DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters. L.J. Smith and the CW do.

Bonnie sat in the middle of her bed at home, trying to justify why she'd slapped Damon. He's a conniving, smarmy bastard who probably would have raped you… is as far as she got, though she knew even the likes of Damon wouldn't rape a woman. Especially considering the fact that everyone in town wanted to be inside his pants. He probably would compel a woman before he raped them.

She put her head in her hands as she realized what Damon had been trying to do. Plagued by two women who mirrored each other was hard for Bonnie, but she couldn't imagine what loving both of them was doing to Damon.

"I can't be a rebound," she said to herself quietly, trying to solidify those words in her head. "I don't even like him like that. I could never…what would Grams think?" The emotions swirling around in Bonnie's mind were enough to make tears flood her eyes. She stood from her bed and grabbed her car keys before running out the front door.

Bonnie's frazzled nerves had her nearly crashing her car a few times, considering how fast she was going. She knew she should slow down, but she couldn't stop thinking about what her ancestors would think about Damon's kiss. She needed to know right now.

The first thing she heard when she walked into that house was a whispery ghost. "Vampire," it hissed in her ear.

She flinched and shook her head slowly. "No, I'm a witch," she told the ghost, though she didn't see anything or anyone talking to her.

"You smell like a vampire," that same voice whispered softly.

A strong force suddenly dropped onto Bonnie's shoulders, forcing her to her knees. It wasn't painful, just powerful.

"I know," Bonnie whispered, gasping when the force pushed her all the way to the floor. She could barely squirm.

"Why?" that voice hissed.

"A…a kiss—" Bonnie began slowly as tears rolled down her face, but the voice cut her off.

"How dare you."

Bonnie started to sob, which caused her to inhale the dust on the floor. She choked on it and sobbed some more as the force pushed harder. It was painful now and made Bonnie cry out.

"Please," she gasped as the force pushed all the air out of her lungs. "I didn't—"

The force pushed so hard that the rotted floor under Bonnie dropped out from under her. Bonnie screamed as she fell, landing stomach-first onto the floor bits beneath her. Her nose smashed into the floor as she fell, her body landing so hard that all the air was knocked out of her; she blacked out for a moment, and when she came to, her nose was gushing blood and her entire body ached. Though she was injured, she knew it could have been a lot worse.

The next voice she heard was the last voice she'd expected to hear. "Bonnie?!" Footsteps thudded up the porch stairs close to where Bonnie had fallen through the floor. "Oh, shut up you stupid witches and stop burning me—ouch!" Harsh cussing followed. "Bonnie, are you okay?"

"D-Damon?" Bonnie stammered, trying to roll onto her back. Agony flared up her body and she screamed as she fainted for a moment again. When she woke up, Damon was beside her, the worry on his face so apparent that she had to smile. She was lying on her back now, staring up at the ceiling.

"Wh-what are you doing h-here?" she asked softly, her breath still evading her lungs. She coughed once and a sharp twinge in her leg made her cry out. "I…I think my leg is broken." Bonnie made a face and winced when she tasted blood in her mouth. "And my nose too."

Damon nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't get here in time," he said quietly, brushing a lock of Bonnie's hair away from her face.

She shook her head. "Why are you here?" she asked, wincing when she tried to breathe through her nose. "Not that I'm not happy to see you." Those words flew out of her mouth; she wasn't sure if she'd actually wanted to say them.

Damon smiled slightly. "I saw you fly through a stop sign in your car and followed you, though you were going really fast, Bonnie." He looked around. "All for this?" He made a face.

Bonnie almost laughed, though she hurt too much to do so. "C-can you help me?" she asked softly, her eyes terrified and in pain. "I c-can't stand up."

"Given your broken leg," he murmured as he nodded, "I wouldn't let you try to stand on your own." He paused. "I don't want to hurt you any more than is necessary, Bonnie."

"How else are you going to—" she stopped herself from her words as she realized what he meant. "No, I can't. I can't drink your blood."

"You know the pain you felt before when you moved your leg?" he asked.

Nausea spun Bonnie's head in circles. "Yeah," she whispered.

"If I try to get you out of here with that leg, it's going to hurt tenfold. I can't move you until you're healed."

Bonnie's eyes teared up. "My ancestors hate me," she whispered softly, looking around. "They aren't even talking to me right now."

Damon grimaced. "I'm all for them not talking to you, Bonnie. The more they ignore you, the more they ignore me."

Bonnie opened her mouth to say something, but pain screwed up Damon's face before she could make a sound.

"Okay, I spoke too soon," he muttered, wincing as smoke curled up his back. "Do you want me to help your great-great-great…however many greats granddaughter?!" he snapped.

The smoking stopped.

Damon bit his wrist and offered it to Bonnie, whose eyes flooded with tears again. It didn't matter, though; the witches in the house used their power to heal the bite mark quickly so she couldn't drink any of it.

"Son of a…" Damon muttered and bit his wrist again. It healed as soon as he took his wrist away from his mouth.

"They won't let me drink your blood in case I die with it in my system," Bonnie choked. "I can't heal myself either, so you have to carry me out of the house."

"How do I do that without hurting you anymore than you already are?" he demanded, sounding pissed. "I really don't like your ancestors." He growled low in his throat when they burned him a little more.

"Please get me out of here," Bonnie said, sounding like she was about to faint. Damon focused on her to find her watching him with biggest eyes he'd ever seen. God, she was beautiful. The thought went through his head at the same time he reached over and pulled a piece of wood from the wreckage around them. He propped it next to her broken leg and looked around for something to use to tie the wood to her leg. Nothing came to mind, so he pulled his t-shirt off and tore it into strips.

"Damon," she gasped. "You didn't have to do that."

"I did," he told her frankly. "If I move your leg without trying to keep it straight it will heal so badly without medical care that you won't be able to walk. So bunch up your shirt and bite down on it, so you don't bite your tongue while I move your leg. Okay?"

She nodded as she did what he told her to do. She tried to breathe through the pain but ended up screaming around her shirt as he carefully tied her leg to the board with the strips of his shirt, making sure they were secure before lifting her in his arms. She fainted now, even though her leg wasn't moving.

Damon swore as he felt her go limp against his body. He was thanking whatever reason he'd gone out that afternoon; if he hadn't seen Bonnie tear through that stop sign, he wouldn't have been with her now to save her. He knew for a fact that she left her phone at home, because he'd called it as he followed her. She hadn't answered, so he just resolved to follow her until he found where she was headed.

He still didn't know why she was here in the first place.

He shifted her carefully in his arms as he found the stairs in the basement that led to the first floor. As soon as the sun hit his skin in the house, he felt it burn, but he couldn't move too fast for fear he'd hurt Bonnie's leg more.

"I hope you are happy," he told the witches around him. "The last Bennett witch is probably going to die because you are all too stubborn to let me heal her with my blood."

The burn of the sun hurt worse as he moved slowly toward the front door. He realized that there was a gaping hole in the middle of the floor where he'd intended to walk where Bonnie had fallen through.

"Just this once," he groaned to the witches. "Fix the floor or let me walk over it without trying to kill your last relative. Please?"

"A vampire begging?" a whispery voice laughed in Damon's ear. "How rich."

"Your. Last. Relative," he repeated.

They sighed quietly. "Fine," that voice muttered. Damon watched as the beams of the floor were put back together one by one. He shifted Bonnie in his arms a little, wishing that the blood that had come from her nose didn't smell so good.

"Hurt her and we'll kill you, vampire," the witches thundered as he walked out of the house. He went to a tree that was a few hundred feet from the house and laid Bonnie's limp body in the shade before straightening her leg and moving behind her. He lifted her torso a little so he could rest her against his thighs and stomach. He bit into his wrist again, happy for once that it didn't heal really fast, and rested it against Bonnie's lips.

"Come on Bon," he murmured softly, stroking her hair with his other hand. "Drink. You need to drink."

She didn't move.

Panicking a little now, Damon moved his free hand to her throat and started to stroke her throat firmly. It triggered the swallowing muscles in Bonnie's throat, which got a few drops of his blood into her. It was enough to wake her up a little and she latched on with her lips, drinking a little more before Damon pulled his wrist from her mouth and wiped her lips off.

A few minutes later, she made a soft sound, somewhere between a sigh and a moan. Damon smiled and looked down at her to watch her blink her eyes open.

"What happened?" she mumbled. "We were downstairs…"

"The witches repaired the floor so I could get you out of there and heal you."

Bonnie paused. "They're not happy that you fed me blood," she said quietly, like she was listening to the witches. "They're yelling at you. They won't let you inside the house again. If you try, I'm sure they'll torch you."

Damon grimaced. "Thanks for the warning," he sighed, brushing her hair from her face again. "How are you feeling?"

She wiggled her nose and took a deep breath. "Well, that's healed," she said softly, trying to sit up. She gasped and collapsed back on his legs and stomach as the pain of her leg spiked through her. "That's not." She closed her eyes against the tears that wanted to escape, but she wasn't fast enough.

Damon caught them with his fingertips and smiled when she looked up at him again.

"You're shirtless," she sniffed and laughed. "I guess I state the obvious when I'm in pain."

"You'll be a hoot if you ever have kids," he joked, smiling down at her genuinely. "I can see it now; 'there's a baby coming out of my—'"

Bonnie slapped his arm while she laughed. "Stop! Before I hurt myself further!"

Damon grinned. "I'm glad I could make you laugh." He paused. "I'm sorry about—"

Bonnie shook her head slowly, knowing he was talking about that morning in his bedroom. "Don't be. I shouldn't have slapped you."

"I don't suppose…" Damon looked down at her to see a blush cover her face.

"Damon, I—"

He nodded. "I'm assuming what happened in there was because of me," he said as he nodded toward the house. "So I'll stay away."

Bonnie bit her lower lip as she looked away from his upside-down face. She wasn't sure what she thought of him rescuing her like this, but she did know that she owed him for it. How was she supposed to give him something when all he wanted was a distraction from Katherine and Elena?

He gave her a very startled look. "Is that why you slapped me? Because you think you'd be a distraction from the two women in my life that piss me off the most?"

She grimaced. "Is my mind open again?"

He nodded and looked away from her curious eyes. "I don't like opening up," he said quietly. "So bear with me. This is very painful."

Bonnie smiled slightly. "More painful than what I just went through?"

Damon gave her a droll stare before looking away from her eyes. "I might be a player, but I assure you, it's just something to hide behind," he muttered, not meeting her eyes. "I would love to find someone who knows what I am and who I am, where I came from and where I've been. Who doesn't judge me for what I am." He winced. "But I suppose you aren't the best choice for this, considering you hate vampires. I guess I just look for pain when it comes to relationships."

Bonnie sighed. "It's not that I hate vampires, Damon," she said quietly. "I just hate what you stand for. Or stood for. I don't know."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he brushed his fingertips along her jaw.

She shivered a little. "I mean, you're a player. I don't do casual things, Damon."

He nodded. "I didn't think you would do something casual like I constantly do. And half the time, mine aren't casual."

"They're compelled," she mumbled.

Damon held his hands up. "Hey, I just don't want them to freak out that I'm drinking their—"

She shook her head. "Don't, please," she said quietly. "So if I…if I wanted to…to…"

"Kiss me?" he offered gently.

She grimaced. "Yeah. If I allowed that to happen, what would…" she trailed off. "I don't know how to say it."

"You want to know what would happen between us." Damon sighed. "Bonnie, you are a beautiful woman. And even though you slapped me before I could really kiss you, I know that your lips are so, so soft."

She blushed deep red.

Damon smiled at that, touching her upside-down cheek. "I would never use you as a rebound, or as a body to distract me from Elena and Katherine. I want to get over them so they can't hurt me anymore. There's this hole in my chest that they both chisel at every time I see either of them."

"They look the same," Bonnie whispered, staring up at him. "Seeing one of them is like they both chisel at you at all times."

Damon nodded slowly. "I'm pathetic," he spat angrily as he shook his head. "I want to get over them and let them do whatever they want to do, but I can't. Not when they're always there, always near enough to pop into my life and tear more at that hole."

Bonnie reached up and cupped his cheek. "I don't know if I'm very good at repairing holes," she said quietly. "But you opening up to me like this is a step closer to me letting you into my life."

Damon sighed, closing his eyes and resting one of his hands over Bonnie's hand on his face. When his eyes opened, he looked calmer than she'd ever seen him. "How's your leg?" he asked, tracing circles on the back of her hand.

"I don't want to move it," she said softly. "I'm scared it'll hurt again."

"Does it hurt at all when you aren't moving it?"

She shrugged. "It's a little achy, but nothing much else."

"We should probably wait a little longer then," he said softly. "And I should probably drive you home."

Bonnie nodded slowly. "Good plan." She paused and tilted her head back to look up at him. "Aren't you cold?" she asked when she realized that the top of her head was pressed against his bare stomach.

He shook his head. "I'm fine," he said softly, his fingertips brushing her cheek again. "Can I…?" he trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind."

Bonnie cocked her head to the side and shifted a little, reaching up and touching the side of his neck. "Can you kiss me?" she filled in, watching his eyes.

It was the first time she'd seen him so unsure of himself. He slowly nodded, looking away from her. "I want to," he said quietly.

"Then do it." Her voice was so quiet; she'd waited a few minutes to say it to make sure that she actually wanted it.

He shook his head. "The blood from your nose," he pointed out.

She put her hand over her mouth and nose. "Is it really that bad?" She looked worried now.

Damon shrugged and tried to think of something to make her feel better. "It looks fine," he said lamely.

Bonnie groaned. "It looks horrendous doesn't it? Completely disgusting."

Damon covered her mouth with his hand. "Do you have any water with you?" he asked softly, watching her eyes as she glared up at him.

"Bottle in my car," she mumbled against his hand. She pushed herself up off his lap so he could flash to her car to find the water and come back. He knelt down next to her wounded leg and examined it before slowly untying the pieces of his shirt. "This doesn't hurt does it?" he asked, giving her a concerned look.

Bonnie shook her head. When all the ties were taken away, Damon crawled over to her and poured some of the water from the bottle onto one of the ties before giving it to her to clean her face with.

"I probably look horrible right now anyway," she muttered, shaking her head as she tried to wipe it all off.

Damon reached for the piece of t-shirt and pulled it from her hands, tilting her chin up and landing a sweet kiss on her mouth. She was too surprised to slap him like she had last time, though she didn't want to slap him anymore.

When he pulled away, his eyes were narrowed, and he stayed close to her, still holding her chin. "You look amazing," he murmured softly, his voice near a growl. "Don't think otherwise."

Bonnie grimaced but felt better now that he had complimented her. "Thanks," she whispered, gnawing on her lower lip nervously. "Is, um, all the blood gone?"

He used the cloth in his hand to wipe off the excess that was still hanging around her nose, using the fact that he had to be close to her to kiss her again.

Bonnie still didn't know whether she should be letting him do that or not; instead of slapping him, she let him do it and enjoyed it while it lasted.