Memory Serves

(Epilogue - 2034)

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The Salvatore House - Bellwood, Virginia

Dear Diary,

My uncle Stefan is arriving tonight. He's going to stay with us for a few weeks. I haven't seen him in years, but it doesn't matter, he'll be just as I remember. It's weird to think that we're the same age now, well sorta. I always forget that he's over 180 years old. (I'm not supposed to write this down, but I'm breaking the rules.) Anyway, Stefan isn't anything like fictional vampires, he goes in the sun and (hopefully) hasn't killed anyone in a long time.

I'll never forget the day I saw my uncle's true face. I was 7 or so and playing on my swing set. I was trying to jump off, but I screwed up, so my knees got scratched up and bloody. Stefan rushed over to see if I was alright, but then he had to back away when his face changed. I remember how I stopped crying and stared at him in wonder. He told me to keep it a secret, at the time I didn't know what I was protecting, but I pinky swore to him.

I didn't see Stefan again until my 13th birthday party. He said he couldn't miss celebrating the start of my teens. Sure enough, he looked exactly the same except he was wearing nicer clothes. Eventually I had to ask my dad about Stefan. My dad isn't capable of lying to me. He sucks at it actually. Long story short, he confessed the family secret. I was in denial at first, but then I weaved my memories together. It was suddenly obvious that my dad had a vampire past. He knew way too much, especially when it came to history. He slipped up sometimes while checking my homework. Like in the 8th grade, he was reading my essay on The Great Depression and he had a really hard time talking about it. At the time, I just thought my dad was uber patriotic or something.

Learning that my dad was living his second life kinda messed with my head. It even sent me into a morbid-Goth binge, where I became a little too obsessed with death. Unfortunately, my parents refuse to disclose my dad's full story until I'm 18. I don't know why they're waiting, but they won't budge. They're so stubborn, the both of them, so it's hell when they team up.

Hmm... maybe Stefan can tell me the family history, if I ask nicely. I've got a lot going on, so this is it for today.

Love Always,
Aria

After locking her diary and hiding it, Aria went downstairs to check the living room for any of her 'junk' lying around as her mom asked. Sure enough, she found her missing Prada pumps under the couch and her cheerleading poms were also tossed aside. She grabbed the items and ran upstairs to put them away. When she returned downstairs, she headed in the direction of the kitchen. She didn't understand the point in waiting for Stefan to have dinner, it's not like he liked eating regular food. She rolled her eyes and started digging through the leftovers to warm up a snack.

Settling for day old Chinese food, she set the microwave timer and grabbed a paper plate. She turned around to grab a fork and jumped at least a foot in the air.

"God, Stefan! You suck!" She said breathlessly. "I hate when you do that."

He chuckled in amusement while scanning his niece's appearance.

"How did you get in here... ugh, whatever, I don't care." She rolled her eyes.

"Does dad know you're here?" She asked narrowing her eyes.

"No." Stefan paused and listened closely. "He's with your mom upstairs."

"So freaky! I'll never get used to it." She shuddered and opened the microwave, digging into her food. "I guess you're supposed to say 'you look good' after not seeing someone for a long time, but what's the point with you." She added cheekily.

"Well, Arietta, you on the other hand, look lovelier than I remember." Stefan said with a bright smile. "Every day you're looking less like your father and more like your mother."

"Ha Ha. Very funny." She replied sarcastically. She knew all about the Salvatore rivalry, even how Stefan dated her mom first. Not that she liked to admit it, because of the 'eww' factor, but it was common knowledge that her dad was a babe.

"How are you enjoying your... junior year of high school?"

Aria laughed. "It's great. How's yours?" She teased.

Stefan shook his head. "Guess your father told you, huh?"

"How you used to repeat high school over and over? Yeah, he might have mentioned that." She raised a brow.

"In my defense, you get bored easily after a century." He retorted. "But really, how's high school treating? Got a steady? Any heartbreaker you want me to beat up while I'm in town?"

Aria shot him a distasteful look. "Steady? God, you are old. Eh, I date around, yeah sure." She finished her food and cleaned up the mess she made. She walked over to Stefan, standing closer to him.

"Hey! That looks familiar." Stefan said smiling, pointing at Aria's necklace.

"Oh, right, yeah. Mom gave it to me on my birthday last week." Aria nodded, she scowled and then smacked him hard. She liked the idea of using her uncle as a punching bag. It's not like anything actually hurt him. "Which you missed. Loser."

"I know. I'm sorry about that." Stefan said with a wary grin. "You know I just got back from Florence, right?"

Aria rolled her eyes, not impressed by his excuse.

"But that doesn't mean I didn't buy you a present!" He added smugly.

Aria looked at him curiously, waiting for him to give it to her.

"It's not in the house." Stefan explained, shrugging.

Her face dropped in confusion.

"It's in the driveway." He said innocently, taking the keys out of his pocket.

Aria suddenly felt faint. "Wait. Back up. A car? You got me a car?" She clarified incredulously.

Stefan jingled the keys out to her. "Go check it out."

There was a moment of silence, then Aria screamed in very high decimals, really hurting Stefan's sensitive ears and started bouncing up and down in place. She hugged him fiercely.

"Best. Uncle. Ever." She exclaimed and ran out the front door.

Damon and Elena rushed downstairs hearing Aria's screaming. "What happened?" They both said in unison, almost comically. Their expressions relaxed once Stefan walked in the living room.

"Brother. You made it." Damon said warmly, moving to hug him.

Elena smiled, watching the brothers embrace and hugged Stefan as well.

"I saw you gave Arietta the locket." Stefan said bittersweetly, releasing his high school sweetie.

"Yeah, I did." Elena nodded. "I thought it was appropriate for her 17th birthday..."

Damon rolled his eyes, bored watching the pair go down memory lane. He wasn't too fond of those days, he preferred Elena as the woman she became after marrying him. "Speaking of my little girl, where is she? And why did I hear her screaming like a banshee?"

Almost on theatrical cue, Aria came rushing through the front door, squealing her head off. Damon and Elena looked at her expectantly. Aria couldn't breathe, she was so excited. "Stefan... uncle... he... uh..." She said panting.

"What did you do?" Damon asked Stefan cautiously, looking a bit taken aback.

"HE BOUGHT ME A CAR!" She shouted. "Oh my God, I have to tell like everyone, like right now. Excuse me." She said in a rush and ran upstairs.

"You bought my daughter a car?" Damon asked offended, turning to Stefan. He crossed his arms waiting for an explanation.

"Yeah, what's the big deal deal? Or have you already forgotten what it's like to be a teenager?" Stefan teased with a raised brow.

"Very cute, Stefan." Damon rolled his eyes.

"That was very thoughtful of you." Elena interrupted the brothers.

"Thoughtful?" Damon exclaimed. "Do you know something I don't? 'Cause last time I checked, Aria doesn't have a licensee!"

"She doesn't have a licensee?" Stefan asked confused.

"I think it's time for you to teach her how to drive." Elena said with a pointed look at Damon.

"She's too distracted. I don't want her on the road yet." Damon said running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I could always teach her, since I'll be here for awhile." Stefan chimed in.

"Stefan. Stop. I know you think this is funny or whatever, 'cause you'll always be her cool teenage uncle. Just next time, don't go changing my daughter's life without asking me." Damon said seriously, scowling. "Now, I have some heartbreaking to do." He muttered and went upstairs to talk to Aria about the car.

Stefan had a broody expression on his face after being scolded by his older brother.

"Stefan, it's okay. He's just really protective of her." Elena said patting his shoulder.

"Never thought I'd be the one telling him to lighten up." Stefan chuckled.

"Nah, he's the same Damon. He's only serious when it comes to Aria's life."

"He turned out to be a really great father, huh?" Stefan said wistfully.

Elena smiled in agreement knowing how much Damon enjoyed having a mini-me.

"Hell of a lot better than our father ever was. Pretty incredible." Stefan added.

The two mused silently until Elena broke the silence with a lighter topic. "So what's your diet like these days, anyway?"

Meanwhile, upstairs Damon and Aria were in a heated discussion about driving.

"But why? This isn't fair!" She whined with a pout.

Damon turned away from her pouty face. "You have the SATs coming up. Your test is in a month!"

"So what?" She shrugged.

"So what about Georgetown?" He reminded her looking up at the flag on her wall. "Don't you want to get in?"

Aria remained silent, stubbornly not replying.

"Right now I want you to concentrate on prepping. I'll sign you up for driving school after you've taken the test." He said sternly. "You know I only want the best for you." He kissed her forehead and stood up from the bed to leave the room.

"Daddy..."

"Hmm?"

"I thought you'd be the one to teach me how to drive." She stated with a frown.

Damon swallowed. "If you want me to teach you, then of course I'll do it." He nodded and left the room.

Damon's heart was beating wildly as he walked downstairs, he dreaded teaching his little girl how to drive. He'd be too anxious and overprotective the entire time. He'd be worried about turning her into a bad driver. He growled and thought about staking Stefan for putting him in this situation! His daughter didn't need a fast sports car, she needed something safe like a girly SUV or truck.

Since it was almost time for dinner, Elena was in the kitchen setting the table.

Damon huffed walking in and went to the sink to wash his hands. He did most of the cooking, frankly he was better at it and loved food. Elena would do the clean-up and help when he asked. The situation turned out rather ironic considering Elena had always been the one making HD meals back in the day.

"Where's Steffy?" Damon asked annoyed looking through the drawer for the right knife.

"He made a run to the hospital to get some blood."

"Oh, okay." He made a strange face. "Where are we going to keep the blood?"

"What do you mean?" Elena asked confused.

"Well, it's not going in our fridge."

"Don't be ridiculous, Damon. You of all people shouldn't get freaked out by a few blood bags."

He rolled his eyes. "What about Aria? I'm sure it will be totally normal to have cereal with a side of blood."

Elena looked at him disbelieving. "It will be fine. She's known the truth for awhile now. I handled seeing it at her age." She chuckled. "You even fed off me those last few-"

"Enough, Elena, please. You know I don't like talking about this stuff when she's home." Damon said frowning, looking up at the ceiling.

Elena sighed. "You know she's going to find out everything one way or another."

"Sorry, if I don't want my daughter to know that I munched on her mother." He said sarcastically while violently chopping an onion.

Elena smirked and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle. She pressed her cheek against his back. He stopped chopping enjoying her touch. "The biting happened for romantic reasons. And it was sexy." She said softly.

Damon stiffened and turned around to face her. He gently kissed her lips. "The only reason why I became a vampire was to eventually reunite my soul with yours."

"See!" Elena said brightly grinning. "Our story is romantic!"

Damon bit his lip. "Yeah, I'd be bold enough to call us an epic romance..."

"But?" She asked raising a brow.

"That doesn't mean I want Aria to know every detail about my life as a vampire. She doesn't need to know about the gore or the terrible things I did to your friends and even you at times." He said seriously. "My demon died. She knows the real me, that's what counts."

Elena closed her eyes and nuzzled against his chest. "You're right. I'm sorry. We'll only tell her what you feel comfortable with sharing."

"Ti amo."

"I love you too." She replied. "Alright, I better let you go or we won't be eating dinner tonight." She chuckled and released her arms from the embrace.

Damon felt better after holding Elena. She always calmed him down and grounded him, their connection was very strong. He had no doubts about their soul mate bond still existing, even the sex was just as mind blowing as their first months together. They simply fit together, meant for each other only.

Forty-five minutes later, Stefan returned to the house, he entered the kitchen holding a large ice chest. Damon and Elena shared the same curious expression.

"I didn't want to freak Arietta out by keeping my meals in the fridge." Stefan explained.

Damon and Elena shared a sweet look at each other.

"Good thinking Steffy, I guess you can keep the chest in the basement or in your guestroom closet." Damon said chipperly.

"Right." Stefan titled his head in thought. "I better go take care of this and eat before I pretend to eat." He smirked.

"Stefan is a lot sillier on human blood." Elena mused once he left the kitchen.

"Yeah, he's a real boy, excuse me - vampire now." Damon said sarcastically. He was happy Stefan could control his blood lust, but was still annoyed by how long it took him.

Elena smirked at Damon's comment and placed the finished dishes on the table. "Looking good." She said eagerly.

"Like that's a surprise." He retorted cocky. He walked over to the side wall and dialed Aria on the intercom. "Baby girl, time for dinner."

Aria smiled hearing her dad's voice and ran downstairs excited to eat.

At the table, the four sat together passing dishes and mostly discussing Aria's life at school. Half-way through the meal, a teen blond knocked on the glass door of the kitchen. Aria jumped up to let her best friend, Cassie, inside the house.

"What a surprise." Damon said sarcastically. The girl reminded him of human Caroline (He actually really liked hanging out with vampire Caroline, she stopped by once in awhile). Cassie tended to mooch off their family meals, because her home life was kinda messy.

Elena slapped his hand. "Damon. Be nice." She chided.

"Hi Mr. And Mrs. Salvatore!" Cassie greeted with a smile. Her eyes landed on Stefan and she almost tripped over her shoes. "Hi, I'm..."

"Cassie. My best friend." Aria rolled her eyes. "This is Stefan, he's my-"

"COUSIN." Damon cut her off. "He's Aria's cousin from my side of the family. He's staying with us for a few weeks."

Aria gave her dad a look of understanding.

"Oh my God! How exciting!" Cassie said excited about Stefan's vacation.

"Cassie, are you going to be joining us for dinner? There's plenty of food." Elena asked, earning a glare from Damon. "We have more than enough."

"Aww, thanks! Sure. I haven't eaten yet today." Cassie replied and sat down next to Stefan.

"So where are you from? What school do you go to? Do you play any sports?" Cassie enthusiastically asked Stefan.

Stefan froze trying to think of a good cover story.

"He goes to school in Italy." Aria said with a dramatic sigh, her dad chuckled a bit.

"Wow!" Cassie replied. "So you like speak Italian and stuff?" She swooned. "Were you born there?"

The rest of the dinner was boring for the Salvatores, having to listen to Cassie play twenty questions. Poor Stefan, he had stumbled through it. He tried several times to talk about her life, but the conversation always circled back to his life.

After dinner Aria and Cassie had the inevitable girltalk upstairs, which made Stefan uncomfortable being able to hear every word.

"Yeah, Cass, um, my un-, my cousin... he's not looking to hook up with anyone, at least I don't think so." Aria said warily. "I can ask though, if you want."

While the girls were upstairs, Damon and Stefan simply stared at each other in the living room. Damon was drinking a bourbon and Elena was in the kitchen doing the dishes.

"Fair warning, Aria is gonna come down to ask you if she can go out." Stefan alerted Damon.

"Oh." He replied, he never thought of using Stefan as an 'inside source'. "Yeah, thanks. Are you going with them?"

"Do you want me to go with them?" Stefan asked confused.

"Yeah, I mean, why not? No sense in you hanging out with an old married couple, especially when the night is just starting." Damon replied casually.

Damon just wanted Stefan out of the house to have sex with Elena. It was a little too weird knowing Stefan could hear everything, Damon would rather keep his sex life private with Elena. Plus maybe Stefan could tell him about Aria's latest fling.

"Uh, well." Stefan said awkwardly thinking about Cassie, sometimes life could be so hard as the eternal teenager. "If Aria really wants me to go... Then I'll go. I was kinda hoping to sleep early tonight, I'm pretty beat from the flight."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're a vampire. You can stay awake. And Aria's curfew is midnight... You'll come back soon enough."

Stefan was stuck.

A few minutes later, Aria and Cassie came downstairs giggling the entire time.

"Daddy, can I-"

"Go." Damon answered. "Just be home by curfew."

"Awesome." Aria said astonished by the fast response, she kissed her dad on the cheek. "U-, Stefan, are you gonna hang out with us?"

"Do you want me to come, Arietta?" Stefan asked in a sigh. After all, he was kinda curious about exploring more of Bellwood. The Salvatores had to move away from Mystic Falls for Stefan's sake. After a few years, it was clear that Stefan would no longer be able to visit without raising suspicion about his age. They moved to Bellwood when Aria was three years old. At least once a month, the Salvatores headed back to Mystic Falls to hang out with Jenna and Ric. Aria usually spent Founder's Week in town, she was practically royalty there, all thanks to her parents' last names. The boarding house was rented out to tenants, simply the better option than leaving it vacant to get moldy.

Aria nodded in confirmation.

"Aww, how cute, he calls you by your full Italian name." Cassie cooed.

"Whatever." Aria rolled her eyes. "Hey, Steffy, you should totally drive my new car! Since I can't..."

"New car?" Cassie asked shocked. "You got a car, oh my god! When?"

The squeals continued all the way out the door with a wincing Stefan trailing behind them. He was already apprehensive about his decision to go out with them.

Damon smiled cheekily after them and locked the deadbolt on the front door. He practically sprinted to the kitchen to see Elena, now knowing they had a solid four hours to fool around.

Elena was wiping down the dinner table when Damon came racing in. He grinned and grabbed her. He twirled her and planted a bruising kiss on her lips. She saw stars behind her eyes in shock by the unexpected passion. "Uh, Stefan?"

"With Aria. Out." Damon said unbuttoning her cardigan.

Elena burst into laughter at the image in her head. "Seriously?"

"Uh huh." He said shrugging the cardigan off. He turned her around to unzip the back of her dress.

"God, I will die laughing if Cassie tries to kiss him. Could you imagine-"

"Baby, no more talking." He said taking off the dress. "Unless it's dirty, of course." He added as an after thought and removed her underwear and heels.

Elena made the move to face him, but Damon grabbed her hips in place. "Nah, I've got you right where I want you." He explained seductively.

Elena could only swallow thickly in anticipation.

Damon quickly removed his pants and boxers and kicked them aside. He pushed down gently against her spine, giving her the hint to bend over the dinner table.

"Didn't we have sex in the kitchen last time?" Elena mused in a mumble.

He didn't reply, he positioned his member from behind and slowly slid into her wet warmth.

"Ahhh, oh, fuuuck me, Damon." She moaned feeling him enter.

Damon smirked. "Gladly." He held her hips and started to thrust in and out at a steady pace. He moaned, head leaning back lost in the pleasure.

He began to take her harder, faster, urgently - so urgently because he wanted her badly. Every thrust he gave made her cry out in pleasure. Damon reached under her with both hands to squeeze her breasts, which were still contained by her bra. This gave him the leverage needed to really slam into her. The sound of their bodies meeting filled the house. He was lost in the act of taking his wife. Just like always his constant uproar of thoughts and worries were replaced by bliss.

Unable to control himself, Damon took her even harder. She began to slide across the top of the table. His jaw was clenched, practically growling while he held her down with his weight. Elena was loving every thrust of it. It drove her wild when he was unrestrained.

Their moans mutually got longer and louder as they both edged closer to release. Suddenly, he felt her muscles squeezing around him and he couldn't hold back. He spilled inside her and froze in place, as the sheer relief over took him. A great weight seemed to come off his shoulders. In the reflection of the oven, Damon could see his satisfied face.

After Damon breathed deep, getting the pounding of his heart under control, he slowly slid out of her and turned her around. She giggled in a post-coitus stupor and wrapped her arms around him. He smiled and kissed her face affectionately. Then out of nowhere, she smacked him, really hard.

"Oww, what was that for?" Damon pouted.

"I have to wash the table... again." Elena whined.

Damon just let out a loud chuckle, which only made her more annoyed.

"It's not funny!" She continued whining.

"It totally is, come on baby, let's take a nice long shower." He said grabbing her hand and dragged her across the kitchen.

"We're really lucky the kitchen faces the backyard and not the neighbors." Elena quipped about their undressed state.

Meanwhile, Stefan found himself at a house party with Aria and Cassie. He wanted to protest going, but then realized it would have blown his cover and went along with the plan. But God, if Aria went home drunk, Damon would stake him for sure. He'd have to make sure his niece was perfectly sober by the time she walked in the front door.

As time went on, Stefan loosened up and agreed to play a game of beer pong with Cassie. She was surprisingly good at the game and they were playing their third round. Aria was patiently watching from the sidelines, but the smell of alcohol and smoking was getting to her. Figuring she wasn't going to lose them, since they were stuck at the table, Aria left them for a bit in search of some fresh air.

The house was within waking distance to Lake Chesdin. It was a really nice night out, so Aria decided to walk in the direction of the water. She was lost in her thoughts, throwing pebbles and thinking about her latest AP American History test grade. She didn't even realize that she had been out there for over half an hour. She sighed after getting panicked texts from both Stefan and Cassie. When she turned to walk back to the house, she noticed a woman walking closer to her. She was beautiful with black hair and porcelain pale skin.

"Hello, my sweet Arietta." Isobel said wickedly. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday."

"I'm sorry, but who are you? How do you know me?" Aria asked confused, trying to determine where they could have met.

"I know who you are because it's my blood that's running through your veins. I'm your grandmother." Isobel replied arrogantly.

"What? That's not possible. Miranda died a long time ago. I've been to her grave."

"No, no, child. I thought your parents told you, Miranda Gilbert was your adoptive grandmother."

"And you are..."

"I gave birth to Elena."

Aria was taken aback. "I don't understand. She's never mentioned you, why? You don't look that much older than my mom, so if you're her mother then you would have to be a..."

"Say it." Isobel hissed.

"Vampire." Aria whispered in shock. She should have figured out, realizing her skin looked like Stefan's.

Isobel nodded in confirmation. "There's someone else dying to meet you as well."

Katherine seemingly appeared out of thin air and tapped Aria on the shoulder. Aria turned around and almost screamed in shock. "What the hell? How is this possible! You look exactly like my mom on her wedding day."

Katherine's face changed and suddenly looking at another vampire besides Stefan was super scary. Aria backed away, but bumped into Isobel's lean body. Aria was trapped by her two ancestors.

"Welcome to the family." Katherine purred in her ear while looking at Isobel. She bit Aria's neck.

"We'll have so much fun. Just us girls, won't we?" Isobel smiled and picked her own spot to bite.

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You think you know... what you are, what's to come. You haven't even begun.
~ Buffy The Vampire Slayer

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A/N: The kitchen was so Delena, right? My very own Seventh Heaven, vampire edition, ha! :) By the way, I wrote the threesome, it's complete. There's a soundtrack & trivia for this fic at my LiveJournal (junkyatbest). The link is on my author profile.

I'm extremely unsatisfied about the emotional jump D/E made from 2x10 to 2x11. My solution? I'm writing a story set in between those two episodes. The story is called 'Resuscitate', it explores why Elena was ready to die and Damon's vow to protect her. Hope you check it out, there's a few chaps up.

I've also written D/E in the 1800s, 1920s & 1950s! :)

I'm a lover... Avecia, Mayghaen17, DomOx, Heidi Mae, Temptress-Kitten17 & The Head Reviewer. Read their stories.

xoxo, S.