CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
When Damon pulled into the driveway of the large house he'd been accustomed to for the last 25 years of his life, Stefan wasn't in the passenger seat as when they'd drove to the meeting. He shifted the gear into park, and turned the car off, then proceeded to rake his fingers through his dark hair.
Damon got out of the car, locked it and shoved his keys into his pocket, then headed into the house.
The foyer, hallway leading to the library and staircase were dark, but the fireplace in the living room was casting a dull glow past the door frame.
He slipped his wingtips off before walking slowing into the living room.
Bonnie was seated on the couch, clad in the red pajamas Damon had bought for her at the hotel during their honeymoon. Her attention was focused almost completely on the book in her hands, but as he stepped closer, she looked to the left at him.
"I didn't hear you come in." she said quietly, looking a bit sleepy, with her curly hair up in a messy bun.
"I tried to be quiet, it's a little late." Damon said back, and loosened the tie around his neck that he'd picked up at a store along the way to the meeting.
Bonnie folded the page of her book in, and leaned forward, setting it on the coffee table.
The clock on the wall read 10:35pm.
"That was a long meeting, huh?" she asked, and stood up.
He sighed, "Apparently, more of the company rests on me than I realized. Plus, with my father's imminent prison sentence, some of our mergers are bound to end their contracts."
Bonnie furrowed her brow, and padded lightly over to the tall, tired looking man. She rested her hands on his chest, tapping her small fingers against him.
"You got this." she assured him, "I'm just glad you're home."
Damon exhaled, and attempted to let some of the tension off his shoulders.
"Yeah, I'm home." he chuckle lowly and placed his hands along her waist.
Bonnie slid her hands upwards and removed his tie for him, then touched the buttons of his shirt one by one.
"I called my dad." she told him.
"Did you tell him about Abby, and Giuseppe?" he inquired, caressing her with his thumbs.
"I did.. We were, on the phone about an hour actually." Bonnie explained, and ran her hands back upwards so she could wrap her arms around her neck.
"How did it go?" Damon asked, pulling her a little closer.
She pursed her lips, but remained silent.
"You're probably right, we should leave that conversation for later." he said.
"I didn't say anything." she blinked.
"You didn't have to." he chuckled.
Bonnie smiled up at him, and leaned upwards onto her toes.
"Is my mother alright?" Damon questioned, their faces a mere half inch from being pressed together.
"She's asleep, Wayne made her camomile tea, I took it to her around nine." she replied softly.
His lips turned up at the edges.
"My beautiful, loving wife. Taking care of her family, no matter how crazy they may be."
Bonnie smiled back at him, "Our family, and, always."
Damon leaned in, illuminating the space between them and pressed his lips to hers.
Bonnie kissed him back, and then a realization hit her as she moved one of her hands along the side of his face.
"Hey, you shaved." she mused, remembering that he'd still been maintaining the minor beard when he'd left earlier that day.
"Yeah, about the same time I got the tie." he chuckled.
Bonnie pressed her lips against his again, and moved her arm back around his neck. Damon held her tighter, and deepened the kiss. Once again the kiss was broken when another thought disrupted her head.
"Wait, where's Stefan?" she asked, a bit confused.
Damon moved a hand up from her waist and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"He decided to stay at a hotel for the night." he explained, and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
"But.. you decided to drive two hours back home?" she questioned.
He nodded, "Yeah."
She smiled and lowered off her toes, leaning forward and pressing her head against his chest, hugging him tightly.
"You're crazy." Bonnie mumbled, and Damon squeezed her back.
"For you, yes." he said, and she closed her eyes, feeling his heart beat in his chest against her ear.
Damon ran his hands along her back.
"It's nice to know you still like the pajamas I bought you." he said softly.
Bonnie tilted her head back, and looked up at him.
"Honestly, I put them on because I missed you." she flushed a light shade of pink, which made Damon smirk.
"Why don't I get changed, and we can sit by the fireplace for a bit?" he asked her, and she smiled wide.
"Like.. a second official date?" Bonnie asked him.
Damon pursed his lips, "If you consider it a date, then so do I."
Bonnie laughed quietly "Go get changed."
He nodded and leaned down, giving her a hard, squishy kiss on the lips before letting her go and heading out of the living room.
She smiled as she watched him walk away. She'd been feeling kind of lonely in the living room all by herself, and though she was sleepy, she really wanted to spend time with Damon. The last few days had been way too much drama for her.
Once Damon was upstairs she walked through the dim light to the kitchen and slipped on the light over the stove just so she had enough light to see.
Bonnie grabbed to wine glasses, but rather than grab the wine, she pulled a bottle of red grape juice out and filled the glasses up half way.
Tossing the empty bottle in the trash, she made a mental note to get more eventually.
When she turned off the light, grabbed the glasses and walked back into the living room, Damon was sitting on a thick plaid blanket he'd laid in front of the brick fireplace.
Damon turned his head to see her, eying the wine glasses.
"Don't worry." Bonnie told him, "Since, you are recovering, I decided me drinking in front of you wouldn't be a good idea. So, it's juice."
He smiled a small smile, and she stepped over, handing him the glasses so she could sit down.
"Are you going to pick Stefan up tomorrow?" Bonnie asked, as she grabbed her glass from him.
Damon shook his head, "No, he'll call for a car."
She nodded and took a sip of her juice, holding the glass as though it wasn't juice, and her lips were stained purple.
He smiled at her, setting his glass down on the floor a few feet away.
"Let's.. talk about something, anything besides the ridiculous soap opera our lives have turned into." Bonnie suggested and scooted closer to him.
Damon chuckled, "I think that's a bit much.." he commented, "Someone would have to die, for this to be a soap opera."
She nodded, "True, and you'd have to have a long lost brother, who ran away to be free of his criminal ways." she teased him.
"Ugh, well I sure hope that doesn't happen." Damon said with a sigh, "I already have a brother who gets on my nerves."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and he grinned at her, reaching over to pull her into his lap.
She exhaled, a bit startled, but quickly settled close to him, setting her glass on the stone platform of the fireplace.
Damon was wearing blue silk pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt, the fire giving his dark hair and fair complexion a nice glow. But it was nothing in comparison to the way she looked to him in the firelight.
"What would you like to talk about?" he asked her, but wasted no time, leaning down and kissed the skin of her neck.
Bonnie hummed a bit, in appreciation.
"Hmm. I don't know." she mumbled.
She leaned her head back, looking up at him, her back pressed against his chest.
"You know, we haven't taken a photo for instagram together." Bonnie mentioned.
Damon chuckled, this was quiet a random topic. But, he knew it was true. They'd posted about each other a few times, he'd even taken a photo of her and posted it. But, most of their posts on social media were preplanned.
He pulled his cellphone out, and clicked into the instagram app.
"I did change my name though...A while ago." she mused, tilting her head forward and watching his screen as the app loaded.
"I know, I married you, and you gave me your instagram handle the second we got back into the reception." Damon reminded her with a amused chuckle.
"BonnieSalvatore," she whispered, and he clicked the camera open.
"Music to my ears." he said huskily against the back of her hair and their dimly lit but clear faces showed up on the front facing camera.
Bonnie smiled, and closed her eyes as he took the photo.
The photo loaded on the next page where they could chose filters, but he just clicked onto the text and tagging.
"What are you going to put?" she asked curiously.
Damon smirked as he typed.
damonsalvatore: Fireside date, with my love. bonniesalvatore
"How's that?" he asked her, and her face flushed a bit.
"It's good." she said in a quiet happy voice.
He chuckled and posted it, clicking the screen off, and tossing the phone to the side. Putting his attention back to wrapping both his arms around her and pressing his whole face into the fullest part of her curly bun.
Bonnie laughed, "What are you doing?"
He mumbled something incoherently, and nuzzled her bun so aggressively that the band holding it together snapped, and hit him in the face.
"Akk!" he gasped, blinking rapidly and pulling his face away as her hair fell around her head.
Bonnie shook with more laughter.
"Don't laugh at me!" Damon said, tightening his arms around her, and she continued laughing.
Damon grumbled jokingly and brushed Bonnie's hair to one of her shoulders, before leaning down and resting his chin against the other.
"You're really lovey tonight." Bonnie mentioned, closing her eyes and placing her hands over his that were resting on her stomach.
"I spent three hours with people talking at me, the only thing I wanted to do was come home to you, believe me." he said quietly, the fire warm against both of them.
Bonnie smiled, "You're so adorable!"
Damon laughed and turned his head a little more, and bit her on the neck playfully. She squealed, almost a bit too loud and tried to wiggle away from his hold. He growled and kept biting her, but when she started to laugh, he couldn't help but laugh as well, leaving a damp circle of saliva on her neck.
"I'm not adorable." he insisted, and Bonnie pulled way from his hold, but didn't get off his lap, instead she turned around so she was forward facing him.
She placed her arms around his neck, and his went back around her waist.
"I am just glad, you're here." she told him, looking into his blue eyes that had captivated her since the first moment she saw him.
"Not as glad that you're here." Damon chuckled and pulled her tighter against him.
Bonnie smiled, and leaned in, resting her forehead against his and they just sat in silence for a few moments.
"So, I knew that... we aren't supposed to be talking about this.." she said slowly, "...but, I think we should eventually get the room, cleaned out. At least the weird stuff."
Damon blinked, and pursed his lips, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I would just feel more comfortable living here if we did that." Bonnie chuckled nervously.
"I'll take care of it." he assured her, and she raised an eyebrow, pulling her head away from his.
"That didn't sound cryptic at all." she teased.
He smirked and then licked his lips, thinking...
"You know...we could maybe think about, getting an estate of our own." he suggested.
Bonnie's eyes lit up a bit and she scooted further onto his lap.
"Really?" she asked.
Damon nodded, "Of course..." he started, "What kind of house would you like?"
She bit at her bottom lip, pondering, and Damon just looked at her, thinking that the look on her face as she tried to decide, was cute.
"Well, I love this house, it's beautiful. So, something like this house, but that's ours." she smiled, "I mean, Stefan and whoever wants can still stay here; it can still be a family house. But, we'd have our own, that's just ours."
He smiled back at her and reached behind him to grab her ring hand, and move it in between them.
"Definitely...ours.." he said softly and kissed the emerald ring and the gold wedding band behind it.
Bonnie's face flushed.
"Oh, I almost forgot." she said quickly and stood up from his lap so quickly he was a little dizzy.
He chuckled, blinking quickly and watched her hop across the room and sit back down on his lap a few seconds later holding two magazines.
"Found the magazines we're in." Bonnie chuckled and held them out so he could see.
"Oh, we're on the cover of that one." Damon mused, looking at the one that was from around the time they'd gotten married, a photo of both them in their wedding attire on the front.
She smiled, "You probably don't want to read the articles inside, but, the photo's are nice." she slid her finger along the cover.
He shrugged, "Rumors, no sense in paying attention to them unless they go to far."
Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right..."
Damon bit the inside of his cheek, "So, they know I was in the clinic?"
She sighed, "Yeah. They're calling it rehab, and have no clue what they're talking about but..."
He rolled his eyes and tossed the magazines to the side.
"Let them talk, I can handle it." he insisted.
Bonnie put her arm back around his neck.
"You know, there's a charity ball, for amFar in a few days. We should go, be out in the public eye." Damon suggested.
She pulled closer to him.
"Just for show? She asked, curious if he was more concerned about keeping the celebrity world buzzing.
He give her a look and ran one of his hands along her lower back.
"No." he told her, "I want the cameras to see how beautiful you are, that's all."
Bonnie smiled at him, and shook her head.
"You're a smoother talker, Damon Salvatore." she narrowed her eyes.
Damon grinned and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers.
"Want some music on?" he asked her, lips close to hers when he pulled back.
Bonnie nodded, and he slowly slid her off his lap and got up to turn on the stereo across the room.
Bonnie leaned back, propped up by her arms and watched him. Damon turned on the stereo to a low, but audible volume and some commercials were playing.
" Don't dance for me!" she joked, and Damon wiggles his eyebrows at her.
"I just might." he smirked at her and turned around walking back over to the stereo.
"What are you doing?" she asked curious, wiggling her toes.
Damon grinned to himself and pressed a few buttons on the stereo, starting a CD that was in, and pressing track 6
The beginning dialogue part of the song started out of the speakers.
Step in side, walk this way! You and me babe... Hey! Hey!
Bonnie's eyes widened as the intro came on and Damon turned around winking at her.
"Ooh my God." she breathed.
Demolition woman can I be your man?
Damon started to dance and one of her hands came up over her mouth, trying to keep from laughing.
Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet. Little miss innocent, sugar me. Yeah... Yeah...
He stepped a little closer and continued dancing, moving his hips a bit, and Bonnie was laughing against her hand.
Take the bottle, shake it up. Break the bubble, break it up!
Bonnie removed her hand from her mouth and inhaled deeply, trying to stop laughing at him, because in all honesty, his dancing was actually pretty attractive, though amusing, yes.
Damon pulled his shirt off quickly, and her face flushed deeply.
"Okay... I retract my previous objection." she whispered with a grin, and eyed his chest and torso.
Pour some sugar on me! Ohhh, in the name of love! Pour some sugar on me! Come on, fire me up!
His dancing quickly took a turn from making her laugh, to making it hard for her to breath, as he raked his fingers through his hair. Bonnie bit at her lip.
Pour your sugar on me! I can't get enough... I'm hot, sticky sweet, from my head to my feet yeah.
Damon swiveled his hips, and grinned.
"Get down here, right now." Bonnie chuckled, and Damon winked at her, before stepping over and sinking to his knee's on the blanket.
She sat upwards, and tossed her arms around his neck before he could blink, crashing her lips against his. Damon kissed her back deeply, the guitar riff playing in the background.
His hands moved her her waist, pulling her closed and she pressed up against his bare chest. Bonnie tangled her fingers in the back of his hair, and slid her tongue along his bottom lip. Damon breathed against her when she kiss broke and she ran her free hand along his warm chest.
He brushed her hair out of the way and leaned down to kiss at her neck, biting it, a bit harder than when he had been playing with her, and a small moan came from her lips.
"Damon.." she giggled, "Your mother is upstairs." she whispered.
"Then, be quiet." Damon said huskily against her neck, which only made her thighs hot.
Bonnie leaned her head back a bit, and he slid a free hand down her torso, letting his fingers linger along the top of her pajama bottoms. She tugged on his hair, which invoked a much harder, back arching bite from him into her neck near her shoulder.
"Shit." she breathed, her hips grinded forward once, causing his hand to slid downwards.
"Shh." he his tongue along her neck.
Bonnie removed her hand from his hair and quickly unbuttoned her pajama shirt with shaking fingers; revealing the thin, blue cotton bra underneath it. Damon lifted his head up from her neck and his eyes scanned her chest, her bare stomach which wasn't completely flat, and had a little squishy curve to it, which he thought was cute.
"Taking a step, are we?" he asked, his voice deep, quiet, eyes practically pouring into her soul.
And just like that, he had went from silly, sweet, to the most intense man she'd ever met in her entire life.. Bonnie was one disoriented thought from letting him lick every inch of her body; but, she also knew that she didn't want their first time together to be on the living room floor, while her mother in law slept upstairs.
"No.. not a big step, but.. a step. I guess." she said, her face flushing, she felt kind of bad. She could tell he wanted to do more than just make out.
"Don't give me that look." Damon said, his face growing a bit softer, as he could tell something was up with her.
Bonnie blinked, "What look?"
He placed his fingertips underneath the shoulder of her open shirt, and caressed there.
"The look where you think I'm disappointed. As if I could ever be." Damon chuckled, and tilted his head to the side.
" I just... I know, you probably have never had to wait so long to have sex with someone." she frowned, and he shook his head, brushed her hair behind her ear.
"Bonnie... my wife.." he started, "Please, stop worrying about that. I'm not married to anyone else, I'm married to you, and I will wait however long."
Bonnie smiled, and leaned in to press her lips against his. His kissed her back softly, and she leaned forward more, causing him to all backwards and pull her with him.
The glass of grape juice that he'd set on the floor, was knocked by his head and tipped over spilling on the carpet.
"Crap!" Bonnie laughed, and her face fell into his chest.
Damon put a hand over his face and laughed too.
After a second they both quickly got up from the floor.
"I'll get something to try and clean it up." he said and hurried out of the room.
Bonnie grabbed the glass and set it on the coffee table, while moving the blanket out of the way so it didn't get ruined.
Damon came back in, and turned on the main light to the living room.
"Okay, I got some cloths and club soda." he said with a chuckle and set the things onto the floor near her and was about to sit down when his phone started ringing from the place he'd tossed it too.
He stepped over and grabbed it.
"I need to get this." he said, giving her an apologetic look.
"It's fine, I got this." Bonnie chuckled, and grabbed one of the clothes to blot the liquid quickly.
She worked to get the stain out as Damon was in the foyer talking on the phone. After she'd gotten the most of it out, and leaned back, lying on the floor and looking at the ceiling.
She was kind of tired. Though, she wanted to talk to and kiss Damon a hell of a lot more, so she tried to stay awake by staring at the light, but this just gave her a headache.
Damon was sure to me done on the phone in the few minutes. She was sure..
However, he didn't get off the phone until twenty minutes later. When Damon walked back into the room, phone in his hand, he turned his head to see Bonnie asleep, with her shirt half button up on the floor.
"That was..." he started, but then saw she was sleeping.
He chuckled, and shut the light off, then set his phone on the coffee table. Damon walked over, and knelt down, carefully picking up Bonnie into his arms and she roused a bit.
He walked her over, and laid her on the couch, tossing a blanket over her and watching her nuzzle her face into the pillow on the couch.
"Goodnight." Damon told her, and brushed her hair out of her face face before stepping over and sitting in the empty space left on the couch.
He rubbed at his bare chest for a second, and then leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
At least they'd been able to forget about the drama going on for a little while.
Two Days Later
Giuseppe had made bail, which wasn't a surprised to anyone. It was slightly disconcerting, but they were fairly certain he wasn't going to waste the few days he had free until the preliminary hearing by getting himself thrown back in jail.
"Well, it's official, we are all over the news already." Stefan said as he held the remote to the TV and stood in the middle o the living room.
Bonnie peaked her head into the room.
"That's not a surprise." she sighed and watched what was going on on the television while Damon was in the kitchen finishing up the grocery list.
"Giuseppe Salvatore's preliminary hearing is today, where a judge will make the decision if there is enough evidence against him to hold a Jury Trial." the female news anchor spoke.
Bonnie pursed her lips and tore her eyes away from the television, and headed back into the kitchen.
"Fox is talking about us." she told Damon who was leaning against the counter with the fridge open.
"Our privacy is going to be a bit invaded until the trial is over." he said slowly, writing on the paper.
Bonnie stepped closer, cleaning against the counter as well, "More than likely, even after."
"It's a good thing, though. People need to know what kind of man he is." Damon reminded her and looked over.
"Even if the company loses some of it's allies?" she asked, folding her arms.
"Yes, even if we lose some allies..." he sighed, "Though, once he's found guilty, he'll be stripped of any and all ownership. I'll be the soul owner of the company. If I can convince our mergers, and clients that I will manage our company better than my father, then, we might be able to salvage some of the loss."
"Well, the least we can do is not let all of this ruin our day." Bonnie told him, and grabbed the grocery list from his hands.
Damon chuckled, and handed her the pen as well, before using his foot to close the fridge.
"Did Rudy tell you who your prosecuting attorney is?" he asked her, folding his arms over his chest.
"My cousin, Lucille." she replied and he raised an eyebrow.
"You have a cousin who's a prosecutor?" he inquired.
Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. I didn't even know Lucy was one until my dad told me. Lucy left after she graduated High School, and we lost touch."
"Well, I'm impressed." Damon smirked at her, and reached over to snatched the grocery list back.
"Lucy is at the hearing today, but she's going to try and come to the amFar ball tonight." Bonnie explained, keeping him from taking the pen.
He smirked and tapped the list against her head.
"I need the list to make sure you didn't put anything we don't need on it." she chuckled and grabbed it back from him.
"It's food, do we really not need anything?" Damon asked, raising both eyebrows now.
Bonnie smiled and looked down at the list.
"Really, we need a 5lb bag of chicken wings?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.
"Can you think of a valid reason why we don't?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as well and mirroring her face playfully, while staring at her.
She laughed and shook her head.
"Fine! I guess we technically can get whatever we want, I just thought we should try not to buy so much it doesn't fit in the fridge or freezer." Bonnie commented and wrote several more things on the list.
"You were the one who told me the last time, we didn't need a list." Damon reminded her.
She pursed her lips, "Okay well, technically don't. We can still get anything we see, and want to eat..."
"Like the average rich person..." he teased her.
"Of course..." Bonnie gave him an amused look, "..just think of the list as a way to make sure we don't forget the things we know we want already."
Damon looked to the side and then nodded, "Yeah, that's a good idea."
Bonnie clicked the pen closed and folded the list, shoving it in the pockets of her jeans, setting the pen on the counter.
"So, our plans for today are..." he started, "Your last physical therapy appointment, grocery store, back home, then we have the hour flight to New York for amFar."
She smiled, "Yup..."
Damon stepped closer and grabbed her chin with his thumb and pointer finger.
"I am so proud of you. You know that?" he asked her.
Bonnie's face flushed with happiness, "I'm proud of you."
He leaned in and kissed her lips once.
"You went from not being able to walk, to walking fast..." he told her, then paused, "faces pass, and I'm home bound."
Bonnie laughed at the song reference, "And I need you."
Damon smirked, "And I miss you."
She shook her head and took a breath, "Okay, we really should get going."
"You first..." he motioned and watched her turn and walk out in front of him.
He followed her out of the kitchen, and they put their coats on before heading outside.
Damon unlocked the car and they both got in. Starting it, he shifted into drive and pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road after getting buckled.
Bonnie was humming as she looked out of the window.
"Making my way downtown, faces pass and I-" she groaned, "Dammit, Damon, now it's stuck in my head!"
He chuckled and took one hand off the wheel, and she sighed, leaning her head back against the seat.
The ride to the appointment was quiet, which was actually nice, especially with all the talking from the news, and being asked questions over and over.
"Is Enzo coming to the ball?" she asked as they pulled into the parking lot.
Damon put the camaro in park and shut it off.
"Yeah, he is." he replied, the licked his lips looking over at her.
Bonnie unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. Damon took a little bit longer to get out, but locked the car and leaned against it.
She turned around to look at him, wondering why he wasn't following her.
"You coming?" she asked.
Damon put his keys in his pocket and took a breath.
"This is..probably a bit of a loaded question..." he started, "..but, is there something between Enzo and you?"
Bonnie blinked, surprised and took a few steps closer to him.
"Of course not." she said to him, "Why would you act that?"
Damon shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground for a moment.
"I just, have been seeing these looks between you too."
She furrowed her brow, "Well, there's nothing going on. I assure you. He's my friend."
He nodded and looked back up at her.
"I feel I should tell you this..." Damon started, "I know, that Enzo has feelings for you."
Bonnie's heart beat hard once in her chest.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Enzo has feelings for you. He admitted to it a while ago. He might not be trying anything, but, I think that you should talk to him about it." he told her, and stepped closer.
She swallowed hard.
It was kind of obvious when she thought about it. The way he smiled at her, the way he'd hugged her, the way he seemed to say things he knew would get to her. Bonnie's mind was mostly focused on Damon, so, all this time she'd been a bit blind to Enzo's affections; even if he was trying not to come off that way.
"Um..." she inhaled, "Yeah, I'll talk to him."
"Okay." Damon exhaled at the same time as her, "Just, want to be clear here, Bonnie..." he stepped even closer, "If you don't, talk to him. I will. I understand him having feelings for you, I understand him having a hard time putting them to the side... But, if he touches you..
Bonnie nodded, "I understand. Damon, you don't need to worry."
Damon licked his lips, "I am worried though, and unlike my past relationships, I will not deal with someone getting in the middle of us." he looked sat her rather seriously.
"I promise you, he won't." she said and placed one of her hands on the front of his jacket.
He took another breath and touched her hand with his.
"That was a little much. I didn't mean to startle you." he sighed, furrowing his brow.
"No, it's okay. You're serious about us. That's a good thing." Bonnie insisted, and then pulled her hand out from under his, but grabbed his hand and they walked through the parking lot together.
The therapy appointment didn't last very long. They did some strength training on a treadmill, some weights and she was told that she could start getting back into ballet, but to ease back in.
They said goodbye to Haley who said Bonnie could call her if she had any problems with her legs in the future.
Just like that, they were headed to the grocery store, the near evening sun shining down, melting some of the fresh snow.
"I know there is a lot going on lately, but have you decided what you want to do in regards to ballet?" Damon asked her as they grabbed a cart in the grocery store.
Bonnie pulled the list out of her pocket and let Damon push the cart this time.
"Not really.. Have you decided if you're going to finish your medical degree?" she asked, and he made a face.
"See, it's not fun to be asked about things you don't want to think about." she chuckled and they walked through the store.
"Damon, Bonnie!" a voice came from the left of them as they stood by the apples.
They both turned to look, and a woman, dressed in leggings a oversized sweaters, with a camera around her neck shuffled over to them.
"I'm with Extrava, can I ask you a few things?" she asked, and snapped a photo of them quickly.
"Uh, sure." Damon replied, stepping closer to Bonnie and placing his hand behind her back.
The woman smiled, and switched her camera over to video.
"Giuseppe's preliminary hearing is today. What all is he being accused of, and do you think he'll make it to a Jury Trial?"
Damon licked his lips, "Neither of us can legally answer the first question at the moment, but yes we do."
"Do you think this trial, might cause a disturbance in your marriage? Are you faltering at all?"
Bonnie chuckled nervously and leaned against Damon a little more.
"Well, it's not easy; but, we will get through this difficult time." she replied.
Damon looked down and smiled at her.
The woman turned the camera off video.
"You can, go on your way now." she told them, but they both knew she was going to follow them, and it wouldn't be a surprise if other paparazzi was there.
Damon and Bonnie walked away and continued shopping.
"What do you think we should do on Christmas?" she asked casually, grabbing a few lemons and putting them in a plastic bag, and into the cart.
"Uh..." he said slowly, hesitating, "I don't know."
Bonnie looked over at him, he looked a little suspicious, she thought.
"What?" she asked, and started forward towards the zucchini.
Damon pushed the cart beside her.
"Nothing, nothing. It's just been a while since I really even spent Christmas with someone. Last Christmas I was in Peru for a ballet with two other critics." he explained.
Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "Oh. But, you have celebrated Christmas in the, more traditional way right?" she asked, curious.
He nodded, "The tree, Christmas dinner, presents. Sure, not since I was a kid though. The last year that my entire family was together for the Holiday was when I was fourteen."
She frowned, "That's sad... I get it though. Christmas is usually just my dad and I. Except for a few years where it was Caroline, and I with her mother." she told him.
They turned into the bread isle, and Bonnie check the things she'd gotten off the list.
"So, I know about your Grams, who passed away.. Abby, and now Lucy your cousin. Anyone else in your family that I should know about?" he asked her, pushing the cart slowly.
Bonnie pursed her lips.
"Well, Lucy's mother, my mothers sister, is Joanna. I have an uncle, on my fathers side, Kevin, and he has twins, Darrell and Ella, they're about five. But, Kevin and his family live in Washington, they don't really support the celebrity life." she chuckled and grab a few loafs of bread.
"Hmm." Damon mumbled as they went into another isle.
"What about you?" Bonnie questioned.
Despite the time they'd spent together, family wasn't a huge topic; and, one could easily figure out why. Neither of their families were very well put together.
"My father has a brother, Uncle Zach, he doesn't have any kids though. He's about a decade younger than my father." he told her.
"No one on your mothers side?" she asked.
He shook his head, "Nope. Though, when I was twelve, her and Giuseppe separated, for about a year, and she was with this man named Julian"
Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "Really? They separated, and then got back together?"
"Ehh.." Damon started, "I say separated very lightly... Giuseppe more or less, ignored my mother for a year to be with several other women, and gave her permission to be with Julian."
"That sounds terrible..." she made a face, "Why did they end up 'together' again, and Lily not with Julian?"
He sighed, and grabbed several boxes of pasta.
"My father is a jealous man Especially, when someone is better than him. He did not love my mother, but he could see that if my mother was with Julian any longer, she would leave him... Giuseppe is good at brain washing people." Damon explained, and Bonnie frowned.
"Let's move onto a lighter subject." she suggested and he exhaled with a chuckle.
"Yeah, let's do that... When would you like to look at estates?" he asked.
Bonnie took a breath and tossed several more things into the cart.
"After, all this. Maybe after New Years?"
Damon nodded, "Seems like a good time. New year, new house."
She smiled, and could see a paparazzi taking photo's of them from the corner of her eyes.
"In the spirit of the Holidays, I know you said you don't know what you want for Christmas, but can you think of anything?" she asked as they turned down another isle.
"Honestly, I just want to be with you on Christmas, that's all I need." he replied, and her emerald eyes twinkled.
Bonnie had an idea of what she was going to buy him, but she wanted to be sure he wasn't expecting anything specific.
"I am still going to get you something." she smiled at him.
"I'm getting you something too, don't worry." he teased, "In fact, I was going to buy it today if I could convince you to let me wander off for a moment."
Bonnie shrugged, "Well, then, let's get the rest of the groceries. We can split up, and you can pay for the groceries and my gift, while I get yours and pay. Then we won't ruin the surprise."
"It's a plan." Damon agreed and they continued through the store.
Once they'd gotten the rest of the groceries, Bonnie wandered off, Damon as well with the cart of food.
They got each others gifts, which would remain secret until Christmas. (Author looks straight at camera)
After paying, they met at the car, Damon with a cart full of bagged groceries.
"Hey you." Bonnie smiled and helped him put the bags in the trunk.
As she wheeled the cart to a corral, his phone started ringing.
"Who is it?" she asked, as she walked back over, seeing him on the phone.
"Uhuh." Damon said slowly, and motioned a 'hold on' at Bonnie.
"Alright, thank you." he said and hung up, shoving the phone back in his pocket.
"Giuseppe's getting a Jury Trial." he told her, and Bonnie's face lit up.
"That's great!" she said and stepped over to him.
Damon smiled a bit, "Yeah, it's going to be in a few days. His attorney won't have much of a defense, with no witnesses. It's likely he'll agree to a plea bargain, but even with that, he's not going to get out soon. You'll need to talk to Lucy about her side of the case."
Bonnie swallowed, little nervous.
"Well, we better get home, get ready and then on the jet to New York then."
Several hours later, Bonnie, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Lily and Enzo all had gotten off the Salvatore's private jet, and taken a limo to the charity ball. Flashes from camera's were everywhere, cars pulling up to drop people off, and the group was behind two cars.
Lily had a good layer of makeup on to cover any of bruises, and was dressed in a floor length, red, long sleeve dress, her hair pinned up at the sides. All three of the men, were dressed in black suits, with white shirts and black ties. Their hair uniformly combed, but Bonnie could see how Damon's hair was fighting against it's direction. A few waves of his hair starting to fall over his forehead.
"You look beautiful." Damon told her as he look over, sliding his hand over her's that was on her lap.
She smiled at him, her curly hair resting beautifully along her shoulders, framing her face.
"Thank you, handsome." Bonnie replied and intertwined their fingers.
Enzo who was sitting across from them, beside Lily, eyed them for a second, but tried to take his attention away from them.
"How have you been, Caroline?" Stefan asked the blond quietly.
Caroline's hair was straightened, hanging much further past her shoulders than usual, and she was wearing a thigh length strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline.
"Alright, glad that Giuseppe's trial is soon." she told him, turning a bit in her seat.
Stefan nodded, "Yes, hopefully we will all be free of him." he smiled a bit, and reached over to brush a lock of her hair from her face.
Caroline's face blushed a bit, and she turned her attention away as the vehicle pulled forward.
"You guys ready?" Damon asked them, and everyone nodded.
The driver got out of the limo, and opened the door.
Damon got out first, and leaned in a bit, holding is hand out to Bonnie. She took it, and the second they were both out of the car, camera's turned towards them. She took a breath; a bit nervous, as she hadn't been to big event in a while. In the past she usually focused on ballet. Rehearsing for a ballet, and preforming the ballet. She didn't have much time in her life for much else.
She realized, as Damon held her hand, and they walked slowly along the red carpet, that her life was more exciting, married to him. She did things she didn't normally do, took the time to actually enjoy her life, everything in it.
"You two look amazing!" someone called at them as they were slightly blinded by the flashes of light.
Caroline and Stefan followed behind them, not holding hands, and Enzo and Lily behind them, walking together, but separately, much he same.
Caroline wasn't famous, she was far from it. Her family had money, sure. But any photo's of her in magazines, where related to Bonnie. Caroline Forbes, was the best friend of the famous Bonnie Salvatore. This what she was famous for.
But, this didn't mind her. After all, she was at a beautiful ball, with the people she cared about. She wasn't going to complain about the reason she'd been able to go.
Damon and Bonnie stopped along one of the amFar background walls to get more still photo's taken.
"Love your dress, Bonnie." one of the photographers said.
She was wearing a floor length blue strapless gown, with a small jewel in the front.
She smiled, and Damon wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I did once say blue suits you." he whispered, leaning over to her ear.
The silver heels she was wearing, made her four inches taller. Damon preferred when she was tiny in comparison to him, but he didn't mind.
Bonnie turned her head to look at him, he leaned over, and kissed her forehead.
"Bonnie Bennett." a voice came from the side of them, and when she turned her head, she saw a similar face. Though, she hadn't seen it in six years.
"Lucy!" she smiled and pulled away from Damon who turned to see what was going on.
The woman smiled, her dark brown hair was pulled up on top of her head, and she was clad in a strappy silver shirt, paired with a bright white midi skirt that complimented her modore toned skin.
"I'm so glad you're here, it's been forever." Bonnie told her, and the two women hugged quickly while camera's flashed.
"The circumstances aren't that good, but I am glad to see you too." Lucy smiled.
Damon stepped closer to the women.
"Oh, this is Damon..." Bonnie started, "My husband."
Lucy's hazel eyes flickered over to him, and down him, and back up to his face.
"Right! You're Mrs. Salvatore now. Rudy told me all about that." she said, and moved over to the side so a photo with all three of them could be taken.
After a moment, they all continued walking so other people could move up, and headed into the building.
The room was huge, with a double stair case on the left and right, leading up to patio.
The floor was marble, in almost a curved line along the back of the room were white clothed tabled surrounded by red cushioned chairs.
Along the front of the room, was a small group of people with violins, playing a classical version of 'Like I'm Gonna Lose You'. The rest of the room was scattered about with waiters carrying trays of drinks, cheese and crackers, as well as other people dancing and making conversation.
"May I have this dance?" Damon asked Bonnie, holding a hand out to her.
Bonnie smiled, looking over at Lucy, signaling she'd catch up later.
"Of course." she replied, and took his hand.
Damon lead Bonnie out further onto the floor and pulled her closer by her waist. She placed one hand on his shoulder, and her other hand in his; he had his other hand on her waist.
They slowly danced, stepping side to side, forward to back.
"I remember once, you said you don't like to dance." she mused, and he pursed his lips.
"That was before I danced with you." Damon said, with a smile, and watched her face flush.
He spun her around once, and she came colliding back into him, against his chest.
Bonnie exhaled, and tightened the hold she hand on his hand.
"You know everyone is looking at us." he commented, and she shrugged, following his lead in the dance.
Damon smirked at her and stepped forward, then to the side, letting go of her hand and letting her shift to the side, his hand moving from her waist to her back. Bonnie spun once and took his hand again.
"You never told me what's going on between my brother and Caroline." he reminded her, and slid his fingers along her hip slowly.
Bonnie bit at her lip, and looked to the side and Caroline and Stefan who were across the room still, talking. Lily had disappeared into the crowd, Enzo was mulling somewhere with a drink.
"They kissed." she told him, as they swayed.
Damon raised his eyebrows.
"Really?" he asked.
Bonnie nodded, and smiled, moving closer and wrapping both her arms around his neck. His arms instantly went around her waist.
"Huh..." Damon mumbled, "Yeah, I can see that."
Across the room, Caroline has already drank her first glass of champagne.
"So, I take it you are dateless, tonight?" Stefan asked her with a small smile, his tie a bit crooked.
She gave him a bit of a side eye, "And, I suppose your date is invisable?"
"Come on, Care, don't be that way." he tilted his head down a bit, giving her a playful look.
Caroline rolled her eyes, "S, we're both dateless? Alert the press."
Stefan smirked, setting both their empty glasses on a passing tray.
"Will you dance with me?" he asked, extending a hand as the song changed to a classical version of 'Portal-Still Alive'
She gave him a look, "I'm fine."
"I didn't ask if you were fine, I asked if you will, please, don't with me, Caroline?" he repeated.
Caroline looked at the floor for a second, her long lashes brushing her cheeks.
"Yes." she replied with a sigh and took his hand, letting him lead her further onto the floor.
He placed a hand on her waist, his other grabbed her hand, and she placed a hand on his shoulder.
They danced slowly, though, the song was a bit more up tempo.
"You haven't wanted to talk to me much lately." Stefan started, "Is it because of what happened the other night?"
"No.." Caroline said slowly, "Maybe.. maybe it is."
"I apologize, again, if I over stepped." he replied as they danced.
She sighed, "No, it's alright. I did kiss you back."
Stefan smiled a tad, pulling her closer.
"I broke up with Matt." she mentioned rather randomly, though she didn't seem comfortable with the subject.
He blinked, his forehead creasing.
"Is that why you're being a bit guarded?" he questioned.
Caroline nodded, "Yeah, I haven't even told Bonnie yet..."
Stefan frowned and reach over, grabbing another drink, and handing it to her.
"You seem upset." he said, and she smiled a soft smile and took it.
"Thank you." she took a sip from it.
Stefan pulled her a bit closer, which made the skin on her neck warm.
"I want to kiss you." he told her softly, "But, I can see that you're not ready for that.."
"So.." Stefan trailed off and just held her hand.
Caroline exhaled, and intertwined her fingers with his...
A bit later, and Bonnie had drank two drinks, in place of Damon as she veered the waiters away from him as best as possible.
"Doing good, babe." Damon teased her as she guided the waiter to the left and stepped back over to him.
"Thank you." Bonnie chuckled, "I am.. a bit tipsy though."
He smiled, shaking his head and pulled her over to him, holding her hand.
"Maybe I need to come up with a better plan, rather than drinking for two." she mused.
"Hmmm. Do you think?" Damon smirked, and kissed her on the lips, tasting just a bit of the champagne on her lips.
He inhaled a little, and reminded himself that he didn't need to drink. If he was ever going to drink again, it would be when he felt in complete control, and that wasn't the case yet.
Another waiter walked over and handed them both drinks without asking, and whisked away quicker than they could blind. Bonnie grabbed the one in Damon's hand.
"I think they want us to get drunk." he chuckled.
"Of course, they want us to donate." Enzo's voice came from the side of them.
They both looked over and he was standing there, with a smug smile.
"That's true." Bonnie agreed with a laugh and took a drink out of one of the glasses.
"I'll take that." Enzo offered, and she handed him the second glass, knowing very well she didn't even need the third, much less a forth.
Lily walked over not long after Enzo had and placed a hand on Damon's shoulder.
"Damon, can your mother get a dance?" she asked.
"Sure." Damon chuckled.
"I will get back to you." he said, looking over at Bonnie, and then his eyes flickered over to Enzo.
"You two should talk." he told them, and Bonnie knew what he was trying to say to her.
Lily smiled and dragged him away across the room.
"Why don't we dance?" Enzo asked Bonnie, who's head was a bit clouded as she finished her drink and set it on another waiters tray as he passed.
"Alright." she agreed, tearing her eyes away from where Damon had disappeared too.
Enzo got rid of his glass as well, and then took her hand in his and pulled her closer.
Bonnie placed her arms around his neck without thinking, but he clearly didn't mind because his hands went to her waist.
"You look quiet lovely, Bonnie." he told her, his accent thick.
She smiled, trying to hold back her bodies urge to blush, because she knew now how he felt, and honestly, it was making it harder not to notice the inflection behind his every word and move.
"You look good, as well." she replied, and they swayed side to side.
Bonnie tried to clear her head...
"Look, Enzo, I-" she started, but, something caught her eye.
Across the room was the familiar face of her mother. Abby had just walked in, and she was wearing a floor length, long sleeve maroon gown, her hair in a wavy pony tail.
"Abby..." Bonnie whispered.
"What?" Enzo asked her.
She pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry..I'll be back." she said quickly, and moved away from him, walking across the room.
Bonnie knew well, that Abby wasn't just there to be there. Abby hadn't shown up at a public event in years. This explained the people coming up to talk to her, the photo's being taken of her.
Bonnie tried to tune out the endless string of, 'Abby what made you decided to resurface?' 'Abby whey are you here?' because in all fairness, those paparazzi didn't deserve those answer, they didn't deserve to ask questions. Bonnie did. Abby was her mother.
"Why are you here?" Bonnie said bluntly, stopping on front of her.
Abby blinked, turning her attention to her daughter.
"Bonnie..." she started.
"If you came here hoping to talk, you're out of luck." she said, and all in two second, walked away from her mother, and through the room.
Her heart was beating faster, and she felt a little out of balance, whether it was the alcohol or her emotional trauma, she wasn't sure.
"Bonnie." Abby said, having followed her.
Bonnie turned around, her eyes teary.
"What, Abby?" she asked, just wishing things didn't have to come back to hurt her every single time she started to forget about them.
"I know you're upset with me, but, I want to make up for my mistakes." Abby assured her, stepping a bit closer.
Bonnie swallowed, "How do you plan on doing that? You abandoned me, you abandoned your family. Not only that, but you made a deal, with a terrible man, and I almost died because of it."
Abby furrowed her brow, "I know, I was wrong. I'm not trying to make excuses. I just wish you could listen to me, I hate seeing you so angry Bonnie. I love you."
"I love you!" Bonnie breathed, "That's why I'm so damn upset, because I love you, so much, mom."
A few tears dripped from her eyes, and they were starting to draw a few people's attention.
"But, I'm not ready to talk, I'm not ready to try and make this better." she added.
Abby nodded, "I understand. I hope you will be ready eventually, and you'll know I'm always here."
Bonnie inhaled, her heart aching in her chest and she turned around, more tears running down her face.
She walked away from her mother, and up one of the staircases quickly.
Thankfully, when she passed through the door onto the large patio, very few people were out there, as it was chilly with a breeze.
Bonnie didn't care though, even as the goosebumps rose on her skin, and her hair was ruffled. She wrapped her arms around herself, sniffling.
She just wanted to breath, forget about everything else.
Her mother had missed out on so much of her life. How was Bonnie supposed to begin to forgive her, to talk to her? When she thought about Abby, all she could remember is the day Rudy told her that her mother wasn't coming back. When she looked at her, all she saw was an emptiness.
Bonnie walked over, and leaned against the marble railing of the patio, looking out at the lake across the way.
"There you are." Enzo's voice came from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder, and turned around.
He watched as she quickly wiped at her face, but a dampness was left there.
"Are you alright?" he asked, stepping over and leaning his arm against the railing.
Bonnie cleare dher throat.
"Yeah, uhm, I'm okay." she lied, not wanting to go through the whole thing again.
Enzo tilted his head to the side.
"Don't lie to me. I can see you were crying." he said slowly, his brown eyes scanning her face.
She chuckled tiredly, "Just, drama with my mother..." she started, "I don't know how I'm going to survive the trial and her being there, Abby just being here in general."
He furrowed his brow, "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault..." Bonnie reminded him, and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"I am still sorry, that you're sad."Enzo told her, "You're in New York, at a ball, in a beautiful dress. You shouldn't be crying."
She smiled softly at him, and turned her head, looking out along the lake again, lights on buildings across from it were nearly brighter than the stars in the sky.
Bonnie inhaled, and ran her fingers along the marble.
"It is beautiful here... Exciting..." she breathed, "Much more exciting than Mystic Falls."
"I don't know... I think Mystic Falls is plenty exciting lately." Enzo said, never taking his eyes off the side of her face.
She nodded, "Yeah, you're right.."
Bonnie turned her head to look at him, a feeling a bit light headed, even as the air brushed against her face gently.
Enzo stepped closer, and ran his fingers along the marble, until they ghosted against her hand.
"A lot of people make their start, in New York." he said slowly, and drug his fingers in a circle along her skin.
She looked down, her hand tingling, and she knew she should move her hand away, but she didn't. Bonnie's heart sped up in her chest.
"Endless possibilities, for the dreamers." Enzo continued.
"I think if you believe in a dream, it doesn't matter where you are." Bonnie told him, trying to go along with his, rather random subject.
He nodded, and pulled his fingers away from her hand.
"I think I've decided something." he told her.
"What?" she asked, curious tilting her head to the side.
Enzo licked his lips, looking away for a second.
"I can't look at you, and pretend I don't want to kiss you." he said straightfowardly, his eyes flickering back over to her face.
Blood rushed up into Bonnie's face, and she removed her hand from the railing.
"Enzo.." she started, "You can't feel that way."
"I know that I shouldn't, and, I've tried not to.." Enzo stepped closer to her, "..but, I can't."
Bonnie felt stuck where she was standing, and it was hard for her to breath. It was different than when she was with Damon. When Damon took her breath, it was comfortable, pleasurable, euphoric.
The way Enzo seemed to take her breath, freeze her in place, was almost painful, and overwhelming on a perplexing level.
"I love Damon." she whispered, her heart beating faster in her chest, but she couldn't make herself move away from him.
"Tell me, you don't feel something for me, and I'll leave." he said in a desperate tone. A pleading look in his eyes, as if he was trying to compel the universe, into giving him just one good thing.
Enzo was a good man. He never wanted to hurt Damon, he never wanted to fall for a woman that wasn't his to fall for. But, even with all of his willpower, he had convinced himself this was a good idea.
The several drinks in both of them, didn't help the manner.
"I..." Bonnie started, but she couldn't find the words.
Suddenly, as quickly as the breeze could blow her hair back, Enzo's lips were against hers...
A/N: Lucy Bennett in this story is portrayed by Candice Patton.
Please leave a review!