Chapter 6: Be Strong
Damon hasn't woken up yet and Stefan is wondering what that could all entail. Is his memory disappearing the more he rests? Stefan can't even think about it. He could be losing his brother, no correction, he is losing his brother. When he arrived late last night, Stefan put a limp Damon in his room, so he could at least be somewhere dark when he wakes up. Stefan sat in a chair beside his bed never removing his eyes from Damon's form. Ric and Caroline got in later than he did, and came in to check on him. They also told him the information that he missed when he left. His brother's going to die, and they have to rely on a few snippets from a box of papers and grimoires.
Damon's eyelids however start to flutter and he moans softly. Stefan swallows and readies himself for whatever state his brother's about to be in. He sits straighter and leans a little inward.
"Damon?" He asks gently.
Damon looks over at his little brother and assesses the expression on his face. It's full of fear, regret, and something Damon can't quite understand. Regret, what has he to regret? Damon frowns and swallows, "Stef?"
Stefan seems to breathe a little easier; at least he still remembers him. "Hey, Damon, how do you feel?"
Damon shakes his head, "Not good, Stef." Damon answers.
Stefan nods in understanding, "Okay, well, do you remember what happened yesterday?" He gently prods.
Damon frowns and contemplates it for a moment before nodding. "I remember, sort of. It all seemed to go black after a while though. I remember that woman telling us stuff and then things get really foggy after that." Damon explains.
Stefan nods and lets out a small sob, "Okay, well I can smell something cooking downstairs, so do you want to go downstairs and get a bite to eat?"
Damon nods and smiles, "Okay." He says as he sits up. He immediately clutches his head and groans, "Uggh…what is this? Why am I so dizzy?"
Stefan closes his eyes for a moment, allowing the reality of the situation to sink in. His brother's dying right this very minute. "It's okay, Damon, it must be just some sort of after effect of the episode you had yesterday." Stefan lies.
Damon frowns and looks over at him, "I certainly hope that this isn't always going to happen, because I don't know how much longer I can take any of this. Oh, by the way, did Vanessa have anything to contribute to this? Is there a fix-it spell?" Damon asks, quickly changing the subject.
Stefan wants to sob; he really does, but has to be strong for what may very well be the last week his brother has to live. "She gave us some papers and notes, but nothing that has been of any benefit so far."
Before Damon can respond to that, there's a knocking at the door. "Come in." Damon says.
The door opens and reveals a distraught looking Caroline, "Damon, what are you still doing in bed. Let's get you downstairs, there's food and things cooking. We can all have a nice breakfast." She says as jovially as she can.
Damon frowns, "What is this? You're all acting like something's wrong by not addressing it. You're all acting weird, what is it?"
"Nothing, Damon, I just thought that we should grab a bite to eat and sit down as friends. Caroline and Alaric stayed the night, because they wanted to see you well, and I decided that it might not be such a bad idea, because you're going to need the support, especially since there are at least twenty other vengeful vampires running around." Stefan explains vaguely.
Damon nods, "Okay?" He slowly gets out of bed, and feels weaker than normal. "Must be tired." Damon mutters to himself as he very slowly makes his way out of the room and down the stairs.
Caroline watches him go with a grim expression, He's dying. That's all she can think about. He's moving so slowly and he looks so pallid and drawn. This is direr than any of them expected. She wants to help in whatever way she can. She turns back to Stefan and sees his wide eyes and his lost expression. Wow! Stefan really is the younger brother. She's worried for both of their fates, because she's learned from her observations that Stefan goes nearly crazy and insane from the mere thought of losing his brother, but he always finds a way to fix it, to come out on top and still keep his brother alive somehow, but now he can't do anything to help his terminal older brother. His brain and his instincts must be driving him mad right now. She's wondering what the rest of her existence will be like without Damon Salvatore, too. Without his cockiness, without his egotistical pride and his sarcasm. She's wondering what life will be like without her sire, and then the thought hits her, her sire. What does that mean for her, if he dies? She knows she won't die if he dies, so that's not the problem. No, it goes much deeper than that, to a part she can't quite understand.
"We should get down there." Stefan says, breaking her train of thought as he stands up and walks by Caroline.
Caroline lingers for a moment and vows to keep Stefan from going off the deep end, should this not end up well for Damon, before she follows Stefan down the stairs.
Stefan decides that as he descends the stairs he is going to put on a cheerful and optimistic front for Damon. Damon doesn't need the stress, and Stefan's going to fix it anyway. He always does. He's managed to get his brother out of every predicament that comes their way. This situation should be no different. He finally makes his way into the dining room and sees Damon sitting at the table, with his head in his hands. "Headache?" Stefan asks.
"Yeah, but I'm sure it's just from whatever happened yesterday, and that it'll wear off soon." Damon mutters.
Stefan's takes a deep breath and before Damon can ask him what is going on with him, he speeds into the kitchen only to see Ric, Bonnie, and Elena cooking.
Elena is the first to notice Stefan's presence and she looks over at him with a saddened expression. She runs to comfort him. "Oh, Stefan, I'm so sorry." She whispers as she envelopes him into a hug.
"It's going to be okay, though, all we have to do is keep him calm, make sure that nothing sets off another episode, and I'll find a way to fix this in the meantime." Bonnie says resolutely.
"Bonnie, I want to thank you for all you've been doing to help us, I mean, you don't exactly like Damon, but here you are helping him. I can't express to you how grateful I am." Stefan says.
"Hey, we're not going to be stressed around him or get him worked up. We're going to eat and be happy and show Damon that he has nothing to worry about." Ric interjects.
They all nod in agreement.
"I looked through the box that Vanessa gave you and there appears to be some things missing, but it doesn't look like they've been ripped out or destroyed, it just looks like they weren't there to begin with." Bonnie explains, "It's like the spell is suggestive or made up."
Stefan frowns, "What does that mean?"
"I don't know, that's why I'm going to need as much time as I can get." Bonnie says sadly.
Stefan's jaw clenches, and Elena notices the change in her boyfriend's persona immediately, "We don't have that much time, Bonnie."
"I know, but I'm trying, Stefan." She says.
"But you can fix this right?" Ric asks.
"I can as soon as I figure it out." Bonnie explains.
"Hey, let's all calm down, and take it one day at a time. Damon's alive right now, so let's enjoy our time together." Elena suggests.
Stefan frowns and looks at her with incredulity in his countenance, but before anyone can respond there's a loud crash through the window in the dining room and a scream followed by immediate struggling. They all dash into the room only to see the house filled with vampires. Caroline is trying her best to protect Damon, but she appears to be failing as one of the vampires rushes at her and pushes her aside, grabbing Damon by the throat and holding him in the air.
Damon's legs kick and swing at the vampire holding him, but before the vampire can do any real damage Stefan rushes at the vampire, pushing him to the ground and sending Damon flying into the wall.
Damon's shriek fills the room and he immediately rubs his head and reveals that he's bleeding from a head injury once again. All the vampires in the room immediately notice and Stefan and Caroline struggle to keep them all away from Damon.
"All we want is the Salvatore's, little girl, so step aside and save yourself." A vampire growls menacingly at her.
Ric is behind Stefan and Caroline with a stake in his hand ready to fight and Elena is hugging Damon close to her, while Bonnie standing protectively in front of them with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
Two vampires immediately make it past Stefan, Caroline, and Ric, but before they can get anywhere near Damon they fall to the ground clutching their heads in pain. Bonnie has her full concentration on giving aneurisms to the two demons.
Another vampire rushes at Bonnie and grabs her by the neck and pins her to the wall, breaking her hold over his two friends. They rush at Elena and Damon, but stop when they realize that they're gone.
"Bonnie!" Caroline shouts as she sees her friends trying to fend off the vampires now encroaching on her.
Three vampires rush to find Elena and Damon, and Stefan can only watch them go as he struggles with four vampires himself. His diet isn't helping in his fight, and Caroline can barely manage one, since she is so young and inexperienced. Bonnie is desperately trying to use her powers on as many of her attackers as she can, and Ric is desperately trying to stake the vampires attacking him. It seems that Elena and Damon are on their own.
"Run, Damon!" Elena screams as she is overtaken by a vampire.
Damon turns around and sees Elena, his brother's girlfriend trying to fight her way out of a very old and very powerful vampire grip and he also notices that she's failing. He turns around to help, but then two vampires come up to him and grab him. A vampire immediately viciously bites into Damon's neck, causing Damon to let out a shrill scream of terror as the vampire pulls away almost just as quickly.
AN: Okay, I hate to say this, but I think I'm going to be ending this story within the next couple chapters, but don't worry there will be a sequel. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and yes, I realize I'm not exactly good at describing action scenes, but hopefully this was still good. Hopefully, I'll end this story by the end of next weekend, and get the sequel up as soon as possible.