A/N: I don't own the characters.
DTBT Chapter 1: Her Perfect Little Life
It was a sunny day in Portland, Maine. The golden globe in the sky shone heavenly down on Bonnie Bennett Salvatore, a twenty-nine-year-old veterinarian, who had all the things in life that any woman could want.
She had a loving family, a beautiful home, terrific in-laws, her own animal hospital and clinic, and she had been married for seven years to the most perfect man in the world, one Stefan Salvatore. Her husband was a thirty-year-old Marine who currently worked as a detective for the Portland, Maine's police department.
Bonnie's perfect world was slowly collapsing. Her husband was due to be deployed to Afghanistan in three days.
Her fear of her husband's safety wreaked havoc on her nerves the moment he shared the news of him being deployed.
She tried submerging herself into work, but not even the loving animals that she cared for and treated could stop her growing depression. After performing surgery on a little shih tzu that was viciously attacked by a Rottweiler, Bonnie stood in front of her office window, hugging her frame as she gazed out at the day.
"Mrs. Salvatore, Jade is resting comfortably."
"Great." Bonnie slightly smiled after facing her employee.
"You are a miracle worker, Bonnie."
"Oh, I don't know about that," she softly chortle. "Alicia, I have to leave early. My husband's going away party is tonight."
"Oh, yeah. Is his hot brother going to be there? Yum."
Bonnie's head tilted back in amusement. "Yes, Stefan's hot brother will be there."
"How's his cat?"
"Moke, is fine. Damon wanted me to thank you for taking care of him while he was away on business." Bonnie answered as she collected her belongings.
"Well he could have called and thanked me himself. I gave him my number. I'd like for him to take care of my kitty cat. If you know what I mean."
Bonnie crumbled her brow, giving Alicia an uncomfortable look. "On that note… I better go. I have lots of things to do before the party."
"Alright, I'll see you next week." Alicia, cringed, and eased uncomfortably out of Bonnie's presence quickly in the face of their awkward exchange.
"Bye Alicia; call me if you need me." Bonnie left the building, her steps heavy, and unconscious of her surroundings. She climbed inside her vehicle and sat behind the wheel, a faraway look in her eyes. She jumped at the sound of an incoming call.
"Shit!" She grabbed her chest, then scrambled to find her phone. She smiled after seeing the caller ID.
"Hey sweetie."
"Hey you. Where are you?"
"I'm leaving work. I'm going to the store to pick up some more things for the party."
"I hope beer is on the list. You know my boys can't party unless their loaded." Stefan laughed.
"Your friends need to enroll in an AA program," she shot back.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he chortled.
"When are you coming home?"
"In a few hours."
"Mm, I want to have pre-party sex with you," she pouted, leaning her head against the window.
"In that case, I'll be home in ten minutes."
"Yay, I love you!"
"I love you more."
"That's impossible," she seductively bit her bottom lip.
"Bye!" Stefan lovely rolled his eyes. He pulled the phone from his ear. He looked down at it, thinking about her last words before preparing to leave work early.
Bonnie's first stop was the liquor store. She grabbed five bottles of Grey goose vodka, and two more twenty-four packs of bud light for Stefan and his marine buddies. Her next stop was the grocery store. She ran around the market in a mad dash, grabbing more bratwurst and ground turkey meat for the grill and some juices for their drinks. After running her errands, she quickly sped home, running a few red lights along the way.
Bonnie and Stefan had a very active sex life. Their bodies were great communicators, but mentally and emotionally, they were two different beasts. She was the suffer in silence type, and Stefan was always willingly open about his feelings.
Even with their extreme differences, they made their relationship work, because at the end of the day, they were married, and they were determined to make their marriage work above all else. They were two perfect people; they were always striving to be good and perfect individuals.
Bonnie burned rubber in to the driveway. She giggled, thrilled when she saw her husband's Ford F-150 in the garage. She speedily hopped out of her Lexus and rushed in to the house.
She ran upstairs to their bedroom. She slowed herself. Love making was something that had to be slow and easy, it was art that didn't need to be rushed. She slipped out of her clothes, entered the bathroom, and then pulled the shower curtain.
Stefan faced her, hungrily clicking his jaw in anticipation of touching her, entering her.
"You want this," he whispered deeply, then slyly smiled.
She stepped into the shower, wrapping her arms around his neck, then gave him a sensual wet kiss.
"Only a little," she tittered.
They washed each other's backs and skated their wet soapy bodies slowly against one another. He picked her up, hiking her up onto his waist, and then backed her up against the shower wall and entered her secret sweetness. He pushed himself into her, shoving off the tube floor to drive deeper into her pussy. No mercy he gave her. They kissed deeply and passionately as he thrust hungrily and slowly into her. A soft moan escaped her lips.
"I don't want to be away from you," he whispered, gazing deep into her amber eyes.
"I don't want you to be away from my either," she answered, holding his longing daze.
He gyrated at an even tempo inside of her, then slightly picked up the pace. He fucked her robustly until his release was upon him. A loud grunt escaped him at the pleasure he felt of his liquid squirting into her warm cavity. They stood glued to the shower wall, his pulsing member still inside her. Her lips curled into a satisfied glint as she swept her hands over his hot, wet skin.
They admired one another before washing and drying each other off. Stefan picked up his naked wife and carried her to the bedroom. He threw her onto the bed. She yelled out happily and let out a hearty laugh as crawled on top of her, nestling himself between her legs. He cradled her against his warm moist body. They kissed each other overpoweringly as he pumped her with vigor.
His head swayed as he rocked his pelvis against her, driving himself deep into her. All the while, Bonnie kept mediating on how it would be months when she and Stefan couldn't make love. He trembled weakly on top of her as he filled her with another bout of his love juice.
"If you weren't so dead set against having children, we could be getting pregnant with your son right now." She squeezed his head into her neck and sweetly kissed his peanut butter cheek.
He collapsed down on top of her, his eyes tightly shut.
"Why would you want to bring a child into this fucked up world?" he asked groggily.
"When people are in love, they have babies," she chided.
"You don't need to have babies to prove you're in love." He roughly rolled off her, swinging a hand over his abdomen and propping his head up with his arm, and adverted her an absurd look.
She looked over at him, a woeful look painted her face.
He grabbed her hand, enfolded it into his, and rushed it from her belly to his. "You're my baby. Baby." He winked, then hurried out of bed.
She sat up on the bed, pushing her knees into her bosom, and tightly hugged herself as sorrow rolled over her skin. She lifted her heavy head to gaze upon. She regarded him as he sifted through the clothes in his draw and begin to get dressed. He jumped into his boxers and jeans, swiveled around to her, smiling. "Come on! We got a party to prepare for. Whew!" he shouted and ran out of the room.
She simply grinned as she wiped away an evading tear.
.o.O.o.
Stefan and Bonnie worked diligently, seasoning up the meat, putting beers on ice and the rest of the meat on the grill. They still had another two hours left before the guest would arrive but luckily their families came by early to help them prepare.
"HEEEEEEY! The party can officially start. I'm here!" Damon bellowed as he entered the house, wearing his stoned washed jeans, a simple white shirt, his fedora, and his favorite ID bracelet given to him by his sister in-law, Bonnie. Damon was a stylish fellow outside of work.
He was an architect who decided to start his own business because he had a hard time taken orders, which cost him a lot of jobs. He had an eye for fine things, and he loved working with his hands. He loved to take the raw elements of earth and make them into fine works of art.
"Damon!" Bonnie shrieked with a gleam in her eye as she rushed into his awaiting arms.
"Mmm, baby girl." He swooped her up into his arms and squeezed her tight, shading his pool blue eyes with his milky eyelids.
"Hey! Hey! Get your hands off my wife. Why do you always have to put your hands on my woman?" Stefan mouthed as he brushed the grilled chicken with barbecue sauce.
Damon gave Bonnie a moist peck on the lips as he placed her gently back on her feet. She rushed back to finish her pea salad, amused by her husband's remark.
"I can't believe you're letting my brother go off to Afghanistan. What the hell Bonnie?" Damon fussed as he leaned against the counter, shaking his head.
"What are you talking about? The government wants him. I can't stop the government Da-mon," she sang.
"What the hell do you mean you can't stop the government? This is unbelievable."
"Hey! Hey!" Jonas shouted, walking into the house hand in hand with Abbie.
"Hey, daddy! Hey mommy!"
"Hey, baby," Abbie greeted her daughter.
"Dad. Mom," Stefan welcomed simply.
"Jonas, my man," Damon shock the man's hand coolly and gave him a one-handed hug. "Abbie," he then gave her an affectionate hug.
The Bennett's and the Salvatore's had become a close and tight nit family over the seven years that their children had been married to each other. Jonas and Giuseppe played golf together every other Sunday and Abbie and Martha had breakfast every Saturday morning at the Original Pancake House. Stefan didn't have a sister for Bonnie to hang out with, but Damon got in touch with his feminine side every now and again to hang out with her when Stefan was called to duty, which is how Damon and Bonnie became so close. Bonnie was the sister that Damon never had, and he dared anyone to hurt her, even his own brother.
"Everything looks good Stefan," Jonas observed.
"Daddy, I'm helping too."
"…and you didn't let me finish pumpkin. Stefan you couldn't have done all of this without my daughter."
They laughed.
"What do you guys need help with?" Damon asked.
"Take these burgers and put them on the grill for me." Stefan handed his brother the plate of patties.
"Come on Bonnie."
"Okay." She covered her salad, then walked outside onto the sun warmed deck with Damon.
"What's up?" Bonnie asked.
"Nothing. What's up with you?" Damon winked, giving her a dreamy-eyed look.
"You asked me out here just to watch you put burgers on the grill," she asked incredulously, placing her hands on her hips.
"I'm not just placing burgers on a grill, sweetheart. I'm giving you an opportunity to watch a master at work," he boasted.
She hooted. "You're so conceited," she sassed.
"You haven't seen me in two weeks! What are you bitching about?"
"You are so needy and full of yourself," she lulled. "Admit that you can't get enough of me." she gave him a confident and sassy look.
He smiled adoringly at her. His piercing blue eyes took a tour of her frame. She bit her lip nervously, feeling weak under his seriously sexy regard.
"You still haven't put those patties on the fire?" Stefan barked.
Damon startled, then went back to tending the food.
Bonnie rushed off, trying to forget the little moment she shared with her brother-in-law.
"Bring me back a beer?" Stefan yelled after her.
She was back with the beer in no time flat. Damon shot her his handsome crooked grin. She bashfully diverted her attention elsewhere.
"Hey, where's my beer?"
"You heard me ask Bon to bring me a beer, and you couldn't think to say, 'Bring me one, too?" Stefan mimicked.
Bonnie looked out at the lawn, reminiscing over the look her brother-in-law gave her as she tuned into his soothing baritone voice as he and his brother bounced silly little insults off each other. "Bon Bon, you want a bear?" his sultry voice chimed as her nick name rolled of his tongue.
Stefan stepped onto the patio, a beer in hand. He handed his brother the bottle, then popped the top off the beer Bonnie had brought him minutes ago. He brought the bottle to his lips to take a sip when Damon snatched it from his grasp.
"What the hell," Stefan hissed.
"Give the lady a drink."
"Ugh." Stefan grunted, irritated, then stomped back inside to get another beer.
They drank their beers in silent when Damon interrupted the moment. "Stefan, your yard looks like shit," he slighted.
"Why, because I don't have a jungle in the middle of my damn yard." Stefan snickered, then took a seat on the steps the deck.
They laughed.
"Just stating facts. Get Bonnie a rose bush or a Goddamn Magnolia tree! Something!"
"Some of us have jobs, Damon. We don't have time to plant rainforest and shit," he replied, then took a big gulp of his drink. "While I'm away," he paused. "I'm putting you in charge of keeping my yard trimmed, and you can even plant a little shrubbery just for kicks and giggles. Cool?"
Damon reflected over his brother's proposal. "Okay," he nodded happily.
"Mmm, I guess I have a gardener," Bonnie coyly smiled as she clanked her bottle triumphantly against Damon's
"You put him up to this, didn't you?" Stefan enquired, looking at Bonnie.
"No, I didn't. The man can't stand white walls, much less a bare yard." She laughed.
Stefan was amused
"Dad! Hey!" Stefan hurried to his feet to greet Giuseppe.
Damon tilted an unsatisfied gaze at his father. "Hey," he greeted dryly.
"Damon, son." He patted his son's back, and he rolled his eyes in response to his father's loving gesture.
"Son, thanks for inviting me to your get together. Do you have all your affairs in order?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Everything is in order," Stefan answered proudly.
"Everything is order but my heart," Bonnie added.
"Aww," Stefan sat his beer on the table, then took her into his arms. He held her snuggly to his chest, combing her hair with his fingers.
"You two are the perfect couple," Giuseppe glowed pridefully at the couple.
Damon took a sip of his beer, his eyes glassed over as he watched them. He blindly went to sit his beer down, knocking it and a plate of meat down onto the ground.
"God! Damon!" Giuseppe snared.
"Shit!" Stefan exclaimed, then rushed to help his brother, and Bonnie, who was there in an instant to help Damon clean up his mess.
"I'm such an idiot," Damon blasted.
"No, you're not. It was an accident," Bonnie assured.
"You didn't mean to drop the meat dodo bird," Stefan teased, then smeared Damon's noise with a patty from the ground.
Damon smiled at his brother, who returned his affections with a goofy grin.
Bonnie gently messaged his shoulder before lovingly placing a hand on his rosy cheek, her hand titillating his senses as his gaze blazed right through her. His hungry, desperate gawk induced her to action. She leaned into him and sweetly kissed his lips. "Don't worry about it," she tentatively pacified.
Bonnie and Stefan gathered up the meat and took it to the kitchen. Giuseppe followed. Damon ineptly got to his feet, grabbing the lawn furniture to steady himself as he looked toward the kitchen. He heard loud laughter and talking coming from the house. He ran his hands over his face, composing himself. He grabbed a beer from the cooler and used the table to pop the top. He gulped down half the beer in one take.
"Damon, look who's here," Stefan announced.
Tank grabbed Damon into a big bear hug and lifted him up and down.
"Hey! Hey!" Damon bellowed, pleadingly.
Tank put Damon down and then grabbed a beer. The rest of Stefan's friends joined them on the deck. Damon took a seat, a stunned look in his eyes. Bonnie came and sat down beside him. "You okay?"
"Sure, if dropping dinner on the ground means you're okay."
They laughed. "Don't worry about dropping the meat, it's not ruined. Mom and dad are washing it off and seasoning it. We're putting that meat back on the grill."
"We'll serve it to the guest," he replied deviously, as he lay his forehead against hers.
The night progressed. Stefan and his friends filled themselves with beer and other various cocktails.
Bonnie and Damon kept themselves occupied with cutesy talk before turning their attention to the melancholy conversation between Stefan and his friends.
"If I die, it better be quick," Stefan howled, his friends mimicked.
"Stefan, you are not going to die," Damon huffed.
"Life isn't promised to anyone," he rebuffed.
"You're worrying, Bonnie." Damon signaled angrily to her.
She forced a smile. She wanted to be brave in this moment, but there was no hiding behind the grave look on her face.
"I want her to be prepared for the worse," Stefan explained and then reached his hand out to clutch hers. She sighed deeply, fighting back her tears.
"Bonnie, there's a chance I might not make it back."
"You will. Okay." She smiled and snuggly gripped his hand. "I have to pee," she broadcasted in a rattled voice.
Damon angrily watched her rush off, retreating to the refuge of the house. "You just don't know when to quit," he glared at Stefan before running off to check on Bonnie.
"Go comfort your girl," Tank advised.
Stefan leaned over, holding tightly to his drink. He shook his head incredulously at the situation created by him, and him alone.
Bonnie ran to the bathroom. She washed her face with cold water, then looked down at her shaky hands. She tried to shake the conversation from her consciousness, but it wouldn't leave her. She knew about the senseless killing currently going on in Afghanistan. The fact that she could lose her husband in any number of ways had not escaped her awareness since the day they were informed of his deployment. She shook her hands erratically, shaking off the rage rising inside her.
"You can do this Bonnie." She whispered to herself with closed eyes.
A soft rap sounded at the door. "I'm almost finished," she yelled out.
"Are you okay?" Damon's voice vibrated against the door.
She opened the door. They shared a serious gape.
Damon barged into the bathroom, taking her immediately into a hug. She didn't instantly give into the embrace. She was still reeling from the somber topic of death that she nearly escaped from moments ago. She absentmindly gave into the moment, allowing herself to be comforted.
"Stefan's not going to die. You have to believe that," he took her by the shoulder, softly trying to shake some sense into her.
She grinned at him. "You're worried about him, too?" she cupped his face in her hands. His confident look vanished in the face of sorrow.
"How do you know me so well?" he asked, amazed.
"You're my best friend silly," she sniggered.
"I better be."
.o.O.o.
Bonnie and Damon joined the others downstairs.
The house was filled with over thirty something guest, leaving Bonnie little time to visit with her husband. She had to be quite the social butterfly this night when all she really wanted to do was take her husband upstairs and make sweet love to him.
Earlier was a prelude to what she really wanted to do with him. She longed to kiss him all over and hold him in her arms, but she knew how important Stefan's friends were to him; this night wasn't about her and her feelings. She had to keep reminding herself of this. Tonight was about her husband and sending him off happy. This party was about her husband making memories to take with him on his journey, a journey that she prayed that he would come back from.
She worked tirelessly, cutting up more fruit, and doing a little picking up around the kitchen so that she wouldn't have a lot to clean up later that night.
"Hey sis," Damon chimed, entering the room.
"Hey," she answered dryly.
He walked over to her, taking her by the shoulders, and began intensely massaging them.
"Mm, that feels nice."
"You're so tense?" his deep voice reverberated her senses.
"I can get use to this," she hummed with satisfaction.
"I have magic hands, at least that's what the ladies tell me," he whispered in her ear.
"Alicia, my assistant has the hots for you. You should ask her out?"
"Ugh," he gave an exaggerated eye roll.
"Why? She's nice."
"She's desperate. I can smell it from a mile away."
"You know, I really worry about you Damon. You're thirty-two years old. You have no girlfriend, no children, and you've never been married."
"Oh, Bon-nie," he sang. "I'm young. There's plenty of time for me to find an old ball and chain."
"You're never going to find Ms. Right if you refer to her as an old ball and chain."
He chuckled lowly, continuing to massage her shoulders.
She sighed loudly, a whipped look on her face.
"Come on," Damon invited.
"To where?"
"Come sit down and enjoy your friends and family." He grabbed his beer and her hand and led her to the living room. Everyone was sitting in the living room engaged in general conversation. There was enough room on the couch for Bonne and Damon to both sit. He sat down first, resting an arm on the back of the couch. She followed, laying against him. He swung his arm around her front, then kissed her on the forehead as she latched onto his forearm.
"Every time I see you, you've got your hands around my woman. Giuseppe, get your son," Stefan joshed, entering the room.
"Stop being jealous baby." Bonnie retorted.
"Scoot over April." Stefan stepped behind the coffee table, gesturing to his friend to move over. He then squeezed between the woman and Bonnie. He kissed her on the lips as he lovingly clutched her knee, miming the words I love you.
.o.O.o.
All the guest had gone home except for Stefan's good friends Justin, Tank, and Jeff. Bonnie cleaned the kitchen while the fellows sat on the deck talking. Their conversation sounded more like a raucous than a friendly chat.
Bonnie could hear the men talking loudly and yelling about their women. She frowned up at some of their comments, then she laughed when they bragged about their trucks and their fast cars, but when their choice of topic became more intense, like about the war, and all the friends that they had lost, she closed the door, shutting out their morbid discussion.
"I can't believe Michael is dead. He was just twenty-three," Tank seriously acknowledged.
"How did he die?" Justin inquired.
"We had different roads in and out of the city and our quadrant was in charge of disabling any IED's we came across to make the roads passable for the rest of our troops. Well, one of the bombs weren't fully disabled, it exploded, took Michael's head clean off," Tank explained somberly.
"Well, it's been fun. Tank. Jeff. Justin. Stefan." Damon held up his bottle, addressing each of them, then finished off his beer before going inside to help Bonnie in the kitchen.
"Come on, stay." Justin pleaded.
"This type of conversation isn't my brother's cup of tea." Stefan sneered.
"We're all going to die one day man. It's a part of life," Tank reminded.
"Yes, I'm aware of that, but we don't have to talk about it… all… the damn time. Now-good night." Damon gave his brother a nod before leaving them for good.
"Hey you." Damon shot Bonnie a crooked, sweet grin as he shut the door behind him.
"Hey," she answered tiredly.
"You closed the door on us. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
He looked at her suspiciously, studying her disposition. He put aside the task at hand to help her clean. He emptied the trash, put in a new liner, and started sweeping. She looked at him and smiled.
He never pressured her to divulge what was on her mind. He quietly hovered in the back ground, letting her know he was there. Him being there made her happy.
She blindly scrubbed the large pot in the sink as she watched him finish sweeping the floor. He gazed over her, giving her an affectionate beam before joining her at the sink to help her with the dishes.
"We make a pretty good team you and me." He winked at her as he curled his lip happily into his cheek.
"Yeah, we do," she recognized. They stood, gawking at each other. Bonnie couldn't stand their loving moment. She grabbed the sprayer from the sink, spraying Damon in the face, interrupted their little moment.
He stood motionless as the water splattered across his face. He closed his eyes and pursed his lips together, shielding his mouth and eyes from the jetting water. He opened his eyes and politely grabbed the sprayer from her.
"Don't do something you'll regret," she said nervously, backing carefully away from him.
"Oh, you're going to get it." He tried squirting Bonnie with the water; she made a mad dash around the island. She speedily grabbed a dish rag, swinging it at him in defense. He threw the hose in the sink and took off after her. He grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her.
She screamed and laughed heartily. She turned around in his arms. He was still holding her tightly around the waist. They sobered as his crystal iris stared right through her. Her fiery ambers sent chills up his spine; he swallowed tensely as he held her slender warm body against his, their chest rapidly rising and falling. They stayed in the pose for over two minutes, burning a hole into each other's soul.
She became uncertain under his powerful regard. Butterflies swam violently in her stomach as his warm body pressed even more tightly against hers.
"Wow, that was fun." She pushed him off her and ran to do something, what she didn't know. She searched around the kitchen, finally discovering the mop.
"Yeah," Damon said under his breathe, a bewildered look in his eyes.
After getting the water from up off the floor and the sink, she walked back over to Damon; she couldn't help but be in his orbit. She touched his hand. "Are you thinking about your brother?"
"Yeah, I don't want him to leave," he answered robotically, as if the words coming out of his mouth were the right way to answer her question.
"What are you and Stefan doing tomorrow?"
"We haven't made any plans. I was thinking we should stay at home, spend some time alone," she answered, not obliging him a glance.
"Oh, okay," he answered disappointedly "Maybe, we can all go out on my boat."
"On Nadia? We haven't been out on the water in a long time. Yes, I would love that," she gleamed at the idea.
"Yeah, we should, and we can invite our parents. I can cook us up some shrimp, crab legs, and lobster. I want to spend as much time as I can with Stefan before he leaves."
"I think it's a great idea Damon."
The air was thick with awkwardness.
"What's a great idea?" Stefan asked, stepping into the room unnoticed.
"Damon wants to take us out on Nadia tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah. That's cool Damon. Your gonna make some of your famous crab cakes and that shrimp dish I like so much?"
"For you little brother, anything." Damon smirked.
"Bonnie and I should be through making love around two tomorrow afternoon, so I guess we can all get together around four. Is that okay?" Stefan bragged as he took Bonnie into his arms and placed carnal kisses over her cheeks and down her neck.
"Your brother doesn't need to know all that honey," she warned seriously, trying to break free of his ravenous clutch.
Damon leaned weakly against the counter, looking dreadfully at the doting couple before him. Stefan grinned over at his brother. Damon zoomed him the biggest grin ever. "Four o'clock is great," he struggled to say. He watched them a few moments more before deciding to leave. "I should probably go. I'm sure you two want some time alone," he announced with vagueness.
"Don't go Damon. Let's watch a movie," Bonnie rushed out, breaking free from Stefan's grasp.
"Let him leave. You got me all hot and bothered." Stefan snatched her back up in his arms.
"You're being so rude." She said, but soon she gave into temptation.
"I think I've been scarred for life," Damon gagged at their public display of affection.
Stefan and Bonnie laughed at his reaction to them smooching. "Can you stop fondling each other and walk me to my damn car."
"Wow, someone's in a mood," Stefan observed.
They walked him to his car. Stefan opened the door for his brother. He climbed inside, started the car, and then rolled down the window to say goodbye to them.
"Bye Damon, I love you," Bonnie declared.
"I love you, too," he declared dreamingly, staring at her with a starry-eyed expression.
"Are you going to keep looking at us or are you going home?" Stefan mouthed.
Damon finally drove off, waving at the couple as he drove away.
Stefan and Bonnie went back inside and finished what was left in the kitchen and then turned in for the night. They thought they wanted to make love, but the partying and visiting had zapped them of all their energy.
She cuddled close to close him, rubbing his chest tenderly as they lay in bed.
"If something happens to me, how would you cope?"
She closed her eyes, tensing at the question presented to her.
"Nothing is going to happen to you. You will come home to me, to your parents, and your brother. I'm going to pray every day for your safety."
"Living and dying is a part of life. It doesn't mean God doesn't love us because we lose a loved one or we die. It's fate. We can't fight fate."
"I don't want to think about death. I want to think about you, me, and this beautiful moment right now." She raised up off the bed, looking worriedly down at him.
"We need to prepare for the worse."
"We are prepared for the worse. We prepared when we bought life insurance policies, made wills, and bought burial plots. We don't have to prepare for it by talking about how and when we are going to die every single moment of the day," she argued.
"How come every time I want to talk to you about things that matter to me, you want to push them aside like they don't matter?"
"I do want to talk about the things that matter to you, but I want to keep making memories with you, too. If you were to get on that plane tomorrow and it fell in to the ocean, I don't want my last memory of you to be of us talking about how you were going to die. I want my last memory to be about how we partied, how we laughed, and how we talked with friends. For God sakes!" she jumped out of the bed in a huff.
"I want to talk about this. I want to know if you're going to be okay when or if I should die." He jumped out the bed, following her.
"I don't fucking know how I'm going to cope without you. No one knows how they're going to cope without a love one. It's un-fucking realistic."
"Fuck! There is no fucking communicating with you. You want to live in your fairytale world and pretend like shit can't go wrong. Well, shit goes wrong in battle. People die. People lose their homes. Shit fucking happens!"
"I'm not fucking delusional. I know that shit happens, but I do something about it if it is in my power to do so, but I'm not going to sit around here and keep dwelling about the what ifs. I'm out of here."
"That's great! The minute shit gets real you want to walk away."
"One of us should walk away before the other one says something that they might regret."
"Okay, you stay!" Stefan demanded.
"…and where are you going?"
"To my fucking brother's!"
"Are you coming back? We only have two more nights together."
"I don't know," he said under his breath as he struggled angrily to put on his clothes.
"Please don't go. I love you."
"No Bonnie, you're right. To avoid saying something that the other one will regret, one of us should leave. We need the space." He put on his clothes, then left the house.
Bonnie couldn't cry. She was too upset. She picked up the phone and called Damon.
"Hello," he answered huskily.
"It's me—Bonnie. Stefan and I just had a fight."
"Do you need me to come over?"
"No, Stefan is on his way to you. Will you tell him I love him and for him to please come home. I don't want him to leave and we not make up."
"Sure. Don't worry. Everything will be okay. I'll fix this."
"Thank you, Damon. Why are things always so easy with you?"
"I guess because we aren't married," he joked; she laughed.
"Umph, I made you laugh."
"Yes, you did."
"Don't worry. Stefan is stressed because he's leaving you. He loves you."
"How can I avoid setting him off?"
"Well," he sighed as he sat down, resting back into the couch. "I simply agree with whatever Stefan says. The result of that is, he gets bored, and stops talking."
They laughed.
"So, I should understand what he's going through, and not always look for him to understand me?"
"Exactly. You can't make this war go away. You can't predict what's going to happen, but you can be an ear, and right now, that's what he needs."
"Thank you for being here for me."
"That's what brothers are for."
She smiled. "Will you call me when he leaves?"
"Yes," he paused. "I love you Bonnie." He immediately swallowed.
"I love you too," she replied, massaging her butterflied filled belly. They set on the phone in silence, hearing nothing but digital interference.
"Goodnight," he said, but still he sat there, holding the phone.
"Goodnight," she responded, still holding the phone as well.
"Bonnie," he called out in a panic
"Yes," she said, alerted.
"I thought you hung up." He laughed, relieved.
"Maybe tomorrow, I can come by and take you and Stefan for a ride before we go out on the boat."
"I would love that." She bashfully swept her hair behind her ear.
"Okay. Well, goodnight," he said, again, still unable to hang up.
"Bye Damon," she reiterated, still not able disconnect the call as well.
"Bonnie?" Damon called to her after two minutes had passed.
"Yes."
"Stefan's here."
"Okay, bye." This time she hung up.
Damon looked down at his phone, then at the door, guilt in his eyes.