Thank you all so much once again. I keep getting surprised by all of your interest in my writing. I can't tell you how much it makes me laugh and smile (looking like a maniac mind you). You guys truly deserve a shot out...So HAPPY THIRD CHAPTER! Hope you like this as much as I do. Thank you for all your support and rave reviews...I would love to reply to all of you individually but I find this to be so much easier where everyone is included and I don't skip anyone. But I just might reply to you all individually, when I get some time...without any further disruption...here's the third chapter!


"Are you happy? Are you pleased? Was sacrificing your health worth a drench in the rain?" He more than anyone understands that it is and he still does, yet he can't seem to get a handle on his temper. He watches her watch him though weary eyes and at her weak smile his scowls.

"It was" she murmurs calmly and that's enough to throw him into a rampage, but he doesn't, because he knows. He knows that if he does, it might take away from the happiness of her memory and that's the last thing he can ever do to her. He stays silent because if he were dying, he would want no tarnish on his happy moments or a daunt on his temporary bliss. He catches her as she lifts her hand and notices that her shirt is changed and tries and fails at hiding his smile as he sees her cheeks redden.

"Damon you did not-" she stops as she lifts her eyes to his grinning face and she flushes even more.

"You didn't, oh god please tell me you didn't?"

"I didn't look. Did it with my eyes closed." From the look in his eyes, she can tell that he's being honest but her mind shifts gears as she wonders just what kind of practice he's gotten around a ladies wardrobe to both undress and dress her with his eyes closed? Catching onto her train of thought, he smirks and as she notices, she averts her eyes.

"You're such a-"

"Narcissistic bastard, insufferable prat, male chauvinistic pig, man whore? Really Bonnie, you're running out of vocabulary." She tries hard to hide her smile but she can't help it. Damon Salvatore, she has come to learn can be a very humorous and insightful man; one of far more experience than her but one that has-for the first time in her life-equal and matched her in all things. It's a daunting realization but it's awfully comforting to know that old-fashioned still existed (somewhat) and no matter how hard he tried to bury it through vanity and brand name clothing, he was different.

He leaves her to her own devices for a while and it gives her time to let her mind wonder. At first she thinks of trifle things, things she could do and could have done. No matter how times changed, she had always found pleasure in the small things. She enjoyed baking in her grandmothers old-fashioned kitchen, looking out the back window and watching the summer light play peek-a-boo with the evergreen grass; the wild flowers tempting her to venture out. She likes visiting the orphanage right outside the town limits of Mystic Falls and reading to the kids. She likes cutting out images of foreign places from travel magazines and making collages, promising herself that she'll see the world, yet knowing it's the country side that draws her in, with it's warmth and seclusion and roving hills. She knows the yearning of a woman, to love and be loved. She knows the envy of seeing married couples, aged and youthful in their love. She knows the want for a child. The pain catches in her heart then because, it's like torture. To think of all the things she could have had yet knowing that they're forbidden from her.

Bonnie has never been one to give up or do things half-heartedly. She still isn't one of weak temperament and determination, yet sometimes she can't help but envy Elena and Caroline. Elena, so pretty and so hard to please. Against her will, she finds herself hardening towards her best friend...her sister; a girl so lost in her own wants that she never sees what she already has. A girl so selfish, she can never find solace. Then there's Caroline, beautiful and sweet Caroline. Always attached to shallow things unworthy of her love and attention. So set on riding the world of it's darkness, she forgets the light bowing down at her very feet. Bonnie sometimes wonder what it's like to have an impression on Klaus, a man so cold and stubborn yet so vulnerable and gentle with the woman he worships. If she could, she would cast a spell, one that dispels the dust and shade from the worlds eyes, from the eyes of her friends and the people like them, so miserable and set in the dark by their own devices. She would make them see how stupid and idiotic the things they thought was important were and she would make them happy. Yes, she would make they overflow with joy and laughter, so much so that they would never notice her absence.

She could imagine it, if she closed her eyes and tilted her head just right. She could see it, all unraveling in the Salvatore manor. Elena would be with Stefan, happy and content for once. She could see them together, perhaps discovering a way to have children bringing laughter into the empty manor. She could imagine Caroline over, elegant and glowing; always glowing. And there, there's Klaus at her arm, whispering softly into her ear and making her laugh that utterly child-like laugh of hers. They look magnificent together. But what's that, her brows crinkle and her attention shifts to the dark, ominous cloud in the room. Damon Salvatore. A complexity of a complex man personified. Yet, to her naked eyes, she saw him as he was. Tortured and broken and lost. Like her. He hid it well, so well he had come close to fooling her many times. But if she looked closely and just right, she sees the edge around his enchanting irises and the hardened set of his jaw, Yet she can also see the softness of his lips and the dent in which when his smiled, curved his face into that of a Greek god. Well and truly sculpted.

It's then that her train of thought gets shattered and takes her on another spine altogether. She had often contemplated what he must have looked like in regency times. She could imagine the dark of his hair set against the crisp white of his lien shirt. She can imagine the awe-inspiring sight of him perched in a relaxed state on his stallion, dressed in riding finery. Unaware of the smile she has on her face, she continues to conjure up image after image; amusing herself so much so that she doesn't even hear when he opens and closes the door.

Damon pauses as he watches Bonnie smile from ear to ear, her eyes closed as if she's asleep. He places the tray on the table besides her bed and contemplates whether he should wake her or not. He wonders just what she's dreaming that makes her so happy. Definitely nothing concerning you, his bitter mind responds and his own unconscious grin disappears, as does his happiness. Always short lived. Mentally shaking his head, he clears his throat and decides to step forward to wake her when her eyes fly open and turn in his direction in surprise.

"H...how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough. Now, when you're done daydreaming about me, you should eat." She avoids his gaze and makes no smart retort like her normal self would. Strange. He watches as she continues to evade his gaze and turn towards her meal. He waits until she's gotten a full spoonful down and continues his examination of her. She couldn't possibly have been thinking about him, could she? If Damon Salvatore was one thing, he was as wicked as a school boy and never gave up on an opportunity of amusing his mischievous streak.

"You know Bon, if you wanted to see me naked, all you have to do is ask...nicely!"

If anyone were to be lurking around Salvatore manor or a more closer range like outside of Bonnie's room, they would have heard a hearty and honest male laugh; one that sounded foreign and unused yet so genuine, it should be invoked more and more often. Finally, if they were to tilt their head towards the sound, they would hear coughs and sputters of choking; harmonizing with the resounding laughter...