The Journey Home

Bonnie stood staring into the white oblivion. Her fingers intertwined tightly with Damon's.

"Do you think it'll hurt?" she asked calmly, her green eyes locked on the storm in front of her.

"I don't kn-" Damon began but all sound was washed away as the white light consumed them. Bonnie could still feel Damon's palm pressed flush with hers. She felt happy, calm, zen, fulfilled...at peace. Her mind wandered briefly to Damon. She wondered what he felt as the pure whiteness washed over them.

Damon kept his hand-woven into Bonnie's as he deciphered his feelings. Before the blinding light overtook him he had felt calm, serene; but now as he stood in the eye of the white storm, he felt something he hadn't felt in 173 years. Happy. Elena was, or he thought she was, making him happy in a true sense but now in this bright, warmth, holding Bonnie's hand, he discovered he had been wrong.

He blinked his eyes slowly. The light was bright but he didn't have to look away, but he felt tired now. Damon squeezed the hand in his and when it applied pressure back, he closed his eyes and allowed the white light to take him completely.

When Bonnie Bennett opened her eyes, she lay hand in hand, side by side in a familiar place with a not so unfamiliar person. She turned her head and looked at them to see if they were awake too but she couldn't tell from where she lie. Bonnie leaned up and was met with a pair of pale blue eyes.

"Bonnie?" Damon Salvatore whispered, his hand still tightly entangled in her. She nodded. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," she said. "It looks like..."

"My room," he finished. They stared at each other wide-eyed. How were they in the Salvatore boarding house; when what seemed like seconds ago, they were being bathed in a bright, warm, white light? "We should look around," he said sitting up. He pulled her with him as he moved across the room. Damon glanced over his shoulder at her. Bonnie nodded and he wrenched the door open. They both let out a sigh of relief when the hallway of the boarding house came into view. They eased into the hallway and made their way down the stairs.

"Damon, do you hear that?" she whispered. He nodded as they moved hand in hand toward what sounded like laughter coming from the study. Damon peeked around the corner before jumping back. "What?"

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

"What's in there?"

"Stefan and Elena."

"What?" a shocked Bonnie questioned. She peeked around him and spotted her best friend and his brother laughing.

"Come on," he said pulling her around the corner.

"Hey brother," Stefan smiled.

"Bonnie!" Elena beamed as she ran over and enclosed her in a tight hug. Aghast, Bonnie wrapped her free arm around her.

"You guys finally up and ready?" Stefan asked draining the glass he was holding.

"For what?" Damon asked quirking an eyebrow. Stefan and Elena looked at each other.

"The rehearsal dinner," Elena said. "Caroline's been calling for hours and we've been stalling."

"Who's getting married?" Bonnie asked. Damon squeezed her. She knew that he was scared that they had been tricked and they had gone to Hell and now Stefan and Elena were getting married. Elena turned to Stefan, who shrugged.

"Bon, are you ok?" she asked putting her wrist on her best friend's forehead.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Because," Stefan said joining them by the steps. "it's odd that the future Mrs. Salvatore would forget her own rehearsal dinner."