I've been rewatching some Bonenzo lately, and can I just say that I'm still upset how they teased Enzo's death like, four times or so, and then, when he and Bonnie were finally both just happy, they ripped not just his heart out, but also mine. Those other few times would have all been better death scenes if they really wanted to get rid of him so badly. But this?
Why?! I wanna cry.
End rant.
...
SHummingbirdCK: thanks for your kind words! This motivates me to keep going because I know there are some people out there having some fun with this, too. :)
Jade: yup! That's Bonnie all right! Always the protector. I love her. lol
…
…
Bonnie fell onto the couch, resting her head against the cushions behind her for a moment before she patted the seat next to hers for the remote. It had been such a damn long day, so much happening, so many phone calls and arrangements that she was more than ready for it to be over. But it was only seven o'clock, and she was still high on adrenaline and excitement and would need something to calm her down a bit before she could go to sleep.
With a sigh, she turned on the TV, switching listlessly between programs until she stumbled upon a news segment on some sports channel, gasping when she saw a grainy image of herself opening the door to Enzo's place.
"As reported earlier, police had been called to Hybrids' point guard Lorenzo St. John's apartment. A woman we believe to be his girlfriend opened the door. She works as a doctor on the Hybrids' medical staff, but sources told us the call had nothing to do with domestic violence as was first reported.
St. John, who is the team's current leading point guard after Damon Salvatore's gruesome injury just two months prior took him out of the game for a yet to be determined period, is having a breakthrough season this year…"
Bonnie quickly switched to the next channel, mortified that she had been on the goddamn news! As Enzo's potential girlfriend! She hid her face in her hands, feeling all kinds of things, and none of them too happy.
They had even shown an archive pic of her right next to him… Ugh.
Taking out her phone, she dialed Caroline's number, needing someone to talk to about this.
"Hey girl. How you holding up?"
"I'm on the news, Care."
"What?"
Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "I'm on the freaking news. They think I'm Enzo's girlfriend."
"Aw, that's…" Caroline stopped herself, her tone changing, "Um, are we happy or upset about this?"
"Upset of course!" What kind of question was that even?
"I mean, it could be worse," Caroline said hesitantly, "They could think you were the one the police came to collect…"
"You're supposed to help me feel better, not make it worse," Bonnie complained, pouting, though of course she knew Caroline was trying just that.
"At least he's cute. For a not-actually-your-boyfriend boyfriend. You could have done much worse. I should say, you did. Jeremy…"
"Will you stop!" Exasperated, Bonnie began to gnaw on her thumb. A little calmer and a lot more curious she asked, "Do you think they say anything else about me? Online..."
Caroline chuckled, but pretended to be serious and Bonnie was almost glad her friend couldn't see how worked up she was about this.
"I did see the online statement earlier, let me check…" She could hear Caroline do something with her computer before speaking again. "Hybrids issued an official statement now. Apparently it was first reported as domestic violence. Ouff. Here… 'breaking and entering… The perpetrator left before the police could arrest them… No one got hurt… blah blah blah.' Nothing too bad, Bonnie. There's this one news site that mentions that you were there to check on an 'undisclosed health issue Enzo is dealing with after yesterday's heated game'."
Bonnie made a face, slumping back down. "I need a wine. A nice wine and a foot massage, and a good cheesy movie. Ugh… what a day."
She could hear Caroline scoff. "You and me both, Bon… - I'm sorry, you definitely had the worse day…"
Chuckling softly, Bonnie pulled her legs up, getting ready for a good long phone talk. Caroline seemed to be working on her own issues. So, what better way to distract herself from the craziness of her own day than listening to Caroline's.
"Let me guess, yours has something to do with a certain Klaus Mikaelson…"
"He still hasn't called back or even messaged!" Caroline sighed loudly. "Oh gosh, he probably thinks I was too easy! I don't even do one-night-stands!"
"Care, don't beat yourself up. Maybe he'll get in touch later. He does seem like the type that needs everything to be on his terms."
"Ugh… I know. I'm just… I was so stupid."
"It'll be fine. You want me to talk to him? I'm sure I could make it happen, pretending I want to talk about these medical files he sent me and that I'm supposed to read tonight…"
"Oh gosh, no! Don't say a word!"
Caroline sounded genuinely horrified and Bonnie had to laugh despite herself. "Don't worry, girl, I was just joking."
"Well, not funny. Ugh, Bonnie. Why did we have to get into stupid basketball?"
"Pretty sure because you had a crush on a certain someone. I just came along for the ride."
And look where it had landed her…
…
It was an hour later that Bonnie finally hung up, having made sure that Caroline felt a little better. She decided to go and check on Enzo real quick before finally opening his medical files. Not that she wanted to read them, but Klaus had made it pretty clear that he expected her to know about all his players' medical histories intimately, first and foremost a certain Mr. Enzo St. John's. As if the man had already forgotten that up until yesterday Damon had been her main patient. She pressed her lips together in frustration at the thought. It felt a little like she had been demoted. No more taking care of the star of the team, just his obnoxious sidekick.
No, that wasn't true anymore, though, was it? Enzo had played incredibly well lately. And he wasn't actually all that obnoxious either. Biting her lip at the admittance, she softly scoffed. Things were changing fast…
When she got to the bedroom, he was still asleep. He had slept for most of the day already and while she knew it was just his body's way of dealing with the sickness, she couldn't help but worry anyways.
Carefully, she checked his breathing, relieved when it sounded almost back to normal. Still, his temperature was already way high again, and she went to grab a damp cool washcloth to wipe his face and neck with it. The movements, the entire moment was much more tender than anything she had done lately, and she was surprised at how… nice it felt.
Just when she was done, he made a soft noise, then peeled his eyes open to stare at her out of glassy eyes and all she could do was smile sympathetically.
"How you feeling?"
"Like I was run over by a truck and someone tried to roughly sew me back together, missing a few pieces?"
She chuckled, her hand absently resting on his chest. "I'll get you something for the pain and the fever. I'll be right back."
Before she could move too much, however, he gripped her arm, holding it firmly as he looked up at her with an expression that made her frown.
"Can you stay a moment?"
Her legs began to tingle strangely, her face and neck were next. As if she was about to do something forbidden. "Um," she stammered, suddenly self-conscious, "I…"
"It's alright," he muttered, "not part of the job description, of course. It's just... As soon as I close my eyes she's there and I can't get her out of my bloody mind," He sounded feverish, not quite there, and at the same time anguished, and it made her feel a rush of sympathy. Quickly, she put her hand to his cheek, shushing him. Her thumb was a little too close to his lips...
"I'll stay with you for a while," she told him. "But I assure you that no one is here except you and me. Okay? You're safe here."
His eyes were already closed again, his fingers loosening their grip if not letting go when he muttered, "I don't deserve you, Bonnie Bennett."
She smiled involuntarily. "Maybe you do," she said, wondering where the hell that had come from and what exactly she could possibly mean by it.
Shaking her head at herself, she waited sitting by his side for a while, and even when she knew he was fast asleep again, she had a hard time taking his hand off her arm and leaving him there, so she went back to the living room briefly to grab the files, then decided to sit down next to him, sitting with her back leaning against the bed, her legs pulled up as she began to read.
So much for the wine and movie and massage, she thought, scoffing. That was just her luck. Not that there had been a chance for the latter anyways.
Flipping through pages after pages, she was shocked to learn just how often Enzo had been hospitalized in his life and she began to understand Klaus's and Damon's cryptic words about Enzo's issues with the medical field all too quickly.
Hospital stays for extreme exhaustion had accompanied most of his early career, first at a British boarding school, later in the States at high school, too. Like he hadn't known when to stop. Or the coaches had been too hard on him… She'd have to look into that Augustine Society for sure. That name kept popping up over and over again, first at that boarding school, then also later, after an abrupt asthma onset had almost killed him when he was 17. He had been brought to a medical facility run by the Society, and for some reason they had kept him there for four months.
Four months.
The reports of experimental treatments he had suffered through during that time to get his condition under control, treatments sponsored by the Augustine Society, sounded more like torture than treatment and it was surprising that the public didn't seem to know anything about these practices, or at least didn't care.
All the Society was known for when she checked online was as a great school for nurturing sports talents… But this… This was awful, and Bonnie clutched her hand to her mouth as she continued reading.
They had starved Enzo, put him on weird diets, had isolated him for weeks, all in the name of medicine. They had performed rather painful sounding and obscure treatments on him, chaining him to the bed when he had fought against them. Baths in ice water, something that sounded more like waterboarding than anything else, seemingly to "strengthen his lung capacity"... Forcing him to ride for hours on a bike attached to some construction that would shock him if he stopped for too long, also for that same purpose.
Until one day, Damon had appeared on the scene, one Niklaus Mikaelson in tow, and together, they had gotten the poor kid out of there. Thank goodness.
Bonnie looked at Enzo now, turning so she could run a hand over his clammy face, holding it there. Her heart was breaking for the kid he had once been. First Lily and then that...
Enzo's refusal to go to a hospital suddenly made way too much sense and she was relieved that she hadn't ended up making someone just force him there. Swallowing bile, she had to put the files down.
"Not exactly very uplifting literature, is it?"
She jumped at hearing his voice, banging her side when she turned toward him yet again, and she hissed an "Ow."
"You alright, love? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you…"
He was slowly pushing himself up with his arms until he was in a sitting position while she stood up, looking at him. Suddenly her mouth was too dry and she felt like she had just been caught in the act. She didn't like that feeling.
"Are you hurt?" He was squinting at her with real concern and it took her a moment to shake off the stupor and smile at him. "No, I'm okay." Just struck dumb apparently. She huffed, pressing her lips together.
He coughed, curling his arm around his middle, then tried to get up anyways and she shook her head at him.
"Nuh uh," she chided. "You'll stay put."
"Am I not even allowed a quick 'bathroom break'?" he asked with a lopsided smirk, and she blushed, feeling like an idiot.
"Of course, I'm sorry, I… - I'm sorry." She cast her eyes down, making a face. The stammering didn't help either, and she wanted the ground to open and swallow her, but he didn't seem to notice or mind, and when he came back from the bathroom a few minutes later, he still had a smile for her.
"You should really go home now, Bonnie Bennett. I assure you I can take care of myself." As if to mock his words, his body decided he needed to cough hard right then, making him gingerly touch his side as he slowly let himself down until he sat on the bed.
Bonnie gave him a pointed stare. "Not very convincing."
"You're relentless."
Grinning, she shrugged. "I've been called worse. And you, Mr. St. John, you belong in bed. Let me earn that ridiculous bonus Klaus said he is going to pay me for this extra service."
"'Extra service'... I wish it were as kinky as it sounds."
She scoffed, lightly slapping his arm. "Sick as a dog, but still making stupid jokes."
His nonchalant grin made her smile. Until she heard his next words, spoken as he was lying down again.
"You've seen the files. I've had worse. This… is nothing. I'll be fine. So if you want… I can tell Nik that you were here for all of it, but you don't have to stay…"
"Shh," she made, touching a finger to her lips. Then she stepped closer to the bed, hunching down in front of him until she could see him in the eyes. "I told you I'm not going anywhere, and I mean it."
His smirk was back, too disarming, making her feel all the wrong things, and she cursed herself. Then he coughed again, his breaths not reaching deep enough, but he didn't care, just closed his eyes.
"Maybe you'll change your mind tomorrow," he muttered, but she already knew that wasn't going to happen. Someone had to be there for him, had to monitor his lungs and make him do breathing exercises or he was going to get pneumonia for sure. And she couldn't let that happen. If she had any power to prevent that he'd have to get treated at a hospital again, she was going to use it. This man had suffered enough.
...
…
It was almost two weeks later that Bonnie found herself sitting at the kitchen table looking up as Enzo swaggered in, and she had to grin.
"Someone's feeling better," she noted, pointing her spoon at him and waving it around a little. "Look at you!"
He wagged his eyebrows, giving her a half-smirk in return before he sat down opposite her, taking up his usual slouchy position.
"For an athlete you have lousy posture, Enzo St. John."
"I just like to stay comfortable. You try being 6'10 and sitting in one of these chairs."
She chuckled, digging into her bowl of cereal again. "Why did you get them, then? Seems rather stupid."
"Well, a wise woman once told me - not in so many words - that I can't be that smart since I earn my living playing ball."
Half choking on a bite, she had to cough, embarrassed. "You remember that, huh?"
"It was our first meeting, of course I remember." His smile was disarming and she wanted to curse him for it. 13 days of living with him, of caring for him and making sure he was getting over the flu and not catching pneumonia, and she had begun to…
Yeah, what? Care about him? Like him? Something like that…
Sighing, she tilted her head to look at him, ready to apologize when she saw him scrutinize her Cheerios before he abruptly pushed himself up again and walked over to the fridge.
"That's not a good breakfast choice. You'll need something heartier. I'll make you an omelette."
He could cook?
Bonnie scoffed at his words. "I don't think I need someone who chose grated cheese as a snack food to tell me anything about good food choices…"
Chuckling, Enzo leaned out the fridge door to smirk at her before he grabbed the Costco sized egg carton and made his way over to the stove.
"Protein," he explained. "Can't go wrong with that."
"Yeah, actually, you can. Depending on the amount… Don't forget the fiber or your digestion will get screwed." She shot him a pointed glance and he grinned back.
"I should know better than to argue with a certified doctor..."
It was her turn to chuckle.
As he began cooking now, Bonnie found herself watching him, the way his arms moved as he got the pan ready, then whisked the eggs, poured, seasoned and cooked them, muscles dancing even with these small movements. She was enjoying the view a little too much, and she bit her lip, shaking her head at herself. It would be good to get out of here. Maybe now it was finally time. He really was a lot better...
"I was thinking," she started, putting her spoon into the bowl with a clang, "since you seem to be so much better-"
"-that you'd let me go back to practice today?"
She chuckled softly. "You're desperate, aren't you?"
He turned briefly to give her a telling look, then moved on to plate the omelette. When he brought it over - one for her, and a huge one for himself, he sat down opposite her again, his gaze locking on hers until she was starting to feel slightly uneasy.
"Bon Appetit."
Forcing a smile back onto her face, she thanked him, then dug in.
"Oh my gosh, this is good," she acknowledged, and his genuine smile in response was almost a little too endearing. Aw, hell, she was falling for the baller, wasn't she? After two weeks of taking care of him, going through some awful things with him, they had grown a lot closer than she had ever thought possible, and she realized that it would be hard to go back to how things were before. But maybe this was somewhat of a Stockholm syndrome type thing, maybe she only felt like that because they had spent all this time together. Maybe she'd get back to normal quickly, as long as she…
"I think it's time I went back home," she blurted, and there was the briefest moment in which she saw a flicker go through his eyes, regret perhaps - but maybe she was flattering herself. Then he nodded, continuing to eat his eggs.
Bonnie felt a pang when she noticed that the bantery mood had abruptly ended and she didn't know just how to proceed from there until Enzo did it for her.
"I'd say it was a pleasure, Bonnie Bennett, but we both know better than that. I'm a mess and I'm sorry you had to witness all that. Still, it was a pleasure having you around."
"That's not…" She shook her head. "No. You're not a mess, Enzo. Actually, I'm surprised you're so… normal with what you've gone through."
He grinned awkwardly. "A lot of people would beg to differ."
"I'm not a lot of people."
"That, you aren't…"
They stared at each other, seconds passing, and Bonnie was getting lost in the depth of his eyes, the pain hidden in there somewhere. Lily was responsible for a big chunk of it. But there had been more. She remembered now what she had read in his medical files that she had studied as she had watched over him during the worst few days.
She had yet to ask Enzo about it, but so far she hadn't had the heart. He was too affected by it still, she knew that intimately.
"Let's go to practice together," he said, the silence broken, her train of thought abruptly stopping, and she smiled at him again.
"You're so desperate." She chuckled as he shrugged.
"It's been two weeks. If I wait any longer I'll forget how to even play."
"You are still sore. I don't think-"
"Please?" He looked at her with such an intense stare that she felt unwanted goosebumps erupt on her arms.
"Enzo. We can't be too careful. You're not back to health. If you relapse, you could still catch pneumonia..."
"I feel much better. You said yourself, it's time for you to go home, to your regular work - and it's time for me to get back into things, too. I'm not good at sitting around idly."
"I've noticed," she grumbled, and he grinned when she gave him a grudging, "Fine. But nothing too strenuous. Light exercise. No games yet."
"The home one against Golden State is coming up in two weeks-"
"I said no games."
His smile wavered, turning into an almost-glare. "It's two weeks from now."
"Enzo!" She was growing exasperated again. But she was also tired of fighting. She knew he needed this. He was slowly getting over the whole thing with Lily and he was getting better physically, it was just…
She was still worried about him.
He had refused to go after Lily, had refused to talk about it to the police, and she wondered whether the woman wouldn't show up at one of the games again. But she also knew she couldn't keep him from playing forever. And as long as he took it easy, maybe she could put him on a severe minutes restriction in two weeks? Have him play only if he did okay in practice?
And what if he did suffer a relapse? Caught pneumonia after all? Ugh, this was harder than she had thought.
"You're still barely recovering."
"I'm fine."
"And how often was that true in the last two weeks, Enzo St. John? Huh?"
He glared at her, pushing his plate away, ready to retort when she gave a sigh and waved her hands.
"But fine. We'll work something out. If - and that's a big if - you'll do okay in practice. Then you might play in two weeks. There'll be a hefty minutes restriction, though, and you are not gonna complain. At all. You will thank me. And the second I see you struggling or wincing or coughing or so much as looking at someone the wrong way, you're out."
His features softened into a smile as he nodded. "You have yourself a deal, Bonnie Bennett."
She looked at him, taking another bite of omelette, trying not to smile too wide. With a soft scoff she shook her head. She was going to regret this, wasn't she?
…
...
"Damon Salvatore…"
Coach Ric beamed at his star player, giving him an exaggerated bro hug once Damon had made it over to where he had been standing at the sidelines, yelling instructions at the team. But now he made a sign to one of the assistant coaches and motioned for Damon to follow him to the bench, where they sat down.
"How's the leg," he asked and Damon gave him a wry look.
"What do you think?"
Alaric grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "It takes time, you know that. Just do your physical therapy, and rest. We need you back, Salvatore."
An involuntarily bitter scoff escaped Damon, he couldn't help it. "Don't lie so blatantly, coach. It doesn't suit you. The team's been doing alright without me, thanks to whatever the hell you did to make Enzo turn into a three-point-god. Not to mention the kid's percentage from the charity stripe is almost 95." Damon shook his head, both impressed and a little miffed.
"Kid's been putting up insane numbers, that's for sure." Alaric shot him a glance and Damon tried to smile, tried to be happy for his friend - and the team.
"So, he gonna play tonight?"
It was the game against the Golden State Warriors… Damon felt a pang at thinking about it. He had wanted to show the world that he and his team could beat the NBA's superteam easily, but now he'd get to watch from the sidelines at best. Absently, he rubbed his leg, leaning forward a bit as he did.
He didn't quite catch what Coach Saltzman replied for right then his gaze fell on a scene where the assistant coach waved Enzo over to him, Bonnie standing beside him with her arms crossed.
When Enzo walked over, all casual swag in his sleeveless shirt, holding a ball under his arm, he could see how Bonnie seemed to waver a bit, taking a small step back when Enzo stood right in front of her.
She said something to him, making him smile a smile Damon hadn't seen in a long time. If ever. The two talked some more, looking way too casual, too oblivious of the world around them. Then Bonnie slapped Enzo's arm, making him almost drop the ball but not quite and she started giggling.
Bonnie Bennett was giggling. And it did something to Damon, he wasn't quite sure what it was. Was he… jealous of Enzo?
When Bonnie had caught herself, they both grew serious again and eventually Damon saw Enzo give an almost curt nod before he went back out on the court toward their teammates to continue practicing.
"She's very thorough with keeping him in check," Alaric remarked offhandedly, and Damon glanced at him sideways.
"Keeping him in check?"
"You know how carried away he can get. He's just two weeks out from that 'asthma-flare-up-cum-flu' episode. - He's almost as crazy about the game as you, Damon…"
Ric chuckled as Damon made a face. "I don't know about that," he muttered, thinking his friend was crazy about something quite different. Someone…
Clicking his tongue, he looked up as Alaric got up again, patting his shoulder one more time.
"You're sorely missed, Vampire. Don't forget that. We need you back. Work with Luke-"
"Bonnie's back, actually."
"Right." The coach gave a nod. "Well, she's done wonders for St. John. Especially after that awful mess with-"
"My mother? Yeah…"
Damon almost had to laugh at Alaric's sheepish expression. For a second the coach must have forgotten who he was talking to. It was a little funny, in a very not funny way…
"I'm sorry, bud… Anyways, I gotta go. Time for some pep talk. We gotta give our best tonight."
"I'll be a good cheerleader," Damon said, but his joke sounded weak even to himself.
When the coach had left, Damon watched his teammates for a little while longer, until it pained him too much. He should be out there… Running both hands over his face, he took a deep breath, preparing himself to get back up again. As he grabbed his damn crutches, a shadow fell over him and he looked up.
"Hey." Bonnie smiled at him, and he grinned.
"If it isn't my favorite doc."
"Damon..."
He tsk-ed. "You're supposed to say that I'm your favorite baller." She made a duh-expression, but already Damon was smirking. "No, wait. That would be someone else, wouldn't it?"
Her soft huff and her frown couldn't fool him. They wouldn't fool anyone. "Aw, come on," he said, "You and Lorenzo… the UST between you two just now was palpable all the way from over here."
"Pfft. In your head maybe. There's no UST whatsoever between us. We've become friends, is all. Two weeks in the same apartment and going through that kind of crap will do that to you."
"Nope." Damon shook his head as he finally stood up, and they began walking together a bit. Or rather, he was freaking hobbling, as usual. "You and him… I sense an epic lovestory in the making. You might not know this yet, but Enzo is an incurable romantic, so there's bound to be roses and champagne and nighttime dancing under the stars in your future…"
"Damon, stop it."
"What?" He gave her an innocent look and she shook her head. But she was smiling.
"It's not gonna happen. He's… been through a lot. And I… I don't date my patients anyways. I like to keep it professional."
"Everybody out there already thinks you two are an item, the real deal, the hottest couple since Brangelina-"
She rolled her eyes, and he looked at her, mock-serious.
"Alright, alright. No Brangelina comparisons, got it. But mark my words, BonBon. There's something in the air, and while you might not have noticed it yet, doesn't mean it's not happening."
"Will you stop it?! Come on, let's get you to the gym and do some work together."
He winked at her, smirking. "I love the sound of that." He paused, then asked, only half joking, though she wouldn't know that, "You think Enzo gets jealous when you hang out with me?"
Bonnie scoffed, not gracing his question with a reply and he decided to let it go. "Speaking of my favorite Brit, how's he doing?"
The frown she gave him was genuine. "I thought he's your friend. Don't you guys talk?"
"We do. Just… not about Lily? It's… a difficult subject, I guess. For everyone involved…"
"Yeah…"
They both fell silent, their moods completely changed, and suddenly Damon wished he'd never brought it up, brought her up.
…
Lily flattened her clothes, sitting down in the one sofa chair her motel room had to offer, and switched the TV on. She was beginning to detest New Orleans and it's damp, too hot climate, the people around her, the atmosphere, everything.
But she couldn't leave yet. There was still that hope that she and Enzo could reconcile. If only she got him when he was alone.
When his face appeared on the screen of the sports channel she had chosen with calculation, she got up and walked toward it, smiling as she stroked the screen as if it was him.
"Oh, Enzo…"
Sighing, she forced herself to stop being ridiculous and sat back down on the chair, listening to the report, hoping they wouldn't mention her. So far he had kept her name out of this, a sure sign that he still had feelings for her, still cared.
As did she.
A brief clip came up, someone interviewing coach Alaric Saltzman, asking about Enzo's return to the roster for tonight's game, and she was trying to listen to what he was saying - something about how good it was for the team that he was back, how he was on a minutes restriction due to just having overcome the flu, how their other flu victims were finally all back and they were just missing Damon now. But at the end of it the camera zoomed in on the players, and suddenly she saw him, Lorenzo… talking to that girl again.
His smile was positively disarming, and Lily's breath caught in her throat.
Whenever she had seen or heard those silly reports about how this young woman was his new girlfriend, Lily had chuckled to herself. The girl herself had told her they were just friends. But that smile… She wasn't sure he still saw it that way. And that… was not good.
Swallowing, she sat up straighter, glaring at the girl on the TV. She was a doctor working for the team, Damon's physical therapist if she was informed correctly. Maybe it was time she checked whether this girl would be at the game tonight, or where else if not there.
Maybe it was time she made sure this Bonnie Bennett stayed out of the lives of her son and her lover, time, too, to have that talk with Enzo.
Tonight was as good a time as any. After all Lily didn't have time to lose.
