You are my Freedom

1st Flashback

*Thanksgiving at the Salvatore Estate 1851...

Giuseppe has just made Damon eat his pet turkey, Sami. His mother did nothing to help him and he was forced to chew and swallow his friend. He felt completely alone in the world.

Later that night unable to sleep, Damon snuck out not caring if his father found out and punished him for it. He was by the back door when he heard something coming from the kitchen. Going to explore Damon came across a small girl half in the tin can (garbage bin)

"What are you doing?" he asked startling the little girl.

Afraid she quickly tries to scurry away from the master's son but Damon catches her by the arm.

"I'am not going to hurt you," he tries to reassure her, "but why are you going through the garbage... are you hungry?" He asked horrified the young girl might not be getting enough to eat.

"I wanted to bury her for you." she manages to squeak out.

Confused Damon looks down to see a small collection of bones gathered on the floor.

"Sami?" He asks.

"I thought if I got all her bones together she could still go in the ground. I mean people go in the ground and turn to bones eventually anyway, right? And this way she can rest in peace even if her life didn't end in that way."

This was perhaps the kindest gesture anyone had shown him. He sits down on the dirty ground and starts helping the little girl sort the bones from the rest of the trash.

Quietly they finish the task and venture out into the night. They come across a big beautiful tree far enough from the house no one will see the disturbed ground.

Damon swiped a shovel from the stables and digs a hole and together they gently lay what's left of Sami to rest. After filling back in the dirt the little girl grabs Damon's hand and bows her head to say a prayer.

"Dear God, thank you for giving us Sami, she was a very good turkey. She never hurt anyone and brought happiness to others, and that's more than most of your children do so please welcome her into heaven even if she isn't people. Amen."

"Amen," Damon said surprised how choked up he was.

Walking back to the house Damon had tears in his eyes, the little girl moved him so much and being able to say goodbye to Sami and ask God to let her into heaven had been a much better goodbye than he thought he'd be left with thanks to his Father.

Inside he helped the girl clean up the kitchen so others wouldn't know what they'd done. She had such sweet features especially her eyes, they were (you decide)

He found them comforting and wondered why he had never been treated to them before.

"So... who are you exactly? I don't remember seeing you around before." He timidly asks all of a sudden feeling shy.

"I got here not too long ago." She explains, "my father passed and left my Mother with quite a bit of debt, she sold me off to help keep my younger siblings fed. They're still too small to work."

Damon scrunches up his eyebrows and studies her "You're still too small to work."

She simply shrugged her shoulders.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Clara."

He smiled hearing her name, it fit her perfectly.

"Pleasure to meet you miss Clara, Damon Salvatore at your service." He recited with a dramatic bow.

He was rewarded with a timid but brilliant smile, that made him light up from within.

"I don't want to say goodbye but we should probably leave it's almost morning now, it wouldn't be good if we were caught in here." He tells her.

Clara nods, "I know" She gave him a smile and a small curtsey and turned to leave but Damon stopped her.

"Wait. Thank you for what you did for me tonight, no one has ever... just thank you."

"You're welcome Damon Salvatore."

*Present- Salvatore Boarding House...

Stefan had dropped Elena home and was now returning to the Boarding House to figure out what the hell was going on with his brother.

Upon entering the first thing he hears is the shower running from Damon's room. He walks up the stairs and enters the room. He can see into the bathroom because of the mirror on the opposite wall and the door that was left open.

He sees his brother caring for the limp lifeless mystery vampire. He is being so gentle with her it is so strange seeing his brother this way. He slowly creeps back out of the room suddenly feeling like he was intruding on a very private intimate moment.

After washing her Damon dressed Clara in one of his John Varvatos shirts before laying her down on his bed. He didn't want to leave her, he never wanted to be apart from her again but he needed blood from the cellar to fully bring her back. So reluctantly he left his bedroom only to immediately be met by his brother.

Damon sighed, "Now's not that time Stefan." he said pushing past Stefan and making his way downstairs.

But Stefan wasn't about to be brushed off,

"Damon you have been terrorizing me, Elena, countless others all to get into that tomb and free Katherine. Now you're not the least bit upset she wasn't there, you're upstairs with someone I've never even seen before calling her your wife?"

Damon stops and shakes his head, "With all your high and mighty act these last few decades I sometimes forget how much like Father you can be..." Stefan gives his signature broody forehead look not following.

"She worked for us," He explains, "one of the servants, just a child when she started but she cleaned and made meals for you most of your human life. But like good ole' Giuseppe they were invisible to you weren't they?"

Stefan feels bad he doesn't remember her but quickly moves past it, "That doesn't explain.."

Damon takes a big breath tilting his head up trying to control the urge just to snap his brother's neck and get back upstairs,

"Look I don't have the time or energy to walk you through this step by step so cliff notes: I wanted in that tomb to end Katherine once and for all and despite you being all team Elena I wasn't convinced you wouldn't stop me from ending the original copy, so I played you. Clara and I married in secret before I went to war. When I got back Kathrine used compulsion on me, having a devoted husband didn't exactly make for the best boytoy. Now if you'll excuse me." He rhetorically asked and pushed past Stefan.

Having retrieved what he needed from the cellar he zoomed back upstairs leaving Stefan in the dust and somehow even more confused about what was going on with his brother than before they talked.

Clara laid perfectly still while Damon squeezed the blood from the bag letting it drip down her throat. Suddenly her hand shot up breaking Damon's wrist but holding him close greedily sucking down the remnants of blood. Finished Damon managed to pry his wrist free silently cursing from the pain and reached for another bag.

Four bags later Damon lays down next to his love running his fingers through her drying hair telling her over and over again that no one will ever hurt her again.

"I am so sorry I wasn't there. I won't ever leave you again, I promise you it was never my choice in the first place. I love you, you're the only one I will ever love or want. Please my darling, open those pretty eyes for me."

A few minutes later Damon got his wish and once again was able to stare into those comforting pools of (your choice)