Still wearing my scrubs and surgical cap, I exhale deeply and walk into the surgical waiting room. "Mrs. Johnson?"
"Yes," she says looking up.
"I'm Dr. Salvatore. Your husband is in PACU, that's our post anesthesia care unit. Once he's more alert and awake, he'll go to the intensive care unit. He tolerated surgery well."
"Thank you Dr. Salvatore," she tells me grabbing my hand to shake it.
"You're welcome. If you want, the ICU has their own waiting room. One of the nurses can show you the way. They will inform you once he gets settled into a room."
Just as I'm about to go back down to the emergency department, I happen to notice Stefan sitting in the waiting area staring at me. Taking in a deep breath, I approach him.
"Damon?" he utters, his eyes looking a bit bloodshot.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, taking a seat beside him.
"It's April, she's having her appendix taken out. She had a terrible bellyache and a fever so I brought her in."
"Appys are pretty routine, Stef. She'll probably get to go home tomorrow already."
"Yeah, that's what the Dr. told us," he replies, his eyes focused on his hands as he knots them together.
"Are you okay? You seem pretty anxious..."
"I'm fine. It's not drugs, I swear. I didn't lie to you, Damon. I haven't used in two years. I'm just worried about her."
Gripping his thigh, I squeeze gently. "I do care Stefan. You have to know that. But can you blame me for being a little wary?"
"No, I can't," he breathes, his voice full of melancholy.
"Dad said you've called him a few times?"
"I have. Gramps happened to be there the last time I called so I got to talk to him a little bit too. He seems pretty spry yet?"
"He's still full of piss and vinegar Stef," I laugh.
"Dad and gramps, they're really proud of you, Damon. Look at you, you're a surgeon."
"I worked really hard to get where I am. What do you do?"
"I'm a mechanic. I work at 'Young's Garage' in Fells Church. It's not nearly as prestigious as being a surgeon but I like it."
"We can't all be Drs., Stefan. If you're happy, that's all that matters." Suddenly my pager alarms, "I need to get back to the ED. Give my best to April. And Stef, call sometime, maybe we can have coffee or something, okay?"
"I'll do that. And Damon, I'm proud of you too."
Smiling tightly, I nod before taking the stairs to go back to the ED.
Stepping into my dad's house, I call out for him, "Dad?"
"In the kitchen," I hear him yell.
When I walk into the kitchen, I see him chopping some vegetables.
"Hey dad. What cha cooking?"
"I thought you'd like some stir fry chicken. Do you want to put some rice in the cooker? I have white and brown. Whatever you prefer is fine."
Reaching into the cupboard, I take out the rice cooker and plug it in. Choosing jasmine rice, I pour it into the cooker before adding the water, salt and butter.
"I saw Stefan today."
"You did?"
"He said that April had an appendicitis attack. When I went to talk to the family of one of my patients, he was in the surgical waiting room too. Of course, he was the last person I expected to run into at the hospital. He was a bit anxious about her. I tried to reassure him that an appendectomy is a pretty routine procedure but he was still on edge."
"I guess that's understandable. From what I gather when I've talked to him, she has pretty much been the caretaker in their family, given his history of drug abuse."
"Don't worry dad, he adamantly denied he was using anything. I believed him."
When he finishes chopping the onion, he sets the knife down and turns to me, "Maybe when April is feeling up to it, we can all get together?"
"I think that's a great idea, dad. Now, do you need me to cut up the meat?"
Nodding, he goes to the refrigerator and hands me a platter full of chicken breasts.
"Daymin, bears," Jeremy squeals, raising his arms for me to lift him up to see them from over the top of the fence.
I can't help but smile at him. He's such a precious little guy. He must look like his dad, because I don't see much resemblance between him and Elena other than the brown eyes and hair.
"Is Damon showing you the bears?" Elena asks him when she and Annabelle join us after using the ladies room. As Annabelle is happily biting into her snow cone, Elena hands me a lemonade.
She reaches into Jeremy's baby bag and takes out a sipper cup. After filling it with orange juice, she hands it to him.
"Uncle Damon, can we go to see the seal and sea lion show?"
"That's a wonderful idea, Annabelle. Let's go so we get a good seat," I remark and then sit Jeremy back down into his stroller.
"Sea wion?" he asks.
"You'll like them Jeremy, they so smart," Annabelle gushes, jumping up and down.
Elena takes Annabelle's hand while I push Jeremy. On our way to the sea lion exhibit, we pass the giraffes and the elephants. We have to stop so I can lift up Jer to look at the elephants. The kid is just completely in awe of these magnificent creatures. Glancing at my watch, "I think we have time to walk through the bird house if you guys want?"
"Birdies," Jeremy shrieks, clapping.
"Has he ever been to a zoo before?" I query.
"No. There wasn't one in my home town and honestly, I never gave it much thought after we moved to Mystic Falls. I didn't even know there was a zoo close by," Elena replies.
After watching the sea lion show, we take our time walking through the reptile house. Having reclined his stroller, Jeremy is sound asleep snuggling with the stuffed meerkat I bought for him. I've also noticed Annabelle trying to stifle a yawn or two. After the reptile house, we go through the aquarium before deciding to call it a day.
Once we get back to the car, Elena gently tucks Jeremy into his car seat while I buckle Annabelle in with the seatbelt. Folding up his stroller, I put it in the back of my Land Rover.
As we're driving back to Mystic Falls, I can't help but notice that Elena is smiling.
"Did you have a good time?"
"I did. It was a wonderful idea for a first date. Thank you for inviting us."
"You're welcome. I had a great time too, Elena. I think I'm going to be deaf from Jeremy screeching in my ears," I laugh.
"He was so excited to see everything. He's only ever seen those beautiful creatures in story books."
"The zoo is a Damon and Annabelle tradition. I've taken her once or twice a year since she was about two. Don't tell anyone but I really enjoy spending time with my niece. I love spoiling her rotten. Of course, her mother pretends to be astonished at me for overindulging her," I laugh.
Elena breaks out in infectious laughter which is music to my ears. I turn on the radio when our laughter dies down. "Ah the eighties," I murmur when I hear 'Carry on My Wayward Son" start to play.
"You like the eighties?"
"The seventies and eighties had the best music," I tell her, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song.
"Here we are," I announce when I pull into Caroline and Matt's driveway. When I look in the rearview mirror, I see that Annabelle is still sound asleep. Stepping out of the car, I'm greeted with a hug by Caroline. Elena steps out of the car to stretch her legs.
"Elena, I'd like you to meet my sister, Caroline. Sis, this is Elena Gilbert. That little guy sound asleep in the backseat is Jeremy."
"Hello Elena. It's nice to finally meet the person behind the voice. I'm sure we've talked a few times," she greets Elena.
"Yes, we have," Elena answers her.
"When do you get to go back to work?" Caroline asks, noticing Elena's arm is still in a below the elbow cast.
"I have an appointment with Dr. Murphy in three weeks. Hopefully it'll come off then so I can get back to work. I miss taking care of people."
"I hate to interrupt you ladies, but if one of you will open the door for me, I'll carry Annabelle into the house."
Elena opens the car door and steps out of the way. Trying to be as careful as I can so as not to wake her, I lift Annabelle into my arms and snuggle her against my chest. Caroline walks in front of me, opening the front door.
"Just lay her on the couch. I'll wake her up in a little while. I want her to be able to sleep tonight."
Annabelle startles a little when I lay her down but closes her eyes again almost immediately. I press a kiss to her forehead and then I cover her up with a light blanket that's laying at the other end of the couch.
"Thanks little brother."
Smiling, I give her a squeeze before telling her softly, "You're welcome. I need to take Elena and Jeremy home. I'll see you at work tomorrow."
Just as I reach the car, Caroline comes running outside. "Damon, dad called. He invited us all for supper Thursday evening. I told him you weren't scheduled for that night." The look she gives me tells me that he invited Stefan too.
"I'll be there. Goodnight Care."
"Bye Elena, it was nice meeting you in person," Caroline says, waving at us.
"You too," Elena says through the open passenger side window as I pull out of the driveway.
Once we get to Elena's home, I lift Jeremy's car seat out of the back and carry him into the house for her. "I'm going to go home so you can get him to bed. Do you think maybe just the two of us could go out sometime soon?"
Walking me to the door, she looks at me alluringly, "I think that can be arranged, Dr. Salvatore."
Our eyes meet for a long moment. Ever so slowly, I inch closer till our lips join in a tentative kiss. I pull back just for a millisecond before pressing my lips to hers, lifting a blistering kiss from her beautiful plump lips. I smile when I see the almost drunken look on her face.
"Wow," she breathes.
"Yes, wow," I whisper back. I lift one more kiss from her lips before saying goodbye. After she closes the door behind me, I jog down her porch stairs and walk to my car.
Matt, Caroline and Annabelle are already at Dad's house by the time I arrive. I don't see any other vehicles so unless Stefan and April walked from Fells Church, they're not here yet.
As I step into the house, Caroline greets me with a hug before ushering me outside. "What is it sis?"
"I'm worried about dad. He's just really edgy tonight. I'm beginning to wonder if this was a good idea?"
Just as I'm about to say something, a car pulls in the driveway and parks beside mine. Stefan and April step out. He takes her hand in his before walking towards us.
"Damon, Caroline?" he says.
"Hi Stefan. How are you feeling April?" I ask.
"Really good. I only had to be off work for two weeks. I was happy about that."
"Come on in," Caroline says, extending her arm, gesturing for them to go ahead of us.
"Stefan?" Dad says, his voice cautious.
"Hello dad. Thanks for inviting us."
"Um... um, you're welcome," he utters, looking to me, almost through me yet his eyes are full of fear. Suddenly he's backing away from Stefan before practically running out of the room.
"Dad?" Stefan asks, clearly concerned.
"Caroline, stay with them, I'll go to dad." I instruct, following him into the kitchen.
I find him huddled in a corner in the kitchen. Very carefully so as not to spook him, I crouch down in front of him. "Dad, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you. I promise. You're having a flashback. I'm sorry dad, I should've insisted we meet somewhere else," I tell him, gently holding his arms.
"Damon?" he asks anxiously.
"You're alright dad." After helping him into one of the kitchen chairs and promising him I'll be right back, I go to talk to Stefan.
"Caroline, go to him. I'm going to explain everything to Stef and April." Nodding, she goes into the kitchen. Matt takes Annabelle into dad's study to watch TV with her.
"I'm sorry Stefan. He has PTSD from the beating. I should've anticipated this."
"This is all my fault. April and I should leave. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Stefan says, his eyes glistening with tears.
"Look, we all want you back in our lives. I just think it was you being back in this house for the first time since that night. He's come a long way, he really has. I lived with him for the first two years after it happened. As you saw, he did great when we met you at the Grill. Don't give up on him, Stefan. We'll just have to try this again either at my place or maybe Caroline's okay?"
"We understand, Damon. We don't want to cause him anymore pain. We'll leave but please tell him we're so sorry," April says empathetically.
After standing up, I walk them outside to their car. "Stefan, just give him some time to get used to you being home, okay?"
Nodding, he steps in front of me and pulls me into his arms. I wrap my arms around him, hugging him back. "I love you," he mouths when he pulls away. "Is it okay if I call him in a couple of days?"
"Of course, Stefan. And I love you too. Drive carefully," I tell him, patting him on the back as he steps into the driver's seat.
"Goodbye, Stefan" I whisper as he and April drive off.
Going back into the house, I go to the kitchen only to find Caroline consoling dad. When he looks up at me through bleary eyes, I walk over and take a seat next to him.
"I drove my own son away," he says brokenly.
"Dad, don't be so hard on yourself. Stefan understands. This is my fault. I should've anticipated this. I'm so sorry," I tell him, taking his hand in mine.
He just looks at me sadly. It kills me to see my dad like this. It's been a very long time since he had a flashback. Getting up, I go to the cupboard where he keeps his medicine. Shaking one of his Paxil into my hand, I fill a glass of water and hand it to him. Taking it from me, he slips the pill into his mouth, drinking the whole glass of water.
"Mommy, is grandpa okay?" Annabelle asks, peaking through the kitchen door.
"Yes sweetie, grandpa is going to be fine. He's just tired. Why don't you run and get daddy so we can go home?"
"Okay mommy." She starts to walk away but then runs back in and wraps her little arms around my dad. Pulling her onto his lap, he hugs her back burying his nose in her hair.
"She's the best medicine," I mouth to Care, whose eyes are welling up with tears.
When she pulls back, dad puts her down. She runs out of the kitchen yelling for her dad.
"Goodnight daddy. I love you," Caroline whispers while giving him a hug. When she releases him, I walk the three of them to the door. Once we reach their car, I pull Caroline aside, "I'm going to stay with him tonight just to make sure he's okay. He hasn't had an episode like this in a long time."
Smiling, she presses a kiss to my cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep okay?"
"Goodnight Uncle Damon," Annabelle says raising her arms to give me a hug. Squatting down to her level, I wrap my arms around her and press a kiss to the crown of her head. "Goodnight, little girl. I love you."
"Love you too," she says, taking my hand as I walk her to the car. After buckling her in, I step back, waving bye as they drive away.
When I get back into the house, I help dad to his room and tell him goodnight.
After showering and putting on a pair of sleep pants that I keep here for nights like this, I pull back the covers and crawl into bed. Exhausted, it takes no time at all for sleep to consume me, visions of doe eyes and smoldering kisses, swimming in my head.
Stefan is not a bad guy in this story. It'll just take time for his family to get used to having him back in their lives. Thank you all of you for the wonderful reviews for chapter 5. They really make me so happy and I appreciate them so much. As always, a huge thank you to Eva for helping me make this story what it is. I'm really happy with the way this one came together. Please remember to hit that review button. 'Pieces of Eight' and 'Breathe' are still in progress too. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Stay safe and have fun. Until the next time...