Dear Guest: thanks so much for the kind feedback! There will be some Klaroline in this story but I don't know yet just how much… :)
Thanks also to DancesWithButterflies and ZombieSavior! It's thanks to people like you I still post occasionally. :)
…
"Promise me you'll stay put. Use your crutches, get on the bench and watch. That's it. You disobey and I'll take you back home right away."
Bonnie was wheeling Damon over to the court, where they could already see the team practicing, and he nodded his head, clutching the crutches so hard that she could see his knuckles grow white. He was more nervous, more agitated than he liked to admit, but she wasn't going to call him out on it.
"It makes me all hot and bothered when you talk like that, Bon. I'd never disobey you."
She rolled her eyes, waving at the small crowd when they had gotten close enough to hear them chat.
The players were all sitting huddled together, listening and watching as the coach showed them something, but as soon as they had spotted Damon, they got up to welcome him.
"Dude," DeShawn said, a tall guy with shoulder long dreads and a rather sweet smile, then he gripped Damon's outstretched hand in his. "Not the same without you. Coach Saltzman is on our asses way more these days. Time you come back."
"I heard that," the coach said, but he was grinning as he came over now, also shaking Damon's hand, then patting his back. "You'll have a spot on this team as soon as you're back, son."
Damon grinned a little forcefully. "Aw, come on. With Enzo in the form of his life you barely even missed me, Coach."
Alaric Saltzman clicked his tongue, and Bonnie caught on to the sideways glance the man shot over to where she noticed Enzo was still sitting on his seat, elbows resting on his knees as he stifled a cough.
"Kid has some chest congestion," the coach muttered now, conspiratorially leaning in. "I want to sit him out but he says he's fine to play and with you out, I don't have all that many options, Salvatore."
"If he says he can play, he can play." Damon met Alaric's gaze and Bonnie couldn't help but think that she was missing something here.
"Has he been to see one of the team doctors?" she now asked, focusing on her own business - which was the health of all players - and ready to just do her job as she helped Damon out of the wheelchair, and Coach Saltzman shrugged.
"I made him go earlier. Doc says he's fine as long as we limit his minutes a bit."
Bonnie nodded, satisfied enough to let it go and blend into the periphery, while Damon hobbled away with his teammates, clearly enjoying the extra attention. Watching him, Bonnie couldn't help but smile. This was something he had desperately needed. It was so glaringly obvious that even the coach, who was still standing by her side with his arms crossed, commented on it.
"Kid thrives on attention. And playing ball. Good thinking to bring him over, doc." He smiled at her appreciatively and she smiled right back. His praise felt too good. She had been working hard with Damon these last couple months and it was just nice to get out with him and see him back where he most belonged.
As the coach left her, she walked over to where she saw Luke waiting around, watching from a distance.
"Hey," she said, nudging his side, and he smiled at her.
"How's physical therapy with the vampire going?"
"Going alright. Still a ways to go, of course. How about here? Anything worth mentioning?"
"Eh." Luke shrugged, jerking his head. "Bunch of scrapes and bruises. Lincoln is out for tonight with the flu. Marcel too. We have a couple others that seem to have caught a cold, but none as serious as Linc, so we should be okay." He gave her a look as she nodded. "Speaking of… you coming tonight? Or are you just on vampire sitter duty now?"
Bonnie chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Nah. I'll be here. Wouldn't wanna miss game night! Besides, apparently Damon's brother is in town and they are gonna meet up to watch the game together."
"Here?"
Shaking her head, Bonnie made a face. "I could just so talk him out of that. I don't know what's going on with him, but he's really starved for all the attention, I guess. Yesterday he was a little too happy when some press guys camped out in front of his house to get an interview."
"I hope he didn't go out there. Klaus would not approve."
Bonnie chuckled. "No. I kept him busy in his gym. - Have you seen his house by the way? It's insane…" She trailed off as she watched Damon flop down next to Enzo, and she couldn't help but think of the things she had learned recently as she watched those two sitting together, talking.
"He alright?" she asked Luke, nodding in Enzo's direction as she noticed him cough again. "Was it you who checked him over?"
"Yeah." Luke gave an exaggerated sigh. "Only because Coach made him. Didn't help either of our moods… But yeah, he's alright."
"He has asthma, too, right? Shouldn't we-"
"He usually doesn't have any trouble. But we'll have to keep an eye on him tonight. I put him on a minutes restriction so he doesn't overexert himself. He was not happy." He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he did and Bonnie had to chuckle.
"I can imagine," she said. "He's a real sunshine, isn't he?"
"Oh ya… Sunshine with a touch of temper."
They fell silent, both now focusing on watching the team practice, but every so often, Bonnie's gaze fell on Damon and Enzo again, both of them still talking, both of them looking rather agitated.
"St. John, get your ass over here," the coach eventually hollered, "I'm sorry Salvatore. But we gotta get this show on the road tonight and this man needs rest."
"Coach," Enzo started, walking toward the man, but Alaric shook his head. "If you want to play tonight, you listen to what I say. Go and get some rest."
"I need the practice."
"You need rest."
Bonnie could see from all the way over where she stood that Enzo was clenching his teeth, clearly trying to rein in a retort. Damon came up behind him, whispering something into his friend's ear that made Enzo slump his shoulders and follow the coach's orders, then Damon walked toward Bonnie, beaming at her, if tiredly.
"I might need some rest too, BonBon. You ready to go?"
She nodded, sighing quietly. It was moments like this where she wondered yet again what she was even doing here, spending hours upon hours by Damon Salvatore's side. She was helping him get better, of course, was helping him to stay fit, she knew that. Yet sometimes she felt like she was more of a personal assistant these days than a real doctor, and she didn't like that feeling. Maybe, as crazy and stupid and ungrateful as it sounded, maybe it was time to go look for another job. Maybe Bonnie Bennett wasn't actually cut out for this and would better fit into a regular hospital after all.
"Coming, BonBon?"
"Yeah," she breathed, then took the crutches from him as he fell back into the wheelchair. "Say bye bye, Damon Salvatore."
"Bye bye, Damon Salvatore."
Bonnie rolled her eyes, stifling a giggle as they made their way out.
"You're a child at heart, aren't you?"
"Is that so wrong?"
"No." No, it wasn't. She just wished she was a little more like that too at times.
…
"I'm just not sure I want this anymore. I guess it's just… not as exciting or rewarding as I thought it would be." Bonnie gave a sigh as she tugged her arms under Caroline's and Elena's respectively, all of them on their way to the stadium for tonight's game.
Bonnie was working, of course, and would sit near the team, ready to spring into action if need be, but Caroline and Elena had purchased regular tickets to cheer for their team.
"Aw, Bonnie?!" Caroline nudged her friend, clutching her arm tighter as they kept walking. She had picked up on Bonnie's dampened mood before and now she finally knew what was going on. "You sure? I thought working so closely with Damon would be like a dream come true."
Bonnie rolled her eyes, sighing. "He's… a handful."
"I could have told you that before."
"Oh ya? And why's that? Did the internet tell you all about it? His Twitter? Insta? Facebook?"
"All of the above?"
They all chuckled before growing silent again.
"In all seriousness, though," Elena chimed in, "if you don't want to do it anymore, come to the hospital with me. I promise it's not as awful as they make it out to be. Okay, maybe the pay is…"
Bonnie grinned, the expression growing wistful. "I know. I probably sound ungrateful. This is still a great job. I just… I didn't study medicine for this, you know? I'm more than a physical therapist. And I'm definitely more than a stupid babysitter for a giant baby with a broken leg."
"I apologize for your troubles, Ms. Bennett. Maybe we should compensate you a little better. The Salvatores are indeed all pieces of work, aren't they? Damon especially."
Bonnie's mouth grew dry as she recognized the voice that had come from behind them. She froze, making Caroline and Elena beside her stop, too. The girls were exchanging glances as Caroline's eyes suddenly widened and she whirled around even quicker than Bonnie, beaming when she saw she had been right.
"Niklaus Mikaelson," she muttered, cheeks flushing, and she cursed her light complexion for betraying her. There was a man right next to him she had seen before, too. One of his brothers...
Klaus extended a hand, taking hers. "And the lovely lady is…"
"Caroline Forbes." She smiled awkwardly, allowing him to place a kiss above the back of her hand. The motion set her heart aflutter in her chest and she shot Bonnie beside her a quick glance. Was this really happening? Was she meeting Klaus freaking Mikaelson? Oh my gosh…
"Nice to meet you, Caroline."
"Mr. Mikaelson, I'm so sorry. I don't know how much you heard," Bonnie blurted, but he held up his hand, smirking her way briefly before his gaze locked on Caroline again.
"Please don't worry about it. You might like the idea my brother Elijah - he's the broody silent one right here - has tried to sell to me for a while now, then. A Hybrids medical facility. A hospital, rehab facility, something to combine all our medical efforts and make sure our team stays healthy and is always well cared for and at the same time, give back to our community and help out with a clinic for the masses."
Bonnie swallowed, her gaze wandering from Klaus to the man beside him. His slicked back hair and cashmere coat made him look very put together, and she noticed that Elena beside her was suddenly openly staring, and the man stared right back.
Scoffing, Bonnie bit her lip. What was it with her friends all falling for the Mikaelsons? First Caroline, then Luke, and now Elena? She sighed, mulling over Klaus's words. It did sound like a good idea. "I would love to help with that if you do decide to turn it into more than just an idea," she then said, smiling as Klaus took his eyes off Caroline to finally look at her again.
"Well, that's good to know. In the meantime, would you get our star player back to health if I promised to raise your salary a bit?"
"Mr. Mikaelson, that won't be-"
"Please. But now excuse us, we must get going. Ms. Bennett? Caroline…"
He tipped his hat to them all, lingering on Care, smiling briefly at Elena, too, but it was his brother Elijah who leaned forward a bit, taking her hand.
"Elijah Mikaelson," he said, and Elena smiled at him awkwardly, looking down at her hand. "I don't think I caught your name. Are you a doctor too?"
"I'm sorry, I should have introduced my friends," Bonnie said, helping her friend out who seemed to have lost her voice completely. "This is Elena Gilbert. We went to med school together. She works at the local hospital."
"Ah. Well, it was lovely to meet you all," Elijah said as Klaus patted his back, nudging him to go.
"We'll see you inside. - Ms. Bennett, I'll tell them your friends may sit close to you, provided you keep your eyes on our players and do your job."
"Of course, Mr. Mikaelson."
"Klaus."
She grinned stupidly, all of them watching as he and his brother walked past them and into the large building ahead of them.
…
"He doesn't honestly think I'm going to call him Klaus, does he?" Bonnie scoffed, shaking her head as Elena unfroze beside her.
"Oh gosh. What the hell was that?" Elena asked, looking to her friends who still stood rooted to the spot, and Caroline was the next to recover.
"I finally met him. I met Klaus Mikaelson, you guys! And I don't even have anything to show for it. Ugh..." Her legs were shaking, she was so stunned, so excited, and it was both a glorious and a ridiculous feeling. " Did you see how he kissed my hand? Like a true gentleman."
"Care… I don't need to remind you that he seems to be quite the player, do I? And I'm not talking basketball player…" Bonnie grinned at her sympathetically as she saw Caroline's excitement getting dampened a bit.
"Yeah, I know. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he is just gorgeous! Ugh… I can't believe this happened."
"And I can't believe that I couldn't even get my own name out!" Elena hid her face in her hands as they began moving again.
They all chuckled, and Bonnie grabbed Elena's arm a little tighter. "Yeah, what was that anyways? I thought you and Matt were happily ever after, and now you're struck dumb by a handsome stranger?"
Elena pressed her lips together, suddenly a lot more serious. "I don't know. I love Matt, I really do, but he's… he feels safe and… boring." She exchanged a glance with her friends, and they all huddled together a little closer as they got to the entrance.
"I'm awful."
"No you're not. Sometimes safe is not what we need or want." Caroline gave her a sympathetic look that made a smile return to Elena's lips.
"Especially you, Care," Bonnie chimed in, earning herself a slap.
"Bonnie!"
"It's true though, isn't it? Klaus is… he's dangerous, Care. You should see him with the team sometimes."
Caroline beamed. "I'd love that."
Bonnie rolled her eyes, grinning. "Exactly what I was talking about." She chuckled.
"You're one to talk, though. Stuck between two handsome studs that rob you of your sleep."
"What? I'm not-"
"So are. The vampire and his sidekick have taken up residence up there." She knocked on Bonnie's forehead, making her back away and bat the offending hand away.
"Caroline. Stop. I'll admit I'm still fighting a bit with that crush on Damon, but Enzo? That's ridiculous. I can't even stand the guy."
"Okay."
"What?" Bonnie didn't like her friend's tone, or the way she so quickly agreed. But Caroline only chuckled, changing the topic.
"So Klaus really said we could sit courtside with you, right? You think that's true? I was totally prepared to watch the game from nosebleeds, but an upgrade sounds amazing."
Bonnie shook her head, smiling to herself. It was probably best to let it go. She'd just have to show them how little Caroline's last statement was true. She was getting over Damon, if slowly. And Enzo… pfft. Just one of the ballers.
…
"Hello, brother." Damon had opened the door to welcome Stefan into his house, and he was surprised to see how put together the younger one looked.
"Damon."
"You look… different," Damon said, poking a finger into Stefan's chest, and his brother sighed audibly.
"Pulled my act together. Glad you noticed."
"That what they call it? You sure it's not just the haircut and the… what's that supposed to be? A beard?"
Stefan rolled his eyes, batting Damon's hand away. "You gonna just make fun of me or can I come in?"
"Of course." Damon opened the door wider, for one moment balancing his weight on just one leg as he held his crutches in one hand. Then, once Stefan was inside, he let the heavy door bang shut.
"Injury really got you good this time, huh?" Stefan waved at the cast, following Damon down the large foyer into the living room, where the TV was already on, everything ready for the game. "This can't be easy for you. Just watching from the comfort of your home…"
Stefan stopped to stare at him, and Damon let himself sink into the cushions, grabbing a beer as soon as he sat down. He made a face, looking at the screen for a moment before turning to his brother, then scoffed, shrugging.
"Let's not talk about me. Let's talk about this new improved Stefan and how exactly Lily managed to ensnare you-"
Stefan raised an eyebrow as he sat down in a sofa chair not far from Damon, declining the proffered beer.
"I stopped drinking."
Ooooh, Damon thought. That made sense. Alcohol had always brought out the worst in the youngest Salvatore, and he could honestly say that he was happy for his brother that he had finally managed to get that under control.
"AA?"
Stefan nodded. "I had help…" He gave a meaningful look and it didn't take Damon long to understand, and yet he was still baffled by it.
"Really? Lily helped you get sober? She trying to win the mother-of-the-year-award or something? I think it's a little late for that."
"Damon…" Stefan sighed, his gaze wandering between his brother and the TV and Damon couldn't help but feel his hackles raising. Like there was more to all this. Obliviously, Stefan continued. "Can't you let it go? Mom has changed. She's not the same person anymore."
"You mean the one who fucked an underage boy, then dumped him and left her own sons alone with her abusive husband in order to live her life with a new acquired family somewhere else?"
Stefan swallowed, averting his gaze. "Don't."
"'Don't' what, Stefan? That woman left us, left you, when she knew what dad did - what he would do if she wasn't there to soften the blows. She…" He took a deep shuddering breath, trying to keep an all too familiar feeling of utter helplessness from returning. He wasn't a child anymore. He wasn't-
"You left us too, remember?" Stefan spat, making a pang of guilt shoot into Damon with a vengeance. His brother was right, of course. He had left… Stefan sighed as Damon was still trying to find his words. "I'm not here to fight, brother," he said. "I'm here to apologize for my own mistakes. For the many times you had to help me and I stole your money. I'm.. sorry."
Damon waved it off, taking a big swig out of his bottle. Looking at the TV he realized that the game had started, that the first quarter was a few minutes in already.
"Will you look at that. Hybrids are already up six points. And that with two of our guys out with the flu. Surprised you're here, watching the game with me instead of going to the stadium. I gave you good tickets, didn't I?"
"You did. Lily is there…"
Damon's heart skipped a beat. Surely he had misheard that. Right?
"Lily is at the game?"
Stefan nodded slowly, watching him as he put the bottle to his lips again, emptying it quickly. Shaking his head, he grinned disbelievingly. "Stefan, Stefan, Stefan. You really don't care if poor Lorenzo's heart gets ripped out, do you?"
"Don't be so melodramatic. All she wants is to make up for her mistakes. She wants to apologize. To you, to him…"
Damon kept shaking his head, chuckling to himself. Then he pushed himself up and off the couch. "Well I guess we're going to the stadium after all." Shoving the end of one of his crutches toward his brother, he poked him in the shoulder, hard.
"Damon…"
"You. Drive. And get her on the phone. I need her out of that stadium. Now."
With that he went on his way, followed by a reluctant Stefan, who tried talking to him. But Damon had no wish to listen. And no time. This was like a damn disaster waiting to happen and if he wanted to try and prevent that, he had to be quick.
…
Sweat was running down Enzo's face as he raced the court, getting in position to shoot from three and…
When he made the shot, a roar went through the crowd, but he wasn't really paying attention. They needed to keep going, keep winning if they wanted to make the playoffs. But it wasn't easy. With two of their players out with the flu, and a couple more fighting a cold, the Hybrids were playing on reserves. They were playing against the Celtics and things hadn't gone so we'll after an initial quick lead. Now Boston had caught up, and the Hybrids had been in a funk these last few minutes, a funk that Enzo was working hard to get them out of.
After a nice steal and two additional points, he stared up into the crowd briefly, then returned his focus back onto the court, just as he caught a glimpse of Lily Salvatore sitting close behind Klaus Mikaelson and his posse.
Enzo swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling a lot tighter. Shaking his head briefly, he blinked, taking a deep breath. No, that couldn't be. Damon had said she was dying. She had lung cancer. She wasn't going to sit here and watch a game.
Closing his eyes, he fought the urge to check again, and when someone called his name, he jolted out of it and back into action.
The ball was moving again and when his teammate passed it to him, he dribbled, tried to make the shot, fighting his way through a bunch of Celtics players. Then he jumped and… An elbow hit him hard in the ribs and with a grunt he went down, the wind knocked out of him. He curled an arm around his smarting chest, allowing himself to stay down for a second to catch his breath.
The ball hadn't made it in. But at least he got the foul call.
Free throws.
"You okay, man?"
He realized he was still on the ground as DeShawn bent down to pat his shoulder, and he nodded at his teammate, accepting the man's hand and let him pull him up.
"Dude, you sure you're okay?"
Enzo was coughing now, a hand pressed against his ribs, and one of the refs came over, motioning toward the bench and a few seconds later, Enzo found himself facing a concerned looking med girl.
"Let me see those ribs," she ordered, and he lifted his jersey without a comment, unable to even think of anything snarky to say. She palpated the area where he had been hit and he hissed as she did, making her lift her chin to look up at him.
"I'm taking you out."
"You can't do that. I'm fine. Ice it and let me play."
"Enzo." Her hand was on his arm and suddenly his world had grown a lot smaller. Gone was the stadium around him, gone the audience and even his teammates. Her small hand was on his arm and that was all he could focus on. Because somewhere out there sat Lily Salvatore and he found it harder and harder to just keep breathing. Clenching his jaw, he tore his gaze away, staring her straight in the eyes.
"Do it."
She rolled her eyes, pushing an inhaler at him that he grudgingly accepted as she went to work. "If I see you coughing again, you're out. No discussion."
"Fine."
The ice spray hit his side, making him inhale sharply. He almost coughed, her gaze meeting his as he gritted his teeth to stop himself.
"I mean it," she said and he shrugged, then put his jersey back down as her hands left his skin.
He wasn't going to let anyone take him out. The team needed this win, and without Damon, he needed to bust his ass to help them get it.
As the two free throws both went in, he grimaced in pain, then shook it off as the game continued.
...
The second quarter was over, Enzo had already played half of his minutes, and Bonnie was getting nervous.
"Think you can keep this up, St. John?" Coach Saltzman was just asking as Luke was starting to make his way over to Enzo, but Bonnie held him back, shaking her head.
"I got it," she said, noticing relief in her colleague's features.
"You sure?"
Smiling, she nodded. "He's already had to deal with me once today, I'm sure we'll be fine."
As Luke nodded, she turned and walked over to Enzo, who was still talking to the coach. When Alaric saw her coming, he got up, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Doc. Check him over. I want your honest opinion. We need him, but if you say he should sit the rest of the game out-"
"Coach, I'm fine."
Alaric shot Enzo a silencing glare as he spoke over him. "Then he'll sit the rest of the game out. - St. John. Go with the doc. Now."
Enzo rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, stalking over to Bonnie for a quick examination.
"Sit," she ordered, her tone firm and businesslike because she had found that that was the only language he understood
When she lifted his jersey, she saw that a bruise had begun to form, and Enzo hissed when she gently touched it.
"I guess I don't need to ask whether you have any pain."
"No."
She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Taking a stethoscope out, she placed herself firmly in front of him. "Take a deep breath for me."
He followed her instructions, and when she was satisfied that the injury wasn't affecting his breathing, she finally decided to clear him.
Alaric appeared right when she was about to send him back. He had just finished his little speech to the team and they were getting ready to go out there again.
"What's the verdict, doc?"
She smiled, nodding at him, then Enzo. "He can play. Nasty bruise but nothing's cracked or broken. The minutes restriction remains. No extensions on that one. If he starts coughing more, he's out."
"You got it. Thanks doc," the coach said, then addressed Enzo. "Get going, kid."
He nodded and was off, leaving Bonnie to wonder whether she should have maybe made a different decision. Something about his whole attitude had seemed… off.
…