Title: Unfinished
Rating: M
Genre: AU/Supernatural/Romance
Pairing(s): Bonnie/Klaus, Stefan/Rebekah, Bonnie/Stefan (minor), Klaus/Stefan (minor), Bonnie/Rebekah (minor), Caroline/Tyler, Matt/Katherine, Rudy/Gloria, Abby/Elijah, etc.
Summary: Bonnie uncovers memories of a previous life that she spent with Klaus, Stefan, and Rebekah….
Warnings: Violence, Sexual Content, Racial Tension (Slurs, Racially Motivated Crimes and the Like), Character Death, Bad use of 1920's slang, ect.
A/N: This my dears is another repost. This fic is AU starting during the episode, "The End of The Affair". So basically the premise of t his fic is as followed…Bonnie was with Klaus, Stefan, and Rebekah in the 1920's and she was murdered and reincarnated in present day Mystic Falls. This follows canon to an extent but veers off, however there will obviously differences which I am sure you will catch and that will be explained. I only got to edit the first few chapters because I am working on original work and there is a deadline and time contraints. Thanks to those who gave me support during my rough patch. Much appreciated. Not many changes made to this one. Please do not comment on other fics in the reviews. Things will be back up in due time. Thanks for reading. Tell me what you guys think!
Part One: A Time Remembered
While Bonnie Bennett couldn't say that she missed the supernatural, she could say that she missed her friends. Now that she was outside of Mystic Falls she hadn't heard much from anyone outside of Jeremy. Though she didn't want to say so out loud, she knew the reason. There wasn't a spell to be done or a life to be saved.
She understood however, Elena was focused on getting Stefan back and Bonnie couldn't say that she blamed her. She knew how much her best friend loved Stefan Salvatore. Even Bonnie missed him. She still considered him a friend, in spite of everything, but it was more than that. She felt connected to him in a way that she could never quite explain which was why, even though she wanted him home as much as anyone else, she could still understand why he had done what he had done.
Bonnie had been willing to die for Elena. She understood the need to sacrifice yourself to protect those that you loved. She wasn't sure if it could be considered as selflessness or stupidity but whatever it was she couldn't blame Stefan for the pain he was causing the people around him when she understood the reason behind it and she had pulled similar self-sacrificial stunts more than once, even if she was disgusted by what she was sure that he was becoming under the influence of Klaus.
Choosing not to dwell on the drama back in Mystic Falls, Bonnie decided to instead get ready to have breakfast with her father. She began to sift through the clothes she had brought with her on vacation when suddenly her cell phone rang. She looked at the flashing screen and smiled when she saw Elena's name. She hit the send button and held the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Elena," she said cheerfully, "I was just thinking about you."
"Bonnie! I'm glad I go ahold of you," her best friend's frantic voice answered from the other end of the line, "Look, I would love to catch up but there's not really any time."
Bonnie took a moment to wonder why she had hoped to just have a normal conversation with her best friend for once, before she shook her head, to clear it. Now wasn't the time to think about things that she couldn't change. "What's going on?" Bonnie asked, letting the concern leak into her voice, "Is something wrong?"
"We think we know where Stefan is," Elena said. She didn't sound as happy as Bonnie thought she would have been by the development.
"That's great isn't it?" Bonnie asked. If they could find him then Elena could get him to come home. Wasn't that what she wanted?
"I think so but Klaus is involved and he's not supposed to know that I'm alive," Elena said, her tone sounding very resigned, "Damon doesn't think that its smart for me to go…but I was thinking that he'll be there with me so…"
"I hate to say this Elena but I think that he's right," Bonnie said, agreeing with Damon leaving a bad taste in her mouth, "I mean do you really want to take that risk? Even if Damon is with you who's to say he can protect you." Bonnie sighed looking around the guest room that she inhabited before she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Sitting on the edge of the tub she began talking into the phone again in the low voice, hoping that none of her relatives or her father heard her. "Klaus wouldn't hesitate to kill Damon on sight, especially if it's to get to you once he finds out you're alive. Which he will if you go. Even if you want to believe that there is enough of the Stefan you know and love still there that he will protect you, who's to say Klaus wouldn't kill him to get to you too? Then where would you be?"
Bonnie listened as Elena sighed heavily. "That's exactly what Damon said more or less," Elena said, "That's why I'm not going. I have faith that Damon can bring Stefan home. Stefan may love me but he loves his brother too, he'll come back for him."
Bonnie wasn't too sure about that. "So Damon is going alone?" Bonnie said choosing not to voice her other thoughts. She didn't think Damon going alone was a good idea either. Klaus would probably still kill him, and he would probably gladly say something that would provoke the hybrid into doing it.
"We didn't think that was a good idea either," Elena said, "That's why I called."
"Don't tell me…," Bonnie said shaking her head. They couldn't possibly want her to go. What exactly could she do to help the situation? She would probably attack Klaus on sight.
"We were thinking you could take care of Klaus while Damon talks to Stefan. You're the only one who has come close to killing Klaus so we know you can handle him," Elena reasoned, "Look Bonnie, I know that this is a lot to ask but since I can't go and Damon can't go alone then the way we see it, it's the only way. I mean as much as you hate Damon I know that you wouldn't just stand by and let Klaus kill him. I know I can trust you to protect them both while Damon talks Stefan into coming home. Please Bonnie, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
Bonnie took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. It didn't escape her attention that no one seemed to be worried about her protection. She was a witch but Klaus was now unable to be killed. They both knew that she wouldn't say no. Like Stefan she was a sacrifice. She could think of something to tell her father. They were heading back to Mystic Falls soon anyway so it wouldn't be like she was cutting their vacation too short. He could always stay and explain things to the rest of the family. "Okay," Bonnie said, "For you."
"Thank you Bonnie," Elena breathed clearly relieved, "Damon will be there in an hour."
"He's already on his way?" Bonnie asked. Was she really that predictable?
"He knew that you would say yes," Elena said.
So apparently she was that predicable, or that much of a pushover. It was sad really; even given everything that she had done and lost, she still couldn't refuse them. In truth she had agreed for Stefan almost as much as she had for Elena. "I guess I should ask where we're going," Bonnie commented.
"Chicago," Elena answered sounding slightly guilty.
"Chicago?" Bonnie repeated. She frowned. There was a sudden clenching feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't explain. It was the kind of foreboding feeling she never got used to. She wished like hell that she could just say no.
:::
Niklaus Mikaelson made his way through the speak easy, giving a nod to the booth in the corner that was occupied by his sister Rebekah and one Stefan Salvatore. Their girl would be opening tonight, something they wouldn't miss for the world.
As he made his way to the back he ignored the patrons, both male and female, vying for his attention. He opened the door that led to the back but was intercepted by a brown hand on his chest. He looked up into eyes that held none of the humor and smugness of his own. Her blonde hair was perfectly coiffed and her red painted lips were turned up in the semblance of a smile but Klaus wasn't fooled. "Gloria," he said with his best seductive smirk even knowing that his charms were wasted on her, "Nice to see you as always, love."
She raised a brow at him but didn't return the sentiment. "What are you doing here?" Gloria asked, going right to the point.
"Dropping off a present for our girl," Klaus said.
Gloria rolled her eyes, looking non-to-impressed. "You know she hates it when you call her that," she said, "Makes her feel 'kept'." The last word she said with so much distaste that Klaus almost winced.
However, he managed to look unbothered as he pulled a necklace out of his tux pocket. "I think that after she sees this then I'll be forgiven," he said.
Gloria moved to respond but stopped when she caught sight of the amulet dangling from the chain. "The evil eye," she said reaching for the prize only to have it snatched away from her. There was only one reason someone bothered to get a hold of an evil eye, and it never boded well. "Lucky dame, 'your girl'," Gloria said when she met Klaus' eyes again, "Someone of your kind, the first of your kind, going to all of this trouble to protect her. The question is, what exactly are you trying to protect her from?"
Klaus frowned before he closed himself off completely. He liked Gloria well enough but she knew better than to push him. "As tantalizing as this conversation is," he said, "I think I'll be on my way. That is unless she hasn't already arrived yet. I didn't see her come in."
"We're not exactly allowed to walk in through the front door so I'm sure you wouldn't have," she said her tone condescending.
"You don't need to remind me of that," Klaus said.
"Considering the trouble you've been getting her into," she said, "I think I do. She's not as privileged as the rest of you for a number of reasons and its high time that you all realize that."
"Excuse me," Klaus said, as he moved to walk around her.
She grabbed his arm to stop him. "She has a set to get ready for," she said. Her tone was instinctively protective. She had been a great mentor to their sweet Bonnie but she was becoming a problem….a mother hen.
"Which is why I should get this to her before its time for her to go on, don't you think?" He asked. The underlying threat in his voice was clear. She may have had bravado but she wasn't stupid. She could recognize a threat when she saw it, and power as well. Then again so could he.
Gloria gave him a once over before she stepped aside. "I'll lead the way," she said and so Klaus followed.
As they weeded their way through half dressed women, Gloria stopped when she saw no sign of Bonnie. "Any of you seen, Bonnie girl?"
"She's in the john," one of the dancers said helpfully.
"I'm prepared to wait," Klaus said to no one in particular.
Gloria rolled her eyes in his direction again. "Of course you are," she said. She moved to walk past him but he grabbed her by the wrist. She turned her gaze angry, this time she was the one whose eyes promised danger. It wasn't until she saw his face, that anger was replaced by concern. "What is it?" She hissed under breath, knowing that his enhanced hearing would allow him to catch it.
"I smell blood," he growled lowly. His eyes drifted to where the smell was coming from, the bathroom.
He sped toward the door without thinking, not even sparing a thought for the number of people he would have to compel as he broke the door down. He stopped as his eyes took in the scene on the other side. Bonnie Bennett lay lifeless on the floor, her eyes open and empty and her throat almost ripped out.
Her blood covered the floor, and from somewhere far away Klaus heard Gloria scream. Klaus fell to his knees.
She was gone, their Bonnie sweetheart was dead. She was dead and it was his fault, their fault. They should have tried harder to protect her, for he knew who had done it. But they had been focused on their own survival.
Mikael had found them, and he had killed the only person who could have possibly protected them from him. He wanted to pick up her body, to leave. To force Gloria to bring her back, no matter what she came back as. But he couldn't do that. Klaus felt cold, because he knew what he had to do. It was time to run again.
Klaus Mikaelson was brought out of his revelry by another one of Stefan Salvatore's pressing questions. He wouldn't have to deal with this alone if Rebekah would quit being a drama queen and wake up already. It was bad enough that the hybrids were still dying, he didn't need his plan to reveal their past together to Stefan to unravel as well.
For decades he had tried not to think about the past. He had tried to view it in terms of a time in someone's else's existence. View the two people that were stolen from him and the one he was forced to lock away as someone else's loses. It had worked even when seeing Stefan again, even when seeing her again, both so very alive and with no remembrance of what had been so important only a few decades ago but for different reasons. It was when he saw Gloria that he threatened to come apart. She was the only one alive with full knowledge of what had happened. She knew his loss. She knew his guilt. She knew his suffering. He could no longer run.
They hadn't even been back in Chicago long and already memories were flooding his mind at an almost overwhelming rate. He almost expected, despite the compulsion, for Stefan to be experiencing exactly what he was experiencing. Being bombarded by memories of a time he could never get back, and feeling an ache that had started the moment that it was no longer just the four of them in their world and hadn't ebbed at all since.
"This obviously isn't working," Klaus sighed glaring at his little sister. It was almost as if she knew that she would have to wake up to a world where neither of the most important people to her outside of him and their family knew who she was. "How about we take a little trip," he said turning to Stefan, "Give her time to stop sulking."
"It's not as if I have a choice," Stefan commented idly. He was still irritated that his questions had still gone unanswered.
It wasn't Stefan's irritation that caught Klaus' attention but his words. Words that brought their girl to mind and caused the pain to return. "There's always a choice, Stefan," he said, his words mimicking the last one's that he had heard leave Bonnie's lips the one time he had seen her before he found her body hours later. The look Stefan gave him. The same sort of lost look that he had given Bonnie then, almost made Klaus believe that he had remembered on his own. Almost. "Let's go," he said.
:::
Damon Salvatore had never seen the little witch so uncomfortable. He might've been offended if he wasn't so sure that it had nothing to do with him. They had been on the road for a few hours. It had taken a little compulsion on his part to get her dad to agree but other than that things had gone smoothly. Neither of them had said much. Damon had tried to engage in some banter but he had discovered pretty quickly that Bonnie was in no mood to be baited.
He wasn't too comfortable himself. If it were up to him it would be Elena sitting in the passenger's seat, but he doubted that would be much better. The last thing he wanted to be doing was taking Elena to declare her love to his brother for the umpteenth time, even if he was sure that Stefan would reject her again and give him his in with her.
He watched as Bonnie bit her lip and fidgeted with her fingers. He had seen the first gesture before but the second he wasn't familiar with. "What's with you?" He asked. Bonnie jumped and looked at him as if she had forgotten that he was there. "Don't tell me facing Klaus again has you scared?"
Bonnie rolled her eyes at him; that he was used to. "I'm not scared," she said, "More like apprehensive." She began playing with her hands again and he didn't know why but seeing her that out of sorts bothered him. He liked it better when she was making snide comments about him and flaunting her powers. "I just feel like something is coming," she said.
Damon shook his head and his focus returned to the road. "Of course something is coming," he said, "A confrontation with Klaus." This didn't seem to ease her agitation, if anything it made it worse. Sighing Damon tossed Stefan's journal into her lap. "Here read this," he said, "It'll get you out of that witchy little head of yours."
Bonnie picked up the book, somehow knowing without being told that it was Stefan's. She spun it around in her hands, and then flipped through the pages. "What exactly is this?" She asked.
"A log of Stefan's ripper days," Damon revealed. Bonnie looked at him uncertainly. "If you're going into this then you'll have to go into this with your judgy eyes open. You need to know who Saint Stefan really is." He relished in her reading it. He wondered if his brother would finally be on the receiving end of all of her hatred and distrust. They may not completely hate each other anymore but he was still a little resentful of her judgment of him.
Damon drove silently glancing over every once in a while as Bonnie read Stefan's journal. He didn't get the reaction that he expected. Instead of disgust and horror, Bonnie seemed genuinely curious. There were some parts that she read with a fond, almost wistful smile on her face. It was weird and more than a little creepy.
"Savior and sinner," Bonnie said closing the book after a moment, "The superhero ripper." She was feeling a plethora of different emotions. Horror, disgust, sadness, loss, and for some reason that was beyond her…longing. She didn't know what the hell was wrong with her but whatever it was she didn't like it.
Damon frowned his eyebrows furrowing. He turned to her completely, not fearing the fact that they were still on the road. He wouldn't have a problem keeping control of the car but he felt as if he would have a problem if he didn't get Bonnie to snap out of whatever funk she was in. "What's with you?" He asked again.
"Nothing," Bonnie said with a shake of her head. It wasn't hard for Damon to figure out that she was lying. He watched as Bonnie hugged the journal, almost possessively to her chest and looked out the window at the passing scenery. Maybe I should've come alone, he thought.
:::
Elena Gilbert was waiting for her phone to ring. She sighed as she paced the length of her room. She wondered absently how Bonnie had managed to fake her death. How she had managed not seeing anyone, not knowing anything. Then again she had still had Jeremy. Elena didn't have anyone at the moment and she was forced to sit in wait while everyone else saved the man that she loved.
What if she had been wrong to stay? What if Damon wasn't enough to bring Stefan home?
She sighed heavily as she stared at her phone once more. Nothing. She decided that she couldn't wait any longer. She would have to call Damon.
Before Elena could make a move to dial the number her phone rang. She answered it before she even looked down at the screen to see who was calling. It had to be Damon with news of Stefan. It just had to be.
"Damon," she said quickly into the phone, "Did you find him?"
"It's not Damon," the deep voice on the phone said, "it's Tyler." Elena was about to tell him that she didn't have time to talk but he cut her off. "It's Caroline," he said, "She needs you."
:::
As Bonnie walked next to Damon as they made their way to Stefan's room she felt an odd sense of déjà vu. She stopped in front of the right door before Damon did. "How'd you know?" Damon asked.
"Lucky guess," Bonnie said even though it was more of a feeling. She was still clutching Stefan's journal. While the reading material was rather disturbing; it was somehow eerily comforting.
"Right," Damon said with a raised brow in her direction before he opened the door and held it for her. He watched as she walked in. He expected some hesitance as she was entering Stefan's private domain, but there was none. Instead she walked in like she owned the place, tossing the journal on the bed without even looking to see where it landed. She then took off her jacket, draping it over a nearby chair before walking back over to where he still stood slightly shell-shocked in the doorway. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she had been there before. She looked at him questioningly and he made a comment about the all girls' school that used to be close by.
"There are pages torn out of Stefan's journal," Bonnie said as Damon closed the door behind him, "Do you know anything about that? Is there something that you think I couldn't handle?"
"I'm surprised that you can handle what's left," Damon commented, "But I didn't deface Saint Stefan's private property. It's always been like that. I just figured it was because there were things that he never wanted anyone else to know."
She surprised Damon again by walking over and sitting comfortably on the edge of Stefan's bed. "What could be worse than what is already in here?" Bonnie asked picking the book back up.
"I doubt either of us really want to know the answer to that," Damon said. He didn't really know what to make of her behavior. He decided to show her the secret room that Stefan kept the list of his victims in. He hoped that it would get her to realize the seriousness of the situation.
Bonnie watched him as he opened the secret passage. She stood up from the bed and followed Damon inside. Her eyes passed over the bottles of alcohol to land on the list on the names on the opposite walls. "His victims," she whispered.
"Exactly," Damon said watching as she ran her finger over one name in particular, "How'd you know?"
"I don't know Damon," Bonnie said continuing to run her fingers over the name that had caught her attention. David Wilkes. Why did it sound so familiar? "I've just been getting these weird feelings since we got here that's all."
"So it's probably something witchy," Damon decided.
"Probably," Bonnie shrugged. It was the only explanation that she could wrap her mind around or even think of.
"Alright I'm going to call and update Elena," he said, "Then I'm going to see if I can hunt down Stefan." Bonnie nodded. "Do you think that you'll be okay here by yourself?" He asked.
Bonnie nodded again as she stepped away from the list and out of the hidden room. She walked back over to the bed and picked up Stefan's journal. "I'll be fine," she said, "I'll just catch up on some light reading."
"Funny," Damon said heading for the door, "I'll be back in an hour."
:::
Stefan Salvatore followed Klaus into his old haunt with a sense of detachment. The last thing that he wanted to do was relive these years of his life but for whatever reason Klaus was insisting that he did. At first he had only been going along with Klaus because he didn't really have a choice, but the more he learned, the more he wanted to know. He knew that there was a reason that he had blocked that part of his life out but as he watched Klaus open the hidden door in the wall, the reason was as lost to him as the reason that Klaus had brought him there.
Klaus narrated another one of his tales and Stefan listened until he mentioned the list of names. That he remembered. "You stay here and reminisce," Klaus said, "I need to make a call to Gloria."
Stefan walked into the hidden compartment expecting to find a few aged bottles of alcohol and his list but instead he found one Bonnie Bennett. He looked at her in surprise. She was leaning casually against the wall that held his list, his journal clutched in her hands. He narrowed his eyes at her. Even though he was surprised to see her, there was something about her being there that didn't seem so out of place.
He waited until the door closed behind Klaus and his sensitive hearing told him that the hybrid was distracted by whatever he and Gloria were talking about. He turned his attention back to Bonnie.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Stefan hissed lowly. He hoped that Klaus didn't feel the need to listen in on what he was doing. He doubted he could protect Bonnie if he decided to do so.
"Saving you," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Damon is here too."
"I'm going to get Klaus out of here," Stefan said firmly, "And then you are going to go home." His stance was threatening but Bonnie seemed more amused than scared.
"Only if you're coming with us," she said, "I didn't come here to just turn around and go back home. I came here for Elena." Stefan winced at the name. She didn't care. She had left her family to come and help him so he could deal with the reminder of who they both had always done everything for. "And I came here," Bonnie continued ignoring his discomfort, "To help my friend and I do mean you Stefan."
Stefan frowned and was about to respond when he heard Klaus' call end. "Not a word," he mouthed. Bonnie nodded. He reached for one of the many bottles of alcohol and moved to leave the room with it when Bonnie grabbed his hand. He looked at her in question. She shook her head at the bottle he was holding and gestured toward another. Confused Stefan replaced the bottle he had been holding and grabbed the one that Bonnie had indicated. Bonnie nodded with a grin. Before he realized what he was doing Stefan leaned forward until his lips touched her ear. "Thanks, green eyes," he whispered so that only she could hear. Bonnie shivered and when he pulled back she was wide-eyed but she nodded once more. "Look at what I found," Stefan said louder before leaving the room to present Klaus with the bottle.
Stefan watched as Klaus took the bottle and looked it over. He looked more pleased than Stefan thought a bottle of alcohol should make him. "My favorite," Klaus said looking at him as if he had hung the moon.
Stefan's brow furrowed and he barely stopped himself from glancing back where Bonnie was still hidden. She had told him to switch the bottles; it was almost as if she had known. Stefan shook his head. No, he thought, that's impossible.
"Let's go find someone to pair this with," Klaus said.
Stefan nodded and followed Klaus out of the apartment. He hoped that Bonnie took his advice and left once they were gone. There was no hope of him going back to Mystic Falls and he didn't know what Klaus would do if he found out that she was there. Considering their past he would likely kill her and Stefan didn't need another death on his conscious.
:::
When Damon finally reentered the apartment he found Bonnie sprawled out on her stomach on Stefan's bed reading his journal, her legs kicking in the air behind her. He put the bags he had in his hands on the table and walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "You get caught by Stefan and most likely almost killed by Klaus and you're sitting here as if nothing happened," he said looking down at her.
"I told you," Bonnie said, "It was nothing." Her behavior was unnerving even her but she didn't want to show it. The whole situation was becoming more and more weird. It no longer felt like a rescue mission, it felt like a fall down the rabbit hole. She had been surprised at how calm she had been when she had seen Stefan. Sad yes, disappointed maybe, but also calm. Then there was the whole, "green eyes" thing, since when did Stefan call her that. None of this was making sense and she was beginning to hate Chicago, even if she had never been there before. "Klaus didn't see me so it's fine," she said, "Besides Stefan wouldn't have just let Klaus hurt me, no matter what state of mind he's in."
Damon stood up from the bed and shook his head. He couldn't even promise Elena that so he knew Bonnie wasn't safe with his brother either. "You're deluding yourself," he said, "Whatever. As long as you're still in."
"Of course I'm still in," Bonnie said. She closed the journal and set it aside. She watched as he sifted through what looked like shopping bags. She frowned when he pulled out a green dress. "What is that?" She asked.
"I'm not sure," Damon said holding it out, "But in some cultures they call it a dress." He chuckled when Bonnie huffed and rolled her eyes at him. This was more like his little witch. He'd never tell her but he was beginning to worry about her.
"I mean…what is it for?" She asked. He opened his mouth and she could only imagine the snide remark that her question would cause. "Just tell me why you went shopping for pretty little dresses when you're supposed to be planning on how you're going to approach Stefan."
"I have a plan," he said, "And I bought the dress because if you're going to distract Klaus from killing you then you're going to have to show a little leg."
"Considering the fact that the last time I saw him I was helping you and Elijah kill him," she said, "I doubt my legs will save me from his wrath. Even if they are great legs." She wasn't really afraid, not in the way Damon thought she was, she just didn't know if she could face Klaus. Remembering what had happened when she had faced Stefan, she didn't really know what to expect.
"You'd be surprised how easy men are," he said, "Not even Klaus can resist a pretty face."
"Did you just complement me? How am I going to focus on the plan now? I mean hell just froze over," Bonnie said clearly surprised. Yes, she thought, this situation just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
"Just get dressed," Damon sighed. Turning away from her he smiled. He was glad she was getting back to her witchy self. If she had started to behave any stranger, Damon was sure that there was no way in hell that they could pull his plan off.
:::
Klaus took a shot as Stefan disappeared to feed. Rebekah was taking too long to wake up. Stefan wasn't reacting the way he had hoped to the idea of their past together. Once again nothing was going as planned. He was tired of working so hard to keep the people he cared about, protecting them and ensuring all of their survival. None of them had ever really understood his actions, none of them but her, and she had no memory of that understanding. Gloria had assured him that the more Bonnie was exposed to them, the more she would remember. He was starting to lose faith. He knew he couldn't do it alone, missing Stefan wasn't his sole motivation for returning, just like Gloria needing her wasn't his sole motivation for waking his sister.
Klaus' eyes found the stage and he could almost see her there. He still remembered how excited she had been on the night of her big debut.
"There's my Bonnie sweetheart," Klaus said as he watched her enter the apartment Stefan dwelled in. He had been away. Looking for something that would protect her when the time came. She wouldn't allow him to change her. It wasn't just that she didn't want to be what they were but she didn't want to be forced to stop being what she was. She didn't want to lose her powers. He could understand that, especially since being what they were wasn't protecting them. Not entirely. It was in fact, the reason they were targeted in the first place.
Bonnie cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. "Welcome back, Nik," she said. She sat down next to him on the edge of Stefan's bed. She had been looking for Stefan to tell him about her debut on stage but finding Nik was almost better. She rested her chin on his shoulder. "You came back just in time," she said.
"Did you miss me that much, love?" Klaus asked chuckling when she rolled her eyes.
"Oh please," she said with a huff, "Don't flatter yourself, baby."
She stood up but Klaus wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her down into his lap."I missed you, my dear," he said.
"Of course you did," Bonnie said. She laughed turning in his arms and wrapping hers around his neck. "I may have missed you too," she said, "But that's not why I'm glad you're back." Klaus raised a brow at this. "I was referring to my big debut," she explained, "Me and pipes will be hitting the stage tonight."
Klaus smiled. "You'll be sensational but you already know this," he said, "How about a preview performance?"
"How will you be paying for this performance?" Bonnie asked, "Cash or check?" Klaus grinned at the double meaning of her words.
"Definitely cash," he whispered before he kissed her lips.
Klaus was brought out of his remembrance as Gloria sat another drink down in front of him. "Ghosts haunting you again?" She asked.
He lifted his glass in a toast. "Do they ever stop?" He asked. She didn't answer. He downed the shot and motioned for her to give him another but she didn't move. Klaus frowned and was about to comment when he saw the look on her face.
"My little, Bonnie girl," Gloria whispered looking just over Klaus' shoulder.
Klaus gave her a confused look, before he looked in the direction that she was gazing so intently in. He watched shocked as Bonnie Bennett walked into the bar, looking around. What the hell was she doing in a bar in Chicago? Unless she remembered. No, that wasn't possible. It must have been about Stefan, it had to be. He could just picture Damon begging the witch to help him bring his little brother home.
"I can't do this," Gloria said, "Not now."
"I'll take care of it," Klaus said, "Just leave the bottle." He would be lying if he said that having Bonnie there, in Chicago, wasn't doing anything to him. But it was nothing like the first time he had seen her face to face since learning that she had indeed come back and even he had managed to keep it together. He had kept tabs on Stefan over the years and it was while checking up on him that he had learned that the spell he had had Gloria perform long ago had worked and Bonnie had been brought back to them. The time may have been different but the body and the soul were the same, and when they managed to bring back her memory everything else would be as well. But first he needed to get rid of the monster that had killed her the first time around.
"How can you do that?" Gloria asked, "Pretend like you don't care?" Klaus looked up at her, she had never really acknowledged his feelings before. "I know you care," she said, "Despite how I feel about you, I've always known that."
"I manage," he said, "Everything gets easier with time."
Gloria nodded but didn't comment. "I'll leave you to it then," she said giving Bonnie one last look. It wasn't long before she disappeared into the back.
Almost as soon as Gloria disappeared, Bonnie sat down next to him. "Another witch in your harem?" She asked.
Klaus smirked. He didn't want to find hope in the fact that she had known Gloria was a witch without being told but he did. "Hello Miss Bennett," he said turning to face her and ignoring her question, "That's a lovely dress."
Bonnie crossed her legs and glanced toward the exit. She hoped that Damon was getting through to Stefan. "You don't look surprised to see me," she commented more to keep the conversation going than anything else.
"I knew someone would come for Stefan eventually," Klaus said, "I just never guessed that it would be you. But you're not alone are you?"
"What makes you think I'm not alone?" Bonnie asked. She wondered if it had been her or Damon that had somehow given them away. It didn't matter. She just needed to buy Damon some time and if Klaus got out of hand then she could handle it.
"You may not believe this, Bonnie," he said, "But I know how important family is. If you're here then Damon isn't far away. Probably pleading to his dear brother to return home, am I right?"
"If that's true," Bonnie said adjusting to a more comfortable position on the bar stool, "I'm not saying that it is. But if it's true, then why aren't you more worried?"
"I'm not worried because there's no reason to be," he said, "I know Stefan better than you might think." He stiffened as the music changed, the first notes of, "How Come You Do Me Like You Do," began to play. He glanced over at Bonnie to find her swaying to the music. Of course she would be, it was her favorite song.
"I love this song," she whispered. She began to sing along with the record almost as if she had forgotten who she was sitting next to. Or maybe she hadn't.
"Care for a dance, love?" Klaus asked. Bonnie stopped swaying and looked at him oddly. He stood and held out his hand. "Come on, sweetheart, it'll distract me from these incessant thoughts of murdering Damon."
She could hear the underlying threat and that was the reason she took his hand. At least that's what she told herself. "I've had those thoughts myself," she said as Klaus led her to the center of the bar.
"We're more alike than you think," he said. He spun her around before pulling her into his arms. How long had it been since he had last felt her this close to him? He didn't want to think about it.
"I doubt it," she said, tentatively placing her hands on his shoulders as they swayed to the music. If Damon didn't convince Stefan to return home then she would kill him for talking her into this.
"It's a pity we can't be friends," Klaus whispered his lips brushing against the shell of her ear.
"It's a pity you're not dead," Bonnie responded. Klaus dipped her, his hands gripping her thigh tightly as he did so. When he pulled her back up their bodies were pressed together more closely than she would've liked. She could almost understand how someone like Klaus could seem appealing.
"I've missed our back and forth," he said honestly, "I had forgotten how very stimulating our conversations could be." It was true both in the past and in the present.
"We haven't really had that many," Bonnie commented as she pushed him away and extracted herself from his arms.
"That's exactly my point," he said. She began to walk toward the exit and he followed. "If fighting and trying to kill each other is this much fun," he shrugged, "Imagine what it would be like if we decided to explore other aspects of our relationship." He already knew what they could be together because they had already been it.
Bonnie stopped midstride and turned to face him. "First of all," she said, "We don't have a relationship and second, the only thing that I could think of that could be more stimulating that trying to kill you is actually seeing you dead."
Klaus smiled, laughing to himself as he watched her storm out. She hadn't changed a bit. She was still in there, and it wouldn't be as hard as he had first thought to get her out.
:::
Damon kept his eyes on Stefan as he walked out of the bar. Almost as soon as Stefan saw him he had him pinned against the side of his car. "Hello little brother," Damon said calmly.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Stefan growled. He had hoped against hope that Bonnie had taken his advice and left.
"I'm here to bring you home," Damon said, "You don't have to be here. You don't have to do this. Elena is alive and she's waiting for you." Damon watched as Stefan's face softened a moment before he shook it off. "Come on Stefan," he said, "Do you really want to go through this again? You've been a saint for too long, I doubt it will be as fun this time around. You're too soft for it now."
"Go home Damon," Stefan said.
"Not unless you're with me, brother," he said, "Elena isn't the only one waiting for you to come to your senses and come home. I don't want to give up on you Stefan but I will."
Stefan was about to answer when a thought came to him. "If you're here then where is Bonnie?" Stefan asked.
"Why do you think Klaus hasn't come after you yet?" Damon asked.
Stefan's eyes flared in a way that Damon had never seen before, and then he found himself slammed against the car once more. "I'm tired of you putting her in danger," Stefan spat, "She's not disposable. She's not a tool. If anything happens to her…"
"Let him go, superhero," a voice said from behind them, "I'm fine." Bonnie watched as Damon adjusted his clothes and Stefan turned to her his expression becoming unreadable. "Thanks for the sentiment," she said, "But I can take care of myself." On the inside she was overwhelmed. Between dancing with Klaus and Stefan attacking Damon on her behalf she was ready for their little trip to Chicago to be over.
"Take her home Damon," Stefan said walking past Bonnie on the way back into Gloria's.
"I'm not giving up little brother," Damon called after him.
Stefan didn't respond and Bonnie watched him disappear inside before she turned to Damon. "Let's just go," she said, "We'll try again later."
:::
Dancing with Bonnie had only fueled the fire within Klaus. Now that is sister was awake, it would all come together. He could work on building his army for the day that Mikael found them again and bringing Stefan and Bonnie back to him and Rebekah at the same time. He didn't care what it would look like to anyone else. He never had. When they were together and it was their time, no one else had mattered but them. No one had existed outside of them and the world they had created together. They had loved each other and he wanted that back. All of it. Giving Stefan his memory back was the logical next step.
"Now," Klaus said holding onto Stefan's shoulders, "You remember."
Klaus watched with satisfaction as the memories came back. As everything came back. First Rebekah then him. He seemed torn between who to go to and then Klaus saw the moment when the rest returned. "Wait," Stefan said, "This doesn't make sense."
"It does," Klaus said, "It's the truth. Bonnie was with us then and she's come back to us now."
Klaus watched as Rebekah's face lit up. On the night Gloria had performed the spell Rebekah had tried to convince Klaus they could go back for Stefan and wait for Bonnie's return. She had even threatened to leave him. He had seen no choice but to dagger her in the end. If Mikael had killed Bonnie then he would've killed Stefan and they would have been next.
"She's back," Rebekah said her voice hopeful, "That's why you woke me. You didn't want to wake me until you had them both."
"She doesn't remember, Bekah," Klaus said, "Not yet."
"Then we'll make her," Rebekah said, "We can't lose her again, Nik."
Stefan looked between them, clearly confused. "So you're telling me that Bonnie…was…," he sighed, "I don't understand."
"The Bonnie that you know now," Klaus said, "Is a reincarnation of the Bonnie that you knew then. I made a promise to both of you when she died that I would bring her back and I did."
"That's impossible," Stefan said still shaking his head. Yet, somehow he knew it was true. Memories of past and present were overlapping themselves in his head and he couldn't concentrate.
"You remember how you met her don't you?" Klaus asked, "Not in Mystic Falls…but the first time."
Stefan concentrated and finally the memory came to him.
Stefan climbed out of the car closing the door on the dead bodies that he had left in his wake. He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and adjusted his jacket. He began to make his way back to the club but hesitated as he came upon a struggle.
"Come on baby," a deep voice said, "Give us a kiss."
"How about you kiss me where the sun don't shine sap," was the response. Stefan couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped.
Some idiot trying to force himself on one of the hoofers. The closer he got the more sure that he was that the guy was David Wilkes, a pasty moonshiner and drunkard, that Stefan had been itching to kill since he met him. Stefan also recognized the dancer immediately. She was the pretty little thing that Gloria looked after. She had apparently ran away from home in search of stardom but the big city had given the dame a rude awakening. She was made for the stage however, and Stefan was sure that in a different time and a different place that she could own it.
"Come here you uppity nigger bitch," the hood growled.
He watched with interest for a moment as she brought a hand across the man's face. A risky move, one liable to get her beaten, raped, or both. He doubted she would do what Gloria sometimes did, use her powers on a human. It wasn't a fair fight but one couldn't be fair in time that one had no rights in. Still Stefan knew better than to expect that from this one, Gloria constantly referred to her as, "One of the good ones."
It would seem that he would have to intervene. He hadn't played hero in a while. He didn't feel the need to in this state, and he definitely had more of an inclination to kill than to save as a "ripper" as well. Normally he wouldn't care but for some reason (he would blame lingering fear of Gloria's wrath later) he didn't want to see this little dancing witch dead.
So when the sleaze finally managed to pin the witch against the side of the club Stefan sped up behind him. He met the witch's eyes before he sunk his teeth into the assholes neck and drained him. He decapitated the body before it even hit the ground and then proceeded to dismember it as the witch backed herself up into the brick wall of the club. When it was over he was cleaner than he probably should have been under the circumstances, but the actions were practiced and perfected.
Stefan looked up to find the witch poised and ready to attack. "I won't hurt you," he said smoothly, "You're safe now. Trust me."
"Why the hell should I believe that?" She asked.
"I just saved your life," he said calmly. She put her hand down only to narrow her eyes and send a shooting burning pain through his head that brought him to his knees. He glared up at her, he hated to admit it but he was impressed.
"No," she hissed, "You just dismembered someone in front of me, that doesn't exactly scream white knight, jack." She knew how unpredictable a ripper could be and she wasn't taking any chances.
"Yeah," Stefan said, "Well aneurisms don't exactly scream damsel in distress, doll."
The little witch smirked. "That's because I'm nobody's damsel in distress," she said, "I could've handled that hood and I could've done it without bumping him off." The last she said with a bit of disgust and perhaps a hint of the guilt he could no longer feel.
"I'm sure you could've sweetheart," Stefan said though he sounded skeptical, "But you're Gloria's girl and if I had let anything happen to you I'd get worse than a headache." She seemed to calm at the mention of Gloria.
"I'm nobody's girl neither," she said.
"Not a girl, not a damsel," Stefan smirked, "What exactly do I call you then doll?" She frowned, narrowing her eyes and he almost expected another attack.
"Nothing," she said. She looked like she was itching to leave and for some reason he didn't want to let her.
"My name is Stefan Salvatore. You can call me Stefan," he said holding out his hand. She stared at it but didn't take it.
"I know who you are," she said, "I usually only see you from behind. One little slip and now the rest of the hoofers are calling you 'hot back'."
"You're the dame behind that nickname, huh?" Stefan chuckled.
"That'd be me," she said looking slightly embarrassed, "Don't tell your girl, the blonde with the temper. I hear she's a bearcat." She had seen the blonde more than once and knew there was an underlying danger there.
"You're sure one to talk," he said. Not many women, let alone a colored one, dared to talk to him the way she did, couple that with that fact that she had just witnessed him brutally rip a man to shreds and it was clear the dame was crazy or a whole lot stronger than she looked.
"Considering the company you keep I'll take that as a complement," she said her painted red lips forming a smile.
"How about I walk you home, green eyes," Stefan offered, "I know you're not a damsel but I'm still a gentleman."
She raised a brow at him before shaking her head. "I'd rather not have a ripper know my place of residence thanks. Even one that likes to play superhero," she said, "And especially not one deluded enough to think himself a gentleman."
She turned to leave and Stefan called after her. "At least tell me your name, green eyes," he said.
"Fine," she said, "But only because you'll get it out of Gloria if I don't." There was reason that Gloria never brought her around this one and his friends. She could already tell that he was too charming for his own good which was dangerous for one of his kind.
"Well," he said, "Out with it. I'm not a patient man."
"Bonnie Bennett," she said, "And you're not a man you're a monster." She was surprised when he didn't seem to take offense. "Look," she said, "You got me out of a jam so I'll let you off the hook this time. But next time I catch you bumping some poor smuck off you won't be so lucky." She turned and began to walk away.
"Be careful going home Bonnie," he called after her, "You never know what's lurking in these streets at night."
"Couldn't be anything worse than you," she said without looking back, "Or me." She never realized it but that night he followed her home to make sure that she had gotten there safely and it wouldn't be the last time that he did.
Stefan was completely floored. He had always wondered about the protective instinct he had had when it came to Bonnie, almost immediately upon meeting her when he had returned to Mystic Falls. Now he knew, it was because that's what he did. That's what he always did. That was who he had been. Rebekah's lover. Klaus' best friend. Bonnie's superhero. Sometimes the roles changed between them but that was what it always came back to.
Then there were more recent events. The alcohol. Calling her "green eyes" and she had called him "superhero" hadn't she? On some level he had known and maybe she did too.
"We can get her to remember," Rebekah said breaking Stefan's thoughts, "We could have it all back."
Klaus nodded. Stefan was too wrapped up in his own confusion and uncertainty to even speak let alone agree.
"We can but we have to do a better job at protecting not just her but each other this time around," Klaus said, "Now that I've completed the sacrifice I'm stronger now."
"You've done it then," Rebekah marveled, "Unlocked your wolf side."
Klaus nodded. "But it means nothing without my army," he said, "We need the added protection." Rebekah moved to speak but Klaus shook his head. "There's a problem," he said, "The hybrids keep dying. We need to contact the original witch and Gloria says we need you in order to do it."
That was simple, she had what they needed. Rebekah reached up to the space where she had expected to find her necklace. "Where's my necklace?" She hissed.
"Tell me that's not what she needs," Klaus said his temper spiking as hers did. He wouldn't let anything else fall apart. He couldn't.
It didn't take Stefan long to figure out what necklace they were referring to. The necklace that had given him hope, the one that was probably on Elena's neck as they spoke. One that had once belonged to Rebekah and one he had most likely subconsciously kept for so many years because it reminded him of her.
He tried to school his features but he feared he was failing. Too much was happening too fast and he didn't know which action he should take and a part of him, a bigger part than he wanted to admit was confused about where his loyalties should lie. He watched Rebekah frantically search her coffin before she flipped it over. The only coherent thought he had was to run but he couldn't and so he stood frozen and hoped that soon something would become clear.
:::
Elena left Caroline in bed with Tyler and made her way through the Forbes home. Seeing what had happened to Caroline had put things into perspective. She had been feeling sorry for herself since Stefan had left and she had almost completely checked out.
She had spent so much time worrying about the one person that had left that she had forgotten to appreciate and be there for the people that were still there. She still loved Stefan and wanted him to come home but she understood why he wouldn't. She knew that he was protecting her, protecting all of them.
He had sacrificed himself so that she would no longer be in danger. So that she could continue to live her life. As painful as the thought was, maybe she should respect what Stefan was doing and had done for her. She should do what he would want and live her life and appreciate the people that she loved that were still in it.
Just as she left Caroline's house her cell phone rang. This time she checked before she answered. "Hey Damon," Elena said, as she answered, "How'd it go?"
"He's being stubborn," Damon said, "But we're not giving up."
Elena shook her head, she knew he was trying to protect her feelings but she wanted the truth. "He's not going to come home is he?" She asked.
Damon sighed. "Maybe not now," Damon said, "But that doesn't mean that he won't change his mind later."
"I want you and Bonnie to come home," Elena said firmly, "Thank you for trying. I'm grateful really but…I guess I just want to be with the people I have left. So bring Bonnie home and we'll have a girl's night. Caroline really needs us right now so it's the perfect timing."
"Are you sure?" Damon asked.
Elena took a deep breath and silently made her decision. "I'm sure," she said.
:::
Stefan stood outside the door of the hole in the wall that Bonnie called an apartment. He knocked on the door and after a moment the door cracked open. He grinned when her head peeped out and her green eyes widened in surprise. She opened the door fully and he was pleased to find that she was wearing the silk robe that he had left with Gloria to give to her on his behalf. He was however disappointed to find her clutching it closed and tightly around her.
"How'd you find me superhero?" She asked. She knew she should tell him to leave but ever since he saved her she had had a damn soft spot for him that wouldn't go away.
Her expression was blank. He couldn't tell whether she was pleased to see him or not. He could tell by the way her eyes were darting around that she didn't want him to be seen by anyone else. "I have my ways green eyes?" He said.
"What do you want?" She asked. She had hoped he'd disappear once he had saved her but instead he was hell bent on getting her to meet his friends for whatever reason. She figured her powers had something to do with it. Gloria had said more than once that these "friends" were nothing but trouble and Bonnie was inclined to believe her.
"A favor," he said, "You gotta invite me in to know what it is."
She raised a brow at him. "Inviting a white man in would be asking for trouble," she said and then leaned forward lowering her voice, "And you want me to invite in a vampire."
"Come on sweet little Bonnie girl," he said reaching out and stroking her cheek, "Do a fella a solid?" He had fed off a couple on the way and so he was in a rather good mood. Besides, for some reason he never felt the urge to attack Bonnie. He thought maybe the fact that she could take down a vampire with a look had something to do with it.
"What's in it for me?" Bonnie asked fidgeting with her hands in a way that told him she was craving a cigarette. Stefan smiled when she pulled one out of her robe pocket and lit it not bothering with a holder. Days of secretly watching her had paid off. He knew her habits now, he could read her.
"How about you invite me in and we negotiate," he offered. When she hesitated he leaned against the doorframe and watched her. He knew she hated the staring and that was part of the reason he did it. He laughed a little when she responded by blowing smoke in his face. "Aw come on, doll," Stefan said.
"Fine," she sighed, "Get your hot back in here. But when I tell you to scram you scram. Got it?" She pointed a finger at him in warning.
Stefan nodded his acquiescence and then followed her inside. This one was definitely a bearcat, he'd have to introduce her to Nik.
The memory replayed in his head as Stefan walked back into Gloria's. Somehow he wasn't surprised to find Bonnie still sitting at the bar. His brother was across the room on the phone. He was probably telling Elena that they had failed, that he wasn't going home.
Stefan was still adjusting to the idea of the memories that had resurfaced. He could just barely wrap his mind around the fact that Bonnie had been alive before, in the twenties. More insane than that she had been with him and Klaus and Rebekah. They had been one, consumed with each other. All of them. The memories that he could no longer block out indicated as much.
He couldn't reconcile that with what he knew of Klaus now, or even Bonnie. The Bonnie he was looking at in that moment was so different and yet so much the same. When he thought back over the events that had happened since he had met her again in this time he could connect certain things she had said and done with the past that they had shared that she still had no idea existed. Their sweet little Bonnie girl was still in there somewhere and there was a chance that they could get her to remember them.
But was that what he wanted? Klaus seemed to want things to go back to the way they were before. Stefan knew that that wasn't possible, not entirely.
Even if it was he didn't want to go back to that. But he didn't want to leave it all behind either. There was something in each relationship that he valued and that he still needed. But there was his hatred for Klaus that still lingered. There was Elena and his brother. There was the fact that he didn't want to disrupt Bonnie's life in this time. Still, all of the things that he was feeling now, he couldn't just leave them unresolved. He could think more clearly away from Rebekah and Klaus and going back to Mystic Falls seemed to be the only way out.
So he would go along with what Klaus had told him. He would go back to Mystic Falls and look after Bonnie, try and prompt her to remember. Try and protect her from whatever had killed her the first time, whatever Klaus was still running from. But he would protect Elena as well. He would let Klaus stay in Chicago and have Gloria try and locate Elena's necklace. He could tell him that he didn't know Elena was still alive until he had gotten back to Mystic Falls. It would be a lie but he had lied to Klaus before and he knew that Nik would always forgive him.
Stefan watched as Damon ended his call and walked back over to Bonnie. "Let's go," Damon said, "We tried."
Stefan walked up behind them just as Bonnie turned to face Damon. She looked at Stefan in surprise over Damon's shoulder. The look on her face caused Damon to turn. Stefan met his eyes a moment before he spoke. "Ask me to come home again," Stefan said.
"Come-" Damon began but Stefan shook his head cutting him off.
"Not you," Stefan said. He turned and looked at Bonnie, only Bonnie. She looked at him and began fidgeting with her hands in a way that let him know she wanted a cigarette, but this Bonnie, the one in this time didn't smoke. Still the familiar gesture gave him hope. "Her," he said.
Bonnie's eyes widened as she looked at Stefan. She didn't know exactly what he was playing at. It was obvious something had changed since Stefan had left with Klaus an hour before. What it had to do with her, she didn't know. But if this was what it took, then she would do it.
"Come home, Stefan," Bonnie said her voice pleading. She didn't want to go back there to the disappointment that she would face if he didn't and she didn't want to leave him there under Klaus' influence either. Even she had softened toward Klaus, even if it had been for a moment. Chicago wasn't agreeing with her.
Damon's eyes narrowed as Stefan reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Bonnie's ear. "Sure, doll," he said.
Bonnie decided to ignore the term of endearment and focus on the fact that Stefan was agreeing. Bonnie didn't bother hiding her surprise. "That's it?" Bonnie asked, "You're serious."
Stefan nodded. He glanced at Damon warily, then at Gloria who was watching from behind the bar. She was frowning, probably not too happy to see Bonnie wrapped up with vampires for the second time around but he knew that she knew what he was doing. That he was trying to boost her memory, and if he could do that she would remember Gloria and so she wouldn't stop him. "Anything for you, green eyes," he said.
Bonnie brows furrowed in confusion but she smiled. She wasn't sure what the hell was going on but Stefan was coming home and that was all that mattered in that moment. She could puzzle out the rest later. "Thanks, superhero," she said not really realizing what she was saying.
For a moment as Stefan glanced at Gloria whose hand covered her mouth before she disappeared into the back, Stefan thought that she remembered. Maybe on some level she did, but they still had their work cut out for them in that respect. Still, at least he had made the first step. "Let's go," he said ignoring Damon's suspicious look. They had a long road ahead of them in more ways than one.