Chapter 2
More To Me

I sat in the back of Damon's car, waiting for him to come outside and dreading it all at once. I was crying, tears streaming down my face as I felt my stomach churn and my face turn bright red. I laid back across the seats, buried my face in the leather to hide my face and pursing my lips together to muffle any cries.

I went still as I heard the car door open, but not the driver's door. I felt the night breeze drift across my feet to know that the passenger door had been opened. I immediately bolted up and shuffled back against the opposite side, I barely even noticed it was Damon before I started crying all over again.

Feeling my face brighten up again once the fear had been set aside, I brought my knees up to my chin, and buried my face in my knees. This time I was unable to help small whimpers escape.

"Please don't look at me." I cried lowly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm being ridiculous." I sniffled, "I shouldn't be crying over this."

*Third Person POV*

The next morning, Elena woke to the sound of her phone ringing loudly beside her. She groaned, reaching over and turning it off-thinking it was her alarm. After a minute it went off again, rousing her from her sleep long enough to see it was Damon calling her.

"What is it? Damon, its 6 o'clock." She drawled out, still half-sleep.

"Yeah, that's the time it took to get Katy to sleep." He said in an aggravated tone.

"Why what's wrong?" Elena asked, starting to gain consciousness when she heard Katy's name mentioned.

"What's right?" Damon said sadly, "Everyone's dying, or dead-and not in the animated corpse sense."

"She's grieving, Damon. It's to be expected."

"It's more than that. She just lost two of her friends, because one of them is in rehab at age thirteen and the other put her there. She's in a fight with that little flight risk brother of yours-"

"Damon." Elena warned.

He went on like he hadn't heard her, "And yet, if she was breaking dishes or punching walls I could deal with that. But she's not, instead she keeps crying but won't let me do anything. She just sat on the couch, crying and wouldn't let me come near her. I haven't slept because I need to make sure when she wakes up, she's not alone."

Elena stared off into space, not sure what to say to that.

"I can't let her push me away Elena." He said, "Not after all this. Not when she needs me most."

"You're doing everything you can Damon." She tried to console, "I'm sure she'll wake up and feel much better."

"Not everything." A pause came, and a large gulp signaling that Damon had already made himself a drink, "I'm taking her out of that school."

Elena's eyes widened, "What? No, Damon you can't just take her out of school!"

"No, but I can homeschool her. She's slacking off in classes, failing as a result, and her behavior is getting her into trouble. At least this way, I can be here and I can watch her."

"Katy's not just gonna accept that! She's going to get annoyed that you took her out of school, the only normal thing she has right now!"

"Really? Because I happen to know, she hates that school, and she's not getting any work done. If she's here with me I can protect her and make sure she does her homework and graduates."

"And what do you know about homeschooling? Have you any idea what kind of curriculum, school supplies, the documentation needed to prove she's been schooled?"

"I'm a man of the 1800s Elena." He explained, "In my day, anyone who went to a regular schoolhouse was considered lower class. I spent the first years of my life surrounded by tutors."

Elena threw her free hand up in exasperation, "So, I guess that makes you an expert then? Why did you even call me when you've clearly made up your mind-without Katy's consent I might add?"

"I called because I trust you." He said, pausing for a moment, "I love her Elena, she means more to me than anything else. She's mine, she's my kid. Don't let me lose her."

Elena was silent, nodding to herself as she heard the desperation in his voice. She could tell that he was scared; that familiar feeling she'd had when Jeremy was on drugs. It was the awful sensation of seeing a loved one in pain and not being able to do anything about it. She'd tried, she'd forced herself down Jeremy's throat to make him stop but nothing would do the trick.

Right now, Katy was in pain, and if there was one thing Damon and her could agree on it was that something needed to be done.

"Okay." She said finally, "I'm with you on this. Anything you need just let me know. I love her too."

"I know. Thank you. I'm sorry I woke you up, just sleep-deprived I guess."

"Don't worry about it." She smiled kindly, "Do you want me to come over now? Talk to her?"

"No, if any of us can manage to get some sleep I say enjoy it."

"You're doing a great Damon, Katy's lucky to have you."

"It's the other way around Elena, you know that." He said, his smirk practically audible through the phone. He heard her laugh a little over the phone before hanging up.

He stood in front of the windows of the Boarding House, watching the sunrise while occasionally looking back at the sleeping form of his daughter on the couch. She was curled up in the wool blanket he threw over her when she'd finally passed out.

On the one hand, Damon was relieved that she was calm and resting now. On the other hand, he knew it couldn't last that she would have to wake up and face it all by going to the Mayor's funeral.

If he could make her stay home from it, he would in a cold heartbeat. But he knew Katy. She'd insist on going anyway, trying to prove herself.

Damon walked over to her, putting his drink aside and picking Katy up into his arms before sitting back down with her in his embrace. After adjusting the blanket to keep her warm, he allowed his hands to wrap tightly around her. One he had hand supporting her upper back, and the other holding her head to his chest.

He folded his head to rest on the top of her red, bed-frizzed hair, kissing the top of her head affectionately.

"I love you girlie." He whispered to the sleeping child, "You mean more to me than anything I could ever have, or ever did."

Damon let out a long breath, looking longingly into the cold, unlit fireplace.

"Don't push me away. Please. Please…"