The unlikely duo stop looking at the horizon. The light was taking them over and becoming too bright to stare into. "Do you think it will hurt," Bonnie asked over the sound of the wind picking up threatening to carry them away.
"I don't kn"- Damon's words were cut off as the white light engulfed them. Damon heard a shrill cry in his ear and felt jerked against his mattress. He shot up gasping for air just as Bonnie did the same. They looked over at each other and smiled slightly relieved that they were alright and together. But there was still the crying and to take care of the sound. They looked on the other side of Damon at the baby monitor. Bonnie gasped and Damon groined. They both got out of bed and followed the sound into the next room.
Damon opened the door and inside was a little girl screaming at the top of her lungs. Bonnie let out a sigh just as Damon closed the door and opened it again. "Damon," Bonnie yelled going into the room. They walked the same pace to the girl unsure of what to do.
"Check in its collar maybe it has a name?" Damon said looking at the little girl.
"My guess is that it's Sarah," she said pointing to the pink and purple letters over the girl's crib.
Damon shrugged and looked around the room. He saw a picture of him with the baby in the hospital cutting her umbilical cord. Then there was one of the three of them. And one of Rudy holding her. "Um we have a problem," Damon said as he picked up the picture of the three of them.
"She has a fever," Bonnie said not caring what he had to show her.
"Well what are we supposed to do? I can't give it my blood cause," he checked his mouth. "Uh nope-no fangs," he yelled scared to death.
"There's medicine over there thank god, get it."
"It says ask a doctor before use in children two and under," Damon said.
"She'll be fine," Bonnie said taking the bottle and giving the girl the medicine.
That made the little girl freak out and start crying again at the horrible taste in her mouth. She was done with Bonnie and reached for Damon to save her. He looked terrified as she pushed Bonnie away trying to get him. "I don't know what to do."
"You could hold her for a second so I can get her some apple juice she might have an upset stomach too," Bonnie said giving Sarah to Damon.
The girl settled upon contact with Damon. She played with Damon's face and she tried to get him to do something. "Bonnie what's taking so long? This thing is trying to take off my face," he yelled trying to avoid biting the little girl's fingers which were now in his mouth.
"She's cranky when she's sick just like her mother," Rudy said coming into the room without Bonnie.
"Mr. Hopkins," Damon said surprised to say the least.
"Mr. Hopkins?" he laughed. "What happened to Grampy?" he said taking Sarah.
"I uh-tried I guess. Where's Bonnie?" he asked.
"She's talking to Shelia about the party. It's in two hours and you guys still don't have any decorations up," he said shaking his head. "I honestly don't know what you kids would do without Grampy," Rudy said to Sarah.
"I'll be right back."
Damon ran down the steps to see Bonnie in tries having a heart to heart with Sheila. That was all fine and well but he needed answers.
"What the hell is going on?"
"And you still think this is "at peace"?" Bonnie said to Grams looking at Damon.
"It is now hush," Grams said to Bonnie. "Damon the veil keeping the supernatural creatures from finding peace was removed when the other side was destroyed. That means we're in heaven, hell, the underworld whatever you'd like to call it this is the afterlife. This is where everyone that finds peace goes," she informed them.
"And we're parents because that would bring us peace?" Damon said unsure of that.
"I had nothing to do with that bit of information. I made sure that Bonnie would have peace of mind to enter in here, you were never a part of that plan. This could also be due to the state you entered here."
"I guess I'm never holding your hand again," Damon mumbled.
"Trust me it wasn't a pleasure," Bonnie sneered.
"Can we focus on the birthday girl for a minute you two," Rudy said joining everyone. "Her fever still hasn't broke."
"She's not as cranky," Damon noted.
"That's because she missed her Grampy," Rudy cooed at the little girl making Bonnie smile. "She's just like you always the drama queen," he smiled at Bonnie. "It's not good enough that it's her birthday she has to get extra attention by being sick."
"That sounds more like Damon than me."
"Oh you used to always get sick or pretend to be on your birthday or Christmas, mainly to open your presents early," Sheila said.
"I don't believe it," Damon smirked at Bonnie who was a little red in the face.
"Yeah will get over it," she said jabbing him with her elbow.
"Anyway, I got my special daddy cure and Shelia made some broth for her since she hasn't been able to keep anything solid down," he said going to the kitchen.
"Dad that stuff is toxic," Bonnie said.
"It works," he said pulling a green puree from the fridge. The smell made everyone wrinkle their noses. He put some in a medicine drop and snuck it in her mouth pretending to give her some chocolate.
"You could at least give her the chocolate for feeding her that gunk," Damon said as the little girl rubbed her face in his shirt. She was traumatized. "It's okay," Damon said as he rocked her.
"You spoil her," Rudy said tsking him.
Damon looked up alarmed at Rudy's accusation. When he first saw the little girl he was afraid to touch her. Now he felt like he should never put her down. She was too tiny and precious to go out into the world. He didn't want it to break her. He was amazed at how blue her eyes were a mirror of his own. Her hair was sleek and dark like his, but everything else was Bonnie to the tee. The way she scrunched up her little nose and how she made those you better not glances at everyone. He was a father.
"Give it an hour she'll be right as rain, and glad she can enjoy her party," Rudy said pinching her cheek. "She needs to get ready for the party."
"I'll go wash her up," Bonnie said reaching for her.
"I can handle it," Damon said.
"Why don't we just do it together," Bonnie said looking at Grams. "Can you guys handle things?"
"Yep already called in the reserves," Rudy laughed.
"Great," Damon said.
Once in the bathroom, Bonnie ran the water as Damon undressed Sarah. "Why would we name her Sarah, like we're two pretty creative people," Damon said looking at her. "She looks more like a Madison or Joslyn something elegant and beautiful."
"Damon she wasn't here before. This world just interjects you in it once you die. Somehow, us holding hands meant we made a baby."
"We should get married. I don't want my daughter to be a bastard," he smiled at her.
"Could you watch your mouth, and this is big. We have a baby. Like a little human being."
"She looks just like you, and those could be Matt's eyes," he teased her.
"And that hair," she said as she gently washed Sarah's hair.
"You got me there," he teased her.
"We have to figure out a way back," Bonnie said once the little girl was all clean.
"We found peace there's no going back."
"What about Elena and Stefan?" Bonnie asked.
"What about your dad and Grams," Damon said.
"We can bring them back with us."
"And what makes you think there's magic in this paradise. I'm not a vampire."
Bonnie looked at the little pink robe on the door she slowly willed it over with her mind. "Does that answer your question?" she asked with a smug smile.
"That's not fair," he said wrapping Sarah up.
"Witches are a natural occurrence in nature. I was born a witch, you, not so much," she taunted him.
"Isn't mommy a show off, Isn't she," he said making Sarah laugh.
"Could you not teach her to be an ass," she whispered.
"Why are you being so uptight?"
"Why aren't you trying to get home," she whispered again.
"Why are you whispering there's no one up here but us," he asked.
"I don't want to upset her," she said.
"And what about how you're upsetting me?" he said with a childish pout.
"Will you be serious? We can get out of here for real," Bonnie stressed.
"What about Sarah? If us finding peace created her, what happens when we leave?" he asked looking down at the toddler as she played with her birthday dress Shelia and Rudy brought.
"I don't know," Bonnie said feeling an intense aching building in the pit of her stomach. She caressed Sarah's face and the little girl grabbed Bonnie's hand and rubbed her face against it.
"Are you okay with that? Because it doesn't look that way," Damon said matter-of-factly as he noted the moment the pair shared.
Bonnie wouldn't lie, she felt connected to Sarah. Call it mother's intuition or whatever but she couldn't imagine leaving Sarah behind. The moment she held the girl in her arms she felt connected to her. Sarah just felt like hers. "And what about you all of a sudden you're Mr. Mom," Bonnie snorted.
"No but we can't just leave her and never look back. I maybe a serial killer, but I'm not sick Bennett," he said lifting Sarah up after he put her diaper and tights on. "We're all she has and if we leave with everyone than she's an orphan. All alone in this world," he said kissing her cheek.
"I got that Damon," she said frustrated.
"I don't think you do Bonnie. We both had pretty shitty parents and the fact that you could leave her like Abby left you i-"
"Don't you dare go there with me Damon."
"What? Afraid of the truth."
"I'm serious," she yelled.
"Did you even stop a moment in your quest to get back to Jeremy to notice that your only daughter will experience a life with a mother? Hunh Bonnie?" he yelled as Sarah started to cry.
"Look at what you did," Bonnie said putting the dress on Sarah so they could leave.
"Don't you dare touch her," Damon said taking the girl and rocking her like he used to do with Stefan. It had been a long time since he held a baby, but it all came back naturally as he did it.
"Oh so you're just going to shield her from me now?"
"You're the one trying to kill her."
"That's not what I want Damon. I just want to go home to our lives. No matter how bad it seemed, that's where we belong. Do you really think they will be okay without us?"
"Alaric's back, they have each other. We're it for her. That's all I know that's all that matters."
"And what about Elena?" Bonnie asked knowing he would never give Elena up.
"I'm not saying that, I'm saying we can't just up and leave and not think about what's going to happen to Sarah. I'm surprised I have to explain that to you," he said giving Bonnie a look as if he didn't know who she was.
"Wow," Bonnie said taken aback.
"What?" he asked.
"You found something more important than Elena," Qetsiyah said.
"And way cuter," Katherine grinned next to her. "Thank god she looks like you Bon-bon."
"You've got to be kidding me," Damon groaned.
