PART 11

Thursday, November 11th, 1993.

One week. An entire week had gone by, and Bonnie was left all by herself. That night seven days earlier, when she'd stood on the balcony and called Damon's name, had been the last time. Of course, she had no other way to contact him; but, it seemed she had given up even trying the old fashion way.

It would be a lie however, to say that Bonnie did not look for Damon. She had spent several hours looking for even, even doing a locator spell to try and track him down. Anger and frustration were just two emotions that she felt – but by the morning of day seven, worried had been added, elevated, and now stood number one on the list.


7 Days Earlier

Bonnie had spent the last hours wandering around the nearby streets in Paris looking for Damon. Her ankles and feet were sore, and her head was aching from the emotions that were still surging through her. She stood on the balcony, surrounded by several candles, but the locator spell she was doing just wasn't getting her anywhere.

Bonnie was fairly certain of where Damon was – the island. Where else could he have gone? She knew he planned to leave because of his words to her; however, deep inside she was hoping he would return in the middle of the night that evening and tell her he just left to feed on some tourists. At this point, she wouldn't even be angry with him. Feeding was something he needed to do...and feeding wasn't going to possibly get him killed, or lost.

Not unless there was a vampire hunter in Paris.

"Seriously, Damon?" she whispered as she stood up from a chair, and blew all of the candles on the table out.

As though being upset was going to bring him back – she knew it wouldn't. As she walked into the penthouse, and closed the doors behind her, she wondered if going to bed would bring him back. Perhaps she would wake up, open her eyes and there he would be. If she was lucky, they'd still be in Amsterdam, and the Armory never having existed.

"I swear to god, I'll give up Paris just to wake up in 2012." Bonnie said to herself as she made her way to the bedroom.

The penthouse seemed even bigger than it was without Damon there... She turned off all the lights as she walked, and when she got to her bedroom, she didn't even bother taking anything but her sneakers off and crawling into the bed. Pulling the covers over her head, she stared into the darkness of the blanket.

Bonnie could remember the feeling of Damon's hand on her side, her skin, his lips on the back of her hair. She knew it meant something...more; but, she wouldn't get the chance to ask, to know, until she saw him again. If she saw him again...no, she would. She had to.

As she was starting to drift off, she rolled over onto her other side, and felt something underneath the covers scratching at her leg. It ruffled like paper when she moved, and definitely caught her attention.
Sitting up in bed, Bonnie moved the covers and looked through the dimness, trying to see what was there.

On the bed was a thick envelope with 'BONNIE' written on it in Damon's handwriting. She grabbed it, feeling the weight of what it contained in her palm. Bonnie opened the envelope – revealing two thousand euros in small to large bills.

"Holy shit." Bonnie whispered, pulling the money out of the envelope and fanning it out in her hands for several moments.

Now she was positive that Damon had planned to leave. It wasn't just a spur of the moment thing, he had to have planned it while they were out and about. The man moved so quickly that it was near impossible sometimes to tell what he was doing – he could've gotten the money, and placed it in the bed in two seconds without her noticing.

Sighing, Bonnie shoved the money back into the envelope. Despite being upset with Damon, she was glad he had left her money. It reminded her that she needed to get a new cell phone. This reminding her that in 1994, there weren't very many options – even that was over stating.

After putting the envelope into the nightstand next to the bed, Bonnie moved back under the covers, pressed her face against one of the soft pillows, and closed her eyes. However, as much as she wanted sleep, she would find over the next several days, it would only get harder to sleep, not easier.


Thursday, November 11th, 1993.

Six in the morning. It was six in the morning on the 7th day as Bonnie lay in bed, half asleep. She had woken up a handful of times that night, and was hoping desperately to get a few more hours of sleep before her stomachs growling forced her onto her feet and into the kitchen.

Over that week, she had gotten used to tidying the kitchen, making her bed, showering, cooking her meals, walking to the nearest news paper and magazine stand. Bonnie had been doing her best to live normally, distract herself. She went on walks, she even went to the movies once, and was trying to teach herself French; but, the one thing she hadn't been able to do normally, was sleep.

Bonnie knew that Damon hadn't found the mirror, if he had, he would have been back – this left the idea that something was wrong, had gone wrong. It only worried her further.

She rolled over with a sigh and kicked the blankets off, trying to get comfortable. She knew after another few minutes, she'd be cold again, and the cycle would repeat itself. Sighing, she pressed her face firmer against the pillow as though that would somehow help her fall asleep.

Just as her mind was starting to clear a bit, Bonnie heard a slight rattle of a key in the lock of the front door, and the door opened. It was faint, but she knew it the second she heard it. It had crossed her mind that perhaps it was a burglar – but why would they unlock the door with a key? How would they have a key?

She was asking herself too many questions.

Bonnie got up out of bed quickly, clad in a pair of thin cotton shorts and a tank top. She could barely see through the dimness of the early morning, but she made her way out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Her feet making slight noises against the wood floor.

"Damon?" Bonnie called out before she reached the end of the hallway, a little wary still.

"It's me Bonnie." Damon's familiar voice replied what felt like six years later, but was really two seconds.

Bonnie's heart beat picked up in her chest, and her feet moved quicker along the floor until she was in the living room, her green eyes pouring into the tall man in front of the closed door. She'd waited seven days for him to reply, yet as he stood before her finally, she couldn't exactly find the words to say next.

"A..." she started taking a deep breath as she looked at him through the dimness, the sun was starting to rise, shining in through the balcony doors, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Damon replied, and suddenly she found her words.

"You're alright?!" Bonnie huffed, "You disappeared for seven days! I had no idea where you were, I spent hours looking for you, I did the longest and hardest locator spell of my entire life. I didn't know if you were alive, dead, what."

Damon just looked at her with his blue eyes and a completely unbothered look on his face.

"I left you money. I made sure you would be okay while I was gone." he said calmly.

"W...You still left!" she said getting a little more angry with him.

"...and are you okay?" Damon questioned, his eyes shifting from her head to her feet and back up.

Bonnie sighed, tossing a hand in the air for a moment, "I'm...alive, and unscathed yes."

It was quiet for several moments. Damon looked a bit weary, and he was wearing different clothes from when he had left. It was clear he had went through some stuff to find the mirror. Either that or he went on an impromptu camping trip without her...

"I couldn't find the mirror, it wasn't on the Island." he told her after a second, and she sighed, but didn't say anything. Though, she had a lot more she wanted to say, Bonnie was waiting to hear what Damon had to say.

"I did get Scarlett while on the island, getting her...off with me was a challenge. She's nearby, we can go see her today..." Damon explained.

Bonnie nodded slowly, "Are you done?" Damon nodded,shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

Bonnie bit at her bottom lip, Damon could see the frustration in her eyes, and wanted to comfort her right then, but he knew he deserved whatever she had to say to him. Even if he'd ruined everything. The past seven days trying to track down the mirror, getting across the ocean, navigating the temple all on his own – it had been the least fun thing he had ever done. At least the previous time he had Bonnie to keep him company.

"Why would you just leave me like that?" she asked him her voice raising slightly, her emerald eyes carrying a twinge of pain, "I trusted you to stay with me, trusted you not to go looking for the mirror."

"I couldn't stand seeing you so conflicted. I wanted to find the mirror, so, we would at least have it. We, you, would know there was a way to get home. You would have a choice, and you wouldn't have be exhausted looking for the mirror, or wondering if it was on the island." Damon replied, his eyes widening a bit, the blue of his irises growing more intense, and apologetic. He could see how much him living had upset Bonnie.

He knew it would; but, he had to take that chance.

"Well, now we don't have it. You left me alone here, worrying about you, and we don't even have the mirror, nor know where it is." Bonnie said her voice breaking a bit on the next line, "I was worried about you, Damon. I've hardly slept the last week. At first it was because I was angry, but then angry turned into worried that you would never...come back."

Damon's brow furrowed and he step closer to her, "I was worried about you too, Bonnie. It took every ounce of self control I have to not abandon my plan and come back here empty handed on day two." he said, his voice strong, but soft, "I thought...maybe if I just turn back now, you won't be quite as upset."

Bonnie looked up into his eyes as he gaze into hers. Her heart was feeling so many things, and even though she was still upset with him for leaving, the fact that he was there right then meant so much. So was so glad he was standing right in front of her.

"On day six, I wondered how much exactly, I had screwed up." Damon said slowly, moving closer to her.

"A lot." Bonnie replied in the same soft tone, but after a second her lips turned up at the corners.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie." he told her, and moved even closer, towering above her.

Bonnie looked at the man with glimmering eyes as the sunlight shone through the curtains brighter.
Damon moved a hand up, and lightly gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Leaning down, suddenly his lips pressed against hers, and their eyes closed at the same time.

No words had been spoken about the touch, and the small kiss from a week before, but, it seemed both of their hearts were on the same path.

Bonnie's arms instantly moved up, and wrapped around him, allowing him to lean back up. Her toes just barely touching the floor as they kissed. Their lips warm, soft, moved together perfectly. Bonnie was practically melting into Damon as her heart beat rapidly.

The kiss was loving, sweet, but after a moment, turned into something much more intense. Damon deepened the kiss, grabbing onto Bonnie's hips. Her arms tightened around his neck, and pressed up against him he could feel her breasts inside of her tank top press up against his chest.

His heart was beating hard in his chest, harder than it had in quiet a while, harder than he remembered it could. Suddenly, Damon grabbed Bonnie up off the floor with a low growl and flashed over to the touch. Before she could blink she was on her back, and he was on top of her.

Bonnie tossed her arms around his neck again without a thought, but his hungry kissing was almost too much to keep up. Breathing heavily, she kissed him back affectionately. When Damon pressed down against her body more firmly, a soft sound spilled from her lips against his.

Damon's soft lips moved from hers, and he kissed her face on downwards. Bonnie tilted her head against the couch more as he left a warm trail of kisses along her jawline, down to her neck. She shivered at his kisses on her neck.

He could feel the urge to extend his fangs building, and the veins along his eyes snaked lightly. Damon breathed heavily against her neck before kissing back up to her lips.

Bonnie kissed him back passionately, but much sooner than she would have liked, he broke the kiss again. She opened her eyes to look into his, and they both smiled softly at each other at the same time.

"Don't move." Damon said suddenly, and she looked at him confused.

Damon got off her, and off the couch before running a hand through his hair. "I'm going make breakfast. Stay right there." he told her, pointing a finger at her.

She chuckled softly at how cute he looked with his messed up hair, and the look of happiness, and yearning to make things up to her. Bonnie nodded, and watched as Damon disappeared from the living room, and into the kitchen.


Twenty minutes later, and Damon practically had a buffet on the dining room table. He led Bonnie over, pulling out her chair for her. Her eyes flickered along the table. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, even a bowl with fresh strawberries, and grapes.

"You...did not have to do this." Bonnie whispered, but her stomach growled and her mouth was nearly drooling.

"Yes, I did." Damon chuckled and sat down beside her, pouring some orange juice into two glasses.

Bonnie's face flushed lightly, and she began piling her plate with the food she wanted. Damon was certainly a much better cook than her. She'd bought quite a bit of food in an attempt to learn to cook better, but, honestly had burnt several breakfasts over the last week. Sitting at the table with him eating breakfast was...almost too good to be true. Bonnie's eyes kept flickering over to Damon as she ate, wondering if he would disappear and she'd wake up, and he'd have not come home yet.

"You know...we should talk, about the...kiss and everything." Bonnie mentioned before taking a drink of her juice.

Damon's gaze shifted to her face, and his lips perked up at one corner, "We can talk after breakfast." he insisted, and popped half a piece of bacon into his mouth.

Bonnie chuckled softly, her stomach already feeling a little full, but she couldn't resist trying at least half a piece of the french toast with some strawberries on it.

"This is so delicious." she said with her mouth slightly full, brushing a lock of curly hair behind her ear.

"Thank you." Damon smiled, his eyes trailing along the V in her tank top, but they quickly moved back up, trying not to stare.

There was undoubtedly some tension between them still, which wasn't a surprise. The heavy brief make out previously had clearly caused more emotions and attractions to rise. The only problem was they hadn't truly talked the emotional part out.

Damon was just happy she wasn't angry with him any longer, and had kissed him back...
After another few minutes, they were both done eating. Bonnie insisted on helping Damon put away the left overs and get the dishes into the dishwasher. The second they were done, still standing in the kitchen, Bonnie turned to face Damon with a look of determination in her eyes.

"So, let's talk." she said stepping closer to him, her heart squeezing in her chest.

Damon chuckled softly, "Wasting no time... That's certainly the Bonnie I know." he stepped closer to her and tilted his head to the side before speaking again, "You want to know why I kissed you?"

"It's...not difficult to figure out, but, I want to hear it from you." Bonnie told him.

"Bonnie Bennett. I kissed you...because..." he smirked softly, gazing into her eyes, "I've wanted to kiss you for so long. I just hadn't quite gotten up the courage. The courage to admit to myself I wanted to kiss you, and to actually do it. I care about you Bonnie, more than a friend, more than a best friend. I can't and won't deny that any longer."

Bonnie blushed, and smiled up at him, "Well...despite the fact that you did leave me, and it...kinda ticked me off." she wiggled her shoulder a little her hair bouncing, "I feel the same way. Looking back, I knew it in the prison world; but, I was so worried about...Elena..."

"This isn't about Elena." Damon assured her.

"But...assuming we get back home, eventually...she'll be back." she said quietly, sadness forming in her irises, "What are you going to chose me for now, and...then when I die go back to her?"

"Hell no." he replied looking slightly offended, "You should know by now I'm going to do everything I can to keep you alive."

Damon stepped closer to her lifting a hand, and running his fingers along one of her cheeks - "I don't want Elena. I want you. When Elena is back, however that happens, I will still want you. The one thing I do know, is you're not dying for a very long time. Not while I'm alive."

Bonnie smiled at him and leaned up, pressing her lips against his. Damon caressed her cheek as he kissed her back. He felt so good, distracted from the fact that he didn't have the mirror. They had no idea where it was. All that mattered right then was Bonnie.

"You were right, I shouldn't have left. From now on, no mirror talk, no thinking about the mirror, nothing. Not until you are ready to search for it. We can stay here as long as you want." Damon said softly after breaking the kiss.

"Thank you." she smiled appreciatively.

"Now..." Damon gave her a quick pat on the ass and she bounced a little, "Go get dressed and we can visit Scarlett."


"I'm guessing I should make Scarlett a way to be able to go out in the day time." Bonnie mused as they were walking in the field several miles along the outskirts of Paris.

Damon had compelled a middle aged couple to keep Scarlett in their barn. They'd just moved to the property, didn't have any livestock yet. The sun was high in the sky, but the barn would keep the mare from sizzling in the sunlight.

It had taken several hours to get Scarlet to understand she couldn't go in the sun anymore. On the island, she was safe from the sunlight, but, back in reality, it was dangerous.

"That would be smart." Damon agreed as they made it to the barn.

"Why did you bring her off the Island anyway?" she asked him curiously.

He chuckled softly as he opened the door a little to see if Scarlett would be in the way of the sunlight.
"She was alone, I felt bad about leaving her there. For us it was just a few seconds in comparison to the years she was there."

Damon opened the door just enough for Bonnie and him to get it, and then it closed behind them.
He whistled softly before saying, "Scarlett."

The horse, who had been reoccupied by several rats that were recently dead on the floor of the barn, turned her head to look.

Bonnie eyed the mare. She looked almost the same. She looked a little more worn, dirty, her eyes certainly showed a much older expression, though her physic was still young.

She stepped closer to the horse, watching as the mare's eyes grew a bit more excited.

"Hi Scarlett." she whispered, lifting a hand to pet her head gently.

Scarlett instantly tilting her large head against Bonnie's hand and stepped forward, pressing her head against the side of Bonnie's making soft happy sounds.

"She remembers you." Damon smiled, stepping over and running his fingers along her mane.

"Yes she does." Bonnie said in a more childish tone, rubbing Scarlett's face affectionately, "I'm going to make you a daylight horseshoe. How does that sound, hmm sweetheart?"

Damon chuckled watching the two of them. They both looked so happy to be together again, just as happy as they all were to be together again. Scarlett had saved their lives after all. They wouldn't be leaving her behind again...

"I got these, I figured she could use some pampering." Damon mentioned, walking over, picking up a leather bag that had some horse grooming tools in it.

"Aww." Bonnie smiled, and grabbed the brush from the bag. She gently groomed Scarlett's mane first, getting any dirt and hair that needed to be shedded out. The mare seemed even happier as she was being groomed.

"We'll make sure to come visit you every day." he said to Scarlett, giving her a soft pat on the top of her head.

After about a half hour, Scarlett looked much better. Bonnie however, was looking more and more noticeably tired. Damon had to admit she looked alluring in her jean shorts, and low cut blue shirt, her curly hair in a pony tail. However, he was more concerned with her well being...

"Alright sweet stuff, it's time to pamper you now." Damon said and swept Bonnie off her feet and into his arms faster than she could react.

"Woah." she said in a heavy exhale.

Damon sped them quickly back to the penthouse, unlocked and opened the door without putting her down, and closed the door with her foot.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked a little confused and light headed.

"You are exhausted, I'm taking you to bed." he replied, and carried her down the hallway.

Damon set Bonnie down on the bed, and took her shoes off for her, pulling the blanket back, and then over her. She rested back against the pillows, and lifted a hand to touch Damon's.

"You look hungry." she whispered, and he chuckled.

"We just ate breakfast." Damon smiled, kneeling down along the side of the bed.

"You know what I mean." Bonnie said, her eyes gazing into his intensely.

He smirked crookedly, and crawled into the bed, she moved against him, cuddling him softly. Damon turned slightly, brushing curls of her hair behind her ear away from her neck and shoulder.

"You're going to sleep after this." Damon whispered, leaning down, and extending his fangs.

Bonnie gasped softly as he bit into her neck.

"Oh am I?" she asked quietly.

He chuckled softly as he drank her blood. Her warm blood pooling in his mouth and running down his throat was practically heaven. Damon made a soft sound nearly at the same time as Bonnie. Her eyelids fluttered and she moved a hand to tangle her fingers in his hair.

"Yes, you are." Damon growled softly retracting his fangs, licking the blood from his lips.

Bonnie giggled softly when he rolled them over pressing on top of her. Damon kissed her so passionately that her toes curled. She could taste her own blood a bit, but this didn't seem to bother her very much. A growing tingle was forming between her thighs.

Before she even had enough time to kiss him back, he broke the kiss, and rolled off of her.
"Sleep tight." Damon smirked, lying on his back with his arms behind his head.

She frowned and grabbed a pillow, hitting him straight in the face with it.

"Tease."