So as much as I love VD, this needed to happen. It was never said, and it needed to be said. So here it is.

Damon was alone now. He looked around, hoping to see someone – anyone – standing in the darkness with him. But it was hopeless; there was nobody. He stopped looking and bowed his head, closing his eyes.

In his mind, he tried to picture her, his Princess of Darkness. But her face was not the first to appear. The first image that popped into his mind was his redbird. Sweet, innocent Bonnie.

He took a sharp breath, startled at how perfectly he saw all of her features. Her heart shaped face was smiling, glowing. Her green eyes were shining, showing her true feelings, showing her love for him.

His eyes flew open. His mind had pulled up a recent memory. It was when they had arrived safely at Lady Ulma's after he had saved her from Shinichi.

He was still reeling with anger when he sent Bonnie to bed. He went to his room two doors down, but sleep wouldn't come easily to him. He paced in his room, thinking of all the things he wanted to do to Shinichi, all the things he would do if – when – they met again. How dare Shinichi try to kill her! He continued pacing, and the more he paced the anger grew in him and his thoughts became much more graphic. The world around him faded away until his was just him and his imagination. He didn't come back to the real world until…

"Damon!"

He whipped around, startled by the call. He saw Bonnie in the doorway, looking frightened. "I didn't mean to startle you," she said, walking into the room.

"What's wrong?" His voice sounded harsh, but it was only because he had just had the crap scared out of him by this tiny girl.

She inched a little closer to him. "I…I was trying to sleep when I saw…" She shook her head, as if trying to shake an image away. She looked into his deep black eyes and asked, "Were you just thinking about killing Shinichi? Torturing, actually. It was more like torture than kill."

Oh no, he thought. He had been so lost in thought he had started projecting, and she had been the closest person to pick them up. This little redbird didn't need any more scares tonight, she had been through so much already. "I'm sorry, Bonnie. I didn't mean to project any of those thoughts."

What happened next caught him off guard. Bonnie began to smile and giggle a little. "What's so funny?"

"That's the second time the great Damon Salvatore has apologized to me today. Wait till Meredith and Elena hears this." She giggled some more.

He took another step towards her. "Redbird, we're going to keep that our little secret. My reputation is at stake with that information." She made a face, then thought about it for a moment before smiling even brighter and saying, "Ok! Our secret!"

It was this look that his mind had brought to surface. And it made him smile, though it was a sad smile. He had always been so distracted by Elena's beauty that he had barely noticed Bonnie's feelings. He had cared a great deal for her. He had even given her a pet name, and she seemed to like it. The more he thought about her, the more he knew…quickly he sent the message to the boy, the child he hid within himself to guard all his secrets. The boy knew what he had to say to each of them. This was just a quick addition.

He waited. He hated waiting. But there was nothing else to do in this darkness. He needed to know if his messages had gotten through to his brother and his girls. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes or seconds, the boy appeared. He was crying. "Well? Did it work?"

"I got all but one message to them. We were interrupted by the tree and I couldn't get Bonnie back. Elena stayed with me, held me, but then I lost her and found you."

"Bonnie…she doesn't know…" The boy shook his head. "How will she know now?"

Bonnie woke up in her bedroom. Quickly, the events of the past few days flooded back to her, along with the new memories the Guardians had created. But one thing couldn't be forgotten. Damon was dead. Damon, who had seemed cold and uncaring but really cared about this tiny town, would never smirk, would never fly, would never save her again. She curled into a ball and cried until she fell back asleep.

In her dream, Bonnie saw darkness everywhere. She couldn't figure out where she was. But she knew she shouldn't be there – wherever "there" was. She turned around and gave a little scream. "Damon!"

His head whipped up, away from the child she had spoken to, the one who knew she was called redbird. "Bonnie? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I…I don't know. I was in my room, crying because you're dead. I guess I fell asleep. But how did I end up here? Where are we?"

"Darkness. Death. That's why you shouldn't be here. You're not dead, are you?" The fear in his voice was something she had never heard before. He ran over to her and grabbed her shoulders, as if trying to figure out if she was alive or dead.

"I don't think so. I mean, I don't remember dying. No, I'm alive." She thought for a moment before she realized, "I'm psychic! I wanted to see you again, and I found you."

Damon wasn't sure if that's how things like this worked, but he shrugged and just went with it. "Well, since you're here, I should tell you something."

"Damon, I love you." She gasped and put her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant for it to come out that way, but she couldn't control herself. This might be her last chance to tell him, and she didn't want to lose it.

He just smiled sadly. "I'm sorry I didn't notice before. And I'm sorry I didn't notice how I felt before either." He bent down a little and kissed her softly, then leaned his forehead against hers. "Too late now."

She hugged him, still tasting his kiss on her lips. "But you love Elena."

"Elena's a goddess on earth, everyone loves her. But you, you're so sweet, so gentle and so quiet. It's a different kind of love. But I do love you, little redbird." He faced her, and she saw sincerity in his eyes.

"Are you sure you're Damon Salvatore?" she asked, giggling a little at herself. He smiled and bowed his head before kissing her again. "I'll miss you," she said.

"I'll never forget you, redbird." He broke away from her then, leaving his hands on her shoulders. "But you don't belong here. You should go home."

A tear fell from her eye onto his hand as she nodded, understanding. "I'll miss you." She looked behind him and saw the child. Her eyes glanced back at Damon. "You take care of him." She smiled as the boy ran over and hugged her. "Bye, redbird."

"Bye." He let her go as the image of the two Damon's faded away. She woke up peacefully in her room. She could still feel the burning in her eyes from her tears. But now she just smiled, thinking of Damon, of her love for him. Now he knew, and she knew he loved her. That was how she wanted to remember him, and she knew she could never forget him.

She giggled as she thought, The crow and his redbird. That was how she would remember everything they had gone through together.