Meeting the Parents

Chapter 20

"Here you go." Damon smiled as he handed the little suitcase over to Elena.

She grabbed it from him. "Thank you." She smiled as she handed him the passport back.

He took it from her hand placed it into his bag for safe keeping. He then took her hand into his as he said. "You ready?"

"To meet your parents?" She raised her eyebrow. "No."

He shook his head. "Don't stress, they'll love you." Damon reminded her.

"Yeah, sure they will." Elena mumbled nervously.

Damon shied. "There is only one way to concur this fear Lena." He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing him. "Look at it this way. Even if they don't like you I don't give it crap. It's not like I need the opinion of my parents when it comes to dating." He stared deeply into her eyes. "I love you and no one is going to change that."

Wow, this was something Elena had not expected to hear from Damon. In all honesty, she didn't expect him to tell her this. It made her see their relationship in a completely different level. He was willing to love her despite the fact that his parents wouldn't approve of her. It didn't ease her fear when it came to meeting Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore but it did help with knowing the fact that she still would be with Damon even if his mum and dad didn't particularly like her. "Thank you." She whispered.

He smiled as he started to walk. "I have to admit that I feel completely relaxed about this reunion. I know it's going to go well."

"We'll see." Elena mumbled.

Donati stood next to the chair his wife was sitting on. He didn't speak, he just waited nervously as he watched the passengers pass by. "He should have arrived 15 minutes ago."

"The flight was delayed." Marissa answered as she stood up. "They'll be here soon." She said as she picked up her purse.

Donati kept quiet for a few moments. He continued to watch the people walk past them but it didn't help to calm his nervous down. He was excited to see his son, no doubt about that, but he worried that Damon might find out about what happened. He didn't want him to...he didn't want him to worry about family drama now that he had found a new girl for himself. He has hopes for Damon to settle down and find a steady life for himself. He turned to Marissa. "Hey... Sweetheart, we need to resolve this."

Her blue eyes stared into his green ones. She had those glistening tears in them still. "Don't start. I-I can't right now."

"Then tonight. I'll book us into a hotel and we can-"

"No!" She yelled but in a low tone. "I'm not going to a hotel. I can't."

He bit his own tongue, cursing himself for even suggesting it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it-"

"Donati, just stop." Marissa told him. "I know you're trying to make this all better, but that's not what I need right now. I need to feel the pain of what I went through...what I lost. I need to face reality." She told him, a tear in the corner of her eye. "I don't blame you, even though it might look like that since I've been avoiding you but it's not. I-I just need time. Please understand."

He tired to understand, he really did but his primary goal was to help her. He felt the pain of it too, how could he not after watching her go through all this and become so crippled. He didn't even want to think about what could have been if he hadn't...he just couldn't think about it. He walked up to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "I understand. I will be here if you need to talk, but if you don't just know that I'm here for you."

She smiled weakly. "I know. I know."

"Are those you're parents?" Elena pointed to an old couple waiting in the corner of the airport entrance.

Damon glanced before he shook his head with a smirk. "No, my parents may have their age but they certainly don't look like they do."

"Oh…I didn't mean to offend your parents or anything. I just thought that they were your parents because they were looking in our direction."

"Well, they're not. They are." Damon said as he looked ahead with a smile on his face. Elena gaze followed his and she was met with a woman with raven black hair, in a beautiful blue dress and a man in a business suit. They looked modern, good looking and certainly well dressed. The woman's smile was from her left ear to her right. The man had a crooked smile, a little like Damon's. Elena noticed how they both glanced at her before smiling.

"Damon Angelo Salvatore!" The woman said in a perfect American accent as she approached them. She was even more beautiful up close. She was basically the spitting image of Damon. Elena could tell the resemblance instantly. The man, who Elena assumed was Damon's father, approached her with his hand extended. "You must be the beautiful Elena?"

Elena felt embarrassed; he seemed so formal even though his words were anything but formal. She didn't really know how to reply, so she kept it simple. "Yes, I'm Elena. I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Salvatore."

"Donati, please darling." He took her small hand and shook it lightly.

"Donati." Elena repeated feeling a little more relaxed that the man was okay with first name bases.

"Don't strangle her, will you." Elena heard Damon mutter behind her. She turned to face him but never reached his face. She was instantly met with a pair of blue sparkling eyes that belonged to Damon's mother. "Sweetheart! Welcome!" She immediately went for the hug. Elena felt a little wired by this but then she remembered Caroline and how the blonde had attacked her in the kitchen, so she wrapped her arms around the woman instantly and hugged her back.

When Marissa pulled back she admired the beauty in front of her. She was perfect. "Well, what can I say?" She turned to Damon. "Perfection!" She squealed.

Damon laughed as he wrapped his arm around Elena. "She's even cuter when she's relaxed."

"I bet!" Marissa smiled as she gazed at Elena. "I'm Marissa, Damon's mother."

"Elena. It's a pleasure to meet you." Elena smiled politely.

Marissa gazed at her for a couple of seconds before saying. "No need for such formalities."

"She's being nice, mum." Damon added not wanting Elena to get the wrong idea.

"I know. I know. I just want her to feel comfortable around us. No need to feel any pressure, Elena. We're just a normal bunch." She smiled.

Elena didn't know what to say, she just smiled. Damon could tell that she was nervous, her palms were sweaty. He took her into a small hug. "Hey, pouty, come on. Relax a little."

"Damon, I'm relaxed." Elena told him in a pretend confident voice as she smiled at his parents.

"Lair." Marissa smirked. "He can tell that you're not relaxed because he's sleeping with you, but I on the hand have the gift of sensing these things." She smirked as she reached out and grabbed Elena's hand. "I'll borrow her for a while, thank you." She told Damon.

"Hey! Woow. Easy there. Not so fast." Damon laughed. "She stays with me until I'm certain you're not going to freak her out."

"Damon!" Marissa stared at him. "Do you really think I'm that…pesky."

Damon laughed. "Mum…have you met yourself?"

"Damon." Elena scolded him in a hushed tone.

Damon stared at Elena for a few seconds with a smirk on his face before turning to his mother. "Fine, she's all yours."

Marissa beamed. "Wonderful." She turned to the girl next to her and smiled. "We are going with my car!" Elena just stared not really knowing what to say. It was bad enough that

"Wait, you guys came with separate cars?" Damon asked as they headed out of the airport.

"Yeah, you're father had work and I was out shopping." Marissa answered as she handed a plastic bag to Elena. "Here you go. My favorite cupcakes. I'm sure you've heard of them. Sprinkles cupcakes."

"Oh, thank you." Elena smiled.

"I got you five different flavors. I didn't know what you liked so I got you chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cappuccino and red velvet. They're the best flavors they have." Marissa smiled her blue eyes just like Damon's. She was such a beautiful woman, Elena had to admit. Mr. Salvatore was a very lucky man; he had a wife that most 20 year old girls couldn't hold a candle to. She was also very open from what Elena could tell.

As they got to the parking lot Marissa said to Damon. "She's riding with me. Girl time, you get to spend some boy time with your father."

"Fine with me." Damon smiled. "Will you be okay?" He asked Elena just to make sure.

She nodded her head smiling at her boyfriend. "I'll be fine."

"See, she'll be fine." Marissa said in a childlike voice. She was quite fun, Elena had to admit but still…she had only met her 3 minutes ago.

"I was confused at first but then Caroline explained."

"I know what you're thinking…but it's not about that dad. Elena and I have a completely different relationship."

"I'm just happy you moved on." Donati smiled at his son before turning back to the road ahead. "She seems really shy and quiet."

"She's an angel." Damon smirked. "She's exactly what I've been looking for in a girl."

Donati turned to face him as he asked. "Are you going to ask her to marry you? Because if you are, you should really consider her young age Damon. You've said it yourself, she's been through hell. You can't just-"

"Wow…calm down, dad." Damon laughed. "There is no doubt that I love Elena…but marriage…it's a little fast. Maybe in a couple of years. She's still in high school."

"Good. I'm glad you agree. No need to rush, you're still both young. She's only 18. Maybe in a couple of years you might decide to settle down and start a family."

"Right now all I can think about is keeping her safe." Damon admitted.

"Yeah, about that. Caroline mentioned something about an ex-boyfriend of hers? What's happening?'

Damon took in a deep breath. "He's a freaking Mikaelson." Donati glanced at him waiting for him to elaborate. "He's the son of the richest man in Mystic Falls…and that makes it ten times harder trying to arrest the bastard. He put her through hell, dad. She was so crippled when I found her."

"Is he out of her life now?"

"He hasn't tried to come near her since she started living with me…but before she moved in he made some threats."

"Damon, is this guy dangerous." Donati asked, his voice serious. He was a father and he was scared for his son. He didn't want Damon messed up in anything that might cost him his life.

Damon smirked. "I'd be lying if I said he wasn't." It gave Donati chills to hear this. "But I'm not afraid of him. He won't touch me. He knows who I am. If anything were to happen to me, he knows you'd come down on him like a-"

"I'd rather nothing happen to you then come down like a ton of bricks on anyone." The man said as he glanced at Damon. "You can never be too sure."

"I know. That's why I'm here." He exhaled and leaned against the seat. "I needed to get Elena out of Mystic Falls for a while…I'm thinking of leaving her with you guys for a while, if that's okay?"

"What do you mean? You want to leave her here? In New York?"

"Yeah. I want her to be safe. I've got some things to sort out in Mystic Falls and I'm going to need Darren's help."

"What kind of things?" Donati asked.

"That I can't say. All you need to know is that Mystic Falls is not what it seems. It's not that cute little town you saw on that brochure."

"Damon…" Donati called out, it was his serious voice. "I'm your father…what is it? Tell me?"

He hesitated at first before saying. "I got a present delivered to my doorstep the other day." He turned to face his father. "It was a tape…of my apartment. Someone must have installed a freaking camera in the walls or something."

"What was on the tape?"

He turned away as he answered. "One of the worst moments of my life."

"Explain." Donati said in a serious voice. "What was on the tape, Damon?"

Damon swallowed thickly before answering. "It was me lashing out at Charlotte the night Katherine and I broke things off."

" Wait what? I thought you said you were-"

"I lied. I didn't want to be visited by you or mum…I lied that I went out drinking with Enzo." He admitted. "You guys were supposed to come over that night. She was gone…I didn't know how to deal with what was going on so I lied."

"Damon…" Donati shied as he drove.

"Don't give me the lecture. It's not going to change anything." He said frustrated.

"I'm not. All I'm going to say is I hope you've learned from your mistakes."

"Believe me, I have." He turned to face his father. "I'm not the same man anymore. I don't trust easily, dad. And if anyone, and I mean anyone, tries to hurt the people that I love…I'm prepared to kill them." He spoke in a calm voice but determined.

Donati could tell that something drastic had happened to his boy. Damon had never been this committed, determined or serious before. Something was going on and the man was starting to worry. He didn't need this, especially now that he was having trouble with his wife, but his kids come first…and Damon evidently needed help, whether he knew it or not.

Elena through her head back laughing. "Really?" She giggled. "I am so going to tease him."

"Wait till I show you the photos. He was a cute little thing but very, very cheeky." Marissa said as she relived the memory in her head. She was telling Elena about the summer they took Damon and Stefan down to North Carolina. Damon was only six back then and he enjoyed walking around naked and telling people that he had a willy. It was adorable to watch.

"The best part was when this girl, Sammy, who happened to be the daughter of one of my high school friends starting pulling on his willy." She laughed and so did Elena. "He was like mommy, tell her to leave my willy alone!" Marissa faked a child cry.

Elena was laughing so much that she felt tears wanting to come out of her eyes. Damon's mum was such a fun woman. She couldn't believe the way she was treating her, the whole atmosphere was so light. She felt like she knew the woman for years. "Oh I wish I could have seen that."

"Believe me, if I had a camera phone back then I would have taped it." Marissa said with a smirk on her face. "But I do have embarrassing photos and short videos. We can work out a deal when we get home Elena. I'll let you see a few…" She placed her finger on her lips and winked. "but don't tell Damon."

"I promise I won't, Marissa." Elena smiled. She relaxed in her seat before saying. "Thanks' for being so nice to me." She told the woman.

Marissa smiled at her as she said. "Well, I have to be. If it wasn't for you, who knows? Maybe Damon would still be crippled." Her smile dropped and Elena could tell how much she cared for Damon. "He was my first born." She smiled. "You know people say you love all your children equally…it's not true." She looked at Elena. "You love each one of them in a special way, but one has to overpower all…and well, Damon did that for me. He's a lot like me and I guess…he's special."

"Damon…he has the biggest heart. I don't think I've ever met anyone who has a heart of gold like Damon does. He's…he's god's gift." Elena spoke the truth.

Marissa laughed. "Did he tell you to say that? Because in high school he use to tell all his ''girlfriends'' that he was Marissa's gift to all women."

Elena started to laugh again. "He just said that when we were at the airport."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Some things never change."

"You have an amazing son." Elena told her. "He's every girls dream."

Marissa turned to face her again. "You love him?"

Elena nodded, feeling a little shy instantly. "Yes."

"Good." She smiled at her but couldn't help but add. "You're a sweet girl Elena. I've heard all the best about you from my daughter and my son but…please, promise me you won't hurt him. And when I say hurt, I don't mean break his heart. I mean…this whole thing with your ex-boyfriend and-"

"Marissa, one thing I'm certain about, and that's that I would never let Damon get hurt because of me." She stated honestly. She'd go through fire for him without even thinking twice. She loved him too much to hurt him. "Kol…the only way he'd get to Damon is over my dead body."

"Let's not exaggerate, Elena." Marissa turned serious. "I'm not asking you to put yourself in front of my son. All, I'm saying is do not under any circumstances keep important things from him. Damon is all about trust and if you violate that then you're going to end up hurt and so will he."

"I know. I would never lie to him."

"But you did." Marissa raised her eyebrow. "You lied to him about your brother." Elena felt guilty. It was true. "You did it because you were scared for your brother and I get that…but like I said, Damon is my son and he means the world to me."

"And Damon is my boyfriend. I love him more than I've ever loved anyone in my life. If anything were to happen to him…I don't know what I would do, Mrs. Salvatore. I promise you, and I swear on my life, that I'll always put your son first."

Marissa watched her for a second. She didn't trust people easily…but for some strange reason she did trust Elena. She seemed determined and she had that facial expression…the one where she looked so dead set on what she was saying that she could convince a bunch of people that she was innocent even if she had committed the crime.

"I'm going to trust you, Elena, with my most prized possession…and that's my son."

The house was huge…just like in the movies. Elena stepped out of the car in awe. She stared at the front yard that was covered with palm trees and with those beautiful flowers. She glanced at Marissa and the woman smiled at her. "You like it?"

"It's beautiful."

"Well, this is where your boyfriend grew up." She smiled as she walked around and waved for Elena to follow.

"When will Damon be here?" Elena asked as she walked the stairs to the front door.

"In a couple of minutes I think. If I'm not mistaken, Donati said he was stopping to get some food." She smiled as she opened the door.

They stepped inside. The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. Elena stared at the beauty. It was seriously like in a movie. The chandlers were so tall and so sparkly. The walls were high and the furniture looked antique. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard ecstatic laughter coming from somewhere.

"Oh god." Marissa said as she rolled her eyes. "Elena, looks like you're in luck."

"What's going on?" Elena asked as she followed the woman.

Marissa didn't answer; she just opened the door to the kitchen. Inside Elena was met with Caroline, a young man and another girl. They were all sitting on the counter, the two girls in bikinis while the guy was shirtless with a pair of shorts on.

"ELENA!" Caroline cheered as she jumped of the counter. She ran across the room and grabbed Elena into huge. "Oh I've missed you!"

Elena was now wet. The girl was damp wet, clearly they had been swimming. Elena smiled as she said. "I've missed you too, Caroline."

"Oh I can't believe you're here!" The blonde cheered happily. "Oh! Oh! Elena, this is Stefan." She pointed to the guy on the counter that had green eyes and a brown hair. He seemed nice. He jumped of the counter immediately and approached Elena. He extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Elena. I've heard wonderful things about you." He said kindly. He looked like his father a lot. He was handsome but also kind of an old soul.

"Nice to meet you too, Stefan." Elena smiled shaking his hand.

Stefan then turned to the girl behind him and said. "Elena, this is Meredith. She's my girlfriend." He explained.

"Nice to meet you Meredith."

"Likewise." Meredith said with a warm smile.

"Isn't she gorgeous?" Caroline said to Stefan and Meredith as she pointed to Elena. "She's much prettier then Katherine, right?" Elena felt awkward when the blonde said that.

Lucky Marissa butted in. "Okay, enough intro." She turned to her kids. "All of you people in bathing suits get your asses dry and get my counter dry, for goodness sakes!"

"Mum, where's Damon?" Stefan asked.

"He's coming with your father. They're picking up the food." Marissa explained.

"Oh, good. I'm starving." Stefan said as he winked at Elena. "If they are getting what I think they're getting we're going to have one hell of a dinner."

"Hey, Marissa, I accidentally burned your cloth." Meredith said as she bit her bottom lip. "I was getting the lamb chops out of the oven and I took the mitten and left the cloth in."

"Then you buy me a new cloth genius." Marissa rolled her eyes. "What where you even doing trying to cook?"

"It was your son's fault. I showed up when he already had the lamb chops in the oven." Meredith rolled her eyes.

"It was Caroline who wanted to cook, not me." Stefan said.

"I was trying out a new recipe."

"You have seriously gat to stop talking to that cyber guy." Marissa rolled her eyes. "Last week he had you gardening, this week you're burning my kitchen down."

"He's not a cyber guy." She rolled her eyes. "He's just an ordinary guy."

"Who's turning my daughter into a Marry Poppins." Marissa said, her voice full of sarcasm. Stefan and Meredith laughed and even Elena found herself laughing. Damon's mum was fun and she loved to joke around.

"Say what you want. He makes me happy." The blonde stated.

"When do we get to meet Cyber boy?" Marissa asked as she leaned against the counter taunting her daughter.

"He's not Cyber boy…his Skype name is A One Woman Man." Meredith teased as she started to laugh.

"Shut up!" Caroline yelled at her angrily. "I told you to stay off my computer."

"I didn't mean to look at your private chats. I was looking something up when your lover-boy sent you a message."

"What did it say?" Marissa asked, a smile on her face.

"Don't you dare!" Caroline warned.

"Augh, nothing much." Meredith smirked. "Just something along the lines of Goodnight my love. I'm sorry I won't be able to chat latter, duty calls. Sweet dreams. Don't stay up too long, you need your beauty rest."

Caroline reached over the counter and shoved Meredith. Meredith laughed hysterically along with Stefan and Marissa. Elena laughed also but not so noticeably.

"He definitely didn't say that last line! He never says stuff like that!" She yelled. "He's an intellectual. He's not a child."

"Oh please, he's a teenager." Stefan rolled his eyes. "How smart can he be?"

Caroline scowled at him. "Smarter than you! And much more mature then you" She yelled at him angrily.

"Wow, I leave for a couple of months and this is what my family turns into." Damon said as he entered the kitchen with a smile on his face carrying a large box. His father behind him carrying two big plastic bags.

"Dammy!" Caroline's face turned from anger to pure happiness. She jumped up from the counter and hugged him tightly. Damon nearly dropped the box, luckly his mother took it from him.

"Hay, Care-bear." He smiled as he kissed her cheek and hugged. "Who's pissing you off?"

"All of them, except for Elena." She batted her eyelashes. Elena smiled at the interaction.

"Hey! You two, lay off or I'll start telling stories how I caught you having sex in mum and dad's room." Damon smirked and Caroline giggled.

"Not funny Damon." Meredith rolled her eyes.

"When did this happen?" Donati asked.

"Oh, last year in Miami." Damon answered.

"So that's why you two wanted to stay in." Marissa raised her eyebrow.

"We didn't have sex." Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, you were about to. Luckily I walked in on you and ruined your fun." Damon smirked.

"I'm supposed to give you a hug, but all I want to do is slap you." Meredith said as she approached Damon with a smirk on her face.

"How about we meet half way." He suggested.

"Not in my kitchen." Marissa warned.

"Bull fights outside." Donati warned.

"Ah, we're too old to fight anyway." Meredith smirked as she took Damon into a hug. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too, Mer." He kissed her cheek.

"Little bro." Damon teased as he approached Stefan. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, the usually." He smirk. "Girls, sex, drugs…you know the drill."

Damon busted out laughing. "Okay, that did not sound cool, not even a little bit."

"Oh come on, it sounded cool a little bit. Right guys?" He turned to his family.

"No, sorry honey." Meredith shrugged her shoulders.

"No way in hell." Caroline laughed.

Marissa just shook her head.

"Dad?" Stefan turned to his farther.

"Sorry son, but that wasn't cool." The man shrugged his shoulders.

Stefan's eyes landed on Elena. "Come on, don't let me down? It sounded cool, didn't it?"

Elena was stuck, not really knowing what to say. Damon turned around with an amused facial expression as he waited for her answer.

"Um…I don't really know." She said shyly.

"Just say yes." Stefan urged her.

"Oh come on honey, be honest. That was terrible." Damon turned to her.

Elena decided to take a leap of faith. Stefan seemed nice and from what she could tell everyone was teasing him. "Umm…it was okay I guess."

Everyone groaned. Stefan jumped and slammed his hand against Damon's shoulder. "Man, I love your girlfriend!"

"You've disappointed me Elena." Damon turned to her with a fake hurt face.

"You'll get over it." Elena said as she smiled at him.

"You'll have to work hard to make it up to me." He smirked at her.

"Ew Damon." Meredith said. "We don't need the details."

"Don't flatter yourself, Mer. Even if you wanted to know I wouldn't tell you." He smirked at her as he ruffled her hair.

She tried to avoid him. "Geez, cut it out, officer Salvatore." She shoved him as she walked past him over to Donati. "What do you have there?" She peeped into the plastic bag.

"Get your nose out of there, unless you want to help." Marissa smirked as she carried the plates over to the counter.

"Oh my god! Dan, you went to Amalfi Pizzeria!" She squeaked as she started to pull out paper continuers.

"It's a special occasion." The man answered as he smiled at Damon.

"You're going to love this food, Lena." Damon said wrapping his arm around her.

"I got gelato." Marissa smirked.

"Mom?" Damon called out gaining his mother's attention. "Say Amalfi Pizzeria?" Donati started to laugh and his wife just glanced at him before looking at Damon.

She narrowed her eyes at her son. "Your favorite place when you were 9." She smirked.

"You still can't pronounce it, can you?" Damon laughed.

"At least I can say which witch watches witch swatch watch, unlike your father." She rolled it off the tongue easily.

"Hey I can say it. it's which witch watches which watch swatch." Mr. Salvatore said quickly.

Everyone burst into laughter. Marissa rolled her eyes. "It's which swatch watch, honey."

"Same thing. It's about the which-watch part." Donati pointed out.

"Dad's right mum." Damon smirked.

"He might be able to say it but it never sounds…American." She quipped a proudly with a smirk on her face. "Besides, why are we even arguing about this? It's time to eat." She declared.

Damon wrapped his arms around Elena and led her over to the table. "You're about to have the best pizza of your life."

"Really?" She teased. "I thought you said you cooked the best pizza?"

"No, that would be spaghetti bolognaise." He smirked down at her before stealing a soft kiss.

"Caroline, your phone's buzzing! It's lover Boy!" Meredith called from somewhere in the house.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Caroline yelled as she ran out of the room.

"Who's the guy?" Damon asked as he took a seat.

"We have no idea." Stefan answered.

"He's a cyber boy." Marissa smirked at her son.

"A what?" Damon looked at his mother like she was crazy.

"Internet geek." She rolled her eyes.

"You're kidding?" Damon asked on the edge of laughter. "Caroline's spending time with an Internet geek?"

"I'm afraid so." Donati said as he took a seat. "She's been chatting to him twenty four seven. He's got her planting vegetables, flowers and even cooking."

"Wow. I feel like I've entered a whole new universe." Damon said as he leaned back in his chair. "Have you met him?"

"Nope. She says he's not from New York." Marissa said as she placed the enormous pizza in the middle of the table.

"Then where's he from?" Damon asked.

"Probably from Mars." Meredith added with a smirk on her face as she reached out to take a plate from Marissa.

"No, more like Venus." Stefan added with a smirk on his face. Elena watched as Meredith and Stefan laughed at the joke.

"So what you're all telling me is that you have no idea who she's chatting with?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Stefan nodded.

"I left you in charge." Damon gave him a knowing look.

"Damon, I can hardly take care of myself let alone chase after what Carline's doing." Stefan said to his brother. "Besides, she's old enough to make her own decisions."

"I've got it under control." Donati said to Damon. "I know who he is." He said to Damon.

"Who?" Damon asked.

"I'll tell you later." He smiled at his son. "Now let's have a peaceful family meal."

Elena watched the people around her. It was like a dream. Everyone seemed cheerful and normal. It was something she had not seen in a long time. It felt perfect just to sit back and watch them interact.

Elena brushed her teeth before rinsing her mouth out with water. She washed the toothbrush before popping it into the small cup next to Damon's toothbrush. She smiled at the pink and blue brushes. She looked into the review mirror and smiled. "They match quite nicely."

"I agree." Damon smirked back at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You have an amazing family, Damon." She told him, her eyes full of enthusiasm. "I'll admit, you were right."

"I'm always right." He smirks making her laugh.

"Well, I'll take your word for it." She smiled as she kissed his arm.

"Ready for bed?" He asked as he untangled his arms from her small body.

She answered with a warm smile. "Yeah." She caught the smile that lingered on his face before turning around and exiting the bathroom. She walked into the room that belonged to Damon. It was simple, not over the top. It contained a plasma TV and a large bed. The walls were covered in light gray but the best part was the huge window. He had an amazing view of the small garden along with the main road. Elena walked over to the window, a smile across her face as she leaned against it. "It must have been fun growing up with a view like this."

"You have no idea." Damon smirked as he pulled off his shirt. "For sightseeing that view has definite perks…especially if your trying to be discreet."

Elena glanced at him and shook her head smiling. Damon just shrugged and smirked at her. "You can't blame a teenage boy for being curious, especially when adults don't hide their indiscretions."

Elena rolled her eyes from amusement as she continued to gaze out of the window. It didn't take long for her to feel Damon's presence behind her. She felt his strong arms wrap around her waist. "The view isn't that great at night, but in the morning it's glamorous, especially in spring when Mr. Burks apple tree blossoms. I mean, you don't have much nature in central New York and I find myself pretty lucky to have this amazing glimpse of nature's beauty." He kissed her shoulder. "And I'm even luckier to have you to share it with."

She relaxed as she leaned back against his chest. "No, I'm the lucky one." She whispered softly before looking up at him. "The luckiest girl ever." She uttered softly as she gazed into his eyes.

Damon smiled down at her before kissing her forehead. "My angel."

Elena shifted in his arms until she was hugging him. "I'm sleepy." She mumbled almost in a child-like voice.

Damon laughed. "Let's get you to bed pouty." He picked her up, surprising her in the process, before carrying her over to the bed. He gently laid her on her half before climbing in himself. He gathered the blankets before pulling them over. His arms found Elena's small body and he embraced her, she snuggled her small head into his chest, just like every other night, and they were both quite. Damon cuddled her as he watched sleep overtake her. Once she was fast asleep and Damon was sure she wouldn't notice his absence he gently got up, grabbed his phone and exited the room. He dialed the number and waited for an answer. "He-hello?" A man answered in a hoarse voice.

"Darren, it's Damon. I'm sorry to call you at this hour but i-I need to meet up with you."

"Damon? Ar-are you in New York?" The man asked, his voice still a little hoarse.

"Yes, but only for a couple of days."

Damon heard a shy over the other line before the man spoke. "Give me 20 minutes and I'll meet you at Joe's."

"Great…and thank you Darren."

"Don't thank me yet, Salvatore. I'll see you in twenty." He said before ending the call. Damon instantly shoved his phone into his pocket before carefully making his way out of the house. He took the keys from Marissa's Audi that she barely drove. He got inside the car before starting it up. It didn't even take five minutes for him to arrive at the familiar bar. He got out of the car, went inside, ordered a drink and sat patiently waiting for his friend/ ex-boss to show up.

Damon sipped on his bear impatiently as he kept glancing at the watch on his hand. Twenty five minutes passed and there was still no sign of Darren. He was just about to give him another call when he spotted him walking into the bar.

The man looked like he had just woken up…which he probably had. He approached Damon with an outstretched hand. "Hey man."

"Thanks for coming boss." Damon said as he extended his hand.

"A late night call can't be good." Darren stated the obvious as he took a seat next to Damon and ordered bourbon. He then turned to Damon and asked. "What's going on?"

"I need your help, and I need you to keep this a private matter." Damon said as he leaned closer. "This is just a copy, I'm holding on to the original." He pushed over a small plastic disk.

Darren picked up the disk. "What is it?"

"A blast from my past on tape that I didn't even know existed." Damon answered.

Darren looked up at him, his eyes board into Damon's. "Is this what you've been hiding?"

"No, but it could be related to that."

Darren nodded. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks boss."

Darren paused for a second before looking up at Damon. "How are you doing?"

Damon shied. "Honestly, i-I'm trying not to worry her…but I'm worried."

"Does she know?"

"Yeah, I told her everything." Damon nodded.

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Darren smiled.

"No, I'm not worried about Elena not trusting me….I'm worried that someone might hurt her to get back at me." Damon explained in a worried tone.

"We have protection if it comes to that." Darren said in a calm tone. "Honestly Damon, don't worry so much."

He shook his head. "I can't help it. She's been through so much. More than an average person should go through in their lifetime. I-I just want to protect her."

The man nodded his head. "I get that…but the best you can do right now is just wait. I know that's not what you want to hear but it's the truth."

Damon nodded. "You know how I told you to keep tabs on Katherine…well, are you still doing that?"

"The last time I checked was when you were about to leave for Mystic Falls. She was in Florida."

Damon nodded. "Thanks."

That was all he needed to know. She wasn't back in New York which gave him some sort of relief…but he wasn't stupid. She could be anywhere in the word and still execute her plan. He looked up at Darren debating whether or not to tell him about what happened.

"I won't judge, as long as you didn't kill an innocent person out of rage or hatred." He told him. "If you have a valid reason, I'll understand."

Damon nodded his head. The thing was…he kept it secret out of love…but now there wasn't anything left. He had a beautiful innocent girl at him who was asleep and who he loves dearly. Katherine was nothing but the past…a past that he wishes he could forget. He focused his gaze on Darren as he said. "I'll tell you."

Hi guys, I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update this story. The thing is, about 6 months ago I lost all of my data on my computer so I had to start from scratch, and there was also that problem with my fanfiction login. For an entire month I couldn't log into my fanfiction account. Anyway, I want to apologize for the long wait (9 months) almost a year. I have a lot going on but I'll try to update my stories as soon as I can.

Okay, so what do you think about this chapter? Do you like it? Are Damon's parents nice? I know most of you were very excited about Marissa and Elena's meeting. I hope you're happy with the outcome. What do you think is going on between Marissa and Donati? Do you think Damon is doing the right thing by telling Darren about his secret?

Please review and encourage me to write more if you wish to see this story more often updated. I'l like to hear your suggestions on what you think will happen next.

Okay, I'll see you guys soon.

XoXo Love RedRose1864