When the three men returned to the car, they found the women in the backseat. The only change that seemed to have taken place in Lucy's status was her head was now laying in Caroline's lap. "Scoot over, Blondie," Damon instructed as he opened the door. He slid into the back and took the girl's place under Lucy's head.
He kept trying to get some sort of response from her as his brother drove them to the boarding house. Damon patted the cheek that was slightly less bruised not wanting to hurt her anymore than she already was. "Come on, princess. Wake up." He only needed her aware enough to take his blood.
Alaric glanced back. "We need to take her to the hospital."
"No," the brothers said in unison.
"We just need her to drink some of our blood. It will heal her. If we take her to the hospital, that's not an option any longer. The rapid healing would be too suspicious," Stefan explained. "Trust me. We're saving her a lot of suffering by doing it this way."
"And if you can't get her to drink?" the teacher asked.
Damon kept his focus on Lucy as he answered. "She'll drink."
"Stefan, start my shower then come back and take the teacher home," Damon ordered as they pulled up in front of the house.
Alaric got out and leaned the seat up. Damon handed Lucy out then immediately took her back into his arms once he cleared the car. "I'll need your help, Blondie." He gave a nod of thanks to the teacher then raced inside and up to his room knowing Caroline would follow.
He laid Lucy on his bed and kicked off his shoes before stripping down to his boxers. He left her in his shirt and carried her into his shower. Sitting on the bench that ran along the wall he cradled her in his lap, careful to keep her face out of the spray. She gasped awake as the warm water hit her sensitive skin. She curled in on herself and tried to push away but Damon held her in place. "Shh. It's okay, sweetheart. I've got you. You're home now."
She collapsed against his chest though her breaths continued to come in heavy pants. He bit into his wrist and held it to her lips. "I need you to drink, baby. Come on and heal up."
Her lips covered the wound and she sucked down the offered blood. After a few moments, she pulled away and rested her head back against his chest. "Thank you."
He kissed the top of her head. "Anything for you." Caroline stepped into the room catching his attention. He gave her a nod then put his focus back on Lucy. "Do you think you can stand? I need to get out."
Lucy whimpered and grasped onto his shoulders. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
He made shushing noises and rocked her just a little. "I'm not going to leave you, Lucy, but Caroline is going to help you clean up."
His human shook her head and kept him in her grip. "We can leave our underwear on, Day. Just don't leave me. Please." Her voice broke on the last word and tears ran to mix with the water on her cheeks.
"Okay. Calm down, sweetheart." He looked at Caroline who was watching with wide eyes. "There are clothes she uses in the second drawer down on the right side of my dresser. Grab her some pants and a t-shirt. And some underwear from her room. Bring them in here so she can change after the shower if you don't mind."
"Sure. Anything," the girl answered with a nod before hurrying off.
He sat with Lucy on his lap until Caroline dropped off the clothes and disappeared, shutting the bedroom door behind her. "Alright, princess. Stand up."
Lucy stood. Damon kept his hands on her waist until he was certain her shaky legs would hold her. She nodded to let him know she was steady. He rose to his feet, his hands moving up with him and sliding his shirt off over her head. Though her skin was now void of the previous injuries, he still saw every one in his mind. He should have gotten to her sooner. Should have never turned her away at the bar. He traced his fingers across her belly where a particularly nasty cut had been only minutes before.
Her hand fell on his to stop the movement and he glanced up to meet her eye. She studied him for a moment before leaning into him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I'm fine now and this wasn't your fault, Salvatore. You saved me. You healed me. Don't let it haunt you, too."
He flinched at the words. At the reminder that this would trouble her for weeks to come. He clenched his teeth, working a muscle in his jaw. "Turn around," he instructed. He grasped her head and tipped it back gently. Once her hair was soaked, he shampooed it, massaging her scalp with his fingertips. He rinsed her hair then grabbed a washrag to scrub the remnants of dirt and blood from her back.
As he washed her skin, he curled around her, pressing his front to her back as he cleaned the front of her. He dropped a kiss onto the curve of her shoulder, his tongue darting out to lick the water from her skin. Lucy sucked in a breath and tilted her head to the side to offer him better access. He licked and nipped his way up the line of her throat until he reached the scar she still bore from his bite. As much as he hated that he hadn't been able to heal her, he had to admit that he liked her wearing his mark.
He pulled himself away from her and turned her to face him, kissing her forehead as he did so. As many times as he had thought about taking Lucy to bed, she was vulnerable right now and he wouldn't use her to comfort himself. She deserved better than that which is why all her visits between his sheets had been and would be purely platonic. He sighed as he took in the question in her eyes.
Ignoring it, he turned off the water and grabbed a towel for her. He wrapped it around her and she grabbed it to hold it closed. He grabbed another towel and wrapped it around his waist. "I'll go in the other room. Get dressed and come out when you're ready."
He disappeared behind the wall in the bedroom, grabbing a pair of pants out of his dresser and slipping them on once he'd ditched the wet boxers in the hamper. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his bare chest and waited for her.
She padded out of the bathroom in a pair of his pajama pants she'd rolled at the ankle and one of his old t-shirts. Ordinarily he'd feel a little guilty about dressing her in his clothes without asking what she wanted but not tonight. He needed to have that connection with her. She walked over to him and he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head. "You scared the shit out of me today, kitten. Don't do it again."
"I'll do my best, Day."
***
Lucy spent the night in Damon's bed wrapped in his arms. And when nightmares woke her in the early morning hours, he'd made calming noises and kissed her head and face until he'd chased them away. When she woke for the day, she was alone in the bed much to her disappointment. She'd wanted to cuddle.
She called for the brothers. Stefan appeared in the doorway a moment later. He smiled at her though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "How are you?"
She gave her best comforting smile. "I'm okay, Stefan. Thanks to you guys. Thank you."
He shrugged one shoulder. "You're family, Luce. We do what we must for family."
That had her smile shifting to a grin. "Do you happen to know where my phone is?"
"Yeah, it's in the kitchen waiting for you to join us for pancakes," he answered with a lift of the chin.
Damon's pancakes were the absolute best. She tossed the covers back and stood. "I have to call my uncle as soon as possible."
"Why?"
"We have a strict 24-hour notification policy in regards to kidnappings or near-death experiences. The longer I wait to call, the more irritated he'll be."
Stefan blinked. "This is a common enough issue you had to make a rule for it?"
She shook her head. "He's just paranoid. I don't call one time when I go to the hospital and he never lets me forget it."
"To be fair, I think we'd be pretty upset if we found out something like that and you hadn't called us. Just saying." Stefan followed her down to the kitchen where Damon greeted her with a wide smile and a plate full of pancakes.
"You are my favorite Salvatore," she said as she took the plate and sat at the table.
"Hey," Stefan complained.
"Hush," Damon said. "You're her favorite when you make Italian. I get pancakes. Deal with it."
Once she was halfway through her plate, Lucy called her uncle.
"Hello, little one," his smooth voice answered. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
She swallowed the bite that was in her mouth. "I got kidnapped."
There was a stretch of silence. "Pardon?"
The corner of her mouth kicked up. "Kidnapped. By some asshole vampires. My friends rescued me."
"I see. And what were the circumstances surrounding this kidnapping?" His clipped tone spoke to his anger.
"They wanted to use me to control my friends." Lucy tapped her foot as she ate. The brothers watched her with concerned gazes as they listened to the conversation. As they were the friends in question, they were concerned her uncle may blame them.
"And the details? Did they feed from you?" Oh, even the thought of that pissed him off. She sincerely hoped that tone was never directed at her.
"They tried. I started ingesting vervain instead of wearing it. They bled me with a knife instead." She pushed her plate away as she finished the last of her food.
"Anything else?"
"It was a good and proper kidnapping, 'Lijah. They hung me from the ceiling by my wrists, burned me with cigarettes and lighters, knocked me around, choked me. I'm okay now." She would have tried to be gentler, but Elijah didn't care for bullshit. Straight forward was how he wanted it so that's how she gave it to him.
Again, the silence stretched, though she thought she heard something breaking in the background. "And are these good and proper kidnappers dead?"
It only occurred to her then that she hadn't even asked. She glanced at the brothers. "Most of them," Damon answered.
"You heard?" she asked.
"I did. I'll be there by the end of the day."
And then he was gone. Well, Uncle Elijah was coming to visit.