This chapter may be triggering for some readers. Also, before people jump to conclusions, please read to the very end of the chapter!
1X07 Haunted
Dawn Ellis played by Dianna Agron
"Dawnie… Dawn… Hey, wake up."
Fluttering her hazel eyes open, Dawn squinted in confusion when she noticed Elena looming over her. Dawn's confusion quickly disintegrated when she saw the fresh tear tracks that tarnished Elena's flawless skin. Sitting up, Dawn blinked, disorientated as she looked around briefly. She was no longer in Damon's bed. Oh god… She wasn't going to have a Dorothy moment, was she?
"V-Vampire." Dawn mumbled as Elena's eyes widened.
"You know?" Elena asked, her doe orbs rimmed red.
Dawn shivered as she nodded and pulled the blanket further around her shoulders. "D-Did you know?" Dawn asked quietly as Elena frantically shook her head.
"No! Stefan just told me!" Elena protested.
For a moment, Dawn tried to contemplate the whole situation. Nodding, Dawn wrapped her arms around her body. "I-I don't know what to believe anymore." Dawn admitted, her eyes watering.
If vampires and witches were real, was God? Was the devil? Or was it all folklore, a tale told to keep children in line. Dawn wasn't sure anymore… And if God was real, why would he create creatures who lurked in the dark, creatures who fed on innocents? But then again, why did God create bad people? Rapists, murders and criminals, all children of God, and yet most of them escaped justice, why? Dawn snorted at the thought, he had escaped justice.
Now that she thought about it, Dawn's mind spun. God had allowed a lot of terrible things to happen to her, why? Her mother's death, Shelia's marriage to her father, years of him and being kicked out. Why? What had she done wrong? Granted, Dawn was no angel, she had sinned, but she was no devil either…
"I know… I know…" Elena soothed, her voice cracking as she brought Dawn into a hug.
Almost as if Dawn could sense she was close to tears, she rubbed Elena's back comfortingly. Elena was soothed by Dawn's presence alone as she let everything out. The death of her parents, their funeral, her breakup and Stefan. All the feelings she had been withholding came barrelling out.
"It's okay, Elena." Dawn whispered as she clutched the sobbing brunette.
…
With a swagger in his step, Tyler walked over to his rather expensive car, his phone pressed between his shoulder and ear as he bided his goodbye and hung up. Shoving the phone into his pocket, Tyler unlocked his car and climbed into his car.
As he pulled the seatbelt across his body, Tyler failed to notice Vicki in the back seat, her eyes tear stained. Just as the belt clicked in the holder, Tyler jumped at the sound of her croaky voice.
"Hi, Ty."
Placing a hand on his heart, Tyler stared at Vicki with shock. "Whoa, Vicki? Everyone's looking for you!"
Nodding, Vicki wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I know."
Furrowing his brows together, Tyler unclipped the belt and turned, so he was now facing the brunette. "What's wrong, Vick?"
Shivering, Vicki frowned. She was cold, but not on the outside. On the inside. "I'm so cold." Vicki admitted.
Tyler scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You're on drugs!? Everyone thinks you're off on a bender."
Lowering her voice, Vicki let out another sniff. "I wish."
"What happened in those woods, Vicki? Those kids that were killed. What did you see?" Tyler asked, placing his hand on her arm as she shook her head.
"I'm so scared."
Pulling Vicki into his arms, Tyler sighed. "Come here. It's okay. I'll take you home."
Vicki shook her head and tried to pull from his tight embrace. "I can't control it."
Furrowing his brows together in confusion, Tyler moved so he could look her in the eye. "Control what?"
Vicki whimpered as she eyed Tyler's pulsing neck artery. "I am so hungry, Ty. And it won't go away."
"What are you on? What drugs did you take?" Tyler asked, running a hand through her tangled brown locks in an attempt to comfort the sister of his best friend.
Gently pulling her by the hair, Tyler made her look up at him as she whimpered and kept her eyes trained on his neck. "I want it. I am so hungry, Ty."
Nodding, Tyler let go of her hair. "Okay, look, I'll get you something to eat. Just sit back. Look, let's just get you home, okay?"
Pulling her close, Tyler furrowed his brows together in surprise as she began to lick his neck. "Whoa! Vicki! What is wrong with you?!"
Letting the fangs unleash from her gums, Vicki snarled. Just as she was about to bite into the smooth flesh of Tyler Lockwood, Stefan opened the car door and pulled her off the squirming football player.
Vicki protested as Tyler stumbled out the car and backed away. As the newly turned vampire continued to struggle against Stefan, who was restraining her, Damon appeared behind Tyler.
With widened eyes, adrenaline pumped through Tyler's veins as he stared at Stefan. "What's going on here, Stefan? What's wrong with her?"
Before Stefan could answer, Damon cut in. "You don't talk."
Spinning to face the older brother, Tyler began to square up to Damon.
"Screw you, dude." Tyler snapped, his werewolf temper boiling as Damon scoffed.
"'Dude'? Really? 'Dude'?" Damon mocked sarcastically.
Tyler's nostrils flared in anger as Stefan gave his brother a pleading look while continuing to restrain Vicki. "Damon, don't!"
Turning to face his brother, Damon eyed Tyler distastefully. "Oh come on. Who's gonna miss this idiot?" He groaned.
As Damon turned back to face him, Tyler balled his fists. With all the strength he could muster, Tyler slammed his fist into Damon's jaw. He had hit the vampire with so much force, Tyler's hand throbbed. Gritting his teeth, Damon scowled. Although the punch hadn't hurt him like it would a normal human, Damon was still pissed. When he noticed Damon wasn't fazed by the punch, Tyler's eyes widened.
"Ooh! Don't you hurt him." Vicki cried as Damon took a step forward towards the football star.
Grabbing Tyler by the throat, Damon's orbs dilated. "Forget what you saw here tonight. None of us were here." Damon compelled before lazily tossing Tyler across the parking lot.
Groaning, Tyler stood up confused as he walked back to the parking lot only to find it empty.
…
With her hands behind her head, Dawn nibbled her lower lip as quiet sniffles came from beside her. Turning on her side, Dawn frowned sadly when she noticed Elena had begun crying again. Apparently she had broken up with Stefan. But Elena wasn't the only ones with problems, Dawn didn't know how to feel about Damon. He had turned Vicki into a vampire, Vicki hadn't wanted this, and yet he didn't care. It seemed that both her own and Elena's feelings were all over the place.
Almost hesitantly, Dawn placed her hand in Elena's and gave her a gentle smile.
For a moment, no words were exchanged. Elena squeezed Dawn's hand as she blinked away her tears. "Y-you know Caroline's going to be pissed…" Elena trailed off as Dawn smiled.
"She'll be fine. I'm not leaving you like this." Dawn replied firmly.
There was no chance Dawn would leave Elena upset. Dawn wouldn't have even left a stranger alone crying. Maybe it was just the type of person she was, but Dawn couldn't stand people upset, it made her feel sad.
Elena smiled. "Thanks, Dawn."
In response, Dawn smiled. "Would it make you feel a little better if I told you I'm going to have my scan in a couple of weeks?" Dawn asked, causing Elena to immediately perk up.
With her doe orbs wide, Elena's lips parted. "Are you going to find out the gender?!" Elena asked, wiping her face with the sleeves of her shirt as Dawn smiled.
"Mmm-hmm."
Elena hesitantly moved a hand towards Dawn's belly. "May I?" Elena asked sheepishly as Dawn smiled softly.
"Of course."
With Dawn's permission, Elena placed a hand on Dawn's bump. As bare skin touched her belly, Dawn jumped, her pulse rising as she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Elena took no notice of Dawn's discomfort as she ran her fingertips across Dawn's swollen abdomen.
"Do you think there's a little boy or a little girl in there?" Elena asked as Dawn raised a brow.
"I don't really know."
Elena huffed as Dawn raised a brow suspiciously.
"Why?"
Elena blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Caroline has set up a baby gender pool." Elena admitted.
Not knowing what Elena meant, Dawn arched a brow. "And that is…." She trailed off.
"Were all betting on the gender…" Elena admitted as Dawn snorted.
"Who's 'all'?" Dawn asked.
Once again, Elena blushed. "Me, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Liz, Jenna and Bonnie's grams." Elena admitted as Dawn shook her head, a smile on her face.
"I haven't ever met Bonnie's grams." Dawn mumbled as Elena shrugged.
"Bonnie's grams loves a good bet." Elena replied.
Shaking her head, Dawn smiled. "Where do I get involved?"
Elena let out a loud, infectious giggle.
...
Glancing at her mobile, Caroline frowned as she leaned back in her bed. Apparently Dawn was staying at Elena's, of course... Okay, so maybe her jealousy was increasing, but they were stealing Dawn!
Huffing, Caroline pulled the covers over her slim form. Caroline wasn't sure how long she'd be able to take her jealousy. She knew eventually she'd explode, and that terrified Caroline…
Turning over on her side, the blonde switched her bedside lamp off and closed her eyes. As Caroline began to drift to sleep, she couldn't ignore the loneliness in her gut.
…
Mumbling to herself, Dawn stumbled to the bathroom, her eyes half closed and her arms pointed out in front of her. It was 5:30 in the morning, so Dawn was pretty much a walking zombie. Walking into the bathroom, Dawn flicked the light on, mindlessly pulled the pajama shorts down and sat on the toilet.
As she rubbed her eyes, Dawn failed to notice the brownie-red blood spotting on her underwear. After doing her business, Dawn flushed the toilet and washed her hands.
Staggering back to Elena's comfy bed, Dawn sighed, crawling in besides Elena's unconscious body. The brunette's beautiful features were stained with tears, causing Dawn to frown. Hers and Stefan's breakup had really affected her…
Frowning, Dawn ignored the cramping feeling in her stomach and closed her eyes. Without another thought to the pain in her belly, Dawn closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift to sleep.
…
"I have to Elena…" Dawn trailed off. It was now 9:00AM, and although Dawn was no longer feeling cramps in her belly, Dawn was having bad back ache, something she put down to her hunched posture. Her sore feet and big belly now caused Dawn to waddle slightly.
Shaking her head frantically, Elena looked up from the large olive sweater she was holding. "What if… What if he hurts you? What if Damon hurts you?" Elena frowned, her big doe orbs full with concern.
Gently accepting the sweater, Dawn timidly turned around and pulled her top off. Elena had been kind enough to lend Dawn some clothes for the night and for the next day.
As Dawn's bare back faced her, Elena raised a brow when she noticed the puckered scar that marked her side. Dawn frantically waved her arms in the air as she slid the sweater down her upper body, not noticing Elena eyeing the scar on her side.
Furrowing her brows together, Elena decided not to ask about the red scar. But that didn't mean she didn't wonder when and why she had the scar.
Turning back round, the olive sweater now snugly fitted around her bump. With the sweater, Dawn was wearing a pair of black, high waisted shorts. Dawn wasn't sure her baby appreciated being squeezed into the tiny shorts, but they would have to do. Anyways, it's not like her baby could complain.
"I'll be okay." Dawn promised gently, pulling the olive sweater loosely around her bump.
Seeing the concern in her eyes, Dawn gave Elena a small smile. "Don't worry, Elena. Look, if I'm not back in twenty minutes, you can come and get me." Dawn compromised as Elena nodded.
"Okay."
…
As the Salvatore Boarding house door swung open, Dawn blushed as Damon leaned against the doorframe, a smirk on his handsome features while he stared at the petite, pregnant blonde. As Damon's azure eyes gazed into her own, Dawn couldn't help but shiver in fear. He had the eyes of a killer.
"Dawnie."
Just as Dawn was about to reply, a pain that started on the left side of her belly and travelled to the right, cut her words off. Frowning, Dawn winced.
"You okay?" Damon asked, arching a brow as Dawn weakly nodded.
"Mmhhm."
Shuffling on the spot, Dawn flushed pink when Damon's eyes travelled up her figure. The black shorts hugged her backside while showing off her shapely legs. She looked tasty. Damon barely noticed the bunch of flowers in her hands.
"They for me? Dawnie, you shouldn't have."
"I didn't." Dawn mumbled, holding the bouquet of roses, lilies and white sprays to her chest. Damon snorted in amusement.
Hesitating, Dawn didn't know what to say as her lips parted. No words left Dawn's full lips as Damon continued to eye her legs.
Furrowing his brows together, Damon frowned. "What's up with you?"
Dawn just frowned. "Is Vicki still here?"
Realization flooded over Damon as he nodded. "Ooh. I get it, you're mad."
"You mean about you killing Vicki, no, not at all." Dawn snapped.
Surprised by her outburst, Damon's smirk spread across his lips. "Aren't you a little firecracker today."
Dawn scoffed as Damon arched a brow. "Or is that because of, y'know…" Damon's eyes drifted to Dawn's bump.
The vampire immediately regretted the comment when Dawn covered her belly, a frown on her face. Opening the door wider, Damon waited for Dawn to walk in.
Not catching his drift, Dawn patiently waited for Damon to invite her in. "You coming in?"
Blushing, Dawn walked in the boarding house, a shiver running down her spine as she passed Damon. It was still hard to believe that he was a vampire. He was dead. He had been alive in the 1800's. The thought made Dawn's head spin.
"S-Sorry."
Damon just gave her a small, almost gentle smile before leading her up the stairs. The smile was gone as quick as it came as the raven haired vampire lead her to Stefan's bedroom.
"I don't understand why I have to stay cooped up here. Why can't I just go home?" Vicki's voice came from the room at the end of the corridor as Damon lead her down the hall.
"Because you're changing, Vicki, and it's not something you wanna do alone." Stefan's voice sounded frustrated as Dawn and Damon entered the room.
While Damon went back to lounging on the armchair and picked up the newspaper on Stefan's desk, Dawn stood awkwardly at the door.
"Dawn… You shouldn't be here." Stefan admitted, glancing warily at Vicki, who eyed Dawn as if she was a giant vanilla cupcake.
Hesitating, Dawn shuffled her feet as she nervously clutched the rather large bouquet. "I brought some flowers for Vicki." Dawn mumbled as Vicki smiled.
Glancing up from the newspaper, Damon sent Dawn a handsome smirk. "Did they have any 'I'm sorry your dead' gift cards to go with them?" Damon teased.
Stefan rolled his eyes and glanced at his brother. Stefan didn't like the way Dawn looked at Damon, nor the way Damon looked at Dawn.
"N-No, but there was, uh, 'with deepest sympathy'…" Dawn admitted, plucking the card from the flowers as Damon snorted.
Placing the newspaper back on the desk, Damon gently took the card from Dawn and raised a brow. "'With deepest sympathy, thinking of you at this difficult time'" Damon read out, smirking as Dawn flushed and pulled the card out of Damon's grip.
Walking over to Vicki, Dawn passed her the bunch of pastel flowers along with the card. Rolling his eyes as Vicki thanked Dawn, Damon resumed flicking through the paper, skimming the paper for Logan Fells' name. When he found nothing, Damon's brows furrowed together.
"There's nothin' about that Logan guy I killed in here. Not a word. Someone's covering it up." Damon complained, throwing the paper down as Dawn winced. Damon talked about killing as if it was a normal thing. As if it was normal that he had killed Logan… Poor Logan had family, he had a career and friends… Damon had taken that from him. And yet she couldn't make herself hate him.
Sighing, Damon picked up the golden Gilbert watch.
Raising a brow, Dawn cleared her throat. "What is that?" Dawn wondered aloud. Wincing, Dawn realized how nosy she sounded. "S-Sorry." Dawn apologized sheepishly.
Damon gave her a slight smirk. "Nothing wrong with being curious, Dawnie." Damon motioned for Dawn to come closer.
Almost hesitantly, Dawn stood by Damon's side as he placed his spare hand under hers. Controlling their hands, Damon moved their fingers along the swirls on the compass, all while enjoying the flush on her cheeks. Dawn didn't pull away as she felt electricity bolts pulse through her fingers.
Dawn had always thought the whole 'sparks and fireworks' was something that happened in movies. Something that didn't happen in real life. But as hers and Damon's fingers ran across the vintage compass, Dawn couldn't deny the tingling feelings within her fingertips. She was either experiencing movie like sparks or she was actually being electrocuted somehow by the device. Dawn concluded it was most likely her being electrocuted, that seemed more like her luck.
"This, Dawnie, is a very special, very old compass. Logan Fell had it with him." Damon admitted, letting go of Dawn's fingers as she flushed and pulled her hands away from his.
The compass was a Gilbert device, meaning it had probably been spelled by Emily Bennett. After all, none of Jonathan Gilbert's devices worked. He wasn't a very good inventor…
Glancing at the compass once more, Damon put in his pockets as he looked at Stefan. "What was Logan Fell doing with it? Aren't you curious?"
"Well, if you're so worried that somebody's onto you, why don't you just leave town, Damon?" Stefan retorted as Dawn nervously bit her lip.
"Y-You're not going to leave, are you?" Dawn asked, frowning as Damon smiled. Standing, Damon ran his fingers across the hollows of Dawn's cheeks.
"I'm not going anywhere, Dawnie. Don't worry." Damon replied, a smirk on his features as he glanced at Stefan, who was frowning.
Dawn wasn't sure what was happening to her. She knew Damon was a murderer, a monster, and yet her feelings for him were still there. What was wrong with her? He was a murder? It felt so wrong, but so right.
"And anyways, Stef, we should all be worried." Damon replied, glancing at Vicki, who was hungrily eyeing Dawn.
Clearing her throat, Vicki eyed Dawn. "Hey, um, I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"
Gulping, Dawn immediately stepped behind Damon, who simply chuckled and wrapped an arm around Dawn's waist. The blonde immediately shuffled out of his grip, but stood behind him nevertheless.
Frowning at Dawn, Stefan grabbed the mug of blood and passed it to Vicki. "Here."
Looking down at the mug in distaste, Vicki turned her nose up. "What is it?"
"It's what you're craving." Stefan replied simply, despite the fact he knew it wasn't animal blood Vicki was craving. She was craving blood straight from the vein.
Scoffing, Damon watched as Vicki took a small sip. Her brows furrowed at the taste. "Don't lie to the girl. It's so not what you're craving, but it'll do in a pinch, right, Stef?" Damon mocked as Vicki clutched the deer blood.
"What is it?" Vicki asked.
Damon's smirk widened. "Yeah, what is it? Is it a skunk? Saint Bernard? Bambi?"
With widened orbs, Dawn was snapped out of her daydream. "Bambi?!"
Sending her a smirk, Damon chuckled as she paled. Stefan gave his brother a glare. "Go on. Give it a try."
Images of Stefan pouncing on a deer flashed through her mind, followed by images of Stefan tearing into the poor deer's stomach before pouring its blood into a small container. Dawn paled as a surge of pain hit her gut, as Vicki took another sip of the blood.
Dawn silently gripped her belly as she took a step back. "She's new. She needs people blood. She can't sustain on that stuff." Damon replied as Vicki pouted.
"Yeah, why can't I have people blood?"
"Yeah." Damon whined mockingly, a smirk on his lips.
Stefan sighed. "Because it's wrong to pray on innocent people, Vicki."
The three vampires failed to notice Dawn clutching the wall, her legs barely holding her as she silently whimpered in pain. "You don't have to kill to feed. Just find someone really tasty and then erase their memory afterwards. It's so easy."
"No, no, no. There's no guarantee that you can control yourself, okay? It takes years to learn that. You could easily kill somebody, and then you have to carry that with you for the rest of your life, which, if I haven't made clear, is eternity."
"Don't listen to him. He walks on a moral plane way out of our eye line. I say snatch, eat, erase." Damon replied.
Still, none of them noticed Dawn's legs beginning to give out as they focused on Vicki.
"Hey, look at me. We choose our own path. Our values and our actions, they define who we are." Stefan replied as Damon rolled his eyes.
"Okay, count Deepak. I am outta' here." Damon scoffed.
Looking between the two, Vicki's eyes lit up hopefully. "Can I have some more?"
Clutching her belly, Dawn gasped, causing Vicki, Stefan and Damon to turn to her, putting aside the squabbling at the sight of the pregnant woman.
"Ooow!" Dawn whimpered as Damon and Stefan rushed to her side, letting out a loud sob.
Placing an arm around her waist, Damon pulled Dawn close to his side. Dawn was hurting too much to protest. "Hey, Dawnie. What hurts?" Damon gently cooed as Dawn whimpered.
"M-My stomach." Dawn sobbed.
Placing her hand on her thigh, Dawn sobbed as a metallic liquid coated her hand. Stefan immediately pulled Vicki away from Dawn, restraining her just in case.
"I'm just gonna have a look at your thighs, Dawnie. I'm not gonna touch you, is that okay?" Damon asked Dawn.
Dawn was relieved that he had actually asked and weakly nodded. Although she wasn't comfortable with him touching her thighs, maybe he would realize what was happening.
"Okay…"
Slowly, Damon nudged the dark denim shorts to the side, his brows furrowing when he noticed the dark blood that was dripping down her thighs. Blood wasn't gushing out, but it was enough for it to be alarming.
Exchanging glances with Stefan, Damon frowned. "I'll take her to the hospital. Check everything's okay."
Stefan's brows raised in surprise, but he didn't say anything as Damon lead the girl down the stairs. Stefan hoped everything was okay with the baby. At the end of the day, although Dawn was in her second trimester, she was still a young mother and could easily miscarry. After all, she was experiencing a lot of stress and working way more than she should have.
As Dawn got to the bottom of the stairs, Dawn's legs gave out. The blonde almost fell the floor, but was caught by Damon. Letting out a sob, Dawn clung to Damon's jacket as he picked her up in a bridal style embrace.
"It's okay." Damon cooed, opening the door with his foot.
As the door opened, Damon immediately was met with Elena. Elena failed to hide her surprise and worry when she saw Dawn sobbing, clinging to Damon, blood on hers and his hands.
"Dawnie?! Is she okay?"
Damon scoffed, walking past Elena. Opening his car door, Damon gently placed Dawn in the passenger seat, buckling her in. "One minute, Dawnie. Hang in there." Damon cooed, closing the door and flashing round to his side.
"Damon?!"
Sighing, Damon gritted his teeth. "I don't have time for this Elena." Damon snapped.
Elena's eyes watered as Dawn sobbed in the front seat, clutching her belly. "Text me through Stefan when you get to the hospital. Please." Elena whispered, her bottom lip jutting out as she blinked away her worried tears.
…
Rubbing her eyes, Elena entered the boarding house, although she had originally wanted to check on Dawn and Vicki, Elena needed to talk to Stefan about what had happened with Dawn. All Elena could think about was the blood on Dawn's hand. Although there hadn't been streams and streams of blood, Elena just prayed Dawn and her baby would both be okay.
Walking up the stairs, Elena headed towards what she assumed was Stefan's room. "Stefan? Stefan?" Elena called.
Stefan's voice came loudly from the bedroom. "Yes."
As she placed her hand on the stair bannister, Elena jumped as Stefan appeared behind her. Placing a hand over her heart, Elena gasped in surprise. Was Stefan trying to give her a heart attack?
"Where is Vicki?" Elena asked, trying to calm down her erratic breathing.
Stefan grimaced. "She's upstairs."
Nodding, Elena glanced at the small droplets of blood that were on the floorboards. "Is Dawn's baby going to be okay?" Elena suddenly asked, her eyes watering as Stefan frowned.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Stefan gave it a firm squeeze. "When she left the baby had a healthy heartbeat, but I can't say for sure…" Stefan trailed off as Elena sniffed.
At the thought of Dawn losing her baby, tears streamed down Elena's cheeks. Frowning, Stefan gently wiped them away with the pad of his thumb.
"We can only hope for the best." Stefan replied, giving Elena a comforting smile.
Nodding, Elena sighed. "So what are we doing about Vicki? I mean, what happens now? Because my brother is out there searching for her with the rest of the town. What do I tell him?" Elena asked, frowning as she ran a hand through her long, straight locks.
Nodding, Stefan glanced upstairs where Vicki was. The brunette was currently sprawled out on his bed, drinking deer blood. "I'm working with her, but it's gonna take time. She's a very volatile and impulsive personality. She's a drug user. I mean, all that's gonna play a part in how she responds to this."
"So, she's a vampire with issues? What am I supposed to do? Because I'm lying to everyone that I care about. What's gonna happen to her?" Elena frowned.
If there was anything Elena hated, it was lying.
"I'm gonna keep her here with me until I know that she's safe." Stefan promised.
Vicki's voice came from behind Elena, causing the doppelgänger to jolt in surprise. "How long is that?" Vicki huffed.
As Elena turned to face the newly turned vampire, Stefan sighed. "We can talk about that later."
Before Vicki could reply, Elena piped up. Giving her ex's sister a small smile, Elena took a step towards the girl. "Hey, Vicki, how are you?"
The brunette scoffed. "How am I? You're kidding, right?"
…
Leaning her head against her arms, Dawn's limbs trembled as she pulled the hospital gown tighter around her body. Beside her was Damon, he was sitting in the hospital chair, silently staring at the walls as they both waited for results.
Noticing the tremble, Damon frowned and grabbed Dawn's hand. She wasn't trembling because she was cold, she was trembling because she was terrified. Dawn was just glad someone was there for her. She couldn't imagine waiting for the nurse on her own.
The doctors had already preformed a pelvic examination to check Dawn's cervix and make sure it was closed. They had also checked the size of Dawn's uterus and were currently gathering the results of both tests.
Besides the bed, an ultrasound machine was set up, the doctors wanted to perform an ultrasound to check the baby's heartbeat and make sure Dawn's baby was where it should be inside the uterus.
Turning to Damon, Dawn squeezed his hand. "I'm scared." Dawn admitted.
Smiling weakly, Damon ran his thumb across Dawn's knuckles. "I know… I know… But I'm here for you, Dawnie." Damon replied.
Nodding, Dawn laid back just as a nurse walked into the room. The nurse was rather young; her hair was scraped back into a bun while her features were soft.
"Hi, you must be Dawn. My names Sarah." The woman greeted, sitting by the ultrasound machine. Turning to Damon, Sarah smiled.
"And you must be the father."
Damon didn't protest as Dawn squeezed her hand, tensing. "Yup." Damon replied. Dawn sighed in relief, she didn't want any questions.
"Now, I know all of this is very overwhelming, but I'm just going to explain a few things to you before we start. The purpose of an ultrasound is to take a head to toe scan and make sure everything's okay and developing well." Dawn nodded as the woman opened the jell and gave Dawn a smile.
Motioning to the gown, Sarah smiled. "Would it be okay if you roll your gown up to your chest?"
Dawn tensed, glancing at Damon, who sent her a small smile. Nodding, Dawn shakily rolled the gown up, flushing as she sat in her underwear. Noticing her discomfort, Sarah placed a blanket over Dawn from hip downwards.
Rubbing the gel on her palms, Sarah smiled. "This may be a little bit of a shock as it's pretty cold." Sarah warned as she rubbed the gel on Dawn's bump.
"The jell is used so the probe can glide over the bump." Sarah explained, grabbing the small handheld probe and glided it across the bump.
Both Dawn and Damon watched the screen in amazement as a small little baby appeared on the screen. Covering her mouth, Dawn sobbed happily when she heard the loud heartbeat that echoed through the monitor.
"A nice and healthy heartbeat." Sarah smiled.
"You see that big circle, that's the head." The doctor pointed out as Dawn allowed tears to stream down her cheeks. "Here's the heart. Here's a leg, here's the other leg. And here's the crotch."
Dawn was speechless for a moment, all she could do was gape at the screen as Sarah pointed out her baby's different limbs and organs.
"Would you like to know the sex while you're here?"
After a moment of hesitating, Dawn nodded. "Yes, please."
Sarah smiled and zoomed in on the baby's crotch. "Congratulations, you're having a baby boy."
A boy… She was having a little boy… She had a son…
As Sarah flicked the lights back on and went to get the prints of her baby boy, the doctor who had ran the pelvic examination and the checked the size of her uterus, walked in.
Sitting beside Dawn, the doctor smiled and held the clipboard in his hands. "Miss Ellis. There is something I need to discuss with you about your health and the baby's."
Dawn immediately paled. "T-The midwife said everything was okay…" Dawn mumbled as Damon squeezed her hand.
The doctor nodded. "So far, everything is okay. But you will need to stay in the ward for a couple of days in regards to a warning of a threatened miscarriage."
…
With a frown on her features, Caroline sighed as she sat on the sofa, a jar of Nutella in her hands along with a rather large spoon. She had resulted in eating a whole jar of Nutella to conceal her jealousy. Grabbing the T.V remote, Caroline flicked through the channels. When she found nothing remotely interesting on the monitor, Caroline groaned and turned the television off. As silence radiated around the Forbes' family home, Caroline threw her head back. The blonde jumped when her phone went off.
Mum: Dawn is in hospital, can't get out of work till later, so I'll visit when my shift has ended.
…
A threatened miscarriage. It sounded like a death sentence… Was she going to lose her baby boy? No, she couldn't lose anyone else… She couldn't. Physically and emotionally.
Shaking her head, Dawn placed the hand, Damon wasn't holding, on her stomach. Dawn's beautiful hazel eyes fogged up with tears as she looked at the doctor. "N-N-No, I can't, I can't lose anyone else." Dawn sobbed, her bottom lip trembling as the doctor frowned.
"Miss Ellis. Your baby is very healthy, like yourself, but if you had come in any later, I'm afraid you would have lost the baby."
Dawn's breathing became frantic as she tried to register the doctor's words. "There are several types of miscarriages - but the most common ones are threatened, complete and incomplete miscarriage. When people hear the word miscarriage, they assume they have lost their child straight away, this is not always the case." He began
"When your body is showing signs that you might miscarry, that is called a 'threatened miscarriage'. You may have a little vaginal bleeding or lower abdominal pain. It can last days or weeks and the cervix is still closed. The pain and bleeding may go away and you can continue to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. Or things may get worse and you go on to have a miscarriage. There is no way of preventing a miscarriage, all we can recommend is taking it easy-"
The doctor paused, noticing Dawn's worried expression. "A complete miscarriage has taken place when all the pregnancy tissue has left your uterus. Vaginal bleeding may continue for several days. Cramping pain much like labor or strong period pain is common - this is the uterus contracting to empty. An incomplete miscarriage is when some pregnancy tissue will remain in the uterus. Vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal cramping may continue as the uterus continues trying to empty itself." He explained.
"A threatened miscarriage can be triggered by many things. But in your case, it was your high blood pressure. It could have been genetically passed down or simply from stress, we will look into that. But we just want you to stay in the ward for a couple of days so we can monitor you and your baby."
Damon watched as the doctor pulled out a notepad and began to write his words down. "To keep your blood pressure down, I'd suggest going walking, or swimming, some sort of exercise that will keep you healthy, but not push you too far, eat a healthy and balanced diet and keep your salt intake low, as this can reduce blood pressure and the most important one of all: rest."
Nodding, Dawn took each word in. "I'm also going to prescribe you some acetaminophen which will decrease the pains from your threatened miscarriage. But you need to follow strict orders of how much to take and how often, as it can cause liver damage if not taken correctly. Also, do not use medicine containing ibuprofen as ibuprofen can increase your risk of a full blown miscarriage."
After exchanging words with a doctor, Dawn turned to Damon, who was watching the doctor walk out the room.
Giving him a smile, Dawn leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Damon's cheek. "Thank you."
Turning to Dawn, surprised, Damon furrowed his brows together. "For what?"
Damon's posture was tense as felt a rush of emotions flood over him. "For saving my baby. Without you taking me to the hospital… I could have lost him." Dawn whispered, placing a hand on her stomach as Dawn's tears wet his cheeks.
The vampires posture was tense when Dawn wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "Thank you." Dawn whispered into his chest.
Not knowing what to say, Damon ran a hand through her hair. "It's okay, Dawnie…"
"Dawn!" Dawn pulled away from Damon to see Caroline stood in the doorway, tears in her eyes.
As the two blondes embraced, Damon walked around them, catching Dawn's eye as he left.
…
Sat at the bar, Damon downed the remains of the glass of bourbon as he tried to flush the human feelings out of his system with a good old glass of alcohol. He didn't like it. He shouldn't be feeling such emotions for the blonde. Surely, whatever he was feeling was, sympathy, right? He loved Katherine, Dawn was nothing. She was a human. A puppet for him to play with, and yet he had held the puppet's hand and been there for her in her time of need…
He needed another drink. Sliding the now empty glass to the plump bartender, Damon sent her a nod as she automatically refilled his drink.
"We never should have trusted that Logan... Weasel with the watch."
Arching a brow, Damon glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on Carol and Mason Lockwood. Hmmm. It seemed they were talking about the watch that Logan had found. Turning back to the bar, Damon began sipping his drink as he eavesdropped. It was handy having supernatural hearing.
"How many are we dealing with?" His wife replied.
So it seemed the council were still anti-vampire. How unsurprising.
"Well, the coroner thinks one. Something about the wound radius and the jaw pattern." Mayor Lockwood replied, leaning closer as he frowned.
Furrowing her thin, drawn on, brows together, Carol nervously bit her lower lip. "Are we in danger? I mean, if it found the watch, then it knows we know, and could it come after us? A-and should I even be saying 'it'? Or...or is it a he or a she?"
The mayor nodded. "If it has any historical knowledge of the town, then it'll know where the watch came from, so yes, we could very much be in danger."
Letting out a deep sigh, Damon could practically smell the fear radiating from the petite woman. "So what do we do?"
"Just keep it quiet. We can't have the entire town aware of this. We need to find it before it finds us." The mayor replied as Damon's smirk grew.
Grabbing his drink, Damon downed the remains.
…
Approaching his blond best friend, Tyler nervously greeted Matt as he rubbed the back of his neck. To be honest, Tyler was feeling guilty. He had been using Vicki, sure, he might have liked her a little, but he mostly saw her as a warm body for his bed. Wincing at the thought, Tyler met his best friend's blue orbs.
"I heard they're putting together a search party for Vicki." Tyler admitted, shifting on his feet.
Matt had never seen Tyler like this. As much as he loved his best friend, Tyler Lockwood was a grade 'A' jerk. "She just called. She's okay." Matt admitted.
Nodding, Tyler sighed in relief. "Ooh good. That's great. I figured you must have been goin' out of your mind."
"Little bit. Yeah." Matt admitted.
Tyler's brow orbs softened as he noticed how broken his best friend was. Matt didn't have a dad, his mom was absent in his life, Vicki was the only thing the teen had.
"I was just gonna offer. You know, if there's anything I could do." Tyler replied firmly.
Smiling at the gesture, Matt nodded. "I appreciate it."
…
Turning her nose up at the food on the tray, Caroline pushed the tray away from Dawn as she shook her blonde hair. "Nu-uh! There's no way, my godson is eating that poor excuse of prison food." Caroline informed Dawn, eyeing the rather unappetizing food.
"Care!" Dawn reprimanded, trying to hold her giggles back.
Smiling, Caroline placed a hand on Dawn's belly. Although the blonde was a bit disappointed she hadn't been there with Dawn when the blonde found out her baby was an adorable baby boy, Caroline was overjoyed by the news of Dawn having a boy.
"Isn't that right, Edward." Caroline cooed, leaning down to talk to Dawn's bump as Dawn snorted.
Raising a brow, Dawn shook her head. "Edward? Twilight. Really, Care?" Dawn giggled.
Snorting, Caroline looked up. In one moment, Caroline's joyous expressions turned into serious ones as she grabbed Dawn's hand. "Now, I called Robert, told him you were in hospital and got you out of your shifts for a whole week-" Caroline was cut off by Dawn's protest.
"No! I need to go in, I'll call him now. I'm fine to go in right now." Dawn protested.
Narrowing her blue-green eyes, Caroline frowned. "No! You're not doing this, Dawnie. You need to think about the baby, not about money or work. The doctor said you need to rest; you're going to be in hospital for a couple of days. And if you go and do your shifts, you risk losing your baby. I will not let you jeopardize yours and my godson's future for some damn money!" Caroline exclaimed, her voice loud as Dawn frowned, tears brewing in her eyes.
Upon seeing her reaction, Caroline frowned. "Dawn…"
Pulling her into a tight hug, Caroline rubbed her back. "I'm doing this for you and your baby Dawnie. I don't know what I'd do if I lost either of you."
"I know… I know…"
Smiling, Caroline pulled back and wiped Dawn's tears away. "I love you, Dawnie."
"I love you too, Care-bear." Dawn teased, using the childhood nickname. Pausing, Dawn placed Caroline's hand on her bump. "We love you, Care-bear." Dawn corrected.
"I love both of you." Caroline giggled, a bright, beautiful smile on her face.
Sighing, Caroline leaned back in the hospital chair as her phone vibrated, indicating she had gotten a message. Reaching for her phone, Caroline frowned as she read the message.
"Who's that?" Dawn asked curiously, pulling the covers over her legs.
"Bonnie. I got her a costume for the carnival tonight. I'm going to cancel." Caroline shrugged.
Darting forward, Dawn shook her head. "No way, you've been looking forward to this all summer!" Dawn frowned.
"Dawnie, you and my godson are much more important." Caroline replied, her tone obvious as she furrowed her brows together.
Shaking her head, Dawn grabbed Caroline's hands. "Nope, I won't hear any more of it, you're going and that's the final. You're going to enjoy yourself, okay!"
…
With a large bag on her arm, Caroline walked down the school halls, Bonnie by her side as the two discussed Dawn and the carnival. After a lot of convincing, Dawn had managed to persuade Caroline to attend the carnival, but only if Dawn didn't work for the week. Although Dawn felt she needed to work, she was willing to sacrifice her shifts for Caroline and her baby.
Frowning, Bonnie's big brown eyes turned to Caroline. "Any more news on Dawn?" Bonnie asked.
Shaking her head, the blonde pursed her lips. "No, just that she's resting and everything is looking okay." Caroline replied.
Bonnie couldn't help but sigh in relief as she ran a hand through her untameable black curls. Although herself and Elena hadn't been friends with Dawn for long, the two had been fretting about Dawn all day. Dawn had a threatened miscarriage for god sake! And chances were, if she didn't rest and take the doctor's advice, she could lose the baby completely. But then again, even if she did take the doctor's advice, she still could lose the baby. After all, doctors couldn't do anything to stop a miscarriage.
"I hope she's okay…" Bonnie trailed off, frowning deeply.
Nodding, Caroline turned to the dark haired witch. "Mmm."
"Caroline, do you know what room Dawn is in? Me and Elena are going to visit her later." Bonnie mentioned as Caroline tensed up.
The green giant emerged as jealousy pulsed through her. Should she let Elena and Bonnie visit Dawn? They were her friends, but she had been Dawn's friend longer. Plus, Dawn shouldn't have too many visitors. But then again, Dawn needed all the support she could get, after all, she didn't have her biological family. But Dawn didn't need Gabriel or Shelia as she had Elizabeth and Caroline Forbes.
"Uhh… I don't know if she's ready for visitors…" Caroline trailed off as Bonnie nodded understandingly.
Giving Caroline a smile, Bonnie glanced at the large bag that was still hanging on Caroline's arm and kept brushing against her own athletic figure.
"Of course. We'll send her our love.""
Nodding happily, Caroline smiled. "I will, plus, Dawn gave me this and told me to show you guys."
Caroline paused a moment as she reached into her purse and pulled out an ultrasound picture. Covering her mouth, Bonnie couldn't help but let the wide grin take over her lips. "Is that…"
The blonde nodded. "Her ultrasound. She's having a boy. A little baby boy." Caroline grinned.
Bonnie smiled, her eyes watering slightly as she took the picture from Caroline. Running her fingers across the picture, Bonnie smiled as Caroline pointed the baby out. "That's his head, there's his heart, ooh and there's his crotch! The doctor Is 90% sure it's a boy."
Caroline continued to point at the picture as Bonnie smiled. "He's adorable."
"Yes. Yes he is." Caroline grinned proudly. One would have thought Caroline was the mother.
As Caroline carefully put the photo in her purse, she hesitated before giving Bonnie a smile. "If you want… I can get the picture photo copied so you and Elena can have one. Dawn wouldn't mind. Plus, the hospital only gave her three copies, one for Dawn, one for mom and one for me." Caroline smiled.
Bonnie was touched by the gesture. "Really?! Thanks, Care."
"It's no problem." Caroline shrugged before wiggling her brows. "Anyways, your grams owes me fifty dollars." Caroline grinned as Bonnie snorted.
"I'll remind her. So did you get me your costume."
Rolling her eyes, Caroline held the bag out for Bonnie. "I have got your costume. It's all here."
Taking the bag from Caroline, Bonnie scoffed when she glimpsed at the costume in the bag. Pulling the costume completely from the bag, Bonnie shook her head. Caroline had got Bonnie a witch costume. It came with a short yet strangely cute mustard yellow and black dress which had a lot of lace on and had a familiar amber necklace hanging from the coat hanger.
"Seriously?"
Caroline let a huff and turned to the brunette, stopping her in the process. "Come on. Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween? I just wanna have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon free fun."
Giving her a small smile, Bonnie looked back down at the costume and raised a brow at the necklace. Placing the jewel in her palm, Bonnie met Caroline's eyes. "Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?"
"Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone. Hey, have you seen Elena? Do we know what she's wearing?" Caroline continued.
Shaking her head, Bonnie's brows furrowed together. "I was with Grams all weekend. I haven't talked to her. Maybe she's with Stefan."
"Riding to his castle on his white horse." Caroline grumbled as Bonnie sent her friend a sympathetic glance.
"Don't be bitter. It provokes wrinkles." Bonnie teased as Caroline let out a gasp and touched her forehead. Bonnie snorted at this.
Hi guys! I'm sorry that this chapter is a little short. A lot has happened in this chapter, including the big news; Dawnie is having a baby boy! I collected everyone's preferences and compared odds and I think a boy won by 2:1. I was more swayed towards a baby boy to be honest. I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Also, does anyone know any good (grammar and plot wise) Castiel OC fanfictions or Dean OC fanfictions? I have only found one Dean OC which was amazing. If anyone was curious it was 'The trouble with love is' and it's by PirateWizardThief. It's one of the best fanfiction's I've read! Also, if anyone was affected by Dawn's threatened miscarriage, message me. Sorry for any mistakes, I really don't like this chapter...
In response to:
PirateWizardThief: I'm glad you enjoyed it! Damon and the baby boy are already bonding! Stefan is a huge fan of Taylor Swift, almost as much as he loves Kich! Concerned Damon is a sweet Damon. Yeah, Damon really needs to get that temper in check, he also really loves his vintage bottles! As always, thanks for the review, it's appreciated!
Guest (chapter 9, Jul 18): I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review.
Guest (chapter 9, Jul 18): Aw, that's sweet! Thanks for reviewing!
BrittStar1199: I completely agree; the majority of the fanfictions I've read consist of Damon being a dick. I mean, he can come across as mean in season 1, but nobody ever highlights the sensitive side of Damon that is evident. Aw, that's adorable! Thanks for the review!
Gracfully: Glad you're enjoying it so far! Thanks for reviewing.
Ghostlysights: Damon is pretty adorable. And don't worry, Gabriel will get what is coming to him! Why don't you like Abraham ;). And vampires can like Taylor Swift too :D! Thanks for the review.
Kim: Dawn is a nature related creature, but she's higher up than just being related or a servant of nature (a witch for example). I agree, it's a little like Klaus. He's amazing with Hope because of the way he was treated by Mikael. So I think Damon will be amazing with Dawn's baby boy! I will change the Katherine and Damon kiss somehow, maybe I'll do it so Katherine kisses Damon, Damon pulls away and freaks out at Elena, I haven't decided yet. But when it does happen, Dawn will be hella' pissed as she will be giving birth in season 2. I love Batman! I love the joker. I'll check it out! Thanks for the review!
Adela: Im glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reviewing.
SomebodyWhoCares: Nope, I was originally planning on that, but I decided against it. Damon and Dawn are already building up a bond and I personally cannot see him doing that to Dawn. He is still in love with Katherine and will be for a while, but he feels for Dawn as well. Thanks for the review.
Guest (chapter 1, Jul 19): No sorry, I don't like writing mature scenes… Thanks for reviewing!
Lijahsgirl: I hate Coraline too! Ugh, it is really creepy! I love Harry Potter too. Thanks for reviewing!
TamashinoSuzume: Haha, let's just say don't judge a book by it's cover! I might write a scene like that in the future, if you don't mindJ. It's a really good idea! Don't worry, suggesting isn't rude. Any are welcome. This chapter and chapter twelve is mostly Dawn. To avoid confusion, I like to write the entire episode, which I cut down into the scenes I need and then add my own scenes. Not everyone can remember some scenes and may be confused, so by writing the other scenes, it reminds them on what happened. I also like to remember, although this is Dawn's story, it's not only her story. Don't worry about it, there is a lot of Dawn in the next three chapters! Thanks for the review and feedback!
Tay927: I update weekly. And the father of Dawn's baby will be revealed in the future. As in chapter ten, the sex of the baby is revealed, then in chapter 12 it is revealed what Dawn is, so I need so spread the reveal out a bit. But before it is revealed, Dawn and Damon need to get a lot closer! Thanks for the reviews.
123456789: Aw, that's so sweet! I'm glad you're loving it so far! And don't worry, Damon will focus on Dawn, maybe a little bit on Katherine (he is beginning to get over her) but there will be no Delena in this fic. I may even end up creating another OC for Elena, as she is one of my favorite's and I don't want her lonely! But then again, she could be alone and be all for girl power! Thanks for the review!
Natalie: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! Aw, I really enjoyed writing when he touched Dawn's belly too, it was too cute! You should message me your theory, if you can't message (I'm not sure if non-members can message), then just comment it, don't worry about it:D. I'd love to hear your theory! I completely agree, I love, love Amelia Gilbert, but I feel other stories have ruined the 'twin/sister' plot by overusing it. Don't judge a book by its cover. Thanks for the lovely review!