Chapter 2
OMG I didn't expect the overwhelming response for this little story of mine. I thought I'd get maybe one or two reviews (If I was lucky) but you guys proved me wrong. Thank You so much. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations :) Warning: Not beta'd all mistakes are mine and will be fixed.
This truly has to be his own personal hell. His intention to escape and avoid the freak show downstairs is throttled by the ambush of two tiny munchkins who's sole existence is to be vervain thorns in his sides. Pictures are one thing, but to come face to face with something in person makes them all the more real.
It's not real He chastises himself, but it's harder to believe when looking into eyes so similar to his own. The other's from the pictures he barely looked at, refused to look closely at, resembled more of Bonnie, but these two before him, lookwise, there's no denying their 'his'.
"Daddy, he wet" the miniature illusion - or whatever it is these so called children are, but he knows they aren't real - says when Damon makes no move to do whatever it is they want him to do.
"Listen, Kids, you see this face?" he points to himself "this isn't the face of someone who'll willingly clean up someone else's bodily fluids, got it"
The little boy just looks up at him, blinking, as if what Damon just said means nothing to him, while his twin continues to find his own feet more interesting than them discussing his little accident.
"Justin potty in bed" the kid repeats after a few seconds of their silent showdown.
Damon sighs in annoyance "alright" he bends down and places both hands on the shoulders of the talkative twin and looks him in the eyes "You're going to turn around and go bother someone else"
The talkative boy just blinks at him before a high squealed laugh erupts from his tiny body "Silly Daddy"
Damon groans outwardly Well that didn't have the desired effect He knew it was a slim chance it would, but it was worth the shot. Realizing what he'll have to do to get rid of them "Go tell your mother" he stands back up and turns to head back into the room only to be stopped by the soft beginning of a cry behind him.
He turns to see the silent twin - Justin - shoulders shaking, face hidden in his hands oh great, the big bad vampire making kids cry now he really didn't have time for Bonnie to storm up here and give him the four degree over bullying the fake child right now.
"Whoa whoa whoa, kid" he awkwardly bends down on one knee, hand hovering over the kid, not knowing how to get him to stop - though it quickly becomes obvious the kid's not a loud crier - "let's not do that huh"
"M'sorry" the child says barely above a whisper "I dream I use potty and not know I still in bed" his voice wobbly.
"Ok Ok it happens"
"Bath Daddy" says Mr. Talkative.
He inwardly groans this time "want a bath?"
The silent twin nods
Reluctantly he leads them to the bathroom he'd already passed. He'll give them a bath, dump them off with Bonnie so that he'll make his escape to his fake room. Maybe later he and the witch can find some sort of way out of this hell and back home where they belong.
"And what do I do for a living?
Two hands shot up, but Bonnie caught that the boy - who she now knows as Damon Jr or DJ (cause of course she had to fight an eye roll and a scoff at that)- was slightly faster, she points to him before turning her back to them to continue making breakfast.
"Ha" he sounds victorious, Someone's competitive she notes "History teacher and dance Instructor"
Bonnie nods to herself that makes sense she's always loved to dance, but it been put on the back burner ever since vampires entered her life. She's a bit surprised about the teacher part, It makes somewhat sense, she hasn't had time to really think about what she wants to do career wise, but she's always loved history so it's completely plausible.
She's been given a lot of information in this little game she created on the spot. The eldest is Emilia or Emi who's thirteen years old, then there's DJ and Alana who's eleven and a couple of months apart. Apparently this world's Elena and Bonnie was pregnant around the same time. Lydia's nine, so Bonnie's initial guess was pretty close, and the twins Jordan and Justin being only three.
She turns off the stove and turns back around to face the three. Lydia was wearing a pout, having only really been able to answer two questions, Emi seemed to have tapped out a while back, now texting on her phone, and DJ still looked eager as ever, an all too familiar smirk gracing his lips.
"Breakfast is ready. Emi can you set the table while I go get your the others?"
Emi nods and Bonnie heads upstairs. Her real goal is to get Damon alone and talk. It doesn't escape her that he left her out to dry, and she's not gonna let that tidbit slide.
She passes the closed doors, not sure which one belongs to Alana. She stops, debating whether to just knock on each until she gets an answer when childish laughter catches her attention. She follows them to the open door of the bathroom.
She has to stiffen a laugh at the sight before her. Well, I'll be. That's not something you see every day
There, with a look as if he's constipated, Damon's kneeled down at the tub, bubbles everywhere. The twins giggling, one with a soapy crown, the other a beard.
"Daddy, you get one too" one says - bearded boy - taking a hand full of bubbles and slapping it on the irate looking ex-vampire.
The boys don't seem to mind as they burst into laughter, clapping their hands causing water to splash this way and that.
Bonnie can't help the amused smile as she leans against the threshold, arms folded across her chest as she watches the scene take place.
Damon seems to struggle to get the twins to stay still as he proceeds to wash them down "yeah yeah, I look good in anything, now hold still so I can dump you off with Bon Bon"
The amused smile drops instantly and she narrows her green eyes at the back of his head. And why am I surprised? "Is that right Damon?" she doesn't even try to hide her disdain or the satisfaction she feels at startling the dark haired man.
He turns his blue eyes to her, that stupid smirk of his slowly forming at the sight of her "Good. You take over cleaning these brats" he says standing up, his chest gleaming with water and bubbles, part of his gray shorts sporting wet patches "and I'll go" he waves his hands in a vague motion "do something that's not this".
She stops him as he tries to walk by him, blocking the door. "Oh no, you can go over there and finish up. Breakfast is ready, get them dressed and bring them downstairs. I'm going to go coat Alana to come and eat, and then we're" she points between them "are going to have a talk" she doesn't give him time to protest as she leaves them their with confidence she doesn't really possess to find the correct room Alana resides in. In the end, she decides to just wing it and knocks on the first door she comes across to.
"Leave me alone" came an irritated voice from beyond the door.
Looks like I found the right room
His eyes narrows. The fact that she has the audacity to try and boss him around and expect him to just do it isn't even what pisses him off the most. No, what pisses him off is the fact that he's doing exactly what she demanded of him, like a good little soldier following orders.
Every ounce of him wants to do the opposite of what she told him to do, just out of spite, but he'd already intended to dress the little twerps and send them off to Bonnie in the first place, so he might as well finish that anyway. Then Judgy and I will find a way back home.
He takes a towel from the pile folded on the sink "come on, you're clean now" he says unfolding the towel and holding it out for one of them to step through. The quiet one - Justin who's sporting a soapy crown - stands up with no protest, holding his arms out wide for Damon to pick him up and wrap him in the white cloth.
The talkative twin proves to be a problem "nooo Daddy" he whines, trying to sink further into the tub "I don't wanna"
"Come on kid" he demands, holding out the spread out towel. The boy just shakes his head and continue playing with the bubbles as if Damon hadn't even spoken. This is why I'm glad I can't have kids.
Sighing in frustration, Damon leans down and picks the struggling boy up and wraps him in the towel, ignoring the crying and protest. He drains the water, all while holding the crying boy who's loud and in his ear! A blessing he doesn't have his vamp hearing at the moment.
"If you keep crying you can't eat" he says, grasping at straws at this point. The boy quickly shuts up as if he wasn't having a fit because he couldn't stay in the bubbly water. He looks down at the quiet twin "lead the way to your room"
Justin nods and does so, leading them to a room filled with clutter of boxes just like the room he woke up in. There's a three-bed bunk bed, the top being horizontal to the two on the bottom, but the first thing he notices is the stench. The smell of urine is a bit overwhelming, even without the sensitive nose.
Well, ain't this just "peachy" He settles the boy on to the floor, and watch as the doublemint twins run up to a large blue dresser and he lets them find whatever it is they want to wear while he follows his nose to the source of the stench. The ground bed on the right side is quickly identified as the culprit, with blue sheets with some type of cartoon embedded in the design. He bunches up all the sheets, using the tip of his fingers, not wanting to touch the germ infested contraptions. In the end, he has to pick the whole thing up, leaving the boys as he looks for the laundry room to dump everything in.
He only looks down the hall once, checking any doors that look to not be a bedroom before realizing it must be downstairs.
Downstairs where he'll have to face the rest of the Brady Bunch.
And he'll never say this out loud; he'll rather get staked through the heart or burned in the sun, but he'd rather not face them without the Bennett witch. So, he chooses to dump the sheets in the tub to gather at a later time.
If there's a later time
He washes his hands and arms thoroughly with soap and water a few times before he's satisfied. He looks to see if there's any type of air freshener in the bathroom but comes up empty handed so he gives up.
Back in the boys' room, he walks in to see the twins trying - and failing - to put on clothes. One, succeeds and putting on a green shirt inside out and backwards, and the other struggles to put on dark blue jeans, putting both legs in one hole.
The ex Vampire rolls his eyes Must I do everything?
It doesn't take a genius to know that she has her work cut out for her when it comes to attempting to coat a child who's suffered great lost out of her room. Bonnie herself knows the pain. She lost her grams who's been the most important person in her life, and still sometimes blame herself for her part in what happened. She lost her father by the hands of Silas back when she herself was amongst the dead. She's been through grievance of her own, so she can imagine how Alana feels.
Bonnie gently knocks on the door once more "Alana, it's me" she tries, not really knowing how Alana addresses this world's Bonnie. "Do you mind if I come in?"
It's silent for what feels like forever before a tentative reply, so opposite from the one before came "Yeah, I guess".
Bonnie takes a deep breath before turning the knob and entering the room. The first sight that greets her are boxes scattered around the decent sized room. The second, being the two twin size beds that sat on each side of the room, indicating Alana shares a room with one other girls.
One side houses pink items such as dressers painted with Hello Kitty characters, even the bedspread has a big hello kitty face plastered on it, the headboard even shaped in hello kitty's face. Bonnie figures it's most likely Lydia that harbors a fascination with the cartoon character and not Emi.
The other side holds its own personality. Purple dresser and bed sheets and a purple lamp on the nightstand. No decorations are put up, maybe because they just moved in and haven't had time to really unpack yet, but the former witch takes notes and files them in a folder in her brain of all that she sees, all information on every little thing they learn about these children and this world. The information, she feels, will come in handy later down the road.
There, in a fetal position under bright purple bed sheets; dark brown hair barely sticking out from the bundle, faced away from the door. Alana doesn't say anything, doesn't move. Bonnie takes another deep breath before walking over to the bed and sitting at the edge.
"Hey there" she begins, searching for something to call her "sweetie" she finally decides "why don't you come downstairs and eat something?"
"I'm not hungry"
"Well, you know what they say. Breakfast is the most important part of your day"
"I'm not hungry"
Here it goes
"I know you're upset" she starts, and that garners a reaction. Alana sits up abruptly, a glare in her eyes, startling Bonnie for the suddenness.
"She had no right" she hisses, all traces of the tentative voice from before erased "putting up their pictures just to rub it in my face that they're gone. My parents aren't coming back!"
She waits a beat to gather her own thoughts and to make sure that Alana's done speaking. It's best to let the young girl express her emotions and get everything off her chest. A fact Bonnie knows she herself rarely does. Alana huffs, her face scrunch up in anger, but she doesn't say more, she doesn't even look Bonnie's way, just somewhere in a blank space at the side of the room.
"You know that's not why she did that right?" she asks in what she hopes is a soothing tone. The same tone she would use on her loved ones. Alana still doesn't look at her, doesn't say anything else. "It's ok to remember. It's ok to look at their pictures. It's ok to cry, to be angry or sad. It's ok to grieve Alana, it's ok. But, don't forget them. They may not be here physically with you anymore, but they'll always be with you" Alana looks at her, the glare no longer in her eyes but curiosity "right here" Bonnie places her hand over the young girl's chest, above where her heart lies beneath "they'll always be right here, and anytime you miss them, just hold your hand above your heart, close your eyes and talk to them. They'll hear you, they'll listen."
Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes, shaking her head from side to side. "No they won't" her voice cracks at the end "they never listened. I told them not to go on that trip. I had a bad feeling, but they didn't listen"
Bonnie doesn't know what to say, she doesn't know the details of how this world's Elena and Stefan died, it wasn't really a question she could bring up in the 'game'. She lets her instinct take over and pulls the girl in her arms, letting the girl cry it out, burying her face in her shirt. She rubs her back ever so gently, hoping that help soothe the girl, as she thinks of something else to say. "They're listening now, and watching over you"
It's a few minutes before the sobs and shaking of her shoulders starts to subside, only leaving small sniffles here and there, and Bonnie continues to hold her. Her heart goes out for the little girl, she herself has to fight tears that threatens to spill.
This may not be her world, not her Stefan and Elena, but the prospect of them gone in any sense tugs at her heart.
"Aunt Bonnie" she's snapped out of her thoughts by the soft voice of the girl in her arms "I won't forget, but I don't think I can look at their pictures just yet. Just….not now"
Bonnie nods "we'll put them up until you're ready ok?"
Alana nods before lifting her head, brown eyes meeting green. "I think I'm hungry now"
Bonnie smiles at that "well, let's go down to eat then, shall we?"
Bonnie enters the dining room with Alana in tow, a bright smile on her face as she greets the children who are already seated and waiting. From the looks of it, none has touched their food yet.
Lydia keeps her head down upon seeing her cousin enter, and Alana sits down next to Dj and across from Emi, avoiding eye contact with her cousins. Bonnie sits at one end of the table, in front of a plate with omulet, hashbrown, toast, and sausage.
She just takes a seat when she hears small patters of feet coming downstairs then running into the dining room. The twins comes in laughing followed by an exasperated looking Damon. The boys take their seats, one near Bonnie the other near the opposite end where the only available seat for Damon at the end of the table.
Damon seems to hesitate before sitting down, looking around at the children as if they all possess an extra head. As soon as he sits, it's like a floodgate opens, and all at once the children starts speaking over one another.
"Daddy, do not embarrass me in public, I don't want to end up as an outcast," Emi says, as she spreads butter on her toast "It's bad enough that we moved here during the middle of the school year, it's going to be hard finding friends as it is"
"Mommy, ya think it's too late to try out for basketball?" DJ asks with a mouth full of various foods.
"I wanna watch bubble guppies" One of the twins - the one near Bonnie (she has no idea if he's Jordan or Justin) whispers loudly to her "and - and - paw patrol mommy"
"Daddy never embarrasses us Emi" Lydia argues, sticking out her tongue at her sister "he protects and serves"
Bonnie and Damon can do nothing but look at one another as the chaos ensues.
We need to talk she tries to convey to him with her eyes Now
Ya think? The left of one eyebrow seems to say.
Bonnie clears her throat to get their attention, but it doesn't seem to work "you guys finish eating, we'll be right back" she says anyways as she and Damon make moves to stand up.
"About time witchy" he whispers to her as they both make their ways to the stairs "I was two seconds from blowing by brain out"
"Whatever Damon. We-" the sound of the doorbell stops them in their tracks.
"Oh fantastic" Damon says sarcastically "I wonder who that could be"
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