At Night


There was something about alcohol stolen after midnight, when it's pitch-black outside and you can't see three feet in front of your face, let alone the labels of the bottle you're swiping, it just always seemed to taste better, in Caroline Forbes' expert opinion. To begin with, she had not had 'Getting Uproariously Drunk' on her list of activities for the day. The blonde had woken up, had a shower, got dressed, had breakfast with her mom before she left for her shift, then stared at her summer homework for two hours, picking at it the way a woman picks at her salad in a movie during the awkward dinner scene where she has to watch her husband get into a fight with her new in-laws, and ultimately gives up on the prospect of nutritional consumption altogether. So she'd occupied herself with cleaning out her wardrobe and deciding which purse she was going to use for the rest of her summer, which unfortunately only ticked off about another hour, after which she decided to organize her lipstick based on how pretty the packaging was.

The call from Jeremy Gilbert asking her to come over to the Boarding House was unexpected, but a relief.

Getting there in record speed, the baby vampire didn't even bother to knock, just stormed in there and put her hands on her hips and immediately demanded, "Where's the fire?"

Jeremy tore his gaze away from whatever book he'd nabbed off the shelves, turning to her with a half-guilty, half-mischievious expression. "There's no fire, Caroline," he confessed to her brazenly. "I only called because Damon promised he'd give me an update when he got back. Well, he's back, unless that's someone else's Camaro in the driveway, and no update has been forthcoming."

Caroline tossed her hair over her shoulder, frowning disapprovingly -at least, she hoped it looked disapproving, it was hard to tell with frowns; it wasn't like she practiced them in the mirror. "Therefore, you thought it would be a good idea to, what? Snoop around the billion-year old house and wait 'til Damon pops out of some secret passageway like a genie?"

Jeremy's eyes lit up like the town Christmas tree. "This place has secret passageways?"

"Well, I'd assume so, given it's occupants and their flare for the dramatic. Plus, from a safety point of view, it's good to have multiple exits if you're a vampire living not two miles away from the town council that hates your guts and wouldn't hesitate to burn you in your sleep."

"Sensible thinking." Lowering himself onto the couch -the incredibly comfy couch, Caroline knew from experience- the teen sighed, face a cresting wave of uncertainty, before admitting up to the ceiling, "To be honest, I don't know what I was thinking. It's just...I don't like being in the house on my own. It's too quiet. I wake up, and I see Elena's door closed, and I know she's not there. I go down the hall, and it's my parents room, and Jenna's room, and I know they'll never be in there again. Having Alaric over has really helped, and he's always been there whenever I wanted, or needed, to talk and we were supposed to hang out today and I-" Jeremy shook his head, dismissing the end of his sentence. "You know what? It's nothing. I'm sorry if I bothered you."

Sitting down on the couch, Caroline put a comforting arm around his shoulders, the way she'd seen Elena do a thousand times over the years, and while she knew she was a poor substitute, she just hoped her presence could make some kind of difference. "You are not a bother," she told him sternly, "you hear me? I'm really sorry Ric didn't tell you, but Damon crashed at his and they're obviously either drunk, nearing drunk, or sleeping off a night of being drunk." Caroline knew she was being a little harsh, but Damon and Ric had made it their responsibility to look after Jeremy, and if they weren't living up to that responsibility, it wasn't her fault. "I know what's it's like," she continued gently, moving her hand over his shoulder in soothing circles, "to have loads of things on your mind and not be able to talk to anyone about them. When I first turned, you know how difficult it was for me to adjust. Not just to the whole 'drinking human blood' thing, but becoming comfortable to the idea of the supernatural. I had all these questions, questions I felt like I couldn't ask, because I didn't want to appear confused or make everyone think I couldn't handle it. But if you wanna talk, Jeremy, then I'm here to listen, for as long as you want."

The young Gilbert shook his head tiredly. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

And that was when the idea hit her. "Well, I know of something that always helps *me talk."

Jeremy piped up dubiously, "Yeah? What's that?"

Caroline gave him her best grin. "You ever been to the cellar, Jeremy?"


If she'd been human, she likely would have broken her neck -or at the very least sprained something- walking down the dark stairs with no light on, but luckily her vampire eyesight was more than sufficient enough for her to make out all the bottles on the wall, reminding of the little kindergarten cubby holes that had decorated the walls of Mystic Falls' only Preschool. Fingers dancing over the glass, she took a moment to contemplate just how weird her life had gotten, how a year ago she'd come down those same stairs and freed Damon from his cell because he used his freaky mind-control stuff on her, how he'd burrowed into her consciousness and had a power over her that still made her shiver whenever she thought about it.

She'd been weak, and powerless, and desperately floundering for so many things back then: for love, her mother's approval, good grades and a seemingly perfect personality. Caroline the Human had often let jealousy and abandonment dictate her actions, especially when she learned Elena and Bonnie were keeping secrets from her, but at the end of the day, she'd still been human, hadn't had to worry about the things they worried about, didn't have to look over her shoulder and be afraid of what might jump out and tear her apart. She'd been safe(ish) but unhappy. Now, Caroline was in danger on a near-daily basis, but she was happier than she'd ever been...except when she thought about Stefan, out there with Klaus, and Elena, in that tiny car Caroline had compelled for her, listening to that playlist, hanging out with Elijah Mikaleson of all vampires.

Hey, it could be worse, she reasoned with herself as she pulled out some bottles at random, she could have teamed up with the Wonder Bitch herself, Katherine Pierce. One day, Caroline hoped she'd be able to get her claws in her and get justice for the insecure cheerleader that had died in that hospital bed. And she'd make it slow.

But tonight wasn't a night for thoughts like that, it was about cheering Jeremy up and letting loose and trying out those crazy-expensive speakers she'd been dying to test out ever since she first stayed over. Hopping back up tye steps, Caroline flourished her spoils in the boys face proudly. "I got a little bit of everything, since I have absolutely zero clue on the differences when it comes to alcohol. I just wish there'd been a pink one, or at least some of those cute little umbrellas, but getting drunk is still getting drunk."

She poured herself a shot, tipping it all the way back. "Here's to being young and supernaturally inclined."


The first drink got him laughing. By the third, his head was on a frilly cushion, Caroline lounging on the chaise across from him, listening sympathetically as he raged up to the ceiling, "It's just not fair! I get why she did it, of course I do, but she could have taken me with her. I wouldn't have tattled. I'm an explicit non-tattler. But no, Elena has to go off and play hero by herself, leaving me behind like I'm dead weight." He glanced up at her with gleaming eyes, either from unshed tears or the alcohol, Caroline couldn't tell. "It was probably a little too early for that joke, wasn't it?"

The blonde laughed, tipping back her glass. "Give it another month, it'll be older than Damon," she snarked sassily, because Caroline was always down for a good Damon-sass.

Jeremy sighed like a deflated balloon the size of Texas. "He's even worse. He's like a faulty shower in a cheap motel: hot one minute, cold the next. One day he'll be all 'Big Brother Bonding' and the next it's like I'm totally invisible and not even worth keeping in the loop. I know it's not cool to be seen hanging out with teenagers, cramping undead style and all, but I wish that if he didn't want to keep up this charade of caring about me for Elena's sake he'd just say so already, and at least then I'd know where I stood."

"I don't think anyone knows where they stand with Damon," Caroline mused wisely as she picked at a cushion that matched the one under Jeremy's head. "Except the people that really, really want to kill him, who super -duper loathe him."

Jeremy cocked an eyebrow -Caroline, ironically, thought he might have picked that up from the vampire under their current scrutiny. "You're telling me you don't?"

The blonde shook her head, admitting softly, "Not enough to stake him in that thing he calls a heart, no. For one, Elena would be wrecked. Two, Stefan would be wrecked when he comes home. Three, I'd feel bad after the initial euphoria wore off. And four...it wouldn't be right, killing him for no reason, just because I could, because the thought had crossed my mind, an impulse I blindly gave into."

"Why not?" Jeremy protested savagely. "What good as he ever done to you? He manipulated you, compelled you, said horrible things to you, and tried to kill you when you turned. He did kill me, for Gods sake."

"You're right," the vampire acknowledged, "he did do all of those things. And when you came here and wanted to kill him, he didn't lift a finger, did he?"

"He knew I couldn't get close, is all. He knew I wouldn't be fast enough."

"Or," Caroline posed as she reached for another bottle of Tequila, "Damon believed that you were too good to kill him, and that you didn't want to be like your dad and Uncle John."

Jeremy bolted upright, knocking the cushion with startling strength and sending it thumping to the floor as he fixed her with a strong glower. "How did you know I said that to him?"

She ducked her head from his scrutiny, suddenly finding the stitching on her jeans immensely fascinating. "Damon might have mentioned something about it to Elena, once, and it might have filtered down from there."

Shoulders dropping, he exclaimed exasperatedly, "Is nothing a secret in this town?"

"Nope," Caroline said brightly, "it's always been a place of immense gossiping capacity, even without the vamos and the other night-bumping creepies."

"'Night-bumping creepies'? Really, Caroline? What are you, twelve?"

"Hey," she jabbed a finger at his chest, almost spilling the contents of her glass over her lap -it was a distinct possibilty she'd had much more alcohol than she'd realized- "I'm like, way older than you, and should be treated as such."

Jeremy snorted, that kind of laugh that bubbles up your throat and out your nose. "You're totally right. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute, Miss 'I'm Going To Be Seventeen Forever.'"

"At least I'll always have an epic theme song, you can never go wrong with ABBA, and I am a queen on the dancefloor."

"I wouldn't know," Jeremy chuckled warmly, "considering every time there's been a school dance I've been either occupied by vampires or worrying about my girlfriend who's occupied by vampires."

"That was one of the worst days of my life," Caroline said, eyes faraway but holding an incredible depth of remembered pain. "Thinking Bonnie was dead."

"It was for me, too," he commiserated sadly. "Did you know that Elena slapped Damon when he told her he knew all that power would kill Bonnie?"

"I did," the blonde nodded, before tagging on, "I may have clapped and told her I wish I'd been there to take a picture."

"Amen to that. Caroline?"

"Present! Wait, what?"

"You should get drunk more often; you're hilarious. Also, thank you for being here tonight, this was exactly what I needed."

She giggled drunkenly, "You're very welcomes."


Two hours and three bottles later, their laughter was cut off by the sound of the front door, heavy footfalls on polished decades-old floorboards and the raised voice of Tyler Lockwood, half inquiring, half disbelieving, "What's going on here?"

"A drunken feelings party," Caroline deadpanned as she held out the bottle of half-gone alcohol in her hand like it was a jar of honey and she was trying to entice some bears. Or was it flys that liked honey? Jeremy, in his current state -and because he had more important things to worry about in his life than what flys did or didn't like- couldn't remember. "Want in?"

A smile broke out on the other boy's face as he launched himself into the nearest available armchair, kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, and laced his hands behind his head in that careless ways guys -and some girls, too- do, and don't even notice they're doing it. "Depends. What are we drinking?"

"Only the finest Bourbon and Tequila in all the land for us emotional dopes," Caroline chimed brightly, much to Tyler's satisfaction.

"I think I can get behind that, but only if we throw in some take-out. I'm starving."

"I'll go raid the fridge," Jeremy offered hastily, if only to avoid a front-row seat in whatever show was going on between Caroline and Tyler. He suspected they didn't even know themselves, but he hoped they worked it out: love was hard to come by as it was, and that was before you added in all their supernatural drama to the pot.

"Did you forget to eat lunch again?" he could hear Caroline chastising the newly-minted werewolf as he padded blearily to the Salvatore's massive kitchen the pair hardly ever used. "You know your metabolism isn't like regular people's anymore: you need to be more careful about stuff like that."

"I was busy!" No way you couldn't hear a protest that loud. "Doing the stuff off your birthday list, might I add."

"You were doing stuff for me?" Caroline's voice was hopeful, wrapped up in a little flattery with a sprinkle of awe. Why was it so hard for her to imagine a guy like Tyler would do something nice for her? She was a great friend, more so than he'd given her credit for; tonight proved that. He easily could see why Elena and Bonnie loved her and valued her friendship so much.

"Yeah. I think it's nice, how you still want to throw a party and all, even if she won't be here, that you've gone to all this trouble and effort for her just so that she knows you care."

"That was really sweet of you, Tyler. Totally unnecessary, but sweet."

"No need to make a big deal out if it, Nurse Caroline," Tyler shrugged off the compliment, but Jeremy would bet his new X-Box that the guy was smiling something crazy. "Now, put me outta my non-drunken misery and me that bottle."

"As you wish."

Arms laden with a precarious jigsaw-stack of containers and tubs, Jeremy was in the process of shutting the fridge with his hip and attempting not to drop anything when his phone decided that moment was the best to go off. In an awkward dance he was glad no one was around to witness, Jeremy moved everything to one arm and balanced against the fridge door as he rummaged in the pocket of his hoodie for the bleeping plastic hunk.

Unknown Number, the screen helpfully informed him, which could mean one of two things: One, a wrong number or someone trying to sell him something.

Or two...he better put down the food.

Feeling like he wasn't even breathing, Jeremy answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Jer. It's me."

Option two then.

Crumpling into the nearest available chair, Jeremy repressed a gut-wrenching sob at the sound of hiss sister's voice in his ear, tinny and distorted but still her. "Hi, Elena," was all he could think to say.

"I'm sorry for calling so late," she rambled, "but I was sitting in my room and then I was just hit by this feeling that I needed to call you, like you needed me. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he croaked out, but the lie was as useless as a putting a saucepan over a leaky faucet, and didn't convince his sister in the least.

"No, you're not. You sound like you're five seconds away from crying. Did something happen? Did you get into a fight with Bonnie? Did Damon do something? I swear, if he upset you I will get on the nearest plan and kick his ass so hard that he'll-"

"Damon didn't do anything to me, Elena, and Bonnie and I are fine, I think. I just...I miss you. Your psycho stalker of a friend was supposed to tell me what happened with the new lead," he complained heatedly, "but instead got drunk and is likely being babysat by Alaric as we speak. Caroline came over and we had a surprisingly helpful heart-to-heart, all that mushy gushy stuff you love so much, but it's one thing to say you're okay, and another to actually feel it, you know?"

"Of course I do. The first few months after Mom and Dad died, I was the master of saying one thing and feeling another, and no one even really noticed. Except..."

"Stefan."

"Yeah," Elena sighed wistfully, something sad and broken in her voice that he didn't like the sound of: defeat, "except Stefan. I swear, he must have a brooding radar or something, that starts pinging whenever someone's feeling sad."

"That would explain a lot," Jeremy chuckled, hating to ask but needing to know. "Did you run into Damon or-"

"I did," his sister confirmed before amending, "Well, I was pretending to be Katherine, since I was with Elijah. But don't being it up to him since I asked Elijah to compel him so he wouldn't remember it anyway."

"How's that going?" he pried shamelessly, the little-brother urge to snoop rearing it's head. "I've gotta say, I was pretty curious about that whole set-up, but I reckoned if something was going on I should give you some time and out the inquisition on the back-burner."

"How generous of you," Elena snarked sassily. "Is Caroline still there?"

"Yeah," he told her happily, "and Tyler came over as well, they're in the living room."

"Then you might as well put the phone on speaker, Jer, and save them the effort of eavesdropping."

Everyone within a five mile radius would have heard Caroline's distinct screech of, "We totally resent that!"

"Look who's speaking for two now," his sister teased mockingly, and it was a relief to Jeremy to know that no matter what was going on, she could still tease and bicker with her best friend as she used to, and always would.

"We resent that also."

"Dude, I thought you said you were getting food, not making calls to your bossy sis," Tyler accused, a betrayed frown on his face as Jeremy sat down on the couch he'd been on for the past few hours and sat his phone, now on speaker, on the coffee table in between the bottles and glasses they'd littered it with.

"Oi, shut it, Lockwood, I know where all your skeletons are buried," Elena threatened, making everyone in the room laugh.

"Right next to mine, I'm sure, Little Girl Gilbert," Tyler shot back instantly, and Jeremy could clearly picture his sister's cringe.

"God, I forgot how much I hated that nickname," she groused. Point to Jeremy.

"Hello, can we get back on track here?" Caroline butted in impatiently. "Elena was oh so kindly going to put us all out of our misery and fill us in on what's been happening with her and her Original Boyfriend. Isn't that right, Elena?."

"He is not my boyfriend, Caroline," Elena hissed, uncharacteristically abrasive. "I just happened to come across him and save his life, is all. We then made a deal to hunt down Stefan and Klaus together, and that's all there is to it."

"If that was 'all there was to it,' 'Lena," he knew he was likely digging himself a hole foe when she got back, but he was a kid and it was still fun to rile her up, and there was also a genuine sincerity underlying his words as well, "then he wouldn't have called me and asked for my help. He was really worried about you."

"Elijah Mikaelson called! And you didn't tell me? Traitor!" Caroline lobbed a cushion at his head while Tyler gave him a sympathetic look on his 'friend's' -use of air quotes totally necesaary- behalf.

"I promised I wouldn't, alright?" he defended, somewhat feebly. "That dude's scary."

Elena protested passionately, "He's not scary, Jeremy, just misunderstood, is all. Once you get to know him, you realize he's got a heart of gold and a compassionate streak at least eight miles long."

Caroline's mumbled, "I bet that's not the only thing eight miles long," was hard not to miss...as was Elena's accompanying yell of, "Caroline Elizabeth Forbes! That's so entirely just wrong and inappropriate and just...no. No, okay? Friends, friends only. Forever. Never to move beyond that."

"Sue me for saying so, but he went to an awful lot of trouble to make sure you'd come back after his brother sacrificed you, as well as agreeing to keep all of us safe, which he actually did do, except when we got kidnapped, but its the thought that counts. Then, you play the hero to his dude in distress, and now you're, what?" the blonde scoffed, "Sharing motel rooms and drinking each other's coffee and bonding over being uptight, morally grounded, nerdy bookworms?"

"How did you know Elijah likes books?" his sister deflected sneakily.

"Duh, Elena, he's old and he pretended to be here writing a book. Doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."

"Yeah, even I got that vibe," Tyler piped up for the first time in the conversation.

"Hey, you're smart," Caroline argued fiercely. "Just a different type of smart. Everyone has their own, it's unique to them, like fingerprints or weird food combos."

"Thanks?"

"Moving on, it's important that you guys know the truth of what's going on. While it's a million to one odds that Klaus will step foot in Mystic Falls, there's still a chance, and I don't want to put you at a disadvantage."

Caroline shot up, face pinched with worry. "Why would we be at a disadvantage?"

Elene sighed heavily. "The same reason I'm at a disadvantage: I care about Stefan. And if I saw him...I don't know if I wouldn't hesitate."

"Hesitate to what?"

"To kill him to protect an innocent person. He's the one, Care. Most of these victims your mom has been finding, these leads Damon's following? It's Stefan. Yes, not all -Klaus doesn't like to be let out if the...fun- but he's back to drinking human blood, to killing. He's gone full-blown Ripper."

"Ripper? What's that? I don't know what that is! Do you know what that is?"

Jeremy held up his hands. "Hey, I'm as clueless as you are."

"Supposedly, almost a hundred years ago - ninety, to be exact, so nineteen twenty; I did some Googleing and filled in the blanks- there was a prolific serial killer roaming Chicago, they called him The Ripper of Monterey, but you and I know him as Stefan Salvatore, one-time team player for the Mystic Falls Timberwolves, excellent cook and brooding journal-keeper. He killed...God, it was so many, they weren't even sure, and there's only so much I could find out online. It seems he's fallen back into old habits, and Klaus is right there with him, enabling him, encouraging him. He might have even flipped his switch, but I can't say either way until we come face to face."

"You haven't seen him?"

"No," Elena said slowly, "I haven't. I'd be pretty stupid to, don't you think, given what I literally just said about Klaus?"

"Yeah, of course," the vampire was hasty to agree, "I just figured...you were so hell-bent on finding him, you wouldn't have let anything stop you, not even the threat of Klaus."

"I have to be smart about this, Caroline. I can't go in guns blazing, Elijah's helped me see that. We've figured out that Klaus is after werewolves, seemingly one pack in particular. He's going after this guy, Ray Sutton, and we're going to get to him first. Hopefully. Elijah's in Pensacola right now, where he's known to frequent-"

"Frequent?" Tyler parroted disbelievingly. "Jeez, 'Lena, you're spending way too much time already this hoighty touighty vamp."

"Writer, remember? More than familiar with the grown up words, Lockwood. As if I was saying before I was needlessly interrupted, Elijah should actually be back any minute, since it's not that long of a drive."

Caroline, of course, honed in on that particular tidbit. "You're near Florida? Where exactly near Florida are you, Elena?"

"It's um, Burbank, California," Elena admitted in a small voice if only to compensate for Caroline's screech of ear-bleeding decibel.

"What! You're in California? Without me? What happened to our The O.C themed vacation when we turned nineteen? What about the surfing and bikinis and boys?"

"Don't you have your own boy now? the former cheerleader pointed out icily. "As for the surfing, you hate to get your hair wet, Care, and we all know it."

The blonde remained stonily silent, but not before looking at Tyler with a half-guilty, half-annoyed expression.

"Look, I'm sorry," Elena sighed heavily, "I don't mean to get testy, I'm just not feeling great and all the anxiety is really starting to get to my head. I'm in this crazy big hotel room, alone, and at every noise I'm reaching under my pillow for a stake like I'm auditioning for Dean Winchester."

"You could never play Dean," Caroline interjected sassily, "your eyes aren't that gorgeous shade of green. Plus, you in an army jacket? Not a recommended fashion accessory for you, is all I'm saying."

"Your suggestion is duly noted. Is it alright if I talk to Jer for a minute? There's a few things I want to go over."

"Of course," Tyler said warmly, "we'll be in the kitchen." He dragged a frowning Caroline from the room, likely glad to finally get something to eat.

Elena started in on him before he could even take a breath. "I know I left instructions, but I wanted to go over it again with you. First off, the gas bill has to be paid the second week of each month, which is this week. It's a Direct Debit, but sometimes it takes a few days to clear and you don't realize they've taken the money, so watch out. Then there's the electric-"

"Elena, Ric and I have got it all covered," Jeremy was quick to assuage her worries. "Damon came over and we had a surprisingly helpful chat about managing household finances the week you left. Besides, I think he's secretly paying for most of them anyway, definitely since you left at the very least."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I'm in the living room right now, looking at a stack of mail with *Gilbert written on them all, stuffed on a bookcase shelf," Jeremy informed her smugly, unrepentant for his blatant invasion of the vampire's privacy.

Elena chuckled softly. "You know, sometimes I wanna yell at him until I haven't got a voice, then he does something like that and I can't imagine life without him. But still, that doesn't excuse him breaking his promise to you."

"But then I wouldn't be talking to you now, would I?"

His sister argued sharply, "I would have kept trying to get in touch with you , Jer. No matter what, I'm never going to abandon you. Doesn't matter if I'm at college or halfway across the country chasing after my killing-spree boyfriend: you're my brother, my blood. You come first, always."

Jeremy ducked his head, hiding his blush, although she of course couldn't see it. "Thanks, sis. I better let you get some rest."

"Are you sure? I can talk as long as you want." Her words were cut off by a yawn of epic proportions, and he had to laugh at her flimsy lie.

"I've said all I needed to, now you need some sleep. Try not to worry, alright?"

"It's my job," was what she said in reply, then, "Night, Tyler. Night, Care. Try not to have too much fun without me, okay?"

"Night, Elena. We make no promises!" they shouted in unison.

"Goodnight, Jer. I love you. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"I know. Night, Elena. I love you, too," he told her before he disconnected the call.

Tyler and Caroline walked back in, one offering him a carton of Mu-Shu Pork, the other a glass of Bourbon. "Do you wanna drown your feelings in some greasy take-out and high-end alcohol?" Caroline suggested sympathetically.

Jeremy took both.


Alaric was thrust back into the land of the living by the blaring of his cell phone. Groping for the object blindly, he located it on the floor by the bed, face-down, it's bluish glow illuminating the dusty floor, as well as the general untidyness of the room. Groaning, he looked at the screen through half-closed eyelids at the text message that had popped up, from Elena no less. It was short, considerate, and yet made him feel lousy as hell, as was likely her intention.

'Hey, Ric, I really hope you're doing okay. I miss you. All's fine with me, I'm on the right track, but please, take care of Jeremy. And the next time Damon breaks a promise to him, tell him I'll break him, alright? Love, Elena.'

Speaking of dark-haired, emotionally volatile vampires...

"Hey, Ric, you got any toothpaste? My mouth tastes like greasy old carpet," Damon strode into the room like he owned the place, laying down on his bed -again, like he owned it- and propping his arms behind his head as he narrowed his steely-blue gaze on the phone in Alaric's hand and the frown no doubt prominent on his face.

"Damon, not to be rude or anything, but don't you have your own house to go to? With your own toothpaste, I might add."

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't get to annoy you now, would I?" Damon said by way of explanation as he began to straighten out his pillows for him.

"Somehow, I'm sure you'd find a way," Ric muttered darkly, stashing his phone away in his bedside drawer as he took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself for the upcoming -but very necessary- conversation. "Look, I know you're upset after the new lead with Stefan didn't pan out-"

"I am not-"

"But drowning yourself in whiskey with me isn't going to fix that," Alaric finished sternly. "Why don't you take a break for a while?" the History teacher posed to him. "Elena's handling the situation just fine."

Damon sat up with inhuman speed. "How do you know that?"

Crap. Crap, crap, crap.

Ric scrambled for an excuse, any excuse. All he came up with was, "Well, she's smart, and uh, you know, good at doing stuff."

"Did she call you." Not a question, not with that tone.

He sighed heavily, "Damon..."

"Did she call you, Alaric?"

Jeez, use of the full name, he must be pissed, his brain helpfully supplied. Well, guess there's no point in hiding it now. Sending up a prayer that Elena would forgive him, the vampire slayer admitted, "I got a text from her last night, didn't see it until the alarm on my phone went off this morning."

Damon's eyes went wide, his questions coming in at a rapid-fire pace. "What did she say? Is she okay? Does he need help? Is she hurt?"

"She's okay, Damon," Ric was quick to inform him. "She said that, and I quote, 'All was fine with her.' But she's kinda pissed at me," he confided with shame, "and very pissed at you."

"What's she pissed at me for?" the vampire huffed, flopping backwards and narrowly missing a nasty encounter with the headboard. "She's not here to see me do things for her to get pissed about." He paused for a moment in deep thought, likely repeating the sentence he'd just uttered in his head before grumbling, "God, I think I'm still a little drunk."

"Baby Gilbert must have spilt the beans after you failed to show up last night. Because you were here, with me. Ergo, my fault."

"What else did she say?"

"That if you broke another promise to Jeremy, she'd 'break you,'" he relayed, taking some creative license and adding air quotes just because he could.

"Yeah, that sounds like her. Man, I really miss her."

"I know," Alaric sympathized, "I miss her, too. But she's right, Damon: we promised to look after Jeremy, and we're not exactly doing that by doing what we did last night."

"Maybe I just didn't know how to tell him that I screwed up, that I got bupkiss, that I don't know when his sister's coming home, and I can't bear seeing his face every time the front door goes and he thinks it's her, only to be disappointed when it's not, and that I do the exact same thing every time, too. Look at me, Ric!" He gestured to the room around him, as if Alaric's physical mess mirrored his emotional one. "I'm a mess. A total wreck. Again. Over a woman. Again. And Stefan, but I'm used to this sorta behaviour from him. But her...God, why did I ever fall in love? What idiocy possessed me to give my heart over to some teenage girl?"

Crawling out from under the covers, the act made infinitely harder due to the added vampire weight, he said over his shoulder as he began to search for some clean clothes, and possibly a new head, since he felt like his was going to explode from the killer migraine he was suffering from, "Elena isn't some teenage girl, though, and we both know it. When I first came to Mystic Falls, if someone told me I'd meet some kind, compassionate, funny, smart teenager and go bat-crazy when she so much as breaks a fingernail, I'd have said you were nuts. But I love her like she's my own daughter, Jeremy to, and I suppose in Elena's case, she sorta is, really. And I can't scree this up for her. I won't screw this up for her."

Shirt and jeans now on, Ric hopped about on one foot as he laced up his boots, "So, here's what we're gonna do. You are going to shower -and yes, you can borrow my toothpaste, there's a unopened one in the medicine cabinet- and then you're going to go over to see Jeremy and explain yourself. I will clean up here and text back Elena and apologize and tell her what you're doing. Deal?"

"Deal." Damon hesitated, unable to make eye contact for several seconds before asking quietly, "Would you mind...I mean, would you be alright telling her to call me, maybe? At some point, when she's not busy or anything."

"Sure," he nodded as he straightened up, "I'll ask."

"Okay, thanks. Ric?"

"Yeah?"

Damon smiled, one of his real ones that reminded him why they were friends when he inevitably did something stupid, as well as when he said stuff like this, "You're a great friend, and you're a great dad to those two."

"Thanks. Now get outta here before you say anything else nice that makes me wanna hug you."

Damon gasped dramatically, putting his hands to his face like he was imitating the famous 'The Scream' painting. "Oh, no, a hug! We can't have that now, can we? I am out of here." Unfolding himself from the bed, he straightened the covers in one graceful swoop, gave Ric a salute, and sauntered out the door in the direction of the bathroom.

Not five minutes after Damon left, Alaric's phone started buzzing once again. But this time, it wasn't from Elena, but an unknown number. Putting down his half-finished cup of coffee -complete with Asprin- on the breakfast bar, he picked the thing up like it was a live bomb about to go off as he responded with an apprehensive, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Mr Doggy Ice Cream Himself. Just the man I was hoping to talk to."

Ric grinned, nerves settling at the sound of the now-recognisable voice of one Lucy Bennett. "I kinda got that impression, given the fact that you're calling me at seven thirty in the morning. What's up?"

Her question woke him up better than any cup of caffeine. "How much do you know about vampires? Specifically, their Origins?"

"Are you talking about The Originals?"

"The one and only. Supposedly, there's some sort of squabble going on between two of them, Klaus and Elijah, and Klaus is offering a pretty hefty number of Benjamin Franklin's to the witch that can uncloak him. While that isn't my cup of tea nowadays, I've got some friends who are interested, and I want to know if I should be worried or not."

"You should be," Ric told her without hesitation. "You should be very, very worried. Do not go near them, okay? It's suicide. They would kill you, or your friends, without hesitating. They're ruthless, even Elijah who's supposed to be the most noble one of the bunch."

Lucy paused for a minute before posing to him delicately, "You sound pretty familiar with them."

"Klaus took over my body for a little while before killing my girlfriend and her niece in his sacrifice to break the curse that kept him from transforming into a werewolf," Alaric explained, all in one breath, which was pretty impressive, considering the night he'd just had.

"He broke that? So the guy's a Hybrid now?" Lucy chuckled without any humour. "Awesome."

Alaric agreed with a snorted laugh, "You can say that again. If you are your friends are in any kind of trouble-"

"Don't worry, Teach, I can handle it."

That surprised him. "You remembered that?"

"Of course," Lucy replied immediately. "What woman could forget a gorgeous man having a melt-down over a can of soup?"

"I'll try to take that as a compliment," he told her around a smile.

"You do that."

Scratching the back of his neck, he examined the last of his coffee, he felt like a nervous adolescent once again as he inquired, "Are you, uh, thinking of stopping by Mystic Falls any time soon? That is, when you're not getting your friends out of shady business dudes with guys older than most trees?"

"And would you look at that: he jokes," Lucy laughed brightly. "Truth be told, I was thinking of swinging by when Bonnie gets back, checking up on her and Jeremy after that big spell she did. Why?"

"I thought, maybe, if you're free-"

The witch cut him off before he could even finish asking, "Coffee, not dinner. That way I can suss you out and see if you're good enough for round two."

"Sounds great," he told her. "Be careful, okay? The supernatural world isn't kind to people like you."

"You mean women?" she demanded coolly.

"No," Alaric clarified, a strong feminist in his own right, "I mean nice people. Decent people."

"Sweets, I'm far from nice, but I appreciate you saying so. I'll see you when I see you?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "take care Lucy."

"You too, Ric. Say hi to those kids of yours for me, will you?"

They weren't his kids, yet he didn't dispute her words. "Will do."

Hanging up the phone, Alaric spun the plastic device around on the table before finishing his coffee as he began to formulate just what he'd say to his sort-of daughter.


Elena and Elijah hadn't stayed in Burbank for just the one day. They'd planned to, but then Elena woke up the next morning feeling awful -having periods really did suck; it was one of the only things about being a vampire Elena was jealous of, apart from the super-speed and the not getting sick- and Elijah, ever the gentleman, insisted that she stay and rest, for he was more than capable of going to Pensacola and reporting his findings back to her. She felt grotty enough that she complied without further protest.

That was how she found herself on the phone with Jeremy at midnight, feeling guilt like she'd never felt before over leaving her little brother to fend for himself. But he wasn't alone, and was surrounded by people he cared about, and she had more than enough faith in his maturity and capabilities in being responsible. Didn't mean she didn't miss him, though. Figuring Alaric wouldn't be alive to the world until his second alarm went off at seven, she decided to text him then. When that was done, Elena went back to sleep, only to wake up an hour later at the sound of the hotel door opening.

Footsteps, the shuffle of bags on the table, more footsteps and...

"Good morning. I'm glad to see you're still in bed and not doing something unadvisable like getting up and whittling stakes," Elijah remarked as he leaned in the doorway, a warm smile on his face, his jacket hanging over his shoulder.

"Don't fret," Elena replied back around a yawn as she stretched her arms above her head, "I haven't gone that stir-crazy yet. It's still really weird for me, sleeping in and all. I was always the first one up, either to wake up Jeremy or help with breakfast or to get to school to help out Caroline with some dance or a new cheer routine, back when I was on the team."

Elijah, very slowly, arched one single brow. "You were a cheerleader?"

"Yes, Mr Mikaleson, I was," she said as she began fixing the bed, fluffing up the pillows and making sure the covers weren't half on the floor as she asked, "Why so shocked?"

"Oh, I'm not shocked," he assured her, discarding his jacket and coming towards her, taking the heavy duvet from her hand, much to her annoyance, "I'm just thinking about how adorable you'd look waving a pair of pom poms around."

"Hey," she said, hands on her hips, subconsciously doing her cheer pose, "I rocked those pom poms, okay? I was actually pretty good, but I lost interest after my parents died. I tried rejoining the team not long after Stefan came back to Mystic Falls and tried out for the football team, but it didn't feel right. Damon actually told me to just quit the night we all had dinner together for the first time, but I stuck with it, until I eventually admitted defeat. I think Caroline would have thrown me off the team, anyway, since my pep wasn't up to her almighty standards. Jeez, where those the days, back when my biggest worry was why Stefan Salvatore could cut his hand and not be bleeding five seconds later. Now, look at me, off to find said guy who's a vampire Ripper and hanging out with the Hybrid brother of the one Original vampire I actually like."

"Life has a tendency to throw us curve balls, it's true, but that's also what keeps things interesting. Are you feeling any better?"

"Lots. Getting some sleep helped. Now, how was Pensacola? Learn anything of note?"

"I'll tell you over tea."

Elena followed him into the kitchen, grumbling all the while, "God, you are such a Mother Hen."

"Admit it," Elijah urged with one of those charming smirks of his, "you find it endearing."

"Maybe," she admitted as she picked up the grocery bags he'd left out and began putting things away. "Maybe I'm just not used to the five star treatment."

"Well, Elena, you should get used to it," Elijah advised her, his words barely a puff of breath tickling the shell of her ear as he reached across her to open the cupboard, "as I don't intend to change anytime soon. Camomile or ginger?"

"Ginger, but only if you out the nutmeg in it like you did yesterday; I can't believe I've never thought of that."

Elijah shrugged, clicking the kettle off with an elegant flick of his wrist -in hindsight, everything he did was elegant, really- "If you live long enough, you end up becoming a connoisseur of the perfect cup of tea."

"Here, let me help away with that," the brunette made a grab for the kettle, but Elijah's arm blocked her like a band of steel.

"Elena Gilbert, back away from the piping hot kettle or so help me-"

"Alright, alright," she raised her hands in surrender and retreated behind the safety of the table, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to-"

"I know you were just trying to help," Elijah finished for her intuitively, "but your help will only hinder me if you injure yourself, won't it? Sometimes I think you forget the fact that I'm not human too easily."

"And sometimes I think that you forget that human doesn't mean 'immediately breakable' too easily."

"Fine, I shall pose a compromise: I agree that we're both right, you drink your tea and I'll tell you what I uncovered in Pensacola. Deal?" he asked her.

Elena, ever defeated by his powers of persuasion, sighed, "Deal."

In the end, the extent of that information was a grand total off...nothing. Despite it being a regular spot for him, Ray Sutton had not been sighted at any of his usual haunts for months. Which was just great for them...not.

Since Elijah didn't see any pressing rush for them to depart after this, -he told her how he'd found a witch to put an extra-impenetrable cloaking spell on him just in case Klaus tried to pull another stunt like he did in Sylvia- they stayed for another day after that one, the vampire even going so far as to let her use him as a cuddly pillow when the worst of her cramps hit her, which she appreciate a lot. She'd always been extra careful to not get to near Stefan when she was on her period, lest the blood set him off, but with Elijah, Elena didn't have to deal with such problems. And he made her numerous cups of tea, and made sure she was eating properly, and let her watch whatever she wanted on TV. All in all, he was too good to be true.

At the back of her mind, she kept waiting for it all to fall apart. They'd fight about something, or he'd decide to go off and hunt Klaus down on his own. But it never did, and that was almost harder for her to deal with than her imaginings coming true. Because, the more time she spent around him, the more times he made her laugh or just sat with her on the couch and told her stories of his adventures or teased her as she tried to cook dinner for them, she found it harder and harder to keep her emotions in check. With every moment, every glance, Elena was finding it harder and harder not to fall for him.

And that was the scariest thing in the whole entire world.


Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the wait, my internet's playing up so my posting may be haphazard for a while. So, Caroline and Jeremy friendship! Who's here for it? Surprisingly, me, since I never would have thought of writing them together, put I think they worked really well in this chapter. Did you think so? Let me know.

By the way, before anyone mentions it, I wrote Elena on her period because a) She's human and b) because I wanted to make this fuc as real as possible. And to give me another excuse for Elijah to take care of her, of course.

Until next time!

All my love, Temperance Cain.