One Year Later:

Damon pulls into the business and parks his vehicle. Stepping out of the car, he waits for Jimmy and Michael to get out too. The turns life takes are sometimes overwhelming, sometimes painful and sometimes they bring you back to life. Never did Damon imagine that the face that has given him many sleepless nights would turn into someone that he never knew he needed till she was there.

Charlotte's husband died in an industrial accident when Faye was three. Michael and Jimmy were five and seven at the time of the incident. When Charlotte came to Elena and then to Damon himself, she told him that her boys were having a hard time of things. Discipline was hard and they weren't listening to her. His own self confidence took a beating after Galen Vaughn, one of many things that monster destroyed when he embarked on his killing spree. It was Charlotte who asked if he could possibly talk to the boys.

Busy bartending because Ric is out with Jenna, Damon's mouth literally drops open when he sees her walking towards him. She takes a seat, her gaze drifting to his. Swallowing thickly, Damon says in an uncharacteristically unsteady voice.

"Mrs. Jones?.. How can I help you?"

"I would like a glass of red beer." Smiling a little nervously herself, she adds, "Make it mostly tomato juice though. I'm driving."

Nodding, Damon mixes it up and slides it over to her. Her hand brushes his and almost as if it stung, Damon pulls back.

"I understand your wariness, Damon, may I call you that?" When he says yes softly, she continues, "I just came from seeing your wife. She's a lovely person, you're very lucky."

"I am, I married up as they say," he agrees, taking a long pull from his water bottle.

"Your wife and I... we talked. She told me where I could find you. I came to apologize to you. I know what happened that day wasn't your fault. You were made the scapegoat and are as much of a victim as the rest of us."

When Damon tries to interrupt, she stops him. "Please.., Damon, let me finish. I'm ashamed to say that it took me a long time to work up the nerve to come here. I didn't know you were out of prison, I happened to see an ad for your wife's business in the newspaper. I'm sorry for my part in your incarceration. I was so overwhelmed, frozen really, with grief that I couldn't be a mother to my sons. I sent them to live with my parents for several months till I could get my act together. What I really came here to do was to thank you for saving my boys," she says, pausing to dab at her eyes with a napkin. When she looks up again, sincerity is brimming in her eyes.

"So you see, we're all his victims. We have to end the hold he has on all of us."

"But how do we do that?" Damon asks, relaxing his posture. After he waits on another couple that take seats at the opposite end of the bar, he goes back to her.

"I have an idea and I hope you'll be amenable to it," she mentions. Damon can hear the anxiety in her voice more prominently now. When he nods at her subtly, she takes a swallow of her drink then smiles tightly.

"My boys don't have a father. He died a few years ago, before the nightmare. I wanted to ask you if you would consider spending some quality time with them. I don't know, maybe take them to a movie or a ballgame, anything. Things that a man should do with boys. If you don't want to, I understand completely but I'm hoping that at least you'll give it some consideration.."

"Yes of course, I'll speak to my wife about it. Can you give me your phone number so I can get back to you with my decision?"

"Yes, yes," she says, hastily writing it down on a piece of paper that Damon gives her. When she finishes her drink, she thanks him and departs. He doesn't take his eyes from her till she passes the front window and is gone from his sight.

Damon couldn't say yes or no at first but after talking it over with Ric and mentioning it to Elijah when he showed up at Ric's place one day, he decided to meet the two boys. He's become something of a big brother to them. At first he was nervous as hell but he was astounded how quickly he grew to love the two. During the school year, he would take them on Saturday mornings and if Ric was feeling generous, he would take them to an evening baseball game.

One weekend they drove down to Carlsbad Caverns so he could introduce them to Sheila. She bought the boys each a tee shirt and took them on a private tour into the depths of the cave. For an older lady, she's more spry than he is. He and Elena have come to care about this family deeply.

Walking up to their destination, Jimmy screams excitedly to see the balloon laid flat and stretched out on as much land as possible. Approaching the proprietor of Santa Fe Balloons, Damon shakes his hand, introducing him to the boys.

"I'm glad you could all make it," Gus says, shaking the boys' hands after releasing Damon's.

"We get to go up in that?" Jimmy asks, a big smile forming on his face.

"You do. Now if you'll all stand back, I'm going to get it fired up." He gives Damon a nod then hooks the inflator fan to the neck and the balloon begins to fill with air. The basket is then attached to the envelope and the burner secured in place. With the balloon now half full of air the burner can be fired up and the rest of the envelope fills up in no time. The basket is constantly secured to the floor throughout this whole process, to make sure that the balloon doesn't just take off without all the passengers.

Once the envelope is full, Gus gives them the okay to get into the basket. When all the weight is fully balanced out the balloon is unsecured from the ropes holding it to the floor and the flight gets underway.

It's hard to describe the feeling of flying in the balloon, it's almost like a feeling of weightlessness, as if you are drifting along, floating on air. Damon is in awe of the spectacular scenery from this altitude. It's a clear day and they can see for miles in every direction. The boys are literally mesmerized at the view. Damon laughs because it's the first time he's ever known them to be speechless.

Their ride is spectacular. The terrain is beautiful, they see everything from sage covered plains to dried riverbeds to a dip into a gorgeous box canyon. Michael points excitedly when they catch a glimpse of a coyote scaling up a ridge. Their hot air balloon flight lasts for about an hour in total before Gus starts to look for a safe place to bring the balloon in to land.

The landing is actually quite a bumpy affair. Gus brings the balloon down at a very slow rate and actually land it at a 45 degree angle to the floor. This is to help the basket lose speed and come to a halt quicker. The basket ends up on its side with Damon and the boys lying horizontally with their torsos sticking out of the top of the basket. There are side rail supports and ropes to hang on to make sure that they don't fall out.

Once they're all safely out, the envelope would normally need to be deflated but since it's early in the day, others are already waiting for their turns to ride when they disembark. Damon thanks Gus profusely and promises that he will be returning to take his wife on a romantic ride the next time.

"That was a blast," Michael gushes, sliding into the passenger seat. Damon opens the rear door, allowing Jimmy to get in. As soon as the boys are buckled up, Damon puts the car into gear and drives home, waving to Gus through his open window just before they pull onto the highway.

As soon as he arrives home, he parks the car in the driveway. When she hears the car door, Elena walks outside to greet them. Still excited over their hot air balloon ride, they're telling her all about it. She tells them to go into the kitchen to help themselves to some of her freshly baked sugar cookies. Before the word cookie is out of her mouth, they're already inside. Damon walks up to her, wraps his arms around her burgeoning middle and kisses her fiercely. When he feels the little twitch under his palm, he smiles that big ear to ear grin.

"That's the most amazing feeling," he says softly, keeping his hand flush against her skin hoping to feel it a second time. His patience is rewarded a few seconds later.

Stooping down, he brushes a kiss to that spot and whispers, "Daddy cannot wait to meet you."

Elena drops her eyes, loving her husband so much in this moment. Raising his to hers, he feels his heart about to burst out of his chest. One year ago, he never would have dreamed he could be so indescribably happy with his life.

Standing up, he wraps an arm around her shoulders and leads her into their home. Finding the boys gobbling down cookies, Elena can't help but laugh. She pours them each a glass of milk and then puts the rest of them away for later. While she listens to the boys tell her about the sights and sounds of their balloon ride, Damon goes upstairs to get cleaned up. His mother is coming over later. In the last year, she sold her home in Albuquerque and moved to Santa Fe. Bonnie and Enzo's son Zane is already seven months old. And now with him and Elena expecting their first child, she wanted to be near her children and grandchildren. Neither he nor Bonnie could have been more delighted with her decision.

As soon as he showers and changes into a clean pair of cargo shorts and a tee shirt, he jogs down the stairs. His mother and Charlotte have both arrived. He walks over to kiss his wife and then leaves the ladies to go find the boys. They're in the backyard playing Badmiton. Grabbing a racket himself, he takes one side of the net while Michael and Jimmy take the other side. Damon lobs the birdie over the net, scrambling to hit it back when Michael jumps and hits it back hard at him. Damon leaps, just barely getting it over the net but he isn't able to get to his feet in time to send the next one back. By the time the game is over, the boys are rubbing it in hard that they beat him. Roughing their hair, he tells them to go wash up so they can eat.

Damon grills steaks and vegetables while Elena makes some homemade lemonade. They have pleasant conversation over dinner. His mom is very fond of Charlotte and her sons too. They've taken to calling her Grandma Janie. Charlotte has recently started dating again. Although Damon wants her to be able to find a nice man to settle down with, maybe have another child if she chooses, he does worry about not being able to spend as much time with the boys.

He truly loves them both. Her face no longer keeps him awake at night. At Elena's urging, they went to couple's counseling with Elijah. As much as Damon blamed himself for Faye's death, with help and being able to talk about it with Elijah and Elena and Charlotte separately, he knows that nothing would have stopped Galen once he had her in his arms. He remembers Charlotte telling him that they have to take their lives back and not let that monster continue to have so much power over them. That was profound for Damon.

When everyone is ready to go home for the night, Damon and Elena walk their guests outside, saying goodbye before they drive off. Janie lives just a couple of houses away so they walk her home. He embraces his mother, kissing her on the cheek before saying goodnight. Once she's safely inside, he laces his fingers with Elena's and they walk back to their own place.

Since it's a beautiful night, the sky filled with twinkling stars as far as the eyes can see, they sit down on their porch swing that he bought her for their anniversary a couple of months ago. Spreading his arm across the back, he puts his hand on her shoulder to pull her next to him. He places his other hand on her belly when he feels the kicks against his side.

"I can never get enough of that," he gushes, his smile gleaming in the moon bright evening.

"Me neither," she adds, placing her hand atop his. I can't wait to meet our baby."

"Do you want to know what it is?" he asks, wondering if she's having doubts about waiting till the birth to find out the sex.

"No, I want to be surprised," she reaffirms, laying her head against his shoulder.

"I love you, Elena. I am still in awe of the fact that you chose me. Sometimes I have to believe that I must have done something good in my life to earn your love in return. I can't put into words how deeply my love runs for you. It's like throwing gasoline on an open fire. It burns hot and furious."

"I feel the same way, Damon." Shifting her position and with surprising grace considering her belly, she plops onto his lap. Her mouth drops, plundering his with her tongue when his lips part. Momentarily too shocked to do anything, he lets her have his way with him. After a few seconds pass, his hands find her hips as she kisses him even harder. It isn't just any kiss, it was a bone melting one, dangerous even. He groans aloud when she grinds her hips against his. His hands trail down to the edge of her skirt pushing it upwards. They part suddenly when a car horn sounds and they see a couple of kids giving them a thumb's up. They turn to face each other and break out in laughter, intense and heartfelt.

"I love you, Damon."

His eyes darken again when he brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. With a wink, he picks her up, captures her lips in a searing kiss while walking her over the threshold. When he pulls away with a smacking sound, he brushes his lips against her ear, whispering the words, "I will love you forever," before kicking the door closed with his boot, shutting them off from the outside world.

The End...

Thank you all so much. I don't have words enough to truly express how grateful I am, Eva and I are that you embraced this story. I know some of you wanted to stab Damon at times. Thank you for staying with it, for giving him the chance to make things right again. Thank you for loving them, for all of your incredible reviews, the followers, people that favorited it. You're all the best of the DE world.

And Eva, I have no words. You're the sister that I got to choose. I love you dearly and would not be here if not for your wide shoulders and incredibly big heart.

Chapter title: 'Better in Time' by Leona Lewis.

Watch for "Eyes Without a Face". It's coming next. Eva and I have lots of holiday goodies to share once December arrives.

Be safe and have a fantastic day. Thank you all again so much. Goodbye to this Damon and Elena...