Okay, some warnings for this installment. The usual "mentions of previous child abuse and miscarriages" applies. On top of it, there are some, frankly, archaic gender roles shown in this chapter. I do not endorse them at all. Damon may come off looking like an ass in the beginning, but please remember he is a teenage boy being raised in the mid-1800s. Even without the abusive parentage, he would've been fed the same bullshit.

I also am not one to write period pieces. I tried to do my research as much as possible when it came to toys in the 1800s. From what I've read, poorer families did not own dolls until the 20th century. However, the Salvatores were/are quite wealthy, so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Lily would have some in her collection.

Anyway, enough rambling. Onto the show…

January 7th, 1852, Mystic Falls

Damon cringes when he sees the door open to his parents' bedroom. Father is off at a meeting and mama with her friends in the garden having tea. The nanny is supposed to attend to his baby brother, but as usual she's preoccupied elsewhere. Stefan cannot be left alone for more than a few minutes without getting up to some kind of mischief. That includes going into their parents' quarters, something banned for both boys after they turned 3. Father wants them in their own beds, as well as out of his things.

Stefan is obsessed with their father's possessions. From his fine jewelry to his clothes. More than once, Damon's had to quickly drag the younger brother out before he's caught. A whipping would likely guarantee Stefan never stepped foot in there again, but Damon can barely stand the few swats with a brush he gets from their mother when he's naughty. If he has it his way, Stefan will never know father's belt or the switches outside.

Damon looks around before carefully creeping into the room. His father's side is empty. All jewelry boxes where they should be. Wardrobe doors closed, undisturbed.

He follows Stefan's giggling to Mama's side. His heartbeat picks up upon the sight.

Stefan sits on the floor, each hand containing a porcelain doll. One has red ringlets, with kind blue eyes and wears a long blue dress. The other is blonde with a much scarier face and dons a red gown. Stefan's face beams as he quietly chatters in high pitched voices.

Before Damon was born, Mama prepared for either outcome. She didn't mind a son or a daughter. After he was born, she assumed a daughter would follow. Several miscarriages later and Stefan, the miracle, was born. Damon once asked if they planned to have more children and Mama said she couldn't go through it again. Still, she kept the dolls she purchased for the daughter she never had in a cabinet in her bedroom.

A cabinet that is now open, all the dolls littered on the floor.

"Stefan," Damon whispers through his teeth.

The younger brother looks up, his wide eyes lit up by his smile. "DayDay! Do you want to play with me?"

Damon inhales through his nose. "You know you're not to play in here."

Stefan's grin slowly fades. "Just Father's things. I didn't touch them! I swear!"

"I believe you, Stef," Damon assures him. "However, they meant you're not to be in here at all. Even on Mama's side. You mustn't touch her things without asking first."

Stefan slowly nods. "Oh."

"Especially these dolls." Damon checks to make sure they're all still in good shape. By some miracle, the clumsy little boy didn't break any. "They are very precious to Mama."

Stefan sets the red-haired doll on the floor, examining the blonde. He gently strokes her hair and makes her dance a little. Damon swallows, heat radiating his stomach.

The last time he entered his parents' quarters occurred when he was Stefan's age. He always marveled at the beautiful way Mama's painted her face (what he would later learn is makeup). Damon wanted to try it for himself. He sat himself at her vanity and put it on. Giuseppe caught him and dragged him outside to pick a switch. Damon shook like a leaf the entire way, not quite understanding. The entire time, his father screamed that he has a son, not a daughter.

After Damon's behind was covered in deep welts and bruises, Mama tended to him. She explained that some things were for boys, others for girls. Things such as makeup, dresses and certain toys were for girls. Boys mustn't ever touch them. It wasn't becoming in society.

He never asked his mother if he could play with the dolls, but given she bought them with a daughter in mind, there's no way either of his parents would approve of their sons touching them.

Damon puts the discarded doll back before snatching the other out of Stefan's hands. The younger brother pouts, a tiny whine escaping his voice. Damon shakes his head, shoving the other doll in place. After securing the door to the case, he bends down and scoops the tiny boy up, carrying him out of the room. Stefan squirms, punching his big brother in the shoulder.

"Day! Damon!" Stefan kicks his legs. "Stop it! Put me down! I'm not a baby!"

Damon ignores him until they reach his room. He settles Stefan on the bed. His stomach flipflops as he tries to gather his thoughts. Stefan is in near tears, still whining.

"You're mean!" Stefan cries. "I shall ask Mama if I can play with them."

"No!" Damon snaps. Stefan's lips quiver. The elder brother crouches down so they're on eye level. "Stefan, you can never ask Mama or Father about those dolls. Do not ever mention them."

"Why? I do not understand?"

"You are a little boy. Dolls are for girls."

Stefan's brows furrow. "Why?"

"They just are."

"That does not make any sense," Stefan says petulantly. "Why does it matter who plays with them?"

Damon pinches the bridge of his nose. "It just…does!" Stefan whimpers, drawing back a little. Damon sighs, cradling his baby brother's face. "Bunny, I know you are too young to quite understand. Regardless, you must mind me. I do not wish for you to be punished over this."

Stefan wipes at his eyes. Damon catches the tears he doesn't. "Father will whip me?"

"Yes," Damon says with certainty. "I do not want you to be harmed."

Stefan lets out a shaky breath. He stares into Damon's serious, sad eyes. Slowly, he nods his head. The burning in Damon's stomach slowly fades.

"I will not touch the dolls again," Stefan promises quietly. "Nor any others."

"Good boy," Damon praises, patting his cheek. "Now, how about I dig out my old toy soldiers? I am done with my lessons and have time to play all afternoon."

Stefan's face only partially lightens. Damon pats his cheek and lifts him off the bed. He crosses to the toy chest with his baby brother trailing along, much slower than usual.

July 8th, 2009, Mystic Falls

"You can't go to the ball," Stefan uses his meanest voice as he holds up the Anastasia Barbie. "You need to clean the house!" He picks up Cinderella and fakes a whimper. He wiggles Anastasia. "No, crying!"

He tosses the mean doll into the pile and moves Cinderella to the attic of his dollhouse. Bunny sits up there along with a Tinkerbell doll. He picks up Bunny.

"We'll help you," he squeaks. "You can meet the prince and kiss." Stefan makes a face. "Or, maybe just hug."

A deep chuckle catches Stefan's attention. He looks up and sees his big brother standing there, arms crossed over his chest and a sly smirk on his face. "I don't think that's how the movie goes, Stef."

Stefan shakes his head. "Nuh uh. No kissing. It's yucky!"

"Yucky, huh?" Damon kneels in front of him and pulls him into his arms. "Kisses are yucky?"

He showers his baby brother's face with kisses. Stefan shrieks, kicking his legs and dropping his toys.

"DayDay!" He giggles as his brother gets his nose.

Damon chuckles, pressing one last one to his head. "Yes?"

"Brothers are different," Stefan says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Girlfriends and boyfriends are gross."

"You keep thinking that, alright?" Damon picks up Cinderella and Bunny, tucking them back in his brother's arms. "So, are you having fun with your dollhouse?" Stefan nods. "A lot of fun?"

Stefan frowns. "Yeah."

"Okay, so would you rather play with that…or go to a party at our baby class?"

Stefan's eyes light up. "Party! Party! Party!"

Damon smiles. "I had a feeling you'd say that." He settles Stefan on his feet, standing up with him. "You clean up your toys and we can head out."

Stefan nods. "Can I bring Bunny? And Cinderella? Please?"

"Of course. I'll grab your backpack. You can put them in there so they don't get lost on the way."

"'Kay!"

Stefan lays them carefully on the coffee table before turning to clean up the rest of his toys.

Damon barely enters the rec center before Stefan lets go of his hand and zooms off to his friends. He laughs and heads over to the group of caretakers. Today, at least some of the dads are in attendance. He holds back an eyeroll upon seeing Lauren. Susan stopped attending events that Damon signed up for, but Lauren is strong willed. A part of him wants to stop coming to these things all together, but they are very good for Stefan. He went from having Elena as his only friend in space, to a whole group. If Stefan can sit through boring council meetings, Damon will deal with the Blonde Squad.

Klaus passes him a cup of blood. Damon raises it as thanks. "You actually came?"

"Elena's been a little clingy lately," the hybrid explains. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. She just refused to go unless I did."

"The things we do for our children," Damon mumbles as he takes a small sip.

"Aye. I'm sure you'd rather be anywhere else."

Damon shrugs, looking over at his brother. Stefan's taken out his toys from home, happily sharing them with his friends. "Maybe, but as I said, it's good for Stef."

Klaus smiles. "That's the proper answer."

The two hang back with the few other dads, who also happen to be vampires. Damon happens to like all of them. They don't judge. Some don't see as engaged with their children, leaving the supervising to their partners. Others, such as Klaus, keep a careful eye.

Things go so well for the first half hour, Damon doesn't notice Lauren crossing over to the children. That changes when his ears perk up and sense Stefan's whining. He drops his cup onto the table and vamps over to his brother. Stefan is clinging to his bunny and trying to reach for Cinderella.

"That's my mine!" He cries.

Lauren shakes her head, her short bob moving with it. "Nonsense. This is one of the group's toys."

"No, it's not!"

Her son, Nolan's, cheeks are bright red as he stares at the floor. Stefan stamps his foot. Damon vamps to his side and snatches the doll from Lauren's hand, glaring. He hands it to his baby brother and pulls him close. Stefan hides his face in his shirt. She raises a brow.

"That needs to go back with the other dolls."

"Stefan brought this from home," he says, his voice firm.

"You would defend his thievery…"

"Jesus Christ," Damon mumbles.

He doesn't have anything to prove to this woman, but he also isn't about to go back and forth with this woman. Damon pulls his phone from his pocket and scrolls through the different albums in his camera roll. Finally, he reaches "Stefan + Toys" and lands on a picture of his baby brother holding the doll as soon as Damon took it out of the box. He's clutching it to his chest, the biggest smile on his face.

"See," Damon says triumphantly as he holds it out to her. "And…" he scrolls a bit to show Stefan at the table with it. "That bit of blood on her dress matches the same one he's drinking here."

Lauren's frown doesn't disappear. "That's a doll."

Damon shrugs. "And that's a truck," he points to the toy in Nolan's hand. "What's your point?"

"Dolls are for little girls."

Damon's jaw locks. Stefan buries his face further into his shirt. The older brother wraps a tight arm around him.

"This doll isn't anymore for a girl than a truck is for a boy." He points to one Elena's holding, the little girl now in her father's protective arms with Caroline nearby, glaring at Lauren. "She's playing with a car too."

Lauren clears her throat. "That's…different."

"How? Why is it okay for a girl to play with trucks and wear blue, but a little boy taking care of his favorite doll is somehow wrong."

The older woman blinks, glancing around the room. Only a few moms seem to agree with her, along with 2 dads. The rest look at her with raised eyebrows. "It just…is," she squeaks out.

"Right." Damon shakes his head. "You can do whatever you want with your child. It's your money to spend on therapy later on…"

"Hey!" Lauren growls, venom seeping from her eyes.

"Alright, enough!" Caroline takes a step forward, holding up a hand. "There are children present! Lauren, go take a lap." She looks at the children, who are a mix of terrified and intrigued. "You all go back to playing. The grown ups are going to calm down."

The children scatter. Lauren huffs and stomps off. Klaus hesitantly puts Elena down. The little girl looks from Stefan to the group. Caroline pats her shoulder, encouraging her to go play. Damon pulls Stefan in front of him, hugging him close.

"She was in the wrong," Damon growls. "Toys aren't gendered."

"I know that," Caroline says. "And you know that. But the Laurens of the world aren't going to change their mind. You can't fight them in the middle of a playgroup."

"I absolutely can."

"Not at the expense of scaring the other children."

Damon shakes his head. Stefan slowly pulls off, looking up at him with tearstained eyes. Damon frowns, rubbing his cheek with his thumb.

"It's okay, Bunny Boy," he whispers.

"Can I…can I go play with 'Lena?"

Damon frowns. "You want to stay?"

Stefan nods. "Little bit…no scary DayDay?"

Damon sighs. "No Scary DayDay. I'll give you 15 minutes. Go on."

Stefan nods and begins to head over to Elena. He pauses, then turns around and shoves Cinderella into his big brother's hand before racing to his friends. Damon cradles the princess in his hands, a scowl on his face.

True to his word, Damon only stays another 15 minutes at the party. He's not the only one leaving early. The mood was dampened by the argument. Not that Damon feels guilty about that. Well, he didn't want to scare the kids. That's more on Lauren than him.

The ride home is silent. Stefan cuddles his bunny. Cinderella is still tucked in his backpack, untouched since the upset. Damon's stomach burns. He swallows as he keeps his eyes on the road in front of him.

"You are a little boy. Dolls are for girls."

Damon growls as he pulls into their driveway. After grabbing the backpack, he gets out of the car and opens Stefan's door. The baby brother unbuckles himself before elder can and heads straight for the door.

Damon unlocks it and follows him to the living room. Half of it has been transformed into Stefan's play area. Bins containing endless number of cars, trucks, puzzles and various sensory activities. There's one for all of Stefan's dolls and another for the clothes. The dollhouse is the biggest piece. Damon had it specially made by a shop not far out of town. Stefan had been a very good boy around that time, but that hadn't been all that triggered it. While cleaning the attic, he came across some of Lily's dolls. Given time and poor upkeep, they were not in the best condition. Damon became struck with memories of that day in his mother's bedroom.

"Why does it matter who plays with them?"

"It just…does!"

Over a century and having a hand in the women's liberation movement have shaped Damon's mind. It doesn't change that once upon a time, he held the same views as Lauren.

Stefan stares at his dollhouse, lips tugged downwards. Damon walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder. His little brother gazes up at him.

"She was wrong," he whispers.

Stefan shrugs. "None of the other boys play with dolls."

"I'm sure that's not true. Maybe they do, or maybe they want to but their parents won't let them."

"Why?"

"Because some people still hold very old views."

"Like you used to?"

Damon cringes. He settles on the floor, pulling Stefan between his legs so they're looking at one another.

"We were raised in a very different time. Father taught us many things. Some right, others…most others…wrong." He exhales through his nose. "I didn't know that at the time."

Stefan nods, though confusion is still in his eyes. "Like the war? You only did it 'cause Father told you too."

Damon nods. "That's right. I didn't agree with what that side was fighting for, at all. Still, I didn't have many options." He taps Stefan's nose. "But now, we do. Father is long gone, he doesn't get to teach us the wrong thing."

He pulls the backpack off his shoulders and reaches inside, pulling out Cinderella. Stefan holds out his hands, then pulls them back.

"It's okay to want to play with her. Just as it's okay to watch princess movies."

"I can like them…and still like trucks and Thomas?"

"Absolutely. Do not let people like meanie Lauren from enjoying what you do."

Damon tucks Cinderella back into his arm. Stefan's lips turn upwards. Damon lets out a sigh of relief.

"Now, I'm thinking a movie night," he says. "We can snuggle…"

"And popcorn?" Stefan asks, food clearly more important than cuddling.

Damon chuckles. "Yes, of course popcorn. And your baba."

"Candy?" The little one asks, his voice hopeful.

"Just a little. And you get to pick the movie."

Damon doesn't even have to ask. Stefan points to the case on the coffee table, left out from when he watched it a few nights ago. Damon nods.

"Yes, I don't think we've watched it enough yet." Stefan grins. "Though, you sure you can watch the yucky kissing?"

Stefan makes a face. Damon laughs, kissing the top of his head. At least some things never change.