Damon took another swig of bourbon and stared into the flames, the chatter a dull buzz surrounding him. He stood while everyone else sat, just so he could have the anxious pleasure of pacing back and forth to the liquor decanter.
"Damon?"
"Mm," he grunted.
"Damon!"
"What?"
"I said 'What did you say to her?'" Caroline glared at him impatiently.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out."
"You- "
"I should go talk to her," Elena shot up next to him.
"No. You shouldn't," Damon corrected, pushing her back down by the shoulder.
"Damon…" Stefan warned. He mouthed "sire bond" urgently behind Elena's back. Damon rolled his eyes and mouthed "I don't care" right back. Caroline's eyes went wide.
"Da-"
"Damon!" Elena interrupted. "She's my best friend!" But she remained sitting.
"Yeah, but are you hers?"
"Wh- what?"
"Are you hers? Damon asked again. "I'm starting to think Bonnie-kins has a point. Do you- do any of us- " he looked around to include Caroline and Stefan as well. "Do we treat her like a best friend? When was the last time we all went out to save Bonnie? When was the last time she was doing something other than saving all our asses?"
Stefan opened his mouth but Damon talked over him. "And don't say screwing Little Gilbert, Stef. We all know she's way out his league; she definitely saved his life. Literally. Figuratively. Sexually."
Elena looked as though she couldn't decide between punching Damon in the face or projectile vomiting.
"Actually," Stefan said, looking more uncomfortable by the minute. "I was going to say you've saved Bonnie- more than once. From Klaus. And back on the island."
Elena looked between the two brothers. "Right after you told me you didn't care about her…" she said slowly. "When you said you didn't care if she died, that all that mattered to you was what happened to me."
Damon sipped his bourbon again and rolled his eyes. "So? I tell Stefan I'll kill him at least once a week."
"Once a day," Stefan lamented under his breath.
"Doesn't mean I actually want him dead," Damon continued. "Ever heard of deflecting?" He sank down onto the couch. "I actually think Bonnie's a lot more tolerable than Care-Bear here."
"Yeah, you can be kind of overbearing sometimes, Care." Elena admitted. Damon smirked.
"And they say the sire bond is a bad thing..." He patted Elena's knee affectionately and she smiled at him, blushing. Caroline bristled and looked at Stefan for support.
Stefan put his head in his hands and sighed. "Oh my God…" he murmured.
Caroline stood up and planted her hands on her hips. "Well, if you're such a genius Damon, now what? How do we get Bonnie back?"
...
Bonnie pushed food around her plate aimlessly, her eyes blankly staring at a flower on the tablecloth. Her father paused, staring at her across the table. It had been a week since she'd barged into the house, retreating into her room, not answering her phone, throwing things around, taking out mountains of garbage bags full of only goodness knew what, looking teary-eyed on the rare chance he saw her outside her room...then around day three, she was the opposite. She had turned quiet, placid- calm. He knew enough about teenagers to know that definitely wasn't normal. And it definitely wasn't good.
"Missing Jeremy?" He guessed.
Bonnie jumped. "What? Oh. I...yeah." This is so much bigger than Jeremy, Dad. she thought to herself. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, Dad. It's just...it's been a lot."
"You know you can talk to me, honey. If you want." he offered. He placed a hand over hers. "I don't like seeing you so sad."
Bonnie smiled, despite her low mood. Her dad's eyes searched hers with sincere worry. She could cut him a break, she realized. He really did want to help, but he had no idea what she was up against. It occurred to her she was all he had. After her mother left them, he'd dated here and there when Bonnie was young, but never had the inclination to marry again. Bonnie always secretly believed that his wife's abandonment had broken his trust in a way that could never be fixed. He went on a two-week fishing excursion with his brothers every year, taking Bonnie with him to see her cousins- who were about as fun as going to the dentist. But usually, it was just the two of them. He was her only parent and as scared as he was of magic, Bonnie knew it was simply because he was worried about her. Maybe she should take a chance. She squeezed her father's hand.
"Dad, there's a lot going on. I'm not just heartbroken, although there's that also..." she began hesitantly. "It's… it's my fault. Everything's my fault."
"Bonnie, don't blame yourself," her father smiled. "Jeremy's death was an accident. There was nothing you could've done."
"But there was, Dad." Bonnie grabbed his hand with both of hers, gripping it tightly. "If only I hadn't…" she hesitated, then took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "If only I hadn't gotten so involved in expression, I feel like none of this would have happened."
"Expression?" The older Bennett's face grew stony and he slowly withdrew his hand. "Evil magic? The magic not even your grandmother would do?"
"I...yes." Bonnie admitted. Her father looked at her for what seemed a long time, trying to decide what to do. Finally he pushed his plate away and folded his hands in front of him.
"What's been going on, Bonnie? Tell me the truth."
So Bonnie did. She told him everything: about the Petrova doppelgangers, about how Grams truly died, about the Mikaelson clan, and what she had really been doing in Nova Scotia, and finally, about Jeremy's death.
"...And now it's like I can't control my magic at all. It's all over the place, whether I say the spells or not. I keep wondering what to do. What Grams would tell me to do- I keep dreaming about Grams, Dad- "
"Enough." Mr. Bennett stood up. "Bonnie...Sheila...Bennett...I told you I did not want that nonsense in this house. It brought your mother nothing but trouble, so much so that she- " He stopped, then swallowed heavily. "So much so that she couldn't...handle it," he finished clumsily. And I don't want that for you. I don't have any magic and when Mom was alive, she could help you keep all this business reigned in but now...Bonnie, I don't know what to do. I don't how to protect you from this. From vampires...from ancestor spirits...from yourself?"
"Myself?" Bonnie retorted, leaping out of her chair. "You think I'm dangerous? I just told you everything- everything- because I need you to help me, be there for me. I don't have have anyone anymore, Dad. Not Grams, not Jer, not my…" her voice cracked. "Not my friends. Please don't tell me I don't have you anymore, either." Tears silently rolled down her cheeks. "Please tell me I still have you, Dad." She went to him, crying in earnest now.
But her father gently stopped her at arms' length before she could hug him.
"That's for you to decide," he said.
"What?"
"Bonnie…" he shook his head. "You're not a little girl anymore; I can't tell you what to do. If I could just command you to give up your magic- so you could have a happy, normal life- I would. But I can't. You're your own person." He stroked her cheek wistfully. "So I'm giving you the choice." Bonnie stiffened at his touch and took a step back.
"What does that mean?"
"I'm going to let you choose: you can turn your back on all of this. You can go away to Whitmore in the fall, make new friends, move away from this godforsaken town, marry a good man who brings you nothing but joy- not this supernatural sorrow. Your magic will eventually fade if you stop trying to harness it. You can leave all of this in the past, Bonnie."
Bonnie stared at him with utter disbelief, the tears still wet on her face. He continued.
"Or you can leave this house," he said firmly. "Because I refuse to watch you ruin your life."
"You're- you're kicking me out?"
"No, baby girl. I'm trying to get you to save yourself before it's too late. Just give it up," he pleaded.
"I can't just give it up, Dad!" Bonnie shouted. "Don't you get it yet?" On the table, both glasses shattered to bits, water exploding everywhere. "I have to choose between my family and my magic? My magic is a part of me! You may as well ask me to stop being myself!"
"You made a choice to let magic into your life, honey. You can choose to let it leave, too." Her father looked at her sternly. He wore his "no nonsense" expression. The few times he'd had to punish her as a child, he'd made that face right before; she knew he meant what he said. For a few seconds both of them stood in silence, each wondering if the other would break.
"And if I don't?" Bonnie asked quietly.
"Then I want you and your things gone by this weekend. And don't come back."
Bonnie felt sobs well up in her throat again. "I need some air," she choked out, running past him, tears blurring her line of sight. Behind her, she heard: "Bonnie! I'm doing this for your own good!"
Bonnie grabbed her keys and flung open her front door. But she hesitated. After a few minutes of pacing up and down the front porch, she thunked herself down into an extra wide rocking chair. She was in no state to drive. And furthermore, she had nowhere to go. The one place she thought she'd always be safe was now the place that hurt the most. She irritably wiped away tears. "What am I supposed to do?" she whispered aloud.
"Bonnie?"
She peered into the darkness. "Damon?" The older Salvatore brother slowly became more visible.
"I walked here, spending the whole way thinking of how I could win you over. Me grovelling is one-time thing, so I wanted to make it epic." Once he got closer and caught sight of her face he stopped talking. "What's wrong?" He scanned the house warily, sniffing the air and cocking his head to side so he could hear the whole block. He zoomed at vampire speed, coming to kneel in front of her. "What's the matter?"
"I…I..." Bonnie started, then promptly burst into tears. Without thinking, Damon was suddenly in the chair with her, holding her, talking to her softly. "Shh, shhh," he murmured, rocking them both.
"My dad hates me," Bonnie hiccuped. She clutched Damon's leather jacket as if it could pull her out of the miserable hole she found herself in.
"Nahhh," Damon said, looking down at her with a wry smile. "He hasn't tried to kill you, has he? You haven't seen hatred until your dad thinks you're an abomination sent from hell."
At this, Bonnie sobbed even louder. Damon looked slightly startled and pulled her tighter to him, resting his chin atop her head. "Okay Damon, that was a dumb thing to say," he mumbled. Why did you say that? She doesn't need to hear that. he chided himself. Aloud, he said, "So what happened, Baby Bennett?"
Somehow Bonnie found herself telling him everything: about her father's ultimatum, about Jeremy, and about how she felt so lost in her power without a guide.
"That's the only reason I even listened to Shane to begin with," she said dejectedly, leaning her head back against Damon's chest. "It just felt so good to- "
"Have someone be proud of you?"
Bonnie looked up at him, her eyes just glistening now. She frowned sadly. "Yeah."
"Well," Damon said blithely. "Speaking as one disappointment to another, I say fuck it. You're a Bennett witch, powers or not. It's in your blood. And if Daddy Dearest doesn't understand that, then he's not worth it. Don't look back."
"But I have no one else."
"You have me," Damon replied, his fingers lightly brushing across her cheek. "And all your other friends," he added quietly.
Bonnie looked up at him, willing herself to believe it. Then she got up and folded her arms. "I don't have you," she countered and Damon briefly wondered if she meant the singular or plural. "You're only here because you'll need my help for something later. Or worse- " She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did they make you come here? Did you grab the short straw, is that it?
Damon stood up, too. "No" he scoffed. First of all, I'm not a straw-drawing kinda guy. Second of all, I came because I...let's just say you might not get on my nerves as much as I would have you think, 'kay? So tell me- O, Mighty Bonnie, what do I need to do to make you believe I'm not just using you? How can I prove to you that I'm telling you the truth- that's it's not me, it's you." He smiled at his own joke. "Want me to snap Caroline's neck for a few days so you can have the spotlight? I'm getting kinda tired of hearing her whine about Wolf-Boy, too..."
"Release Elena," Bonnie said, stepping close to him.
Damon raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Seriously?"
"Release Elena and I'll believe you can care about someone other than yourself." Bonnie also raised an eyebrow, mirroring his movement. "That's what I want."
Damon sighed heavily and glanced at the silhouetted houses in the distance. Then he looked her squarely in the eye.
"You drive a hard bargain, Bon-Bon…"
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! Time to start getting events moving along, now! Do you think Damon will do it? Will he release Elena if that's the only way to get Bonnie back? Leave me a review- it helps me so much :)