BROTHERLY COMFORT

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. This is a tag to my fic Spellbound. Yes, I'm aware of how lame that is, but I was in the mood to write some Damon/Stefan brotherly fluff. Takes place a few days after the events of the last chap of Spellbound.

Stefan was in his bed sleeping. However, it wasn't peaceful. He moaned as he tossed and turned.

"No. No. Please," he begged. He let out a small cry as he continued to thrash about in the bed. Montague laughed as he held Stefan in place and ran his claws down the younger vampire's chest. Stefan screamed. Stefan whimpered and made motions as if trying to escape someone or something. Damon, who had been staying with Stefan the past few days, silently hurried towards his little brother. Geez, not again. Come on, Little Brother. Snap out of it, he thought to himself. The younger vampire's nightmares had been coming in waves since the incident with Montague. Not that Damon could blame Stefan for being a wreck. Heck, if someone had been lucky enough to control him in a vulnerable moment and use him as a play thing-not that it would ever happen-he'd probably be having nightmares too.

"Easy, Stefan. Come on, it's okay," he whispered, smoothing back his brother's hair soothingly, and for a moment, it was like when they were younger, and Stefan had been about eight or so and having a nightmare about the bad man under his bed. At Damon's touch, Stefan's wild actions slowed, though his face was still a visage of pain. "Easy, Little Brother. I've got you," he said in Italian. Stefan continued to moan and Damon started humming. It was a song that their mother had sung to him before Stefan had been born which had always calmed him down, and in the past few days, it had seemed to be having the same effect on his younger brother. Soon, the moans turned into soft whimpers, which tapered off. Damon continued to hum. It's all right, Little Brother. There ain't nothin' that's gonna hurt you, he thought to himself. Finally, Stefan's whimpered completely dissipated and his breathing switched to regular intervals. Ah, much better, Damon thought with approval. While it was true that vampires didn't need to sleep, it would definitely do Stefan some good. Damon's eyes clouded and he made himself comfortable on the end of the bed. Well, no mater how long it took for Stefan to get that creep Montague out of his head, he'd be here for him. 'Cuz he was the older brother. It was in his job description. And if nothing else, Damon was a big brother first.

THE END