The Daughter of Damon Salvatore
A Heretic Awakens
Chapter One:
Present:
Damon was driving through the streets of Mystic Falls at a hundred miles per hour, an extremely nervous Elena sat in the passenger seat, fingers gripping the sides of the front seat so hard that her knuckles were turning white.
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An hour earlier:
Damon had arrived at Mystic Falls' hospital, where he found a distressed Liz Forbes who was worried that Caroline would not survive a car accident she had been in with Tyler Lockwood and Matt Donovan. Damon had fed Caroline his blood to ensure her survival and had then gone and pulled Elena aside to speak to her about their kiss.
Her denial had angered him, and he had left her talking to Jenna as he stepped into a disused room to gather his sanity.
As he leaned against the wall in mental exhaustion, his phone started ringing.
He sighed as he didn't want to deal with any phone calls in that moment. However, he realised that pretty much every contact he had, who was worth answering, were all here with him in the hospital. Except two.
Hurriedly, he pulled out his cell and looked at the caller…Jessica.
He immediately answered.
"Jessica? Is everything ok?" Damon asked.
Damon could tell by her laboured breathing that she was scared. As she explained that a vampire had got into the boarding house, and had attacked her, Damon became more frantic with worry.
"Can you describe the vampire to me?" Damon asked.
"Well…you know what Elena looks like, right?" Jessica said hesitantly.
Damon froze.
"No! No way! You've got to be kidding me" Damon shouted down the phone as he started running back towards where he had left Elena and Jenna talking.
"Katherine?" he whispered questioningly.
"Katherine" Jessica confirmed.
"I'm on my way" Damon said without hesitation.
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Present:
Having grabbed Elena and headed for his car, he sped towards the boarding house at top speed. Elena was trying extremely hard to not criticise Damon's driving. She knew she was safe…ish…with him.
Damon wasn't going to let Elena out of his sight, at least he knew the girl currently in his presence was definitely Elena.
"Damon what's going on?" Elena asked as he turned onto the main road that would lead them straight to the boarding house.
"I need to get Jessica, then I will take you back to yours" Damon said.
Elena wanted to question him further, but didn't as Damon drove up the driveway of the boarding house so fast that Elena was certain he was going to crash into the front of the house.
The tyres of Damon's car screeched as he slammed on the brakes to slow his speed.
Jessica was waiting on the front porch, as Damon had instructed, with a stake in her jacket pocket. She ran over to the car as Damon pulled up.
Damon told Elena to jump into the backseat so that Jessica could quickly get into the front.
Before Damon took off again, he turned to the girls.
"Ok…do either of you know where Stefan is?" Damon asked.
Jessica shook her head.
"He left me sleeping on the sofa, he wasn't in the house when I woke up" Jessica replied.
Damon momentarily panicked, fearing that Katherine could have done something to him.
"He's at my place. One of the tomb vampires broke in and attacked John, that's why I was at the hospital. Stefan stayed at mine because…Jeremy attempted to turn himself" Elena replied.
Both Jessica and Damon stared at her in shock.
"Let's get to your place then" Damon finally said as he turned the car and headed down the driveway once more.
As they drove to Elena's, Jessica thought about what Elena had said.
"Did Jeremy say why he tried to turn himself? How did he get hold of vampire blood?" Jessica asked.
"I think he was upset over Anna dying tonight, he said that at least as a vampire he didn't have to feel anything at all. He had a vial of Anna's blood which she gave him, he took it and then tried to overdose. I've never understood how a person can get so low that they are driven to take their life. Granted, Jeremy knew he would come back but, how did he gain the strength to push himself to that?" Elena questioned.
Damon had no clue how to answer that, he had never actually been in that position before. Not so low to the point of suicide.
"The thought of death can be a calming one when life becomes too loud. In the most extreme circumstances, sometimes death is the only choice…it becomes as inviting and warm as a comforting friend" Jessica stated.
Damon did not enjoy the knowing sincerity that he heard in her tone, and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. Elena hadn't seemed to notice the shift in atmosphere.
"I find that difficult to wrap my head around, I guess that's a good thing, and I consider myself to be lucky that I have the support of those around me. I just wished Jeremy talked about it…even if not to me, just someone. I don't know whether to think that his actions were incredibly brave or extremely stupid" Elena wondered aloud.
Jessica took a deep breath.
"It's never stupid, that's for sure. You can't see someone's suicide attempt as stupid because you are not them and you do not know the lengths in which they are truly suffering. Whether that is physically, emotionally, or mentally. I think that just the attempt at suicide, comes from the weakened soul of someone who has experienced something, or multiple things, that triggers it all. You then feel trapped and unsure which way to turn as you wish for all the noise and triggers to stop. You stop caring about yourself and become reckless and dangerous because you feel like you have absolutely nothing to lose. For example, by drinking excessively and taking, or stockpiling, various drugs. Of course, that's just one of many ways but, as that's the way Jeremy attempted it, that's the example I'm using here. I see people who attempt to take their own life as heartbreakingly brave. Whilst it is devastating, the amount of suffering that someone has to have personally endured, often isolated and alone, to reach the stage where they want to give up the fight…it's extremely courageous in the most excruciatingly painful of ways imaginable" Jessica explained her thoughts.
Damon and Elena were silent.
"That's some pretty intense thinking there Jessica" Elena said hesitantly.
Jessica shrugged.
"I say it how I see it" Jessica stated.
Damon said nothing but that didn't stop Jessica from noticing the worried glances he was throwing her way as the pulled up outside Elena's house.
"Elena, I think Jeremy will be fine. Stop lying to him and keeping him out of the whole vampire thing…it makes him feel irrelevant. I know you're just trying to protect him but, there is nothing worse than feeling like you've been betrayed by someone who claims to love you, when those secrets and lies get exposed and discovered, and everything blows up in your face" Jessica said.
Elena nodded.
"Alaric has been a huge influence on Jeremy. If anything, let Alaric train Jeremy. Let Jeremy feel like he has a purpose in all of this…a calling…make him feel useful and included and give him a way to channel his negative and dark emotions, it will help. Alaric will keep him safe, so you don't have to worry but, if I have learned anything, those who are kept out of the loop are the ones who tend to end up hurt or dead" Jessica said as Damon parked the car.
Elena nodded.
"Ok…as much as it goes against everything that I have tried to do for him, I will keep him in the loop from here on out. Particularly now that another unknown tomb vamp has access to our home" Elena sighed.
Jessica looked surprised as the three got out the car and started walking up the pathway.
"You haven't told her?!" Jessica looked at Damon incredulously.
"Told me what?" Elena asked.
Just as Jessica was about to reply, there was a very audible smash coming from inside the house.
All attention was turned to the noise, as the three of them raced for the front door. As they went through the front door, they saw Stefan stumbling to his feet from the floor and a blur disappear through the back door.
"Stefan!" Elena exclaimed, as she ran towards him and helped him to his feet.
"What happened?" Elena demanded, stress levels at the maximum.
Damon, Jessica, and Stefan all looked at each other before turning to Elena.
"Katherine happened" Damon stated.
Elena processed the information before stating that she needed a moment to herself and that she was going to quickly check on Jeremy.
The other three nodded and made themselves comfortable in the kitchen.
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"What happened tonight when you thought Katherine was Elena?" Stefan asked Damon as they all sat around the table trying to piece together the evening so far.
"Well…to risk another frown on a very crowded forehead, we…kissed" Damon admitted.
Jessica stared at Damon in disapproval whilst Elena stared at him in shock. Stefan looked pissed.
"What do you mean you kissed?" Stefan questioned.
"Really?!" Jessica stated, staring at her father disappointedly.
Stefan glared at her before turning his glare back on Damon.
"Well, when two lips pucker and they go…" Damon replied as he made smooching noises to go with his response.
Stefan flew at Damon from the other side of the kitchen, Damon dodged him.
"Don't be obvious Stefan" Damon warned.
Stefan made to attack Damon again when Elena stood up between the two boys.
"Stefan, he kissed Katherine not me. I wouldn't do that" Elena said, trying to calm her angry boyfriend.
Jessica snorted.
Elena glared at her as Jessica raised an eyebrow in response.
"What? You are fully capable of it" Jessica challenged.
"Ok girls, enough" Stefan said as he could see Elena becoming increasingly wound up.
"We need to work out what Katherine is doing back in Mystic Falls, what she wants, and what she knows" Stefan said, trying to already make a plan on how to handle the situation.
"I've got a better idea" Damon stated.
The others stared patiently at Damon waiting to hear his plan.
"I'm just gonna ignore the bitch. It will eventually lure her out if she thinks she is being ignored. She will make a move" Damon said.
"Is that smart?" Elena asked.
"Got any better ideas?" Damon asked.
When he got no response, he nodded.
"See? Ignore the bitch" Damon stated again before he walked out of the kitchen.
Jessica stood and went to follow him. She caught up to him outside.
"Are you ok?" she asked him.
He froze and spun round to face her.
She could instantly tell that he was not ok but was trying to play it cool.
"I'm as cool as a cucumber" he replied, smirking his classic smirk.
Jessica frowned at him.
"What can I do to help?" she asked, not having any of it.
Damon sighed and let his shoulders droop slightly.
"I need you to be careful. Katherine showing up is really bad news and without knowing her plans or real reasons for being back in Mystic Falls, it makes her as deadly as ever" Damon replied.
Jessica nodded and was about to say something else when her phone started buzzing.
Looking at the caller ID, she could see that it was Tyler.
She answered the phone, knowing that Tyler had lost his father tonight.
"Hey Ty" she greeted.
"I…I don't know what…" was Tyler's reply.
Jessica could tell he was upset, and she knew that he was the sort of guy who did not handle his emotions well. His speech also sounded a little slurred.
"Ty, are you drunk?" Jessica asked him.
"Jessica, can you please…" he tried to choke out.
Jessica understood what he was asking.
"I'm on my way; I will be ten minutes" she replied as she hung up the phone.
She turned back to face Damon who was looking at her in concern.
"What?" she asked.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go and visit a drunk and emotional Tyler Lockwood by yourself" Damon stated.
Jessica shrugged.
"The guy has just lost his father and has been in a pretty rough car accident himself which almost killed two of his oldest friends, he probably feels lost at the moment. I'm going to help him" Jessica stated as she walked off in the direction of the Lockwood's.
"Jessica, wait!" Damon called out to her.
She paused and looked back at him.
"At least let me drive you so I know that you're safe" Damon sighed.
Jessica nodded and the two climbed into Damon's car.
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The following morning, Jessica woke with a slight ache in her neck. The previous day had been a whirlwind from start to end.
Jessica looked over at the still sleeping Tyler. He had got pretty hammered the night before and it had taken Jessica quite some convincing to get him to calm down and get into bed. Tyler had fallen asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
Tyler groaned.
"Morning" Jessica chirped quietly.
Tyler's eyes widened at her voice as he tried to piece together the events from the evening before. He turned to look at her, feeling slightly ashamed of his drunken behaviour from the night before.
"Morning" he replied.
"How are you feeling today?" Jessica asked him.
Tyler shrugged as he started to get up and dressed for the day. He knew his mother was going to have lots of visitors in the house and he would be expected to be present for all the condolences of strangers telling him how much they loved his asshole father.
Jessica sighed as Tyler walked into his bathroom and slammed the door closed behind him. She knew it was going to be a rough day. Jessica got up and started getting dressed as well.
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A short while later, Tyler and Jessica heard the first of the guests begin to arrive and they knew it was time for Tyler to make an appearance.
The two teens headed downstairs and immediately came face-to-face with a shocked looking Carol Lockwood. Damon and the sheriff were stood a few feet behind her, they had clearly walked in on a tense moment between the adults.
"Jessica? I didn't realise you were here so early" Carol stated.
"She stayed the night" Tyler replied, turning the situation awkward.
Carol froze and looked at Jessica in disapproval.
"I'm sorry Mrs Lockwood. Tyler called me last night and it was clear to me that he needed a friend. Of course I came straight over to support him" Jessica said, trying to ease the older woman's mind.
Carol huffed in response.
"Yes, I'm well aware that Tyler likes to sneak his little female 'friends' in and out of this place like it's some kind of unsolicited brothel" Carol quipped.
"Mom!" Tyler gasped.
Jessica looked down awkwardly at her feet, not really wanting to upset the grieving woman further.
"Woah! Now Carol, we are all on edge here. Just, take a deep breath and let's keep our heads…ok?" Damon came to his daughter's defence.
Carol nodded and looked at Jessica.
"Sorry Jessica, my emotions are all over the place" Carol said.
Jessica nodded.
"I understand Mrs Lockwood and, for what it's worth, Tyler and I didn't have sex last night" Jessica said awkwardly, noticing Tyler's cheeks turn red at having this conversation in front of his mother.
"I should hope not as both of you are underage" Liz replied in an authoritative tone.
Both Tyler and Jessica grimaced. Jessica looked over at Damon and noted that he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but included in this conversation.
Carol just drained the rest of her wine glass and headed into the next room to greet more guests. Tyler, Damon, and the sheriff all looked around at each other awkwardly.
They were all saved from the awkwardness by the sound of a Ford Bronco pulling up to the front of the mansion. Tyler's interest was successfully diverted.
Jessica watched as an attractive man swaggered up the steps and into the house.
"So, the black sheep returns?" Tyler quipped.
"Tyler?" the attractive man asked in disbelief.
Tyler nodded.
"You're like twelve years old" the man replied.
"That's two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason" Tyler replied.
The two men stared at each other.
"Ty, I'm gonna leave you alone to catch up with your uncle" Jessica stated as she nodded to the older man, thankful she had an excuse to leave the room.
As she walked into the room, a hand grabbed her.
"Are you ok?" Damon asked her.
Jessica nodded.
"I'm fine. How are you today?" she asked.
"I'm walking on sunshine" he grinned sarcastically as he took a sip of his bourbon.
Jessica rolled her eyes, and she managed to catch sight of Bonnie heading towards them.
"Did you know the Gilbert device affected Tyler?" Bonnie asked Jessica.
Jessica nodded.
"Well, hello to you to" Damon said.
Bonnie rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Jessica.
"Do you know why?" she asked.
Jessica shook her head.
"No clue" Jessica admitted.
"We would love to know why a non-vamp was tortured by the little torture device you allowed John Gilbert to use against us" Damon hissed.
Bonnie glared at him.
"How's Caroline?" Jessica asked trying to change the subject.
"Ah, speaking of your guilt" Damon shot at Bonnie.
"Much better" Bonnie admitted, ignoring Damon.
Jessica nodded.
"You're welcome" Damon grinned.
"Let's get one thing straight. You get to live to see another day. One good deed does not outweigh all the bad you have done, and you have Elena, and the sheriff fooled but, you don't fool me. One wrong move and I will take you out" Bonnie threatened.
Damon squared up to the witch.
"Yeah? You're starting to believe your own press" Damon glared at her.
Jessica was about to step in to cool the situation, but Damon suddenly bent forward and gripped the sides of his head in discomfort. He groaned as he did so.
Jessica looked at Bonnie, knowing exactly what she was doing.
"Bonnie…" Jessica stated uncertainly.
Bonnie stopped attacking Damon and watched as he tried to regain his composure.
"Oh, I'm sorry…you were saying?" Bonnie mocked as stormed off.
"That little b-…" Damon seethed.
"Easy! Just relax, everyone is on edge, and you really shouldn't rile her up like that" Jessica replied.
"Since when did I become the bad guy?" Damon frowned.
"You were goading her, stop behaving like a child" Jessica admonished as she turned to go and make sure Bonnie was ok.
Jessica stepped out onto the porch where she had just watched Bonnie head out to. Jessica froze as she watched Bonnie touch Elena's arm in comfort and quickly retract her hand in alarm.
Jessica knew that this woman was definitely not Elena.
"Hi Elena, sorry to interrupt you guys but is wondering if I could steal Bonnie for a bit? Bonnie, are you ready to go and pay our respects to Tyler now?" Jessica asked, knowing that she wanted to remove Bonnie from Katherine's reach.
"Thanks Jessica, I would like that" Bonnie tried to maintain her cool as the two headed back inside.
Bonnie grabbed her phone.
"What are you doing?" Jessica asked.
"Calling Elena" Bonnie replied.
"No need, we both know that's not Elena out there, let's just keep moving. We need to get back to the crowded rooms" Jessica quickly ushered Bonnie.
Bonnie nodded, sensing the other girl's urgency.
The two girl's turn to leave the empty room but quickly come face-to-face with Katherine.
"Nice to meet you Bonnie, I'm Katherine" Katherine stated.
Jessica and Bonnie gulped.
"Of course, you know who I am. You're the vampire-hating Bennett witch" Katherine stated.
Bonnie looked defensive.
Katherine's attention then turned to Jessica.
"Good to see you again…Jessica? Wasn't it?" Katherine asked.
Jessica just stared at her.
"Now, I don't like to be surprised. So…who are you?" Katherine asked.
"Considering that information is keeping you curious, why would I tell you…bitch?" Jessica quipped back.
Katherine glared and moved towards Jessica.
"That is not how you speak to an adult now, is it?" Katherine pouted.
"Adults don't pout sweetie. It doesn't look attractive on a woman of your age" Jessica replied.
Katherine looked stunned at the comment and instantly backhanded Jessica across the face.
The force of it instantly broke one of Jessica's cheekbones and sent Jessica flying to the ground.
"Stop!" Bonnie yelled as she tried to attack Katherine with her magic.
Katherine doubled over in agony and Bonnie believed for a second that she had the upper hand.
Katherine suddenly righted herself, looking bored.
"I've been around a very long time Bonnie…that's not gonna work" Katherine hissed as she grabbed Bonnie by the throat.
In a panic, Jessica quickly used her magic to throw the doors to the room open, gaining the attention of the guests in the other room.
"Not bad" Katherine said to Bonnie, thinking it had been Bonnie who had used the magic.
"Leave them alone" Stefan's voice suddenly echoed around the room.
"Ok" Katherine said as she dropped Bonnie and gave one last swift kick to Jessica's ribs as she walked past Stefan.
Stefan looked at Bonnie and then at Jessica, with her broken cheekbone, in extreme concern before following hot on Katherine's heels, he didn't want her to get away this time.
Bonnie turned to Jessica.
"Did you need to provoke her?" Bonnie asked.
"Yes!" Jessica exclaimed as she grimaced her way into a standing position once more.
"Let's get out of here" Bonnie said as she took Jessica's hand.
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After Jessica and Bonnie escaped away from the Lockwood mansion, Bonnie drove Jessica home.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok on your own?" Bonnie asked Jessica.
Jessica just nodded despite both of them knowing that she was lying, she was in absolute agony.
"I just want to take a shower and relax for the afternoon; I will get Stefan or Damon to heal me later" Jessica stated.
Bonnie nodded.
"Well. Come and see me tomorrow. You are starting to get stronger, and I think with Katherine around, we will need to have all the advantage we can get" Bonnie said.
Jessica nodded in agreement. She thanked Bonnie for the ride and said her goodbyes before walking towards her bedroom and a much-needed shower.
Jessica spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the empty house. She wound up in the library with a new book in her grasp. She completely zoned out, lost to the story, until she heard movement in the room next door.
It seemed Damon had finally arrived home.
Jessica was about to get up and see him, so that she could ask for him to heal her and stop her pain when, Damon spoke first.
"It was very brave of you to come here" Jessica heard Damon state.
Jessica scrunched her nose up in confusion.
"I know where I'm not wanted Damon. I wanted to say goodbye" Katherine stated.
"Aw, don't pout. It's not attractive on a woman your age" Damon said, noticing her facial expression.
"Ouch. That's exactly what young Jessica said" Katherine replied.
Damon paused at Jessica's name.
"She's a smart kid" Damon shrugged.
"Who is she Damon? What is she doing here?" Katherine questioned.
Damon chuckled.
"That's funny. I have been asking those exact same questions about you. You won't answer any of my questions honey, so I sure as hell won't answer any of yours" Damon replied as he sipped his bourbon.
"I'm here because of nostalgia, curiosity, etcetera. When I'm up to something, you'll know it" Katherine said.
Damon watched her.
"Come on Damon. Kiss me or kill me, which one will you choose?" Katherine grinned.
Jessica resisted the urge to attack the bitch, how dare she play on the poor man's emotions like that!
Jessica continued to listen when she heard a huge thud, which sounded like bodies hitting the floor. Jessica stood, prepared to fight alongside her father.
"My sweet innocent Damon" Katherine purred.
Jessica froze as she processed Katherine's sudden change of tone and fought the urge to vomit.
Jessica listened as she heard Katherine and Damon begin making out. The sound of deep, hot, kisses reverberated sickeningly around her skull. Sounds of passionate kissing led to sounds of furniture and books being thrown to the floor. The tearing of clothes was next.
Jessica couldn't take it anymore.
"Wait, brief pause…" she heard Damon say.
Jessica nearly thanked a God she didn't believe in. At least now she could make her escape before the adults got handsy again.
"…I have a question. Answer it correctly, I will forget the last hundred and forty-five years. Just tell me the truth, please, just once…" Damon continued.
Jessica paused in her escape; she was curious to see where her father was heading with this.
"I know what your question is, and its answer" Katherine replied.
There was a beat of silence.
"I never loved you, Damon. It was always Stefan" Katherine said.
Jessica felt tears well up in her eyes, she knew the amount of pain that was bound to cause her father, and she wanted to cry for him. Who did this bitch think she was?
Jessica heard Katherine leave and knew it was time to make her way to her bedroom. She knew that Damon would probably need some time to himself after the evening's events. She would check in with him in the morning but first, she needed to go to the kitchen to get some ice for her cheek and ribs.
As Jessica got ready for bed and settled down for the night, she heard the sound of glass smashing against the fireplace somewhere downstairs.