Consequences...

Bonnie had saved Damon's life, taken a fatal blow from the jaws of a vengeance seeking wolf to keep him from the fate Rose had endured to the day of her final death. She'd also protected Jeremy. The shove and the enclosure were more about preventing him from stopping her half - assed plan but she would have died if something happened to him again because of her.

More perplexing than her growing attachment and deepening emotions for the vampire and her best friend's little brother was her father. Ten years she had listened to him degrade magic; blame it for every loss suffered in his life. The father who died protecting his mother, the wife that walked out on him and their child, the day Bonnie inadvertently made a toy levitate in the air. He'd condemned the practice, ostracized himself from his mother, and forbid his child to delve into the art.

For her, he had turned his back on his convictions, and done the only thing he knew to save her life.

And now Bonnie lay still in the comfort of her hospital bed, eyes closed tightly, body subdued by the medication systematically pumped into her veins. She was hiding.

Repercussions...

At seventeen the world was at her fingertips. She'd heard back from three of the four colleges where she applied. All letters that made her smile and her heart leap with joy. Her boyfriend was hot and she was sure that he loved her and she felt the same way about him. Then there was Damon, an unspoken connection remained between them. At one time she blamed it on his promise to Emily and the powerful spell that kept him bound to the Bennett line.

All of that changed when they found out the truth about Katherine. Now her feelings, her need, kept Damon Salvatore a vital part of her life. Yes, it started as hatred, moved to friendship, and now it was something else. She felt differently about the vampire. It didn't conflict with what was in her heart for Jeremy but one day it would of that she was sure.

Her fingers and toes tingled, she needed to get out of the bed, and stretch her limbs but she would have to face it all once her feet hit the cold sterile floors.

Finally she allowed her lids to lift, her eyes were sensitive to light, and they burned and watered from irritation. Her neck was stiff and her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. She worked to turn her head and found Jeremy's frame curled into a tight ball in the chair bed. Blankets gathered under his feet and an angelic smile on his face. How did she get so lucky?

"Jerem..."

She tried to speak and her throat burned.

There was someone else there. Her head rolled to the opposite side and she saw him, eyes glazed over with unshed water, no hint of his trademark smirk, and a finger held to his lips. She nodded and remained quiet. He bent at the waist and his lips brushed her ears. She inhaled, taking in his scent. Her mind returned to the day he stood butt ass naked in his room.

Thank you...

She would have missed the words had he not been so close to her ear. It was a soft kiss he placed against her lips before he stood and took her hand. His eyes returned to normal and she saw hints of the cocky and arrogant Damon Salvatore that she adored.

"If you ever do anything that stupid again, I will kill you myself Bonnie Daniela Bennett."

Her eyes stretched with the use of her full name.

"How?"

Damon gave her no clue, "You're not an obsession...yet." His eyes drifted to where Jeremy stirred. He would be awake soon. "This is hard for me to say."

Bonnie waited for him to continue. Half confused, sure that this was a figment of her imagination thanks to delicious morphine flowing through her veins.

Before he spoke his eyes traveled from her face, down her body, she was thankful for the blanket and oversized cotton gown, but somehow she thought he could see it all, everything down to her core. She was self conscious and worried about her disheveled hair and crusty eyes.

"I don't just want your magic," Jeremy stretched, "I want you."

He was gone as quickly as he came.

"Bonnie."

Bonnie's heart confused her more, fluttering with the sound of Jeremy's voice. The tears finally fell from her eyes, when his arms closed around her.

"Please, don't ever do anything that stupid again."

She cringed a little from the tightness of his grip, her side still tender, but she refused to let go. In the end it was Jeremy that released Bonnie, settling beside her on the bed, staring, touching, staring, touching, and waiting for something epic to say. He was precious and she loved it, but her eyes kept drifting over his shoulder to the hall where she knew Damon waited.

He followed her eyes, releasing a sigh when he realized who she was looking for.

"He's been here the whole time." His smile shifted to a frown, "Your dad's down in his office. I can get him. Or if you want Da..."

"I want you." She slid her hand into his, "You okay?"

"Now I am." Jeremy shook his head, "Why did you do it?"

"I couldn't see you hurt again, Jer."

"I'm not talking about me." He tightened his hold on her hand and she knew what he meant, "Why did you save Damon...before me...before yourself?"

"I..."

"Not really looking for an answer Bon, but think about it..." He kissed her forehead, "I know how you feel about me, it's in everything you say and do." He was still holding her hand.

She couldn't look at him; so she stared at their hands that remained connected.

"I love you."

The words came easily from her lips and her heart echoed the sentiment. His kiss was slow and slightly seductive, she worried about her cotton mouth and nasty breath, but she kissed him back.

Their foreheads were still touching, noses brushing, and lips threatening to taste each other again, "I love you too but..."

"I don't want to talk about that now..."

She closed her eyes and waited.

He kissed her again and mouthed a simple, "K," against her lips.

The sound of her father clearing his throat, forced them apart. Jeremy ran from the room as Bonnie laughed at the evil glare Mr. Bennett sent in his direction. He mumbled something about horny teenagers before sliding the stool next to her bed and checking her vitals.

"Please don't be a doctor right now."

He dropped her chart, took his eyes off the monitors and focused on his daughter.

"How you feeling?"

"Great thanks to you."

He was going to cry, she could tell by the way his eyes filled with water and he continued to sniff.

"Your cousin Lucy helped too, I can't take all the credit."

Bonnie shifted on the pillows, attempting to move a little higher in the bed. Her dad helped and opted to stand instead of returning to the stool.

"Grams would be proud of you."

He shook his head, "Baby girl, I need you to stop. This war - these Salvatores," He lifted her chin with his finger, "I can't lose you too - my mom, my dad."

"Daddy..." She closed her eyes looking for the strength to tell him that she had no intentions of backing out of this fight, "I have to. If it means I sacrifice my life for you or anyone else I love, then it's worth the price."

"If anything happens to you," Her fathers eyes filled with a malice she'd never seen present, "I'll drive a stake through Damon Salvatore's heart with myself."

"No."

Bonnie's reaction to her father's threat shook not only Dr. Bennett but her. Her voice was strained from too much talking and stress. She had to come clean.

Bonnie took a deep breath and spilled it all; Katherine, Klaus' plot to kill Elena, Caroline's new life as vampire, the Lockwood family secret, and the new warlocks on the block. She told the truth about the difficult spell she was sure took her grandmother's life. The sheer desperation and loneliness that filled her days until she found something with Jeremy and the strange friendship she shared with Damon. It was the magic her father chose to focus on.

"You linked with another witch..." His voice escalating, "Warlock...do you know how dangerous that can be? You don't know them. What if they were evil, they could have done anything to you." He ran his hands over his smooth head, "Lucy was right, you're stuck right in the middle of everything."

"Right where I need to be," She leaned forward trying to comfort her father, "Grams knew that, Emily knew it when she bound Damon to protect our family."

Her father groaned, "Damon Salvatore is only good at protecting..."

"Daddy..." She interrupted his tirade.

"I like Jeremy."

She rolled his eyes.

"I know." It was awkward talking to her father about either guy, "I do too...a lot..."

She met her father's pensive gaze, "I'm waiting for the but..."

"Damon's important to me..."

He conceded defeat and let that argument go, moving to one he had a better chance of winning. Her father's hand was warm against her cheek, "I need you to understand your gift and your limitations. I can't..."

"I know daddy."

She did understand completely, those very same feelings, formed her decisions about her involvement in the escalating chaos around them.