Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries! I only own my OCs, "Juliet Jordan Gilbert" and "Ivan Christos" and any other characters or plotlines I make up along the way!

Author's Note: So I've decided that this story will most likely end after this current season. At this point, I don't see the Vampire Diaries getting renewed for season 8 and even if it does, I don't want to drag out Stefan and Juliet's story into a storyline or a show that in all seriousness I do not enjoy anymore, and that reflects into my story writing. So after season 7, perhaps I'll do a wrap up chapter to the story if I don't do so in the last episode of season 7, but this story will end. I'll miss Stefan and Juliet to death, but I don't want to write for a story that I'm starting to lose interest in.

That being said, you won't have to say goodbye to Stefan and Juliet for long! Yes, I am planning on going back and writing Stefan and Juliet's story from the very beginning of The Vampire Diaries, if people would be interested in that. Grant it, there won't be much love from their sides (at least Stefan's side) until season 4 after the Stelena break up and the two of them become more aware of their feelings for each other, but we'll get to see Klaus and Juliet's relationship, Stefan and Juliet as best friends, and that kind of thing.

ENJOY!


"I don't know if I can do this," I muttered into my phone as I sat in the driveway of the Lockwood mansion.

"Listen, if I can face you and Stefan after my whole drama with the baby, then you can face Stefan," Valerie replied. "Now, we're just waiting on Lily's text, so just come inside and talk to him."

"I never thought I'd see this day," I mumbled.

"What? That you'd be apologizing to Stefan?" She asked.

"No, that you're the one trying to keep me calm," I responded as I hung up. I took the car key out of the ignition and opened the door, getting out. I walked up to the front door of the Lockwood mansion, and I was just about to open the door when it swung open and Stefan was on the other side.

"Oh! Hi," Stefan said.

"Hi," I replied awkwardly back. "I, uh...I came to-"

Just then, Damon came barreling down the stairs and rolled his eyes when he saw me. "Ah. Stefan-distraction machine. Please tell me you're not coming."

"Where?" I asked.

"Nora and Mary Louise's anniversary," Valerie responded as she came up beside Damon. "And yes, she is, but she has something to talk about with her husband first, doesn't she?" Valerie asked pointedly, looking at me.

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, she's right. We gotta talk."

Stefan raised his eyebrows as he looked between Valerie and I, surprised that Valerie and I were acting so civilized with each other.

"Uh, okay," Stefan started. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Uhh..." I stuttered, looking over at Damon, who was staring at me expectantly.

"Don't start sweating," Kai advised as he whispered into my ear. "It's not attractive and it won't help."

"What, is it a hard one?" Damon asked. "Spit it out, sis."

I looked over to Valerie for helping, pleading with my eyes to get rid of our audience. She nodded as she realized what I wanted her to do. "You know what? Damon and I will go together. Stefan can follow behind."

Damon scoffed. "What? No!"

"Yes. Let's go," Valerie insisted as she grabbed Damon's arm and dragged him out of the house. She gave me a tenative smile of encouragement as she walked out, leaving Stefan and I standing awkwardly in the foyer.

I walked more into the house and turned around to face Stefan, who had a puzzled look on his face. "Uh... What was that all about?" He asked. "I mean, you and Valerie actually talked to each other without one snarky comment."

I huffed, grabbing his arm and pulling us into the Lockwood living room. "We gotta talk," I repeated, sitting him down on the couch.

We both sat a little awkwardly until I cleared my throat. Not letting myself lose my nerve, I turned to Stefan and blurted, "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Stefan insisted. "I-"

"No, let me finish," I insisted, putting my hand up to stop him from talking. He relented, and I opened my mouth again. "This entire time, I shouldn't have acted the way I did. You were right; of all people I should have been one to want to help Valerie. Valerie lost a child, and all I've ever wanted is to have a child. I should have been sympathetic instead of jealous. And I already talked to Valerie, and we're trying to move past this. And if I can move past it with Valerie, I can sure as hell move past it with you. If you can, please forgive me. And if you'll let me, I'd like to help you kill Julian."

Stefan hesitated for a second, before he pitched forward and captured my lips with his. He kissed me hard, wrapping his hands into my hair. I kissed him back just as hard as I cupped his face. We kissed for about a minute before Stefan pulled back. "You were right. I should have told you. That baby was mine too, and I had every right to tell you. But I didn't. I didn't because I was scared that it would scare you off and make you mad and all I wanted to do was kill Julian without losing you in the process. But I guess I did."

"You're not gonna lose me again," I told him as I reached into my jeans pocket. I grabbed what I was looking for and pulled them out of my pocket. I held my hand out and opened my fist to reveal my engagement ring and wedding band. "No matter what you do, you'll never lose me."

Stefan smiled down at my rings before taking them out of my hand. "You promise?" He asked as he held up them.

I smiled back at him. "I promise."

With that confirmation, he took my hand and slid the rings back on to my ring finger on my left hand. As soon as they were on, he brought my fingers to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against them. "So this is it. No more running away, no more secrets, no more lies."

"Agreed," I nodded.

"Then you should tell him about me," Kai said from his spot behind me. "If there's really not gonna be any more secrets then you should tell him about me."

I chose to ignore Kai as Stefan asked, "Why do you want to help kill Julian? I thought you didn't think that was your problem."

"Your problems are my problems, remember?" I reminded him. "And I can't believe I'm saying this, but Damon was right. Lily is as much my mother now as she is yours and I'm going to help free her and everyone else from this tyrant."

Stefan reached over and hugged me, pulling me to his chest. "Thank you. You really are the best wife that someone could ask for."

I nodded against his shoulder. "I know I am." I pulled back. "But if we're going to do this, we have to do it now. Valerie already told me what I can do to help her, so you should get on over to the party and I'll call Valerie and find out where she is."

"Are you really going to make nice with Valerie?" Stefan asked.

I shrugged a little. "Once I got past the petty jealousy, we realized we had a lot more in common than we thought. We both like the same kind of food, literature, we love to talk about you."

"Talk about me?" He repeated. "What do you talk about?"

I gave him a once over before patting his knee and standing up. "That's for us to know and you not to," I informed him as I made my way to the front door.

"That's real funny," Stefan said. "No but really, what do you talk about?"


Valerie texted me and told me that she was in a shed on the grounds with Mary Louise, Nora, and Beau. I readied myself to make sure that I would be able to fight them off without them killing me and made my way to the shed. I opened the door, and they all turned their heads to see me walking in.

Mary Louise snarled. "What is she doing here?"

"She's here to help me," Valerie told her as I came and stood next to her.

"Colluding with our enemies?" Mary Louise growled. "I can't believe you, Valerie."

"Juliet isn't an enemy," Valerie insisted. "Through her marriage to Stefan, she's Lily's daughter-in-law, making her a part of this family too."

Mary Louise rolled her eyes in frustration. "This is so typical! Nora and I have one night a year, and Valerie can't stop herself from trying to steal the spotlight."

"God, for once in your life, can you not be a selfish bitch?" I asked Mary Louise, and she sneered at me in response.

"This isn't about me. It's about our family," Valerie said.

Suddenly, the door opened, and we all looked over to see Lily walking in and stopping next to Valerie on her other side.

"Hold on. Where's Julian? We should wait for him," Nora suggested.

"Julian won't be joining us," Lily confirmed, and Valerie then launched into her story of what Julian had done to her.

"His face went cold," Valerie continued, trying to keep herself from shaking and/or bursting into tears. "I couldn't fight him off. I couldn't... I couldn't stop him. Julian beat me savagely and... when it was finally over, my baby was dead."

I reached up and put my hand on her shoulder, comforting her. She gave me a grateful look before turning back to the other Heretics. "Murdering my child wasn't just some violent whim. It was a calculated, manipulative act."

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would Julian do such a thing? What did he stand to gain?" Mary Louise asked, confused.

"Me. I would have never gone to Europe with him had I known about my grandchild," Lily revealed.

"Grandchild?" Nora asked with a stunned expression on her face.

I nodded. "Stefan was the baby's father," I confirmed.

"I couldn't cope. I took my own life and became the first Heretic. And when Julian saw how powerful I was, he wanted more. We're his army. We're not his family. We always have been," Valerie insisted.

Nora and Beau both had horrified and appalled looks on their faces. Nora turned to Lily. "Lily... Is that true?"

Lily nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "I believe every word Valerie said. When she told me what happened to her, it was as if all the lights in the room went on... And I could finally see Julian for who he really is. That's why I'm leaving him."

Nora and Mary Louise both gasped at the news, and Valerie swooped in. "She can't do it without your help. So the question is... Who do you believe?"

Mary Louise and Nora both looked over at Beau, who appeared to be scowling as he lunged for Valerie. I lifted my arm to incantate a spell to get Beau off of Valerie, but I was surprised to see Beau calmly holding his hands up to Valerie's face. Once he opened his eyes again, his face fell, and he immediately took her into a hug. This must have surprised Valerie, because she instantly burst into tears as she hugged Beau back.

I couldn't believe how selfish I was being before. I lifted my hand and rubbed Valerie's back, trying to help comfort her. When Beau finally pulled away from Valerie, Nora stepped forward and hugged Valerie as well. She pulled back and looked over expectantly at her girlfriend, who looked conflicted. "Mare. You heard what she said. What are you waiting for?"

Mary Louise looked flustered as she said, "Sorry. It's just this is a lot to take in."

"That's why we stick together. We're family," Nora insisted.

Reluctantly, Mary Louise went to Valerie and gave her a hug. When she pulled back, I caught the relieved look on Valerie's face as she gave me a one armed hug. "Thank you," She whispered into my ear.

I had wrapped my own arm around her shoulder, and I patted her on the shoulder. "You're welcome," I told her.

Nora eyed Valerie and I. "Since when have you two become friends?"

Valerie and I looked at each other before we looked back at Nora. "We just did," I answered. "It turns out, wanting to kill someone brings people close together."

Lily went over and sat down in a chair before gesturing to Beau. "Beau, give me your hand."

He walked over and took Lily's hand, the latter clutching her adoptive son's hand tightly in her own as she prepared for the next phase of the plan.

"What is she doing?" Mary Louise asked.

"Bracing herself," Valerie answered.

"For what?" Nora went on.

As if in answer, Lily hissed in pain and squeezed Beau's hand as a puncture wound appeared on her neck and started to bleed profusely. Mary Louise, alarmed by this sudden injury, rushed over to her as Valerie, Nora and I watched on.

"Lily, you're bleeding!" Mary Louise pointed out the obvious as she took the handkerchief from Beau's suit pocket and started blotting at the wound on Lily's neck.

"It's about to get a lot worse," Lily told her.

Valerie looked over at me. "Let's go," she said, and I nodded before following her out the door and back to the Salvatore boarding house. I had to stop at the bathroom first, but I urged Valerie on.

After I was done, I met up with her at the parlor room. She was hesitating before going on, but when I got to her, I patted her on the back and urged her forward.

When we got inside, Damon was playing pinball in the parlor while Julian, who was tied up to a chair, spoke to him, though the words were obviously falling on deaf ears.

"And yet here you are, essentially risking your life to be here with me in order to keep her alive," Julian continued as Valerie and I finally walked into the room.

"Don't listen to him. He knows he's dead either way. But if he can provoke you to kill him now, then you spend eternity as the boy who killed his own mother," Valerie advised Damon as she turned around to face Julian.

Julian smirked at her devilishly. "Mmm, aren't you a clever girl? It's a shame. I suppose your little one would have had the same smarts..."

I could tell Valerie was going to do something that she was going to regret, so I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back a little. "Hey, it's okay," I told her as I grabbed her chin and made her look into my eyes. "Don't let him get to you."

She nodded her head as she finally calmed down. Once she did, I muttered, "Sorry about this, Lily," under my breath as I swirled around and sucker punched Julian right in the face.

Damon and Valerie both gaped in shock as I shook my hand free of the pain. "Rot in hell, man," I told him as I stepped back towards Damon, who had lifted his hand to give me a high five.

Footsteps ran into the room, and I looked over to see Mary Louise running into the parlor. She gasped when she saw Julian all tied up.

"What is this?" Mary Louise asked.

"Apparently whoever wins at foosball gets to kill me," Julian snarked.

"It's pinball," Damon corrected. "and I have the high score. Did you break that link yet?"

Mary Louise looked over at Valerie with a defensive expression. "How do I know that you were pregnant with Stefan's child?"

I spluttered. "Really?" I asked in disbelief.

Valerie nodded at what I said. "Are you testing me? Do you really believe that I would make that up?"

"You lied to Lily about your affair with Stefan, just like you lied to us about killing Oscar, so why should I believe that you're telling the truth now?" Mary Louise asked.

Damon rolled his eyes as he stepped away from the pinball machine. "All right, Nancy Grace, enough. Let the adults handle this."

Mary Louise lifted her hand and caused a pain infliction spell on Damon that caused him to clutch his head in agony and drop to the ground, groaning. "Ow!"

"What are you doing?" Valerie gaped at her, and Mary Louise simply flicked her wrist and telekinetically snapped Valerie's neck, and she dropped to the ground.

"Hey!" I protested as I stepped forward and lifted my hand. Before I could do anything, Mary Louise flicked her wrist and my head knocked into the pinball machine behind me. My head hit the machine hard, and I knocked right out as I slipped to the ground.


When I woke up, my head was pounding and I found myself sitting on a chair. When I tried to move to stand up, I couldn't do it. Looking down at my neck, I realized with annoyance that my vervain necklace was missing and that I must have been compelled not to leave my seat. On my left was Damon, and on my right was Valerie, and the two of them were tied up.

"Oh, my God..." I heard, and I gently lifted my head to see Lily gaping in horror.

"Things have grown out of hand, Lily. Enough is enough," Julian stated.

"What are you doing? Let them go!" Lily demanded.

Julian bended over to tighten the chains binding me, Damon, and Valerie to our chairs before turning to address Lily. "I can't. 'Cause if I do, this bloody cycle will continue. And I love you- and the family that we have built together- far too much for that to happen. So... one lives, one dies. You have to choose which."

Lily scoffed. "I will do no such thing."

"Oh, but you will. You have spent far too long trying to have it all. The lies, the... the violence, all because you wanted the impossible," Julian said. "Well, the truth is, you're either a Salvatore, or you're one of us, but you cannot be both." He put a stake into Lily's hands. "Now choose."

When Lily hesitated, Julian snapped his fingers. "Juliet, love, be a dear and do as you were told."

Do as I was told? I thought to myself. What the hell did he...

Horrifically, my brain made me reach into my pocket and grab a handle. I then proceeded to pull out a dagger that I had no idea was there. I began slowly trembling as I looked into the reflection of the dagger. Where did the dagger come from?

Damon, Valerie, and Lily both looked on in horror as I held the dagger to my throat, pressing the blade of the knife to my throat. I was shaking, but my grip on the dagger stayed true as I felt tears beginning to emerge and slip down my cheeks.

"Choose!" Julian repeated. "Or the girl dies, and you'll still have to pick which one to kill. But instead of one death being over your head, there will be two."

Lily hesitated again, and after a stern look from Julian, I held the blade closer to my throat. My knuckles were turning white from how hard I was holding the handle of the dagger. A trickle of blood began to drip down my throat, and I gulped. My life was in the balance here, and all I could seem to think was that if Lily didn't pick, I would need to slash the knife against my throat. That was the only thing I could think of.

When Damon saw Lily hesitate, he quickly spoke up. "Lily, pick me!"

"No!" I protested, though the word came out funny with a knife against my throat. "Damon, don't!"

"Kill me, Lily!" Damon said again. "If you let Stefan's wife die, he'll die too."

Lily looked from me to Julian, then began pleading with her eyes. "Don't make me do this, Julian."

Julian clicked his tongue. "Wrong answer." And with a snap of his fingers, my hand jerked, and the knife sliced the skin, slitting my throat open.

"NO!" Damon, Valerie, and Lily all shrieked, and the compulsion that was keeping me from moving wore off, and I slumped to the ground.

The knife was still clutched tightly in my hand as my body hit the ground and as it did, my throat gushed out another fountain of blood. I felt myself gasping for air that was slowly beginning to disappear. I wanted to lift my hands to my throat to try and stop the blood that was flowing out of my throat, but I couldn't bring myself to move at all.

The pain was unbearable, almost to the point where I couldn't feel it anymore. My blood was laid out in front of me as a pool at my chin, and the world began to blur and I began seeing spots of white.

Most people say that your entire life flashes before your eyes when you die. But there was only one single moment in front of my eyes as the life bled out of me.

"You're not gonna lose me again," I told him as I reached into my jeans pocket. I grabbed what I was looking for and pulled them out of my pocket. I held my hand out and opened my fist to reveal my engagement ring and wedding band. "No matter what you do, you'll never lose me."

Stefan smiled down at my rings before taking them out of my hand. "You promise?" He asked as he held up them.

I smiled back at him. "I promise."

My eyes fluttered shut as I drew my last breath, regretting that I couldn't say goodbye to my husband. The last thing that I saw was my engagement ring and wedding band on my hand as a single tear slipped down my cheek.


Damon's heart dropped all the way to his chest when he saw Juliet, the closest thing he'd ever had to a sister, drop to the floor, blood gurgling out of her throat. His entire body was tightened with despair as her hands twitched uncontrollably and then stopped moving altogether. His vampire hearing picked up her slow breaths until they couldn't anymore, and he slumped against his chair as he watched her chest cease to move. She was gone.

Voices echoed around him as he looked all around the room. Valerie had tears streaming down her face as she screamed curses at Julian. Lily appeared to be frozen in place as tears streaked down her own face. "What have you just done?" Lily demanded quietly. She raised her voice as she said, "This isn't you. This is not the man that I fell in love with. You used to be kind, gentle, funny. No, no- you... you're still in shock from the hell that you've been trapped in for so long."

Valerie heaved through her tears enough as she said, "Hell didn't turn him evil, Lily. He was born this way. Isn't that evidenced enough by the fact that he just killed your son's wife right before your eyes?!"

Damon couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't help but just stare at Juliet. His girlfriend's sister, his brother's wife, his own sister-in-law. Just gone, in a single moment. He couldn't face his brother, not after this. Not while knowing that his own death could have saved her.

"Let's get this over with," Damon said as he finally tore his gaze away from her unmoving body. "You chose your Heretics over Stefan and me every chance you had. Why stop now?"

Lily looked back and forth between Valerie and Damon, and then finally took one last look at Juliet's body. The girl who his son had found and loved enough in his hundred and sixty seven years to marry and decide that he wanted to spend the rest of his immortal life or her mortal life with. And blood was still pouring out of her dead body from the wound in her throat.

No more blood would be shed because of Lily.

Lily looked over to Valerie. Valerie, believing that Lily was going to pick her, cried harder. "Lily, please..."

Lily's eyes filled with tears as she smiled weakly at her. "You are such a strong girl. I am so sorry I didn't see it sooner." Lily then turned to Damon and caressed his face as he angrily glared openly at her. "My son... Please forgive me."

Damon growled. "Kill me! Come on! Do it, Lily!"

Lily, overwhelmed, turned to Julian. "You're wrong about so many things. I never had the courage to tell you before... But I do now. You are wrong, Julian. I can choose them both."

Lily gripped the stake in her hands and lifted it into the air before driving it into her own heart.

Valerie cried out in shock and desperately tried to break through the chains. She thrashed and sobbed as she tried to get out of her restraints.

Lily began gasping and choking as Julian frantically rushed over to her as she fell to the floor. He pulled the stake out of her chest as he said, seemingly in devastation, "No! Lily! Lily, Lily." His tone then changed dramatically. "My sweet, foolish girl! I've already unlinked us!"

Lily's eyes widened in horror when realized that she had killed herself for nothing. She gasped and tried to regain control of her breathing.

Julian dropped Lily to the ground when he heard footsteps running to the door. He went over to Juliet's body and picked her up before vamp speeding out of the estate.


Julian took Juliet's body to the Mystic Grill, where he cleared the vicinity quickly with his compulsion. He laid her still body on to the bar, slit throat and blood stained clothes and all. He levelled her so that she was aligned properly. Her feet were together, her hands were on top of each other on top of her stomach, her hair was sitting against her blood soaked chest. She was a perfect corpse.

He then went on to make himself a drink, standing behind the bar as he prepared the drink. He alternated between pouring himself a scotch and watching Juliet's body. It was still cold and still, but it wouldn't be for long.

As if on cue, Juliet took a deep intake of breath. Her eyes flew open, and then immediately shut again, as if the light was too much for her eyes take. Her eyes were still closed as she lifted them and ran them over her throat, her chest, her arms. She opened her eyes again as she pressed her hands to the bar and pushed herself forward, taking more gasps of air by the lungful. She heaved and shook as she took in the sight of all the blood on her clothes. Then, as if just now sensing Julian's presence beside her, she turned her head sharply to the side, her blood drenched hair hitting her shoulders in matted clumps.

Julian lifted his glass of scotch to her as she stared at him in confusion. "Welcome back to the land of the living." He lifted a shoulder as he gestured to her up and down. "Well, so to speak." He lifted his glass to his lips and downed his entire drink in one go as Juliet's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.


TBC...

DUN...DUN...DUN!

REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!


Review Responses...

grapejuice101: Thank you! I missed them too, but they'll be back in the next chapter. And at least you know what happened when she came face to face with Julian!

RHatch89: Thank you!

HippieLove1312: Thank you! I'm proud of Juliet for trying to be strong and dealing with Stefan's ex in a mature way because she is an adult. And honestly, if Elena hadn't dated Matt, I honestly believe that Juliet would have, and if she hadn't had met Stefan, she would have married Matt.

LMarie99: Thank you!

Prettygirl16: We'll have to see!

Cushy96: Yeah, I love Caroline too! I thought it would be best to keep Caroline pregnant, because her being pregnant will be big with her storyline in ways that I don't know yet and I wouldn't want to accidentally change anything major.

adela: Thank you! Here's more!


Next chapter...

Cold as Ice...

THE SALVATORES ARE COMING TO TOWN — With the holidays in full swing, a search for a newly turned Juliet and Julian leads Damon and Stefan to a small town outside of Mystic Falls. Juliet struggles with her transition as a vampire while her torments from Kai take a scary turn. While managing a holiday toy drive at Whitmore College, Bonnie seeks help from Nora and the two strike up an unlikely friendship. Elsewhere, Caroline does her best to navigate her new life as a pregnant vampire, while Alaric grows concerned that the pregnancy is effecting her more than she's letting on. Finally, after finding himself at odds with Damon, Stefan is forced to take matters into his own hands, setting off a tragic chain of events that leaves their lives changed forever.