Miracle
A/N: Another little one-shot with a VERY creative title *Cough* NOT *Cough* Hope you enjoy it :)
Her morning sickness was here again.
Damon crossed his arms as he waited outside the door, hearing his little redbird heaving from inside the bathroom.
When she finally came back out, she had the same pale complexion that she had for a full week now, and was clutching at her stomach painfully.
Damon shook his head. "This has gone on long enough redbird. We need to have someone take a look at you."
Bonnie nodded, having finally come to realization herself that this couldn't be the normal stomach flu. "But Damon? N…no doctors okay?"
She was terrified of hospitals. And has been since practically the day she was born.
Damon held back from rolling his eyes, knowing about the deep-rooted fear Bonnie had when it came to hospitals.
"I'll take you to the boarding house. Mrs. Flowers can look you over."
Bonnie slowly nodded her head in agreement. "Okay."
With Damon's Ferrari, they made it to the boarding house from Bonnie's small college campus in record time.
Bonnie tried to look strong, and act like nothing was really wrong when both Stefan and Elena addressed them, but Damon could tell that she was worried that something may be wrong with her.
She had been sick for a while, after all.
"We…we just want to see Mrs. Flowers. I've been…sick and we wanted to know if Mrs. Flowers could give me something", Bonnie explained, leaving out the part about the fact that they didn't even know WHAT was wrong with her.
Stefan nodded. "Or course."
He led them up the stairs, towards the room where the old woman usually stayed hold up with her herbs and studies.
While the old woman examined her, Bonnie sat down on an armchair in front of her, while Damon stayed a safe distance away, in the doorway of the room, his arms crossed over his chest in slight worry.
The answer Mrs. Flowers came up with was not what anyone expected.
The old woman had a look of alarm and surprise on her face as she looked up at Bonnie.
"Well my dear. I guess it would be appropriate to bid you congratulations."
Bonnie looked confused. "Wh…what do you mean?"
Mrs. Flowers smiled softly. "There's nothing wrong with you dear. The morning sickness you've been feeling was from result of a little person beginning to grow inside of you."
The room grew deathly silent.
Finally, Bonnie broke it. "I'm….i'm pregnant?"
"Is that even possible?" Elena cut in, as she glanced at her friend, particularly at her stomach.
Mrs. Flowers sighed. "Yes. But it is every rare for a vampire to ever reproduce….and near impossible for a normal human and a vampire."
She looked at Bonnie. "But our Bonnie isn't exactly a normal human is she?"
"You think it has something to do with her Druid roots?" Stefan asked, still in shock that his brother could…possibly become a father.
Mrs. Flowered nodded. "I think that definitely helped."
Bonnie's emotions were a whirl? Her…a mother? And pregnant….pregnant with Damon's child?
Though she was nervous, a small smile slowly spread across her lips. The idea didn't seem bad at all.
"Damon? What do you….Damon?"
Bonnie had looked towards the doorway to ask him her question, only to discover…that he was gone.
Damon quickly transformed himself into a crow, taking off to find some time alone…to think.
He still couldn't quit wrap his mind around this new bit of news that he had just discovered.
His little bird…was pregnant. With his child. Something that he had once thought was impossible.
He rested himself on a branch of a tree, finding that he was growing tired of flying.
He had never imagined himself as a father…not even as a human. His plan had always been to be as free as the wind, to never settle down.
Of course, his plan had changed dramatically in some form when he had arrived in Fells Church.
He had chased Elena, and had actually planned on settling on her as his permanent queen.
But then sweet Bonnie McCullough, his little redbird, had managed to seize his dark heart, and his tirade as the Don Juan of darkness and his chase after Elena ended.
But this new factor in his life was not what he was expecting…or even sure about.
"Brother."
The voice came from somewhere down below, and he quickly flew down from the tree, and transformed himself back into his normal form.
As expected, Saint Stefan was in front of him, his forest green eyes glaring angrily.
Damon leaned lazily against the tree, completely unaffected by his brother's angry gaze.
"Can I help you brother?"
Stefan's steely glare didn't waver.
"Why did you just take off like that?"
Damon tilted his head to the side. "I'm a free agent. I can come and go as I please."
Stefan shook his head in disbelief. "You do know that Bonnie is back at the boarding house, crying her eyes out because she doesn't think you'll want her anymore because of the baby right?"
Silence passed between them, and Stefan finally turned away from him, having given up.
"This could be a good thing Damon. Don't mess it up."
Bonnie had decided to stay the night at the boarding house, not wanting to be alone.
She had no idea where Damon was. So going back to their apartment was out of the question.
Currently, she was crying in Elena's arms, in disbelief that Damon had just gone away like that after hearing the news.
"Damon will come around Bonnie. Just give him some time". Elena tried to soothe. "He's probably just in shock."
Bonnie sniffled. "He probably doesn't even want the baby."
"You don't know that", Elena argued, and then sighed. "Damon…is just being Damon. Stubborn."
Bonnie slowly dried her tears. "Maybe you're right. I…I just hope he doesn't stay away for too long."
"I'm sure he won't". Elena put a hand on top of hers. "It's getting late. Will you be okay by yourself, or do you want me to stay in here with you?"
Bonnie shook her head. "I'll be fine. But thank you. Tell Stefan goodnight for me."
Elena got up from the bed. "I will. Goodnight Bonnie."
"Goodnight Elena."
And suddenly, she was alone, left to her thoughts.
She turned off the lights and laid down in the bed, the day's events running through her mind.
She still couldn't believe that she was pregnant. That…in a few months, she would be a mommy.
A mother to a half vampire child…Damon's baby.
She put a hand still on her flat stomach. In a few weeks, it would probably have a baby bump.
A smile crossed her lips at the thought. Yes, she was extremely nervous, but at the same time, happy.
She had secretly always wanted to have a baby. And though she loved Damon with all her heart, there were times where she wished he was able to have children.
But apparently, it had actually been possible.
"Redbird?"
She jumped a little at the sudden intrusion. "Damon?"
The dark vampire was standing in the doorway, his arms across his chest, and looking at her with an expression that almost looked cautious.
A big smile spread across her face. "You came back."
She slowly got out of the bed and walked towards him, wrapping her small arms around him.
He embraced her back, and she felt his nose rest in her hair as he briefly inhaled her scent, before lifting her into his arms and carrying her back to bed.
He set her down and threw the covers over her, and then slide in beside her, holding her to him.
"I did. And I apologize if my leaving upset you, piccolo rossa uccello."
She snugged into him, just happy that he was here. "It's okay. You're here now."
And that was all that mattered.
She was surprised that afterwards, there was silence. She was sure that he would have something to say after storming off.
"Are you…mad Damon? About the baby?"
She was a little afraid of the answer.
And the fear grew even stronger when he hesitated with his answer.
"No", he finally answered.
She let out a little sigh of relief. "Then why did you leave?"
"I'm not sure", he answered honestly, and surprised her by suddenly reaching down to touch her stomach.
Bonnie breathed deeply, knowing that she was still in the early stages of pregnancy, and that Damon wouldn't feel a bump there yet, but the feeling of his hand on her stomach, where their child would grow and develop, exhilarated her.
"Now that I know it's there, I can actually hear it", Damon suddenly stated, "the heartbeat."
Tears prickled at Bonnie's eyes.
"So…do you want it? The baby I mean?"
Damon rested his hand on her stomach for a bit longer, and then suddenly pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss, whispering against them.
"Yes."
"So, have you thought of any names yet?" Elena asked, as she sat down with Bonnie at the table.
Since Damon was out somewhere, she was at the boarding house visiting with Elena and Stefan.
Bonnie nodded. "I have actually…but I haven't said anything to Damon."
Elena waved her hand impatiently. "Well come on then…spill."
Bonnie smiled. "Well…if it's a boy, I was thinking Aaron Stefan Salvatore. Aaron is the name of an old friend of my family."
Stefan let out a small chuckle, though the expression on his face was flattered. "I'm flattered Bonnie. But I'm not sure how well my brother would take the idea of having a son named after me."
She shrugged. "He said I had free reign on names….because he didn't care."
"And what about for a girl?" Elena asked curiously.
Bonnie paused. "Actually, I was thinking a lot about that." She turned towards Stefan. "Stefan? What was your mother's name?"
Stefan looked surprised. "Oh…well, her name was…Mariella."
Bonnie nodded, remembering the times that Elena had told her about the Salvatore's mother…and how much Damon had loved her.
"So for a girl…how about Mariella Isabel Salvatore? After your mother for the first name, and my grandmother for the middle?"
Bonnie smiled as she put a hand on her stomach, where a small bump had finally formed, proving that she was carrying a baby.
Stefan smiled at her words. "The name is beautiful Bonnie…and I know Damon will love it."
She smiled. "Thank you Stefan."
Elena nodded in agreement.
Bonnie was quiet for a moment, before speaking again.
"I actually wanted to ask you guys something else too."
She took a deep breath. "Would you like to be the godparents?"
There was another silence, and then a small amount of tears escaped from Elena's eye as she hugged her. "We would be honored Bonnie."
Stefan smiled as he watched the two friends embrace.
Suddenly, from outside the house, the sound of a car horn sounded, making both girls jump in surprise.
Elena rolled her eyes. "Looks like Damon is here for you."
"He's just a little protective", Bonnie defended, as she grabbed her things, and went over to hug both Elena and Stefan. "I'll see you guys' later, okay?"
They both nodded, and she went out the door, closing it behind her.
Damon had his Ferrari parked outside the house waiting for her, his dark eyes covered by his Ray Bans, as he looked at her through the window.
Bonnie climbed into the passenger seat, and buckled up, the buckle only a little tight around her slightly protruding belly.
Damon started the car, and drove off.
"Elena is going to kill you", Bonnie stated, remembering the look on her friend's face when Damon had honked the horn at them.
Damon shrugged, his gaze not leaving the road.
"Let the princess be annoyed. It doesn't concern me any."
One bad thing about being with the vampire that was once involved in a love triangle with one of your best friends: now they were constantly fighting each other like cats and dogs.
She sighed a little at his stubbornness, and the rest of their drive back to the apartment was silent.
Damon had been growing more and more protective lately. He had always protected her in the past, but now that she was carrying his child as well, his protectiveness had doubled.
At times, he was almost like an animal from the wild with an instinct to protect his mate…and their unborn offspring.
Damon parked the car outside the building after driving through the gates of the apartments. And being the Renaissance gentleman he was, came over to open her door for her.
After he helped her out of the car, they walked side by side up the steps.
"We'll have to find a more suitable home before our little piccolo arrives. This place is no longer suitable." Damon suddenly said as he looked around their apartment after arriving home.
Bonnie giggled as she set her things down and kicked off her shoes.
"Damon, you don't need to buy us a new house."
He shrugged. "I feel that it's necessary."
He took another look around the apartment. "Both us, and our child deserve better than this shack."
Bonnie smiled slightly. "Well….I'm not going to stop you."
Once Damon made his mind up, it was hard to get him to change it.
Besides…she didn't mind the idea of a new house if he wanted to get one.
After she had put away all of her things and took off her shoes, a delicious scent crossed her sense of smell, and she turned towards Damon excitedly.
"You made dinner?"
He smiled charmingly as she finally pulled off his ray bands.
"Yes. Risotto alla Milanese. My specialty."
Bonnie skipped off to the kitchen and saw a big plate of food waiting for her on the table.
She turned back towards Damon with a little gasp. "You know I never eat that much."
"Ahh, but now you're eating for not one, but two." As he said this, he brushed his hand slightly against her belly, lingering there for a moment before pulling his hand away again.
"Now eat."
Later that night, as they lay in bed together, she was cuddled up in his arms as he held her to him protectively.
She was completely comfortable and content, but for some reason, couldn't quite fall asleep just yet.
Damon was still awake. And she wondered if he knew she wasn't asleep.
Her question was answered when she felt him touch her belly again, this time, keeping it there longer.
His cool lips then slowly pressed against her forehead; before he carefully leaned down to kiss her belly as well.
She felt tears of happiness pricking at her eyes, but she forced them back, not wanting to let him find out she was awake, and ruin the moment.
Damon's lips lingered on her stomach for a moment longer, before slowly moving away, pulling her close into his chest again.
With a smile on her lips, Bonnie finally fell asleep.
"So we can find out the gender?" Bonnie asked excitedly.
It was the second trimester of the pregnancy, and her bulge was growing bigger by the months.
And now she and Damon were at the boarding house, getting one of the usual checkups from Mrs. Flowers.
They couldn't really go to a normal hospital for checkups, considering their baby probably wouldn't be completely human.
Mrs. Flowers nodded a small smile on her lips.
"Yes dear. I know if a simple incantation that I can perform to determine the baby's gender."
Bonnie opened her mouth to say something, but Damon beat her to it.
"Will it do anything to her or the child?"
Mrs. Flowers shook her head. "No. It's completely safe, I assure you. Neither Bonnie nor the baby will be effected."
"Pease Damon?" Bonnie asked. She really wanted to know the gender, so that she could start mentally calling the baby by his or her name.
After a few moments, he simply nodded, and a big smile lit up Bonnie's face as she turned back towards Mrs. Flowers.
"I'm ready."
Minutes later, Mrs. Flowers had Bonnie lying on her back, with her shirt pushed up to reveal her baby bump, while Mrs. Flowers rubbed some sort of salve on it.
She had her hands on it now, and was chanting words that Bonnie didn't understand…they sounded foreign.
But when she had finished, she smiled softly at Bonnie and Damon.
"It's a little girl."
Bonnie smiled wide. She had been secretly hoping for girl…so that she could surprise Damon by naming her after his mother.
Little Mariella.
"Thank you Mrs. Flowers", Bonnie said, as the old woman carefully wiped the salve off of her stomach.
"Any time dear."
After telling the news to Elena and Stefan, Elena had cornered her into agreeing to allow her and Meredith to throw a baby shower with just the three of them, once Meredith and Matt came back to visit Fells Church in the spring.
And that mean that she would have to tell them both about the baby soon.
Would they be mad that she didn't tell them sooner?
She'd been a little afraid of how they would react to the news. Of all her friends, Meredith and Matt had been the most against her union with Damon, and now she was going to have his baby.
But she still had a few more weeks before she had to worry about that. For now, she would enjoy her time with Damon, and anticipate the baby arriving.
"I have to go for a quick hunt redbird. I'll be back shortly", Damon said once they reached the apartment.
Bonnie nodded. "Okay."
Damon looked like he was going to immediately head out the door, but hesitated before turning back to kiss her softly on the lips, his hand brushing her belly as he did so.
And after that, he took off.
Bonnie smiled to herself as she sat down on the couch, her own hand rubbing her belly softly.
"Your daddy is so excited for you to come Mariella. He won't admit it, but I can tell."
Every night, when Damon thought she was sleeping, he would stroke and kiss her stomach. Once or twice, she even caught his whispering to it.
"I love you SO much. And we're going to take such good care of you when you're born."
And then the most wonderful thing happened.
She felt the baby kick, as if it was trying to somehow respond to her words.
And as if on cue, the front door swung open, signaling that Damon was back.
"Damon!" she exclaimed excitedly, as she stood up from the couch. "Come here!"
He was there in a flash. "Something wrong redbird?"
She shook her head quickly. "No…everything is wonderful."
To show him what she meant, she used both of her small hands and to guide one of his to her stomach, holding it over the baby bump.
For a moment, nothing happened.
"Come on baby, kick for your daddy", Bonnie whispered, seeing that Damon was starting to lose his patience.
"Redbird, I don't think…."
He stopped in mid-sentence, and she smiled, knowing why.
Mariella was kicking again.
Damon's dark eyes seemed to have a soft glint to them as he continued to hold his hand over her belly, and when it ended, a slow smile forced its way across her lips.
"She knows who her parents are", Bonnie said with a wide smile.
"That she does", he responded after a moment, and surprised her by kneeling down to kiss her stomach.
"Meredith and Elena got us a crib", Bonnie stated, as she sat down on the couch, Damon rubbing her swollen ankles soothingly.
They had finally moved. Damon found a nice, two story, relatively large house for them to move into. They had their own bedroom, two bathrooms, and three other bedrooms.
One of which would become Mariella's room.
Damon nodded as he went behind her, moving his massage to her shoulders.
"Anything else?"
His tone suggested that he couldn't care less at the moment, and was simply asking to amuse her, but she answered anyway.
"Mainly just toys. She sure won't be bored once she's born."
She tried for a joyful tone, but failed. The baby could come any day now, and the effects of her near complete pregnancy were starting to get to her.
Her ankles were swollen, and many parts of her body ached. As excited as she was to have the baby, she was definitely ready for her to be born.
Damon's hands continued to rub her shoulders before slowly moving up to the back of her neck.
Bonnie groaned a little at the feeling. "Thank you."
She felt him nod, and press a kiss to the side of her neck.
"So how did Meredith and Mutt take the news?"
"Fine…better than I thought they would anyway. But I think Matt is a little mad."
She knew Meredith had been reluctant, but had ended up accepting her and Damon's situation…even giving them her blessing.
Matt took the news a little bit harder. She knew that he had accepted her relationship with Damon a while ago, but her having his baby was a whole new level.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Let him be mad."
Bonnie giggled and curled herself into his lap as they sat on the couch together.
"Damon?"
"Hmmm?" he murmured against her neck as he nuzzled it.
"Did you…did you ever think about having kids? As a human?"
"No."
She was a little surprised, and disappointed about his quick and abrupt answer.
"Oh."
Sensing her disappointment, he turned her around in his arms, making her look at him, his eyes serious.
"But I never had the slightest clue that I would ever love a woman enough to be completely tied down either."
He kissed her then, his cool lips pressing sweetly against hers.
She threaded her fingers through his dark raven hair as she kissed him back.
He whispered against her lips. "And when our little piccolo arrives, I know I will love her just as much as I do you."
Tears prickled at Bonnie's eyes as he moved his lips away from hers.
"I love you", she said through a slightly shaky voice, overcome with happiness.
He only answered her with a soft kiss to the forehead.
And then…the day finally came.
Her water broke while visiting Matt as his apartment, and he had been the one to have to drive her to the boarding house in a hurry.
"Easy Bonnie", Matt cautioned as he took a glance away from the road to look at the girl in the backseat, writhing in pain.
He didn't know what to do. Or what to say really. So he only offered her words of comfort as he drove as quickly as he could to the boarding house.
Luckily, he had gotten there in time.
Matt, Elena, and Meredith all three helped Mrs. Flowers get Bonnie into bed, while Stefan quickly dialed and called his brother to tell him what was going on.
Damon was there in minutes after hearing the news.
When he got there, he wanted to immediately go the room Mrs. Flowers was keeping Bonnie in, but Stefan stopped him.
"Get out of my way brother", he said, his voice dangerously low as he looked at Stefan, who was blocking his path.
Stefan shook his head, raising his hands in calming manner in hopes of rationalizing with his brother.
"Damon, Bonnie is in the middle of delivering."
"Exactly. All the more reason I need to be there. Now move."
Stefan stayed rooted to the spot. "If you go in there, you're only going to start a panic. We don't want anything to go wrong."
With Damon's history of protectiveness with Bonnie, Stefan knew it wouldn't be exactly a good idea to let him into the room where Bonnie was most likely in pain…and where something could easily go wrong should there be too much panic.
Damon was silent, and it made Stefan feel relieved, knowing his words were sinking in.
"You know you will."
With that, Damon slowly nodded, for once, listening.
Nearly an hour later and Elena walked out of the room, looking down at the baby in her arms.
They had cleaned her up. And Bonnie, after losing so much energy in the delivery, had passed out. Now Elena was taking the liberty to show Damon his…daughter.
Mariella Isabel Salvatore.
The idea was still mind boggling. But as she looked down at the baby, there was no question who the father was.
Even after just being born, Mariella had a mop of dark raven hair, the same color as Damon's.
In fact, Damon's physical features were everywhere in the baby, with the exception of Bonnie's doe brown eyes.
"Damon?" Elena said, as she stepped into the front room.
Dark eyes looked up at her. She could see that he was trying to look impassive, but there was a burst of held back emotion in his expression.
"Your daughter", she said, as she handed him the wrapped up baby. "Mariella Isabel Salvatore."
"Mother's name?" Damon asked, as he quickly glanced at his brother. The look didn't last long; however, as most of his attention was focused on his daughter as he took her into his arms.
Stefan smiled and nodded. "Bonnie wanted to surprise you by naming her after her."
Damon nodded silently, feeling a small warmth at hearing this new bit of information, and looked into the eyes of the baby.
She had Bonnie's eyes. And as he observed the warmth and innocence that was held in those eyes, he knew that little Mariella had also inherited her mother's sweetness.
Damon held the baby…his daughter, closer to him, as one of those rare moments of emotion rang through him.
"Where is Bonnie?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.
"She's fine Damon. The delivery took a lot of energy out of her, is all. She's asleep", Elena answered.
Damon, not saying another word, walked away from them and towards the bedroom where Bonnie was sleeping, carrying Mariella with him.
When Bonnie woke up…she felt warm. And for a moment, she almost thought she was back at home in bed….that the while ordeal had been a dream.
But that all changed as she realized she was in the boarding house.
She quickly tried to sit up, only to have a hand gently pull her back down on her back.
"Easy redbird. You need to rest."
"Damon? Wh…what's going on?"
Her senses had finally adjusted enough to catch him peck her lips.
"You did it redbird. The baby is here…and she's molto bella."
Bonnie's senses went wild as the realization hit her.
"I…I need to see her. Please Damon?"
He chucked lightly. "Look down."
She did, and gasped.
Mariella…their baby, was sprawled on her lap, her innocent brown eyes staring back at her.
She was beautiful.
Bonnie felt tears running down her cheeks as she held her baby to her. All the aching and even the painful delivery itself had been worth.
She felt Damon pull both of them into his lap. "Mio amore, why are you crying?"
Bonnie sniffled, her emotions on overdrive. "I'm just so happy. She's…she's beautiful Damon. Perfect."
He nodded. "I would have to agree with that."
He kissed her neck, and leaned down to kiss little Mariella on the cheek. "She is ours after all."
Bonnie nodded, glad that the tears had stopped cascading down her cheeks, as she held Mariella even closer to her, and cuddled further into Damon.
It would be just the three of them now. Against the world. And now they were to spend their first night as a family.
The others stayed out of the room, wanting to give the new small family some time to themselves.
The End
A/N: Sorry if the ending was a little abrupt there. But I hope this was okay. I'm normally against the whole "vampires having children" concept, but I simply adore the idea when it comes to fanfiction. And I've noticed that there was an extreme lack of Book Bamon baby stories…and ones that aren't completely OOC or are set in AU worlds are nearly nonexistent. So I hope this was decent…and that they were both okay in terms of being in-character (I'm a little shaky with Damon on this one.)
BTW, the update for "Falling in Love With Shakespeare", is nearly finished, and I will have it up sometime over the weekend. And after that, I'll get working on a update for "Arranging Love". :)
Hoped you liked this. And please review :)