Death, Power, Knowledge

by xXxAngel-With-A-ShotgunxXx

Grace Gilbert, once Faith Potter, knows this will be her last life. Armed with her magic and a deep tie to the supernatural community, will the weight of her past lives consume her? Can she survive in the modern world, or will her enemies finally get the chance they have been waiting for to destroy all she holds dear? Part 4 in the Magic and Power Series

1. Pilot

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries, or any of the other shows referenced in this story.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Death, Power, Knowledge

1. Pilot

In one world, it had been more than a decade since a war had ended and the truth had been revealed to their secret world: the Wizarding World. Ten years since Molly Weasley had seen her self-proclaimed eighth child. Since Faith Potter had left them all to for a new life, in a new world.

Unbeknownst to the majority of people, Faith had never struggled with this fact. She had known it was coming and had been prepared for far longer than anyone else. It pained her to leave those she loved – her young son most of all – but they were her biggest supporters in this endeavour.

Faith's childhood with the Dursley's had left more than mental scars and once she returned to the Wizarding World, the adventures she went through did not help her mental health. It was hard for her to trust, and she had to suppress so much of herself, to be the perfect Goldon Girl the world still chose to see her as.

Her loved ones saw how much she was cracking under the strain to keep herself contained.

Two of her greatest friends in the magical world – Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom – were among the first to learn of this opportunity. They loved Faith with all their hearts and wanted her to have the chance of a happy life. They would miss her with all they had but wanted her to become all she had the potential to be. Good and Bad.

The conversation which had once taken place between Faith Potter and Hermione Granger would remain private. No one would ever learn the muggleborn girl's opinion on the matter and Faith would never reveal it.

Fred and George Weasley were the next to learn of the situation. They adored their adopted sister and saw how she struggled. They lost count of the number of times they had found her curled in a ball, in a dark corner, trying to keep her magic contained so no one would get hurt. She was suppressing her whole self to the point she was causing herself greater harm.

It didn't take long for more of her loved ones to follow suit: Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Arthur and Percy Weasley, Luna Lovegood and so many more … But the one whose support Faith wanted and needed the most was struggling with her own demons.

Molly Weasley didn't want to let her go.

Molly – who had lost her brothers in the first war, who had come so close to losing her children and husband in the second war – was terrified at the idea of losing the daughter she had chosen for herself.

There had been no guarantee Faith would be placed with a good family. No guarantee she would land in a world with no troubles, trials or tribulations. What if she was with a family like the Dursley's? Who would tuck her in at night? Who would comfort her when life threatened to bring her to her knees? Would she have any siblings? Would they be kind?

Molly's worst fear was a valid one. What would happen if Faith's new life mirrored her current one – with all the hardships and struggles?

Molly fretted and worried for months. One day, as they all knew the deadline was approaching – Faith could sense the magic brewing within her – the two of them had an honest conversation about what they both wanted. They spoke about their fears, worries and doubts.

When Faith left the Burrow at the end of the day, she left with Molly's whole-hearted support and love.

Faith Potter was twenty-one years of age when the ritual to take her to a new world was triggered. Having sensed it building, she had long since said her goodbyes; to the family she had carved for herself, to the friends she had fought beside and trusted with her life, to her school rivals who were as eager as her friends for her to have a good life, to her greatest enemy who turned out to be her greatest ally.

One day, the Wizarding World would be able to see it. They will be able to view her life in her new world and learn whether their wishes have been fulfilled, or whether they were in vain.

But this is not that story.

Faith Potter entered a forming universe and was left in the care of great beings until it was time for her to live again. From the beginning, expectations did not turn out as anticipated and she used each opportunity to forge herself into a person greater than she had been. She was reborn into a world with different magic, different creatures, and different hardships.

This is her story. This is her life. For the magic of the ritual worked far different than anticipated and these great beings who cared for her twisted all her expectation on their head when they deemed they would not let her go without a fight.

She did not experience a single new mortal life in this new world.

She experienced an existence far greater …

… and several mortal lives.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Faith Potter's New World

-x-x-x-x-x-

Night. A fog descended upon a dense forest, hiding muddy paths and tress from view. An unnatural silence filled the gloom. Along the road, a car sped along with a young couple inside. They were listening to an upbeat song which wasn't as well liked by the male as it was by the female.

"An hour's drive to hear that crap," the male, Darren, complained. "You know it wasn't even a band. A guy with a guitar. An hour each way."

The female, Brooke, chuckled in amusement. "He wasn't that bad."

"He sounded like James Blunt."

Exasperated, Brooke shook her head. "What's wrong with that?"

"We already have a James Blunt," Darren explained. "One's all we need."

"So why did you come?" Brooke asked, smiling.

"Because I love you."

Brooke's eyes softened, as her gaze met Darren's. "Nicely done."

Turning to face forward again, her brow furrowed. She couldn't even see ten feet in front of the car. "What's with all the fog?"

Unconcerned, Darren focused on the road. "It'll clear in a second."

Not even a split second later, Brooke spotted a silhouette standing in the middle of the road, far too close for comfort. "Watch out!"

Darren, spotting the figure, couldn't stop in time. Slamming his foot onto the brake, his car swerved and spun, the unknown figure hitting the windshield and flying over the roof, to land hard on the concrete. They skidded to a stop fifteen feet away.

The young couple were shaken and turned to glance out of the back window, before turning away again.

"Are you okay?" Darren asked.

Brooke tried hard not to cry. "We just hit someone! Oh, my god!"

Darren took immediate action, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. "Call for help."

Running back to the figure lying on the ground, he knelt on the concrete and tried to examine the situation. "Please be alive."

Gripping an exposed wrist to try and find a pulse, he noticed a strange ring on the figure's finger. As he inspected the unique piece of jewellery, he noticed the strange crest and recognized it as an heirloom of sorts. He peered closer.

"Oh, my god." Horrified, he recognized the stone set into the metal and opened his mouth to call out to his girlfriend – to tell her to run. All of a sudden, the figure sprang up and gripped his neck. Within the split second, the previous unmoving figure was behind him and exposing sharp fangs, biting into his neck. He couldn't even gasp, before his life was over.

Back in the car, Brooke had her phone in her hand, trying in desperation to call the police or an ambulance. Knowing she wasn't getting anywhere, she undid her seatbelt and got out of the car.

"There's no signal!" she called out. "Darren!"

As she tried to spot her boyfriend, she was confused. There was no figure in the middle of the road and Darren was nowhere in sight. "Darren?"

A loud crash from behind her made her spin around. Horrified, she saw her boyfriend laying on the hood of the car, his neck mauled, unmoving. She screamed, turned and ran away as fast as she could.

She wasn't fast enough.

A dark figure swept upon her, and she was gone.

-x-x-x-x-x-

For centuries, dark creatures had lived hidden within the shadows, alone and at war with each other. One ultimate predator was the blood drinking demon known in the common tongue as the Vampire and they were not as make believe as humans liked to believe.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 – Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

Putting on her last shoe, a young woman with dark hair stood and examined herself in the floor length mirror. She wore form fitting clothing, accentuating all her curves. Her ankle high leather boots had five-inch heels and she grabbed her dark jean jacket, to complete the ensemble.

Her entire wardrobe held simple, yet tasteful fashions; classy and sophisticated, stylish and never too revealing. The jewellery she wore was a set of diamond studded earrings and an alluring black, jagged stone hanging from coarse thread around her neck, resting low between her breasts and hidden from sight.

Her hair was held in thin braids, helping keep it back from her face, with green coloured threads weaved through the plaited strands and leaving the rest of her hair to continue flowing down her back.

Above her mirror was the name 'Grace', in beautiful block letters stuck to the wall.

Smiling to herself, Grace walked out of her room, pausing for a moment outside of her sister's bedroom. With the door open, she could see Elena writing into her diary. Her good mood souring, Grace continued down the stairs with renewed vigour. She didn´t have to know her sister well enough to guess what she was writing, as the embroidered snakes on every journal Elena had ever owned would whisper her secrets into Grace´s ears.

Grace had giggled over this as a child and loved knowing all her sister's thoughts, until she had grown and worked out Elena's mind was a cesspool she didn't want to decipher.

It didn't stop her from making sure the diaries always had snakes on them, though. She would prefer to know what Elena was thinking than to be caught off guard like she had been a few years previous.

Entering the kitchen and turning on the coffee pot, she smiled as a light brush ran across her ankles. Crouching and taking hold of the family cat, Grace sat at the kitchen counter and held the black and white fluffball closer. "Good morning, sweet girl."

"Don't strangle Muffins."

Rolling her eyes at her younger brother, Jeremy, she alluded all attempts of him trying to take their cat out of her arms with great success. Smiling, Jeremy accepted his defeat and sat next to her, relaxing before having to leave.

"Ready for school?" Grace asked.

Jeremy didn't give a verbal answer as their older sister walked into the room, heading straight over to the coffee pot. As their Aunt Jenna entered the kitchen, Grace and Jeremy exchanged slight smiles at the sight of her usual morning panic.

"Toast," Jenna said, bustling around the room. "I can make toast."

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," Elena answered, taking out a single mug and pouring herself a steaming cup.

Jeremy glared and stood, taking two more mugs out of the cupboard. "Is there coffee?" he asked, his tone sarcastic, pouring himself and Grace a mug each.

Sitting back on his stool, he waited for Grace to release Muffins to run out of the room – she still wasn't comfortable with too many people – before handing her the steaming coffee to hold between her hands. "Thank you, Jeremy."

Neither of them glanced over at Elena when she winced and noticed her mistake.

"You're first day of school and I'm totally unprepared." Jenna pulled out a couple of dollars, offering them to the three siblings. "Lunch money?"

"I'm good," Elena denied.

Grace shook her head. "It's Tyler's turn to buy lunch."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and grabbed hold of the money, muttering a 'thank you' as he did.

"Anything else?" Jenna asked. "A number two pencil? What am I missing?"

Grace handed her a book left on the counter behind her. "You have your presentation today. I rescheduled your meeting with your thesis advisor for you. If you leave within the next ten minutes, you'll be right on time."

Jenna glanced at her watch and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Grace. I should have been meeting him right now otherwise."

"Go ahead," Elena insisted. "We'll be fine."

Jenna sighed but smiled and left. Grace and Jeremy waved her goodbye, wishing her luck, both drinking from their coffee mugs while they were still hot. Neither of them could continue drinking it when the bitter liquid had cooled.

Elena turned to face her younger siblings with sadness etched onto her face, before asking in a soft tone, "You two okay?"

They didn't even glance at her; Grace scoffed and walked out of the room, taking her coffee with her, but Jeremy knocked back the rest of his – ignoring the burn – and said, "Don't start." He followed his sister out of the room, ignoring the tingling sensation of Elena's persistent stare on his back.

Elena leaned back against the counter and sighed, upset the once close bond the three of them shared had shattered alongside their parent's deaths. On the muted television behind her, there was a news report where Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton were declared missing.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace sat in the back of her friend Bonnie's car, while Elena was in the passenger seat. She was annoyed she'd chosen to go to school with Bonnie and Elena, instead of with Jeremy, but didn't let it show on her face.

"So, Grams is telling me I'm psychic," Bonnie told them. "You already know how my ancestors were from Salem – which isn't something to brag about, considering how many people died – but she won't let it go! I tried to follow your advice, Grace, and listen to her, but she makes it so hard."

Grace chuckled, wriggling her fingers. Bonnie rolled her eyes as a braid weaved itself on the right side of her head, created by Grace's magic.

"You're different, Grace," Bonnie insisted, smiling, laughter in her tone. "You brought your magic with you. It's, like, part of your very soul. Wouldn't I be showing it already if I were like you?" Bonnie's eyes met Grace's in the mirror.

Grace caught the private thought which ran though Bonnie's head and gave a small smile. Elena never wanted to talk about the fact this wasn't Grace's first life in this world, so they were all careful not to talk about it in her earshot. Elena had been the first to say she needed professional help when Grace gained the courage to speak to them about her strange dreams. If it weren't for the revelation of Grace's magic, she would no doubt believe her past lives were a fabrication of her younger sister's imagination.

She projected her conviction to Bonnie, letting her friend know they would talk about the harder facts she wasn't telling her when they were alone and away from Elena.

"But, anyway," Bonnie continued, having received acknowledgement for her worries, "apart from the witch ancestors, I think Grams might be onto something. I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands."

Grace shook her head, her brow furrowed. "I'm not sure that counts, Bonnie, global warming is telling us enough."

"That's true." They both hated the effects Global Warming was having on the planet – Grace most of all. Having lived through various different times had allowed her a profound disgust for the way the modern world worked.

Glancing at the other Gilbert, she saw Elena wasn't listening anymore. "Elena! Back in the car." A secret relief ran through Bonnie, as she registered Elena hadn't heard most of the conversation.

Elena spun her head around and focused her attention back on Bonnie, giving a slight shake of her head. "I did it again, didn't I? I – I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling us that …"

"That she's psychic now," Grace interceded in a sharp tone.

Elena winced, before giving a small smile. "Right. Ok, then predict something. About me."

Bonnie caught the neutral expression settled on Grace's face and didn't met her eyes. She was annoyed, as well. She had been wary about sharing this with Elena for this exact reason – becoming a circus freak on demand. Real magic was dangerous, as Grace had proven time and time again. Despite this, she smiled at Elena. "I see …"

Out of nowhere, a small dark object hit the windscreen of the car. All three girls let out sounds of surprise and Bonnie slammed on the brakes, sending the car into a squealing stop.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked, gasping. "Oh, my god! Elena, Grace, are you both okay?"

Elena leaned back into her seat, while Grace sat rigid in the back seat, trying to regulate her heart back to normal. They both hated cars for different reasons.

"It's okay," Elena assured Bonnie. "I'm fine."

Grace calmed herself and tried to smile. "I'm fine, as well, Bonnie, don't worry."

"It was like a bird or something," Bonnie told them, trying to reassure them and herself at the same time. "It came out of nowhere."

Elena shook her head. "Really, I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life."

Grace met Bonnie's eyes through the rear-view mirror again. "Bonnie, we're fine. How about you?"

Bonnie was shaken, still giving them both a tentative smile. "I'm okay. Now, I predict this year is going to be kickass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you both are going to be beyond happy."

All three of them smiled and let out little chuckles. Bonnie leaned back and turn the key to the car again. As they drove away, Grace took a glance out of the window and saw the crow watching the vehicle from on top of the Laurel Avenue sign. Narrowing her eyes, she let out a tendril of her magic, having sensed the darkness when the crow hit the car.

Within seconds, she recognized the presence controlling the crow and smiled.

Finally. No more hiding.

-x-x-x-x-x-

When they arrived at Mystic Falls High School, they made their way through the halls of students, heading to their lockers. Bonnie made most of the commentary.

"Major lack of male real estate. Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beach." Grace glanced over and grimaced. She knew Kelly's cousin had favoured those type of dresses and since the girl had passed away last year, she honoured her by wearing her style of clothing. Grace hoped Kelly would return to her vintage clothing soon, because she wasn't doing herself any favours with her current style. "She looks a hot – can I still say 'tranny mess'?"

They paused by a set of lockers.

Elena shook her head. "No, that's over."

"It was never in," Grace corrected.

"Ahh," Bonnie sighed. "Find a man, coin a phrase."

Bonnie opened her locker at the same time Grace opened hers, right next to her. Bonnie was the one who spotted a classmate watching them from across the hall. Elena and Grace caught the expression on her face and turned to see Matt Donovan watching the three of them. Elena gave a small smile and a wave.

Matt gave no response other than taking a book out of his locker, closing the door and walking away.

Elena was dejected and leaned back against a random locker. "He hates me."

"That's not hate," Bonnie denied. "That's 'You dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but I'm secretly listening to air supplies greatest hits'."

Grace couldn't help but cut in. "I believe that's his 'I'm secretly relieved' look."

Elena flinched, hard, while Bonnie shot Grace a glare which would have made the toughest of men wither – but not Grace. "Grace!" Bonnie scolded.

Grace closed her locker door after putting the necessary books into her bag. "I'm not going to pretend I ever approved of their relationship, Bonnie; you know me better than that. However, the way Elena chose to dump him was completely uncalled for. Don't pretend you don't agree."

Bonnie couldn't say anymore, because she knew Grace was right. Elena hadn't been happy in the relationship for a long time but had strung Matt along for weeks, too afraid to break it off with him. When Elena had, it hurt Matt worse than it would have than if she'd bitten the bullet and gotten it over with earlier.

It was like Grace had said when Elena first told them she wasn't sure she wanted to keep seeing him, "Tell him you want to take a break. He's not stupid, Elena; he knows you're not happy. The longer you take, the more he's going to convince himself it's all going to be fine."

So, yes, Bonnie did agree. It's why she was unable to scold her friend any further.

Before the conversation could become even more heated, a voice called out and approached them. "Elena! Oh, my god."

Grace smiled as a beautiful blonde came and gave Elena a tight hug. Caroline Forbes threw her arms around her friend and asked, "How are you?" Releasing her, Caroline continued, "Oh, it's so good to see you." Turning to Bonnie and Grace, Caroline asked, "How is she? Is she good?"

"Caroline, I'm right here," Elena answered, with an exasperated smile. "And I'm fine. Thank you."

"Really?" Caroline had trouble hiding the scepticism on her face.

"Yes. Much better." It wasn't convincing.

Grace wasn't sure how she managed to keep from rolling her eyes. Hiding away for the whole summer and coming out on the first day of school was not a great indicator of how 'fine' a person was. Elena was going to have a tough time if she tried to keep selling those lines.

Caroline didn't buy it. She gave Elena another firm hug. "Oh, you poor thing."

"Ok, Caroline," Elena murmured, strained from the pressure of the hug.

Caroline pulled away and turned to Grace, pulling her into a firm embrace without warning. Grace gasped as all the air was pushed from her lungs, wrapping her arms around her friend and her eyes pleading with Bonnie to help her. Bonnie gave a small smirk.

"You saw me yesterday, Care," Grace managed to gasp out.

Caroline pulled away and gave a beaming smile. "I know. Twenty-four hours is too long for me to have not given you a hug."

Grace smiled and hugged her friend again.

"Ok, see you guys later?" Caroline gave short glances to each of them.

They all smiled. "Ok. Bye!"

As Caroline walked away, they gave small waves. When she disappeared from their view, the three of them chuckled with exasperation.

"The force of nature called Caroline Forbes," Grace commented with fondness. "What would we do without her?"

"Chaos," Bonnie agreed, her tone amused.

Elena gave a slight shake of her head. "No comment."

Grace bit back her retort at Elena's casual dismissal of their friend and decided it was best for her to leave.

"I'm going to find Jeremy." She didn't wait for a reply before she walked away. As she did, she overheard Elena was the one scolded this time, making her grin.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace searched over the part of the school which was the well-known crackheads hangout. She saw Vicki Donovan with a random sophomore, getting handed pills Grace knew weren't paracetamol. Shaking her head in disgust, she turned and walked around the corner, smiling as she saw her younger brother sorting through his book bag on a bench a good distance away.

"You got all your stuff?" Grace asked, as she stopped next to him, but didn't sit herself.

Jeremy was happy to see her before their classes. "Yeah. I promise, I'm going to go to all my classes. I'll do better this time."

Before they died, their parents had applied Jeremy for summer classes in history and art. Jeremy enjoyed both subjects – he loved hearing about Grace's past lives and how she described living in those times, which is what kicked off his passion – and wanted to get extra credit for both, so he could be put into AP classes. He had aims to graduate top of his class and get into a great university to study historical art and objects, restore old artworks and more. He greatest aim was to be able to produce his own art one day.

After their deaths, Jeremy hadn't attended any of the classes and had gotten into drugs. Grace hated the fact it had taken her so long to notice the crowd he'd fallen into and the habits he was forming. She trashed his room searching for the drugs – on a weekend Elena and Jenna were spending together, due to Elena's extra slow recovery from the loss of their parents – and had given Jeremy such a scolding he believed he was about ten inches tall afterward, though it may have been because Grace was sobbing hard during her speech, more than what she said. She apologized for not being there for him and, the same day as they walked home from getting coffee and a batch of muffins, they had found a stray kitten in an alley.

They took the kitten to the vets and, after a few days of deliberating, went back to adopt her. Jenna went with them, signed all the legal paperwork and they took Muffins home the same day. They chose the name because, if Jeremy hadn't stepped into the alley to throw out the rubbish from the coffee and muffins they'd had, he never would have heard the kitten's cries.

The vet told them the day before they found her, a cat had been run over by a car on accident. It was a guess said cat had been the mother to the kitten they had found. The kitten had grown well under their care and was always found in either Jeremy or Grace's rooms. The growing bond with Muffins had allowed Jeremy a different outlet than drugs or booze.

Jeremy vowed to never let his sister down in such a way ever again.

"I know you will." Grace could see the conviction in his eyes. "Don't let Tanner get to you. He's an ass to all of us."

Tanner would never forgive Jeremy for skipping his classes for booze and drugs, but the other teachers had all offered him ways to make the extra credit he'd wanted.

"I heard you moving around last night. Did you have another nightmare?" Jeremy asked, concerned.

Grace was quiet for a moment. "Bad dreams. Don't worry about me, Jeremy. I can handle it."

But Jeremy did worry. Grace spoke of her past lives with a great fondness and didn't like going over the bad points, but they all knew there were horrors she never spoke of. During a sleepover a few years ago, she had woken them all, calling out words in a language they hadn't understood – screaming and crying. It had taken them hours to get her to speak the Queen's English again.

"I want to know about it all," Jeremy told her. "I'm old enough now, Grace. I can handle it. I know this is a different time and the beliefs aren't the same now, but I want to try and see it the way you do. You're my sister and I want to help you, like you've always helped me."

Grace gave a tentative smile, touched. She gave him her word. Her last life had retaught her to mistrust even those closest to her. It had been reinforced by Elena's dismissal of her magic and past lives; but she wanted to be able to talk to Jeremy about all she had experienced. She wanted him to prove worthy of her trust. No sibling in more than one thousand years had.

"I knew I'd find you here!" a male voice called out.

Grace and Jeremy turned around to find Tyler Lockwood approaching them with a grin. Tyler threw an arm around Grace's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek, before gracing Jeremy with a quick, annoyed glance.

Jeremy rolled his eyes, focusing on his schoolbag and sorting it out. He never understood the relationship between Grace and Tyler; they weren't dating and yet, on occasion, they acted like they were. He knew for a fact they participated in activities regular friends didn't do. He'd walked in on them enough times to prove it.

"You didn't call me this morning," Tyler complained to Grace, his tone playful.

Grace gave him a small smile. "Had a busy morning. I'll make it up to you."

Tyler gave her a smile showing his mind had taken a more personal turn. Jeremy glanced to them both and cringed, seeing Tyler had brought his sister closer for a slow, passionate kiss – including tongue. One hand was creeping lower than Jeremy was comfortable with viewing.

"I could have gone my whole life without seeing that," he complained.

Tyler pulled away and shot Jeremy a glare. "You know, Pete Wentz called; he wants his nail polish back." He noted the black nail polish on Jeremy's nails – the last evidence of his difficult summer – was chipping away.

Sensing the fight brewing, Grace put herself between them. "Don't do it. Both of you need to get along. Vicki played you against each other. Let's not walk this road again."

Tyler and Jeremy were both ashamed, knowing she was right.

Tyler agreed. "I'll see you later, Grace. Gotta find Matt before class. See you, kid." Jeremy didn't need to be a genius to know the last part was directed at him.

As Tyler walked away, Jeremy was filled with exasperation and met his sister's eyes. "Pete Wentz? That's his go to? He a Carlson Daily fan?" Grace smiled and laughed, before they walked inside.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Bonnie and Elena were stood outside the front office. Bonnie was the first to spot a guy they hadn't seen before standing in there, getting all his papers checked.

"Hold up. Who's this?"

Elena didn't know. "All I see is back."

"It's a hot back."

Elena chuckled, agreeing within the safety of her mind.

Inside the office, the secretary was scanning the documents in front of her. "Your records are incomplete. You're missing immunization records and we do insist on transcripts."

The young man took off his sunglasses and the secretary met his gaze – his pupils fluctuating. "Please look again. I'm sure everything you need is there."

For a few long seconds the secretary stared into his eyes, a blank stare on her face, before scanning through the papers once again. "Well, you're right. So it is." She smiled.

Outside of the office, Bonnie and Elena were still watching the new guy, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fresh meat. Bonnie narrowed her eyes as she continued to observe him. "He's lonely," she muttered. "So much pain."

Elena scoffed with a lack of humour. "You're going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, aren't you?"

Bonnie winced and didn't speak. She hadn't known she'd spoken out loud and wondered if Elena could hear how condescending she sounded.

Over Bonnie's shoulder, Elena saw Jeremy and Grace walking through the hall, talking to each other with smiles on their faces. Grace stopped walking and waited while Jeremy walked into the boys' toilets.

"Hey, Grace, can you ask Jeremy-?"

"Fuck off, Brandon," Grace cut off the blonde-haired boy who had approached her. "Not a chance."

Brandon was a known hardcore crackhead and was always after his newest fix. He glared at Grace and shoved past her. Elena heard the exchange and narrowed her eyes. There was no way. A suffocating fury enveloped her.

"I'll be right back," Elena told Bonnie and stormed away. Bonnie gave her a vague acknowledgement, still staring at the new guy and contemplating all the emotions she was sensing from him.

Grabbing Grace's elbow "Hey! Elena!", she dragged her into the boys' toilets and over to where Jeremy was washing his hands. One guy noticed them as he left a cubicle and said, "Woah! Pants down chicks." He quickened his step as he left without washing his hands.

Grace glared at Elena and yanked her elbow away. "What the hell, Elena?"

"Are you dealing?" Elena asked Jeremy, before whirling on Grace. "Are you helping him?"

"No, I'm not," Jeremy denied, at the same time Grace all but snarled, "You think I'd let him?"

Elena didn't believe them. "Where is it? Is it on you?" She began to bodily search Jeremy, raising Grace's ire even further.

Jeremy pushed Elena away. "Stop! You need to chill yourself, all right?"

"Chill myself?" Elena asked in disbelief. "What is it, stoner talk?"

Before Elena could say more, her shoulder was grabbed in a tight, bruising grip and she was pulled away from Jeremy by Grace. "Enough, Elena! He's not taking and he's not dealing."

"Don't joke with me! What the hell was that with Brandon?" Elena accused, not believing a word out of Grace's mouth. "I gave you both summer passes. I'm done watching you" she pointed to Jeremy "destroy yourself and you" she pointed to Grace "allowing him to."

Jeremy stood straighter, to defend himself and Grace, but Elena pushed him back against the sink. "No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead. Keep it up. Both of you. But know I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time, you got it?"

A toilet flushed and another guy walked out of a cubicle and was quick to head out of the room to avoid the family spat – what was it about teenage boys not washing their hands? Elena watched him leave, to make sure he shut the door behind him. Grace and Jeremy were both furious and struggling to hide it.

As Elena turned back to face them, Grace had had enough. "Now you've said your piece, get the fuck away from us." Grace had always had issues with her temper – it carried over into all her lives – but, in a horrifying moment, instincts she had buried deep were racing to the surface. She knew she had to leave before she broke her promise to keep Elena safe.

Grace shoved passed her. Elena was pushed back into the sinks and, before she could say any more, her siblings had walked away. Before they both left the room, Jeremy turned to face his eldest sister, his expression frigid.

"You gave me a summer pass? Grace didn't even give me that. I've been clean for six weeks. If you took your head out of your journal and left your room for long enough, you might have known."

Elena watched the door click shut, eyes open wide in shock. Sagging back against the sink, she didn't need to have Bonnie's "psychic" ability to tell her how much she had pushed them even further away from her.

Outside, Grace waved goodbye to Jeremy as they went their separate ways. Grace turned and saw Caroline by her locker, seeing the perky blonde's attention was drawn elsewhere. As she changed directions, hoping to talk to her before class, she walked into a hard chest.

Scolding herself for allowing her anger to dull her senses and awareness of her surroundings, the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end, cold ice ran trickled through her body and a similar darkness from the crow crept upon her. Grace gasped, knowing what she had run into. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It was my fault."

Grace stilled as she recognized the voice. Gaze snapping to the person, she saw the light brown hair in the same funny, pushed back style and forest green eyes, she smiled. "Stefan Salvatore."

Stefan's eyes were soft and the was a gentle smile on his lips. "It's good to see you again, Temperance."

"It's Grace now," she corrected him, giving him a hug. Stefan's arm was firm around her waist and his other hand was in her hair for those few seconds. "I told you already. I was unaware you'd be coming back this quick. Did something happen?"

Stefan shook his head. "I decided it was time." His gaze moved over her shoulder. "Isn't that the men's room?"

Grace heard the swish of a door and glanced over her shoulder to see Elena leaving the toilet, apologetic and distraught. Turning back to Stefan, she ignored her older sister. Grace had had enough. "Yes, it is. Long story. I'll tell you later, if you'd like to catch up?"

"I'd love to," Stefan agreed. "I'll see you in class." Stefan knew he shouldn't have returned home to Mystic Falls, but he hadn't been able to resist. She was here. She was alive.

He wasn't going to fail her again.

Grace smiled and they continued their separate ways. She walked over to Caroline, knowing her friend would want all the juicy gossip about the new guy in town.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 1850

-x-x-x-x-x-

Stars were sparkling as a dark carriage travelled a paved path. A family of four were inside, eager and restless to get home, after having a small holiday together. It was the Salvatore family.

"As soon as we are home," Giuseppe Salvatore was saying, "you boys are going straight to bed. The journey has been long and hard. We all deserve a rest."

Lillian Salvatore sat opposite her husband. In her lap was her youngest son, Stefan, who was struggling to keep his eyes open. Her eldest, Damon, was next to her and watching the trees go by outside.

Giuseppe had been becoming more irritable by the hour and Lillian knew better than to question him, even though Stefan's sleep routine had not been kept to with the long journey – he had been falling to sleep for an hour or so at various intervals all day. Damon, she knew, would not complain as he was tired himself.

"Of course, Giuseppe," Lillian agreed. "It has been a long journey and we are all tired. It will be relieving to be back in our own beds."

Giuseppe leaned back in his seat. He was ready to be home.

Damon, who had been ignoring more of the conversation, tensed. A movement had caught his sight, outside, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Father, there's a girl in the trees."

Giuseppe's sharp eyes snapped to his eldest. "What, son?"

"Over there." Damon gestured to the treeline where, sure enough, a young girl no older than his youngest boy, was stood by a tree.

"Stop the carriage!" Giuseppe called out, before opening the door and jumping out, while it was still moving.

Ordering his family to remain inside, he was cautious as he approached the little girl. He knew, without needing to give the order, his carriage driver had his hidden gun drawn and his personal slave would defend his wife and children, should this turn out to be a trap by the natives of this land.

The young girl appeared to be in a daze, not seeing the world around her. Her dark hair was matted with dirt, with leaves and twigs caught in the tangles. Her skin was covered in mud and other filth, while the moon shinning on them highlighted her porcelain skin tone even underneath all the dirt. The dress she wore was nought but rags now, though it was evident to have been of high stock. Her feet were bare and oozing blood in the moonlight.

As Giuseppe approached the young girl, her eyes met his and he was taken aback to see the emerald orbs shinning so bright. Tear tracks glistened on her cheeks and more unshed tears were swimming in her eyes.

Giuseppe crouched a few feet from her. The girl took a small step back and it was clear she was frightened. He couldn't imagine what could have put a young child into such a state. So focused on her, he didn't see the figure hidden deep within the trees, not leaving until the girl was safe.

"Don't worry," Giuseppe told her. "You're safe now."

He would never know what made him use those words. It took him over an hour of coaxing the girl with kindness to get her into the carriage, to take her home. He ordered his slave to get the physician when they arrived back at the manor. Damon gave her his jacket to help warm her.

The physician's arrival was prompt and the village alerted to the strange news of a young girl found in the woods. They would never find out as to where she came from and she did not appear to recall was her own name was.

Within days, the Salvatore family took her in as a ward. She was never given a last name, as hope was still held out for her family to be found. However, Lillian Salvatore, growing attached to the young girl gave her a name of her own within days and treated her as the daughter she never had.

From that day, the young girl was called Temperance.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 – Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Once our home state of Virginia joined the Confederate Rebellion in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state."

Grace was doodling in the margins of her notebook, trying note to fall to sleep during Tanner's speech. She loved history, but she'd lived through this era and knew more than Tanner did, so didn't see the sense in paying too much attention. Taking a glance around the room at her fellow classmates – having been put up a year meant she was in the same classes as her sister – she rolled her eyes as she saw Matt Donovan's eyes keep glancing over to Elena.

She had hoped he'd grown out of it during the summer. It wasn't at all hard for her to say, even about her own sister, but he was better off now he wasn't with her.

"People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the Crown's Union …"

Grace tuned out the rest of the speech. The American Civil War had almost succeeded in breaking the United States from the British Crown in a way previous wars had failed. It was thanks to Abraham Lincoln and the Crown's Union, America was still protected and considered a domain under the British Royal Family. For a long time, any Confederate State had suffered harsh penalties for the break in faith and taxes had been horrific for decades.

Though the United States were a country which operated on its own most of the time, by the grace of the Crown, they were never again allowed to forget the were a part of the British Empire.

Grace's lips twitched into a small smile, amused at the difference in history. The small ripples had changed a vast majority in this world, when compared to her old world. He had done his job well in her absence. Her plans were coming together.

Drawn back to the present, Grace noticed Elena keep giving sneaky glances over to Stefan. Her eyes narrowed, realizing Elena wanted a new relationship and was searching for one with blatancy in front of Matt. It pleased her to see Stefan ignoring the brunette and her obvious attempts to eye-flirt with him.

She wasn't concerned when she saw Matt following Elena's glances. This might be the kick he needed to get over her sister.

Grace stared back at her notes, trying to get caught up in Tanner's speech in case he asked a question, missing Stefan glancing at her as she did. Bonnie and Matt didn't. Bonnie was discreet in taking her phone out of her pocket and sent a quick message. Grace's phone buzzed in her pocket and, taking it out, she hid it behind her history book to read the message.

HAWT-E. STARING U.

Grace gave a simple smile and shook her head in amusement. Matt's eyebrows rose in surprise.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Neither Grace nor Jeremy wanted to follow Elena on her daily trip to Mystic Falls Cemetery, so they went ahead of time. Grace heard the squawk of a bird and glanced around, not seeing it, but sensing the presence from earlier. She ignored it. Jeremy glanced upward after she did and saw the crow land on the sign.

They made it to their destination and stood there.

IN MEMORY

GRAYSON GILBERT – MIRANDA SOMMERS GILBERT

MAY 23RD, 2009

LOVING PARENTS

Jeremy gripped his sister's hand and fought back tears. He'd not been able to come here alone since the funeral. Grace had helped him, by coming with him once a week and allowing his to spend time at their parents' graves. Grace found it easier with her brother beside her, as well, for vast different reasons.

Wiping the dust and dirt off from the top of the headstone, Grace placed the bouquet of white roses they'd bought on their way there on the grave. Their mother had loved white roses and their father had always made sure a fresh bouquet was in the house.

Seeing the tears in her brother's eyes, Grace pulled him in for a hug.

"We're going to be okay, Jeremy," Grace whispered in his ear. "I promise."

Jeremy allowed the tears to fall and held her tight, burying his face into her hair. Although Jeremy loved his parents and grieved for their loss, he had since come to a harsher realization which made him more upset – he would survive this and move on.

If it had been Grace instead, he knew he would have followed her without hesitation.

Pulling away and looking back at the grave, a morbid idea crossed Jeremy's mind and he shivered. Grace noticed and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I was thinking about your other parents and how you lost them. About how it was a modern car accident and what could have taken all the others from you." A subject she avoided talking about was the deaths of those she loved in the past.

Grace glanced at her mother's name on the tombstone, knowing she had long since stopped caring about offending the woman. She had always had a complicated relationship with the women who birthed her, although none more so than with Miranda Sommers Gilbert.

"In my first life here," Grace told him, "I never knew my parents. I grew together with my sister and we worked from a young age for a powerful family. It was my sister who raised me and always tried to make sure I was happy. I was always told they died not long after I was born."

She didn't tell Jeremy she had gone back to her birth village to find out why they had been raised as slaves in all but name, after she had heard a rumour her parents weren't as dead as she had believed all her life. She had vowed not to reveal the truth of the story until all her debts from her first life were finished. Despite her love for him, Jeremy was not the one who deserved to hear the horrible truth from her first.

"In my second life, my parents were powerful and influential people in our culture. You already know myself and four of my brothers were born of our father's second marriage; what you don't know is this marriage was the conclusion of our father having an affair with our mother. His first wife had given him two children – a boy and a girl – with their daughter having died of plague long before I was born. My father was killed by an enemy of our people and my mother by my father's first wife, within weeks of each other, if I'm remembering right." She was. She remembered her second life with exceptional detail.

Jeremy wanted to ask questions, but a shadow in her expression stopped him. She had always been vague about her second life in this world and never mentioned any names. She made no illusions to time periods, or any historical facts they could use to pinpoint when and where she had lived. They had all contemplated on what she could be hiding and why it was so difficult for her to talk about.

"My third life was right here in Mystic Falls."

"What?" Jeremy asked, shocked. "But we're part of the founding families. How is that possible?"

Grace smiled. "The Vikings found this place first. Many years before Leif Erikson was said to have discovered the West, Viking warriors and settlers migrated to Iceland and the Americas. All he did was re-establish the connection back to the European continent."

"Wow." Jeremy's mind was blown by these facts. Why wasn't this in their history books? "What happened? Why don't we know this?"

"No one wants to admit the Vikings were so proficient they settled in places other than the United Kingdom, Iceland and Greenland. It's all politics and religion, Jeremy. Two topics which turn the greatest of men to corruption."

Jeremy acknowledged this. "So, your parents?"

"I was twelve when they died," she admitted. "We had an uneasy peace with our native neighbours. Many women and men had intermarried with them and they became a thriving separate community. They suffered from, what my parents called, an illness" she spat the word out in disgust, still angry at her parents lack of acceptance "which made them dangerous every few weeks. It was involuntary on their part. My parents forgot the dates one night and were caught out after dark. My sister and I were the ones who found their bodies the next morning – not that there was much to recover."

"What happened to you after that?" Jeremy questioned, concerned. At twelve, he could imagine there weren't many options available to her.

"We were taken in by two separate families. I was close to the family who had taken me in, so I had a good life."

She hadn't been close to the family which had taken her in; they had meant the world to her. She would have died for them, as they would have for her. She did die for them.

"In my fourth life, my father was a nobleman in the land which would become known as Italy and my mother was his wife's personal servant. When my mother died in childbirth, his wife took me in as her own – no one outside the family knew the truth – and raised me with my brothers. They died when I was thirteen, after an attack upon the two of them. My eldest brother found them and took care of me after." It had been a vampire attack, which is what had ignited her brothers' unending hatred of the species.

Jeremy remembered her talking about this before. If her father's wife hadn't been willing to raise her, she would have been sent to a nunnery. She had always considered herself closer to the woman she called mother than to her father as, any time she wasn't perfect, he had threatened to send her away.

Grace didn't have to say it, but Jeremy was aware she had been relieved when her father died and suspected she regretted not having the power to save her 'mother' from the attack which killed them.

"In my next life …" Grace was quiet for a long moment "… about a year after I was born, my mother travelled to Bulgaria to see her brother and his family. She never made it to her destination. I exchanged letters with both of my cousins throughout my childhood and we speculated about what could have happened to her. My father passed away of old age when I was five and I was given into the custody of my godparents to raise. I lived a long life."

She didn't tell Jeremy her father had been a Prince, or her godparents had been the reigning King and Queen. She had been beloved and adored, treasured and hated, supressed and given exceptional opportunities at each twist in the road. She wasn't sure he would appreciate the decisions she had made in her fifth life or comprehend how much of her blood still ran through the nobility of Europe today.

Jeremy didn't know what she meant by long life. In times of the past, old age could even mean when you were of marriageable age, which was as soon as you hit puberty.

"My last life was – once again – here in Mystic Falls."

"Seriously?!" Jeremy was incredulous. "What is it about this town?"

Grace laughed. "Magic, I suppose. I never knew my biological family, I'm afraid. I was taken in by a 'Founding Family', after they found me wandering on the side of the road. I was never given a last name."

Jeremy's memory clicked onto an old story he knew. Grace had read the history of Mystic Falls to him one night when he was ill, attempting to get him to sleep. Giuseppe Salvatore had taken in a young girl and she was raised alongside his sons. She had been given the name Temperance. She had died at the age of seventeen or eighteen – no one could be sure of her exact age – after catching an unknown illness. It killed her within a few short weeks.

Jeremy admitted to knowing no part of this. He would have to do more research but, to have her last life solidified in his mind and the potential to find solid information, left him lightheaded and excited.

Grace was about to open her mouth and tell him more, when –

"Grace? Jeremy?"

Turning around, they could see Elena walking out from behind a tree. Grace wasn't surprised; she had sensed and heard Elena's presence a few minutes ago. She had taken it as an opportunity to force Elena to hear more on the subjects she always tried to make Grace forget.

"We were just leaving." Jeremy wasn't happy to see her. The accusations from earlier were still ringing through his mind and he did not want to continue the conversation which had, to be frank, hurt him in a way neither of his sisters had ever hurt him before. Today had been one day in a long line of problems which were emerging between the siblings. Lines had been drawn in the sand and he knew where he stood.

They walked away from the grave and Elena didn't try to stop them. As Grace walked by her, Elena pressed a gentle touch to her shoulder. It was all the apology Grace would get and served to make her temper commence boiling once again. Continuing to walk the path, they left Elena to sit in front of the grave and pull out her journal.

"What's she writing now?" Jeremy asked. He knew of Grace's ability to speak to snakes.

She was unconcerned and beyond the point of caring. "That she made it through the day. That she's not okay, even though she told everyone she was. You know, Jeremy, if she'd spoken to more people than Bonnie, Caroline, Jenna and the two of us this summer, she wouldn't have had to put on a front today. Did she even cotton on to the fact no one asked me or you if we were okay, because they'd seen us around and spoken to us before the first day of school?"

Jeremy shook his head. "She was more absorbed in how people reacted to her, than to our own days."

A bird squawking caught the attention of them both and they stopped walking to see a crow resting on the back of a bench. Grace stared at it for a long moment, not sure whether she should be amused or annoyed. "That's the same bird which hit Bonnie's car this morning."

Her tone caught Jeremy's attention more than what she'd said. He made vague noise of interest. "Hi, bird. Why are you following my sister?"

"Why are you talking to the bird?" Grace asked, concerned for her brother's mental health.

"Connecting to nature." At least Jeremy's answer was prompt, even if people hadn't done the like of it in centuries.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Mom had to have a boy, didn't she?"

Jeremy gave her a small shove in mock offence. They both kept walking, ignoring the bird and the fog which had encroached the air around them. Jeremy found it difficult to ignore, when the bird flew over their heads and landed on another bench a few feet in front of them, squawking louder and demanding to be noticed.

Jeremy grew uncomfortable; the bird's behaviour and the fog getting thicker made his nerves come to the forefront. His palms became sweaty and a cold chill broke out on the back of his neck. "Grace."

Grace gripped his arm. She could see a recognizable figure standing in the trees, facing their direction. She couldn't help the small smile which graced her face. He did always enjoy the spooky games. "We're fine, Jeremy. Trust me."

He did. However, he still increased their pace as they walked away and turned a corner. As soon as they were clear of the particular section of the graveyard, the fog disappeared. The sun shone on them again and Jeremy moved a lot easier.

Jeremy scanned the area, hoping they hadn't been followed. He had seen the same figure Grace had. He knew he was safe with his sister, but he didn't want her to be in the position where she had to protect him.

"Was that a witch?" Jeremy asked. "Was that another witch trying to frighten us?" He knew magic existed in many forms and there were others like Grace out there. He wasn't stupid, nor naïve, like the others.

Grace shook her head. "No. Other witches wouldn't engage in such frivolities – their words, not mine. Even so, magic belonging to a witch has a different sensation."

"Hey."

Grace and Jeremy both spun round and saw Stefan standing behind them. Jeremy's heart jumped straight into his throat again and he tried to calm himself.

"Hi, Stefan," Grace greeted, as if the strange events of second ago hadn't happened. "Are you visiting family?"

"I'm paying my respects." Stefan was unsure how she would react.

There was a single person in the cemetery Stefan would pay his respects to and Grace wouldn't begrudge him, even though she couldn't bring herself to do the same.

Jeremy tried to calm himself. "Okay. This day needs to stop trying to give me a heart attack."

"I agree. Jeremy, this is Stefan. Stefan, this is my brother, Jeremy." She'd wanted to introduce them for the longest time.

"That's a nice ring," Jeremy commented, having noticed the gaudy piece of jewellery on his finger. "Is it a family heirloom?" The Gilbert's had similar pieces themselves.

Stefan moved it around on his finger, giving it the bare minimal of glances. "It is. I'm kinda stuck with it. Always found it a bit weird."

Grace chuckled. "It's like I told him; there are rings and there is that."

Stefan smiled. The ring had been made for him in an emergency by Grace and she had joked it could have been better. Neither himself nor Damon had found it funny, considering she was weak and dying at the time. It made her brother laugh, though, which is what she had been aiming for.

Stefan's eyes moved over Grace's shoulder. "Has your sister hurt herself?"

Grace spun around and saw Elena approaching them, blood staining her jeans around the left calf. Jeremy turned around and shook in head in exasperation. Typical Elena.

Grace glanced back over her shoulder at Stefan. His sclera had turned blood-red, dark veins had grown under his eyes and fangs had descended in his mouth. The moment he saw her cool expression, he forced it back and his features became human again.

"You should go and take care of her," Stefan told her, before vanishing from her line of sight.

"He needs to stop doing that where people can see him," Grace muttered in annoyance.

Hearing Elena talk about the fog and the bird, Grace turned back around. She knew they'd have to help Elena get home before heading out to meet with their friends.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Stefan Salvatore sat in his room, writing into his journal. Meeting Grace again before returning to Mystic Falls had been the greatest blessing to happen to him in over a century. It had allowed him to enter the situation with a clear head.

While he was happy to be with her again, he worried about the consequences of returning to Mystic Falls. Even more so with his control weakening as time went on. The monster within was roaring to the surface more and stronger than ever before. If he didn't gain the necessary restraint, he was going to become his worst nightmare once again.

Closing his journal, his gaze flickered to the corner of his desk, where a green bound journal was resting. He'd found it after getting control of his bloodlust in the cemetery and recalled Elena Gilbert carrying it around in her bag all day. Noting the embroidered snakes on the spine and the cover, Stefan knew Grace was employing the tactics she wished she had in the past.

He would have to return it.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace sat at a table with Tyler and Matt, eating a burger and fries. Vicki, who worked at the Grill, brought over Tyler's meal and smiled.

"Do you need another refill?" she asked, attempting to flirt with him.

"Sure," Tyler replied, his tone bland. He didn't want to encourage her, but still wanted the drink.

Vicki recognized the dismissive tone and frowned, grabbed his glass and left.

Matt ate a fry. "I am so pleased you stopped hooking up with my sister. It was weird."

"Please tell her to stay away from me. I don't want to get into it again." Tyler turned to Grace. "What's up with you and the new guy?" He wasn't accusing, just curious. After all, it wasn't like the two of them were an exclusive pair. They both had flings on the side.

"I met him a few months ago when I was visiting family," Grace told them. "He was passing through town, got on the wrong side of the wildlife and I helped him out. He took me to lunch a couple of times in thanks. He didn't tell me he was moving back this soon."

Tyler and Matt caught onto a single word. "Back?"

Bonnie and Caroline were talking as they walked through the Grill in search of a table. Caroline was telling Bonnie all the information she had found out during the day. "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid; military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini and his favourite colour is blue."

"You got all of that in one day?" Bonnie asked, incredulous.

Caroline scoffed. "Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period. I'm planning a June wedding between him and Grace. Did you see him watching her? Finally, a new guy who is not interested in Elena."

Not giving Bonnie the chance to reply, Caroline turned around and walked away to find out even more gossip. Bonnie watched her go, conflicted. She didn't like their once strong group of four was splintering, but was also more on the same page as Caroline and Grace, than with Elena.

"Elena was interested in him," Matt commented to Grace, as they waved to Caroline passing-by their table.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Elena's putting on a front, trying to convince everyone she's fine. She's using her journal as an outlet and, though it's a healthy alternative to other focuses she could have chosen, she needs to get her head back in the real world. Knowing Elena, she's latching onto the first new and shiny thing she can. I'm hoping it's a phase."

Tyler gripped her hand in comfort, knowing Grace mourned the loss of the close relationship she'd once had with Elena. Their parent's deaths hadn't been the catalyst, but it had been the straw which broke the camel's back. He'd been there through the worst of it and was more aware than most at how much Elena had broken her sister's trust.

"Will Stefan go for it, do you think?" Matt asked, persistent in his line of questioning.

Grace shook her head and swallowed a bite of her burger. "Let's say Elena reminds him a bit too much of an … old friend." They understood it wasn't the good kind.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"I'm meeting Bonnie at the Grill," Elena told Jenna, as she walked to the front door.

"Ok, have fun." She didn't get far before Jenna rounded on Elena again. "Wait! I got this. Don't stay out late, it's a school night."

Elena chuckled. "Well done, Aunt Jenna."

Jenna smiled and walked into the kitchen, satisfied. Elena, still chuckling, walked to the front door. Opening it, she gasped in shock, seeing Stefan standing on the other side. "Oh."

Stefan smiled. "Sorry, I was about to knock. I was hoping to catch Grace. I wanted to apologize to her for my disappearing act earlier."

Elena managed to hide her disappointment he wasn't there to see her. "No worries. Grace isn't here right now, but she did tell us you have issues with injuries."

Stefan chuckled. "Yeah. We didn't meet under the best of circumstances, Grace and I, but I'm pleased she was there." Unbeknownst to Elena, he wasn't talking about her current life. "How's your leg?"

"Oh, it's fine," Elena assured him. "A scratch. I would ask how you knew where we lived, but Grace must have told you."

"True," Stefan agreed, "and it's a small town. All I would have to do is ask the first person I saw." He pulled a small journal out of his back pocket. "Another reason I'm here is because I believed you might want this back. I found it on the path."

Elena was shocked to see her journal, not even having noticed she'd lost it. "Ooh, I must have dropped it. I – thank you."

"Don't worry," Stefan continued, "I didn't … read it."

Elena's eyebrows rose a tiny bit. "No? Why not? Most people would have."

"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to read mine."

"You keep a journal?" Elena asked, shocked.

"Yeah," Stefan replied, "if I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important."

Elena continued staring at him. With each word coming out of his mouth, she believed they were forming a strong connection with each other. "Yeah. I'm just gonna, um, you don't have to stay out there." She backed away and walked into the house, to put her journal away.

Stefan stood at the door and saw the line where it would close. He couldn't get in and he didn't want to. Walking back a few steps, he leaned against the porch railing. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

Having seen he hadn't entered, Elena came back to the door, a confused and amused expression on her face.

Stefan spoke, not wanting to get into a full conversation of why he didn't go into the house. "I only came to give you your journal back. I was hoping to catch Grace before she went to the Mystic Grill, but I suppose I'll have to meet her there." He needed to be clear he wasn't there for her.

Elena couldn't disguise how disgruntled she was, but Stefan ignored it. He'd seen it before in another woman and it sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. "I'm heading to the Grill myself. I'm meeting a friend."

Stefan gave a small smile, hiding the discomfort settling in his stomach. "Well, I'm a gentleman and I don't believe your siblings would like it if I let you head there alone, since we are heading in the same direction."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Bonnie and Caroline had joined Tyler, Matt and Grace. They'd all moved to a larger table, knowing Elena would be there soon and they would need more space. Matt held off on asking anymore questions about Elena. He knew he was annoying Grace with his pestering, but it was hard for him to move on after a relationship he had invested so much into.

Tyler and Grace had put a small amount of alcohol into their soft drinks when no adult had been around, much to the rest of the groups secret amusement.

As they were chatting about their first day back at school, Grace saw Elena and Stefan walking into the Grill. Grace gritted her teeth at the expression on Elena's face. Peeking over at Matt, she grimaced in apology and he gave a small 'what can you do?' motion in return. Elena and Stefan approached the table and Matt stood, holding his hand out to Stefan.

"Hi, I'm Matt," he greeted. "It's nice to meet you."

Stefan shook his hand. "Hi. Stefan."

Matt gave a motion of greeting to Elena, but otherwise said no more as he sat back at the table. Her smile to faltered a bit, but she shook it off. Grace moved aside a small amount, so Stefan could shift his chair next to her a bit more. This action caused Elena to be on the opposite side of the table and it was clear she wasn't happy about it.

As soon as introductions and greetings were out of the way, Caroline commenced the expected interrogation. "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?"

Stefan made a sound of agreement. "And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?"

"My parents passed away," Stefan stated in a simple manner.

Elena was the sole person at the table who didn't notice the tone in which it was stated; the cool indifference. A sheen of tears was present in her eyes, surmising this was another matter they had in common, with her own parent's deaths still fresh on her mind. "I'm sorry."

Stefan gave her a quick, slight dismissive glance. Tyler and Matt both met Grace's gaze, asking the obvious question with their eyes. Grace's eyebrows rose in acknowledgement, letting them know Stefan hadn't had a good relationship with one or both of his parents; they understood parental problems. Grace, on the other hand, knew the real reason Stefan didn't want to linger on the subject. It was for the same reason she, herself, never tried to remember Giuseppe Salvatore.

"Any siblings?" Elena asked.

Stefan gave a sardonic smile. "None that I talk to."

Grace snorted. "You two need to sort that out. Preferably soon."

Stefan grimaced, having caught the undercurrent of anger in her tone. He knew she was right. "I hope you said the same to him."

Grace acquiesced. Not long after she'd met Stefan again, she'd run across the other Salvatore brother. In truth, he'd been even more enthusiastic in finding her alive again after all this time than his brother had been.

"I live with my uncle," Stefan told the others.

Caroline was smart enough to steer the conversation away from family. Each of them at the table had family issues and, if Stefan didn't want to talk about his, then it was his own decision to make. "So, Stefan, if you're new, you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back to school thing at the Falls," Bonnie interjected.

"Of course, he's going," Grace cut in towards Bonnie, before continuing as she glanced at Stefan, "You'll be there. There are a lot of social events in Mystic Falls and this is going to be your first."

Stefan smiled.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 1858

-x-x-x-x-x-

Temperance had snuck into Stefan's rooms. She was laying on his bed with him, in her nightclothes, trying to be quiet so Giuseppe wouldn't wake from his drunken stupor in the study.

"I finished the story," she told him. "I am not sure I liked the ending."

"Why?" Stefan asked, confused. He was sure she would have liked it. "The girl was happy. She had her brother back and they were able to grow up together."

Temperance rolled her eyes. "I liked that part. I didn't like the horrible man not being punished for what he did. Everyone forgot all the bad he'd done against them when the boy and girl found each other again."

Stefan considered this. "Maybe they didn't want to remember anymore? They had each other. What was the point in looking back at the end?"

"Because their past is what made them so strong," Temperance explained. "Without their past, they wouldn't be who they became. Making sure the man was punished would have been them proving they were better than him and would recover. He wouldn't be able to do it to anyone else."

Stefan got her point. "Makes sense."

They were both quiet for a moment.

"Do you think Damon is okay?" Stefan asked. "He was angry with father earlier."

"He'll be fine. I'm sure it was a misunderstanding."

They both knew it wasn't. Damon and Giuseppe had been arguing with more frequency; it was getting worse as Damon grew older and developed his own opinions outside of Giuseppe's influence. The tension in their relationship had grown with Lillian Salvatore's death from consumption earlier in the year.

Stefan held Temperance's hand in his own, needing the comfort. As he grew, he saw matters different from before. He had always seen Temperance as a sister-like figure, as they were close in age and had been playmates as they grew. After his mother died, his father had called a family meeting to tell them Temperance would take over all the duties which had once belonged to Lillian Salvatore.

Temperance and Stefan hadn't understood Damon's anger at this announcement, as it seemed logical for her to take over the household duties leftover by Lillian's absence. Stefan was still confused over Damon's growing anger, but Temperance had long since been told the truth. Gertrude – the slave woman who had served Temperance for five years – had told her the meaning behind Giuseppe's words and, ever since, had feared the day she would be deemed a woman under the eyes of the law.

Unbeknownst to Stefan, Damon's arguments with their father had all been about Giuseppe's plans to take Temperance as his second wife.

"Stefan?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me we'll always be friends," she whispered.

Stefan smiled. "Of course, we'll always be friends. Why wouldn't we be?"

Temperance continued to stare at the ceiling. Her future was guaranteed, even though Damon objected at any opportunity he could find. Within the next few years, she would be the wife of Giuseppe Salvatore and expected to give him more children.

Outside the room, a tall figure with icy blue eyes listened to the preteens talking and clenched his fists. Unlike Stefan, he heard the uncertain tone behind Temperance's words. As he stood there, he made a vow to keep her safe – even from Giuseppe Salvatore, the man who should have been protecting her the most.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 – Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

Later in the evening, Grace was with Stefan in the Salvatore Boarding House, in his room. Stefan changed his shirt and sat with her at the small table.

"Are you sure you're okay with being here?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm staying with Tyler tonight. He's agreed to cover for me until I get there. My family won't know."

"Are you seeing him?" He was curious, because Grace had told him there was no permanent romantic attachment in her life and yet Tyler acted like it was different. He was concerned, considering what he knew of her past romantic attachments.

Grace shook her head and let out a small laugh, knowing what Stefan was presuming. "No. Tyler and I know how to have fun with no strings. He's an asshole, but he's always been good to me. We're both free to see other people if we want."

"Good." He was quiet for a moment, his mind drifting elsewhere. "All you told me about Elena is true. I can see she's a good person, but …"

"I love my sister, Stefan," Grace was quick to say, "but in the abstract sense. I don't like her as a person. She has this unconscious habit of making every concept about herself. Elena has a black and white way of viewing the world, which clashes with my own views. I'm not pretending to be better than her – I have my own faults, as you well know. I've committed atrocious crimes in my past and made horrible decisions, which isn't likely to change in the future. I am what I am and, it's unfortunate, but she is what she is."

"What's the actual issue?" Stefan asked. It couldn't be a moral issue – he knew her better than to believe it was morality – so he wasn't sure what could have made her so angry when it came to Elena.

Grabbing hold of her bag, Grace pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Stefan. He saw it was a newspaper clipping when he unfolded it and a younger picture of Grace greeted him, alongside a man he didn't know. It was the local Mystic Falls paper, which made sense, as he'd never seen this article in any of the country wide papers.

When it registered as to what he was reading, the muscle in his jaw jumped in response to his fury.

… inappropriate behaviour … disgusting actions by one of Mystic Falls own promising sons … the truth exposed by whistle blower sister, Elena Gilbert …

"Elena did this?" Stefan questioned, his tone quiet and controlled, the anger rolling through him.

Grace sipped at her water.

"You were thirteen," Stefan continued, rereading her age at the time of the article. "Did she not know what she was doing?"

"She knew." Grace was blunt. "Sheriff Forbes was the one who took her report and told her in no uncertain terms what this would mean for both myself and the accused, especially if it proved untrue – as Liz knew it would. Elena pushed forward and told her – along with everyone else – she had to protect me as my big sister, even from my own actions."

"You start your cycle at thirteen." It was the same in all her lives, without fail. "It's the worst time for you, in body and in mind. Your body goes through the worst of the changes and your mind shifts to accommodate the mentality necessary for you to be in sync with your past lives."

Stefan remembered this time with vivid detail. Temperance had to place wards around her room, so her worst episodes wouldn't reach his father's ears. His brother, Damon, had been her best support during this time and Stefan believed this was when their relationship changed into the deeper affection they became known for.

"If you don't have a solid foundation, your magic bursts out of you and will become like the problem you suffered as Faith Potter. It's what happened in your first life here, when your you lost the people who could ground you. Which is what this guy was doing, right?"

"Yes," Grace confirmed his suspicions. "I had to find another foundation. Unfortunately, you know how impossible it is. The requirements are different in each life. In my first life, it was my sister. In my second, it was my father and brothers – which is how I came to the realization there even could be more than one. I've never had to search. It was this which was the beginning of the end when it came to my relationship with my sister."

Stefan was silent, in shock.

"She's never apologized," Grace admitted. "She still insists she was in the right and he was taking advantage of me." She shook her head. "My childhood had been harder this time around. People are raised different these days."

Stefan scoffed. "I've noticed. My father never would have let us get away with the behaviour kids exhibit nowadays."

"Not even to mention any of my other parents."

"How do they all know, by the way?" Stefan asked. "About your magic and past lives? It's clear they don't know everything, but I'm surprised they know anything considering what happened in your last life."

Grace grimaced. "I had a strong magical outburst when I was eight and destroyed this abandoned house we'd all snuck away to play in. They kept it a secret for me, though kept pestering me afterwards. I've told them bits and pieces throughout the years. Elena never wanted to hear any of it and, considering she's always around, I've not been able to tell them much before she shifts the conversation. I've been telling them more in recent times, but it's slow going. Modern ideals make it difficult."

Stefan winced. He understood more than he wanted to. Newborn vampires these days held to beliefs the more experienced of their kind scorned them for and it was similar with other supernatural's. The witch hunts had been – and still were – a real, terrifying event for their kind and even the best of them struggled to make it out alive. The young ones hadn't experienced such levels of fear. Stefan gave it less than fifty years before the face of the supernatural world became too human and beyond the help of those able to save it, unless they got their acts together.

"Who all knows?"

"Elena, obviously: Tyler, Matt, Bonnie, Caroline and Jeremy among my friends – family in Jeremy's case. My aunt, Jenna, is aware and both of my parents knew, as well – Grayson a bit more than Miranda, because of the family journals and him listening to me to a greater degree than my mother did. As do Sheila and a few other people. You don't know all of them. My biological father knew most of all."

Stefan was quiet for a moment. "Who was he? Your biological father?"

Grace grimaced and explained. The worst kept secret in Mystic Falls was Grace having been born from an affair. Miranda Gilbert had, not long after Elena's birth, walked out on her husband and child in a rare moment of weakness. Elena hadn't been an easy baby and it had taken its toll on the new parents – Miranda worst of all. She had left one morning, naught but a note on the kitchen table and driven away from Mystic Falls.

From this point, all anyone knew was she returned home from her four-month disappearance, her second child within her womb. Grayson had welcomed his wife back with open arms and raised Grace as his own, even adopting her in an official capacity before her second birthday with her biological father's permission.

"Not long after my first birthday," Grace continued to explain, "my mother went back to search for my biological father. Grayson knew they needed to know if there would be any medical problems from my paternal side, as he was a doctor. My mother knew how to find him. My father had known about the pregnancy and had waited for news ever since my mother returned to Mystic Falls. He hadn't expected it to take so long. Nor, I expect, was my mother expecting him to fight for his right to see me."

"Why not?" Stefan asked. It was a parent's right to see their child.

"Because of his condition, among other reasons." Grace rolled her eyes, having long since comprehended when she was young those reasons had to do with Miranda's embarrassment about the affair and her own strong pride. "I'm lucky my father had good people on his side to fight for me, or I might never have known him."

Stefan understood who those people were. He'd met a few of them when he'd seen her again.

"He died when I was thirteen." Grace's eyes showed her grief. It had been profound at the time, as the incident with Elena happened weeks after she had lost her father.

Before Stefan could comfort her, a door opening made them pull away from each other and turn around. Zach Salvatore entered the room, holding a newspaper, not pleased in the least. He ignored Grace and threw the paper in front of Stefan.

"You promised."

Stefan and Grace both saw the front-page article about Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton. The headline read 'BODIES FOUND MUTILATED BY ANIMAL'.

Stefan was confused. "This was an animal attack."

Zach didn't believe him. "Don't give me that. I know the game. You tear them up enough, they always suspect an animal attack. You said you had it under control."

"And he does." Grace was angry on Stefan's behalf. "I'm helping him, Zach; you know that."

Zach wasn't hopeful. "Over one hundred years of animal blood hasn't kept him from falling of the rails. How do you know you can?"

"Because animal blood is never meant to be a permanent solution," Grace answered. "A bit of human blood at a time and he'll be able to build to where he needs to be. This wasn't him, Zach. If it had been, he wouldn't be sitting here in a calm state and talking to us in a civil manner."

Stefan would never be like other vampires. There was a high chance he would relapse in the future, but Zach didn't need to know all the details.

Zach, faced with them both, was now on edge. "Please, Uncle Stefan. Mystic Falls is a different place now. It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember. And you being here, it's going to stir things up."

"It's not my intention," Stefan told him.

"What is? Why did you come back? After all this time, why not?"

Zach didn't know the truth about Grace. He knew of her magic, but he held no knowledge of her past lives, which is the way they wanted it to stay. Stefan's tone turned sharp. "I don't have to explain myself."

Zach avoided Grace's glare as he tried to continue, his tone calm. "I know you can't change what you are. But you don't belong here anymore."

Stefan stared at his hands. "Where do I belong?"

"I can't tell you what to do. But coming back here was a mistake." Leaving the newspaper behind – and wincing at the sight of the old clipping next to it – he gave an apologetic pat on Grace's shoulder and left the room. Stefan watched him left, resigned.

"He might be right," Stefan admitted. "What if I can't be helped?"

"You'll never be like the others," Grace admitted, "but you can be helped. I'm not going to abandon you in this Stefan, no matter how long it takes. I've committed atrocious acts in my own past. I'd be a fool to judge you."

She stood, walked over to a cupboard and opened it, seeing all his journals throughout the years. She grabbed a simple leather-bound journal and walked back over to the table. Opening it, they inspected the picture inside, labelled 'Katherine, 1864'.

Grace turned the journal and picture to face Stefan. "Every action has a consequence. Don't let this one haunt you forever."

The picture was of a woman who was identical to Elena Gilbert.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war, in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?"

Back in History class with Tanner, Grace tuned out most of his speech, sketching in the margins of her notebook, drawing little bunnies, foxes and so on. She didn't have the same passion for art Jeremy had, nor did she have the patience to study it in all its forms, but she enjoyed using a vast variety of supplies. From paints, to inks, to charcoals and many supplies in between. It was how they had bonded as children.

"Ms. Bennett?"

Bonnie peeked over at him from where she was also doodling in her notebook, like a deer in the headlights. "Um … a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

A few of the students sniggered.

Tanner wasn't impressed. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett."

Bonnie's face fell, as she was shamed in front of all her classmates.

"Mr. Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Matt was the type of guy who let undertone insults fly right over his head. "It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it."

Grace let out a small giggle, as she shot Matt a thumbs up over her shoulder.

"Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

Elena bore resemblance to a small animal caught by a large predator, before she gave a minor shake of her head. "I'm sorry, I – I don't know."

It was this which made Tanner lose his cool. "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break. Grace? What about you?"

The pencil Grace was using snapped into two at this statement, because Tanner hadn't been lenient, at all. He had not been less of an asshole by any degree of imagination. She gave her teacher a false little smile.

"There were 346 casualties," Grace told him, "unless you're counting local civilians."

"That's correct." Tanner concurred with her. "Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

This time it was another voice cut across, before Grace could elaborate. "Actually, there were twenty-seven, sir."

Stefan caught the entire classes attention as he spoke. "Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss."

Tanner regarded him for a moment. "Our new student. Mister … ?"

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore. Any relation to the originals settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

"Distant."

"Well, good. You should know, though, there is no evidence of civilian casualties."

"There is, sir," Grace spoke again. "The founder's archives are stored in Civil Hall, if you'd like to brush up on your facts." The class gawped at Grace in shock, grins forming on their faces. "Mr. Tanner."

Tanner showed no expression. It was a simple running battle between the two of them, who could get the better of the other. "Hmm." Grace was winning.

As he turned back to the chalk board, Grace and Stefan smiled at each other. Their eyes, however, reflected the pain of memories this lesson had brought to the surface.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The same evening, the party was in full swing.

Grace was with Caroline, stood in the gazebo, watching Bonnie and Elena by the bonfire. She refined the hearing in her left ear and listened in on the conversation the other two were having. Caroline browsed the area, covering for her by chatting about nonsense and giving the allusion they were in a conversation.

"Just admit it, Elena."

"Oh, ok, so he's a little pretty."

"He has a romance novel stare," Bonnie teased. "Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul. Come on, admit you like him."

Grace scoffed. "I'm going to be sick."

"What are they saying?" Caroline asked, curious.

Taking a large gulp of her beer, Grace tried to calm her anger. "When did Elena become the girl who needs a guy in her life to function as though she's a normal human? This is not Twilight. Bella Swan is not a role model for young girls."

"Hey!" Caroline protested. "I happen to like those books."

"And I still love you in spite of your atrocious reading choices, Caroline."

Caroline expression of mock offense sent Grace into peals of laughter.

By the fire, Elena and Bonnie were still engaged in conversation, with Elena unaware Grace was listening in on them.

"Are you sure you feel there's a connection, Elena?" Bonnie asked, her gaze meeting Grace's as she stood in the gazebo, before turning back to Elena to not alert her.

Elena sighed, a slight smile on her lips, as she contemplated her private conversation with Stefan and all he had revealed at the Grill. "I feel like we get each other, Bonnie. I can't explain it, but ... this is right."

It didn't sit right with Bonnie. Although she had teased Elena a minute ago, there had been no real basis for Elena to feel this way. They both wrote in journals and had both lost their parents. Elena was still suffering with the loss of hers, while it was clear Stefan had long since come to terms with losing his own and even sounded as though there was a poor relationship in the first place.

In fact, Stefan acted as though Elena were invisible unless she put herself in his path, where he was polite and a gentleman – even returning her journal when he knew it was hers.

"Wait!" Elena grabbed hold of an empty beer bottle from the floor. "Why don't you tell me what you see?"

Bonnie scrutinized the bottle in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Elena beamed at her. "With your psychic abilities. This can be your crystal ball."

Bonnie gaped at her for a moment, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "Maybe later, Elena. I need a refill."

Elena was taken aback, her smile fading. "Oh, ok, can you-?" But Bonnie had already walked away.

Walking by Grace and Caroline, Bonnie gave a small shake of her head, letting the other girls know she needed time alone. Grace whispered to Caroline what had happened, causing the blonde to grit her teeth.

Standing alone by the fire, Elena was confused. She wasn't aware of what could have made Bonnie so upset. Examining the students around her, Elena decided it might to time to check on her sister and have a chat but, as she caught sight of Grace and Caroline, she stopped.

Stefan was with them.

"Hey," Grace greeted, as she saw Stefan approach. "You made it."

Stefan smiled. "I did. Hi, Caroline."

"Hi, Stefan." Turning to Grace, Caroline made her excuses. "I'm going to go and see if Bonnie's all right; she left Elena pretty quickly there. I'll see you later." She wasn't lying. She was going to see if Bonnie was okay and if she needed a shoulder to lean on.

After watching Caroline's retreating form, Grace smiled at Stefan and gestured with her head for them to walk.

"You're the talk of the town," Grace told him, as they moved away from the party, hoping for quiet.

"Am I?"

Grace gave an affirmative hum. "Mysterious new guy in town. People have questions."

Stefan chuckled. "Brings back memories."

Grace was quiet for a moment. "It does."

"I still remember the day when we found you. Did you ever find out why you were there?"

Grace shook her head. It was a lie, because she had. She didn't blame her biological family for giving her away, even though she wished they had kept her. She wouldn't change knowing Damon and Stefan, but she did regret much of her last life.

"What about your life now?" Stefan asked. "I've been hearing rumours myself. People still talk about the affair."

Neither of them could stop the roll of their eyes. Gossip was central to life. In small towns like this, it was worse.

"I've had a good life. If anyone holds the circumstances of my birth against me, I've never caught a whisper of it. Except from Tanner, of course." Grace scoffed. Tanner's opinion meant naught to her. "My mother told me the story once. She changed between living out of her car and living out of motels. One night, she found a party in the middle of the woods and was invited to join in. She scolded herself for it later, knowing they could have been anyone and she turned out to be right. She was drunk enough to land in my father's arms, but not drunk enough to forget what happened a few hours later. You could say it sobered her."

Stefan winced, remembering the first time he had witnessed the truth of Grace's paternal family. Miranda must have been terrified. "How did she react?"

A muscle in Grace's jaw jumped. It was answer enough. Miranda hadn't returned to Mystic Falls until she was weeks along in her pregnancy. He didn't ask how she had been kept quiet, or where she had been in those weeks, as he could make several educated guesses.

"Did Grayson Gilbert know?"

Grace gave a wry smile. "He was an intelligent man." It was all she would say on the matter.

Stefan watched Grace with careful eyes as they sat on a bench away from the party. He could see the hidden emotions swirling in her eyes and her tense shoulders. He found it difficult to witness, as he knew this hadn't been an easy life for her.

He found it sad. She had come to this world hoping for happiness, instead finding hardship, sacrifice and loss. There had been moments of joy, love and where she was content, but this world had not softened her in any way. She had grown harder, colder and less prone to forgiveness.

He held her hand and let her know he was there for her.

She smiled.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Tyler and Jeremy had been drinking beer and talking in low voices. They had never spoken like this, but they owed it to Grace. Neither of them wanted to disappoint her like they had this summer again.

As they shook hands, agreeing to hang out more and get to know each other – having found a shared love for art – the brunette they had avoided with great success all night approached them.

"Tyler, Jeremy." She was smiling, as if she hadn't done them wrong.

"Why are you here, Vicki?" Jeremy asked. "Need another fix?"

Tyler snorted. "Or are you already high and other needs have made themselves known?"

Vicki's smile vanished. "I -"

"You what?" Tyler's prominent temper boiled to the surface. "Forgot you already had a boyfriend, when you went for Gilbert? Forgot I was friends with his sister, so I'd inevitably find out about you screwing us both?"

"You're more than 'just friends' with Grace," Vicki spat out, angry. Even when going with her, if Grace called, he'd drop her and run. She was sure he was even still screwing her on the side if the need arose.

"That's got nothing to do with you anymore." It was Jeremy who spoke. "Leave us both alone. Go and play another fool. You want to complain how bad you've got it, Vicki? How about the fact you don't even attempt to change it?"

Vicki's eyes filled with tears. He said he understood.

"Nothing will change unless you want it to, so don't come crying to us when you fall down the same hill again."

They left it there. This was Matt's sister and they had enough respect for him to throw all their anger at her. They walked away and left her standing there, trying not to cry over the choices she had made.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"You've got good friends here."

Grace had taken a moment to speak to a girl called Cheryl, promising her she was first choice replacement if any of the cheer team got hurt during practices or events this year. Cheryl had been ecstatic, promising to do her exercises every day and to not allow her GPA in school to falter. Grace had laughed and told her to make sure she turned up to all their practices, so she could keep all the routines fresh in her mind. It wasn't typical for the reserves to make an appearance more than for a few practices to make sure they understood the technicalities of all the routines.

"I do." Grace was still smiling from Cheryl's enthusiasm. She pointed out Caroline and Matt watching them from a distance. "When we were younger, Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and I wanted to be friends forever. The four of us against the world. We've all changed as we've grown older, even though we're still close. Caroline grew into the eccentric young woman she is now and I've stuck by her through it all. Bonnie became the peacemaker, whilst Elena became the perfect girl next door type."

"She dated Matt Donovan."

"All through High School until now," Grace confirmed. "A freshmen, Bonnie and Elena began to be more of a duo. Caroline and I didn't mind, as we aspired to join the cheer squad and made it in our freshman year. Caroline asked Bonnie to try out as a sophomore and, hearing this, my mother encouraged Elena to try out alongside her. Bonnie made it onto the team with ease – Caroline and I had been helping her with the routines – but Elena was placed in the reserves. She wasn't happy."

Stefan had a funny feeling. "What happened?"

"Sophie came to me a couple of weeks later," Grace told him, "and asked if I could get Elena to back off. Sophie, Kim, Chloe and myself were all fliers on the team. As it turns out, Elena had been making subtle hints about how dangerous being a flier was and how any of them could break a leg, or worse. She didn't come to me, because she knew I'd brush her off. Kim's younger sister happens to be a gymnast. She lives with their aunt in New York, because it gives her better opportunities. She went to the Olympics last year and won a silver medal at thirteen. Kim has seen the worst accidents in gymnastics and Elena's hinting was causing all her worst nightmares to come back." Grace gave a vicious smile. "Sophie also happens to be a Barry."

Stefan didn't get the reference and it showed on his face.

"Sophie belongs to a family who still remember the old ways." It had been a surprise for her when Sophie approached her a few years ago; a happy one. A lot of questions had been answered. "She graduated last year and is off in college now. Anyway, I told the girls to stick to their guns and I'd have a word with the coach, so long as they backed me when I did. They did."

"What happened?" Stefan asked.

"Coach was furious. We were on track win Nationals for the first time in years and she didn't want Elena's desires screwing with her plans, so she arranged a team meeting. During this meeting, she had the whole team show off their skills so she could combine all our best attributes to contribute to the routines we'd be most necessary for. When it came to Elena showing off how she could handle the flying aspect, she failed." Grace remembered the incident with vivid clarity. "She under rotated, giving herself a concussion and when Troy tried to save her from cracking her skull open, he fractured his arm."

The thump as Elena hit the ground had been horrifying for Grace, Caroline and Bonnie. The nurse, who had been on standby during the team practice, had rushed over to check on each person involved in the stunt. Elena had been taken home so Grayson and Miranda could keep an eye on her due to her concussion, while Troy was taken to the hospital to scan his arm and was in a cast for six weeks. The other two people involved had been fine.

"Elena was restricted to the reserves for the rest of the school year," Grace continued, "and, when she practiced in case a member of the main squad had to withdraw, she was stuck with parts of the routines which left her mostly out of contact with the rest of us. When she tried to complain about this, coach told her she would have to earn the squads trust back to be more involved and spend more time practicing if she was serious about wanting to be in the thick of the routines."

"Did she?" Stefan asked. "Earn the squads trust back?"

"She's been given a starting position this year. We'll see how it goes but, as you can see, Cheryl's on standby. No one holds out much hope for Elena. She didn't even go to Cheer Camp this summer, so about half of the girls want to use her absence to kick her off the squad. Caroline and I are holding them off, reminding them she's still grieving, but they've stopped caring."

"Because they're looking at you by example," Stefan guessed. "In their eyes, you've handled your grief better than Elena, so they don't understand why she can't push through, as well."

Grace grimaced. "Dog eat dog world."

"Did you win?" Stefan asked. "Nationals."

"We did," Grace confirmed, grinning. "We pushed out the reigning champions. It was amazing. We hadn't made it passed qualifying in my first year, so coach pushed us extra hard and we were better than ever. It's probably a reason she and the rest of the squad were so angry with Elena." Among other reasons.

High School was not an easy world to live in.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Walking through the woods, Vicki knew she'd screwed up. Using Jeremy and Tyler was always going to be revealed to them both.

Jeremy had been there, hurting as much as she was, and it had been nice having anyone who understood the pain. Tyler was a jackass, but he had always been good to Grace and she had hoped he could be good to her in the same way. She had never believed they would find out they were both with her at the same time.

When they did, it was over.

Hearing a creek, Vicki spun around. "Jeremy? Tyler?"

She was hoping they had followed her. Seeing a fog crawling in by her feet, she continued walking to get back to the party. Vicki failed to see the dark clad figure appearing behind her, but the sharp sting of pain on her neck let her know she was under attack.

Terror and pain filled her as she screamed.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Matt decided it was time to bite the bullet and approach Elena. He deserved answers and not half explanations anymore.

Walking over to her, he caught her attention as she was casting an eye over the crowd. "Looking for someone?"

Elena was quiet for a moment, cautious as she regarded him. "Hey. Yeah, I was trying to find Grace."

Matt didn't but it. Grace was with Stefan on the bridge a few minutes ago and Elena had been making her interest in the new guy clear. "When you broke up with me, you said it was because you needed time alone. You don't particularly look like you're searching for solitude to me."

Elena tried to make excuses. "Matt, you don't understand, it's -"

Matt shook his head. "That's okay, Elena. You do what you have to do. Just … next time you decide to break up with a guy, do the both of you a favour and don't lie to him. It would hurt a lot less."

Walking away, he ignored Elena trying to get his attention again. He hadn't meant to say any of the speech he'd given. He had wanted to say he wasn't giving up on them and he still believed they could work out. As soon as he opened his mouth to say the words, he discovered he no longer meant them. He might have listened to Grace too much, but he knew she was right; he deserved better than the way Elena had treated him.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Grace was laughing with Stefan in the gazebo when she heard the smash of a bottle close to her. It caught her attention and she saw Jeremy stumbling off into the woods. Even worse, Elena was following behind him and it was clear she wasn't happy.

"Oh, dear lord."

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

Grace gestured. "My brother and sister."

Stefan was worried for her. "Do you need help?"

Grace shook her head. "No, let me deal with this. Jeremy! Elena!" She ran off after them, leaving Stefan standing there, smiling as he watched her.

As soon as she entered the treeline, her senses became hypervigilant as she smelled blood. Rushing to catch up to Jeremy and Elena, she could tell they were approaching the source. Elena was trying to apologize and Jeremy didn't want to hear it. Grace grabbed Elena's arm and stopped her from walking.

"You've done enough, Elena. Leave him be."

"He needs to listen to me," Elena insisted. "I'm sorry, but how was I meant to know any different when he never speaks to me anymore?"

Before Grace could speak to her sister, Jeremy let out a grunt and fell to the floor a few feet away. Straight away, he came face-to-face with Vicki Donovan lying there, with a huge bleeding wound on her neck.

"Vicki? Oh, god, no!"

Grace and Elena scrambled over, kneeling beside her. Jeremy moved to the side, letting Grace access the situation. As soon as Grace touched Vicki's shoulder, her eyes snapped open.

"Jeremy, grab her legs," Grace ordered. "Elena, her shoulders. I'm going to try and stop the bleeding, but we need to get her out of here."

She knew the type of wound she was seeing and could hazard a guess as to how it occurred. She focused on getting her – and her siblings – to safety.

Jeremy and Elena followed her instructions and grabbed hold of her. Grace took off her outer blouse, leaving her in a vest shirt underneath and pressed it to Vicki's bleeding wound. Grace's lips were moving without sound, but neither of her siblings needed to ask to know she was muttering a spell in a low tone to slow the bleeding.

As they left the treeline, Elena yelled out, "Somebody help!"

Everybody moved out of the way staring at them in drunken stupors of shock and fear. Matt's heart dropped out from his chest as he saw who they were carrying.

"Vicki?" he called out in a panic. "Vicki, what the hell?!"

Tyler, who was close by, cleared off a food table and helped them lay Vicki on it. "What happened?" he asked.

Matt ran over and stood by his sister's side, ogling her injury. "Somebody, call an ambulance!"

Tyler turned around and snapped at the people surrounding them. "Everybody back up, give her some space!"

Grace continued pressing her shirt to Vicki's wound, her spell continuing within the safety of her own mind, due to Elena's premature scream for help. "It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood."

Grabbing Matt's hand, she guided him to pressing on Vicki's wound, which he did without hesitation. He switched places with her and tried to speak to his sister, who was struggling to stay awake. "Vicki, Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me."

As Elena, Matt, Tyler and Jeremy were taking care of Vicki and trying to keep her conscious, Grace glanced to Stefan. He was hiding in the crowd, scrutinizing the scene before him in shock. His eyes met hers and he gave a small dip of his head, before turning and leaving.

He needed to get out of there and find out what was going on. No one else saw him leave.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Running into the Boarding House, Stefan glanced at Zach who was sitting at his desk doing paperwork.

"What's going on?" Zach asked, concerned.

"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me."

Stefan bolted up the stairs and headed straight for his room. Closing the door behind him, he walked in a few feet, before coming to a halt. He heard the squawk of a bird and the flapping of wings, before he saw the crow. It flew in through his open window terrace and passed him, landing on the rafters in the corners of the room. Watching it for a few moments, all the muscles in his body tensed and he needed no further explanation.

Turning back around, he faced the dark clad figure now standing in his open window. "Damon."

The dark-haired man smirked. "Hello, brother."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Taking a few steps into the room, the crew flew over him and landed on the small railing of the window terrace.

"Crow's a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan questioned.

Damon examined the objects on the table. "Wait till you see what I can do with the fog."

The brother's eyes – icy blue and forest green – met for a long moment, before Stefan asked, "When'd you get here?"

Damon walked around, his manner nonchalant. "Well, I couldn't miss your first day of school." He leaned against the shelves, searching through all the artefacts his little brother had accumulated throughout the years. "Your hair's different. I like it."

"It's been fifteen years, Damon."

"Thank god," Damon exclaimed, in overexaggerated relief. "I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look?" He chuckled. "Did not suit you." He walked around the room again, peering back and forth from his brother as he did. "Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?" Stefan demanded, sick and tired of the small talk.

"I miss my little brother," Damon told him, as if it could explain his actions to the first of the two people who knew him best.

"You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."

"I've managed to keep myself busy." The last few days had been entertaining for him.

Stefan glared at him. "You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."

Damon leaned against the desk, giving a fake 'oops' expression. "Ah. That could be a problem …" his eyes once again met Stefan's "… for you."

Stefan shook his head. "Why are you here now?"

Damon stared. "I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer came be summed up all into one little word … Grace."

As Stefan's face remained blank, Damon smirked.

-x-x-x-x-x-

An ambulance. The police. Animal control.

Every potential service had arrived. Grace was stood in the gazebo with a beer, while Elena stood at the railing, watching the ambulance drive away with Vicki – and Matt – inside. Bonnie approached them all. "Hey, Caroline and I are gonna go Mainline Coffee and wait for news."

"Will you give me a couple of minutes, Bonnie?" Grace asked. "I'd like to come, as well, and help Caroline get sober before she goes home."

"Sure."

Elena regarded her little sister. "I'm gonna take Jeremy home."

"Up to you. He's over there." Grace hoped Jeremy would forgive her for foisting their sister on him.

Elena was quick in walking over to their younger brother, leaving Grace and Bonnie alone. Watching Elena leave, Bonnie turned to her confidant. "I need your help, Grace. I don't know what's going on, but I have this feeling …"

Grace didn't need Bonnie to finish her sentence. She did it for her, already knowing. "It's just the beginning." Bonnie swallowed, exuding fear from her pores.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"She took my breath away, Grace," Damon continued. "Her hair is styled different, but it's still her." His eyes turned hard. "Now, her sister – Elena – she's a dead ringer for Katherine."

Stefan kept quiet. He'd had the same thought when he first saw her. It was why he hadn't called Damon about Grace, because he had to make sure. When Grace said she'd seen his brother in Louisiana after he'd left, it hadn't mattered anymore.

"Is it working, Stefan?" Damon goaded, approaching his younger brother again. "Being around them, being in their world? Does it make you feel alive?"

"Elena is not Katherine," Stefan told his brother, his voice slow, even though he still wasn't sure himself. He could see the temper boiling beneath the surface of his brother's expression.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended." He was contemplative now. "You know, I can't believe it took us over a hundred years to know Grace's kind existed and you know I'm not talking about her magic."

If Stefan was tense before, he was even more so now. He had hoped to be around when Damon was informed. It had frightened him, the lack of knowledge he still had about the supernatural world. To impulsive Damon? It might have been best coming from Grace, after all.

"Tell me something, when was the last time you had anything stronger than a squirrel?"

An hour ago. It had been a couple of drops from the tip of Grace's finger, but the changes it had brought about were apparent in him already. He hoped this would be the final push he needed. "I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not gonna work."

Damon hit his shoulder, hard. "Yeah? Come on. Don't you crave a little?"

Stefan shook his head. "Stop it."

Damon hit him again. "Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple of girls out there."

Stefan stepped back as Damon landed another hit.

"Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's go straight for the Katherine clone."

This made Stefan angry, because he knew where Damon's fury was coming from. No one hated Katherine more than they did. He shoved Damon back. "Stop it!"

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" Damon continued, not deterred. "I can."

The mirror off to the side showed Stefan's face had turned to show the monster beneath the surface. Vampire fangs, black veins and blood shot eyes were exposed.

Stefan glared at his brother in fury. "I said stop!"

Growling, Stefan pushed Damon back and they both went flying across the room, out of the window and landed hard on the asphalt outside of the house. Picking himself off the floor, amidst the shattered glass, Stefan's energy returned to him far quicker than it would have before.

He stood and dusted himself off, scanning the area around him and seeing Damon by the hedges. Damon was staring at him, no expression on his face. It was clear he had noticed the difference in his brother's recovery.

"I was impressed," Damon told him, giving his brother a critical eye. "I give it a … six and a half. Missing a little style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face" he made a growling, squeal of a sound "thing. It was good."

Stefan had had enough. "You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die."

Damon's brow furrowed, not caring. "That's a given."

"Not here," Stefan denied. "I won't allow it."

Damon smiled. "I take that as an invitation."

"Damon, please," Stefan begged. "After all these years, can't we give it a rest? She's alive. I get it; you blame me – I blame myself! But she's here now."

Damon, who had been quiet as Stefan spoke, stepped forward. "I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word."

Stefan gritted his teeth.

Damon inspected Stefan's hands. "Where's your ring?"

"Oh yeah." Damon played around with his own ring, faking concern and nervousness. "Sun's coming up in a couple of hours and, poof, ashes to ashes."

Stefan stared at him and Damon chuckled.

"Relax," Damon instructed, walking over to him and holding out his hand, where the ring rested in his palm. "It's right here."

Stefan was cautious as he took it and put it back on his finger. Damon's hand shot out and gripped Stefan's throat, his own vampire face showing. As he was thrown through the air, Stefan hit the green wooden fence where the cars were parked. Stefan was lucky he had enough strength to land on his hands and knees, before pushing himself to his feet.

Damon was right next to him, scrutinizing him in the same strange manner. "Are you cheating in your diet, little brother?"

Stefan glared.

Damon was going to say more, but a rustling noise caught his attention and he grinned. "I think we woke Zach up." He turned around and walked away, calling out, "Sorry, Zach!"

Stefan watched him go, before pulling out his phone and sending a quick message.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Jeremy wished he had decided to go with Grace, instead of waiting with Elena. Finishing the last of his beer, he tried to ignore his oldest sister as she stood next to him.

"I called Jenna," Elena told him. "She's on her way."

Jeremy glanced at Elena as she spoke, not verbally replying. He threw his beer bottle away and pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack. He needed to keep hydrated if he didn't want one hell of a hangover in the morning and he made a promise to Grace he planned to keep.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy."

Jeremy shook his head. "How about saying you're sorry you weren't there for me? Even Grace, dealing with her own shit and her own grief, managed to notice the spiral I was in. You talk about wanting to be better, but we've both seen you in the cemetery writing in your diary – and not yesterday alone. Is that supposed to be you moving on?"

Elena was silent for a moment and shook her head. "Mom and dad wouldn't have wanted this."

Jeremy grew angrier at this. "How about this, Elena? When you figure out how to be our sister again, come and talk to us. Until such a time, do what you want. Throw yourself at the new guy, even when he's made it plain he doesn't want anything from you. Keep pushing away the people you grew up with – your friends. Keep acting selfish and putting people down. Try to ignore Grace's magic and the other lives she's lived, even when she, too, needs someone to be able to listen." What other reason had Elena believed this fling between Grace and Tyler had begun? "But, until you get off your high horse, stay away from us."

Jeremy stood and walked away, leaving Elena watching his retreating form in shock, with tears in her eyes. Jeremy could sense her gaze. It was time she worked out the rift between the siblings hadn't been caused by their parent's deaths and she held a lot of fault herself.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Are you sober, yet?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline had her head in her hands. She'd overdone it on the booze if the sick sensation in her stomach was telling her right. It was as though she'd drunk the entire alcohol supply herself. "No."

Grace chuckled. "Keep drinking your coffee, Caroline. We've all got to get home."

Caroline gave a small smile. "How do you keep doing it? Living again and again? One life is difficult enough."

Bonnie hummed in agreement.

Without waiting for an answer, Caroline continued. "Having different parents each time, having to learn new languages … how do you do it? Losing so many people and being able to start again. I don't think I could. You're so strong."

Grace's heart gave a painful thump. "I must be better at hiding my emotions than I thought, because it's not as easy as you seem to think I make it look. I have lost so many people; parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, friends … even children."

Bonnie and Caroline both jolted, tears filling their eyes. In all the talk about Grace having lived several lives, they had never paused to consider the fact she could have had children in any of them. In an instant, they gripped her hands in their own, offering comfort.

"I miss them all every day," Grace confessed, her eyes prickling as she held back tears. "I had a twin brother in my second life and all I could do in the end was hold him in my arms as he died. I lost my god sister to childbirth in my fifth life and, before she passed, made me swear I would care for her children. I've learned to cherish every moment and protect those I love with all I can, even if people don't always agree with how I choose to do it."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

Grace gave them a sad smile. "I've not always been a good person."

Caroline leaned over and hugged Grace, wanting to reassure her friend. She had long since decided Grace was her truest friend and she vowed to always make sure she knew it. The strength she exuded was a factor Caroline was drawn to and admired. Damn to the whole world if it thought she would be separated from her best friend.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Matt sat next to Vicki's bed in the hospital, having finished talking to the doctor. Vicki had lost a lot of blood and would be kept in the hospital for a few days for observation, even though they expected her to make a full recovery.

He had been so afraid he was going to lose her. When Grace, Jeremy and Elena had carried her from the woods, he had been terrified. Seeing the condition she was in had sent him into a panic. Vicki was all he had. Their parents were both screw ups and his sister was heading the same way, but he loved her all the same. He never doubted she loved him, even with all her issues.

Hearing a small moan, Matt's gaze was drawn back to his sister and saw Vicki stir. The weight lifted off Matt's shoulders as he saw his sister's eyes open. "Vicki. Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're gonna be okay."

"Matt," Vicki managed to say in a whisper.

"Shh. Hey, don't try to talk, okay? You're fine."

Vicki stared at him, true terror in her eyes. "Monster."

Matt's eyes furrowed in confusion.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Sitting in his bedroom, Jeremy held a pair of scissors and a cut up picture in his hands. Making sure to be careful, he finished snipping away the parts he wanted to remove. It had been a family portrait taken in the last year of their lives. He'd taken it from the hall when his parents had died, wanting to keep it close. It had sat on his bedside table for the past few months and he hadn't moved it since. He found it hard to see it and he knew Grace had the same problem, despite her issues with their mother in the end.

He took the remains of the picture, placed it back into the frame and put the parts he'd cut away into the bowl in front of him. Lighting a match, he threw it into the bowl and watched as the cuttings burned to ash.

Outside the door, Jenna watched through the crack and shed tears as she saw which parts Jeremy had burned. Back in the frame, Grayson Gilbert and Jeremy both smiled with their arms around Grace's shoulders.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked. She didn't want to leave Grace alone after the confessions she had made.

"Yeah. I've called for another ride. You get Caroline home and focus on yourself tonight. I know I freaked you out."

Bonnie was hesitant, peering back at Caroline in the car and at Grace again. "I'm not stupid. From the little you have told us, I know you've lived in times where the rules were different. I've seen you in your martial arts classes and how amazing you are with the weapons. In our politics classes, you dominate. You've always had this more ruthless side which, when I was younger, terrified me. But it doesn't change things, Grace. You're my friend and, without you, I don't know where I would be."

Grace hugged her. "There's still a lot I have to teach you, Bonnie. We'll get there."

Bonnie pulled away first. Her expression was unsure. "I don't want Elena to find out about me yet. I want to be stronger than I am before telling her."

Grace grimaced. "You're a witch, Bonnie, not a circus performer. Tell her no."

Bonnie shook her head. "I still can't believe she did that tonight. She knows how dangerous it can be – she's seen you get spells wrong before. You've always warned us about the effects of magic on the mind and how it can cause permanent damage if you aren't careful. Even if she thinks what I can do is a joke, to ask for such a vision out of humour ..."

Bonnie had always paid attention to Grace's lessons on magic. She'd been fascinated watching Grace use extraordinary magic – moving objects without a word, creating a fire with her mind – and had come to her the moment her Grams began talking about their family's witch heritage.

"Talk to your Grams, Bonnie," Grace instructed. "There's still a lot I haven't been able to teach you and it's time for you to see your family Grimoire. There's more than magic in it. Your whole family history is there, too." She leaned closer and whispered a few names into Bonnie's ear. "When you find those names, let me know."

"I will," Bonnie promised, not questioning why. She would wish she had in the future.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Watching the car turn a corner, Grace dropped her hand from waving goodbye to the two girls. She had sensed his presence whilst drinking her coffee, before even reading Stefan's message. Turning into a small alley, Grace stopped and observed her surroundings.

"Are you going to come out?" she asked.

For a long moment, there was not a sound to be heard, until a hand grazed her shoulder. Glancing behind her, Grace met the eyes of Damon Salvatore.

"I've missed you, Gracie." Damon's tone was sincere.

Grace turned to face him, with a smile on her lips. "I've missed you, too. You've been reckless tonight, Damon. You're lucky I implanted a false memory in Vicki's mind."

H is hands moved to her hips and he leaned in closer. "I knew you would. I suppose you want me to be more careful."

Grace pursed her lips. "If you would." Meeting his gaze, her eyes were pained. "You were right. I looked into it when I came back and found the place. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Damon's eyebrows rose in surety.

Grace gritted her teeth. "I'll come round yours tomorrow. I want to have a search through your father's journals. I know I misread our experiences at the time and I need to know if I'm right."

Damon's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Grace assured him. "It's theory I need confirmed."

Damon knew she would tell him when she was ready. His grip tightened as his previous theory ran through his mind again. Grace knew it would leave bruises, but she didn't mind. She could guess what was running through his head.

"Are you giving Stefan your blood?"

Grace pulled away and made direct I contact – a quirk he had always admired about her, even when he was human. "You already know the answer, Damon."

"How could you forgive him?" Damon asked, through his teeth.

Grace's stare was pointed. "The same way you have." At Damon's expression of protest, Grace shook her head. "You forgave him years ago, Damon. Don't try and lie. I kept my eye on you both over the years."

Damon's mouth snapped shut.

Giving him a light kiss on the cheek, Grace pulled away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Damon watched Grace walk away from him, true sadness in his gaze. He didn't want to admit she was right.

Grace had always been special to him. It was why he was so angry to see her current sister could pass as the twin of the woman who had caused all the problems in the first place. They were months away from completing their plan, until Katherine ruined it all.

Damon would let Grace find out the truth she needed. When he did, he would find the one who had ruined their lives and drive a stake through the person's heart himself.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 1861

-x-x-x-x-x-

Walking through the garden, Temperance was reading a small novel. She was careful where she stepped, not able to take her eyes off the written words. Stefan was out hunting with his father, which gave her time to relax and enjoy her favourite past time. She wore an intricate cream dress and her hair was pinned back in its usual curls.

"Be careful; you don't want to trip."

Startled, Temperance's eyes snapped over to the open doors. The tall dark-haired man standing on the back porch made her grin. "Damon!"

Damon Salvatore smiled and opened his arms, allowing Temperance to throw herself at him.

"When did you get back?" Temperance asked, pulling away.

"A few minutes ago," Damon told her. "I had to see you before I unpacked."

Walking inside, Temperance placed her book inside a secret pocket of her dress. Damon noticed the movement and gave a small, secret smile. She was always hiding her books in her dresses, as his father didn't approve of how much she read. He had made sure she received a top education, but also put emphasis on the more feminine attributes.

"Where's Stefan?" Damon asked, as they ascended the stairs, heading to his rooms.

"Out hunting with your father." Temperance knew Damon would be upset his brother wasn't there to greet him. "Giuseppe wanted to hunt for tonight's meal himself."

"For my return?" Damon was sceptical.

Temperance shook her head. "No, I doubt it. I didn't even know you were returning today." She was quiet for a moment. "He's decided to go ahead with his plans of taking a new wife."

Damon stopped and faced her, his brow furrowed and angry. "Has he hurt you?"

Temperance met his gaze head on. "He hasn't touched me. We've been lucky so far, Damon. He refuses to wait any longer. Stefan's recent illness worried him."

Damon was furious. "He won't treat you as you deserve."

"I've had worse husbands Giuseppe Salvatore," Temperance reminded him.

"That's not the point," Damon protested.

His hands framed her face and he brought her in for a forceful and fierce kiss. Temperance smiled into it, gripping his wrists. She loved it when he was forward with her, knowing there was no one else he hit such heights with. Pulling away, Damon gave her the assurance she had been searching for – assurance Stefan had been unable to give.

"You won't have to suffer him for long. I promise."

Temperance allowed him to pull her into his room, closing the door behind them. All the servants knew not to enter the room without express invitation, though they would know to alert them to Giuseppe and Stefan's return.

Neither emerged for hours.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Mystic Falls, 2009 – Present Day

-x-x-x-x-x-

Walking towards her front steps, Grace smiled. Stefan was sat on the front porch, appearing no worse than he had earlier in the evening.

"It looks like Vicki's going to be okay," she told him. "She got to the hospital in time."

Stefan stood, at ease. "Good. Do you know why Damon's back in town?" He didn't question if she'd seen him, because the answer was obvious. He could smell his brother all over her.

"I do," Grace informed him. "You won't like it. Come in, Stefan. We've got a lot to talk about."

Neither of them spotted Elena staring at them from her bedroom window, an upset expression plastered on her face and gripping her journal so hard her knuckles turned white.

From his position hiding in the shadows, Damon Salvatore did.

-x-x-x-x-x-

End of Chapter One

-x-x-x-x-x-

Author's Note:- There have been many changes in this story since I last put it up as Watching Faith. I've revamped the history of this world once again and focused very much on the influence a single event can have on the timeline. Also, I still don't like Elena Gilbert, as you can probably tell. However, I'm trying really hard not to head into the bashing territory, as I just want Elena to be called out like I believe she should have been in the series. And not just her, but other many characters, as well.

Yes, I have created circumstances and events that perhaps didn't occur in the series, but I'm also trying my best to stay true to the characters. The events between Elena and Grace are things I can see Elena doing from what I know of her character. She has made such decisions or formed opinions of others like this in the series.

I'm not trying to create the perfect story, or the perfect world. I want it to be flawed. I want people to do the wrong things and feel guilt, or not regret what they've done. I don't want people to be perfect.

I hope you enjoy the story.