Title: Unfinished
Rating: M
Genre: AU/Supernatural/Romance
Pairing(s): Bonnie/Klaus, Stefan/Rebekah, Bonnie/Stefan (minor), Klaus/Stefan (minor), Bonnie/Rebekah (minor), Caroline/Tyler, Matt/Katherine, Rudy/Gloria, Abby/Elijah, etc.
Summary: Bonnie uncovers memories of a previous life that she spent with Klaus, Stefan, and Rebekah….
Warnings: Violence, Sexual Content, Racial Tension (Slurs, Racially Motivated Crimes and the Like), Character Death, Bad use of 1920's slang, ect.
Part Two: Unexpected
Bonnie had fallen asleep in the back seat some time ago. The sound of her breathing was keeping Stefan calm. Though he hated to admit it, his mind kept drifting back to Klaus and Rebekah. He wondered how Rebekah was transitioning. Wondered about Klaus as a whole; his motives, his feelings toward all of them. He had to force himself not to think of Klaus as Nik, even though they were one and the same. It was hard to wrap his mind around that as well. It was hard to think about Elena, about what he would say to her once he saw her, what he felt for her now that he remembered what he had felt for Rebekah. He didn't even want to think about what he was feeling about Damon at the moment. But it was easier to think of Bonnie, even if he still couldn't fathom everything in his head, he had cared about her in both times and that was something that for now was comforting. Bonnie was the one point of consistency in all of this.
"You want to tell me what the hell that was about back there?" Damon asked. He was only half paying attention to the road. They hadn't spoken since Chicago. As far as Stefan was concerned, it could've stayed that way. "So you're not going to answer me?"
"I would," Stefan said sounding as disinterested in Damon's interrogation as he felt, "But I don't really know what you're referring to."
Damon rolled his eyes as he continued to drive. "That stunt that you pulled back there with Bonnie," Damon said, "Do you really expect either of us to believe that you came back because she asked you to?"
Stefan sighed, looking out the window. "I really don't give a damn about what you choose to believe, Damon," he said. He leaned back in the passengers' seat, closed his eyes and continued to listen to Bonnie's breathing.
"Let me guess," Damon continued, "Gloria isn't being as cooperative as Klaus would like and he needs a new witch to do his bidding and help him with whatever the hell he's up to. Everyone knows witchy back there can't say no to you, so what? Klaus tells you to come home and manipulate Bonnie into thinking there is still a little saint left so that she'll feel like she can save you and she'll help Klaus to do it." Stefan was silent. "Am I close?" Damon hedged.
Stefan shook his head but kept his eyes closed. "Think what you want, Damon," he said, "I meant what I said, I don't give a damn what you choose to believe."
"The witch isn't that gullible you know," Damon said, "Even if she is…I'm not going to sit here and let you take advantage of her." Damon was at a loss at how to approach what was happening, because he didn't know what was happening. The only way he could think of to explain Stefan and Bonnie's behavior was that they were closer than he had thought before Stefan had given himself over to Klaus. But still, there was no way that they were close enough for Bonnie to be able to motivate or influence Stefan's behavior, especially in this state.
"Look Damon," Stefan said losing what little patience that he had for his brother, "We both know that you don't give a damn about Bonnie and the only reason why me taking advantage of her would bother you is because, if I'm taking advantage of her then you can't and because if I get her to help Klaus you know you have no chance of protecting Elena."
"So I'm the only one thinking about protecting Elena now?" Damon asked, "Has that much changed since you left us brother?"
Ignoring him Stefan turned on the radio in hopes of drowning Damon out. He laughed when he realized what song that was playing. "How Come You Do Me Like You Do". He shook his head. "How appropriate," Stefan said. Damon raised a brow at him in question. "Bonnie's favorite song," he grinned. It reminded him the night that he had finally managed to introduce Bonnie to Nik.
The only time that Bonnie was allowed in the front of the club when she wasn't dancing on stage was when she was cleaning it every night before it opened. She did it because she needed the extra money. What she didn't use for herself she sent back home to her Grams in Mystic Falls. It was worth it though, those few minutes she spent on stage each night. She loved dancing but she really wanted to sing. However, the owner said the club didn't need another negro woman performer, Gloria was more than enough color he said, and Bonnie wouldn't begrudge her of the spotlight even if she was sure that Gloria would give it up were she to ask.
Gloria began to be even more protective since she had started being "friends" for a lack of a better word, with Stefan Salvatore. Stefan's "favors" were usually just excuses to get Bonnie to spend time with him. While Bonnie wasn't under any delusions that Stefan would leave his white lily of a girlfriend for her, nor did she want him to, she knew that "friends" wasn't the right word for what they were. It was something else entirely, something that she couldn't put a name on, something that she probably shouldn't have been wrapped up in with a white man that was hiding something as big as being a vampire. White or not, witches and vampires weren't supposed to mix. Gloria had been clear on that but Bonnie couldn't seem to see things that way, no matter how much Stefan's way of life disgusted her. She was envious of his freedom, when she was enslaved by who and what she was, in more ways than one.
Bonnie looked up from where she was wiping down the table tops when she heard a noise behind her. She smiled slightly as Stefan walked in but she frowned when she realized that he wasn't alone.
"Hey, doll," Stefan grinned, "Did you miss me?"
"Turn around hot back," she said, "I'll let you know after I see the view." Stefan chuckled and she went back to her task. "Are you going to introduce me to the half-breed or should I just pretend that he's not here?" Stefan's companion winced at the term, "half-breed," but Bonnie simply shrugged. That was what Gloria had taken to calling him so who was she to deviate from that.
"You did say that you didn't want to meet him," Stefan shrugged.
"And you brought him anyway," she said, "If I wasn't a sucker for that mug of yours I'd start punishing you every time you didn't listen to me."
"Well doesn't that sound fun," Stefan said with a smirk in the direction of his companion, "What do you think Nik? Does this dame owe me a spanking?"
The half-breed shrugged. "That depends on if she'll let me watch," he said.
Bonnie shook her head. "A hybrid half-breed keen on voyeurism," she muttered, "Now I've seen everything."
"You're right," the hybrid said addressing Stefan, "This one does have a mouth on her."
Bonnie frowned setting down the rag that she had been using to wipe off the table. "This one also has a name."
Stefan walked over and took a seat at the table that Bonnie had been cleaning. "But you said you didn't want to be introduced," he said eyeing Bonnie as she crossed her arms over her chest, "So I guess the poor sap will never know it."
"Even though you don't want to hear it," the half-breed said. One moment he was standing across the room and the next moment he was standing behind Bonnie. She turned to face him a frown marring her features. "My name is Niklaus, but since you're a friend of Stefan's here, you can call me Nik."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to flick the rag in her hand at him. "The name is Bonnie Bennett not 'this one'," she said, "You don't need to trouble yourself about what to call me because we won't be acquainted long enough for you to call me anything, and I suggest the two of you pipe down or better yet scram so I can get back to work."
"Come on now Bonnie," Stefan said, "Stop being a wet blanket." He tapped his hands against the table and looked around the unusually empty club room. "I told this good man here," Stefan paused when she Bonnie scoffed at the sentiment, "That you would give us a little private show."
"I beg your pardon," Bonnie said, moments away from giving him an aneurism.
"I told him I caught you singing the other day," Stefan said, "Said you had a nice set of pipes on you. So of course he was curious." In truth Nik had wanted to meet Bonnie because he saw her as competition for him and his sister. Stefan could tell though that the slight jealousy, was transforming into curiosity right before his eyes.
"Well I'd hate to disappoint you boys," Bonnie said, "But the only thing I have is work to do." She had been mortified when Stefan had let himself into her apartment only to catch her singing in the tub. She knew she would regret inviting him in, he had compelled her land lady into giving him a key and seemed to think he had free reign of the place.
"Come on now, green eyes," Stefan said leaning back in his chair, "You know you want to."
Bonnie gave a bitter laugh. "Even if I did, superhero," she said, "What I want doesn't matter." She knew enough now to know that what you wanted didn't have damn thing to do with what you got.
"Now what would be the point of being as beautiful as you are, as talented as you are, or as powerful as you are if what you wanted didn't matter," Nik said.
"You don't know anything about me," Bonnie said glaring at him.
"Well from the looks of you," he said, "I'd say doing what you want could do you some good."
"Come on, little Bonnie girl," Stefan said ignoring her glare, "Give us a song. There's some ciggys in it for you."
"I must look pretty cheap to you if that's all you're offering," Bonnie said, hand on her hip, "You want to buy me you'll have to up the price, hot back."
"Give us a song and you can name your price," Nik said. He wondered vaguely how much more whining that Rebekah would be doing if he were to start joining Stefan on his trips to see the witch. Stefan had been disappearing on them to look in on the witch for a week now, and he didn't seem as if he were at all inclined to stop. Nik could always see the appeal of a witch's power but he never really looked beyond that, and he hadn't understood why Stefan would, but he was beginning to.
"Name my price he says," Bonnie grinned giving Stefan a wink, "Maybe the half-breed isn't that bad. I hope you got your guitar with you, hot back."
"It seems I came empty handed," Stefan said glancing at the stage, "That one there will have to do."
"Now if I get fired for this I'm assuming you two jokers are going to pay my rent from now on," Bonnie said.
"If you want to quit then I'll pay it now," Stefan offered.
"I told you about that," Bonnie said, "I barely know you and I'm not your pet, jack." Bonnie rolled her eyes as Stefan held up his hands defensively. "Now are you going to do something with that guitar or are you going to make me sing all on my lonesome," she said. Stefan followed Bonnie to the stage, picking up the guitar as she took the center. "Look out for my boss man, half-breed," she said.
Klaus rolled his eyes but nodded.
He forgot to look out for anyone once Bonnie began to sing. He couldn't look away. Her rendition of "How Come You Do Me Like You Do," was the best he had heard yet. She belonged on the stage, and Klaus felt that it was his job to see to it that dancing wouldn't be the only time that she graced it.
"That felt good," Bonnie said when the song had ended.
"Doing what you want always does sweetheart," Klaus said, "And Stefan wasn't lying about those pipes of yours."
"Well, Nik," Bonnie said giving his name a try for the first time, "I think I want to do another song. Got any numbers in mind?"
Stefan smiled as he strummed on the guitar. He glanced at Nik who looked a little starry eyed. If Nik was going to start getting goofy over a dame, Stefan supposed he could do a lot worse than Bonnie.
As the song ended on the radio so did Damon's questions. "Forget it," he said, "I'm not going to get any answers out of you if you don't want me to."
"Nice to know you're finally getting smarter, Damon," Stefan said.
Damon sighed as he looked out onto the seemingly endless road. He wouldn't get anywhere, at least not tonight. "One of us has to," he said.
:::
It was late when Elena Gilbert heard the knock on her door. The early hours of the morning. Caroline had preferred to stay with Tyler after her ordeal with her father and so Elena was left to wait up for Damon and Bonnie to return on her own. Damon had called and told her that Stefan had agreed to come home, but not to get her hopes up. Whatever that meant. How could she not get her hopes up? Stefan was coming home, he would no longer be under Klaus' influence. She was one step closer to saving him.
All her thoughts of giving up on him, hours before, seemed to have evaporated with the news of Stefan actually returning. It was as if some switch had flipped and she was back in, "Rescue Stefan" mode. So when the knock came, she practically leapt from her bed in an effort to get to the door as quickly as possible. Once she had the door open she was surprised to find Damon standing alone on the other side of the door.
"Stefan is getting Bonnie out of the car," he said, "She fell asleep on the ride over. Her dad is still away so she needs a place to crash. I thought it would be better to take her home or to Sheila's old place but he didn't want to wake her and he couldn't exactly carry her inside if we did since we're not invited in either place."
Elena smiled. "It's fine," she said. If he could still show concern for her friends then there was definitely hope, more than hope, that he still loved her and would come back to her.
"Elena look…," Damon started but before he could finish whatever thought that he had started Elena's eyes fell on Stefan coming up the walk, a sleeping Bonnie in his arms.
Elena's smile widened as Stefan made it to the door. "Stefan!" she exclaimed, "I'm so glad you're back."
"Where can I put her?" Stefan asked, gesturing toward Bonnie with his head, his voice void of emotion. Seeing Elena again was painful, but not as painful as he thought that it would be. Even with the pain he couldn't manage to feel any guilt at the stricken look on her face. She shook it off quickly however, the smile firmly back in place.
"Right," Elena said, "You should put her down so that we can talk."
Neither confirming nor denying that they would have the talk that she suggested they needed, Stefan followed Elena into the Gilbert home and into the living room. Elena gestured toward the couch and Stefan laid Bonnie down carefully on her back. Elena watched in surprise as Stefan gently brushed away the hair that had fallen into Bonnie's face as he helped her settle into a comfortable position. He knelt down and cupped Bonnie's cheek with his hand, caressing her face with his thumb. The gesture was so quick that Elena wouldn't have caught it had she not been paying such close attention.
Stefan was standing and walking toward the door a moment later. Elena started after him, catching him by the arm. "Stefan," she said, "Don't go, please. I just…just stay and talk to me."
"I don't have anything to say," he said without turning around.
"I do," she said trying not to let the hurt seep into her voice, "I miss you and I love you. I don't care what you've done. You're home now and whatever damage that Klaus did, we can fix it together."
Stefan did turn then, his eyes hard as he looked down at her. "I don't need to be fixed," he said. Elena opened her mouth to object but Stefan held up his hand. "It's over Elena," he said, "I don't want to be with you. I don't want to know you. It's done."
Elena shook her head vehemently. "You don't mean that," she said, "You're home."
"I didn't come home for you," he said. He took a moment to glance over at Bonnie to make sure that she hadn't woken up. He doubted seeing Elena in pain would be something that she would want to wake up to.
"I don't believe you," Elena said.
"He's telling the truth Elena," Damon interjected. He was tired of watching Elena make a fool of herself, it was painful. If he couldn't get through to Stefan then he knew that Elena wouldn't be able to. Then again, Stefan's behavior toward Bonnie was a clear indication that he didn't really know anything anymore.
Elena spared Damon a glance before she turned back to Stefan. "So you came back for Damon," she said, "That's fine. I thought that you might if not for me."
Damon shook his head. "Wrong again," he said. Elena turned to him then; looking at him questioningly. "Why don't you tell her how we got you to come home, Stefan?" Damon asked. Stefan was silent. Since Damon was just itching to tell it, why not let him? "Just when we had given up hope," Damon continued at Stefan's ongoing silence, "Stefan shows up and asks Bonnie to tell him to come home. She does and miracle of all miracles he agrees. It was kind of sweet actually; they even have nicknames for each other."
Elena's eyes narrowed as she turned to Stefan again. She looked to be in thought for a moment before suddenly her eyes widened. "Klaus," she said, "He made you come home. He wants you to get close to Bonnie, and use her for some sort of spell or something." Of course that was it. He had to be being so affectionate with Bonnie because he couldn't tell them outright. That was the only thing that made sense.
"Klaus doesn't need to use Bonnie," Stefan said losing patience, "He's not you." Elena stepped away from him and the look on her face told him that he could have slapped her and it would have been less painful. "Or Damon," Stefan added, "Or me for that matter. He knows plenty of witches with more experience that would have less of a problem doing what he said."
He was telling the truth, Klaus wasn't interested in Bonnie's power and neither was he. He wasn't too sure that he ever had been. The more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder how much of him going to Bonnie for magical assistance had been his subconscious need to be around her, especially when more often than not that was the only way that she would allow his presence, in particular after Sheila's death.
"But he does want something from her right?" Elena asked, "What is it Stefan? You can tell me. Does he want to use her to get information on me?"
"Now why would he do that when he still thinks that you're dead," Stefan said, "Everything isn't about you Elena." He just wanted to leave and go home and think, or not think, which would sound even more appealing once he managed to get blood in his system.
One of Klaus' conditions had been that he maintained his "diet", he had to drink human blood when he could as often as he could and it had to be fresh. He could compel but he couldn't kill, now that Bonnie was back in the picture, the killing would have to stop.
"Then what is it?" Elena asked, "You can tell me."
"I already did," he said, "You just don't want to accept it." He turned to leave again, but Elena once again grabbed a hold of his arm. "Damn it, Elena, that's enough," he growled.
"Stefan please," Elena said.
Bonnie shifted in her sleep and Stefan frowned. "Elena things can't be how they were," he said finally, "They never really were how they were. I was never the person that you thought I was."
"Then I can love whoever you are," Elena said even as she was thinking of things she could do to bring back the old Stefan that she had fallen in love with.
"No you can't," he said.
"Yes I can," Elena said, "Because no matter who you are I'll always be the only person that you've ever truly loved."
Memories came to Stefan unbidden. Dancing with Rebekah in the rain, playing poker with Nik, strumming his guitar while writing show stoppers for Bonnie to sing. "No Elena," Stefan said not even aiming to hurt her but only to be honest, "You aren't. You aren't the first person I've ever loved and you won't be the last."
There was something so sure, so final, about his words that Elena felt like he was leaving her all over again. She knew that Stefan hadn't loved Lexi the way he loved her or even Katherine, who else could there be?
"Alright, brother," Damon said his tone strangely subdued, "You've said you peace. I think it's time for you to go."
Sighing Stefan nodded and resumed his walk to the door. "I'm not giving up Stefan," Elena called after him.
Stefan didn't know who she was trying to convince more, him or herself. "Get Bonnie a blanket," he said without looking back, "She doesn't sleep well without one. She always gets cold, even when it's warm out."
Stefan didn't wait to see Elena or his brother's reaction before he left the house, slamming the door behind him.
:::
Bonnie Bennett woke up on Gilbert's couch, a plush fleece blanket draped over her body and the bag that she had packed for Chicago sitting beside the couch on the floor. She heard rattling coming from the kitchen. The last thing that she remembered from the night before was falling asleep in the backseat of Damon's car. She had apparently missed Stefan and Elena's reunion but she assumed that even if things hadn't gone as well as Elena had hoped that her friend would be happy that Stefan was home.
Bonnie stood looking down at herself and realized that she was still wearing the ridiculous dress that Damon had had her wear the night before. She shuddered as she thought about the dance that she had shared with Klaus the night before, the way that they had moved together had almost seemed natural. She shook the thought away as soon as it came and followed the noise leading to the kitchen.
She paused in the doorway when she saw that Elena and Damon were cooking, what smelled like that disgusting chili that Bonnie always pretended to like, together. She raised a brow at them. "Did I miss something?" Bonnie asked.
The two stopped laughing and looked at Bonnie as she stood self consciously in the doorway. "A lot actually," Elena snapped. Bonnie frowned and Elena sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, "None of this is your fault."
"None of what?" Bonnie asked.
"Stefan," Elena said, "Things didn't go that great last night and so I've decided to take a step back for a little while. Just until he's ready to really hear me."
"So," Bonnie said, "In the meantime you decided that the best thing to do would be to cook…with Damon?"
"Damon could you give us a minute?" Elena asked.
Damon looked smug but nodded. "I need to go find Ric anyway," he said, "You two have fun with your girl talk."
Bonnie rolled her eyes in his direction as he left and then turned back to Elena. "Is something going on between you two?" She asked her tone unexpectedly accusatory.
Usually she would at least try not to sound overly critical, despite the fact that people seemed to think that the fact that she had morals that she stuck to equated to her being judgmental. She had her moments she had to admit, but who didn't? However, in this instance she found herself extremely angry on Stefan's behalf.
Elena sighed and then shrugged. "He's just being supportive," she said. Bonnie gave her a skeptical look. "It doesn't matter," Elena said, "Stefan is back and as soon as he breaks whatever hold Klaus has over him then things will be back to normal."
"Whatever you say Elena," Bonnie said, "How about I take a shower and then I can finish helping you with the chili. Then you can fill me in on what I've missed over the summer."
"Sure," Elena nodded. The anger in Bonnie's tone when she had asked about her and Damon had not escaped Elena, nor did the fact that Bonnie hadn't said anything about seeing Jeremy when they had spent the whole summer apart.
Bonnie turned away and didn't notice the critical look that Elena gave her as she left the kitchen.
:::
Klaus Mikaelson didn't bother hiding his boredom as his sister came out of the dressing room in the tenth dress she had tried on. The cheap champagne that the hostess had given him wasn't creating enough of a buzz to make the situation anymore tolerable. "It looks fine," Klaus said once again.
"You're next to useless Nik," Rebekah sighed.
"Forgive me if I happen to feel that there are better things that we could be doing with our time," he said, "Like finding your necklace for instance."
"Gloria is looking and since she doesn't need our help then we'll just have to wait," Rebekah said, "And since I've been in a coffin for ninety or so years then I think an update in my wardrobe is a bit necessary. Don't you?"
Klaus put down the champagne flute and went for the bottle. "You could be quicker about it," he said.
Rebekah sighed. It would go a lot quicker if the women in this century didn't dress like street walkers. "I wish Bonnie was here," Rebekah frowned, "She always knew what looked good on me."
Klaus took a long drag from the champagne bottle in response. "Well the sooner we find your necklace the sooner we'll get her back," he said. Rebekah crossed her arms and made a huffing sound. "You were always impossible once you learned to appreciate her," Klaus said, "I almost liked it better when you hated her."
Rebekah frowned. It was bad enough that she had barely gotten to see Stefan before Klaus sent him away. Now he was bringing up things that she would rather not think about. "I never hated her," Rebekah sighed, "I was threatened by her, there's a difference."
"Yes I know," Klaus said before downing the rest of the bottle, "I'm just surprised you admit to it."
"We're not just talking about anyone Nik," Rebekah said, "We're talking about Bonnie, remember?"
Both Klaus and Stefan had disappeared again and Rebekah Mikaelson didn't like it. It had been two weeks since Stefan had rescued Gloria's girl and one since Nik had been captivated by the same witch. While Stefan wasn't losing interest in Rebekah, she could tell his attention was divided, and it wasn't just Nik who occupied the part of his brain that she didn't. And Nik, he was more careful but Rebekah could always see the signs. So few women had caught Nik's attention over the years that when one did the signs were very telling.
Rebekah didn't like being ignored and she decided on one of their nightly outings to the speakeasy to actually pay attention to the hoofers so she could find the one responsible for her neglect. The sooner she found the culprit the sooner she could remedy the situation. As long as the witch's death was quick and painless then Rebekah suspected that she would be forgiven.
So she sat in between Stefan and her brother, in their customary booth, her eyes on the stage as they waited for the dancers to appear.
"She'll be singing soon enough if I have anything to do with it," Nik said. Her attention was divided between his words, the stage, and Stefan's hand on her knee. "There she is," he said with a gesture of his head, "Don't you love it when she wears white Stefan."
"Makes me want to get her all dirty," Stefan responded earning him a hard elbow in the stomach from Rebekah.
"That tiny little thing," Rebekah frowned. She watched as the witch caught Nik's eye, winked and shimmied her chest in his direction. Stefan chuckled as Rebekah crossed her arms beneath her chest.
"She's stronger than she looks," Klaus commented.
"Using my words against me, Nik?" Rebekah said with a roll of her eyes, "How cute." When she had said the same thing about Stefan she had been able to back her words up. She doubted that the witch was anything other than a pretty little distraction.
The fact that the other men in the room seemed to appreciate the performance as well only did more to validate Rebekah's assumptions. "She is limber," Rebekah shrugged, "I'll give you that."
"When you speak to her then you'll understand," Klaus said. He glanced at Stefan and then back at the stage. "Besides," he said, "I gave Stefan a chance so you owe me."
"Stefan," Rebekah hissed, "Was worth it."
Nik lifted his glass toward the stage in salute as the witch made her departure and disappeared behind the curtain. "So is Bonnie," he said.
"I still think we should be in Mystic Falls," Rebekah said, shaking off the memory. She walked back toward the dressing rooms, no closer to making a decision about the dress than she was when she'd left them there. "Stefan won't be able to get her to remember on his own," she continued, "Especially when all of our memories together are here and not there. At least with all of us there, there's a chance that we could actually make some real progress."
"We'll go back when we find the necklace," he said, "Now hurry up."
Sighing Rebekah locked herself in her dressing room. She went to try on the next outfit when she stopped. She noticed that there was a dress identical to the one that she was wearing hanging up and she realized what she had done. The dress was in Bonnie's size, she had gotten doubles of all the outfits she had picked out all in Bonnie's size. She was still used to them trying on clothes together, and used to not just Nik but Stefan being their modeling audience. She didn't like being away from either of them. "Well," she said, "Then I suggest we pay Gloria a visit and hurry things along a little."
:::
The last thing that Jeremy Gilbert expected to come downstairs to after spending the morning talking to the ghost of his ex-girlfriend was the news that his current girlfriend was in the shower. He had hoped that he would get a little more time to get used to the fact that not only was he seeing Anna but he was able to actually speak to her as well.
He decided to hide out in the living room until he could figure out exactly what he wanted to do. How he wanted to approach the situation. What, if anything, he wanted to tell Bonnie. He had managed to stay hidden for an hour, half of which was spent talking to Anna and the other half or which was spent trying not to think about her. The idea of her being there while Bonnie was there was just too stressful to even consider.
After an hour though, a commotion coming from the kitchen caused him to come out of hiding. As he entered he nodded at Caroline, whom he hadn't seen come in. He then looked at a rather upset looking Elena, but there was no Bonnie in sight. "What's going on?" Jeremy asked.
"My necklace," Elena said, "The one that Stefan gave me. It burned me." She shook her head at the look of concern on Jeremy's face. "Its fine," she said, "I mean I'm fine." Jeremy nodded, even though she didn't look fine. "I thought we would be able to figure it out on our own but Bonnie doesn't think so," Elena continued, "So she called Stefan."
"Stefan?" Jeremy asked. His brows furrowed. The last time he checked, Stefan was somewhere unknown with Klaus, their friendly neighborhood hybrid.
"He came home last night," Elena said. Jeremy wanted to ask but she didn't look like she wanted to comment on the matter any further.
"The reunion wasn't as happy as Elena thought it would be," Caroline supplied, "Which is the only reason why she doesn't like the idea of us calling Stefan. While I understand that she might need a little time; considering the fact that Stefan is the one that gave her the necklace it only makes sense for us to call him when it starts acting all weird. I mean he probably knows more about it than we do."
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not standing right here," Elena said clearly annoyed.
"Sorry," Caroline shrugged. She didn't sound that sorry at all. In all honesty she wasn't. Elena would have to face Stefan after facing a rejection that he probably didn't mean, when Caroline had yet to face her father after he had kidnapped and tortured her. As far as she was concerned, Elena's situation could be a lot worse.
"He's on his way," Bonnie said reentering the kitchen.
Caroline took note of her friend's hesitance. It was clear that she wasn't the only one who noticed Elena's odd behavior toward Bonnie, though neither she nor Bonnie seemed to understand it.
Bonnie broke the awkward moment she was sharing with Elena as she broke eye contact and looked in the other Gilbert's direction. "Jeremy," she exclaimed, "Where've you been? I haven't seen you all morning?"
"I've been around," Jeremy said as Bonnie leapt into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He was happy to see her, just not as happy as he would've been if he wasn't seeing people that he had dated that just so happened to be dead. He looked over Bonnie's shoulder and Anna was standing there looking back at him.
"I missed you," Bonnie said. She was happy to see him. Not as happy as she would have been if say, her best friend wasn't giving her weird looks and she hadn't been thinking about Stefan on and off all morning and hadn't felt oddly pleased with herself for wearing white when she found out that he was coming over, but she was happy.
She pulled back slightly, and found him leaning down for a kiss. Her smile left her. The thought of Stefan agreeing to come home flashed in her head and for some reason the dance that she had shared with Klaus did as well, and being in Jeremy's arms felt wrong. She felt almost like she was cheating but she couldn't figure out, on whom with whom. She turned at the last minute so that Jeremy's lips caught her cheek instead of her mouth. She pulled away from him and he looked at her in question. She felt a strange urge to retrieve Stefan's journal from where she still had it hidden in her overnight bag.
"Now Bonnie," a voice said from behind her, "I had hoped that you had acquired better taste in my absence."
Bonnie turned to face Stefan, eying him as he leaned against the doorframe. "That was fast," she responded choosing to ignore his previous comment.
Stefan gave Jeremy a scathing look that surprised everyone in the room before he turned his attention back to Bonnie. "You call I come, that's how it works, doll," he said.
"Since when?" Caroline asked breaking the moment that had passed between them.
"Lovely to see you as always Caroline," Stefan smirked, "How's Daddy Dearest?"
Damon had mentioned the incident with Bill Forbes, so of course he had to comment on it. He could've blamed the human blood in his system, but in truth he didn't care. He was there because Bonnie had called him and that was it.
Caroline looked surprised, then stricken, and then angry. Stefan gave her an assessing look. He wondered faintly how much of his previous closeness to her had been because she reminded him of Rebekah, even if he hadn't connected the two until that very moment.
"Be nice, superhero," Bonnie chastised. The nickname that had come as unexpectedly as her renewed connection to Stefan, slipped out before she could stop it.
"I'm always nice, green eyes," he said, "I'm a saint, remember?" Bonnie watched him cross the room, wondering at how easily he seemed to be ignoring Elena. He was better at hiding his feelings in this state than she thought, though, she suspected that wasn't entirely the reason behind his behavior. "So what's the problem?" He asked.
"The necklace," Bonnie said, "The one that you gave Elena." She jumped back slightly as he reached out. She calmed however, when instead of striking out as she had half expected, he begin playing with her curls, twisting and untwisting them from around his fingers.
"What about it?" Stefan asked, invading her personal space. He wasn't really all that interested in whatever had happened with the necklace. He figured, it was simply Gloria searching for it. But when Bonnie had called him, giving him an excuse to see her he didn't see any reason to pass it up.
Elena rolled her eyes at him but he could still see the hurt under the surface. It was for the best. He had decided that if he was going to be spending more time with Bonnie that it was best for him to stay disconnected from everyone else. It was a lot easier than he thought it would be.
"It burned her earlier," Bonnie said. Not a flicker of concern appeared on Stefan's face. "Then I touched it," she began, and there was the concern, "I'm fine. I just felt this surge of power."
His hand that had had frozen in his worry for her, went back to playing in her hair. He had been right, it must have been Gloria. "Don't worry about it," he said, "I'm sure that it's nothing."
"Don't you think we should still check it out," Bonnie suggested. He used his free hand to wrap around her waist. Consciously she knew that the best thing for her to do would be to push him away but for some reason the best that she could manage was to place her hands on his chest in an effort to put a sort of barrier between them.
"I love it when you wear white," Stefan whispered low enough that he was sure no one but her heard him, except perhaps Caroline, "It makes me want to get you all dirty." It was a shame that Nik and Rebekah weren't there to help him with that.
"Stefan," Bonnie exclaimed pushing him away finally, "I don't know what your deal is but stop. We need to figure this out."
"Not that it would be okay any other time either," Caroline added with a glare in Stefan's direction. She was surprised that it had taken Bonnie that long to say something, but even more surprised that the Gilberts hadn't. She was also surprised by Stefan's behavior but she knew they couldn't put anything past him in this state.
Bonnie sighed turning and picking the necklace up from where it sat on the kitchen counter. "Let's just figure out what's going on with the necklace, okay?" She said. She was mortified and guilty about her own behavior. It made it even worse that she almost didn't see anything wrong with either her or Stefan's behavior.
"Whatever you say, doll," Stefan agreed easily. Bonnie rolled her eyes as he held out his hand and gestured his head toward the door. She took his hand, however. "But I'm telling you," he said, "It's nothing." Had they been alone he might have at least told her that Klaus was looking for the necklace but they weren't. Still, the fact that she was holding his hand was a good sign.
"You two mind if I join you?" Jeremy asked, his tone non-to-pleased.
"Of course not," Bonnie said extracting her hand from Stefan's causing the vampire to roll his eyes, "It'll go a lot quicker if we had some help." Taking a deep breath Bonnie forged ahead. "I'll just stop by my house and pick up a few books we might need."
"I'll go with you," Stefan offered.
"No," Jeremy said, "I'll go." All his thoughts over Anna and her ghost disappeared, as he saw the way that Stefan was gazing at Bonnie. There was a longing in Stefan's gaze that Jeremy had once thought was saved for Elena, but his girlfriend was now on the receiving end of that look and he wanted to know why.
"I'll go alone," Bonnie said feeling more than a little overwhelmed. She didn't know what was happening and she felt that maybe some time to herself would help her analyze the situation.
"Well then," Stefan said, "I could use a snack. I think I'll go find someone to eat. But don't worry, I'll be here when you get back."
"Stefan," Bonnie said her tone warning.
"I have to have blood and it has to be fresh," Stefan shrugged, "Nik's rules not mine." Bonnie frowned. "Unless you don't want me home," he said.
Bonnie's hands clenched into fists, she was at war with herself. She wanted Stefan home but she couldn't just let him go around killing people. That wasn't exactly making progress. "Stefan look…," she started but he stopped her with her a shake of his head.
"Don't worry," he said, "I won't kill anyone. Another one of Nik's rules." Bonnie raised a brow at that. "'Wouldn't want to upset the witch' he said," Stefan explained in his best Klaus imitation. Bonnie still looked skeptical. Stefan shrugged. "He knows you a lot better than you think he does," he said simply.
Bonnie started to contradict him but something stopped her. "Whatever," she said, "I'll be back and if I find any bodies between now and then…" She still didn't like it, but even if it wasn't quite progress it was something. At least she wouldn't have any deaths on her conscious. For some reason she wanted to trust him and so she did.
"I know," Stefan said mocking her serious tone, "I'll be next." Bonnie looked like she was debating on whether to keep him under her watch. She was a lot less nagging when she smoked. If it didn't have the potential to ruin her voice then he might've encouraged her to pick up the habit again. "I'll be fine," he said almost affectionately, "Go."
Bonnie left after giving Stefan one last warning look, not even noticing when Jeremy stepped forward to kiss her goodbye. Stefan noticed however. "So," Jeremy said turning to face Stefan, "Was sucking up to Bonnie one of 'Nik's' rules too?"
"Don't get your panties in a twist junior," Stefan said patting Jeremy on the back, "I promise I'll have you two broken up before I start doing stuff that would really piss you off."
Before Jeremy could respond, Stefan sped off. He turned to Elena. "What the hell was that?" He asked.
"Believe me," Elena sighed, "If I knew I would stop it."
"Would you?" Caroline asked, "Because you seemed kind of quiet just now. Actually you both did." She looked in between the two, trying to sound more curious than accusatory.
"Maybe I didn't know what to say," Elena pointed out defensively, "It's not every day that your boyfriend comes home and starts to treat your best friend better than he treats you. Not to mention what happened last night."
"What do you mean last night?" Jeremy asked suddenly very interested.
"Bonnie fell asleep in the car on the way back from Chicago," Elena said, "Stefan carried her inside like a baby. He even caressed her face when he laid her down on the couch. Then while he was basically telling me that he didn't want me anymore he seemed more concerned with not waking Bonnie than he was with the fact that he was breaking my heart. He didn't even say goodbye before he left. He just told me to make sure I gave Bonnie a blanket so that she could sleep through the night."
Jeremy's jaw clenched. "There has to be some sort of explanation," he said more to keep himself calm than anything else.
"Of course there is," Caroline conceded, "Stefan loves you, Elena. No matter what state he's in that isn't going to change overnight."
"But it wouldn't just be overnight now would it?" Elena asked, "I mean he's been gone all summer doing who knows what."
"There has to be something to all of this," Caroline said, "You didn't give up before so why give up now?" Elena didn't seem to have an answer so Caroline decided to press on. "He mentioned Klaus more than once," Caroline remembered, "Said something about him knowing more about Bonnie than she thought. You saw how he brainwashed Greta into helping him. What if he sent Stefan back to get close to Bonnie? To manipulate her into joining Klaus's side? I mean he was being all flirty and affectionate with Bonnie and he called Klaus, Nik….both weird right? Maybe it was his way of warning us without actually having to disobey Klaus's orders to do it."
"That's what I thought," Elena said, "But when I asked-"
"Do you think that he would actually tell you if you asked?" Jeremy pointed out feeling calmer about the situation, "I mean it's a delicate situation and you are supposed to be dead so I doubt seeing you is making it any easier."
"Maybe if I can get him alone," Elena said thinking out loud.
"Let's just wait it out," Caroline said, "You and I can head over to the Lockwood's and when Bonnie and Stefan get back then Jeremy can keep an eye on the situation. Let's give it some time and maybe Stefan will explain the situation on his own and if not we'll figure the rest out later."
Reluctantly, both Gilbert's agreed.
:::
Rebekah stood in wait. Her lover and her brother had gone off to persuade the club owner to get their little witch project singing on stage. She supposed that compulsion and torture would be involved so she didn't expect them to pop up anytime soon. It was the perfect time to get rid of the witch. If only she wasn't taking so long to leave for the night so that Rebekah could stage a little accident.
She peaked out of the spot where she had been hidden in an alleyway just as the witch appeared but the witch wasn't in the state that she expected her to be in. The witch stumbled out of the backdoor badly beaten, covered in blood, the white dress she had been wearing on stage ripped and hanging off her body. Despite her obviously extensive wounds she was managing with some effort to walk up right. She stopped suddenly as Rebekah made her way out of hiding. "Who's there?" She asked.
Even in her state the witch looked prepared to fight. Rebekah watched as the witch spat blood out onto the sidewalk and marveled at the power she felt coming from her despite her weakened state. She felt something akin to respect as she made herself known. "A friend," Rebekah said as she walked out, stopping in front of the witch.
"Really?" the witch wheezed blood leaking from the corner of her mouth as she laughed bitterly, "So what, did I imagine that look on your face when I was on stage tonight?"
"And what look would that be?" Rebekah asked. It was clear to her that the witch knew who she was. It shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did.
"A look that clearly said you wanted to bump me off," the witch answered, "I'm not going down without a fight Blondie."
"Looks like you've already been in one, doll face;" Rebekah said calmly, "Besides my brother wouldn't like it very much if I offed you, or Gloria for that matter." At Rebekah's words the fight seemed to leave the witch. She slumped against a nearby wall, her powers still her defense. Rebekah bit into her wrist and then held it out to the witch. "Go on," Rebekah said when the witch didn't move, "You've been beaten pretty badly, and we may not have time to get you help." The witch still didn't move. "Come on," Rebekah said, "Nik and Stefan are using their particular powers of persuasion to get you singing on that stage. It'll all be for naught if that pretty little mug of yours is all scarred up,"
"I can handle the scars," the witch said, "They wouldn't be my first." She took Rebekah's wrist anyway, covering the open wound with her lips and drinking the blood that seeped from it.
When Rebekah was satisfied that the witch was healed, she pulled her wrist back. "Want to tell me what happened?"Rebekah asked.
"A couple of hoods found out about Wilkes," she said, "Everyone knew he was trying to get after me. When he disappeared and Stefan started coming around it didn't take long for them to connect the dots. They weren't happy. They couldn't exactly go after Stefan, it's no secret how lethal he is. I was the next best target."
"Where are they now?" Rebekah asked her temper flaring.
"Dead," the witch said simply.
Rebekah didn't bother hiding her surprise. Stefan had talked more than once of the witch's high set of morals. "My brother and Stefan are under the impression that you don't kill humans," Rebekah said.
"I've been through this before," the witch said not sounding at all remorseful, "I was defending myself. They weren't just coming for a beating; they would've killed me and probably raped me first. Human or vampire a monster is a monster, a murderer is a murderer. Besides, sometimes morals have to take a backseat to survival."
Despite the firmness of the witch's resolve, Rebekah could see the guilt that remained just under the surface. "They were right about you," Rebekah said, "You are stronger than you look." The witch raised a brow in question. "Go home and get cleaned up," Rebekah ordered, "I'll take care of the bodies." Rebekah began to walk towards the door from which the witch had came.
"Hey Blondie," the witch said as she watched Rebekah walk away, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Rebekah said looking over her shoulder, "Or I may have to change my mind about killing you myself."
The witch laughed and despite herself, Rebekah smiled.
Gloria glanced over at where Rebekah sat on the bar kicking her feet impatiently. Another locating spell that didn't work. Klaus was keeping his irritation to himself but she knew that it wouldn't be long before he broke his silence. "I got nothing," Gloria sighed.
"What's taking so long?" Rebekah whined.
Gloria shook her head. "I'm doing the best I can," she said, "I want to find this necklace as much as you do, more even."
She hadn't been ready to see Bonnie when she had appeared in Chicago the night before but now her resolve was stronger. Stefan wouldn't be able to get Bonnie to remember on his own, he would need them, all of them. But Klaus wouldn't let them leave until the necklace was found. Whatever he had been running from then, whatever had killed Bonnie the first time, was still out there and Klaus was convinced that without his hybrids there was no hope in destroying it. To create the hybrids they would need the original witch and there was no reaching her without that necklace.
"Use me," Rebekah offered hopping off of the bar.
Gloria nodded as Rebekah took a seat on the edge of the table that still held the remnants of the spell that she had been working on. "Alright, sweetheart," Gloria said, "Give me your hand." She held her hand out and Rebekah placed hers on top of it. Concentrating, Gloria attempted to make a connection with the necklace. It didn't take her long. "I found the necklace," she said.
"Well?" Klaus asked expectantly.
Rebekah let go of her hand and Gloria looked in between them. "I felt power coming from it before but I didn't want to say anything until I was absolutely sure," she said. Rebekah nodded in an effort to hurry her along. "The necklace is with Bonnie," she said, "We find her then we find it."
Klaus looked surprised then after a moment he smiled. "Looks like we'll be heading to Mystic Falls."
:::
"Do we have to look through all of these?" Jeremy asked as he tossed another book aside, "Wouldn't it be easier if you asked the witches that you're in contact with?"
"I don't have access to them anymore," Bonnie revealed reluctantly, "Or their powers."
Both Stefan and Jeremy looked at her in surprise but it was Jeremy who spoked up first. "Since when?" he inquired.
"Since I brought you back from the dead," Bonnie answered, "The witches said there'd be consequences and there were. It's fine."
"It's probably for the best," Stefan interjected before Jeremy's guilt could even set in. Bonnie looked skeptical. "They helped us when you had them but that doesn't mean they weren't holding you back," Stefan explained, "You haven't even developed your own powers fully. You don't even really know what you're capable of. You'll never find out if you're sponging off dead witches."
"Her sponging off dead witches kept everyone alive all this time," Jeremy cut in.
"I'm not saying that it didn't," Stefan shrugged, "But Bonnie's strong on her own and she can't learn and grow and develop if she has a hundred dead witches to use as a magical crutch."
Jeremy was about to object again but Bonnie shook her head. "He's right," she said, "He may sound a little harsh to you Jeremy but that's because you don't completely understand. Those powers were helpful but they weren't mine. Not having them, having to rely on myself and my own abilities, it can only make me stronger."
"Exactly," Stefan nodded. He gave Jeremy a smug look that made the young Gilbert want to stake him. "Now," he said turning back to Bonnie, "What do you think we should be looking for in regards to the necklace?"
Bonnie shook her head. She really wasn't sure. Just when she thought she knew, something would give her pause. "The necklace has its own magic," Bonnie said, "That much is obvious but I felt something else."
"Something else like what?" Stefan asked from where he was sitting next to her. They were in Jeremy's room grimoires and old witch journals scattered between them. Jeremy sat across from them but Bonnie seemed more focused on her task than on either of them or their territorial behavior. It was a defense mechanism Stefan knew, she always focused on everything but the very thing that she needed to face. Still she had sat next to Stefan without thought, which told Stefan more than her attempting to ignore the situation did.
"Another witch on the other end," she said, "Her power I could feel it. I recognized it just as easily as I could recognize my own. Is that weird?"
It had to be Gloria and if Bonnie could recognize her power then Stefan knew it wasn't a stretch for the woman to recognize Bonnie's. Which meant that they would know that Bonnie had the necklace or was close to whoever did, which would lead them back to Mystic Falls. "It's not weird at all," he said.
Stefan was taken away from his thoughts by Bonnie placing her hand over his. "What is it that you're not telling me, superhero?" Bonnie asked. She wasn't sure how she knew but she knew.
Stefan gave a meaningful glance over at Jeremy and then said, "Nothing." Bonnie nodded but didn't comment even though she could tell he was lying. Something told her that he would tell her later.
Jeremy felt like he had been forgotten, most likely because he had been. He was about to break up Stefan and Bonnie's silent communication when suddenly Anna appeared next him. Before he could tell her that it was a bad time she was warning him about the darkness that she kept speaking of feeling and then suddenly the books that were between him and where Stefan and Bonnie were sitting burst into flames.
"Stefan!" Bonnie exclaimed at the same moment her name left Stefan's lips as he scrambled in front of her in order to shield her from the growing flames.
Jeremy scrambled backward kicking at the books with his feet. He watched as Bonnie's arms came protectively around Stefan's middle, even as the vampire continued to shield her. A frantic spell from Bonnie later and the flames were gone but Bonnie's hold on Stefan remained. Stefan placed a hand over hers, where they were interlocked around him and Jeremy scowled at the sight.
"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked resting her chin on Stefan's shoulder.
"Fine," Stefan answered.
He sighed trying not to think about the fact that he had been close to losing her again, not as close as he had been even in the times of the past couple of years before he remembered their time together, but too close for his own comfort.
The flames, hadn't come from Gloria, she would never risk hurting Bonnie if she had felt her and Bonnie had mentioned the necklace having its own magic, so that had to be it. It didn't matter; they could figure it out later as long as Bonnie was fine now.
Stefan turned slightly, until their eyes met. "You okay?" He asked not bothering to hide his concern even with Jeremy's presence.
"Fine," she whispered resting her forehead against his. She tightened her arms around him. Even though a part of her felt like she was overreacting she didn't want to let go. She knew though that she would eventually have to. Slowly she unwrapped herself from around him, even though Stefan was attempting to hold on to her. "Are you okay, Jeremy?" She asked as she turned to toward him slowly.
"Fine," he muttered. He stood and Stefan followed suit helping Bonnie to her feet as he did so. "Can I talk to you, Bonnie?" Jeremy asked, "Alone?"
Bonnie nodded. She had seen this coming. Sighing she gesture for Stefan to leave, but Stefan hesitated. "Go," she said, "I'll be fine."
When Stefan didn't move, Jeremy went into his bathroom and slammed the door hoping to hide his frustration. When Anna popped up again he wasn't so happy to see her. "Now is not a good time," he said.
Anna reached out and touched his hand. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," Anna said. She frowned at him when he snatched his hand away.
He wasn't sure that he could trust her anymore. The flames hadn't come from nowhere. She kept telling him not to trust Vicki but it seemed that she was the one he should be worried about. She could have easily been manipulating the situation. Jeremy sighed. "You can't keep popping up like this when Bonnie's around," he said.
"I only pop up when you think about me," Anna said, "It's a two way street." Jeremy shook his head obviously not believing her. "Besides," she said, "Bonnie isn't with you. Not the way she was before."
"You don't know anything about Bonnie," Jeremy said, "And you know even less about our relationship."
"Trust me Jeremy," she said, "I know enough. She has a connection to Stefan, one that started long before she was with you and it isn't just going to go away."
"Just like our connection?" Jeremy asked his suspicion increasing. For all he knew she was responsible for Bonnie's odd behavior. "And let me guess," he continued, "I should dump Bonnie because she's meant to be with Stefan and you and I are meant to be together?"
"That's not what I meant Jeremy," she denied her voice pleading, "I have to warn you."
"No," Jeremy said, "No." He closed his eyes and ignored her pleas as he shut her out and she disappeared.
Outside the door, in Jeremy's room, Stefan heard what to him sounded like a one-sided exchange. His brows furrowed but he didn't say anything as it was only his sensitive hearing that enabled him to hear Jeremy's frantically whispered tones and Bonnie probably likely wouldn't believe him if he told her what he was hearing. "I won't be far," he said turning back to Bonnie, "Just outside the door."
Before Bonnie could tell him that she didn't need him to stay, he left closing the door behind him and standing just on the other side. Sighing Bonnie turned toward the bathroom and was about to call out to Jeremy but the door opened and he walked out before she could.
"Look Jeremy," Bonnie started, "I know I've been acting weird and so has Stefan. Something happened, when I went to Chicago I think. If I could explain it I would-"
"Maybe I can explain it," Jeremy told her stuffing his hands into his pockets, "There's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago."
"Okay," Bonnie said hesitantly. She didn't like the tone he was using or the fact that he looked so nervous.
Taking a deep breath Jeremy told her about seeing Anna and Vicki. He frowned when she looked almost…relieved. Then he told her about what he suspected about Anna having some role in how she was behaving and the fire and she frowned.
Bonnie didn't think that Anna was responsible for whatever was going on with her and Stefan but she didn't have any other explanation so she remained silent. It was a little painful though, to think that a ghost was responsible for something that felt so natural. She was shocked and confused to find that Jeremy questioning her connection to Stefan was more upsetting than the fact that her boyfriend was seeing the ghost of not one but two of his exes.
"Would you say something?" Jeremy asked.
"Um," she said, "I don't really know what to say." That wasn't entirely true. She knew what a part of her wanted to say and she knew what she should say. "I guess losing my power wasn't the only consequence." Jeremy moved to speak but Bonnie held up her hand to stop him. "I think maybe until we can figure out what's going on or how to stop it, we should spend some time apart," she said. Whatever connection that she was forming with Stefan didn't seem to be going anywhere and it was obvious from the way that Jeremy was speaking that he was in need of some sort of closure with the women of his past, even if he didn't realize it yet. "It's for the best I think," she said.
"Bonnie," Jeremy objected.
"I just need some time alone," she said. She left before Jeremy could object running into Stefan as she did.
"Are you ready to go?" Stefan asked.
"I said alone," she said, "That means you too." She walked past him and wasn't at all surprised when he followed anyway.
Feeling helpless and wondering why he didn't have more of an urge to go after them Jeremy slammed his fist into his bedroom wall. He hadn't missed Bonnie as much as he should have all summer, and seeing her walk away wasn't as painful as it should have been. Something was telling him that their break wasn't as temporary as he would like to think it was. Still, he couldn't let himself let go, right now she was the best thing that he had going for him. He couldn't leave her to go chasing after ghosts.
Sighing Jeremy cradled his hand and looked around the empty room. It wasn't until he heard the front door shut behind Bonnie that he realized that the necklace still sat among the ashes that the flames had left behind.
:::
The next day Katherine Pierce showed up on Damon's doorstep. She had continued to follow Klaus even after Stefan had returned. She knew exactly what necklace Klaus had been looking for. Upon her return to Mystic Falls she had gone to the Gilbert home to retrieve it, and it hadn't taken long to trick Jeremy into giving it to her all while he moaned over the fact that he had lost Bonnie for good because he had revealed to her that he was seeing his dead girlfriends. In that way Katherine had found a way to contact the other side, which Klaus was also trying to do. For once she was two steps ahead of him.
But as she had been stuffing the male Gilbert into the trunk of the car she had rented she realized that she couldn't go it alone. She had only been able to piece together bits and pieces of what connected the Bennett witch to Klaus and the others but she knew enough to know that Stefan was all about protecting her interests at the moment, which meant protecting Klaus's it seemed, so asking him wasn't an option. So that left Damon.
It didn't take long to get him to agree. Damon always had been a lot easier to manipulate. The problem was that there was no guarantee that the witch that Klaus was trying to contact would help them. However, a little adversity had never stopped Katherine before. So they went on the road not knowing what to expect. It wasn't the first time for that either.
:::
Elena watched as Caroline walked away to confront her father one last time. She wished that she could be that strong. She could barely face the fact that she cared a little too much for Damon and that she was ready to give up on Stefan. As if her thoughts had scared him up Stefan appeared behind her. "You should listen to Caroline," he said, "If you have feelings for Damon then you should see where they lead you."
"Are you trying to hurt me?" She asked as she turned to face him. She wondered where he had been when Damon had attacked Bill Forbes and snapped Alaric's neck. Probably with Bonnie, she thought to herself.
Stefan sighed. He wasn't trying to hurt her. It was the opposite actually. He was trying to get her to explore other options because he knew that it would be best in the long run for her to face her feelings and not run away from them. He was doing the same thing with his feelings for Bonnie and when Rebekah and Klaus showed up he would have to do the same thing with them as well.
It was inevitable, leaving things unresolved would just mean they would pop up again later. It didn't make any sense, for either of them. The more memories he embraced the more he wanted to see if any of those feelings that he had back then were still attainable. With Bonnie they seemed to be, even if he wasn't sure about the others.
If Elena had the same problem with Damon he didn't see the point of her waiting for him, especially when it was becoming less and less likely that he would come back to her even if he didn't dive back into his obsessive consuming relationship with the others head first.
"There are things that you don't know about me Elena," he said, "Things that you can't get past or forgive and things I won't apologize for. You may resent me for it this now but you might thank me for this later."
"I love you, Stefan," Elena said, "How could I ever thank you for giving up on us."
"Because you don't know me Elena," Stefan said seriously, "And by the time you get a chance to then you may not love me anymore."
Elena's mouth opened to object but he was already gone. When he stopped he was standing in front of Bonnie's house and he was disappointed to find that her car wasn't in the driveway. Before he could think of where to look for her his cell phone rang. He knew who it was before he even answered it.
"How long did you know that the necklace was in Mystic Falls?" Klaus's voice said as soon as he picked up the line.
"Hello Nik," Stefan said sweetly, "I miss you too. Of course we can get together the next time you're in town. "
"Don't play games with me Stefan," Klaus said.
Stefan rolled his eyes. "If you must know, Nik," he said, "I knew before I left, and before you ask, no it's not the only thing I'm hiding from you. Can you guess the rest?"
"I'm assuming that you didn't tell me because you wanted to get away from me and you knew that sending me on a wild goose chase would buy you some time to adjust to your new memories."
"Oh, Nik, darling," Stefan said his tone doting, "You know me so well."
Klaus laughed and Stefan was only slightly surprised to see that he was pleased. "You're starting to sound like your old self," he said.
"Yeah well so is Bonnie," Stefan said as he looked down the street as if expecting her car to show up at any moment, "Even though she doesn't remember yet."
"That's progress enough I suppose," Klaus said calmly trying to hide how pleased that made him. Stefan grinned knowingly though Klaus couldn't see him. "I just thought I would warn you," he said, "That I'll be making my way into town soon and I won't be alone."
"I don't have to ask about Gloria," Stefan responded, "But don't tell me that you and Rebekah won't be happy to see me."
"It depends on what else you're hiding," Klaus said and then the line went dead.
:::
Bonnie jumped as Stefan sat down across from her at the table that she occupied outside of Mystic Grill. She rolled her eyes at him as he smiled openly at her. She had asked him for space but she was finding that Ripper Stefan was far less agreeable than Saint Stefan, worse than that it didn't really bother her as much as she had tried to make it seem like it did. She had fallen asleep reading Stefan's journal and wondering about the missing pages. It wasn't until she saw him that she remembered that she wasn't supposed to be thinking about him. "I thought I told you yesterday," she said, "I want to be left alone."
"I thought I told you yesterday," he stated calmly, "I don't care." He knocked knees with her under the table. "You know," he said teasingly, "You can always punish me for not listening. We both know how I love to be spanked."
"Oh please," Bonnie said, "You talk a good game but we both know you can't back it up, hot back. I mean you had me looking forward to you getting me all dirty yesterday and the best you could do was whisper suggestive words in my ear."
"So what? You wore white again today as an invitation?" Stefan asked. He wondered how long it would take her to realize that she was acting out behavior that she didn't remember or understand. He would go along with it until she freaked out, because the moment she realized what she was doing that was exactly what she would do.
"Maybe," Bonnie grinned. She was frowning a moment later. "What am I doing?" She asked. He didn't bother answering. "What are you doing? What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing, Bonnie," Stefan said putting his hand over her knee underneath the table.
"You sound so convinced of that that I almost want to believe you," she said, "But then I start to wonder why you're here making inappropriate comments to me instead of somewhere trying to make things right with Elena."
"The same reason that you're sitting here with me instead of off somewhere with your little boyfriend having a touching reunion after being apart all summer," he said with a shrug.
"Why are you here Stefan?" Bonnie asked. She knew there was something else he wanted and she wanted desperately to change the subject. "What is it that you wanted to tell me yesterday? The thing that you couldn't talk about around…Jeremy?"
"Klaus," Stefan said, "He's coming back to Mystic Falls. Hell, he might be here already." Seeing as Nik hadn't sounded too pleased on the phone, he saw no reason to keep lying to her, not completely anyway. He would need her help to keep Nik under control when the time came.
"Why would he come back here?" Bonnie asked, "Does he know about Elena?"
"Not yet but he will soon," he said. Bonnie bit her lip and he gave her knee a squeeze. "I need you to listen," he said. Bonnie took a deep breath and then nodded. "I knew Klaus before he came here," he said, "Before the sacrifice." He saw the question in her eyes but shook his head so that she could let him finish. "I didn't remember myself until recently," he explained, "Klaus forced me to forget. When I met them, they were running from something or someone. Something that he wanted to protect me from."
"So he made you forget about knowing him?" Bonnie asked. She didn't have to question Klaus being protective of him. For some reason it made perfect sense to her that they had been friends. "So why make you remember now?"
Stefan shrugged. "I'm not sure what all of his motives are exactly," he said though that wasn't entirely true, "But I know that whatever he's trying to do he needs the necklace I gave Elena to do it. He was looking for it when he sent me home and thanks to his witch he found it."
"So the power I felt coming off the necklace," Bonnie said, "The one that was familiar. It was the witch from the bar in Chicago."
Stefan nodded, pleased that she completed the puzzle on her own. "Gloria," he said. Something akin to recognition flashed in Bonnie's eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. "I got a call this morning," he said, "Klaus is coming and he knows I'm still hiding things from him. He's not happy."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Bonnie asked. Bonnie knew that he hadn't been very forthcoming with information sense his return. Then again he hadn't been open to anyone in any way about anything besides her, which was another mystery within itself.
"Because I trust you," he said, "Now I need you to trust me."
"I'll try," she said, "But Stefan it's a lot harder than it was before and it was hard before. Now not only are you so, different…" She paused. That didn't feel like the right word. He wasn't really different, his journal was proof of that. "I know you're still keeping something from me and I'm pretty sure that whatever this is between us, its Anna's ghost or Vicki's ghost trying to get me away from Jeremy."
"That's not what it is and you know it," Stefan said. He wasn't going to let her brush him off and he wasn't going to let her embrace whatever excuse she could find to do so. He hated to admit it, but he was looking forward to Nik's return, and not just because he was sure that making Bonnie remember would be a lot easier once he did. "I can't tell you everything now," he said, "But I'm telling you what I can."
"So what do we do now?" Bonnie asked. She wanted to change the subject. In her mind she still embraced the excuse that Anna was somehow forging a connection between her and Stefan from the grave but all her other instincts were telling her something different. It was better than having to actually think about the real reason behind it, especially when she didn't really know where to start.
"We wait," Stefan said. Bonnie nodded. "And in the meantime," he said, "We can work on getting you dirty." Bonnie laughed, even knowing that somewhere not so far away Klaus was likely crossing into the town limits.
