"What-what is that thing?" Bonnie asked Kol after she flipped on the light. He grinned. "Nothing. Just my stuffed snake. I call him Steve. I brought him to say 'Hi' to you."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "Kol Mikaelson, what the hell makes you think it's okay for you to put that thing in my bed while I'm sleeping?"

"It was just a joke," Kol told her. "Don't be so uptight. It didn't make you wet yourself, did it?"

"No," Bonnie shook her head. "It did not."

"So," Kol asked, "Where should I put Steve since he's already here, anyway? I assume you don't want him in the living room where people can see, so in this room is the only option."

Bonnie shook her head. "If you ever want to sleep with me again, it's not staying in here."

"Well then where should I put him?" Kol asked. "You're not leaving me with a lot of options. Or any options."

Bonnie sighed. "Fine," she said. "Put it in the living room. I don't care. Just put it somewhere away from me!"

Kol picked up the snake and cradled it gently. "All right," he said. "I'll go put Steve in the living room."

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded, her breathing still quick, "You do that."

Kol took the snake away and then came back. Bonnie was still standing uneasily by the bed. "You're not gonna have trouble sleeping the rest of the night, are you?" He asked. "I had no idea you were so sensitive, otherwise I never would have scared you."

"I am not scared," Bonnie told him. "But it's jarring to find something in your bed that wasn't there when you went to sleep, Kol. That's all."

"All right, all right," Kol nodded. "You weren't scared. All right, I get it."

"Can we just get to sleep?" Bonnie asked, her voice short. "Please?"

"Fine," Kol said. "Let's get to sleep."

They went to bed and there were no disturbances the rest of the night.

"It's gonna take me awhile to get used to that thing," Bonnie said when she saw Steve the snake in broad daylight the next morning."

"He's not a thing," Kol said, going to pick him up from the spot next to the fireplace where he'd been coiled. "His name is Steve."

"You named a stuffed animal?" Bonnie asked.

"Don't make fun," Kol said. "I'm sure you've done things in your life that I would find silly."

Bonnie sighed. "You're right," she said. "Come here." He followed her back into their bedroom and she got down on her knees and pulled a box out from under the bed. She opened it and coughed as a layer of dust rose up, then gently took out a small brown stuffed bear.

"Who's that?" Kol asked. "Did you name him?"

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded. "Alfred. Don't ask me why I picked that name. I couldn't tell you." She hugged him to her. "He got me through some hard times, especially when my parents split up. And when my Grams died."

"Well, why don't we just put him next to Steve in the living room, then?" Kol suggested. "So everyone can see what's special to us?"

Bonnie smiled. "I don't know," she said. "It might make me feel silly. I've never showed Alfred to anyone before." She paused. "But maybe if you brought Steve back into our room and Alfred hung out with him, I wouldn't find Steve so scary."

Kol put a hand on her shoulder. "That can be arranged," he said. He came back with Steve and set him next to Alfred on the dresser. "What do you think?" he asked. "Does that look nice?"

"Great," Bonnie nodded. "Just perfect. Now I need to figure out if I have anything you'd hate to have around. I don't think I do, but you never know."

"By the way," Kol said, "I talked to my brother and he promised me that he would call Caroline and discuss their relationship with her."

"Good," Bonnie nodded. "I feel better now." She paused. "Do you have any other shocking knickknacks I don't know about?"

Kol grinned. "I'll only keep showing you mine if you show me yours. Surely you must have something interesting. What about from your witch side? Spellbooks? Cauldrons? Potions?"

Bonnie grinned. "I think you've been watching too much TV," she said.

"You mean you don't have any of that stuff?" Kol asked, feeling disappointed. "How do you do your witchy business, then? Or do you not practice anymore?"

"Please don't tell me that you want me to do stupid parlor tricks just for your amusement," Bonnie said. "Cause I won't. I mean, I was really into it when I was in high school, but then I overdid it, started using my magic for the wrong reasons, and I just...kinda lost interest in the whole thing. I decided I wanted to be average instead. But I suppose that since I'm dating one of the oldest vampires in the history of time, that statement's no longer true, is it?"

"No," Kol shook his head, grinning. "Not any more. I really think you should give it another try."

"Why would I want to do that?" Bonnie asked him. "What would be the point of using my powers again?"

"Why does there have to be a point?" Kol asked. "Can't you just practice because you want to? Because it's part of your heritage and who you are?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said. "I think I could, but..."

"I won't push you," Kol told her. "But I just think you should think about it."

Bonnie nodded. "I will."

Bonnie woke up late the next day and found a note from Kol saying that he'd gone to get more of his stuff and would be back later. She made herself some coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to think about what he'd said the day before. Was it really a good idea to start using her powers again? She didn't really see the point. Power had to be used for a purpose, and she had no desire to do people's bidding anymore. But idea of using magic to just float feathers around and do parlor tricks at parties seemed equally stupid.

Still thinking, she locked her eyes on her car keys, which lay on the table next to her hand. She shut her eyes and concentrated really hard, picturing the keys floating a few inches in the air. Suddenly, the keys rose and hovered for a few seconds. As Bonnie opened her eyes and gasped, a brief laugh escaping her throat, Kol strode in. He saw what Bonnie was doing, grinned and just stayed put, not wanting to interrupt her for as long as he could manage it. But finally, she saw him and the keys dropped on the table with a clatter.

"Oh, hi!" She said, flushing a little. "I had no idea you were standing there, otherwise I would have stopped."

"And that's why I didn't let you know I was here," Kol said. "You looked like you were having too good a time and I didn't want to wreck it for you. And I'm impressed, by the way."

"Oh, don't be," Bonnie told him. "It's nothing a beginner can't do. I can do much more than that."

"But you don't have to," Kol told her. "Unless you want to, of course."

"I know," Bonnie nodded. "From now on, no one tells me what to do with my magic except me."

Kol nodded, pulled her to him, and kissed her. "I'm glad to hear it," he replied.