Wow, all the reviews are blowing me away! Thank you!
Also, thank you to whoever recommended my story as a fave on tumblr! Made my day when I saw it :)
There's some ups and downs ahead, but I promise that there are reasons for the way things work out! :)
Also, I'm not a doctor, some facts may not be 100% accurate, but I did my best!
Elena ran up the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.
Jeremy was screaming, and her heart was beating so hard, she thought it might jump out of her chest.
The number. She just need the number she'd found in the paper.
It had promised help.
She reached her room, and grabbed the clipping from where she'd hidden it, the house phone gripped tightly in her hand.
Then she ran to her closet, not wanting to be caught, once her uncle had finished punishing Jeremy.
She could hear get mother's voice now, in an attempt to protest.
A loud slap indicated that her mother would also be punished tonight.
Elena dialed the number with shaky fingers, and closed her eyes tightly as the line began to ring.
"This is the Child welfare hotline at the Second Chance refuge, how can I help you?"
Elena trembled out the words, "I need help. Please. Please."
The woman's kind voice responded quickly, "Okay, sweetie, what's going on?"
"He's…" she swallowed, "He's hurting him. He's hurting him really bad. I'm scared."
"Can you tell me your name?" the woman asked.
"Elena Gilbert."
"Good girl. Do you know your address?"
Elena began to cry, "No…"
"It's okay," the woman said, "Then I just need you to stay on the phone with me, okay?"
"Okay."
Jeremy's cries were echoing through the walls now, her uncle's angry voice following them.
Elena could hear the woman talking, but couldn't make out the words.
Jeremy was so loud; louder than ever before.
"Miss," Elena whispered, "Do...do you believe in angels?"
The woman on the phone responded kindly, "Yes, Elena. I do."
Elena flinched at the sound of her uncle's yells.
"I need an angel really really bad," she whispered.
Then Jeremy let out the sharpest cry yet, and Elena dropped the phone.
When silence followed, she climbed out of the closet and waited.
Nothing.
Fear filled her, and she ran out of her bedroom, and down the stairs.
Jeremy was laying on the floor.
Her mother was in the corner, a hand over her mouth, and John...he was standing there, staring at Jeremy.
Her brother didn't move.
John looked up then, noticing her.
His fist balled, and Elena tried to run.
He followed.
And no angels came.
A million questions were running through Damon's head, but he didn't dare focus on them until he saw Elena.
Caroline's words had been echoing in his ear the entire drive.
Miscarriage. Hemorrhaging. The doctors are with her now.
He'd wanted to demand to know why she wasn't with Elena in the room, but had decided to hold off on accusations until he had the full story.
And until he knew Elena was okay.
The hospital doors nearly broke at the force in which he blew through them, but he didn't care.
He hurried through the hall, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving, searching for the wing Caroline had told him to meet her in.
He found it with little effort, and was relieved to see her blonde hair at the end.
"Caroline!"
She spun around, "Oh, Damon. Thank god."
"Is she okay?" He demanded, "Can I see her? What happened?"
"She's going to be alright," Caroline assured him immediately, "But...she lost the baby."
Damon flinched, a wall of grief robbing his breath.
But he couldn't think about that yet.
Not until he saw Elena.
"We were going out to lunch," Caroline began explaining, "And she started hurting. Then she was bleeding, and it was bad. We called an ambulance and they brought her here. The doctor said she was hemorrhaging due to the miscarriage, and they did a D&C. She's okay now, but the doctor is still in her room, talking to her. Lexi's in there with her. I came out to wait for you."
Damon nodded, trying to process this information.
"I want to see her."
Caroline reached out and took his hand, and he let her lead him down the hall.
They stopped at room F36, where Caroline opened the door.
Damon walked past her.
Elena was there, pale and hooked to an IV, but otherwise normal.
Her eyes were closed, but a doctor was talking from an examination chair.
"-follow up next week. Okay?"
Elena nodded, and the doctor stood, "Good girl."
He seemed to notice Damon and Caroline's entrance then, "Can I help you?"
"I'm here to see her," he said gruffly.
Elena's eyes shot open at the sound of his voice.
"Only two visitors are allowed in at a time," the doctor stated.
Damon glared at him, but Lexi stood, "No, it's okay. I'll go."
He nodded, and she said goodbye to Elena, who tore her gaze from Damon long enough to send her off.
"I'll step out too," Caroline announced, and he was grateful for it.
He needed a minute alone with Elena.
"And you are?" the doctor asked, eyeing Damon warily.
"The fiance," he answered, "Are you done here?"
The man seemed surprised, not that it was a new reaction.
After all, Elena was stunningly beautiful, and his face was marred in a way that screamed trouble.
"I...uh, yes. Yes, I'm through. She's stabilized. We'll monitor her for a couple hours to be sure, but everything looks good...I'm sorry for your loss."
Damon nodded at the man, feeling a little dickish now, for snapping at him.
"Thank you."
The guy gave Elena a parting glance, then followed Caroline out of the room.
Silence remained.
Elena knew she should say something.
But words seemed to have evaded her tongue, for non came.
After all, what could she say?
Nothing would fix this.
Damon moved then, walking over to the chair by her bed, and sitting down in it.
He reached over and took her hand, "Are you okay, angel?"
She swallowed thickly, "The doctor said I should recover quickly."
"I'm not talking about…" he exhaled, "I just want to know how you're feeling."
She didn't know how to answer that question honestly, so she stated the only truthful thing she knew she felt.
"Cold."
"What?" He asked.
"I feel...cold."
Damon immediately grabbed the blanket at the end of her bed, and pulled it up over her.
She wished she could hide among its folds, but Damon's gaze was piercing her.
"They're going to let me leave in a few hours," she stated, "If everything stays the same, I won't have to stay overnight."
She couldn't met Damon's gaze, even though she knew he was silently asking for it.
He exhaled, "Did they say what happened? What went wrong?"
Elena flinched.
I did, she couldn't help but think.
Out loud, she said, "Apparently, these things just happen. Statistically, around twenty of every one hundred pregnancies end in miscarriage. The doctor said there's nothing we could have done."
Damon nodded, though his mind seemed far away.
Still, he held her hand.
Elena closed her eyes again, to avoid looking at him, and seeing the sadness there.
She knew how excited he'd been.
Damon deserved more than this, after everything.
It wasn't fair.
Damon brought her hand to his lips then, and kissed it, "I'm sorry, angel."
She nodded, "Me too."
A knock on the door pulled her eyes open, and she prayed it was the doctor, telling her she could leave.
But when Damon stood and opened it, her heart lurched.
Well...it was a doctor alright.
"Elena. So it's true, you are here. I was so worried when I heard!" Grayson stood there, white coat on, clipboard in hand.
"Is...is this true?" He asked, "The report...Did John really-"
"I don't want to talk about it," Elena quickly cut him off.
Unfortunately, Damon had caught plenty, "John? What does he have to do with any of this?"
"Nothing," Elena bit, staring at her father.
"I'm okay," she promised him, "They're letting me go home today. Everything's fine. I'll call you later."
Grayson shook his head, "Elena, you should-"
"You don't get to tell me what to do," she snapped.
Grayson recoiled, and Damon blinked at her in shock.
She groaned, "Look, I'm sorry, okay. I'm just...tired."
Damon stepped in then, "Maybe it would be best for you to come back later?"
Her father paused, but eventually nodded.
Elena felt guilty, but it was for the best.
There were things she'd rather not think about.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be exactly what Damon was going to try and make her do.
Once he shut the door behind Grayson, he turned to her.
"Elena, what was he talking about?"
She shrugged, and Damon's eyes narrowed, "Don't lie to me."
"In not," she chided, "I just don't want to talk about it."
"Then when do you-"
"I don't know!" her voice raised, "Please, just...stop."
She rolled over as much as she could, to face the wall.
"I'm sorry," Damon said immediately, "I'm not trying to upset you, angel."
"I'm just tired," she repeated.
She felt Damon's hand briefly touch her side.
He leaned over and kissed her head, "I'll see if we can go home soon."
Then he was gone.
She looked over her shoulder to be sure.
And only then, did she let the tears fall out.
They would be gone by the time he returned.
Damon wasn't sure what to think.
He was even less sure on how to act.
They were able to take Elena home that night, but she went straight to bed, without a parting word.
He just wanted to help her.
The doctor had warned him that the loss may be hard for her, despite the fact that Elena kept repeating that she was fine.
As if by saying it enough, she'd make it true.
But he knew better.
Elena had been ready for this baby, excited for the future, and the family they were starting.
He had been too.
But as she'd said, these things happen, and there was nothing to be done.
He was sad, of course, but he still had Elena, and he still knew what he wanted.
Their family would just have to wait a little longer.
He just wished Elena would let him in.
Since they were little, she'd always opened up to him, and this cold shoulder was throwing him through the grinder.
He couldn't help her if she didn't talk to him.
Days passed this way.
Elena thawed a little, and went to school to take her remaining finals.
He'd driven her to and from class, and she didn't once complain about it.
He'd expected her to.
She'd went to her appointment, talked to Grayson, and acted unbothered.
When she was home, she stuck close to Caroline, the two of them talking about random things, ranging from course selections to the newest movies to hit theaters.
She never spoke about the baby, aside from asking him to get rid of the naming book, and the sonogram picture tucked in their nightstand.
He took them, and put them in a box in their closet, not having the stomach to destroy them completely.
Elena might want them, one day, once she'd mourned.
He prayed she'd stop fighting the pain soon, enough to feel it so she could heal.
But he knew how stubborn she was.
And how resilient.
She'd pull through, eventually.
It would take a little time, that's all.
At least, he hoped.
Let me know what you think :)
There will be happiness in the future, I promise lol.
Also, his mother will come into play, but remember, it was just a card, and Elena will take precedence in his mind ;)
Thanks!