"How is he still alive?" Caroline asked astonished.

"It doesn't matter." Stefan said stepping forward and helping his brother off the table. Who seemed to have a firm grip on the girl. "A man who is supposed to be dead just woke up in a hospital. We've got to get him out of here."

"We can take my car?" Jeremy piped in appearing in the doorway.

Stefan looked at him wearily.

"Its fine, really, we can take my car."

Stefan turned back towards Damon shrugging of his leather jacket. "Here put the kid down and put this on."

"She's not going anywhere," Damon said a bit more sternly than he had intended.

"Fine." Stefan drapped the leather jacket over his shoulders and helped him down from the morgue's slab.

They were able to make it to the car without too many people asking questions. Damon threw his head back on the hot leather seats and closed his eyes. His daughter's ahnd still in his as she squirmed on the seats next to him.

"Listen, I'm going to stay behind and help Stefan clear up some of this mess." Caroline said sticking her head into the passenger side window.

"She's not coming with me." He said his head bolting up right.

"No, she's not," she said raising an eyebrow at him. "I was supposed to tell you that you can take her back to the house. "Elena's on her way shes going to pick all of us up then."

"Fine." He kicked the back off Jeremy's seat. "Let's go."

The little girl waved goodbye and blew kisses out of the back window to who he could only assume was Bonnie. He refused to look back at her. He looked at Jeremy through the rearview mirror. "I'm fucking starving."

The little girl frowned. "Daddy, you're cursing again."

He cleared his throat and plastered on a fake smile before addressing Jeremy again. "I need some prune juice."

"Can I have some prune juice?"

"No this kind of prune juice is just for vamps." He smiled tickling the little girls belly. Her laughter was like music to his ears.

"There's some prune juice back at the house." Jeremy said with a little wink.

"On the plus side of things. I have myself control back. In another life I would have. . . ." He trailed off not wanting to say anything more in front of his daughter. Who was listening with rapt attention at every word he said.

"I offered to drive you because I heard what you did. That was pretty selfless. We probably wouldn't have them back now if it weren't for you."

Damon turned and kissed the top of his daughters head. She was already getting sleepy. Her head leaning against his forearm. He played with her curls. "We got to get a car seat. Isn't that what responsible adults do. Get car seats."

"A car seat in your chick magnet. I'd love to see the day?" Jeremy snorted.

He shrugged as they pulled up in front of the his mansion. That he never thought he would see again. "I guess I'll just have to get another car." He opened the passenger side door and lifted Mila into his arms.

"Can I have it?" Jeremy asked leaning half way out the drivers seat.

"No."

He stumped up the stairs and placed his daughter in his bed. The crib wasn't right for her now. He'd have to change the room to make it fit. In the meantime, he would sleep on the floor and give her the whole king size bed. She stirred from her sleep. "I'm hungry."

He looked towards the door to the room thinking of what Bonnie would have wanted. He brushed off the thoughts. "How about some ice cream before bed?"

"Yay she wrapped her small arms around his neck. I love you daddy."

His eyes clouded over as the smell of her blood threatened to overtake him. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind his eyes returning to normal. He squeezed her tighter. "I love you too baby." She laid back in bed and he went down stairs. Heading to the basement for some much needed sustenance. He went through three bags before he realized that he was still downstairs and he had some ice cream to deliver. He fixed the ice cream and took it upstairs to his daughter's room. To find her jumping in the bed and throwing the pillows on the floor. "What are you doing?" He screamed in mock horror. Grabbing her around her waist and sitting her on the bed.

"Can I watch cartoons?"

He looked around. "I'm sorry, but I don't actually have a tv, but I promise first thing in the morning. We can go shopping for one." He said handing her the bowl. She talked and he listened to what there life was like in the other world without him. About her dance recital when everyone got sick. Although, he wanted to appreciate there time together he couldn't because he was getting angrier over all the things he had missed. He clapped his hands together, "Alright, bed time." He said hearing the car pull up out front. She snuggled down into the covers and he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, daddy. Will mommy be here in the morning?"

He listened for the front door opening. "Yeah."

He passed Caroline in the hall carrying her own little bundle of joy. The little girl was already in her pajamas as she took her to her room. "Ice cream?"

"I'm allowed to be a silly dad."

Her frown turned upside down. "You are."

He paid no attention to the crowd that had assembled in the living room and walked to the kitchen. Rinsing off the dish. Suddenly, he was attacked from behind as Elena wrapped her arms around his back. "I missed you."

He turned around and gave her a hug. "Its nice to be back. Thanks for hanging in there with me." He said this to Elena, but it was Enzo that he had his eyes on.

"Of course. I'll always be there for you." She playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"You have more lives than a cat, mate." Enzo said smiling slyly.

"I don't know how I would have gotten through any of it." He looked directly at Enzo. "I owe you an apology."

Enzo's eyes glimmered with unshed tears. "No apologies, mate. I do what I want."

Damon laughed and gave him an embrace that was only interrupted by the sight of Bonnie. "Mila's upstairs if you want to go check on her."

"I want to talk to you."

"Will leave you two alone?" Elena said dragging Enzo toward the door.

"They can leave, but I still don't have to deal with you until I'm ready." He said following them out the door.

She stopped him grabbing on to his arm. "Don't do this to me. Don't do this to Mila."

"Wow, you've been back on earth all of two hours and you're already using her against me."

She released his arm and he walked out on to the back porch. Needing some fresh air. The wind cool on the back of his neck. He looked towards the tree in the backyard remembering that it was just a few days ago that he stood before Enzo showing him his ripped and torn back. He subconsciously touched his back.

"It's not there anymore."

He turned to see Bonnie standing there. He groaned inwardly. He wasn't ready to have this conversation. He wanted to rip her throat out, but at the same time he wanted to kiss her and tell her that he missed her.

"The scars, the blood, the jagged skin it's all gone." She said approaching him tentatively.

"And just the emotional scars remain."

"Not even that. The children you killed their alive."

"I know that." He nodded looking off into the distance remembering that he watched a tv program in the hospital with Caroline. There faces flashed across the screen. He didn't recognize them then, but he remembers now. "I was actually referring to the scars you left." He watched her as she sucked in a harsh breath. He walked around her taking in the smell of her lavender shampoo. The slight pudge of her stomach some leftover baby weight. She was beautiful, but he was angry. So much that even the sight of her turned his stomach. "See they showed me the video of you leaving me as I called after you. Begged you to return and I remembered thinking. I don't know what I did to hurt her, but I must've deserved it."

"Caroline told me in the ride over about your amnesia, about everything."

"Yeah, I remember everything now. Funny, I just can't feel the same way. Because I didn't deserve it. I didn't deserve to miss out on so much of my baby's life. And what do you do? You name her Mila, is that supposed to be some sort of consolation prize. You hated that name."

She sighed as if it hurt just to speak. "You have to understand I did it to bring the children back."

"I thought you might say that. I was planning on hating you anyway. Until I spent a few minutes alone with her smile, her smell, her none stop talking - just like her mom. I realized then that I would have made the same decision to give those parents their moments back."

"So you understand?" She asked turning her hand across his chest as her eyes brimmed with tears.

He twisted her hand away from him. "Don't touch me because what I understand is that you didn't stop there. You turned me human and left me to die in agony."

She grimaced. "Damon you're hurting me."

He released her wrist and pushed her away. "I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to love you. You're just need to be nothing to me."

"No, No Damon. I had no idea that he was going to do that. I did not tell him to hurt you."

"He did it on his own?"

"Yes," she said wiping furiously at a stray tear.

"How did he get the idea?"

"I . . .I don't know." She stammered.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. HOW DID HE KNOW?"

She bit her lip not bothering to stop the tears that were flowing freely now. "I told him that you should be human because it would stop your pain and you wouldn't hurt people anymore."

He ran his hand through his hair and cursed under his breath. He stormed over to the green lawn chair and tossed it against the tree. "Why because understanding me was too hard? Because being in hell was just a trip to Disneyland and i'm exaggerating the pain? Or because you knew I was spiraling and you let Enzo take care of it rather then deal with it yourself?"

"I was pregnant with your child. You were disappearing at all hours of the night and yes I did follow you. I knew you were killing women. I saw the scars one morning while you were taking a shower. I just didn't know it was going to get that bad. So I decided when I found out about those kids that I was going to fix my mistake. I was going to make you human like before when everything was better."

"Better? Like when I got addicted to cocaine?"

"That had nothing to do with that. You were doing that because of Elena."

"BS. I did that because in one fatal swoop I was in a strange land and I was actually scared, tired and weak. And I thought you understood that. Instead you made me everything I hate . . .again." He walked up to her so she could feel his presence. "I don't want anything from you. I don't want your love, your pity, your concern. I want a life without you. But there's a little girl upstairs and for her sake. I'm going to play nice. But after she's tucked away in her bed you go away and stay the hell away from me." He walked toward the screen door.

"I still love you. Mila loves you, but more importantly I still love you and I never stopped. Most of my decisions were made because I didn't understand where you were coming from. So I want to change that." He heard the cock of a gun.

He turned around to see her holding one of Jeremy's pistols.

"I stole this from Jeremy's car. I was going to ask you to shoot me." She said holding the gun out for him, but she changed her mind and pointed it at her head. "But maybe you'll care more if I just do it myself."

"There's a baby upstairs that doesn't want you to do this?"

"And what about you?"

"Baby, I don't want you to die. I'm just angry." He held out his hand for her to hand over the gun. "And I'll take it all back if it will mean you're okay."

"I'm not going to die. You're going to turn me into a vampire. Like you."

He frowned. "You don't want this for your life. For Mila's life. You're only saying this out of fear."

She laughed. "I've had three years to think about this. To run the question over an over again in my head. This is my choice. Look at Caroline and Stefan we can be parents." She backed up. "Don't come any closer."

He stopped his steady March. "Bonnie, you're going to regret this later. Let's just take sometime, a few days, and then will talk about it."

She pointed the gun at her heart. "You don't get to talk me out of this. I love you."

"I know." He nodded. "Maybe I didn't know before, but I know now." He used his speed to interject, but not before she pulled the trigger.

She coughed up blood. "I guess we can answer the question is Damon faster than a speeding bullet."

He looked down at her bloody shirt. He was able to knock her off center enough so that she missed her heart, but she was still dying. He could hear her heart slowing down. She fell to her knees and he caught her before she hit the ground. "You crazy girl." He bit into his wrist and fed her.

"What did you do to her." Snapped Jeremy pulling him away from her and dragging his body sme feet away.

"Oh my God." He's killed her Caroline exclaimed her hand over her mouth in horror. She looked towards the window. "With the children upstairs." She ran back towards the house.

"You son of a bitch," Jeremy screamed spit coming out of his mouth as he pummeled Damon in the face.

"No, you don't. Not this time." Elena said holding Enzo back against the side of the house.

"Everyone just calm down," Stefan said grabbing Jeremy off of Damon.

"Of course you would take his side?" Jeremy spat. "While the woman I love is dying. Why don't you call an ambulance? Or is Damon the only person you care about?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side. Elena, Enzo tell me someone else is hearing what I'm hearing."

Damon made it to his elbow spitting out the blood in his mouth. "He's not calling an ambulance because there's nothing they can do."

"Oh my God," Elena said peering at her friend more closely.

"You son of a bitch," Jeremy exclaimed trying to lunge at him once more unsuccessfully.

"He's not calling an ambulance because there's no cure for vampirism." Bonnie said licking all the blood from her lips.

Jeremy looked back at him. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Seemed like you needed to get some things off your chest." He smiled with a wink as he got to his feet.

Jeremy threw up his hands and walked back towards the house. "You two deserve each other."

The End.

Author's Note: For the sake of word count I did rush Bonnie's transformation to vampire.