BACK FROM THE DEAD

Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They belong to L.J Smith and the C.W

Warning: Contains spanking of a teenager

Alaric scowled into his shot glass. He missed Damon terribly, especially in the midst of their new problem. He would give anything to hear one of his annoying sarcastic quips right now. He almost throttled Stefan when he heard that he had stopped looking and was leading a normal life. Who gave up on their brother anyway? Especially when said brother had died saving you. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a presence slide in the stool next to his.

"Hello Ric"

"Don't call me that"

"Ah. I forgot. Only Damon called you that"

"What do you want Enzo"

"Permission"

"Permission? Permission for what?"

"Want to know if you'll kick my ass for kicking Stefan's ass"

"You don't need my permission Enzo. God knows I want to beat him into oblivion. But he's Damon's baby brother and I don't think he would be pleased when we finally get him back to see his dick brother dead or beaten up. He does love him, even when the little bastard doesn't deserve it" Alaric said, slamming the glass down onto the table and turning round to leave, only to freeze in shock.

"Damon"

"Hey Ric. Miss me?"

Enzo whirled around at the voice

"No way"

"Nice to see you too Enzo" Damon brushed past his shoulder and picked up Enzo's untouched drink, downing it one gulp. He turned to face his friends who still seemed to be in shock. "So what? You gonna stand there all night or buy me a drink"

It was Alaric who first broke out of the trance. He lifted Damon off his feet like he weighed nothing and hugged him so tightly Damon was sure if he was human he would be dead. "I missed you so much buddy"

"I missed you too Ric. Put me down. I'm not your girlfriend. People are staring" Damon mumbled into Alaric's shoulder.

"I don't care. Let them stare"

"You should check on Enzo. He looks like he's going to faint"

Alaric reluctantly set Damon back on his feet and turned to look at Enzo. Damon was right. He was seconds away from a vampire panic attack. Alaric placed his hands on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "It's Damon Enzo. He's back. The bastard actually found a way to bring himself back"

Enzo turned around slowly to look at Damon. He tentatively reached out a hand to touch him. When his hand didn't go through he hugged him so fiercely Damon wondered who the original vampire was. "I really missed you mate"

"I know Enzo. I missed you too" Damon said. "Now why were you threatening to beat my baby bro into oblivion?

"And that's why I wanted to beat the living daylight out of him"

Damon looked up as Enzo finished the story. "Ok. Let me see if I get this. You" he pointed at Alaric "gave Stefan leads that you thought he was working on to bring me back but he wasn't, instead living a new life and working as a mechanic in Savannah. And you" he looked at Enzo "were angry that he gave up on me so you killed his new girlfriend and kicked his ass, which I'm not cool with by the way, and pretty much promised him an eternity of misery". He looked at both of them "did I miss anything?"

"Yes. The part where I almost threw him over my knee and spanked him till sitting was a memory" Ric answered

"Why didn't you? I don't mind" Damon said

"He's your brother Damon. I felt like it wasn't my place"

"That didn't stop Enzo" Damon stated. "Ric, I've been gone for four months and I miss my little brother. I am going to find him and hug the crap out of him and hold him until my arms ache. This little spat between you guys has to end. Stefan was wrong to give up on me and you're right to be angry at him but I'm back now and I'm fine. You will go with me to see Stefan and you'll punish him for lying to you. I've told him not to lie unless absolutely necessary and this is not one of those times so you have my permission, not that you need it but still" He breathed "Ok?"

"Ok"

"Enzo?"

"Fine"

"Good. Who's driving?"

Damon looked outside the window at the trees rushing past. Soon, he would see his little brother. God, he missed the kid. He missed everybody but he had known Stefan the longest. He had known him since birth. He practically raised the boy. So forgive him for feeling excited when he saw the Welcome to Savannah sign.

"Remember Damon. No contact until I'm done talking to him. No hugging, or coddling..."

"I don't coddle Stefan" Damon said indignantly

'Yeah? What about that time I grounded Elena and he couldn't see her because you were supposed to ground him too but you didn't and you called me and asked me to allow Stefan to see Elena because he was sad and you didn't wanna see him cry"

"That was one time. And you would've caved too if you had seen him that night" Damon muttered

"He's a teenager Damon. It's what they are good at" Alaric said. He pulled the car to a stop in front of a small auto repair shop that Enzo pointed to. They saw and heard Stefan being scolded by his boss. His head was bowed.

"At least he still listens to him. Unlike some people" Enzo groused

"Enzo, forgive him already. I'm back now" Damon admonished

Enzo grumbled and got out of the car. "You pamper him too much"

Damon and Alaric also got out and walked towards Stefan and his boss. When they got close, Stefan turned and Damon saw the many emotions that crossed his face when he saw his brother. Shock, guilt, sadness, shame, joy. He was walking towards them now while his boss sputtered angrily behind him. Damon quickened his steps to meet him only to have Enzo pull him back.

"No touching"

"Let me just hold him for a sec. Make sure he's real" Damon pleaded

"You're the one who died mate. He has to make sure you are real. Besides, Alaric has to take care of something first" Enzo smirked

"You're enjoying this" Damon accused

"Very. Since I can't kick his ass, the least I can do is support Professor Saltzman"

Damon looked past Enzo's restricting arm at his brother who was being blocked by Alaric. He heard Alaric compel Dean and saw the man leave. He saw the fear in Stefan's eyes as his boss left and he inched a little closer to him.

"Damon, is that really you?" Stefan asked quietly

"Yes Stef. It's me. You lied to Ric. You told him you were still searching while you had stopped. He's pissed and he's going to punish you for lying. The same way I would. Then we'll go home ok"

Stefan's eyes widened. "He's going to spank me? But Damon he's an original and really strong. It'll hurt. Please don't let him. Please"

"Come on Stefan" Alaric dragged him inside. "You need to learn not to lie to me"

"Wait. Wait. I'm sorry. Please I'm sorry"

"Not yet. But you'll be" Alaric said as he sat down on a box and draped Stefan over his knees. He pulled his jeans and boxers down his wriggling legs and started swatting. Alaric knew what he was doing. He had spanked Elena and Jeremy, mostly Jeremy, and he had seen Damon spank Stefan. It wasn't his first rodeo.

Stefan screamed. It hurt. It hurt a lot. The guy was a fucking original and he wasn't holding back on his strength. He had started begging from the onset. "Please A-Al-Ric. P-pl-please. I'm s-sor hic sorry. Please it h-hurts. R-hic-really hurts-s"

"I know Stefan. That's why it's called a punishment. It's supposed to hurt. And you're only sorry because you're in pain. When you really mean it, I'll stop"

Stefan just continued to sob loudly. His bottom felt like it was on fire and he couldn't even create a coherent thought, let alone speech. There was only one thing he could think of that worked almost every time. He called for his brother.

"D-dam-hic-Damon hic p-please. T-tell him I-I'm hic sor-sorry. I w-won't lie t-to him hic ag-agai-again hic"

Damon heard his brother's broken plea. They hadn't been inside for long but Ric was an original. He was sure enough time had passed. He made to go in and was surprised at the lack of a restricting arm. He turned to look at Enzo who just nodded. He didn't need a second invitation. He rushed inside to see Stefan laying limply over Alaric's lap. He was no longer being spanked but Damon didn't think his little brother realized that. He lifted Stefan off Alaric's lap and pulled up his clothes. He sobbed loudly when that happened. Damon didn't blame him. His backside looked pretty sore. He rubbed Stefan's back and comforted him. Slowly, he started to calm down. Damon lifted them off the ground and helped Stefan walk to the car. They got in the back and Damon hugged Stefan to his chest and continued to rub his back. He glanced up and saw Ric's amused smile in the mirror.

"What!?"Damn asked sharply

"Nothing" Alaric shook his head, still smiling

"You're coddling him again" Enzo grumbled. "You spoil him"

"Quit whining Enzo. He's been punished. He deserves some comfort" Damon said. Stefan burrowed further into his chest, causing Enzo to roll his eyes in annoyance. "Seriously Enzo, you're going to be feeling threatened and jealous of a seventeen year old boy?"

"I'm not jealous. It's just annoying"

"Whatever Enzo"

Damon looked down at Stefan in his arms. He was asleep, hiccupping occasionally. He pressed a kiss to his forehead and tucked his head under his chin. He had missed his baby brother.

This is my attempt at bribing because I will not update Safe Haven for a couple of weeks. I have some tests coming up and I have to get ready. But I'll make it up to you. Thanks. Please review.