Bonnie was fortunate to have Tyler and Ruby looking after her. The older woman had prepared a sizable snack that Bonnie devoured without shame. Her energy had been sapped by the unexpected and prolonged trance. The food had helped combat the lightheaded feeling. Bonnie even asked Ruby to prepare a special restorative tea for her. She had a container of pre-blended herbs and roots that Ruby only needed to brew. Bonnie had found the recipe in Sheila's grimoire some time ago. She often made the tea after spending hours communing with nature. Channeling the elements was strenuous because she didn't have access to her powers. The act often left her exhausted both physically and mentally. The tea always helped rejuvenate her. Therefore, it was just what the doctor ordered tonight.

As she sat beside Tyler, her thoughts lingered on the meeting with her grandmother. While she had been happy to see Sheila, it was quite an ordeal. Bonnie appeared unconscious during the trance but it was so much more than that. Her grandmother had pulled her onto the astral plane. The unfamiliar setting was pulsing with magic and energy that she had never before experienced. The intensity and variety of the stimuli surrounding the young woman had overwhelmed her supernatural senses. For the first time, she could feel her body on the edge of transformation. The beast had clawed and gnashed at the tattered remains of the curse binding it. Only Sheila's calming presence had prevented Bonnie from shifting into a werewolf on the astral plane.

For a brief moment, she had feared that Sheila would disapprove of her. Bonnie was becoming something unnatural and powerful. She felt that power acutely on the astral plane. Her very existence was an affront to nature and the balance that all witches were tasked to maintain. However, Sheila had swiftly assuaged those baseless fears. Her grandmother's love was unconditional, infinite, and consuming. The travelers' plot was of course a pressing matter but it did not receive top billing in their conversation. They had spent most of the time discussing the new changes in Bonnie's life as well as the ones yet to come. She would have stayed with Sheila longer if not for Tyler stirring her wolf once more. Only the promise of seeing her grandmother soon managed to soothe her disappointment. The disappointment disappeared altogether when she opened her eyes and saw Tyler standing beside the couch on four legs. Their bond reconnected instantly. The relief, happiness, and love radiating from him overwhelmed her. For the first few seconds, it had felt as if they were the only other people in the room. Now she wished that were true.

Bonnie felt guilty because she wanted her friends to leave. They had not done anything wrong. The young woman even appreciated how they all rallied around her while she was unconscious, but she wanted to have a private conversation with Tyler. She had news that she wanted to share with him before anyone else. It would be difficult to do that with so many guests that possessed supernatural hearing abilities. However, the group couldn't disperse just yet. The decision to kill Katherine was made more complicated by the travelers' dastardly plan. Katherine wouldn't be particularly useful in the fight against the travelers but they might need her daughter. Nadia had spent months tracking the travelers and learning the intricacies of their plan. Moreover, she had many friends that practiced traveler magic that might be willing to align against Markos and his followers. As with most supernatural communities, the travelers were not monolithic.

Allowing Katherine to keep Elena's body long-term certainly was not in the cards. However, there were other options to consider. Travelers were not the only magic practitioners capable of possession and body swapping. Bonnie had come across a handful of spells in her great-grandmother's grimoire. An experienced witch could extract Katherine's essence from Elena's body and transfer it into another vessel. There was even a spell to bind her to the new vessel so that she couldn't possess anyone else. Bonnie didn't think it would be too hard to find a reprehensible vampire or human to serve as Katherine's new home. Unfortunately, she didn't know how to convince everyone, including Katherine, that this was the best course of action.

Bonnie was most concerned about her best friend. Damon's anguish earlier had been visceral. Bonnie could almost feel it prickling her skin. It probably would have hurt less if Katherine had just ripped his heart out—literally. Damon wanted her dead and Bonnie couldn't blame him for that. The cruel doppelganger had been toying with him for nearly two centuries. It was as if Katherine derived a sick thrill from hurting Damon. Moreover, Elena was owed some sort of retribution as well. Katherine had stolen her body and life for months. She had struck up a sexual relationship with Matt and God knows whom else. Bonnie couldn't even wrap her mind around the consent issues on that one. In order to defeat the travelers, they would need to adopt a high level of pragmatism. It wouldn't be the first time they made a deal with the devil. They had all done morally questionable things in the pursuit of survival.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out a tactful way to broach the subject. After a few minutes of thought, Bonnie decided to rip off the band-aid. She blurted out, "We can't kill Katherine tonight."

Everyone looked in her direction with various levels of surprise. They had all been silent as Bonnie recovered from the trance. Her ashen complex and dizziness had been disconcerting.

Tyler wasn't shocked by Bonnie's declaration. He had been thinking the same thing since Katherine told them about the travelers. He wanted to give Elena her life back but Katherine was an asset for now. He said, "Okay."

For once, Katherine was worth more to them alive than she was dead. It was a startling turn of events. Damon said, "Obviously."

Caroline asked, "Why?"

Damon quipped, "She's a good bargaining chip for now, Blondie."

Stefan frowned because he could think of a dozen ways this could go horribly wrong. He also realized that they were short on options right now. He said, "Damon is right, Caroline."

The doppelganger's lips curled up into a self-satisfied smirk. She had been sitting on that trump card for this occasion. She hadn't anticipated being discovered, but Katherine always had an exit strategy waiting in the wings.

Matt scrubbed a hand across his face as he thought about explaining this situation to Jeremy. The kid was surely in a tizzy over Tyler dating Bonnie. He would be in no mood to hear that Katherine would get to keep Elena's body for a little longer. "How long do we have to keep this up, Bon?"

The blond restaurant manager had a unique view of the situation. A traveler had possessed him unwillingly for weeks. Matt had started to believe that he was going insane after losing chunks of time. He had been terrified that he was doing something awful during those blackouts. The only upside in his case was that Gregor had been unable to take complete control of Matt's mind and body. Matt was able to resurface frequently. He couldn't imagine how Elena would feel once they freed her. Did she know that Katherine had possessed her? Had she been asleep this entire time or a helpless spectator?

Bonnie was glad that she wouldn't have to convince everyone that this was the right plan. She said, "I don't know exactly, Matt. I mean obviously Katherine is useless…as usual."

Damon snorted with a smirk. He knew that Bonnie's was taking Katherine down a peg for his benefit. He genuinely appreciated her assistance. It wasn't as satisfying as snapping her neck but Damon would take it.

"However, we might need her daughter's help. We certainly need whatever information she has been gathering on the travelers. I doubt that she will be jumping to help us if we kill her mother."

Caroline wasn't pleased by the idea of Katherine remaining in Elena's body for even a second longer, but she also saw Bonnie's point. The travelers were planning a supernatural Doom's Day that would spill over well beyond the borders of Mystic Falls. Before this debacle was over, they would all have to make some sacrifices. "We can't allow Katherine to just keep Elena's body."

Bonnie quickly said, "I am not suggesting that this is a permanent solution, Care. I have actually been thinking about alternatives. We could always stuff Katherine's essence into a new body. It would be someone of our choosing so that we aren't stealing some decent person's life."

Katherine scowled in displeasure. She was not on board with inhabiting another body that didn't look like…her. However, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If Bonnie was willing to convince the others to compromise on killing her, she was not going to say anything to change their minds.

The green-eyed girl discreetly looked toward her friend. She wondered if he would be okay with this.

Damon was sitting across the room still trying to reach Lucy. He met Bonnie's gaze and nodded. He knew that she was worried about his reaction but he had calmed down since learning the truth. Watching his best friend collapse had been a shock to his system. Katherine's cruel manipulation no longer seemed quite as important. Frankly, his sire had unwittingly helped him get over Elena. Their relationship had been toxic but Damon had tried his best to ignore the writing on the wall.

Bonnie cleared her throat and said, "At most, it might take a couple of days to put everything together. In the meantime, we will keep Katherine locked up here so that she can't run away with Elena's body."

Caroline was reluctant but nodded. She hoped that Elena would understand why they were doing this. She said, "We can't leave Katherine here. You could be hurt if she managed to free herself somehow. We should take her to the boarding house and lock her in the cellar."

Tyler shook his head. "I will be here with Bonnie to keep an eye on Katherine. She won't get past us. Besides, the boarding house is the first place that Nadia will go looking for her mother."

Bonnie squeezed his hand to express her gratitude. She didn't like the idea of Katherine being out of her sight. Sheila had warned her granddaughter to be wary of the vampire. Katherine's family might not have practiced traveler magic but it was in her blood just as it was in Elena's blood. They had no way of knowing if she had been learning the craft. Traveler magic would be a useful tool and Katherine wasn't known for ignoring those.

The blond vampire sputtered, "You're going to stay here."

He nodded. "Yeah. I have been staying here since Saturday. I don't think that Bon is ready to kick me out just yet."

Bonnie bit back a smitten smile as she looked into his dark brown eyes. She wasn't ready for Tyler to leave. In fact, she was dreading the day when things would go back to normal. Despite the fact that she had no idea how normal looked now that they were mated to each other.

Caroline couldn't hold back her questions any longer. She asked, "Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?"

She knew that the answer was obvious but she just couldn't help asking. The two of them were cuddled up on the couch as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She wondered why everyone else seemed to behave as if this was no big deal. What signs had she missed?

Tyler said, "Yes, we are."

The green-eyed girl looked at her friend. "I know that you have questions, Care. I promise that I will answer as many as possible but not tonight. I am still tired and it is getting late."

Caroline looked at the couple and nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks, Care," Bonnie whispered.

Caroline said, "You are right about the late hour and I am ready to crash for the night. I have an eight o'clock class in the morning. I think I am going to leave."

Matt looked at the time and frowned. "I think I am going to leave, too. When should we all meet tomorrow?"

"Maybe 2 o'clock?" Bonnie asked. "Will your classes be over for the day by that time, Care?"

Caroline nodded. "Yes."

Stefan said, "I think that is a good time."

Damon called out. "Heads up, witchy!"

Bonnie caught the phone hurtling towards her face with superhuman accuracy. She scowled at Damon. "What?"

"Lucy is on the phone," he said. He motioned for her to start talking.

"Hello. Hi," she said haltingly. "I am Bonnie Bennett. We met at a party and sort of bonded over Katherine's treachery."

Lucy chuckled airily, "Yes, I know who you are, Bonnie. Our last meeting was quite memorable. I am going to assume that your call has something to do with why my grandmother accosted me in the middle of a very nice dream tonight."

Bonnie tried to remember the branches of their family tree. Lucy and Abby were first cousins. She asked, "Amelia contacted you?"

"Yes, she did. It is my understanding that I won't be the only Bennett witch getting an unsolicited visit from a deceased relative tonight. They are dreamwalking in order to reach as many of us as possible."

"My grams reached out to me, too," she replied. "We could really use your help here, Lucy."

Lucy said, "I will be on my way to Mystic Falls tomorrow afternoon. My grandmother seems to think that your sleepy little town is where the travelers will set up their base camp. We are going to have to put up some wards to prevent that from happening."

"I didn't think that travelers could gather in one place. Katherine said that nature literally turns on them for doing that," Bonnie said. She glanced over at the shackled vampire.

"She was telling the truth but there is one exception to that rule. The witches were not as thorough with the curse as they should have been. It is true that travelers cannot congregate together in one place without a natural disaster or a plague wiping out their coven. However, they have found a loophole to exploit. The curse only works while the travelers are in their own bodies."

Bonnie groaned as she followed Lucy's statement to its logical conclusion. She said, "Any number of people here in Mystic Falls could have travelers possessing them. We can't go around stabbing everyone with the knife to check."

Damon tilted his head to the side. "We could…"

Stefan frowned. "Damon…"

He just shrugged in response and leaned against the wall. Damon didn't see a problem with stabbing and compelling everyone if it meant ensuring their town was free of travelers.

Lucy asked, "You have the knife in your possession right now?"

"Yeah, we took it off Katherine tonight. We thought that she had died a few months ago. Instead, she became a passenger inside of my friend Elena."

"Guard that knife closely. There are only a few known to be in existence. Finding them is next to impossible. The knife is the only way to kill a passenger, without it we would just have to kill the poor soul they are possessing. There are special wards that we can place all over town that will prevent the travelers from hitching a ride in anyone's body. It will also help us identify any of the townsfolk that have already been possessed."

"We will make sure that the knife remains safe," she replied. "I also need your help with Katherine. She can't keep Elena's body but we need her daughter's cooperation. I thought we might be able to transfer Katherine into another vessel."

The line was quiet for a moment before, Lucy replied, "I know of a spell that can accomplish that. I have performed it a few times but it is no simple feat. Do you already have another vessel in mind?"

Bonnie was relieved to hear that Lucy was capable of performing the spell. "No, we haven't found another vessel yet but we will."

"Good. Well, send me your address. I don't know exactly what time I will make it there tomorrow. I need to pick up some supplies for the wards and a few spells. Some of the ingredients I have on hand. I will have to find some of the others."

"Sure. Is there anything that I can help get for you? I have a friend that has an amazing knack for acquiring some of the more hard to find items."

Lucy sounded pleased when she asked, "Have you found a witch to mentor you?"

Bonnie said, "No. I have been using Amelia's grimoire to teach myself how to make potions and elixirs. My friend is a vampire that gets my supplies and occasionally allows to me experiment on him. I used an immobilization potion from Amelia's grimoire tonight to incapacitate Katherine."

Stefan looked at his brother with a shocked expression. Damon hadn't mentioned that he was helping Bonnie with her magic.

Damon just shrugged. He didn't feel the need to explain his friendship with Bonnie.

"Impressive," she praised. "I will send you the list of items that I need. You can let me know which ones your friend can acquire by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you." She said, "I will text you in the morning with his response."

"Okay. Talk to you then. Good night," Lucy said.

Bonnie ended the call and said, "I don't have my phone with me. Do you have yours, Ty?"

He nodded and pulled the phone from his pocket. He handed it over to Bonnie.

She added Lucy's number to Tyler's contact list and then sent her a text message. Afterwards, Bonnie threw Damon's phone at him.

The vampire chuckled as he snatched the phone out of the air. He could tell that Bonnie had purposely aimed to hit him in the face. "That wasn't very nice, witchy."

She bit back a grin. "I don't know what you mean."

"Just like you volunteered me to be Lucy's secret shopper?" he asked with a smirk.

She shrugged. "I could go just do it myself if you shared your super secret witchy connection with me."

Damon shook his head. "You wouldn't be able to pay my connection. She doesn't take cash."

Bonnie's green eyes widened as she stifled a laugh. "How exactly are you paying for this stuff?"

Stefan cleared his throat because he was about to laugh, too.

"Get your heads out of the gutter. I'm not using my body as currency." He waggled his eyebrows and said, "Not that she wouldn't love it."

Caroline made a disgusted sound.

Damon merely grinned at them.