On Thanksgiving morning, Bonnie woke up early to the smell of coffee. When she opened her eyes, she saw a mug next to the end table and Damon at the door.

"if you still want to tag along we are leaving in twenty minutes" he finally said before walking out to give her some privacy.

Fifteen minutes later Bonnie walked downstairs where Damon was waiting in the kitchen reading the newspaper, drinking something out of a mug that Bonnie assumed was blood.

"Thanks for the coffee" she stated as he stood up " No problem, can't have you falling asleep if you are going to drive my car" taking a set of keys near the door before handing them to her.

"you're actually going to allow me to drive the R8"

"I'm feeling generous today, so why not?" he replied before giving her a wink and opening the driver side door for her.

Once they arrived in town and Bonnie parked the car, they walked into the shelter where people were already setting up to start serving the people waiting in lines. A middle age woman smiled when she saw Damon and walked over to them.

"Damon, I was worried that something happened to you. You are usually on time"

"I'm fine Thelma. My brother and his friends came up for thanksgiving and Bonnie wanted to tag along"

"Im sorry, I'm the reason Damon was late" Bonnie finally said as she stepped forward and offered her hand before continuing "My name is Bonnie"

"Well you are a pretty little thing. Are you Stefan's girlfriend?"

"No I'm his friend"

"Oh...so you're the girl that..."

"Thelma" Damon interrupted, his eyes doing that crazy wide eyed stare "Where do you want us?"

"Damon you can go in the kitchen to start warming the food. Bonnie you can help set the tables. We will start letting people in an hour"

Throughout the hour, Bonnie observed most of the women, old and young, flock to Damon flirting with him. The confusing part was Damon. Although he smiled and played nice, Bonnie realized after an hour that he wasn't flirting back. In fact he was polite and charming yet somehow detached.

'what the hell happened to the Damon Salvatore we all knew' Bonnie thought as she watched another woman, much younger than the rest of the ladies, walk up to Damon and give him a hug. She was attractive, someone Damon would have no qualms of flirting, feeding and then sleeping with. As Bonnie continued to watch them she was surprised how uncomfortable Damon seemed with the woman's blatant attention.

"That's Laura Ann and since Damon started volunteering she has been making major moves on him" Thelma said as she walked over to where Bonnie was setting the table.

"That's nice" Bonnie said politely as the woman smiled at her. She had never seen Damon this animated since he started volunteering. Of course Thelma knew exactly who or what Damon Salvatore was. When he had moved into town, there had been a town meeting trying to figure out what they would do with the vampire. So far he had kept his end of the bargain up. He hadn't fed on anyone, kept to himself, helped out when necessary and bought back the girl the town had been waiting for a very long time.

It was a happy incident, though unfortunate for Bonnie, that she did not have her powers. It gave the leverage they needed with the vampire. Thelma knew that the plan wouldn't come to fruition until Bonnie agreed whole heartedly to the other part of the bargain. Either way Bonnie Bennett and Damon Salvatore's lives would be changed forever.

Once everyone had been fed and the children of the town had visited with Santa and gave Santa their wish list, Bonnie and Damon were ready to leave.

"It was lovely meeting you Thelma" Bonnie said as Thelma smiled before giving her a hug and saying "don't be a stranger when you're in town"

"I won't" Bonnie stated as she felt a slight zing when the woman touched her.

"Are you leaving already Damon? I thought we could go for that cup of coffee you keep promising me?" Laura Ann said as she pouted slightly, maneuvering her body close to Damon's.

"We have company waiting at home so we have to go" Damon finally stated as he stepped closer to Bonnie, purposely placing the two woman next to each other. Bonnie grinned slightly when Damon looked over at her, his eyes silently pleading to go along with the story.

"That's right, we are already late so we should probably be going"

Damon sighed in relief as Laura Ann narrowed her eyes at Bonnie and then silkily replied "That's fine, once everyone goes back to school you'll have more time to actually socialize with adults"

"Oh Damon that's nice that you are able to spend time with Thelma when we're not around to keep you company" Bonnie said as she placed her hand on his bicep while smiling at Laura Ann, before continuing "however we really need to go before we are really late. So nice meeting you Thelma...Lisa Ann"

"its Laura Ann"

"I'm sure it is" Bonnie replied smiling at her as Damon placed his arm at the small of her back leading her out of the soup kitchen.

As soon as they left, Laura Ann looked over at Thelma "So how did I do?"

"You may have come on a little too strong. We can't mess this up. There is too much riding on this"

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect to see her so soon"

"Neither did I. I thought we wouldn't meet her until everything was set."

Laura Ann huffed and asked "then why was she here"

"Because apparently Damon was hiding a lot more than we originally thought"

"This is nice" Caroline murmured as she laid her head on Stefan's chest. There were many times throughout the day she couldn't believe she had ended up Stefan. She had always been attracted to him and he had really helped her deal with becoming a vampire. She was finally able to return the favor that horrible summer when he had lost Bonnie, Tyler and Elena only to gain Bonnie back when she was resurrected.

"It is nice" Stefan responded as he kissed her forehead before pulling her closer to him.

"A couple of night ago Damon apologized to me" Stefan finally said as Caroline sat up in amazement.

"Really?"

"Yes, I was surprised and yet it felt nice. It's almost as though I have my brother back. The brother before Katherine came and ruined our relationship"

"He has seemed to mellow out. I just don't understand why he chose to come to this place. He could have stayed in Mystic Falls or even near us"

"Maybe he wanted a fresh start"

"Maybe. I feel as though we are missing something huge. He calls you at the last minute to invite us to thanksgiving yet insisted on Bonnie coming along. He has her grimore and other grimores for her and he decorated the room that she is currently residing in to look like her old room in mystic falls. Let's not mention the fact that they are sharing a bathroom"

"what?"

"oh you didn't know that?" Caroline asked as Stefan sat up and replied "No"

"well we found out last night when we heard singing and realized that Damon was in the shower and Bonnie's door had direct access to it."

"Did Bonnie freak out?"

"No, she said it wasn't a big deal. I'm not sure what's up with those two...however" Caroline stopped and looked around as afraid that there was someone else in the room.

"however?" Stefan prompted Caroline "I kind of think they belong together. They have always bought out the best in each other, even when they were fighting. Damon usually had her back when they made a plan and they always see it through"

"yes you are right about that"

"and these past few days...they seem a lot more chummy and comfortable with one another. Last night after prepping the food they went back in the library to sit. When I walked in they were talking, which I thought was boring, however these past days I've heard Bonnie laugh so much more than when we are at school"

"what do you think will happen when we leave?"

"I don't know. Maybe Damon will decide to follow us back"

They then heard the roar of an engine and a few minutes later Bonnie laughing at something Damon said, which was too low even for vampire hearing.

"I hope you are both decent in there" they heard Damon say as Stefan and Caroline got up to greet them in the kitchen.

"How was it?" Caroline asked Bonnie who immediately went to the sink to wash her hands playfully jabbing Damon in the side when he stood beside her to do wash his hands as well. Caroline raised an eyebrow at Stefan who merely nodded and waited for one of them to respond.

"It was nice. The kids were really excited to see Santa" Bonnie finally answered as she removed her jacket hanging on the back of the kitchen chair.

Caroline smiled as Damon began pulling the dishes that were warming onto the counter.

Stefan moved to help Damon bring the food out to the dining room where Caroline had outdid herself with decorating.

"Caroline its beautiful" Bonnie said as she looked over at Damon raising an eyebrow before Damon said "'yeah Blondie nice job not screwing up the decorations"

Once everyone was seated, Damon cleared his throat and said "I thought maybe we could go around the table and say one thing we were thankful for"

Stefan looked over at his brother and then looked over at Caroline who had her mouth open in shock.

Bonnie smiled at Damon and said "that's a nice way thing to do so I'll go first. I'm thankful to be alive. I never took the time to appreciate the fact that even though we were always dealing with a crisis, I was alive. I didn't realize how much I valued my life until it was gone"

Caroline smiled at Bonnie as she reached across the table to squeeze her hand and then said "I'll go next. I'm most thankful for Stefan"

Damon snorted softly before looking over at Stefan. Stefan smiled at Caroline reaching over to kiss the back of her hand and replied "I'm thankful that I'm happy. Part of that happiness is because of Caroline"

"Thanks Stef" Caroline retorted as she leaned over to lightly kiss him on his lips.

"You're turn Damon. What are you thankful for?"

"A second chance. Let's eat"

"Bonnie? Are you awake?"

"What time is it?"

"It's four am"

"And where exactly are you going? This town doesn't even have a target"

"I know, while you and Damon were helping the less fortunate I was scoping out nearby places for us to shop"

"Um...I never agreed to shop on Black Friday, besides I'm really tired"

"Maybe if you didn't stay up last night with Damon, you would have been well rested to accompany me"

"Get Stefan to go with you"

"I wanted to spend time with you...alone"

"Well when you return we can paint each others nails"

"Promise?"

"I promise" Bonnie replied before yawning and saying "now will you please shut the light off?"

Later on that afternoon, Caroline and Stefan had left the house again, this time saying they needed to buy more presents. Bonnie went looking for Damon who would hopefully give her the answers she was looking for in terms of her magic.

She finally found him near the lake. "What are you doing?" she asked as she walked up to him.

"Just needed some fresh air"

"Your house is huge, why would you need fresh air?"

Damon shrugged and then looked over at Bonnie before taking his jacket off and handing it to her saying "it gets cold pretty quickly"

"Thelma is a witch" Damon began as Bonnie looked at him in surprise as he continued "before coming here I called around to see what would need to happen to get your magic back, and most witches said it was impossible. Mostly because they felt you abused your magic by not taking care of yourself. Thelma was the only person that said she could help. Of course, with you witches it is never easy. There were stipulations"

"So the soup kitchen and not feeding on the town" Bonnie asked as she moved closer to Damon who nodded her head "Yes, and I agreed to consult on hard cases and provide money to the orphanage. Though those were small things. She wanted a trade."

"What kind if trade?"

"You will get your magic back, slowly at first because you will have to be retrained, and she would get what she wanted all this time"

"She wanted something specifically from you?"

"Yes"

"Well what was it?"

" I traded my immortality for you magic"

"What?...what does that mean? Is that even possible?"

"When you give it free willingly it is"

"So what will happen?"

"I ensured that once you are your powerful self again, then the final trade will happen"

"Final trade? Have you been giving her your blood all this time?"

"Yes...I didn't really listen that well on how she can actually take my immortality however when I first arrived her she was old as molasses and as you saw her yesterday she is middle aged now"

"Damon" Bonnie began as her green eyes filled with tears "I can't allow you to do this for me"

"I'm not asking you. The deal is already done so it would be a slap in my face if you refuse it"

"So what would happen if I was to take it?"

"Well we would go to Thelma and every week we would see her for the trade and working with you. If everything goes well, you should have your full powers back by Christmas Day"

"and you?"

"And I'll fade off to where ever vampires go when they give their immortality up"

"So each time you have been 'trading' it leaves you weak?"

"Yes...wait how did you know that? Did Thelma tell you?"

"No...she just seemed concerned when we were late"

"Well what can I say. She's use to me being on time"

"Damon...I don't know what to say. This is a huge sacrifice and what about Stefan?"

"Stefan has Caroline and he will be ok with this decision. Besides if you agree to this, it is between us. No one can know. That's the other part of the deal"

Bonnie nodded before she stepped even closer to Damon, hugging him and then saying "If we are going to do this, then I'm staying here with you. If you are only going to be here until Christmas, the least I can do is make sure the next three weeks becomes the best three weeks you've experience in your lifetime"

"That's a lot of pressure considering how old I am"

"I'm sure you'll have a lot of ideas" Bonnie retorted as she looked up at Damon, the light illuminating the shine of her eyes and the gloss on her lips.

Damon took a breathe as he realized in that moment how much he wanted Bonnie to stay with him, especially as they got closer to Christmas, because this would surely be the hardest thing he had ever done, not including serving in the war.

"Any ideas on how to break the news to Stefan and Caroline?" he then asked as Stefan and Caroline walked over and asked "break what news?"

"I'm in love with Damon and decided that I'm going to stay with him until Christmas" Bonnie said as she panicked slightly and Damon grinned wickedly.

"What the hell?" Caroline exclaimed.

"It seems as though it has begun"

"Are you sure this is the best way?"

"It has to be...It will be. When this is all over you'll be thanking me"