Ronnie_R prompted " Maybe Stefan drinks a bad batch of blood and gets REALLY sick. Damon is terrified and filled with guilt because he can't do anything to fix it." Combined with Ella wanted to see Stefan being treated by a doctor.

Trigger warning: Lots of talk about blood and vomit in this chapter. Don't eat while eating or so soon after eating. Or if you have emetophobia and/or hemophobia.

Damon stands at the bottom of the stairs. "Stef? Let's go! We're going to be late." No response. "Stefan, you better not have fallen back asleep. I told you, there's no such thing as 5 minutes."

Moaning echoes from the room. Damon shakes his head.

"In a minute, I'll pick your outfit. It'll be one for Little space too."

The sound of gagging halts Damon's lecture. He bolts up the stairs and pushes open the door to Stefan's room. Empty. More gagging comes from the en-suite. Damon practically knocks the door off the hinges.

Stefan is still in his pajamas, leaning over the toilet and hurling. There's pure blood in the bowl. Damon's eyes widen as he drops beside him, putting a hand on his back. Stefan glances up at him, dark circles under his eyes. Venom pops through his skin.

"Stef, what's going on?"

"I…I don't…"

His face pales and he leans back down, vomiting more blood. Damon watches in fear. Stefan vomits for at least another 5 minutes and all his older brother can do is rub his back, cooing softly at him.

"That's it, get it all out."

Damon doesn't know if that's the wrong thing to say. Yet, he hasn't seen Stefan vomiting since the party at Bonnie's and that was regular vomit, not blood. Prior to that, he remembers cradling a baby Stefan in his arms and patting his back to burp him. Lily said it'd clear out his tummy. She'd repeat the same to him.

Stefan eventually collapses against the toilet. Sweat drips down his face and he lets out a moan. Damon rushes to the sink and wets a washcloth. He crouches back in front of his baby brother and dabs his face.

"What's happening to me?" Stefan moans. "My stomach hurts and my throat is burning."

"I…I don't know," Damon admits, wiping the sweat away. "But we'll figure it out."

"I'm dying."

Damon grips his chin. "Do not say that. You're not dying."

He's not. Right?

"I'm going to carry you to bed."

"I should be near the toilet."

"I'll get you a bucket."

Damon carefully lifts his brother into his arms and carries him down the hall to the master bedroom. He lays Stefan on the bed and fetches a bucket usually reserved for cleaning. Damon gets to his brother just in time, as he vomits once more.

"It burns," Stefan screams.

Damon frowns, rubbing his arm. "I'm sorry, buddy."

Stefan clings to his shirt sleeve. "Fix it, Day. Make it go away."

Damon stares down into his frantic eyes, guilt settling in. He's the big brother. It's his job to make him feel better.

"I…I'm gonna call Meredith, alright?"

Stefan nods, yanking away to gag once more. Damon pulls out his phone and quickly dials the doctor's personal number. He's got no time for the nurse's line.

"Damon?" Meredith asks when she answers. "What did I tell you about calling me on my cell during business hours?"

"Stefan's sick," he says.

"That's impossible."

"He's puking blood like the fucking Excorsist!"

Meredith lets out a deep breath. "Okay, okay. I'm on my way. Just keep in bed and give him no blood in the meantime."

"I'm not stupid."

Damon hangs up and looks back at Stefan, who's now cuddling his bunny to his chest. The older brother lays beside him and rubs his arm, eventually holding the bucket when he has to vomit again.

By the time Meredith's arrived, Damon's had to wash out the bucket. Stefan lays against the pillows, holding his head in his hands. Meredith walks over and takes one look at the bucket, shaking her head.

"What?" Damon asks. "What is it?"

"What kind of animal did Stefan have for dinner last night?"

"Deer."

"Lately, hunters have injected deer with vervain."

Damon raises a brow. "Why isn't this bigger news?"

"Because there are so few vegetarians, it's not a big deal."

Stefan moans. "Wouldn't I have been able to taste it?"

Meredith shakes her head. "Deer mask the scent of vervain. From the smell of it, you got an extreme batch."

Damon clings to his brother. "But he'll be okay?"

"In time. Right now, the vervain is expelling all blood from his system. One option to fix it is human blood…"

Stefan shakes his head, trying to sit up. Damon quickly lays him back down.

"I can't," Stefan says, wearily. "It's too dangerous."

Meredith holds up a hand. "If you'd let me finish, that's just one option. The second is I can get you fresh animal blood. It will replenish what the vervain stole."

Damon tilts his head. "How can you guarantee that this won't hurt him further?"

"I have bags of animal blood at the hospital, all from long before the hunters began doing this."

"And then he'll be okay?"

"Well…"

Damon jumps out of bed and vamps to her, his eyes darkening.

"Is my brother going to be okay or not?"

Meredith glowers at him. "You need to back up."

"And you need to tell me if my baby is okay!"

"It's going to take time," Meredith grumbles. "He's lost a lot of blood. And because animal blood isn't as strong as human, it's going to take longer."

Damon looks back at his brother, who's currently withering in pain. A part of him wants to race down the stairs, grab that bag of O- from the fridge and shove it into Stefan's mouth. Screw him hating his older brother, if it saves him…

But Stefan could easily regress. Given he's accepted his younger side, combining it with the ripper would be dangerous. It took so long to detox and get him back on animal blood. Lexi practically tortured it out of him. Damon couldn't watch or help, even though he really should've. It was his fault back then that Stefan became a monster.

He won't let that happen again.

"Get me the animal blood," Damon demands. "Now."

"I'll put a rush on it and have a nurse deliver it within the hour."

Damon nods, trusting her to see herself out. He walks back to the bed and runs his fingers through Stefan's sweaty locks.

"I'm going to make you all better," he coos. "Big brother will make this all better."

Stefan opens his mouth to speak, but instead blood comes out. This time it projectiles. All over himself, the sheets and his big brother. Damon blinks, trying to process the bodily fluid all over him. Stefan's lip quivers and fat, hot tears fall down his cheeks.

Damon snaps out of it and jumps into action. He bends down and pulls Stefan into his arms.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay."

"I…I'm sorry," Stefan sobs, clinging to him.

"It's okay. DayDay is going to make it all better."

"H…how?"

"I'm gonna start with a bath. For both of us."

Stefan clings to his brother as he's carried into the bathroom. Damon turns on the tap and undresses them both. Stefan leans against the white tub, pouting.

"I ruined the sheets."

"I'll put new ones on."

"Got it all over you."

"It's not the first time you've puked on me." Damon kneels in front of him, getting his pajamas off. Stefan complies, holding up his arms for his tank to be taken off. "Plus, when you were baby, you'd spit up all over me. I'm used to it."

"'m sorry," Stefan mumbles.

"Don't be. That's what big brothers are for."

Once both are undressed and the tub is full enough, Damon settles with him inside.

"Do you feel like you're going to be sick?"

Stefan shakes his head. "Good for now."

"I'm glad. I'm going to get you nice and clean."

Damon soaps up a washcloth with strawberry scented body wash and rubs it from Stefan's face, slowly working downwards. He gets behind his ears and takes special care of his stomach, being gentle.

"Such a good boy," Damon coos. "Letting big brother wash you. Can you spread your legs for me?"

Stefan nods, rubbing his eyes with his fist. He moves his legs far apart, allowing Damon to scrub inside his thighs. The older brother grabs a plain bar of soap to take extra care of his baby's little bits. He opens his cheeks and cleans his crack. While they may not use the bathroom, it's just something he's used to. Stefan squirms, but is very patient.

Damon moves down to his legs and soon, his feet.

"There we go, all nice and clean," Damon baby talks. Stefan blushes. "Let's wash that hero hair and then DayDay will get all clean."

After rinsing out the shampoo and conditioner, as well as busying Stefan with a washcloth to play with, Damon gets to work on himself. Stefan is patient and obedient, something that brings Damon just a smidge of guilt. The little one worries so much about being a burden. It's good he can wait and sit there…but a part of Damon wishes he could act like a regular toddler who's climbing all over his brother.

It doesn't take long for Damon to clean himself. The two remain in the tub. Damon is afraid to move given that the warm water has seemed to settle his stomach. Eventually, Stefan's long eyelashes flutter. Damon reluctantly grabs two towel, wrapping a white one around himself. He takes Stefan's favorite with the bunny hood. The little one is wrapped up nice and warm, sucking his thumb as he lays his head on his big brother's shoulder.

After changing the sheets, Damon is about to grab some jammies he keeps for Stefan when his brother tugs on his sleeve.

"Wear one of DayDay's shirts."

Damon smiles a little. "Which one?"

"Concert. Fun times."

Damon tilts his head until the memory comes flooding back. For his 100th time turning 25, Stefan got them tickets to a Beatles concert. It was crowded, loud and a bit much, even for Damon. Still, it was one of the best days of his life. Stefan, finally able to be around so many humans without snapping. Damon getting to be an average adult. Front row, rocking out to his favorite band.

He bought the two matching shirts, but somehow Stefan always ended up stealing his. Some things never change.

Damon smiles and walks over to his drawer, pulling it off the top. He lays Stefan onto the bed and removes the towel. After sliding on some briefs, he gets the shirt over his head. It's a little big on Stefan, acting always as a nightgown. The younger brother holds it to his nose and inhales. Damon smiles, stroking his face.

"You gonna be okay while I get dressed?"

Stefan nods, his eyes slowly closing. Damon is quick to pull on some sweats and a white t-shirt. By the time he's back, Stefan is out, sucking on the shirt in his sleep. Damon sits beside him, running his fingers through his damp waves. Maybe he can't give Stefan his blood, but perhaps is scent is helping.

Not 10 minutes later has Meredith returned. She explains she stocked the fridge, but brought a bottle up for the meantime. Meredith's seen Stefan for awhile now and knows his routine. Damon accepts the bottle and mutters his thanks, watching her leave.

He gently removes the shirt from Stefan's mouth, which earns him some whining.

"This is going to make you better," Damon coos.

Eyes shut, Stefan keeps his mouth in an "o" shape. Damon inserts the nipple and watches to make sure Stefan is sucking back the blood.

"No more hunting," Damon whispers. "I am not losing you, Stef. You hear me? You are all I've got."

A sleepy Stefan hums in agreement.

"Good. As of right now, you're not leaving my side for a very, very long time."