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At some point in the early hours of morning, Elena's light breathing synchronizing with his own, Damon must have drifted off. The sun had risen by the time a soft hand touched his shoulder, pulling him from his dreams, but the bluish haze hinted that it was still rather early. Stefan stood above him, looking as though he was poking at an angry rattlesnake.

"Sorry," he said, quiet and quickly, when Damon glared up at him, "I tried to knock but…"

"What is it?" Damon asked, knowing that Stefan would only come and wake him for a good reason. As his cousin told him that Alaric had arrived and was waiting in the office, Damon looked down at Elena. She was still sleeping; his jostling moments while waking had not bothered her the slightest. So innocent, she looked, he couldn't bear to interrupt the rare minutes of peace.

"Tell Alaric I will be right down," he instructed, and Stefan nodded before retreating.

Damon slipped himself free of Elena's body without disrupting her too much, and waited until she had settled once more in his pillows before grabbing the monitor for Nadia's room and a fresh shirt. Then he followed Stefan's exit.


Alaric was waiting for him with an extra coffee, and Damon had never liked the guy more. He took the styrofoam cup gratefully, and drank half of its contents in a single swallow. It burned a little, going down, but it was the wake-up he needed.

"There's a second cup on your desk," Ric stated flatly, and Damon actually laughed.

"You truly are the best."

"And you look like shit, Boss. Guessing you didn't get much sleep?"

Damon shrugged. "More than you. What did you tell your pretty wife about the late night?"

"Exactly that." Alaric shrugged. "Had some shit come up and had to stay with the club to deal with it. She trusts me."

Damon walked over to his desk and dropped into the chair, setting his nearly empty coffee next to the fuller cup.

"And you trust her," he considered. "Rare combination. Especially ironic, too, considering that her trust in you is built on lies."

"She knows as much as she needs to," Alaric defended, "Now you wanna tell me where your head's at with our situation here, or do you want to keep riding on me about my marriage?"

"A little of both, actually."

Damon typed in his password for the monitor and did a brush with the security cameras before pulling up the file Stefan had been compiling on Julian. Nothing out of the ordinary. He had just finished reading through the information when his cousin joined them.

"Julian never responded back to the message you sent him?" Damon confirmed, meeting Stefan's gaze.

Stefan shook his head, "Not a word yet, but that file is everything we have on him, and Katherine's known locations around the time she disappeared. The link at the bottom is attached to the GPS coordinates of Julian's men. The brothers are ready to go stealth mode at your command."

"We'll get there," Damon assured him and pulled up the locators.

Julian's men were at the office downtown. It was hardly likely that they were keeping Elena's sister there, but perhaps it would be a good place to meet. Julian would surely be waiting for that, anyway. For Damon to play his hand, make known his involvement with Katalena. Otherwise a ransom call would have already come.

"What's the plan, Damon?" Alaric pulled a chair up to the opposite side of the desk and straddled it backward, resting his arms over the backrest.

Damon considered his question, as his brain formulated the answer. There were several plans, and each contained so many variables that it would be difficult to decide the correct path to take until the opportunity was presented. He had to confirm that Julian had Katherine, then he had to find her whereabouts. Enzo and Mason had found no trace of her in the radius between Julian's office and the home she and Elena shared and no one with her description had turned up at any hospitals within a fifty mile radius. Stefan had checked. Which left little other option than to meet with Julian and let the man make his demands.

"I do have a plan," he answered. "Most of one, at least. Stefan, go call the brothers. Confirm that they have found nothing more on Katherine, then find a room to crash in. Tell them to do the same. I will meet with Julian this evening, whether he agrees to it or not, and I need you all rested and ready."

Stefan nodded and left the room with his phone already in his hand.


Alaric let out a short huff.

"Must be something really interesting about this plan if you wanted to discuss it with me alone," he deduced.

Damon smirked. "You know me well, old friend. And yes, there is a matter of interest that I wish to stay between the two of us."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"No," Damon admitted, "I doubt you will care much for either request I am about to make of you. One of them I will allow you to decline if you so insist, but the other is non-negotiable."

Alaric stared at him for a good long second, then turned the chair and settled back into it as if it would hold the weight of whatever Damon was about to demand.

"Alright. Lay it on me."

Damon set his jaw as their gazes held, "I need Jenna."

Alaric frowned, "Come again?"

"Your wife," Damon elaborated, "I want you to bring her here. Elena is going to want to jump into this mess head first when she wakes, and she will feel better if there is someone we can trust that will care for the child while we try to find Katherine."

Alaric's eyebrows were nearly touching his forehead, "You want me to bring my wife here to your estate, with the security and the Vault Room; risk her finding out everything, during a possible hostage negotiation, just to babysit the niece of some girl you're fucking, who-"

"Watch it," Damon warned and Alaric put up his hands.

"Hey, I like Elena," he defended. "I actually think she's been good for you and this isn't a slight on her part. But it is my marriage, Damon. My wife. You want me to bring her around all this mess, even indirectly? Do you know what you're asking?"

"I do," Damon said solemnly, "And I am sorry. But someone has to stay with the girl, and it is not as if we can call a service. Jenna is your wife, and if you trust her then I can trust her with that child. I am asking you to have her come here, where she will be safe, to keep a little girl safe and calm while I try to find her mother, who might possibly be dead. I understand it is a risk, but try to have some perspective, Ric."

"I need to have perspective?" Alaric almost laughed, "That's a little pot and kettle, don't you think? You hardly know Katherine, or that kid upstairs. You care about Elena and want to help her, fine, but to what end? Pissing off a potential business partner? Making waves in the very dangerous landmine that this world is...for what? It's not as if you love the woman, or plan to keep her around for any longer than this fleeting obsession holds your interest…"

Something must have changed in Damon's expression at his words, because Alaric stopped dead.

"Unless...unless you do?"

"Do what?" Damon snapped, not liking the way Ric's eyes narrowed.

"Love her."

He scoffed at the suggestion, "You know me better than that."

Alaric wasn't giving him an inch today, though.

"Yeah, you're right. I do. I know that you've killed for less lip than that girl gives you. You never, and I do mean never, would have allowed anyone to hit you without repercussions, myself included, yet Elena does so and you claim it deserved. You're fixed on her in a way you've never been before, and maybe you don't want to admit it, but a few months ago you would have killed Katherine yourself if it meant keeping peace with the other players on the board. Maybe it isn't love, but it's something you had better damn well acknowledge before you ask me to risk my relationship for it."

Anger surged in Damon's chest. The thick tension in the air between him and his Head of Security was rare for them, but not unheard of. He was a man that gave orders and did not tolerate disrespect, but Alaric had well earned his right to speak his mind...within reason.

Damon took a few breaths and forced his gut reaction to settle down. He needed Alaric with him on this, and knew the man had strong reasons for voicing his concern. If he had any hope of being a better man than his father, he would have to start showing a little respect in turn.

"I hear you," he said slowly, "I do, Ric. I hear you." Surprise had barely registered on Alaric's face before he continued, "But I can not think about that right now. Yes, I am mostly doing this for Elena. I care because it would kill her to lose her sister. Whatever that means...we can dissect later. Right now, all that matters is that we find Katherine."

Damon stood from his chair and walked around the desk and sat on the edge of it.

"My involvement with Julian could be a factor in her disappearance, and I will make that right. If Julian took her as a slight toward me, then it is both personal and business. Whatever I feel for Elena aside, I have to get to the bottom of this. And I can not do it without you, Ric. Because it is your wife, you may decline without repercussion, but I am asking you to help me."

It was the closest to a "please" that he would get, and Alaric knew it. He stood, still frowning as he considered the request. Until, finally-

"Alright. I'll call Jenna and see if she'd be willing to help. All she needs to know is that the kid is the daughter of a friend of yours. I don't want any of this other shit touching her, agreed?"

Damon nodded, and gripped Ric's shoulder, "Thank you. I'll be sure and throw a generous bonus into your neck paycheck."

"Good," Alaric sighed, "But fuck, I don't feel right about this."

"Jenna will be safer than the rest of us combined," Damon promised, "You know that this estate is a fortress. In fact, it may even be safer for her here than in your home."

"My home is safe enough," Alaric rolled his eyes.

"No safer than...oh, a cruise ship at sea, which brings me to my next request." Damon dropped his arm and reached over his desk to turn his computer screen around. "I need you to copy down this port address."

Alaric was quick on the uptake. "Maxfield's daughter?"

"Mmhm," Damon confirmed. "She is meant to board tomorrow. Her father picked an opportune time to ship her out of the country, no? A week in the Carribean, apparently. And as far as Julian is concerned, that is exactly where she will be."

"You're suggesting we intercept her? Kidnap her; take her hostage?" Alaric asked, "An innocent teenage girl?"

Damon smirked. "Come now, Ric. You saw the club photos; the girl is hardly innocent."

"That's beside the point," Alaric said flatly.

Damon sighed. "Try not to think of it as kidnapping. It is more like...insurance. Julian has something that I want returned. Caroline Maxfield is the leverage I need to guarantee that he acts favorably."

When Alaric merely continued to stare at him, Damon lifted a brow. "Are you going to tell me no?"

Ric's face contorted. "You know I won't. Doesn't mean I have to agree with your choice. I've done a lot at your behest, but usually to people who deserve it. It's not a child's place, whatever the age, to pay for the sins of their father."

The double edge on his declaration did not go unnoticed, reminiscent of their last conversation on the matter, but Damon ignored it.

"I am not asking you to kill the girl, Ric. Just to take her to a remote location and keep her there until my negotiations with Julian have concluded. Surely your tilted moral compass can handle that? However obscure it has been of late."

"Yeah, well," Alaric sank back down into the chair he'd occupied before, "You can blame your girlfriend for that. The woman's got a way of making you think, I'll say that much for her."

Damon opened his mouth to respond to that comment, but a noise in his pocket distracted them both. The monitor. Damon pulled the thing out to see that Elena's niece, Nadia, was awake and sitting up on the bed.

"Shit," he huffed, then looked at Ric. "Go home to your wife. Get some rest, then convince her to come watch the child. I'll call you in a few hours."

Alaric nodded, and Damon started toward the door, eyes on the monitor. Nadia seemed confused about her location, but had yet to work herself into a panic. She appeared smaller, somehow, in the large bed he had placed her in. So fragile and alone. All due to a series of choices she had had no say in. None of them had ever had a damn say in the paths their lives had taken, had they?

"Alaric," Damon paused in the doorway.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"You're wrong." He glanced back over his shoulder. "We all end up paying for the sins of our fathers. One way or another."

Alaric said nothing in return, and Damon left.


It was a testament to his inexperience with children that Damon's nerves were making his fingers twitch as he grabbed the door handle to Nadia's temporary room. Logically, he knew that there was no reason to feel as he did. It was just a child; a smaller and more helpless, more ignorant version of a developed human. And this one was sick. Fragile. Breakable in so many ways. She needed to be cared for.

He opened the door, and found that the little girl was no longer on the bed, but had made her way to the center of the room, and was staring up at the ceiling. There was an intricate floral design painted on it; commissioned by the last tenants, no doubt, but his entrance caught the child's attention.

Wide brown eyes shot to him, and Damon halted, lifting a hand slightly as if in defense. Nadia's head crooked, and she turned to fully face him, her purple pajamas crinkling with the movement. She was small; so much smaller than him, Damon worried that he would frighten her.

"Hello," he started, leaving the door open behind him as to not make her feel trapped, "You probably do not remember me, but-"

"You're the man who brought me upstairs last night," Nadia spoke with a surprising clear voice, "Aunt 'Lena's friend."

Damon nodded, and slowly took a few steps closer to her, "Yes. That is right. I am good friends with your aunt. You both came to stay here late last night. Your aunt is still sleeping."

"Is my mommy back, yet?" she asked, still staring.

Damon hesitated before answering, wondering if maybe he should go wake Elena to discuss the topic in full with the girl. But she was exhausted, and needed sleep. He could handle this.

"Not yet," he said, "Hopefully soon. In the meantime, your aunt wants you both to stay here."

"Why?"

Damon's brows furrowed, "Because...Your aunt needs my help. For work. And I have toys coming here, for you to play with while we work."

Or he would very soon, at least. He made a mental reminder to message Stefan or Alaric later to make the order.

"You talk funny," Nadia observed, after accepting his reply, and Damon could not help but smirk.

"That is because I was raised in another country, far across the ocean," he told her, "English is not the first language I learned to speak."

"Did you live near Australia?" she asked, her interest piqued, "I learned about Australia last week in my school work. It's the smallest continent and has lots of animals, like the kangaroo and the dingo, and the koala bear. I told Mommy I wanted a pet kangaroo, but she said we couldn't get one."

Her face fell a little at the reminder, and the expression was so heartbreaking, Damon was tempted to pull out his phone and use his contacts to find a black market exotic animal dealer right then and there. But the more rational side of his brain argued that now probably was not the best time to have a powerful marsupial roaming the halls just because it might make this little girl happy.

"Actually, I grew up near Siena," he told her, "In Italy. That is-"

"That's the country with the big colosum!" Nadia exclaimed excitedly, "Mommy read me a book about it."

Damon chuckled, " The colosseum, yes, in Rome. It is quite large."

Wonderment filled those brown eyes, "You've seen it?"

"A few times," he admitted, "Though nowadays, it is mostly full of tourists and construction workers."

"What's a tourist?" Nadia asked curiously.

"A person who is visiting another country," he explained, "Just for fun."

Nadia considered his answer, and her expression sombered, "I want to visit another country, but I'm too sick. Mommy and Aunt 'Lena say we have to stay close to my doctors. That's why we move a lot."

It was a fair explanation, Damon figured, all things considered. Clearly Elena and her sister had not wanted Nadia to know the truth of their daily activities, and this was the simplest way to reason their lifestyle to the young girl. But keeping her in the dark wasn't going to do anyone any favors if they had to explain to her why her mother never came home from work. He hoped like hell it wouldn't come to that.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, as something awfully close to pity twisted in his stomach. This girl had lived through hell already; the least he could do is make sure she had some decent food in her stomach. And water...she would probably need water. Or milk. Kids liked milk, right?

"Do you have waffles?" Nadia asked. "I love waffles!"

Damon smiled. "Sure, bimba, we can find you some waffles."


As it would happen, his kitchen downstairs was not actually stacked with ingredients to make waffles, so Damon put a breakfast order in through his phone for delivery, and took Nadia into the sitting room with the fireplace Elena had once tried to escape from him through. It was also the room where she had slapped the shit out of him. And now, apparently, it was an entertainment room for this child, until Elena awoke, or Alaric brought his wife over.

"There is a television here with many programs," he said to the girl, who was staring around at the art on the walls, "You can watch something while we wait for breakfast."

He grabbed the underutilized remote from one of the sofa end tables, and offered it out to her. Nadia glanced at it, then back up at him.

"I'm not supposed to watch TV until after three," she informed him, "Mommy says too much screen time can make your brain mushy."

"She does, huh?" his brows furrowed, "Well, we can not have your brain turning to mush, can we? What else do you like to do?"

"I like puzzles and games," Nadia told him, "And reading books."

"You can read?" Damon asked, a little impressed, and she nodded.

"I can read lots of books. My favorites have pictures that come off the page! Do you have any here?"

She hopped up on the nearest sofa and stared at him expectantly.

Damon frowned, "None of those books, I fear...but I do have games."

Well, he had cards, but he could make a game out of them that would be easy enough for her to comprehend. There were several right? War. Go Fish… Just something to pass the time until someone more qualified could take over.

"Here," he pulled the coffee table across from the sofa a little closer to it, then walked over to the entertainment center, where he knew a set of cards were stored.

When he returned, Nadia actually seemed excited about what he held.

"Ooh, are we playing Holden?"

"Holden?"

She nodded fiercely, "Texas Holden! Mommy and Aunt 'Lena showed me how to play!"

Figuring out what she meant, Damon's brow lifted, "You know how to play poker?"

"Mhmm, but you have to have grown up money to play for real," she said, as if this rule was of the utmost importance.

Slightly amused, and more than a little curious, Damon pulled out his wallet.

"What do you think? One-hundred? Three-hundred? That should be a good start, no?"

Nadia's mouth parted a little when he dropped some bills on the table, but then a slow smile spread across her lips, "Yes. That's a good start."

Damon laughed and picked up the cards, "Alright then, bimba. I'll deal."


A little bonding there at the end :) I'm a sucker for daddy Damon, okay?! lol. Hope ya'll enjoyed!