Damage control

A/N: There have been questions from readers as to why Elena wasn't notified by the authorities about the car accident. Here's the thing: I have looked into several crime/accident stories, where the police had failed to notify the next of kin. It can happen. In my story, Alaric managed to get to the scene quite fast and therefore was a lot quicker about notifying Damon. I hope this explains why I let Alaric be the one to tell about the car crash. Now on to an emotional chapter…

The hospital.

People are rarely there for joyous occasions. It is a place of pain, diseases, blood and sometimes death. Most of the faces you see walking around, are worried about a loved one. Sometimes it's just a minor impairment; the person they worry about will be fine and healed and walk out of the hospital unscathed. But sometimes, it is a place for the beginning of the end. Damon hoped that he and Elena would be part of the first group; that they would turn the corner and find Charlotte sitting up in a hospital bed, screaming her lungs out for her mother.

Damon's legs almost didn't want to carry him. His stomach was in knots. What would the doctors tell them about Charlotte? Elena was clinging to his arm, asking for silent support. Damon couldn't see her face. Her head was held down as they waited for news, her hair masking her face. But he didn't have to see it to know how torn up she looked; how her eyes were fearful, her cheeks tear-stained. Together, they were pacing the children's ward. Waiting.

After what seemed like a lifetime, a doctor finally approached them. The man's face revealed nothing, and Damon almost didn't want to hear what he had to say. He wasn't sure if his heart could handle it if they were told Charlotte was severely injured.. or worse..

Next to him, Elena squeezed his arm in fear. It was like all the air was sucked from the room. Life got put on hold and everything turned to slow motion. The doctor halted in front of them, searching their faces with his blank eyes.

"Miss Gilbert?" The man asked.

"Yes. Please… My daughter..," Elena's voice pleaded.

"I'm Doctor Jensen. Shall we sit down for a second?"

Damon watched as Elena violently shook her head.

"I don't want to sit down. Please tell me about my daughter."

"Very well. I examined your daughter as she was brought in after the car accident. The collision she was in was..severe. She suffered from several internal bleedings. However, I was able to stabilize her. She's not out of the woods yet, though. Time will tell how she pulls through this."

Damon's heart almost stopped as he watched Elena crumble next to him. Soft sobs wracked her body as she sank down in one of the hospital chairs.

"O my god," she cried.

Damon swallowed, trying to clear his dry throat as he addressed the doctor.

"What about head trauma?"

Doctor Jensen looked down.

"We're not sure about the extent of that. We'll know more as soon as she wakes up. For now, we are monitoring her very closely. We're doing all that we can, sir."

"I want to see her," Elena whispered brokenly. "Please."

Doctor Jensen nodded.

"Of course. This way."

Damon held onto Elena as tight as he could, afraid of what they would find in that hospital room. What would Charlotte look like? Would she lie broken in a bed?

He shook the thought away. He needed to be strong here. Elena needed him. Charlotte needed him. He had to stay positive for both of them.

As they reached Charlotte's room, he prepared himself, straightening his back.

The first thing that hit him was the sound of a heart monitor. It sounded loudly in his ears, but it seemed to be a good and steady rhythm. That must mean that Charlotte's heart was strong. There was a small, iron hospital bed in the middle of the room where the little girl lay. His heart squeezed in his chest as she came into view. She was hooked on so many wires, it was frightening. He just needed to remember that they were there to help her. She looked so small and frail in her bed. How did Stefan let this happen? How could he get himself into a car accident with a little girl strapped in the back seat?

He didn't even know how Stefan was doing. At this moment, he didn't particularly care. Charlotte was his priority.

Charlotte, with the curly blonde hair (probably her father's hair) and the big, toothless grin. Her beautiful, brown eyes were closed now and Damon almost willed them to open. There was no way that this sweet baby girl would be damaged because of her father's actions. He wouldn't allow it! If she pulled through this, he was going to protect her and spoil her rotten. There was no way she was ever going to be out of his sight again!

"Hey baby, it's mommy. Listen to me, you're going to get better, okay? Because you can't leave me. I'm going to be so upset with you if you do. We still have so many things to do together. You just have to come back to me, okay? Can you do that for mommy?" Elena cried next to Damon.

He watched as she stroked her daughter's small hand.

"Your mom is right, Charlotte. I know that we don't know each other for all that long, but I love you already. You still need to give me and your mom some grief. I want to chase you around the yard when you learn how to walk. I want to watch cartoons together. Hell, I want to kick some boyfriends out when you turn into a teenager!"

Elena raised her eyebrows at his words and he tried to ignore the embarrassment that crept over him.

"That is, if your mom will tolerate ME for that long," he quickly said.

What the hell was he thinking?! They hadn't been dating long enough to talk about the future!

Luckily for him, Elena gave him a small smile and stepped into his arms.

"She's going to be okay, right Damon? Please tell me that she's going to be okay?"

Her voice broke when she spoke the last word and he could do nothing but hold her.

"Excuse me," a voice behind them interrupted the moment.

Damon turned around to see Katherine Pierce standing in the doorway; she was as pale as a ghost and her eyes were red from all her crying. That must mean that Stefan wasn't doing all that great either. He held Elena a bit tighter. He wasn't sure if she was able to take another hit of bad news.

"I'm sorry, I.. Stefan.. He sent me to find out how Charlotte is doing. How is she?"

Damon almost let out a sigh of relief at the news that Stefan was still alive, but it was short lived. His anger for the man got the best of him again. He let go of Elena and stood in front of Katherine, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Couldn't he come himself?" he questioned.

Katherine shook her head.

"He's.. He has broken both of his legs. He can hardly move."

"It sounds to me that he still got a better deal out of this than his daughter," Damon bit at her.

Katherine's eyes widened as she turned her head towards the small bed that held Charlotte.

"Please.. Tell me if she's going to be okay," she pled.

"No, Katherine. I cannot tell you that, because I don't know. She's fighting for her life because of your dear Stefan! This is his fault! The vendetta he has created in court has landed us all here. If he hadn't lost his cool.. if he didn't come over to Elena's house to make a scene and upset himself, his ex-wife and his daughter, none of this would have happened! I blame him and you can go back and tell him that if he wanted a war, he's got one now! He took Elena to court to take away her daughter? Well, I'm taking HIM to court now. If Charlotte doesn't pull through, I'll sue him for all he's got. I'll make sure he lands in jail!"

Damon took a step closer to Katherine and glared at her menacingly.

"The tables are turned now. He will NEVER get custody again."

Katherine opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she turned around and began to walk away. She took one last stop in the doorway.

"Stefan didn't do this on purpose, you know. We all love Charlotte here. I sincerely hope that she pulls through."

With those words she disappeared from sight.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know this is not really my fight anymore. They just make me so angry," Damon said.

Elena wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his chest.

"I love you for trying to help me. But Katherine's right. Don't get me wrong. I'm very upset with Stefan about all this and he will get what's coming to him, but he wouldn't intentionally hurt our daughter. That's why I want to go and find him. I want to know what happened."

Damon shook his head.

"I'll do it. I don't want you shaken up any further. You need to be here for your daughter. I'll talk to Stefan about the accident. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, I'll go and get you a bit of water first. I don't want you dehydrated. I'll be right back."

Damon kissed Elena's forehead and quickly made it towards a water tank. There, he found Alaric pacing the hallway.

"Damon. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. The police wanted to take my statement. How is she?"

Damon sighed.

"It's bad. She had some internal bleeding. We are waiting to see how she pulls through this."

Alaric's face fell with the news.

"I'm sorry. How is Elena holding up?"

"She's tough. But I don't know what will happen if Charlotte doesn't make it. She won't survive that."

Alaric watched his best friend closely, examining him.

"And how are YOU holding up?"

Damon turned, busying himself with filling a cup with water.

"I'm okay," he stoically said.

"You don't always have to be the tough guy, you know. I'm here for you," Ric let him know.

Damon felt the tears pricking behind his eyes. He could barely stop them.

"Come on, man," his best friend said, before enveloping him in a quick hug.

"I can't lose her, Ric. I can't lose THEM!"

"I know."

After a few seconds, Damon's guard went back up. He had to be strong for Elena.

"I'm okay now. I'll just bring this to Elena."

He quickly made it back to the room. Apparently, quick wasn't enough..

The sight in Charlotte's hospital room made him drop the water. He froze for a second, before hurrying towards an unconscious Elena, lying on the floor.

What the hell had happened during the time that he was gone?!

"Elena! Elena, wake up!" he almost screamed.

This couldn't be happening!

"Elena!"

"Damon? What's going on?"

Ric had come running from the hallway at the commotion and stopped at what he saw.

"Get a doctor, Ric! Now…."

Damon watched him from the doorway. Anger bubbled up inside of him because of all that this man had caused. He got off way too easy. Two broken legs? What the hell were two broken legs when your daughter was bleeding internally? When your ex-wife was probably so stressed out that she had fainted.

Some nurses were taking her blood now. He had practically ordered them to do it; he needed to be sure that her fainting spell was stress related. Charlotte being in the hospital was already enough. He couldn't bear it if Elena turned out to be sick too.

He watched as Stefan's face contorted in pain every time he moved an inch. His legs were in a cast and propped up on the bed. He was holding a picture in his hands, staring at it with hollow eyes. Tears were making their way down his cheeks.

Damon almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

He didn't come down here to feel sorry for the man. He came here to throttle him!

When he stepped into the room, Stefan's eyes turned to him; his face a mix of hope and pain.

"My daughter?" he almost begged.

Damon didn't say anything to him. His legs carried him closer towards Stefan's bed; his entire posture rigid with anger. He raised his hand towards Stefan; it was aimed at his neck.

"Please," Stefan whispered, but it wasn't because he was afraid of what Damon might do to him.

It was because of absolute pain. Pain for his daughter. Pain for what he had caused.

"Please," he said again.

He broke into tears, desperately looking up at Damon.

Damon himself felt tears welling up in his eyes. He tried to keep them at bay. Anger and hurt were battling inside of him. His hand was still going for Stefan's neck, but there was something in the way that Stefan was looking at him. Pleading him with his eyes. Damon tried to block it out. The fight was visible in his crystal blue eyes; fury shooting out of them, while hot tears finally made their way down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry."

His hand finally froze and landed on Stefan's shoulder instead. It was a simple act; an act that caused Stefan to erupt into bursts of tears. He latched onto Damon's wrist for comfort, while Damon let him cry it out. His own tears couldn't be held back as he wept with his enemy for a girl they both loved….

My god, I know it's horrible what I'm doing to you here! This was one angst filled chap. But I needed to write this. Maybe also for my own benefit. I needed a good cry and this chapter delivered. My life is just a mess right now. I'm not going to bother you with the details, because you're here to read a story. So I hope you'll cry along with this chapter and smile with the next, because boy..do I have a good surprise for you! And DE of course ;) Actually, I have two surprises… Feel free to speculate about them in a review ;)

Thank you! And a special thank you to my beta Jaana, who's been a huge help in ALL of my stories. She listens to my ideas, my worries, my rants and corrects my mistakes. I love you, hun!

Twitter: Sandy1983b