...

M. Blanche: your words made my day! Thank you so much for the encouragement. I'm a bit humbled, because frankly I'm struggling quite a bit with writing - and my writing in this story - so your kind feedback really means a lot.

I'm so happy to hear this inspires you to get back into writing! You go! And all the best of luck for finals week!

I gotta admit I haven't read any other basketballer and nurse / doctor fics, but I'd love to check them out! (Honestly, I'm taking a lot of liberties and don't really know what I'm talking about for most of the time, but as is wont to happen, this story wouldn't get out of my head any other way so I set out to write it and I am hoping to give it at least an okay ending. We shall see.

Super happy that you tried out a Bonenzo fic, too! I adore this couple, and there's beautiful stories for them out there, just sadly not as many as I would like. So I've been writing some for them, too… :)

Jade: haha, yeah. Bonnie wearing his clothes… a cliche perhaps, but I love it. :) And the backstory might be a bit convoluted, but I'm glad it works to keep you interested so far.

Phew. Sorry for the wall of text, everyone. Let's proceed.

…

"You're a lifesaver!" Bonnie hugged Caroline, accepting the bag full of clothes and toiletries. She grinned when she noticed her friend trying to peek past her into the apartment.

"Looks cozy from over here…"

"I'd let you in, but it's not my place - literally not my place. Besides, Enzo's asleep."

Caroline grinned. "Oooh, the caring doctor looking out for her patient?"

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie nudged her with her hand. "Yes, actually."

"So, how is this gonna work? You just gonna stay here until he's better? What's going on with him anyways? Yesterday I thought he was fine. He was even playing until the very end, right? So... If it's that bad shouldn't he be at the hospital?"

Bonnie tilted her head, crossing her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. "You know I can't talk about that," she evaded, raising her eyebrows apologetically. "Besides, I wanna know about your night. I'm sure you have way more to tell than me anyways. Did you and Klaus…" She trailed off as the blonde began to flush, a big grin pulling her lips up into the happiest smile. "No way!" Bonnie clicked her tongue in appreciation. She was just about to grill her friend for all the details when Caroline's phone went off.

"Please tell me that's him. He better be a gentleman and not start ghosting you after that."

Caroline made a face, then swallowed visibly, her cheeks growing even redder as she checked the caller ID. She mouthed an excited "It's him," then held the phone to her ear. "Klaus, hi," she said, shooting Bonnie a look as she stifled an excited "eeekh!"

Quite abruptly, Care's expression changed, though, and so did Bonnie's. Hopefully it wasn't bad news. The man better be decent enough not to tell her over the phone that she had been nothing but a one-night-stand. Bonnie would personally make him pay if that was the case.

"He'd like to talk to you real quick."

Bonnie's brain stuttered. "To me?!"

Flustered, she held out her hand, accepting the phone despite her confusion. She muttered a cautious "hello", then waited for him to speak.

"Ms. Bennett, I hear you are currently at Mr. St. John's abode."

Abode. She made a face. Did he always talk like that? Out loud she said, "Yes. I assume you've heard about last night?"

"Indeed I have, and I'd like to thank you for your quick intervention that prevented the worst."

"Of course. It's my job. I'd still recommend he go to a hospital, at least for a day or two, but he's rather… vehemently refusing." Bonnie turned away from Caroline a bit, excusing herself as she did. She didn't want to just blurt out Enzo's health condition, even to her best friend.

"That won't be happening, Ms. Bennett."

"Mr. Mikaelson, Klaus. He really-"

The man didn't let her finish at all, and her old annoyance with him was back as he spoke over her.

"If I make the necessary arrangements, including a noticeable bonus with your next paycheck, will you please take care of this and keep monitoring him at home?"

"This is not…" She shook her head, not believing what he was asking of her. She wasn't a damn live-in nurse!

"If you're not willing to do it, I'll have to send someone else instead. The medical department can make the arrangements. But he might be more comfortable with you…"

"Why is it that no one here seems to understand how serious this is? Is no one willing to just get him to a damn hospital?!" she shot back, beginning to grow really upset. "He should probably get oxygen treatments, get his lungs checked. And his asthma regimen needs to get reevaluated! We can't just do that from his goshdarn apartment! Plus he seems to have caught the flu that so many of the other team members are already fighting with. And I don't need to tell you that this is not good for his damn lungs!" She almost yelled those last words, fed up with it all, with Enzo's stubbornness as much as with everyone else's. What the hell was going on here? Why did everyone enable this dangerous behavior?

"I take it you're not yet familiar with Lorenzo's files, are you?"

Taken aback, she started. "I was about to request-"

"I'll have someone bring them over to you so you can familiarize yourself with them. For now, suffice it to say that he's had some unfortunate experiences that led to him developing some… issues with institutionalized medicine."

You don't say, she thought but kept it to herself, waiting for what else Klaus was going to say.

"I'd prefer for him to be back on the team asap, and I'd prefer you to be in charge of that, Bonnie. We need him. Desperately. With Damon out… I don't have to tell you how dire our situation is. Therefore I'll need an answer now. Will you handle this for us, or not?"

What kind of question was that? Her heart was beating too fast because she was so agitated. Leaning forward a bit, she tried to catch a glimpse of Enzo, who was still lying on the couch, obliviously asleep. When she saw his strangely troubled face, she felt a pang. What the hell had this guy been through? First Lily Salvatore and now some "unfortunate experiences" with hospitals?

"Ms. Bennett?"

She sighed, palming her forehead as she knew what she was going to say, even though it went against her professional opinion. "Fine," she told him, "I'll stay with him until he's better."

"Thank you. I truly appreciate it. Now could you please put Caroline back on."

It hadn't been a request so much as a demand, and Bonnie mouthed a silent "fuck you" at the phone before returning it to Care, making her friend apologize. When the blonde took the phone she held up a finger and asked Bonnie quietly to please wait.

Which of course she did. Because clearly that's what she did these days. Cater to other people's needs. To everyone's but her own. And babysit giant basketball players.

…

Caroline was still pacing the hallway before Enzo's apartment, Bonnie gnawing on her fingers as she watched her friend, when Enzo's voice behind her made her whirl around.

"You should take her out for a tea or something… Here…"

He handed her a wad of cash and she glared at him, feeling insulted.

"What is that?" she asked gruffly, jerking her chin in the direction of his outstretched hand as she crossed her arms in a defensive stance.

"We call it money. Cash. Bills. Dollars…"

"I mean why the hell are you giving me that? Am I your nanny now? Is this my daily allowance or something? Do I get an hour off before I have to resume work? That it? Because I am not a freaking babysitter. I'm a doctor, for fuck's sake, and I can pay for my own damn coffee - because that's my drink of choice at this early hour, not a lame-ass tea!"

His flustered look, the half smirk bowing his lips slightly upward almost made him look cute, and Bonnie cursed herself inwardly for even thinking that way. The man was damn ignorant and his gesture, while she didn't doubt it had been meant well, felt like an affront.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, a frown creasing his brow, and as she deflated at the genuine tone of regret in his voice, she finally noticed how pale he was. Touching his forehead, she made a face. He was burning up.

"You should probably lie back down."

"And you should go home, Bonnie." He shook his head, giving her a weary look. "You should go home, or back to work. You've been here too long already."

She scoffed. "I tend to agree. But unfortunately my opinion doesn't seem to count much around here. Even the mighty team owner himself made it pretty clear that he wants me to stay here until you're better."

He turned his gaze toward the ceiling briefly, clenching his teeth in a clear show of annoyance that Bonnie could only share.

"I'll talk to him," he gritted out when his focus returned to her, his eyes boring into her in a way that made her feel a tingle. An uncomfortable tingle. Like she didn't know what to expect of him. Yeah, that was it...

Sighing, she shook her head. She was still so tired, too tired for needless fights. "You know what?" she told him. "It's fine. I'll…"

"I'm not a child. I can take care of myself. And you're right. You have a job-" An awful cough cut him short, and he clutched the doorframe to steady himself as he clearly fought with some serious pain. Bonnie's face scrunched up in involuntary sympathy, and she moved over to him, barely catching herself before she would have touched him.

Instead, she waited patiently until his attack was over and he stood up straighter again, making a face.

"You have a job that you need to get back to," he continued as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, and that job is currently you," it escaped her and she grimaced when he scoffed at her with that half-smirk playing across his features again.

"I'm… not your job. And if I have to remind Nik of that, I will. Don't worry, he won't give you trouble, I can be very persuasive-"

"I don't doubt that."

"I beg your pardon?"

Gulping, she grinned at him sheepishly, trying to figure out whether he asked because he hadn't heard her, or because he had.

"Nothing. Nothing, it's… " She exhaled, her grin transforming into a smile when he looked at her a little lost, then winced as he made a wrong move.

Instantly, she took another step toward him, stretching out her hand. "Can I…," she asked, indicating his shirt and he looked down on her from his ridiculous height with a wary expression but then nodded, lifting his shirt for her.

"Ouch," she made, grimacing on his behalf as she saw the dark meandering band of bruising on his side, trying to ignore his damn abs as she softly traced the bruises with her fingers, careful not to aggravate the injury. "We should ice this. Can't believe you didn't break your ribs. This looks painful…"

"It is," he allowed, then hissed as they both startled at hearing Caroline clear her throat by the entrance. Quickly, Bonnie pulled her hand away, half stumbling against him as she tried to turn toward the door. Clenching his teeth to stifle a wince, he closed his eyes briefly, Bonnie looking up at him with worry.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry, love. I've had worse." He smirked at her, but she felt awful anyways and suddenly ready to flop down somewhere and cry. She was truly starting to think she had been cursed, people around her seemed to get hurt a lot lately, and nothing went as it should. She couldn't even manage to move anymore without hurting people.

"I'm sorry," Caroline said, jolting Bonnie out of her thoughts. Her friend was grinning in a way that made Bonnie glare at her as she quickly fussed over Enzo's shirt, until he firmly but gently grabbed her hand and made her stop, shooting her a pointed stare.

"Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed, feeling that tingle again. Then she turned to face Caroline.

"This a bad time?"

"What!? No! We're… we… I just told Enzo, I'd…" His hand with the money came up beside her as if he had read her mind, and she continued, "... take you out for a quick coffee as a thank you for this." She pointed at the bag with her things that was still sitting beside the door, and Caroline grinned at her knowingly.

"Uh huh," she made, biting her lip and Bonnie shot her a pleading look that made Caroline's grin widen even more.

"So, let's go; pleeease?"

She shot Enzo a look, trying to grin and his answering smile unsettled her strangely.

"We'll talk about this after I get back," she informed him with a stern voice, pulling herself together, already knowing she'd accept the out he had given her. It wasn't good for either of them if she stayed much longer. And maybe if she didn't, if he hated her replacement enough, he'd finally agree to go to the hospital...

…

It wasn't too difficult to find Enzo's apartment. Lily had spent enough hours alone at Damon's place to have ample time to snoop, and she had quickly found some correspondence leading her in the right direction. A phone call later, and here she was, waiting in the black Uber, her phone pressed to her chin absently as she looked up at the tall apartment building. It looked rather nondescript, which seemed to fit his style. He liked to blend in and not stick out too much.

At least that's who he had turned into.

She took a deep breath, coughing hard on the exhale, an attack coming that made her wish she had oxygen on her.

"You okay, Ma'am?"

"Yes. Thank you. I believe this is my destination. Thank you for the ride."

With that, she got out, closing the door softly behind her. As the car drove off, she steeled herself, a shiver of anticipation running down her spine. Finally she'd be able to talk to him. He wouldn't just run away this time. She had probably just gotten him on the wrong foot. He didn't like his life to be on display - just like her - so that's probably why he had pushed her away…

Coughing a few more times into a tissue, she grimaced at the droplets of blood staining the white fabric, discreetly putting it away before taking the first step toward the looming building.

Just then she saw two people coming out of there, complete opposites, and she loved the peacefulness about these two, how they giggled, walking arm in arm… Until her mood darkened as recognition set in. Hadn't she seen one of these two with Enzo after the game?

What was she doing here?

Swallowing, Lily forced herself to stay calm, remind herself to be kind. If Lorenzo had a girlfriend these days, she'd have to accept that. Because she was going to be gone in just a few months and maybe she should be happy he wasn't going to be alone after her death. Right?

But it wasn't easy. He was still hers, would always be hers…

Maybe he could come with her, could be with her until the end, and beyond. They did have a bond, after all, a strong one, and nothing and no one could come between that.

…

He felt like rubbish. Utter rubbish. As if yesterday hadn't been bad enough already, he was now also coming down with that damn flu, and messaging his teammate Lincoln real quick to thank him for that, he then decided it was best he used the hour or so before Bonnie got back to maybe try and get a short workout in, then shower and…

Trudging toward his gym room, he scoffed to himself as he realized that that wasn't happening. The shower, sure, but a workout? Yeah, no… Who was he kidding.

His phone beeped, and expecting it to be Linc, he checked the message real quick.

~ You stole my BonBon away. You better treat her well. And I want her back ASAP, so you better work on that nonexistent health of yours. ~

Damon. Of course. Enzo shook his head, not bothering with a reply. He had barely made it to the bathroom, when his phone beeped again, and again. Rolling his eyes, he shot a glance at the damn thing.

~ You're okay, right? ~

~ Talked to the leader of the pack himself. He wanted to know why you're not at my place. Gave him the short version ~

~ She's gone, btw. Threw her out ~

~ If we're lucky Klaus is finally gonna send some of his wolves out to take care of her ~

~ Be nice to Bon! I really need her back. Luke is... not a good replacement ~

~ Come on, Enzo. Sign of life needed ~

With a weary sigh, he typed a quick message in, hoping Damon would be satisfied.

~ You'll get her back today, don't worry. I don't need her

Enzo ran a hand over his face, grimacing as even just lifting his damn arm made pain shoot into his side. Screw all that. Screw her, screw Nik, screw his bloody body for making this even harder than it needed to be.

And screw the damn doctor that was beginning to mess with his head. Tossing his phone on the bed, he began taking off his clothes, then went into the bathroom to take that shower.

He allowed himself to spend a decent amount of time just letting the warm water run over him, soothing the pains and aches and helping him breathe a little easier. Then he reluctantly turned it off and stepped out to towel himself dry and put some clean clothes on. Just some sweatpants and a t-shirt this time, something a little more comfortable and a lot less stylish. No one would be seeing him today anyways.

Well. Except for Bonnie Bennett of course.

But she didn't count. Besides, she had already seen him much worse.

She seemed to be popping up in his head an awful lot lately. Since he had had to save her… and she him. He closed his eyes, letting that thought sink in for a moment. If she hadn't been there last night… He wasn't sure he'd be here now.

The loud click of his front door startled him, and he sighed, rubbing his temples to try and alleviate the awful headache that had been building there for a while.

She was already back then. Time to say his goodbyes and go to bed. All he wanted was to just lie down and sleep this shit off anyways.

"Lorenzo?"

He froze, swallowing around an instant lump in his throat. No, he thought, clenching his fists subconsciously. It couldn't be. She couldn't be here. Not at this place. Not in his own bloody apartment.

Fighting the urge to just hide out behind the locked door of his bedroom, he took as deep of a breath as he could, then stepped out into the hallway, head raised defiantly, rising anger coursing through his body like electricity.

"I'm sorry for barging in like this. The door was open?"

"It wasn't," he noted, his tone cold as he saw her coming into view. Her face, still beautiful, broke into a smile, and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing as he realized he was beginning to take in air in too short bursts again.

Fuck that bloody woman for messing with him, still. Fuck his body for allowing it. Bloody hell!

He looked up, staring at her darkly, grabbing her wrist hard as she had the audacity to touch him again.

"Get out of my house."

"Please. Lorenzo, can we talk about this like civilized people?"

He scoffed, averting his gaze as she kept looking at him with that helpless pleading expression. Her arm was still in his grip, and he let go, shoving her away as he did. She stumbled a bit, looking at him as if he had stung her.

"He's gotten to you, hasn't he? Damon? With his lies and distorted version of what our relationship was like?"

"Get out, Lily. Before I fucking kill you."

Her act fell away as she stood up straighter, still rubbing her wrist. A weird grin appeared on her face, making his skin crawl.

"You know I could have destroyed you, don't you? I still can…"

His eyes flickered, but his brain was sluggish, paralyzed, and he couldn't come up with anything to say. All he did was grin at her with disbelief.

"Please, Lorenzo. I love you, I always have. I never forgot the time we had together."

Neither had he. Clenching his jaw until it hurt, he kept staring at her, unable to move, unable to do anything. As if she had compelled him somehow, had turned him into a shadow of himself. He was that 15 year old boy again, not the 6'10 man he now was. And why couldn't he snap out of it?

His lungs weren't filling with enough oxygen… His fingers twitched as he thought to take out his inhaler, remembering that it was still with his old clothes on the bedroom floor. Great.

Her hands came up to fist his shirt as she looked up at him, that fragile pleading look back on her face.

"You know what we had was special, don't you? Pure… You needed comfort, I needed comfort. We were good for each other. We still are."

No. Snapping out of it finally, he backed away hard, shoving her off of him, bringing distance between her and him.

"You," he hissed, "were never good. For anyone. You bloody used me when I would have needed a mother. Someone to be there for me. Not someone to fuck me."

"You wanted it, too!" she yelled now and he felt so… uncertain about everything, so confused. Just like he had back then. She wasn't completely wrong. Maybe it had been his fault. But.

"Maybe at first," he muttered, his face betraying him as he fought to stay afloat. He shook his head, the pain too real yet again. "But then…"

"Oh, please." She stared hard at him. "That's Damon talking, isn't it? Tell me you didn't buy that 'rape' story of his. It was sex between two consenting…" She trailed off as the front door abruptly flew open, and a shocked looking Bonnie stepped inside, her gaze flickering from Enzo to Lily. He opened his mouth slightly, trying to say something, anything, but he couldn't. So he kept staring at her like an idiot, like a complete idiot as she walked toward him and Lily.

"Adults?" Bonnie suggested, picking Lily's sentence up where she had left it, her gaze locked on Lily's now. While Enzo just stood frozen to the spot, she swiftly slipped in between the space between him and Lily, her back pressing against his chest as she faced the older woman.

"Yeah," Bonnie said, "Didn't think so. You were the only adult."

Lily remained quiet. She didn't continue to defend her behavior, just kept staring at Bonnie, then Enzo behind her for a long strange moment, until he finally found his voice again and said, "I need you to go now."

...

The soft chuckle Lily gave was rather out of place, Bonnie found, but she was glad that at least Enzo had unfrozen and was back getting back to his old self. As far as she could tell...

"What is this?" Lily asked, waving her hands to indicate Bonnie, and maybe Enzo behind her. "Is this the kind of girl you're going for these days? What does she have to offer you? Is it the-"

Bonnie barely had time to yell out a "Hey" while she tried to find better words, when Enzo suddenly blurred past her at almost inhuman speed, a movement she had seen only on the basketball court before, and he put Lily's head in a lock with both of his hands.

'I said. Go," he hissed out, his tone positively frightening now, and it seemed to affect Lily, too. Damon's mother clutched his wrists, her expression pained as she spoke.

"Lorenzo, you're hurting me."

Bonnie had cautiously stepped beside him, looking at him imploringly, her heart beating so hard she could feel it in her throat.

"Enzo," she whispered, trying to calculate how safe it would be for her to tug at his arm as she saw the way he curled his lips into a snarl, putting more pressure on the woman before him.

"Go! Don't come back."

"I love you!" Lily whined, "I'm not-"

"GO!"

Lily was gasping, starting to cough, her lips staining red, and finally Enzo let go of her, shoving her away and to the ground as he did before he stormed off.

Bonnie took a shuddering breath, looking after him for a moment. Then she turned toward Damon's mother, shaking her head at the older woman.

"I'm a doctor," she made herself say, "let me take a look." She kneeled down, but when she moved to help her, Lily slapped her hands away, glaring at her angrily.

"I'm dying. You can't help me anymore."

Raising an eyebrow, Bonnie stood up again. "Fine. That's probably for the best anyways." She folded her arms, staring down at Lily. "You gonna get up anytime soon? Because I'm pretty sure Enzo doesn't want you here."

"Stay out of it."

"Yeah, no. I can't, actually. You see, Enzo is my… my friend, and I'd like to honor his wishes. So, I'll make sure you leave his apartment. Oh and… I'm immune to your charms. If you don't leave within the next minute, I'll call the police." Bonnie lifted her phone, ready to dial, and she could see it work behind Lily's now stony facade before the woman finally got to her feet again, smoothing her clothes.

"This is not over. Enzo doesn't care about little girls like you-"

"You don't know what he cares about," Bonnie said through clenched teeth, her hands curling into fists. "He cares about you being gone. So get the hell out of here!"

Briefly Bonnie was envisioning her opponent to come racing toward her, ready to fight, but then Lily nodded her head, scoffing, and turned on her heels, walking out.

Bonnie didn't trust the peace, but when Lily had finally walked out, and she could shut the door with a bang, she allowed herself to fall against it and take a deep breath.

That woman was something else. Bonnie was reeling from what she had overheard after getting back from her little date with Care. She had been able to hear them talk well before she had gotten to the door, and what he had heard, had made her stomach turn. Rape… Lily and Enzo, the whole thing was bad. Very bad.

Gasping at the thought of him, she pushed herself off, then jogged toward where he had stormed off to. His bedroom.

She found him sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, leaning forward. He was breathing too fast, looking up at her with a grumpy expression that was sort of endearing.

"Killed the witch?" he asked, and she shrugged, smiling at him as she walked closer until she had reached him.

"Eh. She doesn't need us to help with that. At least she left."

Pressing his lips together, he nodded, and looking at him, Bonnie noticed he was clutching the inhaler in one hand, his other still a fist. She couldn't quite explain why, but following a sudden instinct, she sat down beside him, their legs almost touching, and she laid her hand over his.

"She left," she repeated, "she's gone. You may need a better lock though…"

He chuckled, smiling at her sideways, and she couldn't help but smile back. She wasn't sure what this was, but somehow, within the last 24 hours, this annoying man had managed to make her… care.

Swallowing, she stared at her own hand in his, watching half mesmerized as he opened his fist, their hands intertwining. When she looked at him next, his gaze was on her, so much pain in his eyes, but also something else.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her throat too dry, and he made a face, shaking his head, mouthing a "No" and her heart broke for him as his face scrunched up and he fought tears.

"Enzo…" He tried pulling away, and maybe she should have let him, especially after what she had learned about Lily just minutes before, but then she moved without thinking, and put a hand on the side of his neck. Squeezing his hand that she was still holding, she made him look at her. "You know none of that was your fault, right?"

He threw his head back, grinning a sad grin. "You don't know that, Bonnie Bennett. You weren't there…"

"I am here now."

A soft scoff escaped him as he shook his head, her hand feeling the beat of his pulse. Too fast. Like her own…

There was something between them, she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, then he abruptly leaned forward to kiss her and… she reciprocated. Her lips feeling his, her tongue…

No. Gently but firmly, she pushed him away, shaking her head, but smiling. It had felt way too good and way too right for some reason, but she knew that now was not the time. Not for this. Not when he was still so hurt, and confused. The look he gave her now, so lost before he averted his gaze, made her feel a pang of regret, but she made him look at her, cupping his cheek lightly.

"Enzo," she muttered, "listen to me. I'm here for you, okay? If you want me to, if you'll let me, I am here. But not like that." She smiled at him, watched him swallow. "Okay?"

He nodded, looking down, and she realized he was still holding one of her hands, holding it in a too tight grip, but she wasn't going to complain. Then she added, and she didn't even quite know where it was coming from, "Not yet."

.

They sat like that for a while, and although maybe Bonnie should have started to feel uncomfortable eventually, maybe when the silence kept stretching on and he was still clutching her hand, she never did. It simply felt… right.

She listened to his labored breaths, then, at some point, he shuddered, his face scrunching up a bit as he seemed to be fighting to stay in control. And when she saw him struggle, saw him failing, heard a soft wheeze return, she threw caution to the wind and just pulled him toward her, something that should maybe not have been as easy as it was, but there was no fight left in him, not for this. He just sank against her, his free hand fisting her shirt as she held him, calmly, quietly breathing with him, reminding him how it was done.

"In through the nose, out through the mouth," she said, breathing with him just like before. "She's gone, Enzo. She's gone. You're okay. I'm here…"

And she wasn't going anywhere. That option to leave he had given her? It was off the table, at least as far as she was concerned.