Ch. 7 – Bloodlines 1x11

A/N: Ok, so someone PM'ed me and pointed out that in my edits, I deleted the Author's Note with the face claim info for Emilia. So, personally, I don't really think of Emilia that way. But I do have some ideas if that's your style. First off, I kind of imagine Alicia Vikander (amazing actress and wife of Michael Fassbender). Or Jennifer Connelly, specifically her in Labyrinth with David Bowie. Or really, a combination of them. I think they both look enough like Nina to be related, but not identical. I'm also okay with the idea of Victoria Justice. I know she's really popular because she looks so identical to Nina, but personally, in my mind, Emilia is different and distinctive from her sister.

(I just want to point out that whoever you imagine, Emilia has some thoughts about her own level of beauty compared to Elena. This is in no way a comment about the actresses or face claims. Emilia is a biased person and there will be some scenes that delve into this later *wink wink*)

Edit 11/22/21

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. I do own Emilia, Alliana, and any other OC's that I create. From now on, if I forget this, just know that I still mean it.

A few days after the Mikael incident, Alliana and Rebekah were spending time together. They were braiding each other's hair and weaving wild flowers into the braids. They were again chatting about the boy that Rebekah fancies. Alliana was only half-listening.

"Every time I see him, I can feel my heart flutter. He is so kind. I fear Father would not let him court me…" Rebekah said.

"Uh-huh," Alliana replied.

"You are not listening at all to me," Rebekah said.

Alliana fixed a smile at Rebekah and continued to braid her hair. "Of course, I am. You were saying about how you fear Mikael will not let this boy court you."

Rebekah relaxed and grumbled, "So you were listening. I was not sure, what with your head being in the clouds. I swear your head is always up there."

Alliana laughed, "It is so nice up here."

"Come back down and tell me all about the person I know you fancy," Rebekah said. Alliana went to protest, but Rebekah interrupted her. "Do not tell me that you do not fancy someone for you are my best friend and I always know when something is bothering you. So, tell me, now."

Alliana finished braiding Rebekah's hair, stood up to face the other girl. "I cannot tell you. You will just tell that person," Alliana said, rather short with her tone. Rebekah blinked at the tone and opened her mouth to reply, but Alliana continued, softer. "Even if you didn't tell the person directly, you would send these not so subtle messages to them. They will then figure it out and I would be so embarrassed. So, I cannot tell you."

Rebekah grabbed Alliana's hands and looked her in the eyes. "I swear to never tell your secret."

Alliana looked down and away, smirking, before turning back to the other girl, "Fine, only because you are my best friend." Alliana paused and took an unnecessary deep breath before saying, "I may or may not fancy your brother."

"Which one? Which one?" Alliana mumbled a name that Rebekah did not catch. "Please speak up!"

Alliana debated more before saying, "Niklaus."

"Oh my. You fancy Niklaus!"

"Sh sh. Rebekah you promised."

Rebekah closed her mouth quickly and smiled at her friend. "If you married him, we would be sisters," Rebekah said excitedly.

Alliana grabs the girl's hand before saying, "I do not need to marry your brother to be your sister. You already are my sister. You are my best friend and I love you. We are so much closer than my twin and I."

"I love you too, Alliana."

"To prove it anyways, I made you something." Alliana held up a woven leather bracelet. It was woven in an intricate way with beautiful beads at the ends. "This is for you. To prove that we will always be friends and sisters."

Rebekah took the bracelet. Alliana helped put it on Rebekah's wrist. Rebekah thanked her and commented, "Always and Forever."

"Yes," Alliana replied. Rebekah looked down at her gift. "Always and Forever" she smirked.

I wake up and see that Elena is not in her room. I guess overnight at the Boarding House. If they aren't back together after that, we are going to have issues, with the we depending on what happened. I finish getting ready and finally check my phone. I find a missed call and a voicemail from Elena from last night. I figure it's an explanation about last night, but as it's time to leave, I'll listen to it at school. I drop off Jeremy before parking Jenna's car and pulling out my phone. A feeling a dread and worry comes over me as soon as I start to listen to it.

Elena's voice is choked up, that's her crying voice. "Lia. It's me. I found something in Stefan's room… a picture" She sobs, "from 1864…. it's of Katherine." Another sob. "Lia, she looks exactly like me." Her voice cracks as she says the last sentence. "I don't know what to do. I'm on my way home now. Lia. What do I do? I need to talk to you." Right before she hangs up, I hear her shriek and the sound of squealing tires and a crash before it ends.

I have to find her.

Screw school. And, boy, do I hate that sentence. I quickly start the car and head towards the Salvatore Boarding house. On my way, on a quiet road I find something that stops my heart and steals my breath. Elena's car flipped over and completely totaled on the side of the road. I quickly get out of my car and rush over. I don't see my sister in the car or anywhere else around here. I see what's left of the windshield shattered on the road, but no sign of Elena. I get back in my car and rush over to the Salvatore boarding house. I need to get some answers and find my twin.

When I reach the house, I rush inside, but not before I pull something out of my glove compartment. I find Stefan in his room facing the window and away from me. He is holding something in his hand, my sister's necklace. She never takes it off. What happened here? My blood boils and with Stefan distracted, I get behind him and pull him around me and to the ground. By the time he realizes what is going on, I am have one knee pressed against his torso, pinning him, and one hand on his throat while the other holds a stake against his chest.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't push this stake directly into your heart," I say threateningly. Stefan stares at me in shock. "Where is my sister?"

"I don't know. She left the house when I went to get her a drink. I found her necklace. I have tried calling her, but she won't talk to me. She is with Damon. That's all I know. I never meant to hurt her." Fucking hell. She's with Damon?

I narrow my eyes, "You have 1 minute to explain why she would run out of this house and call me crying about a picture of Katherine before I shove this wooden stake deep into your heart, you feel it in your spine"

"Elena found a picture from 1864 of Katherine. She realized that she looks exactly like Katherine and she left. I never got the chance to explain. I swear that it has nothing to do with my feelings for her." I dig the stake into his chest a bit, not enough to puncture skin but enough to feel it about to, "I will admit that her looks drew me in," the stake punctures skin, "But, but while I was trying to figure out why they looked the same, I fell in love with her, Elena, because of her personality, not her looks."

I think about it for a second. I hate that he's so genuine about it. But being genuine doesn't mean he's entirely truthful. On the other hand, I won't find out if he's dead, so I remove the stake. "Fine. Know that the only reason you are alive is to help me find her." Stefan sighs in relief, but before he can get up, I pull out a silver knife from my boot, one that is dipped in vervain, and I hold it against his neck. "But, should I find out that you or your brother did something to her, you are going to wish I killed you with the stake. Do you understand?" He nods and I get up, putting the knife but not the stake away. "Show me this picture."

He nods and hands me an old photograph. The style does suggest 1860s. So does the dress and hairstyle. But the face is all Elena. Shit. Fuck. Hell. Damn it. I sigh and shake my head, "Katherine Pierce. The infamous bitch herself. Known for stealing hearts and ruining lives for the past 300 years. Her best-known feature, turning brothers against each other with one look of her brown does eyes." Fuck! "I should have put this together sooner."

"You heard of her," Stefan surmises.

"Of course," I say, putting the picture down. "I've done a lot of research into the supernatural world, Stefan. She came up a lot. Lots of stories, including some within this town. Her name on the original Founders' Day Party guest registry was not the first time I had seen it." I look back to the photo. "I just hadn't ever seen a picture of her."

"It is uncanny, the resemblance," Stefan states.

I sigh again as I look down at the photo. He's not wrong. It's like Elena time traveled. And this is Stefan's ex. I can see why Elena freaked and ran. I just wish I had been paying more attention and she wasn't with Damon now. I can't believe I failed her again. "Yes, well. Can't do anything about that now," I say outloud, as if that will help me believe it. I focus, "Do you have a plan to find my sister?"

"Yeah, but we need Bonnie's help."

I nod, "Fine, but I'm driving. Which will give you the time to explain how I'm supposed to be okay with my twin being in the hands of your demon brother."

Stefan nods and we head out.

break

We find Bonnie at outside of school. I walk up to her first and lead her to a picnic table.

"Hey, Ems. Where have you been?" she asks immediately. "You swore during the spring that once you were back, you would never miss school again."

Yeah, thanks for reminding me. I already hate it. "Bonnie, we need your help," I reply. Stefan walks over.

When Bonnie sees Stefan, she immediately stiffens. "Hi, Stefan," she says.

"I haven't seen you lately. How are you doing with everything?" Stefan asks. Do we really need to go over this? We could use the fact that Bonnie hates/is terrified of Damon after he attacked her instead of talking politely about it.

"I'm fine. It's all been fine," she replies.

"Good." Polite conversation is normally good, but right now is kind of urgent, people.

"Yeah," she says. "Are you back in school?"

"No. Actually, I came here to find you," Stefan answers, finally getting to the point.

"Like I said, we need your help," I say. "We were hoping you can help us with something, with a spell."

Bonnie clutches her books closer to her chest, "Stefan, I know Emmy and Elena are okay with all this, and I appreciate what you did to help me, but I'm not ready to dive into all of this with you just yet."

"Bonnie, I get it. And I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't necessary. Please. I need help," I add. "It's Elena." Her eyes widen in surprise and worry. "She's with Damon."

We sit down. Stefan holds up the necklace, "I have Elena's necklace. I was just hoping that you could use this to make some sort of connection," he says. "I just need to know that she's okay."

"How do you know I can do this?" Bonnie asks.

"Because I've known a few witches over the years. I've seen what they can do," he replies. All this and more.

"I'm still new at it," Bonnie cautions.

"It's okay. Give it a shot," Stefan says. He hands her the necklace.

"It's okay, Bonnie. I know you can do it," I cheer. She gives me a small smile, before she closes her eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, her eyebrows furrow and her grip tightens on the necklace in her clasped hands.

"There's nothing," Bonnie says when she opens her eyes. "Nothing's happening. Usually there's an image or…" She looks at us worried. "Tell me if anyone is looking."

"Okay," Stefan and I both say. Bonnie grabs a leaf off the ground. She places it on the table and holds her hand over it like she did with the feathers in Elena's room. She moves her hand, but nothing happens. That's not right. She tries again, but still nothing happens. Her hands drop in disappointment and worry.

"Something's wrong," Bonnie says.

"With Elena?" Stefan asks quickly. No, dude.

"No. With me. There's something wrong with me," Bonnie replies.

"There's something wrong with your magic," I clarify, though I phrase it more like a question.

She nods, "I have to go. I'm sorry, Ems. Sorry, Stefan." She gets up and grabs her stuff. "I can't help you." Bonnie quickly runs away.

Stefan and I turn to each other. "Division of labor, it is" I say to him. "I am going to find Bonnie. You find another way to search for Elena." He nods and we go in different directions.

I keep my phone on hand constantly so it's the only reason I see texts from each of my siblings. First, a text from Jeremy. He wanted help with his extra credit project. I don't know if the compulsion did this, and I really hope it didn't, but it's amazing to see him excited about something. Especially as that something is history. I direct him to some resources, including exact directions for which sections in the public, school, and home (aka Mom and Dad's stuff) libraries would be the most beneficial.

I also get a quick message from Elena that she's ok, she called Jenna, and she'll be home by tonight. I immediately call back but she denies my call!

Oh, she knows she's in trouble.

I first search for Bonnie at her house, but she isn't there, which isn't shocking. No one is ever there. I next go to her Grams' house and knock on the door. Sheila Bennett, Bonnie's Grams opens the door.

"Hey Grams," I greet her first. I was raised to be respectful. "Have you seen Bonnie? She ran from school a little while ago."

"She was just here a few minutes ago. You just missed her," she replies.

I sigh in frustration. "Do you know where she might have gone?" I ask politely.

"No, but you might," Grams says. "She's keeping secrets from me, but she tells you everything." She gives me a pointed look.

"Yeah, I know she's a witch," I say, semi-confidently, semi-guilty. This woman was basically a grandmother to me too and although she's not the most powerful witch, she does have that look that makes you spill your guts.

"I told her that she needs to clear the block in her magic. She needs to clear whatever has got her so scared."

Oh, I get it. "I know where she is. I will help her get past this block."

"I know you will."

"Thanks Grams. Bye," I say before I rush to get to Bonnie.

I run through the forest. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I spent most of my childhood here. It helps that we were just here. I run to the ruins of Fell's Church, the same place that Emily used Bonnie's possessed body to . Bonnie is there.

"Bonnie!" I call to her. She looks at me, surprised. "It's just me."

"What are you doing here?" I walk over to her.

"I'm here to help you. Stefan will get more information about Elena's whereabouts. He has to be the one to deal with Damon and the mess he made with her. I am going to help you get past your fear." She nods at me. I pick up a leaf from the ground and hand it to her. "It's okay. You can do this."

She tries to lift the leaf with magic again. It doesn't work, so she shakes her hand and tries again. A creaky noise sounds through the area. Bonnie stops and looks around. The noise sounds again, but louder. We both look around, but nothing is there.

"Hello?" Bonnie calls out. It echoes, but no one answers. The sound of wood cracking sounds through the forest. "Anyone there?!" The echo of her shout is also heard throughout the area.

"Bonnie, calm down. It's just us," I say. She looks at me and smiles. I let out a breath I had been holding. I inhale right before the ground underneath us caves in and we fall.

I wake up on the ground. Shit. My whole back hurts, but it is manageable. I get up to find Bonnie next to me unconscious. I shake her to wake her up. Luckily, she didn't land on any large rocks. I assess her for other injuries. She has a cut on her leg, but it isn't too bad. She has a small cut on her head, but as she seems coherent, she will probably be fine. Injuries will have to wait as I look around to find us trapped in a tomb, I think, with the only exit being above us. Bonnie starts to call out for someone to help us, but I know it's useless. Nobody was around us, so nobody can hear us now. Bonnie takes a huge gasp beside me. I turn to look at what she is looking at. It's a closed door with a star inscribed in a circle. A sign of witchcraft. And one of Emily Bennett's favorites.

I turn to Bonnie, "Hey. It's okay. We will be fine. Someone will find us, and we will be okay," I try to reassure her. It is all a lie, but I have to keep her hopes up for our sakes. She needs to be the one to get us out. "Just think of this as a way to help you get past your block. You can do this." Bonnie starts to calm down, but she still shies away from the door.

We wait a while sitting in the 'tomb.' Bonnie has tried to get her phone to work, but there is no service. I have been thinking of random things. Some historical facts, a little worrying about Elena, ideas for a new drawing, memories that I quickly move away from, lyrics for a song I recently heard. Anything to keep off the panic of being trapped. Bonnie eventually gives up on trying to get her phone to work and uses it as a flashlight to illuminate the door with Emily's symbol. She presses her hand against it and leans against it. She turns her head as if she was eavesdropping. I get curious, so I walk over to her, ignoring the pain in my back. I place my hand gently on her back and press my ear against the door as well. I hear whispers. Painful ones. It scares Bonnie, so she walks back away from the door.

Someone flashes behind her and touches her on her shoulders. I jump in shock.

She freaks out and starts screaming, "Get away from me!"

"Bonnie. It's me. It's Stefan," he says, revealing himself.

Bonnie calms down enough to shakily ask, "Stefan?"

He nods. I move over to them. "The ground gave way and we fell," I explain.

"Come on. Let's get you two out of here," Stefan says.

"How?" Bonnie asks shakily. She is still scared, I guess.

I figure out what we are about to do. "Just close your eyes," I tell her. She doesn't need to be more freaked out now.

"Trust me," Stefan says. "Come here." He says to me. I walk up next to him. He wraps his arms around Bonnie and I, then, suddenly, there's a rush and we are back on forest level.

"You can open your eyes now," I whisper gently to Bonnie with my hand on her shoulder.

Bonnie gasps out a "Whoa" when she opens her eyes.

"I didn't want to scare you," Stefan says.

"How did you know where we were?" I ask him.

"Well, your grandmother told me what you were doing. I guessed the where," Stefan says. Damn, Grams. Spilling secrets to a vampire. Well, it's Stefan, so I guess that's different.

"Yeah, that's the same thing I did," I nod.

Bonnie still looks a little scared. "I heard them. Down there. Behind the door." I guess she heard more than I could. But she doesn't know what is behind door number 1, and I'm thinking it's not anything we want to deal with. Stefan seems to figure the same things I did. "Are they in pain?" Bonnie asks.

"In the beginning, yes. But not anymore. They've starved to the point of desiccation," Stefan replies shaking his head.

"But if they have blood-" Bonnie starts to say, but Stefan interrupts her.

"That's not going to happen, Bonnie," Stefan reassures. "They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal." Oh, one good thing came out of that then.

Bonnie still looks a bit scared, so I add, "You're safe, Bonnie."

As soon as we hit the front porch, Grams is opening the door. "Well, now, look who's returned from battle." She opens her arms and Bonnie rushes into a hug. I smile at the sight. "Can I talk to your friend for a minute?" I can tell she is talking about Stefan, so I follow Bonnie inside the house. Bonnie leans against the counter in her kitchen with her arms wrapped around herself. I make her tea to help calm her down. My mom used to do it for us all the time when we were little, so she knows the meaning behind it. She smiles gratefully when I hand it to her.

"Hey. You'll be okay," I say to her. "I know it seems hard now, but you are one of the strongest people I know. You'll get through it."

Bonnie gives me a big smile and a big hug. "Thanks, Ems.".

"I gotta go find Elena. Will you be okay?" I ask her.

She nods to me. "I'll be fine. Go."

I give her another hug. "I love you Bon-Bon."

"I love you too, Ems." I turn to leave but she stops me. "And Ems, you are the strongest person I know."

I nod silently in thanks and leave. I don't think I have words to respond with.

Stefan assures me of Elena's safety, even though she is with Damon, as he drives me home, despite my protests.

I still try to call her as soon as I'm alone. She doesn't pick up. Again.

I sneak around Jenna so I don't have to avoid her questions. I don't know what Elena told her.

When I make it into my room, I attempt to change into my pajamas. When I try to take off my shirt, pain radiates from my whole back, especially towards the center. I go into the bathroom and look at my back in the mirror. There are bruises starting to form across almost my entire back. There is a decently deep cut in the center of my back going diagonally from towards my right shoulder to my lower left back. It is only in the center of my back and isn't bleeding too badly. There isn't a need for stitches. I twist and palpate my spine to check that everything is working and there's nothing that could suggest anything broken. There isn't and the pain is not nearly the worst I've had so I continue to change and try to go to bed.

The next morning, Elena finally calls me.

"Lia?" Elena asks when I pick up my phone.

"Elena! Where have you been?! I got your message and I drove to find you and I found your car and it was completely totaled! I was so terrified!"

She rushes out an explanation, "I am so sorry. I meant to call you to tell you that I was okay, but I was busy. I am fine. I am okay." I breath out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I was so worried. You do something like this again and I swear I will find you and drag you home by your ears."

Elena laughs. "I will be sure it never happens again."

"And don't think you being safe saves you from my wrath. I know you didn't answer my calls on purpose, and I will make you suffer for that."

"Lia-" Elena starts.

"No, I'm not kidding. You can't be running around with vampires and disappear without a trace or a call, Lena."

Elena sighs and croaks out, "I understand. I'm so sorry."

The tears in her voice get to me and my throat clumps up. I clear it before I try to lighten up the conversation, "You better. I'm not kidding. I can't handle this kind of stress at my age." Elena gives me a wet chuckle. "The next time you get kidnapped, you better take me with you."

"Sure. I promise I won't get kidnapped without you ever again." We both chuckle, trying to make light of the potentially lethal position she could have been in. "I need to ask for a favor."

I sigh. Is she kidding me? She's in the dog house! "Lena…"

"Please, Lia."

I grumble, "You can't keep using my nickname like it's going to make me soften."

"Lia, please," she pleads. Almost becoming whiny about it.

"I hate you I hope you know that," I reply. "What do you want?"

"Can you come to talk to Stefan with me?"

I take a deep breath. Be reassured of my sister's safety but have to deal with her romantic drama. "Ugh. Fine" I say. "God, you are lucky I am feeling generous due to the relief of you being okay."

Elena sighs in relief. "Thank you."

"But I get to steal something from your closet," I interject.

"Okay," she replies.

"And I get the last cookie the next time I make them."

"Fine."

"And you have to be my slave for the next week," I joke.

"What?! No way!" Elena says laughing.

"Fine," I groan sarcastically. "But you still have to do the first two."

"Okay. Just come with me."

I laugh. "I'm already on my way."

"Love you, Lia."

"I love you too, Lena."

I meet up with Elena in front of the Salvatore Boarding House. We head inside and towards Stefan's room.

She walks in first with a greeting of "hi." Stefan replies with the same.

I walk in, mocking their greeting, "Hi." Stefan looks at me in confusion. "I'm the emotional support." I say as a way of explanation while I lean against the wall by the door. Stefan nods his head in understanding. He looks back towards Elena.

"You could have told me," she says.

"I wanted to tell you," he replies.

"You said no more lies, only the truth." Ugh, I'm regretting having to witness the drama. Elena starts walking towards Stefan "I can handle the truth, Stefan. As crazy as it is, I can handle the fact that you're a vampire. And you have a vampire brother. And that my best friend is a witch. I can accept that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible." I chuckle in my head. We aren't even close to how weird and mysterious the world can be. Let's hope that comes without the added danger. Elena starts walking around Stefan's desk, closer to him, their eyes never leaving each other.

"But this- this lie, I cannot take," Elena continues. "What am I to you? Who am I to you?"

"You are not Katherine," Stefan says. Well, God, I hope not. Not only would that be insanely levels of creepy, but Elena and Katherine are nothing like each other personality-wise. "You are the opposite of everything that she was," Stefan continues. Well, yeah.

"And when did you figure that out?" Elena asks, slightly sarcastically. "Before you kissed me? Before we slept together?" Ew, gross. I don't want to hear about that. Is that what happened before she found the picture. Ugh, even more gross.

Stefan takes a breath before he answers, "Before I met you." Huh, wait what? I move closer and begin to listen a little more carefully.

Elena's face is warring between shock and confusion, "What?"

"The first day of school… when we met… it wasn't for the first time, Elena," Stefan replies. Um, still confused.

Elena asks the follow-up question I have, "Then when was it?"

"May 23, 2009." No!

"But that was-" Elena starts.

"The day everything changed. May 23rd is the day our parents' car drove off Wickery Bridge," I say. I quickly move next to my twin. I grab her hand and squeeze it tight to let her know I am there. She looks like she had taken a blow to the chest.

"You were there?" Elena asks.

"Every couple of years I come back to see Zach and to see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery Bridge," Stefan says. He moves around the desk to stand in front of us. "And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged." Both my eyes and my twin's fill with tears, hers falling down her face gently. My tears trapped as my head swims with memories. "Your dad, he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him until I helped you two." No. Dad, no.

"Oh my god,' Elena says, her voice cracking. I grab my twin in a tight hug. "When we woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how we got out of the car. They said it was a miracle."

"I grabbed you first," Stefan says to Elena. "Then I quickly rushed to grab Emilia, but by the time I went back for them, it was already too late. I couldn't…. I couldn't save them."

I feel dizzy as I fight my memories. "I saw you there. I saw you take my sister, take us. I thought I was hallucinating, because the next thing I remember is being in the hospital," I peter off. The memories flash before my eyes and into my body. The cold water, the feeling of my lungs burning as we sank, the panic. The last memory I have of my parents, their skin blue from the reflection of the water and their hair floating.

"That was me. I could see that you were still conscious, still fighting, so I grabbed Elena first," Stefan says. "When I pulled you out of the car, I looked at your face, Elena. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine." It takes me a while to process his, arguably creepy, words. I let go of Elena and shift myself so I'm between the two as I keep holding her hand. "And I wanted to leave town, but Elena, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I am sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to, but you were so sad." Stefan's eyes were filling with tears. He tried to continue, but he didn't say anything. I try to stay focused on the situation at hand, but I keep flashing back to that day, reliving the fall, the sinking, my parents' last moments.

"Why do I look like her?" Elena asks. Her words sound like they are coming through the water we drowned in. Water. Drowning. Hair floating…

"You guys have been through so much," Stefan starts. Did he mention me? Why would this involve me?

"Why do I look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling me?" Elena asks. She takes a step back as she says this. I follow mechanically.

Stefan looks down when he answers. "It didn't make any sense to me." He looks up at Elena. "You were a Gilbert. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth." He takes another deep breath. The dread pierces through my hazy mind and I process and focus in time to see him look back at us and say, "You two were adopted."

My breath leaves me in a big rush, my heart drops, and my mind just goes blank. Like a fuzzy tv or a blue screen on a computer level blank. I don't know how to process this information. I'm frozen and I can barely feel as Elena pulls me into a hug. The thought of how that tables turned so fast in the last couple of minutes between who is comforting who barely registers as it floats through my fuzzy brain.

Stefan grabs Elena's hand and leads her, with me following, to his couch. I sit next to Elena with Stefan on her other side.

I think I am the first to speak. I can't stop the questions racing in my brain, so I blurt out one, "How do you find this out?"

"Your birth certificates from the city records. It says 'Elena Rose and Emilia Grace Gilbert. Mystic Falls General.' But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant." How did I not know? How did I never see this?

Elena finally turns to Stefan. "What else do you know?"

"For me to go further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It was too much of a risk. If someone found out that I was asking about Katherine…" Stefan says.

"It doesn't matter, Lena," I whisper. The questions of my own failure floating in my head keep me from elaborating.

"Emilia is right. Elena, you are the woman that I love. I love you," Stefan says. They stare deeply into each other's eyes. They are moving closer to each other, so I immediately leave the room. I have to get out. I have to go home. I need to go the library. To my computer. To my parents. I run down the stairs and go into the kitchen and start searching the kitchen for mugs and tea. I can't think of anything other than my mom giving me tea. Just every memory of her solving problems with tea. I have a lot of problems, I need tea. I find some kind of teabag, who knows what it is and start heating up water. I pour it into a mug and automatically start steeping the tea, pulling the string up and down unthinkingly.

Damon eventually walks downstairs putting on his leather jacket. He sees me and slows down. "Emilia?" he calls. His voice quiets slightly when he asks, "Are you okay?"

The shock of Damon being almost nice shakes me out of my stupor. I take a deep breath before saying something. There are a lot of things I could say to him. A lot of emotions that could explode at him, but for once, he didn't do anything. There's nothing that he is currently responsible for doing. No pain that he is the cause of. The only thing is maybe taking my sister somewhere else instead of straight home, but I guess he saved her from the accident, so he gets a little bit of leeway. So instead of screaming or threatening him, as our usual interactions go, I take a moment before I softly say, "Thank you." He gives me a look so I take another breath and slowly and deliberately elaborate, "Thank you for saving my sister. It means a lot to me, so thank you."

He nods before softly saying, "No problem." He then walks out the door. I notice my tea is over-steeped, so I pour a new cup and the rest of the hot water into another mug and start steeping both before bringing one up to my sister. I knock on Stefan's door before walking in. Stefan's arms are wrapped around my crying sister.

I hand her the tea, "I think it's time we head home. Jenna will be worried," I say softly.

Sure enough, Jenna is on the couch, quickly flipping through a magazine when we get home, worry radiating from her, despite her casual position.

"I don't set a lot of rules, Elena. Not with you two. I trust you to tell me the truth," Jenna says. Ouch, bad moment to bring up talking about the truth. Jenna gets up and walks around the couch and up to Elena, who is in front of me. "Where were you? Why did you lie to me about it? I thought we were closer than that."

"Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies," Elena responds. She moves to go upstairs.

"Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything," Jenna argues loudly.

"Okay, question. Are we adopted?" Elena asks. Jenna stops. Her eyes open wide in surprise and she swallows. "I trust you to tell me the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell us? I thought we were closer than that." Elena says throwing what Jenna just said back in her face.

I say nothing.

Elena runs up the stairs.

"Your parents- they asked me not to!" Jenna shouts after her.

"I don't want to hear it!" Elena shouts back. Jenna turns to me. I just stay quiet as I walk up the stairs slowly, my mind is too confused to do anything other than that.

A/N: I changed a bit of the phone call with Elena. And some other minor things.

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