Home Is Where You Are
A/N – Hey people! Well onto chapter four! I can't believe how many of you are liking this story, it makes me feel so good, mainly because, I don't know if any of you can tell from the story but I'm dyslexic and to know people are enjoying my writing is better than chocolate and trust me, I like chocolate! I probably should be writing my essay for university right now but Dalaric is just more fun, maybe I should be doing creative writing instead of psychology? Nah, I'm not that good, any way, please enjoy this chapter and let me know what y'all think! A lot of people have commented on how they like how this is about our boys dealing with everyday problems rather than the Vampire problems they have on the show, I'm glad people like this version of the boys because I would be useless at writing all that angst so they might come across OOC sometimes but roll with it, anyway I have rambled your ears off, enjoy…
"Alaric's father dropped his fork to his plate, stood up and walked out of the kitchen without so much as a glance at his youngest child. Alaric closed his eyes for a second before getting up and leaving for the back porch a little faster than he maybe should have, had he waited a few more seconds he would have been able to answer his phone as it started to ring and Damon's name appeared on the display screen, the task of answering it fell to Caleb."
Damon lent against the wall of the Grill, staring up into the night sky as he waited for Alaric to answer his phone, it took longer than normal for the call to be answered but the he thought nothing of it until an unfamiliar voice came over the line.
"Damon?" the vampire felt his eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Yes, who's this? Where's Ric?" Damon could feel the panic start to rise in his chest, Alaric never let anyone answer his phone, it was always in his pocket or his hand and even when he was asleep is was right next to his head on the night stand.
"It's Caleb, Ric's nephew I don't know if mentioned me…"
"Yeah he did." Damon told him while recalling all that his boyfriend had told him about the kid.
"Where is he?" Damon asked as he heard Caleb climbing stairs and then shutting a door.
"Sorry, I thought giving what's just happened it would be better to talk away from everything." Caleb said making the panic Damon was feeling triple.
"Caleb, tell me what happened and where he is." Caleb went through everything from start to finish, ending up with Alaric storming outside.
"Damn it!" Damon cursed as he ran a hand down his face.
"He wouldn't handle this very well Caleb, he will put up this wall, pretend he is okay and carry on but it will eat him up inside till the point were it will explode, doing more damage." Damon thought he would feel bad telling the kid how someone he is close to will handle something but truth is that he didn't because he knew Alaric better than anyone ever had or would.
"What am I meant to do?" Caleb asked.
"Keep him away from everyone till I get there, not that it should be too difficult, he won't want to be in close quarters with anyone while he is feeling like this." As Damon said it Caleb could here the door to the room next to his, Alaric's room, bang open and then the door to the cupboard slam against the adjoining wall.
"Wait, you are coming here?" Caleb asked, completely taken by surprise.
"Yes I am, trust me kid, you don't want to be in the middle of this, between two sides of your family, besides someone is gonna have to pull him outta this, he'll be mad at everything and everyone around him for a while then he will start blaming himself, trust me, I know him better than I know myself." Caleb was so glad he wasn't going to have to deal with this alone, it was nice to have support because he didn't care what the rest of his family thought, he was on his Uncle Ric's side.
After giving Damon all the information he needed about the airport, how to get around the city and promising he wouldn't tell Alaric that he was coming down Caleb went to find his Uncle, Alaric was throwing stuff into his hold all when Caleb stuck his head around the door, he thought he must be extremely mad because he was moving around so fast Caleb could barely his eyes on him.
"Uncle Ric?" Alaric stopped in his track and turned to the door,
"Ca, come in." as he did the youngster handed over the cell phone that he had just gotten Damon's number from and entered it into his own phone.
"Thanks kid." Alaric thanked him, pushing the phone into the front pocket of his jeans and zipped up the bag that was on the bed,
"Where are you going? Not home?" Caleb asked, looking between his Uncle and the bed. Alaric shook his head,
"No, I'm gonna check into the hotel in town, I can't stay here, not that Dad would let me anyway, but I am not gonna miss you turning sixteen." Caleb grinned, even in his darkest place his Uncle still cared more about him.
"Okay, I'll give you a lift, just got my licence last month." Caleb told him. Alaric beamed and grabbed the bag and followed the kid out the room and to the car.
Back in Mystic Falls Damon charged through the door so hard Stefan was surprised it didn't swing of its hinges as he turned around from the shot he was about to take on the pool table, they were currently whipping Jeremy and Tyler at the game. Seeing the look on his big brother's face he knew something had happened. Damon grabbed his arm and dragged him to a corner, leaving Jeremy and Tyler looking perplexed. Damon filled him in on everything and Stefan understood exactly why he was flying all the way down there, had this been anyone else it wouldn't have provoked this kind of reaction but Alaric was different and Stefan would never dream of trying to stop his brother doing what he was going to do anyway. After asking him to keep an eye on Jeremy like Alaric had asked him Damon took off through the crowd and out into the night air leaving Stefan to explain to the other two what was happening.
On the drive up to the house to get his stuff Damon was on the phone to the airline with the earliest flight out, which he discovered after a quick internet search on his smart phone, maybe not the best thing to do whilst driving in anger but this was Damon Salvatore. As he swung the door shut behind him and raced up to their room he knew he had three hours to get to the gate, the airport was two hours away, add the time it would take to get his stuff, check in and make it through security he would be pushing it, he knew compelling people was in his near future. As he fished out his passport he got a text on his cell, it read
Hey, Ric has checked into the Sun Rise hotel on Castle Street, room 116. Caleb.
After sending a thanks to Caleb he glanced around their room for anything he had missed, he couldn't see anything so he left, stormed downstairs and back outside and to his car, throwing the bag into the passenger seat as he started the engine and drove in the direction of the airport.
Three hours later, as he made his way to his seat the flight attendant closed the door, he had made it with seconds to spare and that was after compelling about three people along the way, he thought it was going to go up to four at the check in desk when the guy behind it was looking at his passport, he had only had the damn thing about six years but it was already getting harder to use, the birth date on in would but him at thirty one and he sure didn't look that old, only being twenty three when he became a vampire, he had gotten the date on it that would have made him twenty five when he first got it as he was slightly paranoid he didn't look twenty three but he didn't think about trying to use it years late, he was going to have to get another one soon, if the vampire he and Stefan used to get their documents was still around, he was always getting into fights and Damon would surprised if he hadn't been staked yet, but he hoped not, his work was nothing but perfect, it had never gotten flagged anywhere, Damon figured he'd wait until Alaric had to get a new one, he was still using his real one at the minute, he had gotten it when he was thirty and was still only in his mid thirty's.
As the plane became airborne Damon tried to relax, he had a few hours before he could do anything to help Alaric he told himself but it didn't help much. When they were allowed their cell phones and other electronic devices back on Damon turned on his cell and checked his messages, nothing from Caleb so he figured everything there was still at a stalemate. As he backed out of his inbox and back to the home screen he started at the wallpaper for a while, it was of him and Alaric, his boyfriend was stood behind him with his hands resting on Damon's hips, his chin in the dip between Damon's shoulder and neck as the older vampire leaned his head against Alaric's, Elena had decided that no one took enough photo's so she decided to take on the role herself, she had photos of everyone with everyone else and she had sent a few of them around, this one was his favourite of the two of them. After a while he placed the phone back in the pocket of his leather jacket and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back, wishing the time away.
A few hours later the plane touched down just as the sun was starting to rise, blinding him for a second as he stepped off the plane, ''Damn Ric for stealing my sunglasses'' he thought to himself with a smile on his face. He made it through the terminal in record time and got in a cab just outside the sliding doors and gave the name of the hotel Caleb had send him. About twenty minuets later he was walking though the doors and into the lobby of the hotel, their was hardly anyone around but giving the fact it was only about seven in the morning it was to be expect, only a few sleepy looking business men and women were milling around, cups of coffee grasped in their hands. Damon glanced around and saw a sign that told him room 116 was on the second floor so he walked over to the elevator as he adjusted the strap of his bag which he had slung over his shoulder, once inside he pressed the correct button for the floor he was looking for and waited as the shiny doors closed.
Even before he doors had opened to allow him out his hearing picked up the sound of Alaric storming around his room, he knew it was Alaric because he knew his footsteps well and to him they sounded different to every other set he could hear from the few people that were awake at this time. Hoping that the other vampire was distracted enough to not hear him approaching he made his way down the plain corridor to 116 and knocked twice on the door and waited. It took about ten seconds for it to open but when it did the look on Alaric's face was comical but Damon managed to suppress his grin, probably not what his boyfriend needed right now.
"Damon?"
"The one and only. Hey Ric." Alaric took a second to make sure that Damon was actually there and that his wishing he was wasn't making him see things before he drew him into his arms. Damon closed his eyes as he hugged Alaric back; he needed this as much as Alaric did. Once they let go and were both in the room and the door closed behind them Alaric asked,
"How the heck did you know what had happened? I was just about to call you and how did you know where I was?"
"I knew what had happened because of your very nice nephew, who is also how I knew where you were." It took a second for the penny to drop then,
"My cell." Damon nodded in conformation.
"Yeah I called and he answered, told me everything then text me where you were staying." Damon told him as he took one of Alaric's hands in his own, leading him to the bed, they sat down and Alaric said,
"and you told him not to tell me you were coming down here?"
"Yeah, I knew you'd try to talk me out of it when you need me most."
"I do need you." Alaric told him in little more than a whisper before closing the gap between them, catching Damon's lips with his own in a warm and needing kiss, he needed to know that Damon was really there because he knew he had probably lost a good number of his family and he couldn't bare to lose the one person in the world that mattered most to him. Damon knew everything his boyfriend must be feeling and he knew he needed reassurance so he let Alaric lead the kiss rather than fighting for control as he normally would. They had both missed the closeness, being able to touch each other so they took full advantage of being together again, Alaric used his weight to press Damon down onto the sheets, never breaking the kiss as one of Damon's hands went to rest on Alaric's hip, the other wound up at the base of his neck, twisting the strands of dirty blond in his long fingers. Both of them cursed as a cell phone started to ring, both of them went to the pocket their cells were in out of habit but they both knew it was Alaric's because of the ring tone, some soft country song.
"Caleb." Alaric answered the unasked question. He pressed the answer button and placed it to his ear.
"Ca?" Alaric listen to his nephew, his expression unreadable even to Damon.
"Okay, thanks kid." Alaric hung up and looked at Damon who had not been listening to the conversation; he hated listening in on other peoples phone calls so it was second nature to him now.
"What did he say?"
"I guess he told them you were coming down because my dad wants to see us both at the house."
A/N – Well? How did we all like that? Do I still have readers? Hope so! Let me know what you think of this chapter and the rest of the story if you haven't already! The next chapter shouldn't be too far away, I will most likely write it tomorrow night, if not it will be Sunday because Saturday I'm driving back to University.