So this is a smaller chapter…sorry about that. I actually planned on putting out a new chapter of Repose before writing another chapter for this story but this story kept knocking at the back of my skull. I am going to take a small break from it though so I can focus on something new for Repose so fans of that story give me a few days please! Either way this chapter is to get the ball rolling. This story is actually evolving into something way bigger in my brain…Jesus help! Lol! Hope you guys enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, its characters, or its concept.

Chapter 8

"Hey."

Bonnie turned around to see Damon standing behind her. She was sitting on the enclosed back porch swinging on a two person swing and wrapped in a fluffy white blanket. She had pulled the swing to face the sprawl of the backyard and had been watching the trees swing back and forth for 30 minutes now. It was 3 in the morning and she hadn't slept for more than an hour before waking back up. It had been like that for a week now.

"Hi." She said softly.

"What are you doing up?"

She shrugged a petite shoulder. "Couldn't sleep." She turned back to the expanse of green and as she began to rock so did the trees. They appeared to be dancing.

"May I?"

She looked up and saw him pointing towards the empty seat beside her. "Sure." She smiled sweetly and used her toe to slow down the swing so he could sit. Once he did she put her legs underneath her and he used his bare feet to rock them back and forth.

He looked at the dancing trees for a few seconds before turning to look at her relaxed profile. He smiled slowly. "Are you doing that?"

"Hmmm?" She turned from the trees and they went still.

"You're making the trees move like that….."

"Oooohhh yeah." She turned back to the trees and they started their waltz once again. "I can do that now."

"Wind?"

"Nope. I'm actually moving the roots and it makes it look like they're dancing. It calms me down."

He nodded and continued to rock them back and forth. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She cast her eyes down for a couple of seconds before lifting them back up to the trees. "About what's happening to me or about what your mother did?"

"Both."

"Ok…I'm scared about what's happening to me and I'm mad about what your mother did. Other than that I don't know what I'm feeling."

"That's ok. You can figure it out later."

"Damon?"

His rocking faltered slightly. "Yes?"

"Can we talk about our fight? You know the one we had before the graveyard incident."

"Is that what we're calling your display of stupidity? The graveyard incident?"

Her smile was quick and sharp. "Can we talk about the fight or not?"

He looked back out to the prancing trees. He was silent for several seconds. "I didn't mean it Bon. You need to know that."

"But you said it….."

He turned to her and she readjusted in her seat so she was facing him completely, her knees resting against his thigh. "I was mad, Bonnie. I was mad and hurt and pissed the hell off. I felt betrayed and I lashed out but that wasn't an excuse for you to go out by yourself and do something stupid, like not watching your back."

"You hurt me. You tossed me aside for her as soon as you had an excuse, Damon." She got off the swing and tightened the blanket around her shoulders while giving him a death stare. "You don't get to call me stupid when I only did what I did because you left me with no choice. I was alone because you kicked me out. That's just the truth."

She brushed past him but he grabbed her wrist before she could get too far. "Bonnie….I didn't mean it."

She wouldn't look at him. She continued to face the darkened back porch. "How do I know that?"

He let go for a second and stood before taking her by the shoulders and turning her around to face him. He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her head until her eyes met his. He brushed his fingertips against her cheek which made her eyes flutter slightly, before cupping it. "You know it because I'm saying it. I didn't mean it. I could never mean that. I need you in my life."

"Not anymore….."

"What does that mean?" She cast her eyes down. He held her face and forced her to look up at him. "Hey, look at me. What does that mean?"

"Let's be real, Damon. You don't need me anymore. You have Elena back. And I'm not saying I'm not happy. I am. I missed her but I know what having her back means. It means that I'm not the important girl in your life anymore. I'm the expendable one again. And that hurts. And I'm not asking you to fix it…you really can't but I needed to say it. That losing you, even a little bit, to her…it hurts."

He hunched down slightly so they were eye level and brought his face within a breath of hers. "You are not losing me. You will never lose me. You, Bonnie Bennett, will always be one of the important girls in my life. Our bond…that's not going anywhere and no one, including Elena, can make me give it up. Ok?"

She nodded and sniffled a little bit. "Ok."

He smiled and placed a soft, lingering kiss beside her lips…so close he could feel the warmth. He felt his stomach muscles tighten and he took a deep breath so he wouldn't do anything stupid. Elena, was back, he reminded himself. He stood to his full height and wrapped her in a tight hug while lying his lips against her forehead at the same time. He felt settled…something he hadn't felt in a long time. Bonnie brushed her little nose against the middle of his chest and took in deep breaths of his spicy scent before settling her ear against his chest, her eyes facing the back of the dark porch with its wrought iron swing door and two windows.

On the other side of one of the darkened windows stood a tall, pale, dark haired beauty who had seen and heard the entire exchange between her boyfriend and her best friend. She watched now as they basically fell into each other, wrapping limbs around each other like a vine wraps around a trellis. There was trouble ahead and it was confirmed when the petite witch looked towards her and seemed to smile but it was gone as quickly as it had come and Elena began to doubt she had seen it at all.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Morning all." Damon announced as he walked into the kitchen. Elena trailed behind him, their hands loosely locked.

Stefan and Caroline looked up from the table and said hello. Bonnie stood at the counter stirring something in a large pale blue bowl. She stopped whatever she was saying to turn to the couple. "Morning."

Damon let go of Elena's hand and she simply let him go as he walked over to Bonnie. She poured herself some coffee and took a seat across from them, at the island.

Damon stopped in front of Bonnie and took his index finger to tip the bowl towards him. "What you got there, Red? Baking cookies?"

"Red?" Elena questioned.

Bonnie smacked Damon's hand in annoyance before looking around him to Elena. "Yeah…he has this obsession with seeing me as Little Red Riding Hood and himself as the wolf. It's really disturbing when you think about it seeing that the wolf wanted to eat her."

Damon turned to Elena and leaned against the sink behind him and watched as Bonnie started scooping up balls of dough and placing them on a parchment laid cookie sheet. He stopped watching for a second and looked up at Elena. "Bonnie always looks at the dark parts of fairytales which really speaks volumes about who she is."

Bonnie stopped what she was doing and licked a piece of dough from her fingers while looking back at Damon with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Damon just ignored her and kept talking. "But my comparison is actually really sweet when you think about it." Bonnie snorted but Damon kept talking like she had done nothing. "I always assumed Little Red was a witch you see. I mean what little girl just walks through the forest in a bright ass color like a bullseye for creatures unless she knows she can take care of herself. And then you have her grandmother who lives in the middle of nowhere and fears basically nothing so clearly…witches. And then you have the wolf, which would be yours truly who just wants a friend but doesn't know how to express it so things go a little wrong but the good intentions were there. Hence, a patchwork Oscar and Felix friendship!"

Elena looked confused. "Oscar and Felix?"

Bonnie and Damon both said, "The Odd Couple," simultaneously.

Elena's face became scrunched up slightly from the little display and Caroline decided to come to the rescue. "Elena you should ask what he calls Stefan and I…"

Stefan shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "Could we not?"

Damon smirked. "They are Snow White and one of the dwarfs, Sneezy or Dopey, I would guess."

Elena laughed. "Why?"

Stefan grumbled under his breath. "Because Snow White is an airhead and the dwarves harvest diamonds to gain her love."

"My explanation was much sweeter but Stefan doesn't like this game."

"And me? Who am I?" Elena asked.

Damon sauntered over to the bowl of left over cookie dough and bumped shoulders with Bonnie on purpose while sticking his finger in the bowl and eating some dough. He didn't even look up when he answered. "Hadn't actually thought about that. Mmmm snickerdoodles."

Elena looked hurt but didn't say anything. She just watched as her boyfriend played house with someone else. Bonnie placed the bowl in his hands and pushed him slightly. "Go sit with Elena and get out of my way."

Damon rolled his eyes but did what she said. Bonnie placed the cookie sheet in the oven and just as she closed the door, her phone began to buzz across the countertop. She looked at the screen and her brow became pinched but she answered regardless.

"Hello? Oh…hi. Yes, I'm fine. Hold on, ok?" She walked out of the room without an explanation and worried looks overtook all of her friend's faces.

"I wonder what that was about." Caroline said as she looked at the empty space Bonnie had left.

Before anyone could respond, Bonnie walked back in and took a heavy seat on the opposite side of the island from Elena and Damon.

"Bon?"

She jerked slightly and looked up at Damon. "Hmmmm?"

"What's going on?"

She looked a little confused but realization hit and she looked down at her phone. "Oh…that was my Mom. She has some information for me on the witch thing I'm becoming or more accurately she has a friend that has some information on it. He's invited me to come visit and read everything he has on it."

"Are you going to go?" Caroline asked with wide eyes.

"Ummm I'm thinking about it. I feel like I need to know what it's in store for me."

"Where does this friend live?" asked Stefan.

"Some small town right outside of Salem." She got off the stool. "I think I should go. I'm going to shower and pack a small bag and get on the road." She was almost out of the kitchen before Damon spoke.

"Make sure it's actually a small bag." She turned back with a raised brow in question. "We're not loading my car down with crap."

"We?"

He smiled saucily. "You didn't really think I was going to let you go by yourself did you?"

"I'll be fine by myself, Damon. I don't need a bodyguard."

"Well that's too bad because you've got one."

She rolled her eyes heavily. "Fine. Whatever!" She left the room and Damon was off of his stool soon afterwards and making his way up to his bedroom to pack his own bag.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Elena watched Damon from his bedroom door as he folded and packed his small duffle bag. She knew that no matter what happened she couldn't let Bonnie and Damon travel alone together. She was scared to question why it scared her so much but scare her it did.

"How long do you think this is going to take?"

"What do you mean?" He was still folding and packing…he hadn't looked up at her when she spoke.

"This trip…how long do you think it's going to take?"

He shrugged and finally looked at her. "As long as it takes I guess. Hopefully no more than a couple of days."

She nodded and walked into the room before plopping down on the bed beside his bag. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

He looked confused. "You want to? It's going to be a lot of boring research for hours."

"I don't mind…honestly."

"Ok. Go ahead and pack a bag." He stopped at the doorway and turned back. "Oh and you're probably going to have to ride in the back for most of the trip."

"Why?"

"Bonnie gets car sickness. Sitting up front helps." He gave her a quick peck on the lips. "See you downstairs."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course she does." She muttered to herself.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Stefan and Caroline waved as Damon drove away with Elena in the back and Bonnie securely in the passenger seat, until they were out of sight.

"You think the three of them going off by themselves was a bad idea?"

Stefan continued to stare at the empty space the car had left. "Definitely!"

They shrugged and walked into the house, slamming the door behind them.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

They had been driving for about an hour when Bonnie reached for the radio tuner.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Damon asked while using a fingertip to pull down his sunglasses to the tip of his nose, so he could give her a stern look.

Bonnie brought her legs up in the seat so she was sitting Indian style and readjusted so she was comfortable but continued to mess with the radio. "I'm looking for something actually worth hearing."

"And what exactly was wrong with the station it was just on?"

"80's screaming and rocker feelings….yeah, I don't think so." She said with a scrunched up nose.

He pushed his glasses back up and turned back to the road, before muttering under his breath. "No one should be allowed to mess with a man's radio."

Bonnie chuckled. "Stop being such a baby."

Elena folded her arms in annoyance and stared out of the window. Hopefully Bonnie would fall asleep on the long ride there so she didn't have to deal with this anymore.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Bonnie had both feet on the seat and her knees up to her chest. She was resting her body against the door with her sunglasses snuggly on while reading a book and listening to music through her phone. Everyone in the car had been semi silent for the past two hours except for the occasional exchanged couple of words but the two girls were starting to get hungry which was made clear when Elena's stomach growled.

Damon reached an arm back and squeezed her leg. "Hungry, baby?"

She grabbed his hand and squeezed with a sweet smile on her face. It seemed like it had been forever since he touched her in such an intimate way and she it was making her feel foolish for, ever doubting his devotion. "A little, yeah."

He nodded. "Then we'll stop. How about you, Bon?" He asked but she continued to read her book without any acknowledgment. He removed his hand from Elena's leg and she peeked around the corner to see what he was doing. He wrapped his hand around Bonnie's thigh and squeezed slightly and Elena's mouth became tight in anger. Bonnie jumped slightly and popped her earbuds out before turning to him.

"What?"

He laughed openly. "Are you hungry?" Elena looked at his hand and noticed that not only had he grabbed Bonnie's thigh but that his thumb was brushing back and forth over the soft skin. Her eyes burned from unshed tears as she became angrier. She tried to remind herself that she was overreacting and that Damon was hers and only hers.

"Oh…yeah, I could go for something."

He slapped her leg slightly before putting it back on the steering wheel. "Ok, so where are we going ladies?"

"Ummmmm….." Elena said as she thought about it.

Bonnie just smiled at him. "You know what I want?"

"Nope!"

Elena looked between them. "What am I missing?"

Damon shook his head in frustration. "Bonnie went through this phase of only eating macaroni and cheese with lemonade from Panera. It lasted for a solid month before I forbade it coming in my house."

"Oh, why?"

Damon looked in the rearview mirror at her with a lifted eyebrow. "She gets horrible heartburn when she takes in all that acid and then she complains for an hour after."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that."

He nodded though he clearly didn't believe that she remembered that about her friend. "Either way after the last time, I said it was the last time."

"Please! I promise I won't complain this time." He just gave her a sideways look. "Promise!"

An hour later, Bonnie was lying on the backseat with the heel of her hand digging into her chest while she moaned.

Elena squeezed the hand of Damon's that was clasped within hers but he just shook his head and kept driving. Elena turned in her seat, regardless, to look at Bonnie. "Are you ok, Bon?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She said through gritted teeth.

"You're some ancient witch now, aren't you? Why don't you just zap it away?" Damon said past his smile.

"Go to hell, Damon!"

He laughed and kept driving as Bonnie writhed in the backseat in pain.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

They had been driving for hours and exhaustion had started to catch up. Bonnie had already given up, passing out 20 minutes earlier. Elena's head was resting on Damon's shoulder while she had both hands wrapped around his free hand.

He moved his shoulder slightly to get her attention. "Getting sleepy?"

"Yeah."

"We'll stop at the next motel we see, ok?"

She nodded against his shoulder. "Ok."

They went silent for several minutes. "So, you never told me everything I missed while I was asleep."

"Ummm not much to tell."

"Tell me everything."

"Ok. Well after you went to sleep, Bonnie and Caroline went away to Europe for the summer."

"Really? And you and Stefan, what did you two do?"

"Well we didn't go to Europe." He muttered.

She leaned back and turned completely to him, one of her legs tucked under her and one dangling. "Why not?"

"Well…we weren't invited. They just packed up and left. I found out when I went to see Bonnie after we put up your coffin and she stayed away for 3 months after that. It was hard. Either way after she came back we just continued on like usual. The girls got an apartment off campus and they would come stay the weekends and we just existed. My mother wasn't around so we didn't have any drama. It wasn't bad but I missed you, of course." He reached over and took her hand before kissing her knuckles.

"And Stefan and Caroline? Are they together now? Neither of them will really talk about it."

"I don't think that's ever going to happen again. They seem content just being friends which is a bit of a shame. I think they would have been good together."

Elena felt a little twinge in her chest from the comment but she chose to ignore it. "And Bonnie? Who is she seeing? Because she has been single way too long." She smiled but she knew it was fake and that she was fishing for information. She looked at his left hand and saw it tighten around the wheel slightly before relaxing but his demeanor was cool.

"She's not seeing anyone and frankly I think it's for the best."

"Oh? Why? You mean because of the transformation she's going through?"

"Bonnie isn't ready for a relationship yet."

"I don't know if anyone is ever ready for one. I think you just have to get back out there and try. I'm sure she wants to get married and -"

"There goes a motel. Let's stop for the night." He cut her off. His face was cold and hard and she knew that that particular conversation was over.

He stopped the car in front of the office and parked it before running in and paying for two rooms. He drove the car around the other side of the building to where their rooms were and grabbed his and Elena's bags and ran them up to their room before coming back down to a waiting Elena and Bonnie. He looked in the back for a few seconds, at Bonnie's sleeping form.

"I'll wake her up."

"No, don't worry about it. Do you mind grabbing her bag?" Damon asked as he opened his back door.

Elena removed Bonnie's bag from the trunk and closed all the doors and trunk while she waited. Damon leaned down and slipped one arm under her neck and one under her knees before lifting her out of the car. She whimpered and moved restlessly against him as he walked to the stairs, with Elena close behind him. He whispered to her, "It's ok, it's just me."

Bonnie sighed happily and snuggled into his chest. He managed to open the door without jarring her too much and placed her on the bed. She was awake but barely keeping her eyes open. She got up and moved past them in a haze, taking her bag from Elena as she went. Both Damon and Elena looked at the bathroom door in confusion but Bonnie was right back out in an oversized black t-shirt and no pants. She walked past them again, silently, and stumbling along the way before slipping under the covers. Damon chuckled and shook his head before turning on his heel to leave but Bonnie's hand shot out and grabbed him.

"Can you stay for a little bit?" She looked up at him with wide eyes and Damon automatically nodded.

He reached in his pocket and held out the motel keys to Elena. She just looked at him in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm only going to be a couple of minutes. Just go to our room and I'll be there soon enough."

She huffed and snatched the keys from his hand before slamming the door behind him but at the last minute she changed her mind and stuck her ear to the door so she could hear what they were saying.

Bonnie looked down at her hands and looked ashamed. "I don't want to cause problems between you two."

Damon shook his head and slipped his jacket off before sitting beside her on the bed, resting his head against the wall. "You're not. Elena is just having difficulty adjusting to our friendship. She'll be fine." He looked at her profile as she played with her fingernails. He took her hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth on her palm. "Come here."

She looked back at him and smiled gently before scooting backwards and snuggling up to his side. He wrapped his arm around her and placed his chin on top of her head as his fingertips made their way up her shirt and began to brush slowly back and forth over her ribs.

"What's going on with you?"

She let out a deep breath and wrapped her hand around the middle of his shirt, bunching the material. "I'm getting nervous over meeting this guy."

"Over meeting him or over finding out what he knows?"

"The latter. What if this thing, I'm becoming, what if it's bad? What if I'm bad? I've been having these moments where I swear I can feel nothing but dark magic in my veins and then a second later it's gone. Maybe it's an omen."

"You are not bad and you're not becoming bad. I don't think you could be bad if you tried. And the moments you've been feeling is probably just your body still going through the transformation." He looked down at her and she looked up at him. "I know this is scary for you but Bon, when I think of the alternative, when I think of you being dead, I can't think of any reason why this is a bad thing. It feels like a break from the universe and I'm grateful."

She smiled and settled into him more. "I wish you could sleep in here tonight, to calm me down."

Elena felt her eyes grow large at the comment. They sleep together?! How long had that been going on?!

"I can if you need me to."

She chuckled. "I don't think Elena would be ok with that."

He laughed quick and sharp. "Yeah, probably not. How about I just stay until you fall asleep, hmmm?"

"That'll work." They settled into the bed more and she pulled the blanket up further on herself as she wrapped her arm around his middle and closed her eyes.

Forty five minutes later, Damon closed the door to his and Elena's bedroom, softly. He tiptoed around the room as he got undressed and slipped into the bed beside her. She wasn't asleep but he didn't seem to notice. He smelled like wildflowers and she realized that Bonnie's scent was all over him. She kept her back to him as she whispered her next words. "Did she finally fall asleep?" She asked with a sharp tone.

Damon was quiet for a full ten seconds. "She did. Goodnight, Elena." He turned over and Elena let the conversation drop.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

The rest of the car ride the next day was quiet and tense. No one tried to break the silence unless it was for the necessities of food or bathroom breaks and that seemed the best thing.

The man that Bonnie's mother suggested lived in the middle of town on a street lined in old Victorian houses from the 1800's. Damon pulled into the driveway behind an old station wagon before cutting the engine and turning to the girls. "Ready?"

They both nodded, neither one speaking, and opened their doors to get out of the car. Damon led the way to the front door and knocked which echoed sharply because the door was so thick. They heard the door unlock, one bolt lock and one lock that went directly into the floor. A man in his mid-60's opened the door. He was around 6'2 and broad shouldered and had silver hair from old age. He had soft pale blue eyes and a sweet smile that instantly put Bonnie to ease and once he began to speak, she realized a rich British accent.

"Hello. How may I help you?"

Bonnie stepped out from behind Damon and the man gasped and took a step back. "It's not possible….."

Bonnie looked confused. "I'm sorry, I think you're confused. I'm Bonnie Bennett. My mom suggested I speak to you."

His eyes were wide as he stared at her. "You're a seeker."

The three of them looked confused. "A what?" Bonnie asked.

"A seeker. An old type of witch that I assumed died out. You're mother told me that she assumed as much but I didn't think she could be right. It is an honor to meet you. I honestly never thought I would meet one in my lifetime. Please come in." He smiled at Damon. "You too vampire."

The three of them walked into the house and followed him into the living room. "Please take a seat. I'll get some tea and a book that will give you an overview of what you're becoming. We can delve deeper into it tomorrow."

They sat on the couch and waited, none of them speaking but all very suspect about what was happening. He was back soon enough and sat the tray in front of them. "Jasmine tea and of course for you," he indicated Damon, "blood." He passed Damon his own thick coffee mug and then passed the dainty tea cups to Elena and Bonnie after putting the right amount of sugar.

He sat down in an opposite chair with his own cup and studied them with a patient, relaxed look. "Where should I start?"

Bonnie took a sip and then put the cup down. "You could tell me your name?"

He laughed deeply. "Oh yes! So sorry! I'm Reginald. You may call me Reggie."

She nodded and looked at both Elena and Damon for support before continuing. "And I guess the next thing would be the book…"

"Aww yes!" He got up and came back with a small worn book wrapped in dark brown leather. "Here you are." He passed it to her and she looked at it in trepidation before taking it from his hands.

"You may take that to bed tonight. You all, of course, are welcome to stay and then tomorrow we can talk about all the details of what you are. But for now I will just tell you something you may not know yet. You are now immortal."