Stefan's POV

"Hello, Stefan" he was the first to speak up, but I didn't make a move at all. I could feel aunt Sarah somewhere behind me, afraid to even breathe, while I stood there not even slightly intimidated by him. I've tensed, for some reason, but I wasn't afraid. I felt her gentle grip on my shoulder, she squeezed it slightly and stood between the two of us, ready to intervene if necessary. It almost made me laugh-I wouldn't fight this person, I would never use his methods, I would never put my hand on another human being, even if he was the person who made my childhood a living hell.

"It's so good to see you" the strange thing was, there was some sincerity in his voice, something I've never up until now heard coming from his mouth.

I let a small laugh out, shook my head and ran my hand through my ruffled, untidy hair.

"Stefan!" aunt Sarah scolded me silently but I didn't really pay any attention to her.

"Look" I finally began as I looked back at him, his eyes were blue, just like Damon's and now, they weren't cold nor were they threatening, if anything, I could only read guilt in them, which I had no interest in. He should've thought about all this when he could, not come here years later and try to play father.

"I'm tired like hell from working all day" I explained and he slightly furrowed his eyebrows, probably wondering how come I work at this age, though he had no idea Damon began doing so earlier than I did "I don't want to hear any of your explanations, just tell me why you're here and what you want so we can get this over with."

"Look, son, I-"

"I am not your son" I raised my voice suddenly getting angry with this whole thing. I was trying really hard to find strength inside me, not to collapse right now. I was getting weaker with every passing minute "I'm this woman's son" I nodded towards aunt Sarah "In many ways she's been both a father and a mother to me all those years while you were getting yourself drunk or didn't even care to call and ask how we're doing. So, I am not your son, just to make this clear." he nodded slightly, there were tears in his eyes, but I didn't feel bad for me being the reason he felt like this.

He wasn't here when Damon had to get me to the kitchen in the middle of the night and make me tea to soothe my coughs.

He surely wasn't here when I had nightmares and cried out in my sleep, waking everyone up.

He had no idea how much strength it took both my brother and aunt Sarah to keep me alive and safe to this day, something for which I could never repay them.

He doesn't know how hard it is to make them smile when they're worrying about the electricity bills. Or how much it hurts watching your brother sacrifice his childhood and notice how he grows up more and more with every passing day.

"The only reason I am standing here is because I owe aunt Sarah everything and she asked me to meet you" I continued explaining "And because I don't want you to get anywhere near my brother. If you want something out of us, you'll deal with me, not with them." I explained calmly now and I saw a glimpse of surprise in his eyes

Aunt Sarah was strangely silent, it felt like she's not in the room at all, she has moved to one of the chairs on the opposite side of the table and was calmly observing us-she was worried, I could sense it from here. She had too much on her plate lately and this was just another thing to worry-it was like an eternal cycle for her-problems came and go, but never stopped and she had to deal with everything, most of the times on her own.

I hated doing this to her, involving her in yet another thing. I couldn't understand why she was so benevolent towards my father, though and because I knew there was a reason for it, I figured I should wait and figure it soon enough, even if my patience has almost disappeared by this point.

"I know you want nothing to do with me" he began, his voice extremely silent and a bit hoarse, it was hard for me to distinguish the words. He was leaning on the table, somehow having the need to support himself, just like I was in a desperate need to grip the chair before me so I wouldn't fall. I didn't want to appear weak, though, so I tried very hard to contain my pain and crossed my arms on my chest

"And I have little hope you will believe anything I say, but I am not the same person I was when you were a child." I tried hard not to comment on this. He waited, obviously wishing I could say something, but when he saw it's pointless, he continued "I came down here to tell you I am dying." his words echoed through the kitchen.

I left my arms hung lifelessly and without realizing I took a step forward.

"What?" I was confused. What did he mean he was dying? He did seem weak, thin and in a need to support himself every time he's up, but I've stopped paying attention to all those things, simply because I was experiencing them almost all the time and so they didn't seem like anything unusual to me. Every time, I looked myself in the mirror, I saw a skinny, pale boy, who could collapse any minute if it wasn't for the medications to keep him awake.

"I have a liver disease" he explained patiently and calmly "Cirrhosis." then he smiled sadly as he took a step back and sat on the old wooden chair, which once upon a time was the place Damon occupied at dinner time.

So drinking screwed him up, I thought. He was dying because he's been mercilessly destroying bottle after bottle, losing himself in his own world, torturing both me and my brother.

And now he was dying.

He read my thoughts, though, which is why I guess he decided to continue

"I haven't had a drop of alcohol in five years." he sounded apologetically, even a little proud of himself. Well I wasn't. This man was not my father, he was a person I didn't know. And he had no right to come here and want anything out of me, yet there he was.

"Good for you." I said mockingly, trying to get myself together "Is it true?" I turned towards aunt Sarah, still not sure if this isn't some kind of charade in order to make me forgive him everything all of a sudden. I would never believe he's a different person, no matter what he does or says, simply because every time he opens his mouth, all I can think of is the way he pushed Damon, after which he hit his head and then there was blood everywhere. And I was just a kid, I had no idea what to do, I thought I'll lose him the same way I lost my mother-all of a sudden and without any warning and I would be all alone in this world.

As I thought of my brother, I realized if he could see father right now, he would punch him in the face and throw him out of here without even waiting for so much as a few minutes.

I promised myself, I would do whatever it takes to protect Damon and leave him out of this.

"I still don't get what do you want." I continued in the same bold, confident way. I needed this to be over. I wouldn't be able to stay up here for too much longer.

"Stefan" aunt Sarah finally intervined after a few minutes of complete silence, in which my father was obviously trying to come up with the right words and was failing. He seemed so old, so different from when I was a child, yet I could never get rid of the image in my head I had of him-his evil eyes, his strong hands that pushed me away and made me cry. "Your father is here, because you can help him."

"Help him?" I laughed "How on earth could I even do that?" I was talking to her, not paying any attention to him and his desperate movements or sighs. I stretched my hands, trying to point out that I'm not exactly the savior kind of guy-I was barely breathing on my own.

"I'm in the donor's list" my father spoke up again and raised his head in my direction "But it will take too long for them to find someone, so they suggested I could do a partial liver transplant." I furrowed my eyebrows. All this medical talking was confusing me.

"What does this even mean?" I still couldn't figure what any of this had to do with me or Damon. If he needed some surgery and came all the way here to ask for money, we surely didn't have that.

"It means I can survive" he finally spilled it up and aunt Sarah stood up and approached me even though my father was still talking "If someone agrees to donate a part of their liver to me."

"Let me guess" it suddenly became all clear to me "I am that person." she searched for my hand, but I pushed away from her. She knew all about this, and she must've known for a long time, she just preferred to stay silent. It was logical-I was his child, I could do this for him, moreover-I was expected to do it-he's my father after all right? And aunt Sarah knew well enough that even though I hate his guts, I won't have the heart to say no. I just couldn't understand why she was doing this in the first place-she should've kicked him the first time he stepped in her house. After all, she was the one who freed us from him all those years ago, she threatened him, she scared him and he was smart enough not to cross her, but just run away instead.

"We have the same blood types" he spoke up after a minute or so of us staring intensely at one another "Look, Stefan, I know you need some time to-"

"I'll do it" I spoke up and heard aunt Sarah gasp beside me, so I took another step away from her. I couldn't really deal with her now. My father stood up rapidly and gave me a wide smile, but I stretched my arm, so I wouldn't let him get any close to me-the mood in the room changed drastically-it became even more tensed. I felt my heart beating too fast, then again it could've been from the medications Gilbert was giving me, or I just wanted my father gone already and was trying hard to contain myself.

He opened up his mouth, probably to thank me, but I was fast enough to interrupt him

"Don't!" I raised my voice and I felt aunt Sarah slightly trembling next to me, which left me wondering if she was afraid of what I could do.

"Listen to me and you listen good" I began and watched him slightly nod, with a serious expression on his face "Both of you" I turned to aunt Sarah as well and she looked at me confused

"I'm going to do this, but Damon doesn't get involved in any way, do you understand?" I was staring at her, because I was well aware my father probably didn't even know where my brother was right now "I don't care what we do to keep him away from us while this is going on-if we have to, we lie to him, I'll even fight him and make him hate me, just to make sure he doesn't come back here and finds out about it."

"Stefan!" she raised her voice, ready to argue

"No. We do this my way or you can go to hell" I turned to my father "I don't give a damn about you dying, I am doing this for my brother and because I am well aware it's what my mother would want me do to, which is also the reason my aunt let you into your house in the first place" aunt Sarah nodded and bowed her head down.

I was right and it almost made me cry. She was doing I for her sister, trying to honor her, because even if father was awful with us, once upon a time he loved my mother, he made her happy, he was her entire world, even Damon remembers those days of his earliest childhood, when the man before me would get him to the park and play with him all day long.

Even if I didn't know this man, I had to do this for Damon, for my mother, because they knew him, they believed in him and they wouldn't want him to die like this.

"We'll go to Gilbert tomorrow." I announced yet another one of my decisions "He'll tell what we need to do and we'll do it. After everything's done, I don't want you to bother us anymore. I don't want you trying to find us or explain yourself. I don't want you anywhere near this house, near my aunt, her kids and surely nowhere near Damon, do we have an understanding?"

"Yes" he said silently, clearly not very happy with my demands, though he was realizing he doesn't really have any other choice.

"I want you to go now" I said it as a plead, but I was perfectly aware, that I had enough strength inside me to kick him out of here, I just wasn't willing to make any scenes, I wanted it over with. I'll let him take a part of me, I'm even willing to risk my life, but to just get rid of him. This surely wasn't the reunion he had planned for us-I guessed he wanted to explain himself, maybe even talk to me, try to bond, but I was far from those things.

In my world, I never had a father.

There was only Damon and aunt Sarah.

"Stefan" aunt Sarah called me up after we both heard the front door closing and I felt myself relax. I couldn't stand spending another minute in his company, I had no idea how much longer I'll have to look at his tired face.

"Please, I don't want to talk." I said and tried to leave, but she caught my hand and pulled me back to her. There were tears in her eyes, she was determined to speak to me

"Your mother would've been so proud of you" she almost stuttered but then she managed to get herself together and continue after she closed her eyes for a moment, only so the tears could roll down her face, and then she opened them back up and continued before I had the chance to interrupt her and tell her it's all fine "You're such a kind-hearted and generous person. You remind me so much of her when she was your age."

"Aunt Sarah…"

"I know what you'll say. That it's all fine" her voice was barely audible and she cupped my face in this motherly way, which was way too unfamiliar for me "You always say it's fine, but I know this is hard for you." I closed my eyes and looked away, feeling uncomfortable, but beyond all sad. She wasn't right-I haven't done anything for her, I could never be enough.

Not for her, not for my brother, so partly the reason, I was doing this, was because I wanted for once to do something right and help someone. I couldn't bear the thought of Damon having to deal with me or father right now-I would never allow it. He had so many things going on, he was starting yet another chapter of his life.

My life?

My life had no chapters. It was all one big fat moment in which I would be stuck forever-in my brother's eyes, in aunt Sarah's eyes I'll be the kid barely surviving the winter.

And that wouldn't change.

So at least now, I could have the chance to get my father off our backs and never let him see Damon and torture him with memories from the past.

"Come here" I heard her whisper and she pulled me to her chest. I can't remember when was the last time I felt like a child. Long ago, Damon would take me in his arms in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, he would tell me fairy tales. Aunt Sarah did the same when I was sick, though she held me by the fireplace so she would make sure I'm warm enough since I always shivered.

She rubbed my back for some time until we heard Wes's childish voice interrupt us

"Stefan?" he asked confused and when we finally parted I saw him rubbing the back of his head in that sweet childish way that made me smile. "Is everything alright?" he asked and he looked up at his mother.

"It's all fine, buddy" I assured him as I took a step forward and he ran towards me only to grip my leg and hold me tight as if he was afraid I could disappear somewhere "What are you up to, huh?" I asked as I picked him up in my arms and he cuddled in me. Aunt Sarah gave me another worried look, she thought I need to rest, but my tiredness has suddenly passed, so I took Wes to the couch and we started fighting and tickling each other.

It reminded me so much of when Damon and I were kids.

And it hurt just as much.

Gilbert's POV

I'm standing in the examination room in front of Stefan, his aunt and the man, who long ago used to be his father and whom I remember from when I was just a young intern in this hospital. He was always drunk-they usually got him in the intoxication room and kept him until morning in order get the alcohol out of his system completely. I was disgusted by him then, I still feel the same now.

"Stefan, this is very risky" I speak up, my voice is harsh, I'm trying very stubbornly to reason with him. I can't believe he's willing to do this for a man who left him behind. It wasn't safe, not for a kid who's still so young and surely not for a teenager with his lung problems.

I've been treating him for almost four years now. I've seen him barely breathing here in the hospital, or struggling while I was pumping up all sorts of medications into him while he silently obeyed to everything I sad.

He wasn't listening to me now. And I had no idea what to do, since it all came as a surprise to me.

"You said my liver is all fine." he argued once again

"Yes, but you are sick, do you understand that?" I try to reason with him once again "You're having troubles catching your breath every other day, you get pneumonia every winter."

"But it's summer now." he continued in the same stubborn way, I couldn't figure how any of the other adults in this room were willing to let him go with this. I understood the father was irresponsible and wanted to safe his ass, but his aunt? She was supposed to be the smart one!

"Yes, but you're still taking medications." I began calmly now "For someone to do this surgery, it would mean you have to stop taking them. Your system needs to be clean." he swallowed hard. He was well aware, the only reason he's been fine lately was because I gave him stronger pills "Once you stop the medications I'm giving you now, you'll feel worse. You most probably will get sick as well, because your immune system will be vulnerable."

"We're not doing this" his aunt interrupted us and squeezed Stefan's hand "I don't want him to have to go through more pain than he already is."

"I'll be fine" Stefan continued stubbornly, while his father remained speechless "You said I can do it. You said I'm in good health, well with the exception of my lungs. You said I'm strong enough!"

"Technically, you are." I continued as I put the chart on the desk opposite from the bed he was sitting on after I examined and made a few tests. He seemed tired. Too tired for a fourteen year old-there was this pain evident in his eyes and I knew well enough it wasn't from the fact he had a hard time breathing. His father was staring at the wall behind me somewhere, trying to figure out what to say if he even had the guts to do so.

I was pissed off!

What kind of a father was he? He was willing to risk his own child's life so he could continue living! From what I've heard, he even used to abuse them! And now he had the nerve to come down here and ask for them to save him?

"But you'll have a hard time recovering from the surgery. And even after it you'll experience numerous side effects from the pain medications we give you, including shortness of breath."

"As if I'm not having this now." he protested

"I think we should talk to your brother as well." I tried to convince him by involving Damon in the conversation as well, but that only made him even madder and he stood up abruptly

"No. Damon stays out of this." he was talking way too confidently for a teenager. It seemed to me as if he's been through just as much things in his life as I have and honestly, that wouldn't be far from the truth "Aunt Sarah is my guardian" he nodded towards her "She takes the decisions, my brother is not responsible for this."

"Stefan, I am not sure we-" his aunt, who had just the same tortured from the life facial expression as he did, tried to intervene, though without success.

"I want this over with" he raised his voice all of a sudden and turned to me, looking for a way out. Only now did I realize he was doing this not because he was so happy to help his father, but because he wanted to get rid of him "Please, sir, just do what you have to do. You know I can withstand pain. I'll stop the medications and I'll deal with this on my own, just do the surgery and get it done as soon as you can." he begged.

He was a child and he was asking me for a wait out.

I sighed and nodded, even though I warned him that if he gets worse before the surgery or I think he's not stable, I won't let him go with this. He said he'll be fine. Then again that's all I've heard him say.

I warned him we would need at least two weeks before going down with this.

From his chart, I remembered his birthday was somewhere in the middle of this month. What a great way to celebrate turning fifteen, I thought.

I couldn't stop thinking about what it must be like for him, even when I got home and watched Elena and Jeremy fight over the remote in the living room. I scolded them and they went silent-they knew well enough when to listen to me and when to pretend they're deaf. I was angry-at this world, at the fact that people like Stefan's father existed and tortured their kids in such a way that they were willing to risk their own life but to get them as far away from their family as possible.

I couldn't get rid of the feeling of sadness that consumed me after they left.

I couldn't shake it.

Simon's POV

I was taking my time climbing up the stairs leading to Stefan's door. It was a nice summer day and I knew he wouldn't be working. We've decided to go out for a walk, but he was too late, so I figured I should come by their house and see what's up with him-he was rarely late, except when he wasn't feeling good and I was hoping this wasn't the case.

His aunt opened the door for me and I felt her warm hand gently squeezing my shoulder, only so she could help me cross the doorstep. I usually tripped so much, even now my nose was a bit bruised cause I fell down the stairs the other day and scared mom out of her mind. Ever since Fletcher moved out with Jenny, I've been so careless and barely paying attention to anything.

If it wasn't for Stefan, I would've felt so alone. Only now did I understand what it was like when Damon was away all those years at college-it was hard. I was so used to having my brother around, I liked to lean on him when I felt weak, moreover he didn't need me to even say it, he felt it, and he came to talk to me. Now there wasn't anyone to notice things-my mother was buried in her own problems, she had to work and take care of Summer, dad was away again-working outside town with my eldest brothers, Fletcher was with Jenny and I found myself alone in this house more than twice a day, which is why I guess, I tripped so much and hurt myself. Summer had the tendency to leave her toys absolutely everywhere and after some time passed I just stopped using the cane-it made me feel too crippled.

I didn't feel like letting people lead me as well. I only allowed Fletcher when I was little, but now I never even thought of it and he didn't suggest it either. Stefan, though, he knew well enough when I'm confused and scared to make another step, which is why he put his hand on my shoulder and guided me. He knew I wouldn't ask him, I was too proud to do so, but he was smart enough to know when to do it and I was grateful for having him in my life. After all, he was my only friend and on many levels we understood each other like no one else could-we were both crippled, unable to really make another step forward, no matter what happens, simply because we are well aware we'll just make fools of ourselves. We leaned on each other often, without even having to use words. He knew I wasn't talkative when I was thinking about my brother or Caroline so he didn't push me, but he knew when it was time to be honest with me and he wasn't afraid to speak up.

In other words-he was the only person who knew what was going on in my life right now.

His aunt told me he was in the backyard, reading and I guessed he must've fallen asleep. He often did that when he was too tired, but refused to admit it and lay down in his bed like normal people.

"Hey, Stefan" I announced my presence, afraid that if I keep silent, I might just end up crashing somewhere in his chair and scare him. I heard his familiar coughing somewhere on my right side and waited patiently until I heard him standing up and trying to clear his throat

"Simon, buddy, I'm so sorry I must've fallen asleep" he started apologizing right away as he guided me to the chair next to him and helped me sit. He couldn't calm himself down, though and I furrowed my eyebrows feeling the need to just kick his ass and make him go to Gilbert already, though I knew it would be pointless since he would only say he's fine and let it all be as it was until now. He stretched for a glass of water on the table between us and in a minute or two he was finally all better, or so I thought since I couldn't see him. He sounded tired, though, there was this unusual type of sadness in his voice.

"It's okay" I said, still ignoring the fact he was a having a hard time catching his breath "I wasn't up to going to the Grill anyway. I'm in no mood to deal with Caroline or Elena if we stumble up on them."

"Couldn't have agreed more" he said sincerely and handed me a glass of tea, which his aunt probably made to soothe his coughs which meant he hasn't slept last night, not that this was something they weren't all used to by now, just like my mother was used to me getting myself dirty or hitting myself all the time and getting bruises all over my skinny body. "Is everything okay?" he asked "You don't seem very good."

"I don't feel good" I admitted as I finally leaned back and left the cup on the table, hoping I wouldn't miss it, so it would shatter on the ground

"What's going on?" he asked simply. With Stefan everything was simple, that's why I liked talking to him-he understood me without speaking unnecessary words-he always knew what to say.

"Life's going on." I sighed "It's just one of those days you know?" I couldn't see him, but I could swear he's nodding and silently agreeing with me, probably because he feels the same.

"I'm feeling down. Gilbert said I'm probably getting depressed, suggested I go out more. I told him depression is an effect of feeling stuck."

"God, if you're depressed I don't know what he would say for me." Stefan chuckled trying to make me feel better. I had another appointment with Gilbert in a month so I had enough time to prepare myself and convince him I was a happy fourteen year old, blind, full of hormones teenager.

"He wouldn't say anything because you don't go to your check-ups" I argued and he laughed sincerely at something which was a pretty serious issue.

"Relax, buddy" he spoke up, kindness and warmth radiating from his whole human being, I really wish I could see how much he's grown. Everyone say he doesn't look fourteen at all. "We'll find a way to cheer you up."

"Even if we don't, your birthday is coming so we'll at least get ourselves drunk to the point we won't be able to spell our names." I was trying to calm the own demons inside me until I realized he didn't respond in any way and that made me suspicious.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that."

"Something's up" I concluded, only by the sound of his voice "Did anything happen?"

"No, is just I don't know if I'll be able to celebrate on my birthday is all." he admitted after a few minutes of long silence, but he didn't hurry to continue and I didn't push him to speak up.

Something wasn't right and I couldn't figure out what it could be, so we stayed like this just sharing a long silent moment with each other-I knew if he wanted to tell me he would. I wasn't curious, but I was worried, not because he owed to tell me everything, but because there was something different in the way he spoke up, it wasn't right.

"I miss my brother" he admitted after a while, before changing the subject to something shallow and insignificant.

"I miss my brother too."

But we weren't children anymore. They couldn't be here whenever we called them out-they had their lives and they did their best to turn us into warriors.

Now we had to fight our battles on our own.

And, God, how lonely did we both feel that night!

It almost felt unreal.

A/N: I'm sorry for the lack of Damon in this chapter. I know it's also a bit unusual to write from Gilbert or Simon's POV, but I felt like it was important to show how they see Stefan. Hope you don't hate me too much!