Chapter 3: Little Trouble
Bonnie wakes up to the sound of a knocking on her door. She sighs in annoyance, Gosh, I should not have signed up to take care of the little troublemaker, Bonnie, however, keeps true to her commitments, so she gets out of bed and opens the door to her bedroom. It's been two days since Damon's taken up residence in her house. "Damon, what's going on, now?" She says. She takes a glance at her alarm clock and sighs, 2:00 a.m.
"I just can't sleep…I had another nightmare." Damon mumbles. He looks down and has his hands behind his back, and he stands stiff and rigid.
Bonnie's been noticing a slight change in Damon; he seems to be more rigid and less relaxed as the days progress while he's a child. Bonnie frowns, she's sure this goes deeper than her knowledge of Damon. "Damon?"
Damon looks up at her and looks right into her eyes, very stiffly, "Yes?" Damon asks, his voice a little shaky.
"Damon, why are you acting so weird?" Bonnie asks.
Damon bites his lip, "I…uh…" Don't stutter, Boy. Damon swallows hard and his eyes begin to tear up, Stop it, you're a Salvatore, and Salvatores are strong. "I'm sorry, I'll try not to act so weird anymore." Damon slowly turns around and starts to walk off.
To say Bonnie was confused was the understatement of the year, "Damon, wait."
Damon stops and turns around, "Yes, Fath…Bonnie?" That's where he was, he was with Bonnie, not at home. He can relax.
Now, Bonnie understands, Damon appears to be triggering a childhood memory, "Damon, do you know where you are? What year is it?" Bonnie asks. Could this spell be affecting his mind?
"I'm…" He seems to think about it for a moment, "With you, Bonnie." It sounds more like a question, not a statement.
"Damon, this isn't 18 whatever, okay, you're father isn't here, he's been dead a while, you don't need to act like…whatever you did back then." Bonnie explains.
Damon nods quickly in agreement and Bonnie slaps her hand to her face, This is going to be a long night, Bonnie thinks to herself. Fear glistens in his eyes.
"Damon, listen to me you're a child now, and you have all of us, Caroline, Stefan, Elena, Ric, Jeremy, and me tied around your finger, if you want something you can most likely have it okay. You need to understand that, none of us are your Father, and so you don't need to act like that."
"Okay," Damon frowns, but nods easily and walks off to his room and shuts the door behind him.
Bonnie shakes her head and goes back to sleep. She figures that she'd have to call Stefan in the morning about this, hopefully, he's back tomorrow. Stefan went to Richmond to look for answers, and hopefully he found some and he knows what to do about Damon, because Damon appears to be regressing mentally now and Bonnie doesn't know what his father did, but he was traumatized. This can't be good. That's the last thought Bonnie has before she fully drifts off to sleep.
Bonnie wakes up to the sound of her alarm clock; it's now a school day and Bonnie has to leave Damon home alone. She gets up, brushes her teeth, takes a shower, and washes her face. She then gets dressed and wanders out into the living room. Damon appears to be still sleeping, so she figures she'll make breakfast. She immediately sets to making pancakes.
Damon wakes up to the sound of noise in the kitchen and his eyes widen in horror. How long have I slept in? Father will not be pleased. He thinks fearfully as he looks over at the window and sees the sun's out. He starts to breathe hard and quickly scrambles out of bed and dresses himself, brushes his teeth and makes himself look presentable and then hastily walks out of the room to the kitchen. This looks odd, where's father? Damon swallows hard as he takes his seat at the table.
Bonnie didn't even see or hear Damon get out of bed and sit down on the table so when she walks in carrying a plate full of pancakes and sees Damon sitting in the seat with his back to her all rigid, she sighs. She walks up to the table and sets the food down and walks back into the kitchen to get everything else: plates, forks, knives, butter, syrup, and peanut butter. She returns and sets everything down and when she sits down she looks at Damon quizzically. "Damon?"
"Yes?" Damon responds, with the same tone he did at 2:00 in the morning.
"Damon, this isn't the 1800s anymore, you don't need to act like that." Bonnie explains.
Damon physically and mentally relaxes, Right, Bonnie said my father is dead; I don't need to worry about him and his moments of discipline anymore. "I'm sorry, Bonnie, it's just that…well actually I don't know what it is." Damon shrugs.
"Well, we can figure that out later." Bonnie says, "I have school in about an hour so you're going to be home alone, unless Stefan is back, and I'll tell him what's going on so don't worry. He'll probably be able to figure out what's going on with you. In the mean time though, let's dig in and eat, okay." Bonnie replies.
They get done eating and Bonnie gets her books together and grabs her phone. Damon is sitting on her living room couch watching television and so she figures that this would be a wonderful opportunity to call Stefan.
"Hello, Bonnie." Bonnie hears Stefan's greeting over the phone.
"Hello, Stefan, look I am going to school today, and so your brother is going to be left home alone, and I really think that that's a bad idea, but I sort of have no choice, are you home yet?" She asks in a hopeful tone.
"Yeah, I'm back." Stefan starts, "Oh, and I think I may have found an answer, but it traces back to Isobel's research." Stefan sighs in annoyance.
"Okay, so I guess we should go to the campus and have a look at it then; Ric can help us." Bonnie suggests.
"Yeah, I guess." Stefan says, "Okay, so when are you leaving for school?" He quickly changes the subject.
"I'll be leaving in about five minutes, but your brother is watching cartoons for now, I'll tell him to sit tight until you come and get him okay…" Bonnie starts whispering and steps into the other room, "Stefan, listen to me, I don't know how far this spell is going to go, but he seems to be getting lost in time. This morning he almost called me Father, okay, and he's acting really rigid and fearful, like he might be hit or something. I don't know what's going on or what happened in his past, but you might want to address that." Bonnie adds.
Stefan sighs over the line, "Okay, I'll figure out what's going on with him, no worries. Thanks again, Bonnie, have fun at school." Stefan says.
"Okay, bye." Bonnie responds and she hangs up and goes into the living room. "Okay, Damon, I'll be off right now, okay, so you can sit here and watch cartoons and wait in here for Stefan. Do not leave the house okay." Bonnie explains.
Damon nods, he's too wrapped up in the cartoon to really pay attention, but as far as he can tell it's something about what she always says, stay in the house and don't go outside ever unless someone's with you.
Bonnie breathes in exasperation and then leaves.
Damon watches television for what seems like forever. He's starting to grow bored, and the more he watches cartoons the more he feels like he's going to become a zombie. This is all the same. He looks over at the door in desperation, Come on, Stefan, get here soon please. He sighs and leans back against the couch.
After a while longer, there's a knock at the door. Damon gets up and hesitantly opens the door, and sighs in relief once he sees who it is; it's Stefan. "Finally." Damon says in annoyance.
Stefan raises his eyebrows and chuckles, "Bored, huh?"
Damon nods, "Duh…" He says like it's obvious.
"Well, this weekend, we get to go on an adventure, with Ric, Bonnie, and Elena, to look at Isobel's research. Apparently, there's something in there that can figure this out." Stefan explains.
"Good, because I don't know how much longer I can take this." Damon replies.
"But today, I thought we'd go on a walk, just the two of us, okay?" Stefan asks.
Damon frowns; this is a new tone for Stefan, "Okay, Stef."
"Let's go, then okay." Stefan replies and he picks up Damon and runs off to the old Salvatore Estate. Once he arrives he sets Damon down before what used to be the large, grand entrance. Stefan notices Damon's shoulders go tense and he starts to back away, unknowingly right into Stefan.
"Stefan? Why are we here?" Damon asks his voice barely above a whisper.
"Bonnie says you're having relapses with your memory and I took you here so you can see that beyond a shadow of a doubt that our home back in 1864 is gone. I want you to realize this, Damon." Stefan explains.
"Okay, now we've seen it, so now we can go." Damon says quickly.
"No, we can't I want you to understand that you don't have to feel that fear anymore. Come on." Stefan says as he picks Damon up and sets him down in the center of the old ruins.
"Damon, look, open your eyes, okay, nothing here is going to hurt you." Stefan says.
Damon allows his fingers to part slightly, so he can get a look around and he slowly takes them off of his face and looks around, Stefan is right, he has nothing to fear. He breathes in relief.
"We're not done yet, though." Stefan adds.
"What do you mean?" Damon asks.
"What's going on in that head of yours, Damon?" Stefan asks as he sits down on remains of the old brick wall.
Damon sits next to him and shrugs, "I don't know, I keep imagining Father, and all of the horrible things he did, and I know I tried to shield you from that for a long time, but eventually it came out, so you know what I'm talking about." Damon explains.
Stefan sighs, "Damon, Father's dead, he's been dead since 1864, you don't have to worry about him anymore."
"I know and that's what Bonnie tried explaining to me, but I don't know it's like I can't control it." Damon bites his lip.
"Okay, I know what you need." Stefan says and Damon finds himself being carried by Stefan to an unknown location. "Here, look at that." Stefan says as he sets down his brother.
Damon follows Stefan's finger and sees a gravestone, and not just any gravestone, Guisseppi's gravestone. He frowns in realization, "What are we doing here, Stef?"
"Read it, out loud, Damon." Stefan demands.
Damon rolls his eyes, "It says, 'Guisseppi Salvatore, born 1819 and died 1864'," Damon reads it lazily.
"Okay, and I want you to think of that every time you start to think of Father, okay. He is dead and there's tangible proof for your mind." Stefan explains.
Damon suddenly smiles in realization, "Thanks, Stef."
"Okay, so let's go do something today, okay, like maybe we can walk around town." Stefan says.
Damon nods in agreement, "Sounds cool."
"Okay then, let's go." Stefan says before he runs him and his brother into town. He sets his brother down and they start walking.
"Why aren't you at school today, Stef?" Damon asks casually.
Stefan tips an eyebrow at him, "Really, you're going to ask me that?"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I just thought that you'd want to hang out in school, and be with everyone else; I mean, it can't be super fun doing this right?" Damon shrugs.
"Hey, look at me, Damon." Stefan says, and when his brother looks at him he continues, "How could you even think that, you're my brother no matter what. I'm hanging out with you, because I'm sure that you don't want to stay cooped up in a house all day." Stefan says.
Damon ponders that for a moment, "Thanks, again, Stef." He replies genuinely.
"You're welcome." Stefan replies.
"I'm sorry I kissed Elena or Katherine or whatever." Damon shrugs.
Stefan sighs, "It's okay, I know that you have feelings for her."
Damon sighs, "No, in truth I really don't. I just do stuff like that to make good on my promise of an eternity of misery." Damon laughs.
"Really." Stefan rolls his eyes, "Because you seem like you do."
"I know; I'm a really good liar." Damon explains.
"Well, I guess you are, because you had me fooled, as well as Elena, Ric, Bonnie, and Caroline." Stefan states, but notices that when he says Caroline's name his brother's eyes glass over for a second. He smiles in realization, "You like her don't you?"
"What?" Damon's face becomes red, "Who?"
"Caroline." Stefan says.
"Maybe." Damon responds in his casual tone. "Gosh, this is weird, I wish I was normal." Damon sighs.
"Yeah, it is a tad weird, but wow!" Stefan exclaims.
"Don't you dare meddle, Stefan." Damon warns, "I know you and I know that you like to meddle in these affairs, but I am warning you, stay out of it."
"Okay, okay, I will, don't worry, but when you get back to being your normal self, I think you should act on it." Stefan explains.
Damon shrugs.
"Well, if this isn't weird. Stefan?" Stefan looks up and sees Anna in front of him. Damon turns around and frowns at her. "Who are you?" Anna asks.
"Really, I know I didn't change much growing up, Anna." Damon rolls his eyes in annoyance.
"Damon?" Anna laughs when she sees him nod in response, "Oh, gosh, what did you do?"
"Annabelle?" Pearl asks as she walks up to her daughter, "What's so funny? Hello, Stefan, and…" She looks at Damon disapprovingly. "Vampires have limits, Stefan."
"Oh, no, this is—" Stefan starts to explain, but is interrupted by Anna.
"Mama, that's Damon Salvatore." Anna states, still laughing.
"I thought you were in school these days, to hang out with Baby Gilbert." Damon narrows his eyes at her.
"Schools out now, and baby, really, I don't think that you should be calling anyone a baby these days, Damon." Anna giggles.
Damon huffs in annoyance.
"What happened?" Pearl asks.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that Damon is now a seven year old, and we're trying to figure out whom and what did this to him, before he comes to any real harm." Stefan explains.
"Oh, yeah, and that reminds me, Pearl, the tomb vamps came after us the other night, and I am wondering if you know anything, spill it out now!" Damon demands.
Pearl stifles a giggle, "I know nothing, Damon, after they tortured you, Stefan, I kicked them out and haven't seen any of them since, but I'll keep an eye on them now that I know they're back in town." Pearl says.
"Okay, thank you." Stefan says, and he drags his brother away. He seems to not believe her and Stefan has to push him along. "Come on, Damon." Stefan says through his teeth.
"Fine!" Damon exclaims, and trudges off ahead of Stefan. Stefan watches him go for a moment before following.
Stefan looks back and sees that Pearl and Anna are gone and then looks back at his brother, who is still walking away from him. He sighs, Stubborn as always. Stefan laughs inwardly. He feels a vibrating in his pocket and while he's keeping an eye on his brother he answers it, "Hello?"
"Hello, Stefan."
"Katherine." Stefan says, matter-of-factly.
"Look, Stefan, let's bury the hatchet, okay. We both want the same thing, the tomb vamps dead." Katherine explains.
"Look, I don't have time for this right now, Katherine." Stefan says as he looks around for his brother. He doesn't see him, so he immediately thinks of the worst case scenario.
"What's wrong? I can practically hear your worry." Katherine says.
"Damon?" Stefan asks. He looks around more and sees Fredrick looking back at him, smiling, villainously. "Fredrick?"
"Stefan, what's wrong?" Katherine asks.
Stefan hangs up, realizing he's still on the phone. He rushes over to Fredrick and takes him to the forest, "What did you do to my brother?"
"I'm just finishing the job, Stefan, and getting revenge for what you did to Bethann." Fredrick explains.
"Let him go, he's…" Stefan trails off, he can't say innocent, because Damon's certainly not innocent by any standards.
"Let me know when you can finish that sentence." Fredrick states and grabs a branch and is about to stake Stefan with it, when a voice stops him in his tracks.
"Fredrick, long time, no see." Stefan looks up to see who it is. This is unexpected. Fredrick turns around angrily.
"Katherine, it has been a long time." Fredrick growls.
"Where's Damon Salvatore?" She asks casually.
Stefan rushes up to Fredrick, snatches the branch out of his enemy's grasp and shoves it into his gut, "Where's my brother?"
Fredrick laughs evilly. "Just kill me, you'll never find him."
"Stefan, do you smell that?" Katherine asks.
"What?" He frowns and twists the branch into Fredrick earning him a snarl of pain.
"I can smell him." She responds.
Stefan's face goes pale, "What?"
"He's not dead." Katherine quickly adds, "Kill him, and let's go." She adds as Stefan forces the branch up into Fredrick's heart, causing him to shrivel, gray, and die. Stefan lets him fall to the ground, and he immediately follows Katherine.
"Damon!" Stefan shouts when he sees his brother tied up against a tree, gagged, and wearing an expression of fear.
Stefan rushes over and unties his brother, only turning around once he hears signs of a struggle.
"Close one." Katherine says, "We'll be in touch, Stefan." With that she disappears.
Stefan looks down and sees another tomb vampire, and it's dead. Stefan sighs in relief and turns back to his brother, "You're just disaster prone."
Damon shrugs, and Stefan breathes in relief and then picks his brother up and heads to the boarding house, where he knows that everyone is already waiting.