This story takes place right after the speech in the woods that Damon gives to Bonnie during 7x21. All of the words and everything that he said to Bonnie during that speech remains the same. Except for I am taking out the part where he mentions Elena after he tells Bonnie he loves her. Because I feel like the speech would be perfect if it wasn't for that. And that was the writer's way of trying to downplay Bamon in the way that they do, while inserting Elena where she doesn't need to be inserted and it's irritating when they do that. So there is no Elena mention is his speech.
Also even though this is following that happens in 7x21/22, not everything in this story will be following things exactly like they happened on the show. It will detour and be different from the plot a little. Damon doesn't hear Elena's voice and he doesn't get lured in and be turned dark and evil by the force that overtook him on the show. From there I will be going into my own plot for what happens. So I hope that you enjoy this story!
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Damon sat with his back against the tree. Bloodied and bruised from his struggle with Bonnie, as she had been chasing him down and hunting him as the huntress that she had became overtook her. He stood at the brink of death from her hands, as she hovered above him with a stake in her hands. Prepared to drive it into his heart. Even though she was threatening to kill her, he refused to do anything to fight her back. Even if his vampire abilities of strength and speed would allow him to defend himself some.
He didn't want to fight her. Because he knew that she had no real control over what she was doing because of the huntress curse and he didn't want to hurt her for something that she had no control over. But, most of all because he cared for her deeply and because he loved her and couldn't bare to think of hurting or harming her. He would rather die than risk hurting Bonnie Bennett by his own hands. So here he was letting her fight him. And if her killing him was what it took to break her out of the huntress curse, he would allow that to happen. But, not before he let her know how he felt. So he poured his heart out to her in his speech to her.
"...And I love you, Bonnie." Damon finished with emotion in his voice and unshed tears in his eyes. Then he released the hold that she had on his wrist to let her decide her next move and whether or not she actually wanted to stake him or not.
Above Damon, Bonnie was filled with her own emotions and fighting an emotional battle inside of herself. She was conflicted between her hunter urges to kill him and the anger and heartbreak that she still carried inside of her towards him from him deciding to desiccate himself and the strong feelings of care, affection, love, and the emotional connection that she had with him.
While the huntress voice inside of her head was telling her just to drive the stake into his heart, the feelings that she had for him was preventing her from doing so. And she kept fighting that war within herself.
Tears streamed down her face and her lips trembled, as she raised the stake in her hands, preparing to kill him.
Damon swallowed hard and braced himself for the extreme pain that would come with having a stake driven into his heart and the death that would take him shortly after.
For a few long moments Bonnie just hovered above him, with that stake raised. With the strongest urge to kill him. However despite the huntress in her driving her to do so, she still hesitated to follow through. As she saw him looking back at her with emotion and unshed tears in icy blue eyes. And it was then that she realized that no matter how strong the curse was that she just couldn't bring herself to kill him, because her feelings for him couldn't bring her to do that.
So, everything that she had been feeling towards him for the last three years, came pouring out and overtook her. The anger and the hurt, the love and the caring. The stake slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground next to them. On a sob she crumbled up against him, leaning her body up against his chest. She just couldn't bring herself to do it, no matter what the huntress in her told her to do. All she could do at that point was break down and cry.
Damon released the breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding. He then knew that she wasn't going to be able to kill him and his speech had gotten through to her somehow. Overwhelmed by everything that had just gone down between him, he wrapped his arms around her shaking body, his eyes wide and the tears finally spilling over.
That was when Matt approached them. He had a weapon in his hand that was loaded with syringes, meant to subdue a vampire hunter or huntress without killing them. And he had been near the whole time preparing to shoot Bonnie with it, just in case Damon couldn't get through to her and he needed to use it on her to prevent her from killing him.
But, watching Bonnie break down in Damon's arms, Matt saw that he wasn't going to have to use the weapon on her afterall. It appeared that whatever Damon said to Bonnie to try and calm her down had worked. And Matt was glad that he wouldn't have to shoot her. Even if it was just to subdue her, he didn't like the idea of having to use any kind of weapon on his friend Bonnie.
"Hey, it's going to be alright." Damon whispered to her in a comforting tone as he held her. "You're going to be okay. We're going to be okay."
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After a while Bonnie had calmed down some emotionally. And it was quietly decided between her and Damon that he would take her over to the boarding house. Thinking that it was best to let her wait it out there, until he could find a way to break the huntress curse.
Damon told Matt. "Thanks, I've got her from here."
Matt questioned. "Are you sure about that? I mean she's still under the curse."
Matt didn't care for Damon much at all. But, he was aware of how deeply Bonnie felt about him. Because of that he didn't want to leave Bonnie with Damon alone and have the curse drive her to kill him. Because Matt knew that if it ever came to that and when the curse was eventually broken that Bonnie would never forgive herself for ending Damon's life and that she would be very heartbroken over it. So for her more than for the sake of Damon he wanted to be sure that it was okay to leave Bonnie with him.
"I've positive." Damon gave a nod. "I got through to her and I know that I'll be safe around her."
"Okay." Matt glanced in the direction that Bonnie was waiting. "If things change though give me a call and I'll come and sedate her."
"I don't think that it will come to that." Damon told him.
Matt said. "Then I will leave the two of you to be."
Matt left after he checked on Bonnie again and told her bye.
Damon walked over to where Bonnie was waiting which was in the passenger's seat of his Camaro. Getting into the driver's side he started the car and drove them over to the boarding house. On the drive there the emotional tension between them was thick in the car. The car ride was mostly silent without either saying a word. As they both were trying to recover from what had just happened in the woods.
Bonnie could feel him glancing in her direction every now and then during the ride. But, she had avoided eye contact with him. The speech that he had given to her had hit it's mark and it had her feeling some guilt about attempting to kill him. She didn't know how she would be able to handle it if she actually had killed him.
When they arrived at the boarding house it was just the two of them alone. Stefan and Caroline were elsewhere. And Bonnie find herself both physically and emotionally tired from all that she had been through in the recent weeks. So, she went upstairs to the guest bathroom and took a long hot shower, changing into the spare clothes that Caroline had laying around.
Enzo called her over the phone after he found out from Damon what had happened in the woods. Damon had told Enzo that the situation was handled for the night, still Enzo wanted to come and pick Bonnie up after learning that she was at the boarding house. He wanted to pick Bonnie up and take her back to their cabin to spend some time with her.
Bonnie though told Enzo that she thought that it was best that he stay away from her that night and that he stay at the cabin without her. He insisted that he should still pick her up and that he could handle things if she went into huntress mode against him. But, Bonnie didn't think that they should risk it. Ever since she had turned into the huntress she had an even stronger urge to kill him than she had Damon for some reason. And even though her feelings for the eldest Salvatore kept her urges at bay for the moment enough not to want to kill Damon, she didn't think that the same could he said for Enzo.
Even though she cared for Enzo a lot, she didn't think that whatever she felt for him would be strong enough to stop herself from killing him. She told Enzo that she would stay with him at the cabin again once the curse was broken. Why did she feel like it would be easier to kill her boyfriend over the man who was suppose to be her best friend, she didn't know and at that time she was really too tired to try and go over those reasons in her mind. Enzo eventually agreed that he would wait until the curse was broken before they went back to their cabin together and told her that he would see her the next day. Then Bonnie ended her phone call with him.
She went into the guest bedroom that she had picked out to sleep in that night. It was the same room that she had slept in when she was trapped with Damon in 1994. Despite her anger at him she knew that she had picked out this room because it was special to her. Reminded her of all of the time that she had spent with him in 1994. And even though 1994 had given her one of the most painful times in her life with the arrival of Kai. It had also provided her with one of the most important times in her life.
The time that she had bonded with Damon and become best friends with him. They have overcome the odds of how they started out not being able to stand each other, to becoming the bestest and the closest of friends. So close that Bonnie had started to wonder if she could feel more than friendship towards him. But, before she could really figure all of that out, she had found out that Damon was going to desiccate himself. And that had really hurt her to her core the fact that he was just willing to leave her behind like that. All because he couldn't handle living life without Elena.
She had never felt closer to anyone in her life than she had with Damon Salvatore. He was important to her and in her life in ways that words couldn't quite explain. She needed him in her life. And she knew that she loved him in someway. That's why she was so disappointed that he had chosen to throw what they had together away to go lay in a coffin for the next sixty years. And she had gone to Brooklyn before he desiccated himself to let him know exactly how much that he hurt her and he she wanted him to think about how much he had hurt her.
She thought that, that would be the end of it but it wasn't of course. She had spent the next three years struggling emotionally with what he did. The anger and pain inside of her that never managed to go away.
She had tried her best to move on and put things behind her, tried to wipe Damon Salvatore from her mind and pretended like he didn't exist. She eventually had gotten into a romantic relationship with Enzo. She was lonely and Enzo appeared lonely too. So in that they took comfort in each other. There was no one else around because of the chaos that had been created from the Phoenix stone and Rayna being out on the loose. Caroline was away with Alaric helping to take care of the twins. Her mother was elsewhere and Damon had desiccated himself.
All of the people that she cared about wasn't able to be in her life because of the circumstances. She had no one else and with The Armory after her and in hiding away for her life from them, Enzo had brought her to his cabin. And with no one else around she had turned to him and gotten into a relationship with him.
Bonnie kept convincing herself that she was in love with Enzo and that he made her happy. There were some nice moments that she had with him. But, she still felt empty and like there was a piece missing in her life and she knew that it was because Damon wasn't there. As much anger as she had towards Damon, she had missed him a whole bunch during those three years. The thought of never seeing him again made her very sad.
Then that day came when she had learned that she was poisoned from the pills that Enzo gave that was meant to protect her. That she was sick and was going to die if something wasn't done soon. She was hugging Enzo when she heard Damon say her name. And at that moment it was like her world had fallen apart and come back together at the same time. Damon was back after she never expected to see him again.
She opens her eyes to see him standing in the doorway with flowers, an untold number of emotions on his face as he stared at her. For a brief time she wanted to jump for the joy and happiness that she felt at seeing him again. She wanted to run into his arms and tell him how much that she missed him.
That didn't last long however because all of the anger and bitterness that she had felt for his decision to leave her came rushing back. So, as he stood there desperately babbling trying to apologize to her, she walked up to that door and slammed it in his face.
In the following days, Damon had tried to apologize to her many times and explain himself. But, every time that he would open his mouth to do so, she would shut him down. She let him know how pissed off that she was. And gave him the cold shoulder whenever he would try to get close to her or get her to open up to him. She was hurt and wanted him to hurt too. So she told him things that aimed at hurting him.
Things such as how she wanted nothing to do with him, how she hated him and didn't need him in her life, because she had Enzo and she loved Enzo. And Bonnie could tell from the expressions on his face that the words that she said to him had indeed broken his heart. She felt bad for the words that she said to him and that she set out to hurt him intentionally. But, she kept that part to herself and she was at a lost of what to do with all of the emotions that she was feeling.
There was a knock on the bedroom door breaking into her many thoughts and feelings. She figured that it only had to be Damon as they were the only ones in the house that she knew of. It was his house but he was polite and gentlemen enough to knock on her door to get her permission to enter.
Pausing for a moment Bonnie opened her mouth. "Yeah, come in."
Opening the door and stepping into the guest bedroom Damon spotted her sitting on the edge of the bed. He wasn't quite sure where to start or what to saw after their emotional, intense counter in the woods.
He just started with the first thing that came to his mind. "I, Um wanted to check on you before either of us goes to sleep."
"Uh, that's okay." Bonnie's tone was quiet.
"Are you feeling better?" Damon wanted to know.
"I guess, yeah….." Bonnie returned. "Or about as better as I can feel still locked in being the huntress."
Damon put his hands in his pockets. "You won't have to worry about that for long. I'll find a way to get to The Armory tomorrow curse is broken. I can guarantee that I'll find a way to do that."
Bonnie shook her head. "It was just an hour and a half ago where I could have killed you and you're just focused on helping me."
Damon shrugged. "Well, if it's anyone who deserves to be helped in this world it's you, Bonnie Bennett."
"Still you don't feel any type of resentment or bitterness for me from the fact that I almost drove a stake through your heart." Bonnie said.
"Why would I feel like that? You have no control over your actions because you are under the damn huntress curse. Anything that you do while you are under it isn't your fault." Damon cocked his head to the side.
Bonnie sighed. "You may not resent me for it but I would certainly have blamed myself for it if I had actually killed you."
Damon asked. "Why would you blame yourself?"
Bonnie explained. "Well, we're best friends….you consider me your best friend still and you don't think that it would be an awful big deal if you had been killed because of me?"
"As I said you're not in control of what you do under the huntress curse. It's made to give you the urge to kill vampires. It's not something that you want to do. I don't blame you for and neither should you blame yourself for it." Damon stated to her.
"I know about what the huntress curse made me do and that I can't help it. Still I would have blamed myself if I killed you. It's something that I know that I would never forgive myself for." She looked over at him.
"And a feeling of blame that would be misplaced and that I would never wish or want you to feel." Damon directed.
She rubbed at her arms. "I can't help to think about what would happen if I actually did end your life."
Studying her Damon could tell that she felt guilty about what had happened in the forest. "You didn't end my life. I'm standing here fine and alive, because you didn't do it. You didn't kill me, so I'm going to need you to let go of that guilt that you are feeling."
"Yeah, alright." Bonnie shifted in how she was sitting on the bed.
"I knew deep down though that you wouldn't be able to go through with it. Even through the risk of you staking me through the heart." Damon added.
Bonnie kept her eyes on him but stayed silent for the moment.
Damon went on. "I know you, Bonnie and your heart and the woman that you are. I know how strong that you are and that you are stronger even than that huntress curse and that you wouldn't be able to go through with it. And that you could overcome even the strongest of curses when those loving feelings inside of you are triggered."
Bonnie blinked back the tears that wanted to come back to her. "Wow, you are being so nice, wonderful and careful with me."
Damon was confused by her statement. "How else would I be acting towards you."
"Since you have been back from your desiccation, I've been doing nothing but pushing you away and giving you the cold shoulder." Bonnie gestured.
"True." Damon stepped closer to the bed. "But, I've understand why you've been acting that way towards me."
Bonnie added. "And I've been saying some pretty harsh and mean words towards you."
Damon slightly winced as he thought about those words. "Again true."
"Still even through all of the pushing away that I have done to you and the things that I have said to you. You've been here all this time trying to find a way to save me." Bonnie paused. "After I look past my cloud of anger, it just opens my eyes."
"Certainly I wouldn't abandon you and just do nothing and let you die just because you are highly pissed with me. And even though it's tough to deal with seeing you so pissed at me and pushing me away, I'm not going to let that stop me." Damon told her. "I'm going to work as hard as I can to make it all up to you, until you're not so pissed with me anymore."
Hearing him say that made her feel even badder about some of the things that she had said towards him in her hurt. "You know there are some things that said that I wish that I could take back."
"Well there are some things in our relationship that I said and did that I wish that I could take back too, so I guess we are even in that area." Damon's lips curved slightly. This was as far as he was getting with her to be open with him as he had gotten since he came back.
"There were some things that I said to you that I didn't mean." Bonnie's expression showed how badly that she had felt.
"I understand completely. When you told me those things you were hurting and heartbroken over my desiccation and you have every right to feel that way. I screwed up big time when I put myself in that coffin. So, I expected the anger from you when I returned. You were hurt and you needed to find a way to vent that out to me, something that I won't hold against you." His tone was gentle with her.
She diverted her eyes from him some.
Damon pointed his thumbs at himself. "Besides you're looking at the king of saying things that he doesn't mean. When I get upset or emotional, you know the big drama queen that I become."
That comment and the way that he had said it managed to get a chuckle out of Bonnie in spite of the situation that had happened that night.
And that small chuckle manage to get a grin out of Damon.
Bonnie admitted . "But, seriously when I said that I hated you and that I wanted nothing to do with you, I really didn't mean any of that."
He winked at her to show her that he understood. It was like her way of telling him that she was sorry for those harsh words. "Got you."
"It's just that I've spent the last few years caught up in my anger towards you, that you coming back brought back all of those emotions. And I've been having a hard time working through all of that." Bonnie explained.
"And you can take all of the time that you need to in order to work through that. You can forgive me on your own time and when you are ready to, I won't rush you in that." Damon responded.
Bonnie nodded.
He told her. "Even if you decide to never forgive me though, I'll still be here whenever you are in trouble or danger, doing everything that I can to save and protect you. Because I'll always care about you no matter what."
Bonnie let out a shaky breath. "That's the thing I think part of the reason why I couldn't drive myself to kill you was that there is a big part of me who wants to forgive you and maybe even already has."
That pleased Damon. "Well, that's good to know."
"Yeah, it is for the both of us I guess." Bonnie added. "I would prefer actually not to go through the rest of my life upset with you."
With each word that she spoke Damon was getting more and more hopeful that he could get Bonnie back and regain his friendship with her. With emotion in his tone he said to her. "What I told you, I meant it one hundred percent you know. That I love you."
The sincerity in his eyes as he said those three words to her for the second time that night had her heart flutter and her feeling all sorts of warm and intense feelings towards the blue eyed vampire.
"All I want is what's best for you, Bonnie." Damon directed at her. "What I want most of your is to be carefree and happy, for whatever or whoever makes you happy in life."
She eyed him with a softened expression and her expression matched the tone of her voice as she spoke to him. "I'm starting to realize that ever since you have been from your desiccation and I'm glad to know that how you feel towards me. It's a relief I must admit."
"Does this mean that we are good now?" Damon questioned in a hopeful tone.
"It means that we are on our way to good." Bonnie allowed herself to smile at him.
"I'll take that." Damon gave her a nod.
Bonnie rubbed at her eyes. "I'm just exhausted from now. All I can think of doing is resting."
Damon suggested. "Then you should close those pretty little eyes of yours and get some sleep."
"I'll get to that right now." Bonnie said and hesitated before adding. "Uh, do you mind staying in here with me tonight?"
"You want me to spend the night with you, little witch?" Damon teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows and that classic smirk of his.
For some reason that made her brush. "I mean to make sure that I don't wake up in the middle of the night and go off and hunt down one of my vampire friends. I know that you're safe from me right now, but as far as the others…."
"Say no more I know what you mean. I'll stay to watch over you and make sure that you don't go all huntress mode on Caroline, Stefan,...or Enzo." Damon gave her a thumbs up.
"Alright then." Bonnie sighed and then she climbed into the bed.
Moving over to the chair that was next to the bed Damon sat down in it.
Bonnie pulled the covers over her body. "Goodnight, Damon."
Damon whispered. "Goodnight, Bonnie."
She closed her eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.
He sat there watching over her and doing as she requested. Eventually he would fall asleep himself but he never left that room and stayed with her the whole night.
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When she woke up the next morning Damon wasn't in the room, but she knew that he had stayed in there the entire night with her because she could feel his presence the whole time even when she was asleep.
She got out of the bed and made her way downstairs where she found him in the kitchen over the stove cooking something.
He glanced over his shoulders as she approached. "Good morning there I hope that you are hungry for some breakfast."
Bonnie admitted. "As a matter of fact I am."
"Great then have a seat." Damon told her. "It's almost ready."
She went over to the coffee maker and grabbed a mug and poured herself some coffee and fixed it how she liked it and then took a seat at the table.
A few minutes later Damon finished cooking and turned off the stove. With a whistle he fixed Bonnie's plate. Then brought it over to where she was sitting and placed it down in front of her.
Bonnie saw what she had made him. "Wow not just pancakes but eggs too!" She smiled.
Damon grinned. "Well, you need a hearty breakfast to build up your energy. You know for us to go to the Armory today and kick some ass to get that huntress curse off of you."
"Hmmm, I'm definitely ready to kick some Armory ass in order to get my life back from them?" Bonnie sipped on her coffee.
"Then that's what we will do." Damon assured.
He got his own mug of coffee and fixed his own plate and joined her at the table along with his blood bag. They had their breakfast over some light small talk between them. When they were done Damon took up the dishes to wash and Bonnie helped him dry them.
After a while Bonnie spoke. "You don't have that letter that I gave back to you, do you?"
"Of course I do. I've been holding onto it since you gave it back to me." Damon answered.
Bonnie returned. "I think that it's time now. Since we are on are way to being good again, I'm ready to get over my anger and my fears to finally read your letter to me."
Hearing that brightened Damon up even more than he was already brightened up.
She eyed him waiting for him to respond.
He wiped his hands on the dish towel. "Uh, yeah, I'll go and get it." And he left the kitchen to go and do just that.
Bonnie stood nervously not knowing that to expect from the letter. But, she knew that she was ready to read it and that she had to in order to get closure on what she felt about Damon desiccating himself for the last three years.
Damon came back into the kitchen holding the letter in his hand. He approached her. "You sure about this?"
"Yes, I am." Bonnie said.
"Alright, then here it is." He held out the letter to her.
Bonnie grabbed onto the letter, it was just as unopened as it had been for three years. Waiting for her to read it.
Damon studied her, he was nervous himself about how exactly she would react to what he had written to her. He still remembered word for word what he wrote. But, still wondered if she would accept his explanation to her.
She stood there for about a minute staring at the letter and then glanced at him taking a deep breath. "Here goes."
Damon remained silent.
Taking a seat at the table again Bonnie opened the letter and started reading. Here is what it said.
Dear Bonnie. I know that you just learned about me desiccating myself and that I'm going to be doing that for the next sixty years. And I know that you are very upset and hurt right now. Maybe you will be too pissed with me to read this, but I need you to hear me out. Whatever you are thinking for the reason that I am doing this you are wrong. That is if you think that I'm doing all of this for myself or if you think that I'm doing this because I can't live with Elena being in a coma anymore. If that's what you think that is far from the reason.
I'm doing this all for you Bonnie, you and Stefan. Let me explain. Back at The Armory you got hurt very badly and could have died all because of you trying to protect me from Tyler. As I failed to be able to heal you with my blood and saw you laying in that hospital bed, I knew what I had to do. Take myself out of your lives. You and Stefan have gotten hurt too many times trying to help me. I can't allow that to happen anymore. For the better of you both I have to leave, even if that's not what I want to do.
But, I'm making this choice to save and protect you from me. You have spent far too much of your young life being the sacrificial lamb for others. Always putting yourself on the line and dying and suffering without thinking about yourself. It's time that I make that sacrifice for you. You deserve so much better than to die for a guy like me. I really wouldn't be able to handle it if you did. So for your sake I'm taking myself out.
You should be able to live a very long and happy life and go on for lots of decades. I'm not going to get in the way of that. I know that you'll be very angry with me. Still I hope that you believe me when I tell you that I cherish you and that I adore you. If you never choose to forgive me just believe that. This wasn't an easy choice for me to make and it was very difficult. But, not as difficult as it would be having you die on me. I hope that wake up a long time from now, learning that you have lived a very long and happy life.
Love, Damon.
As she read the letter Damon watched the emotions that had come across her face. Some were positive, but others he couldn't quite read so he wondered what her reaction was.
Slowly she closed the letter up. What was said in the letter impacted her in a positive way and it warmed her to her heart. There was also something else that she felt however.
"How do you feel now that you've read it?" Damon embraced himself for the answer.
Before answering Bonnie placed down the letter in front of her. "First of all, you were right. I didn't jump to the wrong assumptions and thought that you did it to be selfish and that it was mainly for Elena. Reading this I can see that I was wrong. Knowing now the real reasons and intention behind what you did, it makes me very grateful towards you, Damon. I'm also very touched by what you wrote to me and the sincerity behind it. It changes how I felt about you, when I talked to you in Brooklyn years ago about this subject. And it helps seal the deal on me deciding to forgive you for all of this."
Damon was filled with great relief. "As long as you know about my true intentions behind my decision."
"I'm also disappointed in the decision that you made." Bonnie let him know.
"Oh." Damon muttered.
Bonnie explained herself. "I know that you desiccated yourself with me in mind. And because of that, I wish that you would have at least let me known why you were really doing it. You just over stepped and made that decision for me."
Damon commented to her. "I saw you on that floor, not healing from my blood and I just panicked. I made a quick decision and I honestly thought that I was doing the best to protect you."
"Trust me, I get that you were trying to keep me safe and I'm grateful for that's what you intended. But, it's still something that you should have discussed with me. And then the two of us could have decided what to do about the situation. Instead you let ,me believe that you were going into a coffin for false reasons and you decided for me that I would never see you again." Bonnie stated to him keeping her tone calm.
"I never should have decided to desiccate myself. I screwed up and made the wrong decision. It was just so painful to see you in that hospital bed because of me. If I had told you back then why I was going to do it….." Damon paused.
"I would have tried to talk you out of it and told you to stay and not do that because of me." Bonnie finished.
"Most likely, I would have listened to you and not done it. Then I thought about what if I didn't and you did end up dying for me. That's something that would have eaten me alive for the rest of my life and I would have that guilt and never get over it." Damon told her.
Bonnie shook her head. "That's the last thing that I would want you to feel, beating yourself up for the rest of your life."
Damon shifted on his feet. "But, that's how I would have felt. I just wanted the Bonnie who put herself first and is selfish and not risking herself for others."
She returned. "I want that Bonnie too for myself. Old habits die hard sometimes though and I fall back into that self sacrificing Bonnie every now and then, even when I don't want to. I did just recently. But, I try to do better and I try every day to put that Bonnie behind me for good."
"I would really like for that to happen. Be selfish, more like me." Damon directed.
"I've a lot more there than what I used to be. Although I need to work on it still." Bonnie said with a curve of her lips.
He assured her. "You'll get there."
"However, the same way that you feel about losing me, I feel about losing you too." Bonnie added. "That's the whole reason why I risked myself years ago because I saw that you were about to be killed by Tyler and I just had to do something."
His eyes scanned over her.
"I care about you alot, Damon and because of how much I care about you the thought of you dying pains me." Bonnie confessed. "I need you here in my life. That's why you desiccating yourself hurt me so much."
Now it was his turn to be touched by her words. "I get that Bonnie and I am thankful that you are my best friend and that I have a woman like you caring about me, despite all of the crap that I have pulled. I regret going into that coffin and never would have done it if I could live my life over. Again, I'm telling you that I'm sorry for what I did."
Bonnie moved around the letter on the table with her hands. "You told me many times how sorry that you were, I was just to angry to hear you out. I believe you now and I accept your apology."
"Thank you for that. Now I really regret desiccating not only because you were hurt emotionally. But, because despite my meaning to protect you, your life still ended up in danger. You got poisoned and sickened by pills. Then you get put under the huntress curse, I just can't help to think that if I had been here for you the whole time that I could have prevented all of that from happening." Damon felt guilt.
"You're here for me now and that's what matters. We'll work as a team and we are going to beat everything that has happened." Bonnie stated.
"Damn, right we are!" The corners of his lips curved upward.
"Even while I'll become that Bonnie who puts herself first and is more selfish once again there is something that I won't do." She directed.
He was curious. "Yeah? What's that."
She let him know. "I know that you hate the idea of me getting hurt trying to protect you. I do it because you are very important to me and as I said I need you in my life. I'm going to do something always if I see that you are in danger. Because of what I feel towards you, I can't turn my back on you or ignore it when your life is on the line. I hope that you never ask me to do that, because I couldn't, just like you couldn't do that with me."
Damon sighed. "I guess we will have to compromise then. I won't force you into making a decision not to try and save my life, despite me still not wanting you to get hurt because of me. But, I will take the Bonnie who puts herself first and is more selfish when it comes to everything else."
Bonnie put in. "And from now on every decision that involves one of us too, we will discuss it together and decide what to do, right."
"Right." He approached her side of the table. "I promise that I won't ever willingly leave you again."
"Then I'll hold you to that promise." She whispered.
Bending down he placed a tender kiss on her forward.
Bonnie closed her eyes for the moment and enjoyed it. She was just glad that they were on good terms again and that she had him back in her life.
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Later that day Damon and Bonnie met up with Enzo at The Armory. It was time to set the plan to save Bonnie in motion. It was mostly a plan that Damon had come up with and Enzo just followed along. The three of them went throughout the Amory taking out everything and anyone who was a threat to Bonnie.
Then came the time to destroy the thing that held the curse over Bonnie. He found it deep within the depths of the building and he destroyed it hoping that was what was needed to break the curse.
He went back up to where Bonnie was waiting with Enzo and asked her. "Well how about it, little witch. Feeling any urges to kill off vampires?"
"No I don't not anymore. I think that whatever you did worked! I'm no longer a huntress." Bonnie was gleeful.
"Hell yeah!" Damon held up his hand.
Bonnie gave him a high five. "You did it."
Damon corrected. "You mean we did it."
"Thank God for that." Enzo spoke. "Everything is going to be okay again."
"I just have to carry another part of my plan and then things will be all set." Damon added.
Enzo asked him. "Bonnie is safe now, what other part of the plan do you need to carry out?"
Damon told them. "This place needs to be leveled. Make sure that they can't rebuild or regroup and the best way to do that is making sure that there is nothing left behind of the Armory."
Bonnie looked at him. "How are you going to do that?"
"Earlier, I placed a bunch of bombs all around this building when I managed to sneak my way in. Enough bombs to leave this place in rubble and that the Armory truly is no more. At least not at it's base." Damon explained.
"Whoa, you're just going to blow up everything in here?" Enzo was taken aback.
"Yep." Damon popped the p.
Enzo held up his hand. "Hold on mate, I've still got questions about my family that I haven't had answered and the answers are still in here somewhere. If you ruin this building then I may not ever find out."
Damon arched a brow. "I'm sure that here isn't the only place where answers about your family are. If you look hard enough you'll find them elsewhere. But, I am bombing up this place because there is no way that they will regroup and go after Bonnie again."
Bonnie looked over at Enzo to see her reaction to this.
"Right, I can find those answers elsewhere. What is important is her being safe." Enzo decided.
"Yes, now I just need you and Bonnie to get out of the building and once you are outside get a few feet away. These bombs are powerful and they'll kill anyone caught up in them, human, witch or vampire." Damon commented.
Bonnie frowned. "Wait and why aren't you coming with us?"
Damon turned to her. "The catch is that someone has to stay behind to push the button and it looks like that someone is going to have to be me."
Bonnie pointed out. "But, you just said that anyone caught in the blast would die."
"That's true, Which is why you and your British boyfriend need to get the hell out of here." Damon directed at her.
This got Bonnie super worried. "So, you're just going to blow yourself up? That's insane even for you."
Damon returned. "If the plan works out correctly I won't blow myself up and I'll survive. The bomb is on a timer. Thirty seconds to be exact. One I press the button I have that amount of time to get out and I'll use my vamp speed to escape before the bombs go off."
"But, what if something goes wrong. I can't lose you, I've just got you back." Bonnie swallowed.
"Trust me, Bon-Bon I've got this. I will get out in time. I just need you to get out of here so that I can get this done." Damon placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her.
"And you better make it out too or I'll find a way to reach you in the afterlife and grill your ass." Bonnie demanded.
"I'll make it out." Damon reassured her.
Bonnie looked into his eyes. "Okay."
Damon looked back into hers. "Okay."
For a time the two of them stared at each other intensely as if Enzo wasn't even in the room. Watching the exchange between them bothered Enzo and made him feel threatened. He was jealous of their connection despite the fact that Bonnie was his girlfriend.
Then Damon broke the stare down between him and her and glanced at Enzo. "Get her out of here will you."
Blinking Enzo nodded. "Sure, will do." He grabbed Bonnie's arm and vamp sped her out of the building.
Damon waited until he was sure that Enzo had Bonnie a safe distance away and then find the button to the bombs. Lifting it up, he pressed the button.
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She waited outside with Enzo far away from the building, watching it and willing Damon to come out. Thirty seconds later there was a deafening explosion. The building blew up in orange and red balls of fire. Its range both wide and high. Surely killing anything that would be unlucky enough to be caught up in it's path. She was expecting to see Damon but at first he wasn't there and for a moment she thought that he hadn't made it out and that he was dead.
Panic and concern over took her and tears nearly welled up in her eyes. "Oh God, where is he?"
Enzo spoke. "Relax, I'm sure that he made it out just fine."
She put her hand to her mouth. "He should be out there already."
Then like a gust of wind, Damon appeared before them. "Whew, that was a close one."
With great relief that he had made it out and that he was alive she threw her arms around his neck in a desperate hug. "Damon, don't you ever scare me like that again."
Damon wrapped his arms back around her. "Sorry, I'll be quicker next time. I did promise you that I wouldn't leave you didn't I."
"You're safe now." Damon returned.
Enzo watched them embrace not at all pleased seeing his girlfriend and Damon Salvatore all over each other. He didn't like it and again felt threatened and insecure.
The two of them eventually broke their embrace and took a step back from each other.
"Thank God again, that everything will be okay." Grabbing her face Enzo placed at light kiss on her lips out of nowhere. It was like he had to mark his territory in a way and remind both himself and Damon that she was his girlfriend.
Seeing Enzo do this, Damon narrowed his eyes like he knew that the British vampire was up to but he said nothing about it.
Caught off guard by the sudden kiss from her boyfriend. Bonnie cleared her throat. "Yes. I think that we all are relieved."
"Now you can come home to our cabin since the curse is broken." Enzo pointed out.
"I can." Bonnie agreed.
"Then shall we leave." Enzo requested.
After some hesitation Bonnie answered. "We shall, I guess."
Damon directed at her. "You take care of yourself, Bonnie."
Bonnie looked at him. "I will and Thank you for all that you have done to save me."
"You're welcome and I'll see you later." Damon said.
"Later, Damon." Bonnie told him.
With that Enzo took her hand and lead Bonnie to his car without so much as a Thank you to Damon. Damon watched the car drive off. He didn't like the idea of Bonnie with Enzo, very much hated it. Because the truth was that he wished that he was Bonnie's boyfriend. Didn't like seeing her with another man and didn't think that Enzo was worthy of her.
But, if Bonnie really loved him and if Enzo made her happy like she said, Damon made the decision to support Bonnie whoever she was with. For Bonnie's sake he was going to swallow that tough pill and tolerate Enzo. He shook his head to himself. The old Damon would have just snapped Enzo's neck and get him out of the way of Bonnie's affections.
The improved Damon was more selfless and was putting Bonnie first, even if that meant that he didn't approve of her boyfriend. With a sigh Damon headed off towards his camaro.
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For the next two weeks Bonnie tried to get back into the routine of things. She spent a lot of the two weeks reuniting and reacquainting her friendship with Damon and things were getting back to the way that they used to be with him.
She also tried to balance that out by spending some quality time with Enzo. But, as much as she tried to make that work, she couldn't help but to feel distant from her boyfriend. As she recovered from surviving being sickened by pills and the huntress curse. She reflected on a lot of things which included her relationship with Enzo. It made her reflect on her entire relationship with Enzo.
Even though she had used Enzo as a way to comfort herself from losing Damon, she really wanted their relationship to work out. She tried her best to make it work with him. But, Bonnie Bonnie thought about how he had handled her life being in danger. When she needed someone there for her to fight for her the most, he was willing to do nothing and let her die. Now that she was out of that state of giving up on her life the thought of that hit her like a ton of bricks.
Sure, he at first tried to kidnap Rayna when he found out that he had poisoned her with the pills. Then he decided to do nothing when she was got into her unhealthy martyr mode and said that he would respect her decision to die. Bonnie knew that was not what she needed. If she was going to be with someone, she needed that man to be there to pull her out of that depression and get her back on her feet. Damon was willing to do that, but Enzo wasn't.
Bonnie supposed that it was in his nature and that he really couldn't help it. Afterall Enzo lived a life of rejection and abandonment, desperate for someone to love him. And when Bonnie showed him the positive attention that he craved he clung to her. Enzo meant will and he wasn't doing it out of malice. But, what Enzo meant wasn't good enough for her anymore. She knew that she needed to end things with him before she fell into her next crisis and he enabled her again.
That's why she decided that she had to end the relationship with Enzo. So, she broke the news to him starting off by telling him that she appreciate him being there for her over the last three years. But that she had to break up with him. Enzo of course was hurt and disappointed and hand to ask her why.
She explained to him that she felt like she couldn't be with him any longer and that she had to end their romance because she felt like they weren't just on the same page, And that they were too different and how he didn't understand who she was enough. That for the best of her and him that they ended things and went off in separate directions as far as romance went.
Enzo objected and become angry and stated how he didn't think that they should end their relationship. Bonnie insisted that they did and he bitterly blamed Damon and her feelings for the eldest Salvatore, saying that she wanted to break up with him so that she could jump Damon's bones. And went back to insulting her like he had before they had gotten close. Calling her a groupie that wanted to follow and chase Damon around again. Saying that Damon didn't care for her like she did for him.
Bonnie sharply and angrily retorted to leave Damon out of it and that the issue was between the two of them and that they wanted different things and that she was leaving him. As a long resort to keep her, Enzo tried to apologize for the comments that he made about her and Damon. The damage was already done though and Bonnie told him that they were over.
Enzo gave in, saying that he wouldn't be with someone who didn't want to be with him and that was the end of them. For the following week Bonnie moved all of her things out of the cabin. She needed somewhere to stay until she could find somewhere else to move and Damon offered up the boarding house, so she stayed there.
Learning of her break up with Enzo, Damon didn't gloat or cheer like he would have back in the day. For Bonnie's sake he had wanted her and Enzo to work out if he truly made her happy. He was just there supporting her as she explained why she broke up with Enzo and he agreed with her, Enzo just couldn't understand her or what she needed, so in that case he was glad that Bonnie had made the decision for herself. He would be there with her through everything.
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They sat at the Mystic Grill bar a few days later having a beer together.
Bonnie spoke. "I've said it more than once and I'll say it again, I've missed having drinks with you."
Damon raised his glass. "Indeed may we have many more together. Especially bourbon."
"Especially bourbon!" Bonnie clinked her glass to his. "You know I've been thinking."
"About?" Damon wondered.
Bonnie gestured. "About all of the hell that this town has provided for me. Just recently getting over the huntress curse, on top of everything else and all of the suffering and dying that has happened here for all of us."
Damon mumbled. "It's been crappy for sure."
"I've been thinking about getting away from it all. All of the pain and suffering that has happened here and what I have gone through. No more of the girl who does magic to save others. Just living life the way that I want to carefree." Bonnie commented.
"Then why don't you do that. If that's what makes you happy then you should move and leave Mystic Falls." Damon told her.
Running her tongue over her teeth, Bonnie said. "Then maybe that's what I will do, leave here to start a new life somewhere else."
Damon thought about it. "It's what you should do. As a matter of fact now that you've brought it up, I want to leave with you and leave all of this shit behind."
"Wait, you would move with me?" Bonnie questioned.
"Of course if that's what you want." Damon winked.
Bonnie grinned. "It's what I want, as a matter of fact it will be perfect if you come along with me."
Damon pumped his fist. "Count me in, baby!"
Bonnie asked. "The question is where would be go?"
"Who cares? We can just wing it and move wherever fate takes us. In the meantime, we can tour this nation, stopping in whichever state, town or city that we want to." Damon suggested.
"I love your idea, no rush just letting impulse guide us." Bonnie stated.
"So, it's a deal we are leaving Mystic Falls?" He asked to be sure.
"Leaving this town and never looking back!" She exclaimed in response.
"I can drink to that." Damon exclaimed in return.
By the next afternoon they had a few bags packed with their clothes and items. They were sitting in his camaro as Damon took the exit of the interstate that lead them west. Ready to see where fate took them to a new life together.
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I apologize for any spelling or grammar eras that I missed. This is a long first chapter but I wanted to get everything set up. I debated on whether or not so start a new story knowing that I haven't update the others in a while. But, I just had to write this, especially with the BS that is the Season 7 finale. But, I hope that you enjoy!