"Glad there's no one left here to ask us where we were," Bonnie said as she and Kol snuck back inside their house. "Explaining to that guy was bad enough."

"It would have been more awkward explaining ourselves to him if we'd have been naked," Kol reminded her. "At least we were both dressed."

"For dignity's sake, I was pleased about that," Bonnie nodded. "I bet Caroline's gonna call and ask where we were, though. I doubt she had no idea we were missing."

They watched the phone, waiting for it to ring so Bonnie could pick it up and hear Caroline's voice on the other side. When nothing happened, Bonnie decided to call her.

"Are you all right?" Bonnie asked her when she answered. "I thought for sure you would have called by now."

"Why would I do that?" Caroline asked.

"Well, Kol and I left our party last night," Bonnie said. "Don't tell me you didn't notice."

"I didn't, actually," Caroline confessed. "I was a little preoccupied most of the party. You didn't go off and get yourselves into any trouble, did you? You're not calling from jail, right?"

"No," Bonnie grinned. "We just went to the park, got ice cream, did a little stargazing. Then we fell asleep and were woken up this morning by a very shocked park employee."

"Why was he shocked?" Caroline asked. "Were you both naked?"

"No!" Bonnie exclaimed. "We were not both naked."

"Stop acting like that's an unreasonable question to ask the two of you," Caroline said. "We both know that it's not beyond the realm of possibility for Kol to, I don't know, convince you to streak across the park at night and then fall asleep there."

Bonnie smirked. "Kol would not convince me to streak across the park at night."

Kol took the phone from her. "Yes, Caroline. What would the point be? No one would see us. If I was gonna dare Bonnie to streak across the park, it would be during the day when I could catch the scandalized looks on people's faces."

"So, why weren't you checking up on us?" Bonnie asked. "It's so unlike you."

"I met a guy at the party," Caroline said. "And I was busy with him."

Bonnie looked at Kol. "She says she met a guy. Do you think it was your brother?"

Kol shrugged. "Could have been. Are you worried?"

"I don't know yet," Bonnie said. "Caroline, just who was this guy?"

"Just a guy," Caroline said. "I'd met him once before, so it wasn't like he was completely new to me. It was Kol's brother if you must know."

"I thought so," Bonnie said. "Are you gonna keep seeing him?"

"I haven't decided," Caroline replied. "Do you have a problem with it if I do?"

"No," Bonnie said. "You can do what you want. You're a grown up. But you have to admit that you've had more screwed up relationships than I have. You can't blame me for worrying about you."

"And I appreciate that," Caroline replied. "But who knows? It could turn out well. I mean, I didn't exactly approve of Kol when you started dating him and look where the two of you are now?"

"I don't think you can compare my relationship with Kol, which, although it has had its ups and downs, is relatively stable, to the one that you may or may not have with his brother whom you just met yesterday," Bonnie said.

"Will you at least let me go out on a date with him before you start fretting?" Caroline asked. "You could be worrying for nothing!"

"Or I could be worrying for a good reason," Bonnie told her. "Fine, you do what you want. It's not like I'll be able to stop you. But remember that I'm thinking about you. Uh-huh. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and sighed. Kol was grinning. "So Caroline took a shine to my brother?"

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded. "And no offense or anything, but it concerns me a little. I don't know if I should encourage her."

"Why not?!" Kol asked. "Nik's fun. And he can be very well-mannered when he wants to be."

"Exactly," Bonnie nodded. "When he wants to be. What if he's not nice to Caroline and she has a bad time? Then I'm gonna feel like it's my fault because I didn't stop her when I had the chance."

"You need to stop feeling like you have to be responsible for everyone who comes along," Kol told her. "Caroline's a big girl. She can make her own mistakes. If you can handle me, surely Caroline will be able to handle my brother."

"But what if she can't?!" Bonnie asked. "What if he's mean to her and things just go to hell?"

"Then they will and Caroline will move on from the experience a little bit wiser," Kol replied. "Or go on to make the same mistakes again. I really couldn't say which."

Bonnie sighed. "I know you think I'm being ridiculous, but I'm really not comfortable with your brother dating my friend, all right?"

"I don't think Caroline said they were dating," Kol told her. "All she said was that they had a good time last night. That could be all. And even if you do try and voice your displeasure, it won't do you any good. Did she ever complain about me?"

"No," Bonnie shook her head. "She's always been really in favor of us. She thinks you stop me from being too rigid."

"Of course I do," Kol nodded. He pulled her to him. "I do love a flexible woman," he whispered. "How about you stop worrying about Caroline and show me how flexible you are?"

Bonnie grinned, giggling awkwardly. "Okay," she said.

"How come I always make you blush?" Kol asked her as he carried her off to their bedroom.

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know. I just...I'm not the sort of person who thinks about sex all the time, so when you bring it up, it kind of makes me feel weird. I know that's silly, especially since I spend practically all of my working life in front of a camera in my underwear, but that's just a job. It's not a mindset." She paused, grinning. "Although right now, it could be."

Kol grinned. "That's what I like to hear." He put her down standing on the bedroom floor and they began kissing wildly. Soon they were both naked and rolling around on the bed.

"See?" Kol asked when he finally got a breath. "Isn't this a lot more fun than worrying about Caroline?"

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded. "And you're right." She lay her head on his chest. "Caroline's a grown up. She can handle herself. She's taking those self-defense classes at her gym. I need to start giving her more credit than I do."

"You need to start realizing that it's not your job to take care of everyone," Kol said. "I mean, it's perfectly okay for you to take care of me, you know, because we're dating and we live together, but everyone else can fight for themselves."

"You really think you need me to take care of you?" Bonnie asked. "I would have thought you'd have a handle on that by now."

Kol nodded. "I do, and I think I've done remarkably well, but I've been told that I'm a bit reckless and have a tendency to get into trouble. I think if you asked any of my other siblings whether or not I needed someone to take care of me, they would say that I do."

"How many other siblings do you have?" Bonnie asked.

"There are two more that you haven't met yet," He told her. "And I think you'd get along well with both of them."

"Would I?" Bonnie asked, feeling intrigued. "Why haven't I met them?"

Kol grinned. "They are my brothers and I love them, but I can only handle so much nagging about living a more productive life before I make a run for it. I haven't seen either Finn or Elijah in I can't tell you how long."

Bonnie started laughing. "What's so funny?" Kol asked.

"Well, let me get this straight," Bonnie said. "You stay away from your brothers because you feel they have too many opinions about how you think you should live your life, yet I do the same thing and you move in with me."

Kol shrugged. "Well, there's a difference there, isn't it? You're a beautiful woman. I can stand hearing my shortcomings from you because you let me tell you yours and fix them too. It's a mutual sort of thing."

"And it's not mutual with your brothers?" Bonnie asked.

"No," Kol shook his head. "To them, I'm just their irresponsible, reckless little brother. Nothing much more than that."

"Are you planning on doing any more with Caroline?" Kol asked Klaus. "Bonnie's a little concerned so I told her I'd ask."

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't decided. At this point, she's just an entertaining woman I spent time with at a party. She gave me her number, but I haven't done anything with it yet. Why? Does Bonnie want me to stay away from her friend?"

"Well, apparently, Caroline has made some bad choices as far as men are concerned and she thinks you might be another one if you and Caroline decide to continue your relationship," Kol told him.

"You're very protective of Caroline, aren't you?" Klaus asked.

"Only because she's Bonnie's friend," Kol told him. "And if Bonnie's worried about her, then I have to hear about it, and I don't like listening to Bonnie be upset, all right?"

"Okay, okay!" Klaus said, putting his hands up. "Relax, will you? I'll call Caroline and ask her if she has any idea where she wants to go with us, and then you can tell Bonnie and everything will be all right."

"Good," Kol nodded. "I'll let Bonnie know."

"Oh, and one more thing," Klaus said, gesturing at a stuffed snake wrapped around the arm of the sofa. "Would you take that with you? It's hideous."

"Okay," Kol said. "I asked my brother and he said that he would call Caroline and talk to her about where their relationship should go. Does that make you feel any better? There's really not much more you can do."

"Yeah, I guess," Bonnie nodded. "Thanks for doing that for me."

"You're welcome," Kol told her. "Now, on to a completely different topic, there's something I left back at my house. It's a stuffed snake. I stole it from somebody's house on a bet a hundred or so years ago. I was drunk at the time."

"And you want to bring it here?" Bonnie asked.

"Where else will I keep it?" Kol asked. "Klaus doesn't want me to keep it at the house any more."

"Well, I don't know if I want it here," Bonnie said. "Can't you just get rid of it?"

"No," Kol shook his head. "It's a badge of honor! You don't just throw away badges of honor!"

Bonnie scoffed. "Well, think of something else to do with it then, cause it's not staying in this house!"

"Now wait a minute!" Kol said. "Since this is our house, I should get to keep my snake here!"

Bonnie shook her head. "I have a look that I'm going for here and as much as I appreciate your input, there's no way that a stuffed snake would fit in with the decor! And when people came to visit and saw it, what would they say?"

Kol narrowed his eyes and without saying another word, left the house. That night, after Bonnie had gone to sleep, he left and came back with the snake, putting it on Bonnie's side of the bed where she would be sure to see it. Then he climbed in beside her, grinned and shut his eyes, feeling immense satisfaction when she screamed at the sight of the snake as she got up to go to the bathroom that night.