Elena swallows several times and feels tears begin to leak from her eyes. She loves him more than she ever conceived could be possible.

Damon smiles tenderly and leans down to capture her mouth in a kiss full of promise. His lips rub intimately against hers and his tongue seeks hers out, touching and caressing, until she gives a small moan. He tears his mouth away from hers to trail small kisses along her jawline, flicking his tongue out to taste her skin.

She smooths her hands over his chest and smiles up at him. "I love you. I've always loved you, Damon."

"Me, too since the first time I laid eyes on you at the skate pond. You were so cute in your little pink skates and fluffy ear muffs," Damon teases and silences her retort with a fiery kiss.

They continue to kiss and caress hands, cheeks, and bodies against one another amid whispers of love and desire. Hands tug at clothing, lips nip, and tongues taste. Elena's heart hammers against her rib cage, her body on fire. Being with Damon always makes her feel like she's flying. By the time they reach their bed, both are panting and frantically pressing against each other. Damon lifts her onto it and slips off her bra and panties. He quickly discards his own attire and pulls her into his arms.

She explores his body, familiarizing herself with his physique. His hands stoke up an inferno within her and soothe her flesh until she screams for release. He complies with her request and presses her deep into his mattress, locking eyes with her as he unhurriedly eases inside, drawing out whimpers from her. He moves slowly, loving her, filling and stroking, until she is hoarse from calling out his name and shouting her love for him.

Afterward, she lays with her head on his chest, her hair fanned out over its chiseled perfection. Her finger traces a lazy circle around his nipple and his hand slowly caresses a path up and down her back.

"Every time is better than the last," he posits, his voice a low buzz rumbling against her cheek.

She smiles against his hot, damp skin. "Mmm, definitely."

They lay silent for a long time, simply pressed together and enjoying one another. He sighs softly and pulls her close, his hand slides up to gently cup the back of her neck. "I love you," he whispers.

Elena trails her hand down over his abdomen to circle around his belly button. "I love you too." She leans down and presses a kiss to the sculpted curve of his pectoral muscle.

Damon gently lifts her off his chest and turns her over onto her back, then props himself up on his elbow and lightly grazes her cheeks with his knuckles. "Are there any toys you want to try out tonight?"

She sends him a wicked grin and a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'm sure I can think of a few things."

"I got worried when I found your side of the bed empty," Elena whispers as she leans on the doorframe. He extends his arms and soon Elena feels herself nestled securely in his embrace. She lays her head on his chest, her arm wrapping around her waist while he holds her close to him. They lay in the dark on the loveseat, Elena listens contentedly to the sounds of Shaye's breathing as she sleeps soundly in her nursery.

"Can you believe we did this? We're parents," Elena whispers after a few minutes of silence. "After everything, we've been through…" She takes a deep breath, her attention never leaving Shaye as she stirs slightly in her slumber.

"I used to dream about nights like this," she muses and raises her hands to gently trace the contours of his face with her fingertips. "I love you."

Elena can feel Damon's eyes on her as he stares with an intensity that brands her very soul.

Damon's heart is racing inside his chest as he looks at her. There is wonder and awe in her eyes as they glisten with tears of amazement and fascination. He could spend forever with her in his arms; his gaze locked with hers and forever still wouldn't be long enough.

"I love you," Damon murmurs against her hair. She lifts her head slightly, as she places her fingers on his face, a small smile on her own.

Their thoughts are simultaneously interrupted by a small whimper from their tiny human. Damon instinctively relinquishes his embrace around Elena to pick up their daughter. Only seconds later, she is back in his arms with Shaye in hers.

"She's ours," Elena whispers after a few minutes and leans down to brush her lips against Shaye's forehead.

"We made that," Damon adds with a smirk on his face.

Elena chuckles lightly before nestling further into Damon's warm and comforting embrace.

"And you're right," he whispers after a few minutes of uninterrupted silence.

Elena tilts her head slightly, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"About what you said before," Damon clarifies. "She's ours. And I'm so glad because I don't know who I am without you and our daughter."

Elena tilts her head up to focus on him. She opens her mouth to speak but is silenced by his lips on hers. The kiss is slow and full of everything they feel for one another and it takes her breath away.

Damon pulls away too soon, his thumb brushing across her cheek, catching a falling tear. "She's so beautiful," he utters in wonder as his gaze falls on their Shaye.

Somewhere between whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears to planting feather-light kisses on the daughter's forehead, sleep consumes them.

In the months after Shaye was born, Elena decided she wanted to try teaching her love of ice skating to young children. Damon and John along with support from the community built a new skating center not far from their home.

Elena demonstrates the elements and the jumps while Sheila watches so she can correct their mistakes.

Damon got a job at their local car dealership as a mechanic and worked his way up to the sales floor. He really found his niche and has earned awards for top salesman of the month several times.

With Elena's encouragement, the two of them decided to make the skating center a family affair. One weekend a month, Damon runs a hockey camp for youngsters who want to learn to play the game.

Having played minor league hockey with Damon, Bonnie's husband Enzo assists him. They really didn't expect to make a lot of money but they have families bringing their children from all the local communities surrounding theirs.

Their start-up money came from the book Elena published about finding her way back to the ice after a life-changing accident. Enzo opened his own law practice in town and helped Elena with her book contract. Her friend, Caroline Forbes is a highly sought-after editor and helped Elena every step of the way. Her book received glowing reviews and shot up the bestseller lists in the non-fiction category.

Elena's life story has all of the elements that Hollywood craves. Her book was purchased by a major studio and is in the hands of a screenwriter. They're still auditioning actors to find the perfect people to take the roles although Nina Dobrev has already been cast as Elena and Ian Somerhalder has been chosen to play Damon.

Considered legally blind, Elena can see things that are right in front of her, albeit a little fuzzy and she has no peripheral vision.

John really became Elena's champion, too, and was relentless in lobbying the school to make accommodations for Elena so she could graduate and she did, with honors.

Damon parks their car and grabs his skate bag from the trunk. Inside, he changes into his skate attire and walks up to the rink, watching from the sidelines as Elena is working with Shaye on a footwork sequence.

"Watch my feet," Elena tells her as she demonstrates some moves.

"Kay, Mommy," Shaye says as she preps to do her footwork. She has no trouble mimicking the movements that Elena demonstrated and then continues with her routine.

"You're amazing, little one!" Elena squeals as she kisses her chubby cheeks.

"A bit wobbly there, little girl," Damon calls out, alerting them to his presence.

"Daddy!" she yells as she darts from Elena's arms. Damon scoops her up and plasters her face with kisses.

"I not wobbly!" Shaye pouts as he sets her down.

"I was teasing," he smirks as he tugs on one of her pigtails. "I used to do that to your mommy, too. Now show mommy what we practiced."

Shaye smiles as she skates to the center of the rink. Damon walks over to Elena and kisses her neck. She melts against him before kissing his lips.

"I'm ready Mommy!"

"Okay, baby, girl," Damon acknowledges her as he and Elena step close enough for her to see. For a three-year-old, she moves easily on the ice, having inherited her mother's natural grace and ability.

She has the talent to be an amazing skater but it takes a lot of hard, hard work and money. If competition is something she wants when she's older, they'll find a way to make it happen. At this age, ice skating is fun for her and they'd like to keep it that way.

Shaye makes a beautiful figure eight and holds her pose, her smile incandescent.

"That was perfect," Damon sweeps her into his arms and turns to Elena. "It's mommy's turn." He winks at her.

Damon finds Por Una Cabeza on his phone's YouTube app and clicks start. The music begins and Elena moves effortlessly across the ice as he and Shaye look on in wonder. He's so proud of all she's accomplished and her beauty on the ice is unrivaled.

Her routine is short and as the music ends, Damon and Shaye skate over to her and he takes her in his arms and kisses her fiercely.

"What was that for?" she replies breathlessly.

"I've had a busy day and I needed it," Damon smirks and waggles his brows at her.

"I have something to show you," Elena whispers in his ear.

Damon pulls away and looks at her as she pulls an envelope out of her jacket pocket and hands it to him. He looks at her curiously as he opens it and pulls out a sonogram image.

"You're pregnant?" Damon blurts out excitedly.

"I am," Elena smiles from ear to ear. "Roughly twelve weeks."

"Babies!" Damon gathers her in his arms and kisses her face, neck, jawline, and finally her lips.

"Congratulations," John calls out as he enters the skating center.

"Papa!" Shaye squeals as she runs over to John who scoops her up and puts her onto his shoulders.

"How about some ice cream?"

"Yummy." She claps.

"Ask Mommy and Daddy," John tells her as he holds onto her legs securely.

"Can I get ice cream with Papa?"

"Go on, you two," Elena laughs.

"I'll bring her home," John calls over his shoulder as they leave the skate center.

Damon embraces her from behind and lays his hands on her belly. "I wasn't expecting this one."

"Neither was I. I went in for my routine pap smear and the doctor told me I was pregnant."

"It wasn't like we were taking any precaution," Damon quips and plants a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you, Elena. I love our family and our extended family. I wouldn't change anything about our lives, not even the rough spots. I'm not so naive as to believe there won't be a few more bumps, but you and me, we're living the fairytale."

"Just you and me and Shaye," she sighs as she rests her head against his chest.

"Plus, two!"

Now I can take my time
I can see my life
As if comes up shining now
Reaching out to touch you
I can feel so much
Since I found you
Looking through the eyes of love

Thank you all so much. It's always bittersweet when we reach the end of a story but I'm always proud to be able to say I complete my work.

Think of younger versions of Ian and Nina playing their roles in Elena's story.

This story is based on the original (1978) version of the movie, "Ice Castles" starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson (The voice of the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast movie.) It's a good one. Lynn-Holly was a professional ice skater so she was able to do the skating scenes. There was a lot of original content in this but there was also movie dialogue- all credit to the script and screenwriters.

The chapter titles were lyrics from the Melissa Manchester song, "Through the Eyes of Love" which was the theme for Ice Castles.

Have a fantastic day and weekend.