Damon's POV

We were traveling in Fletcher's old, barely keeping itself together truck. The kids were yelling in the background, fighting over something, fooling around. It's been a week since Stefan got back to school, since somehow our life started to get slowly back to normal, or at least that's what I wanted to believe when the sun came up and the day started.

I've never before thought how dreadful a night can be. Yes, Stefan used to had his nightmares and we could both barely catch some sleep, but now it was worse. I thought that as time passes he was supposed to get better, and indeed, I can't deny that there was an improvement in his condition, but there were nights, which were simply awful, nights when he wouldn't stop coughing and in the mornings, when he was supposed to be all enthusiastic about the new day, he looked like he is about to fall asleep just as he was sitting straight. The same counted for me, though, at least I could drink some coffee and delude myself that it will keep me up.

Aunt Sarah's most valuable purchase these days was coffee and sugar, not even bread. I mean…who needs bread when you can't even stay awake to eat it, right? She was scolding me for drinking it so much, because she claimed it made me nervous and a pain in the ass, which resulted in Stefan using the last phrase more than usually lately and aunt Sarah and me both had our headaches when it came to making him stop saying the wrong words. At least when he got back to school he cheered up a little, which made me better as well, though his best friend seemed a bit on the downside lately, and so did Fletcher.

I guess it was a good idea coming to Charleston after all, the boys could use some change. Stefan hated our room so much already that he wanted to sleep on the kitchen couch. He didn't want to spent a day locked up in there, because it made him feel sicker than he really was and I understood him. Because of him being so uneasy lately, I had to share the couch with him and aunt Sarah often found us asleep there in the mornings, with him lying on my belly and his little hands hanging peacefully on my both my sides, with the blanket fallen on the floor. She scolded us a lot for doing this, she kept repeating that we have our own beds and she couldn't figure out why on earth were we so bend on sleeping there. But Stefan and me-we didn't pay much attention to her words, we just continued doing what we do. Plus I thought it was better staying there anyway-it was way warmer than in our room and God knows it was a very cold winter. As long as father was staying away, I was sure, that it will be all good. Lately, he's been spending his time in the bedroom- that was when he was home. We rarely saw him and I can't actually complain about that. I still couldn't figure out why did he agree to give aunt Sarah the money that day when he got back. I doubted he had any kind of good intentions, I was more inclined to believe that he was trying to drown his guilt, just as Fletcher suggested.

Aunt Sarah was quite busy lately, since she was trying to pay more attention to the girls as she neglected them too much when Stefan was in the hospital, which meant I had to take care of more stuff while she was, so to say, gone for now. Stefan was a bit sad that I couldn't play with him or take him to the park, but instead we had to go shopping or paying bills to the other side of town. He never said anything though, he's been too quite lately. I think it was because he still thought he was causing us troubles and that he should be ashamed of himself. He never said anything, not a single complain all those nights when he couldn't catch his breath. He only repeated that I should go back to sleep, that I shouldn't be up, but I never really paid attention to his words, of course. I kept asking him if he was in too much pain, if he wants to call the doctor but as soon as he heard the word doctor, he hid himself under the blanket and wouldn't let me even look under it to make sure he's fine.

Occasionally, he popped up his big green eyes, only so he would make sure it was all clear and there was no doctor around and then shoved himself back under, holding Lincoln so hard that he had to say goodbye to his other leg and now he looked more sad than actually pathetic. Sometimes it took me more than half an hour to convince him to get out of there, but he was just relentless. I laughed most of the time, but then when he has finally got to bed, I would realize that it's actually sad that he's so scared. I kept wondering what are we going to do with him from now on, I mean he had to be checked up again next week and aunt Sarah was already planning on lying that she'll be taking him out for candies. It broke my heart to watch him cry and hide or just find a way out, but I tried to play tough when it came to this, because I knew it was for his own good. He kept asking me, why don't I understand that he was just scared and I always remained silent, because I couldn't bring myself up to telling him that I do know that he's scared, but I'm way to frightened that he ever will be and it was all because he wasn't completely healthy.

"Hey boys! Cut it off, I can't hear my own thoughts!" Fletcher said a bit annoyed with the noise Simon and Stefan were making. He was a good person and he was awesome when it came do discipline so I've always admired him about that. They both stopped tickling each other and instead made funny faces silently. Fletcher was in a bad mood lately, actually no, I take that back-he wasn't in a bad mood, he seemed just too worried. He seemed as if he was trying to figure out how do deal with something and I knew it was all about Simon again. I couldn't blame him honestly-I was trying to do my best with Stefan and I felt as if I wasn't making any progress at all. Fletcher was so persistent when it came down to making sure Simon feels better. It was like he wanted to protect him at all costs, no matter what that meant for him. I'm pretty sure he would throw himself off a cliff if it could make Simon see. And honestly-I'm sure I would do the same if there was something to fix Stefan's hoarse and shallow breathing.

As we slowly went into Charleston, we immediately noticed the men dressed in uniforms and the boys suddenly got all excited.

"Wooow, are those real soldiers, Damon?" Stefan asked in awe when him and Simon were pushing each other away, trying to get a better view from the window.

"You bet they are!"

"Awesome!" both of them said at the same time and Fletcher and me laughed

"Fletcher, slow down, I can't see them good!" asked Simon and I noticed my friend furrowing his eyebrows. Stefan stepped aside to give his buddy some space and let him enjoy what he was seeing. Suddenly, both of them got too impatient to get off the car and it was hard for us to keep them down. It took us some time to find a parking place since it was crowded and when we finally did, the kids jumped on the pavement and ran before us.

"Are you sure you're okay, buddy?" I asked Fletcher while he was still trying to lock the truck as fast as he can. He granted me a fake smile and nodded, then cleared his throat. There was something wrong here, but I decided to be patient enough and wait for him. Fletcher wasn't the type of person who would just say out loud that there's something bothering him. You could see him being angry and impatient or mad about something, but he would never just spill it out from the first time, no matter how much you ask and so with him I had to be the calm and wise one. When he's decided it was all good, he would just tell me, but I wasn't supposed to push him too much or it would blow up right in my face and we'll both regret it later.

I returned his smile and we went down the street. He knew the town pretty well since his father had some friends around here and both my buddy and his big brother Evan have come to help him deal with work, so I let Fletcher lead the way. He told me there was a buddy of his here-Jack Collins or something like that. I knew his family, the lived a bit outside Mystic Falls and now it turned out Fletcher knew him for quite some time and they played when he was little, but then he obviously joined the army and they stopped communicating that much. Still, I guess they would both be glad to see each other, even though Fletcher appeared more than grumpy today. It took us some time to find Jack. The town was so crowded, I was afraid we were going to lose the boys so we kept yelling at them to slow down and come by our side. That made them even more impatient though, because they saw soldiers everywhere and they kept "wow"-ing every time they saw a real gun. Some of the man smiled at their enthusiasm and that was more than satisfying for both my brother and Simon, because someone was finally paying attention to them and that made them feel special.

"You've got to be kiddin me!" we heard someone's voice behind our backs and as soon as I turned around I saw a boy, a bit older than us, dressed in an uniform, with a gun on his belt smiling at Fletcher. "Fletcher Fell!"

"Jack Collins!" my buddy yelled and finally smiled genuinely. They hugged and patted each other on the backs for quite some time, while me and the boys stood beside them and waited patiently for their sweet reunion to be over with. "So this is my buddy Damon Salvatore." he introduced me and we shook hands. Honestly, Jack seemed like a very decent person, though his face appeared very tired and there were dark circles under his eyes. I wondered what he went through to seem so ruined at such a young age. He seemed to be about nineteen or twenty years old. How much can you exactly take when you're nineteen without falling apart? He gave me a warm welcoming smile and I tried to return with the same. Then he leaned down to the boys who were staring at him, completely amazed. They saluted him and he returned with the same. As far as I was aware with the war ranks, he must've been something like a sergeant.

"Who are those little soldiers here?" Jack asked with curiosity and that was exactly what the boys were waiting for. They didn't move from their initial positions, though they answered him immediately, as if they were on duty.

"Private Salvatore!"

"Private Fell!" they answered almost together and Jack had a hard time trying to keep himself from laughing, but he managed to remain serious and to even give them a stern superior look which didn't even make them shiver.

"Dismissed!" he said with the same determination to make them feel important and they let loose. "You boys wanna meet a real captain?"

"Yes! YES!"

"Yes, what?" he asked, sounding a bit offended

"Yes, sir!" they both repeated and saluted him again, he nodded, finally laughed and lead us to the building where the whole celebration or whatever it was exactly, was going to be held. Once we got inside there were tables of soldiers everywhere, there was I think, even a brass band which made me wanna kill myself, because my head hurt enough already. I was glad that for once the boys were listening to what someone was telling them. Honestly, I wished I could just take Jack home with us so that he could make Stefan eat when I tell him to.

"What do you say we ask one of those dudes to give us an uniform for home?" he was obviously thinking the same thing as me. We smiled and I punched him playfully on the shoulder when Stefan turned towards me with a big smile on his face. "A real soldier, huh Stefan? How's that?"

"Awesome!" he whispered, afraid that Jack might hear him talk as they were marching behind his back and scold him. His face was lightning with excitement. I don't think I've seen him this bright in months.

"What happened with your ranks? I thought you were lieutenant?"

"Shhh, Damon!" he scolded me again silently and put his index finger on his mouth, which made me smile as well "We were just playing then. This is real life now, we can't be anything but the lowest rank!" he explained, seeming unable to understand how I couldn't figure this out. I was the older one right? Why couldn't I get it?

"Jeez, Stefan, you gotta let your brother into stuff." Simon whispered as well

"Believe me" Stefan responded "I've tried." and shook his head in despair.

Fletcher and me barely prevented ourselves from laughing out loud and making them hate us for doing so. They were just so innocent and sweet in that moment that it made me feel better as well. Jack led them to one of the tables and introduced them to a real captain, only so they would completely lose their ability to speak. He showed them a real gun and gave them helmets to try on. They went almost insane form happiness and kept screaming how this is the best day ever. Fletcher took them pictures with his phone and promised to give me some later. They asked the captain to show them his dog tags and because he seemed to be a good man, he paid a lot of attention since he could see how excited they both were. He showed them his scars from battle and they sighed both in awe. Simon even fixed his glasses so he could see better. I think they were about to soon collapse from happiness, though they were trying to act decent in front of the man. He took them in his lap and started showing them his big rifle, which was thanks god unloaded, otherwise I would've probably gone insane as well. They calmed down and concentrated, trying to catch every word he was saying. I've never seen them so calm for more than two minutes when they were together. I turned around to tell Fletcher how grateful I am for taking us with him when I realized he wasn't anywhere near me.

I traced every corner of the hall and noticed Jack's uniform just from outside the doors. He was explaining something eagerly and I furrowed my eyebrows-there was something going on here. I looked up at the captain and gave him a sign that I was going outside and he nodded in confirm that there's nothing for me to worry about. I slowly approached the exit, but in the last minute decided that it's better not to interrupt them, but to rather listen to what they were saying, before they've noticed me. I know it was wrong of my to do that, but then again I could feel that something with Fletcher was off today and since he wasn't up to telling me himself what it was, I was about to find out on my own. I hid behind the door, it was noisy in the hallway, but I could still hear them pretty well.

"Fletcher, I am not doing this! Don't you understand-you're not even sixteen years old." Jack's voice sounded completely different from earlier-he was serious and moreover-angry.

"I'm turning it next week!" Fletcher continued to obviously argue about something "I just need Evan's ID so we can switch places and it will all be fine." what were they even talking about? Why did he need to switch places with anyone?

"Are you out of your mind?" Jack raised his voice, sounding even more pissed off "This is not a joke, Fletcher, this is the army! You want to become a soldier when you're not even a man! And I'm not letting you do this, you're not of age. And if you were-that's not the solution, even if you can't seem to understand it now!" A soldier? What the hell was going on here? Fletcher wanted to become a soldier? That's the most absurd thing I've heard in ages.

"Don't you understand, for godssakes, I am-"

"Yes!" he interrupted my friend "you're doing this so you can get the money!" now it all suddenly became clear to me. He was trying to find money for Simon, so that he could help him. He told me a few days ago that maybe if he gets a surgery his condition will improve for a certain period and he seemed to be willing to do everything to make it happen. Ever since they got back from that doctor they went to visit in Atlanta, he was on edge and now it all became crystal clear to me-they didn't have the money for a surgery. Not now, probably not in the next year and Fletcher knew he has no time. His brother was getting worse and worse with every passing day, way much faster than any doctor has ever expected. I knew he had a big fight with his parents this week, trying to make them understand they had to do something. I'm pretty sure they were aware of this fact, but they just felt hopeless-they were trying their best to earn as much as they could and Fletcher understood that. He just thought it wasn't enough. Coming here wasn't because he wanted the boys to meet real soldiers and have a good time-okay, yes, maybe partly it was, but it was also because he wanted to talk to Jack, to ask for his help and support in doing something absurd.

"I am doing this because of my brother!" Fletcher raised his voice now as well "I would do anything for him. I would die for him if I have to!"

"You don't understand, dammit! War changes people. You're not even slightly aware of what are the things you'll have to do. I was eighteen when I joined and you want to do this when you're just a kid? Plus, you can't forge those things. Someone along the way of the whole process will figure out you're not of age and it will get worse for all of you. "

"I am not a kid!" Fletcher protested angrily, but then decided to calm down and try explaining one more time "I have to do this, Jack. You don't understand, I can't watch him like this!" his friend didn't react, I saw him just bending his hand down. I knew what he was about to do, what he would say "I just need your help for the whole paperwork thing."

"No" Jack said "I am not helping you do something completely insane. I'm not helping you kill yourself. I've taken enough lives already and I don't want to carry even more guilt than I've already have inside."

"But" Fletcher tried again, now sounding desperate.

"I'm sorry, Fletcher. You gotta give this up." he said now calmly, but continued with a serious voice "And if you don't-I'll make sure your parents hear about this idea of yours." how smart of him, I thought, to use this kind of threat. I heard Jack slowly walking away with his heavy pace, while Fletcher let a deep, angry sigh out and turned around to enter, only so he could see me behind the door. I saw surprise flashing in his eyes for a short moment, but then when he saw my expression and understood how much I was against this as well, he furrowed his eyebrows and tried to walk pass me. I caught his wrist though and tried to stop him.

"What the hell were you thinking, Fletcher!" I punched him lightly in the arm. I honestly wanted to kick his ass since I've suddenly got so mad "What are those stupid ideas of yours? Joining the army when you're not even sixteen-are you out of your freaking mind?" I spilled out all this without a pause and silently so no one could hear us. He pulled away from me though, still very angry

"We'll talk later." he just announced and headed to the table where the boys were still fooling around with the captain, probably driving him insane already. Stefan noticed that something between me and Fletcher was wrong, because he gave me a worried look, but I shook my head in order to calm him down and gave him a light smile to support my attempt to convince him everything was good. Luckily, he was too distracted to keep wondering if there was something going on and as the captain was about to say goodbye to them, he gave them two caps, matching the soldiers uniforms and they yelled from joy and even hugged him, trying to show their gratitude. Then we watched the band play and both Fletcher and me put Stefan and Simon on our shoulders so they can see what's going on. Him and me didn't talk at all. There was too much going on in my head to speak in the first place. I just wanted to try and process it all and yet I realized that I can't! Jack was completely right-he was just a kid as well. He might be older than me, but he's still a kid. A kid, who has too much on his shoulders and who's trying to desperately to prevent the inevitable from happening that he was willing to ruin himself. Or maybe there wasn't anything else to ruin anymore? Maybe he was already broken enough and going away and doing something like this would just bring him to the end point.

I wanted to believe that there's something good for us all later on in life, but what if there wasn't? What if, after all, whatever it was Fletcher was trying to do, was right for him, since he couldn't see a way out? No, I didn't want to think like this. He can't just go miles away from here and kill people, because he needed the money for his brother. That's not selflessness-that's stupidity! You can't just give your life away like that. You can't do something like this to your closest people. What about his parents, huh? What happens when they find out that their fifteen year old son cheated and got in the army? They are ruined enough as it is-if they lose their child, they'll go insane. And what about Simon? The only one who's been taking constant care of him is Fletcher! He's the person that keeps him sane and unafraid. If he disappears from his life Simon will break in a matter of days. And I'm done watching broken kids all around me.

We walked a little more around town and sat down to buy the boys something to eat. They couldn't stop talking to each other, I don't think they were paying us much attention. They loved their new hats and I'm pretty sure we won't be able to make them put them down for probably a month. It was like a war trophy they wouldn't never let anyone touch. They kept running around us, jumping on each other's backs or tickling themselves all over the way until they got completely tired and by the time we reached the car they were barely walking by themselves. A little after we got out of town and headed back to Mystic Falls they fell asleep, hugging each other and tightly gripping the hats in their hands. Fletcher gave me a blanket and I carefully wrapped it around them.

We didn't say a word out to each other on the way back. I wasn't tired-I was just thinking about it all, still trying to figure out why on earth didn't he tell me about it all. It didn't take us long to get back-we were relatively close to the big city and once Fletcher parked in front our house I didn't even attempt to get out.

"We need to talk." I whispered so that I would wake the boys and he sighed. It took him a minute to realize that I'm not going to give up and just let go of it all so he slowly opened the door and go outside. I followed him and we entered our yard, without moving our glance away from the truck where the kids slept.

"So" I started "Wanna tell me what's this all about?"

He sighed and sat down on the step leading to the door.

"What's there to tell, Damon?" he asked sadly "Simon needs surgery. If I get in the army they'll give me money-it's that simple."

"Look" I started but he interrupted me before I could continue

"I don't need any more speeches, Damon. Jack was enough for today."

" I'm not going to give you a speech, I just want to tell you that I understand. Believe me , I'm tired of it all." I started and he looked at me with compassion "I'm tired of watching people trying to find ways to save the ones they love. I'm tired of watching people in pain, tired of hopelessly wondering if there's good in this world after all, tired of seeing nothing, but ruins in front of me, because I only have two bare hands, already rough and full of small scars from moving woods or digging holes in someone else's yard. I'm tired of pushing myself to catch some breath and keep my head above the water when my own brother can't even get some sleep, because there is not money for medications, for examinations, for better doctors. You think I don't understand you? I do, dammit. Life sucks" I emphasized on the last words "And I'm tired of trying, Fletcher! I'm tired of going on with it all. And I can't let you do this! Do you understand? Risking your life won't safe your brother, it won't help him see!" he sighed, but he wasn't annoyed with me. I think that actually today for the first time he was actually letting the words someone else was speaking up sink in. I'm sure that when he looked up there were tears in his eyes "You have to stop living in denial and accept it all so you can actually help him. Think of the future. Think what he'll need when he gets at this point of his life, think what will be helpful, what will encourage him to not give up when his life is completely ruined. Because I've seen my brother like this and it was unannounced. It just came over him and ruined his world! And trust me-you don't want to see a five or ten or fifteen year old kid like this. You don't want to look him in the eyes and realize that you can't see any spark in them." I was trying to make him understand that I know what he's doing here. I know how he feels. "So gather your shit, Fletcher. You're not leaving for the army. You're not leaving your brother alone, because that will bring him to and edge, I can tell you that. You're staying here and dealing with your problems like you've been doing until now, do you understand me?" I looked at him again. Until now I was trying to avoid his stare, but now I needed to make him understand absolutely everything I was telling him. I needed to see the confirmation in his eyes, but he has bended his head down and he has hid his face in his palms. I waited patiently for him to have his own moment and get back to reality and when he did he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks." it was a single word, but it mean absolutely everything. I sighed lightly, only to myself, feeling relieved that I've managed to change his mind. And if he tried to do something I sure as hell was telling his parents, no matter how he would hate me for it. "That was quite the speech though, you know?" he added in a few minutes and we both smiled.

"I'm sorry." I chuckled

"It's all fine." he responded "I just..want to do everything I can."

"You are doing everything you can, Fletcher. You're doing more than enough. And if you haven't noticed, you've been ruining yourself with every passing day. I know you say how I'm the one who always looks like crap, but it's actually you."

"That's not true." he opposed "You're pretty ugly, Salvatore."

"Oh yeah?" I said and punched him playfully in the shoulder "We'll see about that when I get all the girls once I make the football team."mhe punched me back and before I knew it we were up, fighting playfully until he slipped and we turned it into a game wrestle in the snow. We went wet, but it didn't matter since we both needed to just let everything out. At some point we heard Simon's worried voice from the car window.

"Fletch! Hey, Fletch, where are you?" my heart clenched. He couldn't really see us so he was scared and desperately trying to find us, even if we were practically in front of him. We stood up and cleaned ourselves from the snow, only to realize that we weren't that wet after all.

"It's fine, Simon, I'm over here" Fletcher yelled in response and Simon smiled relieved that he has found his brother. I could notice that he still couldn't exactly pinpoint where we were, but at least he was orientating himself by the sound of his brother's voice.

"Where's Stefan?" I asked as we were approaching, wondering why he isn't next to his friend.

"He's down here, sleepin." Simon repeated and I furrowed my eyebrows. I knew Stefan was tired and couldn't catch up on his sleeping, but sometimes it scared me how long he was actually doing so and why it was hard to wake him up. I went by the other door, opposite of Simon's, only to open it and see him peacefully sleeping with his hands under his head. I tried to gently shook his shoulder and wake him up. He opened his eyes, but I could see he wasn't up for completely getting out of his sweet dreams so I picked him up in my embrace. I kissed him on the forehead only to make the realization that he was too warm again and I furrowed my eyebrows angrily.

"You okay there, Damon?" Fletcher asked and I nodded in confirm. There was no point in extra bothering him now, he had enough on his plate as it was.

"It's all fine. He's just tired." I lied and I think he doubted my words for a moment, but I didn't give him the chance to get on with his questions. Stefan has opened his eyes, but he still seemed to be very sleepy. He was hugging me, but not tightly as he usually did, which meant he just had no strength to do so. "Thanks for today, Fletcher." I started, wanting to make him realize how much it meant for Stefan to go on this trip and have fun.

"No" he disagreed and I wondered what he meant by this "I am the one who should be thanking you." he gripped my shoulder thankfully as he always did when he was having a hard time expressing his emotions. This way he was showing me how grateful he was. I smiled in order to assure him that it was all fine and turned towards Stefan.

'Hey, buddy" I gently rubbed his back and he opened his tired eyes "Say goodbye to Simon." Simon looked up when he heard his name, but it was hard for him to tell who is who. I noticed that his gaze was fixed up in the sky, as if there he could find the answers to all his questions, as if he was staring into hope.

"Bye, Simon." Stefan waved slowly to his buddy and Simon gave him one of his big silly smiles

"See you in school, Stefan!" he responded happily and shoved his head back in the car. We waited until they left and then I hurried to go back inside the house and make Stefan more comfortable. I didn't like that things were still bad with him. He was supposed to be getting better with time and it seemed like nothing that much was changing. When we got inside I wanted to put him down so I could undress myself, but he was having a hard time standing on his feet so he just gripped my leg tightly and waited me to help him get undressed.

"It's fine, buddy." I was consoling myself more than him if I have to be honest. He didn't say anything, just embraced my neck and closed his eyes as I was entering the kitchen with my heart clenched, hoping that father wouldn't be here. When I realized we were all alone, I let a relieved sigh out and went to the couch so I can lay him down, but as I did so I realized that his back was wet-he has sweated too much again and I had to change his clothes. While I was slowly pulling out the sleeves off his hands he wasn't doing anything to help me. He was like a lifeless puppet, too tired to do anything. Once he was ready I tucked him good with the blanket and turned the TV on, because I knew listening to it helped him go back to sleep better. He didn't fall back though, he remained up, no matter how tired he was and I couldn't figure out why.

"Why was Fletcher sad today, Damy?" he asked as I was filling a glass of water and searching for his pills

"He's sad because" I paused and wondered whether to tell him the truth or figure something else so I wouldn't make him more desperate than he already was "He needs money for Simon so that his sight gets better and he doesn't have any." I decided to be honest here and gave him a light sad smile. His eyes popped up wide open and I'm not sure if I saw surprise or determination in them. Suddenly he stood up and tossed his blanket away. "Wait, what are you doing?" I asked confused and practically ran by his side because when he got back on his feet he staggered and almost fell.

"I need you to come with me, Damy." he said and slowly took off to our room.

"Stefan, get back to your bed, you gotta lay down" I said worriedly and tried to push him back on, but he gripped my hand with whatever strength he was left with and made me look him in the eyes.

"Just for a minute, Damy, I promise" he pleaded and I sighed desperately. He was a stubborn kid. And then aunt Sarah was claiming that I'm the one who's never giving up. He lead me out of the kitchen and back to our room, which was cold, dark and made me shiver. He let go of my hand and with the same determination that was keeping him up right now headed to his bed. I wondered what he was up to, but he surprised me even more when he just leaned down and shoved his hand under it. I thought he has just dropped one of his teddy bears there and now wanted to take it back so he could sleep better, but instead he pulled out a big jar, full of nothing else but….money. He handed it over to me.

"You give it to Fletcher." he said silently "Yeah?"

"Stefan, what on earth? How did you save that much?" I asked still in awe and kneeled down so I can see him better. He shrugged as if he hasn't done anything that important.

"I just saved all the money aunt Sarah gave me for school." he said as if it was the most logical thing in the world "Will that be enough for Simon to get better?" he asked hopefully and I wanted to look away from his sad green eyes so hard, but then again I couldn't, because I owed him to be strong and honest right now.

"I guess he'll need some more, Stefan, I'm sorry." I let out apologetically

"Oh well that's fine" he responded reassuringly "Just..when you give him the money, get me my jar back so I can continue saving, okay Damy?" he asked and totally broke my heart. I pulled him for a hug out of nowhere and it surprised him, but he embraced me with his little arms as well and tried to tighten his grip, even though he was so weak right now. I ruffled the back of his hair

"I'll bring your jar back, I promise, buddy."I was keeping him longer in my embrace, because I didn't want him to see the tears in my eyes. He was such a good person from such a young age. He would make a great man, I thought as I was gripping him tightly, unwilling to let him go.

"Thank you, Damy." he whispered in return and as I continued to rock him slowly in my embrace he closed his eyes and fell asleep, right there in my arms while I was gently rubbing his back and listening to the awful wheeze his lungs were producing and the steady beat of his small, but in fact enormous, full of kindness heart.

A/N: Thanks for your support, guys! It means a lot.