Gather the Witches

Chapter 1

A Bonkai Fan Fiction (Sequel to Resurrection)

By V.C. Turner

The Wedding

Kai straightened his bowtie. Perhaps straightened wasn't the correct word. He pulled, yanked and tugged on the damned thing but it still didn't sit straight on his collar.

He ripped it off, tossing the delicate fabric in the trashcan next to the mirror displaying his very nervous 6-foot frame.

He drew in a deep breath and stared at himself in the mirror. The dark grey tuxedo was impeccably tailored. The white dress shirt looked perfect. Hell even the pants and shoes fit like he'd wanted them to. Nevertheless, the ensemble felt incredibly large on him; much larger than it did in the store.

The suit wasn't the problem. The tie wasn't the problem. He was the problem. His hands shook. His mouth dried up like the Sahara Desert.

This is ridiculous, he thought. He survived 20 years in solitary confinement. He could certainly survive one wedding ceremony.

The irony wasn't lost on him that the last wedding he'd attended was bloody, violent, and oh yeah, he did try to kill the same woman he would be marrying in a few minutes.

You can do this. You can do this. He chanted to himself. After all, it was only a 30-minute ritual.

It's gonna be a piece of cake; a nice piece of sexy, Bonnie cake, he thought. One that would be all his in about – Kai glanced at the clock on the wall – 10 minutes.

Shit. Do I look okay without the damn tie? No, she'll want the tie. It's her day…but my night, so…On with the fucking tie I guess.

Kai pulls the tie from the trashcan and attaches it to his collar with quivering hands.

He looked outside the window and stared at the flowered arch perched on the lawn outside the Gilbert vacation home on Dunham Lake. Four chairs sat in front of it, each adorned with ivory ribbons and white lilies. Bonnie asked Caroline to decorate and to make it small and intimate event. Surprisingly enough, the blonde vampire didn't overdo it.

Holy fuck. She actually listened to us.

Why did they choose this place again? Oh right, it was secluded, nestled deep in the woods next to a sprawling lake.

They should have eloped, but he knew Bonnie would have been disappointed. She deserved an official ceremony and he was going to give it to her; even if he did mean that he had to track down Jeremy to be invited into the lake house. Kai was surprised that Jeremy allowed him inside the Gilbert residence where he eventually to be preparing to marry the guy's ex-girlfriend. Yep. This whole thing was weird, frightening, and wonderful.

Kai whipped out the folded four-inch sheet of paper on which he had written his vows. Preparing for battle took less effort, he thought. Draft after draft was tossed aside over the past three weeks. He finally settled on being clumsy and honest, which is what he always felt around her. The speech was pretty good, but he soon realized that he'd used up most of his good material just proposing to her.

He hoped she'd like it.

Stefan's knock on the door shouldn't have come as a surprise to Kai, but it did. He was caught off guard by the sound, jerking so hard that he dropped the paper with his vows onto the floor. Kai scrambled to pick it up, brush off the imaginary dust, and stuff it back into the pocket of his jacket.

The decent Salvatore brother slowly entered the room with an unfamiliar expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked Stefan.

"Nothing. Nothing. I just wanted to say something before we went out there," Stefan started.

Kai chuckled, but he knew what was coming.

"Bonnie and I have been friends for years. She's like a little sister to me," said Stefan.

"I get that," Kai said, trying hard to be polite even though he knew Stefan's diatribe was unnecessary.

"I know you say you've changed. I accept that. Hell, I'm not one to judge. I changed for someone I loved. It looks like you did too," Stefan pointed out.

"I did," Kai added, "She's worth it."

"Good," Stefan smiled, "Good. Glad you recognize that. Just remember one thing: If you hurt her in any way - I promise you that The Ripper of Monterey is going to pay you a visit, and when he's done, there won't be anything left to bring back."

Stefan adjusted Kai's bowtie, patted him on the shoulder and left the room.

The old Kai would have ripped out Stefan's heart for making such a threat. The new Kai – well, he considered it, but pushed the idea aside for Bonnie's sake. He wasn't going to hurt her, but he respected Stefan's threat as an act of love for Bonnie.

And Bonnie was easy to love.

He turned toward the clock. Five minutes to go.

Bonnie placed her small hands on the bodice of her ivory gown, smoothing out the last few wrinkles. The dress shimmered in the afternoon sun cascading through the picture windows. Her tastefully short train flowed behind her.

Caroline secured a pearl necklace around Bonnie's neck, then adjusted her friend's hair so that her ebony curls cascaded around it.

"Perfect," Caroline said, beaming as if she were a little girl dressing up her favorite doll. She clapped in satisfaction at her bridal masterpiece.

While Caroline's burgundy colored, spaghetti strapped maid-of-honor dress looked fetching on the blonde vampire, nothing could eclipse Bonnie in her lace and chiffon Vera Wang gown (courtesy of a brief trip to New York and a little bit of compulsion.)

"Thank you Caroline. You're wonderful," Bonnie said in a low tone.

"I know you're nervous, but you'll be fine. Those heels are guaranteed not to trip you up while walking down the aisle," Caroline asserted.

"I'm not nervous," Bonnie told her, "I'm sad."

Caroline's expression of shock nearly forced Bonnie to a fit of laughter.

"Aw, honey, why are you sad…you know, if you want to just run off, you say the word. We'll grab my car, pull a Thelma and Louise and get the hell out of here," Caroline offered.

"Oh, that's not what I mean," Bonnie explained, "My dad's not here to give me away. My mom is god-knows-where. My Grams isn't here. I just don't have any family to watch me do this. Then there's Elena. They're all missing it."

Caroline tilted her head and turned on her usual sweetness.

"Oh, honey, we're your family too. We love you and want to see you happy. Besides," Caroline reached down and rubbed Bonnie's stomach, "You do have some little Bonnie Babies in here and Auntie Caroline can't wait to meet them, and spoil them."

Bonnie smiled, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"I love you, Care," Bonnie said, fighting back tears.

"I love you too, Bonnie Bennett – I mean Parker. Hmm. You are going to hyphenate that, right?" Caroline asked.

"Yep," Bonnie announced, then scanned herself in the mirror one last time before her best friend tapped her imaginary watch and pointed to the door.

Kai stood on the left side of the wedding arch with Stefan standing next to him; wedding ring securely tucked into his right breast pocket. Convincing the vampire to serve as Best Man didn't take much convincing at all. One look into Bonnie's soulful green eyes and Caroline's skeptical blue ones, and his decision was made for him.

The groom bounced in his shoes to tamp down some of his nervousness. After a few seconds of watching Kai squirm, Stefan placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Relax," he whispered to Kai.

"I'm trying," Kai answered back.

"You run, I'll kill you," Stefan threatened.

"I'm not planning on it, but thanks for the vote of confidence," Kai added.

The minister received his cue from Caroline, who waved from the deck to signal that Bonnie was ready to come out. The guests, Tyler, Matt and Jeremy, rose to their feet and waited.

Kai watched the doors of the patio slide open. Caroline walked out, holding a cluster of white roses. He noticed that Stefan's mouth dropped open when he saw her. He looked the young Salvatore up and down and decided it was a good time to tease him.

"Well, look at that. Blondie's got you drooling," Kai chided, "Please don't get it in my tux."

"Shut up!" Stefan snapped back.

Caroline descended the stairs and began walking up the aisle.

Soon, Bonnie emerged, a light breeze swaying her curls from left to right. She clutched her rose bouquet, walking gracefully toward the aisle. She descended the steps, looked up and flashed a perfect smile in everyone's direction.

Stefan turned to Kai, whose mouth was hanging open at the sight of Bonnie in her wedding dress. He smiled, whipping out a handkerchief and handling it to Kai without looking at the befuddled groom.

Kai frowned at his best man.

"It's to wipe up the drool. Wouldn't want you to get it on my tux," Stefan said smirking.

Kai swatted it away and turned back to Bonnie, who had reached her designated spot in front of Caroline.

She looked up at him, eyes flashing. He could barely breathe or think and hoped he remembered his name by the time the service was over.

The minister motioned for everyone to sit down and began his introductory speech. Kai didn't hear it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. It wasn't until he received an elbow from Stefan that he realized he should be paying attention because it was his turn to speak.

"Um, yes, yes," Kai said looking around.

"Your vows?" the minister instructed.

"Got 'em," he answered, pulling the sheet of paper from his pocket.

Caroline and Stefan chucked in unison, while Bonnie simply smiled wide and took a deep, expectant breath.

Kai bit his lip and began to speak, trying to prevent his voice from wavering.

"My God, you are so damn beautiful," he began, "I don't know why I thought I'd remember what to say while standing up here. So I guess it's a good thing I wrote it down."

Bonnie looked up at him, her eyes glimmering in the fading sunlight.

Kai continued, reading from the paper, but looking up from time to time to gaze at his beautiful bride as he spoke.

"I am no saint, but I'm 100 percent certain that you are. I didn't know anything about love, and that's all you seem to know. It's one of the things you taught me. You are the strongest, bravest, most amazing person I've ever known and I'm both terrified and incredibly happy that you love me. I know I'm not the kind of man you need right now, but I'm gonna be. I know I'm not a hero like you are, but I'm gonna be. I know nothing about being a husband or a dad, but I am going to figure it out. Because you, Bonnie Bennett, you deserve the best and I'm going to give it to you, because I love you," reaching for her and rubbing her stomach, "All of you."

Bonnie swallowed hard and forced back her own tears as she waited for the minister to signal her to speak. She was shaking visibly, so Kai stuffed the paper into his pocket and took her left hand, rubbing the back of it to calm her down.

"Wow. Um…When I dreamed about this moment as a little girl, I don't remember ever having an image of the man I was supposed to marry. I had no idea what he would look like. His eyes. His smile. The sound of his voice. I only remember what I would feel when I was with him. He'd make me feel excited, and a little weak in the knees. He'd be the first to fight for me, and we'd have plenty of fights of our own. He'd challenge me and encourage me. I could be both nervous and brave when I was with him. I would feel like I could be myself, holding nothing back. He'd make me laugh and hold me when I cried. He wouldn't need to be a perfect person; just perfect for me," Bonnie said, looking up at Kai, "So…here you are. And here I am, promising to be your partner in crime – always."

Kai swallowed hard, somewhat frustrated that he had to wait another few minutes before kissing her, picking her up, and claiming every inch of her as his. He waited for cues from Stefan, barely paying attention to the minister actually guiding the ceremony. He heard something about a ring, but didn't respond until Stefan nudged him. He took his free hand and placed the ring on Bonnie's finger, then Bonnie placed a ring on his.

A series of words escaped the minister's mouth, but all either of them heard was a series of "blah, blah, blah with their names scattered in between. It wasn't until the minister asked about objections to the union that Kai began to pay attention.

That's when he smelled the stench of the other Salvatore brother: bourbon and expensive cologne. Damon refused to attend the wedding on principle, but that didn't mean he wouldn't show his face and make a scene. The air was thick with tension as silence fell over the assembled guests.

Damon stood at the end of the aisle, but said nothing, finally sitting down in the last empty chair while scowling at Kai from a distance.

"You may now kiss the bride," was the last direction Kai heard before pulling Bonnie into kiss so hot, the wedding arch caught fire.

She was his. It was a chauvinistic sentiment, for certain, but he wasn't in the mood to care. Bonnie handed her bouquet to Caroline.

"Next," Bonnie winked at her friend.

Kai scooped Bonnie up in his arms, and sped down the aisle toward their temporary honeymoon sanctuary.

The spell cast around the property would last until the next full moon – another three weeks.

They were safe: at least for the moment.