Rousing from her deep sleep, Bonnie writhed on the bed and shrugged the covers off her body. The temperature of the room had gone from comfortably warm to oppressively hot as the morning sun beat down through the windows. Beads of sweat formed on the back of her neck and she finally managed to kick the covers off. Her leg brushed against Kai's and she immediately snapped out of her sleepy daze. She woke suddenly, eyes wide open and heart pounding, as she became fully aware of the person sleeping next to her. If the fluttering movements under his eyelids were any indication, Kai was still fast asleep, dreaming.

Bonnie heard faint notes of the Scooby-Doo! theme song drifting through the passage, the sound getting louder as she walked towards the living room. Micah, like the early riser he was, sat in front of the television dressed in his school uniform with his backpack strapped to his shoulders.

"Ready for school?"

Micah bobbed his head in response.

"Good boy." Bonnie couldn't resist running a hand through his curls and bending down to kiss his head. "Did you have a bad dream last night?"

"Yeah."

"And did Uncle Kai read you a story?"

"Yeah."

"Which one?" She asked, fixing the collar of his shirt.

"The one with the rabbit, but he didn't do the voices like dad does them."

Bonnie didn't know what to say to make him feel better about Damon being gone, so she focused on something she could help him with. "What was your dream about?"

"I don't remember." Micah answered, blinking up at her. "But I was scared."

"It was only a dream." She reassured him and knelt down to tie his shoelaces. "I would never let anything bad happen to you. You know that don't you?"

Micah nodded with a small smile. Bonnie planted a series of kisses on his forehead and he squirmed away, whining, "Mom."

x

Kai paced outside the door of the Mystic Grill, staring at his watch, He waited until it was just past two and then finally walked in. He found Jo sitting in a booth by the window. She must have arrived a lot earlier than he did, judging by the almost-empty glass of water on the table.

Kai slid into the opposite side of the booth. "Thank you for coming."

"Well, I didn't have much choice." Jo replied, placing a thick, leather-bound book on the table. It made a dull smacking sound as it landed on the surface. She pushed it towards him. "Here's the grimoire. It's all coded but I can't help you with that. What else do you want to know?"

"Do you know anything about the picture in the dictionary?" Kai asked as he examined the patterns on the cover.

"Like I told you yesterday, I've never been able to open it."

"Why not?"

Jo took a deep breath before answering, "It was sealed with blood magic, but I gave my magic up years ago so I'm not a practicing witch anymore."

Blood magic? The familiar term was like ice water down his back.

"Does that mean…" He faltered as the words seemed to catch in his throat. "Could it be possible - "

"No." Jo stated, with a scowl. "It was probably just a fluke. You know how unreliable these spells can be sometimes, especially if it was cast by an inexperienced witch."

Kai nodded but he didn't agree. Blood magic was one of the strongest kinds of magic. It was connected to a person's bloodline, meaning it was impossible to break.

Jo glanced down at her phone. "I have to pick my kids up from school. Is that all?"

"One more thing." There was one question he had to ask. It had been fermenting on his lips since he sat down. "What was your sister's name?"

"Michelle."

Kai's gaze dropped to the grimoire on the table. He traced the edges of the cover, fingering the supple leather. Everything around him seemed to fade away. He barely took notice of Jo as she shuffled out of the booth and left. Tears glistened in his eyes and he was glad she was gone. He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again. When he had regained his composure, Kai stood up with the grimoire tucked under his arm.

He made the mistake of glancing at the bar and scanning the faces until his gaze landed on Tyler. Anger flared in the werewolf's eyes and he bared his teeth in a sneer, making him look remarkably animalistic even in human form. He kicked his barstool back and stormed towards Kai.

Tyler fisted Kai's shirt and slammed him against the wall, their faces inches apart. "Do you have a death wish or something, you little freak?"

Concerned looks passed over the other patrons' faces but everyone knew better than to approach the mayor's son when he was in one of his rages.

Kai shook his head. He fumbled with the grimoire as it slipped from under his arm and he struggled to grab hold of it.

Tyler let go of Kai's shirt and yanked the book from his grip. He picked up a steak knife from one of the tables and started to drive a hole through the leather cover.

"Tyler, give me the book." Kai pleaded. "Look, I'm sorry about what I did to your car. I can explain. Just give me the book."

"That was you?" Tyler's hand tightened around the knife.

Kai lunged towards him, trying to grab the grimoire. He yelped when he felt a sharp pain in his side. The metal sank deeper into his flesh and a surge of heat rushed through his body. Tyler pulled the knife out and then swung at Kai with his other hand. Kai fell to the ground when the werewolf's fist collided with his head and then his jaw. He put a hand to his side, wincing at the pain. The blood felt thick and slippery between his fingers. Kai scrunched into a ball, preparing himself for another hit that never came. Tyler growled and the knife clattered to the floor. Kai watched as he turned around and went back to sitting at the bar. Then Kai's eyes closed.

x

He opened his eyes when he heard a raspy voice calling to him.

"Malachai, wake up!" Gold-flecked brown eyes stared back at him. "You are running out of time."

Cassandra helped him up and then touched his arm. "I will keep it safe for you." She picked the grimoire up from where Tyler had thrown it on the floor.

Kai blinked and when he opened his eyes, he was already standing on the porch at home. Dizzy from the magical teleportation and blood-loss, he stumbled into the living room and fell back onto the couch.

x

Bonnie poured herself a cup of decaf coffee. It was the same kind she used to drink when she was pregnant with Micah. It tasted just like regular so she could enjoy the comfort of coffee in the afternoon without having to endure a restless night of sleeplessness.

Micah was taking a nap after his long day at school and Bonnie knew she would have at least an hour of alone time before he woke up and needed her to make him a snack or help him with homework.

She heard the front door open and close and and she recognised the tapping of Kai's boots on wood leading into the living room. She didn't know what he did everyday and she never asked. Out of curiosity, Bonnie set her coffee down and went into the living room to find out where he had been.

Sweat glistened on Kai's forehead, the ends of his brown hair damp and sticking to his skin. He looked the same way he usually did when he got back from one of his runs, covered in sweat and panting for breath. She would have assumed he was simply exhausted from an intense workout but he was wearing jeans and combat boots, not exactly ideal attire for exercising, and his eyelids kept fluttering like he was struggling to stay awake. There was a small cut above his eyebrow and dark liquid trickled from it.

As Bonnie got closer to him, she saw that a patch of his white shirt just below his ribcage was blotted with the same liquid.

Bonnie gasped when she realised what it was. The blood was dark like rusty chocolate. The sour tang of it filled the air, making her stomach churn.

Her eyes were wide with astonishment and she fumbled for words. "Kai…the blood…it's so dark." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "What happened?"

"It's nothing." He muttered through gritted teeth.

"Okay. Okay." Realising she had to help instead of just standing there, Bonnie steadied her breathing. "Let's get your shirt off."

Kai lifted his arms up, wincing as she peeled his t-shirt over his head and pressed it against his side. Bonnie helped to ease him down so he was flat on his back. His body was heavy and rigid in her arms.

"Easy on the pork rinds." She huffed.

Kai's laugh was loud and throaty, and quickly followed by a painful groan.

The blood flowed thickly from his broken skin, soaking through the absorbent material and staining Bonnie's trembling hands. There was a sheen of sweat on his chest. The muscles in his torso were taut and she felt them ripple, tensing and relaxing, with every laboured breath he took.

She removed the t-shirt, now wet and sticky with blood. The bleeding had stopped but Kai's pale skin was still coated with the dark liquid.

Bonnie stared at her bloodstained hands and they started to shake again. She was at a loss, with no idea of what to do next.

"Alcohol." Kai offered, lifting his head so he could take a look at the wound. "To clean it."

"We don't keep any in the house. Damon's been sober since Micah was born." Bonnie spluttered, shaking her head.

"Salt water will be fine." Kai uttered weakly. "And something to use as a bandage."

Bonnie's expression was still panicked but she nodded and went into the kitchen. She filled a glass with water and stirred some salt in. She started to fling open cupboards and rifle through drawers, looking for something to use as a bandage. Her shaking hands made the task harder and she was too overwrought to think clearly. Bonnie placed her hands on the counter and took a few slow, deep breaths. Then with calm determination, she continued to look for the supplies.

Bonnie returned to the living room with a glass of water, a dish towel, and a roll of duct tape.

"This might hurt a little." She warned before starting to pour.

Kai sucked in a breath. He flinched as the warm water splashed onto his body, washing the blood away. His jaw was clenched tight, the muscles in his cheek twitching as he fought to keep from crying out, but the sensation of salt stinging his flesh became too much to bear and a choked whimper tumbled from his lips.

Bonnie folded the dish towel into a neat square and pressed it against Kai's side, using her teeth to tear pieces of tape and secure the bandage in place. "This will have to do for now."

x

Bonnie came back with a blanket and frowned when she saw Kai sitting upright on the couch. "You're supposed to be resting, not moving around." She handed the blanket to him. "I'll check on you later."

The drops of perspiration on his bare chest had turned cool and he was grateful for the blanket.

"You should probably stay here with me." Kai suggested. "To make sure I don't lose consciousness or go into shock."

"Fine." Bonnie sat down next to him. She fidgeted with her hands, rubbing them together and intertwining her fingers. She had managed to wash the blood away, her hands now as clean and pure as before. "So what's wrong with you?"

"So many things." He rolled his eyes. "Should I start with my daddy issues or my Remus complex?" He leaned in closer like he was telling her secret. "Not to brag but I'm basically an expert in unresolved childhood trauma."

Bonnie pressed her lips together in a tight line, not amused by his humour, and he wondered if he had touched on a sensitive topic. He wanted her to laugh, to reply with a snarky comeback, to do anything but look at him like that.

"I mean what's wrong with your blood? It was so dark, and cold."

The temperature had bothered him too when he first touched it at the Mystic Grill. It poured out of him as cold as ice. Like he was dead already.

"I'm sick, very sick." It was hard to admit but once it was out, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now you know my secret."

"Is it…Are you…" She faltered, a sympathetic frown forming on her face.

Is it bad? Are you going to die? Whatever she wanted to ask, it didn't matter. The answer was the same.

"I don't know."

Bonnie chewed on her lip. Then she inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to be someone's mom or someone's wife. Don't get me wrong, I love our little family but there was so much more I wanted to do. I could have pursued dancing or travelled the world." Her voice wavered and she paused, lifting her gaze to meet his. "But it's too late for that. This is who I am now."

Kai's expression softened. Nothing could have prepared him for Bonnie's confession. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You told me one of your secrets. Now you know one of mine."

The silence that followed was comfortable and descended over them like a warm blanket.

Bonnie shifted closer to him and pulled a plaster from her pocket. She removed the covering and stuck the adhesive strip above his eyebrow where Tyler's ring had split the skin. Her hand hovered by his face as she smoothed the plaster with her finger.

In another life he would take her hand and place it over his heart where it hurt the most. All he wanted to do was tell her the truth but she wasn't ready for it yet. He was death, decay, rot and she was a gentle summer breeze.

Once the plaster was in place, Bonnie moved back to her original position. "There must be something you can do. A cure maybe." Her honeyed voice sounded so soft and hopeful, he didn't mind that it interrupted the comfortable silence.

Kai tilted his head to the side and asked, "Are you worried about me, Bon?" His lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Don't be. I don't want your pity."

The nickname took her by surprise and Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want?"

You.

"It doesn't matter." Kai answered, looking down at her hands. He liked them more when they were covered in his blood.

x

A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I'm having so much fun writing it and I just got really excited and wanted to share. Consider it a break before the next chapter which is going to be juicy, with details revealed and some new faces (well not really new faces because they are doppelgängers after all).