||act one||

"blondie 2.0, we got a problem."

damon's words snapped cora out of her absent-minded trance. he had arrived at her home five minutes prior, as she had just finished tucking emerson in. the girl was ecstatic to see her mother's return but was thoroughly worn out following her play date with her beloved aunt bonnie. bonnie didn't mind, she couldn't possibly, though perhaps it was because bonnie had seen cora's daughter as an escape from the emotional torment she had been facing ever since enzo had met his demise.

"a, i told you to stop calling me that more than a long time ago, b, i have a little girl upstairs sleeping who you don't want to wake up, and c, what could this one more problem be because right now it seems as though we're drowning in a sea of 'em," cora huffed, wiping down the counter opposite damon as she had just served emerson and herself dinner. she blew strands of hair from her face that had moved in the way of her sight as she continued on with her current chore.

"alaric took the book that i kinda, maybe need to save stefan's life," damon said. his tone radiated the vibe of nonchalance. his nerves were fried, that she could tell, but that was no excuses for him to barge into her home and demand answers she was not in possession of, yet.

"and i'm supposed to help you with this how?" it was true, cora cared deeply for the younger salvatore brother, and not only because he was deeply in love with and engaged to her older sister. stefan salvatore truly is the most selfless person she had grown to know, and she felt that it was necessary she offered her assistance to help the current state of affairs find a resolution. he always helped everyone and she believed it only to be fair that someone had his back other than his older brother, who's willingness to help could be questioned at the best of times. however, cora was sure his loyalty to his younger brother was without question.

"you're a witch, do some magic, and bam! i'm thinking a locator spell," damon sassed, making hand gestures accordingly with his free hand. his ignorance made cora angry, but she resisted the strong urge to harm the man stood in front of her very eyes, sassing her into submission in her very living room.

cora huffed in what could only be described as pure annoyance but readily responded as she feared for her friend, stefan's, safety,"you've been in the supernatural game more than long enough to know i'll need something with a connection to this book in order to locate it with this particular spell."

"will i count? i mean i am charmingly handsome and have enough connections to the supernat-" damon's infamous smirk resided comfortably on his face as he was abruptly cut off by an annoyed cora forbes.

"that's enough damon! and sure, i think you'll work," cora scoffed before grabbing the raven haired vampire's hand rather forcefully and beginning the respective incantation. her eyes could be seen moving frantically behind her closed eyelids, hiding her blue irises away from sight.

"i-it's at the armory. i think?" cora's hesitance causes damon to roll his eyes and swiftly drop the connection. her eyes remained closed for several more moments, however, as if she was searching for any extra vital information to provide the older salvatore brother about the whereabouts of the book tagged as a necessity for his brother's survival. quite frankly, her sister's too, as stefan had become her lifeline in the last few years.

"what do you mean you think?" damon's harsh tone caused cora to flinch, but she quickly composed herself and gained control of the situation. the salvatore was appalled by the girl's lack of a definitive answer. he had always known her to give one when asked, and he was sure she was able to read him well enough to know he truly needed one desperately at the current moment in time.

"yeah i think, damon. my connection with magic hasn't been the strongest lately, not that i've had time to even practice. not to mention i'm raising a three year old all by myself!" cora's shout caused damon to visibly wince at the girl because of her ill fated outburst. damon had always thought cora to be a tender-hearted girl with a level head, but when her rather long fuse broke it blew.

"you think you're alone? that's how you feel? sorry to break it to you but literally everyone is here for you blondie 2.0, including me, believe it or not. we want to help," damon spoke forcefully but softly to the girl in front of him as his tone near the end of the statement muttered quickly worked to ease the tension in the surrounding room.

cora drew a quick, shaky breath as she gently placed her hands against the cool granite surface of the kitchen counter. her head hung down low, brown curls cascading to cover her face from damon. cora squeezed her blue irises shut tight and forbid the tears welling within in her deep, ocean-blue eyes to fall.

"cora," damon slowly began, hesitantly reaching his hand out and placing it upon the girl's back comfortingly. he rubbed small circle and give the girl a moment to regain her mind.

"i'm okay, and i know i'm not alone i-," her words slurred to a close and she took a deep breath to gain what little composure she could muster before continuing on with her reply,"it just feels that way sometimes, you know?"

"yeah i know," damon reassured cora beyond belief with his uttering of those few, three to be exact, little words encased in simplicity, yet empathy and understanding beyond compare. it showed the girl's heart that she truly wasn't alone in not only her physical endeavors, but those of the heart. others were sharing the same pain and loneliness that she had held for years.

cora greatly surprised even herself by reaching out reluctantly and extending her arms to secure the eldest salvatore brother in a tight hug both clung to. neither of the pair had had any type of friendship or relationship of substance beyond sharing the same friends during their plethora of years they had known each other, but it seemed that at the end of the day, the two understood each other much more than they originally had thought.

"thank you, damon. it uh, it means a lot from you," cora said sheepishly, rubbing her arm up in down absentmindedly as her mind gave her a feeble attempt to distract herself from the events that had just occurred in her kitchen.

"of course." damon's ever present smirk became apparent once again on his handsome face as he sent the younger forbes sister a small, content half-smile.

"you should probably go get that book now, huh?

"probably."

||act two||

"momma?"

cora quickly looked up from her spot curled up on the leather couch with half a glass of white wine by her side set upon the table, to see her gorgeous little girl, clad in floral jammies given to her by bonnie and enzo as a birthday gift, carefully making her way down the carpeted stairs, pausing to burrow her toes into the soft cream carpet once she had reached the very bottom of her cautious descent.

cora had recently gotten off of the phone with damon. he had alerted her of stefan's hospitalization, something that had shocked and scared her to no end, but assured her all was well now since he had been able to secure and recover the book for cade, thanking her profusely for her help as the location she has conjured up had been indeed correct. stefan was safe for now, meaning caroline was, too.

emerson had her favorite stuffed animal clutched tightly in her little grasp, for which cora had helped her picked the unique name. it has gone more along the lines of cora "suggesting" the name kai for the cuddly stuffed animal, and emerson loving it without questioning where her mother had chosen that name. tiny reminders were what fueled cora to keep on keeping on after kai's death.

"yes baby?" cora's soft words beckoned her daughter to her side, and as the precious little girl burrowed into her warmth, cora's system flooded with peace and the tension still present in the air from damon's visit relinquished its hold, and she breathed out a much needed sigh of relief.

"why i no dad? wizzie and josie have one." emerson's words were bathed in childlike innocence, and yet they still pained her mother to the very core. her small mouth turned downwards as she pondered the thought and waited with bated breath for cora's informative answer.

"well baby, some little girls and boys just don't have dads, but you must know i love you so, so much my sweet girl. you know who else loves you?" cora said softly, not letting out too much information to her young daughter about the topic brought up. cora was well aware this day would eventually come and the discussion would arise, but she couldn't have found it at a worse time for her. not only was she not ready, quite frankly, she didn't know if she'd ever be.

"who, who mama?" emerson scrunched her face in a concentrative thought and cora chuckled softly in response to her daughter's adorable appearance, though her heart stung lightly at the uncanny resemblance she shared with her deceased father.

"your aunt bonnie and your aunt caroline do, honey. uncle damon, uncle stefan, and uncle alaric love you very, very much, too, sweetheart." the people mentioned had always had emerson's best interest in mind and valued her life well above their own. all had grown to love the vibrant little girl overfilled with light.

"unca enzo?" emerson question softly, for she had grown to love and adore enzo and his "funny accent." the two had formed an unlikely bond quickly and it pained cora's heart further to know it had been unfortunately been severed, way too soon for her own heart to take.

"yes, yes he loves you very much, as well emmy," cora told her daughter quietly, rubbing the top of her daughter's soft head, twisting strands of the dark hair in order to lull the girl back to a blissful sleep closed within her strong arms. she had not yet come to make the decision to let emerson know of enzo's death. she didn't think the little girl could handle it, or that she should have to at her young age.

"okay."

and just like that, cora's fears had been quelled for the time being and emerson's current curiosity snuffed.

for now.

a/n

don't expect updates this regularly forever lol. i am just really feeling this book!! also i absolutely LOVED enzo all the way from the beginning when his character was introduced, and i'm still WAY too bitter. he deserved SO much better bye.