Review responses:

Sarcasm15key: I don't think I should answer that just yet, but I will say I have some twists planned for the ending of this season. And some events in the up coming chapters that might give you an idea of which way I'm leaning towards on your first question. As for her humanity, in present day it'll be a while before I have her humanity turned off. Doesn't mean she won't do bad things of course. But I'm thinking I might try and find a place to put in some more flashbacks, that could show her when her humanity is off?

Chapter 28: Their Choice

"Today was a bust," grumbled Damon from his seat. Sarah couldn't help but smile from behind her glass. "Shut it," Damon then added, before finishing off what remained in his own glass.

After their meeting with Elijah and Amelia, Sarah had remained in the study with Damon for a further half an hour, trying to clean up the blood. When that proved to be too much of a challenge, she broke his nose. He hadn't been happy about it, but with blood coming out it, a nose bleed – an extreme one maybe – was an easy way to explain the blood and allow them to leave without too many questions.

Alaric had followed though, now sat next to Sarah on the couch in the study. He'd been watching them from outside the Lockwood study and had seen them both the second they came out. So he'd apologised to Jenna and gone to the Salvatore house with the brother and sister to find out what had happened. He'd been as amused as Sarah had expected him to be, which in turn added to her own amusement.

"How's the throat?" asked Alaric, fighting a grin which he hid well, even if the girl next to him wasn't trying in the slightest to hide her own.

"Sore," groaned Damon.

"Yeah. Those two Originals are definitely scary. But at least Elijah has great hair," Alaric pointed out as he turned to Sarah.

"Oh, definitely," agreed Sarah with a nod, before she smiled. "Although it could use a bit more style. Maybe if he spiked it up?"

"Yeah, well, he's got more style than Amelia, that's for sure. You know she never took that raincoat off," Alaric pointed out, at which Sarah frowned.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen her with it off," Sarah stated.

"Makes you wonder what's beneath," joked Alaric, to which Sarah shot him a sarcastic warning look.

"Do I need to warn Jenna about competition on the horizon?" Sarah asked, grin slipping through when she heard Alaric sigh tiredly.

"No. There is no attraction there. That woman scares me just as much as her brother, and I for one, will be staying clear," Alaric said as he sat himself upright, preparing to stand after he'd sunken into the couch.

"Now if Jenna can just get you to fear all other women that way, she'll have you all to herself," Sarah pointed out teasingly.

"With all the scheming that goes on in this town, it would surprise me if she's already got a plan for it," agreed Alaric, to which Sarah laughed as he stood up. "Either of you want another?" At his request, Sarah held up her empty glass, smiling as he took it to refill. Damon did the same, holding up his glass which Alaric took before walking around the couch and stopping at the bar.

"They're going to be hard to kill," Damon mumbled out, moody after his most recent – and fully anticipated by his sister – set back.

"Well, here's an idea, don't kill them, and don't risk ruining the deal Elena's made with them," Sarah argued from her seat on the couch. "Besides, it's not like they're normal vampires anyway. A stake to the heart isn't going do it."

"Yeah, but I've got so many more methods to try," teased Damon with a smug grin to his sister while Alaric filled up their glasses. "I've got heart removal, decapitation, and I'm sure they'd both appreciate a bathtub full of vervain."

"You're going to get yourself killed," Sarah said plainly as Alaric rejoined them, handing off the two glasses he returned with, apparently not wanting another for himself.

"Eh, well, at least I know I'll get some time on the news. If I die there's no way my new girlfriend won't report it," Damon said with a grin, sinking a little further into his chair as he happily drank his bourbon.

"Yeah, speaking of, what's up with you and her anyway?" Alaric asked, brow lowering just enough to let Sarah know he was genuinely concerned about this while she drank. She was as well, but if Damon wanted a distraction, she wasn't going to get involved and upset him. So long as he didn't kill her, it was all fine with her for now.

"She's got spunk, huh?" Damon said with a smirk, eye brows lifting.

Alaric turned to look at Sarah, who shrugged, before he then looked back to Damon. "Just don't kill her, please."

"If I did, who would report her death?" Damon joked, shrugging off the idea as he drank.

"Just don't do it, all right," pressed Alaric, to which Damon rolled his eyes. "She's friends with Jenna, and it's bad enough that I'm lying to her about everything else. I hate the lies," Alaric explained before sighing at the end. Sarah thought about comforting him, asking how it was going with Jenna, but by the time she'd committed to the idea, Alaric had fished out his phone and was standing up once more.

"I got to go. I got to pick Jenna up," Alaric said as he put away his phone, now on his feet.

"What for?" Sarah asked curiously, sipping at her drink while Alaric answered.

"She's spending the next couple of nights at mine. Since Elena's spending a weekend away with Stefan. Although I'm pretty sure it's just to get away from John," Alaric explained, dread in his voice at the mere mention of the irritating father of Elena. Sarah felt the same way.

"So I guess Jeremy will be coming here when he's had enough of his crap then?" Sarah surmised with a raised eyebrow, thinking of how everyone in the Gilbert house was pairing up to get away from John. First, Elena and Stefan, now Jenna and Alaric.

"Over my dead body," grumbled out Damon, who was now leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed.

"You're already dead," Sarah pointed out.

"Fine, over his dead body," Damon retorted, to which Sarah smirked, before looking back up to Alaric.

"A weekend together sounds like it'd do you both some good," Sarah said with a friendly smile.

"Hopefully, although I'll be happy if I can just get through it without having to lie to her," Alaric sighed. "Anyway, I'll show myself out," Alaric said, pointing to the doorway out of the study as he began to work.

"Good luck," Damon called after him.

"Tell Jenna I said, 'Hi.'" Sarah added, before then returning to her drink. She didn't get more than a mouthful down though, because just after Alaric had left, both she and Damon heard a noise from the front hall. It sounded like a painful yelp, mixed with the sound of something smashing. The two siblings were quickly out of their seats and marching out into the hall, where they found Alaric struggling to stand. A stake through his stomach. He turned to look at them both, then collapsed onto the floor. Dead.

"Alaric?" Sarah said, quickly kneeling down at his side with Damon beside her. He was dead, no doubt about that, but he had his ring on. Meaning, if it was a supernatural that had killed him, he'd be back in no time. But as it was, there was no one around, and while that might suggest supernatural, it didn't confirm it. At least it didn't until someone dropped down from roof inside the living room.

Sarah and Damon turned, Damon quickly back up to his full height as he stood. The man before them was young looking with a beanie, and was spread out on all fours. If that wasn't a dead give away, the speed at which he lunged at Damon was. The guy was a werewolf. But he was at a huge disadvantage, since there were two Salvatores and only one of him. That didn't help them initially though, as the young man proceeded to duck under Damon's punch and then climb onto his back like a monkey.

Damon tried to get him off on his own, backing away from Sarah who rose back up to her feet, but then the werewolf pulled a syringe and jammed it into Damon's neck. Vervain was the obvious guess, and from the way Damon screwed up his face, it probably was. But he and his siblings had been building up their immunity, like Katherine had. It was going to take more than a half dosage to subdue him.

He went back to trying to shake the werewolf, slamming his back and the werewolf against the hallway walls. Sarah was about to join the fight when the front door was kicked open. Sarah swung finding not just one other werewolf, but the entire Pack that she and her family had gone up against the other night, with Jules at the front, and a shot gun in her hands.

"Wait!" Sarah shouted, throwing out her hands and stupidly taking the diplomatic approach when she should have been running for cover. Jules fired, wooden bullet ripping through Sarah as they dug into her. The initial force threw Sarah off her feet, throwing her down onto the ground next to Alaric as she groaned in pain.

Out of her control, her head rolled to the side, were she saw Damon collapse onto the ground, the werewolf on his back having given him another dosage of vervain. "Whew! Damn, you're strong. It took the whole syringe," the werewolf who'd been on Damon's back said cheerful, having beaten his opponent. Sarah would have cursed, but she didn't have the strength, feeling spasms of pain as the wooden bullets shifted around inside of her. And to make it worse, they were laced with vervain.

The sound of Jules walking in along with her pack followed, as Sarah slowly rolled her head back, looking up to find Jules stood over her. A satisfied smile on her lips as she stared down at the defeated vampire. "Hi, Sarah. Nice to see you again," Jules said in greeting.

"Jules…Jules, just…just listen to…" Sarah croaked out, unable to speak without feeling the sheer sting of the wood and the vervain from inside of her.

"Oh, I'm done listening to your kind," Jules declared as she propped the shotgun up against her shoulder. "It's time for payback." Sarah tried to talk to her, to reason with her and the other werewolves, but since she couldn't form a complete sentence, that was a little tricky. She did try though, even when members of Jules' Pack picked her up and dragged her, a now unconscious Damon, and a dead Alaric, through into the study.

Alaric was left on the floor in the middle of the room. Presumed dead and unimportant. Hopefully he'd remain that way until this was all over, otherwise they might start asking questions about how he came back to life. Questions they could probably play of as a vampire in transition. But if he came back to life a second time, they'd catch on to his little trick, and that could lead to him being killed permanently. All Sarah could do though was hope that he didn't wake up too fast.

She herself wasn't looking to good either. She and her unconscious brother, had been chained up two chairs. The heavier than usual metal wrapped tightly around her arms, legs and even her chest – pressing against those bullet wounds that made Sarah struggle to even breath without feeling waves of pain. The bullets were still inside her, and the wounds were taking longer to heal because of the vervain. It was a good thing she'd built up a tolerance like Damon and Stefan, otherwise the pain would have been unbearable.

And then there was the crude device that was around her and Damon's necks. A ring made up of short wooden stakes that connected to a chain that was held by the werewolf who'd attack Damon, and Jules. Sarah had already experienced how it worked. When pulled on – in her case by Jules – the ring around the neck tightened and thus the stakes dug into the neck until released. Jules had been particularly happy to use it every time Sarah tried to speak and reason with her, until Damon finally woke up. Then he received a mini lecture from the werewolf who'd attack him about the device, before he demonstrated it on him personally.

After that, it was down to business. "So, I hear you have the moonstone," Jules said to them both, clearly after it.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear," Damon pointed out as casually sounding as he could, before the werewolf holding his chains gave a tug, shutting him up as he winced in pain.

"Where is it?" Jules growled.

"Wish I could tell you," Damon groaned, face contorted as the stakes continued to dig into his neck.

"We don't have it anymore," Sarah explained.

"So who does?" Sarah wasn't sure how to answer that. The assumed truth was the Originals had it thanks to their witch who'd conned Bonnie out of it, claiming to destroy it instead. But Sarah didn't know that for sure, and even if it was, throwing the Originals under the bus was hardly going to help the strenuous relationship they already had with them. With that in mind, Sarah tried a differently approach.

"Look, Jules, I'm sure if we talk about this we can come to some under–" After rolling her eyes, already tired of Sarah's speech, Jules gave a sharp pull on the chains around Sarah, digging the stakes around her neck further in and cutting her off as she screamed. So, this is where the diplomatic route takes you? Sarah thought to herself, deciding that after this, she should really give Damon's method of dealing with problems another go.

"You can't talk or bargain your way out of this one. We want the moonstone, and then we want Scarlett," Jules explained darkly, to which Sarah responded with a darkened glare of her own.

"I already told you, she doesn't want to go with–" Once again she was cut off, as Jules pulled on the chains. It was only when Sarah's scream died out, that everyone began to hear Damon's soft amused laughter.

"What's so funny?" growled the werewolf holding Damon's chains.

"Oh, if you only knew the irony," Damon chuckled out as he lifted his head, before going serious as it lowered once more. "Let me tell you how this is gonna go. You're gonna torture us, we're not gonna talk, someone's gonna lose a heart. Last time it was your boy Mason." Sarah tried to tell him to shut up, to stop provoking them, but the stakes in her neck made it impossible to speak as Jules stepped towards them.

"This time, it'll be you," she growled towards Damon. "And then your sister."

"How long is this gonna take?" grumbled Caroline, now sat next to Bonnie who was in the middle of performing her spell. On the opposite side of Luka, Scarlett sat next to Jeremy, cuddling up beside him with his arm wrapped a little protectively around her waist. She didn't mind, and leaned against him as they waited, although it felt like they'd been waiting for a while now, hence why Caroline was complaining.

"I don't know. He's fighting me," Bonnie explained through a tight jaw, trying hard not to waist energy on an explanation and instead focus it on the spell. From within her grasp, Luka's head moved around, trying to break free of whatever it was Bonnie was doing to him. His eyes unfocused, his voice dazed as he spoke. But Bonnie didn't let up, holding on to the sides of his head with both hands, refusing to give in.

"Please stop. Please," Luka mumbled. Bonnie responded with a more intense…whatever it was she was doing, closing her eyes and lowering her head. The rest of the room then watched as Luka's eyes rolled up into his head, the fight leaving him as his head dipped back.

"There," Bonnie breathed out, apparently having completed her spell at last. She then looked down, along with everyone else around her, as she began the interrogation. "All right. Why are you working with Elijah and Amelia?"

"Klaus," Luka mumbled, eyes now closed as he answered without delay. "We all want him dead."

"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?" Bonnie continued.

"Because he has her…we have to get her away from him," Luka answered in the same tone as before.

Bonnie began shaking her head, not understanding. "Who are you talking about?"

"My sister," Luka answered, to which Jeremy then frowned. He too was doing this all to save his sister, Scarlett realised.

"His sister?" Jeremy murmured, before Scarlett placed her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. She knew he appreciated it, but it wasn't enough, and they both wanted to remain focused on Luka for now anyway.

"Why does he have her?" Bonnie asked sadly. Despite what was going on, it was obvious to Scarlett that Bonnie still cared about Luka, to some degree. Enough to feel sorry for him right now at least.

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelgänger. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries." As he spoke this time, Bonnie's eyes opened, sadness in them. Sadness at her own kind being enslaved. Scarlett felt bad for her, but at the same time was suddenly very afraid. She'd seen how powerful Luka's father was. Whether he was the most powerful or not, there were undoubtedly others out there, like him, that could do what he could, and he'd taken down an entire werewolf pack, on his own. So how unbelievable strong was this Klaus, that he could enslave entire generations of witches? The same witches as powerful as Luka's father.

"What did Elijah and Amelia promise you?" Bonnie then asked, moving on.

"If we help them kill Klaus, they've promised to return her to us," Luka explained.

"And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an Original vampire?" Bonnie pressed, before suddenly Luka's eyes opened, his eyes once again dazed and confused as he tried to fight the spell.

"They'll…They'll kill me…if I…tell you… Don't…make me…please."

"Bonnie…" Caroline began in soft concern, reaching over towards her friend. Like them all, she could hear the fear in Luka's voice, but she could also see the battle going on inside her friend, the strain this was putting on her physically, mentally, emotionally. Like any real friend, she didn't want to see this go on. So she reached over to take Bonnie's hand, but the witch snapped and Caroline's hand pulled away as she jumped.

"No! No," Bonnie said, voice going from a snap to a whisper. She then focused her energy once more, and Luka's eyes once again rolled back, as his head dropped, eyes closing. "How will you kill Klaus?" Bonnie repeated now that Luka was back in his trance.

"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance," Luka said, before everyone in the room started to frown.

"After the sacrifice?" Scarlett and Caroline exclaimed at the same time. Scarlett then looked to Jeremy, seeing a small, glittering, sliver of tears in his eyes. She squeezed his hand tighter, before looking to Bonnie when she spoke.

"What do you mean, after?"

"Klaus will be vulnerable," Was all Luka said.

"But Elena will be dead," Bonnie pointed out, before all eyes went to Jeremy, watching as he shook his head, trying to wake up from this nightmare. Again Scarlett squeezed, as if that might help break the illusion, or the break the nightmare, make everything better. But she knew better by now.

"Yes. Elena has to die," Luka said.

Silence then followed, until the faint whisper from Jeremy caught everyone's attention. "No…no…" He was shaking head now, wishing for this to all be a dream, a lie. Scarlett had her arms around his neck before anything else could happen, pulling him in as she rubbed his back and let him cry into her. Not to long ago he'd lost his parents, and now he was going to lose his sister. The world wasn't fair to Jeremy Gilbert, Scarlett knew this. And unfortunately, all she could do right now, was try and comfort him, while Caroline and Bonnie sat beside them, both equally saddened by the revelation that they might be losing their best friend.

Jules was getting impatient. Or at least that was what Sarah assumed when the Alpha of the werewolves in her study began pointing a shotgun at her chest. The same shotgun she'd already been shot by. And then came the question she was getting sick of hearing. "Where's the moonstone?" Sarah had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, she knew it wouldn't help. Especially when she was trying to reason with them.

"Look," Sarah sighed, fighting to keep the irritation from her voice. "I already told you, we don't have it, so here's my suggest–" A loud bang cut Sarah off before her screams filled the room.

"I don't want to hear your suggestions, I want to know where the moonstone is," Jules repeated, pumping the shotgun before taking aim once more at Sarah. The vampire with the shotgun in her face, had now stopped screaming, bitting down on her lip with tremendous will power to stop herself. She actually amazed herself. Jules had shot her right in the left kneecap, and while she could feel it already healing, the vervain and wooden bullets were making it painfully slow. Another shot like that and she'd probably lose the leg.

"We don't have it you idiot!" Sarah snapped, throwing her head back as she fought the urge to scream, her leg causing her so much pain and torment that she actually thought cutting it off in that moment might be a better option. "Tear apart the damn house and you'll see that!"

"Maybe I'll just ask Scarlett," Jules snarled.

"Yes, please do! Because she'll tell you the exact same thing, we don't have it!" Sarah screamed, unleashing some of the built up pain into her voice. She was trying, really she was. Trying not to make things worse, but after getting your leg almost blown off, it can be hard not to shout and scream and overall sound pretty anger.

"Then who does?" Jules snapped back.

"That would be us," came a calm voice from the back of the room. The werewolves spun around, finding Amelia – who'd spoken up – and Elijah stood by the entrance to the room. Amelia, was prominently holding the moonstone for all to see in her hand, the other in her raincoat pocket, with Elijah stood just ahead of her. "We hear you're after the moonstone." Jules didn't reposed verbally, she only growled, her pack backing her up as she glared at the two vampires ahead of her.

"Now, is that any way to start of negotiations?" Elijah said with a hint of mocking cheer as he stepped over, now positioned halfway between his sister and the werewolves.

"You see, My Dear," Amelia said, addressing Jules. "You've put us in quite the predicament. We have a deal with a certain young lady, who shall remain nameless, that if she helps us then we will protect her friends and family." Amelia then gestured towards Sarah and Damon with the moonstone. "Those two fall under that description. So we really must stop all this if we are to keep our word."

"Which we are fully intent on," Elijah spoke up, adjusting his cufflinks.

"Precisely," agreed Amelia before continuing. "However, at the same time, believe me when I say we have no intention on handing over this moonstone to you," she said, holding up the moonstone. "So perhaps we can come to some other arrangement."

"I wouldn't hold your breath on that one," Damon mumbled.

"Well then, what's it going to be?" Amelia asked, patiently awaiting the werewolves' answer. She didn't have to wait long, before Jules nodded to one of her pack. He rushed forward at supernatural speed, going around Elijah and towards Amelia. He didn't get far, Elijah swiftly cutting him off before ramming his fist through the werewolf's chest and ripping out his heart.

Another two then ran at him. The first took the head's on approach, stopped once again by Elijah's fist, that found its way into the werewolf's chest. The second however, flanked around him, running towards his blind spot with a stake raised. He went to swing it but his arm stopped in mid swing, wrist tightly grasped by Amelia, who was behind him now.

"You know, I do loathe creatures who prefer to use their fists rather than their mouths," Amelia said, voice calm and in control but with a clear edge to it. She then squeezed the werewolf's wrist, making him scream as he released the stake in his hand. As it fell, Amelia slid around the wolf, claiming the stake with her free hand before plunging it into his chest, killing him.

Another two werewolves attack – half of the remaining total. Amelia stepped in front of her brother, hands in her raincoat once more. One firmly holding the moonstone. The first one that got to her she took out by kicking his legs out from under him. She stepped, avoiding his fall before then stamping on his back with such force his spin snapped, paralysing him. The second swung for her, but she simply leaned to avoid it, before lunching her head forward like a cannon ball and slamming it into the werewolf who dropped down unconscious.

A swift and powerful kick to each of their heads had their necks snapped. By which point Amelia looked up to find only one werewolf remaining. The woman whom she'd been addressing, having fled without her pack apparently. In Amelia's mind, she wasn't much of a leader then.

The last remaining werewolf crouched down, pulling up his hood as if to hid from the two Originals that approached him. "What about you, Sweetheart, hmm?" Elijah then asked, before pulling the werewolf up to his feet. This had been the one who attack and tortured Damon. "You want to take a shot at me or my sister?" The werewolf frantically shook his head. "Yes? No? Yes?" Elijah mumbled, hold never loosening while Amelia turned to the chained up Salvatores.

"Where did their leader go?" she asked, looking around the room in case the Alpha decided to make a heroic return.

"Out that way and then about three – four miles I'd imagine," Damon said casually.

"Hmm. Your choice in leaders obviously isn't very good," Amelia declared, turning her attention back to the wolf in her brother's hands. "I've never understood that about werewolves, how they could follow someone so spineless and cowardly."

"It doesn't really matter," Elijah pointed out. "It's not our concern."

"You're right," agreed Amelia, before then watching as her brother punched the werewolf across the face, snapping his neck in the process.

"You should get that looked at," Amelia continued, making her way over to Sarah as she pointedly look at her destroyed kneecap. Without another word, she and Elijah then yanked off the chains binding Sarah and Damon in perfect unison. Once done, both stepped back, each looking down at the Salvatore in front of them, while Damon and Sarah looked at them in turn.

"You do realise this is the third time I've saved your life?" Elijah pointed out to Damon, a smug grin on his lips as he stepped back. Amelia followed his movements, before both turned and strode out off the study.

"Thank you," Sarah dryly called out after them, before wincing at the shock of pain that struck her when she tried to move her leg. With the Originals and Werewolves gone, Damon quickly got himself untangled from the chains. He then did the same for his sister, carefully removing her restrains before he begun removing the wood from within her body. He had to put on a pair of plastic gloves for that, because of the vervain. He got her several blood bags to feed on while he worked, helping her to replenish her energy. He started with her knee before then moving onto her chest. By the time he was done, Sarah's knee had really began healing. But even so, Damon wrapped some bandaging around it and got her a walking stick. He joked about it all while he was doing it, but Sarah knew he genuinely was worried about her. It would be fine though in a day or two, provided she had plenty of blood, which Damon had started to provide her with.

Once he was done with her, he moved her over to the couch – after laying down a blanket of course. He already had enough blood to clean up as it was. So while Sarah lay back on the couch recuperating, Damon dealt with the clean up. That had been her turn to tease him.

Her teasing however, took a pause when Bonnie phoned with an update. While Damon continue to work, Sarah remained on the couch with her phone on speaker, both listening as Bonnie told them about what she and the others had been up to that day with Luka, as well as what they'd found out.

"So he planned to kill her all along," Damon summarised as he moved a chair back into its original place on the blood stained carpet he was going to have to clean.

"Yeah. The sacrifice is part of their plan," Bonnie said in reference to the Originals.

"Got it, loud and clear," Damon said, looking to Sarah as if to say, 'hang up now.'

"Thanks, Bonnie," Sarah said when she couldn't think of anything else, before hanging up. She'd been quiet throughout the phone call, especially after the reveal that Elena was going to be sacrificed. A fact which Sarah herself had already known.

A groan from beneath her caught both her and Damon's attention. She looked over the side of the couch, to where Damon had moved Alaric, finding that her high school teacher was finally coming back to life. "Finally. You missed all the fun," Damon said unsympathetically, as he pulled up a series of bloodied chains and took them out the room.

"What am I doing in floor?" Alaric asked as he sat up, looking around before running a hand down his tried face.

"You're there because I got the couch," Sarah said simply, sipping on her blood bag.

"Gee, thanks," Alaric groaned as he stood up, only to then collapse purposefully into one of the nearby – none bloody – chairs.

"Hey, I'm injured," Sarah said, pointing to her bandaged leg. "Plus I was awake, you weren't. My comfort trumped yours." Alaric, to tired and exhausted from dying, didn't bother to response as he made himself comfy for a moment. It didn't last, especially not after Sarah spoke up again. "So what are you going to tell Jenna?"

"Oh, God! Jenna!" Alaric groaned as he remembered, running his hands down his face.

"You should probably call her," Sarah suggested.

"No, I should definitely call her," Alaric argued as he leaned forward. "The problem is I'm going to have to lie to her and I'm…"

"I know," Sarah said with a sympathetic smile. "And honestly, I wouldn't hold it against you if you told her the truth."

"Really?" Alaric asked, as if trying to justify it to himself.

"No. I admit, I'd like to tell her myself. But it's not my place. You however, do have a case, same as Elena and Jeremy," Sarah pointed out.

"Meaning?" Alaric asked with a frown, not understanding what Sarah was saying.

"You love her, don't you?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Alaric asked without hesitation which made Sarah smile.

"Then I say you go and talk to Elena and Jeremy. If you care about her that much, then you have a say in all this too."

"I don't know," Alaric said, shaking his head uncertainly. "I think it's better if I leave it up to them."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "All right, let me ask you this, if they weren't in the picture, and it was just Jenna, would you tell her?"

Alaric had to think about it for a moment. "By now…possibly."

Again Sarah smiled. "Like I said, talk to Elena and Jeremy about telling her the truth." She paused taking a sip of her blood bag through a straw. "But first you should call Jenna, let her know your okay." Silently agreeing, Alaric pulled out his phone and called Jenna as Damon walked back in, rolling up one of the blood stained rugs that needed to be removed. While that was going on, Sarah watched, and eavesdropped on Alaric and Jenna's conversation.

"There you are. Are you okay?" Jenna asked right away.

"Yeah, sorry. I–I…I've just been grading papers," Alaric said before instantly grimacing at his own lie, silently cursing himself. Sarah sent him another sympathetic smile, before her eyes then widened at what he said next. "Honestly…" He looked over, seeing Sarah watching him with bated breath. But in the end he couldn't go through with it either. He hated lying, but his respect for Elena and Jeremy stopped him from telling the truth. To him, it just wasn't his place. "I fell asleep," Alaric then finished. Sarah's chest lowered, letting out the breath she'd been holding, before she went back to drinking her blood.

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I'm a jerk," Alaric then proceeded to apologise.

"No, it's fine. I'm just glad you're okay," Jenna replied.

"Listen, tomorrow I'm all yours, okay?" Alaric said, trying to reassure his girlfriend and make up for what had happened.

"Sure. Sounds great," Jenna said happily.

"All right. Good night, Jenna," Alaric said in parting.

"Good night," Jenna replied sweetly, before Alaric hung up the phone and sighed. He left shortly after that, going home to sleep while Damon finished off his cleaning. Once he had, credit to him, it looked as if nothing had ever happened. Then again, they'd all had plenty of practise at cleaning up after themselves.

After that, Damon grabbed himself a glass of bourbon and dropped himself down into a chair. After a long moment of rest and silence, he pulled out his phone to call Stefan with the news. While he did that, Sarah remained silent on the couch. But having finished her blood bags and unwilling to get up and use the walking stick Damon had given her, all she could do was watch and listen as Damon went over what Bonnie had said. "It was straight from the witch's mouth. They were gonna go through with the whole sacrifice. You should probably just keep her away a little longer," Damon said into the phone, while Sarah watched and tried not to think about the fact she'd known all along.

"Be careful, both of you," Stefan said from down the phone. "Try not to get yourselves killed."

"Don't worry, Brother," Damon said with a forced smirk. "We'll be fine. Sarah's on bedrest and I'm playing nurse." He glanced over, waiting for Sarah to protest or say something witty, but instead she just looked away. He frowned, before then going back to Stefan and signing off. Once he had, he turned his attention back to Sarah, lips pursed in thought. He took a drink, still watching her before then removing it from his lips.

"That's unfortunate about Elena, huh? Wonder how she'll take the news," Damon said carefully, watching his sister who continued to avoid his eyes. Not necessarily in a guilty way, more like she was looking off into space and reflecting. "You're uncharacteristically quiet," he then pointed out, setting down his drink as he stood up. At that Sarah looked up at her brother, meeting his blue eyes with her knowing green. The secret would be out soon enough, she thought. Elena would spill it all to Stefan, so she might as well tell Damon herself.

"What do you know?" Damon asked suspiciously.

"Same as you," Sarah answered without missing a beat. "That Elena was to be used in the sacrifice so that Elijah and Amelia could kill Klaus."

Damon nodded slowly, still eyeing her suspiciously. "And how long have you known that?"

That one made Sarah hesitate. "Since Elena made the deal," Sarah answered honestly.

"And you didn't think to maybe mention this?!" exclaimed Damon, throwing his arms out angrily.

"Elena made me promise not tell anyone. She'd known all along to what she was agreeing to," Sarah said as calmly as she could, trying not to lower herself to her brother's emotional state.

"And you let her do it! You didn't think to try and stop her, or tell me and Stefan?" Damon shouted, bring his outraged arms in as to point at him.

"It's her life, Damon," Sarah pointed out. "We can't control her, and if this is what she wants then I'll let her do it. Because it's her decision," she explained plainly, hitting her brother with a pointed look that he ignored without a second thought.

"You know," Damon snapped, marching over to Sarah, who was still laid down on the couch injured, accusing finger stretched out to aim at her. "You're just using her."

"I am not–" Sarah began to protest before her brother swiftly cut her off, continuing on himself.

"You're manipulating her to get your own way. You're being selfish, letting her sacrifice herself so you can save the people you want and more importantly yourself." He shook his head angrily, before then adding spitefully, "You're just like Katherine." And after that, the calm Sarah was out the window. Now she was just as emotional as he brother was. Because being compared to Katherine Pierce was one thing Sarah Salvatore would never stand for.

"I am nothing like that Bitch!" Sarah snapped, sitting up as far as she could. She would have jumped up to her feet had she been able too, but for the time being, this was the best she could do in terms of squaring up to Damon. "She wouldn't give Elena a choice in the matter, it would be her way or no way. I'm not forcing Elena to do anything, and if she changed her mind, I'd be fine with it. But I wasn't going to pressure her into either choice," Sarah shouted.

"What kind of friend are you? Actually, what kind of friend would let her throw away her life?" Damon shouted, throwing his arms outwards his sister again.

"The same kind that lets her make her own decisions! The same kind that supports her and her choices and doesn't make her do things against her will!" Sarah shouted back, anger flaring along with her brothers. The fighting went on for what felt like hours, Damon pacing and throwing his arms around, while all Sarah could do was follow him around the room with her eyes. Neither conceding in their arguments, no matter what angle they took.

In the end, Damon stormed out after what was probably two minutes at most. They were at an impasse, and since Sarah couldn't storm out effectively with a walking stick, it was a good thing Damon left when he did, grumbling as he went outside and drove off to vent.

Sometime after Sarah made her way into the living room, grumbling and complaining to herself the whole time about her leg. She was definitely done being diplomatic from now on, especially if this was her reward. She grabbed herself a book and sat down on the couch with her leg up, reading with the fire lit as she made herself comfy. An hour or so later, Scarlett came in. Jeremy wasn't with her. He'd gone home since Jenna was now staying at home instead of Alaric's. Scarlett had offered to stay the night but he said he'd be fine, knowing that for now, his sister was safe. So Scarlett had come home, where she then found Sarah in the living room.

It hadn't been hard for her to miss the bandage around her leg, to which, Sarah told the girl about her day. Some of it amused her, like when Damon got pushed around by Elijah. She wasn't so thrilled about what happened with the werewolves, including the whole business about Tyler and another werewolf going after Elena. Sarah had learnt about that during her and Damon's conversation with Stefan. And then Scarlett had been down right apologetic when she heard about how Jules had shot Sarah. Sarah made it clear it wasn't her fault, before snarkily adding that she was done looking out for werewolves. That had lightened the mood, at least until a knock at the door came.

"I'll get…" Scarlett said, standing before trialing off, her nose having flared.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked, knowing her ward must have recognised the scent of whoever it was. Scarlett then told her who it was. Sarah told her to sit down, before she herself stood. Taking her walking stick, she kept her head high as she hobbled over to the door and opened it.

"Hi," said a nervous Jules.

"Hey," Sarah replied, leaning against the door she had half open.

"May I come in?" Jules asked politely, but there was still a nervous tone to her voice.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked coldly.

"I'm sorry about your leg," Jules apologised, looking down to the bandage. But she then lifted her gaze back up, looking Sarah in the eye so she knew she was telling the truth. "But I'm on my own this time. And I just want to talk to Scarlett, I promise. I'm not going to hurt you or your family or try to take her against her will. I'm just hoping to talk."

Sarah lingered in silence, letting the Alpha stew for a moment before she opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside. Without a verbal cue, Jules hesitantly stepped in, but stopped the second she was inside as Sarah began to speak. "If you try anything, you'll wish you'd taken my leg," growled the vampire, to which Jules nodded in acknowledgement, before proceeding in with a limping Sarah behind her.

They entered the living room, Scarlett sat on the couch Sarah had been. Before Jules said anything, Sarah pointed to the opposite couch, motioning that she sat over there. Jules complied, and waited for Sarah to sit as well. When she didn't, and made it clear she was going to remain standing by the archway that lead into the hallway, Jules turned her attention to Scarlett.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Jules," she began, introducing herself in as friendly a manor as she could.

Scarlett, sat opposite her, was unimpressed, her arms folded. "Really? Because I know you as the woman who kidnapped my friends and shot the woman who's been looking after me in the leg," Scarlett pointed out angrily, with a nod towards Sarah when appropriate.

Jules lowered her head respectfully. "Okay, that's understandable."

"You're damn right it is!" snapped Scarlett as she sat up, anger boiling inside of her.

"Scarlett," Sarah said suddenly, catching both the werewolves' attention. "Just let her speak." Like she told Damon, Sarah didn't want to deny her friend's options, and whatever they chose, she'd support. That was the only reason she was letting Jules speak to Scarlett at the moment, because she knew she was going to make her an offer and Sarah wanted Scarlett to hear that offer. After that she could let off as much steam as she wanted, but before that she would hear what her options were.

Like a moody teenager after being scolded by her parents, Scarlett folded her arms once more, and threw her back against the couch. Silently glaring across at Jules. The elder werewolf was a little taken aback by this sight, and so took a moment to gather herself before continuing. "I don't know if Mason already said this to you, but I just wanted to let you know, that I'll happily take you with me if you want, since I'm leaving town tonight." Scarlett looked like she was ready to say no, but waited for Jules to finish before she did. "If you come with me, I can train you, educate you about our way of life. Show you what it's like to be part of a Pack."

When she was done, Scarlett looked to Sarah before leaning forward and looking back at Jules. Seeing that she was all right to speak, Scarlett asked, "What is a Pack?"

"Well, it's what a group of werewolves is–"

"No," Scarlett said, sensing she wasn't going to get the right answer from the woman. "I mean, what is it, to you?"

Jules took a second to think before responding with the answer she'd always thought of as the truth. "They're my family."

"Well in that case, I already know what it's like to be in a Pack. Because I've got a family right here, with friends too. And they've been helping me far more than you have. They've earnt my trust. You've done nothing to do that. So I'll be staying her, with the people I trust," Scarlett said plainly, leaving no room for misunderstandings or arguments.

Seeing that, Jules nodded. "Fair enough," she said as she stood up. "I'll be going then." As she made her way towards the front door, with neither Sarah nor Scarlett following to show her out, she stopped to look back. "If you ever need help though, call me," she said before pulling out a piece of paper and holding it out. Sarah being closer, took it from her, while Scarlett remained seated. "If you need me, for whatever reason, I'll come back."

"I'd wouldn't do that," Sarah warned her as she glanced over the number written on the paper. "Since Damon will likely kill you the second you step foot inside this town." She then looked to Jules before adding, "You're just lucky he's not here right now, otherwise this would be a very different conversation."

"All right," Jules said quietly as she made her way into the hall and opened up the door. She lingered, waiting to see if anything else would be said. When nothing was, she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Once gone, Sarah wobbled her way back over, and sat herself down next to Scarlett.

"Here you go," Sarah said holding out the paper to Scarlett.

"I don't need it," Scarlett said.

"Take it," Sarah ordered firmly, before then softening as she added, "Just in case." Reluctantly, Scarlett took the paper before jamming it into her pocket along with her phone. "You know, you might be the grumpiest werewolf ever," Sarah smirked as Scarlett turned to glare at her.

"It's like your asking me to hurt you," Scarlett pointed out dryly, before Sarah laughed.

Scarlett didn't stay up to much longer after that. She wanted to go to bed. She asked if Sarah needed anything though before going, even if it was just help getting up the stairs. Sarah insisted she was fine though and remained in the living room, reading while Scarlett drifted off to sleep.

When she then grew tired of reading, she pulled out her phone and made a call. She'd been expecting to get voicemail, but even when to her surprise the phone was answered, she still was the first to speak. "So, how'd Stefan take the news?"

"Badly," Elena sighed into the phone. "He's sulking down stairs, refusing to come to bed until I'm asleep."

"That bad, uh?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, yeah," Elena answered. "What about Damon, did you tell him yet?"

"Oh, yeah," Sarah said, repeating the way in which Elena said it. "Not surprisingly, he's pissed off and annoyed."

"Are you?" Elena then asked.

"I get why they're mad," Sarah answered with a shrug.

"No, I mean, are you mad at me?" Sarah had to think about that one.

"No. I don't think I am. It's your choice after all." She paused before then adding, somewhat hesitantly, "Although maybe you should think about it, and everything it involves."

"Please, Sarah, I don't want to fight you too," Elena sighed tiredly.

"You won't," promised Sarah. "I'm on your side, Elena. No matter what choice you pick, I'll back you up. I just think you should be absolutely sure first. Think about everything you'll be losing, or more accurately, everyone that will be losing you. Think about how it will affect, Jenna and Jeremy."

"I will," promised Elena, although another tired sigh did follow after that. "And thank you for standing up for me."

"What are friends for," Sarah said with a smile. "See you later, call me if Stefan gets to be too much for you."

"Got it, thanks," Elena said with a smile in her voice before hanging up.

Now with nothing else to do except go to bed, Sarah was left with gruelling task of climbing up stairs to her bedroom. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she got herself moving with the walking stick. Though she stayed close to the wall the whole way, just to be safe and leaned heavily on the railing while going up the stairs. And then when she arrived at her bedroom, she found Damon waiting for her, sat on her bed. "So much for nurse Damon," Sarah muttered as she walked over to her bed and let herself fall onto it, next to Damon. "And I don't need your help undressing so you can go now. Anything you have to complain about can wait until morning," she added as she removed her leather jacket. Only to then feel a prick in the neck.

She tried turn but couldn't, and then she felt it enter her. The burning sensation that quickly began to over power her. The vervain. The needle was pulled from her neck, and she turned, vision already going blurry as she stared at Damon. It had been an extremely high dosage, so much so that even with her resistance built up, she couldn't fight the effects that were sweeping through her body. Already she was losing balance, falling before she realised it. Damon caught her though, holding her against him as he spoke. "Sorry, Sarah. But it's the only way," she heard Damon say, but he'd sound so far away, even though her head was just below his. She tried to fight the effects of the vervain, but it was too much, and she was still healing from earlier. She held on for another few seconds, before forcefully drifting off.