Thanks to everyone who reads this, favorites, follows or reviews this! I had a lot of fun writing this one! Enjoy! :)

Memorial

Ashley woke up the next morning with a big smile on her face. She looked over where Kol was supposed to be laying and she saw he wasn't there but there was a note. She unfolded the note and read it.

Dear Ash,

I'm sorry I'm not here right now but I had some errands to run. Besides, I figured you needed some alone time with your brothers. I know they've probably been fighting since Elena became a vampire. I'll text you or call you later. I love you darling. XOXO-Kol

Ashley smiled and got up. She left quietly so she didn't wake anyone and headed home. When Ashley walked into the boarding house she could hear Stefan and Damon arguing. She rolled her eyes and walked up to Stefan's room where him and Damon were.

"She needs human blood from the vein, Stefan," Damon said.

"Oh come on Damon. You know what happens. Name me one vampire who didn't kill at least one person when they were new," Stefan argued back.

"You name me one who went on the bunny diet and didn't kill dozens," Damon countered.

"Guys! What's going on?" Ashley asked making Stefan and Damon look at her.

"Where have you been all night?" Damon asked her.

"I was out," Ashley answered.

"Were you with Kol all night?" Stefan asked.

"Yes," Ashley answered.

"Ashley! Are you nuts?!" Damon snapped at his sister.

"Look, we love each other and we're going to be together. Now we have bigger things to deal with. I take it you guys are arguing about Elena and how she should feed," Ashley said not wanting to get lectured.

"We aren't through with that conversation," Damon said.

"Well we are right now. Look, maybe Elena should feed from a human. She can have all of us around her and just see how she does," Ashley suggested.

"It's too risky. Once she gets a drop of human blood, she'll want more. If she kills someone, she will crumble. How much pain do you think she can take before she shuts off her humanity switch?" Stefan countered back.

"It happens to the best of us at least once. We get over it Stefan. Give it a hundred years or so," Damon said back.

"I think I'd like her to skip that part," Stefan stated.

"She can't learn to control the blood lust if she's never actually experienced the blood lust," Damon said.

"I hate to say it but I think Damon's right Stefan," Ashley said; Damon smirked and started unpacking Stefan's bag.

"What are you doing? Stop," Stefan ordered Damon.

"It's like a cheat. It's like giving a kid a calculator before they know math," Damon said and kept unpacking the bag.

"I said stop!" Stefan snapped and grabbed Damon's arm; Damon yanked his arm back.

"Guys!" Ashley yelled at them; Elena walked in the room.

"Woah. What's going on?" Elena asked.

"We're just having a little disagreement about the process," Stefan said not taking his eyes off Damon.

"You're still not on board of the animal plan, are you Damon?" Elena asked.

"Nope. I say rip off the band-aid and let it bleed. You're a vampire Elena. Be a vampire," Damon said to Elena.

"Ready to go?" Stefan asked Elena as he grabbed the bag; Elena nodded.

"Vampires eat people. It's part of the natural food pyramid. Trust me. You're gonna be miserable," Damon said.

"We'll see you two later," Stefan said then walked out of the room.

"Bye guys," Elena said then followed Stefan; Damon rolled his eyes.

"Maybe Stefan can do this," Ashley said to Damon.

"Or maybe this is going to backfire in their face," Damon said back.

"Do you want to go get a drink at the grill?" Ashley asked Damon.

"You're trying to butter me up so I don't lecture you about Kol," Damon said; Ashley gave him a small smile which Damon returned. "You're just lucky I need a drink."

Ashley and Damon grinned at each other and left and went to the grill. They sat down at the bar and got their drinks. Soon Liz walked up to them and placed a newspaper in front of Damon.

"Faulty gas line leaves a tragic explosion at Young farm," Damon read off and handed the paper back to Liz. "Really?"

"Better than town council blown up. Police have no suspects. Unless the perpetrator's right next to me," Liz hinted at Damon.

"Well don't look at me. I always take credit for killing people," Damon said with a small smirk; Ashley rolled her eyes at her brother. Liz just stared at Damon. "Seriously stop looking at me like that Liz. If I was going to kill a bunch of people, I wouldn't blow them up. I'd have a dinner party."

"The explosion was sparked from inside. It wasn't an accident," Liz stated.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. The council's dead Liz. I see that as a win," Damon said.

"I've known some of the council since I was a kid. They were my friends," Liz countered back.

"Well your friends tried to kill your daughter," Damon said back.

"Uh not to interrupt but who's the new guy?" Ashley asked motioning toward a guy walking up to them.

"Excuse me sheriff, hi. Um I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute. It's about the explosion at the Young farm," the guy stated.

"I'm sorry Mr…" Liz trailed off.

"Oh. Connor Jordan," Connor said extending his hand; Liz shook his hand. Ashley and Damon exchanged looks before looking back to them.

"Are you with the insurance investigators?" Liz asked him.

"No. I'm more of an independent contractor," Connor said while glancing at Damon and Ashley; they gave him a mocking smile and he turned his attention back to Liz. "Can we speak in private?"

"Sure," Liz said; Connor turned around and started to walk away. Liz gave Damon and Ashley a look before following Connor.

"That was odd," Ashley said.

"Very. That guy seemed suspicious," Damon confirmed.

"Yes he did," Ashley said.

"It might've been your boyfriend. You never know," Damon said looking at his sister; Ashley gave him a look.

"It wasn't Kol. You know, you shouldn't hate on him so much. He's not a bad person," Ashley said trying to get Damon to see a different side of Kol.

"Not that bad? He ambushed us in Denver. Did you forget that?" Damon asked his sister.

"He only did that because of Klaus. He's really a good person underneath it all," Ashley stated; Damon sighed.

"I have to call our brother and tell him about our little faulty gas line situation," Damon said changing the subject.

"Fine. You do that, I'm going to the bathroom," Ashley said and went to the bathroom.

Several minutes later, Ashley and Damon were both still at the grill, sitting at the bar.

"Did you do it?" Elena asked walking up to them and looking at Damon. "Did you set off the explosion that killed off the town council?"

"Am I wearing my 'I blew up the council' t-shirt?" Damon asked sarcastically; Ashley sighed because she felt bad for Damon. "Why does everybody keep asking me that?"

"Did you?" Elena asked.

"No. Anything else?" Damon said; Elena looked at Ashley.

"He didn't do it Elena," Ashley replied; Elena sighed.

"There is something else. Something's wrong. I can't keep any of the animal blood down," Elena whispered.

"Well there's a shock," Damon said with a mocking grin; Elena gave him a look.

"I think I need your help," Elena replied; Damon sighed.

"Of course you do. Pick your meal. You got Asian, Mexican, or good ole American comfort food," Damon said motioning around them; Elena shook her head.

"No. No human blood. Stefan's right. I have to at least try to get through this without hurting anyone," Elena stated.

"Fine. Come on," Damon said standing up and grabbing Elena and pulling her off the seat. "Ashley, I'll be right back."

With that, Damon dragged Elena off. A few minutes later, Damon returned to the bar.

"You let her drink off of you didn't you?" Ashley asked Damon.

"Maybe," Damon responded.

"You know Stefan's going to flip out right?" Ashley asked.

"I know. But I'll handle him. I'll tell him about it," Damon said.

"Okay. Well, speaking of Stefan, I'm going to go see what he's up to," Ashley said standing up.

"Hey, not a word to him about any of this," Damon said.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Ashley said back and left; she went home and walked into the living room and saw Tyler laying on the couch, Caroline standing by the couch and Stefan digging something out of Tyler's chest. "What's going on?"

"There's a vampire hunter in town and he shot Tyler," Caroline said as Stefan pulled out a bullet from Tyler's chest.

"These were specially carved. The length, the width. If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead," Stefan said examining the bullet.

"This guy knew what he was doing. His gloves must have been steeped with vervain. He was looking for a vampire and he didn't hesitate for a second when he found one," Tyler said.

"These etchings…" Stefan said as he touched one of the bullet but instantly withdrew his hand when it zapped him.

"Are the bullets spelled?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know. They're something," Stefan stated.

A few hours passed and Ashley was with Damon helping him get a dress for Elena and they are walking back to the church. Damon is on the phone to Elena.

"I'm here. Where are you?" Damon asked Elena.

"I'm in the basement bathroom," Elena answered. "Is that you at the door?"

"Not yet," Damon answered.

"Damon hurry," Elena said; Damon hung up.

"Come on," Damon said and started jogging; Ashley jogged with him.

Ashley and Damon get to the bathroom and see Connor sitting close by.

"You again? Stalking small town funerals?" Damon asked with a smirk when the door opened up and Elena peaked her head out.

"Sorry. I spilled coffee all over my dress," Elena said looking at Connor then she went back into the bathroom. Connor stood up and walked up to the Salvatores.

"We have not met yet. I'm Connor Jordan," Connor said extending his hand to Damon.

"Damon. Germaphobe," Damon said not wanting to shake his hand; Connor looked at Ashley.

"Ashley. Same," Ashley said and Damon smiled.

"Everything okay in there?" Damon asked through the door.

"Yeah just a minute," Elena answered.

"So what brings you to Mystic Falls Connor?" Ashley asked.

"I'm in environmental cleanup. Heard you had a little bit of a pollution problem," Connor answered.

"Huh. Well we weren't aware," Damon replied; Elena walked out and looked at Connor.

"I'm so sorry that took so long," Elena said to him.

"No problem," Connor responded.

"Well enjoy your stay. We love visitors and the scenery is to die for," Damon said then fake gasped. "Funeral pun. Too soon. Sorry."

Elena, Ashley and Damon all walked away and walked outside. They walk out by a tree.

"Did you bring the blood bag?" Elena asked.

"Here," Damon said pulling a blood bag out of a bag and handing it to Elena; she rips it open and starts drinking it. Soon she starts spitting it back up and she hands the blood bag back to Damon.

"I can't. What's wrong with me?" Elena asked.

"Maybe it's your doppelganger blood. You're rejecting the transition," Ashley suggested.

"I'm dying, aren't I?" Elena asked scared.

"No you're not dying. You just need to drink from the vein," Damon said.

"No. I can't risk killing anyone Damon. Maybe I'm better off dead," Elena said.

"Don't think like that. Elena, you'll be fine," Damon said and brushed some hair behind her ear; Damon and Elena stared at each other while Ashley stood there awkwardly. The church bells started to ring breaking up their moment.

"I have to get back inside," Elena said and walked away; Damon put the blood bag back in the bag. Stefan walked up to Damon and Ashley.

"What's in the bag Damon?" Stefan asked already knowing the answer.

"He brought it for Elena," Ashley answered for Damon.

"You really that intent on having your way?" Stefan asked Damon.

"It's not my way. It's the only way," Damon answered.

"If she hurts someone, she'll be desperate to turn the guilt off. Maybe even desperate enough to shut off her humanity," Stefan said.

"And what? Become a ripper?" Damon asked mockingly.

"Damon…" Ashley warned.

"I can't let her be anything like me," Stefan said.

"Well god forbid she's anything like me if that's really what you're thinking," Damon countered.

"Guys come on," Ashley said trying to get them to stop.

"She's going to go off the rails anyway Stefan so the faster we can make it happen, the sooner we can get her back on track," Damon stated.

"She's strong. If we help her, she can survive this," Stefan compromised.

"She's starving Stefan. She hasn't been able to keep blood down for days," Damon countered.

"What are you talking about? She told me that she's fine," Stefan asked confused.

"Well then she lied. Your four legged protein shake was a bust, juice box was a no-no, she can't even keep my blood down," Damon said and Ashley's eyes got wide as she looked at Stefan.

"She drank from you?" Stefan asked with his face drained.

"Oops. Did I say that out loud?" Damon said and walked away; Ashley shook her head and looked at Stefan.

"I'm sorry Stef. Let's just go in," Ashley suggested; Stefan nodded and they walked into the church. They walked up to Tyler and Caroline.

"What are you doing here Tyler?" Stefan asked.

"Being sensitive to the community's loss," Tyler answered.

"With a hunter out to get you?" Stefan asked again.

"I'm not letting a hunter stop me from where I'm supposed to be," Tyler replied.

"Also, if he shows his face, I'm going to kick his ass," Caroline said; Ashley smiled.

"Come on Stefan," Ashley said and her and Stefan took their seats.

"Before we begin the mass, we would like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory about our late friends on the town council. I know that April Young wanted to say a few words about her dad. April? April are you still here honey? Is there anyone else who would like to share anything about Pastor Young?" Carol said beginning the service; Elena stood up. "Come on up Elena."

Elena walked up to the podium as Damon walked into the service. Ashley and Stefan looked back at him then turned their attention back to Elena. Damon sits down beside Ashley and Stefan.

"She doesn't look so good," Damon said.

"Maybe you should've told me she was rejecting all food sources," Stefan countered back; Ashley sighed.

"Here we go," Ashley said hinting at her brother's arguing.

"Jealousy's beneath you brother," Damon said.

"Bite me," Stefan countered.

"Will you guys both shut up?" Ashley snapped at them; Stefan and Damon went quiet.

"I um, when I talked to April earlier, she was kinda nervous about coming up to speak and uh, I'm kinda nervous too," Elena said taking a deep breath; Damon, Stefan and Ashley all exchanged a look and looked back at Elena. "The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them."

"Do you smell that?" Caroline asked smelling blood.

"Blood," Tyler answered.

Elena started smelling it and her breathing started getting really heavy.

"Nobody move. Don't turn around. It's a trap," Damon said.

"I um…," Elena trailed off trying to get her bloodlust under control. "I-"

Stefan went up and helped Elena by grabbing her and comforting her.

"I got ya," Stefan said and helped Elena back to her seat with Jeremy and Matt; Damon and Ashley watched concerned.

The preacher went to the podium and announced a song to everyone and the people started singing.

"The blood. Stefan, I can smell the blood," Elena said gripping onto Stefan.

"It's alright. Just remember what we talked about. Focus and push it back. Come on. You can do this," Stefan said holding on to her tight.

"What's wrong with her?" Matt asked.

"She's hungry. She hasn't fed," Stefan answered.

"So her out of here," Matt said.

"We can't. There's somebody watching us," Stefan said.

"I'm going to go rip his head off now," Damon said.

"You do that Damon and you risk exposing all of us," Stefan stated.

"I think the risk will be slightly diminished when I...you know, rip his head off," Damon said.

"Stefan I'm losing it!" Elena said gripping onto Stefan really hard.

"You have ten seconds before I go old fashioned on the new guy," Damon said.

"Don't do it Damon," Ashley warned.

Three, two, one, bye," Damon said and got ready to move; Ashley grabbed onto his hand.

"Wait wait wait. Feed from me," Matt suggested; Damon, Ashley, Caroline and Tyler all turned their attention towards Matt.

"It's okay. Everyone will think you're just upset. Just feed from me," Matt said; Elena looked to Stefan for confirmation and he nodded. Matt took Elena in his arms and hugged her. "It's okay. You're okay."

Elena bit into Matt's neck and started feeding from him. She drank a little bit and pulled away from him.

"The blood. I can still smell it. It's gotta be April. We have to help her," Elena said to Stefan and got ready to move when Stefan stopped her.

"Elena we can't risk it," Stefan said.

"Then I'm gonna do it," Elena said getting ready to move again.

Just then Tyler decided to make a move and walked up to the podium.

"Excuse me, I just wanted to say a few words about Pastor Young," Tyler said and everyone in the audience sat down. "Back in first grade, I was a brat that couldn't be bothered with team sports. I didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me but he was the one that made me understand how important it is to be part of a team, a community, of giving yourself up for the sake of-"

Just then Tyler got shot and fell to the ground. Everyone started screaming and gathering out of there. Damon left to go track down the hunter and Ashley, Stefan, Elena and Caroline ran up to Tyler; Caroline pulled the stake out of Tyler and he gasped and started coughing.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard," Tyler said.

"Damon's way ahead of you," Ashley said then looked at Stefan. "We gotta go help him."

"Stay here," Stefan said to Elena.

"What about April?" Elena asked.

"I got it. Go," Caroline said and Ashley and Stefan took off.

About a minute later, Stefan and Ashley are outside searching for Damon.

"Damon!" Stefan yelled; Ashley looked over and saw Damon laying on the ground and Connor leaving.

"Damon!" Ashley yelled running over to him with Stefan on her heels.

"Ow," Damon said while still lying on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked him.

"Yeah I'll be fine," Damon answered; Stefan offered him an hand and Damon took it. Stefan started to pull him up then he punched Damon in the face. Damon groaned in pain.

"Oh come on!" Ashley yelled sick of her brothers fighting.

"What the hell was that for?" Damon asked.

"You know what," Stefan answered and walked away; Ashley shook her head and helped Damon up.

"Is it a crime for you two to get along for just one day?" Ashley asked.

"Yep," Damon asked with a small smirk; Ashley just kept shaking her head.

Later on that night, Damon and Ashley got out of Damon's car at the school. Stefan had sent them a text telling them to meet there. Bonnie was just arriving there also.

"What are we doing here?" Damon asked.

"I don't know," Bonnie answered. "Ask Stefan."

Damon, Bonnie and Ashley walked up to everyone else. Stefan was handing out lanterns to everyone.

"Stefan, what are we doing?" Ashley asked.

"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier," Stefan answered. "We need to start healing, Ash. We've all lost so much, especially recently. We think we're numb to it. We push it away, we make a joke out of it, ignore how we feel, never just let ourselves grieve."

"So you're lighting lanterns?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. We need to do this," Stefan replied back.

"What we need to do is figure out who this hunter is and find out what he knows about the death of the council. We have more important things to be doing right now than this," Damon said feeling annoyed.

"Not tonight we don't," Stefan said; Damon laughed like it was a joke.

"This is for my Uncle Zack, for my friend Lexi, for Alaric," Stefan said lighting his lantern then handing the lighter to Matt.

"This is for Vicki," Matt said and lit his lantern and handed the lighter to Caroline.

"This is for my dad. And Tyler's," Caroline announced and lit her lantern and handed the lighter to Jeremy.

"This for our parents, for Vicki, Anna, Jenna and Alaric," Jeremy stated and lit his lantern and tried to hand the lighter to Damon.

"No way. I'm not doing this," Damon said and started to walk away.

"Damon," Ashley said trying to get him to stop but he got in his car and left; Ashley looked at Stefan and nodded. She grabbed a lantern and the lighter from Jeremy. "This is for Alaric and Lexi."

Stefan gave her a small smile which she returned. She handed the lighter to Bonnie.

"This is for my grams," Bonnie said and lit her lantern and handed the lighter to Elena.

"This is for my mom, my dad, Jenna, everyone that you've all lost, everyone that this town has lost, and for me I guess," Elena said lighting her lantern; everyone let their lanterns go and watched them float up into the air.

Stefan put his arm around Ashley and she snuggled into him.

Meanwhile at the Mikaelson mansion, Kol was just getting home from all the errands he had to run that day. He walked into his room and could sense that Klaus followed him into the room.

"What do you want Klaus?" Kol asked looking at him; Kol was shocked to see Klaus holding up the note that Kol had left on his bed for Ashley that morning.

"What is this?" Klaus asked his younger brother.

"It's none of your business. That's what it is," Kol answered.

"Our darling female Salvatore left you a message of her own at the bottom of this," Klaus said smirking. Kol's jaw tightened as he was getting mad at Klaus. Klaus read off what Ashley had wrote that morning, "Dear Kol, it's okay. I understand. I do appreciate that you're giving me time with my brothers considering you hate them. But tomorrow, you're all mine. I love you more than words can express. XOXO- Ashley."

"Niklaus, you had no right to take that!" Kol yelled at his brother; Klaus's smirk quickly fell from his face.

"What is this crap? You guys are on an 'I love you' basis now?" Klaus asked.

"So what if we are?" Kol countered back; Klaus mimicked a laugh.

"You don't love her," Klaus shot back at him.

"You don't know anything about me and her Niklaus. We love each other and we're together," Kol said and Klaus's face drained.

"You're lying," Klaus accused.

"I'm not. You know she spent the night here last night. We made our relationship official last night if you know what I mean," Kol said with a smirk; Klaus got very angry.

"You're pathetic Kol!" Klaus snapped and threw the note at him and left the room; Kol smirked in victory knowing he had just won that round.