Chapter 36 TH

Everything seemed grey and dull to him. Quiet, colourless and muted. After the best part of a year at war, he was coming home with no more answers as to why there couldn't be peace, than before he went. He'd left a young man, afraid but sure that he was fighting righteously for his way of life, for society's norms and traditions – things he was raised to respect and live within the confines of and truly he'd never found himself doubting the integrity of the way things were, until he'd seen how frivolous it all was. How foolish and worthless it was in comparison to life and death.

His father's friends had indeed sheltered him from the front line, from the certainty of death at face to face combat, but he'd stared into its eyes nonetheless. In fact he might have seen less death had he been at the front line and killed, than he witnessed in that medical camp. After a while the ridiculousness of fighting a war to uphold values that were frankly outdated and discriminatory, seemed so…pointless. In the end none of the men he tended cared. All they knew was fear and death and the fact that they were too young to die. They hadn't been ready. It wasn't fair.

"Stefan." Giuseppe called softly and placed a careful hand on his shoulder.

Stefan looked up at him, slightly dazed from sleep deprivation and daydreaming and blinked.

"It's time, son. Time to meet your son." Giuseppe gave a smile and Stefan blinked again and stood up, leaning on his father as he struggled with his walking stick.

He'd almost lost a leg in the course of duty but they'd saved it. It gave him pains however and he now needed a cane to help support it. They had said that it made him a hero, that it was a badge of honour. Somehow that had never sat right with him. As far as he was concerned now, he was simply a cripple. Thankfully he returned home to wealth and family. He was lucky. Luckier than so many others he'd known. Nora, his dear friend, hadn't made it home at all. She'd caught smallpox from some poor patient and had come home in a box.

Nothing had been the same after that. He hadn't been able to shake off the fear and hopelessness. It seemed like god was laughing at him, at all of them. If you didn't get shot or stabbed or die from amputation and shock, then disease and starvation may get you anyway.

Still, he had survived and he had to try and keep his head in the now. He had a wife and a new child to care for somehow. Giuseppe promised that he would be able to forget the horrors he'd seen. A little brandy went a long way. Time would heal.

They walked up towards the stairwell, where the maids were moving around carrying in fresh hot water and towels – all excited and wound up at the same time. It had been a long time since there had been an infant in the house.

Stefan leaned on the bannister and pulled himself up gradually until he was atop the stairs and Miss Flora appeared. She beamed at him and hugged him, whispering congratulations.

"Is it..?" He croaked, overcome with emotion, "Is he ok?"

She chuckled and patted his back, pulling back to cup his face with her hands as she had done since he was a small child.

"She is wonderful." She smiled and he gave a huff of surprise and looked towards the bedroom.

"She?"

"Yes sir. And she's a beauty, just like her daddy."

Giuseppe ascended the stairs behind him and Stefan turned to him with an amazed smile on his face. Giuseppe gave a small one. He had hoped for a grandson. It was clear. Still, Stefan wasn't going to let him ruin this moment. He had a baby girl.

Flora guided him into the room where Elizabeth lay, now covered and propped up with pillows. She looked exhausted. The maids cleared the soiled sheets out of the room and past him and he moved to his wife to see their little angel. He sat down at her side and the baby gave out a cry, reaching its hands out of the blankets it had been wrapped in.

"Can I hold her?" He asked and she carefully handed the bundle over to him.

He looked down at the tiny face and the baby opened its eyes and gazed at him.

"Hey there." He whispered. "I'm your dadda."

He rocked her and she yawned and continued to stare at him.

"What will you call her?" Elizabeth asked softly, feeling the urge to sleep fast approaching.

"Vida." He smiled looking to her and Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and chuckled.

"Where did you think of that?" She asked and he frowned for a second as he thought on it.

He shrugged. He had no idea, the name just popped into his head and felt right.

"Her hair is so black, it seems Italian enough." He said.

"I like it." Elizabeth said and closed her eyes, drifting.

"Master Stefan, Miss Elizabeth needs some sortin." Flora advised, popping her head around the door and he nodded, looking down at the baby again.

"Can I keep her with me a while?" He asked and Flora put her hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow.

"If she starts fussin…"

"I'll bring her back up. I just want to look at her for a little while." He smiled down at the baby and cooed.

"Ok then. Five minutes." Flora nodded and beckoned him out of the room.

He rose carefully and limped out of the room. Giuseppe was down the hall in Stefan's room smoking. He walked inside, his eyes the brightest they'd been since he'd been home and Giuseppe couldn't help but soften to the sight.

"A girl, father." He beamed and Giuseppe gave a nod and a smile and set down his cigar.

"This is your nonno, Vida." He whispered to her and handed her over to Giuseppe.

Giuseppe stared at him for a few seconds unblinking, before looking down at the bundle.

"Vida." He mumbled and Stefan moved to his sideboard to pour them a bourbon to celebrate.

"Yeah."

"Not Lillian?" Giuseppe looked to him and Stefan's smile faded a little.

"I just thought that maybe it was time for a change. A break with tradition. I want her to be her own person."

Giuseppe chewed his lip and sat down, rocking the bundle as she gurgled.

"It's not just tradition Stefan, it's in memorial. It's respectful."

Stefan sat his glass down, turning his back and clenching his jaw for a second as he tried to calm himself. Since coming back from war, Giuseppe had grown harder to please and for a change, Stefan wasn't willing to simply agree and do as he was told. He wasn't a child anymore. He was a man and a man who'd lived more in the past ten months than his father could possibly know. He couldn't be pushed back into his life as the submissive, good son anymore.

"Her name will be Vida father. Mother would have understood." He said, sipping down a mouthful and exhaling at the strength of it.

"Stefan…"

"Enough!" Stefan barked and Giuseppe fell silent.

The baby began to cry and he turned around and moved to him, taking her back and bouncing her.

"She's my daughter and I will decide." He said.

Giuseppe's expression grew tight with displeasure and Stefan left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Damon sweated as he made his way towards the pull. They'd all been walking for a few hours following him close by. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled.

"How strong is the pull?" Marcus appeared beside him and he jolted in surprise.

Marcus wasn't letting him out of his sight. He groaned, knowing what was coming. Whenever the signal weakened it meant he needed to give them more blood to strengthen it again.

"Why does this damn spell need blood to work?" He grumbled, offering over his wrist.

"Because part of the magic which created your condition, came from the source." Marcus said, filling his ceremonial bowl as Damon fought nausea.

"Just as well I'm already dead." He tried to smirk but Marcus looked at his face and frowned.

"Do you need to hunt again?"

Damon closed his eyes and sighed. The travellers didn't know that he only fed from his mate and he wanted to keep it that way. He shook his head.

"You look drained." Marcus commented, waving his hand over the bowl until the blood within seemed to glow.

"I've just got skin like porcelain." Damon smirked again.

The new pull almost yanked Damon off of his feet before he could say anything else and he immediately took a few steps forward and scanned the area. Marcus watched him closely. He began to move, blurring a few feet in that direction to make sure he was going the right way. Marcus ran to catch up.

"We're almost there." Damon mumbled, still scanning the area.

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it, it's…" Damon frowned, trying to describe the sensation. "I just know."

"Then go, find it and wait there. I'll follow your blood." Marcus mumbled a few words over the bowl and the blood again glowed.

"What am I even looking for?" Damon grumbled.

"Hopefully, you'll just know."

Damon huffed, narrowing his eyes at him and then blurred away, running as fast as he could to close the distance. He needed to find this source now or he wouldn't have the energy to get home or fight these people.

He ran into a dense wood and stopped, panting and looked around. He felt strange. Was it the spell? It normally felt like he was being pulled by his veins, but this felt different. He sniffed and zoned his vampire eyes in. He couldn't see anything.

He turned his head slowly, his fangs elongating in challenge. There was something here. Something hunting. He let out a small growl of warning, when he felt a strange sensation in his chest. He looked down and touched it. He was damp. He frowned, losing concentration as he pulled at his shirt to inspect himself. What was..? Oh god.

He cried out in fear when he saw the milk. He was lactating. That meant only one thing.

"Stefan!" He gasped.

Someone had triggered a heat in Stefan's body! He had to find it, find Nathan. Why hadn't Nathan called? What the hell was happening? What was Eve..?

He was thrown onto the ground in a heap before he could blink and coughed as a weight landed on him. He opened his eyes and raised his arms, snapping his jaws at the attacker when he saw the greenest of green eyes staring at him.

"Stefan?" He whispered and Stefan growled low in his throat, baring his neck.

He rolled them over, sticking his face into the crook of Stefan's neck, smelling some of the roses and bit down greedily. He grabbed at Stefan's muscles as they struggled against each other, the heat of their desperation growing as he realised that Stefan was naked. He drank, filling his belly hungrily as though he was starving. The blood was hot, delicious and fresh and he closed his eyes in peace as he restored his strength.

It wasn't until he pulled his mouth away and sighed, that he looked into those green eyes again and remembered the stranger behind them. He frowned and pushed Eve back, away from him. She blinked heavily, having felt the effects of the blood wave.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Damon breathed, struggling not to react to the glorious smell of heat coming from Stefan's body.

"I'm hungry and you need to finish this." She said and took a hold of Stefan's manhood.

He pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at her in horror.

"Are you fucking nuts?! How the hell did this happen?" He demanded.

"I wasn't the only one who wanted Stefan's body." She said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Your mate is fertile. A pack came to breed him."

Damon saw red and he threw himself at her and gripped her throat tightly as he flashed his fangs at her.

"What have you done?!"

She coughed but seemed to enjoy the aggression from him, holding his hand and looking up into his eyes as he fumed.

"This body responds only to you." She breathed seductively and he blinked, trying not to inhale the sweet scent of the roses too much. "You need to end the heat."

"You really are crazy if you think I'm going to touch you!" He spat, his eyes tingling.

Eve suddenly flipped them over and pinned Damon down in the same manner she'd done with Nathan and Damon punched her hard in the jaw and sent her falling onto her back. He panted, standing up. It was easier than he thought to punch her even though she looked like Stefan. Perhaps it was because Stefan's body would always heal and her presence inside of it changed the face a little. It was hard to describe, but when looking at Stefan's face you could tell something was off.

Eve groaned, almost in distress, holding her jaw and curled into a ball on the ground. He stood up and looked down at her waiting. He wasn't sure what to do. If Stefan's body was in heat, then he could be compromised. Add to that that Stefan would want to know what had happened to his body while he'd been…away. It would be distressing for Stefan if he was raped or tortured or anything of that nature, even if he wasn't present to remember it.

But he couldn't end this heat. That would mean having to have sex with her. Even though it was the body he knew and loved, she was in there looking back at him, feeling him touching her. No. The thought turned his stomach.

He shook his head.

"Get out of there now and I'll end the heat." He ordered and she uncurled and looked to him, her face flushed red.

"I can't." She said.

"Get out! Forget your dumb ass plan to kill anyone!" Damon roared, venting some of his frustration at her finally. "You don't even know what you're doing! You can't even function for a few days in a body anymore…"

"Finish this or die!" She yelled loudly and he paused scrutinising her.

"Or what? You're going to kill me grandma?" He chuckled. "If I die, so does that body."

"You think I don't have enough power to kill your baby?" She hissed and he paused again. "You think that I don't have friends who know exactly where she is and how to get to her?"

"Yeah, you're the big bad wolf!" he laughed cruelly. "Just look at you."

She sat up, her eyes gleaming with rage and power.

"I let her live this long because I knew you'd jump through whatever hoops I needed you to when this time came. You will do whatever I say or I will have her dead and buried before the sun sets." She said straight faced.

His heart hammered loudly in his chest as he stared her out, trying to figure out if anything she was saying was true. Nathan had said that she'd been trying to mess with him earlier. Was that what she was doing now too? Was she lying? Could he take the chance?

He took a deep breath as she stood up facing him in challenge.

"Go to hell lady." He said simply and she dove for him.

They battled, crashing around into trees and falling over. Damon fought with everything he had but his fear of actually killing Stefan's body by accident, meant that she had the upper hand. She smashed him against a tree, breaking his back and he gagged at the impact.

"I will be satisfied." She growled and tore into his throat savagely.

He cried out and tried to push her back but he couldn't feel his legs anymore. He struggled to no avail as she drank on and emptied him of so much of his blood that he sagged against her, falling into her embrace with his head on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.

His eyelids felt so heavy, his body was a ton weight and he groaned, struggling to open his eyes. He heard sounds of someone moving nearby and he turned his head slightly and fluttered his eyes lashes. He was in a strange room. He groaned again, fighting for consciousness when he felt something cold draping across his forehead. He sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes, staring up into, not the eyes of grandma, but to a young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Where..?" he croaked, even the act of talking making him feel faint and whoozy.

That bitch grandma really had drank her lot!

"Just relax Thomas. You're safe." The woman cooed gently and stroked his face.

He closed his eyes for a second and exhaled, trying to get his brain to work.

"The doctor will be in to see you in a minute." She advised and he looked at her again.

"Where's Eve?"

"Is that your wife?" She asked and he exhaled and closed his eyes again. "I'm afraid no one else was

brought in with you Thomas."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" He frowned.

"Isn't that your name? It was on your clothing." She said, surprised and moved to a chair next to

him to lift up his Tommy Hilfiger jeans.

He shook his head, looking at her wide eyed. He tried to sit up but he had no energy whatsoever.

"Where am I? Where's Stefan?" He demanded.

"You mean Doctor Salvatore?" She paused, surprised and his eyes widened.

She came around to his side again and slid her arm under his neck and back to help him sit. He felt

as weak as a kitten, completely vulnerable. She gave him a small, kind smile and propped him up with a few pillows, until he could see the room. He must be back wherever Stefan's soul was. But where exactly was that?

"He'll be in in a minute. You know him well? Did you serve together?" She made polite conversation as Damon studied the room, looking for an indication on what year it was, how much time had passed since he'd seen his Stefan last.

"You could say that." Damon mumbled in response to her question.

"What's your name and I'll let him know?" She chirped.

"Damon." He said automatically, but bit his lip afterwards.

Should he have given his name? There could be a chance that he could remind Stefan who he was though. Maybe if he could snap him out of whatever this weird parallel life was, then somehow they could work together.

"Last name?" She looked to him.

"Sal…Hilfiger." He looked to his jeans.

Better not to rouse any suspicions or confuse people. After all, he, Giuseppe and Stefan had been the only male Salvatore's' in Mystic Falls at that time. Small town people knew that.

"Ok. Be back in a minute." She smiled again and left the room.

He relaxed back into his pillow, his mind whirring. He'd ended up here before when he'd been shot in the head by Marcus. So, when he died he came here? Why? How was that possible? Was this place some kind of limbo? If so, how did he end up finding Stefan both times? Perhaps because they were mated? Soul mates?

He sighed, wishing that that was the answer. It would be so comforting to know that no matter where Stefan went, he'd be able to find him anywhere even in death.

His heart beat hard as he heard footsteps coming along the corridor, except something was a little off about the steps. One of the feet was dragging and…supported by a cane of some kind. He closed his eyes again, ignoring it. By the look of the room, only a few years had passed since the Civil War and Stefan would still be young, not an old man with a cane.

The footsteps moved nearer and into his room and he opened his eyes to ask for water, when he saw Stefan, or some version of him he'd never expected to see. His eyes opened wide as he took in his appearance and Stefan had a similar reaction, dropping his cup of water and staring at Damon as though he were a ghost.

"Stefan?" Damon tried to sit up again, but failed.

How could this be Stefan? He looked older, much older than he should have – his hair was dull in colour and his skin was duller too. He almost looked black and white. He looked exhausted and troubled. Damon looked over his body, frowning when he saw the cane and taking in the way one of his legs was slightly shorter in appearance.

"It's you." Stefan whispered and their eyes locked. "The man from the battlefield."

Damon didn't know what to say. Clearly, Stefan remembered their last encounter but still not who he was.

"I thought you were a hallucination." Stefan cautiously approached him, lifting his chart from a side table and trying to pull himself together.

"What happened to you?" Damon asked, watching every flicker of emotion on Stefan's face.

"I could ask you the same. Mr…" Stefan looked down at the chart.

"Stefan, it's me." He couldn't help the desperation in his voice as he reached out his hand and lay it on Stefan's arm.

Stefan looked at him, studying him.

"How do you know me?"

Damon felt himself sag into the bed again and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Stefan didn't know him.

He felt emotion stir in his chest and he frowned, trying not to vent it. He needed his Stefan, just for a minute. It felt like months since he'd looked into those loving eyes. He felt so alone.

Stefan watched the strange man sag into the bed in distress. He looked like he was pained. The man withdrew his hand from his arm. He sighed quietly. Whoever he was, he was clearly lost and looking for someone – the same person he'd been looking for those years ago. He took a seat beside him and gently lay his hand on top of his. The man opened his eyes in surprise and turned his head to look at him. His eyes were full of longing and love.

Stefan gulped, not understanding. Could he simply look like this other person who shared his name?

"I'm sorry I'm not him." He said. "How can I help you?"

Damon shed a tear and closed his eyes again. Stefan sighed frustrated. Who was this person and how had he managed to disappear from him so completely last time they'd met?

"What are you?" Stefan whispered and the man turned his head to look at him again. "You vanished."

"So did you." Damon whispered back.

"How did you get here? Where are you from?" Stefan pressed, squeezing the man's hand tighter and seeing more emotion set in the strangers' eyes. "You look…"

"Like I haven't aged since you last saw me?" Damon asked and Stefan sat back a little in his chair.

That wasn't at all what he'd intended to say but now that the subject had been brought up, he studied the man's face. Indeed he did still look exactly as he had that last time, still as pale. Perhaps time had simply been kinder to him.

Stefan chewed his lip and averted his eyes as the strangers' stare began to feel too intense. His eyes were such an intense and unusual colour of blue. It was startling.

"You really don't know me? There's nothing…nothing about me that seems familiar?" Damon croaked and Stefan patted his hand and stood up, reaching for the chart again.

"Let me see what I can do for you." Stefan took on his doctor persona and moved to the end of the bed.

Damon sagged into his pillow again. How could he give his memory a shock? How could he get through to him?

Stefan studied the chart and sat it back down, looking over Damon's body closely. Damon remained silent and watched him. So Stefan was a doctor in this reality – just liked he'd wanted when they were human. Something about that warmed Damon a little. Perhaps Stefan was happy here?

"I'm just going to check a few things ok Mr Hilfiger? Just to figure out what's brought you here. I can see you're very pale and possible anaemic so I just want to check for any wounds ok?" Stefan said and Damon just nodded.

Perhaps touching him would help bring their energy together.

Stefan moved to the side of the bed again and with kind eyes, asked Damon if he felt any pain. Damon shook his head. Stefan removed the bed clothes and Damon looked down to see he had been bathed and dressed by a nurse. Stefan's hands were warm as he examined him. Damon shivered under the touch and bit his lip when he became erect. Stefan, being a professional, didn't react to it and simply continued until he was certain that there was no injury to have caused any blood loss. He drew the blankets back over Damon when he was done and tucked him in.

Stefan reached into his pocket and withdrew a stethoscope. Damon bit his lip. Stefan would be able to pick up on the fact that vampire hearts beat differently and his wouldn't be normal therefore. Stefan opened the buttons on Damon's shirt and placed it onto his chest to listen.

"Breathe in and out for me." He instructed and Damon did so, his heart fluttering in hope the more Stefan touched him.

Stefan seemed satisfied that his heart was normal and Damon frowned and caught his hand again in confusion. Stefan looked to him and raised his eyebrows.

"It's…ok?" Damon frowned and Stefan seemed confused.

"Your heart is good and healthy." Stefan replied and patted his hand away gently. "Just relax for me ok? I'm just going to check your pupils."

Damon sucked in a breath. What did this mean? Was he human when he was here in this place? Stefan tilted his face up towards his, so that he could look into his eyes.

"Follow my finger please." Stefan said gently and Damon could only hold Stefan's gaze, unable to follow the instruction.

Stefan tried a few more times to get him to comply, before he stopped and searched Damon's eyes deeply. Damon reached out and touched Stefan's arms, slowly stroking them as their eye contact remained unbroken.

"Stefan, remember me." He whispered and Stefan seemed a little entranced in his eyes. "I love you."

After a few seconds, Stefan blinked and seemed to come back to himself. He pulled back and apologised. Damon let him move away. Something had happened there. He knew it. Something in Stefan had connected to him, even if briefly.

Stefan rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat, standing up and grabbing the chart to note down his findings.

"One last test Mr Hilfiger." Stefan seemed rattled and was blushing. "Can you open your mouth for me?"

Damon did so and Stefan avoided his eyes as he cupped his chin and pulled his bottom lip down to see his gums. Damon held his breath. Stefan nodded and frowned, releasing him again and returned to his chart.

"Well, it appears you are suffering from an iron deficiency. You're blood level isn't as high as it should be but there's no cause of blood loss that I can see, so I want to try an infusion."

Damon blinked at him.

"It's still experimental but I think I can replace some of the fluids you need." Stefan was talking shop now and Damon began to feel faint again.

Was that damn wolf drinking from his body in the other reality again?

Stefan seemed to notice his weakening and moved to him again in concern. He slid his arm under Damon's neck and removed the pillows to lie him flat again, elevating his legs with the pillows he'd removed. Damon's eyes rolled in his head and he groaned.

"I will figure this out." Stefan vowed as he placed the damp cloth on his forehead again and took a note of his pulse with his fingers.

"Damon." Damon croaked.

Stefan raised his eyebrows in query.

"My name is Damon." Damon whispered, feeling the room spin again.

Stefan stared at him, seeing the poor man fall unconscious again. Despite how silly it was to react in this way to a mere name, nonetheless, all the hairs on his body stood on end. He shivered. It was just a name. So what if it was the same name he'd been trying to forget for years now. It was one hell of a coincidence that this Damon should be looking for another Stefan too. His stomach rumbled in anxiety. He'd learned time and again to trust his gut and it was telling him that something wasn't quite right here. Still, it was just a name.

He patted the man's face with the damp cloth and exhaled. Something very odd was happening and he wasn't sure what. For a moment when he'd been looking to check his pupils', he'd almost…felt…He shook his head and stood back, calling for the nurse. She entered obediently and he explained to her what he wanted to do. The patient was to undergo a transfusion with saline to see if they could restore some of his body fluids. Foods high in iron were to be served also.

The nurse noted everything down and nodded, nipping off to organise the equipment. Transfusions were being done successfully, but results were dependant on the equipment and the health of the patient.

He looked to Damon again and frowned. At least he hadn't disappeared this time. He'd figure this man out if it killed him.