~Bonnie~

I was back at the boarding house in an instant, and I could smell it before I walked into the house. Heck, i could smell it down the block. Mary was in the kitchen and I could hear Stefan down in the cellar trying to calm Damon. I handed both books wordlessly to Mary and went downstairs. Stefan was leaning against the wall opposite the door. He looked to be in pain.

"Stefan." I said quietly

He looked at me quickly.

"Mary needs your help upstairs." I said

He nodded and was gone. It was Damon and I now. I didn't know if I wanted to go in there. I didn't know if I could. Huffing, I moved for the door and unlocked it. Damon laid there on the dirt floor looking….well, dead. That was nothing new though.

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. The locks clicked and Damon jumped a little then was out of sight. I stood there still staring at the empty space. Then suddenly I was grabbed firmly by the throat.

"What are you doing here?" Damon growled in my ear

I didn't flinch, but I felt or rather didn't feel like fighting. I'd heard what he was rambling about. It was Elena. Damon looked past me and then back.

"You made her go away." He said

"What?" I asked

"She was here then you came, and then she ran away."

"Damon, no one is in here with you except me."

"Liar!" he yelled

Not waiting for him to squeeze my larynx, I shoved him back effortlessly. He was weaker. He looked up at me as he sat on his knees and reached out to me. I started to walk over to him.

"Elena."

Right then I stopped. Shaking my head I ignored it remembering there was no need to care, but I did. Walking over I bent down and took him in my arms. He shuddered.

"It'll be alright." I mumbled

He wrapped his arms around my waist and shook. I just closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. I hoped Mary would be able to find something and soon.

~Mary~

"How are they holding up?" I asked

"Huh?" Stefan asked

It wasn't hard to tell he was distracted. If it wasn't him being non-respondent to most things I said it was the constant pacing right in front of me as I read both books. It made me glad that I knew how to multi-task.

"Bonnie and Damon." I said

"Oh. Um, I don't know." He said "They're quiet."

I nodded and looked down at the book.

"Hey, is there any wolfsbane in the cabinet?" I asked

Stefan moved over to the large cabinet and pulled out a large glass jar and set it on the counter in front of me. I mumbled thanks, and grabbed a few of the shriveled up plants from the jars and put it into the current pot.

"Will this fix him?" Stefan asked

"I don't know."

"Well, then start knowing!" he yelled making me jump

I looked over at him only to see him growling at me.

"Look at me with as much hatred as you like Salvatore, but I can't find a cure! The best I can do is wing it!" I yelled

"My brother is dying down there, and so is she!" he yelled right back

"What?" I asked quieter

"If he dies, it will kill her. It won't matter if she likes him or if she's been bitten or if she hates him with every fiber of her being. She isn't old enough to withstand his death. She will die not long after him if he does." Stefan said "It's that damn connection."

"No…" I trailed off

Turning back to what I was doing I started shuffling around hurriedly. My vision was blurred as tears fell into the pot that I shoved more wolfsbane into the pot. This wasn't happening. Why was this only getting worse? They were supposed to find another way to kill the ripper, but now people were dying and it wasn't that thing.

~Bonnie~

I felt exhausted and tired. I was tired of it all. Maybe, it would win. I didn't want it to, but I just wasn't sure anymore if I could make it. Things just kept getting in the way and it was mostly the one in my arms.

"It's going to end soon right?" he asked now shaking in her arms

His skin had gotten paler, and he was weaving in and out of consciousness. I didn't know what to do. I was losing him. I was losing him and cared even though the one he called out to wasn't her. It was never her.

"It was always you." He mumbled

I reached up and wiped the tears starting forming.

"I'd always choose you…I didn't-"

"Damon just be quiet okay?"

"I didn't mean to attack you. She shoved you right in front of me and it took over. I tried not to." He breathed "She didn't care though. She didn't care that you were her best friend."

The tears didn't stop. He was dying and I was crying. Everything was just coming undone. Nothing was right anymore.

"I'd always…choose you." He breathed

Then like that his eyes closed. The monster that had been there hours ago that he'd been suppressing was gone. I didn't know what was left.

"Damon?" I sobbed "Don't…don't leave me alone. Please? I don't know why, but…I need you."

~Mary~

Stefan had frozen and the look of panic among his brooding face intensified. Turning, he punched the wall letting his hand go all the way through.

"What is it?" I asked seriously

He didn't reply. Walking over to him, I swung him around to face me.

"What…is it?" I asked again grabbing a hold of his face so that I was looking him in the eye

He just shook his head. Rushing over to the pot that now did that now seemed to have a blue mist coming from it I poured it into a mug and looked down at it. It had every known ingredient that gave strength and fought off any supernatural being known to…well, no one normally. I could only hope it'd work enough for Damon to stay alive long enough. Taking one last look at Stefan, I downed the drink in one gulp. I heard him yell my name. I couldn't describe how it tasted. It horrible yet amazing at the same time.

"What the hell?" I blurted feeling a smile twitch at my lips "I feel good, real good."

~Bonnie~

The door slammed open making me jump. It was literally ripped from the hinges. I clutched Damon closer. Mary appeared in the doorway.

"Bonnie?"

"Mary?" I said confused

She was next to me before I could even blink. She was faster than me.

"Move." She said

"But-"

"Bon, just trust me." She said

I moved away and she took my place with Damon in her lap. Then she held out her wrist to me. Looking down at it, I gasped. Her veins were purple and when I looked up at her eyes, they were a deep blue. The kind of blue that mystified you.

"What?" I asked

"I can't bite into it myself, you have to." She said

"Huh?"

"It could suppress the bite." Mary said "Now do it. I don't know how long it'll last"

I was still confused. She'd put it in her blood? She must've known it'd be the only way he'd be able to get it through his system. Blood was life and whatever the hell was in her was more than that, because I could hear her heartbeat and it was rapid. Looking down at the pulsing purple vein, I sank into it and quickly let it go. The taste was vibrant and made me dizzy and it was only the small amount on my lips. Licking the rest from my lips I scrambled back and hit the wall behind me. I blinked rapidly. Standing, I left quickly as I saw her bleed into his mouth.

Getting to the kitchen where I saw Stefan looking into a pot. He looked at me.

"I don't know what's happening? I told her to find a way-"

"She's giving Damon her blood now." I said

Why did it sound so casual? Like it was no big deal. I gripped the counter.

"Bonnie?"

I looked at him. Quickly, he grabbed a hold of my face and had me looking at him. It was like he was checking me like a doctor. Everything felt so…alive. It started to slow though.

"She alright?" Mary's voice suddenly broke in

I turned to see her wrapping a dishcloth around her wrist. Her eyes were fading. Whatever was in her wasn't everlasting. Walking over to her, I grabbed her. I didn't know how much Damon took, but she'd been giving a lot of blood in the past few weeks.

"You can't give anymore." I said

"But-"

"It's not a suggestion." I cut in

She smiled at me goofily, and I could tell by the pressing weight of her body against me, that she was ready to pass out. I wrapped her arm around my neck.

"You're amazing you know that?" she said as we walked out of the kitchen

"I haven't heard that in a while." I chuckled

I helped her upstairs and laid her down.

"You were the amazing one today." I said as I tucked her in

Taking the dishcloth from her wrist I noticed that she was no longer bleeding. Her veins weren't purple anymore either. Whatever she did was amazing. I hoped that whatever she did would buy time.

"It bought more than time." Came a quiet voice

I turned abruptly and saw Damon in the doorway.

"She had something…it made it go away." He said

I didn't move. I looked back at my sister who was sleeping now. What did she drink? What did she make? I shook my head and walked out, closing the door as I went. She probably wouldn't even remember if I asked. I started toward my room and could hear Damon behind me.

"You're not happy?" he asked

I turned and reached out for his arm. Grabbing it, I looked at it. The bite mark was gone, and I was sure the one on his shoulder was gone too. I dropped the arm and opened my door.

"I didn't say I wasn't." I said remembering that he'd called out to Elena then ended up letting gout his last confessions "Get some sleep."

"Bonnie," he grabbed my arm

He called me by my name? Hm, something had truly gotten to him.

"About what I said…" he started

"I didn't hear a thing. That's what you want right?" I asked

I half hoped he'd say no. I didn't know why. It might not be so bad to cling on to something before I go.

"I'm not angry anymore. I just want this to be over so, you can get what you want." I said "I don't have the strength to hate you, I have enough however to take that bitch down."

"And you won't do it alone."

"I will unless you'd like a repeat of what just happened. You nearly killed Mary. She hangs by a thread because, we all keep using her. She shouldn't have been dragged into it in the first place. This is all-"

I stopped myself. Once again I'd point out the obvious.

"Just goodnight." I said "And tell Stefan to fix the hole he put in my kitchen wall."

I closed the door.

~Damon~

I heard her sniffle on the other side. I was dying and she'd been crying because of me. It wasn't hate anymore, but heartbreak now. I broke her and she kept breaking. Grabbing the door knob, I hesitated. It bothered me. I never hesitate.

Turning it, I stepped inside and shut the door. She laid on the bed crying softly. Walking over, I laid down beside her and wrapped my arms around her comfortingly. She buried her head into my chest. She wanted it over. We all wanted it over. We just didn't want the sacrifice. We're selfish that way. It was the way the world turned. We never win and we never lose. It always comes at a price, the price being a life, sanity, blood, and even love.

"It was always you." She cried quietly

I closed my eyes feeling the wetness on my cheek from the sudden droplet.

Alright, good, bad? Eh, I'll leave it up to you. I just hope you all enjoyed it.