- this time, as if it had been kicked. Bonnie ducked her head and clutched at her short strawberry curls, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her.
"I'll apologize," she said after a gulp, trying to be adult about the situation. Then she looked up and realized that everyone else was more concerned about Elena, who was clearly upset by this rejection.
It's a good thing we made Caroline sign that oath in blood, Bonnie thought. And it's a good thing that you-know-who signed it, too. If there was one thing Damon would know about, it was consequences.
Even as she was thinking this, she joined the huddle around Elena. Stefan was trying to hold Elena; Elena was trying to go after Caroline; and Matt and Meredith were helping Stefan and telling Elena that it was okay.
When Bonnie joined them, Elena gave up trying to get to the bathroom. Her face was distressed, her blue eyes swimming with tears. Elena's serenity had been broken by hurt and regret - and underneath that, a surprisingly deep apprehension. Bonnie's intuition gave a twinge.
But she patted Elena's elbow, the only part of her that she could reach, and added her voice to the chorus: "You didn't know she'd get so upset. You didn't hurt her."
Crystal tears spilled down Elena's cheeks, and Stefan caught them with a tissue as if each one was priceless.
"She thinks that Carolineis hurt," Stefan said, "and she's worried about her - for some reason I don't get."
Bonnie realized that Elena could communicate after all - by mind-link. "I felt that, too," she said. "The hurt. But tell her - I mean - Elena, Ipromise I'll apologize. I'll grovel."
"It may take some groveling from all of us," Meredith said. "But meanwhile I want to make sure that this ¡®angel unaware' recognizesme ."
With an expression of tranquil sophistication, she took Elena out of Stefan's arms and into her own, and then she kissed her.
Unfortunately, this coincided with Caroline stalking out of the bathroom. The bottom of her face was paler than the top, having been denuded of all makeup: lipstick, bronzer, blush, the works. She stopped dead and stared.
"I don't believe it," she said in scathing tones. "You'restill doing it! It's dis - "
"Caroline." Stefan's voice was a warning.
"I came here to see Elena." Caroline - beautiful, lithe, bronze-limbed Caroline - was twisting her hands together as if in terrible conflict. "Theold Elena. And what do I see? She's like a baby - she can't talk. She's like some smirking guru floating in the air. And now she's like some kind of perverted - "
"Don't finish that," Stefan said quietly but firmly. "I told you, she ought to be over the first symptoms in just a few days, to judge by her progress so far," he added.
And hewas different, somehow, Bonnie thought. Not just happier to have gotten Elena back. He was...stronger somehow at the core of himself. Stefan had always been quiet inside; her powers sensed him as a pool of clear water. Now she saw that same clear water built up like a tsunami.
What could have changed Stefan so much?
The answer came to her immediately, although in the form of a wondering question. Elena was still part spirit - Bonnie's intuition told her that. What did it do if you drank the blood of someone who was in that state?
"Caroline, let's just drop it," she said. "I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry for - you know. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."
"Oh, you'resorry . Oh, that makes everything all right then, doesn't it?" Caroline's voice was pure acid, and she turned her back on Bonnie with finality. Bonnie was surprised to feel the sting of tears behind her eyes.
Elena and Meredith still had their arms around each other, their cheeks wet with the other's tears. They were looking at each other and Elena was beaming.
"Now she'll know you anywhere," Stefan told Meredith. "Not just your face, but - well, the inside of you, too, or the shape of it, at least. I should have mentioned that before this started, but I'm the only one she's ¡®met,' and I didn't realize - "
"You should have realized!" Caroline was pacing like a tiger.
"So you kissed a girl, sowhat ?" Bonnie exploded. "What do you think, you're going to grow a beard now?"
As if powered by the conflict around her, Elena suddenly took off. All at once she was zipping around the room as if she'd been shot from a cannon; her hair