The CW owns The Vampire Diaries. I, regrettably, do not.

Chapter 3

For Angie

She woke up.

This was the third week in a row where they had woken up side by side. It wasn't normal, but it wasn't too bad. She rose earlier than he did, and would lay on her side gazing at the lids that covered her husband's blue, blue eyes.

Once, she tried to count his lashes, but he caught her staring and kissed her.

They did a lot of that nowadays, and the spoke to each other often too.

They weren't bickering to the same degree as they were when they hated each other, now they did it with love. But to any outsider, it wouldn't look it.

He enjoyed seeing her, waking up like this beside him. Sometimes their mornings were so good he couldn't move from the bed for hours; those days were his favorites. But above all, he loved seeing her smile, even if he did have to pick ridiculous arguments with her just to have her pretend to get worked up, turning her head to the side with a twinkle in her eye.

Their world had found a new bliss, they didn't know it before, but that happiness had an expiration date, and it was about to come due.

Downstairs in the library, Bonnie concentrated as she poured over her grimoire and the ones she and Damon had collected on the trips they had taken in the early days. Together they had hunted down that of her grandmother, her mother, her cousin Lucy, his old flame Bre, one from a New Orleans witch that Stephen had learned about (actually they gathered several from the Big Easy –apparently the Original Vampires kept close company with scores of witches), some from the Martin family and a couple other from various witches they knew of either from research or Damon's memory.

It was a formidable collection, one that she was actually quite proud of.

Every now and again she would take a couple (or all of them) out and try her hand at simple spells, even if she couldn't perform magic, she still liked to memorize things. Especially since there were all types of herbal remedies, recipes and other concoctions that she now used to perfume their home, season their food and store away for medical use.

Needless to say, the Salvatore Boarding House now sported a multifaceted herbal, vegetable and pleasure garden.

Sitting in the library she reflected on their time together, reminiscing on their comfortable evening in. A small smile graced her lips, but still, she could feel it in her soul and she knew.

This was the beginning of the end.

When Damon came in from the gym that night he made to call out to her over his shoulder as he always did, but something caught his eye.

She stood there staring at something in her hand. It was a small medallion, circular in shape and ocean blue in color.

"Whatcha looking at?" he teased.

She must've been deep in thought because she jumped when she heard his voice, and her hand closed over the little object.

More serious this time, he looked at his wife's face, carefully gauging the situation at hand.

For the past few weeks, things between them had been better than it ever had before. They had both been working on separate projects, she had her painting and he had his body, but they also had projects that, while not joint endeavors, were still used to benefit the other in some way.

Well, her paintings did adorn many of the walls in the Boarding House as well as those on the Salvatore property and few houses in the rest of the neighborhood, and they both enjoyed the feeling they got when Bonnie approved of his arms and abs, but these projects were different.

Every now and then, Damon would take a drive and come across an old car that he loved, he would bring it home and work on it in his spare time, and try to restore it to its former glory. There was one he was working on now that would be a gift to Bonnie. It was a lovely little thing, classy and old fashioned like her. When he saw it, he was reminded of the time when she banished herself from the boarding house about two years ago.

It was after their first kiss and Bonnie had assured him that even if they did had feelings for each other now, that she wouldn't be living with a man she wasn't married to. Her grandmother had raised her to be a lady after all and she wouldn't be shacking up any time soon.

He chuckled inwardly at the recollection, but there was something unsettling in the air.

"Bonnie, what is that you're holding?"

"Uh, it's…" she trailed off. Recollecting herself she tried again. "It's just, I've been feeling off lately,"

"Wait you're not pregnant are you?" he tried at something light.

Frowning she adjusted her hair with a shake of her head. He loved it when she did that, it made her seem so sassy.

"I think we're not alone here." She said.

"So you're seeing someone else?" he quipped "Come on Bonnie, it's been four years, we both know there's no one else here. This place a shadow of our old lives, but that's just it, only a shadow." Aggravated now at her ridiculous antics, he finished his statement and turned towards the stairs.

"So you haven't noticed anything different around here? No changes in the air, in the colors? Nothing?" she asked exasperated.

"No Bonnie, we are utterly and exquisitely alone. No one else, just me and you, forever."

That last comment stung her and she recoiled visibly like she'd been slapped.

"Your own personal Hades" she whispered.

When he heard her voice soften to a whisper, he realized the indications of what he'd said. He didn't mean to walk away, but something small and dark willed him to, it had been a long four years alone with this woman, and he just needed some space.

The past few weeks had been blissful, emotional and altogether lacking a certain… something, something he hadn't craved in a long time. Somewhere on the inside he knew that their time together was winding down.

He went upstairs without another word and turned on the shower, but when he closed his eyes the image that had been forming for the past few days swam into his mind.

Something about the conviction in Bonnie's eyes told him that they would never again have the tranquility they had so patiently wrought here in this Quasi World. He knew it, she knew it. There was only a matter of time before something dramatic happened to turn them back into the people they once were.

There was a niggling little doubt in his mind that made him feel like cursing Bonnie for saying aloud the thing they had both been silently noticing for the past few weeks. Saying it out loud made it seem more real. There was more anger in him for her than he had felt in years.

Closing his eyes he exhaled slowly and indulged himself in thought certain brunette with big brown eyes.

The next morning he woke up alone and, to be honest, a little disappointed. Bonnie wasn't beside him, and there wasn't in evidence that she had even come to bed. In the back of his mind he was a little worried, but presently all he could do was be relieved. Her comment yesterday about them not being alone brought back feelings of irritation that he thought he had long since given up.

He couldn't help that the thought of another person there, if that was even possible, and the possibility made him anxious.

Another person, if it was a male, could upset their dynamic. There would be someone else there who might look at Bonnie, and even though his present feelings were shaky at best, she was still his wife.

If that other person was female, it could possibly be even worse, Bonnie might turn out to be the jealous type, and God knows women had a way of not being able to control themselves around him.

However, if that person was a supernatural, regardless of their classification, Bonnie would want to know all about them. Who they were, how did they get here and when, etc. etc.

Her eagerness might dredge up old feelings of hope, and Damon couldn't get his up a second time.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, keep 'em coming!

For the record, this story is Bamon endgame, but since I'm retelling the events of this season, I need the characters to be somewhat in line for the story arc to continue.

Much Much loveee to you all!

4GMK