When Bonnie awakened the next morning, she grasped her head in pain. The room was too bright for her verdant eyes. The noises in the house were too loud for her sensitive ears. Even the smells wafting into the bedroom overwhelmed the girl. All of her senses were being overloaded with information and it was giving her a splitting headache. Her body was still transitioning and it wasn't an easy process. A witch transitioning into a vampire was an unnatural act. Therefore, her body and magic were both resisting and seeking the change at the same time. Worse yet, she was having phantom pains in the places where she was injured after the hit and run. She couldn't feel the pain last night as she was dying in the street. However, she could feel the pain now. She let out a strained scream of pain.

Bonnie screaming beside him awakened Stefan. His eyes shot open and he knew immediately what was happening to the girl. He had witnessed it before in a transitioning witch. Bonnie's body was reliving the trauma that caused her death. Over the years, Stefan had theorized that this was nature's way of discouraging a witch from completing the transition. It was nature's last gasp at trying to maintain the balance. Many witches chose death over the repeated agony. He moved down the bed until he was between Bonnie's legs. Stefan needed to get her relaxed enough to let him into her head again. Otherwise her mind's natural defense against vampires would kick in and force him out. A failed attempt at infiltrating a transitioning witch's mind could leave them both drooling idiots permanently.

"Ignore the pain and pay attention to me, Bonnie."

She cried out in pain again. The pain was so intense that she was temporarily blind. "I can't. It hurts! What's happening to me?"

Stefan kneeled between Bonnie's legs and pulled her into a sitting position so that she could see his face. "I know it hurts. Your body is experiencing the trauma from last night but it is only temporary. You need an anchor point so focus on me. You meditate, right?"

She nodded as tears streaked down her face. She whispered, "It hurts so badly. I don't think I can do this. Kill me, Stefan. Kill me, please."

He slid his hand underneath Bonnie's t-shirt and stroked his fingers against her center. He smiled when Bonnie's body reacted to him instantly. He said, "Yes, you can, Bonnie. You still have your magic. Do you know how rare it is for a witch to keep her magic after turning? You are strong. The impact from Thompson's truck should have killed you instantly but you survived long enough for Damon to turn you. You can do this. Just focus on me and shut the pain out. You can do it."

Bonnie's body was at war with itself. She could feel the phantom pain of her bones breaking and her spine snapping from the impact of the crash. However, her brain was also registering what Stefan was doing to her. She moaned softly but wasn't sure if it was in pleasure or pain. She assumed it was probably a little of both at this point. However, her legs splaying open even wider was a clear sign that she wanted Stefan to continue.

Caroline and Damon burst into the room having heard Bonnie screams from downstairs.

Just then, flames engulfed the wooden logs in the fireplace. The heat coming from the fireplace was intense.

The blonde vampire screeched and clapped a hand over her eyes. "Oh my God! I thought that Bonnie was in pain! What are you doing to her? I mean I can see what you are…"

Damon had the urge to snap his brother's neck but realized it would be more trouble than it was worth. He also didn't like how violently the fire was roaring in the fireplace. The flames looked as if they would escape the hearth at any moment.

Bonnie screamed even louder as blood started to drip from her nose and ears. She could feel the phantom pain of the bones in her face shattering. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head until only the whites were visible.

Stefan stopped long enough to growl at Damon. His eyes were coal black and the veins rippled beneath his eyes. "Close the door!"

Damon pulled Caroline out of the room and slammed the door behind them.

The blonde vampire leaned against the wall with a shocked expression on her face. "What was that?"

"Do I really need to explain the birds and bees to you, Blondie?"

She huffed at Damon. "No, I don't mean the sex part. I mean the blood dripping from the nose and the screaming part. That's not any part of sex that I am familiar with."

Damon said, "If I had to guess, it must be some sort of side effect from Bonnie's transition. Stefan knows more about witch/vampire hybrids than I do."

Caroline's eyes went as wide as saucers when she hear Bonnie moan behind the door. "Oh! I don't want hear that! I'm going downstairs."

Damon frowned but decided to follow Caroline downstairs. He really didn't want to hear his brother getting friendly with Bonnie either. He also didn't think he could handle hearing her screams of pain.

Elena and Jeremy stood up as soon as the two vampires walked into the room. "Is Bonnie okay?" they asked simultaneously.

Damon heaved a sigh and made a beeline for his drink cart. He was going to need bourbon if he was going to deal with two overly concerned Gilberts.

Caroline said, "Uh…we're not sure. She might be having some uh…side effects from turning. Or maybe transitioning is just different for witches than it is for regular humans. We didn't really get a chance to ask."

Jeremy scowled. "Why not? Did the two of you just leave Bonnie alone while she's in pain?"

"She's not alone," the cheerleader quickly replied.

"What do you mean she's not alone?" Jeremy asked.

Damon sat down on the couch and said, "She's with Stefan."

Elena scowled at that. Of course, she had seen Bonnie and Stefan together at Coach Thompson's house last night. They had argued about it but Bonnie seemed apathetic at the time. However, she had hoped that it was a one time occurrence. Elena and Stefan were broken up but she still loved him. She couldn't believe that her best friend was sleeping with him. "She stayed in his room last night?"

Damon rolled his eyes and said, "Yes."

Jeremy asked, "Why aren't we doing anything? Bonnie wouldn't be sleeping with Stefan if she was in her right mind. He's taking advantage of her."

Elena frowned at her brother. "Stefan wouldn't take advantage of Bonnie. He's not like that, Jer."

"What else would you call it? You told me that Stefan said that witches are unstable when they turn. Bonnie might not even have the mental capacity to be making her own decisions," he argued.

"What about Stefan? Klaus made him turn off his humanity. Do you really think that he would be sleeping with Bonnie otherwise? Stefan and I are in love!"

Jeremy laughed bitterly. "Is that why Damon has been acting like a creeper around you? Did you think I couldn't hear the two of you talking through the walls at night? How many times has he been in your bed, Elena?"

Caroline could see that the siblings were gearing up for an argument. "Bonnie might be acting a little strangely but she isn't mentally incompetent, Jeremy. You and Stefan broke up, Elena. Bonnie isn't betraying you anymore than I did when I dated Matt."

The Gilbert siblings fell quiet but they both looked unhappy.

Damon could have kissed Caroline for making the two of them shut up. He was seriously considering spending the duration of the storm in the Salvatore crypt. It was quiet. He could take plenty of blood and bourbon with him. However, it's best feature was the unending silence because this was a form of torture.

Ric walked into the room wearing an apron. "I finished cooking breakfast. You all should get in there before Tyler and Matt eat it all."

Jeremy glared at his older sister before walking out of the room.

Ric nodded at Elena. "You, too."

Elena huffed but dutifully followed her younger brother to the kitchen.

Caroline sat down on the couch with Damon. "I've already had my breakfast."

"Does anyone want to tell me what that was about?"

Damon refilled his glass with more bourbon. "Jeremy and Elena were fighting over Stefan and Bonnie."

"Well, that can't be good," he replied.

The raven-haired vampire glared at him.

Caroline looked at her phone. "I found the doctor that Miss Sheila told us about last night. Dr. Josette Laughlin is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Whitmore Hospital."

Damon looked over Caroline's shoulder to see the website that she pulled up.

Caroline said, "Too bad we can't get out to McKinley to see her until after the storm passes. She might be able to help us with Bonnie. I mean she has to be some kind of witch, right?"

Ric wore a thoughtful expression. He said, "We can't get to McKinley but that doesn't mean that we can't speak with her. Most hospitals require essential personnel to stay at the hospital during extreme weather events like hurricanes and blizzards. There is a very good chance that Dr. Laughlin is on duty right now."

The girl perked up and said, "That's a great idea! I'll pull up the hospital directory and see if she has a personal extension listed."

Damon was glad that at least Ric and Caroline were making themselves useful. Thus far, everyone else had just gotten on his nerves. He winced when heard another blood curdling scream from upstairs.

Even Ric looked disconcerted but remained seated since Damon didn't look worried.

Caroline pulled up the directory for the hospital's department heads. "I found her number! Who should call her?"

Ric looked at Damon and quickly decided that the vampire wasn't the right candidate. They were going to be asking this woman for a favor. His friend was in no condition to be remotely cordial. He said, "I'll do it. First, we should probably talk about what I will be saying to her on the off chance that she answers the phone."

"We should ask her how to help Bonnie? I mean this doctor has to be a witch if she can help us with Klaus, right? Then she might know what we can do to help Bonnie through her transition. I'm not really sure how much we can trust Stefan and his methods…"

Damon nodded in agreement. He really wasn't comfortable with whatever was happening with his brother and the witch. "Sheila made it seem as if Bonnie was integral to exiling Klaus. We're going to need her focused and not an insane ripper when the time comes."

Ric said, "Well, that's as good a place as any to get started. I'll ask her if she knows anything about transitioning witches. I hope that that will get her to take me seriously. What's the phone number, Caroline?"

She tossed her phone to the history teacher. "The number is right there. All you have to do is press call."

He caught the phone and called the number on the screen. He felt a little ridiculous calling a person he didn't know and asking her about witches and vampires. He was so used to only communicating with people in their little circle. He waited patiently as the line rang.

"Hello?"

Ric was surprised that someone actually answered. He had been prepared to leave the woman a message. "Uh, hello. May I speak to Dr. Laughlin?"

"This is Dr. Laughlin. How may I help you?"

"I was hoping that you would be available to consult on an unusual case. A young woman was run down by a car last night."

Jo turned on her computer and opened the patient database. She asked, "Is this young woman a patient here at Whitmore?"

"No, she isn't. She died from her injuries last night. However, a vampire gave her his blood before she expired. Now she's transitioning into a vampire."

The line went silent for a few moments. She snapped, "I don't have time for pranks, sir. The governor has declared at state of emergency and we are swamped with patients."

Ric noted her hesitation. "This isn't a prank and your help is very much needed. We don't know what do for this young woman. Her grandmother told us to contact you. Did you know Sheila Bennett when she was alive?"

"Is this about Bonnie?" she asked in a small voice.

He released a breath in relief. "Yes. Sheila's granddaughter was killed in a hit and run accident last night. A vampire that she is friends with tried to save her life but she was already too far gone at that point. She is transitioning now and…she's not well."

Jo paused for a beat and she asked, "Does Bonnie still have her magic?"

"Uh, I don't know," he replied honestly. He hadn't thought to ask Damon about that.

Damon lifted an eyebrow in question.

Ric said, "She wants to know if Bonnie still has her magic."

Damon deadpanned, "I'd say that she does unless Stefan's fireplace came to life by itself."

"She's in pain. She was bleeding from her nose," Caroline added anxiously.

"Yes, she does have her magic but she seems to be in a lot of pain. Is there any way that we can help her?"

Jo asked, "Has she already had human blood?"

Ric winced when he thought about the scene last night at his former colleague's house. "Yes, she has."

"Unfortunately, the pain she is feeling will continue for at least 24 hours from the time she began to transition. It may last even longer than that since she still has access to her magic. The pain will only get worse as her transition nears completion. Her body will repeatedly relive the injuries that caused her death until the transition is complete. It will feel like torture. The best solution that I can offer is to help Bonnie submerge herself in a meditative trance. Her body will continue to relive the physical trauma but her brain will be detached from it. I can send you a list of supplies that you will need to keep Bonnie in the trance until her transition is complete."

Ric said, "Thank you for your help, Dr. Laughlin. We didn't know what to do for her."

"Call me Jo, please. And you are welcome. Sheila Bennett was a good friend to me when I first started working at Whitmore. I am glad to be able to help her granddaughter in some small way. I am going to give you my personal phone number. You can text me so that I can send that list of supplies to you," she said. Then Jo rattled off her phone number.

Ric quickly entered the number into Caroline's phone. Then he sent Jo a short text. "My name is Ric by the way."