Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to L.J. Smith/The CW.

Summary: Everyone seems to have a motive.

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope that everyone is well and happy as I bring to you another installment that tags episodes 2.14 (Crying Wolf) and 2.15 (The Dinner Party). As always I appreciate your reviews and PMs and general acceptance of this story. Also for those that leave long reviews, no worries I don't mind them at all. I am curious however, if I decide to continue this story for quite a while, would you rather I keep posting here or cut it into a sequel of sorts? I kinda wanna see can I reach 100 parts but if that's too much I don't mind dividing them up. Anyway enjoy this next part!

What Fuels Us

With a groan, Bonnie slowly opened her eyes as Elena's cell phone chimed loudly. She heard Caroline mumbling and then a thump which signaled that Elena had just fallen out of bed, most likely because Caroline had kicked her. She chuckled and rolled over, glancing to the small clock on the bedside table as one of her best friends disappeared to talk to her boyfriend. It was cute to be honest, Stefan calling to check up on her.

Of course they'd simply spent the night eating junk food and talking about guys. It was so normal and for a moment she'd felt bad about feeling weird around Caroline. When you got down to it she was still the same girl she'd always been, just heightened. Her feelings for Matt and even Tyler were so confusing to her that she wasn't sure which way was up. While she didn't want to have anything to do with Tyler anymore, she was still desperately in love with Matt and terrified of hurting him. Bonnie felt that she would relate to the situation if she ever dated someone human.

As it was she had two people giving her very different forms of advice. Elena thought she should give Damon another chance while Caroline wanted her to set him on fire. Both made valid points.

"Ugh, what time is it?" The blonde murmured, putting a pillow over her head.

"About eleven I think." She replied with a yawn. "Time to face the day."

"No thank you." The other girl said sleepily. "I was tortured. I deserve to be able to sleep in."

Smiling, Bonnie patted her shoulder and sat up, gazing out of the window. The sun was shining brightly through the satin curtains, flooding the room with brilliant rays. It looked like a lovely day outside which made her feel a bit better even with everything that she was going through. She vowed to not have any magic hiccups—to take a deep breath before breaking something.

A chirping sound brought her attention to her purse and she dug inside, pulling out her phone. There on the colorful screen flashed that she had a new text message. She accepted and bit her bottom lip.

Damon: Morning sunshine. Heard you had a lesbian pillow fight party last night.

Snorting, she found herself replying to him. It was a sleepover to make Caroline feel better.

Damon: Sure sure. Whatever you say. What are you doing now?

Just woke up.

Damon: Have good dream? Preferably about me?

Hah. I didn't have any dreams actually. Just a nice good sleep.

Damon: I miss dreaming with you. Miss sharing dreams with you.

Staring at the small screen, she debated on what to say. In truth she missed sharing dreams with him as well but she figured it would be a disservice to herself to let him know. She was still mad at him after all. Yeah well, we can't all get what we want.

Damon: I usually end up getting what I want.

And what do you want, Damon?

Damon: You.

For starters?

Damon: Enders too. And everything in between. Anyway what are you wearing?

LOL regular pajamas. Not like I would wear a sexy nightie to a girl's sleepover.

Damon: Of course you would. I've seen movies where that happens all the time. :)

Heh yeah I'll bet. Complete with an NC-17 sticker on the front.

Damon: Yeah. ;) We should make one of those movies.

Dream on.

Damon: I plan to. *sighs* Okay gotta go. Got things to do, an ancient to try to kill.

That made her nervous. Be careful, Damon. I don't think you should mess with Elijah.

Damon: Love to know you still care. Don't worry I'll try to play nice. Can I see you later?

I'm sure even if I say no; you'll find a way to stalk me.

Damon: Heh yeah. Later.

Later.

Putting her phone aside, she exhaled and ran a hand through her hair. Nothing wrong with a friendly chat I suppose…

"You're still so sprung on him, aren't you?" Caroline mused beside her. "Not that I can really blame you. Damon is handsome and sexy and he's got the whole bad boy thing going on. And I'm guessing he was sweet with you in a way I figure would only happen in a movie."

Bonnie shrugged. "You don't just get over someone."

She nodded. "Naturally. But is this really about him cheating? Or…something else."

Pulling at the strap of her cami, she waved her off. "What do you mean?"

The blonde shifted. "I—since becoming a vampire I've spent a lot of time with Damon and Stefan. A lot. When my mom found out about me and had to be compelled we lived there for a few days. You know. So I've seen and heard some stuff."

Crap I'd forgotten all about that. "What are you saying, Caroline?"

Her friend sighed. "About Elena—Damon having a major jones for her." Pause. "That's why you broke up with him, isn't it?"

Rubbing her cheek, she looked down at the blanket. "It's more than that but yes. Elena doesn't know however and I—I don't think she should. It would just make her feel guilty."

Apparently the other girl did not agree. "So? Don't get me wrong I love you both but I think she should know. Maybe she could have a talk with him and tell him it's never gonna happen, and then he'd get a clue."

The witch chuckled softly. "I think he already knows it's never gonna happen. To be honest I don't know why he wants her. I mean guys usually do but she looks like his bitch of an ex and she's in love with his brother. Maybe I just wasn't enough."

"Bonnie, no. You were an awesome girlfriend." Caroline responded. "Damon's just—he's just stupid and didn't realize what he had. Now he does like any other stupid guy and he wants you back. I say either shut him down completely or play so hard to get that he ends up with whiplash."

Sometimes she has some pretty good ideas. "We'll see what happens but I'm not really—I'm trying not to think about that."

"Think about what?" Elena asked as she hung up with Stefan and climbed back into bed. "Lemme guess, we're talking about boys again…"

"Should we start calling them men?" Caroline wondered aloud. "Stefan and Damon are really old."

The brunette chuckled. "Yeah but it's not something I think about until he goes all vamp on me." A beat. "When I'm like thirty he's still going to look seventeen. I'll officially be called a cougar or something. It's really weird to think about. The future…"

"Yeah." The blonde echoed. "I mean on the one hand I'm gonna be young and hot forever, but on the other hand I can't have kids and if I lose this ring I can't go out in the day time."

Bonnie tilted her head to the side. "You could always adopt. And I saw this spell about reanimating a vampire for twenty-four hours so that could help with Stefan's issue maybe of being dead and unable to procreate."

Elena's eyes stretched wide. "Really? Wow that would be wild. Honestly I don't like to really think about the future because it's so—it's so far away. I'm happy with Stefan and I wanna be with him forever. I wish it could always be that simple. Or as simple as us going to the lake house for a weekend away like we're doing this afternoon."

I know the feeling. I wish I could always be in a good place and not have to worry about what might happen tomorrow. "I think if you're meant to be then it'll happen."

"Right. Just like if I'm meant to be with Matt then I won't end up eating him." Caroline joked to lighten the mood.

The three girls laughed and then reluctantly forced themselves out of bed to get ready to go about their days. Bonnie found herself packing up her things and idly wondering about what Damon would be getting up to with Elijah. She didn't like the thought of him tempting fate as he was prone to do because it always ended up backfiring. Like it had done with Mason. Even if he ended up needing her help, she wasn't sure she'd be able to do anything of substance. A young werewolf is one thing whereas an ancient vampire was a whole different can of worms. It was possible that Jonas had some type of protection spell over him.

Which brings us to the question of why is a powerful witch like him working for a vampire anyway? Could be outta some debt like Lucy had with Katherine? Or maybe he's just evil and likes the thought of causing trouble. I should be sneaky like he was and find out just what the master plan is.

My powers are strong because of my emotional turmoil, now would be a good time to put them into action.

Frowning, she grabbed Caroline's wrist before she could follow Elena into the kitchen. "Hey, I'm gonna need help with something later. Magic stuff. Meet me at the Grille later?"

She nodded. "Sure. I take it this is something we don't want Elena to know about?"

"Right. She has enough on her plate right now." Bonnie said quietly. "We'll figure out what's going on with Elijah and have answers for her when she returns. Hopefully."


So Damon Salvatore had a habit of not knowing when to pick his battles because he assumed that whatever the fight, he would win. Sometimes he did and sometimes things ended up going in a direction that not even he would have guessed. For example, once upon a time he wanted Alaric dead and had even tried to kill him. Now he and the history teacher/vampire slayer were—well they were going in on schemes together. Saving each other's lives and shit. Never had he figured that is how things would end up between them.

Just like he never guessed Katherine would be someone he wanted dead, or that he and Stefan would ever find some type of common ground.

Life liked to throw him curve balls and keep him on his toes. Especially where Bonnie Bennett was concerned. He'd confessed his love to her best friend and yet she'd been there for him the other night; held his hand while he cried like a little bitch over his dead vampire friend. I don't deserve someone so sincere. All I do is fuck up and I should be with someone just as fucked up as I am. Yet if the saying was to be believed then the heart wanted what it wanted…and he wanted Bonnie.

Getting her had been easier than keeping her.

However her being his shoulder to lean on was perhaps a step in the right direction to regaining her. Their relationship was in such a weird ass place right now. She hated him but apparently couldn't stay away from him; I like that part. He loved her but apparently couldn't get her best friend out of his mind; yeah that part, not so much. Though lately it was more about protecting Elena than wooing her which he was kinda glad for. His mind was clearer when he focused on the keeping her alive aspect.

Still when he'd needed someone to keep him from the edge, Bonnie had been that person. Sure Elena may have talked him down but it wouldn't have been as genuine. Just a way to keep him from hurting someone else. Some innocent person he no doubt would have killed to get rid of his rage and guilt.

But there was something else entirely that he wasn't even considering. He could be the most vulnerable he'd ever been with Bonnie and not feel like a weak sack of crap. Sometimes the human part of Damon Salvatore came so natural around the witch that it freaked him out times ten. Because if he were human and doing terrible things, didn't that make him even worse? Even less of a catch for her?

You couldn't be less of a catch after what you've done unless you slit her father's throat.

Bright side?

Shaking his head to get back in the game and forget about big green eyes for a while, he meandered around the Lockwood mansion looking for Elijah. According to his sources he was going to be here today for some historical thing or other, and he wanted to meet him. It was past time to have a nice long talk with this asshole who thought he was so bad ass. He wasn't expecting a fight but he felt secure enough to reckon that Alaric had some type of vervain or something up his sleeve just in case.

As he put on his human smile for the posh crowd, he thought back to the confrontation with the wolves in the woods. He didn't exactly want to admit it, but he hoped they didn't have to deal with them again. Jules and her ilk were strong fighters—hatred did that for you however. And they were outnumbered. I should start carrying around wolf's bane in a flask. Might come in handy.

Smirking to himself, he noticed the man of the hour and strolled right up to him, letting Carol Lockwood introduce them. They played nice while she was around, making idle chit-chat about his book and the historical society until she had to waltz off and play hostess. When she was out of sight, they disappeared into the study for a talk.

"What can I do for you Damon?" Elijah inquired, holding a regal confidence that you didn't see anymore.

"I was hoping we could have a word." He said easily.

The other man looked around the room. "Where's Elena?"

Oh look how he pretends to care. "Safe with Stefan. They're laying low ya know? Been having a little werewolf problem."

"Yes I heard about that."

"I'm sure you did since it was your witch that saved the day."

"You are welcome."

"Which adds to my confusion on exactly why you're here…"

Elijah grinned at him. "Why don't you just worry about keeping Elena safe and leave the rest to me."

He turned to leave when suddenly Damon was in front of him. "Not good enough."

With a rather bored, stoic expression, Elijah grabbed him around the throat and slammed him against the wall. "You young vampires. So arrogant. How dare you challenge me?

Fuck, Damon thought as the original bent his wrist back at an odd angle. I should have thought this out more. "You can't kill me, man. It's not part of the deal."

"Silence." The older vampire's voice was so calm, so soft. Without even looking behind him, he yanked up a pencil and stabbed it into the side of Damon's neck, making him scream in pain before tossing him carelessly towards the large desk. "I'm an original. Show a little respect."

Fuck! I hate this guy! I hate this guy so much that hate isn't a strong enough word. Fuck that hurt. Grunting, he still took the white handkerchief that he was offered and pressed it to his wound. I hate not being the bad guy.

Adjusting his suit jacket, Elijah smiled at him. "Why don't you just ask me what you're dying to know the answer to, Damon? This is about your little witch, correct?"

Silence.

"Ah. Now you have nothing to say?" He chuckled mellifluously. "Yes I know about your…attachment to her. I find it interesting that you're in love with her and yet pining away for Elena. If you had to choose between the two in a life or death situation, who would you pick? Who would you save and who would you let die?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "If you don't want to be tested in that way, I suggest you mind your attitude. The moment you cease to be of us to me, you're dead. So you should do what I say. Keep Elena and your little witch safe."

Damon gritted his teeth and watched him leave, fighting the instinct to try to stab him with something. Before returning to Mystic Falls he had always been the big dog. Now he was getting slapped around left and right and it made him so fucken angry. He'd find a way to kill Elijah now somehow just for the satisfaction.

Though threatening Bonnie also did the trick to get him to react.

He was going to be careful however and not think about what he'd said. If it came down to Elena and Bonnie—he wanted to pretend that it would be a hard decision to make. That he didn't know who he would go for but that was a lie. No matter what he felt for Elena, it would be Bonnie every single time. Yes he'd try for them both but if that wasn't possible he'd save Bonnie.

Maybe even if it meant sacrificing himself.

Ugh I cannot be that whipped.


Slumping to the side, Bonnie pushed black strands of hair out of her face and watched as the candle flames died out. She didn't feel good about tricking Luka into a trance and probing his mind but she had done what was necessary to protect the people she loved. And now she knew that Elijah still had plans to kill Elena to kill Klaus, and that Luka's sister was being held hostage to get his father to play nice.

While that makes me feel sorry for them, what they're doing is wrong. Killing an innocent girl to save someone in their family…how can they think that is right? I know all about being desperate but I'd never go to that level.

"Are you okay?" Caroline inquired. "You look wiped."

"I'm good just…shocked I guess about what we found out tonight." She admitted. "I need to call Damon and let him know that Elena still has to die."

Pursing her lips together, the blonde bent down and tossed an unconscious Luka over her shoulder. "I'm gonna get him back to the Grille before he wakes up or whatever. Lock up when you leave?"

"Sure." The witch stood and began gathering up the candles. "Thanks for your help."

Jeremy picked up the bowl of water and dumped it into the nearest plant. "That was some pretty wild stuff you did. You're getting more powerful."

Every day it seems. "Yeah. But it's helping people so…it works."

He smiled a little. "I think it's really cool. Everyone…can do such interesting things and I'm just me."

She looked at him. "Nothing wrong with being who you are. There are times when I wish I didn't have powers—that I was still ignorant to all of this. But this is my destiny."

A beat. "I just wonder what my destiny is."

Reaching out, she rubbed his arm. "You'll find it. And besides you're going a good job of helping keep Elena safe. Maybe your job is to be her little brother and look out for her."

A broad grin broke out across his handsome face. "Maybe. Would still be nice to have a super power though."

Chuckling, they both fell into a comfortable silence as they headed towards the front door. Once there, he turned and gazed at her, taking the chance of pushing dark locks from her forehead. She blinked in surprise and barely had time to press a hand to his chest when he leaned down for a kiss, his lips dangerously close to her own.

"Jeremy, hey…" Pushing him away gently, she sighed. "I—we shouldn't do that."

He frowned. "Why not? I mean c'mon, you gotta know I think you're amazing and have for a while now."

I had an inkling, yes. "No I—I thought maybe you did but it just wouldn't work out between us. You're sweet but…"

He rolled his big brown eyes. "This is about Damon, isn't it?"

Busted. "I'm not over him…which is probably obvious."

"He's a jerk. You know that right? He thinks of you as his property or something." Pause. "He doesn't respect you or deserve you. He doesn't love you."

For some reason that angered her and she folded her arms over her chest. "Damon is a lot of things, but he does love me. He's not perfect, in fact sometimes he can be downright horrible but he's been there for me in some very tough spots. I'm not excusing his behavior but some things I know and this is one of them."

"What is it gonna take to make you see him the way I do?" He questioned. "For the monster he is."

"I know you don't like him but bashing him isn't really the best way to get me to get over him. Things like that take time and we have more important stuff to worry about." She related. Shaking her head, she stepped around him and out the door. "Night Jeremy."

She was thankful that he didn't try to stop her or call her back. She understood that he meant well and wanted her with someone who appreciated her, but judging Damon on the bad things without taking the good into consideration just wasn't fair. Sure he'd fucked them up but there had been times where he was almost a prince. Those times were the main reason it was so hard to just write him off.

Climbing into her car, she huffed and dialed his number. Might as well tell him the news.

"Hello?"

"Damon hey, it's Bonnie." She said. "I have some information for you about Elijah and his plans."

"Ooh I like the sound of that." He cooed. "How did you manage to get this when I couldn't?"

Heh. "I took the less threatening approach and used magic."

"Ah, that's my sexy little witch." He smirked. "So what's up?"

She smiled despite herself. "He still plans to sacrifice Elena. She has to die for Klaus to be vulnerable enough to kill."

Damon grunted in disdain. "Got it. We should have known it wouldn't be easy where everyone lives and gets a pony."

Very true. We are not that lucky. "Yeah. But at least now we have some idea of what's going on."

"We know that Elijah needs to die." He says matter of fact. "A lot. And very painfully. I don't care that he basically rescued me from torture earlier."

She blinked. "Wait, what? Who tortured you?"

"Jules and her band of merry wolves." He snorted deeply. "They wanted the moonstone. Surprise, surprise Elijah has it. Anyway they tried to do the lame torture thing and he showed up and ripped most of their hearts out."

Bonnie slumped back to her seat and remained quiet for a few. It was odd to think of Damon in danger and yet not feeling it. "Are you okay?"

"Never better." He replied in his usual flip manner. "It'll take more than some wooden spiked collar to get rid of me. I should call Stefan and let him know what's up…"

"Okay. Bye."

"Goodnight Bonnie."


Lunchtime the next day found Bonnie at the Grille, pushing the cucumbers in her salad from one side of the plate to the other. Her fingertips were slightly tingling from the spell she'd performed on Luka but she decided it was better than breaking out all of the windows when her emotions got the best of her. Perhaps if she focused more on doing more spells—even just to clean the house or whatever—she'd get a better grip on things.

Not to mention if I try hard enough to not think about what I haven't been thinking about lately I seem to do pretty good. It's bad to say but all of this Elijah drama has done wonders in the form of a distraction.

I haven't thought about what Damon said to Elena in…crap.

Grumbling under her breath, she felt the salt shaker as it started to shudder on the table. "Stop it." Of course that just made it tremble harder. "I said stop. it."

"Do you usually talk to the condiments?"

Startled, she looked up to see Damon smirking down at her. "You scared me."

He sat down across from her. "Naturally. You were too busy chastising the salt. It did not pour the way you wanted it to?"

"No I—I'm having some control issues when I think bad thoughts." She said honestly.

"Hm. So if you were to think dirty thoughts would people's clothes start flying off?" He wiggled his brows.

"Shouldn't you be coming up with master plans or something?" She countered. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Looking for Jenna's friend, Andy Starr. I have a job for her."

"Will she survive it?"

"She should. I don't plan to kill her."

"That's…good I suppose."

Stretching out his long legs, he winked at her. "We should have more little chats like this. I miss our witty banter."

She opened her mouth to reply when Luka strolled up to their table, leaning intimidating-ly into her space. "You wanna tell me what the hell happened yesterday?"

Bonnie canted her head to the side. "I'm sorry?"

He frowned, obviously in no mood for games. "Don't play dumb. You and your friends were here and—"

She shrugged. "And what?"

"And all I remember is one minute I'm playing pool and the next I'm waking up in a bathroom stall." Luka snapped.

Oh you poor thing. "Sorry Luka but everything seemed normal yesterday. I brought you coffee and we played pool."

Wetting his lips, he looked around and then got closer, his face inches from her. "See, I think you're lying. Now either you tell me what you did to me or I'm going to—"

Damon stood abruptly. "You're going to what, exactly? Because if the next words out of your mouth are a threat, I'm gonna be forced to get involved." He smirked. "And believe me junior, you do not want me to get involved. I'm sure your daddy has told you all about me and what I'm capable of. You threaten her and you might as well be prepared to double it."

Presumably knowing that he couldn't possibly have the upper hand in this situation, Luka exhaled but had the common sense to walk away. Bonnie watched him go with wary eyes, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't believe that he would hurt her but considering what he and his father were willing to do to get his sister back, she couldn't be completely sure.

Damon sneered at the teen's retreating back. "If he gives you any trouble let me know and I'll eat him."

She chuckled a little. "Wow that—that's your definition of sweet. Nice." She motioned with her head over to where Jenna's friend was. "Your date's here."

Grinning, he pecked her cheek before she could stop him, laughing when the salt shaker literally jumped off the table. "Later."

Insufferable son of a…


Damon groaned as he shut the cellar door and locked Elijah away. He could hear Stefan and Elena ascending the stairs towards his brother's room, probably to talk more about not keeping her in the dark. Whatever.

Today had been action packed with murder, intrigue and some pretty tasty food. The best part of course was getting to watch Elijah be killed twice! That totally made up for being stabbed with a pencil and treated like a toddler having a tantrum. Now all they had to worry about was Klaus and something told him that would be harder than anything he's ever dealt with before. However with Tyler Lockwood gone from the town there wasn't a wolf to sacrifice. Maybe that would be enough to get him to give up his crazy ass plan.

Yeah even I don't believe that.

He wasn't exactly exhausted but he wouldn't turn down some nice warm people blood and then maybe a glass of wine to take the edge off. He'll worry about possibly killing Jonathan Gilbert tomorrow. Should have known he had some kinda agenda when he agreed to help. Can't believe I let my guard down with him for a minute. Well he's gonna pay just like all of the others.

With those happy thoughts dancing in his brain, he went through the manor flicking off some of the lights. A hurried knock on the front door made his brow lift, and he swaggered over to pull it open. He had a smart alec reply all ready until he took in the sight of Bonnie more closely. She was visibly shaken, her eyes wet with tears and her usually warm brown skin pale.

All of his bravado disappeared. "Hey. What's wrong?" He stepped to the side and let her in.

"I—I'm sorry for coming over like this." She whispered. "I just…Jeremy didn't really understand and I—I didn't want Elena to come home and find me there like this."

Damon shook his head as he closed the door. "Did Jeremy do something to you?"

"No. It…" Next she was sobbing quietly. "My powers. He—he took them."

Twitch. "Who? Elijah?"

"Luka's father. Jeremy and I were…trying some basic channeling stuff and he—he just burst in." She explained, wiping at her face. "He was angry over what we'd done to Luka. Next thing I know he's grabbing me and—and it—it felt like he was… Like he took something without asking. Like he hollowed me out." Her voice dipped lower. "Like I was violated."

Damon didn't know a lot about witchy powers but he understood that taking those of another was an unpleasant experience for the take-y. Especially if it were against their will. The thought of some strange asshole rooting around inside of Bonnie's essence without her consent made him see red. Filled him with a rage he didn't feel lightly. "I'll kill him." He started for the door when she grabbed his arm.

"Damon, don't. He—he's very strong. He'll kill you." She pleaded, not letting him go.

"You think I'm just gonna let him get away with what he did to you?" He growled. "No fucken way. I'll rip his heart out of his chest and beat him with it."

Bonnie gave his bicep a squeeze. "Just…stay with me. Please? I—I don't fe—feel so good."

Clenching his jaw, he stared at her. "If we were still linked I could have helped you."

She flinched at his words. "Or ended up dead while trying."

Fuck. Fuck this town and its issues, and outsiders thinking they can come in and push us around. Fuck them all. "We're going to get your powers back, okay? I don't care what we have to do."

Swallowing, the little witch turned away from him and wrapped her arms around her waist. "God, I hate this. I hate that I can be so fucken angry at you and still want to run to you when things get out of control. It's not fair! I—I shouldn't still need you."

Ouch. Cut me to the quick. "Yeah but you do. That should tell you something…"

She nodded. "It tells me that I'm stupid."

He snickered. "No baby, it tells you that we're for real here. I mean I say I love Elena but who did I go to when I needed someone? Who do I always go to when I need someone? You."

"Because I'm easy."

"Because you're you."

Bonnie gripped the back of the couch, her knuckles turning white under the pressure. "Maybe but that doesn't change what happened. It doesn't change the fact that Jeremy is right. You don't—you don't respect me. Deserve me. Love me."

He was in front of her so suddenly that she gasped aloud. "Jeremy doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. I might not deserve you but I know what you're capable of. I knew before you got all strong and self-assured of your magic. I once said that you're the only chick that matches me step for step." Pausing, he fenced her in with an arm on either side of her small waist. "I meant that. I've meant everything that I've said to you."

She refused to meet his penetrating gaze. "But you meant what you said to her too."

"This isn't easy for me either, little witch. I wanted to kill you after you destroyed the necklace. Hell I tried to kill you and would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Stefan. I struggled with everything that I started to feel for you to the point where I would have did anything not to feel it anymore." He explained gruffly. "I thought it was a cancer, that it was eating me from the inside out. And the more I tried to stay away, the more I wanted you. Now I don't know how not to want you."

Crystal clear tears rolled down her soft cheek and she made no move to get rid of them this time. "I can't do this." She ducked from under him, moving away, stumbling when he seized her upper arm.

"Why do you keep running away from us?" He inquired, barely shaking her. "You can pretend all you want but we both know the truth. No one else understands your pain like I do. No one understands mine like you do. We might not be connected anymore…but we're locked together."

Her fingers curled into the material of his shirt no doubt scratching the skin underneath. "I can't forgive you. Not without you earning it. I don't care how it—I refuse."

Damon pushed her up against the wall near the fireplace and invaded her bubble so that she couldn't get away. Even without her magic she was still glaring at him with eyes of jade fire as if to say go ahead and try me. You'll be sorry afterwards. "I guess I'm gonna have to earn it then. Aren't I?"

His lips were precariously close to hers when someone clearing their throat made them both look to the left. I'm hallucinating. Jenna put something in the food.

Standing very naked without a single shred of remorse or self-consciousness, with droplets of water streaming down her body from her wet hair was Katherine. She looked quite pleased with herself. "Hello Damon. Not that I want to break up this touching scene right out of a teenage vampire movie, but do you have a robe?"

Speak! Say words now. "…how did you get out?"

She grinned, hands on her hips. "I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah that's exactly what you'd do. Little known fact; originals can compel vampires but as soon as they die, compulsion wears off."

"And you knew?"

"And I'm still here. I didn't run. I meant what I said Damon, I'm going to help you. So…how 'bout that robe? Then you and the witch can get back to audio fucking."

Damon's brows narrowed and he shifted his attention back to Bonnie who was just staring as if she couldn't find the words or strength it took to move at the moment. And here I thought today was interesting. Something tells me tomorrow is gonna blow it out of the water.

~Fin~