Warning: Use of language in this chapter.

They Say

Klaus had always considered himself a dutiful appreciator of artistic expression and integrity, be it a beautiful painting or a intricately constructed concerto or a good film...and it was the latter that was bugging him at that particular moment. Because in films, it takes the villain of the piece roughly five minutes to construct a sizeable offensive force, complete with a flowery monologue and a wardrobe change. But he, Klaus Mikaelson, the most powerful being on earth, had spent weeks and weeks to get to this point: driving throughout the lower Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with a petulant Ripper babysitting the wolf that would hopefully be bestowed the title of his First Hybrid.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Stefan wondered brazenly from the back seat, cringing as Ray's head bumped against his shoulder when Klaus took a frightfully sharp turn. "You don't really strike me as much of a nature guy, minus the whole wolf thing. Are you even using that GPS, or is it for purely decorative purposes?"

"Of course I know where I'm going Stefan," Klaus remarked, his sharp gaze cutting into Stefan in the rearview mirror. "I think you underestimate the level of experience one can garner after living for over millennium. You really shouldn't fuss so much."

"Yeah, well, how comfortable would you be if you were sharing a seat with someone you know could kill you if they yawn too widely, if you know what I mean."

Klaus let out a mocking gasp of indignation. "As if I'd ever let any harm come to my comrade in arms, a fellow Ripper who's been nothing but loyal...minus the occasional bit of lip. But that's okay; I don't like boring people."

Stefan arched a brow, leaning across the gap between seats. "Why, because you're boring enough for two, what with your relentless quest to make more hybrids for whatever reason you have yet to share with your 'comrade'?"

Always so inquisitive. Did his brooding never let up? No wonder Katerina had needed another brother to keep her entertained, she must have been bored to tears after five minutes, especially compared to all the fun she'd had with him.

"All in good time, my friend," was all he said in reply, for it wasn't quite time for him to hash out the details just yet. There next stop after this would be Chicago, and if everything went according to plan, Rebekah would soon be up and about, hopefully helping the old chap to cut loose a little. She was forever the encourager of bad behavior; Kol may have been the trickster, but Bekah was always the one that pushed him over the edge to enact his schemes, sitting back and watching the mayhem unfold whilst looking as innocent as a lamb.

It was one of her best traits, and most useful when one wanted to push buttons.

"You're really not that big on sharing, are you?" Stefan asked absently as he sat back and closed his eyes.

Without taking his own eyes off the road, Klaus reached over into the glove compartment and tossed him a bottle.

"Perhaps this will curb your unease," the Original muttered as he watched the young vampire drain the bottle of blood in one go. But that was okay, he'd come prepared.

He had no intention of leaving this place without an army of hybrids, just like him, with Stefan as his right hand man once again.

Just like old times.

As soon as Elijah stepped across the threshold of their hotel suite, he knew it was all over, that this was the end of his reprieve from the cruelties and obligations that came with being a Mikaelson, and a vampire, and a ruthless one at that. This was the end of easy dinners and easier smiles, of comfortable stories and comforting hugs, of living and breathing and thinking and feeling with her, for her. He just knew it.

And she didn't even have to say a single word: her body language said it all. The downcast turn of her chin, the way she was holding her phone like she either wanted to cradle it against her chest or smash it against the wall. How, when she finally looked at him, it was with such a disastrous mix of grief and anger and happiness and relief and guilt, guilt that she'd enjoyed this time away so much, with him, while Stefan was out there without anyone to turn to, anyone to trust, when she'd had all of those things in him all summer without her even having to ask.

"I have to go back."

"I know."

"I can't just tell Damon over the phone," Elena continued, resting her chin on her knees, her hair a shining curtain obscuring the torment playing across her face. "He needs to hear it from me."

"I know."

"God, I'm so sorry, and you went to all that crazy effort for my birthday and a part of me just wants to get under that blanket and curl up and forget everything I ever promised to do, that I could have five more minutes of normal with you, because I don't want this, but I have to and-"

"Elena, I know." He loosened his tie, cast of his jacket and slumped into the chair by her bed, all the fight, all the life seeming to drain out of him in a roaring rush. "I'm not going to stop you. I am never going to stop you from doing whatever it is that you've set your mind to, alright? Never. I'll drive you to Mystic Falls myself."

"Elijah-"

He held up a hand, tired of this dance, of the same steps, always going backwards. "Don't tell me I don't have to..."

"A week ago, I would have," she admitted, casting her phone onto the bed and rising so that she could perch on the rolled arm of his chair, peering down at him. He wished she wouldn't; it was so much harder to hide how he felt when she was this close, and now was not the time to lose control, to abandon this mask of affability he'd been meticulously erect this last week. "What I was going to say was...thank you. It's not enough, not nearly enough, but it's all I've got right now."

"I think it's fairly sufficient, Elena. Do you need any help packing?"

She shook her head, whirling a loose thread in her skirt around her finger. "No, I've got it covered. I've only got a few thing to put in my bag." Elena reached for his hand, and he knew she meant to reassure him, to try and comfort him as she always did, but he didn't want comfort, and there was nothing that could grant him any kind of relief from the utter heartbreak this moment was wreaking on him, suffocating every happy moment he'd had, every one caused by her. "Elijah..."

"I'll wait for you outside," he let her hand drop but did not let his tears fall, he only waited outside in the warm night air of the hotel parking lot after checking out their room, feeling the last of his humanity slip away as he watched their room key get swallows up in a desk drawer. He didn't even take her bag for her, didn't utter a single word as he got in her car and drove.

With every mile they came closer to Mystic Falls, Elena felt her heart beat faster, in both excitement and despair. Elijah was hurt; it didn't take a genius to see that. He was holding himself so still, like a statue, like a stoic pillar of glass that would shatter with the barest vibration. To be honest, she felt much the same.

Stefan had called. Stefan had called her. He was holding on. And she owed it to him to not give up, to not give in to this mounting attraction and forget everything Stefan had ever done for her, for her family and her friends. No matter what, Elena Gilbert was not a quitter, or a liar.

But why did she always have to break herself to do these things? Why couldn't she have her cake and eat it and keep the wrapper, too? Why couldn't she keep him? Because he wasn't hers to have. Because his family would always come first, and because he still believed in the redemption of the monster who had killed her aunt. Because he was a killer himself. Because...he was too good for her.

One way or another, Elena was sure that if Elijah stayed in her life, she'd only ever hurt him, or worse, ruin him, just by being what she was. What could she offer him, anyway? Apart from a handful of decades before died, and that was if she was lucky, or if her plan didn't work. That was too cruel, not after all he'd been through with Katherine. Who knew, maybe after this he'd realize he'd loved her ancestor all along, that he'd never really felt anything but a cordial warmth for her.

In the grand scheme of time, what was three weeks compared to five centuries? Nothing.

It had been a blip. An anomaly. A miscommunication, misinterpretation. It had been...

The best three weeks she could have ever asked for.

The trees turned, the roads became narrower, the grass greener and more noticeably tended to. And then she saw the 'Welcome To Mystic Falls' sign, and it was like a punch to the guy and a hand at her throat and a vice around her heart...she'd indulged in too many vices lately. The dark blue of two a.m streaked the sky, stars winking out above her, the same ones she'd stared up at all her life, and yet she drew no comfort from them.

Her house came into view, dark and quiet, pouring out a peaceful silence, unlike the one pounding through her veins.

Elijah killed the engine, and killed all her dreams with it.

Elijah didn't reach for her, so she couldn't breach the gulf between them.

Elijah didn't beseech her, so she gave him no grand speeches.

Elijah didn't love her, so she hid her love for him like she hid her scars and her guilt and her shame.

"It looks smaller than I remember it being," Elena remarked softly, but was rewarded with not even a flicker of anything from him.

Opening the door with arms that felt older than he was, Elena heaved her bags from the back seat, letting them settle on the driveway outside her house.

If she were brave, if she were bold, if she were fearless, she'd do something romantic and dramatic right now, but she didn't even know if she should shake his hand without it breaking this damn between them, if it was best if she just began to put one foot in front of the other without looking back...

Elijah saved her the trouble. He opened her car door, it's slam so loud in the stillness, ricocheting through her bones and ringing in her ears. He stood completely still, and at that moment he'd never looked scarier to her, not because he was a vampire, but because he looked too human for her to touch.

"How are you going to get back?" The thought had only just crossed her mind, yet it seemed monumentally important. That was her car, after all.

"I've already arranged for one of mine to pick me up. It'll be here within the quarter hour."

"Right. Solid plan. I won't keep you waiting, then."

"Elena..."

"Its okay, Elijah. No more words. You go your way, I go mine, and if there's a big enough catastrophe, we might end up somewhere in the middle. It's the way of the world: nothing lasts forever."

Elijah insisted, passion in every syllable, "Doesn't it, though? Are you really telling me that whatever we had, that's simply gone just because you've returned home? Don't take me for a fool, Elena, I know you better than that. Is this really what you wish? Do you really want me to walk away and never look back, never think of you again, never wish for another day or even just an hour where it felt like the world wasn't against us, and happiness was no longer a foreign concept of dreamers and optimists deluding themselves with fantasies?"

His hands were cupping her cheeks, his touch burning her, branding her, brandishing tears at her. "Will you really be happy if I go?"

No. No and no no and no and never and never. A neverending story of no's.

"No," Elena rasped, crying in earnest now. "But this was only ever going to end one way, Elijah. You and I have known it from the start."

"Do you really believe that?" he asked of her.

She did, and told him so.

"Very well, then. Before I take my leave, I have one last thing to give you. I've been holding onto it since before Niklaus daggered me, and it was about time I returned it."

Drawing out a small box from his jacket pocket, he handed it to her with gentle fingers. "Happy Birthday, Elena Gilbert. You will be missed."

Her vervain necklace greeted her with a silver smile, it's red stone a beating heart reminding her of every moment she'd loved Stefan, and been loved by him in return. Elijah knew that, and he gave it to her anyway.

She took his hand and kisses his palm. "As will you. All the time."

"Don't," Elijah chastised her. "I've got a bountiful supply of it, whereas you do not. Fill yours with better things, Elskede." He turned away into the night, had almost reached the bottom of her porch steps when she called out, "Elijah?"

He stopped.

"No matter what happens to me, promise that you'll never forget how good you are, alright? That no matter how hard things get, or how dark, who you are, the person you allowed me to see, is someone worth knowing, always and forever."

He smiled. "As are you, Elena. Always and forever."

Ric and Jeremy were sound asleep when she opened her front door for the first time in three weeks, curled up on the couch with a tub of ice cream squashed between them. Padding across the floor, she chucked the now-melted container in the bin before throwing a blanket over her sleeping family and kicking off her shoes before making the arduous trek up the stairs in dark, with her bags, and with a head of unshed tears.

Discarding her luggage by the door, Elena made her way to her bed with the aid of muscle memory, climbing under the covers that she was surprised to discover had been freshly laundered. She breathed in the smell of lily and jasmine as she cried herself to sleep.

Elena hadn't used a juicer in three weeks, but her freshly squeezed orange juice looked perfectly drinkable to her, as did her coffee, her pancakes, her bacon and her scrambled eggs. Food always had a tendency to disappear in the Gilbert House, and while her snoop through the fridge and the cupboards had revealed plenty, this was a special occasion, and she also wanted to see if she could drown her feelings in maple syrup.

When her brother and her stepfather both woke up on the couch, they blinked at her with twin confusion, likely thinking they were imagining things.

"I can assure you, I'm quite real. As if the food I just spent the last two hours cooking, so you better get in here before it all goes cold."

The pair did rush into the kitchen, but food was the last thing on their minds. Alaric wrapped her in a bear hug that swept her cleanly off the floor, while Jeremy clung to her back like a monkey on a banana tree.

"I should go more often, if this is the kind of welcome I'm going to get," Elena joked, hiding her teary face in Ric's rumpled shirt.

"No! Never!" Jeremy yelled. "You're never going anywhere ever again. Back me up on this, Ric?"

"Absolutely. We're gonna stay like this forever."

"Three heads are better than just the usual one, I suppose," Elena conceded sarcastically, "but oxygen is kinda becoming an issue. Plus, you know Jeremy couldn't rock at least half my wardrobe, and Ric would never be caught dead wearing anything with flowers on."

As they pulled away, Elena just stood there, looking at the two of them. Her family. Lost and a lot weary, but hers all the same.

"We missed you so much, Elena. It's been awful not having you around."

Elena made a big show of looking at the gleaming floors, swept counters and shiny windows. "I can see that."

"Damon's responsible for a lot of the cleanliness," Ric admitted with a dry chuckle. "He's been here all the time, making sure Jeremy got by okay."

The teenager on question rolled his eyes and snatched up a piece of bacon. "You make me sound like I'm a five year old who needs help going to the bathroom."

"I don't know, that strop you got into last week when Damon beat you at Halo was pretty five-years-oldy."

"Speaking of Damon..." Elena didn't even get to finish her sentence before Alaric was interrupting her.

"No. Bonding time is over, now it's time to give you hell for sneaking back in the middle of the night and making breakfast and expecting us to act like you haven't been gone. Wait, ate those banana pancakes? Did you make pancakes to bribe your psuedo-parent in the hopes he'd go easy on you?"

Elena admitted shamefully, "Maybe?"

The man grinned before putting his arm around her. "You really know how to charm your audience, don't you? Fine, you were saying something about Mystic Falls' resident drunk vampire..."

"I really need to talk to him. Stefan called me last night. It's why I came back, I thought he should hear it from me, then we can go from there."

"I don't get it, why is him calling you such a big deal?" Jeremy inquired confusedly. "Big enough to make you come home without doing what you'd set out to do?"

"Because it means he's holding on to his humanity, Jer. Which means he can still be saved, that he's still in there. After having to deal with the trail of bodies he's been leaving all summer, Damon deserves to have a little hope."

"Well, good luck with that," Alaric muttered bitterly, but of course she heard him loud and clear.

"What? Why?" she demanded. "What don't I know?"

"Stefan killed Andie last night, Elena."

"If it's Avon, I already have the best shade of lipstick. It's called, "Go The Hell Away," Number 42..." Damon answered the front door of the Boarding House with.

"I don't know, I have this really nice Rimmel one that would go great with your eyes," Elena quipped, a sympathetically warm smile on her face. "Do you want to do the hug in the front yard, or are you going to let me in? I don't think you'd want it to get out that Damon Salvatore's a hugger; imagine what it'd do for your rep."

Damon scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around. "Dear fucking God, I missed you so much."

"Oi, potty mouth, I've only been eighteen for a day, no need to get out the bad language just yet," Elena chided halfheartedly, her hardness undone by the brightness of her smile.

"The situation called for it. I can't believe it's really you. You're really here."

"I'm really here. But Damon..."

He rested his forehead on the curve of hee collarbone, breathing in the scent of her shampoo as he shook his head. "Nope. Let me have this, Elena. Just let me have this one, perfect moment before you spring whatever catastrophe that made you come back early on me. Please."

"Okay," she relented, running her fingers through his hair gently, him leaning into her touch like a cat in a sunbeam.

"Alright, minutes passed." He pulled away, bracing his hands on her shoulders. "What's up, unbirthday girl?"

"Stefan called me last night."

He tensed, unease rippling through him like a lake that's just been pelted with stones. "What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything, but I had Sheriff Forbes trace the call this morning, it came from Tennessee, so him and Klaus must still be there. Which means it must be important, given the fact that you don't exactly hang around in the same state you just committed three murders in."

"I see someone's been doing their homework," Damon joked, if only to keep from yelling at her.

"Well, I always have been good at school. I just thought...you deserved to know, to hear it from me, face to face, rather than some ten second phone call where I can't face the fallout."

"How considerate of you." The vampire pulled away entirely, crossing his arms over his chest; if he didn't, he couldn't trust himself to stay away from her.

Elena sighed heavily, piercing him with her disappointment. "Damon..."

"No, Elena, don't you dare 'Damon' me. You left. In the middle of the night, without telling me. You dropped off the face of the earth. Do you have any idea what you've put me through? Me, and Jeremy, and Ric and Caroline and Bonnie and Matt...hell, even the postman was wondering where you'd gone off to? And do you know what hurt the most? I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him a damn thing, because I didn't know. I had to lie, because you didn't trust me not to come after you."

"I do trust you, Damon. I do." She tried to reach for him, but he took a step back, putting the couch between them.

"Cut the crap," he barked savagely. "You didn't. Admit or so help me..."

"Fine. I didn't trust you not to come look for me, or to stop me from going in the first place. You happy now?"

"No, I'm not. That's the whole point: I've been miserable. I didn't have you or my brother to talk to, I had to go to Matt fricking Donovan when I needed to really vent, because I didn't want Ric to get involved and I knew he'd take your side, anyway. Women have been leaving me my whole life, and I've come to accept that I'm just not worth sticking around for. But you...God, Elena, I thought we cared about each other. You've forgiven me for every bad thing I have ever done, and I've never wanted to be good like I have for you. I told you I loved you and you held me as I was dying, and yet you pull this stunt. Why?"

Stepping towards him, the love of his eternal life gripped the top of the couch, squeezing the red fabric so hard her knuckles turned white. "Because as much as you hurt right now, and I hurt, Stefan is hurting more, and you've been surrounded by people who you know would be there for you when push came to shove. And who does he have? Klaus, the murderous Hybrid who killed Jenna, and me, that's who he has, and he's only been pushing him further and further over the edge. Someone had to do something, Damon. Someone had to make a move, and I decided that it would be me for a change."

"And I see you've done such a terrific job of bringing him back, haven't you?" Damon scoffed at her. "Andie is dead, Elena. Stefan killed her last night, and then five minutes later felt bad and called his girlfriend who he knew would make it all better. What did you say to him, huh? That you loved him, that he'd be okay? Well, he's not going to be, and you should stop acting like he can be saved, because he can't. Stefan isn't coming back, Elena. Not in your lifetime."

"I don't believe that," she tossed her head, "and neither do you, otherwise you wouldn't have been looking for him all summer."

"Who says I've been looking for him? Damon wondered with a blank expression. "Who says I haven't been here kicking it back and watching MTV? It's not like you've been around to check up on my comings and goings."

"Because I was at the scene of your last pyromaniac stunt, that's how. Good job making my life a million times harder by the way."

Damon was sure he was doing a great fish impression right about then. "That was you in that car? I thought it was one of Klaus' goons checking up on me."

"He has been," Elena told him guardedly. "You and me both, but mainly me."

Oh, no. No, no and no. "Does he..."

Elena shot him down before his brain could spiral any further. "No, I've been careful."

"How careful? Because you can say you've been careful and then nine months later you're picking up diapers from the grocery store. So, Elena, how careful were you?"

"Careful enough, alright?" the brunette argued defensively. "Stefan doesn't suspect a thing. He think it's you that's been on his tail like a hawk."

"How do you know that if you haven't talked to him?" he posed harshly.

"Because after the last...incident in Memphis, he left you a note on the victims phone, saying to stay away, to stop looking for him, to keep me safe."

"And what a bang up job I've done," Damon chuckled darkly before shifting into Serious Voice, "Klaus thinks you're six feet under, and if that changes-"

"It won't. How stupid do you think I am?" she asked as if she had a right to be morally offended.

"I don't know," Damon mused as he kicked back on the couch, put his boots up on the coffee table, and stretched his arms under his head, "given the inventory of all your decisions lately, I'd say the bar ain't looking too good for you."

"Stop acting as if I'm a little kid, like I can't handle myself. I can, and I did. Three weeks, and I did just fine."

"And look how quickly you came back. The slightest hint that Stefan was lurking, and you rush off home like a rabbit. Was life on the road getting too hard? Run out of people to put through hell with your martyring antics?"

She flinched. Elena flinched, and Damon had never hated himself more.

"Crap, I'm sorry." Running his hands through his hair, he let his feet drop to the floor as he ran a hand over his face, as of he could take back what he'd just said, wipe the slate clean. "I just...I'm angry, okay? Not at you, but at myself. If I hadn't gotten bit by Tyler Jockwood then-"

"You were only there because Caroline and him were in danger, Damon," she defended him as she sat beside him on the couch, resting a comforting touch on his forearm. "You were only there because you knew I'd never get over it if they died. What you did, you did for me."

"Hey, I happen to like Blondie when she isn't being a pain in my ass and chilling with guys with hair problems," he deflected, before saying quietly to her, "She didn't deserve to die, and neither did he."

"And neither did Jenna, or John, or even Jules, yet they did."

Yeah, he was not going to let her sit there feeling guilty, not when this was their first conversation after three weeks of not seeing each other, of fear and panic and worry. "You're worth any sacrifice, Elena. You have to know that. John chose to do what he did, none of us asked him or held a gun to his head, certainly not you. He wasn't there when you needed him, but he made the end count. He loved you, and he did what he had to do. How could he not? Anyone would do the same after knowing you."

"Why do you and Stefan do that?" The Gilbert pushed away from him, pacing frantically in front of the fireplace. "Why do you put me up on this pedastal that lets you justify everyone else getting hurt because of me, instead of me, for me? I'm just a girl, Damon. Apart from the fact that I look like your bitch of a sire, there's nothing all that special to me."

That wasn't true. Not for a second had he ever believed that to be true. And there was only one way to show her just how wrong she was. "What's my favorite colour?"

Elena stopped pacing, barking out a disinterested, "What?"

"Favourite colour, Elena."

"To wear or to look at?" she teased. "Because if we're talking wear, it's pretty obviously black..."

"To look at."

"Blue. Dark blue. Which you secretly hate, since it's also Stefan's favourite colour and you think to this day that he copied you to look cool."

"How many times has Stefan seen Bon Jovi live?" Damon continued interrogating her. "What was my favourite pet as a boy? "What book do I always keep in my bedside drawer?"

"Twelve, a turkey you called Sammy, which is completely adorable -although you never told me what happened to her- and The Call of The Wild," Elena listed off without hesitating before Damon was looming in front of her, ice-blue eyes burning her with their cold flame.

"That is why we put you up on a pedastal, Elena, why Stefan and I would give our last breaths for you and smile while doing it. Because, in the over a hundred and fifty years we've happened to live through, no one has cared like you have, certainly not for me, anyway. Stefan had Lexi, and I had someone once, but...it wasn't like how it is with me and you. You don't just see us as the monsters we were turned into, you're genuine and you're kind and you're good. Do you know how rare that is? How special? How important it is that there are people like you in this world, because you're what makes life worth living for the rest of us? You're my best friend, and Stefan's girlfriend, and, unlike Katherine, you took the time to notice who we are, fangs and all. You still love my brother, you're still fighting for him, even after you've spent all this time following the trail of carnage he's left behind. That takes strength, Elena. And guts, and heart. And those are things I certainly think are worth putting up on a pedastal, along with a picture of this handsome face."

She laughed, but it sounded more like a sob to him as she slumped back onto the couch beside him, staring up at the ceiling, but he somehow doubted she was all that interested in the crown moulding. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten angry; it's not why I came here. I came here to thank you, for keeping it together here, to thank you for everything you did for Jeremy, even though I'm still mad about you breaking your promise to him, by the way," Elena tagged on with a crooked smirk.

"I made it up to him, and I'll make it up to you," Damon promised her fervently, before offering a peace gesture. "I think there's some cake left over from your party last night -which was tragically teeny, if you were curious- do you want a slice?"

"Sure. I'm really sorry about Andie, Damon. She didn't deserve that."

"No, she didn't. And she didn't deserve a crappy fake boyfriend like me, either."

Elena turned his face towards her, so that he couldn't hide from her as she responded, "Fake or not, I don't think you would be a crappy boyfriend. You may have compelled her to start off with and to keep your secret under wraps, which was totally wrong of you, but I can't believe that she didn't feel something for you. You're pretty hard not to like."

"Maybe it's the eyes," Damon mused mock-philosophically. "Or the hair. I've been told I have great hair."

Her answer to that was a roll of her eyes and to punch him in the shoulder. "Has anyone ever told you you're an ass, and a narcissistic one at that?"

"You know, I'm getting this vague impression of maybe, but nothing clear springs to mind," Damon drawled cheekily as she swatted at him with a couch cushion before demanding, "Shut up and get me some sugar, Salvatore."

He smiled, because it was so good to have her here, to have her home. "As you wish, Princess."

"I need you to tell me everything you know about Stefan and Tennessee," Elena said by way of greeting after Alaric opened his front door to find her there with a hardened expression that he knew no amount of cajoling could dissolve. Great.

"Elena, you've been back for less than a day, and already you're looking for trouble? Isn't that a little unfair, especially on your brother?" Or me, he added wordlessly as she barged her way past him, hair flipping out behind her. Damn teenagers.

"Jeremy understands why I'm doing this, Ric. You should too. Come on, I know you've been helping Damon with the search all summer."

"Well, why don't you ask him then? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to tell you," he simpered as he poured himself yet another cup of coffee; it was that kind of conversation, one where caffeinated fortitude was a much-needed requirement if one wanted to emerge with their brain intact.

"Well, we may have had a slight...disagreement this morning," Elena admitted hesitantly, staring at the tops of her worn sneakers. "We patched it up and everything, but I don't want to rock the boat, and this would definitely tip it into nasty waters."

"He wouldn't approve, you mean, and for good reason: it's not safe for you. God knows how you managed to stay off Klaus' radar these past few weeks, but now is not the time to try and test that. Stefan's off the rails, Elena. He's dangerous. He could hurt you if you go near him, and Klaus definitely would, without a second thought." The mere idea of that hybrid going anywhere near her made his blood run cold. He'd never let her get within ten feet of the bastard, not as long as he was still breathing.

"But he's holding on, Ric. He's trying to reach out, which means there's still hope he can be saved."

He asked her bluntly, "And why do you have to be the one to save him?"

"Because I'm not the kind of person that checks out when things get tough, although I know you've certainly been considering it. It's why you're here, isn't it? Why there's a duffel bag with the shirt I saw you wearing this morning peeking out on the couch? Now that I'm back, you think I can handle all this. That since I'm eighteen I can do it alone, which is a load of bull, Ric. But at the end of the day, I can't tell you how to live your life. Stefan never give up on me, and you know it, so I'm not giving up on him, and if you don't tell me what I want to know then I'll find out myself, but I'd like to do it with your support. Please, Ric."

The History teacher loosed a long breath as he banged his coffee mug on the counter.

"They've been tracking werewolves-" he began before Elena interjected with, "I already worked that out, well, Elijah and I did but."

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Did you just say Elijah? As in, Elijah Mikaelson? As in the Original who betrayed us and saved his brother after he killed you and Jenna? That Elijah?"

"Yes. I ran into him on not long after I left. He was in trouble, I got mistaken for Katherine, and we teamed up. He's probably the reason I'm still alive, why Klaus didn't catch on sooner," Elena admitted, and he didn't know whether to scold her or praise her for making such a powerful ally, but he knew for certain he wasn't comfortable with her added, "We're friends now. Ric, he took care of me." More likely, the guy was half in love with her and she was just being her. What was it with her and all these vampires? Couldn't anyone not sporting a pair of fangs be interested in her and save him the heart attack that was in his future if he kept having to learn stuff like this?

"Fine, Miss Smarty Pants, but did you also know that we thought we had them outside of Memphis..."

"Yep," Elena replied blithely. "Team Doppelgänger and Original were all over that one."

Ric shook his head tiredly. "Then there's really nothing more I can tell you."

"I guess I'd better go ask someone else, then. Someone who's got more insight into our current problem."

"Elena!" At the sight of his long childhood friend, Tyler broke out into a grin, pulling her in for a quick hug. "Dude, are you a sight for sore eyes."

"Dude, what have I said about calling me 'dude'? And you're not looking too bad either, Lockwood." Elena grinned as she returned his hug before letting him drag her to a table.

"When did you get back?" Tyler asked her as he pulled out a chair for her, Southern manners long-since drilled into him, hours of etiquette lessons his mother had made him sit through. Appearances are everything, Tyler, she had always told him. Especially when you're part of a family as well-known and influential as ours. The Lockwood heir wondered what she'd think of his 'appearance' after breaking every bone in his body and growing a pair of canine teeth. Probably nothing good.

"Thank you. And, to answer your question, last night. I'm in the process of making the rounds, checking in on everyone and stuff."

Tyler smiled, flopping in to his own seat. "Glad to know I make the cut."

"Of course you do. Got a sec to chat?"

He nodded. "Absolutely. What's up?" He hoped this wasn't about Caroline, that after last night she'd changed her mind and didn't want anything to do with him and was using Elena to run interference, not that he thought she'd ever be cool with doing something like that, but she did love Caroline a whole lot, so it wasn't a complete impossibility.

"Would you mind telling me some stuff about werewolves? Primarily their habits and such, especially when it's a full moon?"

Tyler leaned back in his seat so that his chair legs lifted off the floor, a little startled by her question and sudden interest, but he wasn't an idiot: this had to be about Stefan. Coming back to the floor with a mild thump, Tyler explained, "A lot of us like to keep to ourselves during the full moon, chain ourselves up. But there are some werewolves who like to gather in places were they don't have to do that. Where they can enjoy it." He had to admit, the idea was appealing. Being able to let go, be free and know that he wouldn't hurt anyone, anyone he cared about. Anyone like Caroline...

"What kind of places?" Elena pressed him.

"Mountains, state parks, deserts, that kind of stuff."

"Anywhere in Tennessee?" his childhood friend asked him, unwittingly giving him another piece of the puzzle.

Tyler nodded once again. "Yeah. Here, give me your phone and I'll try to pull it up on the map."

"Thanks for doing this," Elena said gratefully as his fingers started tapping away at the screen, "I know it's asking a lot."

"As Caroline likes to remind me, Stefan is in this mess because I bit Damon," Tyler told her with no small amount of guilt. "I figure I owe you one. Speaking of...have you seen Caroline today?"

"No, I tried her cell a few times but there wasn't an answer, so her house is next on my list. Why?"

Tyler frowned, trying to act nonchalant, but his senses were telling him something wasn't quite right. After realizing that he'd tasted vervain in his coffee this morning, and the fact that the only person who could have put it there was his mom, and what she'd said about Caroline... but he didn't want to worry Elena; she had enough to deal with as it was, no use getting her worked up when he didn't have any proof. He shrugged. "Just curious. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you, though. That party last night was killer."

"I would expect nothing less when it comes to her. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see it."

"Well, there's always next year," Tyler consoled in an effort to cheer her up. He finished pulling up the map and pointed to the screen, finger hovering over a large expanse of green. "Here, that's your best bet."

"Did you get anything?" Ric asked her as she took up a spot beside him on the bar, resting her elbows on the polished countertop.

"How do you feel about a little hike through the Smoky Mountains?"

Her History teacher looked at her like she'd grown a second head, and a crazy one at that. "You wanna hunt down a pack of werewolves on a full moon?"

"We'll be out of there before the moon is full," she tried to promise him in her most convincing tone of voice. When he didn't budge, she changed tactics and stated, "If you don't come with me I'm going by myself."

Alaric pinned her with a hard look that she plowed through like it was merely a puff of smoke. "What? You're the one that wants to move out, that thinks I can handle things on my own now."

"Yeah, well I was thinking more of frozen dinners and SATs." He sighed wearily, downing the last of his drink. She'd have to start hiding it when they got home, see if she could get him to cut back. Alcohol could only numb the pain for so long. When he sobered up, Jenna would still be dead, Isobel would still be dead, and not the vampire kind, and he'd still be responsible for two teenagers, whether he liked it or not. "Let's just go. But you're driving."

Feeling victorious, Elena headed out of the Grill, waving at Matt and giving him a thumbs up -he'd been super helpful in making sure her plan went off without a hitch. The easy part was over.

Now came the hard part.

Author's Note: Hi, everyone! Welcome to the start of Part Two. From now on, the chapters will be titled with lyrics from the Leona Lewis song 'Bleeding Love.' I think it really fits the direction I'm taking this next part...yes, that is an Elejah direction, if you were wondering and/or hoping. I have an idea of when I want them to get together, and it's pretty soon. In fact, I have already mentioned it, in the last chapter; I'm not sure if you've picked up on it or not, but I'd love your guesses. A lovely reviewer on AO3 asked for more stuff with Klaus, and I delivered with this chapter, and plan to in future.

The next chapter will start with Bonnie, since we haven't had a lot from her and I feel like she totally deserves more of the spotlight.

I'm sorry that there's a lot of scripted dialogue in here, but there is, of course, important scenes that I still have to include for continuity's sake. While I will be fiddling around with the plot somewhat, I still have to respect what's already canon to make sure it makes sense when you're reading it. So, if it's not explicitly stated otherwise, things like Tyler and Caroline getting together after the party still happened, I like to think that Jeremy still talked to Matt, and maybe tried to talk to Ric, but didn't want to burden him with the whole ghost thing after Jenna's death, especially since he doesn't see her, and you know that would be one of the first things Ric would ask about. But I liked the scene with Matt and Jeremy eating ice cream, so I switched it up and slotted it in as a casual mention. Also, another Matt-related thing, I thought it would be a bit much having the whole 'Welcome back's thing again after doing it with Jeremy and Ric, then Damon, and then Tyler. Anyway, I hope that clears that up.

As for Damon's favourite colour, I was going to go with red, maybe like a dark red, but I decided blue because a) his gorgeous eyes, b) the beloved Camaro, and c) wouldn't it be sweet if Stefan liked blue because it was his brother's favourite colour and it reminded him of him? I couldn't resist. And Sammy! Justice for Sammy!

Please feel free to drop a review and share your thoughts on where I'm taking the story.

Sorry if I pressed a little too hard with my metaphorical Delena pen, but they are, in actual fact, my favourite ship of the show, and have been for almost a decade, and I shall stand by them, always and forever...but Elejah is number two. Then Kolena, then early Stelena, then Klaulena.

Until next time!

All my love, Temperance Cain.