Alaric sighed deeply as he ended the call with his uncles. Bruno and Giacomo had just finished a sit down meeting in Milazzo. The men had done their best to sway the old stalwarts of the Salvatore family in Damon's favor. Unfortunately, there were still those that doubted his commitment to the operation in Milazzo. Ric had feared that Damon's short-sighted approach to consolidating his power would backfire on them. Giuseppe had eagerly taken advantage of the boy's rare business blunder. Ric understood that his nephew's ties to the old country were weaker than his own were. However, Damon needed the trust and loyalty of the men on both sides of the Atlantic if he wanted to be successful.

Ric knew the only way to make this right was for Damon to have some face time with the capos in Milazzo immediately. His position as Giuseppe's successor needed to be secure before they could kill the old bastard. Just finding him was proving to be challenging. It was as if Giuseppe had disappeared. The whole situation unnerved Ric. He had been his brother's underboss for years. He knew how ruthless Giuseppe could be when his back was up against the wall. If Damon didn't play his cards right, his father would kill him to protect his position as head of the family. Ric was going to do everything in his power to make sure that didn't happen.

He had too many regrets to count where his older brother was concerned. Ric didn't live full-time with Giuseppe until he was a teenager. By that time, he was capable of defending himself against the violent drunk and often did. He tried his best to protect his younger brother and nephews from Giuseppe. However, he ran off the college the moment had had a chance. That act of cowardice made him sick to his stomach til this day. He left those innocent kids to fight for their lives while he was partying in college. Zach had done the very same thing once he graduated from high school. Damon was the only one that decided to live at home while he attended college. He stayed to protect Stefan from Giuseppe.

The older man didn't relish breaking the news to his nephew. Damon wouldn't want to leave his wife and daughter after what happened at the manor. Unfortunately, they didn't have any other options. He took one last drag from his cigarette and then extinguished it in an ashtray. Ric opened the glass-paneled doors that lead into the sitting room. His lips curved into a small smile as he surveyed the room.

Zach, Damon, Stefan, and Mason were watching a football game in the sitting room. Nico was perched on his uncle's knee while he ate potato chips and cheese puffs despite the fact that he had already had dinner and dessert.

"Look! He caught the ball, Zio," Nico exclaimed. He was a blonde hair blue eyed boy with his father's olive colored skin tone. He was Stefan's son but there was no doubt that Nico idolized his uncle.

Damon chuckled and ruffled his nephew's hair. "What position does he play?"

"Uh…tight end?" he asked.

He grabbed a cheese puff from the bowl and chuckled, "That's right, kid. We're going to get you on a football field soon enough. Maybe you'll be a quarterback like your old man was."

He shook his head. "I wanna be like you, Zio."

He smiled. "You want to be a wide receiver, huh? You've got the hands for it."

Stefan rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Quit trying to steal my son. You might be having one of your own. Besides, Nico will play quarterback if I have anything to say about it."

Mason snorted. "What are the chances of Caroline signing off on that?"

Damon laughed harder at the scowl on his younger brother's face. Everyone knew that Stefan rarely refused Caroline's wishes. Sometimes Damon envied how easily being a husband and a father came to Stefan.

"Care wants to wait until Nico is a little older before we let him start playing full contact sports," Stefan argued. "He's going to stick to t-ball for now."

"It's all for the better. Caroline would tear out of the stands if Nico ever got hurt on the field. You can't come back from that sort of thing in football," Zach snorted.

Ric hated to interrupt. Seeing his nephews and younger brother like this was a stark reminder of what their life could be without Giuseppe looming in the background. He cleared his throat. "We need to talk, Damon."

The younger man lowered the glass of bourbon from his lips and groaned. "Don't say that. I had a good day with my wife. I'm watching the game with my favorite nephew. Can't it wait?"

Stefan groaned. "Don't let Caroline hear you picking favorites."

The elder brother grinned and replied, "He's my namesake. I'm allowed to say that he's my favorite nephew. Besides, I'm sure Tony will be Favorite Nephew 1-A once he can string together coherent sentences and go to the bathroom on his own."

Ric said, "I just finished talking to our uncles, Damon."

Damon grimaced at the expression on Ric's face. He set Nico on the floor and patted him on the back. "Go terrorize Bella and Sarah."

"Okay!" Nico grinned as he ran out of the room.

Ric closed the doors to the sitting room and then sat down on the couch.

Zach sighed and sat up more in his seat. He turned off the television and studied his older brother's expression. He could tell that the conversation hadn't gone well. The only solution to their problem was for Damon to meet with the capos. He was already working the logistics out in his head.

They heard screams from down the hall as Nico undoubtedly did something to scare his twin sister and cousin.

Stefan shook his head but couldn't hide his smile. He tossed a pillow at Damon's face for putting the idea in his son's head.

Damon caught the pillow with a smirk. However, his face sobered as he looked at Ric. "How bad it is, Zio?"

"Honestly, the meeting didn't go as poorly as I originally suspected that it would. Uncle Bruno says that four of the seven capos support you, Damon. That's more than I would have guessed considering how little time you have spent in Milazzo lately. There was also one person on the fence."

Damon ignored his uncle's blatant jab about his decision to focus on the United States. He knew now that was a mistake. He had trusted his father to pave the way for him. In hindsight, he recognized how naïve he had been. Damon should have known that Giuseppe would never retire on his own accord. He was too addicted to the power.

Zach asked, "Who was on the fence?"

"Leo Gianetti. However, one of Leo's daughters is married to a Benedetto boy. He'll more than likely swing our way if Big John supports Damon. We need the support of all seven capos in Milazzo."

Damon asked, "What do I need to do to get them on my side?"

Ric scrubbed at the stumble on his chiseled jaw. "We are going to have to fly out there, Damon."

"When?" he asked.

"Tomorrow?" Ric suggested. He looked at his younger brother for confirmation. The sooner they did this, the better it would be for Damon.

Zach shook his head. "No, we can't leave before next Saturday. We have been invited to the christening of Elijah and Hayley's little boy. And Niklaus is being released from prison tomorrow. He will stand up as the baby's godfather during the ceremony. There's no way all of the Salvatores can miss something like that without raising red flags from a lot of people."

Alaric frowned and replied, "I had completely forgotten about the christening and Niklaus' homecoming party. You're right, Zach. The alliance between the families is too important. We can't risk offending Elijah. We will leave next Monday, but that means we need to fly home before Thanksgiving. We are going to need to leave here in the next couple of days, Damon."

The younger man put his head in his hands because he already knew that. However, he didn't relish having this conversation with his wife and daughter. He didn't know how he could ask them to go back to the manor after what happened. Damon also didn't feel comfortable leaving them in Shadow Hills. His wife and daughter belonged under his roof. He took out his phone and started writing a text message to Rose.

Rose had flown back to Los Angeles a few days ago. He needed her at Velocita while he was here with his family. She knew how to keep things running at the company in his absence. Rose was perhaps the most overqualified assistant in the world. She had graduated from business school, too. However, she worked for Damon because he didn't trust anyone else. She was well compensated for being so overqualified for her job.

"What are you doing?" Ric asked.

"Telling Rose that I am going to need three puppies instead of two and maybe a bird, too. Sarah likes birds," he muttered in reply.

Ric looked at Mason for a moment. He had been mentoring the kid for years. He wanted Mason to take over as underboss when he finally made the decision to retire. Ric was in his early 40's so it wasn't as if he was planning to hang it up anytime soon. However, Bruno had mentored him for over a decade before he replaced him as Giuseppe's underboss.

He nodded in Mason's direction and said, "You're coming with us to Milazzo. It's time to start getting your feet wet."

The younger man was surprised but nodded in understanding at Ric's order. Mason had started out in his older brother's crew. However, Alaric had quickly recognized his talents. He made Mason his de facto second in command when he was all of 26 years old.

Damon nodded in agreement. Mason was a couple years older than he was. However, they had been friends for most of their lives. The Lockwood family had a long history with the Salvatore organization. The connection between the two families stretched back to Damon and Mason's great-great-grandfathers, Giovanni Salvatore and Giacobbe Loiacono. The pair had grown up together in Milazzo.

Damon asked, "How close are you to the Loiaconos still over there?"

He said, "Close enough. Brady, Tyler, and I go with my brother when he visits every year. I'd be surprised if my family was among the ones that didn't back you."

Ric smiled, "No, Dante was one of the capos that pledged his loyalty to Damon going forward."

Zach asked, "When should we fly home?"

Damon groaned and said, "We'll head back to L.A. on Tuesday morning. I want to give Bonnie and Sarah one last day here. They deserve that."

Ric said, "They can always stay with Jo and the girls if they don't feel safe in the manor while we're gone, Damon."

He shook his head. "I'll talk to Bonnie in a bit and see where her head is on this."

"Well, let me know if there is anything that I can do," he replied. He motioned for Zach to follow him out of the room. They needed to put their heads together on finding Giuseppe. They knew all the places their older brother liked to hide out when he wanted time away from the family. It was time to start kicking over every rock.

Stefan had remained silent throughout the conversation because he didn't have a place in this. He was the baby brother and the numbers person. They always kept him in the loop information wise but he didn't get to offer input. Stefan was a made man because Giuseppe required it of him. However, Damon was the one that finished off the man Stefan had been ordered to kill. His brother was always protecting him and carrying his burdens. He owed Damon more than he would ever be able to repay. He had been thinking of taking a more substantial role in the family. Now seemed as a good a time as any to make the first move.

Mason noted the look on Stefan's face and decided to give the two brothers the room.

Damon looked up from his phone and realized that Stefan was the only one left in the room. He could tell that something was wrong with his brother. "What is it? You're wearing your brooding face again."

"I want to go with you," he answered quickly.

The elder of the two brothers lifted an eyebrow. "No."

"Why not?" Stefan asked.

Damon stuffed his phone into his pocket and regarded his younger brother carefully. He asked, "Why do you want to go with us to Milazzo, Stefan?"

Stefan said, "Because I'm a Salvatore, too. I should be helping you take him down. I'm not a little boy anymore, Damon. I don't need protecting."

He stood up and squeezed his brother's shoulder. "I appreciate the offer but I don't want you involved in all of this. You worry about the books and leave everything else to us, Stef."

"Damon…"

He sat on the coffee table so that he was face to face with Stefan. He said, "I'm not mad at you for what happened with Bonnie. It wasn't your fault."

"That's not what this is about."

"Then explain it to me, brother. You have never had an interest in this thing of ours. I respected that and come hell or high water I made Giuseppe respect it, too."

Stefan looked down at the floor. "I know…but things are different now. You're going to be the boss. I should be there watching your back the way that you have always watched mine, Damon. I owe you."

Damon blinked in surprise but then shook his head. He grasped his brother's face in both hands. "You don't owe me anything, Stefan. The things I did were because I love you. You are my little brother and it is my job to protect you. I don't expect repayment…and certainly not in this way. If you want help me, then stay in Los Angeles. I need you to make sure that our people in the medical examiner's office will play ball with Giuseppe's body when the time comes. Pay whoever needs paying. Take Brady with you to intimidate whoever needs intimidating. That is how you can help me, little brother."

The younger man's shoulders slumped in acceptance. He nodded dutifully. "I'll take care of it, Damon."

"Thank you." Damon patted his brother's cheek affectionately before standing. He shook his head as he walked out of the room. He couldn't fathom what Stefan was thinking.

He walked upstairs to the master bedroom. It was time to break the news to his wife and daughter.

Damon found Bonnie and Sarah sitting in the middle of the king sized bed. They were dressed in matching Frozen pajamas. He didn't even know they made them in adult sizes. The cartoon playing on the tablet enthralled the little girl. Meanwhile, Bonnie was slowly taming Sarah's long curly hair into two neat French braids.

He quietly closed the door behind him. "What are you watching, bambolina?"

Sarah looked up with a grin. "Loud House. It's my favorite show."

"Yeah?" he asked. Damon sat down on the bed.

She nodded. "I wish I had a bunch of sisters like Lincoln does."

Bonnie laughed.

Damon lifted and eyebrow with his wife. "What's so funny about that?"

"How many sisters does Lincoln have, bambolina?" Bonnie asked in an amused voice.

"Ten!" Sarah beamed up at her father as she rattled off the names of all 11 Loud children.

Damon's eyes widened comically and he said, "Yeah that's not happening. Papa would go insane with 11 daughters. I would have to start my very own convent for all of you on a deserted island. We'd call you the Holy Salvatore Sisters."

She giggled. "You're silly, Papa."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. Damon watched as Bonnie finished braiding Sarah's hair. "You look beautiful."

"Really?" Sarah asked.

Bonnie picked up a hand held mirror and moved it in front of Sarah. "See for yourself."

Sarah's smiled brightly at her reflection. "Thank you, Mama."

"You're welcome."

Damon knew delaying the inevitable wouldn't change their circumstances. "There is something I needed to talk about with the two of you. You know Thanksgiving is only a couple days away. I was thinking it would be a good idea if we went home Tuesday."

Bonnie's expression remained neutral. She had expected them to return home before the holiday. However, it seemed as if Damon had other plans before tonight. She wondered what had changed his mind. She nodded. "Okay."

Sarah's smile faded and she burrowed closer to Bonnie.

Damon reached for Sarah. "Bambolina…"

"I don't wanna go home," she whispered. "Something bad is gonna happen."

He swallowed thickly as he tried to push down his anger. He shook his head. "Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise but we have to go home."

"You said that we could stay here," Sarah argued in a timid voice.

Damon said, "I know that I said that we could stay here but we need to go home, bambolina. I'm sure your cousins miss you. Don't you miss them, too?"

Sarah nodded a little. Her voice trembled as she said, "But I'm scared…"

Bonnie's heart broke listening to Sarah.

"There is nothing to be scared of, baby. I promise."

"Grandpa is gonna hurt Mama again," Sarah blurted out as tears slid down her cheeks.

Damon was speechless for a moment. It was one thing to know what his daughter witnessed. It was another thing to hear it in her words.

Bonnie picked up Sarah and hugged her. She shushed her softly. "It's okay. He's not going to hurt me."

Damon's heart tightened in his chest while he listened to his daughter cry. It was the most helpless feeling in the world to know that he couldn't fix this. Sarah would continue to remember that night long after Giuseppe was dead.

He moved closer and wrapped his arms around Bonnie and Sarah. "I am so sorry that you saw Grandpa hurting your mom. It wasn't very nice of him. He's very sorry that he hurt her and that he scared you. That's why he decided to go away for awhile. He's not going to be there. I promise, bambolina. Do you believe me?"

Sarah buried her face into the side of Bonnie's neck as she cried.

Bonnie smoothed her hand over Sarah's back and murmured quietly against her ear. "It's okay."

Damon opened his mouth to say something but was silenced with a look from Bonnie.

"Papa will be home with us this time. He won't let anything bad happen to me or you. Uncle Stefan and Uncle Zach will be there, too. We are going to have such a big and yummy Thanksgiving dinner. I bet Nonna Abby will be there, too."

Sarah sniffled. "And Cooper?"

Bonnie nodded. "Well, Nonna can't come to Thanksgiving without Cooper."

Sarah whispered, "But what if Grandpa comes back?"

"Then we'll come back here," Bonnie said. "Just me and you."

Damon wanted to object but couldn't find the words. His daughter was scared to be in the one place that was always supposed to be her safe haven. He had failed her in a way that she didn't yet understand. However, Damon knew that she would one day. He remembered the precise moment when he lost faith in Lilly. He wasn't going to let history repeat itself.