I think what I needed to get the words for this story flowing again was all of your kind words on the last update. Thank you so so much! This is part 1 of 2 celebrating Molly's birthday - like i said, the words started flowing and things got long. Hopefully I can get the next update up this weekend when I have time to review it!

Thank you again for reading and review - love you all!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

"There you are," Caroline stated when Elena returned at their motor home, Molly asleep on her shoulder. She sat up from where she had been sprawled across the home's front lounge, already dressed in sweats, a tank top, and a lightweight jacket. "I've been texting you for, like, ever. I got worried when you didn't turn up after the Nationwide Race."

"I don't think I ever turned my ringer on after the race," Elena admitted. "Or, my battery may have died. I haven't actually looked at my phone in a while."

"Where were you?" Caroline pressed, clearly suspicious. Elena pursed her lips together, wondering if she looked guilty. Caroline raised an eyebrow, urging her to come clean. It was like being interrogated by a parent.

"Damon took Molly and I to dinner," Elena confessed in a rush. "And then we got frozen yogurt." Caroline's eyes practically popped out of her eyes.

"What?" she asked. "You have been out with Damon?"

"Shh!" Elena chastised, indicating Molly.

"Sorry," Caroline mouthed. "But, really?" she added in a normal tone. Elena looked around the motor home.

"Where's Stefan?"

"In the garage finishing up race plans or something," Caroline said with a dismissive wave. She was used to him being scarce once they arrived at the race track. "Tell me everything!" Elena nodded, resigned.

"Let me put Molly to bed. Meet me outside? We'll talk out there. I don't want to wake Molly – or for her to overhear anything." Caroline moved so fast she was practically a blur.

"You won't be able to move that fast in another couple of months," Elena told her as she snatched a bag of chips on her way out the door. Her only answer was Caroline's footsteps descending the bus stairs. "Your aunt is insane," Elena muttered to a sleeping Molly. "Let's get you cleaned up and into something not covered in frozen yogurt."

A half hour later, she joined Caroline outside at the picnic table that Ginny would be serving their pre-race breakfast on in the morning.

"About time," Caroline said through a mouthful of chips. "I've had to pace myself."

"You did a terrible job," Elena stated, noting the nearly empty bag.

"Shut up, I'm eating for two. And craving any and all things sour cream." She indicated the sour cream and onion chips.

"You hate sour cream."

"Tell me about it," Caroline stated. "This baby is making me all kinds of weird."

"I craved pickles and tomatoes with Molly," Elena remembered. "I hate them, but while I was pregnant, I thought they were the best things on earth. Molly loves both."

"Doesn't Damon like them, too?" Caroline asked. Elena nodded.

"He does. Butter pickles and fresh tomatoes diced up and tossed with vinegar. I ate it almost every day. I haven't had it since the day Molly was born, but she asks for it all the time." It was odd, now that she was thinking about it, how she had craved two of Damon's favorite foods and had eaten her fair share of spicy food throughout her pregnancy. She didn't care for spicy food, either.

"Speaking of Damon," Caroline started. "Dinner tonight, the park earlier… What's going on there?"

"I invited him to the park after we talked night before last. He needs to spend time with Molly. He wasn't ready to call it a day, so he looked after her during the Nationwide race…"

"Wait, you let him watch Molly?" Caroline interrupted. "Alone? Without adult supervision?"

"Damon is an adult…"

"Technically," Caroline scoffed. "Yet, he doesn't do his own laundry and you let him watch your kid?"

"Molly is his kid too," Elena reminded her. "I figured it was better to give him a couple of hours one on one with her in a relatively controlled environment. She threw a temper tantrum when it was time to leave the park, so she was asleep when we got back to the track. Damon played that match game she loves and took her to watch the race. He even put earmuffs on her. Then, she was hungry, so he asked if we wanted to grab dinner."

"I'm still stuck on the part where you left Damon alone with her."

"He's different with Molly," Elena admitted. It was so clear to her. "He's good with her, you know? It's completely natural to him. She adores him. Like, today, she was standing at the top of the slide in the play area at Chick-Fil-A…"

"Stop," Caroline said, interrupting again. "Damon took you to Chick-Fil-A? There are dozens of restaurants…"

"It's what Molly wanted," Elena said. "Anyway, she was standing at the top of the slide and decided to run down it. He saw her about to do it and jumped up to stop her. Before he could get to her, she was already halfway down. She fell. She didn't get hurt, but it scared her. He held her, talked to her, calmed her down. I tried to take her, but she wanted him."

"Do you trust him?" Caroline asked.

"No," Elena admitted. "He's good with Molly, but he has spent a long time doing all the wrong things. It's great now, Damon being the fun guy that Molly is getting to know, but I don't trust him. I don't trust him to stick around. It's going to take more than one good day to get me to change my mind."

"How are you doing with all of this?" Caroline questioned. "Be honest with me. Don't give me some song and dance about Molly being your priority. I know she's your priority and that you won't do anything to jeopardize her. I'm asking about you." Elena took her time to formulate her answer.

"I have no idea," she finally said. "There is a part of me that absolutely hates him. I know that sounds harsh, but he broke my heart, Caroline. He absolutely shattered it. To this day, I still don't know why. I can guess, but I don't know what made him leave. He just walked away. We were having problems, but he still blindsided me.

"Then, there is a part of me that is completely indifferent to him. I don't care what he does, where he goes, how he spends his free time. He walked away. He made his choice. I've moved on and built a life for myself. I just don't care, you know?"

"I'm indifferent," Caroline said. "I know he's my brother-in-law, but he has consistently hurt the people I love. I don't care what he does." She pauses. "That's not true. I'll kill him if he hurts Molly. He's already hurt you, Stefan, Ginny and Giuseppe. If he does anything to hurt Molly…" Elena nodded in understanding. Caroline was a mama bear, in every sense of the word.

"Despite everything, there's still a part of me that – cares for him. Things he says, things he does... He keeps a lot inside. He's angry about everyone keeping Molly from him. I get that. But, on the flip side, it bothers him that you and Stefan and his parents knew about Molly, have been a part of her life and mine. He made a comment about how we had our own family and he was off by himself, all alone."

"He chose to be alone," Caroline stated, her voice hard. Elena nodded in agreement.

"He did. I think he knows that. I think it's the 'why' that he doesn't know. Or, he does know, he just doesn't want to deal with. Then, there's the accident. He's said a few things… I think he's still pretty shaken up over it." Elena stopped and shook his head.

"Everything is a mess," she said. "I feel like we're digging through a pile of rubble, piece by piece. One of us is going to grab the wrong piece one of these days and the whole thing is going to come tumbling down."

"It's a house of cards," Caroline said. Elena nodded.

"It's a house of cards."

Damon nursed a soda, seated in a lawn chair in the dark garage. He needed some space, some time to think. It had, easily, been the best day he had had in a while. For hours, he felt – normal. He felt like he had a place, a purpose. He wouldn't go as far as to say he had felt like Molly's father, but he had felt like – something. Like he was more than just a NASCAR driver with a checkered past or the son and brother of a disappointed family.

Parting ways with Molly and Elena an hour ago had been more difficult that he expected. Handing over a sleeping Molly covered in frozen yogurt to Elena outside of their motor home was like handing over a piece of his heart. Which, Damon reasoned, he was.

For the evening, he let himself forget that his life was complicated. Molly made it easy. He was biased, but he was sure there had never been another little girl as beautiful, smart, and funny as his daughter. She was full of energy, stubborn as both he and Elena combined. She was curious, wanted to know everything about the world around her.

And then there was Elena. Dinner had been the first time since her return that they had just simply been around one another. They weren't arguing over anything or walking on eggshells. They were just together, enjoying, or at least tolerating, one another's company. At the time, being with her and Molly, looking every part the happy family to outsiders, felt right. Now, though, alone once more, he couldn't stop himself from going down the path of what could have been.

He had a lot of regrets in life. He couldn't begin to list them all. His biggest one, easily, was letting Elena go. His stomach had flipped the morning he left her. She was still asleep. He could remember with clarity how peaceful she looked, her hair fanned out over her pillow. He had leaned down and placed a ghost of a kiss on her forehead before turning and walking out of the door. He had spent every day since wishing he had looked back.

It would be a full on lie if he denied he still had feelings for her, but he had gotten good at lying these days, especially to himself.

"Staring at it isn't going to make it run any faster," came a voice. Ric appeared in the garage doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked.

"Forgot my phone in the hauler," Ric answered, holding up his phone. "What are you doing here is the better question. We could get in trouble with NASCAR if an official found us. They might think we're tampering with the car."

"I needed some space," Damon admitted. "The crew is at the motor home and, well, my parents are around. Fans are mulling around the infield, so here I am."

"You okay?" Ric asked, observing his old friend. He leaned on the back of Damon's racecar. Damon sighed. He needed to talk to someone and he didn't have a whole lot of options.

"Molly is mine," he told Ric. He waited for several long moments while Ric processed what he had just heard. Finally, Ric nodded.

"I thought so."

"I know you did," Damon admitted, thinking back to the day of the snowstorm when Ric inquired about whether Molly was his. "I think I knew all along. I just couldn't deal with it on top of everything else going on."

"So… What now?" Damon shrugged.

"Molly doesn't know I'm her dad. I'm getting to know her, trying to prove to Elena that I'm not going to cut and run."

"You're saying you want to be a dad to Molly?" Ric pressed.

"I do," Damon nodded. "I couldn't want to walk away if I wanted to. Elena doesn't buy that, but why should she?" Ric pursed his lips to stop himself from saying something he would regret about Damon's history of walking away.

"Has Elena said why she kept the munchkin from you?" he asked, changing the direction of the conversation.

"She tried to tell me about Molly," Damon admitted. "She tried over and over again. I wouldn't take her calls. I deleted her emails without reading them. I wouldn't listen to my parents when they tried to talk to me. Stefan tried, even Elena's parents. I just – didn't want to hear it."

In that moment, Damon realized just how monumental his mistakes had been. It was like someone had punched him in the gut. His chest tightened as he leaned forward and tried to breathe. He could blame and point fingers all he wanted, but this was on him and him alone.

"Damon, you okay?" Ric asked, concern evident in his voice. He took a few steps towards him. Damon forced himself to sit upright and drew in another shaky breath.

"No," he admitted. "I lost three years with my little girl for purely selfish reasons. I can't get that back. I can't make up for it. Someday, she's going to ask questions. She's going to wonder why only mommy is in baby photos with her, and I'm going to have to tell her the truth." Damon paused and swallowed hard. He shook his head. "She's going to hate me." Again, Ric took his time forming a response.

"You can't change the past," he said. "But, you can be a good dad from now on. When she does ask those questions, make sure she doesn't have a reason to think of you as anything less than the best dad a girl could have."

"Everything is so complicated," Damon said. "I have no idea where to even begin to make things right."

"Your parents, Stefan, Caroline – all of them knew about Molly?" Damon nodded.

"They have been a part of her life. They have been a part of Elena's life. They would have been a part of my life – all of them – if I hadn't been so stupid." He roughly shoved his hand through his hair. Ric let out a low whistle.

"You, my friend, have built yourself a house of cards." Damon snorted.

"What house of cards?" he asked. "My life is one big pile of rubble. And I'm the one holding the match."

Damon tapped his fingers on his kitchen counter as he waited for Elena to pick up on her end of the phone call. He glanced at the clock, hoping he wasn't calling too late. Her voicemail picked up. He took a deep breath.

"Hey, Elena, it's Damon," he started. His phone beeped, signaling he had an incoming call. It was Elena. He grinned to himself and hit the accept button. "Hey."

"Hey," she replied. "You called? I was in the dining room working on party decorations and left my phone in living room. By the time I made a run for it, I'd missed you."

"I was leaving you a voicemail when you called back," Damon told her. His stomach fluttered with nerves. "Where's my girl?" On her end of the phone, Elena smiled slightly at Damon calling Molly 'his girl.'

"She's asleep," Elena answered. "This weekend wore her out. Put school on top of it, and she barely made it through dinner. Nice change of pace from most nights, to be honest." A dozen more new questions to ask about Molly popped into his head. He went with the first one that came to mind.

"Where does she go to school?" he asked. He cringed internally that he didn't know where his own child went to school.

"St. Marks," Elena answered. "She loves it, and she's doing so well there. Her teachers are Mrs. Craddock and Mrs. Webb. Both of them are wonderful with her, and they understand and work with our crazy schedule. It's in Charlottesville, so it's a bit of a drive, but I want her to have the best education."

"It's worth it," Damon agreed. He made a mental note to check into the tuition. He knew Elena said she didn't want anything from him, but he could help financially. Writing a check was the one thing he knew he could do to provide for Molly.

"Did you need something?" Elena asked. She sounded casual, but Damon could hear the note of curiosity in her voice.

"Um, yeah," he started. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I was thinking… About Molly's birthday tomorrow…" Elena sighed.

"You're not coming to her party," she stated. "It's fine. I didn't tell her you were coming so she won't be disappointed…" It was Damon's turn to sigh.

"Elena," he interrupted. "I'm coming. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He ignored the jab of annoyance and twist of guilt he felt at how Elena jumped to conclusions. "I wanted to see if, maybe, I could take her to Waffle House in the morning, for breakfast. You too, of course. I just… I thought it would be nice…"

"To share one of your birthday traditions with her," Elena finished. On her end of the phone, she smiled softly. The Salvatores made a big deal out of their sons' birthdays. While Stefan had insisted on steak dinners, Damon had requested Waffle House breakfasts. It was the only time each year he ate at Waffle House. "I think she would like that. She'll be a little late for school, but that's okay."

"You're sure?" Damon asked. "I don't know if you have any traditions or anything…" Elena pursed her lips. She had two birthday donuts in the kitchen for Molly's breakfast, intending to wake her up with a candle stuck in a chocolate donut covered in sprinkles, a tradition she had started last year. But, Damon needed this. Molly, too, needed this.

"I'm sure," she said. "Can you pick her up around 7:30? School starts at 8:00, but like I said, she can be a little late on her birthday." Elena bit her lip, surprising herself by what she was about to offer. "If you could drop her off by 9:00, she shouldn't miss too much. Your mom is going to pick her up tomorrow so I can get everything set up for her party."

"I was thinking you would come too," Damon ventured. "I mean, it's her birthday, so I figured you would want to spend it with her."

"I'll have time with her in the morning, and then there's her party. And, I'm going to take cupcakes to her classroom at lunch. I'll have plenty time with her." Elena bit her lip again. "I've had her to myself for her first two birthdays. She's your daughter, too. You deserve to have some time with her."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure," Elena said, even if she wasn't. "She'll be so excited to see you in the morning."

"I'm looking forward to it," Damon confessed. "I have a couple of presents for her. Do you mind if I give her one of them over breakfast? It's nothing she can get in trouble with at school or anything."

"She's a three year old girl," Elena stated. "She will love a present, period." Damon chuckled.

"I guess so," he agreed. "I'll see you in the morning." He hung up and rubbed his hand across his face. He hadn't realized how much he wanted Elena to come along until she wasn't.

"Happy birthday, baby girl," Elena said softly as she gently shook Molly awake. Most mornings, Molly was slow to wake up, cranky like her. This morning, however, she sat bolt upright in bed, her bright blue eyes shining, hair all over her head.

"It's my birthday!" she exclaimed. Elena laughed.

"It sure is," she said. "You're three years old, Molly. I can hardly believe it."

"Three is old," Molly said seriously. Elena chuckled and shook her head.

"You, miss, are just getting started." She stood and picked Molly up. "I have a surprise for you…"

"Presents?" Molly asked.

"Maybe…," Elena ventured. She carried her daughter down the stairs and placed her on the couch where a brightly wrapped package was waiting. Molly looked at her expectantly. "Go for it," Elena told her with a nod. Molly excitedly tore into the paper.

"Samantha!" Molly cried out, hugging the box containing the American Girl doll. "I love it! I love it!" Elena laughed lightly and smoothed a hand over her daughter's ruffled hair.

"I thought you might." She had introduced Molly to the American Girl series during their cross-country drive to Virginia, streaming the series in an effort to keep the child occupied. Molly was obsessed with the series now, especially Samantha.

"Can I take her to school with me?" Molly asked. Elena shook her head. She took the box from Molly and opened it to remove the doll. She had undone all the trappings securing the doll in place before wrapping it, knowing Molly would want to play with it right away.

"Samantha is going to have to stay at home, but she can help me get ready for you party," she said, passing the doll to Molly. "And besides, I have another surprise for you." Molly's eyes started to sparkle as she held her doll close.

"What?" she asked eagerly.

"Damon is coming by to pick you up. He's going to take you to a special birthday breakfast before he takes you to school."

"Day-mun is coming?" Molly repeated. Elena could feel her excitement growing and mentally kicked herself. If Damon didn't show up… "For real?"

"For real," Elena confirmed, sending up a silent prayer that Damon actually showed. "So, we should go upstairs and get you dressed."

"I wanna wear my birthday dress!" Molly said, sliding off the sofa and running towards the stairs. Elena laughed and followed her.

30 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Elena breathed out a sigh of relief as she clipped what Molly had dubbed her birthday bow into her hair. Damon had showed. He was even a few minutes early.

"That's Damon!" Elena said. She took Molly's hand and led her downstairs. She allowed her to run ahead and open the door.

"Hi, Day-mun!" Molly greeted, the door flying open. "It's my birthday!" Damon chuckled as he stooped down to her level.

"I know," he said, reaching for her. "Happy birthday, Princess." He pulled her into a big hug, glancing up at Elena. "Hey, Elena."

"Hey," she replied, watching the scene. She felt her gut twist slightly. She wanted Molly to have this, a daddy who loved and adored her, more than anything. "Come in," she added. With Molly in his arms, babbling about her new Samantha doll, Damon entered the house and shut the door behind them.

"But, Mama said Samantha can't go to school with me," Molly chattered on, Damon listening intently. "Samantha is gonna help her get ready for my party." She looked at Damon. "Are you coming to my party?" Damon nodded.

"I'm coming to your party," he promised. "And, I'm taking you to breakfast. You ready to go?"

"She just needs her shoes and her coat," Elena said. "Molly, can you go get your brown boots? And your red coat?" Damon put Molly down and she darted up the stairs.

"She's pretty pumped about that doll," Damon commented.

"American Girl is her current obsession," she said. "Samantha is her favorite."

"Frozen, American Girl… How do I keep up with all of this?" Elena smiled.

"You just do. She'll be on to the next thing soon enough."

"She's three years old," Damon commented, glancing upward where he could hear Molly singing herself "Happy Birthday."

"She is," Elena said, wondering where Damon's head was right now. "It's hard to believe."

"There's a lot that's hard to believe right now," Damon replied, looking at Elena. Before she could say anything more, Molly appeared at the top of the stairs. She had her coat on, but her boots were dangling from her hand as she descended the stairs.

This was their routine, Damon realized. As Molly reached the third stair from the bottom, she took a seat and held her boots out to Elena who easily slipped them on. Molly then stood, allowing Elena to button up her coat. It was the same pea coat she was wearing the first time Damon saw her. Finally, Elena took the backpack that was hanging from the bannister and passed it to Molly.

"Your snack is in the front pocket," she said. She reached for a lunch box on the bottom stair Damon hadn't noticed before. "Here's your lunch. Damon is going to take you to get some breakfast, and then drop you off at school. I'll be there after lunch with cupcakes for your class, and Gigi is going to come pick you up after school. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," Molly repeated with a nod.

"Now, who is picking you up today?" Elena asked. Again, Damon had the impression they did this every morning.

"Gigi," Molly answered.

"That's right." Elena leaned down and gave Molly a hug. "You be good for Damon, okay?"

"Okay," Molly agreed. "You be good to Samantha. She's in my bed takin' a nap." Elena and Damon both laughed.

"I will," Elena promised. She took Molly's hand and helped her down the last few steps before turning to Damon. "You'll need to sign her in at the office when you drop her off," she instructed him. "It's on the left, as soon as you walk in. Then, walk her to her classroom. She knows where it is. You don't need to walk her in, just to the door. And make sure she has her backpack and her lunch. I don't want her to eat the school lunch. They have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches available every day and I don't want to run the risk of Molly eating something that has been exposed to peanuts."

"Backpack, lunchbox, sign her in at the office, walk her to her classroom, got it," Damon said. He felt like he was operating as part of a covert mission. "You ready, Princess?"

"Yep!" Molly said. Damon stood quietly, watching Molly and Elena exchange goodbyes. Then, Molly came to Damon and took his hand.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Damon asked Elena. She gave him what he thought she meant to be a reassuring smile and nodded.

"I'm sure. You two have fun. Samantha and I have a party to get ready for." She looked at Damon. "This will be good for the two of you. Just… Be careful with her, okay?" Elena's eyes widened then. "You need a car seat!"

"A car seat?" Damon repeated.

"You'll have to take the one in my car," Elena continued. "I'll get it." She breezed past Damon, leaving him to follow. He looked at Molly.

"Come on, kiddo," he said. Molly smiled at him. He led her outside where Elena was putting a car seat in the back of his SUV. He sighed to himself. He had a kid and that kid required a car seat. This was his reality, but it didn't seem real.

"You should be set," Elena said. "Just, make sure she has both straps on and she's buckled in securely. I'll get it back from you this evening after her party."

"I'll handle it," Damon promised. He took care of lifting Molly into the SUV and buckling her in. He took the smile he received from Elena when he turned to her as a sign that he had done things correctly. "You sure you don't want to come?" he asked again, once the door was shut.

"I'm sure," Elena confirmed. She bit her lip for a moment. "Just, be careful with her, okay?" Damon nodded, understanding in that moment that Elena was giving him a chance to earn her trust.

"She'll be fine," Damon said. "We'll be fine."

"I like this place," Molly stated, swinging her legs as she sat in the booth across from Damon. He smiled at her.

"I like it too," he agreed. "How are those waffles?"

"Mama not let me have chocolate chips in my waffles," Molly answered. "But you did." Damon chuckled.

"Just today," he reminded her. "It's a special day."

"It's my birthday!"

"Exactly," Damon said. He reached into his coat pocket then and produced a small box. "Which means, this is for you." He passed the neatly wrapped gift to Molly who looked downright giddy as she reached for it. "I have something else for you, but you'll have to wait until your birthday party this evening for that one."

"I like presents," Molly stated, already tearing into the package. Damon watched her from across the plastic table scattered in dishes, his empty, Molly's still half full, although he had never expected her to eat a whole waffle in the first place. She had managed to pluck all the jalapenos out of his hash browns, however. He had a hard time believing he had any part in creating something as beautiful and perfect as the child sitting across from him. She let out a soft gasp of surprise when she lifted the top off the box. "This is for me?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. Damon nodded.

"It's for you, Princess," he confirmed. "Do you like it?"

Molly fingered the delicate necklace, looking at it with awe. He had wondered – still wondered – if the necklace was too much for a three year old. He had spent hours trying to figure out the perfect present for her. It wasn't just a present for a third birthday. It was the first present he would ever give her. He wanted to make sure it was something special, something memorable.

"I love it," Molly said, her eyes shining as she peered down at the small gold 'M' gold in her hand. It was a simple necklace, just a simple 'M' on a chain. But, it felt like the right thing to give her. She looked up at him. "It's just like Mama's!"

Damon's heart stuttered to a stop.

"What?" he asked, with more urgency than he intended. Molly didn't notice.

"It's just like Mama's," she repeated. "She says hers has an 'E' for 'Elena.'" Damon swallowed past the rock hard lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. He knew Elena's necklace well. He had given it to her for her birthday the first year they were together.

"Does she wear it much?" he asked, unable to stop himself.

"All the days," Molly answered, sliding off the bench seat so she could climb up next to Damon. "I wanna wear mine, too." Damon's hand shook slightly as he fastened the necklace around Molly's neck.

"You have to take care of this necklace," he told her. "You can wear it today since it's your birthday, but I think you should keep it in a safe place and only wear it for special occasions, okay? That way, you don't accidentally lose it on the playground or something." Molly nodded seriously.

"I not wanna lose it," she agreed. "I wanna keep it forever, like Mama." Damon felt his heart twist again. It probably didn't mean anything, that Elena kept the simple necklace, still wore it, even. But, he also knew Elena.

Maybe he wasn't the only one holding onto the past.

And there you have it. Part one of Molly's birthday. Elena and Damon are growing closer, without really realizing it. I think you'll really see that next chapter - and maybe they will, too - hint, hint. ;)

Let me know what you think!