Title: Reversal

Rating: M

Genre: AU/AH

Pairing(s): Bonnie/Klaus

Summary: To save the love of his best friend's life from death, warlock Klaus Mikaelson, agrees to go into the unknown and magically assist hybrid Bonnie Bennett. However, it isn't until he meets her that he realizes that she is the woman he has been dreaming of for the last few months, dreams that turn out to be prophetic.

Klonnie Appreciation Week Theme: Species Swap

Warnings: Language, Mentions of Violence, Non-Canon, Moderate Sexual Content, etc.

Reversal

Niklaus Mikaelson walked slowly through the ruins of Fell's Church, his eyes darted around him as he made his way over the rubble. The light from the sun seemed to be tinted green as it shown through the trees. Something or rather someone, was there, he could feel it. His powers seemed to be abuzz with it. Whatever or whoever it was, was much more powerful than him, than anything he had ever felt even.

Klaus froze as he heard a sudden movement. The sound of leaves rustling giving the unknown creature away. It was deliberate he knew. Whoever it was, they were taunting him. Playing off of his fear.

His heart rate began to speed up. He was powerful he knew, more powerful than most. But he knew next to nothing of his craft. His powers made him the black sheep of his family. His mother's husband hated him though he bore the man's surname. He had never known anything about his real father or his real lineage. All he had were old grimores the man had left him in death.

He had rarely been in contact with any other witches. He had taught himself what he knew. He used his limited knowledge to protect those around him. His powers, even limited as they were, had attracted the most dangerous of vampires in search of his assistance. But as the leaves began to rustle once more, he felt altogether powerless.

His pulse quickened as he searched the trees for the unknown threat. "Don't be such a tease, love," he said, his voice portraying a calm that he did not feel, "Come out and play."

There was laughter then. Soft and tinkling, and yet utterly and completely cold. "If you insist," a smooth voice said as the laughter ended.

Klaus swallowed as he heard the sound of footsteps on the dry earth. He had nature on his side at least, if nothing else. Still he hesitated, before he turned around to face the danger that he knew was coming up slowly from behind him.

He closed his eyes as he turned his boots digging into the ground. Even as he was sure his fear was evident, his clenched fists and his stance showed that he was prepared to go down with a fight.

"You invited me out to play, the very least you could do is look me in the eye after being so suggestive," the voice said, closer this time.

Klaus opened his eyes and met blazing green eyes, the same shade as the moss covering the trunks of the trees that surrounded them. Considering the chill of the tone, he expected the eyes of the one who had spoken to be empty. However, there was such a wide range of emotions in them that he was taken aback and he suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Looking away from the eyes, he took in the whole form and recognition hit him. He should have known that it was her. She had haunted his dreams for months now, yet every time he dreamed of her felt like the first time.

It didn't surprise him that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen up close. She was after all birthed by his subconscious. He doubted very much that she could exist anywhere outside of his imagination.

Her dark curls fell into her face as she tilted her head to the side and her lips formed a smirk that caused him to take a step back. "Have you figured it out yet?" She asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her in question, all the while trying to fight the odd pull that she had over him. "Figured what out?"

"Who I am," she answered, brushing the hair out of her eyes. The strap on her black dress slid down her shoulder on one side as she moved.

"No," he said. His hand moved forward, and he was seemingly not in control over his own body as he reached out and put the strap back in place. She seemed more amused than bothered by his touch.

"Would you like me to give you a hint?" she offered, "Tell you what I am, perhaps? Or maybe you would have me show you." The last she said in a playful but suggestive tone that gave him pause.

He had gone from thinking that she wished to harm him, to thinking that she wanted something else entirely. His eyes drifted down to the low v-slit in the front of her dress taking in the enticing view of her cleavage. He looked back up into her eyes and found the amusement hadn't left them. "Show me," he whispered.

She smiled, in a way that caused his fear to resurface. "I was hoping that you would say that," she grinned.

Her eyes began to change from green to yellow as fangs suddenly descended. He raised his hand to fend off the attack but it was too late. Before he could summon his powers she was upon him, her fangs sinking into his neck.

Klaus sat up in bed, his breathing heavy and his body covered in sweat. He blindly reached over to his nightstand and grabbed his sketchpad and pencil. He flipped past the pages already covered with drawing after drawing of her face until he reached a blank page and started drawing anew.

Drawings of her were scattered about the desk across the room. Canvases leaned against the wall depicting her painted image. Since the dreams had started three months prior he had become a man obsessed.

It was a lucky thing that he lived alone. He had become disenchanted with his family long ago, and nowadays Stefan who had once been his best friend was now so wrapped up in his relationship with his vampire girlfriend Katherine Pierce, that Klaus rarely saw him unless he was needed for a spell or the like.

He had become rather used to the solitude. The loneliness still bothered him, but things could have been worse he supposed. He still had Stefan in a way, and as frightening as the dreams were, they were almost comforting. That was the reason that he had yet to tell anyone about them.

It hadn't made sense to him at first, why she had manifested in his dreams. He had ruled out her being real after the first dream, as he had never seen or heard of anything that came close to what she appeared to be, whatever she was. No, he now saw her as something else, a manifestation of his darkest desires.

It was the only thing that could possibly explain her appearance each time that he fell asleep. All of the darkness that he kept hidden inside of him, she wore unapologetically. Her very presence embodied danger.

Then there was her power, power that he craved in the face of his own inadequacy at being able to learn to use his own. He had read of so many types of magic, some darker than others, none of which he would dare try without guidance. Then there was the matter of the spirits, policing his actions when he wasn't crippling himself with his own dread of what he could do.

Her physical form did not really need any explanation. While Stefan had never been left wanting when it came to women, his own luck was much worse. He had loved but had never been loved. He had never really been wanted by anyone starting with his family.

His mother hated him, because he reminded her of her unfaithfulness to her husband. His birth father was now dead, the only thing he had of him were a bunch of old journals and grimoires. His siblings resented him and didn't understand his power. The closest thing he had to family was Stefan, but even so Stefan had Katherine and his own brother Damon, and so Klaus had become an afterthought.

For a short time he had been needed, when Stefan's vampire counterpart Silas had resurfaced. It was an odd thing to see someone so much like Stefan in appearance but so opposite in nature.

However, it hadn't been Stefan that he was after, or even Katherine who had loved him at one time, it had been Tyler Lockwood and the other families with the werewolf gene that were scattered in and around Mystic Falls. Klaus had managed to get Tyler out of Silas' lure and the vampire had left town after getting bored with causing mayhem, his many confrontations and fights with Klaus lessening the fun for him a bit.

Klaus had saved Tyler for his sister's sake, Rebekah thought herself in love with him. Still his sister hadn't spared him a thought since. And without Silas lingering around, Stefan and Katherine were at peace, and so Klaus saw less and less of him as well.

Yes, solitude was all he knew. The woman from his dreams was his only companion at present. In spite of the fear she inspired in him, for many reasons he always welcomed her presence. And as he couldn't see her outside of his dreams, he had taken to drawing her instead.

His pencil stopped on the page as he was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. Klaus set the sketchpad aside and picked up the phone from the nightstand, seeing Stefan's name on the screen. A part of him hoped that Stefan perhaps wanted to have a drink like old times, but he knew that it was likely something wrong. A crisis that needed to be solved or a spell that needed to done.

Sighing Klaus answered the phone. "Klaus we have a problem," Stefan said before Klaus could speak.

"What is it?" Klaus asked, resignedly.

"It's Katherine," he said, "She's been bitten by a werewolf. We don't know what to do. She's….I've never seen anything like this. It's like she's dying."

Klaus threw the covers off of him and got out of bed. "I'll be right there," he said, though he didn't think that Stefan expected to hear any different.

:::

"We're going to have to call Silas," Klaus said, as he sat down on the couch in the sitting room of the Salvatore boardinghouse, "There's nothing that I can do here. Since the last time Silas was here, he was after the werewolves then maybe he knows more about them than we do. Katherine knows how to contact him right?"

Stefan sighed, sitting down next to him. "Yeah," he said bitterly, "They always seem to know how to find each other." He ran a hand over his face, watching as his brother poured himself a drink at the wet bar across the room. "Are you sure there's really nothing that you can do?" He asked, turning back to Klaus.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Contrary to popular belief," Klaus frowned, "Not everything has a magical loophole." He was tired of this, tired of being there whenever anyone needed him and then being left alone to fend for himself.

"I know," Stefan said, "I didn't mean it that way. I just…I'm worried. I can't lose her."

"Then I suggest you contact Silas like I said," Klaus repeated, "Apparently he still has feelings for her according to your dear brother and so he will likely help if he can."

Stefan gave him a look and then shot a glare at Damon, who shrugged. "Silas doesn't know what love is," Stefan spat, "And I highly doubt he managed to feel anything for anyone outside of himself even as a human."

"That very well may be true, dear brother," Damon said, taking a sip of the bourbon in his glass, "But in this case he might be your only hope. I'm going to have to agree with Merlin here on this one." He smiled when Klaus cringed at the nickname.

Klaus looked at Damon in surprise. It was no secret how much he hated Klaus. He saw him as a threat to his bond with his brother. Besides that their personalities naturally clashed. Under normal circumstances he would disagree with Klaus even if he was right. "Look who's team Klaus all of a sudden," Klaus smirked, as he leaned back and folded his hands behind his head.

Damon scoffed, his eyes growing wide. "Yeah, well," he said, "Don't get used to it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Klaus said, concentrating on the tumbler in Damon's hand until the alcohol splashed up and into Damon's face.

Damon's eyes went from playful to lethal in seconds, though there wasn't really much that he could do considering he was as human as his brother. Still, Stefan stood up and stepped in between them. "We don't have time for this," he said, "Not now. Katherine is in trouble and I need both of you. Please…just stop. This is serious."

"Alright then," Damon said, lifting the hem of his shirt and using it to wipe off his face, "Let's go ask your vampire lady love if she knows how to find her ex-boyfriend so that she doesn't die shall we?"

"After you," Stefan said, waving his arm in a grand gesture. Stefan and Klaus watched as Damon stomped out of the room. After sharing a look behind his back, the two soon followed.

:::

Bonnie Bennett licked the blood from her lips as she let the corpse of the frat boy that she had lured into Bennett Manor fall to the hardwood floor. Her sister Lucy would likely clean it up later, she was used to cleaning up Bonnie's messes, and she had spent one thousand years doing just that.

She looked up at the sound of Silas entering the room and smiled at him. He didn't return the smile, instead he looked from her to the body and shook his head. "Glad to see you could still manage to enjoy a meal while I am out doing your dirty work," he said.

Bonnie laughed. She couldn't think of the last time that she had had to lift a finger to do anything besides kill someone. For the first five hundred years of her existence the witches had been determined to kill her calling her an abomination, but she had quick wit and silver tongue, and it didn't take long to persuade the more powerful among them to switch sides. Then she had worked on the vampires, then the werewolves.

She had gone from being considered an abomination of nature to a miracle of one. Her blood was the key to so many different things that everyone now not only wanted her alive but wanted to be on her good side. Even her own dead mother could no longer touch her as powerful as Abby Bennett had been.

"Don't be so dramatic, pet," she said, her voice soothing, "It's almost over."

She was using the tone that usually melted his resolve but he had been in a mood lately. Things had gone south with him and Emily after he had tried to infiltrate the relationship Katherine now had with his doppelganger. Bonnie couldn't say she felt sorry for him, he had been lucky in her opinion. Her sister was calm most of the time but she was also lethal. She had killed people slowly and painfully for less.

Silas looked her up and down, something in his eyes that hadn't been there for some time surfacing and suddenly she knew where his mood swings were coming from. Silas was always one who wanted to have his cake and eat it to.

"It's never over," Silas said slipping his index fingers into the belt loop of her jeans and using them as leverage to pull her forward, "Not between us."

Bonnie let a bored look settle onto her face. It always came to this with him, another reason that Emily had stopped caring.

"Not for you, perhaps," Bonnie smiled, keeping her tone amiable as not to provoke him. She knew how to play him better than anyone, he had loved her for a long time after all, which also meant she had seen him at his most vulnerable.

While she cared for him, he had been an experiment for her when they met. By then she had discovered how to make hybrids using werewolves. She had discovered her blood could reverse the effect that a werewolf bite had on a vampire. She had discovered through turning Maddox that her blood allowed him to be a vampire but still keep his powers.

What she hadn't known upon meeting Silas was what would happen were she to try and turn a human. She had already enticed him into her bed by the time Lucy had suggested that she turn him, and by the time it was all said and done, Silas had practically begged her to do so.

The result had been Silas becoming something that was not quite human and not quite vampire and yet stronger than both.

"I mean nothing to you then," Silas laughed bitterly, "Now that you're back to collecting warlocks."

Bonnie rolled her eyes as he dropped his hands from her. "I wouldn't exactly call Maddox and Luka a collection," she said.

"Those are just the two that inhabit this house with you," Silas frowned, "And now if you have it your way, there will be a third."

"So you did what I asked?" Bonnie questioned.

Silas gave her a look, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I've always done what you've asked," he said. And he had. While she had created him, he was not sired to her, though many believed that he was because of his acquiescence to her every whim. "Katherine's been bitten," he said, "The Salvatore called the warlock like you said they would and I am sure you're right about them calling me when that doesn't work. Then you can make your little trade, Katherine's life for the warlock."

"Good," Bonnie nodded, "Thank you."

"If you want to thank me then tell me why you're going through all of this trouble for a novice warlock," Silas pressed, "I know he's powerful but he doesn't even know how to use it."

"He can learn," Bonnie shrugged.

"You have witches and warlocks with more experience, and with more knowledge of you and your ways," Silas continued, ignoring her statement, "It can't just be his power. Then what is it? You want him in your bed? Maddox was there once and you could have him again if you wanted. Luka has practically been begging for access to your bed for months and for whatever reason you continuously refuse him. Then there's me-"

"And what?" Bonnie asked, "You want me to stand in line behind Katherine and Emily. I'll pass. I don't do sloppy seconds. Besides, if you recall I had you first and it wasn't as good for me as it obviously was for you."

"Yes, I recall," Silas said bitterly, "And you refused to let me in just like the rest of us. It's never enough for you. The whole world is practically at your beck and call. You have your sisters. You have your hybrids. You have your witches and your warlocks and yet you're still looking for something. I never could pinpoint what it was. But if you never let anyone in then you will never find it. This warlock will be just like the others. You will take him and you will try to fill the emptiness with his presence and he will love you and you will ruin him and he won't be enough."

Bonnie's hands shot out and wrapped around his throat. She squeezed hard, her eyes blank and empty as he fought against her, clawing at her hands. "He isn't like anyone," she spat, "You don't know anything."

"Bonnie," Silas breathed, his eyes pleading. She squeezed hard enough to cut off his airway completely before suddenly letting go and watching him fall to the floor gasping for air.

"You will not say another word against him," she ordered.

"What is it about him?" Silas coughed out, "Tell me the truth. After everything I'm doing for you, you owe me that."

Bonnie didn't feel as if she owed him anything. She had given just as much as she had gotten. Still she wanted to tell someone. She wanted to let it out, and he had seen her at her worse so she knew that he wouldn't judge her.

Running a hand over her face Bonnie walked over to the antique sofa and sat down on it. She waited for Silas to pull himself together, get up, and follow suit. He sat down next to her, looking at her expectantly.

Bonnie stared straight ahead, not really seeing what was in front of her. "When you went to Mystic Falls to proposition the werewolves to join me I followed you," she revealed, "I didn't know how effective you would be with Katherine there. Your shadow self is very broody by the way. I had to resist the urge to kill him on more than one occasion."

Silas rubbed his still sore neck and wheezed out a laugh as he thought of Stefan Salvatore. "I wish that you hadn't resisted," he teased. Bonnie smiled giving him a sideways glance. "Go on," he said, after a moment.

Bonnie sighed running a hand through her hair. "I felt his power before I saw him," she said, "I…had never felt such power and yet…yet he let those idiots walk all over them. Convinced him to babysit you because you were pulling Katherine's pig tails a little too hard I suppose. He was better than that because of his power alone. But he was loyal, blindly so, something I thought that I could take advantage of."

"Of course," Silas nodded.

"I followed him home and that was when….," she frowned, fiddling with her hands before continuing, "He was dreaming about something…someone. I was intrigued and then I saw them. The drawings all over the walls. Pictures of me. Some of them with my face distorted. Some in the middle of a kill. It wasn't just the pictures, it was the way he looked at them. The way he concentrated as he drew. No one's ever looked at me that way before. As if I was everything they ever desired just as I am."

"Who says you are just as you are," Silas pointed out, "These are dreams. Who knows how you appear."

"I asked the witches about them," Bonnie revealed, "They're prophetic. Our paths are destined to cross. I am just speeding things up a bit. He will bring me the greatness I want and then together we will surpass it."

"So he is what you've been looking for?" Silas asked, though he already knew the answer.

Bonnie nodded. "Exactly that," she whispered.

Silas closed his eyes a moment and then nodded to himself. "You'll know the moment that they call."

Bonnie took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "Thank you, for understanding," she said.

:::

Klaus frowned looking in between Stefan's stiff form in the doorway of the younger Salvatore's room and Katherine's prone from on the bed. The vampire looked like hell. He hated Katherine in all honesty and had many times wished death upon her, but actually witnessing it take place was another story altogether. He didn't know whether to pity her or to be angry that someone as volatile and hell bent on survival as Katherine had been brought down so easily.

"I was hoping I would be the one to kill you," Klaus said before he could stop himself. He shot Stefan and apologetic smile as his friend winced.

"You probably would've made it quicker at the very least," Katherine muttered, as Stefan walked deeper into the room.

"Probably not," Klaus shrugged, "But at least you'd be able to put up a fight. This is just sad really."

Stefan glared at him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "You're not helping, Nik," Stefan sighed.

Again Klaus shrugged. "I wasn't really attempting to but I could give it a try perhaps," he offered, "I could serenade you. Or I could levitate objects off the floor for your amusement perhaps. Maybe do a fire show with the candlesticks?"

Stefan was about to tell him to get out, but stopped at the sound of Katherine's laughter, realizing what Klaus had been doing. "You're such an asshole," Katherine grinned.

Klaus smiled at her, the first genuine smile he had ever sent in her direction. "I try," he said, "Just make sure you stay alive long enough to witness my next attempt."

Before Katherine could answer there was a rapping on the door. They all looked toward the sound and found Silas standing in the doorway. Klaus raised an eyebrow at the assessing, almost scathing look, he was given before Silas turned his attention toward Stefan and Katherine.

"I come in peace," Silas announced, "And bearing gifts." He reached into the leather jacket that he was wearing and he pulled out a small glass bottle filled to the brim with blood.

"What the hell is that?" Katherine asked.

"A cure for what ails you," Silas said, with a grin, "And before you say what you're going to say about blood not being the answer, this is not any ordinary blood."

"If the next sentence you speak has the phrase 'extraordinary blood' then I am afraid I will be forced to render you immobile and set you on fire," Klaus stated seriously.

Silas ignored him, keeping his gaze on Stefan and Katherine. "Its blood from my sire," he said, "The lovely Miss Bonnie Bennett."

Stefan and Klaus looked at each other in confusion. However, recognition crossed Katherine's face. "What does she want?" she asked, "She hates me, and even if she didn't she never does something for nothing."

"Who is she?" Stefan asked, before Silas could answer, "And what's so special about her blood."

Silas looked from one pair of eyes to another. "Has it occurred to you that I don't have the normal limitations of any other vampires," Silas said, "I don't burn in the sun. I can come and go as I please no need for an invitation. All the perks and none of the disadvantages. Why do you think that is?" They all stared at him blankly. "I'm not entirely a vampire though oddly enough I can create them just fine. I am partially human."

"That isn't possible," Klaus objected.

"Oh but it is," Silas nodded, "Just ask my dear sweet Katherine." Both Stefan and Klaus looked at Katherine but she remained silent. "You're not making this fun for me at all," Silas sighed, "I'll just cut straight to the chase then. I've come to you all on behalf of my sire, the Original hybrid, Bonnie Bennett-"

"Wait," Klaus said, shaking his head. He had read something about her in one of his family's journals but he couldn't put his finger on it, "She's a myth isn't she? I mean I've heard of her, not by name, but by species I guess you would say. But I thought it was just a scare tactic, used to get notoriety by some in the supernatural community by those who claimed to know her."

"Oh," Stefan nodded, "You mean like The Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride."

Silas' face turned into a mask of disgust as he shook his head. "My good looks are wasted on you," he frowned, "And she isn't a myth. She's real and she powerful and she's perfect."

"And she doesn't do anything without a price," Katherine spat, her eyes narrowed.

"Green isn't your color Katherine," Silas said, "And you're wrong. She just doesn't do anything for you without a price."

"Well," Klaus asked, "What exactly does she want?"

"Funny you should ask that, warlock," Silas said, "She wants you. You give yourself to her and Katherine lives."

Klaus had so many questions. Why him? What could she possibly want from him? What could he offer her? He was a novice, with no experience. If she was as powerful as they said she was, wouldn't she have plenty of other options?

Yes, Klaus had many questions, but as he looked at where Katherine lay dying and where Stefan looked up at him hopefully, he only asked one. "When do we leave?"

:::

Bonnie pulled the blood stained wife beater over her head and threw into the flames of the fireplace in her room. She had lost count of the people she had killed. It was all a blur. She was agitated. There was a chance he would not come, and even if he did there was a chance she would be rejected.

She was beginning to doubt herself. She never doubted herself. She crossed the room and began to dig through the drawers of her dresser in search of a clean shirt.

Too many things had the potential to go wrong. Ordinarily she was calm, and she had faced worse rejection before. The first of which had come from her own mother. But for some reason the thought of this warlock rejecting her made her want to drain every living creating within a thousand mile radius.

Finally settling on a black t-shirt, she pulled it over her head. It seemed to be taking so long. They weren't that far from where she was. Silas hadn't called and that too didn't bode well.

Bonnie started at the sound of a knock on her door, her inattention causing her to miss the sounds coming from whoever was on the other side, even with her super hearing. "What?" She yelled, not bothering to hide her irritation.

Silence was the only response.

Taking a calming breath, and pinching the bridge of her nose, she stomped toward her bedroom door. She pulled the door open with more force than necessary. "Someone had better be dead or-"

"Well from the blood on your shoes I'm assuming that someone died recently," Silas said, "You should probably change them before you go and see your lover boy. He looks more squeamish than the types you normally deal with."

"He's here?" Bonnie asked her voice hopeful. Silas nodded. "Where is he?"

"I left him downstairs in your study," Silas said, "He seemed a bit wary on his way over. If you want to talk him into this then you had better do a more thorough job cleaning yourself up and change into something that shows a bit more skin." Bonnie rolled her eyes and slammed the door in his face. Considering how she felt about using her body to get what she wanted in a way that didn't involve violence against someone else, he couldn't say he was surprised by the response. "You're welcome," he shouted from the other side.

He could hear the sound of Bonnie speeding across the room and then back again. The door opened long enough for Bonnie to shove the poker for the fireplace into his stomach before it was slammed shut once more.

:::

Klaus sat nervously in the large study, his figures drumming on the arms of the high back chair in which he sat. The decision to save Katherine had been impulsive at best, but that was the way he had always done things. Besides Stefan was happy and he had the woman he loved, so that was what mattered.

He had begun to doubt the whole situation. The more he thought about it, the more it all seemed like a set up. There hadn't been werewolves in Mystic Falls outside of the Lockwoods since Silas had recruited most of them during the period in which he had tried to recruit Tyler. So if Katherine had been bitten it was likely Silas that had orchestrated it. But why?

As it were, the only motive Klaus had to go on was himself. Still he wasn't sure what Silas or his creator would want with him. He was nothing special in terms of warlocks and she had her choice in them.

He had passed the others on the way in. Luka Martin and the other whose name escaped him. He could feel their power, they were strong. Neither as strong as him, but it was clear that they at least knew how to wield the power that they had. He envied them that, even though his mind was full of confusion and worry.

He looked around the room to distract himself, his eyes pausing when they found the picture that sat on the desk. There were three women in the picture, all beautiful, but his attention was drawn to the one in the middle. He recognized her immediately and he felt the bottom drop out of his world.

It was her, she was real. The woman that had haunted his dreams. She wasn't a figment of his imagination. That could only mean that his dreams had been prophetic. The spirits warning him of what was to come. She had been the one who had lured him here with the attack on Katherine. She had to be.

That meant that she was the hybrid. He had seen it, hadn't he? In his dreams. There were times when she was sweet, but then there were the times that she was dangerous. The times that she attacked him, her eyes yellowed, black veins pulsing beneath them, and her fangs descended.

Klaus shuddered. He knew that the smart thing to do would be to run, but he stayed in his seat. He had to see her at least once. He had to look at her up close. To know for sure that all these months he hadn't been clinging to a phantom. It was insane, but he couldn't leave without doing so.

His thoughts stopped racing only when the door was opened, footsteps sounded, and then the door was closed once more. He stared straight ahead as he felt the familiar feeling of her power surrounding him.

In a few moments she was in front of him obscuring his view of the opposite wall and he could no longer ignore her presence. She wore a similar black dress to the one she had worn in his last dream, though this one was less revealing.

He looked up into her eyes and they were much softer than he had imagined them, though the underlying threat was still beneath the surface. "Hello, Niklaus," she smiled, holding out her hand, "I'm Bonnie Bennett."

He wondered a moment how she knew his name and then realized Silas must have informed her. He cleared his throat, as he took her hand and shook it once before dropping it. "Yes," he said, "I know. I mean…I've been informed. What I don't know is why you lured me here?"

She titled her head to the side, her face a mask of confusion. "Lured you?" She asked.

Klaus forced his demeanor to harden as he tried to ignore the graceful way that she carried herself. Like a moving work of art. Again, he cleared his throat. "The attack on Katherine was deliberate," Klaus stated, leaving no room for her to question him, "You orchestrated it to get me here. What I don't understand is why."

She took a seat on the desk in front of him, crossing her legs. He tried not to stare and failed. "I've been caught then," she said, "You're much smarter than Silas would have me to believe."

"Well, Silas isn't exactly my biggest fan," Klaus shrugged.

"You do him a disservice," Bonnie chastised, "He is the one that told me of your power. That's why I had Katherine attacked. I wanted to get your attention. Well that…and I love the idea of her in pain."

"If I didn't agree with you in that last respect I might believe you to be a sadist," Klaus grinned.

He had seen the bodies that were being cleared out upon his arrival. Some meals, some guinea pigs for spells, and some victims of torture, Silas had explained. Klaus might have been more sickened by it, had he not witnessed Katherine's carnage upon her arrival in Mystic Falls or if he wasn't well aware of the games Silas liked to play. Bonnie was miles ahead of them, but he didn't think that she could do anything that could disgust him enough to run from her because of the dreams alone and that scared him more than her obvious violent nature did.

"I'm a bit of a sadist I suppose," Bonnie nodded, looking at her nails, "Or a sociopath perhaps. I don't have a very wide range of emotions you see. At least I didn't until recently. Does that bother you?"

"Do you plan on killing me?" Klaus asked, seriously.

She didn't seem surprised by the question. Given what he seemed to know of her; it was a valid one.

"No," Bonnie answered her expression sincere. She didn't see the point in hiding her nature from him. He would discover it eventually. It was better if he went into the situation with open eyes.

"Then it doesn't bother me," Klaus said. She looked skeptical, but he kept his face serious.

Shrugging when she saw no sign of him lying, she continued their conversation. "I want to help you," she said, "Though, I told Silas to lead you to believe otherwise you have a choice in being here. I would like to teach you to hone and use your powers. What you're doing with them now is a waste."

Klaus raised a brow at her. "Why? So you can use me when I've mastered them?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Whether you ever use your powers for my benefit will also be your choice," she promised, "While you are in my care no one will tell you what to do with your gifts. Not I, nor my allies, and I can even show you how to circumvent the control of the spirits. These are your powers, it's only fit that you control how you use them."

It was everything that Klaus had ever wanted and yet having it offered to him made him suspicious. He wanted to learn, needed it. He wanted to give into the darkness inside of him and he was sure were he to do it in front of her she would not judge him. He wanted to be near her and he would be if he took what she was offering. Still something was bugging him. "What's in this for you?" He asked.

"I find that in situations such as this one," Bonnie began, "The payout comes later for me without me wanting or needing to gain anything from what I do for others. I freed Luka from the confines of his family and his powers flourished and in his gratitude at times he does things for me when I ask. It's the same with the others. They are loyal to me because I was loyal to them first. It's for that reason that when I make this offer to someone very rarely do they say no."

"You've never forced anyone then?" Klaus asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "Not when I am attempting to make alliances and form bonds," she answered, "In many cases I think that people say yes to me because I give them the option to say no. Because in all of their lives I am the first person who's ever given them a choice, and who's ever asked them for anything and been completely fine in knowing that there is a chance that I will get absolutely nothing in return."

"So they misconstrue your behavior for being selfless when it's really manipulation," Klaus said.

Bonnie laughed lightly shaking her head. "You see right through me," she said, "I might have to reconsider putting this offer on the table to you. Will you accept it before I retract or…."

Klaus smiled shaking his head. It was one thing seeing her in dreams and imagining what she would be like and another actually seeing her and knowing her. She was manipulative, violent, and obviously very damaged, even though she tried to hide it. Still Klaus liked her, more than he had liked anyone upon first meeting them.

"Another manipulation tactic, love," he said, "You're much better than I expected."

"I've had a thousand or so years of practice," Bonnie shrugged. She studied him her face suddenly very serious. "The time has come to make your decision Mr. Mikaelson," she said, "The question is….what choice will you make?"

Klaus met her eyes when he next spoke. "I would like to learn everything that you are willing to teach me."

Bonnie smirked in a way that almost made him take the words back. "Everything, hm?" She asked. She leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. "Are you sure that you can handle that?"

He didn't miss the double meaning of her words. Klaus looked away, covering his smile with this hand. Scratching the stubble on his chin, he turned back a moment later. There was laughter in her eyes as he looked at her. "I'm positive," he said.

She gave his knee a squeeze, before letting her hand fall away. "Good."

:::

Klaus had gotten used to many things that he had never before experienced in his life in the next few weeks he spent under the Bennett roof.

He had gotten used to having full access to his powers, and he understood them in ways he hadn't since discovering their existence. Luka and Maddox were more than willing to teach him, and Bonnie and her sisters were an endless resource of knowledge. Decades and centuries of existence meant interaction with thousands of witches that operated under all different kinds of rules and used all different kinds of magic.

"Magic is constantly changing," Luka had told him, "New rules, new loopholes, new spells, and new ways of manipulating power. Even the most experienced of us have trouble navigating through it all at times."

Klaus had managed learning quickly and with great ease as under Bonnie's instruction there were never a shortage of people willing to help him.

While in Bonnie's home Klaus also got used to seeing dead bodies. He had become rather desensitized to them rather quickly. It was odd to him how normal it was for him now to see someone lying dead on the ground in the back yard or the living room when not too long ago he had been about keeping the balance.

Perhaps it was because he had never really had any guidance and so he took whatever was done by those giving it to him now as something to be normal. Also he had always had trouble forming attachments, and while he felt a little bad at the loss of a life, he didn't feel the need to stop it unless someone he cared about was targeted. He had even tested a few spells on a few people starting his own list of victims.

He also got used to seeing a family interact. While Bonnie was always a wild card, her moods going up and down, her sisters never shunned her for it. They rode the rollercoaster until the ride was over.

Lucy was far too serious for his liking but she was protective, which he could not say for his own family in terms of him. Emily could be silly and seemed to fall in and out of love whenever the mood suited her but her capacity for love kept Bonnie and even the others in the house grounded. At the end of the day no matter what sordid acts anyone committed Emily treated everyone with the same love and acceptance that Klaus had longed for from his family his whole life.

And Bonnie though volatile made it clear that she would do anything for anyone in the house at any given moment from something as small as giving an encouraging word to something a big as the torture and murder of a house full of people (which was what had become of Maddox's own family Klaus had discovered as he had been abused, something that also accounted for the fact that he never made use of his last name).

He became used to people doing things for him without expecting repayment. He became used to true camaraderie. He became used to living out the darkness he had always kept secret. However, as many things as he grew accustomed to there was one thing he never allowed himself to get used to, and that was the way that Bonnie treated him.

It wasn't an obvious difference from the way that she treated everyone else unless one paid close attention. There was a change in her tone when she spoke to him, or of him. There was a softness there, a hint of what Klaus was afraid to call affection because he was even more afraid of the chance that he was misleading himself and that it wasn't there at all.

Then there was the way that she looked at him. He couldn't put a name to it, he just knew he had never been looked at in that way before. Sometimes she would stop what she was doing altogether and stare. At first he connected those times with when he was doing a spell and had written it off. But then those times became more and more frequent, until it happened when he was doing something as simple as emailing Stefan (though he wondered at the lack of worry for his safety that his friend had each time he did). It was unsettling to him, mostly because he didn't really mind it.

Klaus sat in the living room on the couch sketching a picture of Bonnie and her sisters, his mind attempting to remain blank.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder but calmed when he looked up to see that it was only Bonnie standing behind him. "You have many gifts," she commented, looking at is drawing, "Magic and…now art."

Klaus closed his sketchpad and leaned further back so that he could see her. "I thought you were leaving," he said, "Luka said you had business in New York."

Bonnie nodded. "I wanted to say goodbye first," she said, "And to make sure that you wouldn't need anything while I was gone."

"I'm fine," Klaus assured her shaking his head, "I'm…happy here." His mouth snapped shut at the admission but Bonnie merely smiled.

"You're making good progress," she said, "I'm…happy you decided to stay. Just make sure you don't run away before I come back. I've gotten used to you being here and so I would have to chase you."

There was a warning in her tone, but Klaus ignored it. It wasn't as if he was going anywhere. Bonnie leaned down and surprised him by kissing him on the lips. She showed a bit of affection at times but she had never gone as far as to kiss him before. The kiss was brief, just enough to shock and tempt him, and he was tempted though that was nothing new.

"Take care of yourself while I'm gone," she ordered.

"Take care of yourself until you return," he countered, "And…you needn't worry. I won't run away."

There was an unreadable expression on her face as she took a step back. "You haven't yet but that matter is still up for debate," she said.

He frowned. "I'm never going to leave you, Bonnie," he blurted, before he could stop himself.

Bonnie's hands clenched into fists and she bit her lip. She seemed to be at war with herself, and then suddenly she was speeding out of the room the double doors slamming behind her.

It was then Klaus knew that he was not the only one who had been left or felt unloved. It had been very clear on her face in that moment. He decided then and there to get used to the way that Bonnie cared for him because he would be staying for as long as she would have him.

:::

Bonnie was home earlier than planned. It wasn't a choice necessarily, more so a need to be by Klaus' side. She hated herself for it, because there was too much to be uncertain about for her to be getting so attached to him.

While she knew of his obsession with her prior to his arrival, she was certain now that he had seen and was beginning to know her, his obsession was subsiding. As far as she knew the dreams were gone and it seemed that the only thing keeping him with her was the knowledge that she could give him.

He didn't seem to desire anything outside of that. He cared for her she knew, but he seemed to be growing a soft spot for everyone that inhabited the manor in some way. Besides, she was sure he could tolerate her actions only while there relationship was as it was. If it became any deeper than that there was a chance that he would try and change her and as much as she wanted him to remain with her, she would change for no one.

Even being of that mind, she slipped quietly into his room. She knew that he was sleep as she had heard the sound of his slowed soft breathing through the closed door prior to entering. She shut the door behind her gently and walked over to the bed.

He slept on the left side, and so she walked over to the right side kicking off her shoes and leaving them on the side of the bed. She sat down next to where he lay, watching his sleeping form. She had only been gone a week, but still she had missed him. So much so that she was wearing the black dress that he seemed to like to see her in, her mind focusing on pleasing him as she had dressed that morning even without knowing that later she would break down and simply return to his side.

She would never say so out loud but she cared for him in a way that she had never cared for anyone. That would mean that it would hurt all the more if one day he did decide to leave her.

In spite of her better judgment Bonnie reached down and ran her fingers through Klaus' hair. She smiled when he let out a contented sigh. He looked more innocent asleep than he did awake, especially after she had gotten ahold of him. His personality was already twisting to match and accept her darkness which made her wonder how much of the darkness that was surfacing was already there and how much she was responsible for.

Her hand froze when he shifted in his sleep. He turned over, his head moving from his pillow to her lap. She laughed quietly when he tried to burrow his head into her dress. He started to wake unsurprisingly. When his eyes opened he blinked up at her.

"Bonnie?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "But you weren't supposed to be home for another week." She opened her mouth to answer but stopped when he seemed to shake his head to himself. "I must be dreaming again, then," he grumbled, once again closing his eyes, "It makes sense. I do miss you."

Bonnie laughed, shaking her head. "I'm very real," she told him, "And I see that not a lot has changed since I left, at least in terms of your intelligence."

Klaus' eyes opened again, and this time he lifted his head from her lap. "It is you," he said as he sat up, "You're much nicer to me when I'm sleep."

"I'm sure I am," Bonnie nodded.

"What are you doing back so soon?" He asked. Her expression changed and he could tell that a lie on the tip of her tongue. "The truth," he said firmly.

Sighing, Bonnie looked away from him at the opposite wall. "Silas told me that your friends came to see you," she muttered so softly he barely heard her, "I…thought you might leave with them but you stayed. I wanted to see you, and so I came home."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "I told you I wasn't going anywhere," he reminded her.

"Yes, well," Bonnie said, turning back to face him, "people sometimes say things that they don't mean."

"Not me," he told her.

She reached over to him, her hand stroking the side of his face, before moving down to his neck. "I'm beginning to realize that," she whispered.

She tugged him forward, without much effort as he wasn't putting up a fight, until their lips met. She wrapped her arms around his neck fully, her body turning into him, as her tongue swept over his lips asking permission to enter. His mouth opened and her tongue found its way inside, dueling with his only a moment before she pulled back abruptly.

"I'm sorry," she said, resting her forehead against his, "I shouldn't have done that."

She was one step away from giving him an out he knew. Still she kept her arms around him, and he found hope in that. She would run if he didn't act quickly, though. She had problems letting herself care about others, and taking their relationship to a physical level likely frightened her. She thought she would scare him away one day as it was, no matter how many times he said otherwise.

"I should go," she said, her hands moving from around him. He caught one of her arms turning his head slightly to place a kiss in the palm of her hand. She tried to tug it away halfheartedly. "Klaus," she warned. Ignoring her, his mouth trailed down, planting light kisses on the pulse point of her wrist, then up her arm to her shoulder.

He pulled the straps of her dress down her shoulders, so that he could focus on her tempting flesh. His mouth moved up her collarbone to her neck, then back down again to kiss the tops of her breast. She wasn't wearing a bra, which made things that much easier for him.

"Klaus," her voice came out in protest, "This probably isn't the best idea."

He reluctantly raised his head to find her green eyes on him. He returned her gaze, his own eyes clouded with passion and sleep. "If you're going to give me reasons why this shouldn't happen then don't," he frowned.

"If you're doing this because you think I want you to," she sighed, "Or simply to live out some dreams you've had..."

He raised a brow, wondering from her tone, if the last part of her statement was due to his own comment before or her prior knowledge of his dreams. He shook his head once deciding that it didn't matter.

In one swift motion he maneuvered them so that she was lying flat on her back on the bed and settled himself on top of her. "You've been spending too much time with me," she said, referring to the fastness of his motions, "You're not even a vampire and you managed to catch me off guard."

"I don't spend enough time with you," he said, "And I wouldn't mind it…being a vampire I mean. If I got to keep my powers. We would have eternity then."

"You don't want an eternity with me," Bonnie said, looking past him and up at the ceiling, "I don't even want an eternity with me. I hate being in my own head sometimes, most times."

Sighing, he kissed her lips, regaining her attention from whatever dark hole her mind was attempting to suck her into. "Stop telling me what I want and listen," he demanded, softly, "I came here because I was curious and because I wanted to help Stefan but….you're the reason I stayed. That's what I told him when he showed up here today. I told him you gave me a choice, and I didn't just choose the power or the knowledge, I chose you. I had an out today. You were gone, he was ready to take me home, but I stayed. I chose you again. I will always choose you."

"Why?" Bonnie asked, "Even with everything I've shown you, you have enough now to go out and learn on your own."

"I don't know why," Klaus shrugged, "To be honest your self-esteem issues are exhausting, you're violent and temperamental at the best of times, and you're kind of a pain in the ass. But I don't want anybody else. Besides, I'm pretty on the fucked up side myself."

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special," Bonnie said, sarcastically. Still she was smiling.

He kissed her again, long and hard, before pulling back. He had wanted to do that for a while. A shudder went through her as his hand swept down her side with a firm caress. "Shut up," he ordered, "no more protesting." His eyes locked with hers. His hand moved up, then down, again slipping under the skirt of her dress.

She had promised herself not to let things get his far between them, at the very least not so soon. She had been content with biding her time, or perhaps she hadn't but she was find pretending that she was. There was a chance that regret and then rejection would come later but she wanted him and that seemed to trump everything.

"You're sure?" She couldn't help but asking.

"Very." He didn't want to hear her reasoning her way out of his arms. He didn't care, not any longer. Not about his friends or his family. Not about what the others in the house would say. Not about what or who she was. None of it mattered. Nothing mattered except them.

He ran his hand over the curve of her backside, liking the feel of her squirming beneath. He moved his knee between her legs, and he could feel her warmth through his pajama pants. Her hands wrapped around his neck, and she was pulling him down, kissing him again. This time she didn't pull away until air was needed "I take it you're done objecting then?" He breathed, looked down at her.

She slowly shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The only thing she could manage to do at first was distractedly move her hands down the front of his shirt, her mind attempting to process the question. As her hands found their way beneath his shirt, she once again lost her train of thought. She didn't understand how she had gone so long without touching him like this. "Wait," she said, her hands continuing to move beneath his shirt, stilling as they reached his bare back, "You asked me something, didn't you?"

His grinned then. As powerful as he was, he couldn't say that he didn't get off on the fact that he was able to have this sort of effect on her. "Nothing, important, love," he said, his touch soft as his hand slid up to her navel, stopped, then he traced a path down.

He repeated the motion again and again, kissing her lips over and over as he did so. Finally she let out frustrated sigh, before not so gently tugging his shirt over his head and throwing it to the side. She went to do the same with her dress but he pushed her hands away and pulled it over her head for her.

He stared down at her a moment drinking her in, feeling himself harden. "If you stop now," she said, after the pause in between her dressing coming off and him staring lasted to long for her liking, "I promise I'll kill you."

"From protests to death threats," said as he, as he pulled off her underwear, "We've made such progress you and me."

He moved to hover over her again. Lifting his hand he traced the path from the valley between her breasts to her navel, his finger moving lower his time. She glared at him her frustration clearly increasing even as her breath hitched. Finally Klaus moved his finger over his intended target and hovered. "Klaus," she hissed, her eyes yellowing and her face distorting in a way that told him the threat of his death was still very present. His finger moved again, tracing a lazy line down to find her already wet. She dug her nails into his arm as her hips twitch toward him involuntarily.

He grew even harder, though he didn't think it was possible. Swallowing he continued to tease her. A string of obscenities left her lips and his laughter in response was low, deep. At risk to his own life he stilled his finger once more.

"I'd like to ask you something," he grinned. Her fangs descended and his grin grew wider. "If you answer the question then I'll stop teasing I promise," he said.

Taking a calming breath, Bonnie closed her eyes. He watched as her face returned to normal. When she opened her eyes, they were green as they met his. He removed his hand from, and she groaned in protest. "What is it?" She bit out.

He grasped her arm at the wrist and brought her hand to his erection. Bonnie's fingers instinctively closed around him. Clearing his throat, Klaus bit back a groan. "Does it feel like I'm only doing this out of obligation to you?"

Bonnie tightened her fingers around him the tiniest bit, her hand running slowly up and down the hard length. "No," answered in a whisper.

Klaus closed his eyes, appreciating the feel of her hand and the pressure, for a moment. His eyes opened again when sudden she pulled her hand away. He was about to comment on her teasing him when he found their positions suddenly switched, her on top of him and him on his back. Before he could blink, Bonnie had his pajama bottoms off and tossed to the side.

She down leaned over him, her face scant inches from his. "I'm still going to kill you, later," she told him. Their eyes locked as she raised a hand to caress his cheek, the touch surprisingly gentle. "Much, much later," she continue her hand sliding over his shoulder, then up to his neck his neck, pulling his head closer, their lips almost touching.

"I have no doubt that you'll be the death of me one way or the other," he told her. Bonnie smiled and then her lips crashed down on his. Klaus' mouth opened under the pressure, granting her tongue access. Their bodies moved against each other in an effort to get closer. His hands were rough, impatient, as they moved to up to grip her hips. It wasn't enough.

Bonnie pressed him back onto the bed, as he forced a leg in between hers, her body readily moving against it. His hand down to grip her backside. His mouth swallowed her moan her hips moved rhythmically against him.

Slowly her mouth left his and she trailed kisses down his neck, to the hollow of is throat, down his chest, her tongue licking the sweat forming on his skin.

He shifted restlessly as she ran her tongue over his nipple. "Bonnie." Her hands reached up to the back of his head, her fingers running through his hair.

She pulled away moving up to kiss his lips once more.

Her hips continued to move and she arched into him, her hands still in his hair. One hand moved down, her fingers skimming over his chest slowly. She smiled into the kiss, loving the feel of his muscles tensing under her fingertips. Her hand moved lower still, until it closed around him. His entire body jerked in response, as her hand moved slowly up and down the hard length, increasing the pressure then easing it in time to her movements.

Klaus moved his down between their bodies, down her belly, and toward her core, lowering his leg as her hips once gain moved upward. Raising his head, his eyes locking with hers as he used his knee to spread her legs. Slowly, eyes still held, he pushed one finger into her.

She was wet and welcoming as he withdrew his finger and then pushed back in. She bit her bottom lip, her breathing heavy as her body tightened around his finger. All Klaus wanted was to be inside of her, but at the same time he wanted to do things slowly. He had waited, dreamed of having her ever sense before he knew that she actually existed. He wanted to savor the experience in case she pushed him away again afterward.

He looked up at her, not bothering to hide his awe as her body arched into him. Her head lowered, taking his mouth gently with hers, her tongue running over his lower lip before she withdrew again. He pushed a second finger inside her. Her fingers tightened over his cock, before she released it all together. "Bonnie?" He questioned his eyes trying to read her face.

He propped himself up onto his elbows as she looked down at him, her dark curls falling into his face. She ran her fingers through his hair, her other hand drawing his head up until their lips met again. "I want you inside me," she said, as she pulled back.

He stared at her for a moment, torn between thinking the moment was a dream and knowing it was in fact reality. She pushed his chest gently until he eased back down onto his back, and position herself to straddle him.

He ran he hands up her sides, cupping her breasts, the rough pad of his thumbs stroking each nipple. "Bonnie, I-"

"Shhhh," she whispered, shaking her head.

They both knew what he would say. He could admit that it was a bit premature, but he had hope to get the words out even still. He became distracted from his thoughts as she lifted herself, ready to take him inside of her.

His eyes closed as lowered herself onto him slowly. He wasn't sure who the groan that invaded the silence, but he found he didn't care as entered her fully. He allowed himself a moment relish the feel of her, before she lifted her hips, and once again lowered herself onto, taking him in deeper this time.

His hands gripped her his as she began to work herself on top of him. Their breathing was hard and fast, as Bonnie gripped his shoulders. He hadn't been lying when he said, he didn't want anyone else, and he began to thrust up into her he was sure that he never would want anyone besides Bonnie again.

She moaned his name, her back arching, as he reached up and cupped her breast. When her eyes found his, dark and stormy in a way that he had never seen them, his hand moved down to grip her hips again. He shifted their bodies, until she was underneath him, needing to feel as much of her skin against his skin as he possibly.

She wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him, as he continued to move inside her. Their eyes stayed locked and Klaus knew as she looked at him that she owned many things, many people, possessed them, but she never allowed anyone to own her. She had never given anyone power over her before, not until then in that moment. She was allowing him control and he wondered if she knew that he had given his control over to her long ago.

Her moans become louder, the movement of her hips more erratic, with every downward stroke. Klaus movements inside of her become quicker, his hands guiding her hips until she begins to match his rhythm.

He memorizes every sound she makes, every movement of her body, as his powers began to hum through him. The lights in the room began to flicker but he ignores them focusing instead on the feel of her walls clenching around him, telling him that she was close.

A few strokes later she was screaming his name, her orgasm causing her body to spasm. His movements became faster still, moving deeper and harder, inside of her. The next time she found oblivion, he joined her.

Klaus rested his head on her shoulder, as he fought the urge to collapse on top her.

They breathing was the only sound in the room, until Bonnie spoke, her voice hoarse. "This doesn't have to mean anything," she told him, still determined to give him an out even now.

Klaus lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers, as he looked down at her. "It means everything," he said. And as her arms came up to wrap around him, he was certain that he would never feel alone again.