Bonnie shivered as he touched her and realized what he said was true. She could have all those things and he could give them to her but she knew it was wrong. It had to be. Look what his "gift" had done to Elena. Bonnie shook her head to clear it from the affect his voice was having on her. "No." she said simply stepping back. "There are so many reasons to give in but there are also reasons not to. Like for example, I'm not a rebound person. I don't like leftovers and your probably doing this because you're still hurt cause your brother got the girl and second you're the type to walk away and there is no way I would let you toss me into your world of darkness without as much as a glance behind you." The past year had been full of pain laced with excitement and it had given Bonnie a backbone. She wasn't the one to shrink away from intimidation.

Bonnie turned toward him and looked into his eyes. "And about the not being happy part? Well no one is really happy where they are. If they were then there would nothing to complain about. You're not happy where you are, you can't be." she said and gave him a questioning look. "Tell me the truth, isn't there a part of you that regrets the way you are? Wouldn't you trade your immortality for a life in the sun?" her face was close to his and her breath was warm on his skin. Bonnie touched his cheek and added in a soft voice, "To have it's warmth touch your here on your face."

Damon reached up and snatched her hand from his face. His first reaction was to fling it to the side. The second was to squeeze her little hand until he heard the bones crush together. He could do neither. If he did, Bonnie would know that she had struck a nerve in him. Besides, he was somewhat cared for her. Damn it, Elena had rubbed off on him. The reaction he chose was to raise the hand to his lips and press them gently against it. "There are so many warmths better than that of the sun."

He dropped her hand and stepped back, leaving the room the way he had came in. "Even though I wasn't invited to your little get together tonight I plan on being there." He started down the hall, throwing one last glance over his shoulder before he reached the stairs, "If you change your mind...well, I'll always know where to find you."

When he was gone Bonnie still stood in the place he left her. She gazed somewhat dazedly at her hand. "He's such an angry soul," she said softly as she backed her way to the bed and sat down, her eyes still on the spot where his lips had met her hand. So he was going to be a party crasher. With a smile she looked at the doorway. It was going to be an interesting night. She wondered if Matt was going to be there. Just the thought of the handsome boy made her stomach tighten with guilt. Sure Matt and her weren't going out or anything but there seemed to be something there, wasn't there? She had acted so fearless with Damon a few minutes before. Now she shook uncontrollably. "So much for my backbone." she said with a shakey laugh.

Damon knew how to get under her skin and make her question everything. Bonnie remembered about the tea she had planned to have and stood up. He was gone now and the feel in the house was back to normal. She made her way down stairs and to the kitchen; careful not to make any noise she ran some tap water into a mug and popped it in the microwave. Better to not use that noisy damn kettle and wake the whole house. When the microwave was at it's last second she opened the door and took the cup out before the buzzer went off. Bonnie placed a bag of chamomile tea in the mug and allowed it to steep. She found the sugar in the cupboard, spooned some into the mug and sat down. Yep this was going to be an interesting little get together they were going to have.

After she had finished her tea Bonnie placed it in the sink and walked back up stairs. She had to get out of this house. It was just too quiet for her with everyone asleep. She threw on some cloths, made her way silently back down stairs and after she locked the door closed it softly behind her. She walked down her driveways. She had no idea where she was going but she knew she had to do something, sleep just wasn't an option anymore and thoughts of Damon still ran through her head. "If he wasn't so damn sexy this wouldn't be so bad," she said to herself in a gruff voice. Turning left when she hit the end of her street so continued on. She stopped suddenly when she realized where she was going. 'Why am I going to the graveyard?' she questioned herself. Even after all the awful things that happened there for some her feet were leading her to the graveyard.

Once there she looked around and listened for any type of movement. She envied Damon and Stefan's acute sense of hearing but she'd never tell Damon that, he'd just use it as a bargaining chip. Only sounds of nature came to her ears and she continued on her journey and found herself at Elena's headstone. She dropped softly to her knees and touched the marble surface, tracing her best friend's name with her fingers. "It just seems so unreal," she said softly and realized tears had begun to stream down her face.

Bonnie wiped her eyes and stood up. The bad times were over now, she hoped and Elena was back. Miracles were always an amazing thing. She wondered how Elena's Aunt Judith would take this. Margaret would be thrilled, a little confused but thrilled. The towns people though, the might pose a problems especially with the Salvatore brothers still there. Just the thought of them going after Stefan and Damon made her shiver. All this hate and negativity in one town was destructive. She turned from the grave and headed towards town. Things were changing around her and so would she, for the better. When she finally made it to town she saw that the shops were already opening. Spotting the open sign in the door of the salon she went in. The girl behind the register /desk smiled cheerfully at her, Bonnie noticed the 'Walk-In customers welcome' and smiled back. "I need you to do me a favor. This has got to go." she indicated her curls. Her hair had grown longer in the past year and her bangs were almost even with the rest of her hair. "I want it straightened. I'm tired of having high maintenance hair," she said as she sat down in one of the chairs. She closed her eyes and let the lady do her own 'magic'.

Caroline walked into the boutique on Fell's church's main street. They had just gotten all their latest stock in and the clerks ran horridly around trying to show off the latest fashions. Caroline tilted her head at the mannequin modeling a deep red cashmere sweater with a sharp cleavage- showing v-neckline. She found her size and carried it as she drifted through the skirt section thumbing through various kilted skirts then she found one. Plaid with black and the same shade red as the sweater. She bought a pair of black dress shoes, lowheeled with buckles and black stockings. She left to go home and get ready...as she briskly walked down the sidewalk not paying attention. She smacked into someone.

About an hour later Bonnie walked out of the store, hair straightened and eyes brows freshly plucked. She almost felt like Caroline for the morning. As if the thought had conjured the other girl up Bonnie looked across the street to see Caroline in one of the clothing stores. With a friendly smile on her face Bonnie walked across the street and in to the clothing store. The bell above the door announced her arrival. Walking to a clothes rack to Caroline she spotted a beautiful silk green pants suit with a low neck. 'Damon would love that neck line.' she thought and a blush slowly creeped up her neck to her face.

'What am I doing, I'm not shopping to please him!' she shouted at herself in her head and moved on to the next outfit, but her eyes would continuously glance at the green one. With a growl of frustration she took it off the rack and headed toward the dressing room. 'Maybe if I try it on and see how silly I look I'll have to put it back.' she thought, hopefully. But she didn't look ridiculous. It was almost as if the pantsuit was made for her. She spun around in front of the mirror and smiled.

Whether or not Damon liked it, she did and that was all that mattered. Maybe Matt would like it too. Poor Matt he had been through so much lately, the all had but he had been the one kicked to the curb after Stefan appeared on the scene and then used by Elena for blood. He had been so weird for a while after that and kept telling himself Elena was dead and not a vampire. "Oh to be able to go back and erase the past." she said softly as she changed back into her cloths and headed toward the cashier. She was not going to speak to Caroline until she spoke to her. She wasn't sure if she was still the Caroline from last night. Caroline had tried to destroy Elena's reputation and turn everyone against Stefan but she had stuck by them and hadn't run away when the 'going got rough' in the woods. She really had tried even at Meredith's 'surprise' party to make everyone; even Sue and Vickie feel welcome. Just thinking about that night made her skin crawl. Everything had been great until the Ouija board and she still could hear Sue's screams in her head. Bonnie shook herself mentally to clear the images out of her mind and focused on Caroline. She was looking great as usual this morning, a little tired but great none the less.

Caroline saw bonnie and contemplating going over to her. She paced back and forth. Looking around.then sucking in her breath she smiled and approached Bonnie. She placed her bag of already purchased stuff on the counter next to bonnie.

"Hi, Bonnie." she smiled almost too radiantly. "I looove your hair that way!"

Bonnie heard Caroline's voice from behind her and turned around. She gave the girl a curious look and asked, "What about my hair?" and then blushed as she remembered the change. "Oh sorry. Thanks. I just got it done like 10 minutes ago. Not really use to it yet." She noticed the bags Caroline had placed on the counter. "Cleaning the place out I see," she teased with a small smile. "I came for a new outfit myself, something to wear tonight." She looked down at the pantsuit and quirked one shapely brow. "Don't know if it's really me or not. Looks ok but I'm not really used to wearing silk unless you count nightgowns. But I like the feel of it on my skin and it's comfortable so I thought I'd buy it. I can wear to a dozen other places so it's a good purchase don't you think?" she looked away from Caroline and little embarrassed at herself for babbling. 'She's probably just humoring me about my hair.' she thought sadly. She didn't know what to think of Caroline anymore.

Bonnie looked away from Caroline long enough to pay for her pantsuit then turned back to her with a smile. "Well I'll see you tonight. I'm going home to get ready. Mary is going to probably freak when she sees my hair but I like it, less hassle." She gave Caroline a small wave, walked to the door and out onto the street. She hadn't meant to be so stand off-ish but she just didn't feel comfortable around Caroline, not just yet. They had to get to know each other again before it could be the whole swap stories while eating raw cookie dough around midnight type friendship again.

She made it home in about 10 minutes and found the house empty. A note was on the refrigerator telling her that her parents and sister had gone out. With a shrug she walked up the stairs to her bedroom, hung the suit up in her closet, grabbed her terry cloth robe and made her way to the bathroom. She ran her bath water, added green apple scented bath crystals and fragrance oil to it. She closed her eyes as the smell of fresh Granny Smith apples filled the air. She needed to relax, hell she deserved it. Bonnie undressed and stepped into the steaming bath water, a little gasp of pleasure leaving her lips as she felt the warmth touch her skin. She sank down into the depths and leaned back against the wall of the porcelain claw footed tub.

'Now this is the life. My best friend is alive, I've got a new outfit, my hair looks great and my family is out of the house. What more could a girl want?' she thought dreamily as she relaxed in the tub. The girl at the salon had given her a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner that would help her hair. Coincidentally they smelled like green apple too. 'One of these days I'm going to turn into a damn apple.' she thought with a smile. 'Oh well. At least I'll smell good... well that is until I fall of the stupid tree or someone eats me...' she pushed the silly thought aside, proceeded to wash her hair and condition it. About thirty minutes later she was back in her room at the vanity brushing her hair and blow-drying it.

"I wonder if I should wear make-up? I need to cover these dark circles.' she cursed her self softly for not getting any sleep and decided on wearing a little make-up. When she was done drying her hair she looked at herself in the mirror. The change to her hair was amazing. She looked like a totally different Bonnie. The red hair went a little bit past her shoulder and the sides layered against her face. She opened her jewelry box and took out a pair of emerald studs and the matching gold necklace her sister had given to her as a birthday present one year. After she had bejeweled and bedazzled herself she went to the closet and removed the outfit from the hanger.

When she was dressed she looked in the closet for a decent pair of shoes. 'I should have bought shoes while I was out. Oh well... black goes with everything.' she chose a pair of stylish black sandals she had Elena bring her back from France and slipped them on her feet. She looked at the mirror and smiled. "You look like you're going on a date and not just out to see some friends," she said with a small laugh to her reflection then shrugged. She walked down stairs, left a note for her family, grabbed the keys to her dad's green Jeep Grand Cherokee and headed out the door, on her way to the boarding house.

Elena stood by the window in the top floor of the boarding house, unable to sleep, even after the seemingly never-ending day they had all encountered. She leaned forward, a little bit out of the window, just feeling the small tingle on breeze of her face, on her newly solidified skin, still making the connections between her former state of unbeing and her renewed state of life.

Her lapis eyes scanned the room that Stefan had inhabited back when things had seemed easier, even though they were just as broken and fragmented as they were now. She was restless; there was nothing more to it than that. Perhaps not so oddly, Elena craved anything sensual, still reveling in the gift that she had been given on the solstice night.

She stepped back from the window, taking the steps down and out of the boarding house.

Meredith's mobile phone beeped loudly enough to wake her up. Blinking sleep out of her eyes, she reached for it, feeling groggily relieved. She'd been having a bad dream. It was already fading, but she could remember running hard, knowing something dreadful was chasing her and closing the gap. She hadn't had a nightmare like that since just after Elena died. Elena.

Dropping the phone, Meredith pushed back the sheets and stepped into her slippers. She couldn't lie in bed another moment, not today. She showered, wrapped her long hair in a towel turban, and dressed quickly in comfy jeans and the pale pink chiffon sweater she'd ironed a few nights ago. The first thing she had to do was see about getting some clothes over to Elena. She was making do with some of Stefan's over night, but Meredith's would fit her better. And some food too, she thought, Stefan's not likely to have a big stock of that in his attic-room, and neither of them can exactly be seen in the supermarket the way things are. The way things are - that was a bigger problem, and one she could think of no easy solution to - but that a question for tonight. Next to all that they'd accomplished it was small potatoes. They'd work it out together, herself, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline... well. Caroline would help most if she didn't interfere too much and managed to keep some of the humility and genuiness she'd shown last night. Surely the change they'd seen in her wouldn't vanish over night. Then again, it was Caroline, the girl who changed outfits three times in a day sometimes.

She didn't remember the sms until she was quickly and precisely making up her bed. Clicking through the prompts, she smiled at the message; 'Am missing you + starting to sulk. No more than 3 curt emails saying yr too busy to receive phone calls over the last week! Should I be suspicious of some hay-haired country-hick interloper? Call me soon, love' . In the confusion and fear of the last several days she'd push Alaric to the back of her head, but suddenly she missed him with a fervor. She smiled as she popped the phone into her purse, then picking up the bag of clothes for Elena she headed out of the house.

High up on the tree outside of Meredith's house a shiny black crow sat unseen. Damon stretched his wings out, ready to take flight, swoop down on Meredith. But he decided not to. He had been in the middle of things too much already. Hell, he had just saved his brothers life.

The crow let out what could only be described as a chuckle. Saved Stefan's 'life'. Such an ironic little word. No, for now he would just sit back and watch. Figure out what his next move would be. His little scene with Bonnie had just been away to prove that he was still Damon.

All of his immortal vampire life, he had detested his little brother. If it hadn't been for Stefan, he would have never lost his mother. If it hadn't been for Stefan, he could have had Katherine all for his own. If it hadn't been for Stefan, Elena would be by his side now, not somewhere snuggled in Stefan's.

But when he had seen Klaus standing over his brother, ready to go straight through pathetic human Bonnie, Damon knew that he couldn't let Stefan die. What Damon really wanted to do was to leave. Get away from Fell's church. The one thing in town he wanted, he couldn't have.

As another image of Elena in Stefan's arms flashed through his mind, the crow angrily took to the air, rustling the leaves of the tree, causing some to flutter down on Meredith. And as he left the cover of the tree, the crow, Damon, let out a heart-wrenching caw.

A black feather floated down in her path and Meredith gasped. Beautiful, long feathers with an unnaturally velvety sheen. Her arms came up to her throat instinctively as she scanned the trees overhead. Looking for what couldn't possibly be there. Damon was gone. He'd left Fells Church, Stefan had assured her of that last night. There was nothing in the trees but a few of the blackbirds that were so common in these parts. It might have come from one of them. It must have.

Meredith picked up the bag she'd let fall to the ground and walked on determinately to the old boarding house. Her eyes were still periodically darting to the sky though as she walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell.

Why was it so bright? Tyler Smallwood's first thought was that the window shade in his bedroom had been left up. Growling at that thought, he tried to move--and winced. His whole body ached, especially his head. He lifted his fingers and felt around, grimacing at the large bump that covered the back of his head. *What the hell...*

Then it came back to him, bits and pieces floating together to form the picture of last night. The woods... Bonnie with a large stick... Falling unconsciously... He slowly opened his eyes, shielding them from the harsh sunlight with one hand as he looked around at the brightly lit forest.

He laughed humorlessly, realizing that no one had bothered to help him. He was still where he fell last night. In all likelihood, they had forgotten all about him. He stood up slowly, groaning with every movement, as he made his way on foot to his home. He had to get home. He needed to shower. He needed to eat. And then he would worry about last night.

Katherine stood at the edge of a cliff. The moon above shown down on the ocean's waves, and a cool breeze pushed her blonde hair off of her shoulders, and rustled the long plain black dress she wore. She thought back to nearly and hour ago. She had been in Hell, spoken to the devil himself, and cut a deal. She still wanted her revenge, and she promised to collect as many mortal and immortal souls as she could and send them Hell's way. The devil didn't seem to mind, and was almost happy to send her back. As long as she did whatever it was she was instructed to do, she could remain on the earth for another 500 years or so.

Now, here she was, alone, overlooking the sea. She wasn't even sure what sea it was. She turned away and headed down to the small village at the foot of the hill. She had enough power to transform back into the seemingly innocent kitten that had allowed her access to Elena's house, and she, in kitten form, went down the hill in search of dinner.