Disclaimer: Not mine as much as I wish. A/N: Sorry for the wait. Just started my Early childhood course (new career objectives) & I've started on assessments. On top of that, my writing muse has been non-existent. Sorry if this isn't the best. Reviews welcome x

Epilogue

6.

Elena felt the dig of the Bunsen burner against her tail bone, a minor distraction from Damon's passionate kisses against her neck. A giggle escaped her - this was ludicrous - he'd just dumped her for Rebekah, and hadn't she made a promise to the other girls, to take him down?

Damon paused, tilted his head and studied the tears still clinging to her eyelashes. She gripped his neck, studying the red splodges left behind from hers and Lexi's slaps. She wondered if anyone had noticed her take his hand and pull him into the empty classroom, locking the door behind them?

He caressed her cheek, curling her wavy hair behind her ear, then held her gaze with his intense blue eyes, which still made her heart skip a beat. She gasped in anticipation as his hooked finger dragged her knickers south. His hands disappeared from her back, pulling her legs forwards around his waist.

"Damon..." she gasped his name beneath the buzzing lab light and prayed nobody could see in through the half-closed blinds. He pulled his belt free, and she helped push his pants down, eager to forget their break up and instead remember how combatable they were when it came to sex.

Their intimacy had always been her weakness, and deep down, Elena knew their reunion was just their way of saying goodbye.

9 months later

"Oh my god, Damon!"

The inquisitive face of Emily Salvatore looked up at her parents from the blanket in Elena's arms. The blinds were half closed, and Damon had run several anxious hand movements through his hair over the last few hours to ease his anxiety, as they waited for the birth of their daughter.

"She's beautiful," Damon whispered, edging closer to the hospital bed.

Elena eyed his hesitant expression, and extended her arms towards him.

"Do you want to hold her?" she asked.

Entranced, Damon bent over and raised Emily to his chest, brushing a tentative finger over her soft cheeks. Her blue eyes shined with mischief and she emitted a laugh mirroring that of her mother's.

"She's ours alright," he smirked, rocking their daughter to and fro in his arms, and catching Elena's beaming smile out of the corner of his eye.

Rebekah walked inside without acknowledging herself, ladled with several shopping bags.

"What are those?" Damon scrutinised, glancing at Elena whose eyes lit up at her girlfriend's arrival.

Rebekah looked down at her bags. "Elena's new wardrobe," she said. "I'm not leaving you in that unflattering hospital gown, it's hideous... besides, you haven't anything to wear except maternity clothes." She lifted the other bags in her right hand. "These are presents for Emily, from all of us."

Damon and Elena heard voices outside the hospital room.

"Is that pink champagne!"

"Yep, from the Mikaelson cellar."

The loudest voice belonged to Caroline.

Damon smiled to himself, reminding himself to thank her for everything she'd done for them in the preparation of Emily's birth, including frequent grocery shops, organizing the baby shower the previous night, and having Stefan map out the fastest route to the hospital, denying she had the idea from the movie, Father of The Bride.

"Is this the right room?"

"Damn, we forgot the serviettes!"

The door opened and Caroline peeked inside, eyes bright with excitement in anticipation of meeting Emily in person, not counting the time Damon met Caroline after cheerleading practice to show her Elena's ultrasound photo. Damon smiled, it was hard not to smile when Caroline was in the room.

"Oh my gosh, Emily?" Caroline squeaked, hiding her excitement behind her palms.

"Looks like Elena," Lexi noted, eyeing 'Baby Salvatore' snuggled against Damon's chest.

"I think she looks more like Damon," Elena said, giving her ex, a grin.

"Well, she's certainly got Damon's strength," Matt winced shaking his finger from Emily's grip.

Stefan returned Damon's relieved smile and raised the take-away containers in his hands.

"Thought you might be hungry," Stefan unpacked the Chinese containers on the foot of Elena's bed, handing out chopsticks. "Fried rice, tofu and vegetables for Elena, Teriyaki chicken... and fortune cookies for desert," he smiled at Caroline from across the room, watching her nursing Emily.

Bonnie sat on Elena's left, scoffing down her fried rice, and flipping through old gossip magazines.

"Sorry I'm late, had to park the car," Kol swaggered inside, flipping his car keys into his hand. He hugged his former teammate, and acknowledged Elena with a nod. "Can't believe you're a dad."

"Me either," Damon watched Emily's eyelids flutter, her hand latched onto Caroline's finger.

"My turn," Lexi put down her Chinese and let go of Matt's hand.

Caroline and Damon noticed at the same time, that Matt's shirt was buttoned wrongly.

"Did you two...?" Caroline scrutinized, eying the two lovebirds, who blushed at the attention.

"Well, we had to pass the time somehow..." Lexi admitted, flashing them a smile.

"Hey, this is a hanky-panky free zone," Damon interrupted, trying to shield his daughter.

Caroline, Elena and Bonnie giggled, and Lexi thrived knowing she'd made Damon uncomfortable by discussing her love life. Matt's cheeks flushed the colour of beetroot. She swatted Damon's hands aside until he relented, letting her nurse Emily next.

"So how long are you staying for?" Stefan asked, eyeing the shopping bags Rebekah had left by Elena's drawers. He raised his eyebrows at Rebekah, as she unlatched herself from Elena's lips.

"Rebekah's packed for the next ice age!" Kol interjected from the chair beside Elena, digging into Bonnie's unfinished fried rice.

"Shut up, I have not," Rebekah said, annoyed at her brother. "I just want what's best," she sighed.

"I love you," Elena whispered, kissing Rebekah sweetly and grasping her hand in comfort.

Lexi brought Emily over to Elena, and they all assembled around the bed to watch Elena and Damon open their presents for their newborn. There were assorted drink bottles, baby clothes, all sorts of stuffed animals, and then, Elena pulled out a white crochet baby blanket with a blue ribbon strung through its edges. Her eyes caught sight of Damon's, and she detached the card from the wrapping paper.

To Emily,

For shielding you from monsters,

or keeping you toasty warm.

For building tents and hideouts

or magic carpet rides.

For the adventures you'll never forget,

and the memory I'll keep, knowing

something of mine, is in good hands.

Your Godparents,

Caroline & Stefan.

Elena gave Emily to Rebekah to nurse so she could hug Caroline, professing her thanks. At first, Caroline was alarmed by Elena's willingness to leave the hospital bed, especially since she'd only delivered Emily a few hours before, but then, bed-rest or lie-ins were Caroline's worst nightmare.

Damon prised Elena's fingers off Caroline, and watched her use the end of her bed to thank Stefan.

"Thank you Caroline. I don't know how we would have gotten this far without you," Damon said, resting his hand against her arm in such a formal fashion that Caroline rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, burying her chin against his leather jacket.

"I do recall a moment when you almost didn't," she whispered.

"Damon? You okay?"

Caroline ventured, sitting on the porch and looking up at the sleek grey clouds, hiding the stars.

"Fine," he grunted without acknowledging her. "You don't have to babysit me."

She glimpsed the photo on his phone causing his bad mood, and sighed.

"You're still her father, Damon, and you always will be, no matter who Elena's in a relationship with."

"That's what I keep telling him. But he won't listen," Stefan sang from the doorway.

"Someone doesn't want me in her life," Damon sculled his bourbon.

"You're over thinking this," Stefan called out. "Nobody has a problem with you, not anymore."

Damon lowered his almost empty bottle, and turned to Caroline.

"Jeremy Gilbert. He hates me, and for good reason. I broke his sister's heart, and, yeah, thanks to Caroline, I know what that feels like," Damon said.

Caroline confiscated his alcohol, removing it from his reach. "Listen to me, you made a decision to be more responsible, to be there for your family. Elena knows that. She knows you traded in the pool table to buy a cot, she knows that you and Stefan baby-proofed the entire Salvatore House last weekend, and she told me herself howexcited she is to raise this baby with you. So, how about you get up, wear a smile and make this Baby shower an unforgettable night you'll both remember?"

Caroline pulled apart from Damon, and smiled. "You're going to be such a kickass father!" and with that she curled a strand of hair behind her ear and went to clean up the empty Chinese containers with Stefan's help.

Damon's thoughts lingered on her after she left.

Caroline always believed in him, and it was her belief which encouraged him to do his best. He knew he would always love her, and maybe she knew it too, but for the sake of his brother, and the promise Damon had made to Emily, he needed to move on, like Elena had moved on with Rebekah.

"Sorry to be a buzz kill, but visiting hours are almost over," Damon said over the racket. "Emily and I will walk you out," he said, picking up his daughter from Rebekah's arms.

He gave Rebekah a reassuring smile.

He wanted to ensure there were no hard feelings, that he had accepted Elena's decision, and all that really mattered to him was Emily had a family that loved her.

After another round of hugs and goodbyes, Damon pulled the hospital door shut, talking to Emily, and witnessed Rebekah helping remove Elena's hospital gown, to try on the clothes she'd bought.

"So, college acceptance letters arrive yet?"

Damon directed the question at Caroline, chuckling when everyone else groaned.

"That reminds me..." she said, dropping her bag off her shoulder to rummage inside it.

Much to everyone's amazement, she pulled out letters for all, except Kol and Damon.

"I bribed the post office with Rebekah's snicker doodles," Caroline smiled, handing them out.

"Rebekah's what?" Matt asked, looking confused.

"Biscuits, get your mind out of the gutter, Donovan!" Damon smirked, looking at Emily and wondering if she'd follow in her mother's or father's footsteps.

"So, what's the verdict?" he watched them reading their acceptance letters so attentively.

"Whitmore," they finally answered, relieved.

"Great," Damon looked at Emily and wondered if she'd follow in her mother's footsteps or his own.

A/N: this is very different to how I first envisioned it. I knew from the start, I wanted Damon to be enamoured by his daughter, and attempting to move on from Caroline... Emily is a direct result of Emma/Lily merged together. There's youtuber, LittlemissyProdz, who's created NextGen vids using the name Emma (I also realised when I first started writing that I subconsciously began writing Ross/two lesbians SL from F.r.i.e.n.d.s. OOPS! I don't want to compare Damon to Ross, mainly because I can't stand Ross, but I wanted a better outcome for Damon. This story was always meant to have a Beklena endgame. Lastly, how did you guys feel about the other endgames? Be sure to voice your opinions, no hate, but constructive criticism is always welcome. R&R x

p.s. stay tuned for a smutty Beklena one shot coming soon.

p.p.s. updating other stories before continuing with my SC movieshots, but huge thanks to you all for your patience.