Title: 1922

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

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

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

Author's Note: So this fic came out of nowhere. From a dream that was very random. This is loosely inspired by 11.22.63 so um the longer Bonnie stays in the past the more shit will get weird, I guess. I don't really know what this is and I didn't edit because I been up since three and I got to get up at three tomorrow so yeah I am going to end this here and just say enjoy!

part one || down the rabbit hole

"Can't repeat the past?…Why of course you can!"

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Chicago, Illinois 2011

Bonnie Bennett had walked into Gloria's bar by pure chance. She'd been staying with her father's family in Chicago all summer and in that time she had been performing with her cousin, Margo, at a few of her gigs to kill time. The two had always shared a love of music and Margo had convinced Bonnie to join her act over the summer and so, it wasn't long before Margo's single act became a duo.

At first Bonnie had been in mourning over being separated from her friends and the loss of access to the powers of the dead witches. However, she realized that though she'd lost access to their powers, she still had her own and there was much more to Chicago than the loft that Margo shared with Bonnie's aunt, Charlene, and so while she could've spent the summer bored and missing home she knew she'd have much more fun exploring the city with her cousin.

At first Margo had dragged Bonnie along to her performances kicking and screaming. Then Bonnie had gone willingly, dancing and cheering from the crowd. Margo mostly did song covers. Soul, blues songs, R&B, and jazz standards. There was modern stuff here or there but most of that was alternative. Margo loved to sing the types of music that, thanks to Margo's mother and Sheila Bennett, they had grown up listening to.

One night when Margo had been coming down with a summer cold, Bonnie had been talked into doing vocals. "Please Bon," Margo had begged, sneezes shaking her slim frame and her dreadlocks obscuring the view of her face, "I need the money. I can't cancel. I'll be up there with you playing but my voice is shot."

Margo was only a year younger than Bonnie, but she was the closest thing that Bonnie had ever had to a little sister and Margo used Bonnie's love her to manipulate her often. Margo's pout worked better on Bonnie than it did on Margo's own mother and so Bonnie agreed. Surprisingly she'd had fun and after that Bonnie joining the girl on stage became a regular occurrence.

Then came the day that they had a gig at Gloria's. The gig had come in last minute as Margo usually did coffee shops, themed speakeasies, as long as they weren't too racy, and clubs that catered to a younger crowd and allowed teenagers entry. The original act Gloria had booked had canceled and so Margo and Bonnie had been called by one of her aunt's friends, Jimmy, who worked at the bar, to fill the slot.

Bonnie hadn't thought anything about any of it until she'd gotten to the bar and could feel the protective magical barriers around it from the outside. It had given her pause but Margo had gone in undeterred and unknowing of what Bonnie could feel pulsing from the outside and even stronger on the inside.

When Jimmy introduced them to Gloria, Bonnie knew right away that she was a force to be reckoned with in more ways than one. While Bonnie was excited to meet another witch, she was also apprehensive. Gloria seemed to look at Bonnie with first surprise and then intrigue as the woman shook her hand and showed Margo and Bonnie where they could set up.

Apparently, Gloria had themed blues nights on Sundays. They'd done a few Billie Holiday covers and Bonnie had left Margo on her own to handle the Ella Fitzgerald numbers. Bonnie had gone through the crowd and towards the bar. She'd wanted to talk to Gloria. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say exactly, only that she'd wanted to talk to another witch for a while. Be around one of her own.

Gloria had happily let Jimmy take over behind the bar and then she'd taken Bonnie to a corner booth far away from prying eyes. Bonnie hadn't known how it happened, but she ended up telling Gloria her story. She'd started from the time the Salvatore arrived. Then detailed the tragic story of her Grams dying. Until she'd revealed everything, Klaus and all. The woman had looked empathetic but unsurprised. "Our kind do well to stay out of vampire business, but it always has a way of finding us," she'd said.

Bonnie frowned. "You sound like you speak from experience."

Gloria nodded. "Too much of it," she responded, "I've let it lure me in a time or two. That draw to darkness is in us all no matter how good we are or what kind of creature we are. We are all susceptible to something. No one is fully immune. I knew a girl once. Prettiest, sweetest little thing you'd ever meet, and she got herself caught up. Long time ago though, or maybe it wasn't. I'm still trying to figure it out."

Bonnie blinked in confusion and asked, "What happened to her?"

Gloria shrugged. "Well," she said, "I don't rightly know. Still trying to figure that out too. I think this time around I might save her from herself. I couldn't back then but maybe now I can stop the inevitable, you know."

Bonnie hadn't known what she'd meant. She was reminded of her Grams and her drunken ramblings and she wondered if the woman was part bar owner and part alcoholic. "How would that even be possible?"

Gloria had shaken her head with a sad wistful sort of smile. "I hope you never have to find that out Bonnie, girl." She'd said.

"What was so bad about what happened to her? Did she get hurt? You said you don't know what happened…do you think she might've gotten killed?"

"She fell in love," Gloria answered, "All goofy and starry eyed."

Bonnie was surprised. She supposed it was possible but outside of Greta's allegiance to Klaus, which she hadn't too much gotten to witness, she'd never really heard of as much before. "A witch…with a vampire?"

Gloria sighed. "Something like that." She flexed her fingers and frowned. "It was something like obsession though, on all sides. It was passionate, sure, but when you fixate on someone you can drown yourself in them and by the time you try to come up for air it's too late. That kind of thing can be dangerous even when you're dealing with a mortal, let alone immortals and ones that have worse habits than most. Just a bad combo all around."

Bonnie thought about how Elena had fallen so hard and fast for Stefan, how her love for him obscured and overpowered everything. How she was chasing him all summer. She thought about Damon and his treatment of Caroline. Of his obsessions and how they only caused everyone else pain, first in the case of his obsession with Katherine and now it was starting to transition to Elena. However, Bonnie could feel some empathy for Stefan. They weren't the friends they once were, but he'd sacrificed himself for his brother and given himself over to Klaus, another immortal with an obsessive nature but also a sadistic one.

It seemed to Bonnie that, now that Gloria had pointed it out, all vampires bred obsessions, if not just strong attachments. It started with curiosity, intrigue, attraction and then it went downhill from there. All her friends had fallen victim at least once. Elena. Caroline. Even Elena's birth mother had. Bonnie had become a victim or a different sort, all acquiesces, mostly for Elena's sake and none of the reciprocated feelings or the attention or the fixation Elena was on the receiving end of. Not that Bonnie wanted to be but at least Elena's feelings weren't one sided whereas Bonnie was little more to anyone any more than her powers and even those were important because they could be used to protect others, particularly Elena.

Elena got the passion and the concern and the obsession and the desire and all Bonnie got was the violence, the loss and lack of control. Bonnie had all the shortcomings of being with a vampire without actually ever having been with one. Then there was her actual boyfriend, Jeremy who was very much human and whom she hadn't really spoken too since the beginning of summer.

"This girl you knew," Bonnie asked, "Was it at least mutual?"

Gloria looked sad and resigned all at once, something Bonnie didn't quite understand. "It was," she answered, "More than. That's what was so addictive about it, I think. I'm not sure if the outcome can be considered good or bad. I just know it changed her. I can see that more clearly now than I did then. A lot more clearly."

By then Margo's set was over and their conversation was cut short. Gloria had asked Bonnie if she and her cousin wanted to come regularly every Sunday and perform. She even offered to mentor Bonnie magically. Bonnie had been skeptical. She hadn't been around many other witches and after she recalled Luka Martin taking advantage of her, she had had her guard up. "What's in it for you?" Bonnie had asked.

"I get to mentor a progeny and hopefully get an alliance out of the deal," Gloria had shrugged, "Your family's name is notorious for a reason. You're more powerful than you realize clearly. Helping you reach your full potential will have its own set of advantages."

Bonnie had agreed with the understanding that their arrangement would be over once the summer was over.

When she and Margo went to leave, Margo had gone behind the bar to say goodbye to Jimmy. That was when Bonnie saw it, the photograph of Stefan and Klaus posted behind the bar. It was black and white and worn and the way they were dressed screamed of another place and time. Bonnie had turned to Gloria to ask and the woman looked at Bonnie as if she already knew the question.

"You don't want to open up that can of worms, sweetheart."

Bonnie had nodded but on the next week during their gig Bonnie stole the picture. She told herself it was just innocent curiosity. She stared at it the whole rest of the week asking herself questions. Trying to figure out when it had been taken. Trying to figure out if Stefan had some sort of ties to Klaus that he hadn't told anyone about.

The next gig and witch study session Bonnie had broken into Gloria's office. There was a chest beside the bookcase there, that was locked by magic. She'd tried every spell she knew to unlock it, but it wouldn't budge.

She studied her grimoires and learned new spells. The picture of Klaus and Stefan always on her nightstand as she did. She wanted to find out what Gloria was hiding and what the picture meant.

She started to come to Gloria on weekdays under the guise of wanting to learn more magic while she could. Each day she snuck into the office and tried a new spell to open the chest.

Eventually one worked and Bonnie had such a feeling of triumph, she had almost gotten herself caught being in the office because she was too busy jumping up and down to realize how much noise she was making. Luckily, she'd stopped herself before she drew any attention. She'd found picture of young Gloria, slim and beautiful her blond hair coiffed as she stood on stage behind a microphone.

She'd found letters on worn yellowed paper with the pictures. Letters to Gloria from Klaus asking after a girl, a witch. He never named her. They spoke in code. He mentioned compulsion in one and it was in that way that Bonnie learned that whatever history Stefan had with Klaus he'd been compelled to forget.

Bonnie also found an address to an old building and once she put everything back into its rightful place, Bonnie had gone to visit it. It turned out to be an abandon apartment building. It was gutted for the most part. Unlocked and Bonnie assumed at night it was full of squatters and homeless people, given the number of odds and ends that cluttered the hallways, blankets and clothes and empty beer cans and food containers.

When Bonnie got to the door of apartment number on the address, she felt a magical barrier there as well, but it was odd. The magic felt familiar, almost as if whatever spell had been placed had been placed by her or someone of blood perhaps.

Frowning Bonnie walked inside. It was unlocked but unlike the rest of the rooms it remained untouched, not at all raided. It looked not at all worse for wear besides a few layers of dust. Bonnie assumed that whatever spells were in place around it were protecting it from harm or entry.

She looked around. Took in the sparse furniture. The bed, the dresser, the kitchen with the vintage appliances. Her eyes landed on the abstract paintings on the walls. They were beautiful. Some portraits. Some a little darker than others. There was one large wooden frame that was empty, and as Bonnie moved closer to figure out why her eyes caught the signature on one of the other paintings. "Klaus," she said aloud, "He paints?"

She supposed it was no stranger than him knowing Stefan from a time before but the idea of Klaus having a hobby, no a passion, was so human to Bonnie. She didn't get it.

Bonnie began to look through the drawers of the dresser and saw not just men's clothing but the shirts were different sizes. She went to the closet and it was the same with the pants. Two different men's sizes. There were dresses there as well. Beaded and laced and fringed. Flapper style dresses in white, black blue, pale pink and gold. Beautiful dresses but those too were in two different sizes. The styles even seemed to be fitted for two different women. Shoes as well. Two sizes of men's and two of women's.

Bonnie decided not to dwell on it and kept looking. She walked over to a shelf lined with bottles of alcohol. When she walked over to it, she saw that the side was cracked open and when she pried it open further, she revealed the secret compartment behind it.

Bonnie walked inside and saw a list of names. The names spanned almost the entire wall and Bonnie knew that who they were, who they had to be, "His victims."

Bonnie swallowed feeling sick. However, if he was friends with Klaus back then she couldn't be too surprised. Still, she wondered if it was Klaus's influence or if it was Stefan's lack of control that drew Klaus to him in the first place. She knew Stefan struggled with addiction and she'd seen him off the rails. She wondered what the hell would happen over the course of the rest of the summer if Stefan wasn't brought home soon, how many more victims would be added to the list.

Bonnie left the creepy compartment and decided to look inside the nightstand by the bed. Inside there was a red rose and page that appeared to have been ripped out of a book of some sort. Bonnie picked up the rose and frowned, wondering if someone had been to the apartment recently until she felt the magic pulsing from it and realized it'd been preserved. Again, the magic felt familiar, as if it were her own. The page she realized was from a journal. She read the page to herself.

April 22, 1922

Our girl is gone. She left us. She finally smartened up and got the hell out of our den of monsters like Nik said she would. "Everyone leaves eventually, Stefan." But she wasn't supposed to leave. Not her. She made us whole and we hadn't even really realized we were broken. Now we're gutted. Pieces of something that was once complete, floundering to stay connected to one another. Sometimes I wish that we'd never met her. That we didn't know what it was like to have her. Then we wouldn't care enough to miss her but then I look at the rose. Smell it. Press it against my skin and I feel alive and I don't want to ever forget. No matter how painful it is. It's bad for me. Bad for Rebekah. Worse for Nik. We still have each other, but Nik has nothing all over again and I'm not sure that we can pull him back from the edge.

The page cut off abruptly and Bonnie found herself wanting more. The more she found the more questions that she had it seemed. She wanted to know about this girl he was talking about, she was obviously a witch from the preservation spell on the rose. It was hard for Bonnie to believe that Stefan could love anyone outside of Elena but clearly, he had. Then there was Rebekah, whoever she had been.

Bonnie began to connect the dots. "Two sizes of men's clothes," she said, "Klaus and Stefan. Two sizes of dresses. Rebekah, whoever she is and this mystery witch."

Bonnie frowned as something began to piece together in her mind and she wondered why she hadn't put it together before. "Gloria," she said.

She took the letter and the rose and left the apartment. She kept the photograph of Stefan and Klaus with her now, not reading too much into why. She went from the apartment and straight to Gloria's bar.

When he got there the woman was behind the counter. It was early and so it was dead and for that Bonnie was grateful.

Bonnie walked right up to the counter and slammed the journal page, the photograph and the rose on the bar top. "I'll ask you this one more time," she said, "Tell me about this picture."

:::

Chicago, 1922

Klaus Mikaelson laid in his bed his eyes closed under the guise of sleep. The two that sometimes shared his bed were already up for the day, his sister Rebekah and her lover Stefan Salvatore.

Rebekah had been his long before she'd been anyone else's. He was her constant and she was his. Though, his possessive nature weighed down on her, she knew he loved her, had always loved her.

They'd been starved for affection as children. Where Rebekah had been controlled and overprotected, Klaus had been abused and neglected. Rebekah had tried to make up for his lack of affection when they were children and continued as they grew older. However, whereas Klaus's protectiveness of her had begun as something to counterbalance Mikael's control, he ended up taking control of Rebekah's life in a different way. Rebekah's attempts to make up for Klaus's neglect had turned into passion and Klaus's own protectiveness was bred into possessiveness and a codependent cycle began to form even before they were made into what they were.

Rebekah had never thought any woman good enough for him and Klaus was jealous of any man Rebekah loved. The first time he had kissed his sister Klaus had felt as if something had fallen into place and they had explored each other on and on and hadn't stopped since that first time. Becoming what they were only amplified their feelings.

Their character traits were magnified once they became immortal and it did as much damage as it did good. Their devotion and love increased but so did Klaus's possessiveness, his need for control, his want for acceptance, his anger and his insecurities. Rebekah was loving by nature and that trait grew as well but that meant that Rebekah loved other men easily. His sister fell hard and fast and when it happened it brought out the worst in Klaus and so in the end his sister's lovers never lasted long and it always came back to the two of them together. Always and forever.

Then Stefan had come along and things had changed. Not at first. Not for him at least. Klaus's jealously had surfaced immediately, and he had known, that for Rebekah, Stefan was different than the others. With the others, Rebekah had shrunk into on herself, tried to change for them, be something that she wasn't or they had her on a pedestal and when she couldn't live up to whatever it was they saw in her, she crumbled. Stefan saw her for what she was, and they challenged each other. He challenged Rebekah in a way that Klaus had thought only he ever could and for that he hated Stefan Salvatore even before he laid eyes on him.

The night they had met, Klaus had had every intention of killing Stefan. Then he had discovered what Stefan was, a ripper. Discovered the games that he liked the play. Learned of his secrets. Witnessed the macabre wall of names, a memorial to the bodies that he'd left piled in his wake. It was then Klaus saw Stefan as someone kindred.

Even though the ripper was morally bankrupt in every other since Klaus had been certain that once Stefan found out about the truth of his relationship with Rebekah, Stefan would turn tail and run. He hadn't. Stefan had surprised him yet again. When they'd revealed themselves to him, he'd simply said, "Well that kind of thing was commonplace in your time and it wasn't exactly unheard of in mine. Being what we are we make our own rules, changes in societal norms have never changed that. Far be it for me to judge."

They'd been less careful around him after that, especially in private. They were more open with their affections, with their physicality towards one another. Things had begun to change then; boundaries became less apparent until lines had begun to blur. Finally, after a night of drinking, Stefan had gone from being Rebekah's lover to theirs.

But that wasn't completely true. Even without Klaus they had each other. Without them, however, Klaus had no one and therein lied the problem. It was moments like these, when he was in bed alone, the fact became more apparent to him. When he was left in the suddenly cold bed while they were somewhere immersed in one another.

They were still in the apartment Klaus shared with Rebekah; he could sense them. They had talked Stefan out of staying in his hovel the night before. It was too small. The bed too cramped. Rebekah often tried to convince him to give the place up altogether. Klaus knew the wall in the hidden compartment prevented Stefan from doing just that.

Klaus listened in and eventually heard them in the bathroom. From the sound of sloshing water, he knew that they were in the tub. It was a large Grecian inspired tub he and Rebekah had had installed upon moving in. It was large enough for four. He could've joined them but instead he stayed where he was and listened, keeping his breathing even to imitate sleep as he heard his name confirming himself as the topic of conversation.

"He's lonely," Rebekah was saying, "It's eating at him. I thought having us would make it better. At first it did but now it's worse."

Klaus stiffened. He heard more splashing and then Stefan spoke. "He seems fine to me, but you obviously know him a lot better than I do. What do you think it is?"

Rebekah sighed. "He has us, but we have each other and without us-" she started.

"He doesn't have anyone," Stefan finished. More movement and then. "Then we find him someone," Stefan said, nonchalantly.

"It's not that simple," Rebekah sighed, "He doesn't trust easily and all of his relationships in the past have either been one sided or a means to an end. He won't admit it but as much as he wants it, he's closed off to being in a relationship with someone else. I'm a safe choice, a constant. He knows I won't leave him and so it's easier with me. It'd be more of a risk with anyone else."

Klaus hated that his sister knew him so well. He hated that she could read him and his weaknesses. She could sense the things he'd rather keep hidden. That was the price you paid when you spent an eternity with someone.

"So, what do you think that we should do?" Stefan asked.

There was a pause and then, "I'm not sure. It's just that…when his loneliness starts to surface, I end losing someone that's important to me so that Nik still has me left to hold onto. I don't want to lose you Stefan."

"You won't, doll, we'll figure it out."

Klaus got out of bed and got dressed quickly. It seemed like no matter what he did he would end up being a burden on the people he cared about the most. He needed to head out. He'd go to his studio, but first he needed a kill.

:::

Chicago, 2011

Gloria had claimed she wasn't the witch that Stefan was talking about in the journal entry and Bonnie believed her. Still she wouldn't reveal the witch's identity. She only said that the witch had been involved with not only Klaus but Stefan and Rebekah, who turned out to be Klaus's sister, romantically.

"Klaus doesn't trust anyone he's not fucking or who isn't family or some combination of both," Gloria told her.

Bonnie frowned. "So. when you said, they were all involved, you meant even Klaus and his sister?"

Gloria nodded. She took a swig of the glass of bourbon she had poured herself and looked as if she'd rather be talking about anything else. "When Klaus loves it's twisted in more ways than one."

"It's weird to even think he's capable of love at all." Klaus was a murderer, a manipulator, selfish, sadistic, and had virtually kidnapped Stefan who didn't even know about their history together. Incest was quite honestly the least of his sins, and if he really was as old as they said, it probably wasn't even considered to be a sin to him.

Bonnie wanted to know more details and so she pressed forward. "So, what ended it?" Bonnie asked, "If they were as consumed with each other as you said then why would the witch leave and why would Klaus compel Stefan to forget them?"

Gloria downed the rest of her bourbon. "He and Rebekah were running from something," she said, "Or someone, rather, a hunter. That's all I know."

"A hunter," Bonnie repeated, "Why would they run from a hunter unless…? You mean there's a chance that Klaus can be killed? Or maybe there was before he unleashed his wolf. That means he compelled Stefan to forget them in order to protect him. I guess he did care about him, in some weird twisted sociopathic sort of way. But more importantly, if there's a way to kill Klaus for good and possibly a way to get Stefan back home before he goes off the deep end since he's with Klaus against his will no matter their history, then that means that Stefan can be saved. How bad was he before?"

Gloria poured herself another glass. "Bad news," she said, "A ripper."

Bonnie listened as Gloria explained just what happened to those people that Stefan had listed on his apartment wall. About how he'd drained them, dismembered them and then tried to put their bodies back together in guilt. Feral and savage, words that Bonnie hadn't before associated with Stefan.

"I can't let that happen again," Bonnie frowned shaking her head, "That's exactly what Klaus is going to turn him back into. And even if he's managed it already, you said it yourself, Stefan felt guilty enough to try to piece the bodies back together. Guilt means there's humanity left. So, I have to find a way to stop this. This witch from back then, we can find her. She probably knows their secrets. Who Klaus and his sister were running from. Maybe even how we can help Stefan. I can't imagine her being with them willingly if there wasn't something of the Stefan left in him and if Klaus himself even didn't have more humanity intact than we realize. She might be able to talk him down if he finds her again. He loved her right? They all did Maybe she's the key to all of this. When was the last time you saw her?"

Gloria shook her head. "I'm not telling you anything else," she said, "Your curiosity is sated and that's it. We're not going down that road. I watched someone I care about doing it and you're already on a slippery slope as it is. You been obsessing ever since you saw the photograph and look at all you've dug up so far. Its stops here. I'll help you find a way to kill Klaus in this time. There's no point in dwelling on the past and a witch whose fate I tried to save and couldn't."

"Fine," Bonnie said, even knowing she wouldn't drop it. Gloria had called her obsessed and that was the nail in the coffin as far as pursuing the matter with Gloria an further. She wouldn't have the woman's help and so she would have to figure things out on her own. She was used to that. She could pull it off.

So, the more she found out the more she wanted to know, that didn't make her obsessed. Curious, yes, and with good reason. There was a witch out there somewhere that knew Klaus's secrets. A witch that was involved with him and knew his weaknesses. A witch that could help her save Stefan from himself and bring him home. If Gloria wasn't going to help her find the witch in the present, Bonnie would just have to search for her in the past.

There was a magical loophole for everything, and Bonnie could attest to that. If a witch couldn't find one, then she could create one. But luckily for Bonnie, she'd managed to find one. The spell was called Tempus Fugit. Bonnie found it in one of the grimoires she had taken from Jonas Martin's possessions.

The spell was simple to perform. Only required a handful of materials; a watch, a clock candle, malachite for safe travels and amethyst to repel negative energy. The spell necessitated an object from the time you wished to travel to as well, and thanks to Stefan's abandon apartment, Bonnie had plenty of objects to choose from.

Bonnie decided on a date in mid-March, the witch had left in late April and so she needed to make sure she arrived before the witch disappeared.

She knew that she would have to blend in. She already had the right clothes and shoes, thanks to the clothing left in Stefan's apartment. As luck would have it, either the witch or Klaus's sister was Bonnie's size. There was the matter of her hair and that was the next step.

It didn't take Bonnie long to convince Margo that she needed a change and so she and her cousin had gone to the salon and Bonnie had gotten the long curls she'd had for so long cut off. Bonnie decided on a bob cut that stopped just at her chin. She liked it more than she thought she would. She liked the way it framed her face and it was a lot nicer to deal with in the summer heat. Margo approved.

Bonnie had waited until she was alone to put in the finger waves and to do her makeup. The dress she chose was black with black and gold beading and black sequences at the fringed hemline. She'd donned a pair of black Mary Jane heels with gold buckles. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she found she didn't mind playing dress up and even though the spell wasn't meant to be fun, doing it on her own and going back to a whole different time was a bit exhilarating.

It was a Tuesday night and it would be couple more hours before Gloria's bar would officially open as it was slow earlier in the week and so the hours were shortened. However, Bonnie had purposefully left her purse there the night before and so Jimmy had allowed her to borrow his keys in order to get it back.

She'd gotten the keys earlier that morning. His brown eyes had given her a onceover and he'd crossed his arms over his chest. "You up to something?" he'd asked before he handed the keys over. Bonnie had thought she'd been caught but then he'd laughed, his gap-toothed smile making Bonnie smile in turn. "Just messing with you. Make sure you lock up once you've got your stuff."

Bonnie used the keys to enter Gloria's bar and locked the door behind her. She decided perform the spell in one of the back rooms that used to be the dressing room for the stage performers, according to Gloria. The spell would create a portal to the desired time.

While easy to execute, the spell had its drawbacks. Bonnie only planned on staying day, if that, but she could stay a week, month or year and once she returned only two minutes would have passed in her present time. The portal deadline was midnight and if she didn't make it back in time she would have to wait until the time she'd done the spell on the next day for it to reopen. The portal would remain open until she closed it but only the witch that cast the spell could go through it. Any changes she made to the past were permanent and couldn't be undone even upon her return unless she reversed the spell completely once she was back to present time. Because the changes that were made were permanent the longer someone stayed in a different time the more the spirits on the other side would intervene and set up obstacles to keep them from changing too much, until the person returned to their time and closed the portal.

Bonnie wasn't worried about any of that. She would go one day and be back in her time in two minutes. She would find the witch and find out her name and only go back if the woman wasn't still alive in her time.

Bonnie drew a pentagram on the floor of the room. All the tables and vanities were still there but they were abandoned and covered in dust. She wondered what the contrast would be on the other side.

Bonnie put the crystals on two of the pentagram's points and the candle and watch on the other two points. She stood on the last point and began to chant the spell. She watched as the candle lit and the stones began to glow. It's working, she thought

Bonnie continued to chant until the candle went out and the ground began to shake. But it stopped quicker than she expected. She looked around and frowned. The room looked the same on her end. Nothing had changed.

She sighed thinking that she'd done something wrong until she heard the music from the other side of the door, and saw the light peeking out from underneath.

Bonnie swallowed, nervous for the first time since the plan was conceived. Taking a deep breath Bonnie moved forward, put her hand on the doorknob and twisted.

:::

Chicago, 1922

Rebekah walked into her brother's art studio. He'd been hiding out there all day. As she entered, Nik was nowhere in sight. She looked around the room at the canvases, both full and empty, leaning up against the white brick walls. She looked at the ones that were mounted and hung, painted portraits of his victims memorialized in death.

She could smell blood, paint and turpentine and she ventured deeper in. On one wall across the room Nik had started a mural. She could see the outline of her own face, yet unfinished.

The studio doubled as an apartment. Nik kept a bed at the center and furniture scattered about that he mostly used for posing when he compelled models. She heard him moving about the bathroom. She looked out the large windows at the night sky as he came out wrapped up in a towel.

"I thought I'd find you here," Rebekah said, as he walked into the room and stood in front of her, "Get dressed, we're going to Gloria's."

Her brother looked stiff as he moved around her and walked over to the dresser across the room. His expression was closed off when he spoke, "I'm surprised you're even here. I left so I could give you love birds some space. I thought you could use some alone time."

Rebekah frowned. "You don't need to do that," she said, "Not with me. Just say what you mean clearly, Nik."

"You mean the way that you did when you were whining to Stefan about your clinging big brother?"

Rebekah moved forward and wrapped her arms around his waist and wasn't all that surprised when he didn't push her away, even with his obvious irritation. "I didn't mean it that way. I was just worried about you," she said, "So, before you say anything you should regret or do anything self-destructive you should know that the solution Stefan and I came up with was to spend more time with you."

Rebekah smiled as Klaus attempted not to look pleased. "Get dressed," she repeated, "the night is young. We have Stefan to do and people to kill."

Klaus pulled away from her and sighed. "You were right you know," he said softly, "Loneliness is my curse, just like loving too hard is yours."

Rebekah's expression became concerned as she watched her brother's face fall. "Our curses don't have to condemn us Nik and they aren't all we are."

"I suppose you're right," he nodded. "I'll be but a moment." Even though he didn't argue, Rebekah knew he wasn't convinced of what she'd said either and if something didn't happen soon it would be the beginning of the end.

:::

When Bonnie walked through the open door she was immediately bombarded by sights and sounds. She noted the differences immediately, not just the large crowd or the way in which they were dressed, that was to be expected. It was the energy of it all. The place seemed brighter, more alive.

Gone were the brick walls and dark rosewood and drab modern colors and fixtures of the modern-day Gloria's. This bar had bright gold mounted light fixtures, bright red printed wallpaper. Paintings mounted on the walls, vases full of flowers, beaded curtains in the doorways, and a stage that Bonnie wanted to grace.

I did it, she thought as she weaved around the dancing couples and looked around at the booths and the patrons. She was distracted by the band that was setting up. In her moment of inattention, she soon bumped into the hard body of another person.

Bonnie slipped in her Mary Jane's but was caught by the waist as she looked up and into the familiar eyes of Stefan Salvatore. "Stefan," she said, a bit breathlessly because honestly ripper or not Stefan looked good in a tux. The decade had treated him well it seemed, "hot back" and all.

He raised an eyebrow at her, and Bonnie was surprised to see him give her an appreciative once over as she knew for a fact he'd never checked her out before in her own time. "Do I know you, doll?"

Bonnie cleared her throat and attempted to clear her head. She'd said his name so she would have to recover. "No," she replied, "but I know you. By reputation that is."

Stefan smirked. "All bad I hope," he said, his hands still on her waist.

Bonnie couldn't help but grin back in spite of herself. This Stefan wasn't all brooding brows but playful confidence and charm, with more than a hint of danger. She could see how someone could fall for him in this incarnation even with the monster underneath. "The worst," she said, with a wink.

"Why don't you tell me your name and whose been telling you the truth about me?" Stefan asked.

"I don't exchange names with vampires," Bonnie said, as an excuse, as she had yet to think of a fake one. She was hoping to observe and blend in and not need one. However, the crowd was much too white for her to blend and she would have to think of something else soon. "Especially not ones with addictive personalities. One hit of me and they get so clingy and aggressive. A girl like me needs her space."

"Is that right?" Stefan said and Bonnie was taken aback as he moved in closer to her. "How much space do you require? A lot or a little?"

Bonnie studied his face, and there was such clear interests there, that her mouth went dry. She was saved when the piano player came down from the stage and walked over to them. "You the new girl?" he asked, Bonnie, "Gloria said she had someone special for the stage tonight."

Bonnie smiled. She'd found her out and she would get to go on stage. From the stage she could see everything and who wouldn't want to be able to say they'd performed at a speakeasy even if no one ever really found out. If Gloria turned up she'd get caught, but it wasn't like she'd be there long enough for the Gloria of her time to remember her presence anyway. "That'd be me."

"Beauty, spitfire tongue, and she sings too," Stefan said, he leaned in again and whispered, "There's something about you doll that is simply magical."

Bonnie knew what he was implying and knew that the quicker she got on stage the better. "Pretty words don't impress me so you should find yourself a new target. You're a predator, right? I'm sure it won't' take you long." Bonnie looked over his shoulder in time to see Klaus walking in with a blonde girl that looked enough like him that she knew it had to be his sister. If she were being honest with herself, the decade had been kind to Klaus as well. She decided it was definitely time to fade in to the background. "If you would excuse me," Bonnie said.

Bonnie went to move away from him, and Stefan grabbed her hand. "Break a leg of up there."

Bonnie glanced to where both Klaus and his sister were staring at them rather openly, but she couldn't quite get a read on the expressions on either of their faces. It was something between threatened and intrigued.

"Be careful, Stefan," Bonnie said, pulling her hand away, "Looks like you're making someone jealous."

When Stefan looked over his shoulder Bonnie moved away and made her way towards the stage. The pianist helped her up the steps and introduced her to the rest of the band. Bonnie became uncertain as he showed her the selection of songs. This wasn't her normal crowd.

Bonnie only knew two out of the three songs and she decided to start with the slow number to get herself comfortable. She'd grown up watching Lady Sings the Blues and Carmen Jones and a laundry list of other period films that made her want to plan out her act and be a part of another time, but to do it on a stage in reality was something entirely different.

When the pianist asked her, her name Bonnie couldn't think in time to make one up and so she blurted out her real one before pinching the bridge of her nose. As he introduced her, "Ladies and gents we've got a treat for you tonight….," Bonnie looked out into the crowd and saw Stefan, Klaus and Klaus's sister, Rebekah moving a bit closer to the stage after the girl set her things in a booth towards the back, "Miss Bonnie Bennett."

Bonnie closed her eyes and when the muss began to play, she opened her mouth to sing. She got more comfortable as she went, holding the microphone stand and swaying her hips. She knew she sounded good in her time, but in this time she was competing with the greats, even if it was hypothetically.

When she was finished the crowd roared with applause and Bonnie felt empowered and relieved all at once and decided to have some real fun with the next song. "What a great crowd," she said, "I do believe they deserve something special."

More cheers. Bonnie was rather unashamedly eating up the attention. "But first let's have a round of applause for Mr. Terry on the trumpet," more applause, "Now Mr. Terry how'd you learn to play so well."

Bonnie glanced back at the trumpeter who blushed red. "Practice, Miss Bonnie," he said.

"I see," Bonnie smirked, thinking that if she was going to be there one night only, she may as well have a good time and stir things up a bit, "I would need a lot of practice to do something like that. Now when you practice Mr. Terry, do you suck, or do you blow?"

The reaction from the crowd was instant and Bonnie bit back a laugh with the trumpeter grew even redder. "I blow," he answered just the same.

"Oh really," Bonnie smiled, fluffing her hair, "I supposed I would need less practice than I thought then."

Bonnie got more cheers, a few catcalls and some whistles one of which came from the direction of where Stefan, Klaus and Rebekah were standing. Bonnie gave them a glance and she noted that the girl looked some mix between impressed and intrigued.

"Now behave boys," Bonnie chastised, "We'll have to pick enough of you up off the floor after this next one as it is." Bonnie looked back at the pianist. "Play me something, Charlie."

He started the play Trixie Smith's, "My Daddy Rocks Me (We A Steady Roll)", and Bonnie was sure that once Gloria showed up, with whoever was actually supposed to be on stage, she would definitely get thrown out on her ass. Even so she began to sing.

My man rocks me with one steady roll
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold
I looked at the clock and the clock struck one
I said "Now Daddy, ain't we got fun"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll

Bonnie rocked her hips to punctuate the last line in a way that was like more indicative or her own time, but it had the desired effect.

My man rocks me with one steady roll

There's no slippin' when he once takes hold

I looked at the clock and the clock struck three

I said "Now Daddy, you a-killin' me!"

He kept rockin' with one steady roll

Bonnie looked across the room at the bartender serving champagne and concentrated her powers on the bottle so that the cork would pop before the next verse. Even if she got kicked out on her ass, she would give them as show to remember.

My man rocks me with one steady roll

There's no slippin' when he once takes hold

I looked at the clock and the clock struck six

I said "Now Daddy, you know a lot of tricks!"

He kept rockin' with one steady roll

Bonnie moved across the stage with grace, but her body language was flirty and sexy in a way that she normally shied away from. The energy of the crowd made her feel bold. Bonnie looked out and watched as Klaus moved his way through the crowd and for a moment Bonnie thought that he recognized her. It was nonsensical, even so the fear struck her for a moment. But this Klaus didn't know her yet and he'd never looked at her that way in her time, with such burning intensity and focus. He seemed to be moving outside of his own accord, a man hypnotized.

As he walked to the edge of the stage Bonnie moved forward as well, refusing to be intimidated. She moved in close and as she sang the last verse reached out and ran her hands down his chest.

My man rocks me with one steady roll

There's no slippin' when he once takes hold

I looked at the clock and the clock struck ten

I said "Glory! Amen!"

He kept rockin' with one steady roll

When the song was over the crowd erupted once more and Bonnie grinned before taking the handkerchief from Klaus's pocket and using it to wipe the sweat from her neck and chest. She threw it back at him carelessly when she was done. She had meant it as a slight but as she watched him lift it up to his nose and sniff, his eye closing, she realized her mistake. He was a predator and now he had her scent, and this Klaus for whatever reason seemed to like it.

Klaus signaled to the band and Bonnie was surprised when the pianist announced a break, but she shouldn't have been. He had control of everything around him in this time as well it would seem.

Bonnie moved to get off the stage, and Klaus held a hand out to help her down. Reluctantly she took it. "You are sensational," he whispered in her ear as he assisted her off stage. Bonnie knew he wasn't referring entirely to the performance and a part of her that she hated was flattered.

Klaus gestured to the booth in the back where Stefan and Rebekah were sitting. "Would you care to join us?"

Bonnie thought about her plan. Thought about getting into his inner circle to find the witch he was involved with. She looked at the clock on the wall. She didn't have much time before the portal closed. Making a snap decision she nodded.

She decided to play dumb as he slid a hand down the small of her back. "Does a name come with this invitation?" she asked.

"My name is Niklaus Mikaelson," he replied, "But you can call me Klaus."

End Notes: Yes, I know I have no business starting another fic. No I don't care. Lol. Anyways so I kind of want to push some boundaries with this so pay attention to the warnings and pairings for future chapters. Make sure you review!