CHAPTER 5

A/N: It's been about three months since the sacrifice and Stefan's disappearance. Life goes on for Elena even though she misses Stefan. Today is a special day. Lots of cuteness ahead, but this chapter is also TV-MA for a reason. Just thought I'd give a little warning. Feedback is appreciated!

"Wake up sleepy head." Damon whispered in her ear.

Elena woke to the wet kisses of a puppy against her cheek and Damon's smile. "What? Damon? Elena was still groggy from sleep. The last thing she expected was to see a puppy on her bed.

"It's a Golden Retriever, Elena. He watched as the puppy happily alternating between frolicking and licking Elena's face. "I'd say you're a hit with him."

"But why?" She asked as she petted the puppy who loved the affection he was receiving.

"Have you forgotten? It's your 18th birthday."

"Damon, you shouldn't have." Elena said as she sat crossed legged on her bed playing with the puppy. "He's so cute."

"Why not? He'll grow up to become your best friend. Besides maybe he'll bring some happiness to you...and Jeremy." What was left unsaid is that Jenna's death had left an empty void in their home.

"Thank you. But I don't know anything about raising a puppy." Elena said.

"You mean you've never had a pet growing up, Elena? What kind of childhood did you have?"

"A good one. My parents just weren't pet people. That's all." Elena replied.

"Well, you missed out."

"What about you?, she asked.

"We had horses, a few dogs, and then there was a cat at one time. The cat belonged to my mother." Damon explained.

"The first thing you need to know about this little guy is that he's not housebroken."He picked him up from Elena's bed. "So maybe the best place to put him for now is in the bathroom."

Elena watched as Damon took the puppy and put him in the bathroom, closing the door. Just one more thing she didn't know about Damon Salvatore – he's an animal lover at heart.

"I guess I can figure out how to get him to go outside," said Elena.

"All you have to do is take him out first thing in the morning, after he eats, and again in the evening. He'll catch on to what you want from him," Damon said explaining the intricacies of housebreaking.

"Thank you". Elena smiled. "You've really surprised me."

"Really? You mean that's all it took to surprise you and not the super sleek sports car that I was thinking of buying you.? Damon said.

"Were you really considering buying me a new car?" Elena said arching her eyebrows not quite knowing whether he was joking or serious.

"Seriously." He replied.

"Ok, well I guess I need to get my day started and that includes learning all about dogs." Elena said as she bounced off the bed.

Damon took the hint that he should be going. "What are you doing later?" he asked.

"Why?", Elena replied.

"Want to go to the Grill later?" Damon asked.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Damon?" Elena smiled.

"Nah, I wouldn't do that. Besides you're Stefan's girl." Damon teased.

Her life had continued on despite Stefan leaving with Klaus, but the mention of her being his girl brought him back to the forefront.

"Do you think we'll ever hear from him?" Elena asked with a bit of sadness in her voice.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that," Damon responded. "Don't give up hope. I haven't." Damon approached her and caressed her cheek. "So will you join me?"

"Ok, what time tonight?" Elena said looking down at the floor.

"I'll pick you up about 8." Damon said on his way out the door.

A puppy's cry and scratching could be heard coming from the bathroom. Elena opened the door to let the puppy scamper into her room. She picked up the little fur ball. "And what shall I call you?"as she held him close.

MYSTIC GRILL

It shouldn't have come as a shock to Elena that Caroline had set a plan in motion to throw her a birthday bash and Damon was more than happy to be the one that got her there. Bonnie, Jeremy, and even Matt were there to celebrate. Matt and Caroline had grown closer over the last few weeks. She and Damon played a game of pool.

"I'm going to teach you how to get that specific ball into the corner pocket." Damon said as he reached around her to help her line up the shot. His body was pressed against hers which made it even harder to pay attention to his instructions.

"Are you pay attention, Elena?" Damon whispered in her ear causing her to blush a little.

"Oh, yeah, right." Elena recovered from her wandering thoughts.

"Ok, aim and let the cue hit the ball. Not too hard, but just enough." Damon said.

The shot was a success.

"See, I told you I'm the pool champ!" Damon bragged.

"Well, I don't think I'm that bad," Elena challenged.

"No, you're not that bad, but you'll need lots of practice. Damon said wagging his eyebrows at her that can only be defined as eye sex.

Later in the even Caroline presented the birthday cake with 18 candles. There was a time not all that long ago that Elena thought she'd never see her 18th birthday, but here she is standing in front of 18 candles.

"You have to make a wish." Caroline said.

"Ok, here goes," Elena said as she closed her eyes for a moment before blowing out the candles.

Before the night was over, they danced to a song that conveyed all things that Damon had always wanted to say.. Elena spoke first. "I never thought I'd make it to this day", she said as she looked into his blue eyes.

"And here we are. We got through it," Damon replied as he held her closer.

"Yes, we did, " Elena smiled. Over his shoulder she could see Caroline and Bonnie watching them. "I think we have some onlookers."

"Let me guess – Bonnie and Caroline." Damon said with a bit of sarcasm. He tuned in to hear what they were saying about him and Elena. Caroline being Caroline was speculating on his and Elena's relationship and Bonnie was agreeing. He smiled to himself. It wasn't like he had tried to hide how he felt about the woman in his arms.

PARTY TIME!

Katherine was bored. Klaus and Stefan had been gone for some time. The thought had occurred to her that she should just get the fuck out of there. After all, she wasn't under compulsion to stay. She stayed because she was curious as to how this whole thing was going play out. What was Klaus up to? Most of all, there was Stefan. She had always thought there was something different about him – different from his brother. She was right. He was meaner and rougher under that exterior that he put up for the world and his little boring girlfriend to see. It was the fact that he's a ripper – one of the most vicious vampires that exist. Maybe this was the trap. She won't leave Stefan. So she poured herself a strong drink and blasted the music.

She was dancing around the room when all of sudden the volume was turned down. "Klaus! You're such a buzz kill." she said as she whirled around to face him.

Klaus and Stefan had returned with an entourage of girls. "Who are they?" Katherine asked pointing to them.

This time Stefan spoke up. "We're having a party tonight. You like parties, don't you Katherine?" He had his arm around the shoulder of one of the girls.

Katherine could see that all of them had already been compelled. "What are you up to, Klaus? Why bring all these girls here just to feed off them or kill them – whatever?

"Ah, Katerina you're so curious. Ever hear the phrase curiosity killed the...cat? Who said that I was going to kill them. These goddesses are very valuable to me."

Katherine perused each girl as she casually walked among them. All of them seemed to be anywhere from late teens to early or mid-20s, except one. "Oh, Klaus, are you into kiddy porn? This girl is a kid." The girl she was referring to looked to be no more than 13.

Klaus, now pissed off at Katherine's questions, yanked her away from the youngest girl and pinned her to the wall with lightning speed. Stefan took notice of this, but said nothing.

"Listen, bitch it's none of your fucking business how old she is nor what I'm going to do with any of them." His hand was so tight around her throat that she thought he was going to rip her head from her neck. "Do you understand?" he asked.

Klaus loosened his grip. "Now, what I want you to do for me my dear is to warm that one up. I'm sure you've been with girls before, Katerina, hmmm."

Katherine looked over Klaus's shoulder to see Stefan getting a taste of one of the girls already. The party that Klaus boasted about had begun. He turned the music up full blast once more.

Salvatore Boarding House

"I thought we were going back to my house?" Elena asked as she exited Damon's car.

"I forgot something." Damon said as he came around from the drivers side. "It won't take long."

Once they were inside and entered the living room, Damon went over to the desk where he retrieved a small gift wrapped package. Elena stood nearby, but didn't notice him picking up the package. Her back was turned to him. He snuck up behind her.

She could feel his presence behind her even if it was with vamp speed. Elena had gotten good at not being startled by a vampire's ability to do this. "Damon, I know you're right behind me," she said as she turned around.

"Aww! Elena you take the fun out of a surprise." Damon feigned disappointment.

Elena looked down at the beautifully wrapped package in his hand.

"We came back here so I can give you this," he said as he handed her the gift. "Open it."

Elena quickly unwrapped the gift tossing the paper and bow onto the side table. Inside was an engraved journal with her name on the cover. "It's beautiful, Damon. How did you know that I needed a new one?" she asked looking into his eyes and then back at the ornate lettering of her name.

"Just a lucky guess. I figured that with all that's happened, you must be running out of pages. Besides it's to welcome you into adulthood. It's a brand new chapter in your life," Damon said with a slight smile on his face.

Elena didn't know quite what to say as she opened the book and ran her fingers over the quality paper inside. "Thank you." she said again barely above a whisper that only a vampire could hear.

What Damon didn't expect was the soft kiss that she placed on his lips reminiscent of the one when he had accepted his inevitable death. Where this was leading was unknown. She laid the journal on the side table.

Her hands framed his beautiful face as she reached up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. It was not just a gesture of thanks for the wonderful day that she had experienced with him. It was because of the growing attraction that they both shared. They had grown closer in the few months that Stefan had been gone. It felt right. It felt natural. They had come close to kissing before now, but neither seemed to open that door until now.

He pulled her closer into his arms as his tongue explored her mouth. Her tongue danced with his igniting the fire inside both of them. Her hands left his face and went to his hair as she pressed her body against his. A moan escaped her mouth when she had to come up for air. He rained kisses over her face. Soft and sensual kisses that heated her skin. Elena needed more. Her lips found his again. This time she took the lead.

It was all leading up to this – right here, right now. Damon wanted her badly. He always did, but he was also a realist because he knew that she may never love him the way he loves her. He survived almost certain death and had been forgiven for his impulsiveness. She told him that she likes him now just the way he is. It was all so uncomplicated. He didn't have to become someone she approved of to be liked, but did she love him? They hadn't talked about that night since then. It had been hanging over them like the pink elephant in the room. As heated as their kisses were, they could lead to him making love to her upstairs in his bed. He had to know where he stood – where they stood.

He was the one to pull away this time. "What are we doing here?" he asked her as he looked into her beautiful brown doe eyes. His hands framed her face. "I love you so much, Elena, but it's always going to be Stefan, isn't it? Tell me what's going in there." he said as he placed his hand over the place that housed her heart.

A tear fell from her eye as she listened to the words he was saying to her. She could no longer say that it will always be Stefan. She could no longer make that statement with such ease as she did before. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when her feelings for Damon had turned to love. She didn't know when or if Stefan would ever return. The one thing that she was determined to do since that fateful night that changed her life forever was to live her life. She wanted both her and Jeremy to move on with their lives because life was so fleeting and couldn't be taken for granted.

"I love you." Elena said softly as she placed her hand over his. "I love you." she repeated in case he didn't believe it.

It took a beat to register what he heard. Elena said she loves him. No woman had ever said that and meant it before now. He had assumed that Katherine loved him because of how he felt about her. He went so far as to drink her vampire blood just to be with her for eternity. Facing reality meant facing that he never heard those words from her lips. He just blindly thought he was enough for her and that she loved him with the same intensity that he loved her. It only took him almost a century and a half to hear those words from the beautiful human girl in front of him and it was worth all the heartache. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

His lips found hers and their tongues dueled once more. His hands caressed her hair just as hers had done. Their kisses grew more passionate by the second. He could feel the warmth of her hands under his shirt and she explored his bare skin after pushing his shirt up.

Elena felt the zipper on her dress slide down. She let the garment fall around her shoulders as Damon delicately touched her. There was a hitch in her breath when he touched her a certain way. She put just enough space between them to let the dress fall to the floor around her ankles so that she could step out of it. She could see the fire in Damon's eyes as she closed the space between them. As his found the clasp of her bra, she pressed herself harder against his erection that straining to be released from his jeans.

His fingers teased her nipple. Damon slid his hands down to her ass. The article of clothing left was a pair of red lace panties that matched the bra that had been discarded along side her dress. He teased her by sliding his hand between them, but not inside her panties. He could feel how wet she had already become after stroking her little bundle of nerves.

Elena pressed her sex against the fingers that teased her. She could feel the wetness pooling inside the panties that she still wore. His name slipped from her lips as she helped him discard his shirt. Her tongue traced circles along his collar bone and his chest before returning to his lips and his hands cupped her breasts. His thumbs teased her hardened nipples before sliding down to cup her ass. She wrapped her legs around him as he supported her weight. The next thing she she knew like a flash of lightning, they were in his room. He smiled at her in the naughtiest of grins ever as he watched her hand slide up his erection to his belt buckle. He watched as she unbuttoned his jeans and slid her hands inside to push them down.

Elena watched as he kicked off the jeans. Her body was on fire for him as he stood before in black boxers. His large erection was very prominent beneath the fabric. She alternated between licking and kissing his chest. Her tongue darted out to lick first one nipple and then the other. He stopped her before she could go further. He brought her mouth to his and his tongue plunged into hers again as he backed her towards the bed. When the back of her knees touched the edge she climbed onto it never breaking contact with Damon. He was between her legs as she slid further back onto the bed.

He slid his hand into her panties. He could smell her arousal, as well as feel her slippery juices on his fingers. She spread her legs even further apart. He pushed them aside and teased her bud with his tongue before pulling the lacy material down her legs.

Elena watched him take off his boxers. His erection stood at attention as he climbed onto the bed. Damon explored her body slowly. She gasped as his tongue circled her nipple. Then he lavished attention on the other. Slowly, as he kissed his way down as his hands stroked her inner thighs. He placed kisses up one thigh and then the other. When he got to the apex of her sex, he slid two fingers inside her. He curled his fingers inside her causing her to squirm beneath him. He alternated between that and fucking her with his fingers. He filled her with yet another finger which caused her to moan his name. She felt his face between her legs and her clit between his lips as he tongued it while his fingers pumped inside her. Elena spread her legs even more as she reached for him. A hand full of his hair was in her grasp. She could feel her climax building and building inside like a tight coil that begged to be released. "Oh, Damon!" she moaned. The more she said his name, the harder he pumped his fingers inside her as he tongued her swollen clit. "Oh, god she screamed. Two more swipes of his tongue against it sent her flying over the edge. She screamed his name again and again as her walls spasmed around his fingers. Her breathing was erratic. Damon had caused her to have the first intense orgasm of her life.

Damon rode out her orgasm as she quaked around his fingers. He loved the way she tasted on his tongue. He brought her on top of him. For a moment she gazed into his eyes before their lips met once again. Elena kissed his jawline and worked her way down to that trail of hair just below his navel and nuzzled it against her cheek. Her tongue darted out to lick the pre-cum from his cock. She stroked him hard as she licked him clean.

Damon watched Elena licking and stroking his cock and the way her hair partially hid her face. The sensations that she created inside his body ignited a fire and he could feel his cock swell even more inside her mouth.

Elena traced a path back to where she had started, kissing and licking spots here and there. His hands were in her hair. She was so wet and she wanted him inside her now. "I want you so much" she said against his lips.

Damon flipped her over so that she was on her back as she spread her legs for him. Elena could feel his cock at her entrance. "Yes." she pleaded. Damon penetrated her slowly, allowing her to adjust to his girth. His thrusts were slow at first, but quickly picked up pace as she met each thrust. Each thrust brought her closer to another orgasm.

Damon kissed her fiercely. He was buried deep inside her. He held her arms above her head as her cries of ectasy signaled she was close to coming again for him. "Baby, come for me." he said as he thrust even harder. He slipped his hand between their bodies to rub her clit. His fingers and his cock hitting the right spot sent her flying again.

Elena found herself on her knees as Damon entered her wetness from behind. His lips sucked on the most sensual place on her neck as he thrust hard inside her. He held her firm against his body. She met his every thrust and every so often she would scream his name because he brought her to greater heights of bliss than before. She couldn't believe that he was bringing her to brink of another orgasm. "Damon come inside me", she screamed as his thrusts became more intense.

"You want me to come?" Damon asked as he flipped her over onto her back.

"Yes!" she screamed. She could feel his erection swell even more even more,

Her legs were over his shoulders as frantic thrusts brought her to another orgasm and his own earth-shattering climax followed hers.

Klaus and Stefan were distracted by the girls or so Katherine noticed. She pretended to do as she was told. She touched the girl in a not too sexual way, but enough so that Klaus would not be suspicious. When she was sure that the two men were fully engaged in the orgy of blood and sex, she grabbed the girl.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl in a hushed tone.

"Hanna", the girl said sounding scared.

"Look, Hanna," Katherine said. "Look at me." she commanded. The girl obeyed. "Get out of here. Get as far away from this house as you can. You've met us and you're to forget what you saw here", Katherine said as she put the young girl under compulsion. The girl parroted back what Katherine told her to forget, yet still looking confused.

"Now get out of here!" Katherine hissed. The girl turned and ran from the house, not looking back.

Katherine turned attention to what was going on inside the room. Some of the girls were blindly dancing to the music. One was being taken care of by Stefan who had her bent over the couch. Klaus...he had his fangs in one of the girl's neck.

She sped over to the table where Stefan's cell phone lie. She thumbed through his contacts until she found who she was looking for. Maybe just maybe he would be able save Stefan. She clicked on Damon's name and hit send. Damon would think Stefan tried to reach him, but even better if he is able to pinpoint their location

Elena was fast asleep in his arms. Damon was spooned behind her and pulled her closer to him as he drifted further into sleep. The vibration of his cell phone vibration jolted him out of sleep. The first time he heard it, he chose to ignore it. The second time, it occurred to him that it must be important so he eased out of his embrace to reach for the phone. It was a text from Ric. "Where are you? Call me. Urgent."

Ric had been trying various avenues in order to help Damon find Stefan. Up until now there was nothing but dead ends. Damon slipped out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers on his way to the hallway outside his room so as not to awaken Elena when he returned Ric's call.

"It's about time you called back. Where are you?" Ric said.

"What am I, your girlfriend?" Damon shot back. "What's so urgent?"

"One of my friends in low places has seen some suspicious activity at a warehouse about 80 miles from here."

"What kind of suspicious activity?" Damon asked, suddenly interested.

"He said that a shipment came into the warehouse a few days ago. Some crates. I know that sounds vague, but whoever rented the space has these crates heavily guarded."

"And? How does that tie into my brother and Klaus?"

"He said one of the guys fit Stefan's description."

"Do you have the address? You up for a late night run to this place?"

"I just knew you'd ask", said Ric.

"I'll pick you up at your place in 20 minutes", Damon said before he hung up from the call.

Damon got dressed in a flash. Elena was sleeping so soundly in his bed. He wanted nothing more than to sleep with her in his arms, but this was the warmest lead they've had on Stefan in weeks. Before he left, he leaned over her and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. She had begun to stir. "I'll be back soon." he said softly. She uttered something unintelligible, but the one thing that he heard that made his heart swell was "I love you."