Jack: (Damon's father)
I grab my call light and press the nurse button as I struggle to stand up with my bad shoulder.
"Do you need something, Mr. Salvatore?" I hear someone ask through the call system.
"I need help in here. My son collapsed. Hurry!" I yell frantically.
Stooping down carefully, I jostle his chest with my good arm. "Damon, Damon wake up."
Just then several nurses and Dr. Lockwood run into the room. One of the nurses helps me to stand up so I can step back to get out of the way as they work on my son.
"They're slapping patches on his chest before hooking him up to a cardiac monitor. After several long anxiety filled minutes, he begins to stir.
"Whaaa...?" he mumbles as he tries to sit up.
"Damon? Stop," the Dr. Lockwood scolds, holding Damon against the floor with his hands. "What happened?"
Still looking a little out of it, he again tries to sit up. "I came in to see my dad and then everything went black."
"Son, when was the last time you had any sleep? You've been running on fumes for how many days now?"
"Honestly, dad, I don't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep. We've been swamped here at the hospital."
"Will you come to ED, have some blood drawn and maybe start an IV to give you a liter bolus of saline?" Dr. Lockwood asks him.
Shaking his head back and forth, finally he stands albeit on shaky legs. "No Tyler, I'm not going to ED. I'm perfectly fine."
"No, you're not," I butt in. "You need some sleep. You like one of the walking dead!"
Dr. Lockwood looks at me then turns back to Damon. "If you won't let me check you over, you're off the clock as of this moment. You're going to go home and get some sleep. I don't want to see you here the rest of the day. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I understand. I'll go home but I can't promise you that I'm going to sleep," he says, his voice surly.
"Do you have any sleep aides at home?"
"I've never needed chemicals to put me to sleep, Tyler."
"Well, guess what, I'm going to get you some Ambien. I'm also going to make sure security keeps you out of the building tonight."
"You can't do that! Dad is here and so is Elena," he argues, his voice getting louder with each syllable he spits out.
"Oh I can and I will unless you go home, take an Ambien and sleep for a good ten to twelve hours."
"That's blackmail."
"That's right," Tyler replies firmly.
Damon huffs and sputters but finally agrees. Turning to me, "Dad, I'll talk to you later. Please call if you need anything."
"Damon, you need to take care of yourself. Go home and get some sleep. I'll talk to you later."
Exhaling heavily, he nods before turning and walking out of my room.
Shortly after Damon leaves, Caroline comes bounding in my room. "Daddy?"
"Calm down, Caroline. I'll be fine sweetheart. I fell and unfortunately I dislocated my shoulder. Dr. Lockwood admitted me to watch my heart to make sure the dizzy spell wasn't related to a heart rhythm abnormality or something like that."
"What did Damon say?"
"He agreed. What's going on with him anyway? He literally collapsed right where you're standing a little while ago."
"What?"
"He fainted. Dr. Lockwood came in to look him over. Of course as stubborn as he is, he refused to go to the ED to be examined. Tyler sent him home with strict instructions not to come back here until he gets some sleep. What's going on with him? I'm worried, Caroline."
"There's a girl he really likes. But you know your son, when things got a little more serious than what he was comfortable with, he pushed her away. She's the girl who was injured in the parking lot incident that was on the news. Did you see it?"
"I did. I hope those kids have their licenses taken away from them. Pedestrians should be safe in a grocery store parking lot for heaven sakes."
"Well, she has a young child which also freaked him out. She's in the ICU. I only know that she's critical but stable. Aside from doing surgeries, he's been spending every moment at her bedside. He really cares about this one, dad."
Shaking my head, I turn my eyes back to my daughter. "Then I go and fall down which only compounds his stress level."
"Dad, you know this isn't your fault. It's not like you fell on purpose."
"I know, Caroline. I just don't want to bury my son. I've never been so scared."
Sitting down on the bed, she wraps her arms around me. "Careful with the shoulder," I blurt out, grimacing.
She pulls back a little before pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I'm so sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to cause you more pain."
"It's okay, Caroline. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."
"As for Damon, I'm worried about him too. I'll talk to him, okay?" she says, reassuring me.
"Thank you sweetheart."
"Does papa know you're here?"
"No. I don't want to worry him."
"You sound just like Damon now," she scolds. "I'll go over to his house so he doesn't have to hear it over the phone." After giving me another hug, she stands up to leave. When she gets to the door, she turns around to look at me. "I'll see you later. Don't give the nurses any grief."
"Dad, I'll be as good as new as soon as this shoulder heals. The only reason I'm still here is because Dr. Lockwood wants to monitor my heart for a day or two. Damon agreed with him."
"Caroline told me about Damon. I think I need to have a talk with that boy."
"If he'll listen to anyone, it'll be you."
"Now Jack, he respects you so much."
"He does, but you've always had this amazing relationship with him."
"As he does with you. He really stepped up to the plate after everything that happened with Stefan. You should be very proud of your boy, Jack. You did an excellent job raising him, all of your children really. But Damon, he's turned into a fine young man. Sure, he has a few warts but who doesn't?"
"I am proud of him but I'm also very proud of Caroline and Stefan. Stefan has really worked hard to defeat his demons. But thank you for those words, dad. They really mean a lot."
Putting on his fedora, he squeezes my forearm, "I'm going to go home now. I'll see you tomorrow if you're still here. Goodbye son."
"Goodbye dad. Drive carefully."
Turning around, he nods before walking out of the door.
Damon:
When I get home, I call Caroline to check on Jeremy. After assuring me that she was fine taking care of him, I pull off my clothes, take the Ambien Tyler gave me and fall into bed. I don't like having to take sleeping pills but I know he's right about my level of exhaustion. It isn't safe for me to operate when I can hardly keep my eyes open. I still need to try to reach Elena's family but it's going to have to wait till I get back to the hospital.
By the time I awaken, it's nearly fifteen hours since I fell into bed. Shaking off the sleep, I crawl out from under the covers to go make a pot of coffee. Once I start that, I go back to my bathroom and jump into the shower. Exhaling heavily, I just lean against the shower wall for a long moment. Reaching for my shampoo, I lather up my hair and wash a couple of days worth of grime out of it. As the water continues to gently pummel my body, I start to feel a little refreshed. Once I get out, I dress quickly, slipping on a pair of jeans and a white V-necked tee shirt. Reaching into the cupboard for my travel mug, I grab it and fill it with coffee then storm out of my front door.
When I get to the hospital, I clock in and jog to the ED to see if I'm needed. "Anything incoming?" I ask Caroline.
"Damon? What are you doing here?"
Rolling my eyes, I utter sarcastically, "Um, I work here."
"You know what I mean. Don't throw your weight around with me, little brother. I can still take you and you know it!" she scolds, poking her finger into my chest.
"I know, I'm sorry. I slept for nearly fifteen hours."
"Because you needed it. You could probably go back to sleep for several more."
"Yes, Caroline, I know but I really need to go see Elena and I want to check in on dad too."
"He has pain with his shoulder, other than that, he's doing well."
"I'll just feel better if I see for myself. What about Jeremy?"
"Actually, I have news on that front. Dr. Andrews finally was able to reach her family. They're trying to make arrangements to get here. Apparently they just had a baby and money is tight for them right now. Jake said he'd make sure their number was in her chart so you could talk to them if you needed to. Maybe you should try to call them to let them know that Jeremy is safe and well cared for."
"I absolutely will. Listen, I'm going to go to say hi to dad, then I'll be with Elena. I have my pager," I tell her before I walk away and push the elevator button.
"Dad, Papa," I greet them as I walk into his room. They're both looking at me as I walk to his bedside.
"Did you get some sleep, son?"
Nodding, "I actually slept for about fifteen hours straight."
"Good, you know better than to let yourself get so run down. People depend on you, Damon?" Papa admonishes me.
"I know, you're right. I just feel so guilty about Elena," I answer, looking him directly in the eye.
"Son, do you love her?" dad asks.
"Yeah dad, I think I do."
"It's her child that Caroline is taking care of?"
"Ah ha. I don't know if she'll ever forgive me though. I treated her like a jackass because all of my defenses started falling one by one and it put the fear of God into me. I'm a damned fool."
"You'll get no argument out of me, young man," papa jabs, raising his eyebrows at me.
"Enough about what an ass I am. Has Tyler mentioned anything about discharging you yet?"
"No. But he hasn't been here to see me yet today."
"I'll talk to your nurse and tell her to page me if you get released so I can take you home."
"Thank you, Damon. Why don't you run up and see that girl now?"
Smiling for the first time in days, I walk over and give them each a quick hug before saying goodbye. After talking to dad's nurse, I take the stairs and jog up to ICU to see her.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Saltzman?"
"Yes, I'm Jenna Saltzman. Who is this?"
"I'm Dr. Salvatore. I'm one of Elena's doctors. I just wanted to call you to let you know that Jeremy is safe. He's staying with my sister and her family. She's a friend to Elena."
"Oh that is good to know. Thank you. The other doctor said he was safe but didn't know much else. How is my niece?"
"She's holding her own. The pulmonologist I consulted is going to start weaning her off the ventilator in the next day or two. She does still have her chest tube but there's very little drainage from it now. I'm going to have them switch it to water seal then hopefully I can remove that in a day or two as well. She hasn't regained consciousness yet but she's been under the influence of a lot of medication."
"I really want to be with her but our finances are paycheck to paycheck," I hear her voice break as well as a few sniffles.
"I'm sure Elena will understand."
"Please call me if anything happens. Would it be too much to ask you to keep us updated?"
"No, of course not. If you have a pen handy, I'll give you my cell phone number. You can call me anytime."
"Let me grab one," she says as I hear her set the phone down. When I hear her pick up the phone again, she tells me to go ahead and reel off my phone number for her. After giving her my number and assuring her that I'd stay in touch, I end the call. Walking into Elena's room, I breathe out a sigh of relief just to be in her company again. I walk over to the beside and pull up a chair. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I take her hand in mine then sit down.
"Elena, it's me. I don't know if you can hear me or not but I need to tell you how sorry I am for being such an ass. I just need you to wake up. Even if you hate me forever at least I'll know that you and Jeremy are doing okay. Being with you just caused so many feelings to erupt inside of me. Feelings that I thought long buried. I put up so many walls and you knocked them down one after the next. Then Jeremy called me daddy and I freaked out," I whisper, pouring my heart out while raking my hand through my hair.
"He's staying with Caroline right now. I've gone over there to see him when I've been able to get away from the hospital. You know what, I'm not so scared anymore. I love that little boy and Elena, I think, no I know, that I love you too. I just hope and pray that you'll find it within yourself to forgive me."
Turning my eyes away for a moment, I find my courage again and turn back to her, "Listen, sweetheart, I know I don't have the right to call you that but I hope to earn that right. I need to go. I'm going to take Jeremy and Anna to the playground this afternoon. I'll be back later." Standing up, I drop another kiss to her hand and to the side of her mouth before walking to the door. I turn around and give her one last look before walking away.
"Do you need me to stay with you tonight dad? Tyler sent me packing again. Tomorrow I'll be back on my regularly scheduled chaos."
"I hate to impose on you Damon, but I would appreciate it."
"Hey, none of that. You're not imposing dad. Besides, I need your advice."
"My advice?"
Nodding, I pull out a chair for him. Walking over to the stove, I turn on the faucet letting some water pour into a pot to boil for some hot chocolate. Then I sit down. "How did you know that mom was it for you?"
Smiling, he reaches for my arm, grasping onto my wrist. "I think you already know that this girl is it. Your heart knows, son."
"I feel like humpty dumpty teetering on the wall. She consumes me when I'm with her."
"What made you pull away from her anyway?"
"Her son called me dad. Those three letters literally put the fear of God into me. I couldn't get away from her fast enough. Then I avoided her for several days. On top of that, Ivy showed up at the hospital. I went to talk to her about her husband's condition. Out of nowhere, she kissed me and I kissed her back. It took a moment for my brain to catch up to my lips but it wasn't quick enough because Elena witnessed it," I explain, staring at my clasped hands.
"Damon?" he whispers.
Raising my eyes to his, he lays his good hand atop my clenched hands before continuing. "I knew your mom was it for me the first time I laid eyes on her. However, she was dating another guy at the time. I thought if nothing else, I could claim her as a friend. So that's what I did. I helped her with her geometry and physics. I'd walk her home after school when her boyfriend was too busy yucking it up with his friends. Within a couple of months, she broke up with Michael and the rest is history."
"Just be the man I know you to be and God willing, she'll give you a chance to apologize. Hopefully she'll give you a do over. If you mean as much to her as she does to you, she'll give you another chance. Although she may play hard to get for a little while, just don't give up. Salvatore men aren't quitters."
Smiling, I stand up and give him a cautious hug as I don't want to hurt him. "Thanks dad."
"You're welcome. Now why don't you pour us each a cup of hot chocolate so we can take it in the living room and watch a movie? We haven't done that in a very long time."
"That sounds great dad," I tell him softly then turn to grab two cups from the cupboard. After making our hot chocolate, I carry it to the living room and hand dad a cup. Sitting down, I kick my boots off. My dad's laughter is contagious. It takes no time at all till I'm laughing right along with him as we watch Cary Grant at his best in 'Arsenic and Old Lace'.
Damon now knows where his heart truly lies. Is Elena going to be willing to take a chance on him though? Thank you Eva for all of your friendship and for everything you do for me. You really go above and beyond! Thank you, all of you for reading and reviewing. They really do make my day... 'Shatter Me' has been updated as well. Please click over and check that one out too.
I saw 'Jurassic World' yesterday. Needless to say, I will see it a second time. One is never too old to love dinosaurs... Plus Chris Pratt is very nice to look at! And John Williams is brilliant. I could listen to the Jurassic Park theme on repeat continuously. I just love it! I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend. See you next week.