A/N: Hi guys. I want to thank you all for your reviews – especially those of you who voiced their concerns about certain aspects of my last chapter. I understand that some of you are worried about the way I wrote Damon in a negative light in both Bonnie and Stefan's POV and I just wanted to take some time to explain a few things. (If you don't care and just want to get right to the chapter feel free to skip this, it won't affect your understanding of the chapter)

First of all, I understand that Bonnie has seen Stefan do a lot of bad things in the past, especially when he regressed back to his Ripper phase. Despite that, he never did hurt her specifically, though she did witness him do some terrible things where she personally had to intervene. Despite this, I hope you understand I had to give Bonnie a reason to willingly want to work with Stefan. Bonnie actually liked Stefan before she knew he was a vampire - that wasn't the case for Damon - though there have been times where she's hated the brothers equally. Stefan and Damon are the reason that her two best friends are vampires, a race that Bonnie still dislikes, after all. Bonnie has seen a better side of Stefan than she has of Damon and that gives her more of a reason to trust Stefan. But that's all. She can admire him for sticking close to Damon and I'd say she sees him as a friend, but she isn't close to him either.

As for Damon, I completely understand where you're coming from. Damon has done numerous things to help not only Bonnie but everyone in the group. He has proven that he cares for other people, but is that enough to actually give Bonnie a reason to care about him? No. Sadly, it doesn't. The way I understand Bonnie's character is that she's incredibly stubborn and she does not forgive people easily. Let's not forget that this story is set not that long after Damon left Enzo with Jeremy and threatened to kill him. Bonnie can't forget all the bad Damon has done, it's not in her nature to forgive and forget like Caroline and Elena can. She respects Damon for trying to be better and – on some level – she probably sees that he actually cares about her, but she won't allow herself to acknowledge that because it's not in her nature to forgive him.

That being said, this chapter does delve deeper into Bonnie's relationship with Damon in regards to how she sees him so I hope you'll like that.

Once again THANK YOU for all your reviews and support. I apologize for the length of the Author's Notes, but I think it's important to help my readers when I can and clear up any questions or concerns that they might have. With that all said and done, I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Cursed Disease

Chapter 4

"Vervain"

Damon could hear the flutter of pages from downstairs. Bonnie and Stefan had remained silent except for the odd exchange of words here and there, for example, if they came across a spell that seemed promising, which Damon appreciated greatly.

Despite that, Damon couldn't sleep. It was killing him, but he just couldn't relax. His body continued to burn, his veins pulsed under his skin; the hunger was tearing him apart. It didn't help that - even from here - he could hear the hard, rhythmic pulse of Bonnie's heart as she continued to read from the grimoires. Damon had promised that he would be okay with a human in the house; it wasn't like he could move anyway. The simplest turn of his head sent aches and pains shock waving through his body; if he tried to stand, he knew he wouldn't be getting very far.

Even still, Stefan had promised that if Damon couldn't handle it, Bonnie would leave. Stefan would continue the research on his own, or Bonnie could take a portion of the grimoires with her. Stefan had made a point to stress that it wouldn't be a big deal and Damon hated it. He hated that his little brother had to step around him like broken glass, like the simplest motion might set him off. What Damon hated even more, however, was knowing that Stefan was right to do so.

He knew he was losing this battle. Whether or not this curse would kill him didn't matter, without a healthy dose of blood in his system, his heart would stop and his body would desiccate. He didn't care what happened after that, because dissection was a horrific experience. Damon had heard rumours that vampires who were revived after mummifying were never the same. He'd heard horror stories of vampires going mad with pain; losing themselves after being forced to withstand the agony of their veins shrivelling up, rubbing together like sandpaper, while their mind was still conscious.

Damon couldn't stop the inkling of fear that pulsed inside his chest, reminding him that it was just a matter of time. How long could he go before he started to desiccate, he wondered. For a vampire who had started the process with a healthy diet, it could take weeks, but for him? Damon shuddered at the thought. His body was going to shut itself down and no matter how hard he tried, thinking of Elena just didn't cut it anymore. The pain pulsed through his every fibre and with a grunt of anguish Damon rolled his body to the side, forcing his face against his pillow. He wanted to scream, to yell out to no one in particular, to voice the agony that riddled his body. Instead, his chest spasmed and he was thrown into another vicious coughing fit. His lungs burned by the time he was finally done and the small space he could see from his pillow swam and flashed before his eyes.


Stefan was beginning to grow worried. After a sizeable amount of time searching through the grimoires, they were no closer to finding any mention of a curse or, for that matter, a cure.

Damon's state was regressing faster than before, which Stefan hadn't even thought possible. He was only half paying attention to the words on the page as he listened to Damon's faint, ragged breathing as it hitched and fell from upstairs. Damon hadn't slept properly since he'd gotten sick that morning and it was showing. Stefan knew that all Damon wanted was the relief that would come with unconsciousness, but for whatever reason, his body wouldn't allow it. Stefan didn't know if it was some cruel addition to the curse or just his body's hunger stopping Damon from getting any rest. Either way, it wasn't healthy.

Finally, after almost four hours of searching, Stefan heard Damon cough exceptionally harshly from upstairs. Without thinking, Stefan stood up from where he was sat on the sofa; the grimoire he had been reading slumped to the ground. Bonnie looked up to him quizzically. When she saw the look on his face, her expression softened. "What's wrong?"

"Damon," Stefan said quietly as he ran his hands through his hair. He'd had half of his attention so plainly fixed on Damon that he scarcely heard Bonnie's question. "He's coughing again… he needs water, he can hold that down." Stefan wasn't entirely sure whether he was talking to Bonnie or himself, but the young ex witch gave a curt nod of encouragement.

"I'll keep searching, go take care of him," she said soothingly. Stefan closed his eyes and nodded his thanks before blurring out of the room and towards the kitchen.

When Stefan walked into Damon's room, he wasn't surprised to find him lying half entangled in his sheets, face pressed firmly into his pillow. His body was still shaking with the after effects of his latest coughing fit, which set Stefan on edge immediately.

Wasting no time, Stefan moved to Damon's bedside and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. Damon let out a groan of pain, his eyes scrunching closed as his body crumpled in on itself. Stefan hated seeing his brother this way, he hated that he couldn't do anything about it. The grimoires had turned up no useful information as of yet and Stefan was beginning to wonder if they ever would. He tried to shake the negative thoughts out of his head, but it was hard, especially seeing Damon so obviously in need of help lying before him.

Very slowly, Damon began to open his eyes. Stefan could see that they were blood shot and shadowed; he was over exhausted but even still, he couldn't sleep. Carefully, Stefan managed to coax Damon into taking a few drawn out sips of water from the glass. He'd tried to make it as cool as possible, hoping it would aid with his brother's throat, but right now that was the least of his problems.

The pain of hunger was coming on stronger now, Stefan could sense it. Damon's entire body was taut with barely restrained agony, not to mention his other symptoms hadn't let up. Just where Stefan had touched Damon's shoulder, he could feel the heat radiating from him like a steadily progressing furnace. He needed to bring the fever down again, but he didn't know how Damon would react to being touched, not now.

"Stefan," Damon's voice was barely audible behind the pillow he'd pushed his face into.

Stefan bit his lip, crouching down to reach his brother's line of sight. "I'm here, Damon."

"'Tss-hurtss Stefan," Damon moaned feebly and Stefan felt the breath catch in his throat. He swallowed, trying his best not to lose it, not in front of Damon, not when he needed him the most.

"I know, brother, lie still," Stefan soothed, pressing his hand reassuringly against Damon's shoulder.

Damon's eyes fluttered, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I wanna sleep, s-so tired," he breathed.

Before Stefan could say anything, Damon suddenly shot to life. The arm closest to Stefan reached out for him, grabbing at the hem of his shirt. Damon's eyes were bright and fever dazed and Stefan wasn't entirely sure if he was coherent, but they were wide and filled with such pain, such vulnerability. Stefan didn't have the heart to remove his hand.

"V-vervain," Damon gasped.

Stefan felt his brows furrow. "What?"

"Vervain," Damon repeated, only this time his voice was choked off by a round of hacking coughs. Stefan couldn't ignore the fact that they were a lot stronger than before, or that they came in quicker succession.

Stefan pressed the glass of water to Damon's lips again, but the older Salvatore only batted it away. His eyes were bright with anguish. "I-inject me," Damon begged. "It'll knock me out."

Stefan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Damon…" he said warily, "I can't do that, it'll hurt you."

Damon laughed weakly, though it quickly turned to a groan of pain. "C-can't do anything worse," he admitted lowly.

Stefan felt his heart clench in his chest. Was this really an option? Was Damon so desperate for sleep that he was willing to be vervained? He was cursed; there was no way of telling what it was doing to Damon's body, what parts of him it would affect. Damon had no blood in his system, he was as weak as a vampire could get, there was no telling how badly vervain could affect him in the aftermath.

"Damon," Stefan said weakly.

"Please," Damon said and he really sounded as though he meant it. Damon never begged, he never asked of anything and yet here he was unashamedly pleading to be injected with a dose of vervain just so he could sleep. He was in agony, all he wanted was to get a few hours without it. And, who knew? Maybe by then Stefan and Bonnie might have found a way to reverse the curse. All Stefan had left was hope.

"Okay," Stefan said finally, his voice choked and low. "Okay."


Bonnie was checking her phone when she heard movement from upstairs.

Caroline had been texting all through the day, asking if they had any new information, checking if Bonnie was alright and, of course, keeping her up-to-date with all things Elena. As of yet, Elena hadn't been demanding answers from Caroline, which Bonnie saw as a plus, however, with the amount of texts Bonnie was receiving she was beginning to wonder how much of Caroline's attention was really focused on the plan at hand.

Before she could reply to the latest text, she heard the faint whoosh of someone coming down the stairs at vampiric speeds. Bonnie noticed that Stefan was doing that a lot lately, though she supposed she couldn't blame him. Whenever he wasn't by Damon's side he was rushing to get back, even when he was reading from the grimoires. Bonnie had never had a sibling before, but Elena and Caroline were as good as family and she knew that no matter what they did to her, she'd always have their back. She supposed the same went for Stefan and Damon. They were family and, whether they liked it or not, they were bonded for eternity. They relied on each other.

Before she could think better of it, Bonnie's curiosity got the best of her. Placing the grimoire she had been reading on the coffee table, Bonnie stood up from the sofa and made a move towards the hallway.

When Bonnie reached the archway linking the parlour to the hall, she caught a glimpse of Stefan exiting from the basement. In his hands he was clutching a needle filled with a very familiar substance. Bonnie felt herself tense. Liquid vervain.

There was only one reason Stefan would need vervain and that was for Damon. But why was he going to use it on Damon? Bonnie's immediate thoughts went to the worse-case scenario. Damon had lost himself and in doing so had become too violent to handle without being subdued. Bonnie felt her heart pound harder in her chest. Unfortunately, that was all it took for Stefan to notice her presence standing frozen in the hallway.

"Is he-?" Bonnie wasn't entirely sure how to phrase the question. What was she supposed to ask, whether Damon was okay? She knew he wasn't and the vervain in Stefan's hand only further proved her point. What she meant to ask was whether he was dangerous or whether it was safe for her to continue being in the house. She and Stefan had discussed that over the phone before she'd gotten there and she was more than willing to leave if her presence became too much for Damon to bear. Still, Stefan hadn't mentioned anything. Instead, he clung to the small syringe as though it was his only lifeline and gave Bonnie a tired, oddly sympathetic look.

"He's tired," Stefan finally replied, his own voice low and subdued. Bonnie wasn't entirely sure what to make of that answer so she simply remained silent.

Stefan rolled his shoulders, his gaze slowly tracing towards the stairway. "He hasn't slept since last night and he's in pain, he asked-" Stefan paused as his voice broke and Bonnie felt her heart shatter along with it. She'd never seen this side of Stefan, though she knew it existed from what Elena had told her. Still, it was odd seeing Stefan so totally hopeless, so out of ideas. In a weird way, Bonnie realised that Damon was the one that spurred Stefan onwards. They made the plans together, they consulted with one another. What was Stefan supposed to do when he was alone in this?

"He asked to be vervained," Stefan managed to say after a sizeable pause. Bonnie wanted to step forward, to comfort him, to show that she cared, but she felt oddly detached. Yes, she could admit that she and Stefan were almost friends now, but how close were they? Could she comfort him as easily as she would Caroline or Elena? The answer was no, of course. Instead, Bonnie stayed rooted to the spot, her hands clenching uselessly at her sides.

"Go to him," she whispered.

Stefan looked to her in confusion, a silent question playing in his eyes. Bonnie sighed. "You said it yourself; he's in pain, if the vervain can stop him from feeling that, even for a little while…" Bonnie drew off, she could feel her voice getting smaller and smaller. What was she even getting at? She hadn't seen Damon's state; she didn't know how bad it was. But she could imagine and from that she knew it was bad. Really bad. "We'll find something," Bonnie reaffirmed as she lifted her head to meet Stefan's gaze. "Until then, you might as well make sure he's comfortable."

Stefan gripped the vervain a little firmer in his hand as he nodded to Bonnie. She could see his body relax slightly, the tension in his shoulders lifted as he smiled an exhausted smile. "Thank you, Bonnie." His voice was stronger this time around and Bonnie couldn't help the small, relieved smile that crossed her lips in return.

"No problem."

Bonnie wasn't sure what possessed her to follow Stefan up the stairs, maybe it was the same thing that made her agree to do all this in the first place, but there she was, trailing across the hallway that led towards Damon's bedroom.

It seemed everyone had been in Damon's bedroom before except for her, unless of course you counted that one drunken night that she, Elena and Caroline had piled into his bathtub, which she honestly tried to forget. It was odd to think it, but Bonnie Bennett had tried to keep her distance from all things Salvatore for so long that she had almost forgotten that despite Damon and Stefan being vampires, they still had human requirements, like sleep or comfort. They weren't robots and their bodies would cease to function without those needs being sustained, just like any human.

Despite losing her witch status, there were still certain abilities that remained in Bonnie's favour. For example, her senses were still heightened to certain kinds of witchcraft. Which was why Bonnie wasn't surprised that when she entered Damon's room behind Stefan, she immediately felt an electric pulse in the air that left an acidic taste on her tongue. A feeling which she attributed to high amounts of magic being used. But this magic was wrong. It left a sick pit in her stomach even as she felt it pulsate from the only other person residing in the room.

She swallowed back the poisonous taste amounting on her tongue with a wince as she caught a glimpse of him from behind Stefan's broad shoulders.

Damon.

"What's she doing here?"

She almost laughed out loud. Despite everything, despite how weak he was or how sick he sounded he still had the audacity to seem bothered by her presence in his bedroom. And he did look sick. Damon was a mess. All the sarcastic superiority was gone, leaving a Damon in his place that Bonnie had never met before. He was slumped in his bed, body half entangled in his sheets. His clothes were rumpled and sweat soaked as was his dark hair that clung to his face in awkward clumps around his forehead. His skin was pale, almost translucent and despite the dark setting of his bedroom, Bonnie could see the bruising under his eyes where his exhaustion had gotten the better of him.

Bonnie had never cared about Damon before, she couldn't allow herself to. Caroline and Elena might have been able to forget the things Damon had done in his past, but Bonnie was stubborn. She knew that he tried to be better, for Elena, for Stefan and some part of him really did seem to care about others… but she just couldn't forgive him. She didn't think it was in her nature to do so. Now, that seemed to change. Right here, right now as Bonnie stood before the husk that was Damon Salvatore, she actually felt something. A pang in her chest. There was no way she couldn't feel bad for the elder Salvatore, not in his current state, not when she could sense the curse so plainly pulsing from his body but other than that, do nothing to stop it.

Damon had already forgotten her presence, for his gaze was now intently fixated upon Stefan. Or, it would have been, had he had the strength to lift his head. "Did you get it?"

Stefan lifted the syringe in his hand so Damon could see it. His expression was unreadable, but Bonnie supposed he was doing that for his brother's benefit. It was odd seeing Stefan play down his emotions like that, looking so utterly alienated in the face of his only family withering away before him. Still, she had no place to judge. This was a very private moment and, despite the fact that Bonnie wanted to be anywhere else but there, she couldn't bring herself to leave. It was genuinely frustrating.

Bonnie stood in the doorway, not able to go any further but not able to turn away, either. Instead, she watched on as Stefan knelt down by his brother's side and, with the gentleness and grace that only a vampire could enact, he moved Damon's head very carefully to the side, exposing his neck.

"I can't give you a strong dose," Stefan muttered. "But this should knock you out for at least a few hours."

Damon's eyes were glassy as he listened to his brother's words. When Stefan was finished talking, he gave a curt nod of understanding, though Bonnie didn't miss the wince of pain that came with the action. For a heavy moment, Bonnie realised that Damon was trying to down-play his own symptoms as well. Even when he was cursed, sick and in enough pain to cripple a normal human, he still had a strong hold on his emotions, at least when Bonnie was present to see him at his weakest point.

"Are you sure you want this?" Stefan asked, voice cracking.

Damon made a choking noise that Bonnie couldn't quite decipher. His bright blue eyes bored into Stefan's green ones. "Just inject me with the damn thing already," he grunted, but Bonnie could see the desperation that lay just beneath the surface. He was in a lot of pain, it didn't take her heightened witch senses to see that and, honestly, she couldn't help but feel for him. She supposed it was why she found it so hard to watch Stefan jam the needle into Damon's neck. Damon made a muffled sound of protest as the initial burning of the poison took hold before his body slumped forward against his pillow, his muscles relaxed, the fierce pain that had been tightening them finally loosening. Bonnie felt herself breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of a sleeping Damon. His breathing still hitched where his lungs denied him, but aside from that, he was relaxed and, more importantly, he was unconscious.

Before Bonnie could say anything, she felt a slight breeze as Stefan disappeared into the bathroom. She could hear the tap running and a moment later Stefan had returned with a damp flannel. She watched him from the doorway as he wiped Damon's face with the cloth and then, ever so gently, rolled his older brother onto his back. Damon made no complaint; the vervain in his system was doing its job. Still, Bonnie felt a pang of sympathy for Damon. The closest to this state she had ever seen him was the time she'd been held against her will by Klaus and, on her way out, discovered Damon strung up and bleeding out in the parlour. Rebekah had been fulfilling some sick fantasy after his latest indiscretion and Bonnie had done nothing to help him. Not that she'd have been able to if she'd tried, but still, seeing him like this, weak and unconscious, his expression soft and docile as he slept, Bonnie couldn't help but remember all the times she'd crushed Damon at moments he'd needed her the most. She hadn't taken the curse off the Gilbert Device like she'd promised, she had tried to burn him alive despite the fact he hadn't done anything to deserve it at the time, and it didn't end there. Even Emily, her distant ancestor, had broken Damon's resolve by refusing to help him after he had kept his side of the bargain for a hundred and fifty years. Sometimes Bonnie wondered what Damon had seen of her family line in those years, who he had protected and kept safe to make sure the Bennett line had flourished. All those broken promises and yet she still had the nerve to question why he hardly ever trusted anyone. Bonnie had to look away from Damon then, the guilt proved far too overwhelming.

"Are you alright?"

It took Bonnie a moment to realise that Stefan was talking to her. She blinked, realising with a start that she had been very nearly reduced to tears. Was this really all it took to break her? Seeing someone she didn't even want to consider a friend withering before her? Squaring her shoulders, Bonnie looked to Stefan with a brilliant glint in her eyes. "I'm fine."

Stefan nodded uncertainly before glancing back towards Damon. His expression was still as he slept and despite all that he had done, the vulnerability that came with his unconsciousness made him look very nearly innocent. Bonnie breathed outwards slowly, wrapping her arms loosely around her chest. She watched as Stefan continued to wipe Damon's forehead, soaking his skin in an attempt to lower the fever. Despite his best efforts, Bonnie knew it wouldn't work. It might soothe the burning for a while, but the stink of the curse clung to her nostrils, stinging like battery acid. The only thing that would save Damon now would be to find the method that undid the spell.

"We should continue looking," Bonnie said, hooking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Stefan placed the flannel against Damon's forehead before looking up. "You go ahead; I'll be down in a second."

Bonnie felt her heart squeeze. "If you don't want to leave him, I understand, we can bring the grimoires up here."

Stefan's mouth fell open in surprise. "You don't have to-"

"It's fine," Bonnie interrupted, shaking her head. "Like you said, he'll be asleep for a couple of hours and besides, he needs you." Bonnie tried for a genuine smile. "I'm sure Damon will find it hard to piss me off while he's unconscious, anyway."

Stefan glanced down and smiled. "Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," Bonnie said and, with a jolt, she realised it was the truth. She couldn't forgive Damon, but she could respect him for the person that he was or, at the very least, the person he tried to be. Besides, she didn't care who it was, no one deserved to suffer like this. With a curt nod, she turned to leave. "I'll get the grimoires."


It only took two trips to bring all the grimoires up. Bonnie placed most of them across the floor; she'd sat herself down, cross-legged on the rug. She could have pulled up a chair, but that would have meant sitting closer to Damon and in his current state, Bonnie couldn't bring herself to do it. She'd managed to push the feeling of wrongness that the curse had caused to the back of her mind, but it still clung to her like a parasite, reminding her that dark magic was at play, that this curse was powerful and that, no matter what they found, alone, they might not stand a chance to defeat it.

Bonnie had never asked Stefan what he planned on doing if they found out there was a counter-spell. Obviously, that would be when Bonnie's usefulness expired; despite her senses still being primed towards the supernatural, she had no magic. She couldn't perform spells and had no connections to anyone that could. She supposed she could call her mother, Abby, and ask if she was in contact with any witches still willing to help vampires, but then again, in the hundred and fifty years Stefan and Damon had been vampires, she assumed the boys had made connections of their own.

Cracking open one of the larger grimoires, Bonnie was about to continue her research when a heaviness inside the book caught her off guard.

Frowning, Bonnie began to flip through the age-stained pages. She was careful not to damage them as she made her way to the centre of the book where the spine definitely felt off-kilter. Bonnie could feel Stefan's eyes on her as she balanced the book across her lap, focusing on the pages as she flipped them closer to the centre. There was something hard and heavy beneath the pages and with a few more turns, Bonnie realised what the obstruction was.

Tied to the grimoire's centre in a pouch made of a highly questionable material was a small book about the size of Bonnie's palm. Bonnie stared at the pouch for a moment before she felt her fingers numbly move towards it. The material of the pouch was rough to the touch, though Bonnie didn't want to think of its origin. Instead, she plunged her hand into the pouch and grabbed for the book, careful not to jostle it as she lifted it into her hand.

Stefan was definitely staring at her now; she could feel him moving closer to her side as she looked at the small leather-bound book in her hand. It was old, there was no way of telling how old, but it seemed well preserved. The cover of the book looked like it had been replaced a few times with sturdier material, the latest being a thick black leather with a title inscribed in white swirls on the front.

Bonnie's brow raised as she read the title out loud.

"The Trickster."

"The who?"

Bonnie very nearly jumped as she felt Stefan's presence now directly in front of her. He bent down to get a better look at the cover, his own brow creased with a signature frown.

Bonnie cleared her throat. "I'm not sure, that's all it says, hang on." Mutely, she peeled back the leather cover to reveal the first page. On it was a simple note followed by a signature that read:


To take a life is a Powerful thing

C.C


The words were written in a flowing, flawless scripture. Whoever had written it was obviously a gifted calligrapher. Still, there was something off about the writing too, or maybe, not so much the writing, but the ink it was written in.

"Blood," Bonnie said, feeling slightly nauseated. "It's written in blood."


A/N: Just as an added note, Bonnie being able to continue sensing magic is - as far as I'm aware - not canon and something I added in as an extra. As well as that, I just wanted to mention that as the story continues, I'll be using a few little facts that are either not canon or exclusively mentioned in the book series by L.J Smith. You do not need to have read the books to follow this story as any mentions of these facts will be explained within the story. Thank you.