Those Who Stand Beside You

Baby Steps

When the sky darkened Stefan disappeared, and she could see them walking towards her from a distance.

There were six of them, and they were coming for her. For her baby and yet she stood alone.

She'd be standing alone in the end too.

Then her phone vibrated in her pocket and snapped her out of it. She was back in the all too big Salvatore estate and Stefan was standing in front of her again with his hands still cupping her cheeks while hers held onto his wrists.

"Bonnie" he whispered her name when their eyes locked again, like she would break if he spoke any louder and he could see the fear in her eyes, he could smell it on her too and even as she tried she couldn't hide it from him.

"They're coming, Stef".

Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she pulled away and reached for the phone in her pocket.

You need to come home now.

She looked up from her phone and he could see worry mixed in with the fear from before, "I need to go".

"What? No Bonnie, we need to-"

"I know" she cut him off and softly placed her hand on his cheek. She knew they needed to talk, but her grams hardly ever texted her so it was important and she had to go.

"I know...but you also need time to get over the shock. Come by later and we'll talk then, I promise".

"Fine. Leave your window open" he said with a sigh and then reached for her waist to pull her closer to him until their foreheads met. He missed her today and just having her in his arms like this again gave him the peace he needed to calm down.

"I always do". She gave him a lingering kiss while his arms tightened around her, and she felt safe with him.

Then all too soon she was pulling away and she left him standing there, watching her head back to the house to get Caroline.

******

She was about to open the door to her house when the sound of Caroline's voice stopped her and made her turn around to face her best friend.

She looked worried and Bonnie really wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be fine, but that vision was still replaying itself in her head and she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe this time it wasn't.

Maybe this time she couldn't stop what was coming.

"Did something happen?" Caroline asked and she only shook her head as she reached for the door handle again. "I'm here for you, Bon, you don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore. You have me now".

They were coming for her and she stood alone.

She stared at the door for a moment as her eyes filled with tears and her knuckles whitened from gripping the door handle so tightly.

She'd be standing alone in the end too.

Then she turned the handle, opened the door and walked in with Caroline trailing behind her.

They heard grams talking to someone in the living room as they walked down the hallway and finally saw the woman she was talking to sitting on the couch with her hands in Sheila's and her midnight hair a mess, falling onto her face.

She'd been crying too. Her reddened eyes gave her away when she looked up at them. Grams did the same and stood up to greet them pulling the woman up with her.

"Jo, this is my granddaughter Bonnie and her friend, Caroline Forbes. Girls, this is Josette Parker, she's come a long way to get here. She needs our help".