MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ BLOOD BROTHERS : PART TWO BEFORE READING THIS!

I updated Blood Brothers : Part Two yesterday but because I added an A/N chapter that same day and deleted the A/N before posting part two, nobody got the update notification :(

So, I figured I'd write this all in one day!

Enjoy! (I wanted to get this one out fast, so I didn't have my beta check this one. I looked over it myself a bit, but I'm super tired so I'm sorry for any mistakes that I normally would catch)

Previously on Everything Changes…

Alaric sat in an empty Mystic Grill at the bar. He'd been drinking for a while now, and had a slight buzz.

"Hello, Ric," a familiar voice said, and for a moment, Ric wondered if he was hallucinating.

He turned to see a woman with long dark hair, staring at him.

"Isobel," he murmured, eyes wide.

Third Person POV

Alaric turned in his seat at the bar. He stared down at this once-dead wife, shocked.

"It's good to see you," her lips turned up into a smile, but it was not a genuine one. "You look good. I heard that you're a high school history teacher? How is that?"

Alaric's brain was spinning. How could she have known what his job was? How did she find him? What was she doing here?

"Where have you been, Isobel?" Ric managed to get out, still staring at her.

He imagined he looked like he'd seen a ghost and technically, he had.

Still smiling kindly, she shrugged. "I don't have any reasons that are gonna comfort you. I don't have any explanations that are gonna satisfy you. I wanted this." Isobel gestured to her body, and Ric's eyes were drawn down to the floor and then back up again.

She hadn't aged a day since he'd last seen her. Her dark hair was tied back in a high ponytail, her eyes were lined in eyeliner (he noticed she was wearing a bit darker than usual), and she had on a brown tank top and jeans.

"It's that simple?"

She nodded, gauging his reaction. "Yeah. You were supposed to mourn me and move on."

Alaric scoffed, his hand reaching for the glass on the counter. "You were my wife and I loved you! How could I not search for you?"

When his fingers wrapped around the cool faceted glass, he sighed inwardly. Bringing the glass to his lips, he took a swig.

The sad little grin that one might give a child was still on her face. "Because I wasn't lost, Ric."

He frowned, shaking his head to himself.

She pulled out a paper from her bag slung over her shoulder.

"I understand that you know my daughter, Elena."

Ric scoffed. Of course Isobel was here because she wanted something from him; not because she wanted to see her ex-husband.

"I also heard that she's been looking for me. So…" she pushed the folded piece of paper towards Ric.

He stared at the paper, trying to hide his growing emotions.

"I want you to arrange for a meeting with us," she continued and suddenly gasped. "Oh, also, this is for her friend Caroline. I have someone she'd very much like to meet as well."
Another piece of paper was pushed across the table and Isobel stood up.

"You want me to deliver a message?" Ric asked, still staring hard at the paper.

She chuckled lightly. "Yeah."

He picked up the paper, as if he was actually considering it. After a brief pause, he threw the paper back down.

"Screw you," he said quietly, getting out of his seat and turning to face her. "You selfish bitch."

Isobel's smile evaporated off her face in an instant as Ric turned and walked out of Mystic Grill.

He had reached his car and was beginning to unlock it when he heard the familiar sound of a vampire approaching at a fast speed.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded, turning to look at Isobel. Ric's brows were furrowed. This encounter was much more painful than he had hoped it would have been.

"I told you," Isobel said, still treating Alaric like a child.

"I'm not gonna do anything for you," Ric began to search for his car-key when suddenly she had him pressed up against the sedan by his neck.

"You better tell Elena and Caroline that they have meetings to attend or I'm going to start killing the citizens of this town one by one – and I'm going to start with your history students. Got it?"

She let him go and shoved him to the ground simultaneously. Dropping the paper by his face, she strutted away into the night.

~0~

Caroline's POV

"Elena and I are supposed to help build the Miss Mystic Falls float for the Founder's Day parade," I chirped.

I was in a strangely good mood today.

"If I don't, I get the wrath of Angelica and the rest of the committee. Anyways, I wanted to check in first," I continued, the phone squished between my shoulder and my ear.

I was finishing up all the unpacking I'd been putting off for days.

"Hmmm," Damon mused. "Well, I'm doing great, thanks so much for asking, Blondie!"

I huffed in annoyance. "You know I'm not checking in on you, Damon. How is Stefan?"

Damon laughed and I could practically see the cocky little smirk on his face. "Oh him? He's… he's terrible."

I narrowed my eyes, catching the devious little pause and the playful tone in his voice. "So in other words, he's doing fine?"

"You're no fun!" he griped, before continuing. "He's back to his boring, straight-laced self. You and Elena have successfully cured him of anything relatively interesting about him."

I beamed, partly because Stefan was still fighting, and partly because I was officially completely unpacked.

"Don't forget who helped us!" I reminded in a sing-song voice.

"I hate myself," Damon responded, equally sing-song-y. "Did your devil of an uncle mention anything to you about the field trip with the history teacher?"

I groaned at the mention of Ezra. "No. I'm still avoiding him as best as possible. Why? Has he been by the house again?"

"Nope…" he trailed off. "Hey, you called here 'your house'!"

I groaned, having picked up the habit after living there for so long. "What's he up to?" I asked, changing the subject back to Ezra.

"I don't know…but…I'd love it if you could find out for me," Damon hinted.

I sighed, taking a seat on my bed and soaking in the sunlight that was filtering in through my open window.

"I'll think about it," I glanced at my digital clock. "Oh, shoot! I gotta go, I'm late!"

"Have fun with Elena, I know Stefan did last night," Damon said, snickering.

"Oh, gross, Damon!" I exclaimed, but he had already hung up.

Sighing heavily, I slipped on my shoes and left.

~0~

A few hours later, Elena, Stefan and I were walking through the cafeteria. Elena and I were looking for Bonnie, who had been avoiding us like the plague…

She must still be upset with us. I realized. Hopefully she'll get over it enough so we can find and help Angelica with the float.

I noticed Matt and Tyler working together, much to my surprise.

Alaric approached us, looking a bit grim.

"Hey, Mr. Saltzman," Elena and I greeted simultaneously.

"Come with me," he said to us. "We need to talk."

We followed him, shooting each other worried looks.

While we were headed to his classroom, I got spotted by Angelica.

"Caroline! Elena!" she called, running over to me and stealing me away from the group. "Oh, good, I found you guys!"

"Wait, Ang-" I started to protest, looking at Alaric and the others, who were speechless.

"I can't go, Angelica! I have to help Ric with something." Elena quickly said, attaching herself onto her boyfriend's arm.

Angelica frowned, but seemed to accept this.

"Go on ahead, Caroline," Ric called after seeing how persistent Angelica was. "Just drop by right after."

I grumbled in protest, but let Angelica lead me down another hall where a table was set up.

Bonnie was already there when we arrived.

"Hi, Bon," I greeted, smiling at her.

"Hey Care," she responded, a bit stiffly.

We all took a seat and flipped through all the past floats Mystic High had done.

Apparently Angelica wanted to do a 'southern classic elegance' sort of theme.

"Like, Gone with the Wind?" I asked, and Angelica smiled brightly, nodding.

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

I shrugged. "Just a guess."

We chatted some more, before Bonnie spoke up. "So where's Elena?"

"Oh, she's helping Mr. Saltzman out with something!" I replied, cutting of Angelica. "I was too before Miss Mystic over here stole me away!"

Angelica giggled girlishly and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh," was all Bonnie said.

~0~

After a good thirty minutes of discussing plans with the girls, Angelica finally let me go. I entered Alaric's classroom to find Damon, Stefan, Ric and Elena all there, looking a bit upset.

"Sorry," I said, sitting next to Elena in a desk. "Angelica kept me longer than what I expected."

Everyone was silent, so I asked, "Okay guys…what's going on?"

"I saw Isobel last night," Alaric said, and my jaw dropped.

"What? Like Elena's mom? She's here? In town?" I shot out the questions as soon as I thought of them. Damon looked just as shocked as I did, so I figured he just got here as well.

Alaric looked to me and nodded, confirming all my questions at once.

~0~

Third Person POV

John and Ezra entered the foreclosed home silently. Neither of them knew entirely what to expect.

"You're late," Isobel remarked humorously.

She was lounging on a loveseat, her attention directed to the half-naked man and woman dancing in the middle of the room. Soft jazz music played in the background, making the whole situation seem sultry.

"I didn't realize there was a schedule, Princess," Ezra remarked blandly. "What's up with the side show?"

John stifled a laugh from beside him.

"Cherie is a little jazz singer that I picked up in a blues bar in Brooklyn. And I got the cowboy at a gay rodeo in Amarillo," Isobel explained with a smug grin.

The two were still dancing. The girl was standing in front of the man, her arms in the air as she swayed side to side. The man had his hands on the girl's hips, and he was staring down at her.

John raised his eyebrows and looked to the gay cowboy. "He's gay?"

Isobel smirked. "Not right now…" she paused. "He's very good to me."

She grabbed a remote off the side table and shut off the music. "Hey Cherie? Cassez vous!"

The girl grabbed the man's arm and they left the room.

"I'm teaching them French," Isobel said, catching Ezra's skeptical look. "Oh! I can smell the judgement coming off of you, John. And Ezra, are you jealous? You want me to compel you your own Cherie?"

Ezra's eyes widened for a split second. "No, Isobel. That won't be necessary," he said calmly, slightly revolted at the fact that she would offer such a thing.

"They're people, Isobel, and you're treating them like dolls," John grumbled, shaking his head.

She really is a completely different person. John thought to himself, reminiscing.

"If we're going to be partners, John, you really have to stop being such a hater," another cool grin spread across her small mouth.

"Hater, Isobel, really?" Ezra rolled his eyes, and John spoke up.

"We're in a partnership together because we share a mutual goal. Don't ever confuse that for an acceptance of your lifestyle."

Isobel stood up, crossing her arms. "My lifestyle? So, I assume you still don't have the invention."

"We'll get it, we said we would," Ezra quickly assured her, before John could put his foot in his mouth.

She rolled her eyes. "You tried threatening Damon Salvatore, killed that Pearl lady and even tried being friends with Klaus, who quickly threatened you. What do we have? Nothing. I really don't think that either of your plans are working."

"Well, you being here is not going to help anything!" John sneered, only to have Isobel knock him off his feet quite literally with a hard slap.

"You failed, John. I can take it from here," Isobel turned her attention to a stunned Ezra, who stared at the vampire blankly.

After struggling to sit up, John let out a heavy sigh, staring after Isobel.

~0~

Caroline's POV

"Did you ask her about John or Ezra? Are they in cahoots?" Damon demanded, staring at my teacher incredulously.

"No," Ric simply responded, looking a bit overwhelmed.

"No they're not?"

"No, I didn't ask," Ric let out a long sigh, leaning back onto his desk. He combed his hand through his short brown hair.

"What about the invention?"

"Didn't ask."

"Did she know about the tomb vampires?" Damon continued, stepping closer to Alaric.

I was instantly reminded of a bully.

"I don't know," Alaric replied earnestly, and Damon growled lowly.

"Did words completely escape you?"

"No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions!" Ric retorted, raising his voice.

Damon took a step back and glanced over at Elena and I.

"What did she want?" he asked Ric and Stefan.

Stefan, Ric and Elena met gazes.

"She wants to see me, Damon. Apparently she has someone who wants to meet Caroline too," Elena said gently, and my eyes widened.

"What?" I whispered, my brows shooting up in shock.

Damon's head whipped around and stared hard at Elena, then drifted his gaze to me. His brows were creased as he narrowed his eyes at me.

Who could Isobel know that would possibly want to meet me?

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants," Stefan said, turning from his seat on Ric's desk to face me.

My brows still creased in a worried frown, I said, "Who would want to see me? I get the whole Isobel thing – she's Elena's real mom, but why me?"

"I don't know, Care," Stefan replied with a shrug.

I felt Damon's gaze linger on me. When I turned to look at him, I found he was still staring. "You don't have to go, Care." Damon said seriously. "That goes for you too, Elena."

I smiled slightly, only to have Elena shake her head. "I don't really have a choice."

"She's threatened to go on a killing spree." Alaric murmured, and my eyes widened.

Damon took a deep breath, nodding slowly. "Oh," his brows jutted up into his hairline for a moment. "I take it that's not okay with you guys."

I forced a laugh, shaking my head. "If there's someone who wants to meet me then it must be important. I really don't want to risk her wrath just because I don't want to meet some mystery person. I can't have innocent people die just because I'm afraid."

Elena agreed, saying, "I want to do it too. I know if I don't, I'll regret it."

I met Damon's eyes and we held one another's gazes for a moment before he broke it.

"I'll go call Klaus and let him know what's going on. Maybe he can offer some insight on this whole thing," Damon murmured, leaving the classroom, phone already in hand.

"I'm gonna go help Angelica with the float." Elena murmured, getting up as well. "She'll kill me if I don't."

Stefan got up and dismissed himself as well, leaving Alaric and I by ourselves.

"Hey, Ric," I started, chewing my lip nervously. "You used to be a vampire hunter, right?"

~0~

A few days passed, and Alaric got in contact with Isobel like she'd wanted. They agreed on December 14th, this Thursday afternoon at Mystic Grill. Apparently she would meet Elena inside, and she was to come alone. Though she probably knew she wouldn't. My meeting would be Friday evening, at Mystic Grill as well.

I finished writing my entry in my diary and slipped the book under my mattress. It was Wednesday afternoon, and Alaric had agreed to help train me in self-defense. The idea had come from Zach originally. After hearing about everything that had been going on; he wanted me to be able to protect myself. I found it to be a wonderful idea. I hadn't told anyone other than Elena about my training, though. I kind of wanted it to keep it my own little secret.

I threw on some heavy workout clothes and stepped out into the hallway. Taking the elevator down to the third floor, I knocked on Ric's door. My teacher/kick-ass vampire hunter opened the door, stepping out into the hall.

"Hey, Care!" He greeted. "Ready for day three?"

I nodded enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of my feet, trying to get warm.

~0~

Once we arrived at our spot deep inside Mystic Falls' woods, we got started. We spent the first few minutes practicing my punches that he'd taught me yesterday.

"You need to start lifting weights, Care. You barely push me back at all, and I'm human," He said, looking down at my small fists.

I growled in frustration and threw another punch, throwing my body into it this time. He stumbled back a half-step and grinned.

"Now do that every time, but harder."

I sighed and tightened my pony-tail.

We did a few other things before he showed me how to break away from someone if they grabbed my arm.

Ric grabbed my arm and showed me his hand wrapped around my wrist. "See here?" he gestured to the back of his hand. "Think of this as a wall…" he flipped his hand over, still holding onto my wrist. He then pointed to where his fingers were close together. "And this as an open door…when you try and pull your hand away, it's important that you know which direction to pull you hand."

I nodded, understanding what he was saying.

"See, if you try to pull that way…" He motioned towards the 'wall' part of his hand, and I pulled that way. "Then you're pushing more into my grip. But if you pull the opposite way, where the 'open door' is, then I won't have as much grip."

I jerked my arm away and he grinned. "Good."

He then went on to explain how I had to make sure it was a very fast, very quick movement, or else the person would be able to adapt, and their arm would just follow my arm.

After watching him demonstrate once more, I tried it myself. He grabbed my left forearm and I sprang into action. I yanked up and away, simultaneously stepping away at the same time. My arm came out of his grasp. It wasn't exactly easy, but I was free.

"Run," Alaric suddenly said, completely serious.

"What?" I managed to get out, surprised. "Why?"

"Caroline, run!"

A moment's hesitation passed before I turned on my heel and began to run. I heard Alaric's footfalls behind me, and I slowed down, letting him catch up.

"Don't let me catch you!" he huffed out, and I put on a burst of speed, realizing he was trying to get me to run away from him, as if he was some morbidly slow vampire.

I continued to run through the woods, hating the slippery wet leaves that coated the forest floor. Darting under branches, around patches of briars and jumping over roots was tiring! I thought, wiping the sweat off my brow.

I gradually arched my path so that I would head back towards the training area. My legs were beginning to burn, and the cold air made my lungs shriek in pain. I had no idea how long I'd been running, but I wasn't sure I could run much longer.

"Okay, track star!" Alaric yelled between heavy breaths. "That's enough!"

I slowed to a brisk walk, not wanting to stop altogether.

"Phew!" I exclaimed, turning to the left to see him walking towards me through the trees. "I was confused at first, but dang!"

Alaric laughed and we made our way back to the training area. "Yeah, I figured the best way to get you to run would be to run away from me, so…" he paused, catching his breath. "Yeah."

I smiled, and helped him gather the bags.

~0~

Damon and I stood side by side at the pool table Thursday afternoon. Elena was seated by herself at a booth, and Stefan was across the restaurant, also by himself.

"So, what's our cover?" I whispered to Damon.

He turned to me, smirking. "We're a cute young couple playing an innocent game of pool!" He wrapped his arm around my waist and grinned down at me, his eyebrows doing that little thing they did.

I scoffed, trying desperately to banish the bright red blush I knew had probably had begun to creep into my cheeks.

"Well, this 'girlfriend' is mad at her 'boyfriend'," I said, pulling myself out from under his arm.

He jutted out his bottom lip, pouting. "C'mon, Blondie, play some pool with me."

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Fine."

We grabbed two pool sticks and began to play.

A bit into our game, Damon snuck up behind me and wrapped his arms around my body. I started to protest, then remembered our charade.

I forced out a laugh, bringing my arms up hug his.

"She's here," he whispered so softly I almost didn't catch it.

Damon rocked us back and forth for a moment, and after giving me a tight squeeze, he let me go to take my turn.

Desperately doing my best to not glance over at their table, I continued to play my game.

My phone chirped in my pocket, and I pulled it out. It was from Alaric.

What are you and Damon doing in there?! Isobel made it clear that we weren't to step a foot inside!

I read it, mouth dropping open. I moved my gaze to Damon, who was watching me with curiosity.

I glanced down at my phone, and he walked over to me.

After he read the message he shrugged like it was no big deal.

~0~

Third Person POV

Klaus and Ric stood outside; waiting anxiously.

"We should be in there," Klaus growled, pacing back and forth. "I don't trust Isobel."

"I don't either, but she made it clear that we're not to step a foot inside…let's just hope Damon and Caroline being in there doesn't mess things up," Alaric responded, watching the other man pace.

Klaus didn't say anything, so Ric continued. "Let's hope Damon doesn't kill her in a crowded restaurant."

"He won't kill her, period. Not with Caroline in there, mate," Klaus stopped and went back over to stand next to Ric.

"He better not kill her at all…and what do you mean?" Ric queried.

Klaus shrugged mysteriously and changed the subject away from Care. "Isobel ruined your life and you still want to protect her?"

"She's my wife," Ric murmured, staring ahead. "Was, my wife. I looked for the woman I married, but she wasn't there. Whoever that is, she's cold and detached."

"Tends to happen when you shut off your humanity, mate," Klaus smoothly responded, glancing over at him.

"Yeah, see, I don't get that. . Stefan has his humanity, he's a good guy; Damon's a dick and he kills people but I still see something human in him. But with her there was… nothing…" Ric shifted his weight to his other leg, trying to resist the urge to move around nervously.

Klaus sighed, trying to think of a way to explain it. "It's basically a button you can turn on and off. Quite handy, really. But from what I know about those brothers…Stefan's different. He's always wanted the whole 'human' experience. Damon's button's been on and off over the years. The only problem is that as a vampire, your instinct is to not feel. Your wife chose the easy road, mate. She doesn't have any guilt, shame or regret. Wouldn't you choose the same if you could?"

Ric was silent.

~0~

Back inside, Damon and Caroline continued to play their game of pool. Damon was doing his best to act normal and listen to Isobel's questions at the same time; but it was harder than he would have originally expected.

"Why did you want to meet me? Can't be just to catch up…" Elena asked Isobel, who had just commented on how she knew Elena's 'little boyfriend ' was sitting across the room.

"Because I'm curious about you," Isobel said and for a moment Elena actually thought she was being sincere.

Isobel's gaze drifted over Elena's shoulder for the umpteenth time that night.

"Cherie," she called, and a girl in a booth a few feet away got to her feet. Isobel gestured with her head towards Caroline, who was still playing pool.

She nodded and headed robotically towards the 'couple'.

"Compelled Isobel minion, incoming," Stefan murmured.

Damon just barely caught this, and he smoothly rotated Caroline and himself to the other side of the pool table.

When Caroline looked up at him in confusion, Damon inclined his head towards the girl who was now walking down the two stairs that led into the pool table/game area they were in.

Damon threw his arm over Caroline's shoulder and pretended to point out some balls on the table. He felt her heartbeat pick up under his touch. This time he wasn't sure if it was because of him or because the girl that was working for Isobel coming over to them.

"Hello, Caroline," the girl greeted, dipping her head. "Isobel would like to have a word with you and Elena."

Damon stared hard at the girl, subconsciously tightening his grip on Caroline.

"Damon," Caroline murmured, looking from the girl to Damon. "It's okay. Really."

Care squeezed his waist once, reassuringly and eased herself out of his grasp.

"Dammit, Caroline," Damon growled quietly, and she glanced over at him.

Caroline looked away after a moment and allowed the girl to lead her over to Isobel and Elena's table.

"Hello, Caroline. How nice of you to finally join us," Isobel said, peering up at Caroline with unveiled interest. "Please, take a seat."

Caroline slid into the booth next to Elena.

"Okay lady, what do you want?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

~0~

Caroline's POV

"I want what both of your uncles want. Your ancestor's invention," Isobel said casually, looking at each of us carefully.

My mind flashed back to the compass thing that Damon had showed me a while ago.

"How do you know our uncles?" Elena asked.

I wasn't sure if Damon had shown Elena the compass or not.

"I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. Both your uncles crushed on me for years. John was the first one that told me about vampires, though." Isobel explained, taking a small sip of the water that was in front of her.

"So what made you want to be one?" Elena questioned, referring to her vampire status.

"It's a very long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you…both…have thought about," the vampire's gaze flickered over to me before refocusing onto her daughter.

"No," Elena quickly said and even I knew that it was a lie.

"That was your first lie," she murmured. "It's inevitable, you're going to get old, Stefan and Damon won't," Elena glanced over at Stefan, who had slouched down a bit sadly. "Forever doesn't last very long when you're human."

I clenched my jaw. "I'm sorry, Isobel," I got to my feet, bringing Elena up with me. "We don't have what you're looking for."

Isobel grabbed my arm and stared dangerously at the both of us.

"Sit. Down," she ground out, her voice hazardously low. "Both of you, tell your boyfriends to walk away. I want the invention."

Elena glanced over at Stefan, who had indeed started towards us.

She mouthed something to him, and he nodded slowly, walking past our table. I turned in my seat to see him grab Damon's forearm and whisper something to him warningly.

Both men exited the restaurant and my heart skipped a beat.

We were alone with her now.

"I don't have it," Elena insisted. "Neither of us do – you don't have it, do you, Care?"

I shook my head 'no'.

"I know that," Isobel said, as if it were obvious. "But Damon does, and you're going to get it for me, Caroline."

"He's not going to give it to me!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands out.

No way in hell he would!

"You're his girlfriend, aren't you?"

I raised an eyebrow. I expected her to be able to see through our ruse. "Nope," I said, popping the 'p'.

"Hmm. Then the blood will be on both of your hands." Isobel got up. "It was nice meeting you both. And Caroline? When you meet my friend, don't bring your boyfriend. He won't be too pleased if you do."

In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

I examined my friend's face carefully. After a moment, tears welled up in her eyes. I helped her up, and brought her outside.

We walked past Bonnie when we left and she didn't even say a word to either of us.

~0~

Third Person POV

Jeremy walked around in the kitchen, his phone pasted to his ear. The tone to leave a voicemail beeped, so he said, "Hey Anna. Where are you? What's up? Uh…gimme a call when you get this."

He hung up and Jenna glanced over at him from her place at the counter.

"How's Anna? I like that girl, she has fire," Jenna beamed widely at Jeremy, who simply frowned slightly, shrugging.

"I don't know. She won't return my calls."

John walked in next, causing both Jenna and Jeremy to sigh to themselves. Neither were too fond of 'Jackass John'.

"Girl trouble?"

"No, no trouble," Jeremy quickly said. "Anna just owes me a call, that's it."

John thought about Ezra and his trip out to Anna's mother's house. No wonder the thing wasn't returning his calls.

~0~

Damon sat shirtless on the couch across from the jazz singer Isobel liked to call 'Cherie'.

They were playing strip poker. "Oh, oh, Cherie, you won again," Damon chuckled. "I hope I'm wearing my good underwear!" he smirked, standing up. He was taking off his belt when Isobel arrived.

"And it's just one blast from the past after another."

When she saw him taking off his pants she rolled her eyes, "No, no, no," she gestured for him to zip back up and he did with a 'hm'.

"Why aren't you spending time with your girlfriend? You know she has her own meet-up tomorrow night." Isobel commented dryly.

Damon hummed. "See, that's where you're wrong. Caroline's not my girlfriend."

"Oh really?" Isobel mused, throwing her bag down, and saying something to Cherie in French. The girl got up and left on cue.

"Yep," he said, putting back on his shirt. "I am completely available."

Isobel rolled her eyes and Damon continued.

"It's good to see you, Isobel. I was just having fun with your naughty little minion," he smirked, not bothering to button up any buttons on his shirt.

"How did you find me?"

Damon suddenly zoomed towards Isobel and was inches away from her in an instant. His leaned all his weight onto the palm that had planted itself next to her head.

"Search for the neighborhood bank owned foreclosures and found the most expensive one," he murmured, staring down at Isobel through his lashes.

"Oh, I should have known. You're the one who taught me that. What are you really doing here?" she asked, looking up into his rather handsome face.

"Well, you caused quite a stir, you blew into town. Saw everyone except for the man who made you. I'm a little hurt," He leaned in towards her ever so slightly, as if he was going to nibble on her neck.

"Aw, I'm so sorry," she said unapologetically. She grabbed the back of his hair, and twisted his neck around.

He winced in pain as she asked, "Did you bring the device?"

After a beat she let him go, walking past him.

"Heh," he chuckled. Damon straightened and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ow."

When Isobel glanced over her shoulder at him, he questioned, "What are you doing with John Gilbert and Ezra Forbes?"

She shrugged, pushing a stray hair out of her face. "John and I dated a few times when we were young. He and Ezra both were a bit in love with me," She said immodestly.

"I'm sure," Damon contemplated, walking to her slowly. "One of the many. Now, this little invention…what do you want with it?"

Isobel handed Damon a drink, which he immediately put down.

"Oh, me personally?" she queried, batting her eyelashes like she used to. "I don't want anything with it. I'm just doing what I'm told…you know, Damon, we're on the same side."

While she was talking, Damon had approached her and took her face in his hands, tilting it up to look straight at him.

"Oh yeah?" he mumbled, staring through his thick lashes. "And what side is that?"

"Chandra's," she smirked widely at his reaction. He dropped his hands abruptly, so she put her hands on his face, caressing it. "She and Katherine both want John and Ezra to have the device and I think that you know that neither of them, Chandra especially, are happy when they don't get what they want."

Damon threw her off, stepping away. "Why are you doing their dirty work?"

Isobel held up her hands innocently. "Don't kill the messenger. We both know that you can't control Chandra. She does what she pleases."

An arrogant and angry smirk had formed onto Damon's face. He scoffed. "So do I."

"Oh really Damon? You do?" She came close to him, and he grabbed her wrist.

Remember who's older, Isobel. Damon thought to himself.

"What should we do now?" Isobel whispered, a sultry twinkle in her eyes.

Their faces were inches apart. Damon's lips brushed hers ever so slightly and they chuckled.

"Oh yeah, memories surface," she groaned. Damon pounced on her, kissing her deeply.

She moved them to the sofa and Damon allowed the charade to go on for a bit longer. His feelings had been on high all night, and this was always one way he knew how to get rid of them.

After another long second, he moved them to the floor. Slamming her down, he held her by her throat.

"Now that I have your attention," he hissed. "Listen up. You do not come into my town; threaten the people I care about. Going after Elena? Bad move. Going after Care? Even worse. You leave her alone," he warned, knowing he didn't have to specify which 'her'. "…or I will rip you to bits because I do believe in killing the messenger." He leaned in even closer and dropped his voice to a whisper. "You know why? Because it sends a message."

Damon paused, letting the message sink in before picking her head up and slamming her back down a second time. "Chandra wants something from me? You tell that little bitch to get off her lazy ass and come get it herself!"

~0~

Late that night, Caroline and Elena sat in the living room of the Gilbert residence. Since Bonnie wasn't speaking to either of them willingly, Caroline knew Elena would need a girl's night. Especially since her birth mother turned out to be a complete bitch.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and Elena got up to answer it.

"Bonnie?" She gasped, eyes lighting up.

Caroline got up and ran over to the door, equally surprised.

"Hi," Caroline said, trying to stifle her excitement. She'd missed her best friend.

"Hey…" Bonnie looked down. "I couldn't sleep tonight. You were obviously upset about something and I just walked away. It's not me. That can't be us. You're my friend, Elena. If you need me I'm here for you and I'm sorry I couldn't show you that earlier…"

"I met my birth mother." Elena blurted out, and Bonnie's mouth dropped.

"Oh. Was it…are you okay?"

When Elena started to cry, Bonnie embraced her. We all stood there and hugged for quite some time.

QOTC: Who do you think wants to meet Caroline?

Well, it's 11:17 p.m. here and I have the sleep schedule of a small child, so I'm exhausted, lol.

nighty night you guys c: (or good morning if it's morning there) I hope I wake up to loads of reviews (because i basically just updated 12k in 2 days) *hint hint, wink wink* ;)

xx