A/N: Thanks to the Guest that told me that I can make a Poly tag for this story. I post most of my stories on another site so I am not as familiar with some of the features on this one.

Bonnie groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She had a pounding headache that rivaled every hangover she had ever experienced. She was also suffering from excruciating hunger pains. It felt as if she had not touched a drop of blood in weeks as opposed to the handful of hours she had been unconscious. Bonnie rolled onto her side and realized that she had been lovingly tucked into Stefan's bed. However, she quickly realized that the bed was empty except for a cooler with a note attached to it. She grabbed the note recognizing Stefan's handwriting.

Figured you would be hungry when you woke up. Enjoy.

-S

She sat up against the headboard and pulled the cooler towards her. Bonnie's face lit up when she saw several bags of blood and a bag of Caroline's brownies. Bonnie grabbed a bag of blood first and devoured it in a few gulps. It did little to dull the ache in her stomach but at least her mouth no longer felt as dry as a desert. Bonnie grabbed another bag of blood and devoured it with the same gusto. Despite her hunger and eagerness to feed, she didn't waste a single drop of the precious liquid. It wasn't until she finished the blood that Bonnie realized someone was standing at the door.

Damon smiled at Bonnie from his place in the doorway. They had been waiting for over three hours for Bonnie to regain consciousness. He would have been more worried if Lucy wasn't there to reassure him. The older witch had examined Bonnie personally to ensure that she hadn't caused any permanent damage. He said, "Glad to see you are awake, Witchy."

Bonnie tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. She had hoped that Stefan would be the first person she saw. Bonnie was confident in her abilities, but nothing had gone to plan. She had wrongly assumed that Stefan's memories and compulsion would be arranged in the same way that Tyler's had been. Unfortunately, Klaus had known Stefan for far longer and had compelled him on several occasions. There were times when Bonnie was unwinding months' worth of altered memories. Even now it felt like an extreme invasion of privacy. She now knew a great deal about Stefan and Klaus' prior relationship. The memories she had seen suggested that the word 'relationship' barely scratched the surface for them.

She flashed a small smile. "I might have overdone it earlier. Do you know if Stefan has experienced any side effects?"

Damon realized that Bonnie was trying to act nonchalant, but she was obviously wondering where Stefan was. More importantly, she was wondering why he was wasn't with her. He shrugged and said, "I don't think so but Stefan has made himself scarce since bringing you up here. Is there something we should be worried about? Tyler hasn't had any side effects…"

Bonnie tried to ignore the annoying pang of hurt. She opened the bag of brownies and bit into one. She explained, "Stefan's situation was different from Tyler's. I didn't realize that until I was working on Stefan. Klaus controlled Tyler via the sire bond. He didn't need to compel him to do anything. However, Klaus has compelled Stefan a few times. He has also added false memories in certain situations. It made freeing Stefan from his influence more difficult. It took longer than expected and I used considerably more magic. I don't actually know what side effects if any Stefan might experience from having two sets of memories in certain cases."

He stared at Bonnie in disbelief for a few moments. Then he decided that behavior was par for the course for Klaus. He ran a hand over his hair and said, "The last time I checked, Stefan was out in the woods. Maybe I should check on him."

She flashed a snarky smile. "Be careful, Damon. If you keep this up, people are going to start accusing you of being a decent person."

He looked horrified by the notion and said, "No one that actually knows me would believe that for a second."

"Really? Well, Elena has been trying to tell me for months that you're really a decent guy underneath all the...Damon-ness," she replied with a wave of her hand.

Damon chuckled deeply. "Damon-ness? What does that even mean?"

She shrugged. "You know: two parts homicidal maniac, three parts sarcastic asshole, four parts alcoholic, and just a dash of roguish charm."

He laughed and lifted an eyebrow at her. "I think you went a little light on the homicidal maniac."

"Eh, you haven't been as murder-y lately. I reserve the right to adjust the proportions of Damon-ness as the situation requires," she said.

"That's where you're wrong. I have been feeling quite murder-y lately. Unfortunately, Stefan and I can't go off the rails at the same time. One of us has to be available to pull the other back from the abyss."

Bonnie chuckled at his explanation. She had to admit that Damon had a point. Mystic Falls wouldn't survive if the Salvatore Brothers went on a tear at the same time. She said, "If you're lucky Stefan will soon reclaim his role as the reasonable brother. And you can go back to terrorizing the countryside."

Damon hummed and said, "Maybe. As far as I know, my baby brother hasn't turned on his humanity yet. Until he does...my watch continues."

"Poor you," she taunted him.

He smirked and said, "Being the good guy is very tiring."

Bonnie snorted, "Let's not go overboard here. You are not the good guy. You are what we call the lesser of two evils."

He chuckled. "I'll take it."

She devoured a second brownie and then put the rest back into the cooler. The blood had cured her hunger and the brownies had put her in a slightly better mood. She climbed out of the bed and stretched with a small groan. "Well, I need a shower."

"Don't let me stop you," he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "I gave you a free peep show yesterday. Don't expect a repeat performance."

"Why not?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I quite liked yesterday's peepshow."

Bonnie grinned at him and asked, "Really? I'd assume it's not something you haven't seen before. I don't sleep in very much at night and you've been sneaking into my room."

Damon's cocky grin faded somewhat. He didn't like what Bonnie was implying. "You were always covered…"

She chuckled. "I usually only sleep underneath a sheet. You're telling me that your imagination is that addled?"

Bonnie chuckled louder when the vampire didn't have a snappy comeback. She walked by him on her way to the bathroom.

Damon grabbed her arm. "Do you want me to tell Stefan that you're looking for him?"

"Am I looking for him?" she asked airily.

"Don't try to play aloof with me. I can smell the insecurity on you like cheap perfume," he said.

Bonnie said, "Two things that you are intimately acquainted with...insecurity and cheap perfume. I'm not Stefan's keeper. He'll show up when he's ready. In the meantime, there other things I should be doing."

"Like?" he asked.

"I should be practicing the spells that Lucy showed me last night," she said.

Damon said, "You're assuming that Stefan will still want to go on your little cross country trip to find Klaus."

She shrugged. "I'm not assuming anything. I'd like to have Stefan's help with Klaus but I have contingency plans in case he changes his mind."

"Really?" he asked skeptically.

Bonnie asked, "What part of him killing me are you unclear about, Damon? Nothing and no one is going to get in the way of my revenge. I'd like Stefan's help but there's more than one way to skin a cat. Now leave, please…"

Damon held up his hands and slowly backed out the room.

She closed the door behind him and went to take a much needed shower. She had sweated profusely while helping Stefan. It was another clue that Bonnie wasn't quite as dead as other vampires. She had been recording all the little quirks for later consideration. There wasn't a lot known about witchpires. There was considerably less known about witchpires that carried an ancient curse.

After Bonnie showered, she dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Then she collected the spells copied from Lucy's grimoire and made her way to the library. She figured the room would provide her with plenty of privacy. None of her friends were known to be bookworms.

She spent a couple hours practicing the three most interesting spells. Bonnie was able to master them easily. The true test would be trying the spells out against her friends. Bonnie would have to talk Caroline or Matt into helping. They were the two that had taken the changes in her personality the best.

Then she decided to move on to the glamour spell. It would take considerably more time to master. However, Bonnie didn't have any other plans and it would keep her from thinking about Stefan or what his absence meant.

She had been practicing for an hour when she heard Stefan shout her name from somewhere else in the boarding house. Bonnie collected her things and left the library to look for him.

Bonnie headed back towards his bedroom because it sounded as if he had been near there at the time.

Stefan was pacing the floor of his room when Bonnie appeared in the doorway.

She was startled by how quickly Stefan crossed the room. Bonnie took a step back but it wasn't enough to evade his grasp.

Stefan grabbed Bonnie and forced her against the wall. He slammed his bedroom door closed and then looked down at her with wild eyes. He growled, "Where were you?"

"I was in the library," she replied calmly.

He calmed down a little and slowly released her. He rested his forehead against hers. "I thought that you left."

"Where exactly would I go?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"After Klaus...or just away from me," he replied in an uncertain voice.

Bonnie looked up at him and said, "I wouldn't leave without telling you, Stefan. I owe you at least that much. You took care of me after Damon turned me."

He smiled a little. "You mean that I indulged your whims when no one else would have."

"No, you took care of me. I didn't need anyone to indulge my whims. Before Lucy arrived, which of you had a snowball's chance in hell of stopping me from doing whatever I wanted?"

Stefan knew that Bonnie was right. Her magic was powerful and none of them would have been able to contain her. Frankly, he knew that Bonnie was only humoring her older cousin until the roads were passable again. "Point taken…"

She asked, "Are you okay? Your head was a little of a mess from Klaus compelling you. I hope I left you in a better state than I found you."

"You left me feeling clearer than I have in a very long time. I remember...many things that I never should have forgotten. I didn't realize just how many times Klaus had messed around in my head," he muttered bitterly.

Bonnie bit her lip and said, "If it makes you feel any better, Klaus always left you with pleasant memories. I don't think he was ever intending to harm you."

He huffed out a bitter laugh," No, he just wanted to control me."

She smiled a little. "I'm pretty sure that's Klaus love language. This is a man that has a habit of daggering his siblings for centuries at a time."

Stefan hummed quietly. He said, "You saw...my memories."

Bonnie nodded meekly. "It was the only way to make sure that…"

He interjected, "It's fine. I trust you, Bonnie. You trusted me enough to enter your mind. I think it's only fair that I offer the same faith you had in me. But you know…"

"Know?"

"That Klaus and I have been in a serious relationship in the past," he murmured.

She nodded and said, "I saw that. It looked like the two of you were in love."

Stefan tucked a loose curl behind Bonnie's ear and said, "I'm sorry that I wasn't here when you woke up. I needed time to...come to terms with some things."

"Oh?" Bonnie asked curiously.

He kissed her softly and then promised, "You weren't one of those things."

"Really?" she asked in a quiet voice that was so vulnerable that it was painful.

Stefan kissed Bonnie again and lifted her off the ground. He carried her across the room to his bed and set her on the edge. "Do you know what I felt when I couldn't find you?"

She shook her head. "Angry?"

Stefan said, "Panic. I felt sheer unadulterated panic. I thought that you left...me. I thought I was going to be alone again."

Bonnie bit her lip and said, "I felt the same panic when you weren't here when I woke up. I tried to be logical and reasonable but I was afraid. It didn't help that Damon was here looking so smug and superior...like he had won. I'm still scared."

He stroked her hair and nuzzled her neck. "Why are you scared?"

"You still haven't turned on your humanity. There's part of me that still worries this might not be real," she whispered.

Stefan huffed in annoyance. "You've been listening to Elena and Damon."

She hummed in agreement. "I know they both have ulterior motives but it doesn't mean that they're wrong."

"Do you want me to turn on my humanity?" he asked quietly.

Bonnie looked at him with uncertain eyes. She nodded slowly and said, "But you have to promise me something…"

"Okay?" he asked. Stefan had suspected that Bonnie would want him to turn on his humanity. She would want to know the truth even if it hurt her.

"Don't lie to me. I can't...just don't lie to me. If you don't want to be with me anymore, just tell me the truth. I can handle it," she said in a shaky voice.

He kissed her softly. "I promise to tell you the truth, Bonnie. I won't lie to you."

Bonnie pulled out of his grasp and nodded nervously. "Thank you."

Stefan settled on his knees and closed his eyes for a moment. He needed to prepare for the onslaught of feelings that would reappear when he flipped the switch. He would be bombarded by sadness, anger, fear, shame, and worse of all guilt. The guilt was always the worst feeling. It would eat at Stefan until it nearly drove him into a depression spiral. In the past, Lexi was always there to pull him out of the nosedive. This time Stefan had someone that needed him-Bonnie.

Bonnie watched Stefan warily as she waited for him to turn on his humanity. Part of her wanted to stop him from doing this. She didn't want things between them to change. Bonnie felt an attachment to Stefan that she couldn't easily explain. She saw the moment that Stefan turned on his humanity. Bonnie saw the way his pupils changed.

Stefan looked up at Bonnie for a moment. He was able to ignore his own emotions because she looked terrified. He reached up to cup her cheek. "I'm still right here."

She nodded slowly. "Are you okay?"

He groaned and said, "I am not enjoying all the emotions I have right now. I am particularly irritated with everything to do with Klaus but I'll survive."

"Klaus tends to have that effect on people," she murmured with a small smile.

Stefan chuckled quietly. He looked at her with a more serious expression. "Can I hold you?"

Bonnie blinked in surprise but she slowly nodded. "Okay…"

Stefan climbed onto the bed and pulled Bonnie into his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "There is a lot I would have done differently while my humanity was off. I definitely wouldn't have slept with you the same night you were turned. But I don't regret being with you."

Bonnie looked up to study his face. "Why do you regret that?"

Stefan said, "I know it is an old fashioned notion but a lady's first time shouldn't be so...you deserved better, Bonnie."

"Oh. But I enjoyed it," she murmured sheepishly.

He chuckled softly and said, "Oh, I know that you did."

Bonnie blinked that because the cockiness in Stefan's voice almost made her think his humanity was off again. However, the soft look in his eyes said otherwise. She burrowed closer to Stefan and rested her forehead against his chest.

Stefan tightened his arms around her.

"Does this mean we can't have sex anymore?" she asked curiously.

He laughed against her hair and said, "My humanity is on, but I didn't suddenly become a priest. I am still very attracted to you, Bonnie. And it is always hard to resist a beautiful woman in my bed."

Bonnie chuckled and said, "Just checking. Celibacy would be a deal breaker for me."

"I understand the feeling. After I was turned blood and sex were near obsessions for me. It's when my ripper tendencies surfaced. It amplified the normal lust that vampires feel exponentially."

Bonnie was surprised by that. "So it just occurred naturally?"

He nodded. "Some vampires are just rippers. It's in the same vein of humans that are addicted to alcohol or drugs. It's just part of our genetic makeup."

"Oh…"

"You don't need to worry about being a ripper. You would have already showed signs," he answered her unasked question.

Bonnie relaxed a little more as Stefan stroked her back. She murmured, "That sort of loss of control would be scary for me."

"In the moment, you don't even think about the loss of control. You actually feel...all powerful. The ability to turn into a red tornado that eviscerates everything in your path. It's when you come back to your senses that it all comes rushing back at you. You feel like a feral animal."

She felt grateful that Stefan was being so open and honest with her about his ripper tendencies. She had never really understood them in the past. Her only concern had been to keep him from hurting innocent people. "I probably shouldn't have encouraged you at Coach Thompson's house. I'm sorry."

Stefan chuckled against her hair. "I've never needed anyone to encourage me to enjoy ripping when my humanity has been off, Bonnie. Besides, you weren't exactly in your right mind either. And I don't feel particularly guilty about Thompson."

"Neither do I," she confessed. "I've been waiting on the guilt to surface since my transition was completed but nothing. I mean...I know my conscience is working again."

He hummed thoughtfully. "Well, he did kill you. It matters little that he was compelled by Klaus at the time. Besides, you said that you never cared for the man."

"That's true. I didn't like the way he stared at me during class. Even when I moved to the back of the room I could feel his eyes on me sometimes. It made me uncomfortable."

Stefan frowned and said, "I'm sorry that you didn't feel you could have come to me about it. I could have compelled Thompson to keep his eyes to himself."

"I didn't think anyone would really care. It wasn't as if he was actually doing anything other than making me feel uncomfortable."

He looked at her seriously. "I would have cared, Bonnie."

Damon felt angry enough to put his fist through a wall. He might have done so if getting the old plaster walls repaired wasn't such a colossal pain in the ass. It would have been easier to punch his annoying little brother in the face. Damon was still rather tempted to do just that. However, that would require pulling him out of the bed he was sharing with the unreasonably loud little witch. Damon could go the rest of his life without seeing Stefan and Bonnie having sex. There wouldn't be enough bourbon in the world to help him forget seeing them in bed together.

Just that afternoon Damon had been certain that Stefan was going to turn on his humanity. He assumed that would be the end of the dalliance with Bonnie. His brother had been outside brooding for hours about his new/old memories. He even remained outside after Caroline informed him that Bonnie was awake. Briefly, things had taken an interesting turn when Stefan came into the house looking for Bonnie. His enraged scream had reverberated through the entire house. Damon had been preparing for a world class argument between the two. He even thought he might have to intervene as Bonnie's knight in shining armor.

Unfortunately, the pair had merely locked themselves in Stefan's room for a couple hours. In the beginning, not a single sound had come out of the room. Damon assumed that they had been talking during that time. He had been tempted to disturb whatever conversation they were having, but Ric kept him back. Everyone had been waiting on tenterhooks for them to emerge from the bedroom. However, two hours ago everything changed. At first, it seemed as if Bonnie was trying to keep her moans quiet. In the last hour something changed because she started giving full-throated screams that even the humans could hear through the walls. Damon had never been so grateful to hear the shower start running.

Thirty minutes later, Stefan and Bonnie walked into the living room while holding hands. She was giggling at something that he had just whispered into her ear.

Damon didn't know what to make of the situation but he didn't like it.

Stefan asked, "What time are we playing Charades?"

Caroline quickly jumped in before Damon could say something horrible. "We're going to get started as soon as the brownies are finished baking. They were such a hit last night, I decided to bake another batch!"

Bonnie grinned at her friend. "That's great, Care. Your brownies are legendary. They have just the right amount of chocolate chips and walnuts."

Caroline returned the smile. She was glad to see that Bonnie seemed to be okay. She had been worried about her and Stefan. Caroline was in the minority, but she supported Stefan and Bonnie's relationship. She said, "It's an old family recipe. My mom used to bake them when we were kids. Do you guys remember?"

Matt nodded with a wistful smile on his face. Kelly hadn't been a traditional mother so his best memories usually took place at his friends' houses.

Tyler said, "I remember."

Bonnie nodded in agreement. She hooked her thumb in Tyler's direction. "He used to stuff extra brownies into his pockets when no one was looking."

Everyone looked at Tyler in surprise.

He chuckled and said, "But I always shared with you."

Stefan took a seat and pulled Bonnie into his lap. It wasn't a possessive move. He just didn't want to be far from her.

Bonnie conceded, "You did share the stolen brownies with me...pocket lint and all."

Tyler grinned and said, "It gave them more texture in my opinion."

Caroline giggled and shoved his shoulder. "I never realized that you were swiping extra brownies!"

Bonnie said, "He used to steal my grams' double chocolate pecan cookies, too. After awhile she just started setting extra aside for Tyler in a Ziploc...that he still stuffed into his pocket for some reason."

He grinned at Bonnie and said, "I had a healthy appetite. Do you have the recipe for your grams' cookies?"

She laughed at him and nodded. "Sure but baking isn't really my strong suit."

Caroline gushed, "I could help you! Miss Sheila's cookies are the best I have ever tasted."

Matt said, "I volunteer to taste test them!"

Lucy smiled and said, "I bet it is the same recipe my granny used. Does it have the secret ingredient?"

Bonnie grinned at Lucy and nodded.

Caroline perked up. "Wait! There is a secret ingredient?"

Bonnie nodded. "Grams always used honey in but it is infused with something extra special."

"Rum?" Damon suggested.

Bonnie looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "She was feeding these cookies to children. Although, she does have an amazing rum ball recipe. Grams always made them extra boozy."

Lucy nodded in agreement. "There's no other way to make rum balls."

Matt groaned and said, "Talking about all of these desserts is making me hungry again. When will the brownies be finished again?"

Caroline laughed and looked at her phone to check the time. She said, "Another ten minutes then they need to cool."

"Or we can eat them with forks," Tyler volunteered.

Caroline rolled her eyes at both of them.

Elena huffed and asked, "Is no one going to address the pink elephant in the room?"

Everyone looked at her with varying levels of surprise and exasperation.

Alaric said, "Maybe now isn't the time to bring up that subject."

Jeremy said, "No, Lena is right. It's stupid to pretend like we're not all wondering why Stefan hasn't turned on his humanity yet."

Matt said," I wasn't wondering that."

Tyler snorted and said, "Neither was I. Kinda seemed like it wasn't my any of my business. I don't think it's you or Elena's business either."

Jeremy glared at the hybrid.

Tyler just gave the boy an unamused look. He didn't want to lay the kid out but he would.

Caroline put a hand on Tyler's arm to keep him settled. She asked, "Can't this wait until tomorrow? We're going to have brownies and play charades."

Stefan cleared his throat. "I have turned on my humanity…"

Elena stared at Stefan in disbelief. "You're lying."

Damon scrutinized his brother's face and realized that he was speaking truthfully. Stefan's face was like an open book again. It was a quality that Damon both despised and depended upon.

Bonnie snapped. "Stefan isn't lying. He turned on his humanity hours ago."

Elena's face went red as she thought about the moans that they heard not long ago. It meant that Stefan had sex with Bonnie after he turned on his humanity. She stood up and screeched, "How could you do this to me?"

Tyler rolled his eyes skyward and then leaned his head back against the couch. It was going to be a long night at this rate.

Stefan frowned seeing that Elena was in genuine distress. He cleared his throat. "I was hoping that we could discuss this privately...later."

"You want to speak privately when you are casually flaunting whatever is going on between the two of you," she yelled.

He said, "We're dating. I thought Bonnie and I had been very clear about that for a few days now."

"We have," Bonnie echoed with a glare.

"But that was because you didn't have your humanity on. I know you, Stefan. You wouldn't betray me this way. Bonnie must have done something to you," Elena hissed.

Bonnie's eyes went wide. "Okay. I've been really nice up to now but you are on my last damn nerve, Elena! I didn't use magic to ensnare Stefan. Surprisingly, I was nice to him and didn't fuck his brother. Go figure!"

The room went deathly silent at Bonnie's verbal jab.

Elena screeched and lunged for Bonnie.

Caroline grabbed Elena and held her back. "Okay! We should take a break. We're going to go outside and get some air."

"You better talk some sense into Elena before I kick her ass, Care. And I don't need magic for that either," Bonnie said calmly with a saccharine smile.

Alaric felt like he should be doing something as the adult/teacher in the room. However, he felt distinctly out of his depth. He cleared his throat. "I am going to go see if I can offer some assistance."

Stefan rubbed Bonnie's arm and asked, "Are you okay? Elena had no right to accuse you of using magic to trap me."

"I am fine. I knew that Elena was going to throw a temper tantrum the moment you didn't run back to her," she muttered.

Damon said, "Well, this was more fun than charades if you ask me."

Jeremy asked, "Why aren't you more upset?"

He shrugged and offered a lazy smile, "I'm a vampire. They're both vampires. We've got centuries to play this game. I'll get Bon-Bon eventually."

Stefan never considered himself particularly territorial but hearing his brother's casual remark made his blood boil. He was suddenly glad that Bonnie was tucked safely on his lap and well away from Damon. He knew from Lucy that the attraction component was not completely in Bonnie's control. Stefan had seen proof of that in the cellar while she removed the sire bond from Tyler.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and said, "You think too highly of yourself, Damon. Anyway, I am going to check on Caroline's brownies. I am not going to let them burn because Elena decided to have a temper tantrum."

Tyler said, "Second that! I'll come with you just to make sure they are ready. You know a second set of eyes."

She laughed and said, "Care is going to chew you out if she realizes that you ate a brownie before they were cool."

Tyler grinned at her. "Only if you tell her that I did it."

Damon watched Bonnie and Tyler leave the room. Then he reached out and offered a hand to Stefan. "Glad to have you back, little brother."

Stefan smiled and shook Damon's hand. However, he squeezed it hard enough to dislocate his fingers. He whispered, "Leave Bonnie alone, big brother. If she decides to come to you...then so be it. But you will not pursue her or I will make you regret it."

Damon blinked in surprise and pulled his hand back with a pained expression.