Hero?

24

Damon checks on Ana when he goes up to bed sometime later. He sighs at the sight of how innocent and peaceful she is. Or rather looks, he still can't believe just how brutal she was in her killing of Hawk earlier. If there had been any question in his mind before, there no longer is. Ana belongs in this world, no matter how much he's tried to keep her out of it.

If it weren't for her age he has no doubt that Ana would be able to hold the Hawk group together. But the legit businesses alone wouldn't accept her as the head of Hawk Holdings. The idea of an eleven year old girl being ruthless enough to take on and keep in line killers like the Hawk group men, that makes him shake his head. 

The fact that most of the men that will be swearing fealty oaths to her tomorrow already fear her due to how she ended the fighting actually makes him smile. Ana is the only one that has been able to make him smile in true happiness for as long as he can remember. He rather likes it.

He didn't like coming home and finding Ana covered in blood and other things. After he sent her up to clean up he took a look in his study. The body of Hawk hadn't been removed yet and he couldn't believe that Ana had done that on her own.

It took Jackson coming in and confirming it for him to believe. Calum is right to fear Ana's wrath more than his.

He hates to wake the sleeping girl, but she did ask for a report when he came up. He gently wakes her and likes it when she smiles at him.

"Is something wrong, Damon?" Ana asks sleepily.

"No, you just wanted an update about young Trinity. It seems that he'll be alright. He lost a lot of blood, but the doctor got him stitched up right and tight. He should wake up sometime tomorrow, or rather later today."

Ana smiles sleepily at him, "Thank you Damon, I'm sorry for causing you so much work."

Damon smiles back at her, "You didn't, the late Hawk did. We'll have a death certificate for the widow in the next week or so. She'll be able to get married after that."

"How are you going to do that, get the death certificate, I mean?"

"We're staging an accident to cover up the remarkable wounds you inflicted. Next time love, try not to carve the person up so much. It's much easier to hide one injury than several nasty ones."

"Are you angry about that?" Ana asks looking down and away from Damon.

Damon chuckles, "By no means no. The men will have a healthy respect if not downright fear of you now. He deserves everything he got. You aren't to be touched by the likes of him."

Ana looks back up at Damon, "What do you mean?"

"You deserve better than one of us, Ana. You deserve a good man."

"You are a good man, Damon." Ana is quick to respond and gives a hot answer. She doesn't like it when he talks down about himself.

"I'm a bad influence on you Ana. You are a target because of me and you killed viciously because of that. You deserve someone that won't put you in harms way." Damon says tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, like Scott, the sheriff's son? He was supposedly one of the good guys. I'd rather have you. You aren't wanting me to leave are you?" This is a real fear for Ana.

"You should run as far from me as you can get, Ana, but it's too late now. Welcome to the ranks. This isn't what I wanted for you." Damon says bitterly. He had some thoughts, but those are gone now as well.

"You don't want me now?"

"Ana, I'm staying with you until you tell me to go to hell and fuck off. Even then you might not be able to get rid of me fully. Hawk and Phoenix are in an alliance now. It will stay that way until you leave here. Even then it will stay that way until you tell me differently."

"I love you, Damon," Ana throws herself into the startled man's arms.

"I love you too, Little One. I love you too." Damon has never meant any words more than those in that moment. He'd do anything for Ana. He has a feeling that things aren't over yet. Spider warned him about Hawk and the newcomer, but he doesn't know where Spider stands. He doesn't think it will bode well for him or Ana though.

He sets Ana down and she goes back to sleep fairly quick. Damon doesn't doubt that he'll be back later to hold her when the nightmares strike. They happen every night, after the events of tonight, they are sure to be even worse.

Sure enough in less than an hour Ana starts screaming. He runs into her room and holds her shuddering body close. She's too scared to even tell him about her dream this time. Finally once she is calmed down he sets her down. He pulls up a chair by her bedside and tries to make himself comfortable.

"You should try to get some sleep, Damon. I am sorry for waking you," Ana says and he can hear the tears in her voice.

"You too, Little One," is all Damon replies.

"I can't sleep. If I close my eyes I'll see it all again clearly. I don't want to see that ever again." Ana says shuddering.

"What did you dream?"

"I was in a cell, like what we have in the basement. There was just one light and it was on. There was a small table under the light. That's all I could see, but I wasn't alone. There was a man in the shadows. You came to save me and take me out of the cell. The man in the shadows killed you. He laughed as he killed you."

"Shhh, it's alright, Little One. I'm right here and that was just a dream. Did you know the name of the man in the shadows?"

"Sspider, he said his name was Spider," Ana sobs out.

Damon hides his reaction to the name. Ana knew about Spider because his daughter is her classmate. A right bitch too, one of Ana's biggest bullies from what Jacob has told him. He can't give Jacob permission to teach the girl a lesson unless he wants to start a war with Spider. He's trying to avoid that at all costs.

Damon picks up the sobbing girl and holds her in his arms. He grabs a blanket and wraps it around them both. He falls asleep holding her like that in his arms. They both are awakened several hours later by Gemma's knock letting them know that breakfast will be ready soon.