Hey, guys, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I had some technical difficulties with my computer and my account. Lots of Phoebe in this chapter, and some questions answered. Enjoy!
Chapter 21: Isobel
"Hello, Rick," said a familiar voice.
Rick turned to his right to find Isobel sitting a couple of bar stools down. He then replied, calmly, "Isobel."
Isobel smiled, "It's good to see you. You look good."
Rick said nothing.
"I hear that you're a high school History teacher? How-how is that?" she asked, trying to make small talk.
"Where have you been, Isobel?" Rick asked.
"I don't have any answers that are gonna comfort you. I don't have any explanations that are gonna satisfy you," Isobel replied, nonchalantly. "I wanted this."
"It's that simple?" he asked.
"Yeah. You were supposed to mourn me and move on," she replied.
"You were my wife. And I loved you," he told her. "How could I not look for you?"
"Because I wasn't lost, Rick," said Isobel. She took a pen out of her purse and began scribbling her number down onto a napkin. "I understand that you know my daughters Phoebe and Elena. I hear Elena's been looking for me. Unfortunately, I'm only interested in talking to Phoebe."
Rick remained silent, as he searched her eyes for the woman he married.
Isobel hopped down off her stool and handed him the napkin, "So...I want you to arrange a meeting for us. But just the two of us. No Elena, no you, and no Salvatore brothers."
"You want me," Rick began. He paused to clear his throat. "To deliver a message?"
Isobel smiled, "Yeah."
Realizing this person was no longer his wife, Rick finished his drink, and got up to leave. Before leaving though, he told her, "Screw you...you selfish bitch."
Isobel followed Rick out to the parking lot, and pinned him against his car, with her hand around his throat.
"What do you want from me?" Rick rasped.
"I told you," Isobel replied.
"I'm not gonna do anything for you," Rick spat.
Isobel tightened her grip, "You better tell Phoebe that I want to meet, or I'm gonna start killing the citizens of this town one by one, and I'm gonna start with your History students. Got it?"
She seemed to believe that he got the message, because she released him and left him with the bar napkin containing her number.
The next morning at the Gilbert house, Phoebe got a call from Damon, while she was getting ready for school. She smiled at her phone, before answering, "Hello, Damon."
"How are you feeling?" Damon asked.
"I was just there, Damon, you know how I'm feeling," Phoebe replied, shoving her art supplies into her bag. "That potion Agnes and Zoie made me cleared my pneumonia right up. And even if it hadn't, I'd still have to go to school today."
Damon furrowed his eyebrows, "For what?"
"Caroline and I need to get to work on our Miss Mystic Falls Float for the Founders' Day Parade. I made some sketches last night that I'm hoping she'll like," Phoebe replied. "How's Stefan?"
"Ugh. He's terrible," said Damon.
"What's the matter?" Phoebe asked, mildly concerned.
"He's just back to boring, straight-leg, off the junk Stefan," he joked. "Whatever you did has successfully cured him of anything remotely interesting about his personality."
"Don't forget who helped me," she replied in a sing-song voice.
"I hate myself," he responded in kind.
Phoebe laughed, "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."
"Have a good day," said Damon.
After ending her call with Damon, Phoebe headed down to the kitchen to grab Jeremy and head to school. Everyone was confused to see her dressed and ready for school, after being diagnosed with pneumonia just yesterday.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Jenna asked her.
"Going to school?" Phoebe replied, questioningly.
"But you're sick. I was there when the doctor told you that you had pneumonia again," said John.
"So was I. But I'm better now," said Phoebe.
"Pneumonia doesn't just go away over night," said Jenna.
"It does when you drink a magic potion," Phoebe replied. John and Elena both choked on their coffee, while Phoebe and Jeremy laughed.
Jenna, who didn't know she was serious, assumed she meant medicine when she said "Potion". Jenna looked at John and Elena in confusion, as she told Phoebe, "Well, just because you're feeling better right now, doesn't mean you won't start feeling bad later. Just take it easy. And if you start feeling bad, come home. Okay?"
Phoebe gave her a nod and a thumbs up in response, and headed out with Jeremy – who gave her a high-five, as they left the kitchen. At school, Phoebe found Caroline in the cafeteria, sitting alone, waiting for her. Phoebe sat in the seat across from her, "Morning, Caroline."
"Where have you been?" Caroline questioned. "We have a float to design."
"I wasn't feeling well," Phoebe answered. "But don't worry, I didn't forget about the float."
"We should've started working on this after the pageant. You know it's going to take us forever to agree on something, if at all," Caroline remarked, doing something on her laptop.
Phoebe took out her sketchbook, and began opening it to the page with her float idea, "If you're looking up last year's float, I already did that. It was horrible."
Caroline pulled up the image of last year's Miss Mystic Float, and made a face, "Eww."
Phoebe made a face just remembering it, "Yeah. I also looked up the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that."
"And did you have any ideas?" Caroline asked.
"Not from them, no. I went looking elsewhere for inspiration, and found an idea that I think you might like," Phoebe replied. She found the pages with her float ideas on them, and looked them over one last time, before handing them over. There was an old photo of Damon from 1864 tucked in the book with them. Phoebe held onto the photo, and passed the sketch book to Caroline.
Caroline examined Phoebe's sketches, fully prepared to tell her how badly they sucked, only to be pleasantly surprised, "I do like it. Classic Southern Elegance. How did you know?"
"You channel Scarlett daily," Phoebe replied, jokingly.
Caroline was about to argue, but instead agreed, "True."
The two then experienced a never before experienced phenomenon – they shared a laugh. This wasn't an awkward laugh, or a fake laugh, it was a genuine laugh. For both of them. But before a black hole or some other catastrophe could form, Rick came over and requested Phoebe help him with something. Phoebe left her sketches with Caroline, and followed Rick to his classroom, where Stefan and Elena were already waiting.
"What's going on?" Phoebe asked, with a confused expression. Before she could get an answer, Damon entered the room behind her.
"Sorry I'm late. Dog ate my, uh," he began to joke. He stopped after noticing that no one – except Phoebe – seemed to be amused. Damon – now standing next to Phoebe – leaned towards her and asked, "What's goin' on?"
Phoebe shrugged and shook her head, "No clue."
"I saw Isobel last night," said Rick. That got everyone's attention.
"Isobel's here?" Damon asked. "In town?"
Rick nodded.
"Did you ask her about her working with John?" Damon asked.
"No," Rick replied.
"Did you ask her about the invention?" Damon asked.
"Didn't ask," said Rick.
"Does she know about the tomb vampires?" Damon asked.
"I-I don't know," said Rick.
Damon began to get annoyed, and fairly irritable that Rick hadn't bothered to ask these very important questions, "Did words escape you completely?"
"You know, I was a little too distracted by my dead, vampire ex-wife to ask any questions!" Rick snapped, getting in Damon's face.
Phoebe stepped in between them, placing a hand on either of their chests, "This isn't helping."
Rick and Damon both began to feel a strange sense of calm creeping up on them, and took a few steps back.
"What does Isobel want?" Elena asked.
"She wants me to arrange a meeting with her and Phoebe," Rick answered. "Just Phoebe. No me, no you, and no Salvatores. Her words."
"Why me? Elena's the one that actually wants to meet her," said Phoebe.
Rick shrugged, "I don't know."
Phoebe walked over to a desk and sat on the top of it, trying to think.
"You don't have to see her, if you don't want to," Damon told her.
"She doesn't really have a choice," said Rick.
"What do you mean?" Stefan asked.
"She's threatening to go on a killing spree, if Phoebe doesn't meet with her," Rick answered.
Damon took a look around the room at everyone's reactions, "I take it that's not okay with you guys?"
Phoebe knew he was just teasing, and gave him a smirk, while everyone else shot him looks.
"I don't understand. Why just Phoebe? Why not both of us?" Elena questioned.
The answer hit Phoebe, like an anvil falling on a cartoon character, "Because you can't give her what she wants."
Everyone looked at Phoebe, and waited for a further explanation.
"We already know she's working with Uncle John, right?" Phoebe began.
Everyone nodded.
"And we know John wants the device, which he hasn't been able to get yet, so it makes sense that she's gonna give it a go now," said Phoebe.
"Yeah, but you don't have the device," said Stefan. "Damon does."
"Yeah, why doesn't she just go to Damon?" asked Rick.
Phoebe stood back up, and gestured to Damon, like one of those game show eye candies presenting a prize, "Have you met Damon?"
There were some snorts of amusement, but mostly looks of "good point".
"Okay, that explains why she won't go straight to Damon," Rick began.
"But not why she wants to see you," Elena finished. "I mean, why not Stefan? He's his brother, and they live in the same house."
"Because Stefan cannot get away with doing this..." said Phoebe, moving to face Damon. "I'm sorry."
"For wh-," Damon began. He was cut short by Phoebe's hand colliding with his face. Stefan, Elena, and Rick all reacted with surprise; while Damon barely even blinked.
Phoebe cringed, and looked at him apologetically, "I said I was sorry."
Damon nodded to let her know it was okay, then announced, "She's right, if Stefan tried that I'd knock his head off his shoulders."
"Okay, so I'll meet with Isobel, and see if I can get her to tell me what she wants it for," said Phoebe. "Rick – Mr. Saltzman – set it up."
Meanwhile at Isobel's squatter house, John drops by for a little visit. The two argue about her presence in Mystic Falls, and how it's affecting things. John doesn't think it's a good idea for her to be there, but Isobel disagrees. She tells him that so far his attempts to get the device have failed, so now it's her turn to try.
After school, Phoebe went to the Grill to wait for Isobel, while everyone else waited in the square across the street. As she waited in the Grill, Phoebe looked through some 1864-style dress ideas that Caroline had given her to go through. Caroline had already picked hers, and given Phoebe a stack of ideas to pick from that she found to be acceptable. Once Phoebe did pick hers, she was going to have Agnes and Zoie make their dresses, rather than order ones made of cheap material on the internet.
Phoebe was so focused on looking through the dresses, she didn't even notice Isobel had arrived until she said something, "Hello, Phoebe."
Phoebe looked up to see Isobel sitting in the booth across from her.
"You look just like her. It's eerie," said Isobel. "She would be fascinated by you."
Phoebe shrugged, as she put away the stack of dress ideas, "I'm used to sharing a face with someone. It's nothing exciting."
Isobel smiled, "I hear you share more than your face with Katherine. Damon Salvatore?"
"Sharing would imply that she too spends time with him," said Phoebe, closing her bag. She looked Isobel in the eye, as she continued. "Katherine abandoned him over a hundred years ago. I'd say she's lost any hold she had over him."
"I had no idea you were so jealous of Katherine," said Isobel, still smiling.
"Not jealous. Possessive," Phoebe corrected. "Jealousy is when you want something you don't have."
Isobel laughed.
"Look, if you don't mind, I'd like to skip the small talk and the banter, and get down to the bottom line," said Phoebe, as politely as she could manage. "What do you want from me?"
"I want what your uncle wants – Johnathan Gilbert's invention," Isobel replied.
"How do you know Uncle John?" Phoebe asked.
"I thought you wanted to cut the small talk," said Isobel.
"I'm not making small talk. I want to know how you know Uncle John," Phoebe replied.
"I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John had a crush on me for years. He was the first one that told me about vampires," Isobel answered.
Another anvil fell for Phoebe, but she maintained her poker face, "I don't have the invention."
"But Damon does," said Isobel.
"Yeah, and you want me to get it from him. I already know," said Phoebe, waving her hand dismissively. "But I need something from you in return."
Isobel was about to remind her that this wasn't a negotiation, because if she didn't get her the device then she would begin killing people; but she remained silent. She was curious to see what Phoebe would ask her for.
Phoebe took out a pen, scribbled something down on a napkin, and passed it to Isobel. Isobel read the napkin, then extended a hand for Phoebe to shake, "Deal."
While the two had been talking inside, Damon explained the humanity switch to Rick across the street. He explained that a vampire's nature is not to feel anything – guilt, regret, pain, etc. Stefan, on the other hand, prefers to feel everything. Rick points out that even though Damon's a dick, he still sees something good in him, but with Isobel there was nothing there. Damon denies having any good qualities, and jokes that it's why he's so fun to be around. Rick reminds him of his soft spot for Phoebe, which Damon has no response to.
On her way out of the Grill, Phoebe runs into Bonnie. She treats Phoebe with the same coldness she's been treating Elena and the brothers with, and continues walking. Phoebe grabs Bonnie's arm and takes her aside.
"Look, I get that you hate Stefan and Damon, because you blame them for Ms. Sheila's death – and you have every right to. I also get you not wanting to force Elena to choose between you and Stefan. But you're treating her like she killed your grandmother," said Phoebe.
"Phoebe, this really isn't any of your business," Bonnie replied, trying to get away. Phoebe wouldn't let her.
"Actually, it is my business, because it's my sister we're talking about," Phoebe disagreed. "She's going through a lot, and she really needs a friend right now. She can't talk to Caroline, because – aside from her having an emotional range of a teaspoon – Caroline doesn't know anything about any of this supernatural stuff. She needs you."
"She has you," Bonnie remarked, in a seemingly uncaring tone.
Phoebe getting close to losing her cool, "Bonnie...Elena did not kill your grandmother. For that matter, neither did the brothers."
"Are you kidding me? If she hadn't tried to save them, she'd be alive right now!" Bonnie snapped.
"Exactly, Bonnie, she made the choice! No one forced her to save them. She was a powerful witch, and a strong woman. If she didn't want to even open that tomb in the first place, she didn't have to. But she chose to help, because she was a good person. So if you wanna be angry with someone, be angry with her. But don't blame my sister," Phoebe replied. When she finished, she headed across the street to tell the others how her meeting with Isobel went.
Meanwhile at the Gilbert house, Jeremy tries calling Anna again. She still won't answer. John overhears him leaving her another message, and offers to talk to him about it. Jeremy declines, knowing that John knows what Anna is, and is just going to try talking him to giving up on her.
Later that night, Damon pays Isobel a visit at her squatter house. He tries to get more information out of her, but the only thing she'll tell him is that she's working for Katherine. Damon gets Isobel's undivided attention, and tells her that he's not happy about her coming into his town and threatening the people he cares about, especially Phoebe. He tells her to tell Katherine that if she wants something from him, she can come get it herself.
Meanwhile at the Gilbert house, Phoebe and John are unable to sleep. They have the same idea to get a midnight snack, and head down to the kitchen. They each have a slice of pie – one of them on each side of the island – while Phoebe tells him about her meeting with Isobel. When she'd finished, he asked her, "What did you ask her for in return?"
Phoebe looked down at her pie, and played with it, "I've known for years that Elena and I were adopted. So I couldn't go by the Sommers' family medical history," Phoebe began. "So I asked Isobel to get me a complete medical history for her family. I need to know who passed this down to me."
John nodded thoughtfully, "Understandable. But what about your father's family? Did she tell you who he was?"
"No," said Phoebe. She looked at him now. "You did."
John just looked back at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
"I know I'm still a Gilbert. I know you're my father," said Phoebe. John still said nothing. "Do you remember when Elena and I were about 4 years old, and you came for that 2 month long visit?"
John laughed, "Are you telling me you figured this out when you were 4?"
"Don't get ahead of the story," Phoebe scolded, playfully. "You and I spent almost every waking moment together, while you were here. The night before you left I had a nightmare. I went looking for you, and I found you and da—uncle Grayson – arguing in the living room. You told him that you wanted to take me and raise me as your daughter, but he wouldn't let you. Elena didn't like you, and you couldn't separate us; and you couldn't take us both, because we had already become a part of his family; blah, blah, blah."
"He was right," said John.
"I know, but...," Phoebe began. She hopped off her stool, walked around the island, and wrapped her arms around her father. "I wish I could've been raise as your daughter. No disrespect to Uncle Grayson and Aunt Miranda."
John smiled, as he hugged her back.
The next morning, Phoebe got up bright and early to meet Caroline at school, so they could get to work on their float. Jeremy went with her to work on his own float. Later, when Elena was on her way out the door, she ran into Bonnie. Bonnie apologizes to her friend for her behavior, and the two make up. Elena catches her up on what's been going on with the device and Isobel, then the two look through Emily's spell book to see if there's anything in there about the device. They find that it's part of a larger device – as Phoebe had originally theorized – and that it's a weapon of some kind. A weapon against vampires.
After Bonnie and Elena make it to school, they separate to find Stefan and Phoebe so they can tell them what they've learned. On her way to find Stefan, Elena is stopped by her brother, asking if she's seen Anna. Surprised, she remarks that she didn't know they were still friends. Jeremy tells her they're more than friends. Elena replies that she doesn't know where Anna is. Jeremy asks her if she's lying, because she lies to him all the time. Elena doesn't understand what he's talking about, until he tells her that he knows what Anna is, and he knows that she knows. Elena tries to talk to him about it, but Jeremy walks away from her.
Elsewhere, Phoebe works on her float with Matt and Caroline. When she steps away to get a full view of the float and compare it to her sketches, Isobel pops up.
"Hello, Phoebe," Isobel greeted.
Phoebe didn't stop was she was doing, "Isobel."
"I got what you asked for," said Isobel, calmly. "Where's the device?"
Now Phoebe looked at her, "I don't have it, yet."
"Why not?" Isobel questioned.
"Damon's like a painting, you have to work on him in layers. If you try to do everything at once, it isn't going to work. But if you do a layer, then let it dry before doing the next, you'll get the result you want," Phoebe answered.
Isobel smiled, impressed, "That was an impressive analogy. Unfortunately, I don't have time to wait for a masterpiece. So we're just going to push things along, and get me what I want by tonight."
"By tonight?" Phoebe questioned. "There is no way Damon is gonna give me that device by tonight."
"I think you underestimate how much Damon cares for you," said Isobel. "I'm he'd be more than willing to give you that device, if he thought it would stop me from hurting the people you care about."
Phoebe began to look alarmed.
"Don't worry, I haven't decided, yet," said Isobel. "Frank won't do anything, until I tell him to."
"Who's Frank?" Phoebe asked.
Isobel pointed to a man walking near their float, "See that man standing next to Matt by the float? That's Frank. He's very handsome."
"Looks gay to me," Phoebe mumbled.
Isobel ignored her comment, and continued, "Frank's very handy. And he noticed that the axle was kind of rusted, which is very dangerous. So all you have to do is apply a little bit of pressure, and..."
"Stop it," Phoebe snapped. Matt was lying halfway underneath the float's trailer, like a mechanic under a car. If that thing collapsed now, Matt would be crushed.
"I tell you what, I'll give you exactly 15 seconds to save your friend, and then Frank is going to squash him like a bug," said Isobel. She looked at her watch, "Starting...now."
Phoebe didn't hesitate. She ran over to Matt, dropping her sketches as she did. Since she hadn't been standing that far away, distance wasn't an issue. Getting him to crawl out from underneath the trailer was. When Phoebe reached her friend, she grabbed him by the leg and tried pulling him out, but she wasn't strong enough. Matt questioned what she was doing, but she didn't waste time explaining. She dropped to her knees and reached under the trailer, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him upright – which was something he had already begun to do on his own.
Matt was now sitting up, out from underneath from the trailer – except for him arm. He sat there questioning Phoebe's actions, but she still didn't answer. Phoebe heard Isobel call out something in French, then saw Frank begin moving to hop onto the float. Phoebe stuck her hand under the trailer, grabbed Matt's hand, and yanked it out just in time.
As the float's trailer crashed to the ground, Matt grabbed Phoebe and lunged away from the sound. The two were now on their sides – facing on another – lifting their heads up to see what had happened. Phoebe gave a sigh of relief and rolled onto her back, as everyone began to crowd around them. Caroline practically smothered Matt in her relief that he wasn't hurt. She'd even bothered to ask Phoebe if she was okay. Phoebe only gave a thumbs up in response.
After the excitement died down a bit, Phoebe hopped in the car, and headed for the Salvatore house. When she arrived, she walked inside – like she owned the place – and up the stairs to Damon's room. There she began riffling through his drawers, looking for the device.
"What are you doing?" Damon asked her, appearing in the doorway.
"Where is it?" she replied, still throwing clothes out of his drawers.
"Where's what?" he asked.
"The stupid invention," she snapped. "Where is it?"
Damon walked over to her, and stopped her from throwing anymore of his clothes, "What happened?"
Phoebe took a deep breath, "Isobel just tried to kill Matt."
"What?"
"She gave me exactly 15 seconds to pull him out from under a float trailer, before one of her goons crushed him with it," Phoebe continued.
"Is he okay? Are you okay?" Damon asked, beginning to look her over for injuries.
"I'm fine, Damon. So is Matt, for now," Phoebe answered. "But if I don't give her that stupid invention she's just gonna try again. And next time she might not give me the chance to save him."
Phoebe's phone rang. It was Elena. She gave a sigh as she answered, "What?"
"Are you with Damon?" Elena asked.
"Yeah, why?" Phoebe answered.
"We found out what the device is," said Elena. Damon and Phoebe both perked up. "It's part of a larger device that's meant to be used against vampires. According to Emily's spell book, Johnathan Gilbert's inventions never worked, so she infused all of his inventions with magic."
"Then all we need to do have them de-spelled," said Phoebe.
"That's what we were thinking. Bonnie's agreed to de-spell the device, we just need you to get it from Damon," said Elena. Phoebe looked at Damon, who began shaking his head, adamantly.
"I'm on it," said Phoebe, before ending the call.
"Absolutely not," said Damon.
"It'll be useless once Bonnie takes the magic out of it," Phoebe argued.
"I am not giving the device to Isobel, just so she can give it to John, who's gonna turn around and kill me," said Damon.
"No, he won't," said Phoebe.
"Of course he will, the man hates me," Damon argued.
"He just doesn't like you liking me," said Phoebe.
"A little strange, don't ya think? An uncle being so protective of his niece?" Damon questioned.
"I know what you're implying, but I'm already ahead of you on that one," said Phoebe. "My dad and I already had that conversation last night. Now stop deflecting."
"Phoebe, I like being a living-dead person," Damon told her. "I don't trust Bonnie to de-spell the device, because I tried to kill her in the past."
"Damon, Isobel tried to kill my best friend just to further motivate you to give me that thing. If she finds out that almost killing someone I care about wasn't motivation enough, she's going to actually kill someone that I care about," Phoebe replied. "Please, Damon."
Damon stared into her eyes for a moment, before sighing, "I don't have it."
Phoebe blinked, "Come again?"
"I put it somewhere I knew it'd be safe," Damon explained.
"Where?"
"I hid it somewhere in your house," said Damon.
Phoebe furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Where?"
Damon just gestured for her to follow him, and she did. He took her home, and up to her room.
"You hid it in my room?" Phoebe questioned.
"Yup," Damon replied.
"Where?"
Damon picked up the stuffed pig that was on her bed, and held it up.
Phoebe's face became sad, and somewhat horrified, "Marvin?! You violated Marvin?!"
"You named your pig Marvin?" Damon asked.
Phoebe snatched Marvin out of Damon's hands, and hugged him, "Fiend."
Damon stood there in confusion for a moment, before following Phoebe down to the car with Marvin. When they got back to the Boarding House, they found Bonnie and their siblings already there waiting for them.
"Where did you guys go?" Stefan asked. He became a little confused, as he watched Phoebe walk past him holding a stuffed pig.
"We had to go get the device," Damon answered.
"Where is it?" Elena asked.
Phoebe pointed an accusing finger at Damon, "He hid it inside of Marvin."
Bonnie and Elena both looked at Damon, jaws dropped.
"Real nice, Damon," said Bonnie.
Phoebe walked into the library, with Marvin and Bonnie.
"What is the deal with the pig?" Damon asked. He was really confused. Stefan shrugged, and shook his head.
"Marvin's just her favorite thing," Elena explained. "Holding him calms her down when she's mad, comforts her when she's sad, and makes her feel safe when she has nightmares – which she has a lot of."
"I didn't know," said Damon, apologetically.
Elena shrugged, "You don't get to be a genius without a few quirks."
In the library, Bonnie got set up for the de-spelling, while Phoebe cut Marvin open and removed the device. Phoebe then took out a travel sewing kit from her bag, and sewed him up, while Bonnie performed the de-spelling. Once that was done, Elena took Bonnie home, while the brothers escorted Phoebe to her meeting with Isobel.
The two met in the town square, along with their backups. They faced one another, with their respective backups behind them.
"You have the invention?" Isobel asked.
Phoebe showed her the device, and Isobel extended a hand, palm up. Hidden between Isobel's fingers was a USB flash drive. Phoebe slapped the device down onto her palm, so she could slide her fingers back and grab the USB, without it being too obvious. It worked. Phoebe nodded, and turned to walk away.
Before Phoebe could get very far, Isobel stopped her, "He's in love with you, you know."
Phoebe's heart skipped a beat, and she had to hide a smile, as she looked at Damon. Damon did the same.
"That's not a good thing, Phoebe. As long as you and your sister have a Salvatore on your arms, you're both doomed. Katherine was smart. She got out," Isobel added.
"Katherine was a moron," Phoebe snapped. Her smile had vanished, and she turned back to face her mother. "Katherine used those boys like dolls, and then tossed them aside, like garbage. They died trying to save her pathetic butt, and she couldn't even give them the courtesy of telling them that she didn't want them anymore."
Isobel remained silent, and the brothers both raised their eyebrows, as Phoebe continued.
"But you know what, that's okay. Because what she did to them – what she put them through – made them the men they are today. Albeit they're a little damaged in their own ways, but then again who isn't? Stefan and Damon Salvatore are two of the most caring, gentlemanly, resourceful, brave, loyal, an-and sexy people I've ever met. Katherine doesn't deserve them. And when you're done telling her I said all of that, you can tell her I said this, too," Phoebe finished by blowing a raspberry with her tongue, and then walked away.
The brothers shared a look, before Stefan followed her. Before following himself, Damon told Isobel, "You don't get to be a genius without a few quirks."
The brothers made sure Phoebe got home safe, before returning home themselves. Phoebe made herself a TV dinner, then took it upstairs to her room. It seemed that her door had just closed, when there was a knock on it. While she had been talking to Isobel in the square, Elena had tried talking to their brother. He told her that it was Phoebe that came clean about all the supernatural happenings in their town, not Anna – like Elena had been assuming. Now Elena wanted to know why.
"Come in," Phoebe mumbled, kicking off her chucks.
Elena came in, closing the door behind her, "What did you say to Jeremy?"
"You'll have to be a little bit more specific," said Phoebe through a mouthful of hot food. She was trying to breathe through her mouth to cool off the food enough to swallow.
"Well before he kicked me out of his room, he said you told him everything," said Elena. "About vampires, about Vicki, about Damon compelling him to forget."
"Oh, that," Phoebe mumbled. She put her food down on the table next to her laptop, and walked over to her dresser, "Yeah, I told him."
"Why would you do that?" Elena questioned. She was growing annoyed by her sister's nonchalant attitude.
"Because he was asking questions about her death. Questions no else thought to ask," Phoebe answered. She changed out of her jeans and into a pair of sleeps shorts with garden gnomes on them.
"So?"
"So if he was smart enough to ask how she ended up buried, after dying of a supposed overdose, he'd have no problems figuring everything else out," said Phoebe, walking across the room to her closet. "Especially since he already knew that Anna was a vampire at that point."
Elena was surprised, "How-How did he know that?"
Phoebe changed into a three quarter-sleeved, Hogwarts Alumni, v-neck shirt, "He saw her face change at Duke's party."
"But he told me he couldn't remember anything that happened," Elena argued.
Phoebe took off her bra and her socks, and tossed them into her close hamper, "That's what he told me. Now that along with every other suspicious thing he'd observed, got him googling vampires."
"Yeah, but when you google vampires, you get a world of fiction," said Elena.
"Not everything on the internet is untrue, Elena," Phoebe countered. She closed her closet door, and began pulling her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head. "He got enough information to test his theory on Anna. He 'accidentally' cut his hand open right in front of her, and saw her face change."
Elena's jaw dropped, and was at a loss for words.
"Not everyone is as content as you are to live in a bubble of naivety," said Phoebe. "I don't mean any offense by that, Matt's the same way. It's just...Jeremy and I aren't. We ask questions, and want truthful answers. We read between the lines, and see things that most people ignore."
Elena stood there silently, as she watched her sister collect her laptop, food, Marvin, and a USB. After grabbing all of these things, Phoebe headed downstairs, and onto the front porch. While she eats her dinner, and goes through the files on the flash drive, Isobel pays Rick a visit at the high school.
They argue about whether or not Isobel still cares about him – which Rick believes she still does. To prove it he removes his ring and vervain, and tosses them aside. Isobel explains to Rick that being a vampire is something that she wanted, but also something she will regret forever. She made a mistake leaving him, and when she thinks about everything she gave up, it hurts. She then compels him to forget their current encounter, and for his heart to be free of her. Isobel returns his ring to his finger, and flits away.
Back at the Gilbert house, Anna finally returns to Jeremy. She tells him that her mother was killed, and that's why she didn't answer, or return, his calls. Jeremy holds her, and she cries in his arms. Downstairs, John receives a call from Isobel, telling him she's left the device at his brother's old office. She also wants him to kill Stefan and Damon, along with all of the tomb vampires.
"Elena's already in love with Stefan, and Phoebe's falling for Damon," said Isobel. "They're our daughters, John. I don't want this life for them."
John stared out the window at his daughter on the porch, "I know."
As the next few hours went by, Phoebe searched through the files Isobel gave her, with a fine-toothed comb. When she got tired, she made herself some coffee, and kept searching. Eventually, she found her answer...no one in Isobel's family had ever had the same condition. Phoebe stood up from the bench swing she had been sitting on for the past several hours, coffee mug still in hand. She began to pace the porch, muttering to herself. Eventually she stepped down off of the porch, looking out towards the street, and began walking. As she did, the coffee mug slowly fell, spilling coffee on the ground before falling itself.
Meanwhile at the Boarding house, Stefan joined his brother in the library to have a little chat.
Damon didn't even have to look at his brother to know there was something he wanted to say, "Get it out, Stefan. Purge."
"I know you and Phoebe have bonded. And I know she cares about you. And, uh, I know you care about her," Stefan began.
Damon turned around to face his brother, with a grin on his face, "Well, this is going in an interesting direction."
"Elena and I don't want Phoebe to get hurt," said Stefan.
"Neither do I. Phoebe's a very good friend. Actually, she might qualify as my only friend," said Damon. "Is that a problem?"
"She's not Katherine, Damon. You can't just use her to play pretend, and then leave once you get bored," said Stefan.
Damon became irritated, "I'm not playing pretend, Stefan, I know she's not Katherine. That's what I like about her."
Stefan's phone began to ring, before either one could say anything more. It was Elena, and she sounded quite distressed.
"Stefan, have you seen Phoebe? Is she there?" Elena asked. Stefan looked to Damon, who just shook his head.
"She's not here," Stefan answered. "Is everything okay?"
"I don't know. When I got up I saw that her door was still open, and she wasn't in bed. I went downstairs to look for her, but she wasn't there. When I looked outside I found her laptop still sitting there, and a coffee mug in the front yard," Elena explained.
"Have you tried calling her? Or Matt? Maybe she went over to Matt's," Stefan suggested.
"I called Matt, she isn't there. And she left her phone here," Elena replied. "Stefan, all of the cars are here, too, so she didn't drive anywhere. I don't understand, she never leaves without leaving a note for us."
"We're on our way," Stefan told her, and hung up the phone.
By the time the brothers arrived at the Gilbert house, Elena had already woken the whole house, and told them about Phoebe. Rick, Matt, Caroline, and Bonnie had also shown up to help with a search. Those four combined with the Salvatore brothers, Jenna, John, and Jeremy amounted to the same number as Sheriff Forbes' deputy staff. Because of this – and the fact that it was a small town – it was decided they would look for Phoebe themselves, rather than call the sheriff.
Jeremy volunteered to stay home incase Phoebe returned, so he could stay with Anna. The rest split up in pairs: Matt and Caroline took Matt's truck, Rick and Jenna took Rick's car, Stefan and Elena took Stefan's car, John and Damon took John's car, and Bonnie went to Matt's in case Phoebe showed up there.
While they drove around, John kept the windows down and the air off, so Damon could listen for Phoebe. After a while, John asked him, "You really care about her, don't you?"
"If it alright with you, John, I'd prefer to skip the whole getting to know your daughter's possible suitor chat," Damon replied, without even looking at him.
"The fact that my daughter is falling head over heels for you is exactly why I wanna have this talk, Damon," said John. "I wanna know what she sees in you."
"Well, if I ever find that out, I'll be sure to let you know," replied Damon.
John twitched a small smirk, before something in the road caught his eye. He pulled the car over, and got out to see what it was.
"What is it?" Damon asked, following him.
John picked up the stuffed pig that was in the middle of the road, and handed it to Damon, "It's Marvin."
"She must be close," Damon remarked, looking around.
"Try listening," said John.
Damon closed his eyes and focused all of his attention on his hearing. There was a sound of squeaking metal coming from not too far away, which he told John about.
"The park," John said. "Phoebe loves to swing. You go, I'll take the car and meet you there."
Damon nodded and flitted towards the sound. Much to his relief, Phoebe was there, sitting on a swing. He gave a sigh of relief, and joined her at the swings. As he approached her he noticed that she was staring off into space, as though in a daze.
"Phoebe?" said Damon, questioningly.
She didn't respond. Damon waved his hand back and forth in front of her face to get her attention, but it had no effect.
"Damon!" called John, jogging over from the parking lot. When he got closer, he saw her dazed demeanor. "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," Damon answered.
Both men knelt in front of her, trying their best to get her attention, but nothing worked. Damon stood up and tried to think of what to do. He saw Marvin sitting there, and remembered what Elena had said:
"Marvin's just her favorite thing," Elena explained. "Holding him calms her down when she's mad, comforts her when she's sad, and makes her feel safe when she has nightmares – which she has a lot of."
Damon grabbed Marvin and knelt back down in front of Phoebe, "Phoebe? Look who's here. It's Marvin. Oink, oink."
Phoebe looked at Marvin, and smiled. As she reached out to take Marvin, she told Damon, "Marvin doesn't 'oink'. He's too sophisticated."
Damon and John smiled.
"Of course he is," said Damon.
"Phoebe, what are you doing out here this time of night?" John asked.
Phoebe's smiled vanished, and she stared back into space, "I'm not sure. I was pacing the porch, thinking, and then..."
The two men waited for her to finish her thought, but she didn't.
"What were you thinking about?" Damon asked.
"I was trying to understand," said Phoebe. "It didn't make sense."
"What didn't make sense?" John asked.
"None of them had it. None of them," Phoebe answered.
John's body language told Damon he knew what she was talking about, so he asked him, "What's she talking about, John?"
"Her condition. No one in my family has ever had Cystic Fibrosis, so she was hoping someone in her mother's family had it," John answered.
"Cystic Fibrosis? What's that?" Damon asked.
"She didn't tell you she had it?" John asked. Damon shook his head. "It's a rare hereditary disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system. It's treatable, and as long as she takes her medicine she'll be fine."
Damon looked over at Phoebe's wrist, and for the first time, noticed her bracelet. Then he realized, "You said her condition's hereditary. If she didn't get it from your family, and she didn't get it from Isobel's, then how the hell did she get it?"
"I have no idea. I just always assumed she got it from Isobel's family," said John.
"Okay, so what has her like this? What sent her into this catatonic state?" Damon questioned.
"You haven't spent much time with people of genius intellect, have you?" John asked, somewhat rhetorically. Damon gave him a look, so he explained. "People like Phoebe thrive on logic. And when something doesn't make sense to them, it bothers them. They get tunnel vision and obsess over it, until they find a solution. In this case, I don't think she knows where to look for the answer, so she's just...shut down."
"Well, how do we get her out of it?" Damon asked.
"I don't know," John answered.
Damon thought for a moment, then offered, "I can compel her not to obsess over it."
"Absolutely not," said John. "You're not gonna compel her to do anything."
"I've compelled her before, John," said Damon. John looked upset at that. "Once. And she asked me to do it."
"You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger," Phoebe began. She sounded like she was half asleep. Damon's eyes widened in shock, as she spoke. "I want you to get everything you're looking for. But for now, I want you to forget that this happened."
John looked at Damon, who was visibly uncomfortable, "What's she talking about?"
"That's not possible," said Damon, staring at Phoebe. "How do you remember that?"
"Because I want to," said Phoebe.
Damon stood up, as did John.
"What is she talking about, Damon?" John asked.
"The first time I met Phoebe was nine months ago, before her par—your brother and his wife died," Damon began. "She was at a party with all the other high school kids. When she walked away from the party, she found me lying in the middle of the road. We talked for a little bit, but I compelled her to forget about it."
John put aside his anger that he had used compulsion on his daughter, and asked, "Then how does she remember it?"
"I have no idea," Damon snapped, freaked out by what was going on. "When I compelled her to forget about Vicki Donovan's death – like she asked me to – it worked. I don't understand how one compulsion worked but not the other."
"Maybe you didn't do it right," John mused.
"I did it right," Damon snapped.
John thought for a moment, then offered, "Maybe she's too smart."
"What?" Damon asked.
"Studies in mind control show that those unwilling to relinquish control of their minds, and with strong enough minds to resist, can't be controlled," John explained. "Phoebe has an IQ of 167. Maybe she can't be compelled, unless she wants to be."
Damon thought about it, as he looked at Phoebe on the swing, holding Marvin.
"You heard what she said, she said she wanted to remember what you told her to forget," John pushed. "And with the Donovan girl, she wanted to forget about it, so she let you make her forget."
Damon caught a shiver, and shook it off, "This is just spooky."
Damon knelt back down, and removed Phoebe's necklace.
"Whoa, what are you doing?" John asked.
"I'm going to ask her if she wants me to compel her not to obsess over this," Damon answered. He looked Phoebe in the eye and made his offer. She accepted. "Phoebe, I know this is hard for you to wrap your head around, but you will find your answer one day. And as long as you believe that, you'll be okay. Don't let this cripple you, Phoebe. Search for an answer, but don't stop living your life."
Damon broke the compulsion, and returned her necklace. It worked. Phoebe snapped out of her daze, and became aware again.
"Oh, no," she groaned, looking at Damon. She buried her hands in her face in embarrassment. "You're totally freaked out by me now, aren't you?"
Damon reached up and pulled her hands away from her face. He looked her in the eye, as he told her, "Of course I'm freaked out by you, Phoebe, who wouldn't be? You're strange, and quirky, and sassy, and whole bunch of other things. But you know what?"
"You need to seriously rethink your pep talking skills?" Phoebe replied.
"I'm still here," he told her. "And I'm not going anywhere."
Phoebe smiled, "I have no idea why."
Damon shrugged, as he stood up, and extended a hand towards her, "Let's get you home."
Phoebe took his hand and got to her feet, but quickly fell back down into the seat, "Ow!"
"What is it?" John asked, moving closer.
"I think I might have a few splinters...maybe glass ones," Phoebe replied.
Damon bent down and picked her up bridal-style, "Always an excuse to have me carry you."
Phoebe giggled, and he carried her to the car. John stood there for a moment, thinking. Were Damon not a vampire, he might actually approve of him being with Phoebe. It was obvious how much he cared about her, and he was very good with her. He handled her crazy, and her quirky. And even when he was freaked out by her, he never abandoned her.
Once in the car, John and Damon began calling everyone to tell them they had found her. They also set up the cover story that Phoebe had fallen asleep on the porch, and wound up sleepwalking over to the park. When they got to the house, Damon carried her inside, and set her on the couch. Everyone let her know how worried they had been, and how happy they were that she was okay. John later noted that Damon hadn't left, and was the one taking care of her splintered feet. Damon really cared for Phoebe, there was no denying that. The problem for John was what to do about it. Should he do what Isobel requested, and kill him and his brother? Or should he let them live?
One more chapter left for season 1, guys! Who will die? Who will live? What will John decide to do? How will Katherine react to what Phoebe said about her? How will Katherine react to Phoebe in general? Who's ready for Phoebe and Damon's first kiss? Let me know what you guys think in a review. And don't forget to vote on which Original brother (Klaus or Elijah or both) Phoebe should catch the eye of. I can't seem to get the poll to work, so just leave it in a review. So far I've got a lot of votes for Elijah, and one for Klaus/both. Thank you guys so much for all your support, please keep it up!