Chapter Two. The Unwanted Anniversary Present

It was dark by the time Bonnie stumbled into the glade, and her bandage had torn open. But her mind wasn't on her wound, or maybe she had become so used to brutality that she was immune to it.

Another kind of agony was wrecking through her. The agony of abandonment as she felt the familiar strands of magic, stirring her blood, send slow vibrations in her bones. She would have thought that after having sent her magic away, she would be unable to sense it. But she was wrong.

She felt the Ascension spell before she witnessed the Ascension itself.

Kol Mikaelson stood under the streak of light that was widening over him. Besides him was a man, a boy? Bonnie couldn't tell, could barely make out the tall figure, and dark hair as the white spread, blinding her. She could tell that he was a witch though, and that the magic was pouring out of him. She could tell when he rose his head from his concentrated gaze on the Ascendant to stare at her.

The last thing she saw before the white blinded her were gray-blue eyes wide with shock. Then they were gone. Kol and the stranger.

And she was all alone.

She woke up shivering, memories of the nightmare still clinging to her mind like cobwebs and she shook them off impatiently.

She glanced at the empty space beside her. He had risen early again. Practice, he said. She smiled indulgently, as she automatically reached for her phone.

"Witchy. Pancakes are in the oven. Love, D."

"I hate pancakes," she groaned.

She scrolled down to the next message and burst out laughing.

"I know."

She was grinning as she skipped to her Calendar to remind herself of all her appointments, when her eyes spotted the date and her smile froze on her face.

May 10, 2017.

5 years later and the date still had power over her.

For a moment, she just sat on her bed, paralyzed, torn between two equally powerful urges. The first was to rush outside and make sure that she was not trapped in a repeating day in a Prison World. That she was alive, and surrounded by people and other living things.

The second urge was to crawl into her bed, and lie down and sleep through the day, and escape from the memories that had never quite stopped haunting her.

She never got round to deciding what to do because the decision was taken from her. The doorbell rang. Once. Twice. So insistently, that irritation shook her out of her stupor and she went marching to the front door.

"This had better be g-" she started, and then froze.

Lucy Bennett stood at the other side of the door, a small bag beside her on the floor.

"Hi, coz. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Lucy, this is not a very good time…"

"Yeah, I heard. You've got something huge coming up. Good thing I check Facebook once in a while or I'd never have heard. I guess my invite got lost in the mail, right?"

Bonnie had the good grace to blush. The two women sat on either side of the coffee table, studying each other. Bonnie took in her cousin's slightly rumpled tee and soft jeans, her windswept hair and over-sharp gaze. The last time they had been in the same town had been years ago, when they battled the Armory. Lucy looked just as immaculate now as she had then.

"Had a nice trip?" Bonnie asked, refusing to rise to the bait.

Lucy smiled thinly. "Can we skip the pleasantries and go straight to the part where you tell me what the hell you're thinking?"

Bonnie clenched her fists, but kept her face as neutral as possible. "Excuse me? Since when do I justify my actions to you?"

"Since you started making increasingly stupid decisions. But of all the stunts you've pulled these past few years, Bonnie Bennett, this one takes the cake."

Bonnie took a deep breath, determined to stay calm. "If you drove all the way to tell me this, then I'm sorry you've wasted your time. Now if you don't mind, I have a dress fitting…"

"I am not leaving here until you tell me exactly why you're marrying this… this…"

"This man that I love," Bonnie said sharply. "And that's your answer right there. I love him. He loves me."

"Man." Lucy scoffed. "How's that going to work exactly? What's going to happen in five years? Fifteen? Fifty? What's the plan for children? Is he going to allow you to artificially inseminate or can his ego not stand raising some other sperm donor's kids?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but we have a plan for that."

"What kind of plan could a witch possibly have for marrying a blood-sucker?"

"We have the-"

She clamped her jaw shut, almost biting off her own tongue in her haste to stop her words. She glared at her cousin, all her intentions to hold her temper in check gone.

"We don't have anything further to say to each other! Get out of my house!"

But it was too late. Lucy rose to her feet, staring down at Bonnie like if the younger woman had morphed into a monster.

"You have the Cure, don't you?"

Bonnie felt her heart sink, but she stayed silent.

Lucy scoffed, disbelieving, as she took a few paces away, then back, her arms akimbo as she glared down at her cousin.

"Are you out of your mind? You're giving the Cure to Damon Salvatore?"

Bonnie jumped to her feet. "Be quiet! Unless you want the whole town to hear, then go ahead and yell as much as you can."

Lucy looked angry enough to strike and Bonnie felt her magic rush to her skin, ready for it.

Lucy must have felt it too because she took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm herself down.

"You found the Cure. And you don't give it to your own mother but to the monster who turned her!" She whispered venomously.

"She didn't want it. I asked her, and she told me how adjusted she was as a vampire-"

"You did? You told her you had the Cure and she said no."

"She said she was-"

"Did you tell her you have the Cure, Bonnie?"

Bonnie was silent, and she turned her face away so she couldn't quite meet the perceptive accusation in Lucy's eyes.

"You… you…" Lucy whispered. "You didn't tell her at all, did you? Just fished around, heard what would make you feel better then offered the Cure to the serial killer slash rapist who-"

"Watch your mouth, Lucy! This is his house!"

"This is your house, Bonnie. He crashes here to make booty calls more conven-"

The slap was a few inches from Lucy's face when she grabbed Bonnie's hand, stopping it. Her grip was hard, punishing and she didn't let go until a shock like fire rattled her bones, the ready magic in Bonnie's blood lashing out.

Lucy stepped back, dropping Bonnie's hand with a yell.

"I won't have you insulting me or my fiancé in our home!" Bonnie hissed.

"He turned your mother, Bonnie. My cousin!"

Bonnie looked away. "That was a long time ago, and he didn't have a choice."

Lucy mouthed the words back at her, shock apparently swallowing her voice. She shook her head disbelievingly.

"He didn't have a choice because Elena Gilbert's life was on the line. The same Elena Gilbert whose life yours is still linked to. Lord! How many kinds of fucked up is this that you two have gone from sharing one life, to sharing the same man?"

Bonnie crossed her arms, and looked her cousin dead in the eye. "I'm never going to see Elena again. Nor she me. I love her. But I also love him. And she asked him to be happy."

"With you? Her best friend?"

"I'm his best friend, too, and he loves me. He can't help what he feels and neither can I. We tried to fight it but we only hurt each other more. It's better this way."

"So how's Elena going to feel when she wakes up and finds her best friend and her boyfriend shared a life together and are probably both dead?"

"Are you Elena's cousin or mine, Lucy?" Bonnie cried.

Lucy raised her hands to her face, all but growling in frustration. "I am yours, of course I am yours, Bonnie! I am trying to make you see reason!"

"By throwing my fiancé's ex in my face?"

"By making you open your eyes. The only reason why you and Damon have any kind of relationship now is because Elena is not around."

That was the last straw. "Get out, Lucy! Just get out!"

And as she yelled, so did her magic, whipping a small current through the room and sending her cousin hurtling across the room until her back slammed against the door. A second later, her bag went hurtling into her.

Lucy sank onto the floor. Her eyes were closed.

It took Bonnie a moment, for her heart to stop pounding, her rage to calm down with the wind, and for remorse to send her rushing to Lucy's side.

"Lucy? Oh my god, are you OK?"

Lucy's eyes opened slowly. She moaned a little.

"I'll call 911," Bonnie gasped, reaching for her phone.

Lucy's hand stretched out weakly and she grabbed the phone switching it off. "No."

"Lucy, I-"

"I can heal myself, B."

And she did, slowly, her soft chanting sending a soothing echo through Bonnie's own body.

By the time, Lucy was getting slowly to her feet, Bonnie's rage had completely dissipated, leaving only sadness.

"I still think you should get yourself checked out. Your head hit-"

"I'll be fine," Lucy said coldly. "Worry more about yourself. What this love of yours has turned you to."

"Damon makes me a better person, Lucy," Bonnie said tiredly. "A stronger person. You don't know him, and you've never really known me."

For a long moment, the two cousins just stared at each other sadly.

Lucy finally heaved a long sigh. "No, I don't think I do know you." But resolve filled her eyes. "But I know Damon Salvatore. I'm not going to let you make this mistake."

Apprehension filled Bonnie. "Don't get into this, Lucy. I swear if you ruin my relationship with Damon, if you do anything to stop me from getting married to him, I will never forgive you."

Lucy smiled sadly. "That is a risk I'm willing to take."

Before Bonnie could think of a suitable enough threat, she had turned around and walked out, shutting the door firmly behind her.

It took everything inside Bonnie not to rush after her, yelling out threats. Instead she rushed back to her phone and pressed the first number on her speed dial.

"Hey, BB, what's up? I'm stripper-shopping for the Bachelor's Party-"

"Come home, Damon. Come home now!"

His lazy teasing drawl changed abruptly into a serious one. "Bonnie, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Lucy was here and she said-"

"Your cousin Lucy? What could she…?"

"She hates you, Damon. She wants to stop the wedding."

There was a pause on his end while Bonnie waited with baited breath. Then she heard something incredible.

Damon laughing.

"Damon!"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie!" he said between chuckles. "I thought the Originals had risen from the dead or worse the way you were talking."

"This is serious."

"No, B. You falling back into a Prison World is serious."

Shivers ran down Bonnie's spine at his casual words.

"You having some family squabble with your cousin is no big deal. So Lucy hates me. Perfect. We've finally solved Caroline's and Matt's seating arrangements."

"Damon, she sounded really mad. She sounded…"

"You know what will cheer you up? Come over and pick strippers with me."

"Be serious!"

"I am being serious. Come on, Bonnie. You wanna stay in that house and brood all day, or you wanna have a good time?"

She closed her eyes as she breathed deeply, trying to calm herself from the urge to yell at him. And immediately the darkness behind her lid was filled with white letters and numbers, hurtling into the abyss.

May 10, 2017.

May 10, 1994.

May 10.

May 10.

It didn't take much to make up her mind.

Damon was equal opportunity about the strippers and they auditioned male and female applicants for both their parties. Stefan played wingman for both of them since none of Bonnie's friends jumped at the idea when she texted them to come over.

Which turned out to be a good thing. On her fiancé's insistence, Bonnie demonstrated the proper way to give a lap dance to some of his candidates, and Damon – on no one's insistence – did a small strip tease for the benefit of her, and both the male and the female strippers. It was all raunchy good fun, maybe a bit too raunchy for Bonnie's taste but she had learned to appreciate Damon's peculiar sense of humour.

By the time they got home, they were so turned on that they barely made it to the bedroom on time.

Bonnie was all but buried into the silk sheets, as he pummelled into her, moaning. By the time her own orgasm was done, she had mostly forgotten about the dismal way the day started – her nightmare, Lucy's uninvited presence.

"Gosh, I'm hungry," he murmured, groaning beside her. "But I'm too spent to move."

At once, she tilted her head back, exposing her throat more. "Help yourself."

He did, eagerly, biting her for the second time that night. After he was done, he fed her from his wrist, and she lapped up his blood. It had been years since this particular ritual started and she had developed a tolerance for iron.

She won't miss this, she thought suddenly, when he became human.

That was when she remembered Lucy's presence. She frowned, hating that she remembered it at all and now it had spoiled her post-coitus bliss.

Luckily, Damon didn't notice. He had grabbed his phone and was scrolling through the messages. Bonnie thought that was a good idea, and turned hers on.

There were a couple of voice messages and she listened to them first.

The first one was from Caroline.

"Bonnie Bennett, you dragged me all the way here for the dress fitting and you didn't even show!"

Oh my god, Bonnie groaned.

"What?" Damon asked, sitting up to leave the bed.

"Missed an appointment with Care. She's going to kill me."

Damon snorted. "Not until after Vampire Martha Stewart organizes your wedding." He stretched.

"Where are you going?"

"Shower. Feel free to join me."

Bonnie hummed a noncommittal, waiting for the second message to start playing. The shower had started, when she finally heard Lucy's words.

"I've found a way to break the linking spell between you and Elena Gilbert. Once it's done, she will wake and you will both have your lives. Before you dismiss this or delete this, ask yourself if you're really prepared to spend the rest of your life wondering if you're nothing more than a consolation prize to him. At least this way, you'll know for sure just how strong and true his love for you is."

The message ended, and the automated voice took over, asking Bonnie if she wanted to erase it, or archive it, or listen to older messages.

Bonnie couldn't decide. She sat on the bed, frozen on the outside while a storm of confusion was churning inside her.

The dining hall in New Orleans could have been lifted from the pages of an Anne Rice nightmare. Her eyes flitted from the food on the table to her host's macabre smile.

"Happy Thanksgiving," Kol said as he sipped the glass of red. Blood or wine, Bonnie couldn't tell.

Her heart skipped at his words. Had it really been that long since she had been here? Since Damon had left – sent away in a decision that Bonnie regretted more and more every-day? But she supposed he was right. Kol had always kept a better tally of their days here than she or Damon had.

"Why did you bring me here, Kol?" Bonnie demanded.

"It's one of my favorite holidays," he said simply. "And I wanted to tell you about my family and where else but to share it in the house that's the closest thing we've ever had to a home?"

She looked around her, at their dilapidated surroundings. She could see hints of beauty between the cracks of peeling plaster, the dusty furniture and broken concrete. But most of what she saw was ruin.

Not unlike the man before her.

"I know all about the Mikaelsons," Bonnie replied. "Elena and the Salvatores told me about your history."

"Our history, little witch," he retorted. "Your family and mine have been intertwined for a very long time." His hand reached across the table, grasping her wrist lightly, then his fingers threaded through her own. When she tried to pull away, he tightened his hold, keeping her there. "In more ways than one…" His voice deepened, as did his eyes.

Bonnie froze, acutely feeling everywhere their skin pressed together.

"Let me go, Kol."

"A few months ago, you were asking – nay, begging for the opposite. Which I eagerly obliged."

She did snatch her hand away then, shame making her face hot. "You promised… never to ever mention…"

"But that was when I thought the lady in question was asking for privacy. Not when I thought you were merely sharpening the knife – nay, dagger – to stab into my back. Use them and dump them, as the saying goes. Only in our case, it was more like – use me and stab me with a dagger."

She looked up at him sharply, a warning in her gaze even as her heart pounded with the accusation. "I didn't… We used each other. You… got what you've wanted for a long time and I… got a way out."

"You forget that it was meant to be our way out. You and me, together. The Salvatore reject, if he behaved himself. But now, we're both stuck here. You without magic. I, with a broken Ascendant… and something else."

"If you say your heart, I will laugh in your face!"

Kol stared at her hard, his unblinking gaze unnerving. Then he burst into laugh. "That would be hilarious, won't it?" He pointed to her plate. "Eat up, love. Remember the deal? One last meal and then we go our separate ways? Never to lay eyes on each other again?" A flicker of darkness crossed over his mirthful face. But it was gone so quick she wondered if she imagined it.

Later, she would realize that she had not.

But at the moment, with one last wary – but not wary enough – look at him, she picked up her fork and stabbed her meat, and imagined it was a white oak stake piercing through his flesh.

"By the by," he added, "it's been exactly six months to the say since we arrived in this wretched place." He tilted his glass to her and drew it to his lips. "Happy Anniversary, Miss Bennett."

Author's Note: Thanks again to bonnismagic for letting me finish/rewrite this amazing story of hers. And thanks so much readers for the outpouring of support and confidence you've sent my way. I was half-afraid that some (a lot lol!) of readers would be resentful of the change in writers but you guys have been the best. Once again, thanks!