Chapter 8
It was Ottilie's birthday. The brothers hadn't said anything to her, as they had a surprise planned. Damon went into her bedroom that morning to wake her up. 'Good morning, little lady!' he said cheerfully, as she burrowed further under the covers. 'Time to get up! We've got an exciting day today!' She looked up at him, questioningly.
'Why? What day is it?' she asked. He smiled down at her before scooping her up for a hug. 'It's your birthday, sweetheart!' he said, 'Happy Birthday!' Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'My birthday?' she asked, 'I've never had one of those before.' Damon looked down at her a little sadly. 'What do you mean?' he asked.
'Well the lady where I lived before, she said that I didn't get one.' Damon hugged her a little closer to him. 'Well we're certainly going to celebrate it today then to make up for the others!' he said, teasingly. 'Come on, get dressed. Stefan's making you a special birthday breakfast.' He left her to it and waited for her to come downstairs.
'She just told me she's never had a birthday before, brother.' He told Stefan, who looked at him sadly. 'All the more reason to celebrate properly today then, I guess.' He replied. Damon nodded, and looked up as Ottilie entered the room. Stefan put down the cooking utensils he was holding and ran to her, sweeping her up into a hug and spinning her around. 'Happy Birthday, Otti!' he said, happily. She giggled and thanked him. 'I've made you pancakes with berries and honey. Is that okay?' She nodded excitedly.
'Thank you, Stefan. They're my favourite!' she said. She sat down to eat and the brothers joined her, all chatting happily. When she'd finished, the took her into the living room and sat her on the sofa. 'Present time!' shouted Damon, carrying in some wrapped gifts. Ottilie's eyes opened wide as sauces as she saw them. 'Are they for me?' she whispered. Damon and Stefan chuckled, 'well they're not for us!' joked Stefan. Damon placed the presents in front of her. 'Come on then,' he said, 'get opening! This one is from me.' He handed one to her and she began to tentatively undo the wrapping. She gasped in delight to find a beautiful colouring book, full of intricate designs. 'Thank you, Damon,' she said. 'I love it!' She jumped up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gently kissed the top of her head. 'You're welcome, sweetheart,' he said, softly.
'My one next!' said Stefan, handing her another gift. Again, she opened it, relishing the process that was so new to her. This time, it was a pack of colouring pens and pencils. 'Wow, Stefan, thank you! I've never seen so many colours. They're so beautiful!' she hugged him too and he smiled happily at her, pleased that such a simple gift could bring so much joy. There was one package left. It was long and slim. Damon handed it to her. 'This one is from both Stefan and I' he said. She opened it, and pulled out an envelope. She opened it and having read the words on the paper that was in it, looked up at Damon and Stefan with tears in her eyes. 'Do you mean it?' she whispered. 'This is real?' The brothers nodded, not trusting themselves to speak. 'Thank you so much. I don't know what to say' she whispered. Damon picked her up and Stefan took both her hands in one of his. 'Just tell us whether you're happy for us to adopt you, sweetheart. It's your choice.' Said Damon. She nodded quickly. 'Yes, yes a million times. Please adopt me.' The brothers pulled her into a hug.
'Of course, we hoped that you'd say yes' said Stefan.
'Welcome to the family, Ottilie Salvatore' said Damon.
The brothers took Ottilie out for a walk later that morning, and when they arrived back to the mansion, Ottilie noticed a feeling about it. There was an air of suspense and excitement around the house. She wondered what it meant but didn't mention it to the brothers. They walked through the front door and suddenly, there was a loud collection of shouts. 'Happy Birthday, Ottilie!' The little girl stepped back, surprised, but her shocked expression turned into one of joy as she saw all her new favourite people in one place.
There was music playing, and plenty of food going round. Each guest came up to Ottilie at some point during the party to wish her a happy birthday in person, and some even gave her a little gift. Towards the end of the party, Ottilie snuggled up to Damon. 'Thank you for a lovely party, Damon!' she said. He smiled.
'I'd love to take credit for it,' he said, 'but it was all Caroline and Elena.' She got up and went to find the girls to thank them. Before she could find them, Klaus entered the party. 'Sorry I'm late, love! Happy Birthday!' She heard Kol and Elijah snicker behind her.
'He's always late, Otti,' said Kol, jokingly. 'Don't take it personally' She giggled and went up to hug Klaus. 'I have a little gift for you,' he said, handing her a large present. She opened it and was delighted to find a beautiful little painting of the Salvatore mansion. 'Wow, thank you Klaus. Did you draw this?' she asked in wonder. He nodded.
'I thought you might like a painting of home,' he said. He caught the eyes of Damon and Stefan, who smiled gratefully at him. She nodded, eyes glistening.
She managed to find Caroline and thanked her for the wonderful party. The older girl smiled down at her and told her that she was most welcome. Next, Ottilie went to find Elena, who was sitting by herself as Damon and Stefan were talking with the Mikaelsons. 'Thank you for the party, Elena,' said Ottilie, who then tried to give her a hug. Elena pushed her away a little abruptly. 'Don't touch me,' she almost spat. 'I just did the party because Stefan asked me to. Not for you.' Ottilie didn't know what to say so she just backed away from Elena, noting the dark, unpleasant feel around her. She didn't understand why she was feeling this, but just knew that Elena wasn't someone she wanted to spend time around. She went back up to Stefan and held his hand, almost feeling Elena glaring into her back.
Later that night, as Damon was putting Ottilie to bed, she brought up her worries about Elena. 'Damon, I don't think that Elena likes me very much,' she said. Damon looked at her, a little confused. 'Why do you think that?' he asked.
'Well she has a funny feel around her when I'm near her,' she said. Damon frowned, not understanding what she meant. 'And she said that she only helped to organise my party because Stefan asked her to' she added. Damon sighed.
'I'm sorry, Otti. I don't think Elena meant anything horrible by it. She needs to get to know you better, that's all.' She nodded and snuggled down under the covers. 'Night night, Otti' he whispered, kissing her forehead gently.