I love you

(Caitlin)

Komarov turned the table in his favor and crashed Damon into the wall, holding him there. First, with one hand around the neck, then with both. I saw the man I loved trying in vain to free himself. And I couldn't help him. I felt helpless and weak, although he had given me his blood, so that I wouldn't die. I tried to apply my magic to distract Komarov, but it didn't work. I couldn't focus my energies anymore. Come on, Damon, don't give up, I thought. I could feel that my senses were slowly dwindling, but I wanted to hold on. Finally, Damon surprised his opponent with an unorthodox action. I would have to ask him later why he didn't rip out the heart every time, that's a lot easier, I thought. The last thing I consciously saw, was Komarov's death. Then darkness enveloped me ... It was as if I had fallen asleep, only without dreams. As if I was stuck in the phase of drifting into sleep, when the body is unconsciously relaxing and darkness is filling the mind. I still heard Damon's and Elena's voices for a while, but I couldn't respond. Then there was silence and I drifted through the endless darkness ...

Caitlin ... can you hear me? A low voice called me. Cait' ... you have to wake up, child! I knew that voice. Mom? Is that you? I could not see her, only heard her. Where are you? What's going on , Mom? I asked. You are about to drift to the other world, but your time has yet to come. Irritated, I looked around . It was dark around me. Why should I return ? I 'm not safe there! Suddenly a faint light floated towards me. Nothing in this world is really safe, child, but we need you. Grams, your dad and I, we need you here. Like a translucent spirit my mother finally appeared in front of me. Mom, how did you get here? I wanted to know . Oh Gosh! Had she died? I was looking for you , child. You've been here too long. Come back ... Darkness again ... Silence again ... How long, I didn't know. "Come back to me!" The voice was back, now it was a man's voice. "Please, Cait', I need you!" Damon ... now it was Damon's voice. He whispered into my ear, begged me. "It doesn't work, she doesn't wake up", he said, sounding depressed. "Patience, Salvatore, I feel her consciousness slowly returning." That was my mother's voice. A sigh. Damon? "I cannot live without you, damn it! I love you", he whispered with a choked voice. He ... he loves me? My heart swelled, I thought it would burst ... He said it! I wanted to answer him. Wanted to tell him that I felt the same - rubbish! That I loved him! I love you, Damon !

(Damon)

For four days we had waited for Caitlin to regain consciousness . Physically, nothing stood in the way, or so Dr. Rosenberg said. The bullet had been a vervein-soaked wooden projectile and that was the reason why my blood hadn't helped as expected. The doctor had removed the bullet and stopped the internal bleedings with more vampire blood. It had been a very close call. Dr. Rosenberg knew about vampires through Joe. A few years ago, after a raid in which she had been seriously injured, he had saved her life and she couldn't be persuaded that she had just imagined it. Joe had never been good at compulsion. She was smart, good at reading people and her academic interest overrode her initial fear of vampires. She, Joe and Bernice quickly had become friends and Joe supported her from time to time with "blood donations". In return Dr. Rosenberg helped him purchase his "supplies". On day two, Caitlin's family had arrived, respectively her mother and grandmother. The house insurance had called them after the fire because they couldn't reach Caitlin by phone. A chain of research calls had been set in motion that eventually led them to Cheryl and then to me.

Her mother wasn't excited that the vampire boyfriend answered Caitlin's phone. When she heard what had happened, emotions boiled over. I wouldn't repeat her threats to Caitlin. When the witches arrived, I prepared myself for a painful encounter, but Grandma O'Brien stopped her and urged her to calm down. The older O'Brien was much friendlier than her daughter. For two days we've been sitting in Caitlin's room now, waiting for her to wake up. Joe, Elena and Stefan had been visiting every now and then to look after me and brought fresh clothes, because I didn't want to leave. On day number three, Caitlin's mother decided to visit the astral dimension to search for Caitlin's ghost. She finally found her, being lost short before the gates to the other world, and when she made contact I heard Caitlin's heart rate speed up. Everytime I touched her now, her pulse accelerated. Dr. Rosenberg claimed this was a good sign, but we shouldn't rush things.

"Patience, Salvatore, I can feel her consciousness slowly returning", Annabelle said exasperated when I expressed my doubts after another futile attempt to wake her on the fourth day. I breathed deeply. The situation tore at my nerves. I knew she wouldn't die, but … seeing her so … helpless and fragile was almost impossible to bear. "I cannot live without you, damn it. I love you", I whispered, sitting on her bed and holding her hand. Caitlin's grandma sat on the other side and just smiled knowingly. Suddenly, Cait's heartrate went up and she got restless. She tossed her head, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. I bent forward to catch every word she said. "… Damon …", It was just one word, but my heart jumped with joy! She was about to wake up! "I'm here, darling. I'm here", I whispered, deeply moved and kissed her knuckles. "… I …. you …" She was trying to tell me something! Her fingers clutched at mine and her eyelids fluttered. "… love … I love you … Damon", she whispered and opened her eyes.

(Caitlin)

I opened my eyes and saw Damon's face right in front of mine. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes brimmed with tears. His lips didn't know whether they should smile or not. "I know …", he croaked, as if his vocal cords weren't made for such an emotional moment. I let my hand, which he cradled to his chest, wander to his cheek. "Hush … don't … please", I whispered and caressed his face. His words. How often had he used them to comfort me? He smiled hesitantly and pulled me into his arms after a few seconds. I wrapped my arms around him and caressed his back soothingly. His shoulders twitched as if he was going to sob, but then he breathed deeply a couple of times. "I should give you a behind, Caitlin O'Brien! How dare you scaring me like this?" he growled into my neck. I knew what he was referring to. "I'm sorry, Damon", I replied softly. He looked at me and caressed my face. "Never mind", he said and kissed me. I forgot the world around me and got lost in the feel of his lips on mine. Until someone harrumphed audibly.

I opened my eyes and saw my grandmother from the corner of my eye. Breaking the kiss, I turned to her. "Grams, what …?" I called surprised. "I guess I should be the one spanking you", another voice said and I looked towards the door. "Mom! Grams! What are you doing here?" My mother sat on the bed next to my grandmother while Damon lowered me back into the pillows. "What are we doing here? Can you imagine how worried we were after the insurance called?" Uh oh, she looked really pissed, I thought. "Mom, please, it wasn't Damon's fault, really … I …" I started to explain, but she interrupted me. "Oh, just forget about it, Cait'! Damon and Stefan told us what happened. I'm just glad you're alive!" she said and hugged me fiercely. I thought about my father. "Mom! What about Dad? Does he know?" I asked worried. She chuckled. "Yeah, he does. He answered the phone when they called and of course he worried about you. But as soon as we told him that you're alive, he relaxed. He would've loved to come with us." I looked bewildered from one to another. "Um, that means … you … you're on good terms?" I asked. Grams laughed. "Child, child, child, you're thinking in strange ways. He's still alive, isn't he?" She winked at Damon who just smiled.

He got up and kissed my forehead. "Where are you going?" I asked, surprised that he wanted to leave. "I'll leave you alone and search for Dr. Rosenberg to see if I can take you home. You three probably have a lot t talk about", he said and left the room after throwing me another affectionate glance. I sighed and leaned back. "How do you feel, Caitlin?" my Mom asked and sat on the bed. "Fine, I think. Nothing hurts, if that's what you meant", I replied. "I'm just a bit puzzled." She nodded knowingly. "No surprise. You were out for almost four days." My eyes nearly bulged. "What? Why?" I asked aghast. "Damon had given you his blood, but the bullet was made of wood and soaked with vervain. The vampire blood couldn't do its job as long as you had it in your body." Suddenly I felt queasy. "You mean … this was a close call?" I whispered. Mom and Grams nodded gravely. Oh my god, that must've been awfully hard on Damon, I thought sympathetically. "You were lucky that Damon brought you here", Mom said. "He saved your life", Grams added and smiled. "And I'll be damned if he ever let's you go." Mom rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh please, Mom, he's a goddamn vampire, not a saint!" she stated. "Let me tell you something, Annabelle. If I would've had the chance to get a man like him, I would've sent all warnings to hell", Grams retorted and I had to snicker.

(Damon)

I left them alone and looked for Dr. Rosenberg, reflecting about the first encounter with Caitlin's family. Flashback: When the O'Brien women arrived at the hospital, I got the feeling that I had travelled back in time and if I hadn't been so strained by Caitlin's condition, I probably would've found it entertaining. The resemblance between them and Caitlin was really obvious. Especially her grandmother emanated the same stately serenity my own mother had depicted. At least, that's what my memory of her told me. "Where is she?" Caitlin's mother growled at me. I hadn't expected anything else and backed away a few steps. The lights around us flickered nervously. Not a good sign, she was obviously pretty upset. "Annabelle, let it be", the older lady said and put her hand on her daughter's arm. I remained polite. "Mrs. O'Brien, Ma'am, she's fine. At least physically. Follow me", I said and showed them Caitlin's room. "Oh my god, Caitlin!" Maternal instincts broke through and Caitlin's mother rushed to the bed. I put out a chair for the older woman. "Thank you, lad", she said with a smile. "You're welcome." I felt like a young boy in her presence. "Why isn't she awake?" she asked me and took one of Caitlin's hands. "The bullet was laced with vervain. It blocked my blood's effect on her body. She almost died of an internal bleeding", I explained. The thought that it had just been coincidence that I'd been wary enough to bring her here … I shuddered.

"Sit with me, Damon", the older O'Brien requested and patted on the chair next to her. "Ma'am", I replied and sat down. "You're a Southerner, right?" she asked. "Yup, from Mystic Falls, Virginia." Her aged eyes scrutinized me curiously and without reservation. "Tell me about your family, lad." I didn't know what to answer, but I had been raised to respect elders and didn't think about backing out. Interestingly enough, her ways didn't elicit my usual kind of acidness. "My mother died when I was six, my father hated me and my brother always got the girls I wanted" I replied and shrugged. "How old are you?" she wanted to know. "I'm 177 years-old, Ma'am." She let a low whistle. "A lot of time to make quite a few painful experiences, huh?" she said. I didn't answer, but she just patted my shoulder. "You don't have to answer, Damon. The older you get, the more memories you got in your sack." Why was she so kind to me? I had endangered her grandchild and she was a witch. She should've hated me instead of treating me like family. Well, somehow I was family. Caitlin's mother, on the other hand, met my expectations. She had reacted like most witches I'd met. She was dismissive and ignored me ever since she had entered the room. "You have a stunning resemblance with Caitlin", the grandmother said. Her daughter scrutinized me with a frown. I pondered shortly if I should tell them anything at all, but then I decided to give them food for thought. "Caitlin told me about an ancestor in 1852 who married into a family in Richmond named Taliaferro. That was my mother's maiden name."

For a moment, there had been absolute silence. The surprise had been perfect. Interestingly enough, this little detail had definitely lightened up the mood and conversation was much smoother afterwards. Obviously to them blood was still thicker than water. Not that I had claimed any relational bonus. I had to grin. Who would've thought that one day a vampire would be related to a witch! Dr. Rosenberg was busy with some administrative stuff at the reception of the private ward, but she looked up when she heard my footsteps. "Mr. Salvatore, can I help you?" she said. "Caitlin finally woke up", I said. She smiled. "See? I told you she would", she said and asked me to accompany her back to the room. Before she could enter it, I stopped her by her arm. "I need to ask you something." She lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "Why did you help us?" I asked. She crossed her arms and scrutinized me. "What did you expect, if I may ask?" she retorted. Surprised, I was fishing for words. "Well, uh, I… " She interrupted me. "You expected to be rejected, right?" I just nodded and she sighed. "You know, I think I understand, but I made an oath that nothing – neither race nor gender nor anything else – would keep me from treating my patients. And that also goes for supernatural beings", she explained with a smile. Now I had to smile too. "Thank you", I said and extended my hand. "I owe you." She took my hand and shook her head. "You don't owe me, but your girlfriend, Damon." And with that we entered the room.