Author's Note: I've now marked this story as 'complete' because it is! An epilogue will follow soon-ish because I'm still working out some kinks (not that kind). In the meantime, please enjoy these extras. Some have been posted in the endnotes of this fic on Ao3, and some have been written in response to individual reviews. Sometimes you guys write me something and inspiration strikes! I've kept them organized by the chapter they correlate to. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 15: where angels fear to tread
Damia Bennett was a practical sort of woman. So as her middle began to increase, and she found herself shore-bound while her husband continued to serve at sea, she took out a book of name meanings at the library. The obvious first stop is for her own name, which she finds comes from a minor goddess of agriculture; tamed nature. She didn't think her mother was quite so devoted to Nature, but she supposed the name was fortuitous. To be named after her dear friend and hero, but also not biblical as her mother's own was. Ruth was not fond of hiding who she was, or who she cared for. She didn't have Emily's circumspect nature, not like Damia did. But still, one is not raised by Ruth Bennett without inheriting a touch of her glory-lust.
Damia was named after the man who saved her mother's life, and when it comes time to name her own firstborn, it is easy to convey the same honor. The baby boy is happy, the father yielding, and the name as unusual as her own. Bonnie meant pretty girl, Damon meant to tame, or to befriend. Bellamy meant handsome friend. It would honor them both well.
Her second child was named for Damia's philosophy in life, rather than her heroes. Amelia, to work.
(Amelia, of course, will name her daughter Sheila.)
Chapter 19: unring a bell
a few additional drabbles to hurt your heart re: the time loop-
Zach had read his ancestors' journals many times. He'd read Giuseppe's, and Alessandro's, and his wife Rachel's. They'd mentioned a woman who came to town, who smiled with sunshine, and radiated magic and trustworthiness. They'd said her last name was McCullough, but some things never added up, starting with her close friendship with Emily, and ending with the odd artifact found among her things. Zach was an adult himself before he recognized it as a cell phone, a model new on the market just that year. He surreptitiously made a few cuttings from his cellar crop. He would plant them by the girl's house, and have a talk with her grandmother. Uncle Stefan was coming back into town, and who knows what would follow.
.
Emily, Bonnie thought, had known Bonnie when she had possessed her, and she had known Damon. Had her ancestor been trying to protect the town from vampires? Or protect Bonnie from Damon's anger over her lies? Or was her action actually meant to set Damon free from his oath to her line so that he and Bonnie could meet on equal footing? The possession didn't allow for any transference of thought, so Bonnie never found out. (There had been a slight emotional bleed. Determination and fear, followed by overwhelming relief, presumably when Emily discovered that the flames could not hurt her. That Bonnie's body would remain untouched in the sigil of fire. Elena later described her ancestor as proud, chin up as she stood, unyielding, against Damon's desperation. Bonnie wondered how Emily managed to keep her emotions from her face. It could not have been easy, to face the flames. She must have had good reason).
.
Damon saw Emily when she held up the necklace, fire alight around her. Emily, who burned in 1864. Emily, who never returned to speak with her spirit-touched daughter, no matter how Ruthie begged and pleaded to the empty air while her confused older brother and a heartbroken vampire hovered awkwardly around her. No, Emily had been saving herself for this. Saving her power so that she could destroy the necklace, and keep him out of the tomb forever. He didn't doubt that she knew that the tomb was the catalyst for Bonnie, that with her actions she was trying to prevent her descendant's trip as much as protect the town. Damon lunged, and it was only after Bonnie's blood filled his mouth, her scent his nose, that his rage cleared. Had his attack driven Emily from this body? Or had the spirit already fled by the time he bit down? The only time a vampire drank from me, he was attacking me. I didn't even understand why, it was in revenge for something I didn't even do. Damon remembered the shiver Bonnie couldn't suppress as she shared the little info she would about the attack. And hadn't he promised to rip that very vampire apart for her? Oh, the irony of time travel. He stumbled back, and left Stefan to clean up his mess. The taste of her blood lingered in his mouth for hours.
.
"I'm not Bonnie," Sheila Bennett said as she stepped over the threshold. Their eyes were locked, and both of them remembered how he treated her granddaughter that day when his emotions were off. He regretted his actions, and Sheila her inaction. For so long she'd stayed safely in the realm of theoretical magic, using her weak magical core as an excuse, but after that day she ventured into the practical to learn this aneurism spell. Just for him. "You don't want to mess with me.
Chapter 20: no good deed
Small outtake written in response to a review that asked what Damon asked Caroline that night at the Grill:
"Give me a minute, Care, I'm just going to pay the check." Bonnie said as she got up from the table. Caroline watched her go gloomily. Alone again. She was always going to be alone. She looked up and met the eyes of the next table's only occupant.
Tables at the Grill were placed weirdly close together tonight. But it didn't matter because this guy was hot. Capital H Hot, actually. And he was smiling at her! Caroline tentatively smiled back. Was her face red? Was her mascara running? Did she look drunk? She must not look bad, because Hot Guy stood up and walked the two feet separating their tables and slid into Bonnie's seat.
"Hi." Caroline said.
"Hi." He said back with a smirk, as if she'd said the most amusing thing he'd ever heard, and not a silly one word greeting.
"I'm Caroline, um, nice to meet you."
"That it is, Caroline. I'm Damon." He said, eyes lidded. Caroline smiled widely. This guy oozed sex appeal. Stefan who? Damon was obviously way better. He was older, hotter, and...not really paying any attention to her. Caroline's beer-soaked brain caught up to the situation. He was definitely giving off flirty vibes, but he was also glancing over her shoulder constantly. Caroline took a peak at what had caught his attention. Bonnie stood, just talking, with the bartender by the register. Bonnie started laughing. That was her flirty laugh! And she was using it on the townie bartender? Caroline looked back at Damon. His eyes didn't even dart back to her, but stayed locked on Bonnie. His face was completely unstudied, mouth slack, his brows unfurrowed. He was enraptured.
Okay. Okay. Caroline might be 0 for 2 tonight, but that wasn't going to stop her from being a good friend. Bonnie hadn't gone on a good date in ages, and no guy had ever, ever, look at her like this one was. Time to make some magic happen.
"So, are you new around here? Me and Bonnie both serve on the town's welcome committee, and I'm sure one of us could show you around!" That wasn't true. There was no such thing as the Mystic Falls Welcome Committee (though if it did exist, Caroline would surely be the Chair) because no one new ever came here.
"Not exactly new, no. I grew up here, but I moved away a long time ago." Like she said, no one new.
His face brightened, and Caroline looked at Bonnie again. Her friend was staring at their table, confused and maybe a little worried. Caroline widened her eyes and gave a minute shake of her head. She needed more time to lay the groundwork, she needed to have secured Bonnie a date by the time she came back over here. Bonnie rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, not giving Damon a second look. Oh, Caroline thought, this is going to be so great. She turned back to Damon and paused. His face looked funny, frozen, but his eyes were sad. Had he expected Bonnie to get one look at him and throw herself at him? Even he wasn't that hot.
"Well, things change all the time around here," A lie, but Caroline continued airily on, "so a tour would still be fun. Maybe with lunch at a new restaurant? I think Bonnie is free tomorrow afternoon, what do you think?"
His eyes met hers again. Wow, they were a pretty color, but what was up with his pupils?
"I think you're right, Caroline, things have changed around here, and I need to know all about it. Why don't you start with Bonnie Bennett. Tell me everything."
And she did.
Note: As for specific questions, Damon didn't ask them, he just frustratingly kept telling Caroline to skip stories as she recounted going bra shopping with Bonnie for the first time, and their school trip to an apple farm in third grade, or their first period experiences. But he listened woodenly as she talked about Bonnie as a child, right after Abby left. How no one would tell her what was going on, and she'd confessed to Caroline that she thought her mom was dead. How alone Bonnie had felt. And how she'd oddly linked her mother's abandonment with the mean dog down the street. Bonnie had cried more when that dog died than she had in years. Like she'd lost another parent, or her last source of unconditional love.
Chapter 21:
"So that was super weird. Right? I mean Bonnie said there'd been some kissing stuff, but that was some serious romantic tension. Sexual tension I was expecting, but that was…weird." Caroline said, as she and Stefan exited the school. Stefan was carefully watching her, probably to make sure she wasn't about to go on a bloody rampage, but Caroline was more concerned by the scene she'd just witnessed. Sexual tension she'd expected, with a dash of obsession from Damon, and a lingering crush from Bonnie. But it had been much more serious than that.
"Not that weird. My brother has been in love with Bonnie for at least a century." Stefan said with a shrug.
"What about Katherine? I'm still patchy on some of his monologues, but I do remember her featuring in quite a few." Caroline really needed to sit down and figure out her memories. Should she start a diary? No, it'd be too confusing, and too Elena-like. Maybe she'd draw out a timeline. That might help.
"Katherine…you have to understand. To love Katherine was to be consumed by her, at times literally. She was beautiful, and passionate, and utterly enrapturing. But she was never kind. Everything was a game with rules that could change at any moment."
"Sounds exciting."
"It was. But it was also terrifying. Damon knew more about the supernatural than me, but it was still new to him too, and Katherine would mete out answers only when it please her. And then there was Bonnie, a kind, honest, sane, person in the midst of all that. She knew everything, about vampires, witches, Katherine, our secrets. She knew us. That she was beautiful, and could provide some form of absolution for Damon's perceived sins, made her even more perfect to Damon. Bonnie was Damon's port in the storm, and he was only too happy to return the favor in the following years."
"Wow. That's way more intense than I got from Bonnie. I think she glossed over some bits, which she will be answering for later." Next girls night was going to be a whole weekend, because Caroline had a serious inquisition lined up.
"Maybe she doesn't feel as strongly for him. I was never sure. I can read my brother's face as well as my own, but Bonnie's…For a long time I thought Bonnie was like Katherine, playing with him for sport. But that was mostly my own prejudices. I knew they were both felt the same since he proposed. I've never seen two people look so in love. Surprised, but in love."
"Proposed! What?"
"Did Bonnie not tell you? Damon proposed on the Titanic. They've been engaged for nearly a hundred years."
"Damon proposed on the Titanic? Like, got down on one knee, presented a ring, proposed marriage? On the Titanic?" Okay, table everything she hated about Damon. That was the fantasy proposal of Caroline's dreams. Or one of them anyway. A thought of how unfair it was that Bonnie had received such a proposal and not her wiggled through her mind, but Caroline pushed it away. Bonnie deserved the best, and she'd loved Titanic just as much as Caroline had. Besides, Caroline certainly didn't want Damon proposing to her. She'd kick him in the face before even he was down on one knee.
"Yeah."
"What. The. Fuck. Bonnie left that out. Oh God! I feel so bad now!"
"Why? What for?"
"Well…I wanted a bit of revenge on Damon for, well, everything."
"Understandable."
"Thank you. But, now I'm regretting it. I texted Elena to meet me in Mr. Saltzman's room. I just wanted to annoy him, and well, to make him face Elena. But now I might have ruined my best friend's chance at happiness. Am I a horrible person?"
Stefan looked amused. Maybe he thought that the bloodlust should be making her question her humanity, and not her meddling with her friend's relationship?
"I'm sure they'll work it out. A hundred years is too long for someone to wait if they were going to let a case of bad timing ruin a relationship."
Caroline nodded, relieved. She hadn't ruined anything yet. But she needed to work harder, and she couldn't just leave everything to Bonnie. Bonnie needed her to be a better friend. Caroline thought of how she'd run away, months ago, when things got a little weird with the magic stuff. When, apparently, Bonnie's ancestor had possessed her. Bonnie must have been so scared, not in control of her body, and Caroline had just left her. Later, Bonnie had managed to build a relationship with Emily, despite that past terror. Caroline would try to do the same, for Bonnie's sake.
"Hey, did Katherine give you a number to reach her at?"
"You want to talk to Katherine?"
"Seems to be the thing to do, clear the air and all that."
"Of your own murder? That's very…forgiving of you."
"Do you think I shouldn't? I thought it might help Bonnie for me to forgive her. And everyone always has their own side of the story. Maybe Katherine's motives will be compelling enough for me to understand her actions."
"I can't argue with that."
"You know, I never would have pegged you for a motive-based moralist, Stefan. You definitely seem like a black and white one-morality-for-all type guy."
"What can I say, Caroline? I guess you don't know me that well."
"I guess I don't." Caroline responded, trying to not let the sting of rejection leak into her voice. Maybe her comment about his morals had been insulting, but she couldn't help it. Her whole mind was in overdrive over every posture, facial expression, word, desperate to analyze- overanalyze actually- every new detail. They jumbled with her own questions, and words just spilled out. Of course now she was reading what he was putting out as clear as day, and it was not a welcoming message.
Stefan visibly pulled himself together and brightened his face.
"You might not now, but the good news is you have all the time in the world to change that. What do you say, friends?"
Caroline beamed back, and extended her hand for a shake.
"Friends!"
A pause.
"But I really do need her number, if you have it."
Chapter 23: a bird in hand
Caroline's introductory text to Katherine:
Hi! This is Caroline Forbes. We met yesterday at the hospital. Well, met might be too weak of a word. But Bonnie told me a lot about you and I'm sure you'd have some great advice for me! Would you be interested in getting coffee anytime soon? Standard non-agression pact would obviously apply. Thanks! Let me know!
Chapter 23: a bird in hand
Written in response to a review stating "I'm also loving the idea of Caroline, Bonnie and Katherine getting together. Katherine's snark (yes, darling, you really are good at it), Caroline's Type A personality and Bonnie trying to herd cats."
Bonnie trying to herd cats is exactly how I picture that hangout! Of course, the third cat would be Elena, who is trying to sacrifice herself for some cause or another while Bonnie talks her down:
INT. BONNIE'S KITCHEN - "MOVIE NIGHT"
ELENA: Bonnie, it was me who left the popcorn in the microwave too long, I should just eat the burnt popcorn. The new bag would be wasted on me. You guys should eat it
BONNIE: Elena, it's just popcorn, we have plenty. Also if you don't throw out the burnt bag it will stink up my whole house. Please get rid of it.
Katherine and Caroline enter from the living room.
KATHERINE: You burnt another bag, Gilbert? You'd think you were the one born centuries before the microwave was invented.
Elena looks upset, and Bonnie frustrated.
CAROLINE: Remember what we talked about Katherine?
Katherine looks confused for a moment before comprehension dawns on her face.
KATHERINE: Oh yeah!
Katherine turns to Elena
KATHERINE (CONT'D): Did you burn another bag, Elena?
ELENA (hesitantly): yes?
KATHERINE: Boo, you whore!
She turns to look at Bonnie (who is gaping in shock) eagerly.
KATHERINE: Caroline and I have been working to make me stop dating myself so much. My modern slang is now on point! Don't you think?
CAROLINE: We still have a long road ahead of us. You still kind of sound like an aggressive grandma, but that at least puts your birth date in the last hundred years.
Bonnie opens the fridge and shoves a bloodbag each at Katherine and Caroline.
BONNIE: Just go start the movie. And don't get any blood in the popcorn.
CAROLINE: Thanks, Bon!
Caroline snags the non-burnt popcorn bowl as she and Katherine exit the room.
Bonnie tosses the burnt popcorn out the window and pulls out a big bag of gummy worms from a drawer.
BONNIE: I don't even like popcorn that much anyway, and I know these are your favorite. Why don't we share them?
ELENA (sniffling): Okay. If you're sure.
BONNIE: I'm sure. Come on, we don't want to miss a single second of Caroline's costume roast.
They both exit.
END SCENE
Chapter 23: a bird in hand
On Caroline:
Caroline would take the supernatural world by storm. The fact that the Originals were using Craigslist as a point of contact? Tragic. She's not even surprised they lost New Orleans. They don't have a single competent Personal Assistant between them. And none of them have ever been to therapy, despite desperately needing it, which she points out early and often in their acquaintance.
(Klaus comes to Caroline, very proud that he has made friends with Camille. "I've been talking to her. She has some ideas about my underlying trauma." He whispers. Caroline talks to the woman for a few minutes before she gets back to him. "Klaus, she's a psych student. Get back to me when you've actually seen someone with a license please."
Rebekah goes to a few actual sessions, but has to continually find new therapists as she keeps killing or compelling them to forget things she'd told them. Eventually she gets a degree herself. After all, who knows her better than herself? She blatantly ignores Caroline when the other blonde points out that she cannot be her own therapist.
Kol watches all three seasons of Hannibal and calls it a day.)