Chapter 2

Damon groaned lowly as he felt someone nudging him. Opening his eyes, his cerulean orbs came into contact on his younger brother's masculine frame, standing there with a smug grin on his chiseled features. "What the hell is so damn amusing?" Damon growled lowly, obviously in a bad mood from being rudely awakened.

A soft chuckle flowed through Stefan's thin brims as he looked over at the vacant playpen then back to Damon's annoyed features. "Your kid escaped."

Hearing those words instantly woke Damon up as he leapt gracefully to his feet, his azure hues widening in horror when they came into contact with the once pristine wall covered with colorful lines and scribbles. He lowered his anger-filled gaze to the ground, coming into contact with the little monster that did this. "Delena, what the hell did you do?!" The admonishing words slipped through his velvety lines before he had a chance to stop himself, but he was too fueled on anger to care.

Turning infinitesimal blue hues towards the towering frame of her father, Delena casually stuck her thumb inside her mouth as she flashed a smile towards the choleric form of the enraged vampire. "Mwe dwaw picture Dadda."

Stefan's emerald irises watched as his brother's frame stalked over to the little girl, gritting his pearly whites in opulent anger, his darkening crystalline spheres giving the wall a acrid look before speaking in a chilled voice. "You do NOT draw on my walls, you little brat! Do you know how long it'll take me until I can get this abhorrent color removed from my wall?!"

Upon hearing the vehemently words of her dad, Delena's eyes filled with tears as her minuscule orbs were met with an icy stare. A heavy sigh escaped Stefan's coral lips as he watched the scene unfold, knowing that what Delena did was bad but she didn't deserve to be talked to like that. There had to be some sort of reason for her drawing on the wall, and he was going to find out. Cautiously, Stefan promenaded his masculine body over to his pissed off brother and the crying little girl. Coiling his dexterous digits around the frail form of his niece, he gently swooped her into his arms, earning a heated glare from Damon as he begin to rock Delena back and forth. "That's no way to talk to a child, Damon. Honestly, you're impossible."

Damon could feel his rage building at his brother's lack of authority. He was supposed to be helping him discipline the non obsequious child. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Have you seen my wall?"

Stefan nodded feverishly, still holding Delena in his strong embrace. "Yes, I have Damon. But instead of getting angry and losing our temper, how about we isolate the problem first, and figure out why she decided to turn your wall into a coloring book?"

A flabbergasted expression claimed Damon's pallid features as he gave his brother an incredulous look. "You want to figure out why she did it? Stefan there is no reason. She's just being a disobedient little brat who needs a spanking!"

A roll of Stefan's leafy eyes could be seen as Delena's crying increased upon hearing Damon's onerous tone. "Damon, you know good and well that Elena doesn't believe in that kind of punishment. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll give the kiddo a two minute time out and question her methods."

A look of disinclination passed over Damon's features as he gave into Stefan's demands, but not liking it one little bit. "She better have a damn good reason for this." he spat bitterly before storming back over to the couch, opening the decanter and pouring himself a glass of the amber-colored fluid, needing a drink to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Shhh...don't cry midget. Your dad didn't mean to yell at you." Stefan's consoling voice could be heard over Delena's cries as he carried her into her room, sitting down into the rocking chair. A look of dismay tainted Stefan's usually frivolous demeanor whenever he was around his niece, hating to see her cry. Once she managed to calm down a bit, Stefan decided it was now time to start questioning her. "Why did you draw on your dad's wall, midget?"

A couple of sniffles could be heard from Delena's minuscule form as her aquatic hues lingered on her uncle's frame, before softly speaking in her lisped voice which appeared to be shaky from the crying she had been doing. "Mwe dwaw Dadda Steffy picwure. P-paper aww gones."

Stefan could feel his heart swelling at the understanding of what his little niece was trying to covey to him. Gently, he swiped the pad of his pollex across the plump cheek that was littered with tears, before adding a gentle kiss to the creamy skin. "And your daddy and I love the pictures you draw, kiddo. But next time, ask us before you draw on anything that's not paper, okay? We don't want Daddy to get mad again, do we?"

Delena shook her head furiously, her tiny digits clinging to Stefan's shirt as he stood up, his svelte manus curled around Delena's petite frame as he carried her towards her crib, gently setting her down. "Now, here's the deal. If you can stay in here for two minutes without whining or crying to be let out, I'll give you a surprise."

Delena slowly nodded at her uncle's words, her incandescent orbs lighting up enthusiastically at the word "surprise", knowing that she'll get something good. "Otay Steffy. Mwe quiet."

Stefan chuckled lowly, proud of himself for handling this situation so well. Now, he just needed to go talk to Damon, whom he was sure wouldn't go down without a fight.

"You're rewarding her for bad behavior?!" Damon all but roared in Stefan's face as he sat on the wooden floor, an array of cleaning supplies at his feet as he scrubbed furiously at the wall with a washcloth. "I knew you were an idiot Stefan, but I didn't know how little you use that non-existent brain of yours!"

A low sigh flew from Stefan's plush lines, as blunt pearly whites gently bit his bottom lip, trying not to look amused at his brother when he was in his housewife mode. "She was trying to be nice and draw us a picture. It's partly our fault because we don't give her easy access to paper."

Fuming, Damon stood up and threw the dish rag at his feet, the color on the wall almost completely gone. His cyan gaze was met with an emerald stare, as he slowly begun to get his rage under control. "I shouldn't have lashed out at her like that."

Stefan gave a curt nod, happy that his brother was finally beginning to think rational. "She's upstairs if you would like to go talk to her."

Damon nodded, turning his back on his younger brother and ambling up the staircase, heading in the direction of Delena's room. A slight smirk appeared on his face as he could hear nonsensical babbles emitting from inside the room, signaling that his little girl was in a good mood from her chat with Stefan. Carefully, he twisted the handle and opened the door, walking over to where Delena was sitting and cleared his throat, causing a smaller pair of turquoise eyes to land on his debonair frame. "Hey kiddo. Listen, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean to get so upset with you." He grinned slightly as he extended a single digit, using it to tickle underneath Delena's chin, causing her to giggle loudly. "Do you forgive me?"

"Wes!" Delena's effervescent laughs could be heard as they resonated around the room, bringing a ghost of a smile to the vampire's lips.

"Good, I'm glad. You can come out now." Gently, he maneuvered his supple digits to wrap around his daughter's minuscule frame, slowly easing her into his arms and carrying her downstairs, happy that they made up.

The ambrosial smell of chicken, macaroni and cheese, and spinach filled the capacious kitchen as Stefan slaved away at the stove, cooking a very nutritious meal for his niece and even some for himself and Damon, though they wouldn't eat very much of it. Expeditiously moving around the kitchen, Stefan filled three plates with succulent chicken, cheesy pasta, and some healthy green spinach. Placing all three plates onto the table, Stefan's booming voice could be heard as he called for Damon and Delena, watching as his brother entered with his rambunctious little girl. "Wow Stef, can't believe you made this all by yourself, or did any of your woodland friends help you out?"

Stefan rolled his eyes at his brother's caustic remark, quickly getting two bourbons from the fridge and one box of apple juice, placing them in their respective areas. "You're too funny, Damon."

Placing Delena into her booster seat, Damon took a seat next to her so he can help her eat, not wanting Delena to create a big mess like she always does whenever she eats without supervision. Taking a few bites of the chicken, Stefan watched Damon as he slowly ate his food with an impatient look on his face. "You're waiting for Elena to come back, aren't you?"

Damon sighed lowly, taking a small sip of the poisonous liquid before responding. "This day hasn't been a complete disaster, I'd just like to see someone other than my brooding brother while I'm watching the kid."

Stefan nodded, knowing that he would much rather be out banging Rebekah or any other whore he could find in Mystic Falls. He stopped in his train of thought when he noticed that Delena was only eating her macaroni and a miniature amount of chicken, not her spinach. "Hey midget, try some of your spinach. It's really good."

Delena shook her head at Stefan's words, pushing the plate back. "Dat wucky."

Damon frowned instantly, turning in his seat so he can face his daughter. "Delena, for once listen to your uncle. Eat some spinach."

"No! Wucky!" Delena cried as she attempted to get out of her booster seat, not wanting to eat anymore.

"Delena, I said eat your damn food!" Damon didn't have anymore patience left within him for this abysmal child. He didn't even care if she turned on the waterworks, because it wasn't going to work this time.

Stefan sighed, hearing his niece start to cry for the second time that day. Fulminating towards Damon, he picked up Delena while giving Damon a chastising look. "You clearly are an idiot, aren't you? Yelling at children isn't going to make them listen to you. You have to make them want it." Holding his niece with one hand, Stefan picked up the plastic spoon in the other, flashing Delena a dazzling smile. "Look at how good this is Delena! Uncle Steffy loves spinach!" Grinning, he popped some of it into his mouth while simultaneously swallowing and wearing a radiant grin to show Delena how good it tasted. "Now Delena try some!"

Damon watched with extreme disdain as his brother fed Delena the rest of her spinach, who was accepting the green substance willingly. This seemed to happen every time Damon tried to reprimand his daughter whenever she would disobey him. She'd start crying and Stefan would make everything better.

But, even Damon had to admit that Stefan was good with her. They shared a bond that was irrefutable to anyone but themselves.

A ghost of a smile lingered on Damon's scarlet lips as he watched Stefan get a piece of cheesecake out of the fridge and feed it to his daughter for eating all of her spinach.

Maybe this babysitting thing wasn't as bad as Damon had imagined, but he was ready for Elena to come home and reward him for watching the kid all day.

The End

A/N: So sorry this chapter took awhile to post, but I hope you all liked it and I appreciate any and all feedback :) Thanks for reading!