AN: This chapter has been updated. Thank you for your reviews and follows. This is more characters than I usually juggle at once, so please bear with me.

Two.

Rebekah Mikaelson

Rebekah waited outside the Gilbert house. Stefan and Bonnie had entered without so much as a glance back at the uninvited Original, and she had too much pride to point out that she could not join this rendezvous with her brother.

From her seat on the porch, she tried to zero in on the conversation inside, but was met with more silence. She was so bored she might fall asleep when, suddenly, she heard the thrumming hummingbird heart of a Bennett witch.

It was a lovely rhythm, that. Life. Pumping and vibrant. It was more powerful and erratic now than it once had been.

That's what expression did to you.

And Rebekah would know. She watched many a witch go through the same thing. Did it bother her that she was putting the cure (and thus, her life) in the hands of a witch who did not fully comprehend the power she held? Rebekah supposed it probably should. Or, rather, that it probably would if she didn't know.

Even Atticus Shane didn't really know what he was messing with.

But Rebekah remembered: the shaky, trembling hands; the sudden bursts of temper; the impulses that came with expression. And worst of all, the guilt. She remembered the signs, and she remembered how to ease them – or at least, how she had eased them for her mother.

And that gave Rebekah the upper hand.

Which was good, because Rebekah couldn't trust anyone.

Something was getting little Bonnie Bennett all excited, Rebekah thought as she swung herself to standing. She turned towards the door just in time to avoid the hurtling body being thrown out of it.

Kol landed roughly on the ground, taking his time to stand. A gash appeared and quickly healed on his bottom lip. He glared into the house.

Bonnie exited afterwards, her hair blowing lightly behind her despite the stillness of the night air. Her heart thrummed so loudly Rebekah could barely make one beat out separate from any other. Her green eyes saw, but didn't see, the world that lay out before her.

"Take it easy," Kol grunted.

"You're right," Bonnie said, walking towards him and clapping her hands together as if she had dirtied them. She gave a pointed look at the crevice in the front yard created by his descent, "Your big head hurt the earth."

Kol's smile appeared more a sneer as he rushed to stand directly in her path as her. Her hips stopped mid-sway on the steps. She raised a brow as she met him, from her position on the porch, eye-to-eye. The words they exchanged were hushed, but they didn't miss the ears of the blonde Original or her ex-lover who came strolling out of the Gilbert house as if nothing was amiss at all.

"This wasn't part of our deal," Kol spat.

"Neither was you trying to kill Jeremy," Bonnie returned as evenly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I didn't try to kill him," Kol reminded her, leaning in even closer. She turned her face to avoid meeting his eyes. "I was merely going to relieve him of his arms. I would have healed him right after."

Rebekah laughed in the same second Stefan scoffed. He wasn't the man he used to be.

Bonnie spoke. "Out of fear of a curse, rather than the goodness of your heart."

"Jeremy and I are close, but not that close," Now his eyes landed on her as if they were trying to decipher something.

Jeremy and Bonnie. There was something there. Something raw. And oh, how Kol enjoyed poking at a raw, open wound.

"Regardless," Bonnie said with authority, turning to face him again. She pressed a hand lightly against his shoulder like they were dancing as she took the final step down into the front yard, but it was enough to immobilize him, "You stepped out of line first."

"They don't want to kill Silas," Kol said, turning to watch her walk towards her car. "They just want the cure for themselves!"

Bonnie's hips were swaying again. His shoulder tingled where she had touched him. So liberal with her powers, this one.

Rebekah would have to keep an eye on this one, and she sensed, Kol was thinking the same. Stefan, she was sure, was watching her too – though perhaps, not for quite the same reason.

"I need your help, but I can't risk you destroying what I've tried so hard to protect."

"You mean, who you tried to protect," Kol corrected, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. He swaggered towards her, and she stood her ground.

"I'm trying to save Mystic Falls," Bonnie said with gravity.

"And I'm trying to save the world."

"And I'm trying to go to prom," Rebekah pitched in, flashing forward to the quareling duo.

Kol seemed surprised to find her standing so close. He glanced around his other shoulder, and sure enough – there was Stefan. Kol appraised him as if seeing him for the first time – either a thinly veiled insult, or a nod to the intoxicating power that Bonnie Bennett's presence seemed to have. He dismissed him easily, as Rebekah knew he would.

Kol didn't know his teammates. Or his enemies. Which gave Rebekah the upper hand.

"We only want the cure," Stefan said, "Whatever you do to Silas is up to you."

"Be reasonable, brother," Rebekah said, feigning sweetness.

"We don't need them," Kol asserted, ignoring them both.

Rebekah rolled her eyes in response. He was behaving exactly as he did several centuries ago when he had tried to talk them into crashing Magellan's tour de monde.

"You need me," Bonnie said. Her voice lowered, for no one's benefit, as they could all hear perfectly well as she stepped forward and raised a hand to lightly brush dirt from Kol's face. "You said it yourself. You need a Bennett witch to locate Silas."

She slid her hand down his cheek, and caught the edge of her jaw in her fingers as she brushed his lips clean with the swipe of her thumb. His eyes darkened at her touch, but disguised themselves in wicked brown the second Bonnie raised her eyes to meet his. "And I need you."

Kol frowned, but said nothing. He held her gaze, daring her to continue. Rebekah stifled a gag.

"You know more about Silas than any of us," Bonnie said. "I don't know if I can trust Atticus anymore. I need to be able to trust you."

"What does that have to do with my sister?" Kol challenged, nodding at her at last, "And her boy-toy?"

"Rebekah has the dagger," Bonnie said simply. "You have the stake. You'll keep each other in line. They can locate Silas and the cure, while we figure out how to kill Silas."

Kol rolled his eyes, "We could have done that without them."

Bonnie glared at the young Original, "How could we possibly beat two other teams of vampires trying to find the cure when you can't stick to the plan? They would find it, and it would be over-"

"They can't find it without you!" Kol bellowed.

"And I can't kill Silas without you!" Bonnie returned in kind.

He glared at her.

She glared back.

"Every magic mentor I've had has died or been using me. I don't know how to kill Silas. I didn't even," her eyes welled up with angry tears that threatened to spill onto her flushed cheeks, "know about Silas before all of this! You think I like this?" she jabbed him in the chest, and it hurt more than it should: "You think I like being dependent on vampires to dictate my every move? I hate it!" She jabbed him again, "And I especially hate when they think I'm too stupid to figure out what's going on, and do whatever they want anyway!" This time, he caught her finger.

"Fine," Kol said, startling her.

And that was that.

"Fine."

Bonnie moved to take a step back, but Kol held out his hand.

"Shake on it," he insisted.

Bonnie arched a brow, but thought it was a small thing to concede. She took his hand.

He tugged her forward into his arms, easily catching her off guard. He heard Stefan take a protective step forward, but ignored it.

"Kiss on it?"

Rebekah laughed as her brother fell to his knees, cradling his head. Bonnie, and then Stefan, easily walked over his crumpled form.

Rebekah let out a long sigh as she stepped around him, too. "That was thoroughly disgusting."

Kol Mikaelson

An aneurysm never felt so good.

Stefan Salvatore

"Rebekah and Stefan," Bonnie dictated as she paced the floor of Rebekah's apartment.

At the sound of his name, Stefan looked up from the grimoire he was pouring through at Rebekah's kitchen table. The writing was difficult for a vampire to read, but fragments came to him. Kol had a huge stack of them – some with crumbling pages – that they were rushing to document. Armed with two iPhones, they were documenting as many spells as they could so Bonnie could more easily study them in the future.

"You two will locate the cure," Bonnie said, pausing to take a sip of the tea Rebekah had prepared for her. When the blonde's eyes fell on her, she offered her a nod in thanks and a tight smile. With the hostess placated, Bonnie continued: "You'll have to get Atticus from the jail, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Damon likely won't be out and about since he's still compelled, and my father will be tied up with my mother and their perpetual drama…"

"Alright," Stefan agreed. He glanced quickly at Rebekah, "We were on our way to doing that anyway."

"We'll have to pretend that we haven't teamed up," Rebekah chimed in. "If Klaus feels threatened by us, he'll attack."

"And we should leave soon," Kol said, snapping another photo on the phone. Stefan's attention turned to Bonnie, who watched, with surprise, at how Kol gently turned the page. "Before they work a way around the compulsion."

Stefan frowned. "Klaus might kill Damon. Damon is worthless, to him, compared to Jeremy."

Kol looked up from his work, but Bonnie interrupted before he could voice his disgust.

"Stefan's right," she said. Kol shot her an annoyed look, but she ignored it.

"Does that mean we should do something about it?" Rebekah said flippantly.

Bonnie looked at Stefan.

"He's my brother," Stefan said simply.

"He's the competition," Kol snapped.

"He does have a cute butt," Rebekah chirped in with amusement.

"He killed your mother," Kol said.

Bonnie glanced at Stefan, who fell quiet for a moment before adding softly: "He was not alone in that."

"True," Kol cut his eyes at the younger Salvatore.

"Kol," Bonnie said, letting out a heavy sigh, "You have to retract the compulsion."

"No."

"Kol," Bonnie frowned.

"No," Kol said. "We are partners in this. You can't tell me what to do."

"Will you," Bonnie said, "please-"

"No."

Bonnie met and held Kol's eyes. Neither said anything. Stefan frowned.

Stefan felt Rebekah's eyes fall on him for a moment, but he refused to meet them. She, too, had lost a brother. Finn. At the hands of his friends. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, and thought, perhaps, he didn't want to know.

"You'll change your mind," Bonnie said.

"I told you not to boss me around," Kol sang out, returning to the grimoire stubbornly.

"I wasn't tell you to," Bonnie said, "I just know you will."

"How do you figure that?" Kol spared her a quick look.

"I have my ways," Bonnie said. Kol glanced at her again, and this time, he thought the ghost of a wicked smile might be dancing at the young Bennett's lips. He let his own wicked smile spread and stay. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms.

"I look forward to discovering each and every one of them," Kol said.

"Not as much as I do," Bonnie threatened.

Stefan cleared his throat.

"Enough of the flirting," Rebekah made a face. She turned to the fridge and extracted blood bags and a wrapped up, leftover hamburger from the Grille. "Dinner," she announced.

Kol smirked, but nodded in acceptance of the food. Rebekah took hers and headed to the bedroom where she would see to the linens and ensure everyone had a spot to sleep.

"Kol and I," Bonnie turned to Stefan, "will figure out a way to kill Silas. If you and Rebekah can shoulder finding him, Kol and I will take care of the rest."

"Do you really need him," Stefan asked, ignoring the glare Kol shot him as he spoke, "Seeing as how we have the Grimoires?"

"Grimoires aren't everything," Bonnie admitted. "Kol knew these witches. He knew their stories, their lives. He'll be able to help me decipher the spells, and find one that will work."

"Basically, she needs me," Kol repeated Bonnie's earlier words. She took a long sip of tea to avoid having to comment. Kol's smug, triumphant grin was so odd given the high-tension circumstances, that Bonnie couldn't help the spark of electricity that had her stifling a tentative smile of her own.

Stefan frowned. He wasn't pleased with the quick camaraderie between Bonnie and the Original who, only days before, had tried to kill half of their new team. He still carried the stake, and was still a threat to Rebekah who Stefan had developed a small soft spot for. Her weakness mirrored his brother's – she needed to be loved – and his, she needed to be human. How could he not feel a kinship with her?

Besides, Kol could still panic and decide to keep Silas (and the cure) from them forever by ending Bonnie once and for all. Though she appeared oddly confident that he would not hurt her, and dared to tease the Original with feats of her power, Bonnie's life was still as much at risk as ever.

But she couldn't see that.

It seemed, Bonnie couldn't see past her power recently. From the little she had revealed of their evening, Stefan gathered that she had stormed out on her parents as well. She was so confident that she was preparing to wake and kill a two thousand year old immortal being. She was so single minded that she was preparing to enlist the help of Professor Shane rather than get Jeremy to complete the mark – a man who had killed twelve innocent people.

There was something off about Bonnie – something oddly not-her behind those green eyes. It almost bothered him that Rebekah didn't see it. That Kol accepted it in her. But neither of them knew Bonnie like Stefan did. Neither of them had seen what magic had given, and had taken, from her. Neither of them had held her as she cried.

But that wasn't the Bonnie he looked at now.

Bonnie's fingers curled against the cold granite of the countertop as she traded words back and forth with Kol again. She barely noticed when Kol set the phone down and the innuendos started pouring from his lips. She barely noticed when she, herself, grinned wickedly, and played right back. She barely noticed as Stefan took his blood bag from the counter and headed towards the living room, where he found Rebekah making up a bed for the young witch on the couch.

Kol Mikaelson

Kol Mikaelson was perhaps a bit too interested in the way Bonnie Bennett slept.

She snored.

She sprawled out half on, half off the couch.

From his vantage point laid out on a spare comforter on the cold tiles of the kitchen (they would have to see about better accommodation), he could see her clearly. Including the trail of drool sliding from the corner of her mouth.

How she could sleep so soundly – so dead to the world – was beyond him.

They had things to do. Plans to make. Silas to kill.

His hands were already itching to go.

He wasn't even alive, and he could almost feel his heart pounding out of his chest and ready to go

But not Bonnie.

She slept so sweetly you'd think she wasn't in danger at all.

You'd think she wasn't the only human in the heart of an apartment filled with vampires.

Bonnie Bennett

For the first time in a long time, Bonnie's conscience was clear. Though she was facing the biggest challenge she had come across yet as a witch, she felt in control of her decision.

Bonnie Bennett was on a mission. She had a plan. She had a goal. And for the first time, it wasn't being set and dictated by vampires.

It had been laid out by Quetsiyah, another witch – heck, a goddess! – centuries before. Bonnie was simply fulfilling the role Ayanna's descendant was meant to play. Bonnie was determined to complete this mission and, in doing so, complete Quetsiyah's.

She would end Silas.

She would do what no other witch had done.

And she would do it without the help or hindrance of her ancestors on the other side, so eager to possess her body or torture her Grams whenever they felt like it.

She was done being pushed around by all of them.

And here, in this little apartment with three vampires, a stack of grimoires, and a plan – is where it would all begin.