Jeremy was just returning from making his bed for Bonnie when he heard an all too familiar shriek erupt. He ran quickly to follow the sound, finding Bonnie in front of the fireplace, clutching her hands to her stomach, cries of pain escaping her, her body shaking with them. He reacted before he was even sure he knew how, running to catch her as she fell weak into his arms. He placed his hand on her cheek, frantically calling her name. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest, he couldn't lose her again. He didn't have the strength.

"Bonnie, please!" He shouted, placing his ear to her mouth to make sure she was still breathing. She was—but this brought very little relief to him. He fell to the ground with her in his arms, cradling her, rocking her, and silently praying to whatever God there was to bring her back. Tears streamed down his eyes as he looked at her face and felt her limp body.

"I just got you back." He whispered. "Please," He pleaded quietly. A faint noise escaped her mouth a moment later and Jeremy's eyes widened. "Bonnie?" He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. She blinked rapidly, her chest rising and falling just as quickly.

"I felt everything, Jer," She cried as her wide eyes met his and she mentally relived the pain of Quetsiyah's death again. She cringed.

"Bonnie, what happened?"

"Quetsiyah. She died and I—I felt everything," She said, turning her face into his chest as she sobbed quietly.

"What—wha—how? How did you—"

"I'm the anchor, Jer. That means every time an immortal being dies," Bonnie paused and shook her head. "Every time," She whispered silently, her body rocking with fear. Jeremy's spirit broke as the consequence of bringing the love of his life back to life dawned on him. He rubbed her back softly, holding her close to him. He thought back to just thirty minutes before, when she'd been able to come back, and he'd been able to feel her again, and kiss her—he thought of how happy they'd been, only moments before. He felt both angry and shattered, for her mostly. She didn't deserve this. She deserved to be happy and completely care-free, even if just for a little while.

"Hey, listen to me," he started, "Everything's gonna be alright. You're gonna be okay." He shook his head. "Nobody deserves to be okay more than you do." He mumbled against her hair after he'd kissed it. Bonnie's breathing slowed to a normal pace as she relaxed into him.

"I just need to sleep, Jer." She whispered. She turned to look up at him, as a sudden chill of fear ran through her. "Just—be here when I wake up, okay?" She said softly, her eyes still slightly teary. Jeremy smiled down at her, caressing her cheek with his hand.

"Trust me; you're gonna be sick of me." He joked. A weak chuckle escaped Bonnie's mouth as her eyes closed again. She turned into his chest once more as he stood from the ground with her in his arms, carrying her to his bedroom. Just before her consciousness drifted away from her, she let out a deep sigh and said, "Never."

Bonnie woke to the sound of Jeremy's voice and another that she was still too foggy to recognize. But as she slowly recollected her consciousness, she became aware of the fact she was in the back of a truck. And the other voice she'd heard was suddenly completely identifiable; Matt. She sat up on the back seat quickly, tightening her eyes as they adjusted to the light. Matt's gaze met hers in the rearview mirror and his eyes brightened.

"Hey, look who's alive!" He said excitedly, quickly realizing his slip of the tongue. Jeremy shook his head and Bonnie smiled.

"Dude," Jeremy breathed, only making Bonnie smile more. He was never able to take jokes about her death very well. Not that she would expect him to. "You feelin' okay?" Jeremy asked, turning to examine her like he often did.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"You look good," He said, ignoring her question.

"Jeremy," She said through gritted teeth.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. " He replied.

"Matt?" She said, meeting his gaze again in the mirror.

"I actually have no idea," he told her honestly. "No one does." He shrugged. "Except him." He said, jerking his head in Jeremy's direction. Bonnie turned back to face Jeremy and he smiled warmly at her.

"Just sit back and relax. This is gonna be good." He promised her. And he could already feel the stress and worry leaving him. It had been so long since he'd been able to feel calm. He hoped that this little trip would give Bonnie that same feeling, too.

It had been about an hour since he'd argued with his sister about getting Bonnie out of Mystic Falls for a while.

"Jeremy, she can't leave, she just got back and we need her!" Elena had yelled as she paced in front of the fireplace. Stefan sat on the arm of the chair and Damon stood at the table, pouring himself a drink.

"Elena, she doesn't need to be needed right now. She needs to relax." Jeremy told her in a low voice.

"I don't think that's for you to decide, Baby Gilbert." Damon said, taking a sip of his whiskey. "Bonnie know you're trying to sweep her out of town?" Damon shrugged. "Doesn't really sound like something she'd be up for."

"Well she'll just have to adjust." Jeremy growled. "Look, she doesn't know how to just look out for herself for even a second so somebody's gonna have to do it for her."

"Jeremy—,"

"I'm not asking for your permission, Elena." He told her. "I've got some money saved up from when I worked at The Grill plus some of the money from mom and dad's life insurance—,"

"Jer, that's for college!" His big sister exclaimed.

"Elena," He rumbled. "You're not gonna change my mind."

Elena looked to Damon who only raised his eyebrows in defeat and then to Stefan who gave a shrug. "Caroline brought over some clothes for Bonnie, and Matt's waiting outside to drive us to the train station." He sighed. "Just give her some time off, guys. Let her breathe. She needs this more than ever right now." He told them. Elena's curiosity invaded her face. Jeremy just raised his hand and told her, "She'll explain when she comes back." And once he'd retrieved sleeping Bonnie from his bed, he softly crept outside to Matt's truck and lay her down gently on the back seat. He was incredibly surprised and concerned that he'd been able to get her there without waking her. It pained him that she was exhausted enough to sleep so deeply and long.

"Thanks again, Matt." Jeremy told him as Matt handed him Bonnie's bag from the back of his truck.

"Take care of her." Matt said to him as Bonnie hopped out of the truck.

"Why are we at the train station?" She asked them. Matt ignored her and took her in for a hug.

"Really missed you, Bonnie." He told her. "You deserve this."

Deserve what? Bonnie shouted in her mind. But before she could ask him, Matt was already getting into his truck and pulling away. Bonnie watched him disappear down the road and then she turned to Jeremy with narrowed eyes. "What are you up to?"

"Just trying to make you happy, that's all." He said simply, tugging on her sweater to pull her nearer, closing the space between them. She smiled.

"Jer, why are we at the train station?" She asked him. He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled down at her.

"Do you love me?" He asked her softly. It still made her heart stop whenever the word was even said between them. She locked eyes with him—her green with his brown—and said, "Yes." And with a grin, he covered her lips with his tenderly—only for a moment—but long enough to leave her captivated as his kisses always did.

"So trust me." He told her. Then taking her by the hand, he led her into the train station, taking a moment to mentally appreciate the fact he could, in fact, feel her hand.

"Virginia Beach?!" Bonnie exclaimed as she sat across from him on the train. "Jeremy, what is this?" She asked him as she stared at the train ticket he'd just handed her—finally letting her in on his plans.

"It's a vacation." He told her. "A much needed one." He continued. She sighed as she realized what he was trying to do.

"I can't just run away from everything."

"Why not?" He asked. He sat forward in his chair and took her by her hand. "Bonnie, why don't you think you deserve this?" She swallowed and looked away from his eyes. She didn't know what to say. She had never thought that she was entitled to anything, really. "Because you do, Bon. You deserve to get away and be free and selfish and to do whatever the hell you wanna do." He said. She beamed at him and at the feel of his hands on hers.

"What are we gonna do in Virginia Beach, Jer?" She asked him. He shrugged.

"I dunno. Things." He replied. He grinned mischievously. "This," he said as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her deeply. Luckily the section of the train they were sitting in was completely empty. Though even if it hadn't been, they probably wouldn't have cared. This was completely new to them once more—being able to touch and hold each other. It wasn't something that they thought they could ever get used to again. As his lips massaged against hers and his hand roamed up her outer thigh, she thought then that she wouldn't have even an ounce of a problem doing this for an entire weekend. No breaks or anything.