A/N: HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OF MY CHRISTIAN READERS! SO, THIS STORY TAKES PLACE EASTER SUNDAY MORNING AND WHAT IF DAMON HADN'T DIED? WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE THEN?

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. It belongs to L.J. Smith.

Return to Normal: A The Vampire Diaries Easter

"What's the point to this, Elena?" Damon asked as he looked at the bright pink Easter egg full of candy.

"Did you hunt Easter eggs as a kid?" Elena asked as she straightened up from hiding an orange egg in the rocks of her backyard. Damon scowled.

"In the eighteen hundreds, we had better things to do on Easter than hunt little colored eggs for candy," Damon replied as he stuck it in a crook of the tree.

"Such as?" Bonnie asked as she entered the yard.

"Church, Little Redbird," Damon replied.

"Ah, if only you went to church now," Stefan said, smiling. Damon scowled at him as well.

Elena watched the two brothers trade stories. She tried to picture them as children, getting along. She was amazed at how well they were getting along at that moment. It was…interesting.

Damon stuck another egg, blue this time, in a birdhouse. Just this once he would allow his brother a day without them bickering. He was only there, after all, because Bonnie had asked for him to go with her.

He looked across the yard at Bonnie. She was so young and innocent, but she had also been through a lot. She was strong, stronger than most girls her size. Perhaps she wasn't strong physically, but she was mentally.

"Okay, I think that's all. Thank you, Damon, for hiding a total of two eggs," Elena said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Anytime," Damon replied as he sat on the porch next to Bonnie.

Damon watched Elena go and retrieve her sister and a little friend of Margaret's. Stefan, of course, went too. Damon looked at Bonnie. She bit her lip as she looked at the yard.

"How are you doing, Little Redbird? Considering everything, I mean," Damon asked. Bonnie turned and looked at him.

"I'm doing…okay, I suppose," she replied with a shrug. "You?"

"I'm fine," Damon replied.

"Good," Bonnie said. They lapsed into silence.

Damon could hear Elena, Stefan, her aunt, uncle, Margaret, and Margaret's friend, Maggie, in the front yard. Margaret and Maggie would call out when they found a candy filled egg. It intrigued Damon. It made him almost, almost, but not quite, want to be a child again.

Suddenly, Damon had the urge to kiss her. No, he craved to kiss her. He couldn't, though. He couldn't allow his feelings to get in the way again. That had been a mistake. He'd ended up human. Not again.

Then, her soft lips were on his. It had been him who had made the first move. Apparently, he hadn't been the only one thinking about kissing the person next to each other.

Damon found himself kissing her back. He kissed her back softly; mindful that there were people nearby, but he soon tuned them out and his Little Redbird had his full attention.

Someone cleared their throat and they jumped apart. Clearly, he'd been too focused on Bonnie to notice that Elena and Margaret had entered the yard. Elena gave them a knowing look, but the Easter eggs had Margaret's attention, so she didn't even notice them.

"Don't let us interrupt," Elena said, smiling. Bonnie giggled and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry," Damon replied.

"I wasn't worried," Elena said, still smiling.

"Uh huh, sure," Bonnie giggled.

"Whatever," Damon said and stood. He went into the kitchen to grab something to drink even though he wasn't thirsty. He just needed to think.

Damon turned as he heard the screen door shut. Bonnie stood there, clad in jeans and a black shirt that set off her red curls. He'd never realized how beautiful she was.

"So…are you mad?" Bonnie asked, shifting uncomfortably before leaning against the counter. "I'm sorry, ahead of time, if you are. You can't stop your feelings, though, Damon."

"I'm not mad," Bonnie. How could I be mad over an innocent, young, and beautiful thing like you?" Damon asked and, yes, smiled as she blushed.

"Beautiful?"

"Gorgeous, lovely, everything."

"Good, keep up with the compliments."

"Don't count on it,' Redbird," Damon replied and smirked as she rolled her eyes.

"You guys coming?" Stefan called.

"And the younger brother beckons," Damon said and put his arm around Bonnie as he lead her outside.

Things were beginning to look up, after everything that had happened. They were finding the swing of things, getting a routine, and finding their old lives. Well, at least the best that they could.

Maybe, slowly, but surely, things would return to normal. Maybe.