Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created by L.J. Smith, as portrayed in the TV series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. All rights to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: Finally, a little Delena! You guys have been really patient with me, thank you so much for all your kind reviews!

A STRANGER IN MY HOME

-11-

Elena returned to the office numb from her encounter with Stefan. It was really over between them now. No going back. The realization both pleased and terrified her. Where did she go from here? She couldn't go back. She could only go forward. But in what direction? And where did she stand with Damon? Elena dreaded going home – well, to his place – but she knew they had to talk about things.

Alaric didn't say anything, but he noticed something was going on with Elena. In the morning, she had seemed stressed and on edge, and when she came back from her lunch break, she seemed vacant. He had come to consider Elena as family, he and Jenna both thought of her like – well, not exactly a daughter, but maybe a niece… or sister-in-law. After all, Damon was like a brother to Alaric, so… He didn't want to be a snitch, but Damon should know what was going on with Elena, so when Elena left for the day, Alaric called Damon.

"You hungry?" Damon asked as soon as he heard the door close.

"Starving," Elena replied emphatically. After all, she hadn't eaten a thing at lunch.

"Good. Dinner's almost ready," Damon smiled at Elena as she entered the kitchen.

"Smells delicious," Elena commented. "Do I have time to take a shower? I feel all grimy."

"Take all the time you need."

"Thanks," Elena said and headed up the stairs.

True, she felt dirty and sweaty from a long day at the office, but what she really needed was to wash Stefan off of her. He hadn't touched her, but she still felt tainted by him - and the fact that she had kept the meeting from Damon. He would have stopped her, she was sure of it. Well, things were going to change tonight. No more secrets.

Elena came back downstairs wearing a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and a zip-up hoodie. The conversation would be awkward enough without wearing uncomfortable clothes. Besides, it wasn't like he expected her to dress up for dinner.

Damon smiled when she entered and plated the food.

"Mm, chicken parmesan – my favorite," Elena practically purred as Damon set down the plate in front of her.

"I know."

"Any particular reason why you've made my favorite food tonight?"

"I talked to Ric."

"Oh." Elena pursed her lips.

"He was concerned."

"And he didn't trust me enough to tell you about it if something was wrong."

"Would you?"

"I was going to. Tonight, actually."

Damon said nothing, just waited patiently for Elena to continue.

"I saw Stefan today," she said matter-of-factly, taking a bite of her dinner.

"Has he been following you around? Is that why you've been so distant with me this past week?"

"He sent me a text last week, saying we needed to talk. I didn't tell you because I was afraid of how you'd react… and I didn't know what to do about it."

"You can talk to me about anything. You know that."

"No, I can't!" Elena exclaimed, frustrated. "You want me to be strong and independent? The truth is that I'm not. I'm scared all the time, Damon. I'm scared of being alone, I'm scared of being with someone, I'm scared I'll never be me again. I appreciate all you've done for me, and I feel like I'm a disappointment to you."

"Elena, you're not…" Damon objected, but Elena cut him off before he could finish his sentence, putting a hand up.

"Please let me finish… I felt all these things this past week, and I knew I had to face the truth somehow. So I agreed to meet him. I was terrified of what might happen. That I would let him sweet-talk me into giving him a second chance. But I didn't. As soon as I walked into that coffee shop, this odd sense of… serenity… came over me. I didn't feel a thing. If anything, I felt strong. I told him I would never come back to him. And I promised myself I would face all my fears. Talking to you was one of them."

"Why would you be afraid to talk to me?"

"Because it's scary to pour your heart out to someone who's in a position to break it."

"Why do you think I would break your heart?"

"Because… I think I'm in love with you…" Elena said softly, afraid to look him in the eyes. Instead, she busied herself with moving the food around on her plate. There. She finally said it. It was all up to him now.

"Elena…" Damon said softly, a hint of worry in his voice.

The tone of his voice was too much for Elena, and she fled.

Damon cleared the table, giving her some time before going after her. When he opened her bedroom door, though, he realized he had given her too much time. She was zipping up her suitcase, tears streaming down her face.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't stay here anymore. Not when… I just can't."

"Elena… stop… stop," Damon walked up to her, wrapping her arms around her.

She sobbed against his chest for awhile before pushing him away. "Don't! Don't pretend to care!"

"I care, Elena. I… I feel the same way."

Elena looked up at him in astonishment. Did he just say what she thought he said?

"I would give anything to be with you, but I can't help thinking you need time for yourself before jumping into something. I don't want to take advantage of you."

"I know what I want, Damon. If you walk away – it's for you."

"Listen… I need to leave town for a couple of months. You can stay here and keep doing what you've been doing, and when I get back… if you still feel the same way about me… we'll give us a try. Are you ok with that?"

"I'm not gonna sit around and wait for you. I've put my life on hold for far too long. I won't do it again. Not even for you."

"Good."

"Good?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Damon smiled and cupped her face with his hands.

Elena looked at him, puzzled as to what he was talking about. But his intentions became perfectly clear when his lips crashed down on hers.

Dear Diary,

It's been a year since I first met Damon. A year since my life changed – since I got my life back. Damon and Stefan aren't really talking, but Stefan's been doing a lot better. He's sober and he's got a new job. I'm working part-time at Ric's law firm now and I'm going for a college degree in literature. Damon bought a restaurant and it's doing really well. He still cooks for me every night, and I load the dishwasher.

After that first kiss, the night after I confronted Stefan, we took things slow. I did want to be with Damon, but being intimate with someone again… it took time. Damon was very understanding and I love him for it. What we have is real. I can't see myself with anyone else. I'm finally me again and I'm not scared anymore. I feel like I can do anything. Damon tells me so every day.

I'm not going to pretend it's been smooth sailing for us. I've had a lot of issues to work through, but Damon's been so supportive. My biggest concern was the fact that I will never be able to have a baby. But Damon says we'll adopt if I decide I want to be a mother. Every time I feel like I'm less of a woman because of it, Damon assures me I'm the only woman for him, and he proves it to me every day… or, well, night.

I don't know why I felt like summarizing the past year today. I guess I'm just thinking about it because Damon told me he's planning on a surprise for our one year anniversary of moving into this house – tomorrow. I can't believe my whole life got turned around in the span of 24 hours.

"Elena! Are you ready to go?" Damon's voice called out from downstairs.

Elena put down her diary and made her way downstairs.

"Did you get caught up in your writing again?" he smiled, holding out her coat.

"Yes," Elena smiled back and let him help her with the jacket, leaning into him.

Damon wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "So, are you ok with going over to Ric and Jenna's tonight? I mean, with the baby and everything."

"I'm fine, Damon. I'm so happy for them." Elena turned around and intertwined their fingers. He raised their hands to his lips and kissed her hand.

"Elena!" Jenna exclaimed as she flung open the door and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Hi, Jenna," Elena chuckled and returned the hug.

"What? I don't get a hug?" Damon joked.

"Sure you do, buddy," Alaric came up to the door and greeted Damon.

"Good to see you, Ric," Damon said and gave his friend a hug.

"Come on in, you guys," Alaric said and gave Elena a kiss on the cheek.

Damon kissed Jenna on the cheek, "The food smells delicious. I take it Ric cooked?"

Jenna punched his arm. "Be nice," Jenna scolded him and pulled Elena with her upstairs. "You have to see Ella's room! It's finally finished!"

Elena stepped into the room and drew a breath. "It's beautiful, Jenna," she said softly, taking in the soft pinks, soft lighting and the crib.

"She's sleeping," Jenna whispered, sneaking up to the crib.

"She's so beautiful, Jenna," Elena said warmly, gazing down at the little girl.

"I wanted to ask you something," Jenna said, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Anything, Jenna."

"Ric and I were wondering… would you like to be Ella's godmother? Ric's asking Damon to be her godfather. I know this might be difficult for you, so we won't push… but we'd be super-excited if you accepted."

"It's… wow… thank you, Jenna. That's so sweet of you. I'd love to."

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Jenna said and wrapped her arms around Elena again.

"Are you ok?" Damon said as they got in the car after a nice dinner with Ric and Jenna.

"I'm fine. I'm so happy they want us to be Ella's godparents."

"Me too. You'll be great at it. Me – not so much."

"You should give yourself more credit," Elena smiled.

"So, are you going to tell me what you have planned for today?" Elena said, stroking Damon's arm that was securely wrapped around her.

"If I did, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" Damon smirked against her hair. Elena turned around to face him, hoping her pout and doe eyes would have some effect on him. He kissed her pouty lips and shook his head. "Not gonna work."

Elena sighed and slipped out of his embrace.

"Uh-uh," Damon said, pulling her back into bed, "where do you think you're going?"

"You may not tell me where we're going, but I need to shower."

"We have all day to shower," Damon said.

"We aren't taking a shower. I am. Unless you tell me where we're going, of course…" Elena winked.

"Oh, you're such a little vixen," Damon smiled.

"You love it," Elena shot back.

"Yes… I do."

"You ready?" Damon said, walking into the bathroom where Elena was putting on her mascara.

"Since you won't tell me where we're going, I don't know if I'm dressed properly."

"You look great," Damon's eyes scanned her strapless knee-length royal blue dress. "But I would throw on a shawl if I were you, I wouldn't want you to get cold."

"We're going outside?"

"Come on," Damon smiled and took her hand, pulling her with him out onto the patio. There he had set up a table with candles, roses and a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket.

"When did you do all this?" Elena exclaimed in wonder.

"While you were busy deciding what to wear," he smirked.

"And you cooked?"

"Actually, I got the chef at our restaurant to prepare everything."

"Our restaurant?"

"Well… what's mine is yours, you know." Damon said and pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you," Elena said, sitting down.

Damon poured her a glass of champagne before taking his seat opposite her. "To us," he said, raising his glass.

"To us," Elena agreed.

After a delicious meal, Damon brought out dessert. "Tiramisu", he announced, setting a plate down in front of her.

"Thank you, Damon. This has been great."

"Well, the night's not over yet. I still have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"Well… I was wondering if you would consider having dinner with me again tomorrow."

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"How about a week from now?"

"Sure."

"A year?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm asking you, Elena Gilbert, if you would consider having dinner with me every night for the rest of our lives."

Elena was speechless. She blinked and Damon was beside her, kneeling and holding out the most beautiful ring, white gold with a lapis stone setting.

"Will you marry me, Elena?"

"Yes… yes!" Elena said, overwhelmed as he slid the ring on her finger and kissed her hand.

"Come on," Damon said, pulling her to her feet.

"Where are we going?"

"Upstairs."

"But what about dessert?" Elena said, looking at the untouched cake in front of her.

"What about it?" Damon winked.

"Good point," Elena smiled and giggled as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside.

THE END

Author's Note: Wow… I didn't know this was going to be the final chapter when I started writing it… I had a whole other story arc planned, but these characters took on a life of their own… I hope I didn't disappoint.

Just as a side note, I just signed up to be a beta reader. I'm probably getting in way over my head… but I thought I'd give it a go.