Previously in Lover Come Back…
The doctor cleared his throat before speaking loudly over the wailing, "Jeremy is currently in an induced coma."
Damon's chest heaved up and down as he managed to control his breathing. Seeing the look on Elena's face was torturing him; physically, emotionally, mentally. He had caused all of this. He had hurt every, single person in that waiting room- Alaric, Matt, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, and Elena.
Inhaling sharply, Elena whispered, "I've heard that people in comas can still hear," She fought the tears, "So I want to tell you this Jer; you can't die on me. I need you," She rested her hand upon her stomach, "We need you."
"What about adoption?" Caroline gave a light smile.
Tyler wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in close, "Of course, my love. I love any and all children, even if they aren't mine."
Elena glanced up to the nurse, "What's the little guy's name?"
The nurse smiled before checking the bassinet, "Aiden Young."
She flashed a warm smile as she walked down the hall, "Aiden."
Chapter 13: Hold Your Hand
The thunder clouds began to pour in, filling the once blue sky with utter blackness. The hum of the engines put a weary Bonnie right to sleep, her head slumped against the window as Caroline and Tyler drove her to the hotel. The whistling wind brushed against the windows as Caroline glanced over to Tyler, seeing the yearning for sleep.
His muscles tensed with each turn, begging his mind to control his eyes, so they did not close, drawing him into a deep slumber. His lips curved outward to give a long sigh before Caroline entwined her hand with his. Every muscle in his body relaxed, it was the same reaction because it seemed as if she had a profound calming mechanism built somewhere inside her.
The tires smoothly swerved to the left, barely missing the squirrel who had decided to dart in front of the car.
This jolted Bonnie awake from the backseat, pushing herself up onto her elbows, "What happened?"
Caroline twisted her head over her shoulder before resting a hand on Bonnie's shoulder, "Nothing. You need rest, go to sleep." Feeling defeated, Bonnie immediately obeyed, resting her head back onto the leather seat where she fell back into a deep slumber.
The dreams that had previously played began to submerge once more. They were of strange nature, for they were hazy, yet were set in the future. Putting the puzzle pieces together, Bonnie immediately knew that these were no dreams; they were visions.
Once the car came to a halt in front of the hotel, Caroline unbuckled her seat belt.
"Would you mind carrying her inside?" She flashed an innocent smile as an alternate way of begging.
He quickly undid the seatbelt before sighing, "Why can't I just wake her up?"
Boys; they always think like this. Caroline thought.
She shook her head in amusement, "I don't want to wake her up. She really needs the rest."
Defeated, he hopped out of the car, opened the back door and gently picked up Bonnie, trying his best to not wake her up.
The mirror must be lying; there is no way that I look like that.
My hand immediately shot up to lightly mess up my raven hair which was looking utterly flat and normal. I adjusted so I could grip the soap bottle, pouring light amounts of liquid soap into my hand. The water cascaded from the faucet, spluttering onto my hands as I mixed the soap together by rubbing my palms together.
Throughout the small session, I never glanced up once, for I feared that I wouldn't like what I would see. Shutting the water off, I strutted towards the towel rack, brushing my hands against the blue towels. Without me realizing it, my forearms were rubbing against the right pocket of the leather jacket, pushing a small, white object out.
Suddenly, there was a small scraping noise. Glancing down, I saw that it was a folded piece of paper. With curiosity set in mind, I bent over to pick it up. The pads of my fingers lightly caressed the smooth surface as I held it in my hands, yearning to open it.
Then, the immediate confusion of how the paper was placed in my pocket dawned upon me. Checking over the jacket, I quickly realized that this was not the Varvatos leather jacket I had originally walked into the hospital with.
My head tilted to the side as I began to think over whose this might be, until I realized that this was the jacket I had given Elena on the road trip to Georgia. A smirk began to play on my lips at the scent of her. How I didn't smell it before was beyond my reasoning.
Sliding the jacket off my shoulders, I lifted it to my nostrils, inhaling every scent of her deeply. I wanted to remember this sweet scent that I would've most likely never enjoyed ever again thanks to the bastard that knocked her up.
My eyes fluttered back open, catching sight of the folded piece of paper. Curiosity overcame me once more resulting in me sitting on the edge of the counter, the jacket on my left knee as I began to open the paper.
I was taken aback by the messy handwriting, but drew to the conclusion that it was not Elena's handwriting.
The note read,
First Ultrasound:
Elena Gilbert
Approx. 5 weeks pregnant
Sex (of the child): Unknown
Ultrasound appointment: June 15
Location: Las Vegas General Hospital
A quiet sigh escaped his lips. He would never be the one to see the peanut-sized child on the screen, hear the heartbeat as he held her hand, find out the sex of the baby, or even watch the newborn be welcomed into the world.
Damon felt lost in his own mind, his own body. He felt imperfect without his other half, the love of his life. She was off living her life, having a child. A child that wasn't his, or so he believed.
Picking up the jacket, he placed the paper into the pocket and walked out of the bathroom. His feet ventured towards the waiting room, expecting faces to be glaring at him. But he was shocked when he found that the room was empty, except for various strangers whom he had never met.
Pushing his jaw up, he continued walking down the hall, trying to find a pastime. To his left were various rooms where the doctors and nurses would take shifts for rest. And to his right were patient rooms and more patient rooms. But before he could continue on, his feet halted in front of one room; Jeremy's.
Matt's feet shuffled across the floor tiredly. He was on 'Elena Duty'; making sure she didn't wander off or get hurt. Honestly, he believed that she would be pissed for them treating her like a child, but she, herself, was just barely a grown person.
"She's only twenty for crying out loud." Matt muttered before wandering into the cafeteria. He needed a pastime, and food seemed like the best idea in his mind.
Just as he worked his feet under the table, he brushed a hand through his hair, glancing up to catch the sight of a familiar brunette picking at her food. Matt's eyes lit up.
"Found you." He said, playfully poking her shoulder as he walked up to the table she was occupying.
He was taken aback when she glared in response.
She lightly snickered before returning to picking at her plain salad. Matt took a seat opposite from her, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "Aren't you hungry?" His eyes were filled to the brim with the yearning for food.
Elena glanced up, pushing her salad towards him, "You can have it, I need some pickles." He chuckled before she continued on, "These cravings are like the ups and downs of a rollercoaster ride."
His laughter erupted, causing him to lightly choke on the salad his had just consumed. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Where's Damon?"
She stood up, walking towards the close counter. Looking for pickles, she spoke louder, "I honestly do not care."
His smile was flipped upside down at her words. Matt had high hopes for the pair. Hell, he even still had a year-old bet for Damon and Elena to get together.
"There goes six hundred dollars." He mumbled before continuing to chew on the salad in his mouth.
Moments of silence passed before Matt nearly jumped clear out of his skin when Elena called out, "Found them!" She proudly held up a small jar of pickles that were stashed away in the far corner of one of the counters.
Jeremy's eyes lightly fluttered open to the semi-lit room. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out where he was.
Suddenly, there were light shuffles, causing him to look warily around the room, "Hello?"
The figure hesitated before stepping forward into the patch of light that was shining down from the overhead illuminations.
Jeremy weakly tried to push himself up onto his elbows to see the person better, but was stopped by a cold hand being placed below his neck.
"You just woke up, lay back down." The voice firmly instructed.
Jeremy was beyond confused, but still he obeyed, laying his head back onto the pillow. "Where am I, Damon?"
Damon pulled a chair up next to the hospital bed, and then gave a pitiful look towards Jeremy, "The hospital."
"Why?" Jeremy gasped. His mind was in bits and pieces, still trying to piece everything together bit-by-bit.
His head tilted to the side as if he was expecting Jeremy to say that he was joking. Then, the realization that his head was practically cracked open came into play.
Don't tell him just yet.
He shook his head lightly, "Doctor said no sudden explanations. We have to let your mind figure it out."
Jeremy shook his head, letting a laugh escape, "What are you talking about?"
Damon's eyes narrowed, "What year is it?"
His eyes seemed lost as he tried to figure out the year, "2010."
Damon sadly looked down, putting his face into his hands, "Jeremy," He paused, trying to figure out how to put it gently, "It's 2012."
Nearly half an hour had passed, and Damon was still helping Jeremy to remember the memories he had lost.
Suddenly, Jeremy put a hand up, signaling Damon to halt, "Does Elena still dislike you?"
Damon's eyes narrowed before he looked towards the window, "Yeah."
He sighed before gently sitting up further, "Why?"
Damon shifted in his seat, feeling the pang of sadness in his heart, "I screwed up."
"How so?" Jeremy asked, curiosity taking the better of him.
Damon glanced up to his dark eyes, seeing the similarities between Elena and him. It almost made him leave the room, but he knew that Jeremy needed someone right now.
"She's pregnant, and claims the child is mine." Damon snickered towards the end, the memory of the day flashing in his mind.
Jeremy shook his head sadly, "You don't believe her?"
Damon was immediately surprised at how calm he was about the whole situation. He shook his head, "No."
Jeremy immediately widened his eyes, "And why not? She's never seriously lied to you before, has she?"
The tip of the combat boot came into contact with the corner of the bed. Damon's eyebrows knitted together, thinking over what Jeremy had asked. His gaze was seemingly far away as he answered, "No, she's never lied to me before." He glanced up to Jeremy who had his arms crossed against his chest.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?" He pointed towards the door, "Go talk to her."
Her stomach growled, keeping her up all night. Glancing towards the clock on the bedside table, she read the time aloud, "10:37 PM," She heavily sighed, "I'll never get any sleep." Elena's hand rested against her small bump. She was most definitely surprised by how fast the baby bump had progressively grown over the course of five weeks. Even though it was small, the bump was still precious in her mind.
Sighing, she rolled onto her side to gaze towards the moon. But before the moonlight poured onto her face, she let out a small shriek, hand still rested upon her stomach. "Oh my god!" She screamed. Unfortunately for Elena, there was no one in the house to come rushing to her aid.
Her eyes widened, hand rested against her chest, "You scared me." She placed a hand over her eyebrows as to block the bright moonlight from her sight.
"That's my job." The figure sarcastically said before stepping off of the window bench.
She flipped her head around towards the pillow before her muffled voice said, "Go away, Damon."
He sighed, "I need to talk to you."
Elena glared towards him through the dark strands of hair that had fallen across her eyes, "Now you want to talk?" She bitterly hissed.
Damon took a step back as to give her a more expanded comfort zone, "Elena, I talked to Jeremy-" Before he could get another word out, he was interrupted by Elena.
"Jeremy woke up?" She threw the blankets off of herself to stand, not realizing that she had only a pink bra and short-shorts on at the moment.
Damon's eyes nearly fell from their sockets as he glanced up every part of her body that was visible. Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, he looked at her stomach, "You're showing."
Elena looked towards her bare stomach, light gasping before she jumped back under the covers, "Yeah, why do you care?"
In his mind, it registered as a challenge. And being who he is, without a moment of hesitation, he slid under the covers with her, just as they used to before the Vegas trip when they were still close friends. She instinctively scooted herself away from him, fearing that he would do something to her, or yet, her unborn child.
The pang of pain he felt from her sudden action resulted in him wrapping his arms around her, causing her to stop any further movement. "Elena, you mean the whole world to me and I become this shell-of-a-man when you are hurt. I am sorry for the mistakes I have made, and I promise not to repeat them and try not to make any new ones in our future.
I am trying to improve on the bad qualities and habits I have, which hurt you. You are the love of my life. For the mistakes I have made, I am learning the hard way. All of it taught me something; what it would take for me to be the best man in your life," He paused, resting his hand against her small baby bump and his other hand entwined with hers, "as well as a better father to our child."
A/N:
Next Chapter:
Jeremy comes home, trying to further remember the memories he lost with Bonnie by his side.
Caroline and Tyler continue talking about their future and adopting a baby.
Damon and Elena cuddle and maybe even go a little further, after saying the names for their child.
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