Picking Up Shattered Glass

by LilGray-is-Saoirse-Konstantin

Kol needs three things: save Bonnie from dark magick, give back her spirit magick, and win her heart forever. But Elena keeps insisting she use dark magick, the spirits wish to punish her for it, and his reputation as a ladies' man prevents her from trusting him with her heart. How can he save Bonnie and win her love before her use of dark magick destroys them all? Sequel to Shards

6. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

Author's Note: Many thanks to laurenj15 (one of my beta Extraordinaires) for the fabulous title of this chapter.

Chapter 006

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

Friday, December 03, 2010, 10:05 a.m.

The Mikaelson's Mansion

The crunch of gravel when Kol pulls into the Mikaelson's driveway reaches Elijah's ears while he sits in his study going over everything that's happened in the last 24 hours. Even from the car Freya, Finn, Henri and I can hear his thoughts, 'I almost lost my brothers, again. Ms. Bennett has done our family a great service, even though I am certain she didn't do it to help us but rather to save her friends most of whom are wholly undeserving of her regard.'

Kol's car door closes, and then a few seconds later he opens Bonnie's door for her. I think myself to the oldest original just when he gets up and sprints out into the foyer to the window beside the door. When Kol puts his hand in the small of Bonnie's back and walks her towards the front door, Elijah thinks, 'Ah, Kol is obviously working extremely hard to make his goals come to fruition.'

About ten feet from the door, though, a thought occurs to my grandbaby, so she stops short causing Kol to stop abruptly before she asks, "Uh, I probably should have asked this earlier, but um, who all is here, and is everyone in your family going to be okay with me being here?"

Elijah smiles even while Kol chuckles and moves in front of Bonnie before he bends his knees to block her view of the front door. Elijah apparently thinks very highly of my granddaughter because he thinks, 'She really is quite considerate. I can't think of anyone else in her group that would think to ask if everyone in my family would be okay with her presence in our home. Well after meeting with him this morning young Mr. Gilbert might, and Ms. Forbes probably would, too, if her other friends weren't present. Those three though are the only ones in that group, though, that would even consider our opinions as worthy of their consideration.' Sadly, that is absolutely true.

Kol looks into Bonnie's crystalline green eyes while he tells her, "It sounds like Nik is in his studio painting."

Her eyes widen at that just before she wonders, 'Exactly how good is their hearing that he can tell what Klaus is doing inside the house from outside the huge building?'

Elijah pulls away from the window while his brother continues his thought, "And Elijah arrived home early this morning after Nik called him last night and told him what happened at the Gilbert's house. By the sounds of it he's pacing in the foyer waiting to speak to me, I'm sure."

Elijah and I both chuckle quietly at that last bit before Kol tells her, "In his explanation of the events that transpired last night Nik did not leave out that you essentially saved both of our lives, so I'd guess that Elijah thinks very favorably about you right now."

Elijah nods to himself because he does, in fact, think incredibly favorably of my baby girl. She prevented his family from suffering even further than they already have in recent times. He smiles when Kol tells Bonnie, "As for my family's opinions on you being here in general, if you were Ms. Gilbert, noble Elijah would probably be the only one even remotely happy to see you, and even he is quickly getting fed up with her selfish attitude, but I doubt anyone has any issues with you."

Elijah thinks, 'That is also true. Elena has been slowly but surely getting more and more selfish and I only just realized that she's always been selfish, even when I first met her. However, her selfishness has only gotten worse the longer I've known her, and she has become quite bothersome of late.'

Bothersome is one way of putting it. The bratty baby vampire has repeatedly put my granddaughter and the rest of their friends in harm's way, and from where I'm standing I can clearly see and hear that she hasn't even given any thought to what might happen to her friends or even her own brother. She knows what she wants, and she wants it no matter who gets hurt in the process.

I'm brought back to the conversation happening outside when Kol finishes his statement, "As I said, we're all pretty much grateful that you prevented our family from losing more members." That prompts Elijah to nod slightly.

I can hear the frown in my ever-humble granddaughter's voice when she admits, "Um, I didn't really save either of you to save you guys. I honestly didn't even think about the consequences or benefits of saving the two of you. I just knew that if I didn't save everyone from dying, then those I personally cared about would all die gruesome and horrific deaths. I would do anything to protect those I love including saving the lives of two vampires whom I, at the time, thought had spent a good chunk of their time planning our demises. So really, you and your family don't owe me anything because you only made it onto my list of people to save because not saving you would have resulted in everyone else dying. Plus, I think you forget that I did try to kill Klaus on three other separate occasions, err four if you count the whole Esther mess."

Elijah chuckles again. He's quite sure that she is the only one of her group that would have admitted everything she just said to any member of his family. He smiles when Kol says, "We are all aware of the fact that your generosity and drive to save us was a result of our impending deaths causing a domino effect which would have essentially killed everyone you hold dear. That said, it does not negate the fact that whether you intended to do it or not your actions resulted in my annoying older brother and I getting to see another sunrise from our own bodies. For the record, the fact of the matter is, I definitely prefer living in my own handsome body, even if the other body I would have been inhabiting was my brother's less vulnerable and harder to harm body. I wholly prefer my good looks over Nik's, and you are ultimately the reason Nik and I are alive and in our own bodies and even though it was unintentional on your part neither of us is likely to forget it soon."

Elijah smiles slightly and thinks, 'I'm not likely to forget it either, and if Ms. Bennett ever has need of a favor, or three, I will do my best to do whatever I can to assist her.'

He begins nodding again when Kol tells her, "As for the last part, Nik was trying to kill your best friend, so I think he'll overlook the first two times you tried to kill him. Ultimately the need to save him the third time was because Esther forced you to participate in turning your other friend into an unstoppable original killing machine. However, you personally saved Nik after the fact by protecting his body when it burned and sticking him in his annoying hybrid's body to further protect him."

She rushes to interrupt him, "That's another instance of your brother not dying meaning my friends also stayed alive."

I peek out the window and see that Kol is nodding before he says, "We all know that, but again your motivation for helping Nik does not negate the fact that you personally swallowed your pride and helped the creature you thought was the villain even if it was ultimately to save your loved ones again."

He pauses then confides, "The fact of the matter is, my big bro-ther," he chokes up and his voice cracks on the word brother before he continues, "My big brother would be dead and gone right now if you hadn't protected his body from burning when he was staked with the White Oak Stake." He gets choked up again and softly says, "You… you did that, you kept me from having to bury another brother, and I can't tell you how grateful Elijah, 'Bekah, and I are for that fact."

He takes a deep breath and then tells my granddaughter, "Regardless of the issues Nik and the rest of us have had, he's our brother, and we love him. We would have hunted down every last one of you and killed you all if he had died because as I pointed out earlier, just as you and your group do, we protect those we love, and when that fails, we avenge them."

Elijah is nodding again, or still because everything his brother just said is 100% accurate. No matter how angry any of the Mikaelson children have ever gotten with each other, they would never sit idly by while others attack their family. Oh, they fight amongst themselves and bicker back and forth like homicidal little children more often than not. However, even when Niklaus daggered their entire family, the only reason Elijah was going to kill the hybrid was that he thought Niklaus had buried their siblings at sea and they were irretrievable.

Kol is still talking to Bonnie so I focus on his words before he tells my attentive grandbaby, "Now as for the end of your last comment, Nik knows as well as any of us how deceptive and conniving Esther could be. She convinced us, five thousand-plus-year-old creatures, who knew her better than most, for in my case the first 19 almost 20 years of my life, that she only wanted to unite this family. We shouldn't expect you, who was at the time a mere 18-years-old, with only a few hours of experience with the woman to have been able to see through her lies when we could not."

Kol pauses and puts his hands on Bonnie's upper arms and gently squeezes them while he says, "So no, Darling, I don't think anyone will take issue with you being here, but honestly I really don't care if they do or not. This is my home too, and you are my friend and my guest. Therefore, they will treat you with the respect I feel you deserve, or I will force them into compliance."

That's what my grandbaby is afraid of, and it's confirmed when she softly tells him, "My friends and I have caused you and your family just as many if not more hassles than you all have caused us. I shouldn't make it worse by forcing my presence onto your siblings. I don't want you forcing me on anyone. I don't want to cause trouble, Kol. "

Elijah and I look out the window again in time to see him drop his arms, stand up straight, and then he places his forearms on top of her shoulders before taking his right hand and tilting her chin up so he can look down into her eyes while she looks up at him. Then frowning ever so slightly he tells her, "You're not causing anything of the sort, Darling. As I said, if you were Ms. Gilbert, most of us would sooner kill you than put up with you in our personal space, but you're not my older brother's backstabbing annoying former blood bag, so it should be fine. Besides, 'Bekah is at school, and she's the only one who might have an issue with you. Although, I highly doubt she cares much whether you spend time with me or not. She was incredibly pleased and openly grateful that you saved Nik and me, so her objection would only be about who your other friends are, especially given that it was their plan that almost got her brothers killed in the first place. My entire family would agree that I'm a step up from Ms. Gilbert, so I imagine 'Bekah would say something inferring that you've finally gotten some sense into you."

Bonnie giggles softly and nods slightly before Kol drops his arms and takes her hands in his before squeezing gently and telling her, "I guarantee nothing bad will happen to you while you are here and that your presence won't be disruptive. I need you to be the brave woman who marched into the Gilbert's house and took charge last night, okay?"

She nods gently so while she follows him into the house, Elijah quickly moves closer to the stairs.

When the door opens and his eyes land on my granddaughter Elijah tells her, "Ms. Bennett, I understand we have you to thank for Kol still being alive, Niklaus still having control of his body, and the new peace between our factions?"

He knows he just heard her argument regarding her actions however he thinks that perhaps if he reiterates what his brother has said it will take root in her mind.

For her part, she realizes that he likely heard everything she and his brother just said, but she still nods slowly and tells him, "Um yes, I guess. Kol, Jer, and I worked it out, and Kol promised the rest of you will follow his lead on this while Jer and I promised our friends will follow ours."

Elijah smiles warmly and says, "Thank you for saving my brothers. Please know that no one in our family would willingly or purposefully incite Kol's displeasure if we can help it and certainly not in this instance where to do so would put us in more danger. However, forgive me, if I'm not as confident in your friends' abilities or desire to adhere to your wishes. You and young Mr. Gilbert, and Ms. Forbes to a slightly lesser degree, I trust to keep your words, but the others only care about themselves and what they want or need or more specifically what Elena wants, and they overlook entirely what others are saying or in need of. If it serves her purposes, they will break your word in a heartbeat and not think twice about it."

Bonnie's eyes narrow while Elijah speaks but then her green orbs relax and so does her stance because she wishes she could argue with him, but the fact of the matter is, he's right. Jeremy is the only one my baby girl completely trusts to keep their word and perhaps Caroline and Damon. Although, if Damon thinks Elena's in danger, he won't hesitate to break their word. Stefan and Elena, on the other hand, are sadly not really worried about her or Jeremy's honor, and Tyler is on a mission to find a way to kill Niklaus without killing himself. Then there is Matt who will dutifully follow Elena's lead straight into Hell.

She frowns and tells Elijah, "If they break our word, you'll have to get in line to set them straight because I won't hesitate. As Kol pointed out to me earlier, other than Esther, whom I don't really count as a Mikaelson at this point, Klaus is the only one of your family who has attacked any of us without provocation, so if they break my word and attack you guys, I'm sure it will be unprovoked. Especially because Klaus had stopped attacking us now that Elena is a vampire, and even before that he had mellowed on the aggression and had made a deal with Elena that he seemed to be keeping. If you guys break Kol's word, I'll help him destroy all of you who are involved, but if my guys go back on my word I'll get them all off Vervain and have you all compel them to keep the peace. I firmly believe that we can all peacefully coexist in this town."

Elijah nods and smiles before telling her honestly, "As I said, you I trust. Now, I understand that Kol has promised to help you regain your natural powers."

When she nods in response to his words, he gives her a gentle smile and continues, "I believe the spell you need is in one of Esther's grimoires." He turns and looks at his grinning brother before saying, "Kol, after you told me this morning of your plan to assist Ms. Bennett, I began trying to narrow down the list of books it might be in. I've narrowed it down to ten books, and I left those ten on your desk. I only ask that they not be taken out of the house without first consulting me."

Kol smiles wider and tells him, "Of course, Brother, thank you. I know I have the spell in one of my books, but it would have taken a while to search thousands of books for it, so thank you."

Smiling Bonnie also tells him, "Yes, thank you, Elijah, I really appreciate your and Kol's help on this. I know neither of you owes me anything, so I really appreciate your willingness to assist me despite our, uh, factions past differences."

I can hear in her thoughts that she really means that, but her physiology tells both originals that she means that with all her heart too. While Elijah knows that neither one of them owes her friends a damn thing he finds it nice to know that she is aware of that fact. She seems appropriately humbled by the fact that he and Kol are going out of their way to help her, and she genuinely seems grateful for the opportunity they're trying to give to her.

As such Elijah smiles and tells her, "Kol thinks you're worthy of our consideration, so until you prove him wrong, I don't think any member of my family will have any issue with you or our helping you."

Bonnie smiles a crooked smile, and semi-jokingly says, "And having a local witch who owes you her powers wouldn't be too shabby either I'm sure." She winks to show the brothers that she's really mostly joking. She's smart enough to realize that with the connections existing for over a thousand years have afforded them, not to mention the fear and respect their power and ages give them, every single last original could very easily get a witch to help them without having to put in so much work first.

They both laugh before Elijah looks at her and says, "While that is certainly true, it is not the main motivating factor, not for Kol or me, that is. I'm afraid the mere fact that you are friends with Elena might make our sister more willing to see you as a tool rather than a friend of this family, and don't get me started on Niklaus and his penchant for using people whenever it suits him."

Elijah smiles more deeply before saying, "You're an honorable woman, Ms. Bennett. That alone makes you worthy of our assistance if we can give it. Your bravery and moral compass and the fact that you saved both of my brothers' lives last night are just additional reasons why I feel the need to assist my brother in his pursuit of helping you."

He turns his body slightly towards Kol and looks at him for a second or two before saying, "I'll be in my study if you have need of me for anything."

Kol smiles and nods before returning his hand to the small of my granddaughter's back and leading her towards the stairs. When they get to the base of the stairs, Elijah tells them, "By the way, Kol, I made the calls you requested regarding young Mr. Gilbert and nurses to assist him now that he has lost both arms. I felt he would be more likely to agree to utilize nurses if he was the one doing the hiring. Therefore, after I made a list of the available nurses I went and visited him and explained that you and I wish to assist him. I gave him the list I compiled of qualified personal nurses and made arrangements with him and them for him to interview each nurse later today so that he can choose the ones he's willing to work with."

"You did what?" Bonnie's wide eyes and gaping mouth tell both men that she didn't even realize she spoke out loud until Elijah smiles and tells her, "Kol requested that I assist Mr. Gilbert in acquiring at least one personal nurse, so I did that while my brother was out with you."

She turns and looks at Kol, but before she can ask why he would do such a thing he smiles too and tells her, "I wasn't trying to kill Jeremy just to kill him. I like him and have no issues with him provided he's not trying to raise Silas. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save all of us, including me. I figured the least I can do is help make his new reality as easy and livable as possible. I don't imagine it will be easy for him acclimating to not having either of his arms, especially given how active I know he was beforehand, not to mention his ability and affinity for drawing. This way he will at least have the assistance he needs to still have a relatively high quality of life."

He reaches up with both hands and wipes tears from Bonnie's cheeks. She blushes, but she can't help the tears. My grandbaby thinks it's incredibly sweet what Kol and Elijah did for Jeremy. The truth is, once either brother or really any member of their family considers someone a friend it takes an awful lot to cause them to turn their backs on the person even if the person no longer considers them a friend. Therefore, Elijah wasn't surprised when Kol asked him to help Jeremy because he knew that Kol was quite fond of the boy while they were in Denver.

Kol frowns and echoes Elijah's thoughts when he tells my grandbaby, "Please don't cry, Darling. I know Jeremy probably considers me his enemy, but, the fact of the matter is, that when we were Mates in Colorado, I wasn't faking it. Oh sure, I was keeping an eye on him for Nik, but I genuinely enjoyed spending time with Jer. He's a good kid, and he's funny, intelligent, and loyal, all of which are qualities I respect and value. I still consider him my friend even though I know he likely does not return the sentiment."

My granddaughter's eyes are wide, and she's beginning to realize that Kol has depths that are quite deep and far more involved than anyone ever gives him credit for. Elijah's thoughts tell me that people usually pigeonhole Kol as the short-tempered blood-thirsty member of their family. According to Elijah, the truth is if Kol could keep his temper in check, he'd never kill anyone, and he knows that Kol feels terrible about every single death he's ever caused.

Kol doesn't know his older brother is aware of his books full of his victims' names and what little information he could glean about them, but Elijah is one of the few individuals in the world who has that knowledge. Elijah's not even sure that Niklaus knows of their younger brother's lists of his victims.

Bonnie smiles through her tears and tells Kol, who is quickly sliding off her list of enemies and jumping firmly onto the list of her friends, "Thank you, Kol, not just for trying to help Jer but also for considering him a friend even though you're right, and he probably doesn't return your feelings. It says a lot about you and your overall goodness that you still count him as a friend and would try to help him despite what his feelings on you might be."

Kol smiles until she gets to the part about his goodness then he playfully scowls and narrows his eyes. When she finishes talking, he takes his hands from her cheeks and tells her, "I don't know how much goodness there is in me. As the big, bad, psychotic maniac of Ms. Gilbert's nightmares I think I might resent the implication that there is any goodness in me at all," before Bonnie or Elijah can argue with him he winks at them showing them he's not actually serious and then he finishes his statement, "but you're welcome all the same."

The big, bad, psychotic maniac of Elena's nightmares indeed. She and the rest of them have no clue who Kol Mikaelson really is, but if he gets his way my baby girl will know him better than anyone else, and Elijah is hoping the seeds he planted with Jeremy might give Kol back his friend as well.

Bonnie smiles and nods before Kol turns and looks at his brother telling him in his proper British accent that Elijah himself lost sometime during the 19th Century while Kol was locked in his coffin, "Thank you, Brother, for taking care of that matter for me in such an expedient manner."

I chuckle out loud when my granddaughter thinks that she could swoon. So far as she is concerned, he sounds just like a historical romance novel with his prim and proper language and that accent that most of the women Kol has encountered through the years felt was delectable. Bonnie tends to agree with them all.

Elijah just nods in response and then turns and walks out of the room.

Kol and Bonnie walk up the stairs and then down a hallway. They then turn down another hallway and walk past four doors before Kol stops and opens the fifth door for her. She walks into the room not sure what to expect from a bedroom belonging to a man who claims he's so good at sex he should be paid to do it, but we both think that the space is nice, comforting, and calming even. The floor is a honey colored wood with navy blue and hunter green throw rugs laying here and there, and there are solid hunter green and navy drapes on the windows and a coordinating 'manly' checkered patterned comforter and solid colored pillows on the California King bed.

Bonnie just stands there staring at the huge bed and fights hard not to imagine the sorts of things Kol gets up to in that gigantic bed that has plenty of room for him and a friend to roll around in. She thinks, 'We could get up to all sorts of fun on that huge bed, hmm.'

I laugh at that thought, and even though I know, she can't hear me I tell my granddaughter, "Oh Baby Girl, you've got it bad already. If I know Kol, he'll feed that attraction until it becomes undying love."

I jump slightly when Finn rests his hand on my shoulder and tells me, "Fear not, Sheila, Kol will cherish her and protect her even to his own detriment. If given a choice between protecting Bonnie and anyone else the only ones who might fare better are our siblings, but that's right now. I'm getting the impression that when it's all said and done all my siblings will put Bonnie and her safety and happiness above all others. As much as anyone can guarantee this sort of thing I am certain my family will cherish her and do whatever necessary to keep her safe and happy."

I raise my eyebrow at him and tilt my head to the side before I ask, "Even Niklaus?"

He laughs and says, "Yes, even Niklaus. Despite his penchant for daggering us, he's fiercely loyal. If your granddaughter offers him her friendship and doesn't try to betray his trust, then he will give her his undying loyalty. Listen to his thoughts while he's down in his studio."

I focus and then hear, 'The Little Witch seems comfortable with Kol and Elijah. I hope Kol's plan works. It'd be nice to have a new little sister whom we can show the world to. Maybe if I show her that I can be loyal and a fierce friend she'll put in a good word for me with Caroline.' I imagine the hybrid shrugs just before he thinks, 'Either way, Kol says Bonnie is going to be a member of this family and family is everything to us. If he thinks she's worthy of being a Mikaelson, then I'll give her a fair chance. Honestly, out of all her friends, Caroline included, I think Bonnie's the most likely to keep our new truce and not just because of what breaking it would mean for her and her friends. I think she's a woman of her word and I've overheard enough conversations between her and her friends to know that her friends' penchants for breaking their collective word rankles her good mood almost as much as it does ours.'

I'm distracted by Henri laughing before he says, "Your granddaughter has quite the vivid imagination."

I tune back into her thoughts in time to see her opinions on what she wouldn't mind doing with Kol in his big bed. I smile despite myself and my still firm belief that she is far too young to be doing those sorts of things.

When Kol places his hand on her shoulder, she jumps surprised by the unexpected touch, so he moves closer behind her and places both hands on her shoulders before he leans down to her ear and he tells her, "Relax Darling, I may very well be a lot of horrible things, but a rapist is not one of them."

He incorrectly mistook her distraction for fear, so Bonnie hurries to correct him, "I'm not scared of you, Kol, and I'm especially not scared that you're going to do that sort of thing."

He walks around to stand in front of my granddaughter and looks down into her upturned face and asks, "Then why are you trembling with a hammering heartbeat that's almost as fast and hard as it was when we first got into your car at the Salvatore's house?"

Frowning she tells him, "Um, I don't know why my body is doing either of those things, but I wasn't imaging you forcing yourself on me. I actually thought that your bed is big enough for you and a friend to comfortably and safely roll around in, but I definitely didn't think about you forcing yourself on me."

He's frowning with narrowed eyes, so she tells him, "I mean it, Kol. I might have, God, this is embarrassing, I might have begun imaging me as your friend in that scenario, but I wasn't unwilling."

He smiles rakishly, so she hurries to add, "In the daydream, I wasn't unwilling, but like I said earlier, I'm not sleeping with you. I'm a teenage girl, though, with raging hormones, so naturally, the sight of your gigantic bed gave me naughty thoughts, as you put it earlier. And given your insistence that you're so good at sex that you ought to be paid to do it, can you really blame me for my mind going there when I walked into your bedroom with you?"

He laughs and says, "No, I suppose not, and I can smell the fruity and woodsy scent now. It's harder in rooms without a breeze for us to pick up scents like that unless you move or I'm right next to you, and you are what I'll call seriously turned on, as in a step away from choosing to act on your thoughts."

The fact that he can smell that at all has her cheeks burning in embarrassment, and she fights to keep eye contact with him. He smiles a cheeky grin and then turns and waves his arm while he says, "Welcome to my room. I'll behave and pretend I don't know that you were daydreaming about my big bed and me but be sure and let me know if you decide to change your mind and act out any of those naughty thoughts you've had about me today."

Despite her ever-deepening blush she smiles and nods before telling him, "Believe me, if I change my mind, you'll be the first and probably the only person I'd tell at that moment."

He grins at that while he looks at her, but she ignores his incredibly pleased smile and takes in the rest of the room. Two stuffed leather chairs take up one corner of the room. She can barely see the cream-colored paint on the walls because almost every available wall space has honey colored bookshelves built into them. His room has the faint aroma she associates with old books, and that's because on most of the shelves are books whose spines lead us both to believe that they are probably very, very old and hand bound, so they're likely grimoires.

She thinks, 'Wow, there are a lot of them,' and this probably isn't all of them because there are stacks of wooden boxes piled up in front of a row of bookshelves, and if one of the open boxes is any indication, they all have even more grimoires inside them.

He takes a step back and returns his hand to the small of her back before he leads her to a door and into what is apparently his study where there are even more bookshelves full of spell books and, yes, even more boxes full of tomes.

Kol pauses and then tells my granddaughter, "Please forgive the mess. Despite my being daggered by Nik seven different times, most of which were for at least a few decades at a time, my siblings were very good about making sure they collected and either brought with them all of my belongings when they inevitably fled wherever they were to avoid Mikael. That or they hid everything if they didn't have the time or the ability to take it all with them. Therefore, I have some six centuries worth of things, mostly spell books. I recently sent for my things. However, with Esther's plans and my unexpected but not unpleasant trip out to Denver, I haven't had a chance to finish unpacking."

Nodding she grins and tells him, "No worries." She pauses then adds, "I thought Dr. Martin had a lot of grimoires, but I think you easily have him beat. Although, I suppose that makes sense given your age versus his when he died."

Frowning he turns to look at her and asks, "Who was Dr. Martin?"

Bonnie's brows draw together before she tells Kol, "Dr. Jonas Martin, he was Elijah's witch when he first came to town. We wound up killing his son, Luka, and then him when he tried to retaliate. Incidentally, his daughter, Gretta, was Klaus' witch when he came to town. Anyway, Damon, I think, killed Luka when he was trying to free Elijah after Elena daggered him, and then Katherine killed Dr. Martin when he tried to kill Elena in retaliation for Luka's death. I think Damon might have killed Greta too, but I'm not sure. Honestly, I was so worried about Elena and upset about Jenna's death and the fact that Klaus got away that the whole night of his sacrifice was kind of a blur."

She shakes her head to rid it of those sad thoughts and then while he stands beside her she tells him, "Anyhow, Dr. Martin had an extensive collection of grimoires, I'm talking a couple thousand books at least, which I now possess. I had to add bookcases to my bedroom and the two spare rooms. It took me, Jer, Elena, Damon, and Stefan about eight hours and multiple car trips to transport it all from the apartment Jonas shared with Luka to my house and then a few more hours for Jer and me to get it all into my house. The collection takes up every bit of shelf space in the three rooms and then some. Given that when Grams died I also inherited her even more extensive collection, as well as the pretty vast collection that Abby left behind when she left town, I probably have close to eight or nine thousand books, maybe even more really."

I look at my three companions and tell them, "Honestly I had probably 9,000 books on my own, so I'm quite sure the number of grimoires she now owns far exceeds that number. I watched when she moved Dr. Martin's collection, and while I didn't actually count, it looked to be on par with my collection, so she might actually have double what she thinks she has."

They nod at me just before Kol nods at Bonnie. She smiles and continues, "I've also begun collecting grimoires on my own any time I come across them in antique stores or used bookstores."

Smiling wider, she tells him, "There's this great little bookstore two towns over that I visit just about every week and I usually find four or five old grimoires each week. Every now and then the owner will have cases much like you have full of grimoires from estate sales and the like, so I've been quickly multiplying the size of my collection. My dad keeps telling me to stop buying more because I don't really have room for the ones I already have. I usually time it so that I can sneak them into the house without him knowing. Because I still have piles of books on the floors and beds of the two spare rooms and walls of boxes of books in the basement and attic that just don't fit on any of the shelves I don't think he knows that I'm still actively collecting. Mr. Saunders, the owner of the bookstore, was a friend of Grams'. He got books for her, too, so he calls me anytime he thinks he has something I might be interested in."

Frank Saunders was a good friend, and he seems to be extending that friendship to my granddaughter, which might prove useful to Bonnie and Kol alike.

Grinning she says, "Like I said I go just about every week just to look through his shelves and I almost always find four or five books that he didn't realize he had."

Kol's eyes are wide, but he smiles and says, "Maybe someday after you trust me you can show me some of your collection."

She pauses and thinks, 'Maybe I will share them with him someday if he proves himself to be as trustworthy as I'm beginning to suspect he might actually be,' so she just nods before telling him, "Maybe. Uh, don't get mad but last night, after uh I um, well once Shane was dead I maybe called movers to collect all the books and artifacts as well as all his electronics in his office and his apartment. I used some of my accumulated allowance to expedite the process, so they went and packed everything last night and brought it all over to my house first thing. And the reason I told you not to get angry is that mostly I took his witchy books and artifacts, including Silas' tombstone so that no one else can get their hands on any of it. I figure that sort of stuff should be kept behind lock and key and firmly away from anyone who might be inclined to go looking for Silas or The Cure."

Kol is frowning, but he nods and says, "If you promise not to use any of his books without first checking with me and your mother about the safety of whatever you want to do, then I won't get angry."

Nodding she smiles and tells him honestly, "Oh, I have no plans to ever use any of it, but I promise I will check with both of you if I change my mind. I just couldn't bring myself to burn the stuff. I kind of have a thing for books and artifacts so I got nauseous at the thought of destroying any of it, not because I want to use any of it but because it's history, and, well, I just couldn't bring myself to destroy it all no matter how dangerous it actually is."

Bonnie smiles softly at Kol and tells him, "If I grow to trust you more I might entrust you with keeping it all safe, especially once I die because you'll likely be around forever. For now, my wards on my house that I put up before I lost my powers that keep out anyone who has ill intentions should keep everything safe, and once I get my powers back, I'll beef up the protections even more."

Well, damn, I forgot about those wards. Now, I have no doubts that Kol has no ill intentions where my granddaughter is concerned. He wouldn't have been able to enter her home last night despite Rudy's invitation into the house if the original had any intention of harming either Bonnie or her good-for-nothing father.

I'm brought back to the present when Kol grins and says, "There's a bit of time before we need to worry about what will happen when you die, but I agree anything he had should be kept under lock and key so that no one gets any ideas about resurrecting The First Bloody Immortal. However, if you ever need me to compel anyone to forget that his belongings moved to your house the day after he died, you just let me know. I'll be more than happy to help out and make all individuals interested in that fact forget it ever happened."

I laugh when he says there's a bit of time before they need to worry about what will happen when my grandbaby dies. If he gets his way the girl, who was my reason for existing after my daughter fled town, won't ever die.

Bonnie nods because she wholeheartedly agrees with her companion's sentiment that no one should ever go looking for Silas. She smiles, though, despite her preferring not to compel more people than necessary and tells him, "I'll keep your offer in mind, though I'd really rather not compel anyone unless it's absolutely necessary, so if I can avoid it, then I will."

Kol grins and tells her, "Despite what you and your friends probably think of my family and me, we actually agree with that rule of thumb. I mean don't get me wrong, compulsion is incredibly helpful in not only getting what we want but in protecting us and those we care about. However, we usually exhaust all other options before using compulsion because we all understand what it feels like to have our free will taken from us without our permission, and we would prefer not to do the same to anyone else if we can prevent it. Although, to be honest, more often than not, whoever is usually so unwilling to cooperate that compulsion becomes our only recourse to keep us and ours safe and sound."

She nods while he talks, and then she smiles when her eyes fall on the three piles of grimoires on his desk that she hopes has the spell they need in one of them. She stares at the stacks for a moment before thinking, 'Please, Lord Jesus, please let the spell we need be in one of those books, and let it work the way Kol thinks it will.'

While she's praying Kol walks to the desk and picks up one of his mother's grimoires before turning and looking at Bonnie again, and then he leans against his desk and asks, "What languages can you read?"

She smiles and tells him, "One of The Martin Family's grimoires had a spell to make me able to read, write, and speak any language I encounter regardless of what form of it I'm exposed to, so I pretty much know every language and dialect."

He laughs and nods before he says, "My siblings and I did a similar spell back a few months before Esther did The Immortality Spell. Fortunately, the effect remained intact even after we became vampires, a fact I have always been grateful for."

Smiling he tells her, "As I'm sure you can imagine, it has come in rather handy through the years, especially with us being on the run from Mikael. No matter where we wound up we immediately knew the local language and dialect as though we were native speakers. Needless to say, it definitely made blending in much easier."

His grin turns slightly evil looking before he tells my grandbaby, "Incidentally, Mikael's general attitude towards outsiders was an 'us and them' kind of mentality, so he preferred to keep us all insular and therefore did not participate in the spell."

Amazingly Kol's grin manages to grow deeper and broader before he confides in his companion, "Actually the close-minded arse forbid us from attempting the spell but Nik, Henri, and I actually managed to talk the others into disobeying. I'm not exactly certain how we managed to convince Finn or Elijah given their propensity for following rules, but we did, and it proved incredibly useful throughout the years."

His grin turns into a cold smirk before he says, "Mikael's not understanding local languages helped us spot him faster while he tracked us because he always had to pause and learn the local language before he could get any answers out of anyone."

He pauses then his smirk morphs back into a warm smile, which grows wider before he tells her, "Anyway, I was asking because Esther's books are written in her native tongue, Old Norse, and her ancestors' books, which a few of these look to be, are written in Proto-Norse. If you did that spell, then you should have no problem understanding what any of them have written, though I'm warning you now, Esther's handwriting was atrocious."

Bonnie laughs and takes the book he hands her before he motions towards one of the leather chairs that sit kitty-corner to the rest of the room. She puts the book on the seat of the chair before she takes off her jacket, lays it on the back of the chair, picks the book back up, and then sits. Pausing after she opens the book, she realizes that she has no clue what she's looking for, so she asks, "So what exactly am I looking for?"

Kol frowns while he takes off his green coat to reveal a dark and light blue Henley that Bonnie thinks really looks better on him than she wishes it did. 'Does he have to be so HOT and so damn distracting?'

After he sits in front of her, he pauses for a minute, fingering the edge of the book in his hands not saying anything then he says, "I believe it's called 'A Spell to Return the Balance' or some variation of that. Honestly, it's been years since I've looked through Esther's books, obviously because I was daggered for a little over 294 of the last 309 years. Furthermore, although I have perfect recall every time I wake from being daggered everything kind of blends together for a year or two after the fact, so all the spells I've read from every witch I've known have somewhat blended into each other in my memory. It should be a temporary phenomenon if past instances are any indication, but currently, it's still all jumbled together, especially because I've found the effect is stronger and lasts longer the more time I spent daggered, and this last instance I spent just under 96 years daggered so…"

Bonnie smiles gently and tells him, "Well, that kind of makes sense because you have more than six centuries' worth of memories to remember and your brain was, I assume, turned off while you were daggered, so it sort of needs to restart itself and then reorder and recatalog everything."

He nods but tells her, "I was on the Otherside while daggered and had full use of my memories while there, so I think it actually has something to do with the process of being revived almost as though the revival causes a glitch in my brain that causes it to reset itself. Then it needs to, as you said, recatalog everything before I can access it all without putting in so much effort to sort it all out."

Bonnie smiles and nods before she tells him, "That actually makes a strange sort of sense to me. Uh, if you don't want to answer, or more specifically if you don't think they'd want you too, then don't answer, but do you know if your siblings have experienced the same thing?"

Kol smiles back and tells her, "I doubt they'd mind you knowing, so yes we've discussed it, mostly while on the Otherside, but we've discussed it and all four of us have experienced the same phenomenon. I know Finn was struggling with it when he woke because he had been daggered for just under nine centuries. Though he spent the most time daggered, I've actually been daggered more times than any of the others. Actually, I think I've been daggered on more occasions than all of the others combined."

He pauses and reflects on the past then tells my curious grandbaby, "As a result, I have the most experience with the phenomenon. I figured out that it usually amounts to about three weeks for every year I was daggered. I plan to keep track of how long it takes this time and see if it fits with my hypothesis. If I'm correct, it should take me about five and a half years to have full unhindered access to all of my memories."

Bonnie tilts her head and frowns and says, "That sucks." She pauses then adds in a fierce voice, "Do me a favor okay? Hit Klaus up the side of the head for me for making you put up with that annoyance."

He laughs loudly, and, in his mind, I hear his two older brothers chuckling too. Her eyes widen, and her mouth forms a little 'o' before she giggles and says, "Um, I didn't actually mean to say that out loud. Ignore me."

He chuckles and says, "Trust me the urge has been there without you even suggesting I do such a thing."

My granddaughter giggles even more and then once she calms herself she says, "If it wouldn't break the truce I'd give him a migraine for a while as payback for you and Rebekah, Elijah, and Finn having to deal with that. It's probably really frustrating, right? I think it'd drive me batty."

Bonnie is slowly beginning to see him as her friend, so she smiles gently when he shrugs with a short burst of laughter but then nods slightly. She nods back then tells him, "Well, even without the glitch, I think after a century or two anyone would have trouble separating out which spell was where and what the exact title was Eidetic Memory or not. If I get the courage, I'll ask Klaus if he's noticed anything like that, but until then I'm going to go with time being an enemy to good memories too."

Kol laughs again, still, and then nods once more before he opens his book, so she follows suit.

Almost two and a half hours and several books later, Kol looks up and smiles at Bonnie before he says in a soft yet incredibly pleased voice, "I think I found it."

He hands her the book, and she reads the spell and its notes before pausing, stopping and thinking for a minute, and then rereading it.

I say out loud, "That's it Baby Girl, think it through. You have the right idea."

Finn's eyes are wide when he turns to look at me and asks, "You don't actually think her idea will work do you?"

I smile and tell him, "I'm fairly certain it will work just like she's beginning to think it will."

Finn frowns deeper and asks, "And you don't object to her suggesting he try it?"

I smile and pat him on the shoulder, "Even though I know the reputation the five of you have had through the years I know all of you, except Niklaus, well enough to know that they won't abuse it if she gives them this gift."

Henri nods and tells Finn, "I don't even think Nik would abuse it if given a chance to be whole again."

Freya and I nod. Meanwhile Bonnie has been working things out in her mind, so she gets a curious look on her face, and after reading it for the third time, she looks up at Kol sitting in front of her and asks, "Uh, Kol, have you ever tried this ritual on yourself?"

Frowning, he leans back in his chair before kicking his feet out in front of himself and crossing them. He pauses a moment then he asks, "No, why would I?"

She smiles and bounces her knees a bit before she blows his mind, "Because if you think about it, your mother used really dark magick to turn you, right? That caused an imbalance. If you get rid of the imbalance she created within you, then your magick should return to you, no? I mean I can clearly see your aura, and it's littered with gaping holes just like Abby said mine is now, so if this spell will fix the problem in me, then wouldn't it theoretically fix the same problem in you…?"

Kol frowns more deeply before he sits forward and rests his elbows on his spread knees. It honestly never occurred to him to try the spell on himself. He thinks, 'It can't be that easy can it?' He knows my grandbaby's instincts are strong, though, so he tells her the only thing he can think of that might very well smash that hope he sees written all over her face while she looks at him, "But I'm still a vampire, so the imbalance would still be happening."

Shaking her head, she tells him, "See I don't think so. You said you can see auras, right? I don't see any black smudges, so I don't think the imbalance is still happening. It looks like you have soft grey on a few of the edges of the big holes, so you probably had smudges back when your mother did the initial spell, but now the black is practically non-existent."

Pausing, my very intelligent grandbaby asks him, "Has your brothers' and sister's auras gotten worse over time or have they been pretty much the same since you turned? I think it was the initial magick that created the imbalance, not your actual vampirism, so now if you clear out the initial imbalance, I think you would all be relatively even-keeled."

He sits and thinks for a minute. 'Holy Shit, it might actually be that easy because the black smudges have in fact gotten lighter and lighter over time and the holes in my siblings' auras have not gotten worse with one notable exception.'

A moment later his eyes widen before he tells her, "Their auras have been the same for the most part except for the black smudges lightening like you described. Although, Nik's holes and smudges both got significantly worse when Esther cursed him. I think they've also gotten significantly better now that the curse has been lifted, so you might be right about that."

Bonnie smiles and asks, "So you'll try it?"

Kol grins revealing his dimples that Bonnie hadn't noticed before and asks, "Is it wise to give an original even more power?"

She nods, "The Spirits will keep you in check."

His smile and the dimples that my granddaughter finds cute and surprisingly lick-able all vanish into thin air when he frowns and shakes his head, "They are reactionary at best. They didn't prevent Esther from turning us. They only punished her after the fact and not nearly as severely as I feel she deserved."

My grandbaby knows that, and she thinks it speaks to Kol's character that he's even bringing it up, so she nods with a smile on her face and tells him, "I know, but you've spent the last thousand years without your magick. I think that's motivation enough not to go down the wrong path because The Spirits would likely take your magick again and probably wouldn't give it back to you for at least as long, if ever, so that will be your scale to judge everything by like you said my grams' opinion will be mine…"

He smiles a soft smile again because she really is brilliant. The fact of the matter is, if Kol can get his magick back, he will happily toe the line for the rest of eternity, well unless he loses his legendary temper, but he won't intentionally set out to create evil. Still smiling he asks Bonnie, "So you think I want my magick back more than I want to wreak havoc and cause evil?"

She nods deeply, and I know she's basing that opinion on how badly she wants her own magick back, and she's smart enough to realize that it's only been about a month for her. She still can't begin to fathom going a thousand years without her magick, so she nods before Kol laughs and tells her, "You might just be right about that, Little Witch."

Smiling, she reads the spell for a fourth time. It's relatively straightforward. Bathe in the ocean, place a salt, parsley, and anise paste on each of their Chakras in the shape of a pentagram, wait 27 minutes and then take another bath in the ocean. The only words are the equivalent of 'Oh Shining One, please return the balance to me.'

Bonnie looks up at Kol when he clears his throat before he asks, "So do you want to get a second opinion, or do you want to get the salt, parsley and anise and head to the ocean now and do it?"

Her smile fills her face at the fact that he was serious about suggesting and encouraging her to get a second opinion on every spell he might suggest she do. The relaxing of her muscles and facial features, as well as her thoughts, tell me that her gut says it's safe, but thankfully she really did learn her lesson, so she takes her phone out of her pocket causing Kol's smile to deepen because it was a trick question.

Thankfully she passed the test without any difficulty. She giggles and tells him, "Sneaky vampire, don't think I don't realize that that was a trick question, Mr. Mikaelson."

She laughs while Kol sits back in his chair again with a wide grin and tells her, "It was at that, Darling, and you passed with flying colors. I told you before, your instincts are strong, but you're also willing to learn from your past mistakes, and that bodes well for your future. Our time together this morning confirmed for me that you are highly intelligent. I really do think you will quickly learn what is within and outside The Laws of Nature. Pretty quickly you won't actually need to confer with a more experienced witch, but I will encourage you to continue doing so for a while after as a safety net, so to speak."

My granddaughter nods and tells him honestly, "I'm probably going to ask Abby and you for your opinions on everything magickal I might consider doing for the foreseeable future because I want nothing more than to never hurt Grams again."

Kol nods slowly and tells her, "Thank you for your trust as fledgling as it may be. I promise I will do my best to protect you and keep you from making dangerous choices for as long as you will allow me to."

She nods and then pausing before she dials Abby, she looks at her screen. Her eyes widen, and she thinks, 'Oh my God.'

She somehow put her phone on silent today, so she's missed, wow, 86 calls and 206 text messages. Well damn. I wondered why her friends hadn't called but chalked it up to God looking out for her and Kol and assisting him in bringing his plan to fruition.

It's a fortuitous thing that they haven't gotten in touch with her because if they discover that she suggested he try to do the spell too, it will only end in disaster. Now I know they did try to check up on her, so it really must be Jesus looking out for the future mates.

Bonnie thinks, 'Oh well, I'll call them back later when I'm done hanging out with Kol because them finding out I suggested he try to do the spell, too, will only end with them trying something stupid.'

My baby girl turns her ringer back on, though, and then she dials my selfish daughter's phone and waits. Abby picks up on the third ring, "Bonnie, is everything okay? No adverse side effects from the cleansing?"

Bonnie smiles and confirms Kol's earlier belief when she tells Abby, "My body still aches deep in my bones, and I feel like I have a bass drum being pounded on in my head, but that's not why I called. I want to do a spell, or actually, it's more of a cleansing ritual, and its purpose is to return my internal balance, so I'll be less tempted to go back to the dark magick. I've learned my lesson, though, about just trusting random people bearing spells, so I was wondering if I can translate it for you over the phone, and you can tell me if it sounds safe to you."

Abby sighs, and I can clearly hear the relief in her voice when she tells Bonnie, "You don't know how happy I am that you're being more cautious, so go ahead and read it to me, and I'll tell you if I hear any red flags."

She smiles and reads the spell and ingredient list to her mother. When she finishes there is a pregnant pause, then Abby asks, "Bonnie, where did you get that spell?"

Bonnie looks up at Kol sitting in front of her and obviously knows that he's listening to both sides of the conversation. She smiles slightly and then mouths, 'Can I tell her?'

He bobs his head with a pleased smile on his face, so she says, "My friend, Kol, found it in his mother's old grimoire."

He smiles wider when she calls him her friend. He doesn't think she entirely means it quite yet, and I tend to agree, but it is a step in the correct direction. Her mother, however, is not pleased when she says, "Oh. Wait, Kol? As in Kol Mikaelson, Esther's son, the vampire?"

Bonnie sighs and tells Abby, who has no right to make judgments on how my granddaughter chooses to live her life, "Yes, he and I have come to an understanding. Plus, last night he encouraged me to let go of the dark magick, which in turn caused me to be more willing to allow your friends to do The Cleansing Spell. So far, he hasn't suggested anything suspicious, and he encouraged me to get a second opinion not just on this spell but on any he might later suggest I do, so I'm inclined to believe that he doesn't have villainous intentions."

I can hear the frown in my daughter's voice when she asks, "I thought he was trying to kill the Gilberts?"

Bonnie sighs again and rubs the back of her neck with her free hand but tells her mother, "He wasn't trying to kill them just to kill them. He was just trying to prevent them from raising Silas, The First Immortal Being, who would have brought about The End of Days. Jeremy and I negotiated with Kol, and although Jer had to make a pretty big sacrifice, Kol has promised that he and his family will let us live in peace so long as we do the same for them. Kol even removed his compulsion from Damon this morning, so he's no longer trying to kill Jer either."

She pauses then asks, "So the spell…"

Abby sighs but tells her daughter honestly, "It's incredibly simple, far simpler than The Cleansing and Balancing Ritual I had in one of the books I left behind when I left town. I was going to suggest you look for that spell, but the one you just read to me is just as good. I'm actually surprised Kol's spell is not more widely known and used it's so simple and basic, but it should do exactly what you think it will without any negative side effects."

Bonnie sighs before she asks, "So it's safe then?"

My selfish daughter is obviously frowning, but she tells her daughter the truth when she says, "I can't think of any conceivable way to make it unsafe, so, yes, it should be safe for you to do." Her voice is tighter than usual, so I know she is not happy to have to admit that.

My grandbaby seems not to notice her mother's displeasure before she smiles widely and says, "Awesome, thank you."

Her smile loses some of its brightness before she asks her mother, "Uh, can I call in the future when I want to do a spell and run it by you until I get better versed in what the red flags you mentioned are?"

We can all hear the smile in Abby's voice when she says, "Yes, of course, I'll be happy to go over any spell work you want to perform before you try it."

Bonnie smiles and tells her mother whom she barely knows, "Okay, thank you."

"You're welcome, Bonnie. I know I probably don't have the right to be, but I'm proud of you for being cautious and learning from your mistakes."

I frown. My selfish daughter most definitely has no right whatsoever to feel pride for my granddaughter because she selfishly abandoned Bonnie to fend for herself against her abusive father and in no way, shape, or form helped raise her daughter into the fine young woman she truly is.

Even without having all the facts Kol agrees with my opinion, but he keeps that to himself while Bonnie instead tells my self-centered daughter, "Thanks, so I'll call later and tell you how it goes, okay?"

We can all hear the strain in Abby's voice when she says, "Okay. And Bonnie, I know you think you can trust Kol, but remain cautious until he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is deserving of your trust. Until then, and hell even after that, question everything that comes out of his mouth and every move he makes."

Bonnie frowns deeply and with furrowed brow tells her overstepping mother, "I will, I've got to go now, bye," and then she hangs up without waiting to hear my narrow-minded daughter's response.

Bonnie's cheeks are burning and turning red at the fact that my selfish daughter was warning her about Kol with him sitting right there listening, so she looks up at him and says, "Sorry about that she—"

Kol smiles while he interrupts her, "Don't be, she obviously loves you and is merely trying to look out for you."

I highly doubt that my self-centered daughter loves anyone other than herself, but he doesn't have all the facts yet, so I won't hold his misinterpretation against him.

He continues despite my distraction, "She's not wrong either. I was serious when I said it's understandable and even advisable for you not to trust me fully just yet. While I have every intention of earning and then keeping your trust for the rest of your existence I know that that will take time. I'd be worried about you even more than I already am if you were blindly trusting me, especially after what happened with the professor. You are a fast learner, though, and you seem able to remind yourself to be cautious every time you should be, so I have high hopes for you."

He smiles while he says, "I think your progress will be rather speedy all things considered. Though, don't mistake my words, I'm just under three decades over a thousand years old. I've studied magick for all but four of the years I was not daggered, and I'm including my human years in that number, yet to this very day, I am still learning new things about magick every single day. Although you will quickly learn, the learning process will never truly end, and that's as it should be. I've heard some modern people mention trying to learn at least one new thing every day, and that is true of most witches, though, honestly, they probably manage to learn multiple new things every day. I honestly think you will be no different until the day you die."

Bonnie thinks, 'Um wow, okay.' Her shoulders relax slightly at his encouraging words. A pleased smile spreads across her face at the fact that he thinks so highly of her even though she got entangled with dark magick. She's beginning to believe, or maybe realize is the more accurate word, but she's beginning to realize that his words are 100% genuine and that he really doesn't want to lead her down the wrong path, so she just nods and then asks, "So when can we do this?"

He smiles and says, "Well, if you want to, we can go to your house and get your bathing suit and the necessary ingredients, and then I can run us to the shore and be back before sunset probably."

Bonnie nods because the sooner they do this, the happier she'll be, but she pauses. I frown when my precious grandbaby wonders, 'Will my one piece cover the bruises littered across my torso? Do I have any on my legs? It'll probably cover what I need to be covered, or I hope so at least because I really don't want to have to answer uncomfortable questions.'

She smiles despite her dark thoughts and asks, "Okay, so are you going to try it, too?"

Kol smiles and shrugs, "Why not, Darling, I figure it can't hurt, so I might as well try and know for certain whether it will work or not."

She smiles wider and nods but tells him, "If it does work on you, it should work on Elijah and Rebekah too, though I'm not sure if nature will give Klaus his Magic back because he's already a hybrid. I mean his aura has holes too, so it should fix it, but I'm still kind of leaning towards believing he's probably about as balanced as he can get, though your motto is probably still best, so if it works he should try it too just to be sure."

Kol's disbelieving eyes are wide, and he just stares at her with a slack jaw for a moment before he asks, "You're actually encouraging me to try returning Nik's magick to him even knowing how powerful he is already?"

My selfless granddaughter nods slowly because the truth is that she thinks that if he gets his magick back, he'll mellow out a lot and be less inclined to go on killing sprees. She believes that's true for all of them, so really by attempting to return their magick to them, she's trying to do the world a favor.

Kol said it himself in the car, the loss of his magick only made his heightened emotions and the sensitivity of his hairpin trigger a million times worse. Bonnie thinks that if she can help return his magick to him and his siblings, then it might help them have better control over their baser instincts. Plus, she's only been without her natural powers for a little more than a month, so she feels moved to help remove that pain from all of them if she can.

Finn smiles at me and says, "You raised a remarkable young woman, Sheila."

I nod but tell him, "I did what my mother did and her mother before her. I don't know where I went wrong with Abby, but I reassure myself that that failure has not completely messed with my raising of Bonnie."

Henri and Freya each take one of my hands in theirs and squeeze before Henri tells us, "It really hasn't. She will make an excellent addition to our family."

I just nod while Bonnie smiles slightly and tells Kol, "If Klaus can get it back then it's meant to be. I've only been without my magick for about a month and, well, frankly it sucks, big time, so I can't imagine what any of you have felt having had your magick stolen from you for over a thousand years. I wouldn't wish that pain, or that emptiness, on my worst enemy, and we've already established that your family is no longer my enemy. Therefore, if it'll work, then yeah, I'll support him trying it. Though, my gut really does think his being part wolf will interfere and keep him from getting his magick back. Although, that might just be my subconscious' fear of what a magick wielding hybrid might do to my friends. However, we have a truce, and I may not know all of you well at this point, but I do know your family well enough to know that each of you only ever goes back on your word when doing so will save one of you from death. I figure that means Klaus will abide by the terms of our agreement, so it's worth a shot to make him as whole as possible, no?"

Kol just stares at her with wide, round eyes. The selflessness and compassion that my granddaughter is showing to a man who has tried to harm her and hers several times in the last year is remarkable to him. He knows Niklaus knows better than to cause Kol to break his word over anything other than life or death so he's certain Bonnie and her friends will be safe from Niklaus' machinations, or the potentially lethal ones anyway. However, Kol also knows that Bonnie is taking a huge leap of faith based solely on his word that his family will abide by his wishes. His smile is entirely genuine when he tells her the same thing his brother just told me, "You are a remarkable woman, Bonnie Bennett."

My ever-humble baby girl laughs. She doesn't think she's really all that remarkable. After blushing slightly at his praise, she looks at him through her lashes and then asks, "Uh, Kol, if you don't wear any underwear, do you actually own a bathing suit because despite how comfortable I feel with you, I'm not willing to go skinny dipping with you no matter how cute you are."

He chuckles low in his throat, which sends a shiver down Bonnie's spine before he tells her with a smirk firmly on his face, "I own two bathing suits. The woman at one of the stores I bought all of my clothes at insisted."

She doesn't get to respond other than nodding, though, because just then Niklaus comes into the room without knocking, and without so much as looking at her, he says, "You move fast, Brother. You haven't even been allies for a full 24 hours, and already she's seen you naked?"

She scoffs at his words. She knows that if she lets that slide and acts like she's afraid of The Big Bad Wolf, then he'll walk all over her for the rest of her life, so she decides to fight back by telling him, "Actually, point of fact, Kol is the only surviving Mikaelson brother I haven't seen naked."

The living and the ghosts in the room all laugh when Niklaus' eyes widen, and he stares for a moment before he asks, "Come again?"

My baby girl smiles a coy smile and tells him, "You heard me, Kol's the only one of you three that I haven't seen in the buff, as it were."

Kol barks out a laugh, "Brother, you should see your face right now."

Bonnie laughs at Niklaus' face too. The hybrid is blinking rapidly though his eyes are wide and as round as Frisbees and his jaw is slack and open so wide, he could easily collect flies.

She decides to take pity on him after he just stands there blinking at her for a full minute, so she tells him, "I saw you and Elijah change clothes in my premonition last night, so I know that you go commando and that God blessed you and probably every woman you've ever slept with. Well, if you know how to use what He gave you anyhow. There is some debate as to your level of skill though, so the jury is still out on that."

Niklaus' thoughts are surprisingly positive, 'I'm beginning to see what my brother sees in her. Few would tease me, and, of those who would, even fewer would think they would survive to tell the tale. I think I'll let her live, though, because I find her rather amusing all things considered.'

Kol laughs while Niklaus covers his appreciation for her by frowning before he tells her, "I've never had any complaints, and after a thousand years, even the most bumbling idiot would have exceptional skills, and I'm no idiot."

My unsurprisingly brave granddaughter smiles and nods before telling him, "No, you're not an idiot by any means. Plus, if Kol is to be believed, and I see no reason not to trust him on this, then the fact of the matter is, with the amount of practice you've gotten through the many years of your existence you should be the best lay in the world by now."

Kol laughs harder and louder at that while Niklaus goes back to just blinking at her. He wonders, 'She may be enjoying teasing me a bit too much. Hmm, I'll need to figure out ways to get her back without harming her because she is currently much more fragile than my other sister. Maybe I can ask Caroline for pointers on payback when torture isn't a viable option.'

I laugh at that. If anyone can help the emotionally vulnerable Niklaus with that, it'll be Caroline Forbes.

Meanwhile Bonnie is wondering if she broke him, 'I didn't mean to, honest.' She continues her story in the hopes that he will snap out of his daze on his own, "Anyway, we were talking about the premonition, and Kol was telling me how good he is at sex, and I mentioned that you go commando, and he told me that most older male vampires do. Your brother apparently doesn't have a single shy bone in his body, so he told me that he sees no point in men wearing underwear, so that's how I know he doesn't wear any underwear any more than you do."

Niklaus seems to snap out of his funk when the last word passes her lips before he tells her honestly, "I don't think any Mikaelson ever born has ever had a single shy bone in any of our bodies."

She lazily nods while the hybrid pauses then he smirks and tries his hand at teasing back by telling her, "You know, you're not the stick in the mud I thought you were."

Bonnie's eyes widen before she thinks, 'He's actually had thoughts about me other than the 'I want her dead' kind?' Still, she laughs and asks him, "What exactly were you basing that opinion on because the only times we've really interacted we were both trying to kill the other?"

Kol chuckles and tells Niklaus, "She makes a valid point, Brother."

The hybrid smirks deeper and tells her, "Actually, I was basing the opinion on a conversation I had with the lovely Caroline about how she wished you and the Gilbert boy would quote, 'Just do it already,' because she had been trying to convince you of how great sex can be. Apparently, you kept telling her that you were waiting until you knew it was 'real and forever.'"

My granddaughter's jaw is on the ground, and she's thinking, 'I don't care that she's a vampire and infinitely stronger than me. I'm going to kill her with my bare hands.'

She voices her thoughts, "Sh-she told you that? I'm going to kill her."

Niklaus chuckles but waves his long finger at her and says, "Ah, ah Ms. Bennett, I would be most put out if you kill my future lover before I get to know the joys of her body, so resist the urge to kill her, or you'll risk our precarious truce."

She pouts, and while he smirks at her, she tells him, "Dammit, that's not freaking fair, she can't just go telling The Big Bad Wolf that I'm a virgin and that I need to get it over with and just do it already. Besides, telling you what I'm waiting for breaks our girl code, so I won't kill her dead, but I will verbally kill her, and then I'll probably kill her with silence for a while because I know that'll drive her absolutely nuts."

He grins and chuckles before he tells her, "Just so long as she continues to exist, do your worst."

Bonnie laughs and screws up her courage working very hard not to stutter or hesitate when she tells Niklaus, whom she finds slightly intimidating, "Oh make no mistake, she won't know what hit her, and if you warn her I will come and curse you with a perpetual limp dick for a period of time to be determined later."

Kol laughs at the same time his brother's eyes widen, and she chuckles too while the hybrid shifts ever so slightly in a way that makes her think that if he weren't as controlled as we all know he is he would have cupped himself to protect the family jewels.

Inside Niklaus is cracking up, though, 'Oh, Kol, you have chosen well. Bonnie will fit in just nicely in this family, even if I can't torture her for picking on me.'

He doesn't voice any of that though and instead nods before saying, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, so I was wondering if I can come with you and try it right away?"

Bonnie looks at Kol for a minute and then shrugs before she tells him, "If Elijah and Rebekah want to come too, that'd be cool. Then if it works for one, we'll be able to do everyone else all at the same time. I think I have enough sea salt, parsley, and anise at my house for all five of us to try it. Plus, it'd probably be better to do it on all of you, if it works, before my friends find out I even suggested you try it because let's face it, if it works, and I really do think it'll work on everyone except you, Klaus, my friends are going to have fits."

She pauses but then continues by confiding, "That's actually why I didn't mention it to Abby because while I trust her to tell me if a spell is dark, I don't actually trust her to keep my confidences regarding you and your family. She went head to head with Mikael back in 1993 and is the reason you got to live without him breathing down your neck for the 17 years before you came to Mystic Falls. Based on her advice about Kol I'm pretty sure she's biased against your entire family based solely on your asshole father… or… step-father, whatever."

Both brothers nod just before a knock sounds on the door of Kol's bedroom. Kol stands and goes and answers the door and barely a moment later comes back with Elijah who smiles at my grandbaby. What he tells her next makes her once again question just how good their hearing is. "I also couldn't help but overhear your conversation, so I just called Rebekah and told her I'm coming to sign her out of school for the rest of the day. I didn't tell her why other than it was family business because I wasn't sure who might be within hearing distance of her phone, but she agreed to come home. Should we meet you at your house? I assume we're running to save time?"

Kol nods, so frowning ever so slightly she asks him, "You used that word earlier. What exactly do you mean by 'run'?"

He smiles and tells her, "I mean I'll pick you up and run at vampire speed from here to the shore. It should only take us about half an hour to forty-five minutes, at most, to get there if memory serves."

Her eyes are wide before she tells them, "Um, wow, just call me 'Bella.'"

He frowns and asks the obvious question, "Not that you're not beautiful, but why would we call you 'Bella' in this context?"

I laugh at the same time my grandbaby groans because she walked right into that one. Still, she ignores Kol's huge grin and tells him, "Bella Swan is the main protagonist in a Young Adult Book and Movie Series called The Twilight Saga. Anyway, the boy she loves is a vampire, and he runs with her much the same way you just suggested you run with me."

Kol refrains from being cheeky but grins wider and asks, "So you'll do it?"

She grins back, "I don't see why not. If I don't get sick from moving so fast, it's the best bet to get us there and back quickly. As I said, time is of the essence because once my friends catch wind of this, they will do everything they can to stop us, our truce be damned."

He nods and then smiles and says, "Let's get to your house and get what we'll need, and the others can meet us there."

Bonnie inclines her head and after Kol disappears into his room for a minute he comes back, and when he puts his jacket back on she sees the waistband of what we both assume is a pair of swim trunks peeking out just above the waistband of his jeans.

He smiles while he helps her back into her jacket and then after she waves at his brothers and says, "See you soon,' he escorts her out of the house and back into her car. Kol is driving again, so my grandbaby gives him directions to her house, and after us ghosts think ourselves into the backseat of my granddaughter's tiny car, we leave the Mikaelson driveway.