Hello Everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I appreciate all the reviews and just the support. I realize the show puts us fanfic writers in a tough spot with Bamon and Delena, but it is a challenge to craft a story and I am trying. Thank you again for all of your support.

Present Day Mystic Falls

Bonnie rushed into her apartment and closed the door after leaving Damon near the church. She touched her lips softly as she closed her eyes and breathed. Damon's words from earlier that evening echoed in her ears…

She pulled away from his kiss as he hands rested on her cheeks. "I know that things are different now. I know that we had a taste of something that was much better than the life we are living now, but I need you to take advantage of one thing that we do have here…it's exactly like what we had a couple of months ago…", Damon whispered.

"And what is that?" Bonnie asked.

"We have each other".

"Damon, I just need some time. It was hard when I believed that we would never see Elena again, but now that I see her and…"

"Bonnie, we are back in this Mystic Falls and I need to remind you…in this Mystic Falls, I am not the most patient man", Damon replied.

Bonnie opened her eyes and felt her body still humming from being in Damon's embrace. It was wrong, but out there in the woods was the first time in a long time that she felt right.

Other Mystic Falls-Four Months Ago

Damon entered the Mystic Grille with Giuseppe for lunch. Giuseppe invited Damon to a council meeting and it was a surreal experience. He sat around most of the people who were dead in the Mystic Falls that he knew. They were talking about things such as town festivities and other issues such as whether or not to put a statute up of one of the old Mystic Falls mayors. There was no mention of vampires, witches or any unexplained murders and it was surprisingly calm for him. Damon didn't do calm and he had no other choice to wait for the other shoe to drop.

As they sat down at a table, Giuseppe began speaking, "So I noticed that you and Bonnie are thick as thieves again, talking out on the deck almost every night?" he smirked.

"We are getting along and it also comes with the fact that we realize that this is our new home and things are not changing, so we have to accept it".

"What about your life before you came to Mystic Falls?" Giuseppe asked, "I noticed that you and Bonnie don't speak about it often, but what was it like…where was it?"

Damon shrugged, "It was different than here, I was a different person…I know that you can't believe it, but I was kind of a jackass".

"Nooo", Giuseppe gasped with a hint of a smirk.

"I know…hard to believe for sure", Damon shook his head, " I was selfish, I did whatever made me happy and the hell with everyone else—but I found love and I thought that it would change me. The girl chose me and I thought that I could be a better person, turns out, I really wasn't".

Giuseppe nodded, "And what about your family?"

Damon opened his mouth, but he was interrupted by Vicky coming over, "Well I haven't seen you since the day you and that girl were here, nice to see you", she smiled.

"Well I've been around…"

"And I see you found your family", Vicky turned to Giuseppe, who raised an eyebrow.

Damon looked from Vicky to Giuseppe and could see Giuseppe's confusion. He could have choked the Female Donovan right then and there.

"I remember you asked me about finding the Salvatore boarding house".

"Umm…Vicky…its nice to see you too, can you give us a few moments to decide what we want", Damon replied forcefully staring Vicky down.

"Ok…ok…I will come back in a few minutes", she rolled her eyes walking away.

Damon turned back to Giuseppe and couldn't read his face. "She's something", Damon chuckled.

"Would you like to tell me what she was talking about?" Giuseppe asked, "are we related?"

Damon grimaced as he stared back at Giuseppe.

Present Mystic Falls

Bonnie tried to ignore Jeremy staring at her from across the room at the Salvatore boarding house. Alaric had called them all there and Bonnie felt increasingly uncomfortable as the moments went by. The only people in the room who could stand to be in a room with each other at the moment were Carolyn, Stefan and Alaric. Everyone else was on pins and needles in some way, shape or form.

"I analyzed the arrow and the type of vervain used to make the arrowhead is a special strain. It's definitely not anything that comes from Mystic Falls", Alaric explained.

"Could a witch be behind it?" Stefan asked.

"It's possible", Alaric replied.

Bonnie felt a part of her heart drop into her stomach. She really wasn't up for a fight with witches.

"But something doesn't make sense, I mean…it seems like whomever is behind this wants to kill vampires, but they didn't shoot Damon too when you were shot Stefan. I imagine if there's a witch with a vendetta, they would have Damon be #1 on their list", Caroline replied.

"He should be the only one on the list", Jeremy mumbled.

"Blondie, watch it…and Young Gilbert, I would trod lightly if I were you", Damon smirked.

Bonnie watched Elena stare at Damon and she immediately looked down at her hands. Elena still looked as if her heart was broken.

"Maybe whomever is behind this made the list when Damon was technically dead", Bonnie spoke up.

"That is definitely a possibility, but our bigger problem is that the person killing vampires will notice that some of their victims are still walking around and that may cause a bigger problem for us", Alaric replied, "so we need to come up with a way to protect ourselves…"

Bonnie looked down at her phone and noticed the time, "Umm…I'm sorry, but I have to go…" she replied standing up.

"Yes, Bonnie has a date with her hottie neighbor", Caroline grinned.

Damon lasered his gaze on Bonnie as Jeremy stared at her with eyes full of hurt, "Seriously Bon?" he asked.

"It's not a date", Bonnie replied, "but I do have to go…I will call you guys to get an update", she called as she picked up her bag and headed out of the door.

As she walked out to her car, she heard someone walking behind her, "Wow…I didn't think that you would move on so quickly after that big break up speech", Jeremy called behind her.

Bonnie stopped walking and turned to face him, "It's not like that".

"Oh really, what is it like?" Jeremy challenged her.

"Jeremy, I know that you are hurt and I know that you didn't expect me to end things with you…especially how we left things when I disappeared, but I changed. Everything changed while I was away and I'm different. I feel differently, but I can only say that I'm not going on a date with my neighbor, now I have to go", she replied getting in her car.

SSSSSS

Damon poured a glass of blood as he heard Alaric strategizing with Stefan. He gripped the glass so tightly that he could hear it cracking slightly.

"Damon…", Elena said walking up behind him.

"Hi", he turned to her, "I know you don't want me to ask, but how are you?"

"I'm trying to keep it together. Even when you were…gone…I always had some hope and then you come back and you say what you said the other day and I feel like, I lost you all over again and it hurts so much right now".

"Elena, you have to believe what I said to you the other day. You loved me and being with you was something that I will always look back on and know that I changed. I want to be better Elena this time, but I can't be better as your boyfriend. I can't lie to you about how I feel".

Tears fell from Elena's eyes, "I really lost you when you died didn't I?"

Damon nodded slowly.

Other Mystic Falls-Four Months Before

Damon chuckled, "What…what do you mean are we related…of course not. I think it would be impossible".

"I beg to differ", Giuseppe replied leaning closer to Damon, "you have been curious about my life since you showed up. You asked me questions about my past loves, why I decided to start a business here…everything about my life and now, Vicky Donovan who can't hold water brings up the fact that when you first came to town, you were looking for family…the Salvatores", Giuseppe went on, "I remember when you first saw me, your eyes looked like you hated me and you turned and ran away from the house. You were standoffish in the beginning as if I did something to you personally".

"It wasn't like…"

"What is your mother's name?" Giuseppe interrupted.

"What?"

"What…is…your…mother's…name?" Giuseppe asked slowly.

Damon looked into Giuseppe's eyes and he knew that they were eyes of determination. If he lied, he felt as if Giuseppe would start digging for some kind of truth and if he told the truth…well he didn't know what would happen.

"Damon, tell me your mother's name", Giuseppe stated again.

Damon met Giuseppe's eyes, "Mary", he answered.

Giuseppe looked at him for a few moments with unblinking eyes, "I have to go", Giuseppe said standing up.

"Wait…let's talk, let me explain", Damon stood up.

Giuseppe held up his hands, "I have to go Damon…", he replied again before rushing out of the restaurant almost knocking down Vicky.

"Wait…what's going on...?"

Damon felt a rage that he had not felt in months as he stood up from the table. "What happened?" Vicky asked.

Damon stood up towering over her taking deep breaths, "I could choke the life out of you right now", he said in a voice he barely recognized.

Her eyes went wide and she backed away from him as he brushed past her leaving the restaurant.

SSSSSS

Bonnie sat on Damon's bed watching him pace back and forth for 15 minutes mumbling to himself, "I don't understand why you had to tell Giuseppe the truth", she shook her head.

"Well Bonnie…for once, I decided to be the anti-Damon. You know, tell the truth and you know what happened, it ruined everything!" he raged.

"No, I don't think anything is ruined. Giuseppe will come around and I think he will embrace this".

"It was all because of that bitch Vicky Donovan, I could have killed her today".

"Damon…", Bonnie began.

"You didn't see Giuseppe's face when I told him my mother's name, he looked as if he wanted to get as far away from me as possible".

"Damon…", Bonnie began as he walked over to the desk in the corner and picked up the chair throwing it against the wall, sending wood everywhere.

She stood up from the bed as she watched a Damon appear that she hadn't seen in months, "I told the truth and you see what happened…you see what being better did!" he exploded as he picked up a glass and threw it up against the wall.

"Damon what are you doing!" she screamed.

"I'm being me Bonnie! I'm being the person that you remember…turns out, I'm the same here in this Mystic Falls that I was there!"

"Damon, things are different here…"

"Nothing is different, Bonnie. He found out that I could be his son and he ran away from me…he rejected me! How is that any different than what I went through with him before? I was fine as some stranger, surrogate son but the thought that I could be his real son sends him running away?"

"I honestly don't believe that is true. After the way he's embraced you. The way that he has taken you under his wing and the way he speaks about you. Damon, Giuseppe sees you as a son he never had", Bonnie said sympathizing with Damon for the first time since she met him, "I don't know what else to say to you for you to believe that".

"Is there anything to say?" Damon asked sitting down staring at the wall.

Bonnie opened her mouth, but then she noticed Giuseppe standing in the door.

"Bonnie, can I have a few moments with Damon please?" he asked.

Bonnie looked at Damon, who shrugged, "Give it a chance", she whispered before heading out of the room.

Damon met Giuseppe's eyes and braced himself for what would come.

Present Day Mystic Falls

"What do you know about this neighbor that Bonnie went out with?" Damon asked casually walking over to Caroline in the middle of the Salvatore living room.

"I know that he lives across the hall from her and he's gorgeous, why do you care?" Caroline raised an eyebrow.

"For all we know, he could be the one going around shooting vampires".

"Oh right…sure…whatever", Caroline rolled her eyes and headed over to Elena.

Damon rolled his eyes. This was definitely something he had to look further into. Although, he believed Bonnie when she said that it wasn't a date; he also didn't trust that this neighbor had pure intentions where Bonnie was concerned.

SSSSSS

"This town seems pretty quiet, has it always been this quiet?" Hudson asked sitting across from Bonnie at the Mystic Falls Bistro.

Bonnie smirked, "Umm, not really. However, I like it…I need some quiet in my life right now".

Hudson nodded, "I understand".

"So what brings you to Mystic Falls, I don't believe you mentioned it".

"Oh just a little work, I'm a contractor if you will".

"Oh really, so how long do you think you will be here?"

"As long as it takes to get the job done".

Bonnie nodded, "I see".

"So did you say that you just came back to town not too long ago, were you away at college?"

Bonnie chuckled, "No, not exactly. I just had to go away for a bit that's all".

"And you just fell right in with your friends again as soon as you came back?"

"Well we grew up with each other, so we're like sisters at best".

Hudson sat back, "So you know everything about each other?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "Yes…", she replied guarded, "what do you ask?"

"So if I wanted to find a way to romance you, I could just ask them?" Hudson winked.

Bonnie relaxed a little and laughed, "You could, but Hudson…you would be wasting your time".

"You never know what tricks I have up my sleeve", he wiggled his fingers.

Bonnie laughed and it was a true laugh. She almost felt comfortable with Hudson, but she didn't feel any sparks, "Hudson, we can be friends but we can't be anything more than that".

Hudson sat back, "Well I tried, but I do want to get to know this place better and your friends too…you seem like a fun crowd".

"Ok, I will definitely let you know if we do anything that may be of interest…but we're actually pretty boring nowadays".

"Oh I am sure", Hudson smirked at her.

SSSSSS

Stefan watched as Damon sat looking at the fire with his glass of brandy in his hand. He watched as his brother's jaw clenched and then relaxed, "Maybe you should go talk to her", Stefan replied.

"I can't say anything else to Elena. There are no more words to be said and I think every time I say something to her, it makes her feel worse".

"I was actually talking about Bonnie", Stefan smirked sitting down next to Damon.

"Why would I need to speak to Bonnie?"

"Because you two are the only ones who understand what its like to be back here after being in that other Mystic Falls and I know that you are leaving something out about your time there, but I won't judge you", Stefan replied, "talk to Bonnie, maybe you will feel better".

"I don't want to talk to Bonnie", Damon replied.

"Ok…so what do you want to do?"

Damon sipped on his brandy, "Go back to where I was, but that's impossible".

"Then you need to make this place as close to that one as possible", Stefan answered.

Damon downed his brandy and smirked, "You have no idea what you have challenged me to do".

"I think I have an idea", Stefan smirked.

Other Mystic Falls-Four Months Before

Bonnie rushed into Sheila's house, "Damon told Giuseppe that he's his son and he told me that Giuseppe just left him in the Grille, everything is going to fall apart now Grams", Bonnie spoke hurriedly.

Sheila looked up at Bonnie taking off her glasses, "Bonnie, calm down and all of this excitement over Damon Salvatore?"

"Grams, you didn't see him…"

"I'm sure he was upset Bonnie, but I am sure that things will work out between them. Giuseppe is a good man".

"So Damon telling Giuseppe won't cause things to go wrong here, I mean…things won't change?"

"Do you want things to change here?"

"No, I mean…I wish that I could see my dad here, but I realize that he's not apart of this place for some reason but no…I like this place. It's been amazing over the past couple of months not worrying about saving anyone or doing magic".

Sheila smiled, "So, being that this place is one where you can relax and live your life just for you…so Bonnie Bennett, what are you going to do with the rest of your life here?"

"What…what do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

"Well Damon is finding himself, how about you start to find yourself", Sheila replied.

"But Grams, I'm fine".

"Of course you are, but you need to be better than fine".

"Grams, I have you. I have a life where I don't have to worry about someone killing me every five seconds. I'm happy", Bonnie smiled taking Sheila's hand.

Shelia nodded, "Ok, if you so".

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at Grams. Maybe she needed to try something new here. She had been treating this place like a temporary home, perhaps she needed to really come to terms that this was her new reality and embrace it truly.

SSSSSS

"Well I guess I should apologize for running out on you in the Mystic Grille", Giuseppe replied walking into Damon's room.

"Well I can't say I expected that", Damon chuckled humorlessly.

"You know, as much as I thought we got along like family—I never thought that you would say that you were my son".

"I never thought I would say it either".

Giuseppe sat down on the bed next to Damon and looked at him, "Since I left you in the Grille, I've tried to think…I've tried to figure out how I missed it and tried to figure out how you are just like her or even me".

"I think most people would say that I'm like you, if anything", Damon smirked.

"Who are these people?" Giuseppe furrowed his brow, "who else knows?"

Damon realized his slip, "Bonnie, that's it. She uh…knew what I was coming here for".

"And what about your mother…"

"She always let me know who my father was, I just came here to be sure and see if you were someone that I could get to know".

Giuseppe looked at Damon thoughtfully, "You have her eyes you know".

"I know", Damon said quietly.

"This is going to be different, having a son…wow…who knew?" Giuseppe shook his head, "you sure you can handle being my kid because I know nothing about being a father?"

"I think I can", Damon replied, "especially now and you are much more of a father to me now that anyone has ever been".

"I think we need to get away from here for a couple of days, just to have some time to talk. Have you ever been camping?" Giuseppe asked.

Damon's mouth dropped. Camping? He hadn't thought of anything of the such in over 100 years.

"We leave tomorrow at 5am, we need to talk about a few things", Giuseppe grinned standing up and walking over towards the door.

"Great", Damon deadpanned as Giuseppe smiled at him walking out of the room.

As much as he wanted to balk at the idea of camping, he couldn't. Camping was the one thing that Giuseppe actually did with he and Stefan when they were younger and Damon guessed, it was still his method of bonding. Either way, the truth was out there and he felt something bubbling in his stomach and it appeared to be…contentment.

SSSSSS

Moments later, Bonnie heard Giuseppe go into his room and close the door. She waited for a few moments before heading down to Damon's room. She didn't hear any furniture breaking, so she knew that whatever went on between them couldn't have been that bad.

She knocked on the door as he stood over his bed putting clothes into a duffel bag. "Wait…what are you doing?" Bonnie rushed in and stood near him and his bag, "you can't leave".

"Bonnie…"

"Look, I know that we have never been the best of friends and before we got here—most days I hated your guts, you were selfish and psycho and you hurt people…"

"Is this your speech to get me to stay?" Damon cocked his eyebrow.

"Look…we came here together and we need to stay here together", Bonnie replied forcefully.

"You really want me to stay here with you?" Damon asked crossing his arms and focusing on Bonnie.

Bonnie backed up slightly, "Well…since you're here and you're the only one besides Grams who knows everything that happened…"

"Just say it Bonnie", Damon smiled widely.

"Say what?"

"Simple…Damon, don't go, you're the only one I have here. I don't have many friends because I'm judgey and kind of a stick in the mud…so please don't go".

Bonnie stared at him for a few moments, "Do you need help packing?" she deadpanned as she picked up one of his shirts up off the bed.

Damon chuckled and removed his shirt from Bonnie's hand and he felt something weird when he touched her hand, but pushed it down, "I'm not leaving this place, per se".

"What are you doing then?"

"Giuseppe has decided that we need to bond and he wants to do it in the wilderness".

"What?"

"Camping, he wants to go camping".

Bonnie looked at Damon and then began laughing, "Seriously?"

"Yes, apparently that is one trait that carried over", Damon rolled his eyes.

"And you're going?"

"Yes…I'm going because I realize that if nothing else, I want this. I want to have Giuseppe as my father here, not looking at me with disapproving eyes but with eyes that tell me that I'm the son that he always wanted".

The sincerity in Damon's voice almost knocked Bonnie off her feet. He actually sounded like someone resembling a human being.

"Well I'm glad that you are getting the father you always wanted", Bonnie smiled at him, "so when do you leave?"

"Tomorrow".

"Hmm…good luck with that then", Bonnie replied, "I will leave you to packing".

Damon nodded as Bonnie started walking towards the door, "Hey Bonnie…", he said meeting her at the door.

"Yes and I'm not helping you pack".

"No, that's not what I was going to say. I was going to tell you…thank you", Damon replied, "thank you for being concerned about the whole…uh…Giuseppe thing".

"You're welcome", Bonnie smiled.

"Even when someone has been a complete ass to you, you can still have sympathy for them…you are something", Damon shook his head with an amused grin.

"I guess, birth defect actually", she shrugged.

"No, you are really something", Damon said as his hand found itself on top of Bonnie's hand on the doorknob.

For a moment, Bonnie felt like she was outside of herself as she and Damon stared at each other for a few moments. She saw him leaning forward and she heard a voice in her head saying no…no…no…over and over, but she was almost frozen in place as his face came closer to hers and she almost automatically closed her eyes as she felt his lips touch hers. The kiss was soft (softer than she thought it would be, if she ever thought about kissing Damon which was never) and it was sensual, but nice and…wrong.

As Bonnie felt Damon wrap his arm around her waist, her eyes automatically opened and she broke the kiss moving away from him.

"Bonnie…", Damon said.

"Don't talk to me and never touch me again", she hissed rushing out of the room and down to her own slamming the door.

Damon stood in his room somewhat shell shocked…what exactly did he just do and more importantly, why did he do it?

Present Day Mystic Falls

After leaving the restaurant, Hudson told Bonnie that he had to head to the gym and she headed home to her apartment. When she stepped inside, she removed her jacket and closed the door. She looked over at her coffee table as her talk with Hudson crept into her mind. She stood over the table and picked up a picture of Elena, Caroline and herself. It was taken the year before Elena's parents died and they looked so young and carefree. Their smiles were genuine and they had so much hope and promise in their lives. They weren't exactly perfect back then, but they were better. Bonnie looked at herself in the picture and noticed how brightly her eyes shone. She was happy then. She knew what happiness was and recently, she had realized what it was again.

Bonnie placed the picture back on the table and picked up the picture of her and Grams. All Grams ever wanted for her was to be happy. She told Bonnie over and over again not to sacrifice herself (or her happiness) for someone else's. Her Grams created an entire universe to make her happy and allow her to learn to put herself first. She thought she learned that a couple of months ago, but she since arrived back in Mystic Falls…she wasn't so sure. She fell right back into the Bonnie who helps or the Bonnie who considers everyone else before herself. Her Grams never wanted this for her again and she fell right back into her role. She felt the tears pool in her eyes. "Grams, I'm so sorry", Bonnie said as the tears fell from her eyes, "I'm disappointing you".

'Then stop' a voice said in Bonnie's head as her doorbell rang.

She turned to the door as she placed Grams' picture down, she almost believed for a moment that Grams would be standing on the other side. She wiped her eyes as she headed towards the door as the person began knocking rapidly on the door. She rushed to the door and flung it open as Damon stood on the other side.

He rushed in, "Are you alone?" he asked.

Bonnie closed the door, "Yesss".

"Ok…this is what I am going to say and you are going to listen…", he began.

"Really?"

"I broke up with Elena, I was being selfish…I ended things with her because I refused to come back here and be the same Damon in every way".

"Damon…"

"And you came back here and you are being the same Bonnie, the same exact person who sacrificed everything for everyone else…"

"Damon…"

"And I made a promise to Shelia that you would not lead the life that you did before, you are not going to sacrifice your happiness for anyone", Damon replied, "I want you and I'm done pretending that I don't".

Bonnie looked at Damon and he stood in front of her, in her apartment in this Mystic Falls, where she should hate him and everything that he did—but the problem was…the problem that she's had since she woke up in that coffin months ago that she didn't look at this Mystic Falls the same way. Her feelings weren't the same, her thoughts weren't the same and the way she felt about Damon wasn't the same. Good or bad…her feelings changed.

"You're right", Bonnie said quietly before she jumped up slightly to wrap her arms around him his neck as he held her flush against his body with one arm.

SSSSSS

"Stefan, you really don't have to call me every day, I'm fine", Elena replied as she walked up the steps at the new Gilbert house.

"Well I know that you have been upset since things ended with Damon…"

Elena chuckled, "Isn't it a little weird that you are comforting me about your brother breaking up with me?"

"What about our lives is exactly normal?" Stefan replied.

"You're right", Elena said as she took her keys out of bag. As she went to put the key in the door, she felt a prick in back and then saw a piece of metal sticking out of her chest as blood splattered on the front door, "Stefan…"

"Elena…what's wrong?" Stefan asked.

"I've been shot!" Elena cried as she immediately felt blood coming from her mouth as she dropped to the ground, "I've been shot".

SSSSSS

When their lips connected, Bonnie felt like her entire body was on fire. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he cupped her bottom and they kissed feverishly. Bonnie threw back her head giving Damon access to her neck, which he kissed, suckled and bit gently. She moaned as she felt herself getting caught up in his kisses and the fact that her body was on fire. When he slowly let her go and she felt her feet touch the floor, they stopped kissing for a moment and Bonnie found herself breathing heavily and looking into his crystal blue eyes, which were clouded over with desire. She nodded at him and he nodded back at her as he pulled her back to him and pulled her into a searing kiss. Bonnie mind shut off as Damon leaned down and pushed everything off of the coffee table, causing magazines, books, mail and picture frames to fall and break, he placed Bonnie on the table never once breaking their kiss.

As they gave into the passion that had been building for months, Damon grasped Bonnie's tank top and ripped it from her body throwing it across the room as she slipped his t-shirt over his head kissing his chest as she threw the t-shirt on the floor. She grabbed the belt on his jeans and loosened the buckle, as she worked his pants down with her own jean clad legs. He smiled at her as he bent down to slid her jeans off with such ease that she never noticed when he loosened the buttons. As they went down on the table, taking clothes off and finally joining skin to skin, Bonnie felt like for the first time in a long time that she was back in heaven as she threw her head back allowing herself to enjoy every moment of this. She missed this…she missed herself.

At that moment, Bonnie was so caught up in the passion that she had with Damon, that she never noticed her phone ringing on the floor with Caroline's face filling the screen or the shattered picture frame that contained a picture of the three best friends lying on the floor.

Well Present Day Bamon let it all go and embracing each other. Bonnie just made a decision that she will have to deal with.

We also have to deal with the fall out. Then there's The Other Mystic Falls Bamon, they have a longer road in front of them.

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