AN: Sorry for the delay and thanks for the reviews. I am trying to make the chapters a little longer.

While Elena was lying motionless on the couch being watched over by her concerned boyfriend, Stefan had disappeared from the living room mumbling something about his appetite and being famished. Damon knew that his younger brother had spent all day worried and focused on Caroline's well being that he hadn't stop to feed, and it was a well known fact that Stefan was at his most dangerous when he was starving. In order to prevent himself from acting on the temptation to turn Mystic Falls into a supernatural buffet, he had decided to gorge on the many blood bags that they had stashed downstairs in the deep freezer in the basement.

Pushing concerns for his brother to his back of his mind, he tore his gaze away from his unconscious girlfriend and his piercing blue gaze fell on a familiar piece of equipment lying on the coffee table. Reaching forward, he picked up the video camera and realized that it wasn't the one he placed in storage several months earlier. It was the one from 1994 that Bonnie had someone how managed to find a way to bring back with her.

Turning the old piece of technology on, a ghost of a smile touched his lips as he scrolled through the video treasuring the different memories they had collectively made and managed to capture during the four months that they were trapped together. While several of the video blogs consisted of dark angst, there were a few glimpse into their rocky sanity and displays of their dry and dark sense of humor. While the time that they had spent in the prison world had been difficult and depressing, not every moment had been so bad. When they weren't at each other's throats, there had been days where they had actually enjoyed each other's company. Considering all of the years that they had spent hurting and distrusting one another, it was a miracle that they had managed to get to a point in their relationship where they had developed mutual respect for one another. After sacrificing everything to deliver him from the prison world, and Damon had went as far as betraying his best friend to bring her back, it was safe to say that through the good and bad, they had proven that the one thing that was constant between them was loyalty.

As he came across the video clip of Bonnie in the garage on the floor in tears, he felt his throat tighten and knots form in his stomach. In the past, his first concerned would have been whether or not she had left a scratch on his 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible, but seeing her pain and anguish made him sick. She had suffered alone all because of her self less sacrifice, and not one day had gone by where he hadn't felt extremely guilty. He felt that he should have done more to save her when he and Elena had went back to the prison world for her, but the truth had been that there hadn't been much more that he could have done. Despite that fact, he couldn't help but feel haunted by the sight of the broken girl that he was watching on the screen. He remembered the pact that they had made to each other one night when they had both been more than a little depressed. If they couldn't stand being there for another minute, they would drink the oldest bottle of Bourbon, and once it was finished, they would end their lives. The fact that she had been prepared to go through with that promise on her own and he hadn't been there for her had hurt him deeply.

Unable to watch the miserable ramblings of the suicidal witch, he fast forward and his smile returned moments later as he witnessed Bonnie's documented harrowing journey that had eventually led to her escape. She had suffered minor injuries as she had to obtain the hunk of rock that had contain traces of Queisiyah's blood which had triggered her magic. There were a lot of things he had said about Bonnie in the past about her being annoying, self righteous and judgmental, but the one thing he knew for certain was that she was resilient and a survivor, and realizing that caused a strange sense of pride to flood through him.

"Who are you?" he heard Bonnie demand surprise.

Focusing his attention back to the video, he frowned as he realized that the Bennett witch hadn't been alone in the cave in the prison world. Someone had shown up and as he froze the frame to get a good look at the mysterious resident of the prison world, he was paralyzed with horror as he immediately recognized the woman. Feeling all the blood drain from his face, he could barely breathe as he began to tremble noticeably. He couldn't believe what he was seeing! How the hell was she alive and what was she doing trapped in the snowy prison world? So many questions was running through his head, and his first instinct was to march up to the guest bedroom that Bonnie had locked herself in and interrogate her on exactly where she was and what had happened to put her in the path of this woman, but he couldn't move. He was frozen and with shock by the revelation.

Before Damon could ponder on the stunning discovery any further, Stefan walked back in the room. Not wanting to share what he had learned with his brother until he got answers to his many questions, Damon quickly turned the power of the video camera off and forced a smile as he casually reached towards the coffee table where a half full bottle of Bourbon was beckoning him. Not bothering with a glass, he placed the opening of the bottle to his lips and turned it up drinking deeply, desperate to numb the many emotions that was currently swirling all around inside of him.

"Why exactly are you playing with this relic?" Stefan asked curiously as he lifted the video camera off the table and toyed with it aimlessly, "I thought you put it in storage after you got back."

When Damon didn't answer right away, Stefan frown concerned as he noticed the strange look in his brother's icy blue eyes. Something was wrong. Damon wasn't easily shaken, and the look on his face was as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Damon, what is it? What's wrong?" Stefan insisted confused.

The dark haired vampire stared at him conflicted, before sighing reluctantly. He hated lying to Stefan, but if he saw what was on that tape, he had no idea how his younger brother would react, and with Caroline gone off the grid, there was no need or room for an unstable and vengeful appearance of 'The Ripper'.

"Actually there is an explanation. I was going to wait until Elena woke up to tell you this, but I guess now is as a good of a time as any,' he said casually as he swirled the amber tinted liquor in the bottle playfully.

"Tell me what?" Stefan asked furrowing his brow in concerned.

"Bonnie's back."

The younger Salvador face lit up with surprise.

"Bonnie's back? That's great! Wait...how is that even possible? I thought Kai wasn't actively looking for a way to bring her back," he said confused.

"Why do you automatically assume that Kai had anything to do with this?" Damon asked evenly.

Stefan stared at him baffled.

"Because as far as I know, he is the only witch we know that is strong enough to bring her back from the prison world is Kai," he stated slowly.

"Well remember how I told you that I left notes in the atlas for Bonnie about Silas headstone in Nova Scotia, Canada? Apparently, she found it and after channeling the magic and using the Ascendant, she was able to find her way back," Damon informed casually, "Right now, she's upstairs getting cleaned up."

Their conversations came to a halt as Elena slowly began to stir on the couch.

"Hey, Elena. Are you okay?"

The first thing Elena noticed when she opened her eyes was the handsome faces of Damon and Stefan hovering over hers with intensity and worry etched deeply in their expression. The last thing she had remembered was being in Caroline's house embracing the grief stricken blonde, and the next thing she knew she was waking up on the crimson red couch in the Boarding House parlor. As Damon guided her to a sitting vertical position on the antique piece of furniture, Elena felt a dull ache in her head as she tried to shake off the disorientation that was lingering. She felt hurt and upset that Caroline had snapped her neck and turned off her humanity without giving her a chance to help her through the grieving process. She knew that her friend had been suffering from despair and that she would be able to help her, but unfortunately for them both, she had been wrong.

Starring at Stefan, she bit her bottom lip softly feeling overwhelmed with misery and guilty.

"I went after her because I sensed something wrong. I thought that I could talk to her and give her hope, but I couldn't get through to her," she started.

Damon wrapped her in his arms comfortably as he rested his cheek against the crown of her head.

"It's okay, Elena. Caroline was determined to turn off her humanity the moment she realized that she couldn't cope with the death of her mother. There wasn't anything you could have done differently to change what happened," he murmured as he stared down into her sad eyes feeling sympathy and compassion.

She shook unhappily as she reached up and brushed several dark strands of her out of her face.

"I should have seen the signs sooner," she said quietly.

"Damon's right, Elena. This isn't your fault," Stefan reassured quietly, as he rested his hand on her knee, "If only I had told Caroline how I felt earlier, she wouldn't have felt so despaired and grief stricken to do something this drastic."

Sighing heavily, Elena knew the brothers were right, but deep down she still felt as if she was to blame and she wasn't the only one. Remembering something Caroline had said caused her to glare at Damon seething angrily.

"Caroline said that you told her that you said it was going to get worst," Elena growled, her pretty brown eyes flashing angrily, "Why would you say that to her? Why would you take away her hope when you had absolutely no idea of what you were talking about?"

Damon swallowed deeply as he shifted uncomfortably. Earlier, Damon had felt a twinge of guilt when Stefan had told him what happened, but now that Elena was confronting him, it was obvious that she blamed him as well as herself for Caroline's decision.

"Listen. Caroline and I talked this morning and I thought being honest with her would help her make it through the day. Apparently I was wrong. Regardless, I think that we should respect her right to choose whether or not she is capable of handling life without her humanity. I mean, we all at one point has been where she has been. Rock bottom and we turned off our humanity," Damon pointed out reasonably.

"Yes, but look at all the pain we caused to innocent people. Caroline has never gone a long period of time letting her vampire instincts and urges control her. If she loses control and kill innocent people, she may never come back from the edge, and I already lost one best friend. I don't intend on losing another," she said firmly.

"Trust me, I won't let that happen. We will find her and stop her before she has the chance to do anything that she will live to regret," Stefan promised.

"This day couldn't possibly get any worse," she groaned miserably as she buried her face into the palms of her hands fighting back tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

"You are right, but it could get better," Stefan said softly with a warm smile.

The brunette's big brown eyes were filled with tears, guilt and confusion as she stared at her ex boyfriend briefly before turning her gaze on to Damon.

"Caroline is missing, her humanity is off and we have no idea where she is. How can things get any better?" she cried bitterly.

Damon reached over and used his thumb to gently stroke away the tears that had escaped her long eyelashes and had fallen onto her quivering cheeks. He hated seeing the woman that he loved suffer and filled with pain and guilt, and he knew that what he was about to tell her wouldn't completely erase how she was feeling, but it would definitely help dull some of the pain.

"Elena, there is something you need to know," Damon said somberly, "It's about Bonnie.

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What the hell is wrong with me?

The question echoed relentlessly inside of Bonnie's skull as she stared at the marble tile wall in front of her. She was sitting naked and wet in the bath tub with lukewarm water spewing from the shower head and dancing across her body causing her to shiver slightly. She had been sitting there for twenty minutes but she still felt just as disgusting and unclean as she had when she had first stepped into the tub. After her major lapse of judgement in the kitchen with Damon, she had felt her stomach do gymnastic worthy somersaults in her stomach and she had barely made it to the bathroom in the guest bedroom before she had puked her guts out into the porcelain throne. Her binge drinking that she had c omitted to earlier had come back to bite her in her ass, and all she could do was spasm while regurgitating pancakes and Bourbon. The thought of her tango with the toilet caused her to grow queasy and she quickly forced herself to think of something else. Drawing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs, she tilted her head back slightly and closed her eyes as the water began to pour across her face and into her dry and chapped lips.

She had thought being back from the prison world would cause her to feel differently, but she was miffed to find that she still felt hollow and empty. A part of her thought that kissing Damon would have made her feel alive and something real, but the only thing she felt was embarrassment and regret. She could only imagine what he thought about her after her little display of stupidity. He probably thought she had finally gone insane with loneliness and desperation and forcing herself on him was her way of crying out for help. Sighing heavily, she knew that the last thing she wanted was for Damon to think she was pathetic and broken. Especially given the fact that, up to this point, she had been strong and made it through some of the most twisted situations that ordinary people wouldn't have survived. Tomorrow she would prove to him and to herself that she wasn't a traumatic basket case, but tonight she just wanted to sleep.

Shutting the water off, she climbed out of the bath tub feeling sober and exhausted. Grabbing a towel off the rack, she wrapped herself tightly before walking into the bedroom. She sighed heavily as she suddenly remembered that she had no clean clothes to change into and that she would have to stay wrapped up in the towel before she could figure something out. She was sure that Damon had some of Elena's things lying around in his bedroom that she could wear, but the last thing she wanted to do was ask Damon for anything while she was wearing nothing but a towel. She didn't want to give him anymore ammo to use to humiliate her after what had transpired between them in the kitchen.

A knock on the door jolted her out of her deep thoughts, and before she could answer, the door knob turned and the door slowly crept open. Thinking that it was Damon pushing his issues with boundaries, her mouth parted to dismiss him rudely, when the words died on her lips as she came face to face with her childhood best friend, Elena.

"Bonnie?"

They stood their staring at each other, both girls at a loss for words.

Seconds later, Bonnie's arms were thrown around Elena's neck and both girls were doing a mixture of sobbing and laughing as they embraced.

"Damon told me that you were back, but I couldn't believe until I saw it with my own two eyes," she breathed happily, pulling back briefly to gaze into her friends eyes before she embraced her once more.

"I missed you so much," Bonnie whispered tearfully as she clung tightly to her best friend.

Elena was about to speak when she noticed for the first time that Bonnie was wearing nothing but a towel.

"Give me a second," she grinned before using her supernatural agility to disappear down the hall.

Moments later Elena appeared with a old gym bag of hers filled with items that she had gathered for her best friend.

"I know there are more things you need, but I threw together this emergency care package complete with a unused toothbrush, comb, deodorant, sweatpants and one of my favorite Victoria Secret tank tops. These are comfort items that every girl needs," she smiled as she handed her the small kit filled with the hygiene products and clothes.

For nearly an hour, the two girl sat Indian style in the bed talking excitedly about things Bonnie had missed while they had been apart. As Elena gushed over the many different events of her life, she was careful to leave out recent events such as Liv Forbes death, Caroline's departure from her humanity and Jeremy's exodus from Mystic Falls. She knew that Bonnie would find out eventually, but being that it was her first night from hell, Elena was wanting to spare her best friend from any unnecessary anguish and pain. It was the first time months that she was able to sit across from her best friend who was beaming brightly, and she was determined to enjoy the light hearted mood for as long as it would last.

Bonnie felt the smile on her face stretching from ear to ear and for the first time in months, she found herself genuinely happy and content. While she had been confined to isolation in a prison world, the only thing she had wished for was to be back with her best friend and after a long journey of suffering, disappointment, and perseverance, she had finally gotten what she had wanted and for the first time since arriving back to reality, she truly felt as if she was back home. Elena was the one person who meant the most to her in the world, and as long as she had her, she was happy.

"I can't believe Caroline is in love with Stefan," Bonnie said surprised when there conversation had began to lag. She had noticed that the two had an extremely close friendship, but she would have never thought that friendship would blossom into feelings, and while Bonnie was happy for the blonde vampire, she couldn't help but feel slightly concerned. When they were younger, the three girls had made a pact to never date each other's ex's and while Caroline had been the first to break the rule when it came to dating Matt Donovan, her being involved with Stefan was something completely different. Elena had been in love and nearly obsessed with her fellow doppelganger to the point where they had risked everything at one point in time to save each other from the perils of evil and darkness.

"Are you okay with Caroline and Stefan being together after everything you have been through with Stefan?" Bonnie asked gently.

Elena sighed heavily unsure how to answer Bonnie question. Of course it had been weird and awkward when she had learned that Caroline had feelings for Stefan, and at one point she had even felt the sensations of jealousy and slight resentment, but she eventually had given them her unspoken blessing. She knew that life was too short and filled with darkness to not be with the person that you love, and if she was honest with herself, Caroline and Stefan belonged together. There was something special between them that consisted of deep friendship and new love. Elena hold that if they were able to be brave enough and explore their feelings, they would commit to one another and enjoy the love that they had found with each other, but sometimes the thought of them together made her feel a twinge of hurt and regret.

Sensing that Elena was uncomfortable, Bonnie quickly dropped the issue.

After a awkward pause, Elena cleared her throat before a smile returned to her lips.

"I still can't believe that you spent four months alone with Damon and didn't manage to kill him," she said amused.

Bonnie laughed lightly.

"I doubt that you would be as impressed if you knew just how many times I came close to bathing him in Bourbon and setting him on fire while he slept," she said wryly.

Elena giggled shaking her head mocking disapproval. It wasn't any big secret that Bonnie and Damon had a relationship that was founded on sarcasm, insults and reluctant respect..

"Well, believe it or not, he really missed you while you were gone," she said softly, "Everyone missed you."

"How is Jeremy?" the Bennett witch asked eagerly feeling a warm blush flood through her face, "I have missed him so much."

"Jeremy left," Elena said uncomfortably, "The day after your birthday, he decided that he needed to move on with his life, and I know he felt guilty about leaving, but it really was the best thing for him."

Bonnie knew it was selfish and immature to be angry that Jeremy had given up on her, but she couldn't blame him for not wanting to spend his life mourning a girlfriend that he had watch die on multiple occasions. He deserved better than that and she owed it to him not to chase him down and let him be happy where it was that his new life had taken him. She knew that she would miss him and that it would take some time to accept the fact that there was no longer a future for them, but she loved him enough to let him go. She loved him enough to let him finally be happy, and if that meant it had to be without her, that was something she was willing to accept.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I know how much you cared for him," Elena said gently.

Elena didn't know what it was, but something about Bonnie was...unsettling. There was a difference and change inside of her that the brunette couldn't quite place her finger on. Realizing that talk of Jeremy was quickly becoming depressing, the brunette quickly changed the subject

"So tell me about your journey back," Elena prodded eagerly, "I want to know every detail."

Before Bonnie could tell Elena about her long and exhausting journey, there was a knock on the door and after calling out a brief greeting before the door opened and Damon walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I know two ladies who has had a particularly difficult day and I think it would be in the best interest of you both to get some much needed sleep," Damon said while giving Elena a look that was all too familiar.

"Damon's right. You are probably exhausted and since this is the first night that you are able to get peaceful sleep, Damon and I are going to go and let you get some rest," she said smiling before embracing her best friend one last time.

The brunette moved to walk out of the room when Damon halted her briefly.

"I'll be up in a second," he promised with a handsome smile, "There is something I need to give Bonnie first."

Standing on her toes, she peeked over his shoulder and smile amused when she saw what he was hiding. Kissing him lovingly on the lips, she said a final goodnight to Bonnie, the brunette disappeared from the room. Damon stood there silently for a long moment before walking into the room and closing the door securely behind him. While he knew that Elena was making her way to the other end of the Boarding House, he didn't want to risk her overhearing what he was about to say. Starring at Bonnie tucked securely between the sheets, he smiled as he recalled how she use to snore and talk incoherently in her sleep. He had recalled how much it had once bothered him, but he had eventually grown to find it somewhat endearing.

"Why are you looking at me like that and what are you hiding behind your back?" she asked somewhat suspiciously.

"I figured that you didn't want to sleep alone, so I bought you a little friend," he revealed slyly before pulling a familiar teddy bear out from behind his back and holding it out to her.

"Ms. Snuggles!"

Her face lit up as she breezed across the room and took the fluffy child hood toy into her arms with a happy smile. Almost immediately, the magic that she had stored inside of the bear came surging through her fingertips and she could feel the magic she already had stored inside of her boost noticeably. She felt stronger and more alive and while she knew it would take a lot before she recovered from her trauma, the fact that she had been able to see and talk to her best friend and regain back her magic were positive steps in the difficult journey of recovery that was ahead of her.

"As much as I appreciate you being unusually nice to me, I sense that you didn't just come here to tuck me and Ms. Snuggles in," she said amused as he sat on the edge of the bed next to her, "What's on your mind?".

He arched a dark eyebrow as he stared down at her amused. He had almost forgotten how well Bonnie knew him. He was about to open his mouth to say something, when his eye caught something familiar on the nightstand. Reaching over, he picked it up and he was surprised to find it was pictures of him and Stefan from their pre vampire days.

"Where did you get this?" he asked curiously.

"Actually it's a pretty strange story. Just when I was about to leave one prison world, things go all hinky and the next thing I know, I found myself in a snowy prison world in 1903. I managed to find my way back to the Boarding House and found this in the foyer. When I made it back to the cave," she started.

"There was a woman who was trapped there," he finished for her quietly as he stared intently at the photographs as if he was trying to piece something together.

Bonnie stared at him confused. It was obvious that Damon had seen the clip on the video recorder, but what she didn't understand was why he seemed so troubled by the existence of this mysterious stranger? Was it possible that he knew her, and if so, what was the connection between them?

"Do you know who she is?" she asked intrigued.

Damon sighed heavily. He didn't want to tell Bonnie for several reasons. He knew that she would have more questions than he did, and she would be tempted to go off on some ill advised rescue mission. The questions he could deal with, but her need to run into some dangerous and unknown situation blindly didn't sit well with him. She would be eager to fix this for him, but he couldn't let her. They had went through hell trying to bring her back, and now that she was actually home, he didn't have any intentions of losing her again.

"Who she is not important. I just need you to keep what you saw from Stefan and Elena. The last thing I need them is for Nancy Drew and the dumber half of the Hardy Boys to investigate something they have no business looking into," he said firmly.

Bonnie tilted her head curiously. She wasn't use to seeing Damon act so cagey and flustered, and she had a feeling that whatever he has hiding from her was something big. Considering how he had mended his relationship with his brother and his relationship with Elena was as strong as ever, she didn't understand why she would keep this from two of the most important people in his life. Whatever it was that he didn't want to come to light couldn't possibly be that horrible, could it?

Sighing softly, she reached up and tucked several strands of her hair before looking at him sternly.

"Listen, Damon. We have been through a lot together, and I think it's safe to say that we trust each other. If you don't want me to say anything to Stefan or Elena about this, I won't. I don't particularly care for keeping my best friend in the dark, but at the end of the day, whatever and whoever that was on the tape isn't my business to tell. However, we both know that I at least deserve to know who she is," she said simply

"Deserve?" he growled annoyed.

She smiled innocently as she settled deeper into the pillows pulling the blankets up to her chest.

"Well we both know that you wouldn't have known about this woman if it hadn't been for me or the video camera, so you can either tell me who she was, or I can find out of my own," she said simply, "So what's it going to be."

Damon knew that she had a point, but he still didn't like the fact that she had pretty much backed him into a corner.

"The woman on that tape is someone who is suppose to be dead," he said quietly, "She's my mother.

Endnote: Reviews are welcomed!