The End.

Elena Salvatore sat at her desk, took out a pen, and opened her diary. She started to write. "Dear diary, today is our wedding day and I have just the perfect present for Damon. I never thought I could be this happy, my life is perfect right now. Everything is fine, we are doing well, and now this." She thought for a moment and then put her diary away. She would continue this perhaps in the evening when she could tell it all and describe it as accurately as she could.

Elena was happy. Today would be her five-year wedding anniversary with Damon and Damon had promised to take her out to dinner. She had been told it was her day off and she would soon have her medical license. No doubt her studies had put their relationship to the test and Damon had had to adjust to being human and all and then there was the news that Klaus and Elijah had died. Everything changed.

And when there weren't really any original vampires left except Rebekah and Kol, both happily married and domesticated. Damon missed his brother almost every day, Elena saw it and she missed him too. She would have loved to tell Stefan about everything she went through in her studies. Damon spent quite a lot of time with Alaric, at least when he was on leave and not acting as headmaster. But Damon didn't regret letting his house become a school. Together they had bought their own house and put it in order, lived a daily life, and still their love lasted and endured. Elena sighed, thinking how much they had been through and this was their journey together, their wonderful life together. Damon hadn't been tame since he became human, not at all, but he was beginning to adjust. Freya had given him the magic potion and because of it Damon wasn't aging quickly but would age with her. They would grow old together.

Elena had just been told that she was expecting their first children, and she was so damn happy about it. But she wasn't going to tell Damon until dinner. It would be her wedding present to Damon and she wanted to see the look on his face when he revealed it. She was already 10 weeks pregnant and even though they still had time, Elena was already thinking about decorating the nursery or naming the children. The door opened and Damon stepped in. He came up to Elena and kissed her passionately and then said " How about it my love if we do a little shopping here before tonight? And eat at the grill?" Elena said, " That's fine, let me just get my purse and we'll be on our way." They drove off and Elena got in as Damon jumped behind the wheel. Life in mystic falls was peaceful for the most part, except now there started to be a couple of gangs that were a bit troublesome so Matt Donovan had to work. and with the gangs came gang wars, turf wars and there was violence of all sorts. When there weren't so many vampires anymore, somebody else took their place.

They drove into town and Damon parked the car. He looked at Elena and said "You know what, I don't regret being human, not one single moment, because I get to be with you. Do you know how awful it was, waking up as a human, hearing that Stefan sacrificed himself, and then the knowledge that I might have to live the rest of my life without you if Bonnie hadn't broken that spell? That, my love, was a terrible time. And then when you woke up I felt as if my heart had started beating and really started beating. I may not always remember to tell you how much I love you, Elena Salvatore." Elena looked at Damon and said "I can't imagine it, not even at first. I wouldn't have survived, as you remember, I resorted to mesmerism and herbs when I had to face the world without you. I love you so much too and you Damon, you have given me everything I wanted, you have given me a love that consumes me, passion, adventure, and even a little danger, just like you told me yourself. You are my everything."

They started walking along the streets, looking for shops, looking at shop windows. Damon stopped at a jewelry shop and looked at the different pendants, Elena was under his arm and he decided to go and buy one. They went into the shop and Damon bought a lovely heart pendant, one that opened and where he could get a picture inside. On one side would be Damon's picture and he knew that on the other side would be their child's picture. They left the shop and went on their way. There were gang members ahead again and Damon was alert, Elena was still loving Damon's protection. He didn't even ask questions, he was, in his own words, selfish and wanted to keep Elena all to himself. Damon was a little ahead of her now and Elena let him protect her. These street gangs had come to their town and they were up to no good at times that at least in the sheriff's jail there was one or more of these guys quite often.

They were passing a gang when a car rounded the corner and Damon saw an open window and a gun. He lunged and grabbed Elena, knocking her to the ground as the shooting started. Elena screamed and Damon protected her with his own body. The car swerved away at high speed. Damon suddenly felt very tired and it was hard to breathe, he was in pain. Elena moved beneath him and said, " No, no, Damon, no."

Elena flinched as Damon slammed her to the ground and then at the same time she heard a gun go off, a machine gun or something, the car swerved away and Damon didn't move, Elena felt something warm soak into her blouse and Damon coughed weakly. Elena realized Damon had been hit. She feverishly fought her way out from under Damon, spun him around, and noticed blood gushing from Damon's mouth as he coughed.

Elena's shoulder ached and she realized that a bullet had come straight through Damon and sunk into her shoulder. She tried to apply pressure to one of the bullet wounds, which was bleeding and bleeding hard. Elna screamed, " Help, somebody, come help, call an ambulance." Elena said to Damon " You hang in there, you hear me, you fight and you don't leave me now. " Damon coughed weakly and Elena was still applying pressure to the wound.

Damon said in a weak voice. " At least I saved you, you see, I wasn't selfish, I'm learning." Elena's eyes were wet and she was in shock herself. Damon stopped talking and his eyes looked into the distance and glazed over, Elena tried to feel for a pulse and couldn't find one. No breathing. Elena started CPR and urged Damon to wake up again and again. She said, " No no, you're not doing this, I didn't have time to tell you that I was going to have a baby, you're not leaving me, you hear me, you're not leaving me, I'm not going to let you leave." Determined arms came around Elena, an ambulance rushed to the scene and paramedics came to check the situation.

Matt Donovan directed Elena to another ambulance where her shoulder was bandaged and she would be taken to the hospital for tests. Matt had overheard Elena's confession about being pregnant and watched in sorrow as the paramedics shook their heads and a sheet was pulled over Damon Salvatore. He sighed and knew he'd hardly ever find out who the shooters were, there were no CCTV cameras and the gang members wouldn't talk to him. Elena was in shock and Matt called Caroline and Bonnie and told them what had happened. Caroline said she was going to the hospital to see Elena.

It was the day of the funeral and Elena was sighing. She opened the diary, took out a pen, and then, in a rage, slammed the diary against the wall. What good would that do? She lost Damon and she was pregnant, with twins. Bonnie had come and was there for her as were Caroline, Matt, and the rest of her friends. Even Rebekah and Kol had both sent a basket and an address. Elena didn't know how to go on, but she should. Then one day maybe she would meet Damon again or she would find someone else.

Bonnie came in with " Come on it's time to go. " Elena stood up and straightened her dress. She walked to the car and Bonnie drove to the cemetery. Elena didn't remember much about the funeral, she just felt a gnawing emptiness and pain inside her. The priest said something and she watched as the coffin was placed in the grave, maybe one day she would be buried here too. But she knew she had to keep going for the sake of their children. Children who would never meet their father and it would be up to her to tell them how perfectly imperfect Damon had been.

Footsteps creaked in the familiar driveway and Damon walked toward his home. He didn't even think about what had happened or anything else. He approached the front door, pausing there for a moment. The door opened, and there was Stefan. Damon said, "Hello, brother." Stefan took a few steps and they hugged, and now everything was fine. Damon Salvatore was at peace.