A Different Path

A/N: Hello everyone! First Beremy fic, and this was written as a little Christmas/Birthday fic for my dearest wifey Melanie. I hope everyone likes it, and thinks I portrayed Beremy decently. Especially you Mel 3

"You're still up?"

Bonnie Bennett shifted her gaze away from the small fireplace and towards the direction where her fiancé's voice came from and saw his form standing in the entrance of the hallway, his strong arms crossed over his chest, bags under his eyes from tiredness, and his brows creased in worry.

Bonnie sighed, mildly annoyed that he had been keeping himself up over her. "I told you that I would come to bed later."

"That was two hours ago."

At his words, she looked up at the digital clock that was sitting on the TV stand and bit her lip at seeing the time. 1:00 in the morning. She hadn't realized it was so late.

Before she could verbally retort, Jeremy walked over to stand directly in front of her, wrapping his arms around her petite form. "Don't you think you should get some rest, Bonnie?" As he asked the question, one of his hands lingered on the small bump located at the lower part of her stomach.

Despite her current stress, Bonnie shivered slightly at the feeling of his hand resting on that area; the place where their child would continue to grow and develop for another four months.

"I can't sleep," she admitted sheepishly. "Just go back to bed, Jeremy. I'll be there in a little while."

"Bonnie." He had that same tone she had often heard from him before in the past; the tone that was a mixture between concern and annoyance.

She sighed again. "I can't stop thinking about everyone….and what may be happening back home right now."

A few months ago, after she and Jeremy found out she was pregnant; the two of them had fled Mystic Falls. It had been something that they discussed in the past, with Jeremy being adamantly in favor of the idea and Bonnie more hesitant. While the idea of simply running away with Jeremy had been tempting, she found that she just couldn't get up and leave everyone else behind and feel right about it.

But the baby had changed everything. Now, she had much more things to be worried about outside of protecting herself…she now had her baby to think about as well. And thus, it had made it easier for Jeremy to finally convince her that leaving behind the dangers of the town they had both grown up in was the right thing to do.

And now they were here, staying with Bonnie's cousin Lucy, whom she had managed to track down when they decided to leave.

But Bonnie's mind still wasn't quite at peace towards the situation.

Jeremy never let go of the gentle grip he had on her, using a finger to suddenly brush away a loose strand of hair that had fallen in her face, his voice still soft and quiet as he spoke, probably as to not wake Lucy, who was no doubt still fast asleep in her bedroom. "I called Elena yesterday, if that will make you feel better. She was mad that I still wouldn't tell her where we were, but I know that everyone is fine. You don't need to worry about it."

That was another thing. No one back in Mystic Falls knew where they were. Despite Bonnie's uneasiness towards the situation, both she and Jeremy agreed that it would be better to keep their location a secret; at least until after the baby was born. She didn't think they even knew she was pregnant.

Though Jeremy's words did soothe her a little, the tension still wouldn't quite leave her conscious. Obviously reading her, either from the look on her face, or the sight of her rigid and tense shoulders, it was Jeremy's turn to sigh. "Can we at least talk about this in the bedroom so you can try to sleep? I really don't think you should be up this late."

Bonnie had to smile a little at his worried tone. Jeremy had always been a bit protective of her, but that protectiveness had grown even more after her pregnancy had been confirmed. And though at times it could be a bit grating, it was still unbelievably cute and sweet.

"Okay," she finally conceded, and was surprised when he suddenly lifted her up into his arms, and began to carry her, as if she weighed nothing more than a feather, back in the direction of the bedroom Lucy had so graciously given to them.

As they walked, Bonnie found herself absentmindedly moving her hands up and down his arms, admiring the firmness and strength in them, even though she had plenty of opportunity to explore them daily, both in the bedroom, and on those days where she watched him work-out. But she could never seem to get tired of admiring them.

Once they finally reached the bedroom, her fiancé gently laid her down on her side of the bed, before quickly following her, shutting off the lamp and throwing the covers over both of them.

Bonnie nestled her head onto his shoulder when he instinctively wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her into his chest. For a few blissful moments, all they did was lay there in comfort, listening to the other breathing.

And slowly, Bonnie began to feel more and more at peace.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly said, after a few moments of closing her eyes. He had almost been successful in lulling her to sleep, but this was something she needed to say before she completely succumbed for the night. "I'm sorry that I've been causing problems lately. I just…it's…hard."

She knew he would understand what she meant. It was hard. It was hard to completely make herself not worry so much about what could be going on in Mystic Falls every second she was away from it. After spending years trying to protect it, and everyone she cared about in it, the urge to continue doing it had almost been programmed into her. She supposed that was a big reason Jeremy had always wanted them to leave it so badly.

Even in the darkness of the room, she could tell that Jeremy was smiling at her. "I understand," he whispered, before kissing her on the forehead. "It's going to get better eventually. I know it will."

Will it get better? Bonnie herself wasn't quite sure she could completely believe that yet. But with Jeremy's gentle, reassuring smile, she couldn't help but feel better. He's always had a talent of soothing her in a way that no one else could. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much.

"I hope so," was all she said, before suddenly pressing her lips to his.

She had expected him to say something about her needing to sleep again, but instead, he kissed her back, gently running a hand through her hair, which had began to grow long again.

And in that moment, Bonnie suddenly became completely reassured. It may take a little bit of a longer time for her to fully move on, and let go of Mystic Falls for good, but in time, she was positive that she would be able to. This man and the child growing inside of her…that was all she needed.

Things could and would get better. It was only a matter of time.

The End

A/N: One of the things that bothers me about the writing of Bonnie's character is her unhealthy obsession with being the town provider of Mystic Falls, and her lack of concern for her own well-being. So I thought it was something I could address a little in this fic.

Anyway, I hope people liked it :)