Thank you to everyone who is reading, following, and especially reviewing. I'm not used to getting so much feedback on my writing, so this is just so, so much fun! I'm glad this story - which was originally going to be a one-shot - is continuing to interest you. And I'm so glad to see that folks are getting interested in the supernatural plot. I felt comfortable with the character work, less comfortable with the plot :)
Angel Starbeam brought up the age thing in the last chapter. It's far too complicated - thanks TVD - and I think there's a couple interpretations for Elena's biological age. But here goes:
-Caroline looks 17 and will always look 17.
-Damon was 25 when he turned (that's my best math). So he looked 25 when he became human again. It's been a year, so he's biologically 26. However, that makes him the same age as Stefan, Elena, Caroline, etc. If anybody in Mystic Falls were paying attention, it would make no sense for him to be the same age as Elena. He was Stefan's guardian when he came to town, and treated as an adult by Sheriff Forbes before she knew what he was, others on the Council. I think the uber-organized Caroline would puzzle this out and get him fake license/passport/etc to show that he's 30.
-Elena was 18 when she was turned. When she got the cure, she would have begun aging from 18. BUT, the cure was taken out of her. I'm not sure if the five years in the coffin count, because she wasn't going to age in there at all. So she could be biologically 20 or 25 in the finale. However - I think 20 is too complicated. It makes sense for her to be her real age, especially when issues of Caroline's age come up (like in this chapter). Also, this way Bonnie screwed up by taking the Cure out early. Oh the conflict when they figure that out, which no one has yet.
Thank you to the real Sajen for being an unofficial beta again! Your feedback was invaluable. I hope you like the ending of the chapter :)
May 2018 - the same day
The baby kicked like crazy as Elena looked from Damon to old-friend-Tom, and back again. She rubbed her belly, trying to soothe the little girl inside. Elena had never felt so vulnerable. She'd faced down plenty of villains. But she'd never had a baby inside her. She'd never had so much to protect, and so much to lose.
She settled her gaze on Tom. He looked back at her, appraisingly. Damon must not have told this "old friend" that he was human again, either out of fear of being attacked or concern that the vampire might steal the Cure from his blood.
Had this vampire actually known her husband as a child? How was that possible? How much did Damon trust him? Had he planned to tell him? Elena wished for the vampiric ability to grab Damon's hand and whoosh him away from this scene. She also wished she had a stake in her purse.
Tom. Why was that name familiar? Tommy, that was what Damon had always called that childhood friend. Tommy Fell, another founding family son. Damon's best friend as a human boy. Could this really be the same friend? Damon had never mentioned Tommy Fell being turned. He'd said he was dead. But she could tell how well her husband knew this man. She'd only ever seen him so familiar with Stefan.
Tommy didn't move to attack. As the moment stretched on without anyone speaking or moving or doing anything but scrutinize each other, the stranger smiled. Like he was enjoying this.
He even let out a little laugh. "Will someone just tell me what's going on?" the sandy haired man said. Turning to Elena, he asked, "Did the policeman knock you up?"
Just breathe, Elena told herself, as she felt panic building throughout her body. Any second she was going to start shaking, or giggle stupidly. Without taking her eyes off Tommy, she told Matt, "Get Caroline."
Matt said, "I'm not going anywhere."
"Now," Elena said, keeping her voice even.
Matt cursed under his breath as he half walked, half ran into the house.
Damon stood and sauntered towards Elena. Coming up beside her, he threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. She could feel his breath on her ear as he whispered, "Don't worry, babe." Damon grinned at Tommy, all mischievous and lighthearted, saying, "It's kind of a funny story, old man. We met this witch a while back. She had a wicked sense of humor. It turns out all kinds of crazy things happen when you piss off a witch."
Tommy frowned, still sitting in his chair, rubbing his hands together. He was quiet. Too quiet? His smile faded. "Why are you scared, Damon? It's been a long time since I've seen you scared."
Damon laughed, and it almost seemed carefree. "Nobody's scared of you, Tommy. You're not that impressive. Just do me a favor and be nice to my girl."
Tommy snorted a laugh. Then all of a sudden he leaned forward, examining Damon's face with care and curiosity. Like he'd seen something. His eyes widened. The "old friend" leapt from his chair and zoomed towards Damon. Damon flinched. The man ran a finger along Damon's jawline.
"Boys, boys!" came Caroline's overly cheery voice. Elena smiled weakly at her friend, grateful they had some protection. Caroline was dressed in a blue sundress. She looked so young. She always looked so young. Forever seventeen. But below the friendly expression, and air of innocence, her eyes were made of steel.
"What is this here?" Tommy asked quietly, tracing Damon's jawline.
Damon swatted his hand away. "Getting a little friendly, aren't you?" he snapped.
"Did you cut yourself shaving?"
"No!"
"It's a tiny cut, but it's there. It hasn't healed. What the fuck is going on?" Tommy said, his voice not quite menacing but not quite friendly either. This whole encounter was getting less friendly by the second.
The boarding house door flew open again. Bonnie rushed out and ran toward them. She was dressed in jeans and a faded t-shirt, but her hair flew behind her and she had an air of power, even regal-ness, about her.
Bonnie looked menacing. Unlike Caroline, she no longer looked like a child, but like a woman. "Let him go!" the witch shouted. Elena realized that during her time asleep, her old friend had really grown into herself. There was none of the novice left in her. None of the scared little girl who lost her grandmother and suffered because she wasn't sure where her loyalties lay, because she didn't trust herself. "I don't know who you are," Bonnie said, still loud though no longer shouting. Her voice was even, commanding. "I need you to step away from my friends. Hands up. Fangs in."
Tommy stayed put, his finger still on Damon's jawline, his touch seeming oddly familiar. "Or what?" he asked.
"Or this." Bonnie raised her right hand and focused her eyes on Tommy's skull.
Tommy clutched his head, cried out, and dropped to the ground. Elena began to breathe again.
"Sick-ing a witch on me?" Tommy screamed as the magical aneurism continued.
Bonnie smiled, a small smile, a wicked one.
Damon looked utterly defeated as he watched this strange vampire — who Elena surmised to be his oldest friend, a boy he'd once thought of as almost family — writhing on the ground. "Enough, Bonnie."
Bonnie dropped her hand with a look of disgust. "So, who's this idiot?" she asked.
"It's fine, Bon," Damon said, the defeat dripping from his voice. "I didn't ask you to do that. Fell, I didn't ask her to do that."
Fell. Elena was right.
Tommy remained on the ground, clutching his head. "For fuck's sake, she did it anyway, Damon. Do you know how that feels?"
"Yes," Damon and Bonnie replied at the same time. Damon's lips twitched into a tiny smile.
"What kind of witch are you working with? Is this the crazy one?" Tommy asked, still rubbing his temples. "That was some serious mojo."
Damon's brows rose. "Bennett witch. At my age, I don't settle for anything else."
Tommy looked up, curious. "As in Emily's family?"
Caroline had been hovering nearby, looking like she was trying to decide whether to attack or not. Now she zoomed over to Tommy and pulled out a syringe. Vervain? She was about to prick Tommy in the shoulder. He looked too weak from the witchy aneurism to fight her off.
"What the hell?" came another voice.
Caroline froze.
Elena glanced at the front door to see a bespectacled man in a t-shirt, cut-offs, and flip-flops standing at the threshold. His jaw hung open. He didn't look like he understood enough to be frightened. He just looked utterly baffled.
"Sajen?" Elena asked. "What are you doing here?"
Sajen stood there, mouth still open, clearly unable to answer her question.
"Oh great," Damon snapped, his usual mouthiness returning. "Who was supposed to be watching Sajen? Can't I leave someone in the kitchen for five minutes?"
Bonnie sighed, glancing at the poor clueless human. "I'm sorry, Damon. But Caroline was running outside like something was on fire, and I —"
"Had to stick your nose in?" Damon snapped.
Bonnie rolled her eyes.
Tommy scrambled to his feet, tackled Caroline, and disarmed her, knocking the vervain needle out of her hand. "You're a young one," he said as he easily tossed the blond vampire aside.
Caroline landed on her back a couple feet away. She climbed to her feet, fuming. If smoke could come out of her ears, it would be doing that now. Elena had to stop herself from laughing. She reminded herself that this situation could still fall apart into a million terrible pieces.
Damon threw up his hands, obviously annoyed out of his mind. "Could everyone stop the insanity and say hello to Sajen, my bar manager?"
Sajen smiled weakly. He raised a tentative hand in a tentative wave.
"Are we going to have a conversation about why that cut isn't healing? Whatever it is, I'm going to figure it out anyway!" Tommy snapped.
"No," Damon snapped back before whispering, "Clueless human behind you. Pull yourself together, man."
"Not expendable?" Tommy murmured, so quietly Elena could barely hear him.
"No!" she and Damon shot back.
Sajen stood just outside the Salvatore front door, looking so ordinary, his clothes clearly bought at some bargain shop, his face scruffy with five o'clock shadow, as if he hadn't bothered to shave before jumping in his car to come check on Damon. That's why he was here, right? To check on Damon? Her husband was so clueless: he hadn't realized he'd made a friend. And now the friend was unwittingly facing down a vampire. Who may or may not be one of the good ones. Who was definitely not inspiring Elena with confidence.
Fuck. Elena rarely cursed, even internally, but fuck, fuck, fuck.
Tommy was back to scrutinizing Damon. "Bar manager?" he asked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
The baby kicked, hard. Elena placed a hand on her belly, wondering if the fetus was trying to tell her something. If she was, she was not being clear, not in the least.
"I own a bar," Damon said. "This guy works there with me."
"As in you have an investment property?" Tommy asked. "Or you have a job?"
"Both," Damon said, his lips twitching into a smile.
"You have a job?" Tommy asked.
Sajen snorted, seemingly in disbelief, of this or the whole scene. "Out of all of this, that's the thing you want to talk about? That Damon has a job? By the way, who are you, and why did you just throw that girl on the ground. Is she okay? Miss?"
"I'm fine!" Caroline snapped, clearly bristling at the indignity of being thrown down so easily.
"You're one of the school kids, right?" Sajen asked. "Damon, should I get Alaric, make sure she's okay? Or maybe Caroline?"
Elena frowned. "Sajen, that is Caroline! You've met."
The bar manager looked flustered as hell. "Oh, um, god," he stammered. "It's just been a long time, and I didn't. I mean, you look so young. You looked different last time."
Caroline sighed and muttered, "This always happens when I go out without makeup."
Elena smiled sympathetically at her friend, knowing that the non-aging was beginning to catch up to her. At some point she would need to move and create a new identity. But Caroline wasn't ready to give up her home yet, or her real self. Right now, everyone knew she was the girls' mother. But in a few years, that would seem preposterous. There was talk, in a couple years, of her faking her death and then reappearing as a fictional Forbes cousin, someone who was supposed to be 17.
For some idiotic reason, Sajen pressed on, asking Caroline, "How old were you when you and Stefan got married?"
Elena and Damon glared at him.
"Oh, right. Don't talk about Stefan. Very sorry. But seriously, how old are you? Can you even legally drink?"
"Wait, wait, wait," Tommy interjected, looking both enthralled and excited. "Who had the misfortune of marrying Stefan? This feisty young one? And why is everyone getting married? We don't do that."
Elena grabbed Damon's hand, willing him to maintain his cool.
Damon was grinning maniacally and saying nothing. She never liked it when he got this quiet.
Finally, she said, "Tommy, meet Caroline Forbes-Salvatore."
"A Forbes?" he asked. "Interesting. My buddy here marries a Gilbert, and Saint Stefan married a Forbes. Very interesting. And where is the groom? On that note, why has no one mentioned him up to now?"
Utter quiet. Even Sajen had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.
Tommy laughed. Elena squeezed her husband's hand, wondering why this old friend of his was laughing when it should be obvious what was going on. But then the vampire said, "Stefan went off the rails again didn't he? Full ripper binge?"
Elena squeezed Damon's hand again, and kept squeezing, hoping to keep him from doing something stupid in front of Sajen.
"Dude, have a little respect." Sajen said in a low voice. Elena had never seen him angry before. But his mouth was set in a firm line and he looked ready to punch someone.
Tommy laughed again. "Dude," he said, condescension dripping from his words. "You should show me a little respect. Damon, can you get your errand boy in line here? And tell all the children they can call me Mr. Fell or sir, but never 'dude.' "
"Wait, he's a Fell?" Caroline asked, and Elena could hear the Founder in her voice. In this moment, Caroline wasn't terrified or angry. She was excited, and, no doubt, ready to tie Tommy down so she could listen to a story of what it was like back in the wild west days of Mystic Falls.
Damon gripped Elena's hand so tightly she thought her hand would break. He was pale. Was he shaking? Or was that her? Elena tried to speak, but no words came out. Then the baby kicked. Hard. Not meaning to, she clutched her belly.
Damon let go of her hand and turned to face her. "You okay?" he asked. His hand brushed her cheek lightly.
Elena nodded. "She's just kicking."
"You don't look like that when she's just kicking."
"She just kicked really hard. It's over," Elena said, though the baby continued to move around, as if she were unhappy about something. Could she hear what was going on? Elena had read that even ordinary fetuses could hear when they were in the womb. She was supposed to play classical music and talk to the baby each day, which she did. Damon had surprised her with a genuine love of Vagner and Mozart. She'd read that if you lived someplace noisy, like an apartment on a busy road with tons of traffic, that the baby would be able to sleep through noise. He would be used to noise from birth.
But could little girl Gilbert-Salvatore hear what they were saying? Or sense her mother's fear?
Before Elena, Damon, Caroline, or Bonnie could do anything about Tom, the strange vampire whooshed from his spot on the lawn to right in front of Sajen. Vamp speed. Great.
"You are going to shut up right now," Tommy hissed menacingly at Sajen. Elena couldn't see his eyes from where she stood, but she'd bet everything she owned that Tommy's pupils dilated as he spoke.
Sajen's eyes were wide as he said, "How the hell did you do that?"
Damon let go of Elena and ran over to Sajen and Tommy. "Easy, buddy," he said. She wasn't sure if he was addressing Sajen or Tommy.
Sajen kept talking for reasons passing understanding. Why wasn't he frightened. "Did you see that Damon?" he said.
Damon rubbed his eyes and chuckled.
"Did you see that, Elena? This guy just zoomed over. It was like magic!" When Elena and Damon didn't answer, Sajen began to laugh. "Seriously, guys. What just happened? Bonnie, tell me I'm not crazy."
Elena turned towards Bonnie, who shrugged.
Damon reached out towards Tommy, putting his hands on the vampire's shoulders and lightly pushing him backwards. Tommy took a step back. "What are you playing at, old man?" Damon asked softly. His voice was different than it had been before. Menacing. Taunting. Less human. "You trying to get me in trouble?"
"I don't know, old man," Tommy said. "I've lost track of the secrets you're keeping. From me. From him. Does your wife even know what you are? Do you give her vervain?" He shoved Damon, who stumbled backwards, clearly struggling to not fall over. Since he didn't fall down, Tommy couldn't have pushed him hard.
"Oh, she knows," Damon purred.
"And what exactly are you?" Tommy asked.
"I'm the only one left who knew you before you were this," Damon said, almost too quietly for Elena to hear. "I'm the reason you're alive. Ish. And I know you better than you know yourself. So how about you settle down and be grateful I haven't ended you for being a dick."
Tommy laughed and assumed a fighting stance. "Come and get me, old man. Show me what you've got."
Damon rolled his eyes.
Tommy grinned. "Because, see, here's the thing. If you could do that, you would have done me in already. You would never have let witchy and blondie here do your dirty work. So either you're afraid to show the missus what you're capable of," Tommy said, his voice rising on every word. He seemed thrilled at his deductive reasoning. Very self-congratulatory, that was the spirit of Tommy's speech. "Or you can't. And I'm pretty sure it's the latter. There's something wrong with you, Damon. I don't know what it could be. Are you sick? Can we get sick?"
Damon said nothing as he unfastened his cufflinks and began rolling up the sleeves of his black dress shirt.
"And when you're done explaining all that," Tommy said, his grin widening, "You can tell me why preggo here looks like Katherine Pierce. I mean, if it weren't for the gigantic belly on this one, I'd just assume you were back with that she-devil."
Elena was trying to decide whether she was more upset at being called "preggo" or at how close Tommy was to figuring out their secret. She was watching Tommy, trying to gauge how much of a threat he was, when the baby began kicking like crazy. And then the world swirled in front of her. Elena struggled to stay standing, as images rushed through her mind. There was Tommy, in nineteenth century clothing, grabbing Damon's arm and yelling something about Katherine. He was warning Damon not to trust the snake. Something about her being too good to be true. And how everyone in town knew she was playing both brothers. And there they were again, their clothing still old-fashioned but it was a different period, later. The kind of clothing people wore in movies that were set around 1900. Victorian. Tommy was cajoling Damon into a rickety-looking race car, clearly a very early model. Damon looked awful, wooden, emotionally shut down. Tommy was telling him that he needed to feel human again, to get his mind off the snake, and maybe driving this insane automobile would remind him he wasn't altogether dead. And there they were, covered in soot from the car racing, talking a mile a minute, and Damon was smiling, laughing, looking young and alive again.
One last scene flew through her mind. It was hazier than the others.
Tommy stood next to Damon and Elena as something or someone came at them. Tommy threw himself in front of the two humans, snarling. Now Tommy seemed to be wrestling a person who was stronger than him. Another vampire? Someone older? Just as it seemed like the attacker, a woman, was going to win, Damon stepped into the fray and shoved a stake into the woman's chest. The vampire writhed, turned gray, and went still. Damon jumped back, looking relieved, as Tommy sat up and clapped him on the back. "Thanks, old man," Tommy told Damon as the vision faded.
Elena gasped and opened her eyes. She found herself on the ground, clutching her stomach. Damon had his arms wrapped around her, protectively. Everyone else was huddled around her, even Tommy and Sajen. Matt and Alaric had also joined the fray.
They all looked concerned. Even Tommy.
Elena locked eyes with her husband and gave him a shaky smile. "You can trust him," she said.
###
Damon crouched next to Elena, trying to envelope her voluptuous body in his arms. He noticed how thin her arms were, still, despite the protruding stomach. How fragile she seemed, especially now, after she'd almost collapsed, and had to be lowered to the ground, her eyes rolled up into her head, her muscles slack. She had become better at hiding the attacks, so why was this one so obvious? It was as if the witch gods wanted Tommy to find out all their secrets. Damon was far too aware of Tommy crouching next to him, saying nothing. If this attack harmed Elena in any way, Damon was going to kill the vampire, friend or no friend.
Caroline, Bonnie, and Sajen were all huddled around them. Waiting. Elena was probably only out a minute or two. But it felt like a lifetime. When she finally opened her eyes, Damon let out a long, shaky breath. He hadn't realized it, but he'd been holding his breath.
"You can trust him," she said.
Damon glanced at Tommy, who looked equally bewildered. "You mean Tommy?" he asked softly.
"Of course," she said. "Now somebody help me up or we'll be here all day."
Damon couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed both of her hands and hoisted her up. Once on her feet she brushed dirt off her maternity pants and said, "I'm starving. There's food inside, Care?"
Caroline nodded, smiling. "I've done extra shopping this week, just for you."
"Good. Damon, why don't you bring your friend in, and we can talk about this over dinner?"
Damon's eyes widened. He whispered, "You want me to invite him in? You're that sure?"
"Yes."
Damon mulled this over. The house was in his, Ric's and, Caroline's names, which meant that only he could and Ric could invite a vampire inside. It seemed too big a risk, just letting Tommy in today. If they didn't let him in today, they could always do it tomorrow. But they could never take back the invitation.
"Damon," Elena whispered, grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the house. "I saw him saving our lives. And I saw you two, in the past. He was warning you about Katherine. He called her a snake. He was a real friend to you, wasn't he? Even after …"
Damon nodded.
"It would be a show of good faith," she said. "I think it's what we're supposed to do. I think the baby wants us to trust him. I think Tommy could be important."
He nodded, then dropped her hand as he turned to the rest of the group. "Sajen, my friend," he said, his voice kinder than he expected. "You have no idea what it means to me that you came all the way to make sure we were okay. But as you can see I've got a couple crazy friends here to deal with, and having you here makes me nervous about the bar. Okay? Can you go back and make sure she's doing okay? Who did you leave in charge, by the way?"
Sajen stared back at them, incredulous. "Um, how about no? I'm not going anywhere."
Damon glowered at the bar manager. "Get the hell out of here, or I will freaking fire you. You get that?"
"Look," Sajen whispered to Damon. "I don't know what's going on here, but Elena needs to get to the hospital and this guy needs to leave. Like now."
"I need you to shut up," Damon spit out the words between gritted teeth.
"Were you dumb enough to give this idiot vervain without telling him what you were?" Tommy said. "Also, I'm not a total monster. If Elena needs to go to the hospital, she should go. Hey Blondie, why don't you take Miss-Not-Quite-Katherine-Pierce to the hospital?"
Caroline cleared her throat. "You know, he has a point. Elena let's get you in the car."
"No!" his wife snapped.
"She's right," Matt said quietly.
"Lena," Caroline said, sounding really worried now. "Let the boys handle boy stuff. Bonnie can stay here and keep this asshole in the line."
Sajen barked out a laugh. Though it didn't sound like he found anything funny at this point. "What is Bonnie supposed to do? Unless she has a magical ability to fly around?"
Damon shook his head, telling Caroline, "I don't want Elena out of my sight. Who knows who else is in town. Call Meredith. Get her over here. And tell her she's going to have to watch her back when she gets here."
Caroline ran inside.
"Who'd you leave in charge?" he asked Sajen, his voice sharp, businesslike. He never talked to Sajen like this. He rarely used this kind of tone with any of his staff. Which was weird. Was he being too nice to people since he'd turned human?
Sajen looked embarrassed as he mumbled, "Dougie."
Damon laughed, not kindly. "Dougie can barely pour a drink without sloshing it all over the place. What do you think's gonna happen if something happens while you're gone? Like if a bar fight breaks out?"
"It's Charlottesville."
Damon glared at him. "How many fights did you break up last week?"
Sajen sighed, saying, "Three, but one was just a couple college girls shoving at each other."
"And imagine how Dougie would cope with that? And, by the way, that sounds like the beginning of a porno, so how about you get your ass back to Charlottesville and see if you can get some action after you break up the next two college girls who shove at each other? There might be hair pulling next time," Damon said, waggling his eyebrows as he pushed Sajen towards his car. "Okay, now everybody say goodbye to Sajen."
Sajen was fighting against Damon, but Damon just shoved him harder. They were almost to Sajen's old Camry when Elena sprang into action. Though "sprang" might have been too strong a word. She tried to run to them, but running didn't work anymore. So she half-walked, half-waddled over to her husband and his favorite employee.
Elena grabbed Damon's arm and said, "You can't." Her words sounded like ice.
Damon's eyebrows rose. Shocked, he said, "I thought you'd be all for this."
"Not like this," Elena said, her voice still hard and icy.
"Well, what do you want me to do with him?" he asked.
She pulled Damon away from Sajen, until they were far enough to whisper without the barman hearing them. "Talk to him," she whispered. "Wait 'til the vervain is gone. I don't know, Damon. Bribe him if you have to. But you can't let him leave like this. He's going to get five miles down the road and realize how fucked up everything is. And then he's either going to be afraid of you or he'll be so curious he'll have to find out everything. Maybe he'll come back to try to fight Tommy. Or he'll try to turn us all in. If Matt brushes him off — and I'm not entirely sure he would be on our side, given the picture on the Honeycutt girl's phone — Sajen could always go the police in Charlottesville."
"You want me to trust Tommy, but not Sajen?" Damon asked, incredulous.
"Tommy is listening in," she reminded him.
"That I am!" Tommy shouted. "And the only reason I haven't ripped into anybody yet is that I've known you since 1845."
"When my family came to Mystic Falls. Before it was Mystic Falls," Damon murmured to Elena.
She smiled faintly, as if excited to learn this fact he'd never mentioned before, even in the midst of this hurricane of craziness.
"That's a joke, right?" Sajen asked, still apparently clueless.
"Yes!" Damon and Elena shouted.
Tommy whispered something, clearly intending it for Damon's ears, though Damon wasn't close enough to hear. Trying to pretend that he still had vamp hearing, Damon rolled his eyes at Tommy, but said nothing.
Tommy narrowed his eyes at Damon.
"Are you guys into something weird?" Sajen asked.
And now Damon started laughing. Pure, stupid, unhinged laughter. As everyone watched him like he behaved like a crazy person, he kept laughing, bending over when his stomach clenched he was laughing so hard.
"Damon!" Elena said sharply. "This isn't funny!"
Catching his breath, he said, "Oh, it's funny. It's so not funny, it's hilarious."
Tommy began to chuckle.
"You better settle down," Bonnie snapped at Tommy.
"What about this situation is funny?" Elena kept at him.
"Well, let's see," he said, trying to pull himself together. "You want me to invite Tommy in, but you won't send Sajen home. Sajen doesn't know anything. Not even one lick. But you think we should keep him here until we convince him to not make a fuss. Or maybe you want to lock him in the dungeon." Seeing the barman's ashen face he said, "I'm kidding, Sajen. We aren't monsters. It's not like we're vampires or anything."
Sajen's eyes widened.
"I know, that would be crazy, right?" Damon said, trying to reassure the guy, trying to figure out what he could possibly tell him.
Tell his friend.
Yes, Sajen was a friend. This is why he tried to never make friends. They were the worst kind of liability, second only to women he loved.
After a long pause, he leaned towards Sajen and said quietly, "Can you come back inside the house? I've got a story for you."
Sajen nodded, finally looking frightened. Finally, he seemed to take in the gravity of the situation.
"By the way," Damon said. "Where's Alex? Is she somewhere safe?"
"With her mother," Sajen told him.
Damon groaned. "Really? Isn't your ex a crazy person? Will she be okay if you stay the night?"
"I'm not supposed to get her until the weekend. And her mother is … well she is crazy. But she keeps her safe."
"Really?"
"Don't worry."
Damon nodded, but felt like the gravity of the situation was beginning to weigh him down too. If he got Sajen killed, the cute, albeit annoying, child would be fatherless. This day was awesome.
Now Damon sidled up next to Caroline. "Elena wants us to invite this idiot inside. Tommy. I know he didn't make the best first impression, but you did come at him with a vervain needle."
Caroline looked thoughtful. "Did she see something while she was out?"
He nodded.
"I don't know, Damon. It seems like an awfully big risk to take."
Damon shrugged, saying, "I know. But I've known Tommy Fell my whole life. He was a decent guy alive. He was a decent guy dead. He's never screwed me over. If there's anyone outside our little circle of misfits we can trust, it's him. And if we don't start showing him that we're willing to trust him, and that we're worth his trust, we could lose him as an ally."
Caroline nodded. "He is a Fell. That's something. I can't wait to tell Meredith."
He rolled his eyes. "Can I invite him in?"
Caroline let out a long shaky breath as she said, "Fine. Go with your gut. Or Elena's gut. Or the baby's gut. But be careful."
Damon smiled tightly at her before running up beside Tommy, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder, and leading him to the front door. He felt downright excited. Maybe this would all work out. Maybe he'd have his friend back. Maybe there was nothing to furrow anyone's brow. Damon pulled away so that he could open the door. He stepped inside and grinned, realizing this was his first time inviting a vampire into the boarding house since he'd become human again. There was something satisfying about having the power to deny or allow entrance. "Old friend, would you please come in?"
Tommy's eyes widened as Damon stepped aside, giving him room to enter. Tommy stuck his foot towards the threshold, clearly still expecting to meet an invisible barrier. His foot went through. It was just air now. Tommy sucked in a quick breath as he stepped inside. "What the hell, man?" he asked Damon.
Damon grinned wickedly. "Welcome to the house of weird."