(Early, The Next Morning...)
"You know, I've watched you do the spell millions of times and out of nowhere the idea just hit me...Maybe I don't really need a Bennett. Maybe I just need Bennett blood..."
"Bonnie! Wake up!"
Elena shakes her gently as Bonnie tries to fight her off in her sleep.
"Bonnie" she calls again. "You're having a nightmare! Wake up!"
Bonnie's eyes flash open as she realizes what's going on and she breathes deep trying to calm her heart.
"You're safe" Elena tries sitting next to her.
Bonnie nods raking her hands through her hair. "I know" she says decidedly. "I was just having a dream. I'm fine."
"It didn't sound like it...you were screaming" Elena says worried. "Wh-What exactly happened in there? You never talk about it-"
"For good reason. I'm fine" she says short and Elena looks a bit taken aback. Bonnie sighs trying to form her sentence. "Look, I don't mean to snap but I've spent enough time stuck in one place and time and I refuse to do that now. I'm getting past it in my own way, and that's all anyone needs to know."
Elena nods dropping the subject, but she can't deny that she's not curious. The existence of prison worlds just seems so...exotic. And Damon never really wants to talk about what happened as well. It just seems like there is some great mystery, that no one wants to share with her...and if they were all friends...
She just wanted to understand so she could be there for Damon and her friend...so they could depend on her a bit more than-
"Did you guys find Caroline?"
"She's still with Stefan" Elena answers. "So until then, both Damon and I think it'd be safer for you to stay here until we can find a way to switch their humanity back on."
"I thought that's what their mom was doing?"
"Hopefully..." Elena adds. "But until then-"
"I can take care of myself" Bonnie smirks remembering last night and the random car she exploded.
Elena nods again this time rising off of the bed. "You should come downstairs. Damon's making breakfast."
As Elena walks out of the room leaving Bonnie to sit on the bed with a smile. "Of course he is."
Meanwhile while Damon is downstairs making pancakes...
"Hello, Clyde"
Damon freezes in between the turns of his spoon with the batter as his brother Stefan enters the house from the back door.
"Aren't we were a little old to taunt each other with nicknames?"
"I know that's what we agreed, but since you've been hanging around Bonnie I felt it was too good to pass up" Stefan smirks sitting on one of the counters of the kitchen. "Then again...it is the perfect analogy to sum up your relationship."
Damon resumes stirring. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"Isn't that what you wanted? Me, here...so you can fail, trying to restore my humanity?" Stefan taunts. "I just came by to tell you that its not going to work."
"What's not going to work?"
"Don't play with me Damon. We both our games tend to get a bit rough and I would hate to involve...other players" Stefan answers allowing his head to crane up towards the ceiling suggestively. "I'm just here to tell you, using mother won't work."
"But it will" Damon answers sure of himself. "You loved her. More than anything. And even though you lost her unfairly, now's your chance to regain all of the years you lost."
Stefan pauses...
"This is our chance, Stefan. She came back for you...for us" Damon tries again. "So, now its your turn. Flip the switch before you do something you'll regret...its still not too late."
Stefan closes his eyes and flicks his head slow...
"Like I said..." he says smiling ear to ear. "Mommy-Dearest was always your soft spot. And I can tell you right now she's not a strong enough trigger."
"Really? Nothing?" Damon asks in his casual way.
"Nope. Not a thing."
"Huh."
"Yup..So!" he grins unapologetically hopping down from his perch. "It seems like someone has some homework to do."
Damon glares watching Stefan leave and he sighs returning to breakfast. He begins pouring the batter on the griddle and as the moments pass he's flipping them perfectly until they make a stack.
"Wow, these look great" Elena says entering the kitchen and sitting at the table.
Bonnie enters in another second or two later. "Yeah. A few more stacks and I think he'll be able to apply for a job at IHOP."
Damon throws her a smirk and she smiles taking a seat next to Elena.
"Which is surprising, because I thought you hated pancakes?" Elena adds puzzled and Bonnie tucks her lips in hiding a smile. "Is someone gonna share the joke?"
"What joke?" Bonnie asks.
"You tell me, you both are laughing at something."
"Its nothing" Damon answers with a shrug before passing a quick wink to Bonnie before passing Elena the syrup.
Elena takes the bottle suspiciously before shrugging off the notion and the three of them begin to eat.
"So, Stefan paid a visit."
"Are you serious?" Elena say worriedly. "Was Caroline with him?"
"I'm sure she's fine" Bonnie adds with a slight shrug. "I mean its not like she's the one in danger. Its the rest of us, right?"
"And here I thought you were the optimistic one" Damon teases making a face. "Either way, Stefan is reaching out and believe it or not he's trying to help."
"How?" Elena asks. "I mean its not like he's willing to turn on his humanity."
"No, but by giving me a clue as to who can is the best we've got so I'll take it" he winces.
"I thought your mom was the trigger?" Bonnie asks confused.
"I did too, but apparently its changed" he sighs. "So...that means we've got to find out who it is-"
"No" Elena says all of a sudden and both Bonnie and Damon look at her.
"What do you mean 'no'?" Bonnie asks. "Finding out who that person is, is the only way to get Caroline and Stefan back. We've got to do it."
"How do we know that this isn't some trick?" Elena says ignoring Bonnie and looking at Damon. "Stefan could've lied about your mom not being the trigger. He could be leading us on some wild chase just to get a laugh and we'd be playing right into it, giving them both time to feed and kill on whoever they wanted."
"So what do you think we should do?" Damon asks and Elena shrugs.
"I don't know...I mean we have your mom. We could save some time and stick to the plan we have-"
"Or we could waste it and risk even more lives" Bonnie adds. "Even with Stefan's humanity turned off, he still fights the hardest to do the right thing and essentially, he wants us to help him turn it back on so..."
Damon's face frowns a bit at her opinion of his brother. St. Stefan takes the spotlight once again when it comes to the struggle of honorable intentions...
"Great..." Damon thinks.
"If Stefan says using his mom won't work, I think we should listen to Damon and try and find the person who will."
"Of course you do" Elena grumbles starting to eat her pancakes and Bonnie shoots her a look.
"All I'm saying is, I'm not opposed to change the plan if its going to save them" Bonnie says slow picking up her fork to eat. "In fact, if you two want to stick to that plan, I can get a head-start on finding the person if something goes wrong."
"What makes you think its going to go wrong?" Elena scoffs.
Bonnie's eyes narrow and she smirks stabbing one of the pieces of her breakfast a little harder than necessary. "What's your problem?"
"Nothing. I'm just getting past it in my own way, and that's all anyone needs to know."
"You're kidding, right?" Bonnie laughs in disbelief. "Get over yourself" she says taking another bite and Elena rolls her eyes.
Damon looks at both girls feeling a bit out of place, but still somewhat amused.
He secretly likes this snippy and blunt, yet somehow edgier "Bon-Bon". She's not the sweet girly-girl next door that he once found annoying. Being trapped in that prison world gave her a slight bitter tone to her goody-good personality. And it wasn't over the top, just a different flavor.
The old "Bonnie" would've probably left the room in a dramatic fashioned, or apologized for making Elena feel like a third-wheel...but this "Bonnie" wasn't. And it was a nice change to her previous over-apologetic and innocent nature.
Damon sits in his seat watching the two of them eat, soaking each moment of the awkward tension.