Fathered By A Vampire- Part 1: The Vampire Child Series

Chapter 30- Life Links

TRIGGER WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF CHILD ABUSE; NON-VERBAL TRIGGERS; SLIGHT AGE REGRESSION; TRAUMA RESPONSES

Dean sat in the living room with Damon. They were both silent while sharing a drink together.

"Dad, do you remember last night at all," Dean asked, his voice gentle.

Damon nodded slowly.

"Do... Do you want to talk about it," Dean asked.

Damon shook his head, declining the offer. Stefan walked into the room, grabbing Dean's attention.

"How is he," Stefan asked in a hushed tone once Dean was close enough.

"He hasn't said a word to me," Dean said.

Stefan knitted his eyebrows and stared at Damon. That was unusual. Was he going non-verbal? He hasn't been in that state for so long, Stefan didn't even think Damon could still go non-verbal. He went over to his brother, taking Dean's seat.

"Damon, if you can't talk at the moment because you feel unsafe, tap my right hand," Stefan said, holding out his hands to him, "Tap my left if you can talk."

Damon lifted his eyes to meet Stefan's. He set his drink down and touched Stefan's right hand. Stefan was taken aback by this. He began wondering what kind of torture did Damon go through for him to resort to a non-verbal coping skill. Stefan forced out a smile to show his willingness to help him.

"Okay, do you need anything," Stefan asked, dropping his hands.

Damon shook his head. Stefan could see it now. He was distant. Almost as if he wasn't fully there. It felt like Stefan was staring at an empty shell of his brother. He wasn't sure if he could handle this one alone. Maybe he should call... No. He shouldn't. It wouldn't be fair to him.

"I'll be back," Stefan said, feeling his smile falter.

He went to the kitchen and Dean followed him.

"What's going on," Dean asked, watching Stefan grab a glass from the cabinet.

"When we were kids, Damon would sometimes go non-verbal when he didn't know how to deal with our father's temper and abuse. From the looks of it, he's stuck in that state," Stefan explained, "I mean he hasn't gone through this since we were young. Now whatever he went through with Lucifer is making him resort back to..."

Stefan threw the glass at the wall in frustration. He leaned his hands against the countertop while letting his head hang. His breath shook as things started catching up to him.

"I... I don't know how to help him. I don't know what to do," Stefan said, his voice shaking, "I wasn't there. He needed me and I wasn't there. I should've been there. I could've saved him... Why wasn't I there?"

Dean knitted his eyebrows and reached over to Stefan, placing a hand on his back. He could see the teardrops falling on the counter under him. He could hear him sniffling from the tears getting caught in his nose.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I'm sorry you have to see me like this," Stefan apologized.

"It's alright, Uncle Stef."

"No. No, it's not," Stefan said, cleaning himself up and regaining his composure, "I'm sorry, kid. I should be comforting you, not the other way around. He's your father after all."

"I'm used to it," Dean smiled in reassurance, "I can clean up the glass."

"No. I got the glass. You can focus on Damon," Stefan said, grabbing a broom.

He headed back to the living room. Dean looked over at Damon and sat down in front of him. He smiled warmly at him, meeting Damon's eyes when he looked up.

"You helped me when I was struggling with feeling accepted here. This time I'll return the favor. I'll help you, Dad. Are you okay with that," Dean asked.

Damon nodded.

"Awesome. For now, would you like more bourbon?"

Damon seemed to think about it for a minute. Then he got up and went to the kitchen. Dean followed him and watched as he pulled out a container of orange juice. Dean grabbed a cup for him and set it on the counter. Damon looked at the cup and frowned a little.

"Did you want a bigger cup," Dean asked.

Damon looked at Dean and put up two fingers. Dean was confused but grabbed another cup either way and set it down, making him smile. He poured the juice into both cups and handed one to Dean. Dean took it, now even more confused on why he poured him a cup.

"It's his way of showing his comfort with you," Stefan explained, knowing how Dean was feeling, "He did the same thing with me when we were kids. Although he usually offered me a flower instead while he kept one in his hand."

Dean felt his heart warm up a bit at the sign of comfort from him. He drank the juice with Damon, finishing his cup. Damon grabbed another cup and poured the juice into it. He handed it to Stefan, who accepted it.

"Thank you," Stefan said.

"You mind keeping an eye on him for a while," Dean asked, "I need to make a phone call."

"Sure thing," Stefan said, allowing Dean to go outside.

He took out his cell phone and called Sam. He responded after the first ring.

"Hey, Dean, is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"No, everything is fine," Dean said, "Sammy, do you remember when we were younger and I wouldn't talk to you. I had moments when I would just go quiet."

"Yeah. You did it a few times. I always thought you were mad at me or something," Sam said, recalling those moments from their childhood, "Why?"

"I wanted to let you know it wasn't your fault," Dean said, "It had nothing to do with you, Sam. I was in a bad mental place, but I never meant to ignore you. I was suffering and didn't know how to express it."

Sam knitted his eyebrows. He could practically feel the weight of Dean's stress over the phone.

"I know that, Dean. I mean as a kid, I didn't really understand but I know now," Sam said, "Are you okay?"

"I just wanted to let you know. I wasn't mad at you," Dean said, "Did you find anything on what's going on around here?"

"Rowena and Kai are working on Bonnie," Sam reported, "She took some convincing to let Kai do a spell on her, but she's cooperating with us. They're currently trying to find a way to break the link between her and Damon."

Sam went quiet as someone spoke to him.

"Uh, Dean, change of plans. We're coming over with Bonnie, Rowena, and Kai. We need Damon as well," Sam said.

"Damon isn't talking," Dean said.

"We don't need him to talk, but we have an idea of what's happening. The link wasn't connected to Damon. Bonnie is linked to two women," Sam explained, "And get this, they're both pregnant. How much you wanna bet those women are carrying Nephilim and don't even realize it?"

"That's a losing gamble," Dean said, "Why would Lucifer link his children to Bonnie and Damon though? That makes no sense."

"Kai assumes it's so you won't let the children be killed," Sam said, "If the babies die so do Bonnie and Damon. And who better to protect four babies than the Dark Hunter himself?"

"You're joking," Dean groaned.

"I wish I were," Sam sighed, "We'll see you soon."