Handing Elena a cup of coffee, we walk over to a table and take a seat. "Look Elena, I know we got off the wrong foot, I apologize for pulling rank on you. Yes, you're a valued member of the health care team. Doctors, myself included, like to bark out orders but a hospital couldn't run without its nurses. Please do accept my sincerest apology for treating you less than respectfully."
"Thank you Dr. Salvatore. I appreciate that."
"Please call me Damon. How do you and your little boy like Mystic Falls?" I ask, trying to ascertain if there's a man in her life in a not so obvious way.
"We like it a lot. I had a housekeeper who used to watch him but she moved out of state when her sister got sick. That's why I had to enroll Jeremy in the hospital's day care. What about your little girl? She's very cute," she asks as if she's genuinely interested.
"Annabelle? She's not my daughter, she's my niece. Her mom is my sister. Maybe you know her, Caroline Donovan? She works in the ED as a health unit clerk."
"I think I may have talked to her before. You know when someone calls up to let us know we're getting an admission," she says, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"That would be Care. Do you like this hospital?"
"I like it a lot except for a few arrogant jackass's who call themselves Drs.," she teases sarcastically.
"Guilty," I say raising my arms in surrender.
"I was just joking Dr. Salva... Damon," she chuckles.
"Perhaps you'll let me take you out sometime?"
"Um, I don't know about that. I have alot of responsibilities you know. Then there's Jeremy, I'd have to find a babysitter for him," she tells me a bit hesitantly.
"Well, the hospital's day care is open twenty four, seven?"
"I know but I'd prefer him to be at home so he can go to sleep in his own bed."
"Well Bonnie is a friend of mine. Perhaps she'd watch him?" I suggest.
"She might. I'll think about it. That's the best answer I can give you right now."
"I'll get back to you about it some other time okay? I enjoyed this Elena," I tell her just as my pager starts alarming in my pocket. Reaching for it, I pull the damn thing out of my jacket to read the message.
"I have to get the ED, they have a level one trauma en route," I explain as I pull her chair out and walk out of the cafeteria beside her.
"Thanks for the coffee."
"You're welcome. Bye Elena."
"Bye Damon."
After picking Dad and Caroline up, I drive us to the Grill. From what dad said, Stefan wanted to come to the house but I just didn't feel comfortable with that till I see for myself what kind of condition he's going to be in. Until I'm certain that he isn't going to erupt into another murderous rage, I wanted to meet somewhere quiet yet public just in case. I understand that it was a drug induced paranoia that caused him to attack our dad. I just can't place any trust in him till I can discern whether he's clean or not. I don't know if I can ever forgive him completely for what he did to dad. That night still haunts me. I just thank God that our mom wasn't alive to see that. Stefan knew just how to wrap her around his little finger. They had a wonderful relationship. All of us did really but he was her first born. If the cancer hadn't killed her, Stefan's spiral into madness would have.
"Dad?" I ask, turning my eyes from the road for a moment to look at him. "Did he have any objections to Caroline and me coming with you?" He looks at me for a few seconds till I turn my eyes back to the road ahead of me.
"Not really. Stefan did mention that he's nervous about facing all three of us though," he replies.
"I'm sorry Dad, but we can't let you go alone. Please understand."
Squeezing my forearm, he nods then turns to Caroline who's squeezing his shoulder with her hand. "I do understand and I love you both so much. Your mom would be so proud of both of you."
Looking in the rearview mirror, I notice her discreetly wiping a tear from her eye. "Thanks daddy," she whispers.
Turning left into the parking lot, I find an empty space and park the car. My nerves are alight not knowing which Stefan is waiting inside for us. I pull open the Grill entrance and motion for dad and Caroline to walk in while I hold the door.
Looking around the Grill, I don't see him yet. We take a more secluded booth in the corner so we'll have some modicum of privacy when he gets here.
Arriving at our table, the waitress asks if we'd like anything. "Caroline?"
"I'll have a peach ice tea, Dad?" she asks.
"Just black coffee, please."
"I'll just have coffee too, thanks Vicky."
"No problem. Do you want menus?"
"Not right now. Maybe later," I tell her before she walks off to get our drinks.
When I happen to glance up at the window, I see Stefan walk past. I follow him with my eyes as he steps inside, holding the door open for a woman. I watch as he looks around till finally our eyes meet. He looks hesitant but smiles and nods his head before whispering to the girl and pointing towards us. I see him take a deep breath before gesturing for the girl to walk towards our table.
"Hi," he says anxiously, teetering from one foot to the other. "This is my wife, April. Sweetheart, this is my family, my dad," he says pointing to him with his palm up.
"This is my sister, Caroline and my little brother, Damon."
"Hi everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all," she says.
We all just nod, in shock to learn that he has a wife. Scooting over, I sit closer to dad and Caroline so Stefan and April can sit down.
Just then Vicky comes back to the table carrying our drinks. Turning to Stefan and April, "Would you two like something to drink too? Would you like me to bring some menus to your table?" she asks.
Stefan smiles at his wife for a moment, then turns to Vicky. "Just two ice teas please."
"Sure thing. I'll be back with your tea in a few minutes. Menus?" she stresses again.
"I'm not really hungry. Do any of you want anything?" I ask, turning to dad and then to Stefan.
"No, I'm really not very hungry either," Stefan repeats.
Rubbing my palms together as my nerves feel a bit frayed today, I turn to Vicky. "We won't be needing menus."
"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with us. I don't know where to begin except to say, I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused to each of you. All three of you tried to help me back then and I spurned every one of you every step of the way culminating in that horrific night," he says, looking down at his clenched hands, shaking his head.
"Dad, there aren't words to tell you how sorry I am for what I did to you. It wasn't me that night but that's no excuse. I don't begin to know how to apologize," he utters, his eyes focused on our dad.
"Stefan, I almost died," dad says, his voice cracking. "If I hadn't invited Damon and Caroline for a meal that evening, I would be dead. They saved my life Stefan," he responds, never dropping his eyes from Stefan's.
Noticing the tears beginning to well up in his eyes, April then takes his hand, lacing it with hers before whispering something in his ear.
Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he takes a shaky breath before continuing, "I deserve all of your scorn, I do. What kind of a son beats his father to within an inch of his life? God dad, I'm so very sorry. I love you, all of you so much. Can you ever find it within yourselves to forgive me?" he asks, his voice barely a whisper.
"Stefan," I begin. "We love you too but you have to realize what a nightmare it was for us to have to find him...," pointing to dad, I continue, "barely alive, lying in a pool of his own blood. I'll never get that image out of my head. You're going to have to earn my trust back Stef."
I can see tears pooling in his eyes when he raises them to mine. "I understand, Damon. I don't remember much about that night. I have been clean for about two years now. April really helped me get my act together," he says, squeezing her hand before turning his eyes to our waitress.
Taking a moment to refill everyone's drink with the pitchers in her hands, "If there's anything else you need, please let me know," she says smiling then walks away again.
Exhaling heavily, Stefan continues. "When I met her, I was still heavily into the drug scene. One day, I got the bright idea to rob a convenience store for the money to support my habit. That's when she gave me an ultimatum. Either go to rehab and clean up or get the hell out of her life. I walked out on her that day but came crawling back to her a couple of weeks later begging for her to help me slay the dragon once and for all. We found a rehab facility to accept me. It was hard, it was really hard but thank Christ, I did get clean. I want us to be part of your lives again."
"Oh Stefan, we want that too, but like Damon said, you're going to have to earn our trust. We love you, we never stopped but I also can't get that image of dad out of my head. I'm so happy that you've found your way out of the darkness. But please understand where we're coming from too," Caroline implores him, her blue eyes boring into his.
"I'll do whatever I have to do to prove to all of you that I'm not that Stefan anymore. You have my word and believe me, I know that's not saying much right now. I really want to be a big brother to both of you again," he says, glancing at me for a moment before turning back to Caroline.
"And dad, I want you to be proud of me again. I want to be your son. Please, will you guys at least give me a chance to prove myself?"
Hesitantly, I nod as does Caroline. Suddenly feeling very much like the older brother, I scrub a hand down my face before turning my eyes to his once again. "I'm really happy for you Stefan. I hope you can be someone that I look up to again. I do love you but I also am concerned about Dad and Care's safety. I won't allow you to be alone with him until you've proven yourself. Stef, he wouldn't survive another beating of that caliber. As far as dad is concerned, you're just going to have to play by my rules. Can you do that?"
After looking into my eyes for a long moment, he nods. "Yes, I understand."
Dad lays his hand on top of Stefan's other one. "I love you son. I've always loved you. I know you weren't my son that night but we have to be sure. This day is something I've only dreamed about for a very long time. But I have to respect Damon's wishes."
Dropping his head, April whispers something to him before turning to all of us. "Thank you for agreeing to give him a chance. He's worked so hard to get himself on the right path. I can tell you that it was especially hard for him to work up the nerve to call you Mr. Salvatore. He didn't think that you all would want to have anything to do with him ever again. He's so ashamed of the pain he's caused. Just thank you," April says, her eyes on Stefan.
"I'm really glad Stefan found you April. I'll never be able to thank you for bringing Stefan back to us but surely you can understand our hesitancy?"
"Absolutely Damon. I do. Honestly, I expected no less. He should have to earn back your trust. Stefan, let's give them our phone numbers so they can keep in touch with us."
Grabbing a napkin, she writes their phones numbers down, handing the embellished napkin to me. "We should be going now so you all can talk things over. Thank you again so much for agreeing to meet with us." With that, they both stand up. Stefan gives all of us a long glance before taking her hand and walking towards the exit.
"Stefan," dad says, getting out of his seat to follow him. He pulls him into a hug, whispering something in his ear before releasing him. We all watch solemnly as Stefan walks out of the door.
Elena:
By the time my lunch break arrives, I'm famished. Grabbing a plate, I choose what I want from the salad bar. Once I pay for my meal I go to a table to sit down and eat. A few minutes later, a couple of nurses take the table right next to mine. Although they're talking in hushed whispers, I can't help but pay attention when I hear Damon's name come up.
"He is so gorgeous. Betty, what do I have to do to get him to notice me? It's not like I can flaunt my cleavage while I'm in my nurse's uniform you know?"
"Janie, no of course you can't. Why do you want to go out with him anyway?" Betty asks, taking a sip of her soda before continuing, "I mean one would have to be blind to miss how gorgeous he is but he does have a 'fuck em' and 'chuck em' reputation.
"I know, I've heard that too but he's just so dreamy," the one called Janie practically swoons when talking about Damon.
"Seriously Janie, you're acting like a teenager crushing on some movie or TV star," Betty scolds.
"I know, you're right. Despite my flirtations, he doesn't even notice me," Janie says wistfully.
"Consider yourself lucky. My friend Anna went out with him a few times. When she started seeing him, it was all fun and games for her too. They pretty much used each other. But when she suggested that they could be more than bedroom buddies, he couldn't get out of her house fast enough," Betty tells Janie before biting into her hamburger.
"Well, I wouldn't mind playing a few games with that sexy doctor myself," Janie says, her mouth breaking into a dreamy smile.
My mouth is hanging open after hearing their conversation. There's no way I can go out with him if all he's interested in is sex. I like him, he's a beautiful man. But, I have Jeremy to think about plus I do have a little self pride. If sex is really the only reason he wants to take me out, he'll just have to find it elsewhere.
"Hello Elena," he says looking over my shoulder as I'm charting.
"Um, hi Dr. Salvatore," I reply, trying to keep my voice even.
"I was just wondering if you've given any more thought to going out with me?" he asks.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea. I mean we do work together after all."
"There are no rules about who can date whom at this hospital. So it you're worried about that, you needn't be."
"That's not it. I just don't think I can be what you like or want."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I've heard things... about you."
"So you're going to believe a bunch of rumor mongers?"
Sighing heavily, I don't want to be mean to him but I just can't be a casual sex partner. I won't be. "I'm sorry but I just won't put myself in that position."
"Just what position are you referring to?" he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
When a call light goes off, I stand up and tell him quietly, "I just can't Damon, I am sorry. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." After looking into his eyes for a long moment, I walk away to answer the light.
Damon:
Unbelievable, she turned me down. No one ever turns me down for a date. I don't know why but this really bothers me. Although I have no clue what it is, there is something about this girl that sucks me right in. It's as if I'm drawn to her. For the first time since Ivy, I find myself wanting to get to know a woman as more than just a bed partner. I'm going to have to ask Caroline if she knows her. Maybe my big sister will put in a good word for me? The sound of my pager screaming arouses me from my reverie. Shoving it back into my pocket, I run for the stairs, jogging down them to get to the ED.
"Caroline, what's coming in?"
"There's been a multi vehicle pile up on route 71. We have several incoming. Staffing is trying to call in extra help. We may have to divert some patients to Richmond. ETA for the first ambulances is five minutes."
"I'm going to wait in the ambulance bay," I tell her, running off through the double doors.
After several hours of complex surgeries. I'm beyond exhausted by the time I finish the last one. With the knowledge that a couple of my surgical patients are in the ICU in critical condition, I need to stick around. Finding the Dr's. lounge empty, I drop down onto the couch, put my feet up and try to get a little shut eye before all hell breaks loose a second time. As soon as I close my eyes, I'm dreaming once again of Elena's soulful brown eyes.
I just thought with the news this week that I'd give you this chapter a little early. Thank you so much to Eva for everything. She truly challenges me to take things up a notch. Thanks to those of you who take just a few seconds to write a review. As I said, I'll NEVER withhold chapters, holding them hostage for reviews. Personally, I won't read those stories no matter how intriguing the plot may be. Still, it would be nice to hear from those of you who just follow along every once in awhile. I did update 'Pieces of Eight' earlier and 'Breathe' will post tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Until next week... Carol