The two Bennett witches stood over Elena and Katherine's new body. They held hands while chanting a spell in Latin. The spell they were using required a great deal of power. Bonnie had performed a similar spell in the past but it had not been permanent. Lucy had created the spell they were using now. It would effectively lock Elena and Katherine in their respective bodies in perpetuity. Moreover, it would protect both women from possession in the future. Lucy planned to perform a similar spell on Bonnie's friends to protect them from the travelers. They could hardly prepare for a war when so many of their allies were vulnerable to possession outside of Mystic Falls' city limits.

They had arranged the two vampires in the middle of a pentagram formed by a fine dust. The dust was comprised of at least a dozen ingredients meant to conduct and amplify magical power. It appeared to be working because the pentagram had an ethereal shimmer to it. At first glance, the shimmer looked to be a trick of the light. However, the longer someone looked at it, the more it became obvious that it was pulsing in time with Bonnie and Lucy's magic. The witches had also used an immobilization potion and vervain to prevent either vampire from fleeing the backyard during the process. Bonnie had wanted to conduct the ritual in the basement where they would have more privacy. Unfortunately, Nadia arrived just as they were set to begin. Bonnie refused to invite the vampire into her home under any circumstances. They had all agreed that Nadia could not be trusted. She was a reluctant ally for now, but that could change the moment the travelers were no longer a threat.

Damon had to admit that his younger brother had chosen a suitable replacement vessel for Katherine. The vampire was a brunette woman with big dark brown eyes. She was a couple inches taller than Elena was, placing her closer to his height. The vampire had an athletic build and she was sporting at least a C cup. The cup size was an upgrade from the original 'model'. Damon was certain that she would find saps to do her bidding as she had for the last few centuries.

Nadia growled and fidgeted in discomfort. She could feel the witches' magic pulsing under her skin. She was close to vamping out. She demanded, "Is it working?"

Lucy hissed, "Yes!"

Stefan gritted his teeth as the powerful magic made him more agitated by the minute. He glanced at his older brother's bored expression. He wondered how Damon remained so unaffected by the suffocating magic. It had been so overwhelming that Caroline joined Matt in the house where he was keeping an eye on Mari.

The older vampire's nervousness was apparent to everyone present. She obviously cared a great deal for her mother. She retorted, "How can you be sure that you can unravel traveler magic? The woman that sealed Katherine into Elena's body said it was permanent."

Lucy glared in Nadia's direction. In a haughty voice, she replied, "I know the travelers have deluded themselves into believing they are as powerful as witches are but they could not be more wrong. The spell is working but it is a slow process because of the intricacy. Kindly shut up so that we can finish working!"

Nadia glowered in response as her mouth snapped shut. She didn't trust the Bennett witches, but she didn't have any other options. The hybrid was standing nearby with the knife. He was the only person present that she couldn't overpower. If Nadia tried to stop the ritual, he would use the knife on Katherine immediately. Moreover, she had seen the aftermath of what the younger witch had done to the Augustine vampires. Nadia wasn't willing to risk having her brain turned to mush. They were only in this situation because her mother had behaved petulantly in possessing Elena's body.

Tyler stood to the side with his arms folded across his chest. He clutched the gold knife firmly in his right hand. He could feel the witches' magic pulsing under his skin, but it didn't bother him. It was as if his body recognized the magic of his mate and her kin. He was mindful to monitor the bond he shared with Bonnie. Tyler was concerned about the spell exhausting her. She had already expended a great deal of energy just a few hours ago in the forest. However, she seemed to be fine now. Lucy had assured him that Bonnie had recovered but he was still apprehensive.

He knew part of that apprehension was about the call he had received from his cousin Jonas just an hour ago. Tyler had been right in assuming that his sire would task someone with watching Bonnie's house. Jonas clocked two werewolves staked out in a car down the street. The only good news was that it seemed that Klaus told them to note the comings and goings. Lucy was not planning to leave the house anytime soon. Therefore, they could hide her presence for a little longer. Tyler's hope was that Bonnie could get Klaus to sign the contract before Lucy had to show herself. The contract sealed by blood would prevent him from harming anyone in Bonnie's bloodline.

Suddenly, a small explosion of magic hit them and extinguished all the candles placed around the backyard. The epicenter of the explosion was the center of the pentagram where the two vampires had been positioned. Tyler tensed because he was unsure how far that wave of magic had traveled. If Klaus' spies felt it, they would certainly report the incident to him. He would have to check in with Jonas to estimate the blast radius. However, the two formerly paralyzed vampires sitting up simultaneously interrupted his thoughts. His dark brown eyes flicked between the two women as he tried to gauge if the ritual had been successful.

The willowy brunette vampire slowly rose to her feet and scoffed in disgust. "I can actually feel the poor quality of these clothes giving me a rash. Please tell me that you brought something for me to wear, Nadia."

The woman nodded with a relieved smile. "Of course…"

Damon rolled his eyes and said, "I guess it worked."

Bonnie turned to smile at him. She asked, "Was there ever any doubt?"

He smirked at her. "Look who is feeling cocky now that she has her magic again."

She arched an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled, "I was hoping that her essence would get lost in the shuffle."

Elena stayed on the ground looking around at everyone. She blinked as her attention shifted to the vampire beside her. Her mind was foggy for a moment but it began to clear rapidly.

Bonnie walked over to her friend and slowly helped her up. She hugged her and swore, "I am so glad that you are back, Elena. We missed you."

"I am glad to be back," she whispered in a voice thick with emotion.

The witch hated the overwhelming feeling of guilt gnawing at her conscience. She said, "There are so many things that I want to say."

Elena nodded and blinked back tears. While she had been locked inside her own mind, there had been nothing but time to evaluate some of her life choices. Elena had come to the conclusion that she hadn't always been a good friend. She replied, "Me, too."

Katherine laughed. "Isn't this heartwarming?"

Elena's eyes narrowed when she heard the older vampire's voice. She released Bonnie from the hug and attacked Katherine without even a second of warning. The young vampire displayed a ferocity rarely seen from her.

Stefan rushed forward to break up the fight. The vampire he had chosen as Katherine's vessel was fifty years old. It wouldn't take much for her to overpower Elena. He grasped the girl around her waist and dragged her away from Katherine. "You need to calm down, Elena."

"You bitch," Elena blustered.

Katherine gave a full-bodied laugh. She brushed stray blades of grass off her dress. It would take some time to get used to this new body. However, she didn't hate it. She actually approved of Stefan's choice. Stefan knew her so well even when he insisted that he hated her very existence. "Is that really the best that you can do? You really are a disappointment to my entire line. Now your mother, she was a real Petrova."

Nadia moved over to her mother. She studied the woman carefully. She asked, "Are you okay?"

The vampire's expression shifted to something closer to fondness. She cupped her daughter's face and whispered, "Moyata dushterya."

Nadia enveloped her in a fierce hug. She tried in vain to keep herself from crying. From the moment Nadia realized that Katherine was missing, she feared that she would never see her mother again. She had hated being beholden to the simpering teenage idiots of Mystic Falls. Nadia hadn't believed they would complete the swap until the last moment. She knew how much they hated Katherine. If she was being objective, she knew that their gripes with her mother were legitimate.

Katherine smoothed a hand over Nadia's hair. "You did well."

Elena struggled against Stefan's hold. She screamed, "Let me go! You have no idea what she did to me. She trapped me in my own head for months! I was in a dream world most the time. But every so often I would wake up and realize that Katherine was living my life. It was torture not being able to break free."

Stefan's heart broke for Elena. He almost wished that she had been unaware the whole time. He knew a thing or two about being trapped with no hope of escape. He said, "We know what she did. We might not know all the details but we know some things. I am so sorry, Elena."

"You should be," she snapped. "You should all be. How did you all go months without realizing that she was pretending to be me?"

Bonnie confessed, "She acted like a complete bitch and pushed us all away."

Elena's wild eyes moved to Bonnie. She asked, "How come that wasn't the first clue that I wasn't myself?"

"In the beginning, we thought that your humanity was off. Then…" Bonnie trailed off guiltily.

Katherine said, "Then everyone realized that they liked life much better when you weren't around. They enjoyed not having to rescue poor helpless Elena. I mean your besties chose your ex-boyfriends over you without much thought. Damon and Bonnie have been attached at the hip from the moment I broke up with him. You should thank me for that by the way. Loving Damon is a mistake. Meanwhile, Caroline was sneaking around with Stefan."

Elena's face twisted into a mask of pain and rage. She broke free from Stefan and launched herself at Katherine. "Stop spewing lies!"

Stefan rushed forward and grabbed Elena out of mid-air. He huffed as he struggled to hold her.

Bonnie said, "You should leave now, Katherine. We'll call you when we need you."

"Need her? Why would you need her?" Elena sputtered.

"Oh, yes. We're allies now. You'll be seeing much more of me," Katherine teased.

Tyler looked in Nadia's direction. In a near growl, Tyler ordered, "It's time for you to take your mother home. And remember our deal."

Elena stopped struggling when she heard Tyler speak. The coldness in his tone of voice sent a chill down her spine. She was only now noticing his presence because he had been behind her the entire time.

Katherine looked at her daughter skeptically. "What deal?"

Nadia sighed heavily. She had planned to break the news to Katherine later. "Once the travelers' plan fails we have to leave Mystic Falls. If you come back at any point after that, the hybrid has threatened to kill you."

Bonnie bristled at the way Nadia referred to Tyler as simply the hybrid. However, she decided to hold her tongue for now. Elena was already spoiling for a fight with Katherine. It didn't make sense for her to start one with Nadia now.

Katherine's head snapped in Tyler's direction. "If you think that I am going to cower in fear because of a threat from you, then you are sadly mistaken."

Tyler stepped closer to the mother and daughter duo. He flashed an unnerving smile that made him look like a predator. His brown eyes turned gold as he calmly replied, "It wasn't a threat, Katherine. If you ever return to Mystic Falls, I will rip out your heart without a second thought. That goes for your daughter too since she is so devoted to you. Now run along…"

Katherine gave an indignant chin lift and replied, "Don't call me before 10 o'clock because I won't answer."

Bonnie watched as the vampire and her daughter left the backyard through the side gate. She reached out and took Tyler's hand. "Have I mentioned that I like when you get all growly?"

Tyler chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I'll keep that in mind."

Elena stared openly at Bonnie and Tyler. In some of her 'waking' moments, she learned that Jeremy and Bonnie had broken up. However, whatever was going on between Tyler and Bonnie was a complete surprise.

Caroline burst out of the backdoor and blurred up to Elena. She pulled her confused friend into a tight bear hug. "Oh my God! I am so glad that you are back, Lena. We're so sorry that we didn't realize that evil witch was possessing you sooner. I just thought you were going through an angst phase. I can't believe that I was so stupid! I should have known something was up when Katherine dyed your hair ombre. It is so tacky and so…her. But we can fix it."

Elena was having a hard time keeping up with Caroline's hurried explanation. However, she honed in on 'ombre'. She grabbed a small section of her hair and scoffed, "Seriously?"

The blond vampire nodded in agreement. "You would think someone alive for so long would have better fashion sense. But you don't need to worry because I have everything we need to fix your hair."

"I think that I would like some blood and a shower first," Elena confessed.

Caroline nodded and said, "Of course! I packed a bag for you. It has everything that you could possibly need. Let's get you inside."

Elena prepared to follow Caroline into the house but stopped short when she spotted Damon. He was standing several feet away with an unreadable look on his face. She knew that Katherine had broken up with Damon. Elena had been 'awake' for that. However, she had expected Damon to be happier about her return. She turned to walk over to him.

Damon bolted the moment that Elena seemed to be headed his way. He wasn't prepared to deal with her right now.

Bonnie was glad that he was using regular speed since it was still daylight. She raced after him and called out, "Damon!"

When he whirled around to look at Bonnie his vampire face was on display. "Go take care of Elena, witchy. I'll be back later."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Elena has tons of people that will be fawning all over her for weeks to come. I am worried about you."

"You don't need to be," he replied.

Bonnie approached him without fear. She gently prodded at the rippling black veins beneath his eye. "These say different. I get that you are pissed about what Katherine did to you. If you want to track her down and kill her once this is over I won't try to stop you."

When he smiled wryly, his fangs were visible. "You are signing off on me breaking the deal you made with Nadia? I think I might be a bad influence on you, witchy."

She shrugged and said, "Probably but I never believed that Nadia would be able to convince Katherine to adhere to the agreement. She has spent centuries doing whatever she wants. I figured eventually she would show up to screw with us again."

"You are right about that. Katherine just can't seem to help herself," he quipped.

"Frankly, I think that it is some sort of sickness."

Damon hummed in agreement. His attention was drawn to a man walking down the street. He could hear the human's heart beating in his chest.

Bonnie grabbed his face and turned his head back to her. She said, "I know that you want to kill something right now but maybe not any innocent townspeople. If you can hold out for a few hours, you can kill as many Augustine members as you can get your hands on. You can kill the crap out of Enzo, too."

He huffed out a humorless laugh. "Are you trying to get me to be a better vampire, witchy?"

She shook her head and took Damon's hand. "Never. I know who you are, Damon. I accepted the occasional murder spree was a package deal when we became friends. I am always going to try to stop you if I can but I am not going to abandon you if I am not successful. I just can't lose you to a blood fueled binge when we have so many people actively trying to kill us. If I am being honest, we are the only reason that the rest of the lemmings have survived this long."

Tyler stood behind them with an amused smile on his face. "Are you lumping me in with the rest of them?"

Bonnie giggled quietly and looked over her shoulder. "You are a newly reformed lemming."

Tyler walked closer and said, "Bonnie is right. If you are going to be a loaded gun, we need to point you at the right people. We have no idea what the Augustine Group will send our way next."

Bonnie and said, "And we've been so busy with Klaus and the Augustine Group crashing our party that we haven't even started looking for the travelers. You can definitely kill the crap out of them, too."

The hybrid added, "That's only after you are protected from the travelers' possessing you."

"What he said," the witch said with a nod.

Damon's face slowly went back to normal. As much as he wanted to go off half-cocked, there were larger concerns to consider. The Augustine Group, the travelers, and the Originals were circling their little town. He couldn't afford to go on a blind rampage now.

Bonnie linked arms with Damon and asked, "Do you want some bourbon?"

He lifted an eyebrow and said, "I thought you were out of bourbon."

She grinned at him and said, "I lied."

Damon chuckled. "I thought that you were lying. I didn't remember drinking that much bourbon at your house."

"I even have a few bags of AB- blood tucked away for you, too," she boasted.

He perked up at the mention of blood. Damon wasn't a snob like some older vampires were. He would drink whatever blood type he came across because it sated his hunger. However, he liked the taste of AB- if he could get his hands on it. It was one of the few reasons that he sometimes preferred blood bags instead of taking it from the tap.

Tyler chuckled quietly at both of them. He had become used to their odd friendship during the quest to free Bonnie from her role as anchor. They had spent a couple weeks on the road together. He turned his head minutely to get a look at the car parked down the street. He recognized the wolves from earlier in the forest.

The girl stopped short of entering the house when she realized that Tyler was no longer following them. "What's wrong?"

Damon had already stepped into the house but he froze when he heard the concern in her voice. His head whipped around and he followed Tyler's gaze.

The hybrid shook his head. "There is nothing to worry about for now. I just wanted to get a look at the wolves Klaus has watching the house."

He grumbled in response and continued into the house. "Where are you hiding my bourbon, Bon-Bon?"

Bonnie chuckled and walked into the kitchen. She opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a sealed bottle of bourbon.

The raven-haired vampire leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow. "You hid my bourbon under the sink? That is bordering on blasphemous."

She shrugged. "I had to hide it somewhere that you wouldn't look."

He opened the bottle and took a huge gulp. Damon glanced at the label and smiled because it was the good stuff.

"You can go get the blood. It's downstairs in the fridge," she explained.

Damon took another gulp of bourbon and before he headed down to the basement.

Stefan walked into the kitchen. He whispered, "How is he?"

Bonnie shrugged because she really didn't know just yet.

He nodded in understanding and smiled gratefully. Stefan's relationship with his brother was delicate. Sometimes he could talk Damon off the ledge. Unfortunately, sometimes Stefan's intervention was the catalyst that pushed him over the edge. Anything dealing with Katherine or Elena would certainly make Damon feel unnecessarily adversarial with his younger brother because of the ugly history there.

Stefan cleared his throat and said, "Caroline is going to take Elena to her mom's house. We agreed their dorm probably isn't safe right now."

Bonnie said, "And I would have to invite Elena into the boarding house."

Stefan nodded and added, "Besides, I think it would be better if Damon could come home without worrying about running into Elena right now."

Damon reentered the kitchen with an armful of blood bags. He asked, "Have you two finished gossiping about my state of mind?"

The younger Salvatore brother looked slightly chagrined.

Bonnie ignored Damon's jab altogether. She said, "I am not swiping more blood if you drink everything in the fridge in one night."

He flashed a fangy grin at her and said, "This is just a snack, judgy."

"Mmmhmm," she said with obvious skepticism.

"Where are you hiding my Bewitched box set?" he asked.

Bonnie's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "Like I actually believed that Blondie rearranged my DVDs and lost an entire box set. Her level of organization is bordering on pathological. Now where is it you little klepto?"

She laughed and said, "It's on one of the shelves in the den."

"Good," he said and left the kitchen.

Stefan asked, "Bewitched?"

Tyler had the same reaction when Bonnie first told him about their viewing habits. He was slowly accepting that Damon and Bonnie's relationship was mostly platonic.

She shrugged. "Your brother has a thing for old TV shows. He made me watch I Love Lucy, too."

The vampire tilted his head to the side and chuckled. "I Love Lucy was an entertaining show. It was quite groundbreaking for its time."

"Sometimes I forget how ancient you guys are," Bonnie quipped.

Stefan huffed out a shocked laugh.

She walked over to Tyler and placed a hand on his chest. "I am going to go upstairs to check on Elena. Can you…?"

He nodded and said, "I can't say that I have ever seen an episode of Bewitched."

Bonnie stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him passionately. She smiled and said, "Thank you. Just talk about killing stuff if it gets awkward."

Tyler chuckled. "I can handle it. Go."

She walked to the bottom of the staircase and paused. Part of the witch wanted to procrastinate. She was glad to have Elena back but so much had changed. On the other hand, they had been friends for as long as she could remember. She owed it to their friendship to make a sincere effort.

Bonnie climbed the stairs and walked to one of the spare bedrooms.

Caroline was arranging a few outfits on the bed for Elena. It wasn't necessary but she needed to something to occupy herself. She turned around when she heard Bonnie walk into the room. She volunteered, "Elena is still in the shower."

She nodded said, "I can't blame her."

"I can't imagine how long it will take to wash Katherine's skank residue off her."

Bonnie's lips curved into a small smile. "How did she seem after…"

"After Damon took off?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah."

The blond vampire replied, "She is confused, hurt, and angry. I don't even begin to know how to help her."

Bonnie was glad that she had the opportunity to talk to Caroline. The two girls were in the same boat where Elena was concerned. "I don't know how to help her either."

Caroline sighed heavily. "We'll make this up to her somehow."

The witch wished that she shared her friend's confidence.

She noticed Bonnie's skeptical expression. "We will, Bon."

Both girls looked toward the hallway when they heard the shower stop running.

A few minutes later, Elena walked into the room wearing a bathrobe. She smiled a little when she found her friends waiting for her. Her eyes moved to the array of clothes on the bed.

Caroline explained, "I laid out a couple of outfits. I wasn't sure what you would want to wear."

Elena gave a soft laugh. It was nice to know that some things had not changed in the last few months. She squeezed Caroline's arm to express her gratitude. Then she moved over to the bed to inspect her choices.

Bonnie pushed the door closed to give Elena some privacy. She said, "You might feel fatigued for a couple of days. The possession and the ritual can take a toll on the body."

She recognized one of her favorite sweaters among the choices Caroline laid out for her. Elena immediately settled on that one. She could use something comfortable and familiar right now. She said, "Thanks. Your cousin explained that to me while you went after Damon. How is he by the way?"

Caroline scoffed and said, "You don't need to worry about Damon right now. I can't believe that he took off like that."

Elena appreciated Caroline's unwavering support. However, she shook her head. "I wish that Damon would have stuck around to talk to me, but I understand why he didn't. I was conscious when Katherine broke up with him. She was horrible. I was helpless while I watched her tear down the man that I love. I can't imagine how he felt thinking those vile words came from me."

"But they didn't come from you and he knows that," Caroline insisted.

She smiled sadly and sat on the side of the bed. "Damon can't be the only person Katherine hurt while pretending to be me. I mean Bonnie said as much after I came to."

Caroline's head whipped around to face Bonnie. "Why would you say that?"

Bonnie sighed softly. "I told Elena the truth. Maybe it was the wrong thing but I know from experience how uncomfortable it can be to pretend as if nothing has changed. It is going to take time for all us to heal after what Katherine did. I didn't want Elena to think that something was wrong with her if we were acting different."

Elena said, "I appreciate the honesty. I am actually hoping that the two of you can fill in some missing blanks. I wasn't conscious the entire time. Sometimes I would be aware of what she was doing for a couple hours at a time. However, I never knew how much time passed between my periods of consciousness."

Bonnie confessed, "There is only so much that we will be able to tell you, Elena. As I said earlier, Katherine did a fairly good job of alienating everyone. However, I think the best source of information will be Jeremy. Out of everyone, he spent the most time with Katherine. They got together a couple times a week to hang out."

The doppelganger tried to ignore the pang of jealousy she felt. In recent years, her relationship with Jeremy had ups and downs. They hadn't been truly close since their parents died. She croaked, "Why would she do that?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows why Katherine does anything? She made a stupid crack about enjoying having a little brother but it could have been sarcastic. I mean she played the part well, she even went to the Parent/Teachers' conference at the high school."

"Where is Jer?" Elena asked. She had expected her brother to be front and center.

Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, there is a ward on my house that prevents people with ill-intentions from entering. Jeremy showed up earlier and the barrier repelled him."

Elena's brown eyes widened considerably. "Well, there must be something wrong with the ward. Jeremy loves you. He would never do anything to hurt you."

"Other than cheating on her," Caroline muttered without thinking.

Elena lost some of her confidence. "True but I doubt this...ward protects Bonnie from infidelity."

Bonnie said, "We haven't really had time to talk to Jeremy to find out what is happening. Tyler and Damon sent him on his way earlier and it was probably for the best. I am sure he was just upset. He really has only had 48 hours to accept my relationship with Tyler."

She blinked and then said, "Let's start there. How did that happen? I assumed Tyler and Caroline would have gotten back together."

"Well, that is sort of complicated," the witched replied.

Caroline blurted, "Tyler and I haven't been on great terms for months because I slept with Klaus."

"You did what?" Elena squawked. She wasn't able to disguise her disgust. "Please, say that you aren't dating him."

Caroline shook her head. She should have realized that Elena wasn't herself because this was the only suitable reaction to that news. "No! It was a momentary lapse in judgment. I hate that I hurt Tyler by having sex with Klaus but it was never going to work out with Tyler. I'm not his soulmate but Bonnie is."

"His soulmate?" Elena asked with a perplexed expression.

Bonnie said, "It is a whole thing but I am a werewolf. One of my ancestors cursed the Bennett bloodline to prevent us from triggering the werewolf curse. She bound the curse to our magic, so it began to fray the longer I was without magic. It is a whole complicated thing but Tyler and I are mates."

The doppelganger just blinked a few times. "We're going to need to start from the beginning but this time with tequila."

Caroline's expression brightened. "We can totally do margarita night at my mom's house. She's on duty tonight. It'll be just like old times."

Bonnie could think of a couple reasons why Caroline's suggestion was out of the question. She couldn't have tequila for obvious reasons. Moreover, Tyler would fight her tooth and nail about leaving the house without him. She also needed to keep an eye on Damon. "I can't leave guys. There is a good reason why there is a ward on my could just hang out in my bedroom for awhile. I know a silencing spell that works well."

Caroline said, "I guess that works, too. We need tequila and snacks. I think I should make a run to the store."

Bonnie looked sheepish. "You should probably buy more snacks than you normally would for the three of us."

"We're not sharing with the boys," Caroline argued.

She shook her head. "I'm a werewolf, Care. My appetite is off the charts right now."

Caroline said, "'Oh! Duly noted. I am going to leave now because I think this veg out session is long overdue."

Elena nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is."

"Any requests?" she asked.

"Pizza," Bonnie and Elena said at the same time.

All three girls looked at each other and burst into a fit of giggles.

Caroline grinned. "Pizza and margaritas sound incredibly comforting right now! I won't be gone long. There is a cooler by the bed with blood bags, Elena."

Bonnie said, "I should probably clean my bedroom up a bit. Ty throws his clothes everywhere. We can hang out in there once Care is back."

Elena smiled. "Good. That will give me time to call Jeremy."

The blond vampire nodded. "Well, we all have our marching orders!"

Caroline picked up her purse from the bench situated at the foot of the bed as she walked out of the bedroom. She went downstairs to find Stefan. She wanted to let him know that she was leaving. Caroline found him in Bonnie's den watching Bewitched with the rest of the guys. She assumed it was some strange bonding ritual that she did not understand and decided not to interrupt.

She quietly left the house and climbed into her car. Caroline was glad that she had the foresight to park on the street rather than Bonnie's crowded driveway.

The blond vampire turned on the radio as she drove away from Bonnie's house. She was in a particularly good mood because the situation with Elena no longer seemed so bleak. She decided to buy enough pizza for the guys, too. It didn't appear as if anyone would be leaving Bonnie's house anytime soon. They would probably all stay there until nightfall when they planned to finish off the rest of the Augustine Group.

Caroline was humming along to a catchy song when she realized someone was standing in the middle of the road. She gave a startled scream and slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the person. However, she quickly regretted that decision when she realized it was Elijah Mikaelson.

"Frack," she muttered.

"Might I have a word with you, Miss Forbes?" Elijah asked with a smarmy smile.

It was phrased as a request but Caroline knew a demand when she heard one.