Okay... So it's been longer than I expected but I did warn you. Anyway, here's the next chapter.
And to make up for the fact that this chapter took so long I'm going to let you know that I do actually have the next chapter finished already and so it will be uploaded soon. I hope people actually enjoy this story.
Anyway, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Damon Salvatore.

~ Damon, Stefan and Co. ~

"Well, don't all just stand there staring at each other. What are we going to do about Bonnie?" Elena had returned.

Damon rolled his eyes. He was now laying on the bed next to Bonnie, with his arm wrapped around her back and her head resting on his chest. He can't remember how he found himself in that position but he wasn't complaining, and he had a hunch that if Bonnie were conscious she wouldn't be either. His eyes wandered to her face, her lips set in a slight pout, her freckled cheeks slightly flushed and her doe brown eyes hidden beneath her fluttering eyelids. A sudden sadness came over Damon at the thought of never seeing those adorably innocent eyes again. Then he catch himself and shook his head to rid the thoughts. He was Damon Salvatore. The fearless, unstoppable – and devastatingly handsome - Damon Salvatore. Not Stefan, the sappy bunny killer. He didn't get these kinds of thoughts. That was Stefan's department.

Returning his gaze to the maiden in his arms Damon amended that he would see her eyes again, because she was his and he wasn't going to let her be broken.

"-Damon? DAMON?" Damon was pulled from his thoughts by Elena. Seeing that he obviously wasn't paying attention she repeated her question, ignoring the stab of resentment she felt towards her unconscious friend. "What do you think we should do?"

Damon shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Bonnie. Elena sighed in exasperation. Ever since he had gotten here all Damon seemed to want to do was stare at Bonnie. He hadn't even looked up when Elena had re-entered the room. He barely acknowledged her existence and for some reason that bothered Elena more than she was willing to admit. She shook the thoughts out of her head and returned her attention to her friends. "Nobody has any ideas?"

"Maybe we should take her back to the boarding house?... Maybe Ms Flowers will be able to help us figure out what to do." Matt phrased it more like a question.

"You know what? I hate to admit it, but Mutt has a point. The batty old lady knew I was coming. I don't think we give her enough credit. She knows a lot more than she likes us to believe." Everybody gaped at Damon. He hadn't even paused his ogling of Bonnie. "Close your mouths. You'll catch flies." He still hadn't looked up.

Stefan's lip twitched at that. That was something their father used to say, apparently their mother had used to say it. "Damon did you just agree with Matt and quote father?" Stefan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. Damon smiled up at him and shrugged. It was a pleasant moment between the brothers but it didn't last long. It seemed that Damon was having trouble keeping his focus away from Bonnie. Stefan watched him, examined every emotion that seemed to slip past his mask, and came to the conclusion that Damon was completely oblivious to the way he was acting. Stefan couldn't help but smile. Since Damon had made his reappearance he had barely paid any attention to anyone that wasn't Bonnie. Not even Elena. It filled Stefan with a hope for not only Bonnie but for himself.

Damon finally pulled his attention back to the group of teens that seemed to be wrapped up in their thoughts. He unwrapped himself from Bonnie and got to his feet placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He walked towards his brother and the mutt and gently glided them from the room, calling to Elena and Meredith over his shoulder. "Get Bonnie dressed. Then we'll go." He left the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned back against the door and smiled at the two men who were staring at him again. "What?"

"Damon, you said that Ms. Flowers knew you were coming?" Stefan finally caught up with Damon's earlier statement.

"The old bat is smarter than we give her credit for. She was waiting for me at the door with a blood-bag and told me where to find you. Also told me it was good to see me, but that's irrelevant." Despite his words, Damon smiled again. Not his usual smirk, but a genuine smile graced his features. Stefan couldn't help but hope that his brother had finally seen the light. (After Hours/Bonnie Reference) ;)

Soon the girls called them back into the room. Bonnie lay on the bed fully dressed in grey sweatpants, a black tank top and her favourite dark green coat. Damon walked to her closet and pulled out her messenger bag. He continued to walk around the room opening drawers and throwing in clothes and other things that Elena couldn't see. He then closed the bag and threw it over his shoulder, before walking over to the bed and hoisting Bonnie up bridal style.

"Well then. Meet you back at the boarding house." And with that he was gone.

x . x . x . x . x . x . x

Ms. Flowers was once again waiting at the door when Damon strode up the front steps. "Your room is prepared." Damon sent the old woman a silent "Thank you" as he continued up the stairs and to his room. Entering the room Damon was hit with a brief wave of nostalgia and despite himself, he smiled.

He slowly approached the bed, its ebony sheets crisp and clean. The floral scent of the fabric softener drifted to him from the freshly washed sheets – probably the only thing in the room that had been touched since his departure. He gently placed Bonnie down on the left side of the bed and after placing the bag on the floor near the bedside table he slid on next to her, resuming the position he had vacated earlier – Bonnie tucked close to his chest, his fingers stroking lightly through her soft red curls.

With a few minutes to spare before Stefan and Co. got back, Damon decided he would give in. Sighing, Damon let his eyes travel back to the girl in his arms. His sweet little Redbird. How had she ended up this way? He had died in her place all those months ago on that moon only for her to end up in her current comatose state. Did he regret saving her life back then? No, and he reassured himself that he would give his life for hers all over again if it were necessary.

Damon sighed again in resignation and laid his head down atop of Bonnie's. Closing his eyes he let himself bask in the peacefulness of the room and letting the soft breaths of the maiden curled in his arms lull him into a blissful sleep.

This is the sight that Stefan and the others would come across upon their return a few minutes later. At this Stefan ushered the others and a very reluctant Elena back out of the room. Draping the comforter at the end of the bed over the sleeping pair Stefan retreated to the doorway. Glancing back one last time he smiled, switched off the lights and closed the door behind him.

~ Bonnie ~

When Bonnie awoke she felt an odd calmness that she never knew she was missing. It made her feel light and more carefree than usual. Sitting us she looked around at the mess of the shack. The strange tremors had knocked a lot of things around the room including the mirror, which now lay shattered on the floor. Sighing, Bonnie closed her eyes and tried to imagine the shack as it had been before. Clean and intact. Bonnie let out a gleeful giggle when she opened her eyes to find exactly what she had imagined. The shack was good as new, spotless even.

Mirror Bonnie huffed out an annoyed sigh. "Well, it's about time. Nice of you to wake up and fix my mirror."

"Oh hush you." Bonnie chirped as she hopped up out of bed and ran to the television that was beginning to turn on. "Ooh… Yay!" Too caught up in the television Bonnie failed to see Mirror Bonnie's pained expression.

The three girls from the previous times were back again, only this time they were getting out of the boys car in the parking lot outside a large building. They were teens now and around them many others were pulling into the lot and heading into the building carrying books and backpacks.

The redhead was the first to speak, giddily hopping up and down on the spot. "Can you believe it guys? We're actually in High School! We're High Schoolers!" She gave a slight shriek causing her friends to laugh fondly at their excitable little friend. "Ugh! This is gonna be so awesome!"

The dark haired girl wrapped an arm around the redhead and laughed at her antics. "C'mon you. Let's get you inside before you start to fly away from happiness. Ooh look Bonnie! Boys!"

The redhead whipped her head around in a flash. "What? Where?!"

The blonde girl then joined her friends examining the boys roughhousing around the doors of the school. "Easy there tiger!" She giggled. "It's only our first day. There's plenty of time to examine the possibilities later.

The blonde boy strolled over to them then after locking the car. "What're you guys talking about?" He followed his friend's line of vision and chuckled. "Girls!" He huffed and jogged over to the boys the girls were gawking at, high-fiving and play-punching. The girls exchanged a look and couldn't hold back the laugh. "Boys!" They exclaimed in unison.

Just then another blonde girl got out of a car a couple of rows down and jogged over to them. "Hey Caroline!" The redhead waved enthusiastically to their friend.

The blonde girl, Caroline, got to them and pulled the redhead into a hug before releasing her and repeating the action with the others. She linked arms with the blonde and the redhead, the dark haired girl linking up with the redhead, and began striding towards the doors. "This is it guys. I'm telling you, in three years we will rule this school. Don't dare doubt me, you know I'm always right." She preened. "This year is gonna rock."

With that the television clicked off again and the screen once again fell dark.

"Wow. That was so good!" Bonnie turned her shining smile on Mirror Bonnie. She walked over to the dresser by the bed and began pulling her wrist mirror around her wrist. "I'm gonna go outside and maybe add more flowers around the shack… Flowers…" Bonnie looked puzzled for a minute before she shook her head to clear her thoughts. She shrugged and headed out into her field of paper flowers.

~ Damon ~

Damon awoke with a start later that night. That same damn nightmare! He thought as he raked his fingers through his hair. Since he woke up on that moon his nights had been plagued with the same nightmare. Every night he would get a little bit closer but never close enough and he always awoke with a pain in his chest. It felt as if he had been stabbed straight through the heart with a stiletto dagger. He didn't know how much more he could take of the torture. He had even began trying to put off sleep as much as possible so that he may be spared of the pain for at least a few more hours.

Snapping out of his thoughts Damon remembered where he was and who he was with. He looked down at the tiny redhead in his arms with a fond smile playing across his lips. He stroked her hair and placed another kiss to her forehead before snuggling down on the bed and pulling her closer. He gazed at her a little longer. She looked so peaceful. Almost as if she were simply sleeping, but Damon knew better. What he wouldn't give for her to simply be asleep and cuddled up next to him. But she wasn't and Damon knew then that no matter what he would always endure the pain. For her.

Wehey! Another chapter down. Once again, I tried to stay as close to Damon's character as possible, but this story calls for a little sappiness.
I will keep my promise to upload the next chapter soon, and I'm on my Summer holidays now so hopefully I can convince myself to write more often.
So let me know what you thought..

P.S. Damon has a nightmare? Whatever could it be about? Anyone who can guess correctly will get a sneak peek of the next chapter.
P.P.S. 'Til next time my pretties. Over and out!