It was too easy. He grinned malevolently as he bypassed the trap set for him. They had no idea, absolutely no idea, how far ahead of them he really was. But they would learn, oh yes, tonight they would learn. The night wind had an angry bite to it, the chorus of rough whistles lifted in the air and suited his mood perfectly. There was something evil, something decidedly dangerous in the croak of an occasional wild crow, the snipping of midnight insects, and the discordant cackle of the snapping wind. Oh yes, he'd teach them all a lesson tonight they would never forget. He stood back just to the edge of the woods as he watched them wait for him to take the bait. Moving stealthily, he edged his way past the dog and heard his own heart race when the thing looked over the area he was creeping in. You smell me, don't you dog? Can't figure me out? He laughed silently as the wind picked up and swirled the snow in a mass of dancing flurries that further added to his cover. When the dog cast one more suspicious glance his way and then reluctantly turned back, he continued down the slope. He had to be careful not to fight against the wind, but let it carry him to his destination. Most of the species here weren't human, and he'd have to be careful not to make a mistake that could trigger their instincts. He stopped behind a wide oak and smiled at his prey. She was like a snow princess. The flurry whispered around her and touched all over her almost as enthralled with her as he was. The wind kissed and tugged at her hair, and the harmony of nature seemed to compete for her absolute attention and affection. She was a vision of stunning grace and illuminating peacefulness. This, he knew, was where she belonged. She was a wild creature, born to be a part of nature. She's been stifled and caged for too long. It was time he set her free.

He edged closer, all the while keeping his eye to the dog. He knew he would be fairly surrounded, but he had mapped out the position of every member of the little group hoping to assassinate him. He made his way south bound following the wind closely. He was so close to her now he could reach out and touch her. He stilled abruptly when he heard a whisper of movement. Frowning suspiciously, he edged backward away from Bonnie until his back hit the front of a large tree. The hairs on the back of his neck rose, he knew when he was being stalked. He looked all around him, the group was still in position waiting for him to take the bait that he would never take. That meant that something else stalked him. he reached around the roof of the tree trunk to steady himself as he remained absolutely motionless. He needed to become a part of the landscape, just another tree, breathe with the wind...There! The son of a bitch was just to the left of him. He squinted and made out Damon Salvatore. Of course. The bastard would have a little side plan just in case the original one didn't work, a side plan that he wouldn't let anyone know about. Fuck! He'd been too sure of himself, it was a stupid mistake not to figure that the vampire would have a plan B. Well, he had one of his own, didn't he? Grinning wickedly he set about to lay down the set up for his own trap. *

She was being hunted. Bonnie felt it like a cold chill down her spine. He was everywhere. In the wind, the snow, the insects that crawled all over her. She saw the glow of his satisfied eyes in every shadow. Whatever move she made, wherever she went, whatever she did he was watching her. She was forever hunted. Bonnie balled her fists up against her side angrily. She would not cower like some fainting female and allow him to frighten her, terrorize her the way he wanted. She was out here in the dead of night, freezing cold to catch the bastard, to fight back. She shook partly due to anger, part fear, but mostly anger. He would not get the best of her. Bonnie glanced over at Tyler and he shook his head. Bonnie knew he was out there, watching them, watching her, but he hadn't been caught in the trap. Something was wrong.

"Guys!" an icy chill ran down Bonnie's spine as she hurried toward Caroline's anxious voice. They all gathered around her and stared down at the thing that had made Caroline call out to them. Bonnie's stomach heaved and she buried her face in Jesse's chest.

A necklace, made completely out of what looked like Vampire's teeth. *

"Here, drink this."

Bonnie managed a trembling half smile as she took the steaming mug Jesse put in her hands. She was seated comfortably on his armchair facing the fire roaring in the fireplace. Coming to Jesse's little townhouse/cabin had felt like the most natural thing to Bonnie after what had happened in the woods. She didn't feel like she could face any of her friends after what they had found.

"You're always making me drink things. I'm beginning to think you have a fetish."

Jesse didn't respond, simply continued to look at Bonnie with concern. "Bonnie."

The tenderness in his voice was almost her undoing. To keep herself busy she jumped up to explore his house. The interior was all gleaming oakwood and hardwood floors. There was something decidedly male in the simplicity of the furniture, The bare walls covered only with the occasional painting Bonnie recognized as antique and very expensive. A simple man with simple taste and the occasional nod to the extravagant and pretty. Jesse in a nutshell. Bonnie smiled to herself and ran a finger over the end table adorned only with a clock and Jesse's car keys.

"I love this house." Bonnie made the confession wistfully.

Jesse studied her for another moment before he went over to take the mug she wasn't drinking from her hands and set it on the table next to his keys.

"None of this is your fault, Bonnie."

"Then why does it feel like it is."

Jesse took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him, "Look at me. I know what it feels like to be eaten up inside with guilt. Guilt over something you have no control over. It eats at you and takes a little bit of your soul away everyday until you are left an empty shell."

"How could you possibly know how I feel Jesse? Hm? Just look at you, the perfect golden boy. Great cop, good guy, handsome, probably grew up in the suburbs with adoring parents, 2.5 siblings, and an annoyingly coddling granny. How could you possibly know what guilt feels like? What it feels like to watch your friends terrorized and people killed on your behalf? Tell me that, Jesse, please."

Jesse turned away to look into the fireplace. His back was stiff, the only concession the cauldron of his own emotions.

"My partner was killed because of me."

He said it so quietly Bonnie wasn't sure she had heard him. A partner. He'd mention having a partner when he was in New York briefly. She'd forgotten his name..Ben or...

"Brian. Brian Johnson. He was 25 years old and had a young wife pregnant with their first baby." Jesse smiled as he recalled the image of her, "Elise. She was like a little gypsy elf. So tiny I first took her as a child herself. Brian absolutely adored her, and she him. I envied him as much as I feared the lifestyle. Settling down, having a kid, steady job steady life." Jesse shuddered a bit.

"You loved it."

Jesse didn't look at her, only continued watching the flames.

"I loved that she made him happy. That he was so content in his life. Brian and Elise taught me a lot about love, I figure that's why it's always been so hard for me to settle down. I've been searching for that thing that they had between them, the same thing I saw between my parents growing up."

Bonnie smiled but didn't answer. The idea of waiting for the right one was so like Jesse. He would toy around and flirt, but never give his heart away, not until he'd found that thing he had recognized as true love between his parents and Brian and Elise.

"Anyway, he was a good cop, Brian was. He was someone you wanted at your back. One night we were working a beat, got a call in about a domestic dispute. The child of the arguing parents had called it in afraid her father was going to kill her mother. She couldn't have been more than 5, and we had seen that sort of thing everyday. Parents argue too loud, maybe the dad pushed the mom around a bit, and the child cries world war 2. We figured this one was just like the others and a simple warning would be enough to scare them into getting their acts together."

Bonnie's heart pounded in alarm, "It wasn't."

Jesse shook his head. "We heard the first gunshot almost before we had reached the curb. Brian stayed to radio it in, and I rushed onto the premises. I was a cocky son of a bitch, even hearing gun shots, I thought I could handle the situation on my own. Brian called out to me to wait for him to make the call, but I knew there wasn't time. By the time Brian was through with dispatch the guy would be long gone."

"You made a choice that you thought would save that child's life."

"No, Bonnie. I made the choice that would win me the most glory. I wanted to rush in there and handle the situation, subdue the perp, and have the child safe in my arms before Brian had even opened the door of his car."

Jesse stopped speaking and Bonnie padded over to stand behind him, silently, "What happened?"

Jesse shook his head, "The guy hadn't run. He was standing there over his dead wife gun still in hand pointed right at the child. I had a split second to panic, reach for the gun in my holster, before he noticed me and fired. I went down. I was useless. I heard Brian rushing in at the sound of the gunshot and tried to warn him away. It was too late. He rushed in just in time to shoot off one round before the guy shot him square in the neck. Brian was dead in seconds."

Jesse scrubbed his hands over his face, grateful Bonnie didn't speak.

"Brian had managed to nab the perp in the head and he went down, lost the gun. I was on him almost immediately, but it was too late. when the ambulance arrived they carted out three dead Bodies. One of them was Brian's."

Bonnie laid a quiet hand on Jesse's back. She knew he wouldn't hear her if she told him it wasn't his fault, so she didn't waste her breath on it.

"Brian sounds like an amazing man. He seems to have loved you. Tell me, Jesse, had you not done what you did, rushing in like you did and not waiting for Brian, what do you think would have happened to that little girl? He would have shot her, killed her and instead of three there would have been four. One of them belonging to a child."

Jesse didn't speak, but Bonnie felt the shudder go through him.

"Brian was a cop. It was what he had chosen, to live his life for the protection of others. If you thought he had the choice of you waiting for him and having that little girl shot to death, do you honestly think he would have chosen himself over her?"

Jesse turned to look at Bonnie for the first time and felt a smile, amazingly, tug at his lips. "You look so fierce, Bonnie. I'm standing here telling you that it was my fault that a young man died and you're trying to protect me."

"Did you want my opinion or just someone to agree with you?"

Jesse's smile widened as he shook his head, "I guess I was hoping that those two things would go hand in hand."

Bonnie sighed and some of the tension left her shoulders. She smoothed her hand up and down Jesse's back in quiet comfort, "Brian sounds like he was an amazing guy, Jesse. Instead of remembering his death, maybe you should remember that."

Jesse breathed her in and gently laid his palms on her cheeks. She was amazing and he felt his heart flutter there in his chest. Illuminated by the glow of the fire, framed by the gleaming hardwood, the window of snow at her back, Jesse thought her some sort of snow angel. And because that thought made him feel foolish, he grinned.

"What?"

Bonnie's voice was a little breathless and Jesse traced his thumb over her cheek, her chin to smooth over her lips.

"You're beautiful."

Bonnie's eyes widened and his grin spread to a full blown smile, and then he heard himself laugh.

"Come on, Bonnie. I'll show you to the guest room."

She nodded gratefully and followed him up the stairs. someday soon he would make good on the silent promise that had been in his eyes, but for tonight they were both content with sleep. *

Group zero me one! Laughing, the killer made his way back over to Stefan.

"How do you like, that? They thought they had me but they didn't!"

Stefan never lost his infuriating grin, "Oh, my friend. This is only act one." *