Elena yawns as she enters the Mystic Falls bakery. Her mind briefly drifts to Matt and how he'd have a pot of coffee ready when she'd pad into the kitchen with her eyes half open on nights, she'd stay over at his place. She's so lucky he revealed what a snake he is before their relationship went any further.
The bakery is a quaint little building with a hand-painted sign. Once inside, Elena breathes in the delicious aroma of coffee and pastries. The place is light and airy. The decor is modern yet has a rustic charm at the same time. The pastries and baked goods are a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
"Hey," Elena says to Damon when he appears beside her.
"Good morning," Damon returns the greeting.
"Where's Nadia?"
"She's with my brother. They're slowly warming up to each other. Hey, we're free," Damon smirks and waggles his brows.
Elena laughs and turns to the clerk. "I called in an order under Elena, a dozen donuts and pastries."
Damon raises his brows.
"They're not all for me," Elena counters.
"Sure." Damon teases.
"They're a treat for my staff."
"Mm-hmm. Sure." Damon gives her a lopsided grin.
"You can have one, though, if you want."
"No! I haven't eaten one since my brother bet me ten bucks that I couldn't eat a dozen glazed donuts. I had the bellyache from hell."
"Ugh." Elena shudders.
"That was last week." Damon laughs at the expression on Elena's face. "I'm kidding. I was 10."
"Oh. Thanks." Elena tells the clerk when he hands her the order.
"I had the same thing happen with my mom's homemade caramel corn," she states as she hands the clerk some cash. "Keep the change."
Damon holds the door open for her as they exit the bakery.
"You know, it's only right that you come by my place. Bring your friend, too," Damon says in an invitation.
"And I will except I'm not much of a drinker."
"We do serve food, too," Damon states, "You don't have to drink."
"Maybe Caroline and I will come in before she leaves."
"That would be great. So, Elena Gilbert, what's your "thing"? Damon asks as they walk down the sidewalk.
"I don't have a thing."
"Oh, come on. Everybody has a thing," Damon insists, fishing for information.
"I used to work in retail for a major department chain and now I own a bookstore. I make a mean beef stew and I can do a ballet tiptoe."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, you know like Rose in Titanic."
"Wait, you... are you saying like...Rose?"
"Yeah. I smoked those other 12-year-olds in my class."
"Prove it."
Elena shoves the box of donuts in his arms. She steps out of her shoes and in her stocking feet, she assumes a ballet stance, arms raised, and goes up on point, taking her entire weight on the tips of her toes.
Damon gapes at her incredible strength
She comes back down, her face screwing up in pain. She gasps as she starts to lose her balance.
Damon catches her, letting go once she's stable.
"Oh! Ow." Elena groans.
"You, okay?" Damon asks, concerned.
"Yeah, it's been a few years." She takes her pastries from Damon. "I need to get back to my store. Bye." She waves and hurries away.
"Bye, Elena," he calls after her with a smile on his face.
Stefan, Klaus, and Nadia arrive at the Richmond Zoo. She holds his hand tightly as they walk through the entrance.
Stefan has a map of the zoo in his hand and is explaining to Nadia which animals they will see first. They start with the giraffes, and he watches her stare with an amazed expression at how tall they are.
Klaus tells her that they are the tallest animals in the world and can grow up to 18 feet tall. Nadia looks on in fascination. Klaus buys some giraffe food from the vending machine and hands it to Nadia.
She holds out her hand, and a giraffe comes over and eats the food right out of her palm. Nadia giggles with delight.
Next, they go to see the monkeys. Stefan tells Nadia that monkeys are very intelligent animals and can use tools to get food. She watches intently as a monkey uses a stick to get a banana out of a tube. She claps her hands excitedly and smiles up at Stefan.
Finally, they go to see the lions. Klaus explains to her that lions are the king of the jungle. Nadia watches as a lion roars, and she jumps back in surprise.
Stefan and Klaus laugh and tell her that the lion is just saying hello.
As they leave the zoo, Stefan stoops down. "Did you have a good day?"
Nadia bobs her head vigorously.
Stefan winks and tells her that they will come back again to see the other animals they missed.
Nadia smiles at him and takes his hand and offers her other one to Klaus. Together they leave the zoo for the drive back to Mystic Falls.
After picking up Nadia from school, they stop at the Bad Habits. Damon sits Nadia down on one of their tables to do her homework.
"I have some stuff to do, okay?" he tells her as his cell phone rings.
"Andie, hi. We just got back from school. And you're right, she looks adorable in the clothes you picked out for her."
"I'm glad."
"Me, too. I think Katherine had to have known when she chose me that we'd end up back here."
"I'm happy you're happy...So listen, Damon. Frederick and Bethanne asked if we could have dinner next weekend. Do you think you can swing a weekend without Nadia?"
"I can't promise but I will ask Stefan. We are talking about a time out here, adults only?"
"That's the plan," Andie replies and Damon catches a glimpse of a now empty table where Nadia had been sitting.
"Nadia?" he calls aloud, frantically looking around.
"I'll check the bathroom," Bonnie offers.
Damon's mind is racing with all sorts of worst-case scenarios. "Did any of you see a little girl leave here?" he asks the customers. "Andie, I have to go." He clicks off the phone.
"She's not in there," Bonnie informs him with a worried look on her face.
Damon races out of Bad Habits and looks around frantically in every direction. "Nadia! Nadia! Have you seen a little girl?" he asks a passerby who shrugs and shakes his head no.
His heart is racing, his palms are sweaty, and shaky hands as darts across the street and onto the next block where he glances into the window of Tale Spinners. Throwing open the door, he drops to his knees beside Nadia.
"There you are!" he breathes out in relief.
"I was wondering where you were," Elena remarks.
"Sweetheart, you can't ever, ever do that to me. I was terrified." Damon hugs her. "I'm sorry for the commotion, Elena. I didn't know where she was."
"Kids wander off sometimes."
"You could have been hurt, Nadia." Damon sighs heavily as the adrenaline begins to wane.
"Right, but she wasn't, right?" Elena lays her hand on Damon in an attempt to calm him down.
"Nadia, let me show you something- come here," Elena takes her hand and leads her to the fairy house. She stoops down beside the little girl.
"This is a very special little house. Did you know that?"
Nadia shakes her head.
"It's special because there's a fairy that lives inside of it. I've only seen a glimpse of her wings and I don't know her name yet but I do know that she watches over my store when I close the store in the evening." Elena pauses, watching as Nadia peers inside the house searching for its occupant.
Elena opens the house door to reveal a dollhouse of sorts with fairy-friendly furniture. She is gratified to see a hesitant smile spread across Nadia's face.
"Sometimes, if I sit very quietly, I can feel that she's here. She's very special to me. But I might be persuaded to share her with you. What do you think?" Elena asks her.
Nadia looks at Elena with a hint of a smile forming.
"I think Nadia would love that," Damon interjects.
"Giving a fairy a home, it's just the first step. If you name her, she'll watch over you. Can you help me choose a name for her so she doesn't leave to find a new home?" Elena explains. "And... with a name, I know she'll stay."
"Thank you, Elena," Damon says gratefully. "Nadia, we have to go. I need to get back to the shop." He takes her hand and leads her out of Tale Spinners.
They get a few feet from the door when Nadia pulls free and runs back inside to Elena and whispers, "Katherine."
"The fairy's name?" Elena asks in a hushed voice, while the hair on the back of her neck lifts.
Nadia bobs her head vigorously.
"That's perfect. The fairy will love that."
In the shock of hearing Nadia's whisper, Damon forgets everything else. For months he's waited for her to say something, anything. He lowers to one knee and pulls Nadia against him.
Damon hears himself saying her name in a shattered murmur. He can't control the tremors of relief that Nadia spoke.
Feeling Nadia wriggle to free herself, Damon presses a kiss against her cheek and releases her. He swallows hard and blindly studies the portrait of wildflowers on the wall. It's brilliant and bright and full of color, much like Elena.
After several moments of trying to regain his composure, Damon shares a glance with Elena and he can see that she understands what just happened.
After checking in with Bonnie to let her know that Nadia is safe, Damon drives back home. He rolls down the window, loving the feel of the breeze as it twirls in his hair and whistles in his ears.
"Look up there," Damon points to the darkening sky in the distance. It looks like it's going to rain."
"Will there be a rainbow?" Nadia asks.
"We don't always see them but, yes, there should be a rainbow." Damon has to force his hands to unclench from the steering wheel. It has been so long since Nadia has spoken. His heart feels like it could burst, maybe he isn't going to fuck this parenting thing up.
"What made you talk to Elena, today? Do you like her?"
Nadia nods her head. "I want the fairy to have Mommy's name."
Magic, fairies…they're all childhood imaginations, something he hasn't thought about in many years. Elena is practically a stranger, yet Nadia warmed up to her instantly. He'd hoped for that with Andie, it just hasn't happened and honestly, at this point, he doesn't think it will.
Damon wants to see Elena again. He wants to know everything about her.
He pulls into the driveway and parks the car. "Why don't you go and surprise Uncle Stefan?" Damon winks at her.
Damon and Nadia enter the house and find Stefan in the parlor writing something in his journal. He takes her backpack and jacket and hangs it on the coat rack while Nadia walks over and sits down beside Stefan.
She looks at the journal and then at him. "What are you writing?" she asks in a soft voice.
"You talked!" Stefan bursts out in shock.
Nadia shakes her head.
"You just asked me what I'm writing."
"Uh uh, Uncle Stefan." She shakes her head. A giggle escapes Nadia's mouth at his expression.
Stefan pulls her onto his lap and hugs her. Still clasping Nadia, he looks at Damon. "How?" he asks and puts her down where she scurries into the kitchen. He closes his journal and looks at Damon. "How did you get her to talk?"
Damon pours some bourbon into a glass and tilts it back. "I had nothing to do with it. She disappeared from Bad Habits. I was frantic trying to find her. I've never been so scared...she was in Tale Spinners, the new bookstore with Elena."
"Elena?"
"Yeah, she's the owner."
"She must be something special if she got Nadia to talk," Stefan contends as he takes the glass Damon offers him.
"She is, Stefan. She really is," Damon agrees as he throws back what's left of his drink.
Yes, Elena is something special but so is Damon. Thank you all for reading.
I did post the prologue for "A Paler Shade of Death". I hope you'll give it a read.
Chapter title: Miracles by Jefferson Starship
Have a terrific day and weekend. Be safe!