Stormdancer

by deathsweetqueen

To know Niklaus Mikaelson is to know Aliyah. It took everything she had to walk away from him. But she had no choice; she didn't want to hate him after loving him for a thousand years. But Niklaus always intended to take back what was his, and that was Aliyah. She may run and she may hide, but he would find her. Will she be strong enough to walk away again? Klaus/OC. Post 1X14 AU.

9. The Return

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC.

A/N: Here's the first episode of Season 2. We see Katherine in this episode and her reaction to Aliyah in Mystic Falls. Some more Tonnie action and I wonder what will happen to Caroline in this chapter…

Reviews:

Guest: I can't answer that. Caroline will be with an Original, but I'm not going to reveal which one.

Skyeward MusicLover: Thank you so much! Aliyah's getting really worried that Klaus will come after her.

Guest: Yep, Klaus knows where she is. Well, I think Klaus probably knew Elena was in Mystic Falls earlier because I don't think Katherine would have kept her existence a secret for that long if it meant getting a pardon from him. And knowing Klaus, he's probably kept an eye on Aliyah for a very long time.

NicoleR85: Yep, Klaus and Aliyah definitely don't have a healthy relationship. They'll definitely put each other, or rather, Aliyah will put Klaus through a lot of crap.

BeaAdriana: Caroline's pairing is a very interesting one that I don't want to reveal all that quickly. I'm glad you like Bonnie and Tyler together, I thought they were a really interesting pairing to go with.

TetraGirl: I know, Bonnie almost never gets an OC of her own. I've seen Caroline's sister, Caroline's cousin, Elena's twin, Elena's little sister, Elena's older sister, Elena's cousin, a bunch of Salvatore sisters, a Salvatore descendent, Tyler's little sister, Matt's sister. Everyone except for Bonnie, so I thought I'd give her a relative. I was aiming to surprise people with Klaus in that last chapter. I love writing Bonliyah and Caroliyah in this story. They have the best scenes together. I'm glad you like her with Klaus. I know Tonnie is usually not a pairing people go with, but I don't ship Beremy or Bamon, so I thought Tonnie would be interesting to write for Season 2 onwards. Katherine will be in this chapter and I look forward to seeing everyone's reactions to Katherine and Aliyah's interaction.

Linda Ku: Oh, thank you so much! Tonnie will become a thing in this story. I'm trying to write one Nikliyah and one Tonnie moment at least in every chapter. I think Klaus is that obsessive that he hates the fact that she left him, but he's smart enough to keep an eye on her, until sh e starts screwing around with something big that he doesn't want her to get into. It's my theory that Klaus knew about Elena prior to mid Season 2. Katherine wouldn't have kept it from him if it meant getting a pardon and it's like she knew about Elena from Season 1 itself. I think Klaus would have been following Aliyah all these years, just to keep an eye on her cause that's how controlling he is. I also think that if Klaus found out about Elena and was asking around, he would find out about this Bennett witch, who happens to be best friends with the Petrova doppelgänger, with the strange new cousin who's come to town, because Klaus would know that Bonnie's descended from Aliyah. I don't think it would be to hard for him to put it together. So, yeah, it's a bit of both. He's spent eighty-five years tracking her, but he got his confirmation that she was in Mystic Falls when he found out about Bonnie and Elena's relationship, because he knows Aliyah would never turn her back on a Bennett witch who needed her. Yeah, Klaus would get pretty murder-y if he found out his wife was shacking up with someone else, but I've got a flashback coming up that may explain that a bit better.

NotMyNameAnyway: I'm so glad you're so eager!

tate4eva: I love Caroliyah together. We'll see a bit more in this chapter and hell of a lot more in the coming chapters. I'm really excited for Caroliyah. Klaus needed to show his face otherwise we would've gone so many episodes without seeing a present day Nikliyah moment. I'm glad you like Tonnie. I was a little nervous how people would take it. It's kind of a strange pairing, considering I could only find one screencap of them together and that was Founder's Day. Klaus has a lot planned for Aliyah. He'll be kind of warring between being happy at having her with him and being angry that she dared to leave him. So, it should be very interesting.

PracticallyCharmed: I'm glad you liked the Bonliyah in this story. They're pretty much the main characters. I do know who Paula Patton is and I agree she's very beautiful, but I actually have an actress in mind for her, she's an Indian actress named Asin Thottumkal and she's got that sweetness and the sexiness to her that I'd imagine Aliyah has. Bonnie, I think, needs a vampire in her life who won't screw her over so that she can get past her prejudices against them. Stefan and Damon have screwed her over plenty by the time Caroline was turned that Caroline got screwed over by Bonnie. And Bonnie just accepted Elena just like that and I found that really unfair that Caroline was sidelined. Bonnie made Elena a daylight ring just like that but Stefan had to beg Bonnie to make one for Caroline and that was really unfair. I mean, it wasn't Caroline's fault she was turned. But I think because Aliyah's in her life, Bonnie's outlook has changed a lot that she can accept Caroline when she gets turned into a vampire. Aliyah will definitely be giving the Salvatores and Elena grief over their treatment of Bonnie and Caroline. I can't believe they just completely ignored the fact that Damon raped Caroline in Season 1 and Elena even had the fucking nerve to taunt her about in Season 4. But I think Aliyah's good for Caroline and Bonnie in the way that she makes them stronger about themselves. Bonnie and Caroline have both been sidelined by Elena in different ways and I think Aliyah brings them to the forefront more. There are more parallels between Aliyah and Klaus and Bonnie and Tyler that will become apparent in the coming chapters. Aliyah's relationship with Katherine is an interesting one and it should come out in this chapter with their confrontation. I'm glad you like the Nikliyah flashbacks so far. The Katherine confrontation is in this chapter. The showdown between Bonnie and Klaus has my own little twist to it that should be very interesting. I'm so glad you like the story so far.

rocket-queen98: Thank you so much!

Guest: Thank you so much!

cherlot: In my opinion, I think Klaus knew about Elena ages before The Last Dance because Katherine probably found out about Elena mid Season 1 and I don't think she would've hesitated telling Klaus if she wanted a pardon. Plus, Klaus is obsessive and furious enough to keep a track on exactly where Aliyah is in the world. He'll still be coming in The Last Dance but Elijah will come before then and everyone loves TVD Elijah!

Guest: Thank you so much!

AshleyL: Thank you so much! I've seen too many Elena-oriented OCs that I thought this would be interesting to write. I'm so glad you like it.

Phoenixsbirdsofflame: Thank you so much!

suzii3499: Me too!

Guest: Well, I'm sorry, but until I get to The Last Dance, it was all about establishing Aliyah's relationship with Bonnie and Caroline and Elijah, really.

EisforElephant: Well, I'm glad I managed to convert you :) I'm not a huge fan of Elena and I find Bonnie too judgemental and misguided sometimes, so she's not always my favourite character, but I adore Caroline. She's my favourite. I have a little twist planned for Caroline in this chapter that hopefully, you'll enjoy!

randomlittleme: I can't wait for their reunion too! I've written bits and pieces of their reunion and I can't wait to put it together. I'm sorry, I don't really ship Bamon because I pretty much hate Damon as a character, and I'm not a huge fan of Beremy, so I thought Tonnie would be a good pairing for this point in the show. I'm glad you like the Caroliyah friendship in this story as well!

Stormdancer

Chapter 9

The Return

Aliyah had barely parked the car at the hospital, before Bonnie had already thrown the door open and had dashed inside, running through the halls until she found Matt, who was sitting all alone on one of the hard, plastic chairs, his face buried in his hands.

Bonnie rushed up to him. "How's Caroline?" She asked, hurriedly, feeling Aliyah walked up, slowly, behind them.

Matt shook his head. "She's not good, Bon." He said, wearily. He turned to Aliyah. "Hi, I'm not sure that we've been introduced. I'm Matt Donovan."

Aliyah smiled, faintly, the weariness of finding that letter making her sluggish and lethargic, tired beyond belief. "It's nice to meet you, Matt. I just hoped it would have been under better circumstances. I'm Aliyah, Bonnie's cousin."

Bonnie took in a sharp breath. "What happened?" She asked Matt, urgently.

"We were driving and Tyler-"

Bonnie's eyes widened and she feared that her legs may collapse on her if she heard just one more horrible piece of news that day. "Tyler?" She asked, sharply. "Is he okay?"

Her fear was momentous. She couldn't lose Tyler – her Stray, her childhood best friend. A part of her would leave with him if she were to lose Tyler. She suddenly felt the calming presence of Aliyah's hand on her shoulder. She looked to the side to see a reassuring expression plastered across Aliyah's beautiful features.

"He's fine." Matt said, reassuringly. Bonnie's fear was palpable. He was suddenly struck by how intense Tyler and Bonnie's relationship was. Even when they were younger. Even as a child, Tyler was constantly aware of Bonnie. It was a running joke among the football team that Tyler had a major crush on Bonnie. In fact, if Matt were to hazard a guess, Tyler was madly in love with the young girl. Of course, no one had ever pulled their punches in telling him that Bonnie was way out of his league. And Tyler had taken that as a reason to distance himself, believing himself to not be good enough for Bonnie Bennett, and chose to drown himself in booze and easy cheerleaders instead.

Aliyah watched as Bonnie's face paled with fear. She remembered that exact face and feeling whenever Mikael would get too angry with Niklaus; the blood on his face after a particular violent confrontation would eat at her until she could be sure that she would soothe all of his injuries. She remembered what it was like to hold a human Niklaus in her arms, free from their burdens of being a witch or a werewolf or a vampire, just being a boy and a girl, madly in love with each other.

She would wrap her arms around his shoulders and pull him into her chest, allowing him to rest his aching head on her breasts. She would smooth back his hair and press a damp cloth to each of his wounds, soothing them by placing a small kiss on each of the cuts. She remembered how she had revelled in the thought of Niklaus only letting himself be weak in her arms and around no one else.

She looked at Bonnie and remembered how the young witch had vehemently denied any possible romantic inclinations towards Tyler Lockwood. On any other circumstance, Aliyah would be wary of an untriggered werewolf making a move on her lovely great niece, but the similarities between Tyler and Bonnie and herself and Niklaus had stunned her into remaining silent, preferring to see what would happen between the two young children.

Bonnie, on the other hand, couldn't help the niggling feeling in her gut to make sure that Tyler was fine and healthy. They had heard on the radio on their way to the hospital that Mayor Lockwood had died in the fire and she wanted to make sure that her guy was all right. Tyler had always been there for her and now it was her turn to be there for him.

"Well, Tyler… he heard this noise and he got…"

Bonnie swallowed hard, the guilt eating away at her. "A noise?" She asked, weakly, her hand falling to Aliyah's warm hand on her shoulder, clutching onto it for dear life. She felt Aliyah step closer to her and revelled in the comforting presence of Aliyah right behind her.

The noise that had caused Tyler to swerve had been her fault. She had been the one to choose not to deactivate the Gilbert device and now, bubbly, kind, sweet Caroline was in the hospital. And Tyler: sweet, loyal and devoted Tyler, his father was dead because of her and he may be injured as well. All because of her. Aliyah's arm came around her shoulders and Bonnie leaned into the embrace, breathing in the scent of rose and jasmine and sandalwood oil that seemed to be unique to the vampire and letting the fragrance swallow her whole before the guilt could.

Matt nodded. "He got this migraine or something and he lost control of the car and… I thought Caroline was fine and then… and then she wasn't so…" He swallowed hard, clearly gulping down the tears at the thought of Caroline's precarious survival.

Aliyah shifted next to Bonnie, hearing Damon come to talk to Liz Forbes about Caroline's situation. Inwardly, she seethed, wondering if the Sheriff would be willing to be such good friends with the monster that had raped and used her only daughter as his personal blood whore for weeks. What kind of monster hurt a young girl in that manner and then had the nerve to become friends with the girl's mother?

"Liz, I came as soon as I get the message. Is she okay?" Aliyah heard Damon ask Liz with concern.

Liz shook her head. "She's in surgery, it's… they're doing everything they can. I need your help, Damon."

Aliyah rolled her eyes. Of course, she does.

"Sure, anything, Liz."

"Mayor Lockwood is dead. They thought he was a vampire. They put him in the basement."

Aliyah frowned. So, the device must have affected every single supernatural creature in the radius, not merely vampires but both triggered and untriggered werewolves. Tyler and his father were affected by the noise, so that would be definitive as to the question of whether Tyler has the gene or not.

"Mayor Lockwood is a vampire?" Damon frowned.

Aliyah smirked. Clearly, the young vampire has never come across a werewolf before.

"No, no. A mistake was made, they said he dropped like the others when John's device when off but he… he couldn't have been a vampire, I've known him my whole life and I know Carol Lockwood's gonna want answers and all I can think of right now is Caroline and…" Aliyah could hear Liz Forbes start to cry and could feel the sympathy well up inside of her.

It was a terrible thing to watch your children get hurt. She had felt that same pain every time she had watched Rebekah and Kol be daggered by Niklaus.

"It's okay." Damon said, reassuringly, and wrapped his arms around the Sheriff.

---

"Bonnie!"

At the sound of her name, Bonnie turned around, her dark hair whipping through the air, as she turned to face the girl who was running up to her Aliyah. Bonnie straightened, pushing herself off the wall, and Aliyah wrapped a hand around hers.

"How's Caroline?" Elena asked, hurriedly.

Bonnie swallowed hard, feeling a little jittery around Elena knowing that it was her fault that so much had happened. Maybe she should have deactivated the device. "She's-" The words seemed to get stuck in her throat as she attempted to voice them. "She's weak. They don't know if she's going to make it." She said, hoarsely.

Elena looked horrified. "What?" She whispered in disbelief, tears gathering in her eyes.

Bonnie pursed her lips and wrapped her arms, slowly, around Elena in an awkward hug. She had still not been able to let go of her anger against the Salvatores and Elena, even while her best friend was on her deathbed. She wondered what that said about her.

Elena looked frantic as she pulled away from the hug. "Is there something that we can do? Like a spell or something?" She asked, quickly, her eyes wild and teary.

"She doesn't know how, do you?" A dark voice purred, mockingly, as Damon approached them, signature smirk plastered across his face.

Aliyah growled low in her throat, her patience shot to hell. "One more word, Salvatore, I dare you." She crooned, her nails digging into her palm as she imagined sinking her hands into skin, flesh and bone and pulling out his heart with one hard yank.

Bonnie gritted her teeth. "No, I don't." She scowled, agreeing with him reluctantly, the crushing guilt returning at her tenfold.

Damon smirked. "No, you don't, because it took Emily years to learn a spell like that." He said, knowingly.

Bonnie's blood boiled. He dared to mock her and her abilities as a witch. Her teeth clenched and she smiled a smile that promised blood and pain.

"Now, I can take down a vampire, that spell was easy to learn." Bonnie purred, lowly, her green eyes flashing, practically glowing when she saw Aliyah's approving look.

"I can give Caroline some blood." Damon turned to Elena, his eyes earnest.

Elena shook her head, the whole idea setting her teeth on edge. "No, no way."

Damon shook his head. "No, just enough to heal her, she will be safe in the hospital and it will be out of her system in a day." He leaned in. "She will be better, Elena."

"It's too risky, I can't agree to that." Elena protested.

"Then, let me give her my blood." Aliyah said, suddenly, sliding smoothly to her feet. She turned to Bonnie. "I'm older. My blood will heal her quicker and it will be out of her system much quicker." She said, slowly.

"No way." Elena hissed, her eyes flashing in distrust.

"Elena, frankly, I don't care what you think." Aliyah snarled. She leaned in, the veins under her eyes appearing momentarily. "You should show me some respect," She growled through clenched teeth. "I don't offer my blood to just anyone. I happen to like Caroline a great deal, and the worst thing for her is to have a serial rapist's blood in her." She shot a withering glare at both Elena and Damon, who had the grace to look shamefaced at what she was implying.

"Do it." Bonnie nodded, trusting Aliyah infinitely more than Damon. If Aliyah promised her this, then it would be true. Aliyah didn't break her world. Elena opened her mouth to protest but Bonnie shut her down with one cold look. "This is Caroline. We can't let her die." She turned back to Aliyah. "Do it." She said, earnestly.

Aliyah nodded and touched her shoulder. "Come with me, darling." She said, sweetly, resisting the urge to return a triumphant yet childish smile at Elena, who simply glared at the way Bonnie stepped into Aliyah's side as if that were where she belonged.

Aliyah wrapped her arm around Bonnie's shoulders, leading her down the corridor until they came to Caroline's room, and made a point to keep one ear on Damon and Elena's conversation.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to do right now but we should talk about what happened tonight." Damon said, casually.

"Yeah, one of the tomb vampires got into my house and almost killed John." Elena shook her head, despondently.

Damon frowned in confusion. "What? When? What are you talking about? After I left?"

Elena raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "You were there?" She asked, incredulously.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Come on, Elena, you know I was." He said, pointedly, smirking to himself.

Elena's brow furrowed. "When were you at the house?" She asked, confused.

Damon smirked. "Really? Earlier, on the porch, we were talking, exposed our feelings, come on, we kissed, Elena!" He spat out.

Elena grinned, thinking he was joking. "Okay, I don't have time for this, Damon."

Damon shook his head. "If you want to forget what happened, fine, but I can't."

Aliyah started laughing, wrapping an arm around her waist as she shook from the giggles. Bonnie simply stared at her in confusion and amusement, wondering what it was out of the blue that had made Aliyah double over in laughter. Aliyah heard Jenna arrive and Damon walk away from them slowly, he too listening in on their conversation.

"Elena, I came as soon as I got your message. How is John?" Jenna asked, worriedly, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Where have you been?" Elena asked, annoyed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "At the fire department, I deferred a report. I told you earlier."

Elena shook her head. "No, you didn't."

Jenna nodded. "Yes, I did."

Elena scowled. "No, Jenna, you didn't."

"Yes, I did." Jenna said, sharply, becoming impatient.

Aliyah's smile grew as Damon came to the same conclusion as she had.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me." Damon muttered in disbelief.

Aliyah couldn't help but start laughing all over again.

"You mind telling me what's so funny?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching.

"Katherine's in Mystic Falls." Aliyah said, gleefully. "Everything just got infinitely more interesting."

"Interesting?" Bonnie's eyes widened in disbelief. "Katherine is not interesting. She's a she-bitch. Who knows what she'll do?"

Aliyah smiled, gently, at Bonnie and pulled them into an empty corridor. "You don't have to worry, Bonnie girl." Bonnie watched as Aliyah's eyes turned completely cold and vicious. "I give you my word that Katerina will not harm you. She will not get close enough to do so before I rip her pretty little head off her shoulders." She swore.

Bonnie nodded, weakly. "So, tell me, what happened?"

"Well, apparently, Katerina got herself invited into Elena's house and she cut off a few of John's fingers and stabbed him. Then, she kissed Damon, pretending to be Elena and you can imagine how that messed with his head." She shook her head. "She's still playing all of her usual games."

"Why do you call her that?" Bonnie asked, curiously. "Katerina, I mean?"

Aliyah hitched in a sharp breath. "Well, I knew Katherine when she was human. Before she was Katherine Pierce, she was Katerina Petrova. She was this sweet-faced young girl who was invited to my house for my husband's birthday." She explained. She paused. "She's changed a lot since then. I suppose a lot of that is my husband's fault." She mused.

Aliyah turned to look at Bonnie, her eyes more serious and unforgiving than she had ever seen them before. "Bonnie, there are many things I haven't told you and now is probably the best time for me to do so. Once we are done here at the hospital, we'll go over to the house in the woods and we need to have a serious talk about a few things."

Bonnie's hackles immediately rose and she placed a tentative yet gentle hand on Aliyah's arm. "Lee-Lee, is this because of the letter you got from your husband?" She asked, worriedly.

Aliyah swallowed hard. "Bonnie, my husband poses a threat to many people in this town and I will try my best to stop him, but before I can do that, you need to know exactly what we're dealing with. I have kept a few things about myself from you, but only to protect you. I swear I will explain everything in a better place and with more privacy." She said, earnestly.

"Okay." Bonnie nodded. "Let's go and see Caroline."

They stopped outside Caroline's room and saw that they were no longer operating on her. The doctors had instead chosen to leave her in one of the rooms in the recovery ward after bringing her down from the theatre.

"Stay outside and keep watch." Aliyah said to Bonnie, warningly. "I won't take too long."

Aliyah swooped into Caroline's room and observed the set-up. The young blonde girl had been attached to multiple IV and blood bags and Aliyah could hear the tell-tale drip-drip of the blood entering her system through the needle in the veins on the front of her hand. She weighed between pouring some of her blood into the blood bag that Caroline was currently connected to, but she guessed that some sort of alarm would ring if she were to disturb the precarious set-up. Then, she ultimately decided on feeding Caroline her blood directly into her mouth. She walked up to the bed and observed the girl's pale and gaunt face.

Poor Caroline. You weren't meant to walk into this, but I suppose that ship has long since passed.

Aliyah, with one hand, gently pried her mouth open, Caroline's lips parting from the force on her jaw. She held her wrist up to her mouth and waited for her fangs to emerge. She sank her fangs into her wrist, ignoring the sound of sliced skin and flesh until she tapped into her veins, feeling her own blood pool into her mouth. She pulled her wrist from her teeth, licking away the blood that had made its way onto her lips, and held her bleeding wrist against Caroline's open mouth, making sure that the girl swallowed enough of her blood to heal her injuries before Aliyah pulled away, her wound healing almost immediately. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the table and wiped the blood that had stained Caroline's face, making sure there was no sign that a vampire had fed Caroline their blood, before she rushed out of the room.

Aliyah greeted Bonnie with a grim smile.

"Is it done?" Bonnie asked, shooting the closed door of Caroline's hospital room a wary glance.

"She'll be fine in a few hours, and then the blood will make its way out of her system, I promise." Aliyah said, reassuringly.

Bonnie smiled, gratefully. "Thanks, Lee-Lee." She wrapped her arms around Aliyah's thin framed and Aliyah patted her on the back, affectionately. "Did you wanna go home now? The memorial for Mayor Lockwood is tomorrow afternoon. I have to be there for Tyler."

Aliyah's eyes widened. She dug into the pocket of her maroon, patterned dress and pulled out her car keys. "Actually, why don't you take my car and go back to the apartment. The removalists should be coming tomorrow, so you might want to start packing up whatever stuff you've got lying around."

"Removalists?" Bonnie frowned.

"The house is finished with renovations, Bonnie girl. We can move in tomorrow. You know, after the memorial." Aliyah explained.

"So, where are you going to be?" Bonnie tossed the car keys up and down in her palm.

"Well, John Gilbert's admitted here in the hospital and I thought I'd go and have a chat with him." Aliyah smiled, innocently.

But Bonnie didn't buy it. She levelled the older woman with a warning glare. "What are you going to do?" She asked, carefully.

Aliyah's eyes widened, innocently. "Nothing." She said, sweetly. Bonnie's glare darkened. She sighed. "Okay, fine, I was just going to see what he knows about Katherine and to threaten him a little bit. Then, I thought I'd go and see how Elena's coping with the fact that her evil twin's back in town." She shrugged.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "That's… almost caring." She said, stunned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oi! I can be caring if I want to be." Aliyah exclaimed, mock offended. Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, I was going to make fun of the fact that history seems to be repeating itself with the Salvatore brothers and a Petrova doppelganger." She said, reluctantly. "Why is it that I'm the older one and you're determined to keep me on track?"

Bonnie smirked. "Because you need someone to keep you on track." She said, with more affection in her voice than seriousness.

"You okay to get home on your own?" Aliyah asked, worriedly. "Call me if something happens. I know Katherine's in town, don't engage her, just get the hell out of there." She said, warningly.

"I can take-" Bonnie protested.

Aliyah placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "I'm sure you can." She said, gently. "But it would make me feel better to know that you weren't trying to bait a centuries old manipulative little bitch who has absolutely no qualms about tearing your throat out. Although, if she finds out that you're under my protection, she may think twice about doing so." She mused.

Bonnie smiled, gently, heartened by the warm affection Aliyah's words. "I'll be fine, Aliyah. Let me know what happens." She said, sincerely.

"Will do, darling." Aliyah winked at her and walked down the hallway, away from Bonnie, until she reached the reception, quickly compelling the whereabouts of John Gilbert.

---

"So, John, looks like someone's cheesed off with you." Aliyah said, mock sympathetically, as she walked into John's room and shut the door behind her, locking it. "But, to be fair, I assume you make someone angry on a day-to-day basis, so this was just inevitable." She shrugged.

John shifted in his bed, grunting when the movement placed pressure on his still sore stab wound.

"I'm surprised that you're not sucking me dry." He hissed.

Aliyah hummed, chewing on her lip. "Interesting idea. I mean, you've lost enough blood so that the vervain is completely out of your system. And it has been awhile since I've had blood directly from the vein. Decisions, decisions." She mused. "But to be honest, I don't find you all that appealing, darling." She said, mockingly, patting him on the hand that had four fingers missing.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow, a smile forming on her lips. "I assume you know about your old mate being back in town?" She asked, innocently, her eyes flashing, wickedly. "Of course you do, after all, she's the one that did this to you, didn't she? It must suck to know that Katerina attacked you wearing your daughter's face. She's not very good to her friends, is she?" She pouted, gesturing to his many injuries.

"What do you want?" John asked through clenched teeth.

"Where is she, John?" Aliyah asked, coldly, her face transforming from a sweet smile to a tight-lipped mouth.

"I don't know." John growled, trying to sit up.

Aliyah sighed and placed one hand on his shoulder, pushing him down with a single jerk of her wrist.

"Don't be a dimwit, John." She purred. "You're a little too weak to be playing the macho act. Now, be a good boy and answer my questions or I'll just compel you." She shrugged.

"I don't know." John snarled out of fear and hatred. "She never spoke to be directly, she doesn't trust me that much."

Aliyah clucked her tongue and searched his eyes for any possible clue that he was lying to her. She, once more in a thousand years, thanked whatever higher being there might be for allowing her to keep her intuition once she had turned. Even as a human, she had been an impeccable lie detector and her instincts had only grown since she was turned into a vampire. From his eyes and heartbeat, Aliyah couldn't tell that John was lying to her.

"Very well, John, I'll believe you for now." Aliyah said, sweetly. She stood up. "I do hope you know that Katerina plans on sacrificing Elena up like a lamb for the slaughter to my husband." She said, pointedly. "Do what you will with that information." She said, loftily, before striding out of the room.

---

Aliyah reached the Gilbert house just at the moment when Elena and Damon were walking up the steps.

"Good to see you both." Aliyah said, cheerfully.

Elena frowned in suspicion. "What are you doing here?" She spat.

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. She repeated to herself again and again that the doppelganger had to be protected, words that prevented her from simply tearing out Elena's throat for her disrespect. She inhaled and exhaled.

"Why don't you dial down the attitude before I snap your neck, Bambi?" She said, quietly yet dangerously, advancing slightly on the suddenly terrified human. Elena took an unwilling step back and Damon took a step to the side, intent on protecting her. "I'm here because we all have a common enemy that has found her way into Mystic Falls and I want Katerina gone." She said, simply.

Elena gritted her teeth at the vitriol that sprung up when Aliyah threatened her, a healthy dose of fear keeping her silent. Sometimes, like with Stefan, it was hard to remember that Aliyah was a vampire, and centuries older than Stefan and Damon, as the woman had never killed in her presence. She had seen Damon exact a number of atrocities that she still kept in the back of her mind that Damon was bad news. It wouldn't do well for her to underestimate Aliyah. From what she had seen, Aliyah only cared about Bonnie and she would do anything to protect her best friend.

"Stefan?" Elena asked, as she, Damon and Aliyah crossed the threshold of the Gilbert house, seeing her boyfriend lying on the ground, amidst a number of broken furniture.

Stefan swallowed hard, seeing his girlfriend enter in through the door. "Elena." He murmured.

"What happened?" Elena asked, surveying the broken furniture with dismay.

A dangerous, knowing smile came to Aliyah's lips and she bared her teeth. Before either Stefan or Damon could answer her, she sung, sweetly, the words that made Elena's, Stefan's and Damon's blood run absolutely icy.

"She's back." She crooned.

All three glared at her.

"What, a little too Michael Myers?" She asked, innocently.

---

Aliyah hopped up onto the island counter in the Gilbert kitchen, while Elena was upstairs explaining what had happened to Jeremy. Elena had explained to her that her brother had drunk a vial of his vampire girlfriend's blood and downed a bottle of pills, attempting to commit suicide and come back as a vampire. Aliyah shook her head, unable to believe the absolute gall of these Gilberts. First John, Elena and now, Jeremy. They would die sooner or later if they kept getting swept up into vampire world.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Damon asked.

"No."

"Did you ask?" Aliyah asked, lightly.

"No."

"Bloody hell." Aliyah snarled, crossing her legs. "Tell me something, Salvatores, when you come face to face with an enemy, what the hell do you do? Simply stare at them the entire time?" She asked, incredulously, shaking her head.

Damon shook his head. "Woman certainly knows how to make an entrance." He muttered, thoughtfully.

Stefan frowned. "She said she fooled one of us at least. What does that mean?" He asked, questioningly, watching as a blinding smile appeared on Aliyah's face.

Damon shrugged. "She pretended to be Elena too when I showed up earlier tonight." He said, noncommittally.

Elena walked into the kitchen. "I told Jeremy, I can't lie to him anymore."

Stefan walked up to her, touching her arm, affectionately. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

Aliyah grimaced, knowing that the one question would cause Elena Gilbert to go into one of her whining, 'woe is me' fits.

Elena shook her head. "No, I'm not alright. I thought that with all the tomb vampires gone, things were getting better." She whispered.

"I know, we all did." Stefan said, soothingly.

"Not me." Aliyah interjected. All of them turned to glare at her. "Are you kidding me? The whole Isobel drama was completely separate from the tomb vampire drama. You didn't think that Katherine would just leave you alone once she found out both of her exes were shacking up with her doppelganger, did you?" She raised an eyebrow.

Elena chose to ignore her. "Katherine was in this house, that means she's been invited in, what are we gonna do?" She looked at Damon and Stefan.

"You should move." Aliyah said.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Very helpful, thank you." She said, sarcastically.

"Somehow I feel as though you will die, painfully and very bloodily, by some vampire because you have a death wish and you run your mouth as if I were just some freshman at your high school. How many times do I have to drill it into you that I am not these two morons before you finally make me snap and I gut you like a pig." Aliyah growled and Elena's eyes widened, swallowing hard in fear, suddenly feeling dizzy and her legs tightening, as if she were ready to run – all because of the violent promise in Aliyah's words. "If Katerina wanted you dead, you would be dead already. If anything, Katerina is a master at getting what she wants." Except for one thing. "So, seeing as you aren't dead, it's clear that Katerina has other plans for you. You should move."

"Right, and we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process." Stefan said, quickly, drawing Aliyah's attention away from Elena and to himself. He turned to Damon. "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?" He asked, tensing.

Damon sighed, somehow knowing that his brother wouldn't take well to the idea of him kissing his girlfriend. "To risk another front line encroaching on your very crowded forehead," He hesitated. "We… kissed." He said, finally.

Elena raised an eyebrow. "And you thought it was me?" She asked, scandalised, wondering if everyone thought that she would become Katherine 2.0.

"What do you mean you kissed?" Stefan growled, his eyes flashing.

Damon smirked, not being able to resist the urge to tease his brother. "You know, when two lips pucker and then-" He mimed kissing the air.

Stefan rushed at him with his vampire speed, but before he could lay a hand on his brother, Damon stood where he had just seconds before.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Don't be obvious, Stefan." He said, mockingly.

Stefan made to advance on him yet again, but Elena thankfully placed herself right in the middle.

"Stefan, wait, he kissed Katherine, not me." Elena said, reassuringly. She turned to Damon. "I wouldn't do that." She said, warningly. "We don't have time for this, guys."

Stefan's eyes turned hard when they fell upon Damon. "Later." He vowed, promising violence.

Elena licked her suddenly dry lips. "John must know something. There has to be a reason why Katherine tried to kill him." She said, pointedly.

"I already talked to your birth father, darling. He knows nothing, but your welcome to try your brand of interrogation, if you'd like." Aliyah shrugged. "Katherine loves to play games and she almost always wins them. You're deluding yourself if you think you of all people will find out what she's up to before she wants you to know."

Stefan shook his head. "No, actually, Elena's right, John could know something through Isobel. You mother, she was in touch with Katherine, so maybe we can go to the hospital and talk." He said, reassuringly.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at the screen.

Bonnie: I'm leaving the hospital. They said they'll let people see Caroline now.

Aliyah: Fine, I'll meet you back at the apartment. Did you go home at all?

Bonnie: No, I decided to stick around until they let Caroline out of recovery. But I don't think that's happening anytime soon.

Aliyah: I'm done here, anyway. See you soon.

Aliyah clapped her hands. "Well, this has been an enlightening day, so I'm gonna be off. Stefan, I'm sure you'll get nowhere with John. Damon, I'm sure you'll do something to piss Katherine off and that'll draw her out anyway. And Elena, don't do something to piss your evil twin off. I've heard that she has a real jealous side." She said, innocently, and whooshed away back to the hospital.

---

The next morning, Aliyah and Bonnie walked up to a weary-looking Matt, who had collapsed in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs opposite to Caroline's room.

"You've been here all night?" Bonnie asked, worriedly, wrapping her cardigan around her, tightly.

Matt nodded, the dark circles under his eyes showing. "Yeah, with the Sheriff.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "No one else?" She wondered out loud.

Matt shook his head. "It's just been me and the Sheriff."

Bonnie took a seat next to Matt, placing a gentle hand on his. Aliyah smoothed down Bonnie's hair, comfortingly.

"How is Caroline today?" Aliyah asked, curiously. The amount of blood she had given Caroline should work its way out of her system by the end of the day.

Matt shrugged, a small smile working its way onto his face. "See for yourself."

Matt, Bonnie and Aliyah walked into Caroline's room to see her sitting up in her bed, flicking through the channels of the television on her remote. She turned to look at her visitors with a sweet, mega watt smile on her face. Aliyah watched as tears unwillingly came to Bonnie's green eyes upon seeing Caroline's face and admired the bond that existed between the two girls, one witch and one completely mortal and oblivious, yet the best of friends.

"Jersey Shore's on." Caroline grinned.

Bonnie swallowed hard, feeling the tears slip down her cheeks, and she rushed forwards, throwing her arms around Caroline, burying her face in the blonde's shoulder. She shook when she realised just how close she had come to losing the only best friend she had at the moment who was completely oblivious to witch and vampire business, and who hadn't turned her back on Bonnie in favour of two vampires who had done nothing but cause pain for her.

Caroline winced as Bonnie's arms tightened around a particularly sore part of her. "Careful, still a little sore." She said, weakly, smiling.

Bonnie pulled away, immediately. "Sorry." She said, rubbing the back of her neck, sheepishly.

"It's okay. They say I'm healing very quick." Caroline said, reassuringly. She turned to Aliyah. "Hi." She said, shyly, remembering the sweet young woman who had helped her get dressed for Founder's Day.

"Hello, darling, it's good to see you up and ready to face the world." Aliyah said, softly, leaning down and wrapping her arms, gently, around the blonde.

"Thank you." Caroline said, sweetly, returning the hug as best as she could.

Matt stepped forward. "My turn." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, gratefully, and Bonnie started weeping, madly.

Caroline frowned in fond confusion when she saw Bonnie crying. "Why are you crying?" She asked, worriedly.

Bonnie shook her head and wiped the tears away from her cheeks, the events of the last few days finally taking its toll on her. "I'm just happy you're okay." She said, hoarsely.

Caroline cracked a smile. "I love you guys." She said, earnestly.

Bonnie smiled a watery smile. "And we love you." She said, gently.

Bonnie, Matt and Caroline wrapped their arms around each other.

---

Aliyah pulled up beside the Lockwood Mansion after Bonnie and her had gone home to the apartment to change. Aliyah now wore a slim-fitting, long-sleeved black dress with a Peter Pan collar and lace accenting her collarbone and arms, and white metallic pumps. Bonnie wore a black halter-neck dress with a beaded necklace, coupled with black flats and a mauve sweater. Bonnie motioned for Aliyah to go ahead and that she would need a minute before going in herself.

"Hi, Tyler." Aliyah smiled, sadly, at the young boy.

"Hey, Aliyah." Tyler's smile was tight. "Thanks for coming."

Aliyah smirked. "I bet you've been saying that all morning." She said, knowingly.

Tyler sighed. "Yeah, I have. It's a bit-"

"Boring, annoying." Aliyah shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much. In a couple of hours you can go and get drunk of your arse."

Tyler's eyes widened. This was Bonnie's new pseudo guardian and he had seen the way that Bonnie acted around her cousin. She loved the woman absolutely. It wouldn't do well for her to think of Tyler as some drunken frat boy only after one thing from Bonnie.

"What? I would never-" Tyler stammered.

Aliyah grinned. "Come on, darling. You're a teenage boy. Your father just died and even though, according to Bonnie, he was a wanker-" Her eyes widened and she bit her lip. "Bloody hell." She hissed. "I wasn't supposed to say that." She looked at him, sternly. "You didn't hear me say that."

Tyler didn't take much offence to what she had just said and chuckled, quietly, making sure none of the unsuspecting townspeople had heard Aliyah's comment.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's the best thing I've heard all day." Tyler grinned.

Aliyah shrugged. "No one said that fathers had to be perfect. Mine swanned off when I was a kid. Never saw him again."

"Is Bonnie here?" Tyler asked, eagerly, looking around.

Aliyah laughed. "Easy there, darling. She's coming up as we speak." She patted Tyler on the shoulder. "I'm gonna head inside." She walked past Tyler. "Oh, and darling," Tyler turned back to look at her. "Try not to start a fight at this party."

Bonnie chewed on her lip when she saw Tyler standing on the porch, greeting the townspeople who had come to pay their respects to man that Tyler had hated with his very being.

Tyler turned after shaking another person's hand, feeling the air shift around him, and his eyes immediately sought out Bonnie's approaching form, her eyes glinting in the sunlight. He swallowed hard, his hands searching hers immediately. Bonnie took then, gratefully, and stepped into his warm embrace, wrapping her lithe arms around Tyler's taller frame. He bent down to bury his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in the smell of honey and lavender that seemed to come from her sweet skin, his hands, gently, rubbing circles along the witch's back. His lips brushed across her temple and he mumbled something only she could hear.

She pulled back, her hands sliding up from Tyler's neck to cup his face in her smooth fingers. She leaned up, so that he was flush against her body, a lover's embrace, although the two didn't give a second thought to that comparison. They were who they were. They were Tyler and Bonnie, they didn't need any more labels.

She pressed her lips to the edge of his ear and trailed a line of soft kisses across his cheek until she reached the corner of his mouth, wetting her lips with her tongue and looking him in the eye before she pressed her lips to his in a sweet kiss. Tyler leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. She looked at him, questioningly.

"I'm fine, Bonnie Rabbit." Tyler moved her dark curls off her shoulder, twisting his fingers in a few strands. "I'll be fine. Thank you… for being here."

Bonnie nodded, knowing exactly how much Tyler had hated his father. This was a bittersweet occasion for him. He had yet to resolve his hatred for his father with the grief that overwhelmed him at the thought of his father's wife. She wrapped her arms around him and drew him back into her embrace.

Aliyah watched Tyler and Bonnie in each other's embrace. She cocked her head and a smile grew on her face. They reminded her so much of herself and Niklaus that it almost stunned her to see them interact in front of her.

"I do not understand why you must antagonise him." Aliyah shook her head, pressing the cloth against the wound in his shoulder.

Niklaus grunted from the stabbing pain in his shoulder and he shifted, falling firmly into her arms. "I thought that if I could best him in a duel, I could show him that I was not a weakling."

"My love, you are not a weakling." Aliyah leaned down and cupped his face in her warm hands, her thumbs stroking, reverently, across his cheekbones. "You could never be a weakling in my eyes. You are a strong man and if Mikael chooses to ignore this, then it is his burden to bear and not yours." She said, earnestly.

Niklaus rested his chin on her stomach and looked up at her, gazing at her as if he could see the sun and the moon and the stars in her dark eyes. This beautiful woman above him loved him and only him, beyond measure and weight. She laid in his arms and she wanted to be his wife. It was enough to erase away the harsh words and painful hits that Mikael had delivered upon him. Aliyah leaned down and pressed her hand against his wound, biting her lip when she heard him wince in pain. She mumbled words under her breath, feeling the warmth from her fingers seep into his skin, her magic healing his wound. She hitched in a sharp breath and dizziness overcame her as she sank into his warm embrace, her limbs losing feeling.

"Liya?" Niklaus called out, worriedly, smoothing back her hair from her weary face. At once, he knew that she had used her magic and her strength to make him feel better. "Oh, my little witch, why would you do something like this for me?"

"Because I cannot bear to see you in pain." Aliyah said, tiredly, nuzzling into his chest. She looked up at him, and her fingers stroked against his damp cheek. "Do you ever wish that we could live forever?" She asked, innocently. "That way, our love would exist all through time."

Niklaus shifted and brought her into his arms, tightly. He leaned down and pressed his lips slowly against hers, feeling her whimper against him.

"Our love will exist all through time, hellcat. I have no intention of letting you go, be it in life or in death." He vowed.

Aliyah pursed her lips, feeling her own age start to show. She had no idea what to do about Niklaus' letter nor did she know how to best explain her story to Bonnie, which she would have to do sooner rather than later. It wouldn't do well for Katherine being in Mystic Falls or Niklaus about to come into town and Bonnie to remain clueless. All she could do was hope that Bonnie would begin to accept the true Aliyah Mikaelson the way she had when she had first met her.

If she were being honest, the idea of Niklaus coming to Mystic Falls terrified her beyond belief. Not simply because he would find out about the doppelganger's existence, but because Niklaus was inherently unpredictable in his rage. She wouldn't be able to guess whether he would simply dagger her for her departure or whether he would choose a more creative punishment by simply killing the ones she had grown to care for in this town. Niklaus had the tendency to hit her where it hurt and she was sure Bonnie would be at the centre of it.

She was also nervous about seeing her husband after so long. It had been more than thirty years since she had seen him face to face, and that last meeting had ended as quick as it began. Since she had left him permanently in 1925, she had only ever seen him twice, both times choosing to spend in his presence no longer than a few minutes at the most, preferring instead to leave just as he came, leaving remnants of her mocking laughter and the scent of rose and jasmine and sandalwood oil – her perfume since the 12th century – in the air for him to rage over.

She didn't even know how she would react upon seeing Niklaus again in the flesh. She knew she would tremble when faced with him. She would stare at his blue eyes and wonder how did she become strong enough to walk away from her. He would say something biting and hurtful, because that was what Niklaus Mikaelson did when someone caused him to hurt, he caused them pain in return. She would bite her lip and feel the tears come to her eyes at his harsh words, and turn her face away from him. His eyes would widen as he realised that he had hurt her feelings. He would stammer out an apology and she would fall, unbidden, into his arms and allow him to comfort her. Then, he would say jump and she would ask how high.

But she was determined to not let that happened this time. She had left Niklaus for a reason. No matter how many threats, apologies, promises or reassurances came her way, she would not compromise the decision she made.

She loved him, but he would make her hate him. And she was determined never to let that happen.

She turned on her heel and walked into the Lockwood Mansion, no longer needing an invite as Carol Lockwood had already invited her inside during one of their interviews. She scoured the area for any sign of Carol but saw her in a harsh conversation with Liz Forbes and Damon. Aliyah pursed her lips and grabbed a glass of wine, throwing back the drink in a second. She concentrated on their conversation, allowing her heightened hearing to stretch out to the three.

"I want to know exactly who's responsible for killing my husband." Carol hissed.

Liz sighed. "I'm looking into it, but you have to be straight. Is there any reason Richard was affected by the vampire device?" She asked, encouragingly.

Aliyah chewed on her lip. She could answer that one. Because he was an untriggered werewolf. The device must have tailored to all supernatural creatures in the vicinity, which would include werewolves and vampires. Emily would have had knowledge of them due to her close proximity to one, George Lockwood.

Carol raised an offended eyebrow. "Are you implying that he was one of them?" She asked, horrified.

Aliyah wondered what she would think when she found out her son was also an untriggered werewolf.

Damon pushed himself between the two women. "No, no one's implying that." He told Carol, reassuringly.

Damon turned around and saw that Aliyah's eyes were fixed on her second wine glass. She gave him a stiff nod to indicate that she was listening in on the conversation.

"Your deputies screwed up, plain and simple, which makes you responsible." Carol hissed.

"Carol…" Damon trailed off, warningly.

"Your husband is the one who helped John Gilbert execute his idiot plan in the first place." Liz snapped.

Aliyah rolled her eyes.

"Liz…" Damon hissed, making sure no one was watching the confrontation between the two women.

"Someone got my husband killed." Carol spat.

"We're all on edge here, you've suffered a great loss, the whole town has. We have to stick together okay? Trust each other, we're gonna get through this." Damon said, reassuringly.

I have to give it to him, he's not a bad actor. Aliyah mused.

---

Bonnie was still wrapped around Tyler, his much larger one curling against hers as he thanked everyone else who walked up the steps of the porch. His hands were perpetually in her hair and her fingers were still stroking his back, soothingly. It was hard for Bonnie to comprehend that merely a few months ago, Bonnie was adamant to never speak to Tyler ever again.

When Bonnie had learned that Tyler was sleeping with Vicki Donovan, she had found herself so jealous that she had found hot tears forming and her breathing slow. She had attempted to convince herself that her anger was due to the careless way Tyler treated Vicki, up in arms over a fellow teenage girl's haphazard treatment. But, deep in her heart, she knew it was because she had always been Tyler's first priority and the thought of giving that up to anyone else had sent her into a spiralling fury that she had almost brought the house down with her rage. She knew it was petty, but Bonnie hated to be replaced. She supposed it came from her pattern of being left behind by those she loved: her mother and her father. And she was determined to not let Tyler become a part of that list.

But her pride and thought that she'd rather burn in hell than admit that to anyone had prevented her from confiding that reason with Tyler, so she had simply resorted to freezing him out for weeks. In fact, remembrance of those few weeks made her blush in embarrassment; Bonnie wasn't exactly proud of herself for what she had done to herself and Tyler. She knew she had no right to deny Tyler a girlfriend because of some strange claim she had over the boy since they were toddlers.

What had really irked at her was that he was simply buying into the image that the town had of him. Everyone expected him to screw around with the town's trailer trash and Tyler simply acquiesced. It made Bonnie so spitting furious that she ignored him for over a month. She didn't answer his calls, turned him away from her house whenever he knocked, purposely walked the other way when she saw him at school, she wanted to make him hurt as much as she was. Of course, their fight was only settled when Tyler become so angry at her indifference to him that he broke into her house one night.

They screamed at each other for hours and Bonnie remembered thanking God that her father was away on yet another business trip. They had never quite resolved that particular argument, Bonnie unable to accept that Tyler was the sort of guy that would just use a girl, even someone like Vicki Donovan, just for sex. Since then, it was understood that no one mentioned Vicki in front of Bonnie, not if they didn't want her to start raging.

Tyler and Bonnie's attention was drawn away from the sound of a truck approaching the mansion. Bonnie watched as a handsome man jumped out of the truck and frowned, remembering the man from when she was younger.

Tyler cracked a reluctant smile. "So, the black sheep returns." He called out, stepping forward and taking Bonnie along with him.

The man frowned and searched his eyes for some sort of recognition in the younger man's and his eyes widened as they dawned with realisation.

"Tyler?" He said, astonished.

"Yeah." Tyler nodded, tightening his arm around Bonnie's waist.

The man frowned, looking him over. "What happened to you? In my mind, you were twelve years old."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Then, that's two years older than the last time you saw me, Uncle Mason." He said, pointedly.

Bonnie slipped her hand from Tyler's and stepped back as the two men embraced each other. Once Tyler broke away, he stepped back into Bonnie's side and wrapped his arm around Bonnie's waist as if he never left.

"Good to see you again." Mason laughed and his blue eyes fell onto Bonnie, who shifted, nervously, at the attention. His eyes widened almost as if they would pop out of his skull. "No way." He breathed in shock, a smile lighting up his face. "This can't be little Bonnie Bennett." He chuckled, taking her by the hand and spinning her around.

Bonnie giggled and blushed at the attention, running a hand over her warm cheek.

Mason shot Tyler a teasing look. "Although, from what I remember, it's more like you were his Bonnie Bennett." He smirked.

Both Bonnie and Tyler flushed and Tyler stepped forward, separating Mason and Bonnie and placing Bonnie at his side once again.

"Okay, okay," Tyler muttered, ignoring the redness in his cheeks. "Break it up, you two."

"Let me guess, the two of you are dating?" Mason stared at Tyler and Bonnie with unfathomable eyes.

Both of their eyes widened and they shook their heads, frantically.

"No!" Tyler protested, but his vehement rejection of the suggestion was tempered by his inability to keep his hands off Bonnie – girlfriend or not.

"No, we're really not." Bonnie reassured, patting Tyler's hand, which was curled around her hip. "We're just friends."

Mason nodded, a wicked glint in his eyes. "I'm sure." He said, knowingly.

Bonnie rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly. "I'll be inside. I should really find Aliyah." She leaned on her toes and kissed Tyler, gently, on the cheek. She placed a hand on his shoulder and dragged it down his arm. "See you soon, Stray."

---

Bonnie finally found Aliyah, who was standing off to the side on her own. Aliyah nodded at her and beckoned her with one crooked finger. Bonnie slid closer to her and joined her in leaning against the wall.

"So, how's your Tyler?" Aliyah asked, smirking.

"He's not my anything. Why do people keep thinking we're dating?" Bonnie said, hotly.

"Because, darling, the two of you can't keep your hands off each other." Aliyah shrugged. "That's a sure-fire sign that two people are more than just friends." She said, pointedly.

Bonnie groaned and her head sank onto Aliyah's shoulder. "What am I going to do?" She moaned.

"About Tyler?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "I'd recommend you shag him on the nearest flat surface, but if a wall works for you…" She shrugged.

Bonnie stared at her. "You are such a great role model." She said, sarcastically.

Aliyah grinned. "I'm really good at the sex stuff if you wanna talk." She offered. "In fact, I probably have a copy of the Kama Sutra lying around the apartment if you wanted to take a look."

Bonnie couldn't help but smile and she chewed on her lip. "I'll keep that in mind." She said, playfully.

"So, how did it go with Tyler?" Aliyah asked, curiously.

Bonnie shrugged. "He didn't really get along with his dad. I think he's just trying to come to terms with all of those feelings. He'll talk to me when he's ready." She said, confidently. "His uncle came back."

Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Uncle?" She frowned, wondering whether this was another werewolf.

"Yeah, Mason Lockwood." Bonnie nodded. "He left Mystic Falls ages ago. He's a surfer." She paused and leaned in. "I don't think he's a threat." She said, reassuringly, placing a warm hand on Aliyah's arm.

Aliyah sighed. "When you're as old as I am, Bonnie girl, everyone's a threat." She said, grimly.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite people in the world." A certain annoying voice drawled as Damon approached the two. "Witchy and Bitchy." He smirked at his own cleverness.

"Congratulations, you can rhyme." Aliyah said, sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

Damon turned his attention to Bonnie. "You know, Bonnie, I would love to know why Mayor Lockwood, a non-vampire, was tortured by the vampire torture device that you let John Gilbert use against us. Not to mention, the puppy dog that follows you around everywhere." Aliyah resisted the urge to smile at how on point Damon's comment had been. "Speaking of your guilt, how is Caroline?"

Bonnie gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing at the idea of Damon hurting Tyler. She would tear him apart before he could lay a hand on her Tyler. "Much better." She smiled a beatific smile that Aliyah had taught her to use when she was the most angry. She told her that it threw people off. "And I have no guilt. You should be thanking me."

"Why is that, exactly?" Damon asked, cockily.

Bonnie's full lips curled into an irresistible smile. "You get to live another day." She purred, feeling her magic draw her around her, her skin sizzling with the feeling.

Damon shook his head, mournfully. "No good deal goes unpunished with you, does it?"

Bonnie growled low in her throat. "Doesn't undo the bad. I know what you are, Damon," She hissed, remembering the way Damon had used Caroline. "You might have Elena and the Sheriff and everybody else fooled, but not me." She spat. "One wrong move and I'm gonna take you out." She said, coldly.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Now, you need to stop with the witches' brood. You're starting to believe your own press." He joked.

Aliyah watched with amusement and pride as Bonnie simply stared at Damon, looking him in the eyes. She could feel the magic rise in the air around her and she watched as Damon clutched at his head, squeezing his eyes in pain. She swallowed hard, feeling the power radiating from Bonnie, an intoxicating feeling that made her lick her lips. She was prouder than she had ever been before.

Aliyah placed her hand on Bonnie's shoulder, soothingly. "Okay, Bonnie girl, pull back." She ordered, gently.

Bonnie breathed in and out, a smile forming on her face as she drew her magic away from Damon. "I'm sorry, you were saying?" She asked, mockingly. She shook her head and looked at Aliyah. "I need some air. I'll be right back." She said, flatly.

Bonnie stormed out of the mansion and walked outside, hoping to find Tyler so that she could bury her face in his neck and forget all of her troubles for a little while. Instead, she saw Elena standing out on the porch, looking out onto the garden. She bit her lip and ignored her lingering resentment against her best friend and walked up to her, needing someone to bitch at who was human.

"Oh, my god! Damon drives me crazy. How can you actually like the creep? He's walking around like he's some kind of hero for helping out with the tomb vampires, when it's his fault all of this happened in the first place." Bonnie spat, her anger against the blue-eyed vampire – and against Elena, if she were being honest – only growing.

Elena looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry Bonnie. What Damon's done is just awful." She said, despondently.

Bonnie breathed in and allowed her anger to fade away, being able to look at Elena and not feel tinges of red attack her vision. "Okay, better." She smiled, softly. "Hateful Damon moment over." She shook her head.

Bonnie couldn't help it and placed her hand on Elena's arm.

She stilled.

Bonnie dug her teeth into her lip, feeling the skin split under her ministration, to prevent herself from flinching away. She felt the cold feeling of death wash through her veins like icy water and she felt sick to her stomach just being in the woman's presence.

Katherine.

I need Aliyah.

Bonnie swallowed hard. "I… I have to find Tyler. See if he needs something. I'll be back." She said, hoarsely, smiling so that Katherine didn't realise that she was onto her.

She turned on her heel and stalked back into the mansion, walking into a small room and pulling her phone. She dialled Elena's number and waited for the call to go through.

"Hello?" Elena's voice came over the phone.

Bonnie licked her lips. "Elena? Where are you?" She asked, carefully.

"Bonnie, I know I'm late. I'm getting in the car now. I'll be here in five." Elena said, quickly, and hung up the phone.

Bonnie shook her head and turned around, gasping in shock when she saw Katherine standing right behind her.

Katherine smiled at her, wearing her best friend's face. "We haven't officially met, I'm Katherine." She said, sweetly.

Bonnie gritted her teeth. She remembered what Aliyah had taught her.

Keep your head on you at all time. Never show emotion to your enemies. It displays your vulnerability and you need to remain invincible in their eyes. Wait for the moment where they least expect it and then strike them down.

"I know who you are." She said, coldly.

Katherine smiled, mockingly. "Of course you do. You're the best friend, right?" She waggled her eyebrows. "I've been putting all the pieces of Elena's life together. Isobel told me it was a bit of a puzzle. I do know who Jenna and Jeremy are and I met that delicious ex-boyfriend Matt," She smirked. "He's sweet on Caroline, and then there's you, the vampire-hating Bennett witch. Did I do good?" She asked, innocently.

Bonnie swallowed hard and made to run out of the room but Katherine was in front of her in a flash. Bonnie clenched her teeth and focused her gaze on her, throwing her magic at the woman until she went down screaming. But what shocked her was Katherine's ability to feign the aneurism and stand up after a few moments, undisturbed.

Katherine smirked. "I've been around a long time, Bonnie; you have to do better than that." She said, sweetly.

She wrapped a slender hand around Bonnie's neck and slammed her against the wall, the picture frames shaking from the pressure. Her face changed, her fangs descending and her eyes filling with blood, the veins under her eyes bulging. She was just about to sink her fangs into Bonnie's slender throat when Katherine heard a vicious snarl that chilled her to the very core. She suddenly felt herself being grabbed by the shoulder, twisted around and pinned against the wall, herself, by a grip she just couldn't get out of. Her face transformed into an expression of absolute, blood chilling fear when she saw a furious and pleased Aliyah looking at her.

"Zdravei, Katerina." She purred, her accent flaring, baring her blinding white teeth at the younger vampire. She tightened the grip around Katherine's throat, relishing in the choked, pained gasp that it drew from her. "I hoped you would be stupid enough to attack Bonnie. Now, I actually have a legitimate reason to tear your heart out of your chest." She purred.

Aliyah's eyes turned to Bonnie, who pushed herself off the wall, clutching at her throat.

"Alright there, Bonnie?" Aliyah asked, gently.

Bonnie nodded, looking at Katherine with a degree of nervousness.

"If you kill me, Klaus will be mad at you." Katherine wheezed, her hands tugging at Aliyah's wrist, desperately trying to free herself, her legs kicking out.

Aliyah laughed, harshly, feeling her eyes darken and the veins emerge. "What my husband doesn't know will not hurt him." She purred. "He will rejoice in my killing you after all of these years and welcome me back as his beloved wife. And your death will be as insignificant to him as it was five hundred years ago." She snarled.

"Why go to all that trouble if you were just going to kill me?" Katherine hissed out.

"Because I enjoyed watching you run for your life." Aliyah shrugged. She leaned in, feeling her fangs descend. She leaned down and let her teeth scrape across the sensitive skin of Katherine's jugular. She dug in, slightly, letting the taste of Katherine's blood fall onto her tongue, licking her lips as she drew back. Katherine hissed in pain and stared at her with the utmost fear. "If you ever threaten or attempt to harm Bonnie ever again, it will be the last moment of your meaningless long life, Katerina. Remember, your life is my charity. Do you understand me?" She asked, sweetly.

Katherine gritted her teeth and refused to answer her out of stubborn pride.

"I said, do you understand me?" Aliyah demanded, tightening her grip and shoving her against the wall, firmly.

"Yes." Katherine growled.

Aliyah smiled and let Katherine fall to the floor, gasping and clutching her throat, as the newly sliced skin healed itself. She suddenly broke off a leg from one of the tables in the room and slammed one of the ends into Katherine's stomach, the end of the makeshift stake going through the wall. Katherine bit back a scream of pain and struggled against the way the stake pinned her against the wall. Aliyah walked over and touched Bonnie's throat.

"Just a little bruising." Aliyah mused. "Should go away in a little while." She told Bonnie, reassuringly. "You okay, or do I really need to kill her?"

"I'm fine, but if you wanted to go and kill her anyway, I wouldn't stop you." Bonnie said, weakly, smiling.

Aliyah laughed and wrapped her arms around Bonnie, pressing a warm and affectionate kiss to the top of Bonnie's head. "That's my Bonnie girl." She said, sweetly.

"Oh, um, you have a little…" Bonnie gestured to Aliyah's mouth, which was stained with remnants of Katherine's blood.

"Oh, right." Aliyah shook her head and ran her tongue over her lips, licking away the last of Katherine's blood and resisting the urge to moan at the taste.

Katherine growled and wrenched the stake from her stomach, gritting her teeth against the pain.

"Katherine." Stefan called out, appearing in the doorway to the room.

Katherine smiled. "Stefan." She said, slowly, her eyes running up and down his form as if she were dehydrated and he were an oasis in the middle of a desert.

"Leave them alone." Stefan said, firmly.

Katherine shrugged. "Okay."

Katherine walked past them and to Stefan, running a hand down his arm, seductively, as she passed, flashing out of the room, Stefan following her.

Bonnie swallowed hard and looked at Aliyah, helplessly. "My magic didn't work on her." She said, desperately.

Aliyah placed both of her hands on Bonnie's shoulders. "Bonnie, we will fix this." She said, firmly. "I will not let Katherine hurt you. I give you my word." She said, earnestly.

Bonnie nodded, emphatically, feeling tears come to her eyes. "I think… I think I'm gonna find Tyler." She bit her lip, really needing Tyler's arms around her at that moment. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think I will go and check everything is okay with Katherine and I want to pop in on Jenna as well. See how she is." Aliyah said, blithely. "Call me if something happens." She said, sternly. "I don't think Katherine will attack you now that she knows you're under my protection. It would just be a reason to end her miserable life here and now." She growled.

Bonnie nodded and threw her arms around Aliyah, desperately needing comfort after being so closely attacked by a vicious vampire. Aliyah tightened her grip on Bonnie and stroked a hand down her back, soothing her. Bonnie burrowed into her embrace and revelled in the comfort that radiated from Aliyah, thanking whatever higher being had sent the older vampire to her. The fact that Aliyah was a vampire was slowly becoming a non-existent issue for her. Aliyah was her family, now. She sniffled and broke away, placing a hand on Aliyah's arm before leaving.

She wandered through the crowded halls of the Lockwood Mansion before she saw Tyler sitting in a room, nursing a flask that Bonnie was sure had been his father's. She bit her lip and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Tyler jerked at the sound of the door closing and he turned around to see her approaching him, a smile forming on his face. Bonnie didn't smile, however. She was just a bit too drawn to return it. She slipped off her flats and sank down onto his lap, feeling his arms come around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling his hands stroke her hair.

"Hey, Bonnie Rabbit," He said, quietly, kissing her temple. "You okay?"

Bonnie shook her head and buried her face into the crook of his neck, feeling the tears slip down her cheek and fall onto his skin.

---

Just as Aliyah was leaving the mansion, she ran into Jenna, who was standing on her own.

"A bit late to the party, aren't you?" Aliyah grinned at Jenna, handing her a glass of wine and taking one for herself.

"Oh, shut it." Jenna grumbled, taking a long swig of the wine.

"Did you pay your respects?" She asked, curiously.

"Yeah, I did. And it was totally awkward." Jenna shrugged as they looked out onto the garden from the porch. "Did you?"

"Ages ago." Aliyah said, sipping at her wine. "Bonnie's with Tyler right now."

Jenna cracked a smile. "You wanna bet how long it's gonna take for those two to get their act together." She waggled her eyebrows.

Aliyah laughed. "Oh, I have a feeling it'll be real soon." She ran her hand through her hair. "Have you been to see John?"

Jenna frowned. "How do you know John?" She asked, curiously.

"We met at that Kick-Off Party. I heard about his accident." Aliyah explained, quickly.

"Oh, yeah, I have." Jenna rolled her eyes. "Even missing four of his fingers and a gaping stab wound in his gut, he's still a jackass."

Aliyah laughed. "Yeah, I got that about him. So, why the hatred?" She asked, waggling her eyebrows.

Jenna sighed. "In the interest of full disclosure, we used to sleep together and it kinda ended badly."

"Ah. That makes sense. So, it's sexual tension, then?" She winked. Jenna punched her in the arm. "Right, I guess not, then."

"I am never making that mistake again." Jenna gagged.

"How was he?" Aliyah asked, interestedly. Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Oh, please, I haven't had sex in ages. The price of being faithful to my non-existent husband." She rolled her eyes. "I have to live vicariously through you." She smirked.

"He's… to be honest, he was kind of selfish." Jenna admitted, blushing.

"And Alaric?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow, biting her lower lip as a smile formed on her face.

The blush remained on Jenna's face and she rubbed the back of her neck, brushing her hair away from her face. "Okay, he's very good with his tongue." She said, reluctantly but smugly.

Aliyah started laughed, making sure no one could hear them. "Good for you, darling." She patted Jenna on the shoulder.

"What about you?" Jenna asked, her eyes flashing, wickedly. "Mason Lockwood came back and he's pretty cute. We used to go to high school together. I could set you up." She suggested.

Aliyah chuckled. "Thanks for the thought, but I just found out that my husband might be joining me here in Mystic Falls."

Jenna's eyes widened. "Oh, wow, really? I finally get to meet the infamous husband of Aliyah Bennett?"

Aliyah's face tightened but a smile remained on her face. "Yep." She grinned.

Jenna's eyes searched her face. "You okay with that? I mean, do you want him to come?"

Aliyah sighed and leaned against a pillar. "I don't know." She confessed, grateful for the chance to talk to someone who had no idea about vampires or werewolves or witches. Right now, she felt just like an ordinary woman who had problems with her husband. "Mind you, I miss him plenty. But, I'm afraid that he's changed and I've changed and we just won't work together anymore." She said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

Jenna laid a hand on her arm and stared at her with sympathetic eyes. "If it's meant to be, it'll be."

Aliyah cracked a smile. She swirled the wine that was still in her glass. "All I can do is hope for the best." She sighed.

"You heading home yet?" Jenna asked, curiously.

"Actually," Aliyah's eyes widened. "I should be getting home. I'm actually moving tonight."

Jenna frowned. "Wait, what? You're leaving and you weren't going to tell me." She sounded hurt.

"Jenna, darling, I'm only moving houses. I don't plan on leaving Mystic Falls for a little while." She said, reassuringly. "In fact, I'll text you my new address. The removalists are coming tonight to pack up my apartment. I should probably be there for that."

"Where are you moving to?" Jenna asked.

"I had this old place in the woods renovated. It's like a secret hideaway. More of my thing than an apartment or a house in the suburbs." She shrugged.

"How very hermit of you." Jenna said, playfully.

Aliyah groaned. "Don't start with me." She said, warningly. "I should probably go and find Bonnie."

---

Aliyah walked through the Lockwood's land, hearing Katherine's and Stefan's voice in the distance.

"You want to know why I'm here, Stefan? I came back for you." Katherine said, earnestly.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. Now, that's an absolute lie.

"Well, the problem, Katherine, is that I hate you." Stefan said, coldly.

She is not going to like that.

Aliyah watched as Katherine grabbed an iron crowbar, as quickly as lightning, and stabbed Stefan in the stomach with it. Stefan doubled over and a cry of pain left his mouth.

"You hate me, huh?" Katherine spat. "That sounds like the beginning of a love story, Stefan, not the end of one." She snarled and ran away.

Aliyah clucked her tongue and stalked forwards. She grabbed onto the end of the crowbar that was sticking out of Stefan and she yanked, hard, pulling it out of him with one harsh swoop. Stefan groaned and sank to the ground and Aliyah threw the crowbar somewhere into the trees. Elena ran up to them.

"Stefan!" She cried out and grabbed him by the waist, helping him onto the bench.

"You're welcome." Aliyah said, sarcastically, throwing her hands up in the air.

Elena lifted up Stefan's shirt and gasped when saw the bloody wound that marked his well-defined stomach.

"You're gonna be okay?" She asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, it will heal." Stefan said, reassuringly.

Elena shook her head. "That's not what I meant." She said, pointedly, wondering if Katherine would be able to get inside his head.

"You're absolutely mental." Aliyah snapped. "Why the hell were you trying to provoke a murderous bitch from hell?"

Stefan grit his teeth against the pain in his stomach. " I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and let her get to me." He explained, weakly.

Aliyah sighed. "Of course, you did." She shook her head.

Damon walked up to them. "I tried to track her but she's gone."

"That's because you're pathetic at anything that doesn't involve you tearing into the throat of some poor sorority girl." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "She's probably left Mystic Falls by now. Don't worry, I'm sure the psycho-bitch has every intention of making a reappearance."

Damon glared at her and looked over at Stefan, whose shirt had ridden up, exposing his wound. "Ouch, cover up, Fabio. You have a crazy ex on the loose." He looked at Elena, mockingly. "You better watch out, looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy." He smirked.

Stefan shook his head. "That's not what's happening." He protested.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it? I mean, it's only fair since I went after your girl." He pointed out.

Elena looked distinctly uncomfortable by the direction the conversation had taken. "I'm gonna go check on Jenna and Jeremy. Let me know when you guys are done." She said, before walking away.

"So what's gonna be uh? Fight to the death? Go ahead, make your threat, stake your claim." Damon mocked.

Stefan shook his head. "I'm not gonna fight you." He said, calmly.

Damon frowned. "Why? I'd fight me." He shrugged.

"Katherine is gonna try to play us against each other, you do know that, right?" Stefan crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him, steely.

"Brother, don't you worry, our bond is unbreakable." Damon said, sarcastically.

"We need to stay united against her. So, yes, as much as I would like to kill you, I'm not gonna fight you." Stefan said.

"I kissed Elena." Damon pointed out.

Stefan looked at him, knowingly. "Because you feel something for her, because you actually care, and I'm not gonna let Katherine come here and destroy that part of you that is finally, after all of this time, willing to feel something. She will try to break you, she will try to break us and how we respond to that will define us. It's our choice. So, no, I'm not gonna fight you."

He stared at Damon and then left him alone.

---

That night, Bonnie rubbed her eyes, sitting up in her brand-new, king-sized bed, hearing knocking on the door. She threw the covers off of her and slipped off the bed, her eyes adjusting to the scenery that the massive glass windows provided. It had been an exhausting evening and night after the removalists had come and picked everything up from the apartment, shifting it over to the house in the woods. It had taken them hours to unpack all of the boxes; thankfully, Bonnie had only brought the barest of essentials from her dad's house. Then, both her and Aliyah had retired for the evening, Bonnie sinking into her bed and falling asleep, instantly.

Then, someone had knocked on the door and she had awoken instantly. She walked out of her room and down the stairs until she reached the lit up lounge and family rooms. She shuddered, the chilliness of the air getting to her bare skin under dark pink tank top and white shorts.

Bonnie peeked through the glass, seeing a familiar, downtrodden figure standing outside, his back hunched over. She frowned, worriedly, and unlocked the bolts on the door, turning the handle down.

"Sugar. What are you doing here? It's three in the morning." Bonnie asked, worriedly. She reached out her arms and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him inside.

"I'm sorry for coming here so let, Bon." Tyler's teeth chattered from the chill outside. "I just… I just really needed to see you." He murmured.

Bonnie swallowed hard, her heart aching when she saw him so browbeaten and defeated. She pulled him inside the house, shutting the door and chill behind her, turning up the thermostat. She wrapped her arms around him, sliding her hand down his muscled back. Tyler sank, willingly, into her embrace, nuzzling into her shoulder and pressing a kiss to the crook of her neck.

Bonnie tugged Tyler in the direction of her room, pulling him the staircase. They tiptoed past Aliyah's door and Bonnie shut the door of her room, quietly, wondering why Aliyah hadn't woken up at the sound of the knocking. She pressed Tyler against the bed and slid his jacket off, allowing him to wrap himself in her covers.

"What's wrong, Ty?" Bonnie asked, quietly, coming to slide into the bed beside him.

"I think something's happening to me, Bonnie Rabbit." Tyler's voice was tight and worried, as if he were barely managing to hang onto his control.

Bonnie bit her lip and stroked a hand down his face, shuffling closer to his warmth, feeling his arms come around her. She threw one of her legs over his hip and pressed her hand against his chest.

"What do you mean, sugar?" She asked, gently.

"I'm just so angry all the fucking time." Tyler bit out. "Tonight, I was in my dad's office and I just started breaking everything. My mom came in and I just flipped out, I couldn't stop it. If Mason hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done." He shuddered.

Bonnie leaned down and kissed his shoulder, snuggling up to him, convincing herself that she was just his friend giving him comfort when he needed it.

"Help me." Tyler said, quietly, looking down at her with his dark brown eyes.

"Stray, you don't have to ask." Bonnie said, firmly, wrapping her arms around him as best she could.

"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to become my dad." Tyler's voice broke and his eyes widened in horror at the idea.

"So, it won't." Bonnie murmured into his skin. "Everything's going to be okay, sugar."

And it would. Because he was her Stray and she was his Bonnie Rabbit and they would never let anything happen to each other.

---

In her room, Aliyah lay in her bed, staring at the minute light in the room, provided by the moon outside. She wrapped a sheet around her form, clad in a white, spaghetti-strap top, navy-blue vest and navy-blue shorts, and stepped out onto the balcony that led out of her room. She wasn't an idiot; she knew that Bonnie and Tyler Lockwood were canoodling in her bed. She wasn't worried; she knew that Bonnie was old enough and wise enough to make her own decisions and she wasn't trying to be a traditional mother. More of a big sister.

She looked down at the phone clutched in her hands. It was the phone that only Bonnie and Caroline in Mystic Falls, and a few other vampire and witch friends around the world had her number to. Elijah was the only one from her family who had this number. Not Niklaus. But the number from which the text message had come from was unknown and not one she would recognise as Elijah's. With shaking hands, she pressed the button that would open it.

My dearest Aliyah,

I apologise, hellcat. I understand that my letter may have made you anxious. It has, of course, been over thirty years since we have seen or spoken in any shape of form to each other. I cannot tell you where or when our paths will cross again, Liya, but they will and I expect that it will be very soon. You should know that I plan on making my presence in Mystic Falls very soon and I can promise you that you will be the first to see me. If you decide to take your little witch and run for the hills, I will follow you to the ends of the world and I will drag you back.

Until next time, I bid you farewell, my love.

Sweet dreams.

Forever yours,

Niklaus

Aliyah swallowed hard and looked up at the sky.

Oh, Niklaus, what will you do to me when you arrive in Mystic Falls? Will you simply dagger me or do you have some other creative torture planned for your wayward bride?

---

A/N: I hope you all liked this really long chapter. I think it's the longest chapter I've ever written and I hope you guys enjoyed it. There were a lot of Tonnie moments in this chapter and I really love their relationship together. They're so sweet. And I love that whole werewolf-mate concept, so I tried my own rendition of it. Neither of them know what's going on, neither of them want to believe it, but they can't keep their hands off each other. I hope you guys liked the flashbacks and the second last scene and the scene between Tyler and Bonnie at his father's memorial. I like writing their backstory a lot.

And I changed a lot of things in this chapter. Caroline did not have Damon's blood in her when she turned, she had Aliyah's. I wonder how this will change Season 2 onwards and how it will change their relationship together. Caroline didn't have much of an appearance in this chapter except for Aliyah feeding Caroline her blood and the scene with Matt and Bonnie and Aliyah. But, never fear, Caroline will make a much bigger appearance in the next few chapters. Someone has to help Caroline adjust to becoming a vampire.

Aliyah threatened John and Elena, a lot in this chapter. She really doesn't like Elena. And I still really haven't fixed Bonnie's and Elena's relationship yet. They're going to be rocky for awhile, so it can be believable when they start to separate.

And Aliyah got a chance to threaten Katherine. Their relationship will be expanded upon in the middle of Season 2, because Aliyah was quite active during 1492 and she did something that she wants Katherine to keep quiet about.

There was even some Aliyah and Jenna bonding in this chapter, because I feel like Aliyah needs a friend in Mystic Falls that has no idea about vampires and is her own age.

I kind of wanted an all-out confrontation between Katherine and Aliyah in this chapter but I thought it became a bit a long for my tastes. But they will be having a proper confrontation where they hash out a couple of things that happened in the past.

And we got some Aliklaus/Nikliyah moments in this chapter. We had that flashback of Niklaus attacking Mikael and getting stabbed in the shoulder and Aliyah healing him with her magic. And we also got a text message from present day Klaus. Now he has her number. I wonder what will happen now.

Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter and don't forget to review!