Post Season 2 finale fic. Mostly canon ships (if any), but there will be some Bonnie/Klaus.

She was back at the quarry, but this time something was wrong. Klaus was turning before her eyes and she couldn't seem to stop him. Again and again, she called on the power of the witches, but nothing happened.

Laughing, Klaus sauntered towards her. As he drew closer, she realised that he hadn't changed all the way. He had a wolf's head, but his body was still that of a man. Her stomach turned. He stopped before her and grinned, his tongue lolling out.

"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you, Bonnie?"

She screamed as he lunged at her, but at the last second someone grabbed her and sped her away to safety. They came to a halt in a small foggy clearing. Panting with relief, Bonnie turned to thank whichever Salvatore brother had saved her and came face to face with Jenna.

She had her fangs out and her eyes were a frightening blood red, but it was the wooden stake buried in her chest that made Bonnie's jaw drop.

"Why didn't you save me, Bonnie?"

"Jenna..."

"I know you had the power. You could have saved me if you really wanted to."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"It's too late for that!" Jenna screamed. "I'm dead. And, now, so are you." She opened her mouth wide, but instead of attacking, she let out a long brrrring.

"Jenna?"

Several more rings followed. Bonnie jerked awake in her own bed and lay panting for a moment, listening to the phone ring. Ever since Klaus had come to town, it was hardly even worth putting on her pyjamas. Nightmares and emergencies had her permanently sleep-deprived. She grabbed the cordless off her nightstand and sat up in bed, pushing back her dark curls.

"Yeah?"

"Bonnie, it's me. Did I wake you?"

"Elena? No, no. I mean, yeah, you woke me, but it's okay." She glanced at her alarm clock. 6.40am. "What's wrong? Is Damon..."

"Damon's fine." A long pause. "It's Stefan." Elena's voice trembled with suppressed tears.

"What happened?" Bonnie shoved back the sheets and swung her legs round, already preparing herself for battle mode.

"Klaus took him."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. It's kind of a long story, but I need to find him, Bon. Can you get over here? I'm at home."

Bonnie jumped out of bed and started towards her closet. "Yeah, of course. I'll throw on some clothes and be over as soon as I can." She kicked aside the bloodstained shirt she'd dropped on the floor last night and yanked open the wardrobe. "Listen, have you talked to Jeremy yet?"

"Jeremy? I think he's still sleeping. Why?"

"Well, don't freak out, but something happened last night."

Elena's voice sharpened. "What do you mean? And why would I be freaking out?"

The doorbell rang and Bonnie smiled. "Hang on, I think that's him now. I'll let him tell you himself."

She trotted out of her room and down the stairs, glad for once that her dad was out of town. Jeremy had to be super grateful to be over so early. Maybe she'd sweet talk him into cooking pancakes for her.

She opened her front door and froze. Klaus stood on her front porch, smiling as if he were dropping in for Sunday brunch. The phone slipped from her limp fingers and clattered to the floor. She heard Elena's tinny voice calling her name.

Klaus held a finger to his lips and mouthed "hang up". Awkwardly she bent over and picked up the phone. Under his unnerving gaze, she disconnected the call. Ten seconds later, it started ringing again. Klaus held out his hand. When she didn't move, he glanced over to her neighbour's house.

"I don't normally feed on little old ladies, but I'm prepared to make an exception in this case."

Bonnie's heart sank as she remembered that Mrs Meriwether was up at dawn most days to weed and water her garden. She liked to do it early, she said, before it got too hot. Feeling sick, Bonnie hurled the ringing phone at him. He caught it neatly and crushed it into several pieces.

She gathered the tattered shreds of her courage and looked him in the eye. "If you're waiting for an invitation, well, let's just say it's a good thing you're immortal."

"But I don't need an invitation, Bonnie. You're going to step outside."

She laughed in his face. "Or, I could just kill you right now."

Klaus opened his arms wide. "Go ahead, if you think you can." He stepped up to the threshold, pressing one hand against the invisible barrier keeping him out. "But after you're dead and I'm still standing, I will track down everyone you love and rip out their organs one at a time." His cold eyes bored into her. "Starting with your father."

Bonnie swallowed. He had her and they both knew it. With Klaus at full strength, she couldn't be sure that she'd kill him. And the consequences if she failed...

"What do you want?" she said hoarsely.

"Damon Salvatore killed my witches. It seems only fair that I take his."

"I'm not his witch."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "I don't care. I need a witch and you're conveniently here." His voice took on a subtle growl. "Now come outside."

"No."

He shrugged. "Little old lady it is."

"No, wait!"

Klaus turned back to face her.

"I...what do you want me to do?"

"For the moment: stop asking questions and get in the car."

Bonnie didn't move. She knew that the instant she left the safety of her home she would lose whatever bargaining power she had left.

"Now," he said.

"No, not yet." She licked her lips. "You have to know that I'm not gonna hurt innocent people for you."

Lifting one arm, Klaus leaned against the door jamb. "Is this an attempt at negotiation?"

"No." She gazed at him, feeling remarkably calm. "Those are my terms. Take it or leave it."

He cocked his eyebrow. "And if I 'leave it'?"

"Then I'll take my chances right here." Bonnie took a step towards him. "And maybe I won't succeed in killing you, but I promise you this: I'll make it hurt."

She thought she caught a glimmer of surprise in his eyes before the cold smile returned. He gazed at her, studying her anew.

Finally he said, "You needn't worry on that score. I have plenty of people who are willing and able to handle the...wetwork."

She grimaced. "I want your word."

He scowled. "Fine, you have it. I won't force you to harm anyone...innocent."

Part of her had hoped he wouldn't agree, just so she could end this nightmare now. Travelling with Klaus wasn't exactly going to be a picnic. But Bonnie also recognised that she was one of the few, perhaps the only, person in the world who could stop him. And to do that she needed to stay alive.

"Satisfied?" Klaus said.

"Not quite. I need my grimoire, and I need to get dressed. Unless you want people noticing the weird girl in her pyjamas."

Looking her up and down, Klaus eyed her tank top and flannel pants. "All right. You have one minute. Or your pretty blonde friend will very shortly be missing a head."

An icy shiver jolted her spine. It wasn't the threat so much as the way he delivered it, as if Caroline was nothing more than a bug he could squash. She gulped and turned to head up the stairs.

"Oh, and Bonnie?" He tugged at his ear. "I'll be listening."

She sprinted upstairs, tossing up between Caroline and Damon as she ran. On the one hand, Caroline was sure to answer her phone even at this early hour. On the other, if Bonnie didn't answer right away, Caroline was likely to start yelling. And Caroline could get kinda shrieky when she panicked. Bonnie grimaced. Damon, then.

In her bedroom, she checked that the grimoire was on her desk within easy reach and snatched up her cellphone. She hurriedly changed into jeans and a clean shirt, then, holding her breath, she hit the speed dial on her phone. Just as the call connected, she rattled the hangers in her closet, praying it would be enough to cover Damon's voice.

"I'm nearly there," she called.

Just as she'd hoped, Klaus's voice floated upstairs. "Fifteen seconds, Bonnie."

Leaving her phone behind on the bed, Bonnie grabbed the grimoire and her ankle boots and doubletimed it downstairs.

Klaus nodded his approval. "Very good."

"So where are we going?" she said as she bent to slip her boots on.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Crap. She'd hoped to give Damon more of a clue, but Klaus was too damn paranoid. She straightened, clutching the grimoire to her chest like a shield.

"Time's up." The utter malevolence in his eyes told her that she couldn't stall any longer.

She felt her heart thumping as she collected her leather jacket from the clothes tree and moved to the open doorway. His eyes tracked her every move, and the moment she crossed the threshold he took a firm grip of her arm.

The chill of his steely fingers seeped through her cotton sleeve, and with it came that unique, withering sensation she felt whenever she touched a vampire. Except with Klaus it was so much worse, as if every moment of joy she'd ever had was instantly smothered by the darkness in his heart. She didn't know how many people he'd killed over the course of his abnormally long life, but it felt like thousands.

As they moved down the walkway towards the black Mercedes, she glanced over to her neighbour's yard. Mrs Meriwether was nowhere to be seen.

Bonnie glared at him. "She was never even outside, was she?"

"Do you really think that would've stopped me, Bonnie?"

That shut her up. She let him escort her to the car and put her in the back seat, where she discovered a familiar presence.

"Stefan!"

"Bonnie." He gave her an odd, furtive glance before looking away.

Her brief flare of hope died a quick death. Stefan seemed more subdued than usual and, even more worrisome, he wouldn't meet her gaze. Somehow that made her feel worse than any of the threats Klaus had issued.

In the front driver's seat, the elder vampire twisted to face them. "Buckle up, children. We've a long journey ahead of us."

As the car pulled away from the kerb, Bonnie stared at her house, wondering if she would ever see it again. A dark foreboding swept over her and she had the terrible feeling that she'd just made the worst mistake of her life. Her throat closed up and she couldn't stop the tears from escaping.

A cool hand squeezed hers. She looked round to find Stefan staring at her, his green eyes as bright as she'd ever seen them. He didn't say a word, but he didn't have to. She managed a weak smile and wiped her eyes.

At least she wasn't alone.

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