"We're going to put the house in your name this afternoon," Elena tells Aunt Jenna the next morning over coffee. Elena is trying her best to ignore how quiet the house is. No loud music. No heavy steps on the stairs. (No Jeremy hogging their bathroom.) "I called the lawyer. Stefan said that transferring the deed will revoke any prior invitations."

Aunt Jenna nods.

"Wear the bracelet I gave you all the time, especially if you leave the house," Elena reminds her. "It's safer to drink vervain, but we don't have enough yet to steep it in tea. Stefan says the plants that Zach Salvatore was growing in the basement should be ready in a few weeks."

Aunt Jenna just nods again. Elena knows she's dumping a lot of information on her at once. But she can't lose anyone else – and Aunt Jenna needs to have the full picture so she can protect herself.

"Katherine looks iexactly/i like me. We could be identical twins. So never, ever invite me into the house, or tell me to come inside, or anything like that. Okay? That's really, really important. And don't get in a car with me, or go anywhere alone with me, unless I'm wearing my necklace, and it's touching my skin. Vervain burns vampires – Katherine's skin would smoke where the pendant touches," Elena tells her. They go over everything Elena knows about vampires, about Katherine, about anyone and everyone who could pose a threat to Aunt Jenna. She's relieved to see that Aunt Jenna seems to be taking it all seriously, even if she seems incredulous at times.

They both startle a bit when the doorbell rings. It's Bonnie, and Elena watches carefully as Aunt Jenna just opens the door, greets her, and steps aside. Bonnie walks over the threshold with no invitation, and they sit down together in the living room.

Bonnie tells them that she just came from the Salvatore Boarding House. Stefan apparently snapped Damon's neck after they left, and locked him in the basement again.

"He got out last time," Elena points out. She knows just how much it hurts to lose a brother (god, does she know), but she can't help but wish Stefan would just stake Damon and be done with it.

"He doesn't have anyone to let him out this time," Bonnie responds. An awkward silence descends, as they both try not to cry at the thought of Caroline. Her funeral is the next day, and yet Elena still can't comprehend that she's gone. That Elena will have to live the rest of her life without both her little brother and one of her best friends.

Eventually, Bonnie continues: "I found a boundary spell in Emily's grimoire. It's isn't as strong as the one she put on the tomb, but it'll stop Damon from leaving the basement, even if he gets the door open. That's why I met Stefan this morning – he called me over to cast it."

It makes Elena feel a little better, that Damon won't be able to escape to hurt anyone else. But a small part of her still wonders whether she should ask Stefan to stake Damon. (She wonders whether he would do it.) They'd have to wait a little while, until Damon desiccated enough that Stefan is stronger than him, despite drinking animal blood. (She thinks about doing it herself, but she isn't sure she can bear to look at Damon again without falling to pieces.)

Alaric and Stefan arrive at the house together, not long after Bonnie. Apparently, Stefan wants to figure out why Mayor Lockwood and Tyler reacted to the Gilbert device, even though they weren't vampires. Elena can't really bring herself to care. She's known Tyler her entire life – she literally can't remember a time before she knew Tyler. He can be a jerk sometimes, and maybe he has a bit of a temper, but he isn't a threat to her or Aunt Jenna or Bonnie.

"We're going to Isobel's office at Duke, to see if she left any research about supernatural creatures other than vampires," Ric tells them.

Of course Elena wants to learn more about Isobel – and she wonders if Isobel's research will contain some answers about Katherine too – but she just ican't/i right now.

It's essential that they sign the papers itoday/i to put the house in Aunt Jenna's name. Right now, Katherine could bust the door down at any time. Or she could sneak in, and pretend to be Elena, just to get close enough to Aunt Jenna or Bonnie to…

Elena tries not to think about it, because there isn't anything she can do about it right now. Katherine can walk into the Salvatore Boarding House without an invitation too, and it wouldn't be any safer to go stay with anyone else in town. Who knows how many people Katherine has tricked into inviting her in, while she pretended to be Elena.

And Elena should probably call Sheriff Forbes too. She hasn't gone to the station yet to give her statement about Jeremy. She hasn't gotten a call yet to remind her, but she figures it is only a matter of time.

She's not sure what she's going to say. If she tells Sheriff Forbes that Damon killed Jeremy, she'll need to tell her that Damon is a vampire. And if she tells her that Damon is a vampire, then she'll expose Stefan too. The easiest thing would be to blame Jeremy's murder on Katherine, but Elena doesn't want to tarnish Jeremy's memory by lying for his killer…

She'll have to figure something out. She always does.

And it's possible Sheriff Forbes won't even be working the next few days, given that Caroline…

Bonnie sits down next to Elena, startling her from her thoughts. Aunt Jenna and Alaric and Stefan are all looking at her, their eyes full of sympathy. It makes her want to run away.

Maybe to the cemetery, to lie on the cool grass next to Jeremy's grave.

She wonders if that will make her feel less alone, or more.

"Alaric and I are leaving now," Stefan tells her. "Do you want to come with us?"

She declines. Ric pulls Aunt Jenna into the kitchen for a hushed conversation, and Stefan sits on the couch across from Elena and Bonnie. He's giving Elena a pointed look, and she figures he wants to talk to her alone, but Bonnie is a warm presence of her side, and she can't bear to leave her.

Stefan can wait. If he has anything, it's time.

They sit in a silence for a few minutes, until Ric comes back into the living room. He gives her an understanding smile, and tells Stefan that he'll meet him at the car. Elena walks Stefan to the door.

"I love you," he tells her, leaning down for a brief kiss. She lets him take it. It's the first time they've kissed since Damon…

"I love you too," she says after Stefan pulls away. It's still true, even if Elena's life would be a lot simpler if it weren't.

After Stefan leaves, Aunt Jenna hands Elena another cup of coffee. Bonnie declines, taking out Emily's grimoire and telling them that she's been looking for protection spells. She pulls a few other books out of her bag, explaining that her Grams left them to her but she hasn't had a chance to go through them all yet.

"Don't push yourself too much. It isn't safe to use too much magic," Elena reminds her.

"But it's a full moon tonight," Bonnie says. "And it's easier to do spells on a full moon. If I don't try them tonight, I might have to wait another month to have enough power."

Elena sighs, but she and Aunt Jenna help Bonnie search through the grimoires for anything helpful until the lawyer comes. Elena again watches carefully as Aunt Jenna opens the door, greets the woman, and steps to the side.

The lawyer gives her a strange look as she walks over the threshold, but Elena couldn't care less. Let the world think they're weird, so long as Aunt Jenna is safe. Fifteen minutes later, and the house is in Aunt Jenna's name, and Elena relaxes – just a bit – for the first time since finding Uncle John's body in the kitchen.

"You're a homeowner now," Elena tries to tease. Aunt Jenna gives her a half-hearted smile in return. They sit back down with Bonnie, who gives a sigh of frustration before putting Emily's grimoire down on the coffee table.

"I need a break," Bonnie announces. "So – you and Mr. Saltzman…?" she asks Aunt Jenna.

Aunt Jenna smiles and shrugs. "He's handsome, and kind, and now that I know his secret…"

"That he's a vampire hunter," Elena offers.

"Who was married to Elena's birth mother," Bonnie continues.

"Before Isobel got herself turned into a vampire," Elena finishes. She can't quite manage a laugh, but she thinks her smile is real enough as Aunt Jenna blushes just a bit.

"You don't think it's weird that he could have been your stepfather?" she asks.

"Ric's a good guy. As long as he makes you happy, I support you both," Elena says. She doesn't say that Ric knows about vampires and can help protect Aunt Jenna, even though that is currently the strongest point in his favor – at least in Elena's mind.

They turn back to Bonnie's grimoires, until Elena's phone starts ringing – it's Stefan, telling her that he and Ric are on their way back to Mystic Falls. "Isobel's research assistant was helpful," Stefan says. "And we're bringing back some books and notes."

"Drive safe," Elena tells him. "I'll see you in a few hours." They exchange good-byes and "I love yous" before hanging up.

"Hmm..." Aunt Jenna murmurs. "Bonnie – what do you think about this spell?" She points to a page in one of Grams's grimoires. Bonnie shifts over, reading the spell.

"That's a good idea," Bonnie says. "And I don't think it would be too hard, especially with the full moon. I'll just need some candles, and I can probably do this without too much trouble once the moon rises."

"What is it?" Elena asks, curious.

"It's like a notice-me-not spell," Bonnie tells her.

"So vampires won't pay attention to us?" Aunt Jenna asks. Elena wonders if it would work on all vampires – could Bonnie make them invisible to Katherine and Damon… and Stefan?

"No – I'm not that strong," Bonnie replies, shaking her head before Elena has a chance to consider whether she'd take that trade off. "But I could cast it on Elena's necklace, and your bracelet, so vampires won't notice that you're wearing vervain..."

"And if they don't know that we're wearing vervain, they can't take it away to compel us," Elena finishes Bonnie's thought. "You're a genius, Bon."

Sitting there, seeing Bonnie's look of determination, Elena feels a spark of hope. Maybe – ijust maybe/i – she doesn't have to lose anyone else.