A Day at the House


After they were done with breakfast, the unlikely duo wasted no time making their way to the Old Witches house.

At some point along the way, it started raining and Bonnie realized that it hadn't really rained the whole time they'd been trapped in this place. Whether or not that was a good omen, was yet to be determined.

However, considering everything that'd happened up until this point, Bonnie Bennett chose not to get her hopes high; in fact, she chose to take it for what it was – nature doing what it does best, undeterred and determined. Yes, that's exactly what it was.

Funnily enough, or weirdly morbid, Bonnie then gloomed as she realized that she couldn't feel the clouds discharge the heavy weight of the condensed water. It wasn't just because she was in Damon's car, no, it was something deeper, beyond the surface.

As a witch, Bonnie had always been able to feel the nature around her and in her. She could feel the flowers bloom and the ever-working ants paving their way out of their nest in their quest for food. When she meditated in the woods, she could feel the trees' energy and their impressive network, she could feel the small animals scurrying around, and she could feel the earth. She could also feel the clouds flying, relaxed, or at times, under pressure. She could feel it all. As of now, there was an emptiness lodged within her. That connection so pure, so raw, was now lost. She yearned for it, craved it.

Being a witch was never just about her powers or the spells, it was about her legacy.

Sighing deeply, she inspected the way the droplets of water designed random patterns along the glass windshield. How they'd meet the motionless object forcefully and then go down, down, down. Hmm . She too sometimes would follow that exact path. Let herself descend into her personal pit.

Lately, it felt like that was all she did; go downwards until she reached that known bottom and make a home there. It was dark and cold and lonely, but up above wasn't any different so why should she fight it? Why should she come up only to find it as hostile as it was down below? At least down there she knew what to expect, she knew what she was up against. She knew. And it wasn't scary, not after a while. She'd been living with her demons long enough to now fully embracing them. They'd never leave, not as long as she still missed that fundamental piece of her soul. That was her reality.

The slight difference now in her approach to this world she was in, came undoubtedly from her newfound connection with her grandmother. That virtual beam of light – her lifeline – was strong enough to breathe some bravery into her. Life . That was enough to make her want to crawl out of that cave and face this cold world. The storm was still going, heavily so, but now that wasn't enough to stop her. She had a goal and she'd make to it.

I promise , she had said, and she fully intended to honor that promise. Forever.

"Are you ready?"

The witch directed her gaze at her companion. Was she ready? "I don't know but we have to do this either way"

Damon nodded; he wasn't expecting a different answer. Bonnie, though absolutely annoying and entitled, wasn't invincible and certainly not after enduring everything Silas had put her through. There was bravery in her, something he could respect.

Though he couldn't say he had any sort of expertise in hauntings, Damon Salvatore knew more than enough about fighting inward battles. He more than knew, he lived it every day for almost a whole century. In reality, if one was to account his human experience, especially after his mother passed, then Damon had been fighting those wars all his life.

It's one thing to have an enemy outside of yourself, someone that you can target and direct all of your anger and frustration at. Damon had plenty of those – both the enemies and those figures charged with emotion.

For a long time, he ran on hate only. That was his fuel and what helped him make it through another day in this cursed world. It was easy; he'd snap a neck here, rip out a heart there and still find time to drain a cute coed. That was plot. He'd stop at nothing to get what he wanted, to hell with whoever stood on his way.

The tricky thing was, his mind would start working against him, even when he had his humanity switched off, locked and buried six feet under. He could still feel Giuseppe's eyes burning his skin, he could feel his lashings on his back and soul, and his heavy hand on his throat. How inconvenient. At the height of his ' no feelings allowed' world tour, Damon Salvatore couldn't escape those terrifying memories. The ghost of that man still held so much power over him, it was insane. Damon fought it hard. He fought all the way through, and yet, he couldn't shake Giuseppe off of him.

It didn't help matters when his humanity started creeping in again after he let Elena take over his senses. Those battles came at him strong and unwavering, and the feeling of guilt and loss and abandonment came at him even harder. But he was still fighting, he had to, he couldn't just give up. He couldn't. Now, he had Stefan to look after and his little brother couldn't seem to stay away from the edge long enough, so Damon had to stay sharp – in his own way, of course.

This place, though, had a way of finding one's weaknesses and toy with them. Bonnie was going through it and, as much as he'd like to say otherwise, so was he. Damon inhaled deeply; it was raining harder now, at this rate the skies would be raging and lightning would strike soon. His senses were on alert, ready to do whatever it needed to be done.

"Right" he said breaking out of his own thoughts "It's easy witchy; we go in, you grab your stuff, and we get out before this" he pointed his index at the sky "Gets any worse. Deal?"

After a gulp, she replied "Deal"

She got out of the blue vehicle and suddenly everything was blurry again. She knew she was on her two feet; her stomach was doing backflips and she refused to open her eyes.

"Unless you plan on magically getting all your things ready Sabrina , I suggest you open your eyes" he said already moving about in the room that she had claimed her own for the past month.

"You need to stop doing that" she replied holding her tummy. Vampire speed was something she was certain she'd never get used to.

The vampire found what he was looking for – her suitcase – and started filling it with everything within his reach, not really caring to be gentle.

"Uh, can you stop?" Bonnie said not amused at all "I can pack all on my own"

"You're too slow" he quipped not stopping his task "While you were standing there looking stunned, I put in the work"

She followed him as he made his way to the bathroom and stopped in front of him "It took me a second! And don't go through my things!" she accused and took her toothbrush out of his prying hands.

"I'm being efficient. We can't waste time in here" his voice serious now "We can't be too careless"

The young Bonnie sighed; he was right, which irritated her even more but there wasn't any time for pettiness, they had to move fast "You did pack just about everything" she said going back into the room and placing the last items on her suitcase and zipping it close.

"Good now we can leave this creepy house" he commented.

Bonnie's lip tipped upwards "What, scared you'll be hexed?"

"Never, but you have to admit it Bonnie, this place isn't exactly comforting"

She stopped by the last step of the staircase and looked at the vampire "That's what happens when two hundred women are burned alive without so much as a single thought of compassion or humanity, just cold-blooded murder and no one bat an eye. Damn, I'd be pissed too"

To that, he had nothing more to say than "Fair enough." when she looked at the door to her right in deep thought, he added "Something you need from down there?"

Biting her lip, the young witch said "No, it's just– nothing, we can go"

"Well, that was very convincing" his sarcastic tone wasn't lost on her.

"It's nothing" she reiterated "Let's go back to the manor"

He knew there was more than she was willing to share but Damon was getting better at finding ways to get through to her. Right now, for example, he'd let it go, he'd let her have it for herself, for now.


"Okay, so, study session is offically in order" he announced as he dropped the book on the table loudly.

Bonnie inspected it with a wary eye "You still think Shane's book is worth of anything?"

Taking a place in the opposite side of the table he said "Yep. Crazy dude – insane, actually – but he was onto something"

"But Silas was controlling him remember?" she countered.

"But we found his decrepit ass, remember ?" he replied in the same tone as he took possession of the book again "In here, he doesn't just talk about reuniting with his zombie wife and kid, he actually talks about the legends involving Silas and Qestiyah"

"And Amara?" she asked with her a frown "They were all connected, we know as much"

Damon relaxed against his chair "Eh, guess he didn't know about crazy pants yet. But look at this" he opened the book on a specific page and showed it her "Interesting, right?"

She quickly scanned the page "'Magic, although believed to be a product of fiction by some nonbelievers, has manifested itself throughout our lifetime. It can be found in the most inconspicuous places – is this it?" she asked not bothering to finish that sentence "Cause if it is then–"

"Not there" he interrupted at once and directed his finger at the right sentence "Here"

With an eye roll, she read on "That Island changed everything. It's where everything started and where everything comes to an end'. That's Nova Scotia, it has to be but why is it so interesting?"

"Keep reading Bennett" he added more impatient "If you want something done right" he murmured before he read the passage he wanted "'The mechanics in which it is possible for the eye to see what isn't seen, are yet to be disclosed, but it is said that it requires a sacrifice. As most sacrifices do, this particular one requires something stronger than blood'"

"I don't get it. How can any of that be of help?" she inquired "That's as vague as it gets"

Damon groaned loudly "What happened to your brains Bennett? Come on, you used to think almost as fast as I do"

The young witch let it show just how unbothered she was "Oh, wow what a shame" she said dryly "I wonder how I'll ever survive"

"What's stronger than blood?" he asked her fully ignoring her tone "And keep in mind the intel we already have on Silas"

Her eyes moved fast as she tried to demystify the sentence and then lit up when it finally hit her "Power"

"Exactly" he smirked.

"But blood is the strongest binding agent. I mean, I literally lost count of how many spells need blood to actually work"

Yes, but "You can bleed out all you want but if you don't have the power to see it through then it's just a wasted meal. Besides, not everyone tastes the same and definitely not everyone has that spunk in their blood that makes it all powerful"

She pulled a disgusted face "I thought blood tasted like blood and even that very image is utterly gross"

"Nope, that's where you're wrong witchy" he said as he poured bourbon onto his glass "Everybody tastes different and not everyone can quite quench the thirst"

Ew "Okay, that's enough. I got it, sort of"

Shrugging, he continued "You know, your two best friends are vampires, I'm a vampire, hell even Alaric is a vampire now, shouldn't you be used to blood by now?"

That was the problem. Bloodthirst aside, almost everyone in her life was vampire. She no longer hated their kind (thanks to Caroline and Elena), but it was still very weird to think about Damon feeding, or Alaric now that she thought about it. "Nope"

"Figured. Anyways, we know that in our world Silas had to feed in order to wake up, so that was the first sacrifice – clearly – and then he tried to bring the veil down so he could be with Amara"

Bonnie nodded trying her best to push away those memories "Yeah but I still don't know why it's relevant or helpful"

"Because, apparently, he only wanted to be reunited with her and that's literally it. So, where's the other sacrifice?" he inquired "And don't say Jeremy cause he was as valuable as a bag of chips–"

"–Hey!" she interrupted "Rude much?"

"Don't care. My point is, Shane spent however long in his crazed search for Silas and his legend, this sacrifice that's ' stronger than blood' has to mean something. I don't buy the whole Silas and Amara reunion just because of old timey love. There has to be a reason, one that actually makes sense"

She huffed hard "But that's just a hunch Damon, we have to work with substance here. For all we know, Silas could've been manipulating Shane from that tomb all along. Look," she said getting up and walking to where he stood near his bar "I know you think that book's gonna help us out, but Shane was crazy. Actually, he was more like obsessed with him"

"So, he was a groupie," Damon retorted eyeing her "Can't be mad at the hustle but you're letting your judgement be clouded"

"It's been clouded since the moment I decided to stay here" she added an eye roll to prove her point.

"Ha! Not funny Bennett, at all. Look, crazy or not, Shane did a whole lot of things right. If we want to get to the bottom of this, then we have to give it a try. We'd be stupid not to" as he skimmed through the pages he added "There's an entire chapter on Nova Scotia alone, I'll bet that he's got even more information than what he's published"

Crossing her arms across her chest she commented pensive, "Maybe... he was shady"

Closing the book at once, he agreed "That he was but it's what we got so far and some other books on ancient stuff" he went to his extensive bookshelf with Bonnie following closely behind "Stefan and I kept a collection over the years. Needless to say, his is overwhelmingly boring"

"Of course" she snorted.

"Mine, in comparison, is much, much more interesting but unfortunately for us, we've got to do research and that's why we're borrowing Stefan's book on Ancient Greek lore" he handed her a heavy book which she held against her chest.

"We could always look it up online" she suggested and when he stared at her judgingly, she added, "It's the largest library there is"

"Pffft, and wildly inaccurate. Not to mention that book is from the first century; you know, when Silas was around "

Bonnie's chin fell to the floor as she slowly brought her eyes back to the back in her hands "How did Stefan get it?"

Leaning against the shelf, the older Salvatore waved a hand in the air nonchalantly "If you know where to look, there's not much that you can't find"

"Are you seriously going to hit me with that vague answer?" she asked brow skating high.

Damon rolled his eyes "It's true Bennett. The world is bigger than you know; lots of people that have been around for a long time. Doesn't take much to figure out how you can get what you want"

She let her slender fingers feel the cover carefully "This is like a piece of history" her voice was a whisper because she was still in awe "I've never been this close to an artifact this old before. Well, there was that creepy rock with Qetsiyah's dried up blood in it" she added as a shiver went through her.

"You witches are incredibly creepy" he said eyeing her.

"Says the glitch of nature that feeds on people" she was fast with her comeback "You do know you came from us, right?"

Shrug "Eh, it only adds to my point little witch; and it seems your line takes about at least eighty percent of the creepiness"

Breathing deeply, and realizing he wasn't that wrong, she finally said "Well, that only shows just how incredible we are" and quickly turned around but, as was common with the Salvatore vampire, he was standing right in front of her "What?"

Crossing his arms, Damon Salvatore looked at her, really looked, and asked "How much do you know about your family?"

Huh? She was not expecting that question, let alone from Damon. He never cared about her family or what she knew about them, so why now? "I know enough" which was a crazy understatement, but he didn't need to know that.

He was doing that thing again where he invaded her personal boundaries but this time there was an acceptable amount of space between them. It was the way his eyes stabbed her core that left her a little unbalanced. He was looking at her so intently, she felt like he could see her. Like he could see beyond the skin, beyond the flesh and muscle, beyond the tendons and the blood running through her veins. He could see beyond the bone and the brain matter. It was like he could see her core but, perhaps, beyond that too, if it was possible.

She no longer squirmed under his gaze; she held it fearlessly, but now she wanted to cower and look away. Not out of fear that he might do something, but that he might see just how broken she was. More than he had already seen.

By no means did she care about his opinion, that wasn't going to change now. She just didn't like to feel so exposed, so naked , let alone to the man that had more than once pushed her over the edge.

Her armor was thick enough; but that vulnerability was still there – always.

Drawing his dark eyebrows together, he told her "You should, it's your legacy"

Surprisingly, she found honesty in his voice, but her defense mechanism kicked in before she could stop it "One that you ruined"

He scoffed and walked away. He wouldn't deny it because even he knew she was right but what Bonnie didn't know was that Emily entrusted him to protect her line. That had to count for something! Yeah, he hadn't done a stellar job so far, but she was still alive – in a way – and he'd saved her from Silas.

And still, he was sure none of that would fare in her account because she still saw him as a monster, which to be honest, he didn't mind much. He was a monster, his past alone could vouch for him but, the annoying thing was, he wasn't that monster anymore. Sure, he wasn't holy, he wasn't even good, but he had progressed.

Back home, he wouldn't have cared about what the little witch thought of him – and for the record, he didn't - but it definitely made it a tad harder to move things along plan-wise if she kept such a distrust in him. It was obvious they had only each other to count on and to make sure they'd make it out of here alive in one piece, but a wary Bennett wasn't good news, and giving his track record, Damon was about the last person Bonnie would trust. She'd said so at some point, over and over.

That had to change. Not just for survival purposes but because he wanted that change to happen, and what Damon wanted, Damon got it. For the most part, but still.

"Well, you sure seem to be doing fine, you know, as far as legacies go" he replied at last.

Fine would be another understatement and they both knew it. Bonnie narrowed her eyes, analyzing the vampire. "Am I supposed to say thank you? You're unbelievable"

Coming near her, he said "Please, we both know that's never going to happen but that's not the point"

"What is then?"

"I've done a lot of shit but would it kill you to put that aside for one minute so we can get this Silas thing dealt with?" he said in one go "It's like you said, we take care of that little itch and then you can go back to hating me all you want"

She scoffed "You don't get it, do you?"

He groaned loudly as he sat down on the sofa "No, but you're about to spell it out for me anyway so go ahead"

The young Bennett licked her lips, ready to tell him exactly what she thought. Ready to ask him 'Do you know just how much you ruined me? Do you even know what turning Abby did to her? To me?' but at the last second, the young girl realized there'd been a very obvious answer to those questions. He didn't know because he didn't care. As long as he had what he wanted, then everyone else was expendable. She knew that for a fact, so of course Damon wouldn't understand.

"Forget it" she said at last and went back to the armchair near to the fireplace. Tucking her feet under her, she opened the ancient book on her lap.

They both remained silent, each with their book, immersed in the written words as the storm continued outside.


At some point, Bonnie must've fallen asleep – hard.

The book she'd been reading was neatly placed in the coffee table in front of her and there was a blanket covering her legs. Stretching, she noticed that she was alone in the huge room, no sight of Damon. Standing up, she inhaled deeply and stretched her body again, reveling in the relief it provided her. As she looked around, the young witch folded the blanket and left in hanging in the back of the armchair.

The rain had subsided now, she could hear it faintly outside. As she walked over to the impressive window, she thought back to the many times she and her friends had gathered in this very room to discuss the latest tactic. Mystic Falls was a beacon of supernatural activity and they found themselves fighting a new enemy each time Fall rolled around.

So many memories and yet, not a lot of them were happy ones, which considering their story up until now, it made sense why Bonnie didn't share the same memories as Elena did, for example.

However, that didn't stop the flow of other happy memories to quickly invade her mind. The many sleepovers at Elena's where, at some point, the three of them would band together to terrorize a young Jeremy every time he was caught eavesdropping on them. Or, when Caroline would invite the girls, Matt and Tyler to one of her picnics and have them eat her terrible, barely edible cupcakes. Or, that time when the three of them went to summer camp together and made their first friendship bracelets. That was also the first time they played truth or dare for real , just before they were freshmen.

Those memories assaulted her brain and she found herself missing her best friends. She missed Elena's hugs and Caroline's affection. It was weird to admit, even if only to herself, that she missed Elena, the girl she couldn't even call a friend anymore. Turns out you can't wash away years of friendship.

Bonnie quickly shut that down. There wasn't any point in reminiscing on what could've been or what happened. She chose to close that chapter for now. Thinking of what Elena once meant to her only led to a road full of disappointment and she wouldn't do that, not now, not when she had so much to deal with. She needed to keep her head in the game.

With that line of thought, Bonnie took a deep breath and walked away from the window. It was then when she heard something coming from the kitchen. Could it be? She mused as she made her way there. When she reached her destination, nothing could've prepared her for the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.

Damon Salvatore, the unreliable, smug, hundred and seventy-something year old vampire , was blasting Salt-N-Pepa's 'Whatta Man'. He was by the kitchen island cutting vegetables with a sharp knife, his bottle of bourbon was within reach obviously, and to make the whole thing even weirder, he was rapping along.

Now, that was something from out of this world. There was so much to unpack there and, for what felt like a first in a really long time, Bonnie Bennett was honestly amused.

"Are you just gonna stand there and watch?" he asked as soon as he sobered up "You can join in"

The Bennett witch finally entered the kitchen with a smirk playing on her lips and went to the other side of the island "Looks like you've got it covered, Jay-Z"

"More like Pepa" he replied casually.

Shrugging, she said "You got the joke"

Damon, on the other side, took a jug out of his bottle "That nap did wonders for your mood"

Despite where her thoughts led her to just moments ago, Bonnie could say that she was still determined to give this partnership thing with Damon a try. The threat of Silas was still looming and, as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't really fight that battle alone. There was strength in numbers and as long as she and Damon didn't end up killing each other, she would see this through. They'd defeat Silas and she'd find a way back to Grams. That was the plan, and nothing was going to stop her.

"You know what? It did" she replied as she inspected what he was cooking "So... is this your thing ? I'm confused"

"What?"

"This" she waved her hand towards the utensils and the pot on the stove "The whole chef thing"

Cleaning his hands on the towel on his left shoulder, he shrugged "I'll have you know that I'm an excellent cook. It's tradition"

Perking her hand on the counter, she continued "So it is a thing"

"That's the meaning of tradition. You used to be way sharper Bennett; I'm starting to get worried" he added a hand to his chest to illustrate his point.

"You know, you could've just said yes" she retorted.

"Yeaaaah, that's not really my style" he replied as he put the vegetables in the pot "Besides, that wouldn't stop you from asking more questions"

"Look," she started as she sat straighter "I'm just being a team player here. After all, we do have an enemy to defeat"

They were locked in a stare contest for a few seconds before he said, "Find anything in that book?"

Sigh "So far, not much to be honest" she said disappointed "I mean, I just started reading it so something will come up" hopefully , she wanted to add.

"Well, that's a start" he said at once "We do need to make moves faster, otherwise we'll be sitting ducks"

"I know" she said worried. She needed to find a way to protect her mind before Silas could find a way to take control of her mind again. That was imperative. Even if she couldn't read her grimoire, maybe Stefan's book could provide some sort of information.

"We should hit up Shane's office soon" Damon said out of the blue.

"Just like that?" she asked slowly. They hadn't even gone through the resources they had on their hands "Why?"

"It's pretty obvious. One plus one..."

"Damon" she said pointedly.

"Bonnie" he replied in the same tone "We've established that he knows more than he was letting on, so if we want to make this right and take Silas for good then we can't leave no stone unturned."

Even she couldn't really argue with that logic, yet she asked "It's so weird how everything that exists in our world is also a reality in here"

"That's, in the very least, disturbing" he said stirring the sauce "Which is why we have to be smart"

She easily read in between the lines "You do remember our pact, right? We're only working together to get rid of Silas"

"Yeah, I know Judgy; you've only said that about a million times already" he quipped "But while we're actually in here, it doesn't hurt to know more about this place"

Huffing hard, she said "We already know the basics; this is an alternate world or reality or... something where vampires and magic are real"

"That's barely scraping the surface; that's virtually nothing" he said deflated "This place's empty"

"Not completely" she said slowly as she remembered something "There was that tomb vampire and that man we were supposed to meet at that bar"

"Yes, but you decided to jump ship so..." he left the sentence hang, along with the accusatory tone.

Crossing her arms, Bonnie looked at him dead in the eye "Do you really want to go there?"

"What I'm saying is we can't waste any opportunity we might have to cover our backs. That goes for both Silas and whatever else might be out there"

"I'm not against that, obviously, but we do have to be on the same page Damon" she said at once.

"And we are" for the most part "Besides, I'll bet he's got a book or a talisman or whatever magical thingy that's gonna help you with your magic"

To that, Bonnie offered him a doubtful eye "Even if he did, I'm sure it's something shady like Expression related and that's not even an option"

"Duh, but again, it's worth a try" he insisted "He does mention hypnosis a lot"

"Uh yeah and he did do that to me which was a gateway for the dark magic to come forth" she interrupted at once "Which, again, it's not an option Damon" she said, her voice stern.

"Will you relax? Damn" he said clearly annoyed "I didn't say for you to go all rogue and join the dark side!"

"How else am I supposed to react? You know what he did to me!" she replied back heated.

At this point, they were both standing up, the kitchen island separating the two "Bonnie, will you stop overreacting and listen? Just because he was crazy it doesn't mean there isn't something in there that can help you! He was crooked, it doesn't mean everything he owned is too"

"I just have a hard time opening my mind up to him or anything related to him" she said "He brought Silas into our lives; I'm not going through all of that again"

That gave him pause. He should've assumed as much. It's just that he often reduced the crazy professor to just that – crazy. "Then, what's your plan?"

"About what?" she asked exhausted already.

"Your magic"

"I'll figure it out and why do you care anyway?" she asked sitting back in the stool.

"Again, it's pretty obvious" he started "You need to protect yourself"

That was indeed obvious, but she still couldn't believe that was the only reason why he was so concerned about her powers. "I know but I'll figure it out, on my terms"

Licking his lips, Damon Salvatore knew that the young witch had her mind already made "Fine, but we're still going to his office" when she shrugged, he decided to change the subject altogether already tired of thinking about Shane and Silas and this fucking place "Taste this" he offered her a small spoon with sauce.

Her green eyes were apprehensive "Really?"

Another groan "Yes, really, now taste it"

"What is it?"

"Just do it" he groaned "Why does everything have to be so complicated with you?"

With an arched brow she was quick to say, "That was a completely valid question" and then proceeded to wrap her lips around the metal object and see what it was all about. The moment she did so, her taste buds were taken on an unexpected journey that she welcomed fully. Her eyes closed out of their own volition and when she opened them, she asked "What is it?"

"Did you like it?" he asked even though he could tell by her reaction that she did.

"It's not half bad" she said leisurely.

"Oh, please you loved it" he countered "That's ossobuco alla milanese with some minor changes"

Running a hand through her hair, she said absently "That sounds ambitious"

"It sounds right" he sounded proud of himself "It's almost ready; grab a plate"

She scoffed "I know you lack any sort of home training, but aren't you supposed to come from a period where manners were like mandatory?"

"I cooked" he said flabbergasted.

"I know but that doesn't excuse you from saying please" she clarified.

"Were you this insufferable with Caroline and Elena?" he asked shaking his head.

She had a perfect smile in return "I save it for you"

"Rude"

Shrugging, she affirmed "It's warranted. Where are the plates then?"

The vampire pointed his finger to that particular cabinet "You know, you're much more charming after a few drinks. Gets you all lose and un-judgy"

Bonnie, who was setting the table, stopped mid task "First of all, that's not even a word. Second, I'm just matching your energy"

"Of course, you'd say that" he murmured as he brough the big pot to the woodened table "Dinner's ready, let's eat"

As she took a seat across from him, a thought crossed her mind. For as long as they'd been here, she had never seen Damon feed (thankfully), but given the fact that Mystic Falls was a ghost town and he was a vampire, she had to ask, "Speaking of eating, how are your... um..."

"Just say it Bennett" he said calmly as he fixed her plate.

Well, that was sort of the issue. With someone as volatile as Damon, one never knew how to approach a somewhat potential touchy subject with him. Theoretically, it could either of two ways; one, he'd be all Damon about it and the other, well that was the mystery. Still, given the fact that he was a vampire, and she was human, she couldn't help but to wonder how he was getting by. To be fair, Bonnie was almost sure Damon wouldn't bite her, but she wouldn't put it past him to do it.

She knew way too much about vampires to know that when they starved, the beast took over and whoever crossed their path had their fates sealed. That was a fact. Right now, Bonnie was the only thing in Damon's eyeline. It was like she was a walking meal. One could argue that he could feed from animal blood, but he made it clear time and time again that he was never going to do that. Unless he had a stash of blood bags hidden somewhere, he had to get his supply from somewhere, right? Besides, he didn't look like a starved vampire, he looked fine, so how was he doing it?

Twirling her fork in her hand, she inhaled deeply before asking "Are you... feeding?"

His eye did that thing it does when his interest is perked. Took her long enough, but she asked. Damon could tell her the truth, he could tell her that yes, he was feeding but that wasn't what she should be really asking. The better question would be, is it enough? Well now, that was a different game altogether.

Nevertheless, since they were at the very beginning of this allyship, he had to play his cards right; scaring her away with the truth wouldn't benefit anyone, and right now, they both needed to work as a unit.

Besides, it wasn't like his thirst was totally and completely out of control. He had some barely-there restraint left. For how long, though? Was the other very important question that he was purposefully ignoring.

"Concerned about my well-being, Bon Bon?" was his reply. The lighter approach was always a good choice in serious matters.

"More like looking after myself" she said honestly.

He smirked with her very obvious answer "Then you've got nothing to worry about Bennett, I am indeed feeding"

A sliver of relief washed over her; those were good news, but still "How?"

"Do you really want to talk about that now?" he motioned towards their plates "I mean, you did say you found it 'utterly disgusting' "

"And I do " she clarified "But... just answer me. How are you doing it? There's no one here" she added with a soft voice.

"Only us, right?" he continued "I'm not gonna bite you little witch, if that's what you're worried about. Unless, of course, you want me to"

"That's never going to happen" she was quick to say.

Shrugging, he told her "Never say never witchy"

"That's original" she murmured "And no, that is never, ever going to happen" she reiterated.

"Right" he said with a huff, "I have blood bags"

She squirmed in her seat, visibly uncomfortable "Those have lasted this long?"

"Yeaaaah"

"Then what are you going to do when you run out?" she asked worried. Why hadn't she thought about this before?

"Then I'll raid the next hospital I can find. Now can we have dinner?"

"What if there aren't any blood bags in there, then what?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it" he said at once.

"It's not that simple Damon, this is a big deal" she said serious.

Nodding, he said, "It is, but so far everything in here is the same as back home. I'm pretty sure we'll be fine in that department. If not, then, again I'll deal with it"

That wasn't good enough for her, at all "Damon–"

"–Bonnie, I'm only going to say this once; I am not going to bite you. My word may mean nothing to you, but it means something to me. So, believe that" he said, his eyes locked in with hers just so she could see how serious he was.

He meant it, truly. It wasn't an empty promise like that countless ones he's made in the past, he was for real. His thirst was quickly escaping his control – true – and he may have wanted to bite her, but he never did, and he wouldn't.

The young Bennett still wasn't completely pleased with that outcome but, for the time being, it was better than nothing. The fact was, Damon needed her, otherwise he wouldn't be willing to help her in any way, so maybe that alone compelled him to keep her somewhat safe. As morbid as that was, it was the only guarantee she had. As long as they were stuck here, Damon wouldn't be an active threat against her.

Hopefully.

"Don't forget that Damon" she said serious.

"I won't. Now, enjoy your dinner"


A.N.: Hey angels, hope you're good. Thank you for the reviews and the new people following this story! Here's the latest! So, not a lot happened in this chapter plot wise but there are some questions being asked that we should take into consideration.

So, as far as the characters go, Bonnie has been shifting her perspective. She's got a goal now and although she's still in a very rough place, she is still willing to make that last effort. Having that connection to Grams again really lit something up in her. Damon, on the other hand, we know he's been struggling with his thirst and he admitted for the first time that he was actually hallucinating every time he was seeing Elena, so... what was that about?

Right now, they're both testing this partnership again and trying to make it work in their own way. They each have their motives to make this happen, so clearly transparency is an issue here that they both seem to ignore. Regardless, we see them interact and making active choices in order to meet their goals. I like to think that the little things often show a lot, and in this particular case, Bonnie and Damon's journey will be very interesting and I'm super excited to write it!