A/N: I know this chapter doesn't live up to the standard. I tried. But sometimes you just have to admit defeat. Next one will be better (hopefully).
Mystic Falls | Summer/Fall 2023
The next morning, Damon arrived early at the hospital with Stefanie in one hand and a bag of goodies in the other.
Elena's room spilled over with flowers. Enzo and Bonnie had sent an entire arrangement, complete with balloons and streamers, and Dot, knowing that it made Elena sad watching cut flowers welk and die, sent an entire 3D display consisting of small pots of various plants. The rest of their family had added their gifts as well – Caroline's being the most obnoxious, with a teddy bear that was bigger than Noah.
"Mama," Stevie cried out and paid the virtual botanical garden no mind as her eyes zeroed in on Elena. Damon set her down on her bed and Elena just had the time to push the breakfast tray aside before Stevie was climbing all over her.
"Hey, angel," Elena snuggled her daughter close. "I missed you." She pulled back an inch and sniffed. "You smell like chocolate." Turning her head to Damon, she asked, "Why does she smell like chocolate?"
"We were celebrating?" Damon replied.
"Damon," Elena admonished, "we said no chocolate or sweets before noon."
"I know. But it's a special day. She gets to meet her new brother. It deserved a special treat. It's not like I could pour her a shot of bourbon."
"She'll be hyper all day."
"I'll deal with it," Damon promised. Pointing to a plastic cup on Elena's breakfast tray, he changed the topic, "What is that?"
"Yogurt?"
Damon looked at it skeptically. "But it's gray. Why is it gray? Were you going to eat that?" he asked, holding up a piece of what looked like dry toast.
"It's breakfast."
"If you say so," he replied, not convinced. He started unpacking the bag he'd brought with him.
"What's that?" Elena asked, curiously.
"Actual breakfast."
He set down and uncovered a plate of scrambled eggs and hash browns, another container revealed cinnamon crepes, and a third a bowl of fresh blueberries. Elena groaned at the delicious smells.
"Oh my god, I love you," she managed to say before she tore into a piece of crepes, while reaching for a piece of egg. She hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and she was ravenous.
Damon rolled his eyes and held up a fork and knife. "Do you need these or…?"
Elena smiled around a mouthful and reached for the utensils.
Damon perched on the side of her bed and grabbed a few blueberries, holding them out for Stevie who stuffed her mouth with them.
"Where's our son?" Damon asked a few minutes later.
"They wheeled him in earlier for nursing. He might still be asleep, but you can go get him."
Damon left the room in search of his son. He didn't have to look for long – before he could see him, Damon could clearly hear him. Noah most certainly was not asleep and seemed to very loudly object to something. After exchanging a few words with the nurses on call, Damon went to pick him up.
"What are you complaining so loudly about?" Damon asked Noah, raising his voice to be heard over the baby's cries. Noah blinked a few times, the cries turning into sniffles before his eyes closed and he seemed to doze off. "Oh, okay, that was easy," Damon muttered.
He went back to Elena's room. She had finished breakfast and was teaching some sort of hand-clapping game to Stevie where the objective seemed to be to mess up as often as possible and then to squeeze the other one's face and shower it with kisses.
Elena and Damon both waited until Stevie noticed the newest member of their family in Damon's arms. She grew still when she finally did. Curious, she crawled across Elena's legs to the end of the bed, where Damon was perched against. Elena scuttled down as well and sat behind Stevie, pulling her onto her lap. "This is your new brother, Stevie," she spoke softly. "His name's Noah."
Stevie, curious as ever, leaned forward and placed a hand on his belly.
"Gentle," Damon whispered, but he needn't have bothered. Stevie was only careless when she was excited and she seemed more puzzled than excited right then. Bolder now, Stevie reached out with both arms, encircling Noah's middle and Damon brought him closer so she could cuddle him to her chest.
"Careful," Elena gently said when Stevie squeezed the little baby in her arms.
"Toto," she said.
There was a pause and then both, Damon and Elena snorted with laughter when understanding dawned. Toto was Stevie's name for her plushy – a flat pillow shaped like an elephant. It was a soft blue-gray; the same color as the blanket Noah was swaddled in.
"Kinda like Toto," Damon agreed. "Except you can't drag him with you everywhere you go. Not yet, at least."
Stevie let go of her baby brother and a second later, he released an ear-splitting wail. Stevie's eyes grew big in shock and she scrambled back a little, deeper into Elena's lap. Insecure and a little bit frightened, she looked up at Elena.
"It's okay, Stevie," Elena explained to her quietly while Damon took care of the crying baby. "You didn't do anything wrong. Noah's probably just hungry." She took Stevie's face in both hands and kissed her.
"Na-na?" Stevie asked.
Neither Damon nor Elena were sure where that expression had come from, but it had become Stefanie's word for food.
"Yes, exactly."
Stevie reached for the tray that still held the remnants of Elena's breakfast and grabbed a handful of blueberries.
"Not that kind of food, angel," Damon told her with a smile. He and Elena swapped children so Elena could breastfeed Noah. Clutching Damon's arm to her, Stevie stood at the foot of the bed and watched for a few moments, still keeping a little distance to her brother after his vocally impressive introduction. But growing bolder, she eventually dared get closer and spent the rest of the morning under Elena's arm, studying the weird squirmy thing that was her baby brother.
Noah wasn't a fussy baby per se, he just seriously disliked being put down. Unlike Stevie, who was curious and started reaching for things even before she had full control of her limbs, Noah was content to just watch, as long as he could do the watching from the safe comfort of someone's arms.
Nap time was particularly trying. He would fall asleep in Damonä's or Elena's arms with no problem. But the moment they placed him back in his crib, all hell broke loose. He would only calm back down after someone picked him up again. It was a difficult first few weeks with Elena and Damon taking turns carrying him around during the day, and rocking him to sleep during the night.
A few days down the road, Alaric showed up with the most helpful item to date – a blanket that simulated a heartbeat. It was supposed to help newborns feel safe and sleep better. And it did help a little, around every other time or so. Mostly, when Noah was already exhausted from crying so much.
"Your turn," Elena mumbled without waking up a few weeks later, in the middle of the night.
Feeling like a zombie and looking worse, Damon climbed out of bed to pick up a crying Noah. He'd barely settled down with him in the rocking chair when Stevie appeared in the door. They left it open so they would hear it if Stefanie called out for them in the night, but unfortunately that also meant that Stefanie could hear them as well. Or rather she could hear her brother.
She paused in the door, clutching her stuffed elephant under one arm and her blanket, dragging behind her, in the other.
"You have got to stop climbing out of your bed," Damon gently told her.
Elena and he had discussed raising the rail, but decided that Stevie would probably find a way to climb that too and they'd rather not risk her falling from an even greater height.
"Come here, you little monkey."
Stevie climbed onto Damon's lap and nestled against his shoulder, eyes heavy with sleep. "Nona loud," she muttered. It was her name for Noah.
"Noah woke you up?" Damon translated. "I'm sorry, angel. I'm tired too." He rubbed her back with his free arm.
Damon longingly eyed the bed where Elena rested under a thin sheet. The idea of just lying down and crashing beside her was too seductive to resist. "Let's head back to bed, okay?" he whispered into the blissful silence.
Noah had quickly fallen back asleep, content to rest in his father's arms. Not wanting to risk another drama, Damon decided not to place him back in his crib. He motioned for Stevie to climb into the big bed and waited until she was cozied up against Elena. Without waking up, Elena's arm had come up around her daughter and she kissed the top of her hair.
Then Damon climbed into bed next to his girls, ridiculously grateful that he and Elena had custom-ordered this huge ass bed that could fit the four of them easily.
With Noah resting against his chest, Damon went back to sleep.
Damon woke up alarmed. It took him a moment to remember what was wrong but when he did, he jerked his head sideways, looking for Noah who no longer rested on his chest. He met Elena's eyes on the other side of the bed. She pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, "Shh."
Only then did Damon notice what she was pointing at.
Between them, Stevie and Noah were cuddled up together, both sleeping soundly.
"He hasn't woken up since I brought him to bed?" Damon asked in hushed voice.
Elena shook her head. "Nope. I had to wake him to feed. Went right back to sleep after. How did you think of that?" she motioned to their two kids twined around each other in sleep.
Damon closed his eyes and relaxed back onto his pillow. "As much as I would love to claim this genius idea for myself, this is the result of an exhausted mind. I just couldn't be bothered to bring Stevie back to her bed."
Elena didn't care how this situation came about, she was just grateful for the solid four hours of uninterrupted sleep. Her first in almost three weeks.
"I hope Stevie doesn't mind sharing her bed with her brother occasionally," Elena mumbled around a yawn.
Thankfully, Stevie didn't.
"Jer?" Elena stopped short when she stepped into the kitchen and saw her brother lounging at the breakfast counter. He appeared to be listening intently to Stevie's story while the girl jumped up and down in her bouncy seat. "What are you doing here?"
He stood up to give his sister a hug and kiss his nephew. "I was in the area for a jog and decided to stop by."
Elena regarded him through squinty eyes. He was wearing running shoes and clothes, but she got the feeling she wasn't getting the full story. "Just like that?" she asked.
"Yeah," Jeremy replied. "Damon said you were about to have breakfast and invited me to stay."
"Okay," Elena said, nodding, still suspicious. "Where is Damon?"
"Right here," Damon's voice sounded from the door leading to the pantry. He appeared, carrying ingredients for something more elaborate than what they had been planning on having.
"I thought we were having last night's leftovers for breakfast," she said.
"We were. But then your brother asked for pancakes."
"Ahh," Elena said, the picture finally making sense.
"Hey," Jeremy protested. "I didn't ask. I… strongly implied," he added at Elena's raised eyebrow.
Elena pushed Noah into Jeremy's arms and went over to Damon. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him good morning. And then kissed him again just because. And once more because she actually got some rest last night for the first time in weeks and was feeling good.
"Guys," Jeremy groaned, demonstratively turning his head away while covering Noah's eyes, "there's kids in the room."
"They're used to it," Damon replied without taking his lips off Elena's.
"No kid ever gets used to their parents smooching," Jeremy mumbled but was ignored by both, Damon and Elena.
"I know you're too smart not to know that he's taking advantage of you," Elena told Damon with a side nod at her brother. "So, what's your play?"
"Oh," Damon replied, "I'm going to take advantage of him too."
"What?" Jeremy said.
"How?" Elena asked.
"He's going to volunteer to babysit our offspring for an entire evening. So you and I can have a night out."
"I am?" Jeremy asked. "I don't remember agreeing to that."
"It was strongly implied," Damon answered, throwing his brother-in-law's words back at him.
"If I'm babysitting, I want chocolate chips in my pancakes."
Damon picked up the bag of chocolate chips and shook it in Jeremy's face.
Jeremy glanced at his niece, then at Noah and capitulated. "Guess I'm babysitting."
Jeremy got a chance to make good on his promise a few days later. Even though he didn't stop grumbling about his sister and her husband being dorks for still going on dates and taking a time-out from being parents to spend time together, just the two of them. Damon let him talk; but he did make a mental note to remind Jeremy of tonight once the little punk was married and had kids as well. Damon couldn't wait to make him eat his words.
While waiting for Elena to get ready, Damon gave Jeremy some last-minute instructions on what to do in case of emergencies. He stopped short when he heard Elena gasp as she descended the stairs.
"You look amazing," she told her husband. He truly did, clad all in black. He'd put on a suit and tie for the occasion – also black – and Elena couldn't stop staring.
"You're not so bad yourself," Damon replied and did some staring himself.
Elena looked stunning in a lowcut floral print dress that framed her ample bosom. The red and white color accentuated her dark hair and tan skin and Damon briefly considered staying home instead of going out.
"Stop drooling. That's my sister," Jeremy's annoyed voice cut in and tore Damon from his contemplations.
Elena stepped in before the verbal sparring could get out of hand. "Thank you, Jer, for doing this. You're my hero."
"Yeah, yeah," Jeremy replied, a little embarrassed. "Go have fun. But not too much fun," he quickly added. "I think two kids are enough for now. Jeesus."
"See if I ever make pancakes for you again," Damon threatened.
He kissed both his kids, waited until Elena did the same, and off they were.
"They're doing it wrong," Damon commented, waving his fork at the hostess that was escorting newly arrived restaurant guests to a table.
Elena followed his gaze and hmm'ed. Damon took it as a prompt to explain.
"You can't seat a party of three at the only large table they got. That's just not practical. If a large party arrives, they'll have to move smaller tables together, reducing the number of available tables and blocking paths for the waiters. Turnover rate decreases."
"And how's your food?" Elena asked with an amused smile. Ric had recommended the place and Elena was thoroughly enjoying her first night out since Noah was born. Well, Elena was enjoying it. Damon seemed to not be able to switch his mind off.
"Excellent," Damon replied. "But I think I'd enjoy it more with a good wine."
That was a dig at the server who took their order. As Damon had extolled earlier, if someone ordered the most expensive item on the menu, a well-trained attendant would seize the opportunity and suggest a wine that would go well with it. Preferably one in the higher price range. Their server had not and Damon was still smarting from the missed opportunity, as if it was his own establishment losing out on business.
As the evening moved on, Elena listened to Damon criticize the placement of the cash register (on the opposite end of the dining room as the bar), the waiting times, and the lack of after dinner drinks. She mostly nodded and, whenever needed, hid a smile behind her napkin.
Damon didn't seem to realize it, but he was already restructuring the dining room and adding items to the menu as well as planning a whole promotion campaign. She wouldn't be too surprised if there was a management change in this restaurant's future.
Noah did not like bath time. And he had the set of lungs to let them all know.
The first time they tried to give him a bath, he'd cried so loud, it stunned even Stevie into speechlessness who had grown to babble almost constantly while awake. She hovered at the edge of the baby tub, watching with shock-wide eyes as her newborn brother squirmed and protested as loudly and extensively as he could. She scampered away for a minute and returned with one of her bath time toys – a floppy turtle. She dropped it into the water next to her brother but Noah wasn't impressed.
Distracting him didn't work; neither did the bath pillow or the bucket tub. The only thing Noah seemed to tolerate, though only barely, was the shower while held safely in his parents' arms.
It took more than half a year before Elena and Damon dared try revisit the bathtub idea.
Contrary to her brother, Stevie loved the water. If allowed, she would spend hours playing in the tub and never wanted to come out. Especially when Damon introduced glow-in-the-dark sticks to bath time. The warm water would make them glow all the brighter and Stevie had fun diving for them. It was while Stevie was laughing and splashing about that Damon entered the bathroom with Noah on his arm, heading for the shower. Noah watched his sister for a few moments, then extended his arms towards her.
Damon raised a questioning eyebrow at Elena who was kneeling by the tub. She shrugged and Damon experimentally and very slowly lowered Noah into the water. There was a moment of uncertainty where it seemed like Noah couldn't decide what to make of what he was feeling. He was clutching the sides of the tub so hard, his knuckles turned white, but then Stevie pushed a rubber ducky in his direction and he tried to catch it as it floated toward him.
Without making too sudden movements, Damon let go of his son. Noah sat stock still in the water but then seemed to remember the toy in his hand. He pushed it under the water and it popped right back to the surface when he let it go, splashing his face in the process. Damon and Elena both held their breaths, Stevie laughed, and – wonder over wonders – a second later so did Noah. Stevie splashed the surface with both hands and Noah followed suit. A minute later Elena and Damon were drenched all the way through, but both kids were laughing and they counted that as a win.
