Dinner at the Mikaelson Mansion turned out to be more pleasant than Bonnie would have initially expected. There were some awkward moments during dinner, but that was to be expected between former enemies. Tyler hated Klaus and Hayley with an unbridled passion. He only concealed it to keep the peace for Bonnie's sake. She was grateful for his sacrifice but it made her feel guilty. Sometimes Bonnie wondered if she was asking too much of her mate. She often considered how hurt Tyler had been by Caroline having sex with Klaus. This had to be a greater betrayal on some level.

Bonnie had enjoyed seeing the strange dynamics between the Mikaelson siblings. They all had their own little clique that seemed to exclude Finn completely. The sullen vampire stayed silent for most of the meal. He only spoke when Drusila engaged him in conversation. Bonnie found the woman's relationship with the Mikaelsons interesting, too. There was an obvious fondness between them all. They even shared a few stories from their childhood. Ansel listened with rapt attention because these were stories that he had never heard. He seemed pleased that Drusilla and Klaus had been so close. However, his smile had turned into a grimace when he heard that Klaus had pursued Drusilla at one time unaware of their blood ties. Fortunately, she had known the truth and firmly rejected his advances.

Following dinner and dessert the witch doctor arrived to examine Bonnie. The older woman wasn't just a witch but an actual board certified doctor. She brought a portable ultrasound so that they could get a look at Bonnie's baby. She also performed several magical tests with interesting results. Afterwards, she wanted to consult with Drusilla and Ansel about Bonnie's situation. The woman seemed more mystified than concerned. She didn't know if that should put her at ease or not. Bonnie tried to focus on the fact the Qetsiyah seemed certain that her daughter would be born. Their ancestor was a sadistic psychopath but she would have no reason to lie about Bonnie's child.

Bonnie didn't know how long she had been lying on the bed in one of Klaus' guest bedrooms. However, she had sang the entirety of 'The Witch Doctor' under her breath a total of three times. She was gearing up for a fourth time when she heard the door open without so much as knock. She wondered if Nana Dru had finished consulting with the witch doctor.

Damon walked into the room with a grim expression. It smelled as if the vampire had bathed in bourbon. He had been in the middle of celebrating Alaric's return to the land of the living when Tyler called him. Damon had abandoned his drinking buddy at the Grille and drove straight to the Mikaelson Mansion. Klaus hadn't been happy with his arrival but Lucy had taken him to Bonnie's room without delay. "I can't leave you alone for a single day, witchy."

She looked up at Damon with a surprised smile. "What are you doing here, Damon? I figured you would celebrating with Alaric until his human liver tapped out."

He hooked his thumb in Tyler's direction. "Wolf Boy called and said that you were seeing some kind of doctor."

"A witch doctor," Bonnie clarified.

Tyler said, "Yes, but maybe no more renditions of The Witch Doctor."

Bonnie pouted at him. "But I love that song."

"How do you even know that song? It is a little before your time, no?" Damon asked casually.

She grinned at him and said, "Alvin and the Chipmunks introduced it to my generation."

"Alvin and the Chipmunks were definitely before your time," he said with a snort.

Tyler shook his head. "They brought back a newly animated version when we were kids. Then they made those stupid live-action movies."

Bonnie made a face and said, "That was a travesty. Who thought that was a good idea? I mean a cartoon movie would have been better. I would have watched that. They literally named the second movie the Squeakquel. Who the hell do they think they are?"

Damon and Tyler both looked at Bonnie with raised eyebrows.

She looked at them and shrugged, "I have very strong opinions about Alvin and the Chipmunks."

The vampire snorted and said, "I see that. Any other animated landmines that I should avoid?"

"I hate Beauty and the Beast and Snow White got what she deserved for taking strange fruit from weird old ladies in the woods," Bonnie added.

Tyler barked out a laugh and said, "Man, you would not let that one go when we were kids. You just kept asking why her grandmother had never told her not to take food from strangers."

Damon said, "Well, Bonnie does have a point. If you go around accepting food from random people in the woods, you're bound to get poisoned eventually. Or at the very least roofied."

Bonnie was glad that someone understand her perspective on Snow White's foolishness.

Tyler said, "She was equally skeptical of Little Red Riding Hood."

"What girl wouldn't recognize her own grandmother?" Bonnie huffed.

Damon chuckled at her petulant attitude. He was glad to see that she wasn't worried about this doctor situation. "You should read The Brothers Grimm versions of those tales. You would probably like them better my judgy little witch. They're bloodier for one thing."

"Really?" she asked with piqued interest.

"I think I have a translated copy at home as well as the original German text...not that it would do you any good. It'll be in the library somewhere," he said.

Bonnie said, "I'll have to borrow your copy."

"You'll like Cinderella's tale. One of her stepsisters actually cut off a toe to force her fat foot into the shoe," he revealed.

Bonnie gasped and then started laughing. "Don't tell me anything else, Damon! I want to read the book for myself."

Tyler was glad that he made the decision to call Damon. Bonnie seemed more at ease already. He didn't always understand their strange bond but he respected it.

There was knock at the door.

Bonnie said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a strange grouping of people: Drusilla, Lucy, Ansel, Klaus, the witch doctor, and Ruby.

Tyler tensed when he saw their grim expressions. Ruby immediately drifted over to his side.

Bonnie said, "Well...don't keep me in suspense."

Drusilla sat down on the side of the bed and said, "There is something unusual but not necessarily harmful happening to your baby. We don't yet understand the cause…"

The doctor was an older woman with white streaks in her hair. She proposed, "Or perhaps the girl isn't being honest with us."

Tyler stiffened and asked, "What does that mean?"

Drusilla shot the doctor an unkind look and before looking at the young couple.

Lucy cleared her throat and said, "The baby's magic is very strong. The portable ultrasound Evony used confirmed that the baby is far more developed than one would expect considering the estimated conception date."

Lucy tried gently, "Perhaps you have your days mixed up."

"You wouldn't be the first woman to have more than one partner. No one here will judge you for it," the doctor added.

Bonnie said, "There is no mix up and I haven't been with anyone else. And the next person that suggests that the baby doesn't belong to Tyler is going to have their freaking spine ripped out by me."

Tyler growled in agreement.

Ruby rolled her eyes and said, "I've tried explaining to them that it's not possible. Tyler would not have been able to mark Bonnie if she was already pregnant. She certainly wouldn't have gone into the heat cycle after being marked. The heat cycle's sole purpose is conception. Her body would have been well aware if there was an occupant already in her womb."

Ansel nodded in agreement. "Tyler wouldn't have even considered Bonnie a viable mate while she was carrying another man's child. His wolf would have rejected her despite the fact that they are soulmates."

Ruby added, "And Tyler would be able to smell if the child wasn't his own. It would affect the way Bonnie smells."

"Bonnie smells like me," he added in a gruff voice.

The witch doctor frowned because this made the situation blurry again.

Damon said, "You should have just called Elodie. This hack hasn't done anything but accused you of sleeping around."

Bonnie stopped scowling long enough to look at Damon. He certainly knew her aunt's abilities better than she did. She asked, "Do you think that Elodie will know more about what's happening?"

"It has to be better than whatever the hell this is," Damon added with a glare.

Lucy added, "Elodie did make the potion that ended my heat early. She must have some understanding of the mechanics. It might be a good idea to reach out to her for a second opinion. Does anyone know where she is now?"

Damon took out his phone and started sending a text. "She was at the boarding house last I checked. She's been teaching Sarah how to make potions."

Bonnie chuckled at the distaste on Damon's face. She knew he wasn't pleased with Sarah getting so close to magic. However, brewing potions didn't require magic, only the knowledge how to do it. In the future, it might help keep Sarah safe from the supernatural world that she now lived in.

Elodie's eyebrows furrowed as she listened to Drusilla explain Bonnie's predicament. She looked at her niece and asked, "Did you receive your magic before or after you most likely conceived the child?"

Bonnie thought about the answer and then replied, "It was definitely after. I got my magic back after my heat ended. Ruby said that the heat ended early because it had been successful."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "It is the only reason I have ever seen a heat end early-naturally. And I have seen many heats in my lifetime."

It was obvious that the older woman still wasn't over the witch doctor's accusations against her alphas. Tyler and Bonnie were the future of their pack. The child she carried shared Ruby's blood.

Elodie said, "The most obvious answer is that the return of your magic affected the child's growth. It is not the first time I have seen this happen to a witch with unique biology. We will need to monitor your pregnancy closely to ensure that the child does not continue to develop at an accelerated rate. Because that could put your health at risk. Otherwise, I do not think that you have anything to fear. The end result is that you will give birth in roughly six months instead of the traditional nine months."

Bonnie felt some measure of relief at Elodie's explanation. "Is there anything else that I should know?"

Elodie said, "Hybrid witch/werewolves are a strange breed, Bonnie. It means we are capable of things that others are not. There may come a time when you have the urge to shift. You must not give into that urge. I will teach you how to prepare a potion that will prevent you from shifting. You will need to keep a dose on you at all times. If you were to shift this early in your pregnancy it would cause you to miscarry."

Tyler went pale at Elodie's stern warning. He asked, "Because Bonnie is a hybrid she's able to shift even while pregnant?"

The older woman nodded sagely. "Yes, I have seen others like Bonnie capable of such. In the early stages of the pregnancy it is dangerous. Closer to full-term is safer but not at all recommended. It should only be attempted if there is some overwhelming need...like some sort of threat you cannot face in your human form."

Ruby shook her head forcefully. "It will not come to that. The pack will protect our alphas."

Bonnie asked, "Does that only include a full shift? My fingers elongate into claws at times without any actual effort on my part."

She thought back to the night that she hand plunged her hand into Dakota's chest because of her disrespect. Bonnie's claws had emerged unbidden on pure instinct.

Elodie shook her head and said, "A partial shift like that would not change the shape or placement of the womb. However, you will need to spend time training yourself how to control your shifts. Stress, fear, or danger could trigger a shift without your consent."

Bonnie knew that to be true. She would have shifted the night Klaus reappeared if it had not been for Lucy's presence. Her cousin had helped Bonnie focus on staving off the shift. Bonnie realized with no small amount of horror that she could have miscarried that night if not for Lucy's help.

Tyler could feel Bonnie's apprehension. He took her hand and said, "I will be here to help you, Bon. You know I spent months in the Appalachian Mountains learning how to control my wolf. I can teach you to control your wolf the same way."

Elodie said, "And I will ensure that you have the potion as a failsafe until you achieve more control."

The girl nodded and swallowed thickly. "Thank you for coming over to help me with all of this. I know that you would rather not be here…"

She shook her head and said, "Coming here was no great sacrifice. Bennett witches take care of our own but especially the young. We have let you down in that regard in recent years but no more. I have also accepted that we must work with that beast and his bloodthirsty siblings. Frankly, I prefer being able to keep a closer eye on them. I will know if they mean to betray us."

Tyler nodded in agreement with Elodie. He didn't trust Mikaelsons as far as he could see them. They would always choose to protect each other. He could sense some genuine affection for Bonnie from Klaus. However, if the chips were down, Tyler had no doubt that the Original Hybrid would choose his siblings. His relationship with them was complicated. Even after having Finn daggered for most of their lives, it never occurred to Klaus to kill his brother.

He cleared his throat. "There was something else I was hoping that we could talk to you about, Elodie. Ruby, I would like your advice, too."

Both women looked at him curiously.

"I have been studying the information on the unification ritual. I was wondering if you could both look it over, too. I need to know if it is safe for Bonnie to complete the required trials while pregnant or should we wait. I am not comfortable allowing the information to leave her house. The alpha that gave me the information went to a lot of trouble to keep it secure. He was right to do that. Maybe the two of you could come over to the house tomorrow," he suggested.

Ruby said, "Of course, I will help any way that I can. It might be wise to bring Gabe along, too. He knows more than I do when it comes to lore and he has many contacts that could prove useful."

Elodie nodded and said, "I would be glad to do that. I know Della has been pushing for this ritual but she does not know what it requires. It is foolish for her to ask this of Bonnie without the facts. I know that you are still tired, Bonnie. What time would work best for you tomorrow?"

Bonnie said, "Well, today I slept until the early afternoon. I will probably do the same tomorrow."

"How does 3 o'clock sound?" Elodie suggested.

Ruby said, "That works well for me and I will make sure that Gabe clears his schedule."

Bonnie said, "That would be great."

"Also, I am going to bring you the ingredients for a more powerful restorative tea. You are going to need it to recover your strength. I want you to drink three cups a day until you feel better. Afterwards, I'd still like for you to drink a cup a day. Your body is going to fatigue more easily because of pregnancy but also because you are carrying a child that already has magic. His or her magic will take a toll on your body," Elodie explained.

Tyler frowned because that did not make him feel any better. However, he smoothed out his expression when Bonnie looked at him. He smiled supportively and said, "Plenty of tea…got it."

Ruby gave him a knowing smile. She understood it was a lot for someone so young to process.

Elodie said, "I'd also like for you to limit your magic use until you feel 100% again, Bonnie. You can still train but maybe for only a few hours a day."

"Okay," Bonnie said. "I didn't really train at all today. I did meditate while we were out at the falls but that was it."

"That's good. Since our powers are derived from nature, spending time communing with the elements is a great way to speed up the healing process," Elodie acknowledged.

Bonnie grinned and said, "I am not going to reject a valid excuse for spending more time at the falls. I love it out there."

Tyler chuckled and said, "I don't think communing with nature includes chasing little woodland creatures."

She lightly shoved his shoulder. "Don't tell people that."

Ruby looked perplexed. "You've been hunting?"

Bonnie looked even more embarrassed. "No, I mostly just like seeing the animals. And I really enjoy tracking them…"

Elodie smiled at her niece and patted her hand. "You are not the first witch to be fascinated with all that nature has to offer. Some of us are more interested in plant life but there are others that have an affinity for animals. There was an ancestor of ours that was capable of controlling animals."

"Like a familiar?" Bonnie asked intrigued.

"No, a familiar is independent as I am sure you are learning with your kitten. No, some witches are capable of influencing animals to do their bidding."

Tyler chuckled, "Bonnie already has Russell under her thrall. Should I be expecting more animals trying to steal my girlfriend?"

Elodie laughed thinking about the crow she had witnessed watching Bonnie. She knew that he belonged to Damon, but the bird had obviously formed an attachment to her niece. However, she did not know if that was because of Bonnie's abilities or Damon's affection for her.

She smiled at him and said, "Possibly...but it is a useful ability."