Our Lives

A/N: Written as a Christmas present for the amazing Erzsebeth Bathory. I hope you enjoy it! I do realize that I have written a baby fanfic for this pairing before a loooong time ago but I think this one is a lot better.

It had started with days of morning sickness.

Bonnie knelt over the toilet as she vomited into it, her petite form shaking with every tremor that ran through her body. Behind her, she could feel Damon rubbing her back soothingly, obviously trying his best to help despite not being able to solve the problem entirely like he wanted to.

Once she was finished, Bonnie shakily got off of the floor. She turned to face Damon, even though she knew she more than likely wasn't a pretty sight. "I'm sorry for interrupting be our time," she apologized in a soft voice, trembling slightly.

They had been lying in their bed, their arms wrapped around each other when she had felt the vile substance attempt to force its way up her throat, causing her to flee and bolt to the bathroom. It had been the third day in a row that something like it had occurred.

Damon's eyes were stern as he regarded her, as if he found the fact that she had apologized ridiculous. "It's quite alright, little redbird. However, I am growing concerned. You've been unwell for three days now."

He was right. And truthfully, a million worries were beginning to form in Bonnie's mind.

Like the fact that her menstrual cycle was now three weeks late.

When that thought first occurred to her, she had laughed it off. There was no way she could be pregnant. Damon was the only man she had ever slept with. He was her first and her only and since he was a vampire it was impossible for her to be carrying his child. But she couldn't think of any other possible answers. She didn't feel like she had the flu and her moments of sickness were too sporadic.

Although the idea seemed utterly insane, the little redhead made a silent vow to buy herself a pregnancy test the next day.

She managed to shoot a small smile in the vampire's direction. "Okay Damon. If...if I still feel sick tomorrow, maybe I could go see a doctor."

"There is no 'maybe' about it. If you are still feeling this way tomorrow, we will be seeing someone about it. This has gone on long enough."

The next day as she had planned, Bonnie went to the store and bought herself a pregnancy test. Thankfully, there was a small shop only a short distance away from their apartment so it was easy to get back before Damon returned from feeding.

After walking back inside the apartment, Bonnie flung herself into the bathroom. She'd been in the need to go to the bathroom since the ending of her last class but she had been forcing herself to hold it in in order to use it for the pregnancy test. Upon entrance into the bathroom, she sat herself down on the toilet and pulled out the trinket from her backpack, holding it in the rightful place as she began to finally let go.

When she was finished, she withdrew the test to hold it in her hand and wait. She knew that it would take a few minutes before it came to an accurate result.

As she waited, she leaned against the counter and closed her eyes, attempting to calm herself down a little. She really didn't know why she was no nervous. Her being pregnant was impossible due to Damon being a vampire. She had probably only been sick with something over the past few days...

The little redhead reopened her eyes once she realized that minutes had passed by her now and she timidly held the pregnancy test up so she could check it.

At the end of the tab there was a pink plus sign. Positive.

Bonnie wasn't sure how to approach the subject when Damon eventually came home. How do you tell your vampire boyfriend that, under very strange circumstances that you previously believed to be impossible, you were most likely pregnant with his baby?

How would he react? Would he be angry or upset? She hoped not.

In the end, she decided to just be straight-forward. She was quick to approach him when he took his first steps into the apartment.

"Um...Damon?" She began hesitantly as she watched him take off his jacket. "Do you remember what we talked about yesterday? About me being sick?"

Damon's dark eyes snapped over to her direction in slight alert, as if she was reminding him of something very important. "Do you still feel unwell?"

"Yes," Bonnie forced herself to blurt out. "But I...I know why now. I'm pregnant."

Silence ensued between them and Bonnie's heart began to hammer rapidly in nervousness. She wished she could read Damon's expression to tell how he was feeling but it was completely flat and void of emotion.

"I don't know how it happened but I used a test and it came out p...positive. And you're the only person that i've ever..."

"Come, little redbird. We're going to pay a visit to the boarding house."

It turned out that Damon wanted to go to the boarding house so Mrs. Flowers could check over her. It frustrated Bonnie a little because it seemed like he hadn't taken what she had told him seriously. At the same time, however, she couldn't really blame him because it did seem unbelievable. And a part of her found it kind of sweet that he was worrying about her so much.

Mrs. Flowers shook her head after a series of medical checks, including taking Bonnie's temperature. "It doesn't seem like you're ill, dear."

"I know," Bonnie responded. She then bit her bottom lip lightly. "I think i'm pregnant."

She could clearly sense the shock waving harshly off of Stefan and Elena, who were there watching the scene, without even looking in their direction.

Mrs. Flowers gave her a light, kind smile. "I didn't think it was likely but...I think you may be right."

Utter silence surrounded the room for a few moments.

Eventually, it was Elena that broke it. "But...pregnant with Damon's baby? How could that be possible?"

Mrs. Flowers pondered the question briefly before answering. "I have heard...stories of it happening before. Vampires being able to have children. But I was never entirely sure whether they were fact or legend." She turned to regard Bonnie once again. "Are you certain that it would be Damon's child?"

"Yes!" Bonnie exclaimed incredulously with flushed cheeks. "I've never...i've never done that with anyone else but him."

"Then it looks like we may be seeing those so-called legends come to life." Mrs. Flowers replied, her eyes darting back and forth between Bonnie and Damon.

Bonnie's emotions were now a mixed mess. She had never really thought about one day being a mother. She life had mainly consisted of others taking care of her rather than the other way around. And she of course ruled the idea of it out completely once she and Damon got together. But now the reality of it was staring at her in the face,

But...she was happy. Now that the situation was real and true, she felt overjoyed that she and Damon had somehow created a life together.

Smiling, she glance back in Mrs. Flowers's direction. "How far along am I?"

"About four weeks," Mrs. Flowers replied with a small smile of her own. "Congratulations, dear Bonnie. You're going to be a mother."

The room then exploded with more questions but after thanking Mrs Flowers for her help, Bonnie's attention was focused on one man in particular...her vampire boyfriend who fathered her future baby. She approached him nervously and attentively, unsure of what he could be thinking.

"How do you feel?" She asked, reaching out to grab his hand.

It took him a moment to respond and when he did, his words were flat and took place after a low sigh.

"Let's go home little redbird."

The car ride home had been quiet and it made Bonnie feel nervous. Was Damon angry about her being pregnant?

Finally arriving home hadn't made things any better. The dark eyed vampire was just as wordless as he had been in the car as he swiftly unlocked the door of their apartment, holding it open for her.

Bonnie looked at him cautiously before she obediently stepped into the apartment, hearing the sound of Damon closing and locking the door behind her.

Time to buck up, McCullough, Bonnie thought distantly to herself.

"Are you mad?" She forced herself to blurt.

Even though she had her back turned towards him, she could sense Damon tensing slightly at the question. "Why would I be angry with you, my sweet songbird?"

"Not at me. At...the idea of having a baby."

Damon reached out to gently turn her to face him, enveloping her in his arms. "I'm not angry."

"Then why are you acting like this?" She asked timidly, although she made no move to step out of the circle of his arms.

Damon took his time to answer and Bonnie found herself wishing that he would just respond and get it over with already, even if she ended up getting a negative result.

When he finally did speak, she found that she was pleasantly surprised.

"I'm not angry, redbird," he repeated. "I am merely...surprised to put it mildly. I hadn't known that this was even remotely possible."

Bonnie placed a comforting hand on his arm, hoping she would be able to soothe him at least a little. "I was surprised too...and now i'm a little nervous. But i'm happy."

And she was. She had already begun to form a picture in her mind of what their child would like...a little boy or girl with Damon's dark eyes. A living person that they had created with their love.

Bonnie leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss Damon's cheek. "Do you think you'll be happy?" She knew that he was still processing the news, but she wanted to know that he at least didn't absolutely detest the idea.

He responded by gently tightening his grip around her small frame slightly and she felt one of his hands lingering on her stomach. He then pressed his cool lips against hers, murmuring in the middle of the embrace.

"Yes."

The following months passed by them surprisingly smoothly. Bonnie's routine consisted of occasional morning sickness and her friends and family gushing over her growing belly. Even her parents, who had originally believed her relationship with Damon was moving too quickly, seemed excited at the idea of being grandparents. Damon was also starting to get used to the idea, despite his apprehensiveness when the news was first revealed to him. And now Bonnie was having to deal with his blatant overprotective nature as another aspect to her pregnancy.

"I'm going to drive you to the boarding house once you're finished with school," he said in a matter-of-fact tone as they neared the Dalcrest college campus, stopping to stand across the road from it and near the stop sign.

Bonnie gave her boyfriend a soft grin and leaned her head up to give him a kiss. "Okay. But i'm sure everything is fine, Damon."

"Even so, your...circumstances aren't exactly ordinary, little bird." He leaned even closer to her and spoke in a lower voice. "I want to remain updated on everything to make sure there aren't any complications."

Although Bonnie's heart fluttered at how much he cared, she couldn't help but feel that he was being a little paranoid.

But even so, she wasn't about to tell him that. Not when he was growing to be so accepting towards the fact that they had a baby on the way.

She nodded towards him and he gave her one last kiss to her cheek before she turned to walk across the street and towards the school.

That continued to be the weekly schedule for the next few months; regular checkups with Mrs. Flowers at Damon's insistence. At the beginning of the sixth month, Mrs. Flowers was able to tell them the gender of the baby and everyone was shocked to hear that Bonnie was carrying twins; one boy and one girl.

"Twins," Bonnie breathed as she and Damon drove home afterwards. She then spun excitedly towards him, careful to not allow the seat belt to rub too harshly against her pregnant belly. "What should we name them?"

Damon took a moment to glance away from the road briefly to smile lightly in her direction, letting out a low chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"Do you have any ideas in mind, little bird?"

Bonnie pondered the question for a moment before her eyes lit up with an idea. "What was your mother's name?"

Damon seemed surprised by the sudden and unexpected question. He cleared his throat before he turned his head back towards the road once more, seemingly refusing to look at her as he answered. "Her name was Maria."

Bonnie ached to comfort him somehow, knowing that he was more than likely recalling painful memories in result of the question and she felt a small pang of guilt at having brought it up.

"Hey," Bonnie said softly, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him. "I didn't mean to make you feel sad. I...just wanted to know if you would like the idea of naming out daughter after her. But i'm sorry if..."

"Redbird." Damon cut her off in a soft voice, turning to look at her again after having parked the car outside the apartment building. "It's fine. It just came as a bit of a surprise for me."

Comforted by his genuine tone, Bonnie continued. "So...do you like the idea of naming her after your mother?"

The time, a certain warmth flashed through Damon's dark eyes and it became one of those times where Bonnie could swear she saw stars in their depths. "I would like that."

Bonnie smiled giddily, happy to have pleased him. "Okay. Maria it is then."

The conversation then lapsed into lighter talk of what the middle name should be, with Bonnie suggesting 'Isabel' after her late grandmother.

In the end, the names they had decided on were Maria Isabel Salvatore and Francesco Antonio Salvatore. They had debated a little over the boy name but Bonnie had been determined to give their son his father's middle name.

Now Bonnie was finishing up the nursery, hanging up a small mirror onto one of the walls. About a month ago, she and Damon had moved out of their apartment and into a fairly large two-story house. Damon had claimed that now that they had twins on the way, the apartment was simply no longer fitting to live in. Bonnie had agreed with him and was fully willing to move. A part of her would miss the apartment since it held so many memories and was the first home she and Damon had shared as a couple but she also knew that it was due time to begin a new chapter of their lives together.

Additionally, Damon had also purchased them a vacation house in Florence, Italy and even a manor located in the Dark Dimension for when they wanted to be away from everyone else. He had seemed so uncharacteristically excited when he shared the news with her that Bonnie had to suppress a giggle at the time.

She was just exiting the nursery when she nearly ran into a form walking into the room. She gasped and looked up, smiling when she realized it was Damon.

"Hi," she said softly, beaming as he placed a gentle hand on the bump of her stomach.

"Hello," he replied, his amusement evident. "How have the three of you been doing this morning?"

Bonnie felt a large burst of happiness invade her at the phrase 'the three of you'. "We're doing fine. But...they have been kicking a lot today. I think they're getting restless."

To emphasize her point, she placed her hand over Damon's, pressing his a bit more firmly against the baby bump. Sure enough, the kicking sensation began again and she knew Damon felt it. "I think they know who their daddy is."

Damon didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. And just when Bonnie was sure that he was getting ready to speak, he instead kissed her on the lips, the motion warm and passionate. Bonnie kissed him back just as heatedly, the wonderful moment not lasting long enough due to her having to break away to breathe.

"I love you, little redbird," Damon said, caressing her cheek lovingly with one of his hands.

With a small amount of happy tears running down her cheeks, she placed herself back into the circle of his arms.

"I love you too."

Eventually, the fateful day finally arrived.

Bonnie first started to feel the contractions while she was in the kitchen, cooking herself up some dinner. The sudden pain had taken her by so much surprise that she dropped the pan of spaghetti sauce she had been working on onto the floor, causing it to splatter everywhere.

Gasping painfully, she knelt down on the floor, using every muscle in her body to contact Damon, who was away from the apartment, with their blood bond.

Damon! I think the baby is coming. I need help.

Over and over again she sent that very same message, hoping and praying that Damon would receive it...and very soon. She needed some sort of response if she was ever going to begin to calm down.

And then, to her utter relief, she heard Damon's voice in her mind.

Redbird, are you still at home?

Bonnie was now so frightened that it was easy to quickly respond to him.

Yes! I think the babies are coming and...oh Damon, it hurts so much...

Hold on. I'll be there as quickly as I can.

Damon had kept his word. But the ride to the boarding house was basically a giant blur to Bonnie, too immersed in the pain to fully focus on anything else. When they finally arrived, Damon swiftly and carefully carried her into inside, calling loudly and harshly for Mrs. Flowers.

And Bonnie's world exploded into pain.

Hours later, two new lives were brought into the world.

Bonnie's body was still fully in recovery mode and she nearly didn't hear Mrs. Flowers's sweet voice telling her it was over, or the feeling of Damon gently squeezing her hand.

But one sound that rang clear and true was the sound of crying. Two different cries.

"They're here, little bird," Damon said and she could hear the pride and even...raw emotion in his voice. "And they're perfect."

That was more than enough to stir Bonnie out of her shock and daze. She looked directly in front of her and saw Damon, holding two squirming bundles in his hand. And as she focused closely, she could see that one of them had a very familiar shade of dark eyes while the other had warm brown.

Her eyes filled with tears as she fully came to terms with the situation. She was a mother. She and Damon were parents.

"Damon, let me hold them...please?"

Damon immediately responded to her request and slid into the bed with her carefully, holding out one of the twins to her while he continued to hold the other. In her weakened state, Bonnie had to set the baby down onto her lap, but her arms were around her child nonetheless. As she gazed down at the tiny form more intently, she realized that she was in the process of holding her son.

"Little Francesco," she whispered through her tears, gently stroking his little cheek. As she observed him more closely, she somehow knew that he would grow up to be the spitting image of his father with the exception of her warm brown eyes.

Beside her, she was slightly surprised to see that Damon was also crying, holding their daughter in his arms.

"She has your flaming red hair," he commented, his voice thick.

Everything was perfect.

Still holding their now quiet children, Bonnie and Damon scooted closer together, basking in the feeling of being a fully family. Mrs. Flowers, who had been silently watching the scene, gave them a faint smile before leaving the room to give them some privacy.

A week later, after everything was assured alright by Mrs. Flowers, Bonnie and Damon took their son and daughter home.

Bonnie beamed at the sight of Damon holding little Maria in his arms, gazing down at her with an expression of utter adoration. It was so rare to see Damon like this but she found that it was happening more and more often as he spent time with their children. Even more so than the days after they first became a couple.

"I thought she was supposed to be asleep," Bonnie teased as she walked into the living room of their family home, eyeing the way Damon was lovingly holding her.

"She was. Francesco fell asleep like a log but this one seems to be fighting stubbornly."

"I guess we know who she is going to take after." Bonnie stepped closer, peering down at her daughter. "But it looks like she's falling asleep now. Um...do you think we should take her upstairs and put her with her brother?"

For a moment, she thought Damon actually looked disappointed at the notion, but as always, logic took first place and he nodded, carefully standing up as he continued to gently cradle the small baby. "I suppose so. Besides, we could use some time to ourselves."

Oh YES. As much as Bonnie loved their children, it was very rare that they had quality time to themselves anymore. The past week had been all about Francesco and Maria, which it should be. But it would be nice to get some alone time with her boyfriend.

Together, they carried Maria up the stairs and into the nursery, and Bonnie watched as Damon slowly lowered her into the crib and beside her brother.

For a few moments, the couple stared silently down at their children.

"They're so beautiful," Bonnie breathed. There were still times where she almost found it hard to believe that they existed. But she knew one thing for sure. The love she held for the two little beings was a kind of love she had never experienced in her life before.

"They are," Damon agreed wholeheartedly, gazing down at their sleeping forms with a look of pure adoration. He eventually cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away from them and in Bonnie's direction. "Perhaps it's much too early but there is one thing I would like to discuss with you, little bird."

"What?" Bonnie asked, a bit perplexed. She had no idea what it could be.

"About our children...and how they're going to grow up. You know that we can't allow them to attend human school."

Yes. Even at this very early stage of their lives, little Francesco and Maria were already beginning to develop signs of being anything but ordinary. Damon had searched their young minds and came to the conclusion already that they would both grow to be powerfully telepathic at the very least. But that was expected, considering their mother was a Druid psychic and their father a vampire.

Bonnie nodded in agreement. "I know. And...aren't we just going to home school them?"

"For their first years of education, yet. But once they hit the age of thirteen, there's also another option for them." He lowered his voice down an octave. "I have heard that our old friend Lady Ulma is in the process of developing a special academy down in the dimension. A school for...gifted children such as ours."

Bonnie gaped, not entirely sure what to think of that idea. Although she trusted Lady Ulma and believed her to be a dear woman, she wasn't sure she liked the idea of their children being in the Dark Dimension. "Would they have to live there?"

"More than likely. But as i'm sure you remember, we have our own manor in the Dark Dimension now as well." Sensing her fear, Damon suddenly gripped both of her hands in a comforting fashion. "And you must know that I would never consider it if I believed it would put them in danger. You, and those two little beings over there are my family. I will always protect all three of you." He leaned down and kissed her knuckles. "Besides, it is thirteen years from now. I only brought it up now because I didn't wish to hide anything from you."

Bonnie smiled at him and nodded in agreement. "Yes. We do have time. And...if you still think it's a good idea when the time comes, I will trust you. We're a family now." She paused, and then a playful glint lit up her eyes. "Now, let's go to our room. I think cuddling time is way overdue."

Chuckling, Damon picked her up into his arms and sped off towards their bedroom.

Bonnie already knew that this was going to be a beautiful new chapter to their lives.

The End