An: Sorry, it's been about a month since my last update! Honestly, I'd post WAY more frequently if I got some nice reviews, I want to know what you think about the story so far and what you want to happen next, NOT 'please update soon.' Please take that into consideration, thanks.

Katie gazed curiously at Stefan, trying to mentally predetermine his personality, and praying it wasn't like Damon's. "I..." She stuttered, trying to form a coherent sentence, and failing.

Stefan gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm Stefan. Damon mentioned you being Hanna's daughter. Can you tell me a little bit about that?" He asked, trying to see how much information she'd give him.

"I don't really know the entire story, Damon does," Katie explained, plopping down on the couch, "Katherine sent me to Damon, because Damon can protect me."

Intrigued, Stefan asked, "Protect you from what?" He moved around to stand in front of Katie, pouring only enough Scotch for a sip, into a glass.

Twirling her hair around one finger, and getting bored of retelling what little she knew about herself, Katie sighed, "My blood can cure vampires. I'm have a human, and I'm half a vampire."

Stefan downed the sip of Scotch, "Where'd Katherine find you?"

"I don't know," Katie mumbled, bringing her knees to her chest. "Hm," Stefan mused, pretending to think, "I could always call Damon..." He threatened, though he didn't have any intention of calling his brother.

"Foster Care," She mumbled, laying her head down between her knees. Stefan sighed, "Alright," He relented, leaving Katie momentarily alone.

Damon's absence made Katie nervous, and she stayed curled up on the couch for nearly two hours. Stefan checked on her every thirty or so minutes, always given the same mumbled response of, 'I'm okay.'

It didn't seem like much of a big deal at first, but as the end of the second hour loomed, Stefan realized Katie wouldn't get up without being made to, "Katie," He said, "Time to get up. You've been sitting there for almost two hours."

"Nooo," Katie whined, shaking her head, and clasping her fingers together around her knees. Stefan tried to hide his frustration, only deepening his voice a bit to sound firmer, "It's time to get up," He repeated.

Katie remained silent, squeezing her eyes closed, while praying Damon would be back soon, "Please," She whispered.

Just as Stefan ran a hand over his frustrated face, Damon let the door slam behind him as he stalked inside, "Damon!" Katie exclaimed, running to hug him at full-human speed.

Remembering the hug she gave him the night before, Damon lifted Katie into his arms when she reached him. Stefan watched Damon's interaction with Katie in awe, debating whether to laugh or not.

Katie rested her head against Damon's shoulder, relaxing as the nervousness she felt eased away. "Where'd you go?" Stefan asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"To see Katherine." Damon answered, in a heartless sounding tone.

"And?" Stefan asked, making Damon sigh. "And what, Stefan?" He asked, pouring some Bourbon into a glass.

"Is she dead?"

Damon pursed his lips, "Don't you think I would've mentioned that a little sooner?" He scoffed, taking a long drink.

Katie kept quiet, listening to the thump of her own heart beat against Damon's solid chest. "Nooo!" She whined, clasping her fingers tightly together, not wanting out of Damon's strong arms.

"Yes," He muttered, prying apart her tiny fingers, only resulting in Katie's legs tighten around his waist. He sighed, "Katie," He warned, tapping gently on her behind in warning.

She still didn't make a move or sound, "I'm going to start counting, and if I get to three..." He warned in a menacing tone.

"Fine," Katie huffed, trying to now squirm her way out of his arms. Damon laughed, "Now you want down?"

"Yes," She said, drawling out the word.

He let Katie slide down to the ground, making sure she landed on her sock covered feet. "It's time for bed," He announced, giving Stefan a look that meant they'd talk later.

Stefan nodded, relaxing a little, waiting to see how Damon's interaction with Katie changed over the course of ten minutes. "I've been laying down since you left." She pointed out, "How can you expect me to sleep?"

He simply raised one eyebrow, making Katie fidget uncomfortably while looking down at the ground, "Let's try again," He suggested, although it wasn't really optional, "Time for bed."

"Okay," She whispered, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. "Good girl," He praised, gently sending her towards the stairs with a firm smack on her behind.

"Ow." Katie mumbled, fighting the urge to rub as she flashed up the stairs. "Uh!" She yelled into her pillow, mad that Damon put her to bed, and that there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

How could she possibly have missed him?

He bossed her around like a freaking five year old, and punished her like one too. It wasn't fair. Why'd Katherine have to kidnap her in the first place? Sure, Mr. John beat her sometimes, but at least she could do whatever she wanted, as long as no one noticed her.

She longed to ride her bike down the street and play outside whenever she wanted. She even missed Mr. John and Ms. Lisa.

Two years of living with them, even on the worst days, beat living with Damon. Or, it seemed to at the moment.

Katie flung the pillow across the room, and quietly got out of 'her' bed, tip toeing over to grab a pad of paper off the desk, along with six colorful pens she's found in Stefan's room.

The clock slowly ticked meticulously, and Katie drew a picture of a dream catcher, not realizing it was nearly three o'clock in the morning until Damon swung open the door. "I thought I sent you to bed?" He asked, giving nothing away by the tone of his voice.

"Oh... I,-"

An: Do you think Katie's in trouble? I can probably have another chapter posted some time before Friday, most likely Wednesday or Thursday, possibly sooner of later. I'm basing the length between my updates on the amount of reviews I get. Thanks for reading. :)