The surgery was a success. There was no way to tell if there would be any permanent damage until Jeremy woke up. Elena waited impatiently in the waiting room with Bonnie and Jenna.

"Why didn't you tell me about Jeremy?" Bonnie asked. "You know I'm always here for you."

Elena bit her lip. It was hard for her to understand why she hadn't called Bonnie. But some part of her couldn't face telling her best friend something so terrible. "I just... I had a lot on my mind."

"It just kind of hurt," Bonnie admitted. "That you didn't think of me."

"Bonnie, I spend almost all my time thinking about you," Elena said.

"Elena..." Bonnie said, but somehow she couldn't find the words.

Before Elena or Bonnie could think of what to say next, the doctor came out. "The surgery is complete. We have managed to remove all of the tumor, but we aren't sure if there will be accompanying brain damage."

"So he's going to be okay?" Elena asked hopefully.

"If the cancer comes back we will treat with chemotherapy, but for now he is going to be okay," the doctor explained.

"Thank God," Jenna said.

Jeremy was in an anaesthetic induced haze. He was dreaming that he was in ninth grade again. Tyler Lockwood had found him alone in the men's washroom.

"Hey queer," Tyler said, pushing him up against the wall.

"Let me go," Jeremy said, squirming to try to get away from Tyler's hold.

Instead Tyler kicked Jeremy in the shin and punched him in the face.

That was when Damon walked into the bathroom. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Damon asked. He didn't wait for an answer and he punched Tyler so hard that he was knocked unconscious. "Are you okay?" Damon asked Jeremy.

"I'm fine," Jeremy said in a daze.

At three thirty, Damon made his way to the hospital. He knew the chances of Jeremy being awake were slim, but he couldn't just leave Jeremy alone. Even if that was what Jeremy wanted.

He walked into the hospital and found Elena, Bonnie, and Jenna sitting in the waiting room. "How is he?" he asked.

"He hasn't woke up yet, but they managed to remove the tumor," Elena said.

"He's in the ICU right now," Jenna added.

Damon sat down and waited.

Jeremy didn't wake up until the following day. He was in a groggy haze and he didn't know where he was. He couldn't open his eyes, but he was focusing on the fact that someone was holding his hand. Someone real and tangible apart from the dream he was in. Someone who smelt like Axe Body Spray. Jeremy opened his eyes. "Damon?"

"Hey," Damon said. "How are you feeling?"

"I thought I told you to go away," Jeremy said.

"Do you want me to leave?" Damon asked.

Jeremy didn't know. He wanted Damon to stay but on the other hand... "I didn't want you to see me bald."

"It suits you," Damon said.

Jeremy snorted in disbelief. Damon was clearly just trying to make him feel better. "So I guess I'm not dead."

"It would seem that way," Damon said. "How are you feeling?" he repeated.

"Drugged up mostly," Jeremy admitted. "My head hurts a bit."

"That's not entirely surprising," Damon said.

Elena walked in. "Jeremy!" she said. "Are you okay?"

"I feel fine," Jeremy said.

A nurse entered the room. "Oh, good. You're awake. What's your name?"

"Jeremy Gilbert."

"What year is it?"

"2013."

"Move your fingers and toes," she commanded.

Jeremy did as he was told. He felt weak, but he could move his fingers and toes alright.

"Good," the nurse said.

"So I guess there's no brain damage," Elena said. "You seem fine."

Jeremy nodded. "When do I get to leave?"

"Two or three days," the nurse said before ducking out.

"Where's Jenna?" Jeremy asked Elena.

"She had to go back to work. Do you want me to call her to come here?" Elena asked.

"It's okay," Jeremy said. "I'll wait till she's done work."

"Klaus and Stefan are in the waiting room they want to see you. Is that okay?" Elena asked.

Jeremy sighed deeply. "I guess." It did not escape him that Damon frowned at this.

Elena disappeared and Klaus and Stefan took her place. Stefan was holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Flowers, Stefan?" Damon asked. "Could you get any gayer?"

"I was going to say they were from both of us, but I don't really think that works now," Stefan said.

Damon grabbed the flowers out of Stefan's hand. "Here I got you flowers, Jeremy."

"Wow, thanks," Jeremy said sarcastically, putting the flowers beside his bed.

"How are you feeling?" Klaus asked.

"I'm feeling wonderful," Jeremy said. "Oh, wait. Except I just had brain surgery and I feel like crap."

"You told me you were fine," Damon said confused.

"I'm alright," Jeremy told Damon.

"Is the cancer gone?" Stefan asked.

"How should I know?" Jeremy said. "I just woke up five minutes ago."

"Are you mad at me or something?" Stefan asked.

"No, I'm mad because I had brain surgery and my head hurts," Jeremy said.

"You want us to leave?" Damon asked.

"I want two of you to leave and I'm not telling you who," Jeremy said.

"Okay..." Stefan said. "I'm guessing you mean Klaus and probably me? Or is Damon being a jerk?"

Jeremy just sat there silently.

"I'm not leaving," Damon decided.

"Okay, I'm gone," Stefan said.

"Wait," Klaus said. "I brought you something, too." He handed Jeremy a piece of paper that looked like it had been torn out of a notebook.

Jeremy looked at it for a few minutes. "Thanks," he said. "This is... really something."

Damon looked generally displeased at this.

"Okay, call me if you need anything," Klaus said before leaving with Stefan.

Jeremy sat there staring at the paper Klaus had given him. "What did he write you that was so special?" Damon asked.

Jeremy couldn't answer because he could tell there was writing on the paper, but he had no idea how to read it anymore.

A/N: Sorry this took a while to update. I plan to update regularly, even though I intend to work on other FF at the same time. Thanks for reading.