The Daughter of Damon Salvatore
Chapter Seven
Damon sighed in relief once he'd heard Jessica's breathing even out, indicating that she had in fact fallen asleep not long after Damon had told her to go to bed. He'd felt comfortable leaving her there for the night and was confident that she would not be able to get herself into any mischief. He knew that she would be tired having had hardly any sleep the previous evening, but he was still unsure.
Stefan had left to visit Elena not long after Jessica had gone to bed and Damon was actually thrilled. Stefan had been lingering around Damon a lot that evening and it was obvious that Stefan was fishing for information. Stefan had also told Damon that he wanted to hang out at The Grille together for the evening for some 'brother bonding' time. Damon resisted the urge to roll his eyes, Stefan was so obvious it was painful.
However, Damon played along, and he had spent the evening playing darts and drinking with his younger brother. The two reminiscing about their pre-vampire days. Damon had eventually revealed that Katherine was alive and that he needed to get the tomb open in order to get her back.
Damon almost laughed at Stefan's disbelief. Damon had waited nearly a hundred and fifty years to get her back and he was now getting so close. The comet had come and gone again, he knew where the crystal was, he now needed to get the little Bennett witches to perform the spell…if he could work out where the damn cookbook was which included the correct spell.
The sound of Stefan's phone ringing broke him out of his thoughts.
Damon listened to the frantic words exchanged between his younger brother and Elena. He heard Elena say about Bonnie's odd behaviour at their sleepover and was convinced that Emily – Bonnie's long dead ancestor – was somehow controlling her and that Bonnie was on her way to destroy the crystal that Damon needed.
Damon didn't wait around to hear anymore and sped off at top speed to reach where Bonnie was heading with the crystal. Before he headed to the church, he made a panicked and ill-considered decision to stop off at the boarding house first. If that witch Emily had possessed little witch Bonnie, Damon knew he was probably going to need a witchy alternative…luckily, he knew of one.
He flew up to Jessica's bedroom and literally snatched the sleeping teen from her bed. Jessica screamed in fright as she was ripped from sleep and could just about make out Damon's form as he jumped out of her bedroom window with her in his arms. Her surroundings became a blur as he ran through the woods with a 'woosh'.
Damon finally stopped in the middle of the woods and dropped a bewildered and frightened Jessica on the ground. Jessica tried not to wince as the grit, twigs, and stone embedded into the bottoms of her feet. Jessica watched terrified out of her mind as Damon approached a young girl who was etching curious marks into the earth. Jessica looked closely and noticed the familiar symbol, was this girl another witch?
Damon tried pleading with the possessed Bonnie about the crystal and tried to enter the symbol that Bonnie had etched. Unfortunately, he was stopped by an invisible barrier before he could take another step. Damon was beyond angered, knowing what Emily was trying to do, and he could hear Stefan and Elena getting closer to the area. He knew he needed to act quickly.
He went back to the petrified Jessica, who now had tears streaming down her face, and glared dangerously at her.
"Do something useful for once and stop her!" Damon demanded, just as Stefan and Elena arrived to watch the events unfold.
"Damon! No!" Stefan yelled in horror as he assessed the situation and was shocked to see the stricken Jessica.
Stefan did not have time to react as he watched Damon push an unwilling Jessica towards the circle.
Before Jessica could ask what on earth was going on, she found herself being shoved into the symbol etching. Jessica looked at the young woman who was stood in the etching with her, the young woman looked at Jessica in shock.
"Who are you?" the girl demanded as she made her way over to the tearful Jessica.
Jessica stuttered not having a clue what to say.
The witch grabbed Jessica's wrist painfully. Jessica winced.
"Jessica!" Stefan exclaimed, feeling powerless.
"Stefan!" Jessica exclaimed back, trying to stop shaking.
"Jessica, you're going to be fine sweetie, just relax" Stefan tried to calm her the best he could as he frantically tried to think of a way to get her the hell out of there.
He watched as Bonnie gripped Jessica's wrist tightly, wanting nothing more than to help both girls.
"Stefan, who's Jessica?" Elena whispered as she looked worriedly at her best friend gripping the new girl's wrist.
Back in the circle a warm jolt, almost like electricity, bolted through both girls. Emily let go of Jessica's wrist and the two stared at each other.
"What kind of demon are you?" Emily gasped, not taking her eyes of Jessica.
Jessica sobbed; she had never been this afraid before.
Damon tried to jump into the circle again, but Emily brushed him off, slamming him into a tree. He let out a yelp as a branch was rammed through his stomach.
Emily and Jessica stood in the centre of the circle. Emily levitated the crystal necklace into the air above them and then Emily gripped both of Jessica's wrists.
"You are something new, and you are more powerful than you realise. I wouldn't wish your fate on anyone" Emily told Jessica.
Emily began to channel Jessica and all of a sudden, a violent fire engulfed the entire circle except for the witches stood in the centre. The fire howled and the clearing vibrated in sheer power.
Jessica could hear Stefan shouting her name, she could also hear another girl's voice through the fire shouting for 'Bonnie'. Was the girl stood before her the Bonnie that her uncle Stefan had mentioned a few times?
The fire turned into a raging inferno and propelled diagonally upwards, like the witches were encased in a fire-y birdcage, until it reached the suspended crystal. The crystal screamed as it was swaddled in the inferno's heat until it shattered around the clearing in a million tiny pieces.
Having completed its mission, the fire began to recede back towards the ground.
"Good luck to you" Emily said before she left Bonnie's body.
Bonnie opened her eyes and seemed confused and startled at how tightly she was gripping the unknown girl's wrists in front of her.
Bonnie immediately let go of Jessica's wrists.
"Who are you?" Bonnie whispered.
Jessica didn't get the chance to answer as a furious Damon flew into the now burned circle and grabbed Bonnie by her shoulders.
"NO!" everyone else yelled, knowing what he was about to do.
He extended his fangs into Bonnie's neck. Jessica watched with morbid fascination; she had never seen anything so horrific. She felt the uncontrollable power rise up through her body instantly. It thundered from her body like a shockwave pulse, knocking Damon to the ground.
Bonnie hit the ground, passed out from shock and exhaustion. Stefan and Elena ran straight over to her.
Meanwhile, Jessica loomed over Damon, a dangerous look on her face.
Damon looked up at her, slightly nervous when he saw the completely vacant expression on his daughter's face. He was already regretting the evening's events immensely; he regretted his actions from the second he entered Jessica's room. Now he just wanted to go and get drunk and drain a few bodies dry.
Jessica, still fighting her impulsive magic, could feel her hand reaching down trying to reach for Damon's throat.
Before her hand could get any further, Stefan had approached her with caution. He gently rubbed his hand against her shoulder blades, trying to calm her and to let her know that he was there. Jessica gave in to the feeling of being comforted and snapped out of her magical trance.
She blinked rapidly for a few moments and took in her surroundings properly for the first time since she arrived, and immediately noticed Bonnie laying on the ground, blood pouring from the girl's throat.
"No!" she whispered as she knelt beside Bonnie.
Stefan, Damon, and Elena watched in stunned silence as Jessica's hands moved towards Bonnie's wound.
Jessica could feel her hands heating up the closer she got to Bonnie's wound. She had no idea what she was actually doing, it was all instinctive.
They all watched in amazement as the wound started to close until there was nothing left to suggest that a wound had ever been there.
Bonnie's eyes shot open, and she started panicking. Elena immediately wrapped her arms around Bonnie and tried to calm her. Both friends stared at Jessica, who was still just a stranger to them.
Jessica could feel that the ordeal was over, and she moved to stand. She walked unsteadily the few paces back to where Stefan was stood, and he wrapped his arms around her. Damon still lay on the ground, trying to process that he had lost the crystal he needed. He also watched Jessica knowing he had made a huge mistake with her tonight.
"Are you ok?" Stefan asked.
Jessica was about to nod but she felt a slight pressure on her throat, like she was choking on air. She started coughing until she was coughing so violently that she started heaving. She heaved a few times and felt bile climb up her throat. The liquid left her mouth quickly. Once she had finished, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
As she looked at the back of her hand, she noticed that it was stained with her blood. She looked back down at the liquid she had just thrown up and noticed that it was blood not bile.
"Stefan?" she whispered weakly.
Stefan and Damon both saw what she had just noticed and looked at each other in fear as they could smell the strong scent of Jessica's blood.
Stefan gasped as he looked at Jessica's face, she was also bleeding substantially from her nose.
"Jessica! Stay calm sweetie, you're going to be ok" Stefan stated.
"My head is killing me" she muttered as she lost consciousness.
Stefan caught her before she could hit the ground.
Elena and Bonnie watched in fear as Jessica passed out.
"Elena! Will you be ok to take Bonnie back to yours?" Stefan asked.
Elena nodded and guided Bonnie towards her car. Bonnie paused and turned back to Stefan.
"Take her to see my Grams, she will know what to do" Bonnie replied sounding exhausted herself.
Stefan nodded and Bonnie gave the address for her Grams house.
"I will let her know to expect you" Bonnie said.
The two girls then got in Elena's car and headed towards Elena's house. Elena already knowing just how much explaining she was going to have to do when they got there.
"I'm taking Jessica to see Sheila" Stefan announced as he adjusted Jessica's limp body in his arms.
"And you? Well, don't you think you've done enough? Stay the hell away" Stefan threatened aggressively at Damon.
Without waiting for an answer, Stefan took off towards the older Bennett witch, praying that she would be able to help Jessica.
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At Sheila's, Stefan hammered on the door.
"Who dare's knock on my door like that?" Sheila shouted as she opened the door.
When she caught sight of Stefan with a young, bloodied girl in his arms, she willingly invited him into her home. She instructed Stefan to lay Jessica down on the living room floor.
"What the devil has happened here?" Sheila asked.
Stefan hastily explained the night's events and Sheila paid great attention to the story.
Meanwhile, Sheila lightly grasped the girl's hand and let go almost instantly.
"My lord! What is she?" Sheila murmured.
Her attention turned to Stefan.
"Do you have any idea what this girl is?" Sheila asked Stefan.
Stefan just shook his head; he was way out of his depth here.
"This girl is a Heretic, sort of" Sheila stated.
"What is a Heretic?" Stefan asked.
"It's a very powerful type of witch-coven from the northwest. I thought they no longer existed; they were imprisoned by strong magic long ago" Sheila stated in wonder.
Stefan just stared at Sheila, begging for further explanation.
"She is part-vampire and part-witch. A complete unbalance of nature. A witch is a servant of nature, but a vampire is an abomination to nature. The two cannot co-exist, if you are one it is impossible to be the other. But somehow, this one is both, but not in the conventional way" Sheila explained.
"What do you mean by conventional?" Stefan asked.
"Typically, a Heretic is made. Much like a vampire, a Heretic is a witch who is turned into a vampire but retains the witch power upon dying and being reborn as a vampire. But, for this young one, it seems like she was born naturally not made" Sheila stated.
Stefan nodded.
"Her mother was a witch, and her father is a vampire. The mother got pregnant by the vampire, not entirely sure how it was possible yet, but as far as I'm aware the mother had a normal pregnancy and birthed the girl naturally" Stefan gave what information he knew.
"That means she might be able to be saved" Sheila breathed a sigh of relief.
Stefan frowned at her in question.
"A Heretic is made and is unnatural therefore, the magic is unnatural. This one is different. She is a Heretic by design but was created and birthed naturally therefore, her magic can be natural with the correct control of it" Sheila said.
"If she can't control it?" Stefan asked.
"She has the power to destroy everything in her path with ease" Sheila stated seriously.
Stefan gulped, looking down at his innocent niece.
"Is she yours Stefan?" Sheila asked.
Stefan shook his head.
"No? But you know who's she is" Sheila stated.
Stefan nodded.
Sheila knew he didn't want to inform her who the vampire father was, and Sheila did not push him. She didn't need to know the father's identity, just his vampire status.
"She will be spending plenty of time with me in the future. We need to start getting her magic under control now. As long as she can control the magic, she will live her life as any ordinary witch would. If her magic becomes untameable, we will have so many problems on our hands" Sheila stated.
"What about getting older?" Stefan asked.
Sheila shook her head.
"She will stop aging when she reaches magical majority. Once she has access to all the power she can, the vampire side of her genetics will kick in and she will freeze in time at that age. Once she stops aging, she will retain her magic. Depending on how stable her magic is when this happens, will depend on how stable she will be as a vampire" Sheila said.
"Do you know when that will be?" Stefan asked.
"Anytime between now and, hopefully, the age of twenty" Sheila said.
"Why 'hopefully twenty'?" Stefan pressed.
"Because beyond twenty, we are reaching uncontrollable magic stages" Sheila informed him.
"Is she going to be alright?" Stefan asked, gesturing to his bloodied niece.
Sheila nodded.
"She's fine, from the sound of it, she used a sudden amount of power under extreme circumstances. In this case, she has simply exhausted herself but now, her body is aware of what it is capable of doing. Whatever you were all playing at tonight has really woken up her magic. When she recovers and wakes, she will feel the difference. I assume she will be going to school. I want her to come here every day after school, we will practice, she will be ok" Sheila tried to reassure Stefan…and herself.
Stefan thanked Sheila and breathed a sigh of relief, at least his niece would be ok for now.
"Take her home Stefan, make her comfortable. Try and clean all the blood off of her so she doesn't wake up distressed. As soon as she wakes, you give me a call" Sheila told him.
Stefan nodded and picked Jessica up gently. He walked out of Sheila's home and fled back to the boarding house.
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Upon entering the boarding house, Damon was stood, looking slightly remorseful, as Stefan carried Jessica into the house. Stefan did not even bother to comment on the two passed out women on the couch.
"How is she?" Damon whispered.
Stefan growled at Damon, wanting to tear him apart.
Damon gulped at Stefan's anger. Damon knew he had lost all rights to even think her name at this point. Damon had drained a few bodies tonight and after having had his fill, he brought a couple of women back to the boarding house as 'midnight snacks'. However, his consciousness was coming back to him full force now. His anger was subsiding and, although Damon would never tell a soul, Damon had cried before Stefan came home as he thought about the destruction and chaos he had caused in the last couple of hours. He had actually hurt the innocent kid he had sworn would never be harmed whilst she was living with him.
"Want to start begging on your knees for forgiveness?" Stefan muttered harshly.
Damon looked at Stefan curiously.
"We need to wash her and get her comfortable for when she wakes. I can't do this alone without risking her drowning" Stefan said.
Damon nodded and followed his brother up the stairs towards Jessica's room.
Stefan then ordered Damon to fill the Jessica's bathtub with clean water and soap and then fetch her some fresh clothes that would be comfortable to sleep in. Damon followed his brother's instructions without comment and made his way back to the bathroom, clean clothes in hand. He placed them neatly on the closed lid of the toilet.
"I need you to support her under her arms, so her head remains above the water" Stefan said.
Damon nodded and kneeled at the head of the bath as he watched Stefan carefully lower Jessica's limp form into the water. The dirty, bloody, clothes she was wearing soaked instantly.
Damon held his arms over the bath at a 90-degree angle in front of his body. He made sure that one of Jessica's arms was over one of his own. Stefan gently guided Jessica's head to lay back against the porcelain of the tub, between both of Damon's outstretched arms.
'I'm so sorry' Damon thought as he watched the water turn a murky brown from a mixture of dirt and her blood.
Stefan grabbed the extendable showerhead and started rinsing as much of the dirt and blood off her body as he could get to without physically touching the girl's skin or going anywhere near her sleep shorts and pyjama vest. Damon silently watched his brother wash the girl with utmost care and respect.
Stefan then instructed Damon to place one arm across the back of Jessica's shoulders and use his other hand to support the base of Jessica's neck so that her head drooped slightly backwards, allowing Stefan to wash the grime from her hair.
The position allowed Damon to study his daughter's facial features closely for the first time.
'Dear lord, she's beautiful' he thought.
Pride momentarily filled him, and he wondered how on earth a monster like him could have helped – even slightly – to produce something so small, strong, and beautiful. He could see his bone structure in her face and jawline. He could see his eye, nose, and lip shape form her delicate features and he allowed his thumb to gently stroke her cheek…he was completely in awe of her for the first time.
Stefan noticed the tender moment as he washed his niece's hair. He remained silent as he watched his heartless brother show some sort of loving emotion, for the first time in decades. Stefan very slowly continued in his task, the water was starting to get cold, and he knew that if they didn't get Jessica out of the bath soon then she would likely get sick.
Stefan turned off the showerhead and unplugged the bath.
The sound of the water gurgling down the drain snapped Damon out of his trance – emotionless mask promptly back in place.
Damon lifted Jessica out of the tub, immediately noticing just how worryingly light she felt in his arms. The girl clearly needed to eat more.
He carried Jessica into the bedroom and saw Stefan waiting near Jessica's bed with a fresh towel outstretched in his arms. Damon placed Jessica in Stefan's arms so that Stefan could wrap the towel around her.
Damon left the room.
Stefan frowned wondering if the events of the night had completely overwhelmed his brother however, a minute or so later, Damon came back into the bedroom followed by his midnight snacks.
The two women came into view and Stefan could tell by their eyes that they had been compelled. Stefan looked at Damon in confusion.
"Figured they could help her get changed" Damon shrugged as he moved to the still open window that he had regretfully jumped out of with Jessica earlier that evening.
Stefan lay Jessica gently on the bed and left the two women to change Jessica's wet clothing as he went to join his brother at the window. The two men kept their backs turned as they listened to the sounds of fabric being removed somewhere behind them.
"Why?" Stefan asked in a whisper.
Damon closed the balcony window to stop the draft but remained looking out upon the woodland.
"What were you trying to accomplish? The crystal…I can understand but, her?" Stefan probed.
"I don't know" Damon admitted pathetically.
Stefan just shook his head.
A few minutes later, the two women finished bustling around behind them and then there was silence. Damon and Stefan deemed it safe to turn around once more and were relieved to see a clean, freshly dressed, Jessica tucked up in peaceful sleep in her bed.
Seeing her safe and settled once more, the brothers and the women left the room. Damon compelled the two women to forget everything that had happened since they met him that evening and they left the house.
"You know, she is never going to forgive you Damon" Stefan stated as he climbed the stairs, ready for sleep himself.
Damon waited a few moments until he heard Stefan's bedroom door close.
"I wouldn't expect her to" Damon whispered to the empty room as he switched the lights off and headed up to his own bed.
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Jessica was slowly starting to wake after a restful night's sleep. As her consciousness began to work properly, she saw snapshots of the evening before in her mind. She tossed and turned as the nightmare unravelled behind her still closed eyes. She saw fire, felt evil, a bloody horror movie type scene, magic, chanting, the feeling of dark power rushing through every pour of her body.
She then saw the morphed face of a monster, fangs extending from his mouth as he sunk his teeth painfully into her neck and drained her dry.
She woke up screaming at the top of her lungs.