Author's note: This is a Bonnie/Sage friendship story which takes place after The Return: Midnight. This is my first attempt at writing Sage so... *puts on crash helmet and buckles up* I fear I may have gone OOC with him, but I'd like to think he and Bonnie could be affectionate friends without being anything more. And considering he may/may not be featured in the future TVD books this story may even be AU, depending on what happens in canon. I would like to use Sage in future fanfics; I even asked the staff to add his name to the character filter. C&Cs are greatly appreciated, especially with characters I'm not used to working with!

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries is copyright L.J. Smith and all others associated with legal rights.

"Mourning Little Bird"

Bonnie couldn't remember passing out from all the crying she'd done. The last coherent memory she had was of Meredith and Matt in her bedroom trying to comfort her. Elena's requests were granted by the Celestial Court: Fell's Church was saved and the townspeople who perished were brought back to life. There was just one painful exception.

They couldn't resurrect Damon Salvatore from the dead.

Meredith and Matt were by no means Damon's biggest fans. Thankfully they didn't say anything when Bonnie came up to them and practically collapsed into their arms. With her head buried in Meredith's chest she broke down into violent, wretched sobs. Her entire body shook and a couple of times she nearly choked on her own tears. Matt eventually took her home and carried her up to her room where they and Meredith remained together for an untold period of time. It was like they somehow knew something about their entire world changed without ever having been told exactly what happened.

Now alone in the darkness, Bonnie slowly uncurled from her fetal position in the middle of her bed. She clenched her eyes shut at the painful, vivid memories. Her face and pillow were stained with tears and her hair was a tousled mess. She didn't care, though. What happened on the Nether Moon persevered.

Stupid! It's all my fault. Elena, Stefan… They won't ever forgive me for this. If I hadn't been so eager to climb up that horrible tree!

There was a gentle rapping sound coming from her windowpane. Bonnie felt her heart beat violently inside her chest and for a second she thought it was him. She was on the alert at once.

A dream, she thought excitingly as she threw off the blankets and pulled aside the curtains. All a dream! "DAMON!"

Instead she saw Sage, the impossibly beautiful blond vampire casually hanging outside. Normally she would have been surprised and happy to see him in her world but considering her current condition, her heart sank as did her spirits.

"Mon chaton, may I be invited in?"

Stiffly, Bonnie lifted the window open and stepped back. "Come on in," she mumbled when she almost tripped over a small pile of clothing she'd left on the floor. In frustration she gathered her bearings, turned around, and kicked away the clothes.

"Ugh! Why didn't I clean up before I left? I can't believe how thoughtless I… I…"

She collapsed to her knees and sighed miserably.

It was my thoughtlessness that… Oh Damon…

She didn't hear Sage approach until she felt his hand upon her shoulder.

"I was going to return to the Dark Dimension but I decided to see how you were fairing." He gave her a tender squeeze and spoke kindly as he carefully lifted her face so that their gazes met. "You can't torture yourself like this. He wouldn't want to see you so upset."

Sniffling, Bonnie blinked back the imminent tears ready to spill forth. "If I hadn't wanted to get the last star ball, he'd still be here with us!"

"Or perhaps we would all still be trapped in the Nether World. Maybe we all would have perished one way or another. None of us could have predicted the outcome of all of this."

Sage was now on the floor next to Bonnie. It was weird for her to see such a powerful and striking vampire sitting with her like this. It was heartening and humbling, even with the ache in her heart that mercilessly tortured her.

"Why did it have to happen?" Bonnie feebly asked as her hazel eyes grew distant with thought. She could've been talking to Sage or herself but it really didn't matter to her at this point. "Of all the times for him to not act like such a… a… a…"

She couldn't bring herself to insult Damon by any means. Instead she straightened her back and she spoke with quiet strength. "He was so brave, Sage. He did it for me. I didn't think anybody would do anything like that for someone like me. It was like a tragically beautiful fairy tale, you know? The hero rescues the stupid little bird but at the cost of his own life…"

Rubbing her eyes, she scooted closer to Sage and leaned against his muscular frame. In response he bowed his head and listened as she continued talking. "But in my version, the little bird would change into a gorgeous maiden who would bring the hero back to life with kiss. He'd wake up and everyone would live happily ever after."

She looked down at her hands and pressed her two index fingers together. Meditatively she added, "Maybe not even the maiden could have saved him. Instead it could be the princess. Elena's the princess." She shook her head. "No, she's the queen. The queen could wake up the fallen hero with her kiss and everything would be okay…"

She smiled sadly. "As long as everyone's alive and together in the end, then that's all that matters in my story."

Sage grinned. "That's quite an interesting twist to the story, petit. Your relationship with him and his relationship with Elena is rather…"

He trailed off thoughtfully as he decided to keep his opinions on the affairs to himself. After a pregnant pause, he started to climb to his feet and he graciously pulled Bonnie up with him. Now standing, the vampire gazed down at the red haired girl and said, "Damon wouldn't have done what he did if he didn't care. I've known him for more years than I care to admit."

He chuckled deeply as if he were reflecting on those very times. "While we were never extremely close, I can tell you this: I can't recall one time he would have gone out of his way to help anyone so selflessly."

Bonnie nodded slowly as she absorbed what was said. A small part of her was relieved to know how special she was. She assumed this was the case before, what with all the pet names Damon bestowed upon her. For some reason, however, when Sage re-enforced the notion, it struck home for the very first time.

In the end, I guess I was worth dying for.

So why does it hurt so much?

Damon, I'm so sorry!

You can hate me all you want for hurting you but please, please, please… Please just come back to me…

Come back to all of us.

Please?