-Eden

When Kai had first heard that Bonnie and Damon had been dating toward the end of her senior year in high school, it had felt like a swift kick in the gut by an Arabian horse. Or was it a Clydesdale? The wind had been knocked clean out of him and he remembered standing there, stunned, watching at a party during Spring Break as the two of them cuddled up where authority figures couldn't poke at their relationship. But she was eighteen now. She could date whomever she wanted, but there was still an image to maintain.

Mason had replaced his Solo cup with a fresh drink - adding a vodka shooter near the end. Somewhere by the end of the night, Kai had to excuse himself. Stefan had asked if he was alright and Kai reassured him that he was fine. When Liv and Luke protested that he was their D.D., he told them to call their older sister, Jo, instead.

Kai walked all the way from the Falls to Sheila's house. It was just shortly after one in the morning. The older woman didn't ask any questions. She just let him in and offered him a piping hot cup of tea, rubbing his back in comforting circles.

He woke up the next morning on Sheila's couch. His phone was on the cusp of dying and he had an array of colorful voicemails and text messages from friends and family alike. Sheila made him blueberry pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon.

He only ate a third of it before telling her he needed to go.

In his mind, he replayed everything in the back of his head. Bonnie had slowly been changing as the course of the spring semester started for her at Mystic Falls High. Coupled with the fact that there was constant whisperings going on at the school and among her peers of her clandestine relationship with Damon and, well, it shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise for Kai.

And yet it had.

His legs carried him to The Falls where his car was still parked. The others had managed to clean up their mess, or Mason had made them. Who knew? Who cared?

Damon Salvatore was an asshole. He may have had the charm, but underneath all that bravado was nothing short of a seasoned scumbag. Bonnie had no business dating someone like that and if she thought she was going to change him, she was sorely mistaken. Guys like him didn't change for the girl. It was always the girl who changed for guys like him.

Always.

But it wasn't any of his business to get involved, right? Sure, it wasn't any secret that he had feelings for Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins, but he had never acted on them. He was always that steadfast friend, there for a laugh and waiting with a cup of hot cocoa or her favorite pint of ice cream. He was the friend she could bounce ideas off of and the one who told her to keep a stiff upper lip no matter how many times she felt like crying. Because whoever made her cry? Well, they didn't deserve her tears. Not when it was all said and done.

He shouldn't have done it, but Kai started to pull back from Bonnie and the others. Not out of maliciousness or out of being petty, but simply because he knew that he had to get his head together. He had to wrap his mind around the idea of Damon and Bonnie being a thing and others in the world accepting. Graduation came for his siblings and the others and he threw the best house party he could for them - his condo being big enough to encompass their small circle of friends.

Everyone had asked if he was okay. He said that he was fine. When his siblings asked if he was okay, he said that he wasn't fine, but that he would be in time. For now, he had to stick with his own health and coping with the fact that the girl he cared about, who was also one of his best friends, was dating someone so far beneath her that she didn't even realize it.

Because she didn't understand just how much she was worth.


Last to Know

N.R

"No more pencils, no more books." Bonnie sang to herself as she exited her car. It was officially spring break, and she wanted nothing more than to spend the entire week reconnecting with her man. Things had been a little tense between them lately, when Damon wasn't snapping at her for something, he was distant and sometimes he would vanish for a few hours. Bonnie figured he was stressed out at work and needed some "me time". She swore she wouldn't be one of those nagging girlfriends who needed to know where her man was at all times.

Besides, even if she wanted to keep tabs on him, she wouldn't have had the time. Her course load was so packed, she hardly had time for herself. There were times when she second guessed her decision to become a paralegal instead of sticking with her original plan of studying anthropology. But she wasn't a quitter, so she stuck with it, knowing it would all pay off one day.

Which was why she was so amped for spring break. In one of their monthly dutiful phone calls, her father had let slip that he would be in New Orleans for part of that week. When Bonnie mentioned how much stress she was under, and how much she needed a break, Rudy had offered to not only fly her and a friend out to see him, but he'd also pay for their hotel stay for the entire week, even after he'd be leaving.

She'd accepted in a heartbeat. She knew throwing money around was her father's way of showing his love, but most times she just wanted to spend time with him. This offer, however, was too good not to pass up. She'd get to see her dad and finally introduce him to Damon, visit a place she's always wanted to go, and relax with Damon far away from Mystic Falls.

Bonnie opened the door with a flourish, "Who's ready to laissez le bon temps rouler?" She called out in what she knew was a terrible French accent. Hearing the sounds of an argument, she followed the noise into the living room. Damon and Elena were standing on one side of the room, while Stefan was on the other shaking his head emphatically.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked. The tension in the room was so thick, she half wanted to leave and come back when it had dissipated.

Stefan let out an angry snort, "Go on Damon, tell Bonnie what you and Elena decided for spring break."

Bonnie got that feeling she had been experiencing far too often nowadays. She glanced at Damon, not liking the look on his face, nor the smug look on Elena's. "Well, I was thinking that instead of just us going to New Orleans, we can join everyone else in Cabo." She watched as he downed the rest of his drink and went to the wet bar to replenish his glass.

Bonnie took a step into the room, "What? Wait, no. Damon, this was already discussed and settled. Why the change of plans?" The feeling grows heavier in her stomach. "Besides, the flights and hotel have already been paid for by my dad. You know, the man who you've been putting off meeting for years."

"Bonnie they can meet another time, come to Cabo with us!" Elena jumped in with a wide smile, but Bonnie could see that it didn't reach her eyes. She spared only a glance at her friend before returning her attention to Damon. "You said yourself, you've always wanted to go to New Orleans, right?"

"Yeah, but-" Bonnie cut him off. "And you've always said that you wanted to meet my dad, right?"

"I do want to meet him, but-"

"But what Damon? This is the perfect opportunity! I don't understand, all you have to do is show up. It's not like he'll be there the whole time, I just really want the two most important men in my life to finally meet."

"Nice guilt trip, Bon." Elena muttered.

Bonnie whipped around to face Elena "Why are you even involved in this conversation? Your boyfriend is over there." She pointed to Stefan who hadn't moved an inch. "Can I please talk to mine in private?" Not giving her a chance to answer, she marched past everyone to the doors that led outside. She opened the door and gestured at Damon, "Outside. Now."

When he finally sauntered outside, Bonnie just held her hands out, "Why? You were all gung ho about going to New Orleans up till today apparently. What happened?" He looked everywhere but at her. "Can you at least look at me while you're stabbing me in the back?"

"Stabbing you in the back? Come on Bon, it's not that serious." He scoffed.

"Not that-" She had to stop and take a breath. "It is serious to me. God Damon, you've dragged me to all these work dinners, these board events, and I've had to sit through God only knows how many luncheons, but you can't even do this one thing for me?"

"So what, are you saying I owe you?"

"You know what? Yes, Damon, you owe me. I have gone over and above for you so many times. We've been together for years and you still haven't met my goddamn father!" Bonnie wanted to cry, everything she's done and given up for him, and he won't do one thing for her. What did that say about their relationship?

"Look, Bonnie, I am a grown ass man. If I don't want to go to New Orleans, then I won't. No amount of guilt tripping is going to change my mind." Damon snapped.

"No, just someone else whispering in your ear, right?" Damon looked taken aback at that, "I'm not dumb Damon, you were all set to go until I told everybody our plans. The only person who wasn't accepting of our plans to go to New Orleans instead of Cabo was Elena. How long did she have to whisper in your ear before you agreed to hang me out to dry?"

"Elena has nothing to do with my decision. What? I can't change my mind on something?" He challenged.

Bonnie shook her head sadly, "That's not even the point. We're supposed to be a couple, and you went ahead and decided something for us, without talking to me. When my dad offered this trip, I asked you if you wanted to go, remember? You said yes." She pointed at his chest. "I wanted to spend some time with you, alone. We've both been extremely busy and I missed you. This trip was supposed to be just us, relaxing and being US without all the extra people from here getting in our business."

"We can still have time to ourselves, Bon." He tried to take her in his arms, but she wasn't backing down this time. She laughed bitterly, "Really? We can't even have a private conversation without someone" she quickly turned her head to see Elena walking by as if she had just happened to be passing the door at that time, "listening in."

Bonnie took a deep breath, "I'm going to New Orleans, and I really hope you're coming with me." She stepped away from him and walked back to her car. She was desperately hoping he would call her name, or run after her and sweep her into his arms and declare she was right. She had to sit for a minute and blink away the tears that wanted to fall before she could drive off.

The entire night well on into the next day, she was hoping he would change his mind. It wasn't until she began getting texts from her friends asking why Damon was with them at the airport that she realized he was really not coming with her. In that moment, Bonnie felt abandoned all over again.

The call to her father to say she wasn't coming because she felt ill wasn't even a lie, she had thrown up a few times and her stomach was cramping something fierce. She had felt a little off the past week or so, but she had chalked it up to stress. She considered calling Liv to bring her something to eat, but decided against it until she knew she would be able to keep it down.

Luke and Liv had declined to go on the trip with everyone else, their help would be needed at the restaurant this week. Since Liv wasn't going, Tyler opted out as well, saying he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself knowing his girlfriend was working while he was partying. Thinking of how considerate Tyler was compared to Damon made the pain flare anew. She fished out the heating pad she kept around for those particularly brutal time of the months, and curled up in her bed to go to sleep.

The pain that kicked her awake was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Throwing off her covers she was shocked to find herself in a pool of blood. "Oh god, oh god, oh god." She reached for her phone, fingers shaking as she tried to focus on calling for help. At that moment though, her phone rang and Liv's picture flashed across the screen, she grabbed the lifeline that was handed to her.

"LIV! Oh god, there's so much blood…I don't know what to do." She knew she was babbling incoherently, but was unable to stop.

"What blood? Bonnie? Are you okay?" Liv sounded as panicked at she did at the moment.

"I don't know where it came from, there's so much blood, oh my god" Bonnie dropped the phone and let out a yell when the next wave of pain hit. The next moments were a blur for Bonnie as she could only focus on breathing through the pain, and wondering why there was so much blood.

She must have passed out because the next thing she knew, she was waking up in the hospital. Her grandmother on one side, and Liv on the other, they were talking softly amongst themselves.

"Grams?" She croaked. Her grandmother was fighting tears as she stroked Bonnie's hair, "It's okay. You're okay, thank the Lord."

"What happened?" Bonnie felt like she was underwater, her limbs were heavy and her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Liv cleared her throat, "Do you remember me calling?" She asked softly.

Bonnie thought back, the memory of waking up in a pool of blood flashed in front of her. "Oh my God, what happened? Why was there so much blood?" Her grandmother took her hand, "You had a miscarriage, Bonnie." The words cut through the haze of the drugs and Bonnie swore she felt her heart break in two. She had lost a baby that she hadn't even known she was carrying.

The next days passed in a fog for Bonnie. She's not sure what Liv told her job or Tyler, but she and her grandmother were constantly by her side the entire week. Liv had even arranged for Bonnie's old bed to be removed and replaced with a brand new one. When Bonnie had protested, Liv simply looked at her, "I know what it's like, and I'm here if you ever want to talk or even just sit in silence."

By the time the others had come back, Bonnie was physically on the mend, but mentally she felt as if a part of her had died that day too. The gaping hole that she's always had in her was growing steadily and she had no idea how to overcome it. Damon had come to see her a few days after he'd gotten back, he was as shaken by the news as she was, and had apologized profusely for leaving her and promised to be better for them in the future. She forgave him, but that feeling inside of her, like something else was going on, never really went away. They decided to keep it to themselves, Bonnie didn't want a constant reminder of something so devastating, or want people to be on edge around her.

Damon was true to his word, though. It was like the beginning all over again, without the sneaking around because she was underage bit, he was funny and charming and everything she could want in a partner. When she graduated, he planned the most romantic couples trip just for them, and Bonnie fell in love all over again.


-Eden

The years flew by faster than Kai could have imagined. In time, just like he'd said, he was able to get over that gut punch that came from finding out that Bonnie was dating Damon Salvatore. He returned to his place of being the ever supportive friend, confidante, and supplier of sweet desserts when Bonnie and Damon had falling outs. Which, now that he puzzled over it, had been a frequent occurrence.

Kai was halfway into his bowl of Frosted Flakes when the word "Cabo" interjected into his brain. "Wait, what?"

Liv pulled her hair into a low ponytail, her blonde curls hanging loosely around her shoulder. "I said that Elena won't shut the fuck up about this damn trip to Cabo."

"Yeah, she's been a broken record about it ever since Bonnie talked about her trip with Damon to New Orleans." Luke bit into his toast as he leaned against the counter.

"Okay, so?" Kai motioned to Liv to hand him his phone so he could check the time. He needed to head into work soon to prep for Lunch. "What's that got to do with Bonnie and Damon? They're going to New Orleans."

Both of his siblings gave him a pointed look before Liv sighed. "Look, Bro, I know you've pulled yourself out of the loop for the sake of your bleeding heart," she chided, earning her the finger from Kai. Luke snorted. "But I'm going to need you to keep up."

"Keep up with what, Liv?" He finished off his cereal and made his way over to the sink, hip bumping her out of the way so he could wash up their dishes too. "Bonnie is a grown ass woman. I think she's more than capable of taking her boyfriend to New Orleans without someone holding her hand."

This time it was Luke who blinked at his brother in surprise. "Do you seriously not know what's going on?"

Kai groaned and then shrugged. "I know what I'm told. Come on, guys, I have enough shit to deal with than to keep up with the drama that is your post college graduation lives."

"Kai…" Liv started, then bit her lower lip.

He narrowed his eyes at her, wiping his hands clean with a dish towel. "Now if there's something important that I need to be kept in the loop about, then feel free to shed some light to your big brother. Otherwise, leave Bonnie alone. Let her just live her life how she wants, alright?"

Luke and Liv sighed before relenting in unison. He then promptly shooed them out of his condo so he could think about how he was going to prep both lunch and dinner. Just before he left the house, however, he shot Bonnie a quick text to tell her that he hoped she was having a good day and to not be a stranger.

Even though it was Kai who had begun making himself the stranger first.

"KAI!"

Looking up from chopping vegetables, the other kitchen hands only acknowledged the door being flung open before resuming their work. It was only Olivia and she was known for being unnecessarily loud. Kai was about to start in on her when he noticed the fearful look in her eyes. His hands immediately stopped moving.

"What's the matter?"

"It's Bonnie!" Her eyes danced with a wild light. "I think Bonnie's hurt!"

The knife clattered to the floor and Kai was already stripping out of his apron. There was a haphazard call to the other staff to finish up and to call his father to let him know he was taking off for the afternoon. Liv and Kai both flew out the kitchen and bee-lined toward the back entrance of Vera's.

"Did you call her grandmother?"

"No!" Liv looked like she was about to have a full-blown panic attack, her hands trembling as she struggled to put on her seatbelt. "I was just trying to talk to Bonnie and I think she passed out and...and she said something about blood and-!"

"LIV!" Kai's voice boomed through the car, silencing Liv's stammering long enough for her to finally click the belt securely around her. Her chest rose and fell heavily and Kai did his best to maintain some level of calm. He took a breath, then sighed before cranking the car up. "Call her grandmother and tell her to meet us at Bonnie's apartment. Okay?"

"O-Okay…"

Pulling out his phone, Kai punched his brother's number and threw it up on the dash.

"What's up? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Tell Dad I'm going to the hospital. It's an emergency. Call Jo too."

"What's going on?"

"We think Bonnie's hurt. I'll call you later."

And before Luke could ask any more questions, he hung up the phone - breaking several Virginia traffic laws to get to Bonnie's apartment.

Sheila Bennett must have done the same because she was already waiting for them by the time they arrived. The three of them entered Bonnie's apartment to find her passed out on the floor of her bedroom, blood soaked through on her bed and spreading from her body. Kai didn't waste any time, hefting her up into his arms and carrying her to his car. Sheila and Liv wrapped her up in blankets and settled her into the backseat and he made a bee-line for the hospital.

For the third time in his life, Kai was gut-kicked - the wind knocked out of him. Sheila, Liv and Kai stood outside of Bonnie's room at the hospital, staring at the doctor who had just relayed the news of Bonnie's condition. Liv gasped, her hands covering her mouth, and Sheila was just standing there with the most wide-eyed expression he'd ever seen on her face.

The moisture had left Kai's mouth completely.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he attempted to speak anyway. "A...a w-what?"

"She had a miscarriage. Luckily you all got to her in time, or she would have suffered severe blood loss."

Not again…

It was like he was in high school all over again. Except instead of his mother, it was Bonnie. Why did these things keep happening to the good women in his life? What did they deserve to be placed in these situations?

The worst feeling was not knowing what to do. Kai didn't know where to begin doing anything. He felt like a child who had just witnessed a friend getting hit by a car in slow motion. Too slow to think. Too slow to act. And now that the scene was right there in front of him and time had gone back to normal, he just stood there, unable to do a single fucking thing.

Because in the grand scheme of things, what could he do now that the life had been taken from the world before it had a chance at said life? What was Kai supposed to do now? The things he hadn't done before? But just what hadn't he done back then that he needed to now?

"How long are you planning on keeping her for?" Sheila asked softly - ripping through his thoughts and bringing him back out of his own head.

The doctor's brows furrowed slightly. "Well, we're going to want to run a few more tests. Just to err on the side of caution. Possibly keep her overnight. Maybe longer, if her guardian is willing."

Sheila nodded, biting her thumbnail. Liv sidled up next to Kai and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, stroking up and down her arm to ease her nerves. When they were left alone to discuss things, Kai quickly stopped Sheila from leaving the hospital with murder in her eyes.

"Alright Hurricane Sheila," Kai said, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. "It's not going to do anyone any good if you wind up in jail today. Okay?"

Her eyes cut to him with venom, but he knew it wasn't directed toward him. "Malachai Parker," she breathed slowly, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. "You better pray that you get a hold of that boy before I do." Her hands moved to wrap her fingers around his wrists. "Because there won't be a body left to identify when I'm through."

Kai smirked but there was no humor behind it. "You give me too much credit if you think there will be a body left when I'm done." He pulled her into a hug. "Now go to her so you're the first person she sees when she wakes up." Kai's gaze moved to his sister. "You too, Liv. You were the one on the phone with her when it went down."

"Yeah, okay…"

Kai couldn't be around her when she woke up. He just couldn't. Seeing the normally bubbly, optimistic Bonnie who hid her pain behind that plastic smile she'd been donning lately? He just couldn't do it.

No. It was better for everyone if she didn't even know that he was there in the first place.

It took three days for the blood stains to come out of the backseat of his car. Kai didn't care. He worked on ordering a new bed for Bonnie and it was already on the way by the time Liv had told Bonnie about it. Kai and Mason took care of cleaning up her apartment and fixing things like how they were before she had the miscarriage. Liv and Sheila never left Bonnie's side. Kai only came to see her when she was asleep and with no chance of waking up to see him keeping vigil over her.

Mason and Tyler were both there to do damage control when Damon finally made the time to see Bonnie once he'd returned from the trip to Cabo. They had never seen Kai so frigid in the entire time they'd known him and if the aura he gave off was freezing, he could only imagine what would have happened had they not been there to stand between him and Damon.

Bonnie forgave Damon once he gushed all of his promises to be better. Kai wanted to set all of Mystic Falls ablaze. All she saw was him and nothing else so, of course, it should have been obvious how it would have gone down. He was her first everything and it was a gift that the older Salvatore brother didn't deserve.

Bonnie Bennett-Hopkins - so perfectly imperfect.


N.R

Her first year working at the Salvatore firm went by in the blink of an eye. There were plenty of employees, so Bonnie kind of just blended in with the crowd. She did a good job, but her heart really wasn't in it. Sometimes she would play with the charm gavel that Kai gave to her on graduation day and wonder if she could just walk out.

When her birthday rolled around, she wasn't really in the mood for celebrating. Work was a soul sucking waste of time, her relationship with her grandmother was rocky. Her friends sensed something was wrong, but didn't really know what, so all their attempts at helping didn't really do much good.

And Damon….

Well, he slipped back into his old habits. Nit-picking every little thing she did, down to her wardrobe and how she styled her hair. He would frequently be gone on "company lunches" or take off for "business retreats" for days at a time. She wasn't stupid, she knew he was cheating, but he always came home to her. Wasn't that all that mattered in the end?

Not according to her grandmother. Sheila Bennett-Brand wanted his head on a platter, and made no bones about it. She frequently had to step aside and let Kai cool her down when she went off on a tangent about "that bug-eyed boy". She knew everyone else thought shades of the same, but her grandmother was the only one to tell her right to her face.

So celebrating her birthday really wasn't a top priority for Bonnie this year, she just wanted to go somewhere quiet with Damon. She knew that wouldn't be possible with Caroline already prepping for a party at the Gilberts' cabin. Bonnie was sure it was supposed to be a surprise, but Rebekah, bless her soul, couldn't keep a secret to save her life.

Maybe she should have taken lessons from her former boyfriend and former best friend.

What Bonnie would remember in absolute clarity about that night, was the fact that almost nobody else was surprised. When all hell broke loose and everyone was shouting, Bonnie noticed there was no "what are you doing?" or "how/when did this happen?" It was more along the lines of, "I can't believe you would do this here!" and "I thought this was done?"

Was she really the last to know?