Chapter 9; the promise of peace

Elena eyed the mansion in front of her nervously. The gravel path that led up to the front door… to him… stretched out before her and she hesitated. What would he say? Could they get back to where they once were? She bit her lip, pacing her feet. Maybe she should just get settled in first and book a room at the Mystic Falls Inn. Yeah, that was a good idea. She should write somewhat and calm her nerves down. Also, a bottle of alcohol would be nice before she talked to him. As she began to turn around and walk back towards her car, memories of her interview with the Hollywood Press from a few days ago invaded her mind.

"So, the movie will be made! How do you feel about that? The book was such a grand success," the reporter squealed.

Elena smiled.

"I feel honored and humbled that Hollywood thinks that my little tale was good enough to be made into some blockbuster. Also, Gerard Butler…."

She winked at the reporter, letting the name resound throughout the studio.

The reporter threw her head back and laughed. "Ah yes, that is quite a good catch for the lead. Speaking of leading men… We've recently come across a bit of information about the men in your own life. I have to ask… How does one not know that she's still married?"

The question hung heavily in the air as Elena gulped. She knew this was part of the deal about living in Hollywood and having success: people talking about you and wanting to know everything there was to know about your personal life.

"Well, there's a simple explanation to that, actually. The man in question and I suffered an immense personal loss and needed a break from everything, including each other. We signed divorce papers, yes, but there was a glitch. It happens… especially if you aren't in your right mind due to grief."

"So, how does Liam Cooper feel about all this?"

"Liam is… he's a good man. I'm very happy that I met him," Elena answered vaguely.

The reporter frowned.

"So what does that mean? Are you going to go back to your hometown and remain married or are you getting that long awaited divorce and marry Liam?"

Elena gave the reporter a serious look.

"Nobody knows what the future holds in store for us, Miss Lane. We've all got our own path to follow. In the end, all that matters is that at the end of that path, we find what we spend our entire lives looking for, hopefully with a good counterpart at our sides..."

The reporter had instantly known that she wasn't going to get anymore answers on that part and had continued to talk about the upcoming movie. Elena smiled to herself; she was getting good at evading questions about her two men. However, the truth was, there were no two men anymore. She had come to her decision about who the counterpart at the end of her path should be.

Suddenly, her nerves were gone and she headed back towards the large house behind her. With a firm hand she knocked on the door.

"Elena?" Stefan Salvatore stood in front of her with a frown marring his features. "I thought that….. Oh, it doesn't matter what I thought. Come in! Can I get you anything?"

Elena wanted to giggle at his behavior. He was obviously taken back with her presence. When she had left, everyone had assumed that she was going back to her life in Los Angeles with Liam. In fact, she had even thought that herself. However, divorcing Damon wasn't what she wanted.

"Can you tell me where he is?" she immediately asked, not wanting to postpone this any longer.

"Uhm yeah, sure.. he's in the garage."

"Thank you."

The air was hot and humid when she reached her destination. Summer was early this year and temperatures where rising quickly, especially in this closed off garage. However, the sight in front of her was doing way more damage to her body temperature than the air outside; Damon was hunched over his Camaro, his back turned towards her. He was face first in the hood of the car, obviously fixing something.

Elena licked her lips as she eyed the swell of his backside, encased in some low-riding cargo pants. His torso was bare and droplets of sweat were slowly trickling down his back and into his, barely hidden underneath those pants, butt crack. Was it weird that she suddenly felt the urge to lick those salty drops?

Damon had the radio on and was listening to a rock version of 'enjoy the silence,' originally by Depeche Mode. The guitars echoed throughout the garage as he was lost in concentration. Elena couldn't even tell how long she had been standing there, gawking, when he finally turned around. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his arm, his eyes widening as he spotted her.

"Elena?"

God, she loved how her name came off of his lips… like a gentle caress.

She crossed her arms in front of her, leaning against the wall and trying to act casual. She wasn't feeling casual, though; her heart was pounding and her nipples were standing to attention underneath her blue tank top. That's why she was crossing her arms; he didn't need to see that.. yet. They needed to talk first.

"Why are you…"

"Here?" Elena finished the sentence for him. "Well, for a lot of reasons, actually. First off, you never gave me the chance to finish our talk with your letter and presentation of divorce papers."

Damon narrowed his eyes at her.

"Is that why you've flown all this way to see me? To finish a talk that I didn't want to have in the first place? I gave you an easy way out with that letter, Elena. You should have taken it. Where's your fiancé?"

Elena paled. Oh no, he was taking it the wrong way! She watched as he turned back around. "I don't have a fiancé, Damon. I've got a husband and I'm looking at him."

Damon continued rummaging around in that damn car, mumbling: "Is that right?"

"Yeah. Would you look at me?"

He threw his wrench on the floor and leaned his hip against the side of the car, raising his eyebrows at her. "Is this better?"

That man could be so stubborn and infuriating! He was provoking her… challenging her… it was why she loved him so. She tried not to pay attention to his glistening chest and took a deep breath. He deserved a heartfelt confession of love.

"The way I left… it wasn't fair. You and I had made love… had just begun to deal with things and I was out of here in a hurry. I should have talked to you first. I should have called Liam and explained that something had happened and that I needed time. However, that's not what I did. I ran back to a place I had called home for the past four years, only to find out that it wasn't really home for me anymore. It never was. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it took your letter to make me see what it was what I really wanted… needed… out of life. I'm here fighting for what I want, Damon."

Damon shook his head.

"Well, what do you want, Elena? Do you even know?"

Elena pushed herself off of the wall and began to walk towards him. "For a long time, my pain clouded my judgment and impacted important decisions. I let it take over my life. I know now that it's not what our daughter would have wanted. She would have wanted for me to think back on her with love and live my life to the extent of what it can be." She raised her hand up to Damon's face and touched his cheek.

"I want to live that life with you." Elena put her other hand over his heart. She saw something twitch in his cheek and she wanted to clap her hands in glee. It's what he always did when he was trying to hold back. She was getting to him.

Suddenly, he grabbed both of her hands and pushed her back against the wall behind her, locking her firmly in place. His briefly glanced at her lips, before boring his cerulean eyes into hers.

"You know what I'm all about. If you mean what you say… if you choose me, I will never let you go again. Liam will have to take a hike. You will be mine, forever," he warned her.

Elena smiled up at him.

"That's what I came here for in the first place, Damon. I want you… I want to be yours."

She could feel his breath on her face with his proximity and closed her eyes for a moment. Was he going to kiss her now? He pushed his pelvis against hers in a teasing thrust, letting her feel just how much he wanted her as well. Elena moaned.

"Take off your tank top," he suddenly whispered.

"What?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. Damon had a delectably sinful look on his face, making it clear what he had in store for her in the upcoming hours.

"I said; take off your tank top."

Elena swallowed something. "Are we going to do this right here?" she breathed.

"Yes, right here."

She grasped the hem of her top, feeling her nipples getting even harder as he watched her do this. Once the garment was over her head and on the floor, his eyes darkened.

"No bra, just as I had suspected. You really are a tease, aren't you? I never stood a chance with your nipples standing to attention, begging to be touched."

Elena's breath quickened with his words, her chest heaving.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Damon didn't have to think twice about it. He dove for one of her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth. Elena had trouble staying on her feet as his tongue circled her aureole and flicked the tip, making delicious sensations shoot towards the V between her legs.

"Yes…," she whispered, leaning her head back against the wall.

In the meantime, Damon opened up her shorts, snaking a hand inside her already wet panties. She hissed when he touched her naked folds.

"Already soaked…"

Elena's eyes rolled back into her head as he slid two fingers inside, while his thumb pressed her clit.

"Your fault. I came in here and you were wearing that insanely low-riding cargo pants with no shirt on. You were sweaty and I could see the beginning of your butt crack. What do you expect?" she retorted.

His fingers picked up their pace as he buried his face into her neck.

"You are one to talk. You came in here, wearing a tank top with no bra on and shorts that are a tad too short to my liking. Whoever saw you in this must be having fantasies right now."

"That would be your brother, then," Elena chuckled.

Damon growled against her sweaty skin. "He'd better not be having any fantasies whatsoever or he's never walking again."

"So possessive!"

"You bet," Damon affirmed.

"I'm going to come right here if you keep this up." The feeling of an upcoming explosion began to build inside of her, as Elena felt every muscle inside her body tremble in anticipation. His fingers were touching all of the right spots inside of her and he had to put an arm around her to hold her upright.

"It's okay, baby. Come for me," he groaned. At that moment, he pressed his thumb hard against her nub again and she came apart with a loud cry, clutching his broad shoulders in sheer desperation.

"I think your brother must have heard that," Elena blushed with embarrassment.

"Good. He's about to hear a lot more."

Before Elena even had the chance to recover, Damon had her bent over the hood of the car with her shorts hanging around her ankles. His cargo pants had come off in the process as well, making it so there was nothing left between them anymore. She could feel his hard cock probing at her entrance. Since she was so wet, there was no resistance whatsoever as he slid in.

"God, how could I have lived for four years without this?" Damon exclaimed. "So tight… so sweet and wet…"

Elena had to hold on for dear life as he began to pummel her into the side of the car. It was excruciatingly good. With each stroke of his dick inside of her, she could feel her orgasm building up again. She had almost forgotten how good he was when it came to him making her come… almost.. "I'm going to come again.."

"Do it.. I'm right behind you."

That was all the encouragement she needed and they both toppled over the edge together….

"I thought you were always hell bent on keeping your Camaro spotless," Elena chuckled as they were sitting in the backseat, naked. "Right now, we've got wet spots and butt imprints and everything here."

Damon stroked the side of her face, smiling. "You mean more to me than a car, baby."

Elena winked teasingly. "Oh wow! You must really love me then."

"I do. So how are we going to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the whole Hollywood thing? You've got an upcoming movie and need to do interviews and such. I've got my company here…"

Elena snuggled closer to him and thought about it. "I don't see any problems. I'm a writer first and foremost. I can do that from here. This movie thing might be a one shot deal."

"I highly doubt it. I've read your work and you're amazing. There will be more books and movies about them, I can tell you that."

"If that happens, we can fly back and forth when we absolutely need to. But I want to live here with you. This is my home. Besides…" Elena held her breath before dropping the ultimate bomb on him. "I don't want to raise my child in Los Angeles… I want to raise it here."

She waited… and waited… she could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. Then, it clicked for him.

"Elena, are you pregnant?!"

She smiled. "Looks like nature had already made the decision for me when I was sitting down at that kitchen table, thinking about your letter and divorce papers. That's not why I chose you, though. I didn't even know I was pregnant when I finally tore up those papers and explained to Liam that I couldn't be his wife. I realized it after all that… That night when we cried at Lily's grave and were so lost… we created a new life and a new path in our grief and I couldn't be happier about it."

Elena waited for his response, which took awhile, since he seemed stumped.

"I'm going to be a father?" he finally said with a meek voice, almost too afraid to believe it.

"You are, sweetheart. You are."

Damon took her in his arms in that moment and never let her go again….

For years I had been guided by grief; every move that I made had been out of some way to deal with loss. Peace was the furthest thing from my mind. I worked hard and made sure I kept myself distracted. It wasn't a life… Right now, everything had come full circle and I knew which way I was headed… Home… Because that's where peace lies.

Author's note: The time has come to say goodbye to my fanfiction journey. This story was actually the perfect way to do it, since it deals with grief and then redemption and peace. Considering the way I started on this site; dealing with my own grief over my mother, I can now say that writing has helped me deal with that and that I've turned over a new leaf in life. I'm now happy together with my husband and with a baby that can and will be born any minute now (the baby's due date is in 11 days!). I'm freaking nervous about becoming a mom and also very excited. It's amazing what can happen in a little under 6 years. Thank you all for taking this journey with me and I will never forget your encouragement and support. With much love, Sandra xoxoxoxoxo