I am so sorry for the long, long time between updates. I have been working a lot of overtime at my job and then I got sick, so I have not had any time to update this story. The updates will probably be a little sporadic until late November/early December. I have a lot coming up, but I will try to update as much as I can. Thanks for the continued support.

Bonnie walked into the banquet hall and went straight for the champagne tray. She just could not believe Maria had the nerve to threaten her. "That lady has some nerve!" She mumbled to herself loudly before taking a huge gulp of champagne.

"Who has some nerve?" Damon asked as he walked up behind Bonnie. "Huh?" Bonnie was just a little unnerved by Damon's sudden closeness. She could not understand his need to be close to her all the damn time. She drained the remainder of the champagne in her glass before tossing the flute on a nearby tray.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked concerned by Bonnie's dour facial expression. He was just a little alarmed, as he had just watched her gulp down the champagne so quickly.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Bonnie tried to look anywhere, but at Damon. His piercing blue eyes were staring her down, and it was making her even more uncomfortable than she already was.

"You're lying. What has my mother done now?" Damon tried to rub his hand down Bonnie's arm, but she shook it off before grabbing another glass from the waiter.

"Nothing. She's…everything is fine. Ok. Don't worry so much." Bonnie took a deep breath before turning to give Damon a reassuring squeeze of her hand and a small smile.

"I have to worry for the both of us." Damon pulled Bonnie into a light hug hoping to put her at ease before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Let's get this party started." Maria announced as she re-entered the room with Melania in tow.

"What about Bonnie's family, Mama?" Damon asked.

"We can get started, Son, and then when they arrive, we can eat." Maria replied clapping her hands together.

"Are you sure, Mama?" Damon didn't want to offend his new in-laws, knowing that they probably weren't going to be too happy with him and Bonnie's elopement.

"Yes, sweetheart, we can start the party, mingle, and meet the guests." Maria placed her arms around her son reassuringly.

"Okay, Mama." Damon held out his arms for Bonnie beckoning her to his side.

"Attention! Attention! We're gathered here today to celebrate my son, Damon's surprise nuptials! That's right ladies, Damon's finally off the market! I know there are many, many, many sad young women out there now, but he has married a lovely young woman who I just adore. I just want to say congratulations to Damon and Bonnie, the new Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore!" Maria pasted on a fake smile as she clapped her hands together starting a round of applause for the couple.

"Bonnie, what is going on?" Remy, Bonnie's older brother, asked as he approached her with Bonnie's sister-in-law and Grams in tow causing the applause to stop. All eyes in the room were now on her.

"Ummm…Remy…surprise! Damon and I got married the other night." Bonnie replied sheepishly before giving her Grams and Ava a hug.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Remy asked incredulously.

"Well…Damon and I…ummm…we got married." Bonnie stumbled a bit before Damon place his arms around her giving her a comforting squeeze.

"Huh? Okay, let me get this straight, you ran off and married Damon Salvatore. What about Tyler?" Remy was just so confused by the recent turn of events. He didn't know if he was being punked right now. He was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out any minute and yell out his famous catch phrase.

"I know it is all so sudden, but Bonnie and I love each other. We decided we couldn't waste any more time, so we just did it. We went to the Justice of the Peace, and we got married the other night." Damon rubbed his hands soothingly down Bonnie's side in hopes of calming her frayed nerves.

"You're joking right?" Remy questioned before bursting out laughing in Damon's face.

"No…no…I'm not. I don't see this as a laughing matter. I am quite serious. Now, would you like to see the marriage license?" Damon replied tersely before pulling the marriage license out of Bonnie's purse.

"As a matter of fact, yes…yes, I would." Remy yanked the license from Damon's grasp before inspecting it and tossing it back at Damon.

"Remy! Stop it! You are being rude to my husband, and…and it is uncalled for!" Bonnie's voice rose with each word she spoke. She shook her head at her brother's callous treatment of Damon. She knew he would be mad, but she did not think he would be so overtly rude to someone he didn't even know.

"Bonnie and Remy, stop it this instant!" Sheila Bennett had heard and seen enough, and she refused to allow her grandchildren to act in this manner while she was present.

"Sorry, Grams." Bonnie and Remy replied in unison both turning away from the scathing looks they received from their grandmother.

"Ummm…excuse me. Hi, I am Maria Salvatore, Damon's mother. Can we take this out in the hall away from prying eyes and ears?" Maria knew she had to take control of the situation before it escalated any further. She refused to be fodder for the Mystic Fall's gossip mill.

"Yes, let's take this out in the hall." Giuseppe Salvatore ushered the two families out in the hall before giving a brief explanation to the guests and closing the doors to the banquet hall giving them a little privacy.

"Now, I think we should let the kids explain what's going on." Sheila Bennett announced before turning expectantly to Bonnie and Damon.

"Ummm…there isn't much to explain…Damon and I fell in love, and we decided to get married." Bonnie explained rather quickly.

"Okay, am I missing something here? What about Tyler Lockwood…your boyfriend? You know the guy you've been dating for the past year and a half!" Remy asked pointedly, he was a little annoyed with Bonnie's lack of an explanation. He just didn't understand his little sister sometimes, she did the dumbest things.

"Tyler and I broke up…I…I hid my feelings for Damon for weeks, and I…I just couldn't take it anymore, so I admitted how I felt about him, and we decided that we wanted…no…needed to get married because…because we are in love!" Bonnie rambled on hoping that her family would believe her.

"Oh…is that right?" Remy kinked his eyebrow at his sister disbelievingly.

"Yes…yes, that's right. Bonnie and I love each other, and it doesn't matter what you or anyone else has to say about it. We are married, and we are going to stay that way." Damon straightened his shoulders preparing internally to go toe-to-toe with Bonnie's brother.

"We'll see about that!" Remy replied stepping forward challenging Damon.

"Remy, please…stop! Okay? Just stop! He's my husband, and I am an adult." Bonnie slid in-between her husband and her brother praying that a fight wouldn't break out. That would be all she needed right now, another thing for Damon's mother to blame her for…damn…she couldn't take this.

"Oh…please! Adults don't go running off in the middle of the night, and decide to…hmmm…marry a gangster! You know and I know that these people are nothing but criminals!" Remy just wanted to take his sister, and shake some sense into her. What the hell was she thinking about marrying into that…that family?

"Excuse, me? We are not criminals!" Melania was just so offended by Remy's assumption; she could not believe how judgmental the lower middle class could be.

"We've read all about you people in the local paper!" Remy replied refusing to back down to these low-life criminals.

"I don't know what you have heard or read, but we, The Salvatores, are not I repeat not criminals, thieves, or thugs! We are a decent hard-working family who has achieved some success, and people are jealous of that success! We have not nor would we ever participate in any criminal activities. We earn our living honestly, and I want to keep it that way! So don't believe everything you hear or hell even what you read about my family!" Giuseppe had had enough of the sideshow. He was hungry, and quite frankly he was tired of all the back and forth. He was ready to move this along, so that he could finally eat!

"If that is the crap you're selling, we aren't buying it! Bonnie, this isn't like you. You would never associate with people like this; I don't know what the hell is going on around here. But, I will figure it out, and I will get my baby sis away from you people!" Remy vowed.

"Remy, stop! There isn't anything going on, I love Damon! Okay? Please stop, you're embarrassing me!" Bonnie pleaded tugging on her brother's sleeve.

"Enough! You will not disparage my son or my family in this manner! Who the hell are you to judge anyone? Watch your step, young man!" Giuseppe's veins were beginning to pop in his forehead.

Damon knew he better put an end to this before someone got hurt. "Everyone calm down!"

"I think the young man is right, and I think it is time for us to go." Sheila Bennett stepped in front of her grandson giving him a knowingly look.

Remy knew what that look meant. "Fine…fine…Grams, but I don't like this at all."

"It's Bonnie's decision, Son, just let it go for now." Sheila placed her arms around Bonnie giving her a tight squeeze before whispering in Bonnie's ear.

"I'm fine…Grams. I really, really am." Bonnie replied giving her grandmother a genuine smile.

"Okay, sweetums. I trust you know what you are doing." Sheila placed a kiss on Bonnie's forehead before grabbing Ava's hand, and dragging Remy through the Country club's doors.

"Well…in all my life…I have never!" Maria was just so taken back by the young man's uncouthness.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore, about my brother's behavior." Bonnie apologized.

"It's fine, my dear. No harm, no foul." Giuseppe smiled trying to ease Bonnie's mind.

"It is not fine. That man was just rude! And the things he said about our family!" Melania spouted angrily.

"Melania…enough! Mind your own damn business!" Melania was pissing Damon the fuck off. Why couldn't she just mind her own fucking business for once?

"Melania and Damon, stop it this instant!" Maria admonished both her children, she hated when they fought with each other.

"Sorry, Mama." Damon said giving his mom a kiss on the side of her forehead.

"Fine!" Melania pouted.

"Let's give Bonnie and Damon some privacy, besides I am starving!" Giuseppe let out a slight chuckle before he ushered his wife and daughter back inside the dining room.

"Damon, I am sorry about all the things my brother said about your family. That wasn't fair of him to say those hateful things about your family. He doesn't even know you all, and usually he doesn't act that way." Bonnie tried to smooth things over because she still needed Damon on her side.

"It's fine, Bonnie. It isn't like what he said was not true. Everything your brother said was true. We are criminals. Try as I might to forget that, that is essentially what we are." Damon had been optimistic for his relationship with his in-laws, but now he knew that idea was shot to hell.

"I'm sorry…" Bonnie just couldn't think of anything else to say to give Damon any comfort.

"It's fine…ummm…are you ready to go back in?" Damon suddenly needed a drink.

"No…ummm…give me a minute." Bonnie decided she needed to take a few minutes for herself before she walked back into the lion's den.

"Fine, join us when you're ready." Damon placed a kiss on Bonnie's forehead before heading back into the banquet hall.

Bonnie closed her eyes, and took a deep cleansing breath. She was really trying to remain calm, but she didn't know how long she could possibly keep up this charade. She didn't love Damon, and she knew everyone around her knew she didn't that fact also. Bonnie stood with her eyes closed for what seemed like forever. Just taking deep breaths, after a few minutes she heard the doors open. She knew it was probably Damon coming to check on her, so she didn't even bother to open her eyes. She heard footsteps coming toward her, so she said, "Damon, I will be right in."

Bonnie didn't receive a response, so she didn't bother to open her eyes. All of a sudden, Bonnie was spun in the opposite direction and all she felt was a warm set of lips on hers. Bonnie thought, "Tyler…" Her eyes flew open to see Tyler standing in front of her in the flesh, and he was kissing her. Really, really kissing her, Bonnie momentarily forgot that she was married to Damon, as she returned Tyler's kiss. In that moment, all Bonnie could think about was Tyler, and he was here. Bonnie and Tyler were so swept up in their kiss, that they did not realize that someone was watching them from the doorway. The person smiled knowingly saying to themselves, "Gotcha!"

Uh oh! Who is watching Tyler and Bonnie? When Damon find out? What will Damon do? Until next time…