Update! More Nadia and Delena focus in this chapter, but the action will pick up in the next!
Enjoy! :)
Consciousness came to Elena as sudden as a hammer would to the temple and she bolted up off the mattress, clutching her chest as she gasped for air. Real life had bled into her dreams, taunting her for daring to shut her eyes, reminding her of what was at stake.
"I'll find you," she whispered after a few settling breaths, then threw back the sheets on the bed.
Damon's room was as fancy as she remembered it being this morning. Yesterday? How long had she been sleeping? Daylight was coming through the window across the room, but there was nothing to hint at the time. Had Nadia woken up yet?
It wasn't difficult to find her way down the hall, but the room her niece had been sleeping in was empty. Elena had to remind herself that Damon's house was a fortress that even she hadn't been able to penetrate undetected. It wasn't fair to assume the worst. She hurried down the stairs.
The sounds of loud squealing carried her feet toward the sitting room with the fireplace she had once tried to escape from.
"Nadia?"
The noise of excitement cut short, and was followed by her niece calling out, "Lena!"
Elena sighed in relief and turned the corner. She had just passed Damon's office, when Nadia's small figure appeared at the end of the hall, in the doorway of the sitting room. She was smiling wide and met Elena halfway with an exuberant hug.
"You're up!" Nadia exclaimed, "I waited so much for you! But that's okay; Mr. Damon played games with me. Do you want to come play, too? Oh! Look what I got!"
Elena barely had time to process her fast words before a wad of cash was being waved in her face. With a couple Benjamins flashing.
"It's a whole thousand dollars!" Nadia giggled.
Elena frowned and untangled Nadia's arms from her neck, "Damon gave you that?"
"Yep!" Nadia pulled away, just as a tall figure filled the doorway behind her.
Elena glanced up to see Damon wearing an amused expression; one that she did not share.
"You gave her a thousand dollars?"
Because Nadia was still in the hall with them, Elena kept her tone polite; however, her eyes narrowed sharply with the question and Damon raised his hands in defense.
"A deal is a deal, cara mia," he said simply, "I lost."
"Lost what?" she demanded.
He grinned, "My dignity...and a few card games."
"Texas Holden!" Nadia proclaimed proudly.
Damon chuckled, "You could have warned me the little brat is as good at conning men as you are."
Despite his words, there was an odd note of tenderness in Damon's accusation, and he was still smiling when their eyes met.
Elena blinked, then dropped her gaze to Nadia, who was now using the bills to smugly fan herself, "Did you seriously hustle him? I thought we talked about this during our last game night. If you're going to play, you play fair."
The scolding did nothing to douse her niece's mood.
"But Mommy was right," Nadia argued, "You play fair and you make friends, but if you play dirty, you make money."
Damon let out an actual snort, followed by a muffled laugh, and Elena glared at him.
"Not funny. And Mommy shouldn't have said that," she turned back to Nadia, "You need to play the right way."
"Yes, please," Damon sobered, "Teach her all about the importance of honesty."
Elena grit her teeth.
"Nadia, baby, go pick up the games you were playing with please. I need to speak to Mr. Damon."
Nadia was all too happy to get out of the line of fire; darting back into the sitting room and taking her money with her.
Damon waited until she was gone before taking Elena's arm and pulling her close to him.
"Mr. Damon, huh?"
"I'm not amused, Damon. That's serious cash."
"She earned the money," he said dismissively, looping an arm around her waist, "As fairly as any game of poker is ever won. Took me by surprise, I will admit. The girl knows how to bluff."
Elena sighed, some of her annoyance evaporating, "Yeah. She watched me and Kat too many times, and picked up more than she should have...but we were playing with pocket change. You shouldn't have given her that much money."
"That is my pocket change," Damon pointed out, "And as I said, she earned it. Efficiently. It was embarrassing, if I am being entirely honest."
She wanted to press the matter further, but it just wasn't worth the argument. Not when there were real issues at hand.
"How long was I out? Did you find out anything with Julian? Katherine?"
Damon shook his head, "Other than the fact that she is still completely M.I.A, there is nothing. It is almost two now; I set up a meeting with Julian for this evening. He finally responded, figlio di puttana. If he has your sister, I will find out. I promise."
Elena's body felt heavy and she tried to settle her frayed nerves with the reminder that she was doing the best thing she could. Trusting Damon like this was a risk, but it meant keeping Nadia safe and being smart about finding Katherine. Going around guns blazing, so to speak, would fix nothing.
"I just feel so helpless," she admitted quietly, "I want to take action, go kick someone's ass for answers...I want to help her. But I can't. Not yet. And it's driving me crazy."
Damon's brows furrowed in sympathy, and his arm tightened around her waist as his other wrapped over her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. She buried her nose in his chest and let her weight fall against him. However dangerous this thing between them might become, at the moment, she was so grateful for his presence. His calming strength. And despite every self-preservation instinct screaming at her to trust no one, she chose to give up control and let Damon take the reigns. They both knew it was the best bet of getting Katherine back, if Julian was the one who had her.
"Thank you," she murmured, turning her head to rest against him, "For everything."
The gratitude should not have meant as much as it did, but when those small words left her lips, Damon's chest expanded and he felt as tall as a mountain. Just as firm and immovable, and able to weather anything that came at them. Her faith in him was jarring, and he wanted to be deserving of it.
Slowly, he cupped her face, lifting it until their gazes met and he became convinced that the burnt umber of those sad, beautiful eyes would haunt his dreams forever. Alaric's words echoed in his head.
It's not as if you love the woman.
The idea that he could ever feel for someone what his father had felt for his mother had seemed ridiculous. His legacy was all the burden he needed. Love...that was a weakness he was better off without.
But looking at Elena now, Damon was not sure what else to call the sensation spreading through his body. It was more than a mere obsession or passing interest. She made him want to be better than he was. And perhaps that was dangerous for everyone.
"Cara mia, I-" his tongue tangled over words he never thought he would utter, when Nadia suddenly reappeared in the hallway.
"Done!" the girl stated proudly, and Elena jumped from his embrace so quickly, one might think his touch had burned her.
"Good job," she told her niece, but her voice was still tight with stress, "Have you eaten yet?"
"Breakfast and lunch," Damon answered for her. A few hours after syrupy waffles, Nadia had insisted on a large cheesy stuffed crust.
"I ordered in. There's some left over in the fridge for you. Waffles or a few slices of your sad American excuse for pizza. I have coffee as well."
"Thanks," Elena acknowledged, then placed a hand on Nadia's shoulder, "But right now we need to go upstairs and get your medicine, okay?"
She urged the child forward, yet paused a moment before following. Her lips parted, but no words came out and the air seemed to thicken between them.
Damon gave her a half smile, "Go. Care for her. Find me in the office when you have finished; we will discuss the plan for this evening."
After a half second longer of hesitation, Elena leaned forward. Her hand touched his cheek as her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth.
"Thank you."
Her fingers lingered just a moment on his skin before she turned and followed after her niece.
However, the warmth of her touch remained behind and stuck with him as he left the hall and went, first, to the sitting room.
Nadia had indeed headed her aunt's instructions, as the deck of cards was put away, as was the board he had been attempting to teach her chess on. It was remarkable, really, watching the child's expressions as her brain pieced together each concept and strategy. She had surprised him, besting him twice at poker, and Damon had decided that something more challenging might prove a better entertainment. He had been right, and the girl had learned fast. Clearly certain skills and intellect ran in the bloodline.
He put the games away and pulled out his phone to message Alaric as he entered the study. No doubt the man was still sleeping, but things needed to be done before his meeting with Julian.
No rest for the wicked, he thought with bitter humor, remembering that he himself was still running on a mere two hours of sleep. But like his men, he would find time to rest later. Right now, there was a job to do.
Alaric called him back less than five minutes after his message went through, just as Damon was pulling up the trackers for Julian's men on his monitor.
"Did you get in touch with the others?" he asked after answering.
"Hi Ric, how was your morning. Fine. Thanks, Boss. How was yours?"
"Busy," Damon said flatly, "Now, are the others in place or not?"
Alaric sighed in acceptance that that was as good of a greeting as he was getting, and jumped to business.
"Yeah, the brothers have the necklace. They'll give it to Stefan, who should be heading your way in about an hour. Then they're gonna set up at the club until I get there to take over. I'll keep S.I.N.C monitored while you handle business."
"Good," Damon's eyes scanned over the screen, "Not a lot of movement from Julian's men, but I am sure that will change after our date tonight. What about Jenna?"
"She's willing to watch the girl," Alaric told him, sounding only a little reluctant, "But I would still feel better if she was out of this mess as much as possible. Maybe she could keep the child at my place or-"
"No," Damon nixed immediately. He may have only had minuscule interaction with Nadia, but as he had watched her hand him his own ass with the most innocent of smiles, he had known he would move heaven and earth to keep her safe.
"My home is more secure," he continued, "The child will not leave it until her mother is found and those responsible for her disappearance are dealt with. That is a direct order."
"Understood," Ric was smart enough not to argue, "Then everything is in place. I can drop by with Jen, before I go to the club...just promise me things will be secure on your end, Damon. I don't want her finding out more than she should about you, about S.I.N.C, about any of it…"
"You have nothing to worry about," Damon assured him, "I will have Stefan bring some toys and games to keep the child busy, and I will put them in the East Wing on the second floor. It is only used when Stefan sleeps here, and there is a large family room that is plenty secluded."
"Yeah, I know the one," Alaric said in agreement, "That should work."
There was a short tap that had Damon glancing up to see Elena in the doorway of the office with Nadia, and he waved them in.
"Good. I've got to go now, but I will see you soon. Call me if anything changes."
"Will do."
Elena directed Nadia to one of the oversized chairs as Damon finished his phone call, and placed one of the puzzles she had brought from their house on the end table. It should be enough to keep Nadia busy while she figured out what was going on.
"Sorry," Damon said, after hanging up and walking around his desk to join them, "That was Alaric."
Elena lifted her chin, "Everything okay?"
His eyes flickered to Nadia and back.
"Baby, here," Elena moved quickly, drawing attention to the puzzle on the table, "Why don't you see how fast you can put this together, and you can use my phone to play your music. Then when you're done, we'll put on a movie, okay?"
"Okay!" Nadia agreed easily, grabbing the puzzle box and opening it. Busy work would only entertain her for so long, and soon the questions about Katherine would start. Elena hoped they had answers before then.
"Great. Here," she sat her phone and an inhaler on the end table, "I'll be right over there if you need me."
With Nadia distracted, Elena turned to Damon, who was watching the young girl with an expression of fascination. She touched his arm to gain his attention.
"She can put that entire thing together?" he asked with an arched brow.
Elena nodded, "With ease. Why don't we go over there?"
Damon agreed and let her lead him across the room, to the sofa by the liquor cabinet, as music began to play.
"How old is she?" he asked, once they had settled, and the question caught Elena off guard. It was so second nature for her to keep all of Nadia's information a secret that there was an odd vulnerability in answering him.
"Six."
"And she is putting together a Monet in a thousand pieces?"
There was still a note of incredulity to his tone, and Elena had to smile, at least a little bit.
"Her lungs may have issues, but her brain works just fine. She's a smart kid. Too smart for her own good sometimes...she's going to start asking questions soon. I'm not sure what to tell her."
"The truth," Damon suggested.
Elena shot him a get-real look, before realizing he was serious.
"Are you crazy?" she demanded, dropping her voice to a whisper, "I'm not going to tell her that her mother is missing or possibly even dead."
"So it is better to lie?" he asked in a similar hushed tone, "Mislead her? You have just said how smart she is. Will she not know you are deceiving her?"
"I'm not deceiving-" Elena stopped and exhaled, then lowered her voice further, "It's not the same thing. This is for her own good. She may be confused, but that is better than the truth. I won't rip her innocence from her."
Damon frowned and glanced over to where Nadia was too enthralled with her task to pay them any mind.
"You can not protect her from everything," he said, sounding almost saddened, "I will do everything I can to get your sister back, but if the worst comes to pass...it would be better that she has some warning. Better that she hears the truth from you and knows that she can trust you, rather than you lie to protect her innocence and she finds out later. She is safer if she understands the gravity of the situation."
Elena shook her head, "We have always kept our work out of her life. She's not ready for that kind of truth."
"And she never will be," Damon spoke with a quiet urgency, "That does not mean that you should keep her in the dark. The world is not kind to fragile things, Elena. Hell, the girl should already realize that."
"She's six."
"The same age that I was when my father first put a gun in my hand," he reasoned and Elena huffed.
"Right. And look how well that turned out."
Damon sighed."I'm not saying it's right. Or fair. But it is the best thing you can do for her now. You and Katherine did not become survivors because you had an easy life. You survived because you had to. Because you had no other choice."
Yes. They had no choice back then. But she did now, and no matter how much better Damon thought the tough love act might be, she refused to be the one to kill that childlike wonderment in her niece, who had already suffered so much. She and Katherine had been through hell. Still lived it. As did Damon and everyone in the world they were a part of. But not Nadia. Not yet.
"She's happy, Damon," Elena's eyes begged him to understand, to see her point, "I won't take that from her. No matter how hard, how mad, how unfair. If all I can give her now is another few hours of peace, then she will get to enjoy every single second of it. Are we clear?"
"Elena-"
"Are we clear?" She refused to budge, and that expression crossed Damon's face again. The one that told her exactly how little he was challenged. But this was her family. Her life. And he would just have to get over it.
After a pause, he nodded.
"Good," she relaxed, "Now, tell me what the plan is."
:)
