Hero?

22

Ana shakes as Damon carries her upstairs. "Help me, Damon?"

"Sorry, Little One, " Damon whispers softly. "You're too old for me to help you in your bath. I'll have Gemma come and help you. I'll be down in the back living room." 

Gemma comes in a short time later and helps her get cleaned up, she helps her go back down the stairs as well. 

Ana notices that the dead and wounded have been taken out of the entry way. The blood has been mostly cleaned up, but the maids are still busily cleaning that and the mess the bullets made.

Ana makes her way past the maids and picks her way carefully through the still wet floor that the maids have already mopped.

"Ana, come on in. They should be here soon." Damon waits for Ana to join him, he stares unseeing at the night darkened garden.

"Damon, you know I won't be able to hold Hawk group together. I need help," Ana says, but she's not upset.

"Do you really want to keep it, Ana?" Damon asks her as he watches her intently.

"If I don't then I'll be a target even more than I am as your ward." Ana says tiredly to Damon.

"If they know who the new Hawk is." Damon replies to her. 

The only problem is, she is right. There are those that would go after her to take over the group.

"If the men don't give me their loyalty they do know, Damon. It's no longer a matter of whether I want it or not. I have to take control and keep it, at this time I'm not able to do so. I need your help and it will help you out as well." Ana argues with Damon. 

Damon looks at her in amusement, she never fails to amaze him at her perspicacity.  "How is that, Ana?"

"Right now you are roughly equal to both Hawk and Spider in man power. Should you help me out to retain Hawk, then that doubles your resources. That gives you, a boost over Spider." Ana reasons with Damon succinctly.

"There is still the problem of you becoming a target." Damon points out the young girl.

"Once I have the loyalty given to me from the men and reinforced by yours that will keep that problem locked up. I won't be a greater target than I already am." Ana goes over to the couch and sits down. She sits and waits for Damon's response.

"I see you've thought about this since you found out your new title." Damon leaves the window and goes to a chair and sits down facing Ana.

"I didn't ask for this, Damon, that bastard came after me."

"Ana," Damon waits for the downcast girl to look at him. "I'm not going to let you be hurt. I've promised you haven't I?"

Ana looks at him with tears in her eyes, "I'm going to give you Calum. It's time he's had more responsibility. He'll be absolutely loyal to you, he can run the day to day operations and talk to you about necessary decisions. He'll also make reports to you at least weekly. The men, however, will swear their loyalty directly to you."

Ana's eyes get large and wide, "But-he's your body guard and second."

"He's the only one that I trust to take over Hawk for you. He'll do whatever he needs to, to make sure that you will be safe on that end." Ana gets up and runs over to him and gives him a hug.

"Thank you, Damon," Ana is crying again.

"Hey, there, I promised you I would protect you, Ana. I'm going to do just that. Tonight-I'm sorry I wasn't here." Damon holds the crying girl in his arm and holds her tight.