A/N: I'm so sorry for the extra long wait, I know I'm totally crap at updating. Here is a new chapter, I really struggled with it and I'm not totally happy but I feel so bad for leaving you all hanging. I'm determined to see both of my fics through to the finish. Thanks for all the reviews, they really encourage me, so, enjoy!

1 year later

"SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE!" Stefan's lips curled up in a twisted smirk at the sounds of the feminine screams and stalked closer to his prey.

"There's no one to save you now." Pausing for a moment, he tapped his fingers exaggeratedly on his chin. 'What should I do to you now, hmmm?'

'Stefan, please, you don't have to do this. We can talk about this.' He took a step towards the female figure cowering in the corner. She let out a high-pitched shriek and turned her head, wildly looking for a route of escape.

'I've got you now.' And with a growl, he lunged for her.

"CAROLIIIIINE!" Bonnie screamed before Stefan was on her, his fingers grabbing her sides as he began tickling her mercilessly. "TYLER! MATT! HELP ME!" Bonnie's screams merged with hysterical laughter as she fought to escape Stefan's clutches.

"No one can save you." Stefan grinned, applying more pressure, causing Bonnie to shriek louder. A moment later, Caroline rounded the corner, shaking her head at the duo in front of her.

"Really, guys?" Bonnie reached for her, her eyes filled with mirthful tears. "Bon, don't you have a class in, like, 20 minutes?" Glancing at the clock, Bonnie cursed and pushed Stefan off of her.

"Shit, I'm late."

"Language!" Matt walked into the room, holding a tiny, squirming bundle in his arms. "Innocent ears here!" Rolling her eyes, Bonnie walked towards him, extracting the infant from his arms.

"Shut up and give me my daughter, Matthew." Nuzzling her soft cheek, Bonnie smiled down into the sleepy face of her 3 month old baby. Alessandra Sheila Bennett was a beauty; with a few russet curls adorning her small head, smooth golden skin and cerulean blue eyes, she was possibly the most beautiful child that Bonnie had ever seen, and it was a shock to believe that she came from her. Although Bonnie had never thought that she would be a mother at 20 years old, she could never regret bringing such a precious creature into existence. Inhaling Alessandra's sweet scent, she pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Hi, baby girl." She cooed. "You missed your mommy, didn't you?"

"Bonnie, get a move on, we've got to go!" Caroline hollered at her. Rolling her eyes, Bonnie skilfully adjusted her baby in her arms as she hurried to her room to get ready. It was going to be a long day.

"Happy birthday to me." Damon muttered drunkenly as he took another swig from the half empty bottle of bourbon in his hands. "171 years old and still as miserable as the day I was turned." Scoffing at himself, he lifted the bottle back to his lips to take another drink only to find that he had drained the bottle. Dropping it on the floor, he stood on unsteady feet and stumbled towards the bar, determined to get another bottle and drown his memories of happier days with…her.

"Really, Damon? It's 10 in the morning and you're already drunk off your ass?" Rolling his eyes, the vampire turned to face the woman who was the cause for all his problems.

"Elena, I'm not in the mood right now." She growled and stomped over to him, snatching the bottle from his hand and throwing it across the room.

"You're not in the mood? You're not in the mood? I have had to deal with your moping for the past year, watch you pining for someone who is never coming back and you're not in the mood?" Damon flew to his feet, stepping into her personal space as he glared at her with unrestrained hatred and fury.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll shut your mouth right now." Her sudden wave of anger receded and she was back to trying to guilt trip him into feeling something for her.

"Damon, you know I feel just as bad as you do for what we did to-"

"Do not let her name leave your mouth," Damon roared, his fangs itching to descend and rip her throat out. Her eyes widened but she quickly put her mask back into place.

"Sorry…you know I feel bad about what happened last year too, but…Damon, I'm here. It's just you and me. You're all I have and you just keep pushing me away. What else do I have if you push me away?" Hearing the tears in her voice, Damon deflated and raked a trembling hand through his hair.

"I…I know, I'm sorry."

"Are you, Damon? Because it seems to me like you're not even trying to get over her. It's been a year and all you ever do is mope and pine and drink. I'm getting really tired of this, Damon. Sometimes I feel like you want me to leave too!" Panic clawed itself up Damon's throat at the thought of being left entirely alone.

"NO! Look, I'm sorry Elena, I'm so sorry. I'll try harder, okay, I'll try to be better, just…just let me make it up to you, tell me how to make it up to you." Elena placed a hand on his arm, halting his drunken ramblings. She smiled softly down at him.

"It's okay, Damon, I'm not going anywhere, I swear." He clutched her arm tightly and, even though he was staring right at her, Elena knew that he wasn't seeing her face at all. But she was about to change that. "And, now that you mention it, I have thought of a way for you to make it up to me."

Bonnie raced from her Sociology class, hastily trying to stuff books into her bag as she pushed her way through the crowd on the crowded New York street. Trying to juggle classes at NYU (courtesy of Caroline's impressive compulsion skills) with caring for a new-born baby was kicking her ass and, although she was content with her new life, she wished she could take a break sometimes. Suddenly, her arm snapped backwards, sending her books flying across the sidewalk. Muttering curses at the man who had just bumped into her, she pushed her way through the throng of people, picking her scattered books as she went. When they were all piled safely in her arms, she stood to her feet and turned, ready to continue on her way…and froze.

Damon and Elena were exiting a coffee shop just a few metres in front of her. Damon and Elena were walking arm-in-arm. Damon and Elena were flirting intensely, their broad smiles matching, whilst his arm lay casually over her shoulders. Damon and Elena were in New York, not 10 feet from where she was standing and turning in her direction. Turning, she began to push through the crowd, but she knew she wasn't moving fast enough as a rush of people pushed her in the opposite direction, towards the pair. Grunting, she shoved at people, trying with all her might to make some headway when, suddenly, the worst sound she had ever heard rang out from behind her.

"Bonnie?" Elena's melodic voice carried over the hustle and bustle of the busy city, calling out her name. Groaning, Bonnie pushed harder, slipping through any gap in the crowd that she could see, desperately trying to put as much distance between herself and the 'happy vampire couple' as possible.

"Bonnie!" This time, it was Damon's deep baritone, pain-filled and desperate.

Shit.

Bonnie pushed harder against the crowd, trying to force her way through and away from the pair who were quickly gaining ground as they made their way closer to her, their vampiric strength providing them with an unfair advantage. With a scream of frustration, Bonnie finally turned around, bringing her face-to-face with two of the last people she had thought she would ever see again.

"What? What in the hell could you possibly want?" Venom coated her every word as she glared at the pair with intense hatred.

"Bonnie." Damon breathed, taking a step towards her, a look of intense relief and longing on his face, his hand outstretched to caress her cheek. She slapped the offending appendage away, growling at him.

"Don't ever touch me again or, I swear, it'll be the last thing you ever do." Dejected, Damon dropped his hand, taking a step back.

"Bonnie, what…what are you doing here?" Elena piped up from beside the forlorn vampire, a fake smile plastered across her face. Bonnie scoffed.

"You're seriously going to stand there and act like nothing happened; like you didn't betray me? I was your best friend! I would have done anything for you, and you repaid me by sleeping with my boyfriend?" Elena flinched at the pain and anger in Bonnie's voice and lowered her head, her hair covering the shame-filled expression on her face. Bonnie's eyes flitted wildly between the two of them. "And now the two of you are here, flaunting your relationship like you didn't do anything wrong!"

"Bonnie—". Her hand flew up, halting Damon's speech before he could begin.

"You broke me. I loved you both, so much, I would have done anything for you. I almost died for the both of you and you turned around and ruined me." Elena's hand flew up to her mouth to stifle a sob whilst Damon stared back at Bonnie, sorrow reflected in the icy depths of his eyes.

"We never meant to hurt you, Bonnie, we never meant to hurt anyone." She scoffed.

"Well, that really doesn't matter, because it all hurts the same." She took a step back…and another…and another. "I'm done. Forget you saw me. I'm done." Turning around, she disappeared into the crowd.

"Bonnie! Hey, you're late." Sighing, Bonnie dumped her bag on the floor behind the counter as she went to retrieve her apron from the back. "Hriso mou? What's going on?" Bonnie came from the back, tying her apron around her waist before she picked up her pad of paper and turned to face her friend.

Dimitri Stavropoulos was tall. Standing at, at least 6'5, the Greek Adonis completely dwarfed Bonnie. They had met a few weeks after she had moved to the city and he had been a great friend ever since. With his tanned complexion, thick head of dark hair and lean physique, Bonnie was definitely attracted to him, and she was sure that her feelings were reciprocated; however, her pregnancy and emotional vulnerability at the time had kept them as just friends, and over time, they had fallen into a comfortable pattern of flirtatious banter without it going any further. He had helped her get her current waitressing job at an upscale restaurant, 'The Olive Tree', for which she would be forever grateful to him. Bonnie wiped a weary hand over her face and grimaced.

"Nothing, I've just…had a tough day." Having confided in Dimitri about Damon and Elena (leaving out the supernatural parts, of course), she knew that he would flip his shit if he heard about their little showdown in the middle of a busy New York Street.

"How's my little bunny rabbit?" Bonnie let out a light chuckle at Dimitri's nickname for her daughter.

"She's good, great even." Dimitri smiled, moving away from her as a woman came up to the bar, tapping her long nails impatiently on the counter-top. Grabbing a pen, Bonnie left her position, scanning the restaurant for customers waiting for their order to be taken. A hand waving her over caught her attention and she reluctantly made her way to the table full of overweight middle-aged men, most of whom were balding and sweaty and all of whom were leering at her.

This was going to be a long shift.

She's in New York.

I found her.

She's here.

Damon paced the length of the hotel room he shared with Elena, wringing his hands. He was in a state of complete disbelief; Bonnie was here, in New York, she probably had been the whole of the past year and he had finally seen her again. A million and one thoughts ran through his mind at warp speed, leaving him unable to keep up and breathless. Sitting heavily on the end of the bed, he raked a trembling hand through his hair.

Was this his chance to make things right with her?-to win her back? Was Stefan in New York too?

All this thinking was driving him crazy. He had to do something; he had to find her again. He hadn't gotten any contact details (obviously), but he was sure that if he went back to where he had seen her earlier, eventually he would see her again. There was no way that this was a coincidence. He was clearly meant to find her again, to fix things, and this time, he was not about to let her slip through his fingers.

Elena exited the bathroom that she had been occupying for the last hour.

"It's all yours." She had been in a weird mood all afternoon, somewhere between angry and resigned. Shaking his head, he stood to his feet and made for the open door.

"Are you really going to go after her?" Damon turned to face the woman standing behind him with her hands planted on her hips, a frown on his face.

"What?" She scowled.

"I know that you've been thinking about how to find Bonnie again. Why, Damon? She left you. She obviously hates the both of us, and yet you're still going to try and get her back? You know that you're just going to get your heart broken."

"She's worth it, Elena."

"WHY? This past year, it was me who was there with you. Me, Damon, no one else. They all left us, they all hate us. Why are you so prepared to throw me away just because you got a glimpse of an old fling? You love me, you chased me for years. I'm here now, Damon. I'm here." Damon took a deep breath, calming his quickly rising temper.

"She was never a fling, Elena. You were. She was always the endgame for me." With a sad look at the once golden-girl before him, he turned away again, but not without one final parting blow.

"I can't let her go. She's everything."

1 year ago

"Open this damn door, now, before I fucking break it down." After a moment of silence, the door was pulled open and Damon glared into the confused eyes of one Sheriff Liz Forbes.

"Damon? What the hell is going on, why are you about to break my door down?" With a growl, Damon gripped her shoulders, seeding them into the house and slamming her back against a wall.

"Where is she, Liz?" he gritted out between clenched teeth. Her expression was one of horror and fear as, unbeknownst to him, his face had begun to change to its vampiric form.

"Wh-who? I don't know who you're talking about, Damon." He tightened his grip, causing her to cry out in pain and terror. "You're hurting me!"

"Good. Where is your fucking daughter? Where is Caroline?"

"What? I don't know, she left a few days ago to go and visit Bonnie, I assumed that she was spending some time over there. What is going on?" With one final, feral snarl, Damon released her, turning away as she winced and rubbed at the spots that he had held. "Damon? What happened?"

"BONNIE LEFT. She's left Mystic Falls and, if I know anything about your do-gooder daughter, it's that she left with her, which means if I find Caroline, I find Bonnie." Liz gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Gone? Gone where?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be here right now, would I?" Pushing past him, Liz snatched the phone from its cradle, quickly inputting Caroline's number with shaking fingers.

"The number you have dialled has been disconnected. Please…" Letting out a sob and a quiet curse at the sound of the woman's automated voice on the other end of the line, instead of her daughter's cheerful one, Liz slammed the phone down onto the table and turned to face Damon.

Except that he was gone, leaving the door swinging open in the mid-morning breeze.