001 .. for Stefan Salvatore

[unforgivably]

[ He knows he should have called him sooner. It's been about an hour. Longer than it should be. But, Elena's here. She's disoriented, confused, and he knows her safety and sanity should be his priority. So, he thinks he did the right thing. It was even his idea to call Stefan. He just hadn't called him until Elena suggested he should.

Standing by the nurse's station, he dials a number that shouldn't be familiar to him - but what should be here. Muscle memory at work, he slides the numbers over of the rotary phone he finds. Considering it's mid-day, he hopes Stefan is at the garage and he tries there first. ]

Comments

[immoderation]

[ Stefan eyes the phone warily when it starts ringing. He's all alone, Bucky having already left several hours ago. The temptation to ignore it gnaws at him from the tired and uncharitable place deep inside of him but he darts a quick glance up at where he knows the camera is -- its lens deliberately coated in a thick layer of grease but its audio capabilities still unfortunately intact -- before reaching to answer it. ] S&D Automotive. How may I help you? [ His customer service skills are a little nonexistent at the moment -- tone dull and utterly lacking in its usual enthusiasm -- but it's been a particularly long day and he just wants to get back to the house (he refuses to think of it as home). ]

[unforgivably]

Elena's here.

[ There's no quip, no pretense. This information needs to be conveyed. Normally, he'd call his brother out on his customer service-y tone, or his lack of one. But, then again, he usually answers the phone and one day last week he spent the day answering the phone with a different business' name every time. He got a lot of hang-ups that day. ]

More people got into an accident, they're wandering around like they haven't got a clue. She's here, Stefan.

[immoderation]

What? [ Damon's pronouncement certainly catches him off guard. What seems like a million different thoughts -- few of them good -- rush through his brain all at once. ] But that -- [ He lowers his voice although his close proximity to the camera probably renders it a moot point. ] -- shouldn't be possible. Unless...

[unforgivably]

I know. I don't - I can't ask. She knows us. And her name. Everything else is just - gone. Poof [ Everything, Stefan. ] We're at the hospital, I found her [ A glance over at her - dangling feet and her peering around the hospital. ] well, Elijah Mikaelson wouldn't exactly call them suitable clothes, if that's our litmus test, but you'd be happy to know sleeveless Velvet is back in style, brother. We're by one of the back stairwells - far left I think, this place is a maze of whites, grays and useless medical staff.

[immoderation]

Okay. [ He takes in this information with a slight nod; although Damon can't see it's probably somewhat apparent in his shift to a more casual and relaxed tone of voice. ] So did you want me to come find you or were you planning on bringing her to the house?

[unforgivably]

[ He glances over to Elena. ]

She's not exactly trusting - well, anything. She says she trusts us, but I think it might help if we're both here. She doesn't trust the sheriff and frankly, I don't blame her. He pawned off our stuff last month, who knows what we'll have to give him this month to get who knows what back for Elena. [ His serious Damon tone comes out, a dynamic he hasn't brought out in months, not since he'd come out of the Phoenix Stone and screwed everything up. But, all of that feels miles away (and also close to touch) ] Take a long lunch break Stefan, we own the business.

[immoderation]

[ Stefan's forehead creases as he can't help but scowl at the all-too-fresh memory of his little scavenger hunt at the Packrat's behest. ]

Fine. I'm on my way.

[unforgivably]

Fine. We'll be here.

[ Click. ]

[immoderation]

[ Stefan is actually anxious to see Elena, despite Damon's implication that he's needlessly dragging his feet on this. So he quickly washes his hands and locks up the garage before heading over to the hospital. ]