Five miles from Mystic Falls, Kai was suddenly ripped out of a dead sleep. He was drenched in sweat and gripping his chest. Bonnie slammed on the brakes and pulled off to the side. "Kai!" Parking the car without shutting the engine off, she leaned over the seat, grasping his shoulders. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No," Kai rasped, tugging off his seatbelt. "The spell…I just felt it lift." The heavy weight of magic that had been resting upon his shoulders all these years was finally gone. The world was so much clearer now, as if he had awoken from a terrible nightmare. Grabbing Bonnie around the waist, he dragged her into his lap.

"Kai," Bonnie breathed, her body trembling beneath his fingers slipping just below the waistband of her jeans. "Priorities." Exhaling sharply, she glanced at the clock and licked her lips. "We need to get to Whitmore. Liv will be able to do a locator spell to find Ms. Cuddles and my magic. Elena's probably still living with Caroline and wherever Elena is, Damon won't be far away…"

"Damon, oh joy, I'm really looking forward to that reunion." Kai replied dryly. Before he let go, he stole one last kiss. "You won't let them kill me…right, Bon Bon?" His mouth curled into a feral grin when she sighed and pecked him on the lips once more. That was all the answer he needed. "Let's go, then."

Bonnie slipped from Kai's lap and eased back into traffic. It was strange to see other cars on the road…Bonnie hadn't realized how different the world was in 1994. It felt good to be back. The eastern sky was starting to lighten as they finally pulled into the parking lot. "I shouldn't have to say this but…it's you, so, I'm going to. These are my friends. They will not like you." Kai feigned a look that she would've expected from a wounded puppy and Bonnie scoffed. "You make a terrible first impression, Kai. I don't have my magic yet…and the last time Damon saw you, you had just shot me with a crossbow."

"Not my finest moment," Kai dragged a hand through his dark hair sheepishly. "I see your point." Slipping out of the car, he opened up the driver's side door. He grabbed the dagger containing Jo's magic and slipped it into the sheath at his waist. Even if Bonnie didn't have her magic just yet, he could still protect them. "Come on, there's no time like the present!"

"You are hilarious. But please, be on your best behavior?" Bonnie nudged him playfully as they headed toward the dorms. Although they remained quiet, vampire hearing kicked in and before she was even on the second floor, Elena and Caroline swarmed her. Immediately, Bonnie was enveloped in tight hugs and both of her best friends were talking in unison. Laughing tearily, she clung tighter and reveled in the happy reunion.

Kai had never seen such a showy display of emotion. Every one of them was crying and he was bewildered. He ached to reach out and comfort Bonnie but it seemed that these were not sad tears…she needed her friends, who she'd obviously been missing for months. Friendship was a completely foreign concept to Kai; he didn't pretend to understand but for Bonnie's sake, he stayed quiet.

Elena wiped her eyes, her attention slipped to Kai for a moment. "I'm sorry, it's been so long since we've seen Bonnie. I didn't mean to be rude… I'm Elena Gilbert."

Bonnie managed to disentangle herself from Caroline and she moved toward Kai. "Elena, Caroline, this is Kai Parker…"

"Wait," Caroline whirled around. "Kai as in locked-in-a-spirit-realm-because-he-tried-to-kill-his-whole-family Kai?"

"The one and only," Kai grimaced slightly at the murderous look on Bonnie's face. He closed the distance between them, "This is my best behavior, sweetheart. Take it or leave it." For a moment, he feared Bonnie might choose to latter. Instead, she grasped his hand and pulled him toward the dorm room the girls shared.

"Bonnie!" Elena's voice rose in decibel and sharpness as she closed the door behind them. Caroline stood beside her with arms crossed. "Damon told us about Kai, about how he tried to murder his siblings." She frowned. "Jo, Liv, Luke…"

Bonnie's expression darkened. "Wait, you know Jo?" Her stomach suddenly turned over. "Wait a second…Olivia and Lukas are Liv and Luke?" Mystic Falls had to be the smallest place on earth and seemed to get smaller every day.

"He stabbed Ko with a butcher knife, Bonnie!" Caroline squealed, her blonde curls bouncing as she jerked to face Kai. "You're a monster!"

Kai took a menacing step toward Caroline but Bonnie stepped between them. "Enough!" Bonnie snapped, "I know that Kai has done some terrible things. Believe me, I'm well aware. But right now, the Gemini coven is coming to kill us, both of us. I need to find my magic, I stashed it in Ms. Cuddles."

"Damon has her," Elena shifted on her feet, "I'll call him." Tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, she padded over to the bedside where her cellphone rested. It took a few rings but Damon picked up. "Hey Damon, Bonnie's back. Yeah, Kai is here too. I need you to get over here with Ms. Cuddles. Okay…see you soon…" When she turned back, Elena licked her lips. "He'll be here momentarily."

"I'm going to go wake up Luke," Caroline offered. "You should call Jo. Liv's staying with Tyler, you better call her too…" She paused. "And Jeremy?"

Bonnie felt a twist of pain as she glanced over at Kai. "Not Jeremy. It's too dangerous right now." She swallowed, "Joshua and the Gemini coven could descend on us any time. And I—" A rush of movement nearly knocked Bonnie off her feet as Damon came storming into the dorm and nailed Kai against the wall. "Damon!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear you limb from limb," Damon growled. His eyes were black with anger and his fangs bared. The anger that burned in him spilled outward, filling the room. Vaguely, Damon was aware of Bonnie yelling at him to let Kai go but his rage was too strong. The next thing he knew, he had been flung across the room and his vision exploded with stars.

Kai's smile never waned as he palmed the dagger containing Jo's magic. Bonnie's hand wrapped around Kai's wrist and he reluctantly lowered it. Nevertheless, he waved the blade around a little bit more before he sheathed it. "Anyone else want a go?" He paused. "No? Good."

"Kai!" Bonnie chastised.

"He was going to kill me, Bon Bon. I didn't come this far to die in a dorm room at some backwater college out in the Styx!" Kai huffed. "Maybe we would like to clear up a few things?" One arm slid around Bonnie's waist and he narrowed his eyes, "A lot has changed since 1994."

Damon wiped a trickle of blood from the side of his mouth. "Please do not tell me you're actually falling for this little psycho's tricks, Bonnie!" He inched toward her. "He's just using you to fight the Gemini coven. They have no reason to go after you! Can't you see he's manipulating you!"

"No, Damon," Bonnie replied tersely. "Listen to me—" But Damon was not listening. His fists were clenched tightly in anger as he stalked toward her. Bonnie felt Kai reaching for the dagger again but glared at him until he succumbed. Bonnie waited until Kai took his hands off the dagger before turning back to Damon, "I know what you think of Kai. I know he's hurt both of us. But the truth of the matter is that Joshua Parker and the Gemini coven are coming to kill us. We have to stop them!"

"We don't have to do anything to help that weasel!" Damon shouted back. "Let his coven deal with him. If they come after you, I'll protect you!" Reaching into his knapsack, he grabbed Ms. Cuddles and handed it over to her. "I'll protect you just like I protected your magic."

"My father will not stop until we're dead," Kai growled. "And he's a lot stronger and lot more persistent than you are." He understood Bonnie's reluctance to tell all of her friends she was pregnant, especially when it was so early on…but it wasn't a secret she could hide forever. Gingerly, he slid his fingers over Bonnie's side and reveled in the shiver he was rewarded with.

"Oh believe me, I've met the man." Damon groused, turning to glare at Kai. "I see where you get your insanity from!"

The escalating tension in the room hit a fevered pitch when Liv and Luke stormed in the room in their pajamas, followed closely by Jo who had just finished an overnight shift at the hospital. Instinctively, Jo stood in front of Luke and Liv—just as she had the night Kai tried to kill them. Liv was wrapped tightly around Tyler for comfort.

Bonnie could feel Kai's heart beating against her back. "Let's all just take a second and breathe." Standing in front of Kai's family now, Bonnie felt very uncomfortable. They were looking at Kai with such fear, it ripped something open in her. "This is a very awkward situation…"

"You can say that again," Liv snarked. "That rat bastard tried to murder us!" She scoffed, "I don't know why you even called us here. I've had enough awkward family reunions for a lifetime."

"Yes, well you should prepare for one more, Olivia." Kai narrowed his eyes. It seemed his littlest sister had inherited his temperament; he felt a rush of pride in that. "Our father is coming with the entire coven to kill Bonnie and me."

Liv furrowed her eyebrows, "Why the hell would the Gemini coven care about you? No offense, Bonnie, but they want Kai. You're nothing to them."

"She's pregnant." Luke was the one who spoke up this time. His blonde hair hung into his eyes as he shrank away from the menacing glares he was receiving. "I can sense these things. It's…part of my gift…"

"No!" Damon nearly stumbled, "Bonnie! Tell them!" His tone grew more desperate as Bonnie didn't speak. "Go on, tell them!"

"Luke is never wrong about these things. He also always knows when you're on your period. It's the stupidest "gift" ever." Liv turned to face her twin brother with a slightly apologetic look on her face before she glanced back at Bonnie. "If Luke says you're knocked up, you're knocked up."

Bonnie's mouth felt as if she swallowed a bale of cotton. She opened her mouth several times to tell the truth but each time she faltered. Kai instinctively pulled Bonnie tighter. "It's true." He glanced at the shocked faces around the room, none seemed more disturbed than Damon. "The conception of the child is what started unraveling the spell."

Damon staggered toward Bonnie, his face was an unreadable mask of pain. "Did he…"

Reaching out, Bonnie touched Damon's cheek gently. "No, Damon, it was my choice." Tears burned in her eyes as she glanced at the strangers and friends amassed in the room. "I know this feels strange to a lot of you. It's not something that can be figured out in one day…but Joshua is going to descend on us any time now and he will not stop until Kai and I are dead."

"My father tried to kill me too, at Thanksgiving…" Jo's voice shook slightly. "Kai is right. He would do anything to keep Kai from leading our coven." She kept her arms slightly extended to keep Luke and Liv away from Kai. "And he'll want the child dead too."

"Children." Luke grimaced slightly as eight heads whipped to stare at him again. "It's a Gemini thing. Couples that produce twins are the strongest in our coven. It's how they determine who leads."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Kai bent and pressed a gentle kiss to the side of Bonnie's neck. Her hands cradled her belly, reeling at Luke's revelation. One child with Kai was daunting enough. Two could send her over the edge…

"This just keeps getting better and better!" Damon thundered. Elena was trying to calm him down but it wasn't working. "So we're all going to hang out here and make toilet paper friendship bracelets until Big Daddy Parker comes to kill the two of you?" He shook his head, "I hate to play devil's advocate here but is this really worth the effort? Bonnie's been dead for this long already."

"Damon!" Caroline slapped him so hard that the resounding crack seemed to fill every inch of the room. "We are not abandoning her! Ever again!" She let out a shaky breath. "Bonnie is right! We can hash out the past and the future later. Right now, there's a really pissed off witch coming here to kill Bonnie and it's up to us to stop him!" Her phone was in her hand in a second. "I'm calling Stefan and Jeremy and Matt. This is an all hands on deck situation!"

"Fine," Damon rubbed his cheek, marveling at how such a delicate little thing like Caroline managed to pack a punch like that. Pointing an accusing finger at Kai, Damon gritted his teeth, "This isn't over."

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it," Kai gnashed his teeth menacingly. "What about you three? Are you going to join the fight against daddy dearest?" When he addressed his siblings, there was a softer edge to his voice. "You should know that Bon Bon here convinced me not to kill you weeks ago."

Liv's eyes rolled so hard that for a moment, Luke was worried they wouldn't come back. Thankfully, Liv recovered a moment later. Letting out a soft sigh, she grasped Luke's hand, "If dad's dead, we don't have to merge. We can just…live our lives." She glanced over at Jo, "What's stopping him from killing you the first chance he gets, though? He'll be the leader of the coven if he merges with you."

Jo smiled sadly, "Do you see that dagger? Eighteen years ago, I placed my magic in it so Kai couldn't take it from me. During the merging ritual, we banished him to the other side and I gave up magic for good." She smoothed a strand of Liv's blonde hair from her face, "He already has my magic, Olivia. Merging isn't necessary."

Luke and Liv shared a look before they nodded in unison. "Fine. We're in."

Bonnie had been driving all night and the exhaustion was starting to catch up to her. Kai was immediately aware of the yawn she failed to stifle. Although Bonnie protested when Kai ushered her toward Caroline's bed, she knew it was futile to resist. "Absorb your magic…then you need to rest," He murmured.

Whispering the husband words to the spell, Bonnie felt her magic seep into her bones again. Her exhaustion deepened tenfold. Kai's fingertips slid over the pulse at her wrist and she felt a little zip of pain. "Kai!"

"Just making sure it was really back," Kai grinned. "No more leeching magic, scout's honor." He captured her lips gently amidst Damon making gagging noises. Kai said nothing about Damon's childish behavior and pulled the blanket up around Bonnie's shoulders. Elena and Caroline immediately rushed to Bonnie's side again. Kai skirted around Damon and inched closer to his siblings.

Liv tightened her posture in anticipation of a fight but Jo shook her head. "Go…I'll be fine." Jo shepherded Liv and Tyler toward Luke's dorm. After a moment, Jo turned and faced Kai head on. Awkward silence stretched between them until Jo drew a shaky breath and broke the silence, "You look exactly the same…"

"Yeah, I've been trying out this new beauty regimen that involves being trapped in 1994…it's extremely painful but I can't argue with the results." Kai teased and was rewarded with a soft chuckle from Jo. "So, you're a doctor?"

A smile slid over Jo's features and she nodded, "Yes. I teach medical students and I also work in the emergency room." Moving further away from the room, she glanced at Kai out of the corner of her eye. "I sense something different in you. The way you are with Bonnie…"

"I'm a changed man, sister dear," Kai reached out to touch her, his stomach churned when she pulled away. "I'm going to end our father once and for all, Josette. We'll be free of him." He slid his hand against the dagger, "There's just one more thing I need to do…"

"Kai…don't…"

"It won't hurt, Jo," Kai whispered. "I just need the connection to absorb the magic. I've been studying the family grimoires for eighteen years. I can do it without killing you. Trust me…"

"Trust you?" Jo scoffed. "Kai, you stabbed me with a butcher knife. That butcher knife, as a matter of fact," She motioned to the blade cradled in his hand. "I'm sorry, I can't."

Kai gritted his teeth, "I can't kill our father channeling magic from this stupid thing. I need to absorb it!" Jo shook her head again and Kai's anger exploded. "How can I protect her from him, Josette? You saw what he did to me. What do you think he's going to do to the woman I love and our children?" His entire body shook as he glanced back toward the dorm where Elena and Caroline were looking after Bonnie. "You didn't hear him, the things he promised to do to her…he's going to torture and kill them right in front of me. He'll make me watch, Josette!" Swallowing hard, he grasped the knife by the blade and offered the hilt to her. "If you won't give it to me…then you take it. Use it to fight him. Do whatever it takes!"

"Malachi…" Jo's heart lurched in her chest. Kai had never expressed any emotion over anyone before. He was a selfish, callous jerk with a nasty streak a mile wide…at least, he had been eighteen years ago. The man in front of her now was willing to sacrifice life and limb for his family. There was not a single note of manipulation in his voice or his posture. "No…" Taking a deep breath, Jo stepped forward and wrapped Kai in a tight hug. "Do it. Take the magic…"

For a moment, Kai faltered but when he realized Jo was serious, he didn't waste a single second more. Pressing a chaste kiss to Jo's cheek, he closed his eyes. Murmuring the incantation softly, Jo let out a slight gasp as the magic cemented itself inside of Kai's body. Kai reached out and grasped her shoulders, "Are you okay?"

"It was just a single flash of cold and then it was all gone…" Jo wrapped her arms around Kai again. "I'm okay. I'm just a little peaked from working the overnight shift." She smiled gently, "I'm going to sleep in the teacher's lounge. You should get some rest too."

"I'm going to do a couple of warding spells first." When Joshua Parker and the rest of the Gemini coven came calling, they would be the first to know. That bastard and his crazy coven had no idea what was about to hit them. Liv and Luke helped out, much to Kai's surprise. Once they'd finished, Kai really did feel exhausted. Slipping back into the dorm, he managed to slip past the guard dogs—Elena and Caroline—but informing them that the rest of the suicide squad had arrived. Meanwhile, Kai slipped into bed with Bonnie and cradled her close.

Bonnie sighed in her sleep and cuddled closer to Kai. For the moment, everything was quiet. Unfortunately, the Parker family was a ticking time bomb…and it was just waiting to explode.

I am so tired I might die…but I had to get this chapter out for you. I adore you all so much!As always, if you want more please reblog, like, tweet, review, send asks/fanmail/PMs. Let me hear your voice!

-Marina