1922

by jazzywazzy08

When Bonnie does a time travel spell to send her back to 1922 in hopes of gaining information that can both bring Klaus down and convince Stefan to come home, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.

3. part three: what we covet

Title: 1922

Pairing(s): Bonnie/Klaus/Stefan/Rebekah, Bonnie/Klaus, Bonnie/Stefan, Bonnie/Rebekah, Stefan/Rebekah, Klaus/Rebekah, Klaus/Stefan, mentions of Stefan/Elena, Bonnie/Jeremy, ect.

Summary: When Bonnie does a time travel spell to send her back to 1922 in hopes of gaining information that can both bring Klaus down and convince Stefan to come home, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.

Warnings: Sexual Content, Explicit Sexual Content, Incest, Pre-Polyamory, Polyamory, ect.

Author's Note: Hey ya'll, back with the another update. So this chapter is insanely long. Like I legit apologize the length got away from her and I am regret everything. That being said, because of the length here, in future chapters I am going to stick to the 1922 timeline and have less present time snippets so I can manage the length better. Anyway, hopefully ya'll can enjoy this despite it being literally a novella as a chapter in this bitch. LOL! Happy reading!

part three || what we covet

"The fire blazing in her dark and injured heart seemed to glow around her like a flame."

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned

Chicago, Illinois 1922

Bonnie Bennett had never been kissed by anyone the way that Klaus kissed her. With hunger. With abandon. She pressed herself against him, forgetting her plans and Gloria's warning until suddenly the ground beneath them began to shake. Bonnie pulled away from Klaus in time to see the lights in the bar begin to flicker rapidly. Bonnie frowned, leaning back and looking around.

The ground continued to tremble until the candle that sat atop one of the tables nearest them tipped over and the tablecloth caught fire. Pushing Klaus away completely, Bonnie used her powers to put the fire out. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

The bar's patrons startled at first, some moving toward the exit. However, they suddenly froze in place one by one, their eyes moving to land on Bonnie and stop.

Bonnie's eyes moved to the bar where she was supposed to be waiting for Gloria, her first instinct was to find the other witch. But she froze when she felt Klaus's hands come down on her shoulders.

"Bonnie?" He questioned, his voice sounding as uneasy as she felt.

"I don't really feel much like playing games anymore," Bonnie said, attempting to move away from him.

Klaus' grip on her only tightened. "No games," he said, "Just tell me what's happening."

Bonnie felt a churning in the pit of her stomach as a cigarette girl unfroze and began to move forward stopping in front of them. She glared at Bonnie, her head cocking to the side in an unnatural fashion before her brown eyes rolled back until only the whites shone through. "You shouldn't be here," the girl said her voice seeming otherworldly.

Bonnie knew then that Time was fighting back. That the Spirits were sending her a warning to leave during the next opening of the portal. Bonnie's heart sank as she felt a familiar copper scent hit her nose and she reached up to find blood dripping from her nostrils.

Bonnie felt her knees buckle but she was lifted into Klaus's arms before her body could give way. "You're alright," Klaus murmured, his voice on the verge of panic, "Everything is alright."

He lifted her into his arms bridal style, pulling her into his body. Suddenly Stefan was there as well. In a flash of movement, Stefan crept behind the cigarette girl, snapping the girl's neck. Bonnie winced at the sight, but as the girl fell to the floor dead, Bonnie felt like she could breathe again. The ground stilled beneath them, and the bleeding stopped.

Stefan took the handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Bonnie's nose as Gloria and Rebekah appeared.

"What the hell was that?" Rebekah spat.

Gloria frowned as she looked between Klaus and Bonnie and then at the dead girl on the floor. "Brenda wasn't a witch," she said, sadly, "She wasn't acting on her own. Something was acting through her." Gloria's eyes lifted to meet Bonnie's again. "Something that was trying to get to you."

Bonnie swallowed and Klaus' grip on her tightened protectively. "I'm sorry," Bonnie said, sincerely, "I never meant to bring any trouble here."

Stefan had broken Gloria's rule about killing at her place for Bonnie's sake. The whole bar had been in an upheaval. It was all due to Bonnie's sudden impulsiveness. All due to her fixation bringing her back to a time where she didn't belong.

"We'll find a way to stop whatever this is," Klaus said, firmly, his eyes on Gloria and Rebekah, "But I won't let you lay a hand on Bonnie."

Rebekah scowled in Bonnie's direction. "Nik, you can't be serious," she said, "We have enough enemies without adding whatever is after this witch onto the list."

Gloria put a calming hand on Rebekah's shoulder. "My guess is your enemies are one in the same," she said, "at least in part." She turned back to Klaus and Bonnie. "I don't plan on hurting Bonnie either," she continued. "I've felt her power. The Spirits have too. It's got them lashing out. If they're trying to scare Bonnie away from here, chances are this is exactly where she needs to be. Something's coming, something big. And if it's going to piss off the Spirits it's probably something to the benefit of one or more of us."

Bonnie's eyes widened in surprise at the assessment. Rebekah's eyes narrowed and both Klaus and Stefan looked even more intrigued than before.

Gloria took off the obsidian bracelet on her wrist and placed it around Bonnie's. "This'll keep them from acting against you for now," she said, "we'll talk about bigger measures in the morning."

"I can't take this-" Bonnie opened her mouth to object, but Gloria spoke over her.

"I've got plenty more where that came from," Gloria said, and from her own time Bonnie knew as much to be true, "You need to get some rest tonight. We'll talk in the morning."

"Thank you," Bonnie said, grateful to have the woman there to look after her in both times.

The patrons suddenly started to mill about again, looking shocked and unnerved.

"Stefan and Rebekah," Klaus said, "Start compelling the patrons. I'll go with Gloria and get Bonnie to her room."

Gloria frowned at the same time Rebekah said. "Is that necessary? Not the compulsion but coddling the witch. She looks fine to me. We should be going."

Bonnie didn't like the girl's tone or being talked about as if she weren't there, but she knew that Klaus coming with her was a bad idea for more than one reason. "She's right," Bonnie said, "I'll be fine. Gloria will look after me."

"As will I," Klaus said, leaving no further room for argument, "I'm not leaving you."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Bonnie nodded reluctantly. She was inwardly at war with herself. She knew that he would likely try to convince Gloria to leave them alone the minute they got to the room Gloria wanted to rent to her and interrogate her the way he had been doing all night. However, it felt nice, having someone show concern for her for once. Someone who wanted to look after her. Someone who didn't want to leave her. It had been a while, and even if it was Klaus, she appreciated it.

"Fine," Rebekah huffed, "But if there's any more trouble, I want you home." Rebekah sighed as Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Even if you insist on bringing the witch with you." She surprised Bonnie by saying.

Bonnie supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Rebekah knew her brother well and Bonnie was certain that if even Bonnie could tell that Klaus wouldn't leave Bonnie any time soon, trouble or no trouble, Rebekah had picked up on it as well. Besides that, if Klaus brought Bonnie into their territory Rebekah would either have the chance to get the information she no doubt wanted from Bonnie or the chance to kill her, or both.

Klaus nodded. "Thank you, Rebekah."

She gave a stiff nod in turn and then Klaus turned with Bonnie still in his arms to follow Gloria to what would be Bonnie's room during the duration of her stay in the twenties. A stay that, if the Spirits had it their way, would only last one night.

Bonnie looked back at Rebekah over Klaus' shoulder as they walked away and knew that the Spirits weren't the only ones that she had to worry about.

:::

Chicago, Illinois, 2011

My Dearest Bonnie,

You're gone. You've left us. Left me. I wish I could say I was surprised but we both know that I was waiting for it to happen. The universe has the nasty habit of taking away the things I value most. Of course, it would claim you as well. You became everything to me. My playmate. My lover. My pack. My family. My god. But gods never dwell among mortals forever, if you remember.

I told you on our first night together that being with you that night was the closest thing I've ever felt to a religious experience. You laughed not because you didn't believe me, but because you did and that scared you. I could see that even before I understood the intricacies that make you up. Before I peeled back all the layers and unearthed both the light and the darkness. Because we knew that first night, that we could only ever get what we wanted and needed out of the world, out of this existence, from one another. If that's not terrifying, then I'm not sure what it is. Especially, for beings like you and me. We are not used to getting what we want. We're used to abandonment. To loneliness. To doing the thankless job of protecting those we love with no acknowledgment in return, you as the hapless hero and me as the devil at the door. Our methods may have been different, but our journeys have always been mirrored images of each other. Where your power bred expectation in others, mine has only bred fear. But neither of us knew love or respect or true devotion until my eyes first met yours when you were on that stage.

I was serious, you felt ethereal to me. A celestial thing of beauty. As if any moment you could vanish. Even in our most memorable moments I could almost never be sure you were there. That I didn't just conjure you up like Pygmalion and his sculpture.

But you were here. You were real, as was what we all had together.

I will tell you one last thing, and I don't give a damn if it scares you. You are still my religion. And even if you are gone now, I will bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed for you, so you must martyr yourself no more. My devotion will not waver. I will sing your praises to the heavens because of all the gods I have known in all the decades I have lived, the gods of old and new, you are the only one that has ever offered me any form of blessing.

What is religion anyway but having blind faith in something that you can't see or touch. But little miracles that make you believe in something greater than your own existence. But worshipping a divine creature in hopes that you'll gain their favor even knowing that they're destined for greater things than you could ever dream up.

When you first left, I thought about burning the paintings. About tearing your dresses to shreds. About throwing your grimoires into the Chicago River and watching as the ink spread and the words became nothing but stains in the water. I wanted to destroy any evidence of you. Pretend as if you were a false idol and destroy the monuments that I had built for you in my mind.

It might have been easier than accepting that you were here and that you meant to me all the things that you did. That you left even knowing everything you were to me. Because how could you not know, from that first night, from every night that followed. Every moment and every second that I spent in worship. I was so angry at you for forsaking me. I still am.

However, I've realized something, your leaving is simply a test of my faith. So, even in your absence I will remain, and I will bleed. I've hung the paintings. All the ones of you in your room above Gloria's place. I asked her to leave it how it is now, untouched. It will be my church. Your paintings, a shrine. The bed we shared together will be the altar I kneel before to pray for your return to me. I will wait for your second coming. And when I see you again, I will bring you disciples, I will bring you worshippers, and I will build an army in your name.

I have demons of my own to face. Enemies of my own to destroy. My true nature to resurrect. But after, after I will bring in the new order and everyone will know the only truths that I know and the only ones that matter, I am the miracle of nature, and you, are my god. I love you, now and always.

Devotedly and Eternally Yours,

Klaus

Gloria placed the letter back onto the desk where Klaus had left it so many years ago. She sighed as she picked up the rag and bucket of cleaning supplies and left the room. In a way, that room had been her church as well for all these years. She, like Klaus, had been waiting for Bonnie's homecoming. However, she had hoped to prevent Bonnie's going back to the past. Hoped to save her savior, and her friend.

Back then Bonnie had ignored her warnings. Back then Bonnie had known more than Gloria had realized. Now, Gloria knew that she had been the one to tell Bonnie to begin with. To fill in all the empty spaces. To plant the first seeds of obsession in the girl's head and seal her fate.

As Gloria came to the bottom of the stairs she frowned when she heard footsteps. She looked across the bar and watched as Bonnie opened the door that had once been the dressing room for the female dancers and performers that had graced the stage in the 1920's. Bonnie looked as she had when Gloria had first seen her, the night she had taken the stage and taken Klaus' heart along with it. Shorn hair in waves, beaded black flapper dress.

This was it, Gloria thought, this was the moment that Bonnie went back to the past. Gloria's first thought was to call out and stop her. She moved forward to do just that but then froze. What good would it do? If she stopped Bonnie today, then it would happen another day. Another time. No matter how hard Gloria had tried to warn her in the past, Bonnie had danced to the rhythm of her own drum, and she had let that song lead her into the arms of monsters. What could Gloria really do?

The same thing she had done before, Gloria realized. She couldn't stop Bonnie from falling, but she could be there for her. Be a friend when Bonnie came back to the other side. Gloria put down the bucket in her hand and waited for the rumble that she would hear when the spell Bonnie used took hold. When it came, Gloria took her cell phone out of her pocket and set a timer for two minutes, before placing a call to another person that was waiting for Bonnie to go back and return to them.

:::

Chicago, Illinois 1922

When they arrived at the room that Gloria intended to set Bonnie up in, Klaus refused to put her down as Gloria unlocked the door. Bonnie sighed as they walked over the threshold.

"It isn't much but like I mentioned it comes with a place on the stage, a living wage, and my support of your craft," Gloria said as they walked inside, "It's a lot less than the price you would have to pay for some other haunts, even if they offer much more luxurious accommodations. Some things ain't worth the price." The last she said giving Klaus a pointed look and neither he nor Bonnie missed her meaning.

"What some would call a price, others might call a perk," Klaus commented. Gloria scoffed and Bonnie tried to ignore the growing tension between them by looking around the room.

The room above the club was small but efficient. The large bed at the center took up most of the room. The sheets were basic linens, but the comforter was midnight blue with an art deco floral pattern. There was a vanity, a dresser, and a small desk with a chair. Off to the side there was a bathroom with a white clawfoot tub. At the foot of the bed there was a trunk that Bonnie recognized immediately as the trunk she had tried several times to open in her own time.

"The clothes I mentioned that we have on hand are in the trunk," Gloria said, "Cast offs mostly. But I already spelled them to resize to fit you when you put them on. Would've been down to the bar to get you sooner otherwise. Would have saved us a lot of trouble seeing as you ran into more than one kind."

Another shot at Klaus, to which he rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Bonnie wondered faintly when the trunks contents would change. Closer to her departure, her mind supplied, for there was no longer the question as to whether or not she was the witch she had gone back in time to find. The spirits were already fighting back too hard for her to believe anything else. The question was, what were the changes that she was set to make that they wanted to stop before they occurred.

'Thank you, Gloria," Bonnie said, getting out of her own head, "For everything."

Gloria nodded. 'Don't mention it," she walked around where Klaus and Bonnie stood and headed for the door, "The room is warded and soundproof, for privacy and to keep out riffraff. Though it's a little too late for both those things. It's never too late to take the advice I gave you earlier, and never too late to call me if you need anything. My room is just downstairs connected to the office. You holler if anymore trouble comes your way or if you find a way to bump off the hybrid and you need help hiding the body from his sister and the Ripper."

Bonnie giggled even as Klaus glared. "I will, don't worry about me."

"You keep keeping the company you're keeping I can't not," Gloria said reaching for the doorknob.

"Goodnight, Gloria," Klaus interjected pointedly.

Gloria glared, ignoring him and continuing to address Bonnie. "We'll talk more about the incident downstairs in the morning," she said, "In the meantime, I hope you can get some rest."

"I will," Bonnie promised, even knowing that sleep would not come easily for more reasons than one, "Goodnight, Gloria."

"Goodnight, sweetheart," she said, and then she walked out, closing the door behind her.

Klaus finally put Bonnie down, setting her on the bed gently. "That woman could chill hell water," Klaus muttered.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "You saying she's wrong about you being trouble?"

Klaus walked towards the door and clicked the lock into place before turning back to Bonnie. "Not at all," he said, "But as far as you're concerned, I'm only the good kind."

Bonnie huffed. "We'll see about that," she said, wondering when the easy banter would once again give way to questioning. "You're taking an awful lot of liberties already."

Klaus walked back over to where Bonnie sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you not want me to?"

Bonnie bit her lip as Klaus took her foot in his hands and began to unbuckle her Mary Janes. "I want to know why you took it upon yourself to bring me up here," she said, seriously, "I told you, I'm not up for any games anymore."

"And I told you, no games," he said quietly, as he pulled off one shoe and then moved to unbuckle the other, "When I held you in my arms down there, and you were trembling, your nose bleeding, all I could think was that I just found you and already I was going to lose you. I couldn't bring myself to let you go after that."

Bonnie swallowed as she looked down at him kneeling before her. "What would it matter if you lost me, we just met? Gloria said that you got real clingy real fast, but this is something else, hybrid."

"You can still tease me after what just happened," he murmured, "Which means you're either accustomed to suffering or accustomed to discounting your own suffering, perhaps both. Your armor is thick, but I can see in your eyes that you're unnerved, terrified. Terrified of what just happened downstairs. Terrified of me because I see you enough to fear losing you because I feel at the core of us we are the same."

Bonnie shook her head, the denial quick on her tongue. "We're not the same," she said, revealing too much as she refuted his claims, "Before I came here, I spent my life trying to do good. Trying to keep the balance. Trying to fight against creatures like you. Trying to appease the spirits and everyone else around me even though I lost the one person who could guide me before I even understood what I was. Because my grandmother died, and my mother abandoned me. All I could do was teach myself while I abused my powers to appease the people, I had left so that they wouldn't leave me behind and they could live long enough to ask me to abuse them again another day."

Bonnie had never thought about her relationships with her friends in that way, but it was the truth of things, even if she hated to face it.

"The only time I went against the spirits was for the sake of the people I cared about," Bonnie continued, "and I was still punished for it. I came here for a lot of reasons but ultimately still to protect the people I care about and am being punished further because in just one night I've done more to free myself of everyone's expectations, including the spirits, than I have since finding out what I am. I have power but I don't covet it. That's where we're different."

"Not different," Klaus argued, "Inversions of one another perhaps but, I have been punished too for what I am before I could comprehend my nature. My mother condemned me and abandoned me. You served those around you as a self-fulfilling prophecy and I tried my damnedest to live up to the abomination that they called me, doing the same. I have fought for, and I've done everything in my power to protect the people that I care about the same as you, even if our methods differ. Perhaps you do not covet power, but you possess it all the same and you covet a connection with someone in a way that only those who truly know loneliness can. You desire freedom. In that way we are alike. I look at you and I see much of myself which is how I know that whatever you're running from or fighting against, it doesn't just have to do with the Spirits."

He was right, she was fighting against him. She was there to figure out how to end him and already he was prying her own secrets out of her even as she dug for his.

Bonnie pulled her legs up and crossed them underneath her. "I know that you want a connection, but I can't give you that," Bonnie said.

"You can't or you won't," Klaus pressed, "You want this thing between us to be something more as much as I do. You want someone to see you and to listen or you wouldn't have spent all night telling me exactly who you are."

Bonnie hated him in that moment because he was right. "You want me to believe that you see me," Bonnie shot back, "Then tell me who you are Klaus. Gloria said that we have a common enemy in the Spirits. You accused me of running from something outside of them. Aren't you?"

"I am running from a great number of things," Klaus said, answering without answering, "Being what I am I have a great number of enemies."

"Then why push so hard to take on mine?" Bonnie questioned.

Klaus stood, removing the jacket of his tuxedo. "Because while I have many enemies," he said, "I do not have many that are kindred. I meant what I said, I do not wish to lose you now that we have found one another." He tossed the jacket over the chair behind the desk on the other side of the room and then sat down on the bed beside Bonnie. "I would take on any threat to keep you with me."

Bonnie sighed, running her hand through her hair and loosening the waves of her bob. "You can't just say something like that."
"Because you don't believe me?" Klaus asked, reaching out to touch her knee.

"Because I do," Bonnie frowned, "And I hate it because no one besides my Grams has ever been willing to take on any threat or do anything to keep me safe and at their side. But I've put my life, my wellbeing, and my sanity on the line for people who can't say what you're saying to me right now and I don't know if that makes me crazy or you crazy or both."

"We aren't crazy, Bonnie," Klaus said, taking her hand in his, "We have just found in each other tonight something very rare. Something that we have never encountered before."

"Someone that will listen to our bullshit?" Bonnie asked, with a smile, trying to keep her boundaries up and make light of things again.

Klaus laughed and shook his head. "Someone that will listen, yes," he murmured, "But will also understand. Someone that will accept us. I have been blindly devoted to many that are undeserving and outside of a few in my family it has appealed to none. But I can say exactly what I feel to you and instead of revulsion you look at me as if it is all you have ever wanted to hear from anyone your entire life. You can mask it with humor all you want but I can see it. I can feel it."

"You're wrong," Bonnie whispered, but the protest was weak even to her own ears. She wanted to tell him that she didn't desire him, that his words meant nothing, but she couldn't. this wasn't how any of this was supposed to go and after all of Gloria's warnings she felt foolish that she had ever thought that it would go otherwise.

"Then tell me to leave," Klaus said, leaning down and resting his forehead against hers.

Bonnie opened her mouth to do just that but all that came out was. "I don't want you to."

Klaus lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. "Then give in," he said, as he pulled back, "Even if it's just for tonight."

"Will you let it just be for tonight?" Bonnie asked skeptically.

"Of course not," Klaus smirked, "but we can pretend if you like."

Laughing, Bonnie pulled him into another kiss deciding that pretending was a game that she could handle playing. The alternative was facing what she was doing and that was no longer an option. She had tossed around too many thoughts and confessed too many truths, for once she wanted to forget and feel.

They kissed and laughed and touched. They undressed each other with roaming hands. It was hungry and playful. When skin finally met skin and their bodies were naked pressed against one another it felt like absolution, like freedom.

Klaus touched her in a way that felt like torture. Slow, deliberate, languid, and sensual. His hands roaming over her breast. Pinching her nipple. Sliding down her stomach. Spreading her thighs. His mouth followed the path. Tongue licking in long slow strokes. Teeth scraping gently against her skin. Sucking and leaving marks as Bonnie cried out for more, only to be met with a whispered, "Patience," that sounded like quiet violence because she was sure that he was trying to prove a point. That he could give her all she wanted. That all she wanted was him. Perhaps it was true at that moment. It felt true. It felt real.

As his head descended between her legs Bonnie felt her powers buzzing beneath her skin. They were a quiet caress that accompanied the slide of his tongue inside of her as if apologizing for betraying her earlier in the night. Klaus hummed against her, and she knew he could feel them too as his tongue suddenly worked faster deeper inside of her and she gripped his hair arching off the bed.

When Bonnie found her release, flames licked the surface of her skin, warm and harmless as they tickled her body lighting her aglow. Bonnie's breath caught, not just at her loss of control but at the way Klaus eyed her as he lifted his head and crawled back up her body.

Klaus kissed her fiercely, his movements going from slow to aggressive and animal as he settled between her thighs, and he pushed inside of her. Bonnie moaned lowly and the flames grew sweeping over their bodies, not burning the skin but setting them alight.

Bonnie gripped Klaus tightly as he moved inside of her, her lips kissing his shoulder. His neck. His jaw. She brought her lips to meet his; moving her hips in time with his thrust and she understood how someone could be obsessed with him. Because she had let go of all sense of reason for this moment and she wanted more of it, more of him.

All too soon she felt her body tense and as she cried out his name Klaus followed her over the edge. The flames finally died down as Bonnie's powers quieted and they held each other close unwilling to separate just yet.

Klaus kissed her his tongue invading her mouth and Bonnie hated him more than she ever had, because she could not pretend that this would be the one and only night they would spend together. Not because of her plans, but because of him.

:::

Indianapolis, Indiana, 2011

After leaving Tennessee, Stefan Salvatore had no idea where Klaus intended their next destination to be. They were in the back seat of a black SUV enroute to who the hell knew where. Klaus had been drinking since they'd left Tennessee, but Stefan had been too uneasy to touch blood or alcohol after the hybrid's rant. At least not since drinking Klaus' blood to save himself after Ray's bite. Klaus kept going over the instructions he had followed again and again, trying to figure out what he had missed. Stefan knew that if Damon and Elena kept trailing them, Klaus would figure out exactly what his misstep had been.

If Klaus found out that Elena was alive, he'd waste no time hunting her down and killing her. So, Stefan knew he would have to take the hybrid's mind off his current train of thought. Klaus had to continue to believe Elena was dead. Stefan had to keep him from digging.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Stefan asked, interrupting Klaus' drunken ramblings.

"You'll know when we get there," Klaus huffed, taking a swig out of the bottle of whiskey in his hands. He turned to face Stefan; eyes narrowed. "When I said that I killed the doppelganger, you tensed up. I think I know why."

Stefan stiffened. "I don't know what you mean."

Klaus laughed. "You think I don't understand what you believe that I took from you," he said, "You thought it was love with her, so of course you resent me for it. You haven't mourned her properly. Not that I consider her worth mourning. Still, it was easier for you to leave her behind than I thought it would be. Your current diet has helped, I'm sure. The blood, the killing has dampened those feelings over time. It's been a distraction. But I brought it up again by reminding you of that night. Of losing her."

Stefan felt his hands clench into fist. "What I believe you took?" he scowled, "That's what you want to call it? You sacrificed the one person that meant everything to me for the sake of some army that you can't even create. What? Does pretending like she meant less to me than she did, make you feel better? As if you could even experience guilt."

"I have no guilt. Not in this. You didn't love that girl and she didn't love you," Klaus said, "Not really. You loved the idea of her. Of her humanity. Of this picture-perfect image that you painted in your head. But she was just a few wrong turns and tragedies from becoming a less competent more manipulative replica of our dear Katerina. You're lucky I took her from you before you began to see her for what she truly was. Or before she saw you for what you are."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Stefan said, his fear of retaliation leaving him, "You don't know me. You didn't know Elena. And you damn sure don't know anything about love."

"I know that there were pieces of yourself that you hid from the doppelganger," Klaus said, his tone taunting, "Dark spaces you were afraid to let her see unearthed. Even the dark spaces she got to see you probably made sure she knew that you were torn apart with guilt for allowing them to even surface. You wanted her to see the good in you, not just for her sake but for yours. She made you feel better about the monster that you just barely kept at bay. Gave you a brief break from all that self-loathing, but it wasn't love."

Stefan scowled, unwilling to admit the truth in Klaus' words. "You've got it all figured it out. Is that it?" Stefan said, his tone full of sarcasm.

"I do, actually," Klaus smirked, "You know what your problem is Stefan. You see vampirism as a curse. You see that part of yourself as a separate entity. Even after all of these years, you haven't accepted it as a part of who you are. So, you associate all those things that you dislike about yourself, those qualities you were told not to indulge in as a child when your father bred you to be the obedient 'good son', with being a vampire. Selfishness. Overindulgence. Lust. Greed. Anger. Violence. Never mind the fact that even normal people experience those emotions. Not as aggressively, but then again, your repression breeds the fervor with which you feel those things when you do indulge. Because you don't allow yourself to be normal. You must be the martyr, the saint. And so, the only time you indulge in those feelings are when you give in to the monster, when you let go and give in to your base urges. Because the blood lust gives you something to blame it on. Gives you an excuse. But when you come down from that high the guilt is there, from allowing yourself to give in in the first place. So, you go back into hiding, playing the saint and seeking atonement. Then the cycle continues. You insist on living your life in black and white, when there's only grey."

Stefan hated Klaus at that moment, because Klaus saw right through him. Saw right to the core of him. Not even Elena had done that. Not even she had read him so clearly. When he was off the rails, she saw it as something that needed to be fixed. Not as a symptom of a greater problem. Not because of his constant repression and need to hide behind an image he'd been forced to cultivate as a human. Long ago when his father had bred out all the things, he deemed negative. It had been why he had fallen for Katherine in a sense. She had represented all the things he denied himself. But she had encouraged him to overindulge. To drown himself in a sea of lust, selfishness, violence, and blood. He had never found a middle ground. Damon taunted him for it. Lexi hadn't believed he could and so she had gone toward the extreme on the other end, drying him out and 'saving' him from himself whenever he went off the rails. But they knew him. Loved him. For Klaus to see those things, when they hadn't even been able to read them as accurately, was unbelievable. It made no sense.

Stefan tensed as Klaus gripped his shoulder. "You're far too hard on yourself," Klaus said, "You'll keep suffocating until you find a balance. The middle ground. The grey. Until you can embrace those parts of yourself without giving in to the beast. Until you can accept your sins for what they are and not let them rule over you, you'll never be free."

"This is your idea of freedom?" Stefan laughed, "Forcing me into a blood binge. Treating me like some lapdog fixed to your side and sic'ing me on anyone who offers you even the slightest bit of opposition."

"You're freer with me than you were doing what you've been doing. If I hadn't intervened, you would have gone on denying the darkness within you altogether. You can't find balance that way. To negotiate the darkness inside of you, you must first succumb to it," Klaus said, "Trust me, I've been around long enough to know. You keep surrounding yourself with people you must hide from, martyr yourself off too, play the good boy for. You won't find people that can accept you, truly accept you for everything you are, the light and the dark that way. You won't find love that way. When you can find someone, who looks your beast in the eye and doesn't have to dig to unbury a more acceptable palatable version of you in order to manage a smile, that's love. You tricked yourself into believing Elena made you into a better person because you twisted yourself into proving that you were with her. But you still hated yourself when you were with her."

Stefan could see it, how Klaus could twist things and manipulate them to make someone doubt. To make them think that he knew them, that he could be trusted. That he should be followed. There was so much truth in what he was saying, and Stefan didn't want to accept it.

"The man I called father was an abusive asshole and my mother a neglectful shrew," Klaus told him, "I've spent my entire existence being referred to as an abomination. The only time I didn't hate myself was when I was around the woman that loved me, and the people that made me feel like I was worth something, not despite what I am, but because of who I am. Good and bad. Wolf and vampire. Man, and monster. It made me want to be more than what I am, not just for them, for her, but for me."

Stefan scoffed. "Those people, that woman. They're not with you now. If they were, you wouldn't need me."

Klaus looked saddened for a moment and then shook his head. "They're always with me. In every moment. Every second. In everything that I am and that I do. Especially her. She's with me even now. Her scent in every breath. Her touch is always burning my skin. She loved me so much that I began to love myself. And if you knew the ways that I loved her, you'd laugh at the thought of what you felt for that twit of a doppelganger being anything close."

Stefan knew that by mentioning Elena again Klaus had intended to get a rise out of him and so he chose not to take the bait. Still, something in the way Klaus spoke about this woman, whoever she had been, made him ache. Made him long for something he had never felt. Something Klaus was likely lying about. Something that couldn't exist. "Well," Stefan said, "Whoever she is, she must be as crazy as you are. If nothing else, she left you with some pretty messed up views on love."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "She isn't crazy. Just built to handle someone like me."

"Was she? Because you can wax poetic about her never leaving but she isn't here physically? You said she saw more in you than what you are. Is that what all this is, some ploy to get her back? You think if you're powerful enough she'll be able to tolerate your presence again? Is that what this quest to make hybrids is, an attempt to be more than what you are?" Stefan asked, deciding to use the rare moment of vulnerability to find out more information.

"Yes," Klaus nodded, "And to protect the people that give a damn about me. Especially her. But it isn't a question of whether she'll come back, it's when. And when she does, I'll need every weapon in my arsenal to keep her safe. To keep us all safe. To keep the promises, I made to her. The more power I have, the bigger the army, the better."

"But it's more than that," Stefan pressed, "When you turned that pack back there, you said something about a new order."

"Like I said before," Klaus sighed, "Once the army gets big enough, no one will be able to touch me. If I wanted, I could bring the whole supernatural world to its knees. It'll be easy to grow and gain power after that, most will go with the winning team by default. If I'm untouchable, she'll be untouchable. The people close to me will be too. Whether you want to accept it or not, that now includes you, my friend."

Stefan laughed, shaking his head. "Right. The only comrade you have left." He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that there was some woman that Klaus was willing to conquer the entire supernatural world for. Klaus calling him friend in any sense of the word was just as ridiculous.

"Don't mock me, Stefan," Klaus said, setting his bottle aside, "It's unbecoming."

"Yeah, well, your delusions of grandeur aren't doing you any favors either." Stefan rolled his eyes. "Hybrid or not, Original or not. You're one person," Stefan said, "Even if you figure out a way to make more hybrids, you'd have to draw every existing wolf pack out of hiding. We've been at this all summer, and we've only found a few. If they keep dying off your army is barely going to have enough wolves to make a pack."

Stefan thought he would falter but Klaus only shrugged. "In a sense, you're right," he said, "It'll take time. Patience. Work. I've been preparing. And who's to say I don't know more about these packs and their locations than I've been letting on. I've been targeting the small ones first. Recruiting in the low numbers. Less losses that way, as things aren't going as planned. The big ones will come later, once all the kinks are sorted out. It'll take more time. But I never expected it to happen overnight. I've been waiting years. Decades. Not just to break this curse. Not just to build this army. But to protect the ones I hold dear. To reunite with the woman that I love. I can wait, Stefan. Because I know eventually, I'll figure out what's killing the hybrids. Eventually, they'll live, and word will spread about how powerful they are. About how they can shift at will without the pain. Without being slaves to the moon. About how my blood is the key to combining more species than many now realize. They'll come to me then. And not just the wolves but the witches and the vampires. Everyone who wants to be on the winning side. Then, she'll come back to me. And when she does, I'll be able to lay the world at her feet and make her a god among men."

Stefan stared. There was merit to everything Klaus was saying but he'd revealed a lot as well. The woman he loved; Klaus had said. Combining more than one species. Stefan wanted to press, uncover more of Klaus' secrets. Figure out what he meant by combining species because that meant potential new threats. But mostly, he wanted to find out who Klaus had loved. Whoever this woman was, she had a power over him. He didn't just love her, but he worshipped her. It was in every word. If Klaus was capable of love, that meant he had a weakness. And whoever she was, she could be used against him.

"This woman," Stefan ventured, "you said she was built to handle someone like you. That she'd seen all of you. She must know about our world then. About the supernatural. Maybe she's even of it. She's a wolf? Or a vampire, maybe?"

Klaus shook his head. "A witch."

Something fell into place. Klaus had come to town with witches as allies after all. Greta. Maddox. Seemed to have one in every town. Most witches were too smart to mingle with vampires but there were exceptions. Of course, there were. Even Stefan knew a few, Bonnie among them. Though, Bonnie had never been given much of a choice.

"You'd think witches would learn to stay away from people like you," Stefan frowned, thinking of Bonnie, of Sheila, of Emily, "People like me too."

"We can't seem to stay out of their orbit any more than they can stay out of ours," Klaus shrugged. "You know that though, don't you? You had your own witch at your side when I road into town. Bonnie. The lovely Miss Bennett. She's special, the last of the Bennett line, beautiful, powerful, and loyal. Worth more than you and I and those idiots she let dwell in her presence and use her power alike. And how many other witches before her? How many other Bennett witches? Were they, not smart enough to stay away?"

Stefan didn't like Klaus' tone as he said Bonnie's name. There was something odd, almost reverent in it. "Bonnie has always been smart, strong, selfless, and outspoken. As much as she hates us, with as much damage as we've done to her and her family, she's been kinder than I or my brother deserved. Though Damon would tell anyone who would listen, differently. Even when she was angry with us or threatened us, she was justified." Stefan thought about meeting Bonnie. About her powers awakening when he and Damon had come to town. About asking her to trust him when he had come for her when she'd gone to the ruins of Fell's Church. About feeding her his blood when Damon had attacked her. About her begging for his life the night Sheila died. About watching her fall the night she had gone after Klaus while he'd been possessing Alaric. About asking her repeatedly for more than she should've had to give. About wanting to protect her. That urge was still there as he sat next to Klaus. He didn't like the sound of Bonnie's name on the hybrid's tongue. "She was just bad at saying no to me."

Klaus raised a brow. "Why do you think that is?"

Stefan couldn't really say. He had known which buttons to push from the moment they met. Had known how to read her. It had been easy for him to get close to her, even when she was wary of him. Even when she'd professed hatred for both him and Damon. He had softened around her immediately and she'd always responded to it. While some part of him had preyed on that, he was beginning to realize that some part of him had known what to look for. Some part of him had been vulnerable with her as well and as much as he preyed upon it, it had made him wary. He had sought a connection with her but hadn't pushed when she'd distance herself from him because there had been a draw there that he was never sure what to do with.

"She's the closest person that's ever come to killing you right?" Stefan asked, choosing not to answer Klaus' question aloud.

"I don't think I'd mind dying by her hands," Klaus smiled on a shrug, "They're lovely hands."

Stefan scoffed. "Is that why you tried so hard to kill her when you were possessing Alaric? You'd even thought you'd succeeded?"

"Did I?" Klaus asked, taking another swig, "I told you Stefan, I've been around a lot of witches. We've both established that Bonnie is a very smart girl. I knew that power would kill her when I discovered she had it. But she was keeping it from you, was she not? But by attacking her that night, I forced the same revelation on you and Damon. One, you'd have known if any of you idiots paid attention to her or recalled anything about magic. I attacked because I knew it would force you idiots into action. Then you'd have to figure out how to keep her alive, if for no other reasons than to make sure she was able to kill me. I made sure I was invulnerable even in that moronic teacher's body so you would be forced to see what it would take for her to take me out and what it would cost her to use all that damned power. Before that you were all focused on Elena. But Bonnie's survival meant Elena's, which was more important to you and that nitwit brother of yours. So, I knew I had to threaten Elena's survival and use the fact that I knew that Bonnie had those powers to keep Bonnie alive and well. I knew you and your dear brother would find a loophole that would buy her some time to figure out how she could live at least long enough to kill me later when it really mattered, if I attacked prematurely and you did. You might not have bothered to worry about her at all otherwise. She would've kept lying about what the power would do and you would've accepted it because it was easier to. You wouldn't have known without me. If I hadn't been watching."

Stefan's eyes widened. He was shocked but there was also guilt there. He should've known from the moment Bonnie had channeled the power it'd be a problem. That her body couldn't handle it. But he hadn't wanted to know because the power had solved the problem of Elena's life being in danger. The fact that they hadn't even considered Bonnie being unsafe with the power, but Klaus had taken it upon himself to provoke them into protecting Bonnie made him feel sick and angry with himself for not having acted sooner than the night of the dance. But why had Klaus done it? "What? Why would you-"

Klaus cut him off. "Damon faked her death most convincingly. Had I not had people watching, I might have bought the game. Her heart did stop beating as it were. Gave me a momentary fright." The last words he laughed at. "But you figured out a way to keep the power from being her undoing. Having her start the job and my dear brother, Elijah, finish me off. It might have worked if I hadn't had my family to bargain with."

"What do you mean you knew Bonnie was alive the whole time? That doesn't make any sense. If you knew, then that means you risked dying so that she could find a loophole to keep herself alive when she tried to kill you. Why would you do that? She was ready to die killing you the night of the sacrifice. She was your biggest threat. Why put yourself at risk for the sake of a witch that you didn't know? One that hated you and wanted you dead. Why put your plans and your life at risk? I almost don't want to believe you. But, hell, now that I think about it, that night you attacked her as Ric, you could've killed her without having her expel all that power. You'd compelled more than one person at that dance. She would've hesitated attacking innocents. You could've used one to take her out, but you had them attack Jeremy instead. You had two more experienced witches that could have easily brought her down. If you were watching us as long as you claimed, you could've even gotten to her before she channeled all that power. Eliminated the threat before it became a threat." Stefan frowned he didn't understand, maybe the power was the reason he wanted Bonnie alive but that didn't make sense. "There were so many ways you could have gotten rid of her and yet you didn't...I don't get it?"

"Bonnie is more valuable to me alive than dead. You'll understand my motives when the time comes." The hybrid's expression closed off again and became unreadable. "I like having witches around," Klaus said, "Her name has pull. Most witches may be smart enough to stay away from me, but the Bennett name could be persuasive in that respect. My blood as well."

"You really are crazy if you think that Bonnie would align herself with you." Stefan frowned. "If that's what you were hoping for-"

"When I sent you to deal with your brother sniffing around and you killed that reporter, his wayward blood bag turned girlfriend, did you think I thought he'd give up," Klaus said, cutting him off, "I know too much about family to be that naïve. He'll come back for you. When he does, he'll need help and he'll call Bonnie, because you two use her to bail you out whenever you're in a fix. When we see her again, we'll see where her loyalties are. We'll see where yours are as well."

Stefan didn't like the way that the conversation was going. "Why do you need Bonnie if you have some witch you love beyond reason or life or whatever? Bonnie may not be able to say no to me, but she hates you and you're not as persuasive as you think. You terrorized the people she loves the most. If you're looking to make an alliance, you're looking in the wrong place." He knew he had to tread carefully where Klaus was concerned. Questioning his judgment was never good, but he needed to dissuade him from any interest he had in Bonnie. She'd done enough for everyone around her, and they had caused her enough trouble.

Though Stefan had been away the entire summer, he had been keeping tabs on everyone. Making sure Klaus had kept his word about not harming anyone back in Mystic Falls prior to being forced to send a message to Damon through ending Andie's life. He knew that Bonnie was currently in Chicago with her father's family. Stefan turned to Klaus, read the answer in his expression before he spoke. "We're going to Chicago, aren't we?"

Klaus grinned. "We're just a few hours out," he said, his tone casual, "A witch I know there, Gloria, may be able to find me some answers regarding my hybrids."

"I'm guessing Gloria isn't the love of your undead life, the witch you've been waiting to reunite with," Stefan said, hoping Klaus would be distracted from Bonnie.

"No," Klaus shook his head, looking amused, "She hardly tolerates me on a good day. She shares a fondness for my lady love but has always abhorred me. But...word has it, she's taken to mentoring someone recently. A young witch. A progeny. A pretty little thing from Virginia. So, we'll be reuniting with someone after all. Won't we, love."

Stefan felt his anger rise. "Whatever you want from Bonnie, you aren't going to get it." He spat. "She's never going to get involved with someone like you in any way. She's too good for that. Besides, if this witch of yours can't give you any answers you'll be back to square one anyway. You can't exactly recruit Bonnie into some new order that doesn't exist."

"You're very protective of a witch you can scarcely call friend. A witch you were willing to let die to see me dead," Klaus commented.

"When you attacked the night of the dance, I didn't know using that power could kill her at first. I tried to stop her when I found out," Stefan frowned, "I was too late. Or I thought I was. Damon was the one that helped her fake her death. As for the night of the sacrifice. We were only willing to work with your brother at all because it would keep Bonnie from having to use that power. Keep her alive. When I saw her fall the night of the dance and her heart stopped beating, I begged her grandmother to bring her back. Her name was Sheila. We were friends. Like I said, I didn't know it was fake. I promised Sheila, if Bonnie came back, I'd protect her. Whether that night, her death was fake or not, and whether you like it or not I intend to keep that promise."

Klaus raised a brow. "Why care at all?"

"Bonnie was important," Stefan said, "She is important. She's Elena's best friend."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "So, the doppelganger said often enough. She was good with words, your Elena. But there was very little action behind them. In any case, you can't fool me, Stefan. Bringing up your wayward and very dead ex-girlfriend won't distract me from Bonnie. You don't want to admit it, but your campaign for Bonnie's life during my first villainous stint wasn't just about the doppelganger. You care about Bonnie in her own right."

Stefan opened his mouth to deny it but couldn't. "I have a history with her family," he said, by way of an excuse.

"That's not the only reason you care," Klaus said, "You're downplaying it. Afraid I might use her against you or your dear brother now that I don't have the Elena card to play. But you're wrong. I wouldn't do that. You said it yourself she's too important."

"To your plan?" Stefan hedged.

"To everything." Klaus murmured. He looked away and out the window for a moment. When he turned back to Stefan, his expression was unreadable. "As for the hybrids," he said, this time Klaus was the one to change the subject from Bonnie, "the solution will come eventually. The answer is out there. We may be hitting a snag now, Stefan. Taking baby steps. But that's the thing about revolutions. They all start small."

Stefan frowned at the words. For some reason they made him think of the record that he liked to play on the bad days. The one that brought him back from the brink when Lexi had found him in April of 1922. "I Ain't Never Had Nobody Crazy Over Me," by Nora Bayes. Stefan had listened to it again and again during his decade long rehabilitation. The record along with the necklace he had found, the one that for some reason had given him hope, the one he'd given to Elena, reminded him that someone had cared about him when he was at his worst. That they had maybe even loved him. If even in that state there was enough of himself to latch onto for someone to care about, Stefan had felt as if he could come back from anything. Even if he couldn't remember who that person was, they had saved him during that time just as much as Lexi had.

Stefan shook himself out of his revelry as Klaus took another drag from his bottle. "All revolutions start small," Stefan repeated, "I've heard that somewhere before."

He glanced at Klaus as the man tugged at the silver chain around his neck. Remembered how Damon had told him about Mason Lockwood laughing about the misconception about werewolves and silver, as Klaus pulled the chain from beneath his shirt. Klaus never took it off, Stefan realized. But he'd never seen the other end of it as the hybrid always kept it hidden.

When the chain came fully into view there was a ring dangling from it. A white gold diamond ring with a floral design. The diamond at the center was big but the ring was small, clearly meant for a woman's finger. Klaus smiled at it almost wistfully as he spoke. "Yes," he said, "You've heard it before."

Stefan waited for Klaus to expand, but he didn't. The hybrid brought the ring to his lips and kissed it. He tucked the chain back into his shirt and then closed his eyes. He leaned back in his seat, ignoring Stefan altogether.

Stefan sighed. At least he had gotten off the topic of Bonnie. Whenever they reached Chicago, he would have to find a way to warn her of Klaus' presence. Hopefully, this other witch, this Gloria had Bonnie's best interest at heart if she was mentoring her all summer. He could send her a message through her, maybe. Maybe he could even get information about this witch Klaus had been in love with. That he was still in love with, if the ring was any indication. If he could do that, he'd find out what Klaus' weakness was, once and for all.

:::

Chicago, Illinois, 1922

Bonnie lay in bed next to Klaus with her eyes closed. She still couldn't believe that she had let him get so close so quickly. That it had very little to do with her end game plan and more to do with the fact that she had wanted to be with him. That she didn't regret it. But the night had already held so much strangeness, so much upheaval, why not this?

Even as they laid together, still and quiet, she could feel his gaze on her. She could feel herself spiraling further. "You're staring," she murmured, though her own eyes remained closed.

"Yes," Klaus said, his fingertips trailing down the length of her spine, "And your eyes are closed so that you can pretend that I am not looking at you in the way that I am."

Bonnie met the challenge and opened her eyes to meet his gaze head on. She was surprised by the depth of feeling that she could see there as his blue eyes bore into her. "It's unsettling," she said, "The way you look at me. We just met. It doesn't make any sense."

"No, it doesn't and yet I feel as if I know you as deeply and as fully as I know my own self," he said.

"So, you keep saying," Bonnie scoffed, even as she draped and arm over his middle. Even as a part of her felt the same way.

She thought it would be harder to pry his secrets from him, but she supposed she could ask him anything and he would tell her at that moment. And yet, as insane as it was, a bigger part of her didn't want to betray the trust they had created between them in so short a time. It was fragile and new, but it felt more real to her than anything she had ever felt. Which meant that Klaus was far more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

"You know me," Bonnie grinned, trying to make light of the situation, "Because the Spirits hate us both? Because we strange children have played together? Because I let you into my bed before I even had a chance to get a good night's sleep in it? I admit you've had some insightful moments. I admit that we can relate to one another. I admit that you've gotten more out of me than I planned to give. But you know me as well as one person can know another in less than one night. No more. No less."

"I know you because we are kindred," he whispered, "Because I see myself mirrored in you so clearly in so many ways already and yet you are far beyond anything I have ever dreamed to be attainable for myself. Because of what I am and who I am. Being with you at the bar, in this room, and in this bed has been the closest thing I have ever had to a religious experience in my entire existence."

Bonnie's eyes widened and her brows furrowed as she looked up at him. When she saw the serious expression on his face and the earnest way, he looked at her she shifted away from him, removing her arm from around him. He was being sincere, and Bonnie didn't know how to handle that. She let out an uncomfortable laugh and shook her head. As crazy and out of sorts as she had felt the entire night, nothing terrified her more than his words.

"We seriously need to talk about your attachment issues, hybrid," Bonnie teased, attempting to jest.

Klaus grabbed her arm, his grip gentle but firm as he tugged her back into his body. "Don't," he said, "Don't mock me. This is hard for me to say, and I want you to listen. If you must make fun of me, then do it when I'm done."

Against her better judgment and her sanity Bonnie allowed herself to be pulled back into him. She wrapped her arms around him again but was unable to look at him as he continued to speak.

"I have been around a long time," Klaus said, "Long enough to see gods, kings, and men rise and fall. You have in one night with a few words given me more to believe in than anyone I've encountered. I have in all this time hated what I am. I've struggled with seeing myself as anything other than an abomination. But when you said that I could have just as easily been called a miracle I began to feel like one. I have enough power buried in me to make others fear and it's been alienating since discovering what's buried under the surface. But you, you Bonnie Bennett, make the Spirits quake and make me feel less alone just by existing in your power."

Bonnie shifted and sat up again, her unease growing with every word. "Why are you telling me this?" Bonnie asked, "You've been trying to keep me from running all night, but this is the quickest way to make me do just that."

Klaus scowled and then let out a self-deprecating laugh, running a hand over his face. "I know that," he said, "I see you, and I know that. Perhaps that is what my aim is, for you to run. Even if it's not what I truly want. It would be easier for me if you did. I have been alone for so long and known nothing but missed opportunity. One sided and ingenuine relationships. Rejection and abandonment. It's always been easier with Rebekah. I know she will never leave me, and our ties run deep. Stefan has been a true connection, but he loves her first and last. True connection and true intimacy are hard to find. I felt that tonight, with you and it's already surpassed what I've felt before you. It would be better for me if you were to run now. Reject me. Because if you do not I will never let you go and I cannot afford another person that I am afraid to lose. I cannot afford another weakness. But you, Bonnie, are already shaping up to be one that is far greater than anticipated. Even if you stayed, I would never fully trust that you wouldn't one day leave. Not just because I have been abandoned before. Not just because even as I look at you now, you seem unreal to me. But because gods never dwell among mortals for long."

Bonnie shook her head. She felt even more vulnerable facing him, naked, her body bare to him as she looked down at where he still lay on the bed as she sat with her knees drawn into her chest. "I don't want to be anyone's god, Klaus," she said, "But I know what its like to be abandoned. For all of your relationships to feel one sided." She thought about her friends back home. About Jeremy. About her losing her Grams. About her father's absence and her mother's choice to leave them both. "To be discarded and taken for granted. To feel unloved. Being a vampire, I know that you feel those things more acutely. That you carry them with a weight I can't imagine. You would have to, holding onto that hate and resentment for as long as you have. Even if, it's as I suspect, and those rejections have just been repeated by more than one person over time. My life has been much shorter, but I have spent it giving more of myself to the people around me than I have ever gotten in return, risking my life and protecting everyone thanklessly without thought for my own self-preservation. A part of that has been because I don't want to be left behind. Your devotion is more appealing to me than I want to admit. I'm afraid of it because it's so tempting to me to embrace it and latch onto it. Not because I don't want it, but because I do. But I can't afford another weakness either. It's dangerous for me too."

Klaus sat up then and ran a hand down Bonnie's back. "Whatever you're running from, whatever you've been neglecting yourself to protect everyone else because of, tell me what or who it is, and I'll take care of it. Whatever threat there is against you I'll eliminate it. Just tell me what it is that you're really running from. If there's something else outside of the Spirits, let me be the one to free you from it."

Bonnie wanted to laugh again because he was the threat she was trying to eliminate. He was the thing she was running from, in both times, but for different reasons. But she knew that he meant the words. She had practically dismantled him in one night and she hadn't even truly been trying to make him fall. She could find out his secrets if she wanted and it wouldn't take the four weeks that she was said to have spent in this time. Because she could accept it now, that she was the witch that he had loved. His words and the Spirits acting against her were the only proof she needed. She had no choice but to. The problem was that he had broken down her defenses just as quickly and she could not be his undoing without him being hers.

"What are you running from, Klaus?" Bonnie asked, even knowing it was too soon to do so. Even with the way he was talking about her, falling hard and fast for her as unbelievable as it was. But it was safer territory than the things he said to her, than the way he looked at her. At least, it felt safer to her in that moment.

"Right now?" Klaus asked, before he answered, both dodging the question and telling the truth, "This." He gestured between them. "You."

Bonnie knew that if she wanted to discover more than that she would have to stay long enough to. But he was right, this was becoming a weakness that neither of them could afford. They were already too vulnerable to one another in more ways than one. Even so, Bonnie said. "I meant what I said I don't want to be your god. I don't need worship. But you were right about one thing, I want a true connection. Real intimacy. Another strange child to play with. It's what I covet and as scary as it is for me to admit, it's what you've given me tonight. It's what I want you to keep giving me. If I promise not to run, for now, can you keep yourself open to me? Can you give me that?"
Bonnie knew what it would mean for him to leave himself vulnerable to her. It would mean she had already won. The problem was, even if she would eventually be able to get the information on Klaus that she needed, she wasn't sure that her resolve would hold up long enough for her to use it against him.

Klaus leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. "I can give you that," he murmured as he pulled away, "If you stay with me, I can give you anything."

:::

Chicago, Illinois, 2011

Klaus dropped Stefan at a hotel in Naperville before heading into the city on his own. He had business to take care of before he was ready to bring Stefan completely into the fold and return his memories. Namely preparing for Rebekah's return and visiting the local witch coven, that in the last few decades had strengthened to the point of taking control of the city. A coven of which Gloria was the second in command and a witch named Adelaide Lacoste was the recruiter.

Adelaide had come to Chicago in 1922 right before Bonnie's arrival. She'd made a bid for Gloria's territory under the orders of a police officer who had threatened her family at Mikael's behest not long after Bonnie arrived, and the formation of the coven had been the result of the attempt. However, the coven's formation couldn't be credited to Gloria or Adelaide, it could be credited to one woman, Bonnie Sheila Bennett. During her short time in Chicago, Klaus wasn't the only one who'd made Bonnie his new god.

It was almost amusing that Bonnie was in fact the High Priestess of an ever-growing coven and wasn't at all aware of the fact. Though, she wouldn't assume the role until she went back in time and wouldn't resume the role until, she returned to her rightful time.

Over the years some of the newer recruits had thought Bonnie a legend. A story the elders told and so a few had tried to make a bid for her seat, rest the power from her hands before she even knew she had it. But Klaus had always protected Bonnie's interest and so had Adelaide. As combative as the woman had been upon meeting them all back then, she had become and still was one of Bonnie's greatest allies and most avid worshipers.

Bonnie had never wanted worship Klaus knew but given who she was and the things she inspired in others; it was something that often came with the territory. Even those who had never met her knew of her name. Of her power. Of her hold on the great hybrid Niklaus Mikaelson. It would overwhelm her when she returned, but no one had or would love her as much as Klaus did and so she would have him in every way she needed to guide her through even if he wasn't sure what his reception would be upon her return given their most recent history.

Klaus was dropped off in front of the gutted Catholic church that had been turned into a speakeasy in the twenties and was now a renovated night club that doubled as the coven's headquarters.

He walked up the steps and smiled at the stained-glass windows, the only remnants of the original building outside of the structure of the building itself. Everything on the inside had been modernized long ago and was constantly changing still.

Klaus made his way to the double doors and knocked six times. It was always six when one was requesting audience with Adelaide and not simply club entry, for there were six letters in Bonnie's name.

The door creaked open and the buff warlock that manned the door grinned at Klaus. "We were wondering when you'd come back," he said.

"Hello, Wren," Klaus nodded, "Next time I come you'll finally get to meet my lady love."

Wren's eyes widened the way all the young ones did at the mention of Bonnie. For the ones who had tried their hand at bringing unrest had been weeded out long ago. "She's gone back then," Wren said.

Klaus nodded. "I believe so," he said, "though I have yet to confirm as much with Gloria. Knowing her she would try everything in her power to prevent it from happening."

Wren frowned. "But Gloria loves Bonnie more than Adelaide even," he said, "Why wouldn't she want her to fulfill her destiny."

"It isn't her destiny Gloria wishes to keep Bonnie away from, it's my influence," Klaus frowned, "She'd sooner have brought Bonnie into the fold in this time but without the time before this coven wouldn't even exist. That's the trick of things. With this place intact as well as my memories, I know not even Gloria could stop the inevitable."

Wren nodded. "Do you think that the High Priestess will be pleased with what we've accomplished here?"

Klaus smiled. "You've saved many witches from servitude, solitude, powerlessness, and death in her name," he said, "She'll be more than pleased, she'll be proud and honored to call you all her own."

"And I will be honored to receive such a blessing," Wren said, "Come, Adelaide awaits."

Wren led Klaus through the club and towards the back offices after he nodded to one of the other warlocks to man the front doors for him.

When they reached the office, Wren knocked six times in warning before opening the door to let Klaus inside.

The office was the only part of the inside that looked the same as it did in 1922. The portrait that Klaus had painted of Bonnie, Adelaide, and Gloria on the night of the coven's formation still hung behind the desk. It was Adelaide's own shrine to Bonnie, her own proof that the girl existed and would return to them. At least it had been until Klaus had told her of his time with Bonnie in Mystic Falls.

As Klaus entered the office Adelaide stood from her desk. She grinned at him and shook her head. "You don't need to tell me about Bonnie going back. Gloria called already. She'll call you too, soon enough," she said, "When she's ready."

Klaus sighed. "Yes, well," he said, "I just wanted to make sure that things will be ready for when Bonnie returns."

"We're doing good here," Adelaide nodded, "We always are. Kept to Bonnie's code this whole time, helped a lot of witches. Hidden a lot of wolf packs from existence. Protected them from slaughter. Doing more for them than you are these days in fact."

Klaus frowned. Adelaide was always too mouthy for her own good. "Watch it."

Adelaide huffed, tossing her long dark braids over her shoulders. She had slowed down her aging the same way that Gloria had, but it still showed a bit around her eyes. "I don't answer to you," she said, "I answer to Bonnie, same as you, whether you want to admit it or not. You've always been too impatient for your own good. You get too desperate too quickly when you don't get your way. I know that you want to create an army. But the hybrids aren't working. You're losing wolves and allies trying to make it work. You're staining your reputation at the same time. Getting blood on your hands and breeding fear in the very beings you claim the new order is supposed to protect. That also stains our hands and more importantly Bonnie's hands. You need to put a hold on things, wait until Bonnie comes back. She'll help you figure out what's going wrong with the hybrids. We'll investigate things on our end as well. In the meantime, you can coax the packs out of hiding but use a softer touch, the promise of power and freedom. Not violence and compliance. That isn't the way things are supposed to work if you want to accomplish your end game. That isn't the way Bonnie would want it and not the way we promised to do things."

"You sound like, Stefan," he huffed, "Even without his memories." But she was right. Of course, she was right. Because Bonnie would've said much the same thing. She was also right about his impatience; it was one of his many curses along with his impulsivity. It was easier to let things play out and take the necessary slow steps to build trust and form true alliances when he had Bonnie by his side to temper his worse impulses. Without her, all he had was desperation to get her back, and to build the life he promised he would build her no matter the costs. But that would backfire once she discovered what that cost was.

Adelaide smiled. "Well, with or without complete knowledge of that time, Stefan knows and loves Bonnie same way we all do," she said, "Do you remember what she said to you the night that you all met me."

Klaus laughed as he recalled the memory. "A little diplomacy goes a long way," he recalled.

"Exactly," Adelaide nodded, "Those words are just as true now as they were then. Be patient. Think like Bonnie. Be strategic. Be charming. Be diplomatic. I know that it's foreign for you but be merciful and when you can be as vulnerable as you allow yourself to be. It'll all come together. Besides, there's no way I am linking you up with the wolves in this city if you plan on trying and failing to turn them before you find out what's going wrong. I made promises to Bonnie too and I intend to keep them."

Klaus nodded. "You've always been not just a true worshipper but a true friend," he said.

Adelaide smiled. "I've spent my whole life trying to burn the world down because of how it tried to break me," she said, "Bonnie was just as broken, but she wanted to build bridges. Even at her darkest moments she could still feel empathy and show grace. I haven't met anyone like her before or since then. I know you love her, and I understand the urge to want to burn the world down just to place it at her feet, but Bonnie deserves more than to be the god of a world on fire. She wouldn't want it."

Klaus closed his eyes and nodded. What good would a temple be if it was built from ashes? What good was bloodshed if the sacrifices were made in vain? "You're right," Klaus said, staring at Bonnie's portrait over the desk, "I've been acting on the fear that she'll return only to cast me down when I don't deliver and what I've been doing may lead to her casting me down anyway."

Adelaide reached out and touched his hand. "She loves you Niklaus," she said, "Besides we both know that she never wanted to be a god. But if Bonnie were a god, she wouldn't be one that casts monsters out, she'd be one that forgives, one that embraces, and one that loves unconditionally."

Tears stung the corners of Klaus's eyes as he spoke. "Which is why, though she may not be a god, she will always be mine."

:::

Chicago, Illinois, 1922

Rebekah Mikaelson was used to her brother being threatened by her connections to other men, other beings outside of their inner circle in general. Even by those who had been of them as Marcel Gerard had been. But Rebekah had very rarely been on the other side of that. She had very rarely ever had anyone come along that came close to fracturing the devotion that Nik felt for her and their family. However, as she had watched Klaus walk away from her and Stefan tonight with Bonnie Bennett in his arms, she had felt an unease that ran deep.

Now she sat on the edge of the bed in the hovel Stefan Salvatore called an apartment, her mind on the witch as Stefan ran them a bath. He had just come back from feeding and Rebekah had been waiting on him and stewing all the while.

"We need to find out more about her," Rebekah said, "Where she came from. If someone sent her."

Stefan rolled his eyes as he returned to the bedroom area, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked. "She's from Virginia," he said, "She already told us. Likely, Mystic Falls since I've known Bennetts who have settled there for a while, and she knows me by reputation. And what do you mean who sent her? Who would've sent her?"

Rebekah frowned, her hands clenching in the bed sheets. Mikael was the only logical answer, but Stefan didn't yet know about her father and for now Rebekah wanted to keep it that way. The slaughter they had left behind in New Orleans was still too fresh. It was still too dangerous.

But Rebekah knew that her father would know how to bait Klaus. He would have no problem aligning himself to a witch as powerful as Bonnie claimed to be. Especially after the near misses that he'd had in the past when it came to ridding the world of Niklaus. He would know of his solitude after losing Marcel and Lana. Would know what script to give the witch, the right words to say to make Nik vulnerable to her. The question was, would the witch be willing to align with Mikael? Would he have given her a choice if he had targeted her?

The only way that Rebekah could think of to find out the whole truth would be some magical means. A truth serum perhaps. Or delving into the witch's memories. The problem with both was the only witch that she had to go to for assistance at the moment was Gloria and she had already taken a liking to the girl. Was already protective of her. But perhaps that was by design as well.

"I don't like the way that he looks at her," Rebekah said, instead of answering Stefan's question.

Stefan sighed as he sat down next to her on the bed. "Are you wary of her because you're jealous or because you actually truly believe that she could be some kind of threat?"

"Both," Rebekah admitted. "But that doesn't mean that I'm wrong."

If the girl had been sent by Mikael, they would truly only have a few options. The choice Rebekah preferred was to kill the girl. But if they did, Nik was already attached enough to the girl to retaliate, and Rebekah would likely both lose Stefan and end up daggered in a coffin for her trouble. Besides it wouldn't get them any real answers. That left only, getting close to the girl and getting her to admit whether or not she was working for Mikael. If she wasn't then at the very least, she would be less of a threat than Rebekah perceived even if her presence was still unsettling. If she was then it would be a chance to sway her to their side of things and get information; or if that didn't work, the betrayal would mean Nik would likely be open to killing her eventually.

Stefan kissed Rebekah shoulder and wrapped an arm around her. "Whether you like it or not, your brother is already attached," he said, "Which I know validates your concerns, but it also means Bonnie will be around long enough for us to get the information you're looking for an alleviate those same concerns when nothing comes of it."

Rebekah rolled her eyes as she stood up. "You're probably right, but also entirely too sure of yourself for my liking." She walked across the room as she noticed a necklace sitting atop the dresser. It was a simple silver chain with a white flower pendant at the end. Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "From your latest victim, I presume," she said as she ran her fingers over the chain, "You and Nik and your trophies."

Stefan shook his head standing as well. "Funny thing is, I didn't even kill the girl I took it from," he said, "I didn't feed at all actually. Just came back after I compelled it off her."

Rebekah raised a brow. "You went out to feed and came back with a necklace?" She said incredulously. Her other hand inadvertently moved to touch her mother's necklace that hung around her own neck. "It's pretty I suppose, but not really my taste. My necklace is much more unique."

"I'm sure it is. But I didn't compel this one off the girl with you in mind." Stefan picked up the necklace and smiled almost wistfully. "It's a dogwood," he said, gesturing towards the flower, "The Virginia state flower. We used to have a dogwood tree in our garden when I was growing up. It made me think of home, I thought it might do the same for Bonnie. She had a rough night and I'm sure she's missing home. My mother always said that they represented rebirth. Bonnie going off on her own and taking the stage. Reclaiming her power. Getting out from beneath the thumb of the Spirits. It's a kind of rebirth. I just thought it fitting so I compelled the girl and brought it back here so I could put it somewhere safe."

Rebekah scowled. "You didn't feed so you could compel the witch a present."

Stefan laughed kissing Rebekah on the lips. "It's just a nice gesture. It'll help us ingratiate ourselves with her and you can figure out what her aim is. If she has one. It's not a big deal."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at him. "So, you're not interested in her?"

Stefan shrugged. "No more than you are."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You've always been shit at lying, Stefan."

Stefan smirked and gripped her hips. "I'm not lying," he said, "I didn't deny that I am interested. I think you're just in denial about how deep your own interests lies and why it's there."

But it was bigger than that. Stefan was a Ripper. He couldn't escape the call of blood when it came. And yet, he had, without thought, forgone feeding for the sake of a nice gesture, with Bonnie Bennett in mind. That settled it in Rebekah's mind, the witch was a threat in more ways than one.

:::

Naperville, Illinois, 2011

They had stopped at some hotel about forty-five minutes from Chicago. Klaus had gotten a call on the road that had made him antsy. Stefan had tried to listen in on the conversation but had only gotten the tail end of it. Something about a shipment arriving later than expected. Something that Klaus wanted to remain untouched and was willing to leave Stefan and go ahead to Chicago for.

It was all the same for Stefan. He was happy to be left alone and to his own devices. Being around Klaus was getting more than a little claustrophobic as of late. Worse than that, he was giving Stefan too much to think about. Making him doubt. He was still playing the conversation with Klaus over in his head. Still mulling over all the truths that Klaus had no business knowing. Still thinking about Klaus's interest in Bonnie and what that would mean for when he reached the city.

His first instinct was to protect Bonnie in some way. However, he knew he had to be careful. Klaus was always watching and even when he was absent Stefan knew that there were eyes on him. He thought about ways he could warn the others to look after Bonnie without being too obvious. Without Klaus catching on.

His cell phone sitting on the nightstand caught his eye. He doubted very much that Klaus was paying enough attention to the others back in Mystic Falls to be monitoring their social media accounts. He might've gotten a glimpse of Elena and realized that she was still alive if he had. An idea came to him, and he picked up the phone and opened Instagram navigating to Bonnie's page.

At first Stefan began to like photos at random hoping it would catch someone's attention. If nothing else, he knew Caroline was on social media enough for it to catch her eye. However, after a while he came across a video of Bonnie and someone unfamiliar performing at a bar in Chicago. He watched it without thinking and as he heard Bonnie sing, something deep inside of him filled with a longing that he didn't understand.

Stefan played the video three more times before searching for others. Then he looked at her photos to really look. He saw pictures of Bonnie with her family. Older ones of her and Sheila. Newer ones of her and her father whom he had never met. He saw pictures of Bonnie in Chicago looking so much like the bubbly smiling girl she had been before the supernatural had infiltrated her life. He realized as he studied each photograph and watched each video that there was so much that he didn't know about Bonnie, and that there was so much that he wanted to know.

There was also so much about her that he missed. He missed the smile she used to have for him before everything went pear shaped and their friendship became more about him asking her for assistance than anything else. He missed being able to protect her, get close to her without her being wary of him. He even missed things he had no right to miss. He missed the sound of her laughter, realized how long it had been since he'd heard it. He missed the sound of her heartbeat in his ears. He missed watching her use her powers. The determination and confidence she had even with her lack of experience. The deep almost hypnotic lull that her voice took on when she recited incantations. The way that she was so powerful that even he could feel it buzzing under the surface of his skin.

He became fixated on each new piece of information that he found out about her. He hadn't known that she could sing. That she loved old jazz standards. That she could play the piano. He'd seen her cheerleading enough times to know she had rhythm and that she could dance but when she was on the stage, she was so different. It was like a transformation. A rebirth.

By the time Klaus returned to the hotel room and sat down on the twin bed next to Stefan's, he realized that hours had passed. He looked up as if in a daze as Klaus spoke. "I suppose you found a way to kill the time while I was gone," he said, "Or perhaps you found some time to kill I should say."

Stefan didn't miss the double entendre of Klaus's words but realized that he hadn't thought about blood at all, even though it had been some time since he had fed. "I didn't think to feed," Stefan said, the words a shock even as they were spoken.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "A ripper forgetting to feed? What could you have been doing that was so distracting that even a kill wasn't tempting in my absence?"

"I…," Stefan trailed not knowing what to say. He couldn't very well tell him that he had been stalking Bonnie on Instagram for hours and that he felt like he was being gutted every time that he heard Bonnie sing. "I was thinking," Stefan said, even knowing that it was the worst possible cover.

Klaus looked amused. "About anything in particular."

Stefan tossed his phone on the bed and played for nonchalance. "The usual," he said, his tone sarcastic, "Killing you. Escaping. Ruining all your plans."

To Stefan's surprise, Klaus laughed. "You never were a good liar, Stefan," he said, "Let's put everything out on the table, old friend. You were thinking about Bonnie. About protecting her from the big bad wolf. Your blood lust may have been awakened but your hero complex hasn't left you. Besides, I've been around a long time. Only a woman can make a vampire lose his own head and forget to feed."

There was a clear implication in his tone and Stefan frowned. "Maybe I was thinking about protecting Bonnie, but she can handle herself," he said, "And like I said before, she's smart enough to stay away from you. As for the rest, Bonnie and I were never…. I mean I've never felt anything for her beyond…." Friendship, Stefan wanted to say. But it sounded wrong. It sounded like a lie.

Klaus shook his head. "I told you, Stefan," he said, standing, "You've always been a shit liar."

Stefan watched as Klaus walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He tried to dissect Klaus's words. Always, he'd said. As if he had spent more time with Stefan than him practically holding him hostage all summer. As if he knew him beyond the months, he'd spent watching Elena before he struck when he'd showed up possessing Alaric's body. As if he'd seen him play the hero beyond the night of the sacrifice. No matter how Stefan tried to piece it together he couldn't make any sense of it, any more than he could make any sense of whatever feelings were brewing under the surface every time he thought of Bonnie.

Still, he couldn't fight the urge to seek Bonnie out. To figure out what she'd been up to all summer besides singing gigs. To warn her about Klaus. Stefan glanced at the door of the bathroom as he suddenly heard the shower running. Making a snap decision he sent a quick text to Bonnie. "I know that I'm the last person that you trust right now," it read, "But I need to see you. I'll be in Chicago soon. Text me an address and a time and I'll be there."

As soon as he sent the message, he deleted it so that Klaus wouldn't see it on the off chance that he was checking Stefan's phone. Unable to help himself he navigated back to Bonnie's Instagram page, once again forgetting to feed.

End Notes: Hopefully that was worth the wait! Next chapter Adelaide gets introduced to the 1922 timeline, Rebekah begins to see Bonnie in a new light, and Bonnie enters into Klaus's territory. Please be sure to leave reviews, there is so much time put into these chapters and its always nice to get feedback! Thanks for reading!