So in this chapter, you will see Damon and Stefan's mother in both the past and the present. Some of you may have thought that she had already passed but I have other plans. Anyway, as you remember their mother has lymphoma and is still fighting that. I have created my own version of their mother because I personally don't like Lily in the Vampire Diaries and I didn't want to use that name. So, I kind of just created my own person. Okay, enough said, enjoy the chapter! :)

"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different?"

Present Day

Damon enters the house in which his mother is living in, the woman hooked up to many machines as he carries a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Isabella is sitting on his hip as the middle-aged woman shrieks with joy.

"Oh my! My little angel."

"Grandma!" Isabella jumps down out of her father's arms as she sprints over to her weak looking grandma sitting in her chair.

"Hello, beautiful," Elizabeth kisses the girl's forehead as Isabella smiles, the girl happy that she is in her grandma's arms once again.

"Grandma, what's this for?" Isabella holds up a tube connected to the woman's body as Damon rushes towards his mother.

"No, no, no Bella, don't touch that." He grabs the tube from her small hand as Isabella frowns.

"Damon, I'm fine." Elizabeth smiles a genuine smile as she rests her hand on his tense shoulder.

Gulping roughly, Damon nods as he takes a step back. He hates seeing her like this: weak and tired.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm great now that you brought her here but I'm missing my other girl. I told Elena to come by too but obviously, she isn't with you." Elizabeth looks behind Damon, the woman rolling her eyes because she knows the brunette isn't here.

"Mom," Damon shakes his head, the young man never knowing how to make her mind change about the matter.

"I know, I know, you're not together anymore." Elizabeth rolls her eyes as Isabella looks between the two people.

Widening his eyes, Damon looks from his mother to his daughter, the man telling Elizabeth to stop talking without actually saying anything.

"So, how is work? And your father?"

"Work is fine and dad is dad." Damon answers as he takes a seat on the couch in front of them.

"Good, and how's Elena?"

"Wow, you really want to talk about Elena, don't you?" Damon chuckles as his mother shrugs.

"I love her, you know that. I've loved her since the day you brought her to the hospital with you."

Six years ago

"Damon, stop." Elena giggles as Damon grabs her waist, the boy making it impossible for her to get dressed as he nibbles her neck.

"What? I just can't keep my hands off of you." Damon smirks as he bites her ear lobe.

"Ew," Elena flinches as she turns around, the girl's naked breasts now pressed up to his bare chest. His arms wrap around her tightly as Elena smiles. "Are you sure you want me to come?"

Smiling, Damon looks to her lips before nodding. "I do,"

Elena then nods before biting her lip while still in his arms. "Do you think she'll like me?"

Laughing, Damon finds her words funny because he has no doubt in his mind that his mother will love her. Elena is caring and kind and selfless. She is every mother's dream and Damon's dream too. The girls Damon brought home were never his mother's cup of tea and if Elena isn't then the woman has some screws loose.

"I think she'll love you."

"Really? Because I don't want her to think that-" Elena pauses as she looks away from his mesmerizing, blue eyes.

"To think what?" Damon questions as he grabs her chin lightly, the man wanting the girl to look at him once more.

"To think I'm just some chick you're screwing. I don't know, we didn't really talk last night and I don't know what I am to you." Elena speaks out vulnerably as Damon notices her trepidation.

"What do you want us to be?"

"I want it to just be you and me, but if you can't do that then-"

"I want that too," Damon answers as he runs his hand across her cheek.

"So you're saying you want to be exclusive?"

"I'm saying I want you and only you," Damon tells the brunette as she nods, her lips forming an incredible smile. The sunlight shimmers off of her skin as Damon stares at her, the boy mesmerized by the woman in front of him.

"I'm glad you pulled me away last night." Elena smiles as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"Oh yeah? You didn't want to go home with golden boy?" Damon smirks as Elena does too, both of them poking fun at the situation that was last night.

"I don't know he might have been better than you. His..." Elena looks down at Damon's boxers. "was pretty big."

Open mouthed, Damon finds her words incredibly surprising as he shakes his head. Not only is she the kindest human being but she also happens to have a tremendous amount of spunk. "One," Damon points with his finger. "No one is better than me. And two," Damon holds up another finger. "The effect you had on him was quite impressive."

"Oh really?" Elena giggles.

"Yes, really," Damon smirks as he drops down to kiss her lips once again. Elena's eyes flutter shut and when she opens them once again, she realizes that he is staring at her, his blue eyes peering into her soul.

"What?"

"Nothing," Damon shakes his head as he kisses her once more before slipping his hands off of her waist. "Okay, we should probably get going."

"Okay," Elena nods as he looks back at her, the young man noticing how nervous she is.

"Don't be nervous," Damon smirks as he pulls on a pair of dark wash jeans. Elena rolls her eyes in response as she pulls on a little, sky blue dress. She had run home to get the dress early this morning so that she didn't have to meet his mother in her clothes from the night before.

"Says you, your not the one who has to make a good first impression."

Present Day

"She does make quite a first impression." Elizabeth smiles as she runs her hand through Isabella's soft brown hair.

"She sure does," Damon sighs as he smiles, the man loving that his mother is still here to be with his daughter. Ever since Elena got pregnant, he prayed to any being out there that his mother would live to see his daughter, and she did.

"I can't believe your brother is getting married." Elizabeth then shakes her head as she thinks of her youngest son getting engaged to Caroline.

"I know, before me too." Damon chuckles as he fixes his leather jacket slightly.

Looking up at him, Elizabeth is about to say something but decides to keep her mouth closed. Talking about Elena only made him upset, and she understood why. The two people had been through a hell of a lot together at such a young age. She knows though, no matter who comes along or what happens, they will find their way back to each other.

Six years ago

Damon and Elena enter the elevator as Elena fidgets with the end of her dress. Grabbing her hand with his, Damon stops the girl from fidgeting as he smirks at her. Elena's eyes glisten as she smiles back, the girl obviously nervous to meet his mother.

"Everything's fine," Damon smirks as he brings her hand up in order to place a light kiss on her skin.

Nodding, Elena follows Damon out of the elevator and through the hospital. The man is obviously on edge as Elena looks at him, her hand still in his.

Standing outside of the room, Damon looks to Elena before placing his hand on the door and opening it. Inside, Damon's mother is laying on the bed, her nurses helping the beautiful but weak looking woman.

"Hey, mom," Damon walks in as his mother's head shoots up, her blue eyes immediately widening as they drift to the dark-haired girl standing next to him.

"Oh, hey hun, and who's this?" Damon's mother smiles as she moves to sit up more.

"Mom, this is Elena." Damon introduces Elena to his mother as Elena looks at him, her eyes completely captivated by the handsome young man.

"Oh," His mother's eyes go wide as she loses her words for a moment. Obviously, Damon bringing a girl to meet her isn't an everyday occurrence.

"It's nice to meet you." Elena steps forward as she extends her hand toward the skeptical woman.

"It's nice to meet you too, Elena. I'm Elizabeth." Damon's mother smiles as she looks Elena up and down but not in a condescending way. "So are you two dating?" Elizabeth smiles.

"Umm, yeah," Damon responds but his voice is unsure as he runs his hand over the back of his neck.

"And why am I hearing about this now?" Elizabeth looks to Damon as Elena gulps.

"Oh, umm, it's-"

"It's a long story," Elena tells his mother, the girl chiming in as Elizabeth looks over to the girl once again.

Nodding, Elizabeth then smiles as she looks from Damon to Elena. Their hands are still joined together. For the first time in a long time, Elizabeth feels a warmth inside her heart because she knows that if Damon brought this girl to meet her then she must mean a lot to him. She had also been worried about him and his obsession to "play the field" and "not settle down" but here he is. Damon brought a girl to meet her.

"So, how are you feeling?" Damon asks as he let's go of Elena's hand, the man walking over towards his sick mother with a serious visage.

"I'm fine, really. I'm sure I will not be as great after the surgery, but for now, I'm okay." Elizabeth tells him as she smiles. Elena notices the way Damon's face falls as he stands next to his mother. He loves her, in fact, Elena had never seen him like this, so afraid. Usually, he was carefree and acted as if he didn't care about anyone or anything, but now, he looks as if he is deathly afraid of losing his mom.

"So do you go to Whitmore, Elena?" Elizabeth looks back to Elena as she squeezes Damon's hand once.

"I do, it's my first year." Elena nods.

"Oh, then you're eighteen?" Elizabeth questions as she looks to Damon, the guy smirking as her blue eyes meet his.

Of course, she's younger, Elizabeth thinks to herself.

"I am."

"Then you're the same age as my youngest son, Stefan," Elizabeth tells her as Elena smiles.

"Yeah,"

"Well, where did you grow up Elena?"

"Mystic Falls."

"Oh yeah, that's a super nice town. Do your parents still live there?" Elizabeth questions as Damon's eyes shoot up, the young man looking from his mother and then back to Elena.

"Yeah, actually my dad still lives in the house I grew up in," Elena tells Elizabeth as she walks over towards one of the chairs placed next to where Damon is sitting.

"Are you're parents divorced?"

"Mom," Damon looks up at his mother, his blue wide as if to tell the woman to stop talking. Confused, Elizabeth looks to Damon and then back to Elena.

"Umm, my mom passed away actually."

"Oh, my gosh, honey," Elizabeth shakes her head as Damon sighs, the young man not knowing if Elena feels uncomfortable now. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay, it happened six years ago so I'm okay." Elena smiles a strong, bright smile that sparks something inside Elizabeth. This girl is different, she is a keeper, and Elizabeth can feel it in her bones. Damon is staring at Elena, his eyes focused on her as to tell if she is okay.

"Still, I'm sorry." Elizabeth reaches out for Elena's hand as she squeezes it once.

"Thank-you," Elena smiles and she can see the sincerity in the woman's eyes.

"Of course," Elizabeth smiles as she let's go of Elena's hand and looks back to the machine connected to her arm.

"How much longer do you have until surgery?"

"About two hours, but I don't want to talk about me I want to talk about you two. So, tell me how'd you meet?" Elizabeth smiles and Elena can tell where Damon got his looks from. Her hair, if she has any, is hidden behind a pink bandana but her blue eyes are strikingly beautiful. Her bone structure is flawless and Damon is an exact replica of his mother.

Smirking, Damon looks to Elena. This should be fun, not. For the next half an hour, Elizabeth asks a million and one questions about Elena and their relationship. His mother is quite funny actually and her sense of humor isn't as dry as Damon's, but she still speaks with a tad bit of sarcasm. Damon and Elizabeth's bond is obvious. Elena could tell that she cares for her children, and the stories she shared about a younger Damon is something Elena will be forever grateful of. The sad part though is how weak she looks. How her face falls for a split second when her sickness takes over. And even though she tried her best to act fine, Damon and Elena both knew that she wasn't okay.

"Okay, Beth," The familiar nurse and a couple of doctors enter the room as all of the people's eyes shoot up to meet hers. "Let's get you prepped."

The doctors prep his mother as Elena and Damon step out of the room and before they know it they are rolling Elizabeth on a gurney towards the OR.

"Alright, we'll be here after okay mom?" Damon speaks as he grabs his mother's limp hand.

"Okay," The doctors continue until Damon grabs hold of one of the old man's arm.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Damon asks the doctor as the man sighs once.

"You're mother should recover fine. Since your mother has stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma, the cancer has now spread towards her liver and we are going to try our best to save her. That's all I got for now, but this is a low-risk surgery and I predict that your mother will be fine, but I can't promise that either."

"Okay, just do your job and don't kill her." Damon shakes his head, his anger wanting to come through.

"Damon," Elena rests her hand on his arm as he looks back, her eyes wide. She pleads him to back down as she smiles at the straight-faced doctor. "Let's go sit down." Elena pulls Damon away as he looks down at her once more.

"Thank you,"

"For what?" Elena questions as she slides her hand in his.

"For coming, for being you I guess," Damon tells her as they both sit in the uncomfortable, blue, hospital chairs.

"Of course. You know you were right, she's pretty amazing." Elena smiles as she looks to him once more.

"Yeah, she is," Damon's eyes fall to the OR doors once more as his jaw tenses emotionally.

"Hey," Elena rests her hand on his muscular arm. "She'll be okay."

"Yeah, she always is."

Present Day

"So you're doing okay?" Damon asks his mother for the hundredth time as Elizabeth sets Isabella onto the ground.

"Damon, I already told you I'm fine."

"You always say that." Damon shakes his head as he looks to Isabella who is fixing her white bow clipped in her hair.

Smirking, Elizabeth doesn't say anything as she rolls her eyes. But, he's right, she did always say that. She said she was fine even when she wasn't. But as much as her body ached from chemo and cancer, nothing hurt her more than seeing her son hurt. And as much as she loves Elena, she did indeed hurt her son. She broke him and he is finally looking okay again. In fact, he looks great. They both caused so much pain for each other once upon a time, but with a love that strong sometimes heartbreak is inevitable.

Six years ago

After Elizabeth's surgery, Damon and Elena waited until she was cleared. Damon told Elena that she didn't have to stay but the girl insisted on it. She is there for him, and honestly, that scares Damon. She cares and he doesn't know what to do with that. Before her, he didn't know what it felt like to get wrapped up into somebody's eyes by just one look. She consumes him.

His mother's surgery had been successful, though, and now Elena is sitting on Damon's couch, her feet tucked beneath her body. Smirking, Damon views her as he sets his car keys down and approaches her. He lifts her feet and sits beneath them and the motion sends a gentle smile to cross her face.

"I loved meeting your mom," Elena tells him and he smiles a shy smile and that's when she backs away. Shaking her head, Elena frowns. "I'm sorry, that sounded clingy. I didn't mean-"

"Elena," Damon interrupts the embarrassed girl as he touches her thigh. "Shut up," Damon mumbles before sliding his hand up her thigh and across her waist. Her mouth closes as he smiles. "I wouldn't have brought you to meet her if I didn't think this," Damon points between the both of them. "was real,"

Elena blinks once and then twice, the girl caught up in his blue eyes as she nods slowly. Climbing on top of the nervous girl, Damon places his hands on each side of her head as he smiles. His eyes drift to her pink lips as he bites her bottom lip with his teeth. Elena's hands then roam his back before Damon takes her hands within his gently. Bringing her hand's above her head, Damon kisses the girl's neck as she presses her body tighter against his larger one that is now all the way on top of hers.

"Spend the night with me?" Damon mumbles across her neck as he continues to press light kisses on her skin. And without thinking into it, Elena nods. She forgets about Caroline's drama and Bonnie's judgments and her Dad's alcoholic habits. Everyone and everything escapes her mind when she is with him. His kisses ignite her body as he firmly presses their joined hands further into the couch. How can one person change your life so quickly? How did he somehow sneak his way into her heart? But, he did. And today Elena realized that a life without Damon would never be life. His snarky comments, dark hair, electrifying eyes, and '60s car are now embedded into her mind and her soul. Damon Salvatore has sunk his teeth into her and she can't escape, and frankly, she doesn't want to.

Present Day

Damon enters his modern apartment once again as he glances from right to left, and suddenly a wave of nostalgia hits him like a truck. His mind flashes back to his old apartment, the one he had in college. That apartment was their first home as a family. Twenty-one year old Damon thought he had it all under control, boy didn't he know life isn't a fairytale? Damon thought. He remembers it all, every moment, every memory, every detail. But now, Stefan is getting married, Elena is probably moving on, Andie is beginning to replace Elena, in fact, Damon is beginning to replace Elena. Does he want to? Hell no, but how does he get her back after what he said? After what she said? After everything, maybe it is better this way. Damon draws to that conclusion as he views his phone, a message from his mother popping up.

Mom: Thank-you for coming today, and I know you've been through a lot, Damon. But, no matter what happens to me I want you to be happy, and I know you're a man now and don't need my advice but here it is: you'll find your way back. You're lost right now but you'll get there, I promise.

Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all of you who take the time to read this story and am thankful that some really enjoy it. I love writing this story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know this story has been a little slow so I am going to pick up the pace next chapter and skip through some time so that we can get closer to the reveal that all of you want to know: her pregnancy and their breakup. Anyway, I hope you liked the introduction of Damon's mother and leave a review