Before You Were Mine

Chapter Seventeen

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Before You Were Mine- Chapter Seventeen

-Damon-

I don't know how we're going to do this? How do you bury a friend, someone that you've loved and shared things with. A person who has become your family over the years?

Those questions swirl through my mind as I lean my back against the patio chair in the backyard. It's early in the morning and I didn't want to wake Bonnie up just yet. I couldn't sleep, mostly because of the images and sounds of Daniel's voice shrieking in my ears and his bloodied face in front of my eyes, every single time I close them. I've tried sleeping and it just doesn't seem to work. So, I came out here to clear my head. The sounds of birds chirping at 4am don't calm me one bit as it dawns on me that in two short days, we're going to be faced with burying and saying good bye to one of our own.

It hits hard, the realization as I push up from the cold metal chair and make my wake back inside. My head lifts up when I notice Bonnie standing in front of me with a red robe wrapped around her lean and athletic frame. She doesn't say a thing, just walks up to me and places her warm hands on to my flushed and cold skin. "We're going to be okay. I promise you that we're going to be get through this." She states, pulling me into her embrace. She doesn't even need to ask me why I was outside at such an early hour. Because, that's how well she knows me. I swallow the lump in my throat. I've been trying to be strong, for everyone and I just..I can't do it anymore as I lock my watery blue eyes on to her and sigh against the flesh of her neck.

"I can't go to the funeral, Bon. I can't say goodbye to him." I sob, holding on to her as she strokes my back and holds me tighter, whispering softly into my ear. "It's okay, baby. We can think of something else to honor him. It's okay. He knew how much you loved him, he knew how much you cared for him."

She knows how much Daniel meant to all of us, especially me. When Sean's son, Alex had first been diagnosed with cancer. Daniel and I had gone out to help their whole family as much as we could. We spent days going back and forth from the hospital to the house just to make sure that everyone was doing okay. We were that close with each other that, all of us (Before Stefan joined the crew) would sleep in Sean's three bedroom apartment on the floor just so that if he called and told us that he needed us, we could go over to the hospital and be with him and Alex as quickly as possible. Daniel had always said that if he and Melanie ever had children that they'd want a son as bright and sweet as Alex is. He took care of him when his dad was called out to a three day job. We'd take turns on our day offs, watching over Alex until Sean or his mother would return from work. Daniel loved children, he loved Alex and I know that he would have given up everything to make his friend's son better.

"Sean should be there too...I'm sure he's heard by now." My voice trails off as Bonnie's hands slide off my face and she nods her head, exhaling.

"I'll call him for you." Bonnie offers as I shake my head. I should do it. We haven't been as close as we were when all of us worked together and were in the academy together. But, he deserves to know and he should be included in this, a proper goodbye for a fallen comrade.

My hand lifts up and I place it on Bonnie's shoulder, stopping her from going towards the portable house phone. "No. I will." I tell her, clearing my throat and walking towards it instead. I can feel Bonnie's eyes on me as I sit down on the couch, glancing down at the phone with shaking fingers. She see's me close my eyes for a moment to try and find some sort of sign that it's okay for me to do what I'm about to do. Shatter another best friend's world.