Author's note: I have a book due to my editor in 9 days. And then I'm having rather extensive surgery mid-October. I'm going to do my best to get one more update out before then, but I can't guarantee another chapter prior to Halloween. My apologies.

Ratings: Mature - sensitive subject matter, language, adult content, violence (yep, this story's got it all)

"What are you doing here?" Damon called out to Jackson as he stepped from his car and made his way up the sidewalk. "I thought Kennedy was coming over to babysit."

"Not tonight." Jackson shook his head. "My choices were to drive Kennedy back and forth or come over myself." He shrugged his shoulders. "I have a science project to work on."

"Mmmhmmm." Damon looked skeptical. "And I imagine I can expect Quinn will be here soon to assist with the babysitting duties."

"She is my science partner."

"Of course she is."

"Just think of it as buy one get one free."

"I really don't want to do too much thinking about the two of you being here unsupervised. Maybe you should have brought Kennedy anyway." Damon shook his head, narrowing his eyes at his nephew. Just because Jackson and his girlfriend were both in the top ten of their class at Mystic Falls High School didn't mean they weren't also concerned with extra-curricular activities. He just didn't want them doing those activities on his couch. "You know the drill. I don't mind her being here, but there needs to be daylight between the two of you at all times. These walls can talk...or at least my kids do." Jackson and Quinn had been dating for over a year. At some point during that time, they'd become something of a package deal. If one came over to watch his kids, the other generally wasn't too far behind. Tonight he just didn't want to deal with any more drama.

Or a lecture about the birds and the bees.

Jackson's cheeks flushed faintly pink. "We're just studying Uncle Damon."

"Yeah." Damon gave him a knowing look. "I remember that kind of studying..." He turned as he heard a car door slam shut. Jackson broke into a broad grin as Quinn jogged up the path. She was wearing her purple and white NYU sweatshirt which explained Jackson's new "Future NYU Student" bumper sticker. He wondered how that conversation with Ric and Jenna must have gone. Free ride to Duke or not, NYU had one thing that the school recruiting Jackson couldn't offer – Jackson's girlfriend wasn't attending Duke.

Damon chuckled to himself. Damn, his nephew had it bad... "Hey Quinn. I didn't know you were coming over. Emma will be thrilled."

"I even brought fingernail polish for good behavior." Her long blonde hair was tied in a loose ponytail that rested over one of her shoulders.

"You know my children too well. You may need that before the night's over." He'd spent the better part of the last hour refereeing fights between his children. On a typical night, the Good Ship Salvatore was pretty trouble-free, but the past few week was far from typical.

Honestly, he could hardly blame them. He knew they had to be feeling the stress from Elena being in the hospital. Claire was channeling his brother's inner-drama-king status by complaining that every single thing hurt, and she refused to be left alone in any part of the house. He'd even found her asleep on the floor in Emma's room when he did one last once-over of the house before going to bed last night.

Today, Nathan brought home his first-ever note from his teacher asking if everything was alright at home, verifying that something was very much out of sorts with his bookworm son.

He hated to leave them alone again, but at least Jackson and Quinn were familiar babysitters. No matter what the doctor said, Elena didn't seem to be recovering as quickly as he thought she should have. Her face was still several shades whiter than normal, and when the nurse tried to get her up and walking down the hall, he'd barely made it in time when she blacked out. He'd feel better if he were there with her, even if she said she wanted him to stay home with the kids.

Tonight he'd rather ask for forgiveness instead of permission. And he'd stayed home most of the afternoon. They all had finished their homework, and he even made it to Emma's dance class for the monthly parent observation time.

Damon pulled two twenty-dollar bills from his pocket. "Ok, here's the money for the pizza. The delivery should be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Pizza?" Jackson looked shocked. Dinner was generally one of the perks of babysitting at their house, and Damon seldom resorted to fast food, but this hadn't been a normal day. When Elena had finally kicked him out of her hospital room a little after noon, he'd planned to come home and just take a short nap. The next thing he knew, Brayden was banging on the front door after the bus dropped everyone off.

"Pizza." Damon nodded as he handed Jackson a folded wad of cash. "I've already ordered it. It should be here about 6:30. Everyone's finished with their homework. Nathan just has to do some more silent reading…and I mean silent. They've been told they need to stay upstairs until dinner. After that, you're on your own. If you want to let them play video games, you can."

"We know the drill, Mr. Salvatore." Quinn gave him a reassuring smile. She was going to make an incredible pediatric nurse. She knew just what bribery worked on each of his children. Unfortunately, Emma took more bribery than most – which is what the nail polish was for.

Damon let out a deep breath. "I know you do. I'm sorry. This has been a really long week. They're…not exactly at the best of their behavior. I'll try to be home by nine. If you need something…."

"Don't worry. I told my parents I'd be home after 9. Everything's fine. You just tell Mrs. Salvatore not to worry."

"Yeah, I've got everything under control."

"We have everything under control," Quinn corrected Jackson with a jab of her elbow.

"Thanks, Quinn."

"Tell Mrs. Salvatore I hope she feels better soon. I saw the picture of the car on her news. I can't believe…" Quinn shuffled uncomfortably in the hallway. It was clear she was somewhat at a loss as to what to say.

"I'll do that, thanks." Damon stepped to the bottom of the stairwell. "Hey guys, Quinn and Jackson are here. Y'all be on your best behavior."

"Quinn's here?" Emma appeared at the top of the stairs. She'd definitely found a way to keep herself occupied. When he'd sent her upstairs, she was wearing a simple cotton dress and matching leggings. Now, she'd pulled a flower-covered tutu over her skirt, had wrapped a pink and white boa around her neck, and had placed a rhinestone tiara atop her head. Damon had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Did she bring the sparkly polish?" Emma bounced in anticipation, clapping her hands.

Quinn stepped next to Damon. "Would I ever forget the sparkle polish?" Damon marveled at the patience she had with his children. Before Quinn was added to the package deal, no non-family members were brave enough to tackle his brood.

Jackson stood at the edge of the entryway. "Uncle Damon, you can go. We've got this."

"Thanks." He pulled his phone from his pocket and waved it. "Call me if you need anything."

"We'll do that." Jackson reached down and picked up Molly and scratched behind her ears. He motioned to the door and waved Damon through.

Damon's phone rang in his pocket as he paused at the stop sign at the end of his street. He felt his shoulders tighten. He was beginning to hate his cell phone. Shifting in his seat, he dug for his phone and answered it without looking at the Caller ID. "Are they already out of control?"

"Damon?" Jenna sounded confused.

"Sorry. I thought you were Jackson."

"Ummm...no."

"Jenna, is everything ok?" She'd arrived at the hospital shortly after he'd left. He knew she planned to stay until he arrived.

"How far away are you?" He could tell Jenna was stalling.

"Ten minutes or so. Depends on the traffic."

"You're going to want to break a few traffic rules."

"What happened?" Damon marched through the doors, his anger barely contained.

"I don't know." Jenna's face was as pale as he'd ever seen her, and she looked honestly confused. They were the only two in the surgery waiting room. Jenna didn't even try to walk to the chairs to sit. "Elena seemed like she was going from bad to worse. She couldn't get comfortable, and she kept holding onto her side. The nurse had been in a few minutes earlier to give her some pain medicine. She said it was just the cracked rib and there wasn't anything she could do. I told her she needed to do something, so we were waiting for a doctor to come by…and then… Elena was trying to pretend like she was alright, but then she said she thought she was going to be sick." Jenna cringed at the memory. "I was afraid to let her get up. I buzzed for a nurse and grabbed the trash can." Jenna was a mom. She'd made it through more stomach bugs than she could count, but nothing had prepared her for what came next. "She started throwing up."

"But she hadn't eaten anything."

"I know." Jenna squinted her eyes closed. "It was all blood. Once she started, it was like she couldn't stop." Damon looked more closely at Jenna. Her purple sweater was spotted with tiny red dots. "I rang the buzzer again, but I didn't get an answer. I ran into the hall, and I guess I started screaming. I finally got a nurse's attention. By the time I came back in, Elena was unconscious. Everything happened so fast then." Tears rimmed Jenna's eyes. "The nurse pressed a call button and the room filled up. The doctor took her straight out of the room to surgery." She looked down at her watch. "It wasn't more than twenty minutes ago. No one's told me anything except to wait here."

Damon wanted to be mad at someone...anyone...but not Jenna. Studying her, he could see she was just as frightened as he was. Through the years, Jenna had only become more close with Elena. He couldn't imagine what watching that had been like. He was glad Elena wasn't alone, but he desperately wished he'd been the person with her. One thing was sure, he wasn't leaving the hospital again until Elena left with him.

"I'm so sorry Damon. I didn't know what else to do..."

"No." He shook his head. "You did everything you could." He wrapped an arm around her and wasn't surprised to discover she was shaking. "You sit down. I'll go try to find out what's going on." He stepped into the hall and looked around. No one was sitting behind the desk outside the doors to the surgical suite. He waited in the hallway for a few minutes before he realized whoever was supposed to be at the desk must be on a break. Unwilling to wait any longer, he walked down the corridor until he finally came upon someone wearing a hospital nametag.

"Can I help you sir?" The woman carrying a tub filled with vials looked questioningly at him. "You're really not supposed to be in this area."

"Yes." He struggled not to vent his anger at the young woman. "I need someone to tell me how my wife is."

"Is she a patient here?"

He blinked back at her. If Elena hadn't been a patient here, then why was he in the hallway. He bit back a sarcastic reply. Trying to keep his voice non-threatening, he replied, "Yes. She was in ICU. Something happened. They just brought her down to surgery."

"I'm sure someone will be out to meet you when they know something." The woman started to walk away.

"Um." He reached out and caught her arm. "That's not good enough. I'm going to need you to call someone who can tell me something." His blue eyes flashed in her direction.

"Sure." For an instant, she looked at him with the fear he'd often seen in the eyes of his prey. He didn't want to frighten her, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. Someone was going to tell him what had happened to Elena. She stepped back closer to the door. "Just let me drop off these samples in the lab, and I'll page someone in the surgery area." She patted his arm. "If you can just go back to the waiting area, someone will meet you there. I'm sorry, but it's the best I can do."

Damon took a breath. He called on the whole reserve of his experience as mayor. He'd often found himself caught in situations with heightened emotions, but they seldom involved his family. Nonetheless, he knew she was right. "Thank you." He reluctantly turned back to return to the waiting room. Jenna looked up at him expectantly. Seething with frustration, he simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "All I could find was a lab tech. She's supposed to page someone for us."

"You okay?"

"Not really." Damon leaned back in his chair and stared at the clock. He watched as the minute hand marched slowly around the dial.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Thirty...

Damon cleared his throat and stood up. "I'm going to go try again." He strode out the doorway only to come face to face with a tall gray haired man wearing surgical scrubs.

"Mr. Salvatore?" The man peered around the doorway into the waiting room.

Damon nodded and folded his arms over his chest.

"Will you come with me?" The man nodded in the direction of the hallway Damon had walked down earlier.

Damon turned back and looked at Jenna.

"I'll be right here." She sat back in her seat.

"I'm Doctor Morrison." He nodded at Damon but didn't offer his hand. "I'm the surgeon who operated on your wife."

"Operated..." Damon repeated. He ran his hand over his forehead. "What the hell happened?"

Dr. Morrison leaned against the wall. He shook his head. "Your wife had a great deal of abdominal damage when they brought her in. Apparently, this was overlooked during the initial surgery."

Damon felt his jaws clench. "Someone missed it, and now she's down here again?"

He met Damon's concerned eyes. "We were able to cauterize the vessel. She should be fine now."

"What if there's more damage you don't know about?"

"There's not." He spoke with authority. "I used the scope to do a very thorough exam. You can be certain we've caught everything now." Damon bit back the question about why they didn't do that very thorough exam the day before. "Your wife wasn't stable enough to tolerate a more extensive exam during her first surgery." Dr. Morrison anticipated Damon's question. "Today she was. I wanted to avoid a third trip to the OR. Would you like to come see her?"

Damon nodded and followed the physician as he passed his nametag over a black square on the wall. The doors buzzed and opened automatically. They walked past the nurse's station. Damon scarcely noticed the other people lying in the beds hooked up to various beeping monitors. His attention was fixed on the woman with long dark hair lying in the bed in the far corner of the cavernous room.

"We only used light sedation. She should be waking up shortly." A nurse stepped forward to block Damon's path. Dr. Morrison shook his head and motioned to Elena. "You can stay with her for a few minutes. She'll recover more easily if she has a familiar face beside her."

Damon stood hesitantly at Elena's side. He turned and looked back over his shoulder. "Thank you."

Dr. Morrison was already walking away. He stopped and a hint of emotion flashed in his dark eyes. "You just take care of her. Grayson was a good friend of mine."

"Um. I will. Thanks." Damon cleared his throat. "I hadn't realized…"

"I first met Elena when Grayson and Miranda brought her home. I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"Thank you. Really." Damon realized he and the doctor were both on the same side. Elena was lucky to be alive. The first surgeon had said it himself. Now he believed it.

"Have a good night, Mr. Salvatore."

A nurse carried a chair to his side. "You're probably going to want this."

"Thanks." He sat in the chair and held Elena's hand as he gently stroked her arm. He concentrated on watching her chest rise and fall. He registered the beeping of the monitors in the background, but he didn't pay attention to them. After a few minutes, Elena's eyes opened ever so slightly.

He stood and brushed her hair back from her forehead. He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "You know, if you were so ready for me to come back, you just needed to have Jenna call me."

Elena's lips curled into a faint smile as her shoulders shook while she fought back a laugh. "That's exactly what happened."

"I know." He bent down ad kissed her cheek. "And just so you know, I'm not leaving here again until you're with me. No arguments. I had to talk Liz out of giving me a speeding ticket tonight."

"What about..."

Damon placed a finger on her lips. "We'll figure it out." He took a deep breath. "But I'm staying with you."

"Excuse me. I need to do an exam. If you'll just go out to the waiting area…" The nurse gave him a very no-nonsense look. "She should be back in her room in about thirty minutes. You can see her again then."

Damon reluctantly dropped Elena's hand and turned to walk back to the waiting room. He was sure that Jenna was beside herself with worry by now. He hadn't even made it completely in the room before Jenna was at his side.

"How is she?"

"Groggy, but she's going to be okay."

"Damon." Jenna was moving into lecture-mode. "I've already called Jeremy. He's on his way to pick up Brayden and Nathan. Quinn's helping Claire and Emma pack. Jeremy's going to take the boys until Elena goes home, and I'm taking the girls."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. We'll keep the kids until Elena goes home."

"Mommy!"

Damon stepped in front of Emma to block her path. "Whoa! Freeze. What did Aunt Jenna tell you?"

Emma stopped mid-step and hung her head, when she spoke, it was barely louder than a whisper. "Sorry. Don't knock Mommy over. And no big hugs."

Elena stopped in the doorway and smiled down at her daughter. "I'm not going to break." She held her arm out to Emma. "Just take it slow."

Emma tiptoed to Elena's side and gently wrapped her arms around her.

"Ooohhh, such pretty nails. Purple was my favorite color when I was your age. Did Quinn paint them?"

Emma's head bobbed up and down. "She did Claire's too." Emma turned to point at her sister currently halfway down the stairwell.

"Mine are just pink - no glitter." She held up her hands for Elena to see. "Do you like it?" Claire's face was caught halfway between happy and sad.

"They're lovely. You know, you're old enough that I can buy you some polish if you want."

"That's okay. I'm not really a nail-polish kind of girl."

Only then did Elena notice the decorations filling the living room. A huge banner hung from the fireplace mantle. Red and green letters spelled out "Welcome Home, Mom." Balloons and streamers wrapped the stairwell bannister. She was distinctly reminded of when she'd been gone to summer camp for a month her freshman year of high school. "I love it! Did Uncle Jeremy help?"

Jeremy stepped out from the kitchen. "It gave them something to do." Nathan and Brayden thudded into the room.

"Mom!"

Damon caught Brayden by the back of the shirt. "Remember, careful."

"I was being careful."

"That's what I was afraid of." He reached out and took Elena's arm as he guided her inside. "Sorry we're late Jeremy." Night had long-since fallen. "They weren't in any hurry to discharge her. Never go to the hospital on a Saturday."

"I'll try to remember that." Jeremy laughed. "They've all eaten and done their homework for the weekend. Hannah sent dinner over if you'd like. Pot roast with mashed potatoes."

Elena's skin took on the faintest shade of green. "Um...not right now. Thanks, though." She blinked in surprise as she looked up from her seat on the couch. "You put up our tree?"

"They were getting antsy. I didn't think you'd mind."

"No. Not at all." She reached out and caught hold of her brother's hand. "Thank you. For everything. I'm so happy you moved back."

"So am I." He looked up at Damon. "But now I've gotta go."

"Thanks." Damon shook Jeremy's hand and then followed him to the door.

"How is she?" Jeremy studied his sister now surrounded by her children on the couch. They each wanted to tell her exactly everything she'd missed and how each of the others had gotten into trouble over the past week. She was always thin, but Elena appeared to have lost ten pounds while she was in the hospital.

"She's going to be alright. The ride home took a lot out of her."

"Pain killers making her sick again? She doesn't look good." There was a reason she'd had a bottle of unused pain medicine in her bathroom cabinet years ago. She hated taking the stuff.

"Something like that." He clapped his hand on Jeremy's back. "Tell Hannah thanks too."

"I'll do that."

"Okay everybody." Damon pointed to the clock. "One movie, and then it's time for bed." He flipped through their collection of videos until he found Elf. "If you'll give your mom some room, I'll even make popcorn." He started the movie. Looking back at the couch, he smiled as Emma rested her head in Elena's lap. "You sure you don't want anything?"

Elena shook her head vigorously.

"Hot tea?"

Elena closed her eyes and tried to assess her stomach. During the week she'd been in the hospital, morning sickness had kicked in with full force. She was denying it, but Damon could see the way she was fighting to keep the nausea at bay. Her doctor told her that was an excellent sign, but it didn't help her still-healing ribs. Studying Damon's concerned face, she relented. "Maybe some tea."

In a few minutes' time, Damon brought her a steaming mug of peppermint tea before he retreated into the kitchen. As he ate his meal far away from Elena, he listened to whispered updates that kept going long into the airing of the movie. Listening to each child in turn, she absently ran her fingers through Emma's hair while Claire leaned against her leg. Nathan and Brayden laid on their stomachs close to the television. The lights from the Christmas tree casting multi-colored shadows across the floor.

"Good night, Claire." Damon flicked off the switch of her bedside lamp.

"Mom's going to be okay, isn't she? She still doesn't look so good."

"She'll be fine."

"She got hurt because of me."

"What?"

"I heard the doctors say it. She was protecting me, and that's why she got hurt so badly. If I hadn't been in the car, she'd be okay."

"You can't blame yourself." Damon knew something had been bothering his daughter throughout the evening. He thought this was probably what was wrong. "She got hurt because of the wreck – not you." He nodded as he sat on the edge of her bed. "She's going to be fine. The doctor said she's just going to need to take it easy a few more days. We can help her out, can't we?"

"Yeah." Her deep green eyes beamed up at him. "I can help with Emma and Brayden."

"I know you can." He brushed a kiss atop her head. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Now go to sleep. No worrying. And no more blaming yourself."

Her eyes still didn't look convinced. Sometimes she was so much like his brother that he wanted to scream. "I'll try, Dad."

Damon walked through the hallway and was relieved to hear the sounds of deep breathing coming from all the bedrooms. As usual, Claire was the only one still awake. He needed more sleep when he was a vampire than she did now.

He stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He looked around for Elena and wasn't surprised to find her in the bathroom looking sadly down at the tub.

"Doctor said no baths for a week."

"Not till the stitches come out. I know." She glumly dropped her shirt to the floor. "I'll just take a shower. Raising my arm still hurts." She winced as she tested the arm above her broken ribs.

"Well, looks like you're going to need a little help." Damon gave her a coy grin as he stepped out of his jeans. "If you don't mind..."

"I'm not sure if I'm feeling that much better."

"I'll be gentle." He turned the faucet on and tested the water as he shrugged off his shirt. He stepped into the shower first before reaching out to take her hand to steady her.

Elena smiled as the warm water cascaded over her skin. True to his word, he carefully poured shampoo into his hand before he massaged it into her scalp. She stepped more fully into the flow of water to rinse the suds from her hair, and he ran his fingers through her chocolate brown hair to make sure there were none left over.

As he smoothed Elena's favorite bath gel over her back, his fingers skimmed the edges of her breasts. Morning sickness wasn't the only thing that had set in during her hospital stay. Elena's breasts had filled and taken on the appearance he associated with carrying his child. He carefully cupped them in his hands and stepped behind her until she was leaning against his chest. He leaned down and kissed the nape of her neck.

"Damon." Elena chided.

"I know." He cautiously ran his hand over her still-flat belly. "Two more weeks." He stepped back and knelt behind her as he finished washing her legs. He was going to need a second shower tonight...a very cold one. Stepping out of the shower, he reached out and pulled a fluffy white towel from the rack.

"I can dry myself off." Elena rolled her eyes at him.

He wrapped the towel around her and looked deeply into her eyes. "But it's more fun when I do it." He tugged his own towel free from the towel rack and wrapped it around his waist. Walking into the bedroom, he pulled Elena's favorite nightgown out of their dresser drawer. He waited as she tugged it over her head. He folded the covers back over the bed and slid in to wait as she brushed her hair. "You coming?"

Elena placed the hairbrush down on the vanity. She cautiously eased herself down on her pillow. Once she seemed settled, he scooted next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She lifted her head and rested it on his shoulder. "I never had a chance to tell you."

"Tell me what?" He melted into her deep brown eyes.

He smiled a lazy grin - the fatigue from nights spent sleeping in the hospital room's recliner beginning to sneak up on him. "How happy I am." He ran his hand over her stomach before reaching for her hand. In normal times, he loved his wife with a passion that surprised even himself. But there was something special when she was carrying his child. He loved watching her change...her stomach round with the life they were expecting. Having kids was never part of his plan when he was a vampire, but now he couldn't imagine life without them…or life without Elena.

"Really?" Elena nestled deeper into the nook of his arm.

Damon stroked her cheek and fixed his blue eyes on hers. "I've never been more serious." He leaned down and lightly kissed her lips.

"I love you." Elena craned her neck up once again in search of his lips.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "And I love you."