He wasn't hiding. Damon had been on a patrol and was taking a minute to get a drink in the kitchen. When he wasn't drinking beer, he liked water - nice cold fresh water. He was on his second glass of it, in fact.

Things had been strange around the house. He wasn't complaining. Damon liked having Mihaela openly choosing to be with him, to cuddle up close and spend the night. He couldn't remember when he'd had reason to smile so much. Not that he walked around with a stupid grin on his face or anything but he wasn't glowering so much.

He leaned forward, the glass in one hand with the other hand resting on the counter as he rested. He was tired. He'd run a good long while and dinner would be welcome. One of these nights he would need to take Mihaela out for something nice. He was busy thinking about where he would take her and what he would do to her when his eyes flicked to the side.

He heard her come in. She was good with being quiet but he knew by scent Vanessa was there and knew when she stepped further inside. Damon could tell by scent where she stood. Thoughts of Mihaela stumbled to a stop when Vanessa spoke.

"Damon, do you have a minute?"

He turned enough to regard her, hip leaning against the sink. She was a pretty girl, he admitted it. But she was still skittish and he had no reason to blame her. She'd been put through a lot and some of it by his own hand although he'd tried to be more gentle than Gregory would have been had he been metting out his own form of coersion. Damon never understood why Gregory had brought Chas in. Why was the Absinthe so important that Vanessa had to be the pawn to make Chas obedient? Damon figured Chas would work on the stuff without the need to hurt the girl but she'd been hurt regardless.

Damon grunted. "What's up, Van?"

He never expected an apology to come from her. Maybe something from Lucas on her behalf, or even from Mihaela. But not from the source. His eyes narrowed, watching her. Something was different about the girl. She seemed less skittish than she had in months gone by. Was that the effect of the timid Lucas? Maybe.

"Don't think everything I say or do is .. negative. Those things are .. those times are gone." He gave a little nod to accent his meaning. "Right? I'm not the bad guy anymore. Okay?"

His tone was more gentle than he thought himself capable of.

"Can you teach me to defend myself?"

Those were probably the smartest words Damon had ever heard Vanessa say. Honestly, he hadn't expected them. He figured the little kitten would be content to let others take care of her. Others were. Why not her? He found the smile growing just a degree.

"You want to defend yourself huh? Hand to hand or with a weapon?" He thought about it and answered his own question. "Hand to hand. You should start there." He took a drink of water and swallowed, eyes watching her. "I can show you."

Damon couldn't help but grin at the excitement that Vanessa suddenly showed. She didn't do anything half way. In his observations, he saw her give 100% regardless. she was either completely happy, completely sad, completely shy, or completely excited.

"When do you want to start, Kitten?" He finished his water and put it in the sink. He folded his arms across his chest and gave her a look over. "Easy to move in clothes will be required and you can't flinch away from me. Understand?"