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Dear Diary

The heartbreak a mother experiences when their child is really sick is like nothing they have ever felt before. You feel helpless when you can't help them and you feel like your whole world is falling apart. It's amazing how your life is going in one direction and then when you have a baby everything shifts. Priorities change and all of a sudden you can't image a life without this precious miracle. So much so that the idea of them being ripped away from you is so painful you can't breath and you are not sure if you ever want to again if you don't have them in your life.

Elena

Elena's eyes were still watery as she stood at the edge of Claire's crib were she lay. About an hour ago the room was filled with doctors as they worked to get oxygen to Claire's lungs. Now here she stood with just one doctor, Doctor Williams as he came into check on Claire's progress.

"How is she?" Elena asked with a worried look on her face.

"She's doing a lot better," he told her with a nod as he used his stethoscope to check her heart beat and her breathing. "Where's Mr. Salvatore?"

"He's calling my aunt to let her know she's doing better," Elena explained as she reached down and held on of Claire's tiny little hands. As the two stood there is silence again Damon stepped back into the room after finishing his phone call and joined Elena as the two looked at their precious baby girl.

"So what happened?" Damon asked the doctors as he finished Claire's check up.

Swinging the stethoscope around his neck Dr. Williams bit his lip as he prepare to tell the very scared parents what had happened. "Your daughter has a serious case of croup. It's caused by several common respiratory viruses and causes the voice box and airway to the lungs to swell, sometimes making it difficult to breathe. Since she is only eight months her airways are much smaller then older children so when they swell up it can cause difficulty breathing. Since in Claire's case the swelling was severe we had to use a mask treatment with epinephrine, which will quickly reduce the swelling in her airways. The swelling has gone down but we will be keeping her here over night just for observation" Dr. William's told the parents.

"Thank you doctor" Damon said with a slight smile as he looked down at his little ladybug.

"One of the nurses will be coming into check on her every couple hours" he told them before leaving the room and the two parents to be thankful their little girl was going to be alright.

With a sigh Damon moved to the small table on the far side of the room and poured himself some water. It had been a few hours since he had been drinking so now the hangover was kicking in and coming in fast.

"Regretting that last shot I see" Elena snapped without looking at Damon as he held his head down.

"More like the last five" he corrected her.

The two remained in silence for quite some time and while Damon dealt with his hangover; Elena kept her eye on Claire who seemed to finally be getting some sleep. The silence in the room broke when the door opened and in walked a young nurse and one who probably had only been doing this for a short time.

"Good-evening, or morning depending on how you want to look at it" the nurse said as she entered the room holding Claire's chart. She checked her watched and saw it was about 3am and the tired parents were doing everything they could to stay awake. "I'm just going to do a quick-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence as her eyes landed on Damon as he got up to stand by Claire's bedside.

"DAMON! DAMON SALVATORE" she said with a big smile on her face.

This caught Elena's attention as she looked at the happy nurse who seemed to know Damon. She watched as the nurse went all goo goo eyed over him and squealed like a little girl who was talking to her high school crush.

"Hi" Damon said as he held his forehead in pain due to her screeching voice. He looked at the nurse trying to figure out how she knew him and why he didn't remember her at all. "It's great to see you again…." He started to say as he searched her lap coat got her name but the clipboard was covering it.

"Vanessa!" she said with a huge smile on her face, "God I haven't seen you in forever, I've been off studying and just came back to town," she told him. "Wow, you look great. I've been wanting to get in touch with out since I got back."

Feeling as if she may be invisible to the goo goo eyed nurse Elena cleared her throat and glared that nurse. "I believe your here to check my baby not flirt with my boyfriend!" Elena snapped at her and watched as she nurse looked from Damon to Elena and then at the baby.

"Wow you're a father now! I never pegged you as the daddy" Vanessa said as she smiled at Damon and then moved over to get to work checking the baby because Elena was giving her dagger eyes.

After the exam Vanessa assured Elena that Claire was headed in the right direction and was doing much better then before. With one last quick smile in Damon's direction she left the room before Elena could strangle her.

"Great of all the nurses we get the one you screwed" Elena said with a very annoyed tone. "I mean is there anyone you haven't slept with?"

"Alright Elena you now what it's no secret I've slept around, hell I'm pretty sure you knew when we slept together the first time. My past doesn't just magically change now that I'm with you but for the record I haven't slept with everyone! I haven't slept with the doctor," he said with a smirk.

"Damon the doctor is a he, if you had this would be a totally different conversation" Elena said while trying not to laugh.

After the party Caroline and Tyler headed back to Caroline's since her mother had the night shift at the station. The two horny teenagers were locked in a kiss as they fiddled with the front door to try and open it. Once Caroline finally got her key into the doorknob she pushed it open and the two fell into the house. Flipping her blonde hair back Caroline gave Tyler more access to her neck as he left a trial of kisses to her chest.

With her eyes shut she let out a moan in pleasure while her hands pulled at his shirt and stated to undo the buttons in the front. Tyler had his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. As his shirt was thrown to the side Tyler picked Caroline up and she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Hmmm Tyler" Caroline moaned as he carried to her bedroom. As they fell onto the bed with a bounce, they both giggled and connected their lips. His hands roamed up and down her body while Caroline cupped his face to deepen the very hot kiss.

The rest of their clothes were soon tossed to the floor and Tyler was taking his time to kiss every inch of her body. "Tyler seriously I can't wait anymore," Caroline pleaded as Tyler's lips were pleasuring her in way she couldn't believe. "Argh! Tyler Please!" she begged and Tyler just let out a chuckle as he crawled back up her body and captured her lips.

"Good things come to those who wait!" Tyler whispered in her ear.

Having enough of his torture of pleasure, Caroline flipped them over so that she was one top and straddled his waist. "I think it's only fair if you make me wait that I make you wait" she said with a smirk as her bottom brushed against his groin.

Tyler lay on his back and let out a groan as Caroline did her thing to pleasure him and make him suffer like he did her. Every time he brought his hands up to touch her she would swat them away with a smile. "No touching," Caroline told him with a giggle.

With a smile she leaned down and captured his lips and they both let out deep moans. Caroline pulled away so that she could look down at Tyler's face as they were both breathing heavily. "I love you," Tyler said in a husky voice as he stared up into Caroline's big eyes.

Caroline smiled down at him and brushed her hand over his dark hair. " I love you too," she told him and then leaned down for another kiss. As Tyler kissed her back he rolled them over to that he could show Caroline how much she meant to him.

"How's that hangover coming?" Elena asked as Damon came back into the room with another cup of water.

"I may never drink again," Damon said with a groan.

Elena tried to hold in her laughter as she saw what a mess he was. She then turned back to look at Claire as she was sleeping soundly and was doing so much better. Running her finger over Claire's tiny head as she was breathing so much better. Elena's exhaustion had started to kick in and her head started to bow every so often as she tried to stay awake.

This didn't go unnoticed by Damon as he stood on the other side of Claire's crib. "Elena you should get some sleep," he told her.

"I'm fine I want to stay here for her," Elena said shaking her head.

"Elena you can hardly keep your eyes open, trust me in the morning when she is better you want to be able to take care of her."

"I don't want to leave her," Elena said as she brushed away some tears and then held a tight grip on the crib.

"I'll stay up with her, I promise " Damon assured her as he reached out and put his hand on Elena's. For a moment Elena looked at Claire unsure if she could leave her side but she was just so tired and even if she just lay down for an hour she may be a little better.

Rubbing her eyes Elena gave a nod and made her way around to the other side of the crib where the couch was. Taking one last look at Claire as she slept Elena let out yawn and then turned to Damon. "Listen about before, it was wrong of me to blame you, I mean of course…"

"Hey, we were both stressed and afraid, I too said stuff I shouldn't have" Damon assured her as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Elena held Damon tightly and cried against his chest as she remembered the fear she went through just a couple hours ago. Damon kissed her head as he rubbed her back while trying to comfort her. "Claire is going to be fine" Damon told her softly.

Stepping back Damon lead Elena over to the couch and the two of them lay down. Elena could barely keep her eyes open as she snuggled against Damon's chest. Holding her close Damon softly ran his fingers through Elena's hair trying to help her get to sleep. He listen as her breathing slowed as she fell into a deep sleep that she desperately needed.

Kissing her head Damon looked over at Claire as she slept in her crib just a couple feet from where him and Elena were snuggled on the couch. Looking down he saw Elena gripping his shirt with her fist as her head rested on his chest. Still brushing his fingers through her hair he pulled her just a little closer. "Everything will be okay, we'll be okay" he assured as he saw Elena getting the rest she needed. As promised Damon stayed up the whole night keeping an eye on Claire and making sure both his girls got the sleep they needed.

After having a little fun, both Caroline and Tyler were asleep within minutes. Since her mother wasn't going to be home till morning they figured Tyler staying over wouldn't be an issue and he could always sneak out in the morning.

Laying under the blankets Tyler had a arm draped over Caroline's stomach as she lay on her back and her temple resting against Tyler's forehead while lay on his stomach. The peaceful sleep didn't last long as Caroline started to twitch while her brain played a nightmare in her head.

2003

Her blonde curls bounced as she skipped across her bedroom holding her dolls and sitting down by her wooden dollhouse. Singing to herself the little girl made her dolls dance as the boy doll was a prince and had picked his princess. As she played there was a soft knock on her door and her mother peaked her head into the room. "Alright Caroline, it's bedtime."

"Five more minutes mommy" Caroline said with a pouty lip.

"Five more minutes" her mother agreed and then closed the door.

Caroline smile excitedly and then went back to playing with her toys. As she played she could hear the noises from down the hall as he mother cleaned the kitchen. She then heard the sound of the front door slam. Staying quiet she heard the voices in the kitchen get louder and the she heard broken glass.

As fear grew in Caroline's eyes she backed herself into a corner as she heard her father yelling at her mother. She hated when it got like this, when her dad came home angry and started to yell and throw things.

"Please stop!" her mother yelled, "Bill just leave Care alone please!"

As she heard her mother pleading the door to her bedroom swung open and her father marched in looking drunk and angry. He looked around the room and when he found Caroline sitting against a corner he stormed up to her and grabbed her arms and pulled her into the middle of the room. "WHY ARE YOU NOT IN BED YET?"

"Just leave her alone, she will go to bed" her mother said as she tried to remove her husband's hold on their little girl.

With a single hit Liz was thrown across the room and knocked into a bookshelf. "MOMMY!" Caroline cried.

"STOP YOUR CRYING!" he yelled at her and then slapped her across the face. Caroline fell to the ground and curled up in a ball as tears streamed down her face. "YOU ARE TO BE IN BED AT 8O'CLOCK! WHY ARE YOU STILL UP?" he screamed at her.

"I'm sorry" Caroline cried as he father hit her again and again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Caroline mumbled as she stated to toss back and forth. "I'm sorry I'm sorry," she cried again. All her tossing and turning woke Tyler up and he could see that Caroline was having a nightmare.

"Care" he said softly but Caroline just kept crying in her sleep like someone was hurting her. "Caroline it's okay, your okay" he repeated over and over to her as he ran his hand up and down her arm trying got wake her up. "Baby I'm here your safe" he told her and held her.

Suddenly Caroline whole body shook and then her eyes popped open wide. She was breathing quiet heavily as she looked around the room trying to figure out where she was. "He's coming," she cried.

"Caroline it was a dream your safe" he told her and kissed her head.

Sitting up Caroline looked at Tyler and brought a hand to her chest as she realized she was having a nightmare. "It was a dream," she stated as she tried to get the rest of her body to believe it.

"Yeah, your okay" he told her as he wrapped his arm around her and held her tight.

Brushing her hair away from her face she buried her face in Tyler's chest as she remembered what the dream was about. It wasn't just a dream; it was her remembering what she and her mother went through when her father was still in the picture.

"It's my dad, ever since his wife has shown up I've been having these nightmares" Caroline told him. "I don't' want him to come back, I don't ever want to see him again."

"Shhh, I promise you never have to" Tyler told her, as he pressed kissed to her temple. "I won't let him hurt you ever again."

Lying on the couch Elena stirred as she exhaled the deep breath, her eyes remained closed as she heard the sound of Claire's blabbering. As she shifted on the couch she realized that she was alone on the couch and that at some point Damon had moved. As her eyes opened she looked around the hospital room and then her eyes fell on Damon as he was holding Claire while a nurse was leaving the room.

Quickly Elena sat up and as everything from the other night came back to her. "Is everything alright? What's going on?" Elena asked as she pulled her hair back and got to her feet.

"Relax, everything is fine" Damon told her. "The doctor was here about half an hour ago to examine her. The nurse just came in to tell me that they are getting her discharge papers," Damon told a worried Elena while Claire's just went along babbling to herself in his arms.

"She can come home, she okay" Elena said as a smile spread across her face. "Oh baby girl did you hear that we get to go home" she said happily as Damon passed Claire over to her.

"Okay here we go" came the cheerful voice of nurse Vanessa as she entered the room holding a clipboard with the discharge papers for Claire. "I just need one of you to sign here, the doctors already done so."

As Damon took the papers Vanessa let her eyes linger on Damon a little longer but as her eyes turned to Elena who was holding Claire she could see that Elena was not too please by the looks she was giving Damon. Biting her lip, Vanessa's face went red and she back away and tried not to look at Elena's dagger eyes.

"Alright her you go" Damon said as he handed the clipboard back to her and was oblivious to the little thing between Elena and Vanessa.

Vanessa accepted the clipboard back and then held it against her chest just as the doctor walked in with a smile, "I see your all ready to go, Let me just go over a few things. For home treatment, make sure she stays hydrated, if she is on solids maybe juice or soup. If she gets another fever or seems to be in some sort of pain use liquid infant acetaminophen. Use a bulb or salt-water drops to help clear any congestion in her nose. I recommend running a cool mist humidifier in the baby's room to help her breathe and try making sure to keep her wrapped up if she is outside. Yet the best thing the two of you can do is comfort her, hugs, kisses, there have been studies that the human contact can be the best treatment sometimes especially if she is coughing or crying."

"Thank you doctor" Elena said as she hugged Claire close.

"Your in good hands Claire, I don't think your dad shut is eyes once last night. He stayed awake to make sure you were all right," Dr. Williams said as he tickled Claire's tummy.

When Claire giggled, both Damon and Elena smiled seeing how that daughter's health was slowly going back to normal. With one last thank you to the doctor Elena and Damon collected their stuff and headed out of the hospital hand in hand while Elena carried Claire. As they exited the hospital they found Stefan standing against Damon's car with a smile as he saw the three leaving.

"Exactly why do you have my car?" Damon said as he reached his brother.

"Your car has the baby seat and well you were drunk last night so you weren't using it." Stefan stated with a smile.

"You used my car to try and impress women?"

Stefan gave a guilty grin, "At first yes, but I wasn't having much luck and then I figured it might have something to do with the baby seat in the back" Stefan insisted as he opened up the back door so Elena could strap Claire in.

"What about your car?" Damon asked as he crossed his arms.

"Are you kidding me? After what Amelia did no girl is getting near my newly fix car!"

Shaking his head they all climbed in with Damon taking shotgun, since he was exhausted and Elena slipping into the backseat to keep an eye on Claire as she was not to thrilled to be in the baby seat to begin with.

After arriving back at the Salvatore house the two parents spent some quality time with their ladybug and making sure she was okay. After the scare they had last night neither wanted to let her out of their sight for too long.

As they put her down for her morning nap they let her sleep in a playpen in Damon's room just incase she needed them. Standing over her playpen Damon watched his ladybug sleep and found it hard to take his eye off her.

"Your exhausted" came Elena's voice as she entered the bedroom. "You were drinking and then you stayed up to keep an eye on Claire, you haven't slept in 24 hours." She told him as she came to slip her body beside his as they watched Claire sleep.

"After what happen I may never sleep again." Damon told her honestly. "If anything happened to her…"

"Hey," Elena said as she pulled Damon's face to look at her. "We're fine, Claire is fine, we are all going to be fine" she told him and then capture his lips. As their lips broke apart Elena hugged him close and rested her head on Damon's shoulder.

"I love you" Damon whispered before kissing the side of her face.

Pulling back Elena smile up at him, "I love you too" and then she captured his lips once more. Backing up the made their way to Damon's bed and climbed under the covers. As Damon caressed her face Elena rested her hands on his chest, they both smiled at one another and snuggled in close as the exhaustion of the last day took over them and they both fell asleep with the smiles on their faces. The were home safe and sound and drifted off to sleep to the calming sounds of Claire making cooing sounds in her sleep.

Glad everyone is still enjoying the story. :) Lots more to come