At the witch house, Vanessa was looking at the coffins when Bonnie and Elena entered. "What are you doing?"
"Shh! Terra's keeping watch." Bonnie whispered to her. "The others hiding here, too?"
"As invisible as these coffins. Having a close connection with some of the spirits helps." Vanessa said.
"Anyway, I've been having these dreams for days now. It's like the witches are trying to send me a message." Bonnie said.
"I just can't believe you guys have kept this from me this whole time." Elena told her.
"Stefan thought if you knew where the coffins were, Klaus could threaten people to get the information out of you." Bonnie explained.
"Well, good to know he still cares." They heard Marina's sarcastic voice.
"Let it go, Marina. It's ridiculous that you're the only one who's still angry about last time."
"Coming from the girl in anger management?"
"Shut up." Vanessa told them.
"So these are the rest of his family?" Elena asked.
"Yeah, Elijah and two others." Bonnie said. "Now this one..." She walked to the big one. "Is the one we can't open. We don't know who's in it or what's in it, only that I think my dream's telling me that it'll help kill Klaus."
"Even our spells aren't working." Vanessa explained. "We've tried almost everything we could think of, including five different group spells."
"What the hell are you doing?" Everyone turned to see that Stefan had entered the basement.
"What are you doing here?" Vanessa asked. Just then Terra ran down the stairs.
"I'm so sorry, guys. I thought he was following me." She told them.
"You really thought I'd believe that?" The plan was for Terra to "sense" a fake emergency. Clearly he'd seen through her.
"I needed her to know about the coffins." Bonnie explained.
"And I needed you to keep her out of it, Bonnie."
"So what are you going to do, Stefan? Are you going to kidnap me so that I won't tell anyone?" Elena asked.
"Don't tempt me, Elena."
"Whoa! No way. Not again. Not on my watch." Marina said, breaking Vanessa's invisibility spell on her and Lea as she spoke. She'd appeared right between Elena and Stefan.
"I think I know who can open the coffin, Stefan. And I need Elena to help me find her." Bonnie said.
"Find who? What are you talking about?"
"I couldn't place her face at first." Bonnie said. She pulled something out of her pocket. "Then I realized..." She handed a picture to Elena.
"Oh, my God, Bonnie." Elena said. Marina, Terra, and Vanessa took a glance at it. Stefan looked at the picture.
"Who is this?" Stefan asked.
"It's my mom." Bonnie said.
"You know, she looks familiar." Terra said, taking the picture from Stefan again. She instantly knew it was Bonnie just from looking at it. The others looked at it.
"I feel like I know her, though I've never seen her until now." Lea added.
"Well, if she's a witch, she was probably connected with our relatives somehow." Marina pointed out.
A few minutes later, the girls were in the Elena's kitchen looking through files on Bonnie's mom. "Los Alamitos?" Elena asked.
"Um, too old."
"Honolulu?"
"Ugh, I wish. How many of these are there?" Bonnie asked.
"A lot. I asked the sheriff's office to pull up every single Abby Bennett in the country." Elena explained.
"I'm guessing neither of your parents were from Texas." Terra said, looking at another file.
"Um, no." Bonnie said.
"Did you really have to ask for everyone with that name in the country?" Vanessa as she picked up a stack of files and set them down again.
"Hey, give Lena a break." Marina said. "She's had a rough couple days."
"Right, sorry."
"I know we haven't been able to really... That things have been weird because of Jeremy. So thank you for helping me with this. I know you have a lot to deal with." Bonnie said.
"There's nothing more important, Bonnie." Elena told her.
"It's surreal. Having to track down a woman who bailed on her own kid." Bonnie said.
"You know you don't have to, right?" Elena asked. "Let Stefan obsess over opening up the coffin. It doesn't have to fall on you."
"The coffin is spelled shut. That makes it a witch problem." Bonnie said.
"And from what I can tell, the spirits are telling her to find her mom so we can break the spell on the coffin." Vanessa said. "At least, that's what I got from what Terra told me." Terra shot her a look that said, 'that's supposed to be our secret.'
"I was bound to see my mother again sooner or later." Bonnie said.
Just then, Damon and Lea entered the kitchen. "Sooner. Abby Bennett Wilson, Monroe, North Carolina. Born in Mystic Falls hospital, graduated Mystic Falls High, blah, blah, blah. A little compulsion helps to speed up the research process." He handed the file to Bonnie.
"I convinced him to help." Lea said. Bonnie looked at the file, instantly recognizing the woman in the photo.
"This is her." Bonnie confirmed
"I call shotgun." Damon said.
"Yeah... no." Elena told them.
"Why? You don't want me to hang out in the back with you?" Damon asked.
"You're not coming, Damon."
"Why? I'm the one who found her."
"Okay, Damon, look, Bonnie hasn't seen her mom in over 15 years." Elena explained. "We don't need your snarky commentary narrating the experience."
"Besides, you've got an important job to do here." Lea said. "Vanessa's invisibility spell can only last as long as the spirits that helped her do it keep it up."
"And with Klaus still around, you're going to have to make sure nothing happens while we're out on the road." Vanessa added. Elena and Damon exchanged a look with each other. He nodded, understanding.
"What's going on with you two?" Bonnie asked.
"We kissed. Now it's weird. Have a great trip." He walked out the door. Elena turned to Bonnie. Everyone was silent and in shock for a few minutes.
"So, which car are we riding in?" Marina finally asked, trying to break the tension.
Which is why it was no surprise when the group piled into Bonnie's car five minutes later and hit the road. Vanessa followed closely behind them.
"I just can't believe I'm actually going to see her." Bonnie said. "Or meet her. Sort of. Since I don't really remember her."
"You don't really talk about her." Elena said.
"What's to say? She left, never wrote, never called. Not even when my grams died."
"Well, being a witch can be dangerous sometimes. Maybe she left to protect you." Terra said.
"Well, not all of us have happy families, Terra." Lea pointed out.
"Hey, I'm just saying. I didn't even know that Lucy existed until three years ago." Terra said. "Even then, I had no clue the Earth guardians had a connection to the Bennett family."
"It's not the first time I thought that she left to keep me and Dad safe." Bonnie said, interrupting their conversation. "Ever since the whole witch thing came up, I've been thinking about it."
"I can imagine how hard this must be for you." Elena told her.
"Can we talk about you and Damon instead?" Bonnie asked, changing the subject.
"I'm not talking about it." Elena said. "He kissed me. It's not going to happen again."
"I mean... Was it good?"
"It doesn't matter." Elena pointed out.
"That means it was."
"Hey, chill out, Bonnie." Lea said. "Like Marina said, it's been a rough couple days."
"And you're okay…" Marina began.
"I'm fine." Lea told her. "Besides, this is important."
Before anyone else could say anything, Bonnie's phone rang from the front seat. "I told him I'd call him as soon as I got the address."
"Ignore." Elena said. "Bonnie, you're about to see your mom for the first time in fifteen years. I'm not letting anyone ruin that moment."
"Yeah, but he's going to keep at it until I pick up." Bonnie pointed out.
"Fine." Elena answered the phone and quickly explained she and Bonnie were headed to the lake house.
This is why I left my phone at home. Terra thought. Marina and Lea nodded, understanding why she did it and wishing they had done the same.
About two hours later, they ended up in front of a small house and parked in front of it. "Cute house." Elena said.
"Yeah, For the middle of nowhere." Bonnie said.
"It doesn't surprise me she chose a suburb neighborhood." Marina said.
"Well, we better go." Terra said. Bonnie still seemed unsure. "Hey, we're all here to support you, Bon."
"Thanks, Terra."
They walked over to the house. Elena rang the bell, but there was no answer. "Maybe no one's home." Vanessa said.
"No, there's definitely someone here." Terra said. Elena was about to knock when a young man walked over to them. Everyone was surprised.
"Hey there." The girls looked at each other.
"Hey, we're looking for, um, Abby Wilson." Elena said before the girls could discuss anything.
"She's not home. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"That's okay, we can come back." Bonnie told him. He looked at her closely.
"I'm sorry, but you look so familiar."
"Yeah, Abby's my mom." Bonnie told him.
"Oh. I'm Jamie." He said. "Um, you guys want to come inside? Right this way." He opened the door. The group entered the house.
Marina and Vanessa sat down in the living room. Elena, Bonnie, Terra, and Lea were in the kitchen." You guys sure you don't want anything?" Jamie asked them. "We got fresh O.J., coconut water, some mango guava something."
"Water's fine." Bonnie said.
"Cool."
"So, um, are we, like, related?" Bonnie asked him.
"Oh, no. Uh, Abby's not my mom." Jamie explained. He set two glasses of water on the table.
"So, how do you know her?" Terra asked.
"She dated my old man back in the day. He was kind of a deadbeat, so when they broke up, she took me in." Jamie explained. "Put me through school. Didn't freak out when I totaled her car. Twice."
"And yet, you're still driving." Lea said. He shrugged.
"She sounds...Great." Bonnie said.
"Jamie?" They heard a female voice say. "Whose car's out front?" A woman entered the room. Terra knew it was Abby, because she recognized her from the pictures.
"That's mine." Bonnie said, getting up. "I'm Bonnie. Your daughter."
"Hello, Bonnie."
A few minutes later, the girls were sitting in the living room. Bonnie glanced at one of the pictures. "How are you holding up?" Elena asked her.
"Oh. I'll be fine. I'm not here to get my mom back, I'm just here to get her help." Bonnie pointed out.
"You know, if you're going to work with your mom, maybe this would be a good time to sort things out between you two." Marina said. "After all, it won't do any good if both of you are blocked."
"I guess you're right, but I don't know if…"
"She's your mom, Bonnie. I'm sure she'll do what she can to help." Vanessa said. Bonnie smiled. Then Abby walked into the room.
"So I hope you guys are hungry. 'Cause, uh, food has always been my go-to icebreaker."
"You have a really beautiful home." Elena told her.
"You're so sweet. Just like your mom." Abby said.
"You knew my mom?" Elena asked.
"Miranda was my best friend."
"So you had a daughter and a best friend and you still left?" Bonnie asked.
"My best friend is why I left." Abby explained "Fifteen years ago, a vampire came to town. Looking for you, Elena. Looking for the doppelganger. No one could manage to kill him, so I lured him out of town and cast a spell to desiccate him in a crypt in Charlotte."
"Mikael." Elena realized. "He was an Original vampire."
"Still, that was pretty smart." Lea said. "Getting him out of town."
"Thank you, Lea." Abby said. "But it was your mother's idea. You see, we all of us used to be pretty close."
"You worked with our parents to stop Mikael." Terra said.
"As I'm sure you know, Autumn, the Bennett family have a special connection to the Mystic Falls Guardians." Abby pointed out. "But putting him down took every ounce of power I had. Almost killed me. I recovered. But my magic didn't. My powers never came back."
"And neither did you." Bonnie pointed out.
"It wasn't that simple." Abby said.
"It wasn't? You cast a spell, put Michael down, then what? You had to teach Jamie how to drive?" Bonnie asked angrily.
"Bonnie..." Elena said. The rest of the girls were getting up.
"This was a mistake. She has no magic, she can't help us." Bonnie said.
"You don't know that." Lea pointed out.
"Okay, everyone has to calm down." Terra said. Everyone looked at her.
"I'll wait outside." Elena said. Terra and Vanessa picked up on the fact something wasn't right.
"Hang on, we'll come with you." Vanessa said. They left, leaving Marina and Lea with them.
Elena headed outside, looking around. When the girls followed her, they noticed Stefan had arrived. "What is he doing here?"
"He must've found out." Terra said. "Just follow my lead."
Marina and Lea were still inside with Bonnie and Abby. " You've grown into such a beautiful young woman, Bonnie."
"Please, just stop with the muffins and the compliments. I just want to know the truth." Bonnie told her. "Why didn't you come home?"
"I had no magic. I was in a new city, and I realized I had a chance to be somebody else. To be Abby Wilson, the woman... Not Abby Bennett, the witch." She explained. "I'm not proud of what I did, Bonnie. I ran. I know I ran. But you had your dad and your grams, and let's face it... Your Grams is way better at this stuff than I am."
"You don't know." Bonnie realized.
"What?" Marina and Lea looked at each other.
"Um…Abby, I hate to say this, but Sheila's…" Lea broke off, not sure how to break it to her. But Abby seemed to understand what she meant.
"How?" She asked them.
"We were doing a rough spell. And we both exhausted ourselves. Her more than me." Bonnie explained. Marina put a hand on her shoulder.
"This was before we showed up." Lea added.
"Well, she raised you right. I'm sure she was very proud of you. Well, now you know my whole story." Abby said. "How about you tell me yours? What brings you to me?"
"It was a dream, actually." Bonnie told her. "I thought you were supposed to help us. But if you don't have any magic…"
"Well, no spells, no. But I'm not completely useless. I mean, the earth still provides herbs and such. There might be something I can do." Abby said.
"I...Don't think so."
"Bonnie, please. Let me help you."
"I think we should give her a chance." Marina told Bonnie. She seemed surprised by her statement.
"I'm with Marina on this." Lea said.
Meanwhile, outside, Stefan, Elena, Terra, and Vanessa were looking at each other. "So what, you'd think I wouldn't find out?"
"Honestly, I didn't care." Elena said.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you in the loop, Elena."
"Back off! Bonnie's a friend to all of us and she needed her support." Terra pointed out.
"And besides, you've done enough damage in her life right now." Vanessa said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Stefan asked her.
"Look, I don't want to hate you, I want to believe our friend is still somewhere in there, but you crossed the line with that bridge incident." Vanessa told him.
Just then, Jamie showed up. "Hey! Everything all right out here?"
"Hey. Jamie, go back inside, okay?" Elena said. "Please. Trust me. It's better off for you there."
"I don't think so." Jamie said.
"Jamie, please, we've got this handled." Terra told him.
"I'd listen to her. Get back upstairs, man."
"I said I don't think so."
Before anyone could say anything else, Stefan grabbed Jamie and compelled him. "Get back upstairs before I tear your damn throat out, do you understand me?" Jamie left while the others stood there in shock.
"I don't think you realize how bad you've gotten!" Elena finally shouted.
"This is the way it has to be, Elena." Stefan said. "It's not as though I like it any better than you do, for the record."
"Yeah, are we supposed to believe that?" Vanessa asked.
"Vanessa, calm down." Terra said, holding her arm.
"Oh, yeah, right. Out-villain the villain. I get it." Suddenly, Jamie came back, holding a rifle. Terra realized what was wrong immediately.
"Jamie, what are you doing?" Elena asked.
"What I was told. He's not supposed to be here."
"Elena, he's compelled." Stefan told her. Jamie shot at him, but Terra tried to alter the course of the bullet so it wouldn't kill him. However, he managed to shoot him a second time, catching her off guard.
Inside, Marina, Lea, and Bonnie stood up upon hearing the gun shot. "What was that?" Bonnie asked.
"Sounded like a gunshot." Lea realized. "We've got to help them!"
"Abby, what are you doing?" Marina asked. Lea turned and saw Bonnie passed out in her mother's arms.
"Helping you guys." Abby said. She lowered her voice. "A vampire was here earlier. He compelled Jamie to kill himself if he didn't find the location of some coffins."
"Take me with you." Marina said.
"What?" Lea asked.
"I want to make sure you're not going to pull anything with Bonnie." Marina said, looking at the unconscious witch.
"Very well. Hide in the backseat, but be sure no one sees you." Abby told her. "But I would never hurt my daughter."
"Marina, are you sure?" Lea asked.
"I'll be fine. Right now, you need to let Damon know what's going on." Marina said. "We can't let Klaus win. Not with everything we've been through the past few weeks."
"Okay." Lea said. "Just be careful." She ran around the corner of the house and disappeared.
Outside, Jamie had Terra and Elena tied up. Vanessa had gone invisible on them, but she was kneeling near Stefan's side. "Why are you doing this?" Elena asked.
"Stop moving."
"Jamie, let me go."
Don't struggle, you'll just make it worse. Terra thought to her.
Then, Elena noticed Abby dragging a passed out Bonnie to a car. She also saw Marina sneak into the backseat of it. Think she has a plan?
Marina's smart, she wouldn't go with Bonnie and Abby without a plan. Terra pointed out.
In the backseat of the car, Marina waited quietly as they drove toward an abandoned intersection. She could see a man waiting up ahead and knew it had to be one of Klaus' hybrids. She ducked behind the backseat.
Abby got out and approached him. Cautiously, Marina turned to Bonnie. "Bonnie?" The young witch woke up next to her.
"What's happening?" Bonnie whispered.
"I can't explain everything, but your mom and Jamie are in trouble." Marina said. She noticed Bonnie put her hand to her head. "Are you okay?"
"Those herbs she gave me must've done something." Bonnie explained.
"Maybe I can help a little." Marina placed her hands on Bonnie's shoulders. After a few seconds, she let go. Bonnie exhaled sharply. "Feel better?"
"A little." Bonnie said. "I'm going out to deal with them." Marina couldn't hear anyone talking outside the car, but she could tell things weren't going well. She slipped out behind the car and crouched behind the trunk to hear them.
"I need you to tell me where those coffins are."
"Why?"
"Because if you don't, that man compelled Jamie to kill himself." Abby told her.
"I can't. This goes beyond you and me." Bonnie told her.
"All you need to do is tell me where they are. Then we'll have held up our end of the bargain. Bonnie, please." Marina saw Abby hand her phone to Bonnie.
"Excuse me." Bonnie said. She ducked behind the car next to Marina and showed the message to Marina.
"Lea went to warn Damon, but I don't think we can get them all out in time." Marina said.
"Well, they're going to have to try. I can't sit back and let them get hurt because of us." Bonnie said.
Back at the house, Vanessa was still invisible. She was talking to Stefan, trying to keep him from passing out again. Meanwhile, Terra was trying to help Elena untie herself. "I've almost got it." Elena said.
"This would go faster if you'd actually let me help." Terra pointed out. Just then, Jamie showed up, so she hid behind the other side of the pillar so he wouldn't see her.
"Abby hasn't called yet." Jamie said.
"Jamie, please, just let us go." Elena said.
"No! Please, don't do anything. Look, I don't know why I shot him. I don't know why I'm holding this gun, but if you move or do anything, I'm going to shoot him again." He told her.
"Who gave you that gun?" Elena asked.
"A man came by here earlier today. He said it was wooden buckshot. Told me if anyone got in our way, I'm supposed to shoot him." Jamie explained.
Keep him talking. Elena heard Terra say. "What else did he say?"
"If Abby didn't find the location of some coffins... I'm supposed to shoot myself." Terra winced. Klaus really was a monster.
"What about me? What did he say about me?" Elena asked.
"I'm not supposed to hurt you." Jamie told Elena.
"Are you sure? Because... These ropes are so tight that it is hurting me." He came toward her and undid the rope. She got her hand free, took the weapon from him, and hit him with it, effectively knocking him out.
"Nice one." Terra said. They ran over to help Vanessa out.
"He isn't doing so well, guys!" Vanessa said. She'd become visible the second Jamie had been knocked out.
"What can I do to help?" Elena asked.
"Every time I move, the wood shifts inside of me." Stefan managed to get out between breaths. "I can feel it scraping against my heart. You need to get the pieces out."
"I'll be right here if you need me." Terra told Elena. She stayed by her side as she began to pull the bullet out. Vanessa kneeled near Stefan's other side.
At the witch house, Damon headed downstairs. Lea was already there, waiting for him. Then Klaus entered the room. "What took you so long? Hiding behind your witchy friends. And in squalor, no less." Suddenly, he fell to the ground in pain.
"Insulting a bunch of dead witches... Not smart." Damon said. "I made the exact same mistake first time I came in here."
"And don't think that I won't hesitate to help them." Lea added.
"Well, you know the funny thing about the witches is that living or dead, they care about their own." Klaus said. "A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendants... And I have no problem killing every last one of them if I don't get my coffins back. As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line."
The witches let off their attack on him. "Thanks a lot guys." Lea called to them. "Ashley, if this backfires, I'm blaming you."
"Now. Please... Show me the coffins." Klaus said. The coffins appeared. Luckily, Lea and Damon had managed to get the fourth one out before Klaus showed up.
"Here we are. Where's the fourth?"
"It's not here, Klaus." Lea said.
"What did you do?" He approached her. Damon put his arm out in front of her protectively.
"Bonnie gave me the head's up. I mean, I didn't have enough time to get all four, but I did have time to get one."
"I will tear you limb from limb." Klaus pressed Damon against the wall. Lea instantly called fire to her. "And only then, when you are a writhing mass of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest."
"Sorry. Same rules apply. Leverage and all. I know you want your family back. But something tells me you want what's in that coffin a lot more." Damon pointed out. Thankfully, Klaus let him go and left. The fire Lea was holding went out and she went to Damon's side. "You okay?"
"Nothing that hasn't been done before." Damon said. "And thanks for helping us move that coffin out of here."
"Hey, I was already on my way when Bonnie called." Lea said. "Besides, I'd always help you." They looked at each other. "So…"
"I'll give you a ride home."
"Thanks."
Meanwhile, Terra was still helping Elena get the bullets out of Stefan. "Ugh. This is why I always hated biology." Terra said, flinching as Elena handed one of the bullets to her. There was still fresh blood on it.
Suddenly, Stefan screamed in pain. "Hang in there, Stefan." Vanessa said, touching his arm.
"I'm just trying to help!" Elena said at the same time.
"Just get it out, Elena, please. Just get it out."
"If you keep squirming, maybe I'll feel sorry for you." Elena said quietly. Vanessa still heard it, though. She finally got the last one out.
"I'll take care of these." Terra said. She got up and walked away, carrying the wood bullets Elena had given her.
"You've changed." The girls turned to Stefan. "Something's different about you. You're stronger. Tougher."
"You're not the only one who changed, Stefan. We all had to." Elena said.
Vanessa turned to him. "You're still not fully recovered. Let me help." She put her hand near his chest and whispered a small spell. It took some of the pain away, though it still hurt slightly.
"Thanks."
"There's something I have to tell you." Elena said. "And it's not because I feel guilty that it happened. It's because I feel guilty that you don't know. I kissed Damon." He looked up at her. After a few seconds, he got up and left.
Elena watched him leave. She felt Vanessa's hand on her shoulder. "You should talk to him."
"I don't know, Nessa."
"Hey, he's still into you. Even if things have been weird between you guys lately."
"Is that what all of you think?"
"That's only my opinion." Vanessa raised her hands.
"She's right, you should talk to him." Elena turned and saw that Terra had returned. "If you want to catch him, he's in the driveway. By his car." Elena sighed and walked away.
"We're going to spy on them, aren't we?" Vanessa asked.
"You know me so well." Terra said.
A few minutes later, they were watching Elena and Stefan from behind a small hedge near a driveway. "This isn't going well." Terra said, softly so they wouldn't hear them.
"Even I can tell that." Vanessa whispered. They watched as Stefan got in his car and left.
Elena stood there alone for several minutes. "Are you okay?" Vanessa asked her.
"I will be." Elena told her. "So, I'm guessing we're taking your car?"
"Yeah." Terra said. "It's going to be a long drive back, though, so if you want to talk about it…" Elena smiled and followed them to the car.
Meanwhile, back at the road, Marina had joined Bonnie and Abby. "Elena's on her way. Jamie's safe. He's a little bruised, but he's safe."
"Do you think the hybrid will come back?" Abby asked.
"You kept your end of the bargain. Klaus usually keeps his." Bonnie told her.
"And if that hybrid ever shows up again, I'll kick his ass." Marina added. "You have my word on that."
"You're willing to do all of this for him... And he's not even your family."
"He is my family, Bonnie. I know that might be hard for you to hear, but he is." Abby said. "But that doesn't mean that I don't care about you. I want to help you."
"You have no magic and I don't trust you." Bonnie said.
"Bonnie, are you just saying this because you're hurt about her leaving you?" Marina asked her. Bonnie looked at her, surprised. "Here's what I think is really going on, you've been channeling your negative feelings about Abby all day because you've been afraid of her turning you away."
"I guess I didn't realize it." She said, rubbing her arm. "It's been so long...and her absence effected me more than I thought. I spent all those years using the tough-girl act as a cover."
Abby sighed. "When I put Mikael down, my magic didn't just leave me. It drifted away. The longer I stayed away from you, the weaker it got." She explained. "I think nature was punishing me for abandoning you. Maybe you can help me get my magic back."
"I thought you said you didn't want it anymore." Bonnie pointed out.
"I don't. But if it's what you wanted... I would do that for you." Abby told her. Bonnie turned to Marina, uncertain.
"It's up to you, Bonnie. I'll support you no matter what choice you make." Marina said. She headed back to the car. She hoped that everything would turn out okay with everything.