Epilogue

Elena awoke to find the sun beaming brightly into their room, the touch of the heat on her skin and the sound of birdsong in her ears. The rain that had battered their window all night seemed to be a million miles away.

She wriggled out from under Damon's arm, trying not to wake him as she did so. She had to unpeel herself from the sheets, as both she and they, were utterly caked in mud. The room was is a sorry state too; there were puddles of water inside the window and dirty footprints everywhere.

She got out of the bed and stretched, her naked body glowing in the heat of the morning sun.

As she looked down, she felt bad about the mess. She followed his trail of footprints until she reached the window. When she looked up, she did not expect what she saw. She gasped. The garden was transformed!

She ran back towards the bed and retrieved her filthy, damp shirt from the floor and pulled it over her head. She ran to the window and pulled up the heavy latch. It was hard for her to move the door at all, but she managed to get it open just enough to slip outside.

She walked barefoot over the grass, into the space he had created and marveled at its beauty. The first thing that hit her, other than the glorious spectacle of color, was the scent of the flowers. Everything that grew here had been selected for its effect on the senses. She didn't know the names of very many of the plants, but she could spot flowering lavender, gardenias and those ones which she thought were frangipani. She leaned down and breathed each one in, letting their perfume beguile her.

"What are you doing out here?" He said. She turned to look at him, he was leaning in the gap of the door, one arm slung over his head, his legs casually crossed. He didn't have a stitch of clothing on and he looked like something the cat had dragged in. She couldn't help giggling. He pretended to take offense at that and ran over to her and lifted her bodily from the ground.

She shrieked and wriggled out from his arms, he let her escape and when she ran back inside the house, he jogged along behind. He found her in his shower, washing the mud from her hair and skin. He stepped in beside her, pushing his body against hers and encasing her with his arms. He laid a dozen kisses on her neck.

"Did you make the garden for me?" She asked him, her arms slipping around his waist. He gave her a slight smile, but said nothing. "It's beautiful, Damon. I love it."

They kissed as the water ran in rivulets down their bodies, washing away the mud, leaves, sweat and tears and so much more.

They were together at last and for now, that was all that mattered.