Elation filled him as he shut the door to his darkened room and played soft jazz from his CD player. He stripped his clothes and moved to his dresser to take out her picture. God she was so gorgeous, and he knew she was so close to being his. Finally they would be together. He closed his eyes, the image of her forever burned in his mind. She had taken the photo during her senior year. Smiling, innocent, sexy...He gripped himself in his hand and slowly began to work himself, humming low in his throat, her picture in his head. hum..dum..dee..dum...hmm. Yes. He could just imagine the look on her face when she got his present! Fuck, he knew he should have stayed around to witness it, but he couldn't get greedy. Greed got you killed. But she did belong to him, didn't she? Was it not his right to take from her what he needed? His cock jerked in his hand as he shifted through his dresser to find the other memento he had taken from her room. Silky midnight blue panties with a crescent moon right where her pot of gold would be. He giggled at the thought of it. That little crescent moon had kept his treasure well and truly guarded. He brought the underwear up to his face and inhaled deeply. The scent was clean, but he could imagine the smell of her cream on the panties. It would smell like spoiled eggs. Hmm...Yes. He stroked his cock a little faster...harder. The music seeped into his soul and down his spine, the smell of her in his nostrils inflamed his soul, and the picture of her smiling face in his head had hot white cum squirting from his groin to spurt all over the floor and his thighs. Yes. *

"How is she?"

Stefan Salvatore regarded his girlfriend of the past year soberly. Since Bonnie had found the body part in her bedroom the night before, everyone has been on edge, but moreso Elena. He knew how much Bonnie meant to Elena, how devastated she would be if anything happened to her friend. The fact that Bonnie was the target of some unseen threat had them all on edge. Even Damon.

"She's asleep now, thank god, she's finally cried herself out. oh god, Stefan. She won't ever be the same after this." Elena buried her face in her hands and let herself cry. She had been strong for Bonnie all morning, and now she needed to let a little of her own fears out.

"This is Bonnie Bennett we're talking about, she'll snap out of it."

Stefan tossed his brother a quick and quelling look and was prepared to take him down, but Elena held up a hand.

"No, Damon. Bonnie's been so strong and brave because she's had to be, but what this sick freak left in her room? Being stalked the way she is, having someone killed on her behaved? That isn't something someone simply 'snaps out' of."

Elena hunched her shoulders and turned away. Stefan glared at his brother, which Damon ignored.

"Then she'll deal with it. You're not her mother, Elena, and you cannot take so much on. Bonnie wouldn't want that."

"We've all had a rough morning. Instead of trying to force her to get over it, why not strive for a little bit of understanding, Damon."

Alaric Saltzman, who had been silent up until that moment, stepped forward between them. Alaric was regarded as somewhat of a guardian of the young Gilbert kids, and he took the role pretty seriously.

"Alaric's right. Maybe we should try and focus on who could have done this?"

Stefan rushed to take Alaric's lead and end the confrontation between his brother and his girlfriend. Damon wouldn't admit it, but he was just as upset over Bonnie as Elena was. And because Stefan recognized it as worry, he backed off.

Alaric nodded at him, "Now what do we know? The guy is close enough to Bonnie to have easily gotten into her house without causing enough of a stir to have the neighbors alarmed. He knew where her key was because the house wasn't broken in. He has no issue with killing and obviously regards death as something that would excite Bonnie-"

"He's a sick fuck."

Alaric nodded in acknowledgment of Damon's outburst, "And he's no Shakespeare, but he's obviously got an obsession with Bonnie. He was friendly enough to get close to Matt, because we have to assume that he was a part of the attack on Matt as well, and there has to have been a reason for that."

"Matt and Bonnie were close all night at the party. Maybe jealousy?"

Alaric gave Elena an encouraging smile. "Yes. So we can assume that anyone close to Bonnie will be regarded as a threat."

"What does he ultimately want out of this?" Caroline spoke up for the first time. She was pale, moreso than usual, and had a sickly look to her otherwise flawless skin. The worry over Bonnie combined with the increasing worry over her missing mother was making her sick. The hand left in Bonnie's room had been taken in for autopsy, and Caroline was terrified at what they would discover. Tyler wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders, and Caroline took a minute to lean into him.

"I'm guessing Matt, and this latest gift were meant as enticements. His twisted way of courting her."

Alaric said it matter-of-factly, but the entire room still shuddered at the implications.

"I just can't believe that anyone would target Bonnie this way. And to use these methods, regardless of what Alaric says, means that the guy doesn't really know her at all."

No one in the room corrected Elena, everyone lost in their own thoughts. At the end of the day they all knew that it wouldn't matter how much the guy knew of the real Bonnie Bennett, all that mattered was his perception of her. *

Jeremy's hands shook as he smoothed the hair back from her temple. To think that she had been alone, afraid, hunted, sent a shudder running through his entire body. Where had he been? Off somewhere getting drunk? He'd often regarded Bonnie as indestructible, but looking at her now, laying in his bed, smothered by blankets, she seemed impossibly small and fragile. Too easily broken. Bonnie gave a soft whimper in her sleep and Jeremy realized that he had been gripping her hair too tightly. Trying to hold her to him. He eased his grip and uttered useless nonsense to her until she settled back down. He could still see the tracks her tears had left on her face, for a few terrifying, heartbreaking minutes she had cried in her sleep. Jeremy has known Bonnie for 17 years, and in all that time he could count the number of times that he's seen her cry on one hand. Bonnie didn't cry. She shouldered her fate and she dealt with it. It was a skill he both admired and hated. He remembered once before wishing she could be more vulnerable to him, and now that she was, he didn't think he would survive it. He needed to be strong for her, and he wasn't altogether certain that he could be.

"Jeremy. we're all going to head over to the police station, see if they have anything new. You guys going to be alright here?"

Alaric poked his head in Jeremy's room and he looked Jeremy over, clearly nervous that Jeremy wouldn't be able to keep himself sober long enough to watch Bonnie while they were gone.

"Yeah. She's going to be asleep for a while, and I won't be leaving her side."

Alaric hesitated for another second and annoyed Jeremy. He knew he had been weak in the past, but there was absolutely nothing he wouldn't do to keep Bonnie safe. Seeming to find what he needed, Alaric nodded and shut the door quietly behind him. Sighing, Jeremy eased himself onto the mattress and lay beside Bonnie. He held her close to him and curved his body tightly, protectively, around her the way he used to when they were dating. She snuggled deeper into his arms, trustingly, and Jeremy felt his heart jerk in his chest.

"Jeremy?"

Jeremy tightened his arms around her. Her voice was a mere thread of sound, and hearing her sound so vulnerable sliced him up.

Bonnie turned her head slowly to look over her shoulder at him. There were knew lines of worry in his taut face, his lips suppressed with worry. Small shakes wracked his body and she knew part of it was fear for her and part of it was the need for a drink. Because she understood both needs, Bonnie gently laid a hand on the dark shadow along his jaw. His moved to put his face deeper into her palm, and kissed the exact center. A shiver went through her, through him.

"You need to sleep, baby."

Jeremy's voice was incredibly gentle and caused fresh tears to threaten.

"I can't. Everytime I close my eyes I see..I see it."

Bonnie's breath hitched, and Jeremy held her closer. Tighter. She was grateful that he was there. That he would be the only one to witness her moment of pain, of weakness. Her acknowledgment of the stalker's hit against her.

"Shh. Ok. It's ok. Then we'll just sit up here."

Jeremy rocked her gently until she had settled back now. Her pain was his, and he was afraid he couldn't take much more of it.

"Kiss me."

Bonnie felt his body jerk against her, and she moved her head to once again look him in the eye.

"Jeremy. I need to take the bad away, replace it with something good. Kiss me."

Jeremy didn't argue with her. Gently cupping her face in his hands, he lowered his head and captured her trembling lips. A small sigh escaped her and he took it into his body, that first stirring of life. Bonnie could feel the softness of his lips feeding on hers. There in the comfort of the darkness, she turned into him and silently asked for more. There was no hesitation, Jeremy needed her as much as she did him. His hand caressed over her face to gently cup her chin and tilt her head up to give him further access. He felt her moan through his entire body, and gave an answering sigh. Her mouth was hot and heated up his blood stream, causing it to ache all through his body, but Jeremy kept the kiss soft. Tenderness, he knew, was what she really needed. He turned over so that she lay under him, her hands wrapped around his face, his around hers, so that they were totally linked. Completely lost in the moment. The room was filled with soft sighs, anxious moans, and the nonsense he murmured to soothe her.

Bonnie felt his lips travel all over her face, and relaxed against him. She was almost too afraid to hope that she could have him again, but just for tonight he was there for her. Solid, real. and for the first time in a really long time, Bonnie allowed herself to depend on another person. *

Stupid fucking bitch! Raggedy cunt! How dare she? How fucking dare she? After the amazing gift that he's given her what does she do? Lay up with that stupid drunk! He should kill the son of a bitch where he lay, but no. This time, he knew, Bonnie needed to be punished as well. He would not stand for her disrespect and it was time she knew it. He Grinned wickedly at the gun he held, Felt inside his pocket for the syringe, then stealthily made his way further onto the darkened street. This one wouldn't be easy, he'd have to catch the fucker by surprise. Creeping up from behind he lay a gentle hand on Stefan's shoulder.

"We'll find the guy."

Stefan nodded but didn't turn around. Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders and he couldn't help but feel partly responsible. This sort of thing tended to follow him where he went. The police had had no new leads, and Boldari was getting too suspicious of them all. Digging a little too closely to secrets that could get him killed. he'd wanted to question Bonnie, but Stefan had told him she was safe with Jeremy, resting for the moment. He hoped he had sent the message loud and clear. He shut his eyes, and batted irritantly at the sting in his neck. then froze. Vervain. shit. Clutching wildly behind him, Stefan felt his muscles lock up and then go useless on him. He went down hard staring up at the evilly smiling face above him in both confusion and fear. *