9 Months Later (Under Work)

9 Months Later -26

The next few months went by fast as Damon and I planned our wedding for back home. We had chosen to have a spring wedding. It had been difficult to plan a wedding in New York without actually being there. A wedding planner had been a necessity in order to make sure everything we wanted would be incorporated into our big day. We had planned to be married on Long Beach early in the morning. I had always dreamed of saying 'I do' with sand between my toes.

"Collette? Have you finished packing?" Damon called from the hallway.

"Almost. I just have to finish going over my list. I don't want to forget anything." I said looking at the paper in my hand and scanning the luggage at my feet full of mine and Lena's things. After I was satisfied that everything had been packed I put the list down and zippered the bags shut.

I walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the playroom where Damon was currently enjoying a tea party with Lena. I stood in the doorway watching as Lena pretended to make Damon something at her kitchen. She was stirring the bowl furiously as Damon asked her silly question about what she could possibly be making him. She giggled in response before turning around to give him his plate. As her eyes landed on me she squealed in delight.

"Mommy!" She dropped the plate and ran to the door. I dropped down to give her a hug and scoop her up into my arms.

"What about my lunch?" Damon whined, winking at me before turning all of his attention back to Lena. I placed her back on the floor as she ran over to the plate and placed the fake food back on it. "Here" She said giving it to him.

We continued to play for the next hour or so until we needed to leave to fly back home. We would only be staying for a few days. After the wedding we would be coming back here. We'd decided to stay and make this house our home. We loved being here as a family, away from the hustle and bustle of New York. We didn't feel the paranoia that came with being in a city full of potentially dangerous people. Damon had said a while ago that we had been cleared to come home, which was when we were planning a wedding with no date. After that everything fell into place leading up to this day.

*************

The plane would be landing any minute now. The flight had been exhausting and I was thankful that we had taken Damon's private plane. Lena was only able to be seated for so long before she had to get up and run all over the place. I was glad to have had the plane to ourselves so she could explore without upsetting other passengers.

"We'll be landing shortly. I need everyone to return to their seats and buckle up." The pilot said over the speaker. I picked Lena up from the floor where we were playing and buckled her into the seat between Damon and I. It wasn't long before I could feel the plane tilting back towards the earth. I held onto Lena's hand as the planes wheels touched the tarmac.

"You ready?" Damon asked, already unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching for Lena's.

"YES!" Lena shouted excitedly. I smiled at him and nodded my head. We walked to the door and began our walk down the stairs. I looked out and saw the car we would be taking was a big black SUV. We would be staying at his parents' house until we flew back home. The drive was short and soon we were pulling up in front of the impressive mansion. I could see his mom, dad, and Dante were already outside waiting for us. Damon parked the car and opened the door for us to get outside.

"Uncle Dante!" Lena squealed as her eyes found him. She took off running towards him as soon as her feet hit the ground. Damon took my hand and led me towards the group.

"Collette, how've you been? We've missed you." His mother said bringing me into a hug.

"I've missed you all too. I've been good. How are things on this side of the world?" I asked following everyone inside. We began making small talk about the wedding tomorrow and New Zealand as we made our way towards the sitting room.

As we turned the corner to the room a chorus of "Surprise!" rang out and I jumped back in shock. I looked around seeing friends and family had filled the room. There was a banner hanging by the windows that read out congratulations and other various party decorations. But before I had another chance to look around I was being picked up and spun around by my brother.

"James!" I said excitedly, wrapping my arms around him. He placed me back on the floor but didn't let go until I stepped back to look at him. "I've missed you so much." I said, feeling tears prick my eyes. I hadn't realized how much until I saw him. I threw my arms around him again before feeling a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Leo standing with his arms open for a hug as well. I rushed at him and squeezed as hard as I could. I hadn't been expecting to see them until tomorrow, this was a wonderful surprise. After our hug I stepped back and looked to Damon who shrugged his shoulders.

"It was our idea." I looked to see his parents walking towards us. "We knew you'd be so busy tomorrow you wouldn't have any time to spend with your family. We wanted to make sure you had the chance to get some quality time in before you went back home."

"Thank you so much." I said, wiping the few tears that had fallen from my eyes. I turned back around to look at the guest's. It wasn't a big party but, everyone who mattered was here. Lena had already been stolen by James and Leo as I made my way towards them.

The rest of the day went by fast as I spent time with my family and friends. I couldn't have been happier putting Lena to bed that night. She was exhausted from the flight and the party. James and Leo were staying over since they would be in the wedding as well.

We spent the night catching up and talking about everything that'd happened over the past year while I'd been away.

"Well we're just glad you're happy and safe." James said as we finished up our conversation. I had filled them in on everything from Vince showing up to boarding the flight yesterday to come here. We talked late into the night. I discovered that James business was booming thanks to some very generous investors in his company. Leo had even decided to go back to school. I was glad to hear that they all were doing so well in life. It was going to be hard to leave them in two days.

We said our goodnights and went our separate ways towards our rooms. I easily found Damon's old room and walked in to see he was still up waiting for me.

"Hey." He said softly, turning the TV off and patting the spot on the bed beside him. I smiled and closed the door behind me before turning and climbing in next to him.

"Today was perfect." I said as I wrapped my arms around his perfect torso. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. You deserve it." He said kissing my forehead before looking me in the eyes. I snuggled into him a few more minutes before reluctantly climbing out of bed to change into a pair of pajamas.

As I climbed back into bed next to him I couldn't help but smile. Tomorrow when we woke up we would be preparing to say our vows to one another in front of all our friends and family. I could barely contain my excitement as I forced my eyes to stay closed and tried my hardest to concentrate on sleep. I could hear Damon snoring softly beside me as I struggled to fall asleep. I turned the TV back on and turned the volume very low. Soon enough my tired eyes were closing and I was falling into a blissful sleep.