Real Life
Prologue
Reality is like the wind. Or what the wind used to be before weather broadcast technology. You don't know when the harmless and innocent breeze will bring the storm or when it'll change into a violent hurricane. The wind comes and goes and nobody ever knows from where or to where. Reality is the same. Sometimes the surprise is comforting, just like a cool breeze in an awfully hot day. Sometimes there's no surprise, you go through the day without even realizing the wind is there. Sometimes is just annoying and it keeps blowing your clothes and messing up your hair. But sometimes the wind becomes tragic, destructive and devastating. That's the beauty of life although many times there's nothing beautiful about the reality. One day you meet the love of your life in the most casual way. The next day you find yourself lying to them and maybe breaking for good what could have been amazing. But then another day passes and everything is fixed in the name of forgiveness and love. But what to expect next? A lot of things could happen, just like with the wind. Will the next day be just another chapter of routine – that despite unsurprising is still good? Or could it bring the most amazing news? It could be either way but it could also bring the most heartbreaking news. Damon and Elena were about to learn where the wind was headed in the new chapter of their lives.
"So when do you want to tell people?" he asked as they lie on her bed while he looked at the pair of crochet booties in his hands, still fascinated about it.
"Maybe we could travel to North Carolina and then Virginia over the weekend. Are you going to work this weekend?" she asked as she rested her head on his chest.
"I guess I'll only be able to make it next week. If you can't wait, you could call them."
"No, I want to break the news in person," she offered contently.
"Whatever you want, Kitten," he kissed her forehead and for the thousandth time since they moved to her bedroom he moved his hand under her dress and brought it up until it was resting against her flat stomach.
"Do you think Katherine could possibly know a good doctor to recommend to me?" Elena asked. She didn't know anyone who had had kids in New York. She was a little bit relaxed when it came to her own health and her last visit to the OB Gyn must have been two years ago if not longer and she hated the doctor.
"Definitely, that's exactly the area she's planning to specialize so I suppose she knows the names of the best obstetricians in the country"
"But do you think we should wait until we go there next week?"
"I suppose you're at most two months along while I don't know a lot about it I know there's something important about the first trimester that could be about to end. Maybe we should go to some doctor this week, do the preliminary exams and then ask for Kat some recommendation when we visit next week. What do you think?"
"It sounds perfect, I definitely can't wait two weeks to hear the heartbeat! I guess we can hear it already?"
"I have no idea when we got pregnant, Kitten. Thought you were on pill so except for the first all the others were unprotected," his answer although honest meant something totally different from what Elena thought. She was on the pill, she didn't know what went wrong but it was as if Damon was telling her he didn't expect to get pregnant. She didn't either. She did her part to avoid it but it seemed like nature had a different plan for them. She didn't say anything about it. She was quite aware of how fast this was. They had been together for two months and most of that time they spent apart because of her lie but she meant the promise she made on New Year's. She wouldn't remember what happened. It was forgiven and if she tried very hard it would be forgotten too.
But now she was pregnant while she and Damon were still getting to know each other on a deeper level. They were moving in together because of their baby and she wondered if it wasn't too much for him. She wondered if he wouldn't resent her or regret this decision but somehow that doubt faded away when she looked at his eyes. He was absolutely happy, mesmerized but the small life growing inside of her. She didn't question his love for her, he loved her and while it was too fast and probably too dangerous to skip so many steps, they loved each other and they were already in love with the life they created together.
"Do you think we'll have a boy?" she asked closing her eyes at the soft caress.
"Why? Do you?" he asked a little bit confused.
"Stefan has three boys, your father had two boys. I read somewhere that the father is the one responsible for gender definition," she explained as she let her thoughts wonder around more positive ideas. They were meant to be, that was how she felt. The circumstances under which they met each other and how their relationship evolved from there were enough to ensure they were meant to be.
"I don't know… I'd like to have a boy," he answered and she knew him well enough to know that there was more on his mind not because of his words but how they were almost reluctant as he spoke them.
"But?"
"I'd love to have a girl," he smiled thinking of a mini-Elena. That was definitely what he would love the most in the world. After her mother, surely.
She was quiet but content with his answer as she imagined how it would be to have little girl with her boyfriend.
"How about you?" he asked when she went quiet.
"I don't know. Lately when I thought about adopting for some reason I thought about adopting a girl but when I used to dream about getting pregnant, I always thought my first baby would be a boy," she honestly confessed. She really didn't know which she preferred. She'd be happy with both. She was sure both of them would look a lot like Damon. If even Stefan's kids looked like him she could only imagine how much his own kids would take after him.
"Maybe one of each?" he smirked.
"Twins? They're cute," she smiled as she turned her head up to look at him, his hand still caressing her belly.
"You'll look beautiful when your stomach shows," he changed the subject. He was going to buy a camera because he wanted to register her every day. He wanted to capture the glow on her face and the changes in her beautiful body. He remembered Katherine when she was pregnant. Stefan used to say his wife was never that beautiful and Damon used to agree. Katherine looked breathtaking during her four pregnancies. She was tiny just like Elena was and gaining some pounds flattered her, although she put on very few pounds. He didn't think Elena would be any different.
"I just hope I won't be too big. I like my small frame but if that's how it'll be, I won't care," she smiled showing how the idea of becoming a mother was probably the most important thing in her life and Damon was proud to know he was the one who helped her be that happy.
They talked for a little longer but soon Elena's almost unnoticeable snoring started. He supposed she was tired from the day's events. Poor girl had been sick more times than he could count while he was there for the smallest part of her day. But as his mind drifted Damon wondered about how fast everything between them was happening. While Elena had preferred to take a leap of faith, Damon was less confident. Being a man made him more rational even if he was more sensitive than the average guy. He was worried because their relationship was what he cherished the most but they had a lot going on in their lives.
Just the day before Rose let Elena know the European tour they talked about a couple of months ago wasn't cancelled but only postponed and would happen the week before Valentine's Day. There was the movie and it was demanding more and more of Damon's time. Producing a movie was definitely the most stressful and probably handful part and he just wished it was done already but he knew there was still a long way to go. They were starting to shoot the outdoor scenes and Elena had to play her part soon before she started showing. He even suggested that she drop the part, although it was small, but she refused saying she didn't want to become one of those pregnant women who never wanted to leave the house.
And then there was their relationship's pace. Finding out she was pregnant and deciding to move in together although were certainly part of the plans he had for them he didn't think it would happen so fast. He had said yes to her but leaving Los Angeles would be a bad move especially if the movie reached the success he hoped for. As much as New York was good for the business Los Angeles was the cinema's capital in the world. But maybe they didn't have to live in New York. Elena really considered moving to Mystic Falls and only gave up because she wanted to be with him, so maybe moving to LA wouldn't be something she minded.
Or maybe it would be because although they made great work to learn a lot about each other in so little time, they still hadn't had any of those important conversations as a couple. They didn't know each other's long term plans or dreams. Damon was aware Elena had wanted to become a mother soon but that was it. And for what he understood she wanted it because she didn't believe she would have a man with her and this way she would still have a family. But now she had him and she restored her dreams and she probably would want to have a baby more down on the road.
Thoughts similar to those populated his head for longer than he liked and he realized it was three in the morning and he wasn't the bit sleepy. The girl resting her head on his chest while she slept seemed absolutely peaceful in her sleep in and he found himself getting lost in that picture. She was his treasure and looking down at her partially exposed stomach he realized that no matter what his fears were, they created life together, they loved each other and they were both in this for the long haul. Those thoughts and the soothing sound of her soft snoring had been enough to calm him to sleep but they didn't go away completely.
The rest of their week was busy. Elena had used the free time apart from her boyfriend to keep writing her sequel. She knew the week in Europe in the following month would be time consuming and that once she was deeper in her pregnancy she didn't want to deal with the pressure of having to have a book written, let alone when their baby were there. She wanted to be done with it and it was good that she had a lot of good ideas that she was developing quite fast. Her entire book was already outlined and Rose loved the plots and arcs Elena came up with. Now all she was doing was filling in the blank spaces of her main ideas but as the following Monday approached she couldn't think of anything else but their baby. She did some research on the internet and got an appointment with an obstetrician that had been recommended by a lot of fellow pregnant women she found in an internet forum, Dr. Alex Karev – who happened to be Rose's brother. How much of a coincidence could that be? She had met Alex a time or two since she knew Rose and she knew he was a doctor but she didn't know or didn't remember his specialty. He was still very young, having finished his residency three years ago but still there were more than a dozen women saying he was the best gynecologist they had ever had. Also it was only a first appointment, to help her with her anxiety. They had already called Katherine and let her know they were going there in a few days and she couldn't wait until the doctor recommended her someone, especially if this someone had a busy schedule. Elena couldn't wait to 'meet' her baby and she could tell Damon was feeling as just excited. He had bought her every possible book about pregnancy, since the best-sellers to the new ones released on the marketing. He had also bought a couple of names books. They'd been reading it together and writing down the names they liked the meaning to make their job easier. They didn't want only a name they liked as Sarah, Ellen, Amanda, Jacob, Ryan and Philippe. They wanted something that was meaningful as much as their baby was. They wanted it to represent something beautiful and as each day passed the list grew bigger and bigger.
"Hello," he announced when he entered her penthouse late on Friday. Ever since finding out about her condition he had made an extra effort to arrive home as early as possible. But that night he didn't arrive after nine because of his job. On his way home he passed by a mall and he couldn't resist stopping by to do something he'd been crazy to do a few days.
Two hours later he was happy with his acquisition and couldn't wait to see what Elena would say about it.
"I'm at the bedroom," she yelled back and he could tell by her tone that she had a better day as she sounded cheery and excited.
Truth be told her sickness simply went away. It had been very intense the first days of the week but since the day before she hadn't been sick once. They were happy because she really hated it and he didn't want her to be upset about anything. That was like a dream coming true for both of them despite their insecurities about the timing and the speed it happened and they didn't want anything to ruin it for them.
"No more sickness since I called?" he asked as he approached the bed where she was reading one of the books he brought her. Damon made a routine of calling her whenever he had a break in the studio which some days was three or four times. She said he was being overprotective but he didn't care. He didn't like the idea of her being alone all day in the house and not having someone to call if something came out. Of course there was Caroline and even Rose but they didn't know about her pregnancy and even if they did, he wanted to know personally about how she was feeling.
"No, I'm quite good now," she smiled as he kissed her lips quickly and then moved to do the same to her stomach as he did every day since they found out. It automatically put a smile on her face and she was happier than she had even thought possible.
"I've got you something," he offered his irresistible grin and she felt her heart fluttering. He still had that effect on her, as expected at such an early stage in a relationship.
Handing her the beautiful wrapped box she opened it to reveal a beautiful white cotton and velvet sleeper. It had small puppies engraved on the chest, the velvet representing the fur. It was tiny, probably made for a newborn and Elena's eyes actually shimmered with tears as her hands touched gently the soft fabric.
"It's so beautiful, Dan," she looked back at him and he was just touched as she was.
"He or she will love it, I swear I never touched something as soft and smooth as this fabric," he thoughtfully added and discarding, carefully, the box and its contents on the nightstand she brought him closer and kissed him longingly and tenderly. They broke the contact and getting rid of his coat he soon joined her in the bed as she talked about the most interesting parts in the book she was reading.
"We're going to be parents," she offered.
"Yes, Elena, we're going to be a family. The happiest one," his features were soft and showed how blissful he felt.
"I love you so much," she whispered as she snuggled on his chest closing her eyes and breathing in the happiness he brought to her life.
"I love you, Baby, I love you more than I can say," he kissed her forehead and held the woman he loved while he caressed her stomach with an immense grin on his face.
AN: here goes the sequel. I wanted to give some hints of what are the real life problems Elena and Damon are going to face in this time of their lives. I love Alex Karev, so I couldn't help but making him the doctor.
What do you guys think about it? Let me know. Thanks a lot to my beta, May.
xoxo
Babi