Work Text:
The year 2842:
The thirty-first Damon Salvatore jerked awake with a gasp, hand immediately going to his chest, surprised to find no wound there. But then if there had been he wouldn’t be waking up. He was more than a little confused. He remembered being shot with the laser. The pain. Going down. But then…was he in peace? He didn’t think so. Not only did this not look any different from where he remembered, but he felt strange. And not a good kind of strange. There was nothing for it though. He pulled himself to his feet, swaying a bit before he got his balance, and walked out of the alley heading home. It wasn’t until he ran across one of the few people out this late at night and bleeding from a split lip that it hit him. The blood…he needed it desperately.
Once the man was drained dry, Damon realized what he’d done and started to panic. He was surprised by his strength as he lifted the man easily and then his speed as he rushed him to the river and dumped him in as the remorse overwhelmed him. He knelt there at the riverbank and cried for a good hour before picking himself up and trying to figure out what to do next. Where could he go from here. Going home wasn’t an option. What if he killed his fiancée next? Or if someone found the body and traced it to him? They would come for him.
A vague memory from his childhood eventually gave him a place to go. Taking his auto would be stupid if people were looking for him, but with as fast as he was now, it shouldn’t take long to run there. It was only fifty miles away. He had underestimated the fact that running was still tiring and he was exhausted as he looked up at the ancient house. He took a few minutes to catch his breath before going up and ringing the bell. He felt bad for disturbing them this late at night, but he didn’t know where else to go.
Adina Bennett-Salvatore was pulled from her sleep by the sound of the doorbell. She groaned and hit the button for the time which displayed in the air above her. Three am. Who the hell could be ringing the bell at three am. And so persistently, she huffed as it rang again. She dragged herself out of bed, threw a robe on over her pajamas, and headed downstairs. She may not be the strongest witch in the world, hence the reason she had elected to take over the museum curation rather than continue magical studies, but she was plenty strong enough to put anyone down who tried to hurt her, so she wasn’t worried about opening the door. She did at least call out first, “Who is it?”
“Damon Salvatore,” he answered weakly.
The non-magical branch of the family didn’t spend much time at the museum which now spanned the whole house, so it was odd enough that he was here at all, much less at this time of night so she didn’t hesitate to open the door. He would have at least visited as a child, as all Salvatore’s did, which meant that he would know that this was a sanctuary for the family if they were in trouble too and she wasn’t about to turn him away. It was her most important duty as curator. When he found that he couldn’t step inside, she figured out what was going on and why he’d come there. “You got turned into a vampire,” she guessed. The panic dawned on his face and he looked like he was trying to decide whether or not to run so she quickly said, “It’s okay. You’re safe here. I’m Adina.”
“Thank you,” he said, relief so heavy in his voice that it was palpable.
“Now before I invite you in though, you need to know the rules. No biting or I put you on your ass and toss you in a cell until you get control of yourself. Deal?”
“I can try, but…but I’m so hungry,” he said desperately.
Now Adina didn’t mind donating a little blood for family if the situation arose, but only an idiot would trust an obviously new vampire to have the control necessary not to kill her which was why she lifted her wrist and touched it. “Call Belladonna,” he said into it and a moment later a holographic image appeared, though was mostly dark.
“Really Adina? It’s three am,” she said sleepily. Belladonna wasn’t her real name. Those in her business didn’t have real names.
“Sorry Bell. We have a bit of an emergency. I need you to get into a blood bank asap and get a decent supply to the museum. Might have more of a job for you after that,” she said apologetically.
“There’s a new Salvatore vamp?” Belladonna asked suddenly very awake.
“Yeah and he’s very new and needs some help,” Adina told her.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Belladonna promised.
Adina turned her attention back to Damon who was waiting patiently. At least he was polite. “We have some blood on the way. Do you think you can control yourself until it gets here or would you rather wait in a cell just to be safe? You’ll be let out once you’re steadier of course.”
“I…think I’ll be okay? But don’t let your guard down?” Damon all but begged. She had mentioned being able to put him on his ass and if the family legends about vampires were really true then the ones about this side of the family being witches probably were too. Otherwise, he would have taken the cell. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt family. Especially one that was so nice and apparently willing to help him.
“I wouldn’t let my guard down with a new vampire regardless,” Adina told him before saying a clear, “Come in.” Damon stepped over the threshold successfully that time and Adina first took him into the living room exhibit. She used a key to unlock the fancy old liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of bourbon and a glass. “According to the journals, alcohol helps dull the bloodlust. Bourbon was always our ancestors’ favorite,” Adina told him.
“It was all true then,” Damon said in awe. There were certain sections of the museum for family only which he’d visited when he was ten as family tradition dictated, but he’d never really believed any of it.
“It was,” Adina said. “The Bennett-Salvatore line are mostly witches which is why it’s been our duty over the centuries to maintain the museum and make sure that all Salvatores, of any branch, know the history and that they can find help here if they need it. And clearly it worked,” she chuckled as he finished the glass of bourbon. He definitely looked steadier. She refilled it and left the bottle on the table for the moment. “Follow me,” she told him, heading for the stairs. “Can I ask how you turned?”
“I’m not sure,” Damon said as he followed her up and up, all the way to the attic where she said what he now realized was a spell to unlock the door. Once they were inside, he looked around the place that he hadn’t seen in over a decade.
“Then it wasn’t intentional,” she said sadly. Those were always the worst. And it seemed like whoever his sire was had abandoned him as well. “You would had to have died after drinking vampire blood. Do you remember anything like that?”
“No,” he shook his head as she walked over to a bookshelf and grabbed a dusty journal from it.
“Drink anything you didn’t know what it was?” she asked with a frown. If he was duped into this then it was even worse.
“Not exactly. I mean, I went to a new club last night and the drinks tasted a little funny, but…I thought it was just a house signature or something,” he said with furrowed brow.
“Okay that’s really not good,” she said going straight to worried. If there was a vampire out there spiking drinks at clubs they might be in trouble. Seemed she would have another job for Belladonna after all. They would get back to that subject when she got there. “Here. This is a guide for vampires written by the original Damon Salvatore. He was married to the Bennett matriarch Bonnie, in case you don’t remember the history,” she chuckled, knowing that he probably didn’t. “They wrote a whole series of books for witches, and grandpa Damon decided that he should do one for vampires too.”
“I’m glad he did,” Damon said gratefully.
“Make sure we get that back when you’re done with it if you can,” she told him and he nodded. They did have one more copy in case something happened to that one, but she would really rather not have to recopy it by hand if she didn’t have to if the original was lost. “One more thing you need from up here,” Adina said moving over to the jewelry display case and unlocking it. She reverently plucked a signet ring with a stylized D on it from it’s place on the shelf and took off the tag. “This was grandpa Damon’s daylight ring. It allowed him to go out in the sun without burning.”
“I…I can’t take that,” Damon said looking at it in awe. “It’s…”
“He would have wanted you to have it,” Adina told him. She could enchant a new ring for him, but this was better she thought.
“I…thank you,” he breathed out as he took it reverently and slid it on his finger. She did a quick spell to resize it to him and then set the tag on the table and pulled out her pen and added something before putting it back in the case where the ring once was. It now read:
Daylight Ring
Damon Salvatore 1864-2013
Damon Salvatore 2842-____
“Someone’s here,” Damon jumped and turned to the stairs. “How can I…”
“All your senses are enhanced now. And your emotions. It’s a difficult adjustment, but you’ll be okay,” she said gently. “It’s probably Belladonna with your blood. Let’s go down and meet her.”
They met her halfway up on the stairs and she tossed a blood bag to Damon who caught it easily and immediately started to drink desperately as they continued down. “Put the rest in the basement fridge?” Belladonna asked.
“Yeah, we’ll come with you. We were headed there next,” Adina said.
“C’mon Vamp strength. You can help carry,” Belladonna told Damon casually.
“Vamp strength?” he asked curiously as he followed them.
“You’re also a lot stronger than humans now. And faster. You can also do something called compulsion. The journal will explain that part. I don’t know a lot about how it works,” Adina told him as they started unloading Belladonna’s auto.
The witches each took one cooler, but Damon was able to stack three before he couldn’t see over top of them anymore and he followed the women downstairs. The basement hadn’t been on the family tour and he could see why. Just being down there gave him the creeps. Though it could just be the situation and the fact that it was the middle of the night. “What is this place?”
“This is where our ancestors kept their vamp stuff,” Adina told him as they started loading the blood into the fridge. “Around that corner there are the cells. We’ll be keeping an eye on you and if you go off the rails, we’ll have to put you in one. Depending on the situation, either to help you get back on track or for a time-out so to speak.”
“Off the rails?” Damon asked.
“Mistakes are okay,” Belladonna started answering that question since it was her group that would be doing the hunting down if it came to it. “Vampires are predators, so stuff happens. There will be feuds and revenge crap and all that. Whatever. But you start leaving piles of bodies or especially going after kids, we’ll step in.”
“I would very much appreciate that,” Damon said gratefully. If he was doing that, then he wanted to be stopped.
“Which brings up your next job. You need to get the battle witches and go after a vamp,” Adina told Bella.
“Who and where?” Bella asked. They would definitely relish that job. There were so few challenges anymore for them.
“What club was it?” Adina asked Damon.
“Blue Diamond in Murphy,” Damon told them both.
“Club?” Bella asked with raised eyebrows.
“Vamp spiking drinks with his blood. We think at least,” Adina told her.
“That’s low,” Bella growled. “We’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks sis,” Adina said giving her a hug.
“You need me here for anything else?”
“Nope. We’re set now,” Adina told her, so Belladonna made her way out. She had a job to do. No way that vamp had known he was messing with a Salvatore. He wouldn’t have dared if he had. Who knew how many vamps he’d made that way already. They would clean up the mess though. That was their job. They were the supernatural cleanup crew and often moonlighted as thieves and assassins as well.
“Is there…somewhere I can go? A safe house or…” Damon asked hopefully as he grabbed a second blood bag. He was still so hungry.
“Right here,” she told him. “Grandpa Stefan’s old room is still intact. You can stay there until you figure something out or you can stay and help run the museum. Up to you,” she told him. “I’ll show you up and then we can talk more tomorrow.”
They headed back up to the attic and this time went through to the door on the other side. Damon looked at the walls as they passed, in a much better state of mind to notice them now. “Will you show me where I am on the family trees tomorrow too?” he asked noticing that they filled up most of three walls.
“I will,” she agreed. “And it’ll be up to you how many if any family members are let in on your new state,” she told him as they stepped into the room. She cast a few spells to clean it up and get rid of the dust. “Most of his clothes are still here. They’ll probably be a bit big on you and not very in style at the moment, but they’ll do until we can get you shopping or you can go get your own stuff. Or we can send someone after your stuff. We’ll figure it out in the morning. Or…later in the morning at least,” she chuckled. “That door there leads to the back staircase in case you don’t want to go through the main attic every time, but that way was quicker from that side of the house.”
“Thank you again,” Damon said gratefully.
“You’re welcome,” she said kindly. “Goodnight, Damon.”
“Goodnight,” he told her.
Adina went back to bed, very glad that the museum was only open a few days a week and that wasn’t one of them. It meant that she could sleep in. She threw a barrier spell around her room before she laid down. It was a habit she usually did anyway, but especially with a new vampire in the house. Clearly he didn’t want to hurt her, but his control would be all over the place for a while. Thankfully he didn’t seem to be a ripper. According to the journals, if he was he would have gone nuts already. That meant it was manageable.
Once Adina woke up, she went looking for Damon and found him in the basement drinking a blood bag and they headed back up to look at the family trees. She could already guess where he was on the tree just by his name. Only the primary branch of the family had that naming convention. The first boy was always named Damon and the second was always named Stefan. It had been tradition for almost a thousand years. She showed him and traced his line straight up to the original Stefan Salvatore and his wife Elena. The family tree from the original Damon was on another wall and the previous family tree, ending with the original Damon’s kids was still on the first wall where it had been since the eighteen hundreds and it recorded all the way back to the fourteen hundreds. The official family tree for visitors was doctored to make the original Damon and Stefan Zach Salvatore’s kids, but the real one was up here.
She left him to look over them and pointed out the wall that held the labeled family journals for him to look at if he wanted to as well, but told him that they weren’t to leave the house and had to be put back where he got them when he was done. There was a reading room to the side that she pointed out as well for anyone of the family that wanted to read through them. The normal journals were downstairs in the library, but all the supernatural related ones were kept in the family only attic displays. She also made a correction to what she’d told him the night before in that he could choose who to tell and let him know that one of the cousins came to help out on the days the museum was open and would have to know.
Once he was set, she went back downstairs to start lunch. She would make enough for two in case he felt like eating. From what she’d read, vampires could eat human food and often did so she would leave it up to him. If not, she would have leftovers for dinner. Most people thought she should either upgrade the kitchen and keep it out of the museum part or build a separate kitchen since she lived there, but she liked the ancient appliances, even if it was only magic that kept them working given that parts didn’t even exist for them anymore. It made her feel closer to her ancestors. Living where they lived, using their furniture, their appliances, their rooms.
The curator’s bedroom, currently hers, once belonged to the original Damon and Bonnie. It had seemed fitting since the museum was always run by one of their line. The magical side of the family had control of this part of the legacy and the non-magical side were the ones that were in the spotlight as the last remaining founding family of Mystic Falls. There was an exhibit set up for the founding and the founding families in the museum as well, but most of it was dedicated to the Salvatores.
That afternoon, Damon had asked about the sending someone for his stuff idea and what options he had regarding his fiancée. Adina told him that he should be safe to go home in a few days once he was settled more, but he shook his head. His fiancée couldn’t handle this kind of thing. She was the epitome of pampered debutante. Not to mention he’d skimmed enough of the journals to know that danger would follow him from now on no matter how he tried to stay out of it. No, a clean break was best. They talked it over and decided that faking his death would be the best option, but he was good with the witch side of the family knowing the truth. The main line would think he died though.
Adina pointed out that meant that he would need to get new stuff rather than retrieving his own and promised to have an account set up for him by the next day. Even with as much as they were spread out now, they were all still very well off. They could get him started off and then teach him how to grow the fortune if he didn’t already know. His branch of the family was well off also, but he was still rather young so they would see. Thankfully, for witches and vampires, money was ridiculously simple to get which she explained when he tried to protest the ‘charity’.
Damon ended up sticking around at the museum, finding the family history complete fascinating now that he knew the truth behind it all. It was always run by a witch throughout the generations, but he was always there as well and knew more than anyone else before long. Whenever there was a question that the curator didn’t know, it was routed to him. He just couldn’t be the face of the museum or people would notice that he wasn’t aging eventually. Not that he wanted that kind of responsibility anyway. He came to enjoy his solitude and followed in his namesake’s footsteps and became a writer, but more fiction instead. He did write a few books with the comprehensive family history, one edited for public consumption which was sold in the museum gift shop and one more accurate one including the supernatural elements that was in the family only section.