When they reached Mystic Falls again, she stepped out of the car, the puppy in hand, whereas Klaus looked relieved.
"You should keep that thing away from me."
"Fine, I'll keep him away, but I think it's best you leave now. I want to go check up on Alaric, see how everything is." He nodded and she tried to ignore the small feeling of hurt as he left.
She wished she had been more open with him. But she also wished he had been more open with her.
She shook herself free of those thoughts when Jeremy stepped outside, and walked over to her, face split into a grin.
"Where did you get him?" He took the puppy from Elena, laughing as he played with him.
"An alley. We should probably take him to the vet."
"Best keep him away from Stefan, or he might just end up eating your pet." She shook her head as turned to face Damon who was doing his best to look innocent.
"Shut up you-"
"Hey Jer, why don't you see if we can get an appointment for a vet." Elena intervened, and her brother went back inside.
"Let me get these." Damon said picking up her duffle. "So how the Big Apple with the big bad wolf? Did you two have a sleepover? Paint each other's toenails?"
"What are you doing here Damon?"
"What am I- I was waiting to see if you would come back. He could've just taken off with you."
"Well, I'm here."
"In one piece, and smelling like dog, good for you."
"So, what's been going on here? How is Ric?"
"Witchy did a spell on him to get rid of his psychotic self, and I'm gonna keep an eye on him. I don't think your aunt is okay with it though."
"She doesn't like you."
"What about you? Got anything to help?"
"Yeah, I-two things from two different witches. Is Bonnie still here?"
"Nope, her and vampire blonde left a while ago."
The door opened again once they reached the porch, and Jenna stepped out.
"You got a dog?"
"Yeah, it was a whimsical decision." She said biting her lip.
It took a little while to convince Jenna about the puppy, but eventually hers and Jeremy's pleading won out. The rest of the day went by smoothly, with her, Jeremy, Jenna and Alaric, who seemed to be in a better state.
She had initially been unsure about handing over the bracelet she had gotten from Tristan, but in the end, her protectiveness won out. And Bonnie would do a spell on it later to make sure it wasn't cursed.
They also managed to pick out a name for the dog - Bear, and by the time the evening rolled around, Elena had almost forgotten all about the supernatural in her life. The four of them were sitting around the dinner table, and it felt like they were just a normal family.
She wasn't sure how long it would last, but she was going to savour it while it did.
It lasted until the next morning.
She got a cryptic text from Damon, asking her to meet him in the woods.
She also had one from Klaus, something about staying out of Rebekah's way.
I always do.
She had responded, and at least she tried to. Once she was ready for the day, she headed out into the woods, taking Bear with her, knowing he would need a lot of training the first few weeks.
"Hey Caroline."
"Hey Elena, is that him?" She laughed at the excitement in the blonde vampires voice, who had started playing with Bear, looking at the sight in contentment.
"This is why I got him. He's the sweetest, isn't he?"
"Yeah!" She was glad to see her friend in good spirits after everything that had happened recently, including learning about how Alaric was the one who killed her father.
That was what struck her about Caroline, the way she could empathise and understand Ric's situation to the point where she didn't necessarily hold him responsible.
"Hey Matt."
"Hey, what's with the cryptic secret meeting text?" He asked once they reached him, Bear in Caroline's arms.
"I don't know, Stefan just said to meet here." She said.
"Well, isn't this cute?" She turned around to see Damon walking out of the woods, Stefan trailing behind him. "By the way brother, you might want to control yourself, thethe dog's off limits." Stefan looked as though he wanted to punch his brother, but just shrugged instead.
"I don't eat puppies Damon."
"Just bunnies, got it." She looked between the two brothers, shaking her head.
"Why did you call us here Stefan?" She asked as she Jeremy walked over to them as well, and she frowned in confusion.
"What are we doing here?" Jeremy asked.
"I found some more white oak. Long story, wait for the movie."
"Hang on. White oak?" She tried to keep her voice levelled as she asked, feeling as if a stone had dropped in the pit of her stomach. "You have a weapon that kill Klaus?" She knew she let a little too much desperation slip into her voice.
"Nope, we all have a weapon."He threw a duffel bag onto the ground and Elena looked curiously at it. Jeremy pulled a stake out of the bag, resembling the one Mikael had.
"A weapon to kill an original?"
She watched as Damon and Stefan exchanged a look.
"Klaus has always been one step ahead of us. But now we have the advantage. We're all armed and they are all linked." Stefan said.
She could hear plans being made, the way they were talking excitedly about how they had found the weapons, their strategy of 'find an original, kill an original' and she felt as though her heart was in her throat.
How was it that she kept circling back to this point every time?
How was it that she had to once again make a decision about where her loyalties lay?
How was it that every time, she ended up betraying one or the other person she cared about?
Why did it make her feel like a traitor?
"Elena? Elena!" She snapped out of her thoughts to look at Caroline who was trying to grab her attention, only to see that everyone was staring at her.
"You okay?" Stefan was asking her, and for once, she didn't lie. She just shook her head.
"I-you can't kill them."
"Oh God, is this - when are you going to stop sympathising with them?" Damon asked almost frustrated, "don't you remember what happened last time?"
"Yeah Lena, don't you?" She closed her eyes as she felt Bonnie's presence behind her before she even heard her voice.
The guilt seemed to keep intensifying inside of her.
"Bonnie, it's not, I haven't forgotten anything, I just met someone in New York."
"Who'd you meet?" Bonnie asked, and Elena recounted her meeting with Tristan, and his theory about Mikael and his entire sireline dying.
"Uh no, no way am I believing this."
"Damon, it's what he told me okay? And he seemed to hate Klaus more than we do. And unless we know for sure, we can't risk it."
"It's a lie Elena." Damon was the person pushing back the most.
"Damon, what if it isn't? It's not exactly a chance we can take."
"Yes it is." Stefan. The person she thought would be on her side seemed to be even more determined than Damon.
"Stefan…"
"It's worth the risk of it means Klaus is dead."
"Is it?" She couldn't help the small amount of panic that was beginning to set in her chest. It wasn't just Klaus anymore, if Tristan was right, all of her friends could end up dying. "Just think please, what if killing them kills all vampires? You and Damon and Caroline? Tyler?"
"She's right." She turned to see Bonnie looking determined. "We can't take that chance."
"Why are you on her side?" Damon asked Bonnie incredulously.
"Because Abby's a vampire Damon, and if killing Klaus means she dies, then it's not a chance I'm willing to take."
"Alright, so I'm guessing the two wonder boys are out too." Damon said gesturing to Jeremy and Matt who seemed more reluctant than before. "And you?" He asked Caroline who had been silent up until that point.
"I think we should wait. Maybe Bonnie could confirm with the spirits?" Caroline said and Bonnie nodded, the panic in Elena's chest settling down slightly.
"Or, we can just test it out." Stefan said making Damon look at him as if he was crazy.
"Really Stef?"
"Yeah, kill one and see if the theory is true."
"Which one?" Damon was looking as if he was slightly more interested in the idea than before.
"Finn. He only ever turned Sage, didn't he?"
"That isn't a bad idea."
"Are you insane?" Elena didn't realise she had spoken until she heard her own voice echo in the woods. "You want to kill one of them as an experiment, to see if thousands die with him?"
"Yes. Oh come on, you know Klaus would never hesitate in doing something like this. That's why he's always ahead of us. We're doing this. That or we just kill him directly. We can't take the word of some guy none of us have ever met."
"I actually agree with Damon." Jeremy said looking almost apologetic.
"I'll see what I can find." Bonnie said, and Elena wasn't sure what to say. In her effort to think of something, she missed the look Caroline sent her way.
