18. Resident Evil

"Care, hold it straight" Aria said, trying to stick a welcome home sign on to the wall.

"I am holding it straight Aria" Caroline said.

"Then why is it tilted?" Aria asked.

"It's your side that's tilted, not mine" Caroline replied.

"My side is straight Care, it's your side" Aria argued back.

"You know what? Why am I even here?" Caroline asked, "Your boyfriend is coming back home, so why did I get dragged to decorate your house?".

"Because he's your friend" Aria replied, "Now go get the tape so we can stick this up, we need to finish all these decorations tonight Care, he's coming home tomorrow".

"Yeah, yeah" Caroline mumbled, climbing down the chair she was standing on, "For the love of god, don't fall down by the time I come back".

"Have some faith in me" Aria said, still holding the sign up.

"Have you met you?" Caroline asked, "You trip over air Aria".

"Just shut up and go get the tape" Aria said.

"I'm going, geez" Caroline said.

While Caroline had gone to get the tape from Aria's room, Aria decided to straighten the sign a bit more, so she started leaning not realising the chair was starting to tip, by the time she realised, it was too late as Aria had fallen over, but before she could hit the floor, someone caught her in their arms.

"What would you do without me Aria Connor?".

Aria opened her eyes to see herself in her boyfriend's arms, "Dean" she whispered in surprise.

"Hey, beautiful" Dean said, helping Aria stand up.

"What are you doing here?" Aria asked shocked.

"I live here" Dean reminded.

"I know that" Aria said, "But you weren't supposed to come back from Atlanta today, you were supposed to come back tomorrow".

Dean wrapped his arms around Aria's waist and pulled her closer to him, "Yeah, well, my family was doing my head in and I missed you, so I decided to come home early, is that a problem?".

"Yes!" Aria said, pushing Dean away from her, "I was planning a surprise for you, but you came home early".

Dean looked around his and Aria's shared house and was met with a bunch of decorations scattered all across the floor.

"Surprise?" Dean asked, "And that to for me? What's the occasion?".

"You always surprise me, so I wanted a day where I can surprise you" Aria replied, "But now all that is ruined".

"Not necessarily" Dean said, pulling Aria closer to him.

"Dean, you've seen what I was planning, I can't surprise you anymore" Aria said.

"How about this, I'll leave the house and catch up with Jeremy tomorrow, giving you time to surprise me" Dean said.

"You'll do that?" Aria asked.

"Well, I can't have you be grumpy, now can I?" Dean teased.

"I'm not grumpy" Aria said.

"Really?" Dean asked, not believing the girl infront of him.

"Really" Aria replied.

Dean took a moment to stare at his childhood best friend and now girlfriend, "God, I missed you" he whispered.

"You've only been away a week Dean" Aria teased.

"Too long" Dean mumbled, smashing his lips on to Aria's.

Aria gasped and sat up in her bed in shock.

"You okay?" Caroline asked, looking at Aria in concern.

"Yeah" Aria whispered, "I just had the weirdest dream".

***

Mystic Falls, 1864

Damon Salvatore sat infront of the quarry, staring at the water infront of him, trying to calm himself down after his father told him the news that will change his life forever.

"Oh sorry", someone behind Damon said.

Damon turned around to face the voice, and saw a very beautiful girl standing behind him.

"I didn't think anyone was going to be here".

"I was just leaving" Damon said, standing up.

"You don't have to" the girl assured, sitting next to Damon, "You look troubled, if you want to stay, you can stay, I don't mind the company".

Damon hesitated for a second, but then sat down next to the girl.

"I'm not the only one who looks troubled" Damon commented.

"My mother just told me some unsettling news".

"May I ask what?" Damon asked curiously.

"She's getting me married" the girl replied, "To one of Giuseppe Salvatore's sons, I mean I don't even like the guy, how am I supposed to marry his son?".

Damon looked at the girl next to him in shock, "What's your name?" he asked curiously.

"Avery, Avery Connor".

"Oh god" Damon mumbled, realising the girl who his father wanted him to marry was currently sitting next to him.

"What?" Avery asked confused.

"Nothing" Damon replied quickly, "You tell me, why don't you like Giuseppe Salvatore?".

"I met him once, and he just didn't give off a good vibe" Avery replied, "He seems dominating, like a person who thinks women are beneath him and I don't like men like that".

"Just cause Giuseppe Salvatore is like that, doesn't mean his son will be like that as well" Damon defended.

"I wouldn't hold my breath" Avery said, "Sons usually take after their fathers".

"Some could be like their mothers" Damon said.

"Maybe" Avery said, "I guess I shouldn't judge Damon without knowing him, it's just--I never thought I would get married this soon, and specially not to a guy I never met or know, I've always dreamed of this epic love story, not an arrange marriage".

"Maybe you can have your epic love story after marriage" Damon suggested.

"Or I could be in an loveless marriage" Avery argued back, "There's nothing worse then spending the rest of your life with someone who will never love you".

"Give him a chance, maybe he will surprise you" Damon said.

Avery looked at Damon, "Why are you defending Damon Salvatore?".

"Because I am Damon Salvatore" Damon replied.

Avery looked at Damon in shock, "Excuse me?" she asked, not sure if she heard Damon correctly.

"I'm Damon Salvatore, the eldest son of Giuseppe Salvatore" Damon introduced.

"Oh my god" Avery whispered shocked, "I have to go" she said, standing up.

"Wait" Damon said, standing up and holding Avery's wrist.

"Please let go" Avery pleaded.

"Give me a chance" Damon said, making Avery look at him.

"What?" Avery asked confused.

"Give me a chance to prove to you that I'm not my father" Damon replied.

"You were sitting here, looking troubled, meaning you don't want to get married to me either" Avery pointed out.

"Well that was before I saw you" Damon said, "You intrigue me Avery Connor, and I would love nothing more then get to know you".

"What if you don't like me?" Avery asked, "What if I don't like you?".

"Then we'll say no to this marriage" Damon replied.

"My mother will kill me" Avery mumbled.

"I'll take the blame" Damon assured.

"This could go very wrong" Avery said.

"Or very right" Damon said.

"Why take the risk?" Avery asked.

"Because life is all about risks" Damon replied, "And something tells me this risk is worth taking".

Damon gasped and sat up in his bed in shock, extremely confused with the dream he just had.

***

Damon, Enzo and Kol were at the boarding house, playing pool, while Damon tried to get the dream he had out of his head.

"So you broke up, that I get" Enzo commented, "Then you slept together, not smart, but again, I get it, now, here's where it gets a bit hazy for me, you offer to drive her back to campus and she says she can't be around you, I mean I'm just confused even thinking about it, can't imagine how you feel".

"I'm fine" Damon assured.

"And he knows he can't play the victim here, because all this is his own fault" Kol said, taking his shot.

"We're just taking some time apart" Damon said, "Only for a little while".

"That is if you make it up to Ri, before she falls in love with your doppelganger Dean" Kol said.

"Dean is gone" Damon said, "And along with him, so is his and Ria's soulmate bond, there's nothing standing between us anymore".

"Except the fact that you walked out on her and your kids" Kol reminded.

"I made a mistake" Damon said, "But I'll fix it".

"It won't be easy" Kol said.

"Lucky for me, I have eternity" Damon said.

"There's another possibility" Enzo said, "In which Aria Connor starts seeing you as only a friend, and you as her friend watch as she moves on with her life, finds a new boyfriend, perhaps a nice gentleman from a fraternity, Chance or Brock".

"Clearly you don't know who Aria Connor is" Kol said, "There's only one guy that girl has eyes for, she might make it hard for Damon to win her back, but she will never move on from him, she loves him too much".

"Exactly" Damon said, "And does your mysteriously missing girlfriend know how insufferable you are? Maybe that's why you haven't found her, she doesn't want to be found".

"I haven't found her because the Travelers, i.e. my only lead, decided to play a fun game of spontaneous combustion, before giving me what they promised".

"Great, that's why you're here, annoying the bloody crap out of us?" Kol asked, downing a glass of bourbon.

"We can always go kill people" Enzo suggested.

"No" Kol stated.

"Right, that's what got Damon into this problem in the first place" Enzo remembered.

"That and you" Kol reminded, as Damon hit his shot, while Enzo gave Kol a mock smile.

***

Aria, Caroline and Rebekah entered the Grill to catch up with Liz.

Caroline looked around the Grill, but found no sign of her mother anywhere, "Well I guess mom's not here yet" she realised, "I'm going to get us some coffee".

"I'll come with you" Rebekah said.

"And I'll find us a table" Aria said, just as Aria started walking over to a table, she was suddenly pulled into another vision.

"That movie was awful" Dean said, as he and Aria walked the dark streets of Mystic Falls.

"It wasn't that bad" Aria said, eating some popcorn.

Dean put his arm around Aria, "You fell asleep Aria, that to before the interval".

"I was tired" Aria defended.

"So you're not tired now?" Dean asked amused.

"No" Aria replied, "I slept like a baby in that movie theater".

"Only Aria Connor will fall asleep during a loud action movie" Dean said.

"I don't like actions movie" Aria complained.

"And what do you like?" Dean asked.

"You know what I like" Aria replied.

"Right, sad romantic movies" Dean recalled, "I don't get why you love those movies".

"They're so good and so romantic" Aria defended.

"You always end up crying Aria" Dean reminded.

"They're good tears" Aria defended.

"No such thing" Dean said.

"Is so" Aria argued.

"No it isn't Aria" Dean argued back.

"I'm to hungry to argue with you" Aria said.

"Aria Connor admitting defeat?" Dean teased, "That's a first".

"I'm not admitting defeat, I'm putting a pause on this argument" Aria clarified.

"Well then we better get you something to eat so we can then continue our argument" Dean teased.

"Yes we should, and since you picked the movie, I'm picking what we eat" Aria said.

"Which is what exactly?" Dean asked.

"I'm in a mood for some desert" Aria replied.

Dean chuckled, "When are you not in a mood for desert?".

"Never" Aria joked, making Dean laugh.

"Come on Connor, let's get some sugar in you" Dean said.

"Mom's five minutes away--Aria?" Caroline called out, breaking Aria out of her vision, "Hello? Aria?".

Aria gasped and looked at Caroline in shock, looking around she realised she was now sitting on a table with Caroline and Rebekah, "How did I get here?" Aria asked confused, "I was just at the doorway".

"Uh, you walked?" Caroline said confused.

"Care, I don't remember walking here" Aria informed.

"Hold on, did you just have one of those Dean dreams?" Rebekah asked.

"That's the thing Beks, it doesn't feel like a dream, everything felt so real, like I was actually living through all that" Aria replied.

"So let me get this straight, you tell Damon you couldn't see him anymore and now you're dreaming about Dean?" Caroline asked shocked.

"You were in one of them as well" Aria defended, "You were helping me decorate the house me and Dean shared, we were decorating because Dean was coming back home after a week away, it wasn't like a dream, it was like an alternate reality".

Before Caroline or Rebekah could say anything, Aria's phone started ringing, "It's Jeremy" she informed, "Jer, hey, did you drop Dean off?".

"No" Jeremy replied, "I didn't, I'm actually bringing him back to you".

"What?" Aria asked shocked, "Why?".

"Aria something weird is happening to Dean and I think he might need your help" Jeremy replied.

"Weird?" Aria asked confused, "What kind of weird?".

Jeremy handed the phone to Dean, "Explain" he said.

"Hey" Dean greeted.

"Hey" Aria greeted, "Everything okay?".

"I think I might be going crazy" Dean admitted, "Jeremy had stopped the car at a gas station, and I got out and I didn't even realise I had walked on to the road, I realised when Jeremy pulled me away before a very fast car could hit me, and all this was because I was having a vision of you and me, together".

Aria looked at Rebekah and Caroline in shock, "By any chance, were the visions of us two in a house and the other was us walking down the streets of Mystic Falls?".

"That's exactly what they were" Dean replied, "How did you know?".

"Because I'm pretty sure I had the same visions" Aria informed, "Dean, how far are you and Jeremy?".

"Not far at all" Dean replied, "We should reach Mystic Falls in an hour".

"Okay, that's good" Aria said, "Something is happening to us and I think we need to be together to figure it out".

"I'm on my way then, I'll see you soon Aria" Dean said.

"See you soon Dean" Aria said.

***

It was nighttime, and for the past month, Avery Connor and Damon Salvatore have been secretly meeting at the quarry, slowly getting to know each other better.

Currently, Damon and Avery laid on the grass, staring up at the dark sky.

"So you never wanted to become a solider?" Avery asked.

"Nope" Damon replied, "Father forced me, saying it was my duty to defend our town, to defend our country".

"That's stupid" Avery said, "Not everyone wants to become a soldier, sometimes people have different dreams, speaking of which, if not a solider then what do you want with life?".

"I don't know" Damon replied honestly, "I don't know what I want with life".

"Lies" Avery said, "Everyone knows what they want, they are just too scared to admit it".

"So what do you want with life?" Damon asked curiously.

"I want to start a school" Avery replied, "For all the kids who can't afford to go to the expensive schools, I want to help them achieve their dreams".

Damon smiled, "That's a nice dream".

"I know" Avery said, "But the way things are going, it seems like my dream is going to stay dream forever".

"It doesn't have to be" Damon said, using his one arm to sit up and face Avery, "Let me help you".

"You help me?" Avery asked shocked, "Why would you do that?".

"Because I want all your dreams to come true" Damon replied.

Avery smiled, "I have another dream, will you help me with that as well?".

"Of course" Damon replied, "What's the dream?".

"A dream of marrying you" Avery admitted, shocking Damon.

"What?" Damon asked.

Avery sat up and faced Damon, "This one month has been epic Damon, it made me realise that spending the rest of my life with you, won't be as bad as I used to think".

"Really?" Damon asked.

Avery nodded, "Really" she replied.

Damon smiled and without wasting another second, he smashed his lips on to Avery's.

"Damon!" Kol yelled into Damon's ear, breaking his trance.

"What?!" Damon snapped, looking between Enzo and Kol in confusion.

"You've been in a trance like state for the past ten minutes" Enzo said.

"Wait, did you just have a Avery dream?" Kol asked, Damon having told him and Enzo about the pervious dream.

Before Damon could say anything, Kol's phone started ringing, "It's Ri" Kol said, "Hey, Ri".

"Kol, you need to tell Damon that there's something going on with me and Dean" Aria said, in a slightly panicked voice.

Damon snatched the phone from Kol and put it on speaker mode, "What's going on Ria?".

"Damon" Aria said, slightly shocked "I didn't realise you were with Kol".

"What's going on with you and Dean?" Damon asked, trying not to sound jealous.

"Well, you know how we all thought that me and you falling in love, having kids together, and then mine and Dean's soulmate bond breaking, will separate me and Dean forever?" Aria asked.

"Yeah?" Damon said confused.

"Well that's not happening" Aria replied, "Because both me and Dean are having visions of each other".

"Wait, you're having visions too?" Kol asked shocked.

"Too?" Aria asked confused, "Who else is having visions?".

"Me" Damon replied, "Of Avery, my original soulmate, the doppelganger before you, Natalie's niece".

"Wait so you're also having romance dreams about your original soulmate?" Aria asked.

"Romance dreams?" Damon asked, "Really?".

"Well, that's what they are" Aria defended, "Look, Jeremy is bringing Dean back, we need to figure out why these visions are happening".

"And for that we need Dean?" Damon asked, not liking the fact that Dean was coming back.

"Yes" Aria replied simply, "Rebekah went to the Traveler's camp to see if there is anyone there who can tell us what's going on".

"Yeah, good luck with that" Enzo said.

"It's the only lead we have" Aria said, "All we know right now is that me, Damon and Dean are having visions of our original soulmates, that shouldn't be happening since Dean and my soulmate bond is gone, and Avery is dead".

"Fine" Damon said, "Call a witch who can help you, and get Dean and yourself here, let's figure out what the hell is going on".

***

Enzo opened the front door, to see Caroline, Aria and Dean standing there.

"Thought you were bringing an extra witch" Enzo said, letting the trio in.

"We said we'd call her" Caroline said, taking her jacket off and throwing it at Enzo, "Didn't say we'd pick her up".

"So you live here?" Dean asked, looking around the boarding house in amazement.

"Used to" Aria clarified.

"Right, the break up" Dean whispered, "I'm sorry".

"It's okay" Aria assured, "You don't have to apologise".

"I don't want to make you upset" Dean admitted.

Aria smiled, "Relax Dean, I'm not upset" she said, just as Damon and Kol walked over.

"Hi" Damon whispered, staring at Aria.

"Hi" Aria whispered.

"So who could use a drink from the library?" Enzo asked, wanting to escape the awkward atmosphere.

"Me" Kol replied.

"Yes, please" Caroline replied.

"Um, I'll join" Dean said, following the three vampires, and leaving Aria and Damon to themselves.

"Talk about obvious" Aria said, Damon didn't say anything just gave Aria a small smile, "Since when did you have a pool table?" she asked, trying to make conversation.

"Bought it after you left, I figured pool was a good outlet to put this pent-up energy I seem to now have" Damon replied.

"Yeah, I tried to follow a pregnancy yoga tutorial" Aria said, walking over to Damon.

"And how did that go?" Damon asked.

"Let's just say the babies don't like yoga" Aria replied, "Cause they won't stop kicking".

"It's not long now" Damon whispered, staring at Aria's stomach.

"Yeah" Aria whispered, putting her hands on her stomach now, "Very soon we'll be parents".

"Will I be allowed to see them?" Damon asked, scared of Aria's answer.

"Of course you will be" Aria replied, "Us breaking up doesn't mean you're not their father, it's just, don't walk away from them again Damon, because then I won't let you near them, they deserve a father who stays, no matter what".

"I won't repeat the same mistake" Damon said.

"Actions speak louder then words" Aria said.

"I know" Damon whispered.

"Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?" Aria asked suddenly.

"Oh yeah" Damon replied.

"I never thought the day will come when we will be awkward with each other" Aria said.

"Me neither" Damon admitted.

"Look, we could start over" Aria said, "Before we got together we were friends Damon, we can be friends again".

"So, having sex dreams about my doppelganger?" Damon asked, changing the subject very quickly.

"Oh, okay" Aria said, caught slightly off guard, "That's one way to say you don't want to be friends".

"Well, I was just trying to skip the uncomfortable part" Damon said.

"Okay, but I'm not the only one whose having romance dreams" Aria said.

"My original soulmate is dead Aria, yours is in my library" Damon reminded.

"Well, I don't know what these vision means, okay" Aria said, "I don't know if it's a witch playing a prank on us, or the universe telling us that you and I were never meant to be".

"I'm not going to let the universe decide that" Damon snapped, "And I'm going to regret asking this, but by any chance are fantasy Aria and fantasy Dean really, really happy?".

"Yes" Aria whispered, deciding she can't lie to Damon.

"Right" Damon whispered.

"Were fantasy Damon and fantasy Avery really happy?" Aria asked.

"Yes" Damon whispered, also not wanting to lie.

"Oh" Aria whispered.

"Well, as your friend, let me remind you that the prophecy says that you and Dean are fated to be together" Damon reminded, "You're supposed to be together".

"So were you and Avery" Aria reminded.

"Avery's dead" Damon snapped.

"And I love you" Aria snapped, "Not Dean".

Damon and Aria stared at each other, before any of them could say anything, there was a knock on the door, after giving Aria one last glance, Damon went to open the door.

"We're all good on Bibles, thanks" Damon said, opening the door and seeing Luke on the other side.

"I'm Luke Parker, Liv's twin brother" Luke said, before Damon could close the door on his face.

"Liv has a twin?" Damon asked shocked, as Aria walked over, "Is it possible for there to be one of someone around here?".

"People are going to say that about your kids" Aria said, she then turned to Luke, "Where's Liv?".

"Busy" Luke replied simply.

"Come on in" Damon said, letting Luke in.

***

"What do you mean you can't stop our visions?" Damon asked.

"Our magic doesn't work like that, we're not bigger than the universe" Luke replied.

"Then why are you in my house?" Damon asked confused.

"Because we need your help" Luke replied, "Actually we need Aria's help".

"My help?" Aria asked confused.

"You're our coven leader, we think the travelers are making their move and we need your help to stop them" Luke replied, "Their leader, Markos, is here".

"From where?" Damon asked, "Chant camp?".

"The other side, he's been dead for centuries and we think the fire sacrifice allowed him to escape" Luke replied.

"Lovely" Aria mumbled, "And look I would love to help you stop this evil guy, but I'm not your coven leader".

"Yes, you are" Luke said, "Connor witches have been part of the Gemini Coven since our coven has existed, why do you think you don't have your own coven? It's cause you're part of our coven, a Connor witch has to be our leader".

"Well whose your leader currently?" Aria asked confused.

"My father" Luke replied, "Thinking Connor witches are all dead, my family became the Coven leaders".

"Luke, if I accept your coven, that will mean that when my sons are born, they will have to merge, and I can't let that happen" Aria said.

"Wether you accept our coven or not, your sons will have to merge, you can't stop that" Luke said.

"Watch me" Aria snapped.

"Rebekah just called, she said the scrap yard's been completely cleared out" Caroline informed, entering the living room.

"So let me guess, the witches don't know where Markos is" Damon said.

"You guys said the visions are trying to draw Aria and Dean together, and are trying to make Damon see what his human life with Avery could have been like, right?" Luke asked.

"Right" Kol replied.

"I don't think they're trying to draw me and Dean together, I think they want our doppelganger blood" Aria said, "They need it for some stupid prophecy".

"And if the travelers are the ones who need your blood, doesn't it make sense, that you're not only being drawn together, but also--".

"We're being drawn to the travelers" Aria realised.

"Well, this just keeps getting better and better" Damon said sarcastically.

"Wait, I don't get it" Caroline said.

"If the visions are a road map, then we need more clues" Enzo realised, "Break out the popcorn, blondie, Damon, Dean and Aria's little sex romp isn't over yet".

"Gross" Kol said.

"It's not sex dreams" Aria snapped.

***

Damon sat on the porch of the boarding house, drinking his bourbon, when Aria walked over to him.

"What are you doing out here?" Aria asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Ah, you know, looking at the stars, listening to the universe laugh at me" Damon replied.

"Stop saying that" Aria said, walking over to Damon and slowly sitting next to him.

"We were doomed from the beginning, Aria" Damon said, "We were always gonna end up here, your one true love is inside, you should be with him".

"No" Aria said, "I'm sitting next to my one true love right now, and these visions, they don't mean anything Damon, as soon as we find Markos, these visions will disappear forever".

"And then what?" Damon asked, "We're friends who co-parent together? Can't wait".

Aria sighed, "Damon I know right know, you and I are in a weird place, we don't know what the future holds for us, hey, look at me", Aria put her finger under Damon's chin and made him face her, she then put her hand on Damon's cheek, "The universe doesn't control us, and even if it did, you're forgetting something that when we met and fell in love, and I got pregnant with these miracle babies, our soulmates changed, these visions we both are having, they're not real, we are real".

Damon smiled at Aria, but before any of them could say anything, both of them were pulled into a vision.

Aria opened the front door to her and Dean's shared house, "Hey, I'm home, and I've got the mail".

As soon as Aria entered, she was shocked seeing rose petals scattered all across the floor, and candles surrounding the whole house.

"Wow" Aria whispered in shock, "Dean?! You home?!".

Suddenly, Aria's phone beeped, taking it out, she realised Dean had messaged her.

From My Sappy Writer 💋: First envelope's near the TV, read it and say the answer out loud.

"Okay then" Aria whispered amused, she walked over to the TV stand and grabbed the red envelope, "When did Dean and Aria first meet?" she read out, a small smile forming on her face, "Dean and Aria first met at the playground, where Aria fell down and Dean decided to be a gentleman and help her out!" Aria yelled, knowing Dean was somewhere in the house listening to her.

From My Sappy Writer 💋: Coffee table

Aria walked over to the coffee table and grabbed the next envelope, "When Dean and Aria were fifteen, what problem did their friendship have to face?" Aria read out, "Dean's parents moved to Atlanta, originally Dean was supposed to move with them, but he stayed because he couldn't leave Aria behind, so my parents took you in, and your parents agreed after you throwed many fits and promised to visit them every holidays!".

From My Sappy Writer 💋: Dinning table

Aria walked over to the dinning table and grabbed the next envelope, "When did Aria and Dean decide to take their friendship to the next level?" she read out, "On Graduation day, we were both going to separate collages and you said that you didn't want to leave me without telling me what you feel, so you confessed your love, and I said love you back therefore starting our long distance relationship, which lasted three years after which we moved into this house".

From My Sappy Writer 💋: Kitchen

Aria walked over to the kitchen table and grabbed the next envelope, "Will Aria marry Dean?" she read out, "Wait, what?" Aria asked shocked, she read the lines again, and realised she didn't misread, those words were actually written on the paper.

"Aria", hearing Dean, Aria turned around to see her boyfriend  of five years behind her, sitting on one knee, a ring box in his hand, "Aria Connor, the first time we met in that playground, I knew you were someone I wanted in my life forever, I just didn't know how much you will mean to me as time went on, I can't tell you the exact day I fell in love with you, but I can tell you the day I decided I wanted to marry you, it was when we were in high school, we weren't together, but my girlfriend at that time had just broken up with me, so you decided to walk up to her and literally fight her for breaking my heart, I knew at that moment there was no else for me, so Aria Connor, will make this writer the happiest man on this planet, by marrying him?".

Aria looked at Dean with tears in her eyes, "Yes" she whispered, "Yes! Yes! A hundred times yes!".

Dean smiled, and put the engagement ring on Aria's finger, he then stood up and pulled Aria into a hug.

"I love you" Aria whispered.

"I love you too beautiful" Dean said, spinning Aria around, making her laugh.

***

Avery Connor was running in the fields, wearing her wedding dress.

"Avery!" Damon yelled, running after his now wife.

"You can't catch me Mr. Salvatore!" Avery teased.

Damon laughed but nonetheless chased after Avery, eventually Damon had caught up to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around, making her laugh.

"Hey" Damon whispered, turning Avery to face him.

"Hey" Avery whispered.

"Are you happy?" Damon asked.

Avery smiled, "Of course I'm happy, tonight's been everything I could've dreamed of, it was a fairytale wedding, thank you for making my dream wedding come true".

"Anything for you Mrs. Salvatore" Damon said.

Avery smiled, "That sounds nice".

"It does" Damon said, "Come on, let's introduce to the world Mrs. Avery Connor-Salvatore".

"Wait" Avery said, hugging Damon, "Let me relish this moment".

"We have the rest of our lives to relish in this fact Avery" Damon reminded.

"I know we do" Avery said, "But right now, I just want to stay here for a while, please?".

"You can stay as long as you want" Damon said, hugging Avery back.

"I love you" Avery admitted, for the first time.

Damon smiled, "I love you too, Mrs. Salvatore".

Both Aria and Damon were pulled out of their visions at the same time.

"Did we just--?".

"Yeap" Damon replied, equally as shaken as Aria, "Do I even ask?".

"Dean proposed to me" Aria replied, "You?".

"Me and Avery got married" Damon replied.

"Wow" Aria whispered.

"Yeah, wow" Damon whispered, looking at Aria, it didn't sit well with him when he thought about him and Aria marrying other people, even if those people looked exactly like them.

"So, how good was it?" Enzo asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Shut up" Damon snapped.

"He's here" Aria informed, "In my vision there was some mail, and there was an address on that mail, 4620 Walnut Drive, I think Markos is there".

"Great" Kol said, walking over, "Me and Enzo will go stop him, you two should stay here".

"I'm coming with you two" Damon stated.

"No you are not mate" Enzo said, "Your visions are still there, sit here and relax and dream about your perfect life with Avery, me and your bestie have got this".

***

Dean entered his house and immediately someone hugged his legs.

"Dada!".

"Hey buddy" Dean greeted, picking his three year old son up, "Where's your mom?".

"Daniel!" Aria yelled, walking into the living room, "You can't run from me".

"Don't want bath" Daniel said, clinging on to his father.

"Look at you, you've been playing outside all day, you need to have a bath" Aria said.

"No" Daniel said, he looked at his father, "Dada, no bath".

"Don't you dare" Aria warned Dean, "He needs to have a bath".

"Alright" Dean said, "Buddy, let's make a deal, you let mommy give you a bath, and in return I'll take you to go see Ava tomorrow" .

"Promise?" Daniel asked, wanting to meet his best friend Ava, the daughter of Caroline Forbes.

"I promise" Dean replied.

"Okay!" Daniel said, as Dean put him down, "Bath time!".

Aria looked at Dean, "Two hours" she said, "I've been trying to get him to take a bath for the past two hours, and it took you less then five minutes to convince him? What magic do you have?".

Dean laughed, he walked over to his wife, and massaged her tense shoulders, "Rough day?".

"Don't get me started" Aria replied, "My boss hates me, she won't publish any of my articles, and on top of that, our son no longer has a nanny".

"Why?" Dean asked, "What happened to his nanny?".

"He bit her" Aria replied, "Multiple times, so she quit".

Dean chuckled, "That sounds like our troublemaker".

"Don't laugh" Aria said, "Don't encourage his bad behavior".

"I'm not encouraging his bad behavior, I'm just amused" Dean said.

"Yeah, well you'll be less amused when you realise that we have no one who can babysit our child when we go to work tomorrow" Aria said, stressing out slightly.

"Tomorrow is a long way away, we'll figure it out, if not we can always alternate in taking him to work with us" Dean assured.

"Be careful, he might break your coworkers" Aria warned.

Dean laughed, "I can't wait" he said, pulling Aria into a kiss.

***

Damon entered his house, after a annoying and non-productive dinner with his father and brother.

"Evening Mr. Salvatore", Damon's house maid greeted, taking his jacket from him.

"Evening, Sophia" Damon greeted, "Where are they?".

"Mrs. Salvatore and Olivia are outside in the garden".

"Thank you" Damon said, going towards his garden, as soon as he stepped out, he saw his wife, holding their three months year old daughter.

"One day, you're going to grow up, and you, me and your father are going to work on this garden together, right now, it's in average shape, but once all three of us get our hands dirty, this garden will be the most beautiful thing ever, but don't worry despite that for me and your dad, you will be the most beautiful to exist, ever" Avery said.

Damon smiled seeing his wife and daughter, "Absolutely right".

"Hey" Avery smiled, "You're back, how was it?".

"I'd rather not talk about it" Damon said, taking his baby girl in his arms, "Hey".

"That bad?" Avery asked, putting her head on Damon's shoulder while both of them stared at their daughter.

"Doesn't matter" Damon replied, "I've forgotten all about it".

"Already?" Avery asked.

"Yeap" Damon replied, "I'm with the two most incredible women I know, all I remember is you two, nothing else".

Avery smiled, "Anyone tell you that you are extremely cheesy?".

"Yes, you do, everyday" Damon replied, making Avery laugh.

***

Aria was sitting infront of the fireplace, she gasped and opened her eyes in shock.

"Aria".

Aria stood up and faced Dean, tears in her eyes, "Let me guess, you felt that too?".

Dean nodded, "But it ended so abruptly".

"I think that means Kol and Enzo have gotten Markos to stop the visions" Aria realised.

"Seems like it" Dean said, "Which means it's time for me to leave".

"Stay" Aria pleaded, "Please, just stay a for a few more minutes".

Dean gave Aria a small smile, "Anything you want" he said, coming and sitting next to Aria.

"The visions we kept having, they weren't real Dean" Aria reminded.

"Are you reminding me or yourself?" Dean asked.

"It was a spell" Aria said, "It was an illusion spell that showed us what we wanted to see, I wasn't a vampire, there was no Damon or any other supernatural creatures, even my parents were alive".

"And I never left Mystic Falls" Dean finished.

"I remember" Aria said suddenly, "These vision helped me remember when we first met".

"I remember too" Dean said, "You fell down and you refused to let Tom help you".

"He was mean, you weren't" Aria said, "I guess I felt safer with you even back then".

"If I stayed, do you think our lives would have been like that?" Dean asked, "Like the visions?".

"I think no matter what happened, I was going to get dragged into this supernatural world" Aria replied, "And yeah, maybe if you had stay things would have been different between us".

"But they're not" Dean finished, "You're not in love with me, you're in love with Damon, those visions were just reminding us of what we could have had, not what we do have".

"Even though it was fantasy, it felt, amazing" Aria admitted.

"Yeah, it did" Dean agreed, "But I think the life you currently have, with Damon, that's even more amazing and epic, and it isn't cause of a bond or a spell, it's because of love, you both fell in love on your own, and I know right now things seems to be going in a bad direction, but one day, things will get better, every relationship has it's ups and downs, every relationship has it's fights".

"I even died" Aria interjected.

Dean chuckled, "That too, but despite all that, the way you and Damon look at each other, that's what is real, not what the vision showed us".

"You writers are really intelligent" Aria teased.

"Aren't you are a writer?" Dean asked.

"Yeap" Aria replied.

"So you're saying you're intelligent as well?" Dean asked, looking at Aria in amusement.

"Yeap" Aria said, making Dean chuckle, "You were a writer in the visions as well".

"And you were a journalist, clearly it was fantasy" Dean teased.

Aria chuckled, "Clearly" she said, putting her head on Dean's shoulder, "I hope one day, me and Damon can also talk like this, like friends".

"You and Damon can never be just friends Aria" Dean said, "It will be too painful on both of you, deep down you know that, it's just a matter of accepting it".

"So what do I do then?" Aria asked, "I can't just forgive him for walking out on me, but at the same time I can't just kick him out of my life".

"Give it time" Dean replied, "Time heals everything".

***

Aria entered Damon's room, to see him sitting infront of the fireplace.

"Dean's gone" Aria said, gaining his attention, "For good this time".

"I think we need some rules, here" Damon said, standing up and facing Aria, "Because if I'm not allowed to drive you home, then I definitely don't think you're allowed to ambush me in my bedroom".

"I just wanted to tell you that whatever Kol and Enzo did, it worked" Aria said, "Mine and Dean's visions are gone, what about yours?".

"Long gone" Damon replied, "Must be sad, being teared away from paradise".

"Don't lie and pretend your visions won't paradise either" Aria said.

"Aria, stop" Damon warned, "I don't want to fight".

"Listen to me Damon" Aria demanded, "I'm not here to fight you and I don't know what you saw, and I know you won't tell me, but I will, I need too". 

"Aria--".

"Shut up and listen" Aria interrupted, "What I saw, was a perfect life, me and Dean were married, we had a son, it was a normal, happy life, it was perfect".

"Well, we can always ask Markos to put it back" Damon taunted.

"You're missing the point Damon" Aria snapped, "Everything I saw, everything you saw, it wasn't real, you and I, we're real, you know what I remember, I remember meeting you on that road, I remember sharing our first kiss in this very bedroom, I remember us becoming official in my old room at the Gilbert's, I remember falling in love with you every single day since I met you, not Dean, but you, that's the reality Damon, nothing else".

"We're really bad for each other Aria" Damon whispered.

"Maybe" Aria said, "But I can't not have you in my life Damon".

"As friends, right?" Damon asked.

"I'm not saying we're going to be just friends forever Damon, I just want to restart our relationship, starting with the first stage, which just so happens to be friendship" Aria replied.

"No, Aria, I can't be your friend, it's too damn hard" Damon stated.

"Damon--".

"No, I'm serious, Aria" Damon snapped, "I will help raise those kids, but without seeing you, because I can't look you in the eye and not kiss you, or not hug you, or not wake up beside you, it's too damn hard!".

Aria looked at Damon with teary eyes, "Is that what you want?" she asked, "For me to not come near you, and the only time we meet or talk is related to the kids?".

For a second Damon hesitated, but then he nodded, "That's exactly what I want".

Aria nodded, "Okay" she whispered, trying not to burst into tears, "I guess I'll see you when I'm in labor then".

Without hearing anything else from Damon, Aria walked out the room, with tears streaming down her face.

***

Presenting 5x18 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on the visions Aria and Damon had of Dean and Avery?

Thoughts on Damon and Aria being awkward near each other?

Thoughts on Damon and Dean with their respective kids in the visions?

Thoughts on Damon refusing to be Aria's friend?