A.N. Hey all! Just dropping in to say thank you for your continue support of this story! Your words always brighten my day. I'm here with the next chapter, it's got a little bit of everything in it, so I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 35: Outstretched hands, linking hands and lots of heart
In my mind, I had prepared myself for just about everything. I had expected the sight before me to be gruesome, bloody and even filled with gore. But what I saw once opening the door, it was far worse because it was real.
Stepping into the dimly lit room, I see my best friend looking worst than death. He had lost so much weight in the time he had been here with Enzo, his lips were purple and his skin, the usual alabaster which always had hints of olive in it, was ghostly pale, he looked like death.
He was dying. The spell that had been cast, it was killing him, becoming human was killing him.
"Damon!" I call, fleeing the warmth and safety of Klaus and rushing over to my friend. "Please, Damon, wake up!" I urge sitting on the barren floor and lifting his head onto my lap. "Wake up!" I say again this time near hysterics. "Damn it, you owe me after all the hell you put me through and all the shit you've dragged me through! Now wake up." I shake at him roughly this time, on the verge of using magic to wake him up when steely eyes blink slowly and then he's looking back at me.
"Bon," He nearly chokes out. His hand reaches out to touch my face. "You're here, tell me this is real?" He asks as fresh tears slide down his cheeks and onto my leg.
It's a rare sight to see Damon this emotional, originally his only care had been split between Stefan and Elena, somehow I ended up on his very short list of people he cared about and vice versa.
With watery eyes, I smile down at him, my hands sinking into wet hair. It was like the moment he realized I was here a fever hit with a wrath of a scorned lover. Or the wrath of that bitch and Enzo. "I'm here." I admit, my voice shaking with every word. "Through thick or thin."
From across the room I look over to Klaus who has an unreadable look on his face, as he watches on. Our eyes lock and hold for what seems like several minutes when Damon coughs causing me to look back down at him. Blood pours from his mouth causing my stomach to churn.
"Promise me, you won't leave." Damon rasps, his eyes blinking slowly. "I'm tired Bon, stay with me." Damon swallows difficultly. "Stay with me till I fall asleep."
Cradling him, I jolt him a bit. "You can't go to sleep!" I say panicked. "I'm here now." I remind him, trying to find the lightness that often occurs between us.
Once again he opens steely blue eyes. "You always come back." Damon says with a soft smile on his blood stained teeth.
"I always will." Pause. "We're friends. I got your back." I whisper.
"And I got your front." Damon says reaching for my hand and holding it.
I swallow hard, tears threatening to fall from my eyes.
"Klaus," I call feeling something in the air shift. "He's not going to last long." I say shaking my head. The new anchor, she's here and she's ready to let him pass through her." Pause. "Please, help him."
Klaus who had been watching us the whole time walks further into the room. His eyes are shifting from denim blue to amber.
KM-KM
Klaus
This had been the most difficult thing for him to witness in a very long time. Though he had known that Bonnie had grown close to Damon and vice versa, it was different seeing it in real time.
He didn't like the way the Salvatore looked at his lady, he didn't like the closeness that they shared, the mere fact that the Salvatore even on his death bed was still able to wield his own brand of magic on Bonnie was even more upsetting. In the back of his mind, he could hear Mikael laughing at him, telling him he'd never be enough for someone like Bonnie Bennett. That he was a passing phase that would end soon.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed down the doubt and focused on Bonnie. He didn't like seeing how very sad she looked. He couldn't bare to see her so sad, so he did what needed to be done to make sure Bonnie was happy.
Walking over to the two of them he holds eyes with Bonnie. "This is for you, and you only." He says reaching out to catch her chin. When he lifts her chin up, he catches her lips. Part of him kisses her to stake his claim, the other part of him does it, to remind her of what they have and how good it is, and how much better it could be.
When he pulls back her vivid green, eyes are shining with something, something he had been searching for– for a very long time, something that calms his raging doubts down.
"Thank you." She whispers as he nuzzles her forehead with his. He would love to bask in that moment but a whiny Salvatore is well, whining like the baby he is.
"Just the tip is all you get." He says before biting into the tip of his finger. Of course the Salvatore makes everything more agonizing then it needs to be, but in the end he's done his good deed and soon the twit will be on the verge of mending. Who knows if the idiot will be able to last the remainder of the spell, 48 hrs is a lot for someone of likes of Damon, but he did his good deed and what happened next was all on Damon.
He can only slow smile, hoping to never having to encounter a certain Salvatore again.
DS-DS-DS
Damon
When he comes to, he's not surprised to see Bonnie. She had been the angel that had steered him away from the anchor who had been calling out to him. What surprises him, is that Klaus is still with her. The sight of the two of them sitting close, fingers brushing together as Bonnie has her head resting on Klaus is nearly enough for him to vomit. And when he sits up, he just might vomit.
This fleeting fling with Klaus was supposed to be fleeting, but as he watches them, he notices how the hybrid massages her shoulders. He watches as Bonnie rolls her head back into Klaus and the hybrid dares to kiss her forehead. Fingers intertwine giving off a semblance of intimacy that has his blood pressure rising. He had never held hands with any of his fuck buddies, nor did he engage in any type of cuddling. Bonnie had certainly broken all the rules of a fling.
Annoyed he looks around. The beeping sound of the machines to his left causes him to frown. He hated hospitals! He hates the bright lights, the smell of chemicals and the constant reminder that death is a bitch, at least while human. Irritated at everything but mostly the budding relationship of Bonnie and Klaus, he pushes himself till he's almost sitting "I'm alive." He says loudly interrupting them. "Good."
"You're awake!" Bonnie says a bright smile on her face. Despite the fact that Klaus hovers like a dark cloud he finds himself grinning at her.
"Thanks to you." Grin. "You saved me like you always do." He says gratefully when she makes her way over to him. If he had been a dog, his tail would've been wagging.
"It wasn't just me Damon." Bonnie says sitting at the foot of the bed. "It took a bit of help from everyone, but" She says looking back at Klaus fondly and then him again. "Klaus, he's the reason you're still here." She says biting her lip. "He gave you his blood which healed you of all your ailments."
He hitches his mouth up in a smirk. "You say all my aliments but I'm still human."
"Yeah, you're human which means you've gotta take it easy till the serum and spell wears off completely." She says placing her hand on his leg.
He looks over to Klaus who has this smug look on his face as he stands close to Bonnie.
"Since my blood is superior you should be feeling much better." Klaus smugly answers as if anyone asked him a thing.
He grits his teeth. "I'm fine, but I'd feel much better if I could talk to Bonnie alone."
He knew he just about stepped in shit when Bonnie narrowed her eyes his way. "Damon are you seriously not going to thank him?"
He rubs his hand through his face. "I'm sure you'll thank him enough for both us, but if I can spare you I will." He says dryly.
"Don't start." Bonnie says in that way that sounds like scolding him and never fails to make him twitch.
He rolls steely eyes. "Fine." He says looking at Bonnie then at Klaus. "Thank you Klaus, for doing what you did, if you hadn't, I wouldn't be here and to breakup the team Bamon is truly a travesty."
Twin eye rolls.
"Are you quoting Caroline?" Bonnie asks her face bright and smile contagious.
"Don't ever tell her, but Bamon does roll off the tongue nicely." Eyebrow wiggle.
She swipes at her face but still he can see a smile. "You're a mess."
"I know." He grins.
KM-KM
Klaus
After spending the right amount of time to make sure Damon Salvatore had known that Bonnie was his, he soon joins his family at the bar for a round of drinks.
Flashback
As soon as the pariah known as Damon Salvatore is awake, the doctor and nurse are in to check in on him. This of course gives him a chance to steal a moment with Bonnie. She's happy, unbelievably happy. Her enchanting green eyes dance with a giddiness that had been missing thanks to Lorenzo.
He pulls her close to him, his arms wrapped around her waist bringing him flush against him. "You look happy."
She grins a smile that has him grinning back at her like a silly boy. "I'm so happy!" She reveals, her hands cupping his face. "And it's all because of you." Pause. "Nobody has ever went out on a limb for me, like you have."
He wants to tell her that he would do anything for her, as long as she continued looking at him like she was now.
"Well then it as a pleasure." He says as she leans up on her tip toes her mouth sealing over his. The flame that always comes to life between them, makes him feel like it's just the two of them. He grips her close as she hugs him close, her head on the heart that she has brought back to life.
End of flashback
Marcel claps his hand on his shoulder causing him to look at his son. "Aren't you looking like a very proud boyfriend." Marcel muses. "Your girl did good." Marcel says holding up his beer in a toast.
He shrugs into his beer. "What can I say, she is a Bennett witch." Is his reply. His lips curve into a grin as he thinks about said Bennett witch. He can still taste her on his tongue, still feel the warmth she brings with her.
Rebekah who had been talking with Elijah at the jukebox saunters over with Elijah in tow. "You should've seen her in action Klaus, she's quite the lethal little force." Pause. "I get it now, what you see in her, she's a fighter." Grin. "If you want her, really want her, then be with her."
Rebekah says tilting her head to the side.
"I second that." Marcel joins in his arm around Rebekah. "We've all lived far too long to live this life out alone at this stage in our lives. If Bonnie is that person, your person, hold onto her." Marcel says placing a kiss to Rebekah hand. "Hold onto her for as long as you can."
All eyes turn to Elijah who stands stiff as a board.
He on the other hand finishes his beer off. "I'll be in touch to let you know, when we'll be leaving." He says hopping off the stool and bumping his shoulder into Elijah on his way out.
BB-BB-BB
Bonnie
Soon enough everyone has come to see Damon, well except for Stefan who has this surprise that Damon seems just about giddy over. Lucy and Vincent file in medical room as a nurse checks his vitals. For the first time in a long time, I feel at ease, that it until I see that Stefan is calling me.
With an eye roll on horizon, I answer the phone. I found Stefan to nauseating to deal with as of late and only did it when necessary. This of course was a necessity. The things I did for Damon Salvatore.
Phone Call
"Stefan." I deadpan while stepping out of the room and leaving Damon alone with Lucy and Vincent, the latter who seemed to have the best impact on the forty- eight hour human.
"Hi Bonnie." Stefan mummers into the phone. "How is he?" Stefan asks getting to the point.
"He's good, right now he and Vincent are back to being long lost besties." I say smiling into the phone at the mere thought.
"That's good." Stefan says pausing. "I wanna thank you for what you did, Vincent he was able to use my connection with Damon and we saw everything." Pause. "You were his light."
I lean against the wall. "Yeah well, Damon is my friend and with the help of Klaus he's awake now."
Silence
"I'll be sure to thank him. But for you I have something a little more personal."
I can't help but suck my teeth, but when I hear Caroline on the other end tears spring from eyes. I really needed my girl! "Caroline!"
"Aww Bon, I'm right here and soon enough we'll be sipping wine and catching up." Grin. "I've got everything already planned! I can't wait to see you!" Caroline rushes out in that Caroline way.
"I can't wait either!" I say hanging up the phone.
End of phone call
KM-KM
Klaus
When he returns to the hospital he's not surprised at all that Lucy and Vincent are in the waiting room.
"Is she still in with him?" He asks stopping short of the two close friends who have their heads together talking about the plan to drive back home together. It's no secret that Lucy had wanted nothing to do with Elijah and riding with Vincent would give the elder Bennett a chance to get some much needed space from her ex fling.
Lucy is the first one to speak, looking him up and down a smirk on her lips. "Hello to you too Klaus."
He doesn't budge. "Lucy." He then looks over to Vincent. "Vincent."
"She's actually trying to get him to stay in the hospital for two days." Vincent says shaking his head. The warlock has his hands folded in front of him as he finally sits back in his chair. "They've been going rounds and rounds over it." Vincent say not able to hide a smirk.
He rolls blue eyes. "He loves being the center of her attention."He says saying everything everyone else was thinking.
Lucy looks down at her nails. "He did look pretty happy." Pause. "But so did she."
"We'll, leave it to me to bust his bubble." He says walking in the direction of the room.
Without even knocking he walks into the room where Bonnie and Damon are in conversation.
"Seriously!" Bonnie says throwing her hands up in the air. " You need to check out right now, some hours later you were on your deathbed and instead of staying in the hospital where you're safe, you want to leave?"
Damon gets out of bed slowly. "You know how much I hate hospitals!' Damon retorts with a wrinkled nose. "Besides a bit of hybrid blood has already healed everything, I just have to be human for a however many hours is left."
Bonnie then puts her fingers on her forehead. "Do you realize you've got enemies everywhere?"
"Well then, you can be my personal, and I do mean personal bodyguard." Damon says wiggling his eyebrows.
He clears his throat having heard enough.
"Klaus." Bonnie says a bright smile on her face as she walks over to hug him. He keeps his arms around her meeting steely blue eyes. "Did you thank everyone for me." Bonnie says looking up at him.
"They were happy to help, the Mikaelson family sticks together, and once your in with us, you're family to." He says reminiscent of the words Marcel had said earlier.
Just as he was about to say more, the sound of his cell phone rings in the air, causing him to let Bonnie go as he retrieves the device from his pocket. "It's Hope." He says more to himself as Bonnie looks on with wide eyes. "She and Haley are supposed to be spending some mother/daughter time together."
"Go ahead, answer it! It's Hope, which means it's important." Bonnie says causing him to look at her fondly before answering the phone.
In the background he can hear Bonnie and Damon bicker as the former says something about cell phones while Bonnie scolds him for being rude.
Phone call
"Hope." He calls out ignoring everything else in the room. On the outside he may look calm, but on the inside he's worried about his little girl.
"Oh papa!" Hope cries into the phone. "I had the scariest dream!" She wails.
"A bad dream?" He asks with a sigh of relief. That he could deal with, he would slay each and every dragon she needed him to slay. He'd even help her dream good dreams if needed.
"Yes papa!" Hope says her words coming out fast. "You were hurt and so was Marcel and Bonnie!" she continues. "It had lots of fire Papa!" Hope cries out, causing him to clutch at his heart.
He never wanted Hope to experience any kind of pain, hurt or anything bad and hearing her like this it broke his heart. What was even worst was that he was so far away from her right now. He wanted to make everything better for her. "Listen to me," he says his tone light but stern enough. "Everyone is fine, I'm fine! I'm looking at Bonnie right now and I happen to know for a fact that your brother is with aunt Bekah." He says carefully as possible. "It's a bad dream, but bad dreams can't hurt us."
Not deterred by his words Hope starts to sniffle again. "I wanna stay with you papa! You make the bad dreams go away."
He swallows hard, a bad taste in his mouth. "I have to talk to your mama first, but if I can't see you tonight, I will see you as soon as the sun rises."
Once he gets off the phone with Hope, Haley soon gets on the phone.
"Thanks for that, the only thing that calms her down after a nightmare is you." Haley says as if he was doing all of this for her.
He cant help but snap at her. "Obviously that should tell you everything you need to know." He says venomously. "She feels safest with me!"
Haley sucks her teeth. "I love my daughter!" Haley retorts. "And as per our agreement, this is my day." She reminds him. "Where out in the swamp with Jacks grandparents." Pause. "Hope, probably got scared after sleeping in an unfamiliar bed." She says her voice getting softer. "I promise you that I will take care of her and so will Jack."
Not having it he clenches his fist. "She clearly misses her father, so bring her back."
"It's my time with my daughter Klaus! She needs me as much as she needs you. So don't forget that!"
Enraged he snaps. "Then do fucking better!"
"Klaus, you're more than welcome to video call with her, but I gotta go Jacks family is waiting." Haley says before hanging up.
End of phone call
When he gets off the phone he's livid and he knows everyone can tell. Vincent and Lucy are now back in the room chatting with Damon while Bonnie had looked at him worriedly.
His witch, ever the observant type takes his hand and leads him out of the room. And when Damon dares to call after him she tells him to eat his food and sign the papers if he really wants to leave the hospital.
"Hey" Bonnie calls drawing him close "What's wrong?"
"That woman!" He grits. "She's lucky she's Hope mother because if not for the fact that my daughter loves her so much...she'd be banished to the backwoods she loves so much."
"You don't mean that?" Bonnie says her hands running through his hair which calms him down just a tad.
He leans close to her nuzzling his face in her neck. "I mean it." He breathes out.
"What happened with Hope?" She says rubbing his back.
"She had a bad dream and she wanted to be with me, but Haley she won't bring her home till it's my day." He says pausing to pull away and look at her.
"I'm sorry about that." Bonnie murmurs, her fingers sinking into his hair and as she scratches lightly.
He lets out a sardonic chuckle. "Out of all the women I've been with since unlocking my wolf side, why couldn't the mother of my child be someone that doted over me and saw me as the true king that I am."
Bonnie stops scratching his head all together and when he pulls back to get a good look at her, emerald green eyes widen. "That actually happens?" Bonnie smirks causing him to send her a look.
"Don't be a smart ass." He whispers against her skin, which only causes a healthy giggle to escape her mouth. "I have you know, that I've bewitched plenty of people in my time."
"Of course you have, with those dimples, and lets not forget about the lips." She teases.
Said lips only twitch in response.
"What can I do to make it better?" She asks innocently enough and of course his mind goes straight to the gutter. It seems Bonnie is mind reader because she slaps his arm.
"I'm not having sex with you in a hospital." She dead-pans causing him to smirk. He could probably convince her if needed, but that's not what he needs right now. What he really wants is her to just be here with him, to listen to him.
"You're perfect." He admits way to quickly. He trails his thumb on her bottom lip for a brief moment, his mind going into dangerous ground for only a second before he snaps himself back into the present. "It would be much better if Haley just did,"
"What you wanted all the time?" Bonnie asks, her arms wrapped around him.
His face turns serious. "I would love if she would just agree with me. But, it would be better if Haley would just do what was best for Hope." He says with a nod. "Because that was all I cared about." He sighs. "If you were in this situation how would you handle it?"
Bonnie doesn't waste much time. "First of all, it wouldn't matter our personal situation. If my child was in need of you and wanted you then I would move heaven and earth to make that happen. My child and his/her happiness would always come first, no matter what."
He nods again. "Even if I was the father?" He says his voice coming out, much softer than he'd like.
"Yeah." She says easily. "You're an amazing father and nothing could ever change that." Smile. "Whatever could've or would've happen between us, would be between us but our hypothetical child would be ours, ours together."
He leans down and plants a kiss on her lips. Most people had only seen the bad in him, but Bonnie she looked past all that, even given the past they shared.
"I have to get back home, I can't stay here any longer, I need to be home just in case Hope returns home." He says pulling back to look at her again.
Bonnie nods her head all the while wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with the hairs at his nape. "I understand."
"So you're ready, we can go back home and wait to see if Haley does the right thing or if I'm going to have to make the right choice for her?"
It's the silence that gets to him. "Love?"
"Actually, I have something to tell you."
BB-BB-BB
Bonnie
It only took a moment then everything changed. Right now, I stood in front of Klaus, blinking up at him and hoping he saw my point of view, while he looked down at me with hard unwavering eyes.
It was then that I knew, that I had just fucked up.
"You're going to stay here?" Klaus asks his tone low though I could detect the rage that was simmering beneath it. Right now, his rage was written all over his face and judging by the way he was looking at me, my words had come out wrong, all wrong. "You're going to stay here with Damon, for Damon?" He says as if he trying to understand my words.
I nod my head. "Yes, but it's not just Damon." I plead. I can tell my explanation is doing nothing for this conversation but still I solider on. " Stefan called Caroline in case we needed backup."
"Get to the point!" He snaps.
I bite back a negative response. "Caroline is here. She should be here soon enough, but you know how Stefan drives even from the airport." I joke as Klaus looks non to pleased. "She has the whole weekend planned for the two of us for a girls weekend."
Silence.
I reach out to touch his hand which he swiftly avoids me. Amber eyes glow my way while a audible growl is heard. "She's already on her way." Pause. "I can't just leave."
"Yes you can!" He says face red. "You can leave and Caroline can catch a flight out and meet you later."
I close my eyes briefly. "Klaus."
Klaus chuckles to himself though there is no humor in the way he sounds. "So let me get this straight, I come all the way down here to help you save your dim witted friend and now instead of leaving with me, you chose to stay." He says rigidly. "And to top it off, Stefan has called upon Caroline so the four of you can have slumber party for the ages." He wipes his face. "This is all about Damon again and your need to protect him. You'll protect him at all cost!"
I close my eyes. "This isn't about Damon okay, we could catch up at home we're roommates." I remind him. "And for the record I didn't plan this."
"No, you just let them plan your life for you." He sneers. "You said you've changed but when it comes to them– you'll always be the same girl I met all those years ago." He sneers.
Slighted I step back. "I get that you're mad, at Haley and at me, but you talking to me like this isn't cool."
He walks close to me pressing his body against mine. "You have a choice." He says getting close to my face, his mouth a inch away. "You can either come with me, or stay here with them."
I blink up at him. "Klaus, it's only a few hours." I remind him. "Caroline came all this way, so we could spend some time together– I'll be on the next available flight once we're done with that."
I let out a sigh and step closer, our toes touching. When I reach for he jerks away and takes a noticeable step backward. "You do what you need to do, I'm going home." He says with dark eyes. "I'm going home to my daughter."
"Klaus?" I call watching as he walks away. "Klaus?" I call again but he continues on his way.
When he walks past the double door outside of the hospital I find myself sliding onto the floor and sitting with my back against the wall.
BB-BB
Back at my hotel room, I tried many times to call Klaus but he wasn't taking my calls. I knew he was mad at me, he had done so much for me and all he wanted was for me to fly back with him and I just– I let him down. It didn't matter how everything came to be, I let Klaus down when he had never done that to me.
Phone in hand, I send him a text message, when a knock sounds at the door.
Thinking that perhaps Klaus wanted to at least talk this out before his flight I spring into action and open the door only to see Rebekah with hard eyes my way.
Rebekah walks in pushing past me a glower on her face. "Listen, I don't care what's going on with your friends, all I know is that you need to get your shit together! I will not have you wreck my brother! So figure out what you want." Rebekah says her eyes turning to slants as she narrows them my way.
I cross my arms in front of my chest. "I wasn't trying to hurt him."
"But you did all the same!" Rebekah says her voice loud. "He cares!" Rebekah says suddenly covering her mouth after the words have fallen out. "He cares about you." She says much quieter now. " I suggest you use this time you're taking to get a grip and figure things out because I will not sit back and watch you twist him into a pretzel for your affection."
Just as she came, Rebekah stomped out of my hotel room leaving me leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Memories flashed through my mind, of everything first Elijah and the fact that he attacked me, then my first fight with Klaus where I was going to walk out on him, our makeup, followed by all the shit with Enzo, that witch and Damon and now this. It was a lot and I was having a hard time dealing with it. The truth was, I was falling the fuck apart.
Peeling my clothes off, I sink my foot into the awaiting tub that had been filled with water. When full submerged I let out a troubled sigh. Sinking further into the bath I dunk my head under the water hoping to wash off some of the stress, most of the guilt and everything else.
KM-KM
Klaus
NOLA
He was livid. In fact it was safe to say that he was more than livid– but aside from that he was hurt. He had tried and tried to be the bigger person, the better person. Everything she wanted, he gave to her willingly. When she needed him, he was right with her. When she needed him to screw the pain away, he gave her what she needed. He took her at face value, didn't push even though each time he was near her he wanted more than what she offered. He tried his best to understand that Bonnie had limited experiences in relationships, so, he tried to dial it back on some of his tendencies. It just proved that all he did was not enough.
All it took was a crestfallen look on the face of her so called bestfriend and a obvious coo from Stefan to get her to say in North Carolina, when she should've been on the plane with him! She should've been with him but instead she was letting her so called friends talk her into coming back to M.F. and giving into the whim of Damon Salvatore on top of that.
Walking to his bar he takes the bottle instead of even pretending to care about being civilized and using a glass. Tonight he was going to sulk and then when morning came, he was going to cut her off. He didn't need her anyway, he didn't need anyone...except for Hope and Marcel.
Flashback
The moment he got on the plane, he told the pilot that they were leaving as soon as it was safe. He knew that everyone was looking his way, Elijah especially who was sitting in the corner.
"Are we leaving so soon without your Bonnie?" Elijah asks his lips curving almost into a half smile.
He tilts his side and grins. "Well brother if you must know, she chose to stay here with her very best friend. You happy now Elijah, she chose Damon over me." He says buckling into his seat.
Marcel who sits next to him has a forlorn look on his face. "I don't think it was about choosing Damon okay." He says quickly. "She's been through a lot in the last twenty four hours, I think she just needs to stay in one place and process everything that has happened."
He can only suck his teeth.
Rebekah soon chimes in. "She just ripped out the heart a vampire that she use to love– despite how things ended it's probably very difficult for her, morality and all that."
He only lets out a low growl. He had been right with her after it happened. She ran into his arms and he could feel her whole body shaking as he held on tight to her, wanting to shield her from everything. And yet she chose them, over him. She chose Caroline who was too boy crazy back in the day to settle down for a mere moment for her best friend. But most of all she chose Damon, the man who threw a bitch fit because he wanted Bonnie all to himself.
Elijah then has the nerve to look pained. "I should've eradicated her when I had the chance." Elijah says with so much hatred it causes everyone to look his way.
He waits two beats thinking he had heard wrong. He may have been irritated with Bonnie, but he had warned Elijah about speaking ill of her or about her. When he looks up Elijah raises a brow.
He can only grin back.
What happens next is on reflex.
He bites Elijah within a blink of an eye leaving his brother to drop to the floor with a thud. The werewolf venom should seep in any second now. He watches as it happens his inner wolf roaring inside. Stepping over his brother, he yanks a handkerchief out of Elijahs pocket, his brother won't need it now.
End of flashback
Before he's able to even take the first drink, he hears the door opening.
"Not in the mood." He says lowly. He can only imagine how Caroline is begging Bonnie to come back home, how Damon is doing that stupid eyebrow wiggle and bucking his eyes trying to convey anything that is relevant. But most of all he can see Bonnie giving into the wants and needs of everyone but him. Mentally he's getting himself ready for her to let him down, after all he can really only count of a handful of people in his life.
So lost in thought, he surprised when seconds later the light is flicked on revealing the two people he needed the most.
"That's why we're here, right Hope?" Marcel asks Hope whom he's giving a piggy back to.
"Right." Hope beams always happy to be around her brother and father.
Looking up he's touched by the notion. "What are you two doing here?" He asks as Hope runs over to him and hops in his lap.
"Marcel came and got me, papa, he said we were having a sleep over." Hope says delighted.
He then looks up at his son who shifts from one foot to the other. Originally he had come home so that come morning he could go pick up his daughter and spend some family time with her and he had hoped Marcel. It seemed his son had known him better than anyone else.
"Rebekah said I could spend the night." Marcel jokes.
He chuckles at that. "And Haley?"
Marcel shrugs. "She can't say no to me." Marcel says with a smile. "So Pops, it looks like you're stuck with us."
"I'm stuck with my two favorite people in the world, nothing could be better." He says sobering up by the mere sight.
DS-DS-DS
Damon
Hours later
He could readily admit the moment he saw Bonnie rescue him with Klaus in tow he felt his heart shatter. Seeing the two of them so close together it scared him. If he couldn't get his shit together quick enough, Klaus could really make this temporary hook up into something more. Not for the first time he thought about how he had happily inserted himself into Stefan and Elena and their romance. Here, Klaus was doing the same thing and he didn't want history to repeat itself...not again.
With Stefan gone to fetch Caroline, he figured this was the perfect time to talk to Bonnie. Having showered for the first time in weeks and a quick shave he was back to looking like perfection, instead of rugged perfection. Their rooms aren't too far so he easily gets to her's in record time. His hands are sweaty as he's more nervous than he had been in years. But he's ready to tell her everything he's thought about for the last couple of days.
Within two knocks she opens the door, looking beautiful. Her hair is piled high above her head, her makeup flawless with a bold red lip. Adorning her body is an off white babydoll dress and ankle boots. It almost reminds him of 1994, the sad look in her eyes tell him otherwise.
"Hey!" He says with a lazy smile, all the while trying not to focus on her sad eyes.
"Hey." she chuckles back her eyes looking a little less sad.
"I figured we could wait together while Stefan is picking up your second best friend." He says only to gain a playful eye roll. "We could talk, we haven't done that in a while, and you can tell me what he did to make you sad." He says reaching out to touch her face, only for her to evade him at the last second.
He watched perplexed as she grabbed her leather jacket. "We should go, Caroline has been texting me how close they are and according to her last update we have about five minutes." she says ready to go.
He grabs her elbow which only causes a perfectly manicured eyebrow to raise. "Which means we have enough time for you tell me what he did to you?" he says through clenched teeth.
"He didn't do anything to me, it's what I did to him that's the problem." She says snatching her elbow away. "I'm the problem." she admits so painfully. "Its why my every relationship is shit! Just think about it," She says moving back. "My parents, my friends! Lets not forget about Jeremy. And oh god, Enzo he told me, he told me before he turned to ashes that I was the reason it was so difficult for people to love me! That I would always be the problem, that I am the problem!" She says her voice getting louder with each word.
"Hey." He says reaching out for her. "He was wrong, he is wrong." He says wanting to bring Enzo back only to end him himself. "Bon," He says touching her face. "He wanted to get into your head, he wanted to make you miserable because he was miserable."
She bites her lip. And sniffs. "But what if he was right? Look what I just did to Klaus, I hurt his feelings and he didn't deserve that, not after being so good to me."
He scoffs. He was over this Klaus phase. It was time to just let it all go. They, he and Bonnie needed to just be still together. No more hiding behind everything else when the truth was they had fallen in love and was scared to admit it. "I doubt you could effect him, he's heartless and if by any chance he does have anything, its rotten."
The look she gives him is a throwback of the old Bonnie and Damon dynamic.
"Don't talk about him like that." She says jutting her chin out.
"Why? I tell no lies."
"Because I care about him, that's why." She says walking out the room for him to follow.
She doesn't get very far because he's on her quick, his long legs getting him where he needs to be which is with her. He cannot simply let her go without an explanation. For goodness sake Bonnie of all people had just uttered she cared about Klaus and once you start to care just a little bit that leaves a space for someone like Klaus– someone like him to squeeze through.
"Wait, you care about him now?" He asks brows furrowed, voice rising. "When I left you were adamant that this thing wasn't serious."
She clicks her tongue. "Gosh Damon what's with the third degree? You know we've been spending time together."
Bridging the gap between them he presses himself close into her space. "If I were able to get back home to you– I would've been long gone. Being away from you for that long was driving me crazy." he says shaking his head. "I kept thinking Enzo and his crazy ass, was to unpredictable to let my guard down." he says with a chuckle that is lacking all humor. "And lets not get into it about that witch–" Pause. "Everyday I kept thinking I need to make it back to you so that you would know once and for all how I really feel."
Green irises go wide as his words sink in. "Damon we've all been under a lot of pressure and you've had a rough time."
Once again he leans into her. "All of that doesn't matter, not anymore the only thing that matters is that I am in love with you Bonnie Bennett." he says with a sigh of relief. "And I love you because you're you, not because I'm in competition with my brother or Klaus but because after being away from you for so long I cant imagine you not being the first person I see when I wake up and the last person I see before I go to sleep."
He waits for her to say something, anything but she's got this stunned impression on her face. He reaches out to touch her face. "Say something Bon, I know that I'm not alone in this, that's why we left the world behind together?"
Instead of speaking Bonnie places her tiny hand on his chest. "Damon, I–"
A group of guys obviously drunk stop to watch them, one even says. "Just kiss her already."
And he figures their right. He's said the words now it's time to seal it all with a kiss. In his head this had gone much better. He had imagined that she would jump in his arms like she had done after they were reunited after not seeing each other for so long.
"The truth is, Bon– I fell in love with you sometime after 94 and I haven't been able to stop falling for you ever since." He says placing his forehead against hers. "And I don't want to ever stop falling in love with you." He says looking into green iris that he dreamed about.
"Damon."
"Bonnie."
The sound of the elevator dinging does nothing to deter his intentions, it's the voice that stops him. "What the hell is going on here?"
He doesn't move, hearing only Caroline. Mentally he curses at her perfect unperfect timing.
It's the sound of the other voice that gets to him. "Well at least now I know why you never wanted to come home."
He knows that voice, it belongs to the person he had been running to even before she became his and now he finds himself running away from it, her and them. It's Elena.
Ice blue eyes continue to stare into the forest green eyes while he swallows hard. It's only then that he looks toward said voice.
Brown eyes are glossy as she makes her way over to him, to he and Bonnie. Instantly he pushes Bonnie behind him which only serves to hurt and anger the woman he had sworn he would always love.
"Wow, my best friend and my boyfriend behind my back this whole time." Elena says eyes flickering to him and then Bonnie.
"Stefan." He grits out annoyed that his little brother was still trying to bring him back home. Didn't Stefan get that his home was wherever Bonnie was and vice versa. "Get her out of here."
Livid Elena swings. "I have a name you bastard! You cheat on me after everything I've done for you, everything I sacrificed."
Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as Caroline links her fingers with Bonnie. "How about you and I go out to eat and leave this fiasco to the Salvatore brothers to deal with."
He takes one look at Bonnie and nods his head, knowing that for once and all this has to be settled. Bonnie had settled her shit with Enzo and now it was time for him to settle his with Elena. "Sounds like a plan." Bonnie says.
He watches as Bonnie and Caroline go back to the elevator, only stopping when Elena hurls an insult.
"I should've known neither one of you were my real friends. Caroline you've been jealous of me since we were kids, you always wanted to be me." The brunette spits out. "And you Bonnie–you were like a sister to me I did everything for you!" Elena has the nerve to say
It's those words that cause the air in the hallway to get brisker as Bonnie stands on her own two feet. "You watched as my world fell apart, so that yours could flourish."
"So is that what this is, payback?" Elena asks looking so much like a Katherine reject that it's almost comical. "You can't manage to keep a man, so you go after mine?"
Bonnie only glares. "I never went after your boyfriend Elena, and you and your white knight–" She says looking at Stefan who had brought all of this to a head at his own doing. "Can believe that or not."
BB-BC-BB
Bonnie
It's only when we get out of the hotel that I can finally breathe. All I want to do is put as much distance from me, the hotel, Elena and the Salvatores as possible.
Caroline has her arm linked with mine talking a mile a minute. I cant seem to hear the words she saying, my head is too busy fucking spinning.
"Bonnie! Slow down." Caroline says pulling back as a car sped by us rather quickly.
Turning to face her a I let out an exhale. "Caroline, everything is so messed up!"
Caroline wrinkles her nose. "With Elena that bridge was burned years ago." She says crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Not Elena." I deadpan. "That bridge was burned eons ago." I remind her.
"Then what is it?" Caroline asks perplexed. "I mean I guess it would be Damon telling you and all of us that he was in love with you but like everyone already knew that." Caroline says as comforting as possible regarding anything Damon centered.
I swat at my face as hair falls into it. "Not just with Damon, but with–" I pause causing Caroline to furrow her brows.
"Hey" Caroline says putting her hand on my shoulder. "We're best friends, you can tell me any and everything." She says brightly as she puts her arm around me and we walk further from the hotel room. "Is everything ok with Nik?"
When we reach a park bench we sit together close as can be. "I hurt his feelings Caroline." I say as the scene played behind closed eyes. "And the look he gave me," I say as chills run through me. "He hadn't looked at me like that in years."
"Years?" Caroline asks. "Bonnie what aren't you telling me."
"I'm dating Niklaus Mikaelson." I admit, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of me. "And I think I just screwed everything up."