A/N: Thank you all so much for taking the time out to read this story and thank you all so much for your amazing reviews! It really means the world to me that you are all enjoying it! xoxo.

"You should really let me take you to the hospital for this," Rebekah said to Damon as she cleaned up the deep cut on his face, "You may need stitches."

"I'll be alright," Damon squinted at the pain of the antiseptic being dabbed on his face.

As Rebekah rolled her eyes at his stubbornness, she continued cleaning his wound, all the while looking over at an unconscious Bonnie lying on her bed. "I really hope she wakes soon."

Damon's eyes drifted to Bonnie. Seeing her lying still on Rebekah's bed brought his rage back to the surface; not that it truly went away to begin with. Everything he found out tonight had him seething with so much indignation he wanted to do damage to anything and everything. If it weren't for Marcel and Klaus physically holding him back he would have ended the lives of Atticus Shane and Connor Jordan.

It made him sick as he thought about everything they did to Bonnie and it made him regret not putting two and two together. This could make her relapse and a part of him felt responsible for it.

Damon wasn't aware that Bonnie collapsed until she was lying unconscious in his arms.

"Bonnie..." He called her name, trying to wake her. He then picked her up and looked at Shane and Conner. "Why don't you guys come on in?" He didn't capture the worried expressions on their faces because his concentration was solely on Bonnie.

When Damon walked inside with an unconscious Bonnie, Rebekah was the first person to come in contact with them, "Bonnie? What in the world happened?" She frantically asked, rushing to Damon's side as he placed Bonnie on the couch.

Upon hearing Rebekah, caused everyone else to walk in from outside. Caroline and Elena instantly went to Bonnie's side not paying attention to the two new guests that arrived.

Before anymore words could be said between anyone, Stefan's fist connected forcefully with Shane's jaw. He was on top of him before anyone could process what was going on. Shane may have got one punch in, but Stefan blindsided him and continued using his face as a human punching bag.

Conner would have interfered, but Tyler tackled him and sent a few punches his way. Connor was able to push him off, causing Tyler to stumble back and fall into Katherine.

Damon pulled Stefan off of Shane, "Stefan, I understand you took a class or two in martial arts, but now is not the time to practice it."

"Let me go, Damon." Stefan ignored his sarcasm and tried moving out of his brother's grasp, "I'm going to kill this piece of shit."

Elijah helped Katherine up, checking to make sure she was alright and when everything seemed okay, his voice filled the silence in the room. "What is the meaning of all of this?"

Stefan was about to answer, but the sight of Elena holding up a butcher knife about to stab Shane, and Katherine pulling her back, stopped him. "Whoa there warrior princess."

"Let me go," Elena said to her twin.

Katherine had never seen her angelic sister,the one everyone thought was the good one, like this. It was actually pretty interesting… almost refreshing. But now was not the time. "Drop the knife, sis."

"What the bleeding hell is going on?" Rebekah asked through all the commotion.

"This asshole," Stefan's eyes went to Shane, "Is the reason Bonnie had to go to rehab in the first place."

"This dick of a professor ruined her." Caroline's voice held pure menace.

"I didn't do anything to her that she didn't want." Shane said, wiping the blood off of his mouth.

Upon seeing red, Damon Salvatore was no longer holding Stefan back but inflicting bodily harm upon Shane himself.

It took both Marcel and Klaus to get him off of Shane before he killed him. Shane got in one good punch, only hurting Damon because of the ring on his finger.

As Damon stared at Bonnie's sleeping form, his mind was on instant replay of everything that happened only 30 minutes ago. He wanted nothing more than to go over there and hold her.

Klaus Mikaelson entered the room as soon as Rebekah placed the bandage on his face.

Klaus's eyes connected with Damon's, "You ready, mate?"

Damon stood up, and looked at Bonnie one more time, "Yeah." He then looked at Rebekah, "Call me the moment she wakes up."

"Where are you two going?" Rebekah asked, standing up; a little worried about the looks on her brother's faces.

"Just call, Rebekah." Klaus said as they both walked out the door.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. Her brother could be an arrogant, demanding ass sometimes… and that was on a good day.

She then moved to sit beside Bonnie and held onto her hand. "Come on Bons, I need you to wake up." She whispered.

Past

His hand was like steel as they came across her cheek, causing Bonnie to fall to his cold apartment floor. Shane was on top of her in an instant, holding her arms forcefully above her head, as she thrashed a little to move from his grasp.

"I saw the way you looked at him!" he yelled into her face as she cried.

"Shane, I didn't… I wasn't…" she tried getting out, but she couldn't stop her tears.

He hit her again and put his hand around her neck.

"You lying bitch! You know how much I love you, but you're going to look and smile at every guy that walks by."

"I was just being nice…" she cried, referring to the guy that asked for directions to the coffee shop.

"No you were trying to be a whore." He then stood up from her, "Now go roll me a joint and get in the shower, I'll meet you in there."

Bonnie hated when Shane got like this, but she loved him so much that she hated herself more that she caused him to be like this. After she rolled him a joint, she stripped down, got in the shower and let the hot water hit her body. She squinted as the water hit the bruises on her face.

A few minutes later, Shane's strong arms wrapped around Bonnie's small frame. It was soothing… almost as if nothing just happened between them.

When he nestled his head in the crook of her neck, she leaned back into him.

"I'm sorry, baby. I just hate the thought of you leaving me for another man."

Bonnie then turned around and gently grabbed Shane's face. "Atticus Shane, I would never leave you for anyone. I love you so much. Don't ever forget that."

She then kissed his lips, and he returned the kiss… right before he took her against the shower wall repeatedly.

Present

When Bonnie's eyes shot open she had to squint as a bright white light engulfed her sight. As she looked around she couldn't tell exactly where she was. But she felt… she almost felt weightless as if she were floating without a trouble to think of. She then looked down at herself and noticed that she was dressed in a white gown. There were no words to describe how beautiful it was.

It looked Pure. She felt pure.

But where was she exactly?

"Bonnie…." A male voice that she felt like she hadn't heard in ages filled her ears; a male voice that she missed beyond words. Bonnie was now looking at Matt Donovan in nothing but a white suit. He looked flawless…. like nothing in their lives had gone wrong.

Was she dead?

"Matt?!" Bonnie ran and jumped into his arms. She held onto him tightly; never wanting to let go.

"Matt, is this really you? Am I dreaming? Where are we?" She had a thousand questions, as she touched all over him, praying that he was real.

"I've missed you so much, Bons." A soft smile plastered to his lips.

"I've missed you too." Tears were forming in her eyes. "Is this a dream?"

"It's whatever you want it to be." He grabbed onto her hand. They then sat down on a bench that appeared out of nowhere.

They stayed silent for a moment, as Matt held her in his arms. "You are going to be okay Bonnie. You do know that right?"

"How?" she cried, "You're not here with me. How can you say that?"

"Because I'm never going to leave you, Bonnie. You know that. I could never truly leave you."

His voice felt far away now. When she looked at him, it looked as if he were disappearing.

"Matt? Mattie…" she frantically cried, "Don't leave… please."

"I'm not…"

Bonnie's eyes shot open almost painfully. Her eyes adjusted to the light of the lamp next to her, as she realized she was in a bedroom.

"It was just a dream," She whispered to herself.

Rebekah turned around and closed down her laptop upon seeing Bonnie awake. She was glad to see Bonnie awake, but her expression instantly went to sadness upon seeing the tears form in Bonnie's eyes. She then left her desk and went over to her best friend.

When Bonnie looked at Rebekah, everything came rushing back. She remembered being in Colorado, sitting on the porch with Damon, and then Shane and Connor arriving.

But it wasn't the latter that caused her tears. "It was just a dream…" she repeated. "Matt's not here?"

Rebekah then pulled Bonnie into her arms as she cried, "It's going to be okay, Bonnie, you're going to be okay…."

Damon eyes were still embraced with red as he stared at his joined counterparts, Klaus and Marcel. It was usually Klaus who took the reins but he was stepping aside, looking at his best friend on what to do next.

Damon rarely participated in Klaus's extracurricular activities. He never truly got off on it, like he and Marcel did. They did it to punish the guilty… they did it to make sure some people never talked. He was all for it, but it had been several years since he put his own hand into it.

His eyes then left theirs and landed on the disgusting waste of space on the table in front of him. He was still out cold, but he wouldn't be for long.

"Where's Connor?" Damon asked; his voice almost unrecognizable.

"At his hotel sleep," Klaus answered, "Oblivious to everything."

Damon nodded. They would deal with Connor at a later time. But Shane they would be dealt with now.

He would not know true pain until this night.

Damon then grabbed Shane's face roughly, bringing him awake.

Shane thrashed around as much as he could, but realized that he was bound tightly and couldn't go anywhere. His eyes connected with Damon's and saw the rage hidden behind them.

Damon took the thick cloth out of his mouth and allowed one scream to escape it, before he forcefully held his mouth down shut.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Damon stated, with a blade in his hand that he intended to use. "I don't want to make this quick by your annoying screams."

Marcel and Klaus shared a smirk of approval, especially when Shane's eyes widened.

"Damon you don't want to do this," Shane practically begged.

"Actually…" Damon slid the sharp end of the blade down Shane's left leg and then his right, enjoying the grunt of displeasure coming out of his voice. "You don't know what I want."

He then moved to his arms, making sure not to cut a main artery.

And it hurt Shane. "What do you want? I'll give you anything."

Damon smirked, "All I want from you," He stabbed him in the leg, "…Is your death. And you're going to give it to me."

"Damon we've k-known each other since c-college," He stammered out. "You're g-going to tell me t-that some cracked out bitch is controlling you like this."

Shane's left foot was now disconnected from his leg and lying on the ground, as his screams echoed through the place. He screamed, cried, and thrashed around as much as he could.

Klaus couldn't help but grin, "I'd watch what I'd say and how I'd say it if I were you, mate."

Damon now held a drill in his hand ready to cause more damage. "Now what possessed you to take advantage of an innocent girl?"

Shane couldn't process anything. He felt more than just pain…. He felt numb… barely here. Where was here?

"I'd advise you to answer me." Damon demanded; the drill now very close to his stomach.

Breathing hard Shane tried to speak, "I didn't… s-she w-wanted… "

"Wrong answer," And Damon drilled into his stomach. "No one will miss you, Atticus. I want you to die knowing that you are nothing and that the world would be a better place without you."

Damon didn't realize all of the damage he had done until he was staring at a disheveled, dead Atticus Shane. He had ended it all by sticking a blade through his eye socket and slitting his throat.

He then took off the glasses he was wearing so that no blood would splatter into his eyes. When he looked over at his friends, his eyes told them everything, without saying a word.

Klaus and Marcel would clean it all up; probably causing a little bit more of their own damage.

There was a knock at Rebekah's bedroom door, pulling her out of the trance she was in while watching one of her favorite movies, "The Devil Wears Prada."

Bonnie's attention left the television as Rebekah opened the door, revealing Damon Salvatore. She really hoped they couldn't hear the treacherous beating of heart speeding up. It made her feel like a silly school girl with a crush every time she was in close proximity to Damon.

"It's about time you got back." Rebekah said, folding her arms, "Where is my sodding bipolar brother?"

"Downstairs with Marcel, You should go see them." Damon suggested.

Even though Rebekah held a smile on her face at Bonnie and Damon getting alone time without her trying to play matchmaker, she couldn't help but role her eyes practically being kicked out of her own room.

When she left, Damon closed the door behind her.

"How are you feeling?" Damon felt like that was all he ever asked Bonnie now and days.

"I'm okay." She answered softly, "Rebekah filled me in on everything that happened while I was out."

"I'm sorry about him being here." Damon apologized as he sat down on the bed in front of her, "I had no idea Shane had anything to do with…"

Bonnie gave him a soft reassuring smile, "It's not your fault, Damon. I never told you his name… it's not your fault." She found herself taking a deep breath, "It's funny how I thought I'd never see him again… and if I did, my plans were just to run the other way, not turn into some damsel and faint."

"It happens to the best of us." He smirked, and then grabbed her hand gently in his. "And look, you won't ever have to worry about seeing him anymore." Bonnie really didn't know how true that statement was. "Especially since he knows that you're friends with us. He'll never be in your presence again."

She truly hoped so.

After a moment of awkward silence, Bonnie found herself moving her hand, even though the moment she did, she regretted it.

"How's your face?" Her eyes glanced at the bandage on his cheek.

"Honestly, if it weren't for this bandage I wouldn't think anything happened." He answered honestly, "I don't even feel it,

Damon then laid horizontally onto the bed. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Bonnie found herself relaxing more in his presence, "What's going on tomorrow?"

"I was thinking we could all hit the slopes."

Bonnie had never participated in skiing before, but she was always up to try something new. "Well, don't laugh too hard when I won't be able to stand straight."

"Don't worry; I'll give you a private one-on-one lesson."

She smiled at his flirtatious tone. Damon Salvatore her therapist… well previous therapist was flirting with her. And she had to admit, she kind of liked it.

As another awkward silence enveloped them, Bonnie saw the time and noticed that it was two in the morning.

"I guess I should get to my room." She said, moving to get up.

"Or," Damon began, "You could stay in here and lay down with me for a while." Damon had been known to be a very blunt person in all of his years. He held back with Bonnie due to their circumstances, but now that they weren't in those certain circumstances anymore, he wasn't going to hide the fact that he wanted her to stay.

Bonnie's heart instantly sped up again, as she said, "I'm sure Rebekah will want her room back."

"She'll get over it. Plus, I was thinking we could lie here and I could hold you until you fall asleep; the whole 9 yards."

"You're telling me you want to cuddle with me?"

"Call it what you'd like." He closed his eyes and rested his hands behind his neck.

It took Bonnie a moment to get her thoughts together, but when she finally did, she found herself moving to lay her head on his chest, and his arm instantly went around her waist, holding her close.

"I'm glad you're here, Bonnie."

"Me too." She agreed, moments before she fell asleep.

The next morning, Bonnie left a sleeping Damon in Rebekah's room, and went back to the room that she was sharing with Caroline to find it currently empty. Her mind was racing with lying next to Damon last night and how good it felt to have his arms around her. But then she remembered that he was here with Rose and she wasn't about to get into whatever it was they were doing.

Also a small part of Bonnie couldn't help but feel as if she were betraying Matt in some form. And she wondered if she would feel that way forever.

Snapping out of her thoughts before she grew sad again, she had every intention of calling Vicky to see how her Thanksgiving week was going with her mom. She really wished she could have come on this trip with everyone, but after Matt passed, their mom wanted to get back into Vicky's life. So, Vicky promised she would spend certain holidays with her.

But before she could pick up her cell phone, a knock at the door stopped her. When she opened it, she was instantly pulled into a hug by Elena.

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked, as they sat down on the bed.

"I'm okay," Bonnie smiled, and surprisingly after everything that happened last night, she really did feel okay.

"Care and I wanted to stay with you last night, but Rebekah can be pretty scary."

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh at the truthfulness of that statement. Bonnie knew exactly how Rebekah could be when she was being protective over people she considered family.

"I heard you went all bad ass and pulled a knife out."

"I would've stabbed him if it wasn't for Katherine trying to be all noble." Elena's voice was nonchalant; expressing truthfulness behind her words.

"People change," Bonnie said, because usually it would have been Katherine doing something like that. "And so does relationships." She said changing the subject, "What happened Elena?"

Elena sighed, as a few tears formed in her eyes, "I don't know. Mason was taking some classes at Whitmore a couple months ago and we went to get coffee. And I don't know… I love Stefan. He is almost too perfect. But I can't help what I feel for Mason."

Bonnie grabbed her best friend's hands, "I love you Elena. And I know it's hard to control your feelings, trust me, I do. But I wouldn't keep going down this path. Stefan loves you and I know you don't want to hurt him, so you should tell him. Figure out what you want, because you can't have it both ways. You know that."

Elena wiped her tears, "Stefan's going to hate me."

"He's not going to hate you. He may never talk to you again. But he'll never hate you. He loves you. But don't play with his feelings. I know it's unintentional. And I don't mean to make you feel bad, but you're better than this."

Bonnie wiped the remaining tears that were falling from Elena's eyes.

"You're right, Bons." She then stood up, knowing that she was going to have to go and prepare before she could tell Stefan. "I'm going go and let you get ready. Oh and be prepared, Caroline is pissed at Rebekah for keeping you to herself."

"When you say it like that it makes me sound like I'm an object."

"You know how Caroline is, no new friends."

They both laughed and then Elena left and Bonnie went to go take a shower.

Caroline was outside sitting beside Jeremy drinking hot chocolate, watching Meredith, Katherine, and Tyler attempt to build a snowman.

"I mean who does she think she is? Bonnie was my best friend before Rebekah even knew what she looked like. And I bet her hair isn't really blonde. It was probably red to match her…"

"Care, breathe between your words." Jeremy interrupted her, but couldn't help but smile. "You need to understand, she and Bonnie spent a lot of time together in rehab, there's a lot that she knows about her that we may never understand."

"Whose side are you supposed to be on?" Caroline playfully glared.

"You know I'm always on your side," He answered, "And I'd be even more on your side if you'd tell everyone about us."

Caroline looked at him sympathetically, "I will Jeremy… just… I…." She wanted to tell her friends she about Jeremy, but after her little tryst with Tyler almost a year ago and Jeremy being Elena's younger brother, she didn't know how to tell everyone. And she shouldn't be afraid because her and Jeremy had been somewhat together for about three months, and she really did care for him.

"I get it Caroline, I do. But sooner or later you're going to have to tell him. Because I don't think I can keep my hands off of you through this whole trip."

Caroline blushed.

And before they knew it, a snowball hit them both in the face.

"It is too early for this!" Caroline yelled, getting up wiping the snow off of her.

"It's never too early," Marcel laughed, joining them as they all indulged in a snowball fight.

Bonnie walked into the kitchen, and watched as Klaus and Stefan were cooking breakfast and Rebekah was setting the table. She knew that Klaus could cook after the pastries he brought Rebekah in rehab, but she almost forgot that Stefan could cook as well. She remembered how he would sometimes cook for them in the dorms.

"It smells good." Bonnie commented, sitting down on a stool.

"How did you sleep?" Rebekah asked, walking up to Bonnie with a grin on her face.

"Like a baby." Bonnie ignored Rebekah's look; knowing exactly why she was smiling.

Stefan then handed her a homemade blueberry muffin to try, and before she did, she saw the bandages on his knuckles. She grasped his hand softly and then looked into his eyes. Rebekah informed her that Stefan was the first one to beat the crap out of Shane. Without saying a word, Stefan nodded assuring her that he was alright.

Bonnie then took a bite out of the muffin, and her eyes widened, "This is delicious."

"You have Nik to thank for that." Rebekah praised her brother.

"If you ever need a taste tester, please let me know, I will gladly sign up for it." Bonnie said between stuffing her face.

"Thanks love." Klaus smiled at her, and she almost swooned. The men of this house were too hot for their own good.

"Smells good in here." Damon entered the kitchen with Rose beside him.

Damon and Bonnie's eyes connected briefly, but Bonnie turned around and continued talking to Klaus and Rebekah while Stefan went to let everyone know that breakfast was ready.

Later that day everyone was ready to hit the slopes.

Rebekah had to practically pull Marcel away from the argument he and Meredith were having for the umpteenth time.

"I did not come on this trip to hear you two constantly yelling back and forth." Rebekah said, as they made their way to the top of the slope.

"I think it's time for us to call it quits." Marcel said, helping her with her skis.

"No really? What gave you that idea?" Rebekah's voice filled with sarcasm. "Plus you two will get back together in like a month or two."

"I'm serious this time."

"I'll believe it after six months." Marcel and Meredith broke up and got back together so many times it was ridiculous. But this was neither the time nor place to be discussing it. "Last one down has to by lunch. And you know I have expensive taste." Rebekah smiled, skiing down the hill, followed by Marcel.

As Bonnie watched as Elijah and Stefan were teaching Katherine, Caroline, Elena, and Jeremy how to ski, and Klaus was teaching Tyler how to snowboard, she couldn't help but laugh a little when Tyler fell face first into the snow. Back when they were kids, he was always causing someone else to fall.

Damon then came up to Bonnie. "You ready for your one-on-one lesson?"

"Are you sure Rose will be okay with this?" Bonnie asked, noticing Rose and Meredith snowboarding. She honestly didn't know why she asked and felt some type of way about it, because she and Damon had nothing going on besides friendship.

"She's my friend, of course she wouldn't care." Damon answered, nonchalantly.

They were already about an hour in, and Bonnie had finally been able to ski a very short distance without falling. She felt like she had accomplished the world as many times as she fell just moments before.

Well, the conquering was short lived as soon as she tried to zig zag and ended up running into Damon and falling flat on top of him.

He held onto her as they slid down a small hill, laughing.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," she laughed, "I'm so sorry."

"You'd really think I'd complain about you being on top of me?"

Bonnie found herself blushing again. When she rolled off of him and they both set up, Bonnie couldn't help but smile upon seeing all of her friends learn to ski and snowboard. The smiles on their faces made her smile. It was really good to see them like this. It was really good to feel like this. And even though she missed Matt terribly and wished that he was here right now, in the dream she had about him, he was right…. She would be okay.

She then looked over to Damon who was staring out at everyone as well, and the feeling she got whenever she was near him grew stronger at this moment, and she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I think you and I have something." Even though Bonnie wasn't as upfront about her feelings, she couldn't help but say it. Whether it was the friendship she was beginning to have with Damon or the fact that their past was similar, there was something between them that she wouldn't have been able to hide much longer.

"I think you're right."

They were both standing up before they realized it, as Damon wiped some of the snow off of her.

But all of that was short lived as Tyler accidentally ran into them on his snowboard, causing them both to fall back down.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed!

As you can tell, there will still be flashbacks going on in this story randomly throughout the chapters. It gives more of an insight on Bonnie's past with Matt and Shane and her friends.

Again, I hope you all enjoyed and please review =)