So sorry for the wait! Here is the next chapter of Blood's Thicker Than Water. Once again I am sorry for making you wait. If you read my one-shot yesterday, then you'll know that I'm completely stressed with revision – and I'm still worried I'm not doing enough!

Anyway, that's the reason I can't do much writing. I will do my best to update as soon as possible, but you guys may be in for a long wait as my exams don't end 'till the 1st July (WHY does that seem so far AWAY?). Basically, don't expect me to update often.

Enough with that; without further ado, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters with the exception of Tari.

Chapter Four

Not-so-nice surprise

Damon was fine would giving Tari her space. But now it was nearing midnight, and she still had not left the bathroom. For a moment he worried that she would do something stupid like slit her wrists, but he didn't smell any blood and he was certain there wouldn't be any tablets in the room. So he sat and waited.

But when it was quarter to twelve, Damon stood up. He knocked on the door. "Tari, open up." He waited, but didn't hear anything from the inside. "Tari, if you do not open this door right now I will knock it down. Don't think I can't."

There was a beat of silence, but then he heard movement. Finally the door unlocked and Tari stepped out. Her eyes were a little red and she was pale; she looked tired. "What?" she asked roughly.

Damon felt his stomach drop. He could tell by the tone of voice that she was trying to hold back tears; that she was trying to be defensive. He should know, he had been in that position enough times. "Bed," he said to her.

Tari leant against the door frame. "Seriously?"

"What?" Damon questioned with a slight smirk. "You've already stayed up this late. You should have been in bed by nine."

He handed her pyjamas from the suitcase and leaving her to change, went in the bathroom. He changed into his own pyjamas, a simple black top and boxers. When he came out the bathroom he found Tari sitting on the bed, flicking through the channels.

He snatched the remote out of her hands. "Hey, I had it first," she argued.

"I get to decide."

"Why?"

"Because I'm older." He nodded to the top of the bed. "Get in."

Tari glowered at him and crossed her arms. Damon sighed, switching off the television. "Get into bed Tari. You should be asleep already."

"I don't want to."

"Oh yeah?" Damon crossed his own arms, a mirror image of Tari. "I didn't want to spend today chasing after you, but here we are."

"I didn't ask you to," she muttered.

Damon growled, scowling. "I'm losing my patience, Tari. Get into bed now or I will make you."

She scoffed. "You wouldn't hurt me."

A second later she felt his hands on her upper arms. He lifted her up off the bed, her legs swinging in the air. She tried to kick him, but it was effortlessly easy for Damon to place her under the covers of the bed.

She glowered at him as he stood straight, smirking down at her. "Told you." He went to the door and locked it. He wasn't worried about vampires coming in; he was more worried about a girl trying to leave.

Turning off the lights he crawled into bed. Tari closed her eyes, waiting. Sure enough, she felt the possessive arm of her father snake round her waist. She turned her head to face Damon. His eyes were closed, but she could tell he wasn't asleep.

She wasn't afraid. That worried her. Her father had just told her that he was a vampire, and she wasn't afraid of him. How messed up was that? She sighed, staring up at the ceiling. She had always known something was wrong with her.

"Tari."

She turned to him.

"Go to sleep."

xXx

This time I see Mom walking down the street. Her long hair is waving back and forth and she bounds along comfortably. But I am afraid, because I know what's going to happen.

I reach out to grab her, but suddenly I am in a room with no doors and one window. I bang my fists against the glass and call out her name, but she doesn't hear me. "Mom, stop! Run!" Tears and streaming down my face. But she still doesn't stop; doesn't run. Instead she continues walking until he grabs her.

She is shaking as the vampire clutches her throat. I see him smile, and he bends down to bite her neck. She screams in pain as he continues to suck the blood from her, until there is nothing left.

"NO!"

She leapt up, or rather, tried to. But Damon still had firm grip on her waist, so she only managed to sit up slightly before finding herself flung back down on the covers.

Damon had now been woken by her screams. He was stunned to see tears eagerly slipping from her eyes, her chest shaking from the sobs. He didn't hesitate to turn on his side and pull her closer to him, her face pressed into his chest. "It's okay," he murmured softly in her ear. "Just a dream. It was just a dream."

It took her a few minutes to stop sobbing, at least hard. She was still sniffling when she felt a hand brush her hair off her face. "Wanna tell me what it was about?" he asked.

She shook her head violently. Oh lucky me, I get to guess. "A vampire?"

A pause, then a nod. She hoped he wouldn't ask about anything else, but it seemed to be enough for him. "It's okay," he whispered again. "They can't hurt you, not while I'm here."

But it wasn't the vampire. Not really. No, it was seeing her mother being attacked by that creature.

It was seeing her mother, period.

"I want Mom," she whispered.

She felt his chest hitch to a stop, before breathing again. "I know," he said, pulling her closer to him. "I know Tari, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that she isn't here, and I'm sorry that you're stuck with me. But I can't fix this Tari, I can't."

Tari began to sob again, harder. He continued to murmur comfortingly in his ear. "Breathe deeply," he advised her. After a few hiccups Tari did as Damon said. Half an hour later she was sleep again.

Damon gazed down at her. Poor kid. I didn't realise just how much these nightmares were bothering her. He sighed. I just wish I could take it away from her.

Yeah right, a voice scoffed in his head. Like you can deal with anymore pain.

Damon let his mind drift back to those days when he was human, not vampire. He thought about his relationship with his own father. He and his father never had a good relationship, especially when Damon began to think for himself. As Damon got older, he got smarter; he spoke his mind and his father would be furious at him for doing so. Damon hated his father so much sometimes... A part of him was even a little annoyed that Stefan had been the one to kill him.

He didn't want that relationship with Tari. No, Damon may be a lot of things, but he would not be his father.

xXx

Tari felt arms around her, lifting her in the air. She opened her tired eyes, and through blurred vision saw the face of her father. "What time is it?" she muttered, trying to force her eyes open.

"Six a.m. It's okay, go back to sleep."

Tari was not one to object; she hadn't been sleeping well for days now. She settled into Damon's arms, feeling the slight wind as they stepped outside. She tightly closed her eyes and buried her face in Damon's clothes, not wanting to see the light. She briefly opened her eyes again when she felt him strapping her in the car, but once the door was closed she slowly began to fall back into slumber.

When she woke up the next time, she saw familiar scenery. They were on the outskirts of New York – her home. She turned round to face the driver. Damon smirked at her. "Morning sunshine."

"Are we-?"

"In New York? No, but we nearly are."

Tari looked down at her lap. During the night her mind had wandered through what Damon had told her about vampires. She wanted to ask him questions, so many of them, but she wasn't sure how he would react.

"Go on."

Tari glanced over at Damon. "Huh?"

"Ask me what you want."

"How do you know that I wanted to ask you something?"

Damon grinned. "It's what most people do when they find out about vampires. So gone on, ask." He glanced at her out the corner of his eye. "Don't pretend that you don't have any questions."

"Well, maybe just a few..." Damon chuckled.

"Go on. I don't mind."

"Okay, well... How do you die? I mean, can vampires die?"

"Sure. If we get staked in the heart, or burnt. We can be weakened too, by vervain."

"Vervain is?"

"A herb. I'm not quite sure how but it prevent a vampire from controlling your mind-"

"Controlling your what?"

"Guess I skipped that part." He seemed please with himself. "Anyway, vervain stops vampires from controlling your mind, and if a vampire drinks blood with vervain in it, it weakens them."

"Go back to the mind control part," Tari persisted.

He laughed. "Basically any vampire can compel people to do things. I'm not quite sure whether people can be convinced to die or if the survival instincts are too strong, but we can more or less convince people to do anything."

"So...you live forever?"

"Pretty much."

Tari stared at him curiously. "How old are you?"

"Twenty five."

"And how long have you been twenty five?"

Damon smirked. I need to give her a bit more credit. "170 years."

She felt the urge to drop her mouth. "You're 170 years old?"

"Well, technically, though my body is still twenty five."

Quietly Tari absorbed the information. It was still hard for her to wrap her head round it. My father is a vampire. One that drinks blood and can't be killed. My father is a vampire.

And then something else struck her, one that made her stomach flip.

"If you're a vampire," she began slowly, "what does that make me?"

Damon forced himself to watch where he was driving. Damn it. I should have guessed this would come up sooner or later.

"Damon, answer me," snapped Tari.

He sighed, preparing himself for a long explanation. "Before you I didn't actually believe that vampires could procreate. But then, your mother was pregnant with you. As far as we know, you're the only person in the world that's half vampire, half human."

"And... I'm normal?"

"Define normal."

"Damon!"

"Yes, yes Tari, as far as we can tell. You're fine in the sun; you don't have a thirst for blood... Yeah, you're normal."

Tari seemed deep in thought. For a few minutes Damon wished he could read her mind, wondering what she was thinking. Maybe this was one of the things that she did have of his: the ability to completely mask her emotions. " Did you name me?" she finally asked.

Damon knew what she was thinking. Hell, he thought about it more times than he could count.

I stare down in the crib. She is amazingly tiny. I've never really been this close to a baby before – real life babies anyway. I mean, let's face it, who wants a vampire round their precious little clones?

Yet she doesn't look like me or Rebecca. I know what I look like, and Rebecca is sleeping across in the hospital bed. She just looks like a baby, a small, tiny beautiful yet insignificant child. And yet this is my child; my little child. In what way is she insignificant?

I don't feel right; I don't feel like a parent. In an attempt not to be...me, I take my leather jacket off and place in on the chair. Quietly I reach inside and lift her up in my arms. She opens her eyes, and those blue saucers stare at me. "That's it sweetheart, take a good look at me," I murmur. "You may not see me for a while."

"Damon." I nearly jump. How did I notice Rebecca was awake? She is sitting up, her face sweaty and her hair a mess, yet with a determined glint in her dark eyes. "Give me the baby."

I smirk; for the first time it feels unnatural. It's as if I am no longer who I was when I woke up this morning. "Good to see you too Rebecca."

She ignores me, holding out her arms. "Give her to me, Damon."

I roll my eyes. "Relax," I tell her, knowing she'll do anything but. "Like I would hurt her."

She does not relax – I can hear her heart beating twice its normal rate – but she makes a good attempt, slumping her shoulders and leaning back slightly against her pillow. "How did you know?" she asks me simply.

"Your mother." I grimace slightly as I sit lightly on the bed. "It's not like I had a choice here, Rebecca. She told me that if I wanted to see the sun set I had to get down here. I'm not a betting man, but if it was between Barbra Snow and a hundred vampires, I know who I'd be backing."

She smiles, albeit reluctantly. "Can't argue." Her eyes linger to the baby in my arms. "So... It's a girl."

I smile. "Yeah," I say, my voice filled with sunshine. Immediately I want to wash my mouth out for thinking something like that. "How long were you in labour for?"

She closes her eyes. "Seven hours."

I tilt my head, considering. I am aware that I am bringing this baby closer to my chest, but... I don't know, it's like a paternal instinct. "That's not bad."

She glowers at me. "You try it next time, see how you like it."

I feel a sliver of hope. "There'll be a next time?"

She freezes, realising what she's said. Her brown eyes lower, staring at the bed covers. I swear, my heart is beating. I hope against logic, telling myself that crazier things have happened. "Damon," she begins, lifting her gaze.

"Is she healthy?" I ask quickly, looking back down at my daughter; our daughter.

Rebecca pauses, then nods, seeming as relieved as I am to the change of subject. "The doctors can't seem to tell that she's half vampire."

But that doesn't mean anything. I go the window, pulling the curtains to reveal sunlight. Holding my daughter up to the rays, I watch for signs of pain. She glances out the window, clearly curious, but doesn't look as if she's hurting. I bite my own wrist (ignoring Rebecca's cry of disgust) and hold it over her. She shoves her head sideways, not wanting it. I grin, turning back to Rebecca. "Congratulations, she seems perfectly normal."

Her dark eyebrow rises. "C'mon Damon. Forget about your genes, she's got mine." I laugh. I always liked Rebecca; she could always make me laugh.

"We should name her," I suggest.

"What makes you think I haven't already?"

I simply smile in reply. "Got any names in mind?" I didn't really want to think about names; I was too obsessed thinking about Rebecca.

"Alice?" she asks me. I'm pleased to find she's asking my opinion.

I shake my head. "Too quiet for her."

"Kara?"

I consider. "Possibly." It sounds strong, and brave too. But something's holding me back. I look down at the baby. Her blue eyes are half closed, as if she didn't care that her parents were possibly making the biggest decision of her life.

A name comes to me, as if out of the blue. "What about Nefertari?"

Rebecca looks at me as if I've gone insane. "Nefertiti?"

"No, Nefertari, 'For who the sun doth shine'" I quote.

I can tell Rebecca likes it by the slow smile she spreads on her face. She could hear the meaning in the name. "Nefertari's a long name," she comments.

"Tari for short," I say.

Rebecca stares at me. For some reason she isn't as nervous as she had been when I first entered the room. Perhaps – no. I won't let my mind go there.

"Okay," she replies, with a smile could start my heart beat. "Nefertari it is."

I smile, but it's quick and dismissive. I need to go now. Carefully I hand my daughter over to Rebecca and stand. "I'll see you later." Before she can stop me, I lean forward and kiss her on the cheek. I feel like a schoolboy, stealing kisses from girls.

I am exiting through the door as Rebecca calls for me. For one wild, crazy moment, I thought that she was going to ask me to stay.

"I would never keep her away from you. You can still see her, and email and talk over the phone." Both of our eyes fall on our precious girl, who is shuffling uncomfortably in her mother's arms. Does she want me? "You're still her father."

I want to say, "Like you could stop me." It's a remark that I would make. But instead I smile softly. "I never thought you would," I inform her. Before I can say something I'll regret, I bolt.

It was hard, remembering. Damon closed his eyes, then quickly remembered he was driving. "Yeah," he answered. "I named you, but your mother knew why I chose it."

Mom. Tari almost forgot about her; the elephant in the car. She pulled her feet up and hugged her knees to her chest; she could almost pretend her mother was hugging her.

They spent the rest of the car ride in silence.

xXx

For the record, hell was a place where cars beeped their horns loudly, where homeless people eyed up the size of your wallets, and where the pavement was covered in an inch of dirt and litter.

Damon's sensitive ears were aching from all the noise. He had never really visited New York; he had visited to the cities of Europe, but not New York. He had always thought he had missed out. Now he was certain he hadn't.

"Oh yeah," said Damon sarcastically as they entered the building. "This city is perfectly safe from teenage girls."

Tari, who had taken a deep breath of fresh air ("Oh please!" said Damon) as soon as she stepped out the car, frowned. "As opposed to a small town filled with vampires?"

Damon chose to ignore this, pointing out the number of homeless people lingering outside her building. "They could attack you for money!"

"Ernie would never do that!" Tari defended as she began climbing the stairs.

"Ernie?" Damon knew that Rebecca would be behind this; making friends with homeless people! "There's more than one homeless person there."

"Yeah, but Bert wouldn't hurt me either."

Damon grabbed her arm, whirling her round. "Bert and Ernie?"

Tari smiled sweetly. "You can't make this stuff up."

"Okay," Damon began, making his next case. "What about all this pollution? All these cars in such a crammed space can't be good for you."

"There aren't that many cars," she commented, climbing up the final flight of stars.

"There are about five hundred, probably more."

"Okay fine, but there are always taxis to take you wherever you want to go."

"People who could kidnap you," Damon argued.

Tari threw her last argument out there. "You have so much more fun in New York; there are tons of things to do."

"Less time to do your schoolwork."

Coming up her floor, she started walking down the hall, still arguing with Damon. "I can't win with you!"

"You're comparing Mystic Falls to New York? No contest, Mystic Falls is a much better place to live."

"That is so not true-" Tari suddenly stopped, Damon almost colliding with her. He lifted his gaze to where his daughter was staring. It was the last door to the left, and it was slightly ajar. It just looked as if some neighbour had left the door open, except Tari's face was ashen, her eyes wide.

Instantly, Damon knew why she was standing there; why the door looked so familiar.

"Who else has the key?" hissed Damon, placing himself slightly in front of her.

Tari looked to him and then back at the door, her head jerking from left to right. "No one – Mom, Aunt Isabel, me..." Her voice trailed off. She felt afraid, and yet for one moment she felt hope. What if she isn't dead?

Part of her wanted to run towards the door, but Damon grabbed her. He knew what she was thinking, and he knew that he couldn't let her go.

Because he knew Rebecca was dead. He was sure. And he had compelled Isabel not to have anything to do with Tari.

Which meant that someone else was in the apartment.

xXx

03/07/11: I really do love this story. I forgot how much... Anyway, I hope you liked the changes!