Bonnie sat across from Kai in the coffee shop. She took in the newly minted coven leaders' appearance. For all intents and purposes, he looked just like any other normal 20 something. Nobody would ever guess that he was actually nearing 40 and had just finished serving an almost two-decade long imprisonment sentence. To the world at large, they looked like an ordinary couple grabbing a quick bite to eat.

Bonnie shook her head to steer it from the path that it was leading down, she didn't want to linger on that thought. Kai was still babbling on about going into the 1904 prison world, as if they were in school, and it was just a field trip.

"C'mon, it'll be fun." He cajoled.

"No." Bonnie finally spoke up.

Kai didn't let up, "Haven't you ever wanted to go back in time?"

Bonnie frowned, "Okay, first of all, I'm black, so that time period is a no go." He cocked his head in acceptance of that. "Second, I wasn't saying no to going with you. I'm saying no to going at all." Bonnie finished in a rush.

Kai held a fry suspended in mid-air, "What?"

Bonnie took a deep breath, "When my magic first started presenting itself, it was through vision, dreams actually." She corrected herself. "I didn't even know I was a witch, so I didn't put much stock in them, but eventually they all came true, and I learned the hard way to at least pay attention to them."

Kai put down his fry, "You had a dream about this?" He asked seriously.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, it's not going to end well." She looked down at the table, not wanting him to see the turmoil in her eyes, "So I'm saying no to going."

"You know I have to ask why." Kai sat back.

Bonnie leaned forward, "I know you already have the ascendant." She gestured to his jacket pocket, enjoying the brief shocked look on his face. "I know why Lily was locked up, and I know what and who are locked up with her." She sat back and watched him digest her words.

"What else?" He reached for his drink.

I stab you and leave you there to be food for six hungry heretics.

You snap and kill your sister and coven.

You bind my life to Elena.

Damon chops your head off and sends you to hell.

Bonnie cleared her throat nervously, "Other stuff, but that is the most important thing I'm looking to change."

"And you think your buddy Damon is going to be okay with leaving his mother there?" Kai said slowly.

Bonnie shook her head, "I know he won't be. Which is why we need to destroy the ascendant."

"That won't stop him." Kai warned.

Bonnie spread her hands on the table, "I know, and that's the real reason I agreed to meet you here." Kai mimics her pose and places his hands on the table as well, leaning in closer to catch every word.

"I'm not….you know I don't…." Bonnie began haltingly before deciding to just lay it on the line, "I'm not the most versed in magic." She looked up to meet his eyes, expecting to find amusement or derision at her inexperience. To her surprise, he's portraying neither, keeping his face devoid of all emotion.

She takes a breath to continue, "I barely know what I'm doing half the time, and even though somehow I've managed to make it this far, it's still a mess. I've seen how this turns out, and it's not good for anybody. Regardless of what Damon thinks, letting his mother out ends in disaster, and for once, I'm not going to just stand by and wait for the destruction."

"So what's the plan, Bonster?"

"Do you know a spell for forgetting?" Bonnie rushed out.

"Forgetting?" He frowned in thought.

"I know just saying no won't cut it. Simply destroying the ascendant won't do it either. Even if I refuse to hand over my blood, they've proven that they can get ahold of my cousin Lucy, and I would like to keep them far away from the little bit of family that I have left." She shrugged. "I know Damon won't ever let it go. So, the best option is to make them forget. I don't want them to ever remember that I came back with a camcorder."

Kai was silent for a moment before leaning forward once more, "Do I need to be worried about my coven, Bonnie?" The fact that he'd used her actual name and not a nickname told her that he was genuinely worried.

"Not from me." Bonnie said honestly.

After leaving the café, Bonnie sought out Caroline. Her non-humanity-ness would come in handy in getting everyone in one spot in order to do the spell.

"What do I get out of this?" The blonde asks as she held up various outfits for her perusal.

"Well, for one" Bonnie starts, "I'll get the others to leave you alone." At Caroline's surprised look, Bonnie nods, "For the entire year if you want."

"Why?" Caroline turns to face Bonnie.

"Because I know what it's like to want to not feel anything." Bonnie simply says, "I don't get to do that, but that doesn't mean that you can't."

Caroline looks like she's thinking about something before giving her head a minute shake and turning back to the mirror. "You mean witches don't have a spell for that?"

Bonnie outright laughs, "Oh trust me, with the way I've felt sometimes in this godforsaken town, you do not want me doing that spell."

"Maybe it'll do you some good." Caroline shrugs, "You know, get that stick out of your ass, and show that you're not a pushover." The vampire claps her hands in glee, "C'mon Bonnie, think about it. No more feeling sad, or alone. Just you doing whatever you want. It would be epic!" Caroline knelt by Bonnie's bed, "Besides, even if people had an issue with it, you're a powerful witch, who's going to stop you?"

Bonnie closed her eyes briefly, that did sound great. No worries, no cares. No supposed best friends calling with a request up their sleeve. No feeling guilty about something that hasn't even happened yet.

Or feelings at all about a certain brand new coven leader.

"As nice as that would be, I have a few things to do that require my emotions." Bonnie pushed past Caroline on her way out. "You know what you have to do, right?"

The baby vamp rolled her eyes, "Yes, I got it. Pretend like seeing you has jump started my cold dead heart and tell them that I want to turn it back on, but I need everyone around me for support." She rolled her eyes, "although I'm pretty sure nobody is going to believe that crap."

"You'd be surprised at what they're willing to believe." Bonnie answered, "I mean, you all believed I was traveling with my mother all summer when I was dead, remember?" She closed the door on Caroline's gasp of outrage.

Bonnie had been sure that everyone was in the boardinghouse. She had verified with Caroline that the entire group including Alaric and Enzo were accounted for, and had even done a scan of the home to make sure.

So how in the hell was she watching Damon appear from the damn trees?"

Bonnie yelled out a warning to Kai, but it was too late. He was too focused on the spell to destroy the ascendant, and as such, didn't notice Damon was there until the furious vampire was standing directly in front of him, eyes black with rage and fangs extended.

"You really thought you were smart enough to screw me over, Parker?"

Before Bonnie could react, Damon moved, quick as lightening to snatch the ascendant from Kai's hands.

"Damon, no!" Bonnie yelled as she uncloaked herself. She only got a quick view of his surprised face before she shot a hand out and magically snapped his neck. He crumpled to the ground in an ungainly mess.

Bonnie leaned over to retrieve the ascendant that fell to the ground and turned to face Kai, "You'd better hurry up, I don't know how long-" She trailed off as she noticed Kai hunched over, his arms wrapped around his waist as if he were holding himself together, 'Kai?"

She stepped closer, unwilling to get within arms reach. She hadn't forgotten how painful it felt to be siphoned, and wasn't looking forward to getting a refresher.

Kai groaned and let out a choked, "Bon" before collapsing. He hit the ground on his side before rolling onto his back. Bonnie gasped, his hands were crimson red, and the previous blindingly white shirt was rapidly changing color as well.

"Oh my god." Forgoing all thought of being siphoned, Bonnie dropped to her knees next to his body. She lifted his shirt to find a gash across his stomach, most likely from where Damon had reached out to grab the ascendant.

Bonnie got to work; she dropped the device and ignored the blood that pooled on and around Kai's body. She placed her hands on his skin, closed her eyes, and started chanting the first healing spell that came to mind. The wind picked up, making her hair dance around as she felt her magic wake up and respond to her fervent call for help.

Her eyes shot open and flew down to meet his as she felt Kai's hands and voice join hers in saying the spell. Slivers of Gemini magic leeched from his form and rose to wind it's way around her Bennett magic, both working in tandem to meet a common goal. Bonnie tried but failed to look away, the feeling of their intertwined magic was something that she was not ready to handle. It was too much, too intimate.

It felt like she had finally found what she had been looking for all these years.

It felt like belonging.

It felt like home.

The spell ended, but neither moved to withdraw their hands. Bonnie noticed they were both breathing heavier than usual. Normally she would have chalked it up to simple exertion from the spell, but she knew that wasn't the only reason.

She willed herself to look down at his abdomen, checking to make sure the spell worked. She flexed her fingers and ran her hands across the place where minutes before, he had been cut and bleeding out. As her hands ran over the planes of his stomach, all she felt was smooth, unmarred skin.

She heard his breath hitch as she performed her examination and looked up in alarm, thinking that maybe they had stopped the spell too soon, but the expression on his face wasn't one of pain.

Well, not that kind of pain.

Bonnie lifted her hands, intending to draw them back to her side when Kai stopped her. He firmly placed them back onto his still bare stomach, entwining his bloody fingers with hers.

They stayed like that, hands linked on his stomach. Him breathing and her feeling him breathe, each breath growing more and more ragged until Bonnie thinks she's about to burst with tension. His stomach muscles bunch between their hands as he sits up to face her head on.

Bonnie weakly tugged at her hands again, but the only thing that accomplished was their fingers sliding against each other, now drenched in his blood.

"Why do you keep trying to run away?" Kai asked softly.

"Because the last time we were this close, you stabbed me." Bonnie answered just as quietly.

"Did it scar?" At her nod, his eyes lowered. She lifted their joined hands to the area where she has spent entirely too much time looking at in the mirror. He ran a thumb over the injury, even though her shirt was in the way. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Bonnie challenges. His gaze flies back up to her face, searching her eyes for something.

"I really am." He leans forward to rest his head against hers, "I'm sorry. I wanted out so bad that I didn't care if I went through you to do it." He pulls his hands from hers and reaches under her shirt, hands smearing his blood all over her skin as his fingers seek out the raised skin of her scar.

Instead of slapping him silly, Bonnie places her hands on his shoulders, allowing him more room to smooth his palms up her sides. He traces her scar as he continues speaking. "I never wanted to hurt you, you know? I wanted you to come with me."

"Funny way of showing it." She replied.

"Yeah, I'm not the best at rejection." He ran a hand up her back. "I swear, nothing like that will ever happen again."

"You can't promise that, Kai." Bonnie said sadly.

"At least let me try?" He pleaded in her ear.

Whatever Bonnie was about to say was drowned out by Damon groaning. Bonnie hurriedly extracted herself from Kai's grip and stood nervously. Kai was slower to his feet, making sure to grab the ascendant as he got up.

"What the fuck, Bonnie?" Damon glowered in her direction. "You snapped my neck?"

"Yes." She faced the seething vampire head on, "I'm not getting your mother out of that prison world."

"What? Why?" Damon's eyes bulged.

"She's a ripper, Damon." Bonnie explained.

"What…how?" He stopped, took a deep breath, and tried again. "Did he tell you that?" He jabbed a finger in Kai's direction.

"No, I saw it." Bonnie figured she could at least try and reason with him, they were supposed to be friends now, right? "Letting her out, does more harm than good, and you end up killing her in the end anyway, so why even go through all that?"

"Was this like a vision or something?" He scoffed at her nod, "Because your visions have always been so accurate." He said snidely.

"Jesus Christ, Damon. I'm telling you that this will end in disaster." Bonnie threw up her hands, "but you don't give a shit. All you care about is what you want." Bonnie said in disbelief, "As usual."

She turned to Kai, "Light it up. I'm not going through all that crap just because he's suddenly developed a need for his mommy."

"Bonnie." Damon growled, before getting himself under control once more, "Can't we talk about this, don't I get a vote?"

"Like I got a vote before you and Stefan killed and turned Abby?"

Damon sucked in an unneeded breath, "Is that what this is all about? You're getting back at me for making a decision that saved Elena? Someone who has actually been in your life, and didn't abandon you?"

"If I were getting back at you, I would just let Lily loose." Bonnie spat back, "Then you'd see how right I am about her being a monster. She doesn't care about you or Stefan. We all discovered that just a little too late."

Damon approached her, "Okay, wait. We know all this now, we can avoid it. We can only let my mother out-"

"You are not listening to me." Bonnie shook her head. "Nobody is leaving that prison world."

"You expect me to just let this go?" Damon said incredulously. "My mother is-'

"Where she belongs." Bonnie interrupted. "I'm sorry Damon, really. I never would have shown you that tape if I'd known what she really was, believe me. I know what it's like to want a mother in your life."

Bonnie could hear Kai chanting behind her, could feel the magic gathering in the air.

Damon tried one last time, "Elena was looking forward to meeting my mother. What are you going to tell her? That you changed your mind?"

Bonnie felt a pang in her heart that she had become so predictable that Damon really thought that using Elena would get her to relent. She couldn't fault him for it though, it had worked like a charm in the past. Every single time she'd said no, either he or Stefan would pull out the magic word and she would crumble.

Not this time.

"She's not going to say anything because she won't remember. None of you will."

The meaning of Bonnie's words seemed to hit him just as the ascendant burst into flames. He lunged at Kai, and Bonnie used his distraction to let loose an incapacitation spell that she'd gotten from her grandmother's grimoire.

Between both of their magic, they managed to get him back to the boarding house where everyone else had gathered.

"Damon?" Elena hurried over to lean over his prone form, "What happened to him?"

"Bonnie's got blood on her shirt, and you're asking about Damon?" Caroline asked, letting out a short laugh. "Wow."

Bonnie didn't respond, she looked to Kai and nodded. The spell was beautiful in its simplicity, it simply removed all traces of Lily from everyone's mind. Every thought, no matter how small, was erased. Bonnie knew Stefan kept a journal, so she'd altered the spell to add in written mentions as well. She couldn't do anything about Jo knowing, but Kai had given his word that he would bind her and any other Gemini that knew to secrecy on the subject.

As far as anyone besides Bonnie and Kai now knew, Bonnie came back and that was that.

"Bonnie! Come on, let's go." Caroline honked the horn in the car obnoxiously. Bonnie rolled her eyes as she locked her front door. She bent down to lug the last of her suitcases down to the car, but Damon was there lifting them before she could grab the handle.

"I still don't like the idea of you taking off with a no humanity Barbie vamp." He grumbled as he tossed her bags in the back.

"Well, I said that I was going to handle Caroline, and this is how I want to handle her." Bonnie replied. "Besides, it'll do us some good to get out of Mystic Falls for a while, maybe somewhere along the way she'll find the will to turn it back on by herself." Bonnie personally didn't think so, but she needed to say something to ease their fears.

"Well, call if you ever need any help." Damon closed the back of the rented SUV. Caroline wanted to travel in style, and Bonnie figured she'd deal with the fallout of the waste of money when Caroline was back to herself.

Elena was leaning in the window of the driver's side trying to talk to the baby vamp, but found her comments falling on deaf ears. Caroline pulled her shades down over her eyes, and rolled up her window on the brunette. Elena turned to Bonnie with a frown, "Are you sure you can handle being alone with her? I can rush home and pack real quick."

"No, Lena, we're gonna be good, I promise." Bonnie smiled and embraced her, sometimes she caught glimpses of her childhood friend peeking through. Not enough to get her to stay, but just enough to hope that their time away would be a wake-up call.

Bonnie jumped in the car and signaled to Caroline that she was ready. The blonde graced her with a beaming smile, "About time, let's get this show on the road!" And with that, they were off.

They'd just gotten to the state line when Bonnie's phone buzzed:

If you're ever in Portland...