Damon paced the floor of the beach house's living room like a caged animal. It had been nearly an hour since Bonnie fainted and subsequently regained consciousness. Cole Lockwood, her personal physician, must have broken several speed limits to arrive just ten minutes later. The doctor and his nurse decided to move Bonnie upstairs to her bedroom for privacy. Every fiber of Damon's being had been tempted to force his way into that room. However, he did not want to cause more unwarranted stress for his wife. He had a hard time understanding just how quickly this all unraveled. One moment Bonnie had been fine and the next moment she had crashed onto the floor. He had never been more terrified in his life than when Bonnie lay unconscious at his feet. This was the first time that Damon realized just how delicate this pregnancy was for Bonnie.

The couple's estrangement meant that he only received secondhand information about Bonnie's pregnancy. Dr. Huerta was a stickler for adhering to HIPAA privacy rules. He would not answer any questions about Bonnie's health or pregnancy without her permission. Moreover, she had even blocked the doctor from sharing her medical information with Meredith and Jo. Damon only knew that she was underweight and had developed gestational hypertension. He had believed that her condition had been steadily improving. At least that was the impression Bonnie gave whenever he asked after her health. Damon didn't know if she had been lying to him or if this was some sort of relapse. He only knew that he was terrified that something was going to happen to Bonnie and their children.

While the blue-eyed mob boss was worried for his wife, there was no mistaking that he was in enemy territory. Abby had arrived maybe twenty minutes ago but she was not alone. Geneva and Jamie had been in the car with her when Tyler called. Abby had rushed upstairs to the master bedroom to be with Bonnie but not before she cursed Damon out for all he was worth. The woman had been so enraged that she had seamlessly transitioned between English and Italian. Abby reminded him of her mother as she threatened his life seriously and without any hesitation. He truly believed that she would carve him up like a Christmas turkey if Bonnie suffered a miscarriage. Damon could not help thinking that she would never get a chance. Damon would eat his own gun if Bonnie miscarried because of him.

He quickly realized that Abby wasn't the only person in the room that wanted his head on a platter. Geneva did not say a word to him but if looks could kill Damon would be lying in a puddle of his own blood. Even young Jamie seemed to have disdain in his eyes. Nothing could make him feel like something on the bottom of a shoe more than a pre-teen silently confirming that he was not welcome. Damon had wisely placed a call to Zacharias. He was not going to leave until he knew Bonnie was okay. He also realized that he needed someone capable of softening his rough edges. The Benedetto family had issues with him and Ric, but Zach was known as the peacemaker. He had yet to meet someone that hated his uncle for any personal deeds. The enemies he made were always business related. Damon could use Zach's peacemaking skills now.

Perhaps the only good thing was that Tyler had wisely chosen to stand outside and smoke a cigarette. Damon did not know how much control he would have if he had to look at the kid while waiting for news on Bonnie. He knew that the relationship between Bonnie and Tyler was not the reason for the separation. His own actions had driven his wife away from him. Yet Damon doubted that she would have pushed him out of her life so firmly if she were not making room for her lover. It seemed apparent that Bonnie did not plan to sneak around as if she was doing something wrong with Tyler. Somehow, Damon's 21-year-old wife had more balls than he did. She knew what she wanted and went after it—consequences be damned. It hurt to realize that she used to want him. He was just too out to sea to recognize it.

Damon looked up when he heard the front door open. He groaned as Zach and Alaric walked into the house. The last thing he needed was his uncle making the situation worse. If the Benedetto family disliked Damon, they fucking hated Alaric. He snapped, "Why the fuck did you bring him here?"

Zach understood his nephew's anger. Ideally, he would have come alone. He said, "He was sitting right next to me when you called. It wasn't like I could stop him from coming over here, Damon."

Ric said, "You forget that I'm the older brother."

Zach muttered, "I wish you would act like it."

Ric's gaze moved to his son. He hadn't expected to see the boy but he was happy all the same. He smiled hesitantly. "Hi, Jamie."

Jamie stiffened in the seat beside his great-aunt. He was dressed smartly in a navy blue suit with a black long sleeve shirt. He said, "Hi."

"Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked lamely.

Damon actually felt bad for his uncle. The man was desperate to reconnect with his older children. The twins and Jamie were still icing him out. Cooper and Savannah were too young to question his decisions as a man and a father. Damon viewed his uncle as a cautionary tale. He never wanted his own children to look at him the way Jamie was looking at Ric now.

Jamie nodded. "It was fun. I got a bunch of gifts."

Ric stuffed his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "Yeah. I saw that in the picture you sent me. Thanks for that by the way. I was thinking that maybe we could take your dirt bike out for a test drive soon. It could be just the two of us."

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I'll have to ask Mama. We're going on a trip soon."

Ric tensed when he heard they were going on a trip. He asked, "Really?"

Jamie nodded.

"Where are you going?" he asked. Ric was doing his best to seem nonchalant but he was scared. It had taken years to convince Abby that moving to California was the right idea.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know."

The older woman shot a withering glare at Ric. She didn't think it was right for him to pump his son for information. Abby would tell him what he needed to know in due time. She tightened her arm around the boy's shoulder. She said, "Be a dear and get me something to drink from the kitchen."

He stood up and asked, "What do you want to drink, Zia?"

"Ice water would be nice," she replied sweetly.

"Okay," he replied.

Geneva watched until he disappeared into the kitchen. The regal older woman's honey brown eyes hardened as soon as she looked at Alaric. Her coal black hair was graying at the temples but she still looked fierce. "Don't interrogate that boy for information, Alaric. If you want to know what Abby is doing then you should man up and ask her."

Ric offered a saccharine smile to the older woman. "It is good seeing you again, Geneva."

Damon glared at Zach and said, "This is what the fuck I am talking about. I don't need his shit right now."

Geneva said, "Then perhaps you shouldn't have invited either of them to Bonnie's house without her permission."

Zach put a hand on his nephew's arm. He could tell he was going to say something completely inappropriate. Damon didn't know Geneva well because she had spent the last twenty years in Miami. However, Zach knew it would be a losing battle to start an argument with her. "You are right that it was presumptuous on Damon's part but he was just upset. He is worried about Bonnie and the babies. He was just looking for a little moral support."

Geneva lifted an eyebrow at his explanation. She relented, "I am sure that they are fine. Abby would have pulled rank and made Cole take Bonnie to the hospital if there were any doubts."

Damon wished that made him feel any better but it didn't. He hated feeling helpless. Unfortunately, he hadn't felt anything but helpless lately. What good was it to be the boss of the family if the rest of his life was spiraling out of control?

Jamie returned with a glass of ice water and a bottle of PowerAde for himself.

"Thank you, piccolo," she replied and took a sip of water.

He took out his phone and started playing a game.

An uneasy silence settled over the room. Only the occasional sound from Jamie's phone disturbed the quiet. However, the phone's volume was just low enough where it couldn't serve as an actual distraction.

Damon glanced towards the stairs wondering what was taking so long. He assumed that Geneva was right. Bonnie would be on her way to the hospital if something was wrong. He just needed to hear the doctor tell him as much before he could settle down. Damon scrubbed a hand over his face and looked at his uncle. The poor bastard was sitting across from the couch watching Jamie avoid talking to him. The kid was obviously angry but respectful enough not to tell Ric to fuck off. Damon remembered being that angry when he was a kid. It didn't end anywhere great. He wondered if Jamie had discovered the awesome numbing qualities of alcohol yet. They were doing a stellar job of not fucking up the next generation of Salvatore children.

Tyler walked into the house with a pinched expression. He wasn't looking forward to being in the same room with Damon. He wanted to murder the son of a bitch—literally. However, Cole had sent him a text to say he would be down to talk to everyone about Bonnie's condition soon. There was no chance he was missing that.

Damon tensed when he saw Tyler. He had been hoping that he would stay outside for the duration. Nothing good could come from them being in the same room. He wanted to keep the promise he made to Bonnie after she fainted.

Tyler walked over to the couch and sat on the arm near Jamie. He nudged the kid's shoulder and said, "Guess what…"

The boy looked up at Tyler with a smile. "What?"

"There might be a PS4 hooked up in the game room with NBA2K," he said with a grin.

Jamie's eyes went wide. "Really? But Sissy sucks at playing 2K."

Tyler chuckled and said, "She sucks at all video games and always has. It is like she lacks hand/eye coordination or something. But she bought a couple different consoles and a ton of games with you in mind. She thought you might want to come hang out here if you had some games to play. Wanna check it out?"

Jamie nodded. "Yeah!"

Tyler clapped him on the back. "It's down the hall and to the left. Have fun. I'll come get you when your mom is ready to leave."

Geneva watched as her great-nephew took off like a bolt of lightning. She reached over and squeezed Tyler's hand. "Thank you for that. He is worried about Bonnie."

Tyler felt guilty. He wondered if he had contributed to Bonnie fainting in some way. They had disagreed right before Damon arrived and stirred up trouble. There was also the little matter of spending the afternoon in bed together. Before Christmas, Cole had assured Tyler that it was safe to have sex with Bonnie but maybe he had exhausted her. He murmured, "We all are…"

She nodded sagely and said, "I am tempted to call Lucy. We should let everyone know that tonight's party isn't going to happen."

"I know that Bon isn't going to be able to make it but she wouldn't want to ruin the night for everyone else," he replied.

"No one is going to be in the mood to celebrate once they learn what is happening with Bonnie. It will be hard enough to stop everyone from showing up here. Although…."

He asked, "What?"

"If Bonnie can't go to the party, the party could always come to her," she replied thoughtfully.

The younger man stroked his chin and hummed in agreement. It was always a party when the Benedetto and Loiacono families were together. The beach house was certainly large enough to accommodate everyone. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to transport the food across town. He said, "I guess we will have to see what Cole says."

Damon was literally grinding his teeth as he watched Tyler and Geneva chatting casually. It was as if the little bastard did not fear him at all. The familiarity also grated on his nerves. He could only remember seeing Geneva a handful of times in his life. However, Tyler seemed to know her well. It made him wonder about the depth of the connection between the two families. The Loiaconos were obviously more than just spies for Bonnie's family.

Zach was standing near his nephew but his attention was elsewhere. He was staring at the black and white picture mounted over the fireplace. He instantly recognized the four people captured in the still. He wondered if Damon had noticed it. He looked away from the picture to see that Ric had seen it, too.

Ric huffed out a bitter laugh. He had been furious with Abby after learning that her family was taking control of the smuggling operation. However, he had fumed the entire car ride as he and Zach discussed the Lockwood family's duplicity. He couldn't believe that Abby had shared his bed and life for nearly twenty years without ever breathing a word of it to him. In hindsight, Abby had made her position clear when she reminded him that she was a Benedetto and he was a Salvatore.

Damon snapped out of his brooding and asked, "What?"

Damon had given him the highlights of the discussion with Bonnie. Zach was still trying to accept that the Loiacono family had been spying for the Benedettos for decades. However, the picture was black and white proof of the closeness shared by the two families. He wondered if the connection had always been so blatant.

Alaric stood and walked closer to the photo. He examined it closely and shook his head. He looked at Tyler and snapped, "Where was this taken?"

Geneva felt the way the younger man tensed beside her. He was obviously ready to fight but she wouldn't allow that to happen—not while Bonnie's health was uncertain. She answered, "You know very well where and when that photo was taken. I would choose your next words carefully."

Damon looked between his uncles and the older woman. "What is going on?"

Ric shook his head and motioned to the picture.

Zach said, "The two kids in the picture are Bonnie and Tyler. The two men are Paul Benedetto and Alonzo Lockwood. It was taken the day they died."

"The day they were murdered in cold blood because of your incompetent brother," Geneva hissed.

Zach knew how important it was to tread lightly here. The Bennett sisters had taken the death of their baby brother hard. The way Geneva had drawn up like an angry cat suggested that she had not let it go. Zach could understand her grief. He found himself conflicted about Giuseppe's deserved death. Despite all his faults, Giuseppe was still the man that raised him. His brother didn't spend every waking moment as an abusive control freak. There had been good times. Zach would hold onto those.

Before an argument could start, Cole and Abby walked downstairs together. The nurse was still upstairs making sure Bonnie was comfortable.

Tyler stood up immediately. "How is Bon doing?"

Cole clapped his younger cousin on the back. He looked up to address everyone in the room. "Bonnie and the twins are doing well. Her blood sugar was too low and her blood pressure spiked. Low blood sugar isn't uncommon in the second trimester. I am going to speak with the nutritionist to increase Bonnie's daily caloric intake. The spike in blood pressure is more disconcerting. Dr. Huerta and I have been working overtime to keep Bonnie's blood pressure within the acceptable range. I am going to continue monitoring Bonnie closely but it is not cause for alarm right now."

The relief in the room was practically palpable. Damon said, "I want to see Bonnie."

Tyler snapped, "Are you out of your fucking mind? Did you not hear him just say that the spike in blood pressure contributed to Bonnie fainting? This is your fault! She wouldn't be in this position if you hadn't been here crying like a little bitch trying to guilt her into taking you back."

Geneva gave a full-throated laugh. She said, "Tell the truth and shame the devil…"

Damon growled, "What the fuck did you just say to me?

Zach's eyes rolled skyward. It was as if the kid wanted Damon to murder him. Frankly, Zach didn't know how much control he could assert over his nephew in this situation. Their relationship dynamic started to shift the moment he became boss.

He grasped Damon's arm and spoke lowly, "Use your words, nipote. You need to think about Bonnie right now. Getting into a fight with Tyler will only upset her. We dodged a bullet tonight."

Damon was livid but he heard his uncle's sound reasoning. More than anything, he wanted to see Tyler's blood on his hands. He stood as still as a stone statue. Damon feared any movement would end with him being across the room with his hands around Tyler's throat.

He roared, "Where the fuck do you get off thinking you have a say in this? I know that you are enjoying playing house with Bonnie but she is my wife. She is always going to be my wife! You are a just a phase. Admittedly it is a pathetic phase, but it doesn't change how this all ends."

Tyler laughed uproariously and retorted, "Bonnie is only your wife because you are a controlling asshole that won't sign the divorce papers! Are you waiting around for her to change her mind? Do you really think Bonnie will ever forgive you for all the shit you did to her? If you think forgiveness is possible then you know even less about her than I thought! She has finally opened her eyes and realized what everyone around her already knows. You will never be good enough for her. I thank God for that every morning! I spent four years watching my best friend slowly die being married to you."

Damon spat, "Is she your best friend? You were a vulture waiting for an opportunity to take what doesn't belong to you!"

"Of course that is the way you see things because that is all you are capable of doing. Bonnie and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. All I have ever wanted is for her to be happy. I watched the light in her dim a little more every time you picked up a new mistress. She stubbornly insisted that you would come around and all I could do was support her. But I knew the truth. Hell, everyone but Bonnie knew the truth. You were never going to love her because the hearts of most Salvatores are black as coal. Domenico, Giuseppe, and you are all selfish tyrants. You take more than you ever give in return to those around you. It is how your family lost mine. Domenico betrayed a man that was raised under his roof as his brother. Disonore!"

The boy's words tore at his heart like a claw hammer because part of him feared it was true. However, he would never admit that to anyone. He ground out, "I should fucking kill you right here!"

Tyler's brown eyes hardened and he sneered, "Do it! Let your first move as boss be starting a war with two of your oldest allies! My family has been waiting forty years to spill Salvatore blood! If my death has to be the catalyst for that then so be it. But the best news of all is that Bonnie will never forgive you."

Damon was unsure of many things but he knew that Tyler was right about one thing. Bonnie would never forgive him.

Abby rolled her eyes and said, "I hate to interrupt this delightful measuring contest. However, neither of you are in a position to decide who does and does not get to see Bonnie tonight."

Tyler blanched because he was behaving like a Neanderthal. Damon brought out his worst impulses but there was no excuse for arguing with him after Bonnie's health scare. The arguing was probably upsetting her, too. He said, "You're right, Abby. I am sorry for acting like an asshole. Him being here is…."

She nodded. "I understand. In any case, Bonnie made it clear that she has no interest in seeing Damon tonight. She allowed Cole to explain her medical situation and now she would like you to leave, Damon. You will see her again tomorrow at Giuseppe's memorial. Cole believes that she will be well enough to attend. Isn't that right?"

Cole said, "I want her to take it easy tonight. However, Bonnie should be back on her feet by morning barring any unforeseen complications. I will monitor her condition closely tonight—especially her blood pressure and blood sugar. I anticipate a sharp course correction now that Bonnie has eaten and we are reducing her stress level."

The mobster scowled at his mother-in-law. "I am not leaving this house without seeing Bonnie."

Abby lifted an eyebrow and said, "You are emotional so I am going to give you some leeway. However, Bonnie doesn't want to talk anymore. I am not going to allow you to force her into a conversation she doesn't want to have. You said your piece earlier now go home, please."

He snapped, "I am not going to stand here and let you lecture me about what is best for my wife. I am sure you are getting a kick out of playing the doting mother to Bonnie now. But where the fuck were you the other eighteen years of her life, Abby?"

Ric pushed away from the fireplace. He moved between his nephew and Abby. Ric said, "You're angry and I don't blame you. But I'm not going to let you disrespect Abby. She is your wife's mother and the mother of my children. She deserves more respect from you than that."

Damon snorted. "In what world would I take advice from you? Just last week you were fighting with Abby outside her house. You said worse to her than I just did. Don't even get me started on the fact that half your kids don't even want to be in the same room with you! If I am following anyone's example it would be Zach's."

Ric's entire demeanor changed on a dime. He reached out quicker than his age would suggest and wrapped his meaty paw around Damon's neck. "Boss or not, I am still your fucking uncle and you will respect me. You ungrateful little motherfucker."

The younger man lashed out and punched his uncle hard enough to bloody his nose. "You really shouldn't be throwing that term around since you did in fact fuck my mother."

"What?" Abby sputtered from behind them.

Ric released Damon just as quickly as he had grabbed him. He whirled around to look at Abby. "He's just talking shit, baby."

Bonnie slowly walked down the stairs. She had been listening to the sideshow from her bedroom. Frankly, she was tired of all the bickering.

Tyler looked up and saw Bonnie headed towards them. He met her on the landing and helped her down the stairs. He scolded her gently, "You are supposed to be resting."

She allowed Tyler to help her because she still felt light-headed. She asked, "How the fuck am I supposed to rest with all of this noise?"

Damon looked up when he heard Bonnie's voice. He had the strangest urge to whisk her away from this place and these people. Damon had done enough to make her hate him. However, he was also fighting against the sins of his father and grandfather. Somehow he had been lumped into the same category with those assholes. He said, "Bunny…"

Tyler pressed a kiss to her temple and murmured. "I am sorry."

Bonnie shook her head and cracked a small smile as they reached the first floor. She teased, "It's fine. I would have thought you were a punk if you didn't stand up to Damon."

Tyler bit back a laugh and gently squeezed her hip. He reluctantly released Bonnie so that she could speak with Damon.

She walked over to Damon and asked, "Can I see you outside…alone?"

He swallowed thickly and nodded. "Sure."

The couple slowly walked to the glass doors that led out to a beautiful redwood deck. A glass panel railing provided an unobstructed view of the beach below.

She sat down on the couch and patted the space next to her.

Damon sat beside Bonnie. "Are you truly okay?"

She nodded. "I am. Cole is an amazing doctor. He will make sure that the twins are safe and healthy. I know everything is strained between us right now but I would do anything to protect our babies, Damon."

He slowly let out a sigh of relief. The mobster ran a hand through his hair and said, "I am sure you are tired of hearing his from me, but I am sorry. I didn't come here to upset you. I just wanted answers. I don't understand how it all got so off track. It seems like we fight every time we are together. I don't want it to be this way."

"I don't want it to be this way either, Damon. But you also aren't solely responsible for our fights. I rarely pass up an opportunity to take a swipe at you," she confessed.

He huffed out a tired laugh. "I've noticed. I can't say that I blame you."

"You don't have a leg to stand on with me but it doesn't make it right. I worked myself up into a frenzy earlier. I shouldn't have engaged with you but I couldn't pass up the chance to dig the knife in more. I realize that trying to make you feel as bad as you have made me isn't going to solve anything. It just makes the situation more volatile. I think we both know there is too much at stake for that to continue," she said and rested a hand on her stomach for emphasis.

Damon's eyes went to her baby bump. He nodded. "Agreed."

Bonnie said, "The only way this works if you start respecting me."

"I do respect you, Bunny," he insisted.

She smiled wryly. "I need you to respect me as an adult and as the head of my organization. You still call me 'Bunny'. I think sometimes you still see me as that little girl running around the Manor with pigtails."

"I didn't know that you disliked the nickname," he said with furrowed eyebrows.

Bonnie said, "I don't hate the name. This is more about you taking me seriously. I don't care what you call me as long as you understand that I am not a kid anymore."

"I stopped looking at you as a kid when we started having sex," he replied.

"Did you really? Maybe you stopped looking at me as a kid but you certainly didn't respect me as your equal."

Damon frowned because Bonnie was right about that. He admitted, "I guess I think of you in the same way that I think about Stefan. I know how incredibly warped that must sound to you. I know that you are both adults now but I haven't figured out what that means. I spent so much time trying to shield the two of you from the death and darkness. I guess I didn't really do a very good job."

Bonnie actually believed Damon's explanation. She had witnessed how Damon still treated Stefan as his kid brother. He had been content to protect Stefan from the ugliness of the business until recently. The shift had only occurred because the younger man demanded it. She squeezed his hand. "You did as well as could be expected considering our families."

He scoffed and muttered, "Our families. Your family hates mine."

She laughed softly. "…with a passion."

Damon was nervous but he needed to know the truth. He asked, "How do you feel about my family?"

She said, "I am not inclined to paint all Salvatores with the same brush because I have lived among you for years. Stefan has always been good to me. Zach has never been anything but respectful and caring towards me. I have my issues with Alaric but that is simply because of how unhappy he makes my mother. You can guess what I think about Giuseppe."

"And me?" he asked in a voice that was entirely too hopeful.

Bonnie looked out at the waves crashing against the shore. "My feelings about you are complicated. I wasn't lying earlier when I said that I love you. But I don't like you very much right now. I definitely take too much pleasure in trying to make you feel as small as possible. But you are my family, Damon. We have history and you are always going to be part of my life. We just have to find a way to do that without tearing each other apart."

He nodded. It wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was better than the alternative.

"But you have to let me go."

He snorted, "That is easier said than done. I know that you have convinced yourself that I don't love you, but I do. And I am not talking about familial love. I fell in love with you years ago. I just never let myself act on it. I never imagined that you would fall in love with me. I thought you were smarter than that."

Bonnie laughed softly and said, "Love and intelligence rarely go hand-in-hand. The feelings I had for you started out as a stupid schoolgirl crush. I was a very lonely little girl that was used to the adults in my life abandoning me. But you always made time for me. It didn't matter what you were doing, you would stop to see if I was okay. I know how benign that must sound but it was so important to me. Things changed as I got older."

"When did you know that you loved me?" he asked.

She shook her head and said, "I don't see how it matters now."

"It matters to me," he implored.

Bonnie confessed, "It had been building while we spent time with each other before the wedding. But I really fell in love with you the month we spent in Taha'a for our honeymoon. It was just the two of us. No families. No friends. No distractions. Just the two of us and the most beautiful island I have ever seen. You were gentle, caring, attentive, and everything I needed you to be. We had so much fun together and it gave me hope. Then we went home and it wasn't long after that Grams died. I grieved so hard and for so long that I didn't notice you had reverted to type. We had been married for maybe eight months before I learned that you were seeing Katherine behind my back. Grams had warned me that you would keep a mistress but…"

Damon shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bonnie. You didn't deserve that. How did you find out?"

She smiled sadly. "Katherine approached me one day when I was leaving Mass. She didn't come right out and say that the two of you were sleeping together but it piqued my interest. I suppose she thought at my age that I would fly into some temper tantrum and demand answers from you. Instead, I decided to keep track of all your movements. That turned out to be an act of masochism. Every new mistress and fling was like a knife to the heart."

Damon was torn between being furious with Katherine and angry at his own actions. However, sadness was probably the most overwhelming feeling. He hated seeing the pain he had caused Bonnie reflected back at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What would it have changed, Damon?"

"Everything…" he swore

Bonnie shook her head. "You're lying to yourself. I gave you the opportunity a couple weeks ago and you ran right back to her."

"Do you want the truth?"

"That would be a refreshing change of pace."

Damon said, "My relationship Katherine was newer at the time. I could have ended things with her. Enzo would have been thrilled if I gave Katherine to him."

Bonnie looked disgusted. "I hate Katherine but you can't just give another human being to someone. When you say shit like that it makes me worry about what you will teach our son."

He said, "I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I meant that Enzo was interested in Katherine back then. It was definitely mutual-probably still is to some degree. I could have stepped out of the way so that he had a chance. I know that you don't think highly of me but I wouldn't teach our son to disrespect women. I never taught that sort of thing to Stefan. You can't think that he developed any of his good manners from anything Giuseppe taught him."

"Do as I say and not as I do?" she asked incredulously.

Damon shrugged his shoulders.

Tyler walked out of the house. "Bon…"

"What the fuck are you doing out here?" Damon demanded.

Bonnie recognized the concerned look on Tyler's face. She stood up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Big John is here," he replied hesitantly. The mobster added, "He's not happy."

Her eyes widened in shock. She looked back at Damon and warned, "You need to get your uncles and get the hell out of here before real blood is spilled tonight."

Tyler followed Bonnie in the house without sparing Damon a glance.

The first thing she saw upon entering the living room was a tense standoff between her uncle and Alaric. Zach was struggling in vain to keep his brother from doing something stupid. Bonnie plastered on a big smile and greeted him, "Bunosera, Zio!"

The name Big John wasn't merely a moniker. At six-five and two hundred and fifty pounds, John was a massive man. His skin tone was a dark olive color and he had bright hazel eyes. His wavy jet-black hair was starting to go silver in his old age but it just made him look more attractive. He sidestepped Alaric and enveloped Bonnie in a warm hug. In a heavily accented voice, she said, "Mio fiore."

Bonnie soaked in the comfort his hug provided. Her nerves were frayed. "I am happy to see you. Of course you are always welcome in my home, but…"

He smiled warmly. "You are wondering what I am doing here?"

She nodded.

"Jamie called me because he was worried for your mother…"

Abby blinked in surprise. "Why was Jamie worried about me?"

John looked pointedly at Alaric. "He was worried because this stronzo showed up…"

All of the fight died in Ric when he realized his son had been afraid of him. Or at the very least worried that he would start another fight with Abby.

Bonnie cleared her throat and looked at Damon imploringly. "I think perhaps it is time for you all to leave."

Damon looked around at all the tense faces in the room. He moved closer to Bonnie and took her hand. "We will leave because I do not want to further add to your stress tonight. However, I would like to propose a meeting tomorrow night. We need to resolve the animosity between our two families, Bunny. Otherwise, this will end with bodies on both sides. And I don't think either of us truly wants that to happen. We have many differences and grievances that separate us but blood still binds our families together."

Bonnie was surprised by Damon's reasonable request. She nodded. "We will have to determine a location but I can agree to a meeting. However, our position remains the same. The only way to clear Giuseppe's debt is for you to release the Loiacono family without penalty."

He rubbed his thumb over Bonnie's knuckles. "Done…"

Tyler looked as if he had sucked an entire lemon as he watched Damon touch Bonnie.

"Then we will meet with you tomorrow night after Giuseppe's funeral repast," she replied.

Damon was learning the true dynamics of the Benedetto organization on the fly. The hard set to Big John's jaw suggested he wasn't pleased with this agreement. Yet the older man remained silent because as Bonnie had said earlier, he served as head of half of the Benedetto organization. Damon's wife helmed the other half and it seemed that she was genuinely in charge. Before now, Damon hadn't been sure if she was merely a puppet monarch. He kissed her cheek and replied, "Thank you."