A/N - This is pretty much Salvatore family fluff. Special thank you toHeyStardustfor pointing out the lack of Damon/Elena/Grayson scenes – you were absolutely right and I hope you enjoythis chapter!
Xoxo ~P
Chapter 5
"So, what do we do now?" Grayson asked.
"I don't know. Let's go talk to your mom about it."
They found Elena in the kitchen throwing together leftovers from the night before. She looked strangely calm and when she saw them, she smiled brightly.
"Hey! I don't know about you guys but I'm starving" she said when she saw them.
"Yeah, sure I could eat" Grayson said and looked at Damon with raised eyebrows.
He shrugged and scrounged up a bottle of bourbon before sitting down at the table. Grayson followed suit and sat down across from him. Elena set three plates of homemade fried rice on the table and took her seat next to Damon. Asian food wasn't really Damon's forte but the local take-out place was awful so he'd been experimenting. They ate in silence for a while and he was grateful to his wife for not freaking out about the days' events. If she panicked, their son would panic and the absolute last thing they needed was a panicked teenager with magical powers.
"Why does Jeremy hate you so much?" Grayson asked him.
"Because we tried to protect him by lying to him about Vicki and the vampires. When he figured it out on his own, your grandfather introduced him to the Augustine's and they have drawers full of the misdeeds of Damon Salvatore" he told him.
"Do you guys know who killed Vicki?"
Damon gave Elena a long look and she sighed.
"My biological mother killed her."
Grayson blinked at them and opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"I know, it's weird" Elena said.
"But. . .why?" Grayson asked.
"Because she was a heartless monster."
"Was?" Grayson asked.
"She's dead. I killed her" Damon told him.
"Why don't I know any of this?"
"You've never asked" Elena said with a shrug.
"If I ask now, will you tell me the truth?"
"Of course. When have we ever lied to you?"
"Ok so tell me about your biological mom. What happened to her?"
"I'm going to need more bourbon for this story" Damon said and took a long swig straight from the bottle.
"Your dad...um..."
"I turned her" Damon finished for her.
"What?" Grayson asked with wide eyes.
"I didn't know who she was when I did it and I...wasn't myself back then. I was in a dark place and when she found me and asked me to turn her, I did it."
"Why did you kill her?"
"Fair warning, this story only gets weirder. Isobel, your biological grandmother, was married to your uncle Ric before I turned her. She hadn't seen him in years but when he decided to finally move on and propose to Jenna, she turned into the green-eyed monster and tried to kill Jenna."
"Wait, so Grandpa John had a thing with this Isobel woman but Uncle Ric married her and then you killed her. . .twice?"
"That about covers it, yeah."
"That's kind of fucked up."
"Language!" Elena scolded.
"Sorry...but it's true."
"You live as long as I have, things get fucked up."
Elena glared at him but he only shrugged. Grayson swearing was the least of his worries.
"Is this what life in Mystic Falls is going to be like? Weird fu. . .er, messed up stuff happening all the time?"
"That's always been my experience in this town."
"That's not true. We have lots of happy memories here and so will you. Bad things happen no matter where you live. You just have to focus on the good stuff" Elena countered, giving Damon a pointed look.
"We could go back to New York" Grayson suggested.
"I don't think running away is an option, kiddo. This kind of thing tends to follow you wherever you go" Damon said.
"Then I need to learn more magic."
"Yeah, because starting fires with your mind is kid's stuff" Damon said with a raised eyebrow.
"But you just said it, stuff like this is going to keep happening. I have to know how to protect myself."
"You managed just fine today" Elena told him.
"That was dumb luck. What if you guys aren't there next time?"
The thought made Damon nauseas but the boy had a point. He and Stefan had gotten away with teaching Grayson to shoot a gun but she had drawn the line at physical violence. Now he wished he'd pushed harder for the karate class.
"I guess that's fair but magic will only get you so far. If you want to learn to defend yourself, I'll teach you" he said.
"Really?" Grayson asked excitedly.
"Damon!"
"Don't Damon me, Elena. He's right. We can't be next to him every second of every day and, as I recall, you went through a Buffy phase yourself before you turned."
"That was different" she insisted.
"How?" Damon demanded and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I knew what I was up against."
"He watched me kill half a dozen people today. I think he has a pretty good idea."
"Do I get a say in this?" Grayson asked.
"No" they said in unison.
He gave them a sullen look and made a 'hmph' sound. Elena stared him down for a long moment before her shoulders sagged.
"Fine, but I'm going to help you teach him."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, my little Warrior Princess" Damon said and smirked at her.
Elena's eyes twinkled at the nickname and she grinned back at him.
"So, how's school going?" she asked, obviously hoping to change the subject.
"Really?" Grayson asked with an incredulous look.
"Yes, really. Life can't be all vampires, witches, and secret societies."
Damon mentally patted her on the back for trying to maintain some sense of normalcy.
"It's ok, I guess. My English teacher and my science teacher think I should switch to honors classes next semester. They don't think I'm being challenged enough" he told her with air quotes around the word 'challenged'.
"Do the classes feel too easy?" Elena asked.
School had never been a problem for Grayson. He'd never come home with anything less than a B+ and his teachers always gushed about what a great kid he was. There had even been a mother at one of St. John's 'parent nights' that had offered Damon and Elena an exorbitant amount of money to have Grayson tutor her son. Grayson told them he'd rather poke his eye out with a pencil when they mentioned it to him and Damon had to compel the woman to stop asking him about it.
"If I say 'yes' are you going to make me take the honors classes?"
"Not if you don't want to but I don't want you to be bored either" he told Grayson.
His son shrugged.
"It's all pretty easy but I'm not bored. It's kind of nice not stressing over tests and homework."
Damon narrowed his eyes at him and Elena pursed her lips.
"Shouldn't there be at least one thing in my life that's not complicated? I promise, if I get bored I'll talk to Uncle Ric about switching to honors classes."
"Pinky promise?" Elena asked and held up her little finger.
Grayson hooked his finger through hers and shook it.
"Pinky promise."
Damon still had his doubts and he was going to mention it to Ric but, for now, he let it go. He looked up at the clock and realized it was after nine.
"It's getting late. Gray, go get ready for bed" he told him.
"I'm not tired."
"I don't care."
"But..."
"It's been a long day and I don't feel like arguing with you. Go to bed" Damon insisted.
"I'm really not tired, though" the boy whined.
"Grayson, if you don't get your ass up those stairs and brush your teeth, I will compel you."
He had promised Elena a long time ago that he would never compel their son, and he had no intention of following through on the threat, but he was exhausted and his patience was worn thin. With a sour look on his face, Grayson pushed up from the table and huffed up the stairs to his room.
"I know, I know, I promised no compulsion but..."
Elena put her hand up to stop him.
"It's ok, I know. I'm going to get us some blood. Just relax" she told him with a gentle smile.
He let out a relieved sigh and nodded.
A few seconds after Elena walked out, Caroline came into the kitchen and hopped up on the counter.
"The driveway is now free of dead people" she announced.
"Thanks, Blondie."
"You're welcome. How's Grayson?"
"He's either taking this extremely well or he's in shock and he's going to freak out any minute."
"Well he's half Elena so I'd put my money on the former."
"I can't decide whether I hope you're right or not" he said dryly.
"He's going to be ok, Damon."
"He has to be. If something happened to him...I would lose my mind."
"We all would. I know he's your son but he's the closest thing I'm ever going to have to a child and you know Stefan feels the same way. We would die for him."
"I know. I'm glad you're here."
"I'm sorry, what did you just say? Can you say that again real slow for me? I'm going to record it" she said with a wide smile.
"Shut up" he said but grinned back.
"I'm going to go say goodnight to Grayson" she told him and jumped down from the countertop.
"Make sure he actually goes to bed, please" Damon called after her as Elena walked back into the kitchen with the blood bags.
She handed him one and sat back down across from him. They sipped in silence for a minute before Elena set hers down and gave him an affectionate smile.
"What?" He asked with a smirk.
"I don't think I tell you often enough what a wonderful father you are."
"You're a pretty fantastic parent yourself" he told her.
"I know we have a long way to go still but I think we're kind of kicking ass at this whole parenting thing. For being raised by vampires, our son is extremely well adjusted."
"Cheers to us then" he said and tipped his bag towards her.
She picked hers up and tapped it against his with a giggle.
Two days later, on a Saturday, Damon and Elena woke Grayson up at dawn for his first self-defense lesson. They'd expected a groggy, irritable teenager but he jumped out of bed and got dressed in less than five minutes. They drank a cup of coffee and ate breakfast before they headed out to the backyard where Damon had dragged a punching dummy and a few other essentials. He and Elena agreed that they were going to start with hand to hand since, as far as they knew, Grayson had never punched anyone in his life.
"Alright, first things first. Make a fist" Damon instructed.
His son held up his hand with his thumb curled under his fingers.
"Nope. You're going to break your thumb like that."
He took hold of Grayson's hand and rearranged his fingers so his thumb was on the outside and laid across his index finger.
"Like this, ok?"
Grayson nodded.
"Ok, now try to hit me."
"Um...are you sure?" Grayson asked uncertainly and glanced back at where his mother was standing.
"You're going to need a lot of practice before you even come close to hitting a vampire, I promise" Elena assured him.
Still looking skeptical, Grayson pulled his hand back and punched towards Damon's face. He caught his fist gently and smiled at his stunned looking son.
"Woah, I didn't even see you move."
"Told ya. So, when you throw a punch, you want to use your whole body not just your arm. Stand with one foot in front of the other, like this."
Damon took a fight stance and Grayson copied him.
"Square your shoulders and plant your legs, Gray. Don't lean forward like that" Elena told him.
He stood up straighter and Damon could see him put more weight on his legs.
"Good, that's good. Ok, now throw your whole shoulder into the punch" Damon said.
He did and Damon caught his fist again with a proud grin.
"Perfect! Now hit the dummy just like that."
Grayson took a deep breath and stood in front of the dummy. He took the stance Damon had showed him and punched the dummy's grouchy looking rubber face.
"Ow!" He shouted and shook his fist in surprise.
Damon saw Elena wince but she kept her mommy instincts in check and said nothing.
"Sorry, kid. I wanted you to know that hitting people hurts. Put the gloves on" Damon told him and nodded towards the training gloves that were on the ground.
"But I won't have gloves in real life."
"You have to build up strength in your hands. It took me weeks of practice before I could hit a dummy without the gloves" Elena told him.
Grayson grudgingly strapped the gloves on and faced the dummy again.
"Ok, now comes the workout. You're going to hit him with two short jabs using your right hand and then get him with a left hook. Then switch hands. Two short jabs with your left, one right hook."
Damon punched the air to show him what he meant.
"Got it?"
"Yep."
Grayson went through the routine once and then looked to Damon.
"That's it. That's what we're doing today. You're going to do that over and over until it feels like your arms are going to fall off."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Now get punching."
Damon leaned against the stone wall and watched his son do six sets before he stopped. His breath was ragged and he rested his hands on his knees.
"Alright, take a break. Here, drink some water" Elena said and handed him a bottle.
Grayson finished it in three gulps and swiped at the sweat on his brow. He stood next to Damon, trying to catch his breath.
"What did you mean when you said mom went through a Buffy phase?" He asked when he was breathing normally again.
"Before I turned, your dad and Uncle Ric taught me to fight."
"Were you any good at it?"
"Are you kidding? I kicked ass."
"Ha!" Damon laughed.
Elena raised her eyebrows at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You never landed a single punch."
"Not on you but that wasn't a fair fight" she argued.
He grinned widely at the memory of human Elena trying to come at him. She'd been adorably frustrated and he'd enjoyed egging her on.
"So who's stronger?" Grayson asked curiously.
"Me. Vampires get stronger the longer they live" Damon told him.
"I could still take you" Elena said confidently.
"Not a chance, newbie."
A girl in one of his classes at St. John's had asked him once if his parents were really as crazy about each other as they seemed and his answer had, of course, been 'yes'. She'd seemed doubtful and when Grayson saw her parents together at a school charity event, he'd understood why. They didn't touch, they barely spoke and they only seemed to smile when their daughter was nearby. His parents were almost always touching if they were near each other and his dad never seemed to run out of endearing nicknames for his mom. Sure they fought sometimes but mostly they teased one another and laughter had been far more prevalent in their house than shouting. Grayson felt sorry for the girl and had vowed to always be grateful for the fact that his parents really loved each other. So, when his mother launched herself at his father and ended up flung over Dad's shoulder, he just stood back and watched with a grin.
"Now what?" Dad teased her as he held onto her squirming form.
"This!"
Mom buried her fingers in his ribs and started to tickle him mercilessly. To Grayson's surprise, his dad broke into a fit of laughter and Mom fell off his shoulder. Dad scooped her back into his arms before she hit the ground and he set her on her feet with a chuckle.
"For the record, tickling is not an appropriate form of self-defense" Dad told him.
"I can't believe you're ticklish" he said with a mischievous grin.
"And if you ever tell anyone that, you'll spend an entire year thinking your name is Polly Prissypants."
Grayson tried but he couldn't seem to wipe the smirk off his face.
"Think that's pretty funny, do you? Five more sets with the dummy" Dad told him.
The smile disappeared.
"Aw, come on. My arms are killing me" he whined.
"Can you move them?"
"Well...yeah."
"Then you're not done yet" Dad said and ticked his head towards dummy.
"Geez, drill sergeant much?" Mom asked, shooting him a worried look.
"I'm fine, Mom" Grayson told her and started punching again.
His arms were screaming at him but he wanted to show his dad that he wasn't a quitter. If Dad said punch the dummy until his arms fell off, then that was what he was going to do. Jab, jab, hook. Switch. Jab, jab, hook. Switch.The routine was actually kind of calming. There was nothing but him and the dummy that he had decided to name Oscar, for his grumpy expression. All the other stressors in his life seemed to fade away as he focused his full attention on the physical motions. He counted ten sets before his arms went limp and he looked back to his parents.
"Ok, now I can't move them" he wheezed out.
"You did great!" Mom encouraged.
Dad nodded in agreement and held out another bottle of water. The bottle felt like it weighed a hundred pounds as he lifted it to his mouth with trembling hands. Sports had never been his thing. Sometimes he watched football with his dad and uncle but he'd never felt the urge to try out for any teams. Academia was more up his alley and the debate team had qualified as the obligatory extracurricular activity at St. John's. In hindsight, maybe he should have joined the track team or something.
"I feel like a wimp" he said and sat down on the grass.
"You're not a wimp. You're just a little out of shape" Mom told him and plopped down next to him.
"She's right. With some training, you'll be kicking ass and taking names in no time."
"If you say so."
"I do say so. Go take a shower. You can call Tori to meet you at the grill. I think you've earned a cheeseburger."
Author's Update - September 27, 2018: To all the wonderful people who have asked if I plan to finish this story, the answer is "YES!". However, the fine print on that statement reads "sometime in the future, at an unknown date" because I have no idea when I'll have time to sit down and give this story the ending it deserves. I foresee at least another 3 chapters out of this and my hope is to have some keyboard time this winter. I can't make any promises but there might be an end in early 2019.
Xoxo ~P