Chapter 82: I Know What You Did Last Summer

"September 5th, 2011

How can summer be almost over already? I feel like Elena, Jenna, Jeremy, and me just left Mystic Falls; and now we're coming back. Vacation was so blissful, and being home again just feels...strange. Not strange in the way that you do when you've been gone for a while and then come home; strange in the way that this doesn't really feel like my home anymore, strange like I'm feel with dread to be back. I'm not entirely sure where home is now, but I know Mystic Falls is not it.

I'm not looking forward to telling Caroline that I'm not going to be attending Whitmore with her, Elena, and Bonnie. She's spent all summer designing the color palette for out dorm room; although, I guess that might also have been a distraction from Tyler being away. He's supposedly helping some wolf pack in Tennessee. Personally, I think he just needed to get away...He didn't react well to hearing that I was pregnant with Klaus' baby.

Speaking of getting away, Matt and Rebekah are still off on their own vacation. She was going to be leaving Mystic Falls anyway, and he needed a vacation just as much as we all did, probably more. As I understand it, they have a 'what happens on the road, stays on the road' policy. I guess coming back from the dead really does inspire someone to wanna get out there and have new experiences – to live.

Damon, Stefan, and Bonnie all left town, too. Bonnie and Stefan disappeared right after graduation. Neither of them even bothered to say goodbye; but at least Bonnie was kind enough to send an email letting Elena and Caroline know that she was going to be traveling with her mom. Stefan just vanished. I guess he wasn't as okay as he pretended to be about the whole having Klaus' baby thing. Not that I can blame him, I just wish he'd have said something before he left, or would even call now to let me know he's okay.

As for Damon, he was pretty transparent in his leaving and reasoning for it. He didn't entirely believe my pregnancy was real, but the part of him that wondered 'what if' was definitely not okay with it. No one's ever liked or understood how I can have feelings for Klaus, but it's more than that for Damon. I fell in love with him while I was with Damon, and I think he knows that. And then I wake up a vampire sired to Elijah, and here I am pregnant with Klaus' child. Even my head is spinning from my revolving door of relationships...When did I go from the nerdy girl no one wanted to someone with more suitors than I can handle?"

"Do I really have to go back to school?" Jeremy asked.

Phoebe put down her pen and closed her journal, as her aunt and siblings joined her in the kitchen.

"You need to finish high school, Jer," Elena argued.

"What am I gonna learn this year that's gonna effect my future?" said Jeremy.

"He has a point," said Phoebe.

Elena gave her sister a disapproving look. "What about college? You have to finish school, if you wanna go to college."

"She has a point," said Jenna.

"So compel me a diploma, like you did for Tyler and Matt."

"That was different," Elena argued.

"Not really," said Phoebe. "Matt and Tyler were failing almost everything, because they weren't in class most of the time. We just rationalized it because Matt was dead and Tyler was on the run from Klaus."

"She's right. Jeremy wouldn't be missing much more than they did," Jenna agreed.

Elena didn't look happy to be outnumbered. She wanted things to be at least somewhat normal, and Jeremy going through his senior year and earning his diploma honestly was normal.

A horn honked outside.

Elena sighed in defeat. "Fine. Jenna can compel you a diploma, while we're moving into our dorm."

Jeremy's face lit up. He never thought he'd be so happy to have a vampire for an aunt.

"Whitmore's only a few hours away, so if there's anything you need, just call us," said Elena.

Caroline honked again.

"We better get going," said Phoebe.

"See you on laundry day," said Jenna, hugging her nieces. She mouthed a 'good luck' to Phoebe, while Elena wasn't looking.

Jeremy waited for the door to close, before asking, "How do you think they're gonna take it, when Phoebe tells them she isn't going to college with them?"

"Not well."

Phoebe sat on the bed, her back against the headboard. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles; and she was eating a container of fluffy white cake icing mixed with blood.

"Are you guys sure you don't want me to help?" Phoebe asked.

"Absolutely not!" said Caroline. "You're nearly five months pregnant, you shouldn't be lifting heavy boxes."

"But heavy books to and from class is okay?" Phoebe countered.

Caroline smiled proudly. "No. That's why I got you a rolling book bag."

Phoebe felt both touched and guilty. It was nice that Caroline had thought so much ahead to get her something helpful, but she felt bad that she was going to have to tell Caroline that she wasn't going to need the bag, since she wasn't attending college with them.

At least they hadn't arranged their schedules around hers so they could carry her books for her.

"Okay. That's the last one," said Liz. She put down the last box from her car. "Come give me a goodbye hug, before I change my mind and drag you home with me."

Caroline wrapped her arms around her mother.

"You can call as much as you want, you know?"

"Mom, I'll be fine."

As Elena and Phoebe watched their goodbye, they couldn't help imagining themselves with their own parents. Another piece of normalcy they'd never have.

Liz smiled at Phoebe and Elena. "Goodbye, girls."

Caroline sighed happily, as her mother took her reluctant leave. "Okay, let's get the rest of this put away, so we can go get Phoebe's stuff."

"Actually, that's not necessary," said Phoebe.

Elena and Caroline looked confused.

"You're gonna need your stuff, Phoebe."

"I'm not coming to Whitmore," said Phoebe. "In fact, I'm not going to any college, right now."

"Wait, if this is about the baby...that's no reason to give up on school," said Elena.

"Yeah, lots of women still go to school pregnant," said Caroline.

Phoebe couldn't tell them the truth – she couldn't tell them it was pointless to waste her time in college, when she was gonna die in about four months. So she went for the obvious excuse that they would believe.

"And what about four months from now, when I have a baby that needs me full time? I can't have a baby screaming in the dorms, disturbing everyone. Besides, I need to get back to New Orleans. I can't just cut Klaus out of his daughter's life."

Caroline opened her mouth to respond with something snarky about Klaus, but Elena stopped her.

"Is there anything we can do or say to change your mind?" Elena asked.

Phoebe shook her head. "No."

Caroline wasn't happy about her perfect vision of the four of them living together getting smashed; but she took Elena's lead and accepted Phoebe's decision.

While Caroline and Elena continued to unpack, Phoebe went to the office to de-register herself. It wasn't as crowded as Phoebe expected it to be. Most of the students were busy moving into their rooms today. But the offices would likely be flooded tomorrow.

"Name?"

"Phoebe Gilbert."

"Phoebe Gilbert?"

Phoebe turned to see who had called her name – it wasn't the lady behind the desk this time. It was a man, probably in his early 30s. He had blonde hair and wore a tie. He looked like a teacher; but more than that, he looked familiar. She couldn't quite place his face, but she definitely knew him from somewhere.

"You're Grayson Gilbert's daughter."

"And you are?"

The man smiled and extended a hand. "Forgive me, I'm Dr. Wes Maxfield, I teach microbiology. I knew your father."

That must be where she knew him from. Phoebe returned his smile and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Deja vu swept over Phoebe, but she shrugged it off.

"I'd have thought, with a mind like yours, you'd have gone Ivy League," said Wes. "Decided to follow in your father's footsteps?"

"Actually, a friend of mine enrolled me. She was hoping we'd be sharing a room with my sister and another friend."

"So you have decided to go Ivy League. Our loss, their gain."

Phoebe wasn't sure why, but something about him made her feel bad saying it. "I'm actually going to forego college entirely, right now."

Wes' eyes glanced at her stomach. "You know, plenty of pregnant women still attend school. As long as you have a good support system -"

"It's a lot more complicated than that. I have the best support system anyone could hope for, but...This is just what I've decided to do."

Wes looked disappointed. "Shame. Well, good luck in whatever it is you decide to do." He gestured to her stomach. "And congratulations."

"Thank you."

Phoebe thought about staying the night at Whitmore with Caroline and Elena, but decided against it. Caroline alone would continue to push and pressure Phoebe into reconsidering her decision to forego college. So rather than deal with that all night, Phoebe decided to go back to Mystic Falls.

Caroline and Elena, however, decided to go to a party that night – something they couldn't, or wouldn't, have been doing with Phoebe around. They thought it would cheer them up and allow them to immerse themselves into college life. But Caroline not being able to cross the threshold of the the house the party was being hosted in was the least of their problems. The girl killed by a vampire at the party was a much bigger problem.

By the time Phoebe got back to Mystic Falls, she was starving, so she went straight to the Mystic Grill for some dinner. As she looked around for a place to sit, her eyes fell upon a familiar face at the bar. She hadn't expected to see him here, or anywhere for a long time.

Damon smiled and gestured her over. Phoebe took a deep breath, and headed for the bar.

"Wow. You look..."

"Fat?"

"Beautiful," Damon corrected. "Motherhood suits you."

Phoebe found herself blushing the way she used, when Damon would compliment her looks.

He pulled out a stool and helped her up onto it.

"Thanks," said Phoebe. "So, what brings you back to Mystic Falls so soon? I'd have thought you'd stay away a few more decades."

"Normally I would have, but I wanted to talk to you."

Phoebe cringed on the inside. Was he going to try asking to get back together? Was he going to try and convince her that Klaus didn't care about this baby, so she should stay here with her family? Was he going to suggest she get rid of it?

"I'm sorry."

Phoebe blinked. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "You've always known I'm selfish; and when I found out you were pregnant, all I could think about was that it was Klaus'. Not because I wanted to be the father, but because -"

"It was Klaus'," she finished.

Damon nodded. "It was another loop on the emotional roller coaster that comes with loving Phoebe Gilbert."

Phoebe's expression was quizzical.

"One minute you were mine, and the next...I'd have thought you'd be with Elijah. I mean, you loved him enough to be sired to him, but here you are, pregnant with Klaus' baby. It's just hard loving you and not having you. I've only dated one, but I can safely say it's not easy loving an empath."

Damon smiled to try and make her feel less bad, but it didn't really work.

"Do you regret it – dating me?" she asked. "Would it have been easier to leave us with just the little moments we had, instead of having me and then losing me?"

Damon thought about it for a couple of minutes, before answering.

"Yes. It would have been easier. Loving you has never been easy, for any of us."

Phoebe nodded in understanding, as her eyes fell. She figured as much, but it still made her sad to hear.

"But never being able to feel that love beyond those little moments is more cruel than having you and losing you," said Damon. He reached out and held her hand. "I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything."

Phoebe felt herself wanting to cry, but she fought it. Damn hormones.

Stefan stood staring out at the scenery. The view from up here was one of his favorites – it truly was beautiful. That's why he had taken Phoebe here the day of the sacrifice.

"Do you mind? You're blocking my view," said Phoebe.

Stefan looked back at her and smiled. There she was, painting palette in hand, canvas in front of her. In true Phoebe fashion, she had paint all over her, and paint brushes in her hair, which was thrown up in it's traditional messy bun. She even had her glasses, like she used to when she was human.

"What, you don't want to paint me in, like the wanderer?" he joked, walking over to her.

"Nah. The only way to capture your true essence is to paint you from the front. Get that broody expression of yours, really furrow those eyebrows."

Stefan laughed.

"So why me? Why do you always dream of me, when you need an escape?"

Stefan shifted somewhat awkwardly. "Every time things get bad or seem hopeless, talking to you always makes it better. You give me advice, or make me feel stupid for being so negative. You make me smile and forget what it is that's bothering me...You're my Marvin."

Phoebe smiled for a fraction of a second. "Then don't do it. Don't turn your humanity off."

"Why not? I've lived in sheer agony for months now. At least, if I do this, I won't care anymore."

"But you will care," she argued. "Turning off your humanity isn't going to make this easier. You'll still feel the pain of drowning, you'll still wonder when I'm going to find you, and this trauma is just going to force those emotions back in."

"So, what, I'm just supposed to sit here, daydreaming conversations with you, until I drown again?"

Phoebe put down her palette and brush, took his hands in hers, and looked into his hazel eyes. "I will find you, Stefan. You know I will. You just have to hold on until I do."

Stefan's eyes dropped, as he nodded in response. She was right. He knew, if anyone could find him, it was Phoebe. He just had to cling to his hope, and...

Stefan began coughing up water – he was drowning again. His grip on Phoebe's hands tightened, as he sank to his knees.

Phoebe lowered herself with him. "Hold on, Stefan. Just hold on."

Her face was the last thing he saw, before everything went black.

The next morning, Phoebe decided to take a walk through the town square. She had been hoping for a more quiet morning, but there was some kind of festival going on that afternoon, so there were a lot of people working on the set up.

"So, how are you liking New Orleans?" Phoebe asked, walking around.

"Wouldn't know," Hayley sighed into the phone. "I'm not allowed to go out much, because werewolves aren't really welcome here. And Klaus doesn't wanna press his luck with Marcel by asking him not to kill me."

Hayley couldn't see her, but Phoebe still made a face that said she could understand Klaus' reasoning. She took a seat on a nearby bench.

"Anymore visits from Padfoot?"

Phoebe was referring to the mysterious wolf who had been visiting Hayley, since she returned there. She knew that Moony had technically been the werewolf, and she was in love with Remus Lupin, but she liked the name Padfoot better.

"A few," said Hayley.

"...How's Elijah?" Phoebe's heart rate increased as she'd asked.

Hayley flinched – she was hoping Phoebe wouldn't ask about him. She hated lying to her, but the truth would only upset her.

"He's, uh...he's Elijah. You know, secretive and closed off about what he's feeling."

Phoebe nodded. "Tell him...Tell him I said hi, when you see him."

"I will."

Phoebe had hardly ended the call and lowered her phone, when Stefan sat next to her on the bench. She looked at him and knew almost instantly that he wasn't Stefan.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud...Aren't you supposed to be stone?"

Silas looked impressed. "I had a feeling you would be able to tell who I really was. You're the only person in the world who can see my true face, because of your hypersensitivity. That's why I avoided being around you, until now."

"Whatever it is you want, I'm not interested."

Phoebe stood up to walk away, but Silas followed her.

"I need your help."

"Ask someone else."

"You're the only one competent enough to get anything done around here," he pressed.

"I don't care."

"And what if I told you where you could find Stefan? Why no one's heard from him all summer?"

Phoebe stopped and turned back to look at him. She wanted to believe he was lying, but there was just too much evidence to the contrary. No one had heard from him or even seen him since graduation night. It was like he just vanished.

"What did you do to him?" said Phoebe.

Silas shrugged. "Help me find Katherine Pierce and I'll tell you."

"Katherine? What do you want with Katherine?"

"That's between me and her," he said. "I know she's nearby. I found her at the Salvatore Boarding House last night, before she took off. She couldn't have gotten far as a human."

Phoebe shook her head. "No. I'm trying to get away from the unending supernatural drama of this town, not get dragged into more of it. So you tell me where Stefan is, and I'll tell you how you can find Katherine."

Silas stared at her for a few minutes thinking it over in his head.

"Okay," he finally said. "Stefan's at the bottom of the quarry."

Phoebe's heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"I mean, it's no two thousand years as a stone statue, but I'd say drowning on repeat for four months is pretty hellish."

Phoebe grabbed Silas' hand and snatched Stefan's daylight ring from his finger. "Find a new disguise."

"You still haven't told me how to find Katherine!" he called after her, as she walked briskly away from him.

Phoebe stopped and looked at him once more. "You're a two thousand year old witch, who can basically compel people to do whatever you want. So why don't you compel the town to look for a non-pregnant version of this face?"

Phoebe tried to control her breathing – in the through the nose, out through the mouth – to keep from feeling too nauseated. For a few months now, any flitting whatsoever made her light-headed and nauseous; even going in short jumps, like she was now. But Damon and Jenna weren't answering their phones, and Caroline was too far away. Phoebe was Stefan's Obi-wan Kenobi – his only hope.

The sound of the waterfall at the quarry reached Phoebe's ears. She was close, just one more sprint should do it.

Phoebe took a slow, deep breath and pushed off from the tree she'd been leaning against. This last jump seemed to go on forever, but she pushed through it, and got herself there. The sight of the quarry was beautiful to see. The sight of Phoebe's breakfast coming up, was not.

Once she had recovered herself, she looked out at the water. How was she going to find Stefan in this? The water wasn't exactly clear enough to see through. That gave Phoebe an idea.

Part of her training with Elijah, when he was first teaching her to control her powers, he had her purify water, in a sense. It wasn't perfectly drinkable, but he had her turn murky water like this into something a lot more clear.

Phoebe knelt by the water's edge. She put her hands wrist-deep into the water, and closed her eyes.

"Please work," she thought to herself. "I'm not asking for bottle spring water clear, just make it clear enough to find Stefan."

She repeated similar things to herself, even out loud a couple of times, over the next couple of minutes. Then she, slowly, opened her eyes. She was afraid it might not have worked, in fact she had expected it not to have worked. But the sight of the now crystal clear quarry in front of her made her eyes widen in utter surprise.

"What the..."

Her eyes fell upon a random safe at the bottom of the water. That had to be it. It was big enough to fit a person in it, and what other reason could there be for it being there?

Phoebe stood up and kicked off her shoes. She dropped her phone next to them. She was wearing shorts and a flowy maternity tank top, so there shouldn't be much movement resistance from her clothes.

"You're just like your father, you know?" she said, as she began wading out into the water. She was talking to her baby. "Always showing off."

Phoebe waited until she was right over the safe, before taking a deep breath and diving under. Undoing the latch of the safe door was easy, but opening the door wasn't as easy. Phoebe had to draw on all the vampire strength she could muster to pull it open.

She was relieved to see she'd been right – Stefan was inside. The bad news was he was already dead from drowning again; which meant Phoebe was going to have to carry him back to shore.

Before even trying to grab him, Phoebe swam back to the surface for more air. She looked over at the shore to see if Damon or Jenna had arrived yet, but only her phone and shoes were waiting for her return.

Phoebe took another deep breath and dived back down for Stefan. She grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him into an upright position. She put his daylight ring back on his finger, and then pulled him up out of the safe, and back towards the surface. She was able to brake the surface of the water to get another breath of air, but Stefan was still a dead weight pulling her down.

She turned Stefan's body to face her, and wrapped her legs around his waist to steady him. It was a fight, but she managed to get his jacket off, and toss it aside. As she was doing this, she noticed that the water was beginning to lose it's transparency – it was getting murky and dark again.

It made sense that the water wouldn't stay clear forever, especially when her concentration was elsewhere. But that also meant that if she dropped Stefan or went under, she wouldn't be able to see.

Even without the leather jacket, dead weight was still dead weight, and it was hard for Phoebe to keep them both above water and moving towards the shore. For Phoebe, it felt like they were standing still, never getting any closer.

"Phoebe!"

Damon didn't hesitate or bother to stop for any reason. He ran straight into the water at top vampire speed, and swam over to Phoebe and Stefan. He took his brother's lifeless body from her, and began swimming to shore. Phoebe had to admit it was a relief to not have to carry Stefan anymore.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Damon scolded, helping Phoebe stabilize herself. Her legs were wobbly from all the kicking she was doing to stay afloat, and the natural heavy feeling you get when you come out of the water.

"I was thinking that I needed to save my friend from drowning again," said Phoebe.

"You couldn't have waited?"

"And have this last time be the time he finally gives up on being rescued? Have this be the time he-"

Phoebe felt a prick in her back, then she was out cold.

Damon caught her mid-fall. As soon as he saw the tranquilizer dart in her back, he lowered her to the ground gently, and started looking around for who shot it. But whoever it was didn't hesitate to hit Damon with about a handful of darts, knocking him out, too.

Matt looked around at all the Mystic Grill employees working the community event. He'd spent an amazing summer with Rebekah, staying in some of the most luxurious hotels he could never even hope to dream about. But now he was back in the real world, and starting tomorrow, he was going to be starting college. Tonight was just his goodbye to Mystic Falls for a while.

The satisfied smile faded from his face, as his eyes fell upon a strongly familiar face. "It can't be..."

A beautiful brunette smiled at him, before heading towards the alley on the side of the Grill. Matt followed her.

"Nadia?" he called out to her.

The woman turned to look at him. "You remember me."

"Yeah. I remember you," he said, walking closer. "You got Rebekah and me drunk and robbed us."

"But it was fun until then, no?"

Matt eyed her suspiciously. "How did you know how to find me?"

"Let's skip the how and get to the why."

Nadia held up a thin, pewter cuff. It had an emerald heart haloed in roses on it. It was the same pendant that Agnes and Zoie had given to Phoebe, before she gave it to Matt. They had made it less girly for him.

When Matt came back from the dead, no one was entirely certain if Matt was still a Hunter or not. Sure, he still had all the abilities of a Hunter, but no one really knew one way or another if the anti-supernatural-death jewelry would work on him or not now. So, just in case, he'd started wearing it again.

"This wasn't mine to take," said Nadia.

"You traveled four thousand miles to give me back a bracelet?"

Nadia's hand snapped closed on the bracelet. "Hey, if you don't want it-"

"No." Matt reached out and grabbed her hand, gently. "I want it."

Nadia took his hand in hers and placed the cuff back on his wrist. It was a nice moment until hands gripped Matt's head from behind. All he heard was someone chanting in another language, and then...nothing...

"I told you it would work," said Nadia, looking at Matt's body on the ground. "Hunters are immune to mind control, not supernatural parasites."

"We shall see," said the man.

Thank you guys so much for being patient, as always. It's awesome to see so many people interested in reading this story. When I started I had no idea it would become this popular.

So I have good news and bad news. God news is PHOEBE IS BACK! Bad news is, after this season is over, it's going to be some time, before she's back again. I know I typically take a couple of months between seasons anyways, but this time is a little different. My husband's duty here is almost up, so we're going to be working on moving to Hawaii in March, and there's a lot to be done, so I have no guarantee when I'll be able to write again. I'd like to say I'll write on the 8 hour flight, but I'm terrified of flying, so I prefer to be comatose.

So this season should be about 24 chapters, give or take, so it should be finished sometime in early December. It's going to cover both Season 5 of TVD and Season 1 of the Originals. Phoebe won't be bouncing back and forth every other chapter to solve everyone's problems, but she will occasionally be in Mystic Falls. There will also be some changes in Mystic Falls, even without her there. But she'll mostly be in New Orleans.

For all the Phoebe/Elijah fans, it'll be a few chapters in, but this will be the season they FINALLY start dating. No drama with Klaus about it, either. Next chapter will take Phoebe to New Orleans. It's going to start on episode 4.

How do you think this season is going to play out? Will Phoebe's vision come true? Will things in New Orleans go a little smoother with her brain there to help? How does Phoebe know Wes? Will Wes still die, or will Phoebe take a liking to him and keep him alive? How will the Mystic Falls gang get on without Phoebe there? If Kol is still daggered and not dead, how is season 2 going to work? When and how will Kol be back?