A/n: Edited on 2/25/2015.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 19: Night of The Hunter

Mystic Falls

Present - February 16, 2011

Have you ever had one of those nights of where you just can't sleep? No matter how much you toss and turn, the much needed rest that keeps you functioning every day is taken away and you end up in a worse-for-wear state. Everyone has gone through it before at some point in their life. Or it could one of those nights where nothing is how they used to be?

Oh, well. There are many scenarios that could be the cause. A new bed that doesn't feel like your old one. It could be nightmares or something else. Either way, no sleep can come from those two.

Unfortunately, Bonnie Bennett wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Then again, it wasn't new for her to go through this. Besides, there were more important things at hand here.

Feeling restless, the former witch checked her phone again for the thousandth time.

3:38 a.m.

Great. Just great.

Sighing to herself, Bonnie stared up at the ceiling, keeping up the silence so her father wouldn't hear her. She didn't want to get in what could be liable for suspicion. Unfortunately, Bonnie didn't have time to be cooped up in a little prison cell when all the town was basically one itself.

Waiting for them to come get her shouldn't take this long, but she remained quiet. It seemed like forever, though. Bonnie wanted them to be careful. With the Sheriff and the police department's daily patrols around the clock, it gave them a practical reason to take more of their time.

Getting up from the bed, she went towards her closet to grab a jacket for the chilly air still outside. Walking on the hardwood floors in her bedroom slightly creaked under her feet, making her steps slow and careful. Bonnie made sure she kept her steps quiet since her father was just down the hall. Sometimes, she had to think twice when it came to his exceptional hearing. It was almost like he was a vampire with how well he can hear her.

Putting herself inside the jacket, she turned her head to the journals that had been glued to her hands ever since she found them. Grams really had a way of doing things. Even from beyond the grave.

Bonnie had finally finished them after it took her a while. She would have never suspected those journals to have belonged to - well, she would have to explain later with her phone vibrating with a text message.

Taking the phone into her hand, she read the text message, knowing her ride was here.

I'm here outside of the house. Come out when you're ready.

- E

Bonnie's eyebrows knitted together a little in puzzlement. Why did they send her? Shaking her head, the powerless witch didn't have time to linger and ask questions. They need to get the show on the road. Grabbing her messenger bag, Bonnie stuffed it with the journals inside also adding her cellphone too. Good, it was finally done. Bonnie crept towards the window, her eyes scanning for any of the police cars and lights that had been up at it all night. Eyeing down from her second story window, she could see a dark, familiar silhouette of a female nearby, indicating who had come to bring her to the boarding house.

Nervousness gripped Bonnie as the height of the second story to the ground really made sense of how dangerous this was. The stakes were higher now. Every second counted.

"Come on, Bennett. You can do this," she whispered to herself to give encouragement.

Raising the window as quietly as she could, Bonnie angled her head out, looking left and right to make sure no one saw her. She swung her left leg around over the window sill, then her right, and her bag next so she wouldn't forget it. Sitting on the slanted roof, the slender girl closed the window, shuddering when the window closed with a squeak. Crap.

Carefully as she could, Bonnie took her time to try to get down from the roof. A little bit at a time to ensure her safety. She wasn't indestructible like a vampire. Her mortal life was in her hands. But just when she got to the edge, she could hear a siren and see a flashing of blue and red lights.

"Jump!" Elena whispered and yelled at the same time.

No time to lose.

Bonnie gulped and took a leap off the roof top, landing into the brunette's arms with surprising ease. "Hide!" she whispered to her best friend.

Elena dived towards the tree closest to the porch while Bonnie hid in front of the hood of her car that was parked in the driveway. She closed her eyes tightly as she waited for the sirens and lights to head their way...but none of them came towards Bonnie and Elena. Confused, she took a peek as she raised her head, her eyes after the police cars that were heading towards the opposite direction of the boarding house.

"Thank God." Bonnie said as she and Elena were trying to get out and sneak to the boarding house in the dark.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked, concern for her friend on her mind. "You're not hurt or anything?"

"I'll be fine. We just need to get to the boarding house without getting caught. It just seems the patrols are getting harder to avoid these days." Bonnie whispered. Ever since her father and the sheriff implemented these patrols and new rules, it was almost like they were in some sort of dictatorship, though her father wasn't the dictating point like Hitler. There were curfews that limited people from going out at night for the safety of others. Like people aren't supposed to be out after ten o'clock at night. Students only can go to school and certain places. Everywhere, it was just more rules being added with another reason glued behind it.

That sent many red flags going up for Bonnie and maybe some of the others too.

"How are we going to get there without getting caught?" Bonnie wasn't sure if Elena had a plan or if they were coming up with stuff as they went along.

Elena used her sharp vampire vision to investigate and scan for incoming traffic. There was a reason why it was her this time who came to Bonnie's aid instead of the Salvatore brothers. It's nice to be the hero...okay maybe not a hero, but it's refreshing to be in the action for a change. Sitting on the sidelines and waiting for someone to save her isn't an option anymore. She didn't want that as a first choice. She wanted to make her own decisions, and this right here was her choice to keep her best friend safe. "With the officers heading for the other direction, this maybe the only time we can rush over there."

Bonnie nodded in agreement, knowing that this might be the only time to get anywhere to correct the situation Klaus had put them up against. They needed to throw off his game, and there could be something worth it out of this meeting.

"Let's go."

With those two words, Elena grasped Bonnie's hand and flashed through the empty streets of Mystic Falls. Things were easier since most of the people in the neighborhood were asleep. The brunette made sure that she was still cautious, avoiding on what could be any instances with an officer or another human with a gun that could result with bad injuries or something a lot worse. Bonnie stayed with Elena as best she could with the strength she had. Without her magic flowing in her veins, it left her as the weakest member of the group. Weakest link in the chain. There were certain precautions she had to consider.

It didn't take long to finally reach the boarding house. Elena rushed in through the front door with her best friend in tow, quickly locking the door behind her as Bonnie held on to the wall to catch her breath.

"Thank you," Bonnie said in short pants.

"You're welcome." Elena sent her a small smile, trying to be cheerful for both of their sake in these dark times. As Elena took off her coat and hung it on the rack, she caught Bonnie staring at her in confusion. "Do you want some coffee? I'm sure you're cold."

"Sure, that ought to be good. You can say that again about this stupid cold weather. I'm just sick and tired of it." Bonnie didn't mean to complain, but she had held in a lot of things for a while. Not being able to talk to your friends, especially with everyone watching you 24/7 really messes things up. Maybe talking with Elena will help unload some of the weight she had carried for some time. It had been a while since they talked.

Both of the girls walked into the kitchen, Elena going towards the coffee maker while Bonnie went to sit on one of the bar stools. When Elena got the necessary ingredients into the coffeemaker, she pressed the red button, letting the machine do its work.

"Something wrong, Bonnie?" The doe-eyed vampire's concern for Bonnie came out as she rubbed Bonnie's shoulder gently.

"Why did you come to get me instead of them?" Bonnie asked in curiosity, referring to Damon and Stefan.

Elena fell silent for a moment as she pondered, pulling back a piece of her hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "Because I don't want people to just assume that I'm some fragile little girl who needs protecting like I was in the past. I'm a vampire now, and I made some decisions. I can handle myself," she explained with a determination that briefly surprised her best friend.

Bonnie appreciated the way of Elena's thinking, but was it going to be enough to stop someone like Klaus? Sure, they had stopped him in the past, but things were different at the time. The game had changed now, and it was becoming more deadly than ever before.

Instead of going through the act of doom and gloom, a small hopeful smile crossed her face. If they were going to get anywhere, a change of mood could be of good use and a good start. "Let's go see Stefan and Damon then. We'll figure this out, Lena. I promise."

Both best friends exchanged the same hopeful glances to each other. They could do this. If they could beat Klaus once, surely they could do it again.

Another moment later, the coffee machine finally beeped, signaling out loud of finishing its work.

"Finally." Bonnie almost jumped in glee as she walked over to pour her a mug of it from the pitcher. Anything was good if it was to combat the cold. The rich smell of the dark roast coffee filled her nose, enticing her to take a sip. But in too much in a hurry for a drink, the warm liquid she imagined turned out to be hot and scalding.

"Ow! Way too hot!" she cried out holding her tongue, which stung from the hot drink.

Bonnie had set down the coffee mug on the counter before she made a beeline to the sink and turned on the cold faucet. She sighed in relief as the sting of the pain faded away by the power of the cold water.

Elena couldn't help the series of laughs that escaped her as she stumbled into the wall, clutching her insides since it hurt so much. The brunette vampire was confused about why something so small should make her laugh like this, but she welcomed the sensation. Something so basic such as laughter seemed foreign until now. It was so long since she had a good laugh like this. Too long since...well...Caroline's death.

Ever since Caroline's death, an unsettling change spread through the small town. A light that shined though Mystic Falls dimmed into nothing, but darkness that seemed to never end. A death that close to the heart had a heavy price to pay.

Elena and Bonnie's nightmares had left them sleep deprived to some degree, leaving them to use more effort on their part to work. Predominantly, most of Bonnie's nightmares consisted of the same feelings of grief, regret, and hopelessness. Add a touch a fear into it, and you got yourself the perfect recipe for disaster. Then Elena's were composed of the similar feelings as Bonnie's too, but most of what she had felt was fear. Fear for her brother's safety, fear of what Klaus will do, fear of what he had planned, but just so much of what she was afraid piled on top of another to the point it seemed bigger than Mt. Everest. She didn't know how they were going to get through this, but somehow she knew they had. They've done the 'Scooby Doo' plots in the past. Surely, they can pull off another one.

When Bonnie finished cooling her tongue off and the coffee was finally at a reasonable temperature, both the vampire and witch headed to the living room where Stefan and Damon were situated. Both looks on the brothers' faces gave Bonnie the message that this meeting was too important to miss. She was glad all the sneaking out was worth it after all.

"About time both of you showed up," Damon said impatiently as he swirled the whiskey in the tumbler, getting up from the couch and going towards them. He told Stefan multiple times that it was a crazy ass idea to let Elena go off by herself, which already was giving Stefan a headache.

"It's nice to see you so concerned about our safety, Damon." A natural retort escaped from Bonnie before she realized it. Maybe some things didn't change after all.

"Always here to help," Damon retorted back.

"Quiet, both of you." Elena sharply said, an automatic motherly tone came out of her as if she was trying to settle two squabbling children. "We didn't go all this trouble just for you two to fight again."

"Still, why go through all the trouble?" Damon asked in high doubt as he stood up from the couch in a huff. "I've tried all night to get Stef here to talk, but he's not budging!" He ranted as he tried to cover up the worry and anxiousness within him and all that was going on.

"The only reason why I didn't say anything is that we need to get our facts straight. Especially with what's going on." Stefan tried to explain to his brother yet again.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but we don't have the luxury of time to think on it. Klaus could be planning God knows what, and guess who's on his top hit list?" His condescending tone wasn't helping things all too well, but there was more to it than meets the eye.

Elena was always kind of perceptive on people's emotions, and she knew Damon was only acting out now because of how protective he was. Though Damon may act like he only cared for his brother and her, he still cared about the others too in his own way. Strolling to him, she placed her hands on his shoulders. "We're here, aren't we? And look, I'm fine. Bonnie's okay."

"Still, it was a stupid idea in the first place. You could have been killed."

"For God's sake, Damon! I'm not some porcelain doll. Yes, it was my idea. And yes, it was probably stupid, but look at what could have happened if you or Stefan went to go get her." Elena pleaded her case hoping he would see reason instead of going overprotective mode on her. "If you would have been spotted, who knows what would happen. Look how much trouble it took to get Stefan back. Besides, I appreciate if you stop treating me like I am a fragile piece of glass because I'm not."

"I'm not going to risk losing you." He argued relentlessly.

"And I'm not going to sit out on the sidelines like there's nothing I can do to help. Get used to it, Damon. I'm not arguing about this anymore." Elena was downright persistent when she wanted to be.

Damon's face clenched into a frown, trying to contain all of the feelings that wanted to explode from him. In a way to let it escape, he threw his glass into the fireplace thus making yet another shattered broken piece once again. Much to his dismay, Elena still remained firm in her words, not losing her focus on Damon.

"Fine then." Damon reluctantly concluded the argument though it wasn't going to be the last time to bring it up again. "Let's get down to business."

"So, can you refresh me on what's going on?" Bonnie asked as she strolled over to sit close to Elena across from the boys.

"Rebekah was staying with us until she decided to take a risk of seeing Klaus. When she didn't come back-" Stefan spoke before Bonnie cut him off.

Bonnie blinked twice in confusion. "Wait a minute. She left? After everything that's been going down?"

"Apparently, yes." Damon replied like it was so obvious.

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie just ignored him. "Still, think of Klaus' state of mind. It's not exactly sane if you know what I mean."

That was understatement.

"Besides, weren't all of you just a little uncomfortable with her being here anyway?"

"I wasn't comfortable all too much, but I dealt with it. Damon's been okay with it, though. You know how he is." Elena explained to Bonnie as she glanced at Damon across from the couch. It was true, though. When Rebekah came to stay at the boarding house as shelter, the uncomfortable tension between them was bad enough. But it was worse when the blonde Original went into spiteful bitch mode with a target painted on Elena's back. Elena understood part of it was reacting from the grief, but there had to be a line drawn. There was a difference between acting out from tragedy and purposefully going out on spite just to be a bitch.

"I just rolled with it." The blue-eyed vampire said casually. He really didn't care about Rebekah. She and Damon were only a one night stand. The only thing he was concerned with her was the spiteful cattiness and bashing targeted on Elena.

"Okay, Damon," the magicless witch said curtly before turning back to Stefan. "Back to the subject, what happened next?"

Stefan cleared his throat and resumed. "When she didn't come back, I got suspicious. It was stupid of me, but..." he trailed off a bit, unsure of the emotion bubbling from within. Shaking his head, he fast forward and skipped that part. "I ended up captured by Klaus, and he got creative with me."

"And by that you mean?"

"Torture."

Bonnie was stunned. Was Stefan out of his mind? Really willing to risk his life going to the lion's den just to find out on Rebekah's safety? "How...how did you get out? When did this happen?"

"Just a several hours ago. Stefan was dropped off here on the doorstep like a package." Damon answered as he scoured around the room looking for another drink. He needed them to keep going with the way things are going now, especially in case if shit hits the fan.

"Courtesy of Elijah." Stefan spoke dryly. His headache that had pounded against his skull for a while was now receding in small portions.

A collective gasp erupted through the living room except from Damon. He doesn't do that. His eyebrows furrowed with his face mixed with anger and surprise. "You didn't tell me this earlier."

"I was waiting for the right time." Stefan explained.

"And when do you think that was, little brother?!"

"What do you expect from me, Damon?"

"I expect my brother to tell me what the hell is going on when this kind of crap happens to him. That's what I expect."

"And this is how you would have reacted. Honestly, we don't need any more risks right now. I understand where you're coming from, but we need to lay our cards out on the table and figure something out. So, please. Work with me." Stefan's tone was mixed between fatigue and aggravation. He also tried to rationalize with his protective older brother. Stefan knew plenty enough of the stupid decisions they've made right now. They needed to be on the same page.

Damon swore there had to be a conspiracy taking place. Since when was it a bad thing that he looked out for the people he cared about? Deciding to need to take the edge off, the vampire stood up from his seat and headed toward his secret stash of drinks. "Dammit, why was this the time I actually run out of bourbon?" he grumbled under his breath.

Everyone rolled their eyes. No wonder Damon was in such a grumpy mood.

Bonnie really had enough of interruptions, but she kept her mouth shut knowing it would be better that way. With very much exercised control, she also took a deep breath and counted to ten mentally. Quickly, you might add. Who knew how long it would be before her dad would find out of her disappearance?

Noticing the silence, Elena decided to pick up the conversational ball. "So, how long do you think Elijah's been here?"

"Judging from things and my own assumption, I'd say for a while now. Klaus probably called him secretly before the barrier spell was up." There's no telling to be honest, but Stefan wasn't going to tell them that. He was honestly too tired to deal with any more unwanted reactions. "Anyway, the important thing I found out is about the witch."

Everyone's ears perked up at the mention of the mysterious witch, especially Damon and Bonnie. With the answer she had been looking for so long almost at her fingertips, Bonnie will take a gander at anything if it meant of a higher chance of getting her magic back. "What do you know?" she asked in earnest, her voice reaching an octave higher.

"I know who the witch is. I recognized her."

"How did you recognized her?" Elena asked in curiosity, leaning forward to hear more of the conversation.

Stefan took a deep breath before he answered. "She was a witch who traveled with some others back in the twenties. It was back in Chicago at a bar."

"Gloria's Bar?" And that response came from someone unexpected. Damon Salvatore.

They looked to him in surprise, especially his little brother. How would he know? "Yeah, exactly." Stefan answered a little unsure. "Why?"

"Because you're not the only who spent some time over at that place, little bro. I had a few occasions over there too. I told you before, remember?" Damon brought on a wisecracking smirk as he reminded Stefan of the story of the witch he knew back in the twenties. Sure, the smile was there. But it was to cover the doubt in his mind as the gears unwillingly were beginning to turn with answers that may or may not be possible. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be right on this.

"Oh, yeah. You were telling me about the witch you met, which I still highly doubt to this day." A part of Stefan's sass broke through in his tone, which didn't sit well with Damon. More like annoyed him.

"I'm not always a liar, Stefan. I would appreciate it if you at least tried to believe me more." Damon quipped. It would be nice if Damon didn't have to explain himself on every detail. Wasn't it good to always keep a certain mystery appeal about yourself? It makes things more fun, shouldn't it?

"What are you guys talking about? I'm lost." Elena tried to discern and make sense on what they were saying, but that effort proved a little difficult when you have the conversation branching to things that weren't important.

"It's not important." Damon quickly closed the subject about his past. "What's important is we listen to Steffy's story here before there's any more interruptions."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Bonnie commented with a fixed expression as she continued to listen in fervently, but Damon didn't miss the hint of a sarcasm in her tone.

"Anyway," the younger Salvatore ignored the two and resumed, "back to what I was saying. We all know I was a ripper back in the twenties, and we all know about me meeting Klaus too. But I recognized the witch whose been helping him since I met her before at Gloria's. She still looks the same when I met her, even though she's a couple decades younger than us."

Now the girls were stunned. What kind of witch lives for that long?

"Spit it out already!" Damon snapped as he was annoyed with the unnecessary details.

"Charlene. Her name is Charlene Davis."

And just like that, it was as if a bomb of silence just went off. Damon's eyes widen in shock, but then it turned to disbelief...what? Char...Charlene...she was here? How?

"You're kidding me, right?"

Wow, Damon was sure on a roll tonight with all of the smartass remarks and attitudinal questions. Like that helps with anything.

"Klaus must have done one too many injuries on you. You must have been seeing things." Damon concluded to his own answers. There's no way she could be here. A witch doesn't normally live that - what the hell was going on?

"I'm not being delusional. I saw her with my own eyes."

"Still, even if it is her, why didn't you tell me you knew her?" Damon asked in an angry tone. To be honest, there was a part inside that didn't know why he was acting this way. It was...odd.

"Because when I got my memories back after Klaus compelled me, it would have been obsolete then. I thought Charlene had died. What was the point of talking about someone who was already dead? At least I thought she died after what happened when Mikael stormed in and caused a scene, but I guess she faked her death after that." Stefan honestly couldn't figure out why she would show up after all this time. Whatever it was, Klaus had something to do with it and he knew damn straight that he was right.

"Damon, are you okay?" Elena tried to consult him, but her words went from one ear and out the other as Damon's mouth dropped in shock. A blank stare cross his face as he stared out into space as more of a distant yet familiar memory brushed his mind.

Tonight wasn't his night.

"Where can I get some bourbon in this damn place?" a dark-haired man complained loudly. Yes sir, Damon Salvatore was a regular drunk these days at Gloria's bar in Chicago. Too bad it seemed like he could never get drunk enough.

"I'm sure you can get some across the street, but then again you're probably too lazy to go." A familiar yet unwanted female voice remarked. At least it was unwanted to Damon.

"Why don't you get that I don't want you here?" Damon said bitterly as he downed his fifth shot of whiskey, not pleased at all about the bar running out of his favorite drink. He almost killed a human man because of how aggravating that made him, not to mention almost angry, but that's an emotion. Damon didn't have his humanity.

"Technically, I'm staying here thanks to a favor of a friend of a friend. You're the one who's been staying here after last call." The witch's words were the last thing he wanted to hear tonight.

"Let me rephrase that then. Why don't you get that I don't want your help?" he said differently this time in hoping that she would finally get the message. He didn't want to look into those eyes again. Those light blue eyes that were lighter than his own, which were like x-rays every time she looked at him. More like through him to be honest.

He could hear her sigh, the clicks of her heels echoing on the floor as she glided towards the bar, planting herself on a barstool next to him. "I'm here because I know you better than you think."

Tonight wasn't a night for another session. He wasn't in the mood for her help or whatever her reason for being here was. "Do me a favor and just go away."

She shook her head stubbornly. "No, I made a promise that I wouldn't leave you. And I'm not going to start now."

It was then the vampire part he had held back reared its ugly head. Black veins protruded under his skin, his eyes turned dark red, and his fangs lengthened as he grabbed the witch and slammed her on top of the bar. His fingers closed in around her neck, firm enough to hurt but not enough to cut off her oxygen.

"Why do you keep coming back? Don't you get it, woman?! I don't want your help nor will I ever need it. And don't go around saying that you know me because in reality, you don't. You going into other people's business when they already expressed to you not is not only going to piss them off, but you're going to either get hurt or worse." Damon growled at her with his red-blue eyes blazing.

The blonde witch's own blue eyes narrowed and hardened. The peaceful look normally in her eyes disappeared as she met his gaze, the witchy part meeting against the vampire. Natural instincts commanded her to send an aneurysm to his head, but she knew that would do little help him see the situation and her point. Her hand inching to the edge of the bar, she grasped the top of a glass bottle. "I have my reasons for coming back, but first..." she said before she swung the glass bottle against his head, the bottle shattering into pieces."...here's your damn bourbon."

Damon reared back and let go in pain. Aggravated by the vampire, she pushed herself to sit upward on the bar and slid down gracefully on her feet. She threw rest of the broken bottle to the side seeing that the damage had already been done. Maybe he will finally get the damn message just this once. "First off, my name is not woman. It's Charlene, and you better get that through your thick skull before you really make me angry. It takes a lot to bring me there."

"Oh, boy." Damon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he wiped the blood from his face away. "It turns out this kitten does have claws after all."

Charlene didn't miss the flirty tone in his voice. It only made her infuriated more and that's saying a lot because she didn't get mad often. She usually had better control of her temper, but this man always pushed her buttons at times. "When are you going to stop this whole charade?" she asked.

"What charade?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I think it's very familiar to you. The act most vampires put on like they don't give care about what's going on, but when it's really to cover the hurt inside of them."

"Oh, so you think I'm hurt?" Damon inquired in an incredulous tone.

"Oh no, I don't think you're hurt. I think you're just fine. In fact, you're probably about as happy as a man going to a Sunday picnic." Charlene exclaimed sarcastically, waving her hands in the air. "Of course, you're hurt! Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

"More like stupidly brave or generous." Damon answered sardonically as he came closer within her distance. Almost daring her to keep going.

"I'll take that as a compliment if I'm succeeding in helping you out." Charlene eyed the infuriating vampire edging nearer to herself, unable to figure out his motive. "Anyway, it's like I said before. You're not the only one I've seen who's played the same routine. You act like you don't care by turning off your emotions when in reality the hurt inside of you is agonizing. And I think I have a few ideas on what could have caused it."

Great, now this woman is such a genius? Puh-lease. What did she know about him? Damon thought to himself as he rolled his eyes. The witch didn't know a damn thing about him. He audaciously pinned her between two barstools with no other way of escaping by him blocking her way. He leaned in until he was closer to her face, the witch instinctively backing away a little bit shyly. "And what would that be?" he whispered almost huskily.

Charlene wasn't comfortable with him within such quarters. That much he could see. Her common sense was probably telling her that he was trouble. Damon knew the routine. He was too damaged. Too complicated to receive help, much less anything. Deep down, he was so used to being abandoned. He knew damn well that he's messed up. It still surprised him that she was still here after the many times he reacted like a jackass. He didn't understand it.

"I know that it isn't a just a sole cause that made you like this. It's probably a combination of things, but I bet part of it had to do with a woman. A woman who broke your heart." She spoke honestly, the words triggering a reaction with the damn woman who had broken his heart too. Charlene didn't know she hit the damn nail on the head.

"You think a woman is capable of doing that to me? Look at me, I'm fine. I'm still standing."

"Don't play the fool, Damon. Anyone is capable of hurting someone, even me," she pointed out as she directly looked into his eyes unafraid.

"Even little old you?"

"Even little old me."

Silence stood between them as no other words were spoken. As he gazed at the witch, there was something that crackled. Sparked. Maybe it was the natural tension that came between a witch and a vampire within so many feet of each other. Damon has pissed off many witches in his time, and most of what he could pinpoint was natural disdain for him. But with her, it was there...but it was something else. She didn't hold the natural prejudice a witch had against his kind. She was more open. The silence continued before Damon raised his voice. "What else are you capable of, Charlene?"

Charlene peered up at him as she heard his question. She honestly didn't know what to say. "I don't know," she said quietly.

He didn't know what beguiled him in his actions. Maybe he was attracted to her. Or maybe the lack of attention and touch of a woman he hadn't received. It was a selfish action, but he didn't care. Before Charlene knew it, the vampire quickly slammed his lips to hers, almost bruising the flesh. His hands ghosted lustily over the curve of her hips, which were covered by her white dress. When Damon beckoned her to lift her leg, a sharp slap was brought across his face, pushing him away by a couple of feet.

"What was that for?" Damon asked.

Charlene just looked at him like he was stupid, not pleased at all with the situation. "I want to help you, but none of that included your sexual frustration. I have self-respect," she said sharply. "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness, Damon. I don't take it kindly to people taking me for granted. That includes you too."

"What do you suggest then as to helping me out?"

"Just like we usually do, genius. Talk. Now, you go grab a seat, and I'll pour you something to drink. I'm sure I can whip you up a little something." She gave him a wink, as if her anger had never had been there before.

What had Damon gotten himself into?

"Damon? Damon!"

The loud voice of his girlfriend calling his name brought Damon back to reality. Blinking a few times to get his mind back in place, he looked around to regroup. "What's happening again?"

"We were just going to talk with Bonnie about what she had found out. It may could help us out. Anything would be good at this point. Better than nothing." Stefan shrugged.

"Okay, that seems fair enough from what I could tell." But he still kind of doubted at this point since their witch was out of commission with her magic indisposed. However, Damon was curiosity about what had kept her busy since her father went Overprotective 2.0.

"Well, I've been looking for any possible way to try to regain my magic back. I searched high and low for anything that could help." Bonnie explained her story. "I didn't come across anything good and noteworthy until I found something at my Grams' place."

They watched with interest as Bonnie opened her messenger bag and brought a couple of old and worn leather-bound journals. "I actually found an old grimoire Grams had kept for safe keeping. She hid a letter in there explaining that these journals may help me."

"How does an old set of journals help you get your magic back?" Elena asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm just going with a gut feeling here. Mostly, it's daily entries and of what's going on back then. I'm just lucky the grimoire and the journals belonged to the same person." Bonnie answered.

"And who's the lucky lady?" Damon was so getting tired of all the story telling.

"Emily Bennett. Her name's in the corner of the journal. It's right there." Stefan said as he had peered through the journals.

"Give that thing!" Damon swiped the journal from Stefan's hand and looked to see for himself. As he scanned through it, there the name was in the corner of first page. Just like Stefan said.

Emily Bennett.

"Well, I'll be damned." Damon said in shock. Who'd thought?

"How does Emily Bennett connect to a witch like Charlene Davis? They're two different people and they don't even look alike. Why would she help Klaus?" Stefan asked out loud as he tried to make sense.

"We all know one thing for sure. If people help Klaus with something, there's either something he has that they want or their hands are tied. We know plenty enough on how Klaus is." Elena explained a bit scornfully, remembering from experience how the damn hybrid can be.

"That's true. Whatever this I have, there has to be a connection between Emily and Charlene. There's also something else too. Something Shane told me a while back." Bonnie remembered suddenly. "He said about the possibility of a Bennett witch that did the barrier spell."

"That doesn't make sense, though. Charlene Davis isn't even related to her. She's not a Bennett. How could any of this help?"

"Because Damon, if we find another Bennett witch, there's another chance of getting the cure again." Another chance for Bonnie to regain her magic. "I'm going to figure out about this on my own. I can keep all of you posted through Elena. It's not going to be easy. I finished reading through the journals. It's a dead end at the moment so I'm going to do some research."

For once, they actually felt like they have a chance and a plan currently formulating that seemed almost concrete. Elena was hopeful for once, Stefan felt like he was useful and not as broody, Damon can finally protect his loved ones, and Bonnie felt like she could get closer to her goals. This was a sign of a good change on the horizon.

"Is it okay that I can get back now? I don't to want to be caught by my dad." Bonnie really needed to go at this point. The last thing she needed was to be more on house arrest. Glancing at the front door warily, she hoped to be back before five in the morning.

"Yeah, but this time. I'm going to do it this time. No more stupid plans." Damon refused to have Elena be put in danger again. Not if he can help it.

"Oh, Damon. Why can't you-" A sharp beep from Elena's cell phone interrupted the conversation. "Hold on, who would be texting me this early in the morning?"

The only text was two words from Matt.

Matt: April's dead.

Reading the message, Elena furiously replied back in speed.

Elena: What's going on? What do you mean she's dead?! Matt, come on! Call me!

Not even two seconds later, another text came to her phone. But it wasn't from Matt. It was from an unknown number.

Unknown: Let the games begin.

Pray to your God, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh

- "Night of the Hunter," by Thirty Seconds to Mars