Chapter 49: The End of the Affair

Klaus refused to tell Stefan where they were going, after they left the Smoky Mountains. Through the entire hike down to their hotel, even after getting cleaned up and being loaded back into the trucks; he simply refused to tell Stefan, until they had already arrived in Chicago. Stefan was less than impressed, even more so when Klaus tried to remind him of the 20s. The 20s weren't exactly a good decade for Stefan. It was a time he tried hard to forget.

After seeing that his traveling companion was in no mood to discuss his time in 1920 Chicago, Klaus moved onto other topics. He admitted to Stefan that he'd come to see a witch - one of his favorite witches - to find out why he couldn't make other hybrids. If anyone could tell him what he was doing wrong, it was Gloria.

Later that morning Damon got a surprising call from Katherine. She started out doing her usual, playing games with him - she claimed she was bored and wanted to know what drama was going on back in Mystic Falls. Damon gave her a brief rundown, also mentioning that no one's thought of her since she left. The jab didn't sting as much as he'd hoped.

Katherine made a comeback jab about him and Phoebe ("So you and Phoebe finally an item, or is she clinging to the excuse that you two can't be happy until you get Stefan back? I certainly hope not, given that you've chosen to give up on him."). That got more of a response out of Damon than his jab had gotten out of her. He defended that he hadn't given up on Stefan, he just had no idea where he was. That's when it hit him: Katherine knew.

Meanwhile at Elijah's house in Reidsville, Phoebe shows signs of being hungover from using her powers when she shouldn't have. Hayley wasn't happy about that. But she only scolded Phoebe out of love and concern for her well-being. It didn't matter that Damon had found out where Phoebe had taken her sister, and that he had followed them out there. It didn't matter that a crazy, zombie, hybrid thing had attacked them multiple times and she was only trying to keep Damon from being bitten, again. Or that her sister idiotically wanted to stay and look for Stefan even after the zombie hybrid mutant had started turning before the moon was full. She didn't want Phoebe making herself worse by using her powers when she could have found other solutions to those problems.

"You're gonna have to rely on your own wit again once you're a vampire, anyways," said Hayley. "You're not gonna have your powers anymore, when you turn."

"Well, technically the rules only specify you can't be a witch and a vampire at the same time," Phoebe argued. "I'm technically an anomaly, so I might be able to keep by powers."

Hayley gave her a look, "You know what I mean, Phoebe. Besides, if Elijah were here, he'd tell you the same thing. You've grown too dependent on your powers. You need to start relying on your brain, again. That's your real power. The one thing the witches can't take from you, because they didn't give it to you. And it's the one thing we know you'll still have once you're a vampire."

Phoebe's phone began vibrating next to her. It was Damon. Despite the look on Hayley's face telling her not to, she answered it, "Hey, this isn't a...What? Where?...Chicago?...How do you know?...Katherine told you. And you trust her?...No, we'll just left you there. We're already four hours in a completely different direction...Yes, I'm sure. Just make sure you bring Elena. She's the whole reason we're doing this...Yeah, you too. Bye."

"Stefan?" Hayley guessed.

"Yeah, apparently Katherine got bored and called Damon this morning. Long story short, she knows that Stefan and Klaus are in Chicago."

"And you guys believe her?" she questioned. "Isn't she kinda known for her lying and manipulation?"

"She is, but it makes sense that she'd know where Klaus is at all times," Phoebe relented. "I mean, he has wanted her dead for the last 500 years. Just because he currently has something else occupying his main focus doesn't mean he wouldn't kill her if he ran across her again."

Hayley couldn't argue with that. Mostly because she didn't know Katherine half as well as the rest of them did, but also because it just made sense. "So to Chicago?"

"To Chicago."

Elsewhere, Caroline is being kept in a weakened state by her father via vervain through the ventilation system. Her father explains that the place in which he's holding her was built by her ancestors to hold a vampire: ventilation to pump vervain through, reinforced steel holding chair, and a window with shudders for exposing said vampire to periodic doses of sunlight.

Caroline pleads with her father to let her go, but he can't. He needs to know how she can walk in the sunlight. It's honestly the only thing he wants to know; so she tells him. Bill marvels at her ring momentarily, before removing it and tossing it aside. With that out of the way, they can now begin her reconditioning treatments. Every time the blood makes her vampire face appear and her fangs grow, he exposes her to the sunlight.

A while later, once they were already on the road, Damon gave Elena one of Stefan's journals. It's from the 20s, when he was in Chicago. Elena refuses to invade Stefan's private thoughts by reading it, but Damon insists. He and Phoebe agree that she needs to be prepared for whatever state they may find Stefan in. She's only seen him when things are all sunshine and rainbows. She has no idea what he's like when he's off the rails. Elena eventually agrees to read a little bit of the journal, after Damon reads a passage aloud to her ("When did you and Phoebe become the parental units?").

Meanwhile, Stefan is met with an old face from the 20s. The witch Klaus and brought them there to meet – Gloria. She should be dead by now, but like Agnes and Zoie, she uses magic to slow the aging process. She still tends the same bar she used to back in the 20s, though more openly now that prohibition is no longer in effect.

Klaus sends Stefan to get a drink, while he speaks with Gloria. He tells her of his hybrid problems, and she tells him that there must be something he's doing wrong; but the only way to know for sure is to speak to the Original Witch – the one that created the hybrid curse – and she's dead. However, Rebekah – Klaus' sister – holds the key to contacting her. Bring Rebekah to her, and she can talk to the Original Witch about what he's doing wrong.

Stefan eavesdrops with his vampire hearing, while the two speak for fear she might tell him that the doppelganger is still alive – or something almost as bad. To his temporary relief, she doesn't make any mention of Elena. Then a new problem caught his attention. One of the photos attached to the mirror behind the bar was of Stefan and Klaus together, back in the 20s. The problem was, Stefan had no memory of meeting Klaus prior to his arrival in Mystic Falls a few months back.

As predicted, Hayley and Phoebe arrived in Chicago before Damon and Elena. They waited outside the rundown building Damon told them to go to and wait. Phoebe passed the time sketching in her sketchbook, but Hayley was bored out of her mind. She didn't understand why they couldn't at least wait at a restaurant or something, so they could eat while they waited.

Damon explained to all three women, upon their arrival, that the building used to be a nice apartment complex that Stefan stayed at during his time in Chicago. But he mostly chose that location because of the all girls' college that used to be around the corner. It was closed due to attendance issues.

Aside from that thrilling bit of trivia, Damon had one other thing to show to the girls – mostly Elena. There was a hidden closet behind the pantry shelves meant for hiding your alcohol during prohibition. Stefan used the wall of it to list the names of everyone he's ever killed. Elena was speechless.

"Still handling it?" he asked her rhetorically.

"And what were you doing in the 1920s?" Hayley retorted. "Paving the way for women's liberation?'

"I was around. Chicago's a big city," said Damon. "Stefan was a cocky ripper douche. But I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanans of my own." He gave Phoebe one of his signature smirks.

Phoebe rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head. Damon headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"His old stomping ground."

Phoebe tried to follow, "I'm coming with you."

"No, you stay here and whip up an actual plan," said Damon. "I'll come back when I find him." He gave Phoebe another look, and left.

Elsewhere Stefan asks Klaus about why he doesn't remember meeting him back in the 20s, but his answers are evasive at best – his priority is to wake Rebekah and get what he needs. Stefan pushes, so Klaus explains how they met, as he undaggers Rebekah. They met at Gloria's bar, and he hated him. He didn't want his little sister around him, much less in love with him. But Stefan eventually grew on him and Klaus became his number one fan.

Stefan still doesn't remember any of this, and Rebekah – though desiccated – doesn't look familiar to him. Klaus warns him not to tell her that ("Her temper is worse than mine."). He then compels the guard to tell Rebekah where to meet them when she wakes and to feed her, before leaving to bring Stefan farther down memory lane.

Meanwhile, Damon pays a visit to Gloria's bar, which is now open and in full swing. The two chat and exchange pleasantries – she even admits that she's always liked Damon better than Stefan. But despite Damon asking nicely, she refuses to tell him where Stefan and Klaus went or what they're doing. But she does mention that they'll be back later that night.

Back at the apartment, Elena reads through more of Stefan's journal while Phoebe and Hayley poke around the apartment. Then, with no warning at all, Hayley started grabbing their things and telling the twins to hide. Elena, of course, just sat there questioning why they needed to hide; but Phoebe grabbed her, and shoved her into the bathroom with Hayley and their things.

Phoebe ran back into the kitchen to grab her phone, which she'd left on the counter. But there wasn't time to cross the apartment and get back to the bathroom with the other girls – her human ears could hear Klaus and Stefan talking out in the hall. There was only one place to go, and it would likely be the one place they would actually look at – the hidden cupboard.

Klaus voiced his concerns for the broken doorknob upon entering the old apartment – he could tell there had been someone there recently. Stefan made a point to remind him that it's been 90 years since he was last there. People must break into that place all the time. Yet despite nothing being disturbed or taken, Klaus accepted this answer; but only because he smelled something familiar in the air.

The scent of raspberries and vanilla was rather faint, especially with all the dust filling the place; but Klaus could still smell it. He said nothing to Stefan about the familiar scent – surely Stefan smelled it too and recognized it far more than he did. Instead, he simply went on about their time in the 20s and moved to show Stefan why he had brought him there.

The sweet smell grew stronger the closer Klaus got to his desired location. "This must be where she's hiding." He couldn't help but smile.

Klaus pulled open the door to the hidden cupboard and the smell of raspberries and vanilla assaulted his heightened hybrid senses. Phoebe tensed up and she tried to make herself smaller in her little corner of the cupboard. Even Hayley and Elena all the way in the bathroom could tell where Klaus was leading Stefan, and they cringed. It wouldn't be so bad if they found Phoebe, because Klaus already knew she was alive. But what if Klaus thought she was here to finish the job she'd started? There was honestly no telling how he would react to finding her hiding in that cupboard.

Klaus stepped aside and gestured for Stefan to take a look in the cupboard. Stefan moved slowly inside and peered around the corner at the list of names. His heart jumped and his stomach lurched at the sight of Phoebe standing there. She looked around awkwardly and smiled the same way, like a kid getting caught doing something they shouldn't. Stefan just stared back at her with that conflicted look of his. He was happy to see her again, but also very much unhappy that she was here right now.

"Look what I found," Stefan announced.

Hayley and Elena shared a very much unnerved look. Phoebe's smile faded. She knew he wasn't going to turn her in to Klaus, but she still wasn't sure what he was up to.

Stefan grabbed a bottle off the shelf and exited the cupboard. Klaus accepted it, suggesting they find someone to pair it with. Stefan half-smiled in agreement and closed the cupboard door. The girls all waited for the men to leave the building entirely, before coming out of their hiding places. They didn't want to come out too early and risk Klaus hearing them. He couldn't know about Elena. It wasn't so bad if he found Hayley and Phoebe, but not Elena.

Meanwhile in Mystic Falls, Tyler needs help finding Caroline. His mother doesn't know where Bill took her, and she can't convince him to return her. And with everyone capable of helping out of town, that just leaves Liz. Tyler headed straight over to Caroline's house and found her mom. He told her everything he knew, but it was enough. She knew where Bill took Caroline. There was only one place he could possibly hold a vampire that he wasn't planning to kill.

Damon showed up about an hour later – after being called by the girls – and nonchalantly told Elena to make herself presentable to talk to Stefan tonight. Hayley and the twins stared at him blankly.

"What?" he asked, sitting on the couch.

"We tell you we were almost discovered by Klaus, and you're worried about what she's wearing?" Hayley questioned.

"I had an hour to realize what a bad idea it was to leave you three here, process it, and move on," he replied in his usual uncaring demeanor. "Now, get dressed. You're all road-trippy and gross."

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head, as she headed for the bathroom to change. Hayley did the same, but walked into the kitchen to give Damon and Phoebe a moment alone.

Phoebe took a seat next to Damon.

"You okay?" he asked in a lowered voice.

"I'm fine," she told him. "But I won't be if you go in to distract Klaus, while my sister talks to Stefan."

Damon gave her a funny look, "How did you-"

"Someone has to distract him long enough for Elena to try convincing Stefan to come home, which you know she's going to," said Phoebe. "But you can't be the one to do it."

"Why not?"

"Because you have a very repetitive habit of pissing people off," she answered honestly. "If I talk to him-"

"Not gonna happen," he interrupted.

"Damon, don't make put you to sleep. You have to know that sending me to talk to him is a much better idea than sending you," Phoebe argued.

"Yeah? Well, how do you know he's not just gonna kill you the moment he sees you? Or make you start traveling with him, because he's suddenly changed his mind about keeping the only thing that can kill him close?"

"He won't change his mind. Klaus doesn't strike me as the kind to be that fickle," said Phoebe. "And if he wanted me dead, he would have killed me before he left Mystic falls." She reached out and took his hand. He recoiled a little, nervous she might be trying to knock him out. "I can take care of myself, Damon. Even against an Original. You can't. Please just trust me, so I don't have to go through you."

Damon wasn't happy about it, but he relented, "Fine. But if something goes wrong, don't expect me to sit aside and do nothing."

Phoebe shook her head and smiled, "I would never expect such a thing from you."

Meanwhile, Stefan and Klaus have returned to Gloria's bar and are sharing a few drinks. Stefan finds it amusing that Klaus wanted him to travel with him as his wingman for the way he used to torture people, when he's no longer that person. Klaus admits to that being part of his reason for wanting Stefan. The other part is that Stefan used to want to be his wingman.

Stefan listens as Klaus tells him about the night they took that photo together. They shared a few drinks at Gloria's – much like they were now – only Klaus was the brooding, self-loathing one and Stefan was trying to lift his mood by telling him what an amazing creature he was. It all sounded too odd and backwards to be true for Stefan, especially considering he couldn't remember any of it.

After being questioned why he had no memory of anything Klaus had told him today, Klaus explained that he was forced to compel him to forget. Someone showed up looking for him and Rebekah, and they were forced to flee Chicago. Klaus compelled Stefan to forget them until he said otherwise. That's when Stefan found Rebekah's necklace on the floor – the one he gave to Elena.

Stefan tried questioning who would have the big bad Klaus running for his life, in 1920 Chiacgo; but Klaus refused to answer. He declared "story time" over, and poor himself another drink. Stefan took the time to step outside and get some air – or so he told Klaus. He was really going out to call Phoebe and find out what the hell she was doing in Chicago. But she was already there.

Back in Mystic Falls, Bill tells Caroline how he cried when he heard she'd been turned into a vampire – his baby girl. Caroline tried telling him that she was okay, she was still herself; but he wouldn't listen. He only further insisted that if he couldn't fix her, he'd have to kill her – which he didn't want to have to do. That's when mom showed up to the rescue.

Liz descended the stairs, gun drawn and aimed at her ex. She commanded he release their daughter, and sent Tyler down to get her. Bill tried to stop him, but Liz fired a warning shot at him and he moved aside. Tyler tore away the restraints that were holding Caroline to the chair, returned her ring, then carefully picked her up and carried her out of that horrible place.

Back in Chicago, Stefan flitted up to Phoebe, "Are you insane?"

"Well, hello to you, too," she replied.

"Klaus almost found you today."

"But he didn't," Phoebe argued. "Even if he had, it wouldn't have been all that bad. It's not like it was Elena hiding in that cupboard."

"But she is here, right? You brought her with you, didn't you?" he questioned. "You have got to get her out of here, before Klaus finds her."

"I can't. She refuses to give up on you until you're checked into vampire rehab and on the mend," said Phoebe. "I promised to get her to you so she could say her goodbyes, but you know Elena. She's gonna try whatever she can to get you back, regardless of the cost. Believe me, I've tried talking to her. She won't listen."

"Dammit, Phoebe, she is the key to everything!" Stefan pressed. "She was supposed to die in the sacrifice, but she didn't. Now Klaus can't create new hybrids. His witch is seconds from finding that out."

"What?"

"You need to get Elena out of here, and tell her to forget about me," said Stefan.

"Tell her yourself," said Damon, announcing his presence.

Stefan looked over and saw Elena standing in the distance with Damon and Hayley.

"I'll keep Klaus distracted, while you two talk," said Phoebe. "Stefan? Don't hold back. Being gentle isn't what's going to keep her away."

And with that, she stepped into the bar and began scanning the room for Klaus. He wasn't hard to find, even with his back to her. She locked sights on his dirty blonde curls, took a deep breath, and headed for the bar.

Klaus found himself smiling as she hopped onto the barstool next to him. He didn't even have to look to know who it was – her scent was very distinctive. Raspberry vanilla. There weren't many woman that wore that body spray, so despite having only met her a handful of times, he knew it was her. Even more so now, after having smelled it in the apartment earlier as well.

"You just don't give up, do you?" he asked her.

Phoebe thought about asking how he knew it was her, but figured he must've seen her approaching in the mirror behind the bar and so let it go. "Now what kind of friend would I be if I did that? I mean, I understand that may be a difficult concept for you to grasp, seeing as you have no friends…at all."

"Ah, yes. Friends," he mumbled. He picked up a drink umbrella and began fidgeting with it.

Phoebe rolled her eyes and did her best to ignore his comment. She was getting tired of him always trying to imply that there was something more between her and Stefan than friendship.

"Let's take a look at that friendship, shall we?" He turned his whole body to face Phoebe. She remained forward, sipping on the soda Gloria had dropped in front of her – her way of saying she knew Phoebe wasn't old enough to order any alcoholic beverages, but she could still sit there. "According to a source of mine, you've called him sexy."

"Okay, I was referring to both him and Damon when I said that, and I meant it objectively," Phoebe argued.

"There was the way you two danced together," he continued. "You can tell a lot about people by the way they dance together, and you two made quite the pair."

Phoebe chewed her straw in frustration.

Klaus' smile grew to show a glimpse of his dimples. "Alright, dances and summer correspondences aside…" He looked up to see her reaction to that.

Phoebe tensed, but looked at him as though she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh, don't play dumb, love. It doesn't suit you," he told her. "I've known about your little motivational emails for quite some time, now. I haven't read them personally, but I can tell when Stefan's received a particularly motivational one from you. He becomes even more argumentative than normal."

"Well, I can't say that I'm sorry to hear that," she replied, sipping her drink. Phoebe was very happy that he hadn't actually read any of her emails – she'd mentioned Elena in several of them. Her body relaxed a little.

Klaus picked up his own drink and went on, "My point, love, is this: There's a fine line between being good friends and in love. You and Stefan crossed that line when you kissed for my benefit." He took a sip of his drink, once again eyeing her for her reaction.

Phoebe turned her body to face him, now. "But that's all it was – for your benefit. So you'd think I was Elena."

"And it worked too," he admitted. His wicked grin returned to his face and he leaned in. "But just between us girls, I bet you haven't been able to stop thinking about that kiss, have you?"

Phoebe was now caught between a rock and a hard place. If she said she hadn't thought about it at all, he'd know she was lying. You didn't need to know her personally or have super hearing to listen to her heart to know that. If she admitted to thinking about it, but only out of guilt, he'd claim she must have enjoyed it a lot – you didn't feel guilty about doing something unless you liked doing it.

But Phoebe was not about to give him the satisfaction. She slid off of her barstool – bringing her closer to him than she'd ever care to be – and headed for the door. Klaus reached out and caught her arm, before she got far.

"Wait." He looked at her solemnly. "I'm sorry. I won't say another word about you and Stefan. Please. Stay." He wasn't sure why, but he found he quite enjoyed her company.

Phoebe looked down at the hand on her arm – he wasn't gripping her all that tight – then back at the door. Surely Elena had had enough time by now to say her goodbyes and try whatever feeble attempt at convincing Stefan to come home with them. But still. He was asking her to stay. The big bad Klaus was asking little Phoebe Gilbert to stay and keep him company.

Phoebe gave him a nod and he released her arm. Whatever reason that existed for this odd behavior, she wanted to discover it. Perhaps it could one day be used to their advantage.

Meanwhile outside, Hayley and Damon leave the once happy couple alone to talk. Elena tries luring Stefan into a warm embrace, hoping to lower his guard enough to drug him with vervain. Oddly, Stefan isn't interested in being held in her arms. He allows her to hold him for her own sake, but he doesn't even attempt to wrap his own arms around her.

The feeling of her hand brushing against his cheek doesn't move him the way it used. The smell of her perfume doesn't intoxicate him the way it used to. And the sight of her standing before him doesn't make him long to be in her arms the way it used to. It was an odd feeling for him, but Phoebe was right. They both needed this to know for sure it was over and time to move on. And for Stefan, it was over.

Elena tried injecting him with a vervain tranquilizer, while he was distracted by her embrace, but it failed. Stefan moved away from her with vampire speed and took the vervain from her. Now he was annoyed. He tried telling her about the risks of always coming after him with Klaus so nearby – she didn't care. He tried telling her that things would never be the same between them after everything he'd been forced to do this summer – she only reminded him that Lexi always managed to save him when he got like this, so she could too.

Seeing that there was no getting through to her with a more pleasant approach, Stefan decided to stop tip-toeing around her feelings. He told her flat out that things between them were done. That part of his life was over. He never wanted to see her again, and he didn't want to be with her again. She needed to leave and move on with her life.

Elena was crushed. She spent all this time holding out hope of saving him and bringing him home...spent so much time fighting everyone and their doubts. Now to find that he didn't want her help – that he didn't want her…it was heartbreaking.

Stefan turned away from her and left her to her own thoughts. Now he really needed a moment alone, before returning to Klaus' side. Though telling her that he didn't want to see her anymore was far easier than he ever thought it would be. But perhaps that was just because he was annoyed by her persistence right now. Still. Even that was an odd thing to be so annoyed about.

Back inside, Phoebe got comfy on her barstool again. Klaus noticed dark smudges on her arm and inquired about them. "What's all that from?"

Phoebe looked at her arm, "Oh, that would be graphite."

"Bit early to be doing homework," he remarked.

"It is," she agreed. "I was drawing."

Klaus thought back to the first time he saw her – when he was still in Rick's body. Phoebe was making decorations for the Decade Dance. Till now he thought that's all it was; after all, they were no great masterpieces she was painting that day. But most people try to wipe away the excess paint when they find it on their arms or hands – she didn't – and they certainly don't stick the paintbrush in their hair, risking paint getting into their hair. But again, she didn't seem to mind that.

"Do you enjoy art?" he asked, seriously.

"The messier, the better. Well, except for charcoal. I suck at using charcoal. It smears too much and just comes out looking like a blackened mess," she answered. "You? No, wait, let me guess. You enjoy looking at it, but not creating it."

There came the dimples again – though this time she noticed them, "On the contrary, love, I quite enjoy making art. I used to make my own paints from various flowers and berries as a boy."

Phoebe narrowed her eyes skeptically, but still found herself smiling. She dug out her sketchbook, flipped to a new page, and passed it to Klaus with a pencil. "Draw me something."

His dimples deepened as he accepted the pencil and paper, "Any requests?"

"Mmmm, something pretty."

Klaus raised his eyebrows at her.

"What? I wanna know what the big bad Klaus finds aesthetically pleasing."

Klaus tore his eyes away from her and began to draw. Phoebe tried leaning in to see, but he pulled it away, "Ah-ah, no peeking, love."

Phoebe's smile grew involuntarily. Once she realized that she was in fact genuinely smiling at him, she turned away to sip her drink. What was even happening?

"So what happened to your daylight ring?" she asked, noticing he was no longer wearing it.

Klaus didn't look away from the sketch he was working on, "I don't need it anymore. My werewolf half protects me from the sun, now."

"But what did you do with it?" Phoebe pressed. "I mean, that thing's an antique; it's over a thousand years old."

"I haven't decided what to do with it yet," he replied, still focused on the sketch. "For a thousand years it's been a ball and chain I could never take off. A constant reminder that I'm incomplete."

Phoebe nodded thoughtfully. She'd always seen daylight rings as a rare gift very few vampires got to have. It had never occurred to her that the vampires wearing them might see them as more of a ball and chain they have to carry around for the rest of eternity – at least the older ones that have grown tired of wearing the same piece of jewelry for the past however many centuries.

"Well, if you do decide to get rid of it – which it sounds like you have – then I recommend donating it to a museum or something. You know, give it to someone who can appreciate its historical significance," said Phoebe.

"I'll keep that in mind." He looked up from his work. "Why the sudden interest in my daylight ring?"

"Not so sudden, actually. I've been interested in daylight rings for a while now."

Klaus gave her an implying look, "Oh?"

"I just find them fascinating – historically speaking," she said. "They each represent the era in which the vampire was turned. Typically. Stefan and Damon have their gotti things from the 1800s, you and Elijah have your smaller ones from medieval times, and Katherine…well, Katherine's looks more modern, but it's still interesting."

Klaus smirked as he tore the page from her book, and returned the supplies.

"I thought that was for me," said Phoebe.

"It is," he replied, rolling it up like a scroll. "But I don't want you to open it until you're home. Promise?"

"How are you going to know?" she challenged.

He held his arms out and sat up straight, "I'm the big bad Klaus. I know everything."

Phoebe gave a light laugh, "Fine. I promise to wait until I get home to look at it."

"Phoebe," Stefan called, reentering the bar. He looked between the two, curious as to why they appeared to be having such a good time. "Damon and Hayley are ready to take you home."

"Right." Phoebe hopped off of her stool. "Can't blame a girl for trying to check in on her best friend, right?"

"I, uh, appreciate the gesture," said Stefan, playing along. "But I think I'll be fine now. You were right about needing to talk to Damon again. Hopefully now he'll stop following us and let me go."

"Let's hope," said Klaus, slipping the scroll into her purse. "Phoebe. It's been a pleasure."

"A one-sided one, I assure you," she retorted – though it was a lie.

Stefan and Klaus both remained where they were, and watched her exit the bar. She rounded the corner and disappeared from their sight. As they sat there watching her, Klaus made one final remark, "I think I'm beginning to understand what you all see in that girl."

Phoebe rode in the backseat of her and Hayley's car with Elena, at least for part of the trip. Sometimes she tried to make her feel better with words, but mostly she just sat there with her, holding her hand. Eventually, Elena laid down to get some sleep, and Phoebe returned to the front seat with Hayley. Unfortunately, with Elena so near, Phoebe couldn't talk to Hayley about her conversation with Klaus, until they got home. And not looking at the drawing he made her was driving her mad – though she wasn't entirely sure why she was keeping her word on this.

Back in Mystic Falls, Caroline gets cleaned up and fed after her long day. Her physical burns heal, but her emotional ones remain. Liz tries explaining that their families were just raised to view vampires as evil things, so he doesn't understand that she's still their baby girl. She encourages Caroline to give her father time and to help him see that not all vampires are bad, like she did for her.

Meanwhile, Klaus checks in on Rebekah. She's already woken up and fed on the security guard Klaus left for her. Klaus looks around and calls for her to come out. She does. She also stabs him in the heart with the dagger that was in hers. Due to his werewolf side, the dagger doesn't work on him – which she knew, but still wanted to hurt him.

Klaus tells her not to pout, and that he's brought a piece offering. He calls Stefan in. Rebekah is ecstatic to see her love again after all this time, but he doesn't seem to be as happy to see her. Klaus explains to his sister that he just doesn't remember her right now, and then compels Stefan to remember all that he told him to forget.

It was all so overwhelming for Stefan for Stefan. Remembering his courtship with Rebekah. His friendship with Klaus. It was a lot to process. Part of him was happy to remember his friend and one time lover; but another part of him recognized that it had been a long time since then. He'd fallen in love again at least once since Rebekah. And speaking of that love, Klaus came to his home town and sacrificed her on an altar of fire, all to break his hybrid curse. He'd ripped him away from his life in Mystic Falls to only now reveal that they were once friends.

Needless to say, Stefan was feeling a plethora of conflicting emotions. In fact he only barely noticed when Rebekah began freaking out about her missing necklace. With all of his memories – or as far as he knew – once again restored, he knew exactly what necklace she was talking about. He couldn't decide if it was good or bad that Elena had it. If they didn't have it, it meant they couldn't ask the Original Witch why Klaus' hybrids weren't working. On the other hand, if they wanted it bad enough – and he strongly suspected they did – then they would go through whatever lengths necessary to get it back; thus leading them straight to Mystic Falls.

When the group got home early the next morning, Elena went straight to bed – either to sleep or pout, no one knew. Damon went home to the Boarding house, where he had another phone conversation with Katherine. Phoebe and Hayley prepared to pass out themselves, with Phoebe's promise to tell her everything that happened between her and Klaus later. But just as she laid her head down and closed her eyes, she remembered the drawing.

Careful not to disturb Hayley, Phoebe grabbed her bag and pulled out the scroll. How was it still in scroll-form after only being rolled the one time, you ask? Well, that was Klaus' other surprise for her. He rolled the drawing so tight, then – when she wasn't looking – slid his old daylight ring onto it to hold it closed.

Phoebe found herself smiling, oddly enough. She hadn't meant for him to give her the ring, but it was still nice. She'd meant what she said about the daylight rings – she found them interesting. She slid the ring off of the paper and onto her right index finger. It was still kind of loose, but then again it was a man's ring.

Not taking long to admire the ring, she unrolled the paper and gazed at Klaus' work. She half-expected a stick figure or something equally simple, but what she found was something far better than she'd ever done herself. The lines and shading were just wonderful. This was definitely a skill developed over time – lots of time. Then it hit her. The image she was looking at. The thing Klaus found so aesthetically pleasing to look at…was her…

So what did you guys think of Phoebe and Klaus' little chat? I kind of wanted to show her still being angry with him for what he did, even though Elena is still alive; but also have them discover that they have something in common to bond over later. Yes, that's right, guys. Phoebe and Klaus will be bonding this season. But I won't tell you how close they'll get or any other details. You'll just have to wait and see.

I'm trying to figure out how to make the next chapter more interesting, because it honestly seems pretty boring to me. It's the episode with the potluck at the Lockwoods', and Stefan trying to keep Rebekah and Klaus from finding the necklace. Pretty mundane stuff. I may just skip it and go over the highlights. I'm not sure yet. What do you guys think?

Anyway, I'm super excited to have the Originals this season. I can't wait for them to all come in and interact with Phoebe.

Will Phoebe be able to figure out why Klaus can't make new hybrids? How will Rebekah and Phoebe get on? Will they be friends? Will they hate each other? Which twin will be the key to creating hybrids? How will the dynamic change between Phoebe and Stefan once he has his humanity off? Will she avoid him like Elena? Or will she treat him like any other vampire? Who will get Stefan his humanity back? Will it be his closest friend? Will it be the girl he loves? Or will it still be Damon? How will the return of the Original Family effect Phoebe and Damon's relationship? How will Phoebe get on with the rest of the family? What's gonna happen when Phoebe finds out that the witch that created her and cursed her to this existence is their mother?

What do you think so far? What do you think will happen this season? What do you hope to see happen?

DemonaEvernight: That won't be for a loooooong time. Phoebe isn't very keen on letting people know she's dying, which is why she's been procrastinating thus far. And with everything about to pick up again in Mystic Falls, she's going to have an abundance of excuses for not telling everyone she's dying, until the last possible moment.

EmmyAltava: Everything is going well, so far. Hurricanes are staying away, right now. Haha. I think you're really gonna like this season. There's definitely going to be a lot of Stefan and Phoebe interaction. A lot more than normal. ;)

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Patience. There will be plenty of Phoebe and Damon this season, as well. I promise.