A bit of a warning for this one: it's different in that it's less fluffy. I could have posted it as a one-shot, I guess, but it kinda goes here.

This is, after all, a collection revolving in one way or another around Benzo and the cabin. :)

Anyways. Here it is.

...

After her world ended, lying in blackened ruins just like their cabin, Bonnie found herself staying away more and more from Damon and Elena.

While she loved her friends and was happy for them, there was just something about their happiness together that she found hard to deal with. They were so happy, while Bonnie had, yet again, had to sacrifice everything.

Everything.

And she was tired of it, so very tired.

She knew Damon was hurting, too. Despite the fact that the love of his life was back with him, he had his own grief to deal with since his brother's death, and while she felt sad for him, and while she knew that Stefan's switch had been turned when he had killed Enzo, part of her would never be able to forgive him.

Which made it hard for her to be compassionate in the face of his death. She felt sorry for Damon, yes, but she was still so very angry at Stefan, at what he had done, how he had ruined her life, that she simply couldn't bring herself to console his brother.

She had tried, of course. But when she had almost snapped at Damon one day, almost said, "well, he deserved it for everything he's done, for all the lives he's ruined," she had known it was time to step away.

"Ouch!" Bonnie cursed under her breath, spitting out the nails she had balanced between her lips while hammering one of them into a slab of wood. She hissed, putting her smarting finger into her mouth as if that would take the very real physical pain away.

You need to take it easy, love. Go somewhere else, resume your travels. See more of the world. Enzo was hunching down next to her, his hands hovering over her finger as she looked at it, concern in his features, and love.

She couldn't see him, of course, but for a brief moment, she closed her eyes, as if seeing into the nothing around her, seeing him… And he knew she knew he was there.

"I just miss you so goddamn much!" She called out into the emptiness, choking down a sob, then she grimly went about her work again.

She was going to rebuild his cabin. Their cabin! If it was the last thing she did on this earth, but she would finish it. She would succeed.

If she couldn't have him back, she at least wanted the place back where she had been the happiest.

…

She had gotten back from her trip around the globe after only a month. It had been great, liberating, exciting. But too soon she had realized that she couldn't escape what was hiding inside of her, that pain, that grief, that was becoming all-encompassing, weighing her down.

How did other people do it? Live with the loss of their loved ones? He wasn't even the first person she had lost. She should be used to it by now, the fact that everyone got what they wished for, except Bonnie Bennett.

Fate didn't seem to like her very much.

Fine, she thought, she didn't like fate very much either.

So she had decided to go back where she had been truly happy and change her fate. Not run from it, but face it.

She had sold the house on whose threshold Enzo had died and with the money - good money - she had bought all the tools and all the materials she would need for a small wooden cabin.

Screw the fact that she was not exactly good at any kind of handiwork. Screw the fact that she didn't know what she was doing. If it took forever, she would figure it out.

…

Soon, she'd had people help her here and there. Matt came by, Alaric. Damon and Elena…

They hadn't dared question her project, they had simply offered their assistance, and in the end, she had accepted. Because why not? She had given the world everything, so it was more than earned, more than time that she got something in return.

"How do you do it?" She had asked Alaric on one such day, and he had given her a quizzical look. "Go on, after what happened to Jo, to Isobel…"

He had sighed and looked down, then he'd continued working while saying. "I did go on a lot of drunken benders. I'm sure you remember Amsterdam…"

He grinned at her sheepishly and she smiled back. "I don't know, all things considered that still seems like coping to me."

He inhaled deeply, looking her straight in the eyes. "Not really, no. I think I only came to terms with it after the incident with Florence." He wagged his eyebrows.

"The Phoenix stone." Bonnie remembered.

"Yup. Yet another disaster."

Bonnie worried her lip, tilting her head as she looked at him now.

"Listen, Bonnie. The pain won't go away, but it will become more… bearable to live with. As cliche as it sounds, though, that stuff takes time."

And she had nodded, a thought forming in her mind. What if…

…

Caroline had kept her distance from Bonnie for a long time. When Bonnie finally confronted her about it, working alongside her on another wall to her cabin, her friend suddenly broke down, crying, apologizing instantly.

"I'm so sorry, Bonnie, I just… don't know how to deal with this. I wish I could make this right for you. I wish… I don't know how to grieve for Stefan in your presence when I know what pain he caused you."

Stricken, Bonnie had pulled her in for a hug, not letting go for a long time.

Not saying I'm into this sort of thing, but you two together… there's worse things to behold…

She could almost imagine Enzo making an inappropriate remark, could almost hear his light mirthful chuckle. I'm joking, love, I'm just messing with you…

But it felt so real, so… close, that her breath hitched for a moment and she thought that she saw him, hovering at the edges of her vision, only ever on the periphery, and when she tried to look at him, focus, he was gone.

She and Caroline promised each other to be there for each other more from then on, and they were.

Caroline was back almost every day after that, and the cabin quickly grew into something recognizable.

…

When her body was sore and tired from a day of work, she usually fell into bed, quickly falling asleep, dreams haunting her, nightmares. But also those she seeked out actively, that she didn't ever want to wake up from.

I love you, Bonnie Bennett. I love you too much to witness you wasting away your life like that.

"I'm not wasting it away. I'm trying to rebuild it.

…

When the cabin was finally finished, she had a little party, just her closest friends, just a few drinks and music, and Italian catering.

"Enzo would be so proud of you, Bon," Damon whispered into her ear, smirk in place, bourbon in hand, "rebuilding his quaint little hideout with such an eye for detail…" He nodded toward a small guitar stand beside the fireplace and wiggled his eyebrow at her. "Sources told me that even three years of lessons never made a good player out of you. So many talents, little witch, but you never mastered that? Be honest: what were you really doing in this cabin?"

She gave him a look, suggestive, but also so very sad that Damon pulled her in for a sideways hug.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, seeing her tears well. "You made him the happiest man - vampire, whatever - out there, you know that, right? What I destroyed, you brought it back: he died the man he should have been, happy, and full of love."

She didn't want to hear it, even though she knew he meant well.

He can be a good friend, if you let him. He learned from his mistakes...

She kissed his cheek and went away.

…

The epiphany came in a dream. Spin Doctors was playing. A malicious grin wiped from a face that now looked tired and drawn out.

"You can come back from that hell… If you let me out, I can help you get back what you so crave. Who…"

She didn't trust him. She wasn't stupid.

But she was desperate. So she made that pact.

"Bonnie!" He gave her an exaggerated bro hug, patting her on the back when he was done, strutting through the cabin with cocky self confidence, walking over to her fridge, munching on some leftovers while he touched everything under his nose. "Cute little place you got here. Cozy. Care for a roommate?"

She rolled her eyes. There was nothing she wanted less.

He cackled.

"Kidding, kidding. Don't be such a sourpuss, dear Bonnie."

He's dangerous, love. Just let it be...

But she couldn't. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

"You're not staying," she told him, "So, the deal was I let you out-"

"And I'll help you with your little… problem. Resurrect dear Lorenzo. Fine."

Dark magic, forbidden, powerful. Dangerous.

"You know I'll need to siphon your magic, girlfriend."

She glared at him, angry, but then walked over, stepping right in front of him, taking his greasy hands in hers. "Do it."

No!

It was over quickly. She found herself crumpled to the floor, nose bleeding, head pounding.

"Well, that was fun. Pleasure doing business with you." He bent down, grabbing her face, forcing a kiss onto her lips. "So long, Bonnie Bennett!"

"Wait!" She yelled when her vocal cords finally worked again, but he had already stepped over her and out. He was gone. Along with her magic, her integrity, everything she had left.

Gone.

A wail escaped her then, almost as loud and powerful as the one before. She closed her eyes, ready to just give up. He had betrayed her. He had just stolen her magic and-

A gentle touch. A breath against her cheek.

"Oh, Bonnie Bennett. I missed this," he touched her lips with a finger, then replaced it with his mouth, kissing her, so softly, so real. "I missed you."

Fresh tears were welling in her eyes, but this time, there was a smile on her face. She grappled at his face, cupping it between her hands before she hurled herself at him, clinging to him, clawing at him as if she wanted to crawl under his skin, and she really did.

She wanted to be where nothing and no one could ever break them apart again.

"Enzo," she choked out his name, it was barely intelligible, barely more than a raspy sound deep in her throat. He was really there. With her. In their cabin.

He was back.

"Check again, little witch." The voice came out of a hazy fog, and then she looked up and saw him. Still there, lingering in the doorframe, leaning against it way too casually. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't possibly risk you putting me back into my prison so I created one for you. I still fulfilled the deal, though. I think that makes me a pretty honorable man, all things considered, don't you think? Anyways…"

"You-" she jumped up, not finishing her sentence. Enzo was already at Kai's throat, glaring at him, and the man made choking noises, though he was still grinning.

"What did you do?" Enzo hissed, and Kai spoke with his eyes, staring at Bonnie.

"A little… help."

She nodded to Enzo, cautious, and he reluctantly eased his grip on Kai's throat, though still pushing him hard against the wooden wall of the cabin.

"Speak!" Bonnie ordered, and the wide mischievous grin returned.

"I take it you two are already used to spending time holed up in this place. Figured it wouldn't make much of a difference if instead of bringing him back to you, I brought you to him, onto the other side - oh," he looked at her mildly, as if she was dense, and she really felt like she was, her face ashen, her eyes flickering with disbelief and anger.

"In case you didn't know," he continued, "after you destroyed hell, a new place for all the lost supernatural souls had to be created. And since your quaint little… 'imaginary world' had already exploded out of you following dear Lorenzo's untimely - or was it? - demise," he chuckled, "it just so happened that they were all referred over here, and you, dear little Bennett witch, you're now the new old anchor to the Other Side, except, now you're working from over there instead of the other way around," he shrugged. "You are most welcome. Oh, and… Congratulations!"

"You did this."

Enzo clenched his jaw, holding Bonnie back as she slapped Kai across the face.

"Easy now," Kai grinned, almost looking turned on by the way she had hit him, "If I was informed correctly, you managed to bring him back from the Other Side once before. I'm sure you can do so again…"

There were no words.

…

They let him leave as they didn't really have a hold on him anyway, not on their side. And she was just relieved when he was gone and Enzo was still there.

She was so relieved that she could touch him, that they were together, that she didn't even care about whatever repercussions her deal was going to have.

She was with him. They were together. They'd figure the rest out eventually.

Until then, they'd continue their story, adding another few chapters to their tale.

Kai had been right about one thing: they had already spent a lot of time together in the cabin. It had become more than just Enzo's safe house. It had become their safe haven.

It always would be, Other Side or not. And as long as they were together again, they could conquer anything.