Ta-da! Part 2 of the birthday celebration. And, it's pretty long.
Thank you so much for all of your kind words on the last chapter. I say it every update, but I really do love you all!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. Or the Velveteen Rabbit.
For the second time that day, Damon took a deep breath while standing on a doormat. While he had knocked on Elena's door that morning, this time, he reached for the doorknob.
"Mom?" he called as he shut the door behind him. He heard her footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen.
"Damon?" she asked, appearing in the entryway moments later. Damon had expected her to be surprised to see him and, judging by the look on her face, he was right. "What are you doing here?" Damon shrugged.
"I just thought… I mean, I was around, so I thought I'd stop by…"
In truth, after dropping Molly off at school, he had drove around for a while, no destination in mind, his thoughts spinning. He hadn't really intended to arrive on his mother's doorsteps, but at some point, it became his end point and he turned his SUV in that direction. It was the middle of the afternoon, now, and he knew she would be home alone.
"If you're in the middle of something, I can go," he said, already turning towards the door.
"No!" Ginny said a little too quickly. "I'm working on some treats for Molly's birthday party this evening. I'd love some company while I work. Come sit in the kitchen with me. Are you hungry? I'll fix you a late lunch."
"I'm okay, Mom," Damon declined politely, following her to the kitchen. There were pretzel sticks, bowls of frosting, and an assortment of colored sugar and sprinkles scatter across the kitchen island A few dozen cupcakes sat cooling on a nearby counter. "You run a bakery out of business?"
"Your little girl has very specific demands for her third birthday," Ginny said. "She wants 'sparkly pretzel sticks' and 'Elsa cupcakes' and that's exactly what Gigi is going to give her." Damon smiled.
"Thank you," he said. "For doing this for Molly. I know Elena's really busy…"
"She is," Ginny confirmed. She stood across from the kitchen island, studying Damon who had slid onto a stool. "She was fully planning on doing these pretzels and cupcakes herself, but I went over there last night and took the supplies so she couldn't. The girl has enough on her plate. Besides, Elena has learned a thing or two in the kitchen over the years, but she would use store bought icing." Damon chuckled. "You sure you don't want anything to eat?"
"I'm sure," Damon said with a nod. "I had a big breakfast."
"Something to drink, then?" Ginny asked, already moving for the cabinet she kept the glasses in. Damon knew his mother and knew she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Some tea would be good." Ginny was already filling a glass with ice. Moments later, she slid a the drink in front of him.
"So," she started conversationally, picking up a pretzel stick and dunking it in a bowl of white icing, "can we expect you at Molly's party this evening?" Damon nodded.
"I'll be there," he confirmed. He reached back and rubbed his neck. "I took Molly to breakfast this morning. Waffle House." Ginny looked up at him, surprised for the second time in mere minutes.
"You did?" she asked. Damon nodded again.
"I called and asked Elena last night if I could and she agreed. I offered for her to come with us, but she said it would be good for me to spend some time with Molly. We ate at Waffle House, and I took her to school." Damon stopped for a moment and let out a little snort of disbelief. "I have a car seat in the back of my SUV."
"How was breakfast?" Ginny asked, going back to her task.
"It was good. It was really good. And, it was good to see her school. She seemed so big, walking through the halls and going into her classroom."
"She's only three," Ginny reminded him gently. "She's smart as a tack and has a big personality, but she's still only three. You have plenty of time for her to be your little girl."
"She could have been my little girl from the start," Damon replied, studying his hands. "If I had known." Ginny sighed, put the pretzel in her hand aside, and looked at Damon.
"Damon, I'm sorry…," she started, but Damon held up a hand.
"No," he said with a shake of his head. His throat suddenly felt dry and his chest tight. "This is on me." He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he opened them, Ginny was looking at him with concern.
It was then that he realized why he came to his mother. She was his mother. He spent a lot of time trailing after his father as a child, begging to race, to go with him every time he left the house. But it was always his mother who patched him up, whether he skinned a knee racing Stefan on their bikes or flipped his racecar down the Talladega front stretch. She wiped away the dirt and put on the Band-Aid, even while scolding him for sneaking off to spin donuts in the neighbor's field on his dirt bike. By the time he was done, he was bandaged, properly disciplined, and sent off with a kiss on the forehead and a warning to behave himself.
That's what he needed now – his mother. He had been taking care of himself – and failing miserably at it – for far too long. He needed someone to take care of him, someone who would tell him everything was going to be okay. He was still mad, still upset, but Ginny Salvatore was still his mother and he didn't know where else to turn.
"Damon…," she started. Again, Damon interrupted her.
"I did this," he said. "I left Mystic Falls. I turned my back on my family, on Elena. I could have been in Molly's life from the beginning, but I chose wrong. And I kept choosing wrong. I'm still mad, Mom. I'm mad as hell at you and Dad, at Stefan and Caroline, at Elena. I'm not ready to forgive you. But, I just… I don't know what to do. I don't know where to begin to right all the wrongs. I don't know how to fix things. It's all a mess. And I don't know what to do."
Ginny didn't hesitate in her actions. She went around the kitchen island and wrapped Damon in her arms. He let her, momentarily letting go of all the hurt and anger. He hugged her back, feeling more like the young boy he used to be than the man he was. She released him after a few minutes and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
"You need a hair cut," she admonished, wiping at her own eyes. He chuckled.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I do." Ginny sat down on the stool beside him.
"I know you said you aren't ready to forgive us," she started. "I can understand that. We kept a very big secret from you. You have every right to be upset with us. But, Damon, we have to start somewhere. We have to move forward somehow."
"How?" Damon replied. "How do we move forward, Mom?" Ginny sighed. She reached over and placed a hand over Damon's.
"You need to understand something," she said. "We lost you, Damon. You took off for Florida in the early morning hours and never looked back. We didn't know where you were, what you were doing, if you were okay. We kept up with you through racing and the tabloids. We saw you every weekend. Racetrack after racetrack, you were there, in the flesh. You wouldn't even look at us."
Damon hung his head, the guilt heavier than it had ever been. Ginny continued.
"We tried to talk to you. We tried to tell you about Molly. But my sweet boy was gone, replaced by a stranger who tried to take a swing at his brother, who told his dad to go to hell." Damon swallowed thickly. "We never stopped loving you, but we didn't know how to reach you." She squeezed his hand. "And then you nearly died at Talladega. I pray to God that you never, ever have to experience what it's like to watch your child suffer, to wonder if they are going to live through the night, let alone the next day.
"No matter how it happened, we got you back. We got you back in our house, back in our lives. And Damon, we are not going to lose you again. You can be mad. You can be hurt. But, you can't turn your back on us again. We have to move forward. And to do that, you have to take the first step. Because me, your father, Stefan, even Elena… We're terrified that we're going to say or do something and we're going to lose you for good."
Damon sighed and rubbed his free hand across his face.
"I don't know what that step is," he admitted. "I'm trying to figure it out."
"I know," Ginny agreed. She squeezed his hand again. "I think you're doing the best thing you can right now, spending time with Molly, getting to know her. No matter what, she's the most important person in this mess. She's the one we have to protect. I saw you with her in Atlanta. She brings you joy." Damon smiled.
"Molly is perfect," he told his mother. "She's just… Perfect. I look at her and I can't fathom that she's mine. I can't fathom that despite everything I have done, I somehow managed to have a part in creating something as perfect as her." He shook his head. "I'm terrified of screwing this up."
"I can tell you firsthand that you won't be the perfect parent," Ginny informed him. "None of us are. We all screw up."
"You didn't." Ginny scoffed.
"I did," she confirmed. "Many times over. I kept your daughter from you. I let you walk away from your family. That doesn't include all the times we did things like serving you and your brother processed food and letting you eat things like nacho cheese and hot dogs at the racetracks."
"You let us eat processed food?" Damon asked cheekily. "When?"
"A long time ago," she said with a wave of her hand. She was well known for her homemade meals and baked goods from scratch. She was almost ashamed at the fact that she had occasional served her kids frozen pizzas and microwavable hamburgers. "This parenting thing is hard, huh?"
"I don't know," Damon said. "I haven't been a parent very long."
They were at an impasse. Ginny's instinct was to push Damon, to keep apologizing. But, she knew him. She needed to back off now, let him have his space. He had inched forward and anything more would send him retreating. She stood and resumed her work on the pretzels.
"Need any help?" Damon asked. Ginny snorted.
"My kitchen…"
"My domain," Damon finished. "I guess, if you don't need me, I'm going to head to the shop, work on the Camaro for a little bit before its time for Molly's party." Ginny nodded.
"We'll see you there."
For the third time that day, Damon knocked on a door, shifting nervously from foot to foot as he waited on the doormat. Mere moments passed before Elena threw open the door, looking frazzled. She startled when she saw Damon.
"Oh, it's just you," she breathed. Damon raised an eyebrow.
"Hell of a greeting, 'Lena." She sighed and leaned against the doorframe.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm expecting the company with the bouncy castle. They should be here by now. It's the one thing Molly asked for, at least the one thing she asked for repeatedly."
"I don't have a bouncy castle, but, for what its worth, I'm here to help," Damon said. "I know the party starts in an hour. I thought you might need some help."
"It starts in under an hour," Elena corrected, pushing open the door. "And come in. There is more than enough work to go around." Damon followed her into the house and let out a low whistle.
"It looks like Frozen threw up in here," he stated.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate that stupid snowman?" she asked, stepping onto a chair and going back to the task of artfully hanging blue, white, and purple tulle from the chandelier hanging over from the ceiling. "Don't get me started on that damn song." Damon watched her for a moment before stepping onto a chair to help.
"What else is there to do?" he asked.
"I need to finish setting up the food," Elena started. "I have balloons in the living room that I want to put outside by the mailbox. There's confetti to sprinkle on the living room table, which I'm going to regret when I have to clean it up later. I have a stupid Olaf to hang up for a pin the nose on the snowman game. There's the bouncy castle if it ever shows up…"
"So, a lot," Damon finished. "Tell you what. Let me handle this. You go do – something else that needs to be done." Elena looked at him skeptically.
"You think you've got this?" she asked.
"I've got this," Damon confirmed. Elena stepped down and studied him for a minute. He took the opportunity to continue draping the tulle to prove he knew what he was doing.
"Thank you for coming," she said. He could hear the sincerity in her voice. He could also hear the faintest hint of exhaustion. He smiled at her.
"I want to be here," he stated. "Go on and take care of the food or whatever. I've got this." Elena gave him a smile and a nod before she left the room. Damon focused on the task at hand. He had just finished draping the last piece of tulle when the doorbell rang.
"Damon? Can you get that?" Elena called. "My hands are full. It better be the bouncy house people. If it is, have them put it in the backyard in the back corner, where that old swing set used to be."
"Got it," Damon called back. He went to the door and opened it to reveal two men in blue jumpsuits.
"Mr…," the older of the two looked down at the clipboard in his hands, "Gilbert?" Damon opened up his mouth to correct him.
"Salvatore," the younger man piped up. "You're Damon Salvatore, the racecar driver." Damon grinned awkwardly.
"Yeah, that's me," he agreed.
"Congratulations on your finish at Atlanta. Third place, not too shabby."
"Thank you," Damon replied. "It was a good day for us. But, as much as I like to meet a fan, I hope you two have a bouncy castle with you. My little girl is counting on it, but I'd be more worried about her mother. She's kind of wound tight right now." The young man nodded eagerly.
"We have it," he agreed. "I'm sorry we're running late. We got behind in our deliveries…" Damon waved him off.
"No worries," he said. "Let's get that bouncy house set up. The party starts in under an hour."
"Just show us where you want it," the older man answered.
10 minutes later, a bouncy house was being inflated in Elena's backyard. After tying off the balloons to the mailbox as instructed by Elena, Damon returned to the backyard to check on progress. The younger one was watching over the pump, while the older one stood idle. A big Frozen-themed castle, complete with an inflatable slide, was beginning to take shape.
"We're nearly finished," the older man told Damon.
"How much do I owe you?" Damon countered, reaching for his wallet. The man held up a small tablet Damon hadn't noticed before. He tapped it a few times.
"It's two hundred, even," he replied. "That includes set up, take down, and a four hour rental."
"Do you take Discover?" Damon asked, producing a gold card. The man nodded and pulled a Square out of his pocket to hook into his tablet. Within minutes, Damon had swiped and signed for the castle. He left the two men in the backyard and went inside. "Elena?" he called.
"Dining room!" Damon followed her voice and found her in the dining room, sprinkling confetti amongst trays of food. The pretzels and cupcakes his mother had been working on were there.
"Mom outdid herself on these," he commented, picking up a cupcake to study it. Ginny had stuck an Elsa figurine in the middle of it and iced it with blue frosting in a way that made it look like the frosting was Elsa's dress. She had done the same for Anna and Olaf, using green and white frosting.
"She dropped those off not too long before you got here. They look amazing. So do the pretzels. I'm so glad she demanded she do them." Elena stopped and looked at Damon. She had changed her clothes at some point in the last fifteen minutes, now wearing a bright blue top, black skinny jeans, and heels. His eyes flickered to her neckline briefly. She was wearing a bright statement necklace, but he couldn't see the necklace he was looking for. "How did you know she made them?"
"I stopped by my parents' place earlier," he admitted. Elena raised an eyebrow.
"You did?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise. Damon shrugged.
"I'm – trying or whatever," he said. "It helped that Dad wasn't there."
"He will be here," Elena reminded Damon. "You mom, dad, Stefan, Caroline… They all got party invitations too."
"This is about Molly," Damon replied. Elena nodded.
"It's about Molly," she repeated. "She should be here any minute now." She let out a little gasp and ran to the nearest window. "The bounce castle guys are leaving! I haven't paid them yet! And I don't know when they're coming back to get the castle. I haven't signed anything... I have their number in the kitchen…" Damon caught her by the elbow as she passed him on her way out of the dining room.
"It's all taken care of," he told her. "I handled the bill. We have got the thing for four hours, and they handle set up and take down. They will be back around eight o'clock to get it. You, Elena Gilbert, have one gigantic princess palace in your backyard for the evening." Elena narrowed her eyes at Damon.
"What do you mean you handled it?"
"I mean I handled it," Damon replied. He realized he was still holding Elena's arm and let it go. "I paid the bill, signed the receipt and the paperwork. Like I said, they will be back around eight o'clock to deflate it and pack it up."
"Damon, you didn't have to…"
"Do that, I know," Damon said cutting her off. "Molly is my responsibility too, Elena." He waved his hand around the dining room. "I've done nothing to contribute to this. It's been mostly you, with a little help from my mom. Frankly, paying for a bounce castle, hanging some tulle, and tying off some balloons doesn't seem like much of a contribution, given the production you have here." Elena let out a sigh.
"Thank you," she replied. "For showing up early to help, taking care of the bounce castle. I really do appreciate it. I'm just – pretty used to doing this alone." Without thinking about it, Damon reached out and put his hand back on her arm.
"You're not in this alone anymore, Elena," he promised. "I'm here. I'm in this." Elena pursed her lips as she looked up at Damon. She could hear the conviction in his voice, but it was his eyes that told her he meant what he was saying. She nodded.
"Okay," she agreed simply. Damon squeezed her arm gently before he let it go again. "I should get the drinks out. Before people start to get here."
"Anything else I can do to help?" Damon asked, following Elena into the kitchen.
"There are a couple of coolers at the bottom of the basement stairs," Elena replied. "Think you could bring them up and help me fill them with ice? I'll get the drinks from the fridge in the garage while you do that." Damon nodded.
"I can do that," he agreed. He started towards the basement, Elena for the garage. He stopped at the top of the basement stairs. "Elena?" She turned and looked at him. "You look great, by the way. It's safe to say you will be the most beautiful woman here. Aside from our daughter, of course."
With that, Damon disappeared down the stairs. Elena remained where she was for a few moments, taken back by his comments. Slowly, she smiled to herself before she continued to the garage, a bit of a spring in her step.
Whether she liked it or not, Damon was worming his way back into her life.
Damon had intended to stand on the sidelines for the most part, observe how this whole birthday thing went. Except, Elena kept pulling him in, asking him to refill the chip bowl or supervise the bounce house while she oversaw pin the nose on Olaf. He found he didn't mind all that much, even if Molly and her little friends were overwhelming. Molly had been over the moon to see him at her house when his mother pulled. She had burst out the backdoor of Ginny's car, squealing his name, a moment that had lasted until she saw the bounce house. There were a few blissful minutes in which he got to watch Molly jump and squeal happily around the bounce castle before her guests started to arrive. Now, he was standing to the side, watching Molly open the mountain of presents beside her.
"Poor kid," came his father's voice. "She didn't get anything for her birthday." Damon's first reaction was to bristle, to make a snide comment and walk away. Instead, he remembered where he was and his brief talk with his mother earlier. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth.
"Nothing at all," he agreed, watching as Molly held up yet another accessory for her new doll and told Stefan and Caroline thank you. "You and Mom and Stefan and Caroline went a little overboard." Giuseppe grinned.
"You sound like Elena," he said, almost sounding proud. "Molly is a good little girl. She deserves everything she wants."
"I don't want her to grow up spoiled," Damon countered. Then, he snorted. "Look at me, trying to sound like a father." Giuseppe appraised him for a moment.
"You are a father," he reminded him. He nodded towards Molly. "She's yours, right down to the dimples in her cheeks."
"Took everyone long enough to tell me," he muttered, feeling himself shifting back to anger. These mood swings were exhausting. Again, he reminded himself he was at his daughter's birthday party and tried to reel in his anger.
"We've all made mistakes," Giuseppe told him. "Now, we need to move forward." He clapped Damon on the shoulder as Molly opened another gift, this one an outfit sent by Elena's parents who were currently FaceTiming into the celebration via an iPad perched near where Molly was opening her gifts. "You're doing well, Damon. I don't know that I've told you that recently, but you are. Both on and off the track. You're trying. I'm proud of you." Damon swallowed hard. It had been a long time since anyone had told him they were proud of him.
"I'm trying," he repeated. "I'm not ready to forgive and forget, pretend like you all didn't keep my daughter from me. But, I'm trying."
"That's all anyone is asking for," Giuseppe said. "And, to be fair in all of this, you aren't the only one owed an apology." He clapped Damon on the shoulder once more and walked away to talk to someone else. Damon sighed and reached up to rub his shoulder. It was still stiff from the weekend, more so than it usually was.
"This one is from Mama," Elena told Molly, passing her a package wrapped in bright pink paper and a gaudy bow. Molly tore into it eagerly.
"It's Samantha's paint set!" she cried. She threw her arms around Elena. "Thank you, Mama! Thank you!" Damon smiled as Elena hugged her back tightly. Molly reacted the same way when she opened Elena's other two gifts, an outfit for the doll and the doll's pet dog. He felt the slightest wave of jealousy wash over him at the relationship the two had. He wanted that with his daughter, too. Even as much as she loved her grandparents, and her aunt and uncle, she hadn't hugged them enthusiastically after every gift she opened from them. He perked up as Elena passed Molly his gift, the last one on the table.
"Last one," Elena told her. "It's from Damon." She looked in Damon's direction and flashed him the faintest of smiles. He folded his arms across his chest nervously.
"This is a big one!" Molly said happily, sliding out of her chair to the floor to open the rather large box. He had tried to wrap it himself, using birthday-themed wrapping pair he'd picked up when he bought the present. It wasn't as elaborate as Elena's, but it did the trick. She ripped it off and let out a gasp.
"A horsey barn!" she cried, taking in the photo on the box. "With ponies!" She stood up and before he realized it, her tiny arms were wrapped around his legs. "Thank you, Day-mun!" Damon squatted down to her level so he could hug her properly.
"You're welcome, Princess," he said, giving her a little extra squeeze. "I hope you like it."
"I love it!" she said excitedly, squeezing Damon back. "Me and Samantha are gonna play wif it!" He laughed and planted a kiss on the side of her head.
"I'm glad you like it," he told her. He released her and she ran back to Elena. She caught Damon's eye and gave him an approving nod. He couldn't stop the bashful smile that filled his cheeks. He hadn't realized until that moment that he had wanted Elena's approval on the gift almost as much as he had wanted Molly's.
"Nice going on the gift," Stefan said, appearing at his side a few minutes later. The kids had dispersed to the bounce house and Elena, Caroline, and his mother had gone inside to get the cake and ice cream out. He had resumed his role of supervising the bounce house. "She loved it."
"She asked for a pony," Damon replied, again pushing aside his annoyance to make an effort. "Elena would be pissed if I showed up with a real one, so I got her the next best thing." Stefan nodded.
"Care seriously considered buying her a pony," he said. "I put my foot down." Damon snorted.
"Yeah, right," he said. "Blondie has you wrapped around her finger, especially now that she's pregnant."
"Until you deal with woman's pregnancy hormones, you don't know what wrapped around her finger is," Stefan retorted. "I had to counter my 'absolutely not' with a bag of sour cream and onion chips and a sprite with orange flavor from Sonic."
"I didn't get the chance to deal with pregnancy hormones," he reminded Stefan. Stefan sighed.
"I'm sorry, Damon," he said. "I really am. I tried to tell you. Maybe I should have tried harder, but I did try. After a certain point, I gave up." He shook his head. "I guess we all did." The guilt hit Damon full force once more.
"I'm as much to blame as anyone," he said. "I'm working on forgiving you. All of you. And, eventually, I'll apologize for everything I did. I just… Need time. I need to get to know my daughter and figure out how to be a part of her life first." Stefan nodded.
"You're doing a pretty good job so far," he said. Damon felt a tightness in his chest that had nothing to do with guilt or anger and everything to do with being lifted up by another vote of confidence today. "Molly is crazy about you." Damon was searching for words to reply with when Elena called out to him. He turned to see her on the patio, the cake and ice cream moved outside.
"Yeah?" he answered.
"Can you send the kids over here? It's time for cake and ice cream." He nodded and gave her a thumbs up before turning back to the bounce castle.
"Time to be a dad," he muttered, just loud enough for Stefan to hear him. "Molly?" he called, approaching the opening of the bounce castle.
"Hi, Day-mun!" Molly greeted, bouncing happily, her hair flying, the skirt of her dress flowing around her.
"It's time for cake and ice cream," he told her. "You and your friends come over to the patio."
"Time to sing to me!" Molly said excitedly. She bounced over to Damon. He had just enough time to brace himself before she jumped into his arms. He stumbled back a few inches, chuckling.
"Easy there, Princess," he said. He called the rest of the kids to attention and led the way to the cake and ice cream, Molly still in his arms. He deposited her in the designated birthday girl chair. He made to step back, but Elena reached out and gently grasped his elbow. "Stay," she whispered. He looked at her nervously, feeling put on the spot. He had heard the parents whispering, trying to figure out whether he was Molly's father. But, Elena wanted him to stay, Molly seated between them. He nodded.
It turned into a blur. Elena led the way in Happy Birthday. He sang along, Molly clapping her hands off beat. When it was time, he reached out and helped Elena bring the cake to Molly who blew out three candles to cheers. There were photos taken, cake cut, ice cream scooped. All too soon, he was helping Elena clean up. He walked back inside from taking out the trash to hear Molly still crying. She had been sobbing for the last half hour, ever since the men returned to take the bounce castle down. Without hesitation, he went upstairs.
"What's going on up here?" he asked, entering Molly's room. Elena was sitting in the middle of the floor, looking worse for the wear, her frustration clear. Molly was laying facedown on the floor, crying hard and muttering about the men taking her castle.
"Between all the sugar and the excitement of today, she's both worn out and high on sugar at the same time," Elena answered, clearly exhausted. "I'm trying to let her cry it out, but she's not showing any sign of giving up." Damon stepped forward.
"Molly, that's enough," he said. He squatted down beside her. "Let's get up from the floor. You need to take a bath and put on your pajamas." Elena raised an eyebrow, surprised at Damon's sudden sternness. He was one big surprise when it came to Molly.
"I don't wanna take a stupid bath!" Molly wailed. "I want my castle!"
"The bounce castle doesn't belong to us," Damon told her gently but firmly. "We got to borrow it. You got lots of other new toys to play with. But right now, you have to get up and let your mom get you ready for bed."
"I don't wanna go to bed!" Molly screamed. She kicked her arms and legs, wailing. Damon looked at Elena briefly. She had clearly reached her limit with Molly and was taking deep calming breathes.
"That's enough," he said again. This time, he reached down and scooped Molly into his arms. She wailed louder, kicking her legs and flailing her arms around. "Molly, stop it."
"Put me down!" she half yelled, half cried, limbs still being thrown about wildly.
"No," Damon said firmly as Elena pushed herself up from the floor. "Listen to me." Molly thrashed about. "Molly, I said to listen." His tone made Molly stop, at least for a moment. "You get to the count of three to make a decision," he told her. "You can either stop crying and let your mother get you ready for bed, or you can keep crying and not get to play with your new doll or your barn tomorrow. Take your pick. One… Two…"
"Mama!" Molly cried out reaching for her. "I want my doll!" Elena seized the opportunity.
"Are you going to stop crying and let me get you ready for bed?" Her bottom lip was trembling and her eyes were glassy, but Molly nodded. "Damon's going to put you down. I want you to pick out a nightgown and wait for me in the bathroom. Do you understand?" Begrudgingly, Molly nodded. Damon kissed her hair.
"There's my good girl," he said as he placed her on her feet. It wasn't in Molly's nature to go quietly, so she tossed them both a glare and stomped across the bedroom to her dresser. "She gets the drama from you," Damon muttered. Elena shook her head.
"I beg to differ." Molly, mismatched pajamas hanging from her hand, passed them on her way to the bathroom, stomping all the way. "This will be quick, and probably painful," Elena said, moving after her. "If you want to stick around and tell her goodnight…" Damon nodded.
"I'd like that," he said. He sat down on Molly's bed as he waited, listening to Molly's protests as Elena bathed her. He took the opportunity to look round.
He knew this room well. He had spent countless hours in this room, first trying to convince Elena to go on a date with him, and then getting to know her, both physically and personally. This had been the last place he had seen Elena until she came back to Mystic Falls. He had spent the night with her, her parents at their lake house for the weekend. He had laid awake for hours while Elena slept soundly at his side, making up his mind. He leaned over, kissed her forehead, and left, without looking back.
The room had been very different then. The walls had been a soft off white, her furniture and bedding other shades of white. A few posters had been tacked to the wall, the corkboard covered in her achievements and photos of her and Caroline.
Now, the room was painted a pale pink. The bedding was reminiscent of Elena's, frilly and white. Deep blue patterned curtains hung from the window and the window seat was lined with overstuffed cushions and throw pillows. The furniture was familiar. Damon realized it was Elena's, re-finished with new hardware and a fresh coat of paint. The room had a vintage feel to it, fitting for a little girl. The large horse drawing that had hung over Elena's bed now hung over Molly's. The built-in bookshelf was lined with children's books, stuffed animals, and dolls. He stood and wandered over to the dresser which held trinkets and photos of Molly with Elena, Stefan and Caroline, and both sets of her grandparents. He picked up the photo of her and Elena, which looked to have been taken recently, and smiled.
"Everyone is clean," Elena announced returning to the bedroom with Molly in her arms. "Happy is another question, but I'll take what I can get right now." Damon smiled and walked over to them. He reached out and ran a hand down Molly's clean, damp hair.
"She may not be happy, but she's sleepy," he said. Elena nodded.
"It's definitely bedtime." She walked over to the bed and made to pull the covers back, but Damon beat her to it.
"Your hands are full," he told her as he moved the few throw pillows out of the way. Elena smiled at him in response.
"You want Samantha?" she asked as she laid Molly in bed. Molly nodded and Elena passed the doll to her. Damon pulled the covers up around Molly. It felt like the natural thing to do. "Want a bedtime story?" she asked. Molly nodded again. "Which one?"
"Velvet Wabbit," Molly replied.
"Of course," Elena replied with a fond smile. She retrieved the book.
"I should get going," Damon said, although it was the last thing he wanted to do. He leaned over to kiss Molly's forehead.
"No go," Molly said, reaching up to wrap her arms around Damon's neck. Damon felt his heart crack. If he had looked at Elena in that moment, he would have seen a similar reaction to the scene cross her face.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Damon said. "It's time for me to head home."
"Read me the Velvet Wabbit," Molly said in return. "Please, Day-mun. I not want you to go." Damon looked at Elena who nodded.
"Read to her," she said. "But, just one story. She wil beg for more." She passed Damon the book. He held onto it for a moment longer than he needed to, his eyes on Elena.
"Thank you," he said gently. She nodded. She leaned over and kissed Molly's forehead herself.
"Goodnight, birthday girl," she said. "I'll see you in the morning." She made to leave, but Molly reached out and grabbed her hand.
"No, Mama, you stay too," Molly said. "Day-mun read to you too." Elena looked at Damon. She could see an almost hopeful look in his eyes. She sighed to herself, knowing she was well on her way to getting in over her head.
"Okay," she agreed. She leaned against Molly's headboard, Damon doing the same on the other side of her. The twin bed was far to small for the three of them, but for the moment, it was the best place on earth, as far as Damon was concerned. He adjusted himself so Molly was laying half on top of him, most of his body pressed against Elena's in the small space, and began to read.
He was a few sentences in when Molly's eyes began to close. He smiled softly and kept reading.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
"She's asleep," Elena whispered.
As quietly as they could, they slipped off the bed. Damon tucked the blankets around Molly while Elena flipped on a nearby nightlight and turned off the nightstand lamp. They each placed a soft kiss to Molly's forehead and quietly left the room, Elena pulling the door partially shut behind them. Wordlessly, they walked down the stairs.
"Want some coffee?" Elena asked, already headed towards the kitchen.
"Kind of late for coffee, isn't it?" Damon asked even as he followed her.
"It's only nine o'clock" Elena responded, going through the motions of making coffee. "I still have plenty to do before bed."
"Anything I can help with?" Damon heard himself offering. It felt like someone else had taken over his body. Strangely, he also felt a lot like the guy he used to be, long before his life in Florida.
"Unless you know how to write talking points for the media for this weekend's race in Vegas, then no. Besides, you've done plenty to help today." She turned to him then. "Thank you, Damon. I don't know that things would have gone as smoothly as they did without your help." Damon shrugged, suddenly self-conscious.
"Just trying to do what any dad would do," he said. "And, you know, make up for lost time." He felt that wave of guilt again.
"So far, so good," Elena said. "That whole pulling her up off the ground and giving her a countdown? That never works when I try it." Damon shrugged again.
"I don't know where that came from," he admitted. "It just – felt like the right thing to do in the moment." He paused. "Who am I kidding? Mom pulled that 'make a choice before I count to three or else' bit all the time." Elena chuckled.
"I thought it was women who were supposed to become their mothers," she teased.
"I have enough of my dad in me to prevent that," Damon said. Elena poured them both a cup of coffee, assuming Damon would be having one if he had followed her into the room.
"Did I see you talking to Giuseppe?" she asked. Damon nodded.
"Big day in my world – I celebrated my kid's birthday, talked to my parents and Stefan without an argument erupting." He looked at Elena. "You and I even made it through the day without going to war."
"I've been thinking about that," Elena said, slipping onto a stool opposite Damon. "You're so mad at your parents. You're furious at Stefan and Caroline. And yet, you don't seem mad at me. I mean, I'm sure you are, but you're – talking to me. You're even being – nice. I guess I just don't understand. I'm the one who ultimately kept you from Molly."
Damon took his time putting sugar and cream into his coffee. He stirred it in and took a sip before he looked at Elena.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I've thought about it. I've wondered why the sight of you doesn't send me into this spiral of anger and guilt and everything else I feel when I think about how my parents and my brother kept Molly from me. On one hand, you and I have to be civil. Molly is innocent in all of this." Elena nodded in agreement. "On the other… Elena, I am mad. I'm hurt. I feel awful about my part in all of this. But, seeing you again… There's this part of me that feels like the last few years didn't happen. I see you and it feels like I'm the guy I used to be. Or, maybe, that I can be that guy again." Damon sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I didn't hate being that guy."
Elena frowned.
"What do you mean?" She asked, confused. Damon shook his head.
"Nothing," he said. "Just – lots of self reflection taking place lately, you know?" Elena studied him, cocking her head to the side just slightly. Damon knew that look. She was analyzing him, sizing him up. He waited for her verdict.
"I know there's more going on with you," she finally stated. "You spend a lot of time alone. And in the last couple of months, you've virtually stopped your extracurricular activities – at least, you've stopped being caught in the middle of them. I hope Molly has a lot to do with that…"
"She does," Damon interrupted. "She has almost everything to do with it." Elena nodded.
"I just… What's going on with you, Damon?" she asked bluntly.
Damon delayed replying by taking a long swig from his coffee mug. Elena was asking a loaded question, one he didn't entirely know the answer to. His first reaction was to shut down, avoid the question. His instincts told him to open up, tell her some of the thoughts swimming around in his head. He typically found himself in trouble when he didn't follow his gut, which was often. He figured it was worth a shot this time around.
There was a lot more to lose this time around.
"I nearly died," he started. "One minute, I was racing. Then, I was in a hospital bed somewhere between life and death. I woke up and everything was different. I was broken and bruised and reunited with people I hadn't spoken to in more than three years. That was five months ago. Four months ago, the Mikelsons let me go. I didn't have a job anymore. Three months ago, propped up in a hospital bed in my parents' living room, I signed a contract to race for my dad again. Two months ago, you came back. And, in the last month, I've gotten back behind the wheel of a racecar, got back to racing, found out I have a daughter and that my family didn't tell me…
"It's a hell of a lot to take in, Elena. Time keeps moving on, and I'm still back there at Talladega, trying to figure out what to say to my parents and Stefan. Except I can't figure that out, because I have to figure out how to be a father. I have to figure out how to not screw up my last chance to race. I have to figure out how to be in the same room with you, when I…" He stopped then. He knew he still had feelings for Elena, but he just couldn't face them right now.
"When you what, Damon?" Elena asked softly. Her eyes reflected a storm of emotions as he returned her gaze. He took a deep breath. He wasn't going to jump, but he would stick a toe in the water.
"When I woke up in the hospital, I saw you," he started. Elena frowned and shook her head.
"I wasn't there," she said. "I thought about it. I went as far as packing a bag for Molly and I, but I just… I couldn't." Damon nodded. She didn't need to explain why she couldn't be there. He understood.
"I know you weren't there," he said. "But, I… I wanted you to be." He felt some of the weight he'd grown accustom to carrying around on his shoulders fall away with that simple admission. "There were these moments, when the sedatives they were pumping me full of during that first week would wear off and I'd be in this weird place between consciousness and unconsciousness. I would think of you in those moments. When I finally came to, I saw your face. It was nothing more than a hallucination, but I saw you. I knew you weren't going to come, that you weren't going to show up at my bedside or even call to check on me. But, at least for a while, I held on to a thread of hope that maybe you would. And that's how I got through those first days."
A shiver ran up his spine. Those first days were the worst. He was in so much pain. His body didn't work the way it was supposed to. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to think. He didn't talk much. Not only because it required so much effort, but because he just didn't know what to say. He answered the doctors' questions and grunted responses when his family asked him something, but he kept largely to himself, buried in his thoughts.
"I called," Elena said softly. "I called your parents or Stefan or Caroline every day for the first couple of weeks, more than once a day at first. I was afraid you were going to die and all I could think was that you would die not knowing about Molly. And that she would never get the chance to know you." Elena rubbed at her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Damon said softly. "I know it's not enough, but – I'm sorry." Elena nodded.
"I'm sorry too," she replied. "Like you said, it's not enough, but I am."
They fell into silence for several long minutes.
"I should go," Damon said. Elena could hear the reluctance in his voice. She wasn't sure she wanted him to leave either. "It's getting late."
"Yeah," she agreed anyway. "There's so much to do tomorrow, before we leave for Vegas tomorrow night." She slipped from the stool and walked Damon to the door. Outside, she leaned against the porch railing as he took a few steps down the stairs. He paused and glanced up, as though he were looking through the walls of the house to Molly's room.
"Regardless of everything else, we made one perfect kid," he stated. Elena smiled and nodded.
"We did," she responded. "And Damon? I put her necklace in my jewelry box for safe keeping." Damon gave her a small smile.
"That's probably a good place for it," he said. "It was probably too elaborate for a three year old, but I wanted the first gift I ever gave her to be special." Elena gave him a smile with emotions behind it he couldn't quite read.
"It was perfect," she told him. Her fingers ghosted to her neckline. Damon just smiled at her.
"Good night, Elena." She nodded once.
"Night, Damon."
And there you have it. I wanted to show some progress for Damon and his family, as well as bring he and Elena closer. Things aren't going to be swept under the rug - at all - but this is, shall we say, the quiet before the storm?
Let me know what you think!