The lights seemed too bright against Kai's eyelids while he was surfacing from unconsciousness like from a particularly deep dream. It was like having to wake up after just an hour of sleep. His head swam as though the room was wobbling around him, including the couch beneath. Nauseating. His side hurt dully, same way it would had he slept on it for too long in an uncomfortable pose. Too weary to open his eyes and check, he felt it wasn't bleeding anymore. Kai doubted Bonnie had had the time to stuff him with painkillers, so it could only mean she'd gotten the power and used it on him.
He heard her quiet footfalls and smiled meekly, making an effort to grant her a glance. "So, I see my ridiculous plan worked, after all." He grunted subtly, making himself more comfortable, and closed his eyes again. "Despite how sucky the method."
"You got lucky," Bonnie responded, sliding onto the chair opposite him curling her legs beneath her, adorning a freshly chosen Motley Crue tee-shirt, a mug in hand. She sipped her tea. "There is some juice next to you and a ham sandwich. I suggest you finish both. I'm not sure I would be able to do much more if you go anemic or something."
Kai cast a glance at the said snack sitting on the coffee table between the couches, but still felt nauseous to make a move at it. His head was going round and round, and all he could do for himself was spare the hassle.
She sat back and stared at him a moment. He didn't look too bad: pale beyond belief, but his cheeks possessed a small tinge of color. She supposed that was a good sign. "How are you feeling?"
"Shitty, for the most part," he confessed.
"You did stab yourself," she interjected, vowing to make him understand how drastic a measure that truly was and that in spite of his success, she didn't support it.
"Though you did great with sealing the wound, I still have the blood loss to deal with. And all that comes with it, like my head spinning so wildly it makes me wanna puke."
Bonnie set her mug aside, unfolded her legs, and walked over to the medical kit she brought from her bedroom.
Kai wondered why she was so adamant in her refusal to stab him. Given things she might be wanting to avenge, she had missed her chance to pay him back at least a little. That was both endearing and putting him to shame in case she was just that good at suppressing her dark side. Kai was yet to locate it in her, but he was positive there were no people on earth without one. A low laugh escaped him, shortly accompanied by a wince. "If I know what irony is – it's the headline of my fate. So much work to get out of here, so many tries to just quit it for good upon having discovered I couldn't get out of here… and it all comes to this. I can only get out of here if I'm ready to give up my life and let the poor odds decide it. Funny."
"That's the way of Karma," Bonnie said, her voice no longer holding that accusing edge it did before, merely stating fact.
That elicited a chortle. Kai opened his eyes and prepared to tell her how Luke would have loved that comment, but swallowed the words as she approached him with something resembling a thermometer in her hand.
She removed the press on the thermometer and stepped in front of him, taking his head into her hands without question, lightly pressing the slither of plastic to his forehead. She didn't want him to go into cardiac arrest or his temperature to drop any lower. She ignored his look of confusion, tightening her hold on his head so he didn't try to pull himself free and give her a premature read.
He couldn't exactly recoil, anyway, and regarded her with a mix of confusion and growing curiosity. That had to be interesting.
And it was.
"Maybe I should make a run to the hospital," she stated once an alarming number revealed itself on the black band. "You might need a transfusion."
Kai could have laughed really hard if his body didn't know what a strain it was going to be, so the urge remained contained. Eyebrows raised, he observed concern deepening on her countenance.
Bonnie released him, taking a slow step back, tossing the plastic thermometer toward the medical aid kit. She wasn't even sure if it was in dangerous levels. "In fact… yes, I think I will." She was surprised that the idea of seeing him dead a third and fourth time around had lost its appeal. She guessed that was what happened when human interaction was at minimum. "You eat something. And try to get some rest, and I'll be back in fifteen."
With an uncontrollable smile of entertained incredulity tugging at the corners of his mouth, Kai followed her with his eyes as she walked around the couch seriously planning on making that trip to the hospital. It was like a surreal joke. Something you only see in half-coherent dreams you can't recollect upon awakening.
She paused in her tracks. "I don't suppose you know your blood type?"
Then Kai couldn't fight it any longer, and he laughed. It started in his belly, making him grimace at the phantom pains in his side, but he couldn't stop once he started. He couldn't tell which it was to a greater extent: diverted or nervous.
"Oh, Bonnie," he groaned, snickering, "really? Transfusion? Sure, why the hell not. Mere stab was too boring. Gee, you're killing me."
Bonnie arched her brows suspiciously, trying to figure out what he found so funny, unable to stave her irritation at his amusement.
He pressed a hand to his side, shaking in soundless laughter. "You're literally killing me. I mean, I should probably allow it just to see how you go about it so I could die of laughter – which would probably be a merciful end compared to what you're gonna do to me when you get your hands on blood packs and needles." Talking while laughing exhausted him, and his head span dangerously, but the remnants of snicker still took their last stand. Kai felt as if he were high and going into OD. "Of course I don't know my blood type. You might as well finish me off right away in a simpler and more certain manner… By the way, where's that knife?" He raised his head off the cushion as if searching for the blade, and another bout of laughter burst through, luckily short, pinning his head back down. "Give it to me. I'll do it myself."
Bonnie was past laughter while she tried to decide whether he was high on his post-stab endorphins or he failed to understand the concept of a transfusion. She wasn't trying to kill him. She was trying to make sure he wouldn't die – not again. "Try and rest a little while longer," she said with an exasperated exhale, sparing no mind to his unwitting sarcasm. "I'll check in on you in a few minutes."
The cramps in his side due to laughter were getting bad now, and Kai was lying with his eyes closed, trying to get his breathing under control. He said nothing and heard her walk away. He was hoping it wasn't the hospital she headed to. He didn't hear the front door opening any time after, and in a bit, he drifted off.
Bonnie registered the strain on his face as she walked from the parlor and headed for the Salvatore library. She had spent enough time in there to know there were a few at-home-remedy books available. She returned to the living room thirty minutes later, a fresh bottle of water in hand, along with a small bowl of shredded tuna. Both were set down next to him.
"You'll have to make due with a spoon for now, I haven't dug the rest of the cutlery out of the yard yet," she said, strolling over to the couch she claimed earlier to retrieve her cold tea.
Kai pried his eyes open and glanced at the coffee table where she sat a bottle with water and a bowl with something to eat. Seemed like tuna. His stomach churned rebelliously, and he reached for the bottle.
"Now that I have your magic again, what do we do?" Bonnie asked. "This only solves part of the problem. I don't know what happened out there…" She waited for him to catch on and focus, recalling how cold it had gotten and those colorful lights that shone overhead. "We can't be certain it'll actually work tomorrow." She watched him drink and leisurely sipped at her cold tea, frustrated by how weak he looked. She should have taken more of his pain.
Kai emptied half the bottle in a few large gulps and sucked in a deep breath, letting the water settle inside him. "We can't check it now, either. So, it's only tomorrow that we see if it works or not." He took a couple more gulps and screwed the cap back on. "What CAN be a problem tomorrow is how shitty I might be feeling."
Bonnie blinked, raising a brow as if to enquire what he was referring to, a little lost in her own thoughts. He expected to be like this for a while? This is what you get for impulse!
"It was a mistake to keep me alive. It might have been a better choice to off me and let it reset, as usual." Kai peered at her with a weak smirk. "So, where's that knife, again?"
Bonnie stared at him with an offended disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" She wasn't sure if she was picking up on his humor or sarcasm. Bonnie couldn't tell right now. "No," she answered without skipping a beat. "Eat, keep your water intake up and get some rest. I've checked the Salvatore's home remedy books and they all suggest that." Okay, she only managed to use one book for research, but it was thick and detailed and worth a shot. Kai didn't know otherwise. "Your low sugar is making you green behind the gills. We don't have to go about pulling a Dahmer to correct that. Besides, what else is there to do today?"
Kai heaved a sigh, threw a testing glance at the tuna and winced internally. "I've never been hot on stuffing my face when feeling crappy," he informed her and unscrewed the bottle's cap for another few gulps. "And why not just make it simpler for both of us? We know I'll come back in a better shape, so why drawing it all out? What if I'm not at my full power tomorrow when we have to repeat the damn transfer? What are you gonna do then? The only reason this world glitched on us might have been your lack of magic. Therefore, we gotta make sure you're filled up real good tomorrow when the show starts." He put the bottle back on the table and stared at her sharply.
"What are you trying to say? That you're going to off yourself until I'm juiced up to the hilt and overloaded with power?" Bonnie wasn't going to take this option again. "I know you must be feeling like shit," she added as she stood, mildly offended that the water hadn't done anything to rectify his complexion yet. "But all the books say you need to eat meat. Be it chicken—which I can cook up if the tuna isn't doing it for you… or something like a steak."
Kai thought for a moment about that steak option and didn't really know for sure if he could keep it down if he ate some. He was thirsty again, and reached for the bottle.
"We've still time to get you back up to speed the natural non-dead for a couple of hour's way. Do you remember how long it took you to come back last time? Because I do and it was far longer than when you last happened to catch up to me. What if this time you don't wake up period? You said yourself. This place isn't made for you anymore – not this version of you. So, let's stick to the basic… sane human ideas… and if after that, it still doesn't work. I'll gladly string up and use you as my own bloody piñata." She sounded anything but enthusiastic about the prospect.
Kai had to chuckle and almost choked on the last gulp of water he took. Desperate times called for desperate measures – fair enough – but serving as a piñata was not in his plans.
"So… that tuna going to do… or should I cook you up something else?"
Kai discarded the empty plastic bottle on the table next to untouched tuna and looked at her tiredly. "That was a hell of a long speech and I almost passed out three times. So – while I feel that shitty and weak – I'll keep it simple. No, tuna's no good. I'm not your cat to feed me Whiskas."
Bonnie smiled to herself subtly, and walked over to the small side table to inspect what he claimed to be cat food. She picked up the bowl, dipping a finger into it to scoop the meat onto her index finger, lazily tasting it for herself. She liked it.
"As for what I had in mind – God, I wonder how many times I should explain it to you, but I will – once you bring me something decent to eat – something I won't wanna puke out." He leaned his head back on the cushion, closing his eyes to spare energy.
"Steak it is," Bonnie said, popping the oily finger into her mouth to suck the residue fish from the tip. "In the meantime, get some rest and I'll bring you some more water."
Kai made a half-coherent sound of acknowledgment, lured by the relaxation of the upcoming slumber that had already started encompassing him as soon as his eyes closed.
She walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, quickly tossing a steak into the microwave to defrost it before oiling up a frying pan. It wasn't long before both were left to heat up on the stove and she was making her back to the parlor to check on Kai and deliver him some more water. She set the bottle down beside his untouched orange juice. He seemed asleep. She didn't linger long, making another journey back to the stove to turn his meat, and then headed outside to dig up a knife and a fork.
She returned to Kai half an hour later, the steak poised in the middle of the plate without any other dressings or extras. She wanted to make sure he ate this first before she attempted anything else. "Here," she said, extending the offering toward him to take. "I hope you like well done, you don't seem the type for medium rare."
Kai stirred. "You'd be surprised," he muttered in a voice that sounded as though it was getting rusty, and forced his eyes to open and scan the plate she held for him.
Bonnie instinctively reached out to help him sit up, stopping when she realized what she was doing, and quickly handed over the plate. She was being so damned mother-hennish. A lot of which she guessed had to do with the fact that she was missing Caroline—some sort of psychological projection—and the fear of being left alone again. Bonnie hated to admit it, but as of right now—at this moment—Kai was all she had in the world.
Slowly, Kai changed his position to half sitting and took the plate with utensils. It smelled nice, but he didn't feel like eating. He shot an uncertain glance at her and picked up the knife and the fork, while his body was already rebelling, foreseeing all the movements to be made. Lazily, he cut off a piece and sent it to his mouth. "Mm, surprisingly, I might make it, at least through the half of it," he flashed her a quick smile and gestured towards the opposite couch. He had some talking to do.
When some of the steak disappeared, and he had washed it down with a few gulps of water, Kai leaned back against the cushions for a pause and looked at Bonnie. "Magic for us is the same as life force," he started. "We have more of it than average humans, and thus we get sick less, live longer and age slower. Tomorrow, the magic I've given you today will be all out or close to depletion. You will need another round. And no, I didn't mean to perform that trick a dozen times a day – it's too tough even for me. I hope once would be enough. But it'll take almost all of it. I mean, I'll be really close to dead when – and if – we teleport from here. And you won't have enough to heal me there – not before you retrieve your bear and reclaim your own power. This was why I said it'd be poor odds for me. But since it's the only way, I'm willing to take my chances and lose if I have to – all better than being stuck here. Does that answer your questions?" He gave her an inquiring look and sent another bite of meat in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
"Most of them," Bonnie responded and fell quiet, still displeased he was looking at playing the sacrificial lamb. They had no idea what would happen tomorrow and neither of them was looking forward to a repeat of today, but what if she did the spell, something went wrong, and she couldn't heal him again? Bonnie shuddered to think.
"What if we could communicate with them? With Damon?" she asked aloud, clearly thinking it over, trying to make sense of the point she was trying to make. "You were able to send yourself here. I have the device now, maybe I could do a similar thing. I could let him know we're trying to escape and to ready my bear or his wrist so you at least stand a better chance of survival." As she could only assume Damon was still keeping it safe for her.
Damon's name pricked Kai with exasperation, and for a moment, he thought he tasted its bitterness in the last pieces of the steak he was doing his best to finish. He understood perfectly why every time she was grasping at straws Damon's name surfaced right away – after spending so much time here, Damon was the only beacon of home she had the closest to touch in her mind. But understanding didn't mean Kai had to like it. And all the things he could have told her about her precious Damon – maybe, just for the heck of it, to see if she changed her mind when she saw a bigger picture.
None of it was ready to come out of him yet, though, and he put the empty plate on the table, took the bottle with water and rinsed the meat down.
Bonnie smiled to herself, delighted to see that he finished his steak and could now give himself a chance to make a speedy recovery. If he let it.
Then Kai lowered back on the cushions and gave her a patient, reasonable look. "You mean you'd rather waste the magic to – in better case – play a ghost for Damon – if you get to him, that is – where he won't be able to see or hear you, instead of trying to actually get out in full flesh. Is that right? I know I'm not dying for that to happen."
"That's not what I meant at all," Bonnie said defensively, feeling a semblance of rebellious guilt, irascibility and longing clutch at her heart. Was that what she was trying to do? Was she that desperate? Was she that eager to simply see Damon again? Quite possibly. The recording no longer served the same excitement and the idea alone only saddened her.
When Bonnie had died before becoming the anchor, she never enjoyed being able to actively see her friends move on with their lives without her or their lack of regard for her. She had to remind herself that she was dead, that this was good and what she wanted for them. She didn't long for those forced instances—and had never spoken about them with anyone—but she could appreciate it now and knew that if she was to spend another few months here – that that particular fiat wouldn't be so bad.
"I only wanted to make sure you wouldn't end up a cabbage on the other side," she began in what she hoped was a reasonable tone, thinking better of trying to come up with a swaying argument. Kai made his choice. "So, now what… I have you power, it's on a timer and we've many hours before the next eclipse comes into play. We sleep? And hope this day passes quickly?" She uncurled her legs from beneath her as she pushed off the chair. "We should get you upstairs. You'll be more comfortable." She, too, would be more relaxed in what she deemed her own environment. As long as she'd been living in the Salvatore Boardinghouse, it didn't feel like hers, even though she knew every nook and cranny now. "And make an effort to reacquaint ourselves with season one of Xena or Die Hard to take our minds off things. It'll help pass the time."
Kai found the word sleep very alluring and that alone filled his eyelids with more weight. But he couldn't imagine dragging himself off the couch, let alone upstairs. He could no longer resist the pull and let his eyes close. The relief he experienced was like landing on a featherbed in heaven. Kai already felt the world around him swim and sway, like a ship on gentle ocean waves. "You go and… have fun…" he uttered in a thick, sleepy voice. "I… just leave me here… for now."
Concern played across Bonnie's features as his eyelids drooped, the idea of movement clearly exhausting to him and his recovering body. She stared at him a minute, deciding against going upstairs, and headed for the blankets cupboard in the laundry room. She yanked two blankets free from one of the collective piles and walked back into the room where he was peacefully snoozing. She set one blanket down on the three-seat couch to his left and used the other to cover him. She didn't want him getting cold. Not that the weather changed within their magical lockbox much or that they could up and catch the flu, but with everything that happened she wasn't willing to leave anything to chance. She wanted this to work.
Bonnie went to rifle through the books she'd read a dozen times stacked upon the floor out of the way near her favorite spot in front of the fireplace. She claimed one and spread out on the couch, laying in much the same position Kai was, wanting to be within earshot in case he needed her.
It wasn't long before she, too, dozed off.