The next few months went by pretty well. Zack and Damon got along very well and Zack even introduced Damon around town as his brother. Zack really liked Rachel and he had to admit that he would do anything for the baby who, technically, was his cousin.

Watching Damon around Rachel was also pretty funny.

The vampire would rush to the baby girl every time she cried and Zack could tell she was a smart little thing… When she was alone for too long, she would cry just so her father would come and take her in his arms… Being a father had completely changed Damon and it surprised Zack. He didn't drink directly from the vain anymore: he drank from blood bags they stored in the basement. Also Zack would guess that the last one night stand Damon had was when he made Rachel… His whole life revolved around the baby girl now and it did him some good…

Indeed, Damon had spend so long sharing his time between missing and hating his brother Stefan in equal measure that having new feelings for someone who was his family and wouldn't leave him was different and very pleasant to the blue eyed vampire.

Life was good for the little family. Everyday, Damon took Rachel out in town for about an hour and then he would take her home.

He had realised when Rachel was 2 months old that she seemed happier when there was music around and that she appeared to like Barbara Streisand more than anyone else so ever since that moment, he would let her listen to music every day. He smiled when she babbled in her baby language in rhythm with the music.

"She looks like she's singing… It's amazing!" Zack said in amazement as he watched the baby on her blanket.

Rachel was now 6 months old and growing into a very pretty baby girl every day.

"I know… Her mother sings too… It's in her blood! She's going to be a star some day!" Damon replied proudly as he sang along with Rachel.

Amused, Zack went in the kitchen and left the father and the daughter alone. The love the little girl and the vampire shared was unique and strong. Zack almost teared up when Rachel was sad or hurt and Damon rushed to her, calming her almost instantly by his presence only.

.

"Hello Mister Salvatore, how is little Rachel doing today?" Sheriff Liz Forbes asked Damon as they crossed in the park. Liz was pushing a stroller with her baby girl Caroline in it. She was on her way to meeting the Gilbert's.

"Very well thank you… She's amazing!" Damon replied all smiles out.

"Sometimes it sounds almost like she's singing…" Liz's husband Bill said in awe as he looked at the little girl closer.

"She is… She loves Barbara Streisand songs… She'll be a star some day…" Damon replied.

He had come to like the couple and Liz especially was a friend to him now.

"Isn't it hard to raise her on your own?" Bill asked.

"Well, I have a lot of family money so I don't need to work… I have all my time for my little angel… Why would I find it hard? She's perfect… She's everything I would have asked for if I had known it was what was missing in my life…" Damon said with emotion in his voice.

"Isn't it hard for you as a man to be alone to take care of her then?" Bill asked, obviously very concerned about the subject.

"A lot of gay men have children and are fine with that… I might be straight but it doesn't change that we're just as capable of taking care of a baby!" Damon replied softly, looking at his daughter who was showing her fluffy star to Caroline while babbling.

"Did you start giving Rachel vervain already?" Liz asked.

"No, not yet."

"She's unprotected then?" Bill asked concerned.

"Not really… Zack and I put some vervain in her star… She always has it with her…" Damon replied.

"That's a great idea! Caroline has a hard time digesting it… Maybe we could put some in her teddy bear…" Liz smiled, pointing to the small brown bear Caroline was showing Rachel.

"Well, it's getting late, I need to get Rachel home now… See you later!" Damon said before he turned the stroller around and left the park with his daughter.

He had gotten friendly with some of the council members… The Forbes obviously, but also the Lockwood's and the Gilbert's had become friends of his… Once upon a time he wanted to kill them all for being the reason Katherine was brought in the tomb… Now that he knew the truth, he didn't care about the bitch anymore and he saw then for who they truly were: nice people who simply wanted to keep their families safe.

When he got home, Zack looked tensed and Damon knew immediately that something was wrong. He took Rachel in his arms, mainly because having her close to him helped him keep his temper in check, and asked his nephew the question that was nagging his mind:

"What's going on Zack?"

"Uncle Stefan called… he's coming for a visit…"

"What? When?" Damon asked.

"He said he'd be here in a couple of days…I'm sorry, I couldn't tell him not to come…" Zack replied.

"I know… It's okay, I'll just take Rachel for a little visit out of town for a while… We'll come back when Stefan leaves!" Damon replied.

"Why don't you just tell him the truth? He's your brother, he will accept her… I'm sure he won't react like Shelby did…" Zack said.

"It's not that… I don't want him around Rachel until he can control himself while drinking human blood… The animal blood he drinks makes him weaker and makes it easier for him to fall back into ripper mode… I won't have my daughter in this kind of danger… He won't get near her until he gets more control…" Damon explained.

"Or until Rachel turns 18 and gets her vampire half and witch half activated right?" Zack asked.

"Maybe… I'm not sure… I'll cross that bridge when we get there…" Damon said as he put Rachel in Zack's arms while he rushed in their rooms to pack.

"Where are you going to go?" Zack asked.

"I don't know… I might take her to Disneyland but she's a bit young… I guess I'll just go spend some time in Atlanta… It's as good a place as any right?" Damon replied as he finished packing.

"I wish you didn't have to leave… Having you here has been good…" Zack said as Damon finished installing Rachel in the car after making sure their rooms where locked.

"Don't worry Zack, we'll be back as soon as you tell us Stefan left!" Damon replied before he nodded in Zack's way and started his car.

Well, I hope you liked this chapter... It's a bigger one...

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Lorelei Candice Black