It's not over yet…thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I hope you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: The usual.
"Oh how about the day that I ask you to be my wife," Damon began as he twirled Bonnie away from him and then back to him.
He heard her slam her office door two hours ago and then she was on the phone screaming at someone at the courthouse for an hour. He thought it would be best to give her some distance. She spent the past 6 months after Stefan and Elena's wedding entrenched in a custody case. This time she was actually fighting for a father to keep his children. The mother abandoned them long ago and recently came back with money and a new husband. This case had been Bonnie's passion and he knew how hard she worked on it. From what he could hear, someone messed up visitation paperwork—so the father would have to hand over the children for 2 months during the summer. They planned to go to dinner tonight to celebrate the end of this case, but it didn't look like that would happen now.
He rose from his office chair and made his way down to her office, knocking gently before entering. She was standing at her desk with her suit jacket off, wearing a red blouse, with a bow at the neck and a black pencil skirt. It was his favorite look for her. Her hair was up in a tight bun and she was wearing the glasses she had taken to wearing lately because of eye strain.
"Hey," he said closing the door quietly.
"Hey," she turned to look at him with a shake of the head, "I guess you heard," she smiled sheepishly.
"I heard you screaming," he leaned on her desk.
"Someone failed to submit my motion to prevent Dana from taking the children for the summer, I have an emergency hearing tomorrow but its just the principle you know."
"Fighting hard huh?" Damon asked walking over to her standing in front of her.
"Always…that's what we do here," she looked up at him.
"Exactly what we do here. Do you still want to go out to dinner?" he asked.
She shrugged, "I'm not exactly hungry anymore. I just want to go home, take a shower with you…" she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, "get a nice massage and relax."
"Is that what you want?" Damon asked.
"That is what I want. A quiet night with you and you showing me your love through a massage and a good home cooked meal."
"Ok...but just one thing…" Damon stated reaching into his suit jacket, "I really wanted to take you to Pietro's tonight, but I feel like this is just a good of a place as any. Almost a year ago, I asked you to become my partner in this firm. I asked you to become my partner because you are one of the brightest and bravest attorneys I have ever come in contact with. Tonight…" he stated removing the velvet box from his jacket causing Bonnie to gasp, "I want to ask you to be my partner in life and love. I'm asking you to be my wife," he opened the velvet box to reveal a cushion cut diamond on a white gold band. Her eyes immediately began to water.
"You are beautiful, there's no denying that. Anyone who has eyes can see that. You're smart and you put me in my place when necessary and I secretly love that. But what I love most is that you have a big heart and you fight for people who have no one else. You trusted me, when you had no reason to. You forgave me, when you had no reason to. You believed that I loved you. You believed in my words and my actions. Let me continue to love you, protect you and worship you. I want to expand our partnership to a personal one, one that will make you my wife and me your husband. Bonnie Bennett, I love you and would you please…" Damon went down on one knee as Bonnie brought her hands to her face, "marry me?"
Bonnie looked down at Damon and then at the open box, "Did you ask my parents?" she choked out as a tear left her eye.
"Even your grandmother," Damon grinned.
Bonnie felt herself unable to speak as she nodded, "Yes…yes…" she answered holding out her hand as Damon slipped the ring on her finger, stood up and lifted her up into a hug, "I love you…thank you," he whispered in her ear.
Bonnie looked down at the gleaming diamond adorning her finger before grabbing him by the shirt and bringing him into a kiss.
"Oh yes, I can see it now…me listening to my mother and my Grams pick out my wedding dress for me," Bonnie smiled
"Ms. Bennett a glass of champagne," the manager of the bridal boutique stood in front of Sheila and Abby with champagne flutes on a silver tray.
"Definitely," Sheila picking up her flute and taking a sip.
Abby lifted a glass as well. Bonnie watched her mother and grandmother sit on the couches of the bridal boutique. The way her mother fidgeted with the bangles on her wrists and the way Sheila kept pursing her lips told her that they were nervous or at least anxious about this. She and Damon were engaged for only four months and she finally was able to get everyone together to find dresses.
"So what do you think?" Elena asked walking out with Caroline in strapless, chiffon, high-low dresses the color of Bonnie's eyes. Abby and Sheila smiled and nodded as Caroline and Elena twirled around.
Bonnie looked at them in the bridesmaid dresses and her eyes immediately watered. Seeing them in those dresses, brought everything into reality to her. She was engaged. She was marrying Damon in 6 short months. It was something that she didn't think was possible almost 2 years ago, but here she was and she couldn't wait for the day she walked down the aisle with him.
"Ok, so that is definitely the dress," Bonnie stood up.
"Perfect!" Molly, the bridal wardrobe consultant chirped making notes as her assistants began taking Elena and Caroline's measurements, "now, ok…bride…what are you thinking about?"
"I don't know…" Bonnie began.
"A princess dress would fit her nicely, why don't you bring out one for her," Sheila spoke up.
"Mom, I think Bonnie was looking for something a little more understated…like…," Abby stood up and walked over to a mannequin, "this." She gestured towards a lacy A-line dress.
Bonnie looked around at the mannequins and finally her eyes landed on one, "I will try the princess dress, the lacy one and this one…" Bonnie pointed at the dress on the mannequin that made her heart beat rapidly when she saw it. She would humor her mother and Grams, but she was sure that she picked the dress that she would marry the love of her life in.
Damon pulled Bonnie closer to him as they continued to dance across the floor, "And the day that you finally take me as your husband," he held onto her hand gazing into her eyes, "and make me the happiest man in the world."
"Yeah, I think you've had enough of those," Stefan removed the glass of bourbon from Damon's hand, "it's your wedding day and we kind of need you to be able to stand up and say your vows."
"I've only had one drink," Damon protested grabbing the glass back and taking a swallow.
Stefan chuckled, "You're nervous."
"Nervous?" Damon scoffed, "you are mistaken, Little Brother. I am calm. Calmer than a cucumber."
"It's 'cool as a cucumber' but go on," Stefan sat down amused.
"Don't sit, you'll get the tuxedo wrinkled and look bad in the pictures," Damon mumbled, "and ok…fine…I may be a little thrown because in a little over 45 minutes, I will be marrying Bonnie Bennett. The woman that I didn't know I needed until she entered it a couple of years ago. She's everything that I could possibly want."
"Well it's a good thing that you are done drinking, right?" Stefan asked.
"Ok…ok…I'm fine…completely fine," Damon smoothed out his tuxedo jacket.
"How are my sons?" Lily asked walking into the Damon's bedroom in the Salvatore mansion and then gasping, "you two…"
"Mother, please…its too early," Damon protested.
Lily looked from Stefan to Damon, "Both of you found two wonderful women and you are so happy, its all I ever wanted. I love you both."
"Love you too, Mother," Damon hugged her.
"Well this is a portrait," Giuseppe entered the room with a smile on his face, "Stefan, Lillian…may I have a moment with Damon alone?"
"We should be heading down anyway…Mother?" Stefan held out his hand.
"Ok, see you outside," Lily kissed Damon on the cheek before walking out of the room with Stefan and closing the door slowly. Giuseppe and Damon stood in the room staring at each other for a few moments, "Well Son, I can tell you that the garden outside looks something out of a fairytale."
"Bonnie deserves it."
Giuseppe nodded, "You also deserve it. You deserve happiness and one thing about us Salvatore men, we get women that we probably don't deserve and that's why we have to treat them like the rare gems that they are."
Damon agreed, "I know that. We may not have always been the best father and son team, but I know that my mother was someone that you celebrated and loved unconditionally."
Giuseppe took a deep breath, "Michael is resigning as General Counsel of Salvatore Architectural."
"Father…" Damon began and Giuseppe held up his hand to continue, "Damon, I understand that you and Bonnie have something good going on in Mystic Falls and I wouldn't think of ever interfering or taking you away from that. However, there is no other lawyer I would trust more than you. Would you serve as our general counsel?"
Damon blinked. From the moment Damon decided to be an attorney instead of an architect, Giuseppe had balked at his profession and him. The fact that he was asking him to take a legal role in the company knocked him through a loop, especially since he wasn't demanding that Damon be exclusive to him. "You could hire whomever you needed to handle minor administrative legal tasks, but I want you in charge. I want you to be part of our dynasty. I want Bonnie involved too…I want your future children to know and understand that they are a part of this, no matter what profession they decide to go into."
"Wow," Damon breathed out still in partial disbelief, "I will have to speak to Bonnie about it first."
"Of course, of course. I just want you to know that I am proud of you Damon, for everything that you are and everything that you will be," Giuseppe's arm lifted and Damon braced himself for a hug, but Giuseppe patted him on the shoulder and that was just as satisfying.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
The make up artist stood over Bonnie touching up her face. She felt weird. She expected to be a ball of nerves on this day, but she found herself unbelievably calm. Maybe it was the fact that she had planned this day to the very second or maybe it was because the sun decided to shine. Then there was the #1 reason she was calm during this day, she was marrying the man who she had fallen in love with and never wanted to stop loving.
"There…perfect," the make up stepped back.
"So we can put the fascinator on now?" Caroline asked.
Bonnie turned to the mirror and nodded. Caroline and Elena walked over, "I can't believe that this is happening," Caroline reached for a pin from Elena. Bonnie watched as the comb with the lace veil was placed near the bun in the back of her head.
"Bon, I'm so happy," Elena fanned her face to keep the tears from falling, "you are glowing."
"Don't say that so loud, people will think I'm pregnant or something," Bonnie took another look in the mirror before rising from the stool in the pool house.
"But you're not, right?" Caroline asked.
"No Care…I'm not," Bonnie assured her.
"Good, because you are wearing white," Sheila entered the room with a playful wink. Bonnie turned to see the women in her family come in followed by her father. Elena and Caroline picked up the bouquets and moved out of the room. Seeing her family walk in, brought tears to Bonnie's eyes and then the nervousness set in. She hadn't been nervous up until that moment. She leaned into the vanity.
"You ok Baby?" Abby rushing over.
"I'm getting married," Bonnie breathed out.
"You want to runaway?" Sheila remarked sarcastically.
"Mother!" Abby gasped.
"Really Sheila," Rudy shook his head.
Bonnie laughed, "No…no…I love Damon and if I were to runaway, it would be with him…no…it just hit me. How many people are out there?"
"Oh just a few people," Rudy shrugged.
"A couple hundred," Abby answered.
Bonnie took a deep breath, "Of course."
"So this is it Baby Girl," Sheila walked over to Bonnie placing her hands on Bonnie's arms, "you look beautiful."
"It's your pearls," Bonnie touched the pearl necklace around her neck.
"Well I had to give one of my prized possessions to one of the people in this world who makes every day brighter for me," Shelia kissed her on the cheek.
"I can't believe that this day is here and it feels…perfect," Abby smiled at Bonnie taking both of her hands, "and you are absolutely beautiful today and every day."
Bonnie took both Sheila and Abby's hands, "Thank you both for everything."
They both hugged Bonnie as Rudy stood behind them and the photographer caught the moment, "Ok, we should be heading downstairs to get in line to walk outside," Abby wiped her eyes kissing Bonnie on the cheek.
Bonnie slipped her hand through the wrist loop of her dress and walked over to Rudy, "Well Daddy…" she breathed, "this is it."
"It? Oh no, this is not it…this is just the beginning," he said holding out his arm, Bonnie smiled lacing her arms through his and heading out of the room. They made their way out of the pool house towards the garden where the wedding would be held. There were walls of flowers surrounding the actual ceremonial place. They decided to do a little different than Elena and Stefan and decided to have the ceremony overlooking the pool.
Damon heard the violinist begin to play chords of Für Elise. The French doors to the mansion opened to reveal Lily and Giuseppe Salvatore. They walked down the aisle casually smiling at their guests and taking their seats at the front of the groom's side. Lily looked up at Damon with a wink. He could see his mother was about to burst with excitement. He then glanced back up the aisle to Abby and Sheila walking down the aisle with Abby's boyfriend, William. He noticed that Abby smiled, but he could see that her face was slightly flushed. Sheila looked up at him, met his eyes dead on and gave him the best smirk she could muster—he wasn't surprised that she looked like she had not shed a tear. He chuckled as they took their seats.
Then the doors opened again to Caroline walking down the aisle. She smiled and Damon could only wish that she and Elena would both hurry up. He hadn't seen Bonnie since the previous night before she was pulled away by the blond to spend her last night as a single woman. He watched Caroline take her space on the opposite side of him and Stefan. At that time, Elena began her descent down the aisle and he heard Stefan take an intake of breath. Over the past couple of months since he and Elena tied the knot, his brother had been the happiest he'd ever witnessed. It was actually nice to see. Damon was also halfway convinced that Stefan was ready to step away from the family business completely and focus on being a stay at home dad or something. It was amusing to say the least.
Damon watched as the doors closed again and the ushers unfurled the aisle runner with Bonnie and Damon's initials etched in the middle. He felt his stomach twist into a knot. This was it…the moment he had prayed for and waited for.
"You ready Bon?" Rudy asked as the doors opened allowing Lizzie and Josie to exit to throw flowers on the aisle.
Bonnie looked over at Rudy, "I am…I feel like I'm going to be sick, but I am," she breathed out.
"Why you want to run out of here? Because you know, I could have you back in Mystic Falls in a couple of hours," Rudy winked at her.
She laughed as her nerves began to relax a little, "The only person I would run out of here with is Damon, Daddy," she met his eyes.
Rudy sucked his teeth, "Denied again."
Bonnie smiled, "Thank you for that."
"Ok…ready?" Rudy asked.
Bonnie looked towards the French doors as the beginning of Stop This World by Neyo began to play. Bonnie felt the tears instantly appear in her eyes as she braced herself. Damon told her that she could have whatever she wanted, but he wanted to choose the song she walked down to. She gave him that gift and the song that began to play, hit her dead in the heart. It was a perfect testament to how he felt about her.
OK
I woke up in heaven today
She kissed me I floated away (away)
Never felt anything so great
The doors opened and the collective gasp from the guests made the moment all the more enchanting.
Alright, now I brace myself for the fight
Something must go wrong cause its way too right
I'm light as a feather tonight (Yeah, yeah)
Bonnie stood in the doorway with her father, dressed in a satin mermaid dress, that gave an elegant, sexy and old Hollywood look. Damon stood at the altar and his mouth slacked. She was so very beautiful, that it overwhelmed him. He clutched his chest as she began to walk down the aisle.
Cause I can't feel the ground
Someone let me down
I've never felt so high as I do now
It's too good to be true
I don't deserve you
I never felt the love strong enough to
Stop this world from spinning
Bonnie held onto Rudy walking slowly up the aisle. Her dress was a little on the body hugging side and the last thing she would do is fall on her way up to the altar. She couldn't allow herself to look up at the front of the aisle just yet; if she met Damon's eyes at that moment, she would break down into tears. As she made her way towards the altar, she took in the faces smiling back at her…Marcel and his wife; her former professor, Silas; Logan Fell, from the DA's office; Judge Reynolds, Jenna and Rosa.
Cause I can't feel the ground
Someone let me down
I've never felt so high as I do now
It's too good to be true
I don't deserve you
I never felt the love strong enough to
Stop this world from spinning
Damon stood at the altar watching Bonnie walk towards him and it was as if his mind stopped working. He couldn't come up with enough words to describe the feeling that washed over him as he watched her proceed towards him. When he was younger, he always wondered how his father he could be so tough and hard to everyone around him but Lily. But when Damon looked down at Bonnie walking towards him, he understood it. He understood how a man could be so in love with a woman that he worshipped her, protected her and thought nothing more than making her happy. Seeing a smile on her face. He didn't deserve her.
And I see
Heaven when she looks at me
And her smile is the most amazing dream
And in her eyes I fall asleep
And I hope
Hope that she can see through the smoke
Of my imperfections into my soul
And my heart where she has control (she has control)
Bonnie made her way to the front of the aisle and looked over to see Lily sitting beside Giuseppe wiping her eyes. It was a little overwhelming at that moment, but when she turned to see her mother wiping her eyes with a smile on her face and then she met her grandmother's eyes. Sheila had tears pooling in her eyes and she gently wiped them away, but they were there. It overwhelmed her and then she looked up and saw Damon peering down at her. The look on his face, the look of wonder, the look of absolute adoration touched her and she couldn't hold her tears at bay anymore as she allowed a few to slip out of her eyes. He looked so handsome standing waiting for her, the look of love in his eyes, the respect in them and the fact that he looked like something that just walked off of a runway made her feel like the luckiest woman alive.
Happiness like this will never last (will never last)
Turns into the memories of the past (memories of the past)
Here today and gone just as fast (gone just as fast)
When Bonnie reached the stairs, Damon walked down and took her hand with Rudy kissing her on the cheek letting her go. "You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear.
"You do too…you so pretty," she smirked looking into those eyes that still to this day looked into her soul.
Stop this world from spinning
The glimpse into the future will continue in the next chapter…