So it took me 10 stupid days to write the last few lines of that final chapter ;o) First of all, I want to thank EVERYONE who read this and took the time to review, a lot of you faithfully every chapter. I am also really grateful for everyone's patience as I was not exactly a model of exactitude in updating (there is still someone reading this, right ?:o)

Anyway you guys are really awesome and inspiring, so I guess I'll see you around soon with new stories;o) I am now off to Birmingham, UK, to spend the weekend with our dear brothers ;o)

Enjoy !

Damon was stunned, even if he should have seen it coming.

"Ok, first of all, you didn't 'let me go'. By the time I left with Blondie, we were barely talking. I was mad at you for giving up on finding Stefan. And guess what? I finally found him!"

Elena looked at him, a little bit dumbfounded by his rant. She lowered her head.

"I'm sorry about that. And also about what I just said. I hadn't realized how serious the two of you were until I saw you."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you just came here thinking that I would drop everything simply because you decided you missed me?"

She blushed, and he understood that it was indeed what she had thought. He chuckled. "Unbelievable. Caroline is supposed to be one of your best friends. With friends like you, I guess she doesn't need enemies."

He regretted his harsh words when he saw a look of pain and anger crossing the young brunette's features.

"Don't say that. Don't make it sound like I came here with the sole purpose of stealing you from Caroline. She and I haven't been talking much lately and I admit it's my fault, and I regret it. Same for Bonnie, and you, and Stefan. I miss you all."

"Weren't you seeing someone at the time Care and I left?"

"Yes, but we broke up a few weeks after. Once you were all gone, I realized that I couldn't be happy without you around."

He sighed, feeling pity. Whatever she might have done, Elena had been an important part of his life at some point and he certainly didn't want to see her hurt.

Yet, in this instance, he had no choice.

"Listen, Elena. I love Caroline, and it's forever." He realized he had been a bit abrupt when he saw her flinch. But maybe this would be the best way to make her understand.

"And Stefan is with Rebekah. They have history together and he's in a really good place right now, so please don't mess with him."

She nodded, obviously swallowing her tears. He hadn't meant to make her cry, but he understood that those tears were more directed at her, at her own bad choices and at what she had lost because of it.

"Forget I said anything, then? The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable. I'll try to stay out of your way this weekend.

He smiled gently. "You don't need to do that. I'm sure Caroline would like to spend some time with you and catch up."

She laughed incredulously. "After you tell her what I did I highly doubt that."

"Don't underestimate her, she knew exactly what you were planning to say and yet she still left. She's the most caring, genuinely person I've ever known. You of all people should know that. Just go talk to her," he said, standing up. Talking about Caroline just made him want to see her and hold her close in his arms.

"See you later, ok?"

He walked back leisurely towards the house, and found Caroline in her underwear when he got back to their room. She was fresh out of the shower and was leaving an enticing flowery scent everywhere she went.

"So, what did our dear Elena want?" she asked with a knowing smile.

He gave her a lopsided grin. "What did you think she want?"

"To get you or Stefan back. Which one was it?"

"I..." he frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure. She wasn't exactly specific."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Typical."

"She said she missed us all. I told her to talk to you."

The young blonde sighed. "The truth is, I missed her too. We've been through so much together, and with Bonnie, and we shouldn't let our friendship go to waste like that."

He went to her, caressing her cheek. "I know you would say something like that."

"But if she hits on you or Stefan, I'll kick her ass."

Damon laughed. "If she hit on Stefan, I'm pretty sure Rebekah will give the first punch."

He pressed her against him, letting his mouth wonder on her neck, making her shiver.

"I wonder why I did spent my time chasing her when you were just under my nose," he muttered before taking her lips in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, moaning slightly when his hands gripped her buttocks and she felt the evidence of his desire.

"I don't know if we have time for this," she giggled and he smiled devilishly.

"We'll make time."

They made it just in time for dinner. Caroline was glowing and Damon had a really smug look on his face. Stefan and Rebekah exchanged a smile.

They both had arrived a bit earlier in the main living room where the guest gathered before dinner. Elena was already there. She got up when they walked in the room.

Stefan had smiled. "Elena. It's good to see you again." He kissed her cheek then turned to the young blonde beside him. "This is Rebekah. Rebekah, Elena."

Rebekah held her hand with a gracious smile. "Hi Elena. It's nice to meet you."

Elena shook her hand, smiling back. "You too. Damon told me you knew each other before."

She wasn't trying to be nosy, but her conversation with Damon had made her think and right now she was mostly relieved to see that Stefan was ok.

He nodded. "We met back in the 20's. Not my finest hour, but she seemed to like me anyway."

"You seem ok," she told Stefan with an interrogative look.

"Oh, Rebekah knows. She's...like us. And yes, I am now. Damon and Caroline helped a lot and well, it's a long story."

"I'm glad things turned out that way."

That set the tone for the rest of the evening, relaxed and cordial. At dinner Elena asked if she could sit down next to Caroline and the blonde vampire agreed instantly. Soon the two friends were catching up, making up for lost time and promising not to get so estranged anymore.

The wedding was the next day. The ceremony took place in a beautiful church nearby, and after that there was a lunch with just the family and close friends. A few hours of the afternoon were devoted to rest before dinner and a party was thrown at Amy's parents house.

Caroline was wearing an elegant dark blue chiffon dress and matching shoes. Rebekah was in red and terribly excited to attend her first 'modern day' party as she loved to dance. Caroline and her had 'practiced' in the apartment before coming by jumping and gesticulating around on dance music under the dumbfounded look of Stefan and Damon.

Later in the evening, Damon asked Caroline to take a walk with him in the garden and he led her to the gazebo, which had been decorated with a string of colored lights.

"That is so beautiful!" she exclaimed, walking in and looking around. "I didn't notice the lights this afternoon. Do you know..."She turned around and gasped.

Damon was down on one knee, holding a box with a beautiful sparkling ring.

"Damon!" she said, delightedly stunned. "What are you doing?"

He couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm getting a haircut. What does it look like I'm doing?"

She pressed her hands against her mouth, letting a happy laugh escape. "Oh my God, yes!"

He rolled his eyes, smiling. "Can you at least let me ask you properly? I mean, I rehearsed it in my head and everything."

She giggled. "Of course, sorry. Go ahead."

He cleared his throat and took her hand. "Miss Caroline Forbes," he started with a solemn tone," Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Oh, Damon."

She looked at the ring. It was a pink diamond surrounded by little white ones, very classic and elegant.

He rose, keeping her hand in his as she was not responding. "You said yes two seconds ago," he told her with a teasing glint in his eyes. "did you change your mind already?"

She laughed. "Of course not. Yes, Damon, I will marry you."

With a grin, he slid the ring on her finger before taking her in his arms for an earth shattering kiss.

"See, I meant it when I said it was forever," he whispered against her lips and she smiled happily before kissing him again.

They agreed to not tell anyone immediately as they didn't want to become the center of attention at their friends' wedding. They came back to the party and Damon went to find Ric while Caroline joined Stefan who was leaning against a wall, watching Rebekah dance.

"You don't want to join her?" she asked.

"With this music? Not in a million years." He then looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Did you say yes?"

Her eyes went wide. "You knew?"

He nodded with a conspiratory smile. "I was with Damon when he bought it," he said, discreetly pointing with his chin to her hand.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said with a dreamy sigh.

He leaned and kissed her on the cheek. "It's beautiful because it means you are becoming my sister," he told her with a smile and she hugged him.

"I love you Stefan. I'll be honored to be your sister," she said, suddenly overwhelmed by her love for these two amazing men.

Damon appeared.

"I"m really happy for the both of you," Stefan told them and him and Damon hugged briefly, not wanting to attract attention. Celebrations would come later.

The music slowed down and Damon held his hand to Caroline.

"Would the future Mrs Salvatore care to dance?"

She took his hand, laughing. "Oh, she definitely does."

He led her on the improvised dance floor and she slid into his arms naturally, knowing that it was where she belonged.

"You look beautiful," he told her with a tender look.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself in this suit. I would have loved to see you in one of your costume back in the 1800.

"I'm sure I must have pictures somewhere at the boarding house. Which reminds me that Stefan and I need to go back to Mystic Falls and arranged for it to be sold."

She looked surprised. "Really ? You want to sell it?"

"Yes. We rarely go back there, except to see your mom, and when we do we can stay with her or rent something."

She nodded. "Let's go next week then, so it will be the opportunity to break the news to my mom."

He pressed her against him, putting his mouth against her neck. "I've never proposed to anyone before," he whispered in her ear. "How did I do?"

"You did wonderfully. I love you," she answered, her mouth wandering on his cheek, inhaling the subtle fragrance of his cologne. She would never , ever get tired of being in his arms.

"I love you too. Forever," he promised.

They broke the news to everyone the next day. It was their last day in Boston as Ric and Amy were leaving for their honeymoon. They celebrated accordingly altogether in a nice restaurant.

The next morning Elena was leaving for Mystic Falls, and Caroline told her she would come the following week, and they would try to arrange a weekend with Bonnie at a later date.

A few hours later they were back home, where they found Klaus comfortably installed in the garden. Caroline showed him the ring and it was yet another round of celebration. Klaus had some news of his own since Elijah and him had purchased a house in the immediate vicinity.

Of course Caroline volunteered to help with the decoration, so the next weekend while Stefan, Damon and Elijah went to look for furniture, Klaus and Caroline were at the house fighting with the wallpaper.

"Ok, you know what? Let's ask some professionals to do this. I don't have the faintest idea how to put this thing."

She gave him a knowing smile. "That's because for a 1000 years you always had people do things for you. You have to learn to be more independent. You never had a job, did you?"

He laughed at her bluntness. "No actually. I was too busy chasing around that blasted doppelganger. What a waste of time, right? What do you think I'd be good at?"

"Well, not interior decoration, obviously. You're very passionate, you could be a lawyer. A good one of course, not a shark. And I would totally see Elijah as a doctor, I don't know why. I mean, you have to find something to do, or you'll get bored very quickly."

Klaus nodded. "I have to think about this. I spent a lot of time drawing and painting. It's one of my passions," he revealed.

He was flattered by the interest she showed and promised to let her have a look at his work when he would bring it over. Her opinion mattered to him a great deal and he couldn't imagine his life without her and the guys from now on.

The following week, Stefan, Caroline and Damon went to Mystic Falls to put the house on sale. Damon and Stefan took care of it while Caroline spent some time with her mom and Elena.

Once it was done, they brought a few boxes to get some personal belongings. They would need to put the rest in a storage place before deciding if they wanted to keep it or not.

While Stefan was busy in his room, Caroline found Damon in the den, sorting out some books.

"This is where it all started," she said with a smile.

"What?"

"You and me. When I came to say goodbye and you decided to tag along."

"Best decision of my life," he grinned, putting the books in a box.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure that when you climbed in my car you hadn't planned on ending engaged to me."

He gave her a fake surprised look. "Engaged ? Oh right, I proposed...what was I thinking?"

She threw him a book but he caught it easily before flashing to catch her and pin her against the wall.

"Having second thoughts, mister Salvatore?" she asked, a little out of breath by his move.

He gave her a kiss that convinced her that he absolutely didn't – not that she had any doubt anyway.

"Never," he whispered against her mouth. "You make me happy. You're awesome. I'm not letting you go, ever."

She laughed happily and put her arms around his neck. They exchanged a passionate kiss, and as things were getting a little hot and heavy, a voice resonated above them.

"Uh guys, seriously? I'm still in the house, you know..."

FINIS ;)