The Daughter of Damon Salvatore
A Heretic Awakens
Chapter Two:
Jessica tried to keep a low profile as she navigated the corridors of the school, her cheek and ribs felt like they were on fire as they were still injured. However, Jessica had been roped by Caroline into helping prepare for the school's carnival. Fortunately, Caroline was still out of commission, but doing well in hospital, and it meant that Jessica could fly under the radar slightly with no Caroline breathing down her neck. That didn't mean that she could avoid Bonnie or Elena though.
Jessica had still not properly digested the events of the night before. She really wanted to see her father that morning to see how he was doing however, neither Damon nor Stefan had been at the house when she had woken up. She had sent a message to Damon but had received no reply and she was really worried that he would be sent off the deep end again now that Katherine had hurt him once more.
"You're gonna have to hide better than that" a voice startled her out of her thoughts.
She turned around to face a smirking Jeremy, who had caught her trying to shirk her duties.
"Caroline will kill you if she finds out that you're ditching" Jeremy snickered.
"Good thing she's not going to find out then…is she?" Jessica stated rhetorically as she glared at Jeremy.
Jeremy held his hands up in surrender and then stared at Jessica a moment longer.
"Oh my God! What the hell happened to your cheek?" he asked.
Jessica grimaced.
"I had a fight with that Katherine, and she broke my cheek…and I think a couple of ribs as well" Jessica replied.
"And you're just walking around casually like this?" he asked in astonishment.
Jessica nodded.
"Neither Damon nor Stefan showed back up at home last night, so I couldn't ask them for help. I didn't want to stay at home today because, believe it or not, moving around actually helps with the pain" Jessica admitted.
Jeremy stared at her for a moment more.
"Fancy getting out of here for a bit? I've got something else that will help with the pain" Jeremy suggested.
Jessica sighed knowingly in relief.
"I thought you'd never ask" Jessica chuckled.
The two headed outside to the stoner's pit and sat down.
Jeremy pulled out a joint from his upper pocket and offered it to Jessica.
"Want some?" he asked as he lit it.
Jessica looked at the joint and nodded.
"Ok, I know why I'm spiralling. What's got you in a spiral?" she asked as she took a smoke.
"Your crazy assed cousin or whatever decided to snap my neck last night" Jeremy stated lightly.
Jessica choked as she puffed the joint.
"What?!" she exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah, Damon seemed pretty pissed about something late last night. He said something about how I wanted to be a vampire and that he'd grant my wish. The next thing I know, he was rushing towards me, and he snapped my neck" Jeremy informed her.
Jessica grimaced; she knew she should've stepped in last night to speak to Damon.
"Fortunately, John gave me this ring and it offers me some protection from the supernatural" Jeremy told her, showing her his ring.
Jessica glanced at the ring, recognising it as the one both Alaric and John wore.
"You've seen this before then?" Jeremy stated.
Jessica nodded as she watched Jeremy take a smoke.
"Katherine really upset Damon last night, I'm sorry you bore the brunt of his anger" Jessica said.
Jeremy shrugged.
"He was upsetting my sister; I wanted to hurt him" Jeremy admitted.
Jessica chuckled.
"He probably sensed that. Which is why he tried to kill you first" Jessica replied.
"He didn't know I was wearing the ring" Jeremy stated.
Jessica nodded.
"I fully believe you. I saw him last night, and what led up to him snapping. He was spiralling before he left the house to go to yours, it was always going to be a dangerous situation" Jessica shook her head.
"I know he's your relative and all, but I hate him Jessica" Jeremy growled.
Jessica nodded.
"I don't blame you" she whispered as the pair continued to share the joint.
A short while later, footsteps sounded from behind them.
"Really you two?!" Stefan exclaimed as he took in the stoned teens.
Jessica and Jeremy shrugged at him.
"Fair cop. You caught me ditching Stef" Jessica grinned at him.
"Actually, you should be more concerned that I caught you smoking" Stefan stated.
Jessica shrugged.
Stefan looked at her more closely and then his eyes widened.
"Have you not got that sorted out yet?" he asked astonished when he saw that her cheek was still damaged and that she was slightly hunched over awkwardly.
"You guys have been busy…" Jessica trailed off as she shrugged again, the drugs were actually helping her pain at the moment.
Stefan looked down guiltily, he felt awful that she had been left in pain for the past twenty-four hours and so, he knelt down beside her.
"Let me take a look" he said as he gently examined her cheek and then her ribs.
"Your cheek will be ok; it's a clean break so my blood will heal it normally. However, two of your ribs are cracked which means I will need to manipulate your ribs as I feed you my blood" Stefan explained to her.
Jessica nodded, trusting Stefan's judgement.
Stefan got Jessica to lay down flat on the ground and instructed Jeremy to support her head.
Jeremy did as instructed and then Stefan asked Jessica to pull up her t-shirt so it sat just underneath her bra but exposed her ribs.
Stefan then fed Jessica his blood and she felt the pain in her cheek ease significantly. She watched in wonder as Stefan used his hands to put pressure on her ribs so that her cracked ribs healed correctly as well.
After a few minutes, Stefan checked Jessica's ribs again and was satisfied that they would now heal correctly.
"There you go kid, you will still feel achy for a bit but, if you look after yourself properly for the next few days and don't get into any disaster's, you should feel fine in no time" Stefan explained.
"How do you know what to do with injuries like this?" Jessica asked.
"I have lived for a very long time. I drove ambulances on the front-line during World War II" Stefan answered.
"Woah!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
"That's quite cool" Jessica said.
The three sat quietly for a few minutes until Jessica groaned.
"What's wrong?" Stefan asked, concerned that the healing process had gone wrong.
"I think your blood killed my buzz" Jessica stated.
"Good!" Stefan stated.
"Don't worry, we can sort that out quickly" Jeremy chuckled beside her.
Stefan sighed and shook his head in disapproval at both teens.
"What were you doing out here anyway?" Jessica suddenly asked.
Stefan looked at her and then turned to Jeremy.
"Actually, it was Jeremy I was looking for" Stefan said.
Jeremy looked surprised but listened intently as Stefan explained how vervain worked and then discussed how to stake a vampire correctly.
"You're telling me all the different ways I could kill you? That's confident" Jeremy stated.
"If I thought you were going to kill me, we'd be having a very different conversation" Stefan replied.
"It's Damon I'd want to kill anyway" Jeremy announced.
"No Jeremy! You need to forget about Damon. He is a million times stronger than you and he's currently not stable" Stefan stated.
Jessica snorted.
"Like he's ever been stable" Jessica sassed.
Stefan glared at her.
She shrugged.
"Yeah, you were saying how Katherine got under his skin last night…" Jeremy said to Jessica.
Stefan looked between the two teens in confusion before settling on Jessica for an answer.
"Katherine decided to visit the house last night. She and Damon were going at it but, before they could get their knickers off, she said something so brutally honest to him that I started crying for him. They both left separately after that…I didn't know he was going to snap that badly, particularly at Elena's and Jeremy's expense" Jessica explained.
Stefan winced and nodded, finally understanding his brother's actions.
"Look, both of you keep your wits about you. Katherine is smart and will not hesitate to do whatever she needs to do to get what she wants. Jessica why don't you go home for a bit before the carnival begins? Get some rest, get something decent to eat, and then meet us back here later" Stefan said.
Both teens nodded at his instructions.
Stefan turned to walk away but had one last thing to say.
"Oh Jessica! I would avoid Damon for the next few hours whilst the smell of that joint wears off if I were you" Stefan said as he disappeared from sight.
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.
Back at the house, Jessica sat in one of the soft seats in the main reception room. She had decided to use her time productively and start going through her mother's research. She'd grabbed a small stack of papers from one of the boxes and had made herself comfortable.
She was so engrossed in her mother's research that she did not hear the front door opening and closing again.
"Homework?" Damon queried as he walked further into the room.
Jessica's head sot up and looked in the direction Damon had spoken from and stared at the man before replying.
"No, it's mum's research" Jessica said.
Damon just nodded as he moved to pour himself a glass of bourbon. Damon watched her closely as she tried to read once more.
Jessica could not concentrate under her father's staring so; she sighed and placed the research to one side.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
Damon's eyes narrowed.
"You can drop the sass for starters" Damon said.
Jessica shrugged.
"What happened to your cheek?" Damon asked, noting that it looked slightly bruised.
"Katherine broke by cheekbone and cracked a couple of my ribs at the Lockwood's yesterday" Jessica replied.
Damon looked at her in shock.
"Don't worry, Stefan gave me his blood this morning and it's all healing nicely, I'm not in as much pain as I was yesterday" Jessica said.
Damon continued to look at her in concern but, Jessica was ready to change the subject.
"I heard what you did to Jeremy last night" Jessica said.
Damon swallowed his drink before replying.
"I was pissed, and I lost it at him" Damon admitted.
"Well…when you let the vixen from hell try to seduce you on the living room floor, and then she rejects you, that's got to sting" Jessica quipped.
Damon glared at her.
"How do you know about that?" Damon asked.
"I was sat in the study and heard everything" Jessica replied.
Damon sighed and took a seat himself.
Jessica watched him for a moment.
"How are you doing?" Jessica asked him.
"It doesn't matter, don't worry about it" Damon replied.
"When you snap my best friend's neck in anger because of some unworthy bitch's actions, you kind of make it my business" Jessica said.
"Drop it Jessica…" Damon warned.
"No. You snapped Jeremy's neck last night and, I don't care what kind of bullshit you've been feeding Stefan and Elena, you had no idea that Jeremy was wearing that ring. You were going for the kill last night" Jessica stated.
Damon gulped.
"You intended to take an innocent life" Jessica said disapprovingly.
Damon drained his glass and slammed it down onto the table.
"I don't need to take this attitude from you…" Damon growled at her.
"Are you going to slap me again for stating facts?" Jessica bit back.
Damon dropped his anger for a second and looked at her guiltily.
"I just don't want to hear any of it at the moment" Damon admitted.
"But you do need to hear it. You are not going to let this slut screw you over…again" Jessica pushed.
"Jessica, I'm warning you…" Damon was trying hard not to yell.
He knew his actions the previous day had been idiotic but, to have his teenage daughter chastise him for the behaviour, was really annoying him.
Stefan chose that moment to also enter the Salvatore home, he immediately picked up on the tense atmosphere and noted how pissed Damon looked and how sullen his niece looked.
"What's going on?" Stefan asked slowly.
"Where have you been brother?" Damon asked, ignoring Stefan's questioning.
"I was out hunting" Stefan replied.
Damon poured his own glass of blood and offered it to Stefan. Stefan crossed his arms and shook his head at the blood.
Damon shrugged as he took a sip.
"Your loss. Hey! Aren't you worried that all the animals are going to band together and fight back one day?" Damon jested.
Jessica chuckled.
Stefan sighed.
"I'm just glad that it's a blood bag and not some sorority girl that you're using" Stefan said.
"I like you walking on eggshells around me. Are you really that worried? I'll bet Elena's worried…am I your every conversation?" Damon mocked.
Stefan growled.
"Have you heard from Katherine since your near pity fuck last night?" Stefan quipped.
Damon glared.
"Easy Stefan, virgin ears over here" Jessica stated jokingly, trying to diffuse the tension.
"Honey, we all know that those ears are anything but virgin" Damon shot back.
"Whatever" Jessica snipped.
"What's got you in a mood?" Stefan asked.
"Slight headache" Jessica admitted.
"From earlier?" Stefan asked, grinning at knowingly.
Jessica glared at Stefan daring him to reveal her earlier smoking session with Jeremy.
"What are you two going on about?" Damon asked, clearly missing something.
"Nothing" Jessica gritted out.
Damon was about to argue when Stefan took pity on his niece.
"Nothing" Stefan agreed.
Damon still did not believe either of them.
"You guys are so annoying. Anyway, I think the Lockwood's have a family secret, the Gilbert device affected them but they're not vampires" Damon stated.
"Ah! A new obsession" Jessica mocked.
Damon rolled his eyes at her; he was done with her teen drama for the day.
"Fine, hope you're happy that your booty call is an unknown supernatural element" Damon stated.
Jessica shrugged.
"My guessing is that he's a werewolf" Jessica suggested.
Damon laughed outright at her.
"Right, and there are magical pixies in the woods flying around with their little wicker picnic baskets" Damon scoffed at her.
Jessica just raised an eyebrow at him.
"Big statement, coming from a vampire. At least wolves are real, so the possibility of werewolves isn't that farfetched. You may as well have walked straight out of Bram Stoker's book. Plus, my mother used to talk about werewolves, I'd be stupid to brush off her stories again" Jessica retorted.
"Werewolves don't exist Jessica, we would've heard about them by now if they were real" Stefan said doubtfully.
"You really don't believe it could be a possibility, even if only a tiny one?" she asked.
"Nope. Werewolves are obviously fiction and therefore, it's impossible" Damon replied.
"Well…I was impossible until ten seconds of your input made it otherwise" Jessica grumbled.
Damon and Stefan stared at her momentarily shocked at her crudeness.
"I can assure you that I am more than a ten second-…" Damon began to say, Stefan cut him off.
"Damon, please don't finish that thought! The important thing to focus on here is Katherine. We haven't seen the last of her, we don't know where she is, and we don't know what she is up to. That should be our priority" Stefan said, trying to get the conversation back on track.
"She came to profess her eternal, undying, love for you Stefan. So, I'm gonna let you deal with her, from now on…she's your problem. I'm going to focus on the Lockwood's" Damon replied.
"And their howling at the full moon issue" Jessica chimed in.
"Stop fucking saying that Jessica, they are not werewolves! You're buying into that New Moon crap you recently watched. I already said, the writer has got it all wrong" Damon shouted in exasperation.
Jessica shrugged again.
"Tyler, the mayor, and Uncle Mason are all very athletically built. They all have a strength and muscle; they all have aggression within them. It seems Uncle Mason does a lot of running and exercise…he could be doing it to run off excess energy and anger" Jessica stated.
Damon and Stefan stared at her.
"Have you ever noticed anything else about Tyler, you are close to him after all. Have you ever noticed him using a great show of strength outside of sports? Or has he ever come across as powerful or aggressive?" Stefan asked.
'In bed' Jessica thought as she allowed a coquettish grin to break out in line with her thoughts.
Damon and Stefan looked at the teen in alarm as they guessed her train of thought.
"On second thought…forget I even asked" Stefan abruptly backtracked.
Damon nodded ferociously in agreement.
"I could try and do some subtle digging for you? If I hang around Tyler more, I can get closer to his uncle" Jessica suggested.
Stefan shook his head.
"If he's dangerous, I'd rather you not get involved" Stefan stated.
"I really wouldn't object to getting to know Uncle Mason better" Jessica admitted.
"Ew, he's like eighty…and way too old for you! Don't you dare go and do anything stupid with Mason Lockwood" Damon warned her.
"More like thirty. Plus, I've had older" Jessica joked.
"Unbelievable!" Damon remarked as he shook his head and moved over to look out the window.
Stefan just coughed awkwardly and looked down at his shoes.
"I was joking!" Jessica exclaimed.
"Enough with the joking. You stay away from Mason Lockwood, let me and Steffie handle him. Now, do the two of you need a lift to the carnival?" Damon asked.
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As the three of them pulled up to the school, they could see that the carnival was now in full swing.
They climbed out of Damon's car and Jessica immediately spotted Jeremy who was making his way over to her.
"Hey Jessica! How are you girl?" Jeremy greeted, clearly high as a kite.
Jessica's eyes widened.
"Are you high again?" Jessica asked.
"Just because you left the party early, doesn't mean that the whole party stopped" Jeremy grinned at her as he gave her a hug.
Jessica hugged back.
"Ok, you are completely wasted" Jessica stated.
"I've got another joint if you want to share again. Same spot as this morning in ten minutes?" Jeremy offered.
Feeling Damon and Stefan glaring holes in her back, she politely declined.
"Thanks Jer, but I'm going to pass. Maybe you should to?" Jessica suggested.
"Nah but I do want some popcorn first" Jeremy grinned as he walked off in the direction of the popcorn stand.
Jessica turned and looked in the direction of her uncle and father with a timid smile.
"Oh Jeremy! He's such a joker…" Jessica tried to awkwardly laugh off her friend's antics.
Damon glared at her.
"Smoking? Again? Why?" he demanded.
Jessica just shrugged.
"I wanted to. Besides, Stefan was the one who suggested I dodge you for a few hours to let the smell of it wear off" Jessica said.
Damon's glare turned to Stefan.
"You knew about this? You didn't stop her? Or tell me?" Damon seethed at his brother.
It was Stefan's turn to shrug.
"For the love of-…" Damon trailed off, trying to process the situation.
He looked back over in Jeremy's direction and noticed the kid making a right idiot of himself at the popcorn stand.
"I'm going to stop Elena's punk brother from doing something stupid. You guys go and see if you can find where the Lockwood's are, message me when you find them. This is not over young lady" Damon warned as he hastily headed in Jeremy's direction.
"Thanks for that, he's going to be pissed at me now as well" Stefan grumbled to Jessica.
"Sorry, his glare was freaking me out. Just trying to divert the attention and all that" Jessica winced in response.
Stefan just shook his head.
"Let's just go find Tyler and Mason" Stefan suggested as they headed into the carnival crowd.
After searching around the carnival twice, Stefan and Jessica finally found where Tyler and Mason were. It seemed that Damon had already beaten them to it.
"You're lurking" Jessica chuckled as they stood next to him as she watched Tyler and Mason engage in an arm-wrestling match.
"I'm observing" Damon replied.
"He's obsessing" Stefan teased.
Damon glared at them both.
"Yo Jessica!" Tyler suddenly called out to her.
Ignoring the stares of Stefan and Damon, Jessica plastered on a massive smile and walked straight over to where Tyler and Mason were wrestling.
"Hi Ty" Jessica grinned as she gave her friend a hug.
She turned to Mason.
"Hi…Mason, right?" Jessica asked.
Mason nodded and stuck out his hand, Jessica took it without hesitation.
"That's right. Nice to see you again. Jessica?" he greeted back.
Jessica nodded as she tried to assess the feeling she got from shaking Mason's hand.
"That's right! Tyler has been such a great friend to me since I arrived in Mystic Falls, you should be proud of your nephew" Jessica said, trying to be polite.
"I am, he's a good kid. Can't arm-wrestle for shit though!" Mason joked.
"Hey!" Tyler replied, offended at the comment.
"He is a weakling" Jessica laughed, playing along.
"Fine! You arm-wrestle the pro then" Tyler challenged.
Jessica looked shocked.
"Fine" she chuckled.
Tyler laughed at her expense and at Mason's equally confused expression.
Jessica held up her arm to have a go, knowing she stood no chance but was up for the fun.
Mason winked at her, and she knew he was going to let her win just to mess with Tyler.
Mason and Jessica pretended to engage in a struggle and Mason made a show of pretending to fight a losing battle against her.
"Oh no! She's way too strong for me!" Mason dramatised the moment as he allowed his arm to be pushed back by Jessica.
Jessica laughed and Tyler just folded his arms and pouted at the mockery.
Mason finally relented and let Jessica win the round.
"She's the winner! God Tyler, what's wrong with you? Even the tiny morsel of a girl could beat me" Mason announced.
"Whatever you two!" Tyler smiled lightly at seeing Jessica beaming at him.
Mason looked back and forth between the two teens, assessing their relationship.
"Ok, who's next?" Tyler asked the gathering crowd.
"Stefan wants a go" Damon pipped up from where he and Stefan were still stood observing.
"Come on Stef" Tyler encouraged.
Stefan moved through the crowd.
"You let one Salvatore beat you. Let's see if you've got what it takes against another" Tyler jested at Mason.
Mason's eyebrows rose as he looked at Jessica.
"You're a Salvatore?" Mason asked.
Jessica nodded.
"Sure am" she grinned back at him.
Mason stared at Jessica a moment longer and just blinked in surprise; Jessica noticed this.
Thankfully, Stefan had reached the table and started goading Mason.
"My brother thinks I can beat you" Stefan stated.
"Your brother is wrong" Mason goaded back.
The two struggled and this time, Mason put his full strength into it. Jessica could tell that Stefan was putting some force into the fight but not enough to make it seem suspicious. Stefan allowed Mason to genuinely struggle for a few seconds, before relenting and allowing Mason to win.
"Mason wins" Jessica announced gleefully.
Stefan glared at her.
"Oh, come on Stef, don't be such a sore loser. It's just a bit of fun" Jessica joked.
Stefan, playing along, just nodded in Mason and Tyler's direction before heading back through the crowd towards Damon.
"I'd better go and placate his ego" Jessica sighed dramatically.
"Will you come back later?" Tyler asked.
Jessica nodded.
"Of course! I have to help with the ring toss for a bit…Caroline's orders. Even from her hospital bed, that girl scares the shit out of me" Jessica laughed.
Tyler nodded in agreement.
"I completely understand. I will catch you later then" Tyler said as he hugged her once more.
"Definitely. Thanks for the fun Mason…anything to knock this one down a peg or two" she inclined her head towards Tyler.
Mason grinned at her.
"It was nice meeting you properly Jessica" Mason said as the men bid her goodbye.
She headed back through the crowd where she caught up with Stefan and Damon.
"You didn't put in any effort" Damon stated as the three moved into the next corridor.
"Actually…" Jessica trailed off.
"Yeah, I did" Stefan confirmed.
Damon looked surprised.
"Is he a…?" Damon suggested.
Stefan and Jessica shook their heads.
"Not that kind of strength" Stefan said.
"It's kind of human…if that's possible" Jessica said.
"Did you get anything when you touched him?" Stefan asked.
"Yeah, it's more heat. It's a very hot and heady kind of strength" Jessica tried to describe.
Stefan and Damon scrunched their noses.
"Gross" Damon remarked.
Jessica rolled her eyes.
"Not like that! When I touch your kind, it's very cold and I can associate you with death and a cold strength. But with Mason, it's very much alive and it's a very hot and eager strength. With you, it feels powerful but in a sluggish, sinister, slow, and predatory way. With Mason, it was a very fast and energetic power. Almost like he has so much energy that his body doesn't know what to do with it ergo the hot and agitated tension" Jessica tried to explain.
The two men just stared at her.
She shrugged.
"It was quite thrilling actually" she confessed.
Damon bad dry heaving sounds.
"I don't want to know" Damon said.
"You were the one obsessing" she reminded.
"The idea of his touch being 'thrilling' to you, is extremely disturbing" Damon grimaced.
"To be honest, it's a similar feeling I get when I'm around Tyler…but it's stronger" Jessica admitted.
Stefan tried not to look like he was about to vomit.
"Forget about it, I'm sure they just like howling on all fours on a full moon" Jessica said still running with the werewolf idea.
"For the last time, there is no such thing as werewolves" Damon gritted.
"Well, what are they then?" Jessica challenged.
Damon shrugged.
"Ninja turtles" Stefan stated out of the blue.
Father and daughter looked at him like he had lost his ever-loving mind.
"Just wanted to be part of the conversation again" Stefan shrugged.
Damon, having lost all patience, shook his head, and turned to walk away from the children.
"Oooo…don't forget about zombies" Stefan shouted after him.
Damon's shoulders tensed even more, and he spun round to face the two teenagers.
"No comedic timing you two…ever! Hey you!" Damon suddenly shouted at a random man who looked like he was a helper for the carnival.
"I have a name" the man replied.
"I don't care. I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood" Damon compelled him.
"Damon what are you doing?" Stefan asked.
"Please don't bring Tyler into this!" Jessica added.
"Hush you two. It's just a little experiment. No one will get hurt and I am curious to see who might show up to help the kid" Damon explained.
He turned back to the carnival worker.
"Get Tyler Lockwood mad. Don't back down, okay?" Damon compelled him.
"I won't back down" the guy replied monotonously.
"I know you won't" Damon grinned and patted the guy on the shoulder.
Stefan and Jessica glared at him in disapproval at his methods.
"Someone could get hurt" Stefan said
Damon shrugged.
"We need answers. Besides, no one is going to get hurt. But someone will get mad" he said as he walked off.
"He's really not going to let this go, is he?" Jessica commented.
Stefan shook his head.
"No. Look, you go and help out at the ring toss. I will follow the carnival guy and make sure that no one gets hurt…okay?" Stefan suggested.
Jessica nodded and the two separated.
As Jessica walked through the corridor, she picked up on some sounds which sounded like two people fighting. She cautiously approached the sounds.
"You suck!" Jessica heard a familiar voice shout.
Jessica rounded the corner and assessed the situation. Damon was on his back on the floor of the corridor. Caroline was stood a few feet from him looking angrier than Jessica had ever seen her.
"Caroline?" Jessica greeted in confusion.
Caroline turned around to face Jessica.
"Jessica?" Caroline asked lightly, as if shaking herself from her previous mood.
"When did you get out of the hospital?" Jessica smiled at her friend.
Caroline smiled back.
"About an hour ago" Caroline replied as she walked over to Jessica.
"And of course, you came straight here" Jessica jested, rolling her eyes.
Caroline reached Jessica and the two girls hugged.
Jessica tried not to freeze as the familiar feeling of cold and death rushed through her. She looked in horror over Caroline's shoulder at Damon, who was still laying on the corridor floor.
Damon looked sadly at his daughter and nodded his head.
Jessica tried not to let her tears fall and instead, pushed them back. She then broke the hug she had been sharing with Caroline and gently place a hand on her friend's cheek.
Caroline melted into the comforting feeling.
"How are you feeling Caroline?" Jessica asked gently knowing that she was dealing with a new and highly emotional vamp.
"I'm fine…I'm all ok" Caroline stated as she sniffled.
Jessica nodded at her reassuringly.
"Ok" Jessica replied.
"I need to make sure that everything is running smoothly" Caroline announced, snapping back to the situation at hand.
"Sure! Let me come with you and I can show you what we have done" Jessica suggested not wanting to let Caroline out of her sight.
Caroline agreed.
"I'd appreciate that" Caroline nodded.
"Let's go" Jessica encouraged.
Jessica glanced back one final time at a concerned looking Damon as she followed Caroline out into the carnival full of warm-blooded bodies.
In the crowded carnival, Caroline caught up with Matt and they spoke about how Caroline was feeling. Jessica observed as Matt handed Caroline a ring to toss at some glass bottles. They all stared in shock as Caroline managed to shatter some of the glass bottles.
"Nice shot Killer" Matt joked.
"They were probably already broken" Caroline tried to play it off as Matt hugged her.
Jessica could see that Caroline was losing control as Matt's neck became more tempting to her.
Jessica was getting ready to step in when Caroline suddenly let go of Matt and took several steps back from him.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked.
"I've got to go" Caroline replied as she took off into the crowd before Jessica could stop her.
"What did I do?" Matt asked Jessica.
"Nothing Matt. Don't worry, I will find her" Jessica promised as she ran after Caroline.
Jessica ran back inside, thinking that Caroline would probably need to get away from all the people. Instead, she found Damon, Stefan, and Elena in one of the classrooms.
"I lost her" Jessica announced without hesitation.
Damon and Stefan stood up, ready to sniff Caroline out.
"What did Katherine mean by 'game on'?" Elena asked.
"Katherine?" Jessica asked.
"Katherine is playing dirty, and she wants us to know about it. I fed Caroline my blood, Katherine obviously killed her…but for what reason?" Damon answered.
"Katherine killed Caroline?" Jessica murmured sadly.
She felt Stefan place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Damon nodded.
"Caroline must be out of her mind; she doesn't even know what's happening to her" Stefan sighed.
"Oh, I think she does. She told me how she remembered me feeding on her and how I 'manipulated' her" Damon admitted.
"You did manipulate her" Elena stated.
Jessica looked at Damon, wanting an explanation on that.
"Now is not the time. We need to find Caroline and kill her" Damon stated.
"Woah! No, we don't!" Jessica exclaimed.
"She's a liability who knows about us. Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Do we all remember the tragic little story of Vicki Donovan?" Damon quipped.
"Which I heard was also your fault" Jessica seethed back.
Damon glared at her.
"It's not an option; we are not killing Caroline" Elena yelled.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
"I've never heard silence quite this loud, Stefan. You know I'm right" Damon said as he left the classroom.
"Let's split up and look for her. We will cover more ground that way" Stefan ordered.
Jessica ran back out in search of Caroline.
Jessica stood at the edge of the carnival, trying to listen for anything out of the ordinary. Once she focused, she heard disturbing fleshy sounds coming from a darkened corner which happened to be vacant.
Jessica followed her gut instinct and followed the noise. As she got closer, she could hear Caroline crying and conversing with someone.
"Please, I don't want to die" Jessica clearly heard Caroline plead.
Jessica ran faster, knowing exactly who had caught up with Caroline.
"You're already dead" Damon responded.
"Just help me" Caroline begged.
Damon hugged Caroline, leading her into a false sense of security.
Jessica ran towards Damon.
"Don't you dare" Jessica growled, surprising him.
The element of surprise was all Stefan needed to intervene and stop his brother from staking the poor girl.
"Stefan!" Damon exclaimed.
Caroline began freaking out at Elena, accusing her of being Katherine, whilst Stefan tried to calm her. Jessica kept her eyes on Damon, knowing that it was unlikely he would back down this easily.
"She will die" Damon warned.
"Not tonight" Stefan said as he began ushering Caroline towards the school.
Damon quickly picked up the stake.
Jessica didn't hesitate and focused her magic on stopping her father.
As Elena positioned herself in front of Caroline to protect her, Damon fell to his knees screaming in agony.
Stefan and Elena turned to see Jessica, knowing that she was causing Damon his current pain.
"I won't let you hurt her" Jessica whispered as a tear fell, she didn't want to hurt her father like this.
Jessica eventually stopped her attack and allowed Damon to collect himself. He looked over at her angrily.
"Whatever happens, it's on all of you" he gritted out.
"Caroline?" a shocked voice chimed in the dark.
They all watched as Bonnie assessed the scene and then took hold of Caroline to confirm her fears. She then saw the remains of Carter who she had been flirting with earlier and started crying.
Stefan and Elena removed Caroline from the situation, leaving Bonnie, Jessica and Damon behind.
"Well, I've got a body to bury" Damon stated nonchalantly as he moved towards Carter.
"Sorry buddy" he said to the corpse.
Damon suddenly doubled over in agony again as Bonnie attacked him with her magic.
"Everything is your fault" Bonnie said darkly.
"I didn't do this" Damon screamed out.
Bonnie ignored his pleas and started a fire which quickly spread and started burning him.
"Bonnie, no!" Jessica exclaimed as she used her magic to fight Bonnie back.
The two witches battled for dominance of the fire and Jessica pushed herself harder than she had ever pushed herself before. She managed to push the fire back towards Bonnie so that it was nowhere near Damon.
Damon watched in wonder as his daughter saved his life.
Bonnie eventually gave in, feeling emotionally exhausted.
Both girls stopped their attack, as Jessica tried to catch her breath.
"Bonnie this can't be us" Jessica breathed out.
"You just made the worst of decisions Jessica" Bonnie said ominously as she walked away.
Jessica collapsed to the ground, still trying to catch her breath.
Damon approached her and picked her up in his arms.
"Hey, are you okay?" he looked down at her in concern as he wiped some of her blood away from her nose.
"I'm exhausted" she admitted.
"It's been a long night" Damon confessed.
"Let's go home" he suggested as he carried her to his car.
Jessica fell asleep before Damon reached the car.
.
.
.
Jessica had been struggling to contain her magic since she used it at the carnival. Damon noticed that she was having some sort of battle with herself the whole drive home from the carnival whilst she was still asleep. She was really restless, and he didn't know what to do about it.
He carried her inside the house and sat her down as Jessica began to stir again, he then poured himself a drink. Having been caught up in Jessica, he nearly missed the other teenager who had broken into their home.
"I can't work out if you are brave or stupid" Damon spat as he went to sip his bourbon.
Jessica looked over shakily, noticing Jeremy sat at the back of the room.
"How?" Jessica asked, still trying to wake her sleepy brain up.
"You leave your door unlocked" Jeremy shrugged.
Damon rolled his eyes as he tilted his glass.
"I wouldn't drink that" Jeremy admitted.
Jessica looked at him in shock.
"I put vervain in it" Jeremy said.
"Why?" Jessica asked.
"So, I could stake him with this" Jeremy said, showing them the stake.
"You were going to kill him?" Jessica asked.
Jeremy shrugged.
"He killed me first" Jeremy replied.
"Fair" Jessica agreed.
"What made you change your mind?" Damon asked.
"My ancestors spent their lives hating vampires. I wanted to stand for something as well but then, what's killing you going to achieve?" Jeremy questioned.
"Sorry I don't have milk and cookies" Damon stated sarcastically.
Jessica launched a pillow at him.
Damon glared at her.
"Try again" Jessica stated.
"Fine! I don't do the brother thing very well. My father hated vampires, he killed Stefan and I when he realised our involvement with them back in 1864" Damon told him.
Jeremy looked in surprise, taking in everything Damon was telling him. Jeremy then turned to Jessica.
"What about you?" Jeremy asked.
"I'm not exactly a vampire, if that's what you're asking" Jessica replied.
"But you are a Salvatore, right?" Jeremy asked.
Jessica nodded.
"Then, who are you exactly?" Jeremy asked.
Jessica sighed, knowing she had to give Jeremy something. She focused on his badly whittled stake and used her pent-up energy to set it on fire.
Jeremy's eyes widened at he immediately launched the flaming stake across the room. Jessica broke her concentration, and the flames abated.
"What the hell was that?" Jeremy asked.
"That was fire Jeremy, duh!" Jessica replied as she smirked at him.
"Are you really old as well?" Jeremy asked her.
"I'm a fifteen-year-old British kid, Jeremy" Jessica replied.
Jeremy nodded.
Damon watched the two carefully before deciding to call it a night due to Jessica fighting to stay awake.
"Jeremy, I trust that you can keep our supernatural secrets?" Damon asked, threat underlying his tone.
Jeremy took one final glance at Jessica before he nodded.
"I will. But I want to help you" Jeremy said with confidence.
.
.
.
After Jeremy had left, Damon and Jessica crashed on the couch. The house was silent and the two of them watched the flames dancing in the fireplace.
The sound of Damon's phone ringing broke the silence, Damon frowned at his phone.
"Damon Salvatore" he stated as he answered the call.
Jessica frowned as she watched Damon's expressions.
"Yes, thank you for getting back to me. Actually, she's right here…shall I put her on?" Damon asked.
Jessica stared at him in curious confusion as he held his phone out to her.
He had a serious expression on his face but nodded reassuringly at her.
Jessica took the phone.
"Hello?" she greeted the caller.
"Hello Jessica. It's nurse Kathy here, you came to the hospital last week and I just wanted to discuss some test results with you" the doctor stated.
Jessica gulped.
"Ok" she whispered nervously.
She felt Damon place a hand on her knee.
"The results that have come back from the samples I took, have some mixed results. Firstly, I want to reassure you that you have no sexually transmitted infections or diseases…which is an excellent start. However, we do have other concerns…" the doctor explained.
Jessica gritted her teeth; did she want to know?
"These concerns are a bit delicate. The sample we took from your uterus indicates that your body has experienced pregnancy before. We cannot tell when this is likely to have occurred though. We believe that, at some point in the last couple of years, you were pregnant, but you miscarried…most likely without even realizing it. Your uterus seems not to have settled back into place correctly. We have concluded that the suddenness of potential pregnancy and miscarriage was difficult for such a young body to handle without any supportive medical care. Therefore, your body has tried to heal itself as naturally as it can. As it stands, we believe that this will not cause any problems in the future however, we have noted it on your medical history in case you do develop problems in conceiving or childbearing later on" the doctor explained.
"Oh" was all Jessica could say.
She wasn't sure how to feel as she slipped into her own mind.
She barely felt Damon taking the phone from her and continuing the conversation with the doctor whilst she stared vacantly into the fireplace once more. She also didn't see Damon's extremely worried glances at her.
Damon asked the doctor a couple more questions before hanging up his phone.
He then turned to the frozen Jessica.
"Jessica?" he whispered gently, trying to get her attention.
Jessica was still lost to her thoughts. Sudden flashes of the last two – almost three – years flew through her mind. All that time wasted on mindless fucks with uncaring boys, sexual assault, the aches and pains she sometimes experienced in her stomach and hips as a result.
She suddenly began trembling at the memories and her emotionless walls came crashing down. Along with the remnants of her magical outburst earlier, her body was in complete overdrive and didn't know how to react.
Damon had now kneeled in front of her and was lightly shaking her shoulders, he was terrified by her changing facial expressions and the magical energy he could feel lingering sinisterly in the air around them.
"Jessica!" he shouted at her.
Jessica snapped back to the present, emotionless walls crumbled, and she stared into Damon's worried and pitying eyes.
"Talk to me Sweetie" he begged her.
Jessica threw herself onto the floor where her father was still kneeling in front of the sofa and propelled herself into his outstretched arms.
"Hey! Jessica…we can work through this together" Damon promised as he wrapped his arms tightly around his daughter.
Jessica promptly burst into relentless tears, her body still fizzling with magic.