Title: And There Will Be Blood
By: Jezzi B.
URL: visit jezzibness . livejournal . com for all chapters in a cleaner format.
Fandom: Vampire Diaries (Book & TV)
Pairing: Damon/Bonnie
Rating: M +16
Type: Multi-chapter
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the show, book series or the characters. The writing here in is for no profit and simply a fan work.
Summary: Bonnie receives an unwanted Christmas gift from Damon with a shocking message. We go back five weeks into the past to see how things lead up to Christmas. Bonnie is now experiencing a new life in New York with her boyfriend—who happens to be Elena's ex—Matt. Her abilities seem to have dissipated, allowing her to finally lead a normal life. Everything seems picture perfect until Damon shows up in town to deliver her a message that someone close to her will die if she doesn't retrieve her powers.
NOTE: I am going to write the characters as they are in the current show, but incorporate elements from the book series. Try your best to remove what's happened in the storyline of the show/book, I'm touching on those elements, but I've written this story from the angle of Bonnie not fully knowing what Damon is. I wanted to take this approach because it works better for the story.
AND THERE WILL BE BLOOD
"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part." –St. Augustine (Captain Corelli's Mandolin)
Chapter 6: Immortality
Bonnie was wearing a long, flowing white gown. A wreath of baby's breaths was adorned in her flowing black hair. A gentle summer breeze blew through the thin fabric of her gown.
She was on a beach. The sand was perfectly white; the water was serene and aquamarine.
It was beautiful—no—it was beyond that; it was the perfect moment.
She could see a figure approaching her from the shore. Their feet were bare, kicking up the waves of water with their toes. The closer the person came the easier they were to identify. She knew that face; she knew him entirely.
It was Matt.
Bonnie's lips parted with surprise. How did he get here? She found herself running towards him frantically. She had to explain everything to him; she had to apologize.
Matt opened out his arms and offered his kindest smile. She knew the safety of his grasp. The moment their skin made contact she pressed her cheek against his warmth. She closed her eyes tightly, simply holding him.
"Matt! God, Matt! I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" She whispered.
Matt's fingers slowly smoothed down her hair; his motions careful and tender.
"I'm not what you want, Bonnie," He spoke too calmly.
Bonnie tried to quiet him.
"Can we just forget everything I said on the phone? I'm sorry, you were right; we can make this work," she just didn't want him to let go of her.
"You can't fight the truth forever," Matt's tone hadn't changed.
Bonnie's grip only tightened. "What? What are you talking about?"
"This never was what you wanted, just what you thought you were supposed to want. You've opened the ultimate Pandora's box—your heart…"
Matt didn't talk like this; this wasn't like him at all. She could feel his fingers leaving her hair to touch her shoulders and then the small of her back. At first Bonnie readily welcomed the affection, but something wasn't right. The gentle motions were suddenly becoming firm and purposefully.
"Matt…" Bonnie lifted her eyes up.
It wasn't Matt. It was Damon.
Bonnie reflexively jerked, but she couldn't escape Damon's strength and God help her, she didn't want to. His hands were not that of a clumsy boy trying to please her; they were of a man knowing exactly what he wanted, and simply taking it.
"The perfect life with picket fences, wonder bread and children on bicycles is not what you were meant for. Do you know why you want me? Hm?" Damon lowered his mouth to Bonnie's shoulder, breathing on the slope of her neck.
"Yes…" Bonnie's voice was faltering.
"Chaos, Bonnie. Angels, demons, vampires and witches. We are all creatures of chaos. Despite all of your goodness, all of your morality, you can't stop feeling drawn to me."
Fangs. She could feel them now; they were grazing over her tanned flesh, dragging over the skin with wanton. The scrapes were tormenting and delicious.
"Don't…" She spoke unconsciously.
The animal took over. Damon's eyes changed, his demeanor changed. As fast as snakes can strike and with just as much compulsion his mouth forced fangs into her skin.
"Wake up. Are you really so stupid to drift to sleep with a vampire in the room?"
Bonnie bolted up from bed breathing hard. Her fingers immediately began to examine her throat for marks.
There were none.
Suddenly she felt hot with mortification.
It was just a dream…
Damon was laxly seated in a chair near the bedside. He was watching at her, or more likely he had been staring at her. Had he watched her sleep?
"Trust me when I say this—If I had done anything, you definitely wouldn't have been able to sleep through it…"
Damon and Bonnie were staying in a rundown motel this time. The carpet was a lovely shade of puke green that fought with the dark wood paneling on the walls. The bed mattress was hard and horrific, but a sufferance Bonnie had to deal with. They couldn't return back to the hotel, the other vampire had Bonnie's scent; he'd have traced her there.
The items retrieved from Samuel's fishing shed were in Damon's lap. The tome was a heavy leather-bound book with a lockable belt wrapped against it. Something was missing though…
"How long was I asleep?" She was embarrassed. How could she have trusted Damon enough to fall asleep? She had to be losing her mind.
"Long enough for you to have a nightmare, did you know that you whimper in your sleep?"
Damon was flipping through the pages of the book; he didn't look up when he spoke.
Bonnie shook her head in a vain attempt to clear it. She had to remind herself that Damon was a killer, not simply a bad boy, but a super villain. Villains always had master plans and the people in their lives were merely pawns. Bonnie wouldn't become a pawn.
"Why did Samuel want us to have the those things?" She had to prove her usefulness if she wanted to stay alive.
"He didn't want us to have them, he wanted you to have them—" Damon lifted up the bag of herbs, tossing it towards Bonnie. "—That had vervain in it, I took the liberty of removing it. I haven't quite figured out the other plant in there though."
Bonnie quickly grabbed up the bag, eyeing the contents over once.
"What's vervain?"
"Consider it vampire kryptonite. If blood is tainted with it, we can't drink it."
Bonnie tried her best to remain calm. He'd gotten rid of the vervain so she would have no protection against him.
"What does the tome say?" She was irritated that he'd started reading it without her.
"I'm not sure, it's all Greek to me," Damon didn't stop skimming through the book despite his lack of understanding.
"Maybe I can understand it better—" Bonnie's words were cut short.
"Look, I'm older than you and your grandmother combined. If anyone could understand this tome it'd be me," Damon turned the book so Bonnie could see the writing. She couldn't recognize the language; it undeniably wasn't English.
"When I said it's all Greek, I meant it literally. Samuel went all DaVinci code on us," He tossed the heavy tome to her.
Bonnie caught hold of it immediately; she was on edge around him. Damon long legs stretched when he stood, his hand rubbing his jaw. She'd never seen Damon ponder before. He always seemed to have an answer or know exactly what was gong on; for once he was just as clueless as she was.
"If Samuel knew about the vervain he'd have saturated his blood with it, how could Freddy Krueger back there have drained him?" Damon was pacing now.
"How did he get in the house? I can't see him inviting that monster in," Bonnie chimed in.
"A vampire with all of the power—and none of the setbacks…" the way Damon spoke led Bonnie to believe the idea enticed him more than made him curious.
"What about the Ambrosia?" Bonnie asked.
Damon snapped all of his attention to Bonnie at once; ever inch of him completely stiff.
"That's ambrosia?"
Bonnie began to wonder if she'd said something wrong. She lifted the herb bag hesitantly, "I'm a witch and I know a thing or two about botany for potions. This is Ambrosia; bloodweed. It's pretty useless."
Damon stalked over towards the bed. Why hadn't she climbed out of it yet? She always put herself in the move vulnerable positions around Damon. His eyes were dancing with an eerily beautiful glow. He placed one knee on the mattress, crawling to hover over Bonnie.
"Beauty and brains, do you realize what this tome is?" He asked.
Bonnie placed the tome tight to her chest, using it as a divider to separate Damon from herself.
"What I plan to hit you with if you get any closer?" Bonnie smiled wistfully.
"Don't threaten a masochist with pain—" Damon was actually delighted by her threats. "—The ancient Greeks spoke of a consumable substance that gave the gods their immortality, they called it ambrosia. That weed is simply the clue; this tome is a recipe for immortality. If a vampire were to drink this recipe, he'd be immune to everything a typical vampire struggles with."
The Nightmare creature was an invincible vampire…
Bonnie couldn't make sense of it.
"I still don't understand, why chase Stefan and Elena?"
"Like every consumable, eventually it runs its course. He needs Elena's blood to make the ambrosia and he needs this tome. That was why he practically turned that dead guys home inside out," Damon was sliding away from the bed. Suddenly the revelation of the truth was more attractive than Bonnie's vulnerable body armed with a bunt object for a weapon.
"His name was Samuel, Damon. Samuel Southmoore. He wasn't just some 'dead guy'." But it was really pointless to argue with Damon, she had learned that much by now. She changed the subject, "So, that means we're ahead of him. If we find them first, we win."
It seemed simple enough. Find Stefan & Elena first, burn the book second; make it home in time for Christmas.
When Bonnie looked at Damon she was frightened by what she saw. Damon's face showed the same seriousness and vehemence that it had back at the cabin when he fought the Nightmare Man. His lips were curled; bearing his fangs the way a wolf does when it senses danger.
"He's not going to be looking for them—" Damon pulled Bonnie from bed as if she was the weight of a doll.
A scream could be heard in the distance.
"—We're the priority."
Bonnie felt utterly helpless in Damon's arms. Were they really going to have to keep running from this monster? Bonnie clung tighter to the tome than Damon. It was her last hope in saving Elena's life. If the tome was taken, it was game over.
Damon's muscles were impressively like a feline. He had a way of moving quickly without making a sound. He slipped out the door with Bonnie and immediately headed towards a suburban.
"This isn't our car!" Bonnie whispered.
Damon broke the driver side window effortlessly, unlocking the door and quite literally tossing Bonnie into the passenger seat. He yanked against the plastic covering beneath the wheel, snapping and tapping wires until the engine roared.
Damon shot her a somber expression, "It is now."
He put the vehicle in gear, zooming off with as much force as the suburban could manage on snowy roads. He drove far too reckless, he may have been dead and carefree, but he seemed to forget she was breakable.
"We're out of time for playing footsie, you need to tap into your inner Elphaba and find Stefan now."
Bonnie had to stop watching the road for the sake of her heart, "I can't! My abilities have been dormant for months now; it'll take me time to control them again. I need a point of reference, something to touch that I can get a reading from…"
…and we left Elena's diary in the first hotel.
Bonnie was still really upset about that.
Damon shoved a handful of crimpled pages into her hands. She tried her best to keep hold of the tome while collecting the crumbled papers.
She carefully tried to smooth out a page best she could. The handwriting was all too familiar; it was Elena's diary pages—the absent ones. Horror washed over Bonnie's features.
"You were the one who ripped out the missing pages from Elena's diary?"
Damon took another sharp turn, causing the large vehicle to skid.
"Hate me later, find them now," his voice held urgency.
Bonnie tried to swallow down the anger that she felt. He was right, for now at least. She closed her eyes, focusing simply on the object in hand. Her grandmother had taught her how to meditate and open herself up to the other side of the veil for answers.
"I'm not getting anything," Bonnie still didn't open her eyes.
"Try harder," Damon stressed.
Bonnie reached out with her mind.
Elena, Stefan, please, where are you?
The tome began to fly open as if a draft had caught the pages. Suddenly, Bonnie wasn't seeing the snow and the dashboard. She was seeing Samuel Southmoore sitting at a desk deciphering the tome anxiously.
"Samuel didn't write it, he was translating it!" the visions were making Bonnie dizzy and short of breath.
The tome turned to the final page, revealing a single line written in black quill pen calligraphy.
"Property of Stefan Salvatore."
The tome was Stefan's. Did Stefan already know about the ambrosia?
There was a flash of orange and maroon she could faintly see a bright red sign within her vision. It read: "Eternal Night B&B"
"There's something that says 'Eternal Night', it's a bed & breakfast," Bonnie's vision was fading. The darkness and the cold were returning.
Damon was slowing down the vehicle to crawling speed.
"Why are we stopping?" Bonnie was collecting her bearings.
"We aren't—you are," Damon reached over to snatch the tome from Bonnie's fingers. Before so much as a word could leave Bonnie's lips she saw a weather worn sign near the side of the road. It was much less vibrant than the one in her vision. Time and the weather had ravaged away the red. It was the Eternal Night sign.
"Your Nightmare Man is after the tome, not you. Go find Stefan & Elena, I'll come back for you," Damon was already pushing open her door.
Bonnie had never been more terrified at the prospect of being alone than she was now. She'd pick Damon over the creature any day.
Her foot touched against the snow and dread rose within her. She immediately turned back into the car, grasping hold of the headrest.
"Promise? Can you promise me that you'll be back?"
Damon's expression reminded her of the sly smile the boys would make in elementary school before discreetly dropping a lizard down her blouse.
"Come heaven or hell, I always get what's mine. Now get out…"
Bonnie stumbled back from the suburban; left behind to watch the car lights drift off into the darkness beyond the trees. Damon would be back; she wasn't going to let the creature catch her.
She began to escape the roadside, slipping closer towards the establishment. In her mind she'd pictures a quaint little cottage with warm and rosy people baking muffins and offering rooms with patch quilts. This Bed & breakfast, however, had not seen management for a long time. It was a simple enough looking home that was in the stages of decay. The paint was chipped and dulled to gray. The windows were clouded over with a thick layer of dust. It was amazing how fast a home could die without occupants to fill it.
She had to push forward, for Elena. She entered the dilapidated home cautiously, peering her head in first.
"Hello?" Bonnie called.
She felt foolish for acting like a classic Horror movie victim.
Great job, Bonnie! Who enters a creepy house and actually lets the monsters know you're there?
Thump.
That sound couldn't have meant anything good. Bonnie slowly stepped into the house, trying her best to keep the noise to a minimum. The interior was entirely bare. No furniture of any kind, even the blasé wallpaper had started to peel.
Naked walls and empty halls.
Bonnie had decided it was a home to dust and pests now.
Thump.
It sounded like a fist banging on a wall.
Maybe they're trapped?
"Stefan? Elena?" Bonnie silently prayed that it wasn't the creature.
There was a soft light emitting from the kitchen. She had to stay valiant; even if she'd die it'd at least be in the process of trying to save Elena. There was nothing nobler than that.
She braced herself, turning to stand in the archway to the kitchen.
She was unprepared for what she saw.
Stefan was seated in the center of the room. He was tied to a chair with an I.V. stuck in his arm. The bag hanging above Stefan was labeled "vervain" in sharpie pen. His skin was stark white and sickly. His dark eyes were empty and utterly lifeless. He couldn't even move.
"Stefan!"
Bonnie didn't need any more time to think. She was quickly at Stefan's side, removing the I.V. from his arm without any hesitancy. Stefan released a low groan, tilting his head back slowly.
"Stefan! Come on, snap out of it!" Her fingers were rubbing Stefan's arms as if she could warm the blood back into his body.
Stefan's eyes finally seemed to acknowledge Bonnie's presence, his serious brow knitting with apparent confusion.
"Where's Elena?" He asked barely above a whisper.
"I was going to ask you that…" Bonnie hoped he was simply confused due to the vervain.
Stefan winced, struggling to break free from his bonds. Bonnie had grown accustomed to the powerful fierceness of Damon; seeing Stefan so helpless made her heart ache. Her fingers tugged vigorously at the ropes to loosen them.
"I sent Elena to New York—she was supposed to warn you," Stefan coughed heavily between his words.
Bonnie froze instantly, "What about Damon? You didn't call him to let him know that you and Elena were in trouble?"
Alarm struck Stefan's eyes quickly, "I would never ask anything of my brother, you have no idea what he's capable of."
Bonnie felt as though her heart had been ripped from her very chest. She knew she couldn't trust Damon, but just how deep had the lies gone?
"What about the tome? What about the Ambrosia? And that—creature—is still out there after Elena."
Stefan leaned back in his seat, his body wracked and sore from torture.
"It's obvious that you know now that Damon and I are not human. I entrusted that tome to Samuel thirty-five years ago. He was a language scholar; Greek was his specialty. He was deciphering the contents for me to determine if we should destroy the book. I kept him supplied with vervain, I told him to not let Damon into his home. Damon and the creatures' goal are one in the same; whatever Damon told you, was a lie. He's after the Ambrosia."
Bonnie needed to sit, her legs felt too weak now. She couldn't even understand why the information was affecting her so deeply.
"What about Elena?" Bonnie's mouth was dry.
"Elena and I went to Samuel, he deciphered a line in the tome. The immortality elixir's main ingredient is blood from a powerful vessel—" Stefan managed to lean forward, gripping Bonnie's arm.
"—the key to the elixir is you, Bonnie, your blood. He was never after us, he was using us to find you…"