Resurrection

Epilogue

Elizabeth's declaration stunned them all into silence long after she'd vanished from the mansion.

The spell paralyzing Stefan and Damon broke and they both stood in shock, staring at Kai and Bonnie as everyone ingested the news.

"Good God. Babies," Stefan muttered, mostly to himself. He shook his head in disbelief and left the room.

"Great, that's just great," Damon said, "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Douche had to go and reproduce."

Kai turned to glare at Damon. He raised his left hand, clenched his fist, and effectively snapped the sarcastic vampire's neck with magic.

The Damon's body crumpled to the floor in an instant.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at Kai in frustration.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you weren't thinking about it," he said, defending his actions, "He chopped off my head, remember? He had it coming."

She exhaled deeply, but didn't bother defending the man she'd only recently begun to call friend.

Once they were alone, Kai leaned down, placing his forehead against Bonnie's as he lightly touched her stomach and gave her a weak smile. He couldn't hear their heartbeats yet, but Elizabeth wouldn't lie about something so important.

He was about to be a father; yet another gift from the Bennett family that he didn't deserve. Their brief courtship produced two lives that needed their eternal protection.

Looking into Bonnie's eyes, he saw love, confusion, fear, and a cautious amount of joy. He knew that her own mother had abandoned her when she was a child. She was short on family and long on enemies.

The new twins could be the last of the Bennett line.

Bonnie would never let her own children go.

Neither would he.

"Your mother – " she started.

"Won't get anywhere near them," Kai added.

"What – what did she mean that we'd beg her to take them? What's wrong with them?" Bonnie asked, her terror increasing.

He gently placed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Nothing's wrong with them," he assured her, "They're perfect, they're related to me…"

He threw her a smile that was meant to distract her, but it didn't work. She punched him lightly in the stomach.

"…And, you are their mom – so they're going to be beautiful, brave, … and too fucking stubborn for their own good," he added, "See? Perfect."

She smiled back at him, but he knew she was only doing it to make him feel better about her current state of panic.

"Kai, we can't do this alone," Bonnie added, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hugged her back.

Kai kissed the top of her head and swallowed hard before speaking.

"We won't be, but I don't think a couple of vampires are going to be enough," he told her.

"We need witches," she said.

Kai nodded.

"Lots and lots of witches. All kinds. All abilities," he explained.

"I'll talk to Lucy and consult some of the Bennett grimoires so we can find out a way to gather as many good witches as we can," she said, relaxing into his arms.

Kai had never been so happy and so frightened all at once in his life. He had fought darkness throughout his existence – but it was only for his own safety- his own benefit. He'd never fought it for anyone else because he'd never loved anyone else so much. Now he had Bonnie and the babies to consider. They made him happy, but vulnerable.

So this was is what it's like to have feelings, he thought to himself.

Rather than dwell on it, he changed the subject to something just as frightening but pleasant.

"Well…. I guess we have a new name for you," he told her – breaking the embrace to give her a smirk, "Bonnie Parker?"

Bonnie smiled up at him, then wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

She kissed his cheek before she answered.

"Bonnie Bennett-Parker," she whispered in his ear.

"Is that you're version of a 'Yes,'" he asked.

"Depends: is that your version of a proposal?" she quipped back.

Kai thought about it for a moment. He wasn't a romantic person – not in the least. But this was Bonnie and there were two things to remember: the fact that she deserved the best and the reality that she'd kill him if he didn't give it to her.

Kai looked behind him and found a small red pillow lying on the sofa. He tossed it on the floor, got down on his knees and looked at up at Bonnie. She was shaking, which was ironic since she'd never truly feared him before.

Bonnie tried to speak through the smile spreading across her face.

"You should know that two knees is begging. One knee is proposing," she said.

Kai thought about it for a moment.

"I think I'm going to stick with two knees just in case," he told her, taking her left hand.

He wanted to be coy. He wanted to be charming. He wanted to be epic, but all he could be was totally honest with her.

"Bonnie, I am a cocky, egotistical, and formerly homicidal bastard who doesn't even come close to deserving you. I have done things – so many horrible things – to people, especially to you, that I don't ever deserve to be forgiven for. But the thing is, I do love you, and I know that it's love because it scares the complete and total shit out of me; which, honestly, should scare the complete and total shit out of you too. I can't promise that I will ever be romantic, or even be everything you want. I can promise that I will always protect you, and those crazy little Bennett-Parker witches inside of you. I can promise that I will piss you off at least once a day. I can promise that you will want to kill me sometimes. I promise to fight for you, fight with you, and fight right next to you. That is, if you'll let me," he said, then batted his eyes for effect, "So, what do you say, Bonnie Sheila Bennett? Wanna marry me and be partners in crime?"

Tears stained her face as she yanked him to his feet and gave him the answer he was actually begging for:

"Yes."

Coming soon, the Resurrection sequel: Gather the Witches