"So much for giving Klaus the cure," Stefan muttered as he watched the remains of Silas' body burn.
Elena and Stefan had found a dead Katherine and unconscious Jeremy and a burning Silas inside the crypt. They could smell Bonnie's blood (even over the scent of the smoke that filled the crypt) but they couldn't find her anyway. Jeremy couldn't tell them much, he didn't really know what was going on around him when Katherine started feeding him to Silas but he told them Katherine had stabbed Bonnie.
"Well where is she?" Elena asked her brother as she looked around the crypt for any sign of her friend but found nothing aside from the blood which wasn't a good sign as far as Elena was concerned.
"The hunter," Stefan said when realisation hit him. "He was the only other one down here. He must have taken her."
"What would he want with her? She's not a vampire," Elena stated with a look of concern for her missing friend.
"Maybe he needs her for a spell?" Stefan suggested but it didn't make Elena feel any better.
The doppelganger let out a sigh. "Let's just get out of here and hope he hasn't gotten too far with her," Elena said and helped Jeremy leave the smoky crypt while Stefan followed closely behind them. Elena kept a protective hand on Jeremy's arm as she led him through the cave and back towards the well.
The three of them made their way through the cave as quickly as possible, eager to start searching for their lost friend but another stop in the road came in the form of Damon feeding from Shane near the entrance to the well.
"What are you doing?" Elena demanded when she saw Damon leaning over Shane's body.
"It's not like we need him anymore, plus he was already half dead," Damon shrugged and kicked the now dead professor aside. "And I needed a little pick me up after the beating I took from Buffy's male counterpart." He got to his feet. "Time for some bad news, he's got –"
"Bonnie," Stefan finished for his brother. "Yeah… we kind of gathered."
The four of them got out of the cavern and Stefan removed headed straight for Rebekah and pulled the stake out of her back.
"Are you alright?" he asked and helped her sit up once she recovered – which thankfully did not take long.
She nodded. "I will be." The blonde turned her attention to Elena. "He took Bonnie with him."
"We know," Elena responded with a sigh. "I hope she's okay. Jer said she's badly wounded."
"Was," Rebekah corrected and took the blood bag Stefan handed to her. "I managed to give her some of my blood before he put the stake in my back." She told them then rolled her eyes when Elena gave her a surprised look. "What? I'm not that heartless and I hold no grudge against the witch."
"Her name is Bonnie," Jeremy snapped to Rebekah.
"Whatever," she muttered and stood up after drinking the blood bag Stefan gave her. "At least now she isn't completely defenceless against him and whatever he wants from her."
"Do you think he'll take her off the island?" Elena asked to no one in particular.
"I doubt he'd keep her here when he knows we could find her," Stefan answered and Elena frowned.
"I have a crazy idea," Rebekah spoke up, her tone filled with fake enthusiasm. "How about you shut your mouths and move your asses and try to catch up with him?"
Elena sent the Original a glare before she looked to the others. "She's right, we need to get a move on before he manages to leave the island and we lose him."
"I'd say heading towards the shoreline would be our best bet," Stefan said as they headed towards the exit.
"If only we weren't on an island surrounded by water then that may actually be a good idea," Rebekah mocked.
Stefan rolled his eyes at the blonde vampire. "Of course it's not the best option but right now it's our only one."
"That's still a lot of ground to cover. He could have headed in any direction," Jeremy interjected.
"We need to split up then," Rebekah stated and began to separate from the group – heading in the opposite direction. "I'll head in this direction," she called back to them.
"Do you think she'll even bother to try and find them?" Jeremy asked Elena as they watched Rebekah's figure fade through the trees.
"Who knows," Elena muttered with a glare towards the Original then turned back to the Salvatore's.
"She's right, we should split up," Stefan said to his three companions. "Elena, you and Jeremy head that way and Damon and I will go that way," Stefan said and Elena nodded, taking a hold of Jeremy's arm and led him in the way Stefan pointed.
"What'll happen if we don't find her?" Jeremy asked her as they trudged through the forest, careful to avoid any traps that may be lying around.
"I really have no idea," Elena answered truthfully. She did not want to leave the island without Bonnie so if they didn't find her; she didn't know what she'd do.
She's rather not think about it at all.
xxx
Bonnie's eyes fluttered open as she heard a faint voice softly calling her name and a hand gently running through her hair. She looked up at the blurry figure above her.
"Abby?" she croaked out as her vision cleared out and she saw who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Hi, Bonnie," she smiled and her hand brushed some of Bonnie's dishevelled hair away from her face.
"What is going on? What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked her mother and sat up, groaning a little at the slight burning in her lower back. She could still feel the pain of Katherine's attack, thought thankfully not as bad.
"Are you alright?" she asked with concern and helped her sit up. "Galen told me what happened; I can give you some more blood if you want."
Bonnie looked at her mother with confusion until she began to recall what had happened after the incident with Katherine in Silas' crypt. The hunter - Galen Vaughn she remembered he told her – had taken her with him when he left the island. She remembered he said something about people who wanted her back.
"You sent him to get me?" she said to Abby.
"Not so much, it was more of a deal. We tell him where he needed to go so long as he brought you back with him," Abby told her. "I knew you would go with them when they figured out where the cure was."
"We?" Bonnie questioned.
"I promise you that I will tell you everything but after three days on an island, I'm sure you'll want a shower and some decent food."
"That definitely sounds good," she replied with a slight laugh.
Camping out in the wilderness was never something that Bonnie considered to be fun, but add in a crazy professor who was hell bent on raising an immortal being to bring back the dead (and said being nearly killing her ex-boyfriend) and a psychotic killer vampire who stabbed her in the back and it made the camping trip from hell.
Abby reached for a bag on the other bed and placed it in front of Bonnie. "I got you some clothes and such so take as long as you need and I'll wait for you out here," she smiled.
Bonnie took the bag with a grateful smile before she headed towards the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stripped off the dirty clothes and tossed them straight into the bin that was next to the sink. They were so caked in dirt and grime that she wouldn't even bother washing them.
She stepped into the shower and got under the hot spray. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back under the spray and closed her eyes in content as the warm water washed over her.
After almost four days without a proper shower, this was nearly heaven for Bonnie. She took her time washing her hair and smothering lavender scented body wash all over to get rid of the woodsy feel and smell.
Her shower ended after twenty or so minuets and she wrapped herself in one of the fluffy white hotel towels and stepped out into the steamed up bathroom – feeling a lot better than when she first entered the bathroom.
Bonnie blow dried her hair and put it up in a messy pony tail and pulled out the only clothes in the bag Abby had given her - being a pair of dark wash slim fit jeans, a tight fitting purple top and paired them with a black cropped jacket and ankle boots that she also found.
"Feeling better?" Abby asked Bonnie when she walked back into the main room.
"Much," Bonnie replied and placed the now empty bag on the bed. "Thanks for the clothes."
"We got you more but they are in Lucy's car," Abby told her. "You'll head back to New Orleans with her and Galen later today."
"I should have guessed I wouldn't be returning home today," Bonnie muttered and sat on the end of the bed. "But why is he coming? I thought he was just there to snatch and grab?"
"Like I said, everything will be explained when we meet with the two of them soon. They are waiting for us now," she replied and sent a message to Lucy, telling her she and Bonnie were on their way. "Are you ready?" she asked as she pocketed her phone.
Bonnie nodded and followed Abby out of the hotel lobby and down the street towards a local café where Abby said they would meet Lucy and Galen.
She wasn't sure why but she was beginning to feel a little nervous about seeing the hunter again. Looking back, Bonnie found the entire thing to be a strange situation. The moment he entered the crypt and their eyes met, Bonnie was washed over with a sense of familiarity with him, it wasn't like what she felt when she first met Lucy – it wasn't a familial sense but almost like she was meant to know him, meant to trust him. That's why she didn't try to run from him (not like she could anyway), she actually felt safe with him.
"Are you hungry?" Abby asked her - her question snapping Bonnie back from her thoughts.
"Starved," she answered with a grin, her stomach already growling from all the sweet aromas that floated around the café.
Abby led her towards the table where she saw her Cousin Lucy conversing with the man that had been occupying her thoughts. Her heart rate picked up when he looked her way, his eyes gazing upon her intently.
There was something in his gaze that she couldn't quite put her finger on but whatever it was, it caused a blush to creep its way to Bonnie's face and she looked away from him to keep her composure.
Lucy stood from the table when she and Abby neared and she wrapped her arms around Bonnie. "It's good to see you again Bonnie," she said and hugged her tightly before letting go and sitting back down.
Abby sat down next to Lucy and Bonnie took the seat across from her and next to Galen. She gave him a shy smile but otherwise said nothing him.
Bonnie looked at Abby and waited for her mother to begin talking but before Abby would tell her anything, she made Bonnie order some food - not that she was complaining. After three days of crappy camp food, this would be a welcomed change.
After eating, Bonnie turned her attention to Abby. "You said you'd explain everything so explain. Why am I here?"
"So we can help you," Lucy answered before Abby could.
"The last time I saw you, you were out of control and we" – she pointed to herself and Lucy – "want to help you gain that control back."
"I wasn't out of control, I was angry," Bonnie corrected her. "You were preventing me from helping my friends and now you are doing it again."
"They don't need your help Bonnie. They have no threat against them," Abby responded. "Vaughn took care of the only threat you and your friends had."
"Which you should be thankful for because Silas would have been a bigger threat to you then to any of your friends because of what that Professor had been teaching you," Lucy jumped in.
"How did you even know where I was or where the cure was buried?" Bonnie asked her cousin and mother.
"Well when Abby came to me and told me what you have been messing with and who had been teaching it to you I did a bit of digging and found some werewolf chick who knew a bit about him," Lucy told her. "The good professor seemed to have spilled all his secrets to her and she was only happy to tell them to me. He pissed her off I think."
"Around that time, I found out someone was digging through our ancestry," Abby took over and gave a pointedly look to Vaughn who just shrugged. "And when he finished trying to kill me we talked and came up with a deal."
"Why were you looking through our history?" Bonnie asked him.
"I was told I would need a descendant of Quetsiya," he answered. "It took me years just to find your last name."
"Found it just the right time though," Lucy stated.
"How did Katherine fit into all this?" Bonnie asked.
"She was working with the werewolf girl," Lucy answered and looked to Vaughn. "Was she on the island?" he nodded. "And?"
"She's dead," Vaughn answered and Lucy nearly choked on her coffee when she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"Served the bitch right," she uttered with joy. "Oh how I wish I could have been there to see it."
Bonnie wished she could have been conscious enough to see it. Everything that happened in the crypt was a bit blurry to Bonnie, it felt almost like a dream. One second she was talking to Jeremy about trying to find another way to get the cure without raising Silas and the next she felt a searing pain as Katherine stabbed her with a knife and threw her roughly to the floor.
Katherine deserved what she got. Bonnie only wished that it could have been a little less quick and a little more painful for the vampire that had caused them a lot of grief since her arrival in Mystic Falls all those months ago. At least she left eventually or more specifically she ran away with her tail between her legs when Klaus arrived.
"I should contact Elena or Caroline, let them know that I'm alright and not being held hostage by some psycho hunter," she turned to Vaughn besides her and gave him a shy half smile. "No offence."
"None taken," he winked at her and Bonnie could have cursed herself when she began to feel her face heat up a bit.
Abby gave her a look before she spoke. "You're done with them, Bonnie. You're done risking your life for them."
"Abby – "
"You could have died yesterday," Abby cut her off. "So long as you are around Elena Gilbert, your life is at risk and I'm not going to allow that anymore."
"A little hard to do that when I live not ten minutes away from her," she retorted. "And besides, Elena doesn't force me to do all this. I do it on my own accord. If I have all this power why can't I use it to protect the people I love?"
"I get that, Bonnie, more than anyone I get that but there comes a point where you have to stop putting everyone else first and start thinking about yourself," Lucy jumped in. "And the more you jump in to protect them, the more they will just expect you to do it."
"They don't expect me to do it," Bonnie defended her friends.
"From what I've been told, that is exactly what they do," Lucy said and took a sip of her coffee.
"The Salvatore's treat you like you are an easy solution to their problems. That's all you are to them," Abby said and Bonnie frowned at her. "You have done so much for them and have kept them alive and yet they still treat you like you're nothing."
"They act like your magic is their magic," Lucy added. "A lot of vampires act that way towards witches. They act like they are entitled to our magic when in fact the only thing they are entitled to is a wooden stake through the heart."
"I'll drink to that," Vaughn spoke for the first time in a while. Bonnie almost forgot that he was even here he'd been that quiet.
"And what about my dad?" she questioned Abby and rested her elbows atop of the table. "You might have been fine with running out on him but I'm not." Bonnie knew that would have been a knife in the gut to Abby but she really didn't care right now.
"Rudy knows everything," Abby replied, ignoring Bonnie's comment. "After you left with everyone he called me. That's how I knew you were on the island."
Abby always knew Bonnie would end up on the island; it was only a matter of when so when Rudy called her up the other day to tell her about Bonnie leaving for a few days she knew exactly where she was heading and luckily for her, Vaughn was already stationed on the island by that point.
"So you're saying that my dad is perfectly okay with the three of you kidnapping me?" Bonnie questioned with an incredulous look directed towards her mother.
"Kidnapping is such a strong term," Lucy cringed.
"Of course he's not okay with it but he knows that at the moment, it's the best thing for you," Abby replied and reached across the table to cover Bonnie's hand but the younger witch pulled back at the last second.
Bonnie sighed. "I need some air," she said and excused herself from the table – needing to get away from her mother and cousin just for a short while so she could collect her thoughts.
She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her lower back. "It's best you not be alone right now," Galen's voice filled her ears as he steered her towards the café's exit, holding the door open for her to walk out first.
"Better you than Abby or Lucy I guess," she responded with a sigh. "I can't believe they are doing this," she muttered as the two of them crossed the street and headed towards the small grassy park area.
"They're your family," he said and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "They just want to keep you safe."
"Yet neither of them were there for me when I needed them most. Abby left when I was just three and I've only met Lucy once. They don't get to just walk back into my life and start dictating what I should and shouldn't do," she vented. "They might be my family by blood by they are not my family. My family is back in Mystic Falls." She paused and turned to look at him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm sure the last thing you want to hear is a teenager venting about her family."
He gave her a smile. "It's fine, sweetheart. Vent all want." Mostly he just wanted her to keep talking; he was beginning to love the sound of her voice.
Bonnie bit back her smile. He hadn't called her that since she passed out in his arms on the island and she found she loved the sound of it.
"I'll try to keep the parental drama to a minimum for your sake," she said to him with a light laugh.
Vaughn pulled his phone out of his back pocket and handed it to her. "Call your friends, let them know you're alright," he said to her when she gave him a look of confusion.
"I thought Abby said they weren't allowed to know where I was," she raised an eye brow at him.
"You don't strike me as the type who listens to her mother," he smirked. "You don't have to tell them where you are just let them know that you are safe and with your mother. That should put them -and you- at some ease," he said and let her take the phone from his hand, her fingers brushing over his gently.
"Thank you," she said and gave him a soft smile.
Vaughn put a bit of distance between them, far enough to give her some privacy but close enough to get to her quickly if needed.
Bonnie punched in the familiar number and held the phone to her ear and waited for her him to pick up.
"Hello?" the familiar voice floated through the receiver and Bonnie instantly found herself smiling. She always found Matt's voice incredibly warm and comforting.
"Hey Matt," she said softly and she could practically hear him straightening up.
"Bonnie?" she could hear the relief in his tone, obviously happy that he has finally heard from her. "Where are you? Everyone is worried sick about you. They said there was a hunter on the island that took you. Are you alright?" he shot her a bunch of questions and she couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm fine, no need to worry, I'm with my mother and my cousin, they sent him to get me from the island, he didn't hurt me, he's harmless and he'll keep me safe," she answered all his questions at once aside from the 'where are you' one. "So I take it everyone got home safely?"
"Yeah everyone expect you. Where are you?"
Bonnie sighed. "Matt, I wish I could tell you but I can't but I just need you to believe me when I say that I am safe. Abby doesn't want anyone to know where I am she just wants to keep me safe and help me get over what Shane has done and taught me," she explained to him.
"Will you come back?" Matt asked.
"Of course I will but for now I do believe my mother is right. I need to get my head sorted out. Shane really messed me up," Bonnie said with a frown. She felt stupid when she thought about Shane. She had trusted him and he let her down. He just used her to further his own goals. Like pretty much everyone else in her life.
Matt was silent on the other line for a moment. "I take it this is all we are going to hear from you until you figure it all out," he said knowingly.
"I'll come back I promise," she said and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Give my love to everyone and I'll contact you again soon."
She ended the call before Matt got a chance to say anything else. She took a few moments to collect her emotions before she turned around and walked back to where the hunter was waiting for her.
She handed the phone back to him and tried to muster a thankful smile but he saw right through it.
"You okay?" he asked and placed a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. Vaughn knew first-hand what it was like to leave friends behind.
When he discovered what he was and what he was destined for, he had cut all ties with his friends and family. He knew he'd be making enemies with his new life and thought it'd be best for his loved ones not to be a part of it.
It was hard for him at first, but it was for best in the long run. There had been vampires who looked for ways to get to him but failed in their search because of the choice he made and for that reason he did not regret his decision.
Bonnie took in a deep breath and nodded and tried to ignore the feeling of his hand burning into her shoulder. "Abby is right. It's for the best," she stated. "This Expression magic inside of me is strong and I don't want to hurt anyone else with it."
xxx
Matt put his phone back in his pocket after his surprise call from Bonnie before slamming shut the door of his truck and running inside the Gilbert house where everyone had gathered. Everyone was seated (or stood) in the living room, discussing ways where they find Bonnie.
"I just got a call from Bonnie," he announced right away and everyone's head snapped in his direction (something Matt may have found humours under different circumstances).
"Is she okay?" Caroline was the first to speak.
Matt nodded. "She said she's fine," he answered. "The hunter that took her, she said he was sent there by her mother."
"That makes sense," Jeremy muttered to himself and Elena turned to look at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked him, unsure by what he meant by it made sense.
"The night I went to Bonnie when Kol tried to kill us, Abby showed up. She refused to let Bonnie leave. She said Bonnie was done helping you," Jeremy explained and a hurt expression crossed Elena's face.
"Did she tell you where she was?" Stefan asked Matt.
Matt shook his head. "She wouldn't say but she told me to tell you all that she's fine and we shouldn't worry."
"Is she coming back?" Caroline asked with sad eyes. She didn't know if she could handle not seeing Bonnie ever again.
"She said she would and that she'd contact us again soon but Abby wants her there so she can help her through what Shane did," Matt relayed what Bonnie told him about Abby wanting to help with her Expression magic.
"We know where Abby lives so we can just go bring Bonnie back home," Damon
Stefan shook his head at his brother, dismissing his suggestion. "Do you really think Abby would take Bonnie somewhere we could find her?" he paused. "This obviously isn't just about what Shane has done but all of us as well. Abby doesn't want Bonnie to be around us."
"Can't really blame her," Caroline jumped in. "You and Damon are the reason she is a vampire and no longer a witch. It's not that hard to believe that she wants Bonnie far away from all of us because of that. She's probably worried the same thing will happen to Bonnie."
Stefan frowned at Caroline's words. He wasn't proud of what he and Damon did to Abby, but he wouldn't do that to Bonnie. They might not be what they once were, but he still considered her to be a friend.
"It's worth a try," Damon shot back to his brother and took no noticed of Caroline's comment of his involvement in Abby Bennett's new found vampirism. "She may not be as smart as you're giving her credit for."
"Caroline's right," Stefan said. "Abby wants to keep her safe from us."
"She also said her cousin was there," Matt added with a hint of confusion clouding his face. He didn't know Bonnie had any cousins but then again he didn't know much about her family on Bonnie's mother's side aside from her Grams.
"The witch that helped Katherine at the masquerade ball, Lucy I think he name was," Jeremy spoke up, remembering back to that night when he drove Bonnie home. She told him that the witch was a Bennett, her cousin. "She's Bonnie's cousin."
"At least she's safe with," Carline said, relieved her friend was alright and with people who wouldn't hurt her.
xxx
When Lucy led Bonnie away to the car, Abby grabbed a hold of Vaughn's arm, gripping much tighter than necessary. The hunter spun around to face her, his eye brow raised – silently questioning what she was doing.
"I don't really give two damns about the hunter's curse so if you keep looking at my daughter like that, I will kill you," she threatened with a low and dangerous voice.
Abby was not blind. From the moment he handed her over last night and all this morning, she had seen the looks he had been giving her daughter. How he inched closer to her any chance he got. Abby had to restrain herself from ripping the hunter's arms off when his hand lingered far too long and far too low on Bonnie's back when he led her out of the café.
Vaughn gave her a humorous smirk, not taking her threat seriously, and wrenched his arm from her grip before sauntering off without a response. It was very rare for Vaughn to ever feel threatened by a vampire and there was nothing he found threatening about Abby Bennett-Wilson (aside from the fact that she is a mother but from what he understands, she's a rather crappy one).
A low growl rumbled in Abby's chest as she watched Vaughn approached her daughter and her niece. She nearly saw red when she saw him place a hand on Bonnie's shoulder in what Bonnie would have interpreted as a gesture of comfort but Abby interpreted it as a deliberate attempt to piss her off.
Abby was beginning to think she made a big mistake involving Galen Vaughn in her daughter's life.
xxx
Wow! I am really stunned by the feedback this fic has gotten. I really was not expecting all that for just the first chapter so I hope this one was good and enjoyable for you all!
Abby and Lucy are the two mysterious visitors and they will both play a big role in this fic.
Sorry for any mistakes, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review to let me know what you think!
Next chapter we have Bonnie arriving in New Orleans with Lucy and Vaughn and they try to help her with her Expression magic and there will be some delicious Vaughn/Bonnie tension which will be very fun to write!
Plus more.
xxx
