While Your Were Sleeping – Part II
And is there a God up there?
So, where does He hide?
'Cause the devil is raging inside my mind
And is there a moment when it all makes sense?
When saying goodbye, doesn't feel like the end?
Amen
Amen
Amen, amen
…
2044 – Present Day:
Elena glanced around the property. There was no one here. She tried the door, and it was locked…for the first time ever. With a sigh, she headed back down the driveway and walked aimlessly towards town. She couldn't even go home…because she'd burnt it to the ground.
Walking down the main street, Elena took in all the changes of her small town. The biggest being that the Grill didn't have a giant hole in the side of it anymore.
"Elena?" Her head snapped in the direction of the voice and she smiled at the man walking across the street.
"Matt!" She ran into his arms, and he hugged her back tightly. She pulled back to look at him. He was much older than she remembered; silver speckled in his beard and hair, laugh lines around his eyes. "Look at you…Sheriff Donovan." She tapped his badge affectionately. "You sure have grown up."
He chuckled. "Yeah, kids will do that to you. I'll be a grandpa soon…My oldest is due in a few weeks."
Tears sprung to her eyes. "Oh my God, Matt…that's amazing." She'd missed so much. She could see the redness in his eyes and could tell that he'd been crying. "Um…Bonnie?"
He swallowed, ducking his head. "A few days ago. I actually just left the funeral. There's a few of us meeting at Caroline and Ric's…I can take you."
Elena's brows shot up. "Caroline and Ric?"
He winced. "It's a long story. Come on…I'll tell you all about it on the way over."
2022 – Twenty-Three Years Ago:
"Reggie!" Bonnie called out after him, following him out the door of the house and away from prying eyes and ears. Caroline's Friendsgiving party was in full swing and the last thing she wanted was to make a scene. "Reggie, can you just wait a second!"
He stopped and turned to her on the porch, letting out a heavy exhale. "I can't do this anymore, Bonnie."
Her jaw dropped, stunned. "What? Can't do what anymore?"
"This!" He gestured between them. "I've tried so hard to get through to you, but you just keep pushing me further back. I love you! I want you to move in with me and you can't even commit to having a toothbrush at my place." This whole fight had started after dinner over a few drinks.
.
"So Bonnie…" Ric started leaning back in his chair. "It's going to be nice having you around campus now. I know the girls will love having you around every day." He smiled. He was happy that she finally came to him for a job at the school after years of her turning him down.
"Yeah! I'm excited! It's the new start I needed, and luckily, I don't have much of a commute." She joked sipping her wine.
"So, you're staying at the boarding house?" Ric's eyes darted between Reggie and Damon, before continuing slowly. "This new start doesn't include getting your own place?"
"Ric…" Caroline hissed, widening her eyes in warning.
"Yeah right. Like she'd give up all of that for a dinky old apartment on the wrong side of town. Plus, Bonnie loves living with me. Don't you, Bon?"
A fact that she hadn't exactly explained in full to Reggie. Sure, he knew that had a roommate, but with the tension already between them, she had no intention of telling him who that roommate was. She spent most nights at Reggie's anyways.
.
Bonnie sighed closing her eyes. It was still hard to hear those words, mostly because she knew she couldn't say it back. So, like every other time she just skirted around it. "It's not that I don't want to move in with you, Reggie, I'm just not ready for that yet."
He scoffed. "But you'll live with Damon."
Hr shoulders straightened as she got defensive. "That's different!" She'd been living at the boarding house for years now, even though she could have easily gotten her own place, but having Damon around brought her comfort, and she knew he felt the same.
"Why?!" He shook his head as he paced. "What is it with you and Damon, Bonnie? Why is it, that he gets parts of you that I can barely reach?"
She blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
"Whenever you're upset, he's the one you call. If you have good news, he's the first to find out. He calls you in the middle of the night, and you talk to him for hours and that doesn't even seem to bother you. There are secrets between you that I will never know; he knows you better than anyone." He shrugged dejectedly. "How can I compete with that?"
"He's my friend, you knew that when I met you! It's not a competition!" She snapped back.
"Yes it is. Because when it comes to him," he pointed in the house. "You can't see straight. It doesn't matter what it is, if he asks you, you'll do it."
Bonnie dragged a hand over her face tiredly. "My friendship with Damon is complicated."
"Okay." He straightened his stance and crossed his arms. "Explain it to me. Because I don't get it."
Just as she was opening her mouth to speak, the door opened and Damon was on the other side. Reggie laughed humorlessly, turning away with a shake of his head. Bonnie winced, turning to him. "Um…now's not a good time, Damon."
He was instantly worried, canting his head to catch her downturned gaze. "You okay?" he asked quietly, only for her to hear the gentleness in his tone.
She nodded, knowing he'd hear the lie in her voice. "Can you just give us a few minutes?" She pleaded.
He turned a cold glare to Reggie. "Mhm." He grumbled, low in his throat. When he looked back down to her, his gaze softened. "I'm right here, if you need anything."
The door closed, and Bonnie let out an exhausted plume of breath in the cold air. "I'm sorry…" she began, in reference to the interruption, but Reggie interjected.
"Yeah…me too." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You don't see it yet…but one day you will and I don't think I want to be there for it." He mumbled defeatedly.
"You're not making any sense! Look, I don't want to lose you." She reached for his hands and squeezed them in hers.
He looked her in the eyes. "But you don't love me." He watched her brows slant, and the guilt wash over her face, and knew that he was right. He leaned in with a kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye Bonnie." His hands slipped out of hers and he rushed down the steps.
Bonnie waited until he was out of sight before plopping down on the porch steps, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't cry. She should be crying, shouldn't she? She didn't know how long she sat there, but when the door opened behind her, and she heard the footsteps coming towards her, Bonnie didn't need to turn to know if was Damon.
He sat down beside her, sitting in comfortable silence. "Where's Reggie?"
She huffed a laugh. "Gone. We broke up…he broke up with me." She swung her gaze to him finally, and shrugged a dejected shoulder.
He rested his hand on hers. "Are you okay?" He wasn't usually the comforting type, but his rules tended to bend when in came to her.
She nodded with a weak smile. "I will be. But I'm not really ready to go in there and…" She trailed off seeing him nod in understanding.
He shrugged out of his jacket, and slipped it over her shoulders, and when he wrapped an arm around her, she easily leaned into him resting her head on his shoulder. He kissed the crown of her hair, before resting his cheek there. "We can stay out here as long as you want."
…
2023 – Six Months Later:
Bonnie woke up to the sound of pounding music coming from downstairs and tiredly rubbed her face as she flipped the blankets off and padded downstairs, barefoot and in an old Nirvana shirt and pajama shorts. As she got closer, and the music got louder, she recognized if as an old school Ice Cube track. Her eyes rolled indulgently as she shuffled into the kitchen, and she couldn't stop the laugh that shook her frame.
"What are you doing? Besides making a huge mess of the kitchen." She yelled over the music, crossing her arms and cocking her hip out.
"Morning sleepyhead!" Damon was at the stove, flipping pancakes, covered in flour, in his 'kiss the chef's apron, and wearing a red plaid shirt underneath. He greeted her with a giant grin extending his arms out in a grand gesture. "It's May 10th." He shrugged as if it was obvious before pouring her what looked to be a mimosa and walking around the island to bring it to her, turning the music down a few notches on the way. "And not only that…it's our ten-year anniversary from the prison world. Well, last year was, but you were seeing what's his name and were otherwise occupied. So…" He handed her the glass, and grabbed one of his own. "We're celebrating!"
She broke out in a smile, clinking her glass with his before they each took a sip. She hadn't seen him like this in a while; happy, smiling instead of smirking, genuine instead of sarcastic, but the last few weeks he'd been in an exceptionally good mood. "You seem awfully chipper this morning."
"I am! Because I realized something." He moved quickly around the island, grabbing another plaid shirt, in blue, and tossed it to her. She caught it with a chuckle, wrapping it around her waist. "I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be fine living a human life, without Elena." She stared at him stunned into silence. He didn't often start a conversation about Elena willingly; and even when Bonnie would mention her name, his wall came up, and he'd awkwardly skirt around the conversation. "When I became human, I couldn't think of a more miserable way to spend the rest of my life without her, but you helped me through the worst of it, and I think I'm going to be okay. Whether I get to see her again…" he swallowed painfully with a wince. "Or I don't."
He was staring right at her, and she knew that he truly believed that. It wouldn't be the first time Damon had tried to convince her that he was fine, and not about to jump off the deep end, but this was the first time she saw the full acceptance of the reality of his situation. "Wow…" She bit down on her lips, casting her eyes to the floor briefly, before looking back up. "That's a big step. What brought this on?"
"I got a second chance at life, Bon. I have the rare opportunity to do it all over again; to Elena, to Stefan…this was a gift." His throat tightened. "And somehow, I got it so I'm not about to let it go to waste."
She nodded in agreement, waving him in for a hug, which he walked into easily, curling an arm around her shoulders. "I'm proud of you." She whispered. "I know that wasn't easy to come to terms with."
"Nope." Damon huffed resting his cheek on the top of her head. "But I need to." There was a short pause before he spoke up again, in a more lighthearted tone, signally that he was done with the sappy talk. "So, breakfast?"
"Yes! I'm starving!" They pulled apart, and they both slipped back into their usual picture-perfect conversation; with Bonnie at the stool and Damon cooking for her. That's what she felt like their relationship was sometimes, like a picture; that every so often they break out and get real and serious with each other then step back into the frame and pick up right where they left off.
…
2024 – Ten Months Later:
"I'm coming with you." Bonnie confirmed sternly as she watched Damon pack a bag on his bed.
"No, you aren't. Ric needs you here; the girls need you." He countered, moving around his room. She'd become head of the occults department, and worked closely with Lizzie and Josie with trying to control and manage their siphoning.
"You need me, Damon. What if you run into trouble? You shouldn't be doing this alone." She felt panic rise in her chest at the thought.
He smiled with ease. "Bon, I'm going to be fine. It's strictly recon. Caroline and Ric have been trying to find a solution to the Gemini merge for years now and this is the first lead they got. I'm just going to check it out." He could see the concern, and he came over squeezing her shoulders reassuringly. "I'll be back before you know it."
…
Two Weeks Later:
"It's been too long, Caroline. He's not answering my calls or texts and last night, I had this terrible dream…" She swallowed back the tremor of fear that racked her body as it flashed before her eyes again. "Something's wrong." Bonnie had the phone clutched between her shoulder and her ear as she shoved her grimoire and a few other belongings into a duffel bag.
"He's in Guatemala, Bonnie, maybe he lost reception." The vampire tried to rationalize, but there was still uncertainty in her tone.
"He never even made it there. I just did a locator spell and he's in Louisiana." She sighed. "I'm worried. He's human, Care…but he's still Damon and you and I both know that if he runs into trouble he's going to try and deal with it on his own."
"Bonnie-"
"I'm going after him. He'd do the same for me." She stated with finality, swinging the bag over her shoulder. "Tell Ric that Georgia will cover me until I get back."
There was a long, drawn-out sigh on the other end from Caroline, knowing there was nothing she could say to change her mind. "Please be careful. And bring him home safely."
…
It was only a couple days later when Damon burst through the doors of the school, frantically looking for Bonnie. "Bonnie!"
Ric came running in, with Caroline in tow, concern all over their faces. "Damon…what happened to you?" he looked him up and down, noticing his ripped clothes and bloodstained shirt.
"Where's Bonnie?" He was panting, glancing around and drawing the attention of a few of the students.
Caroline's eyes widened. "She went looking for you." She grabbed his arm and led him into Ric's office. "What happened!?"
"The lead was a trap. It was never about the Gemini merge." He took the glass of bourbon Ric poured him and took a big sip.
"What! What are you talking about? I got the lead from a reliable source." Caroline questioned with a furrowed brow.
Damon glanced at her. "Well, whoever it was has an ulterior motive."
"So then what was it about?" Ric asked leaning against his desk, eyeing his friend in concern.
Damon met his eyes with a look of fear and anger all wrapped together. "Bonnie. They want Bonnie…and they used me to draw her out. I was able to get away, but just barely. Where did she go?"
"She said her locator spell placed you in Louisiana." Damon stood, handing Ric his glass as he headed for the door. "Damon! Where are you going?"
"To find Bonnie!" He turned back to her his face the picture of rage. "How could you let her go after me on her own, Caroline! She has had a target on her back since she did that hellfire spell and now, she's out there by herself!"
"She was worried about you, Damon! Do you think I would have been able to stop her?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.
"You could have tried!" He yelled back. "Knock some sense into her."
Caroline let out a humorless laugh. "Bonnie doesn't have sense when it comes to you! She doesn't see reason, or think logically, all she knows is that you're in trouble and she needs to do something about it."
"And now Bonnie's in trouble." He told her with an unwavering stare that portrayed that he intended to do the same. "She's always been there for me. I'm not going to be the one that let's her down. I'm going."
Ric sighed, running a hand over his face. "You don't even know where to start." Damon's eyes slid to him. "I'll get a team on tracking her down. We'll update you on the way."
"Thanks." He headed for the door, but Caroline's voice stopped him.
"Damon…I know what Bonnie means to you." He frowned slightly wondering where she was going with this. "Maybe it's time you tell her. Before it's too late." She offered in a gentle smile of understanding, and he thought on it for a few moments, processing, before nodding once and walking away.
Ric's brow furrowed. "What was that about?"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "He's in love with her, you dumbass." She explained plainly, patting his chest.
…
It was quiet. Too quiet for a bar in New Orleans, even if it was a dive bar. There was no one here, but this is where her locator spell brought her. Damon was here, he had to be. "Hello? Damon?" She glanced around, walking deeper into the room.
The sound of footsteps creaking on the old floorboards caught her attention, and she spun around to face it, seeing a silhouette come forth from the shadows. "Wow…" came the soft purr of a woman's voice. "That was easier than I thought it would be." She chuckled to herself. "I knew he was your weak spot, but this is a little pathetic. A few implanted dreams, a misdirected locator spell…child's play really."
Bonnie narrowed her eyes at the woman, trying to make out her face. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Fabienne." Bonne gave no reaction. "My mother was Bastianna Natale." She said as if it were obvious.
The younger witch shrugged uninterestedly. "Never heard of her."
Fabienne huffed with a snarl of her lips. "See that's the problem with you new age witches. You have no idea the true origin of your power. My mother was an Elder – a direct contact to the Ancestors. But ever since she died, at the hands of your little vampire friends, I've lost my connection to them." She explained bitterly.
Bonnie had heard through Freya of the war between the and the vampires in the Quarter, and the ultimate demise of the resurrected witches and their power. She tipped her chin up. "What do you want with Damon?"
She laughed. "I don't want Damon; I just knew he was the key to getting to you. Sneaky little bastard figured it out and got away before I could really have some fun. I guess that's why you should never send someone to do something you can do yourself. But oh well…it still got you here, didn't it."
Bonnie was able to sigh in relief knowing Damon was okay. "Then what do you want with me?"
"There was a time when the witches in the Quarter were a force to be reckoned with; no one would dare challenge them. Then Niklaus and the vampires came along and changed that, and even as we strived to return to power, it was still being taken from us." She pinned Bonnie with a glare. "By a tiny little Bennett witch in Mystic Falls."
Bonnie snorted in laughter. "Really? You're threatened by me? Why? I have nothing against the witches in the Quarter."
Fabienne stepped forward. "Your power is boundless, and yet you waste it on teaching children how to float feathers and do locator spells! You're better than that! If the witches around here had even half the power you have, we'd be unstoppable!"
"Stalker much?" the younger witch quipped.
Fabienne's glare darkened as she stepped closer menacingly. "I want what you have, and I'll do just about anything to get it." Bonnie raised her arm to incapacitate Fabienne, but her magic wasn't working. "Sorry, hun, but your magic doesn't work here. Mystical forcefield; it was the first big spell I ever learned. What was yours?" she asked conversationally with a cant of her head. Bonnie looked around for an easy exit. "Try, I dare you."
Bonnie bolted for the door but was slammed back, falling to the ground hard. With a groan, she rolled over, and pushed herself up. "So this is your plan? Trap me here until I give you my magic? It's not going to happen. You'll have to kill me first."
"That can be arranged. But first…" she pulled a knife out from behind her back, and waved it at her, letting it glimmer in the light. "Let's play a game."
…
"Well…isn't this a surprise." Klaus smirked, folding his hands behind his back, greeting Damon in the front foyer.
Damon stared at him deadpanned. "Is it? Because I'm fairly sure Caroline called to tell you I was coming. Look, Klaus, I don't have much time to work with here, Bonnie's in trouble, Caroline said you could help me with a witch." He got to the point impatiently.
"Freya!" He called out, his eyes never leaving Damon. As she walked down the stairs, he gestured to Damon. "Freya, dear this is Damon Salvatore. Damon this is my sister Freya."
She greeted him with a pleasant smile. "I know you. You're Stefan's brother." She shook his hand, and her eyes widened. "And you're human. Fascinating. Well, I understand that time is of the essence here so let's get to work. Did you bring something of Bonnie's?"
Damon nodded, pulling out Ms. Cuddles from his duffel bag. "Careful with this…it's important to her."
Freya smiled in understanding. "No problem." She nodded for him to follow her, and he did with urgency.
"Good luck." Klaus called out to him, causing Damon to look back. "Despite my history with the young witch, I wish no harm to her now."
Damon nodded, following Freya into the garden.
…
"Come on, Bonnie! Just give it up already!" Fabienne was crouched down in front of her waving the bloodied knife around. It had been hours since she trapped Bonnie here, and no matter what she said or the pain she inflicted, Bonnie wouldn't budge. "I don't want to do this, we're witches, we should be like family. But you keep fighting it. Just give me what I want and you can go home…safe to your bed, living your mediocre life."
Bonnie coughed up blood, spitting it at Fabienne's feet. "I'm not giving you my magic. And you can kill me, but then you'll never get what you want." Bonnie smirked with bloodied teeth. "I'm going to get out of here…and when I do, I'm going to kill you myself." Even through the broken arm, and the bruised cheekbone and the multiple shallow cuts across her body, Bonnie stayed strong, oozing confidence.
Fabienne groaned in annoyance, pushing to her feet and pacing. "You are a hard nut to break, you know that?" she said pointing the knife at her recklessly. "You're not the first witch that's been in this position…but they were much more cooperative." She shot her a sly smirk. "I'm a bit of a collector or sorts."
"And let me guess…I'm the holy grail." Bonnie chuckled in manically. Of course…this was just her luck. Out of all the times her life had been on the line, it was never because of her. It was always because she was trying to save someone else.
…
Freya stopped in front of the building, holding a hand up for Damon to stop. "This is it. She's in here." She placed her hand on the door and jumped back as if she was burned. "Damn it. There's a barrier keeping us out…and keeping her in."
Damon tried to look in the dirty windows. "What do we do?"
She thought for a moment before dropping her bag. "I can break it from outside, but I can't go in."
"Why?" He turned to her.
"Because this isn't my spell. I can only counter it temporarily, but if I stop, I won't be able to keep the barrier open long enough to get you two out. You'll have to go alone. Can you handle it?" She asked with concern.
He nodded. "I may be human, but I still know how to fight. As long as Bonnie gets out that's all that matters."
She nodded back. "Wait for my signal." She started chanting quietly with her eyes closed, holding her hands up to the invisible barrier. A few minutes passed, but to Damon it felt like hours as he paced, his hands flexing at his sides. "Okay…it's down. But she's not alone, there's another witch in there, I can feel it. Be careful."
He entered slowly, quietly, calculated, skirting the darkened shadows of the building as he followed the sound of voices. It wasn't long before he saw them, a woman pacing and waving a knife around as she spoke, and Bonnie…battered and half leaning against a wall. Rage filled him, and his jaw tensed. He snuck up behind her, and she was too consumed with her rant to notice. Catching Bonnie's eyes, he brought a finger to his lips. His boot creaked on the floor, and Eva turned, but Damon was quick to react; all in one fluid movement, he threw a left hook that had her crumbling to the floor, the knife clattering as it slipped from her hand, and Damon dropped down to Bonnie looking her over and assessing her wounds.
"Hey…hey, I'm here. I'm going to get you out of here. Okay?" He cradled her face in his hands, watching the relief shine in her eyes.
But Fabienne pushed to her feet, using her magic to throw Damon back. "You two are just a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" She laughed wiping the blood from her mouth. Her arm shot up, and she squeeze a fist, choking Damon and raising him in the air. "Maybe this will inspire some motivation."
"Damon!" Bonnie cried out desperately. With every ounce of strength that she had left, Bonnie scrambled to her feet, grabbing the knife with her good hand, cradling her broken arm to her chest and lunging at Fabienne stabbing her through the back. When the other witch cried out in a wheezing breath, her hold on Damon dropped, and he fell to the floor gasping for air. But Bonnie didn't stop; she stabbed her repeatedly, sobs wrenching from her as she did, until Damon came and pulled her off.
"Bonnie! Bonnie…it's over, she's dead." He tried to calm her down, pulling her into his arms and letting her bury her face in his chest. "You're going to be okay." He cooed softly in her ear, soothingly running his hands over her hair and back.
She finally pulled back to look at him. "I thought I lost you…" she whispered, before the exhaustion kicked in and she passed out.
"Bon…Bonnie?!" Damon lifted her lolling head, patting her cheek gently. "Wake up! Fuck!" He stood, cradling her easily in his arms and rushing her out of the building.
…
"KLAAAUS!" Damon yelled as they entered the compound. He zipped down the stairs in an instant as Damon was laying Bonnie down on the large dining table. "She's hurt, she needs blood. Please!"
Klaus didn't hesitate. It wasn't often that Damon pleaded, let alone looked desperate for his help, and by the looks of it, Bonnie was near death. Lifting her head, the hybrid bit down on his wrist, and fed her his blood. They all breathed a sigh of relief when she grabbed his arm, and drank on her own.
When she came to, and her eyes met Damon's she leaped off the table and straight into his arms, clinging to him. He squeezed his eyes shut against the tears that pooled in them, and clutched her tightly to him, as his worse fears were finally out of sight.
…
Damon waited as Bonnie took a shower in one of the rooms in Klaus' compound, his thoughts running wild as he sat in silence. He stood when the door opened, and she came out, hair still damp, dressed in the clothes Freya had left for her, and with a somber, solemn look on her face. He swallowed, waiting for her to say something; he knew that when the reality set in, she'd feel the guilt hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Are you okay?" He asked when several minutes went by.
She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I shouldn't even feel bad about it. She was going to kill you, she wanted to kill me. But I've never…" She trailed off, dropping her head as she bit down hard on her lower lip.
Damon walked over slowly, nodding sympathetically. "I know…I know." He pulled her in, tucking her head under his chin.
"I'd do it again if I had to." She mumbled against his chest, before pulled back to look up at him. "It if meant saving your life."
He traced his knuckles gently over where the bruising on her face used to be, the guilt weighing heavy on him. "I never want to put you in a position where you have to make that choice again. You shouldn't have to bend your morals for me."
"But that's the thing…I didn't even have to think about it. It was like some other part of me took over and made the choice for me." The tears fell from her eyes, and Damon caught one with his thumb. "Thank you, Damon…for coming for me." Her voice broke on her words.
"Hey…" Both of his hands cradled her face, forcing her to look up at him. "I'm always going to be there for you, Bonnie. No matter what it is, or how far I have to go or what's waiting for me on the other side." His eyes darted back and forth between hers. "We're a team, remember?" She nodded, a watery smile pulling on her lips. His heart started to race; the words were right on the tip of his tongue…
There was a knock on the door frame and Freya appeared, and the two separated awkwardly. "Caroline called. I gave her an update, but she wants to talk to you Bonnie." She held out the phone for her, and Bonnie ambled over, taking the phone and putting it to her ear.
"Hey, Care. Yeah, I'm fine." Her eyes met Damon's. "We're both okay. I'll explain everything when we get home. Caroline…we're okay." She reassured as the blonde on the other line rambled her concerns. "We'll be heading back soon. Okay. Love you too…bye." She hung up and handed the phone back to Freya. "Thank you…for everything."
She smiled. "Don't mention it. If you two every need anything…our doors are always open." She shared one last look with Damon before leaving the room.
Bonnie tucked her hair behind her ears. "We should head out…before it gets dark."
Damon nodded in agreement. "I'll pull the car around…I'll meet you downstairs?" There was a part of him that was hesitant of even letting her out of his sight, but he could tell she was fighting her own thoughts, and he also wanted to give her the space to sort them out for herself.
She shot him a weak smile. "Yeah…thanks." He turned to leave but she stopped him. "Damon…" She couldn't say the words, because 'thank you' didn't seem to be enough, but the look on her face told him how grateful she was.
And the look he gave her back told her he understood.