Apparently, it was no easy feat to put a transitioning witch into a meditative trance. It was infinitely more difficult when that witch was as powerful as little Bonnie Bennett. Her magic would become uncontrollable the more she suffered and it would put them all in danger. Jo had warned Alaric that they might need to dose the girl with the potion several times over the next 24 to 48 hours. They also needed to find a way to keep her fed while she was in what amounted to a coma. Because Bonnie was still in the throes of transitioning, she could start to desiccate after eight hours without blood. The doctor's instructions had been dizzying but detailed. She had also sent the instructions via email so that Alaric could keep them close at hand.
The bad news was that the boarding house had only two of the eight necessary ingredients. Fortunately, Damon was eager for an excuse to leave the house in the middle of a blizzard. Putting distance between himself and his younger brother seemed prudent right now. Whenever the vampire's thoughts strayed to Stefan, he had an overwhelming urge to snap his neck. During a brief nap this morning, Damon had even dreamed about ripping out the smug bastard's heart. He wouldn't actually kill his brother, but fantasizing about it was disturbing. Damon could think of few instances where he had ever truly wanted to kill Stefan. He had tortured him in the past as revenge or because he was bored but this was different.
Damon knew that this situation was largely his fault. He could have told Bonnie he had feelings for her weeks ago. However, it had taken him awhile to understand those feelings. Frankly, he still didn't have a firm handle on how he felt about her. Damon felt the need to protect her but it was more than that. He had noticed a possessive streak that made him uncomfortable. His sudden desire to possess Bonnie had forced him into her bed almost every night. Damon needed Bonnie to smell like him to warn away other supernatural suitors. He was scared by the depth of his feelings for the witch. Therefore, Damon did what he did best-run.
He ran away from Bonnie while she was awake and focused on Elena. It was easy to do considering their history. There was also the little matter of having been chasing the same face over 150 years. Unfortunately, no matter how close he grew to Elena, it didn't stop his desire for Bonnie. In fact, Damon only ended up feeling as if he was doing something very wrong. It was the main reason that he hadn't pushed Elena to do more than cuddle and occasionally kiss. Damon had been seducing doe-eyed girls since the Civil War, he could have made the Gilbert girl putty in his hand with ease.
In hindsight, Damon knew that he should have taken Stefan's offer. Even if he wasn't ready to confront his feelings for Bonnie, at least he wouldn't have to listen to them having sex. He realized that Stefan was only trying to provoke a reaction out of him. He would have noticed a pronounced exhibitionist streak in his brother before now. He couldn't say why Bonnie was indulging Stefan's antics but he hoped things would go back to normal once the transition was complete. Damon was ready to have 'old' Bonnie back-his judgy little witch. Then they could all put this uncomfortable chapter behind them.
Damon's car was useless on the unpassable streets. He had to collect the potion ingredients on foot but enhanced speed made it a simple process. He returned nearly two hours after having left home. Damon stunk of bourbon because he had broken into the Grille to drown his sorrows for awhile. Besides, he wasn't exactly eager to rejoin the Scooby Doo Gang. Damon had the urge to kill everyone just to get some peace and quiet in his home. He would never invite them to stay at the boarding house again.
He walked into the kitchen covered in snowflakes. Even his hair was wet as the frozen precipitation began to melt in the warm house. Damon set several shopping bags on the counter and nodded at Ric. "Do you think that you can follow the doctor's instructions?"
Alaric could smell the bourbon from across the island but didn't mention it. He could tell that Damon was nearing the end of his rope. "Yes, I believe that I have it under control. Jo said that I could call her if I had any questions but the instructions were straightforward. I even managed to find a mortar and pestle in one of your cabinets. I'm not sure I want to know why you and Stefan even have one."
He wrinkled his nose at the antique. He said, "Make sure that you clean it properly. I'm almost positive my nephew was the last person to use that. He probably used it to grind up vervain."
Ric glanced at the large stone vessel and said, "I'd better give it another washing just to be safe. I don't want to know how traces of vervain could throw off the potion's chemistry. Jo was adamant that the recipe had to be followed exactly."
Damon nodded. He was glad to have Alaric there as another sane adult. He would have already gone crazy without his best friend's support. The teacher was certainly handy when it came to corralling the Gilbert siblings. The teens had been bickering with each other all morning-fighting over two vampires that hadn't given them a second thought. Damon took off his jacket and asked, "Has Stefan or Bonnie come downstairs?"
"Stefan came down briefly to get more blood-a lot of it. I had to restock the refrigerator after he left. Anyway, he sped in and out of here so fast that I barely saw him. It has been pretty quiet for the last hour. I hope that is a good sign," Ric said with a small shrug of his shoulders. Despite, being a vampire hunter, he felt distinctly out of his element.
The raven-haired vampire rolled his eyes and walked out of the kitchen. He did not share Ric's optimism. Stefan and Bonnie being quiet could only mean some sort of madness was taking place. He also considered that they might have escaped-again. Damon went upstairs and knocked on his brother's door before walking into the room. His eyes locked onto Bonnie's semi-nude form immediately. However, her current state of undress was the last thing on Damon's mind.
The young witch was levitating at least three feet off Stefan's bed. Her eyes were closed and it looked as if she was sleeping. Bonnie was wearing one of Stefan's t-shirts and nothing else. However, the shirt didn't cover her properly since she was floating in mid-air. Damon noted symbols drawn around the bed with chalk. There was also an alarming number of candles surrounding the bed. The candlelight seemed to flicker in unison with the rhythm of a heartbeat that Bonnie no longer had.
Stefan was walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He frowned at Damon and said, "I would have thought that you would have learned your lesson on barging in without permission, brother. Or maybe you're just angling to get another peek at Bonnie. I can't say that I blame you there...she is a sight to behold."
Damon didn't rise to the tantalizing bait his brother tossed him. It was better for him to focus on the matter at hand. He said, "We found the witch that Sheila told Bonnie about between worlds. Ric talked to her over phone and she told us how to help Bonnie through her transition. I went out for the ingredients for some potion that should keep her unconcious."
The younger vampire lifted an eyebrow at his brother and then looked over at Bonnie. Surely Damon could see that his witch had no need of any potion. He said, "I appreciate the effort, but as you can see Bonnie is fine now. I just needed to get her relaxed enough to slip into a meditative trance. The trance works better and has fewer after effects if it is done naturally."
Damon was furious but really had no one to blame. He hadn't spoken to Stefan before deciding to run all over Mystic Falls for these now useless ingredients. He asked, "How did you do that? I had to go out for herbs and a bunch of other bullshit."
He smirked like the cat who ate the cream. Stefan said, "There's more than one way to send a witch into a meditative trance. Bonnie's magic is powerful enough to do it without the herbs. She only needed to be relaxed enough to let me into her mind. After that it was a piece of cake. I left Bonnie dreaming about her grams. She'll be in that trance until I bring her out of it."
Damon's jaw literally dropped as he processed his brother's humblebrag. He asked, "Bonnie let you into her mind?"
Stefan grinned. "She was in a great deal of pain. I'm not sure there is much that she would have denied me in that moment. Besides, Bonnie trusts me. She's safe now, Damon. There's no need for you to play the hero. Run along. I'm sure Elena needs to be comforted right now. I've been ignoring her all morning. You know how distressing Elena finds it for anyone else to be the center of attention."
Damon decided to try reasoning with his brother again. "You need to think about what you are doing here, Stefan. I'm all for having a good time but you are going to get released from Klaus' control eventually. If you burn your bridges, you won't have anyone to come back to. You helped Bonnie when she was in pain and no one else knew what to do. Let this be the end of it."
"Are you saying that you will abandon me, brother? I'm wounded," Stefan exclaimed with a dramatic hand placed over his heart.
Damon rolled his eyes. "I was talking about Elena. She's not going to forgive you for sleeping with Bonnie…repeatedly."
"Well, I guess it's good that I don't care about what Elena wants. Besides, I'll be in control of myself sooner than you know," he replied vaguely. He didn't feel the need to tell Damon about Bonnie's plan.
Damon decided to take it from another angle. "What about Bonnie?"
"What about her?" Stefan looked towards the bed. "She looks fine to me."
"You've made your point! You're pissed that Elena and I got closer while you were with Klaus. Well, it's over now. She wants to be with you. What you are doing is ruining Elena and Bonnie's friendship."
He scoffed and said, "Elena is dead weight that Bonnie doesn't need to keep lugging around. That is one bridge that I will happily help her burn. Besides, Bonnie and I are getting to know each other…very well. Did you know that she is a virgin?" He smirked and said, "Well, she used to be a virgin."
Damon saw red for a moment. Stefan was still talking but the words were mumbled as if he was underwater. Then as if pulled by some unseen force, he sped across the room and snapped Stefan's neck. He scowled as he watched his brother's lifeless body crumple to the ground beside the bed. Brooding Stefan was always annoying. However, asshole humanity-less Stefan was even worse.
He raced outside after leaving the unconscious couple alone. Damon needed some space from the irritants in his house. He could feel that he was this close to snapping and killing everyone. He sat on the stone retaining wall and let the cold wind whip around his body. The temperature had dropped low enough that Damon could actually feel the cold pricking his skin. It was a brief reminder that he was still alive despite his unbeating heart.