"Lana, why does Stefan look at you like daddy looked at mommy?" I, Willow, asked Lana, my sissy.
"Because, my little tree, daddy loved mommy. And Stefan loves both of us!" Elena replies as she takes a piece of my long dark brown hair and tucks it behind my ear.
"Elena, when is mommy and daddy coming back?" I ask, tilting my head. Elena takes in a biiiig breathe and lets it out slowly as she looks into my deep chocolate brown eyes.
"Willow, we've gone over this. Mommy and Daddy live in heaven with Meme and Papa." Elena says, crying a little. I walk up to her and hug her.
"Oh Lana, don't cry. We'll see hem someday. Isn't that what Mommy said when Papa died? When we get all old and wrinkly, we'll talk to God and he'll say 'Okay,' and let us pack our things and live with him." I say, thinking she forgot. Elena smiles and nods. As she gets up, Damon walks in, smiling at me.
"DAMON!" I yell when I run and hug his legs. Damon picks me up and tosses me in the air.
"Damon! Be careful!" Lana says, worrying about me. As Damon puts me down I go up to Elena and point my finer at her.
"Elena! Damon wouldn't drop me, would you?" I ask as I look at my Damon. He smiles a big smile and shakes his head.
"Never, my little one." He says as he walks up to and pats the top of my head. I hit his leg and yell 'You're it!' and started running out of my room. I hear Elena giggle. I slowly walk down the stairs, I would trip if I didn't walk slowly mom used to say, and as I jumped off the last step, I heard Damon walk down the stairs to.
"I'm going to get you!" He calls as I laugh and run through the kitchen. Caroline and Jere-Bear are talking in the kitchen.
"Hide me!" I yell, throwing myself at Care. Caroline smiles as Damon walks in.
"Oh dear Caroline, where is she?" Damon asks sweetly. I laugh very quietly and hide behind Caroline's and Jere's legs.
"I don't know." Caroline says back, stepping back. Damon bends down and grabs me way fast. He tickles me and all I can do is laugh and hit him.
"D-D-Damon! St-St-Stop!" I yell. After an hour, he lets go and I run to Elena, who is laughing behind Damon. Elena picks me up.
"Time for bed my little tree." She says as she tries to carry me to my bed and Toby, my stuffed-puppy. I wiggle.
"Lana! Lana, wait!" I yell. Elena does the breathe thing again and sets me down. I run to Damon, hug him and kiss his cheek. Then I go to Jeremy and hug him and kiss his cheek to. Then Caroline wants a hug, so I hug her and she kisses my cheek. When I go to walk to Elena, Damon bends down and kisses my head.
"Sleep well, my little princess." He says as he waves at me when Elena takes my hand and walks with me up to bed. When we are upstairs, Elena puts me on my bed and puts Toby right next to me. She hugs me and kisses my forehead.
"Night my little sister." She says as she pulls my covers up and walks to the door. "I love you." She says when she goes to walk out and turn off the light.
"Night! I love you!" I yell as she closes my door. But, before Lana closes the door, she blows me a kiss. I smile and snuggle into my puppy and close my eyes to dream about mommy and daddy.
"Elena, you need to send her to Colorado." Damon says again, for the millionth time as I walk down the stairs.
"Damon, she can't leave Jeremy and I. Look how long it took her to get over my parents. They died almost a year and a half ago and today was her only happy day. How do you think she'll act if we send her to my family in Colorado?" I ask, hoping he sees where I'm coming from. I love my little sister with all of my heart, and I want to stop her from being hurt.
"Why don't you just compel her?" Stefan asks as he walks in. I look at him in disbelief. "Compel her to not feel the pain of your parent's death, Elena. If you don't, then she'll always have to carry that pain." Stefan points out as Damon nods and points at him.
"Now he's thinking!" Damon says as he hops up and claps his hand. Before I could do anything, Caroline is standing on the stairs and is baring her fangs.
"No one is turning off a six year olds feeling so you can relocate her. I understand, none of us here want her to be in pain, but does that have to mean that we turn off part of her humanity?" She basically yells. Damon looks down, not in guilt but in… Sadness?
"The only reason I said that was so I didn't have to come over every day and see my little Willow in pain. Sorry for caring." He mumbles so softly that I have to strain with my human ears to understand him. Before I can comfort him or say anything in response, he runs vampire speed out of the door, slamming it behind him.
"He'll be fine." Stefan says as he angrily walks over to the couch. I look at Caroline, how looks horribly sad.
"I think it's sad that Stefan would even bring up taking away part of a six year olds humanity…" Caroline mumbles as she walks out of the house. I sigh, walking over to the couch also. I sit and snuggle into Stefan's chest just in time to hear Willow's screams. I jump up and bolt up the stairs, skipping a few. When I get up to Willow's room, I throw the door open, expecting a hybrid, but instead see Willow's sad face crying hysterically.
"Oh, my little tree!" I say, walking fast with my arms open. As I sit, I pull her close me and stroke her hair. "Shhh, it's okay my little tree. I'm here now…" I say, stroking her hair. Seconds later, Damon is standing behind me. Damon sits next to me and Willow flings herself from my arms into his. Damon wraps his arms around her fragile little body and calms her in minutes. Damon gently moves Willow back onto her bed and lays next to her as she snuggles into his chest.
"I'll take first watch." Damon whispers, propping his head on his arm. I smirk and nod, knowing he would dismember any creature that posed any threat to his little Willow. To me, she was a sister, but to him, Willow was the daughter he never had. He'd play, laugh and kill for that little girl.
As I walk down the stairs, I notice that Stefan has left. I shrug slightly, feeling safe knowing that Damon's in the house. I walk into the kitchen and make myself a bowl of Rice Krispy's and a couple pieces of toast. As I sit at the bar and eat, I think about our predicament. Klaus is a hybrid, Caroline's a vampire, Aunt Jenna is dead, Katherine is out and about and Klaus knows that our weakness is Willow. What no one knows is that every day in breakfast lunch and dinner, I slip some vervain into Willows food and drink. I smirk, knowing that right now, I'm doing everything in my power to keeping the last of my family safe. As I eat the rest of my cereal, Bonnie walks in. She goes to the alcohol cabinet and pulls out the bourbon.
"Careful, Damon brought that over from his place." I warn as she pours herself a glass. She just laughs humorlessly and doesn't even bother grabbing a glass, but chugs it from the bottle. A few seconds later when she puts the bottle down, she puts the cap on and puts it back into the cupboard.
"Sorry, had a bad day. You know, being threatened by Klaus. Again." She says, sitting next to me, stealing a piece of my toast. I glare at her playfully and give Bonnie a half-hug.
"Don't worry. We're all freaking out. Every night, Willow has nightmares, but when she screams I always think that it's a hybrid or-or Elijah or somebody who is supposed to hurt us. Her specifically." I say as tears come to my eyes. I rapidly blink to clear my eyes and put my hair behind my ears. Bonnie smiles weakly at me and looks at the table.
As we are both lost in thought, Damon walks down the stairs slowly with Willow in his arms. He softly lays her down on the couch, not knowing that Bonnie and I are watching. As he lays her down, Damon brushes the hair from her face and tucks it behind her ear. He smiles slightly and kisses that top of her forehead. As he stands up straight, he takes off his favorite leather jacket and tucks it around her tiny body. As I mentally say 'aw' I notice Lexi watching from the staircase. She smirks and clears her throat.
"I thought that you were a big badass who hates people, much less children." Lexi states, standing slowly. Damon instantly crouches slightly and growls menacingly.
"Lexi, leave her alone." He growls protectively.
"Tsk, tsk Damon. I would never hurt a child, Willow no less. I love her like a daughter, same with you Elena." Lexi says a little loudly. Damon's head whips towards Bonnie and I and we just stand there like two does stuck in head lights. Damon shakes his head and looks towards Lexi, only to find her missing.
"How long were you two staring?" Damon asks, seeming embarrassed. I giggle and shake my head.
"Long enough." I say as I put my bowl in the sink and give Bonnie a goodnight hug. "I'm going to bed. Stay as long as you want Bonnie, and Damon? Make sure Willow gets back in her room. And do you mind spending the night? I'm exhausted and I can't watch her all night again by myself." I say as I walk towards Damon. He just smirks and bows slightly.
"If it makes my girls happy, I'd be honored." He says sarcastically. I slap him as I walk past and walk up the stairs. By the time I get into my room and change, I am more than ready for bed. As my head hits the pillow, I fall into a deep sleep, dreaming of the night my parents died…
