AN: Well we have come to the conclusion of Sheila's story. And we are coming to the end of this story, it will end in the next 3 chapters, but it will be one hell of a ride to the end. Please review, let me know what you think of Sheila and Abby's relationship. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please don't be too angry with Sheila or me...haha. Stay good people, be kind to one another and stay safe. Love ya byeeee! Coming up we will see what Caroline has been doing.

Chapter 17

"I was content to keep things as they were, even though at times I thought I sensed something with you…a quietness…a reserve that a child shouldn't have but you never said anything…so I just let it be." Sheila allowed the tears to flow readily as she spoke.

"Then I started having dreams again. At first I thought they were just because of our fractured relationship, but soon I understood that the Fae Queen was alerting me of what was transpiring behind closed doors. The dreams were nonstop and relentless, until one day they stopped and she appeared to me."

Sheila was awakened from a troublesome dream by a violent warm breeze that enveloped her room. Startled, she woke to see a figure standing near her bed, eyes, glowing red as power surged through the small room, currents of supernatural tendrils of energy violently swirled in a maelstrom of potency.

Without preamble the Fae Queen spoke in a deep and frightening voice that seemed to echo and reverberate off the walls. "Abigail fights against her destiny and my magic. She has been ruined and corrupted. The Order has made their move to challenge my will. She is, now, no longer a worthy vessel to protect the heir and therefore my magic attacks her, turning itself inward. Madness consumes her as you allow her to manipulate you."

Sheila could only turn her eyes away, unable to bear looking into the fierce eyes of the Fae Queen. "I…I tried…I.." Sheila muttered and stumbled over the excuses that she could not even formulate, the words would not come out. She knew something wasn't right and the dreams confirmed it, but she had been selfish and scared so she did nothing. "You lied to me…nothing was as I had wanted or envisioned," she accused, as she looked up, now staring into the Queen's eyes, resentment giving her voice strength. "You promised me a child to love, but you used me to get what you wanted. You ruined my life and you killed my husband." The dam had broken that held Sheila's emotions and now her tongue had no filter or restraint.

"What more can you do to me? You fix this, you make this right!" Sheila yelled, undaunted by the stillness of the room, which now was as cold as a freezer. Her skin was heated by her anger and sorrow, her eyes were blinded by tears.

The tears that blurred her vision swiftly ceased as she was violently lifted up and flung against the opposite wall by tendrils of magic. Pinned to the wall unable to move she was face to face with the terrible and imposing full countenance of the Fae Queen.

Silver hair now the color of blood danced frantically around the Queen's face, eyes black slits, off-white fangs bared against crimson lips. Her wings outstretched and webbed with talons at the top where the cartilage and bones connected. She stood tall and her face was a mask of caged rage, barely contained.

"A husband that abandoned you and did not love you enough or appreciate the many sacrifices that you made. I should have destroyed him sooner. You think you have nothing left to lose? You think the little pain that you have suffered means anything measured against eternity?" Her voice was low and menacing.

"I have walked through time. I helped name the stars and I have seen the rise and fall of thousands of civilizations and I have never not kept my oaths and promises." The anger subsided and as quickly as Sheila was propelled against the wall she was now gently placed on her bed.

"My dear one, I have obliterated whole species for less than what you dare to accuse me of. I kept my promises, I gave you what you wanted, but there is always a price to pay. You had to pay that price and yet you still do not understand. You are the reason things turned to ash." Her voice was soft yet still held the undercurrent of the power that commanded obedience.

"Fully embrace the gifts I have given you. Shake off your chains. You must free yourself. You are the phoenix, from the ashes you will rise. You must make a choice. I cannot make it for you nor force you. I will only say this, you are at a precipice, I have chosen you, but like Abigail, you can refuse my gifts, but you will never know the great rewards that wait for you and you will then know what it means to lose everything."

In a blink of an eye she was gone and Sheila was left to ponder her words. What had she missed, where did she go wrong? She had always been trying to find her way, find her place , find who she was and where she belonged. Having a child with the man that she loved was a check in a box that had consumed her, but was it a box of her own creation? To be a woman and a wife was to give one's husband children to build his legacy, yet the more she fought to attain that dream the further it was from her grasp. That was until she found the Fae Queen.

To be fair and honest Sheila recognized that she could have done more, she could have fought harder, but the fight to have what she thought she wanted left her tired and beaten. The old adage came to mind, "Be careful of what you ask for because you just might get it," and indeed Sheila got what she wanted and she loved Abigail, but not enough to continue to fight. Even with Greg, she stopped fighting, stopped caring, willing to just move aside even when she knew what the possible outcome would be. What did it say about her that the only real passion she ever had was for her work and studies, and then Bonnie. She loved Bonnie with all that she had, she was her redemption and soon all her hopes and dreams were contained in the smile of a little green eyed child. Little Bonnie was the sunlight that nourished her heart.

Sheila sat in her bed for hours reflecting on her life and the choices she made until the wee hours of the morning. The selfish ones, the stupid ones, the thoughtless ones, every one of her choices guided and moved her towards this one outcome, this destiny. If pain was relative then the pain of being unfulfilled was a soul killer and the worst pain…

Sheila called out sick only to be awakened, in the afternoon, by a frantic call from Liz Forbes telling her that after Caroline came home crying from spending the night with Bonnie, she called Abby only to have a weird and disturbing conversation. She stated, 'Abby rambled about demons and hearing voices and how Bonnie was evil and needed to be cleansed and purged out of her life because she was not her child but a changeling.'

Liz continued her frantic bombardment of words, hardly breathing recounting the horrors that poured from Caroline's mouth. Liz couldn't make out what her daughter was trying to convey through the hiccups and sobs, but words like 'end' and 'evil' caused her to be very concerned. Bodily tremors raked the young girl's body as fear seized her heart. Caroline was young but she knew something wasn't right and her thoughts were of her dear friend.

Liz urged Sheila to check on her daughter before something terrible happened and could not be undone. They all knew that Abby had always had personal issues and Liz feared that in her weakened and confused state she would harm little Bonnie. That could not happen.

…

Bonnie sat in her room, pretending, ever so quietly, to be having a tea party with Ms. Cuddles and a few of her other less favored stuffed animals, however she was hoping that if she didn't make too much noise Abby would finally stop yelling at her.

Bonnie tried to understand why mommy was so mad at her. She tried to be a good girl, she made up her bed and instead of telling Abby she was hungry, she made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But Abby yelled at her complaining of the mess she made and told her to go to her room.

Bonnie could hear her mother talking and slamming things, this caused her heart to race as she sat at her pink table with tears running down her face and palms sweaty.

Abby moved around the house nervously, eyes darting around, looking for an unseen attacker. She moved with purpose as she knew what needed to be done, "Silas was right all along."

"I have to cleanse myself of the abomination," she said out loud, mumbling to herself as she looked through the cabinets and pantry for what she needed.

"I will end it. I will not be your puppet!" She yelled to the Fae Queen, aware of her presence, but not seeing her.

"You will not have me…I have to make this right…I have to…I have to…I have to…" Abby repeated herself as if in a trance, almost as if reminding herself of her task. She would have been sorrowful, if not for the fact that in her mind Bonnie was nothing more than a creature sent from hell to cast her into eternal damnation.

"You corrupted my mother, you caused my father's death, you stole my baby and took my husband, but I will prevail," she said with a maniacally laugh, rushing to her bathroom.

"I will do what must be done. Silas told me my body must perish to free my soul and only then will I see my sweet baby again."

She plugged the tub and turned the faucet on as she placed candles around the tub. Once the water was where she wanted it she turned it off and left the bathroom, walking down the hall. She quickly went past the creature's room, making sure it was still in there and hadn't escaped.

With a sigh of relief after seeing the child was still in the room, she hurriedly went to the kitchen and started preparing the berries. Consumed with what she was doing she didn't see an approaching figure stealthily walking towards her.

Abby lovingly washed the berries then towel dried them, next she took the pound cake that she bought and cut the slice in half, placing it in a small bowl. Next she added whipped cream then the berries and the other half of the cake then more berries and whipped cream on top. She knew the child would eat it all. "Oh you will gobble this up, won't you," she whispered.

"What are you doing?" Sheila sharply demanded.

Startled, Abby swiftly turned around, trying to hide the contents on the counter, "How did you get in here?" Abby questioned her mother with cold disdain. Glaring at Sheila, Abby waited for an answer.

"I came to check on you and Bonnie," Sheila stated honestly, omitting the frantic call she had gotten from Liz. When she arrived, the house was locked up tightly, but she remembered that Rudy left a spare key in a fake rock for her just in case she needed to get in the house. For once she was thankful for that poor excuse of a father. She heard Abby talking to herself so she silently walked into Bonnie's room, heart breaking as the little dove ran into her arms, shaking and crying. Sheila, calmly wiped her face and told her that she needed to talk to mommy so no matter what she heard she had to stay in the room. The frightened child nodded her head and ran to her bed to get under the covers.

"I asked you a question, what are you doing?"

"I'm…I…I'm making the chil…Bonnie a dessert before bed. Is that okay with you mother?" Abby was so angry, she just needed her mother to leave, so she turned grabbing the bowl as she made the snide question. But as she moved, the items on the counter were no longer blocked from Sheila's view. She saw the scissors and discarded stems and leaves, at first not understanding, then she focused on the stems and leaves then she looked at the berries in the bowl.

Immediately recognizing the plants, she pushed Abby aside quickly grabbing the bowl. In shocked disbelief she looked down at the bowl in her hand then her eyes slowly rose to meet her daughter's.

"This is belladonna. Please tell me you weren't giving this to Bonnie," Sheila pleaded.

Abby, for a brief moment looked ashamed, and just as quickly it was gone and rage filled her visage.

"You have no right to be here. It doesn't matter…it doesn't matter…I have to destroy the abomination…" Abby tried to take the bowl from her, as she spoke to herself.

"This is madness! Bonnie is not an abomination! What is wrong with you?" Sheila could only look at the woman in front of her and she looked nothing like her daughter. She was a crazed woman, speaking rubbish.

"This is your doing! Silas told me you brought the devil to our home. You let that evil bitch take my daughter and exchange it with that creature in that room. Pretending to be my sweet baby…" Abby yelled as she sobbed.

"I knew it was Silas' nonsense. He put things in your head, he used you to get whatever he wanted," Sheila pleaded as she attempted to caress Abby.

Abby flinched from her touch, " You are not my mother. You are the whore of Babylon. You let them kill my father." Abby lunged towards Sheila knocking the bowl out of hand. Enraged as she saw the wasted ingredients, she grabbed for the knife on the counter, coming for Sheila.

Sheila grabbed her by the arms, shaking her, "Stop this insanity, I don't want to hurt you. I love you. You are my daughter. Let me get you help, baby."

Momentarily, Abby was more lucid than she had been. She let the knife fall to the floor, then she looked up. "Don't you see, there is no help for me while she lives. I have to end her. She must die. If not tonight, if not tomorrow, I will end her. She must die, only then will I have my true baby back. Mom, can't you see?" Abby pleadingly questioned. They were both now on the floor cradling each other, sobbing.

For the first time in a long time Abigail called Sheila her mom. And she meant it. And she needed her. She couldn't do this any more and no matter how much she fought against Sheila, Abigail really did love her, in her own way. It was just something in her that made her rebel against her. There was an enmity between them and it would always be there, but she did love Sheil.

Now, she needed her mother to understand the great and horrible purpose wrought upon her. She would have no peace and she would not stop until the child was dead.

Hugging her mother for dear life, she whispered, "Please help me." Abigail was defeated.

As tears ran down her face, Sheila stroked her daughter's hair, looking at the figure standing in the shadows, she replied, "Yes baby, I will help you." This was the moment of reckoning and she saw the truth of it in the Fae Queen's eyes as she watched the two of them.

Sheila knew what she had to do. She told Abby to add fresh hot water to her bath while she cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. She made sure that Bonnie ate and then put her to bed with a kiss and promised that everything would be better in the morning.

Then with a heavy heart she cleaned the kitchen, disposing of the belladonna. Next she fixed a glass of wine for Abigail and brought it to her while she relaxed in the tub.

With a smile Abby said, "Thank you mom," as she took the glass and began drinking. Sheila sadly smiled and walked out of the bathroom.

Sitting at the counter, she sat with a glass of bourbon in her hand contemplating the choice she made. She loved Abigail, but she loved Bonnie more, plus she knew there was no way that the Fae Queen would allow Bonnie to be harmed, neither one of them could allow Abby to harm Bonnie. Sheila loved Bonnie the most, so she would pay the price and take the option left to her.

She helped Abigail out the tub, dressed her in a nightgown and gave her another glass of wine. Once the contents of the glass were gone, Sheila helped Abigail lay down and get comfortable, covering her with the blanket, she kissed her head, "I love you and I am so sorry that I failed you." Abigail looked sleepily up at her mother, "Thank you and I love you too." Then she settled herself under the covers and closed her eyes.

Sheila waited fifteen minutes then went back to Abigail's room, she took the bottle of Clonazepam and tightly pressed it in her daughter's hand then set the near empty bottle on the nightstand next to the empty glass of wine.

She returned to the kitchen, sat down and with tear-filled eyes she poured herself another glass of bourbon, once she was done she grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and laid down on the couch. The next morning she made breakfast for Bonnie then took her to school(she had to shield Bonnie from the truth).

…

As she pulled up, returning from dropping off Bonnie at school, she saw Rudy and the police at the house. Apparently for once he got worried after several calls from Liz Forbes and several missed calls so he decided to check on Bonnie and Abby. Although this change in plans irritated her, it worked in her favor.

The next few hours were marked with questions, lies , omissions and tears. Of course the tears were real. Of course she was grievous of the loss of her daughter. And of course she acted shocked and surprised when they told her Abby may have caused her death.

The case was closed and the coroner ruled the death accidental due to mixing medication and alcohol, the actions of an irrational and mentally compromised woman.

Did Sheila feel guilty? In truth, no, although she thought she should. What she felt was peace and with that peace came a strong maternal resolution. Bonnie was hers and no one would take her away. She earned her, she forfeited everyone else in her life for Bonnie. This single motivation rose up and overtook her. She knew what she had to do next. She would take the gift that was given to her with greedy hands and she would hold on tightly.

She found a cloaking spell which would keep Bonnie hidden from the fae and most supernatural beings, then she stumbled across a boundary locking spell which would keep all fae, including the Queen from influencing, contacting or breaching any property they resided on. Next she made charms and talismans that she attached to their clothing, placed in vehicles, hid in certain toys and embroidered on clothes and blankets. Sheila made sure that on all sides Bonnie was protected and could not be affected by the power of the fae Queen residing in her very being.

Then she found the Tree of life and hacked it down. Next she took Bonnie to a very skilled hypnotist, a friend she could trust, and had certain memories locked away and turned into the things of dreams and fairy tales.

The fae Queen , although displeased with Sheila's actions to keep her from Bonnie, understood her motivations. She did not retaliate but lavished her favor on her unbeknownst to Sheila. She allowed Sheila the false sense of victory, but she knew something that Sheila didn't know; Sheila's final sacrifice sealed their deal and facilitated the Queen's ultimate machinations. The Fae Queen knew that the magic within Bonnie would eventually awaken. It would find its own way to fulfill its destiny.

The Tree of life was not so easily destroyed, it was just broken…waiting to be reformed.

All she had to do was wait. What was a mere few years to an immortal being? It would be like a blink of an eye so she would wait and reap her rightly deserved reward…

Both Klaus and Bonnie sat expressionless, but for different reasons.

Klaus now realized why he couldn't find Bonnie and how she came to be the mild and meek woman he had first met. He could have never imagined that Sheila would have dared to defy the Queen, to keep the heir from her.

He could only think of what Bonnie would have been if given the opportunity to grow up in her power, to know who she was or to be among her people?

He didn't dare to speak, afraid to break the tension filled silence that now surrounded them. As he watched his love, he could barely see beneath the mask that covered her countenance as she continued to process the tragic origins of her life.

Sheila watched, nervously darting her eyes from Klaus then back to Bonnie, waiting for the inevitable deluge of Bonnie's vengeful wrath, but all there was was silence and this frightened her more.

Bonnie felt the last harbingers of her fabricated life fight, struggling to maintain their control over her nature, mind and memories, suddenly die agonizing deaths as the veil completely shredded and images of her youth flashed in her mind's eye.

In that moment she saw it all; the truth of her grandmother's words. Scenes played before her eyes, like a film in a projector, memories long buried away and hidden, including the night her mother died. And with the flood of new memories integrating with existing ones, forming a whole picture, Bonnie took a deep breath, allowing waves of realization and acceptance to wash over her and now when she heard the voice in her head she welcomed it.

"Dear, please say something," Sheila encouraged softly, anxiety causing her to fidget in her chair. She couldn't take the silence any more. She knew that Bonnie could never forgive her so she wanted to get the looming turmoil over with. She prepared herself for the hatred and eventual exile from her granddaughter's life.

Even Klaus was nervous and his senses were on edge, he hoped Bonnie wouldn't try to hurt Sheila, but with each passing second of stillness, he worried she may have snapped. He now was able to give Sheila the grace and forgiveness that he had been unwilling to extend in prior years and even earlier at the start of her account. He felt sorry for Sheila, but he couldn't understand her sensibilities as a human. He would never question the Queen or her reasons for anything that she did.

Bonnie finally spoke, pulling Klaus out of his thoughts and Sheila out of her self imposed misery. "Thank you Grams for telling me the truth…all of it, although I am sure it cost you to do so." Bonnie warmly looked into Sheila's shocked face, giving her a small smile. She took her hand and squeezed it lovingly. "We will speak later, you and I, but I can imagine you are tired and emotionally worn out by your recounting. You can stay here if you would be comfortable," she said looking at Klaus, "Unless you have already made other arrangements."

Sheila expected hostility and anger, by comparison the calmness in Bonnie's voice was unnerving and made the hairs on her neck stand, but she tried to remain collected.

"I didn't make any arrangements, if you are good with me staying here, I would like that. And I am a bit tired." In truth, the emotional toll mixed with the alcohol and the jet lag she was also experiencing caused her to be fatigued and unsettled. She really did need a nap.

Bonnie stood up, "The guest room is prepared with fresh linen so let's get you and your things settled in."

"I will go get your bags," Klaus offered as he too stood up from the table.

"Thank you," Sheila quietly replied.

As they moved away from the table, Bonnie stopped abruptly to grab Sheila and pull her into a tight hug, Sheila returned the hug with fervor, pressing closer, holding onto the most important person in the world to her. As she pulled away, Bonnie wiped the tears from Sheila's face, " Later we'll have lunch, once you have rested and we will talk. Okay?" Sheila nodded her agreement with the plans for later.

After Sheila went into the guest room to convalesce, Bonnie walked with Klaus, hand in hand, out to his vehicle. "Are you sure you have to go," she questioned, now facing him while in a hug.

He kissed her nose, "Yes, love, I need to make some phone calls. I am sure Elijah is worrying and close to sending an army out to find us. Plus this has been a day full of many revelations. Are you sure you are okay?"

She pulled away from him so that she could position herself to see him clearly. "I once saw darkly, disconnected from my nature, unable to see the full picture, afraid of so many things, including myself. Grams did what she thought was right based on her emotions and although a part of me wants to be angry with her and lash out, what would that change? Nothing. She has suffered enough."

Klaus smiled,"You never cease to amaze me." He pressed his lips to hers, a sweet kiss, a reverent kiss.

AN: I think that Bonnie took thing very well, but maybe she is just in shock? I have a feeling that things are about to get crazy in Mystic Falls.