"Hi! I'm Caroline!"

Genevieve smiled at the perky blonde who eagerly offered her a hand. She was like her father had described: optimistic, bright, and energetic.

Gen offered Caroline her own hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," Gen responded casually.

"Oh so you have heard of me," Caroline said with a smile. "Well good! I don't have to spend too much time introducing myself then. I've heard a bit about you from Elena already. I just… I can't wrap my head around this."

Gen nodded slowly, unsure of what to say.

"So did your… dad tell you about all of us?"

"Yes," Gen answered. "He talked about you guys quite a bit, actually. He was particularly fond of you. He used to go on and on about what a great friend you had been to him and how much you helped him… loosen up, I guess."

Caroline looked at the small fire growing in the fireplace, then sighed deeply and sat down. Gen, Damon, and Elena did the same.

"I know this maybe isn't the best thing to bring up right away, and I know Elena and Damon already asked you this and didn't get an answer, so I probably shouldn't ask, but… what happened to your parents, Gen? I think we all just need some closure here. So, please. You don't have to go into great detail. We just really want to know."

Gen exhaled deeply, trying to rid of the knot growing in her stomach. This was what she had dreaded answering. The truth had to be spoken. Sure, the response she would give wouldn't be all that painful for the three sitting in front of her, but for Gen, bringing up the situation still made her tremble with sadness and loneliness.

"Um…," she said softly. "Well you'll be happy to know that my dad is still around. Unfortunately… I can't say the same about my mother."

From the corner of her eye, Genevieve saw Elena's face twist into a pained expression, and Caroline's did the same. Damon's expression was unreadable.

"I'm so sorry," Elena whispered. "I know losing a parent isn't easy. I'm... I'm really sorry."

"How are you and the rest of your family doing?" Caroline asked, and her voice cracked.

Gen was moved by the compassion being showed.

"Me?" Gen asked. "I'm… I'm doing fine. It was about a year ago. So I've had time to adjust, I guess. Life goes on. I miss her, more than anything. But I'm doing alright."

She let out a shaky sigh. "My father had a really hard time with it. He says he's okay, but I don't really think he is. He just says that to try and make me feel better. My brother Luke… actually my mother's death was the final thing that… that pushed him over the edge."

"So Stefan's gotta be- what, in his forties now?" Damon said suddenly. His eyes were laden with anticipation.

"No," the younger Salvatore replied. "I didn't mention the catch that came along with the cure."

"Catch?"

"Yes, the catch. When my parents took the cure, it did everything except eliminate one factor. The cure wasn't strong enough to purify my parent's blood. Technically, even after they were cured and no longer had to live off of human blood and lost their vampire strength, there was still vampire blood flowing through their veins. I'm not entirely sure how that works, but that's the way it was. My brother and I are the same way. When my brother died, he didn't have any vampire give him any blood. It was already in his system, so he just… changed. If I die, the same thing will happen to me."

"Oh my gosh," Caroline breathed. "That's awful."

"It's unfortunate, yes, but that's just the way things are. And… my parents were protective, but they were realistic, too. They didn't shelter us, by any means. They let us live our lives."

"So… Stefan isn't in his forties. He's…?" Damon questioned.

"He's forever 29. My mom is- was forever 33, until just last year."

Caroline shook her head. "Your mom and dad turned when you were little, then. You would have been 7, right?"

"Right," Gen answered.

"But what happened?" Elena said hoarsely.

"There was a car accident. They went out for a date night and got hit head on by a drunk driver. The doctors couldn't explain how they both were miraculously unscathed. They called it a miracle. And at home... it was odd at first. Both mom and dad struggled a little bit, but they pulled it together and things went back to normal."

Gen sadly laughed.

"It was funny, though, once we started getting older. Obviously once it got to a certain point they couldn't pass as our parents anymore. So we moved, once, maybe twice, and… we had some weird cover stories."

"Why didn't they just find Bonnie again and get another cure?" Damon asked.

"I think part of it was that they didn't want to bother her. And I think the other part was that… they felt like they blew their chance. I think they thought they didn't deserve another shot, even though that isn't really true. It wasn't their fault they turned again."

"Huh. But your mother," Caroline replied. "What happened? How did she pass?"

"There were some other vampires tracking our family. They had heard about the cure and wanted it, too. I guess when my parents told them they didn't have anything for them, they killed my mom, and almost my dad, but he managed to kill them first. I wasn't there when she died. The important thing is, nobody will bother our family anymore."

"And your dad. Where is he?" Damon asked.

"Tracking my brother. As far as I know Luke doesn't know dad is following him. I suggested we find another cure for him, to stop him. My dad was reluctant but let me go off on my own to search for Bonnie while he followed my brother and cleaned up his tracks. Eventually I found out that the last place she was spotted living in was Mystic Falls."

Gen saw a look of confusion cross the faces of Damon, Elena, and Caroline.

"What is it?" Genevieve pressed.

Damon exhaled slowly and looked over to Elena, who then looked to Caroline. The blonde nodded.

"Well…" Damon said slowly. "I hate to be the one to break this to you, but Bonnie is dead, Gen. She died about 10 years ago. I'm sorry, I guess your dad didn't know."

Genevieve brought her hand up to her mouth. No, Bonnie wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. Bonnie Bennett was the only one who could save her brother… and dammit, Gen was running out of options.

"You're lying, right?" Gen spat out. "You can't be serious. She's the only one who can help Luke."

Her bottom lip began to quiver.

No, she thought. I will not cry.

She bit her lip to stop it from trembling.

"The thing is, we want to help you," Damon said gently. "And maybe we can. We can find another witch who's powerful enough."

"But Bonnie was only powerful enough because she came back from the dead, right? That was what made her so powerful. She had conquered death. A long time ago, sure, but she had still done it. Do you know of another witch who has done that?" Genevieve argued.

"We'll figure something out," Damon muttered.

So Gen, despite the growing anger deep within her, clasped her hands and nodded. It was no use arguing anymore. And obviously these people wanted to help, so why not let them?

I'll have to tell dad Bonnie is dead, Gen thought. And I'll have to tell him I've met his family. But he doesn't even know I'm in Mystic Falls…

"Alright," Gen said flatly, but she was beginning to question whether or not everything really would work out.

The girl's neck was twisted at an odd angle, and Stefan gently pushed it back into place. He had finally caught up with his son, but Luke had struck and killed before Stefan had a chance to do anything about it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the girl, as he had whispered to so many other victims that he couldn't save.

It pained him, really; watching his son go off the deep end as Stefan had done so many times himself. He knew that when, not if, Luke came back from this, he would be overcome with guilt. He knew his son. He knew the blood was making him act like a completely different person. But he knew that out of anybody, Luke was the one most likely to pull himself together.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

I'm sorry I let it come to this, Stefan thought. I'm sorry I couldn't stop you before it was too late. But I'm trying to help you. You just have to let me.

"You're sorry?"

Stefan whipped his head around, and his eyes met the icy gaze of Luke.

It still hurts to look at you, Stefan thought. I still see her in you. And god, it hurts.

"Yes," Stefan replied calmly, trying to hide his surprise. "I'm sorry you've let the blood turn you into a different person. I'm sorry you won't let me help you."

Luke laughed, a high-pitched, mocking sound that made Stefan's blood boil.

"You think the blood is making me act different? Did it ever occur to you that maybe it brings out the true me? The real me?"

"This isn't you," Stefan said, his frustration growing.

Luke shook his head. "You must think I'm an idiot, don't you father? You think I don't know that you've been trailing me?"

Stefan remained still, trying to steady his breathing.

Luke laughed again, and before Stefan had time to comprehend what was happening, his son was pushing him against a wall, Luke's forearm pressed against Stefan's chest.

"I think," Luke breathed, "You'll maybe want to reconsider following me. It would be such a tragedy for Gen to lose both of her parents, wouldn't it?"

"You'll kill me?" Stefan asked calmly. "Your own father? That's a little low, don't you think?"

Luke's blue eyes lingered on Stefan's face, his expression unreadable.

You're nothing like her, Stefan thought, You have your mother's eyes, her wavy golden hair, but right now, there's nothing left of her in you.

But, for a moment, Stefan thought maybe he had hit something, anything, that would make Luke question his actions. But Luke smiled his cruel, flashy smile again, and any hope Stefan had vanished.

"Yes," he said. "I'll kill you. And maybe even Gen. Maybe I'll even kill her first. Maybe I'll make you watch while I tear out those pretty little green eyes of hers. Does that sound fun, father? Hearing your daughter cry and scream and not be able to do anything about it?"

Stefan pursed his lips. "Luke, please. Think about what you're doing."

"I have thought, dad. And this is what I want. This is what I need. And there's nothing you can do to stop me from getting what I want."

He reached into his leather jacket and brought out a small, wooden stake.

Stefan's heart began to pound. Would he really do it? Would he really kill his own father?

Luke stared blankly at the stake, then grinned. Swiftly and gracefully he plunged it into Stefan's lower abdomen.

Stefan heaved forward, letting out a shameful whimper.

Luke let go, stepped back, and wiped his bloodied hand on his shirt.

"Next time, father, I won't miss your heart."

Hi all! Hopefully this chapter is somewhat satisfying. I've been busy with school lately, so I'll try my best to update as soon as possible, but hopefully you'll understand if it's a while before I update again. As long as I keep getting some feedback from you guys (good or bad), I plan on continuing with this story, so leave some reviews! Thanks again for your support! :)