Thank you Lauren for betaing this chapter.

Someone like you

Chapter 11

'Between the sand and stone'

"Doctor Salvatore."

Damon's eyes started fluttering as someone shook his shoulder and timidly called his name. He opened his eyes and looked at the woman beside him, her cheeks rosy, her brown eyes closed, her lips still closed around the tube that filled her lungs with air. She looked so beautiful that if it wasn't for the beeping sound of the machines next to the bed, he would have thought she was asleep.

"You asked me to wake you up at eight."

"Thank you."

He smiled at the nurse and turned back on his side, snuggling into the crook of Elena's neck. A small sigh escaped him as he stroked the few pieces of hair out of her face and draped his arm back around her waist, pulling her side closer into him.

"Not ready to wake up yet?"

He placed a kiss on her cheek and stared at her face, remembering those rare times he would wake up next to her in the morning. His lips would find their way to her skin and slowly wake her up. A small smile would rest on her lips as she came back to the world of the living and knew whose lips were kissing her awake.

"Take your time." He pressed his lips against her ear, letting them linger on her skin. "I'll be here when you wake up."

He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and ran his hand through his black raven hair. When he stood up, he squeezed Elena's hand softly before walking into the bedroom. He stared into the mirror at his own reflection, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, his skin pale, the usually shimmering blue eyes now dull.

His eyes focused on the girl on the bed, kept alive by the machines that were beeping around her. A shiver ran down his spine as the thought of her dying rushed through him. Never would he be able to hold her again and tell her he loved her. Never would he make love to her again until the sun came up. There wouldn't be any shared moments with the two of them and their son.

"Doctor Salvatore." The nurse appeared in the door, blocking his view. "Are we supposed to bring Liam breakfast or are you taking him?"

"I'll take him for breakfast."

The nurse disappeared again, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He changed into a fresh set of clothes and brushed his teeth before he stepped back into the room and placed another kiss on Elena's forehead, smiling softly at how peaceful she looked. The candy striper smiled at him as he walked out the room into the hallway. He started walking through the corridors that had become all too familiar during the past few days.

"Damon!" Liam sighed dramatically as he entered. "Good, you're here."

He shook his head in amusement as he noticed the serious expression on the boy's face. He stepped closer to him and saw the way his shoulders were hanging down, his pink lips formed into a pout. He couldn't ignore the stab that went through his heart as he saw his son unhappy.

"Hi buddy." He ruffled his chestnut hair. "What's wrong?"

"They made me wear orange." He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the orange sweater he was wearing. "Orange is not my color."

"I can't agree more." He chuckled and walked to the closet on the opposite side of the bed. "I had the coolest mom ever, she knew those bright colors didn't do it for me."

"Auntie Bonnie bought me this one." He turned around to the closet, his blue eyes more bright. "Where is your mommy?"

"She's in Chicago." He pulled a gray sweater out of the pile and walked back to the bed. "I don't see her a lot because I travel so much."

"Why doesn't she visit you?" Liam held his arms in the air so Damon could pull the orange sweater over his head. "My mommy would visit me all the time."

"She has a heart condition so she can't travel."

"Can't you fix her?"

"I'm trying to." He pulled the gray sweater over Liam's head, pulling his arms through the sleeves. "That's why I travel so much. I meet a lot of great doctors and maybe someday there'll be one who can help me save her."

"Do you want a hug?"

"I'm onto you, kid." His mood instantly brightened, his laughter echoing through the room. "You make me tell you these depressing stories so you can hug me."

"Is it working?" Liam flashed his white teeth at him, extending his arms. "Hug?"

"You're so much like your mother." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the boy's small body. "Being so cute should be illegal."

"I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry." Damon rolled his eyes and pulled back from his embrace, looking at his feet. "Where are your shoes?"

"I don't know." He shrugged indifferently. "They disappeared."

"No shoes then." He picked Liam up from the bed and walked through the door. "One of the nurses told me it's weird that a five-year-old boy likes to be carried."

"In a few years people won't carry me anymore so I'm enjoying it."

"You're probably the smartest kid I ever met."

"Mommy says I got that from my daddy." He turned his bright blue eyes towards him, a proud grin on his face. "She says he's the smartest man she ever met."

"Do you think that too?"

"No." He shook his head fiercely, tightening his grip around Damon's neck. "You're the smartest person I ever met."

"Can I have a coke?"

"At nine in the morning?" He arched his eyebrow at the boy, shaking his head. "Your mom would kill me."

"She doesn't have to know."

A laugh escaped him as Liam waggled his eyebrows, the same thing he was always accused of doing. He kept his eyes on Liam, noticing the smallest things he was doing; pretending to read the big boards on the wall, playing with the magazines on the counter, smiling at every female that walked past him.

"You're the devil in pocket format." He ruffled the boy's chestnut hair, guiding him further in the line. "But no, no soda."

"But I want a coke." He stomped his foot, his pink lips forming a pout. "Pretty please?"

"No, Liam." He took a tray from the stack and started grabbing his own breakfast. "Milk, juice, or water?"

"Coke."

"If you don't tell me what you want, I'm going to choose for you." Damon looked the boy sternly in the eyes. "Milk, water, or juice?"

"Milk."

He couldn't be more amused as Liam turned his back towards him, keeping the pout on his face. During the past four days he had spent with him, he had started noticing his own character traits in the boy. For some reason it always made him smile whenever he found a new trait of himself in that small life he created with Elena. Most of the time he could only find himself in Liam's character or looks but there were small things that indicated he was as much Elena's son as his and it was those things he savored so desperately.

"Pear or banana?"

"Apple."

"You had an apple yesterday." He started looking for money in his wallet. "Choose something else."

"Banana."

"Here." Damon handed him the piece of fruit and put the tray on the counter. "Why don't you find us a seat?"

Liam ran into the cafeteria and chose a booth by the window. Damon shook his head in amusement as he started waving to the people that walked by the hospital, a smile growing on the boy's face as some of them waved back. He paid for their breakfast and brought the tray to their table, handing Liam his cereals and milk.

"So who's on your schedule today?" He sat down on the other side of the table. "Auntie Care? Bonnie?"

"Auntie Care's coming to visit." His mood suddenly lightened up. "She's going to take me for lunch."

"Did your grandfather already visit you?"

"No." He shook his head sadly, chewing on his cereals. "He's too busy but Daddy will visit me tonight after he visited Mommy."

"Did you see your mommy last night?" Damon studied the boy's expression, biting down on his own toast. "Did Daddy take you?"

"No. Daddy thinks I shouldn't see mommy like that."

"I'll take you tonight." He squeezed the boy's hand in his. "You should see your mommy."

"Why didn't you watch Grey's Anatomy with me last night?" His blue eyes bored into his, his voice pitching. "I tried to stay awake."

"I had to operate on someone who had an accident." He bit his lip, staring into the small ocean of blue. "I came to see you but you were already asleep."

"Meredith had sex with George, Mommy is not going to be happy."

"She'll get over it." He shrugged and chuckled as a doubtful expression crossed Liam's face. "Believe me, Meredith has sex with everyone."

"I want to be Meredith."

Damon spit out his coffee as Liam started chuckling, the young sound tickling his ears. He coughed a few times and started laughing with Liam whose blue eyes were staring at him. With a deep breath he composed himself and arched his eyebrow at the boy.

"Do you walk around in dresses?" An amused smile came across his lips. "Otherwise I'm going to have a talk with your mommy."

"I was talking about the Fiki Fiki, silly Damon." He rolled his eyes exaggerated. "Do you do Fiki Fiki with everyone?"

"What the hell is Fiki Fiki?"

"Sex." He stage whispered, his blue eyes shimmering. "Mommy thinks I'm too young to pronounce the word so we call it Fiki Fiki."

"When I was five, I didn't even know sex existed." Damon arched his eyebrow at him, shaking his head in amusement. "She shouldn't let you watch Grey's Anatomy. There's too much... Fiki Fiki going on."

"Do all the doctors have Fiki Fiki with each other?"

"No. Most doctors aren't as hot as the ones on that show."

"So you don't have Fiki Fiki?"

"Stop saying Fiki Fiki." He bit down his apple, chewing fiercely. "You're probably one of those kids that's going to get a girl pregnant when he's twelve."

"So no Fiki Fiki for you?" A proud grin spread across Liam's face. "Don't worry, I don't have Fiki Fiki either."

"I already know what I'm going to give you for your sixth birthday." Damon's blue eyes shimmered in amusement. "A castration."

"What's that?" Liam's voice pitched, the smile wiped from his face. "Is it good?"

"It's the exact opposite from I shoot, I score." He leaned back in his seat. "More like you shoot, you miss."

"Has it something to do with soccer?"

"It certainly has something to do with balls."

"You're weird." Liam sipped his milk. "I'll figure it out by myself."

"Let me know when you do."

"You." Grayson's hard voice appeared the same time as his figure. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Oh-oh." Liam's eyes went wide, staring at Damon. "You're in trouble."

"What did I do?" He arched his eyebrow at Grayson who glared at him.

"My wife woke up last night." Grayson pushed his finger into Damon's chest. "But I can't see her before her doctor sees her, meaning you."

"My shift starts in an hour." He turned back to his coffee. "I'll check up on her first."

"I want you to check up on her now." Grayson punched his shoulder. "Like twelve hours ago."

"Grandpa." Liam's voice pulled both men's attention to him. "What's a castration?"

"Something Damon should have had before he met your mother."

"What does Mommy have to do with balls?" He threw his small arms in the air. "You're both weird."

"What is he talking about?"

"You don't want to know." Damon stood up and patted Grayson's shoulder. "Let's see how your wife is doing."

"Can I come?" Liam's blue eyes looked up at them, filled with expectation. "I want to see Granny too."

"I don't know if you can see her but someone needs to keep your grandfather busy while I examine your grandmother."

Liam jumped out of his seat and ran to the door into the hallway. Damon and Grayson shared a look and walked after him; they caught up with him and waited for the elevator to come down to the first floor while Liam was bouncing in front of them, watching the red numbers go down until the doors opened in front of them.

"I want to press the button." Liam stood on tiptoes in front of the small panel. "What number?"

"Three."

Damon picked him up so he could push the button and put him back down next to him as the elevator started moving. A warm feeling rushed through his body as Liam grabbed his hand and held it tight with his small fingers. Grayson gave him a strange look and shook his head at the two of them.

"You're better at it than you think."

"At what?"

Grayson pointed his chin to Liam who was now hugging his leg instead of holding his hand. "Being a father."

"Don't." He gave Grayson a warning look and stroked Liam's hair as the boy pressed his cheek against his hip. "That's not what I am."

"But the more time you spend with him, the more you want to be it."

"We had this conversation five years ago." He turned to Grayson as the doors opened and Liam rushed out of the elevator. "I'll never be a father."

"But still you made him yours." Grayson held the doors open as they tried to close. "We both know whose name is on his birth certificate."

"Miranda." Damon took the chart at the end of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I thought I'd never have to see your face again."

"That good?" He arched his eyebrow at the woman as her brown eyes glared at him. "Well, you can thank me later."

"Why are you back here?" Her voice was hoarse, tired, fighting against the pain. "To break my daughter's heart a second time?"

"You should be glad I'm here or you'd be six feet under."

"If that kept you away from my daughter," she straightened her shoulders, trying to look stronger. "Gladly."

"I'm too tired to argue with you." He wrote a few things on the chart and hung it back at the end of the bed. "How's your chest feeling? Any pains?"

"No."

"Great." He rolled his eyes exaggerated, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Then my work here is done."

"I want another doctor." Her voice called him back as he tried to walk through the door. "I can't see your face every day."

"Can I ask you something?" He didn't wait for an answer as he turned around. "What exactly did I do to make you hate me this much?"

"You killed my daughter's marriage."

"Your daughter killed her own marriage."

"You broke her heart." She spat at him, her brown eyes wide. "And I knew you would, I warned her about you but she wouldn't listen."

"You didn't know me." He spoke through clenched teeth. "You hated me the moment I walked into your house."

"Because I knew what you would do." She coughed a few times, showing how weak she really was. "I knew you would ruin their marriage and break her heart. And you did. You think I didn't know that she was with you when she needed some time away from Stefan? You think I was that much of an idiot to not realize that she was with you the whole time?"

"I took her to Chicago with me because that was what she wanted." Damon threw his arms up. "She chose to go with me and leave her husband."

"And I gave it a year before you would hurt her and she would come back but you didn't even need a year to break her heart." She spat at him. "After three months she stood on our doorstep, crying and running into Grayson's arms. She never told me what was going on, she never even told me about the two of you but I was smart enough to know."

"Do you know why she never told you about me and her, did you never wonder?" His blue eyes locked with her brown ones. "She knew you would judge her."

"But I was right." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Do you know what it's like to see your daughter waste away every day a little bit more?"

"You couldn't have been more happy with it." He snapped at her. "You begged her to come home and fix things with Stefan. You think I wasn't there when she talked to you on the phone? I was sitting right next to her and I was the one who held her when she got into another fight with you and cried herself to sleep."

"So you did your part in comforting her?" She snorted, shaking her head in disbelief. "But we had to do a lot more comforting after she came back."

"I'm pretty sure she didn't seek any comfort from you." He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. "There are only two people she talks to when she's miserable, Grayson and Caroline."

"You think you're so smart." She let out a hard laugh. "Let me tell you, mister heart surgeon, you don't know half of the things I know."

"That I have a son?" His eyes snapped to hers, his body stiffening. "You think I don't know who Liam's father is?"

"I know you know." She turned her head away from him, chuckling at the irony of the situation. "You think I didn't notice the fact that my husband disappeared the day after my grandson was born? That he paid for a flight to Chicago with our credit card?"

"So you know Liam's mine?" He turned to the window, staring over the small village. "I didn't think she would tell you."

"She didn't. She thinks I don't know." Miranda swallowed back the lump in her throat. "But she never needed to tell me, I knew he was yours before he was even born."

"I knew she was pregnant before she did." He let out a hard laugh. "She didn't notice that she missed her period or that she suddenly ate everything with barbecue sauce and pickles."

"But you didn't tell her." Miranda whispered, her voice sounding horrified. "You let her walk out the door while you knew she was carrying your child."

"I was waiting for her to find out on her own. Every night I came home and I was waiting for a little package on the table with my name on it." He smiled as the memories came back to him. "I just wanted to know how she would tell me, with a little shoe or just something with "daddy" on it, maybe even the pregnancy test she peed on. But we all know that's not the way it turned out."

"So you just let her walk out the door and raise that baby without its father." Miranda shook her head at him. "I knew you were an asshole, but I didn't know you were a heartless asshole."

"What was I supposed to do? She wasn't going to take me back." He threw his arms up, irritated. "I did what was right for my kid, I didn't want him to be part of a broken family with a father that lived a thousand miles away. My mother raised me on her own and the day I met Giuseppe, I couldn't be more grateful she did."

"She was twenty and she was supposed to take care of a baby on her own?" Miranda shook her head in disbelief. "She was lucky Stefan forgave her and accepted your son as his."

"But he isn't Stefan's." His blue eyes shot fire. "I knew why Grayson stood on my doorstep that night, I counted the months in my head."

"Yes you may have counted the months in your head, but we counted the hours the night before." Miranda rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It took thirty-two hours before he was born, we had to take turns in holding her hand so it didn't bruise."

"She didn't want me here." He turned back to the window, his eyebrows knitting together. "She didn't want me in her life anymore and I respected that."

"That's where you're wrong." Miranda shook her head at him, making him feel like a little boy. "She had been in labor for twenty-four hours and I heard her scream your name."

"She was probably cursing me."

"No." Miranda's voice was timid, remembering. "She was waiting for you to run in that room and hold her hand. The last ten hours she didn't want anyone besides Caroline and Grayson in that room so she wouldn't have to keep on pretending. We were sitting in the waiting room but we heard her beg Grayson to call you. I'll never forget the look on Stefan's face when he heard his wife beg for another man. That's the moment I decided I would hate you forever."

"Stefan wasn't there when he was born?" He turned his head around in surprise. "She didn't let him in?"

"Caroline was the one who cut the umbilical cord." Miranda shook her head sadly, her eyes staring into the distance. "There's a reason why Liam and Stefan don't get along, it's because she put a distance between them since the day he was born. He's yours and she'll make sure that everyone knows."

"Why?" He turned to the window, his head filled with questions. "I broke her heart."

"Whatever you did, it wasn't enough to make her stop loving you."

"You don't know what I did?" His eyebrow arched in surprise. "No one told you?"

"No one knows I know about my daughter's affair." Miranda rolled her eyes at him. "But feel free to tell me."

"She doesn't want you to know." He snorted, shaking his head. "If she wanted you to know, she would have told you five years ago."

"Just like she didn't tell you about Liam?" A dangerous glint crossed Miranda's eyes. "She kept Liam from you."

"Maybe she remembered what you told me the day I found out Giuseppe was my father." He focused on Miranda's expression as she tried to remember her words. "Your exact words were, I'm not surprised at all, you're just like him."

"You are just like him."

"Giuseppe hates me, what if I start hating my kid?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I lived my whole life with the thought that my father didn't want me, only to find out thirty years later that he indeed didn't want me. So what did I do wrong with giving my son to someone who can love him? He doesn't need to feel unwanted, I don't want him to feel unwanted but if I'm just like Giuseppe? Then how can I ever love him?"

"That's a good question, Damon." Miranda's eyes filled for a second with remorse. "Do you think you can actually love someone?"

"I do." He started walking to the door, holding the handle. "I just don't know if I can love them enough."

"Can I see my husband now?"

"Sure." He pulled the door open, seeing Liam and Grayson chatting in the corridor. "You know Miranda, you might hate me but when it comes down to it, we love the same things."

"Doctor Salvatore." The nurse came into view. "Doctor Lockwood asked for you, it's about Miss Gilbert."

"Elena?" Miranda's eyes went wide as she heard the words from the nurse. "What's wrong with my daughter?"

"Yeah.. about that." He turned back around, smirking at the woman who was looking frantically at him. "You don't have to thank me for saving your daughter either."

"You couldn't tell her gently, could you?" Grayson raced back into Elena's room, finding Damon next to her bed. "You had to throw it on her like you always do."

"She deserved it after being a bitch." He squeezed Elena's hand, softly stroking her palm with his thumb. "That woman could become the president of the anti-Damon-club."

"How's she doing?" Grayson came to stand beside him. "What did Mason say?"

"She's breathing on her own." He stroked her hair back, a proud smile on his face. "They're going to remove the tube."

"I think she's getting ready to wake up." Mason walked into the room, pulling the white rubber gloves over his hands. "The only question is when she'll wake up."

"When she's ready." Damon moved out of the way so Mason could stand beside Elena. "She always takes her time."

He kept his eyes on Elena as Mason slowly started removing the tube. It was a weird feeling as a doctor to be worried about a simple procedure like this. But like Mason said the day he had operated on her, when it comes to the ones you love, you're not a doctor, you're the one that sits in the waiting room. And for some reason that pit in his stomach made him realize all over again how much he loved this girl, how he'd do anything to keep her safe.

"I'm going to get Liam." He patted Grayson's shoulder as he walked past him. "I promised him I would take him to visit his mommy."

"Damon." Grayson reached for his arm. "Thank you."

"You don't have anything to thank me for." He turned back around, facing the man that had become more his father than his real one ever would be. "I should be the one thanking you."

"You saved my daughter, wife and grandson in less than twenty-four hours." Grayson grabbed his shoulder. "I think I have a lot of things to thank you for."

"It's nothing you wouldn't have done for me, old man."

"I'm proud of you, my son." Grayson pulled him in an embrace, squeezing him tightly. "I'm as proud of you as any father could be of his son."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you, dad." He whispered in Grayson's ear, looking over his shoulder at the girl in the bed. "I never wanted to hurt you or her."

"Every son disappoints his father someday." He pulled his head back, boring his gray wise eyes into the young blue ones. "It's the way they make it right that makes their father proud."

"Am I doing it right?" He whispered, shaking his head in doubt. "Because I don't know what I'm doing back here after five years."

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't know it." Grayson gave him a smile filled with compassion. "And I think one of those reasons is now waiting for you to bring him to his mother."

"I'd better get him." He straightened his shoulders and nodded. "Patience isn't one of his virtues."

"I wonder where he got that from."

"I think from his grandfather."

"You really should have had that castration." Grayson rolled his eyes at him. "My life would have been so much easier."

"But so much more boring." Damon gave him a mocking expression. "Admit it, old man. You love having me here."

"Only because it makes my daughter and grandson happy." He shook his head at the young man. "And because I have a drinking buddy."

"Hey buddy." Damon came whistling into the room before he noticed the mess on the bed. "What's wrong?"

His whole body immediately went stiff as he noticed the red and puffy eyes from the small boy on the bed. A shiver ran through his spine as he imagined all the possible scenarios of what could have gotten him in this state. The instinct of being a dad and protecting what you love took over without him realizing it.

"Grandfather visited." A loud sob came out of his throat. "He hates me."

"No, no, no." He cupped the boy's face in his hands, connecting their blue eyes. "Nobody hates you."

"But he..."

Damon cradled Liam in his arms as the boy's small lungs fought to catch some air. He comforted him, whispering soothing words in his ears, hushing him whenever he tried to say something that made breathing more difficult again. After fifteen minutes the loud sobs that came out of his throat stopped and changed to whimpers and tears that streamed down his pink cheeks.

"Shh." He placed a kiss on his forehead. "It's okay, he doesn't hate you."

"He does.."

"No, listen to me." He cradled the boy better in his arms, letting Liam's head rest against his chest. "I never met my daddy because he didn't want to get to know me."

"Why not?"

"I thought because he hated me." He stroked the boy's chestnut hair, stroking it softly. "But now I realize he hates himself."

"But why would your daddy hate you?" Liam's blue eyes looked up at him. "I love you."

He had to fight back the tears that wanted to escape his eyes. The words came out so easily, like they were the most natural thing to say. And for a five-year-old boy they might seem like nothing, because he didn't yet understand how few people would actually make him feel that way. But for someone who had given fatherhood away five years ago, to think he would never want it, it was a pretty big deal. It made him feel like he deserved his son even less than he already did, he shouldn't get to have this amazing bond with something he gave up on five years ago. But that didn't keep him from feeling the same things, from developing that same connection with a part of him he had missed for a long time.

"He did something he was not proud of and that's why he doesn't like me very much." Damon swallowed back the lump in his throat. "But it's not my fault that he made that mistake, and it's certainly not my fault that I'm not the person he wants me to be."

"Do you think Grandfather wants me to be someone else?"

"I think your grandfather doesn't know what he wants." He stroked the boy's cheek. "But I do know that I would never want you to be someone else."

"Do you want to be someone else, Damon?"

"No." He shook his head slowly. "My father might hate me but he did give me a chance at life and he gave me the chance to meet you and your mommy and I can never thank him enough for that."

"Can we go see Mommy now?"

"Of course." He took a deep breath and composed himself, handing Liam a handkerchief. "But first, wipe those tears away."

"Here." Liam wiped his tears away and gave him the handkerchief back. "You have tears too."

Damon chuckled softly and wiped the few tears that had escaped his eyes from his cheeks, holding his arms out to Liam. "Do you want a hug?"

"I'm onto you, dude." Liam pushed his finger into Damon's chest. "You let me tell you these depressing stories so you can hug me."

"Come here, kiddo." He wrapped his arms around Liam, breathing in the scent of his chestnut hair. "I was wrong when I said you're so much like your mommy, you're more like your daddy than he wants to admit."

"Mommy says she likes it that I look like Daddy."

"Do you talk a lot about your daddy?" Damon rubbed his back, picking him up from the bed. "It seems like you do."

"Mommy likes to talk about Daddy. She says I should know what he's really like." Liam tightened his grip around Damon's neck. "Are you a daddy, Damon?"

"Not yet." He scanned Liam's face, noticing the serious expression. "You're only a daddy when someone calls you daddy."

"You can be my daddy until someone else calls you daddy." A proud grin spread across Liam's face. "So I'll have two daddies."

Damon stared at him, how it all seemed so simple to a five-year-old. Some part of him wished he could be his daddy, that his and Elena's son would call him that so it would be official, so no one could take it away from him.

"Buddy, you know how to get to your mommy's room, right?"

"Yes." He nodded fiercely as Damon put him down on the ground. "Why?"

"Because I have to make a phone call." He turned the boy around, ruffling his hair. "Just scream if you get lost."

"You can't scream in a hospital."

"You're five." Damon rolled his eyes, shrugging. "I'm sure you can get away with it."

"True." Liam's eyes filled with mischief. "Are you coming too?"

"Yes." He retrieved his phone from his pocket. "I'll be there in five minutes."

His eyes followed Liam as he turned around the corner into the direction of Elena's room. He stared at the lit screen and searched for a number he had never called before, a number he never thought to call when he got it. But now he had someone new to take care of, someone else to protect. And he would call that number until he knew that person was safe.

"Hello?"

"Hi Dad." He smirked into the phone, hearing the other man on the line gasp. "I think it's time for a family reunion."

"Damon?" Giuseppe's voice sounded shaky. "What do you want?"

"I want to have lunch with you." He rolled his eyes at the empty corridor. "We have something to discuss."

"What?"

"My son."

"You don't have a son." Giuseppe breathed into the phone. "Or at least not one I know of."

"Yeah.. you're pretty good at ignoring relatives." Damon walked further down the hall, seeing Elena's door open. "Seems like we have something in common after all."

"What do you want, Damon?"

"I have a business deal for you." His eyes paused on Liam who was talking to his motionless mommy. "Meet me tomorrow at lunch in the hospital cafeteria, pretend like you're visiting a relative, there are plenty to choose from."

"Who says I'm interested?"

"We both know you won't sleep until you've figured out what it is."

He disconnected the call and put his phone back in his pocket, watching Liam from the corridor. A small smile played across his lips as his son seemed to report every detail of the past week to his mother. With a deep breath he walked inside the room and sat down behind Liam, watching Elena's unresponsive form.

"When is she going to wake up?" Liam looked over his shoulder. "She's been like this for four days."

"She'll wake up when her body is recovered." He grabbed the blanket from the end of the bed and draped it over Liam. "It can take a while before she's ready to wake up."

"Will you take care of me until she wakes up?"

"I'll take care of you for as long as you want me to." He squeezed Liam's arm. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Can you tell me a bedtime story?" His blue eyes started to fall shut. "Mommy always does."

"I can." He picked the boy up from the bed and sat down in the chair. "But I think you're too tired to hear a bedtime story."

"You're smart." Liam snuggled into his chest, clutching the fabric of his shirt in his small fist. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Liam." He grabbed Elena's hand on the bed and placed a kiss on Liam's temple. "Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Daddy."

He clutched the boy tighter to his chest as his blue eyes fell shut, the emotions swerving through his body like a tumbling car. His hand squeezed Elena's, touching the skins of the two people he loved the most.

He was so lost in thoughts that he didn't notice the brown doe eyes that were staring at him, seeing the light of her life asleep in the arms of the man that made her life worth living. Tears welled up in her eyes as she snapped a photo of them with her mind, carving it in her brain to keep it there until her last breath.

With all her power she brought that tiny piece of strength in her body to her fingers, feeling the pain that ran through her every bone as she managed to squeeze his hand lightly. It was so light that she didn't think he felt it, but then his blue eyes snapped to hers and his lips parted as he found her staring at him, the tears in her eyes because she wasn't strong enough to hold them back. Every memory she ever had with him, rushed back through her mind; the laughs, the cries, the heartbreak, the moments that seemed so unimportant but would later define their whole relationship. One of those memories clouded her vision.

"It scares you, it scared you five years ago and it still does. You're scared to love that much."

"I'm not scared."

"Then say it."

"Say what?"

"I still love you."

"I don't. I stopped loving you the day I left you."

But now she had encountered death and literally seen the light, she wasn't scared anymore. She wasn't that naive little girl from five years ago anymore. She was a woman now, a woman that had gone through the worst pain possible when she lost the one she loved more than herself, only to bear his son a few months after that and find every little piece of him back in that child. A child she kept hidden from him because she had been afraid of his reaction.

But the look in his eyes told her enough, the way he was holding their son in his arms, shielding him from the world with his own body so nothing could touch that young life in his arms. He knew. She could see it in his eyes, the fire that burned there like a lion that would protect his family until death took him. She could see the way his eyes were burning at her, filled with questions he already had found the answer to. While she lay here dying, he discovered life. The blue-eyed man became the father of the blue-eyed boy, the way it was always supposed to be.

She saw him struggling for words as he whispered her name quietly, still thinking about the boy in his arms. But she didn't need any words, every word he would speak before her would be unnecessary because there was only one thing that needed to be said, one thing she needed to find her voice for, she wasn't scared anymore, the words didn't need to be a secret anymore. So as she looked into the ocean of blue that still held her world after five years, she found her voice for the words that really needed to be said.

"I still love you."

Follow me on Twitter for spoilers & updates: PantiesDrop_