Elena was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her and Bella. Last night, Elena told Bella about Damon Salvatore, about him being her biological father. To Elena's surprise, Bella wasn't too mad to learn that Damon was her father. As a matter of fact, Bella thought it was cool that she has two daddies now.
Placing both plates on the table, Elena noticed Bella coming down the stairs into the kitchen. "Good morning, sleepy head. How did you sleep last night?" She asked as she helped Bella into her seat and poured her a glass of orange juice.
"I slept alright." Bella said as she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "When do I get to meet my daddy?" Bella asked as she took a bite of her chocolate chip pancakes.
Elena hadn't really thought about actually letting Bella meet Damon. But since it's Bella who's asking, Elena knew it was the right thing to do. "Well, since he's going to be at your cousin's birthday party tomorrow, you can meet him then. Would you like that?"
Bella nods her head as she was happy and excited that she finally gets to meet him tomorrow. "But does this mean that Matt isn't my daddy anymore?" Bella asked as she was starting to get a little worried that Matt might not want to be her daddy anymore.
"What?" Elena asked with a chuckle as she then set her coffee cup down and shook her head. "Bella, sweetheart. You know things between you and Matt won't change anything; he will always be your daddy." She said reassuring her daughter that just because Damon is her real father, it won't change things with Matt.
Bella nodded. "When is Matt coming home?" She asked softly. It's been a few weeks since Matt has left, and Bella was starting to miss seeing him around.
" I don't know, but hopefully soon. Finish up your breakfast so I can drop you off at school." Elena said as she stroked Bella's hair as she took another drink of her coffee. Elena knows that Bella wants Matt back in the house and part of Elena wants that too. But that depends on if Matt wants to come back as well.
Walking into his bar with two boxes of pizza, Damon looked around and noticed everyone was working hard, and he was very happy with everything that was going on. Everything looked great. The bar was fully stocked with booze and liquor. Even the VIP area was good. Everything was working, and it was all in code. In a week or two, Salvatore's bar will be open, and Damon can't wait. He still couldn't believe that he was actually able to pull this off, but he's glad that he did.
"Lunch time. Come on and get a slice while it's still hot." Damon announced to his crew and workers as he opened the boxes and grabbed a slice for himself as he took a seat at the bar.
"So, are you ready for the grand opening?" Mason asked as he opened a beer and placed it down in front of Damon before he opened one for himself and everyone else that wanted one. Mason is one of the new bartenders that Damon hired, along with Kai and Klaus.
Damon nodded his head as he took a drink from his beer. "Oh, I'm definitely ready, and I honestly couldn't do this without your guys' help. So, thank you, everyone. Seriously, I really do appreciate it." He said as he took another bite of his pizza.
"Are you still looking for an apartment?" Klaus asked as he took a sip of his beer.
Damon nods his head. "I've been looking around. But most of them are either too small or not what I'm looking for, and they're all out of my price range." Damon may own his own bar. But he isn't rich, and the apartments in Mystic Falls are expensive.
" Well, if you're interested, I know a great apartment that you can check out." Klaus suggested as he finished his slice of pizza and took another slice.
"Yeah, I am interested. Got an address?" Damon asked.
Klaus nods his head as he grabs a notepad and a pen. After he writes down the address and rips the paper from the notepad and hands it over to Damon. "Just ask for the owner Pearl. She'll help you out and she's great."
Damon took the address from Klaus and looked at it for a moment before nodding his head. "Thanks, man, I'll check it out this afternoon." He said as he slipped the address in his back pocket. With his bar now opening up and hopefully a new apartment soon, things will be going great for Damon. All he needs now is Elena and his daughter by his side, and hopefully that will happen soon.
Elena was in the middle of working on her reports before the next surgery when she heard a knock on her office door. "Come in." She called out as she kept her eyes on her computer screen and her fingers on the keyboard.
Bonnie opened the door and stuck her head in. "Hey, Matt's here to see you. He said he needs to talk to you and that it's important."
Elena suddenly stopped typing when she looked over at Bonnie. "Matt is here?" She asked, really surprised. For weeks, Elena had been trying to figure out a way to talk to Matt, but she wasn't sure if he actually wanted to see her. Now, he was here, and he needed to talk to her.
"Elena?" Bonnie asked as she was trying to get her attention.
"Yeah?" Elena asked as she started biting her fingernails nervously.
" Should I send Matt home or do you want to talk to him?"
Elena quickly stopped biting her fingernails, blew out a breath, and nodded her head. "No, send him in." She said as she sat up straight and tried to stop herself from being nervous. This is Matt, and she has no reason to be nervous around him. But for some reason, she is.
"Is this a bad time?" Matt asked a few seconds later as he walked into Elena's office and closed the door behind him. The last time he was here, he had just learned that Damon was back in town and he confronted her about it. They haven't talked since.
Elena shook her head as she waved her hand. "No, of course not," she said. Bonnie had mentioned that you needed to talk, and she'd stressed how important it was. So, what's up?" She asked, placing both hands on her desk.
Matt sighed deeply as he walked towards her desk and sat down. "My parents are coming into town next week, and they want to have dinner with us." He said, getting straight to the point. Matt knew this was very bad timing, but he didn't know what to do.
"With us? As in with you, Bella, and me?" Elena asked as she raised her brows for a moment. Elena had always gotten along with Matt's parents. But now, with how things are going between her and Matt, Elena isn't sure if this dinner is a good idea.
" Listen, I know things between us haven't been so great lately and I know that you still need your space and that we haven't really had the chance to work out our issues. But my parents really want to see you and my mom does miss Bella." Even though Bella isn't her biological granddaughter. Matt's mom loves Bella just as much as she loves her other granddaughter who she hasn't seen ever since Jeremy and Vicki moved to Chicago.
"Do they know that you're not living with me right now and that you've been staying with Tyler and Liv?"
Matt shook his head. "No, and they don't know about our situation either. Look, it's just for one night, Elena. I would really appreciate it if you could do this for me. Please?" Matt asked with a huge boyish grin on his face.
Elena exhaled deeply, knowing there was no way she was going to get out of it. As Matt said, it was only for one night, and if she needed to pretend that they were still a great couple and everything was going fine between them, even though deep inside, Elena knew the truth. She could do it for Matt.
"Yeah, I can do it," she said, nodding her head slightly and giving him a small smile.
Matt was happy to hear that Elena would do this for him. "Thank you," he said as he stood up and walked around her desk, bent down to hug her, and then kissed her cheek before standing back up and walking towards her door.
Before walking out of her office, Matt looked over at Elena for a moment. "I know things between us haven't been so great lately. But I still love you, Elena, and I'm not giving up on us." He said softly as he smiled and then walked out of her office and closed the door behind him.
Elena closed her eyes and sighed softly as she placed both hands against her face. She knows that Matt still loves her and that he won't give up on them. But Elena just isn't sure if she still loves him anymore, not the way she used to, and ever since Damon has been back. She can't deny the fact that she's starting to have feelings for him again, and it's starting to scare her a little, especially after everything that happened between them in the past.
AN: I hope everyone had a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend. Here's another chapter for you all to enjoy. The birthday party at Caroline and Stefan's will happen in the next chapter and of course Damon and Elena will be talking again. Leave reviews and let me know what you think so far and as always, I will update as soon as possible.