There was a familiar wave of warmth in the air as Bonnie stepped off the porch into her back yard. The grass was just as pleasant, her bare feet loving it's blades between her toes. She smiled up at the bright sky, her hand shielding her eyes as she did so. It was a beautiful day today. Perfect for a little family gardening.
Ever since she was a child her Grams had kept an array of flowers and herbs growing in her little backyard garden. It was only in Grams's final days that Bonnie had learned that it had all been to nourish her connection to the Earth. And for neccessary potions her craft. Her mother had also loved to garden Grams had told her. It was a part of the Bennett family heritage.
A tradition she would pass on to her daughter.
"Klaus, can you guys come out here," she called.
Though their child was young, it was never too early to introduce her to family tradition. Behind her she could hear her mate approaching, with him the gentle cooing of their tiny bundle in his arms.
"I was just feeding her lunch," he remarked as he stepped out the door.
"Somebody's a hungry baby isn't she?"
The cutest baby giggle was his answer. Smiling at the sound, Bonnie turned from the garden to face her little family. And felt her body freeze in horror.
Blood. All over Klaus's hands. All over his mouth. All over their baby's mouth.
"W-what did you do?!" she gasped, unable to move in the moment.
Her mate smiled up at her with black veins and bloody fangs.
"I fed her. A growing child needs to feed, right? So she can grow up strong just like her father.
His eyes glowed gold as he glanced back down at their daughter.
"You want to be just like Daddy don't you, Love?"
Their baby cooed giddily in response.
"NO!"
Bonnie rushed over, ready to snatch her child away when she laid eyes on her darling's little face. Blood. All over her lips, dribbling down her chin. Black squiggly veins marring her delicate beauty. Glowing, menacing eyes.
Klaus was laughing a sinister laugh that made her soul cringe. Overwrought, Bonnie covered her face and screamed the only thought to form in her mind.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The next instant, they were gone. So too was the sun, the garden, the warmth of the day. Though she still stood in her backyard, the home had diminished, the wood rotting away. The grass was now brown, what patches remained. And the garden was spoiled and dead.
"What are we going to do with you, Child."
Bonnie's heart stuttered as she spun around to meet the voice.
"Grams?"
She could see her, clear as day. Despite the new, dark undercurrent. Bonnie couldn't help it, she burst into tears.
"Grams, what's happening?"
The deceased witch sighed, a somber expression in place.
"Your mate is happening, Bonnie."
She gestured toward the garden. Then the house. Then at Bonnie's stomach.
"Klaus Mikaelson is poison, Baby. He is death on two legs. If you keep him in your life that death can only spread until it consumes everything you stand for. And everyone you love."
Again she gestured toward Bonnie's abdomen.
The young witch wiped her eyes, still shaken. But she was beginning to understand.
"This a dream," she murmured.
"Because of what Esther said today. My subconscious is still afraid of what Klaus is capable of."
Which meant none of this was real. Not Klaus or her baby. Not the ruins around her. Not even Grams.
"A dream, no. More like a vision. Did you forget you're a Bennett witch? You have the ability of a psychic."
She must've worn a puzzled look on her face because Grams tsked.
"Good lord Child, don't you remember anything we talked about?"
Oh she remembered. She also recalled giving Grams the brush off thinking her claims were ludicrous. How she regretted that now.
"I haven't had a vision in ages."
When was her last vision? Back when the Salvatores were still new in town? Before Klaus? It had been such a while she wasn't sure. When it came to her powers she'd primarily focused on spells and telekinesis. The abilities that would help to defend her friends.
"Doesn't make you any less gifted, Baby. My biggest regret is that I left you before I could really help you blossom as the witch you were born to be. There's so much untapped power within you."
Bonnie felt her eyes welling up again.
"If I could've tapped into that power you would still be alive," she noted.
Not a day went by where she didn't wish for just that. If only she'd listened when Grams had first spoken to her about her witch heritage maybe she would have been farther along by the time she'd needed it.
"It wasn't time yet, Bonnie. Don't blame yourself. A baby has to learn to crawl before she walks. You couldn't expect to be sprinting from the crib."
She still felt no better about it.
"But--"
"Hush, I didn't come to you to hear you blame yourself for things you had no control over. The past is the past. I'm here about what you've got going on now."
She recognized the admonishing gaze. Uh oh.
"Klaus," she already knew.
Had Grams caused this so-called vision? Like Esther, have planted it in her mind?
"I know he's done horrible things. He comes from a family that's done horrible things and I'm not excusing that. But I love him. And maybe that's what he needs to turn himself around. I mean look at who raised him. She was willing to destroy me and her own granddaughter just to punish him. If that's what he's known as love all these years then no wonder he's so screwed up."
Not to mention his father. Esther herself confirmed the man had been abusive toward him.
Grams responded with another patient sigh.
"Yes, his upbringing was tragic and I'm sorry for him but my concern is with you and the child you're carrying. You have to think of her upbringing now and what's best for her."
Bonnie glanced down at her still flat belly.
"I know."
She'd thought about it ever since learning about the new life inside her. That new life was depending on her. Again the vision of the smiling baby with the veins and bloody fangs chilled her.
"You know there's a lot of darkness in the Mikaelson family," her grandmother continued.
"And not just because of the vampire curse. I don't want to see you or my great-granddaughter suffer at the hands of it."
"I won't let that happen," she vowed.
"I'll protect our baby from anything that presents a danger to her."
Grams issued a doubtful gaze.
"Even from her father?"
The visual of Klaus smiling as he'd held their bloody baby.
"...strong just like her daddy..."
Bonnie swallowed hard at that. It wasn't like she hadn't been worried herself over what influence Klaus could have over their daughter but after talking to him that night she'd felt a lot better about the whole parenting thing. He'd shown a lot of love and happiness at the thought of their child. Love that until their mating she would have never guessed he could feel.
But it was there and it was genuine. No way could he do anything to harm their family.
"Klaus won't be a problem. With me in his life now I can tame him. I can make him see that there's a way to live without bloodshed. Even as a vampire. Like Caroline and Stefan."
Grams frowned.
"Caroline didn't spend a millenium taking human lives."
No she hadn't. And unlike Stefan or Klaus she hadn't murdered a parent either.
"Okay, but Stefan turned around."
That earned another frown.
"He's tried..." Grams shook her head, sympathy on her face at the mention of him.
Bonnie recalled hearing he'd befriended Grams's sister back in the day.She wondered how close he'd grown to the Bennett family before her own birth.
"But Stefan's not the father of my great-granddaughter. And a leopard can't change its spots, Baby. Especially not after hundreds of years."
Again, Bonnie would've cosigned with that assessment had she not seen into the Original earlier. Klaus had a soul. A heart craving to be loved and to love in return.
"But I got through to him," she argued, "if you could see how different he's been with me. He tended to my wound when I cut myself, healed me when I used too much magic and he broke through my barrier when Esther had a hold of me."
Grams didn't appear too moved.
"All in the interest of having you, I'm sure."
Bonnie had to make her see.
"It's more than that. When I told him about the baby do you know what he said? He said he wanted her to be just like me. Loyal and good. And he meant it."
Grams sighed.
"He loves me. If you sift through his imperfections and past crimes you can see that."
"Baby, I never said he wasn't capable of love. I'm sure in his lifespan he's loved at least once or twice."
Bonnie felt a twinge of something sour at that statement. She didn't want to think of Klaus loving someone else. Klaus was hers.
"And I don't doubt that he loves you. That mark he gave you says enough."
Bonnie touched her neck at the mention of her mating mark. She felt her and Klaus's connection and warmed.
"But just because someone loves you doesn't mean he's good for you. Remember, you have an innocent child to think about as well as yourself. A child strong enough to be used to nearly kill you while still in the womb. What do you think is going to happen after she's born? She's going to be even more powerful and just like Klaus could sense it with you, other vampires and dark covens will sense it with her. They'll seek her out for their own purposes. She'll have a responsibility to hold herself to a higher standard, to not allow herself to be used or manipulated by those dark forces like so many witches have been. Especially in our family."
Like Emily, who'd died because of it. Or her distant cousin Lucy.
"How is she supposed to fight that darkness and value her heritage being raised by a father who thrives on it? Who uses it to gain control over others? Like he did with that Greta Martin girl."
If she were a wolf, Bonnie would've growled at the mention of Greta. Bitch had tried to take her mate, her friends and her life. She would not let her off the hook.
"Greta made her own choices," she bit off.
Her grandmother didn't disagree.
"Yes she did. But what do you think would have become of her had she never met Klaus Mikaelson? Had she never been seduced by his charm and his power and his promises? I don't have to tell you how alluring a man like him is for a young woman of the craft. Even before today you were curious about him. I've been watching."
Grams gave her a knowing look and Bonnie blushed.
"I always hated him before today."
"Child if that were true you would have never given yourself to him. You can lie to yourself but you can't lie to me."
The young witch's faced burned hotter and she had to find her feet.
"It's understandable. The appeal of that kind of power and strength in a man could entice any witch. Especially one with your capabilities. Power attracts power. And that accent of his couldn't have made it any easier for you."
Klaus did have a nice accent.
"At the end of the day you're still a young red-blooded woman. Like my great-granddaughter will some day be. So what happens when a man just like her father shows up eighteen years from now? A man who's willing to use and abuse her magic the way Klaus did with Greta?"
That brought Bonnie's eyes back to hers.
"Our daughter will be smarter than that," she promised.
"We'll teach her to be."
"By her mother's example? Or her father's?"
That shook Bonnie and she lost her words momentarily. She couldn't deny Klaus's past. Greta couldn't have been the first witch he'd used. But she knew in the present and the oncoming future that would not be an issue.
"He's dangerous," Grams stated.
"He's changing," Bonnie countered, "Give him time."
"Is he?"
The askance in her tonehad the young witch defensive.
"I stopped him from killing Tyler. He saved Caroline and he even healed Damon without my having to tell him to. Baby steps yes but considering he's phasing and that it's barely been a day that's major progress. It won't erase what he's done but it shows he's willing to put forth the effort."
"And where is he now, Bonnie?"
She raised her brows at the question. The last thing she remembered was hugging him... from his lap...after they'd...
But she wasn't going to say that to Grams!
"He's home with me."
"Are you sure about that?"
She was...or at least she had been. Something in the matriarch's tone however had her now questioning.
"I trust him Grams. He's my mate," she insisted.
Grams actually appeared saddened by that remark.
"Yes, he is. But you still don't know where your mate is right now."
Bonnie felt her chest tighten withuncertainty.
"Did Klaus explain the extent of this werewolf mating? The connection between the two of you?"
That was a question she could answer.
"We're mated for life. Bound to each other. If anything happens to me he'll lose his mind. Literally," she summarized his speech back in the caves.
Another reason to hate Esther for attempting to put him through such Hell.
"That's about it but it goes deeper than that. Your souls are connected by the bond. The magic in you knows the magic in him that makes him what he is. It's all intertwined now. Which means you will always be able to find him through your bond."
She motioned toward Bonnie's exposed neck. To her mating mark.
"Through that."
Conscious of the brand, Bonnie reached up to touch it. The wound had long healed and there was no pain. But the pattern of Klaus's fangs was permanent.
Since when had her Grams become an expert on wolf mating bonds? She hadn't seen anything at all about wolves in her grimoire much less mating with one. She started to ask when Grams repeated the initial question.
"So where is he now, Bonnie?"
A sense of unease filled her.
"You want me to find him."
Because wherever he was or whatever he was doing Grams felt was bad enough to change her mind about her mate.
"I want you to see the truth. To protect yourself and your daughter."
"From Klaus."
"From him, from his family, from his enemies. From all of the darkness that surrounds him."
Bonnie felt a searing pang in her chest at the implication of a life without Klaus in it.
"I'll protect us. And I'll protect him too."
Even from himself if it came to that. But she was NOT going to lose him.
"Baby you're not getting it. The best way to protect your family is to remove the danger altogether. Mate or not."
The same pain sharpened and Bonnie shook her head.
"I'll never abandon him. But even if I wanted to, you just said our souls are connected. It would be impossible."
"To break the mating bond yes. But there are other ways to incapacitate anOriginal. There's a spell that your mo--"
Before she could finish, the world around them suddenly quaked.The sky took on a worried reddish glow.
"What's happening?!"
Grams seemed just as startled for a moment.
"I don't--something's wrong. The balance in your psychic energy is off."
Off like how?
"Are you saying this is me?"
Another quake had her grasping for purchase.
"Grams!"
"This is your dream world, Bonnie. Your gift that's allowing us to communicate. Any disturbance would have to come directly from you."
"But how? I'm not doing anything!"
Grams was suddenly staring at her in surprise. Specifically at her abdomen.
"No, you're not are you?"
The harsher tremor and her grandmother along with the world around them began to fade before her eyes.
"You're waking up, Baby."
No, not yet!
"But I don't want to! Grams!"
"Looks like our little dumpling is going to be a Daddy's girl..."
Just like at the Salvatore place earlier, she felt the panic of losing her again.
"Grams please!"
Her wise lips moved, barely audible as she continued to fade.
"...take care..."
Then it was all gone, the yard, the dark sky, Grams. Bonnie sat up to find herself in a dark bedroom she recognized as her own. She was in bed, naked and tucked warmly under her blanket. Beside her, the space was empty.
"Klaus?"
No answer. That wasn't what she was expecting.
"Klaus?"
Shakenly she climbed out of bed and grabbed her robe from the hook on her door. As she tied it around herself, she ventured through the hallway for any sign of her mate. Surely with his hybrid hearing he'd have heard her call. And based on his behavior since their mating he wouldn't ignore her.
Which meant he wasn't here.
Bonnie searched the house, just to be sure but already knowing she wouldn't find him. After confirmation, she made her way to the kitchen and fixed a glass of water. Taking slow sips, she contemplated the dream she'd just had. Was it real? Had she in fact spoken to Grams?
She couldn't kid herself. This wasn't her first vision. And Grams had been correct when she'd implied that Klaus was not home with her.
"And where is he now Bonnie?"
A sour feeling hit her stomach.He wouldn't be out feeding on people. Not after tonight. Not after the baby...But he wasn't here. And she still had no idea where he was. The only clues to his whereabouts lie in the horrible dream vision. Bonnie didn't want to revisit it.
"And where is he now Bonnie?"
But she had no choice. Not if she wanted to find him. Not if she wanted to figure out what was going on.The thought of using her mating mark as Grams had instructed occured to her but a rise of bile in her throat prevented it. After what she'd seen in her dream with the baby and the blood she wasn't sure if she could handle another vision at the moment.
But she had to know. She hurried through the living room where just hours earlier she and Klaus had made passionate love. The shreds of the clothing both he and she'd worn were still about the floor.The reminder made her whole body heat.
Pushing it aside she continued back to her room. If she was going to attempt to spark a vision she'd need the grimoire for guidance. Visions weren't exactly her strength. But she would try. For her mate. Wherever Klaus was, she would find him.
0_0
"So you used to know him," Damon remarked.
"Big whoop. You also used to consider acid washed jeans a fashion statement. We grow out of bad habits. Now come on let's go."
Stefan shook his head, still gawking at Klaus in surprise. He'd taken a seat at the table to collect his bearings but hadn't stopped staring at the hybrid. Klaus seemed tickled by it, a satisfied grin on his blood-stained lips.
"He's not going anywhere. Are you, Ripper?"
He shuddered at the shame he felt at hearing that name. And even more at the part of his mind that still loved it.
"Stop calling him that!" Damon wasn't happy about it either.
By the door, Tyler made it to his feet but didn't come any closer.
"I need a bathroom," he murmured before staggering off.
The vampires ignored him.
"You and I...we were..." Stefan tried to peice through the conflicting emotions that came with his memories.
"We were friends."
He didn't just recall the images but also the feelings along with them. Feelings of acceptance, of kinship, of satisfaction as together they'd toyed with their food. When he was like that, he was a true monster. Not even Damon could hang. But Klaus? Klaus had been equally as depraved.
"Like brothers," the Original confirmed.
Damon had heard enough.
"He's got a brother. One that doesn't have to lift his leg when he pees."
He took Stefan's arm forcefully.
"We're leaving. Now."
The weight of the revelation had him too stunned to object when Damon yanked him from his seat. His feet slipped in the spilled blood but his brother kept a bone-crushing grip. He wasn't letting him go.
"I can unlock even more memories if you'd like, Stefan."
Apparently neither was Klaus.
"Like the time you confided how lost you felt when Damon abandoned you after you both first turned."
Damon tensed, spinning back on the hybrid with vampspeed.
"You were newly immortal and didn't want to face eternity without your big brother," Klaus continued, hitting a raw nerve within both Salvatores.
"I understood because I too had a big brother I was close to. Elijah and I may have our differences but knowing he's still around always gives me comfort."
"Really, is that why you daggered him?" Damon remarked.
Klaus lifted a brow.
"And have you not staked your own brother a few times?"
Stefan managed to regain his balance as Damon stalked up to the sitting Original.
"You don't know shit about me and my brother!"
"Only what Stefan disclosed to me in the confidence of our friendship," hybrid eyes met green again and the younger Salvatore felt their past connection.
"In fact, we were actually in the middle of having a conversation before you and that whelp showed up. So if you would kindly leave us to continue it would be greatly appreciated."
His cool tone contrasted the polite words. The flash of golden iris was a reminder that Klaus was still a wolf in heat phase. His temper could snap at any time. As it had before the bartender. Hoping to avoid another occurence, Stefan forced himself to find his voice.
"D-Damon, can you give us a minute?"
His brother tightened his grip.
"No way in hell!"
He hadn't seen Damon this protective of him since back in their human years.
"Look, I get your concern after everything we've been through with Klaus...but I just need to talk to him, to sort this out."
"What's there to sort? You knew him when you were a blood-crazed ripper and now he wants you to be that again. Or do you not see the leftovers lying around us right now?"
Oh he saw them. And smelled them too. Stefan unconsciously licked his lips at the reminder.
"This isn't up for debate," Damon shut down any hope of cooperation. "We're going home."
His grip clenched harder for emphasis. A human bone would have broken under the pressure.
"Okay, okay," it was best to relent when he went all big brother like that.
"I'll go with you but I need to speak with Klaus first," Stefan glanced back at the wolf in question.
"Can you just give me five minutes?"
The hybrid was glaring at Damon, none too appreciative of his attempt at intervention. The gold was slowly dimming in his eyes but hadn't quite faded. It was clear that the vampire's presence was a trigger. Just like at the school when Klaus had nearly ripped his heart out of his chest. Stefan cautiously placed himself between the two as a barrier.
"You've lost your mind if you think--"
He cut his big brother off.
"Five minutes. Just to talk."
He let his eyes communicate how dire this situation could get. They both knew Klaus could be volatile on any given day but for the next couple of days it was not a good idea to test him. Especially without Bonnie nearby for back-up.
"Then we can go, all right?"
Damon wasn't thrilled, but he seemed to get the message. There was no beating a phasing Klaus on their own.
"Fine," he hissed through clenched teeth.
"Five minutes. But the blood buffet has to go."
A part of Stefan that he fought to ignore inwardly hissed at the stipulation. He wanted the humans near with their warm bodies and deliciously pumping veins...
But the conscious part of him was thankful to rid himself of the temptation. At the moment only two things kept him from immediately digging into a nearby redhead chatting at her table. 1)His current guilt at the carnage he'd caused and 2) fear for his brother's safety if he tried to stop him again.
And just maybe a third reason only a ripper would understand.
They taste so much better when they struggle.
He shuddered again, the guilt weighing heavier at that thought.
"Done," Klaus answered without a fuss.
"No point in keeping compliant snacks around. They're a lot tastier when they try to fight back am I right?"
Stefan swallowed hard, hating how much he agreed.
"All right, everyone listen up!" Klaus caught the entire bar's attention.
"Go home and forget what you saw here. You were very intoxicated tonight and blacked out."
The silent pawns stood and began herding out casually as if there was no blood pooling in the center of the place.
"Be sure to watch your step," Klaus cautioned. "You wouldn't want to step in the mess."
No one nodded, but they continued to obey. It didn't take long until the room was cleared out save the three vampires.
"Five minutes," Damon warned.
"Then we're out of here."
Klaus gestured for the two of them to sit. While Stefan took up the offer, his brother stubbornly remained standing.
"So what more would you like to know?"
Stefan cleared his throat.
"Everything."
0_0
Tyler splashed another handful of water on his face, trying to clear away the nausea. He'd never seen such a gruesome act up close before. The image wouldn't leave his mind. Stefan--the "good" Salvatore had mangled a person's throat until the head fell off. Twice. Right in front of him. The blood scent clung thick in his nose.
He wished his heat hadn't made his sense of smell even sharper. And he wished he'd never followed Damon out here to this bar tonight.
I'm not going back out there.
Not with that smell, not with those bodies. Not with those vampires responsible for the bodies. He rested his back against the wall allowing the sound of the running water to soothe him. Still queasy he slid downward until he was on the floor.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
The whole point of finding Stefan was to see if he could help a struggling wolf control his urges. But it was clear that Stefan couldn't even handle his own.
Of course he was sure Klaus had everything to do with that. Once again the hybrid was wreaking havoc in their small town. Just wracking up bodies like some kind of bloodsport.
How could Bonnie be mated to him?
She belongs to Klaus. She is his.
Tyler closed his eyes, dropped his head back into the wall in a resigned thud.
Stefan was back on the blood, Klaus was facilitating his victims and the both of them were out of control. They had to be stopped.
"I can take Stefan."
He had in the woods. When the vampire had interrupted his battle against Klaus he'd snapped the his neck with little effort. Tyler was sure he could do it again. And something told him that under tonight's circumstances Damon wouldn't object.
But then there was Klaus.
I have to stop attacking Klaus.
Now that his fever over Bonnie had seemed to clear he was no longer blinded by hormones. He recognized that he couldn't take the Original. His wolf recognized the stronger beast.
Besides, he had to stop attacking Klaus.
Briefly Tyler considered Damon, a partnership just this once. The whole "enemy of my enemy" thing but he remembered their scuffle outside of school earlier and then again at the caves. Damon would end up with a gaping hole in his chest where his heart belonged. He didn't have the juice to take on the hybrid either.
Only one person did. But she was most likely in bed asleep at this godawful hour. Certainly unaware that her psycho boyfriend had unleashed the Ripper of Monterey on Mystic Falls.
Bonnie would never stand for that.
Too bad she wasn't here right now.
Too bad he had no way of reaching her. His phone was as gone as Klaus's humanity at this point. The last he'd used it had been when Care had called him just before his heat had driven him to the tombs.
"All right, everyone listen up!" he heard Klaus announcing through the walls.
"Go home and forget what you saw here. You were very intoxicated tonight and blacked out."
Was he letting everyone go?
"Be sure to watch your step. You wouldn't want to step in the mess."
This had to be a ploy. Like when he'd let the bartender flee before letting Stefan tear into him. No way was Klaus actually going to let all of those people go. But sound of the swinging door and accompanying footfalls begged to differ.
Shocked and confused, Tyler peeked out of the bathroom to find the silent crowd filing out like obedient sheep.
What was Klaus up to?
He spotted Damon glaring at the hybrid. Stefan taking a seat across from him at the table. Klaus was just as smug as usual as he asked;
"So what more would you like to know?"
Whatever it was must be major to get Damon to shut up. He contemplated if he should listen in too or take advantage of this moment of distraction.
If I can get to a phone while they're running their mouths then I can reach Bonnie.
There had to be a back door. He could slip out, borrow someone's phone and alert her of the situation her demonspawned Hell mate had created here. Then maybe she'd whammy him, seal him up somewhere and they could deal with Stefan without his interference.
Keeping his eyes peeled, Tyler slipped out of the bathroom and headed in the opposite direction. From this angle he was only visible to Damon should the vampire glance his way. He passed the Ladies room and another door his nose told him lead to the cleaning supply closet before rounding the corner. There he found the exit sign lit in green.
Perfect!
He pressed on the door, careful not to make a sound and attract the attention of the three vampires with their sonic hearing. It clicked before groaning open.
Well so much for stealth.
Not that it was loud but any wolf or vampire could've heard it without a jukebox and crowd to mask the noise. If they were paying attention. Which after a moment he realized they were not. Klaus's story must be super interesting.
Outside, Tyler frowned at the smell of the dumpster as he checked left and right for the way to the front parking lot. He found it in no time and made his way up to the departing patrons.
"Hey," he approached the closest couple.
"Can I use your phone?"
