"Abner?" Bonnie crinkled her nose is distaste "Are you demented?"
"What's wrong with the name Abner? It was very popular when I was growing up."
"Damon you grew up in the mid 1800's."
" There were a lot of good things about the 1800's. Those were the good ole days, "he said full of nostalgia.
"Yeah, the good ole days on the plantation, I don't know what slaves were thinking, nobody had it better than them." Bonnie said sarcastically rolling her eyes.
They'd recently found out the baby was a boy, so their weekends were spent decorating the nursery and getting Bonnie settled into her new home. Her grams left her the house and Bonnie felt like she should be living on her own when the baby came. Damon spent most days making upgrades and baby proofing the place.
" Well we couldn't all be happy Bonnie," ducking from the carrot she threw at his head.
She was making dinner for the gang while Damon annoyed her with obnoxious baby names. Things were good, really good. Bonnie was still seeing a therapist once a week now and Damon was there supporting he, they were friends, true friends. He was driving Bonnie crazy with books, names and her eating habits, "No caffeine Bon, it will make the baby emo like Jerm."
" I think Abner Salvatore has a nice ring to it."
"Damon," she warned with a grin, "what about Bennett?" she asked.
"Bennett? So he is going to be a douchebag? You have decided that we are going to just raise him a douche bag. Popped collars and Speary's going to daycare, is that it?"
"I can't talk to you. " she announced shaking her head laughing out loud. "Caroline suggested Leonardo."
Damon threw his hands in the air and plopped down on the couch. "G-M-A-F-B, why? Because Titanic is her favorite movie? Rose was a bitch! If she had stayed her fat ass in the life raft, Jack would still be alive instead of a popsicle?"
"It was romantic."
"Pftt, romance is over rated, if I were a woman…"
His cell phone went off stopping his rant, "What's up?"
" I found something."
" I gotta go, business." He said to Bonnie, kissing her belly as he left. It was something he had started doing, Bonnie thought it was sweet.
"Dinner will be served at 7 pm with or without you."
He grabbed his signature leather jacket and headed home to meet Stefan. He had been spooked by a dream he had a few nights ago. Sheila and Emily Bennett had come to and warned him Bonnie and the baby were not safe, that something dark was coming for them. That he needed to protect them. He had spent every waking hour with Bonnie, without alerting her of the danger. She once asked him if he ever wondered what happened to Shane and he casually replied, in the negative. She stared at him waiting for more, but he offered nothing. She figured Shane was dead, Damon didn't leave lose ends. Walking through the door he was surprised to see Abby Bennett sitting on the couch. He had not seen her since she helped them with the spell to kill Shane.
"Okay, what'd you find out?"
"Abby had the same dream as you."Stefan said, causing Damon to go cold.
"What does it mean?, he asked Abby.
" I contacted Mattie, she said Shane was into some shit that she wasn't even aware of, bad shit. He may try to harm Bonnie or the baby."
"Shane is dead. I ripped his heart out remember, Stefan buried him."
"I know that Damon, but this magic is stronger than that she said he was using something strong enough to punch a hole in this world."
"Why can't we ever catch a break, this fucker better be dead." He said through clenched teeth.
"We have to be sure Damon." She said.
The three of them drove to the spot Stefan buried the body. They stood over the spot in silence. There was no body and the hole had been dug open. Shining a light into the hole they could see broken off fingernails and claw prints in the hole. There was some sort of black goo all over the ground. Damon stared into the hole in horror. " He dug his way out of hole, how the fuck did he do that? I've got to get to Bonnie."
Bonnie opened the door to find Damon standing on the porch. "Why are you knocking? Come in."
She turned her back to him and wobbled back into the kitchen.
" I am surprised you are back so early. No one else has arrived yet." She said heading back into the kitchen to finish dinner. She was chopping vegetables for a salad on the kitchen island.
' I love veggies, you do to huh baby?" She said plopping a cucumber into her mouth.
She looked up to find Damon slowly making his way to her. " Are you okay? You're walking funny." She asked concerned.
"I'm fine, so alive."
She continued with her task, " So you are dead set on naming the baby Abner?"
He had made his way to the island and stood very close to Bonnie, to close. "Damon, what's wrong with you, I am trying to finish this up." He grabbed her face and tried to kiss her on the lips.
She shoved him gently, "Damon, what the hell is wrong with you." She said confused.
She turned around and nervously began to wash the lettuce. They were not a couple, Damon had never even hinted at something more and Bonnie was not ready for it.
She cleared her throat and said, "So Abner…"
"I was thinking we could name the baby after his father, " he said, his voice scratchy.
"You want to name the baby Damon Jr?" She asked not turning around.
"I want to name the baby Atticus, after his father."
Bonnie closed her eyes, turning slowly and waving her hand she spoke, "reveal your self."
Covered in dirt and filth, Atticus Shane stood in her kitchen. His eyes were pitch black no white at all and there was jet black goo leaking from every orifice of his body. His eyes, his ears, and in the center of his chest was a black hole that she could see straight through, everytime his heart beat, black liquid squirted out.
" Hello Bonnie," he said the black liquid leaking from his mouth.
Her cell phone rang, he grabbed it and threw it across the room shattering it. Bonnie picked up a knife and threatened, "stay away from me."
He lunged towards her and before Bonnie could react he slammed her head into the cabinet disorienting her.
She shook her head to clear it while Shane hauled her body on top of the kitchen island, face up. He climbed on top of her body, sliding his hands over her breast molesting her. Bonnie opened her eyes and almost panicked he was on top of her touching her, he lowered face to kiss her. She saw into the blackness of his mouth into his soulless eyes on top of her and she knew she had to stop him. This time she was going to stop him! She lifted her arms and Shane flew off of her onto the ceiling above. His head and body slammed and she heard the crack, before she could move out of the way, his unconscious body slammed back onto her and pain shot through her belly, falling onto the hardwood floors. They both landed hard on the floor, Bonnie directly on her stomach. Trying to stand she felt a slight pull between her legs so instead she crawled into a sitting position. She noticed in his hand he was holding onto something, a talisman. She tried to stand again but a breath taking pain shot through her abdomen, she slid back down on the floor unable to move. She looked down and noticed blood on her green dress and lifting up the dress saw blood covered her thighs. She felt another sharp pain and more blood gushed out of her body. Another pain, more blood.
She didn't know how long she sat there before they found her. She felt Damon lift her from the floor and in a panicked voice say her name. She was aware of Caroline and Elena's soothing voices, telling her it was okay, but mostly she was aware of the blood. She held her abdomen and sobbed, " the baby, the baby." Damon yelled for Abby to drive faster from the back seat .
"The baby is gone Bonnie." Dr. Janowitz told Bonnie, " I'm so sorry."
Damon sat next to the bed holding Bonnie's hand. There was nothing to be done.
" You will have to deliver it, you have lost to much blood for us to sedate you."
"When?" Bonnie asked through tears.
"As soon as possible to avoid infection."
/
"Push Bonnie," the doctor said.
Damon supported her body, held Bonnie's hand and braced her as she pushed through another contraction.
"Once more."
She took a breathe and pushed again.
The baby slipped out and Damon watched as the doctor cut the cord. The room was dead silent. Damon had imagined this moment many times, never had he imagined silence. Bonnie closed her eyes tightly turning away from the scene. She didn't want to see the baby. Damon held her as she sobbed, never shedding a tear.
When he went back to the waiting room, everyone knew the baby was gone. All offered condolences and he grudgingly accepted. Elena hugged him and asked could they see Bonnie. "After her mom and dad." he said.
Later that evening Stefan accompanied Damon down to the morgue to take ownership of the body.
The tiny baby boy was laid out on a slab wrapped in a blanket. His son. Damon tried his best to hold it together and he did a pretty good job until some hospital worker asked him if he wanted to give the baby a name. Damon exhaled slowly and whispered "Abner, Abner Bennett Salvatore." He picked the baby up and held him, gently kissing his tiny forehead. He looked at Stefan and with the most pitfull voice imaginable said," I want him to be held once by someone who loves him." Finally the flood gates broke. Stefan held him in his arms while he cried like a little boy.
A day later he headed to see Bonnie with flowers but stopped short seeing Abby and Owen Bennett on either side of the bed, while Bonnie slept. Abby was the first to see him and motioned for him to join her in the hallway.
"Did you do what I told you?" she asked.
"Yeah, one burned to a crisp professor and one destroyed talisman. That is the end of it then. Now Bonnie can put all of this behind her and get on with her life."
Abby dipped her head and stared at Bonnie. " She can't ever have another baby Damon."
"What did you say?"
" Meredith says that there was damage and " she choked out, "because of it Bonnie will never be able to have a child of her own."
He stared at Bonnie through the window. "Does she know?"
" We told her this morning."
He threw the flowers in the trash.
/
The memorial service was 3 days later, it rained all day, he held the umbrella over his and Bonnie's heads at the gravesite. She squeezed his hand when she saw the headstone.
"Abner Bennett Salvatore. It fits." She whispered to him through her tears.
They drove home from the service in silence, she would stay with him that night, neither wanted to be alone.
They trudged up the stairs together after their friends and loved ones left.
Damon opened the door to his bedroom and watched as Bonnie kicked off her shoes, pulled down the covers and climbed in. He made a fire, while Bonnie watched and then
climbed into the bed with her. She immediately scooted over where his open arms were waiting to hold her. They watched the fire burn in silence for a long while before Bonnie broke the silence.
" I am going back to Whitmore for the summer semester."
"That's good Bon, you don't want to wait until fall?"
"No, the sooner the better."
His chin was resting on top of her head, her arms wrapped around his waste.
"Did you see him?" she asked.
"I did, I held him too."
"What was it like to hold him?"
A tear slid down his face. " It was the best moment of my life."
"I wish I could have been there with you," she whispered.
"You were."
"What did he look like?"
"You, he was all you, very judgy."
She smiled turning her face into his chest.
"Do you think he will be okay?"
" I know he will, he has your Gram, Emily and all the other Bennetts to watch over him. Just like they watch over you."
"I'm sorry Damon, I know how much you wanted this."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, it was just something that was not meant to be." he said through his pain.
" I guess," she said quietly," like me being a mother, I never knew how badly I wanted it until I knew I couldn't have it."
"I have something for you."
He opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a bible. Bonnie sat up on the pillows wiping her nose and face. To say she was shocked to see Damon with a bible was an understatement.
He opened the Bible and on the inside were two neatly tied light blue bows inside the bows were two lockes of light brown hair.
He handed one of the lockes to Bonnie, she stared at it for a moment before balling it up her hand placing her hands over her heart, closing her eyes and quietly beginning to cry again.
"I'll never forget him never. Come rain or shine I will always remember the gift you gave me Bonnie."
Damon put the bible back on the stand and held her as she slept, all night long, thinking if only, if only, if only.