Like A Man Possessed

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creators of Vampire Diaries.

Couple: Bonnie/Damon

Rating: M

Warning : This fic will have serial killer Damon in it. And lots of murder and violence and smut!

Author's Note : Thank you all so much for the support! I really am loving writing this! Hope y'all like this chapter!

Chapter Twelve

They Won't Separate Us

'All This Sickness, Hard To Swallow,

Eats My Insides, Until I'm Hollow.'

"You're never going to believe this." Rebekah said, her eyes glued to the computer screen.

Elijah glanced over at her from his desk with a glint of intrigue in his dark eyes. The two of them had just started to search the database for any information on the murder of 2001 that the coroner had told him about. It sounded like she had already found out something pertinent to their current case. "What did you find?"

"I was scanning through the case in the database. It says that the man killed five individuals, then his wife Mary, and himself."

"Yes. That is what the coroner said." He nodded politely, though he was growing uncertain about how useful any of the information his partner found would be. So far, she was only repeating what they already knew. 'Why wouldn't I believe that?'

"Yeah, well, did he tell you the man's name per chance?" Rebekah asked with a playful smirk on her full lips.

She knew something more than she was telling him.

"No." Elijah's lips curled up as he waited for her to relay the information to him.

"His name was Giuseppe." She paused to add some suspense. Sometimes she loved to tease her partner, because she knew how impatient he could get. But, he would never get angry with her. He didn't believe in shouting. The two of them were very different in how they handled their frustration and impatience. He gave her a look that said 'and?' "Giuseppe Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" It all clicked into place.

Elijah pushed his chair back and stood to his feet, walking around the desk toward her. He had his hands behind his back as he lent over a little and peered over her shoulder at the computer screen. "Any relation to Damon and Stefan Salvatore?"

If this man was related to their murder suspect, it would change everything. It would explain why the murders were exactly the same. He could have been copying his father's crimes or his father could have taught him to kill people and told him he was doing God's work. Or, there was always the possibility that Giuseppe wasn't the murderer at all.

Comprehending the concept of murder was difficult for him. He couldn't understand how someone could take another life. So, the thought of a nine year old boy killing people, including his own parents, was devastating.

"That may have only been the start... It may have been him all along...'

"Do you consider father a relation?" Rebekah asked, looking over her shoulder up at him. She felt proud of herself for piecing this together. She didn't know what it meant for their case, not just yet, but she knew that it was relevant.

"He was their father?" Elijah breathed out, bewildered.

It was rare that cases pieced together so easily.

"The only two witnesses at the scene of the crime were Giuseppe and Mary's two sons, Stefan Salvatore, five years of age, and Damon Salvatore, nine years of age. They were found hiding in the coat closet in the living room." Rebekah read the report. "Damon Salvatore admitted to finding his parents and calling the police, but claims that he didn't see how it happened."

'Severed Fragments Of My Being,

Pieced Together, Give Life Meaning.'

He wobbled on the edge of life and death.

His legs were weak from walking. His body was tired from endless nightmares. He just wanted it to all go away. He wanted the pain to go away, the guilt, the self-hatred. He wanted to find peace and he wanted to make sure that he never hurt anyone again.

In that moment he was leaving his fate in the hands of an unforgiving God. If someone was looking out for him, if he had a reason to live, then he was asking for a sign. He was asking for help in fighting the darkness corrupting him. If no one was above, as he suspected, and he was alone in his delusions, then he would take his fate into his own hands and slip from the ledge.

Destroying whatever was inside of him.

Putting an end to a long and miserable existence.

Damon took a step on the edge of the bridge and he nearly tripped over his own feet as he slipped on the ice. He laughed as he almost fell to his death. The alcohol in his system taking away any fear that he had. He was no longer afraid of death. He welcomed it.

Tears were rolling down his cheeks and freezing against his skin. His dark hair was twisting in the brisk wind that rushed against his skin and caused it to turn blue. His hands were shaking and he was gripping tightly to the bottle of alcohol. In the end, it was just him and alcohol. Just like Elena had predicted in so many of their fights. He had no one left and no one was going to save him this time.

"You were wrong to have faith in me, Bonnie." Damon's voice shook as he said her name. For a few days she had been the only one to see him as he truly was and care for him despite his flaws. He had been sure she would be the one to save him. But, he was wrong.

She was not his angel.

He was a devil corrupting and destroying her life.

"I wasn't wrong to have faith in you, Damon!" Bonnie called out. Her breathing was ragged and her chest was heaving as she ran toward the ledge of the bridge. Seeing him still standing there alleviated her worries. She could finally breathe again. The entire drive to the bridge she didn't think she breathed once. Her heart had been hammering in her chest and her eyes had held such intensity and determination.

She had been determined not to be too late again.

Damon's lips twisted up into a drunken smirk when he heard her words. He had half expected her to show up. 'But, it doesn't change anything. Not this time. She thinks I'm a good person and I know better than that.'

"Sure you were, Bon-Bon." He stretched the nickname playfully. "You were so very wrong."

"No." Bonnie insisted, her chin held up confidently. She had no doubt in her mind any longer about Damon. She knew that none of this was his fault and whether he got to live a normal life, or he died trying, she was going to be standing right beside him. "I wasn't wrong to have faith in you then, and I'm not wrong to have faith in you now."

"Yes. You. Are." He growled out angrily, tossing the bottle out into the ocean.

Her muscles tensed and she reached out for him as he stumbled a little and nearly fell from the edge. He caught himself though, and managed to balance himself. She felt like her heart was going to burst through her chest. She wasn't close enough. If he had fallen, he would have died.

She would have watched him plummet to his demise.

"Damon." Bonnie spoke softly. She didn't want to startle him or cause him to become agitated again. It was evident that he didn't want to hear about her faith in him, but she needed him to understand why. She needed him to understand that other people had gone through the same things. That the murders that he committed were not his fault, and he wasn't crazy.

"Don't even try." He sang.

"Don't try what?"

"To convince me that this isn't my fault." Damon laughed and lent forward a little bit, hovering over the edge.

"But, it isn't your fault." Bonnie insisted, taking another step closer to him. Her brows were knit together and her green eyes were shimmering with tears. "You have no control over this thing inside of you! I saw it! I heard your thoughts! You were trying to fight it!" Her voice broke as she said the last words and she sobbed loudly. She no longer had control over her emotions. She felt like her world was falling apart. She needed Damon in her life. She needed to help him. She didn't understand how her feelings for him were so intense already, but she couldn't handle the thought of the world spinning without him in it.

"And I failed." He stated, his smirk widening. "I have no control over this thing inside of me, so the only answer is to take control over what I can."

"By killing yourself?!"

"Yep." He said with a pop of the P. His nonchalance about his own death was not only irritating, it was depressing. He was so prepared to die.

"Please don't do this, Damon." Bonnie begged. She slowly inched closer to the older man. Hoping that he wouldn't notice and jump. If she could get close enough, then she could pull him back.

"If I don't kill myself then I will kill someone else, witchy. And I can't do that." He emphasized on each word, his blue eyes widening and his brow furrowed.

Hearing him call her witchy caused her chest to tighten painfully. She couldn't imagine a world without his sarcastic retorts, his playful smirks, suggestive jokes, and teasing nicknames. She couldn't imagine a world without Damon Salvatore.

"That isn't true." Bonnie told him, taking another step in his direction. Her green eyes were focused intently on his back and she was preparing to bridge the gap between the two of them and grab onto him if he jumped. He looked and sounded like he was starting to hesitate. He didn't want to die. He just didn't want to live this life.

"What do ya mean?" He asked, curiously.

"I found a few articles about other men over the last hundred years that went through the same thing you are going through! They carved the symbols into their arms and everything!" She said. "Those symbols mean 'I am the bringer of death.' All of those men chose to kill themselves to get rid of the guilt that they felt, but the evil that possessed them passed on to someone else! This won't put an end to whatever is inside of you! The only way to end it is to find out what it is and get rid of it!"

These words struck a chord in Damon. His eyes softened and he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. Still, this didn't really help that much. They were still at square one. They believed that something was possessing him. They didn't know what it was or how to get rid of it, the police were after them, and he could snap and turn homicidal at any moment and kill Bonnie.

"A lot of good that new information will do for me as I rot away in prison." He seethed sarcastically.

Bonnie knew that despite his sarcasm and his dismissal of her words, he was giving into her. His faith was returning and he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. He had hope again.

"You aren't going to prison." Bonnie spoke sternly. That was the last thing she was going to let happen. She had a plan. They were leaving New York and they were going to find peace elsewhere. All he had to do was step down from the bridge and they could be together. "Don't you get it yet? I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you. We're going to make it out of this, together."

"We'll never get away from this, Bonnie." Damon said her name sadly. Tears returning to his eyes. "This will follow us everywhere. Even if we get rid of this thing inside of me, no one will ever believe us."

"I believe you."

He was so surprised to hear his brother's voice, that he almost slipped and fell as he turned on his heels and stared over at him. He hadn't known that he was there. Up until that point he hadn't made a sound. The tears deceived the mischievous glint in his eyes and the smirk on his lips. Both of them knew how important this was to him. His brother having faith in him meant everything to him.

"Welcome to the dark side, baby brother." Damon teased.

"Funny you say that, because I feel like I've just seen the light." Stefan admitted with a smile. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his jacket and his hair was twisting in the wind. Bonnie was standing next to him and she had a wide, hopeful smile on her full lips. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

He wasn't alone.

These people. His brother. Bonnie. They had faith in him. They believed that he was a good person and that this wasn't his fault. They believed that they could save him and that gave him a reason to save himself.

"Bon-Bon must've shown you some of her witchy juju, huh?" Damon asked.

Stefan laughed a little and shook his head at his brother. He could never be serious and usually that irritated the hell out of him, but right now he was just relieved to see him still standing and breathing before him. His humor was a breath of fresh air a midst the pollution. "Let's just say, she made a believer out of me."

She looked between the two of them and smiled, "As much as I am loving this brotherly moment, can you please get down from there now, Damon, before I have a heart attack?"

Damon smiled when he heard the concern in her voice. He jumped down from the ledge onto the bridge and he took a step toward the two of them. He still couldn't believe that his brother of all people had shown up to save his life. "I'm surprised you showed, baby brother." He said, approaching the younger man. "I figured you'd be relieved to hear you wouldn't have to put up with me any longer."

"You may be a complete asshole most of the time, Damon. But, you're still my brother."

His blue eyes were glazed over with tears as he reached up and placed his hands on his brother's shoulders, giving them a small squeeze as he stared into his eyes. He was so grateful that he had come to save him, that he finally believed him, that he wanted to help him. If Stefan hadn't shown up with Bonnie he honestly didn't know what he would have done.

Stefan placed his hands on Damon's shoulders and gave them a squeeze back. Right now it was so important to him to physically know his brother was still alive.

"The police are never gonna give up, Stefan. They're gonna take me away."

The words reminded him of the conversation he had with his older brother when they were in foster care. He could remember how scared he was at the thought of being separated from his brother. At the thought of being alone with a new family that wasn't his own. Damon had stuck his neck out to keep them together, constantly fighting to be a part of his life. Now it was his time to fight.

Stefan pulled Damon into a tight hug. Tears falling from his eyes as his body shook. Feeling him in his arms made him realize how real this moment was. His brother could have died. The man that took care of him, the man who helped him with his first crush, the man who taught him how to throw a football. He could have died. Been gone forever.

"There gonna take me away." He repeated. He was terrified to go to prison. He was terrified that they would catch him.

"They aren't gonna separate us, Damon." Stefan used his brother's words. "Don't you worry about that. I'm not gonna let that happen."

'Fragile, Quilt Of Faded Memories,

Torn Apart By Life's Disease.'

Author's Note :

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful support! I am so happy to hear from y'all and you guys keep me updating really fast! :)) It means the world to me that y'all love this fic! I am sorry for this short chapter! It is my shortest chapter yet, so I decided to add it really REALLY fast for y'all! I'll still hopefully get another chapter out tomorrow! But, this felt like the perfect end and then there will be just a small time skip! Also, will be introducing Bonnie's best friend in the next chapter! Any thoughts on who it is!?

So, how did y'all like this chapter!? Did you like the Defan moments and that he showed up for his brother!? Did you enjoy the Bamon and that Bonnie still has faith in Damon!? What about finding out that their father was the one who killed those other people and then his wife and himself?! What does that mean!?

Again, thank you guys soooo much for all of the support! I love hearing from y'all and I hope you like this chapter!

I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook-