Title: Blood Relatives 11/12
Author: EdieZee
Rating: PG-13 ish
Based on: TV series
Relationships: Damon/Elena
Disclaimers: I do not own anything. Sadly...
Summary: What if Stefan wasn't the only "family" that Damon had?

A/N: Oh my goodness. All the usual excuses and apologies apply. I'm so so so so so sorry. Real Life SUCKS; that's all I have to say about that. I absolutely hate when writers do what I did, but I hope you agree that late (incredibly, horribly late) is better than never…

Elena stood outside the door of the boarding house, trying to gather the courage to go inside. Ever since Gretchen had shown up the night before, Elena had been consumed with jealousy – but also with a spark of determination to fix everything that had gone wrong with Damon since the other night. It was as if this was what she finally needed to fight for Damon. She had been so hurt and confused when he had pushed her away and rejected her offer of love. She had never expected that to happen – not after everything they had been through and not after all the times Damon had tried to get her to be with him.

But she realized now that the only thing that had been truly hurt that night was her pride. After having some time to think about it, she realized that Damon had had every right to push her away. When had she ever done or said anything to make him believe that she was ready to take the leap of love with him? In fact, she had gone out of her way to say and do everything in her power to make him believe that she would never love him in the same way that he loved her. It was only natural for him to doubt her. It was entirely expected – and entirely what she deserved.

Now, though, it was time to put aside her wounded pride and deal with the fact that Damon hadn't fallen into her arms the second she wanted him to do so. He had waited for her, had fought for her. Now it was her turn to fight for him. Sure, this Gretchen might have had a prior claim to Damon's affections, but that didn't change the fact that she knew without a doubt that Damon loved her. It was time for Elena to do what she could to prove to him that she loved him. It may be too little, too late, but giving Gretchen a run for her money was the least she could do after everything Damon had done for her.

So, that spark of determination was there. She had been fanning that spark all morning, trying to build it into a blaze of courage that would carry her through whatever she would face inside the boarding house. But, now that she was actually here, the courage was waning, as she couldn't help but remember the way Damon had looked at Gretchen the night before – with a love and tenderness that she had never seen on his face before.

What if it was too little, too late? What if all the times that she had spurned Damon had made it impossible for him to truly believe her? What if she couldn't convince him to put his heart on the line one more time for her?

Elena took another deep breath and knocked on the door before she could talk herself out of it.

Gretchen opened the door to her bedroom and stepped out into the hall at the same time that Stefan exited his room. He shot her a confused look before turning to look at the closed door of Damon's bedroom. Obviously he wasn't expecting Damon's "friend" to be in the guest bedroom, and Gretchen couldn't help but smirk in response to his expression. She knew what everyone thought, but she couldn't very well set the record straight when it was clear that Damon didn't want them to know – yet – who she really was.

She hoped it was just "yet" and not always. She didn't think she could keep up the ruse forever, and she didn't want him to do so either. Gretchen could see how much Damon was in love with that Elena girl, and more than anything, she wanted her Dad to be happy. She knew firsthand how deeply and completely Damon loved, and he deserved that in return. She wanted that for him, and she knew that her mom would've wanted that for him too.

Stefan cleared his throat, dragging Gretchen's attention back to her surroundings. "I hope you slept well."

Gretchen smiled and nodded, then started leading the way downstairs. "Yes, I've always slept well here."

Stefan raised his eyebrows in shock. "This isn't the first time you've been here?"

Gretchen shook her head. "No. Da-" She closed her mouth, catching herself just in time. "Damon brought me here once a couple decades ago."

"How long have you known my brother?" Gretchen couldn't help but smile at how blatantly curious Stefan sounded. She had always gotten the impression that Stefan thought of himself as the older brother even though he was actually the younger – that he thought of himself as more responsible, more capable, in charge. She knew it must be odd for him to realize that there was something about Damon's life that he didn't know. Much like she had kept tabs on Damon and Damon had kept tabs on her, she was sure that Stefan had almost always known what his brother was up to ever since they had both turned. She respected the fact that Damon had been able to keep her and her mother a secret for so long, in the face of that.

"Oh….a little less than 50 years, now."

Stefan's eyebrows shot even farther up in surprise, but a knock at the door prevented him from indulging his curiosity with more questions. Gretchen sat down on the couch while Stefan veered off toward the door.

Elena entered the boardinghouse, awkwardly looking back and forth between Gretchen and Stefan. Only Damon's presence would make this moment more uncomfortable for her. She knew she should say something to explain why she was there, but her mind had gone blank as soon as the door had opened. She had been secretly hoping that it would be Damon who answered; he would look at her and know immediately everything that she felt. She wouldn't have to say anything. He would take her into his arms and kiss her. And everything would be perfect...

Instead he was nowhere to be seen and she was stuck in a room with her ex-boyfriend and a beautiful woman who had a secret past with the man she loved.

She couldn't stop her eyes from flitting to the stairway, wondering where Damon was.

"He's not here," Gretchen announced. Stefan shot her a confused look, and Gretchen cocked her head in response. "Didn't you hear him leave about 20 minutes ago? It was what woke me up actually."

"No, I didn't." Stefan's voice was monotone and he avoided looking at Elena. She felt a twinge of guilt still, knowing that he was still hurting at the thought that Elena loved his brother – that she had come there to see him that morning, instead of Stefan.

She pushed aside the guilt, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it anyway. She couldn't change the way she felt. Instead, she focused her attention on trying to figure out what exactly Gretchen meant by that comment. The way she phrased it seemed to imply that she had not been in the same bedroom as Damon, but that didn't make any sense…

"Well, you're welcome to wait until he comes back," Stefan said graciously, sitting down opposite Gretchen. Elena walked into the room slowly, perching uncomfortably on the cushion farthest from him. It was awkward sitting next to him, but that was preferable to sitting next to Gretchen instead. She finally got up the courage to look at the other woman and was disconcerted by the fact that Gretchen was openly staring back at her, a half-smile on her face.

Gretchen knew she shouldn't say anything. It was painfully obvious from the way Damon had introduced her that he didn't want the others to know who she was and the role she had played in Damon's life. She should respect that; it wasn't her place to tell.

But, she could argue that a daughter was supposed to annoy her father… And if he was that worried about it, he shouldn't have left her alone with Stefan…

Obviously she was just trying to justify doing what she wanted to do. She was self-aware enough to know that.

But she just wanted her dad to be happy…

She just hoped that he would forgive her eventually.

"So, do you two want to know who I am?"

Both Stefan and Elena leaned forward, but before she could tell her and Damon's secret, there was another knock on the door.

Damon couldn't quite believe it when Klaus had called him that morning to tell him that he was planning on seeing Kol that afternoon to talk about how to treat women. He invited Damon to be there too. Damon uncharacteristically refrained from commenting on the fact that Klaus had a few things to learn in that department too, given that he was all but terrorizing Caroline in the name of love.

"Why me? Stefan was the one who asked for your…assistance," Damon rolled out of bed and started pulling on clothes before Klaus could even answer

"Yes, but he said it was your friend that my brother was bothering," Klaus said.

"I'll be right there." Damon ended the call and slipped out of his room, glancing at the closed door of Gretchen's bedroom. He contemplated waking her up to tell her the news, but he didn't want to get her hopes up in case Klaus couldn't convince his brother to leave her alone.

He made it to Klaus' home in record time. Klaus nodded at him when he entered, then went back to his book. Damon was slightly annoyed by the fact that Klaus wasn't taking this more seriously. "So what's in this for you, anyway?" Damon asked.

Klaus sighed. "My brother has always been a little…overzealous when it comes to his relationships. And more often than not, that causes problems for me too. I'm no longer interested in indulging his whims."

Damon was silent for a moment, trying to determine if there was anything more to it than what Klaus was divulging. Deciding to let it go for now, he walked further into the room and sat down across from Klaus. "So where is he?"

"He's in town actually. I told him to come here."

Damon's stomach dropped, fear squeezing his heart. "Why is he here?"

Klaus shrugged and answered without even looking up from his book. "My guess is he knows that your friend's here."

Damon shot out of his seat and was on his way back to the boarding house before Klaus had even finished the sentence. He rushed at full vampire speed but felt like he was moving agonizingly slow. He berated himself the entire time. He couldn't believe that he had left Gretchen alone, knowing that a vampire as psychotic as Kol was after her.

He just hoped he wasn't too late...

When Stefan opened the door to reveal Kol, Gretchen shot to her feet with a gasp. She backed away from him, painfully aware that there was nowhere to run. She was vaguely aware of Elena standing next to her, and she couldn't help but feel a spark of respect for the girl. Gretchen could tell that Elena was not a fan of hers – and it didn't take a genius to figure out why – yet Elena didn't let that stop her from preparing to fight on Gretchen's behalf.

Kol caught her eye over Stefan's shoulder, and the dangerous gleam in his eyes belied the charm of his gracious smile. Stefan moved slightly to block his view of Gretchen, and she felt a surge of gratitude that he was also willing to stand up to the older vampire for a woman he barely knew. Damon had finally told her about Kol being an Original vampire late the night before, so she now knew exactly how dangerous he was. Before that conversation, she had felt slightly silly for running to her Dad for help, but after it, she felt completely justified. And, now that he was here, she wanted nothing more than for her Dad to show up and save the day. Even though logically she knew he didn't stand a chance against Kol, the little girl inside of her still wholly believed that her father could do anything.

Kol stepped over the threshold and sauntered into the room. He sidestepped Stefan without even looking at him, clearly dismissing him as a threat. "Gretchen, my love."

"Kol. I am not your love. When are you going to leave me alone?"

Kol smiled tightly, exhaling through his nose in a sort of wry chuckle. "You just have to get to know me. I'm not a bad guy," he said, opening his arms in an attempt at humility.

Elena laughed sharply, but didn't say anything. It was enough to draw Kol's attention away from Gretchen, and his expression turned menacing as he glared at Elena. Gretchen swallowed heavily, wracking her brain for a way out of this situation. She knew it was hopeless; if there had been a way to talk Kol out of his obsession with her, then they wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. She thought ruefully of the day she first met him, when she actually thought he was the handsome, charming, worldly man he appeared to be. She had flirted with him, then, but a few hours in his company was enough for her to see beneath the surface. And now her mistake was going to cause problems for Damon and the others too.

It was time to put an end to this, somehow. She took a step forward, hoping that this time she could get through to him.

"Kol…" She took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say that would finally get through to him, but her mind was a blank. He turned his attention back to her, and his expression showed that he clearly knew what she was trying to say. The threatening glare he had directed at Elena was now firmly focused on her. He took another step toward her, and Gretchen steeled herself for a fight. She knew there was no way she could win against a virtually unkillable vampire, but better her than the others. They shouldn't pay for her drawing him here, after all.

And…Damon would need their support to deal with her death…

Before Kol could make another move, a blur of black crashed into him. Damon and Kol viciously attacked each other, knocking into furniture and slamming into the walls. It was impossible to tell from one moment to the next who was hitting whom. The snarls and the thuds filled the air, but they were moving too fast to jump in and lend Damon a hand. All they could do was wait and watch and be ready as soon as a chance presented itself.

Suddenly, Damon had Kol down on the ground, and he began to repeatedly punch him. "You…will…stay…away…from…my…daughter!" Kol squirmed underneath him, clearly trying to get out from under him and regain control of the fight, but Damon was relentless. Blood flew from his knuckles every time he pulled back for another punch, and after a while, it was clear that he was pummeling an unconscious man. Damon started to lose some of his steam, and finished his assault by grabbing a table leg, ripping it off the table, snapping it in half, and stabbing the jagged edge into Kol's chest.

"I'll take it from here," a drawling voice announced from the doorway, and Gretchen turned to see a man leaning against the open doorway. She knew it must be Klaus, one of the other Originals that Damon had told her about the night before. He caught her eye and bowed slightly. "My brother will not bother you again. You have my word." Klaus strolled into the room and hefted the body onto his shoulder. It was still hard for Gretchen to believe that the stake in his chest wasn't enough to get rid of Kol for good, but she decided not to question this turn of events too much. She prayed that the confidence with which Klaus had spoken was justified. Could it finally be over? It was too much to hope for…

Dragging her attention back to the others, she saw Damon on his knees still, breathing hard and avoiding the flabbergasted looks of his brother and Elena.

"Your….daughter?" Stefan finally spat out. "Do you mean…what do you mean?"

Damon stood, rubbing at the blood on his knuckles. "I mean, my daughter."

Elena looked back and forth between the two of them, brow furrowed in confusion. "Do you mean you turned her?"

"Well…yes. But she's also my daughter."

*** I THINK any vampire can enter the Salvatore house now, right? I can't remember exactly….hopefully I didn't make an error…