Author's Note: Elena makes with the potty mouth again in this chapter, so just be aware that the 'F' word makes an appearance and is again meant to show her complete lack of respect for others. Therefore, I left it in as any other word I could have used in its place wouldn't have conveyed that deep-seated lack of respect as well as the 'F' word does.

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Chapter 036

Best of Luck, You're Going to Need It

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A Few Towns Over from Mystic Falls, Virginia

Sunday, December 19, 2010, 7 a.m. EST

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I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I wake up fully rested at 7 a.m., which is sleeping in for me because I usually get up for school at 6 a.m., but if you take the different time zones into account 7 a.m. EST is seriously early. I look up and stare at Damon's peaceful face while he sleeps. Closing my eyes, I say a quick prayer to God, "Thank you, God, for bringing Damon into my life. I don't know what I'd do without him."

His arm tightens around me, and a kiss is dropped on the crown of my head a moment later before he says, "Thank you, Mia Tesoro, that was a very nice thing to wake up to."

I smile and lean up to kiss him, "I mean it. My life would suck without you in it. In fact, I'd probably be dead at my own sister's hands."

His hold on me tightens at that, and he gives a little growl that wakes up a particular part of me I'm not allowed to have awake while we're here in Virginia.

He laughs and says, "It's allowed to be awake. We're just not allowed to do anything about the fact that it's awake."

I laugh too then I groan and sit up. I stretch a little before asking him, "I want to get ready, and as soon as everyone is ready I want to go over to my old house and be as loud as we can, so we'll wake Elena and Stefan up. She'll sleep in if given half a chance, and I want to make sure she's as annoyed as possible by my visit so..."

He smiles and says, "I showered last night after you fell asleep, so you go shower, and I'll go see if everyone else is awake yet."

I laugh and tell him, "Be gentle if you have to wake them up because I don't want them getting payback on you down the line. I sleep in the same bed as you so that would not be cool."

He laughs and says, "Go ahead and take away all of my fun."

I just laugh and get out of bed before heading into the shower. When I get out, I dress quickly and then leave the room.

When I enter the kitchen, everyone else is up and dressed, and Isa and Damon are busy making pancakes for everyone.

When I sit down, Kol tells me, "Due to your Uncle John's request on your birthday I brought the spell to turn Stefan into a Human again with us, so if you don't object we'll do it today while we're at your house if he's there."

I nod but ask, "What if he says no?"

Damon turns to look at me and says, "He writes in his journal at least four times a week about how much he wishes he could be Human and live a Human life with Elena, so I'll be very surprised if he says no."

I nod before Isa puts my plate down in front of me. I listen while Rebekah and Caroline talk about coming back to Forks with us. Caroline points out, "Technically I'm 18 now, so I can move wherever I want and do whatever I want, so although I'm hoping I can get my mom to sign off on my moving to Forks it really doesn't matter because my approval is the only one needed. And because I'm still planning to finish school I don't see why she would argue about it. It's the reverse of why Elena stayed here: all of my friends now live in Forks, so I want to finish school with you all."

Everyone is nodding before Rebekah says, "And my legal guardian is technically Elijah even though I was living with Nik. Now that Nik is locked in a coffin under your house that means I need to live with Elijah. Because he lives in Forks, I'm guessing I'm going there too instead of all of you coming here, which, for the record, I'm kind of tired of this God forsaken town, so I'm actually looking forward to living in Forks."

Elijah smiles at her and tells her, "I think you will enjoy the town. It's almost never sunny there, so we go whole weeks without feeling that unpleasant tingling we usually feel when standing under the light of the sun. Although everyone, except Seth, is a Senior, so I'm sure we'll be going somewhere else for College. Am I mistaken in thinking that you'll all go to the same school?"

We all look at each other for a minute and then begin shaking our heads no. I tell him, "I can't speak for everyone else, but I'd prefer to stay close to all of you. Although, I haven't taken my SAT's or even started thinking about College because I was still a sophomore at the beginning of the school year so I'm a little behind."

Everyone else nods before Jasper says, "If need be I can have Mr. Jenks supply us with SAT scores, and because Elijah has a plane that will fit all of us I figure we can go visit various colleges in the first couple months of the new year. I mean Emmett, Rose and I have been to College a dozen times each. Hooowwweeevvveeer, you, Jules, and Bella, Bree, the Wolves, as well as Caroline, Kol, and Rebekah have never been. Therefore, I think we should do the whole visiting thing and really experience it, so you all get the full effect. After a couple of decades, it'll get old, and you'll have seen all the colleges, but the first couple of times it was actually kind of fun checking them out and seeing what each campus had to offer. Plus, now Rose, Emmett, and I can go to college anywhere even if it is usually sunny there, so that actually broadens our options significantly."

I take my last bite of pancake and after chewing and swallowing I ask, "What will Ric do about his job?"

The man in question smiles and tells me, "I'm probably going to put out feelers at local schools near wherever you guys decide to go. I've got the necessary degrees so I could even be a Professor at a college, so my options are not just limited to high schools. I won't be able to teach at whatever school Rebekah decides to go to because we're technically romantically involved now that we're Mates, but most schools have other schools close by, so I'll just apply to the other schools in the area."

Elijah nods and adds, "I also have the credentials to teach at any level so I may follow in Ric's footsteps once we decide where we are moving to."

I smile and get up with my plate to wash it while I ask, "What subject would you teach?"

The oldest Original smiles back and tells me, "English is my preference though I also have the credentials to teach any number of other languages as well, especially now that we've done the language spell on each of us."

I bob my head up and down while I rinse my plate and put it in the dishwasher.

When everyone is done eating, and all the dishes and cookware are either washed or in the dishwasher the other girls all head up to their rooms to get their purses.

Five minutes later we're on our way to my old house. When we get there, we all pile out of the cars and walk up to the porch. I smile evilly and after saying, "Rebekah, please come into my house," I ring the doorbell. I wait a minute then I knock a few times. I wait another minute then I ring the bell again. And I repeat the sequence over four or five times before the door is yanked open, and Elena is standing there in her Pj's with a scowl on her face. "What? Jules why are you knocking when you still have a key!"

I smile and tell her, "I didn't just want to barge right in because I haven't lived here for months now."

She just stands there staring at me, so I ask, "Are you going to invite us in?"

She smirks and says, "Only the Humans can come in because I'm not stupid enough to invite a bunch of Originals or their friends into my house.

I push past her and tell her, "I was only asking as a formality because they've already all been invited inside."

I smile at her shocked face when one by one every member of my family walks over the threshold into the house. "Jules, what the hell you can't just invite Vampires into my house."

I turn on her, and after staring straight into her eyes, I tell her, "First it's our house, not your house. Second, you will be paying me full market value for the home, and then you will sign full ownership over to me. You will also be signing over John's half of the lake house and three-quarters of the investments and monetary value of the rest of your inheritance from John as well as all of his residences and vehicles he left you. You will do all of that and act like you're freaking happy about it. If anyone asks it was your idea and you feel good about sharing it all with your little sister. You will not complain about it to me or anyone else, and you will not try to destroy anyone's personal property for any reason, and you will no longer try to harm anyone else or get someone else to do it for you either. And to make sure you do all of that I'm going to have one of my Vampire friends compel you to do everything I just said."

I'm breathing heavily when I stop talking, and a moment later she begins repeating everything I just said causing my eyes to pop open wide when I realize I just compelled her myself. What the hell?

I turn shocked eyes on all my friends and ask, "Did I just…"

They all nod slowly. Wow, okay, that opens up possibilities I hadn't even considered.

Elena's eyes are wide before she asks, "Did you just fucking compel me?"

I turn back to look at her and catch her eyes again and compel her once more, "You will never curse again at me or anyone else, and you will always be courteous and polite to everyone you encounter regardless of how they treat you."

She repeats it all again, so I smile and tell her, "Now if you'll excuse us we're going to go through Mom and Dad's as well as Jenna's things, and you will not bitch or complain about anything I decide to take with me."

After she repeats that last part she frowns and says, "What the Heck, Jules? You can't just come in here and—"

I interrupt her and tell her, "I can, and I just did, now move out of my way."

She moves, and I lead everyone up the stairs. I ask Ric, "Can you go get a couple of boxes from the attic, Ric?"

He smiles and says, "Sure."

I lead everyone else into my parent's room and head straight for Mom's jewelry box. I open it and smile at the pieces inside. I close the box, and when Ric comes in with three boxes, I take one and put the whole jewelry box inside one of the boxes.

Elena frowns and says, "Are you actually taking all of Mom's jewelry?"

I frown back and tell her, "Consider it my response to your threatening to turn yourself into a Vampire if Klaus didn't kill me."

Her eyes shock open wide, and she asks me, "How?"

I smile a not nice smile and tell her, "I told you I was having dinner with the Mikaelsons, and still you were stupid enough to call and make your demands while I was there. Klaus is gone, by the way, so he won't be bothering you or Stefan anymore. You're welcome."

Her eyes get wider, before she asks, "What do you mean he's gone?"

I smile and tell her, "I mean we took care of him, and he won't be hurting anyone else ever again."

Just then Stefan comes to the doorway in a pair of sleep pants and a wife-beater and asks, "He's dead? I guess Damon and I weren't part of his Sire Line after all."

I smile wider and tell him, "No you both totally are in his Sire Line, so we got extra creative and found a way to remove him from the equation without actually ending his Sire Line. All you need to know is he's gone, and he's not coming back ever again."

I walk to my parents' closet and open it before looking through the drawers of the cabinet to the left inside the closet.

I grab a small box and open it to find a pair of cuff-links with emeralds on them. I look at them and fight back the tears. I very clearly remember the story behind these. My father was wearing them at the dance he took my mom to on their first date while they were still in high school, and he wore them at their wedding too. Every year on their anniversary they'd get dressed up and go out to eat together and do some dancing, and every year Dad would wear these on their date. I close the box and place it inside the bigger box and then start taking out all the other little boxes that I know have more cufflinks and tie pins in them. Maybe I'll ask Damon if he wants them. I think Dad would like my Mate wearing his stuff.

When I finish that I move Dad's clothes out of the way and open the safe in the back of the closet. I take everything including the more expensive jewelry my mom owned out of the safe and put it into the box. I turn and look at Ric and tell him, "Some of these papers might need to be seen by you and the lawyer handling all the wills and my trusts."

He nods after I step out of the closet. Then I pull up short when I see my whole family sitting and standing around the room pretty much twiddling their thumbs. Surprisingly it's Elijah who asks, "Juliet, is there anything we can do to help?"

I shake my head and tell them all, "Probably not, but you could all talk to Stefan about doing that spell and turning him Human again, and you can do the spell if he agrees because I can't really help with that part of our plans."

Stefan's eyes are wide before he asks, "You were serious about turning me Human?"

Elijah nods and asks, "When you touch Elena does it feel like you're, hmm how to put it?"

I interject, "Does it feel like you're sticking your hand in a live electrical socket?"

The younger Salvatore nods, "Yes, why?"

Elijah tells him, "Because that means she's your Mate. The only way to turn a Supernatural that used to be Human back into a Human is if their Mate is also a Human or is also being made Human at the same time, which means because she is, in fact, Human we can turn you back."

I roll my eyes when Elena says, "But I'm not Human. I'm a Doppelgänger."

Elijah smiles and tells her, "Any species can be born a Doppelgänger. Yes, they're Supernatural, but fundamentally they're whatever species their parents were. In your case that's Human. Now it turns out you're not actually fully Human, but it should be enough for our purposes."

Stefan frowns before he asks, "What do you mean she's not fully Human."

Damon answers him, "Turns out John and Grayson were ¼ Air-Elf. So Elena is ⅛ Air-Elf, and the rest of her is Human."

Elena smirks and says, "So we're ⅛ Supe after all?"

I look at Damon and think to him, 'Go ahead Damon, I know you want to rub in that I'm more than just Air-Elf.'

He nods and says, "Actually Elena turns out Miranda and Jenna were ¼ Spirit-Demon, so Jules is actually ¼ Supe instead of your ⅛."

I laugh when she actually growls, so while I put another picture into the box, I tell her, "I don't know why being a Supe is such a big deal to you, Elena. What you are is just blood and DNA, but it doesn't actually contribute to who you are as a person. Your personality and character are what makes you who you are, and personally, I think that matters so much more than what species you are."

Everyone in my family is nodding, but Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah are all nodding the deepest. Kol smiles at me when he stops nodding and says, "As someone who's been alive for more than 1,000 years I can say with some certainty that Blood is what keeps your body alive. However, Blood is the part of who you are that is, in fact, the smallest part. Being a Supe doesn't make someone special, being a good, decent person is what makes people unique and worth knowing and ultimately worth remembering when they're gone."

I turn in time to see Elena roll her eyes before she says, "What do you know about being a good, decent person? You've probably killed more people than I've ever known, and you helped kill Klaus."

Kol smiles and says, "Coming from the girl who called my brother and tried to force him to kill her sister or lose the use of her Doppelgänger blood forever that doesn't really mean much because while I helped kill my brother I did it because he was actually evil. Your sister, on the other hand, has never harmed anyone, and yet you tried to arrange her murder."

Stefan tilts his head to the side and purses his lips before he says, "She would never do such a thing."

Caroline turns sad eyes on him and tells him, "We were with Klaus when she called him, and he put her on speakerphone, so we all, even the Humans, heard her loud and clear. She told him that if he didn't kill Jules for her, she would turn herself into a Vampire, and Klaus would never be able to make any more Hybrids."

Stefan's frown lines have frown lines when he asks his Mate, "Elena, why would you do such a thing?"

She looks down and shrugs before saying, "I was angry and didn't really think through the consequences of my actions. I didn't follow through on my threat, so obviously I saw the error of my ways."

I snort and tell her, "More like Klaus compelled you to never drink Vampire blood, and because you can't drink Vampire blood, you can't turn yourself into a Vampire."

Stefan asks, "Wouldn't Klaus' compulsion have worn off if he's dead?"

I shake my head before I continue to pack, "No, technically he didn't die otherwise everyone in his Sire Line would have died too. His compulsions should still remain and because he's now gone with no way of returning there is no way to undo any of his compulsions, so Elena is stuck doing everything he compelled her to do or not do as the case may be. So anyway, Stefan do you want to be Human again?"

He doesn't even hesitate before he begins nodding and says, "More than anything in this world."

Elijah says, "Why don't all of us go downstairs and we can discuss the particulars and then perform the spell while Juliet and Damon continue packing the things Juliet wishes to take with her."

They all nod and leave the room. As soon as Stefan and Elena are gone Damon teleports the two full boxes back to our house in Forks. Then he smiles and asks, "Do you want me to just teleport everything you might want to keep to our house then you don't have to go through everything because the 'Cosmos' will know what you'd want and will send it to the house for us?"

I smile and nod so he says, "Mother Freyja, please remove, box, and transport everything from this house and the Gilbert's Lake House that your daughter, Juliet, might wish to keep for herself to the spare room next to ours in our house in Forks. So mote it be."

We know it worked because a bunch of things disappear off the top of my parents' dresser. Still, I take about half an hour to go through everything that remains and make sure the 'Cosmos' didn't miss anything. I even go down to the kitchen and make sure my mom's and grandmother's cookbooks are gone.

When I'm certain everything is now at the house in Forks, I ask Damon, "Can you do the reverse for all of Stefan's belongings and move them into my old room?"

Damon nods so he says, "Mother Freyja, please remove, box. and transport all of Stefan's rightful belongings from the Boarding House to Juliet's old bedroom in this house. So mote it be."

We go up the stairs to my old room, and sure enough, there are boxes now filling the room. I peek inside one of the boxes and see a bunch of Journals that look like the copies of Stefan's Journals that we have back home. Satisfied that Stefan now has no reason to try to enter the Boarding House Damon and I join everyone in the living room where we find them all watching Stefan sleep. Kol smiles when we enter and says, "When he wakes he should be a Human."

We all sit very awkwardly while Elena glares at all of us in turn. Finally, I get fed up with the nasty looks, so I ask, "What's with the dirty looks Elena?"

She huffs and then says, "Nothing it's just you always have to one-up me."

I have no idea what she's talking about, or how I may have one-upped her in this situation, so I frown but say nothing because I'm sure I really don't want to know what she means.

45 minutes later Stefan gasps for air and then his eyes pop open wide. He lays there on the couch for a moment, and then he sits up and turns to place his feet on the floor.

He looks at each of us and then smiles and says, "I can't hear the neighbors going about their day or anything outside this room. That's going to take some getting used to."

I nod and tell him, "It shouldn't take long."

He nods back then I catch his eyes and say, "You will never drink or wear Vervain, and you will stay with Elena through thick and thin regardless of how bad her attitude problems get. You will never drink Vampire blood, and you will let one of us know immediately if someone forces it on you. You will avoid any Vampires not currently in this room, and if any start hanging around, you will immediately call Damon and tell him. You will continue to keep a detailed journal until you breathe your last breath. You also won't remember that I just compelled you or that I'm about to compel Elena nor what either compulsion entails."

He repeats everything I just said back to me, so I turn to Elena and catch her eye and tell her, "You will remain with Stefan through thick and thin no matter how annoying you might find him or how angry you might become with him. You won't ever try to play him off someone else or string him or anyone else along. You will only give your affections to Stefan, and you will be clear about that. You will also not try to harm Stefan or anyone else or have someone else do it for you. You will be civil and polite anytime you talk to or see anyone currently in this room, and you won't complain out loud when you don't get your way or things happen that you don't like. You will never bitch or complain about Damon and me being together, and you will never publicly or privately question or speculate about our relationship, nor will you ever try to cause trouble for us in regards to my age and our sex life. You will avoid any Vampires not currently in this room, and if any start hanging around, you will immediately call Ric and tell him. You will not call me unless you have something nice to say. You will also continue to keep a detailed diary until you breathe your last breath, and you won't remember this compulsion or what it entails or that I compelled Stefan a minute ago."

She repeats everything, so I smile and then stand up before telling her, "Well, I think it's time for us to go. My attorney will get in touch to talk about you signing over your half of this house and three-quarters of John's estate. Have a nice life, Elena."

I turn to look at Stefan and tell him, "Stefan, best of luck, you're going to need it to put up with her and her BS."

I don't give him an opportunity to respond before I lead the members of my new family out the front door to our cars. I don't bother looking back while we drive away because Elena is my past, and I only want to look to the future from now on, my future with Damon and our family.

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Author's Note: That's the last chapter. I'll be posting the Epilog momentarily.