Can I just say thank you to those of you who have added/followed this story. I'm grateful that it has now crossed the one hundred mark!

So, thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Friendly feedback welcome.

Upon waking the following morning, I got showered and changed into some comfy clothes and made breakfast for Care and myself. Nothing special, just eggs and bacon. Can't say that either of us had much of an appetite after yesterday. I pushed the scrambled eggs around my plate, making it look like I had eaten more than I actually had done, and by the time Care had finished most of hers, I threw mine into the bin.

Busy...We had to keep busy.

"Shouldn't take us too long to clean things up." Caroline said as I stopped the car outside of Elena's house. "Thanks for helping me."

"Of course," I smiled and climbed out of the car, "Don't have anything else to do anyway."

As we walked up the steps to the porch and opened the door, Care and I stopped at the fresh-hold.

"Ohh," Caroline murmured.

I looked over her shoulder to see the empty space on the kitchen floor where Kol's body lay the night before.

"Klaus must have come back last night after we left and took him," I said, acknowledging the now empty kitchen. "At least that's one less thing for us to take care of." I walked past Caroline and headed into the kitchen, being careful not to tread on the charred area of the floor as I did so.

"Divide and conquer," Care smiled as she walked up behind me, "You clean the living room. Pick up all the wood and shattered glass, and I'll make a start with this gross stain here."

I nodded my head in a silent agreement with her and went to collect the trash can and made a start in the living room. I wandered around, collecting shards of wood and glass from the area. The wood from last night with Klaus, and the glass from when Jer and Elena fought Kol. Once I was satisfied with my work in the main room, I wandered back into the kitchen and made a start there.

"I wish there was more we could do," I sighed as I dried a glass with a cloth.

"There's nothing more we can do," Caroline replied as she scrubbed the burn mark on the ground furiously.

"They're god-knows where, and we're back here, acting like a couple of maids, cleaning." I scoffed and placed the glass down on the counter harshly. "We should be helping."

"Listen," Care groaned as she got to her feet, "We stayed behind to help with the translations. We've done our part, Jess. Now it's up to the others to get the cure, and come home to us."

Deep down, I knew she was right. I just felt useless being stuck behind after what happened last night.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"You've nothing to be sorry for, Jess." She smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder, "You've been through so much in the past two days. Geez, you almost died." A smirk appeared on my lips. "Now that's settled. How about you help me with this stain?"

I raised an eyebrow and looked down at the stain, "I think I saw another bottle of cleaner under the sink." The toxic-coloured bottle was under the skin at the back beside an old bucket and scrub brush. I filled up the bucket halfway with warm water and poured in some of the florescent liquid before handing it over to Caroline, along with the brush. "If this doesn't take the stain out, nothing will."

"I'll get it out." She said confidently and got back to her scrubbing.

As Care scrubbed the floor like an animal, I wandered into the living room and took a seat on the chair that Klaus sat in last night. I typed out a quick message to my friend, Roslyn, as Caroline walked into the room and took a seat beside me on the armrest.

"What are you doing?" She asked, peering at the screen.

"Just messaging Roslyn," I replied and closed the screen. "She's not been answering my calls or texts for a few weeks."

"Is that your friend from back at daddies?"

I nodded, "Yeah." Pushing myself off the sofa, I walked back into the kitchen and stared at the black, wet spot on the floor. "I'll have a go now," I kneeled down and grabbed the scrubber-brush from the bucket and got to work.

My hands were raw with blisters forming on my palms as I continued to scrub. Most of it had come out...two hours later. I looked up from the floor as the front door opened and Elena walked in. "Hey, you're home. We were trying to clean the burn mark where Kol..." I rose to my feet and walked through the living room doorway as Stefan entered the house. I trailed off when my eyes landed on Jeremy's limp body, cradled in his arms, "We couldn't get the spot out."

I shivered as Caroline's arm brushed mine as she joined me in the doorway. Her eyes widened in horror. Stefan shook his head once, telling us what we already knew. Jeremy was gone.

"Come on. Let's get him upstairs." Elena said calmly as she motioned for Stefan to follow her. He nodded and proceeded to follow her upstairs as Care and I stood there, shocked and lost for words.

"Why is she not freaking out?" I gasped once I regained the ability to speak. "If that were you...I'd be inconsolable."

"I-I have no idea," Care shrugged and took my hand. She walked us back into the kitchen where she picked up the bucket and poured the water down the sink. I took a seat at the kitchen table as Stefan walked into the room. "How long has she been like that?" Care asked when she turned around.

"Ever since we found his body. She hasn't said anything except that she's waiting for him to wake up." Stefan picked up an apple which rolled out of the basket and placed it back inside with the other fruit.

"He's not going to wake up. She must know that, right?" I looked between Stefan and Caroline. Looking for reasons as to why Elena was acting so bizarrely.

Stefan held a finger against his lips to silence me from speaking any further. He pointed to the sink, motioning for Caroline to turn on the water to drown out our conversation.

"Look. Deep down, I think she has to, but we're talking about Elena here. She feels grief more powerfully than anyone else. I think her denial is the one thing protecting her from letting it all in."

"She can't stay like that forever," Caroline murmured.

"I know," He nodded, "But I don't want to be the one to break her out of it, not until we know that Bonnie is safe, not until we get Damon over here to, you know-"

"To use the sire-bone to convince her that everything will be okay." I sighed and walked over to the sink, "I think this is the only time that I'm alright with someone having their freewill taken."

We all nodded in agreement as Elena walked into the kitchen. "I'm not in denial." She stated clearly as she waited for Stefan to turn off the running faucet. "I know that he was supernatural, but did you see? His tattoo is gone. The tattoo had the spell that opened Silas' chamber. Maybe it being gone means that he's fulfilled his supernatural destiny. Maybe he's back to normal. It's possible, right?"

"Elena-" Caroline began to speak in a soft, comforting tone when Elena wave her hand.

"It's possible, Caroline! There's a chance. It may be minuscule, but it's hope and I'm gonna hold on to that hope with everything that I've got, because there's no way that m-" Elena's voice broke off abruptly as she realised what she was saying. "There's absolutely no way that my brother is dead. I'm not in denial."

She left the room and Care, Stefan and I shared a knowing look. Each one of us knew that Jeremy would in fact, not wake up this time; but neither of us wanted to be the one to shatter her hope. Not yet, anyway.

After a few moments, Caroline excused herself from the room and walked outside. I remained inside with Stefan as we chatted lightly about the events that unfolded.

"How are you doing?" Stefan said as he poured out three glasses of coffee.

I shrugged and took the cup of coffee he offered, "I'm not the one who's just lost a brother."

"No," He shook his head, "But Caroline wrote me a script about what happened here last night."

I smirked, "Of course she did."

"I'm serious, Jess." He said as he looked into my eyes, searching. "How are you?"

"I got stabbed, bit, almost died, and lost my brother all in the same night, Stefan." I took a sip from the coffee cup, my grip tightening more and more, casing the ceramic to get hairline-cracks. "I'm not saying that I've been through more than anyone else these past few days, but I'm so exhausted, Stefan."

"I understand," He said and placed his arm over my shoulder before pulling me into his chest. Just feeling his warmth. Hearing his heartbeat and breathing in his scent was enough to soothe me. My arms wrapped around his waist as I nuzzled into his chest. Caroline walked back into the room, and put her phone into her back pocket.

"Everything alright?" She said as she eyed us.

I removed my hands from his waist and leaned my elbows on the island-top as I stared at her and sighed deeply. "Nothing has happened in the five minutes you left, Caroline."

"Do either of you know where Tyler is?" Stefan asked, changing the subject as he handed her a cup of coffee.

Care rolled her eyes as she took the cup. "As far away from Klaus as he can get."

"Klaus said he wouldn't stop until he found him." I sighed once more and traced shapes on the counter-top. "That was the agreement for letting him live."

"Hardly living," Caroline snorted.

"Better than getting slaughtered in front of us." I bit back harshly.

"Guys," Stefan warned, "Katherine's been running from Klaus for five hundred years. It's not easy, but it's possible. It's probably why she stole the cure. She wants to bargain for her freedom."

"She must have been stalking us." I pointed out, "It's the only way that she could have known where you guys were."

"I just can't believe after all that, the cure is just gone." Caroline added into the ever-growing misery pot.

Stefan raised his brow, "Yeah. I mean, talk about denial. In my head, I was thinking there was no way Elena was gonna stay a vampire forever...And now without any family."

"Well, we can't think about that right now," Care said, "We need to make plans, lists. We need a funeral, or a cover story, or a funeral and a cover story." Caroline sprung into her overly-optimistic self in less than 0.5 seconds. "One of us should tell mom. I guess she'll know what to do."

"We should get Matt over here," Stefan suggested.

"You're right," Care smiled, "I will do that. I will call Matt, and Jess, you-"

"I will go call mom," I smiled bleakly, "Like you said, she'll hopefully know what to do."

"Great! Then I'll make a list or a casserole or - I don't know- whatever people are supposed to do or make in these situations," Caroline continued to ramble on about cooking a stupid casserole. When all-of-a-sudden, a foul odor passed through my senses, causing me to crinkle my nose up.

My eyes widened at the realisation. The smell was familiar. Too familiar. It gave me a flashback of when my dad and I went hiking in the woods when I lived with him. We came across the rotted carcass of a deer which got caught between a fallen tree. It must have been there a while before we discovered it, as most of the flesh was hanging from the bone. I'll never forget that smell.

"What's that smell?" Caroline whispered.

We all turned and faced into the hallway at the same time. I sniffed the air as the putrid odour was growing. "It's Jer," I said lowly.

"It's his body. He's starting to decompose," Stefan said slowly as Care and I stared in horror, "Tell your mom to get Dr. Fell over here."

I nodded and took out my phone before I dialed my mom's number and left the house.

Outside in the cool air, I sat on the swinging porch seat as I held my phone to my ear. Mom answered it a few moments later in a cheerful tone.

"Hey, honey. Everything alright?"

I wiped at the stray tear that was tucked into the corner of my eye. "Hey, mom," I cleared my throat as I failed to gather the words needed.

"What's happened?" She asked quickly. She knew there was something off by the change in my voice

"It's uh, it's Jeremy," I squeaked out in a low voice, "There's been an accident."

"Tell me what's happened," Mom repeated in a gentler tone.

"Katherine...Katherine killed him on the island when they were searching for the cure." My words came out in broken mumbles as I gently swayed in the light breeze. "Elena and Stefan just got back today, but she's in complete denial, mom. She thinks that his ring will bring him back, but it won't. Not this time."

"He was supernatural when he died," I could hear the heaviness in my mom's voice as she sniffled on the other end of the line. "She's going to need you Jessica. She's going to need everyone of you when the denial screen drops."

"I know," I sighed and lulled my head back, "We thought that you could come up with something. Something to tell the town about his sudden death."

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry, sweetie."

Before I ended the call, I remembered to ask her about the Dr. "Ohh, mom?"

"Mhmm,"

"Can you get Dr. Fell to come over to Elena's to declare...declare Jeremy dead?"

"I'll call her right now," She reassured.

We ended the call a few seconds later and I remained on the swing. I listened and watched as the world passed me by from the porch before I decided to go for a walk in the nearby woods. The woods were my safe place. My peace amongst the madness. Since changing, I felt like I had lost that part of me. I've lost the connection I once shared with the woodland and the moon. Which is funny if you think about it. I was bound to the moon, and yet I couldn't feel further apart from it. The next full moon was slowly approaching. Having only transitioned one long, agonizing time, to say I was scared to go through it again would be an understatement.

Ty said he would be here for me the next time. That he wouldn't leave me to go through it again. I couldn't have anyone else there with me. I'd kill them without even realising, but I knew that Tyler would have been safe. The only other person would have been Klaus, but that option was out-the-window too.

Day had turned to night as I lay under the sky. I lay within the crisp leaves on the floor and stared into the void above. Nothing was going through my mind as I lay there in silence. I received a text on my phone and fished it out of my back pocket before I sat up and viewed it. It was Stefan telling me that Damon and Bonnie were due back any minute. I smiled and got to my feet before I darting back towards Elena's house.

I got back just as Damon's car pulled up outside her house. As I crossed the street, Bonnie stepped out of the car and I instantly enveloped her into a hug.

"Thank god you're okay." I sighed into her neck. "We were so worried."

"I'm okay," Bonnie whispered.

Damon rounded the car and placed a hand on my shoulder as I released Bonnie. My hands shot up around his neck as I stretched up on my tip-toes. "I'm glad you're alright, too, Damon."

His hands gave me back a gentle squeeze before he pushed me back and held me at arms length. "Could you get Stefan out here?"

I nodded, "They said Bonnie knows what to do," I smiled.

"Jess, I need to talk to my brother," Damon gave me a hard stare as I frowned. It made my stomach sink and shattered any hope that I had left.

"W-What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

Damon didn't answer, but his gaze darted over to Bonnie as she stroked her arms, staring at the house. I nodded my head knowingly and grasped Bonnie by the arms before I escorted her inside. I made a quick b-line for Stefan once Bonnie was seated at the table with the others. I told him that Damon was out front, and that something seemed wrong. He didn't hang around long and made his way out front.

Everyone was gathered around the table in the kitchen as Bonnie began to explain her plan to us.

"It's called an Expression Triangle," Bonnie told us, "I need to complete it for Silas."

The more she shared her plan with us, the more we all thought she was insane. To complete the spell she was talking about, it would require a large sacrifice. Twelve, to be exact. Bonnie had to kill twelve innocent people to complete the spell for Silas. I couldn't even fathom how she could even consider taking so many lives.

"What?" Matt shrieked in disbelief, "Bonnie, you can't kill twelve people!"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the only way I can get enough power," Bonnie remained straight faced as she spoke.

"To do what?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie went on to tell us what had transpired on the island when she was missing. She told us everything Shane had told her about Silas and Qetsiyah, and about how the 'other side' was created. "Once the veil is dropped, the other side doesn't exist anymore. There's nothing separating us. We're all just...one."

I frowned, "Hang on a second," My hands raised in the air as I got to my feet, my head shaking from side-to-side. "If you kill twelve more innocent people, and cast some spell that some screwed-up history teacher told you to do to lower the veil. Suddenly, all the supernatural beings on this 'other-side' come back to this plane?" I snorted, "Do you hear just how insane you sound, Bonnie? If you do that, you're putting us all in danger. Founding families have been killing vampires since before any of us were born. They're going to be coming for our blood! Mine, Caroline's, Elena's, anyone who's a founding family. If you do this...you'll be killing us all."

Caroline gasped, "Bonnie, you are talking like a crazy person," Her eyes were wide as she stared at Bonnie. "You are not killing twelve people, and you sure as hell can't invite every monster who has ever died back into this world."

"Caroline, I think she knows that," Matt said as he tried to keep the peace between us all.

"I can do it," Bonnie groaned, "I have the power. I can bring everyone back- Jeremy, Alaric, Vicki." She turned to face me, "Even Mason and your dad."

I shook my head instantly.

"Bonnie, stop it!" Caroline snapped before I parted my lips, "You can't just say these things."

The arguing between us continued to escalate until a phone ringing brought us all to silence.

"I'll get it," Elena murmured.

"Hey, look. I'll get it," Matt volunteered and pushed himself out of his chair.

"I said I'll get it," Elena snapped. She stood from her chair and walked over to the side of the kitchen to answer the ringing phone. Her finger tapped against the button, and she raised the phone to her ear. "Hello?" I watched as her facial expression softened before it hardened and her eyes fell hollow. "Jeremy can't come to the phone right now. He's not..." She paused. "I'm sorry. He's dead." Elena lowered the phone and ended the call before she pushed past Damon as he entered the kitchen with Stefan in tow.

No one dared open their mouths to speak. Everyone just stared at Bonnie, her insane plan to get rid of the other side was on the forefront of everyone's minds. Damon looked towards his brother before he headed upstairs to check on Elena.

"Matt," Stefan said, gaining his attention, "Why don't you take Bonnie home. She needs to rest."

Matt nodded his head and he and Bonnie left the house.

I looked to my left as I felt something being tugged from my hair. "You had a leaf in your hair," Stefan smiled weakly as he untangled a leaf from my messy, blonde hair.

"Ohh," I whispered, "I was walking in the woods before I came back here."

He nodded his head as his lips pressed into a fine line.

"We cannot let Bonnie go through with this plan," I said to the room. "It's insane. No matter how much I want my dad and mason back. We can't let her do it."

"We won't. Don't worry," Stefan did his best to reassure me, but I couldn't help the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was going to throw the whole thing off course. One way or another.

The tapping of soft shoes caused us to turn around as Elena entered the room. "Where's Bonnie?" She asked.

"We told Matt to take her home. We thought it'd be best." Stefan answered her in a soft voice.

She shrugged, "Okay. I guess we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way." Elena said, speaking to herself. She turned to face Damon as he reached the bottom of the staircase, Jeremy's lifeless body in his arms. "Put his body on the couch."

"Do what?" I asked Caroline under my breath.

She shrugged, "I have no idea."

We turned to face Elena as she barged past us and headed into the kitchen. She began to rummage through the cabinets, frantically searching for something.

"Elena, you need help finding something?" Care asked.

"Got it," Elena found what she was looking for under the kitchen sink. She pulled out a bottle of lighter fluid, unscrewed the top, and began to squirt it over the kitchen counters.

"What are you doing?" Stefan stared at her, shocked. Caroline and I quickly stepped back, inching closer to Stefan as Elena continued to douse her home in the lighter fluid.

"We need a cover story, right?" She glanced at the three of us as we watched on in horror. "You think I didn't hear you guys talking earlier? Well, what are we gonna say - animal attack, 'tumble down the stairs'? No. We burn the house down with him inside of it."

"Elena, stop it!" Stefan raised his voice as Elena made her way into the living room and began spraying the floor.

"Why? Because you want me to not be in denial? You want me to face the truth? This is the truth, Stefan. I don't want to live here anymore," Elena turned around and soaked Jer's drawings in the fluid, along with the x-box on the floor. "I don't want these drawings. I don't want this x-box."

I flinched as she kicked the x-box, breaking the back off of the exterior. I clasped my hand over Caroline's and squeezed it tightly. Care returned the gesture as her heart rate spiked. I continued to watch in utter dismay as Elena picked up a bottle of bourbon and began pouring it on the floor while she continued to express her feelings. My mouth dropped when she poured the liquor on top of her brother's body before she removed his Gilbert ring, and tossed it to Damon.

"Elena, stop it. You're scaring us!" Caroline yelled, holding my hand tightly.

Elena grabbed a picture from on top of the fireplace and turned around to face us, yelling back, "What else are we supposed to do with the body, Caroline?!" I mean, there's no- there's no room in the Gilbert family plot." She threw the frame onto the floor, sending shards of glass into the air. "Jenna and-and John took the last spots." The empty bottle of bourbon was the next thing to be smashed before she grabbed a match from the mantle, and lit it.

"No, no, Elena. Stop." Stefan stepped towards her as she raised the match in the air.

"Please, Elena. Stop!" I pleaded.

"There's nothing here for me anymore! Every inch of this house is filled with memories of the people that I love that have died- my mom, my dad, Jeremy, and Jenna and Alaric, John, even John. I mean, they're all dead. Everyone is dead. So what am I supposed to- I mean, how am I gonna- I can't even- There's nothing left for me- aah!"

The flame from the match she had been holding burned her fingertips. She dropped the stick, but before it could hit the ground, Damon whooshed over and caught it.

She began to sob erratically when Damon told her to calm down. Her weight got too much for her to bear as she fell to the floor. "No, no, no, I can't. I can't. I can't. I-" Her hands cradled her head as she cried out, "No. It hurts. It hurts. Just make it stop. Please make it stop. It hurts."

I placed my hand over my mouth, stifling my own sobs as I watched her completely unravel in front of me.

"Damon...help her." Stefan murmured to his brother. The pain in his eyes was unexplainable.

Damon kneeled down in front of Elena. She shuddered as he reached out and cupped her face. "I can help you. I want you to let me help you." His fingers caressed her cheek before he tucked her hair behind her ears. "I can help you."

"How?" Elena mumbled as Damon stroked her scarlet cheek.

"Turn it off,"

"What?" Stefan gasped loudly, as did Caroline and I. "No, no."

Damon's hand was raised behind him, silencing his brother as he continued to spake to Elena. "Just turn it off, and everything will go away. That's what you have to do. That's what I want you to do. Just turn it off."

Caroline, Stefan and I watched in horror as Elena's tear-stained face turned utterly expressionless and still. The light left her eyes, as though something inside her had just died.

Caroline and I made our way home at the behest of Damon. He wanted it to be just him and Stefan with Elena right now. I wasn't complaining. Seeing Elena's light metaphorically switch off before my very eyes was harrowing. Unsettling, even. I'd never seen it before, and I hoped that I'd never have to witness it again.

Once we arrived back home, Care and I went out separate ways into our own rooms. We hardly spoke on the drive home as we were both still in a state of shock after what had happened. When we did speak, it was about Tyler. How much we missed him, and how much we wanted him to come home.

As I entered my room, I shrugged my coat off and climbed on top of my bed and hugged the sheets tightly against my chest. The events played over and over in my head. A constant reminder of what we had all just lost tonight. I couldn't imagine doing what Elena had done tonight, but I wasn't in her shoes. I didn't know what it felt like to be left completely, and utterly alone.

My eyes wandered around my room before they finally fell on a rolled up piece of paper on my nightstand. I reached over, grabbed it and rolled over onto my back as I unravelled it. I smiled as I held the picture Klaus had drawn of me beside the horse the night of the Mikaelson Ball. I was still enamoured with its beauty and likeness. My mind instantly shifted as I toyed with the idea of calling him. My phone was held in my other hand as I scrolled down to his name and clicked.

My finger hovered over the green-phone symbol before I sighed and tossed my phone to the bottom of the bed.

"Bad move," I groaned to myself as I rolled over and placed the drawing back on my nightstand.

I decided that I needed a long, hot shower to wash the events of the day away and clear my head. I gathered some clean pyjamas and headed down the hall towards the bathroom. Care's soft voice coming from inside her room caused me to stop outside her door as she left Tyler yet another voicemail. I dropped my head and sighed before I walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

Whilst engulfed in the steam from the shower, I worked through countless scenarios in my head. Scenarios where Tyler could come home, but I soon realised that I was fighting a losing battle. Nothing I could offer or say would change Klaus' mind. He made it very clear that night in Elena's living room. The shower that was supposed to relax and clear my mind only clouded it more.