She felt her heavy limbs ache from exhaustion before she was even fully conscious. She groaned as she stretched one leg straight, then the other, and pushed the side of her face into the pillow. How many hours did she get tonight, two, three? She couldn't even remember falling asleep, briefly replaying through the night before; dinner, having a nightmare, running into Kai's - her eyes shot open as she immediately took in the scene being Damon's bedroom, not the one she's been staying in for the past week. Her heartbeat started to pound in her throat and a chill went down her spine as she was acutely aware of Kai's body being too close. Too close, as being plastered against her back, his forehead rested against the base of her neck and his arm wrapped around her stomach.

"JESUS," she yelled as she ripped his arm off of her and jumped out of bed.

His hand and body slid forward to where she was laying as his face stayed planted in the bed. "Mm?"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Sleeping," he mumbled. "Come back."

"Yeah right!" She scoffed. "So you can grope me and steal my magic again while I sleep?"

He lifted his head and opened one eye, his hair sleep rumpled on one side. "Trust me you would know if I was groping you or stealing your magic, you'd feel it."

"So were you aware of what you were just doing?"

"About 30 seconds after I did it, right after you passed out, yeah," he laughed his voice two octaves deeper and raspier from just waking up.

"UGH." She paced back and forth in front of the bed. "I should have known better."

"I know," he smiled. "So how did you sleep?"

She stopped mid-step and looked over at him, trying to picture where her nightmare picked up after she went into his room and came up blank. She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion.

"Uh... fine."

He raised his eyebrows. "Fine? Fine like you didn't wake up screaming so that's pretty cool, or fine like you had no problems?"

"Oh there was a major problem - it was suctioned to my back like a leech."

"Mm blood sucking's more of your buddy Damon's style," he remarked, sitting up to get a good look at her. "No nightmares?"

"No," she sighed, more annoyed with him being right about this than anything. "I guess not. Go ahead and gloat on how smart you are; that I should have come to you a week ago and wouldn't be in this predicament."

He smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "I'm glad you got some sleep, Bon." He looked over at the clock. "Over six hours if I'm correct."

"What?" She read the flashing 12:15pm on his clock and almost teared up from joy. "I don't think I've slept past noon the entire time I've been here."

"It's a comfort thing," he shrugged as he got out of bed and put on a pair of shorts. "I'll make us something to eat, want anything in particular?"

"No, whatever's fine. Well besides - "

"Pancakes it is!" he yelled over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

--x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x--

The rest of the day went by pleasant enough, which was more than enough reason to keep Bonnie on edge. Kai had a very light and carefree quality to him but Bonnie knew he could be anything but, and when he seemed his most chipper inevitably meant he was up to something more sinister. He hadn't bothered her for most of the day but made sure she had breakfast and lunch, even if she just picked at her scrambled eggs and sandwich, and was now calling her down for dinner. She didn't think she could still be hungry after not eating much over the past few days, but the delectable smell that was wafting through the halls brought her directly in front of the stove, lifting the covers to see what he made.

"Well someone's hungry," he quipped as he walked up behind her. "Good! I made chicken stir fry, rice, and garlic bread cause why not," he said as she checked each pot.

She took one of the two plates and started putting everything on it before handing it to him and grabbing the other.

"Oh. Uh, thanks," he smiled as he set his plate on the table. "What do you want to drink? Water, soda, juice - "

"Wine."

He leaned back to look around the fridge door at her.

"It'll help me fall asleep."

"I know something else that'll help you fall asleep." He smirked.

She sat down across from his plate and gave him her most lethal stare. "Wine."

"Okay," he said arms raised. "Wine for the lady who wants a mean hangover," he poured the glass and set it in front of her.

"You know my way would leave you without the headache and bad taste in your mouth."

"Oh I doubt that," she laughed as she drank half the contents in the glass. "You can just leave that bottle on the table," she said as she watched him going to put it back on the counter.

He hesitated for a second then shrugged and put it on front of her, a smile on his face.

She finished the rest of her glass and poured the next before he sat back down.

"Oh, okay. We're getting drunk at dinner tonight, that's what's happening." He nodded as he picked up his fork. "This should be interesting."

"Shut up." She said as she started in on her dinner, "I need the liquor to dull the senses from being around you for too long."

"I've driven you to drink?" He laughed. "I gotta say you look more anxious right now than you did the day after Damon left."

She glared at him as she took another sip. "What can I say, you get under my skin."

His smile lit up his face as he took a sip of water. "Glad to hear it, Bon-Bon. I feel the same way."

She focused on her meal and tried to avoid his gaze as her mind wandered around her many racing thoughts; how is she going to get through her next nightmare, or should she pull another all-nighter? Why didn't she dream last night? Was it because she was so tired and her subconscious couldn't focus... or did it have to do with him? She glanced up at him as he continued to eat his food unaware. Why, of all things, does it have to be this situation - and him be the one thing that has helped? She sighed in dismay as she moved her food around on the plate.

"All full of wine?" he teased, and she had to agree her head was feeling pretty heavy.

Her loud laugh as a response made him shake his head and laugh as well, getting up to grab a glass and water and placing in front of her before sitting back down.

"I don't need that."

"Oh, but you do. You don't have nearly enough in your system to fight over that headache brewing under the surface. Not to mention, it'll knock you out."

"That's kind of the point, Einstein."

"To knock you out, yes, but that means it's also harder to wake - you know what? Never mind, just drink some of the water and eat that piece of chicken and it'll be a cure all."

"What were you going to say?"

"What? Nothing, just that it'll be that much harder to wake you up in the morning but don't worry, I think you screaming in my ear was a powerful enough alarm."

"Haaaa," she mused, "yeah right, Kai. Just because I rushed into your room in half a daze one night doesn't mean it's gonna be an everyday occurrence.

"I know," he responded, already anticipating her answer. "But it can be a casual occurrence until the nightmares subside or you choose to keep doing it willingly."

"You're giving me this look right now, like you don't know what I'm talking about, but I know you do," he smiled. "You forget I have a better insight on this than you."

He picked up both of their half-eaten plates and threw out the remnants and washed them before speaking again.

"If there's too much sexual tension that you physically have to stay away from me, alright, but at least sleep in one of the rooms near mine so you're - I'm - close by."

"You're being weird."

"Probably, G'night," he winked at her before walking past her and turning a corner down the hall.