Title: Transference

Rating: M

Genre: AU/Supernatural/Romance

Pairing(s): Bonnie/Tyler, Bonnie/Klaus, Caroline/Matt, Caroline/Tyler (minor), Stefan/Elena, Rebekah/Damon, Alaric/Abby, etc.

Summary: When Tyler asks for Bonnie's help getting rid of his sired bond to Klaus neither of them are prepared for the consequences…

A/N: The last respost. I think. I hope I got them all. So many fics so little time. This fic is mostly canon through 3x13. The only variance is that Caroline's father was never attacked and therefore never turned and survived his run in with Tyler mostly unscathed and is in fact alive and still human. The premise of this fic is that after attacking Caroline's dad Tyler looks for an alternative to getting rid of the "sired" effect and goes to Bonnie for help. However, the spell Bonnie performs backfires to where Tyler is "sired" to Bonnie instead of Klaus. Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy!

Chapter One: A Favor Asked, A Solution Found

Tyler Lockwood stood on Bonnie Bennett's porch waiting for her to come home. This was his last resort. Bill Forbes had good intentions but Tyler wasn't sure he could keep handling his methodology. Even with the man just getting out of the hospital Tyler knew that he would want to start all over again but if he could hurt Bill once he could do it again and the next time there was a chance Caroline's father wouldn't be so lucky. Besides that pain was too much on him, even though Bill said that it was going to get easier the more he transformed the pain had not subsided. He and Caroline were on shaky ground as it was, so he had to find a solution. There was too much at risk.

His ears perked up when he heard Bonnie's car come up the drive. As long as they had known each other, once they had passed into middle school they barely even spoke. They had been a part of the same crowd but Bonnie had always seemed to look at Tyler as if he were a child, not that he blamed her. When he had finally started to grow up some, the Salvatores had already irrevocably made their presence known within the town and Bonnie had become even more guarded than she had been to begin with. Now that he was tied so closely to Klaus it would be a miracle if Bonnie even helped Tyler at all. As for Bonnie's loyalty to Caroline that could work for Tyler just as well as it could work against him.

It was Matt Donovan's words that had convinced Tyler to go to Bonnie more than anything. Matt had said that Bonnie was the most trustworthy person that he knew and if it meant saving a life she could set aside anything to accomplish it. Tyler still couldn't believe the lengths that Matt had gone to in order to get Klaus his answers and make sure that Tyler had made the transition into a hybrid in the first place. Even without magic Bonnie had saved Matt that night. And how had Tyler repaid their sacrifice?

Even if he couldn't help his loyalty to Klaus he felt guilty for not doing something about it sooner. He still couldn't truly see Klaus as evil or anything that he himself had done as wrong which made it worse. He only hoped that if Bonnie agreed to help him that she could fix it and that if she did he could deal with the guilt that would come once he wasn't blinded by Klaus.

Bonnie got out of her car and looked at him with surprise, anger, sympathy, and then disappointment before her expression closed. He had never seen anyone show so many emotions and then cut them off so quickly. Even the vampires that had an on and off switch couldn't do it as well as Bonnie did. He felt no better than a bug crawling on the ground in front of her as she inspected him and he was pretty sure that she could manage to squash him if she really wanted to.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked without even batting an eye. He was beginning to think he should try his luck working on his own.

"Hi Bonnie," Tyler said smiling in what he thought was a disarming way, "I'm doing shitty. Thanks for your concern. How are you?"

"Let's not do this okay," Bonnie said rolling her eyes and slamming her car door, "Whatever reason you're here I don't have time for it."

And she didn't. She had to ice the knot on her head and then she had to stay up all night looking at the pictures of the cave that Alaric had taken in search of clues. Apparently she and Abby getting the coffin open hadn't been enough. Now they had to figure out what had escaped from it. Because it was a threat and threats were Bonnie's territory, while Stefan brooded and Damon shoved himself farther up Elena's ass in between their lovely dinners with Stefan's favorite hybrid.

"How do you know if you don't have time?" Tyler said as she walked up the steps. She stopped in front of him and he noted a small scratch in the corner of her forehead. She looked to be in pain and he wondered what she had gotten up to earlier that night. "You don't even know why I'm here."

"I know it's either about Caroline or about Klaus or both," Bonnie shrugged, "Either way I don't have time."

"Ten minutes," Tyler said his voice pleading.

"You bit Caroline and you attacked her dad," Bonnie said crossing her arms over her chest, "You're lucky I didn't take an axe to your head on sight."

Tyler winced when confronted with his sins. "I thought magic was your instrument of choice when dealing out justice," Tyler said.

"Considering what you've been up to lately I think the hands on approach would be more satisfying," Bonnie said. It wasn't that she didn't understand his situation she was simply trying to scare him off.

Tyler sighed. For someone who had barely talked to him since they were eleven she sure as hell had a lot to say now. "I never meant to hurt Bill," Tyler said, "And as for biting Caroline I didn't have a choice. Klaus ordered me to."

"I figured as much," Bonnie said unsurprised, "Caroline has her doubts but I figured it out pretty much as soon as it happened." She might have thought that Tyler could be an asshole but she knew he loved Caroline and wouldn't hurt her. Besides Matt was his best friend so he couldn't have been that bad.

Tyler blinked at her. "You know that and you're still mad at me?" Tyler asked. He didn't know why but he had expected more from her.

"It's nothing personal. Caroline is my friend so I take her side by default," Bonnie said. Bonnie reached up and began to massage her temples as her headache became suddenly worse. "What do you want Tyler?" Bonnie asked feeling exhausted.

Tyler took a step forward and attempted an earnest expression hoping that would appease her. "I need your help," Tyler said.

"With?" Bonnie asked raising a brow and gesturing for him to continue.

"This whole sire bond thing," Tyler sighed, "I was thinking that there was some loophole maybe. Some magical way to fix it."

Bonnie closed her eyes a moment but didn't comment on the fact that yet another person was expecting her to pull some magical miracle out of her ass. She wondered if there was such a thing as a mail-order witch that she could pawn everyone off on, but she didn't want anyone else going through what she forced herself to anyway. "Caroline said that her dad was helping you out," Bonnie said, "I know that he's still open to it. It was smart sending her away. She thinks that you are shutting her out but I know you were trying to protect her."

Tyler was taken aback by her sudden change in attitude but knew better than to comment on it. He should have known that she would understand the need to protect the people he cared about at least. "Thank you," he said warily before going back to the topic at hand, "He was helping me but considering I almost killed him it's probably not the best method. He wants to keep going but I don't want to risk it."

That seemed to get her attention. Surely she wouldn't want him to continue to risk Caroline's father's life if there was something she could do to help. "You don't want to endanger him," Bonnie said with nod, "But he won't let you see Caroline if you don't find a solution."

Tyler nodded. "It's not just about Caroline anymore. I can't stay under Klaus' control. I almost got Jeremy killed," he hesitated when Bonnie winced, "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt. Not Caroline, not Matt, not Jeremy, and not you."

"Throwing my name in there isn't going to convince me to help you," Bonnie said. She had forgotten about his role in Jeremy's leaving. Even if it was for the best, Jeremy had had his choice taken away from him. No, she definitely was not Tyler's biggest fan at the moment.

"Look," Tyler sighed, "I'm being serious. We may not be the best of friends Bonnie but we grew up together and I would never want to see you hurt. I know what you and Matt did the night that Klaus changed me to make sure I survived. Maybe being tied to him sucks but at least I'm not dead. You're part of the reason for that. And you could have let Damon take me out at homecoming but you didn't."

Bonnie looked at him with some surprise. She hadn't expected him to realize the motivation behind attacking not just him but Damon as well that night.

"Yes," Tyler said smiling a little, "I know why you did it and it wasn't the most painless of methods but I appreciate it. I might sound like a selfish bastard asking you to help me again but I wouldn't be here if I wasn't out of options."

Bonnie looked him up and down before walking past him to her door. She didn't say anything as she unlocked the door. She didn't have a real problem with Tyler and he did love Caroline which was something that she could respect. Besides Tyler was right, they had grown up together and she didn't want to see him hurt. In truth he had been more of a friend to her than Damon and Stefan ever had even without them being close. Even the way he was pleading with her and actually thanking her for saving his life was refreshing from how she was currently getting approached. It looked like the Salvatore problems were taking a back seat.

Defeated Tyler moved to leave but stopped when Bonnie spoke. "I'm not making any promises," she said her back to him. The door swung open and she stepped inside before turning to face him. "This is your problem so that means that you are going to help me find the solution. So if I need to test something you agree or if I tell you to sit down and shut up then you do it."

Tyler smiled his relief. "You say jump," Tyler said his voice full of gratitude, "I'll say how high."

"If we find something that might work then we need to tell Caroline," Bonnie said firmly, "Even if she doesn't agree with what we come up with I don't want to do anything behind her back."

"Okay," Tyler nodded as he planned on telling her anyway, "That's fair." He walked over and placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "Thank you, Bonnie," Tyler said seriously.

"Don't thank me yet," Bonnie said looking him in his eyes as she leaned against the doorframe, "There could be a solution or there could not be. And even if we're able to find something, there will probably be a consequence for it. All magic has a price, Tyler. If you're in this then you need to be prepared for anything that could happen."

"You're speaking from experience," Tyler said beginning to worry.

"You sound like you're having second thoughts," Bonnie said smirking. He really had no idea what he was getting himself into. Then again, on most days neither did she.

Tyler shook his head. "Oh please Bennett," Tyler said with false bravado, "I think I can handle a little Hocus Pocus."

"Whatever you say Lockwood," she turned and walked inside leaving the door open behind her, "You can come in, but don't say I didn't warn you."

He didn't have a choice even if he didn't know would be waiting for him once he crossed the threshold. Taking a deep breath Tyler followed Bonnie inside shutting the door behind him.

:::

As the last of his hybrids trickled in Niklaus Mikaelson began to dish out instructions. His mother, Esther, had been freed by the Salvatore's little witch. Esther had spoken of family and forgiveness but Klaus had not been fooled, however. There were resentments and hate that ran deep. If she had managed to attack him and thwart his plans from inside a coffin, there was no telling what Esther could do now that she was free from her self-imposed prison. She didn't just hate him, she hated what he was even if it was her infidelity that had created the wolf and her grief that had created the vampire. His existence was her doing as was his misery and his loneliness. He would not soon forget that.

He had accomplished all that he had set out to do. Mikael was dead. His wolf side had been unleashed. He had a hybrid army in the making, and a source to keep it ever growing. His family was once again together and united. And yet, yet he was now more lonely and isolated than ever. His siblings had drawn away from him. Though he was sure that their forgiveness would come it would take time. His mother claimed that her forgiveness had already been earned but he knew that she only wanted to place him under a false sense of security. He wasn't sure where his mother's power was coming from but he knew that it was growing and he knew that he needed to be prepared should she choose to strike.

Then there was the matter of the Bennett witch. She was obviously still a threat and she was also quite obviously stronger than he thought. His best witches hadn't been able to open the coffin and yet this high school girl who barely knew how to use or manage the power that she possessed had gotten it open with the help of a wayward mother who barely had access to her own powers. The whole thing seemed so ludicrous and if the witch wasn't destroying his plans at every turn he might have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

So he was splitting his hybrids up, dispatching them into his many different haunts that were close by. They were his only allies, and as no one seemed to know how to kill Klaus as of yet, he was sure that if they couldn't get to him then they would go after his hybrids instead. He needed to have them on standby so when he needed them they would be at the ready and out of harm's way.

He was keeping a few in town with him as an insurance policy against his mother. If he needed to make more it would only take a well placed threat to get access to Elena Gilbert's blood. He had Tyler Lockwood on the inside keeping an eye on Elena and her Salvatore counterparts. Lockwood was rebelling but Klaus was already making moves to keep him in line. Caroline Forbes was Tyler Lockwood's only weakness and Klaus had no problem using the young vampire girl against him.

:::

"Be still," Tyler said firmly as Bonnie squirmed away from him. Bonnie sighed repositioning herself on the couch before Tyler reached out and continued to clean the cut on Bonnie's forehead. "Take the aspirin," Tyler said as he tossed the cloth onto the coffee table. He dug a band aid out of the first aid kit that sat open on the table next to where the cloth had landed.

Bonnie held the ice pack on the lump that had formed on the back of her head. She had wanted to start the research right away after she had showered and changed but Tyler had scoured her house for first aid supplies. As soon as Bonnie had reappeared, clad in her pajamas, her hair tied up; Tyler had patted the couch and started examining her. She hadn't even realized that he had noticed she was hurt. Once she had revealed the source of her injuries he seemed even more adamant about getting away from Klaus.

"Trying to patch me up so that I can focus on your problem?" Bonnie asked as she popped the pills into her mouth and washed it down with the bottle of water that Tyler had managed to scare up.

She watched as, after placing the bandage on her forehead Tyler moved to the scratches on her arm that she hadn't even noticed. She wasn't used to this much attention least of all from him. She wasn't used to seeing him be that nice period. And no one outside of Caroline, and Jeremy in the beginning of their relationship, had ever cared that much about her well being.

"I told you I didn't want to see you hurt," Tyler said, "I meant it. Besides you're helping me so it's the least that I could do."

She had been reluctant to let people take care her when they were younger and he could tell that that hadn't changed. She had always wanted to take care of herself or ignored herself in favor of others. Besides he knew that had Caroline been there she would be doing this in his stead.

"Thank you then," Bonnie said quietly still uncomfortable. She stood after he placed the last band aid on her arm wanting to get away from the awkward situation. Though, the situation wouldn't have been awkward if she hadn't made it that way. She moved to collect the first aid kit but he stopped her.

"I'll put it away," he said.

"Then I'll get the grimores," Bonnie said with a nod.

She walked up to her room and retrieved the books that her Grams had left her hoping that one of them would have the answers that they were looking for. She would have waited but on the off chance that she had a concussion she knew that it was better if she stayed awake which meant that the research would work to her advantage. Besides the sooner she took care of Tyler's problem the sooner she could go back to working on who or what she had let out of the coffin at the Salvatore brothers' request.

She brought the books back downstairs and set the pile on top of the coffee table just as Tyler reentered the room and sat down on the couch. He looked at the pile warily. "Will we need all of those?" Tyler asked.

"Probably not," Bonnie said with a shrug, "But we need to check all of them. One could have the answers or none of them could." Bonnie sat down next to him picking up one of the old books and carefully opening it. "Be careful with them," Bonnie said as she started to read.

Tyler wasn't sure if she meant because they were old or because of what they contained but he nodded anyway. Tyler picked up one of the books and cracked it open. He stared blankly at the Latin script that was at the bottom of the aged page before giving up and picking up another book. "Why did I take French again?" Tyler asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Because Matt told you that it was the language of love and you thought that it would get you laid," Bonnie said without looking up from the book in her hands.

"Well it worked," Tyler shrugged to which Bonnie shook her head. Tyler tried to bring his attention back to the book in his hand but the words were so tiny and the script was fading and he couldn't focus. "How can you look at these all day?" Tyler asked. Bonnie shrugged. "Seriously my eyes are starting to cross and we haven't even started yet."

"That's because even as a hybrid you still have the attention span of a gnat," Bonnie commented looking up finally. She folded her legs beneath her as she sat back on the couch. They would likely be at it for hours so Bonnie hoped that he would be able to eventually buckle down and do some real research.

Tyler for his part was getting more pessimistic by the minute as his eyes scanned the page. There were so many books and so many spells. What were the chances that they would find what they were looking for?

Bonnie refocused her attention on the text. Though she could tell that Tyler was a bit listless he wasn't as annoying as she had expected him to be. Despite the fact that they had rarely spoken with each other Bonnie found that they were still familiar with one another which lead to a sort of natural companionship that was almost comfortable.

"Well at least I'm a gnat that is fluent in French," Tyler said when the silence started to get to him, "That is sexy right?"

"I hate to break it to you Lockwood," Bonnie said, "But French speaking gnats are not exactly a turn on unless you're Caroline."

Tyler shrugged. "Well that is good news since I'm not looking for anyone else's approval," Tyler said.

"You're lucky she's been easier to please since she broke up with Matt," Bonnie said turning a page, "You shouldn't worry about the Latin anyway; those are the spells themselves. Focus on the explanations of what they're used for and how they work."

"Good to know," Tyler said his eyes returning to the page.

They were silent for another hour in which no answers were found and Tyler began to get restless again. He began to look around him. He hadn't been in her house in a while and yet he had known how to find things well enough. When they were younger they had all mostly spent time at Sheila Bennett's when going to see Bonnie. This house just seemed too impersonal; like no one actually lived there. It was almost as if someone was selling the place and doing an open house the place was so clean and sterile. The only sign of life that he could see were a few of Bonnie's things here and there but even Bonnie didn't seem comfortable in the house.

"So the house looks a little empty," Tyler said curiously, "Are you not here a lot?"

Bonnie tensed some glancing over at him. "I don't usually stay here," Bonnie said carefully, "I mean I was staying at my Grams old place but then my mom came to town so she's there now. When my dad decides to come back…we didn't think he would want to see her here and I didn't feel comfortable staying at Grams with her so…I'm here."

"You always stay here alone?" Tyler asked confused. He had never thought about it but he never saw her father as much as he used to and though he knew her mother had left, it wasn't as if they hung out outside of school and the chance meeting with common friends so he never paid much attention. "Where's your dad?" Tyler asked.

Bonnie sighed not liking where the conversation was going. Most people knew that talking about her parents were a sensitive topic. "Away on business," Bonnie said, "As usual."

"Well," Tyler said placing the book in his hand back onto the table, "If you weren't comfortable having your mom here then why bring her here?"

The same reason that she ever really did anything anymore. "For Elena," Bonnie shrugged, "For everyone really. We thought that whatever was in the coffin could help kill Klaus."

"And by 'we' you mean Stefan and Damon?" Tyler asked knowingly. Bonnie didn't answer but he knew that he was right. "You shouldn't have to always put aside your feelings for everyone else's sake," Tyler said seriously.

It was something that everyone noticed about her that no one ever chose to address. He hadn't really cared and probably still wouldn't have were she not putting aside her feelings to help him. But the rest of them…he suspected that they might have been afraid to broach the topic because if they did then there was as chance that she would stop being the selfless martyr and bailing them out all the time.

"Sometimes you have to," Bonnie said, "Especially when the people you care about are in danger. Everything that I've done has been to protect them."

"That's all well and fine," Tyler said, "But that doesn't mean that you can't think about yourself every once and a while. Caroline taught me how to think of other people; maybe you should find someone to teach you how to be selfish."

"Maybe," Bonnie agreed smiling slightly. She picked up a book and handed it to him. "I said you had to help with this, remember?"

Tyler nodded but didn't take the book. "About your Grams," Tyler said softly, "I never said I was sorry. I know how much you loved her but we all loved her too."

"Tyler," Bonnie sighed. She really hadn't been planning on getting into anything heavy. She hadn't planned on even talking much at all. It was as if now that he had an opening Tyler had chose to talk to Bonnie about everything that they hadn't been talking about in all the years they spent being not quite friends.

"I know this isn't the best time but since we're actually talking and probably won't be when this is over I want you to let me finish now while I have the chance," Tyler said.

Bonnie nodded biting her lip and attempting to prepare herself and to stop herself from interrupting him again.

"She was important to me and a lot of the times she was there when my mother wasn't. Even though I got too cool to see her before she died, sometimes when I think about her chocolate chip cookies or the times she forced me to help in her garden whenever my football ruined her petunias when Matt and I would toss it around without paying attention… I go see her now."

"I know," Bonnie said. Tyler looked surprised but she only smiled. "Like you said you helped her in her garden. You're the only one in town that's still living besides me that knows that gardenias were her favorite flowers so whenever I visit and see fresh ones there I always knww where they came from."

Tyler blinked at her slightly embarrassed and a little taken aback. "If you knew about that then why didn't you ever say anything?" Tyler asked.

Bonnie placed her book to the side and placed both of her hands over one of his own. "Grief is a private thing and I thought that if I said anything that you would feel uncomfortable and stop going," Bonnie said, "And even though we didn't talk I knew that she would have liked seeing you." Tyler nodded knowing that had she said something he would have likely stopped. "You know why I agreed to help you?" Bonnie asked.

"Caroline," Tyler answered automatically.

Bonnie shook her head. "Not entirely," she said, "Partially because of Caroline and what you're doing for her. You love her and I can respect that. Partially because I couldn't not help if there was a chance that I could free you from this; which Caroline calls my 'super hero complex'. She's probably right. But mostly because when I went to see my Grams yesterday to talk to her about my mom being back there were gardenias on her grave and I wasn't the one that put them there."

"I wanted to tell her about what happened with Bill," Tyler said looking away, "Caroline can barely look at me and Sheila was the only person I could think of that would understand."

Bonnie put her hands on either side of his face and turned his head forcing him to look at her. "See," Bonnie said giving him a watery smile, "Even like this. Even with Klaus having so much control over you, you're still you. You're still there. And even if I wasn't the biggest fan of who you were before Klaus' control took hold I know that if my Grams, Matt, and Care could find value in that person then there is still someone in there that is worth saving."

Tyler felt a little overwhelmed. "Thank you, Bonnie," Tyler said sincerely.

It had been a while since someone had showed genuine faith in him. Caroline was losing her faith in him by the day and after what he had done he couldn't blame her. But having someone like Bonnie believe in him, someone who had held the world up to such high moral standard meant more to him that she could probably imagine.

Tyler smiled at her and Bonnie cleared her throat. She let his face go suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why it had suddenly been important to comfort him but she felt weird about it. She sat back against the couch folding her arms across her chest. "If Grams were here she would know what to do," Bonnie said eyeing the books that sat forebodingly high on the table.

"If she could help us from wherever she is," Tyler said sitting back as well, "I'm sure she would."

Bonnie nodded but then froze as she felt as sudden burst of raw energy. One of the books fell from the stack and opened. Bonnie recognized it at once, it was Emily's journal. The pages began to flip rapidly until finally they stopped and the book fell to rest open to a page that Bonnie had never read before.

Bonnie reached out for the book but Tyler's hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Are you sure that you want to do that?" He asked eyeing the book warily.

"Its fine," Bonnie said once again leaning forward. She picked the journal up careful not to lose the page and sat it on her lap.

"That doesn't creep you out?" Tyler asked eyeing the book as if he was expecting it to turn against them at any moment.

"I'm used to it," Bonnie said with a shrug. Her eyes scanned the page. "Besides the fact that it opened when we were talking about Grams isn't a coincidence. This might just be the help that we were looking for. And Emily, that's whose journal this is, she's helped me before."

"What does it say?" Tyler asked looking at the page over Bonnie's shoulder.

"It's a spell," Bonnie said reading over the page quickly, "It says she used it once on a man that Katherine compelled. It didn't break the compulsion but it transferred the authority to her, gave her the same kind of control over him and any ties he had to Katherine were broken. It says she was able to do the same thing with another man only she transferred the power to his wife instead."

"Do you think it could work with the sire bond?" Tyler asked, "I mean if it could be transferred from Klaus to someone else. I know it says that she only used it to transfer the power of compulsion but when Bill was helping me that was what he drew from. His resistance to compulsion was what made him the perfect person to help me in the first place."

"I don't know," Bonnie shrugged, "I guess it's possible." She kept reading to see what the spell entailed. "It says it can't be broken only reversed. So if we do this and you transfer the bond from Klaus to someone else then if someone figures out what we did they could tie you back to Klaus."

"It's not like there are any witches here or even a lot of people who know about the sire bond," Tyler said, "Who would want to reverse the spell once you casted it?"

"Even so," Bonnie said, "Who would you have take Klaus' place? I mean who do you trust enough to have that sort of power over you?" Tyler looked at her and Bonnie had her answer. "Caroline?" She asked for confirmations sake.

Tyler nodded. "Who else is there," he said. After everything that they had gone through there was no one else that he could think of. Besides if Tyler was tied to someone besides Caroline in that way even if it wasn't Klaus he was afraid that that would be the straw that broke the camels back as far as his and Caroline's relationship was concerned.

"Well she has to agree before I even think about it," Bonnie said seriously. There was no way that she would attempt something like this without Caroline's consent.

"We were going to tell her if we found something anyway," Tyler said, "Even though we didn't know this would be the method I don't think that she'll have a problem with agreeing."

"Well while you talk to her I'll see if I can find another solution and if not I'll have Abby look over the spell," Bonnie said, "I don't want to attempt to do something like this going into it halfway. We need to do this carefully."

Tyler nodded. "If this works," Tyler said, "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you."

"Just love Caroline," Bonnie said, "And treat her the way that she deserves to be treated." Bonnie didn't want anything else from him really.

"If I am sired to her," Tyler said, "I won't have any choice but to." But given the alternative Tyler was sure that it was something that he could handle.

:::

"I don't know about this," Caroline said honestly. She had been hesitant to even let him in the house to begin with. She hadn't been sure why he was there or if Klaus had sent him. She hated thinking like that but she had no other choice after what he had been putting everyone through. She had left her father's side when Tyler had called and now they were sitting in her living room like they had done so many times before but things were strained at best and even when Tyler had presented her with the possible solution that he and Bonnie had come up with she still seemed to be cut off from him.

"I know this isn't a permanent solution or even the best one, but even a temporary one would be better than nothing," Tyler said, "It's a lot to ask but I would rather be tied to you than to Klaus. If we don't do this then he'll just keeping coming at me, controlling me. I'll keep putting everyone in danger and then what?"

Caroline turned to him her eyes full of some sort of emotion that he couldn't identify. "I understand that what you're asking me to do isn't a small thing," Caroline said, "I don't want that kind of power over you and it's not just because I don't entirely trust myself not to take advantage of it."

"I trust you not to," Tyler said firmly taking her hand in his own.

"I know that you do," Caroline said smiling softly, "But that's not the point. We love each other now but what happens later. What if things change? What if these feelings don't last as long as well live? And both of us won't die by normal means. We can't live like regular people. If we fall out of love and I still have that power over you then what will happen?"

Tyler sighed. He hadn't thought of that. The two of them not loving each other had never even occurred to him and the fact that it had occurred to her scared him.

"I know it seems impossible now," Tyler said, "But eventually we'll find a way to kill Klaus. When he dies then the bond dies. If we reverse the spell before we kill him and give him that power back then once he's dead I won't be tied to him anymore. I'll be free. But right now we need this to stop. I know this is a lot to ask of you Care but it's temporary. It's not forever but I know that we are and I'll do this for you. To protect you from me."

"Are you sure this is the only way?" Caroline asked. She didn't want to be his new obsession, his new master of sorts. She just wanted to be his girlfriend. She wanted things to be the way they were before his change. Before the night that Klaus had ruined nearly all of their lives.

"This is it," Tyler said nodding, "Bonnie and I were up all night looking and we couldn't find anything else."

That was another thing. Bonnie had had her hand in enough already. She spent all of her time doing spells for someone or attempting to access more magic to better serve someone else. Between what had happened with Jeremy and the constant servitude Bonnie hadn't even had time to deal with her mother in any real way or even talk to her mother about anything besides magic. She was no longer a girl that smiled and made silly predictions. Bonnie was a witch that risked her life to save them time and time again without even a thank you.

Caroline had prided herself in being Bonnie's comfort, in being Bonnie's support but now she was a part of the problem. This wasn't something as simple as Bonnie making her a day walking ring this was asking Bonnie to do a spell that was likely challenging and risky for her sake because she couldn't forgive her boyfriend of things that he couldn't control. But it would have to be done wouldn't it? It didn't really seem like they had a choice.

Caroline took a deep breath before she spoke. "Okay," she nodded, "Whatever you need me to do I'll do it."

"You won't regret this," Tyler said smiling. "Everything will be okay after this I promise. We can be us again."

Caroline smiled weakly as he pulled her into his arms. She had a bad feeling that wouldn't go away but she chose to ignore it. She hoped that he was right. She hoped that when this was over everything would be back the way it was supposed to be. She wasn't sure that she could take it if things turned out any other way.

:::

Abby Bennett-Wilson looked over the spell that her daughter had invited her over to discuss with her. Bonnie had briefed her on the situation going as far as to tell her how her friend had even become a hybrid in the first place. Abby was saddened that Bonnie had gone through so much without her or her father to go to for help and support.

There were things that Abby was sure that she would never know because of her choice to leave. To let go of the life that she had never wanted. If she had been there to help Bonnie through, if she hadn't let her own powers die then things could have been so much different.

Now Bonnie would only tell her so much and she was afraid that they would never be close. It seemed that the only topic of discussion that Bonnie was comfortable with was magic. Abby was grateful for the contact either way. She knew that if her mother was still living she wouldn't have that.

"So," Bonnie said from where she sat across from her at the kitchen table, "What do you think? Would it work?"

"I think it could," Abby nodded, "Both compulsion and the sire bond strip the person of their willpower and cloud their judgment. There is a certain degree of control that comes with both."

"If we try this and something goes wrong or for some reason it doesn't work could you help us keep looking?" Bonnie asked.

"Of course," Abby said smiling. "It's the least I can do."

Bonnie frowned. "Look I know I took advantage of your guilt before," Bonnie said, "And I'm sorry for that. I've gotten into the habit of being used and I guess that it's gotten so bad that I even let other people get used with me. That's part of the reason that I lost Grams. She may have been helping Stefan and Damon but she would have never been down there if it weren't for me."

Abby reached out and touched Bonnie's hand torn between being saddened about hearing about her mother's death and happy about Bonnie opening up to her.

"This is different," Bonnie said, "I'm helping Tyler because I want to. Because I consider Caroline family and him a friend. Because we want the same things, to protect the people we care about. Because Tyler gave me a choice and even before I agreed he was just so grateful that I was even listening… But anyway I don't want you to do this because you feel guilty, if you want to help me then that's fine but I don't want to be the kind of person that takes advantage of someone else's weaknesses and manipulates them into doing things that they normally wouldn't do. I love Elena and I have no problem making sacrifices for her but I've done some things that I'm not proud of and things I wouldn't have done before Stefan and Damon came here. I don't want that for you."

"I'm helping you because I want to," Abby said reassuringly, "You're my daughter and I've spent too much time already ignoring that fact. And as for your Grams, if she died helping you then she could never have died in vain no matter what the reason."

Bonnie allowed a few tears to fall before he stubbornly wiped them away. "Thank you," Bonnie said giving Abby's hand a squeeze, "If you want to stay for lunch, Tyler will be here soon and you can meet him. Who knows you might remember him once you see him."

"I'd like that," Abby said with a smile. Abby watched as Bonnie left the kitchen and was surprised when she returned with a leather bound notebook. Bonnie held it out to her and she took it. "What is this?" Abby asked.

"It belonged to Grams," Bonnie said, "She wrote everything in it. Spells, thoughts, and sometimes recipes. Although, no matter how many times I tried to make her chocolate chip cookies I never get them just right. I thought you might want to have it."

"I'll look through it," Abby said, "But this is yours. If she left it to you then she wanted you to have it. And she always put two extra table spoons of vanilla in the cookie dough batter when she thought no one was looking. I doubt she'd reveal that secret even in here."

Bonnie shook her head. "She always was sneakier than she ever wanted to let on," Bonnie said. Before Abby could answer there was a knock on the door. "I'll be right back," Bonnie said.

Bonnie walked to the front door and opened it not surprised to see Tyler Lockwood standing on the other side. Though, she had half expected to see Stefan as she hadn't even given any thought on who or what could have been in Klaus' coffin and she hadn't even bothered to try and figure it out or even contact Stefan or Damon since the night before.

"Hey Tyler," Bonnie said feeling a little weird now that they were actually on talking terms. It didn't help that she had already revealed more to him about her living situation and how she really felt about her Grams being gone than anyone really knew, though Caroline had more of an idea than anyone besides Abby after their present conversation and Abby's past experience with her father.

"Hey," Tyler said smiling, "Can I come in?"

Bonnie nodded stepping aside and allowing him to enter. "Since you're here and you're smiling I'm assuming Caroline agreed," Bonnie said.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded, "Once she found out that it would temporary." He was a little disheartened by the conversation but he understood her stance on things.

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with her not wanting that sort of power over you or anyone else," Bonnie said reassuringly.

"That's what she said," Tyler said with a nod. He had been worried that Caroline had only said those things as not to hurt him but if Bonnie who knew her more than most had figured it out without even being told he supposed that he could trust her words.

"Then it's the truth," Bonnie said, "I mean if she didn't love you then she wouldn't have agreed to the spell in the first place."

"That's true," Tyler said. He paused a moment not sure he wanted to know the answer of what he was about to ask next. "What did your mom say about the spell?"

"She thinks it could work," Bonnie said, "She's actually in the kitchen. She wanted to meet you so…"

"Yeah sure," Tyler shrugged. As Jeremy was gone and she was one of the few people actually comfortable with having him in her house at all as of late he figured he might as well stay.

In the kitchen Abby sat her mother's journal onto the table. Almost the minute it settled onto the table's surface it opened the pages fanning and flying until finally they stopped. Abby looked around and seeing no sign of Bonnie she leaned forward. "Okay mom," Abby said quietly, "What do you want to tell me?" Quickly, knowing that Bonnie would soon return to the kitchen with her friend in tow she began to read.

The Lockwood boy has been coming by more and more often. A few times Bonnie even had me turn the boy away. If she could see what I have seen she may know to be afraid instead of being merely uncomfortable with his attentions. He keeps asking me why? Why Bonnie never wants to see him? Why Bonnie suddenly likes spending more time with the Forbes and Gilbert girls than him? Was she mad at him? Did he do something wrong?

I have since run out of things to tell him. Soon I am sure his visits will become less and less. He's started spending time with the Donovan boy that lives down the street. They'll see each other less and less and it will be like they were never close at all. This is for the best. They had already gotten too close too quickly and there is something…off…in the way that he looks at her. Something almost…animal. I am more than sure that at some point the curse will take hold in him and when it does if he still has access to my little Bonnie, if she is still open to him the way she has been for so long then I am also sure that when the time comes she will be the one that the animal in him chooses.

Abby shook her head. It couldn't be possible. Her mother had to have been wrong. There was no way when he was considering binding himself to another, was willing to do anything for another. Abby flipped a few pages until the years changed and then she began to read again.

Tyler has been by more often than expected considering he's much older than he was when he spent every day here as a boy. I had expected the visits to stop by now. He and Bonnie haven't spoken in some time. It is to the point where she barely acknowledges his presence when they are in the same room together. Even when he visits to help with the garden she stays inside. Either she has finally felt something and is frightened by it or my previous assumptions were wrong. But the way that he looks at her it's hard to doubt what I think I know.

"No mom," Abby whispered, "You were wrong. You can certainly be sure of that now. Why show me this?" She flipped a few pages and found her answer.

Bonnie's powers have begun to manifest themselves. Precognition and elemental control are her strong suits. The night before she performed her first spell she dreamed of an animal…..her familiar…the wolf.

"Abby," Bonnie said as she entered the kitchen. Abby jumped upon hearing her voice and slammed the book closed. "Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." Bonnie said smiling apologetically, "We thought that you heard us coming."

Abby tried to stop her hands from shaking. Her face was unreadable but her thoughts were spinning around in her head and she couldn't make sense of it. "Its fine," Abby said pushing the book away, "Just got distracted looking at your grandmother's thoughts."

"Anything interesting?" Bonnie asked gesturing toward the book. There were still parts that Bonnie hadn't read. After her Grams died it became harder and harder to read through it. She had assumed it would get easier with time but she had been wrong. As Bonnie walked further into the kitchen Tyler trailed closely behind.

"Not in particular," Abby said shaking her head, "Just found her meatloaf recipe and I thought that Jamie would like to try it." It wasn't her best cover story but it seemed that the mention of Jamie had been distracting enough that Bonnie hadn't realized how ridiculous Abby sounded.

Bonnie nodded wincing slightly at the mention of the boy that Abby had chosen to raise in her place. "Right," Bonnie said, "Well this is Tyler Lockwood." Bonnie gestured toward where he was standing just beside her. "Tyler," she said, "This is my mom Abby Bennett-Wilson."

Abby looked at him and she recognized the boy right away. He had followed Bonnie around like a lost puppy (no pun intended) even before Abby had all but disappeared. They might not have remembered but they had once been virtually inseparable. Abby held out her hand. "Nice to meet you," she said her smile not betraying any of the knowledge that she was withholding.

Tyler shook her hand smiling. "I can see where Bonnie gets her good looks," he said. Bonnie rolled her eyes at him and Abby found that even the grin that he gave her daughter in return was wolfish. "Nice to meet you," Tyler said turning back to her. Abby nodded watching him closely. "And thank you for your help," he added his gratitude seeming genuine enough.

"Not a problem," Abby said kindly. She wished that he had brought this Caroline with him. It would help Abby if she could see them together. That way she could compare and contrast his interactions with the two girls.

"You can sit down if you want Tyler," Bonnie said, "I'll get started on lunch. Did you want anything?" Bonnie walked over to the fridge pulling the door open.

They seemed to Abby oddly comfortable around each other for people who never spoke to one another. Then again if Sheila had been right about her assumptions then speech wasn't really needed for them to feel comfortable. They did grow up together, Abby reminded herself, that could easily explain it. There were still people that no matter how long that it had been since they had been around each other that she could still talk with as if they had never been apart.

"Whatever you're having," Tyler said taking a seat across from Abby. He vaguely remembered the woman and what he could place wasn't anything bad. Still something about the way she was acting was a little off. The way that she was looking at him was making him a little uncomfortable but he didn't want to seem rude.

"So did your girlfriend agree to the spell?" Abby asked. It would be telling about their relationship if she had. If he and his girlfriend were that close then Sheila had to be wrong. Bonnie had told her that Caroline had been there since Tyler's transformation. There was always a sort of closeness that came out of that.

The thing that had gotten Abby's attention about Bonnie's description of Tyler however, was that he had been suppressing his wolf and that since becoming a hybrid it was almost as if that side of him didn't exist. That was a dangerous thing to do. The nature of the wolf wasn't meant to be denied but embraced. When given the chance to be released any part of the wolf's nature that had been suppressed could manifest and that could lead to any number of things coming to the surface. It made sense considering what her mother had believed. If the wolf had chosen the Forbes girl it would have been even harder to control certain aspects of the wolf's nature than it would have otherwise.

Another thing Abby was sure of was that other than the initial marking even with being sired if Caroline was chosen then he wouldn't have been able to hurt her. She had even heard from previous interactions with wolves that they could recognize their familiar in wolf form and therefore wouldn't attack them. It was actually in their instinct to protect them. Abby would have to ask Bonnie later but if Tyler had ever gone after Caroline while in wolf form then she had her answer.

"Yeah she agreed to it," Tyler said, "Once we have everything we need we should be able to go ahead with it."

Abby nodded. She hoped that the spell would work. The only person that Abby wanted to have a normal life more than herself was Bonnie. Now that she had learned what her daughter had already been through she didn't want her to have go through anything else.

She could never have a normal life being that close to a wolf, it was bad enough that because of Elena Gilbert the vampires had some sort of hold over her. There was a chance that Sheila's assumption had been wrong but it had never paid off going against Sheila Bennett before. And if the two hadn't been spending time together specifically after Tyler's change there was a chance that things hadn't had a chance to develop especially if Tyler still hadn't accepted the wolf side of himself at this stage.

Tyler gave up trying to figure out what Bonnie's mom was thinking so hard about. "I was thinking," Tyler said turning around to face Bonnie, "Maybe we should go see Sheila before doing the spell." Abby tried to hide her annoyance as she couldn't see his eyes as he looked at Bonnie.

"Do you think it'll be good luck or something?" Bonnie asked turning with a plate in each hand.

"Not particularly, no," Tyler said, "I just wanted to thank her for her help. I mean do you still think that it was her that showed us the spell."

Abby was now more sure than ever that it had been Sheila who had showed them the spell. What better way to delay the inevitable than to have Tyler bound in some way to another woman, especially one he was already in love with. Sheila had managed to free Bonnie from her fate even from the grave.

"I think she did," Bonnie said placing a plate filled with chips and a couple of sandwiches in front of him and then Abby, "Though whether she did it or not I'm sure that she would be happy to see us." Bonnie retrieved her own plate and then sat down next to Tyler. She looked up at her mother smiling softly. "Abby since you haven't been to see her yet, do you want to come with us?"

"Sure," Abby said nodding, "We should pick up some flowers. I forget which ones are her favorites." She hadn't been in contact with her mother for years and it was easier to not think about it. Not thinking led to forgetting. The small details were the first to go.

"Gardenias," Bonnie and Tyler said at the same time.

Bonnie smiled at him and as he looked back at Bonnie it was then that Abby finally caught it. Something there in his eyes just under the surface, something primal, and though it may have been more overt in the past it had diminished into something that you had to be looking for to notice. But it was there and it was all it took for Abby to realize that the spell would have to be done, if they had next to no contact now then the contact would be nonexistent when the spell was over and Caroline was all that Tyler could think about. It was for the best.