No Going Back
Part 2

Written by: Peter

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries are the property of L.J. Smith and the CW Network. I’m just writing about them for the fun of it.

Rating: PG-13, though it gets a little risque at parts. Nothing too graphic, though.

Spoilers: Up to The Last Day, but takes place after the Klaus battle.

Pairing: Stefan/Elena & Matt/Caroline/Tyler

Notes: I had originally planned a third chapter, but this one took too long to write. Unless tonight's episode happens the exact way it did in this story, I don't see myself continuing it unless there's a lot of demand.

Dear diary,

You’re probably wondering why this is the first entry, when my old diary isn’t even completely full.
It just didn’t feel right to continue where I left off, not when so much has changed. The only thing
I’ll accomplish by dwelling on the past is sending myself into a serious depression.

I need to face facts: Elena Gilbert is dead. Long live Elena Gilbert. Or is it ‘Salvatore’ now? I am,
after all, living in their house, becoming a part of their world. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be wearing
one of their rings before long. Yet somehow it doesn’t feel like I earned it yet.

So here it is: the first day of my new life. Can I get through it without killing anyone?

What’s going to happen to me?

“So Bonnie’s on her way over!”

Elena looked up from her writing, seeing Caroline sitting in front of her with a smile on her face.

“Are you excited?” Caroline asked.

“Worried is more like it,” Elena sighed. “I remember how she reacted when you were…”

Elena looked away.

“Hey, everything is going to be fine!” Caroline reassured her. “This time tomorrow, you’ll have sunlight protection and you’ll be able to go back to school—it’ll be like nothing ever happened.”

“Just so long as I don’t try to eat any of my classmates,” Elena muttered.

Fortunately, Elena’s sudden disappearance hadn’t raised any eyebrows. The sudden death of her Aunt Jenna was all the explanation she needed. Any behavioural change people noticed could be attributed to grief.

Once again, she was going to be the creepy graveyard-dwelling loner that people felt sorry for. Only this time she had a valid reason for keeping her distance.

“Look, I know you’re upset,” Caroline spoke, taking Elena’s hand in hers. “I was too, at first—but you’re gonna get past this. You’re going to get the whole vampire thing under control, and then you’ll start to see the good side to this.”

“There’s a good side?” Elena asked, not sure if she agreed with it.

Caroline’s face falls.

“Well, I see a good side,” she confessed. “I’m just hoping that, someday, you do too. I’ve—sort of always wished I had a little sister, and well…here you are!”

Elena’s expression softened at Caroline’s words.

“Thanks for saying that,” Elena said. “I mean that, Caroline. Thank you.”

Caroline hugs her.

*****

Upstairs…

“Have you been up all night?”

Stefan yawned, looking over the pile of books on his front desk. Off to the side, Damon gulped down another glass of blood.

“There has to be some clue in here,” Stefan remarked. “Are you sure this is all of Isobel’s research? She had to get her information from somewhere, right? If we can track down her sources…”

“Give it a rest, Stefan!” Damon complained. “There’s no cure. I’ve accepted it, so should you. The best thing you can do for me right now is write me a great eulogy.”

“So you’re saying I should give up?” Stefan asked me. “Stop trying to save your life, just because it’s what you want me to do? Sound familiar, Damon?”

Damon rolled his eyes.

“This is not even remotely similar!”

“Isn’t it?” Stefan challenged. “You didn’t honour Elena’s wishes, so don’t expect me to honour yours, Damon. If there’s a way to save your life, I’ll find it!”

Damon sighed in frustration, pouring himself another glass.

“You know, Liz picked the absolute worst time to give her little ultimatum,” he complained. “Blood right from the source would be a much better idea right now.”

“Is it working?” Stefan asked him.

“I’m not hallucinating or anything, if that’s what you’re asking,” Damon shrugged. “Give it time.”

“I wish you would have told me while Elijah was still here!” Stefan reminded him. “He’s an original—he might have been able to help.”

“Why exactly did he leave?” Damon questioned. “For that matter, what happened with Klaus after the sacrifice? I would have expected him to start painting the town red with his little wampire brood by now!”

Stefan paused.

“You really did screw up his plans,” Stefan explained. “From the way Elijah tells it, he started to transition just like he planned—but when your blood brought Elena back to life, he was trapped there.”

“What do you mean trapped?” Damon asked.

“The curse sealed his werewolf side, remember?” Stefan continued. “But Elena’s blood was tainted, so killing her didn’t break it completely. It just shifted so that his vampire side was sealed instead.”

“You’re kidding!” Damon laughed. “So Mr. Big-Bad-Original is just another werewolf now?”

“With all the vulnerabilities that come with it.”

“Maybe I should go kill him then?” Damon suggested, his eyes wild.

“I don’t think Katherine would let you,” Stefan warned him. “She wants to pay him back for all the years she spent running. I think she’s entitled to that, don’t you?”

“I could help her.”

“Do you really want to spend your last few weeks on earth tormenting Klaus?” Stefan asked him.

“Yes.”

Stefan shook his head in disbelief.

“Damon, please—work with me!” Stefan begged.

“Do you really think Caroline’s going to be able to keep an eye on our little baby vamp all by her lonesome?” Damon questioned him. “She’s been a vampire less than a year. She doesn’t know the first thing about teaching a newby, so unless you want Elena to start draining this town dry—you’ll start seriously rethinking your priorities!”

With that, Damon storms out.

*****

Sometime later, a car pulls out in front of the Salvatore boarding house. Inside, Bonnie sits next to a nervous-looking Liz Forbes.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Liz remarks. “Alone, unarmed…”

“It’ll be fine, Sheriff,” Bonnie reassures her, pulling out a box. “Trust me—this is going to work.”

“What is that?” she asks.

“I probably should have warned you earlier,” Bonnie confesses. “We sort of have a new vampire on our hands.”

Liz’s eyes go wide.

“Is it safe to go in now?” she asks, in a panic. “Has it attacked anyone?”

“Depends,” Bonnie laughs. “Does Damon count?”

Liz doesn’t seem to share her humour.

“Consider me your protection,” Bonnie reassures her. “I have this little trick that can subdue any vampire in an instant—it gives them a huge migraine and knocks them out.”

“Who was it?” Liz asks. “If you don’t mind me asking?”

Bonnie sighs.

“Elena”

“Elena Gilbert?” Liz gasps. “How? When?”

“The other night,” Bonnie explains. “A vampire named Klaus was trying to kill her during this ritual that would increase his powers. We had a plan to save her, but—Damon had to go and do things his own way. His plan and our plan clashed, Klaus killed Jenna, and he made Elena turn. She’s not very happy about it.”

“You’re talking like she’s still the same person,” Liz muttered.

“A part of her is,” Bonnie corrected her. “How dominant that part is all depends on what we do next. The more she reconnects with her old life, the stronger her connection to her humanity will be.”

“Is that what happened with Caroline?” Liz asked. “I—I thought it was just an act.”

Bonnie gave her a sympathetic look.

In a way, Liz almost wished it was an act. At least then she could mourn for her daughter and move on. But the idea of her baby still alive—trapped in the body of a monster—it was too much.

But she had a job to do. The rest could wait.

“Let’s get this over with!” she announced, and exited the car.

The two of them walk up to the front door of the boarding house, as Bonnie knocks on the door. A moment later Stefan answers it.

“Sheriff Forbes?” he greets her. “I’m sorry—Damon just left.”

“I’m here to see you,” Liz told him simply.

Stefan nodded, and then turned to Bonnie. The two shared a look, before he stepped aside.

As she entered the boarding house, Liz’s eyes opened in shock. It looked as though there had been a huge struggle there—there were broken tables, shattered glass, and she even saw some antique weapons scattered on the floor. Sharp weapons made of wood.

She then looked over to the couch where Elena sat—along with Caroline.

“Bonnie!” Caroline exclaimed when she saw them, only for her eyes to go wide once she recognized the second person. “Mom?”

Liz’s breath caught in her throat.

“I, uh…”

Her eyes quickly went over to Elena, who looked at her nervously.

“Sheriff Forbes,” Elena spoke, standing up. “I…”

However, as she approached, Liz took a step back. Elena quickly put the pieces together.

“I guess Bonnie told you,” she asked in a subdued voice.

“Just understand one thing,” Liz informed her. “If one innocent person dies at your hands—any of you—then the deal’s off. That’s my condition.”

Elena nods.

“I understand,” she says. “Thank you.”

Liz looks back at Caroline again, and then to Stefan.

“We need to talk,” she tells him. “In private.”

Stefan nods, and leads her towards the back yard.

*****

“That was pretty cold, you know?” Stefan told the Sheriff once they were in the yard. “Ignoring Caroline like that.”

Liz sighs.

“I’m trying not to think about it,” she confesses, looking at the ring on Stefan’s finger. “Is that why you can walk in the sunlight?”

Stefan raises his hand, giving her a better look at the ring.

“It’s called a lapis luzi,” he explains. “They’re pretty rare. Only empowered members of Bonnie’s family can make them.”

“John Gilbert had one, didn’t he?” she recalls. “Damon said it made him invulnerable to vampires.”

“That’s a different kind of ring,” he informs her. “Ours are a bit more precise. They’re not interchangeable—they can only be used by the vampire it was created for.”

The two of them stand there, and eerie silence hanging in the air.

“You can say ‘hello’, you know?” Stefan laughed. “I would tell you I don’t bite, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?”

“Is it true?” she asks him. “That you don’t kill?”

“Not for a very long time,” Stefan confesses to her.

“Why?”

“The same reason you don’t,” he tells the Sheriff. “Because it’s wrong. Because people have a right to live—because they have families, and hopes, and dreams, and so much that they don’t deserve to have taken away from them.”

Liz shakes her head, trying to balance what she’s hearing with what she’s been told all her life.

“So you have a conscience,” she admits. “I can accept that, but that still doesn’t mean there’s anything human about you.”

“I’m sorry you think that way, Elizabeth,” Stefan sighs. “I hope I can change your mind someday.”

“Full disclosure,” Liz informs him. “Any information regarding other vampires in the area—or anything else supernatural, for that matter--I want it!”

“Does it have to be from me specifically?”

Liz paused.

“Not necessarily…”

“Caroline lives with you,” he explains. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient if she were your contact?”

Liz’s mouth hung open.

“Unless you’re planning on kicking her out?”

Liz’s eyes narrow.

“You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you?”

“I just hate to see a family torn apart because of this,” Stefan tells her. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but she’s still your daughter.”

Liz looks back through the window, where Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline are talking inside.

“Damon—mentioned what your father did to you,” she sighed. “I would have never done that to her.”

“I know.”

She turns back to Stefan.

“Bonnie told me—you helped her,” she continues. “That you taught her to be like you—taught her not to kill.”

“She did that herself,” Stefan corrects her, a look of pride on his face. “All I did was show her the way. She’s strong—brave—and I’m sure she gets that from somewhere.”

“Nevertheless,” she began. “Professionally, I have to think of you as a weapon. Something I can use to protect this town from others of your kind. That’s my job, Stefan—that’s the reason I’m here with you right now.”

Stefan nods.

“But personally,” she whispers. “I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for Caroline. I couldn’t protect her life, but you—you saved her soul. Whatever you are, human or demon—if there’s ever anything I can do for you, all you have to do is ask.”

Stefan stares at her in amazement.

“I can think of one thing…”

Her offers Liz his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, she shakes it.

“I trusted the wrong Salvatore brother, didn’t I?” she mutters.

“I know you feel betrayed right now,” Stefan tells her. “But there is good in him—I know there is.”

Liz pauses, not knowing how to answer.

“So tell me about Klaus…”

*****

Back inside…

“Bonnie, I’m sorry!” Elena tells her.

“Wait, wait…” Bonnie interrupts. “Did you just apologize—for getting turned into a vampire against your will?”

“I know you’re not exactly crazy about—people like me, Bonnie,” she explains.

“Hey, enough of that!” Bonnie says, putting her hand on Elena’s shoulder. “All that matters to me right now is that you’re alive—and you are alive, before you say anything—if anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. The power of a hundred witches, and I couldn’t do anything!”

She reaches down and opens her box.

“Now, let’s get you back in the sun!”

“A daywalking ring?” Elena asks. “Are you sure it’s not too early? You’re the first non-vampire I’ve seen since I finished transforming. I don’t think I’ve earned this big of a gift just yet.”

“Positive,” Bonnie argues. “Besides, it’s not a gift—it’s technically yours already. I’m just making a few modifications.”

Elena’s eyes go wide as she sees what’s inside the box. It’s her necklace—the one Stefan had given her before she even knew he was a vampire. It had been altered, of course, with a blue gemstone in the center.

“Alaric found it at his apartment,” Bonnie explains. “I took out the vervain and added the lapus luzi. I figured you wanted it back.”

“It’s perfect, Bonnie!” Elena told her. “Thank you.”

Bonnie places it on the table, where the sun shines down on it. She closes her eyes—concentrating.

The gemstone glows blue for a second, capturing the light inside.

“Oh sure!” Caroline complains. “Elena gets a lightshow!”

“Hey, I’m packing a lot more power these days!” Bonnie argues.

Elena reaches for the necklace, but then yelps in pain when her fingers start to sizzle.

“Hey, careful!” Bonnie warns her. “Here—let me.”

Bonnie hands Elena the necklace. He goes to put it on, but then stops.

“Well?” Caroline encourages her. “Aren’t you going to try it?”

Elena just stares at it.

“I want to do this right.”

*****

Outside the Mystic Falls High School…

“Oh, like this is fair!” Tyler Lockwood laughed, as he faced down his opponents.

He held the basketball in his hands, as Matt and Jeremy stood opposite him in defensive positions.

“Hey, you have powers!” Jeremy reminds him. “If anything, you’ve got the advantage.”

“Maybe I’m just real good?” Tyler scoffed, dribbling the ball from hand-to-hand.

However, his momentary confidence distracted him long enough for Matt to dart in and snatch the ball in mid-bounce.

“Not good enough, apparently!” Matt remarked, with a smirk on his face. “All yours, Jer!”

He tosses the ball to Jeremy, who throws it towards the basket. However, just as he throws it, Tyler races forwards. With a leap, he springs into the air—flying over Matt’s head--and catches the ball.

“Oh, like THAT’S fair!” Matt complains. “We need to even the odds or something? Anybody seen Stefan?”

“He’s been locked in the boarding house for like two days,” Jeremy explained. “Helping Elena with her—problem.”

Tyler snorts.

“I’ll bet,” he chuckles. “If my girlfriend suddenly became my species, I know what I’d be doing.”

Matt and Jeremy stared at him in shock.

“You and Jules didn’t…?” Jeremy asked.

“Oh, GOD no!” Tyler exclaimed, a disturbed look on his face. “I’m being hypothetical.”

“You know, I almost became a vampire once,” Jeremy explained. “It was stupid—Anna had just died, and I was in a bad place. She left me some her blood, so…”

“Your girlfriend Anna?” Matt asked. “So after Vic died, you just moved onto another vampire?”

“I didn’t know she was dead,” Jeremy confessed.

“Wait, wait—hold up!” Tyler interjected. “Vicki was a vampire, too?!?”

“For like five minutes,” Jeremy said sadly. “Damon turned her, but she couldn’t control herself—she tried to kill Elena.”

Tyler’s face fell.

“Man--” he sighs. “I was a creep to her, I know. Maybe if I—I don’t know—I should have done something.”

The three of them stood in silence for a moment.

“I guess that’s why they’re not letting Elena see anybody,” Matt gathered. “Stefan’s probably worried she’ll lose it like Vicki did.”

“I don’t have to worry about that,” Jeremy explained, lifting up his hand. “I got this!”

“Isn’t that one of those sunblock rings like Caroline has?” Tyler asked.

“Supernatural protection ring,” Jeremy corrected him. “It belonged to my dad. Uncle John has one too. As long as I’m wearing it, nothing supernatural can kill me.”

“You’re kidding!” Tyler exclaimed. “So I could, like, throw you off the roof and you’d just get back up again?”

“Not right away,” he answers. “There’s a delay. I actually die, but I don’t stay dead. It still hurts, but better me than someone’s who’s not wearing one.”

“Any chance I can get one of those?” Matt asks, jokingly.

“I say we steal John’s,” Tyler suggests.

If felt so weird to Tyler. When he was in Florida, he had met other werewolves. They tried to teach him control, and kept saying he was a part of their ‘family’ now, but he never felt like he belonged. They had kept trying to make him change and be more like them—like some kind of cult. Here, though, it was different—even though he was the only werewolf, Stefan and the others let him be himself.

The only problem was Damon. Damon, who had killed his uncle—and his ex-girlfriend, as it turned out. What was with him and vampire-girls, anyway? Apparently it was hereditary, too.

He wouldn’t have to worry about Damon for much longer, though. Even though it was an accident, he’d made sure Damon would never hurt anyone ever again. But he had to wonder—if you kill a murderer, doesn’t that make you a murderer as well. Is an accident still an accident if you can stop it, but choose not to?

“I’ve made a decision,” he says after a long time. “I’m going to tell my mom the truth.”

Matt and Jeremy look at him, surprised.

“I thought we were going to go see the council together?” Matt recalled.

“No, not about the Salvatores,” Tyler explained. “Just about me—about the family curse. She’ll find out anyway the next time she sees Damon or the Sheriff, but I want her to hear it from me.”

“I’ll come with you,” Matt tells him.

“Matt…”

“You’re going to need a wingman, Ty,” he argues. “I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

Tyler smiles.

“Thanks.”

“I’m going, too!”

The three of them spin around to see Caroline sitting on the fence, swinging her legs back and forth.

“How long have you…?”

“You and Jules—definitely ew!” Caroline giggles, before leaping off the fence. “Hopefully your mom handles it better than mine did just now.”

“What happened?” Matt asked, concerned. “What did she say?”

“She, uh—she didn’t say anything,” trying to keep her composure. “Not to me, anyway. She could barely stand to look at me.”

“I’m sorry,” Matt whispers. “This is all my fault…”

“Do not say that!” Caroline told him. “You were freaked out—I’d be too. I was, actually, before Damon brain-whammied me into not saying anything.”

“I’m still sorry,” he says.

“Well, maybe you could make it up to me,” she says cheerily. “Later. First, though…”

“Tyler’s mom?”

“Tyler’s mom,” she confirmed.

“I’m gonna sit this one out,” Jeremy told them. “Catch up with you later.”

Matt, Tyler, and Caroline watch him leave.

“You sure he’s not a vampire?” Tyler asked. “Because he’s really good at the hiding emotions things—I mean, his aunt just died, and he’s acting like nothing happened.”

“Maybe he’s just numb?” Matt suggested. “Poor kid.”

*****

“Elena?” Stefan called as he walked back into the den.

“Right here,” Elena answered. “Caroline and Bonnie already left—something about getting ready for tonight.”

“The meeting,” Stefan said with a nod. “Sheriff Forbes wanted to know what happened the night of the full moon—and to tell me that she trusts me more than she trusts Damon.”

“Smart woman.”

Stefan sighs.

“Elena,” he says, walking up to her. “I know you’re angry with him, and you have every right to be…”

“Let’s just—not talk about him!” Elena pleads. “I promise I won’t stake him again, if that makes you feel better.”

Stefan takes her hands, examining them closely.

“Bonnie didn’t give you a lapis luzi ring?” he asks, surprised. “I thought that’s why she came here.”

“Something else, actually…” Elena says, handing him her necklace. “Remember this?”

Stefan smiles.

“I thought you could—maybe—help me put it on?” she suggests, turning her back to Stefan.

He unclasps the necklace and places it around Elena’s neck, gently pushing her hair out of the way. Clasping it behind her neck with one hand, he uses the other to entwine his fingers with Elena’s.

“How does it look?” Elena asks.

“Perfect,” he whispers into her ear.

Still facing away from Stefan, Elena caresses his face with her free hand. Then, slowly, she turns towards him and their lips meet. The kiss begins gently at first, but quickly deepens. Elena moves her hand from Stefan’s face to the back of his shirt, bunching the material.

“I love you,” she whispers in between kisses. “So much.”

Moving at super-speed, Stefan and Elena are lying on the couch in an instant, continuing exactly where they left off. A mixture of moans and growls can be heard coming from the both of them.

“Are you sure…” Stefan asks during a short respite. “You want to…do this…right now?”

“Mmm…positive!”

They kiss again, Stefan’s hands running through her hair.

“I shouldn’t, though,” Elena admits. “I’m still worried, and upset—but I want you! I don’t understand, but I do!”

“Your emotions are heightened right now,” Stefan explains. “Everything is—more!”

“So I love you more than I did two days ago?” Elena whispers, gently nibbling on Stefan’s ear. “I want you more than I did—I didn’t even think that was possible. Is this what it was like for you all the time?”

In response, Stefan kisses her.

“It still is.”

They continue, until all of a sudden, Elena stops. Her eyes have started to bleed, as black veins form around her eyes.

“NO!” she exclaims, propelling herself away from Stefan and onto the opposite couch. She stares at him in shock.

“Elena?” Stefan asks, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Elena gasps. “Look at me, Stefan! Why now? Oh god—can a vampire feed off another vampire?”

Stefan sighs in relief.

“Not for the same reason,” he explains to Elena, as he kneels in front of her. “Sharing blood is different for two vampires. It doesn’t heal or state the bloodlust, it’s more like—a sign of trust. Of intimacy.”

“Then why did I…”

“It’s not just bloodlust that causes it to happen,” he reassures her. “Sometimes extreme emotions can make you change too, like fear, sadness, or—in this case—passion.”

It’s then that Elena notices Stefan’s eyes have changed as well. She places her hands on his face, tracing the black lines with her fingers.

“Just let yourself relax,” he instructs her. “Breathe, clear your mind—and let it fade.”

Stefan takes a deep breath, and Elena follows his lead. Almost simultaneously, both their faces return to normal.

“There you go,” he congratulates her. “Wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“I really killed the mood just now, didn’t I?” Elena sighed. “Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Stefan reassured her. “We have plenty of time.”

“An eternity,” Elena comments, bitterly.

A sad look comes over Stefan’s face upon hearing her words. He wasn’t hurt by them, but he was hurting for her. He remembered that day by the waterfall—Elena’s last day as a human—and how she had confessed how much she didn’t want this life. And, really, who did? He certainly didn’t want it for himself, and he wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy.

Damn Damon for taking that choice away from her—for forcing it on her! Stefan loved his brother, but sometimes he worried that, by forgiving him, all he was doing was encouraging his behaviour. Damon had managed to hurt the one person Stefan never wanted to see hurt and, even now, he was still going to try and save his life—whether he wanted him to or not.

“Actually,” Elena says quietly, interrupting his train of thought. “Now that I think about it, I am kind of thirsty.”

Stefan nods, reaching for a glass to pour some blood into. However, Elena grabs his wrist, stopping him.

“No, Stefan,” she tells him. “That’s Damon’s method, not mine. If I ever need the extra strength I’ll try use it, but for now—now I want to be like you. Not him, you!”

Stefan stares at her in amazement.

“And since I’ve got this now,” she says, touching her necklace. “What I’m really in the mood for is a nice, juicy bunny.”

A large smile appears on Stefan’s face. He takes Elena’s hand and leads her towards the door.

“You ready?” Stefan asks.

Elena nods, as Stefan opens the door a crack—just wide enough for a small ray of sunlight to seep through. Cautiously, Elena reaches towards the light…

Nothing happens. It feels warmer than usual, but not painful. Stefan opens the door the rest of the way, and the two of them walk outside.

“It works,” Elena states, looking up at the afternoon sky.

“Shall we?” Stefan asks, still holding her hand.

*****

Damon wondered, not for the first time, how things had gone so wrong so quickly.

‘You know how, Salvatore,’ he thought. ‘Because you just—didn’t—think!’

As usual, he had assumed he was the smartest person in the room. It was the same mistake he’d made when he killed Mason, not assuming that Katherine had a back-up plan. If she could plan ahead, then of course a vampire over twice her age could do it, too. In the end, though, he had won—didn’t he? Klaus had all but lost most of his power, and was running scared for his life.

So why didn’t he feel like a winner?

Elena hated him now. She hated him for making her a vampire, even though he did it because he loved her. It was fitting in a way, because Stefan hated Katherine for pretty much the same reason. He had become Katherine—the irony wasn’t lost on him.

‘Maybe I should lock myself in the tomb?” he wondered. ‘Spend my remaining days in the place I spent most of my life trying to open.'

No, he couldn’t think like that. The real reason he was there was to try and find salvation. Despite his words to Stefan, he didn’t want to die just yet. While Isobel’s research had told them all it could, there was another source of information he hadn’t explored—Klaus’. If Klaus was really trying to awaken his werewolf side, he would have gathered as much information that he could on the subject. Since he’d been using the tomb to store his sacrifice victims, maybe it was a base of operations?

First things first, though—get rid of Maddox’s body.

As he approached the clearing near Fell’s Church, Damon heard footsteps. He turned just in time to see a crossbow aimed at his face.

“Hey, whoa!—it’s me!”

Alaric Saltzman looked like a wreck. He had dark circles under his eyes, and looked as though he hadn’t shaved in days—even though it had only been two since they last seen each other.

“What do you want, Damon?” Alaric asked, coldly.

“Just checking out the tomb,” Damon told him. “Seeing if Klaus left anything behind.”

He hesitated a moment, before putting his crossbow away.

“You look horrible,” Damon told him. “How you holding up?”

Alaric glared at him.

“I’m living in an abandoned church, Damon!” he spat. “What do you think?”

Damon sighs.

“I’m sorry about Jenna,” he said, quietly. “I am. I never expected him to…”

“You know, two woman that I loved that died at his hands in a matter of days?” Alaric laughed, bitterly. “Isobel told me she compelled me to get over her, right before she—and then Klaus killed Jenna. I helped him do these things, Damon!”

“He controlled you!”

“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “It was still me. And to top it off, he’s still out there somewhere! He got away with it, Damon—he got away!!!”

“He’s powerless now, you know?” Damon explains. “You want revenge, all you have to do is track him down before Katherine kills him. Or John.”

“What happened to Elena?” Alaric sighed.

“What do you think happened?”

“She must really hate you now, huh?” he concluded.

“She tried to stake me and said she hoped I had a slow, agonizing death,” Damon explained, with a fake smile on his face. “Where’d you stash Maddox’s body? I wanna see if he had anything on him.”

“Who?” Alaric asks.

“Maddox!” he repeats. “The manwitch Klaus used to take your body for a joyride? The Boy Wonder shot him, I snapped his neck—I left him right here when Tyler started to change.”

“I’ve been here for almost two days, Damon!” Alaric assured him. “There was no body!”

“Do not play games with me, Rik!” Damon said, annoyed. “It’s not like he just got up and wandered away on his…”

Damon stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes wide. After a moment, he turned around, picked up a rock, and threw it through a large tree.

“AGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“What?” Alaric asked. “What is it, Damon!”

“Another stupid backup plan!” Damon roared. “Klaus must have had all his lackeys on vampire blood! So when Maddox died…”

“He turned?” he said in disbelief. “How? I mean—can a witch even turn into a vampire? Isn’t that against the rules?”

“What do you think Vlad the Impaler was?” Damon said in frustration. “The whole turning into a bat thing—witch trick! And he was strictly minor-league to boot.”

The two of them stood there a moment.

“If Maddox is alive, he might know where Klaus ran off to,” Alaric suggested.

“And since he’s so new, he won’t have the self-control to use his other powers…” Damon remarked. “Sorry, Rik—your vacation’s over.”

With that, Damon headed towards the tomb.

*****

“Oh my god…” Elena gasps, practically in tears. “Stefan, I just—I can’t believe I did that!”

“Shh, shhh--” Stefan soothed her, gently rubbing her arm. “That was good, ok? You did very good.”

Lying dead on the grass in front of her was the freshly-drained rabbit. Elena’s lips were smeared with blood, and a disgusted look covered her features.

“What kind of a monster am I?” she muttered.

“Hey,” Stefan said, turning Elena to face him. “Listen to me, Elena—listen. You are not a monster, ok? You’ve eaten meat before, right? Chicken? Ham? Fish? This is no different—it’s just a little fresher.”

“You’re not helping.”

Elena wiped the blood from her mouth, regaining her composure.

“I’m sorry I—you know—freaked out,” she apologized. “You’ve been doing this for years, right?”

“Decades,” Stefan confirmed. “I just—try not to think about it. But if it really bothers you that much, we can stick to blood bags.”

Elena shook her head.

“No,” she sighed. “No, I made my choice. I just—have to get used to it.”

Elena forced herself to look away from the rabbit’s corpse. She needed to get her mind off of it—but how? What had Caroline said about the ‘good side’ of being a vampire?

She had an idea.

“Hey Stefan?”

“Yeah?”

With a leap, Elena found herself sitting on a branch of a nearby tree, waving at him. Stefan put his hands on his hips, looking at her sideways.

“Come on—join me!”

“I don’t think that branch would support both our weight,” he chuckled.

“I haven’t climbed a tree since I was little,” Elena commented. When I was twelve, the branch broke and I had my leg in a cast for months—almost the entire summer vacation.”

Stefan leapt up, sitting on the branch opposite Elena. They looked over at one another.

“I wanted a treehouse, but dad never had the time to build one,” she sighed. “I’d always hoped that, when the day came, I could make sure my own children had one.”

Stefan reaches across the trunk and takes Elena’s hand.

“You could always adopt,” he suggests. “Your parents did.”

“Can you picture that, though?” Elena laughs. “Vampire parents? They’d be traumatized.”

“Or they would consider us the coolest parents in the world.”

Elena raised an eyebrow.

“Us?” she asked.

“Unless you have someone else in mind?”

Elena shook her head.

“Not a chance,” she tells him. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Up a tree?”

All of a sudden, Stefan’s phone starts to ring. He answers it.

“This is kind of a bad time…”

“He’s alive!” Damon announced on the other line. “Maddox is alive!”

Stefan’s eyes go wide.

“Wait, slow down Damon!” Stefan says into the phone. “What do you mean he’s alive? Where are you?”

“I’m at the tomb!” Damon explains. “Thought maybe Klaus left something I could use, and imagine my surprise when I find out Maddox’s body isn’t here.”

“Maybe somebody moved it?”

“Alaric’s been here since that night, Stefan!” Damon informed him. “I think Klaus decided on a plan C—the same plan I had, if you recall.”

“You think Maddox is a vampire now?” Stefan concluded. Across from him, Elena’s eyes went wide.

“It’s possible,” his brother answers. “Meaning he’s probably running around in Mystic Falls somewhere—and if he gets enough control of himself to get his warlock on…”

“I sincerely hope you’re wrong this time, Damon!” Stefan cuts him off. “I’ll be there soon.”

Stefan hangs up.

“Did you hear?”

“It’s not over!” Elena says, angrily. “They already killed me—how can it not be over?!?”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Stefan told her. “Damon’s just following a hunch, but—I can’t ignore it.”

Elena nods.

“Let’s go!”

“No,” Stefan tells her, shaking his head. “Elena, I have to do this alone. If Damon’s right, Maddox could be incredibly dangerous.”

“Which is why you need all the help you can get!”

“Please,” he begs. “I’ll tell you as soon as I find something out, but for now you need to lie low. You’re angry, and…”

“Let me guess,” Elena sighs. “You’re worried that my, uh—‘heightened emotions’ will get the better of me? And that someone will get hurt?”

He nods.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

Stefan leapt from the tree, landing softly on the ground. With one last took at Elena, he races off.

Elena sits in the tree, pouting. Part of her wondered if Damon had invented this whole vampire-warlock story just to get Stefan away from her for a little while. That maybe he was still obsessed with her. Elena had made it clear that she held nothing but contempt for Damon, but then again her feelings never mattered to him when she was human. Why should that change now? If only there was some way to show him she meant business…

“Craw!”

Startled by the noise, Elena turned to see a crow perched on the tree opposite the one she was sitting on.

‘Great—another Damon reminder,’ she thought.

Damon had used a crow to spy on her when he first blew into town. Back when she had no idea vampires even existed, he had used it to spook her at the graveyard, and in the car with Bonnie. From what Stefan had told her, though, his little pet had died during his escape from the dungeon.

Slowly, a large grin appeared on Elena’s face. She stared at the crow—her pupils dilating.

It stared back.

*****

Elsewhere in Mystic Falls, Jeremy and Bonnie sit an and outdoor café, sharing a plate of fries.

“So Tyler’s going to tell her the truth?” Bonnie asked, surprised.

“Yeah, that’s what he said,” Jeremy answered. “Is that a problem?”

“It might actually help convince her,” she replied. “She’ll be more willing to listen if Tyler vouches for us, and I think Caroline’s mom is coming around. Even Damon’s on his best behaviour, which kind of weirds me out.”

“I’m glad something’s going right,” Jeremy sighs. “Uncle John’s trying to get custody. I just found out this morning.”

Bonnie’s eyes go wide.

“Of you and Elena?” she asks, surprised.

“Just me.”

Bonnie’s eyes narrow.

“You know how he feels about vampires,” Jeremy reminds her. “The only reason he was even working with Stefan and Damon was to keep Elena alive, and from his perspective he failed.”

“That little creep…”

Jeremy shrugs.

“Maybe I can keep an eye on him?” Jeremy suggests. “Warn everyone if he tries anything. I’ll be eighteen in two years or so.”

“I still don’t trust him,” Bonnie confessed. “Why did Rik have to give that ring back? I could just roast him and be done with it!”

Jeremy bites his lip.

“How’s Elena?” he asks. “I mean, you’ve seen her, right? Does she seem different or anything?”

“Subdued is how I’d describe her at the moment,” Bonnie explained. “Losing Jenna was bad enough, but I think she feels like she’s lost her entire future. She’s holding everything in.”

“Turning off her emotions,” Jeremy recalled. “Elena’s lucky she has that option.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Bonnie disagrees. “I think she’s doing it the old-fashioned human way—meaning it’s going to come rushing out all at once. Possibly dangerously.”

“We’ve gotta help her,” Jeremy swore. “First Vicki, then Anna, now Jenna—I’m not going to my sister become another dead vampire.”

“We won’t!” Bonnie promised him. “And I’m going to start by making sure the council knows who the good guys are. Wish me luck.”

Bonnie leaves. Jeremy sits there, staring at his ring.

‘I thought this thing made me special,’ Jeremy recalls. ‘Just because I can’t be hurt doesn’t the people around me can’t. Maybe if I’d given it to Aunt Jenna while I was hiding out with Bonnie—but I was useless. Completely useless.’

He looks back up to see Elena sitting there, eating his fries.

“Ahhh!” he exclaims, almost falling backward in his seat.

“Hey,” Elena says nervously. “You don’t mind, do you? It, uh—sort of takes the edge off.”

“Elena?” he asks. “You’re outside?”

Elena points to her necklace, where Jeremy notices the bright blue gemstone.

“I got an upgrade,” she explains. “I just had to get out of that house. And I was worried—about you.”

Jeremy smiled. Creepy entrance or not, this was still the Elena he knew.

“I’m dealing,” he tells her. “I’m—I’m sorry we couldn’t save you. I just keep losing everybody.”

Elena’s face softens. She takes Jeremy’s hands.

“I’m not going anywhere!” she promises. “All we have left is each other.”

He manages to smile.

“So—you’re a vampire now, huh?” he asks. “How’s that working out for you?”

Elena sighs, slightly annoyed.

“Come on, you gotta give me the goods,” he laughs. “Am I missing out on anything?”

“Let me put it this way—last year you almost made the biggest mistake of your life when you took those sleeping pills.”

Jeremy nods, understanding.

“Yeah, I get that now,” he says. “I’m sorry about yesterday. Nobody told me what Damon did, so when I saw you there, I just…did it hurt? It looked like it hurt.”

Elena nodded, shuddering at the memory.

“Listen, Jeremy,” she tells him. “I just found out that one of the people who were helping Klaus might still be alive.”

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed with fury.

“What?” he sneered.

“Maddox’s body disappeared,” Elena explained. “Damon thinks that means he’s a vampire now. He and Stefan have gone to look for him.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Jeremy asks. “Shouldn’t you with them, hunting the bastard down?”

“Apparently it’s still too dangerous for me,” Elena said, bitterly. “I’m…not going to worry about it.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

“You’re doing that emotion-repressing thing, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Really, I’m fine,” Elena lied. “If they’re not going to let me help, then there’s really nothing I can do, is there?”

Jeremy wasn’t sure if he believed her. She was too calm—something wasn’t right.

*****

Caroline’s car pulled up in front of the Lockwood mansion. Caroline, Matt, and Tyler all climbed out, looking up at the imposing building.

“I don’t think I’ve been back here since the masquerade ball,” Matt remarked. “That whole night was crazy. I don’t even know why I flipped out like that.”

“You were compelled,” Caroline told him. “Vampire thing.”

Matt’s eyes went wide.

“And what happened to Sarah?” he asked. “And Aimee?”

“Also a vampire thing,” she confessed, nervously. “The guys managed to lock Katherine in the tomb, but not before she killed Aimee—and used Sarah to make Tyler change.”

“I knew that didn’t make sense,” Tyler commented. “Kathy better hope I never run into her again.”

Tyler knocks on the door.

“Ok, let me do the talking,” Tyler instructed the other two. “And do not mention the V-word, ok?”

A moment later, the door opens.

“Tyler!” Carol greeted her son, hugging him with her free arm. The other one was still in a sling. “I wasn’t sure how long you were going to stay.”

“I was thinking long-term,” he told her. “Unless you gave away my room or something while I was gone.”

Carol smiled, noticing Caroline and Matt standing there. It didn’t take much to guess the two of them were behind Tyler’s change of heart, and she was feeling grateful.

“Come in,” she told them. “I’m afraid I’m not in much position to be a very good host at the moment, though.”

They follow Carol inside, heading up the stairs. As they ascend, Tyler’s nostrils flare.

“Maddox,” he whispers, too quietly for anyone except for Caroline to hear.

She nods, understanding. It did seem kind of suspicious to Tyler that his mom’s accident happened the exact same day the sacrifice was supposed to take place. Now, though, he had confirmation.

They walked into the study. As they did, Tyler shut the door behind them—confusing Carol.

“Mom, we have to talk,” he said. “About why I left with Jules.”

Carol nodded, turning to Matt and Caroline.

“You two can…”

“No, I want them here,” Tyler cut her off. “They already know about everything I’m going to say.”

Tyler sits down on the couch, with his mother sitting down next to him. Matt and Caroline stand by the door, a safe distance away.

“I know about the town council,” he tells her. “About what you’re really doing when you go to those meetings, and about the real reason dad died.”

Carol gasps.

“Tyler, you have to believe…”

“I understand why you didn’t tell me,” he reassures her. “You were trying to protect me, right? I would probably have done the same things.”

“So you left because you were scared?” Carol guessed. “Tyler, I would never let anything bad happen to you.”

“It’s a little late for that, mom,” he sighed. “Because what I’m about to tell you is going to blow your mind.”

Carol looks at him, concerned.

“Did dad ever tell you about the family curse?” he asks.

Carol groans.

“What did Mason tell you?” she asked, annoyed. “It’s just an old superstition. Something George Lockwood made up to scare his grandchildren.”

“I know dad never believed it,” Tyler replied. “Neither did Mason—until it happened to him.”

“What?” Carol asked. “Tyler, that’s—that’s not possible.”

“It’s true, mom!” he assures her. “It’s all true. The curse is real!”

Carol shook her head.

“I’m not listening to this…” she said, starting to stand up.

However, before she can get far, Tyler grabs a letter opener off her desk.

“Mom—mom look!” he says, before slicing open his palm.

“Tyler!!!” Carol shrieks.

By the door, Caroline gasps—her face changing right before Matt’s shocked eyes. Fortunately, Carol is to occupied by Tyler’s rash action to notice.

Breathing steadily, Caroline slowly wills her face to return to normal—much to Matt’s relief.

“Have you lost your mind?!?” Carol screamed. “We need to get you to a doctor…”

Carol stops in mid sentence. Right before her eyes, the wound on Tyler’s hand starts to heal. In seconds, the only evidence it was ever even there was a patch of smeared blood.

“I’m sorry,” Tyler whispers to his near-catatonic mother. “I’m a werewolf, mom.”

*****

“If there was anything here, it’s been cleared out!” Stefan announced. “Either Klaus came back here before he left town, or…”

“Or…?” Damon repeated, waving his hand in a circle to encourage Stefan to continue.

“Or it was Maddox,” Stefan admitted. “If you’re right, he would have made sure to cover his tracks.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!” Alaric spoke up. “It’s been two days—he’s probably long gone by now.”

“And if he’s not?” Damon suggested. “We nab him, before he can gather his strength.”

“We’re not going to find him today,” Stefan reminded him. “It’s still light out—he’ll be in hiding.”

Damon rolled his eyes.

“He was a warlock, Stefan! He can make his own damn daywalking jewellery!”

“Right now this is just a theory, Damon!” Stefan argued.

Damon scoffed.

“Whatever happened to getting my priorities in order?” Stefan recalled. “The important thing for you right now is making sure you hold up your end of this truce with the council. If Maddox is alive, and still in town, it won’t take him long to make his presence known.”

“Hasn’t the past three months taught you anything, little brother?” Damon challenged him. “If you had been a little more proactive, maybe Elena wouldn’t be a vampire right now?”

That did it. Stefan’s patience had finally hit the breaking point.

“How DARE you!” he snarled, backing Damon into a corner. “It was your ‘being proactive’ that did this to her, Damon! Don’t try to deflect your guilt onto me!”

“Does it ever bother you, Stefan?” he asks. “Lying to yourself like that? It’s like I told you, I’m the one who will always cross that line that you wouldn’t dare!”

“There’s a reason that line exists!”

“You’re so concerned with keeping your hands clean you won’t even admit you’re grateful?” Damon laughs. “Because of what I’ve done to her, you’ll never have to. So go ahead—keep telling Elena how sorry you are. Doesn’t change the fact that, deep down, you wanted this!”

At those words, Stefan shoved Damon into the wall of the tomb. He stormed out before Damon had the chance to pick himself off the ground.

“Damon, let it go!” Alaric warned him. “Let him cool off first!”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Damon replied, and headed after Stefan.

Alaric sighed, shaking his head. However, as he looked at the wall Damon had been thrown into, he noticed something there—a small crack, with something gleaming inside.

“What?”

He places his fingers into the crack and pulls. A panel of the wall opens, revealing a metal silver box inside. Alaric slowly opens it, staring at its contents.

“Oh my god!”

*****

“What, is that the best you got?” Damon challenged Stefan, who still had his back turned to Damon. “Come on, Stefan—this might be your last chance. Fight me!”

“I know what you’re trying to do, Damon!” Stefan spat. “And it won’t work! I will find a way to save you!”

Damon raced forward, turning Stefan around to face him.

“You’ve been trying to save me for a century and a half, Stefan!” Damon reminded him. “Don’t you see? It’s over—you lost! Accept it!”

“Never.”

Damon sighed.

“Just remember one thing,” he stated. “Pretty soon you won’t have me to watch your back anymore. So man up!”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something swooped out of the sky—causing Damon to fall backwards.

“What the hell?”

There, perched on one of the broken stones surrounding the church, was a large crow.

“Craw!”

“This isn’t funny!” Stefan told him.

“I’m not doing this,” Damon assured him. “There’s self-hatred, Stefan, and then there’s attacking yourself with a stupid bird! Shoo!”

Damon approached the bird, only to have it start flapping its wings menacingly.

“CRAW! CRAW! CRAW!”

Stefan, for his part, couldn’t help but break into laughter.

“I don’t believe this,” Damon muttered. “This is you, isn’t it?”

“Can’t take credit for this one,” Stefan chuckled. “Maddox, maybe?”

“Doubt it.”

Damon stepped closer to the crow, only to have it dive towards his head again.

“Craw!”

It then headed towards Stefan. However, it didn’t attack—but instead perched on Stefan’s shoulder. Stefan stared at it, then back at Damon.

“She didn’t?” Damon asked. “I do not believe this!”

“Elena?” Stefan snickered.

“She stole my bit!” Damon complained. “The crow was MY thing, Stefan!”

“You haven’t used crows since you killed the last one,” Stefan reminded him, still laughing.

“It’s still my thing!”

Stefan shakes his head. The crow then took off into the air.

*****

Carol Lockwood sat on the couch, still in complete shock. She opened her mouth to say something several times, but could never find the words.

“Mom?” Tyler pleaded. “Say something?”

“Was Richard…” she whispered. “Did you father ever…?”

“No,” her son revealed. “The curse only activates if you kill someone.”

“Then how--?”

Carol paused, remembering.

“What happened to Sarah was an accident,” she muttered.

“She still died, so it counts,” Caroline pointed out.

It was then that Carol remembered the other two teenagers. Tyler’s sudden friendship with Caroline Forbes after the Masquerade Ball made a lot more sense.

“There was a full moon a few days ago,” she remembered. “Did you--?”

“Remember the old slave quarters Mason was looking for?” Tyler reminded her. “It’s strong enough to hold me when I—change. The first night, I locked myself in and managed not to hurt anyone.”

Carol sighed in relief.

“What you did just now…?”

“I have these—powers, even when I’m human,” he explains. “Enhanced strength, speed, senses—and then there’s the whole Hugh Jackman healing thing.”

Carol nods, starting to calm down.

“Tyler, we need to keep this quiet,” she warns him. “The council doesn’t even know werewolves exist, but if they found out—they wouldn’t risk you getting loose during the full moon. If the Sheriff ever found out…”

“She already knows,” Caroline explained.

Carol stared at the girl in horror.

“You told her?”

“I did,” Matt confessed, stepping forward. “I’m sorry. I found about everything, and I just—I panicked. I went to the first person in authority I could think of.”

Carol started to get angry then. Liz Forbes was supposed to work for her—yet she’d been concealing this information from her? About her own son? Had she planned on killing Tyler herself?

“Why didn’t the Sheriff tell me?” she demanded. “For that matter, how do either of you know?”

“I’m getting to that,” Tyler sighs. “Listen, mom—what I’m about to tell you, you’re not going to like hearing, but I need you not to freak out, ok? I need you to keep an open mind, forget everything you’ve ever heard from anybody else, and trust me. Can you do that?”

Carol hesitated for a moment.

“Please?”

Carol sighed in defeat, and nodded her head.

“Mason only told me about our family,” he explained. “He didn’t tell me anything about the council, or about vampires.”

“Then how did you know?” Carol asked. “Who told you?”

“A vampire.”

Carol covers her mouth with her hands.

“After I changed, one of them approached me,” he continued. “This one was new, and had only been a vampire for a couple of months. She helped me deal with it, because she knew what I was going through.”

“And you just—went along with it?” Carol asked, feeling disgusted. “You let this thing go around killing people?”

“That’s the thing, mom—she wasn’t!” he told her. “I know what you’ve been told, but this one—she was different. She was part of this group of vampires that didn’t hurt people.”

“And you just believed it?”

“I didn’t know what to believe,” he sighed. “But a few days ago, I was captured by this other vampire named Klaus. You falling down the stairs wasn’t an accident—he arranged it to bring me back.”

Carol stared at him in shock.

“He was going to kill me in some sort of ritual,” Tyler told her. “But these other vampires—they saved my life. Because that’s what they do! They save people! They’re on our side!”

Carol closed her eyes, sighing.

“Tyler—they’re not even human,” she argues.

“Then what am I?” he challenged.

“How can you trust them?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Tyler notices Caroline wringing her hands nervously. Matt had his arm around her, protectively.

“I trust my friends,” Tyler announced, confidently. “They’re my friends, mom—and I’m going to do everything I can to protect them.”

Carol looks her son in the eyes, searching for something—anything—to tell her he’s saying this out of fear. However, she can’t find the slightest trace of it. In fact, he seems brave—braver than she’s ever seen him.

“I need names,” she said. “These—friends of yours. I need to know who they are so I can tell the council they’re off limits.”

“Way ahead of you, mom,” Tyler announces, with a smile. “The Sheriff already knows. We’ve talked to her already, and she’s agreed to a truce.”

“We?” Carol asks. “You’re talking like you’re one of them?”

“He sort of is,” Matt explained. “They’re a part of this—well, anti-council council. It’s not just vampires, either. They’ve also got a witch, and some ordinary humans, too.”

Carol looked at Matt, then back at Tyler for confirmation.

“A whole supernatural conspiracy,” he said with a nod. “They’ve kind of been protecting the town from other vampires without you even knowing they were there. Now they want to join forces—that’s what your meeting tonight is about.”

“They’re going to be there?” Carol asked.

“And me, too,” Tyler confessed. “I just wanted you to hear it from me first.”

Slowly, Carol stands up, regaining her composure.

“Thank you for telling me this,” she says. “But please Tyler—give me a name.”

“He wants to tell you himself,” Tyler informs her. “It’s someone you already know.”

Her eyes go wide.

“That’s not possible,” she whispers.

"Really?” Caroline asks her. “What makes you say that?”

“I would have noticed,” Carol assures her. “If I had ever seen a vampire up close, I would be able to tell…”

In an instant, Caroline was a across the room—standing right beside Tyler.

“You don’t say?”

Carol gasps, stepping backwards, as Caroline waves at her.

“What did I say about me doing the talking?” Tyler groaned.

“I thought you were setting me up for a dramatic entrance?” she pouted.

Tyler rolled his eyes. Matt laughed.

“Is—is Matt--?” Carol stuttered.

“No, I’m human,” Matt revealed. “Which means I can vouch for her, too. Caroline’s on our side.”

Carol stared at her again.

“Surprise!” she exclaimed. “Uh—please don’t faint or anything?”

Carol shook her head.

“I need a drink…”

*****

The Mystic Grill…

Elena walks inside the crowded restaurant, with Jeremy following close behind. As he enters, several other patrons stare at her in surprise.

“Evening,” she says, smirking.

Jeremy looks around at them, nervously.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Jeremy comments. “Do you really think you’ll find Maddox here?”

“Nope,” Elena replies. “But I’m not looking for him. The boys obviously don’t want my help, so why should I offer it. I’m just going to stay here and enjoy myself.”

She slides into a nearby table, with Jeremy sitting across from her. Elena’s eyes wander around the crowded Grill.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” he asks. “Because you keep looking at everyone.”

“They’re staring at me!” Elena points out.

“This is the first time anyone’s seen you since Jenna died!” Jeremy reminded her. “But that’s not the point. Elena, don’t you get it…”

“No.”

“You’re acting like Vicki did the night she died!” he said. “I don’t remember everything, but I know how ‘fine’ she was acting.’

Elena froze at his proclamation. He was right—she found herself staring at people as if she were drawn to them, without knowing the reason why. Was that why? Was she looking for potential victims?

“I’m not,” she lied. “Jeremy, I’m just—curious.”

Jeremy didn’t seem convinced.

“Let’s just go home,” he suggests.

“I just got out, I’m not going back there!”

“I mean our home!” he explains. “The one you and I grew up in. I’ll invite you in, and we can talk. It’ll be safer.”

He gets up, turning to Elena.

“I’m not going anywhere!”

Jeremy stood there, waiting. Elena looked into his eyes, her pupils dilating.

“We’re going to stay right here—until I’m ready to leave.”

A shocked expression crosses Jeremy’s face.

“Did you just try to compel me?” he asked, disgusted.

Elena gasps, realizing he was right.

“I didn’t…”

“I’m on vervain, remember?” he says. “I can’t believe you would try and do that to me?”

“I wasn’t thinking, I…” Elena says, panicking. “Jeremy, I’m sorry.”

She reaches for him, but Jeremy flinches away.

“You’re afraid of me?” Elena whispers. “Jeremy, I wouldn’t—I would never hurt you.”

“Maybe you should?”

Elena’s eyes went wide.

“Free take-backs, remember?” he tells her, lifting his hand to show her his ring. “We go out back, you take as much blood as you need—that way no one’s in danger.”

“You’re asking me to kill you?” Elena says in disbelief.

“I won’t stay dead.”

“And you think that makes it better?” she asks, her voice trembling. “I can’t let myself get used to that.”

“Then let’s just go home!” he pleads.

“You go!” she scoffs. “I’m staying.”

Elena gets up, heading towards the bar. Jeremy hesitates for a moment, but then turns to leave.

What exactly did he think he could do? Elena was stronger than him, so there was no way he could force her to come with him if she didn’t want to. All the ring would do is stop her from killing him, but she wouldn’t even let him use it to help her.

Angrily, he stormed out of the Grill.

“Jeremy?”

He turned to see a concerned Stefan walking towards him. He sighed in relief—Stefan could help. He always helped.

“Have you seen Elena?” Stefan asked. “I checked back at the boarding house, but she wasn’t there.”

“She’s inside!” Jeremy explained. “I tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn’t listen. She even tried to compel me…”

“This is bad!” he muttered, sounding worried. “With a crowd this large, it’s that much harder for her to control herself.”

“What do we do?”

“You need to get to the council meeting,” Stefan instructed him. “The more humans there, the better things will go. Tell Damon to get here as soon as he can. I might need his help!”

“Why isn’t he here in the first place?” Jeremy asked. “He did this to Elena—he should be helping her!”

“Elena doesn’t want his help!” Stefan explained. “Please, Jeremy—get to that meeting. Tell the Sheriff I’m going to be a little late.”

With that, Stefan hurried inside.

*****

Meanwhile, at the town hall…

Liz paced back and forth, checking her watch nervously. Inside the meeting room, the rest of the council waited patiently. She didn’t know what to expect, truthfully. Most of their vampire-hunting successes the past year were the result of either Damon Salvatore or John Gilbert’s actions. One of them ended up being an unstable zealot, and the other was a vampire himself. It was ridiculous.

The irony here was that Damon’s little mix-matched group had been more successful with dealing with the vampire problem than the council was. Back at the boarding house, his brother had given a detailed description of all their activities in the past year. A bunch of children and their history teacher had fought off dozens of vampires without them even hearing about it. They were doing her job for her.

The truth was, they weren’t joining the council—the council was joining THEM! Damon had information he’d withheld from the council, Alaric Saltzman could provide them with better weapons, and if there were even a situation like Logan’s again, Stefan might even be able to ‘convert’ the person to their side. Bonnie was the lynchpin, though. Physically, she was human, but she had the power to keep the vampires at bay. If the rest of the council couldn’t trust Damon and his little coven, then they could at least trust Bonnie to keep them under control.

“Been waiting long, Sheriff?”

Damon, Alaric, and Bonnie entered the room. She had to blink to make sure she was seeing things correctly. Alaric looked a mess.

‘His girlfriend had just been killed by a vampire,’ she reminded herself. 'The fact that he’s standing by one means he trusts him.

“Thank you for coming,” she tells Alaric, shaking his hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad you specifically are here.”

“You mean because I’m human?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because you’re an adult, Mr Saltzman” Liz explains. “I felt a little strange walking in that room with a bunch of teenagers.”

“Glad to be a mediator,” he laughed. “And call me ‘Rik’, ok?”

She nods.

“Rik,” she agrees. “Where are the others?”

As if on cue, another group entered from the opposite door. It was Tyler, Caroline, and Matt—with a very angry Mayor Carol Lockwood in front of her.”

“Great,” Damon sighed. “Fido spilled the beans.”

“Sheriff?” she asked, coldly. “You do realize you work for me, right?”

“Carol…” she sighed. “I didn’t want to say anything until I had all the facts…”

“Withholding information is one thing!” she continued. “But about my son? Didn’t you think I deserved to know about that?”

“I didn’t know how you would react,” Liz sighed. “We found—body parts—in the forest. I thought it was him at first.”

“Jules,” Tyler muttered. “It was Jules.”

“Do you know about your daughter?” Carol asked, matter-of-factly.

Liz nodded.

“That’s—that why I--”

Carol’s face softens, feeling empathy for the sheriff.

“About this deal you made them,” she began. “You should have consulted me first.”

“This will benefit us, Mrs. Mayor…” Liz tried to explain. “Try to understand.”

“Understand?” Carol laughs. “I’m tempted to give them medals.”

Damon raised an eyebrow.

“They saved my son,” she clarified. “Possibly this whole town, if what I heard of this Klaus character is true. If they behave themselves, I support your decision one hundred percent.”

Damon looked like he was going to pass out from shock. He nodded to Tyler, honestly impressed.

“Are they here yet?” Carol asked. “In the council room already? Damon, have you met them yet? Do you trust them?”

Damon stepped forward.

“Well, it’s complicated, isn’t it?” he spoke finally, stepping forward. “I mean, good vampires? Sounds like something out of prime time television, doesn’t it?”

“Think of the benefit though, Damon,” she pointed out. “We can fight fire with fire—vampire against vampire. Finally, we’ll be at an advantage.”

“And I’m sure they’ll appreciate not having to look over their shoulders, right?”

Alaric pinches the bridge of his nose, groaning.

“Get on with it, Damon!” Bonnie says, sounding annoyed.

Carol looks at the three of them, confused.

“I’ve a confession to make, Carol,” he tells her. “I’ve been lying to you. About my age.”

“Damon!” Bonnie warned him.

“I mean, do I look 165?” he asks, not missing a beat. “Definitely one of the perks.”

Carol stares at him in shock.

“You?” she gasps. “All this time?”

“Yes,” Damon confirms. “You made a vampire head of the anti-vampire council. The irony isn’t lost on me.”

Carol turns to Liz, still in shock.

“Who else?”

“His brother, Stefan,” Liz answers. “And Elena Gilbert. The rest are human—though Bonnie here has supernatural abilities.”

“Elena,” Carol sighs. “Grayson and Miranda are probably spinning in their graves.”

“Where are they, anyway?” Matt asks. “I thought everyone was supposed to come to this meeting?”

“Stefan’s gone to fetch the baby vamp as we speak,” Damon explained. “We can start without them.”

“One thing, before we go in,” Bonnie interrupts them. “A peace offering.”

She steps towards the mayor, holding a long wooden box.

“I know you think we have an unfair advantage,” Bonnie admits. “These might help you feel a little bit safer.”

She opens the box, revealing four blue rings—rings that look identical to Jeremy’s.”

“I’ve seen this design before,” Carol remarked. “Didn’t John Gilbert have a ring like this?”

“I spent half the day finding out how to make them,” she explains. “As long as you’re wearing one of these rings, you can’t be killed by supernatural means. No vampire, werewolf, or witch can kill you.”

Bonnie hands one to Carol, then one to Liz.

“John took Rik’s,” she explained, tossing the third to Alaric. “I was making him a replacement, and figured I would share the wealth.”

“Who’s the last one for?” Tyler asked. “Me?”

“Wouldn’t work for you,” Bonnie informed him. “Or me, for that matter. Which leaves Matt.”

She tosses the last ring to Matt, who almost drops it.

“I—I was just joking,” he confessed. “Wow—thanks.”

“Just my way of saying ‘welcome to the club’,” Bonnie told him.

One by one, the four humans put their new rings on.

“Anyone want a presentation of how they work?” Damon asked.

Bonnie glared at him.

“AGH!” he yelled, clutching his head as he sunk to the floor. “Joke—it was a joke!”

“I know,” Bonnie said, sweetly. “I just wanted to give a presentation to the mayor. Now she knows what I can do to you if you ever step out of line.”

Damon leaps to his feet, glaring at Bonnie with his eyes wild.

“I think they got the message, Little Witch!”

At that moment, Jeremy burst through the front doors—out of breath.

“Jeremy?” Bonnie asks. “What is it? Where’s Stefan?”

“Jeremy Gilbert is in on this, too?” the Mayor gasps.

“I think Elena’s wigging out,” he explains. “They’re at the Grill—Stefan said to send Damon there as soon as I could.”

“Hey, I’ve got a meeting to get to,” Damon scoffed. “A half-dozen would-be vampire hunters are waiting for my inside scoop. It’ll have to wait.”

“It’s Elena!” Jeremy reminded him, angrily.

“I don’t care!”

Jeremy is taken aback by his sudden proclamation.

“This is more important,” he clarifies. “Stefan needs to learn to handle things without my help.”

“I’ll go!”

The both of them turn to Matt, who steps forward.

“Matt, she’s…” Jeremy starts to argue, before Matt flashes his new ring.

“I’m prepared,” he says. “And you and Damon need to be in that room more than I do.”

Matt exits the building.

*****

Back at the Grill…

“I’d like a rum and coke, please,” Elena told the bartender.

“You’re the Gilbert girl, right?” the bartender replied. “Seventeen? Sorry.”

“Just give it to me,” she spoke, while staring into his eyes.

Immediately, he poured her the drink.

“I wouldn’t.”

Stefan sat down beside Elena, giving her a disapproving look. Elena simply smiled at him.

“I hoped you would show up,” she said, cheerily. “How was your meeting?”

“You mean the meeting with the council we were both supposed to go to?” Stefan asked. “I don’t know—we haven’t gone there yet.”

“Like anyone’s going to listen to me,” Elena said, leaning closer to Stefan. “I’d rather be here—with you.”

She took a sip, keeping eye-contact with Stefan the entire time.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asks.

“Better this than what I really want to be drinking,” she muttered.

“We didn’t find any trace of Maddox,” Stefan told her. “No body, but not sign that he’d been turned, either. So far Damon’s theory hasn’t been substantiated.”

“Great!” Elena cheered, finishing the drink. “All that worry for nothing then?”

“Something strange happened just outside the tomb,” he told her. “A crow appeared out of nowhere and attacked Damon.”

Elena laughed.

“That’s ironic,” she giggled. “You know—because he used to do that thing with the crow all the time?”

“I know it was you, Elena.”

Elena looked at him, innocently.

“I’ll admit, it was—amusing,” Stefan remarked. “And also quite a bit childish.”

“Oh, come on Stefan,” she laughed. “Like he didn’t have it coming? I thought it was fitting, since he tried to scare me the exact same way. That day in the graveyard…”

“Why are you doing this?”

Elena looked at Stefan, who appeared to be struggling with something. He almost seemed in pain.

“Elena, please—you have to let this go,” he pleaded. “All this anger and sorrow you’re holding inside is only going to get worse.”

“Stefan…”

“I love you,” he whispers. “And I hate that you’re doing this to yourself.”

“You left me!” Elena accused Stefan. “You left me to help him—to try and find a way to save him! I can hear as good as you, Stefan—I heard what you told Damon at the house.”

“He’s my brother!” Stefan exclaimed. “He’s my brother, Elena, and he’s dying…”

“Maybe he deserves to die?”

Stefan gasps, staring at her in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“I should never have stopped you,” Elena whispers. “That night he killed Lexi, I should have just let you kill him.”

“You don’t mean that,” Stefan told her.

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought?” Elena accused, turning away.

“Elena!”

Elena looks up to see Dana, the girl from school, standing there.

“Where have you been?” she asks. “Everyone at school’s been worried sick, after the news about your aunt. How are you holding up?”

“Just fine,” she lied. “So—have you gotten any more messages for me from Klaus?”

Stefan went tense.

“No, which is the weirdest thing,” Dana remarked. “I can’t even remember what he looked like.”

“Really?” Elena asked, giving Stefan a look. “Because I’ll never forget.”

Dana turned around, finally noticing Stefan sitting there.

“Oh, Stefan!” he gasped. “You need to speak up once in awhile. I didn’t even see you there.”

“Dana, we’re kind of in the middle of something here,” Stefan told her. “Could you give us a moment?”

“Actually…” Elena interrupted. “Stefan is kind of ruining my good mood at the moment. We should catch up.”

Elena got up from her seat before Stefan could protest. She looked back at him over her shoulder.

“Come find me when you’re in the mood to have some fun, Stefan.”

*****

City Hall…

Alaric exited the meeting room, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“How’s it going in there?” Jeremy asked him, handing him a can of coke.

“Well, everyone’s gotten over the initial shock,” he admitted. “Bonnie’s working the crowd like a pro—I think some of them are convinced Damon’s her trained dog.”

Jeremy chuckles.

“You should be proud of her,” Alaric tells him.

“I am.”

Alaric hesitates for a moment, looking over his shoulder.

“We promised them full disclosure,” he said. “But I couldn’t tell them about this—not until I was sure.”

Alaric reaches into his coat, and pulls out the silver box he had found at the tomb.

“What’s that?” Jeremy asks.

“I found it at the tomb,” he explains. “There was a hidden panel—Stefan and Damon were fighting in there, and didn’t notice it.”

“What’s inside?”

“A ring,” Alaric tells him. “A map, and a journal detailing some things about the originals we didn’t know about.”

“Why didn’t you tell the others you found this?” Jeremy demanded.

“Because of what it means,” Alaric explained. “You know how the originals don’t have the same weaknesses as other vampires? Immunity to sunlight, and stakes, and vervain…?”

“You found another weakness?”

Alaric shakes his head.

“No, something else,” he continued. “We’ve always thought that, the older a vampire was, the stronger they were—but that was just a coincidence. A misunderstanding they made from existing information. According to this, a vampire’s strength is determined by how far away from an original they are.”

“I don’t get it,” Jeremy said, confused.

“The originals were the first ones to turn humans into vampires,” he clarified. “Those vampires created more vampires, and each time a new ‘generation’ of vampires were created, they were less powerful than the vampire who created them—the vampire blood was diluted a little bit each time. For example, Elena and Caroline have the same amount of strength, despite the fact Caroline was turned first. Because Damon’s blood created both of them.”

“Fascinating,” Jeremy sighed. “Doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means a great deal,” Alaric said, suddenly becoming serious. “Because, according to this, the first group of vampires that were created weren’t harmed by the sunlight, either. It weakened them, but it didn’t outright kill them.”

“So, if Klaus did turn Maddox, he’d be able to walk in the sunlight too?” Jeremy asked. “Damn it—why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Jeremy, you’re not listening!” Alaric said, starting to get angry. “It wasn’t just the sun! Remember what happened the first time Stefan and Damon encountered Elijah? They plunged a stake through his heart, but it didn’t kill him! It looked like it did, but he came back to life!”

“Then Maddox…”

“Can’t be killed by anything we have,” he cuts Jeremy off. “Elijah has the dagger, and he’s already long gone. With his warlock powers—he could be more dangerous than even Klaus. Much, much more.”

*****

Back at the Grill…

“Are you sure you’re ok, Elena?” Dana asked.

“Never better,” Elena answered. “Why do you ask?”

She struck a pool ball with the cue, sinking it with ease.

“I don’t know—you just seem different,” Dana commented. “You know, I read this article once on the five stages of grief…”

“That is totally bogus,” Elena scoffed. “I can prove it too. I’ve already gone through them all out of order. See, I started with depression—then moved onto anger. Then depression again. Totally skipped over bargaining…”

“What about denial?” Dana asked her, becoming serious. “I mean, your aunt just died, and you don’t even look sad.”

Elena missed the next shot.

“Maybe if people stopped reminding me,” she said, angrily. “Like you, for instance.”

Dana cringed.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I’m just worried about you.”

“Everybody’s worried about me,” Elena told her. “You think I’m going to snap too, don’t you?””

Dana shook her head.

“No, I wouldn’t…”

Elena left the pool table, heading towards the side of the stage. There was no band playing tonight, so no one would pay attention to her back there. Unfortunately, Dana kept following her.

“But your parents just died like two years ago,” Dana reminded her. “Losing so many people so close together—maybe you need to talk to somebody? Like a counsellor or something?”

Elena laughed.

“What good would that do, they’d still be dead!” Elena spat. “Why are you bothering me? We barely know each other! Why don’t you just leave me alone?”

“But you said…”

Elena stared into her eyes.

“Tell me why you’re bothering me.”

“Because I feel responsible,” she said, as if in a trance. “Like it’s my fault, but I don’t know why.”

“You were just a pawn,” Elena scoffed. “Just like everyone else, he just used you to torture me.”

“What are you…?” Dana gasps. “Elena--your eyes!”

Elena’s eyes had begun to bleed, but she was too angry to notice.

“You feel sorry for me?” she asked. “Really? Do you even have any idea what’s been done to me?”

Dana shook her head, backing away from Elena.

“But maybe you can help?” Elena suggested. “Or I’ll just help myself.”

“No,” she pleaded. “Please…”

Elena paused upon seeing the terrified girl’s expression.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But I’m…so thirsty.”

She lunged forward—only to be stopped by a pair of strong arms holding her back.

“Elena, no!” Stefan whispered into her ear. “You can’t! You have to stay in control!”

Dana stared in shock a at Elena’s now-visible fangs.

“Oh my god,” Dana gasped. “You—you’re like some kind of--”

Stefan let go of Elena and grabbed Dana by the shoulders, staring into her eyes.

“Go home!” he ordered. “You didn’t see anything strange!”

“I didn’t see anything strange,” Dana muttered, in a trance. “I’m going home.”

She left then. However, as Stefan turned around, he saw that Elena had already started walking away.

“Elena, wait!” he called after her.

But Elena didn’t listen. She covered her face with one arm, while she used the other to force herself through the crowd. Finally, she reached the restroom, locking herself inside.

“Elena!” Stefan called, knocking on the door. “Elena, please—talk to me!”

Inside the restroom, Elena walked up to the mirror—seeing her monstrous face in the reflection. Turning away in disgust, she slid to the floor—tears in her eyes.

“I was wrong!” Stefan pleaded with her. “I was wrong, I should have stayed with you. I should have never left your side today, and I’m sorry. Please—don’t shut me out…”

Elena didn’t budge.

On the other side, Stefan rested his head against the door.

“Don’t let this destroy you,” he whispered. “Don’t let this destroy us.”

At that moment, Matt entered the grill. Immediately, he noticed Stefan standing next to the locked door.

“Stefan!” he called out, forcing himself through the crowd. “Jeremy told me what was happening.”

“Where’s Damon?” Stefan asked him.

“He refused to come,” Matt told him, angrily. “Said something about you doing things yourself. What’s that about?”

Stefan gave him a look.

“It’s not important right now,” Matt agreed. “Where’s Elena? In there?”

“She’s locked herself in,” Stefan explained. “I can’t break down the door without drawing attention to myself.”

“Yeah,” Matt agreed. “Too bad you didn’t know any employees, huh? They might be able to get through with their spare set of restroom keys?”

Stefan turned to Matt, who dangled a set of keys in front of him—a smirk on his face.

“Thank you,” Stefan said, reaching for the keys.

“Wait!” Matt asked. “Let me try talking to her.”

“It’s too dangerous!” he warned him. “Matt, she almost attacked someone before you arrived.”

“You want me to trust you, Stefan?” Matt challenged him. “Then, please—trust me!”

*****

Elena sits on the floor of the restroom, hugging her knees. Slowly, the door opened, and Matt walked inside—shutting the door behind him.

“Elena?”

Elena gasps, looking up at him in surprise. Matt’s eyes go wide when he sees her eyes.

“Matt?” she whispers.

“Your face,” he says in disbelief. “Elena, is that really you?”

Elena buries her head in between her knees.

“Please go away,” she whispers. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Instead, Matt sits down on the floor, a few feet away from her.

“You won’t,” he promises, lifting his hand. “Bonnie gave me this, just in case.”

Elena looks up, seeing the ring on Matt’s finger.

“So if you really need to—uh—feed, go right ahead,” he suggests, nervously. “I’ll be fine.”

Elena sniffles.

“Everyone’s offering me their neck today,” she says, sadly.

“That’s because we’re worried about you,” Matt tells her. “With good reason, apparently.”

Elena doesn’t answer. She simply looks down at the tile floor.

“Why did you lie to me?”

Elena looks up, her eyes meeting Matt’s.

“I know we weren’t together anymore,” he recalled. “But—I thought we were friends. I thought you trusted me.”

“I did,” Elena swore. “I do.”

“Damon Salvatore attacked my sister,” he reminded her. “He turned her into a vampire, and she died because of it—and you still didn’t tell me? Why? Did you think I couldn’t handle it?”

Elena looked down, ashamed.

“I thought—uh,” he continued. “I thought I had done something wrong. Stefan came to town, and all of a sudden you didn’t have time to be friends with me anymore. I mean, we still talked, but you never really told me anything. Like you just outgrew me or something.”

Elena shook her head.

“No, Matt,” Elena swore. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. I thought you’d be happier if you didn’t know the truth.”

“You don’t get to make that choice for me!”

Elena gasped. She looked at Matt and, surprisingly, her face returned to normal.

“I didn’t tell you because…” she explained. “Because it was my fault she died. I was there that night, Matt. Stefan, he—he was trying to help her, and he only staked her because she tried to hurt me. If I had just stayed out of it…”

“You thought I would blame you?” Matt asked.

She nodded.

“That’s pretty stupid, you know?” Matt sighed. “Like what you’re doing to Stefan right now. He’s trying to help you, just like he tried to help Vicki—but you’re refusing to even talk to him.”

“I almost killed that girl!” Elena reminded him. “I wanted to! How can you just sit there and not be scared of me after hearing that?”

“Of course I’m scared of you!”

Elena’s face fell.

“I’m terrified,” he confessed. “I’m scared of you, I’m scared of Caroline—heck, I’m even scared of Bonnie. All of you could kill me without even trying. I know you wouldn’t, but you could—and that scares the hell out of me!”

Matt takes a deep breath, looking as though a huge weight has just been lifted off his shoulders.

“And I hate myself for it,” he confessed. “I love Caroline. I love her more than I thought was possible, and I hate myself for being so scared of her. It feels like I’m betraying her or something.”

“Matt,” Elena says, her face softening. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“You were never scared of Stefan,” he scoffed.

“Yes I was!”

Matt looked at her, surprised.

“When I first found out what Stefan was, I was terrified,” she informed him. “Everything that Damon was doing to Vicki, to Caroline—I was so scared that Stefan had the potential to do the same to me.”

“But you stayed with him,” Matt recalled.

“Because--,” Elena explained. “Because, despite how scared I was, I still loved him. I loved him despite my fear, and I—I just couldn’t stop loving him. I couldn’t let him go, despite the danger. Somewhere along the line, all that fear—it just went away. All that was left was how I felt.”

Matt smiled at her.

“So what’s it like?” he asks. “Being in love with a vampire?”

Elena laughs.

“You tell me!”

“You’ve got more experience at it,” he argues, laughing himself.

“Uh—it’s exciting,” Elena recalls. “Dangerous sometimes, but that goes with the territory. You know how, when you’re in a relationship with someone there’s this part of them that only you get to see? Well—that part’s so much more. You feel important. Special. Sometimes Stefan would use his powers recreationally.”

“Recreationally?” Matt asked.

“He jumped us to the top of the Ferris wheel once.”

“Smooth!” Matt commented. “I bet he saved your life a couple times too, huh?”

“I’d say it was more than a ‘couple’,” she scoffed.

“When Caroline was standing between me and Tyler back at that cave…” Matt told her. “Well—I gotta admit, that was pretty hot.”

Elena rolled her eyes, laughing. Her and Matt looked at each other, grinning.

“I know this is hard for you,” Matt said, becoming serious. “I know you’re upset about Jenna, and the fact this was forced on you, but—you know, you don’t have to face it alone. If you ever need a friend, I’ll be there. No matter what.”

Elena leans over and hugs him.

*****

On the other side of the door, Stefan is still leaning his forehead against it. His eyes snap open as he hears the locks starts to open.

Stepping back, he watches at Elena and Matt exit.

“Elena,” he says feverantly. “Are you…?”

“I want to go home,” she tells him. “Can we?”

Stefan nods, turning to Matt.

“Thank you,” he says. “For trusting me.”

“Any time,” Matt said with a smile.

*****

Outside City Hall, Sheriff Forbes approaches her car. The meeting had gone better than expected, and most of the council members had accepted the help these ‘reformed’ vampires had offered. Grayson Gilbert had been a friend to most of them, so his son’s testimony in their behalf had settled many of their fears on the matter.

Stefan Salvatore had never shown up, and that concerned her. Of the two brothers, he was the one she felt was the most trustworthy. He had never harmed anyone, and Liz could tell he genuinely cared about people. With Damon—it felt like he had an agenda that he wasn’t sharing.

“It wasn’t exactly my plan, you know?”

Liz looked out at the parking lot, where the two vampires seemed to be having an argument. Damon was facing down Caroline, and he didn’t look very happy.

“Everything worked out fine, right?” Caroline pointed out. “The council doesn’t want to kill us, and the mayor even thanked you.”

“I was supposed to explain things to Carol,” he reminded her. “Not your little pet werewolf. Now she’s got this idea that I’m some altruistic do-gooder like Stefan.”

Caroline scoffed.

“Well, maybe you could try to be a little more Stefan-like, you know?” she suggested.

“You really think all those people in there just want to hunt down ‘bad vampires’?” Damon asked her. “Each one of them has an agenda, the mayor included. To them, we’re weapons, Blondie. And they will use us against anyone that gets in their way. Maybe you’re fine with indentured servitude, but I’ve got bigger plans.”

“Please don’t ruin this,” Caroline begged him. “You owe me!”

“Owe you?” he scoffed.

“The last time my mom found out, she accepted me,” she confessed. “She promised me she would keep my secret, and that she didn’t care what I was. I only compelled her because I didn’t want her going after you and Stefan again. See might never see me like that again, and…”

“Oh, cry me a river!” Damon groaned. “She’s not going to kill you now, isn’t that enough?”

Caroline gave him a sad look.

“Stick with human/vampire relations, Blondie,” he told her. “Let me worry about the actual work.”

With that, Damon took off. Caroline hung her head, before kicking a nearby stone—sending it flying over a building.

“Do you need a ride?

Caroline gasped, turning to see Liz approaching her.

“I, uh,” she stammered. “I can walk, if it’s a problem.”

“I heard what you said to him.”

Caroline bit her lip.

“Damon doesn’t trust anybody,” Caroline explained. “I don’t think you have an agenda.”

“I didn’t mean that part,” Liz sighed. “I discovered the truth before?”

Caroline nodded, sadly.

“I thought it was strange,” Liz recalled. “When Matt told me—I wasn’t surprised at all. It felt as though I already knew. Deep down, maybe I did?”

Cautiously, she walks towards Caroline. Caroline herself looks more nervous the closer she gets.

“I’ve been told that there’s a part of you that’s still human,” she confesses. “If that’s true—if there’s anything left of my daughter in you…”

“Mom…”

“I need her to know that I’m sorry,” Liz finishes. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect her. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for her when she needed me, and—and I’m sorry I let her get turned into a monster.”

Caroline stares at her, speechless.

“And—and I need to know she forgives me.”

Tears start to form in Caroline’s eyes, as she smiles at her.

“Of course I forgive you,” she says. “You’re my mom.”

Liz’s breath catches in her throat as she sees the sight in front of her. Those tears—something that looked so human that every fibre of her being wanted to believe it was true.

Caroline pulled her into a hug. Despite herself, Liz couldn’t help but hug back.

*****

The boarding house…

Stefan and Elena walk in through the front door, slowly. Stefan has his arm around Elena’s shoulder, supporting her.

“Craw!”

The two of them look up to see the crow from earlier perched on a support beam. If flies past them, dropping a small piece of folded paper at Elena’s feet. She picks it up and reads:

Elena,

Sorry you missed the meeting. Thanks for the new bird. Didn’t know you still cared.

-Damon

Elena groaned, crumpling up the piece of paper.

“You were right—it was childish!” she told Stefan.

The two of them sit down on the couch. Stefan waits for her to speak.

“I messed up pretty bad today, didn’t I?” Elena sighed. “I almost ruined the truce with the council, and I almost killed somebody.”

“But you didn’t!” Stefan reminded her. “That’s more than most vampires can say about their first day. That’s more than even Caroline managed. You should be proud of yourself.”

“I thought--” Elena began. “I guess I thought I could just ignore everything that happened. That I could just slip back into my old life and pretend nothing had changed. That maybe then I could feel like I was still human.”

Stefan looked at her, sadly.

“Acceptance is the fifth stage,” she realizes. “I guess I’ve finally reached it.”

“I made a mistake today,” Stefan admitted. “You were right—I should have stayed with you. Damon’s bite, the council—neither of those things are more important than making sure you’re all right.”

“They’re important to you, Stefan,” she reminds him.

Stefan closes his eyes.

“Damon used to use that crow to spy on people for him,” Stefan recalled. “He could see through its eyes. Did you see anything?”

Elena hesitated for a moment.

“I saw you and Damon fighting,” she admitted. “He said something to make you angry?”

Stefan nodded.

“What did he say?”

“He said I was lying to myself,” Stefan admitted. “That, deep down, I was happy that he’d turned you?”

Elena stared into Stefan’s eyes, searching for something in them.

“Are you?” she asked.

Stefan kneeled on the floor, looking up at her.

“I don’t want to be,” he swears. “I see you here, suffering—in so much pain, and it kills me, Elena. It kills me that you’re hurting so much. I hate that this has happened to you--that Damon robbed you of your future the way he did. But I can’t deny that, deep down, I wanted this.”

“Stefan…” Elena gasps, seeing the agony on his face.

“I know that you didn’t,” Stefan admits. “And I would never have forced it on you, but—the thought of losing you someday…”

He closes his eyes, turning away.

“You must hate me.”

Elena reached out, and—placing her hands on the sides of Stefan’s face—turned him back to face her.

“I could never hate you, Stefan,” she promises. “Please—I don’t want you to feel guilty for being happy.”

“I’m not,” he assured her. “Elena, I can’t be. Not when it hurts you…”

“Shhh,” she whispers. “Stefan, it’s ok. All this time, you’ve been there for me—telling you how sorry you were, trying to make me feel better—while all I’ve done is feel sorry for myself.”

“You haven’t…”

“Let me finish,” Elena tells him. “I never wanted to be a vampire—I still don’t, but wishing I wasn’t one isn’t going to make me human again. I can’t do anything to change it. I can’t only try to live with it.”

She takes Stefan’s hands in hers.

“Caroline told me to find the good side,” Elena tells him. “But the only good thing I can see about being a vampire—is you. I want us to have a future together, Stefan. I want to stay with you for the rest of my life. But—now the rest of my life is going to be the rest of your life, too.”

Stefan looks into her eyes.

“That’s forever,” he tells her. “Forever is a very long time.”

Elena smiles at him.

“Not long enough.”

Stefan sighs.

“That’s the same thing I told Katherine…” he pointed out.

“I’m not Katherine.” Elena says, standing up. “I will never be her.”

Still holding Stefan’s hand, Elena leads him up the stairs towards their room.

*****

Stefan and Elena fells down on their bed. The kiss had started the moment they had entered the room. Neither one of them was sure whether or not it was the same kiss, or simply the latest in a chain of kisses. Everything just blurred together.

“Stefan…” Elena whispered, as they separated for a second—their noses touching.

He kisses her again, running his fingers gently through her hair. One-by-one, layers of clothes are removed—though neither of them are separated for long.

“I love you,” Stefan whispers into Elena’s ear, before kissing his way down her neck.

“…love you…” Elena murmurs, barely coherent.

Then it starts to happen. Elena feels her eyes begin to bleed, as the black veins grow around her eyes. She starts to get scared.

“Stefan…” she warns him.

Realizing what’s happening, Stefan quickly kisses her on the lips in an effort to calm her down. His own face begins to change, as he runs his tongue over her fangs.

Elena starts to calm down, but this time it doesn’t have the desired effect—her face remains the same. Stefan pulls away, gently touching the side of her face.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Elena whispers.

“It’s ok,” Stefan reassures her. “I love you. I trust you. Go ahead.”

They hug, holding each other close. Slowly, Elena opens her mouth—and sinks her teeth into Stefan’s neck. Stefan, in turn, sinks his own fangs into Elena’s neck. They drink, feeling the blood flowing from one body into the other, in a seemingly endless cycle.

After a moment, they pull away—both their wounds healing instantly. They kiss again, their faces returning to normal.

“That was…” Elena says, breathlessly.

“I know,” he replies, smiling.

They kiss again, and not another word is spoken for the rest of the night. None are needed.

The End

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