Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning Rebecca took Chelsea with her when she went to Bonnie's. Bonnie had never invited Rebecca inside the house, so Rebecca knocked and waited for Bonnie to open the door.

When Bonnie did, she looked around suspiciously.

"Damon's not here," Rebecca said. "Uh . . . he's going to the tomb. We need a favor. We need you to help keep Elena away from the tomb, um . . . if you're strong enough."

"You on your way to Elena's?" Bonnie asked.

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, you wanna come?"

"Yeah, just . . . um . . . you don't have to wait outside. You can come in. I have to get some things."

Rebecca smiled tentatively. "Oh. Okay."

Rebecca went inside and shut the door quietly. Bonnie went upstairs and Rebecca waited patiently on the couch. While she was waiting, Chelsea began walking toward the stairs, but Rebecca didn't care. It wasn't like Chelsea knew how to climb yet.

Only Chelsea did begin to climb the stairs. Well, crawl up them, anyway.

"Chels," Rebecca said. "Be careful."

Rebecca got up from the couch and went to stand behind her too-independent little sister. She didn't have to wait long for Bonnie to come back down the stairs. Bonnie had her purse in one hand and the moonstone and her Grimiore in the other.

About ten minutes later Bonnie, Rebecca and Chelsea were at Elena's house. Bonnie had done a spell to lock Elena in the house, but Elena didn't know about it yet. They wouldn't tell her unless they had to.

They were still trying to figure out how to take the spell off the moonstone.

"Bonnie, can't this wait?" Elena asked. "Stefan is stuck in the tomb with Katherine. We've gotta get him out."

"Stefan wants me to focus on this," Bonnie said, emphasizing the stone.

"Well, don't listen to him. He thinks that he's protecting me, but he's wrong."

"I'm taking Stefan's side with this one. We're not gonna let you get sacrificed in some creepy sacrifice ritual."

Suddenly the bedroom door was being opened and Jeremy was stepping inside the room.

"What're you guys arguing about?" he asked.

"We're not arguing about anything," Bonnie said, giving Elena a pointed look. "I need coffee."

Rebecca watched as Bonnie put the moonstone in her purse and got off the bed.

Bonnie left the room, but Rebecca, Chelsea, and Jeremy stayed with Elena. Rebecca noticed that Jeremy still had the bandage over his neck where the bite wounds would've been if she hadn't healed him. She assumed it was so no one would ask him any questions.

"Why're you on some suicide mission?" Jeremy asked his sister.

"I'm trying to prevent everyone else from being hurt."

"So bringing Klaus the moonstone so you can get yourself killed is okay?"

Both Jeremy and Rebecca left then with Chelsea walking with the help of Rebecca's hand. When they reached the stairs, Chelsea let Rebecca go and sat down. She began butt-scooting down the stairs.

The going was so slow that Elena ended up passing them.

"Where're you going?" Rebecca asked.

"Um . . . to see Stefan," she said, but her voice sounded off. She wasn't telling the truth.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"You took the moonstone," Jeremy said. "I can see the indent in your pocket."

Elena glared at Jeremy. "Okay, yes, I did. Klaus killed Katherine's entire family just because she crossed him. I can't let that happen."

Rebecca picked Chelsea up and followed Elena to the front door. She had to see what Elena's reaction would be when she realized what Bonnie had done.

Elena was confused at first. From what Rebecca knew of the spell, Elena would feel like the air was too thick to get through.

"Bonnie, what'd you do?" Elena called out and Bonnie came through the kitchen and into the living room, a cup of coffee in hand.

"It's for the best, Elena."

"Yup," Rebecca said. "If you had given us the time like you'd promised yesterday, we'd trust you to go see Stefan, but you lied, so . . ."

Elena shook her head and stomped up the stairs like a five-year-old having a tantrum.

"You trapped her in the house?" was Stefan's response when Damon told him what he had asked Bonnie to do to Elena.

"It's for the best. Trust me," Damon said. "It's the only way I know to keep her at home and not on some suicide mission. Besides, Rebecca's with her."

Damon stepped forward and showed Stefan the overnight bag he had brought.

"Care package," Damon said. "Candles, lanterns, and lunch."

Lunch happened to just be a water bottle filled with blood. Damon was surprised when Stefan didn't reach for it. Stefan had to be starving.

"If you give that to me, I'm just gonna have to share it with her."

Katherine stepped out of the shadows and Damon glared at her. She smiled his way.

"You know, you two are awfully calm considering Klaus will hunt you down and kill you if you mess up his little plan," she said.

"I've been dead before. I got over it," Damon said and then looked at Stefan. "Once we deal with this moonstone, we'll figure out a way to get you out."

"No, don't worry about me. Just make sure Elena's safe."

Damon nodded but didn't listen to his brother. Stefan was doing his usual younger brother martyr thing. Stefan and Elena could start a self-sacrificing committee if they wanted to.

It wouldn't solve anything, but there it was.

"So now I'm playing historical society hostess to some writer who's doing this book on Virginia," Jenna said to Ric, who had asked her out to lunch. Things had been going great with them ever since Ric had gotten closure by going up to Duke with Elena. Elena had wanted to find out about her birth mother, and Ric had needed the closure.

"It's lame, but Carol Lockwood played the dead husband card and said she was too busy to deal. Plus, my sister kept most of the archives, so there you have it."

"Mm."

Ric saw Tyler walk in and go to Caroline, who had been at the Grill alone since Ric had gotten there with Jenna.

Tyler had a duffel bag with him and he looked worried – which he should be since he was going to be changing into a wolf that night.

Tyler and Caroline left together and Ric tried to enjoy the rest of his lunch with Jenna.

After leaving the tomb, Damon went to Elena's and walked right in because the door wasn't locked.

From the sounds everyone was making, Jeremy was in the kitchen, and Rebecca, Chelsea, and Elena were in the living room. Bonnie must've left already.

Rebecca was sitting on the couch with Elena, who was having a grump fest, and Chelsea was playing with the TV remote. She seemed to know that the buttons did something even if she didn't know what.

Elena eyed him murderously.

"Oh, come on, pouty. Give me two points for ingenuity."

"Do you think this is funny?" Elena asked.

"Yes, Elena. I find hilarity in the lengths I have to go to repeatedly save your life."

"Hm. What did Stefan say about this?"

"We had a good laugh," Damon said.

"And what did he say about Elijah still being alive?"

"Yeah, that . . . I didn't tell him."

Damon sat down between Elena and Rebecca and he put an arm around Rebecca. Chelsea waddled over and began climbing up Damon's leg. When she got on his lap she stood up, one foot on each of his legs and grabbed his neck.

"Ug! Ug!" she squealed.

Elena giggled, but Damon could tell she was trying to stay mad about being stuck in the house.

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"Well, A, he can't do anything about it, and B, . . . What I just said."

"Day! Ug!"

"I think she wants a hug," Jeremy said from the archway to the living room.

"She does?" Damon asked, looking down at the girl on his lap. "Is that what you want? I thought you were calling me ugly."

Chelsea spread her arms out wide and said, "Ug."

Damon wrapped his arms around her. "Happy?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good." He looked at Rebecca. "Where's Bonnie?"

"Thought she was meeting you," Jeremy said.

"No. She's on moonstone duty, and we're on Elena patrol," Rebecca said.

"And who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?" Jeremy asked.

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she could handle it and I said 'Why not?' I figured if she screwed up, he'd bite her, and then I'd be rid of two of my problems."

Damon grinned at Rebecca and she rolled her eyes. She knew he was just messing with her.

As much as he didn't like Caroline, he didn't want her dead. The reason he was letting Caroline deal with the wolf situation was that he knew if Tyler was left to deal with this transition on his own, Rebecca would probably volunteer herself as wolf helper and that wasn't happening.

"Hold on a second," Elena said. "Tonight's the full moon?"

"Yup, but you're too absorbed with all your suicidal tendencies to notice," Damon answered.

A ringing came from Damon's jeans pocket and he had to get up to get it, so he put Chelsea on Rebecca's lap.

"What?" he answered, knowing the person on the other line was Alaric Saltzman.

"Sheriff Forbes has officially declared Mason Lockwood a missing person."

"What? Why?"

Rebecca looked at him and Damon met her eyes. He didn't care that she was listening in.

"A girl from Florida showed up on the Lockwood's doorstep looking for Mason."

"What girl?"

"I don't know, but she's sure got everyone in a tizzy."

"That's not good. Where are you?"

"I'm at the Grill," Ric answered.

"I'm on my way," Damon said.

Damon saw that Rebecca was biting her lip and looking down at Chelsea. Damon could tell that she wanted to come with him, but she didn't want to leave Chelsea alone in the Gilbert home. He didn't blame her; Elena was a danger magnet.

"Change of plans," Damon said, looking at Jeremy. "You babysit."

Jeremy plopped down on the couch, spreading himself over Rebecca and Elena's lap, careful not to actually land on Chelsea.

"Hey, you know, you should get out, enjoy the sun," Damon quipped in Elena's direction. "Oh, wait. You can't."

Jeremy laughed and Elena threw a pillow at Damon's head. Damon ducked, so the pillow didn't hit him.

He watched as Elena pushed Jeremy off the couch. The dark-haired boy didn't have far to fall, so Damon knew Jeremy couldn't hurt himself.

Damon caught Rebecca's eye and he smiled sympathetically at her. He knew Rebecca missed being able to be in on the action, but he also knew she wouldn't trade Chelsea for anything, not even if it meant not being able to help out physically.

"So, who showed up on your doorstep?" Caroline asked Tyler as they got out of her car. She had driven them to the ruins of the old Lockwood cellar/slave quarters. It was the same place Caroline's mom had tortured Damon and Stefan for information.

"I don't know," Tyler answered. "She said her name was Jules. She's a friend of Mason's. She said he never showed up in Florida."

"You know, maybe he just stopped to go surf somewhere. Isn't that Mason's whole thing?"

"Maybe. This girl just seemed to think he would've called."

"I'm sure he's okay," Caroline said even though she knew Mason wasn't okay at all because Mason was dead. Damon had killed him because Mason had been working with Katherine and because he'd attacked Stefan and Rebecca; Mason had attacked Damon, too, but Damon cared more about his girlfriend and brother than he cared about himself.

"Yeah. Anyway, let's do this."

After getting off the phone with Damon, Ric had seen Jenna off and he had moved to a different table so he could have full view of the entrance. He didn't want Damon sneaking up on him. Ric trusted Damon, to a point – enough to be friends with him – but Damon was still a vampire.

Instead of seeing Damon come in, Ric saw a beautiful blond woman come and start questioning people about Tyler Lockwood.

"Ah. Mason's mystery woman," Damon said, sitting right beside Ric.

"Yup. Where is Mason, anyway? And how did you get in here without me seeing you?"

"I'm a vampire, figure it out. And Mason is decomposing in his truck."

"Hm. So, you think she's a werewolf?" Ric asked.

"Well, I hope not, seeing as it's a full moon and all, Ric. We should definitely find out."

Damon took out a small packet of some kind of plant. Ric was pretty sure it was wolfsbane, but he wasn't positive.

"You wanna do this here?" Ric asked. "If it works, people will wonder what's wrong with her."

Damon shook his head. "Werewolves don't want people to know what they are. Trust me, she won't make a scene."

Back at the Lockwood estate, Tyler was setting up all the chains and things he needed for the full moon.

"Tell me you brought the instruction manual," Caroline said.

"Tell me you brought the wolfsbane," he countered.

"Yes," the blond said promptly. "Um . . . not an easy herb to find."

Caroline dug around in her bag and brought out a small snack bag that had a long sprig of a yellow flower – or herb was probably the better word.

Tyler reached out to grab it, but as soon as he touched it he jerked his hand back. The plant had burned him.

"I've got water bottles in my bag. You can mix it in there," he told the blond

"Okay." Caroline went to do as she'd been told.

"The guy at the hardware store said this setup was rated up to five thousand pounds."

"Is that more than a werewolf can pull?"

"I have no idea."

Just to be sure the chains were set right, he began pulling on all the ones he'd already set up.

"Hey, Tyler . . . how're you doing?"

"Still human."

Tyler took his shirt off and threw it to the side. He was going to keep his shorts on because Caroline was there, but he didn't know what would happen if he changed with his clothes on.

"Oh, you're not gonna get naked, are you?" Caroline exclaimed.

"What should I wear? I don't think it's like the Hulk where I get to keep my pants."

Tyler shook his head as Caroline turned around so she wouldn't have to see him.

"Okay, I'm at the apartment," Bonnie said into the phone. She was talking to Rebecca. "What now?"

"Well, knock, of course," Rebecca said. "Be cool, be natural."

"Okay. I'll call you when I'm done so you'll know it's okay to go home."

Bonnie hung up and put her phone away. She knocked and Luka opened the door.

"Hi," she said. She held up the dog tags she'd gotten from him the other day. He snatched them from her hand.

"I don't know what makes me more upset – that I showed you how to channel . . . or that you almost killed me with it."

"Luka, I am so sorry. I wouldn't have done what I did if it weren't really important. It's just there're things that I –"

"I forgive you."

Bonnie just stared at him as he moved aside to let her in. Was he playing with her? She'd almost killed him and she was forgiven just like that? It had to be a trick – he and his dad were working with Elijah.

"I'm assuming you're not just here to apologize. Come in."

Bonnie walked into the apartment and looked around. There were so many different books in here.

"Wow. There's so much stuff." Luka held up a particular book. "What is that?"

"They're all Grimoires. Witches all over the world have collected their spells in Grimoires, but over the centuries most of them have gotten lost. My dad is obsessed with finding them and making sure our family's heritage stays intact."

"These can't all be your family's," Bonnie said.

"Well, all witches are family. We're all bonded together by a code of loyalty to help each other."

"So that's why you've been so nice to me."

"That's one reason."

Bonnie smiled. "Listen, do you know how to break the bond between a talisman and a spell?"

"Uh, well, that depends because spells are unique and very specific. But, uh, I'm sure that we can figure it out."

Both Bonnie and Luka got to work after that.

Back at the Grill, Ric had just sat down beside the girl in question. He'd greeted her warmly and pretended to be drunk. Damon was watching all this from a distance so he would know when he should come in.

Ric offered to buy the woman a drink, but the woman said no and Ric kept offering. It was Damon's cue to cut in.

"Is this guy bothering you?" Damon asked, coming to sit beside the girl.

"I am not bothering anybody," Ric said.

"Good. Well, do it elsewhere." Then to the girl he said, "Don't worry, he's harmless. He's sort of the town drunk, and when we get tired of him, we just call him a cab and send him to wherever he came from."

While Damon was talking, the bartender brought both of Ric's drinks to the counter and Ric put wolfsbane in the girls' drink.

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here," Ric said, placing the wolfsbane-laced drink in front of the girl.

Ric looked hurt when Damon said, "Why are you here?"

The teacher picked up his drink and walked away, leaving Damon with the maybe-werewolf. He sure hoped she wasn't. They didn't need any more problems than they already had.

Back at the Gilbert residence, Rebecca was helping Jenna go through some of the historical things she had from Elena's parents.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Elena asked as she came down the stairs. She had been up in her room sulking about being trapped in the house.

"Oh, perfect timing," Jenna said, grabbing a box and handing it to Elena.

"What is this stuff?"

"Your mom's files from the historical society. I got roped into helping Ms. Lockwood. And by roped, I mean very excited to participate."

A knock came at the door and Rebecca's back stiffened. She knew who was at the door, and she didn't want anyone but herself opening it.

She rushed to the door and pulled the door open.

"Hello, Elijah," she said. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, Mr. Smith, I wasn't expecting you tonight," Jenna said, coming up behind Rebecca.

"I wanted to see with whom I'd be working. I wasn't aware Miss Stone was helping out."

"Elijah's in town doing research on Mystic Falls," Jenna said for the benefit of Elena and Rebecca. There was no way she could know that both girls already knew Elijah. "You're welcome to come in and rummage through this stuff. Or Elena and I could help you load it into your car."

"Yeah, or I can get someone to pick it up tomorrow," Elijah suggested.

"Also a good plan. You're welcome here anytime."

Elijah smiled and stepped through the threshold. "Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, Jenna, and Elena . . . I hope to see you again sometime soon."

Jenna and Elijah chatted for a few moments before he smiled at Rebecca genuinely.

"It's good you're taking an interest in history, Miss Stone. You might find something interesting about your family. They were considered one of the Founding Families, yes?"

"Yes, Elijah. They were," she said politely.

"If you need help researching, let me know, okay?"

She nodded and Elijah took his leave.

Rebecca looked at Elena, and they both seemed to get the same idea at the same time. They wanted to check on Chelsea and Jeremy.

Rebecca heard music coming from Jeremy's room and Chelsea was giggling, so she hoped that meant everything was okay.

Before Elena and Rebecca could make it to Jeremy's door, Elijah appeared before them. He put a finger to his mouth and looked at them sternly. Who did he think he was, their dad?

"I'm getting my sister," Rebecca said firmly. "Don't try to stop me."

The look Elijah gave her warned her not to try anything. She nodded and slowly opened Jeremy's door. What she saw would have amused her if the situation hadn't been so dire: Chelsea was jumping on Jeremy's bed, using it almost as one would use a trampoline. She would jump a few times and then land on her butt. She was having so much fun Rebecca hated to break it up, but she wasn't leaving Chelsea alone with Jeremy when Elijah was around because she wasn't quite sure she could trust the Original yet.

"Hey, Jer. I'm getting ready to go, so . . . I need my sister back," she said apologetically. "And Jenna needs help downstairs. Something about getting everything together for the historical society."

"Oh, um, yeah. Sure."

Jeremy picked Chelsea up from the bed and she began laughing again.

"It's time to go, Chels," Rebecca said.

"No!" the girl exclaimed. "No go!"

Jeremy smirked. "She's learned that terrible word that is going to get you in trouble."

"Yeah. Anyway, we're going to go say bye to Elena."

"Okay. See you downstairs."

At the grill, Damon was still talking to the girl who'd been asking about Mason. He'd found out her name was Jules. She was trying to find a place to stay.

"Well, there's a little B and B down the road and there's a motel off I-9, but if you ask me I think it's kind of a mistake."

"No frills is fine. I'm just here for the night. It's a long story, but I'm looking for my friend."

"Oh? Who?"

"Mason Lockwood."

"Oh, I know Mason. He's a great guy." Except for the werewolf thing, Damon might've been able to get along with him. If Mason hadn't been a werewolf, he wouldn't have felt the need to attack Rebecca or Stefan – or Damon, himself.

"He's missing," the girl said.

"What d'you mean? Like, I mean, missing-missing?"

Jules nodded and then smiled. "How do you know Mason?"

"Friends of friends. I, uh, I know Mrs. Lockwood."

Damon ordered another drink even though Jules hadn't even begun to drink hers. Maybe she really wasn't a drinker, like she'd said originally.

Back at the Gilbert residence, Rebecca had taken Chelsea into Elena's room because that was where Elena and Elijah had gone.

"Forgive the intrusion," Elijah said once the door was closed. "I mean your family no harm."

"Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?" Elena questioned.

"Because I didn't want you to be taken."

Elijah had gone to sit by the window; he possibly wanted to seem non-threatening by lessening his height.

"Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals, but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. Word gets out that the doppelganger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him, and I can't have that."

"You don't want Klaus to get Elena?"

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse. Klaus's obsessions have made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."

"Like you?" Elena asked.

"Not anymore," Elijah said.

If Rebecca hadn't known any better, she'd have thought Elijah looked hurt and disappointed at what he'd just said.

"You don't know where he is, do you?" Elena asked, and Elijah's face became guarded. "So, you're trying to use me to draw him out."

"Well, to do that, I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"If I wasn't being truthful, your family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now," Elijah said simply. "Instead, I'm here, and I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?" Rebecca asked. She knew he could be trusted with deals. He would have kept his deal with her if Damon hadn't have died by his father's hand.

"Do nothing," Elijah said to Elena. "Do nothing. Live your life, stop fighting, and then when the time is right, you and I will draw Klaus out together, and I will make certain that your friends remain unharmed."

"And then what?" the brunette asked.

"Then I kill him."

"Just like that?"

Elijah nodded. "I'm a man of my word, Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal."

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?"

"You know, I notice you have a friend. Bonnie, is it? She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts."

"The Martin's," Rebecca said.

"Yes. Together, we can protect everybody that matters to you." He stepped towards Elena. "So do we have a deal?"

Elena looked at Rebecca, and the blond thought the girl was considering it. Elena wanted a way to keep everyone safe and this was it.

"Okay. But I need you to do one more thing for me."

"We're negotiating now?"

"My boyfriend is stuck in a tomb with Katherine Pierce," Elena said. "The spell is too strong for Bonnie to undo on her own and I –"

"You want him out," Elijah deduced. "Done."

"The deal starts when I see that he's free," Elena said.

"It will be done tonight."

Elijah was gone in two seconds and Rebecca knew Stefan would be free before the night was over.

"You know, this is good," Luka said.

He and Bonnie had come up to the roof of the building and had lit a few candles so they could see what they were doing. She had the moonstone and one of the Grimoires.

"This is really good. We're in full view of the moon, and, uh, it's private."

"If anyone looks up, they're gonna think we're insane."

"Aren't we?" Luka smiled. ""So, uh, what kind of talisman are we unbinding?"

Bonnie laughed. "Uh, this."

She pulled the moonstone out of her pocket and she handed it to Luka.

"Oh, wow, it's a white rock. This is fascinating."

"I know it doesn't look like much."

"What's it spelled with?"

Bonnie opened her mouth and then closed it again because she couldn't say.

"Really? Help a girl out, and she still keeps secrets."

"Sorry."

"I'm just teasing you."

Luka placed the rock back in Bonnie's palm and she grasped it in both hands. Luka grabbed her hands and looked at her.

"Ready?"

Bonnie nodded and then started chanting from the book they'd decided could help them break the spell on the moonstone. Luka joined in after a few seconds and the flames flew up to about a foot high.

Bonnie felt heat flow through her because of the energy that was being channeled from the fire. The moonstone began to float up into the air and it kept floating until suddenly it exploded like a firework. She couldn't believe she'd done that. The spell – whether the curse had been broken or not – had caused the explosion.

Again I feel that too much is going on in this chapter, but too much was going on in the episode as well, so I think I got it right. This was one of my favorite episodes of Season Two, so I hope I did it justice. I actually liked the whole Rose arc anyway, and even though Damon and Rose aren't romantic at all in my story I still like the episodes from which she came.