Review responses:

Guest: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Hopefully you'll find a few more feels in this one.

Linkan201: Thank you!

Only reviewer: Yeah, it just made more sense to have Damon escort her, less questions and outrage. And now you'll see how Stefan's death wish effects everyone in this part a little. I'm also excited to show you more Scarlett/Anna friendship here, and I will address John and werewolves later on. Promise.

Charmedbycharmed: You're along the right lines, but in my mind, neither of them are aware yet. If there is something, it's all subconscious for now. And yeah, I'm having a lot more fun with Jeremy than I thought I would when I started this story.

Finally, breaking the status quo because I really loved doing this first half for a change. You finally get to see how Sarah became a vampire along with her brothers. There's also quiet a bit of Sarah/Elena in this. Not very romantic though, sorry, but that'll be a while away anyway. For now though, we get more friendship moments, which I personally love. That's a slow burn for you.

Quick thanks to the new favourites and followers, really appreciate it you guys! And don't forget to leave a review, I respond to every one and that's the same for PMs. I just love hearing what you all have to say! Hope you all enjoy the latest update to the story and I'll see you later!

Chapter 26: Transition

Running through the woods, Sarah felt her legs begin to ache as her feet landed awkwardly on the uneven ground. She usually loved a stroll through the forest, but she never imagined running through it like this, not unless she was in a nightmare, which she currently felt like she was. Both her brothers had run off to save Katherine. The vampire who had destroyed their family and brought terror to the whole town. Now Father and the other Founding families were finally taking action and rounding them all up, including Katherine. Finally they were about to be rid of Katherine forever. And yet for some unnatural reason her brothers were trying to set her free. Correction, she knew why they was doing it. Love. She hated them for feeling that way. All she wanted was for things to get back to normal but they wouldn't let that happen. Katherine had them under her spell, an even more powerful one than she had used to control her.

Up ahead she spotted the towns folk running through the woods, torches and guns in hand. Only they were running away from the main road were the carriage with all the vampires was. Then she saw her brothers. Opening up the back of the carnage before pulling Katherine out. "No!" Sarah shouted as she ran the last few metres towards her brothers, shoving them aside when she got close enough. Having not been expecting such force from their sister, the two older Salvatores toppled over, landing on their backsides.

She then swung around, glaring down at the weak and thirsty Katherine. With the drug her Father had slipped them all, Katherine was weaker than Sarah had ever seen her. But she had no weapon, so she was going to have to kill Katherine with her barehands. A crime she was more than happy to commit for the safety of the town and her family. Her father would understand, he'd proclaim her a hero for doing it, rather than a murder.

Then catching Katherine's pleading eyes as they looked up to hers, Sarah cried in anger as she dropped down onto Katherine, hands wrapping around her neck as she began to squeeze. She was going to kill her, here and now, watch the life leave her eyes. But rather than see horror and dismay across her face, Sarah felt her blood boil when Katherine just smiled back at her. Another scream from Sarah as she tightened her hold on Katherine's neck only to get pulled away by her brothers. "Stop! No! She has to die! She deserves to die for what she's done to us!" Sarah screamed as her back hit the ground and her brothers ran to assist Katherine over her. She felt her heart spilt in two when she sat up seeing her brothers caring for the demon more than her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the two caress her and hold her in their arms. Why couldn't they see it? Why couldn't they see what she'd done to all of them!

"We're going to get you out of here," Stefan said to Katherine as she brushed her hair out of her face. He then turned to his brother. "Damon, hurry. Hurry," he pressed as Damon stood to get horses only for a shot to ring out through the forest. Sarah jumped from where she sat and skidded back about half a metre before she realised it hadn't been her that was shot. Then she saw Damon begin to fall.

"No."

The word escaped Sarah's lips as a quiet whisper. She tried to move but found her body had frozen. Thankfully her other brother was able to pull himself away from Katherine long enough to catch Damon before he hit the ground. "No! No. Damon," Stefan stammered as he held his brother in his arms.

Sarah finally moved, pushing herself up to her feet and running to her brothers, kneeling down on Damon's other side. Her hands shot to her mouth to hold back a screen of pure horror when she saw the red growing stain on his shirt and the hole that went straight through the fabric and his skin. "Damon," Sarah gasped. He wasn't moving anymore. "Damon!" Sarah shrieked, nearing hysteric as she began to shake her brother's fading body. From the depths of the forest Sarah could hear men coming their way. Was it one of them that had shot Damon? No, they were too far away for that. It had to have been someone else. Sarah immediately looked back over to Katherine's body. She'd been the source of all her problems, why wouldn't she have killed Damon too, just to make her suffering that much greater.

But there was no gun.

Sarah then felt her hand sink down as Damon's weight was passed completely onto her. She looked over to Stefan, seeing him reaching for a rifle as he rose up, reading his weapon. Sarah liked to think he was fighting for their dead brother but she wasn't that naive. She knew the truth. He was fighting for Katherine.

Silence suddenly spread out around Sarah, until she heard the click of a rifle. Her head swung off to the side and outside of Stefan's view, stood a shadowy figure with a rifle aimed right at him. "No!" Sarah screamed for the second time in a matter of minutes. She let Damon's body fall and stood, throwing herself out in front of Stefan as the second shot fired. Sharp pain rippled through her chest and the cold hand of death took hold. She hit the ground but hardly felt a thing. The pain from her chest was so much worse than that of hitting the ground. One hand made it to the bleeding wound, the other was trapped beneath her body, she hadn't the strength to move herself to set it free. A silent gasp of indescribable pain floated out her mouth.

Finally a third shot fired and Sarah heard a thud from behind. Stefan had dropped down. Now Katherine had truly killed her family. It wouldn't have surprised her if this had been part of Katherine's plan all along. It had all been part of her sick game to tear apart the Salvatore family. She'd won…Sarah was lost, alone, broken, cold and dying. The shock had taken over now and Sarah preyed it would last until she died. She was already dealing with more than enough mental pain, if she had to put up with the physical pain as well she'd…die. And that's precisely what she did. She lay in the forest along side her brothers and died right as the towns men came running over. Her last and final wish was that they'd give Katherine what she deserved.

Stefan was still lying on his cot. He'd barely moved since being locked away. Well, he'd moved around a lot at first, thrashing around the cell while he screamed and shouted desperately trying to escape and feed. Sarah had made sure to keep Elena and Scarlett back during that part. Thankfully Damon had just ignored him and remained out of the house during that phase, because if he had stayed he might have overheard Stefan shouting about Scarlett's secret. He did it to try and get a reaction out of his sister and it had almost worked until Elena and Scarlett pulled her back.

Not that long after the blood left Stefan's system and he began to calm down. To be on the safe side, Sarah and Damon had been injecting him with vervain since, just in case he tried something. He didn't though, he just sat quietly in his cell and when he wasn't doing that he was lying in his cot.

"It's hard to see him locked up like this," Elena said, her face up against the bars of the cell as she stared in. Sarah was behind her, leaning against the wall with just enough room to see in past Elena. She too was watching her brother as he lay with his back to the door. If only his mind was as peaceful as he looked right now.

She looked down to her hand which held Stefan's ring, twisting it back and forth between her fingers. Damon had suggested they remove it as a precaution, though Sarah was sure it was more about payback for Stefan taking his ring when they locked him up. But Elena had agreed with the idea and Sarah wasn't totally against it either. He hadn't put up much of a fight, in fact he had been almost willing to hand it over.

"He'll survive," Sarah said as she looked up from the ring, folding her arms and tucking the ring away beneath her leather jacket. Elena looked back, pushing away from the door and approaching Sarah.

"I know, it's just…hard," Elena said with a sad look back to the cell. When she turned back around, Sarah offered her a sympathetic smile.

"You're the one who locked him up," Damon pointed out from the stairs where he was leaning against the wall. The only one missing was Scarlett who had left early. She hadn't said it but Sarah knew she was going for a run in her wolf form. Elena might have known too but there was no way for Sarah to find out without risking Damon catching on.

"You helped," Elena shot back with a small glare towards Damon who was lurking in the shadows.

"I couldn't have him running around chewing on people while the town was looking for vampires, now, could I?" Damon replied as he pushed off the wall and stepped towards the two ladies, the shadows lifting from his face.

"Please, Damon. We all know you care about our brother," Sarah said knowingly as she raised her brow at her eldest brother. He just snorted in response and rolled his eyes before turning away.

"Your thing, not mine," Damon muttered as he ascended the stairs, leaving Sarah and Elena behind. They lingered for a bit before Sara nudged Elena and moved towards the stairs. She waited for Elena to follow as the girl took one last look into the cell before reluctantly following. They had school and Elena had already been skipping enough classes to have teachers questioning her, never mind Jenna who had been worrying none stop about Jeremy and now had to do the same for Elena. Sarah did not envy her position in the slightest.

The two made their way up into the study where they'd left their bags from the night before. Sarah had managed to get Elena to do at least some of her homework, knowing that if her grades slipped to much she'd find herself suffering for it later. She claimed she didn't care but Sarah knew Stefan would and had pointed that out to Elena. She hated having to be the sensible one, another reason she wanted Stefan back to his old self.

Walking in, Sarah watched as Damon turned over the device Pearl had given him in his hands. He'd been doing that a lot recently, just staring at the thing in hopes that it would somehow reveal its secrets to him. As of yet, it hadn't.

"Did you ever figure out what that is?" Elena asked as she began packing her bag along with Sarah.

"Nope," Damon answered as he lowered the device and turned around to face the two. "Whatever it is, it doesn't work."

"Pearl didn't say anything else about it?" Elena asked.

"When she originally stole it, she thought it was the vampire compass. She claims she has no idea what that is," Sarah answered as she finished packing her bag, slinging it over one shoulder as she held the strap.

"Don't you trust her?" Elena asked, eyes going to Sarah's.

"About as far as I can throw her," Damon muttered, an answer which Sarah agreed with. She could understand were Pearl was coming from in the sense that she wanted to build and start a normal life here, like Sarah and her brothers had sort of done. That said, Sarah wasn't sure she liked the idea of a vampire as old as Pearl living next door to her. As the woman had pointed out, she could tear them all limb from limb if she wanted too. Even Anna was older than them and therefore stronger.

"Have you spoken to your uncle lately?" Damon suddenly asked as Elena glanced over at him.

"I've been avoiding him, actually," Elena admitted as she finished shoving her things into her bag. "That, and I've been here most nights."

"So, you'll be here again tonight?" Damon inquired with curious look. Sarah rolled her eyes, he'd been saying stupid little things like that ever since Elena started staying over.

"Is that a problem?" Elena asked sounding as if she genially didn't want to impose on them.

"Yes. You're a complete nuisance," Damon teased.

"Ignore him," Sarah said as she warped her arm around Elena and turned her away from her brother. "You're always welcome here, for as long as you need. It's not like we have a lack of bedrooms," Sarah said with a reassuringly smile that Elena thankfully returned as they made their way out of the study.

"That and it's good to have another human around to play with Sarah's pet!" Damon called after them.

"Better be careful, Damon. These humans bite when provoked," Sarah shouted back, prompting Elena to laugh as they left the house.

Feeling air suddenly flood back into her lungs, Sarah's eyes opened without consent and she gasped, desperate to take in more air in case Death grabbed her once more. Blinding light quickly forced her to close her eyes again, blinking rapidly until the light stopped hurting so much. She was still seeing black spots and the pain had nulled but she could still feel her eyes stinging as the sun shone in them. She brought a hand up to shield her eyes as she sat up, pressing her back to a piece of wood.

Then lowering her hand slowly, as to not over burden her eyes, she looked at where she was. She was under a small shelter held up by four wooden pillars, one of which Sarah was leaning back against. A wooden floor beneath her and wooden roof above with a single table off to one side. Sarah still wasn't sure where she was until she looked over to the nearby drop with a small body of water at the bottom. The Quarry. She was at the quarry. But why?

Her eyes suddenly widened as everything came back to her. Her brothers running off to save Katherine. Her running off to save them. Reaching Katherine and trying to stop them right before Damon was shot. She'd held him in her arms as he died. Then she had taken a bullet for Stefan, cold steel passing through her as warm blood oozed out of her.

Remembering the blood, Sarah's eyes shot down to her dress, her midsection covered in dry blood. Carefully, she reached down, careful not to move to much in case she received another round of searing pain. When her hand reached her chest, she elegantly ran her hand across the blood. She expected a flash of pain but didn't feel anything. Applying a little more pressure, she still felt nothing. No pain, no hole where there should be one. It was almost like she hadn't even been shot. But then why was her dress covered in blood.

"Sarah." At the mention of her name, Sarah looked up to find a familiar face standing over her. Emily. Katherine's handmaiden. She'd known about what Katherine was but despite it she'd always been kind to Sarah. She often comforted her after whatever Katherine had done or forced her to do. She was a good person which only confused Sarah that much more considering she seemed to be on such good terms with Katherine.

"Emily," Sarah said in confusion as she stared up at her. "What… What's going on? How am I…"

"Alive?" Emily finished with a sad smile. Before Emily could continue, Sarah felt a growl echo through her stomach, a starving growl that demanded she be fed. But…it was like nothing Sarah had ever felt before, a different type of hunger. Something in between thirst and starvation. It was almost like…something Katherine had once described to her…the thirst for blood.

"Oh, God," Sarah whispered in horror. "Am I…" Sarah began, too terrified to finish asking the question.

"Not yet. You've just started transition." Seeing the confused stare Sarah was giving her, Emily continued with the same level tone she always spoke in. "Katherine gave you her blood. That meant that when you died, you stared the process of becoming a vampire," Emily explained as Sarah gasped.

She should have know. Of course this had been another part of Katherine's plan. Obviously she hadn't planned on being caught but she had clearly been planing to turn Sarah into a vampire like her. And then what? Had she wanted to turn Sarah into a twisted version of herself, into another devil like Katherine herself. Was that what she was going to become, Katherine. No! She wouldn't let that happen. She would die before that happened.

Then a thought popped into her head, something that made her ashamed for not thinking of it sooner.

"My brothers… What happened to Damon and Stefan?" Sarah asked quietly as she looked up to Emily, tears beginning to form in her eyes at the thought of having to go through all this by herself.

"They're like you. Dead…but alive," Emily explained.

Despite the joy it brought her to know she wasn't alone and her brothers were still with her, the mere thought of what could have happened to them was enough to open the floodgates. Tears burst from her eyes as she screamed in horror and shame. She couldn't stand the thought of what was happening to them, how Katherine had been playing with them the whole time, moulding them into what she wanted them to be. Vampires. Her vampires.

Memories stared coming back, things Sarah hadn't even been aware happened. She could see Katherine placing a ring on her middle finger, making sure it fit before making her forget all about it. Looking down, Sarah now found that same ring on her finger. The stone inside a dark purple with a crest in the centre with the letter 'S' embedded in the middle. Another memory popped into her head, one were Katherine forced her to drink her blood. Then Katherine had began to kiss her and the scene unfolded like so many other scenes with Katherine in her bedroom.

A desperate cry erupted from inside Sarah, desperate for the memories to stop coming back. She wanted them to stay buried, so that she never had to see that devil's face again. She curled in on herself, hand grasping at her head, pulling at her wiry hair. Her screams faded away as if she was drowning, because she was drowning at the thought of becoming what Katherine was. A monster.

Then she felt two sets of arms go around her and through the waves of tears she made out Damon and Stefan. Both on either side of her, holding her as she cried. She couldn't tell what they were thinking, but she was just thankful they were their to hold her, to care for her, to love her. She'd missed them. For so long now Katherine had been the centre of their world and although she'd never been the most important thing in their lives, they still always made time for her and would fuss over her when she needed it. But more than anything they were there when she needed them. Like right now. So she rolled her head towards Damon's strong arms, whimpering quietly as they both whispered soothing words, reminding her they were both still their while she cried. One hand wrapped around Damon's muscular arm and the other reached over to Stefan who took her hand in his own. She squeezed tightly and he squeezed back.

Amongst the crying, she then heard one good thing, the only ray of light in the otherwise dark world. She heard Damon say quietly, in a depressed voice that somehow managed to lift Sarah up. "Katherine's dead."

"Okay, okay, fine!" Scarlett groaned with a chuckle and smile as she walked along side Jeremy towards the school. His arm was around her waist, hand resting on her side as they smiled at one another. Ever since Jeremy had discovered Elena's secret they'd never been closer which was actually surprisingly since Scarlett had been keeping the secret from Jeremy too. Only difference was Elena was the one that had Jeremy's memories erased. Scarlett had had hers erased too but remembered them when she became a werewolf. He didn't blame her for keeping secrets and trying to protect him. He blamed Elena for messing with not just his head, but Scarlett's as well So ever since he'd been blowing Elena off constantly while spending as much time as he could with Scarlett. Which had then caused him to learn about her lack of movie knowledge and then prompted him into teasing her.

"Seriously though, you've never seen it. Star Wars is like one of the biggest movies ever," Jeremy exclaimed as they walked.

"I already said I'd watch it," Scarlett exclaimed in return as she smacked her hand against Jeremy's chest making him laugh harder. "Keep teasing me though and I may change my mind. Maybe make you watch my kind of movie."

"And what's your kind of movie?' Jeremy asked with that goofy grin of his.

"My guess…" Scarlett rolled her eyes in annoyance but as Jeremy turned himself and her around, she forced herself to at least not glare at Anna. She was stood in her usual black colour cloths, bag slung around her shoulders and a new girl smile on her face. Scarlett might have almost bought it if she hadn't seen what Anna was capable off. Then again she shouldn't be terribly surprised that the girl was able to fool her like that. Having lived for over a century and a half the girl was bound to pick up a few tricks on keeping her identity a secret. "American Werewolf in London, or…Teen Wolf?"

Scarlett fought back the urge to insult the girl and instead flicked her hair from her face before answering quietly, "I haven't seen either of those movies."

"Damn, girl. You really do need to watch more movies," Anna said with a giggle as she walked over to join the two.

"Careful, Annabelle. Just cause you've turned over a new leaf doesn't mean you've earned the right to insult me," Scarlett warned with a finger point, though she could see from the flash of panic in Anna's eyes she'd made her point. Though possible a little too harshly.

"Relax, Scarlett. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Jeremy said as Scarlett slid from his arm and turned on him, stepping over to Anna's side.

"Don't think you're safe either, Jeremy Gilbert. In fact if anything you should be worried since I now have a girlfriend to tell all your dirty little secrets too," Scarlett teased with a grin.

"Please, like I have any secrets to tell," Jeremy said confidently as he folded his arms.

"Hey, Anna, do you want to know what Jeremy keeps in his sock drawer?" Scarlett asked, though her mischievous eyes remained on Jeremy, who quickly began to panic.

"Anyway!" Jeremy said aloud before either of the girl's could say anything, though both snickered to one another before looking back to Jeremy, giving him their full attention. "What are you doing here, Anna?" Jeremy asked as Anna held up a sheet of paper with an excited smile.

"I was picking up this," Anna answered.

"A class schedule?" Jeremy said with a frown.

"I think that might be the first time I've ever seen someone excited to get a class schedule," Scarlett said with a skeptical look to Anna who just continued to smile blissfully.

"Well, starting tomorrow, I'm officially a student here," Anna said as she folded away the sheet of paper and put it into her bag.

"Oh, goodie. Now we get to introduce you to our slice of hell," Scarlett said dryly as Anna and Jeremy laughed.

"It's not that bad," Jeremy promised. "Though I'm surprised your mom's letting you come here considering what you told us." The three had hung out a little since Anna's apology a few days ago. Not a lot, just a few hours but nothing compared to what Jeremy and Scarlett had been spending together. Truthfully Scarlett would have rather avoided Anna all together but Jeremy wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and wanted to get to know her. The real Anna, not the Anna that had pretended to be his friend to get to the Gilbert journal. Grudgingly Scarlett had agreed and as it turned out Anna wasn't all bad, though it was still going to take her time to get used to the enemy turned friend. It was during that time Anna had told them about her over protective mother and though she was glad to have her mother back, she did miss the amount of freedom she used to have.

"Yeah, well, I finally beat my mom down," Anna admitted.

"You may come to regret that," Scarlett warned as the bell rang in the distance for the start of class. "And that's our cue," Scarlett sighed.

"We'll text you after class," Jeremy said to Anna as he took Scarlett's hand. "We can head over to my house and watch some movies or something."

"Sounds great," Anna said as she waved the two off.

"Take me with you," Scarlett groaned with a depressed face as Jeremy pulled her towards the school, while Anna laughed from behind.

After school, which made even more strenuous thanks to Elena's constant worrying, Sarah escorted Elena back to her house to pick up some more cloths, since she was going to be spending the foreseeable future at the Salvatore house. Or at least until Stefan got better. Sarah sympathised with Elena, she really did and she was worrying about her brother too. But when she asked every five minutes how she thought he was doing, Sarah quickly began to lose it. She'd even tried to compel her a one point before Elena pointed out she had her vervain necklace on. Sarah had asked her to take it off as a joke and that had managed to distract her for a little. Again Bonnie had avoided them both like the plague and during their free periods and lunch. Caroline had desperately tried to get the four together to talk, but with Elena constantly worrying about Stefan and calling Damon to check up on him, plus Bonnie's insistence not to get involved with Sarah or her brothers, it seemed Caroline's goal was a pipe dream. Sarah knew how that felt.

But they made it through the school day and then head up to Elena's room to collect her things. Elena sat her school bag down and grabbed another bag for her supplies. She opened up her closet and began shuffling through her things while Sarah dropped down onto Elena's bed, patiently waiting while Elena worked away.

"Should I call, Damon. Just to make sure everything alright with Stefan?" Elena asked.

Sarah sighed from the bed as she briefly closed her eyes before sitting up. "Why not? I'm sure he won't mind. It's not like you've called him ten times already to day," Sarah said with a tight voice. Elena stopped in her shuffling through the closet and turned around with a narrow eyes. Hurt eyes. "Sorry," Sarah said with a tired sigh.

"It's alright. I know I'm going a little overboard with all the worrying," Elena said with a soft smile which Sarah returned.

"It's fine. I understand. Plus your worrying has actually helped distract me from my worrying," Sarah said as the two continued to smile. Elena then pulled out her phone and dialled Damon as he turned back to her closet while Sarah flopped back down on the bed, catching a break from Elena while she talked to Damon.

"I'm just grabbing some cloths, and then me and Sarah will be right over," Elena said into the phone. "How's Stefan?" Sarah didn't bother to listen to Damon's response, it was probably the same as every other time Elena called him. Sarcastic. But then something different happened. Sarah only noticed when complete silence took over, not even hearing the murmurings of Damon's voice from the phone. She sat up, suddenly curious to see Elena turning around to face her with a frown. "He just put me on hold."

"My God you finally broke him," Sarah said in fake astonishment. Elena rolled her eyes as she turned back to the closet once more but she now had Sarah's attention. She vamp speeded over to Elena's closet, leaning against the wall while Elena continued to search, listening in on the phone while they waited for Damon to return.

"He won't eat anything," Damon said suddenly, returning to the conversation.

"He has to eat, what's his favourite…kind of, um…" Elena said before becoming uncomfortable.

"His favourite kind of what?" Damon asked from the other end. Sarah fought the urge to grin, knowing Damon was doing the same. She could see Elena squirming under the topic which wasn't odd considering she and Stefan had probably barely talked about it. Still, it was fun to see how awkward the naive Elena was at the mention of blood. Elena looked to Sarah and quickly saw her rolled in lips that were trying not to smile while also surpassing a chuckle. She rolled her eyes at that, sighing as she realised she'd been left with the two immature Salvatores while her boyfriend was locked in the basement.

"Type of animal blood that he prefers?" Elena finally muttered out as she pulled something from her closet and threw it into her bag.

"Ew, gross," Damon teased back as Elena grinned along with Sarah.

"Haha," Elena replied dryly. "Your joking doesn't help."

"Helps me," Damon replied with a shrug. "Now, hurry up. I can't baby-sit all night. I have things to do."

"Like what?" Sarah asked with a suspicious frown towards Elena and her phone.

"Stay out of it nosy little sister," Damon warned before adding in a more friendlier tone, "I'll tell you later."

"You know. It's a really weird feeling to be the one who made the call, and yet, be kicked out the conversation," Elena said as Sarah smirked at her causing her to grin back.

"Well, maybe if you stopped asking the same questions over and over?" Sarah teased.

"I would say 'drop dead' but…" Elena shot back as Sarah's eyes widened, feeling insulted but also proud at the same time. She smiled back at the girl and Elena smiled back while Damon laughed from down the phone. "You can keep quiet too while you're at it," Elena said down the phone, Damon's laughter then quickly ceasing.

"Stefan likes…puppy blood. Little golden retriever puppies with cute, floppy ears. That's his favourite," Damon mocked from down the phone as both Elena and Sarah rolled their eyes. Sarah mouthed 'hang up' and Elena didn't need to be asked twice before ending the call and pocketing the phone.

"Your brother's an ass," Elena said as she finished taking out the last of the cloths she wanted to take with her, throwing them into her bag.

"Preaching to the choir, sister," Sarah said with a smirk that made Elena giggle as she closed her closet door only to jump at the sight off her uncle John stood against the wall, having been hidden by the door. Even Sarah was surprised to see him, having not heard him enter. She hadn't even been aware he was in the house. God she hated this guy.

"Sorry," John apologised, though it hardly sounded genuine.

"Uncle John. I didn't see you there," Elena said as she stepped back, siding with Sarah as John walked into the room.

"I thought we could talk. We haven't had a chance to catch up," John said as he looked around the room. Just another one of his strange little games, trying to spook his own niece, John really was a dirtbag.

"I'm actually just heading out with Sarah," Elena said as she grabbed her bag and the two made their way towards the door.

"Well, it won't take long," John said forcefully before they could leave. Sarah looked back, stood in between the doorway as she watched Elena sigh before turning back to her uncle.

"What do you want to talk about?" Elena asked as she and Sarah lingered by the door.

"Well…I'd rather discuss this in privet," John said with a obvious look to Sarah.

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say with her here," Elena said as she folded her arms. Sarah gave a look of surprise before looking back to John with a shrug that said she wasn't moving unless Elena told her too. John groaned, not surprising since her hated vampires and Sarah herself was a vampire. He was probably tempted to kill her for just setting foot in the house. He shook it off though, pretending like it wasn't a big deal, though both girls new exactly what his thinking. They knew the real John, not whatever act he was putting on right now.

"I know, you know," John suddenly declared, eyes going straight towards Elena.

"Know what?" Elena asked tiredly as she brushed her hair from her face.

"It's really silly to keep pretending," John said as he advanced on his niece who firmly stood her ground, bag still in hand. "What do think your mother would say, if she knew you were dating a vampire?" John asked before his eyes moved over to Sarah. "Or that you'd invited one into her home." Sarah shot a glare back at John but he merely ignored her and turned back to Elena who was also glaring at her uncle.

She then got the prefect response and grinned as she leaned forwards. "Which mother?" John's eyes widened as Sarah joined in on Elena's grin.

"And that, would be our cue to leave," Sarah said smugly as she stepped in line with Elena. John turned to her, surprise turning to anger as he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a stake. Sarah just smirked back at him, hardly threatened. "You don't want to pick a fight with me, John. I promise you, it won't end well." She was all for putting John in his place, but she knew Elena wanted to leave and get back to Stefan, who at the moment was their priority. So instead she took Elena's arm, further irritating John as she said, "Remember to keep one eye open tonight." She then winked, and with a burst of vamp speed, ran out the house with Elena, coming to a stopping further down the street.

"Thanks for that," Elena said as they came to a stop, brushing her hair out of her face.

"No problem. Just thought we needed a flashy exit to go with that sick burn," Sarah said as she nudged Elena's arm, making her grin and laugh before the two made their way towards the Salvatore's house.

While Sarah and Stefan sat in the shade beneath a tree near the quarry, Damon returned with a bucket of water. He put it down in front of his younger siblings, snatching a old wooden ladle before scooping up some water from the bucket. "Here, drink some of this," Damon said as he held the ladle towards Sarah who had her head on Stefan's shoulder. She just shook her head, turning her head away from water as she groaned, like a sick child refusing it's medicine because it tasted worse than it felt.

"Come on, Sarah. It'll make you feel better," Stefan said as he rubbed his sister's shoulder. Another groan as she buried her face in Stefan's neck. But after a little more persuasion, Sarah grudgingly turned her head to the open air and took the water Damon poured into her mouth. She'd expected the water to burn her throat with an itchy after taste but instead she felt nothing and only left a cold trail behind as it made her way through her body. She shivered then it finally reached stomach and then the feeling of sick took over. She managed to keep it down but she knew it wasn't what her body was craving. She needed blood. Just like Katherine had. Already her skin was turning a ghostly white. She was practically a ghost anyway, living on borrowed time.

Shortly after as the sun began to set, Stefan suggested she get some sleep. Sarah felt like arguing with him but didn't have to strength. Emily had said she'd feel this way until blood was nearby. Her body would only react to the presence of blood. That was why Emily had left, not wanting to risk her life. None of the Salvatores had tried to stop her. They were all still thinking about the decision before them. Whether to die or live out a cursed life.

But Sarah didn't want to think about it. She knew it should be simple but her heart was saying one thing and her body another. So she let the conflict tire her out until her head dropped back down onto Stefan's shoulder and sleep briefly took over. But even as she slept she heard her brothers talking.

"I bet Jonathan Gilbert has told Father by now. Wonder how he took the news that we're dead," Stefan said quietly as Damon sat across from him, staring back at is brother and sister with a tired and depressed look.

"As if he cares. He betrayed us," Damon said angrily, though quiet as not to wake Sarah.

"He thought he was protecting us, Damon. He thought he was protecting this town," Stefan argued.

"Thank God the sun is setting," Damon said as he shielded his eyes from the bright sky ahead of him, turning his siblings bodies into blackened silhouettes. "It's been hurting my eyes all day." It had been doing the same to Sarah too and she suspected it was a result of whatever was happening to them.

"It's part of it. The muscle aches, the sick feeling, the tiredness," Stefan said as he gestured to his sleeping sister. Sarah tried to speak up, let them know she wasn't sleeping and that she wasn't tired, but she just couldn't find the effort. "Emily says it's our bodies pushing us to feed, to complete the transition."

"That's not gonna happen," Damon mumbled back.

"Is that your choice, then? To die instead?" Stefan asked, voice raising, though still not loud enough to stir a movement from Sarah.

"Isn't it yours? This was all to be with Katherine. But she's gone. I want it over." It made Sarah sad to know her brother wanted to die just because Katherine was no longer alive. But at the same time she couldn't bring herself to agree to live as a Vampire either. She didn't want to become what Katherine was, a demon who tortured people for her own pleasure.

"What about, Sarah?" Stefan asked.

"You really think she'll want to live as a vampire?" Damon asked with a raised brow. Stefan knew he was right. He didn't want to go through life alone without his siblings. So if they were going to let death take them, then so would he. But before that happened he needed to speak to someone. He needed to speak to his father. So once Damon drifted off to get some sleep, Stefan lay his sister down and left the quarry. He'd be back before morning, ready to say goodbye to his siblings before reuniting in whatever life came next.