Author's note:

First of all I want to say sorry I was so busy with my Boards and college admissions that I hardly got any time to write and when I finally did I had completely lost the plot. So I am making it up as I go. To make it up to you I am adding a snippet of the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Vampire Dairies belong to L J Smith.

The elder Salvatore had reached his destination a little while ago. Fell's Church was still the same dull and boring town he had left behind. But now it brought a certain type of uneasiness, a feeling that he cannot comprehend. Maybe because of the facts he had learned or maybe due to the happenings of that fateful day. He stood outside the boarding house, the memories flashing through his mind…..one after the another…stabbing at his frozen heart. He thought of calling his brother or may be Elena. Yeah he would call Elena and ask her to receive him. But the house seemed so silent; no signs of life were visible only dark windows. The path leading to the door was almost invisible under the overgrown grass, as if the nature was trying to reclaim it back.

He knocked on the door, then knocks turned to pounds, and soon the battered door collapsed under his vampire strength. The once warm hall was bathed in the moonlight that entered through the tattered windows. Dust and debris had piled up on the scattered furniture; he straitened and occupied one of the empty chairs, a memory flashed though his mind. A memory from a long lost warm evening where all of his humans had gathered in this very hall to try to convince him to look for his Red bird, who had gone missing from the house. He had remembered the exact words of the Hunter Slayer, 'Damon only you can find and convince Bonnie to come back to us.' Back then he had only sighed to show his irritation for being asked to look for the nuisance of a girl. But in his heart he a flick of hope had been awakened that, there was someone for whom he was the most important person.

Flashback

A solitary black bird glided through the silent night sky, scanning the area with its predatory watchful eyes. Its midnight black feathers reflected the moonlight creating an eerie glow around it. It had checked most of the town except one place, the Graveyard. Cemeteries always wrecked of death and darkness. Even being a creature of the Dark who had seen numerous deaths and had been responsible of many of them did not make Damon resent the place any less. It was revolting to him that anyone could find this place comforting much less a girl like Bonnie.

Then again she had always been a bag full of surprises. Like the time she was able to bring back Elena from the lands of the dead or see the exact location of the Kitsune treasure or follow him to the Dark Dimension. He knew she had been having nightmares since the last year or so; they had been irregular and far apart, nothing new for a psychic. But in recent months her nightmares had become more frequent until they were appearing daily. He would hear her constant rustling followed by groans and whimpers which would lead to muffled screams and heart wrenching sobs. Night after night he would hear her go through this and with each progressing night the need to comfort her would become overwhelming. But he was Damon and he had a reputation to uphold. So he would sit in his room hoping against hope that the human occupants of the boarding house would hear her. However, he knew his witch had got some powerful silencing spells, which might not work on vampires like him but did wonders against humans.

The crow landed beside the broken girl who had already curled herself into a ball. The rustle of wings, the boots crunching the soil went unnoticed. 'Red bird' Damon reached out telepathically. Another whimper escaped her lips. He slowly sat beside her, maintaining the silence between them. He extended his aura towards her in hopes of providing her some of his warmth. He was never the sensitive type; he was not Stefan who would probably have said a thousand things to make her better. "Red bird…" he placed his hand on her shoulder. Her whole frame shook with pain as was eminent from red-rimmed eyes to her pale face. He could not control the overwhelming protectiveness that bubbled inside him; he enveloped her with his bigger frame, one hand slowly tangled in her locks, massaging her scalp, another drawing soothing circles on her back, trying to relieve her knotted muscles. He held her till her sobs had died down to occasional hiccups, he held her till her shattered aura rejuvenated itself in bits and pieces, he held her till this broken mess was replaced by his Red Bird. No words were exchanged as he carried her safely to his home.

Not the boarding house though, Damon Salvatore was a very private person, he might enjoy riling up the humans in his free time but once in a while he needed his private space which he found in this lavish one-story cottage he had bought when he had come to this Godforsaken town. He placed her on his bed, wrapping her into his satin sheets. Seeing her there, cocooned in his sheets, enveloped in his scent satisfied Damon at a primal level. As began to move away from her a shivering hand reached for his shirt, "Stay…" Startled by this action his eyes darted to hers. His obsidian orbs met her chocolaty ones, glistening with the unshed tears. Her button nose was red with all her crying she had done earlier. The same red dusted her cheeks; her lips were red and swollen probably from her vain attempt of suppressing her cries. At that moment Damon realized she had never looked more beautiful and yet so easily breakable as looked now. Her vulnerability beckoned a primal instinct in him that he never knew existed. He was well aware of his predatory nature, after all he was an age-old vampire but that primal calling he experienced just then was of an animal, protecting its mate.

End of flashback

That night against his better judgment he had gotten inside the sheets and had held her till the first lights of dawn, whispering endearments to her until she drifted to a dreamless sleep. When the morning came he had deposited her on her own bed in the Boarding house before its occupants could wake up and had left the town for a few days.

He moved to the kitchen in search of his hidden trash of Black Magic Wine, dire situations need dire remedies. If he is going to reminisce about the good old days he is will need some help. He found the bottles in the exact same place where he had left them. He took a sip, the heavenly liquid tasted as good as he remembered. He balanced the bottle on his fingers, following the movement of the dark amber when his cell phone buzzed. The ringtone pierced through the silence as well as Damon's concentration. The bottle dropped and shattered on the ground, the amber liquid that tainted the floor resembled the blood that was once spilled on the very place.

He was spacing this very kitchen, drinking bourbon, his posture rigid as a predator waiting to pounce. Earlier that day he had gotten into a verbal row with his brother, which had soon led to fists and blood. Elean had been the one to break them apart and she had made it clear that he was not invited in her life anymore. "Stay the hell away from me and Stefan Damon." She spited at him with venom in her voice. Coming back to his Red Bird, she had come down to the kitchen to clear her mind of another of her nightmares. For the first time she did not seem to radiate the warm aura that he had come to associate with her instead it was dark as the kitchen he was standing in. She looked wasted; the red that always dusted her cheeks was replaced with deathly white, dark circles surrounded her lifeless orbs; her red firey locks were disheveled just like their owner. The nightgown she wore looked too big in her already small frame. From his position within the kitchen he could see her shivering even in the Virginian summer.

She had been so engrossed in herself she did not even notice him until she walked straight into him. She had jumped back in shock knocking the Bourbon of the kitchen table where Damon had placed it earlier. It had shattered on the floor, spilling the alcohol and in the process of getting away from the intruder Bonnie had slipped on it and had landed on the glass.

Flashback

"Ahhh…" Bonnie whimpered as thousands of shards pierced her arms and legs. The amount of blood spilled made her nauseous. Suddenly two arms lifted her to the kitchen table as if she weighed nothing. She covered her eyes with her hands in the face of the unknown intruder when his warm aura finally registered in her mind. "Damon.." she looked up watching the Adonis that stood there with worry etched in his eyes.

"Let me see." He said lifting her arm to his eyes.

"I am fin..uh…." Bonnie whimpered.

He glared at her with such intensity her words died down in her mouth. With the precision of a specialist Damon removed each shard, sometimes looking at her when she whimpered or grunted. Then he sat down and moved up her nightgown, which was already soaked in blood at many places. After he removed each and every shard he placed his tongue on her foot. As soon as it made contact with Bonnie's damaged skin she whimpered. His tongue danced on her skin taking away all the pain and leaving burning desire on its trail. "Uhhhh…." A moan escaped her lips.

Elean had told her about this when Damon had healed her in Dark Dimension and her brain knew it was a logical decision that it was a healing technique. But her body craved this touch like parched soul craved water. Soon Damon moved on to her arms starting with her fingers, his was everywhere, her very existence was engulfed in is scent, his aura, his steely gaze. Suddenly she felt his tongue slip under one of her strap, she was very sure she did not have any shard there. "Red Bird.." He almost growled against her neck.

"Il mio dolce delizioso uccello rosso."("My sweet delectable Red Bird.") He whispered again. His warm breathe raised goosebumps on her skin.

Some part of her brain that was still functioning told her to run before she did the forbidden. But the rest of her was entranced by the aphrodisiac named Damon Salvatore. His fingers played with her strap as he placed soft open-mouthed kisses on her neck. He nipped her pulse point and Bonnie moaned. Red rose to her cheeks and neck. Slowly his lips descended on her. The kiss was needy yet passionate, bruising in its approach yet tender in action. Their tongues danced together, Bonnie could taste her blood on his lips and it sent a shiver through her body. One of his hands tangled in her locks and another glided over her frame….her spine…her derriere…her breasts. He massaged her left nipple until it perked up under his touch. Her hands were doing her own roaming. They slid inside his shirt, gliding on his smooth skin, measuring the flex of his muscles….marking him as he marked her. She chanted his name while he praised her with grunts and growls. With each passing moment she grew bolder, soon she found herself sucking on one of his fangs as it elongated and nicked her skin. Blood trickled down her chin into his waiting mouth. As they broke apart, they both were breathless. Damon's hair was a mess from her wondering hands, lips red from the blood earlier. She probably looked the same to him. Both remained silent, reminiscing on their actions, both wanted to say something but the moment was too precious to be wasted on words. When Damon had made no attempt to touch her again, Bonnie carefully got of the table and went up her room for another sleepless night.

End of Flashback

After the witch had left Damon had stood in the same place contemplating on his actions, he had kissed her many times, to erase her memories, to compel her, to irk Eleana but it was the first time he had kissed her because he had been overwhelmed by his need to possess her. The vampire smiled to himself, he also remembered reasoning with himself that he was distraught about Eleana, thus he had done the deed. But deep down he had always known he was lying to himself. His phone buzzed again, up until now he was ignoring it. Now he was at his limit, he picked it up without checking for a name and a sweet melody spoke up.

"Damon…"She purred.

"Miss Ravens how may I help you?" Damon answered in a crisp tone.

"Hmmm….somebody is in a bad mood today….well I heard you went back to Fells Church…" she drawled. Damon recognized this tone; it was same tone he used on his preys.

"Say my greetings to your Red Bird when you meet her." Damon could picture herself smirking to the phone.

"Ciao piccolo vampire."("Bye little vampire.") She murmured before the line died down.

He dialed another number, he knew by heart, "Eleana where is her grave?"

As he stood in front of the stone that read…

Rest In Peace

Bonnie May McCullough

(10.3.1992 - 18.4.2011)

"A daughter, a sister and a friend"

and tears trickled down his face he realized that he could give anything just to see her smile at him once; the way she did all those years ago. She had melted the ice that once guarded his heart and left it writhing in pain with no cure what so ever.

To be continued…..

Please Review^-^