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 Three: Dark Waters

Bonnie Bennett wasn't at all excited about the prospect of senior prank night. Klaus was close, if not in town already. They were in wait and she didn't think that planting mouse traps in Alaric's classroom would make it easier to forget that there was a psychotic hybrid after them that wouldn't be too happy once he found out that Elena Gilbert was indeed alive. And they shouldn't forget. If they forgot for even a moment then that would be the moment that Klaus would strike.

But Caroline wouldn't take no for an answer. Since the incident with her father, Elena and Stefan no longer being the "it" couple, and Jeremy seeing his dead girlfriends, she was adamant about them doing something that would make all of them feel normal. Only a day had passed but with the awkward atmosphere that was between all of them lately, Bonnie doubted they could achieve normalcy anytime soon. Besides she didn't want to deal with Caroline, dealing with a persistent and out of character Stefan was bad enough. Though, she wasn't acting very in character herself and Caroline had no problem telling her as much.

"You and Stefan have both been acting weird since he got back," Caroline pointed out as she plopped down next to Bonnie on the witch's couch, "I know you had a soft spot for him before, him being the 'good brother' and all but you were even getting over that. Now it's like you two are closer than you've ever been and he's been acting as far as we know….well, worse than or at least just as bad as Damon. I would've thought that you of all people would've been disgusted or at least disappointed. I mean; not to dredge up old crap, but you weren't exactly best friends with me after I got turned and we're actually…well best friends."

"I am disgusted and disappointed," Bonnie said seriously, "But at least he isn't killing anyone."

"You mean he hasn't killed anyone lately," Caroline corrected, "But let's give him the benefit of the doubt on that. What about the way that he's been treating Elena?"

Bonnie shrugged. "That's Stefan's choice not mine," she said, "His relationship with Elena has nothing to do with me. Besides he's probably just doing it to protect her."

"You don't believe that anymore than I do," Caroline sighed, "He's serious and we both know it. If he was doing this to protect her then he would show some hesitance at his behavior, some doubt. Even Ripper Stefan couldn't hide his true feelings for long. He's serious Bonnie. He's done with Elena. What I don't understand is why? Why he's doing this and why you're not upset that not only is he treating your friend like crap but he's feeding off the people of this town? Did something happen in Chicago?"

Bonnie winced. She didn't want to talk about Chicago or the fact that she had fallen asleep reading Stefan's journal the night before. As Bonnie wasn't talking to Elena at the moment, Caroline was the only one besides Stefan that knew about Jeremy's new gift, unless Jeremy had told Elena himself. "I told you," she said, "its Anna. She wants me away from Jeremy so she's forming some connection between me and Stefan from the beyond or something."

"And what?" Caroline asked clearly skeptical, "She's performing spells from the grave that make you and Stefan flirt with and confide in each other? Last time I checked Anna isn't a witch and unless ghosts can somehow access witchy woo woo once they're dead from the other side that excuse isn't going to cut it. Besides you said witches don't have love spells or things that mess with the emotions so that makes no sense. The best she could do is maybe put you in danger and orchestrate situations for Stefan to be your savior. Even if she was doing something like that, that doesn't explain your behavior before you came back from Chicago. I mean as far as we know Anna has been with Jeremy all summer and according to Damon you were acting off in Chicago long before you came into contact with Jeremy or Anna again. And what about the fact that you seem to be okay with Jeremy being able to see Anna in the first place?"

"I'm not okay with it," Bonnie said picking at the couch cushion beneath her, "I just...I have other things to worry about." She didn't need Caroline pointing out the inconsistencies in the Anna excuse. She wanted to be more upset about everything, Jeremy, Anna, Stefan, all of it. But every time she tried to get in touch with some sort of anger or sadness, Stefan would pop up in her head and it would dissipate or she would think of Klaus and her mind would automatically focus on the puzzle that his actions made.
"Other than your boyfriend?" Caroline asked.

"Yes," Bonnie said, "Other than my boyfriend, other than senior prank night, and other than the million other silly little stupid things that none of us get to worry about anymore."

She was tired of being the only one who wanted to focus on keeping all of them alive. Of being the only one who had to put aside other things to think about the threat that was looming over their heads. Still, thinking of Klaus or Stefan had become an almost reprieve from thinking about everything Jeremy or Elena related.

She knew how to save people and she knew how to sacrifice her own personal life and feelings for the greater good. She didn't know how to puzzle through the mess that Jeremy seeing ghost and Stefan acting as if he had never cared about a thing in Mystic Falls outside of her meant.

"So now Jeremy is equated to senior prank night and designated to the category of silly stupid little things?" Caroline asked. Caroline knew that Bonnie didn't mean it the way that it sounded, or maybe she did. Whatever the case she needed to face things instead of acting as if her life and her relationships could be put on hold until she felt like dealing with them.

Bonnie bit her lip and looked away. "You know what I meant," she said. But she doubted Caroline did.

Stefan seemed to be the only one who could understand her without her having to over explain herself, since she had gotten back. It wasn't that she wasn't upset about Jeremy, but she was still sure that her reaction left something to be desired especially given the fact that she had declared that she loved him when she had saved his life only a few months ago.

As much as her behavior bothered her and her reactions made her pause she also found that her feelings for Jeremy seemed less in magnitude as they had been before she left. They weren't gone but they seemed to be changing in way she didn't understand and couldn't control, with Stefan it was the same way only instead of her feelings for him calming they seemed to be growing rather rapidly in a consuming manner that made it even easier for her to blame some ghost that may or may not have a personal vendetta against her.

Any other explanation was beyond her comprehension and if it had nothing to do with herself and everything to do with some uncontrollable outside force then she wouldn't have to face the responsibility for the way her behavior was leaning toward or the guilt that came along with it.

"Do you even know what you meant Bonnie?" Caroline asked.

She was met with silence.

"Okay fine," Caroline conceded, "We won't talk about Jeremy." She didn't miss Bonnie's sigh of relief. "So," she continued, "How about instead we talk about the fact that you don't want to participate in senior prank night because you'd rather stay inside so that you can avoid Stefan."

"I'm not participating because I need to stay home and figure out what to do to keep everyone safe when Klaus-"

"If," Caroline corrected.

"When," Bonnie pressed, "Klaus finally pops up." It was her job to protect them all, that at least was something that hadn't changed though she never would have guessed that she would one day take comfort in the fact.

"Don't take a page out of the Gilbert book of avoidance," Caroline said, "Running away from your feelings isn't going to make them go away. If you can't be honest with Jeremy or Elena or Stefan then at the very least be honest with yourself. You don't want to go because then you'll have to leave the house and you'll likely have to stop avoiding Stefan."

If Caroline couldn't get anywhere with Elena or even Jeremy then she would have to make Bonnie see that whatever was going on wouldn't just stop or disappear because they wanted it too. She may not have any degree of understanding about what was happening with Bonnie and Stefan but now that she knew Jeremy was seeing his ex-girlfriends she understood his lack of reaction to it and Elena's growing feelings for Damon spoke for themselves.

"I'm not avoiding him," Bonnie insisted. She just wanted to figure out the Klaus situation in the comfort of her own home. It had nothing to do with the fact that her house was one of the few places in town that she still felt safe as she hadn't lost her mind enough yet to invite him in. At least that's what she told herself.

"So those last three calls that you sent straight to voicemail weren't from Stefan?" Caroline asked gesturing to where Bonnie's phone was sitting on the coffee table.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bonnie said stubbornly. As if on cue Bonnie's phone vibrated. She didn't have to look at the screen to figure out who it was. Ignoring the phone Bonnie stood. Caroline raised an eyebrow at her, a silent affirmation that she was right. "I'm not avoiding him," Bonnie reiterated, "I just don't have time to talk to him because we have to get ready for senior prank night."

"Now she wants to go," Caroline huffed. She grabbed Bonnie's phone from the table. As Bonnie left the living room to go find her car keys Caroline answered her phone.

"Green eyes, where the hell have you been?" Stefan's voice said as she answered the line.

"Sorry, green eyes is all mine tonight," Caroline said mockingly, "But you may be able to persuade me into telling you where she'll be tonight if you can answer a few questions."

A heavy sigh was her answer. "What do you want Caroline?" Stefan asked not at all sounding pleased.

Caroline frowned. "You know that there was a time when you were a lot nicer to me," Caroline commented.

"Well there was a time that you were a lot more tolerable," Stefan said sounding bored.

"You seem to be finding Bonnie's presence more than tolerable lately," Caroline said studying her nails. If she couldn't get Bonnie to shed some light on the situation then she would have to interrogate Stefan about what had happened between Chicago and them returning home.

"Didn't you say that you had a question?" Stefan pressed bringing the focus back to the conversation.

"Questions," Caroline corrected, "As in plural, as in more than one." She ordinarily wouldn't have taken that sort of tone with Stefan but it seemed that the new Stefan wasn't susceptible to anything else…well anything else but Bonnie.

"You'll be lucky if I answer one," Stefan said.

Caroline could sense that Stefan was losing his patience so she decided to get her questioning over with before the Salvatore decided that simply following Bonnie would be easier. "Why are you suddenly so interested in Bonnie?" She asked.

"Is it sudden?" Stefan asked, seeming unbothered as if he had been expecting the question.

Undeterred Caroline continued. "Why'd you come home Stefan?" She pressed, "To break Elena's heart or because Klaus told you to?"

"Did you ever wonder why Bonnie fiddles with her hands when she's nervous?" Stefan asked, his tone evasive, "Or why she listens to old jazz when she's upset?"

He was dodging but still it gave Caroline pause. She herself had just begun to notice the hand fiddling, but the music was something that Bonnie had done since they were children. Bonnie's taste in music was the reason that Elena's parents had always called her an, "old soul". Caroline couldn't remember a time where Bonnie had listened to old jazz in front of Stefan, it would have been the ultimate sign of vulnerability. There was no way that Stefan could've known about that particular habit, unless Bonnie had shared it with him.

"How'd you know about that?" Caroline demanded.

Before Stefan could answer her or more than likely come up with a way to evade her further Bonnie reentered the room. "We have to go," Bonnie said sounding impatient for someone who had been so adamant about staying home just a few moments ago, "Who are you talking to? Please tell me it isn't Stefan."

"It's Tyler." Caroline said quickly, "I called him to make sure he's bringing Matt."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Bonnie asked. She imagined that would be an awkward ride over. "I mean given the fact that I'm pretty sure Matt still isn't on speaking terms with either one of you right now."

"He's on speaking terms with me," Caroline shrugged, "And he and Tyler will have to actually face each other and air everything out sooner or later. Unlike some people Tyler actually wants to get all of his feelings out in the open so that he and Matt can move forward with their friendship."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, ignoring the obvious dig at her behavior. "Whatever," she sighed, "Let's go. We have toilet paper and mouse traps to load into your trunk so that we can spend the night ruining our beloved school instead plotting the deaths of insane hybrids who want our best friend dead."

"Oh don't be so dramatic," Caroline said. She listened as the line went dead. She pretended to say goodbye to Tyler even as she realized that Stefan had heard Bonnie and she had given him all the information that he needed without him even having to answer any of Caroline's questions. Sighing she deleted Bonnie's recent call list in case the witch decided to check it later.

"What are you doing now?" Bonnie asked her tone decidedly suspicious.

"Texting Elena," Caroline said, "You know our said best friend. She wanted me to tell her when we were on our way."

"Last time I checked you have a phone so you don't actually need to use mine," Bonnie said holding her hand out.

Smirking Caroline placed the phone into Bonnie's hand. "Let me guess you want to keep it close to you so that you can count the number of times that Stefan calls you?" Caroline asked.

"Let's go," Bonnie sighed, "Before I change my mind." She stuffed her phone into her purse and told herself unconvincingly that she could care less whether it rang again.

:::

Gloria watched as Bonnie sat down at the old piano that had been in her small apartment almost since she had arrived in Chicago. It was a muddy shade of brown, had scratches on the surface, and needed tuning on a regular basis but no matter how many times Stefan or Nik had pestered her Bonnie refused to part with it. Even with them parading a white baby grand in front of her the brown monster that Bonnie had named, Lolita, stayed just where it was.

Lolita had been a gift from Gloria herself, she had scrapped and saved for it and Bonnie treasured it. It was the first gift that Bonnie had received from someone outside of her Grams. The moment Gloria had forced some of the booze runners from the club to haul the thing up three flights of stairs to Bonnie's run down hole in the wall, Bonnie had known that she had made the right choice in befriending Gloria and that the friendship would last.

"What you working on?" Gloria asked. She walked across the room and sat down next to Bonnie on the piano bench a tumbler full of whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in a black holder in the other.

"A little ditty called Mystic Blues," she answered as her hands slid over the keys, "My Grams has a birthday coming up. I figure I could send her a song like every year. You know write it on that sheet music she got me. Having trouble with it though."

"How come?" Gloria inquired, "That baloney usually flows out of you like water?" Gloria should know. She had sung many songs that Bonnie had written under the guise of one of the drunks that they gave a small cut to, to use his name because he was a man and he had the right skin color to get the owner to agree to buy them.

"That baloney is my music," Bonnie said nudging Gloria playfully in the side, "And it happens to get you paid so I suggest you learn to appreciate it."

Gloria blew the smoke she was holding into Bonnie's face. "Alright I got it," she huffed, "Don't go all bluenose on me. Now what's the problem?"

Bonnie sighed. "You know when I write a song about someone or for someone it comes to me more easily if I can think about them and only them," Bonnie said.

Gloria rolled her eyes. "And I also know that the only time you have a problem with keeping your mind on one thing is when someone has you all goofy," she said, "So who is it this time?"

"You won't approve," Bonnie said seriously.

Gloria shrugged, downing her drink and setting the glass down on the piano lid. "I never do," she said just as serious. She remembered the time that Bonnie had gotten mixed up with a warlock and then with a cop of all things, neither had been a serious relationship but as like with most things when it came to Bonnie they had led to trouble. "Let me guess," Gloria sighed, "Its Stefan. Even after I warned you not to let the superhero act get to you."

"It's not Stefan," Bonnie denied, "Not exactly."

"Good," Gloria said, "Because he's more dangerous than he looks and besides that he's wrapped around Rebekah's finger and you know she has a temper. She's like a child that got her candy snatched away when a dame so much as looks at him too long."

"Blondie isn't that bad," Bonnie defended smiling wistfully, "She's just a little rough around the edges. Besides she healed me after those hoods came after me. Or have you forgotten?"

"Don't tell me it's her," Gloria sighed shaking her head, "You go all goofy over a dame and a vamp involved with a ripper at that then you may as well bump yourself off. Your name'll be next on that creepy little list on Salvatore's wall."

"You know about the list?" Bonnie asked with a raised eyebrow. Gloria nodded. "And he's still alive?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Gloria said putting out the cigarette she had finished in the ashtray that she had placed on top of Lolita for Bonnie's use. "As for me," she continued, "I know how to pick my battles. Salvatore's protected by some powerful vamps and Nik and Rebekah aren't the only ones on the list. I'm not too keen on disappearing. Besides the people I care about are safe. We protect our own, we don't need to save the world."

"Right," Bonnie said studying the keys in front of her. Even if she protected the people that she cared about now, how long would she be able to continue doing that now that she was getting personally involved with the very creatures that disturbed the balance that her kind tried so hard to sustain?

"If it's not Stefan or Rebekah," Gloria continued, returning to the previous subject, "Then it must be Nik."

This time Bonnie didn't bother denying it. "We fight all the time," she frowned, "Not just arguing either. I almost killed him yesterday. He's so impulsive, it drives me crazy. It doesn't make any sense. I shouldn't even like him, it goes against everything I am…sometimes I hate him so much...It's stupid, he doesn't even see me that way. I'm just some hanger on that Stefan likes to play hero for and Rebekah like's the dress up in pretty clothes. They'll get bored of me sooner or later. Probably sooner." She was a project, a pass time, a spec in the eternity that was their existence.

Gloria saw the defeated look on Bonnie's face and knew that she would be doing the thing that would make Bonnie happy instead of the thing that she thought was right. "I'm not telling you this because I want to," Gloria said after a moment, "I'm telling you this because I love you. But I want you to know that if it were up to me I'd have you on the next thing smoking back to Mystic Falls if it meant getting you away from those three. But at this rate it's too late and I've done all the warning I can do."

Bonnie turned to her and she knew that she had the girl's full attention. "I suppose you know this already but Nik and Stefan weren't on very friendly terms in the beginning," she said, "Nik is a very…possessive person and what he wants he takes and what he takes he keeps. You can tell when he's really interested in something by how possessive he gets. It's never subtle. He's not the type that's keen on being alone and he doesn't take too nicely to someone he considers a threat. He was possessive of his sister Rebekah and Stefan was a threat."

"Well obviously that changed," Bonnie said glancing over the half full page of sheet music, "But what does that have to with-"

"Let me finish now," Gloria said, "He found out what Stefan was, his secrets, the types of games that the liked the play, the many people and many ways in which he liked to kill." Bonnie cringed but Gloria was merely being candid, it was better for her girl if she went into this with her eyes open. "After that things changed they became something akin to friends and his passiveness was extended to Stefan. Then one day Stefan saved this pretty little witch with a nice set of pipes and nicer set of gams and Nik found someone new to hate."

"I know this story," Bonnie laughed weakly, "And so you know Blondie wasn't too fond of me either. Still isn't if you ask me."

"Then he saw this witch sing," Gloria continued as if Bonnie hadn't said anything, "Found out that she had more power than even her body could handle and something changed. Even though they argued and she had hit with more than one spell that had left them both closer to death than either would like to admit he still looked after her. Still kept any bird or dame within a five mile radius that showed her a lick of interest away and made sure they knew just who she belonged to."

"What are you going on about Gloria?" Bonnie asked.

"What I'm saying is that you've become a part of the exclusive club of people that Nik has decided that he wants in life, that he's taken a hold of."

Bonnie shook her head, scoffing until she saw the look on Gloria's face. "You're serious," Bonnie said not able to keep the hope from leaking into her voice.

"But when you're Nik's you're not just Nik's you belong to all of them," Gloria said, "You should know Bonnie girl that when any of them grab on to something their never to keen to let go. That may seem like a good thing now but if there comes a time that you want out, it won't be easy."

"Nothing ever is for me," Bonnie said, "My parents let me go because it was what was best for them. My Grams let me go because she thought it was best for me. Maybe I need someone that won't walk away and won't let me walk away either."

Gloria wrapped an arm around Bonnie's shoulders. "Well no matter what happens you still got me," she said.

"I know," Bonnie said giving her a smile, "And I'll never forget that. I promise." As Bonnie began to fiddle with the keys and pen the notes to "Mystic Blues" Gloria believed her.

Gloria eyed Klaus as Stefan ended the call with Bonnie's friend. Even as Stefan disclosed Bonnie's whereabouts without much thought Klaus didn't seem too pleased. He was still stewing over the fact that Stefan hadn't told him that the doppelganger was still alive the moment that he had discovered it. He hadn't let Stefan touch a drop of blood all day as punishment, another one of their games.

Gloria knew why Klaus was so put out. From what she could gather from the conversations that had been had since their arrival, Klaus was operating under the assumption that Stefan hadn't told him that the doppelganger was alive because he was still in love with her. Some part of him may very well have been but if the way that he was eyeing Rebekah was any indication he wasn't in love enough to be faithful so she doubted he was in love enough to spare her life and risk Klaus' wrath. No Stefan had had other motivations for keeping his mouth shut and if Gloria could venture a guess she would say that it had more to do with Bonnie's feelings for the doppelganger than his own.

"I found out where they would all be tonight and I'm letting you all take refuge in my lovely home," Stefan said taking a seat on his couch next to Rebekah, "Can I have a drink now master?"

Klaus smirked sitting down in the only empty chair across from Gloria. "I don't think so," he said, "I want you nice and thirsty so that when it comes time to kill sweet Elena you won't hesitate even if you want to."

Stefan wrapped an arm around Rebekah's shoulders. "Who says I want to?" He asked. He did want to hesitate though not for the reasons that they probably thought. But he knew he had to be careful. He knew how Nik and Rebekah operated so he knew that they would keep him at arm's length until they figured out where his loyalties lied and as he didn't know he couldn't very well take any chances. "You might want to rethink this whole 'kill Elena' plan though," he continued, "You recall what happened the last time that you killed one of Bonnie's friends because you were jealous and pissed off. You almost lost Little Nik as I recall." He gestured between Klaus' legs not bothering to hide his amusement.

"Yes," he said, "But we seem to have forgotten the fact that you had no trouble dismembering the body when I was done with it."

Stefan shrugged. "That's the thanks I get for offering my assistance," he sighed, "Rubbing my face in it years later. That's the last time I rip up any bodies for you Nik." He tugged a Rebekah's blonde strands, causing her to swat his hand away. "Your brother is just so ungrateful," he frowned. He saw her smile even as Rebekah tried to hide it.

"Stefan's right," Rebekah said causing Klaus to roll his eyes, "I mean even though the bird wasn't fit to shine Bonnie's shoes she was the reason we had to abide by the no killing rule in the first place. She ruined all our fun. Even from the grave. So do we really want to piss off a Bonnie that doesn't remember having a connection to us, has lived a whole life without us, and that at the very least hates you Nik and will likely hate me by association by killing her….'best friend.'"

"She doesn't need Elena and neither does Stefan," Klaus said sounding bored, "They have us. We've been over this."

Rebekah sighed. Whether her brother wanted to admit it or not; he wanted the doppelganger bitch dead not just because he couldn't make his little hybrid comrades but because she was competition for Stefan and Bonnie's affection. In truth she was of the same mind. But Rebekah wasn't blinded by her jealousy, not this time. She may have an unnatural hatred for this Elena without even seeing her but she also realized how very delicate the situation was that they were in.

"Right now she doesn't even remember us so having us to her means nothing," she said, "We have to make it mean something whether she remembers or not. To do that we have to be sensitive to her feelings and the people that she cares about even if they mean nothing to her by the time all of this is over."

"This isn't just about Bonnie's feelings," Klaus hissed, "This is about keeping her and all of us safe. How are we to do that with Elena alive and me unable to make hybrids?'

Gloria decided that it was time for her to speak up. "Did you ever think about the fact that you were able to access your wolf side even without the doppelgangers death," she said, "Maybe you need her alive."

"Well as you're still unable to contact the original witch I suppose we won't know now will we?" Klaus said.

The way he said it made something click in Stefan's mind. "Bonnie is more powerful than Gloria she just doesn't know it or how to use it," Stefan said, "So what's the plan you get Bonnie to do what Gloria can't and when the original witch confirms what you already know, that Elena needs to be dead, you'll be able to have me kill her with Bonnie's knowledge."

"Precisely," Klaus grinned.

"You still won't have her blessing." Stefan said, "Even if she knows that's it's the only way that you can get what you want, she's not just going to sit back and let you kill Elena." Bonnie would die trying to save Elena first and they all knew it.

"Unless," Gloria interjected, "She lets Elena die in order to save someone else she cares about. That's the only way."

"I believe her other best friend, Caroline is it? Keeps company with a werewolf," Klaus said, "Surely if pushed Bonnie wouldn't let him meet the same fate as the other hybrids just to make sure Elena lives to have her life threatened by someone else another day."

"Do you really think that this is the answer?" Gloria asked.

"You don't know Elena," Stefan chimed in, "She attracts trouble and death. I won't say I want her dead or that I agree with this plan but I won't say that it wouldn't make a lot people's lives a lot easier if she weren't around anymore either." Rebekah eyed him and he shrugged. He was being honest, lying in front of her was always useless.

"So when you said by any means necessary?" Gloria asked.

"I meant it," Klaus stated firmly, "I suggest that all of you become of the same mind and do so quickly. There is no going back and there is no getting in my way. No one will receive mercy from me if you do, not even any of you."

"We're with you Nik," Rebekah said firmly, "All of us."

Klaus eyed Stefan whose loyalty had yet to be tested. He talked a good game but he hoped that his old friend wouldn't be found wanting. Things wouldn't be the same if they lost a member of their little foursome. "We shall see," he said, "After tonight."

:::

As he couldn't get in touch with Matt, Tyler had ended up riding in with Bonnie and Caroline. While Caroline went about the business of organizing the other seniors which amounted to barking out orders, Tyler and Bonnie were left to unload the car.

"If you don't mind me saying," Tyler said as he hefted a box with one hand and slammed Bonnie's trunk with the other, "You don't seem to be up to all of this."

Bonnie sighed. That was a huge understatement. She had thought getting out of the house might at the very least get her mind off of things, but seeing Elena go out of her way to ignore her as she headed toward the gymnasium with Caroline on her tail only made things worse. "I don't mind," she shrugged, "It's not like you're wrong."

"Can I ask why?" Tyler asked.

"It's complicated," Bonnie said as she lifted a substantially smaller box of her own, it wasn't like she and Tyler were close. In fact they hadn't ever really spoken and she suspected that Caroline was the reason that they were talking now.

"Try me," Tyler said.

Caroline had briefed him on Bonnie's situation already and he couldn't help but see how similar it was to his own at the moment. Caroline had told him to be nice to her and he was trying. She had also told him not to delve into anything but Tyler knew that Bonnie would have to get it out somehow if there was any hope of her having a good time and clearing things up with Elena like Caroline wanted her to.

"Come on," Tyler pressed, "My best friend isn't talking to me because I'm dating his ex-girlfriend who I didn't exactly have a problem with moving in on when they were still together. I'm not really in any place to judge anyone at the moment, least of all you."

Bonnie nodded. She put the box she was holding down and leaned against the hood of her car, Tyler mirrored her movements. He wasn't her first choice as a confidant but she could admit that he was at the very least unbiased. As far as she knew the only people he had any real loyalties to were Caroline and Matt and neither of them were directly involved in the situation. Then again he was also friends with the Gilberts but really considering her other options Tyler was probably the most impartial person that she could get. So she told him everything, even more than she had revealed to Caroline.

Tyler blinked as she spoke. He hadn't been expecting to open the flood gates but, maybe he was right about her needing to air it all out. "Well," he said taking a deep breath, once she was finished, "I bet you feel a little better now that that's out."

Bonnie nodded.

"Do you want my input on all of this?" He asked.

She nodded again.

He grinned. At least this way, Caroline couldn't accuse him of being intrusive. "Well I guess I feel more comfortable addressing the Jeremy situation just because I know him better," he said. Bonnie winced and he could tell he had come to the root of the problem. "Look I know for a fact that Jeremy didn't get any real closure with Vicki and I'm guessing given the way that Anna died she could be added to that group as well," he said, "So maybe him seeing them is not such a bad thing. He could get some closure before you figure out a way to get rid of them and then you won't have to worry about his past relationships."

Bonnie nodded, and then shrugged. "I guess that makes sense," she said.

If she were honest with herself she would say that she had always been waiting for the bottom to fall out of their relationship. She had lost so much that she never really expected anything to last, so maybe a part of her had been relieved when she had found out about Jeremy seeing his ex-girlfriends. She knew that neither relationship had had closure, and she wondered if closure was what Jeremy really wanted.

"Now let's examine the fact that you're not all that upset about this Jeremy thing shall we?" Tyler continued, "I can only think of one reason and you're probably not going to like it."

Bonnie took a deep breath. She probably wouldn't but she also probably needed to hear it. "Go ahead," she said.

"Maybe," he ventured, "And please don't bite my head off for this…but maybe you're not as invested in this relationship with Jeremy as you like to think. I mean if you were then you definitely wouldn't even consider Stefan to be an issue."

Bonnie shook her head. "I love Jeremy," she said. The response seemed automatic but it didn't make it any less true.

"I'm not saying that you don't," Tyler shrugged, "But there's different kinds of love Bonnie. I'm pretty sure Caroline still loves Matt but she's with me not him now isn't she?"

Bonnie elbowed him in the side. "If you're trying to get Matt to be all buddied up with you again then maybe you shouldn't talk like that."

"What?" Tyler asked innocently, "I'm just being honest. And you should be honest with yourself because it'll be a lot easier for everyone in the end if you are."

"I am being honest," she said, "I mean I brought Jeremy back from the dead. No one would do that for someone that they didn't love."

"Again I didn't say you didn't love him," Tyler said, "I said there are different kinds of love. Besides I'm pretty sure had that been Elena or Caroline you would've done the same thing. Because you save people. That's what you do, especially the people you love." Tyler was met with silence and he figured that he had better not press the issue. "Let me just ask you some questions and you have to say the first answer that comes to mind," he said, "Alright."

Reluctantly Bonnie nodded.

"Okay," Tyler said, "Who would you say understands you the most right now Stefan or Jeremy?"

"Well Stefan," she said, "But that's just as much my fault as it is-"

Tyler shook his head at her. "No making excuses," he said, "Just answer the questions."

Bonnie bit her bottom lip and began to wring her hands. After giving it some thought she finally acquiesced. "Fine," she muttered, "Next question."

"Who have you been thinking about more as of late?" Tyler asked.

Bonnie gave him a death glare but she answered anyway. "Stefan," she said. It wasn't until that moment that she felt guilty that she hadn't talked to Jeremy at all since the day she had gotten back.

"If something bad were to happen right now like an earthquake or I don't know Klaus popping out from behind that bush over there who would you call?" Tyler asked.

"Okay I get it," Bonnie frowned. She was starting to think that talking to Tyler was a bad idea. Still she couldn't deny that he had made some valid points. Jeremy needed closure and she needed to figure out exactly what she felt about him and apparently Stefan as well. Maybe…just maybe in the meantime they didn't need to be together.

"Even if you're not falling madly in love with Stefan you're definitely more interested in him than Jeremy at the moment and seeing as he's not with Elena right now and Jeremy is a little preoccupied playing ghost hunter I say you go for it," he said, "Yeah, Elena might get pissed and Jeremy might be hurt but considering the way things are going if you keep avoiding the situation all that is going to happen anyway only it'll happen with you in denial."

"When did you get so smart?" Bonnie asked as she stood up straight.

"I've always been this smart," he said smugly, "You were just too stupid to come to me for advice."

Bonnie gave him a look that was usually followed by aneurisms but she managed to restrain herself. "So what now?" Bonnie asked, "I call Jeremy and tell him that we should break up so he can figure out if he's still in love with a ghost or not, then go in the gym and tell Elena that next time I see Stefan I'm going to plant one on him for experimental purposes to make sure I don't want to hop into his bed."

"I wouldn't put it that way but I guess that works," he said, "At least that way no one's in the dark and believe me in situations like these you don't want to leave people in the dark." Tyler bent down and picked up the box that still sat at his feet. "Alright one more question," he said.

"Fine," Bonnie said, "but we better get in there before Caroline comes looking for us."

"Alright," Tyler said, "So who do you think would win in a fight?" Bonnie gave him a blank stare. "Come on Bennett it's a legitimate question," he pressed, "I know Stefan's a vampire so it seems like he's the obvious choice. But Jeremy does have his ring and minor hunting skills. I mean if they decide to fight over you then I want to make sure I bet money on the winning side."

Rolling her eyes Bonnie picked up her own box. "I can't believe I just called you smart," she huffed.

Tyler laughed giving her a playful nudge. "So you are going to tell Caroline I helped you out right?" He asked.

"Help isn't exactly the right word," she said, "But I might mention it and if you talk to Elena for me I might even talk you up to Matt."

Tyler shook his head vehemently. "How exactly am I going to be able to start being Matt's friend again if Elena decides to kill the messenger?"

Bonnie pouted. "To think I was just starting to like you," she said. Even if she knew that it would be better coming from her Bonnie wouldn't have minded a go between.

:::

Bonnie threw her journal on top of her meager belongings and closed her suitcase. It had been just six hours since Bonnie had discovered that one of her fellow dancers had been murdered by the very man that Gloria had told her not to go all goofy over the night before. But Nik felt himself justified. They had found out that the dame had been stealing some of her songs, getting profit from them that should've gone to Bonnie. She had also been the one to tell those hoods what Stefan had done to Wilkes, apparently she was his dame before he died and she figured that Bonnie getting beaten for her role in the matter was a just punishment. Still she hadn't deserved to be bumped off, a well placed threat would've done the job.

Bonnie decided to leave the same moment that she had found out. With a few whispered spells she had snapped Nik's neck to keep him from chasing after her and set his lifeless body on fire to distract Stefan and Rebekah from doing the same. She didn't like having blood on her hands and it didn't help that before all of this had come to light she had actually considered the bird a friend.

Her music was going nowhere and Chicago was more trouble than she could obviously handle. Even if all Mystic Falls held for her was her Grams, odd jobs cleaning houses, and protecting a town that didn't appreciate it, it was better than what she was getting. Better than what she was sure would come if she stayed.

She locked her suitcase as the pounding on her door began. She didn't flinch. Didn't blink. She already knew who it was and what they wanted. She didn't look up as the door was kicked in. It didn't matter, she wouldn't be staying there anymore anyway. She would have to save up money to send for Lolita, but Gloria would take care of her until then.

Picking up her suitcase Bonnie turned and came face to face with Nik. "You're not running," he said simply.

"No I'm not," she replied, meeting his gaze, "I'm going home." She moved to walk around him, and he stepped in front of her.

"This is your home," he said firmly, "We are your home and you're not leaving."

"No you're murders and you don't get to tell me what to do," she said. Bonnie looked away, unable to keep her eyes on him.

"And you haven't killed?" Nik asked. He was met with silence. "She wouldn't have stopped," he said, "She wanted you dead. She would've had you killed and stolen your precious music and you would've been none the wiser. You trusted her blindly and so you needed protecting."

"I'm not a child," she hissed. She wasn't able to reign in her temper before she sent him flying into the nearest wall. She didn't hesitate as she began to leave the apartment.

He recovered quickly however, he was on his feet and in front of her again in a flash. "I never said you were," he spat.

"You could've threatened her and she would've backed off," Bonnie insisted, "But no…you had to let your anger lead you and be impulsive and you had to kill."

"A threat may have worked but I wouldn't take the chance. Not with you," he said, "Given what you are to me, to all of us, and what I stood to lose I had the right to protect you Bonnie."

"What exactly am I to you? Because from what I can tell whatever this is it's not worth someone losing their life over," She stated. Bonnie was met with silence and she knew that she was right. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter because whatever you think of me or you see me as it won't stop me from leaving," she said.

"You can't walk away from me Bonnie," he said, "We both know that. You can't walk away from me and you can't walk away from Stefan or Rebekah. You're angry now, it'll be better in a few days once you've thought things through."

"Don't patronize me," she said, "I'm not going to forget and you're not going to change. It's better if I leave now then later when you've done something bad enough for me to hate you for." She hated him already and she hated herself for feeling something for him. She knew what he was, what they all were and she still hadn't been able to stop herself.

Nik reached out and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. Bonnie attempted to tug it out of his hand causing it to pop open. Bonnie sighed grumbling as she bent down and to retrieve her belongings. Nik's attention was preoccupied with her journal which had opened when it had fallen out of her suitcase. He picked it up and scanned the page before he looked back up at Bonnie who was still throwing things back into her bag. He was surprised by the contents even though given her actions he probably shouldn't have been. "You love me and still you're leaving?" He asked.

Bonnie stiffened as she reached out and snatched the journal from his hands. "I need you to let me go," she said. She couldn't live like this. She couldn't let herself care so much about someone who couldn't so much as say that they wanted her in their life but could kill someone on her behalf. He was damaged, so was Stefan and so was Rebekah, but she couldn't fix them without damaging herself.

"I can't do that," he stated calmly. Still he continued to repack her suitcase. He could feel her eyes on him but he continued with his task until he was done.

"Why not?" She asked. She watched as he closed her suitcase and stood. He held out his hand to her and reluctantly she took it allowing him to help her up. He still couldn't say what they both knew however.

"Because I can't," he whispered. He leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss against her lips. They both knew that that was the closest thing to an admission that she was going to get. "Now let's go," he said once he had pulled back, "You're coming to stay with me and Rebekah."

"And why would I do that?" Bonnie asked even as she smiled and touched her lips.

"Because we both know you'll be staying in Chicago," he said, "Stefan's hovel is almost as bad as yours and you can't stay here because thanks to me you no longer have a door."

"Fine," Bonnie muttered, "But you're carrying my bags." He shrugged as if he had planned to anyway. "And I'm only staying until you get my door fixed," she said.

"Naturally," he agreed even though his tone sounded rather skeptical.

"I still hate you by the way," she said seriously. She was serious, in a way, just not serious enough to leave even if she was sure that it would be for the best if she did.

"Of course you do," Nik said condescendingly. Bonnie glared at him and a moment later his pant leg was aflame. "Sweetheart you should really learn some new tricks," he sighed.

"Are you going to teach me?" Bonnie laughed.

"You're making a joke my dear but I plan on doing just that," he said. Neither of them missed the double meaning of his words.

Klaus looked at the evil eye pendant as it dangled from the silver chain. The blue stone in the middle winked back at him. He would have to get it around Bonnie's neck as soon as possible. It should have been hers from the beginning from the moment of her rebirth, along with her journal and her other belongings. But he hadn't known the spell had worked and that she was back until far later than he should have and even then when he had come to see her he had been forced to face the realization that though she had been returned to him she didn't know who he was. She didn't remember any of them. Even now Stefan was the only one of them that could reach her and though he didn't want to resent him for it he did.

"If you want her back you're going to have to clean up that act of yours," a voice said from behind him.

Klaus turned to face Gloria a frown marring his features. "This is what we do Gloria," he spat, "This is who we are, what we were. We fight. We argue. We almost kill each other. We kiss and we make up. If she is going to remember I have to stay true to that."

Gloria shook her head. "You know how I feel about you," she said, "You know I think that you ruined my girl's life and I won't back down from that." Klaus rolled his eyes but she continued. "Even with that," she said, "I know that wasn't all you were. When you let her in, when you admitted how you felt, when you let yourself be vulnerable to her that was when she was the most happy. You ever thought about trying to reach her that way?"

"I don't have that option," he spat, "I'm the villain of this little story in case you've forgotten. I was forced to terrorize her and her little friends because that was the only way I could get to Miss Gilbert who inconveniently enough is still alive when she likely needs to be dead. If I show vulnerability now then everything we've worked for would be for nothing."

Gloria walked over and sat down on the edge of the guest bed. "You were never afraid to show yourself to her before," she said, "Even if you couldn't admit what you felt she always knew exactly who you were."

Klaus tensed. "We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for your failings," he said, "Even with the spell she should've remembered once she came back."

"I also said that there was a chance that she wouldn't," Gloria pointed out. Still in other cases in which the spell was used the memories of the former life usually started to come back by now.

"She should've remembered by now," he hissed.

"She shouldn't have died in the first place," Gloria shot back. She knew about his guilt over the fact but she had guilt of her own. So she pushed his and gave him most of the blame, even though the more she thought of what Bonnie had wanted the more she realized that death and rebirth had been the answer.

There was a weighted silence. "You won't be coming with us tonight," Klaus said his voice deceptively calm. Before she could object Klaus spoke up again. "She's not likely to do my bidding if I have a witch that she feels is more than capable of doing it," he said. Gloria crossed her arms over her chest but didn't answer. "I suggest you research the spell," he said, "Find out why she still hasn't remembered. Do something useful for a change."

Gloria had had enough of him. Bonnie had been a friend, a best friend, like a sister. She was the one thing during that time that Gloria had let herself care about, let herself love and with one well-placed savior and another well placed smirk she had been stolen from her by the very beings that their kind were supposed to destroy. "Bonnie is the only reason I let you live," Gloria stated bitterly.

Klaus shrugged looking unmoved. "I could say the same thing about you," he said. He left the room and returned with a stack of spell books and grimoires. He tossed them down next to where she was sitting on the bed. "Happy hunting," he smiled and then he disappeared.

"Psychotic bastard," Gloria muttered. Even so she thought about Bonnie and then she forged ahead. "Alright little Bonnie girl let's see if we can bring your memory back."

:::

The last thing Jeremy wanted was to be in the middle of nowhere with only Damon Salvatore and Katherine Peirce as company. It was bad enough that he had spent majority of the ride passed out in the trunk of Damon's car but now he was being forced to contact Anna when he had sworn that he wouldn't. But seeing as Damon wasn't giving him much of a choice he would go through with it.

Apparently Klaus was scared of something or someone on the other side knew how to defeat him. Jeremy wasn't sure as neither Katherine nor Damon were being very forthcoming with information. All he knew was that they needed to be in contact with the other side and he was the way that they were going to do it.

When Anna popped up however she seemed to be more focused on Bonnie than whatever information that Damon and Katherine wanted from her. "You need to listen to me," she told him, "Bonnie isn't what or who you think she is."

Jeremy rolled his eyes even as Damon glared at him impatiently. "I don't want to talk about Bonnie," Jeremy said ignoring the odd way that Damon was suddenly looking at him, "I need to talk to you about Klaus."

Anna frowned. "It's the same thing," she said.

Jeremy's brows furrowed. "What do you mean it's the same thing?" Jeremy asked, "He wants to use her doesn't he? That's why Stefan is trying to get close to her isn't it?"

Katherine looked on the scene uninterested. They didn't have time for Baby Gilbert to be discussing his witchy girlfriend with his ghostly ex. They had bigger fish to fry. They should've taken the witch, as far as they knew Jeremy was talking to himself. "We don't have time for this," Katherine sighed.

Damon however didn't agree. Both his brother and the witch had been acting off since Chicago and he wanted to know why. He didn't need either one of them acting out of character when there was so much at stake. "I want to hear this," he said, "What does the corpse bride have to say?"

Jeremy glared at him but turned back to Anna anyway. "Well," he said, "What does Klaus want with Bonnie?'

"It isn't just a matter of him wanting something," she said, "She's connected to him and Stefan as well. If you unleash this threat she will protect them."

"And why would she do that?" Jeremy asked not bothering to hide his skepticism.

"Because she loves them Jeremy," she answered, "And because of that she'll be in just as much danger if not more. This man that Klaus is running from, Mikael, he's a hunter. If you let him out then no one will be safe. He knows Bonnie will protect Klaus and more than anything he wants Klaus dead. He'll kill Bonnie to get to Klaus and then she won't be here to protect any of you."

"What is she saying?" Damon interjected.

"It doesn't matter," Jeremy said, "None of it makes sense." Damon glared and looked as if he was close to doing physical damage to his person. "Fine," he said, "She says that Bonnie's connected to Klaus and to Stefan. That she loves them and she'll protect them. That this hunter that you're looking for, this Mikael, he knows this and he'll kill her for it and then she won't be here to protect anyone, not even us."

Damon puzzled over this. He tried to connect the pieces but nothing came to him. Bonnie liking Stefan made sense, or at least it had at one point but loving him? And Bonnie loving Klaus was completely out of the question. "I'm not buying it," he said, "Just ask her if this Mikael guy can kill Klaus and if so where he is so he can get on with it."

Jeremy looked at Anna expectantly not even bothering to repeat the question. Anna shook her head. "If you care about Bonnie," she pressed, "If you love her as much as you claim then you'll listen to me. He killed Bonnie once, he'll do it again."

:::

One minute Bonnie was reminiscing with a slightly depressed, dejected, and alone Matt by the school's pool and the next they were walking into the gymnasium in search of more toilet paper only to find Klaus for all intents and purposes holding Elena hostage. Perhaps she wasn't on the best of terms with Elena at the moment but she still didn't want to see her friend hurt. It was odd though, that once her eyes left Elena and she met Klaus' eyes and held, her concern for her friend lessened marginally.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Klaus said and in the blink of an eye he went from being across the gymnasium to being right behind her.

He smiled winningly at her as she turned to face him. There was a brief exchange about Elena being very much alive due to Bonnie's interference before Klaus decided to get under her skin just a little. If things worked out as planned it would be a while before he saw her again after the night was over. "I've missed you, you know," he said reaching out and letting his fingers gently stroke her cheek, "It feels like forever since that last dance."

"What do you want?" Bonnie hissed. Surprisingly she didn't pull away from him. His closeness didn't irk her as much as she thought it would. She didn't feel threatened by him at all. Even as she watched him slide a lethal glance in Elena's direction Bonnie knew that she at least was safe from his ire.

"Does it always have to come to that between us?" He asked. His hand drifted down her neck, his fingers itching to touch her curls. She used to love it when he ran his fingers….

"Just tell me what you want," Bonnie said. She gave a long suffering sigh. It was something that he was used to. He took a step back and she felt a strange sense of loss as his hand dropped back down to his side.

"Fine," he said, "I won't keep you in suspense any longer." He snapped his fingers and suddenly a blonde appeared, a not so willing Tyler Lockwood in her grasp. Klaus introduced his sister and she treated the occupants of the room with a smile but her eyes settled on Bonnie.

Bonnie studied Rebekah almost failing to realize that the girl had Caroline's boyfriend in an unrelenting grip. She remembered reading about her in Stefan's journal but seeing her was a different thing altogether. There was something eerily familiar about her even though Bonnie was more than sure that they had never met. "Blondie," she greeted attempting to keep her voice neutral.

Rebekah smiled in a way that made Bonnie think that she knew something that Bonnie didn't. "Doll face," Rebekah greeted in return with nod.

Ignoring the odd looks that she was getting from her friends at the exchange Bonnie turned her attention back to Klaus. "What do you want with Tyler?" She asked. She thanked whatever higher power there was up there that Caroline was somewhere else at the moment happily oblivious of the situation, probably playing dictator to the lingering students that didn't know that they're senior prank night had been crashed by a sociopath.

Bonnie half listened as Klaus explained the situation about his hybrids. In her mind she was torn between planning on how to get Tyler away from Rebekah and wondering where the hell Stefan was. Before she could formulate a plan however, Rebekah was shoving Tyler into Klaus' arms where he wasted no time in forcing his blood down Tyler's throat and the snapping the werewolf's neck. Even as the others looked on in shock and horror Bonnie threw her hands up and rolled her eyes. Klaus was trying to make hybrids so of course he would target the only werewolf among them and of course he would choose to do so right when she and Tyler had actually managed to find some common ground.

Bonnie hadn't much used her powers since she had lost the ones that the dead witches had afforded her after saving Jeremy but something inside of her snapped. With little more than a thought and a wave of her hand Klaus found himself being thrown across the room. Even though Klaus only managed to look mildly irritated Bonnie still felt rather satisfied.

"You should really learn some new tricks, sweetheart," Klaus said picking himself up.

"I could say the same thing about you," Bonnie shot back, crossing her arms over her chest, "I mean really, aren't you a little old to be throwing temper tantrums?"

Klaus was back in front of her in a flash, Bonnie didn't even blink. He wondered if she realized that she was acting entirely too comfortable around him especially given what he had just done. But they had done worse to each other and it always ended up the same. They had gotten to the point where they had stopped hurting each other before she died, but they wouldn't be them if they didn't argue.

"Do you really think I would hurt your little friend if I thought that you wouldn't be able to save him?" Klaus asked as he stopped in front of her.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at him, her expression deadpan, before looking at where Tyler lay lifeless on the gymnasium floor and then back again. "Is that a trick question?" She asked.

Rebekah let out a surprised bark of laughter. She had no idea why Nik was worried. Bonnie might not have remembered them but she doubted that it would be all that much different if she did. While she would rather Bonnie remember their shared history she was happy to know that Bonnie was still very much the same person.

"Shut up, Rebekah," Bonnie and Klaus said at the same time as if to prove Rebekah's point.

"You said I could save him," Bonnie said looking away from Rebekah, her attention returning to Klaus, "How do I do that?"

"For that," Klaus said calmly, "You'll have to contact the original witch." Before Bonnie could ask Klaus held up his hand. "I'm sure one of your little grimiores could assist you with that."

Bonnie frowned trying not to think about the fact that she no longer had the power of one hundred witches backing her up. "Fine," she said. She managed to fight the urge to inquire about Stefan's whereabouts as she backed away from Klaus, giving Rebekah a nod which the blonde returned.

"What?" Klaus couldn't resist calling out after her, "No kiss goodbye?" Of course she turned to face him again and he smirked at how easy it still was to provoke her.

His smirk vanished however as Matt reached a hand out to her and without thinking Bonnie blindly reached out to take it. Bonnie turned away from him without a word and allowed Matt to drag her from the gymnasium. The only thing that kept Klaus from following after them was the fact that Bonnie had managed to light his pant leg on fire before she had disappeared.

Rebekah shook her head ignoring the flabbergasted expression on Elena's face. "Some things never change," she said watching as Nik patted out the fire. She then grabbed Tyler by the arm dragging him out of the room giving a wink to Stefan who blew her a kiss as he walked in.

:::

It didn't take Gloria long to realize that they were barking up the wrong tree when it came to solving the mystery of Bonnie' memory loss. They couldn't focus on where the spell went wrong, not when none of them knew what state that Bonnie had been in upon her rebirth. None of them had been there when Bonnie had been born a second time, and for all they knew she could have remembered at some point. It could be something outside of the spell hindering her memory at present, or maybe that was simply wishful thinking on Gloria's part. Either way she knew that she would have to do just as much research on Bonnie as she would on the spell if she was going to figure everything out.

In the twenties Bonnie's grandmother had been the only thing in Mystic Falls that the girl had had any attachment too. Gloria felt that it was safe to assume that Bonnie in this time would be no different. According to Stefan, Bonnie's parents were divorced and even though Bonnie lived with her father in the time since he had returned to Mystic Falls, Stefan had never seen the man and Bonnie didn't talk about him very much. Her Grams however was a different story, the young witch still wasn't over the loss. So that was where Gloria decided to check first.

It didn't take Gloria long to find Sheila Bennett's house. A few questions to a few of the town's locals led her straight to it. She could feel the magic coming from the small house in waves as she made her way up the walkway. Protective spells Bonnie had cast, and the lingering spirit of her grandmother making Gloria slightly uneasy.

Slowly she walked up the steps glancing around to make sure that she wasn't seen. "Alright, Sheila," she whispered, "I'm looking out for our little Bonnie girl here. The question is whether you're going to make this easy for me or not." She stood there a moment as if waiting for a response. Without warning the lock clicked on the door and slowly it opened. There was no sign of anyone on the inside but Gloria smiled anyway. Thank you Sheila, she thought, I knew I would've liked you. "I'm glad we understand each other," she said aloud before walking inside and closing the door behind her.

:::

Bonnie had tried calling both Jeremy and Damon and got nothing both times. This wasn't the night for either of them to be ignoring her calls. Maybe she and Jeremy weren't on the best of terms and maybe she and a Damon hated each other but she had thought that wouldn't matter when it came to something that was truly important. Even if they didn't come for her she had thought the voice mails that she had left or the texts she had sent mentioning Elena would at the very least light some sort of fire beneath one of their asses.

But of course she had been wrong, just as Klaus had been wrong about her grimoires having all of the answers. Still she could only manage to feel half of the amount of anger that she should have felt toward Klaus, even when Matt had called her and told her of his insane plan to contact the original witch himself. But she had meant what she had said. She couldn't do that kind of magic anymore despite the underlying power that Stefan had declared that she possessed. She had spent too much time without using her own powers and was less attuned to her own magic. Accessing the strength she would need to do that kind of magic had become a lot harder. But that didn't mean that she would give up, just that she would have to rely on her own strength.

Bonnie ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She was frantic as she burst through the doors that led to the pool. She had the urge to call Stefan but she knew he wasn't in the right frame of mind to play superhero. Besides that there was no time. Matt was dying so that he could save Tyler and he trusted her enough to save him, and in saving Matt she would save them both.

Matt's trust in her wasn't what scared her. It wasn't the fact that she would have to save someone else that made her tremble. No, she was scared that she would lose someone else. She couldn't lose someone else. She wouldn't be able to take it. It was a selfish thought and unlike her but she knew as she leapt into the swimming pool to save him that she wasn't just doing it just for Matt but for herself too.

She battled through the water and she managed to unbuckle the weight from around Matt's waist despite the loud thumping of her heart and the ringing in her ears. It was harder to pull him to the surface than she thought it would be. She wasn't used to being a hero without her powers there to back her up. But she pushed herself and finally they broke free of the water. She pushed herself even harder to get the dead weight that was Matt out of the pool and then she followed only taking a moment to catch her breath before taking Matt's face in her hands.

She may have been better than Matt at CPR but she didn't know whether or not it was too late for that. But she had to try. She pressed down frantically on his chest, and attempted to blow air into his lungs. When that didn't seem to work she kept her motions but also tried words. Not the muttering of Latin that coincided with spells but rather the pleas of one friend whispered to another in plain English. She begged for him to live. To wake up, to open his eyes.

Then suddenly he was coughing up water and his eyes were opening and looking at her. His eyes were so blue she realized. She would've missed them. She would've missed them so much. As she helped him sit up she didn't bother hiding her relief. He looked at her like he had known that she would save him. Like he had known that there had never been anything to worry about, that she would come through because she always came through.

She gave him a weak closed mouth smile that felt broken and skewed even before it was fully formed on her face. She froze, stiffening as an abrupt surge of power seemed to slam into her. She wasn't sure of the source but it was strong and weighing down on her. The feeling reminded her of the fire that had started when she, Stefan, and Jeremy had been researching Elena's, no Rebekah's, necklace. As soon as she made the connection the source of the power ripped her swiftly from Matt's side and she was pulled roughly toward the pool and thrown in.

Even having just been saved himself Matt made the snap decision to move to save her in return but whatever was keeping Bonnie from surfacing was now holding him captive; he was frozen, rooted to the spot. He could only call her name and watch helplessly as she thrashed in the water and screamed.

:::

Elena watched terrified as Stefan stalked toward her. She vaguely heard Klaus say something about Stefan being thirsty. She did hear one statement clearly however. "Come now, Stefan," Klaus said, "Now that Bonnie is preoccupied you no longer have to restrain yourself."

Elena didn't miss the implication. It was all coming down to Bonnie lately and Klaus was basically telling Elena without outright saying it that the only reason that Stefan hadn't ripped her throat out on sight was because Bonnie had been in the room and hurting Elena would upset her. But that couldn't be right. Klaus was just trying to provoke her, to make her give up so that he could turn Stefan into a monster. "Stefan," she pled, "You have to fight this. You can beat this."

It was like Stefan was seeing things through a fog. He couldn't hear anything outside of the erratic beating of Elena's heart. He couldn't taste anything but her fear. His throat was a dry, the thirst greater than it had been in weeks. Klaus was pleased but he couldn't seem to take in that bit of information. Elena was begging him, tears streaming down her face. He couldn't see her tears or comprehend her words. He only knew that there was only one way to get rid of the thirst.

Elena told herself that she wasn't going to panic. She could get through to him. She knew that she could. It didn't matter that Klaus had forced him to go without blood. It didn't matter that before Klaus' sister had hauled Tyler's body away she had looked at Elena with a smug expression that told her that she knew something that Elena clearly didn't. It didn't matter that Klaus was taunting her, and grinning at Stefan even as Stefan seemed to lose control. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that Stefan loved her, and she loved him. They were meant to be together, or so she told herself. She repeated it over and over, a never ending mantra in her head.

But convincing herself became harder as she realized that Stefan wasn't even trying to fight. Her faith in him was shattered as he sped forward, his teeth sinking into her neck. Even her screams failed to stop him. She had been willing to love him at all costs and this was the price that she would have to pay. She would die because she had thought that loving him was enough for him to let her live.

Distantly, somewhere through the emotional and the physical pain, Elena heard a scream that wasn't her own. In an instant Stefan dropped her, licking his lips and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. She wondered what it was about that scream that was so much more powerful than her own. That could get him to spare her life when she couldn't.

"Bonnie," she heard Klaus say his voice sounding oddly broken and strangled. She hadn't even sounded that pained when Stefan had left her, or just a few moments ago when he had been ready to end her life.

"The eye," she heard Stefan respond, "She needs it."

Elena didn't understand what he meant but as she clamped her hand over the wound at her throat trying to stop the blood that still flowed she found that she didn't care. The two were gone a moment later and she closed her eyes forcing herself not to call after Stefan. The odd part about it all was that for the first time she found that she felt safer without Stefan by her side than when he had been there.

:::

Bonnie was close to giving up. Each time that she struggled to the surface she was forced back down beneath the water again. She tried to fight but already she was becoming tired. She tried to breathe but every time she did there was no air, only water; water and cold and darkness.

Matt remained frozen by the pool side, his own struggles to move amounting to nothing, just like Bonnie's fighting beneath the water's surface. Even though he knew that it wouldn't amount to anything he tried to move. He couldn't just sit there and watch Bonnie die. He couldn't lose anyone else, especially after seeing Vicki again.

Vicki had told him what the other side was like, about the loneliness. He was no stranger to loneliness and isolation but he could change it, he still had a life to live but Vicki didn't and soon neither would Bonnie.

He called out to her, screaming his frustration. Not just over the situation, but the night, and his life. He couldn't help but think that it wasn't fair. If anyone deserved to live it was Bonnie.

Bonnie had saved them all countless times. Hell, she had just gotten through saving him. There was no way that he could just sit there and watch her die. Yet, no matter how hard he screamed and fought to move it all amounted to nothing in the end. He wanted to close his eyes and look away but he couldn't, he could only watch and pray.

Suddenly Matt heard the loud slam of the doors bursting open, but he couldn't turn his head in order to see who had entered so violently. He hoped silently that whoever it was would be able to help Bonnie as he couldn't.

He didn't have to wait long to see who had come in. Two blurred figures sped out in front of him but it was only when they stopped that he was able to identify them as Stefan and Klaus.

Stefan had long ago lost Matt's hard earned trust and Matt's hatred for Klaus was immeasurable. But those things didn't matter right now. He was desperate for someone, anyone to save his friend's life.

He had lost Vicki. His mom was gone. He didn't have Caroline or Elena anymore, not really. He and Jeremy weren't that close. And Tyler, someone who in spite of everything , Matt considered his best friend, would likely be dead by morning. There was no way that anyone would let Elena die for Tyler's sake and so it was as good as said that he was dead already. In a way Bonnie was the only one he had left. He couldn't lose anyone else.

"I can't move," he said frantically, "You have to help her." He wasn't sure which of them he was talking to but he didn't really care who helped her at this point.

Stefan was the first to move, Klaus seemingly preoccupied with fishing something out of his pocket. Before Stefan could jump into the pool he was sent flying back against the far wall. He righted himself quickly and went to move again but found that he was just as frozen as Matt. Matt cursed, fighting the urge to cry. It was up to Klaus, the unfeeling bastard that had put her into this position in the first place. Bonnie was as good as dead.

Klaus pulled the evil eye necklace out of his pocket. He quickly put it around his own neck before jumping into the water. He knew exactly who was responsible, who was trying to take Bonnie away from him a second time. But the original witch couldn't stop him from saving Bonnie, even she was powerless against him with the eye around his neck.

Klaus swam quickly to where Bonnie's body had sunk once she had given up the fight. He wondered how long it had taken. How hard had she struggled before giving up the fight? Not wanting to dwell on it, he brushed the thought aside.

Klaus grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. He didn't bother attempting to pull her up, the witch on the other side may not have been able to act against him but Bonnie still hadn't escaped her influence just yet. Instead Klaus took the eye from around his neck and then placed the necklace around Bonnie's own. The water settled immediately after.

For now the original witch was gone. With the eye around her neck Bonnie couldn't be killed and it would take more than at little water to do Klaus in. It would take more than the original witch's powers even. Though, even from the other side she wasn't above using her powers against him in order to keep him from saving Bonnie or getting what he wanted.

Klaus wasted no time pulling Bonnie to the surface now that there was nothing working against them. He hefted her still limp body over the edge of the pool, before climbing out after her.

Matt looked shocked, but no less worried. Stefan looked worried and angry glaring around the room at the ghost of a witch that was no longer present before his eyes settled back on Bonnie again. Both Matt and Stefan made to move forward but a well placed growl from Klaus stopped them both.

It was Klaus's turn to anxiously attempt to save Bonnie's life. His hands pumped her chest madly as his mouth whispered mindless words of adoration and promises that he would gladly keep if only she would open her eyes.

He was trembling he knew. He couldn't help it. Bonnie wasn't conscious so she couldn't calm him. Couldn't warn him about the vulnerability he was showing. Not in front of Stefan. Stefan had seen worse. He was of them. He knew Klaus and knew his pain, so he would understand. Matt was the problem. However, none of that mattered to Klaus or even Stefan at the moment.

Klaus heard motion as he blew air into Bonnie's lungs, and continued to pump. He felt Stefan's hands on him, one on his shoulder squeezing reassuringly and the other low on his back rubbing soothing circles that Klaus ignored. He continued his motions. Stefan was a fool to try and calm him when his own breathing was frantic and he was whispering curses under his breath. Still having him there made Klaus more sure of his actions.

"You can save her Nik," Stefan whispered.

Klaus nodded. He could save her, he had to save her. He couldn't lose her. They couldn't lose her. Not again. Klaus moved forward again his mouth covering Bonnie's, blowing air into her lungs and praying to whatever gods still listened to him for any sign of life.

The moment seemed surreal as Matt watched. Stefan looked lost as his eyes darting back and forth between where Bonnie lay so still and Klaus who was attempting to save her life. His hands clenched where he had hold to Klaus so tightly Matt could hear the sound of bones breaking. He wasn't sure whose bones they were but neither the hybrid nor the vampire seemed to mind. But it wasn't Stefan's reaction, as odd as it was, that made Matt think that he had crossed over to some sort of alternate universe. It was Klaus's.

The man, no monster, looked to be on the verge of tears. He was shaking and muttering things that Matt didn't even want to consider. Words of…what could only regretfully be described as love that seemed so sincere that it frightened Matt to even consider where they came from and what had inspired them. Klaus didn't seem to see him or Stefan anymore, only Bonnie.

"Please Bonnie," Klaus begged his voice so small, tired, and broken that Matt felt the smallest twinge of sympathy for him. Even without knowing where the sudden blind devotion toward Bonnie had come from. "I can't do this. Not without you."

Matt gritted his teeth trying not to demand that Klaus get the hell away from Bonnie. The hybrid had obviously gone crazy. Or rather crazier. It was the psycho's fault that Bonnie was there in the first place. There was no way that Klaus could possibly think that anyone could believe that he actually cared about Bonnie.

Matt's thoughts were cut short as Bonnie finally coughed up the water that filled her lungs and slowly she opened her eyes. The relief in the room was palpable. Matt let out the breath the he had been holding. He heard Stefan do the same as he released the death grip he had on Klaus sliding his hands down Klaus's back in a way that made Matt wonder just how close Stefan had gotten to the hybrid during his time away. Matt shook the thought away quickly and waited for the moment Bonnie realized just who her savior was, just knowing she would pull away.

Instead Bonnie looked at Klaus with a mixture of awe, confusion, anger, sadness, and something that Matt couldn't and didn't want to identify. Klaus seemed unbothered by what was in that look or anything else outside of the fact that Bonnie was alive for that matter as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers and took hold of her arms wrapping them loosely around his neck. Matt had a moment of incredulity and disbelief when Bonnie didn't push him away but he wrote it off as her being too weak and perhaps too in shock to do so. Still, they stayed that way much longer than Matt deemed necessary.

"Bonnie," the hybrid whispered over and over again. Klaus's eyes closed, as he wrapped an arm around her waist. His other hand moved over Bonnie's heart as if he needed to feel it to prove that it was still beating.

Matt cleared his throat.

Klaus let out an annoyed sound and Bonnie loosened her grip around his neck, her fingers stoking the hairs at the nape in an effort to sooth him. But neither of them moved aside from that. Matt looked to Stefan for help.

Stefan rolled his eyes at Matt but he removed his hands from Klaus just the same. "Nik," he said regretfully, "Remember why we're here." Though a small voice kept telling him that Bonnie was why they were there.

Klaus sighed heavily but nodded, his forehead still resting against Bonnie's. Stilled he kissed Bonnie's cheek, his lips lingering longer than necessary even if they had been on good terms which they weren't. Matt was beginning to grow more irritated than confused.

Then much to Matt's relief, slowly as if it pained him to do so, Klaus sat upright. He gently brought Bonnie up with him.

Stefan moved to Bonnie's other side, and rested his hands gently on her shoulders. Klaus kept his arm wrapped protectively around Bonnie's waist, his other hand still covering her heart. To Matt's surprise Bonnie looked at home between them her head moving forward to rest on Klaus' shoulder as Stefan buried his face in Bonnie's damp hair.

Klaus turned his gaze to Matt and suddenly he felt small. "Did Bonnie almost die for nothing or did you find the answer?" He asked.

Matt frowned wondering how the psycho had forgotten that it was his fault that Bonnie was there in the first place. That what had happened to Bonnie as well as everything else was his fault. Rolling his eyes Matt ignored Klaus and turned his attention to Bonnie trying to make the frown disappear from his face despite her current position. "Bonnie," he said causing her to turn to him, "Are you okay?"

Klaus looked like he was about to scold Matt for his insolence or whatever it was that evil hybrids did when they were being ignored. But Bonnie stopped him. She unwound her arms from around Klaus's neck placing one hand on his chest and using the other to place a finger over his lips. Klaus quieted immediately the anger leaving his eyes completely as he looked down at Bonnie and his mouth snapped shut.

Matt's eyes widened and he would've commented if Bonnie didn't look as surprised by what she had done as Matt felt. She shook her head as if to clear it and Matt knew the last thing she needed was a sarcastic remark. She looked back at Matt her eyes pleading. "I'm fine," she said, "You?"

"Fine," Matt said with a nod.

He knew that neither of them were telling the truth. But they had survived and that was what was important. Matt took a deep breath and told Klaus what he wanted to know, what Vicki had told him. Matt and Bonnie may have survived, but for Tyler to live then Elena would have to die.

:::

Damon sat outside of the school wondering faintly if it was a good idea to leave Jeremy alone with Katherine and an age old vampire hunter. At least Mikael was chained up. Besides Mikael would need to eat so if baby Gilbert had to donate some blood then so be it.

Damon didn't really trust either of the vampires not to kill Jeremy. But he had let too many of Bonnie's calls go unanswered. Still he hadn't really started to worry until the calls had stopped. That could only mean trouble, which by now Damon associated with Elena being in danger.

Damon watched as Stefan, Bonnie, Klaus, and a blonde that Damon assumed was Klaus's sister from Katherine's description, walked out of the school. There wasn't any sign of anyone else, namely Elena. Frowning Damon climbed out of his car, slamming the door behind him.

Four pairs of eyes landed on him immediately. Damon wasn't surprised when Bonnie was the first to roll hers. What surprised Damon was the protective stance that the other three had immediately taken as they clustered around Bonnie. They stood slightly in front of Bonnie, the blonde female wrapping an arm around Bonnie's shoulders. Damon's frown deepened when he realized that Bonnie was soaked through and shivering slightly.

Damon stepped forward as he noticed Bonnie tense at the blonde's touch. He stopped when Stefan leaned over and whispered something into Bonnie's ear that Damon couldn't make out. Whatever was said calmed Bonnie, as she relaxed in the blonde's hold ever so slightly.

Damon wanted to ask about what had happened to her but he didn't. The scene had a disturbing quality to it and Bonnie damp and looking so tired looked unnervingly vulnerable. So vulnerable that he was reminded of his promise to protect her line. He had an urge to pull her away from them but clenched his fists at his side instead.

He needed to keep his mind on what was most important. "Where's Elena?" He asked.

Bonnie sighed regarding him coolly shaking her head in resignation. "She's fine Damon," she told him, leaving out the part that Klaus was farming her for blood. If that was what it took for Tyler to live and for Klaus to be appeased then so be it.

She was tired of everyone dying for Elena's sake and besides Elena's life was no longer in danger. In fact Klaus was going to do his damnedest to make sure Elena stayed alive since he needed her blood to make hybrids. She was beginning to think that all the people vying to save Elena's life should start a club. The bitterness of her thoughts shocked her but she didn't regret them. "Everyone else is fine too by the way," she continued, "You know in case you were wondering."

Damon shrugged. "I wasn't," he said casually. It was a lie. He had hoped it would rile her up, bring some life into her eyes. But she simply blinked at him unsurprised. His eyebrows furrowed as he studied her. Something had changed.

"Why'd you even bother to show up?" Bonnie asked, "It's not like you give a damn." Damon made to speak but she cut him off. "Or did you miss all of my calls because your battery suddenly went dead."

Damon decided not to answer. Bonnie huffed and the blonde, whom Damon had mentally dubbed Barbie Klaus, until he discovered her name (and probably after), squeezed her shoulder slightly. Bonnie took a calming breath before she spoke again. "Elena's at the hospital," she said, "You can go now."

All the concern he had for Bonnie left and Damon felt his anger rise. "I thought you said that she was fine," he hissed.

Bonnie looked as if she wanted to set him on fire but Stefan gave a small shake of his head. He glared at Damon and took over the apparently rather daunting task of talking to him. "She is fine," he said.

Yeah, Damon thought, like I'll just take your word for it brother. There was a time where he might've but not when Stefan was in his current state. "Then why is she in the hospital?" Damon asked forcefully.

Stefan looked like he wanted to snap his neck or at least let Bonnie set him on fire. Stefan glanced to where Bonnie still shivered at his side and a concerned frowned marred his features. He turned his glare back to Damon who looked less than intimidated. "Why don't you go and figure it out," Stefan suggested, "Bonnie almost died tonight. So excuse us if we don't exactly feel like talking. Or giving you the answers to questions that you could've easily had the answers to by yourself if you'd actually bothered to get off your ass and show up when Bonnie called you."

Damon was about to ask when Stefan started putting Bonnie's well being before Elena's but he decided against it. He likely wouldn't get an answer anyway.

Apparently their little discussion was over and Damon watched them walk over to Bonnie's car. "Give me your keys," Stefan said his attention back on Bonnie, "I'll drive."

Damon was surprised when Bonnie obediently handed over her keys as if Stefan, or any ripper for that matter, regularly had access to her car. Bonnie moved to stop him though as he opened the driver's side door and began to climb into the front seat. "I came with Tyler and Caroline," she said by way of explanation, "I should probably make sure they have a ride home."

Stefan rolled his eyes but then looked at her indulgently. "No you shouldn't," he said, "You should come home with me, let Rebekah fuss over you and get you some dry clothes, and witness the rather bizarre sight of a ripper making you tea and a hybrid playing you jazz records until you fall asleep."

Stefan's words surprised Damon but he didn't show it. Instead he watched as Bonnie's eyes softened before she looked wary again. Bonnie seemed rather dumbstruck for a moment and then she opened her mouth to protest again.

"Tyler and Caroline can ride home with Matt," Stefan said before she could speak, "I doubt that he's going to be holding any more grudges given what happened tonight. Stop worrying about everybody else."

Bonnie nodded, albeit reluctantly. Stefan got into the front seat and Klaus opened the back door on the passenger's side moving slightly so that his sister could help Bonnie in. The door was shut behind Bonnie and the original siblings shared a look that Damon couldn't place before Rebekah climbed into the front seat next to Stefan. Damon frowned as Klaus rounded the vehicle opening the back door on the driver's side and moved to sit next to Bonnie.

"Hey, Klaus," Damon said trying to hide his confusion and disturbance at the scene that was playing out. Klaus stopped and sparred him glance. "Mikael says hi," he said.

Klaus stiffened, his shoulders tense. His eyes widened and for a moment he looked scared. Damon smirked. He took pleasure in the sight, relishing in Klaus's fear. However, Damon's victory was short lived.

Damon watched as Bonnie leaned forward sticking her head out of the car just enough for Damon to see an odd necklace he had never seen her wear before dangling from her neck. He took note of the design wondering if it would explain Bonnie's behavior but was distracted by what he saw next.

Bonnie's small hand came out and wrapped around Klaus's wrist giving it a small tug. Klaus looked down suddenly seeming relaxed and gave Bonnie a half smile. Nodding, Klaus ignored Damon and the veiled threat. The hybrid allowed himself to be tugged into his seat next to Bonnie and closed the door behind him.

Damon watched as they drove away. He could see Bonnie's head resting on Klaus' shoulder and the sight made him shudder for a number of reasons that he didn't want to dissect. For the first time since he had forced Jeremy into speaking to Anna, Damon thought there might have been some truth in what the ghost had said.