Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries or its Characters.
Klaus winced as the sounds behind the door reached his ears. It didn't sound pleasant, and the person making it, less so.
"You okay there, mate?" he asked through the door
"Oh, just swell, matey. The sounds you heard was just me being incredibly ecstatic to be introduced to the porcelain beauty in here" Damon snarked darkly. "What the hell do you think?"
"Wow, being sick just brings out the best in you love"
"I am not sick! I'm just temporarily inconvenienced" Damon denied vehemently, though leaning against the cool bathroom wall, sluggishly wiping at his lips and his face visibly flushed with what could only be a fever was not painting a very convincing picture
"Uh huh, sure you're not" Enzo said as he joined Klaus at the door, holding a mysterious bag
"Wha-what are you doing here? I thought you were out finding the bitch that did this so she could reverse it" Damon rasped
"I was, but no one has seen her or knows who she is. She seemed to have appeared out of the blue. So, I took that time to go to a pharmacy"
"A pharmacy? For what?"
Enzo and Klaus rolled their eyes. Damon seemed to be slower to comprehension with his illness. "Are you absolutely certain your brain cells are not getting fried by the second or something? Why would I go to a pharmacy if not to get medical supplies for you?"
"Look around you. Does it look like there is a single thermometer in this house?" Klaus added amidst Damon's glare
"Are you okay to move?" Enzo asked
"I think so" Damon said, shakily moving to his feet, and immediately having to grab the sink for support. "Whoa. Give me a sec"
Klaus huffed. "Let's just get this over with" he said as he scooped Damon up in a bridal carry, ignoring the protests that brought on, and gently laying him down in his bed
"I hate you" Damon grumbled, before snuggling into the pillows. He was so damn tired!
"Of course, you do. Stay still" Klaus replied as he took a thermometer from Enzo and shoved it under Damon's tongue. "Don't push it out" he warned softly when Damon grimaced and made to do just that.
"This is lame" he settled for glaring and muttering instead, keeping the former up until the thermometer beeped.
"94˚. Is that good or bad?" Klaus asked. "What is our normal anyway, I never checked"
"89˚" Damon muttered sleepily. "Augustine kept very meticulous files" he explained further when Klaus raised an eyebrow in confusion
"It's true. They were good like that" Enzo agreed somberly. The Augustine days were always a sore topic for him
"So, he has a fever?" Klaus asked
"A very high one, apparently" Enzo replied. "We should give him some fluids. That's what all the medical pages are saying"
"First of all, he is right here; stop talking about me like some child. And second, you're diagnosing me from the internet? Seriously?"
"Well, it's not like we can drive you to a hospital, so yes, the internet it is"
"We could always call…"
"Are you fed up with life already? Cos if you are suggesting what I think your suggesting…"
"I meant call Meredith. She's a doctor. Trust me, as miserable as I'm feeling, I still value my life too much to be calling those old grouches" Damon said, then groaned loudly. "Look, I've puked all the alcohol in my system, and I can't get through this sober. Get me some bourbon"
"Really?" Klaus spoke, unimpressed
"What? You said fluids. Last I checked bourbon wasn't solid"
"Okay, but maybe you should have some blood first" Enzo tried to placate, leaving the room and returning a second later with a bottle of bourbon and three glasses
"Bourbon first, then blood" Damon replied, throwing down three shots in succession and sighing blissfully at the familiar burn as it traveled down
"Easy there, mate" Klaus said as he threw back his first glass
"Why? It's not like … oh no … oh shit …" Damon clasped a hand over his mouth, looking positively green as he dashed to the bathroom with dizzying speed. He made it just in time to hurl into the toilet bowl. It seemed to go on for several minutes before finally stopping. "Okay" he breathed. "Maybe blood first will not be such a bad idea" he added with a groan
"Wait, when did this happen?"
"Tuesday"
"Okay, go on"
Damon greedily gulped down the blood Klaus so helpfully provided, sighing in relief when it didn't make an immediate reappearance. To be on the safer side though, all three boys waited with bated breath for a couple of minutes, visibly relaxing when some color returned to Damon's rather pale face. The vampire in question closed his eyes and melted into the pillows, fully intending to sleep the exhaustion away; and Klaus and Enzo left him to it as they slinked off to their own agenda.
A little over an hour later and Klaus frowned from behind his easel. That was rather odd, he thought, as he dropped the brush and stared at Enzo, who had been reading and now had discarded the book. "What in the blazes was that?" he asked his companion just as a sound they had become rather acquainted to in the last few hours reached their ears. He groaned. "Not again"
They made it up the stairs just in time to watch Damon eject a stream of blood into the toilet bowl. This time it appeared to be worse that the others as it wouldn't stop pouring out of him long enough to even breathe.
"Bloody hell" Enzo cursed
"I think I'm dying" came Damon's pitiful declaration when he got a little reprieve
"You are not dying" Klaus attempted to placate
"How the hell do you know that?" Damon screamed between breaths. "I feel like my insides are being pulled out of my mouth, and not gently. And … oh God" he cut off suddenly as another cramp hit and he dove towards the toilet. He heaved for a full minute without pause before finally slumping against the wall. "Why do I have to be the one suffering for your damn mistake?" he levelled at Klaus
"Me?" The hybrid yelled indignantly. "Nobody dragged you to the bar mate, you went on your own volition"
"This is not about the bar. If you hadn't gone and annoyed that woman, I wouldn't be here puking my guts out. And then when she decides to curse you, I get caught in it. How is that fair? I didn't even say anything to her"
"Well forgive me for putting our safety first" Klaus sneered
"Safety? She was seventy, at least. I doubt she could remember a knitting spell"
"And yet, she was able to spell you into that toilet bowl"
"This was meant for you! I just got in the way, unfortunately. Your ungrateful ass should be the one upchucking his soul away" Damon returned. "Call Alaric and Elijah" he announced suddenly
"What?" came the shocked replies
"Call them now. Damn the consequences. I would take listening to Elijah's sanctimonious lectures or being pulled over Alaric's knees every day for a thousand years if it means I don't have to go through this anymore. Even my hair hurts!" Damon lamented
"You think they will do something like that?" Klaus asked, and they all just knew what he was talking about
"Are you kidding? Alaric is one phone call away from an angry bartender or the Sherriff, from pulling out his belt, and I swear if Elijah hears of another or our 'shenanigans' we wouldn't need chairs" Damon rasped as he tried to breathe through the nausea
"You know they will kill us, right?" Enzo, who until then had been content to watch them squabble, asked
"I don't care! Maybe then you'll get what I'm going through" the sick vampire replied, before ducking back down into the porcelain throne when the nausea set in again. "Oh, mon Dieu je vais mourir (Oh, dear God I'm gonna die)"
"You are not going to die. Come here" Enzo said, after Damon had dry-heaved a couple of times. He lifted his semi-lethargic form off the floor and into the bath tub he had filled while they argued. "Let's get you clean and in bed. Klaus, would you please change the sheets?"
"Sure" the blond said, pushing himself off the door to do just that
Damon batted Enzo's hands away when he attempted to help him bathe. "I can do that myself" he growled
Enzo raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, sorry. Don't drown" he added before leaving the bathroom
"If Damon was in so much pain, he was willing to risk our wrath by calling, why are we just now hearing about it?" Elijah asked
Enzo swallowed. "Because he was slightly better after the bath. He even managed to sleep through the night without vomiting. And when he woke up this morning, he suggested we go out to eat, and get some fresh air. He said it was stuffy in here"
"So, you left the house with a sick and - seeing as how he hasn't been able to keep any blood down - obviously very hungry vampire, took him out into the streets where there were walking and breathing meals, to eat and get some 'fresh air'? You couldn't just sit by the pool and order pizza?" Alaric asked, his tone indicating exactly what he thought of their plan
"Tell us about the accident. Did it happen while you were going into town or returning home?" Elijah asked
"Uhm, both?" Klaus replied
Klaus grabbed Damon's arm for the third time in as many minutes. The boy looked flushed, and though he had his eyes closed very tightly, he could still see the red veins around his eyes. Two drops of blood fell ono his arm as Damon bent over it, breathing heavily. "Get a grip, mate"
"What do you think I'm trying to do" Damon growled through clenched teeth, eyes still shut tightly. The drops of blood had been from him biting into his lip painfully with his fangs. Luckily, they were near an outdoor café and so Klaus quickly steered him to a table and sat him down to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
"This was a terrible idea. We never should have left the house" Enzo lamented
"Whose idiotic idea was it to bring a hungry vampire into the busy street anyway?" Damon rasped
"Yours" Klaus answered promptly
"And you listened? I haven't eaten anything in two days!" Damon yelled back indignantly
"We should head back, before you start tearing into jugulars" Enzo said, making a move to help Damon up
Damon nodded his acceptance, but batted his hands away for the second time when he tried to help him. "I'm fine. Let's just go before I do something, we may all regret" he said, standing up so wobblily the chair fell back, before almost staggering into the road, Enzo rushing after him in concern.
Both Enzo and Klaus heard the car long before it made impact; long enough for them to grab Damon and be halfway home by the time it would have made it to their position. But there were too many witnesses, and so they watched in open horror as the car slammed into Damon with a loud bang, hurling him into the air several feet before he hit the asphalt with a sickening crunch, rolling over numerous times before finally laying still.
They were still stood, dazed with shock as several people dialed 911.
They looked up at Alaric and Elijah as their story came to an end, waiting for them to say something.
"It's late, and you've had a long day. Get some sleep" Elijah begun. "You too, Niklaus. We will stay the night" he added when Klaus started putting on his jacket so they could leave
"We'll sit up with Damon tonight. And when he wakes up tomorrow, we'll all have a nice little chat" Alaric added in a tone that made both young men gulp before blurring off to their respective rooms.
Tomorrow was going to be a long day.