Matt looked at Mary and shrugged. "She's doing better now. I think we should go. Meredith you take your car and I'll take mine. Come on Mary." Matt and Mary went to his truck and hopped in. Fastening his belt he started the truck up and pulled out of the driveway. Instead of going to the cemetery he decided to chance going to the well first. He wasn't surprised to see Caroline's car parked a little ways away from the house. Pulling behind it he shut the truck off and got out. Quietly he made his way to the well and saw not only Caroline there but Elena, Bonnie, Damon and... "Oh shit.. Katherine.. Why did we have to be right?" he cursed softly coming up behind the three girls. He saw Bonnie holding a torch towards Katherine and Damon. 'What the hell are you planning Bon.' He thought curiously. Nodding to Caroline he saw that Elena was interested in what Bonnie was doing also.

"Okay, Matt...We can do that...right, Alaric??" Meredith turned around to look at Alaric again. *He really is cute.*

Walking over to her car, she got into the passenger side and let Alaric drive.

When they got to the well, she was startled to find Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, Damon, and...Katherine?? *Wow, she's looks a lot like Elena. I hope that Stefan doesn't see Katherine when he looks at her.*

Suddenly, her head starts to pound. She stumbled and fell to her knees. *Damn.*

For the first time in her life, Meredith passed out.

Alaric dropped to the ground beside Meredith and stopped her head from hitting the ground. "Meredith! Meredith wake up. Damn it", he lay her head gently on the ground and smacked her gently on her cheeks. Alaric opened her eyes to take a look at them and saw that they were rolled to the back of her head. She was out cold. Not knowing what to do, he put his jacket on her and stroked the side of her face. He looked up to where Matt and the others were and then back to Meredith. "I won't leave your side Mer. Not for a second."

Damon felt a little angry with himself for not being able to overpower the small girl. Hell, he was bigger after all, and he fed off of humans just as much as she did. The only thing he figured could explain it was that he usually fed off of women, and most of the time left them alive. Katherine probably fed off of the stronger men of the species and no doubt drained the life out of them every single time. But then he remembered the dead girl lying in the crypt. 'Damn it', he thought, trying to get the axe from Katherine. 'This bitch is really pissing me off'. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bonnie get the torch and aim the flame towards Katherine's dress. 'Good girl, Bonnie, but if you get me with that thing I'll kill you myself.'

He debated whirling Katherine around and just shoving her axe and all towards Bonnie, but decided that wouldn't be the best plan. If Bonnie missed, Katherine would surely behead her. Instead, as they continued their little tug of war, he maneuvered them so Katherine's back was more or less to Bonnie. Then, with a sudden burst of strength, Damon twisted the axe, Katherine's hands twisting at an odd angle. Whether or not it was enough to make her let go, well, Damon just hoped it was...

Caroline nodded when she saw matt. She then kept her eyes locked on the scary scene unraveling between Damon, Katherine, and Bonnie. Bonnie was like a squirrel darting around with the torch attempting to set Katherine on fire. Damon wielded that axe. Everyone was at kind of a frustrating stand off. Caroline knew someone wasn't make it out of this alive. Hopefully the little blonde wench would be the one to go. She smirked at Katherine and cracked her knuckles at her sides.
Elena nodded at Bonnie, the only way she had of responding to her friend. She just hoped that she'd be quick enough and that this plan would actually work. Something about Bonnie poking Katherine with a burning torch just wasn't settling right... maybe because she was scared of what was going to happen if it worked but Katherine still had a chance to retaliate.

Without any way to actually respond verbally, Elena looked at Bonnie intently, hoping that she would realize that, by the worried expression in her blue eyes, that she was telling her to be careful.

Stefan listened to what was going on above him. He could partly see Elena and Bonnie from where he was. 'I swear to God Katherine, if you so much as lay a finger on them. I will kill you', he thought to himself. He continued to stay still and wait for the perfect moment to make his entrance. Just then he felt another presence approach. 'Damn it Matt. I told you to stay put. Does everyone here have a death wish?'
Stefan knew that all of them put together were no match for Katherine. Not even he and Damon at their best were any match for what she had become over the years. 'They're all going to get themselves killed'.
He looked towards the ground and then back up to where he could see Elena, Bonnie and now Matt. Watching them, he thought back to what he had said earlier, "This is my fight and has been for a very long time. I WILL finish what I started this time."

Looking for a good place to position himself above ground, he swiftly hoisted himself up and stood on the other side of Katherine nearest Damon, who at the moment was engaged in wrestling match with her.
He watched them silently, waiting for Katherine to notice his presence. 'It's me you want isn't it, Katherine? Well, here I am', he said to her mentally.

Katherine felt the heat from the flames and Damon caught her off guard by whirling her around. "Oh! DAMMIT!" She reacted in time to kick the torch away and elbow Damon in the stomach. "Let go, please. I don't want to get ahead of schedule and have to kill you now."
She heard Stefan's mental message *Oh, really...and what makes you think I'm specifically after you?*

She laughed out loud. "Damon, do you really need all of these humans to back you up? Why, even your little brother is here. tsk tsk tsk...Can't you handle me? Oh who am I fooling? You could never handle me, human or otherwise!" She smirked at this. Damn, she loved pissing him off through his ego.

Bonnie watched as the torch sailed out of her hands, she scrambled for it falling to her knees but got it back before it went out.
'Oh how I would love to burn that smirk off her face.' Bonnie thought darkly as she clutched the torch standing up. She glanced at Stefan who was behind Damon a little ways and then looked at Damon. "We 'humans' are here because we want to be, not because they asked us to but then again you would never know about real friendship would you Katherine? All you ever think of is you and how to please yourself. You don't know what it's like to fell compassion for other people. You will never know what it's like to be appreciated by someone other than yourself and..."
She trailed off looking from Elena to Stefan, then finally her gaze falling to Damon. "You will never know what it's like to really love someone with all of your heart, no questions asked and them love you back. You don't scare us, we've went against you and your little 'parlor tricks' before and there isn't any big bad Klaus to help you." She didn't know what had persuaded her to give this little speech but it had given her the courage to stand up to the vampire girl.
Meredith opened her eyes and noticed Alaric leaning over her. "I won't leave your side, Mer. Not for a second."

"Well, I didn't really expect you to, Alaric. But the others need your help."

Standing up, she noticed that Alaric kept leaning over. "What are you doing?" That's when she saw her body. "Jesus!!! Did I die?? I'm dead, aren't I?? I'm the same thing Elena was before she is whatever it is she is now." Clutching her head, she wondered, "If I'm dead, why does my head still hurt??" A thought came to her, and judging by the look on her pretty face, it wasn't a good one. "I'm in hell, aren't I?

This is my punishment...to go through life --death? -- watching my friends fight, possibly die, and I can't talk to them, I can't touch them...and I have to do it all with a headache!! This isn't fair!!"
She looked at Bonnie jabbing the torch at Katherine. *Since she's kinda supernatural, I wonder if I can communicate with her.*

"For your information," Damon started after Bonnie had finished her little speech, "I didn't ask any of them to come. I don't need anyone." He felt a sharp stinging sensation in his side, and knew that Katherine had cracked his rib when she elbowed him.

He could feel the bones re-aligning themselves and pain shot through his body as they mended themselves back together. "Unlike you." He taunted her, "You're nothing Katherine. With out someone to bring you back you'd still be burning in hell." He jerked the axe from Katherine's hands, and swung it up over his shoulder.

"You have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this." He hissed at her through clenched teeth. He swung the axe at her with all the strength he could muster. If he was on target, the axe would strike her in the midsection.

Katherine was in mid giggled when the ax hit her stomach. She fell to her knees, and dark reddish black blood poured across the ground, rushing quickly towards Damon's feet. The ax had sliced through a couple of major organs, and Katherine felt waves of darkness pass over her.

"Sneaky little bastard," she said shakily. "I can't believe I let you catch me like that." Then the darkness overtook her and she felt no more.

Damon felt his eyes widen involuntarily as Katherine fell to the ground in front of him. 'Damn, thought for sure she would move...' He stepped back away from the blood running towards his feet. He let the axe fall to his side and held it there only for a second before the muscles in his arm relaxed and dropped it, blood stained end first, to the ground.

"Well then," He sighed, "Now what do we do with her?" It was one thing for Elena to kill Katherine last year; she had tried to kill her friends. But Damon felt something strange as he looked down at Katherine's body. He felt sure that she was alive, and there was no way he was getting close enough to check. The feeling, what was it, guilt? Damon quickly suppressed the thought. He was not going to fell sorry for the deranged psycho. Hell no...

Bonnie stepped to Damon's side and looked down at Katherine. "Wow, you really sliced her." She said as she looked back up at him.

Stefan watched in awe as Damon had swung the axe at Katherine. He was surprised that he had actually caught her off guard and was able to hit her. He watched as she fell to the ground; blood pooling beneath her.
Shrugging Bonnie glanced at the group then back to Katherine. "I say we chain her up in the crypt like she did you, Stefan, Elena." the last she added with a shudder, "and that girl." I was only right and they couldn't go to the police about it, plus knowing Alaric he probably had some questions to ask her like, How'd you come back? Reaching down she picked up the bloody axe and tossed it away from Katherine's reach, just in case.

Matt had watched everything go down with wide-eyed interest. Bonnie's little speech had been a brave move for her and Damon swinging the axe had been poetry in motion. When Bonnie asked if they should chain the girl up in the crypt he nodded in agreement. Even though he believed they should take the advantage of her being out they couldn't kill her yet, there was too much to be known.

Elena watched as Damon swung the axe at Katherine's midsection, the movement seemingly happening in slow motion. She was so certain that Katherine was going to move out of the way that she almost saw it happen and couldn't help but gasp softly when she realized that Katherine *hadn't* moved.

Watching Katherine's fallen body closely -- she wondered if everyone else was as paranoid as she was that vampire was going to leap up -- Elena took a step closer, half listening to Bonnie's suggestion.

"That doesn't make us any better than her," Elena said quietly, not quite sure when her vindictive streak that had lasted throughout high school in competition with Caroline had waned, but the idea of chaining Katherine up in they crypt made her sick to her stomach.

Damon reached out with his foot and nudged Katherine's limp body. She didn't stir. "We better decided what to do with her soon. I don't know how long it will take her body to heal that, but it eventually will." Dumb stupid girl, he thought. He noticed the torch again, and the urge to take it and set fire to the edge of her dress made his hand itch.

"We could just take the ring off of her necklace..." He couldn't see it now, she must have landed on it, but he had seen it around her neck earlier. "Let her fry again."

"Good idea." Caroline marched over and moved Damon out of the way. She got sick of everyone procrastinating. She kicked up Katherine's shoulder. Saw the necklace...and snatched it in one swift move she stepped back and held the blue stone up. It seemed so funny...that this rock meant life or death to these vampires.

"Now, if she survives she'll be at the mercy of the elements and us." She tucked the necklace into her jeans pocket and shook her head at the pathetic form on the ground. "I'm going, the stench of this place is killing me." She turned and began marching back to her car. Their faces must be priceless she thought.

Bonnie stared in amazement as Caroline robbed Katherine of her only chance against the sun then walked off. 'Damn. Get her girl.' Bonnie thought closing her mouth which had dropped open the moment Caroline had snapped the necklace off. "I still say we chain her up in the crypt, near a nice lil patch of sunlight. Maybe the threat of frying again will loosen her tongue and she'll tell us about where she's been, what she's been up to and why she's here." She looked at Stefan and Damon questioningly and wondered if they should take her to the crypt before the sun rose.

Matt stared at Caroline's retreating form and jogged to catch up with her. "That's was ballsy I must say, even for you." Touching her shoulder to stop her he gave her a look of concern. "Are you ok?" Caroline had said that the stench had bothered her and he wondered exactly how strong her senses were now.

Stefan nodded in agreement and then watched as Caroline approached and swiped the necklace from her neck. Stefan knelt next to Katherine's body; he didn't feel any remorse for the girl. Not any more. He had loved her once, but he no longer had feelings for the thing she had become over the years. Slowly, Stefan put a hand behind her head and under her knees and lifted Katherine up. "Let's go", he said turning to Damon and heading back toward the opening to the corridor that led to the crypt.

Alaric continued to kneel next to Meredith and watched as the others fought with Katherine. His jaw dropped as Damon had hit her with the axe. "They won", he said out loud. He turned to Meredith who was still unconscious, "Mer, I think things are going to be okay. Oh, please wake up Mer."

Alaric felt her hands and noticed they were ice cold. He lifted her up and lay her down in the backseat of her car. He walked over to where the others were and approached Bonnie and Matt. "Meredith is out cold. I don't know what happened, she just passed out shortly after we arrived. Should I take her to the hospital?" he asked the two of them hoping they could make a more rational decision than he could at the moment.

Caroline stopped and felt matt's hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked at him. Her eyes grew sad. She feared his reaction. But she fear more for how he was gonna feel. Suddenly his lifelong friends are all going all spooky on him. Vampires, psychics, ghosts, back-from-the-deaders, wolves.

"Oh god Matt. I'm not exactly ok but there's nothing that can be done for me but continue on and make the best of my situation. And I have to be and stay strong." She looked back at Katherine. "Katherine lying there...she smelled like food. I didn't want her blood per se but her. Like an animal." She then swung her eyes and focused on Meredith. She hadn't even seen her before. She was too focused on the ensuing battle. She touched Matt's hand and ran over to her and Alaric. She fell beside Meredith. She looked like death's buddy right now. And she remembered Tyler's attack recently.

"Alaric, you listen to me, you watch her. We all have too. She's doing the passing out thing I did too. She took a bad blow from Tyler and it doesn't take much to turn her." She felt her arms. "She's icy. Take her home and put her into a hot bath, and make sure you keep note of anything she says regarding smell, hearing, sight...ok?"

She smiled and kissed Meredith's forehead. "Take care and sleep." She got up again and started back to her car again. She looked at the sky. The sun would be up any time now. She passed by the Smallwood monument again and she looked at it. Home. She needed to go home and get into bed. Her father's wall safe would be a great place for Katherine's necklace.

Caroline got into her car and started the engine. She didn't stop to see how the gang would be handling Meredith. Hopefully they'll just take her home. But knowing them. They won't. If she didn't get better, they might take Meredith to the ER. But really knowing them, they wont. They will all go back to Stefan's like that's the only home on earth. Caroline started driving home. When she pulled up to her house, she saw the lights on. Crap! And the Smallwood's new Mercedes. What the?? She pulled up the car and got out. She let herself into the house and sure enough in the formal living room sat her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Smallwood. They had cups of coffee in their hands. They couldn't have found out already....she just found out! And why wasn't Tyler dragged here. He was just as responsible.

Her mother grinned "Come in Carrie, sit" her mother called her Carrie that was rare and awfully conspicuous. She sat down and then it started.......

"Okay, I won't go just yet. Just tell me when your strength starts ebbing away, okay?? I don't want you to fall into a coma or a stupor or something. I don't know what happened to me. It might have happened when I hit my head on the door. Or when I fell down the stairs." Mer's pretty face clouded up for a minute. "Actually, it all seems to have happened with the appearance of Katherine...and Alaric. Oh, Bon, I'm so confused."

"Yeah, I know. It's actually kinda funny if you think about it. Except, I'm trying not to, so it's not really funny. Hmm…" Thinking hard, Meredith looked at Damon, who was currently calling Bonnie's name, and wondered if he would be able to help her any. "Bonnie, do you think this would work with anyone else?? Like Damon or Stefan?? Except, I don't trust Damon as far as I can throw him...and right now, I can't throw anyone!!! Bonnie, what did Scully and Mulder do to solve the outer body crimes?? Maybe we could do something like that!"

"Boarding house?? Safe? Katherine can go in there, can't she?? And we can't go to Elena's house. Maybe yours or mine. Matt's even. Yours might be better though. What with Mary being there and all. Is she okay?? Matt seemed kind of protective of her earlier. I'm going to go back to my body now. You can do whatever it is you want. I'm getting kinda drained."

'Damnit!! What am I supposed to do??' Meredith released Bonnie from her "spell" and gave her time to relay the messages. Walking back to the car where Alaric had left her, she wondered if she should see what was up with Caroline...or make sure Katherine didn't do anything.
'Hmm, Let me find out where they are taking me, and then I'll go visit Caroline. I don't feel the least bit tired...at least not in the sense of needing to go to sleep, anyway. I should go do something productive while I'm like this.'

Meredith continued to walk around. When Caroline grabbed Katherine's necklace, she let out a nervous giggle, hoping against hope that Katherine was truly gone, that she wouldn't jerk awake and tear out Caro's throat. "Oh, be careful, Caroline!"

She felt Alaric pick up her body, 'It feels so weird referring to it as "my body,"I should be in that body.' Watching him put her in the backseat; she felt a tug of remorse. 'What if I never get to touch him again?? What if I never get to talk to him and have him hear me? What if I stay like this forever!!!'

Walking over to Bonnie and Matt with Alaric, she heard him say, "Meredith is out cold. I don't know what happened, she just passed out shortly after we arrived. Should I take her to the hospital?"
'Would the hospital be able to do anything for me??' Suddenly getting an idea, she wondered if it would work. She found herself wondering if Bonnie could still get "taken over." Have someone else inside her body. "Well, Mer, only one way to find out."

She touched Bonnie's head with her hand and said, "Bonnie, it's me, Meredith. Can you hear me??"

Bonnie felt a chill as something came near. It wasn't dark and evil but familiar. Suddenly she paled and her eyes went blank.

She heard Meredith's voice in her head. 'Oh god Mer.. How am I hearing you, your not dead please tell me your just passed out.' A wave of sadness passed over Bonnie but her exterior remained the same. Her face showing nothing as her eyes remained to stare out into nothingness.

From where Matt stood he saw the life drain out of Bonnie's face. "Hey guys, something's happening to Bonnie." He told the group walking toward the redheaded girl, as her eyes grew wide and blank.

"Bonnie, I don't think I'm dead. But I'm having a little trouble figuring out what the hell happened to me." Heaving a frustrated sigh, she continued, "Would you please tell Alaric to not take me to the hospital?? I'd rather just go somewhere I know it's safe."
Realizing she was talking to Bonnie, Meredith gave a nervous, but elated, giggle. "Wow, Bons, I never thought I'd be the reason you'd do this again. I'm sorry. Maybe I should just go. Figure out what's going on."

Mentally Bonnie gasped, *No Mer don't go.. if you go I won't know where to find you. What happened to you anyways? I was a bit busy swinging a flaming torch at that undead girl.* Merdith's presence was stronger now as Bonnie tried to keep the connection. 'It's a wonder I haven't passed out yet.' Bonnie thought to herself and wished she could smile. She couldn't really see anything; everyone seemed shadowed except for the little light that was Meredith's presence. She remembered vaguely of Stefan carrying Katherine's body away and she wondered what everyone else was doing. She couldn't hear anyone else's voice except for Meredith's and even that one wasn't that strong.

She really wished she didn't have to trance to have a connection with a spirit and Bonnie figured that's what Meredith was at the moment. *Hey Mer.. You're having one of those outer body experiences you see on The X-Files and stuff.* She heard her own giggle in her mind and mentally winced at how stupid it sounded. 'Gotta change that girlish giggle.' She sighed and made a mental note to herself. *So do you want us to take you back to the boarding house? It seems like the safest place right now.*

Damon watched Stefan start to carry Katherine off, and like Matt, saw the change come over Bonnie. He stepped closer to her, but she didn't flinch. "Bonnie?" He asked.

Katherine felt herself being lifted. She was fading in and out of
consciousness and she couldn't remember why her stomach hurt so much.
She could smell something...a person? No, a vampire. Very close to
her. She couldn't even bring herself to open her eyes. She lost
consciousness again and was left to the blackness.

Stefan jumped down the opening to the corridor and landed with great
ease, still carrying Katherine in his arms. He headed down towards
the crypt and lay her down next to the open gate. On his right was
the girl's dead body. It was starting to rot and the smell of it
almost made Stefan gag. 'God, I should be used to the smell of death
by now', he thought to himself.

Stefan looked around him. In the far corner he saw remnants of the
rope that had been used to tie Damon, Elena and himself here once. He
grabbed the longest piece and proceeded to bind Katherine's hands as
tightly as he could. He then tied the end of the rope to the gate, as it was the only solid thing he could find to tie her to. Even though
it was open; if she moved, it would only move with her.

He stepped back and watched Katherine with her head slumped down to
her chest. Without being able to see her face, she reminded him of
how Elena looked six months ago tied to this gate. 'Now, the tables
have turned haven't they my dear', he thought.

He knelt down to assess her wounds. They were pretty deep. Stefan
could see that a few of her organs had been severed. She was in bad condition but Stefan knew that she was strong and her wounds probably weren't bad enough to kill her, only weaken her.

Stefan looked behind Katherine, toward the corridor and wondered
where everyone was.

Bonnie heard Damon faintly as he called her name and realized Meredith was going away. The glimmer of white that was Meredith was fading away as Bonnie's eyes began to focus. She saw Matt, Alaric and Damon nearby, Elena was off to the side where she saw her last and Stefan and Caroline weren't there. "Alaric.." her voice was kind of soft but she could hear herself so she figured everyone else could. "Meredith doesn't want to go to the doctor, she wants you to take her home where it'll be safe for her." Suddenly she felt very dizzy, the little conversation had drained her more than she thought and the ground seemed to move a little bit. Before she knew what was happening the ground was rushing up to meet her.

Alaric quickly moved in to catch Bonnie as she fell. "My God, is
everyone losing consciousness around here", he said as he lowered her
to the ground. He looked up towards Matt and then to Damon. "We have
to get her and Meredith somewhere they can rest safely. Where is the
safest place to take them?" He kept his eyes on Damon knowing he;
among all of them, would know the safest places to go from the
dangers of vampires and the like.

'Oh, Bonnie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to drain you that much.' Reaching out to catch her before she fell, Meredith shuddered when Bonnie went right through her arms...but thankfully Alaric had caught her. 'It was almost like I wasn't here. What the hell is happening to me!!!' 'Okay, so Alaric trusts Damon. Is this a good thing?' Meredith proceeds to wander around, wondering where her body and Bonnie will end up.

Elena watched as Stefan retreated carrying Katherine to the crypt. She couldn't help the feeling of nausea that rose in her stomach. She had thought that she would be happier with the idea of Katherine receiving payback for her actions, but the thought of it only made Elena sick and brought back vivid memories of being tied down in the crypt along with Stefan and Damon.

*Walk away,* she thought; already taking a step back away from the group that remained. *They won't listen if you try to tell them how you feel about it anyway... Times have changed.* The last was thought with a sort of mental irony, and Elena's lip quirked up as though she found in faintly humorous, even though there was nothing funny about the situation.

Without saying a word to announce her leaving, she walked off, heading for home -- having the desire to see her family, even if she couldn't announce her arrival to them.

Damon started to move forward to yank Bonnie out of Alaric's grasp, but stopped himself before he moved. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Elena turn around and leave the group. Something wasn't right with her. Damon would have though she would have been ecstatic to see Katherine fry. He threw one last look over towards Bonnie and Alaric, then followed Elena.

He could tell that she wasn't in the mood for company, but he was going to make sure nothing happened to her on her way to wherever she was going. Well nothing that he didn't do...

Bonnie opened her eyes and looked up into Alaric's eyes. Her head was still a little fuzzy but other than that she felt ok. Standing up she looked past him and Matt and saw Damon following Elena. Part of her wanted him there with her and the other approved of him following her. 'He's probably looking out for her.' She tried to use her powers again but only a little. *Watch out for her for me... I'm going home.* Looking back at Matt and Alaric she gave them a small smile. "I'm fine guys, really. Just felt dizzy there for a moment. I think we need to take Meredith home, that's where she wants to go, but I want to go home." Taking her keys out of her pocket she tossed them to Mary. "Home James." she said with a wry smile and walked to the Cherokee. Tossing a look over her shoulder she gave Matt a reassuring smile. "You can come if you want." She knew that Matt would want something to do; he would want to feel useful in some way.

Matt followed the sisters to the car, hopped into his truck and followed the sisters as they drove home. He was sure that Alaric could take care of Meredith; after all he was 'with' her. Stopping the truck behind them he got out quickly and helped Bonnie as she stepped out of the car. "You ok?" When all she did was nod he led her to the door and into the quiet house. He heard Mary toss the keys on to the table near the phone then released Bonnie as she sat on the stairs.

Elena wouldn't have had a clue that Damon was following her if it hadn't been for her luck of glancing over her shoulder at some point during her walk. She didn't acknowledge him though, leaving it up to him to announce his presence if he wanted to be seen.

And after all that had happened, Damon's presence following her didn't make her nervous. Elena didn't know whether that was good or bad.

She reached her house after about ten minutes, staying in the shadows created by the houses and trees on the street. It wouldn't do to be seen. Elena looked up towards the window that she knew was Margaret's, feeling a faint tug in her chest. She couldn't help but feel that the only option she had was to leave; appearing suddenly alive to her family didn't seem even remotely possible.

After realizing where her body was going, Meredith followed Damon and Elena. She walked behind them and gasped in shock when they stopped in front of Elena's house. Watching Elena watch Margaret's room, she wondered what Elena was thinking. 'Maybe I could try to talk to her. I'll see if it works now, and if not, I'll see if I can do it when she falls asleep. Afterwards, I'll go to Caroline's house, make sure she's okay. And then I'll go sit with Katherine. See if she says anything when she wakes up and no one's there.' Meredith walked over to Elena and reached out and touched her head. "Elena, can you hear me?"

Alaric looked at Bonnie, stunned and then watched as she left with
Mary. 'How did she know that Meredith wanted to go home. Meredith has
been out cold the whole time', he thought to himself. He went back to
Meredith's car and checked her pulse, just in case. It was faint but there. He got into the driver's seat and headed back to her house.
Parking the car, he picked her up from the back seat.

Unlocking the door with her keys, he walked upstairs with her and laid
her on her bed. Luckily her parents still weren't home, they might
have had something to say about this.

Alaric pulled up a chair and sat beside her, stroking the back of her
hand. "Please Meredith. Please come back to me", he said softly to
her.

He closed his eyes and thought about everything that happened. God,
it happened so fast he wasn't even sure what had transpired. When he
arrived everyone had been crowded around Katherine and then Meredith
passed out. Katherine was cut in half by Damon and then Bonnie had
one of her "episodes" and then everyone had left.

Alaric stopped suddenly realizing something. Stefan was still with
Katherine. Who, more than likely, was not completely dead. "My God,
we just left him there on his own with that...thing".

Alaric picked up the phone and dialed Bonnie's number, hoping Matt
was there.

~*~*~*~

Stefan headed down the corridor again to see where everyone was.
He peeked out of the opening and saw that the place was empty. 'Hmmm'
He walked back to where Katherine was and sat down on the ground
across from her.

"Well, Katherine it looks like it really is just you and I now." he
said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Stefan watched her and
wondered what he would do if she woke up. Would he be able to kill
her? Could he torture her, as everyone would have him do? He knew she
had to die, but he wasn't sure if it were in him to be brutal about
it. Then, he remembered she had been the reason he had lost Elena six
months ago. If Elena hadn't returned from the dead, would he even
been thinking about this? He knew the answer, and turned his gaze to
the corpse on his right. "You didn't give any thought about killing
her did you Katherine?" he said, hoping Katherine could hear him.

Back at the McCullough's, Mary went to the kitchen and started boiling water in a teakettle. She was glad the sachets had worked, but something still seemed wrong. She had not interfered, because this wasn't her fight as of yet. And still, it was far too easy. It was uncanny how much Katherine favored Elena. 'That would explain part
of the visions. The eyes, though. Where do the eyes come in?'

The whistling kettle brought her back to her senses. She filled a mug
and sprinkled some herbs in the hot water. Almost instantly the water
turned a honey color. A tart aroma filled her nostrils as she sniffed
the tea.

She kicked off her shoes next to the kitchen door and headed to the
stairs where Bonnie's still sat on the bottom steps. She handed the
steaming mug to her sister with a half smile, "Here Bon, it'll help you sleep. You need to rest."

Bonnie took the cup of tea her sister offered and sniffed it. It smelled pretty good and when her sister told her it would help her sleep her thoughts kept warring in her mind. To sleep was to dream and she wasn't sure she wanted to dream. Things in the real world were bad enough. She figured she'd sip it a bit but not drink the whole thing. Maybe it would just let her relax. Giving both Mary and Matt a small smile she stood up, mug in hand. "I'm going up to my room ok. I'll see you both in a couple of hours. Feel free to crash on the couch if you want Matt." Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper but her eyes had her usual spark of life.

She made her way up stairs to her room and locked herself in there. She was comforted in the fact that Katherine was probably tied up in the crypt by now. She thought back on her encounter with Meredith's spirit. 'I really hope she finds a way back into her body.' She thought softly and decided to look into her book of spells that Mary had given her. Sitting on the window seat she opened the book, took one sip of the tea and set it aside. Flipping the pages her eyes scanned the contents of the leather bound book.

Back in the downstairs part of the McCullough house Matt and Mary stood looking up at the stairs. With a little shake of his head Matt turned, walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch. Glancing out the window he saw the sunrise just on the horizon. "If you don't mind Mary I'm going to catch some z's on the couch." He knew that the older sister, just like Bonnie, didn't mind and after relieving himself of his shoes he stretched out on the couch.

Bonnie looked up from her book as the phone rang beside the bed. Dropping the book on the window seat she ran for the phone. Sitting on the bed she picked it up and listened as it automatically clicked on.
"Hello." her voice was kind of soft and distant but clear enough to hear.

Down stairs Matt shifted as he heard the phone ring then snuggled back into the cushions as the annoying ringing stopped. In the back of his mind he wondered who was calling at this hour. Mentally shrugging the
thought away he drifted deeper into sleep.

~*~*~*~

Back at the Crypt

Katherine's eyes fluttered open and she smiled slightly at Stefan. "No, not really." Her stomach was starting to mend itself, and it was just really sore now. "You should know by now, Stefan, that it's survival of the fittest. She was just a meal, just a human. Why would I want to give her a second thought?"

She tried to pull herself up straighter, but due to the bindings, she
was only able to pull herself up about three inches. "Stefan, why do you deny your own nature? You would actually give a human a second thought? It doesn't make sense. We are the predators they are the prey. That's how it's always been. You could be so powerful Stefan, if you would just take what is rightfully yours!"

She was getting dizzy again, but curiosity was keeping her awake. "I've always wondered why. Please tell me."

Stefan stood up and moved closer to Katherine, kneeling a few feet
from her face. "And what; pray tell, is it that is rightfully mine?
What right do I have to take the life of another? It may be my nature
to feed off of humans, but it doesn't have to mean killing them", he
turned and walked away from her. "It doesn't have to mean becoming a
monster like you."

Stefan turned again to face her and saw that her flesh was quickly
weaving itself back together again. "What did you come back for
Katherine? Is your hatred for Damon and I so great that even you
cannot rest in peace?" he said. "Who or what would bring a pitiful
soul like yours back from the dead?" He made sure not to mention
Elena's name, so as to keep the focus on himself and Damon. He knew
if Katherine were back to finish what she started, then Elena would
probably be in danger and he couldn't allow that again.

"I'm not a monster," Katherine said, tears forming in her eyes. "I
admit that I'm a little crazy. I came back because I was given the
opportunity to, and...uh...well," she let her voice trail off and she
looked at the ground. "I wanted to set things right. I'm a
different person. Yeah, traces of the old, hateful, revenge bent
Katherine are still there, but I wanna change. When I saw you all
again, I just lost it." She tried to wipe her eyes on her sleeve,
but the ropes kept that from happening. "Damon, you, Elena, those
other humans, had me at a disadvantage. You all could've killed me.
But you didn't. Instead you brought me down here. Why?"

She looked Stefan in the eyes, and allowed hers to become as sad and
pitiful as she could make them. Her shoulder was starting to cramp
and her sore stomach wasn't easing up either. It was almost totally
mended, but without fresh blood, it would continue to hurt like hell.

Stefan looked at Katherine intently, knowing that she was trying
to charm him into feeling sorry for her. "I don't think you want to
know why I brought you down here", he said to her with as little
sympathy in his voice as possible. "It's not as nice a reason as you
would like to think it is".

Stefan turned to stare down the corridor. 'I wonder where everyone
went?' he thought to himself. As much as he wanted to know, he knew
he couldn't leave Katherine unattended. Her wounds were almost
completely healed; he couldn't be sure just how strong she was at the
moment.

He turned back to Katherine and smiled, "Well Sweetheart, it looks
like it's gonna be just you and me for a while".