Hola. Soooo… "shelter-in-place" and all that. I figured this was as good a time as any for a little one- or two-shot for my fellow Bonenzo-friends.

I'm dedicating this one to:

Jade - because you've been here since I started writing for Bonnie and Enzo, and you're awesome!

graavie: because you've even started re-reading some of my Bonenzo fics!

Hope you'll like this a little.

I'm thinking of making this some kind of collection, but we shall see. I got it into my head that I might add some quarantine-type one-shots here, even for some of my other TVD stories. Let me know if that's anything you'd read and if you'd like to see a particular story featured here. :)

Okay. Here it is. Part one of - probably - two:

…

"Ugh!"

Slamming the cabinet door shut, Bonnie Bennett blew a few strands of wild hair out of her face, then kicked the cabinet door again for good measure.

She was all out of… everything. The sad little half-used bottle of honey and a jar of rancid peanut butter were the only things left after she had eaten the last piece of bread that morning.

Not to mention that her potatoes had died a sad lonely death at some point, and she'd have to bring their carcasses down to the trash.

With a wry expression, she stalked over to the door, putting her coat on, her gloves - and grabbed the big scarf she used in lieu of a face mask.

She'd have to go out there, didn't she? Brave the world again to get groceries. After having been cooped up inside for over a month, it was time.

But she really didn't want to go...

Out there, the virus was still running rampant, the city on lockdown, and she hated the thought of running into other people with a passion. She hadn't seen or touched anyone in… what? Half a year? A year? And she liked it that way. (Well… most of the time.)

Pulling her beanie over her ears, she squared her shoulders, then took her purse and a deep breath - and opened her door.

So far, so good.

Peeking out to the left, then right, she made sure that the long and narrow hallway was all clear before she stepped out and went on her way. Here and there, she could hear her scattered neighbors' little noises. A vacuum, a few muffled voices, stomping little legs.

She hadn't seen any of them in forever. Which was fine by her. Really, she had gotten used to being a recluse, to doing all her classes online, chatting with Caroline and Elena and the others via one of her messaging services. It was all good. Mostly.

Until she had to go out.

Scoffing, she clutched her purse a little harder as she went down the long sets of stairs and then out the building, where a harsh wintery wind blew into her face with ferocity.

New York at this time of year wasn't her favorite, and she didn't even miss going for walks - unlike most of her friends.

"Ma'am."

Fumbling for her card that read in bold letters "grocery run," she nodded at the police officer patrolling the street, and when she held it out to him, he gave a curt jerk of the head, then went about his business.

Bonnie sighed, the cold air making her lungs hurt. She hoped it was only the cold air…

Tucking her scarf in tighter, she bit her lip, then continued on her way to her car, then the nearest store.

The whole experience wasn't very fun - the waiting in line, having to touch the cart, trying to dodge people that couldn't tell the difference between an appropriate distance and encroaching on someone's space. But in the end, she got all the supplies she needed, down to the flour and toilet paper, and no one had run into her either, so that was good.

She'd call it a win.

The way back home was uneventful and quick, the streets deserted, almost no traffic thanks to the combination of virus lockdown and winter-road-conditions. At least the awful sickness was good for something…

After parking her car in the garage under the apartment building, she briefly checked her phone, seeing that Caroline had messaged.

~ Hey girl, where you at? Gotta plan tmr's uni assignment ~

Grimacing, Bonnie put the phone back in her pocket, then went on to open the trunk. Looking inside, she made a face at the piles of grocery items. She'd have to go multiple times. Great.

At least she could consider it a workout of sorts. Or… she could take the elevator, just this once. But then she'd have to press buttons too many other people had pressed before her, and what if she got stuck, or…

No.

She'd walk.

Taking the heaviest bag first, she made her way up, then back down, out of breath and too hot in her winter coat when she got back down into the dimly lit parking lot. A light flickered somewhere, a sudden clanging noise from elsewhere making her whirl around, but she couldn't see anyone, and it remained quiet after that.

"Hello?" she called out anyways, just to make sure she'd be prepared to keep the appropriate distance if someone else were to show up, but no one replied.

All the better.

Panting like she had just run a marathon, she jogged back over to her car, in her head going over what best to grab next - maybe she could cut down on runs if she managed to put the cereal and fruit in a bag so her hands were free for the bulky toilet paper - when she rounded the corner to her car and saw…

A man. Half-leaning into the trunk of her car, touching her things. Stealing. He was stealing! The freaking asshole was stealing her things?!

"Hey!" she hollered over, anger making her forget caution, and she raced over, trying to grab him, but he was too fast.

Briefly, their gazes met as he whirled around to look at her, then he began running away, backward for a few seconds, staring at her with something of an apologetic grin on his face while pulling one of her bags close to him. Then he turned and sped off, so fast that Bonnie should have just given up, but she couldn't.

Those were her things! She had paid for them with money she had earned in ways she had never wanted to use to earn money, and she wasn't going to let him get away with them. She had gone to the freaking store for them, had risked getting infected! He had no right to take them away.

That freaking thief!

Running after him blindly, listening to the noise his feet made on the ground, she let it guide her over to the staircase by the entrance. If she wasn't fast enough, he'd be gone.

"Give me back my stuff, you asshole!"

Out of breath, she made her way over to the stairs, cursing when she saw that he was already half-way up. But she wasn't giving up. Taking the stairs two at a time, she sprinted after him, ignoring the fire in her lungs, getting so close that she could grab the dangling strap of her bag in his grip, and tugging at it with all her weight, she yelled at him again.

"Let go! This is mine! Get your own shit!"

Surprised when he did let go abruptly, she tumbled, losing grip, and already she saw herself falling down, eyes wide, heart skipping a beat as panic flooded over her, when his hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back before she would have fallen.

"Easy, love. No groceries are worth dying for…"

Glaring at him, her face way too close to his now, she pulled her hand away again when she had regained her footing. The corners of his mouth curled into a smirk briefly, but before she had a chance to retort, he grabbed the bag again and sprinted up, and she sighed, trying to force down her anger.

This man had tried to steal from her, and he had touched her. His mouth had been way too close to her face. And what if he was infected? She had gone this long without contracting the illness, and then this idiot had to come and do this to her?

She noticed that she was shaking. Taking a few deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down.

She'd have to let it go. Stop chasing after him. Taking a look upstairs, she could feel the cold air coming down from above, and pulling her coat closer, she got ready to head to the car. She'd have to be more careful from now on.

Just get the rest of the groceries up, lock the doors well and take a shower. Wash her clothes immediately. Wipe down everything he could have touched. Disinfect her apartment while she was at it.

Her hands tight fists, she stood on the stairs, staring up. Unable to move.

Of course he had grabbed her favorite shopping bag. The insulated one…

Before she knew it, she found herself gripping the cold metal railing, steadying herself as she ran after him after all. Would she still find him up there on the streets? Would the cop be there, able to help her?

She had barely made it up to the ground level, when she heard someone loudly yell.

"Stop! Police!"

Her eyes lit up, a big grin erupting on her face. Sure enough, the officer was already onto the idiot. He deserved everything that was coming his way.

Without warning, a loud, exploding sound made her ears ring, then a second. (Really? They were shooting at the guy? For petty theft?)

Before she had time to process, a dark shadow came hurtling down toward her, then past her with a wink: her thief, running back down, trying to flee. Scoffing, she shook her head. No. She was not gonna let him do that.

But her car was still unlocked, the trunk wide open, wasn't it?

Shit.

Sprinting after him yet again, back down into the dimness of the parking lot, she briefly thought what a stupid stupid idea this was, how dangerous, when she peeked over the bannister of the stairs, only to find him looking straight back up at her.

For a moment, her world came to a halt. Staring up, she forgot to run, or breathe, his dark gaze boring into her. Then he raised an eyebrow at her, smirking, and continued on down. A second later, she unfroze, chasing him yet again, calling "Stop!" just as he jumped onto the banister, sliding down the last bit so fast that she knew she was never going to catch up with him.

Except.

As if in slow motion, she watched as the lower part of the handrail suddenly came off, the metal creaking as it burst out of the adjacent wall, and the next thing she knew, her thief was crashing down, his arm catching on something as he went flying. With a hard thud, he landed on the ground, way too slowly trying to get up again.

"Hah! Asshole! Instant karma, huh?" she hollered as she hopped down the stairs, now confident she'd be able to catch up with him after all. Already, she was pulling out her phone, ready to call the cops on him, triumph making her feel ten inches taller.

When she got down, he was starting to stand up, looking up at her as she called out again.

"Hey! Stay down!" she ordered, putting her phone to her ear as he straightened, his movements weirdly slow.

There was a smile on his features, and for the first time, she could really see his face. It was a handsome face, the smile only aiding in that impression. Swallowing, she forced herself to discard that thought. He was a stupid thief! And an unlucky one, too.

"You gonna give me back my bag now? - The cops will be here in no time."

His smile was genuine, but growing a bit wan, and Bonnie's gaze fell on the way he cradled his left arm as he dropped her bag, shoving it toward her with his foot.

Bright red was beginning to seep through his too thin shirt - and she realized that he wasn't wearing a jacket. In New York, in the winter.

He really was an idiot.

Or…

(No. Don't you dare feel sympathy for him now, Bonnie Bennett. He's a thief!)

"Just trying to survive, love," he told her with a half-shrug, making her glare at him angrily.

"By making it harder for others to survive? By stealing?"

He tilted his head, grinning apologetically.

"What can I say, I'm sorry. How about we forget all this. You have your stuff back, so why don't you just let me go."

"There's a cop up there, ready to shoot you if I heard that right."

He clicked his tongue.

"Not my lucky day. - Come on, love, let me go. I promise I won't ever come back here."

Snorting, she shook her head, watching as he took a few tentative steps backward. His eyelids began flickering, and he stumbled, making her almost drop her phone. He didn't have a gun, did he?

"Stop moving! Do you want them to shoot you?"

"Not like they're gonna ask questions first…" He made a face, his lips (nice lips...) forming a thin line. " What do you have to lose? You got everything back, right? So… Let me go…"

"Absolutely no-"

Without warning, he half-fell against the wall beside him, sliding down so abruptly that she rushed forward, following a sudden (stupid, stupid) impulse.

"You're hurt," she said (like a complete idiot, because heck, that was obvious), but he didn't seem to think anything of it, just looked up at her with a grimace, before averting his gaze, trying to get back up.

"Just…let me go…"

"Is that all you can say?"

Those dark eyes came up to meet hers, a flicker of mirth in them that didn't spread to the rest of his face.

"Maybe?"

"Well, newsflash: you're not gonna go anywhere." She reached out a hand, carefully tugging at his soaked sleeve, making him flinch away, his gaze hooded, wary as he squinted at her. "I'm not gonna hurt you," she said, a little indignant. "Though I'd have all the right to do so. - You'll need a doctor for this."

"I'm… fine. If you just let me go."

Chuckling incredulously, she threw her head back a little. This man was unbelievable.

"Oh ya? And how are you gonna leave this place? Up there is a trigger-happy cop, and down here, there's no one but me and you and you're bleeding like a stabbed pig. So, going by my meager experience, at this rate, you'll bleed to death in a few hours. Taking the temperatures into account, you might also freeze to death first. One or the other."

"The odds are not in my favor, eh?"

His sober tone made her chuckle again. The way he looked up at her - his breathing growing shallower already - made her features (and her stupid heart!) soften of their own accord.

(She had probably just been too far removed from human contact for too long now. Yeah, that was it…)

"I'm gonna call an ambula-"

"No! Please…" His hand had shot out to grab the lapel of her coat, and she couldn't help but stare at it now, feel it, too. He was touching her… The first person to touch her in forever, and it was this guy who had tried stealing from her? Whatever the hell did fate have against her?

"I can't let you sit here like that."

"I'll go. Just… give me a moment."

"Were you not listening before? That part where I said you're gonna bleed out or die from exposure?

His chuckle was so weak it was almost soundless. His head fell against the wall behind him and he closed his eyes - and Bonnie panicked.

"Hey! No! Open your eyes. You're not allowed to die, you hear me? First you try to steal my stuff and now, what? You gonna turn this day into a complete nightmare? Don't freaking die!"

Eyes peeling open, he shot her a glance, a half-smile back on his face.

"Instant karma. Didn't you say that?"

"Groceries are not worth dying for. Didn't you say that?"

His weak scoff as he tried to reposition himself made her place a hand on his chest, shaking her head.

"Just… don't move. Let me…"

With one hand, she quickly dialed 911, with the other tugging at the belt cinched around her waist. Because if she really wanted her thief to live, she had no more time to lose.

"What are you doing?"

Raising an eyebrow, she stared at him, just as someone answered on the other end.

"911. If your emergency is virus-related, press 1. If…"

Bonnie pressed two before the recorded message could continue, then tucked her phone between her ear and shoulder. Meanwhile, she had undone her belt, and moved to grab the strangers arm. When she carefully lifted it up, he hissed, breath catching, but didn't flinch away this time. Warily, he watched as she wrapped the belt around his upper arm, hoping to stop the bleeding that way.

"Thanks," he muttered, his gaze wandering up to her face, and she couldn't help but smile at him. (Though he didn't deserve it! It was just…)

"Yeah, whatever." (Whatever? How eloquent, Bonnie Bennett.)

"No one answering, huh?" He indicated the phone with his uninjured arm, and she pressed her lips together before nodding.

"Guess there's a lot of assholes like you out at the moment, and they need to take care of those first…"

"People are desperate, love." He did a half-shrug, and she glared at him.

"Desperate? So they have to steal from people? Hurt them?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry. What I did…"

"... was just because you were desperate?" She knew she sounded petulant, but when he gave her a mild look, it irked her anyways. He had no right-

"911. What is your emergency?"

Pulled out of her thoughts, she scoffed.

"Wow. This long of a wait for an emergency?" She rolled her eyes to herself, acutely aware of how her thief's smile returned at that. "I need an ambulance. There's a man bleeding out in my garage."

"Is he responsive, Ma'am?"

"Are you responsive?"

"I'd surmise…"

"Yes. He's… conscious and responsive. But he's bleeding badly."

"Okay. Where is he bleeding? Can you put pressure on the wound?"

Peeking at his arm again, she gingerly moved to try and lift his sleeve, making him clench his teeth. The arm didn't look too good. There was a gash where the metal railing must have torn the skin open, deep enough for her to see the bone. Looking from his arm to his now ashen face, she grimaced on his behalf.

"It's his arm. I made a tourniquet of sorts to stave the blood flow…"

"Okay, good. Is he able to move?"

"Not sure. I guess… He's pretty pale, though. Almost passed out right now."

There was a weird little pause on the other end that made her anxious. Looking over to the thief, she saw that he had closed his eyes again, his head listing to the side a bit.

"Hey! Hey…" Tapping against his cheeks, she managed to get him to stir again, before she addressed the dispatcher on the other side. "I really need an ambulance here. I don't think he's gonna walk anywhere anytime soon."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. We don't have any capacity for a pick up at the moment. You'll have to get the man to a hospital. But I'm afraid the nearest one that still admits patients is-"

"Wait. What are you saying? That it's my job to bring him to a hospital? - I… he tried stealing my groceries, did I mention that?!"

"Ma'am, we have reached capacity. There are no ambulances available, and even if there were, your… robber would not be the first choice."

"So what? Now it's up to me to make sure he lives? He's gonna die if no one comes to help him."

"I'll have to clear the line now, Ma'am. But… word of advice? - Leave him be and mind your business. Lock the door. Someone will come check on him eventually."

"'Leave him be?' What kind of advice is that? He'll be dead by then! Do you know how cold it is? You can't just… - Hello?" The line had gone quiet, the call disconnected. Bonnie couldn't believe it. Her mouth working as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened, she sat on her haunches before her thief, cradling her forehead in her hand.

What was she supposed to do now? What was she supposed to do?

"They're right. Just go, love. Go…"

She raised her head, frowning at him. He was staring straight at her with his too dark eyes, one corner of his mouth tilted upward. With a shuddering breath, he tried sitting up straighter, his face scrunching up as he did.

"Go."

Maybe she should. Leave, run to her car, grab the remainder of her things and rush up the stairs, up up up to her apartment and lock the door on the world out here, on him, on everything.

He was just a thief, and all this was his own fault.

"Go, love. - And again, I'm sorry…"

No. She couldn't do that. He was a human being. He was here with her now, and she wasn't going to let him die.

No groceries were worth dying for after all...