Chapter 1

Bonnie brushed away a decade of dust and grime from the cover of the book in her hands. The leather binding was old and softened by many years. She cautiously opened the book in the middle, her eyes moving across the delicate script that filled each yellowed page, seeing but not reading the words. A small smile teased up the corners of her mouth as she turned another page.

Find something you like?

Damon's voice echoed in her head and her smile grew wider, knowing he was sensing her happiness through their bond. She looked up as he came into the room and set another box down on the growing stack that was accumulating. He gave her a quick smile and pushed a stack of books to the side to sit beside her.

She handed over the book without question, watching as he turned it over with careful hands.

"I found this with some other journals Grams had," she explained, shrugging her shoulders. "It looks like it was from back when my family lived in Salem."

His eyes lifted, the fading sunlight making his irises look translucent. He surveyed the mess that surrounded them and smirked. "Well she certainly had plenty of books."

"This from the guy who has an entire library filled with over a thousand books himself?" she teased, nudging his shoulder with hers.

Damon made a face, his eyes narrowed playfully. "Most of those are Stefan's."

"Right," she said with a laugh, knowing that it was Damon, and not Stefan, who could devour a book in an entire afternoon. Sighing, Bonnie leaned back against the nearly empty bookcase and lifted her feet into Damon's lap. He arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything about her using him as a footrest.

Bonnie glanced around the room, feeling the heavy blanket of grief settle around her heart as she realized they were nearly done packing up all of Grams' things. Grams had left the house to Bonnie's dad who had decided last month to sell it. Bonnie had offered to clean it out for him, and he had gratefully accepted. As sad as it was to pack up the last traces of Grams, Bonnie couldn't help the thrill she got at discovering a new treasure around every corner.

She had found several spell books, including Grams' own grimoire. She had found a stack of letters spanning years of Bennett women, and had found close to a dozen journals kept by different women in her family. A box under Grams' bed had close to twenty talismans and casting runes, and she wouldn't have to buy any more candles for a few years.

But none of that really compared with the thick photo albums stuffed with memories. Or the imprint worn into Gram's favorite chair that hugged Bonnie when she sat in it. Or the smell of Grams that still lingered in the air of her bedroom.

Damon reached for her hand without seeing, lacing their fingers and squeezing as he felt her sadness as his own. He kept thumbing through the journal.

The grandfather clock in the hall chimed the hour and Bonnie rolled her shoulders to work out the kinks. "We should probably get going. We told Elena and Stefan we'd meet them at the Grille."

Damon grimaced. "A double date with my brother. Sounds fun. Maybe we can all get matching tattoos to commemorate the event."

She kicked at him and he caught her bare foot with his hand, tickling the sole. She jerked back with a shout of laughter and collided hard with the book shelf. One of the older planks near the top, still heavy with thick volumes of books, came loose with a loud crack and toppled down. Bonnie flinched and waited for the impact of the books and wood on her head, but it never came.

She blinked her green eyes open to see Damon covering body, the books and shelves sliding harmless off his back.

"Thanks," she whispered, her eyes looking up at the broken shelf.

"You OK?" he asked, moving back and looking down at her.

Bonnie nodded quickly. "Yeah. That was close."

"Yeah," he agreed, glancing around at the mess. "I guess we should…" He trailed off, the words dying on his lips as he reached for a book that had landed open-faced on the floor. He picked it up gingerly, his eyes narrowing.

"What? What'd you find?" Bonnie moved next to him, peering over his shoulder at the book. More specifically, the sketch inside the book. A woman and a girl, about sixteen years old. Something about them was familiar. She narrowed her eyes, trying to place the feeling.

"Do you know them?" Bonnie asked finally, looking at Damon.

Damon nodded slowly, his eyes meeting hers. "The woman was a friend of Katherine's. Her name was Pearl."

Bonnie groaned and got to her feet. "Great." She couldn't help the bitter taste that filled her mouth and made her stomach churn. She hated anything and everything to do with Katherine Pierce.

Damon stood as well, still holding the book. "The girl is Anna."

The name rung a bell with her, and Bonnie turned. "Anna? As in the same Anna who turned Jeremy?" She grabbed for the book, pulling it easily from his fingers as she peered at the sketch for a closer look. The date on the bottom simply said 1690.

"Oh my God," Bonnie murmured, smoothing her hand gingerly over their faces. She remembered Anna from when the vampire had kidnapped her and Elena and held them in a motel room.

"What book is that?" Damon leaned closer, his chest pressing against her shoulder.

Bonnie flipped through the pages of handwritten script until she came to the front. Her eyes narrowed. "The Journal of Elisabeth Bennett."

"Do you know who she was?"

Frowning, Bonnie handed him the book wordlessly and moved towards the stack of boxes. Kneeling down, she opened the box she had been packing hours earlier and started pulling books out until she found the one she wanted.

"Grams made a family tree," she explained as she opened one of her grandmother's journals. "I think … here it is!"

Damon walked around to where she was and knelt beside her.

"Elisabeth Bennett was Emily's great-great-great grandmother. She lived in Salem." She looked up at him, her green eyes wide. "How in the world did Elisabeth know Pearl and Anna?"

Damon shook his head. "I have no idea. I only knew Pearl through Katherine, and even when Pearl and Anna were here in Mystic Falls last year I didn't see much of them. We weren't exactly close."

"This is too weird," Bonnie muttered as her phone started ringing. She dug it out of her pocket and winced when she saw Elena's name on the caller ID. She flipped the phone open. "Hey, Elena."

"Where are you guys?" Elena asked loudly so she could be heard over the music pumping from the speakers in the Grill.

Bonnie glanced at Damon who only gave her a bored stare in return. She fought the urge to roll her eyes and started to push herself up. "We're on our way."

"That's not code for barely clothed and scrambling to make yourselves decent is it?" Elena teased.

Damon snorted, using his enhanced hearing to listen in. "I wish," he mouthed at Bonnie as he stood up.

"I promise, we're on our way now," Bonnie said as she hung up. She took the book from Damon's hands and put it in the box she was taking home with her.

"Personally I like the barely clothed idea much better," Damon said, smiling as he reached for her.

Bonnie laughed and moved just beyond his touch. "Not tonight."

He moved faster than she could see and she suddenly found herself pressed against the wall by the door. She gasped softly a second before his lips found hers. His mouth slanted against hers in a dance that was all-too familiar at this point, but still set her on fire. A shiver streaked down her spine, curling her toes as his tongue teased her lips apart. A well placed knee nudged her legs apart and she momentarily forgot about the friends waiting for them.

Bonnie wound her arms around Damon's neck, arching her body against his as she ignored the way he smiled against her lips. His fingers traced the edge of her waistband.

"Stay." He deftly unbuttoned her jeans and started for the zipper.

Bonnie closed her hand around his, stopping him. She pulled her head back and rolled her eyes as common sense prevailed. "Even if I hadn't promised Elena we'd meet her, I'm not having sex with you in Grams' living room."

He barely blinked. "Bedroom then?"

"No!" Bonnie pushed him off her and buttoned her pants. "You're insatiable," she muttered.

"Yeah, but you love me for it," he teased, his eyes glittering with a promise that they weren't done for the night.

She snorted and shook her head. "You're delusional."

"You forget I can read your mind," he said lightly, trailing a finger along her jaw and tracing her lips. He leaned closer. "And I can feel what your body wants." He settled a hand over her breast, his eyes dark. "The way your heart speeds up…"

"Oh yeah?" She gave him a tight-lipped smirk, shifting under his touch. "What am I thinking right now?" She narrowed her eyes at him, still smiling smugly.

Damon blanched and it gave her enough time to turn off the light and open the door. She grabbed a box of books by the door and started down the porch steps without him. He closed the door and started to follow her.

"Like you could resist me for a week," he muttered as they made it to her car. He took her box from her hands.

She glanced at him across the hood and smiled sweetly. "Try a month if you even think about making a move in the car."

He opened his mouth to refute her, scoffing.

Bonnie tapped her temple knowingly. "That mind reading thing works both ways, remember?"

Damon sighed loudly and opened his door, tossing the box in the backseat. "Let's get this over with."

Damon hated teenagers.

He had never been particularly fond of them when he was human and now that he was a vampire, he had even less desire to be around them. Teenagers were moving dinners in his mind; walking blood bags. The Mystic Grille on a Saturday night with its loud pop music and gyrating teens was not his idea of a good time. He flashed Bonnie a long-suffering glare and let her take him by the hand, winding them through the bodies to where Stefan and Elena had snagged a table near the pool tables. He groaned inwardly when he saw they were flanked by Caroline and Matt.

He hadn't minded Caroline so much when he was using her as a snack, but now that he was with Bonnie, the irritatingly chipper blonde was tap dancing on his last nerve. She had taken it upon herself to save Bonnie from Damon which translated into Bonnie being ambushed by several blind dates when he wasn't around.

"Bonnie!" Caroline chirped as they drew near. She pointedly ignored Damon. "I love that shirt. Is it new?"

Bonnie hesitated, but forced a smile. "It was last year when I bought it."

Caroline's grin never dimmed. "Have you seen Seth Kramer? He's looking seriously hot tonight, and he was asking me if you were coming tonight."

"I'm standing right here," Damon snapped finally, mentally making a note to figure out just exactly who Seth Kramer was.

Bonnie's hand squeezed around his. "Thanks, Caroline, but we're good."

Matt whispered something in her ear and Caroline sighed loudly, rolling her eyes. She shifted and eyed Damon warily. "Sorry," she finally muttered. The grim set of her pretty mouth said she was anything but.

Matt flashed them all a thin smile at Damon. "We'll just be … somewhere else." He took her by the hand and led her closer to the pool table Jeremy and Tyler were occupying.

Damon immediately turned on Bonnie. "OK, who the hell—"

Bonnie spun around to face him and pressed a finger against his lips. "I'm thirsty. Are you?" Her green eyes pleaded with him to let Caroline's comment slide.

His eyes narrowed and drifted to her neck. He smirked. "Always."

"Damon," Stefan warned with a shake of his head.

Damon snorted and tossed a glare at his brother. "Oh, would you relax?" He looked back at Bonnie and then the bar. "I'll get drinks. You're too young."

She smiled demurely as she sank into the seat beside Elena. "Yeah. You're definitely my elder."

Elena snorted into her coke and tried to hide a smile as Damon sighed loudly and moved to the bar. He tapped his fingers against the wood to get the bartender's attention and nodded when the man signaled he'd be right down to get Damon's order.

"Hey, Damon," Jeremy greeted as he sidled up to Damon. He leaned an elbow against the bar.

"Scotch and a Sprite," Damon told the bartender.

"What about you?" The bartender, whose nametag read: CRAIG, glanced at Jeremy.

"Scotch?" he echoed with a wistful hint of hope.

Craig snorted. "Nice try, kid." He raised an impatient eyebrow.

"Cherry coke," Jeremy replied, rolling his eyes as Craig turned to fill their orders. He smirked and glanced down, his fingers drumming against the side of the bar. "I'm going to be sixteen forever. I guess going to the bar for a drink isn't exactly in the cards for me."

"Says who?" Damon made a face.

"Says my license and the fact that I'll have this face forever," Jeremy replied, pointing to himself. He shrugged. "It's whatever."

Craig returned and slid their drinks at them. He was about to turn when Damon grabbed him by the wrist. He lifted his eyes questioningly.

Damon leaned forward and lowered his voice, keeping his tone low and soothing as he held Craig's gaze. "Serve my friend here anything he wants. He's of age."

"He's of age," Craig repeated, unblinking. "Right. Of course."

Damon let his wrist go and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot."

"Sure, no problem," Craig replied with a smile. He nodded at Jeremy and headed back down the other end of the bar.

Jeremy choked out a breathy laugh. "That was awesome. That was that mind-control thing, right?"

Damon shook his head, smiling, as he grabbed his and Bonnie's drinks. "Yeah. It was that mind-control thing."

"That is so cool," Jeremy murmured. He glanced away after a beat, his smile fading. "Anna told me that was her favorite perk of … this."

Damon hesitated, remembering the picture of Pearl and Anna that was now in Bonnie's backseat. He glanced at Jeremy, simultaneously amused and annoyed to find he felt bad for the kid. "Did Anna ever tell you anything about when she was turned?"

Jeremy looked surprised for a second and then he shook his head. "She mentioned it was a long time ago, but she never really gave me any specifics. I never asked. I guess I always figured there'd be time."

Damon winced, remember all too well the way John Gilbert had drove a stake into Anna's chest. "Yeah." He watched as Jeremy headed back to the pool table, hating the feeling of guilt that churned in his stomach when he thought of Anna. She had always seemed like such a kid. So small and fragile despite being a vampire and older than him.

But if that picture was any indication, Anna was a lot older than any of them realized. It also meant she and her mother were once friends with the Bennett witches, which added a whole new level of complication Damon wasn't sure he wanted to dive into.

Author's Note: As always, I will not be posting any NC-17 chapters here. They will either be edited or omitted altogether. If you want to read them? Go to my profile page and follow the directions there. Hope you enjoy the fic!