I do not own Vampire Diaries
[At Mystic Grill]
"Vicki, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked Vicky worried, why was she working after what had happened to her.
"Fighting with Robert about my schedule. You'd think getting ripped up by a rabid animal would merit an extra sick day." Vicky said annoyed, the throbbing from her neck wound was still there because of the children's painkillers that the doctors had given her, they no longer affected her because she was used to the more potent stuff.
"Are you feeling ok?" Jeremy asked her concerned as he looked at the bandage on her neck.
"I hurt." Vicky whined.
"Well, the doctor gave you something, right?" Jeremy asked her confused, she shouldn't be in so much pain if she had pain killers.
"The kid stuff. Nothing with an "o" in it. I think they were on to me." Vicky answered him irritated, she wanted the stronger pills that she normally had but the doctors had probably suspected from how little the pills had affected her that she was on drugs. Though she did laugh at that when Jeremy did and she was surprised when he pulled out some pills and gave it to her.
"Here. Knock yourself out, literally." Jeremy said to her as he smiled at her look of gratitude.
"Thanks, Jer." Vicky said thankfully taking the pills and popping one in her mouth.
"So you gonna, uh, watch the comet later?" Jeremy asked wanting to invite her with him but he didn't know how.
"I hadn't really thought about it. But I could be talked into it. I'll meet you out there in a few." Vicky said happy that he seemed to show some honest interest in her, unlike Tyler, who was approaching them, he hadn't even come to see if she was ok in the hospital.
"Hey, Vick. How you feeling?" Tyler asked her as soon as he saw her with Jeremy, though he was actually concerned.
"Like you care." Vicky sneered at him before leaving and Jeremy couldn't help but stare at Tyler mockingly which he noticed for he immediately snapped at him.
"What are you lookin' at, Gilbert?" Tyler asked angry and embarrassed, this was the second time the Gilbert kid had watched something embarrassing and it was beginning to grate on his nerves, though he was slightly thankful that the kid hadn't told everyone about what happened with Miss Williams, that would ruin his reputation.
[At Mystic Falls Town Square.]
"Hey, I got some candles." Caroline said as she walked up to her friends, she had called Anastasia hoping she'd come but she hadn't answered her calls so she was feeling a little upset at that.
"Hi. Hey." Elena greeted Caroline with a friendly smile.
"Hey." Matt said to Caroline, they didn't know each other well besides him being her friend's ex, which was painful to say as he lit Elena's candle.
"Thank you." Elena said to Matt, happy that they were on better terms despite what happened between them.
"You're welcome." Matt replied as he looked at her longingly. Elena turned from him to light someone else's candle only to notice that it was Stefan.
"Thank you. Hi." Stefan said as he looked at her beautiful face in the light of the fire.
"Hi." Elena responded not knowing how to react after what happened yesterday.
"Is Ana here?" Stefan asked her as he looked around for her.
"No." Elena said immediately, she was going to tell him that Jenna needed his help with Anastasia but now as she watched him looking around for her, she didn't. She hated how close they were, the way they both have nicknames for each other and how Stefan always seems happy around her, laughing and actually joking around. Why can't he do that with her?
"You know, that comet...it's been traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone." Stefan said as they both moved to get a better view of the comet.
"Yeah, Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil." Elena said as she remembered what Bonnie's Grams said about it.
"I think it's just a ball of...snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home. I'm sorry about yesterday. I know it was awkward." Stefan said to her.
"You seem to spend a lot of time apologising." Elena remarked, she didn't like the fact that yesterday the time she had wanted to spend with Stefan was ruined because of Anastasia, first he left her to get the first aid kit, then when she had come back to find her, Damon had been the one to open the door and not Stefan, and then he had drove her home.
"Well, I have a lot to apologise for. Yesterday, that wasn't about you, ok?" Stefan wanting her to know that Anastasia had needed him.
"You didn't tell me that you had a brother." Elena said slightly hurt, they had talked for hours the other day and she had told him all about herself and yet he couldn't even share something as simple as having a brother.
"We're not close. It's, uh...it's complicated." Stefan said, it was more than complicated but she didn't need to know the specifics.
"Always. He told me about your ex. Katherine." Elena said to him trying to find out if he was over her.
"What did he say?" Stefan asked her controlling his anger at his brother, who obviously wouldn't give up a chance to make his life as miserable as possible.
"That she broke your heart." Elena said, if she had broken his heart that meant that there was a possibility that he still loved her because he hadn't been the one to end it.
"That was a long time ago." Stefan said, more than a century ago in fact, when things had been better between him and his brother.
"When you lose someone, it stays with you, always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt." Elena said as she thought about the loss of her parents, the two most important people in her life, she didn't she could take anymore loss in her life so she'd rather end it now then get attached and get even more hurt later on.
"Elena..." Stefan trailed off not knowing what to say to that.
"It's OK, Stefan. I get it. You have no idea how much I get it. Complicated brother? Check. Complicated ex? Check. Too complicated to even contemplate dating, double check. It's OK. We met, and we talked, and it was epic, but...then the sun came up and reality set in. So..." Elena sighed as she blew out her candle and walked away, leaving Stefan to stare after her sadly, cursing his brother to hell and back.
[At Mystic Grill]
Vicki was doing her usual job when she sees a face that felt familiar to her and she walks over to him as she said, "I know you."
"Well, that's unfortunate." Damon remarked hiding the smirk that threatened to form in his face, Stefan's compulsion was clearly doing wonders if she could still remember him.
"Um...I don't...I don't know how, but...your face. Excuse me. Sorry." Vicky said as she rushed to the restroom, for some reason when she looked at him she felt a feeling of fear and it made her feel uneasy so she took some pills. When she looked up in the mirror though, she sees the guy from before and she screams as he attacks her.
"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy asked them concerned for her since she was still hurt.
"You're her stalker. You tell us." Tyler remarked as he glared at the kid.
"I can't find her." Jeremy said not even bothering to say anything to Tyler in his worry.
"She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced." Tyler said wanting to get back at him for his comment earlier when Miss Williams had bested him in the fight, though he had been drunk, but still, her moves were pretty impressive.
"What's with the pill pusher?" Elena asked Tyler hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.
"Ask him." Tyler nodded at Jeremy.
"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asked him getting angry, he didn't need a lecture right now.
"Are you dealing?" Elena asked scandalised as she stared at him in shock.
"She's never gonna go for you." Tyler said to Jeremy, why on earth would someone as beautiful as Vicky go for the kid, he was years younger than her, barely reaching maturity.
"She already did. Over and over and over again." Jeremy said referring to the time him and Vicky had hooked up.
"Yeah, right." Tyler scoffed in disbelief.
"You slept with Vicki Donovan? I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?" Caroline asked, she couldn't believe it, it was impossible.
"There's no way." Tyler wouldn't believe that, the kid was obviously lying, Vicky had better taste than that.
"And I didn't even have to force her into it. If it wasn't for that woman, I wonder what would have happened." Jeremy said annoyed at how they didn't seem to believe him but he knew better.
"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt asked his friend enraged, if he touched his sister without her consent, their friendship was over.
"Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk." Tyler said, he didn't want his friendship with Matt to get ruined because he knew that if he found out what he had tried to do, it would be, because Matt would never forgive him.
"You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt asked annoyed at how they were all bickering whilst his sister was probably missing.
"We'll check the back." Bonnie said as she walked off to try and find Vicky.
"I'll check the square." Matt said hoping that she'd be okay, she just came out of the hospital after all.
"I'll come with you." Jeremy immediately volunteered but Elena immediately pulled him aside by the arm.
"Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me. So that's your game now, dealing?" Elena asked him wanting an answer.
"I'm not dealing." Jeremy said, he was sort of, but he obviously wouldn't tell Elena that, she would just go on another tirade and he was sick of it.
"Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact." Elena said frustrated with his inability to understand.
"You and Jenna, between the two of you. Enough already!" Jeremy shouted out irritated, he hated being constantly pestered, Elena more than Jenna, she was trying to act like his mother and it wasn't helping. The crash had stolen from the both of them yet she didn't seem to understand that he was grieving too but he couldn't write in a diary sitting by their graves and pretending that everything was sunshine and rainbows like she was doing.
"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me." Elena said trying to make him understand that what he was doing was not the right option, he was destroying his body, and at such a young age.
"I vote for none of the above." Jeremy said completely pissed off, he didn't need a counsellor, he just wanted to be with Vicky, why couldn't Elena just leave him alone he thought as he turned and walked away.
[On the Street]
"Hey." Matt said as he saw Stefan.
"Hey." Stefan replied looking at Matt confused, wondering why he was talking to him, he hadn't before after all.
"Have you seen my sister?" Matt asked him now actually getting really worried, he couldn't find her anywhere.
"No, sorry." Stefan said wondering what had happened to her.
"I can't find her. She's missing." Matt said a little suspicious of the guy but he really needed an extra pair of eyes, in hopes that he'd find her somewhere.
"I'll keep an eye out for her." Stefan promised before turning to leave just as Matt calls out.
"Hey. I saw you at the hospital yesterday." Matt said wanting answers.
"Did you?" Stefan asked as he tried to come up with a believable excuse.
"What were you doing there?" Matt asked him curious.
"Visiting." Stefan replied not knowing what else to say.
"Visiting? You know, Elena and I, we've known each other for a long time. We might not be together right now, but I look out for her. And I'll always look out for her." Matt promised, if he ever hurt her, he knew he would always be there for Elena no matter what. Stefan was about to respond before he hears a scream nearby, followed by his brother and Vicki's voices.
"You really have to stop screaming." He heard Damon say.
"No, please, stop. Don't..." Vicky begged, she sounded scared and that had him concerned, he didn't want anyone to get hurt because of Damon.
"Shh. I got you..." Damon cooed at the frightened girl, though he could care less about her.
"Excuse me." Stefan said to the boy immediately before he left following the voices towards a building where he sees Damon and Vicky on top and he jumps to the roof to try and help her, she didn't deserve this.
"No! No!" Vicky screamed frightened as she looked down from the roof where the crazy guy was dangling her off the edge.
"Shh, I'm not gonna drop you." Damon said to the girl before turning to Stefan as he said, "Not bad. Have you been eating bunnies?"
"Let her go." Stefan demanded as he looked at where she was being held in concern, one wrong word and he would throw her off, he knew he would.
"Shh. really? Ok." Damon agreed before he smirked as he pulls Vicki to the edge of the roof as she screams, "No!"
"No, no, no!" Stefan says as he stepped forwards about to vamp speed over to try and catch her before she fell but Damon throws Vicky back towards him as he tries to catch her.
"Ugh! Relax." Damon said sick of her screaming.
"What's happening?" Vicky asked Stefan as she looked at the other guy in fear.
"I don't need her to be dead, but...you might." Damon smirked at his brother before turning to Vicki as he asked, "What attacked you the other night?"
"I don't know. An animal." Vicky said unsure.
"Are you sure about that? Think. Think about it. Think really hard. What attacked you?" Damon asked her, he knew Stefan's compulsion was so weak that she'd remember.
"A vampire." Vicky remembered, but how were vampires real?
"Who did this to you?" Damon asked her.
"You did!" Vicky screamed as she recalled the face of the vampire, that was why he had been familiar.
"Wrong!" Damon said shaking his head.
"Don't." Stefan said as he realised what he was going to do.
"It was Stefan." Damon compelled her to believe.
"Don't." Stefan stepped forwards not knowing how to stop him, he wasn't strong enough.
"Come here." Damon said as he grabbed Vicky by both sides of her head, looking into her eyes as he compelled her, "Stefan Salvatore did this to you."
"Stefan Salvatore did this to me." Vicky repeated like some mindless drone.
"He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster." Damon said to her as she believed every word.
"Please, Damon. Please don't do this." Stefan pleaded with his brother, if she believed that he had been the vampire that had attacked her then she would tell everyone what he was.
"If you couldn't fix it before, I don't know what you can do now." Damon said as he pulled off Vicki's bandage and throws her to Stefan.
"Aah!" Vicky screamed at the pain when he ripped the bandage off.
"Ugh! Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that." Damon said, he could see Stefan controlling himself at the sight of the blood but he couldn't control himself forever.
"No!" Stefan shouted as he breathed in to control himself, he couldn't let what happened with Ana to happen again, especially with the girl already being afraid of him.
"You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming "vampire" through the town square." Damon said to him knowing that there wasn't much choice in that but that was the fun of it.
"That's what this is about? You want to expose me?" Stefan asked him, it was the only possible explanation right now.
"No! I want you to remember who you are!" Damon shouted out frustrated, he needed to accept his vampire side like he did.
"Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you." Stefan shouted out infuriated and the worst part was that it was true, the only time he would be free of his brother was if he was staked.
"Huh. Huh. Wow. Come here, sweetheart." Damon said a little shocked at his brother's outburst as he calls Vicki towards him.
"No!" Stefan exclaimed as he stepped forwards thinking that his brother was going to do something.
"It's OK." Damon said before he whispered what Stefan had wanted Vicki to believe at first that it was an animal that had attacked her and she suddenly becomes fine.
"What happened? Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open. Ugh..." Vicky groaned in pain as she held her neck.
"You Okay?" Stefan asked the girl concerned.
"I took some pills, man. I'm good." Vicky said before she got up and left.
"It's good to be home. Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?" Damon asked as he looked at the town around him with a smirk on his face.
"What are you up to, Damon?" Stefan asked tired of his brother's constant interruptions at the life he was trying to build for himself here as he looked over the roof before he noticed a familiar little girl walking with tears running down her face and his eyes widened as he walked to the edge of the roof to see if she was who he thought she was.
"That's for me to know and for you to...dot dot dot." Damon said before he noticed that Stefan was staring off the roof for some reason so he asked, "What is it?"
"Liana." Stefan said before he jumped off the roof and ran towards the girl, Damon following him curious. Stefan noticed that she was walking towards Mystic grill before she turned and noticed him and changed her direction.
"Uncle Steffie." Liana whimpered as she went towards him, he immediately bent down on his knees as he looked her over concerned before he noticed her turn her head to look behind him as she said, "Uncle Damie."
He turned around to see his brother behind him and he was immediately on guard, after what he just did with Vicky, he was wary about what he'd do now, though he hoped that he hadn't fallen so low that he'd hurt a kid.
"Liana what's wrong? Why are you crying and where's your mom?" Stefan asked her looking behind her to see if Ana was there but there was no sign of her.
"Oh my God! You found her! Thank God! I've been looking for her for ages." They heard Jenna's voice say as they both looked up to see her coming towards them.
"Mommy hurt. She need help. Can you help her please?" Liana asked them hopefully as the lady came towards them.
"Hurt? What do you mean hurt? Where is she?" Stefan asked the girl worried for his friend and just as Jenna was going to say something about the phone call she had from Anastasia, the girl spoke.
"You help mommy Uncle Steffie?" Liana asked him with tears in her eyes.
"Of course Liana." Stefan nodded at her.
"Will you help too Uncle Damie? Please." Liana asked as she looked up at him pleadingly.
"Yeah sure. Why not?" Damon said, he couldn't say no to that face, but he repeatedly told himself, he didn't care, he couldn't.
"Anastasia called me by the way, she said she was a little bit away from her house, can you get her? I'll hold onto her daughter in the mean-time, I can take her to my house and then you can bring her there afterwards." Jenna said to the both of them hoping they could help her.
"If she's a little bit away from her house than why doesn't she go back there?" Damon asked the woman confused.
"For one, apparently she can't walk and two, after I asked the same question, she said she couldn't go there right now so something clearly happened there and I have no idea what." Jenna informed them both.
"Right. OK. You take Liana and I'll go find Ana." Stefan said before he crouched down to face the little girl and said, "Hey Liana, can you do something for me?"
"Yeah. What is it Uncle Steffie?" Lilliana asked curious.
"I need you to go with Jenna for a while until we find your mother, she'll take good care of you I promise." Stefan said earnestly.
"But I wanna stay with you." Lilliana said tearfully.
"We need to find your mother Liana and we'll be much faster if you stay with Jenna, then we can find your mommy even faster, is that what you want?" Stefan asked gently.
"Yeah." Liana said a little down before she smiled when Stefan picked her up in his arms. He kissed her on the forehead before handing her to Jenna who was watching the exchange trying to control the urge to say 'Aww' at them because it was just so adorable.
Once Liana was given to Jenna, Stefan ran down the pavement, not in vampire speed because of the people still surrounding him, whilst Damon followed him. Stefan knew the way to her house so he just followed the same route as last time and as soon as there were no people, he vamp sped away, Damon right beside him. They both stopped when they saw Anastasia being helped up by another guy, they were both talking and it seemed pretty tense and they couldn't help but listen to their conversation.
"Ana where are you hurt?" Ryan asked her concerned, he had went to pick up his son and Anastasia's kid but she hadn't been there so he was confused. After dropping his son to his mother, Olivia's house, he had went home and called Anastasia to see what happened, he had only assumed it was something normal, like her kid being sick for example but when neither her or her father had picked his calls, he had been truly concerned. Then he had drove all the way to her house and knocked on the door, but he didn't expect to see the guy he had worked for for quite a while back in NYC to look so ragged, smelling of a hell of a lot of booze, and holding another bottle in his hand to open the door.
"Uh hey Andrew rough day?" He asked looking pointedly at the bottle in his hand.
"What are you doing here Ryan?" He asked, all of his words were slurred and he looked like he was one word away from falling over.
"I was just wondering where Anastasia was?" He asked him, but he didn't expect the clearly unstable guy to go on an entire rant after he asked the simple question. He had never felt more enraged in his life when the guy had told him everything that had happened last night, obviously his drunken mind had no idea what he was doing and he was resisting the urge to throttle the bastard but right now Ana and Lilliana were priority so he quickly left after he got all the information and as he drove down the road to the town his headlights shone on the face of his best friend sitting on the pavement with her crutches on either side of her and he immediately parked his car by the side of the road so that he could help her. When he had went to her, she was clearly in pain and it hurt to get up and she refused to let him lift her up, she was stubborn like that, so instead he sat next to her on the pavement and talked until the pain would dial down a bit and she could at least get up. They opened up more to each other and Anastasia finally built up the courage to tell him about what the teacher did to her, she knew that of all people he could do something about it whilst being discrete. He had wanted to go to the sheriff right now and report the pervert but she had told him to do it later and he reluctantly agreed.
He told her about what her father had said to him, the man had opened up about a lot because of the loose lips the alcohol gave him and he had told him about her mother, brother and firstborn, how her firstborn's death had been because she had stayed with a man and he had been the reason she had lost it. It immediately put everything into perspective, with how skinny she was, the way she flinched from his touch yesterday when he had wanted to lay his arm around her shoulders like usual, the man her dad had talked about had abused her and he had asked the name of the blasted guy, all he got was James, nothing else. Ana's silence confirmed everything as did her tears and he immediately hugged her to him, he now knew why he had seen something different in her, after everything she'd been through in the past few years he hadn't seen her, she couldn't have been the same girl she was before.
However despite the new insight, he still didn't have the full picture of what had happened to his best friend but he vowed that even if he didn't know, Ana would never feel alone anymore. They sat they like that for a while before someone texted her that they had Liana and Ana's shoulders, that were previously tensed, immediately relaxed. He had then said that they should really get going and she agreed so he tried to help her off the floor, but she was clearly in pain and it wasn't helping so he asked her where she was hurt.
"My hip, it's become worse." Anastasia answered him as he tried helping her up.
"Okay, Ana you can hit me later." Ryan said.
"What…No put me down, put me down you bastard. Ryan let me go right now." Anastasia said annoyed as she tried to wriggle out of his arms before the pain in her hip made her stop and the sudden realisation that she'd fall right on the pavement.
"Is there a problem here?" Damon went over to them and asked when he heard her shouting at him to put her down.
"Nope not at all." Ryan said immediately.
"What are you guys doing here?" Anastasia asked looking at the brothers confused and now even more embarrassed at being in Ryan's arms.
"Uh I found your daughter and she told us to help you so here we are, she's with Jenna by the way, so no need to worry about her." Stefan said to her gently.
"Oh, thank you Steffie." Anastasia said to him appreciatively and Ryan couldn't help but snort at the nickname.
"No worries. Are you hurt?" Stefan asked her concerned.
"Well obviously she is otherwise no way in hell would I be carrying her, honestly despite her angelic appearance she can be quite the devil at times particularly when you try to pick her up, the last time I did that didn't end well for me." Ryan said to them seriously, he still remembered the time when she had hurt her leg and he had hurriedly picked her up and put her in the car, her kicking and screaming the entire time and then she had gotten her revenge later. When they had set up the band, that consisted of the two of them and few of his friends, she had previously tuned his instrument so wrong that it sounded completely horrible and it was so embarrassing for him because of how many people were there, and the worst part was that that was tame in comparison to some of the other pranks she had pulled on him over the years.
"Oh don't be dramatic Ry." Anastasia rolled her eyes despite the multiple ideas of revenge roaming around in her head.
"You know full well I'm not being dramatic Ana, now let's get you to the hospital." Ryan said as he began walking towards his car. Damon looked at the familiarity and closeness between the both of them and he felt a strange feeling inside of him rise as he looked at them teasing each other and Anastasia in his arms but he suppressed it, he didn't have time for something as worthless as emotions.
"I thought you said she was going to be with Damon Salvatore." Life said as she looked at what was happening with confusion, sometimes she let her brother take the reigns regarding what was to happen, which is why she had no idea what he was planning.
"She will be sister but jealousy is a great motivator." Death smirked now hopefully Fate and Destiny don't screw anything up.
"No, no, absolutely not, I refuse to go to a hospital, look it's just a mild abrasion Ryan, it will be completely fine. I know how to treat it ok, just please, can I go see Liana?" Anastasia asked pleadingly with her puppy dog eyes on full display.
"Ugh why do you have to do this to me Ana? You know I can't say no to that face." Ryan grumbled exasperated as Anastasia laughed at him amused.
"I know, that's why I used it." Anastasia said cheekily as she smirked at him and he rolled his eyes at her as he stood by his car wondering how to get her in.
"Here, let me." Stefan said as he opened the door so that he could put her inside before he turned around and grabbed the crutches from the floor giving it to the guy who put them in the backseat.
"Thank you, Steffie was it?" Ryan asked with a straight face, he knew that it obviously wasn't but he couldn't help it.
"No it's Stefan." Stefan said clearing his throat a little embarrassed as he heard Damon snickering behind him.
"Right. Well, I'm Ryan. Nice to meet you." Ryan said to him before he walked to his side of the car and got in before realising he had no idea where her house was so he asked Ana, "Hey Ana do you know where her house is?"
"Nope." Anastasia said as she popped the p.
"I know where it is." Stefan said to them and he told them exactly where to go.
"Wonderful. Hop in if you want." Ryan said gesturing to the back seat.
"No, it's ok. I'd rather walk. Ana here's my number, I want you to call me in the morning and tell me that you're ok." Stefan said as he showed her his number and she put it into her phone before they smiled at each other as the car drove away. Stefan looked behind him to see where Damon was only to realise he had left and he shook his head as he made his way towards Mystic Grill to see Elena.
[At Mystic Grill]
Matt had finished helping Vicki with her bandage and they were sitting at the table with each other when Stefan entered the place and walked towards them.
"She said you found her wandering around." Matt said to him thankfully.
"Yeah." Stefan nodded as he turned to look for Caroline and Bonnie.
"So, um, thanks." Matt said before he left with Vicki.
Caroline and Bonnie were seated at another table as they watched Matt worry over Vicki.
"Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline asked annoyed.
"Yeah." Bonnie agreed before she saw Stefan coming up to them.
"Excuse me. Hi." Stefan said as he walked over to them.
"Hi." Bonnie greeted the boy Elena seemed to like so much.
"Is Elena not with you guys?" Stefan asked confused.
"I think she went home. I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her...'I said so'." Bonnie said as she handed him the note with Elena's number.
"Uh Thank you but I..." Stefan was about to ask for their help when Bonnie seemed to have spaced out for a second after giving him the note. He immediately asked, "You ok?"
"What happened to you? That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me." Bonnie said as she left them, uncomfortable at what she had just felt when touching his hand.
"Yeah, she kind of wigs out. It's like her thing." Caroline said.
[At the Gilbert Residence]
Elena heard noises from Jeremy's room and when she went in there to investigate, she asked, "Jer?"
"No, it's me, the hypocrite patrol." Jenna said, she had finally put Liana to sleep in her bedroom, it had taken her a while since the little girl was constantly worrying about her mother. So right now she was frustrated and she needed an outlet, why not prove Tanner, the perverted fool wrong, she knew what she was doing, more or less.
"What are you doing?" Elena asks confused.
"I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy. Jackpot. I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative." Jenna says as she pulls the bottle from Jeremy's shoes, one of the many hiding places she herself had used.
"What brought this on?" Elena asked her curious.
"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday. But I could care less about his words, the pervert that he is." Jenna said frustrated, she hated the man and she hated the fact that she couldn't tell anyone what he had tried to do to Anastasia.
"You got tannered. Been there." Elena said slightly amused though she was concerned because her aunt looked frazzled, completely missing out on what Jenna had called him.
"'Discover the impossible, Ms. Sommers.' Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up." Jenna complained, despite how much she hated him, his words still seemed to be stuck in her head, reminding her just how much she was failing at this parent thing and then she had to agree to care for a kid as well for who knows how long.
"You're not screwing up, Aunt Jenna." Elena said truthfully, they were all going through a hard time.
"Yes, I am. You know why? Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse, and it's gonna be my fault. It's impossible." Jenna said as she sighed out frustrated sitting on the bed, she felt like giving up.
"This is just the fear talking. You're a little scared, that's all. We all are. I have to go do something. But are you going to be ok?" Elena asked her, whilst she had been giving her aunt advice, she had realised that she had been doing the same thing regarding her relationship with Stefan, she was acting out of fear, so she chose to take her own advice.
Jenna nodded at her niece before she said, "Wait have you seen Anastasia anywhere?"
"No, why?" Elena asked her aunt, seriously, the girl has made her aunt like her too?
"Never mind." Jenna said shaking her head wondering where her friend was, Stefan and his brother should have found her by now.
Elena nodded at her before she left the house and made her way to Salvatore Boarding House. She needed to see Stefan.
It was a few minutes later that the doorbell rung and Jenna quickly went downstairs and opened the door to see Anastasia being held in the arms of an admittedly attractive guy and she looked confused before she opened the door further so that they could come inside. The hot guy lay her down on the sofa before they turned towards her.
"Hey Jen. Sorry about all this. I know you have enough on your plate." Anastasia said apologetically.
"It's fine Ana, besides, your daughter is such a sweet girl. Absolutely adorable too." Jenna said truthfully, she really was the most adorable kid she's ever seen.
"She is. Speaking of where is she?" Anastasia asked looking around.
"She's sleeping upstairs." Jenna said before she asked, "What happened Ana?"
Anastasia knew she had said that she'll explain what happened later but she couldn't right now so instead she looked to Ryan for help and realising what she wanted him to do, he began explaining exactly what had happened, leaving Jenna to feel sorrowful for her friend, she didn't deserve that at all.
"Are you going to go back?" Jenna asked after a while.
"Yeah, I just needed to get away for a while but yeah, I'm going back." Anastasia sighed.
"You don't have to. You can stay here for as long as you need to." Jenna said to her, she shouldn't have to go back there.
"I couldn't do that Jen, both of us won't exactly fit on the couch anyway." Anastasia said since Liana couldn't sleep on top of her.
"Well if you cuddle with each other, it could work." Ryan said as he looked at the side of the sofa.
"We can't do that because of… well…because of…I… I have stitches on my stomach and I don't want them to rip again." Anastasia blurted out quickly.
"Stitches?!" Ryan exclaimed concerned, why the hell did she have stitches, what happened?
"Rip? Again?" Jenna asked after him worried as to how many times she had ripped them as she looked her over.
"Yeah, it's a long story, one I can't tell right now." Anastasia said as she looked anywhere but at them.
Jenna sighed before she had an idea and said, "We have a spare room, you can stay there."
"I hope you're not talking about the room I think you're talking about." Anastasia said to her.
"The room is just sitting there Ana, they're dead and they're not going to come back so why not make use of it. Though I'm going to ask you not to change anything in it yet." Jenna said to her hoping she'd agree, she wanted her to stay with her for a while, she was the only person she could talk to in this town about everything, she was the only one who recognised that she was still hurting too.
"Jen I can't do that. That's your sister and your brother-in-law's room. I could never sleep there, it'd be a horrible thing to do. Besides, even if you agree, those kids would never, that's their parent's room, they would hate to see a total stranger come in and steal it." Anastasia said firmly.
"You'll only stay there for a while Ana, they'll be fine. Elena's your friend and Jeremy seems to like you, from what I've heard anyway, so they'll be fine with it." Jenna said reassuringly.
"She's right you know. I don't feel comfortable for you to go back right now because your father is still unstable." Ryan said.
"He's not my father Ryan!" Anastasia immediately exclaimed before she heard her daughter waking up upstairs before she padded down the steps and she smiled when she saw her little angel.
"Mummy? Mummy!" Liana screamed happily as she clambered on to her legs not wanting to hurt her like she did last time. Anastasia sat up and hugged her gently.
"Hey baby, you ok?" Anastasia asked as she pushed her hair behind her ears.
"Yeah I'm fine. Aunt Jenna was very nice, she gave me cookies and they were very yummy but they're not as good as yours. She gave me milk too and she read me a story, I wike her a lot." Liana said happily as she smiled at her mother and her aunt Jenna.
"Aunt?" Jenna asked a little shocked, they had only know each other a little while after all.
"Yeah, she does that, whenever she sees someone she likes again, it's immediately aunt this or uncle that as I have already explained to Stefan, who was as equally shocked as you two, Damon more so, though I still wonder why she liked him. I mean he's the most arrogant person I've ever had the misfortune of meeting." Anastasia finished her rant with a scowl on her face as she thought of the blue-eyed Salvatore.
"You really don't like him, do you?" Jenna asked with a laugh in her voice.
"Is it that obvious?" Anastasia asked rolling her eyes and the other two just laughed at her. A few minutes later, Ryan bid his goodbyes telling them he had to go home and they said goodbye as he left the house. Anastasia was about to do the same but Jenna immediately put her hands on her shoulders and gave her a look that clearly said stay put and she sighed as she sat back down.
"Jen I still don't think this is a good idea." Anastasia said unsure.
"It will be fine." Jenna said before she went upstairs, she came back down a few minutes later only to notice that they had both fallen asleep and she sighed before she heard the door opening as Jeremy came inside.
[Just before this at Mystic Grill]
Jeremy enters Mystic Grill and he spots Vicki and smiles before it drops as he sees Tyler walk up to her as they start kissing. Jeremy turns around and leaves to go home, he couldn't watch that, knowing she'd picked Tyler.
[Gilbert house]
When he goes home he opens the door only to see the lady who has saved Vicki and who he presumed was her daughter sleeping on the couch.
"Jeremy, hi, I could use your help a little." Jenna whispered.
"What is it and what are they doing here?" Jeremy asked, he would have preferred to go to his room and wallow but he was too curious to right now.
"Something happened that I can't tell you until Ana's ok with it and due to this, she can't go home right now and as you can see they can't fit on the couch together. She hurt her stomach before and the child could accidentally hurt her if she moves so they can't cuddle up either which means they're going to be cold, so I was thinking that…" Jenna began to say before she was cut off.
"No, no way, no, she can't stay there." Jeremy whispered vehemently.
"Come on Jeremy, she has nowhere to go right now, her father might…never mind that, look it will only be for a day." Jenna whispered trying not to wake them up.
"Her father might what?" Jeremy asked as he looked at the girl on the couch shifting slightly, so he made his voice a little lower trying not wake her up, she looked pretty exhausted.
"I told you I can't tell you, it's her story to tell. Just, help me out, please." Jenna pleaded.
"Ok, fine, but only for a day." Jeremy said, he only agreed because she had saved Vicki twice now and he wanted to pay her back in some way and if letting her sleep in his parent's room was enough than he would do it.
"Only a day." Jenna nodded.
"What do you want me to do?" Jeremy sighed and after a while, they had both managed to get the mother and daughter in the room that they had not opened for quite a while. Jeremy had carried Anastasia and Jenna had carried Lilliana trying to make sure they don't wake up and they laid them side by side on the bed, taking off their shoes and coats and leaving them on the seat in the room. They then walked quietly out the room and shut the door softly, not knowing that Anastasia had been awake the second she was lifted up. She had peaked slightly at who was carrying her only to see the kid who had been upset over Vicki before she closed her eyes again, not wanting to give it away that she was awake, it would only make things awkward. She opened her eyes when she heard the door shut and noticed that she was in a very nice room and she nearly groaned aloud as she realised that this was most likely the kid's parents room. She was confused as to why he'd be ok with it, she honestly didn't feel comfortable sleeping in a dead person's room so she couldn't imagine what he would be feeling letting a stranger sleep in their dead parents room. She was too tired to argue though so instead she laid down next to her daughter and fell asleep.
