Thank you for your reviews and comments. Like I said, you guys keep me writing. The only thing I wanted to say is that Bonnie leaving Damon's room was not about any type of loyalty to Elena—it was more about the fact that Delena just broke up and there's no way she can trust Damon's feelings for her right then. Bonnie is rightfully still hurt and dealing with her insecurities, but hopefully she will get over it soon. Thank you for supporting me!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Ch. 13
Enzo touched his jaw as he got up from the floor, "Same ole Damon", he commented as Bonnie grabbed Damon's shirt. He looked back at her with wide eyes and she shook her head and mouthed 'Not now'.
"When we get out of here Enzo, I am going to kill you. No matter where you hide or how much money you think they paid you, you will not be able to disappear", Damon warned him.
"You can try to do your worst Damon", Enzo countered.
Bonnie moved around Damon and walked towards Enzo, "How…why…how did you know anything about Caleb?"
Enzo looked over at Victor and then back at Bonnie, "When you called me up and insisted on seeing me, I knew that something was going on. You had to be desperate to find Damon for a reason…so Victor found me and asked me to keep an eye on you, the Bennett witch has something that the Council would need eventually, he told me. Then Stefan came back to town and then you moved in with him", Enzo smirked at Bonnie, "and then the boy came and I knew. I wasn't sure how, but of course—you're a Bennett witch and your special relationship with Damon, would break all laws of nature and create a child".
Bonnie fumed, "You are evil, you are selfish and you are reprehensible and you will pay for this. You will pay for this dearly".
"I will wait for that day, Love", Enzo winked.
"You're a monster!" Bonnie screamed lunging for Enzo as Damon grabbed her.
"He's not what we came here for, we will get Enzo…don't worry about it", Damon whispered in her ear causing her to calm down.
Enzo sat on the edge of Victor's desk and folded his arms. Damon glared from across the office. He had so much to pay his old friend back for and he would do just that, "What will it take for you to leave Caleb alone?" Damon asked turning his gaze to Victor, "he's not a threat to anyone".
"He's 3 years old!" Bonnie screamed. She was sick of this. Her son did nothing to deserve all of this turmoil and her patience was wearing thin.
"Yes, he may be young and innocent minded…but he has great powers. They are amazing and they are also dangerous. He can resurrect living creatures", Victor moved closer to Bonnie and Damon, "you are living proof of that Bonnie. In the wrong hands, he could bring the end of the balance to the world that we know and as the leader of the World Council, I can't allow that. He could fall into the wrong hands and make anything immortal".
"He's a child", Bonnie argued.
"A child with power", Victor stated.
"Well you are a little too late for that Victor…sorry to disappoint you", Damon smirked moving away from Bonnie, "you know the Bennett witches with their goddess complex…well after your cronies pulled their latest stunt, they took away Caleb's powers, without my permission I might add", Damon stared over at Bonnie, "so a part of Caleb is gone and never to return and I am furious that his mother and her family decided that it was better to take something away from a child then to control it".
"He couldn't control it, it had to be done for his own good!" Bonnie moved closer to Damon.
"She always thinks she knows what's best", Damon scoffed.
"Because I understand unlike you do that when someone has power, it's dangerous…you know, since he's been kidnapped once and was almost kidnapped again!"
Victor looked at Bonnie and Damon, "What do you mean you removed his powers?" he hissed as his face drained of all color.
"We did a spell to take them away from him", Bonnie looked at him.
"What!" Victor raged as he stormed over to stare down at Bonnie, "what have you done!"
"I did what was best for my child", Bonnie argued.
"Wait…isn't this what you wanted anyway?" Damon asked standing in between Bonnie and Victor, "you wanted to stop Caleb from possibly resurrected some evil vampire and witch and now he can't….you won…the Bennett witches made sure there would be no problems".
Victor seethed as he turned to Enzo, "Did you know this?"
"No, I had no idea of this…", Enzo stood up, "there was no indication…"
"I will handle you later", Victor glared at Enzo and then looked at Bonnie and Damon, "you have no idea what you've done!"
"Wow Victor, you seem really upset. Could it be that this had nothing to do with stopping Caleb from resurrecting a supernatural, but instead giving a human eternal life who wants to stay in power?" Damon raised an eyebrow.
Victor narrowed his eyes, "Get out!" he yelled.
"I wonder what all of these people who work here, you know the other humans, who think they are fighting for the greater good would think about your little plan to have your own little insurance policy?" Damon asked.
"Get out! And never come back here or I will end both of your lives!" Victor barked.
"I'm not leaving until I am sure that you will not come after my son", Bonnie moved forward, "he can't resurrect anyone. He can't do whatever you wanted him for. Let him be".
"It's over", Victor stated through clenched teeth, "your son is of no use to the council".
"How can I believe you?" Bonnie asked.
"Because we have no use for an ordinary warlock", Victor matched her gaze.
Bonnie narrowed her eyes as Damon touched her arm, "He was being greedy Bonnie, we took away his prize…he's telling the truth, let's leave the nice man to deal with his crappy agent", Damon looked over at Enzo, "trust me on this Bonnie, Victor looks like a man of his word".
Bonnie looked up at Damon. The one thing she knew about Damon Salvatore is that he never took anyone's word for gospel.
"Victor, we would hate to kill anymore of your little agents…so don't send any more to our town, ok", Damon led Bonnie towards the door.
Victor glared as Bonnie and Damon headed out of the office. They walked towards the elevator in silence. When they stepped inside, Bonnie turned to Damon, "What was that…you believe him…he came after Caleb twice…they tried to kill me and they did…we can't just…", she raged until Damon placed two fingers on her lips, "I got this", he whispered, "trust me".
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Later that evening, Victor Conova parked his car in the three car garage of his home not far from the office and sat in the car for a half an hour. He hit the steering wheel numerous time. He was still fuming that his plan to get the Bennett-Salvatore boy had failed. He needed that child's powers to ensure that he would head up the World Council forever. There would be no one to stop him or overthrow him if they knew he would be resurrected and show no mercy. He stepped out of the car and slammed the door. He had half a mind to have that annoying Enzo skinned alive and then decapitated, but he would keep him around for awhile. He could use him for other things.
The Bennett witches had always been a thorn in the Mystic Falls Council's side and he should have done away with them a long time ago, but the prophecy had always kept him from doing that. Victor opened the garage door and stopped in the mudroom. He looked in the mirror and smoothed out his hair, he never brought his work home.
"Honey!" he called as he walked up the stairs and into the kitchen where dinner was cooking on the stove.
Victor picked up a carrot stick, chomping down on it as he moved into the family room, "Laura…Molly!" he called and then he stopped in place as his eyes filled with horror and he lost his voice. He found himself gaping for air as he gazed over at his family with standing frozen in the room being held tightly by Damon and Stefan, who were vamped out.
"Hi Victor…how are you…we just thought we would stop by and pay you a visit…you, Laura and Molly here. Their pictures on your office wall did not do them justice", Damon smiled touching Laura's cheek gently.
"Victor…what are these monsters!" Victor's wife, Laura cried.
Stefan looked at Damon, "Looks like someone hasn't told their family that things do go bump in the night".
"Imagine that", Damon grinned.
"Let them go", Victor stated.
Damon and Stefan exchanged looks, "Oh he wants us to let his family go", Stefan replied thoughtfully, "I mean he only had people drown Bonnie on her son's birthday and tried to kidnap Caleb twice".
"Yes, but by all means…we should play nice with his flesh and blood, Brother", Damon remarked rolling his eyes, "hey Victor, bet you didn't know my brother is a Ripper".
Victor looked at Stefan holding onto his 12-year-old daughter whose eyes were so big and she had silent tears running down her face.
"What do you want!" Victor panicked, "what…I told you I would leave your son the hell alone".
"You see, I didn't believe you…so I thought I would give you some motivation", Damon replied biting in his wrist and forcing his blood into Laura's throat as Stefan did the same to Molly.
"Stop…stop it!" Victor cried out flailing his arms, "I will do anything".
"Will you?" Damon asked, "because what I want you to do is delete every file you have on my son, Bonnie, me and my brother. I want to make sure that all of your people know that anyone who is with a Salvatore, is related to a Salvatore or has ever been looked at by a Salvatore is off of their little bounty list".
"Ok…ok…", Victor rushed over to his bag and pulled out his laptop, "don't hurt them…"
"You better move faster then", Damon gripped Laura tighter as she screamed out in fear and in pain. Victor typed quickly as he opened up a database, "Please don't hurt them…I'm opening up the database where we keep the files on every supernatural…", he said quickly, "I'm deleting the files related to your son, Bonnie, Caleb and you two…", Victor's hands flew across the keyboard.
Damon could hear his heart rapidly beating. He was afraid and this time, Damon believed that he was giving up his quest to get Caleb.
"It's done…", Victor hit a button and Damon watched as files began to lose data and the screen went blank.
"Good", Damon said letting Laura go as she ran over to Victor hugging him tightly.
"Now, you better make sure that all of those files are deleted and that no one and I mean no one gives Bonnie or Caleb a hangnail, because if they do…", Damon walked over to Molly, "you will lose something precious to you and you won't be able to stop it or protect them".
Stefan let the little girl go and she ran over to Victor and Laura.
"I think we can go now…remember what we said", Damon stated and before Victor could blink, Damon and Stefan were gone.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"Mommy, I have so much fun!" Caleb excitedly recounted his day with Bonnie, "we went to the fair and I rode rides".
"Did you Baby, that's great", Bonnie stated as she listend to Caleb talk about his day with Abby, Lucy and Caroline. Right after they got back from the World Council, Damon and Stefan left. Damon wouldn't tell Bonnie where he was going or what he planned to do—he just told her that Caleb would be safe at the end of it all.
"Mommy, where's Daddy Damon…I miss him", Caleb interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh, he went out. He will be back soon and I will tell him to call you…ok".
"Ok", Caleb pouted on the other end as of the phone.
"Baby, it's ok…he will call you".
"I miss you Mommy…I want you to come here".
"I know and I will be there soon, maybe tomorrow".
"Promise", Caleb asked.
"Promise", Bonnie answered, "I love you Caleb Bear".
"Love you too Mommy, Auntie Care wants to talk", Caleb stated handing over the phone to Caroline.
"Soo…everything is fine?" Caroline asked.
"Well…I'm not exactly sure, Damon and Stefan went somewhere to make sure that things are fine—so I hope that once they are done—it's finished".
"You know Damon's not my favorite person, but if he says that he's taking care of it, he will. You and Caleb are his family, Bonnie".
"Yeah…"
Caroline was quiet for a few moments and then she spoke again, "Elena left Mystic Falls, she went to visit Jeremy in Atlanta for awhile—she'll be back though".
"Well I guess that's for the best right now", Bonnie shrugged.
"She's so angry Bonnie".
"Caroline, what do you want me to say? I spoke with Elena and she let me know in no uncertain terms that I am nothing to Damon, but the mother of Caleb. I think that's all we really need to say to each other".
"She was hurt".
Bonnie closed her eyes. She wanted to blurt out that she didn't care. Her days of coddling Elena were over. She had a son and while she owed Elena an apology, she wouldn't spend her time feeling horrible because life went on without her.
"I understand Caroline. What do you think I should do?" Bonnie sighed.
"I don't know, I mean…I know feelings have changed for everyone and you and Damon are in different places now—I don't know, I just don't want you guys to hate each other".
"I don't hate Elena and if she hates me, well…hopefully that will change…but if it doesn't, then I will have to live with it", Bonnie frowned and then she felt the air in the room change. She turned around to see Enzo standing in the room.
"Hello Bonnie", he greeted her.
"Caroline…I have to go", she ended the call before Caroline could say anything. Bonnie stood up from the desk and stared at him.
"Let's talk", Enzo stated walking closer to her.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"Thank you Brother for coming with me, I know threatening women and children are not exactly your thing unless you're in Ripper-mode", Damon smirked looking over at Stefan as he drove towards their hotel.
"It needed to be stopped", Stefan gazed out of the window, "and I knew you had no intentions on harming his wife and daughter".
Damon was silent.
"Damon…", Stefan turned around focusing on his older brother.
"Look, I will kill and maim whomever I have to in order to make sure that Bonnie and Caleb are safe, so yes…if Victor didn't destroy those files, I would have sliced his wife's throat open without a second thought because my family means more to me than anyone else out there", Damon looked Stefan dead in the eyes without a hint of hesitation.
Stefan nodded, "So what about Enzo?"
"Enzo will go into hiding, that's what he does. However, when he comes out—he's going to pay and I won't be as kind to him as I was to Victor".
"We did good Brother…we always made a good team".
"When you're not being completely impossible", Damon rolled his eyes.
"Right…I was the problem".
Damon smirked and then turned serious, "When Caleb got kidnapped, was your first thought to come find me?"
"No".
Damon was surprised at Stefan's answer, but he nodded slowly.
"Look, I can admit it. Life went on without you, I didn't think that you would be able to help—but I realized, the more Bonnie started to lose hope and the more upset she became, I couldn't help her. I knew that only one person would piss her off enough to snap her out of it and that's you", Stefan explained, "and I knew then, it was the choice that should have been made when Caleb was first born. I was selfish Damon. I stood in that hospital room holding Caleb after he was born and Bonnie asked me if we should look for you…I told her if that's what she wanted, I would look for you…I knew that I should have told her that we would look for you, but I liked things the way they were. I'm sorry, I was wrong for that".
Damon was speechless. Not so much of the selfish actions of Stefan, but that he finally got an apology from his brother. He wouldn't lie and say that if the situations were reversed, he wouldn't do the same thing. As much as he hated hearing it, having a family was Stefan's dream. He wanted the role of father badly and he had it. Damon saw the way Caleb looked at Stefan when he first came back. Caleb worshiped him. Stefan had the family that he always wanted, but he gave it up so that Caleb and Bonnie could be happy…or at least Caleb. His brother…there was no one like him.
"I understand. Thank you for tracking me down and not telling Bonnie", Damon chuckled.
Stefan smirked shaking his head, "Not telling Bonnie was a smart move".
"But you took that smack to the face like a champ", Damon added.
"Yeah…well…I kind of knew that it was coming", Stefan shrugged, "but I knew that as long you were around, that would be the last slap for me".
"Thanks", Damon deadpanned, "but we all know that little witch is powerful in a hundred thousand ways".
"That she is", Stefan agreed.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"What are you doing here?" Bonnie stood up with her hands balled up into fists staring at Enzo through slits in her eyes.
"I want to apologize…"
"Apologize for what?" Bonnie said through clenched teeth.
Enzo sighed and rolled his eyes, "For helping Victor spy on you and your son".
"And for sitting back while he was kidnapped, while Victor's people tried to kill me and kidnap Caleb again? Is that what you want to apologize for?" she took a step closer to him.
"Bonnie, I had no idea that any of that was going to happen!" Enzo defended himself.
"I don't believe you, you probably didn't care what happened—just as long as you got what you wanted. That's how you work Enzo, that's how you've always worked—so I guess you're here to ask for some kind of mercy?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Damon won't show mercy, but I know you're not like him. I'm sorry for what happened".
"I'm not like Damon, right?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes.
"No, you forgive even when people shouldn't be forgiven".
Bonnie nodded, "You're right. I forgive people when they shouldn't be forgiven".
"So I'm going to walk away from the council…"
"Are you?"
"Yes, I am".
Bonnie reached over and grabbed Enzo's hand chanting as he yelled out in pain, "What the hell are you doing!"
"Forgiving you", she answered as she let him go and he quickly pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal the word 'TRAITOR' burned into his skin, "so everyone who comes in contact you will know not to trust you and that's permanent, I think it's a punishment worse than death for someone like you. People think that I'm nicer than Damon, but when someone crosses me—I'm worst".
"You bitch!" Enzo sped over, but was stopped by Bonnie raising her arm.
"I suggest you leave this room or that won't be the only thing that burns into your skin tonight", Bonnie warned.
Enzo glared at her as she slowly put her arm down and he sped out of her hotel room. Bonnie a deep breath. She expected Enzo to run, like the punk that he was, but there was always the possibility that he would come after her in that room. She gave him much less than he deserved, but she was confident that he would go somewhere else to lick his wounds—if he knew was best for him.
"Bonnie", Damon's voice came from the doorway and she looked up at him.
"Enzo…", she whispered.
He immediately was alarmed, "Enzo…where…was he here?"
"He was".
Damon turned to walk out of the door, but Bonnie called out to him, "He's long gone and he won't be coming back".
"He has a death wish to even come near you…"
"Sweet, but he wanted to apologize or rather…talk his way out of getting his ass burned to a crisp…but I handled it".
Damon raised an eyebrow, "You handled it?"
"Let's just say that whomever he comes in contact with will know exactly what Enzo St. John is all about".
Damon smirked, "Bonnie…Bonnie…but if I find out where he's hiding, you know that he has to die. I will have to do it"
"So what happened with Victor, what did you do?"
"All you need to know…", Damon said placing his hands on her arms, "is that Victor has been taken care of, he's not dead but let's just say that he understands that coming for you or Caleb will end very badly for him and everyone he cares about".
Bonnie ran her hands through hair, "Are you sure?"
"Oh I'm sure…it's done, put the fear of God into him".
Bonnie smiled as she found herself hugging Damon and he wrapped his arms around her, "This is done…Caleb's safe?"
"He is", Damon hugged her tightly, "he is".
Bonnie's eyes filled with tears as she quickly wiped them away, "No one died and our son is safe…I can't believe it".
"Believe it Bonnie, he's safe".
She nodded, "It's been months since I could truly breathe you know…", she placed her hand over her heart, "and now I can, I know that no one is lurking around the corner to steal my son".
Damon nodded as he saw the absolute joy on Bonnie's face.
"Oh…Caleb wants to talk to you…", she headed over to her iPad and picked it up, "how about you FaceTime him? You're all he asked about actually, it's almost as if I didn't spend 18 hours of labor trying to give birth to him…all he knows is Daddy Damon", she teased.
Damon smiled at her with a face of pride. He couldn't help it. Caleb loved him and it was one of the purest loves he had ever experienced.
Bonnie placed the iPad in his hand and clicked on Caroline's name. The screen filled with Damon's face for a moment and then Caroline's face filled the screen, "Oh lovely", she deadpanned.
"Nice to see you too Blondie", Damon grinned, "you think you can get the Salvatore Prince to come talk to me".
"The Prince…Bonnie, we have to make sure that Caleb doesn't get a big head like his father…", Caroline rolled her eyes as she headed out of the guest room with the iPad, "Caleb, someone wants to talk to you".
"Who?" Caleb asked and then his face filled the screen, "Daddy!" he squealed.
Bonnie leaned on the chair as Damon smiled into the screen, "Hey Caleb, are you having fun?"
"Mmm, hmm…", Caleb nodded, "when you comin'"
"I will be there soon and then we can all go home".
"Yay…I went to carnival today".
"Did you? Nice".
"And I rode rides", Caleb's eyes went big.
Bonnie watched as Caleb told Damon all about his day and she couldn't help but grin. This was weird for her. She had never witnessed a bond like Damon and Caleb had. She never had it with her mother, so watching Caleb talk so freely to Damon like he was his best friend affected her and she couldn't stop tearing up.
"Ok Caleb, well it's time for bed, I'm sure. So you be a good boy for Auntie Care", Damon instructed.
"I will", Caleb nodded, "love you Daddy".
"Love you too Kid", Damon stated before waved and the screen returned to just Damon's face.
"Wow…", Damon breathed out.
"I know, it's weird right…"
Damon nodded slowly, "Well…things are settled here, so I have a proposition for you".
"What?"
"Since everything is taken care of, I want to take you out for that Mommiversary that I promised you awhile back".
Bonnie shook her head, "You don't have to…"
"Stefan and Rebekah were heading out to dinner, we can hit up a bar…drink a little or a lot, get you some food and we can put all of the other stuff behind us".
"Damon, I don't know…"
"Bonnie, live a little and I promise, I will keep my hands to myself. I know that things are kind of messy, but we have a chance to just have a night where we leave the heavy stuff behind…just for tonight".
Bonnie looked around the hotel room, "Ok…we go out to a bar and this is not in any way, a date".
"Trust me, I know it's not a date", Damon agreed.
"Good", Bonnie walked over and picked up her jacket.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Bonnie and Damon walked into a bar called 'ONS' within walking distance from the hotel, "How appropriate", Bonnie mumbled as they walked inside and immediately the music assaulted her, along with a crowd who appeared to be having fun drinking booze and eating food.
They found two bar stools and immediately a bartender greeted them, "I'm Zach, what can I get ya?" he asked.
"You can get me a glass of bourbon, the best you have and keep it coming and you can get the little lady here the same, but she also needs a food menu…", Damon stated before leaning closer to Zach, "she can't hold her alcohol".
Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Don't listen to him…but I do need a food menu".
"Got it".
"And a coke please", she added as Zach nodded walking away.
"So by the end of the night, you think you're going to come on the dance floor with me?" Damon wiggled his eyebrow.
"Nope, you can't dance and I don't want to be embarassed".
"We'll see", Damon winked as Zach sat the two glasses in front of him and Bonnie.
"No need to see, I'm telling you the truth", Bonnie picked up her glass and sipped.
"You can't help but challenge me, can you?"
"It's my favorite past time".
"From the very start, you always challenged me Bonnie Bennett".
She shrugged, "That's because you were always wrong".
Damon chuckled, "No, you just thought I was always wrong…we both know that if I came up with a plan, it worked out…you always lived".
Bonnie smiled, "That's true…", she looked down at her glass and without looking at Damon she spoke again, "did you think about Elena when you made the decision to sleep with me?"
Damon almost choked on his bourbon as soon as the words left Bonnie's mouth. He began coughing, "What…wait…what?" he asked, "what kind of question is that?"
"It's a question that I've wondered about for almost 4 years…"
"Hey, what can I get you?" Zach asked coming over.
"A bacon cheeseburger, medium well and fries", Bonnie ordered as Zach nodded and walked away as Damon continued to stare at Bonnie, "so are you going to answer?"
"The answer is no, I didn't think about Elena when I kissed you in your room and led you over to your bed and made love to you", Damon shook his head, "how could I?"
"I thought about it a lot over the past couple of years, whether I was a substitute…whether if the curse was ever broken, you would go back to her…the fact that I had Caleb, complicated things. I never wanted you to feel as if you had to be with me or feel a certain way about me because of Caleb. I meant when I said Caleb is the best of us and trust me when I say, he will always be the best of us whether we are together or not".
"I know that Bonnie".
"I just want you to hear it from me, that's all", she shrugged.
Damon looked down at his empty glass and tipped it for Zach, "Ok, if you want to play 20 serious questions…let's play…during the time that you were living with Stefan, while you were pregnant and after you had Caleb—did you ever think about being with my brother and becoming the perfect family together?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes, we're being honest Bonnie", Damon smiled at her as Zach refilled his glass and then topped off Bonnie's.
"Yes, I thought about it once or twice. I thought it would all be so much easier to explain and it would be easier for us all…me…Stefan…Caleb…it would have given definition to everything, but it wouldn't have been fair to any of us. Me and Stefan were friends, that's all we would have ever been…"
"We were just friends", Damon interrupted her.
"We were, but I also hated you for a very long time too and you know…thin line and all that", Bonnie shrugged.
"Ahh…so you couldn't hook up with my brother because you still had feelings for me…what a novel concept", Damon scoffed as he drank.
Bonnie rolled her eyes, "It's very easy to do…so I have another question for you, do you regret desiccating yourself?"
"Are you kidding me? Of course, I do. At the time, I thought it was the only option I had…but look at what I missed out on…you being pregnant with Caleb, Caleb being born and the first couple of years of his life and then it's the whole—you hating me thing".
"I never hated you Damon".
Damon narrowed his eyes.
"Well, not like I used to", she shrugged as Zach placed her food in front of her and Damon immediately stole a fry, "hey! I thought this was my night out".
"So it is", Damon stated, "so my turn to ask the question...do you trust me Bonnie?"
Bonnie looked over at Damon and she didn't hesitate to answer him, "I do", she smiled, "you made sure our son was safe tonight, how could I not trust you".
"Do you trust me with your heart?" Damon asked meeting her eyes.
"Caleb is my heart", she answered simply as she turned and took a bite out of her burger.
Damon knew that she skated around giving him an answer, but one day soon…she would.
Well Damon and Stefan handled Victor and Bonnie handed Enzo. I think Damon and Stefan were ruthless with what they did, but like Damon said—he would protect his family, FORGET everyone else.
At their little dinner, they inched closer. Let's see if that continues to be the case for them…(hint: they will get closer)