A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews; it's TRULY sustenance for a writer! With some nervousness, I give you Chapter 7.

This is an unbeta'd fic; all mistakes are mine.

For RockerChick08.


7.

I can see Bonnie and Elena sitting on a couch through Sheila's doorway once Damon and I arrive that evening. The barrier stops my forward progress to get to Bonnie. Thank goodness for it, it brings me back to some semblance of reason, because my primary directive is to go to her and touch her…everywhere, and in anyway she'd allow.

"Come in Brothers Salvatore," Sheila says in a solemn tone. I nod to acknowledge the seriousness of her invitation and pass through the threshold's barrier, this time unimpeded. Sheila moves in front of her doorway before letting Damon through, halting his progress.

"Do not make me regret my invitation, Damon."

Unaccustomedly respectful, he answers, "Yes, ma'am. I'd much prefer to remain on your good side, Sheila."

She smiles sweetly at him, reaching up a hand to pat his cheek. "Dear boy. I don't have a good side." She moves aside to usher him in.

He has the audacity to wink at her as he passes through her door.

We take seats in the conversation area with the girls, exchanging greetings all around. I notice that Bonnie has clutched Elena's hand in a near death-grip. Was it fear of Damon? Fear of what her Grams would reveal? Or, was it in an attempt to keep from latching herself onto me as that directive for us to make a connection, which had grown nearly unbearable? I clench my hands together to keep from reaching out to her in our mutual need.

Sheila starts speaking to the purpose of our visit. "Now that we're all here, I think it's time for a few hard truths and revelations. I want your promises to hear what I have to say and agree not to leave until we've come to some agreement about your plans."

We all gravely give our word, but I'm thinking Elena was the only one of our group to unaware of what giving one's vow to a witch meant.

"Grams," Elena asks in confusion, "What's going on?"

Sheila looks at Damon. "Damon here has inadvertently set unforeseen things into motion that he didn't anticipate. All for love of Katherine. Although his quest was primarily a selfishly noble exercise, his detours and methods have drawn attention to this town. There are now other vampires here, as Sheriff Forbes revealed to him yesterday."

Damon gives her his speculative stare, while the others in our group take in that information.

Continuing, she says, "These others want that tomb opened as badly as you used to want it opened. They need a powerful witch to do it. But here's something you don't know, Damon. Katherine's not in the tomb; she never was."

There were curses and exclamations all around, but my brother was the first to actually form coherent thought.

Damon's jaw clenches as he sits forward in the wingback chair. "How do you know this and why should I take your word for it?"

Sheila spears him with a look. "You don't have to take me at my word. As soon as preparations are made, we'll go get that tomb opened so that you can go root around in it. You just needed to know, so that you can begin to move on to other matters which require your attention."

He all but hisses at her, "What OTHER matters?"

That feisty woman gave as good as she got. "The fact that you've bound yourself to my grandchild, a witch whose line you swore to protect and in an effort to save her, your brother had to pick up your slack and save her life, which added him to the bond."

"You know about the bond, too?" Damon asks.

Her cocked head and raised brows did more to convey to him than any spoken words ever would.

Elena speaks up. "What's this bond you two are talking about? What does it do?" She loyally clutches her friend tighter.

Sheila cants her head towards her, reaching for one of her hands. "Baby girl, that's where you come in. This is a metaphysical thing. It doesn't care about love or alliances, it just IS. You're going to have to throw out every preconceived notion you've had of a picket fences, marriage and babies."

"Well, considering I'm seeing a vampire and my best friend's a witch and I've encountered more death and weird stuff than a person should in a normal life, I think I can take it." She said gamely. THIS was the reason I loved her so much; that near-unflinching ability to roll with whatever came her way and make the best out of her situation. "Just don't tell me that I have to stop seeing Stefan. I can take just about anything but that."

"You don't have to stop seeing each other…you just need to open your heart and let another person or two within the bubble of your relationship."

Elena's eyes widen. "Excuse me?"

"Elena. The nature of this bond requires that you either share him with Damon and Bonnie, or you need to step aside."

Elena's mouth works open and closed, but no words form. Damon has no such compunction, nor filter.

He moans dramatically. "And once again, I'm tied to Stefan for the rest of my existence, plus one witch."

Bonnie, whose looking on horrified, finally gathers enough steam to speak. "And who do we have to thank for that, Damon?" She turned stricken eyes to her friend. "Elena, I'm so sorry…I didn't know."

"Of course, you didn't, Bonnie." She comforts her with a soothing pat. Her heart wasn't in the comforting gesture. I could see the wheels turning in her head. When Elena sets down to thinking, the world needs to watch out.

"Yet that still hasn't stopped her from making out with your boyfriend on her front porch." Damon reveals.

At times, my brother could be a callous ass-hat.

Elena frowns at Damon, and then looks from me to Bonnie. "You-, is this true? Is this the nature of the bond? Because the Stefan and Bonnie I know would never, not under any normal circumstances."

I spread my hands as I answer her. "Yes, it's the bond. I'm sorry, Elena. No one wants you hurt."

She sits stupefied, as Sheila tried to smooth over that latest reveal. "Damon knew what he was doing when he latched himself onto a witch, he just didn't expect Stefan to step in and try to save Bonnie's life. Damon would've created a bond, solely between himself and Bonnie."

Both girls ask, "Why?"

Damon directs his gaze to the girls, eyes sweeping over them almost possessively. "To have someone of my own for once. To enhance her powers. But, once again, Saint Stefan not only saves the day, he gets yet another girl added to his bevy of women," Damon's words were a bitter pill for me to swallow.

I look at my brother. For the first time, I am seeing his immeasurable hurt that I've unintentionally caused him. I couldn't help that Katherine wanted me, too. I couldn't help my reaction to Elena and now I'm having a devil of a time keeping my hands off her best friend. His eyes become alert and he sits further forward, watching Bonnie closely. He looks like he wants to toss her on the nearest horizontal surface and…

Bonnie begins to shake, as tears course down her face. Elena turns to her. "Bonnie, what is it?" Bonnie doesn't acknowledge her question. She is caught up in the throes of her own misery. She too, looks at Damon with heated eyes. Elena all but screams, "Grams, help her!"

Sheila rises and starts to rifle through herb bags on a nearby hutch. "I can't do anything permanent. It's up to these boys. They are bonded to her and can see to her comfort. Right now she's fighting to not touch them, which is what she needs to find her equilibrium; at least until she voluntarily completes the link in the bond."

Elena takes Bonnie's face into her hands, to plead with her. "Bonnie, if you're in any kind of pain, then you need to do whatever it is you need to do, alright? Don't worry about me! I know this isn't your fault. Whatever it is, we'll be okay!"

Bonnie looks like nauseous, as she acknowledges Elena. She moans, "I'm sorry, Elena." Extricating herself from her friend's hold, she lurches up onto unsteady legs. I rise to meet her, fully expecting to take her into my arms. Looking at me forlornly, she unexpectedly flings herself towards Damon's waiting embrace.

Well…shit!


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