Chapter One – Reunion
Wow. The response I have got from this story so far is amazing – it has blown my tiny mind away to Mars. 10 reviews on the first chapter is UNHEARD of for me – hell, ten reviews on any chapter is unheard of for me. THANKYOU SO MUCH!
I'll update as much as I can, in between updating this and my HP story – I think I'm gonna finish 'The Other Brother' in the next chapter, cos I cant handle three stories on the go at once. I might go back to that story at a later point – dunno yet :P
This chapter goes out to all those wonderful people who have reviewed/alerted/favourited this story so far – YOU ARE ALL EPIC!
Peace Love Damon and Tom Fletcher!
And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Saskia – Twitter 'SaskiaWuhay'
Oh yeah, and 'PDA' mean 'Public Display of Affection' for those who didn't know. For future reference :P
xxx
Something was digging into my back. It didn't hurt, it was just…vaguely annoying. I tried to shift slightly to make myself more comfortable, because all I wanted to do was to sleep, but my body felt like it was weighed down with lead. Everything felt so heavy – my eyelids most of all. I was so tired…
Suddenly, I felt something hitting my chest hard. It was like a ton of bricks…I started coughing involuntarily, coughing and spluttering so hard it felt like my lungs were going to pop out of my mouth and go on holiday. For the first time, I became aware of a voice…someone was calling my name. I could see a light…a bridge. That didn't make any sense. My eyes were closed, weren't they? The bridge looked enticing, calling me towards it. I tried to take a step, to move closer to it, but my legs wouldn't move. The bridge seemed to be rushing backwards, out of my sight. As it did, I heard the voice again, and the words became clear.
"Rhia? Rhiannon! Wake up, sweetheart, please! I'm so sorry hunny…" The sound seemed to be coming through a long tunnel, but it was gloriously familiar. I felt the pounding on my chest again, and I opened my eyes as the bridge finally blinked out of existence.
I was instantly greeted with the most beautiful sight in my world – Damon's face, his ice blue eyes, dark silky hair, strong cheekbones and perfectly sculpted mouth.
"Rhia!" He exclaimed, and pulled me into his arms, holding me tight. I slid my arms around his back and buried my face in his neck. I felt like I had come home. It was only then that I realised I was soaking wet. So was he.
"What happened?" I asked, bewildered. My voice sounded scratchy and dry. How unattractive. I gave an experimental cough, and shocked myself at the pain that came from my throat. Ow.
"Oh Ree…you stupid, crazy, insane, thick, depressive, suicidal, wonderful, adorable, beautiful, mad bitch!" Damon hugged me again, pressing his lips to my neck.
"Is that a compliment?" I asked. He pulled away, laughing softly. He cupped my face in his palms, resting his forehead against mine.
"You jumped, Rhia. Jumped off a cliff. I thought I'd lost you…why in hell did you do it?" As his soft breath played over my wet skin, my confusion cleared and I remembered. I closed my eyes, exalting in his presence but waiting for his departure.
"I'll give you one guess." I whispered, gently laying a finger against his lips. He lifted his head from mine and studied my face that was between his hands. He looked…tortured, horrified. I could barely trust myself to speak, but I had to. "Are you going to leave me again?" My voice broke into a sob on the last word. Damon pushed my dripping hair back from my face, his eyes sad. Slowly, he moved forward and captured my mouth with his. Our lips moved in quiet, practised synchronisation, familiar to each other but parted for so long. It wasn't like the frantic kissing of eight months before, nor was it like the tentative first kiss of over a year and a half ago. It was slow, burning, passionate – it made me melt inside. I could taste salt on his lips, and as unable to tell whether it was the sea or my tears. He drew back, eyes shining.
"Rhiannon Parker, I will only leave you when you order me away. Until that day – I'm not moving." I looked into the blue pools of his eyes, and saw nothing but truth in them. I realised, with shock, that I was not the only one to suffer in our months spent apart.
"Damon, I…" I couldn't finish; couldn't convey my feelings through the veil of tears. Instead, I showed him how I felt in the only way I could. I put my hands on his shoulders and kissed him again, kissed him with all the emotions I had felt while he was away. Anger, sadness, loneliness, hope, desolation, love…they all morphed into one helluva passionate kiss. However, even his warm embrace (and hawt body) could not stave off the cold. The wind whipped around us, making our wet clothes stick to us even more, making me shake uncontrollably. I pulled myself closer to Damon, my instinct to survive making me huddle near to him. I rested my head in the space between his shoulder and neck, the space that seemed to fit my head so perfectly. I felt my eyelids become heavy, and I closed them sleepily. My body became limp as I drifted off…
"Rhia? Rhiannon? Oh God…wake up! Stay with me, babe!" I hardly heard him.
…
Something was beeping. Constant beeping, steady beeping, annoying as hell beeping. Why doesn't someone shut it up already? It was the sort of beeping that got inside your head and echoed round, amplifying it. Where had I heard it before? It was familiar…I couldn't place it. For some reason, in my head, it was associated with sadness, loss, death…
Shit. I know what it was. Bloody hospital monitor. Scheisse. Merde.
I forced my eyes open, ignoring the part of my brain that protested strongly. At first, all I could see was a bright light, my vision completely white. My eyes adjusted, and I could make out shapes, then objects. When my sight finally cleared, I saw who it was leaning over my bed. Their face was a mixture of horror, worry, and fury. Oopsy.
Guess I forgot to tell Jenna about my plans to kill myself.
"Oh my God, Ree, what the hell were you thinking? You disappear without a word, and then I find that goddamn note in your room saying that you'd had enough…and now I find you here, with severe hypothermia and pneumonia, not to mention a huge bruise on your head…how could you put me through that? I could deal with Jeremy's drug addiction. I could deal with Elena hooking up with a strange new guy, but this? And just over a boy?" Jenna paused for a breath, shaking her head. It was all I could do to just sit there meekly and take it – God knows I deserved it. "Never again, Rhiannon. You are officially grounded for life. One toe over the line, and you will be grounded for eternity. If you are good, I might end it before you turn 40." Jenna sighed.
"Sorry?" I said weekly.
"You should be." She tutted. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I just jumped off a cliff." I responded without thinking.
"Less of the damn cheek!" Jenna snapped.
"Sorry!" I cringed. "Um…I don't feel great, but I'll live." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Are you here on your own?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"No. When we heard that you were being rushed into hospital, we all came."
"All?" Oh God, how many people?
"Me, Rick, Jeremy, Elena, Stefan…" Jenna looked at me disapprovingly.
"Who called you?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Damon did. He found you, didn't he?" I nodded mutely. "Saved your life, from the sounds of it." I nodded again. We sat in silence for a few minutes, with only the sound of my heart monitor for company. Finally, I found my voice.
"Is he still here?" It came out as a whisper. I cleared my throat. "Is Damon still here?" Jenna looked behind towards something I couldn't see.
"Look for yourself." She stated simply. I craned my neck to look round her, and there he was. Deep in conversation with Stefan and Rick, with Elena and Jeremy trailing behind, looking more beautiful than ever. He hadn't noticed I was awake yet. Jenna turned back to me. "He refused treatment, you know. Said that they should leave him and just look after you. Even though he was soaked." Jenna smiled ruefully. "You know, against all appearances, I think he really does love you. Even though he left you and all that crap…he definitely loves you." Jenna squeezed my hand as she stood up. The movement caught Jer's attention.
"Rhia! You're awake!" He exclaimed, rushing over to my bedside and taking my hand. I smiled at him and Elena joined him, tears glistening in her eyes.
"You gave us quite a scare, Rhiannon." Rick tried to sound stern, but failed miserably. Stefan moved behind Elena and put her hands on her shoulders. For the first time in months, the sight of them PDA-ing didn't rip me open inside. Before I looked at Damon and completely lost the ability to talk, I knew I had some serious apologising to do.
"I'm truly sorry. I know that I must have put you through seven layers of shit. I don't know what I was thinking…I guess I'm just unstable. I am sooo sorry." I looked at each of them in turn, begging forgiveness with my eyes. Stefan was the first to speak.
"I think I can speak on behalf of all of us that we forgive you, Ree. However, I think my brother has a lot to answer for." All attention was transferred to Damon, and I too, looked at him. He was standing on one side of my bed, and everyone else was on the other. I moved my hand (trying to ignore the drip sticking out of it) and found his hand. He looked down at me, his eyes conveying the love that he felt. I smiled up at him.
"It's true that I left, and it's true that my leaving seriously screwed with Rhia mind." Damon grinned at me. "I'm sorry for the mess that I caused, but even more sorry for the fact that Rhia ended up hurt because of it. Nobody's perfect, and that's my best excuse." He took his eyes off mine for the first time and looked up at the crowd around my bed. There was silence (well, as silent as you can get in a hospital with all the bloody beeping).
"Apology accepted." Rick said. I smiled thankfully at him.
"But Damon?" Jenna interrupted. "If you hurt Rhia in any way, shape or form again…I will cheerfully rip your heart out and barbecue it." Everyone laughed at Jenna's threat, but we all knew that she was deadly serious. A nurse came bustling over.
"Can we only have one or two round a bed at once please? Miss Parker needs to rest, and I'm sure that lots of people will prevent her from doing that." The nurse smiled at us. By mutual agreement, everyone but Damon left. As soon as they had cleared the room (did I mention I was in a private room?), Damon sat on my bed and held my hand between both of his.
"You're an idiot." He said simply. I hung my head.
"I know. But of course, it's all your fault." I said it in a lighthearted manner, but it shook Damon.
"I'm so sorry. I know I shouldn't have left you like that, but I wanted to keep you safe…and then, three months ago, I was passing through, and I had to see you…I swear I didn't want to leave you, Rhia." Damon pressed my hand to his lips.
"Oh shut up, fool." He raised an eyebrow. "I don't care about your motives. We can discuss them another time. What matters right now is that I'm safe, and you're here with me. That's all I care about right now. So will you please stop beating yourself up?" I looked straight into his eyes, and smiled as he nodded. I yawned.
"Are you tired? Shall I go?" Damon instantly asked.
"Yes to the first question, and not no, but hell no to the second." I murmured sleepily. He laughed softly. I shuffled over in my bed to make room. "Will you hold me?"
"Forever." He kicked his shoes off, and lay down next to me. I snuggled into his protective embrace, content. I was nearly asleep when I remembered something I had forgotten.
"Kiss?" I asked. He laughed again, and pressed his lips to mine. Fireworks went off inside of me, and I drew out the kiss for as long as I dared. Too soon, he pulled away.
"Sleep, babe." He whispered. "I promise I wont leave." He carried on whispering to me until his whispers carried me away to my dreams.
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