PERSISTENT KNOCKING WOKE ME the next morning. I shuffled out of bed and cracked open the door to glare at a grinning Damon. "Morning, witchy. Come on. We have stuff to do."

My brow furrowed. "Like what?"

"It's the historical society volunteer day, Grimes. Contribute to your community."

I groaned. "First, it's not my community. It's yours. Second, tired. Bed. Comfy. Third, I need to talk to Elena today." I frowned. "And four, daytime, vampires, bad."

He tapped the large ring on his finger. "Daylight ring. Me, Stefan and Caroline all have them. Katherine's got something too, unfortunately." He pulled a face at that then smiled. "And just where do you think Miss Elena is going to be today?"

Of course she was. I looked down at the faded gray t-shirt I'd slept in. "Any objection to me wearing this today? I don't think my shirt is really appropriate for manual labor."

"Nope. Just be careful with it. It's vintage."

"So are you, Salvatore." I shut the door on his laugh and debated crawling back into bed. Another nightmare kept me up a good chunk of the night. With a sigh, I decided to be an adult and got ready to volunteer.

The Salvatores and I all rode together to the park. As I exited the car, I scanned the crowd that had gathered to work on a park that didn't look like it really needed much done. Of course, if they had these days often enough, that was probably why.

I spotted Mason and headed in his direction. "Feeling better?"

His head jerked up when he heard me. "What?"

"Damon said you weren't feeling well."

He wiped his hands on his jeans and smiled. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I would have called but I didn't have your number."

I shrugged. "No worries."

"Maybe I can buy you a drink to make up for it," he suggested.

Stefan joined us before I could answer and I couldn't help thinking it was intentional. "Hey, Cassidy. Can I have a moment with Mason?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm going to find Elena." And stay the hell away from flirtatious werewolves.

I briefly considered listening in on their conversation as I walked away, but doubtless they only intended to threaten each other. Surely there was something more interesting going on somewhere.

I finally found Elena carrying supplies over to paint a shelter. Maybe I could help and get paint on Damon's shirt. "Hello, cousin," I said as I walked up to her.

She sat her supplies down and wrapped me a hug. "How long have you known?"

"A while," I answered evasively. "It wasn't my secret to tell but I wanted to meet you. That's why I blackmailed John into introducing me."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Why does it not surprise me that you had to threaten him? He's an ass. I am kind of angry you didn't tell me, though."

"Would it have mattered when your folks were alive?"

"No. Not really."

"And it's not like there's been a good time to tell you since the accident."

"True." She picked up a brush and began painting. Caroline smiled a greeting.

"So I have a question for the two of you." I leaned against a pole that hadn't been painted yet. "When exactly did Caroline become a vampire?"

Both of the girls' heads snapped to me in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline said.

At the same time, Elena said, "How did you know?"

"I know lots of things. Like the Salvatores are vampires, Mason Lockwood is a werewolf and you, cousin, are a doppelganger."

Both girls gaped.

I laughed. "I might have kept a secret or two of my own. The witches on my dad's side go back for generations."

Elena blinked a couple of times. "Yeah, well, I know things, too. Like that is Damon's shirt."

"It is. Though I find it interesting you noticed."

"Speaking of Salvatores," Caroline interrupted. "How are things going with you and Stefan?"

Elena shrugged. "I haven't talked to him since the fight."

"What's this?" I asked.

"Stefan's my boyfriend. He's pushing me away because his ex, Katherine, is threatening me," Elena explained.

I pursed my lips as I thought. "Yeah. I heard about that. Can't say I'm a fan of Katherine's."

Caroline's eyes widened. "You met her?"

"Briefly."

"Well, then don't you agree that Elena might be better off staying away from Stefan if that's what Katherine wants?"

I studied the blonde vampire. Something wasn't right. Caroline always wanted people in a relationship, even when it was the absolute worst thing for them. It was one of her more endearing qualities. "I think Elena can do whatever she wants without any input from me. Or you for that matter."

Elena flashed me a grateful smile. "Stefan's over there. I'm going to go talk to him."

"I'm not sure—"

I held up a hand stopping Caroline. "Leave her be."

Caroline looked at me in surprise but didn't say anything else. I followed Elena with my eyes.

"Why don't you quit being such a bitch to your mom?" Damon's now familiar voice drew my attention. He was talking to Caroline. Caroline opened her mouth to respond but snapped it shut with a glare at me.

"And what's that about?" Damon asked me with a chuckle.

"I told Caroline to stay out of people's business. She didn't like it much." Damon smirked but I could tell he wasn't really listening. I arched a brow. They were both using their enhanced hearing to listen to Elena and Stefan's conversation. "Perhaps I should tell you the same thing, since you are both obviously listening to a conversation that has nothing to do with you."

They looked slightly guilty at having been caught. Elena walked past us and Caroline waited only a beat before following. "Something's wrong with that girl," I murmured.

Damon looked amused. "You want the whole list? Come on, Grimes, let's get something to drink."

"Yes, because we've both been working incredibly hard." I followed him over to the other shelter house anyway. It's not like I actually intended to do any work when I tagged along.

Mason Lockwood was at the drink table when we got there. "Damon. Cassidy." He handed me a glass of lemonade. "Here. I owe you a drink."

I took a sip. "Thanks."

"I'll see you around, Damon," Mason said and walked off.

Stefan walked over to join us. "What was that about?"

I looked at him with wide eyes feigning ignorance. "He was just offering me a drink, is all."

Damon snorted and took the glass from my hand.

I glanced at him. "I have a feeling if I hadn't been here there would have been a lot more posturing."

Damon suddenly coughed and sprayed out a mouthful of lemonade startling me and Stefan. "What is it?" Stefan asked.

"Vervain," Damon hissed through his abused throat.

I made a beeline for the water and threw the bottle to Stefan who caught it and opened it before handing it to Damon. An older woman with short blonde hair pulled out a phone and took off the moment Damon choked. I gave a nod to Stefan and followed the woman at a discrete distance, casting my eavesdropping spell as I went.

The woman told whoever was on the phone to bring something and meet her. I dropped back when Caroline walked up to her. From their conversation I took this to be Caroline's mom. That would make her Liz Forbes, the sheriff. I had a bad feeling about this.

When the sheriff walked away, Elena joined Caroline and I walked up behind them. "There's something going on."

"Yeah, there is," Caroline said. "Come on."

We followed the blonde vampire to the top of a ridge.

"I need to hear," Caroline said.

"Hear what?" Elena asked and I put a hand on her shoulder. When Elena looked at me, I shook my head to tell her to be quiet.

I tried to listen as well, but I wasn't practiced at filtering through the noise. Hopefully the vampire was better at it than I was.

"Stefan and Damon," Caroline said suddenly and headed into the woods. We followed.

The woods in this area weren't thick and we made decent time. Caroline stopped when we got to a clearing and sniffed the air. "They were here." She knelt and ran her fingers along a plant. When she pulled them back, they were coated in blood.

"What are you guys doing out here?" a voice asked.

All of us looked toward the sound and found Mason Lockwood standing there.

"Have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked. Sometimes she wasn't very bright.

"Of course he has, haven't you Mason?" Annoyance colored my words.

He ignored me and looked at Caroline. "Does your mom know what you are? I could tell her and you can end up like Damon and his brother."

Caroline started forward and I put out an arm to stop her. "Go get the Salvatores. I'll take care of this."

Mason moved forward, prepared to grab Elena from the looks of it, but I wrapped him in my magic and stopped him. "Go," I said again, more forcefully this time. The girls ran off and I turned my attention back to the werewolf.

Mason glared at me. "What are you?"

I walked slowly to him until I was a foot away. "I would think that was obvious."

"Elena I get. Caroline I get. But what the hell do you care about the Salvatores? You just met them, right? And last I knew there was no love lost between witches and vampires. So, why do you care?"

"I'm not your normal witch. As for why I care, Elena loves Stefan. That makes him family. And Damon is…growing on me. If you were smart, you'd leave town."

"Nah. I think I'll stay around for a while. I have some family business to see to." While I held him fast, his eyes were defiant, angry.

"Well then, I'll just have to make sure you leave the people I care about alone in the future." With a wave of my hand, Mason flew through the air to crash against a tree. He grunted in pain and grimaced. Another wave of my hand and he bounced off another trunk and then another. Finally, I lifted him in the air and dropped him a good fifteen feet.

I pulled my magic back and walked over to where he groaned in the grass and leaves. "Don't piss me off again, Lockwood. Next time you won't get up." I left him and hurried in the direction the girls went, using my still enhanced hearing to help find the way.

I finally arrived at a set of stone steps leading into the ground. Several gunshots sounded making me jump and I hurried underground only to find Caroline staring down her mother who had a horrified look on her face. The old gate that blocked off the room creaked and groaned as I swung it open, drawing everyone's attention.

"Didn't know she was a vampire, huh?" I asked Liz. "That's gotta be awkward."

"Cassidy," Caroline hissed behind me.

I disarmed the sheriff. "Go sit over there," I instructed.

"Who are you?" Liz asked.

"Right now, I'm the one in charge. Go. Sit."

I waited for her to do so then disarmed the two dead deputies. I put the guns in a pile at the side of the room then checked on Damon as Elena was already beside Stefan. "Wooden bullets?" I asked.

Damon nodded weakly. He frowned at me like he was trying to figure me out.

I unstrapped my knife from my ankle. I opened Damon's shirt and grimaced as I examined his wounds. "Sorry. This won't be pleasant."

I recited a spell over the blade before using it so it would absorb some of the pain. The magic would need to be discharged later but Damon was too weak to take much more right then. Fortunately, his body had already started pushing the bullets out and I didn't have to cut very deep.

After I dug the last one out of his chest he said, "You want me to take off my pants?" I looked up to find him smirking though he looked pale and haggard. "She shot my legs."

I shook my head. "Keep your pants on, Salvatore. I'll just cut the fabric."

"Man I really liked these jeans," Damon said when I sliced into the first leg and dug out the bullet.

"Quit bitching. It's not like you were going to wear them with bullet holes in them. All done." I leaned back. The gratitude was plain on his face though he didn't say anything. "You better eat." I gestured to the deputies. He nodded and pulled himself over to the closest one.

Stefan was awake when I moved over to him. Elena pushed up his shirt and I worked quickly to get the bullets out of his chest. "A couple of these were pretty close to your heart."

"I know." His voice was quiet.

"All right." I wiped the blade on my jeans and strapped it back to my ankle. I still needed to discharge the magic but this wasn't the time or place. As I didn't have any salt handy, the only way to discharge it now would be for me to absorb it. It would leave me vulnerable and neither of the brothers was up for taking care of me right now. Neither was Caroline for that matter. The girl appeared to be in shock.

I glanced at the Sheriff. She still sat where I had told her, tears pooled in her eyes and her lips trembled. I moved over to squat down in front of Caroline.

"Hey," I said, drawing the vampire's attention. "You should clean up."

Caroline looked at me in confusion before realizing she still wore the deputy's blood on her face. She swiped at it with her hands. It wasn't doing much good but at least she was doing something.

"You need to drink, Stefan," Damon said behind me. I turned to find Stefan shaking his head.

"No. I'll heal. It'll just take longer."

"You're seriously trying to talk a vampire into drinking blood. This should be a non-issue you know that, right? Especially right now."

"He doesn't want to drink it, okay?" Elena snapped. "You don't understand, Cassidy."

I understood the vampire was being an idiot and denying his true nature but I merely pursed my lips. No one asked my opinion so I'd keep it to myself. For now. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest.

"What a mess," Damon said and ran a hand through his hair. He turned to face the sheriff. "What are we going to do with you? I thought you were my friend."

"You won't tell anyone, will you mom?" Caroline said, her voice pleading. "Please Mom?"

Liz didn't say anything. I clenched my teeth together. These people were ridiculous. Liz just shot someone she considered a friend. Of course, she'll tell people. As for the Sheriff, her daughter was here and alive but apparently that wasn't sufficient.

When no one said anything, Caroline piped up again. "Mom, he'll kill you."

"Then kill me. I can't take this." Her voice broke.

I couldn't contain myself any longer. "Are you serious?"

"Cassidy, please just stay out of it," Elena said, but Damon looked over his shoulder and gave me a little smirk.

"No, Elena I don't think I will. You people need to face reality here. This isn't happy fun time land. It's the real world and it's scary as shit. You've got a vampire that won't feed when he's half dead. And a mother whose daughter is right there." I stepped away from the wall and Damon jerked Liz up from where she sat, making everyone gasp. I looked into the sheriff's eyes. "She's alive. Kind of. But she's still your daughter. Vampires kill people? Yeah, well you almost just executed your friend. Get over it. That girl is brave and loyal and if I were her, I'd be ashamed of you."

I stepped away. "I'll be outside." I leaned on the stones outside and waited.

"Don't kill her," someone cried.

"I'm not gonna kill her," Damon protested in return.

I hoped he at least planned to compel the woman before he let her go.

They came up the steps. Damon had a grip on Liz's upper arm. "Why don't you let me take her back to your place? You can clean up that mess down there."

Damon raised a brow and looked me over.

"Seriously?" I said. I wrapped Liz in my magic and pulled her away from Damon. After that, I pushed her forward across the grass.

"What…What's happening to me?" Panic laced her voice.

I tilted my head and stretched my magic to keep the woman's vocal cords from vibrating. "Ah," I said with a sigh of relief. "No more noise."

Damon glanced at Stefan. "Okay. Sounds good."

I pulled out my keys and tossed them at the elder brother. "Go by and get my car would you. Black SUV. Dealer tags. Kind of hard to miss." I glanced down at my bloody clothes. "Elena, we'll have to take your car."

With a wave at the Salvatores she led the way across the grass, Liz jerking along in front of us. "Caroline," I said stopping the girl when she was about head to her car. "You better run home and get some things for your mom. She'll be there a while."

Elena pulled up along the side of the road and I maneuvered Liz into the back before sliding in beside her. I followed Elena into the basement when we got to the boarding house and put Liz in one of the cells along the hall. I held out my hand and drew my magic back. "Phone, please?"

Liz pulled it out of her pocket and placed it in my palm. The woman's eyes were still wide with fear. I motioned for her to turn around and patted her down, removing her keys from her front pocket. "No backup weapon, Sheriff? That's not very smart."

"Mystic Falls is a peaceful town."

I chuckled and moved out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind me. "Yeah, except for the vampires, werewolves, witches, vampire killers, etc. It's super quiet."