Damon walked in on the cutest but also most disturbing sight. There laid Bonnie asleep on the sofa covered up in a blanket with Lasher curled up below her with his head resting on her feet.
Gawd, if Bonnie were to wake up right now she'd freak the fuck out. So Damon tried to quietly make Lasher get down from off the sofa without waking Bonnie, but he was surprised when the dog, his dog, didn't obey his command and stayed rooted to his spot at Bonnie's feet. Damon quirked his brow.
Lasher always obeyed him.
"What's gotten into you…off the couch, now!" Damon said sternly.
Lasher barked in protest and Damon tried to shush him but it was too late; the loud noise had woken up sleeping beauty and he was just waiting for the loud scared scream he knew was moments from erupting from Bonnie's mouth once she saw the dog at her feet, so close.
It didn't come.
Instead Bonnie looked up at him with the most frightened look on her face. He saw her throat gulp and then when she tried to sit up he watched her face grimace with pain. Damon immediately went to her side, squatting down on his haunches in front of the sofa.
"Hey...what's wrong?" he said worriedly, reaching out to touch her face.
She was warm to the touch.
Bonnie looked away from his penetrating, concerned blue eyes. She had to get it together. She licked her dry lips, her mind struggling to think of something to say.
"Nothing...I just don't feel well that's all."
She decided it was best to stick to some semblance of the truth.
Damon put the back on his hand to her forehead to check if she had a fever. "You do feel a little warm. How long have you been feeling this way?"
Bonnie swallowed hard, looking way from his eyes. "Just since this morning."
Damon stood to his feet and promptly scooped her up, blanket and all, into his arms. "Come on, I'm going to take you up stairs where you'll be more comfortable."
Bonnie would've protested if she was sure she was able to climb the stairs on her own, so she remained silent as he carried her out of the living room, unmindful of Lasher trailing closely on his heels.
He gently deposited Bonnie on the bed once they entered the room.
"Thank you." She said, not really meeting his eyes.
Damon moved the hair from her eyes with his fingertips.
"Have you eaten anything?" he asked, fixing the blanket more comfortably around her small body.
Bonnie shook her head.
"Then that's first thing, getting some food inside your stomach… how about some delicious Italian Wedding soup? You'll be feeling better in no time."
"No Damon, that's okay. I'm really not hungry."
"Bonnie, you have to eat...even if it's just a little something. So stop being a hardass for once and let me take care of you, alright."
It was like the worst joke ever was being played on her, Bonnie thought. She had an abortion, killing his baby and he wanted to take care of her.
She couldn't let him do this.
"I said NO Damon. I'm fine, so just leave me alone...please."
He was a little taken back by her outburst. He stopped fussing with the blanket and straightened to his full height.
"Well, I'm in the mood for some soup so I'm going to make it. Maybe you'll change your mind. I'm going to go jump in the shower before I start dinner."
Bonnie watched him walk away, pulling his tie loose from the knot and sliding it off, disappearing into the walk in closet.
When Bonnie found out she was pregnant, she was stunned. She honestly couldn't believe it at first because she and Damon had been so careful, always practicing safe sex by using a condom.
How could this have happened?
And then that's when Bonnie remembered that one night when they fucked in the shower and they hadn't used anything because they'd been so caught up in the moment. Fuck. Bonnie had completely forgotten about that. She didn't worry because she'd already had her cycle and both she and Damon had been tested for diseases and they both were clean. So that one little slip up was never even a cause for worry or so she thought until her period decided not to come this month.
And Bonnie's period was never late.
For the next few days Bonnie begged and pleaded for her period to come, still holding out hope because there was a first time for everything. And she told herself that she was probably late because she'd been so stress out with everything that was going on in her life. But after two agonizing weeks, Bonnie finally broke down and bought a home pregnancy test.
She cried when it came out positive.
All Bonnie could think about was her parents and how upset they were going to be when they found out that not only was she pregnant without even being married first, but that the baby wasn't even Stefan's but his brother's. How was she supposed to explain that without bringing up everything that had happened in the past year? Her parents wouldn't understand.
They'd never look at her the same again. She was their perfect daughter, their pride and joy and if they knew about all the things she'd done…Bonnie didn't finish the thought, shutting her mind off.
She dried her tears. There was only one solution to this problem. She had to get rid of it. And that's exactly how she thought about the baby growing inside of her womb as an it otherwise she wouldn't be able to go through with her decision.
But in the end as Bonnie laid on her back with her legs spread open she couldn't escape from the truth because she could literally feel the LIFE that had been growing inside of her being sucked out of her body and into a machine that sat inches from her. No, she could no longer pretend. That it was a baby...her baby… and she'd just killed it.
It would haunt Bonnie for the rest of her life.
Damon came upstairs to check on Bonnie and found Lasher lying across her legs as she gently stoked him, looking like she was a million miles away. He leaned his shoulder against the door frame and watched them. When did Bonnie stop being afraid of dogs, his dog.
"Should I be jealous? When did this happen?" He asked, gesturing to them with the wave on his hand.
Bonnie was startled by his voice breaking the silence in the room, forcing her from her thoughts. She looked up at him, clearing her throat.
"Just recently. I trust him now...I know he's not going to hurt me."
A peculiar look crossed Damon's handsome face.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked her, trying to take his mind off his thoughts, wondering if one day she'd learn to trust him too.
Bonnie shook her head and then swallowed hard, preparing to tell the lie she'd thought up to keep him out of her bed for the next couple of weeks, so that her body could heal.
She looked down and began straightening out the blanket once Lasher jumped off the bed. "I think I may be coming down with the flu or something. It feels like it. So to be on the safe side it's probably a good idea if we sleep in separate rooms so you don't catch it too."
Silence.
Silence.
Bonnie risked a quick look at him and just as fast averted her eyes and waited for him to speak.
Damon pulled himself from off the door and stared at her downcast face. "Fine…if that's what you want, I'll sleep in one of the guest bedrooms." he said.
Bonnie's fast beating heart began to slow down to normal. The doctor had warned her not to engage in any sexual activity for at least two weeks and feigning sick was the only way Damon would ever go for something like that, so she would have to drag this flu thing out for as long as possible.
"When I finish making dinner I'll go to the pharmacy and pick up some medicine for you."
Bonnie's heart began to speed up again. "No, that's okay I don't like taking over the counter medication. I prefer natural home remedies." she said, thinking on her feet.
"Like what?" he asked curiously.
SHIT.
Bonnie tried to think and then she remembered her Grams used to mix honey and lemon with Rock and Rye liquor and drink it in hot tea whenever she was sick.
"Rock and Rye with honey and lemon."
"Come again?" Damon asked, raising his brow.
"It's something that my Grams used to make whenever she was sick. You drink it with hot tea."
"O...Kay, so where do I get this Rock and Rye?"
Was he fucking serious?
"Damon that's okay. You don't have to do that."
"Bonnie, you're sick. If you're not going to take any over the counter medication then you're going to take your Gram's Rock and Rye brew. Now where do I go to get it?"
All of a sudden Bonnie felt exhausted with all of this back and forth. For once, why couldn't he just let her be? She sighed, giving in.
"At a liquor store. But I don't even know if they sell it here on the west coast."
"I guess we'll find out, won't we."
Damon actually found the Rock and Rye, but what he didn't tell Bonnie was that he had to go to four different liquor stores to find it. When he got home, Bonnie told him how to make it.
The doctor had also told Bonnie not to drink any alcohol for the next few weeks but she didn't remember that until after Damon left for the store but Bonnie didn't worry she would just pour a little out at a time into the sink so that Damon would think she was drinking it.
But what she didn't count on was Damon standing over her bedside waiting for her to pour the brew into her cup of hot tea. She poured only a teaspoon full into the steaming hot cup.
"Is that all?" he asked, watching her carefully.
"Y-Yeah, I have to drink a little bit at a time and because it's a home remedy it's going to take time to work." She lied once again and took a tiny sip for his benefit so he'd go away.
Damon nodded his head and picked up her tray to take it back downstairs. He smiled when he noticed the empty bowl.
"So I guess you were hungry after all. Did you like it?" he asked, fishing for comments.
Bonnie gave it to him. "Yes...it was really good. Thank you, Damon."
He smiled down at her. "No problem. I'm going to go wash up those dishes so if you need anything just tweet me, alright."
Bonnie turned her head, noticing her phone for the first time on the nightstand and her eyes immediately went to Damon who was already walking out of the bedroom. Bonnie closed her eyes, leaning back against her pillows, feeling like the worst person in the world.
And to Bonnie's complete horror Damon spent the next couple of weeks taking care of her. He cooked her meals, did the dishes, and went grocery shopping. Hell, Damon even would have bathed her if Bonnie had let him, but she put her foot down and Damon reluctantly waited patiently in the bedroom while she showered just in case she needed him.
Bonnie didn't know what to think. Damon was acting so out of character and she didn't know how to accept this side to him. So she tried to push him away as much as possible but Damon wouldn't let her, ignoring her when she'd constantly say she didn't need his help. It was just so strange having him cater to her like this. Bonnie would bet her ass that Damon Salvatore never catered to anyone a day in his life.
So why her?
But with each passing day, Damon's kindness was making Bonnie feel like complete scum. And though he didn't sleep in the room with her at night, that didn't stop Damon from spending his days hold up inside the bedroom keeping her company.
And after the third day, Bonnie stopped bitching and just accepted the fact that Damon wasn't going anywhere until she was well enough to be on her own. They watched television and when nothing good was on they watched movies on Netflix. Damon taught Bonnie how to play Monopoly, who'd never played before as a little kid to his utter shock. One night, he even read to her from his favorite book and Bonnie found the gesture so strangely intimate that she couldn't take it and had pretended to fall asleep.
And during this time, Bonnie also found out that Damon had a very funny hidden talent. He could do impersonations. He did a great imitation of Al Pacino as Tony Montana from 'Scarface' but it was his impersonation of John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino that had Bonnie laughing in spite of herself because it was so spot on and she knew this because she used to watch those old re-runs of Welcome Back Carter on Nick at Nite.
And something unexpected happened during those couple of weeks. Bonnie started to see Damon differently, the lines of her perception of him were starting to blur. Yeah, Damon was still a rat bastard and he could be a very dangerous man when crossed but now she knew that he had it in him to be kind and caring as well.
He wasn't all bad.
Bonnie's feelings about Damon were so conflicting that it was starting to mess with her head because she knew who Damon was at his core. He was not a good guy. He had the ability to turn on a person at the drop of a dime. And though he had the capacity to be good that didn't mean she should forget who she was dealing with. She'd made that mistake once and it had cost her dearly.
Bonnie walked out of the doctor's office from her follow up appointment with a clean bill of health. Everything had gone well and thankfully she'd be able to have children again when she was ready.
Bonnie kept telling herself that what she did had to be done and besides she highly doubted if Damon even wanted to be a father so everyone was better off with the decision she'd made, right?
She would just keep telling herself that until she started to believe it.
It was Damon's thirtieth birthday and he was throwing himself a massive party at his house. This was a milestone birthday and he planned to go all out. There would be booze and food and loud ass music, Damon planned to usher in his thirties with a bang. And it didn't hurt that he had everything that he wanted and he felt like fucking celebrating.
His house was crawling with people, eighty percent he knew or was acquainted with while the other twenty percent were complete strangers. But that was okay as long as no one fucked up his shit. The party had been in full swing for about two hours and Damon was in the center of everything talking and laughing with his buddies. Every now and then he would scan the room for Bonnie and when he would find her his hand would immediately go to his dick and he'd adjust himself because she was looking so fucking hot.
She was wearing this sexy little clingy tangerine dress that hit her at mid-thigh, showing off her petite yet curvy frame and on her small feet were matching thinly strapped at the ankles tangerine heels that showed off her pretty toes and delicate ankles. And Bonnie had decided to wear her hair down and it fell in loose soft waves down her back. She looked good enough to eat and Damon planned on making her his meal later on tonight when the party was over.
Because she'd been sick, he and Bonnie hadn't been together in almost three weeks and now that she was over the flu it was time to get things back on track, starting tonight.
Sawyer who was standing beside Damon followed his gaze and he smirked, bringing his cup up to his mouth. "Who's that good looking black dude she's talking to…is he a friend of hers or something?"
Damon's eyes slid to the guy in question. Sawyer was right the guy was very good looking and tall. He had honey colored skin just a tad darker than Bonnie's with dark hair neatly cut close to his head and from this distance Damon could see that he had piercing light grey eyes.
"Excuse me will you while I go break this shit up." Damon said to Sawyer, pressing his drink into his friend's chest and walking through the crowd of dancing bodies in Bonnie's direction.
"Hey, if you want, I can get you an interview in our accounting department."
Damon heard the guy tell Bonnie just as he was walking up by her side. He slid his arm possessively around Bonnie's tiny waist. "That won't be necessary…isn't that right Bonnie." He said, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her mouth.
When Damon pulled back, he saw how her face tensed.
The good looking black guy interrupted their staring contest. "You're Damon Salvatore. Right?"
Damon turned his eyes from Bonnie to the guy. "In the flesh. Do I know you?"
"No, no you don't but I know you because I applied for a job at ASI a few years back."
Damon raised his brow. "Oh really, what a small world so I gather you didn't get the job considering I've never seen you before."
Tyler cleared his throat. "No I didn't."
"Then how is it that you're here in my home at my birthday party?" Damon asked, with a gleam in his eyes.
Bonnie stepped in then, knowing that look. "Damon, this is Tyler Michaelson…he came here with Meredith, whose around here somewhere." She said, scanning the room in search of her wayward friend.
"Yeah." Tyler spoke up his eyes remaining on Damon, not peculiarly liking him. "I hope it was okay that she invited me?"
"Yeah man, don't sweat it, it's cool. I say the more the merrier. So what do you do Tyler? I know you're not working for me."
Tyler gave a short, tight chuckle, wanting to plant his fist in Damon's smug face. "I'm the Director of Marketing at Jabot Cosmetics."
Damon nodded. He knew of Jabot. It was a multi-billion dollar company. "So Jack Abbott's your boss then...lucky you." Damon smirked, turning his head to look at Bonnie, who'd been stiff in his embrace all the while he held her.
Bonnie looked at Tyler, seeing that he was put off by Damon. "Tyler, will you excuse us please I need to talk to Damon." She said politely.
Tyler inclined his head to her. "Of course, and it was nice to finally meet you Bonnie."
She smiled. "You too Tyler."
He walked away in search of Meredith.
When he was out of ear shot, Bonnie turned to face Damon. "What is your problem? Why were you acting like such a dick?"
Damon got in her face. "What the fuck was that, huh Bonnie…why the hell was he trying to set you up with an interview at Jabot?!" He asked instead, ignoring her question.
Bonnie sighed, turning away from his angry blue eyes. "Can we do this once everyone is gone? It's your birthday, Damon…you're missing your party."
This made Damon even madder, her trying to stall. But she was sadly mistaken if she thought he was just going to let this go just because they were surrounded by a lot of fucking people.
"What the fuck is going on Bonnie? We have a deal."
Bonnie's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that he was bringing this up knowing that people were listening to every word they said. "DON'T." She said holding up her hand to stop him from speaking any further.
"We will discuss this after your party, okay." Bonnie said through clenched teeth, not giving him a chance to respond before walking away.
Bonnie found Meredith in the crowd talking to some people and Bonnie came up next to her, taking the drink right out of her hand, taking a huge swallow before giving the cup back to her.
Meredith looked at her with wide eyes. "You okay there Bon?"
But before Bonnie could respond to her question all of a sudden the music stopped and she looked across the room to see Damon standing at the DJ's booth with the microphone in his hands.
"THIS PARTY IS OFFICIALLY OVER, SO I NEED FOR EVERYONE TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE…NOW!"
Bonnie's jaw dropped.
It took a total of ten minutes to clear everyone out of the house. Bonnie still couldn't believe that Damon did it. Who the fuck shuts down their own birthday party and put people out of their house like that?
Bonnie apologized profusely to her friends before they left, feeling so embarrassed. And once her friends were gone Bonnie went upstairs while Damon saw to it that everyone left. She took off her heels, placing them back in the closet.
Damon was pacing the floor with his hands on his hips when she came back out. "I can't believe you did that!" she yelled.
"ME!...What about you going behind my fucking back and trying to get a job? Why the fuck do you need a job when I'm taking care of you?!"
Bonnie realized that they weren't going to get anywhere screaming at each other like this, so she forced herself to calm down.
"Look, I wasn't doing anything behind your back Damon. Tyler and I were just talking when the subject of me finding a job came up…I guess Meredith had told him about me being fired. So when he asked me about it I told him I hadn't had any luck and that's when he brought up Jabot."
"We have a deal Bonnie and I don't want you working…it would cut into our time together." He said, starting to unbutton his shirt. And if you get a job you won't need me.
"I can't sit here day after day doing nothing Damon! I graduated from a top university, and I did it in less than three years…you know why because I am driven and ambitious…I thrive off of being successful but what I am not is a woman who can't do for herself and that's what you're trying to turn me into and you have to stop. This has gone far enough."
Damon didn't look away from her pleading eyes. "No. We made a deal and you're going to hold up your end, Bonnie... because if you don't I guarantee you won't like what I do."
Bonnie lost her cool. "What can you do that you haven't already done?! Stefan and Morgan hate my guts. You've blacklisted me from every accounting firm in California. You got everyone thinking I'm nothing but some gold digging slut! So what the fuck can you do to me that can possibly be any worse?!" She screamed in his face, pushing him.
Damon grabbed Bonnie by her upper arms, shaking her. "Stop it Bonnie!"
She tried to break free, pushing at his chest. "Let go of me! Let me go you big dumb ape!"
Without warning Damon suddenly let go of her arms and Bonnie fell on her ass. He reached down to pick her up but Bonnie slapped his hands away.
"Don't you fucking touch me!"
Damon straightened to his full height. "Fine, Ms. Independent. Get up on your fucking own, after all you don't need anyone right, especially me?"
Damon squatted down in front of her and Bonnie tried to scoot away, but he grabbed her arm, keeping her still.
"But what you do need is my money, isn't that right? Physical Therapy can be pretty expensive when you don't have insurance coverage."
Bonnie gasped, her eyes widening in shock.
"You didn't think I knew about that did you?"
Bonnie lowered her eyes.
Damon yanked her arm and Bonnie angrily looked up at him once again.
Damon let go of her and Bonnie brought her arm to her chest, rubbing it slightly. He touched her face. "Stop fighting me, Bonnie. You're just making this more difficult than it has to be. I enjoy taking care of you, so let me."
He leaned his head forward to kiss her but Bonnie turned her face away so he kissed her cheek instead and she squeezed her eyes shut until he pulled away.
"And just so you know, if you'd only asked me for the money for your father I would have gladly given it to you, but you were too proud to do it. This was all your doing Bonnie…no one forced you to make this deal with me…and I will make damn sure you keep your word. This is one time you will take responsibility for your actions. "
Bonnie turned glaring eyes on him. "Fuck you." She said, angrily.
"Oh you will…tonight. And I suggest you be out of that dress by the time I get out of the bathroom or I will rip it off you...it's your choice, as always."
"I knew it, you couldn't fool me. You're just as rotten to the core as you ever were." She said, scornfully.
"And you my dear are just as rotten if not more. The only thing is Bonnie you just can't see it. But trust me baby, you are."
At the mention of the word baby, the blood drained from Bonnie's face. He was right. She was just as rotten as he was... no, she was worse, much worse.
At least Damon never killed an innocent baby.
Damon stood to his feet oblivious to the turmoil raging inside of Bonnie and he walked into the bathroom, closing the door. Something snapped inside of Bonnie causing her to quickly stand to her feet and cross the room, grabbing a pair of jeans from out of the dresser drawer, slipping them on. She then went into the closet and slipped on a pair of her chucks. She snatched up her car keys from off the dresser and grabbed her purse before hightailing it out the bedroom, down the stairs, and out the front door.