When Evelyn wakes up, she is surprised. Most in general. She never thought she would wake up ever again. She looks around the room and it looks more advanced than when she woke up this morning before they...threw her in the church. Or before her grandfather threw her into the church. She glances down at her clothes, they remain the same. But dirty. So are her hands.
The blue-eyed girl slowly stands up from the bed, giving it a weird glance. This bed looks much different. But so does everything else. Where is she and how did she come from being shot to this room?
Evelyn slowly walks out of the room and down the stairs. When she finally reaches the first floor, she glances around. She focuses all the little energy she has on listening but hears no footsteps, no breathing, no pulse, and no heartbeat. She is alone in the house.
She approaches the table with glasses and alcohol on it. Bourbon. Her father's taste hasn't changed one bit, it seems. Some things do not change. She recognizes her father's scent in the house. And her uncle's scent. And several unfamiliar scents.
Suddenly, the front door opens and slowly closes. Then she hears footsteps. Evelyn quickly turns around, out of instinct, ready to attack.
Stefan holds up his hands slightly. "It's just me."
Evelyn opens her mouth to speak but only raspy breaths and mutters come out. She slowly closes her mouth, realizing she won't be able to talk. She hears another pair of footsteps, seeing her father walking out of the basement, holding multiple blood bags.
Stefan sighs. "Damon-" He begins.
"She needs to feed, Stefan." Damon interrupts with a warning tone. "And, take all offense you want, but this is not a Vicki Donovan case. You have no vote here. She is my daughter. I saved her. You did not even consider-"
"I didn't even know there was a way! I thought we had lost her for good! I thought I couldn't open the tomb! I did not know I was gonna start dating the best friend of a Bennett witch." Stefan exclaims in frustration.
Damon hums dismissively.
Evelyn simply glances between them. It's like 1864 but with much more heated arguments. It's like their manners disappeared.
"Anyway..." Damon trails off, putting the blood bags on the table. "Here are some blood bags. Drink them up, baby. And for your information, Stefan, it's good I saved her instead of you. You would have tortured her with hunting animals and drinking Bambi for the rest of her life."
Evelyn smiles slightly at his comment.
Damon points at the blue-eyed girl. "Look? Hm? She's smiling. She thinks I'm funny." He smiles proudly, ruffling her hair gently.
Stefan smiles forcefully before grabbing Damon's arm. "A word, Damon? Alone. Evie, just drink it up. We will be back soon, okay?" He assures before pulling Damon into another room.
Evelyn dismisses her uncle's strange behavior and picks up a blood bag. She holds it in her hands, observing it with a frown. She slowly starts drinking it. Meanwhile, she hears her father and uncle clearly. They seem to forget they are not the only ones with excellent hearing.
"Damon, she doesn't know anything. She doesn't know what you have done." Stefan whispers warningly.
Damon narrows his eyes. "And I would like to keep it that way. She is my daughter. I just got her back. I don't want to frighten her and have her running from me. I will tell her eventually. I will focus on her well-being and health for now. And you will not voice a single breath about it, clear? My daughter, my responsibility. Uncles don't do responsibility. Stick to the cool uncle role. You know, covering for her and taking the blame. Leave fatherhood of my daughter to me."
Evelyn doesn't mean what Stefan means by that her father has changed but she dismisses it for now and continues to drink the blood.
Stefan nods slightly. "You're right."
Damon raises his eyebrows. "Really? Just like that?"
"I'm serious, Damon. You're right. She is your daughter. You saved her. As her father, it's your job to take care of her and teach her about this century. She is new to this century, remember?" Stefan tells him.
"I know. I will. Right after she has fed, taken a shower, and taken on some clothes. I don't want to draw suspicion. By the way, as much as I love this Gilbert-Salvatore dynamic, I don't want my daughter to be a victim of it." Damon begins.
Stefan raises his eyebrows, crossing his arms. "Victim? Really, Damon?"
"Yes, really. So keep Jeremy Gilbert away from my little girl, okay? The last thing she needs is a Gilbert in her life. She has enough problems." Damon retorts.
Stefan nods slightly. "Fine. I will tell Elena."
"Good." Damon pats his shoulder before going back to his daughter, seeing her sipping the last blood bag.
Stefan walks into the room too, watching how his brother sits down beside his niece and tucks her to his side, not caring that she is soil-covered and dirty from the tomb and still wearing the same dress as when she was shot.
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Evelyn immediately finds out that she despises jeans. So Stefan steps up and hands her a pair of sweatpants, which she happily accepts. She enjoys this century. Comfortable and soft clothes, instead of tight and suffocating clothes. It's about comfort, not looks. Choices. She likes that. Nobody will judge her for wearing pants.
She is happy to not be forced to have her hair in a bun. She just lets it hang free. Her uncle explained that there is still judgment in the world, just not like how it was in 1864.
"You look beautiful, baby." Damon kisses the top of her head softly.
Evelyn nods. "Thank you." She speaks softly, putting on the black leather jacket. Damon and Stefan chose it together, thinking that since they both have leather jackets, so should Evelyn. It would help her fit in in the 21st century and Stefan knows that Damon is excited about turning Evelyn into a mini version of himself.
Under the leather jacket, Evelyn has a black sweater she borrowed from her father. Stefan got her a pair of black sneakers to the black sweatpants. She notices that people wear darker colors in this century. Especially her father and uncle.
After Evelyn finishes taking on the clothes, Stefan turns to her and holds out a ring. Evelyn frowns confused, glancing up at her uncle.
"It's a daylight ring. Vampires need it. Without it, we burn in the sun. Bonnie made it for you. She is not happy that she had to lose her grandma for Damon to get you back, but she knows you have been in the tomb for 145 years and wants you to be able to live a life like a teenage girl should." Stefan smiles softly.
Evelyn slowly accepts the ring, putting it on her index finger, unlike her father and uncle who both have their rings on the middle finger.
"Don't give her any ideas." Damon warns, narrowing his eyes. "There will be no rebellion of any kind. Especially not if it comes to...teenage boys."
Evelyn turns to her father immediately, frowning confused. "Why would I rebel about teenage boys?" She questions in a quiet tone.
Damon turns to Stefan. "Look what you did."
"What I-" Stefan narrows his eyes. "It's your fault too!"
Damon shakes his head in disapproval, putting his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Come on, baby, I have someplace to show you."
"Does this mean I get to taste alcohol?" Evelyn questions softly.
Damon chuckles softly, kissing the top of her head. "So cute, baby, but no. Definitely not. Never. My baby does not need any alcohol. You can take...something else. They have milkshakes."
"Milkshake? What is that?" Evelyn questions.
"Oh, right. Well, you get to test something new. We have a lot of things to test and try today, baby." Damon smiles softly, grabbing her hand gently.
💙🩸🌕🔮
Damon takes Evelyn to Mystic Grill. Usually, he goes immediately to the bar. But this time, he doesn't, and instead leads his daughter to one of the booths. After sitting down, Damon orders a glass of bourbon and a blueberry milkshake as he remembers his daughter's love for blueberries.
Shortly after they get what they ordered, they get approached by Sheriff Liz Forbes.
"Daytime drinking, huh?" Liz questions softly.
Damon glances over at her. "Liz. Hey. This is Evelyn. Zach's daughter. My cousin." He informs her, lying through his teeth.
Liz nods slightly, giving the girl a gentle smile. "Nice to meet you, Evelyn."
"You too." Evelyn speaks softly.
Liz glances back at Damon, clearing her throat. She sits down next to Damon. "Look, I need a favor. A big one. There's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is throwing. The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates. And, well, we're short a bachelor."
Damon frowns slightly. "Is this what you do when there's no vampires? Organize bachelor raffles?" He questions.
Liz chuckles slightly. "Trust me, at this point, I miss the vampires. You're a hero to this town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are. And you're single, and a catch. Oh, come on, help me out. Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed."
Damon raises his eyebrows slightly. "You know, a room full of women clamoring to win a date with me? Sounds tasty." He gives her a small smile.
Liz smiles with a soft chuckle. "Thank you."
"One thing." Damon speaks up right before Liz is about to leave making Liz stop in her tracks to hear him out. "Can you get me information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher? There's something off about him. And I just wanna make sure...that the high school did their homework on this guy."
Liz nods. "You got it. Goodbye, Evelyn. I hope I'll see you around." She smiles before leaving.
Damon turns to his daughter, smiling softly.
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When Damon and Evelyn make it back to the boarding house, they immediately get approached by a serious Stefan.
"I wanted to talk to you, Damon." Stefan speaks up before he holds up a photo. "This is the woman, Isobel, from North Carolina. Remember her?"
Damon glances at the photo before exhaling and turning to Stefan. "Who wants to know? And how is this of any importance? Excuse you, Stefan, I know you don't get the feeling, but I have a daughter that I have to spend time with. Which I happily do. Answering your your questions out of insignificance is somehting I do unhappily."
Stefan sighs. "Did you kill her?"
"Sorry, don't know her. Hey, are you coming? The real housewives of Mystic Falls await. I would love to just spend time with my baby at the boarding house but it's getting me in Liz's good side which can be good for my baby too." Damon speaks.
Stefan purses his lips, nodding slightly.
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Carol Lockwood stands on the scene, presenting the bachelors to the crowd, which is mostly middle-aged women who wants a date with one of the bachelors.
"And what do you do, Bachelor Number 3?" Carol questions.
The man leans closer to the microphone. "Yeah, I'm a plumber."
"Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on." Carol speaks before walking over to Alaric Saltzman.
Carol glances down at her card as she stands next to Alaric. "Number 4, Alaric Saltzman. Wow, that's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?" She looks up at him.
"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." Alaric speaks up.
Carol glances over the crowd. "Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper." She speaks before turning back to Alaric. "What do you teach?"
"History." Alaric tells her.
"History." Carol repeats with a small smile. "Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls. Something crazy."
Alaric glances over at Damon who places his hand around his ear in a mocking gesture. The vampire hunter turns back to Carol.
"Uh...Well..." Alaric trails off awkwardly.
Carol turns back to the crowd. "He's probably saving the best stories for his date." She says before walking over to Damon. "And last but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."
Evelyn stands beside her uncle, watching her father.
"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card." Damon remarks.
"Do you have any hobbies? Like to travel?" Carol questions softly, trying to help the raven-haired Salvatore vampire out.
"Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple years ago I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Rick?" Damon glances over at Alaric who eyes him in annoyance. "Yeah, because I know your wife did."
Stefan glances over at Elena. The Gilbert girl's smile fades away. She straightens her posture, tensing at Damon's words. Evelyn observes her father, Alaric, Stefan, and Elena. She may have been desccated but she is not daft. She can see the tension. Her father definitely did something but she doesn't know what yet.
"I had a drink with her once. She was..." Damon speaks, pausing to chuckle slightly. "She was a great girl. Did I ever tell you that? Because she was...delicious."
Alaric stares blankly without any emotion on his face.
Meanwhile, surprise and shock cover Elena's face. Evelyn frowns confused before she realizes what her father is talking about and she doesn't want to believe that he would do something like that. She knows how vampires usually act, but she did not thought her father would do something that terrible.
Elena immediately rushes out of the Grill, taking her coat with her. Stefan whispers to Evelyn that he will be right back before he runs after Elena.
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Elena walks back inside Mystic Grill with Stefan, about to approach Damon in her newfound anger when she stops in her movements as she sees him nearing Evelyn. Her posture softens slightly, deciding to wait to confront Damon.
"Did you kill her? You never answered Uncle Stefan's question. You avoided it. You can't use me as an excuse to avoid his questions." Evelyn states, crossing her arms.
"Baby-" Damon begins softly, trying to reach out for his daughter.
Evelyn steps back, gripping onto her forearms tighter until she can feel a painful sensation. Her eyes harden. "No. How about you try to being honest for once?" Her voice grows harsh.
Damon's face drops for a moment before he purses his lips. "Yes." He confesses.
Evelyn presses her lips together. "I see." She simply speaks.
"Sweetheart-" Damon begins.
Evelyn exhales sharply. "I-I can't see you right now. It's a lot. Too much. I will see you later." She rushes out before leaving Mystic Grill.
Damon watches after her. Now he re-experiences the heartbroken feeling when she was in the tomb for 145 years. The feeling of lonlieness and a void in his heart. The emptiness and the feeling of his daughter being so far away from him. It has only gone a few seconds but he still hates it as much as he still hates his father for putting his daughter in the tomb.
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As soon as she is outside Mystic Grill, Evelyn realizes she's not been in Mystic Falls for very many years. She doesn't know the way back to the boarding house and the town certainly has changed since 1864. So she sits down on a bench outside the Mystic Grill, letting out a deep exhale she did not know she was holding.
After a few moments, Damon comes outside. He is about to walk to his car, when he is surprised by seeing his daughter sitting on the bench with her hands in her lap.
Before he has a chance to ask, it's like she reads his mind. "I do not know the way back to the boarding house. It's quite embarrassing to storm off like a child in her temper tantrum to not even know where to find a single thing in the town."
Damon nods slightly, still staying silent as he slowly and carefully sits down next to his blue-eyed daughter. He carefully glances over at her, seeing her fiddle her fingers in her lap.
"I don't blame you. I shouldn't have kept it from you. I know that. I'm sorry, baby. This is what Stefan meant when he said I have changed, as I think you could have overheard. But it does not change the fact that I love you more than anything. You are still my little girl. My baby. Forever and for all eternity. Even when I was away and you were in the tomb, you were still my sweet little baby." Damon speaks up.
Evelyn slowly glances over at him.
"I'm really sorry, baby. After you got trapped in the tomb... I didn't know what to do or how to continue, how to keep moving. I turned off my humanity. Multiple times. I turned back on, but wasn't much better. I tried to push down all the grief and misery but it did not work because becoming a vampire heightened my love for you." Damon continues.
Evelyn swallows slightly before grabbing his hand and leaning her head on his arm. Damon's vulnerable and serious facial expression turns soft as he smiles. He slightly turns his head to the side, pressing a soft kiss on the top of her head.
"I forgive you." Evelyn finally speaks.
Damon's smile widens. He kisses her forehead softly. "Thank you, baby. Now, let's go home. Enough socializing for today. It's time for you to sleep."
Damon grasps onto her hand tighter, standing up with her. He leads her to his car, heading back toward the boarding house.
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Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
And in case you are wondering, Evelyn became a vampire right before she was put in the church in the tomb. And she knows a little about vampires because in the first few days, the desiccation isn't as bad so the other tomb vampires told her about vampires. So she knows some basics.
By the way, everyone has a soft spot for Evelyn.