight in the eye "I was another person back than Elena, I was blind and too concerned with what other people thought and the ways of the world"

"But you're not anymore?" Elena questioned

"No" Bonnie shook her head with a small smile "I've changed and I see things clearly now. And trust me, there hasn't been a day since I told you all of those things that I won't regret it, I should have supported you and not pushed you away when you needed me the most"

Elena nodded absently, her mind wandering briefly to that sad day. A day that seemed a part of another life completely "And ironically you ended up befriending Damon" She said with a bit more harshness than she intended but Bonnie seemed oblivious to it.

"Yes" She nodded and a dreamy smile appeared on her face "Who would have thought right? But he ended up being so much more than what I expected; I finally understood how wrong I had been back then"

"Of course" Elena answered absently as she watched Damon approach them again. "How strange life is right?"

Damon took a seat next to her once again and looked at them expectantly "So, it's all good?" Elena smiled in spite of herself and nodded

"Yes, everything's good" She laced her hand in his while casting Bonnie a side glance as she pressed a kiss onto Damon's cheek. She hated the part of herself that made her do it and blamed it completely on having spent too much time with eager and ambitious ballerinas.

The rest of their meal continued pretty much as before with Bonnie and Damon catching up and reminiscing about their fun days. They talked about a time when Stefan and Damon sneaked into a rock concert and when the three of them went to a club where they did go-go danced. and Elena was feeling the need to throw up every five seconds.

When they arrived at the house Elena excused herself by saying she was tired and went to bed way too early. She couldn't shut her mind and stop the nasty thoughts from swirling in her brain. In that moment she hated Bonnie, she hated her for being where she was supposed to be for the last ten years, she hated her for judging Damon and then walking into his life like nothing ever happened and she knew there was no reason to feel that way, it was not Bonnie's fault, none of what happened was her fault but she couldn't help feeling that way.

Her thoughts went back to the phone call she heard Damon having a few days ago, he was hiding something from her. He didn't trust her enough to let her know… but she had to trust him?

She hated the entire situation they were in and all the time that was wasted being apart from each other. She was so angry and tired, so Elena went to sleep that night with a very strong headache and a much bigger ache in her heart.

She woke up a few hours afterwards; the restlessness she was feeling made her unable to have a calm sleep. The room was in complete darkness and there was no sound but the steady rise and fall of the man sleeping next to her. Elena stayed still in the bed for a few minutes, staring at what she could see of him in the darkness, he looked so peaceful and calm, she almost touched him but decided against it; instead she threw on her robe and walked out of the room as quietly as she could.

Elena went to the back porch and stood there looking out into the vast river extending before her; her hip was against one of the columns and her arms were crossed against her chest. To her left she could see lights on in Lisa's house and wondered what could the elderly woman be doing at this time of night?

Elena let the air caress her skin and move her floor length robe as her thoughts drifted back to the man lying on the bed inside. To the only man she had ever loved, to the one man who had the ability to break her heart. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear him and only felt him when he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind "What are you doing here?" He asked against her ear

"Thinking" Was her only response

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong"

"Even if you want to believe differently, I know you Elena" His arms tightened around her "Something is swirling in that little head of yours"

"What if this is a mistake Damon" She whispered, her words heavy in the quietness of the night. "What if our time already passed and this is us just holding onto the past?"

"What?" He released her and forced her to turn so he could look at her "Where is this coming from?"

"It's just… we're not the same people we were back then. The Damon and Elena from ten years ago might be able to make it work but us? Can we make it work?" She grew agitated with each word she spoke "I have a life back in New York, a job; I can't just throw it all away. And seeing you with Bonnie today made me realize how much I don't really know you"

His hands cupped her cheeks and his eyes looked at her with a frantic desperation "We've changed, that's right. But the Damon I am now loves you as much as the Damon from ten years ago did. I know you have a job and a life and I'm not saying I have it all figured it out Elena but give it time, give me some time and I'll find a solution for everything" She started shaking her head but he gripped her more tightly "And Bonnie might know things about me because we've seen each other over the years Elena but she doesn't know me, not like you do, nobody knows me the way you do"

"Damon I-"Elena took a deep breath and tried to still her racing heart "Don't you think you might be better with someone like her? Someone who doesn't carry all of the emotional baggage I do"

"Where is this coming from?" he asked her "Elena, I have no romantic feelings towards her, not now, not ever. You're the only girl I've ever loved, the only one"

"It's just I don't know if we'll be able to make this work"

"No, no, no" He took her by the shoulders and pressed her to his chest, her hands instantly going towards his back to hold him "You can't leave again Elena, I won't survive it" He told her with a desperation she had never seen on him before "I can't lose you again"

"It's okay Damon, I'm not going anywhere" She told him in a shooting manner, her hands going up and down his back as she pressed a kiss onto his clothed chest "It's just that I get scared sometimes"

"Then talk to me" He whispered against her hair "If you're scared and in doubt talk to me, don't shut me out"

She broke apart from his embrace and stared at him, the lapis lazuli eyes she loved so much were sad and no longer had the brightness she saw in them in the morning and Elena hated knowing that she was the one responsible for it "I love you"

"I love you too" He caressed her cheek with his knuckles "You'll always be the only girl in my life doll, always" Elena nodded and smiled slightly before burrowing herself in his arms once again. They stayed like that for a few minutes, rocking themselves slowly as the wind rustled the trees and caressed their skin. "Let's go to bed" He told her when he felt her starting to drift off in his arms.

He was not going to let her go again and if he had to spend every day for the rest of his life reassuring her he would do it.

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