Kensie swore she could've heard a pin drop in that hallway. Damon, Jeremy, Bonnie, and Dr. Fell were all staring at her as if she'd grown a second head, or had just admitted she was an alien. She studied the shocked faces around her, trying to figure out why they were staring at her like that. "What…?"

"Did you just say Salvatore…?"

She turned to face Bonnie, who wore an expression of utter disbelief. "Yeah. So?"

"Your name is really Mackenzie Salvatore?"

Damon's incredulous tone caught her attention. He was scrutinizing her, as if trying to determine whether or not she was telling the truth. It was unnerving.

"Well… not the Salvatore," she admitted finally, "but it is a family name. I'm not telling you my real last name, though, so what's the big deal about just using Salvatore?"

The others just stared at her in silence again. Kensie found it both unnerving and irritating.

"You could say she's your cousin," Meredith suggested, breaking the silence.

"Would somebody please tell me what's going on?" Kensie demanded, raising her voice above the others'.

They all just stared at her. Again. Kensie was ready to throw a fit worthy of a two-year-old when Jeremy finally spoke. "Damon's last name is Salvatore."

She stared at him for a moment before turning her gaze to Damon. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Hey," Damon said a stern tone that surprised Kensie. "You don't need to be using language like that."

"Sorry," she apologized though she knew she didn't sound very sorry. "But seriously. What's your real last name?"

"Salvatore. How is Salvatore a family name for you?"

"That's my business."

Damon seemed ready to argue with Kensie, but Meredith cut him off. "Okay. So, see the nurse at the check-in counter and she'll give you the forms. Just use Mackenzie Salvatore on the forms. If anyone asks, she's a cousin from out of town. Once you've completed the paperwork, I'll be able to have someone x-ray Kensie's wrist and we'll go from there."

Bonnie wrapped her arm around Kensie's shoulders. "C'mon, Kensie. Let's go sit down while Damon gets you signed in."

The chairs in the ER weren't nearly as comfortable as they looked. Her arm was throbbing and she wanted to close her eyes and sleep until the pain was gone, but she couldn't fall asleep because of the pain. She hadn't been seriously hurt since she'd run away, and she would've given anything right then for one of her mom's hugs. She couldn't remember her dad. He'd died when she was still in diapers, but her mom had always said he was a good, gentle man.

Damon chose a seat a few chairs down from Kensie, and she was grateful for the distance. She still had Bonnie on one side, but Jeremy had opted to sit on the other side of Bonnie, so Kensie didn't feel quite so cramped or squished.

The wait before they could go back to radiology seemed to take hours, but Bonnie assured her it had only been half an hour. It didn't seem to take as long after the x-rays for Dr. Fell to return and break the news.

"You've got a bad sprain, and you fractured your distal radius. It'll need a cast."

"Nuh uh." Kensie held her wrist to her chest and scooted further back into the chair. "No cast. My wrist hurts enough without someone putting their hands all over it."

Damon rolled his eyes as he stood. "It's just a cast. You'll be fine. Let's go."

"No."

"Kensie, get up."

"No."

He leaned down until their faces were inches apart. "If I have to pick you up and carry you like a toddler, I will. Get. Up."

She glared daggers at him, but she stood. Kensie felt the tears threatening to spill, and she angrily wiped her eyes with her good hand. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

She wished Jeremy or Bonnie could come back with her, but since Damon was listed as her guardian on the forms, he was the only one permitted to accompany her beyond the waiting room. It sucked, because he'd shown all the warmth of an icicle since they'd met, and although he had been gentle enough with her back at the house, he didn't seem to sympathize at all.

To Kensie's relief, the cast setting process took less time and less pain than she'd anticipated. Dr. Fell was exceptionally gentle while wrapping the bandages that would dry into a cast. Damon, while certainly not a cuddly teddy bear, refrained from commenting or chiding when Kensie would sniffle in spite of her efforts, or hastily wipe away an errant tear. She was grateful for that.

Dr. Fell gave Kensie and Damon instructions on keeping the cast dry and her arm supported while her wrist healed. Kensie didn't really pay attention, but she figured Damon would, and since he wanted to act the part of her guardian, that was his job, anyway. Finally, Dr. Fell gave Damon a prescription for a pain reliever that was stronger than Advil or Tylenol, and sent them toward the discharge area. Kensie hoped they'd stop at the pharmacy on the way back to the house, so she could finally take something to ease the pain.

"We should go over some ground rules."

Kensie rolled her eyes from her position on the sofa. Her cast-encased hand and forearm were supported by a sling and resting against her chest. The pain reliever Damon had picked up at the pharmacy had just begun to kick in, and the throbbing was ebbing away. "Funny," she mused. "You don't strike me as a fan of rules."

"Let me clarify," Damon said, standing in front of her with his arms folded in front of him. "We should go over some ground rules for you."

She arched an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're getting all paternal."

"First rule." His voice took on a firm tone. "You're going to start showing a little more respect."

Kensie shook her head. "Respect is earned."

He leaned down so that they were eye to eye and fixed her with a glare. "I am one hundred sixty years older than you, little girl. Respect is a given."

She fought the urge to shrink back into the cushions. "Wow…" she drawled. "You're practically ancient."

"Second rule," he continued, ignoring her jab. "I need to know where you are at all times. You will ask for permission before going anywhere."

"Oh come on!" She sat up straight, ready to protest. "I'm twelve, not two!"

"You're new to this town, and that alone can make it dangerous for you to be out by yourself. Jeremy and Bonnie are hell bent on keeping you safe, so you are not going to do anything to make that harder for them."

She sighed, but didn't argue. It was a reasonable enough request, considering his explanation, and she didn't want to give Jeremy or Bonnie a hard time. No, that pleasure was to be reserved solely for Damon.

"Third rule. I expect you to be honest. No lies, half truths, or omissions. I might not be able to compel you, but I will find out if you aren't telling the truth."

"If I have to tell you the truth about everything, you have to do the same for me."

"No. I will tell you the truth about anything you need to know about, but you are a child and children don't need to know everything."

"Don't think you're going to use that as an excuse not to tell me shit…"

"Fourth rule, which ties in with the first one. No cursing. A twelve-year-old should not have the mouth of a sailor."

"I can't make any promises," she told him. "So what am I going to do all day? You don't seem to have cable or internet or ANY technology from the last fifty years in this house other than your cell phones. I doubt you're sending me to school…"

"As soon as we can get fake transcripts for you and make sure I'm documented as your legal guardian so no one comes asking questions, you'll be enrolled at Mystic Falls Middle School."

"Oh joy." She'd been in middle school before she'd run away, of course, but she'd discovered the first year that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

"What grade are you in?"

"Seventh." It was the truth, though she'd hardly attended school that year on account of being on the run. "Can't guarantee I'll be any good in school after missing the last several months though."

"How long have you been running?" Jeremy asked from across the room.

"Long enough to know that no matter how bad things get, I'm not going back." She yawned involuntarily. "Why am I feeling sleepy?"

"It's a side effect of the pain reliever Dr. Fell prescribed," Damon answered. "You should go upstairs and take a nap."

"I'm twelve," Kensie protested, though she leaned her head back against the cushions and closed her eyes as she stifled another yawn. "Twelve-year-olds don't take naps."

"So your eyes are closed why, then?"

Kensie swore she could hear Damon's smirk. She meant to tell him to 'shut up,' but the words came out mumbled and smushed together. He laughed, but she didn't have a comeback as her eyes grew heavier...

When Kensie next opened her eyes, she found herself in a bed. After a few confused moments, she recognized the room she'd slept in the previous night. How had she gotten up here? She certainly didn't remember walking up. In fact, the last thing she remembered was sitting on the couch, arguing with Damon…

The curtains were closed, blocking much of the sunlight through the window, so she couldn't really tell what time it was. The door to the hallway was cracked, allowing a sliver of light to shine in from that direction. She pushed herself upright using her right arm; her left one was still in the sling. While her left wrist was sore, it wasn't throbbing the way it had been before. However long she'd been asleep, that was reassuring.

Kensie still felt groggy, but she didn't want to stay in bed. She would've loved to curl up in front of the television, if the house actually had a television. She wondered if she could talk one of them into getting a television and at least basic cable. The house had electricity, so cable had to be a possibility, right? Besides, it was clear that Damon was loaded. Between the mansion of a house and the fact that Damon had paid all of her medical bills right then and there at the hospital, out of pocket, he had to have a lot of money. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford whatever he wanted.

She slipped out of the bed and shuffled into the hallway, too tired to bother trying to sneak around. Even so, she made it to the third step from the bottom before she saw Damon.

"What are you doing up?" he asked.

"I'm tired of sleeping," she mumbled, tripping over the next step. She would've fallen face first onto the ground if not for Damon catching her.

"You are going back to bed," Damon told her as he set her on her feet and turned her around. He started to guide her back up the stairs, but she put her hand on the railing and stubbornly held still.

"No." Kensie meant for it to be assertive, but it came out as more of a whine. "I'm bored up there by myself. I want to stay down here."

"You're still drowsy from the medication. You should be sleeping."

"Please, Damon?"

She heard him sigh, and then he leaned down and placed an arm behind her knees, pulling her up into his arms.

"I can walk…" she muttered halfheartedly.

Damon snorted. "What, and let you fall flat on your face? I'd just have to drag you back to the hospital again, and I have better things to do." He carried her over to the sofa, where he set her down. His gentleness surprised her. "If I let you stay down here that means you're lying on this sofa and resting. Any arguments and you'll be back up in your room."

Kensie yawned and felt her eyes grow heavy once again. She didn't have the energy to keep fighting. "Okay."

She closed her eyes, and heard footsteps retreating. A minute later, the footsteps returned, and Kensie felt something soft and warm covering her body. "Thank you," she murmured before sleep took her once again.

This time, when Kensie woke several things were different. Her head felt clear. She was less drowsy.

Her arm was beginning to throb again.

Clearly the medication, whatever it was (Damon hadn't told her when he offered her one small pill with a glass of water upon their return from the hospital) diminished the pain, but it also left her disoriented. Kensie wasn't sure whether she'd prefer to feel clearheaded or have less pain. They both had their advantages.

Looking at her body, she saw that she'd been covered with a blanket. Huh. If she didn't know any better, she might think that Damon actually cared a little. True, it could have been Bonnie or Jeremy who had covered her up, but even though she'd only heard footsteps before drifting off, she knew it had been Damon.

She glanced around the room for some sign that anyone was around, but it appeared she was alone. If anyone else was in the room or an adjacent room, she didn't hear them.

"You're awake."

Startled, Kensie followed the voice to the doorway leading to the stairs where Jeremy stood. She watched him cross the room and sit across from her. She really needed to begin differentiating between his voice and Damon's voice. They weren't completely the same, but they were close enough that a child who had been in their presence less than 24 hours might not recognize one over the other just yet.

"How are you feeling?"

"Less tired," she told him honestly, conveniently omitting anything about her pain. "That pill made me loopy."

"What about your wrist?"

"It's fine," she replied quickly. She realized her response was too quick, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Jeremy.

"Now why don't I believe you?" he countered with a knowing look. She mentally cursed at the fact that he was more perceptive than she'd first thought. "You don't need to be brave, you know," he told her when she didn't say anything. "If you're in pain, you should take another pill."

Kensie shook her head. "I don't want to be loopy," she explained. "I want to be awake."

"Kensie…" Jeremy sighed.

"If you were in a strange place surrounded by people you don't know, you wouldn't want to feel drugged, either," she pointed out. "I'll be fine." She glanced around the room once more, as if someone might have appeared without her knowing. "Where are the others?"

"Bonnie had to meet up with my sister. Damon's upstairs." Kensie hadn't heard Jeremy mention a sister before, but then again, she reminded herself, she hadn't even known him a full day. "Are you hungry? Bonnie and I went to the store while you were sleeping and picked up some food. I'm not much of a cook, but I can heat up soup or make you a sandwich."

So they'd gone to the store and left her with Damon? While she was drugged and unconscious? And he hadn't done anything to hurt her? Kensie could hardly believe it. They really must trust him, they thought, at least with her safety.

"Or, soup and a sandwich," Damon suggested, appearing out of nowhere. Kensie hated how he could do that. "Then she can take another pill."

"I'm not really hungry," Kensie replied at once, slightly annoyed that he was talking about her like she wasn't even there.

"Huh," mused Damon. He watched her intently until she fidgeted under his gaze. "I guess it doesn't matter that I can't compel you. You are a horrible liar."

"I'm not…"

"Mackenzie, stop."

She fell silent out of sheer surprise. It had been months since anyone had called her Mackenzie, and even at the hospital Dr. Fell had called her Kensie. She was beginning to regret the decision to tell them her given name already.

"You need to eat and take your medicine."

Kensie shook her head adamantly. "I don't want to."

"You don't want to eat, or you don't want to take your medicine?"

"Medicine. It makes me sleepy and loopy."

"It helps you to rest. You need the rest."

"I don't need to rest," argued Kensie. "I broke my arm. It's not like I got hit by a car. Besides, I've rested plenty already today."

"You're taking the medicine, Kensie."

"Why can't I take an Advil instead?"

"Tomorrow. Today, you're taking the stuff Dr. Fell prescribed and resting."

"No."

Damon's eyes narrowed at her slightly defiant tone. "It's not up for debate. You're taking the pill, whether you eat or not." It was a lie, but she didn't have to know that. He'd had over a century and a half to perfect his deception skills. He was counting on her hunger overriding her stubbornness, because she needed to have something in her stomach when she took a pill, and it had been many hours since she'd had breakfast.

"NO."

Damon let out a low growl. Kensie sank back into the cushions in spite of herself.

"What if I stay with you?"

Kensie focused on Jeremy, having forgotten he was even in the room while arguing with Damon. "What?"

"I have homework to do. If you get sleepy, I'll stay by you and work on my homework so you won't be by yourself."

She thought about that. She had to admit that she trusted Jeremy at least a little more than she did Damon, and Jeremy didn't seem to be afraid of Damon. If he was promising to stay the whole time, she wouldn't have to be alone. She'd still be drugged and loopy, but she'd feel the slightest bit safer. "You would?"

Jeremy nodded. "You'd have to take your medicine, though."

Kensie let out a dramatic sigh. "Must I?"

He chuckled at her theatrics. "You must."

"All right. Do you think I could have something to eat first?"

"Sure. You stay here. I'll go fix you something."

Jeremy stood and headed for the kitchen. To Kensie's surprise, Damon followed him. While she wanted to enjoy the Damon-free moment, however long it lasted, she was more curious as to why Damon was leaving her alone and following Jeremy. As quietly as she could, she rose from the sofa and tiptoed over to the entrance to the kitchen, pressing her body against the wall so as not to be seen. She knew vampires had extraordinary senses, but if he'd heard her moving about, he hadn't called her out on it.

"How the hell did you do that?" Damon demanded in a low voice as Jeremy pulled out a can of soup and sandwich fixings.

"How did I do what?" Jeremy retorted.

"You got her to agree to take that damn pill without so much as an argument or a hint of defiance from her. I try to get her to do something and she all but throws a fit."

Jeremy snorted. "It's called being nice."

"I am so nice," scoffed Damon. "I haven't tried to strangle her once."

"You're a bully, Damon. You try to get your way through intimidation instead of speaking to people like they're, well, people. Be a little nicer to her, and I think you'll be surprised by how much more easily she'll comply."

Kensie snorted before she could stop herself. Damon? Nice for more than five seconds? Surely hell would freeze over first. As soon as she realized she'd made a sound, though, her eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth with her good hand, hoping they hadn't heard her.

A body suddenly appearing before her, arms crossed over the chest, told her that they had heard her. She glanced up, already knowing it was Damon and he wasn't happy. Yup. His face confirmed her suspicions. "Hi, Damon. I was just…"

"Eavesdropping," he cut her off. "Go sit back down on the sofa before I decide you need to be in bed for the rest of the day."

Kensie huffed, but she walked around Damon and back to the sofa without stomping or making a scene. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had no right to eavesdrop on their conversation, and if Damon was making less of a fuss than she'd thought he would, she supposed she could make less of a fuss herself.

Just this once.