Author's Notes: A little calm before the final torrential downpour that's coming! We're so close to the end, everyone and I'm so excited. I'm already outlining another BonKai novel and will begin that one as soon as this one's complete. Thanks for all the support thus far.

"Here, I know you haven't been eating," Caroline said softly, setting a blood bag and a steaming cup of coffee down in front of Bonnie.

The hybrid smiled gratefully and fiddled with the top of the plastic bag before taking a long drink. After she'd downed almost half of it, she took in a breath and shifted until her legs were tucked under her. Having spent the better part of the night spread out over the dining room table of the Mikaelson Manor, her legs were starting to stiffen from the lack of movement. A casual observer would have assumed she was working tirelessly on creating offensive spells against Joseph and his followers, but Caroline knew that the only thing on Bonnie's mind was the man currently tied up in a cell down in the basement.

"Stefan called Damon," the young vampire began. "To fill him in on what's been going on here."

"Oh?" She was barely paying any mind, but didn't want to be rude to her friend. She tried to busy herself with the stack of books in front of her.

"Stefan asked him to come here."

That comment actually did capture her attention. Bonnie's eyes snapped over to her companion. "Damon being here is only going to complicate things. Kai hates him. How would it help to have somebody so volatile show up when we're trying to get him to remember that he's a good person?"

"I know, but we have to think past him, Bonnie. It's only a matter of time before Joseph makes his next move. And now we've got Kai's people gunning for us, too. We need all the bodies we can get."

She had to concede to Caroline's point. They'd made a lot of enemies yesterday. In the coven's eyes, Bonnie was a traitor, kidnapping their fearless coven leader. It was only a matter of time before they found the manor, cloaked as it was.

"Surprised he'd grace us with his presence."

"Damon's a dick, yes, but when it comes to Stefan's safety, he tends to put aside his assholeness...temporarily." She giggled a bit and took a sip from her own coffee mug. A hand slipped forward to lay on top of Bonnie's, squeezing affectionately. "Freya and Liv are out getting supplies, so it's just us on this floor right now. You wanna talk about it?"

Usually, it was a part of the witch's M.O. to deflect, but she didn't have the will for it today. The last 24 hours had taken a lot out of her, physically and mentally. So instead of changing the subject, she sighed and propped her chin on her palms. "I wanna go down there so bad, Care. But I know Stefan is doing his torture-to-get-your-humanity-back-on dance and I can't bear to see it."

It is hard to watch," Caroline agreed, having witnessed the grotesque process at one point as well. To be fair, she could even say it was hard to experience since her father had done something similar to her years ago. "But it's what's best. And if there's anybody that can figure out Kai's trigger, it's Stefan."

"He has so much hatred for me, Care...I swear I'm starting to forget what his love feels like." Her words were tinny, tired, the magnitude of the last day weighing heavily on her shoulders.

"And that's why you're fighting as hard as you are, so you can know what it feels like again," the vampire stated encouragingly, knowing that Bonnie no longer needed any lectures. "He's going to turn it back on and then we'll have him back and we can finish off Joseph and his followers."

"You're being so supportive," the darker-skinned woman said with a chuckle. "Didn't you tell me I might have to kill him?"

"I was never not supportive of the BonKai love," she chided. "But I had to be your voice of reason just in case you weren't thinking clearly." She yelped when Bonnie playfully pinched her side. "Come on, Bon. I'm the last person who would judge you for who you love and what you do for that love. We're supernatural, super powerful beings with heightened emotions. You understand what the situation is; you know what you might have to do. I don't have to tell you at this point."

Bonnie was silent for a moment, absorbing Caroline's words and trying to build the courage to ask a question that'd been hanging in the corner of her brain. A question that she had been too afraid to ask herself let alone another person. "Care...do you think we'll be able to come back from this?"

Now that the question was out, she regretted asking it immediately. This was too real. It was out there now. Her doubts were laid bare for the world to see.

To her credit, the younger woman didn't seem overly perplexed or even surprised by the question. In fact, it seemed like she'd made that same inquiry herself, once upon a time.

Caroline took the time to think through her words before speaking, knowing that Bonnie was feeling especially vulnerable. "I wish I could answer that for you, Bon, I do. But your thoughts are the only ones that matter. You've hurt each other so deeply throughout this time. But once he turns it back on and the playing field is level, you can decide how you both feel. Maybe you'll be so relieved he's back that you'll be okay with everything that's transpired. Maybe he'll be able to let go of the pain he has in regards to you. There's no way I could even guess."

That wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, so she prodded further. "You forgave Stefan, didn't you?"

"I did," Caroline replied, dragging out the second word, "but we weren't together yet. I was forgiving a friend, not a lover." Seeing her companion deflate, she quickly tried to amend her statement. "But Elena forgave Stefan because she understood that he wasn't himself when he turned it off, that she couldn't judge him based on the things he did when he was essentially soulless. Like I said Bonnie. It's up to you. And we'll all support you either way."

"He'll still hate me," she let out with a sigh. "Humanity on or not… He'll still hate me."

Caroline opened her mouth, ready with a retort, but was interrupted by Stefan's footsteps coming up from the cellar. The two women took in the grim face and tired stature. Whatever he was doing clearly wasn't working.

"It's going to be really hard to crack him," he started, taking a blood bag from the refrigerator. "I've been pushing him for the last twelve hours and he won't budge. I swear, the psycho is enjoying it." Noting Bonnie's affronted stance, he simpered apologetically. "Sorry."

"Can I see him?" She was already heading towards the basement entrance; the question was clearly rhetorical.

"He's not going to look good, Bon," Stefan called after her, giving the woman pause. "I just wanted to warn you. He's drained of most of his power and he's hungry. But you can't feed him or give him any relief. It'll set us back."

"You gave me the spiel last night, Stefan, I got it." Rolling her eyes like a petulant teenager, Bonnie closed the door behind her and jogged the eighteen steps down to where the cells were housed.

Stefan was right to want to prepare her. When Kai first came into view, it took everything in her not to go right back upstairs and beat the shit out of Stefan. But she knew he was only doing what had to be done...what he'd seen work in the past.

Still, it was awful to see. Kai looked like a corpse, skin sallow and waxy. There were wounds all over his arms - no doubt plenty more on the parts covered with clothes - and he had dried blood over a large gash on his forehead that had crusted over. Propped up against the back wall for support, he was facing her direction with his feet straightened out before him and his hands tied in his lap. With his head leaned back and his eyes closed, there was no indication that he had any life in him.

At least, not until she moved to stand in front of the bars.

A snarky smile graced his features and he let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "Weakened with almost nothing inside me and my magic still looks for you." His eyes snapped open and there it was: the fire that could never be put out regardless of his state. "This body, and the soul that usually inhabits it, must really love you, Bonster." The way he said it, so disgusted, it was like a knife in her gut. "But then again, you do have all the Kai majicky goodness inside you, so maybe my body just wants to take back what's mine." He followed her line of sight as she crouched down level to him, her hands each wrapping a bar. "You're so sweet to visit, Baby."

Bonnie was silent as she peered in at his form. Never had she seen a vampire deteriorate so quickly, but she had to assume that draining him of his magic had left his body more vulnerable. Still, Kai's magic would recharge and she knew they only had a 4-5 day window before he was back to a hundred percent, 7-8 days if she zapped him again. She couldn't keep siphoning him dry, though; it could potentially cause permanent damage to his magical core. And then there'd be no going back for them, even if he did turn it back on.

"How're you feeling?" she asked finally. A stupid question, but best not to start out so heavy.

"Lovely," he cackled, wheezing with each puff of air he let out. "Your accommodations are aces, Bon. Maybe next time get me something with a window?"

"Kai, please." She was practically begging. "Please turn it back on. Then all of this stops."

Eyebrow raised, he scoffed at her comment and shook his head derisively. "Everybody is so sure that me turning it back on is the best solution. Like it's some magical answer that will fix everything." Grey orbs pinned her, scrutinizing and judgemental. "What if I still want you dead after I turn it back on? What then?"

He was echoing exactly the same concern she'd voiced just moments before. But she had to think of more than herself at the moment. This wasn't about her.

"It doesn't matter what you think about me. It's about the fact that you're hurting all of these innocent witches and warlocks. Kayla -"

"Kayla was dumb enough to question me," Kai interrupted, volume exceeding hers. The outburst seemed to tire him, however, so he shrank back into the wall. He closed his eyes to regroup before speaking again. "Besides, you severed the Gemini life-bond. Realistically, the smartest thing to do would be to kill me. No more Kai equals no more coven civil war, no more fear." One eye opened to peer at her. "So this is absolutely about you."

"Kai…"

"You can't bear to kill me, Bennett. Whether it's because you feel guilty or because you have that same weird hero complex your Scooby Gang friends have…you don't have it in you to make that move."

"It's not-" she snapped, indignant.

"You set me up in these luxurious digs and you stick your vampire puppy on me, hoping he'll find the trigger to get me to flip," he continued, as though she hadn't spoken. Another dry chuckle escaped his lips. "This whole torture thing it moot, Bonnie. You won't kill me, we know this. So it seems we're at an impasse."

Deciding to change tactics, Bonnie shifted so that she was now sitting on the ground, cross-legged. Leaning forward so that her cheeks were almost touching the bars, she nodded. "Seems we are. But you ever stop to think about why I can't kill you? Why it makes me sick to even entertain the notion?"

Her words earned a non-commital shrug. "Not really in my sociopathic tendencies to wonder why you do the things you do, Bennett."

"It's because I love you, Kai," she expressed earnestly. "Your whole argument throughout all of this is that I couldn't possibly love you because I lied to you. Because of my original plan. If that were the case, wouldn't it just be easier for me to kill you? What could I possibly have to win from having you turn your humanity back on if it wasn't because I love you?"

Her logic had hit a nerve, she could tell. While he didn't have the energy to truly argue back, the grey in his eyes darkened considerably. "You use that word very loosely, don't you?"

"No, I really don't. I only use it when I mean it."

"You know what the true issue is?" he asked rhetorically, his body slouching further down from the energy being expelled for the conversation. "Okay, so let's say you love me. Let's say you're being honest. Why would I even want your love?"

That question floored her and left her grappling for a response. "Because -"

"No, stop. Really think about this. You love me, right? But your brand of love has come with a lot of fucking baggage, Bennett." He straightened his back to better look at her. There was no inflection in his voice: he spoke as though regurgitating facts. "I might have left out some things in the duration of our relationship, but I never lied about my intentions with you. I was completely, for better or for worse, myself. You were the one faking it, taking advantage of my feelings for you. A bit whorish, isn't it? Using your body to steal all my secrets, to find out what it would take to destroy me?"

"You're out of line," Bonnie spit out sharply.

Kai let out a bark of a laugh, wincing as he tipped his head to the side to regard her. "Forgive me. That's the line, I guess? You can devise a plan to kill me, but I can't call you a bad name? Got it."

"I already told you I was wrong," she bit back, her tone lowering in timbre, "I accepted where I fucked up. I am not perfect, Kai. But neither are you."

"But I don't pretend to be." He pressed his hands against his chest. "You asked me to change for you, to build myself up as a man you could love. And I did it. For you. But I'm still being looked at as the villain. Because Bonnie Bennett is such a fucking beacon of all things good."

The magic coiled within her, a cobra on the defensive and ready to strike. She balled up her fists until her nails practically cut into her palms, willing herself not to lash out at him.

"You're a hypocritical phony," he continued, sucking in air after every sentence. You had - and still have - no issues telling me about the shit I've done wrong. All the while, you were literally trying to kill me. So, fine, if this is you 'loving' me? Pass."

She was going to start crying again. The hollow feeling that had been sitting in her stomach was starting to fill with a painful dread that threatened to spill out of her. Aggressive Kai, even violent Kai, she could handle. But a calm, rational Kai that was speaking to her with resolution in his tone? It killed her.

Sucking in her cheeks, she attempted a few calming breaths. What was she thinking, coming down here to talk to him? What the fuck did she think this would accomplish? Nothing good was ever going to come out of this conversation and she was more upset now than when she'd walked in.

"I loved you more than anything, Bonnie," he murmured, wrapping up his soliloquy . "But I'd rather die than have you fuck me over like that again. Or anybody for that matter. Better yet, " he continued, furrowing his brow mockingly, "maybe I'd rather you die, instead."

Another punch. The way this man could slice so deeply with nothing more than words. She stood abruptly, ready to leave before the tears could spill onto her cheeks. Rushing towards the stairs, she paused when Kai called to her.

"You should think carefully through your next move, Bonster," he said cheerily, with only the ever-present wheeze betraying his true state. "Is it really worth wasting your time getting me to turn it back on now that you get where we stand? Humanity-filled Kai hates your fucking guts. This Kai could care less if you lived or died. What are you trying to achieve?"

She did run, then. Sprinted up the stairs with his cruel laugh echoing in her ears.