Danielle followed Jacob out of the house, running after him as fast as her feet would carry her. He was upset and exhausted, and to be quite frank, he just couldn't handle it anymore. In any case, he needed some air. "Go back inside before you catch your death," he told her over his shoulder. He pulled his coat closer as he walked. She ignored him, running down the steps and then crossing the street after him. "Stop, Stanton! Please!" He'd never been able to ignore her. For that matter, he'd never been able to deny her anything. He loved her far too much for any of that. She was just like a daughter to him. The only family he had anymore…
"What?" The harshness of his tone caught her by surprise and she stammered, catching her foot on the curb but he was there to catch her. He was always there to catch her. She fell into his chest and he sighed, keeping her close while she regained her balance. She didn't say anything as she stood up tall again, she just cleared her throat. "Are you okay?" he asked, his tone softer than before. She nodded, her cheeks flush from embarrassment. He let her take a step back and she shoved her hands deep into her jeans pockets. "I'm… I'm fine, thanks." He nodded his head, gnawing at his lip a little as a pained expression passed over his features. He needed to say this. "Stop doing this to yourself, Danielle. You're not the only one getting hurt anymore. Don't you see?" She looked back up at him, her eyes filling with tears as she listened to him speak. "It's me, too. You're breaking my heart. You have to quit altogether. If you don't now, you know you never will."
A rather long moment passed where they just looked at each other, love in each other's eyes. "Stanton, I can't." The words came out in a broken sob and she looked down to the ground. He shook his head as he closed the distance between them, gathering her in his arms for a tight hug. "Yes, you can. It's only drugs. Don't let them ruin your life, my love. I sat by your side when you were detoxing. I was there for you… Remember? And, I will still be here for you. Always." His chin came to rest on the top of her head and she hugged him back tightly. "I'm sorry you're going through this, Dani." There were few very moments when he called her that, but when he did, it warmed her heart like nothing else could.
"I'm sorry for putting you through this, Stanton," she said back to him, nearly quoting him word for word. Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. He couldn't look at her, he closed his eyes to keep back the tears that threatened to fall. "Don't apologize, Danielle. Never apologize for being who you are. Never. You have a problem and you can't do this alone. Come here… You feel this?" He took her hand, placing it above his heart. She could feel the steady 'thud' of his heartbeat through the material of his old cotton shirt and it made her smile. "That's real, Danielle. That means I'm not going anywhere. I could never just walk away from you… I'm sorry we were arguing earlier and I'm sorry I left your apartment. I just needed to get out for a while, y'know? I needed to breathe." She nodded her head, a weak smile finding her lips.
"Don't… Don't go," she told him, swallowing hard. He glanced back at her apartment, his eyes landing on Stefan. He was standing at the window, watching them with a worried expression. Jacob gave a little nod to let him know things were perfectly fine but the Irishman didn't turn away. He was still worried, he cared too much to just turn away. Damien came over and looked over his shoulder down at them on the sidewalk, looking particularly worried as well. The gesture caught Jacob off guard and a smile touched his lips. They really were like a family…
"I won't go anywhere," were the last words to leave his lips before he hugged her again and they walked back inside.