Bonnie dropped back on the Salvatore's couch, a sigh escaped her and she hardly noticed the heat of the room. When had her life gotten so complicated? She should just walk out of the house and never look back.

"Bonnie?" Stefan drew her attention and she glanced over to see him standing in the doorway. He walked into the room with a frown on his face.

She glanced over. "Hey, Stefan." She sat up.

"Why is it so hot in there?"

Bonnie hesitated, unsure of whether or not Damon had told Stefan about his new problem. "Don't know. I just got here." She stood and started out of the room. "Ask your brother."

"Bonnie," he called before she got out of the room. She stopped short. "There's actually something I need your help with." Bonnie turned to face him and just knew, before he said anything, what he was going to ask her. "It's about Damon."

Xxxxxxxxx

Damon made a fist, staring down at the werewolf bite after leaving Bonnie in the parlor. The witch had surprised him. He figured she'd jump at the chance to end him. She had tried before, after all. Then again, maybe it was because he actually wanted her to this time. He was sure that she was against anything that he wanted.

As dying went, he figured that what the witch came up with wouldn't be nearly as painful or as drawn out as waiting for the werewolf bite to kill him.

The cold that had set into his bones and made it impossible for him to get warm had finally abated but he knew that was just the start. At least he hadn't started hallucinating yet. He wouldn't either.

He had already made a decision. If the witch wouldn't do it, he'd do it himself.

Xxxxxxxxx

Bonnie pushed the grimoir away from herself and let out a frustrated little breath. She rested her head in her hands. She couldn't just leave this alone. Unfortunately, it wasn't an option, especially after Stefan had asked her.

Another part of her reminded her that Damon had been willing to die to save Elena's life and he had gotten bitten saving Caroline's. And that Elena and Stefan would both be devastated if Damon did die. For whatever reason, Elena did care for him.

She could only see one way to save him, however and she did not want to do it. She was so very sure that it would turn out to be a disaster for everyone.

She was frustrated with herself and her own inability to let Damon Salvatore die. Stefan's eyes had been pleading and she was glad Elena didn't know about it because she was sure she would have been double teamed.

Elena was already dealing with a lot. The last thing Bonnie wanted to do was add to her pain.

Xxxxxxxxx

Bonnie marched into the Salvatore's the next day, a determined look on her face. She once again found him in the parlor, this time standing in front of the window with the curtains open and his back turned to her. She stopped short at the sight of him and just knew.

"You had better not be thinking about wasting my sleepless night trying to find a way to save your ass," Bonnie called to him. She walked deeper into the room and crossed her arms when he turned to her.

"You've been trying to save me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Aw, judgy…you do care."

Bonnie scowled. "I didn't do it for you."

"Stefan, huh?" He asked, his gaze piercing hers. "My brother sent you here to save my ass." He made his way over to the liquor again.

"He wants to help you." Who knows why.

"He's doing what he always does. Trying to right the wrongs of the past." He stumbled on his way back to the couch and Bonnie almost went to catch him, the instinct to do so strong but she stopped herself. He shook his head after a moment and dropped down on the couch.

Bonnie sat across from him. "Don't sound so ungrateful, Damon. I don't want to have to do this."

"Then don't," he said simply, taking a drink.

"You might want to be nice to me. I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I should risk myself for you."

"Risk yourself?" Damon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I could only find one way that might work and there are…consequences to this type of spell," she admitted with a grimace. When Bonnie met his gaze, she could see that she had surprised him again and for one of the first times, his expression turned serious.

"Then why do it? You hate me…why risk yourself for me?" His tone was genuinely curious with, just for that moment, no trace of his usual sarcasm or anger.

"Don't go flattering yourself, Damon. Like I said, I'm not doing this for you." Her words were flat and she was angry, not so much at him but at herself. "Besides," she continued reluctance she always felt when saying anything nice to him, "you did get bit saving Caroline's life and trying to save Elena's."

Damon's eyes danced briefly with amusement. "That sounded like it was hard to say."

Bonnie scowled again. "Just…stop talking, alright? If you keep talking, I might change my mind." He held up his hands in mock surrender and Bonnie sighed. "First, this spell only works if you die-"

"So, you did come here to kill me?"

"It only works if you die from the bite," Bonnie continued, ignoring him. "It won't work unless you're at the point of death. Also, I'm not entirely sure it will work so you might die anyway. And as for the other consequences? I have no idea what they'll be."

Damon opened his mouth to comment and she was sure whatever he was going to say might piss her off but whatever it was never made it past his lips as it turned into cough instead. He bent forward with the force of it and brought a hand up to his mouth. Blood spilled from his mouth into his hands and after the coughing fit was over, he stared at the blood.

The sight of the blood and the pain written on his face was enough and before she could second guess herself, Bonnie stood and closed the distance between them. She brought her hands up and placed them on the sides of his head.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, staring up at her with blood staining his lips, for once his own.

"Saving your ass. I already hate being this close to you so I know it's hard for you but be quiet for a minute, would you?" She closed her eyes and Damon was quiet while she chanted the spell.

It only took a minute…a minute before she felt it working and then she released him instantly. Her arms went to her chest and she bent forward, almost touching her forehead to Damon's, with the pain that sprang up as soon as the spell was over.

It took her breath and she was barely aware that Damon had stood up and grabbed a hold of her and she was almost certain she saw concern in his eyes. It lessoned after a few seconds. It was still there but it seemed to have faded...

"What the hell was that?" Damon asked with a frown on his face. He still had a hold of her arm, keeping her upright and steady.

Bonnie wrenched her arm from his and looked up at him with wide eyes. "A consequence," she finally answered. "I have to go." She turned and practically ran from the room before he could say anything else. She brushed past Stefan on her way out but didn't stop when he called to her.

After she got outside, she leaned against the doorway for a moment with one hand over her heart, trying to get her breathing under control.

Xxxxxxxxx

Damon stared after Bonnie, frown still on his face before he shook his head and sat down again. His arm was still on fire and that fire seemed to be spreading pretty fast. Glancing towards the window, he considered following through with what he had planned before the witch had interrupted him.

"What did you do?" Stefan's voice came as he entered the room.

"I've done lots of things," Damon answered, not bothering to turn and face his brother. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Bonnie just ran out of here…" Stefan's voice was mildly accusatory but Damon honestly had no idea what had freaked the girl out so much. She did hate him but that wasn't why she'd run in the other direction.

"Did she find something?" Stefan's voice was almost painfully hopeful when he asked this question. In fact, he had been determined to find something since Damon had told him about the bite after Jenna's funeral.

"Yeah, she found something," he said after a moment because he just couldn't afford Stefan going out and doing something stupid to try and save him.

"Good." There was relief in Stefan's voice.

Xxxxxxxxxx

"What's going on with you?"

Bonnie had pulled Jeremy's pillow over her head and she groaned at the question. She had gotten no sleep and she wasn't sure if she would until the stupid, stupid spell played out.

"I'm an idiot," she said finally.

"You're not an idiot," he protested. "What happened?"

Bonnie sighed and came out from under the pillow, frowning at him. "I don't want to lay this on you…" He and Elena both were still grieving.

She could see the irritation at her words. "Could you stop trying to protect me? I'm not a kid anymore…you can tell me."

She considered him a moment before letting out a frustrated breath of her own. "I cast a spell," she admitted, "on Damon."

"On Damon? You try to kill him again? What'd he do to you?" She almost smiled at the protectiveness that was in his voice when he fired off the questions.

"He didn't do anything to me." She hesitated a moment. Stefan had said that Damon didn't want Elena to know about the bite but she needed to tell someone. "You know he helped Caroline and Tyler escape from Klaus, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, apparently Tyler changed while they were getting away and he bit Damon."

Surprise crossed over Jeremy's eyes. "So, he's dying?"

"No." She brushed her hair back with one hand and pulled his pillow into her lap. "Stefan asked me to try and find something to help him so I found a spell and I cast it."

"Why? I thought you hated Damon?" Jeremy asked with a frown.

"Well, Stefan and Elena both care about him and he did get bitten saving Caroline and Tyler's lives. He's also saved Elena's several times…it doesn't matter. I did do it." She chewed her lip and met his gaze. "It had consequences…"

"What type of consequences?" Jeremy asked warily. "You didn't overdue it again, did you?"

"No…" She hesitated, unsure of how he would react to this. "I think it created a connection…between me and Damon."

Jeremy drew back and the frown on his face deepened. "What type of connection?"

Bonnie looked away from him, staring into space for a moment. "I know he's in pain…physical pain and it's like this constant…thing that never goes away completely. I know right now he's angry about something and a little bit confused and even guilty underneath that…and below that there's more pain, but it's different. It's not physical but it's worse."

"You're feeling what he feels?"

Bonnie did not look over to him. She was still staring out, still lost in emotions that weren't hers. "It's like an echo. I don't get the full impact but it's there, has been since last night, since I cast the spell."

"Why?" Jeremy's face was guarded when he asked. He didn't like this new development.

"I think it's so I can feel it when he dies. There are two parts of the spell. I cast the first part but the second has to be cast at the exact point of death." She could see on his face that he didn't like it. She couldn't exactly blame him. Having a connection to another guy, even if it was Damon…

"Please don't make a big deal out of this. It's Damon. After the spell's done, things will go back to the way they were before."

Jeremy nodded, forced a smile but she could tell he was still unsure.

Xxxxxxxx

Bonnie drove a little aimlessly. She could think of nothing but Damon and what she was getting from him. The myriad of mixed emotions were strong, even if they were just an echo. She had honestly never thought someone like Damon could feel that much.

Getting an inside view of Damon was unsettling and she wasn't sure what to do about it. A strong part of her wanted to leave him be until she had to perform the last part of the spell. She wanted to let Stefan handle it all. She didn't want to watch him go insane.

She had no idea how Elena seemed to forgive him for all the horrible things he did so easily. She could never do it. Even if Elena had, she hadn't. She hadn't forgiven him for those things. A few good deeds did not completely erase his past and the bad definitely outweighed the good.

It was seeing his pain, however, that was unsettling her the most. Not the physical part. She expected that but the other. The other that was buried so deeply in him that she wondered if he even acknowledged it. Her natural instinct was to alleviate it and she had to remind herself just who it was coming from.

Still, she was not surprised when she finally did park, his house turned out to be her final destination.

Xxxxxxxx

"How is he?" Bonnie stood to the side, watching Alaric with crossed arms and asked the unnecessary question.

"Not good," Alaric answered shortly.

"And Stefan felt this was necessary?" She gestured to the locked cellar door.

"He was afraid Damon would hurt someone."

"So is Damon," Bonnie answered quietly. She shook her head. She needed to do something. The things she'd been feeling from Damon had only grown stronger since she had talked to Jeremy. Stepping forward, she took the bottle of alcohol from Alaric.

"Lock the door behind me," she ordered, her voice still quiet.

Alaric put a hand on her shoulder before she could go into the room. "Bonnie, this isn't-"

"I can take care of myself," she interrupted, "and him if necessary." Without waiting for a reply, Bonnie opened the door and walked inside.

Damon had gone downhill fast since the last time she'd seen him. His face looked almost gray and his normally bright blue eyes were hazy and unfocussed. He didn't acknowledge her presence at first. In fact he seemed to be staring off into space.

She hesitated a moment before sitting on the floor across from him and offering the bottle. Surprisingly, Damon was silent as he took it and for the first time since she'd met him, no threats were exchanged, they weren't fighting or mocking each other.

They sat for several minutes like that. When he passed the bottle back, she did take a drink and it was her who broke the silence.

"I really hate you, you know that?"

A smile crossed Damon's face. "You too, Judgy."