After slamming the door in his face, Elena walks over to the window, watching him till he drives away. Dropping her head, she grips the edge of the sink so hard that her knuckles and fingernails are as white as snow. Although she won't deny that he cares for her, she can't just forget what he's done, not now and maybe not ever. His betrayal shattered her so viscerally that she doesn't know if the pieces will ever fall back into place. This is exactly why she never let anyone in before. The first time she does, it comes back to bite her in the ass big time. How could she have misjudged him so badly she thinks to herself? Finally releasing her grip, she picks up her drink, the one she was about to enjoy before she was so rudely interrupted. Swallowing it back, she savors the burn as it goes down. After rinsing out the glass, she walks back to the front door to make sure it's locked.
Even though she told Caroline to let Brady get some rest, she brushed her off to go to his house anyway. For once, Elena is glad that she didn't listen cause she really needs the solitude tonight. Once she assures herself that the house is secure, she drags herself up the stairs and to her room. Dropping onto the bed, she kicks off her shoes and pulls her shirt off. After unhooking her bra and slipping out of her panties, she heads to the bathroom to take a nice, hot and relaxing bubble bath. Laying with her head back, she breathes in the aroma of lavender and jasmine. As much as she doesn't want to think about him, it bothers her that he didn't look good. As upset as she is with him, she can't deny the uneasiness that settles into her belly at the thought that he may have been hurt.
Exhausted emotionally after a grueling day, it takes some effort to pull herself out of the tub. After cinching her robe around her waist, she walks into her bedroom and pulls back the covers. Anticipating an alcohol induced headache in the morning, she sighs and then goes back downstairs to swallow a couple of aspirin. Pulling the bottle out of the cupboard, she pops a couple into her hand, pulls a glass out of the cupboard and fills it with water. Yawning, she's just about to go back upstairs when she hears the phone ring. Dropping her chin to her chest in frustration, she's tired and wants to ignore it but knowing that it could be a fire alert, she begrudgingly answers it.
"Hello?
"Elena, it's Ric."
"Is there a fire, do I need to come in?"
"No, Elena. It's Damon."
"What about Damon?" she asks, fear blossoming in her belly with the intensity of a cat five hurricane.
"Don't panic but somehow he got a bad burn. He has an infection and because of it, he passed out when he was driving. It was a slow speed wreck though, Elena."
With heart slamming against her throat, she struggles to swallow past the lump. "Is he going to be okay?" she finally manages to eek out.
"Calm down okay? Kol is already on his way over to pick you up... that is... if you want to go to the hospital?"
"Of course, I want to go, I don't hate him, Ric, nor would I ever wish anything bad to happen to him," she snaps, slamming the phone down on the receiver.
With her gut churning, she runs upstairs and slips into a pair of yoga pants, a tee shirt and a hoodie. Dropping on the bed long enough to put her shoes on, she somehow manages to swallow back her tears. Pausing only to grab her purse and lock the front door, she runs outside, nearly bowling Kol over when she runs headfirst into him.
"Where's the fire?" he teases, hoping to get a smile out of her despite how worried they both are.
"This is so not the time for jokes," she scolds as she slides into the passenger seat. Sitting on the edge of it, Elena's foot taps nervously against the carpeted floor, the drive to the hospital taking what feels like an eternity. Hitting every red light, she's nearly crawling out of her skin when they hit one more for good measure. Frustrated with him for being an idiot, she finally pauses the foot tapping when she feels Kol's hand on her forearm. Turning her head, she blurts out, "How could he be so stupid, Kol? I knew that he looked a little pale and that his forehead was shiny with sweat, I had a gut feeling that something was wrong."
"I honestly did not know that he burned himself. He didn't say anything to any of us. And you're right he is an idiot for not having the medic look at it before Marcel flew us home."
Shaking her head, she breathes a sigh of relief when he finally pulls into the emergency room parking lot. Before he even has the car at a full stop, she has the door open. "If I ever speak to him again, remind me to throttle him, okay?" Laughing Kol nods and steps out of the car. Taking her hand for moral support, they walk into the lobby. Seeing their friends already congregated along with Damon's parents, Elena swallows thickly and with a subtle bob of her head to Kol, they join the group. Not seeing Stefan or Willow, Elena looks at Damon's mom who looks a little worse for wear herself. Pulling Ric aside, she demands some answers. Specifically she wants to know how he could've gotten hurt without anyone noticing it.
"Elena, you know as well as I do that we wear fire retardant clothing. How he got that burn is beyond me? The only thing that even remotely makes any sense is that he must've rolled up his sleeve and perhaps he fell on something smoldering."
"He stopped at my house earlier. I literally slammed the door in his face. But I knew he looked a little green around the gills. I should've asked him about it," she muses, staring into nothingness for a moment. After Ric gives her a hug, she walks back over to where Damon's mom is sitting with Brady.
"Where is Stefan?" she overhears Brady ask.
"Stefan is with Willow. It's late and we didn't want to drag her out of bed."
Taking the seat beside her, Elena interrupts, "If you need me to watch her, I'd be more than happy to do so."
"Thank you, Elena. I may take you up on that offer."
Feeling her belly tighten, she looks up when she hears Damon's dad. He's huddled with Mikael, standing a little off to the side. Turning back to Mary, she swallows past the lump in her throat and asks, "Have you heard anything?"
"Only that he has a third degree burn on his forearm and it's infected because my pigheaded son didn't have it looked at. From what the police told Josh and me, he was barely going fifteen miles an hour when his car hit the tree so they don't believe he has any serious injuries from it. His car on the other hand," she starts to say, scrubbing her palm down her face. Knowing there's really nothing she can say, Elena just rubs the woman's back. Needing some coffee, she's about to get up to go find some when she sees Elijah walking towards them.
"How is he?" Rebekah blurts out, standing up to step beside her cousin. Motioning for the group to follow, Elijah leads them into a conference room. "How is he?" Josh asks, repeating Rebekah's words while holding Mary tightly in his arms.
"He has a minor concussion from the collision but he has the infection in that arm that I told you about. We're pumping him full of potent antibiotics and then he's going to go to surgery for a debridement. That means they'll remove the dead skin so it can begin the healing process. He's going to be here for a few days. And I would say that it's a good thing that your fire season is almost done because he's not going to be able to go out again till it's healed. If he gets another infection, he might have a harder time of it."
"When can we see him?"
"It'll be awhile cause they are taking him to surgery. I know it's against your instincts but really, you may as well just go home and come back in the morning."
"Can we see him for a few moments before he goes?" Mary asks, sharing a look with her husband before turning her head back to Elijah.
"Sure, that can be arranged. You all can stay in here if you want. I'll come and get you before they take him."
Thank you so much," Josh adds, shaking Elijah's hand.
"Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Elena asks, her eyes darting between him and Damon's parents.
"I can't say with a hundred percent certainty but Damon is young and strong. But if he develops sepsis, things could go south rather quickly."
"I think we'll stay for a little while, Elijah," Ric adds, sitting back down.
"I'll ask them to bring a pot of coffee in. I'll be back as soon as I can," he adds, before walking out of the door.
Although worried about Damon, her level of exhaustion finally wins the battle. Having fallen asleep leaning against Kol's shoulder hours ago, she lurches upright when he joggles her arm. Opening her eyes, she sees Damon's mother standing right in front of her.
"Elena, he's sleeping but if you want to see him for a few minutes, I'll take you to his room?"
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she looks at Mary and then Kol. And as if waiting for some directing, he gives her a barely there nod. "Yeah, I'd like that," she says. Standing up, she follows her to the threshold of his room. Peaking in she feels her heart begin to ricochet like a boomerang in her chest. He's so pale, his arm is raised up on two pillows. Momentarily hypnotized by the drip, drip, drip of the IV fluid into the chamber, she jerks when she hears Damon's mother tell her that she'll leave her alone with him for a few minutes. She clutches either side of the door frame to stop herself from going any closer. But the longer she looks at him, the more her resolve weakens. With light steps, she walks to his bedside. Feeling her eyes begin to well up with tears, she ever so wispily runs her knuckles along his stubbly cheek bone. It hurts to see him this way and although it takes every ounce of strength she possesses, she sucks in a deep shuddering breath. Turning away, she puts one foot in front of the other till she's back in the conference room. Finding Kol again, she asks him to give her a ride home. Nodding, he throws his jacket over her shoulders, puts an arm around her and then walks beside her out to his car. Pulling the door open, he lets her slide in then pushes it closed.
"Are you okay?" he asks when he slides behind the wheel.
"It's over, Kol," she whispers, turning away when tears start to fill her eyes.
"Elena, he loves you."
"Kol, please don't. He's the first person that I ever trusted with something very important to me. He turned around and stabbed me in the back with it. I can't, I won't just let it go."
"You know I love you, Elena, hell we all do but he's in love with you. Maybe what he did was twenty ways wrong from Sunday but surely you can admit that whatever it was, he loves you too much to act with malice."
"I know you mean well but I really don't want to talk about him, us, it. I want to sleep for the next forty eight hours."
"Alright, Elena," he says, not saying anymore. Pulling into her driveway, he walks her to the front door, says goodnight, not leaving until he sees that she's safely inside of her house.
Slowly he starts to become aware of a buzzing sound, wanting it to stop, he starts to flail his arm but immediately screams in pain. When his eyes fly open, he has no idea where he is. Immediately bells and whistles start blaring which confuses him even more making his heart sky rocket and pound painfully inside of his chest. Hearing his name, his eyes dart around the room till he sees his mom standing over him.
"Where am I?"
"Damon, calm down," his mom starts to say, stopping when a nurse and an aide run into the room.
"I don't understand what's going on here?" he asks, the pitch of his voice high with anxiety.
"You had surgery, Damon. Relax and let the nurse check you over."
After listening to his heart and lungs, Kim asks him to wiggle his fingers. Touching them, she comments that they're nice and warm and pink and then leaves the room allowing Damon and his mom some privacy. Dropping his head back against the pillow, he feels both hurt and empty that she's not here. But it's no less than he deserves. Not wanting anyone to see his now glistening eyes, he throws his forearm over his eyes, hoping both to hide his tears and block out the bright lights. "Surgery?" he asks, keep his eyes covered.
"The burn on your arm. How did you get that, Damon?"
"I got hung up on some branches. They were sharp, tearing my shirt and my skin along with it. And then to add my 'Murphy's Law' day, I slid on some rocks, landing with my arm in some burning hot embers. It took a moment to realize what was happening to me."
"Why didn't you ask the medic on sight to look at it?"
"I don't know mom. I didn't want to abandon my crew."
"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but you're done for the season according to Elijah."
"NO, no, I'm not," he replies, his voice adamant. When he tries to sit up, he curses aloud in pain.
"I'm going to ask the nurse to give you something for pain." Although he wants to protest, he doesn't. She's always ruled the roost and has never been one to take no for an answer. Just as she reaches the door to find the nurse, he asks, "Elena?"
"She's not here, Damon," Mary replies. Looking at her for a moment, Damon turns away. Willow is going to hate him for ruining her sleepover with Elena. Other than losing the love of his life, having to tell his baby sister about it is going to be painful.
The look on her son's face hurts Mary's heart but right now her concern for his health trumps everything else. After finding the nurse, she takes a seat at his bedside. As soon the woman injects something into his IV, she watches as Damon's eyes slowly drift shut, the Morphine pulling him into a drug induced sleep.
After a week of being laid up in the hospital, Damon is finally at home. Fortunately it only took a few days for the mechanic to knock the dents out of his car. Although he's done for the season, there's still work he can do to help out. Likely he and Ric will trade jobs till the fire season is officially over for the smokejumpers. The nurses gave his mom instructions to give him antibiotics twice a day and a home health nurse will come to their house three times a week to change his dressings. They're not quite sure if he'll need a skin graft yet, it depends on how well the negative pressure dressing that he's attached to works to heal it. Never again will he ignore a burn especially one as bad as his. Pulling into his parents driveway, he goes inside to face Willow. She was supposed to be staying overnight with Elena tonight. Like a man walking to the gallows, he drags himself into the house.
"Sit down, I'll get your IV set up, his mother tells him while he rolls up his sleeve to reveal his PICC line. The plan is for him to get antibiotics for six weeks. Twice a week he also has to run to the hospital to have his blood level of the drug checked so the dose can be adjusted. Apparently the medicine can be hard on the kidneys. As soon as she hooks him to the medicine, he asks about Willow.
"She's not here, Damon."
"Where is she?"
"Stefan took her to spend the night with Elena."
"Stefan took her?" Feeling his heart catch painfully in his chest, he drops his eyes, picking nonexistent lint off of the tablecloth. "Have you talked to Elena?"
"A couple of times you know to make arrangements for your sister's sleepover. What happened between the two of you, Damon? You're miserable."
"I fell in love with her. For the first time in my career, I couldn't be objective. She told me that John Gilbert is her adoptive father. Her real dad was a smoke jumping legend, killed in a fire. I was afraid that she was in it for the wrong reasons and I was so scared of losing her so I asked Ric not to let her go. But as it turns out, I lost her anyway," he whispers at the end, staring at his mom despite the sting of tears in the back of his eyes.
"Oh Damon," she says, giving his hand a squeeze. "I have no way of knowing if you two can reconcile but give her some time, okay?"
"I don't have much choice, mom. She hates me," he adds, taking breath and looking away.
"She is undoubtedly very angry but I don't believe for a moment that she hates you." Standing up, she pulls a bottle of aspirin out of the cupboard and hands him a couple. After giving him a bottle of water she sits back down. Swallowing them, Damon gets up and goes to the couch to lay down. Between pain and melancholy and emotional turmoil, he dozes off as soon as he closes his eyes.
Knowing that Damon will be back at the station today, Elena can feel her stomach roiling. Luckily she barely missed running into Damon when she took Willow home Sunday afternoon. She was pulling out of the Salvatore driveway just as Damon was turning in. Although scaling Everest would have been easier, she kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't look at him when their cars passed each other. Since there are only a couple of weeks left of the season, Elena is all set to go back to work at the fire station. Needing an income in the off season, she enjoys her work as an EMT as well but smoke jumping is where her heart truly lies. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Elena walks into the building. Seeing him in the hallway talking to Ric and not willing to give Damon even an inch, she gives them a slight nod then continues to the locker room. Finding Kol and Rebekah inside, the three of them slip on their running gear and take it outside. After doing several laps around the track, they sit down on the picnic table. Sitting on the top with her feet on the bench, Elena rakes her hair out of her face.
"You okay?" Kol asks, plopping down beside her while Rebekah sits to her right on the bench.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, he's back."
"I would like to think that I am mature enough to maintain an air of professionalism when I'm around him."
"Cut the crap, Elena. Anyone can see that he's miserable. You are too for that matter."
"I'm am not miserable. I'm perfectly fine," she says with finality. Glancing over her shoulder, she hones in on the double doors where Damon is now standing. Turning away, she laughs when Kol starts telling some of his stupid jokes. Just as they're about to do a couple of more laps, the alert goes off. Flying into the building, they hurry to slip into their gear. Once she's ready, she's just about to step outside when he stops her with his arm. "I know you hate me, Elena. But please be careful."
"I know how to do my job," she says, her voice even and without emotion. After staring at each other for what seems like an eternity but only seconds in actuality, he lets her go and watches as she pushes through the doors and takes her place on the plane.
Fortunately the fire didn't amount too much and they were able to get their job done in just a few hours with the help of the forest service's water tankers. After a restless night's sleep, Elena fills her coffee cup, says goodbye to Caroline and drives to Fort Wainwright. Almost as soon as she steps into the building, Ric asks her to come into his office. Gesturing for her to shut the door, she shrugs her shoulders and does what he asks.
"Take a seat, Elena."
"Am I in trouble?"
"No, of course not." Before he can say anymore, Mikael slips in the room to join them. Handing each of them a cup of coffee, Ric sits back down. "Mikael here has something to tell you, Elena."
"What is it Mikael?" She asks, her nerves alight with anticipation.
"I know who your grandparents are, Elena. Peyton and Evelyn Pierce, their son Grayson and daughter, Natalie lived the next block over from my house. They were friends of my parents."
"What?"
"Peyton and Evelyn are your grandparents, Elena." Mikael, tells her, steadying her now shaky hand.
"Are they alive?" she asks, feeling rather numb although her gut is roiling enough to push the bile into the back of her throat.
"Yes, alive and well and still living in the same house in Butte, MT. I can't tell you what happened to Natalie though."
"Ric, can I have some time off?"
"As long as you don't make any rash decisions about staying down there," he adds, looking pointedly at her.
"You have my word, Ric. I wish I could take you with me, Mikael."
"I'll get a hold of Nik. He can take you to Butte. He goes down there every other weekend anyway to check in on my mother."
"Would he do that?" She asks, her foot slapping against the floor in a rapid cadence.
"Of course, Elena." Jumping out of her seat, she throws her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly. As soon as she lets him go, she gives Ric the same treatment.
"Can't breathe," Ric teases. Slightly embarrassed, she steps back. "Go home and get your things together. Your flight to Missoula leaves in three hours. Nik is on standby to meet you at the airport," he adds, handing her a ticket.
"I don't know how to thank you," she adds, tearing up with happiness. Before either Ric or Mikael can utter another word, she runs out of their office and is in her car and pulling out of the parking lot in about ten seconds flat.
Having had to go to the hospital to get his weekly blood draw, it's mid morning by the time Damon arrives at work. Although he wants to be able to see her face, her indifference is tearing him apart on the inside. It's almost as if a seam is tearing, stitch by painful stitch. His heart hurts like crazy but he doesn't know what to do to fix it with her. He's tried giving her time and space but it's been a couple of weeks now... she hasn't budged one iota. Once inside the building, he drops his things off in his office and then goes outside to see where everyone is. They're playing a makeshift baseball game with some of Liz's fireman. Glaringly absent though is Elena. As soon as Ric strikes out, Damon walks over to him. His curiosity gets the best of him.
"Where's Elena?"
"I gave her a few days off for a personal matter."
"She's not leaving is she?" Damon asks, feeling his throat tighten as fear and anxiety make his blood pressure spike. His ears roar with the sound of his blood sloshing through his veins.
"No, Damon, at least not yet. It's not my place to tell you."
"She really does hate me, Ric," he mumbles, shaking his head back and forth as he stumbles backwards till his knees hit the back of the picnic table. "I just wanted her to be safe, nothing more.., nothing less. I was afraid she was doing this, you know, trying to live vicariously through his memory. I'm such an idiot. I should've talked to her but God, Ric, I've never felt fear like that before in my life. Maybe I have no business doing this job anymore. I lost my objectivity."
"Damon, come on..., don't beat yourself up. Your heart was in the right place. But with all of that said, it can't happen again," he stresses, halting when the fire alert siren starts blaring loudly.
"We've gotta go. I put some paperwork on your desk that needs attention. Slater's in charge and I'm out of here," he adds, then takes off in a run, disappearing inside the building leaving Damon standing there, finally understanding what it feels like to be left behind.
My cat, Emma, had kittens a month or so ago and suddenly she kicked one out of the nest. I tried to feed it kitten formula and keep putting it back in the basket with the other three. I'm more than a little sad because I honestly thought it was looking better Friday and then it died Saturday morning anyway.
Huge thanks to my other half, Eva. I love you dearly and I don't know where I'd be without you.
And also a huge thanks to all of you. I appreciate the support so very much, you are all the very best of the DE fan fiction world.
Chapter title: 'At This Moment' by Billy Vera and the Beaters.
I recently posted part 1 of the WW2 story, "Over the Rainbow". A HUGE, HUGE thank you, ICEM" passed the 1K review mark today. That's a first for me.
I DO plan to post an epilogue for "Run for the Roses" later this week.
Have a safe and wonderful day. We'll see you next time.