Disclaimer: I don't own TVD.
"This city is amazing!" Exclaimed Caroline as she dragged Stefan behind her. Damon and Elena trailed nearby, admiring the city.
Caroline smiled when she saw the pier, "Look how beautiful that is! So romantic," she cooed once she spotted a young couple standing at the end of the pier. A petite woman with curly brown hair that grazed her shoulders was clutching the hand of a taller man beside her. They each carried a small child against their side. Caroline smiled at the adorable sight before slapping Stefan on the chest, "Why haven't we been here before?"
Damon rolled his eyes at the blonde, "We're here now, Blondie. Shut up," he led Elena away from the now glaring Caroline, and he approached the end of the pier. When he got closer to the couple, they turned around to survey the source of the footsteps, but they froze in place.
Damon heard Elena gasp and Caroline stutter…"Oh my god," she announced. Bonnie Bennett, now eight years older, stood before them as beautiful as ever—along with Kai who had matured as well, becoming even more handsome. They looked like the perfect couple with an adorable toddler on each hip, each child resembling both parents in an uncanny way.
Once the shock wore off, Bonnie spoke. "What are you all doing here?"
Before anyone could answer, a teenager with a head of messy, blonde hair and bright blue eyes ran over to Bonnie and Kai, grinning at them. "Hey!" He greeted. "I just saw the coolest street performer with the team. We finished practice early and took a walk on the board walk," he continued to ramble, paying no attention to the group of adults who were gaping at him.
"Tommy!" The twins yelled, immediately reaching forward for the teen. The boy smiled, "Hey little monsters," he placed a kiss on each twin's forehead before looking at Bonnie and Kai. He took notice of their shell shocked expressions, prompting him to frown. "What did I miss?" He asked, finally glancing at the group of strangers.
Bonnie finally found her voice again, "These are some old friends of mine, honey. From my hometown in Virginia." She attempted to smile despite the awkwardness of the situation—they were all about to find out what she has been up to after all of those years she left Mystic Falls.
Tommy turned, flashing a bright smile at the adults. "Hey," he waved. He noticed the younger blonde woman frown in confusion, while the rest just stared at him.
The teenager looked at the shocked faces of the adults, not fazed by the weird reaction. He gets it all the time when he introduces his parents to anyone. "Adopted," he offered with a smirk, pretending to wince when Bonnie ruffled his hair affectionately. After the embarrassment of blatant mom affection wore off, Tommy picked up his little sister while Kai passed over his brother. The twins were yelping his name, excited to be near their older brother, and Tommy didn't resist smiling widely at his enthusiastic siblings. Putting Amelia and Aiden down and taking both their hands, he turned toward Bonnie and Kai. "I'll watch the little monsters."
Kai and Bonnie nodded their heads, thanking him silently. Kai dug into his pocket and pulled out a 20 dollar bill, but before Tommy could snatch it out of his hand, Kai raised his finger in warning. "You'll use this money to buy some cotton candy for you and your siblings. No blowing it all on arcade games."
Tommy rolled his eyes at the lecture, simply nodding along. "Okay," he assured while taking the money. Kai grinned at the teenager, ruffling his hair just like Bonnie did earlier. "Okay," he whined, "Enough with the hair thing. People could be watching."
Bonnie shook her head at her son's protests. "Remember to get only one cotton candy for Amelia and Aiden to share." She heard the tiny groans from the twins, and gave them a stern look. "You haven't had dinner yet. You two will share."
They pouted at her, clutching their older brother, "Yes mommy," they stated in unison.
Tommy began leading them away, pausing briefly to glance over at the still shocked adults he had just met. "Nice to meet you all," he added politely before glancing at his adoptive parents. "Bye. Love you."
The twins followed the lead of their brother and shouted "I love you's" as they skipped away from the adults. Bonnie and Kai both responded simultaneously, "We love you." They glanced at each other, momentarily swept away by the reality of their family.
When they broke eye contact, they were faced with the openly gaping stares of everyone.
Bonnie was the first to break the awkward silence. "So how did you all end up here in San Francisco?"
Stefan, the first one to recover from the shock of seeing Bonnie and Kai again, answered. "We're on vacation. None of us have been here, so we thought we'd check it out."
Damon finally woke up from his state of shock, prepared with a harsh quip on his tongue, "We weren't expecting to see you on our fucking vacation. What the hell?"
"Touché," Kai responded without any visible anger. "Except this is our home." Kai enjoyed stressing the "our," because seeing Damon's anger flare awoken the old feeling of euphoria he got whenever he pissed Damon off. It was minor payback.
Damon sneered, "Your home? Bonnie, this is what you have been doing all of these years? After you split without a word to anyone, you settled on the West Coast and started a family with this asshole?"
It didn't take long for Bonnie's patience to officially run out, "Well we aren't just talking about Kai are we? Did your mom turn out the way you expected? Is she living a murder free life?"
Damon and Stefan grimaced, neither making an effort to answer. The silence was the only answer Bonnie needed. "Still hypocritical as ever," she spat with disgust before looking at Kai. "See honey? Nothing's changed. Time has stood still. No aging and no change in possessing common sense."
Bonnie missed the look of revolt on Damon's face as he watched the two of them. "What about you Bonnie? You married this psycho and willingly had children with him!"
Bonnie snapped her head back, eyes blazing with anger. "Shut up Damon, don't think you have the right to come to my home and insult my family. You're playing with fire," she warned in a menacing tone. Kai just watched her silently, crossing his arms, and squinting suspiciously at Damon. He was trying to maintain his own self control.
"Oh so now Kai is a good guy. Tell me is he already prepping for the day your twins turn sixteen and they can fight to the death for coven leader?"
Kai and Bonnie's eyes widened, stunned by Damon's harsh words. In a flash, Bonnie sees Kai lunge at Damon.
Somehow, both Damon and Kai ended up in a physical struggle with Damon winning physically and strangling Kai by the neck. Bonnie screaming, felt her magic course through her, but being in public seriously inhibited her from acting on it. Before she could continue the inner struggle, a bellowing yell surrounded the adults.
"Hey!" Tommy screamed the words as he held the crying twins. "Get away from him!"
"Tommy," pleaded Bonnie, "Please stay out of this. Take the twins home!" She stole one more glance at Kai before running towards her kids. She scooped up the twins and had no time to stop Tommy from rushing over to Damon and Kai. Jumping on Damon's back, Tommy started pounding on his back, "Get off my dad. Stop!" The teenager's cries sparked something within Kai, and he suddenly developed the upper hand by sending the most painful aneurysm possible that sent Damon to his knees. As Damon dropped to the ground, Kai grabbed Tommy before he fell and held him behind his back protectively.
Tommy just clutched onto his dad's shoulders, eyes widening at the sight of the man rolling around in pain. He felt his mom's lips against his forehead. "Honey are you okay?" She questioned frantically. The twins were whimpering in her arms, clearly confused and frightened by all of the commotion.
Tommy looked at her, "Mommy? What's happening?" He was forced back by Kai when Damon's cries stopped. Turning to look, Tommy felt all of the blood rush out of his face when he made eye contact with a pair of black eyes and barred fangs. "Holy..." Tommy's voice trailed off when he noticed his mom stepping in front of all of them. The twins now stood behind Kai, holding onto Tommy's legs, cowering in fear.
"Damon," Bonnie whispered his name in such a menacing tone that every member of her family felt a chill traverse down their spines, "Enough. You're scaring my children." She made eye contact with Caroline and Elena, her eyes filling with tears at the thought of his distant they all grew from one another.
Caroline began to open her mouth, ready to finally speak to her long lost best friend, but the sound of cheerful greetings forced the words back into her throat. The group of vampires turned to see a couple, roughly the same age as Bonnie and Kai, walking a dog and holding the hand of a little girl.
"Hey Bennett-Parkers!" The man yelled happily. "We brought back Sasha!" The smiling couple walked closer, still unaware of the tension they unknowingly walked into. "Thanks for letting us walk her," the young woman added, before turning to the little girl. "Emily is very excited to walk her new dog once we pick her up from the shelter tomorrow." The little girl jumped up happily.
"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Parker! I'm totally ready to take care of my doggy!" The little grinned, showcasing two missing front teeth, as she skipped over to the twins with Sasha trailing behind. The little girl handed the leash over to Tommy who immediately wanted to make sure their golden retriever was safe from whoever his parent's friends were, so he latched onto the leash and gently tugged the dog closer. "Thanks Emily," Tommy expressed as smoothly as possible. Bonnie and Kai followed their oldest son's lead and plastered fake smiles on their faces to try and appease their best friends.
The couple returned their smiles, now a bit hesitatingly when they finally noticed the group of strangers huddled across from their friends. "I'm sorry!" The young woman exclaimed, her eyes sweeping over the group of adults. "Where are our manners! I'm Avery and this is my husband Cole. We're friends of Bonnie and Kai."
"Our best friends," a soft voice joined in. Bonnie smiled gratefully at the small family, suddenly remembering what finding true friends felt like. The Masons have been Bonnie and Kai's close friends for years, and both of them were incredibly fond of the friendship.
Caroline and Elena frowned, hurt completely evident on both women's faces. Bonnie just openly admitted to having another pair of best friends. Nothing felt right.
"We're old friends of Bonnie. From Virginia." Caroline managed to exclaim the words with a small smile on her face despite the painful tug she felt in the pit of her stomach at losing touch with one of her closest friends and now witnessing her new life.
Realization dawned on Avery and Cole's faces, "Of course! You must be Caroline and Elena! And their husbands…Stefan and Damon, right?" Avery smiled at the vampires. "Bonnie has talked about you so much. It's great you finally made it to San Francisco! How long will you be staying?"
Kai couldn't resist answering, "Not long. They were just here for a quick sightseeing trip. We ran into them unexpectedly." Kai sneered briefly before quickly transitioning into a fake grin. "Right everyone?" He made eye contact with Damon who stared back, eerily quiet.
"Yeah, we just came for a visit. We probably should get going though," Stefan cordially responded to the friendly couple, clasping his brother's shoulder tightly, "Right Damon?"
Damon ignored him, convincing the couple that they interrupted the visit.
"We have to get going anyway," Cole answered while patting his daughter's head. "Emily has ballet class." He directed his attention to Bonnie and Kai, "You all are still coming over to the house for dinner, right? We have to try out that new grill."
Kai smiled, genuinely this time. "Of course. We'll be there." He and Bonnie smiled at their friends who began to retreat.
"Bye, it was nice meeting you all!" Avery and Cole waved before turning around. Their daughter chirping up as they lead her away, "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Parker! Bye Tommy! Bye Amelia! Bye Aiden! Bye Sasha! Bye strangers!" She flashed them a smile and grabbed her parents' hands. Once the family was at a safe distance, Bonnie and Kai dropped the happy expressions and faced the vampires with guarded eyes.
"Tom," Bonnie whispered. "Take the twins and Sasha home, okay? Your dad and I will be there soon."
Tommy's eyes shifted to the group of strangers, his teeth clenched in anger. "No way. I'm not leaving you two alone with them." He spat the words out in disgust, causing Caroline and Elena to flinch away. This was Bonnie's son, and he looked at them like they were the enemy.
Now it was Kai's turn to address his son, "Tommy, please listen to your mom. I promise we'll be right behind you." He turned around so he could pat his son's cheek, "Okay?"
Damon snorted at the image of Kai being so domestic. "Yeah Tommy! Wouldn't want to make your father angry. He tends to stab people—even your mom. Did ya know that? Your daddy almost killed your mommy countless times." Damon perked up at the opportunity to sabotage this fake family moment. It was all an illusion to him—there was no way Bonnie wouldn't settled down with Kai. It was all a joke to him, so he felt no remorse trying to shatter the facade in front him.
Widening her eyes, Elena grabbed Damon's arm roughly and pulled him back. "Damon," she reprimanded. "Stop."
Tommy stared at Damon, his voice shaking when he looked back at his parents. "What's he talking about?" His eyes, wet with unshed tears, shifted back and forth between them. "He's lying, right?" Tommy had come from a broken family—his parents drank, did drugs, and abused him constantly until a neighbor finally called child services on them. He was taken out of their custody at 10 years old and lived in the orphanage for two lonely years before a young couple came along and rescued him, giving him a family and hope for real home. He just couldn't bear the thought of his adoptive parents sharing any qualities with his birth parents.
Bonnie released a shaky sigh, "No honey. Your father and I love each other. We love you. We promise that will never change." Bonnie grabbed her son's cheeks, forcing him to really look into her eyes. "No violence. Remember the pact we made together?"
Kai's eyes were downcast, but he still reached for his oldest son's hand, gripping it firmly. He closed his eyes, remembering the day he and Bonnie brought Tommy home. They had learned about his sordid history from the shelter, so they spent months of the adoption process preparing themselves to care for a child that was a victim of severe abuse. The journey forced himself to confront his own past and led him into intensive therapy. Both he and Bonnie still see therapists for their psychological trauma—both from different circumstances—but damaging all the same. Still, they made sure to care for their children to the best of their ability and ensure that they never feel unsafe again. He and Bonnie also made Tommy a special promise to always be kind and gentle with one another. No physical violence no screaming and no threats. They were both committed to abiding by that promise despite their sordid past history.
The contact forced Tommy to focus his attention on Kai, and as soon as he recognized the sad expression on his dad's face, Tommy felt the remorse hit him. "I'm sorry, dad." He sputtered, his voice quivering. "I don't know why I'm listening to that guy. I know you would never hurt mom." The teen rested his head on Kai's shoulder, the twins who were holding onto Tommy's leg, now waddled over to Kai and wrapped their small arms around their dad's legs. "Don't be sad, daddy," Ameila said.
Bonnie watched her children comforting Kai, tears now spilling down her face. She wrapped her hands around Kai's free arm, leaning into kiss his cheek. "Listen to our children," Bonnie pleaded into his ear. "We have made so much progress. Don't listen to him, okay?" Kai lifted his head, looking into his wife's eyes. He grudgingly nodded his head, prompting Bonnie to kiss him firmly on the lips. What Damon and the rest didn't know is that Kai went through serious bouts of depression and PTSD along with Bonnie. But unlike her, Kai felt the trauma of being the murderer, the one who hurt his family, and the person who brought Bonnie so much physical and psychological pain. He suffered from the guilt and self-hatred for so long that the simplest of comments could serve as a trigger.
When Bonnie broke the kiss, she decided to make it her mission to protect her family. "Kids…go with daddy. He will take you home, while I say goodbye to my old friends." She met Kai's gaze, silently telling him not to argue.
Tommy looked at the group suspiciously, but followed his mom's orders. "C'mon dad," he tugged on Sasha's leash, kissing Bonnie's cheek and started to walk away from the group. He never turned to say goodbye to them.
Kai's gaze lingered on Bonnie for a long stretch of time until he lifted his hand to graze her cheek, leaning down to kiss her gently. "I love you," he murmured against her lips. "See you at home." He offered her a weak smile before bending down and picking up the twins. Placing a kiss on each cheek, he carried them snugly against his side and followed his son without another glance to Damon or any of Bonnie's old friends. He just wanted to go back home and be reminded that his life is different now.
Bonnie watched them leave, her right hand twisting her wedding bang set around her ring finger. The sun had begun to set, creating a peaceful view of colors against the water. She sighed deeply, finally speaking up when her family was gone. "How dare you," she looked at Damon with disappointment. "This is why I never called or wrote letters. You still don't respect me."
Elena stepped forward, "Bonnie…we had no idea. Please, we missed you so much. I mean—you are a mom," Elena quieted down as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I missed all of it." She glanced at Caroline who was openly sobbing now. "We all did."
Bonnie looked at her two best friends, her face contorting into remorse. Gliding forward, she stopped in front of the crying vampires and pulled each one in for a hug." "It's okay," she whispered, "You're here now." She pulled away, "I'll call, okay? But, I need to get back. They need me." She looked at Damon now who now looked at the ground. "When you are all ready, I'd be happy to introduce you to my family. But for now…" she gulped heavily, "I'll let you enjoy your vacation." Her eyes wandered around, "It's beautiful city," she stated wistfully.
They all watched as she left. The resident witch of Mystic Falls and the girl struck by tragedy and constant sacrifice now lived a peaceful, normal existence. It was the way it was supposed to be.
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When Bonnie opened her bright blue front door and entered her classically styled San Francisco house, she was greeted by a sight that completely erased all of the horrible things that happened that day. Her family huddled on the couch, watching a Disney film, and saving a spot on the couch for her. She stepped forward, squeezing Kai's shoulder, before settling down next to Tommy.
The teenager rested his head on her shoulder, "You okay, mom?"
Bonnie nodded her head, running her fingers through his floppy hair. "I am now, sweetheart."
The End
A/N: So much fluff! My eyes! They are burning! lol This was so much fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed this. Thank you for supporting this story. You all are awesome! Keep living the BonKai life! :D