"Bonnie's safe. She's at Sheila's house."

It was evening by the time Stefan had returned from rescuing Bonnie. He took a seat across from Esmeralda at the dinner table, who sighed.

"Thank god."

Silence fell over the two of them. Stefan cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.

"About earlier…. When I called you Esmeralda. I'm sorry if that was overstepping my bounds. I was just-"

"Stefan," Esmeralda cut in, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. I think you've earned the ability to call me by my first name. You've showed nothing but loyalty to my daughter and proved that you will do anything for her and by default, her family. When you heard how scared Elowen was about Bonnie, you left," she snapped her fingers. "Just like that. No hesitation or questions asked. She needs someone like that in her life right now." She paused, her voice taking on a much more serious tone. "But you hurt her in any way at all, I will be the first in line to teach you a lesson. Got it?"

"Loud and clear, Esmeralda."

Her lips tugged into a soft small. "Don't get too comfortable, kiddo."

"Don't worry. I won't."

"Ready…. Go!"

Bree, Elowen, Damon, Elena and a couple of other bar patrons all knocked back their shots of liquor. Elena finished hers first. She clapped her hands and did a little victory dance.

Obviously, Damon and Eliana had very different ways of watching over Elowen. While Damon opted for the "drinking buddy" routine, Eliana, while usually the fun wine aunt, chose to stay sober and properly monitor her niece's alcohol intake.

"Honey, you should be on the floor like your friend!" A woman motioned to Elowen, who snickered loudly.

"I'm not thaaaaat drunk!" Elowen defended, her words slurred. Elena was stuck between both nodding and shaking her head.

"Neither am I!" She also slurred. "My tolerance is like, waaaay up here!" She reached for the sky, lifting her hand above everyone's heads.

"Oooh!" Elowen perked up from her spot at the bar. "Let's play pool! Damon, play with me." She stumbled off her stool and latched onto Damon's arm, doing her best to tug him along with her.

"I wanna play!" Elena jumped up and followed Elowen. "We can team up with Eliana."

A mysterious man walked into the bar and took the stool Damon had been sitting in. He made eye contact with Bree and she nodded towards the group. Because of how much alcohol she had consumed, Elowen's powers were a bit wonky, leaving her clueless as to what was happening around her.

Halfway through their game, Elena's phone rang and she answered it. Elowen faintly guessed that it was Jenna and let Elena deal with her own aunt. Eliana excused herself to the restroom, leaving Damon and Elowen on their own.

"I'm not as good as I remember being." Elowen pouted, watching as she sunk the cue ball. "I used to be soooo good at pool." She let out a little drunken laugh. "Back in middle school, Jo and I would sneak out to avoid our dad and we'd play at the arcade until they closed."

Damon paused at his next hit. This was the first time he'd ever heard about her dad. Curiosity got the better of him, and, after sinking his next ball, stood, facing her.

"Where is your dad, anyway?"

"Atlanta," she answered, leaning against her cue. She was completely unaware of what he was doing. Damon nodded his head, acting as nonchalant as he could, but the pieces were coming together in his head. He took his next turn, sinking another ball.

"No fair, you have years of practice."

On purpose, Damon missed his next ball. Elowen gave a small cheer. As she readied her cue, Eliana came back from the restroom. Elowen barely managed to successfully sink her ball when Eliana frowned.

"Is Elena still on the phone?"

Both Damon and Elowen looked around the bar, each realizing that Elena was indeed still gone.

"I'll go look for her," Damon said, leaving the pool table. Elowen shrugged and bent back over to make her next shot. It wasn't until the second ball had sunk and Damon was out the door that she stood up straight so fast she nearly fell over.

"Whoa, careful," Eliana caught her, keeping her steady. "What's wrong?"

"Bad feeling," she managed to get out. Her words were getting all jumbled up the more and more intoxicated she got. "Trouble." She looked towards the door Damon had exited out of and Eliana seemed to get the clue. She guided Elowen towards the door as quickly as she could and once they were outside, they could faintly hear Elena's shouts. Elowen picked up speed and rounded the corner, pulling Eliana with her. The sight in front of her caused her to let out a muddled cry, alerting the perpetrator of her presence.

Damon was incapacitated on the ground, covered in what Elowen guessed was gasoline. There was a man standing over him, a lighter in his hand. Acting fast, Eliana threw her hands out and used her powers just as the culprit turned to see who was behind him. The next second he was frozen in his place.

"Wha-?" Elena staggered backwards, taken off guard. Slowly, she stepped in front of the man and waved her hand in front of his face. "What did you do to him?"

"He's just frozen. No harm done." Eliana explained while Elowen crouched down to check on Damon. Her first instinct was to offer him her wrist, but he moved his head away.

"I'm fine." He pushed her hand away and sat up. "You don't always have to do that when I'm hurt."

"Sorry…. I don't know how else to help," she mumbled. The two of them helped each other stand and turned back to Eliana and Elena.

"... said something about Damon killing his girlfriend?" Elena was saying, trying to explain what had happened.

"Unfreeze his head," Elowen instructed. "Please."

Eliana did as she was told. The man looked around, tried to move his body and growled in frustration when he realized he couldn't move.

"Witches," he bit out.

"Your girlfriend. Who was she?" Elowen asked instead. "Who do you think Damon killed?"

"He did kill her! I know he did."

"How are you so sure?"

"She went to visit Stefan. I haven't heard from her since. What else am I supposed to think?"

A crinkle appeared in Elowen's forehead as she tried to rack her brain for some answers. Finally, it started to make sense.

"Lexi….. Lexi is your girlfriend."

"Was." The man snapped. "Thanks to him."

"No, no!" Elowen put her hands on either side of his face. "Lexi isn't dead! Lee, that's your name, right? Lexi mentioned you. She's alive! She's just…. Sorta on the run right now." Her eyes flickered to Damon. "Because of him. But that's all he did, I swear!"

Lee's eyes glazed over at hearing Lexi was okay. "What?"

"I don't know why she hasn't gotten into contact with you yet. Maybe she just isn't in the position to. Or she's too busy coaching Vicki. Um, she's this newbie that Lexi's taken under her wing. But the point is, Damon didn't kill her."

Elowen looked to her aunt. "Look, if we unfreeze you, you promise not to attack?"

Lee sniffled. It took him a second, but he eventually nodded his head. With a wave of Eliana's hands, Lee gained motion back to his body. He still turned on Damon and threw him up against the bar wall. Eliana moved to defend him again but Lee threw his hands up.

"He might not have killed her, but she's still missing because of him." Lee glanced over his shoulder at Damon. "He just got lucky." He made eye contact with Elowen and his stance softened a bit. "Thank you." Lee sped off and then he was gone.

Elowen ran towards Damon when the coast was clear and helped him sit up. "You still okay?"

Damon grunted. "Never been better."

Elowen, Eliana and Elena were all waiting outside. Damon had gone in to say his goodbyes to Bree and said something about wanting alone time. Nobody wanted to ask what that meant so instead they were all huddled around Eliana's car.

"... I miss Binx." Elowen was huddling against Eliana, looking up at her with puppy eyes. She has sobered up slightly, but not enough for what she was asking for to really sink in. "Can I see him?"

Eliana looked down, prepared to say no, but once she met eyes with her, she sighed. Her eyes flickered to Elena, who was standing a little ways away, also still slightly drunk and disoriented. "I guess you two could use some proper rest. And I doubt Damon wants to smell like gasoline the whole ride home."

Elowen leaned over and lazily flung her arms around Eliana, a wide grin on her lips. She noticed Damon exiting the bar, a towel in his arms (no doubt to keep the gasoline off of the seat of his car) and twisted around, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Guess what! We're gonna see Binx!"

Damon stopped a few feet away from her, staring at her as if she'd lost her mind. He looked towards Eliana, who shrugged sheepishly.

He had to listen to her jabber on about Binx, whom he later discover was her dog, for the entire ride to Eliana's apartment.

When they arrived, Elowen jumped out of the car before anyone else and dove for the spare key hidden under a rock. She was inside in the blink of an eye and within seconds, was yelling for Binx.

By the time everyone else reached the door, she was on the floor with Binx wagging his tail and licking her on the face. She was giggling loudly, pushing his face away from hers as she tried to sit up. Damon had never seen her so…. Genuine, even when she was with Stefan. He stopped just outside the doorway, observing her for a moment. Elowen took notice that he was the only one still outside and beckoned him over.

"Damon! Come in!"

"Sorry, kiddo. It doesn't work that way." He leaned against the doorway and shot a glance at Eliana. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Eliana shrugged, propping herself on the kitchen counter. The second Damon crossed the threshold, Binx turned on him, snarling, teeth bared and stance rigid. Elowen crawled in between them and placed a hand on Binx's muzzle.

"Baby, s'okay," she gently talked to him, her words slightly garbled. It was either her tone or just her in general, but Binx relaxed slightly. However, he was still growling. "He won't hurt." Without taking her eyes off Binx, Elowen waved Damon over. "Let him smell you."

Damon took a step forward and Elowen had to stop Binx from pouncing.

"Slowly! You scared him."

Trying again, Damon took another step, this time much, much slower. He crouched down to their level and, as carefully as he could, extended his hand. If it weren't for the fact that there was a sober witch with a seriously wicked power two feet away and Elowen was drunk off her ass, Damon probably would've given some smart ass comment and told the dumb mutt to kiss his ass.

Cautiously, Binx leaned forward and gave Damon's hand a tentative sniff. At first, it seemed like everything was going well. Binx had moved forward to smell farther up his wrist and around his entire hand, taking his precious time deciding whether Damon was friend or foe. Damon, having assumed Binx was going to do nothing but sniff him, let his guard down, simply waiting for the okay to move again. He reeked of gasoline, what scent was there for the dog anyway?

Binx suddenly paused, his eyes flickering from Damon's hand to his face. It happened so fast, nobody really realized what was happening. Binx took a quick lunge forward and chomped down on Damon's hand, hard. Damon yelled in both surprise and pain, yanking his hand from Binx's teeth as Elowen pulled the dog away.

"Binx! Bad dog!" She scolded, pointing down the hall. Binx understood and promptly turned, disappearing down the hall to Eliana's room. Damon nursed his injured hand, wincing when he tried to take a look at how bad it was. Elowen observed from afar, grimacing.

"I don't think he likes you."

"Wow, really?" Damon sarcastically remarked. "I wouldn't have guessed." He stood from his spot on the floor, clenching his jaw. Thankfully, the bite was already beginning to heal, so the pain was slowly starting to dissipate. "Shower. Where is it?"

Eliana pointed down the same hallway Binx had just went down. "First door on the left. If you leave your clothes in front of the door, I'll make sure they get cleaned."

Elena had almost immediately passed out on the couch. Eliana was busying herself in the kitchen, preparing a little late night snack for her niece. Damon was still in the shower (gasoline wasn't exactly easy to wash out), the sound of the water running echoing through the apartment.

Elowen was in her old room. It looked exactly the same as it did when her and Josiah had been living here. The bunk bed was in the same place, the walls the same color, the desk they used to fight taking turns on to get homework done untouched. She laid vertically on the horizontal bottom bunk, her head touching the ground. Binx was laying next to her face, his body sprawled out with the length of the bed. She was sober enough to acknowledge her surroundings, but not enough to let the feeling of being back here fully hit her.

The water stopped running and Elowen could hear rustling inside the bathroom. After a few minutes, the door opened and she could hear footsteps approaching the room. Damon came into view, wearing nothing but a robe and his hair slightly dripping. Binx started to growl at the sight of him, but Elowen shot him a warning glare and he huffed, quieting down.

Elowen and Damon stared at one another for a moment before he walked over and took a seat at the desk. Elowen watched him examine the school photos of her and Josiah on the table (if she could recall correctly, one was her 2nd grade pictures and the other was Josiah's 1st grade pictures).

"Kinda small. All five of you didn't live here, did you?" He asked, glancing around the room. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and sat up, shifting around on her bed so her feet were dangling over the edge instead.

"No. The four of us did."

Damon finished his examination and met Elowen's gaze. "So…. how come you lived here and not with your dad?"

"My parents are divorced," she answered with a 'duh' tone to her voice. "We wanted nothing to do with him so we left the moment we could."

Damon almost felt bad taking advantage of the fact that she was under the influence and therefore had no filter with her answers. Almost. There was no way she'd tell him these things sober and he was curious. Sue him.

"How come? Was he really that bad?"

Elowen started rubbing her left wrist, going silent. Binx sensed her anxiety spike and scooted closer to her, nudging her feet with his snout. Damon wasn't expecting much of an answer. Either she sobered up enough to know better or there was something even alcohol couldn't relieve.

"He used to hurt us," she said at last, her voice timid. It wasn't difficult for Damon to figure out what she was saying. Everything made sense now. His shoulders dropped and he scooted the chair closer to her bed. Binx didn't like that, shifting so he was laying right in Damon's path. Damon tsked in annoyance but stayed where he was.

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have brought you with me if I'd known." His eyes ran over the room again. "My dad used to hurt us, too." Damon had never talked about it or even properly acknowledged it, for that matter. Even just saying the words left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Knock knock," Eliana entered the room, a plate in her hand. She stopped for a second when she realized she'd just walked into something and narrowed her eyes. "Okaaay…" She took the last few steps to Elowen and handed her the plate. "PB&J, toasted. Your favorite."

Her previous conversation was completely forgotten when she accepted the food, grinning. "Thanks! I'm actually starving."

"Figured. Let me know if you want another." She started leave the room but turned back when she was just outside the door. "Oh! And, your clothes are almost done. They're in the dryer."

Damon gave her a thumbs up sign and she left. He watched Elowen happily eat her sandwich, tilting his head. He wondered if she'd remember any of this in the morning. Part of his hoped she did, but at the same time, part of him didn't.

It was a serious bonding moment and he wanted to cherish it for himself, emotions be damned. Truth was, he kind of missed having a friend and Elowen was the closest he had to one.

In that split second, Damon decided that he would give her dad hell if he ever crossed paths with him. Nobody deserved to go through that.

The rest of their time spent in her room was in a comfortable silence. Neither could ask for more.

Elowen had fallen asleep on the car ride home. She was woken up by Damon.

"Hey." He gently shook her shoulder. "We're home. Get up."

Elowen opened her eyes but immediately shut them again. "Bright," she mumbled, turning over. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Okay, upsie daisy." Damon unbuckled her from her seat and picked her up, shutting the passengers door with his foot. Instead of taking her home, he drove them to the boarding house. Elena wouldn't stop asking about the man she saw now that she was sober. She was convinced that him and Stefan would know who it was.

"Honey, I'm home!" Damon called once he entered the house, Elena trailing behind him. In a flash, Stefan was in front of him.

"What did you do to her?" He asked, taking Elowen from his arms.

"I didn't do anything. She did this all by herself."

Elowen wrapped her arms around Stefan and buried her face in his neck. "My head hurts."

Stefan lifted her up and left for his bedroom. Damon followed and filled him in on what happened to Elena and why she was here. Stefan was a bit too preoccupied with Elowen to pay attention.

"I'm gonna go get her some water." Stefan left after setting her on his bed. Damon occupied himself by grabbing Stefan's diary and plopping himself next to Elowen. She groaned and rolled away from him. He smirked, opening up Stefan's diary.

Elena, having never been in Stefan's room before, looked around, checking out the books on the shelves and knick knacks spread out around. She leaned down to smell the candles on the table when she noticed…. A picture of her? Upon closer inspection, she realized it read 'Katherine, 1864' in the corner.

This was Katherine? The same person Stefan mentioned she 'looked a lot like'? That was an understatement.

"What the hell?" She lifted the picture, still unable to believe it. Damon looked over at her from the top of Stefan's diary.

"What's so interesting over there?"

She turned with the picture in her hand, showing it to Damon. The smirk fell off his face.

"Shit."

Stefan came back with a glass of water in his hand, immediately stopping when he realized what Elena was holding. He set the glass down and took a step towards Elena.

"I can explain."

Damon had stood up and patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck, brother." He left, leaving Stefan by himself. Elowen sat up, squinting. She was about to ask what was going on when she saw the picture in Elena's hands. Her headache suddenly felt 10 times worse.

"Explain? Is this the reason you came back to Mystic Falls? Because I look like her?"

When Stefan stayed silent, she looked to Elowen. Elowen willed herself to stand up and made her way towards the two.

"Yes," she answered. "He was passing through to visit Zach when he saw you. He had to make sure you weren't her."

"Well I'm not!"

"I know," Stefan said. "But you didn't know her, know what she was capable of. At the time, I thought she was dead but when I saw you, I was ready to believe that she survived somehow. I couldn't leave town knowing that Katherine could be back."

"So then what am I to you?" She glanced at Elowen. "Both of you?"

"Not Katherine," Stefan replied.

"Yeah? And when did you figure that out?"

"Before I met you."

Both Elena and Elowen looked to him, confused.

"What?"

"The first time we met…." Stefan shook his head. "That wasn't the first time."

This was news to Elowen. Stefan was hyper aware of her staring at him in the corner of his eye, but did his best to keep his attention on Elena.

"Then when was it?" She asked.

"May 23, 2009," he answered.

Elena's face morphed into one of realization, and her mouth dropped open into a small o. "But that was…"

"That was the day your parents' car went off the bridge."

"You were there?"

"Every couple of years I come back here," he explained. "To see Zach and see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods by old Wickery Bridge. I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still…. He was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him until I helped you."

Elena's eyes had slowly started to fill with tears as she listened to Stefan, and finally they spilled over, running down her face. One of her hands covered her mouth as she sobbed. "Oh my god. When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how I got out of the car. They said it was a miracle."

"I went back for them," Stefan continued. "But it was too late. I couldn't- I couldn't save them. When I pulled you out, I looked at your face. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. After that, I spent months making sure that you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like her."

"But why do I look like her?"

"You've already been through so much…."

"Why do I look like her, Stefan? Elena asked again, her voice more forceful this time. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It didn't make any sense to me. You were a Gilbert. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. Then I learned the truth." Stefan waited a beat before continuing. "You were adopted, Elena."

Elena announced that she wanted to go home shortly after Stefan dropped the bomb. He offered to drive her home (Elowen's car was still at the boarding house) and once she was in her house, he started in the direction of Elowen's house. The front door flew open before he even pulled into the driveway.

"Thank goodness you're home." Esmeralda engulfed her daughter in a bear hug. Over her shoulder, she mouthed 'thank you' to Stefan, who nodded. She started getting a proper read on Elowen and frowned, pulling away. "You're hungover. What in the world happened?"

"Can we have this talk later? Right now, I just want to sleep."

"Okay, honey. Say your goodbyes."

Elowen gave Stefan a side hug and then let her mom lead her up the porch steps. Stefan didn't leave until he heard Elowen was safely tucked into bed.