I walked into the Boarding House with my overnight bag in hand and walked to the parlor. I watched as Stefan stared into the fire, deep in thought.

"Stefan?" I called to him and he turned to me. His eyes scanned over my outfit before trying to decide which doppelganger I was. My hair was back to its curly ways and I wore black skinny jeans, black knee high heeled boots, a royal blue tank top under a black leather jacket. "Don't worry, I'm Nicole."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked me.

"Don't start." I told him. "Elena told me what happened with Finn. How Sage died in under an hour after him."

"Let me guess, you told your boyfriend?" he asked me.

"No, I didn't tell Nik." I told him and he looked shocked. "Have you gotten both stakes for him?"

"No. We have to wait for Ric's other side to come out." he told me.

"Then kill him, that should do it." I said.

"It could also make him stronger." he told me.

"Then take his ring and kill him." I said.

"You don't really mean that." he told me.

"Don't I?" I asked him.

"No, I don't think you do." he told me.

"Shows how much you know me." I told him.

"No. It shows how much you've changed." he corrected me. Before I could say anything I heard Damon bringing down his luggage for the trip.

"You hear from Klaus?" Damon asked, not looking up to see me.

"Not yet. I'm sure I will soon though." Stefan picked up the white oak stake and walked to us. "He's expecting me to deliver two stakes, I only have one."

"Well, that's gonna be disappointing for him." Damon said finally looking up to see me. "Hello Mrs. Original. Here to do your boyfriends dirty work?" he asked sarcastically.

"He doesn't need me for that." I told him.

"I'll get the location of the stake out of Alaric. I just need some time." Stefan told us and I gave him a look.

"I like that confidence, Stefan. I don't share it, but I like it." Damon told his brother.

"I agree with Damon." I told him then made a face. "That gave me a bad taste in my mouth." I said and he glared at me.

"You don't think I can do what it takes." he said to us.

"Well, you're good Stefan again. You're in control. Sorry, you might get the girl but you lose the edge. Speaking of…" Damon said smirking as Elena walked into the room. "Have you ever flown first class?"

"Who did you have to compel for that?" she asked him.

"Pft, please. I use miles." he told her before turning to me. "I only have enough for two first class tickets, look like you are flying coach." I smirked and pulled out a card Nik had given me.

"I think I can manage a first class ticket with Nik's help." I told him. His smug face fell and we picked up the luggage and walked out of the door.

When we got to Denver we rented a car and drove to the batting cage our family friends told us Jeremy was at.

"There he is." Elena said, pointing out Jer missing a baseball that came his way.

"Next time we compel him, remind me to make him better at baseball." Damon told us.

"We wont be compelling him again." I ordered them as I walked to the cage, smiling. "Hey Jer!"

"Nikky? Elena? What's wrong?" he asked us before joining us out of the cage. Damon and I explained what's been happening since they compelled him to leave home.

"Katherine sired us, Rose sired Katherine, all we need to do is find out who sired Rose." Damon told us.

"So, you traveled across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?" Jer asked us.

"Dead vampire is redundant, but yes." Damon told him.

"Well, I can't. I could talk to Anna and Vicki because I knew them. I've never even met Rose." Jer reminded us.

"What good is you dying and coming back to life if you can't talk to a ghost when I need you to?" Damon asked him and I hit him.

"Be nice." I told him. "Rose spent a long time running from Nik. She and Damon were close, so maybe we can use him as a connection." I suggested. "He'd finally be good for something."

"Fine, fine, but can we do this later? My friend just got here and yes, Damon, I actually have some. I'll call you when I'm done." Jer told us walking away from us. We turned to see Kol and I grew angry.

"Jer.." Elena said shocked.

"Hey man." Jer called to him.

"It's Kol!" I said angry. Kol suddenly walked to Damon and hit him with a wooden baseball bat hard, making the bat break in half and Damon fell to the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Jeremy asked Kol shocked.

"Jeremy, get back! He's an Original." Elena told him.

"What?" he asked us.

"No hard feelings, mate. But we're not buds." Kol said to Jer before grabbing an aluminum bat from the bat rack. "You know, I'll never get use to aluminum. But hey, at least it won't break." Kol was about to hit Damon with the bat, when Damon picked up half of the broken wooden bat and stabbed Kol through the chest with it forcing Kol to fall to the ground.

"Did you kill him?" Jer asked.

"No, but it'll give us a head start." I said.

"Okay, come on." Damon grabbed Elena who was shocked and we all left the batting cages. We drove to a crappy motel and got out, getting our luggage and walking to our room. "For the record, she's the one who wanted to stay in a motel, not me."

"So, where are we?" Jer asked.

"Corner of somewhere and nowhere where Kol can't find us." Damon told us.

"Hopefully." I said, getting a look from them.

"I can't believe Kol was a vampire." Jer said.

"Well, didn't you find it weird that you made a friend so fast? Have you met you?" Damon asked him and I sent him a glare.

"Not helping." Elena said.

"Don't worry Elena, it's not like he's acting different from normal." I told her and she glared at me as we entered the motel room.

"Well, this should work, right Jer?" Elena asked him.

"Yeah, doesn't really matter." Jer told her.

"Alright Whoopi, what do you need?" Damon asked drawing the curtains closed. "Candles? Incense? Pottery wheel?"

"That's not how it works." Jer told us.

"I know, I know. They push from the other side and you pull from this one." Damon said, remembering.

"Alright, you uh- you got a picture of her?" Jer asked him.

"Picture? What, a trip to Disneyland? Come on Rose, you're not gonna actually make us wait, are you? I know you're obsessed with me." Damon called to her and Elena scoffed, rolling her eyes and sitting next to Jer while I sat next to Damon on the bed.

"Alright, uh- tell me something about her." Jer told him.

"Um, well she does this little thing with her tongue." Damon said, smirking and this time I rolled my eyes while scoffing at him.

"Something that matters, Damon." I told him.

"She spent her last day in paradise. Soaking in the sun and reminiscing about what it means to be human. And when death came, she didn't fear it." he told us and I looked at him confused.

"I was with her on her last day and she definitely wasn't in paradise for either of us." I told him.

"It was in the dream he gave her. She's here." Jer told us.

"Is she lonely on the other side?" I asked him. He listened for a moment before answering.

"She says not to worry, she's happy." he told us.

"Is she still hot?" Damon asked Jer. Jer listened to something before giving a look.

"She misses you." Jer said. "She uh- she misses all of you. She's not happy with the choices you've made in your life Nikky."

"Tell her to but out." I told him.

"She was sired by someone named Mary Porter." Jer told us, ignoring my comment I suppose.

"Uh – Scary Mary. Well, where is she, Rose?" Damon asked.

"She said to wait here. She'll tell us when she finds something.

Rose: I didn't keep track of her when I was alive, much less now. Tell them to sit tight, relax, I'll see what I can find out.

I slept in a separate room with Jeremy as Damon and Elena took residence in another room. Jer didn't like it, but I convinced him Damon, Elena and I might try and kill each other if we stayed in the same room. Before we parted ways for bed the three of us were all watching TV together, like old times.

"So, what's up with you and Damon?" Jer asked Elena and I smiled.

"What do you mean? Nothing's up." Elena lied.

"Are you sure about that? Cause even Rose said something." Jer told her.

"What did she say?" Elena asked him as Damon entered the room.

"Everything okay in here?" he asked us.

"Yeah. It's fine." I told him with a smirk.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna freshen up. You might want to get some rest. I'm sure Rose will make herself known when she gets back." Damon told us.

"God willing." I told him before he and Elena left the room. "Jer, she and Stefan are on the outs still. She and Damon have gotten close to each other."

"And you?" he asked me.

"What about me?" I asked him.

"What's up with you and Klaus?" he asked.

"He and I are still together, happy with your nephew Nikolas. Ric killed Jenna and I wont forgive him and the others want me to." I said.

"I'm sorry." he said to me.

"Don't be. I'll be fine." I told him with a small smile before laying down. I was almost asleep when my phone rang. I groaned before stepping out of the room and walking outside.

"Hello love." I smiled at his voice.

"Hello Nik. How are things back home?" I asked him.

"Alaric still hasn't told us where the stake is. How are things in Denver, Kol said he saw you." he told me.

"Yes, they found out a vampire called Mary Porter sired Rose. That means that Damon, Elena, Jeremy and I are going to find Mary Porter as soon as Rose gets back and they want to find out which Original sired their bloodline." I told him. "Once an Original dies the vampires who were sired by their bloodline die with them. Just thought you'd like to know."

"Thank you for your help." he told me and I could here the smirk on his face.

"You're welcome." I hung up, went back to my room and fell asleep.


"Nikky? Wake up. We have to go." Jer said, shaking me awake.

"What is it?" I asked him and he smiled down at me.

"Rose found Mary. She lives in Kansas." he told me and I nodded my head. I got up and grabbed my phone, sending a text message.

"Let's go." I said. We all left Colorado and drove to Kansas. When we got to the address Rose gave us we pulled up to an old, abandoned looking house and got out of the car.

"This is the address." Jer told us.

"Looks about right." Damon told us as Elena turned to Jer.

"Wait here." she told him.

"Why?! So you guys can make out some more?" Jer asked them and I smirked.

"Make out?" I asked looking at the.

"Don't be a dick. Listen to your sister." Damon said. Jeremy scoffed at him and went back to the car. "Thank you. Come on." The three of us entered the house and Elena turned on the flashlight.

"Oof, like Vampire Hoarders." Damon said as we made our way through the house.

"Who is this Mary person?" Elena asked him.

"Scary Mary. She's really old, super creepy." Damon told us.

"We figured that out by her name. How do you know her?" I asked him.

"I dated her." he told us.

"Of course." Elena sighed.

"What? I said creepy, not ugly." he told her. A loud noise suddenly came from another room. We all looked at the door where the noise came from before we followed Damon into the other room. Elena and I moved the light around the room until it landed on a vampire who had been staked to the wall. "Mary." the lights suddenly came on in the dark room and we saw Kol sitting in a chair with a baseball bat.

"Quite contrary." Kol said smirking at us. "Shame about Mary, she used to be a blast. Don't quite know what happened. I fear all the time she spent with my family might have ruined her. She was a bit of an Original groupie."

"And were you her favorite?" Elena asked him.

"You mean, did I turn her? I think I did. But no, wait, maybe it was Rebekah. There was also a Klaus period. And let's not forget the Elijah affair. I spoke to my brother, I know you're trying to find out who you descended from. Now you never will. So, where did we leave off?" Kol asked Damon before he hit him with the baseball bat. Damon fell to the ground and Kol continued to hit him.

"Elena, Nicole, get out of here!" Damon said and Elena ran for the door, but Kol blocked her way.

"According to my brother, you're off limits. Please don't test me." Kol told her before throwing her to the ground. Damon got up and rushed towards Kol.

"Don't touch her." Damon ordered him, but Kol threw him off.

"Oh dear, I've hit a nerve. Relax, darling, I just want us to be even. You snapped my neck, you killed my brother, and then you humiliated me." Kol said before hitting Damon with the bat repeatedly. "There, now we're even." Elena immediately went to Damon and put her hand on Damon's chest.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah." Damon answered popping his arm back into place. "That's better." Damon caressed Elena's face and touched the cut on her forehead making her gasp. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

"Yeah. I'll be fine." she told him. She grabbed his hand and took if off her face. She released his hand from her own and turned away.

"What are you doing?" he asked her and she turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Well, this trip and you kissing me. What the hell is this?" Damon asked her.

"Stefan thinks that I have feelings for you." she told him.

"Do you?" Damon asked her.

"I- I don't – I don't know." she confessed to him.

"Hm. I guess you thought this little trip could help you figure that out, didn't you?" he asked her.

"No." she told him.

"Or maybe you were hoping I'd screw it up, so I could just make the decision for you, am I wrong?" he asked her.

"Damon…" she tried diverting the conversation but he would have none of it.

"Am I wrong?" she repeated.

"It's what you do, Damon. You sabotage things, you… I mean, think about it, every time there's a bump in the road, you lash out." she told him.

"What if I didn't? What if there was no bump?" he asked her. "I'm sorry, Elena. This time I'm not gonna make it so easy for you. This time you'll have to figure it out for yourself." Damon told her before walking out of the door.

"You need to decide which Salvatore you want sister, before you loose them both." I told him before joining the others. Eventually she joined us back in the car and we all went home.