So sorry I haven't updated in a while, but Internet connection has been hellish around here because of the weather. Today is the first time I saw the sun again after 12 days of raining!

Without any further ado, here is the next chappie!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and their backgrounds.

February 14th

Rayna POV

It's been a week since we locked up Stefan in the basement, and he had done little to no progress to return to his former normal self. He refused to drink any blood, human or otherwise, and barely spoke to any of us, Elena included. It crushed her to see him like this, but she seemed determined to get him back on his feet.

As I got ready to go to school, Pearl came to find me in my room. "Good morning Rayna, may I have a moment?"

"Sure, come on in," I nodded, tossing the rest of my books in the bag. "How can I help you?"

"I wanted to give you something, I think it will be safer with you." She took what looked like a device from her pocket and handed it over to me. I inspected it, almost fascinated by it. It was some sort of a device, but it was nothing like I had ever seen before. It had some sort of magical aura, like it was enchanted, but I could not be sure about it.

"What is this?"

"It's a device I took from Johnathan Gilbert, the night I was taken to be locked up in the tomb. At first, I thought it was the vampire compass he had made and tracked us with, but it's something else. Whatever it is, it cannot be good for any vampire."

"Then I'll hold on to it until we are sure what to do with it. Maybe Damon can tell us what is going on with is."

"I doubt it, but who knows? Now, you should get ready for school, you are going to be late," she finished, turning all motherly on me.

"Alright," I nodded, trying to keep the smile off of my face.

After school I drove to the Boarding House to check on Stefan once again. Damon was sitting in the living room, reading on a random book when I walked in.

"Hello there," he simply said as he saw me coming in.

"Well, things must be really bad if you have decided to read a book to pass your time," I retorted, earning a roll of his eyes.

"I'll have you know I do enjoy reading a book occasionally."

"Really, 'cause I don't recall seeing you read ever before."

"I had other things on my lap, or others," he finished with a smirk, making me wanna slap him, but I held myself.

"Well, you can finish that later. We have things to discuss."

"What is it this time?" he groaned.

"This," I pulled the device out of my bag. His interest sparked immediately as he eyed the weird invention on my hand.

"What is that?"

"The device that Pearl took from Johnathan Gilbert, the one John Gilbert was asking for. Pearl gave it to me this morning. She thinks it will be safer if I have it."

"Well, you are the least possible person to give it to John Gilbert, but I think it's better if we keep it in here," he took it softly from my hand to inspect it closely.

"That's what I was thinking. I cannot imagine John Gilbert having the nerve to come here and roam through the entire place to find it."

"What does it do though?"

"I have no idea, and neither did Pearl, but I can sense a magical aura from it, but it's very faint, like it's missing a part of it. Whatever it is, it can't be good for vampires."

"Obviously. Do you think that, given the fact that Emily was around back then, this might have Bennett magic in it?"

"I have no idea. As far as I know, she was not the only witch around. At least 100 witches lived close by, and if one of them is responsible for the magic in it, we're in for quite a search party. Then again, the magic has to be powerful for it to survive this long after the witch's death, so that limits our search field."

"Still, I have the feeling that Emily had a hand behind this. She was not exactly a fan of vampires, even though she served Katherine."

"I guess I can take it to Sheila, though I'm not sure if she is going to be happy to see me. Ever since she heard about Stefan going out of control, she has been behaving rather strangely. It kinda creeps me out."

"Witches are always creeping me out," he shrugged.

"Does that include me?" I fake pouted, and I felt so amused at his flabbergasted expression.

"Well, sometimes. Like that night in Georgia, or down in the tomb. The power you showed off is really something, and I would be stupid not to be scared of it."

"I told you before, as long as you don't cross me, you are safe," I reminded him. The front door opened and closed, and Elena came in, looking as bad as she did this morning at school.

"Hey," I greeted her, and she barely nodded.

She didn't even speak as she made her way down to the basement. I got up and followed her, with Damon right behind me. She stood at the door of Stefan's cell, watching him with sad eyes before a faint sound came from the cell, making her yank the door open and enter it in record time. I hurried behind her, and saw that Stefan was thrashing mildly, his eyes tightly shut. He was having a bad dream.

"He's dreaming, isn't he?" Elena asked with a broken voice.

"He's hallucinating. Being without blood for a whole week will cause him to see the worst parts of his life play right before his eyes," Damon informed us.

"Stefan, Stefan!" Elena tried to shake him awake.

"Elena come on out, you don't know how he will react if he wakes up," Damon tried to pull her off.

"No. Let me go," she yanked her arm away from his grasp.

"Stefan please, you have to fight it, please," she pleaded, her eyes all teary. Stefan didn't reply, he only cracked his eyes open, and they were so full of pain it physically hurt me to see him like this.

"I love you Stefan, please come back to me," Elena whispered as Damon pulled her off of his brother and out of the cell. I walked out and he locked the door, leaving Stefan inside.

"Let's go upstairs, it will only hurt us to see him like this," I suggested, and thankfully enough they obliged.

We returned to the living room and sat, silent and unmoving. "It's so hard seeing him locked up like this," Elea said softly.

"You're the one who locked him up," Damon retorted.

"You helped," she threw right back at him.

"I couldn't have him running around chewing on people while the council was looking for vampires now could I?"

"It had nothing to do with you actually caring about him?" I asked this time, not believing that he had no feelings towards his brother at all.

"Your thing girls, not mine," he shook his head as he went to pour himself a drink. Elena rolled her eyes and noticed the device on the coffee table.

"What is that?"

"A device that your ancestor created, Johnathan Gilbert. Pearl had taken it from him, and she gave it to me this morning. Your uncle John is looking for it, so I brought it here to keep it safe," I explained to her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We have no clue. Rayna says that it has some sort of magic in it, but it's missing a part, so the magic is barely noticeable. Basically, it doesn't work," Damon shrugged. "Pearl didn't say anything else about it?"

"No. She thought it was the compass, but we already know it wasn't, so this is just another mystery to be solved. If uncle John wants it however, it cannot be anything good for the vampires. Have you spoken to him at all?" I asked her.

"I've been avoiding him actually. That, and I've been here most nights."

"So, you'll be here tonight again?" Damon asked as he sat beside me.

"Is that a problem?" "

Yeah, you are a nuisance," he nodded, trying to be serious, but I could tell he didn't mean it.

"Well, I'll come over tonight, so she won't be alone, and you can leave if you want," I offered, making him roll his eyes at me.

"Well, I'll go see if he is okay," Elena got up and made her way to the basement.

"Just don't go in the cell, okay?" I called out, and she faintly nodded before going down the stairs.

I left not long after that, to go get my essentials for my sleepover with Elena. It wasn't going to be like the sleepovers we had as kids, but at least I could try to distract her from Stefan's torment. She had suffered a lot these past few months, and the one person that had been her pillar, was suffering because of what he was. She needed the support.

Ethan was outside my house when I stepped off, and I groaned, knowing that this was not going to end well. "Well, if it isn't my all slutty girlfriend," he commented acidly.

"Go away Ethan, I have more important things to do," I waved him off, but he grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me sharply towards him.

"How long have you and Damon been fucking?" he growled at my face, anger flashing in his eyes. I froze for a sec, but my anger almost peaked as I pulled my arm from his grasp.

"Well, I'll bet you would love to know that, right? For your information, I was completely faithful to you during our entire relationship, unlike you. But since you so graciously decided to abandon me, it's only logical for me to go look for a new boyfriend. Who that will be is none of your business, so I strongly suggest you leave me alone and go on with your life. I know I will," I finished as I got in my car and drove away, leaving him seething outside my house.

My arm hurt, and I was sure there was going to be a bruise there tomorrow, but I simply shrugged it off. Now that I thought about it, Ethan had turned out to be quite the short tempered man. Maybe it was for the best that we broke up.

The sun had hidden behind the trees by the time I reached the boarding House for the second time that day, but there was still light around. As I let myself in, I heard Elena and Damon talking.

"He's just being dramatic, he's not going to starve himself," Damon assured Elena.

"Then why would he say that?" Elena shot back.

"He feels bad about hurting that girl and Rayna. It's a very typical Stefan martyr stuff. It'll pass."

"And if it doesn't?" I asked, interrupting them.

"Trust me, it will," Damon insisted.

"Will it? Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain," Elena backed me up.

"Yeah well, that will pass too, once he eats," Damon shrugged.

"I didn't mean physical pain," Elena retorted.

"I know what you meant. Look, are you girls gonna be okay here if I have to run out? I have to go to an errand with the teacher."

"Since when do you and Alaric hang around each other without any death threats being thrown around?" I smirked at him, and he rolled his eyes at me. "Or did you two decide to become friends now?"

"I don't have friends Rayna," Damon simply replied.

"Right," Elena nodded, not convinced at all.

"You should stay up here by the way, don't go down there, at least not one at a time. If you're gonna go down, go together," Damon looked really serious as he said that.

"We'll be fine," Elena waved him off. I, in turn, was very curious as to why he was going somewhere with Alaric.

"Damon, where are you and Alaric going?" I asked him, and he avoided looking me in the eye.

"I told you, to run an errand," he simply replied as he slipped on his jacket. A car honk was heard from outside, and he hurried to leave.

"Good night ladies," he waved at us, but I followed him outside.

"Where do you think you are going?" Damon stopped me at the door.

"To say good evening to my History teacher," I smiled at him, but he didn't budge.

"It's none of your business Rayna, you should stay with Elena, in case Stefan tries anything."

"Hello Alaric, how are you this fine evening?" I asked my teacher, completely ignoring Damon.

"Uh, good," he answered uneasily.

"Okay, enough with the pleasantries. If you two have decided to go anywhere together, it must mean there is something very important wherever you are going, and I want to know what that is," I declared, folding my arms while fixing them with a stern gaze.

It took Alaric two minutes to cave in and start talking. "I had a friend of mine track John Gilbert's calls, and he found out some very interesting things."

"Which you are going to investigate no doubt, so I'm coming with you."

"No, that is a definite negative," Damon shook his head as he tried to pull me back in the house, drag me to be more specific.

"Sorry to disappoint you Damon, but I am coming with you even if you don't like it," I pulled my arm free of his grasp and made my way to the car once again.

"What about Elena? Are you going to leave her alone with Stefan at his state?"

"I trust both him and her Damon. Besides, you might need my help and they need time alone to figure things out. I'm just gonna be in the way." He stared at me for about two minutes before sighing, defeated.

"Okay fine. But only as long as you stay within our gazes. I don't want to have to worry about you as well okay? I have the nice teacher already," Damon grumbled, and I tried really hard to keep myself from bursting in laughter. He was being so ridiculous, it was almost cute. Actually, scratch that. It was really cute. He tried so hard to not let it show that he cared about me, but he failed miserably.

We reached Grove Hill in a little over an hour, and tension was running high. Alaric's car was quite comfortable, and quite spacey as well, it being a silver 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe. We reached a series of neat houses, all looking almost the same. I got out and Alaric grabbed a few "essentials" from his trunk before we started looking for the mysterious house we were looking for.

"This one here," Alaric pointed to one of the apartments on our left. "The records show it was paid 3 months in advance."

"This is where it gets tricky," Damon stated as he looked at the place. "I may or may not be able to get in."

"Yeah?" Alaric asked, amused. "How does that work anyway? You always have to be invited in?"

"Yeah, by the owner or the person of entitlement," Damon replied. "Short-term rentals and hotels are a bit of a grey area. You kind of have to play it by ear."

"Okay. Hey, can we please no kill anyone tonight?" Alaric turned to him, and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Actually, that is a very good idea," I nodded, and Damon glanced at me and rolled his eyes at me as well.

"You mean you brought me all the way at here just for the pleasure of my company?"

"Oh, he figured us out," I fake-groaned, and he rolled his eyes at me yet again.

Alaric opened the door and he walked in checking all possible angles and corners in case there was someone there.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone home," I whispered as I followed in after him. I couldn't exactly feel someone in the house, but who knew what could pop out of the next corner. My powers had evolved greatly over the past few months, but I was far from what Sheila Bennet was, even with my added gift.

"Yeah, and I'm good," Damon said as he walked through the threshold without any problems.

"No permanent residents here apparently," he added as he closed the door behind him. We walked further down the hall, with Damon going in the kitchen while Alaric and I checked the living room.

"Ah, guys, we have company," Damon said as he opened the fridge, just as someone flashed right by me and attacked Alaric, pinning him on the wall. The vampire thrashed, growling at the teacher, but he barely flinched. Instead, he punched the guy in the stomach with what looked like wooden knuckles. The vampire drew back, hissing, but he got up, ready to attack again. I sent a violent pain through his body and he collapsed, groaning in pain.

"Come now boys, play nicely," I quipped as Damon came to join us.

"Easy there honey," he simply said as he leaned over the vampire. "I know you."

"Damon?" the vampire asked as he got up, obviously recognizing our comrade.

"Your name is Henry. You were in the tomb," Damon stated, and I gasped softly in surprise. A tomb vampire? This was not good. If there were others around here, our odds were not in our favor.

"Yes sir," Henry nodded as he almost smiled at Damon. "What are you doing here?"

We all sat in the living room, Henry staring at me intently, he turned to look at Damon. "So, how do you know John Gilbert?"

"Oh, John and I have been friends for years. How do you know him?" Damon asked back.

"I met him right after I got out of the tomb. He's been helping me out."

"With what?" I asked.

"Adapting to this time. It's a whole new world. Cars, computers, . There's so much to learn. He helped me get this place."

"So, do you live here alone or is there someone else around?" Alaric asked aggressively.

"What my friend here is trying to ask in the nicest way is if you know a woman named Isobel," Damon reconciled, glancing at Alaric with a warning in his eyes.

"Uh, no, I don't know any Isobel. I know John. He's my only friend. He taught me things like how to use a microwave, separate my whites, he really showed me the ropes," Henry replied. "I have to ask however, who are you?" he turned to me. "You look an awful lot like someone I knew a long time ago."

"If that someone is Victoria Silverstone, she was my ancestor. What else do you know about John?" I answered, trying to be polite.

"I knew those eyes looked familiar. She was a beautiful woman, your ancestor. And though many men desired her, she was ever faithful to her husband. As for John, I just help him keep an eye on the others."

"The others?" Alaric asked uneasily.

"From the tomb. They are still really pissed at the founding families for trying to burn them alive. I'm okay with it, but the others definitely want revenge."

"What does John want with them?" Damon asked this time.

"He's just keeping an eye on them, you know? Trying to make sure they stay out of trouble."

"Well, that's John, such a do-gooder," Damon smiled, though there was nothing real about that smile.

Henry's phone started ringing, and he took it out of his pocket to see who the caller was.

"Hey, that's John," he chuckled. Damon looked alarmed, but I was faster.

"Hey, why don't you let me talk to him?" I smiled at him, and he almost blushed before handing me the phone.

"Sure, here."

I took the phone in my hands, and simply stared at the screen. The name read John Gilbert, but I wasn't going to answer it anytime soon.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Henry asked, looking nervous.

"I don't know," I tilted my head. "Do I?" I turned to look at Damon.

"Yeah, probably not," he shook his head. Henry's features turned vampiric as he tried to attack me but Damon grabbed him and Alaric staked him from behind, straight through the heart. Henry's skin turned grey as he took the last breaths of his life and Damon let him collapse on the ground, dead.

"Let's not kill anyone tonight," he pointed out as he looked at Alaric and me. "I thought this was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Let's get out of here," I shook my head as I tossed the phone on the couch and made my way to the door.

"Not yet, we have to search the place," Damon held me back softly, and I shrugged before I made my way to the bedroom.

We searched the entire place twice, but nothing useful came out. We drove back in silence, and Alaric dropped both of us at the Boarding House. Elena was sitting by the lit fireplace, doing her homework when we came in.

"Uh, you're still here?" Damon groaned as he collapsed on the couch beside me.

"Were you expecting anything else?" Elena retorted, closing her book.

"No," Damon shook his head, leaning it back, exhausted.

"So, how was the errand? Did you guys get it finished?"

"No, it was futile. Waste of a good evening," I shook my head, rolling my shoulders to relax them. It had been a stressful day.

"Has Stefan eaten yet?" Damon asked.

"I thought you didn't care," Elena interjected.

"Chalk it up to morbid curiosity," he shrugged.

"I think he's getting there," Elena replied. "But he's got a lot of guilt that he has to deal with. And it doesn't help that you've spent the last 145 years punishing him for Katherine getting caught."

"This is my fault now?" Damon sat up, looking irritated.

"It's no one's fault Damon," I tried to ease the tension.

"That's true, but you're not exactly innocent," Elena added. "It doesn't help the fact that you've made it your life's purpose to make him miserable."

Damon got up, looking really pissed off as he strode angrily towards Elena. "Let me ask you a question. In all this important soul-searching and cleansing of the demons of Stefan's past, did you ever manage to get the rest of the story?"

"He said there was more," Elena said, unsure.

"That's an understatement," Damon scoffed, walking away, but Elena stopped him.

"Tell me," she simply asked, and he glanced at me before sitting down across from Elena and started his story.

Flashback

"At the end of the day we both woke up in transition, I was in the old quarry just outside of town, waiting for my body to give out so I could die and be reunited with Katherine, when Stefan came, along with a young woman, maybe in your age. He had transitioned, and he definitely looked different, like he actually liked being a vampire. The worst thing, he asked me to feed on the girl, so we could explore the world together. When I refused, telling him that an eternity without Katherine was not what I wanted, he simply bit on the girl's neck, and tempted me with it. I caved in and fed, turning into a vampire myself.

"From the moment Stefan fed on human blood, he was a different person," Damon poured a drink as he spoke, and I could see how much it hurt him to remember all those things. "I suppose I should thank him though. It's been a hell of a ride." He downed his drink, and Elena froze, her face the mask of absolute horror.

"He said he wanted to die," she muttered, obviously referring to Stefan. "That's why he won't feed. Now I understand why, but…" she trailed off.

"His choice," Damon shrugged. "If he's stupid enough to make it, then so be it," Damon shrugged as he downed a second drink. He was doing it again, trying to shut off everyone else and dull the pain he was feeling. Elena ignored him and ran down the stairs to the basement.

"Where are you going?" Damon called out, but she didn't even listen to him. She came back a few moments later, holding Stefan's ring.

"Where did you find that?" I asked her.

"On the cot. Stefan's gone though, but I think I know where he's going," she grabbed her jacket and headed out.

We spent a few moments in silence before Damon spoke again. "I don't see you surprised on the story," he stated bitterly as he sipped on the couch.

"Stefan had told me about the whole situation when we locked you up."

"And let me guess: you are rooting for him, right? The Saint Stefan that always does the good things and me, the bad boy Damon that just kills for fun and torments every living soul around him," Damon muttered as he turned to walk away, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.

"I never said that," I replied softly, and he turned to look at me, his angry face soothing a little. "Nobody categorizes you, despite what you have done ever since you came here. It seems that both you and Stefan have done your fair share of mistakes in the past, but you have also done good things. The only thing that I'm holding against you though is that you continue tormenting him, and act like you don't care, when in reality you actually do."

"I don't care about him," Damon growled as he got in my face, trying to intimidate me. "He condemned me in a life without Katherine, he was always in my way, he was my father's beloved son, he was always the perfect one when I couldn't do anything right for the life of me. Even you prefer him over me, don't you?" he accused, his eyes full of hatred.

"Where did that even come from?" I asked, confused.

"That day at the school, I heard you saying to Vicki Donovan that you prefer Stefan over me, since I am too cocky and have too much swagger." I remembered the time he talked about and I snorted, earning a glare from him.

"I knew you were listening in Damon, I wanted to rile you up, and back then I thought you were just a jackass that killed people for fun. In a way, you are worse than Stefan, because you can't see the real reason he tempted you with that girl and forced you to feed on her."

"Which is?"

"Damon, before Katherine came along, the two of you were best friends, he told me so. When he realized that he had killed your father, he turned off his emotions without even realizing it. After that, he ran to the only person he trusted more than anyone, you. He wanted to have you with him, not to explore the world, but because deep down, even with his emotions turned off, he was so scared of facing eternity without you, without the one person who knew him inside out and would do anything for him.

He never really loved Katherine, and her compulsion wore off when he transitioned, so he did the one thing he had to do in order to stay relatively sane. He turned you. But you were so enraged with the fact that Katherine wanted both of you in her life, that you didn't even consider that possibility, and simply thought he was jealous of you."

Damon stood frozen in shock, trying to process the info I had given him. I approached him slowly, stopping right in front of him before I continued. "Even to this day, he wants his brother back, but not the jackass emotionless you, the somewhat human and emotional Damon that even I know lies deep inside you," I added as I touched his chest, right over where his heart was.

"He feels guilty Damon, guilty for your torment, for all the things you both did over the past 145 years. I know it's not easy to forgive him, but can you at least give it a try?" I tilted my head, staring straight into his blue eyes that were filled with so many emotions, it was impossible to decipher them.

"It's not that easy," Damon shook his head, turning away, trying to avoid me.

"Can you at least try?" I pushed on. "For whatever relationship you had before Katherine found you and ruined your lives?"

He turned to look at me, but this time his eyes held only one emotion besides anger. There was a tiny flicker of hope in there, but it was very faint. "He still wants you in his life Damon, he needs his brother."

"And who says that I need him?" he flashed to me, grabbing my arms a bit too roughly. Normally it wouldn't hurt me, but with Ethan's grab earlier today, I couldn't stop the wince that escaped my lips. The skin was still a bit tender. Damon let me go at once, and my hand went to the arm Ethan had grabbed. I massaged it, trying to soothe the pain that Damon had awoken, and he must have noticed the end of the bruise, as his hands went to the end of my T-shirt and pulled the fabric aside, revealing a bright red, almost purple hand shaped bruise.

"Who did this to you?" he demanded in a serious voice.

"That is not your concern," I pulled the sleeve back down.

"It was him, Ethan, right? He did this to you," Damon said, rage burning in his icy blue eyes.

"It doesn't matter Damon, let it go. You are avoiding the real issue here."

"I think you are avoiding the issue here," he pulled the sleeve back up and traced the bruise with a feathery touch. The bruise had already formed, and was starting to turn to an angry purple color. "I think this boy needs a lesson," he growled.

"You will not go near him. I'm not going back to him, and he just confronted me about what you told him the night of the party, that's all. It's over, done with, never to be mentioned again."

"No. A man that treats his girlfriend like this should not allowed to walk around free Rayna, it's not right," Damon shook his head.

"He's not my boyfriend anymore Damon. And since when do you follow what is right and what is wrong? You don't even care about your own brother, right?" I threw bitterly at him, and he stepped back, a look of hurt in his blue eyes. Silence filled the room, separating us like we were miles away and not only centimeters. I regretted my words in an instant, but it was too late for me to take them back.

Stefan and Elena both returned from wherever they had gone a while later, and Stefan looked actually okay. I abandoned the book I had been reading and got up. "Hey, look who's back," I smiled at him, hugging him tightly.

"Hey," he hugged me back. "I'm sorry for attacking you."

"It's okay, that was not you. The Stefan I know is here now, and that's all I care about. What's done is done and it's in the past," I smiled at him. He smiled at the sound of that.

"I'll wait for you upstairs," Elena said to him as she smiled at me and headed to the upper floor.

"Goodnight Damon," were her last words before she disappeared upstairs.

"Well, it looks like I'll be going home tonight, no slumber party," I stated as I grabbed my bag and jacket.

"Hey, you can still stay here," Stefan stopped me.

"No, it's better if I go home. I wanted to stay so Elena wouldn't be alone, but I think she prefers your company over mine," I smiled, and he chuckled, lowering his head. "See you tomorrow boys," I winked at both of them as I went out the door. Damon didn't even glance at me as I closed the door.

It was a quiet walk home, but nothing could prepare me for the sight I came across when I turned on our road. Apart from my car and my dad's car, there was another one, a red Seat Cordoba, the same one I had seen outside Elena's house for the past few days. John Gilbert was here? This was not good.

I walked faster, trying to get in the house as soon as I could when I heard things breaking in the living room. There was a battle going on in there. I burst through the front door, and found my dad fighting with John, while Anna and Pearl were laying on the floor, groaning, but still alive apparently. I rushed to Anna, checking to see if she was okay.

"What can I do?" I asked her, and she pointed at John, who was trying to pin my father on the floor.

"Stop him," Anna said in a hoarse voice. John was about to hit my dad on the head, so I jumped on him and pushed him away, making both of us crash on the floor with a thud.

"Rayna, you have to let me go, those two women want to hurt you," he said as he got up, grasping the stake he had on his hand firmly as he went for Anna first. I used my powers to push him off of her and pin him on the opposite wall.

"What the freaking hell?" he gasped as he turned to look at me.

"What are you?" he demanded, looking angry.

"What am I? Try pissed, since you burst in my home totally uninvited and tried to hurt my friends and family. Now, what are you doing here?"

"They compelled you and your father, please let me help you," he tried to plea with me.

"My father has been consuming vervain ever since we came here and I cannot be compelled since I am a witch. As for them, Anna and Pearl can stay here as long as they want, not that it's any of your business."

"You are offering them shelter?" John asked, surprised.

"Well, you were offering shelter to poor Henry, so it's touché, don't you think?"

"Henry?" my dad questioned as he looked up from where he was, beside Pearl.

"Yes. Our town's beloved son was protecting one of the tomb vampires in a house in Grove Hill. Too bad he tried to attack me, he seemed like a nice guy."

"You killed him?" John gasped.

"When someone tries to harm me, I take them down. The same thing happens with those who try to harm my friends. But, since I'm in a particularly good mood tonight, I think I'll let you off with a warning." I let him drop on the floor, and he landed with a thud.

"Why are you protecting them? They are demons, as are your buddy Stefan and your boyfriend Damon."

"First off, Damon is not my boyfriend, and second, not all vampires are bad. You should know that, since you are protecting the ones that managed to escape from the tomb. You haven't said anything to the council, which means you are up to something, and I don't like to be kept in the dark. What are your plans for the vampires in Mystic Falls?"

"I am simply trying to keep my town safe, just like our ancestors did, just like your ancestors did. You are betraying your grandparents Rayna."

"My grandma was just like me, so I doubt that, and you still haven't answered my question. What do you plan on doing?"

"He asked for the device I gave you," Pearl said as my dad helped her up.

"Really? Now why would you want that Mr. Gilbert?"

"It belongs to my family, we have every right to have it."

"Well, Elena is also a part of your family, so it's okay to give it to her, right? Or maybe Jeremy?"

"Rayna," Anna warned me.

"No worries Anna, the device is hidden and safe in the Salvatore residence. I think I'll leave it there, but you are welcome to go and get it," I turned to John once again. "I'm sure Damon will be more than happy to see you. I will keep your ring here though," I pulled it out of his finger, and John lost all color from his face. "Ah, I think we found how to keep you in line, right? Now get out of here, before I let Anna and Pearl exact their revenge on you for your assault."

"I need my ring," he insisted as he got up.

"You will get it back when we are finished with the tomb vampires and you get the hell out of town. Until then, you will be our extra pair of eyes and ears on the council. If you have anything you want to share, you can tell it to me or my dad. Okay?" He just looked at me, then Anna, then my dad and Pearl, then back at me, and he nodded.

"Good. Goodnight Mr. Gilbert," I smiled at him, and he just stared at me before walking away and out of the house.

"Are you sure he will keep true to his word?" Anna asked.

"He is no longer protected from supernatural deaths, which means he is actually scared. I doubt he'll say anything to the council. If he does, I can just make him go crazy, feel so much pain he will actually kill himself just to be rid of the torment."

"Rayna, are you okay? You don't usually talk like this," my dad asked as he came closer to me to look at me closely.

"Dad, family is everything, you taught me that. Anyone threatening my family is going down, whoever that is. I'm just protecting my own," I shrugged.

Another problem solved. At least, I hoped. Hoped that John Gilbert didn't have any hidden aces under his sleeves. Otherwise, all hell would break loose in our quiet little town.

And there you have it. I never really liked the way John Gilbert killed Anna and Pearl on the show, so I decided to scare him a bit. Big things coming up everyone, with Damon and Rayna coming closer every day. But how long will sunshine last before the storm comes? :-)))))

Drop a review if you have the time... Till next time, see ya!