A little over four months. That’s how long Bonnie had been in Goodland, and she still couldn’t find it in her to consider this place home. In all actuality, she didn’t really have anywhere that felt like ‘home’, not since the cabin burned to the ground. Having Enzo and her friends helped, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all pawns on a chessboard. What was worse than that feeling, is not knowing how to protect everyone.
There was one person she could protect, though. So, as soon as Josie was settled after her first night, Bonnie rummaged through one of her drawers to locate the box of jewelry she kept hidden. Plucking both a necklace and a bracelet out from inside, she set about enchanting the bracelet with protection first.
A protection spell was the easy part, she could do those in her sleep. It was the necklace that would require a little more. Her thoughts momentarily traveled back to the first time she put her magic into Ms. Cuddles. Bonnie couldn’t allow herself to dwell though. It had been years, but just as with Stefan, she still carried a lot of anger when it came to Kai.
Once she managed to imbue the simple leaf charm silver necklace with some of her magic, she sat back and held her head in her hands for a moment. It didn’t matter how much or how little she gave away, she always physically felt the loss.
It was short lived, however, and when she emerged from her room she went straight to Josie’s door and knocked softly.
It was going to take a lot of getting used to, seeing so many people Josie knew from Goodland looking so freakishly young here. She was used to her mom looking like a teenager, but everyone else in her life, the important adults, were pretty much human and she was used to them looking their ages. Bonnie wasn’t a teenager, at least, but she was definitely younger than Josie remembered from the last time she’d seen her. Despite the weirdness, she really was glad to be staying with Bonnie and Enzo, even if it still felt strange to be this far from Hope and stranger still to not have Lizzie with her.
“Come in,” she called, smiling brightly when the door opened a moment later to reveal Bonnie. Josie had been putting away the meager belongings that had come to Goodland with her along with a few pieces of clothing she’d managed to pick up yesterday. The room didn’t quite feel like home, but she was trying to make it as much hers as she could. Spotting Bonnie, though, made her pause in her work. She could tell from the look on her face that this was more than just a casual see how she was settling in visit.
“Hey,” Bonnie said with a smile as she stepped into the room. “Getting settled in okay? We can get anything you need.” She couldn’t imagine what it must be like for the girl- to be brought here without her family. She couldn’t replace her parents or her sister, and she had zero intentions of ever trying to do so, but she could do everything in her power to assure that Josie felt safe.
Sitting down on the bed, she patted the empty space beside her and revealed the jewelry in her hands. “Which is my not so smooth segue into giving you these.”
Josie nodded. She missed everyone, of course - her dad, Lizzie, her mom - but the latter wasn’t exactly a new thing and she wasn’t alone here. In a way, it was nice to not have anyone here who remembered any of the things she’d done under the influence of all that dark magic.
She looked at the jewelry Bonnie had brought her and offered up another smile. “They’re beautiful,” she said. With her own magic stored safely in a coin that she had carefully hidden, she couldn’t send Bonnie’s in these items. “What’s the occasion?”
A smile of her own spread across her face when Josie seemed pleased. Over the years Bonnie had discovered that wanting things for herself ultimately ended in disappointment, but there was one want that never failed her, and that was her need to ensure everyone else around her was happy. “The occasion is that sometimes this place throws things at us and before I was brought here, there was an instance where the people I cared about were unprotected. I won’t allow that to happen again as long as this Entity wants to keep me here.”
Reaching to clasp the silver bracelet around Josie’s wrist, she continued to smile despite the importance of it. “This is enchanted with a protection spell. Promise me you won’t take it off?”
If there was something Josie could understand, it was the need to put others first and do what she could to keep them happy and safe. Josie was codependent to a fault; she often took the desire to help others too far and neglected her own needs and wants in the process. She was trying to be better about that, but she still wanted to be there for her friends and her family as much as she could. She could relate to that same impulse in Bonnie.
As Bonnie settled the bracelet around Josie’s wrist, she admired it for a moment and nodded her agreement. There was a good chance she’d need the extra protection, especially without having her magic. That was for the best, but she wouldn’t turn down a little protection.
Bonnie had always been pleased to find that there was a little of herself in the girl. Even when Josie was much younger she could see it, just under the surface. The need to put others first was always recognizable in others. How could it not be? When martyrdom was engraved so deeply within herself? Everyone around her, especially Damon, always saw the flaws in such an existence, but no matter how many times she was told to put herself first? She couldn’t do it, and the one time she had been selfish? The one time she left everyone behind to live her life for herself? ‘Divine’ intervention ultimately just led her right back to them.
“Good,” she said when Josie nodded- her hand covering Josie’s for a moment. “You know magic isn’t perfect, and it won’t protect you from everything, but it will help to keep you safe.” It was then she held the necklace up to hand it over carefully by the chain. “This is for emergencies. I made one for your sister when she was here before. It has my magic in it. Keep it with you, Josie in case you ever need to use it.”
Josie looked down when she brought up the necklace, quiet or a moment as she thought about what to say. It would be dishonest to just take it without telling Bonnie it would be useless to her right now. She didn’t know how much she wanted to tell her, but she had to say something.
“I can’t siphon it,” she said, lifting her head but not quite meeting Bonnie’s eyes as she spoke. “I can’t siphon anything right now.” She decided not to offer up any more information than that for now.
Bonnie’s expression faded into concern when Josie spoke. She wouldn’t force her to talk, because that wouldn’t help matters at all. No. She would leave it up to her if she wanted to talk about it or not. “Are you...okay?”
Josie hesitated for a moment. That was kind of a loaded question and one she wasn’t sure she really even knew the answer to. She was trying to be, but she had a lot to work through. “Some stuff happened at home,” she said vaguely when she did answer, “and I ended up needing to put my siphoning power away for a while.”
Some stuff happened back home. Wasn’t that always the case? If there was anything Bonnie wished for, it was that the generations that followed her and her friends wouldn’t have to go through anything remotely close to what they dealt with. Nodding, she gave Josie’s hand a squeeze. “Hey, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to and I’ll rain down fire on anyone who says otherwise.” Smiling gently in an attempt to reassure the girl, she glanced down at the necklace. “But, you should keep it anyway. You may decide one day that you want your siphoning back.”
Josie nodded, grateful that Bonnie was pushing her to talk. She needed to, she knew that and maybe one day she would be ready to tell Bonnie everything that had happened, but it was all so fresh and raw right now. “Thanks, Aunt Bonnie,” she said before leaning in to give her a hug.
Bonnie’s arms wrapped around Josie in return- hanging on just maybe a little bit longer than necessary. One would be hard pressed to find anything that she wouldn’t do for the twins, and she made sure to convey that through the hug. “I am always here. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Aunt Bonnie,” she said, leaning into the hug a little more. She was still processing everything and learning to deal with it, but it meant a lot to know she had Bonnie year for her, even if she wasn't ready to tell her the whole story yet.