The memorial service seemed to drag on forever. Damon would never understand why funerals seemed to last so much longer than a standard Mass did. However, he immediately regretted his impatience after returning to the Manor. Well meaning family members besieged Damon at the house. They wanted to reminisce about Giuseppe before the other guests arrived for the repast. Damon's teeth were set on edge listening to the wistful stories about his father. Even Ric and Zach joined with stories of their own. Having an older father meant that Giuseppe had played a large role in their lives long before he killed Domenico. He was the one that taught his brothers how to ride bikes. Ric told a particularly hilarious tale about Zach puking all over Giuseppe during a trip to Disneyland. It was harder to ignore Giuseppe's humanity in those moments.

Damon knew eventually that his family would expect him to share some cheerful memory about his father. He sat there wracking his brain for something a normal son would say about his father. However, the memories that immediately came to mind were always cruel or painful. Damon knew there had to be some good buried deep underneath all the bad. The bad memories were just so plentiful and overwhelming. Damon noticed that Alaric was looking at him with concern but he also saw guilt. It was apparent that the younger man's vicious words from last night were still weighing on his uncle. In truth, the comments had been spontaneous. He rarely brought up the ways in which his uncles had wronged him. Dredging up the past would only weaken his relationship with them.

The mob boss felt frustrated that he even had to participate in this farce. He would prefer to spend the evening with Bonnie. She was actually under his roof for at least the next few hours. He could think of a dozen things that he wanted to say to her away from the blistering opinions of her family, allies, and paramour. Damon wanted to capitalize on today's detente. He felt that they had made real progress last night at the beach house. That progress had spilled over into today. Bonnie had held his hand for the entirety of the memorial service. It would seem a small gesture for some but it was big for a couple that argued whenever they had the misfortune of crossing paths.

Despite their estrangement, Bonnie had dutifully returned to the Salvatore Manor after the church service. She was working with Caroline and Rose to ensure the repast went off without a hitch. The many moving parts made the task difficult. Therefore, the three women had divided the major responsibilities between them. The women were operating in a purely supervisory capacity. They had final say if any problems arose. Otherwise, the staff would have to bother Damon or Stefan with mundane questions. A large staff was required to maintain an estate the size of the Salvatore Manor. However, they doubled the staff to accommodate the many guests that would be arriving within the hour.

A brunette man in his 30's approached Damon with a serious expression on his face. He had a chiseled jaw and steely blue eyes. The jagged scar beneath his left eye was prominent but somehow did not detract from his attractiveness. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

He nodded at the man. "It is good seeing you, Angelo."

Angelo unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat beside his cousin. He was Bruno's eldest grandson. He said, "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"You and me both," Damon replied with what he hoped was the appropriate level of solemnity. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was wondering what I could do for you. Nonno spoke to me this morning about strengthening our connection with the Gilbert family. I understand that Grayson's daughter will be here today."

Damon was glad to see that Zacharias followed his directions despite having some reservations. They were still learning how to navigate the dual roles of uncle/nephew and boss/subordinate. "Nothing is set in stone, you understand. I just wanted to have a viable candidate before I sit down with Grayson."

The man nodded. "I am currently unattached. I have also been looking for a reason to move back to California."

He chuckled. "Is Denver not to your liking?"

Giuseppe had placed Angelo in the regional manager position for Velocita a few years ago. He was good at his job. However, it also served as a cover. Giuseppe was interested in expanding his business eastward.

Angelo snorted. "I am freezing my balls off out there."

"Well, you would definitely be able to come home if this comes to fruition. I want you to seek the girl out tonight and talk to her."

"Does she know that an arranged marriage might be in the offing?" Angelo asked.

Damon said, "Not yet."

"Then I will keep that detail to myself when I chat her up. What's she like?"

"I couldn't tell you much about her, but you could talk to Stefan. They are the same age. They used to socialize in similar circles. I do know that she is in medical school," he replied.

Angelo nodded. "How does she look?"

Damon chuckled and said, "She isn't ugly."

He smiled. "Just checking. Is there anything else you want to come from my conversation with her?"

The mobs boss considered saying 'no', but he just could not help himself. He said, "She recently got out of a relationship. Just make sure that it is truly over between them."

Angelo thought that was a curious thing for Damon to say. They both grew up with the old ways. Once a marriage was arranged, you had to let go of the past. However, he did not want to question the new boss. "I will find you later and let you know what I find out."

"Good. You should pull Stefan aside now to ask him about Elena."

Angelo stood up and said, "We should get drinks while I am still in town. I feel like we need to catch up."

"Tomorrow night?" Damon asked. "You can join me for the meeting with Elijah afterwards."

He smiled. "Okay."

Damon wanted to test the waters with his cousin. Angelo was a year younger than Damon was but he had a good head on his shoulders. He needed to find someone to take Mason's place in the organization. For years, the Lockwood traitor had been training as Alaric's heir apparent. Damon assumed that Sheila had somehow facilitated Mason's rise in the family. She had spent years ensuring that the Lockwoods became indispensable to his family. Losing them to the Benedetto family would leave some very large gaps in the Salvatore organization. Damon wanted to fill those voids with his own blood. He did not know if anyone else was trustworthy. He was not foolish enough to believe that the Lockwoods were the only traitors within their ranks but it would take time to find them. In the meantime, he planned to reach out to the Donovan family as well. They were somewhat distant relatives but close enough that Giuseppe had warned him away from sleeping with Vicki.

Damon felt his phone vibrate in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out and smiled when he saw new a message from Bonnie. Damon definitely wanted to spend time with her before the meeting later. He could not guarantee that either of them would be feeling cordial afterwards. Moreover, they would spend much of the meeting controlling their respective family members. Damon was seriously considering leaving Alaric out of the meeting since their uncles, Bruno and Giacomo, would be joining him. He did not need Ric and Big John's bad blood spilling over into the meeting. Just yesterday the two men looked as if they wanted to kill one another.

Bonnie: Do you have time to meet me in your office?

Damon: Sure. When?

Bonnie: Now.

Damon: Be there in a minute.

Damon stood up and said, "I have to check on my lovely wife but I will be back soon."

"Bring her back with you!" insisted one of his older cousins.

He smiled. "I will see what I can do."

Damon made his way to his office. He smiled when he saw Bonnie standing in the corridor with a bowl. He could see the steam rising from the food. He said, "I have to say that I am not hungry right now, Bunny."

Bonnie looked down at the bowl of ribollita. She smiled and said, "Good, because this isn't for you. I am pregnant and very hungry. Fortunately, I have been able to sample most of the food as it is made."

He unlocked his office door with a sheepish smile. He motioned for Bonnie to go inside. "I am glad to see that you are truly feeling better today. You scared me yesterday."

"I scared myself. However, I feel much better today. It is surprising what a good night's rest can do for an overtired pregnant woman," she replied.

Bonnie entered the office and turned on the lights. She made her way over to the couch and sat down. Then Bonnie kicked off her heels and relaxed against the cool leather upholstery.

Damon locked the door and joined Bonnie on the couch. He watched her eat with gusto. Damon tried not to think about the months that she had starved herself to please him. However, that fact had lingered in the back of his mind since Bonnie fainted yesterday. He wondered if most, if not all, of the complications with this pregnancy could be attributed to her relative frailty at the time of conception.

Bonnie ungracefully slurped the soup broth from her spoon. She smiled at him. "I told you that I was hungry."

"I see that…" He asked, "What did you want to talk about? Business?"

She shook her head. "There will be plenty of time for us to talk business later. I wanted to check on you."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Really?"

Bonnie placed her bowl on the table and turned towards Damon. "Something has been wrong with you since the memorial. I know that you are not grieving for your father. You hated Giuseppe even more than I did. I am just worried about you."

Damon sighed deeply. He wondered if Bonnie was the only one that noticed that he was off balance. He hoped everyone else would just attribute it to grief. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"Look, I am not asking because I want to gain some advantage in tonight's negotiation. You have always been savvy. You know exactly what you intend to ask me for tonight." She smiled wryly. "I am probably going to reject your request."

He huffed out a laugh. Sometimes he could not believe how confident Bonnie was. "Is that right?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I've got to extract my pound of flesh to keep my people happy. I can't let them think I am being soft on you because we are married. I hope you understand."

"I do."

"I know that our relationship is in a peculiar place. You would be well within your rights to tell me to mind my own business. And I wouldn't be offended by it. But if something is wrong or if you are hurting in some way, I am here to help. At the end of the day, you are the father of my children."

He interjected stubbornly, "I'm not hurting."

She reached out and touched his hand. Bonnie looked into his striking blue eyes and said, "Okay. Maybe I just have my signals crossed. We'll blame it on pregnancy brain and supervising the kitchen staff."

"I hope that you haven't been overdoing it today," he said in a worried voice.

Bonnie said, "I am fine, Damon. I have been sitting down since I arrived. Caroline even set me up with a cushy spot in the kitchen where I could see everything."

"That's good. Are the twins still moving around?" he asked.

"No, I think they're sleeping again. There really isn't a schedule for when they will be active. Sometimes they keep me up at night with the moving. Other times they seem to sleep when I do," Bonnie replied.

He complained, "I don't blame them for catching a nap. Father Finn took forever to finish Mass."

She laughed softly. "Lucy is right, you are a heathen."

Damon joined her in laughing. He quipped, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm a man of wealth and taste."

Bonnie rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. She picked up her bowl. "Well, since you are okay. I am going to finish eating this in the kitchen. There were a few desserts that I wanted to sample."

He watched as she prepared to leave. Damon was not ready to let her go—in more ways than one. He said, "My mother showed up at the church this evening."

Bonnie slowly sat back down and asked, "Excuse me?"

He smiled wryly at her response. "She showed up here last night. I tried to get her out of the country but…"

Bonnie nodded and gave him a look of sympathy. She said, "Stefan told me about last night but I had no idea she was at the church today. She has some nerve showing up out of the blue. What does she want?"

"She wanted to stay for the funeral to support us," he said skeptically.

Bonnie was quiet for a moment because she did not know what to say. She knew the depth of Damon's animosity towards his mother. She also knew that animosity stemmed from deep-seated pain. Lilly abandoning Damon hurt him far more than anything Giuseppe ever did to him. She murmured, "That is a nice sentiment…"

"It sounds like bullshit to you, too," he said with a smirk.

"I don't know your mother well enough to speak to her motives, Damon," Bonnie answered in a diplomatic voice.

She was not in a position to judge anyone for having an agenda. Bonnie was still utilizing the moles in the Salvatore organization to her advantage. She planned to manipulate Damon into doing what she wanted. Furthermore, Bonnie was working to unseat him as the CEO of Velocita. Damon still owed a debt for humiliating her at Klaus' club. However, her own duplicity did not mean that she would stand idly by while Lilly sank her fangs into him. That woman had the power to destroy Damon. Bonnie needed him whole, focused, and at the helm of the Salvatore organization for years to come. He was acting as steward for what would become their son's legacy.

He sank deeper into the leather couch and said, "Unfortunately, I have the same problem. Lilly is a stranger to me and I don't have a single reason to trust her. She wants to be part of our lives again."

Bonnie moved closer to Damon. "What do you want?"

"I can't speak for Stefan but I don't want that woman anywhere near me or my children. I told her as much at the church. I must sound like such an asshole to you."

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

"You have been spending time with your parents…repairing what is broken. I am sure my unwillingness to forgive isn't very Christianly."

Bonnie shook her head. "My situation and yours couldn't be more different, Damon. My parents left me with my grandmother. She loved and protected me to the best of her ability. Grams never once raised her hand to me in anger. Anyway, I didn't start out with the goal of repairing my relationship with my parents. They were merely means to an end."

Damon knew that Bonnie had a point. Their situations were not exactly comparable. However, her last statement piqued his interest. "A means to an end?"

"I only reached out to my mother because I needed information. I asked her to use whatever methods necessary to get Ric in a chatty mood," she explained.

He chuckled with raised eyebrows. "You pimped out your mother?"

She shrugged. "I needed to know that you were really planning to kill Giuseppe. I figured that Alaric would be the best source of information. I was right. Besides, she was already sleeping with your uncle. It's not as if I asked her to sleep with some random guy off the street."

"Still…that is a cold way to treat your mother, Bunny."

Bonnie said, "It is no secret that she was never much of a mother to me. I mean she had been living in the area for months without telling me. It hurt but I was used to my mother disappointing me."

Damon winced because he had known from the beginning that Abby was moving to California to be closer to Ric. However, his uncle had asked him not to share the information with Bonnie. He and Abby were doing their best to keep their affair a secret. Damon thought it was going to be a flaming train wreck and he had been right.

She continued, "However, when she found out what Giuseppe did to me...I saw the genuine pain in her eyes. She was so scared and angry for me. I tried to pay her off for working Ric for information but she refused to take the money. My mom stepping up to help me in that way meant the world to me. She chose me over a man that she loves a great deal. It was the first time I ever felt like I was her top priority. It made giving her a second chance easier for me."

Damon understood her logic on the situation. He did not trust Lilly because she had always put her well-being first. Damon would literally die for his children. He could not understand the rationale of leaving them in a situation where he knew they would suffer abuse of any kind. He had felt the same way about Stefan. As a child, he had the courage to protect his brother. Lilly was an adult and should have been held to a higher standard. "What about your father?"

She decided to tell Damon a version of the truth. "Mama called him because she thought I needed more protection. She felt that I needed someone that would gladly dismember anyone that dared hurt me. I have come to learn that my father is most definitely that person. My parents put aside their differences to protect me."

Damon automatically assumed that Bonnie was talking about his father. He was ashamed that it had taken so long to find Giuseppe. The old man should not have lived passed Thanksgiving after the way he hurt Bonnie. He said, "Yeah, Rudy has quite the reputation. Is he planning on going back to London now that Giuseppe is dead?"

"No, my father does not have a departure date in mind."

Damon was surprised by that. Rudy had a lucrative business in London that required his attention. He asked, "Business or reconnection?"

"Both," she answered honestly. "The point is my father dropped everything and flew out here because I needed him. It doesn't erase the abandonment. I don't think anything could erase the pain he caused me. But I think there is a path forward because I am certain that he loves me."

Damon looked at Bonnie with genuine concern. "Are you having trouble business wise? Are you in danger?"

"It is nothing like that, Damon. I have a minor situation that needs to be rectified. I am not in any danger. I just need my father's expertise."

"Dismembering people?' he asked incredulously.

Her green eyes shined as she laughed heartily. "I know that they call my father the Butcher but that isn't his only skill set. He has connections that I need. That is all that I am going to say about it. We're not here to discuss business. And we will never discuss what I am doing with my business. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I still love you, Damon. And as long as you aren't acting like an asshole, I will always be here for you."

Damon settled down but he was still concerned. He scooted closer to Bonnie so that their legs were touching. "What do you think about Lilly?"

"My opinion doesn't matter in this situation because she isn't my mother. But I think that you should give Lilly enough rope to hang herself. If you don't trust her, then have eyes on her. Give her a bodyguard for her safety, but then have someone else watching her from the shadows. She will be so focused on the visible bodyguard that she might lower her guard. Lilly is not a mastermind. If she has bad intentions, she won't be able to hide them for long."

"Sounds like you are speaking from experience," he replied.

She hummed noncommittally. "Have you thought about calling Dr. Correa? I am sure Lilly showing up unexpectedly has dredged up a lot of stuff for you."

He huffed. "I thought about it…"

"But?"

"I don't mind going in there to work out shit about our relationship. But going in there to complain about my mommy never loving me is out of the question," he grumbled.

Bonnie shook her head. "Because those two things aren't connected? You have spent years filling the hole Lilly left in your heart with drugs, alcohol, and women. Even if you don't strike up a relationship with your mother, you need to address how she and Giuseppe royally fucked you up."

He snorted. "Tell me how you really feel, Bunny."

She blinked. "I'm sorry. I am supposed to be here supporting you."

Damon reached out and cupped her cheek. "It is okay. I actually feel better having talked to you about this. I can't really talk to anyone else. They all have a horse in the race."

Bonnie said, "I get that. I find myself in the same position these days."

Damon was encouraged when Bonnie did not immediately pull away from his touch. "I didn't say this earlier but you look beautiful."

"Oh, thank you," Bonnie said with a small smile.

"Then again, you look amazing every time I see you. It is as if you are trying to make me jealous," he replied in a thick voice.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. I have wanted a change of pace for quite some time. I needed an opportunity to spread my wings."

"Is that what this is?" he asked curiously.

Bonnie said, "I've been pretending to be someone else for so long. I am just trying to figure who I really am. I need to figure out what I like."

"Being with me really stunted your growth, huh?" he asked.

"It did in some ways. I just wanted to make you happy. I tried mimicking the traits I saw in your mistresses. I thought if I could just capture whatever it was about them that you liked…I know now that I was stupid," Bonnie said softly.

Damon cradled her face in both of his hands. "You weren't stupid. I was blind. I know that you won't believe me but I am really looking forward to getting to know you."

Bonnie laughed softly. "You won't be saying that after I rake you over the coals tonight at the negotiation table."

"When are you going to realize that I would give you the world if you only asked?" he murmured. Damon brushed his lips against Bonnie's.

She pulled out of Damon's grasp and promptly slapped him across the face. "What the fuck, Damon?"

Damon sat back stunned. He could not believe that she actually hit him. "I thought we were having a moment."

Bonnie asked, "And you thought that was a good time to make a move on me?"

"Is it so wrong to hope for some pity sex? My dad died," Damon said with a plaintive expression.

Bonnie stood up. "You're the one that killed him! Asshole! And far too late if you want my opinion on it."

"Why does it matter that I killed him?" he asked. "He is still dead and I am grieving."

"You are unbelievable! If you are horny, call Katherine. My legs are closed to you," Bonnie snapped.

"I don't want to fuck Katherine. I want to make love to you," Damon insisted as he stood up.

"It's not happening, Damon."

"I haven't touched Katherine since my time with her in Tenerife, Bunny," he swore.

She asked, "Why are you torturing yourself? Sleep with her or don't…we are never getting back together."

"I don't believe that, Bonnie."

"Because you are arrogant enough to believe that I couldn't possibly move on from you," she spat angrily.

"It is not arrogance. It is knowing that we have something special that you can't replicate with anyone else. Tyler is convenient but he is never going to be me. Just like Katherine could never be you. She tried to get me into bed this afternoon but I wasn't even tempted."

Bonnie laughed and said, "Yeah right."

"I am being serious, Bonnie. You are the only woman I want and I am going to prove it to you."

"I should go, Damon," she replied in a quiet voice.

"Please, don't leave. I won't bring up the topic of our marriage again. I just want to talk."

"About what?" she asked.

"Anything. I just don't want to think about Lilly for awhile. I can't go out there and be who they need me to be if she is in my head. I have been trying to stay sober today but she makes it impossible. I can't indulge in any of my normal coping mechanisms."

Bonnie did not feel right about leaving Damon if he was truly in need. She had a damnable soft spot for broken men. It was one of the reasons she had prevented Tyler from killing Klaus. She believed there was some goodness in him. She slowly sat down on the couch. "Keep your lips to yourself, Damon Salvatore."

"I will be on my best behavior. I promise…"

"If you try to kiss me again I will stab you," she said.

Damon chuckled.

Bonnie took the switchblade from her bra and flicked it open. "I mean it. The days of men touching me without permission are over."

The amusement left his face as he studied the woman before him. He asked, "When did you start carrying a knife, Bunny?"

"After you father tried to rape," she replied matter-of-factly.

It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room as husband and wife looked at each other.

"I was out of line but…"

She interjected, "There is no way for you to finish that statement without me slapping you again. We are not together. You do not have the right to kiss me or touch me without asking first. Do I need to explain good touch/bad touch to you like a five-year-old?"

It was just a glimpse but he saw it. Damon saw the remnants of the trauma Bonnie had hidden from him and everyone else in her life. He thought back to the argument in his office when he first learned that someone had raped her. He would not soon forget Bonnie's description of him as the drugged up asshole on top of her. "No, it won't happen again. I am having a bad day and I was looking for comfort from you in a way that was completely inappropriate. You are here as my friend. I am sorry for trying to change it into something more."

She slowly relaxed and put the switchblade back into its hiding place. "I want to be friends, Damon. I want us to be able to spend time with our children without fighting. But that means you have to respect my boundaries."

"And I will. Can we try something?" he asked.

"What?"

"Have you ever played twenty questions?" he asked.

She lifted an eyebrow and said, "No one actually plays twenty questions."

Damon smiled at her. "See that is your youth showing, Bunny. Twenty questions is definitely a game. But I was actually talking about the turn of phrase more than the actual game. I think it could be a way for us to break the ice. I think you will admit that there are some glaring blindspots in our relationship."

"I guess. I reserve the right to reject certain questions."

"Fair enough. Do you mind if I start?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"What was your favorite subject in school?"

Bonnie frowned and asked, "Seriously? That is the question you want to ask me?"

"Yes, I am being serious. Come on, Bunny. We have to start somewhere. It would not be smart to start in the deep end of the pool."

"Uh, I guess if I had to pick a subject it would have been history. Grams started me young. She bought these historical books written for children. Sometimes she would just tell me stories about these powerful women. She was a history buff, too. She had all these great stories about Eleanor Roosevelt. Grams used to recite this quote from a book she read...'Do what you feel in your heart to be right-for you will be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

Damon watched the way Bonnie's eyes lit up as she recounted the happy memory. He smiled at the quote. "That definitely sounds like Miss Sheila…"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah. It has sort of become my motto. What about you? I know that you weren't much of a student in school, but you must have liked something."

He said, "Greek mythology."

"Really?"

"I guess that is another thing I can attribute to Lilly. She introduced me to Greek mythology. When I showed an interest, she made sure the tutors included it in the curriculum. I really got into it during the run of Xena Warrior Princess. I loved the show even though I was on Ares' side." He chuckled at her expression. "You have no idea what I am talking about…"

Bonnie smiled. "I can't say that I have ever seen the show but I have heard of it."

Damon shook his head with a wry smile. "You are practically an infant."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Just ask another question."

"Sheila took you all over the world with her. Do you have a favorite place?" he asked.

"It would have to be Milazzo. It is as much home to me as Shadow Hills is. I have missed visiting it these last few years. I am working with Cole and Dr. Huerta to make sure I am healthy enough to visit before the babies are born.I want to see my zias. I can't wait to take Sarah there, too. I want her to run through the halls as I did. I want to show her what's left of our family's oldest surviving fishing boat...Tempesta Feroce."

Damon wished that he loved Milazzo as much as Bonnie did. He had spent many summers there but it always felt like a punishment. He smiled, "That's right your family were fishermen. We were leather workers in the olden days. My family raised cows at some point. They used to graze on the land surrounding the compound. The painting in the parlor is a depiction of how the compound used to look."

Bonnie said, "I have seen that painting a million times and never realized that."

"Well, it isn't much to look at."

"Don't say that. It is a beautiful painting…"

Husband and wife settled into a comfortable rhythm of asking random questions and delighting in the answers. Damon was kicking himself for not trying to get to know Bonnie sooner. He could not remember the last time they had just talked about themselves. It was partly because they had known one another for years. There was an assumed level of familiarity. However, there was a different level of familiarity required for a successful marriage. Damon had been too cocky to listen to Zacharias' counsel on the matter. They talked until someone knocked on the door.

Damon scowled and said, "I will be right back."

Bonnie nodded and glanced at her phone. "It is getting late anyway. People will start arriving soon. I should head back out there."

He walked to the door ready to bite off the head of the person that dared disturb him. However, he stopped short when he saw it was Zach's oldest son, Lucian.

The 12-year-old was holding Victor as he cried.

Damon automatically took his little brother and rubbed his back. "What happened, Luc?"

"He got lost playing hide and seek with the younger kids. Sarah told me that she couldn't find him so I went to look for him. When I found Victor he was crying in the theater by himself. He wanted you," he explained.

He frowned and asked, "Where are the nannies? They are supposed to be keeping eyes on everyone."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Papa is yelling at them now."

Damon was glad to hear that Zach was taking care of the problem. "Thank you for bringing him to me. Keep an eye on your cousins for me. Yeah? There are going to be a lot of people here tonight."

Lucian nodded and said, "I will."

He closed the door once the boy walked away. Damon sat down on the couch and placed Victor on his lap. He took out a handkerchief and wiped at his tear-stained face. He shushed him softly. "You're okay, kiddo."

Victor promptly popped his thumb into his mouth and rested his head on Damon's shoulder.

Damon rubbed his back more and sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't have skipped naptime today."

Bonnie frowned at him. "Oh, you didn't, Damon."

He said, "It was a busy day, Bunny."

"Even more reason for tired little ones to have a midday nap. I made sure that Sarah took a nap this afternoon as a precaution. Our little princess is like the spawn of Satan when she doesn't have enough rest."

Damon snorted and then looked down at this brother.

Bonnie said, "It might be a good idea to put him to bed now or he is going to be clinging to you all evening."

"Come with me?" he asked.

She frowned. "I really should make sure that everything is on schedule in the kitchen."

"Please...just give me a few more minutes of sanity," he murmured.

Bonnie relented and said, "Fine but only because he is such a cutie."

Damon chuckled quietly. "I'll take what I can get."