Chapter Text
It was dark out in the woods at night, even the moon was shadowed by clouds that were hard to make out in pitch black, but Silas knew where he was headed as he dragged the priest through the thicket. The frail old man was surprisingly strong, and a tough old bastard. He bucked and grunted against the wizard as he moved deeper into the forest. Once they were at the waterfront Silas dropped the priest, moving around him to cut loose the gag and duct tape he used to restrain him.
"You look like a smart man, a man who values his life. Bless this water and you will never see me again. Try to escape or refuse my request and I will destroy everything dear to you."
The priest glared at the figure before him. His captor's face was grotesque. What kind of man would pull an elderly priest from his bed in the middle of the night? And to bless an ordinary body of water that was surely polluted. He did not know nor care. Blessings were from God, he would grant his request, despite the evil resonating from this lost soul. What harm could holy water do?
-o0o-
"I don't understand Jeremy. What else did she tell you?" Jeremy sighed, walking away from a very tenacious blonde interrogator.
"I told you she said she was going to see her mom, and she needed some time." Caroline narrowed her eyes. Jeremy's heart had sped up slightly. He was beginning to perspire. This little shit was lying.
"That's all she said? You're sure."
Jeremy promised Bonnie that he wouldn't tell Elena and Caroline about her death until the summer was over, but after a week of no Bonnie, Caroline was becoming suspicious.
Caroline’s hands landed on her waist. Her head cocked as she observed the boy. "Why do I feel like you're lying to me? There's more to this story."
"Yeah, there is but it's private and a little X-rated."
"God, don't tell me she forgave you for making out with Anna the too-friendly ghost."
"What's it to you, Caroline? Look, I love Bonnie. I made a mistake. I apologized. I love her and will do anything for her including being harassed by you. Now if you're done, I have to go down to the police station and fake my fake death."
Jeremy walked out of the mansion glad to be rid of Caroline. Two more minutes and he would have confessed. Caroline could be scary.
Caroline looked around the empty house. Tyler hadn't returned. Matt was gallivanting around the country with Barbie Klaus. Elena was busy doing God knows what with Damon, and Stefan was brooding and avoiding her. Where the hell was Bonnie? Caroline wanted to be okay and be happy that she was trying to work things out with her mom, even though she didn't deserve it, but something just did not feel right. She needed to talk to Bonnie, to hear her voice, and then maybe she could calm down. Her dad was clueless. He was just focused on his political career and keeping the supernatural in line.
There it was again the overwhelming feeling of sadness and doom. It's like something was missing. Ugh, Bonnie would have called. It's been a week, almost two, Caroline thought. Jeremy knows something. She needed to talk to Bonnie. She missed her friend.
-o0o-
"Well Well Well, if it isn't my favorite betrayer."
Bonnie turned to glance at Kol's ghost. "What do you want? Shouldn't you be trying to find Finn or your mother or something?"
Kol snorted in disgust. "Why would I do that? When I could make your afterlife the epitome of hell… or heaven, your choice. Besides, you're much prettier to look at, especially when you're pining over the Blonde vampire."
Bonnie glared at the original then followed Caroline into the kitchen of the mansion with Kol in tow. What ghost haunts other ghosts? Bonnie thought.
"You're insane, you know that? I love Caroline more than any of your primitive notions about love and romance. Besides, Jeremy is the man I loved."
Kol chuckled. "Really? Is that why I always find you near him…Oh, wait I don't do I? You're usually following Caroline around or hanging out with Sheila at the old witches' house or you're alone waiting for me to come to brighten your day."
Bonnie rolled her eyes even though he was right. The only person she looked in on was Caroline. She would check on Matt, but the one time she did she felt like a voyeur. She never wanted to see that much of Matt and Rebekah again. She made a promise to herself to not come when Jeremy called. If she did, he wouldn't move on with his life. So, she had been fighting the pull from the other side when Jeremy tried to beckon her.
He was also right about her being purposely alone sometimes. Kol was beginning to grow on her. After their initial meeting on the other side, Kol had become less murderous and flirtier. He was charismatic when he wanted to be and to use his words, pretty to look at. He was also loads of fun, and Bonnie could use some fun.
There wasn't much you could do on the other side besides gaze at the life you left behind. Time did not exist the same way as it did in the mortal realm. Mere seconds for the living could be hours or even days for the souls trapped in Qetsiyah's eternal abyss. She told Jeremy she would be okay that night she left, but she thought she was lying to protect him, but her experience in limbo had been surprisingly uneventful.
The witches were not happy with her, but as long as she visited the old witch house to keep the expression at bay and respected the laws of nature, they left her alone. Spending time with Grams was exactly what she needed, no drama. Of course, she missed her life. She wanted to go to college, fall in love, and have children, but her friends were happy, and she was with the person who loved her most, her Grams, and after the last two years, this felt like… heaven. Now, if only she could distract Caroline. Her bestie wasn't going to stop until she dragged the truth out of Jeremy or just dragged Jeremy. Bonnie hoped Tyler would return soon to distract her.
"For heaven's sake, witch. Come on." Kol grabbed her by the arm and led her away from Caroline.
The first time she realized ghosts could touch each other was when Grams smacked her bottom for staring at Stefan after he got out of the shower. She was roaming the boardinghouse looking for Elena, and what she found was so much better. She didn't know what to say about her friend and her life choices recently. Especially watching Stefan get dressed. Damon who?
Everybody knew everything in the afterlife. You just had to know where to focus. It kind of sucked. Grams accosted her the minute she stepped foot inside the witch house, chastising her about privacy, decency, and the Bennett legacy. Grams had this weird thing for Stefan Salvatore. Bonnie didn't hear a word from her grandmother about Matt and Rebekah, let alone an impassioned speech featuring the stank eye.
Kol watched the Bennett witch lost in her thoughts. She was beautiful and powerful but quite the prig. It was almost criminal. He shook his head. Why couldn't they have met on the other side under different circumstances? He was determined to bring out the mischievous side of her.
"Maybe you were a self-sacrificing prude in your former life, but you are stuck with me in this one, and we don't have time to be staring after these twits you call friends. Let's go terrorize drunk people."
Bonnie shook her head but allowed Kol to pull her away from her past life. They never did any actual harm, just moved some things around for kicks. It was always fun. Kol was always fun.
-o0o-
"Kol that last prank was too far. You almost gave him a heart attack." Kol shrugged, and then sat down on the grass beside the witch. She was lying down, she liked to come to the boarding house at night and see her friends having fun. Well, what they called fun. It was all very boring if you asked him.
"Why do you do this to yourself, darling." He watched a ladybug crawling through Bonnie's torso.
"What hold do these people have over you? Elena's sense of self is severely overinflated, but who can blame her for the way you idiots treat her? Even my idiot brothers feed into the hype. Caroline, although intelligent and pretty, is bossy and a bit scary at times. Damon is Damon. Matt is insignificant. And Stefan, the coolest one of the lot turns out to be also the stupidest of the lot." Bonnie looked over at the original.
"Not that I would expect you to understand, being a murderous lunatic and all, but they are my family. My mother abandoned me, my father was absent for most of my life, and my Grams, whom I loved dearly, was a drunk and crazy growing up. Turns out she was crazy like a fox. They were all I had. And yeah, Elena is a little focused inwardly right now. She didn't use to be like that." Bonnie watched the figures move in the windows.
"Well, from what I've seen she's been like that for a while. And why the Gilbert boy?"
"Here we go again."
Kol studied her expression. She could pretend to be bored all she liked but he was going to get it out of her. "You're beautiful, a witch goddess. Why would you waste your time with a mere human? You sacrificed yourself for Jeremy Gilbert, and I spent some time with him, I can't fathom it. He's a boy for Christ's sake."
Bonnie sat up. "What would you know about love and family?"
Kol looked her in the eyes. "Quite a bit. I've had friends, family, and lovers. I was even engaged once. I've loved…ardently, and it never looked like this, especially for a woman of your caliber."
Bonnie snorted. "My caliber? That sounds like more of your elitist nonsense."
Kol moved a piece of her hair from her face. "I don't mean to sound elitist, just truthful. Loving someone more than yourself is an obsession, Bonnie Bennett. You could take some pointers from Elena."
Bonnie's head snapped around, but Kol was gone. She looked up at the shadows in the windows and for the first time, she allowed the regret and doubt about her impulsive actions to bubble to the surface. She was starting to realize what she had sacrificed.
-o0o-
Kol returned later, observing her from the woods. He could tell he had affected her with his words, but not so much because she remained seated watching the living. To his dislike, she was paying close attention to Stefan's bedroom window. Did the bloke believe in curtains? The world didn't want to see Salvatore's abs. Well, at least he didn't. Bonnie did. At least the ripper was a more worthy advisory for the witch's affections than Jeremy Gilbert.
It was no secret he had a thing for the witch. He had made his intentions known to both Bonnie and her grandmother, and while her ancestors hated what he was, they knew that he had a reputation for respecting their craft and honoring their sisters and daughters. The love of his life had been a witch, Delphine.
When imbecile villagers killed her, he went on a rampage. He had slaughtered so many people that even Klaus thought he was psychotic. Admittedly, he probably was. He looked for her when he first crossed over, but she would have nothing to do with him. He was quite different from the man she knew and loved, but now there was Bonnie Bennett. Feisty little thing when she wanted to be. If only he could scale the wall she liked to put up when he was around. She would never admit it, but she liked being bad, and that was something Kol was particularly good at.
"Are you going to stalk me from the woods all night or are you going to apologize for earlier?"
Kol came out of his hiding place. "Neither. I was not stalking, and I have nothing to apologize for. You should apologize to me for making me endure this tedium."
Bonnie's face was incredulous. She sighed. "Your ego is gigantic."
Kol smirked. "That's not the only thing gigantic about me, love." Bonnie smiled despite her annoyance. "See Kitten, you can be fun."
Bonnie turned back to the boarding house. "Speaking of stalking, does Elena know you have a thing for her ex?"
"I do not have a thing for Stefan, I've just been a little curious since I saw him naked. Besides, Elena chose Damon." Bonnie bit her lip. Even in her death, her conscience got the best of her. “I just think he's hot. I mean I'm dead, what could it hurt to take a peek every now and again?"
"Why Miss Bennett I do believe I'm rubbing off on you. I like it. But I got to tell you, why be an outsider when you can experience the real thing right here? I've got all the equipment the ripper has, in better packaging, and I can touch, feel, lick and kiss you."
Bonnie blushed trying not to picture his words. "Tempting, but I think I'll pass. I have to spend forever with my ancestors. You would be just another mark against me. I think I'll just appreciate the hotness that is Stefan Salvatore from afar."
Kol opened his mouth to try to persuade her further when Stefan suddenly appeared next to them dripping wet. His normally sculpted coif was matted to his head. His skin was red and sizzling. Steam rolled off of it. He coughed up blood and water.
"Stefan?" Bonnie screeched horrified. Kol looked down at the vampire then back up at the window. He could still see Stefan clearly in his bedroom.
"What the bloody hell?"
Stefan leaned over gasping for air. "Bonnie, how did I get here?" Kol disappeared inside the boarding house to figure out what was going on.
"Stefan you're on the ghostly plane, you can't be here unless you're…but no that's you in the window. What's going on?"
Stefan coughed, reaching out a hand to Bonnie, but his hand went through her. Stefan's skin was starting to heal. He was fading away.
"Stefan." Bonnie tried to grab him, and then he was gone. Bonnie looked around. "What the hell?" Bonnie got to her feet and turned to go into the boarding house when she walked into Kol.
"So, the star of your little peep show is not Stefan Salvatore."
Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "What? How do you know?"
Kol pulled out a sage and a black candle. "Unless Stefan became a witch overnight, I'm pretty sure Silas has taken his place. Salvatore's room has been spelled to be soundproof."
"I trapped him. How is this possible?" Bonnie was trying not to have an anxiety attack. Her head swam. Her friends were in danger. Her heartbeat was like a hummingbird’s wings. She had to fix this.
"Oh, God. I know that look. Bonnie, what are you going to do? You're a ghost, remember? They can take care of themselves. You sacrificed yourself to save them, love, surely you have done enough." Kol was worried about the witch's thoughts and the consequences she was sure to face from her ancestors. They were a judgmental lot. Bonnie disappeared in an instant. He tried to follow but found himself rooted to the ground.
"Bloody hell," he screamed into the night. The witch had done it to him again.
-o0o-
Bonnie allowed herself to be pulled toward Jeremy. She was shocked when she materialized at the cemetery. Jeremy was kneeling in front of his tombstone crying.
"Why would you bring me back to leave me alone?" His pants were covered in soil, his eyes bloodshot. How long had he been out here?
Bonnie stepped closer reaching out to touch him. Her hand ran through his back. The red-eyed teenager shivered in response. Oh yeah, Bonnie, ghost.
"Jeremy?" Jeremy turned, hearing the voice he had been calling to for a week now.
"Bonnie?”
"Where have you been? I've been trying to contact you."
Bonnie hung her head low. "I know. I wanted you to move on, and experience life."
Jeremy's face turned hard. "I wouldn't have a life if it weren't for you. There is no moving on."
Bonnie sighed. The pain was almost too much. She thought bringing him back would be the answer, but all she did was trade places with him. He was still out of reach. She tried to focus on why she was here. "Jeremy, I'm here because Stefan is in trouble."
Jeremy looked at her baffled and then rolled his eyes. "Are you telling me the only reason that you came back from the other side is to try to help Stefan?" Jeremy stared into her moss-colored eyes, hoping that she would tell him he was wrong. Jeremy shook his head in disbelief.
"When is this going to stop? When are you going to stop putting everyone else before yourself?"
Bonnie turned her head, hiding the tears in her eyes. "Jeremy we can talk about this later…Stefan-"
"No." Bonnie looked at him in confusion. "No, Bon whatever it is, No."
Bonnie's mouth dropped open. "Are you telling me you're not going to help me?"
A tear rolled down Jeremy's face. He was so angry with her. For what she had done. What she had sacrificed. What he had sacrificed. He was angry with everyone. "I'm the only one who can see you right? The messenger. I will not let you be this thing you are so determined to be. This martyr. He's a grown-ass man or better yet, a vampire, right? He can take care of himself." Jeremy walked away.
Bonnie stood frozen in shock. Jeremy stopped mid-stride and then turned. "When you want to communicate to your family and friends why you sacrificed yourself, or if you want to talk to me about us, drop in, otherwise… I can't hear you."
Bonnie disappeared and reappeared in front of Jeremy. Trying to yell Silas's name in his face. Jeremy walked right through her and got into his car. His face flooded with tears as he drove home. Bonnie watched the car pull off; without Jeremy, she had no way to communicate with the living. Kol appeared beside her.
"You know for the first time; I have to agree with Gilbert. Well done, Jeremy. Well done indeed. I mean didn't the Salvatores ruin your life?" Bonnie glared at her companion. "Let's review shall we? Damon tried to kill you, Stefan got your Grams killed, and they both killed your mum. I would have staked the lot of them years ago. You certainly had the power to do so."
Bonnie paced back and forth trying to ignore Kol and find a solution. Kol shook his head in frustration. "What is wrong with you? Do you get off on being the savior? Have they even said thank you? For the numerous times, you save their collective asses? Hmm? Anyone besides our girlfriend Caroline?"
Bonnie stopped pacing, looking him in the face. "The truth is Kol, Stefan has saved me on more than one occasion. He has been there for me in some of my toughest times. I don't know what to tell you. No one gets to mess with my friends on my watch. So, you can complain somewhere else, or you can put your infinite wisdom to work and help a girl out."
Kol shook his head. "They don't deserve you."
Bonnie smiled. "And who does? You?"
Kol smirked at her, raising his hands. "Of Course." Kol's eyes moved upward in thought. "I think your boyfriend Stefan is oscillating between the two plains."
"Are you saying that he is dying and being brought back to life?"
Kol nodded, trying not to grin. Silas was an evil bastard. What sick fuck would think of something like that?
"That's so cruel," Bonnie said, tears forming in her eyes. "Poor Stefan."
As if she summoned him, Stefan appeared, looking like a drowned cat, coughing up his insides. Kol watched the vampire intently using his senses to see what he could detect.
"He's drowning in holy water. Fuck." Silas was his new hero. He didn't feel bad for Salvatore; he had tried to warn them.
"What…what does that mean?" Bonnie knelt in front of a suffering Stefan.
Stefan's chest fought hard to clear the water from his system. The burns on the inside and outside of his body were healing painfully. He screamed. His lungs were on fire.
"Silas has Stefan buried in holy water. Holy water burns but does not kill vampires. Think of vervain-laced water times a million. Your boy is being chemically burned and drowned alive and then being healed and brought back to life by his vampire nature. Drowning wouldn't be enough to push him off the mortal coil, but the two together might. He wants Stefan bouncing in between plains. Why?"
Bonnie looked at Kol hearing the wonder in his voice. "Try not to sound so amused. This is my friend."
Kol shrugged. "So, you say." Kol paced back and forth.
"It's so he won't be found. You can't do a scrying spell on a soul, not of the world." Bonnie looked down at Stefan. He was fading away again.
"So, you can't find him here. And they can't find him there? So, how is he appearing to us?"
Stefan reached up a hand towards Bonnie. "Help me. Help me please." And he was gone.
"Because I was thinking about him."
Kol mulled this over. "But he would have to be thinking about you- Oh. Is there something you're not telling me? Six years into our marriage I don't want to have to kill a Salvatore."
Bonnie sighed, standing. And then disappeared into the night. Kol was already ahead of her. He knew his witch well.
-o0o-
"No. No. No. No. No," Grams said. She glanced at Kol. "I thought you would be good for her. Teach her some self-preservation. Isn’t that what you promised? That's why I haven't dropped you where you stand, despite you disobeying my orders to stay away from her." Bonnie narrowed her eyes looking between Kol and Grams.
Kol shrugged. "I tried Sheila. The girl, although quite beautiful, is a bit of a nutter." Both Bennett women stared at the original. "What! How else can you describe your self-devotion to people who don't give a damn about you? If you were my bird and you died. I would have known the minute your soul left its body. Never mind what Jeremy says. I would have torn the world apart looking for you."
"I think Caroline has called your phone -what- maybe, seven times, darling."
Sheila eyed the original, not sure whether to hug or beat him. "The boy has a point, Baby."
"Grams!"
"I told you to stay out of vampire business, and look now, you're eighteen years old and dead," Sheila's eyes filled with tears. "I understand you want to save your friend, but enough is enough, Bonnie. I wanted so much more for you baby. So, much more." Grams shook her head and wiped at her tears.
Bonnie was crying as well. All she was thinking of was returning Jeremy to his sister. She was so overcome with grief. She wasn't thinking, she wasn't thinking of her future, of all the people she would be letting down, including herself, and even as she told herself that, she knew she had to save Stefan. Why couldn't she do it again? She needed her Grams' help, not to mention at least five other Bennett ancestors. Without Grams, the others would never agree.
"Gram's, what can the magic do to us? We are already dead? And I thought you liked Stefan. I remember a lecture about decency and the Bennett legacy not long ago. We are servants of nature. We help the innocent."
"Stefan is not innocent!" Kol and Grams said together.
"Fine. What about all of Silas's victims? Who will protect them?
"You will," said a voice behind them. Bonnie turned. Behind her stood Emily, Ayanna, Esther, and a woman she had never seen before.
Kol glared at his mother and the women before Bonnie. "Qetsiyah, I presume?"
The woman smiled. "You’re not as dumb as you look."
“Thank you,” Kol said.
Bonnie's ancestor had skin that looked like it was bronze, pronounced cheekbones, and full lips. Her eyes were like coal and contained centuries of wisdom. Ebony locks sprang from her head and cascaded down her back stopping below her waist. The room was buzzing with magic, ancient and powerful magic.
Bonnie was humbled by her mere presence. "Qet-"
The Bennett matriarch raised her hand to silence her youngest and most foolish ancestor. "I don't want you to think for one second that I care about your foolish desires to sacrifice yourself for people who are undeserving of such loyalty. I watched in horror as generation after generation of my ancestry has become subjugated to the beings I created. It's absurd and obscene." Qetsiyah glanced at each of her ancestors, landing on the source of their affliction. She turned, suddenly eyeing Bonnie.
"You're going to finish the task you started, Bonnie Bennett, Daughter of Abigail. You and your reckless friends unleashed the wizard, and I am sending you to end this once and for all. Send Silas to me and I will make sure he is never heard from again. I am also sending your companion …this original." Qetsiyah smirked to herself knowing she had created the demon Silas millennia before Esther was a notion in her mother's head. "He may be a monster, but he seems to have your best interest at heart, even when you don't. You can use some brains, and since this creature warned you from the start about the demon Silas, I will wager he has some. Save your friend, bring me, Silas, this is our deal. Understood."
Bonnie shook her head fervently. Sheila, Esther, and Emily wanted to object, all for quite distinct reasons, but they knew better. You didn't argue with the witch that had created purgatory because someone had pissed her off.
"Daughter of Abigail you will need to retrieve the headstone full of my life force. It is the key to Silas entering this realm. You will be performing a combination of a scrying and transport spell that will send the demon directly to me. The spells are simple, the ingredients can be found in any competent witch's garden, but the power you must harness and feed into the portal to transport Silas here is great. Make sure you are fully prepared and in sync with your power before attempting this task. You will also need a drop of Silas's blood. Your power will match the wizard, but his cunning and expertise should not be taken for granted. That's where your original mate comes in. His reputation precedes him. In case you still fail in acquiring his blood, Mother Gaia has provided a doppelganger who can be bound to Silas and used to force him out of hiding. Do you understand Daughter of Abigail, Kol, Son of Esther?"
Bonnie looked over at Kol and for once he looked serious. She could tell he was absorbing every word as if this was the most important thing in the world. This thought caused warmth to spread through her body. Her stomach fluttered.
"We understand," Kol said in earnest.
"And what about you, little one?" Qetsiyah questioned. Bonnie nodded, concentrating on the task before her.
"Good. Esther, we need you here to send the boy back. Sheila, you will focus on sending Bonnie Back. Ayanna, you will cleanse her of the cursed expression. Emily, you will restore her powers to full strength. And I will open the veil and channel the power of her ancestors into her being." Debris and dust began to swirl about the room forming a miniature cyclone at its center. The candles left by Bonnie and her friends from previous attempts of magic suddenly burst into flame. The debris began to settle and when it completely died down a circle was left in the center of the room.
"We are ready," Qetsiyah said, motioning everyone to take his or her respective places. A stupefied Bonnie and Kol moved to the center of the circle Qetsiyah had created.
"Bonnie, you have been poisoned with expression. Its extraction will be painful," Ayanna said, warning the girl, apologetically. Bonnie panicked.
"But how will I defeat Silas without expression? It is the most powerful magic."
Qetsiyah scowled at her ancestor. "So gullible little one. Cast off the lies you were fed. Nature is the most powerful magic, and you, my dear, come from a long line of servants of nature. Never forget that.”