Chapter Forty-Nine: Family Clash

At the first moment the room didn't look familiar. The light was too bright and hindering him to see clearly. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light he recognized the place and remembered the night before.

With a smile on his face Kai turned his head to find a sleeping Bonnie Bennett next to him. She was lying on her side, facing him and was wrapped in her blanket. Besides the bright sunshine that was flooding the room the air had cooled down, fall was approaching fast. And so they were both tugged into thick blankets that were supposed to compensate the lack of clothes on their body.

Kai had felt a huge need to reach out to Bonnie, pull her closer to him and smother her with a tight embrace. But he didn't because that would most certainly wake her up and Kai wanted her to sleep in after the long night they had. So he settled for turning to his side and watching her instead.

Her beautiful features looked relaxed and peaceful. The sunlight touching her face made her skin look even smoother than usual. The golden color of her skin matched the warmth of the October sun perfectly. Fall always had the most beautiful light. Bonnie's even breathing calmed Kai down. He listened to it and in that moment it seemed like the most amazing sound he had ever heard. He couldn't look away from her and his heart did funny things like skipping a beat or changing pace. Even though he had had some time to adjust to these newfound feelings, who only ever surfaced when Bonnie was around, it was still weird. He had never been the emotional type, rather shutting everything out then letting it in. But with Bonnie he found himself forced to feel, wanting to feel. It was something about her that made him want to confess every little thought he ever had to her, hearing her own thoughts about it and just revel in these strange feelings. Even if he wanted to, he had no chance other than to let those feelings in. Bonnie made it impossible for him to ignore them. Sometimes he wasn't quite sure if he hated that about her, or if it was the complete opposite.

Still, the thought of putting a name to his feelings made Kai panic. He didn't think much about the their origin or what they really meant because if he did there was a huge possibility that he might run. Or worse, get hurt. Because no matter what he felt, he was sure as hell that Bonnie would not feel the same. How could she? How could anyone?

Kai shook his head to get rid of his thoughts that had taken such a dark turn. He resumed to watching Bonnie in her sleep. In that moment he was content and at peace. After a while he felt the urge to stretch his limbs. He wasn't used to being lazy in bed. He usually got up as soon as he was awake. Only when Bonnie was with him, he would stay and cuddle or fool around with her. But she was still fast asleep and since waking her was out of the picture for him, he leaned forward and gave her the softest of kisses on the lips before he slowly climbed out of bed. He put on his clothes, his sweatpants he left at her place for occasions like this, and a fresh shirt Bonnie had stolen from him and went downstairs.

Abby was probably already at work, her working schedule was crazy, always switching from early shift to night shift and back. Bonnie used to complain about it a lot because she didn't get to see her mother as much as she might like, but ever since Bonnie and Kai started dating her complaints got less.

Kai headed straight for the kitchen because he was hungry. All the alcohol last night and the late night activities with Bonnie had him starving. For a moment he completely forgot that there was another person in the house so when he heard rumbling in the kitchen he stopped for a second. But then he remembered Bonnie's grams and went right in.

Sheila Bennett was standing at the stove, turning something over in a pan. Kai thought that he should make himself known because the old lady probably didn't hear him approach but when he wanted to say something Sheila cut in.

"Get in here, boy. Breakfast is nearly ready."

Kai blinked and went over to the kitchen counter to sit down. Sheila had her back turned to him and was preoccupied with the food she was preparing so Kai looked out the window to appreciate another beautiful October day. After only a minute, a plate was put in front of him along with flatware. A warm and wonderful smelling pancake was greeting Kai and his stomach instantly grumbled. Sheila put down maple syrup and watched Kai. He shot her an appreciative smile and reached for the syrup to pour some of it over his pancake.

Kai let his feet dangle from the stool as he was enjoying his meal. He supported his head with his arm while he was digging into the pancakes. He felt somewhat like a little boy again. The situation reminded him a lot of the way his granny used to make him pancakes when he was about 6 years old. The only difference was that Dawn Abbott used to put a funny face onto the pancakes with blueberries or chocolate chips. But of course Sheila Bennett wouldn't do that, he was way too old for smiley faces.

Kai swallowed a huge bite before he turned his attention to the older woman in front of him. "These are amazing. I wonder where the talent for cooking got lost between you and your granddaughter. I know Abby is a good cook, so?"

Sheila chuckled. "Dear boy, I guess the Hopkins genes are more dominate than we all wished. But I also guess that it has to do with pure interest. Bonnie has so many other things on her mind other than cooking. You are one of those things, I guess."

Kai nodded, he had never seen it like that. "Well, for the sake of humanity, I must break up with Bonnie then. If I don't she might accidentally poison the president one day." Kai joked then halted, for a moment. He had forgotten who he was talking to. But Sheila Bennett continued to impress him when she laughed full heartedly at his joke. He liked this person more with every second.

"You are a rascal through and through, aren't you?" she asked with a smile on her face and turned around to take care of the other pancakes still in the making.

"I do my best." Kai smiled and ate the last of his pancakes.

"Thought I heard someone rambling down here." A familiar female voice reached his ear and he turned to see Bonnie stand in the doorway to the kitchen. She was wearing one of his shirts and short pajama-pants. Even though he liked the style she was wearing earlier in bed better, he had to admit that he liked seeing her in his clothes.

"Good morning there." Kai greeted her cheekily when she stepped inside and placed herself next to him.

"Hi." She smiled and looked him deep in the eyes before her gaze went down to his empty plate. "What the hell have you been eating?" she asked accusingly.

"It's not my fault, it was there when I got here." Kai raised his hands in defense as Bonnie's expression turned sour. She was now mock-glaring at her grandmother.

"Grams?"

"Relax child, it is really not his fault. Also it is not like I forgot about you." Sheila put a plate of hot pancakes in front of her granddaughter who looked more pleased now. "By the way, you are turning into a daring little woman, not saying good morning to your old grams but demanding to get fed anyway."

Bonnie smiled at her grandmother with the typical granddaughter smile Kai always used with his own grandma and he could see that Sheila Bennett wasn't immune to the look either.

"It's all his fault." Bonnie pointed at Kai while she ate.

"Excuse me?" Kai said mock-indignant. "You are only mad because I got the first pancakes."

"Hell yeah I am. You didn't even deserve them." She actually stuck out her tongue to him before her grandmother flung a dishtowel in her face which startled her.

"Leave him be, Bonnie. He got the first portion and that's it. Now you have your own share so do not pout. Besides, look at the poor boy, he really needs to get some good food into his belly." Sheila said the last part with a caring smile on her face and a wink of her eye which Bonnie didn't catch. Kai was secretly falling in love with the woman. It surprised him all the time that he like Bonnie's family so much. In comparison to his own he actually really liked spending time with them.

"Are you two colluding?" Bonnie asked accusingly with her fork pointed between her grandmother and him.

"What?"
"Noooo!" they both said at the same time and it was so funny that it really didn't sound genuine at all. The three laughed and then Sheila excused herself, leaving Bonnie and Kai on their own.

"I really had hoped to find you next to me when I woke up." Bonnie said after a brief silence.

"Well, I waited for you to wake up forever but somehow you decided to play sleeping-beauty this morning. I am a patient man but I am not that patient."

Bonnie smiled genuinely until her smile turned into concern. Kai remembered that Bonnie once thought that he only skipped school without any reason but being with him quickly taught her differently. Of course he skipped school for no particular reason but sometimes he just needed the rest because having trouble sleeping sometimes required taking every opportunity you got. She was probably worried about the length of his sleep time again.

Bonnie reached out a hand to caress his cheek. "We really need to try and find a way to better your sleep-quality and quantity. Have you ever considered seeing a doctor or something?"

Kai rolled his eyes at her. "Already tried that when I was like 12. I've been to every doctor in this god-forsaken county and not a single one had something helpful to say. Trust me Bon, it would be a waste of time."

"But there has to be something, anything that can help you sleep better. I mean, I'm not talking about medication but something that can actually help get to the bottom of this and get rid of it in the process." Bonnie had rested her arm on Kai's shoulder and her hand was loosely buried in his hair.

Kai looked at her with amusement in his eyes. He had long given up on the hope of improvement and thought that Bonnie's attempt and concern were cute but there was really nothing she could do. Except she already did. Trying to make her feel better he reached for her thighs and squeezed them slightly.

"Hey, don't lose any sleep over the topic okay?" He winked at her and she only rolled her eyes because of his stupid pun but he ignored her and continued. "There is no one out there that can help me sleep better anyways. The only thing that really helps is having you next to me." Kai gave Bonnie a sweet smile and watched her swallow visibly, her eyes slightly widened but were adoring with just a hint of disbelief.

It was the truth though. Kai had noticed a major increase of hours actually spent asleep when Bonnie first started staying over during the summer when they hadn't been dating. The pure presence of her next to him put him in some kind of ease that allowed his body and brain to relax easily and actually fall asleep for some hours straight. It was not nearly the time people usually slept during the nights but in comparison to when he was sleeping alone when he sometimes didn't get a single hour of sleep without waking up and staying up in the night- it was definitely an improvement.

Bonnie seemed to have found her peace with his declaration because now she was smiling back at him. Kai moved a little closer to her. "Hi." He whispered while looking in her eyes.

"Hi." She replied in an equally silent voice and then they both leaned forward, meeting the other halfway, and shared a sweet kiss. Bonnie tasted like sugar and maple syrup with a hint of toothpaste. It was intoxicating but Kai made sure that the quite, sweet moment they were sharing didn't evolve into something more heated. They had plenty of time for that but right now he just wanted to enjoy this moment with her.

When they let go of each other, they lingered in each other's personal space and Kai watched Bonnie repress a smile by biting her bottom lip. "Nice shirt by the way." Kai breathed against her lips and she chuckled.

"You think? It's new. Does it fit me?" Bonnie leaned back and presented his retro 'Nirvana' shirt like he had never seen it before.

"Absolutely." Kai said in an over-exaggerated manner and pulled Bonnie back into a quick kiss.

"I was thinking about getting a change though." Bonnie hopped off the stool and took a few steps towards the door, leaving her plate on the counter. Then she turned around to Kai. "Wanna help me choose something else to wear?"

A grin was spreading across Kai's face and in the next second he was behind her, chasing her upstairs. Bonnie was screaming and laughing at the same time when she was running away from him. He finally caught her in her room, wrapping his arms around her from behind her and spinning her around so that her back hit the wall. Her chuckles died down when she looked at him with hungry eyes.

Now Kai didn't hold anything back when he kissed her. Their kiss turned passionate the instant their lips met and Kai let his tongue slip into her mouth easily. In a swift move he started to undress Bonnie by freeing her from his Nirvana shirt.

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A while later Bonnie was begging him to stop tickling her. They had spend some time in bed snuggling close to each other and just enjoying the presence of the other but now, Kai got bored and started rambling. Bonnie had hit him with a pillow to make him shut up and that was when he had started his tickling-torture.

She was laughing so hard and kept telling him that her stomach hurt from all the laughter but he still kept going until finally her begging got heard.

"Please Kai, I'll do whatever you want just stop. Please."

Kai abruptly stopped and leaned over her slender form. "Whatever I want?"

Bonnie gasped when he finally let go of her. "Shouldn't have said that, right?"

"Heeeell no." Kai grinned and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll come back to you for that sometime."

Bonnie tried to push him off her when he leaned down and fake-bit her in the neck like a wannabe vampire. It only tickled her though, Kai would never hurt her on purpose. She laughed when he finally let go of her. Kai rested his weight on his forearms and caged her in underneath him, smiling down at her. Then suddenly he groaned in annoyance and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked with a little concern in her voice.

"I have to leave." Kai mumbled against her skin ands he barely understood it.

"Oh, right. Your granny had something planned with you and Jo, right?" Bonnie asked and felt his nod against her neck before he resurfaced into her view. "You really have to go?"

"Yup, promised granny. And more importantly I promised Jo not to leave her alone with granny for the whole day." Kai rolled his eyes.

"When do you have to leave?"

Kai reached over her to his phone resting on her nightstand. "About- 30 minutes ago." He sadly looked down at her and Bonnie pouted. He gave her a quick kiss before he reluctantly got out of bed. Bonnie sat up herself watching Kai get completely dressed. After a while she decided she was going to accompany him downstairs and say goodbye to him at the door, so she got out of bed herself and got dressed.

Together they went downstairs and Kai put on his shoes when they heard two voices laughing. Kai was pretty sure to recognize one of the voices and Bonnie seemed to be aware of the second one. But how could that be? The two shared a startled look before they headed to the living room where the voices had originated.

In the living room they found Sheila Bennett sitting on the couch, a tea cup in hand and laughing at something that- HIS GRANDMOTHER had said. Dawn Abbott was sitting next to Sheila with her own tea cup looking rather happy. The two old women turned when they realized they had company.

"Oh hello there, darlings." Dawn greeted them and Sheila gestured for them to come closer. Hesitantly Bonnie and Kai took a few steps towards their grandmothers.

"What's going on here?" Kai asked a little perplexed.

"Oh, your grandmother just told me the most hilarious story about how she met your grandfather in college. She was a really cunning woman, your granny." Sheila explained but didn't explain the more obvious question about why his grandmother was there.

"Maybe he was just not as smart as he thought he was." Dawn retorted with a wink in his direction. Kai only frowned at her when Sheila started laughing again. Kai knew the story about how his grandparents have met and he didn't think that it was really that funny.

"And is there any reason why you are here right now, granny?" Kai asked her directly.

Dawn sighed. "Yes, there is. I remember a certain someone agreeing to meet me and his sister about half an hour ago. I thought that I would just be a nice grandmother and not be mad and just come pick him up so that we wouldn't waste any more time." She turned her piercing gaze in Kai's direction and a shiver went down his spine. This woman might be the only adult he had ever really feared and respected.

"Sorry." Kai only said and his grandmother raised an eyebrow, looking so much like her grandson at that moment.

"Alright, I guess I can forgive you considering the condition that you were in last night. Don't bother asking how I know, I saw your sister, that is all the information I need to figure out you weren't any better than her. Anyways I had a really lovely time with your grams Bonnie."

"The pleasure was all mine." Sheila toasted towards her with her tea cup.

Kai was still not getting what was actually going on. It seemed like his and Bonnie's grandmother were getting along. Some alarm bell in Kai's head rang making him feel panic at the thought of them becoming friends. Not that he didn't like that his grandmother had someone here in Portland she could spent her time with but it seemed kind of dangerous to him to have both grandmothers on one side.

"Let me repay you the favor of your hospitality by inviting you over for dinner tonight. You, your daughter and her boyfriend and Bonnie could join us. We're having a barbecue- the last one for this year I suppose." Dawn suggested enthusiastically.

"We are?" Kai just asked but the two older women ignored him.

"Oh, that would be great. I think it is time the two families finally had an official meeting. " Sheila accepted the invite and Kai watched his grandmother rise from the couch with a content smile on her face.

"Then it is settled. We'll be expecting you around 7."

Sheila now rose too and gave Dawn a quick hug. The women said their goodbyes and Dawn headed for the door, leaving Kai behind, who was still startled. He heard his grandmother call his name and turned back to Bonnie.

"I guess I'll see you later then." He said and kissed her briefly.

"I guess so." Bonnie chuckled, obviously amused by his discomfort of the situation. Kai rolled his eyes and followed his grandmother outside.

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It appeared that Dawn had abducted her oldest grandchildren to a museum. At first the two kids only shared a confused look but Kai genuinely liked museums, at least when the theme interested him, so he didn't mind too much. He was only surprised when he found out that she had chosen the Portland Children's Museum, god knows why.

So the three were strolling through the building for a while before their grandmother turned to them and told them the real reason they were here.

"Do you remember that I used to take you here every time I came to visit? Kai almost yelled out in frustration because I was going to leave and we haven't gone yet. You must have been- what?- five?"

"I don't recall." Kai replied dryly but Jo seemed to have a hint of a memory.

"Yeah, I think he was throwing around his pens because you wanted to leave early for the airport and he had thought you would take us to the museum instead. Wow, you were such a brat." Jo added in Kai's direction and he only glared at her.

"Yes, that is right. I still took you that day and Kai was finally content. He didn't even cry like he used to when I left for England again. After that day, I always took you to the museum before I left."

Jo and Kai's attention spiked after the last part of her sentence. They exchanged a quick nervous look before they turned back to their grandmother who was studying a painting of a teddy bear.

"You're leaving?" Jo asked with bewilderment.

Dawn turned around slowly and sighed. "Yes my darlings, I am. I know you expected me to stay longer but you must have known that it wouldn't be forever. My home is still England and I always planned on returning."

"But- we need you granny." Jo tried to reason with the old lady. Kai only watched a spot on the ground, already knowing that there was no need to reason.

"I know and that was why I stayed as long as I did. I am not leaving right away. I am going to make sure that everything is working back home and then in a few weeks I'll leave."

Jo was clearly struggling with this- how could she not. This not only meant that the two of them had to take more responsibility but also that they would kind of lose another important woman in their lives. Tears were forming in Jo's eyes and she went to hug her grandmother tight.

"I'll miss you." She declared with a trembling voice.

"Oh my dear, I will always be with you and be there for you, you know that."

Jo nodded and let go of her. Kai still remained silent, his expression blank but of course his grandmother knew better then to trust the façade he had perfected over the years. She stepped closer to him and made him look into her eyes by dragging his chin up.

"You alright?" she asked with her knowing eyes full of care.

"I guess." Kai tried to shrug it off but her intense stare made him cave and he leaned into her when she pulled him close to her into a bear hug.

"You understand, right?" Dawn whispered into his ear while she was caressing the back of his head like she always used to do when he was a kid. Kai nodded, knowing that if he would say something now, his words would tumble. She pulled away from him and held his face in her hand, then she turned to reach out to Jo and cupped one side of her face as well.

"I love you two so much and I couldn't be more proud of you. Look what became of the two of you. If there are two people that can conquer the world together, it would be the two of you."

Jo and Kai both smiled weakly at their grandmother. She patted their cheeks softly and turned around. "Now, let's get through here before your weak excuse of a father can blame me for turning you both into weak freaks that can't handle themselves. Besides, we have a dinner to prepare."

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Kai was feeling sad the rest of the day. When Bonnie and her family arrived her tried to fake a good mood but he had forgotten that Bonnie was one of the three remaining people on this planet that had figured out how to read him properly. She still didn't say anything during dinner. She only took his hand and squeezed it lightly, reassuring him that she was there. It was rather comforting.

Kai had helped his grandmother prepare the food for the barbeque. There were tons of different salads, vegetables, sauces and beef to choose from. Contrary to his fears his father didn't attend the gathering, which made it a whole lot more comfortable than he would have expected. It wasn't as horrifying to see his grandmother and Sheila Bennett get along then earlier this morning either. Maybe he still had a feeling somewhere deep in his gut that this connection that they were having would get Bonnie, and especially him, in trouble some day but he could accept it better.

Briana had made quick friends with both Sheila and Abby. She was just charming like that, that little annoying thing. She just asked a stupid question and no one could resist her. One little smile and he was caving to everything she asked for as well, so he didn't blame them.

The evening turned rather chilly, giving the October sun wasn't as strong any more. The group gathered inside and some of his siblings excused themselves to do something else. That gave Bonnie and Kai the opportunity to leave the adults to themselves and head to Kai's room.

There Kai let himself fall onto the bed so that his back rested on the mattress. Bonnie slowly paced over to look down on him.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked him.

"I guess." Kai said, not for the first time today. Bonnie finally took the initiative to talk about the elephant in the room that was his bad mood. She sat down next to him, feet dangling from the bedside and took his hand.

"So, you wanna tell me what's been bothering you today?" she asked with a honey-laced voice.

Kai sighed, interlacing his fingers with hers. "She's leaving soon."

"Your grandmother?"

Kai nodded, not looking at Bonnie's face but their interlaced fingers. "Everyone always leaves." Kai said, surprised that something like this even slipped out of his mouth.

Bonnie readjusted her body so that he was now hovering directly over Kai's face. "Hey." She nuzzled his cheek with her nose before drawing back again. "I'm still here."

Kai finally looked at her. His eyes connected with hers and he mirrored the warm smile he saw on her face. His hand reached out to caress her cheek and she leaned into his touch. "Yeah, you are." He whispered and gently pulled her down into a kiss.

When the kiss ended Bonnie rested her head on his chest, her legs wrapped over his. Kai started to caress her back and they lay there in comfortable silence. Yes, Bonnie was still here and he prayed to god that she wasn't going to be the next one leaving him.

Author's note: Long time no see, shame on me. I really have to apologize, I have no good excuse for another long wait for you guys. I am simply turning lazy and being tired from work all the time. But rest assured, I am as invested in this story as I ever was. Someday, I will get it finished but there is so much more to tell. I am thinking about wrapping this part of the story soon though. I am having a little trouble finding my way out of the first act and into the second. But you'll see when I did find a way. So, I am still here, waving the Bonkai flag even though some of the fandom seem to have fallen silent but not me. I love them until the last beat of my heart. So, thanks for reading guys and for sticking with this beautiful ship. Bonkai deserve it. See you around.