Thank you to michelle3737 & "guest" for your reviews. I hate to disappoint, but it's unlikely there'll be any Stefan/Bonnie romance in this fic.

To her surprise, Bonnie discovered that she had the run of the house. Though there was always a vampire lurking nearby, usually Mrs Gerhardt, who was cold but polite, or Disco Dave (as she liked to call him), a chatty vampire with an afro the size of Texas. She was only ever alone in the bedroom and the library.

But she'd managed to explore the house thoroughly and even made it down to the cellars where she'd glimpsed the coffins and had abuse hurled at her by the captive werewolf. Several times a day she fantasised about simply incapacitating the vampires and walking out the door. But she had no money or phone. She knew no one in L.A. and calling the police would only get them killed.

So Bonnie stayed put, spending her days in the library pretending to search for binding spells while secretly hunting for spells that would help her kill Klaus. But after three days her biggest achievements were finding a translation spell, essential for reading the grimoires, and a muting spell that she vaguely thought she could use to make plans with Stefan without being overheard. Assuming she ever got to spend time alone with him.

She leaned her elbows on the desk and massaged her temples. Klaus and Stefan were out most days, and sometimes overnight. The only opportunity she had to even speak to Stefan was the occasional morning he spent keeping her company at breakfast, when Mrs Gerhardt was usually lurking nearby.

There was a brief knock at the library door before it popped open and Dave sauntered in. "Hey girl, Mrs G. says lunch is ready."

"Okay. Thanks, Dave." She removed the white cotton gloves she used to examine the oldest of the grimoires and rose.

"How's it going?"

Bonnie shrugged. She liked Dave but she didn't trust him any more than she trusted Klaus.

"You know it's not so bad here. Working for the big man."

She grimaced as she moved round the desk. "Do me a favour. Stop calling him that."

Dave grinned as he held the door open for her. "Sure."

As they walked down the hall, one of the cleaning staff passed by, wearing that blank, compelled expression that creeped Bonnie out. She'd tried talking to them once or twice, but hadn't got anything more than a vacant smile and bland chitchat. But better compelled than dead, she supposed.

In the kitchen, she found her lunch laid out on the table. Some kind of grilled fish and a salad. For a vampire, Mrs Gerhardt was a pretty decent cook. Bonnie was well-catered for, and not just when it came to meals. The wardrobe and dressers in her bedroom were crammed with clothing in a variety of sizes and styles. She tried not to think too much about the witches who'd occupied the bedroom before her.

Bonnie ate her lunch while Dave kept her company, amusing her with tales of his exploits at Woodstock. She would've enjoyed his stories a lot more if he hadn't insisted on telling her about all the hippies he'd fed off.

As she put the last bite of lettuce in her mouth, Bonnie's heart started to skitter. She'd come up with all kinds of crazy plans during the past couple of days, but in the end there was only one way to get what she needed. She swallowed the last of her lunch, put down her knife and fork, and stood.

"I think I'll take a walk in the garden."

Dave frowned. "I don't think-"

"That is fine," Mrs Gerhardt said. She turned away from the sink to stare at Bonnie. "Miss Bennet will not attempt to leave the grounds. She knows the master would find her, wherever she might go."

Under that cold, brown gaze, Bonnie shivered, but she didn't look away. "I do."

Mrs Gerhardt gestured towards the back door. With small, hesitant steps, Bonnie moved to the exit, not quite daring to believe that the vampires would actually let her out of the house. But neither one tried to stop her as she opened the door and stepped out onto a small porch on the side of the house.

Warm sunshine shone down on her face as she looked up at the hazy blue sky. The sudden openness filled her with exhilaration and she had to fight down the urge to start running and keep running until she was as far away from Klaus as she could possibly get.

Instead she took several deep breaths and followed the pebbled path towards the rear of the house, where she found a large, covered terrace. Weaving between the scattered lounge chairs, she made her way to the expansive lawn beyond. She held her breath as she surveyed the enormous garden, and her heart leapt when she saw the herb garden over to one side. As casually as she could manage, she strolled towards it.

Bonnie had managed to get her hands on some mail, but she hadn't found a phone anywhere in the house. So she'd decided to perform an astral projection spell. It was a dangerous spell, particularly for someone as inexperienced as her, but she had to try something. She needed help.

As Bonnie neared the herb patch, she was relieved to spot a healthy rosemary bush. But she was careful to pick a variety of herbs, including lavender, sage, basil, as well as the rosemary she needed for the spell.

Inhaling the aromatic bouquet, she wandered across the sloping lawn, mulling over her preparations. She'd thought long and hard about whose dreamscape to visit. Elena would've been her first choice, but she thought that Damon was more likely to know how to help Stefan. Besides, she just didn't have the heart to tell Elena about Stefan's recent homicidal turn.

The spell would've worked better if she had a personal item of Damon's, but he'd once drunk her blood and she hoped that would be enough to link them.

Bonnie paused, pretending to study the neighbouring mansion, but really just dawdling. The sun felt wonderful on her face and bare arms. She didn't really want to go back inside, but she still had to memorise the spell and prepare the rosemary. With one last, longing look at the open blue sky, she turned back towards the house.

Bonnie lay in bed, too keyed up to take a nap, watching the digital numbers on the alarm clock tick over. She'd already tied the rosemary braid around her ankle before getting into bed and now she was just waiting for the house to settle. Finally, after midnight, she took a deep breath and began to recite a memorised spell under her breath.

Halfway through she began to feel strangely heavy, as if her body was sinking into the mattress. She tried to keep her eyes open, but they drooped shut. Her tongue felt thick and clumsy and she had to concentrate to get the incantation right. As she uttered the last words of the spell, Bonnie felt a terrifying snap and her body went completely numb. She couldn't feel her heartbeat, couldn't even draw breath.

Before she could panic, a roaring sound filled her ears, as if the wind was rushing past her. And then, without warning, the feeling returned to her body. She opened her eyes to find herself standing in a beautiful meadow. All around her were rolling hills and trees and the greenest grass she'd ever seen.

Stunned, she stood there, just taking everything in. She hadn't expected it to be so real. She could feel the breeze on her cheek and smell the fresh grass. Glancing round, she spotted Damon sitting on the hillside. She rushed over to him, almost tripping over in her haste. He glanced up at her.

"Oh, it's you."

Surprised by his nonchalance, Bonnie waited.

After a long moment, Damon said, "Come to set me on fire again?"

"Excuse me?"

Leaning back on his arms, he gave her a lascivious wink. "Or is it the other dream?"

She fell on her knees beside him. "Damon, it's me, Bonnie."

"I know who you are."

"No, I mean it's me. I'm astral projecting into your dreamscape."

"Huh." Damon cocked his head, staring at her. He stuck out a finger and prodded her shoulder, tentatively at first and then with more force, until she finally slapped his hand away.

"What the hell does that prove?" she said.

"Nothing," he said, grinning. "I just wanted to see how long you'd let me keep doing it."

She grunted in frustration. "Damon, I don't have time for this."

"Okay, okay. So tell me where you are already."

"L.A." She gave him the address. "Where are you?"

"On our way."

"You are?"

Damon nodded. "Got a tip from our friendly neighbourhood werewolf and headed down to Florida."

She swallowed. "So...you know what happened in Pensacola?"

"We got the highlights," he said grimly. He studied her face. "You okay?"

Bonnie's eyes prickled, but she didn't want to break down, not in front of Damon. Blinking, she stared at the grass between her legs. "I'm fine."

"And Stefan?"

"He's fine, too, but..."

"What?"

"He's feeding on people...killing them."

She glanced at Damon when he didn't answer. He was staring off at a distant forest, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Damon?"

His head jerked, as if he'd forgotten she was there. "Don't worry. It's not the first time."

"Then he'll be okay? Once we get him away from Klaus?"

"Sure," he said, way too casually.

"Damon..."

"Just be careful around him, that's all. We'll deal with it when we find you."

"We?"

"Elena." He gave her a rueful look. "And Caroline."

"Caroline?" Last she'd heard, Caroline had her hands full dealing with Tyler and her mom. The news that Caroline had dropped everything to come to her rescue made Bonnie well up with tears. She hastily wiped her eyes. "Okay. So what's the plan?"

Damon shrugged. "Grab you and Stefan. Run like hell."

"That's it? Damon, he'll just follow us back to Mystic Falls."

"Then we won't go to Mystic Falls."

"My dad's in Mystic Falls. So's Jeremy and Matt and Ty-"

"Then we'll get them out."

Bonnie tried to imagine her and her friends roaming the country like some supernatural band of gypsies and let out a hysterical giggle. "And here I thought you were coming to rescue us."

"What do you want from me, Bonnie? Klaus is unkillable."

"Maybe he is, but that doesn't mean he can't be stopped."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "You've got a plan?"

"Maybe." She bit her lip. "We know that a witch bound his werewolf side, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So maybe it's possible to bind his vampire side. Make him less of a threat."

"So...what? He'd be your garden-variety werewolf?"

"I guess. I mean, he'd probably still be invulnerable, but he'd lose a lot of his strength."

Damon mulled that over for a while before shaking his head. "It's not enough. As long as he's alive, he's a threat."

She huffed. "Well, if you've got a better idea, let's hear it."

"Once we've rescued you, we'll figure something out." He gave her a sidelong glance. "Maybe-"

"It's too late for that," she said flatly, already anticipating what he was going to say. "Blasting him with magic isn't enough to kill him."

"You're sure?"

"Don't you think I would've done it already?"

He nodded, surprising her with his quick acceptance. "We'll be in L.A. in a couple of days. Be ready to move."

Bonnie groaned. "Damon, you're immortal. You really wanna spend the rest of your life running away from Klaus? Cause I sure as hell don't."

"I told you, we'll figure something out."

"My best chance of figuring something out is in that house." She told Damon about the grimoires and the coffins. He looked positively gleeful when she described what had happened to Elijah, until she added, "Maybe he'd be willing to help us."

Damon's glee turned sour. "Yeah, cause that worked so well the last time."

"But now he knows that he can't trust Klaus. Plus his family's right there."

"Which means there's nothing to stop him from just taking them and leaving us twisting in the wind."

"Oh." Bonnie felt deflated. She'd expected Elijah to be eager for revenge. It hadn't even occurred to her that he might just pick up and go.

"Hey," Damon said, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it. "Look, do what you can in the next couple of days. But when we come for you, you be ready to leave, okay?"

After a moment, she nodded. "Okay. Listen, someone needs to call my dad. I don't know what you're gonna tell him, but-"

"I'll take care of it."

Bonnie clambered to her feet and looked around. It was so peaceful here and, if she was honest, not what she'd expected Damon's dreamscape to be like. She wished she could stay a little longer.

"I need to get back," she said with a sigh. Bonnie started to turn away when a thought stopped her in her tracks. She looked back at Damon. "You dream about me?"

He shot her a wicked grin. "All the time. In fact-"

She flung up her hand. "No, don't tell me. I don't wanna know."

But she realised that she was smiling. Damon's teasing was comforting and familiar, and it gave her a warm feeling that she carried with her all the way back to her body.

Bonnie opened her eyes to complete darkness, but her eyes quickly adjusted, bringing into focus the familiar shapes of the bedroom. She lay still for a minute, breathing deeply, and slightly disappointed to be back in her prison. It didn't take long for her to sense that something was off. She couldn't see anything out of place, but the shadows in the room felt full of menace. Slowly she levered herself up and peered into the dark.

A cough came out of the gloom. She froze for a second, then lunged for the bedside lamp and clicked it on. Blinking against the sudden brightness, she scanned the room. A chill gripped her spine when she saw Klaus sitting in the chair by the fireplace. Watching her.

"What are you doing in here?" she said, clutching the blanket to her chest.

"Just checking up on my favourite witch."

"Can't you do that when I'm awake?"

He shrugged. "This is just a pit-stop."

"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. So you can leave now."

There was a long silence. Bonnie felt the tension rise along with her pulse and tried to steady her breathing. He couldn't possibly know what she'd been doing. She'd been careful to leave no trace of the spell in the library.

"You know you talk in your sleep," Klaus said conversationally.

She swallowed. "Oh? What'd I say?"

He let her sweat for half a minute. "Nothing I could make sense of."

Bonnie tried not to look too relieved.

"Except for one word," Klaus said, making her heart skip. "Damon." He rose and came to stand by her bedside. "Now why would you say his name?"

She let out a nervous laugh. "It's not like I can control my dreams."

"So you dream about him?"

Bonnie looked him in the eye. "I have nightmares about him." That part, at least, wasn't a lie. "He tried to kill me, you know."

"I see." Gazing at her, Klaus sat down on the bed. "Well, you needn't worry, no one will ever hurt you again."

His gaze caught and held hers. For a moment, mesmerised by his clear green eyes, she felt reassured, and completely safe. Until she remembered who and what he was. She tore her eyes away, fussing with the covers to avoid looking at him.

"Too bad you can't say the same about my family and friends."

"What can I say? I'm picky about those I allow close to me."

She glared at him. "We're not close. I'm your prisoner."

With a lazy grin, Klaus leaned in and stroked her cheek. "That'll change, believe me."

Bonnie caught her breath. The warmth of his touch aroused her, not just physically but magically. Her senses came alive, bringing a clarity she'd never experienced before, and a strange heat enveloped her, making every inch of her body tingle with pleasure, right down to her toes. Without thinking, she leaned towards Klaus.

A woman's voice rang in her ear. "Bonnie, no!"

Startled, she whipped her head round. But there was no one there. She searched the shadows. That voice had sounded oddly familiar...

"Bonnie?"

She glanced at Klaus. She could still feel his power pulling at the edge of her senses, but the spell had been broken. He leaned towards her again, but this time she drew back.

"What did you do to me?"

Klaus stopped. "What do you mean?"

"The other day, when you went all Svengali on me...what did you do?"

He considered her. "You have a great deal of power, Bonnie. More than you should have. Did you really think it wouldn't change you?"

"It didn't," she said through gritted teeth. "It was you."

He shrugged. "All I did was bring forth a natural event."

"I don't believe you."

Klaus chuckled. He retreated a little, much to Bonnie's relief, though she could still feel the heat of his body next to her legs.

"It happens to all witches eventually," he said. "When you're young, it's natural to be afraid of your power, what you're capable of. It's natural to be afraid of death. But as you mature, as your power grows, so too does your understanding of that power. You start to enjoy it, revel in it even."

She gave him a startled look and he responded with a knowing smile.

"We're really not so different, Bonnie. We're both powerful beings. We've seen and experienced things that ordinary people never will. It's natural to be drawn to each other."

"I'm not-" Bonnie stopped. Whatever it was that she sensed from Klaus, she couldn't deny that it was powerful. Despite everything he'd done, everything that she knew about him, she was drawn to him, in a way that she didn't fully understand. But she also knew that if she gave in to him now, she'd be lost, and she'd be damned if she let her magic rule her. Lifting her chin, she gave him a scathing look. "This is how you seduced all those other witches, isn't it? You cheated."

Klaus's smile faded. "What?"

"You manipulated them, used their magic against them."

His eyes narrowed. Her heart beat a little faster, but she didn't back down.

"You didn't really think I'd be that easy, did you?" she said.

After a tense moment, Klaus said, "Well, if I did, then I know better now, don't I?" He got up from the bed and stood looking down at her, his expression unreadable. "Goodnight, Bonnie."

She swallowed. "Goodnight."

He started to turn away and paused. "Oh, and Bonnie? Next time you talk to Damon, tell him I'm looking forward to our next meeting."

Bonnie watched him leave the room, wondering how much he really knew. She waited a few minutes after he'd gone before she switched off the lamp. As she lay back down she remembered the woman's voice she'd heard, and she realised why it had been so familiar.

It was Gram's voice.

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