Review responses:
Sarcasm15Key: She's still not back to full form yet, but it was definitely a positive step which continues in this chapter too. And yes, you are along the right lines...
Guest: I'm glad they do, I love them both very much.
Okay, here we go! Last five episodes, come on! Of course though, my favourite stuff from this episode comes next week because I'm cruel like that. It also feels like forever since I last updated this story! Really wanting to get it finished so I can start planning – and then writing – season three! I'm so pumped for for it...! But knowing me, my hype and enthusiasm will be gone by this afternoon. Alas, until next week, enjoy!
Chapter 34: Know Thy Enemy
When Sarah awoke the next day, she'd hoped yesterday's drama would have been said and done with no second act. Unfortunately, at the very least, there seemed to be an epilogue.
Isobel – Elena's birth mother and Alaric's ex-wife – had just returned to town. And rather than phone ahead like any sensible person would do, she showed up at Elena's doorstep in the middle of the night demanding an audience. Unfortunately, it had been Jenna who answered the door, to which Isobel introduced herself by dropping bombs all over Jenna's life. Now she knew Isobel was alive – not dead – and that everyone close to her had been keeping it a secret from her.
Honestly, Sarah was surprised the vampire secret had remained a secret, but the only reason for that was probably because Elena managed to keep her out the house and then closed the door on her. But the damage between her and Jenna had already been done. Since then Jenna had been held up in her room over night and was still refusing to come out. So Elena had called both Stefan and Sarah, asking them to come over and help. She wanted her boyfriend for her own comfort, and Sarah since she was a close friend to both her and Jenna, a possible bridge in which to open up a dialogue.
So for the second day in a row, Sarah woke up running, quickly getting herself together before meeting her brothers at the staircase. Stefan was filling Damon in while he waited for her, and Sarah had left Scarlett to sleep on in her bed. She'd decided what that girl needed right now, was rest and time to heal. Besides, there wasn't a lot that she could do in this situation, other than comfort Jeremy if he was willing to accept it. Better to bench her for today at least and give the two some space.
"So, Isobel just showed up at their front doorstep," Damon was saying, as Sarah joined her brothers and they began to make their way down the stairs. "What's she even doing here?" he asked aloud.
"I don't know. But we're heading over there now to see what we can find out," Stefan said in his usual worried manner.
"And to make sure Jenna's okay. There's no telling what she's thinking right now," Sarah added, to which Stefan nodded in agreement as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Heading for the front door until Katherine stepped out of the living room and into the hallway, blocking their path.
"I don't think that you should tell her that I'm here," Katherine announced, as if she'd been part of the conversation since the beginning.
"Because what you think means so much to us," Sarah sneered, glaring at Katherine who just shot back an equally heated smirk.
"All I'm saying is, I think it would be better if she and John not know that I'm still in town," Katherine said calmly, which told Sarah she really wanted this, which in turn spawned more questions in her head. Number one being, 'Why?'
"Aren't you the one in cahoots with them," pointed out Damon. "You made the deal with John that almost got me killed." Sarah hadn't heard much about this, but since Damon was down playing it, and it obviously hadn't worked, Sarah wasn't too focused on it right now. Besides, she knew the essential bullet points. Katherine, John and Isobel had struck a deal, Katherine was supposed to get out of the tomb and in turn Damon was supposed to die.
Annoyingly, only half of that plan had been prevented.
"I did what I had to to get out of the tomb," Katherine replied, as if that justified her actions. "Now, I'm reconsidering my alliance," she explained, nervously scratching her neck as she turned away.
It was hard to know what to trust about Katherine's actions. A nervous scratch like that could be just that, but Sarah doubted it. Even with her body language, Katherine was just as crafty as she was with her words. She knew how to play the insecure damsel when it suited her, just as much as she could play the ball buster if she had to put someone in their place. One thing was for sure though, Sarah didn't take anything Katherine said or did at face value. Not anymore.
"What do you know?" Stefan asked, knowing that was sometimes the only way to get anything out of Katherine – by playing her games.
Turning back around with a smile, Katherine continued with, "I know that I want Klaus dead, which puts me squarely on team you. And besides, if you three ever need me to swap places with Elena again, the less people know that I'm here, the better."
As much as it pained Sarah to admit, she saw the sense in what Katherine was saying – but that in there lay the trap. And as Sarah knew from experience, Katherine was extremely good a laying traps. "You know I'm right, Sarah," Katherine spoke up, stepping towards her as her eyes narrowed. Sarah hated when she did that, speaking as if reading her mind. "Be smart about this. Let me help you."
After taking in a breath and calming her racing thoughts about Katherine manipulating her, Sarah smiled back politely. "I'm good, Katherine," she said, before stepping towards her. Leaning over to her ear as she whispered, "But if you really want to help, you can do us all a favour and get out of my house."
As she pulled back, Sarah took in Katherine's scowl, before heading for the front door with a smile on her face. Stefan followed shortly, after sharing a grin with Damon and reminding him to call Alaric in case Elena hadn't already. Once outside, he and Sarah began to laugh, taking enjoyment from tormenting Katherine, even if it was only a little in comparison to what she'd done to them.
However, the moment was short lived, as when they reached the garage – Stefan using his remote to open it up – his phone went off. He answered, only to instantly receive the mad ramblings of Caroline. It was quite possibly a solid minute before he then calmed her down enough for her to explain – at a speed at which, both vampires could understand – what had happened.
Matt had found out her secret, and by extension theirs. During Jonas attack at the Grill, Matt had apparently been injured and Caroline healed him with her blood. But he passed out before she could compel him to forget and when he then awoke he bolted before she could try again. "I can't find him anywhere," Caroline was saying. "He's not at home. He's not answering his phone."
"How did he even get away from you, Caroline?" Stefan asked with a critical tone. He wouldn't normally have used it but this was a big secret, plus they already had enough to deal with in Isobel and Katherine, never mind what problems Matt could bring to their front door now that he knew they were all vampires.
"My mom walked in," Caroline sighed. "He took off. I–I didn't know what to do," she explained, sounding exasperated.
"Did your mom hear anything?" Sarah asked, having been listening.
"No. She just thinks we're fighting but he knows about me, and he's freaking out about Vicki," Caroline explained, reminding them all of yet another skeleton in their closet.
"Great," Sarah sighed as she rubbed her head, wondering if it was to late for her to call it quits and go back to bed.
"All right, listen, I'm gonna come to you and we're gonna map out where he might be and find him, got that?" Stefan said into the phone.
"Okay," Caroline replied.
"Start brainstorming, I'll be there soon," Stefan said before hanging up. "Are you okay to handle Jenna and Isobel?" Stefan asked with his usual concerned frown as he looked to Sarah.
She nodded. "Yeah, I've got that. You just get to Caroline and try and join us when you can."
"All right, thanks," Stefan said as he opened up his car door and climbed in. "Tell Elena, 'I'm sorry, and I'll be there as soon as I can,'" he said before starting the engine and racing out of the garage and down the driveway. Once he was clear, Sarah mounted her own vehicle, donned her helmet and raced towards the Gilbert residence, arriving just as Alaric was climbing out of his own car.
"Hey," Alaric said hurriedly as he approached Sarah.
"Hey," Sarah replied sympathetically, before climbing off her bike and strapping the helmet onto the handlebars. "How you holding up?" she asked, looking over her shoulder until she was able to fully turn around and face him.
"Not great," admitted Alaric with a heavy sigh. "You know how it goes. Girlfriend gets mad at you for not telling her everything, then your supposedly dead vampire wife comes into town and spills everything," he said in a miniature rant, followed by another heavy sigh. "Oh, God, this is a nightmare."
Sarah put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, offering him a smile to boot. "Hey, we'll deal with this like we do everything else, all right?"
"Right," agreed Alaric before the two began to make their way towards the Gilbert house.
"Besides, maybe it's time for Jenna to hear everything," Sarah added as they climbed the steps.
"Yeah, well. I just hope she's ready to hear it," Alaric mumbled unenthusiastically, as he knocked on the door. Elena answer it, waving them in as Alaric asked, "Hey, is she up yet?" entering the house, followed by Sarah.
"She won't come out of her room," Elena sighed, shaking her head like she had no idea what to do.
"What have you told her so far?" asked Sarah, glancing up the stairs in case Jenna had come out at the sound of hers and Alaric's voices.
"Nothing. She won't talk to me," explained Elena, as if on the verge of tears. From the looks of her it had been a rough tearful night.
"All right, so what does she know so far?" asked Sarah, turning to Elena, trying to gather all the facts before confronting Jenna again in any capacity.
"Only that Isobel is alive and that all of us knew about it but didn't tell her," Elena explained with a sniff.
"So nothing about vampires?" Sarah asked.
"No," Elena said with a shake of the head. "She doesn't know about any of that."
Sarah nodded, trying to think up how best to proceed, when Elena asked, "Could you go up and talk to her? She trusts you, and she's outright refusing to speak or listen to me."
"And I can't imagine it'll go any better coming from me," added Alaric with self hatred in his voice. It was clear he was wishing he'd told Jenna everything now, or at least before Isobel had. And with her humanity still switched off, it wasn't like any of this mattered to her anyway – which was probably why she was so quick to spill everything to Jenna, thinking it would be the quickest way to get to Elena.
"All right," Sarah said with a sigh, suddenly feeling the weight of both their hopes resting on her. "I'll go up and see what I can do."
"Thank you, Sarah," Elena said with a brave smile, which Sarah returned before she ascended up the stairs.
She hadn't actually been in Jenna's room yet, but she could work out which one was hers by process of elimination. She knew which was Elena's, which was the bathroom and which was Jeremy's. That left only their parents room and Jenna's, which was the locked one.
"Jenna," Sarah called out softly as she rapped on the door with her knuckles. "It's Sarah. I'm on my own… Can we talk?" she said uneasily, feeling about as guilty as those waiting down stairs. Because even if Jenna wasn't aware of it yet, Sarah had lied to her along with the others and she too had hated it. But it was too late to fix that now, all she could do was try and get Jenna to listen to them.
"No!" Jenna shouted back through the door, and even without her vampire hearing, Sarah was sure she heard a sniff follow. "I don't want to talk to anyone," she added, her voice wavering more with each word.
Sarah couldn't stand it, having a door between her and her suffering friend – because Jenna truly was a friend to her and she wanted to make this right. So she grabbed the door knob and twisted it with her superior strength, snapping the lock before opening the door.
As she walked in, Jenna jumped around to face her. A bag full of cloths on the bed behind her. "How–How'd you do that?" Jenna asked, pointing to the open door that had been locked.
She was panicked, afraid and feeling betrayed, so obviously opening with the vampire part of the story wasn't the best way to go, meaning Sarah had to quickly think on her feet. Even if she wanted to tell Jenna the truth. "Old lock I guess," Sarah said while looking back at the door, thankful that the lock did look old enough to back up her story. And while Jenna probably still had follow up questions, Sarah got hers out first as she looked to the bag on Jenna's bed. "What's with the bag?"
Hitting Sarah with a pointed look that made her want to spill her guts about everything, Jenna broken away as she grabbed one last things from her open wardrobe and stuffed them into her bag. "I'm sick of all the lies," Jenna cried out angrily, shoving in the items into bag as she violently pulled the zip shut. "I'm sick of it all and I just need to get away from it all and catch my breath."
"Where are you going to go?" asked Sarah as Jenna finished closing up the bag.
"Whitmore. I'll crash at my old dorm room until I'm ready to come back," Jenna declared as she picked up her bag and turned to leave until Sarah stepped in her path with both hands raised.
"Okay, Jenna. I completely understand why you might be angry right now, but–"
"Angry! I'm beyond angry, Sarah!" Jenna snapped, tears forming in the corners of her eyes – and Sarah wasn't even sure if they were fresh or not. "They lied to me, for months and I'm just supposed to be okay with that?!"
"No. Of course not, no. But maybe we can sit down and explain it," Sarah said, not realising her wording until Jenna's shocked and hurt gaze became fixated on her.
Her lower lip started to tremble, and Sarah watched in agony as Jenna slowly asked, trembling with rage, "Were you lying to me too, Sarah?"
She had to be truthful, she had to, she had to tell the truth. Sarah told herself as she took in a deep breath, only to then find she couldn't say the words. So she had to settle for a guilty nod of the head, as her lips rolled in words. Watching in heartache as more tears fell away from Jenna's painful and betrayed eyes.
All of a sudden Jenna was storming past her and out of instinct, Sarah turned, grabbing her arm with enough vampire strength to stop her from leaving as she called out, "Jenna, wait!"
She wheeled around, daggers in her eyes. Daggers of betrayal that made Sarah feel like the worse person in the world for lying to her friend. But she had lied, and she had to own up to it and make things right. That was all that matter in that moment. Not Isobel, not Katherine, not Klaus and the fact he was coming for Elena. All Sarah wanted was to make things right with Jenna and repent for all the lies she'd told.
"I'm still your friend, Jenna. I've told you a hundred times, I'm your friend above everything else, and I care about you, and I'm sorry that I lied but we all had to for your own protection," Sarah tried to explain hysterically, and all while looking into those hateful eyes. The look of someone who felt truly betrayed, and for a moment Sarah thought that would be the end of their friendship.
"Why?" Jenna snapped, catching Sarah off guard. "Why did you have to lie to protect me – and tell me the truth," she demanded.
But Sarah froze, still caught off guard by Jenna's forwardness. Where would she even start with something like this? Should she come straight out and tell her about the vampires, or tell her about Isobel and build from there? Unfortunately, in her indecisiveness, Jenna yanked her arm free from Sarah and stormed out the room with her bag in hand.
Still speechless, Sarah followed after a hesitant moment, reaching the top of the stairs as Jenna reached the bottom.
"Jenna–" Alaric began only to get cut off swiftly by his ex-girlfriend.
"I don't want you here, RIc. You need to go," she stated simply, dropping her bag as she grabbed her coat.
"Okay, listen," Alaric started up once more, as calmly as he could while Sarah came down the stairs to join him and Elena. "I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now."
"Rage and betrayal would pretty much cover it," Jenna said with a spiteful glare to the man she thought she loved, as she fiercely pulled on her jacket.
"Where are you going?" Elena asked softly.
"Ask Sarah," Jenna said simply, as she grabbed her bag, shooting the green eyed vampire just as spiteful a look as she'd given Alaric. "She's just as bad as the rest of you."
"Jenna…" was all Sarah could get out in a pleading tone.
"Please, just, let us explain to you what exactly is going on," begged Alaric, but Jenna looked right past him, and Sarah, to Elena, the only one who hadn't received her wrath yet. However, she then took a breath, and her eyes turned more neutral, as if remembering she was still responsible for her and Jeremy, even if she was extremely angry with them. They were her niece and nephew after all, and even while angry she still loved them enough to not snap at them for their betrayal.
Sarah and Alaric on the other hand, weren't protected by that clause.
"Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwood's today and accept the Historical Society's check for your mom's foundation," Jenna said calmly to her niece, before she turned to leave as he eyes no doubt filled with fiery hurt once more.
"Okay, but, Jenna, please just–" Elena began, shaking of the least important thing her life at the moment – her mom's foundation – as she tried to get Jenna to stay. But as she spoke, Jenna cut her off, turning back around to face the three guilty parties, as she unleashed the true hurt she was feeling through her eyes and quivering voice.
"I don't have it in me to hear any more lies from you!" she snapped, trembling as she grabbed the door and slammed it shut behind her.
"Jenna," Sarah said as she began to follow, opening up the door and stepping out onto the porch as she pulled it shut behind her. "Jenna, wait, please!"
She didn't look back though, merely threw her bag into the back of her car before climbing in as Sarah ran up to the driver's side window. It was only when she got there, ready to bang on the window, that she saw Jenna break down into tears. She's obviously forgotten that Sarah was following her, because she was just letting it all out. Or maybe she simply couldn't hold it in any longer.
Sarah knew that feeling.
Gently tapping on the window, Jenna jumped when she realised Sarah had indeed followed her. "Jenna, I'm sorry," Sarah said again as Jenna turned away, using her amber blonde hair to shield her face as she started up the car. "Just… Just call us when you decide to come back, please."
"Don't count on it," Jenna snapped, as she drove off out of the drive and down the road, leaving Sarah on the front path, watching as she lost yet another of her friends.
In that moment it felt like that was all she'd been doing lately, losing friends. She'd been having a lot of moments like that. She'd lost Lexi to Damon and Katherine, lost Rose to Jules' werewolf bite. Then almost lost Elena because of her deal, and might still lose her because of Klaus. And now she'd lost Jenna, one of her closest friends.
A bigger person might have blamed themselves – and Sarah had done that to a degree – but there was someone else more deserving of that blame, and Sarah could hear him from inside the Gilbert house.
So with a furious fire now burning inside her, after losing yet another friend, Sarah stormed back into the Gilbert house passing Alaric as he stormed out. They barely acknowledge each other as Sarah entered the house, eyes locked on the jackass who'd started all this by putting doubts in Jenna's head, who'd brought nothing but trouble since he'd come back into town.
He was just one person on a list of people who'd taken Sarah's friends from her, but in that moment, Sarah considered the bleeding nosed idiot to embody them all, as she strode past Elena who was still reeling in awe from what Alaric had done to him.
John then looked up, confused as Sarah glared at him. She then grabbed his head and snapped it with all her vampire strength, before letting his dead body collapse onto the ground, dead.
But even that wasn't enough, she still had rage to get out, and as she lunched her foot into John's corpse, sending it hurling into the kitchen table, which broke apart upon impact – Sarah cried out, "ASSHOLE!" with such force and volume she was certain the whole neighbourhood heard her.
And after all that, she felt marginally better, as she heaved in and out heavy emotional breaths, turning to see Elena stood behind her in the hallway, staring in shock.
"Sorry," Sarah muttered as she fell against the wall, still catching her breath.
"Don't be," Elena said as she stepped towards her friend, although her eyes were still on John. Now surrounded by the remains of her broken up kitchen table. "He had it coming."
"I was talking about the table," Sarah explained, grinning as Elena chuckled.
"We can get another one. He should just be lucky he was wearing his ring," Elena said, nodding to John.
"Damn," Sarah groaned. "I forgot he had that."
When Scarlett awoke to find Sarah gone from her side, she was up like a shot. Considering what had happened the previous morning, Scarlett wouldn't have put it past Katherine to kidnap her for another repeat. But after a quick sniff around the room, she only caught the recent scents of herself and Sarah. Nothing from the notorious Katherine Pierce.
So she poked her head out into the hallway and followed Sarah's sent down the stairs and to the front door. She also picked up Stefan's scent and judging by how they were already fading into the smell of the house as a whole, she guessed they'd both left together. That, and she didn't want to go outside in her pjs. In fact, she wanted to get up stairs and change out of them before–
"Cute pjs, Scrappy."
Scarlett rolled her eyes, turning around to glare at the smugly satisfied Damon. "I was picturing something with more horsies or kitties, but, yeah, doom and gloom grey works for you," he said in reference to the colour of Scarlett nightwear.
"Screw you," Scarlett said, folding her arms across her chest in a defiant stance.
Damon raised a finger in the air. "Isn't that what you're suppose to do to Mason and your boyfriend?"
The switch from, 'bad girl,' to, 'hurt girl,' must have been pretty quick, because Damon all but lost his mirth when he saw Scarlett's response to what he said. Her arms dropping as her eyes welled up shamefully, right before her head lowered.
Damon was at a loss on how to proceed, frowning and moving his mouth in uncertain ways, before finally he drawled out an, "Okay… Guess you're not over the whole, betraying Jeremy thing."
"It's not the kind thing a good night sleep fixes, Damon," Scarlett muttered, dabbing her eyes with her long sleeve and willing herself to stop crying in front of Damon of all people.
"Fair enough," he said before she looked up sharply, as his hand landed on her shoulder. And what she found was very un-Damon. He a friendly smile on, and his blue shining eyes were filled with sympathy. "You'll get through this. Just…take the day off. Relax. I'm sure by the end of it Gilbert will be begging for you to take him back." It wasn't exactly the most moving of speeches, but Scarlett could tell it was coming from Damon's heart. The nice part of it as posed to the snarky part.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure staying here's gonna do me much good," pointed out Scarlett as she slouched in Damon's grasp.
"How come?" Damon asked, letting go of her shoulder.
"One word, 'Katherine,'" Scarlett said dryly.
"Oh, yeah," Damon mumbled in agreement, pausing to think. He quickly found an answer to the problem though, and began to smirk. "Well, you can always bite her ass if she starts bugging you."
"Point," agreed Scarlett with a small grin.
"So it's agreed, you're staying here, great, I'll see you later," Damon said with a big old smile, as he patted Scarlett on the shoulders, before side stepping around her and heading for the door.
"Hold on," Scarlett said with a frown, turning around to see him opening the door – and about to make his escape. "Where are you going?"
"Out. Got some…things to do…" Damon said, trailing off as he glanced around. Scarlett wasn't an idiot, whatever he was up to he obviously didn't want Katherine knowing about it, and for that reason she didn't push the matter. But she was always smart enough to know when Damon was playing her, and while she was forty precent sure he had been genuinely kind to her a moment ago, she was one-hundred precent sure he wanted her to stay in the house for a reason.
"And why do you want me to stay here so badly?" she asked boldly, to which Damon instantly began his innocent act.
"I'm just look out for you, Scrappy," he said before snapping his fingers and pointing back at her. "You need mopey day. You know, a day in bed, with a box of tissues and day old chocolates while you play dumb rom-coms on the TV."
"In that case," Scarlett said, putting a little playfulness into her voice, that she felt nowhere near ready to use. "I think I'll spend my mopey day in the woods," she declared, striding towards the open front door when Damon blocked her path with his arm across the door frame. She looked over at him, finding his irritated face on. The one he used when people weren't doing what he wanted them to do.
"Could you, please, just take my advice for once," pleaded Damon in a mixture of begging and ordering as he glowered at the blue eyed werewolf.
"I'm not a guard dog, Damon," Scarlett said, already out of juice on her playfulness. Because he was right, she did need a calm slow day, at least for now anyway. She was still recovering from what went down with Jeremy, and while she wanted to be active, she didn't want to deal with any more drama than usual. "Just be straight with me, for today, and I'll stay here, promise."
Seeing his options laid out before him, and very much aware that he was dealing with an emotionally unstable werewolf who could kill him at any moment if she so choose, he decided to play along. "All right," he said slowly, dropping his arm as he leaned back against the door frame. "Number one, obviously I don't trust Katherine."
"Obviously," agreed Scarlett with a nod.
"Second, though I doubt she'd do it, I'd prefer it if someone was always here to keep an eye on the two Originals we have chilling in our basement. After all, it was only yesterday, a couple of idiots tried to remove those damn daggers – and once their out, we'll have two very pissed Originals to deal with." Scarlett could see his point, grimacing at the thought.
"Is that straight enough for you?" asked Damon, attitude flaring.
"Yeah," Scarlett replied, before stepping over and wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you," she said softly, suddenly finding herself in need of a hug, but also grateful that Damon had been straight and honest with her for once.
Although, Damon didn't seem quite so in tune with his emotions, as he merely patted Scarlett on the head with an awkward grin. "There, there," he said as if Scarlett were an actual dog. She rolled her eyes and pulled away, turning to leave before Damon called after her. "Hey, Scarlett." She turned to look back at him, finding another genuinely fond, even if small, smile on his face. "I meant it when I said you'd be fine… You're a Salvatore after all."
And as he said those words, Scarlett felt bits of her broken heart begin to mend.
"At least that's what Sarah told me to say. As far as I'm concerned your still, Scarlett – whatever your last name is. See you later," he said with a shrug before walking out and closing the door behind him.
"Jack ass," Scarlett mutter. As if she should expect anything better from Damon Salvatore of all people.
Thankfully John took a good while before he woke up from his death. Neither Sarah nor Elena was in a mood to deal with him. There was however, still the matter of Isobel to be discussed. Although when Stefan phoned saying he was on his way over, they held off on the conversation until he arrived.
In the time between, Elena asked Sarah to move John's body, since she was far to nice a person at times. Sarah obliged, though it would hardly be described as compassionate as she threw John from the kitchen and onto the nearby couch in front of the TV. Elena didn't say anything, though did raise a somewhat mature eyebrow. Maturity could be an overrated thing in Sarah's mind, at least when it suited her.
Once Stefan arrived the trio then moved up to Elena's room. None of them wanted to be near John and they certainly didn't want him waking up and playing dead while eavesdropping on them. From there they went over what Isobel had done since being back. But all they really knew was what had already been discussed about her coming by last night and dropping the news on Jenna. Everything else was just speculation, and since they weren't getting anywhere Elena asked Stefan about Caroline and Matt.
It wasn't any better. Caroline was in a panicked state, though seemed happier once she set about trying to solve the problem with an actual plan – or at least that was how Stefan saw it when he left. There was truly no one alive who could understand the inner workings of Caroline's mind. But apart from coming up with a search plan for Matt, there had been no progress on that issue either.
"This is bad," sighed Elena from her window seat with Stefan, while Sarah laid sprawled out on her bed, thinking the same thing. "Between Isobel and Jenna and now Matt, this is a disaster bad."
"Yeah," agreed Stefan quietly, rubbing Elena's back in comfort as Sarah listened to someone's footsteps coming from the stairs.
"And it doesn't look like it's going to be improving," she groaned, sitting up as she prepared her glare for the man who was about to step through the door.
"Elena, can you come downstairs, please? I need to talk to you," John said as he stopped at his daughter's open bedroom door. At least he had some sense in that thick skull of his, Sarah through. Although, she couldn't quite decide if it was respect for his daughter's privacy, or fear from the three glaring supernaturals – none of which wanted to hear from him right now.
"I have nothing to say to you," Elena said spitefully, looking away from John all together.
"Please. It's important. You two as well," he added, looking to both Stefan and Sarah.
The trio looked to one another, silently debating whether it was worth the argument, before rising as one and heading out the door. Sarah lead the way, making sure to bump John forcefully in the shoulder on her way out. He wisely held his tongue, as Elena followed with Stefan closely at her back.
The four then descended the stairs and turned to enter the kitchen when Sarah stopped, everyone behind her doing the same before spacing out to see what she saw. Isobel stood in the Gilbert kitchen.
Sarah kept her eyes on the emotionless vampire, taking her in and watching for any sign of an attack. She imagined Stefan was doing much the same as she was. A vampire with their switch flicked off was not something to be taken lightly, as they both knew. That said, Isobel was rather tame compared some of their other encounters.
"I asked John for a do-over." Immediately Sarah was caught off guard by this. Not so much because of the words, but the odd mixture of her voice. Cold emotionless words were what you normally got from a vampire like Isobel, one who'd turned it off. But there was sadness in her words, a sort of longing that did not go with the person she was.
And while Sarah kept watch, her curiosity honing in on the mysterious Isobel, Elena turned to let loose at her uncle/father. "You invited her in?!" she exclaimed in white hot anger.
"She has information about Klaus. Please, just listen to her, okay?" John pleaded.
Sarah was skeptical, and not just because this was Isobel, but because this was an Isobel that was different to the previous one she'd met. There had been no denying the lack of emotion the first time they'd met. Now there was something, Sarah just wasn't sure what. Maybe that was why Stefan said, "All right," to the discussion. Because he too wanted to figure this out.
They moved into the kitchen. Isobel taking a seat by the remains of the dinning table along with John, while Elena paced back and forth before them. Stefan was leaned back against a countertop beside the door, Elena always with in reach in case of an emergency, while Sarah was behind the island in the kitchen. Leaning down on her elbows as her hands cupped her face, with a frown that had embedded itself along her forehead, as she watched the curious case that was Isobel.
"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus. We knew out best chance was to find him before he could find you," Isobel was explaining, and again there was that same thing about her words. They were cold and detached, and yet sincere in a way that didn't suit her. So conflicting in what they were, what she was that it just didn't make any sense.
"Best chance at what?" Stefan asked with a frown of his own.
"Keeping Elena alive," John said strictly, before Elena snapped at him.
"You don't get to talk, okay, not after everything you've done," she declared, as Stefan smoothly moved to her side for support.
"Where you able to find Klaus?" Sarah spoke up, looking directly at Isobel as she studied her response in depth. Her breathing, her body language, the way she continued to speak in that odd way. Any sign that might give her a further clue to what was going on with this woman.
"No. Nobody knows where he is," Isobel answered before very naturally moving on. That was when Sarah knew she was starting to get paranoid, because she was thinking that Isobel had been too natural in her response. And there was still that pestering emotion to her voice. That worry that seemed almost genuine. Emotions creeping back through? Was her switch beginning to flick the other way? Maybe, Sarah thought, still watching with a keen eye. But she'd seen a vampire's emotions come back before, experienced it herself even, and something just didn't fit right with this.
"But there are these rumours that are flying around. That a doppelgänger exists," Isobel continued.
"Which means any vampire that wants to get in favour with Klaus, will be lining up to capture you," John concluded, pointedly looking to his glaring daughter.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be talking," Sarah said loudly, though her gaze never broke from Isobel – who'd obviously noticed the attention she was getting from the Salvatore, but was choosing to ignore it as her eyes followed her daughter.
"All right, Isobel," Sarah said as she straightened up, drawing the vampire's attention. "Let's say you are here to help. Which if true means you can easily answer one question for us. Why?" Sarah asked as she stepped around the counter, moving in front of Stefan and Elena as she begun her interrogation.
"She's our daughter, I think–" John began before Sarah cut him off with a throat punch that almost sent him falling out his chair.
"I'm asking her," Sarah said in a raised and serious voice, eyes still focused on those cold green eyes of Isobel. Those eyes that seemed so conflicted over who she was. The emotionless vampire, or the caring mother who wanted to protect her child.
"I've been helping all along," Isobel said in a level tone. "I helped stop the tomb vampires. If one of them had gotten out and spread word about–"
"You helped, Katherine," Sarah cut in sternly, leaning in towards Isobel, who wouldn't flinch. "We know this, so don't even try and claim it was for the good of your daughter. And don't waste my time with the, 'it was all an act,' bit. I looked into your eyes the last time I saw you, Isobel. And those were the eyes of a vampire who'd thrown their switch right off. So if there's one thing I know, it's that you've not been part of some greater scheme to protect Elena. You might be able to pull that over on John, but we're not a bunch of idiots like he is. To do something like that takes dedication, and to do it for someone specific, like your daughter, that takes love. And despite what I see in your eyes now, back then, I saw no love in those eyes. I saw nothing. Which, of course, means your lying. So I ask again, why are you insisting that you want to help Elena?"
It was then Sarah got a good up close look at the conflict brewing in Isobel's eyes. Something was wrong with Isobel all right. Very wrong. But unnoticeable to those that apparently weren't looking for it. Sarah just needed to identify what it was, that thing that was going on behind Isobel's eyes right now as she said, "I just want to protect Elena." A statement that had genuine truth to it, but felt so hollow and wrong at the same time.
Isobel then rose, stepping past Sarah as she looked to Elena. Stefan taking a subconscious step closer to her, his sharp eyes waiting for Isobel's next move. "I have a safe house that I can take you to. The deed is in your name. No vampire can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you?" Again, that nagging conflict of emotion and nothingness in her voice. Sarah was going to lose her mind if she had to remain in the room with this walking talking paradox. Thankfully, Elena seemed to have a perfect solution to that problem.
"You wanna help?" Elena asked rhetorically, before getting up in Isobel's face. "Then get the hell out of my house!"
"Elena…" John croaked, still recovering from his punch to the throat, when Sarah grabbed his ring hand and began to squeeze.
"If you break our no talking rule again, I'm going to take that ring of yours and see if it still works while shoved down your throat," she snarled, with a warning glare to John before turning back to Isobel, who'd backed away from Elena. A look of shame almost upon her face. For all intents and purposes, this woman should not exist. An emotionless vampire who was expressing emotions.
It was then Stefan stepped in, choosing to end the conversation before tensions could get any higher. "I think it's time for you to go," he said calmly, gesturing for her to use the door.
"Promise to think about what I said?" Isobel asked hopefully. Elena didn't say anything but looked to Stefan who nodded, more just so that they could get Isobel out the house for the time being. So Elena nodded to her vampire mother, who then left with a small unnatural smile on her face.
Once she was gone, Sarah released John's hand and declared they should leave. No one had any objections, not even John. He'd gotten what he wanted for now, which for them all to hear what Isobel had to say. So he remained quiet as the trio grabbed what they needed and left the house, returning to the Salvatore boarding house.
There, they joined Damon and Scarlett – who was now dressed for the day in a plain t-shirt and jeans – in the study, catching them both up on what had happened while at the Gilbert's.
"Do you really think that Isobel's telling the truth, that word's gotten out about the doppelgänger?" Elena asked after they'd gone over everything that had happened. She was sat on one side of the large couch, her legs crossed, and playing nervously with her hair. Understandable, if this rumour turned out to be true their problems could be about to double, if not triple through more vampires coming to town.
"Look, none of us trust a word she said, but I think we'd be stupid to ignore the warning," Stefan said in a clam and collected tone, from the armchair next to Elena's side of the couch. Damon was across from in him, lazing in the other armchair with his back against one arm rest and his legs hanging over the other. As for Sarah she was sat on the other side of the couch, face contorted in intense thought while Scarlett had made herself comfortable on the ground, leaning back against the couch.
Even though there was a perfectly good space between Sarah and Elena, Scarlett still opted for the floor. A juvenile form of self punishment, but Sarah decided to leave it be for now. As much as she didn't like it, she had to give Scarlett a few days to wallow in self pity. Part of her completely understood where Jeremy was coming from, but there was also a part of her that was mad with him for hurting Scarlett.
It was a hard situation all right, and while Sarah would be there for Scarlett, she couldn't get involved. This was her and Jeremy's relationship and they would have to deal with it themselves.
"What you thinking there, Little Sister?" asked Damon, eyeing his sister from his reclined position.
She had been thinking about her ward, but there was something else on her mind that she imagined Damon would be much more interested in. "Isobel," she answered in a word, before looking over to Stefan. "Didn't she seem weird to you, I mean for a vampire who claims to have flicked their switch."
Stefan nodded in agreement. "I agree with what you said back there. Her humanity was definitely off the last time we met her. But there was something there today, I saw it."
"So what, just because her humanity is flaming up, that means we can trust her?" scoffed Damon.
"The opposite actually," Sarah said with a look over to her quick draw brother.
"What are you trying to get at?" asked Elena, frowning at her friend from across the couch.
"It just doesn't add up," Sarah began to explain as she stared off into intense thought. "Her humanity was clearly off. But at the same time, she was showing emotions…only they felt…kinda forced?" Sarah finished in uncertainty, unsure if she was using the proper words to describe just what Isobel had been like.
"Well, that makes zero sense," muttered Damon with a dramatic eye roll.
"I think that's her point," Stefan said in defence of their sister. Again Damon just rolled his eyes.
"Well, not that I don't love chatting about, you're messed up family," Damon said with a causal finger point to Elena – who shot him an irritated glare in response. "But, I think we have more pressing matters to discuss. Say, your protection form you're messed up family," he suggested with another point at Elena.
"You got a plan?" Sarah asked her brother skeptically, running her hand through her hair as she did.
"Yeah," Damon said with mocking enthusiasm. "She moves in with Stefan, here. Would make it a hell of a lot easier for us to keep an eye on her."
"What, in the house that any vampire can enter?" Stefan said, pointing out the obvious hole in Damon's plan.
"Plus, you're always complaining about how crowded it is here," added Scarlett, speaking up for the first time since she'd sat down.
"Go back to moping," Damon snapped, not liking the fact he was getting ganged up on.
"Leave her alone, Damon," Sarah warned.
"She's a tough kid," Damon said with a shrug, before returning from the tangent. "So if Elena can't stay here what's your plan then, Stefan?"
"Her house is safe," Stefan argued.
"Yeah, and also accessible to Katherine, Isobel and anyone else posing as a pizza delivery guy," pointed Sarah.
"We'd have to stay there with her then," Damon said, which Stefan seemed to agree with. "It's probably a good thing Jenna's done a runner then. No awkward questions," he added, earning a glare from those on the couch. "Well, it's either that or you two lovebirds find an apartment to rent," Damon added with a teasing look to Elena and Stefan.
"You're hilarious," Sarah said dryly.
"Thanks, Sis," Damon said with a mocking smile in return, at which Sarah sneered before folding her arms in a huff.
"So, that's it? That's the plan? I have to spend the rest of my life with one of you by my side at all times?" asked Elena, hardly sounding thrilled about the idea, not that Sarah could blame her. While she loved her family, she wouldn't want them hovering around her during every second of every day during every aspect of her life. Some lines had to exist, but in the case of Elena's safety, those lines were becoming increasingly hard to draw.
"Let us know when you come up with a better one," Damon said with the usual amount of sympathy they'd all come to expect from him.
With a sigh of contempt, Elena took a breath, accepting the situation for now before looking back up at the group. "Fine. Then I guess we'll all be going to the Lockwood Luncheon."
"Joy," Sarah sighed, but left it at that, remembering that Elena was only going on behalf of Jenna.
"Well, you two have fun, because I've got witch stuff to attend to with Bonnie," Damon said with a knowing smug grin.
"What about me?" Scarlett asked lifting her head.
"You're on guard dog duty, remember," Damon said with a pointed look.
"You can come if you want, Scarlett," Stefan said more sympathetically. Although Scarlett considered it for a moment before looking to Elena.
"Will Jeremy be there?"
Elena was a little surprised by the question. "Maybe?" she said uncertainly. She hadn't seen Jeremy since before Sarah arrived at her house. After he'd found out about Jenna and tried and failed to talk to her, he'd gone out for a long walk to clear his head. There really was no telling if he'd show up or not, maybe thinking he could catch Jenna at the event. Elena had texted him to let him know what had happened with Jenna, but there'd been no reply as of yet.
"I think I'll just stay here," Scarlett then said quietly, looking down at her feet.
"If that's what you want," Sarah said, reaching forward and placing her hand on Scarlett's shoulder. Offering her a supportive smile when she looked up at her. She appreciated it, but quickly went back to looking at her shoes, hiding away from everything as she was with Jeremy. Hopefully she'll get through this phase soon, Sarah thought. She didn't like seeing her ward like this, it was so unlike her. But at the same time, there was nothing she could do to speed up the process.
"And what about me?" asked a voice nobody wanted to hear, as Katherine walked into the room, leaning down on the back of the couch Elena and Sarah were sat on. "Where do I fit into this amazing plan of yours?"
Everyone went silent, making a point of not answering Katherine as she looked between them all. "You do realise I can't help you if you don't tell me the plan, right?" she said, pointedly glaring at them all.
"Almost as if that was by design," Damon pointed out, grinning when Katherine looked his way.
"Seriously?" groaned Katherine with a tilt of the head. "I've been honest with all of you, I think it's time you returned the favour."
Sarah instantly snorted, before then looking over her shoulder at a glowering Katherine. "You seriously think, after everything you've done, that anyone in this room would trust you?" Sarah asked, before offering her enemy a sarcastic smile. "You're lying to yourself. And if I say only one honest thing to you for the rest of my life it'll be this. None of us will ever trust you again."
Katherine's glare intensified, though she wisely held her tongue, which made it all the more enjoyable for Sarah to watch her. Seeing her enemy struggle in a way she never thought she'd get to. Katherine had always been a step ahead with the Salvatores, but now she was in their house, asking for their help because they held all the cards. Finally, she was at their mercy, in a way that was completely different to the tomb. Because here she wanted to stay, to be a part of their group and their plans. She wanted to help, but they could just keep denying her – and while she had other options, this was the one she wanted. And Katherine hated not getting what she wanted. So she'd keep punishing herself, in hopes that she would get her way, get what she wanted. Their acceptance. But Sarah was never going to let that happen.
"Besides, if you're being nothing but honest with us, you won't mind telling us where you've been all morning?" Scarlett asked from her spot on the floor. She then looked up, grinning with mirth in her eyes as she saw Katherine struggle to answer, all eyes on her.
"Yeah, Katherine," Stefan added with a grin of his own. "After all, if your as open as you say, that should be a pretty easy question to answer."
The vampire's brown irritated eyes flicked between them all, giving them each a scowl as they all grinned smugly back at her. She had to think fast, but if there was one thing Katherine Pierce was good at, it was thinking on her feet. "I was looking for another weapon to kill an Original with," she said smoothly, with a triumphant grin at having found her wording at just the right time. "You know, since you've used the only two we currently have."
Silence stretched out for a moment, annoyance at her clever answer passing over everyone's face – save Scarlett's.
"You're lying," the werewolf said knowingly.
"You're one to talk," Katherine bit back pointedly, and Scarlett caught her meaning, as she tried to hide the hurt in her eyes.
Katherine smirked in victory, before finding herself shoved against one of the wooden beams in the room, Damon in front of her with Stefan at his side. Neither said anything, but there stance and actions made everything clear to Katherine – and Sarah, who grinned proudly at her brothers, while Katherine could only scowl in annoyance.
"Fine. Be that way," she spat, stepping through the gap Damon left her and leaving the room. Unfortunately, she didn't leave the house all together, so they couldn't continue to talk openingly about their plans. And unable to discuss their plans, they had no choice but to move on.
Damon left first, the others remaining behind to make sure Katherine didn't follow him. She didn't, apparently more focused on sulking than what they were up to. Stefan took Elena home to get changed – it was a formal event so she wouldn't be getting by with just her jeans, t-shirt and cardigan. Sarah remained behind to keep Scarlett company, making sure she was okay until Scarlett finally assured her she was fine being in the house along with Katherine – promising that if the she devil tried anything, she'd bite her arm clean off.
Marginally more satisfied, Sarah left with a soft smile to her ward, before meeting Stefan and Elena at the Lockwood Mansion, where Elena was scheduled to accept the 'whatever' on behalf of Jenna. Heading in, they mingled as perusal with these sorts of things, until Caroline approached them, looking very flustered.
"Hey. Any luck finding Matt?" Stefan asked hopefully.
"None," Caroline heavied out, before continuing on in true Caroline fashion. "What if he tells somebody? What if he tells everybody?" she exclaimed in a hushed and panicked whisper, forcing herself to smile in case someone saw her and asked what was wrong.
"No, we just gotta find him and make sure that doesn't happen," Stefan said calmly before turning to Elena. "Do you have any idea where he would be?"
"I wish I did, but he wasn't really one to run," admitted Elena nervously, which did little to help Caroline, who was practically bouncing from foot to foot with anxiety as another shaky smile found its way onto her lips.
"You know, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen," Caroline said with a nervous laugh. "You know, I was supposed to tell him at the right moment in the right way, and he was supposed to be okay with it because he loves me."
"Hey, that still might be the case," Elena objected reassuringly, nodding her head along as to help Caroline believe her.
"Yeah, I mean, it took Elena a little while to adjust to the situation," Sarah added, gesturing to the affirmatively nodding brunette between her and Stefan.
"Exactly. We all just need to talk to him, like Stefan and Sarah did with me," Elena said before looking past Caroline and into the room full of guests. "I just have to accept this thing for Jenna and then we'll help you find him," she promised.
"All right. Well, call me when you're done, and I'll be out looking for him," Caroline said, before quickly exiting through the front door as Sarah sighed, gripping the bridge of her nose.
"Oh, God," she groaned before looking to Stefan and Elena, her hands moving to her hips. "Everything is turning into a complete disaster."
"We'll get through it," Stefan said calmly, nodding his head at both his sister and girlfriend. "We just need to take it one step at a time."
"Starting with this award," Elena said with a sigh, before plastering on her most appropriate smile and stepping into the room with Stefan and Sarah behind her.