Damon carried her up to her bed. She was sleeping in his arms, curled up like a cat. He gently placed her on the soft mattress. Meredith moved uncomfortably in her costume, so he went to her dresser and pulled out the first nightgown he saw. He moved onto the bed and gently shook her.

"Wake up and put this on. You'll be more comfortable."

She slowly opened her sleepy eyes and looked up at him. He lifted her into a sitting position and gave the nightgown to her. Her eyes looked down to the garment and back up to him. She moved off of the bed and tried to stand on her own two feet. Yep, she was still drunk. Damon rolled his eyes and moved towards her to help her up. As he did, she grabbed his neck and pulled him down to meet her lips.

He pushed away from her gently, but her kiss persisted and deepened. She started to kiss his face and moved to nibble on his ear lobe.

"Come on, Damon. You know you want me," she whispered seductively in his ear.

He didn't know how much more he could take. Something needed to be done, and fast. Damon finally had enough and pushed her away with more force, causing to stumble backward. She looked at him astonished.

"Meredith, you're drunk. You don't know what you're doing. If you were sober, you wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole, except maybe to beat me with it."

'What the hell are you thinking,' his mind asked, ' She wants you; you never turned down an attractive drunk chick before. What's so different about her?'

She just stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Using her arms for balance, Meredith got into a standing pose, put her nightgown on, and moved carefully over to the bed. As she lied down, she curled up into a fetal position and began to cry.

Damon just looked at her. What was he to do? He had never seen Meredith cry like this before. She was sobbing so uncontrollably that her tremors were practically shaking the bed. He was about to walk out of the room when she spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to do that. I'm so ashamed"

"Look," he said unemotionally, "it's no problem. Think of nothing of it. I have girls throw themselves at me all the time."

She began to bawl again. The sound was filled with such pain.

"I just wanted to feel someone again. No one has touched me since Alaric…," she whimpered. "I just wanted someone to hold me!"

Before he knew what he was doing, Damon was going over to the bed and cradling the sobbing woman in his arms.

"Why did he leave me?!? He always choose his work over me, why did he have to go?!?"

He rocked her back and forth and reassured her that everything was going to be all right. His fingers brushed through her hair soothingly as he guided her deeper into sleep. As he held her, Damon remembered lonely nights when he heard his mother crying in her room. He used to go in and snuggle with her while she slept, trying to bring some comfort to her by bringing her some peace into her closed life.

She had never felt so sick in her life. Meredith tried to move from her bed, but felt a hesitation from her side. She rolled over to see what was keeping her from heading to the powder room; it was Damon. He was in her bed wearing only his black pants.

'Oh what have I done?!? Did I sleep with him last night?' She tried hard to remember the evening. 'I went to that party…I had a few drinks…I don't remember anything after that. But I only had a few drinks! I couldn't have been drunk! Oh no, no, that's not good for the baby. What did I do? What the hell was I thinking?!?! ' She looked down at her present attire. 'How did I get into this nightgown?!?! Oh god I must have slept with him!' She felt as if she was to cry again, but that was taken away by an overwhelming sense of nausea. Meredith pushed Damon's arm off of her and ran to the bathroom.

After several minutes of 'worshiping the porcelain god' in the bathroom, Meredith returned to her bedroom to find Damon still in her bed, leaning on an elbow.

"Did you sleep well," he asked inquisitively.

"Yes," she replied shyly. "Thanks for asking."

After an uncomfortable silence, which caused millions of thoughts to run through Mere's head, Damon spoke.

"No."

"No, what?," she asked curiously.

"We didn't sleep together." He must have read her thoughts.

"Then why am I in a nightgown? Why are you here? What happened last night?"

He sat on the edge of the bed and she moved to sit down next to him.

"You, my dear Meredith, were completely smashed last night. You had A LOT to drink in a very short period of time. You're one mean drunk too. After you attempted to hit me, you fell and hit your head. So, as a gallant male should, I escorted you home and made you put on your night attire." He winked at her. "You weren't feeling too well, so I stayed just to make sure you were ok. I once told Alaric I would help you if you needed it, so I kept my end of the deal."

"Oh god…I drank that much? I hope everything is all right," she said, on the verge of tears.

"Well, you didn't make a COMPLETE ass of yourself…"

"That's not what I mean," Meredith said firmly. "Damon…I don't know how to say this…but, I'm…I'm pregnant."

Damon looked at her with shock and realization. It was like he had known something was different about her, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"I found out after Alaric died. It's been so hard. This baby is all I have left of him. I hope it's all right. I shouldn't have drank so much last night!"

Damon seemed to be focusing on her soul. It was only then that he could sense a life force inside her.

"The baby seems all right. Have you seen a doctor?"

"No, not yet."

"Meredith, how many months have you know about this child?"

"I found out in September, which means I am four months along as of right now."

"You have to get to a doctor. You can't do this on your own; you look sickly. For your health and that of your child, you need to go right away. Make an appointment and I'll drive you there right now if I have to!"

"Why are you so frantic about this? It's not even your baby."

"Like I said, I told Alaric I'd help you out need be," he paused and a slight sadness came to his dark eyes. "Plus, if my mother could have had the kind of doctors they have now, she probably wouldn't have died. I won't have what happened to her unnecessarily happen to you as well."