"Voicemail, again," Alyssa says annoyed as she pull on the strings of her boots, "not that I'm surprised." She pulls on the second boot and laces it up. She stands up and walks out of her room grabbing her coat. "I just thought you wanted to know that Tyler left town which solves one of our problems. That leaves Elijah."

She comes to a stop in the kitchen where Elijah is sitting in the kitchen sipping tea with Jenna. She hangs up the phone keeping her eyes on Elijah wondering exactly how much he had heard. The smile on his face when he sees her didn't give anything away and it wasn't because he was happy to see her either. Rather he was reacting to her worried and surprised reaction to seeing him in her kitchen.

She looks Jenna who doesn't sense the tension in her niece and answers the unanswered question of what Elijah was doing at their house. "I'm giving him a tour of some of Mystica Falls historical sights."

"Are you?" She turns to Elijah whose smile turns into a smirk before she readdresses Jenna. "And you're wearing that?"

Jenna looks down at her outfit, a pair of dark blue jeans a white top. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing, it's perfectly sensible," She looks at Elijah who seems a bit perplexed as to what she was planning yet still quite amused. "But do you really want to ruin your favorite pair of boots tramping through the old lockwood property."

"How did you know that's what I was going to be showing Elijah?"

"Research, the paper that I'm working on for history remember. It is one of the oldest properties in Mystic Falls."

Her answered seemed to be logical yet Jenna couldn't help but to be a little skeptical. "Right?" To Elijah she says, "I'll be right back." She leaves the kitchen and Elijah addresses Alyssa as Jenna goes.

"I take it Jenna doesn't know." He knew that was her reason for sending her away.

"About you or your plan to sacrifice Elena?" She walks over to the counter to start a pot of coffee instead of drinking the tea that had been made. "No, and I'd like to keep it that way. People have a way of ending up dead after discovering the town's secret. I'd like to avoid Jenna ending up on that list."

"Your very protective of the people you love," he notes as she turns away from him to grab a traveling mug. He remembered the fierce look she got in her eyes right before she stabbed him in the middle of the historical societies tea party. "It'd almost be commendable if it weren't so dangerous."

"To me or to you?" She asks over her shoulder. He doesn't answer and turns back to the coffee pot pouring the black steaming liquid into her mug adding six spoonfuls of sugar. She turns to him when she's done.

"Most people in your predicament would see it as a weakness, something to be exploited and twisted to fit someone else's purpose." He continues and she rests her hip against the counter considering his words.

"Is that what you're doing? Appealing to my need to protect my family in order to get what you want?"

"Elena is your family, and yet you willing express your desire to hand her over to die, even though you've proven that you'll stop at nothing to ensure the safety of your family."

"Elena's death is the only assurance I have that they will be safe from Klaus. Katherine told me how Klaus slaughtered her entire family because of what she did the first time he tried to break the curse. I'm not about to let whatever Damon and Stefan have planned to save her life be the reason they all get killed. Her life isn't worth that much to me, and neither is mine for that matter, not if it means every single person I love dies because of it. So if you manipulating me by appealing to that primal need to protect them keeps them alive then I'll happily play the pinocchio in your puppertier act."

She tastes her coffee finding it a bit bitter she turns around to add more sugar saying, "It's why I think you should know my uncle, Elena's birth father, is looking for a weapon he thinks can kill you. He's desperate to find it and it's why he came back. He said something about a white oak tree."

His response or lack of one told her that at least John was on the right track. She turns back around putting on a confuse yet concern look, "but that's nothing right? I mean it can't actually kill you."

He opens his mouth to speak but Jenna voice came out which follows her presence in the kitchen having changed and Alyssa knew the opportunity for her to find out any more information for the moment had passed but she knew from his reaction there was going to be another chance to create opportunities.

"I'm going to let you guys get to whatever it is you were going to do." She takes her mug and starts to leave the kitchen. She gets as far as the door behind Elijah stops her with his words asking her if she would like to come with them on an historical tour on the town, for her paper.

She smirks privately before turning around with a nonchalant shrug, "one more day to work on it wouldn't hurt." She then turns to Jenna to ask for her permission which she skeptically gives wondering what her real motives are for wanting to come along and waits for the right time to question her about her intentions which happens to fall in the middle of the towns tour.

They just arrive on the Lockwood property and Elijah is out of earshot so Jenna thinks it's safe to ask, "okay, now that we're alone, tell me, why did you really agree to come?"

She looks at Jenna knowingly but turns and looks at Elijah, "isn't it obvious. I mean look at him; cute, smart, rich." She turns to Jenna who's taking the survey's out of the car, "can you imagine the body under that suit." Jenna hands her one of the bags she stuck the rolled up surveys in a bag. Alyssa gives her a scandalous look, "or do you not have to?"

Jenna shuts the trunk of the car before responding to her niece, and her response was not to respond to her question rather mind her of the fact that Elijah has a few years on her. To that Alyssa replies that she'll be eighteen in a year as they stop alongside Elijah.

Alyssa announces, "Next on our tour of old ass things that nobody cares about."

"If you didn't care it's a wonder you even bothered showing up at all." Response Elijah.

"Your offered to help me with my paper and since I don't want to fail Rick's class I decided to take you up on your offer. Besides, I love listening to you more than I would have reading some dusty old textbook." She sticks her hands in her pockets and walk away. Elijah smiles shyly because he knows her response was to him listening to the conversation she was having with Jenna.

Her phone rings and she walks away and she pulls it out of her jacket pocket to see that it's Damon finally returning her call. She answers speaking before he gets a chance to get a word out in case he says something that she wouldn't want to been overheard by Elijah. "So nice of you of you to return my calls."

"I was busy."

"Yeah and now I'm am. I'm with Jenna and Elijah. We're taking a tour of the old property lines."

She looks back to see Elijah walking with Jenna. They appear to be in the middle of a discussion but she wasn't willing to risk Elijah over hearing anything; especially if that anything had anything to do with the dagger and white oak ash that John gave him.

"I just thought you would want to know about Tyler leaving."

"And you're sure he's gone?"

"He came by last night to tell me that he was leaving and to warn me to be careful. Jules must have told him about the curse and after what happened to her friends I'm guessing she high tailed it out of here."

"That's one bit of good news."

"Are we any closer to finding out about whether or not John got his hands on the white oak?" Damon is silent and she assures him that they're not being listening in on. "He's tied up with questions from Jenna."

She hopes that he was able to catch on to her choice of words and not reveal what she had been hoping to keep from Elijah since she revealed that she knew that white oak could in someway harm an original. "I know Stefan thinks we can trust him but I doubt that Elijah would even allow a weapon that could kill him to continue to exist."

"Let's hope he's dumb enough to and John's able to find it."

"Funny how we're entrusting John with our lives when it wasn't that long ago he nearly turned you into a deep fried vamp extra crispy. I know were desperate but I don't like being this desperate but maybe Stefan's right. Maybe there isn't any other choice but to trust John. I'll just have to remind him what will happen if he tries and cross us." She hangs up and Elijah appears next to her.

"Now I hope that little act wasn't done solely for my benefit."

"By act, you mean that I was proving to you that what I said earlier about them looking for a weapon that can kill you then yes," she puts her phone back in her pocket, "I was. Where's Jenna?" She looks behind her but doesn't see.

"I believe the history teacher is helping her retrieve something from the car." She looks back to where they park to see that she's in fact at the car with Rick. "Now back to this potential weapon that can kill me."

"You know as much about as I do, probably more. All I know is that Stefan went looking for Isabelle the moment you rolled into town to tell us more about Klaus. He got my Uncle John instead and he says that he knows of a way to save Elena. He doesn't exactly trust me and he would be right not to so he hasn't told me a thing. The part about the white oak he slip unintentionally. Or so he thinks." He raises a brow at this, "let's just say I know the right buttons to push when it comes to getting what I want."

"Then maybe I'll have some use for you after all."

"As long as you keep up your end of the deal I'm happy to help in which every way I can." She tells him and tries to walk away but he grabs her by the arm stopping her and she turns to look at him.

"If you're in anyway playing me…"

"You'll what Elijah?" She asks with incredulous look, "Kill me or my family? If you haven't gotten it yet then you clearly haven't been paying attention. So let me spell it out for you. Your threats have little impact, one because I'm already dead so you threatening to kill me would only serve on doing something I was willing to already do myself. Two, you're deal with Elena means you don't hurt anyone she cares about. Seeing as how she's the reason I'm a vampire in the first place that means I fall on that list of people you can't hurt. You kill me you loose Elena. You lose Elena than you can't kill Klaus. Then there's the whole potential weapon floating around out there somewhere that can kill you and without me you won't know where it is or how to get to it first so the way I see it." She removes his hands off her, "you need me as much as I need you which means like it or not we're going to have to trust each other." She begins to walk backwards away from him, "this should be interesting."

"How was your tour of all things mystic falls?" Alyssa had returned home from her four man tour of her small town and called Stefan. She was unsure of what Damon filled him in on and she wanted to make sure Elena hadn't done anything stupid like try to run to Klaus again trying to get herself killed seeing as how her deal with Elijah banked on Elena staying safe until he needed her. "Damon said you went on a historical sighting of the town with Elijah. You think it was the smartest choice to be alone with him after you tried to kill him?"

"It was the only way to be sure he would keep his word." She says as she studies her reflection in the mirror. "I think it's pretty safe to assume that he will seeing as how I'm still undead. Besides," she turn her back to the mirror to check herself out from behind, "I needed information that only he would be able to give me. This seemed like the only way to get it." She walks away from the mirror after doing a full inspection of herself and approved.

"What did you find out?"

"That John was telling the truth, at least about the part of the white oak. Elijah seemed really interested and worried when I mentioned that there might be a weapon out there that could kill him."

"What do you mean you mentioned it?"

She was back in front of the mirror to check her hair and makeup. "I told him that you were looking for a weapon that could kill him." She could practically see the frown lines etched in his face right now and told him so. "You really don't need to add anymore frowns on your face so relax. I only told him that you were looking for one not that you've found it. Well, I mentioned John was looking for it."

Stefan felt that she should remind her, "he's Elena's father."

"I'm well aware of that Stefan. In case you forgot," she walks away from the mirror again, "I'm the one who told you. I also know that he tried to kill Damon and if we give him a chance he'll try again. I'm certainly not about to let that happen and if you were here neither would you. Let's just call this precaution on my part. I suppose you heard about the dinner party at Casa De la Salvatore."

"Yeah, Damon called and filled me in."

"I think he's going to try and kill him tonight. I tried to talk him out of it but we both know when he's got his mind set on something there's no changing."

"Sounds like someone else I know."

"I know. Elena can be such a handful sometimes. I don't know how you put up with her."

He smiles despite himself, "must be a family trait."

"I suppose you've heard that Elijah still plans on sacrificing Elena."

"Yeah. I know. He was really careful about his words. He said that he was going to protect her friends. Elena's known for weeks."

"She wants to keep us safe. She wants to keep you safe. Can't say that blame her. If there was a chance everyone I loved died because of me I'd walk straight into fire myself."

"The only person that's dying is Elijah."

Alyssa wasn't about to risk her family life on that but she allowed Damon to follow through with his plans, for now. But if it didn't work, she had a back of plan of her own and it didn't include saving Elena.

"Something smells good." Alaric comes into the kitchen with Damon where Alyssa and Andie are preparing dinner for the party with Jenna. "Didn't think you cook." He says to Jenna.

"I don't think you can qualify what aunt Jenna makes as food."

Jenna tosses a chopped up carrot at her for response and Alyssa smiles back at her before turning to pot behind her.

Damon approaches. "Didn't know you cook."

She looks at him. "You're thinking of the wrong Gilbert girl." She then turns back to the pot. "Elena is the one that can't boil a pot of water without burning it. I use to cook all the time with my dad when I was little."

He hummed in response.

She sat the top on the pot and turns the fire down to a simmer. He catches a full view of what she's wearing as she walks away and raises a brow. Jenna catches his look and explains, "she's wanted to impress Elijah. I think someone has a crush."

"I don't have a crush. I just think he's cute." She defends her getting slightly more dressed up than usual. "So much better than high school guys."

"He is charming." Andie says and Alyssa nods in agreement. "Smart, and from the way he dresses loaded. There are far more worse guys to have a crush on."

"You know what you're absolutely right." She turns to Damon pointedly. "I've liked worse guys. It's time for a chance of pace."

"Isn't he like thirty?" Ric always the reasonable one says.

"I don't know. He was a little cagey on his age when I asked but nothing that can't be worked around." She grabs the plates and take them to the table. Jenna follows her with the silverware.

"So now that we're alone I have to ask. What's going on with you and Ric? I feel like there's some tension."

"I don't know. I really like him. It's more than like and I want it to work, but I can't help but feel that he's hiding something from me. And then I've got John whispering things in my ear about him."

"Well that's where you went wrong. Listening to Uncle John, what did he tell you that has you suddenly doubting him."

"Things I don't want to believe. Things I don't believe, not if they're coming from John's mouth."

"Then don't." She stops setting the table and stands to her for height looking at her aunt. "It's been a long time since I've seen you this into a guy. Don't let John of people make you stop doubting who Ric is."

"I just can't help but feel like he's hiding something."

"Then talk to him. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation to why you feel that way or why he's projecting that. Just don't give up on him yet okay."

Jenna nods and turns to answer the door when it rings. John is outside on the porch and walks into the house. Damon walks out of the library and into the front hall.

"Who invited him?" asks Jenna.

"John." Damon says, "Surprise. Leave."

John ignores them all and says, "when Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games."

Alaric walks in. Damon and John look at him.

"There are not going to be any games tonight, John. It's just a friendly dinner party."

John looks back at Damon. "What he said."

John walks further into the room staying despite knowing wanting him there. Alyssa walks over to Damon. "I guess that means you haven't told Rick what you were planning."

"Less things that can go wrong with the fewer people that know."

"I guess you're right. Just remember what I said, anything happens to Jenna or Jeremy in your attempt to save Elena. Klaus isn't the only one you're going to have to save her from." She walks away from him and over to the door.

Elijah is standing on the other side of the door as she tries to leave and he smiles when she sees her.

"Good evening."

"Hi, right on time." She steps aside to let him in. "The food's almost ready and everyone's here. Enjoy your evening." She turns to leave and Elijah stops her.

"Your leaving?"

If Alyssa didn't know any better she'd say he'd sounded disappointed. "Yeah. I just came to help out with dinner. I wasn't invited but that didn't seem to stop some people." She says looking to John.

"Then consider this a formal invitation."

She hesitates. "I'm not sure I'm old enough to sit at the grownup table just yet. Even if I was, I'm not really comfortable with certain company." He gives her a questioning look. "My Uncle John's presence tends to bring out the worst in me. I'm still new to the whole containing the urge to kill thing. So to keep from having to restrain myself from ripping out his spleen through his stomach I better go."

"If the urge to kill becomes to much for you bare I'd be more than happy to dispose of him myself." He says holding out his hand.

She fought against her better judgement and grabs him hand allowing him to escort her back inside. "Did I mention how incredible you look?" It was simple black trousers that fit her hips a black halter top with a black blazer. She paired it red accessories and lips stick braiding the front side portion of her hair and draping it over her left shoulder.

She releases him hand. "So you did notice? I was starting to think the hours of work I put into the outfit was for nothing." She walks away leaving him to watch.

Soon it was time for dinner and they sat around the table discussing Elijah and his work.

Elijah mentions that there were a group of settler that migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690's. Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution.

Jenna guess that it was "Because they were witches."

Andie didn't see the tangible proof that there were any real witches in Salem.

Damon mentions, "Andie's a journalist. Big on facts."

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the…"

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society." Jenna says.

John follows with, "It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me."

Damon was more interested in why he wanted to know the location of the "alleged massacres."

Elijah response with, "You know...a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

The rest of dinner progresses much in the same fashion and after dinner Andie suggest that, "the gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."

Alyssa gets the feeling that Damon was the one to, 'suggest' she suggests it and gets up from the table to help clean to keep Jenna away from the library.

She was on her fourth plate when the phone rung and she sat it back down to answer it.

"Stefan?"

Alyssa listens to Stefan as he tell her about what they found in Jonathan Gilbert's journal and she runs into the library stopping at the steps to compose herself.

"Elijah," She calls out to him with a warm smile. "I was hoping that we could take a walk before desert. It's such a beautiful night out."

"Certainly." Elijah hands his glass to Damon, who drains it, and takes Andie's hand and they walk out of the room together.

"I'm just going to let Jenna know where I'm going." She let go of his hand and heads over to where Jenna was with Rick, next to her purse. She fills inside of her bag and begins to type out a message for Damon.

"So Elijah and I are going to take a walk," she hits send and slides it back in her purse, "but we'll back in time for dessert."

"Okay."

She smiles finding and walks away from Jenna and Rick going back over to Elijah. "Ready."

Damon comes up from the library as they pass and she looks at him as he gets her text that reads, the dagger will kill you if you use it.

He looks back up at her as they walk out the door.

"Thank you for accompanying me." She says once they made it back to the front door of the house.

"It was my pleasure."

"I should tell you that the reason I'd ask was because I think Damon was planning something before I got there. I don't know what but I know Damon and I know this dinner party isn't just a dinner party. Uncle John showing up confirmed it for me. I just couldn't let them do whatever it was they had planned. Who knows they still could go through with it. I just thought you should know. If only to protect Damon from himself."

"You care for him."

"I do. But his hearts with Elena and even though I know that I can't help the way I feel."

"As a vampire you have the ability to turn it off. Every emotion good and bad silenced by just a flip of a switch."

"Then who would I be? What would I be? As much as knowing that he could never feel even half of what for I do for him hurts, I still wouldn't want it to go away. Cause if I lose the pain then I loose the good parts too and I'll have no will or reason to want to continue. Love is the reason I fight. Love is what pushes me to make the hard decisions that no one else wants to make. So I've learned to push through the pain and there's a lot but I can't give in. I won't. What I am doesn't have to be who I am." She walks to her car gets in and drives off.

She's half way inside of the house when her phone goes off.

"Whatever it is Stefan will have to wait in the morning." She says going up the stairs.

She pauses when she hears him mention the dagger and that the only way that he would stay dead if they kept the dagger in. She uses her vamp speed running back to the Salvatore house. Damon's still in the library drinking when she runs in.

"Where's Elijah?"

"Resting comfortably in a cell."

He walks towards her with the dagger in his hand.

"Please tell me that's not the same dagger."

"It is." Ric turns to her. "Why?"

She run down to the cellar and opens the door.

"He's gone. Damn it." She tucks her hair behind her ears as Damon and Ric join. "He must be after Elena."

"Wasn't it suppose to kill him?"

"Only if you leave it in." She answers Damon who starts upstairs and she follows.

"He has a lead on us but if we hurry we should be able to catch him."

Damon stops and turns to her. "There is no we."

"The hell there isn't. I'm not going to let you go alone."

"Yes, you are." He snaps her neck and catches her before she falls. He places her gently on the couch. "Watch her."

"What am I supposed to do if she wakes up?"

"Lock her in the cell get creative just keep her here."

"She's not going to like that."

"I know." He leaves the house.

She woke up hours later gasping as she set up. She looks around and saw that he was no longer in the Salvatore house but back in her room and she wasn't alone.

"It's about time you woke up. I was starting to get bored."

She vamps speed out of the bed and over to him but he moves just before she could reach him. "Don't be obvious."

She picks up the closes thing to her and toss it at him and he caught it. She uses the distraction to use her speed and ran over to him kneeing him the gut.

"Had that coming."

She sat back on the bed watching him as he righted himself.

"Elena's fine by the way." He says flopping on the bed beside her.

She got up removing her blazer and began preparing for bed. "Elijah's daggered and laying in a cell in the basement."

"Congratulations," she says hanging up her blazer in the closet, "you've managed to keep Elena alive, for now." She turns to face him, "of course there's still Klaus and with you using the only weapon known to kill an Original on Elijah there's no way of saving her from him. So all you've done is delayed the inevitable and put my brother and Jenna at risk."

"Elijah was the only one who knew about Elena."

"We can only hope but you don't know that for sure and now our two best chances at fighting against him are gone. How are we going to stop one of the first vampires ever created without an original or our side or the only weapon that can kill him?" She knows he doesn't have an answer for it and his lack of response shows it. "Don't know do you? And do you wanna know why you don't?" She doesn't wait for him to answer. "It's because once again you couldn't look past what's right in front of you because of your giant size Elena blinders and see the bigger picture. Sometimes there are more important things the object of your affection. Sometimes saving the person you love, isn't worth the consequences. I finally think I'm starting to see that now."

He starts to respond to what she has says but she doesn't let him, "just go Damon. I need to think." She grabs her things as she continues to get ready for bed and leaves him standing there as she walks into the bathroom slamming the door.

When she comes out, he's gone, and she walks the the dresser where her computer is sitting and does the one thing she hasn't done in a long time, she begins to write.

A/N:

Review Responses

Anna. B: I'm glad you are liking the story so far and find Alyssa to be interesting as I wanted her to be a very complex person as many of us are. Her complexity in the end is what drives her to do a lot what she does, mainly family and love. As for her love for Damon, she can see herself in him in a lot of ways but she also recognizes that she isn't what's best for him and in the end neither is he; as they tend to bring out the worse in each other.

When she finally recognizes this, she will be able to slowly move and this will open her up to other possibly relationships which I'm looking forward to exploring. Her relationship with both Klaus and Elijah is going to be the most fascinating. As things progress further and she grows as this new person (vampire) her relationships will get better as well. One friendship I'm looking to establish is her's and Rebekah's as I find them to be a lot similar but a lot more on that later.

Elijayde: Expect for there to be a lot of interactions between Alyssa and Klaus when you begin to see a lot more of that part of her she'd always struggled to keep hidden come out in the next season as she begins to step into who she really is as a vampire.

Guest: That was one of my man problems with Elena (and my OC), how everyone jumps through hoops to protect poor defenseless Elena.

HPuni101: Glad you're enjoying the story.