Stefan just smiled at his brother. He knew what he was trying to do and it wasn't going to work. He just turned to him and spoke, "You still have her ring right? Well, we should keep and eye out for her anyways. I should head back to the boarding house and see how things are going with Meredith and Mary. Are you coming?"

Stefan didn't wait for his brother to reply, he just turned around and started walking away. If Damon wanted to come, he would. There was no forcing a guy like Damon to do anything he didn't want to.

Bonnie walked over to the window and sat on the sill. 'So Stefan went to go find Damon huh? Good we need him here anyways.' Opening her book she flipped through the pages looking for anything that had to do with trancing. "Well I'm going to have to trance to go into Mary's mind but I need someone else with a great deal of psychic powers to help me. Two someone's to be exact. Do you think Damon would agree to help me travel into Mary's mind?"

She knew Stefan wouldn't mind it, he was all about saving the day but would Damon be willing to help save the girl that had just recently angered him? Closing her eyes Bonnie pushed with all of her might to touch his mind. ~Damon if you can hear me, I think I might need your help.~ Opening her eyes she relaxed against the window and took a deep breath. "I just tried to contact him, I don't really know if it worked or not. Our connection is dwindling and what power I have was used to put Meredith's soul back in her body.

Alaric was shocked when he saw Meredith jump off of the bed and hurry down stairs. Bonnie's spell had worked. Alaric got up to go downstairs to greet his girlfriend. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Meredith sweeping the floor. He just stood with his mouth open in surprise. "Meredith? How are you feeling? Are you okay?" He wasn't sure what else to say. He was just so happy to have her back. He stepped up to her and put his arms around her. "I missed you so much", he said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Alaric, honey, I'm really glad you're happy I'm okay...But I'm trying to finish sweeping." Seeing his crest-fallen expression, she dropped the broom with a giggle. "Alaric, I missed your touch so much!" Tilting her head back, she lightly kissed his lips and then bit his chin.

Bonnie's power may have been dwindling, but Damon's own was far from it. 'Ah the lady beckons.' He sent back to her. To his brother, he let his smile widen, "Can't handle a thing with out my help, can you little brother." But he shrugged and followed, curiosity getting the better of him. He could care less whatever happened to Mary. But whatever was lurking deep inside her psyche may prove to be an asset to him at a later date. A leaf cracked off to the side and a squirrel darted across Stefan's path. "Is it dinner time already?" He said mockingly, not masking his distaste for his brother's choice in ...food.

Mary could sense something going on. She remained hidden beneath the sands of her mind. The others watched intently from behind her eyes. If it weren't for their hissed whispered she would be fast asleep beneath the sand. Everyone else had given up on Mary, they proved she didn't and never would belong. So now, Mary took her turn to give up on everyone else.

Bonnie had watched as Alaric made a beeline downstairs to Meredith and she couldn't help but be a little envious of what they shared. 'That's nothing new, you've been envious of Elena and Stefan since he pulled up that first day of school.' She told herself as she turned toward the window. Bonnie's eyebrows shot up as she heard Damon's voice in her mind. "He's really going to come." She said softly, almost dropping the book. Leaning forward she pressed her forehead against the windowpane. Closing her eyes she sent another message to him simply saying, "Thanks."

Elena gave a brief nod of her head, in silent agreement with Bonnie's suggestion. She had had her differences with Damon, many of them. But despite all of that, she wouldn't deny that his mental powers were strong. They needed him. They needed /everybody/, together, if they were going to get Mary back and then.... She wasn't even sure what sort of threat Katherine posed. She was, after all, supposed to be dead. Elena had seen her ashes scatter before her own death. But seeing as she had returned from the beyond, she couldn't be entirely surprised that Katherine was back as well. But in what regard? Was she like she was? Was she still strong?

"Good," she said, lifting her head as Bonnie's words broke through her thoughts. Damon was coming. Which meant that - hopefully - Stefan would be returning as well. "He agreed to help then?" She wasn't entirely sure what Bonnie had asked of the elder Salvatore, if she had told him what he was needed for. "So we wait then."

Bonnie shrugged in reply to Elena's question. "He doesn't know exactly what I need his help with, just that I need his help and he didn't say he was going to help exactly. I just have a feeling he's coming back to the boarding house." Placing her free hand on the windowpane she felt it becoming cooler as the sun began to lower in the horizon. They still had a couple of hours of daylight left and Bonnie wondered how long Katherine would be in hiding.

Elena nodded again. "Probably the best idea," she said. She wasn't sure if Damon would go for the whole ouiji board idea or... "What did you decide on in the ned Bon?" she asked. Because when it came down to it, it was Bonnie's decision. It was her sister after all, and her mind that was going to be on the line. Well, and Damon's, but he'd had centuries more experience with his mental abilities.

It brought a smile to her lips thinking that they'd all be back together again. She knew there was strength in numbers, and they had a good core group - when they were all working together. So much had happened in the last... how long was it? It was so hard to judge time since she had returned, it had all sort of run together. Much like a blur. She was only now feeling as though she was really coming back to reality, the full force of it. Her lapis eyes moved to the window, following Bonnie's gaze, and she peered out at the dimming sky. "Another night," she said, half a murmur to herself. She felt a connection to the night, a fallback from her two weeks as a vampire.

Looking away from the fading light of dusk Bonnie gave Elena a smile. "I'm going to have to trance. There will be candles around me, Damon and Stefan. We'll have to link hands and stay connected through the whole thing. When we go under further contact from us won't happen till it's over. I don't know if we'll be speaking out loud or what. Trances are weird like that, especially when I'm involved. I still can't believe I zoned out at your first funer-.." Bonnie trailed the sentence off, looking away from Elena. She didn't care to think much less talk about the first time she thought Elena was dead and the incident with the dogs outside the church.

Again, Stefan ignored his brother's comments. He had learned that it just wasn't worth it to fight with him, nothing good ever came out of it. He continued on to the boarding house sensing Damon not far behind him. As he approached the house he opened the door. He first saw Meredith sweeping the floor in the kitchen.

"So, I guess Bonnie did something right to put you back together eh?" He smiled at her and shook Alaric's hand. "You must be thrilled too?" he directed to Alaric. "I am going to check on Elena and the others upstairs", he said as he turned to head to his room. As he entered he saw that Mary was still bound and everyone seemed to be crowding around her. His gaze turned to Elena. Oh how he loved her. He walked over to her and put his arm around her waist. "You did a good job with Meredith, Bonnie. So, what are going to do regarding Mary?"

Grateful for the change up subject Bonnie gave Stefan a small smile. "Well I'm going to have to trance to go into Mary's mind. That's where you and Damon come in. I need you both with me. Both of your psychic powers together is a force to be reckoned with and I think I'm going to need all the protection I can get." Glancing briefly at the door she listened for another set of footsteps. 'Come on Damon, you've got to come.'

Elena's smile fell a little at the thought of her first funeral. She remembered that part well, she had watched it from the window. So tempting it had been to go through, to see her family and friends. Tempting, but impossible. But of course, such thoughts were not necessary anymore. She was alive. Again. And although she couldn't see her family, she had her friends, and more importantly, she had Stefan. "Sounds like it will be complicated. But I'm sure you'll do fine," she said as her friend explained the trancing process.

Her smile returned when Stefan did - how could it not? - and she dropped her head to rest on his shoulder as she continued to listen to Bonnie. Her eyes moved over to Mary briefly, wondering what the girl thought of all this. Oh well, as long as it got Mary back to her old self, that was the important thing.
Damon sighed brushing past Meredith and Alaric without so much of a glance. "Can't live without me?" He directed to Bonnie leaning against the doorframe to Stefan's room. "Personally if you let me at her one more time, I can stop the little voices in her head."

He cocked an eyebrow at Bonnie, knowing full well the little spitfire wasn't about to let him knock her sister in the head again. "I am not in the mood to help the witch, but I am up for a challenging fight." He cracked his knuckles out in front of him.

His little question of whether Bonnie could live with out him or not remained unanswered but not unheard. She was about to make a scathing remark about his offer to knock her sister out again, or worse, but it died on her lips as he agreed to help. Walking to the door her shoulder brushed his lightly as she stopped in the doorway. "How sweet of you to help." She said as she continued past him and down the stairs, knowing that 'sweet' was the last thing Damon considered himself.

"I'm getting the candles. I'll be right back." She called over her shoulder to the others in Stefan's room. Sidestepping around Meredith and Alaric she walked to the cupboard, book in hand. Opening the door she retrieved the box of candles and the salt along with the box of crystals. 'You can never be too prepared.' She thought as she looked down at her arms full of stuff. 'Now to make it back upstairs with out dropping all this stuff.'

Caroline had kinda been in her own world just staring at her magazine. She wasn't even reading it. Her eyes glanced up briefly as Damon came back acting all-important like his presence truly mattered. She rolled her eyes when Damon was talking about himself.

She looked at Matt who was earnestly trying to be useful. And Meredith back in solid form. She smiled at Meredith. "Welcome back." She cast a glance at Elena then back down at her magazine. She felt her belly rumble. She hadn't eaten for several hours.

"Anyone up for ordering a pizza?"

Katherine picked up the closest thing to her, a small pebble, and threw it at the ladder leading down into the crypt. She reached out with her still diminished powers and caught the mental conversation with the two Salvatore brothers. "Fools." She said as the pebble fell to the ground harmlessly. She rubbed her finger, bare without her ring.

She felt the temperature in the crypt rise considerably and turned when she heard a voice behind her. "He was right here and you did nothing."

"I had no choice." Katherine defended herself in a pout. "He was standing in the sunlight and I told you he had my ring."

"Then you must not want revenge as much as you thought you did. Perhaps you need to come home for a while and think about it." The large hand reached for Katherine.

"No!!" cried spinning around on her heel and trying to escape.

With an evil laugh the large being grew larger, his cloak enveloping both he and Katherine. With one last burst of power, Katherine screamed, both vocally and mentally, her words echoing in the minds of any body with a hint of power...

"HELP ME!!!!!!"

And then silence, Katherine was gone.